5+ tech tools you should invest in for your office

Even if you consider yourself old school in many ways, having the most current technology in your office is one—if not the most—important ways you can ensure success. With so many options, though, you might be wondering what you really need. Read on for five tech tools you should invest in for your office that will have your company running like a well-oiled machine.

1. A Virtual Whiteboard

There’s something about the whiteboard that just lends itself to spectacular spitballing sessions. So even if it seems antiquated, the psychological benefits alone are worth it. But how do you use this when your company starts to grow and you have people in multiple offices or working remotely? Enter Jamboard. Developed by the G-Suite Team at Google, this virtual whiteboard looks just like a regular one, but each one can be connected so that people in various offices can draw during brainstorming sessions.

2. Slack

Emails are a necessary evil, as sometimes you simply need something in writing. In this day and age, though, we often need answers to move projects forward, and we need them now. Slack is a cloud-based instant chat messaging system. It’s not the first of its kind, but it distinguishes itself from the competition by helping companies to also get organized. There are separate areas for communication within the program. As many companies often have multiple projects running simultaneously, this allows employees to keep the communication under the proper heading for easy reference later on. If someone is not involved in a certain project, she doesn’t have to subscribe to that channel and be distracted by information that she doesn’t need.

In addition, employees can send direct messages to one another. There is also seamless integration with other tools your company is most likely already using, too, such as Google Hangouts, Trello, and Dropbox. If you do decide to use Slack, you’re in good company. As this Forbes.com article notes (as of last year), “Slack has more than 50,000 teams paying for its service accounting for two million paid users, including 43% of the largest 100 companies in the nation by revenue, with those users spending more than two hours per day actively working in Slack and more than 10 hours with Slack open.”

3. Video, Printers, AI, and More

If you want your company to succeed, you’ve got to be on the front lines of technology. It can be daunting, particularly if you don’t consider yourself to be a “techie,” but it’s one of the most important things you need in today’s business world. For instance, you might have one of the most superior social media presences in your field but, if you’re not using video as part of this, you’re quickly going to be edged out by the competition. According to Hubspot via this Adweek.com article, “43 percent of people want to see more video from marketers and 51.9 percent of marketers cite video as the content with the best ROI.” It is one of the most compelling ways to get the word out about your company.

Some other cutting edge technologies/tools you should consider bringing into your office are the laser printer, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology—and that’s just for starters.

4. Remote Technologies

Some companies are 100 percent remote, with all of their employees based at home and often in various parts of the country. Other companies, however, see a lot of value in having employees come to work every day. And of course, there are some companies that offer a bit of both. The nice thing about it is that you can offer remote work as an incentive. For example, if everyone meets his or her goals for the first quarter, each employee can pick one day a month for the following quarter to work from home.

There are plenty of technologies out there these days to ensure this goes smoothly, such as Google Drive for sharing documents, Asana for project management, and Bynder. And as the aforementioned Adweek.com article notes, “MiddleVR has already developed a VR software in which users of different locations can upload models of their products and meet in the same ‘room’ to discuss.” If you’re not ready to splurge on virtual reality just yet, just remember that video calls do make a bigger impact than traditional conference calls.

5. Smart Features

We know our homes can have smart features—but so can our offices. Heating, lighting, air conditioning and the like can be controlled right from an iPad. Some systems even have sensors that take care of these things by knowing how many people are currently in the office. With these things being run automatically, it frees up your time to concentrate on the company’s bottom line.

6. Vanity Phone Numbers

There a variety of reasons as to why your businesses should utilize vanity phone numbers. For one, it is a surefire way to build authority around your brand. They simply look professional. Additionally, they work as a marketing tool. Vanity numbers are easy to remember thus making life much easier for your customers.

Ever seen a company vehicles driving around with company names and vanity numbers printed on them? It’s a super effective way of generating new leads. There is a high chance of previous and new customers remembering your vanity number. In turn, this will bring more business your way as you’re the first people will call since they remember your phone number because it is brandable.  

Invest in these technologies and not only will your employees be happier and more productive, but your company will also soon have the reputation of being an industry leader.