As a New Year begins, many of us like to use this time as a starting point for our own new beginnings. Whether we’re cutting carbs, abandoning alcohol or trying to save money, we’re making changes for the better. So, why not use this time as a starting point for your business success as well? There’s never a better time than the present.

Now, we’re not talking about changing everything your company does and we’re definitely not telling you to stop the traditional drinks on a Friday afternoon. You need to keep staff morale up remember. What we’re talking about it is making a few easy changes, to give your business the boost it needs to grow during 2016.

Synextra’s 10 new year’s resolutions for business success:

1. Go Green

We’re not taking meat off the menu. No, in fact, we are talking about your businesses carbon footprint. Going green isn’t just good for the environment, it’s great for business too. With just a few simple tips, you can reduce electricity bills and remove maintenance costs, which gives your business more money to invest in what matters.

2. Start using cloud apps

Are you struggling to get everything and everyone in your company organised? Do you want to keep your important data safer than on your company’s old server? Whatever it is you’re trying to do, there’s a cloud app for that. Whether you use tools such as Trello to help your employees collaborate and share information or Office 365 for documents and spreadsheets, there are plenty of cloud-based apps to help your business boost productivity and get more organised.

3. Switch to virtual desktops

A Hosted Desktop (also known as a Virtual Desktop or VDI) takes traditional desktop and uploads it into the cloud. From a user’s perspective, all is normal. However, all of the data is actually stored on a secure server. All of the leg work is done by the server too, which means you can run intensive tasks like Adobe Creative Suite and 3DS Max on low-powered, energy-efficient, thin clients. You can even log into your desktop from a smartphone or tablet. So, as long as you have an Internet connection, you can now access your desktop from anywhere in the world.

4. Strengthen your passwords

It’s no surprise that poor passwords are the most common cause of data breaches. With 14% of people using a person’s name and a staggering 25% using a word that can be easily found in the dictionary, they might as well not use a password at all.

Now we know that passwords can be difficult to remember, especially if you’re smart and use a different password for each account. However, as we explain in our guide to create strong passwords that are easy to remember, passwords don’t have to be weak to be easily remembered.

5. Upgrade to faster Internet

To be competitive in today’s marketplace, you must have a strong, reliable Internet connection. There are no two ways about it. If you don’t have one, you can’t benefit from the cloud or hosted desktops; you can’t even use VoIP without a good connection. But did you know that a sluggish connection is costing your company thousands in lost productivity every year? And that’s without considering all of the innovative IT solutions you could be using to streamline your workflow.

6. Double-down on cyber security

You’ve changed your password from “Password123” – now what should you do? Should you use a password manager or create a security policy? To find out how you can keep your company secure online, click here to read our guide on the top 10 cybersecurity tips every business should know.

7. Upgrade to VoIP

Did you know that your telephone line is using copper wires and antiquated technology that is over 140 years old? So, when you’re calling customers, you’re not leaving a great first impression. It’s also harder for you and your employees to relay important information because your voice is so broken. Or the worst could happen, and you get halfway through an important conference call before suddenly being disconnected. Luckily, however, with VoIP, you can enjoy crystal clear phone calls at dramatically cheaper rates. And because you don’t have to pay line rental, you can start saving as soon as you switch.

8. Prevent downtime

From a greedy user to an act of God, there are many reasons why your company might experience downtime. Now, if you can’t get online but have a physical backup of your work, at least you can push on and minimize the loss to productivity. But what if your business is dependent on the Internet? You can no longer communicate with clients or customers and your company grinds to a halt. Take a look at our guide to avoiding internet downtime.

9. Start remote working

One way to avoid Internet downtime is to invest in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. If your business is left stranded without connectivity or power, you can head home or to your favourite coffee shop and pick up where you left off. Some businesses are even using remote working to dramatically cut company costs, whilst boosting employee satisfaction at the same time. We’ve written this guide explaining how remote working can work for you.

10. Switch IT Support companies

Perhaps you’ve been putting up with poor IT support for too long? Are you scared to cancel your contract? Maybe you’re just unsure of what you need to do to enable a smooth transition from one company to another? Well, luckily we have you covered with this guide on how to switch IT support companies.
These are our Top 10 New Year’s resolutions for business success. And, they’re actually achievable – quite easily so in fact – which means you have no excuse to not accomplish them before next year.

Get in touch with the Synextra team today and let us know which ones you’ll be taking on this year or have your own New Year’s Resolutions for Business Success to add here.