4 Basic Tech Products Every SME Needs
According to SPRING Singapore, a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) is defined as a company with annual sales turnover of no more than S$100 million or employment size of no more than 200 workers. If you are running a modest company with, say, 20 employees, 200 workers may seem like a lot.
However, in our increasingly globalised world, SMEs may oftentimes have to play in the same ballpark as the multinational corporations (MNC) — the big boys, so to speak. Even if you can somehow amass 200 pairs of hands on deck, it is still a drop in the ocean compared to the MNCs. As if that is not enough, SMEs have to face other uphill battles, such as limited funds and manpower just to name a few. As such, you need all the help you can get.
Armed with the right technology, the process of starting up and maintaining your business can be streamlined and made simpler — but what are the basic items you need to fill your brand new office space up with? Canon has a few ideas up its sleeves.
1. A Robust Analytic Tool
With a new business, it is all about the numbers. How much traffic does your website generate? Where does the majority of the traffic come from? These questions play a major role in the success of a small business, and tracking them can be made simpler with the right analytic tools. Within the company, analytic tools are also available to track, say, the amount of paper used in the office. For example, together with a third-party software, Canon’s MAXIFY printer is able to keep track of the number of jobs being printed. Proprietary software like Canon’s uniFlow also allows users to track the number of coloured prints and black-and-white prints on multifunctional copiers.
2. The Right Printing Partner
Companies are increasingly moving towards the paperless mode of operation, but that does not mean that we are quite ready to ditch printers just yet. For small businesses, the right printer can be an office powerhouse that pumps office documents and scanned forms by the hundreds without breaking a sweat.
There is also an interesting argument to be made for small businesses to adopt equally small multifunctional printers. Take office rental, for example, which takes a significant chunk out of your profits on a monthly basis. If you are situated in the downtown area, you will no doubt feel the pinch even more.
When every square inch of your physical office is precious, you want a printer to be as small as possible, all while doing everything you need it to do. Canon’s PIXMA and MAXIFY series of printers, for example, do just that. Their compact designs mean that they can satisfy your office needs without taking up too much space. MAXIFY, in particular, is able to print straight from online storage services, thus working hand-in-hand with our increasingly digitalised workspaces.
3. Projection of the Future
What makes a good presentation? An engaging presenter aside, a good presentation is also one with the visuals down pat. Instead of swivelling a laptop around for the potential clients — which looks sloppy and unprofessional — step up your game with a nifty projector. Aside from multifunctional printers, Canon is also dedicated to high-end projectors that fit perfectly in both small meeting rooms and large auditoriums. The flagship XEED WUX6010 LV-WX300 model, in particular, can project high quality visuals anywhere between 40 and 600 inches at1280x800 pixels (WXGA).
4. Security, Security, Security
Back in May, we extolled the virtues of print security and how important data protection is to the livelihood of a company. This point continues to hold true. Beyond print security, the threat of hackers and cyber-criminals is very real for large companies and small businesses alike. This means setting up firewalls, encrypting records and confidential data, performing frequent backups, creating corporate security policies and making sure that all employees commit to them, etc.
Yet, all of that pertain to data protection. If you are a small business with a brick-and-mortar office, you want physical security to be in place as well. Forget about those beat-up security cameras that old office buildings have. Set up your own visual security network with Canon’s suite of surveillance cameras. Canon’s VB-S30D, in particular, is a compact, full HD palm-sized PTZ Mini dome camera with new ultra-compact zoom lens technology built right in. These products are ideal for discrete indoor security and monitoring in businesses and venues.