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Improving Productivity with Technology: Staying Organized

In my last article, I spoke about the benefits of going mobile. Today, I want to transition into that which will power your mobile needs: your organizational programs.

For some, using a notebook or a day planner is enough to get by. But for a growing small business, or any business, collaboration becomes vital. As an employee, or an employer, personal tasks and scheduling are no longer good enough. You need to coordinate with your peers and ensure you’re staying on-task and always connected. Microsoft Exchange can do this for you.

Exchange is a hosted collaboration solution (meaning you need a server) from Microsoft for email, contacts, and calendars. Any domain name that you own can be hosted by your server. This means you are now in control of how many emails you can create, their names, and their limitations.

Because Exchange is server-side, the product is capable of being available in a multitude of fashions. You can use Microsoft Outlook, your mobile phone (most smart phones have built-in Exchange support, including the iPhone), and even a web browser for web-based Outlook functionality. But this is all for just one person. Where does the collaboration come in? The beauty is that limitless shared calendars and contacts can be created in Exchange.

• A team can be given one shared calendar and each employee has access. Everyone will see what the other is doing, and they can coordinate their schedules appropriately. Employees can then easily and quickly copy appointments from the shared calendar to their personal calendar.

• There are options for category coloring and recurring events. Employees can then also share contacts, allowing for a multitude of contacts within a team or an entire organization.

• Each shared calendar and contact group can be given specific security parameters to ensure only the proper individuals see these items.

• The shared calendars and contacts look precisely as the standard personal calendars and contacts in Outlook. If you’re familiar with Outlook, then you’ll be right at home.

Microsoft Exchange is nothing new to the market. The product has been a staple of Microsoft’s business line for over ten years. However, only recently has Exchange been of serious consideration for small businesses. Exchange saw considerable change in 2000, when it was bundled with Microsoft’s Windows 2000 Small Business Server. This was truly the beginning of what would become a rock-solid small business product in Windows 2003 Small Business Server, and beyond. Beyond a mere history lesson, this means that Exchange is a tried and true product that has seen continued support and growth. It’s a product that a business owner can lean on without concern that Exchange will disappear.

Talk to us and let us help you deploy the proper small business solution that will allow your company to grow and succeed.