Northern New York's Premier Business Monthly
Established long before indoor plumbing and even the home telephone, the Dugas Studio, my family’s business, was founded in 1892 by my great-grandfather and operated quite differently than most family businesses today.
With Internet access continually expanding, handwritten appointment books and accounting ledgers have given way to technology that enables flexibility and sharpens the competitive edge for family businesses. [Read more...]
From left, Chris J., Ben M. and Kyle R. Matott, own The Computer Guys in Canton and Potsdam. The three brothers manage the firm that their father, Wendell L. “Lee” Matott, started in 1996. Photo by Jason Hunter/NNY Business.
Tech and text are the two things that bring together the Matott brothers each day.
Kyle R., Christopher J. and Benjamin M. Matott are just doing what they know best, and following in their father’s footsteps. However, as their business, “The Computer Guys,” a two-store family-owned computer repair and textbook sales operation in Canton and Potsdam, continues to grow, they are looking toward the future for new opportunities. [Read more...]
Information technology spending is expected to rise as 2013 begins. While more businesses employ new technologies to stay competitive, a promise for a great year for business technology is sure to follow. No matter what business you are in, the more you know about what the future will hold for technology the better off your business will be.
Professionally or personally, the question is increasingly becoming: Laptop or tablet? It has only been a few years and the tablet has quickly become no longer a luxury, but a light mobile device with a longer battery life than most laptops. Not so quickly though, tablet use in the business environment is still mostly user driven and still proving to not be able to satisfy the whole realm of tasks and applications with which most employees are familiar.
Donna Stenoski, associate director at Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, shows off the new mobile site on a smartphone. Photo by Christina Scanlon.
North country catching on with mobile applications
Ordering a pizza and scoring a deal on the ice cold beverages to accompany it has never been easier. No coupon clipping and keeping track of expiration dates to get a bargain, and don’t even get off the couch or pick up the phone to get a pizza hand-delivered.
Just pick up a smartphone.
Mobile applications, more widely known as “apps,” for smartphones and tablet computers are becoming the new norm for retailers and service providers, and are offering a new and innovative outlet for businesses in the north country.
According to a survey released in March, completed by market research firm comScore, more than 100 million people in the U.S. are considered smartphone subscribers, meaning they own and use a smartphone. That number is a 13 percent increase in smartphone subscribers since October 2011.
Employees at Timeless Frames, Watertown, assemble frames behind an informational order screen. Investments in new technology have helped the business grow in recent years. Photo by Justin Sorensen.
Businesses sharpen competitive edge
As technology has evolved in the past decade, with smartphones becoming the preferred mobile device and laptop computers being tossed aside for sleeker tablets, so, too, has the business landscape advanced. To stay competitive, business owners have had to adapt to a changing technological environment. Gone are the days when merely having a unique product meant steady sales. Today, having products that are most visible to the consumer and having the ability to deliver that product to the customer faster — and with better customer service — than ever before can make or break a brand and, simply put, it just what makes good business sense.
Do you sometimes feel that the north country is still behind the technology curve? Are you under the impression that you must travel and incur travel-related expenses to get the latest information on the technology trends affecting businesses today?
You’ve made your list, have you checked it twice? What does it include that is shiny and nice? An iPad, Android smartphone or a tablet? If Santa leaves one under your tree, I bet you will BYOD.
Sometimes techies can be the hardest people to buy for. Not only are they very particular about their gadgets but they do seem to already have the latest “thing”. This year you will find that technological gifts come in all shapes and sizes; here are a few great gift ideas to assist in your quest for the perfect “geek gift.”