What Software Does Your Business Need?

The technology market today is absolutely exploding. You may remember the term from a few years back of "there's an app for that." Well, that's true in most cases, and in fact, there are usually a hundred apps for that. By the way, app is simple short for application, which is another word for software. So with so many choices of software for so many niches how do can you possibly figure out which ones you need?

There are a few programs every single business needs, period. Once you have that foundation you can start to look at what else you may need that is more specific for your particular business. In this article, we will take a look at what types of software are crucial for your business, regardless of what it provides, and how to find the best fit for you.

Email

Regardless of what business you need, email is a critical line of communication. Whether you run a restaurant, plumbing business, or law firm, you need to be able to effectively communicate with employees and clients. What software you choose can be very important based on what you are doing. For most cases, something simple like Microsoft Outlook will have more than you need to run your email. It's simple, effective, and well documented and can handle all general email needs. There is one small piece that it does not handle well though, sending out mass emails for marketing. The simple fact is, it wasn't designed for it. If you aren't sending out mass emails, great you're all set, but if you are you need to look at mass mailers.

Mass mailers are programs that are specifically designed to send out mass emails without causing issues such as landing your domain on a blacklist or causing massive traffic congestion. If you need to send out a ton of emails, say a few hundred at a time, Microsoft Outlook is not going to be the best program to use. While you should definitely have a program like Outlook for general purposes, for your mass emails its time to look at a mailer like SendGrid or MailChimp. These types or programs are tailor made to send mass emails out to customers, clients, or leads without congesting your email servers or landing you on a blacklist preventing your emails from reaching their targets

Security is the next piece of the puzzle. While Outlook does contain basic security functionality, if you have more robust need you will need to step up your game. Software like Ironscales, proofpoint, or Echowrox come into play to up your security game. These programs offer enhanced encryption, phishing protection and more and help to protect both your email privacy as well as helping prevent scams from effecting your internal security.

Security Software

You absolutely, unequivocally, must have security software, period. I know it can seem like a "sunk cost," but look it at like this, will buying this cost you more than if you are hit with ransomware or a cyber attack? What happens if ransomware locks out all of your point of sale systems for a week, or a cyber criminal steals private client data? You could be look at hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. The point is, security software isn't a luxury, its a necessity.

Your first stop is endpoint security, or security software that guards your individual systems. This will include things like anti-virus, firewalls, and other measures to protect each device within your business. These programs work like your technologies immune system, recognizing and stopping viruses before they can destroy a system or spread further thought your network. By not having these you are opening yourself up to massive risk that could cost your business dearly.

Once you have individual devices covered, you need to look at your network as a whole. Things like network level firewalls, encryption software, and intrusion prevention/detection software work like security guards guarding your business. These programs work by guarding your network and preventing threats from reaching your endpoints in the first place. While it may seem like overkill, stopping a threat before it ever gets in is desirable to stopping it right before it causes a catastrophic issue.

There is one last piece to this puzzle that is often forgotten. While talking about cybersecurity we often mention software, computers, and networks, there is crucial piece that is commonly missed, people. The majority of cyber crime doesn't occur because a hacker just broke into your system like in the movies, most attacks happen because a person in the company unknowingly gave the attack the keys to get in the door. Software like Ironscales can help train employees in how to recognize and handle things like phishing emails that can lead to much larger attacks.

Productivity Software

In almost all businesses at least a handful on employees need word processors, spreadsheets, and other types of software that allow them to produce digital presentations, documents, and data organization. This type of software frequently comes in suites, with the most popular being either Microsoft Office or Libre Office. This type of software can be crucial for creating policies, managing budgets and data, or giving presentations. While its unlikely you will need it for every single employee, you need to ensure that you are giving your employees the tools they need to not only do their job correctly, but to do it efficiently.

By finding the right suite of software you can ensure that employees are able to create documentation quickly, effectively, and efficiently. It may seem costly at first looking at a subscription per employee, but look at it this way, which is cheaper $20 per month per employee for the software suite so they can efficiently do their jobs, or having them take twice or three times as long to produce the same work on free software? Lets say you have 10 employees working on documentation, that would be $2,000 per month for their software licenses. Conversely they could work on freeware but would take twice as long to do the same work at a pay rate of $30 per hour. Lets say with the freeware they would need 10 hours to produce once batch of documents, that would cost you $3000 for that 10 hour period. If they work 40 hours per work you're looking at a cost to your business of $48,000 per month for that work. So with the $2,000 software you would get the same work done at a cost of$26,000 per month, saving you $22,000 a month in expenses.

Conclusion

As you can see, these three types of software are things you need no matter what kind of business you run. By having this trifecta of software your business has the foundation it requires to run at its best. Ensuring that you have communications, security, and productivity covered you ensuring your are engaging customers, protecting your information, and keeping your operating costs as low as possible, and by doing that you make sure your business runs well and makes the profit you need to keep the doors open and grow.

If you need advice in ensuring your business is well fitted with its software, let All American Cyber assist you in picking the right products to meet your needs so that your small business can thrive in a competitive market. We are happy to help you find the right products to fit your needs and keep your costs low. Reach out today for your free consultation.