Posts

Cybersecurity for Small Businesses

Image
The use of technology, procedures, and controls to defend against cyberattacks on systems, networks, programs, devices, and data is known as cyber security.  What does Cyber security do? It helps to prevent unauthorized access to company networks, data breaches, financial losses, and reputation damage. Businesses can also be more confident in the integrity and availability of their data when it has protection from security software for small businesses. Small enterprises can also become targets of cyber attacks, they are not limited to large organisations and governments. In fact, there is proof that small businesses are more susceptible to cyberattacks, in part because they may lack the resources necessary to adequately defend themselves. As technology advances and becomes more integrated into our daily lives, the threat of cyber attacks grows. These attacks can take many forms, including malware, ransomware, phishing scams, and more, and with more businesses conducting their oper...

SEO for Small Businesses: How to Compete with Big Brands Online

Image
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is the process used to optimize a website's technical configuration, content relevance and link popularity so its page can become more relevant, easily findable and popular towards user search queries and this in turn means search engines rank them better. S earch engines seek to show people the most relevant results, not those with the highest paying ads, even though huge firms still have larger budgets and greater brand awareness. This implies that your small business may outperform even the biggest ones and draw in more clients online with a solid SEO plan. To reach your audience, you must use local SEO. Targeting a local audience increases the likelihood that site visits will turn into actual customers. Additionally, you can outrank the bigger companies in your area if you use location-based keywords across your website. Promoting online reviews also helps small companies. Good reviews improve your exposure in local searches and ...

Evolution of Internet Technologies: From Web 1.0 to Web 3.0

Image
The evolution of internet technologies is often broke up into three categories, these are: 📚Web 1.0 offered read-only pages. 💻Web 2.0 enabled social networking and user-generated content.  🗠Web 3.0 brings semantic integration and data interoperability.  WEB 1.0 The internet was primarily used for one-way communication in this stage, with users only able to view content. Websites were extremely basic with no interactive features or user-generated content. Information was very straightforward and simple. Companies made static websites to provide information to customers. An example of this was in 1994 when Amazon launched as one of the first e-commerce websites. Some of the key characteristics of Web 1.0 were: Basic Functionality: Web 1.0 provided very basic functionality. The pages contained mostly text and images with little to no interactivity or multimedia. Limited E-Commerce: People were hesitant to purchase online due to privacy and security concerns. It was mainly limi...

Cloud-based analytics for small businesses

Image
What is Cloud-Based Analytics? Cloud based analytics help you identify patterns, make predictions, and acquire business intelligence (BI) insights. It enables you to work with massive amounts of complex business data using algorithms and cloud technologies. It is a cost effective, powerful and convenient alternative to the traditional approach.  What is it associated with? Cloud Analytics is often associated with Artificial Intelligence, Deep learning and machine learning and it is commonly used in industry applications such as oil and gas fields, business intelligence, security and many more. Small Businesses can rapidly make data-driven decisions to improve the efficiency of their goods and services by utilising AI and other analytics techniques.  What are standard features of Cloud Analytical solutions? - Data and the connections between various data points are graphically represented by data models. - Analytical models enable users to forecast the results of various b...

SaaS ERP for SMEs

Image
In 2024, small companies must navigate the ever-complex world of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, which aim to increase productivity and streamline processes. ERP systems have advanced dramatically, providing a broad range of features that assist companies in integrating several operations, from accounting and inventory management to customer relations and human resources.  There are many SaaS ERP systems that a small enterprise could adopt, for example Microsoft Dynamics 365 (Business Central) which is hosted securely on Microsoft's Azure cloud. It acts as a central command centre for your business, handling accounts, sales, purchasing, warehouse, inventory, customer relations, human resources, and projects on one easy-to-use platform. Some of the features that Microsoft Dynamics 365 (Business Central) offers is access from anywhere with an internet connection, whether using web browsers, mobile devices, tablets, or desktops. For easy collaboration, Microsoft Business C...

The rise of Digital Payment Systems

Image
A digital payment, often known as an electronic payment, is the transfer of funds via a digital device or channel from one payment account to another and involves no physical money. Due to technological advancements and the increasing demand for speed, convenience and security, cashless transactions such as card payments, e-money and credit transfers have steadily gained popularity. The Covid-19 Pandemic accelerated these trends, and they continued to gain momentum. According to Capgemini, the number of non-cash transactions reached 1.3 trillion in 2023. It’s forecasted to reach 2.3 trillion by 2027. Modern payment methods such as account-to- account, digital wallets, QR code payments and more are predicted to make up 30% of all transactions. The World Bank reveals that currently two thirds of adults worldwide are involved in digital payments. There are many benefits from the rise in digital payment systems such as convenience. E-wallets enable consumers to store their favourite p...

South East of Ireland a good place to invest for a tech firm?

Image
I believe the South East of Ireland is the ideal place to invest for a tech firm for a multitude of reasons. South East Technological University is home to roughly 18,500 students across three campuses in Waterford, Wexford and Carlow.  There is over 23 technology and IT based courses available to SETU students so not only would your tech firm investing in the South East have access to an ambitious, educated and eager to learn workforce, you could also offer placement or graduate opportunities to train the graduates in the way you see fit for your company.  There is already over 6,000 ICT professionals working in the South East of Ireland so there is plenty of opportunities to employ experienced and professional individuals. An estimated 3,500 ICT professionals commute out of the South East every day for work so if a tech firm was to invest there, there is a high likelihood these workers would switch jobs to not have to commute, find out more at https://irelandsoutheast.com/in...