Cambium Data Blog

All businesses need financial management and accounting, whether it’s with a full-fledged team of accountants or a single employee. Small or large, you can bet all businesses can benefit from software that streamlines this process. Today, we’re focusing on Intuit Quickbooks and its many shortcuts which make it an accessible solution for all businesses.

Downtime is a silent but powerful business disruptor. The moment operations grind to a halt, teams scramble to identify and resolve the issue. But imagine if you could avoid that chaos altogether. That’s our goal for today’s blog—to help you take steps to prevent downtime before it starts.

If you want to discuss the single most influential technology for the modern era, there’s a lot of competition—but the cloud is a serious contender. Through the cloud, your organization can pull off feats previously impossible for all but the largest and most profitable companies. Today, we want to look at how small businesses use the cloud and how you benefit from the various models.

AI is everywhere and it could be said that it is transforming the modern economy. With each passing day the technology is becoming an essential tool for businesses looking to boost their overall business efficiency. Small businesses can use AI in a number of ways and in today’s blog, we’ll explore how they can use AI to their advantage.

Technology has enabled us to achieve more than ever before, but with that progress comes higher expectations. Increased productivity demands can sometimes feel overwhelming, making it essential to find effective ways to manage tasks. There's a natural limit to how much we can do, however, and certain obstacles can push us to that limit more quickly. Today, we’ll explore two common productivity pitfalls that many face.

Decision-making is such a big part of business, and a lot of time the “gut feeling” may actually work against their stated aims. By incorporating back-end analysis into their strategy, business owners can get insights that they typically wouldn’t even consider. It can make their businesses more money through improved sales, customer relationships, and efficiency. In today’s blog, we will go through what the incorporation of AI means for businesses regarding their business intelligence.

Cybersecurity is necessary for businesses to function, but when it turns to overreaching and overinvestment—a concept called cybersecurity sprawl—it becomes a problem. Today, we want to highlight some of the many challenges that can come about from cybersecurity sprawl, as well as how you can avoid it.

Digital waste encompasses all the unnecessary data cluttering our storage systems until we decide to address it. This includes redundant files, outdated emails and chats, and forgotten photos gathering digital dust. While dismissing digital waste as a mere inconvenience is tempting, its implications are unfortunately significant.

The definition of sustainability, according to the United Nations, is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Originally coined in 1987, this definition has fueled businesses' efforts to work toward their own versions of sustainability, as per their service models. Let’s look at some ways you can make your own operations more sustainable.

Your customers—both those you currently work with and those you have yet to onboard—are the key to unlocking your company’s potential. Therefore, it stands to reason that you’ll want a solution in place to help you manage the interactions you have with potential customers. This is what a customer relationship management tool, or CRM, is all about. With the right CRM, you can fully leverage your organization’s customer base to maximize profits and attract new leads.

Are you finding that some of your younger hires aren’t sticking around nearly as long as you’d prefer them to? There’s a good chance that these employees are experiencing a relatively recent phenomenon called “shift shock,” the latest workplace trend focusing on employee engagement and satisfaction. Let’s examine shift shock and how to avoid its impacts in your business.

With technology playing an important part in just about all businesses, it can be quite expensive to get the tools you need to succeed. Today, we want to recommend specific strategies you can use to alleviate the frustrations of working within the constraints of a limited IT budget.

Of all the aspects that play a part in your business’ success, its company culture can often be overlooked as nothing more than a perk… something nice to offer the team, but ultimately unimportant. This is very much a misconception.

Let’s discuss how valuable a positive company culture is, and how to develop one in your business. Don’t worry, we’ll get into the technology of it all, too.

The idea of “finding time” for particular tasks has always been a bit of an odd saying. After all, there is a finite amount of time in any given day. No matter how hard you search, you’re not going to magically find more of it. What you can do for those tough-to-schedule projects and tasks, however, is make more time by freeing up time that is already in use.

Let’s go over some strategies you can use to make more time for the projects that matter most, whether they are for business or for life.

Downtime in a business context can be considered a "business predator" because it can have detrimental effects on a company's operations, profitability, and overall success. Downtime refers to the period during which a business' critical systems, processes, or equipment are not functioning as intended. Here are some reasons why downtime is often seen as a threat to businesses.

Financial Impact

Downtime can result in significant financial losses. When key revenue-generating systems or production processes are unavailable, businesses may lose sales, incur extra expenses, or face penalties for failing to meet contractual obligations. Downtime can also prevent a business from pursuing new opportunities or responding to market changes. In a rapidly evolving market, missing out on opportunities can have long-term consequences, and can be the difference between business growth and stagnation.

Operational Impact

Downtime leads to decreased productivity as employees cannot perform their tasks efficiently. This results in wasted time, missed deadlines, and a drop in overall output. In cases where downtime is due to data loss or system failures, it can result in the loss of critical information, which can be difficult or impossible to recover. This can have severe consequences for businesses, especially when it comes to sensitive or irreplaceable data. Frequent downtime can demoralize employees who must deal with the frustration and stress of interrupted work. Low morale can lead to higher turnover rates and decreased employee engagement.

Customer Impact

Prolonged or frequent downtime can do significant damage to a company's reputation. Customers and partners may perceive the business as unreliable, which can be challenging to overcome. Also, these unfortunate companies may find it challenging to compete effectively in markets with companies that show better reliability.

If you struggle with downtime, you can do better. If you don’t, you need to ensure that continues. The IT professionals at Cambium Data can help. We can introduce you to technologies and strategies that are designed specifically to reduce downtime and improve operational efficiency. Get a professional perspective by calling (402) 514-3200 today.

Your network is your business’ nervous system, enabling all of your operations. At least, that’s what it’s supposed to do. Unfortunately, network bottlenecks—the lack of available bandwidth limiting the capacity for data to move about—can put a stop to this. Let’s talk about a few ways to avoid such a bottleneck.

A point of sale system is incredibly valuable to have for any retail or hospitality business venture, and the right solution can give you a dynamic range of features and services that can drive business growth and the customer experience. Today, we want to look at some of the greatest benefits to implementing a powerful POS system.