Washington Works Blog

Are you making the most of your business’ data? While it’s important to keep tabs on the actual numbers, it also helps to have a visual representation of what that data means so that others can easily understand it. Today, we want to look at five creative ways you can use interactive dashboards and data visualizations to show off your business to both external stakeholders and your staff.

It's a fact that computers generate heat. From the laptop fan whirring away on your desk to the massive arrays of servers powering cloud computing and AI, these machines require cooling to function optimally. As our reliance on the cloud expands, however, the sheer scale of this cooling requirement is transforming into a significant environmental and financial burden.

You might want to get as much life as possible out of your technology, but this is often counterproductive. While it might cost serious capital to invest in new computers and servers, even when your current equipment works “just fine,” there will come a day when “just fine” doesn’t cut it anymore. Your outdated hardware comes with all kinds of hidden costs that will slowly leech capital from your business and leave it worse off compared to if you just bought new tech.

The phone is a critical piece of business communications, but it has traditionally been a consistently stationary piece of technology for most of its existence. Basically, if you were anywhere but your desk, you couldn’t answer any important calls or listen to your messages.

Now that remote and hybrid work are pretty accepted, this is unacceptable, but there’s a far better option. Let’s explore how an upgrade to a modern Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system is the route that savvy businesses take.

Even though it’s incredibly helpful, technology can be frustrating—sometimes to an absurd degree. Businesses can’t function without it, so they have to learn to live with it, but it doesn’t have to be hard. You can develop some habits by using these tricks to reduce some of the friction in your workday.

How many devices around you are connected to the Internet? While connected technologies inject convenience into our lives, it comes at a cost: security. Let’s discuss how the rise of connected devices, collectively known as the Internet of Things, has taken a toll on network security and what you need to know about it to protect your business.

It can be too easy for anyone’s work desktop to become cluttered and filled with applications and windows, leading to a mess that gets in the way whenever one tries to accomplish anything. Chances are, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a quick and easy way to clean up the desktop and just focus on the window you need to focus on?

If you agree, I have some good news.

Artificial intelligence has consumed the zeitgeist and isn’t letting go anytime soon. Businesses can leverage this trend in technology to great effect, provided they can get over how intimidating some of the more complicated use cases of AI can be. That said, there are plenty of easy ways to leverage AI, even for small and medium-sized businesses.

Unfortunately, most people can relate to the feeling when you’re busy, but you really aren’t getting anything meaningful accomplished. Imagine a workplace where being busy actually means brilliantly productive. If that is the sweet spot you’re looking for, this blog is for you.

For anyone that has a routine, there’s a real comfort in sticking with what you know. For instance, if your grandmother's famous blueberry cobbler recipe has been a hit for decades, you definitely don't mess with it. When it comes to your business’ technology, however, that old adage can actually get you into trouble.

See, ignoring your business tech and letting it get old can actually create some pretty big, hidden costs you might not even realize are there. Let's dig into those so you can truly appreciate why keeping your business tech up-to-date isn't just nice to have, it’s essential.