What IT Services Might I Need as a Small Business?
There is no single technology package that every small business needs. A two-person consultancy working remotely will have very different requirements from a shop, hospitality business or company operating from several offices. When considering IT services for small business, it is therefore useful to start with the business activities that technology needs to support rather than immediately buying a long list of products.
For most businesses, a professional online presence is one of the first priorities. That normally means registering an appropriate domain name, creating a website and choosing reliable business web hosting. Your domain can also be used for professional business email, giving addresses such as name@yourbusiness.co.uk. Even if most of your customers arrive through recommendations or social media, having a website and domain-based email gives customers a central place to verify who you are, understand what you offer and contact you.
Email, Files and Collaboration
Once a business has multiple employees, cloud productivity services can become particularly useful. Microsoft 365 can provide professional email alongside familiar productivity applications and cloud services such as OneDrive and SharePoint. Centralising business files in an appropriate cloud environment can also make collaboration and remote working considerably simpler than passing documents between employees as email attachments or storing important company information on individual computers.
Security, Connectivity and Communications
Cybersecurity should also be considered from the beginning rather than added only after an incident. Strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, sensible access controls, software updates and reliable backups should all form part of a business’s approach to IT. Employees regularly working from hotels, cafés or other locations may also benefit from an encrypted VPN service when using untrusted networks. Businesses operating from physical premises should pay similar attention to their internal network and Wi-Fi, particularly as the number of computers, phones, printers, payment terminals and other connected devices increases.
Telephone services are another area worth considering. Some businesses can operate effectively using mobile phones alone, while others benefit from a dedicated business number, extensions and call management. Modern VoIP services can provide a professional business telephone system without the complexity traditionally associated with installing an office PBX. As the company develops further, specialist systems or bespoke web applications can then be introduced where there is a clear operational requirement.
The objective should not be to buy every available technology from day one. Instead, build a reliable foundation and expand it as the business changes. 21st Webb provides web hosting, domains, email, Microsoft 365, VoIP, VPN services, Hosted UniFi networking and bespoke application development, making it possible to bring several important areas of business IT together through one provider. If you are unsure which IT services your small business needs, starting with the way you currently work — and the problems you want technology to solve — is usually the best approach.