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Before You Invest? One of the first things you want to do before investing in Alexa as a virtual assistant is to consider the lack of privacy that a user gets when using it. This goes for most virtual assistants out there. Your office needs to be considerate of what they say around the virtual assistant, as you never know what it could tell other people. You could potentially create an uncomfortable situation that accomplishes the exact opposite of what you intended. Therefore, it?s critical that you take various steps toward minimizing the trouble that a virtual assistant like Alexa could provide for your organization. Some of these steps include disabling voice shopping and enabling PIN security. You should also set up your Alexa so that only a specific voice profile can use the device. This keeps only authorized users from being understood by the device. Alexa Manages Your Meetings Once you?ve ironed out the privacy issues sufficiently, you can add your calendar to your Alexa so that it can help you manage appointments. To set this up, go to alexa.amazon.com or open up the Alexa application. Go to Settings > Calendar. Alexa has compatibility with common business suites like G Suite, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, and even iCloud, making it a versatile solution no matter your business? preferred solutions. Once these have been added, you can create an event by saying, ?Alexa, add an event to my calendar.? Alexa can read back your events for the day and answer any questions related to your calendar. Alexa for Business Amazon is capitalizing on the popularity of Echo to create a successful product with Alexa. Nowadays, Amazon issues Echo devices that have Alexa for Business built right into them. Thanks to this, business professionals can take advantage of Alexa?s new capabilities. These include: Performing queries on local databases Providing access to sales data Checking and managing inventory Ordering supplies Setting reminders Managing lists Controlling AV equipment Initiating phone calls Notifying support for IT & building maintenance Amazon has even taken their development of new technology a step further by considering enterprise-level security and management that integrates enrollment tools that can help you manage access to your critical systems. This is part of the Amazon Web Services division, and as such, organizations will have to pay for any devices separately, but the cost of management remains static according to the Alexa for Business model. Alexa for Business is being used by several large businesses that have found a way to make it profitable for them, so the possibility is still there for your organization as well. Amazon?s power play to make the best, most efficient virtual assistant out there is being heard all throughout the industry, so it would be foolish not to at least consider the thought. The Alexa Skills Kit Even if someone who isn?t associated with an Alexa for Business-sponsored company can take advantage of several features built into the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, or Tap, to create their own personal assistant. Here are some of the apps included in the Skills Kit: Conference Manager: This app is built by Vonage, and it allows your Google Calendar to tell you what your next conference call is. It can also connect you to your call by calling any […]
In case you?re looking for a nice alternative PDF file-editing software, the most recent version of Microsoft Word can do so. Since the investment for Adobe Acrobat isn?t for everyone, you can instead turn to the tried-and-true all-purpose word processing software to edit your PDF files. Open the PDF The first step is to open up your PDF. You can do this by opening up Microsoft Word and selecting Open Other Documents from the menu to your left. You should see the Open menu. In this, click on Browse. Another message should appear informing you that Word will convert the PDF to an editable Word document. If you?re fine with this, click on OK. You should see the PDF open up in Word. Before you can make any edits, you?ll have to disable protected view. Word opens up these documents in protected view because they could potentially be infected with malware or other threats. If you trust this document, you can click on Enable Editing to start making changes. Once you?ve done this, you?ll get another notification that shows you that Word will convert the PDF into a Word document. Just click on the checkbox or click OK to close this message. You can now edit your PDF. After you make your edits, you need to convert it back to a PDF format. You can do this by selecting File > Save As and setting the type to PDF via the dropdown menu under the file name. You should rename the document slightly as well before saving it in a file folder. Once you?re finished, the edited PDF should open up in your default PDF viewer, whether it?s Microsoft Edge or another program. What are some other Microsoft Word features that you want us to investigate? Just let us know in the comments.
What is a Plug-In? Putting it very simply, a plug-in is a supplemental application that enables a browser to perform additional functions. These applications are extremely useful, as they automatically run in the browser?s code instead of opening another window. Furthermore, they enable you to view content on a website that you may not have been able to otherwise, because your browser may lack the capabilities on its own. There are hundreds of plug-ins now available to augment these capabilities, including some familiar faces. Adobe Acrobat and Flash Player are both examples of plug-ins, as are Microsoft Silverlight, Java, and QuickTime Player. Where Do Plug-Ins Come From? Plug-ins date back to the very beginning of the World Wide Web, where the original HTML code wasn?t prepared to handle more advanced tasks – like video or online game content. In order to get this problematic content to work properly, a plug-in assists the browser in processing it. This approach is widely used to this day, but some of the inherent weaknesses that plug-ins can have are spurring the advancement and development of improved methods. For example, for the longest time, plug-ins have been technically separate from the browsers that they interact with, but now there is a concerted effort to integrate the plug-in more closely with the other content on the page. Isn?t This the Same as a Browser Extension? In a word, no. The key difference is the amount of information that either can access. While a plug-in works the same way, regardless of the browser being used, they are specifically added to an individual page. This means that they can only be used on that given page. An extension, on the other hand, is incorporated into the browser itself, and therefore can technically be utilized on any page the browser navigates to. What else would you like to know more about? Leave a comment and tell us, and make sure you check back to see if we?ve covered it!
It?s understandable that some technology is absolutely required for organizations to function, but there are always those who look to technology to solve every single issue facing them. This is a dangerous practice. Technology might be great for sharing data, increasing collaboration, and ensuring that your business can meet its designated requirements, but too much technology can make it more difficult for organizations to get their jobs done. Let?s take a look at some situations when technology doesn?t help a business, but hinders it. Unnecessary Technology It?s not necessary for your organization to implement every single new solution that is released. It?s often the case that more technology creates more stress for the average worker–particularly if that employee doesn?t need to use the technology in order to go about their day-to-day responsibilities. For example, a CRM solution might be able to help your organization manage customer and interdepartmental communications, but if you only have a small number of employees as is, is it really worth it? There isn?t as big of a need to track how long everything takes, or how your few customers connect with your company, simply because you only have a small number of employees or clients in the first place. It will become apparent if somebody isn?t doing an adequate job, or if one of your clients isn?t happy with how they are being treated. This isn?t to say that your organization can?t benefit from a CRM solution–rather, it?s about weighing the costs versus the benefits that your organization receives from a CRM solution. Basically, if a centralized software solution is what you need to keep your employees busy, it?s probably more than just a technology issue that needs to be addressed. Of course, this is only one example. Technology that?s not needed ultimately wastes both time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere. Therefore, you need to be careful about how your organization implements new solutions, as well as how you determine whether or not a solution is worth investing in. To do this, start by analyzing how much value your business gets from implementing it. To use the CRM as an example, consider how much time is actually spent using a CRM when you have only five employees. Now compare this to the time spent using a CRM when you have 40 employees. Compared to the smaller workforce, you?ll practically have to use a CRM in order to ensure that you can properly manage all of the relationships and communication within your organization. Old Technology In contrast, you might consider implementing new technology if your business has been around the block a time or two. If your business has existed for several years, has a dedicated consumer base, and is still growing despite the fact that it?s using outdated technology, it can be a detriment to your organization to resist implementing new technology. Simply put, old technology is more prone to failure, leading to more revenue spent on maintenance and management, as well as opening up the door for security threats. Some businesses wait so long to replace or upgrade their technology that they face major legacy technology issues down the line. Others simply don?t have the resources available to upgrade as every new version is released, compounding the problem and making it […]
