3 Ways for SMBs to Profit from Windows 10
Microsoft brings all profit from Windows 10 together this time for corner stores and entrepreneurs
Windows 10, Microsoft’s re-worked, cross-platform operating system will be released July 29, 2015. Small and medium business (SMB) owners and CEOs are watching closely to see how they might benefit.
Looking at what Microsoft has packed into the new OS, Windows 10 has the potential to improve business performance in at least three ways:
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- Reduce software acquisition, training and operating costs
- Make people more productive in their current roles
- Enable new products, services and ways of doing business
Not only can business owners enhance the bottom line by reducing expenses, this time around the latest Windows OS can help them get more done and, for forward-looking entrepreneurs, transform the business into something different to realize their dreams.
1 – Reduce Costs
Most people want to take advantage of anything that will cut costs. Right from the get-go, Windows 10 has something for them.
Free to upgrade – Businesses currently running any Pro version of Windows 7 and Windows 8 (which most SMBs do) will get the upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost through Windows Update. Not having to budget for a new OS is enough to get any flower shop, bookkeeping service or restaurant owner’s attention.
Reduce training costs – With a lot of the familiar ways of doing things that we lost or couldn’t find in Windows 8, now restored in Windows 10, the operating system is easy to use again. That means reduced training costs for new employees and enhanced usability for the rest of us.
The list of usability enhancements is long and includes:
A new Start Menu makes it much easier to find settings, reboot, launch apps, find documents and adjust the desktop resolution, getting rid of much of the Windows 8 frustration.
Task View, Snap Assist and Virtual Desktops help users navigate open apps and unclutter their desktops by separating home and work tasks or organizing by other categories.
Windows Store Apps now run in actual windows that can be moved around, resized and minimized like the Windows programs that we know.
Action Center has been expanded to work more like the notification area on a smartphone providing real-time useful information.
Continuum automatically adjusts Windows’ behavior based on whether you are using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop, with or without a keyboard.
Increased Security – Security problems like viruses, data theft and data loss (think lost tablet), can create huge costs for businesses. Windows 10 security features like file and disk encryption, passwords with biometric authentication, and anti-phishing and anti-malware advancements will reduce costs, or at least cut losses.
2 – Increase Productivity
Proactive business optimizers will appreciate how Windows 10 enables them to do more within their current structure. These features will have a direct impact on productivity:
New Browser – Project Spartan has matured into the new Web browser for Windows 10 called Microsoft Edge. Some cool new features like built-in note taking and sharing, and a reading pane more effectively integrate browsing into the workflow. The inclusion of Cortana, Microsoft’s new digital assistant will make desktop, smartphone and tablet browsing more efficient.
More/Better Apps – New software development kits (SDKs) allow developers to port code from other platforms to Windows, with minor modifications making many more of their apps available to users in the Windows Store.
Windows Store Overhaul – A new Windows Store will make getting software for a PC as easy as downloading a mobile app on a smartphone. Apps in the Windows Store will install and uninstall easily.
Mobility – Windows 10 supports a full range of devices for business. With mobility, security, and cloud services built in, users can quickly realize business value. With Windows 10, apps can run on-site, in the cloud, or both, on the devices best suited for the business and location.
3 – Transform the Business
It’s not any one of the above features in Windows 10 that enables business transformation, but the maturity of the new OS that allows entrepreneurs to attain new levels of freedom and originality from a ready-to-use engine for business innovation.
When it comes to supporting new ways of doing things privately and securely with familiar tools, Windows 10 is the full package. The combination of mobility, cloud and productivity tools, as well as security, privacy, app availability and ease of use together form a critical mass. Windows 10 provides the computing platform and tools innovators need to imagine the business operating in new ways on a new playing field.
Visionary leaders will be enabled to create and provide new services, structure the business to be more agile through the cloud, operate virtually with partners and contract employees, and telecommute whenever their personal lives require more of their attention.
Global, Virtual, Connected
Harnessing the benefits of a productive team from wherever they want to work, transformative business leaders will be able to assemble a global business using Windows 10 as the common language, universally familiar, yet liberated from the desktop.
CEOs can be more personal and more connected, resulting in increased partnering. All of the pieces are in place to build relationships with a personal presence (on-site or via video conference from any device) while keeping up with everything else.
For example, imagine Green Energy Anywhere, a virtual business with employees on three continents operating with no office space from a web site, laptops and cell phones connected with a virtual phone system.
The company’s executives partner with suppliers, installers and support organizations to deliver a growing array of shared clean energy solutions. Customers can’t tell the difference between them and an organization with ten times the staff and overhead.
They have what they need to adopt a new business model with like-minded, geographically dispersed individuals to grow the sharing economy, improve the quality of life, protect the environment and appeal to connected consumers on their own terms.
Entrepreneur’s Platform of Choice
All of the pieces to accomplish this and other dreams have been out there for a few years. Combining them in one easy-to-use package makes Windows 10 the platform of choice for SMB entrepreneurs and innovators looking for new ground to capture.
Windows 10 is the real deal for SMBs. By cutting costs, improving productivity and seamlessly combining it all with mobile and the cloud, Windows 10 levels the playing field, allowing SMBs not tied to location, staff or physical facilities to outmaneuver larger businesses.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, eMazzanti looks forward to Microsoft Inspire every year—and this year did not disappoint. To learn more about how these updates to Microsoft tools can benefit your business, contact us today
