Using technology to improve - and potentially save - your business

Businesses who choose not to embrace the advance of technology will not just stand still but "fall further and further behind."

But while some remain with "their heads in the sand", the good news is that many businesses are wising up to the need to back up their data and beef up their defences against the threat from cyber-criminals.

That is the view of Sarah Windrum, chief executive officer of the Leamington Spa-based Emerald Group, a group of companies specialising in technology support and consultancy.

Sarah works with businesses keen to secure the data which has effectively become the lifeblood of the commercial world in the 21st century.

The hard fact is that the risk of failing to take such action is colossal.

"Any risk of loss of data is huge," said Sarah. "It's what all our businesses are based upon. People who don't think they need to take some precautions are burying their heads in the sand.

"It is an issue with businesses at any level. Some think they can ignore technology but by doing that they are not even standing still, they are going backwards while everybody else is embracing technology and moving forwards. They are going to fall further and further behind.

"It is something that all businesses, whether a sole trader or with 1,000 employees, should be thinking about.

"It doesn't need to be frightening. People can be frightened by technology if they don't understand it, but technology is scaleable. Whatever size of business, you can do it in stages and cost-effectively."

Cyber-security is one of the big issues facing the business world in 2016 and it is one which Warwickshire County Council is fully embracing with the Business Watch initiative.

No company, whatever size or however traditional and apparently non-IT-related, should ignore the dangers, believes Sarah.

"We do a lot of work with architects because they have a huge amount of data that they need to store and have access to when they are out and about," she said. "We work with Hitchman Stone, in Warwick, who are long-established in the area and are a very traditional family firm, but they have still used technology to make their service better without losing their values.

"It's not about reinventing the wheel, it's about using technology to make your service better.

"One of our customers, a skip-hire company, is now a completely paperless operation and runs so much more smoothly. And they have gone from a £300,000 turnover five years ago to £2.4million. That shows what technology can do. It streamlines everything.

"You wouldn't think of a skip-hire company being at the cutting-edge of technology but they knew they needed to do it and they did it really well.

"Another of our clients is a sealant manufacturer in Nuneaton. Their  factory burned to the ground and within 24 hours they were up and running again because they had a disaster recovery plan so we had all their critical systems and data on a back-up server in a data centre. "

* For more details about the Emerald Group visit www.emeralditms.co.uk

For information about Warwickshire Business Watch please visit www.warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk