Technology in today’s world plays really important role and for a firm to be competitive in the local and international market it tends to have knowledge about technology and imply it in the organization.
Hardware
Since bill is planning to start up his business and wants to avoid traveling therefore the most effective tool to communicate with the suppliers while staying at home are telephone, email, video conversation etc. the hardware that bill must purchase for its business are computers and laptops through which bill could store its company data and also communicate with its suppliers and customers through emails, pamphlet and online advertisements in order to promote its business. Many businesses are dependent on using cellular services which they feel appropriate; Skype is another communication tool that many businesses are using for instance Skype for business account that offers cheap calling, conference calling, IM, file sharing, and other features.
And in order to avoid issues of getting data being hacked the most appropriate solution that bill could adopt are forming wired network through which business could form their own server and store their data. Through wired network the business could open their own employee account and they could store their personal data related t business and it could not be easily hacked. Therefore hardware’s like computers, laptops and network equipments are highly recommended so that bill could easily communicate with its suppliers and cater to needs of its customers and also store its data.
Operating system
Operating system is one of the important computer software that manages its memory, processes and all of computers software and hardware. The suitable operating systems for the recommended hardwares would be Microsoft windows, Mac OS X, as they are easy to understand. And since many cell phones are also operated through operating systems like Apple iOS, Windows Phone, and Google Android therefore installing operating systems that could be understood through cell phones as well should be opted by Bill.
Other technologies
Mobile commuting, Bluetooth and wireless networking are the devices and latest technologies that bill should introduce in its business plan. Bluetooth is basically operated in every other system of the offices. And wireless networking has been rapidly increasing from past few years and many businesses are adapting to it in their business in order to be competitive and communicate with their suppliers and customers around the globe. Since bill’s work is associated with travelling therefore in order to be updated and communicate with its suppliers and customers and receive mails it is essential that bill must adopt mobile computing where he can receive all laptop and computer facilities on mobiles.
Software and training
Though in order to be technically more advanced and gain more knowledge bill needs to take training courses to gain the basic knowledge about the softwares. These trainings could be customer relationship management (CRM) training, enterprise Resource Planning, SAP knowledge acceleration etc are the recommended training that bill must take. There are various trainings being offered online for which bill does not have to travel but rather can take these trainings from online sites that could be cost effective for bill (Sap.com, 2015). The list of software applications includes Adobe Software, Web Browsers, Instant Messaging, Math and Statistics, Media Players, Microsoft Office, Programming, SSH & FTP etc.
Cost
The price of installing hardwares and softwares depends on the requirement of the business and storage limit that a business has. Therefore for a business who use server only for documentation purpose and communication only and has 25 users, a server with low end processor, for such requirements the estimated cost would be $350. Therefore bill must incorporate at least $300 to $400 for installation and cope up with latest technology in its business.
