For many business owners and managers the constant pressure of daily activity makes it difficult to make time to look at what’s new in office technology. Plus, with technology changing so fast and so many new office products available it often just seems easier to just stick with what is in place until products fail or are no longer supported.

Recently, however, there have been major changes in office technology that offer businesses some exciting new options that can help bring in more revenue, improve employee moral, and maybe even put some extra dollars to your bottom line.

So in no particular order, here are some hot trends in office technology today that every business owner or manager should consider putting in their 2007 budget.

IP phones This is the business equivalent of the Vonage commercials we all see on TV. IP stand for Internet Protocol; this technology allows employees to connect an IP Hard Phone or IP Soft Phone on their computer to a high speed connection (cable modem or DSL) and bring up a “clone” of their office phone. The softphone (so called because there is no actual telephone set) looks and rings just like their office phone.

Envision your sales staff that travels frequently being able to plug a laptop into a high speed connection in a hotel room, and make and receive calls with an IP Soft Phone just as though they were in the office. Better yet, think how much company management would love it when we get one of those nasty St. Louis snowstorms; employees can plug in at home and work a full day rather than spending hours sliding around the streets trying to get to work.

Integration between cell phones and business phone systems. Several of the major manufacturers are offering software the enables your phone system to extend calls to your cell phone; if you don’t answer the call it will return to the voice mail in your office. If the caller has an emergency, they can then “0”out and get a live person to assist them.

Think about those times when you are out of the office, (perhaps on the golf course) but really can’t miss one important call. Set up properly, you can extend those calls to your cell phone, screen them using caller ID, and answer that one important call without ever letting the caller know you are not in your office.

Electronic business signage. We’ve all seen the new LCD signs in the new Busch stadium; so start to think about how the greatly decreased cost of LCD and Plasma screens combined with the right software could make a great new addition to your lobby.

Use a plasma sign to welcome your customers by name when they come to your office, and use the screen to advertise upcoming events or special promotions for both customers and employees.

Consider using a plasma screen as part of your trade show booth. Not only does the color and motion draw traffic to your booth, you can easily personalize your presentation for each show you attend. Best of all, your sales and marketing staff can never complain that your banners or signs are outdated and need to be replaced!

Copier/network color printer combinations. Think about how many different printers are scattered around your office (I bet there are some you don’t even know about), and how quickly those small but very expensive printer cartridges run out of ink. Replacing your old copier with one that copies and is also a high speed color network printer can save you big dollars; both by reducing the number of devices you need to maintain and utilizing much less expensive and efficient ink drums.

Meet Me Conference Bridge. Once only available to large companies because of their high cost, the technology behind these units has become software based and dramatically less expensive. If you are using a conference service with per minute usage fees, you need to know that the price of conference bridge technology has dropped so dramatically that even smaller organizations often find the saving in fees pay for the unit in 6 to 12 months.

Keep in mind that this is not just a fancy speakerphone; these new software based bridges are designed to support multiple callers (up to 64) from multiple locations, all while automatically adjusting volume and background noise so callers can hear each other clearly.

How many times would you like to address an issue by getting all the parties involved together, but find it difficult to get everyone together at the same time? Or consider using a conference bridge to hold “virtual” board or committee meetings rather than requiring participants to spend time driving to the office for what may be a relatively short meeting.
So while not all of these hot new office technologies may fit your company, there is at least one that justifies taking a closer look. If you are a company owner, consider the savings and effiencies of implementing these new technologies. If you are a manager or employee, ask the technology experts within your organization if they have considered these options and the benefits they provide. Who knows, you could wind up with a promotion as a result of your suggestion!


Steve Leidholdt is the President and CEO of STL Communications, Inc., a St Louis based provider of communications products and services, including Avaya, Nortel, Cisco and others. He can be reached at 314-205-7101 or steve.leidholdt@stlcommunications.net.