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Leadership Thoughts: Noteworthy Blog Posts – Jan ’26

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Leadership Thoughts

As small business owners and leaders, you carry the responsibility for the direction and success of your business.  And while Cumulus Global provides Managed Cloud Services and Cloud Forward IT service and support that help you thrive and grow, we understand your responsibilities are broader than just IT.  Here is a curated list of blog posts from trusted experts and thought leaders that we hope will inform and inspire.

Vision

AI Strategy

  • A 5-Step Strategy for Responsible AI
    • AI is changing how our businesses operate and compete. As we rely more on AI, having strong governance is essential to ensure our AI tools are used securely, ethically, and responsibly. Our use of AI should align with your company’s values and regulatory standards.
    • Allen Falcon, Cumulus Global Blog

Business and IT Strategy

  • How Financial Benchmarking Can Save Your Business
    • Many businesses with $2M-$50M in annual sales overlook a critical indicator of business health – financial benchmarking. Much like a pilot’s artificial horizon, benchmarking signals when a correction is needed, and sometimes making that adjustment is a matter of survival.
    • James Wheeler, kept.pro
  • Start the New Year with an Effective IT Budget

    • If you do not have an IT budget, there is no such thing as an “in-budget” IT purchase. Every unplanned expense adds costs and introduces uncertainty, putting profit at risk. With a budget in place, you get clarity on current spending and can plan ahead instead of scrambling. Step into the new year with more control by following this simple process that gives you a complete view of your IT.
    • Allen Falcon, Cumulus Global Blog

Leadership

Legal

Marketing

Productivity

  • Boost Your Biz with Smarter PDFs now!
    • The PDF format is preferred because it displays consistently on any device, and it’s reliable for storing important information. But not all PDF software is the same. Use the wrong one and you can have a problem with some of the functionality you’ve come to expect.
    • Mike Grossman, Mike Grossman Consulting, LLC

Cybersecurity

Help us keep the ideas flowing. As a thought leader, if you have any blog posts that you want to share, please let us know.

Turn AI Prompts Into Business Outcomes

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, providing you with powerful tools that can transform how your organization operates. By integrating it into your daily workflows, you can make smarter decisions and streamline tasks that once took significant time to complete. Over time, AI will produce measurable results that are easy to track and analyze.

How AI Can Work for You

You get the most value from AI when you apply it to targeted, repeatable processes that address real business needs. For example, regularly analyzing meeting transcripts with AI can uncover actionable insights and identify trends that guide your business strategy.

AI can also assist in creating communications and marketing content that reflect your brand’s voice. Moreover, it can generate structured agendas or talking points for sales conversations, allowing you to emphasize client relationships and highlight your business’s strengths.

By making AI a regular part of your workflows, you can continuously refine outputs and achieve more accurate results over time.

Getting Started with AI

Connect with a Cloud Advisor
For those just starting out with AI, begin with smaller projects. For example, try using AI to automate follow-ups or analyze customer feedback. These use cases will help your team become familiar with AI while still delivering immediate impact. Over time, incorporate AI into more complex processes.

Give your organization the opportunity to explore its full potential without disrupting daily operations.

You should regularly monitor AI outputs to make sure that the technology and uses align with your goals. Tracking data usage also helps you keep information secure and will help maintain trust.

Crafting Effective Prompts

Once you are familiar with AI, you can unlock its full potential by providing clear context and direction. You and your team should know how to craft a prompt that helps AI fully understand your objectives and your voice.

A strong prompt includes the following elements:

  1. Persona: Decide the role you want AI to take on. Defining a persona helps shape the perspective, tone, and level of expertise AI uses in its response.
  2. Backstory: Share context about your business, your customers, and the tone or results you expect.
  3. Task: Be specific about what you want AI to produce. Include your brand voice, target audience, and any formatting preferences.

For example, you might ask AI to take on the persona of a knowledgeable and approachable communications expert. Then, provide it with the backstory of your company and set a confident, friendly tone aimed at small business owners. Finally, be clear about the task, such as writing a professional announcement in your brand voice. Be sure to include any formatting preferences, like short paragraphs for easy readability.

Using AI Responsibly

In order to adopt AI responsibly, pay careful attention to sensitive business and client information. Selecting AI tools that meet strong standards for privacy, security, and compliance helps you protect this information and maintain trust with your clients and stakeholders. Beyond selecting the right tools, establish clear protocols to guide your team’s use of AI.

Your policies should:

  1. Define safe usage: Clearly outline how AI should be used across your organization. Clear safe usage guidelines prevent misuse and ensures your team can confidently rely on AI.
  2. Ensure compliance with regulations: Establish rules that keep your organization aligned with legal, industry standards, and contractual obligations. These rules should address the protection of sensitive client information, along with adherence to data privacy laws and governance policies.
  3. Encourage creative applications: Support your team in exploring innovative approaches to problem-solving. Creative applications and use cases allow your organization to maximize the benefits of AI while generating tangible results.

AI is a powerful tool that can enhance business processes and strengthen client relationships. When it is used properly, your organization can achieve meaningful and lasting results.

How We Help

You can dive deeper into crafting effective prompts by viewing our November 2025 3T@3 Series session, “How To: Better AI Results” and several eBooks and other resources in our Resource Center. Our Cloud Advisors are here to help you plan, execute, and succeed. Book some time and start your journey.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Simplify Your IT Strategy

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UPDATED: January 2, 2026. Added related resources (see below).

As a small to medium-sized business (SMB) leader, you already know how tough IT decisions can be. From software to infrastructure, every choice affects your efficiency, budget, and long-term growth. One of the biggest challenges is decision-making paralysis. With so much information coming at you, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure about which details actually matter. The key is learning how to manage that information effectively.

Managing Information Overload

Access to information can be both a benefit and a burden. Thanks to search engines and AI-powered tools, you can gather data faster than ever. But too much information can feel like noise if you don’t know where to start.

Connect with a Cloud AdvisorTo cut through the clutter, start by identifying your core business goals and IT priorities. This will help you filter out irrelevant information and zero in on what truly supports your objectives. Additionally, you should lean on trusted sources and expert insights, as they provide accurate, reliable information that helps you make decisions based on facts rather than assumptions.

When you create a structured approach to research, you turn information overload into informed decision-making.

Evaluating Your Options

After narrowing your focus, the next step is choosing the right solution. With so many options available, it’s easy to second-guess your choices. A structured evaluation process helps you stay objective and confident.

  1. Define your key requirements and goals: Identify what your business truly needs from an IT solution. Use these requirements as benchmarks to quickly rule out any options that don’t fit.
  2. Research your top contenders: Take a closer look at the solutions that meet your criteria. Watch product demos, read case studies, and, if possible, talk to current users to understand real-world experiences.
  3. Evaluate long-term performance: Ask how each option will scale with your business, how reliable the vendor’s support is, and how easily it integrates with your current systems.

Following these steps will help you minimize risk and choose solutions that support lasting growth.

Putting a Process in Place

Once you’ve evaluated your options, you should put a clear process in place to ensure that your decisions align with your business goals.

  1. Form a team of key stakeholders to gain diverse perspectives and ensure all relevant viewpoints are considered.
  2. Set a timeline with milestones to keep the decision-making process on track and maintain momentum.
  3. Use decision-making frameworks such as SWOT analysis or a Decision Matrix to compare options objectively.
  4. Document your reasoning throughout the process to maintain transparency and create a reference that supports future decisions.

In Summary

IT decision-making doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. The right approach not only helps you choose the best solutions but also saves time, reduces stress, and positions your business for growth. Start small, stay focused, and turn decision-making from a hurdle into a strength for your SMB.

How We Help

We provide the structure, communication, and support your team needs to succeed. From defining roles and prioritizing tasks to managing follow-ups and challenges, our professional services help keep your IT systems in sync with your business priorities so projects move forward efficiently.

Our Cloud Advisors help you put your IT plans into action. We assess your current technology, identify productivity and security gaps, remove redundant services, identify opportunities, train your team, and help you manage IT projects and your overall IT ecosystem.

eBook - Smart IT Budgeting Pays OffIT Budget Workbook Template

Related Resources

Take the next step with our recent “Smart IT Budgeting Pays Off” eBook for a deeper dive into the process for building an effective IT Budget.

You can also download our IT Budget Workbook Template to help you get started.

No matter your starting point, book time with us to create your IT plan for 2026 and take control of your technology and spending.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Boost Your Tech Project Team Performance

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Your technology projects succeed when your project team performs well as a team and individually. When team members communicate clearly, stay accountable, and focus on what matters, your projects run smoother and achieve better results.

Here’s how to make team participation work.

Define Your Project Team

Remember that your project team is more than your IT staff and vendors.  You project team should include stakeholders – executive sponsors, subject matter experts, and key users/user groups. Your extended project team helps you define success metrics, prioritize requirements, manage and communicate change, and provides testing and feedback.

With a well-defined team, you can manage your project to the metrics that matter. You also have more control of project scope and direction.

Set Clear Roles and Commitments for Team Members

Teamwork starts with clarity. Define roles, responsibilities, expectations, and deadlines from the start. Verify that everyone knows their responsibilities, and accountability and motivation will naturally follow. (This 3T@3 Series recording discussing managing project input and feedback)

Clear commitments reduce confusion and align your team.

Prioritize Tasks

After setting commitments, establish priorities. Technology projects have many moving parts. To manage these effectively, teams should collaborate to identify and rank priorities based on urgency, impact, and dependencies.

By focusing on high-priority work, you ensure that your team completes critical tasks first and that you allocate resources efficiently. Clear priorities also help your team maintain a steady workflow and remain aligned.

Follow Up Consistently

Even the most organized teams need structured follow-ups to maintain momentum. Regular, structured check-ins help you and your team track progress, address roadblocks early, and reinforce accountability. Use follow-up and status meetings to catch missed deadlines and project issues before they get out of hand. You gain flexibility to adjust timelines and resources slightly without compromising the overall project schedule.

Consistent follow-ups help you address issues early, keep your team on track, and reinforce a shared sense of responsibility and accountability.

Handle Disruptions Constructively

Working in a team isn’t always easy. Sometimes team members may be disruptive, overlook mistakes, or push back against collaboration. The key is to address these issues early and respectfully. Take the time to listen, acknowledge what’s going on, and respond promptly. Be transparent when addressing concerns and remember that it’s perfectly fine for your answer to be “no.” When you explain the reasons behind your decisions or changes in direction, it helps everyone stay on the same page. Even if not everyone agrees, they will understand where you’re coming from.

By constructively managing conflicts, you and your team maintain a positive environment that encourages productive contributions from everyone.

How We Help

We provide the structure, communication, and support your team needs to succeed. From defining roles and prioritizing tasks to managing follow-ups and challenges, our professional services help keep your IT systems in sync with your business priorities so projects move forward efficiently.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Leadership Thoughts: Noteworthy Blog Posts – May ’25

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As small business owners and leaders, you carry the responsibility for the direction and success of your business.  And while Cumulus Global provides managed cloud services and Cloud Forward IT service and support that help you thrive and grow, we understand your responsibilities are broader than just IT.  Here is a curated list of blog posts from trusted experts and thought leaders that we hope will inform and inspire.

Vision

Business and IT Strategy 

  • Save or Spend? IT Decisions for Turbulent Times
    • Radical changes in government policies, along with unpredictable tariffs and trade policies, create a level of economic uncertainty that impacts our business decisions. Across all aspects of our businesses, including IT services, is it time to save or spend?
    • Allen Falcon, Cumulus Global Blog

Leadership

  • Engaging Generation Z in the Workplace
    • Generation Z (Gen Z) accounts for a growing percentage of the global workforce. However, many individuals in this demographic feel disengaged or disempowered in the workplace. This article explains how engaging Gen Z is important for organizations, outlines challenges employers face in these efforts and provides tips on engaging this demographic in the workplace.
    • Chrystine Heier, Sullivan Benefits

Legal

  • Sue the Bastard! … I Think
    • When it comes to reviews, businesses have a strong incentive push for 5 stars. For instance, an increase of one star on a Yelp review can lead to a 5-9% increase in business revenue, according to a Harvard Business School study. But what if the review is not a true reflection of the company? 
    • Daniel Batterman, Esq. at Lipresti Law

Human Resources

Marketing

  • Marketing Through Challenging Times
    • In today’s rapidly changing world, marketing strategies that resonate on a deeper, more authentic level are crucial. As a business owner or marketer, adjusting your narrative to align with current events, while maintaining authenticity, can significantly impact both your audience engagement and your own mental well-being.
    • Kristi Mitchell, Marketing Uncomplicated

Social Media

  • Should I Be Using Threads for My Business?
    • Given the immense popularity and potential of this microblog-style social media app, you might be wondering if Threads is worth exploring for promoting your organization. So today, I wanted to take a minute to outline some key highlights about the platform and offer my thoughts on how you can evaluate its suitability for your needs.
    • Nicole Porter, Monomoy Social Media

Productivity

  • Gen AI Prompt Engineering
    • You don’t need to be a data scientist or a machine learning engineer – everyone can write effective gen AI prompts. This 60+ Google whitepaper goes beyond “prompting 101” and dives deep into advanced prompt engineering with Gemini AI and for large language models (LMMs) in general.
    • Cumulus Global Library, May 2025
  • Slash Email Time by 50%: Must-Have AI Tools
    • Those constant incoming messages can weigh us down and make it tough to stay productive. When your inbox is overflowing, it’s hard to know where to start or what to prioritize. Plus, the urge to respond right away can pull our focus away from those bigger, long-term projects that really matter. But this can all change! With the right email management tools powered by AI, your inbox is transformed from a daily hassle to a simple task you can easily handle.
    • Mike Grossman, Mike Grossman Consulting, LLC

Wellness

  • Boosting Your Mental Health Daily
    • Mental Health Awareness Month is observed every May to help break the stigma and support people living with mental health conditions. Mental health is always there; your state continually changes depending on resources and challenges. Focusing on maintaining or  improving your mental health is important, so here are five ways to boost your mental health on a daily basis.
    • Chrystine Heier, Sullivan Benefits

Cybersecurity

  • Why Not Prevent AI Data Breaches?
    • To state the obvious, AI data breaches and leaks will damage your business. Even sharing sensitive or protected information internally will cause problems. Less obvious is the fact that you have already shared information that should not be shared. You should expect that private, sensitive, and protected information in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 is already accessible to your AI tools. Now is the time to prevent AI data breaches.
    • Cumulus Global Blog, May 2025

Help us keep the ideas flowing. As a thought leader, if you have any blog posts that you want to share, please let us know.

Leadership Thoughts: Noteworthy Blog Posts – Jan ’25

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As small business owners and leaders, you carry the responsibility for the direction and success of your business.  And while Cumulus Global provides managed cloud services that help you thrive and grow, we understand your responsibilities are broader than just IT.  Here is a curated list of blog posts from trusted experts and thought leaders that we hope will inform and inspire.

Human Factors

Legal and Compliance

  • 2025 Employment Law Outlook
    • Explores critical employment law trends and topics to deliver important insights and forecast trends and challenges employers will likely encounter in 2025. It offers employers a forward-looking perspective to enhance their preparedness and ensure sustained success in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
    • Chrystine Heier, Sullivan Benefits

Management

Marketing

Productivity

  • Gen AI Prompts: A Primer
    • Like most IT solutions, the value of AI depends on when, why, and how you decide to use it. Better Gen AI prompts give you better results. This eBook provides a model, structure, and approach to building effective Gen AI prompts that save time and effort. 
    • Cumulus Global eBook, May 2024

Strategy and Leadership

  • Building a Foundation for AI Success: A Leader’s Guide
    • For AI success, you need a solid foundation. In this paper, Microsoft shares insights — from customers, partners, analysts, AI leaders inside and outside of the company, and from Microsoft’s own experience — about the five categories that, collectively, form a foundation for building sustainable value and AI success.
    • Microsoft Whitepaper

Wellness

  • 7 Tips for a Successful Workplace Wellness Program
    • In today’s fast-paced world of hybrid work, finding a balance between work and wellness is more important than ever. Prioritizing wellness at work is not only essential for individual health and happiness but fosters a positive and productive work environment with less absenteeism and lower healthcare costs. This post invites you to introduce Lifestyle Medicine’s seven innovative Pillars of Wellness to your work community today.
    • Michelle Grasso, Synergy Wellness Center

Technology and Security

Help us keep the ideas flowing. If you have any blog posts that are leadership thoughts you want to share, please let us know.h

Leadership Thoughts: Noteworthy Blog Posts – Aug ’24

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As small business owners and leaders, you carry the responsibility for the direction and success of your business.  And while Cumulus Global provides managed cloud services that help you thrive and grow, we understand your responsibilities are broader than just IT. As a way to share some leadership thoughts, here is a curated list of blog posts from trusted experts that we hope will inform and inspire.

Human Factors

Legal and Compliance

Management

Marketing

  • AI Tools to Improve Lead Generation
    • Does your lead generation information flow through your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system? Does your CRM provide insights, automation, and improved lead management? I’ll share how you can use AI to dynamically personalize content on your website or in your emails based on the visitor’s behavior and preferences.
    • Mike Grossman, Mike Grossman Consulting, LLC
  • Should I Be Using Threads for My Business?
    • Given the immense popularity and potential of this microblog-style social media app, you might be wondering if Threads is worth exploring for promoting your organization. I wanted to take a minute to outline some key highlights about the platform and offer my thoughts on how you can evaluate its suitability for your needs.
    • Nicole Porter, Monomoy Social Media

Productivity

Strategy and Leadership

Wellness

Technology and Security

  • Cyber Security Requirements for Cyber Insurance
    • Meeting basic cyber security requirements helps insure your cyber insurance coverage is appropriate and affordable. In this eBook, we outline the cyber security components you should have in place before getting your cyber insurance policy.
    • Cumulus Global eBook, August 2022
  • Improve Your Email Deliverability and Security in Five Steps
    • Email services are stepping up protections. Here are 5 best practices that help ensure your emails get delivered and that you are protected from identity and business email compromise cyber attacks.
    • Cumulus Global eBook, April 2024

Help us keep the ideas flowing. If you have any blog posts that are leadership thoughts you want to share, please let us know.

Leadership Thoughts: Noteworthy Blog Posts – Jun ’24

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As small business owners and leaders, you carry the responsibility for the direction and success of your business.  And while Cumulus Global provide managed cloud services that help you thrive and grow, we understand your responsibilities are broader than just IT. As a way to share some leadership thoughts, here is a curated list of blog posts from trusted experts that we hope will inform and inspire.

Human Factors

Legal and Compliance

Management

Marketing

Productivity

Strategy and Leadership

Wellness

  • 7 Tips for a Successful Workplace Wellness Program
    • In today’s fast-paced world of hybrid work, finding a balance between work and wellness is more important than ever. Prioritizing wellness at work is not only essential for individual health and happiness but fosters a positive and productive work environment with less absenteeism and lower healthcare costs.
    • Michell Grasso, Synergy Wellness Center

Our IT Ideas That Still Hold True

A few of our past IT leadership thoughts that remain true and relevant today.

  • Cyber Security Will Change Companies
    • IT change management is a structured process for evaluating proposed IT system or service changes. This procedure is carried out prior to implementing the requested change on an organization’s network, reducing or eliminating network outages.
    • Cumulus Global Blog, June 2022
  • What is a MCSP?
    • The need to monitor and maintain equipment and infrastructure drops off while your need to monitor and manage services, apps, and data increases.
    • Cumulus Global Blog, November 2017

Help us keep the ideas flowing. If you have any blog posts that are leadership thoughts you want to share, please let us know.

Six Best Remote Work Strategies 

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Remote Work Strategy in Action

If you have remote workers, then how you manage your business and employees has, and will continue to change. We often talk about the technology that makes remote work efficient and that can help integrate teams. But supporting remote workers requires a broader perspective and understanding of the workplace.  As employers, we remain responsible for providing a safe, effective workplace regardless of where our employees work. Here a few considerations as you plan your hybrid business and remote work strategy.

If you have remote workers, then you should consider the following six best practices for a remote work strategy.

Six of The Best Remote Work Strategies

  1. Are responsible for their work environments, including the same health and safety regulations that apply in the office.
    • Ensuring safe and appropriate workspace ergonomics, sound levels, lighting, etc. are responsibilities of the employer.
    • Provide your remote workforce with appropriate furniture, lighting, and ergonomic tools.
    • And yes, an employee working from home might be eligible for Workers’ Compensation if they trip over their dog while working.
  2. Need to accurately track and manage working hours for non-exempt employees.
    • Avoid wage and employment related liabilities by ensuring hourly workers are compensated for all work time, including when they respond to the random off-hours email.
    • Setting clear policies and expectations can help avoid work hour, wage, and employment issues.
  3. Are responsible for ensuring their work is secure.
    • Remote work environments must be managed and secured to the same levels as those working in the office.
    • Data privacy regulations, such as HIPAA, PCI, and SEC17, do not end at the office door.
    • Networks, systems, applications, and data require the same levels of protection regardless of location.
    • Similarly, physical protections must be in place for printed documents.
  4. Can be accountable for intellectual property stored on personal devices.
    • Establish a clear policy and procedures for the use of personal devices for work.
    • Include the need for the company to install software or productivity tools to manage the business’ information on the device, including but not limited to cyber protections, personal/work data separation, local encryption, backup/recovery, and the ability to remotely remove work related data in an emergency.
  5. Want to avoid “in-person” bias.
    • Remote workers need mechanisms and unified communication options to participate in the informal conversations and interactions we take for granted when working in an office environment.
    • Supervisors and managers should help workers establish and build effective relationships, including those that offer mentorship and guidance, with direct co-workers and others in your firm.
    • Measures of performance should, explicitly, avoid the implicit bias that in-person visibility correlates to better involvement and teamwork.
  6. Should understand the tax implications for your business, and employees related to working remote.
    • Having employees in other tax jurisdictions can make proper payroll tax withholding and filing more complex.
    • States may or may not have reciprocal agreements and some states are imposing new rules.
    • Remote workers may create nexus in some jurisdictions, triggering sales tax and other tax obligations.
    • Work with your attorney and financial advisors to understand your requirements and to ensure compliance.

Next Steps to Create a Remote Work Strategy

Cloud infrastructure technologies help facilitate remote work and hybrid work environments. You can deploy systems, apps, and tools to make remote and hybrid work efficient and secure. Remote and hybrid work models, however, span every aspect of your business.  Policies, procedures, operations, and culture all require attention, planning, and support.

Work with your legal and financial advisors, and your HR resources, to ensure  your remote/hybrid plans will benefit your business.

COVID-19 Survey: Revenue Losses and Diminishing Cash Reserves

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In a national survey of more than 2400 businesses conducted and published by American City Business Journals finds that small and midsize businesses are seeing severe impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Impacts: Profits, Revenue, Cash, and Survivability

About 69% of respondents have seen revenue decline since the major onset of COVID-19 in March 2020.  Of those seeing revenue decline, close to half see revenue falling by 50% or more year over year.

Additionally, 47% indicate that they have not been profitable and nearly one third report being cash flow negative over the first six months of the pandemic. About 70% of those losing money are losing more than $10,000 per month and 64% will run out of funds within the five months.

About 40% of respondents raised cash through loans or equity investments since March 1, with 91% of these businesses receiving loans from a federal stimulus program, such as the Paycheck Protection Program. These funds were predominantly used to cover payroll and operating expenses as opposed to funding investment or growth.

Change in Focus

With the stark financial impacts, most smaller businesses are changing their focus. Rather than looking forward one to three years, most SMBs are focuses on the current and next quarter. The shift from strategic to tactical is a direct response to the many unknowns of the pandemic, the near-term economy, business sector and market impacts, and government recovery and stimulus plans.

The near-term focus makes sense as we look to minimize costs, conserve cash, and ensure profits and our sustainability.

Where IT Services Can Help

Leveraging the right IT services can help you prepare and react to changes as you navigate the on-going unknowns.  Here are 5 ideas to consider.

Audit your IT services for redundant services.
  • Most businesses find they are paying for multiple services with redundant or overlapping capabilities.
  • In many instances, we see businesses paying for third party services that are available for no additional cost in their productivity suites.
  • Eliminating duplication will require some change of habits, but can dramatically reduce on-going IT costs.
Audit your communication tools.
  • Are you paying for, and not using your available communication tools?
  • Chat, video, and collaboration tools are standard in Microsoft 365 and G Suite, and can reduce or eliminate the need for expensive voice, teleconference, video conference, and online meeting solutions.
  • A modest investment in training/education can help minimize communication costs.
Replace file servers with file services.
  • Most businesses using Microsoft 365 or G Suite are storing files in these systems; these same businesses still run on-premise or hosted file servers.
  • OneDrive, SharePoint, My Drive, and Shared Drives make it easy to save, share, and manage files.  The OneDrive and Drive File Stream clients connect your end user applications to your cloud file services.
  • Moving files from servers to cloud services eliminates the need for physical services, monthly MSP monitoring fees, backup/recovery costs, anti-virus costs, and more.
  • If your staff need to access your on-premise services remotely, you may also be able to reduce or eliminate expenses related to VPN and other remote access services.
  • While you will still want and need to protect cloud-resident files, your cost to store, share, and manage files will be lower.
Move applications and systems from on-premise to cloud
  • You can lower you monthly operating costs and give you the ability to scale your resources and costs up and down as needed on a monthly basis.
  • Make it easier to reduce your physical footprint for potential savings on rent and utilities.
  • Scale your services up and down as needed to avoid unnecessary costs and capital expenditures.
Execute a service and data governance strategy
  • Scale services up and down as needed to manage costs
  • Ensure data is secure, managed, and protected
  • Leverage data archiving services to minimize active account costs

To explore your options and best next moves, contact us for a complimentary Cloud Advisor session.