(This post originally appeared on Forbes)
Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 — Users can now search key moments within YouTube videos.
Per an announcement this week: “Starting today you can find key moments within videos and get to the information you’re looking for faster, with help from content creators. When you search for things like how-to videos that have multiple steps, or long videos like speeches or a documentary, Search will provide links to key moments within the video, based on timestamps provided by content creators. You’ll be able to easily scan to see whether a video has what you’re looking for, and find the relevant section of the content. For people who use screen readers, this change also makes video content more accessible.” (Source: Google)
Why this is important for your business:
If you’re creating YouTube content then you want to dig deeper into how you can annotate your videos so that people searching can come up with the specific content they’re looking for.
2 — Faster Wi-Fi officially launched this week.
The organization Wi-Fi Alliance—which handles implementing the standard of Wi-Fi— has formally launched their Wi-Fi 6 certification program. Wi-Fi 6 will include several new technologies that work in sync to ensure Wi-Fi operates more efficiently. Considering how many devices exist within a household or office, the purpose of Wi-Fi 6 is to boost speeds within networks that are packed with multiple users or devices at one time. With the announcement, companies will also be able to start advertising their products as supporting Wi-Fi 6 in the near future. (Source: The Verge)
Why this is important for your business:
“Really, though, today’s launch is largely a formality,” writes The Verge’s Jacob Kastrenakes. “The Wi-Fi certification program — while important, and very much marking the beginning of the Wi-Fi 6 era — isn’t required, and companies have been rolling out Wi-Fi 6 devices for months that likely work just fine.” Regardless, the announcement is important for small business owners because the alliance’s actions, according to Kastrenakes confirm that “this is a clear sign that Wi-Fi 6 has arrived.”
3 — Microsoft is giving enterprises another 9 months to get off of Exchange Server 2010.
Microsoft has announced that—for the next 9 months—they will extend their servicing of on-premises enterprise software. Extended Support for Exchange Server 2010— which was initially slated to end on January 14, 2020— will now end on October 13th, 2020. The reason behind the extended deadline was that Microsoft found that their customers were running into difficulty working to meet the initial deadline and — rather than force or rush it— the company acknowledged that discontinuing support for the popular product was going to take time. While customer installations of Exchange 2010 will continue to run after the new October deadline, Microsoft strongly encourages that users transfer over from Exchange 2010 as soon as they are able. (Source: Computer World)
Why this is important for your business:
As I write here, my advice if you’re still on Exchange 2010 or before: upgrade as soon as possible to the most recent, cloud version of Exchange and move on. You’ve got other things to worry about and email is just too important for your company.
4 — 33% of executives don’t trust their organizations to protect employee data.
A security report released by Dell announced that a third of U.S. executives do not feel confident in their company or organization’s capacity to safeguard their employee’s data. The global average of executives not confident in the protection of their data by organizations was 29%. With the growing volume of data being processed day-to-day in organizations, managing the data is becoming even more of a challenge. 88% of the participants in the survey expressed frustration with the number of passwords needed at work, admitting that they negate the concept by writing passwords down in notebooks or sticky pads. The report also shared that 64% of participants would welcome the use of biometric authentication in order to protect their company and organization data. (Source: Tech Republic)
Why this is important for your business:
The takeaway is that if you’re not fully comfortable with your company’s data security, you’re not alone. Moving your data to managed services companies will reduce – but not eliminate – this risk. Also make sure you have adequate cyber insurance.
5— GoDaddy upgrades its website builder with customized marketing action plans.
GoDaddy’s website building application will include tools to help business owners manage their search engine optimization, email marketing campaigns, and will even sync with the company’s Facebook, Yelp, Instagram, and Google My Business accounts in order to make it easier to read the most current reviews. Another new feature—titled GoDaddy Insight—will use data to help business owners analyze their online marketing and how their presence measures up to other small businesses. Not only will the tool provide that data to business owners, but it will provide an action plan with suggested steps to help the company improve. (Source: TechCrunch)
Why this is important for your business:
I bet that whether or not you’re a GoDaddy customer you’re not taking advantage of the tools offered by your web hosting company. Why? Because you’ve outsourced your web development to firm or professional that either isn’t aware or doesn’t specialize in the areas of digital and social media marketing. Why do I say this? Because I’m making the same mistake! The only way to really take advantage of these features is to hire a digital marketing person to dig in and maximize their benefits. That’s what I plan to do.
