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Month: April 2016

3 ways modern technology is changing business

Posted on by ARRC Technology

Many of us have watched movies like Minority Report, Total Recall, and Back to the Future.  Movies like these tend to stick with you for a while, and they’re usually worthy of a Friday night movie binge.  Maybe it has a little something to do with all those memorable and anatomically-incorrect scenes, but odds are, it probably relates a little more to the public’s general fascination with far-off, futuristic technologies.

But if you haven’t noticed, these “far-off” technologies aren’t as far-off as they once were.  In fact, many of them are here already – like the virtual vacations the Terminator takes in Total Recall, the motion-controlled screens from Minority Report, and the hoverboard Marty McFly rides in Back to the Future.  The really cool part about all of this, though, is that not only are these technologies here, but many of them are entirely accessible to the average Joe – which is great news to the business world.

With these recent advances in technology, come the opportunity for business owners and professionals in all industries and at all levels of growth to innovate and expand in ways never thought possible.  Data is rich, efficiency is at its highest, and new business models are taking over faster than the zombies did in World War Z.

But how exactly is this happening and where can you see these innovations play out firsthand?  Just about anywhere.  Here are a few notable examples you can check out for yourself, and maybe… just maybe… something on here will click for you and the future you envision for your business.

Drones

Larger companies such as Amazon and Facebook have part of their colossal, Sauron-like eye on drones, and, as a result, they have some rather impressive projects in the works.  For Amazon, this means a guaranteed 30-minute delivery, and for Facebook, global internet connectivity.

But for smaller companies, the possibility of drone integration is mostly centered on cost-efficiency and safety.  For example, CyPhy Works is actively pursuing drones for a variety of services like pizza delivery and firefighting, and other companies are currently employing drones to monitor farmland or follow traffic conditions.

Virtual Reality

While drones can be considered more of a necessity and looked at as an effective way to take the human element out of dangerous or time-consuming activities, virtual reality is all about the experience – improving the interaction a consumer has with a business.  Take Lowes for example.  This Fortune 500 Company recently built virtual reality rooms called Holorooms inside a few of their stores.  Inside a Holoroom, a customer can design a room, build it from the ground up, and walk through the final layout.  From here, they can get a physical feel for their future kitchen or bathroom, making it considerably more likely for expectations to be met.

Virtual reality is also being used to treat people with social anxieties, brain damage, and PTSD, to educate children in subjects that are difficult to visualize, and to train employees and law enforcement.  While these types of integrations can be seen as just another way to cut costs, its primary function should be viewed in terms of ‘experience.’  A police officer training in a virtual world produces entirely different results than a police officer training at a shooting range.  And a child experimenting in a virtual science lab is considerably more effective than a child reading about science in a textbook.

Biometrics

Biometrics has been around for a while now; however, small business owners still consider it to be a technology designed for corporate environments.  But as Network World puts it, “Biometrics isn’t the stuff of Hollywood, the CIA or Fortune 500 firms trying to stop corporate espionage.”  It’s more commonplace than you might think it is, and these days, it’s a very basic piece of security, privacy, and employee verification processes.

From retina scanners to fingerprint readers, these forms of biometrics are good for business.  They secure data better; they keep your brick-and-mortar business more contained, and they can verify an employee’s physical presence more effectively.  You can purchase a fingerprint reader for a few hundred dollars and use it to secure individual devices or to track employees clocking in and out.

Whatever it is you decide to do, technology is a very important piece of your business.  It can make you more efficient, more productive, and all-around more successful.  If you have any questions on how to implement modern technologies into your daily operations, give us a call today.  We’d be happy to chat technology with you.

Stewards Inc., making a difference in Kern County

Posted on by ARRC Technology

For years, Andrae Gonzales has played an active and consistent role in his community. Since 2010, he has been the executive director for Stewards Inc., a non-profit organization that manages the financial wellbeing of elderly and disabled individuals, and he is currently a board member of the Bakersfield City School District.

andrae-stewards

(Andrae Gonzales)

“All throughout my life I believed in community service, and [I] was brought up to believe that it is important to not only work on yourself and make sure that you have opportunities to succeed, but also […] to provide opportunities for other people to succeed as well,” said Gonzales. “[I] really fell in love with the idea of community development [and with] the idea of moving neighborhoods that are underserved [and] high poverty, and moving them into neighborhoods that are vibrant – where people are safe, healthy, and full of opportunity.  And instead of always providing immediate relief to people, [I want to build] a model where people can actually build on their assets.”

Gonzales was born and raised in Bakersfield and primarily grew up on the east side. After graduating from UC Berkley in 2005, he knew he wanted to be in a role that would allow him to better his community.  “I decided, where else would be a better place than here in Bakersfield where I grew up?” said Gonzales.

In 2010, Gonzales became executive director of Stewards Inc. “[Stewards Inc. is] not only a business, it’s a community based organization,” said Gonzales.  “It’s a business where my revenue remains constant, but my expenses continue to increase and somehow I still need to turn a profit in order for us to fulfill our mission. We have a double bottom line. We have to make the income meet the expenses, but we also have the second bottom line which is to make an impact in the community.”

andrae-stanley

(Stanley and Andrae)

(“Andrae genuinely enjoys going out to these events and helping the community,” said Stanley Samuel, a corporate account manager with ARRC Technology. “He gets to know these people and they genuinely feel that energy from him. He’s the type a person that takes an active role in his community,”)

To better the community and the children within it, Gonzales started the Children First Campaign. “There are a lot of different neighborhoods that [have been neglected and] need attention. We need somebody with energy, somebody with presence, and somebody that cares to be there,” said Gonzales. Therefore, “We launched an effort to build a pocket park in East Bakersfield. A pocket park is a small park designed to provide green space for families in East Bakersfield. We identified an empty lot [at the corner of Niles and Monterey] that we want to activate into a pocket park.”

pocket-park

Pocket Park Plan

(East Bakersfield Pocket Park donation information)

The Children First Campaign is still trying to reach the donation goal of $50,000.

3 reasons Dropbox is good for business

Posted on by ARRC Technology

dennizn / Shutterstock.com

What do the majority of Fortune500 companies have in common?  Well, other than an annual revenue of over $4.8 billion, not much.  How these businesses operate varies radically.  With different values all running on different infrastructures and operating within different industries, the list of companies on the Fortune500 couldn’t be any different if they tried.

However, there is one factor that appears to resonate within nearly all of these companies – 97% of them to be exact – and it’s this little thing called Dropbox.  Odds are you’ve probably heard of it, which isn’t all that surprising since over 500 million people and 2 million businesses globally have adopted this file-sharing service with open arms.

It’s kind of a big deal.  At one point, even Apple wanted a piece of Dropbox, and Jobs himself made an offer to purchase the startup.  However, the two MIT students responsible for the birth of Dropbox declined the offer, and as a result, these two flash drive haters were able to successfully build a platform that can be used anywhere, by anyone, on any system.

Good for them.

But for those of you not currently on the Dropbox train, you might be wondering what the big deal is.  What’s so fascinating about sharing files?  And to that question, we say, “A lot,”… which is why many of the businesses who use Dropbox consider it to be an indispensable tool for collaboration and an asset that increases in value each and every day.

It encourages team work.

Managing a team is a difficult job for any person, especially since team members rarely ever belong to one team exclusively.  Theoretically, one employee can be involved with multiple teams at once – company-wide, departmental, project-specific, and so on and so forth – and all of that, can get real confusing, real fast.  As a result, working as a team quickly morphs into, “How much work can I get out of the way on my own before the next team meeting?”       

This mindset defeats the whole purpose of working as a team, though, creating a chore out of something meant to be inspiring and exciting.  Dropbox, however, aims to eliminate some of the common barriers and drawbacks associated with teamwork – like file-sharing, editing, storage, and organization.  With perks like real-time editing, document-specific comments, assigned folders, version history, and anywhere, anytime access, Dropbox keeps every team member on the same page in the simplest way possible.

It can save you time.

Dropbox can be used in a variety of ways – not just to build better teams.  In fact, Brandt, a company specializing in mechanical and electrical services for larger facilities, incorporated Dropbox into their business and found a way to shave 15 minutes off each on-site service call.

Service coordinators created a job folder that technicians use while on-the-go to complete invoices, send out new job requests, and simplify communication.  With 120 technicians saving an average of 15 minutes per job, Brandt claims Dropbox has helped them save $400,000 a year and increase their ROI 300%.  Not too shabby Brandt.  Not too shabby.

It stays backed up and secure.

A huge area of concern for most businesses is data loss – whether they realize this concern exists or not is an entirely different matter.  Nonetheless, it’s there, and it’s certainly not going anywhere, especially with forms of Ransomware popping up all over the place and the reliance on BYOD increasing every day.  With Dropbox, however, the potential for data loss becomes less of concern.

You have the option to automatically sync certain folders across all your connected devices – so even if your laptop is stolen, you can still access important documents from your phone, tablet, or computer.  In other words, data is not tied to one specific device.

All other files can be kept off your personal storage and saved solely onto your online Dropbox account.  This means that if your business experiences a particularly bad manmade or natural disaster, your files are kept perfectly secure.

 

Dropbox is a great addition to any business and for many more reasons than the three listed.  If you’d like to learn more about how Dropbox can change your business for the better, give ARRC Technology a call today.

Together, ARRC and T & T Liberty Safes transform the meaning of secure

Posted on by ARRC Technology

“Wow!” is the first thought that comes to Dirk Turner’s mind when he thinks back on how far T&T Liberty Safes has come. Turner’s father, Larry Gene Turner, had the idea to start selling safes in 1989. “[Dad had] been looking for a safe for quite a few years prior to that, but didn’t have any money,” said Turner. “In ’88 my truck got stolen and broken into so [since I was working] I told him, ‘Okay, so I can handle them stealing my truck, but not the guns so you find a safe and I’ll pay for it.’ He found a safe and asked the guy if we could start selling. And then just moved right on from there.” Larry Turner set up shop just outside his mobile home. He eventually sold his first safe to 5 Dogs Shooting Range and business took off from there. “It’s amazing,” said Turner. “When dad first started selling safes everyone thought he was crazy. Everyone told him that selling safes wasn’t going to work.”

“When dad first started selling safes everyone thought he was crazy. Everyone told him that selling safes wasn’t going to work.”

T&T Liberty Safes 7104 Golden State Hwy, Bakersfield, CA 93308

Dirk Turner

T&T Liberty Safes has become the largest and foremost safe distributor in Central California. At the beginning of April they moved into their new location which houses a 5,000 square foot showroom displaying almost 150 long gun safes, along with a variety of home, office, commercial, fire, and handgun vault safes. It also houses a vault door showroom, which is accessed by walking through an actual vault door.

While speaking of the new location Turner said his father would be in awe, “He was involved in the company up until the very end.” Larry Gene Turner sadly passed away of diabetes in December 2014, but the October before his passing he hired a new employee and sold his last safe. Larry Turner might not have been able to see the new location, but he was able to see the hard work his son put into their own line of safes. Turner named the new safes after his father and designed the logo for the personalized LGT series. The safes arrived in October of 2014 so Turner’s father was able to see his own name on the safes before he passed. Turner said, his father continuously thought about the LGT safes during the last few months of his life, “That’s special to me right there, that he was able to see that.”

“[T&T Liberty Safes] has grown with ARRC”

Dirk Turner and ARRC Technology account manager Stanley Samuel

“[T&T Liberty Safes] has grown with ARRC,” said Turner. When Turner decided to transition years ago from his father handwriting all the books to using computer systems, he attempted doing it on his own. However, “everything didn’t always go the right way, then finally we got with ARRC and just progressively grew with [each other]. They’ve always helped us out.” ARRC Technology and T&T Liberty Safes have continuously worked together since 2007.