Social Media and Collaboration

Fascinating to hear some of the presenters talking about collaboration in relation to Social Media at the National B2B Centre "Success with Social Media" presentation yesterday.

Collaboration seems to get subsumed as a topic into other technological advances on a regular basis. This time our perspective is that Social Media may be a good vehicle to bring collaboration into the spotlight for small and medium sized business.

It is true that Social Networking sites such as LinkedIn provide an introduction service to allow interested parties to identify each other and go through the preliminary introduction. Tools such as Ning can provide more sophisticated platforms to share ideas and communicate.

What they lack are the hands-on tools to do real work (especially in an SME and B2B context) so we are delighted that VHQ now has an opportunity to promote our VHQ WebOffice services to fill that gap with features that allow the social side of collaboration if required but major on the business, the money making side as a definite.

VHQ

Virtual HQ Solutions Ltd.

Web-based software tools and business support services.
www.vhqsolutions.co.uk
VHQ Views

VHQ Solutions Articles. Managing Sales: Avoiding the famine

The latest article from VHQ Solutions looks at the age old problem that consultancy businesses face. When the team is engaged on delivering complex client projects how do they maintain the flow of leads and manage those leads through to a completed sale?

VHQ's approach is to make sure that firm's adopt both contact and opportunity management. This means thinking about where to generate new contacts, properly administering the data when it has been captured and then following a process of tasks and actions to acheive sales success.

Check out Managing Sales: Avoiding the famine. and let us know what you think.

Gareth Edwards, Director

Virtual HQ Solutions Ltd.

Web-based software tools and business support services.

http://www.vhqsolutions.co.uk

MG Welding case study published

We have just had sign-off from MG Welding Plant Ltd for the latest VHQ Solutions case study.

Working with MG Welding has been very interesting because it required some customisation of the WebOffice databases to come up with a stock control tool that really suited the needs of the business.

As always there has been an unforeseen benefit for the company. Because the VHQ WebOffice is web-based the management team have been able to deal much more effectively with out of hours calls from overseas clients than they could when everything ran off spreadsheets. Any of them can get an up-to-the-minute availability of welding or rotation equipment whether they are in their front-room or actually with customers in the Middle East or South-East Asia.

It's an example of virtual working in the real world.

Gareth

Virtual HQ Solutions Ltd.

Web-based collaborative software tools and virtual business support services.

http://www.vhqsolutions.co.uk

There's snow business like a virtual business...

Couldn't resist a cliched comment on the UK weather situation.

Why have to take to the road to drag yourself to an office or meeting place when the technology exists to operate easily without venturing out into the snow.

The VHQ WebOffice puts pretty much everything you need to work in simple web-based tool. There are business management applications, document/information sharing tools and web-conferencing if you need it.

Long live virtual working!

Gareth

Virtual HQ Solutions Ltd.

Web-based software tools and business support services.

http://www.vhqsolutions.co.uk

I'm sorry, she's on holiday...

Why do 21st Century businesses need collaborative working tools?

Because when people have set up a virtual business with colleagues and associates working remotely the response "I'm sorry, he/she is on holiday" probably also means that all of the information needed to answer the client call properly is stuck on their laptop (accompanying them on their trip to the Algarve!)

This is one of our prospects telling us why the VHQ WebOffice looks like it could help run their business.

Gareth

Virtual HQ Solutions Ltd.

Web-based software tools and business support services.

http://www.vhqsolutions.co.uk
024 7699 8070

Labyrinth - What did we learn?

Following on from the last blog post about the Labyrinth Logistics Consulting case study I realised that we hadn't mentioned a key learning point from our work with the company.

We found that Labyrinth had identified a key area of functionality that they regarded as being very important. The company uses its VHQ WebOffice to securely hold important or confidential reports so that they don't expose themselves to risk by carrying such material on laptops or usb memory sticks. Very innovative!

Gareth

Labyrinth Case Study

Just completed a case study highlighting the benefits that Labyrinth Logistics Consultants, based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, have gained from implementing the VHQ WebOffice.

Labyrinth implemented the WebOffice primarily to give it the collaborative working facilities it needed to expand whilst retaining a virtual organisational model.

Ruth Waring, MD of Labyrinth, said that

"The VHQ WebOffice has improved Labyrinth’s ability to collaborate effectively on client projects even when the team is working at a variety of locations”

Gareth

Gareth Edwards
VHQ Solutions
www.vhqsolutions.co.uk
024 7699 8070
gareth.edwards@vhqsolutions.co.uk