Back to school: Spend on or swerve these office gadgets?
For kids up and down the country, the start of the school term means shiny new pencil cases and stationery.
But for today’s modern office worker, what’s the equivalent in terms of the new kit that employees need?
If you’re back from holiday, here’s what to spend on, and what to swerve.
To 5g or not to 5g?
Network providers are marketing 5G as a complete game-changer, and it’s easy to believe that you’ll be able to use it exactly as you use 4G as soon as it’s rolled out.
However, this isn’t quite the case.
Your access to 5G will all depend on your proximity to a 5G node, so it’s best to swerve devices that claim to offer it, at least for now.
The future is bright when it comes to 5G, but it’s not going to transform your life any time soon, so don’t jump on the bandwagon – you might end up paying a premium for a service that you’re not getting value from.
Challenge you to a dual
Dual-charging ports like Aukey’s USB-C Charger essentially let you power up your laptop and your phone or tablet at the same time.
These are portable gadgets, and a cheap way to make life more efficient, while lightening the load of your briefcase. They’re definitely worth spending money on.
Apple of my iPhone
Apple is reportedly hanging their hat on reinventing the camera with the new iPhone. Meanwhile, the new MacBook will boast much quicker speeds, more RAM, and enhanced performance, as well as a 16-inch screen.
But unless the changes will help with your job, swerve. For content creators, the hugely improved camera might make the new iPhone worth the money. For now, everyone else might be better off sticking with the iPhone X. The MacBook’s improved performance will benefit those who invest, but if you’re just buying for the social kudos, hold out until the devices are cheaper and you’ve been able to see others try them out.
On cloud nine
It’s easy to cling onto processes that you’re comfortable with, but the faster a company can become truly digital, the more agile it can be, and agility is the key to future-proofing. Therefore it’s definitely wise to spend on cloud technology.
Smaller modern offices often don’t have in-house IT staff and are increasingly implementing flexible working, so it’s a no-brainer to switch to easily accessible cloud tech.
While Microsoft 365 is the more established suite, Google Cloud is the gold standard as it’s easy to set up for collaborative working, and is more affordable than its competitors.
Think your office’s technology could be better? Speak up and have a chat to your boss. If you can show that outdated or defective tech is resulting in a loss of productivity, most bosses will listen.
If your workplace is buying everything upfront, you can also steer them in a more cost-effective direction by suggesting leasing. By subscribing to your technology rather than buying, you can spread the cost and upgrade every two years.
After all, it’s not just kids who can benefit from new equipment.