In our newest blog series, we are discussing the 3rd wave of the cloud conversation – how to manage mission critical business applications in the cloud to increase productivity and realize a greater reduction in the cost of running your business. In part I of the series, we covered Geckoboard, a customizable dashboard that allows you to monitor at a glance your company’s “vital signs”. In this edition of the series, we will address one of the greatest productivity killers in the workplace; email.
If the words “inbox” and “unread messages” trigger feelings of being overwhelmed, rest assured that you are not alone. Let’s face it, many people find it easier to communicate via email rather than picking up the phone, hoping to circumvent having to engage in a time consuming conversation. The ease with which email messages can be sent often results in more messages – not necessarily more effective communication. Since the introduction of email the tools available to read and send emails have advanced considerably but sorting through all the chatter to find the most critical messages can really be a time-sucker. For example, in one large company employees receive an average of 350 emails per week, a third of which are unnecessary, and they spend about 20 hours managing them. Just imagine what this costs the company per year. AwayFind, an email productivity and notification service will let you know when you receive a critical email so that you can check email just a few times per day gaining freedom from your inbox.
Imagine you are waiting for email confirmation of a critical meeting or sales opportunity. AwayFind is an application that allows you to receive alerts on your mobile device via SMS or voice call when critical emails are received in your inbox. To receive the alert, you would sort previously received emails by sender or subject, and with one click specify how you want to be notified on your mobile device. AwayFind can also be linked to your calendar to provide alerts for received emails that relate to upcoming meetings. If you are going to be away from your email for a period of time and are concerned you might miss a message that doesn’t have an alert, you can create an email autoresponder with a link to your AwayFind contact form allowing the sender to create a notification.
Alerts are sent via AwayFind’s server so they won’t impact Outlook’s performance and the alerts can be triggered even if Outlook is closed. AwayFind works with most email and mobile platforms and provisioning is as easy as installing a mobile app. Because this is a cloud-based solution, messages can also be accessed via the web or your iPhone or Android AwayFind app.
AwayFind is available in three plans, including a Team Plan for SMBs with up to 50 users and an Enterprise Plan for larger organizations. It is a great tool for freeing yourself from your inbox and increasing productivity with the peace of mind that your most critical messages can reach you for immediate response.
Learn how your business can benefit from cloud services and hosted applications with our free RevITup SilverCloud Assessment. For more information on solutions for running your businesses’ technology more efficiently, visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813 920 0788 x210.
