Tech

It’s that time of the year where we start to think about what to get for our significant other or family members for Christmas. Every year we are bombarded with marketing from brands promoting their must have products for the year, aiming to entice us into making that yearly purchase. If you are stuck on ideas of what to get the lucky man in your life, here is our gift guide to putting a smile on his face for Christmas this year.

An instant photo printer

While we all have smartphones with the ability to take and delete photos as we wish, there is a bit of nostalgia for physical photos from the past. Polaroid cameras, which were once all the rage, are now making a comeback in the form of external, portable printers that can print photos as soon as they are taken with a smartphone.

Multi-tool

A cool, multi-functional tool that can contain a knife, screwdrivers, utensils and pliers, amongst other things, will make an awesome gift for a guy who wants a compact and practical tool that he can throw in the bag.

Raincoat

With Christmas usually being the time for snow and rain, gifting a sleek, practical raincoat for men will almost certainly go down a treat. Brands such as Rains have awesome, no-nonsense, high-quality jackets for very reasonable prices. Investing in a good quality jacket can easily last you many years, and will prove to be a wise gift over time.

A quality timepiece

In the age of modern technology, where we are now beginning to see increasing wearable technology such as smartwatches, there are still many who appreciate simple, quality-crafted, analog timepieces. Analog watches still get the recognition they deserve and rightly so, and those with a discerning taste will always appreciate it as such.

A leather notebook

Another “old-school” product that is seeing a surge in popularity even during the time of digital products. Give a leather bound journal, possibly coupled with a nice pen, which nowadays looks classier that writing down notes on a phone.

Wireless earphones

Tangled headphones are now a thing of the past! Gift a high-quality set of earphones that are fit for most situations such as for the daily commute, working out, or just general use, there is an abundance of quality choices on the market now that any guy would appreciate.

A sturdy umbrella

As a boy, who would have thought that receiving an umbrella for Christmas would be exciting? Well, now with tough, almost indestructible umbrellas available, many guys would geek-out over the great build quality and practicality of a few brands on the market. Plus, it keeps you dry, and such gifts never go down badly, do they?

Nowadays, we not only have to worry about physical security, but now also cyber security. You are now even more likely to be a victim of a cyber-theft than a physical robbery, so it is important you take precautionary measures against this. If you own or rent a commercial space, it is likely that you may have valuable inventory that your business relies on inside, so it is in your best interests to protect these. Below are a few steps you can take to ensure that your commercial space is kept secure.

Invest in a quality security system

While having a guard on duty is great, they cannot be everywhere at once. Consider installing sensors around entry points where thieves could enter through and have it linked to alert the emergency services. Install security cameras around the perimeter and focusing also on the entry points. Not only do these act as a deterrent, but they are also crucial for providing evidence if they are ever caught, or for insurance purposes.

These security systems should be active at all times, unlike residential systems where the own may only activate them if no one is in the property. If you have a space where people are constantly going in and out of, install visitor management systems, which would keep track of who is going in and out. These are also useful for meetings, as you can see the meeting attendees for each room, all available digitally.

Secure your sensitive information

Passwords should be changed regularly associated with users, so you can easily track who has been logging on to what and when. Computers containing valuable information should be stored securely and out of site, especially away from windows and entry/exit points. Passwords should never be written down in case they fall into the wrong hands.

Keep it well lit

Many crimes are committed at night, as it is harder to identify the culprit or see it coming. Once the sun goes down, your premises should be kept well lit (at least on the outside to keep your electric bill down). Not only will it act as a deterrent for unscrupulous people, but it also means they’ll be better able to see your alarms and cameras and vice versa, making them think twice about breaking in. If you don’t want to have your area lit throughout the night, then at least install motion-activated lights that turn on whenever someone walks by. This is also a very effective deterrent.

Monitor it remotely

The great thing about having cctv cameras installed is that you can even watch it remotely if it is connected to the internet. Flick through your cameras easily from your phone, meaning you’ll always be able to keep an eye on your property. It is also a standard now that many security systems have alerts that will notify you by text if it has been triggered. This, coupled with remote camera viewing, makes it easy to keep an eye on your property.

The cost of renting office space in big cities such as New York, London, and Hong Kong is trending upwards. Organizations are continuously researching avenues to make optimal use of the available workspace to reduce the escalating overhead costs. Some companies even allow their employees to work from home by connecting to the corporate VPN. Organizations that need to have their employee report to work in person have to find innovative means of making the most of their available space because renting additional office space is not a viable option from the financial perspective. This article proffers three strategies an organization can implement to make the most of the available office space.

Sharing of Desk: Designating a desk to more than one employee is an excellent way of managing workspace. The art of desk sharing is efficient in a scenario where the staff works in shifts or part-time. Although this may not be desirable in every scenario, it is a welcome development for staff that works as teams. Moreover, staff whose work designation is at multiple locations in an organization will be able to share a desk conveniently because such staff is not on seat always. However, the deskmates should have a common understanding and communicate consistently to use the same desk without conflict.

Use Every Available Space: It may come as a surprise the number of locked up empty spaces in an organization when an inventory of the available space is made. The organization will not be in shortage of space if these rooms are in use. If you have a couple of empty rooms in your office, your organization can offset the cost of renting by subletting the space if the lease agreement permits. Otherwise, your organization can make use of room scheduling software that automatically notifies your staff about the availability of a room so they could book them for meetings by time slots.

An organization can downsize to reduce the cost of renting a larger space. However, when the challenge is related to the optimal use of available space, scheduling software and meeting room displays can help you out. The systems enhance the booking of your available space and help the guest locate their meeting rooms with ease.

Cut down the use of Paper: With the continued advancements in technology, it is obvious that the use of paper will one day become obsolete. Besides the damages done to the ecosystem through deforestation to create pulp paper, the hardcopy documents occupy more space than electronic copies. Therefore, running a paperless company allows you to negate the use of bulky file cabinets and document archive rooms in your office.

Although the procedure of migrating to a paperless office system is a bit complicated because it required the cooperation of suppliers, customers and other parties that relate to the organization. The migration will eventually happen. For now, your organization can migrate the paper printouts within the organization to digital systems. It will help cut down on overhead expenses as well as save valuable space.