The Simply Smarter Blog

Whether you shout your resolutions from the rooftops or keep them quietly in the back of your mind, we all start the year with goals and a renewed sense of energy. As you save that new budgeting spreadsheet or map out your new running route, there is another area worth revisiting this year: your office technology. Updating your technology can make your workplace more efficient, productive, and secure.

Here is how some of the most common personal resolutions translate into smarter office technology goals.

Work is changing fast, and AI isn’t just a trendy term, it’s a real tool that helps us get things done smarter and faster. At a recent event, I had a simple but eye-opening moment using Microsoft Copilot to summarize survey data. It showed me how AI can make everyday tasks easier and give me some fresh insights. 

Now, I’m challenging myself to ask early and often: “How can AI change the way I work?” Here are some pointers that I have found useful since then for getting started with AI.

Imagine walking into a sleek hotel lobby or a buzzing event venue where the lobby screen welcomes you with a smile (and your name), the front desk prints your event tickets in seconds, and the staff is effortlessly coordinating behind the scenes using sleek laptops and secure systems. This isn’t a fantasy, it’s the new reality of hospitality, powered by smart, seamless technology. Whether you're running a boutique hotel, a sprawling resort, or a high-energy convention center, today’s guests and attendees expect more than just good service, they want an experience. And behind every smooth check-in, every dazzling presentation and every perfectly timed event is a suite of technology working quietly (and brilliantly) in the background.

As the weather finally warms up, construction season is kicking into high gear. When thinking of a construction site, what comes to mind? Probably hard hats, heavy machinery, loud noises from drilling and hammering and a whole lot of blueprints. Construction is all about the perfect mix of physical labor and strategic planning, bringing buildings and infrastructure to life.

But beyond the dust and steel beams, technology is changing the game by making job sites more connected, efficient and streamlined. It’s not just about heavy lifting anymore; today’s construction sites run on technology that keep everything moving. Whether it’s printers and copiers for essential documents or displays, projectors and laptops for seamless collaboration, the right tech is helping construction teams work smarter, not harder.

Here are three key ways technology is transforming the construction industry.

Imagine a place where every room is intentionally designed to make your job easier, a place where communication just flows and security is in lockstep with virtually every keystroke, swipe and click. It sounds like a fairy tale, right? While the Fairy Godmother probably doesn’t exist, a dream workplace can be possible with the right technology partner.

You’ll want to have a partner who not only offers a comprehensive range of technology solutions but can also customize and integrate the right tech for every room—from the lobby to the conference room, lunchroom to server room, and beyond!

Sit back and relax as I take you on a journey of what technology for a real-life, dream workplace looks like. Let’s first enter the lobby and travel from room to room.

Just as technology has changed the education and business sectors, it has also transformed the healthcare industry in numerous ways. As the elderly population grows, so do the expectations for modernized care, making technology a key player in providing medical support and enhancing the quality of life. From laptops to displays to MFPs and printers, assisted living facilities can empower their staff to deliver better, faster, and more personalized care.

At Sharp, our dedication to high-quality Japanese engineering is deep-rooted. With decades of experience in display innovation, we’ve set a standard in the industry. Here’s why our legacy matters and how it benefits our customers.

In early June, I, along with fifteen other interns arrived at Sharp Headquarters in Montvale, New Jersey ready to embark on our internship journey.  A mix of emotions raced through me as I stepped into Sharp on my first day as an intern for Sharp’s office technology division. I was eager to learn about the corporate world and gain hands-on experience but anxious to meet new colleagues and prove myself in a professional setting.

Two months later, I can look back at my anxious self and see that my worries were unnecessary. With supportive and welcoming colleagues, along with an HR team that went above and beyond to ensure our success and inclusion, I was able to gain invaluable experiences and feel truly integrated into the Sharp community.

In a technology driven era where customers are raising the bar, businesses are flexing their creative prowess, showing off their personalities and leveraging technology to elevate the customer experience. A decade old study by Cornell University Waiting for Merlot: Anticipatory Consumption of Experiential and Material Purchases, argued that experiential purchases (money spent on doing) tend to provide more enduring happiness than material purchases (money spent on having). The happiness we feel from material goods fades over time, experiences, on the other hand, continue to bring us joy every time we think about them.

Today, nearly 90% of buyers say that the experience a company provides is just as important as the quality of its products or services. Given this shift in customer preferences, here are a few ways businesses are leveraging tech to form memorable encounters to develop and maintain long-term relationships with their customers.

Navigating the waters of workplace technology isn't just about mastering the tools at your disposal; it's about developing a relationship where technology empowers rather than encumbers. By approaching tech with a mindset geared towards learning and adaptability, employees and organizations alike can transform potential pitfalls into powerful allies, ultimately redefining the way work is done for the better.

No matter where your office may be, you're likely to have a relationship with tech. And, like any good relationship, an alliance with technology requires commitment, patience, trust and a whole lot of give and take. 

Integrating technology into the classroom is a great way to ensure that students receive a well-rounded education that prepares them not just for the digital challenges of tomorrow, but also for the diverse world they will navigate. If you need help in figuring out how exactly to incorporate the right technology to provide a truly enriching educational experience for our students, you’re in luck. Outlined below are four examples of how technology can be seamlessly folded into the classroom – and some research to back it up!

At Sharp, we’re always looking for ways to help you think “simply smarter.” So, we thought it would be a great idea to feature our leaders to get an inside look at what they are working on and their views on the office technology space while learning some fun facts about them too! Today, we’re interviewing Tom McElligott, CIO & VP of Information Technology. We hope you enjoy getting to know Tom!

Over the past few years, working from home at least a few days a week has become a regular occurrence. This way of work has shifted family dynamics, as many have turned guest rooms into offices, splurged on top-notch Wi-Fi systems, and even moved homes due to no longer having to commute to work every day. At first, your ideal home office may be as simple as a room that is secluded from traffic or lawnmower noises, but if you really think about making your workspace perfect for productivity, there are clearly other aspects that need to be considered. In my quest to put together my ideal home office, I examined all critical components, from hardworking hardware to a motivating ambiance.

Even though inflation rates were at 5% in March 2023—lower compared to last year—it is still uncomfortably high.  The Federal Reserve has also raised interest rates over the past year, signaling that more increases are expected. SMBs are feeling the crushing inflationary pressure as well as reeling from a tight labor market and unpredictable fuel costs.  Times like these call for creative measures. Readjusting departmental budgets is a start, but if you take a closer look around you, there could be wasted money hidden in plain sight. You might be wondering, where to begin? My recommendation is a workplace technology assessment. It can provide numerous benefits, but right now the focus is to recover wasted expenses. Here are five ways a technology assessment can help businesses offset these financial constraints. 

If we had to select positive outcome from the disruption that schools and students had to face from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that there has been a renaissance in classroom technology upgrades. And they’re here to stay! See how these schools were able to implement customized technology to remain flexible, and more importantly, open for our children.

Remember when we all gathered in a conference room for meetings? Fitting as many people as we could at the table, while others grabbed chairs and sat around the outskirts?  Feels just like yesterday, doesn’t it? Well, while meetings will always happen, the way we conduct them has changed, perhaps forever.

In recent years, business world has undergone substantial changes, with an increase in the adoption of digital technologies, flexible work environments and virtual meetings.

Let’s talk about a few things to consider when attending a virtual meeting. Read on to learn about the 5 Do’s and Don’ts of virtual meeting etiquette.

I am a proud Gen Xer. I loved growing up in the age where we experienced seismic technology shifts. We are a strange hybrid of digital users who are extremely comfortable with technology but still remember a time when things were a bit more primitive.

There is no question that life is much easier today with the influx of technology, especially in the workplace.  If this past year and a half has taught us anything, it’s that in the education field and business world at least, you have to be somewhat tech savvy to keep up with the times. Read on to learn how tech has evolved.

Once upon a time, office workers got up and drove to the office, clocked in, and worked from 8 to 5. Then they went home, disconnected, and lived their personal lives until the next morning when they did it all over again. Then came technology – internet, smartphones, 5G. The lines blurred as workers had access to emails and network servers 24/7 – and supervisors and clients had access to them. And yet, even as the office continued to cross the line further and further into the home, standard wisdom was that employees needed to be in the office to do their jobs. Then COVID-19 came along and workers couldn’t be in the office and we entered the era of work-from-home, aka WFH.

Healthcare organizations have faced unprecedented challenges over the last year. In addition to the ever-present tasks of juggling client needs, working within budget restrictions, keeping up with compliance regulations and handling staffing requirements, there have been the unique challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic — intake systems that have been overwhelmed, a sudden boom in telehealth, the increased cyber threats brought on by bad actors ready to take advantage of the chaos, and the need to remain compliant with HIPAA and other regulations.

Fortunately, technology has kept up with a rapidly changing world, and there are a variety of solutions designed to meet healthcare’s challenges.

What do some of those solutions look like?

Reliable technology is essential for local government operations. Agencies must balance efficiency, functionality, and reliability to serve residents effectively. Modern printing, document management, and audio/visual solutions provide the storage, processing power, and capabilities needed to handle time-sensitive work, maintain high-quality outputs, and ensure transparency, helping staff focus on public service and better meet community needs.