In the modern digital era, virtually all businesses use technology to some degree, and some to a greater degree than others. But what is the hallmark of technological success? What is it about some companies that enable them to achieve greater efficiency than others?

As many business analysts will tell you, the ability to sow once, and reap many times is a wonderful way to maximize returns on investment. In the IT realm when you acquire an item for a specific purpose then use it for something else unrelated, we call it leveraging technology. Having the ability to implement a technology that was designed for one thing, and then using it for something else. Or perhaps acquiring a device for a specific purpose, and then later implementing other non-primary, but equally useful functions to truly exploit the potential that device offers.

Remote access is a good example of leveraging and one that is startlingly inexpensive to implement, especially considering the potential gains in productivity. So why is it that many companies haven’t enabled remote access for their employees? Having the ability to access your files or email from a remote location can be a boon to organizations of most sizes. And there are several different ways to establish that access, be that a wireless access card for your laptop, some sort of internet-based access setup, or a virtual private network connection to your own office. Let’s discuss each of these a bit more thoroughly as examples of leveraging technology.

Let’s begin by looking at Virtual Private Networks, sometimes called VPN’s for short. A VPN is a channel from almost anywhere that connects back to a defined endpoint, usually your own network at your office. Anything that travels through the VPN is secured and encrypted. The connection is established by software on your computer, typically a laptop, and the same connection is received by the router or gateway, if it’s been set up to accept those types of connections. When you’re connected via VPN, you have access to the same network resources as if you were sitting at your own desk, be that shared files, printers or any other resources. Imagine being at the airport, waiting for your flight to board, and realizing that the request for quotation (RFQ) you’ve been working on is still on your file server back at the office. With a VPN you could connect back to your office, grab a copy of the RFQ and copy it to your laptop along with some supporting documents, and then work on it during your flight. And then when you land on the other end you could connect to the VPN again and print a copy of the quotation on your office printer so that your co-workers can review it.

In the next example let’s look at remote email access. We love our email, and we love the convenience of being able to communicate with colleagues and customers quickly and easily, no matter what time zone they’re in. So why not make sure that you have the ability to access your email no matter where you are? If you have your own email server (such as Microsoft’s Exchange Server) then this functionality is built-in. But have you enabled it? And having enabled it, can you get to it from the outside, or is your firewall blocking it somehow? Being able to access your email remotely via a web browser may seem a simple thing, but how many small or medium companies can’t do it? Having full access to your contact list, your calendar, or your sent items can be a surprising time saver. Especially if you’re trying to remember where you’re supposed to be, and who you’re supposed to be there with!

And finally let’s discuss wireless access. Even though it might come included in most new laptops many people still don’t see the potential it can offer. Maybe it gets used a bit in your own office, but where else do you use it? When you visit a client site, do you ask them if they have guest wireless enabled? What about at the airport? Or when you make your morning stop at a coffee shop? Do you fully appreciate the number of places where you can use your wireless access? Perhaps you have an older laptop that doesn’t come with built-in wireless. But you probably could have wireless, and again for far less than some people expect.

From the examples above, imagine a scenario where you stop at a coffee shop for an extended coffee break. As you sit in a comfortable oversized chair sipping your latte you take a break from your web surfing to check your email, so you can see if anything pressing or urgent has arisen. You use your laptop to log into your webmail and come across a message from a media contact, asking for a small clarification on a press release they received from your firm. And so without moving from the comfortable chair, you use the same laptop to connect to your office VPN, open your saved copy of the release from the network and make some small clarifications. Then you save your changes to the network, reply to the mail message and attach the modified file before clicking send. Your media contact has experiences a positive impression of your company through quick response times, and your coffee hasn’t even had a chance to get cold.

The scenario above is a good example of leveraging technology. You’re using tools at your disposal to extend the capacity and capabilities of what you can do, and how you can do it. And you’re doing it inexpensively at that; the hardware to fulfill the scenario above (not including the laptop computer itself) can be had for under $400 CAD, inclusive of taxes. It’s not hard to calculate a return on investment through productivity gains, or even the intangible gains of being able to impress your clients with your firm’s responsiveness.

And this is simply one example of leveraging. Tools for internal collaboration, partner communication, or database integration are further examples of how technology can be leveraged. The beauty of technology is that the potential it offers is limited only by your own imagination and creativity. And this is where leveraging truly comes into play. It’s less about understanding how things work, and more about understanding the possibilities of what can be done.