Virtually Smart Ltd is a forward thinking VA business, seeking new & innovative ways to utilise the very latest technologies to improve systems & strategies across business platforms
Virtually Smart Ltd is a forward thinking VA business, seeking new & innovative ways to utilise the very latest technologies to improve systems & strategies across business platforms. Helena Parrott, with almost 20 years executive assistant/PA experience to her name, is now forging a career with her own business Virtually Smart Ltd & alongside her expertise, is her absolute belief that technology can & does change business. In addition, Helena believes the way to be successful, remain current & at the cutting edge; is to embrace change, incorporate IT & technologies into your business & in doing so allow your competitors to see that you are a innovative force to be reckoned with.
Multi layered & advanced IT applications are used by a plethora of businesses; from start up’s to corporate giants & in some cases literally run their operations. However, how can IT applications be used to support other businesses? Virtually Smart Ltd’s Office Rescue & Business Support/collaboration processes, are specifically designed to identify where businesses can improve their productivity & remain cutting edge, through their use of alternative IT & technologies. In addition, Helena Parrott’s experience allows her to identify how systems can be built for a company, (whether she is acting as VA for them, or in a consultancy capacity) which will enable them to find a more responsive way of working.
But what does this mean in real terms? How can a VA utilise IT & technologies to support other businesses? Helena Parrot & Katy Jane of Virtually Smart Ltd have prepared an insight into the applications they use to collaborate with other business users, clients & companies & how these applications are used daily to promote, embrace & engage with a progressive professional mindset.
Slack
“Virtually Smart Ltd uses Slack with clients for team collaboration & communication. Channels are created for projects, discussions, topics & teams can input into the conversation – sharing files, photos easily with others. Slack helps businesses communication easily with their team, works well for remote/ global teams & great when you need a quick answer to something.” Helena Parrott
‘When your team needs to kick off a project, hire a new employee, deploy some code, review a sales contract, finalize next year’s budget, measure an A/B test, plan your next office opening, and more, Slack has you covered. Teamwork in Slack happens in channels — a single place for messaging, tools and files — helping everyone save time and collaborate together.
- Channels can be divvied up by team, project, client, or whatever else is relevant to your organization.
- Team members can join and leave channels as needed — unlike lengthy email chains.
- Threads keep side conversations from derailing the topic or project at hand.’ https://slack.com
GitHub
“Virtually Smart Ltd uses Github for managing client repositories public & private. Virtually Smart Ltd also uses Github for storing internal processes, company strategies, KPI reports, training, marketing and sales info – working and sharing with teams & collaborators” Helena Parrott
‘A better way to work together GitHub brings teams together to work through problems, move ideas forward, and learn from each other along the way.’ https://github.com
‘Project management, made simple On GitHub, project managers and developers coordinate, track, and update their work in one place, so projects stay transparent and on schedule.’ https://github.com
Project Puzzle
“Virtually Smart Ltd uses ProjectPuzzle with one specific client who manages their team scheduling by projects, rather than individual tasks. ProjectPuzzle enables Virtually Smart Ltd to see quickly who is working on what or if someone has time off. In addition, it is also useful retrospectively for invoicing and updates.” Helena Parrott.
‘Get the big picture Who’s available? Who’s busy? Do we have enough to do? Do we need more people? ProjectPuzzle will help you answer these questions by giving you a clear picture of who’s working on what and when. See which projects need people, or which people need projects.’ https://www.projectpuzzle.com/
Photoshop CC
“Virtually Smart Ltd makes use of Photoshop CC to ensure clients imagery is at a perfect exposure, colour adjustments are made to relevant visual content & is used as a creative/design based tool for client projects.” Katy Jane
Dropbox
“Virtually Smart Ltd uses Dropbox with all clients & for the business. Dropbox helps with organising & accessing all client files, sharing & updating documents, storing information. In addition, Dropbox is good for working with associates & collaboratively working with external sources.” Helena Parrott
Outlook & Gmail
“Virtually Smart Ltd uses Outlook & Gmail for calendar sharing, managing clients time, appointments & key milestones. Being able to set up calendar or inbox access allows Virtually Smart Ltd to work as a traditional PA/EA would, managing their priorities. Some clients prefer to set up an email account for me which is great for being part of a team.” Helena Parrott
Canva
“Canva helps create brand specific ‘postcards’ for individual clients needs. Uploading imagery/photos/logo’s ensures personalisation & professional brand identity is maintained” Katy Jane
Toggl
“Virtually Smart Ltd uses Toggl for logging & keeping track of time, clients & projects. This enables Virtually Smart Ltd to check quickly what hs been completed for each client. Toggl also also helps retrospectively with invoicing and updates.” Helena Parrott
Trello
“Trello enables smooth managing & tracking of project flow for Virtually Smart Ltd tasks & on client’s behalf. In addition, Trello helps to manage to do list’s, sharing information & updating your team.” Helena Parrott
Lumen5
“Lumen5 is a game changer. The sleek & slick application can bring vast amounts of information to an audience, with supporting video/image content. Video advertising is proven to have an 80% conversion rate as opposed to static media adverts. Virtually Smart Ltd convert blogs, articles & documents for our client base to engaging, entertaining & most importantly, informative video content” Katy Jane
Biteable
“Virtually Smart Ltd use Biteable to create short, sharp & appealing video content, often times for one specific topic. Biteable is very accessible & with a paid subscription, gives access to a wealth of imagery & video clips to create sharp, revealing & enjoyable content.” Katy Jane
With this exploration in mind, what does this information mean to you & your business? How can Virtually Smart Ltd create strategies to improve efficiency, work flow & keep you competitive? For more information on how Virtually Smart Ltd can enable your business to remain current & cutting edge or advice on how you could update & incorporate more IT systems/technologies in to your business; contact us through our contact form or T: 07954 994 769.
