There is one question that workers don’t hear enough, and if they do hear it, it is usually said in passing as a rhetorical question. That question is:

“How are you doing?”

Keeping a business running is no easy feat, with dozens of moving parts and considerations to maintain at any given time. Arguably, this has never been more true than it is now, when you combine current inflation and labor shortages with the technological options businesses now have. In short, it can be exceptionally confusing…and challenging in terms of budgeting it out.

Staying proactive with your IT maintenance can save your business a lot of money, but a lot of people don’t know exactly how they can go about doing this. In this month’s newsletter we are going to discuss how proactive maintenance works and how it is a crucial part to any evolved managed IT strategy. 

If you were to ask anyone under the age of 30 what the most important invention of their lifetime is, you may be surprised how many of them would say “the smartphone”. These devices have revolutionized the way that people communicate, work, and play, but like any other technology, the form factor may not be here forever. So what’s next after the smartphone? We unpack what technologies may replace the smartphone as the next big jump in personal computing. 

The Internet of Things is everywhere and that means that it’s important to understand how much of a potential security risk these devices can be. From smart speakers to smartphones, it's important that you understand how these devices can create problematic situations. In this week’s blog we will discuss how you can protect yourself against IoT vulnerabilities at home.

Technology is a big part of doing business for a lot of organizations. One issue that comes into play is that managing that technology can get a little much for a small organization or one that doesn’t actively have some type of plan of how to organize their IT in a way that can keep that technology from being a risk or a problem. This month, we’ll take a look at a couple things that can be done to clean up your IT and make it be more of a benefit to your organization.

I was meeting with an old colleague the other day. We met over Microsoft Teams to just check in and see how they were doing—no real itinerary, just to check in with a familiar face that I haven’t personally talked to in a few years. They had a little trouble getting into Microsoft Teams, since they were used to Zoom. I patiently smiled and helped them through it, and told them “No worries, it’s always the little differences that complicate things!”

At the time, I said this just to be empathetic. At first, the nerdy computer-geek part of my brain told me that the process to get into a Zoom meeting vs a Teams meeting, from their perspective, is exactly the same. But after the call, I really thought about this small interaction, and you know what? Things have gotten complicated.

Security is extremely important for every single organization that uses IT. Like any other part of a business where practices and demands change frequently, there is bound to be significant innovation involved with the strategies built to protect users and the business as a whole. Let’s look at why it is important to continuously innovate your organization’s cybersecurity policies and procedures.

If your business is fortunate enough to make it through the first stage and is looking to open a brand new facility or add onto its current setup, you will need to figure out how you are going to use your technology. This can be a challenge. 

Threats are everywhere in business today. You can quite literally be sitting at your desk actively working in your email and be exposed to multiple scams. With this revelation, it is essential that every organization takes the steps necessary to secure themselves against the immense amount of threats that could put their network and infrastructure at risk, and do so without making it difficult on their staff. Let’s dig into what that takes in this month’s newsletter.

Anyone who wants to prioritize their privacy should be aware of the role the cache plays in such a thing. Your Google web browser—even on your smartphone—will store information about what you search so it can personalize your ads and recommendations, but if you would rather not have it do this all the time, you can clear your Android device’s Google search cache and set it up to auto-delete after a set amount of time has passed.

Smartphone applications are in high demand from both a consumer and a business perspective, so it stands to reason that these ecosystems are large in scope, encompassing millions of apps on both the Google Play and Apple App stores. Have you ever wondered how these companies ensure that the apps found on their stores are secure and legitimate?

You know the old phrase, “A chain is no stronger than its weakest link?”

It’s a pretty good idiom, but when it comes to cybersecurity, I think the idea is worth revisiting. It’s not that you aren’t as strong as your weakest link, or in terms of cybersecurity, it’s not that you aren’t as secure as your most vulnerable endpoint…

You are less secure the more users you have.

Businesses can now capture and use more data to help them run an efficient business than ever before. That’s not to say a lot of businesses actually do. In this month’s newsletter, we thought we’d discuss the use of data and how it can be used to improve your business.

Have you ever cleared a notification on your phone, then gotten a sinking feeling a couple hours later, like you’ve missed something important? Well, worry no longer, for we will show you how to turn on your Android smartphone’s notification history feature. This should alleviate at least some of the stress you might experience about clearing notifications.

Smartphones are a critical part of your business’ productivity, but sometimes you and your employees might have differing views on how to translate that productivity into profitability for your business. If you want to avoid the pitfalls associated with smartphones, well, today’s article might just be for you. Here are four tips and tricks you can use to get your smartphones to work for you.

Business technology has grown so much over time that it’s practically unrecognizable compared to some of the original solutions. The Internet of Things has given businesses more opportunities to automate processes and build efficiency into their IT infrastructure, and in more ways than one. Let’s look at how businesses use the Internet of Things and what you might accomplish with it.

More than ever, it is important for your employees to have positive work experiences. People have many more resources to find new work today, and with so many people willing to find the “right fit” it can be quite expensive for organizations. While the best way is always to compensate people well, if you are facing a situation where you need to be creative to keep your people around, we have three suggestions. 

Mobile utilization in business has been on the rise for quite some time and today’s business has to stop and confront the issues that come along with it before they become problems. Like any technology that people have come to rely on outside of their job, a business’ first consideration is how to make use of it for business as well. This month, we thought we would take a look at some of the pain points organizations can experience when managing their mobile devices.

Good time management leads to improved productivity. Simple in concept, but for many, the execution isn’t nearly so simple. We wanted to share a few ways that you can help encourage your team to be more productive by enacting certain policies.