Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

If you’ve ever managed a major IT project, you’re probably well acquainted with Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every project is going to have some rough patches. The key to overcoming these challenges lays not with the execution of the plan, but with the preparation. Here are four things to consider when you’re planning out your next long-term IT project.

Wanting to give donations in the wake of a disaster is admirable. However, with so many regions of the United States having been devastated by a natural disaster in recent weeks, there are dozens of illegitimate charities out there looking to take advantage of your generosity and compassion.

If the results of a Google search for ‘small business technology trends’ is any indication, artificial intelligence (AI) is not something that just concerns larger businesses and enterprises. Judging by the sheer number of articles that have been produced over the last several months, it is easy to see why a user might get the impression that SMBs who are not considering (or that aren’t already) investigating possible uses of AI are detrimental to their own success.

Is technology a major problem for your organization? If so you’re just like many small businesses out there that think they can’t afford proper IT maintenance and management. Thankfully, managed services threatens this misperception by bringing affordable preventative solutions to the table.

When Windows 8 launched, users of the operating system were all up in arms because they deviated from the Start menu that we know and love, in favor of a tiled menu screen. While many people went out and found the extension that turned tiles into the classic Start menu, others got used to working with the tile menu. With the release of Windows 10, the Start menu was back as the primary interface. If you’re one of those who adapted and enjoyed the tile menu of Windows 8, we’ve got good news: The tile menu is available on Windows 10!

In what is one of the first attacks of its kind, a botnet dubbed WireX swept across 100 countries, controlling over 120,000 IP addresses at its peak. The factor that made WireX so unique was the fact that the botnet was made up of Android-powered devices that had one of 300 malicious apps downloaded from the Google Play Store.

In case you haven’t heard, the credit bureau, Equifax, has suffered a data breach that may have exposed the records of 143 million Americans.

Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday issued resolutions to 48 vulnerabilities in August, including 15 that affected Windows, 25 critical flaws, 21 important flaws, and 27 that allowed for remote execution. This is a lot to consider, but the main jist of this is that lots of threats were fixed, and that your organization shouldn’t risk not implementing them as soon as possible.

Does your business use Microsoft Outlook as its preferred email client? It’s likely that you have already noticed how dynamic of a solution it is for your business purposes, but little do you know that the most recent version of Outlook is stacked with some of the best features out there to make your user experience even better.

Network security is more than just a conscientious attempt by your staff to protect your organization’s digital assets. It’s making sure that your employees know how to handle dangerous situations, implementing preventative IT measures to eliminate potential issues entirely, and having the right technology experts on-hand to handle tough problems that can’t be solved by a few pieces of technology.

While being tech-savvy is much more commonplace than it used to be, asking a question about IT can still make one a bit nervous. This leads to many who are somewhat unlearned in technology feeling that they will be mocked for asking “dumb” questions. Well, fear not--we’ll explain some of the more common questions you might want to ask about technology.

Windows 10 is a valuable asset for any business, but are you taking full advantage of it? We’ll discuss some of the lesser known tips and tricks that your organization can take advantage of to get more out of your business technology.

Security needs to be a priority for everyone involved with business. This has led to a rise in the use of solutions that will protect the security and privacy of the user and their systems. A very common, yet effective, means of securing your data is to use a virtual private network, or VPN.

Most businesses rely on email in at least some capacity. Nowadays, organizations often choose to outsource the management of their email servers, including their hosting, to other organizations, most notably cloud providers for ease of use. Here are some of the benefits that you can gain from switching your in-house email management to a cloud-based email server.

Microsoft Word is a great tool that your business may use for word processing, but it can do so much more. With the right tools, you’ll be able to take advantage of many different tricks that could change the way you see Microsoft Word. Here are four neat tips that you may not have thought of.

Your business is much more vulnerable to dangerous entities than you’d care to admit. Think about it--all it takes is one unexpected event to cause untold amounts of chaos for your business. To make matters worse, these events are often outside of your control. Data loss incidents might be unpredictable, but they can be soothed thanks to a little bit of preventative management.

We have no problem going on the record as saying that there are more than enough strains of malware to go around. As such, it’s important that you know what to do if your workstation is struck by an infection.

You’ve been told that it’s a best practice to ensure that you never leave your workstation without locking it first. Yet, if you’re only stepping away for a few minutes, it might be tempting to just allow it to remain unlocked. But what happens when you step away for longer than expected? You leave your computer exposed to all manners of threats. Thankfully, a new solution allows for a fix with a device that most are never without: the smartphone.

Data backup is something of a conundrum for many small businesses. The classic mindset is that they don’t think they need data backup because there’s no way they’ll be struck with a data loss disaster. Their office may not be located in a place prone to natural disasters, and the organization is so small that the assume they are off the hook when it comes to hackers. This doesn’t reduce the value that a good data backup system can offer, though.

What are some of the critical business applications that your organization depends on in order to function? Perhaps it’s something as simple as an email solution, or your productivity suite. If either of these stopped working properly, would you be able to sustain operations? What if your software licenses ran out and you lost access to them? These are some of the many pains of traditional software acquisition, and a new method of this can help you make significant headway in managing your organization’s technology.