Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

As a managed IT services provider, we are constantly trying to find the most effective ways to communicate just how much value our services can bring a business, nonprofit, or municipal organization. Since almost all organizations rely heavily on their technology, it stands to reason that getting the most value out of their IT support should be a priority. In many ways, managed IT services are the answer to this issue. Let’s look at some of the most valuable parts of using managed services. 

With just days before Microsoft retires two of its most popular operating systems, the quarter of computer users worldwide are at the risk of losing support on January 14, 2020. Therefore, we wanted to take this opportunity to explore the ramifications of an end of support event, and what you can do in response.

We all want to make our businesses more efficient, because the more efficient a business is, the more effective it can be. One clear way to do so is to boost your business’ organization tactics - both literally, and more abstractly. For today’s tip, we’ll cover what we mean, and share a few strategies for you to employ.

With most everything having gone digital, most consumers have changed their preferred payment method. Many different factors contribute to credit cards becoming the most used payment. Today, we take a look at why this has become a popular means of payment, as well as weigh the pros and cons of credit cards. 

For the average PC user, the Internet browser is probably the most utilized piece of software other than your OS. Depending on which browser you use, you may decide to download additional software to give you features that you typically don’t have or give you functionality that is all new. Before you use these software add-ons, you should know that there have been several examples of this software working against users. Let’s take a look at how browser extensions work and how you can get better functionality without putting your data at risk. 

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and with all the work done,
The office was closing for some holiday fun;
Their coats buttoned up, they had all saved their files,
Everyone’s face creased in a big, toothy smile.

To those who weren’t around BEFORE the Internet became an irreplaceable business tool, it’s almost hard to imagine how businesses operated when this tool didn’t exist. Storing sensitive data has never been such an easy thing to do but at what cost? It is undeniable that the Internet has opened doors for not only us, but criminals as well. Today we discuss how these doors can easily be secured with the implementation of a virtual private network, or VPN.

Memes are some of the most popular--and important--ways people communicate. Today, we will go over what makes the Internet meme special and we’ll show you some of our favorite IT memes.

Let’s face facts: as critical to your security as they are, passwords are kind of the worst. Of course, since they are so critical, you need to make sure all of the ones you use are as secure as possible, so we’ve assembled some practices that may help you tip the scales in your favor. Spoiler alert: the conventional password may not be your first choice for much longer.

If you own a business today, you use the Internet. Chances are about as good that it plays a key role in your daily functioning, which means you need to be sure that your network is well-maintained and functioning equally well. Here, we’ll go over a few ways you can get an idea of how healthy your network is.

In a very real way, the Internet has spoiled us, to the point that we fully expect an order to be in our hand in 72 hours - oftentimes, far less than that. Shipping speeds like these are now possible thanks to the use of advanced logistics. If you’re starting to incorporate ecommerce into your business, or distribution has proved troublesome, you may want to consider a fleet management system.

2.4 billion users actively use Facebook. That’s a lot of information that passes by the Facebook servers each day. One problem that Facebook has had over the past several years is dealing with personal data privacy. With it becoming a larger concern for individuals and businesses, alike, and we thought we would take a look at the Facebook privacy settings to see how you can better control your individual privacy.

If you haven’t read part one of our Facebook privacy blog, it wouldn’t hurt for you to go back and read that one first. Today, we will be looking at configuring your Facebook with security settings designed to protect your personal information. The social media giant certainly has a checkered history when it comes to protecting user privacy. In fact, a lot of its ongoing troubles center around maintaining individual privacy of its users.

Facebook is one of the most popular websites on the Internet and has been a global phenomenon for the two billion people that use the platform. This doesn’t mean that it has been smooth sailing for the tech giant, as over the past several years there have been a few major controversies concerning the privacy of user data and how Facebook works to secure it. Today, we’ll tell you how to get access to all the information Facebook has about you.

Data accessibility has never been easier for both you and your workforce, but how do you know if this convenience isn’t also benefitting cybercriminals? Your mobile device contains a vast amount of sensitive information and files which need to be kept secure. This presents the need for some sort of secure management system, which in the tech world is referred to as Mobile Information Management, or MIM.

A lot has been made recently about cybersecurity, and for many people it has caused them to alter the way they go about doing things. With more people more cognizant of their individual data privacy, and how to combat phishing and other social engineering attempts, you’d think major data breaches would be snuffed out regularly. It only takes one person, however, to fail to be vigilant for it to negatively affect a whole organization.

When it comes to cybersecurity, automation can benefit many of your processes and protections. Let’s review how automation can be used to protect your business, and by extension, your livelihood.

Certain useful business technologies, like VoIP, screen-sharing, and webinar platforms, require a lot out of your Internet connection. This means that you need to be sure that you have sufficient bandwidth to support these solutions. Today, we’re taking a look at how your business relies on having the appropriate bandwidth to support your operations, and how to find out if it does.

Have you ever sat through a meeting thinking to yourself, “Wow, this meeting is such a waste of time and resources”? I’m going to guess you have, and as a business owner you should never support unproductive processes, and meetings are no exception. So, what do you need to do to make sure that your staff isn’t diligently waiting for a useless, unproductive conference to end? You need to adopt better conferencing solutions. 

Advancements in business computing have provided organizations with the opportunity to grow. Cloud technology is a prime example of such an advancement, as it can help to improve a wide range of considerations.