Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

A data backup is meant to give you a sense of relief, a safety net in case of disaster. This means it needs to be reliable… but what if it isn’t?

Too many businesses simply set up a backup and never think about it again, working under the assumption that all is well and everything is working according to design. Often, it is too late by the time these issues come to light, and the backup is needed but isn’t there.

Having a backup is a good start. However, the real difference comes from having a backup that you know will work. 

Even while on vacation, it’s difficult to resist the urge to open your email app and see what’s going on with your business. Of course, it’s not a true vacation if you’re constantly engaging in activities typically reserved for the office. Let’s examine ways you can encourage your team to step away from the business from time to time, and how they can do it without causing disruptions to its operations.

For many business owners, choosing the right technology is a real challenge. You're faced with countless hardware and software options, each promising to revolutionize your business, often with a hefty price tag. It's a tough spot to be in: you want to empower your team and innovate, but it's hard to justify the cost of a new tool when it might not be worth the investment. At the same time, holding back can feel like you're stifling progress.

It’s easy to think about technology updates as unnecessary. After all, your technology seems to be working perfectly fine, right? The reality is that updates keep your business functional and profitable, and every update you skip means more vulnerabilities in your infrastructure, more bugs to work around, and more dramatic a fallout when it all comes to a head… and it will—trust us.

Imagine for a moment… it’s a little after nine on a Tuesday, those on your team who drink multiple cups of coffee are well into their second of the morning, and everyone is busily typing away. Suddenly, the typing stops, as everyone’s screen suddenly gets the same pop-up: everything’s been encrypted. The business is, in effect, gone.

This is a too-common occurrence nowadays, thanks to a nasty type of malware called ransomware… but there is a way to fight back. The smart move is to be prepared with a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan.

Listen up, nerds. We’re here to talk about desk and device hygiene. Yes, not only do you have to keep your devices digitally clean, but you also have to keep your devices physically clean so as to keep them working effectively. Let’s take a look at why it’s so important and what you can do to keep your devices in pristine condition.

One of the most frustrating parts of operating today’s technology is how easy it is to grow disorganized from your day-to-day file management. The good news is that your digital workspace practices can be tidied up easily with just a couple of simple tips. Today, we want to go over how you can become more productive by taking better care of your digital workspace.

As a business owner, you’re always plotting out that next big project, as well as what technology you need to implement to make it happen. Today, we want to give you some pointers on what you should strive for with your project management, as well as discuss how you can make it easier by working with a managed service provider like us. We’ll go over how you can improve the odds of your project’s success, implement tools that will make the process easier, and common-sense practices that will help your team carry out the project in record time.

Network security is complicated, especially for small businesses who might not have a top-down security professional on staff to keep tabs on everything. You can make security a lot easier for your business with a modern firewall. The firewall is a crucial tool that all businesses, whether big or small, should implement. Here are the four key security features of the modern cybersecurity strategy and why they are essential for the ongoing digital security of your business.

Your IT infrastructure is just like your car; it’s easy to put off maintenance when everything is going well, but the second your dashboard lights up, you know your wallet is in for a hurtin’. You don’t need this kind of stress in your life—for both your car and your IT—and the solution is simpler than you might think.

It sure seems that, very suddenly, artificial intelligence is everywhere you look… including many of the tools that are available for your business to use and—most likely—the ones you are already using. It can certainly be intimidating, to say the least. Have these kinds of feelings prevented you from incorporating these tools and capabilities into your workflows?

That would be a very fair reaction to the influx of promises that AI seems to come with, which is why we wanted to hit the reset button, so to speak. Let’s get back to basics and talk about some simple benefits that AI-empowered tools can bring to your small or medium-sized business right now.

Healthcare IT faces challenges unique to the industry, and if you don’t adapt to them, you risk your practice’s data security and operational efficiency. You don’t want to fall behind with your IT infrastructure—not when there’s so much on the line. Today, we want to explore how your IT practices impact other areas of your medical practice, including patient trust, operational efficiency, and legal compliance, as well as share some best practices to help you manage it all.

Some businesses have infinite technology troubles, and to be quite honest, it’s because they don’t have a good strategy in place to prevent them. Think about it; the best way to keep your technology operational is to prevent issues from surfacing over time, right? You can do just that with these three methods to prevent big technology problems.

It takes a lot of hard work to build a company from scratch. You’ve likely made a lot of relationships with customers and vendors as well, building all kinds of new products and solutions in the process. So, what would you do if all of that disappeared in an instant?

There are many rules businesses need to follow. These rules help your business and also protect your clients and customers. Think of rules like HIPAA or PCI DSS. These are well-known and important. These mandates just point out basic things every business should already be doing to stay secure and work well. Let’s take a look at some things you should focus on.

Small businesses put a lot of effort into building their companies. Over the years, you’ve cultivated relationships with customers and vendors, built innovative new products and solutions, and collected vast amounts of data.

What would you do if it all of a sudden vanished—poof—into thin air?

One of the lowest-hanging opportunities to improve your business’ operations is through its communication and collaboration tools. If you haven’t considered some of today’s best solutions, you’re already well behind your competitors. Today, we want to share some of the easiest technology wins you can make in regards to your communications and collaboration solutions.

For any business, technology is humming in the background. It's the engine driving sales, communication, and operations. We have all come to rely on it daily. With all the benefits, it’s not that often that we sit back and consider the environmental footprint of the technology that keeps our businesses running. It’s absolutely a conversation worth having.

The last thing you want when you’re trying to solve problems for your business is to hire an amateur. Not only will a novice take longer to solve your problems, you’ll also spend more money to redo their work when it’s done incorrectly. This goes for IT as well, which is why it literally pays to work with professionals.

Oil well firefighter Paul “Red” Adair said, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” 

The reasoning behind this statement—the idea that a novice will take longer and make more mistakes than someone with more experience—is particularly applicable when it comes to your business technology and its management. Let’s explore a few reasons why this is.