If you don’t take measures to secure your email, you could potentially give up crucial information to anyone lurking on the same network as you. This is inevitable on public Wi-Fi connections, or anywhere data is in transit. Encryption is the best way to make sure that your organization’s communications are secure, so you absolutely want to encrypt your email.
Depending on your business’ setup, you might have an in-house IT department that manages any of your technological assets, or you might have an outsourced vendor that you prefer to work with. Regardless, you know that as a business owner, you don’t have time to worry about managing IT--especially if you’re a small organization that has a limited budget and a limited workforce to do the work.
The dissemination of data is of vital importance for your business, but do you understand why? Depending on the way your infrastructure is set up, you might be holding your organization back through the use of antiquated technologies. In a lot of ways, advances in technology have allowed businesses to achieve faster connection speeds--particularly in regards to connecting to the Internet.
The dissemination of data is of vital importance for your business, but do you understand why? Depending on the way your infrastructure is set up, you might be holding your organization back through the use of antiquated technologies. In a lot of ways, advances in technology have allowed businesses to achieve faster connection speeds--particularly in regards to connecting to the Internet.
Compared to old-fashioned cables, fiber-optic cables and connections could prove to be a spectacular way to transmit and receive information in the coming years. But what’s the major difference?
What is a Fiber Optic Cable?
What might seem like an ordinary network cable is truly something extraordinary. A fiber optic cable is constructed using glass fibers inside an insulated casing. They basically transfer data through the use of light pulses. Light travels through the core of the cable, which is insulated by countless glass strands that allow the light to travel through bends in them. There are two different kinds of fiber optic cables. Single-mode fibers use glass strands to generate light, while multi-mode fiber optic cables use LEDs to generate light. This light is responsible for the transfer of data.
How Fast is It?
Your business might be used to broadband Internet connections, but we’re going to use fiber optic cables for our example. Generally speaking, a broadband connection is going to be much slower than fiber optic cable networks. You might remember the painful experience that dial-up Internet provided many years ago, as well as how great of an upgrade broadband Internet was at the time. In much the same way, fiber optic cabling provides speeds that far exceed the expectations set by broadband.
For example, if you want to download a 45-minute television episode, the standard 20mbps speed offered by a broadband connection will finish the task in about 1.5 minutes. The same task could be accomplished by a fiber optic connection in around 1.7 seconds--a considerable improvement to say the least.
The Benefits
In addition to the much faster speeds offered by fiber optic cables, they also provide your organization with many other benefits, including the following:
Does your business need help with implementing a faster and more efficient network? Fiber optic cables are also an option for your organization’s in-house network. To learn more, reach out to us at 02 98730080.
Does your organization have an internal IT department? If so, you’ve probably noticed that they are too busy problem solving to focus on improving your infrastructure. If they do have time to innovate, chances are they’re neglecting important maintenance. All it takes to improving your infrastructure and operations is, contacting your local managed service provider.
Business continuity is an incredibly important part of running a business, but some smaller organizations underestimate just how crucial it is in the event of a disaster. Although FEMA estimates that more businesses are taking advantage of business continuity than ever before, not enough are. Business continuity is something that must be planned for, practiced consistently, and updated as needed. Does your business have a business continuity plan?
Is your web browser running as well as it should be? Sometimes you might experience situations where your browser freezes or crashes. If your web browser starts acting up, you can troubleshoot what’s wrong by trying to clear the cache.
As computing and business have become more intertwined, it has become more important for software solutions and other business-essential tools to be ready at a moment’s notice. This tendency has contributed to the rise of mobile solutions, although there is still a need for the power a desktop provides. That’s why we are big fans of convertible ultrabooks, or 2-in-1 devices.
Imagine working diligently, then being abruptly cut off due to an unpredictable power surge. It would drive anyone to anger, especially if you had just gotten a significant amount of work done. Unfortunately, power surges happen and outages are inevitable, but the least you can do is prepare for them, and minimize downtime and data loss.
Data storage is a major part of running a business, but when it comes to doing so, you have several options. The usual suspect, the hard drive, is what’s most commonly found in both consumer and business environments for a number of reasons. The solid state drive in particular presents unique opportunities for your business that you shouldn’t dismiss.
The cloud trend has been very friendly toward businesses, allowing organizations to fulfill many of their needs and simplify processes that were challenging them only a few years ago. If you’ve never considered the cloud for your organization, it’s time to rethink your choices and ask yourself why you’re hesitant when there are so many great benefits of cloud implementation.
As a small business grows and takes on more employees and adds more departments, one aspect that becomes increasingly difficult to manage is email. Essentially, you go from using a handful of email addresses to managing dozens of accounts. If it feels like you’re losing control of your company’s email situation, then you’ll want to implement the following email solutions.
Imagine that, despite the extreme care you took to avoid threats from infecting your devices, they turned out to be infected anyway. However, what if the device had been infected before you had even gotten your hands on it?
It’s clear that one of the best ways you can improve your organization’s operations is through investing in new IT solutions, but these expenses change from year-to-year. However, as years go by, the amount that your business invests in IT is sure to shift. Though this year saw a minor decrease in IT spending, Gartner predicts that next year will be another huge opportunity to invest in new technology and IT systems.
Specifically, Gartner predicts a 2.9 percent growth rate in IT expenditures during 2017. ComputerWorld reports this growth as part of a global IT spending of $3.49 trillion. Gartner also predicts that spending on devices will increase by 0.4 percent to an astounding $600 billion. Global software spending growth will exceed 7.2 percent to $357 billion, while IT service spending will increase by 4.8 percent to $943 billion.
This growth is attributed to businesses’ desires to grow and become authoritative figures in their communities and industries--or so says John-David Lovelock from Gartner. He states, “Leading organizations, as well as those that wish to lead, are spending on IT and nurturing their IT investments as the means to grow their business.”
One of the most noteworthy trends in these growing numbers comes from the fact that organizations are increasing their spending while cutting out unnecessary costs. These figures show that businesses want to eliminate unneeded expenses, but also to reinvest the saved revenue into new, more innovative technology solutions. In other words, organizations are attempting to invest their returns to improve operations, and it’s easier to do so than you would initially think.
In fact, this increase in IT spending can mean that businesses are more willing to invest in enterprise-level solutions that create more flexibility and scalability in the workplace, allowing for more growth. The right technology services have an uncanny knack for decreasing capital expenses and freeing up valuable time and resources for more important endeavors. One way that businesses are doing so is by outsourcing services like help desk support and email hosting to third parties in order to free up work hours and reduce their bottom line.
PCSOFT specializes in outsourced IT, and as such, we want you to know that spending more isn’t always the right answer to maximizing your technology’s ROI. Our proactive managed services seek to reduce capital costs for organizations that want to invest their budget dollars into more lucrative aspects of running a business. In fact, managed services are the ideal way to reduce costs while investing in your business’s future, so why not give them a shot?
For more information, reach out to PCSOFT at 02 98730080.
Every business has hardware, like workstations, servers, and other devices, that are critical to its operational efficiency. However, managing your hardware can be tricky, especially if you’re a small or medium-sized business that has limited time and resources. If your business doesn’t have a process put in to place to handle hardware inventory and deployment, perhaps it’s time that you consider implementing one.
Every business owner is keenly aware of how prominent a role technology has in today’s business environment. Yet, the vast majority of companies aren’t doing enough to keep up with the latest developments, and therefore, risk missing out on serious opportunities for growth, or even going out of business.
The last time you implemented a technology solution, how did it turn out? Was it a great initiative that continues to provide a return on investment, or was it a failure that hurt your company? As it turns out, half of the IT projects started by businesses turn out to be a failure, and the numbers are only increasing with time.
Publishers have long provided authors with outlets to share their work. However, just like many other industries, technology has changed publishing over the years. Is this a positive change, and are there lessons that the modern business owner can learn from this shift in the way technology is handled and managed?
The term “IT headaches” is an oxymoron, due to the fact that technology is supposed to make life easier, not harder. Yet, headaches and feelings of frustration often accompany working with technology--with the most frustrating headaches often stemming from issues that should no longer exist in 2016. Case in point, these four issues that cause us major “IT headaches.”
Passwords Still Being the Norm
Managing dozens of passwords can be a daunting task, especially if you follow best practices by making a different password for each account, and make sure that every password is complex and hard to remember. One solution is to use a password management tool like LastPass. While this a great way to simplify managing all of your passwords, the fact remains passwords are susceptible to theft. Plus, let’s not forget how annoying it is to navigate to a login page every time you need to access your account.
What makes passwords so frustrating to work with is that, thanks to the range of alternative security tools available on today’s market, passwords should be obsolete. Multi-factor authentication technology and biometric tools like retina and fingerprint scanning are easily available and make for a more secure option, as well as being more convenient to use. Knowing this actually makes it more frustrating when encountering password issues.
Aggressive Promotional Tactics From Technology Vendors
Let’s not beat around the bush here, this is first and foremost a criticism of you, Java and Flash. “Free” apps like this are often times only free because they get paid by sponsors to sneak in extra gimmicks, like annoying browser toolbars (with Yahoo and Ask being two of the worst) or a trial of antivirus software--both of which are difficult to remove once they’re installed on your PC. In most cases, you can opt-out of these “bonuses” during installation, but if you’re in a hurry, it’s easy to overlook this and leave the box check-marked.
This reminds us of another failed promotional tactic by Microsoft: getting users to “make Internet Explorer your default browser” with the aid of a prompt appearing every time you open IE--an approach that’s widely mocked by longtime Microsoft users. Unfortunately, such heavy-handed promotional tactics seem to be the trend for technology vendors, not the exception, which only adds to the frustration of working with technology.
Outdated Technology Still Being Used
It’s 2016 and paperless technology is easy to come by while being super affordable, yet, “modern” offices the world over are still littered with printers and fax machines. Now, as you’ve likely experienced, working with such equipment that’s prone to paper jams bring about a completely new level of IT frustrations--frustrations which can be avoided altogether by instead going with paperless solutions like PDFs, digital signatures, digital scanners, and cloud computing. Typically, businesses that go the route of using outdated and inefficient equipment, do so in an attempt to save money. However, in the end, this strategy actually ends up backfiring when time and productivity are lost.
Websites that Don’t Do What They’re Supposed To
Today’s computing age is heavily dependent upon the Internet, websites, and browsers. Yet, few standards exist for website design and browser functionality, which makes surfing the web an error-filled and maddening experience. Scott Matteson of TechRepublic vents:
Constant updates. Plugin woes. Websites that require you to log in to proceed to view an article but then take you to the home page when you comply. Browsers that don't save credentials no matter how many times you tell them to. Cumbersome site registration with illegible captchas and the requirement to wait for an email to complete setting up your account. (This is getting a better with the opportunity to log in with social media accounts, I'll admit.) The necessity to log your account ID and password somewhere or else use the same one you use everywhere—which is a BIG no-no. The list goes on.
We couldn’t agree more.
At PCSOFT, we experience our fair share of technology frustrations, and by far, the worst frustrations are akin to the ones listed above because they’re so easily avoidable. We’re sure that you’ve experienced these same frustrations on some level, and we’re here to tell you that IT doesn’t have to be this way! Reach out to us today and tell us about your worst technology grievances. You’ll be happy to learn that we’ll have a technological solution for you to remedy any and all of your IT woes.