It isn’t always obvious that it’s time to update your office hardware. Or perhaps it seems like an unnecessary expense and it’s easier, not to mention cheaper, to just have your IT services find a way around an issue until some other time. Unfortunately that very often isn’t the case; it’s not really cheaper to divert your IT support from important tasks to repair a computer that can’t actually do the task your undoubtedly frustrated staff needs to do. The cost comes in the form of overtime for your IT support and time lost by your employee, not to mention the disruption of their productivity thanks to the irritation and stress of out of date hardware.
There are many, many indications that it’s time to retire your overworked hardware and consult with an information technology consulting company about updating your IT hardware, but listed below are just four of the major ones.
Your IT Staff spends most of their time Fixing Your Machines
One of the most obvious signs that it’s time to do an upgrade is when your current hardware keeps breaking down. It is essential for a company, any company, to maintain their hardware. Most large companies have an IT support department that makes sure that equipment continues to perform at its best. Even smaller companies have an IT support manager that shares the same responsibilities. When they are working overtime to ensure that your IT hardware continues to keep going, it’s time to upgrade.
Fortunately, there’s help with that. An IT system company can help your IT department identify ways to upgrade and improve on your IT hardware. As new software and new technologies come out, it causes more work for your company’s hardware so whether it’s a new office phone that can utilize VOIP features or a new wireless printer, IT tech services are a necessity in helping your business stay on the cutting edge.
None or Few of Your Machines Match
When it comes to company hardware, it shouldn’t look like a patchwork quilt. That is to say, office equipment should be uniform rather than a variety of brands purchased over the span of many years. Aside from the fact that it makes office tours a little embarrassing, it creates issues when it comes to sharing information in the office, not to mention it causes enormous strain on your IT support. Computers have very few interchangeable parts beyond the mouse, keyboard and some of the cords. When a piece of hardware requires repair and none of your computers are the same, your IT support likely doesn’t have that part on standby just on the off chance that one specific machine out of 50 will malfunction and need one specific part. The part will have to be ordered from the manufacturer or, more than likely, a company online that has outdated hardware for purchase. The part may or may not be inexpensive, but it’ll certainly take time to get it to you. In that time, that machine, and possibly that employee as well, isn’t making you money.
The best solution to this is to use an IT managed services provider who can upgrade all of your machines to a single model so, when something does actually go wrong, parts are on hand to have it fixed the same day.
The Software Will no longer Update or You Can’t Install New Software
Software updates are essential to your IT infrastructure for the same reasons it’s important for your home computer or smart phone. It fixes bugs that have previously gone undetected as well as updating security protocols to prevent things like identity theft or other cyber criminals. When your system can no longer update, or is too old to install new software, then it is imperative for the security of your company to upgrade. Out of date software will slow down your productivity as it cannot properly communicate with new technologies and hardware, but the biggest reason is security. Updates include security patches that protect your customers as well as ways to help your software work more efficiently. If your software cannot update, or even if you need to use a handful of applications to do one thing, it is time to consult with an IT company to upgrade your IT hardware.
Your Computers Can’t Talk to Tablets, Office Equipment, Etc.
As technology evolves, so does the need for connectivity. It is essential that office workstations be able to communicate with not only each other, but also the equipment that helps your office run more efficiently. When a desktop or laptop cannot communicate with the meeting room projector, the printer or even send files wirelessly to a tablet then it’s time to look at ways to upgrade the office hardware. Though there are inexpensive ways around this temporarily—you can buy USB Bluetooth adapters to use with desktops and laptops—ultimately it’s best to just go ahead and consult with an IT services company that can advise you on the best products to meet all of your office needs.
Many new machines feature built in Bluetooth and can communicate with any smart device it recognizes as well as other wireless equipment. Desktop support can help connect new machines to these devices making office productivity that much better.
Software and hardware is constantly evolving with no end in sight. In today’s world there are few areas of our lives that don’t feature computers and smart devices, and the workplace is no different. When computers are out of date or mismatched and your IT support spends all of their time fixing a dying system, it’s a drain on your company’s time, finances, productivity and the patience of your staff. It is essential to the success of a business that every piece of that hardware is up to date and working efficiently and with the help of IT tech services, that isn’t a problem.
By investing in an IT managed services contract or even just consulting with an IT services company for updates, you can help your company be more productive and profitable.
In the last several years cloud technology has become the rage, and for good reason. There are a lot of great reasons to utilize the cloud whether you’re a soldier overseas looking at pictures of your kids or an international corporation that needs to be able to share information instantly across the globe. Information is accessible and provided at speeds that are important to running a business with very few drawbacks. Still, no system is perfect and even the convenience of the cloud has to deal with issues like technical difficulties and network security. Check out some of the great reasons to invest in a cloud managed service as an asset in managing a company.
(Pros)
Accessibility
Companies, particularly ones that work outside of a typical brick and mortar building, know the importance of accessibility. With the cloud, employees can access vital information to their job from anywhere. Cloud software allows users to access files and other media using laptops, tablets and smart phones as well, making it easier than ever before to stay connected and be productive anywhere. Another huge benefit to that accessibility is backup and recovery. Technical disasters happen, having a contingency plan for data backup when that happens involves having everything backed up and ready to go on the cloud.
Cost effective
It is incredibly expensive to manage desktop software in-house. Licensing per user alone is huge, add in capacity and other factors and it simply isn’t a cost effective option. With the cloud a company gets virtually unlimited storage, tech support that specializes in data backup isn’t necessary, and there are with several different attractive and affordable options for companies of all sizes. In addition to the different subscriptions, companies also have to choose appropriate bandwidth however, even with that expense it is still a more cost effective solution than to create a cloud infrastructure within the company.
Storage
The cloud isn’t a single location, but rather lives in the internet. And with the internet, storage isn’t a problem. With virtually unlimited storage the cloud is ideal for businesses that deal in large amounts of software, information or who has a large infrastructure that requires a lot of space. Most users are familiar with the cloud in their personal life thanks to entities like the iCloud and Google Drive. These free services are often enough for individuals, but with a monthly subscription companies (or those individuals who need more), storage isn’t an issue.
Speed
Having the convenience of the cloud doesn’t mean much if it’s too slow. One of the biggest benefits of the cloud, specifically certain cloud service providers, is the download and upload speeds. When a company invests in a good cloud plan, information can instantly be available. For example, an audio recording from a lecture hall in London, England can instantly be available to students in the United States when a customer chooses the right subscription plan. Of course a company or individual’s internet provider can impact how quickly information can be obtained, but most cloud servers are constantly improving how information is stored and retrieved for their clients.
Software Upgrades
Because of the connectivity of the cloud, desktop software updates, updates to apps and software patches are available to clients instantaneously. Customers see this when a smart phone automatically updates and makes software changes to the phone so that it can function better or improve network security. Employees get the benefit of this in much the same way as company devices are updated with company-specific that allows employees to do their jobs more efficiently than ever before.
(Cons)
Connectivity
The cloud exists on the internet. If you can get on the internet, then you have access to the cloud. This should be a very simple matter but as anyone who lives in a region with poor cell service can attest, having access to the internet isn’t always an option. Many places, such as the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, have spotty cell service and unreliable access to the internet. For companies that rely on access to the cloud to conduct their business, this can be a huge strike against the convenience of the cloud.
Security
In recent years, there have been very public information breaches and cloud companies have worked hard to ensure that their customers can safely use their services. Still, once something is in the cloud, it is vulnerable. There are several security protection options to make information safer, such as encryption on the client’s side before it goes to the cloud, but ultimately there’s still a degree of vulnerability there. With numerous advancements in encryption, companies and individuals can have a reasonable expectation of privacy and safety, but the fact remains that the cloud is a room with a door, and the key can still fall into the wrong hands.
Technical issues
When information is hosted in-house and something goes wrong, there’s a group of employees prepared to get to work immediately to fix the situation. The same applies to cloud services, of course, but they don’t answer to the client whose information is now unavailable. The cloud is massive with many functioning parts that keeps information stored by clients at their fingertips. Even the best cloud services experience outages and technical difficulties occasionally. And, when that happens, those who use that cloud server are now at the mercy of a tech support team that is under no obligation to report repair times or progress.
As with any form of sharing information, the cloud isn’t perfect. The convenience of being able to share information instantly within the company, or recover from technical catastrophe client side, is undeniable. But, the same concerns exist today that were there a few years ago. How safe is that information? And, what happens when the cloud experiences difficulties? Is it going to be available when needed? Many companies find these concerns acceptable in light of the many benefits of having a subscription to a cloud server. As many people spend enormous amounts of time taking pictures and using social media, cloud technology has become an invaluable part of the modern world.
The world seems to be changing at a faster pace than ever before and how we share information is changing with it. We’re no longer storing information on floppy disks or even thumb drives anymore, but rather the cloud. Cloud managed services are invaluable when it comes to storing and sharing information, but is it safe?
The answer is yes, it’s reasonably safe.
Of course no method of storage is completely full-proof, but network security has come a long way in the past 10 years to make sure that all types of data will be secure on cloud managed services. Companies, such as an information technology consulting company or a managed security service provider, have been founded as an entirely new industry was created to meet the security needs of entities that needed to keep information safe, yet accessible. The sole goal of companies such as this is to keep your information, whether it is your child’s school picture or your investment portfolio, safe from cybercriminals. One of the many ways that this is accomplished is through encryption.
Keeping Your Data Safe
The very basic definition of encryption is that it takes readable data and converts it into an encoded format that can only be decoded with an encryption key. Encryption can be used by any entity to protect sensitive documents from hackers. When data is encrypted, it is transformed from plain text to ciphertext using a set of unique algorithms that form an encryption key. Without the key it doesn’t matter if the data is viewed or not because it isn’t in a format that anyone or anything can understand. Like a locked diary, one would need the key to read the information. Once the encryption key is applied again the ciphertext is transformed to plaintext and once again can be accessed as normal. In the case of smartphones, for example, each time these small computers communicate a new set of algorithms is created to protect the information being transmitted.
Interestingly enough, encryption actually came from WWII when the Allies had to decrypt coded messages sent between German U-boats. Thanks to that, the first digital computer was created and the marked beginning of computers as we know them. Protecting those computers and the information that lies therein, however, is much more difficult. Because different companies have different security needs, there are a variety of ways this can be done.
First, there’s server-side encryption. This is standard with cloud storage services and they don’t charge extra for it. When your data is sent to the cloud, it is encrypted before being stored. This provides protection against hackers, but for an added layer of security, clients can provide their own encryption key. Alternatively, you can generate a unique key using a key management service for that same added layer.
Then, there’s also client-side encryption.
Client-side encryption entails a lot more than server-side encryption because you are responsible in-house for encryption the dada using encryption software. Before the data is ever sent to the cloud, it is encoded with encryption keys generated by the company and is sent to the cloud encrypted so that the service never sees the decoded data. In addition to receiving encoded data, the cloud storage will still apply server-side encryption to help protect your files.
Though client-side encryption is by far the most secure way to store your data on the cloud, it comes with its own risks. It is essential to securely manage your encryption key because with client-side encryption, your cloud server cannot assist in decoding your data in the event that the encryption key used in-house is lost.
Cybercrime and Evolving Technology
As the information technology industry continues to evolve every day, so does the threat of cybercrime. Fortunately that threat is being met with new software and techniques to help prevent the theft of sensitive files. To protect clients, some cloud storage services monitor traffic in order to spot suspicious login attempts. Most, if not all of us, have received courtesy emails when logging into an entity for the first time on a new device, so this isn’t an unfamiliar concept.
Back in 2014 many internet users became very hesitant about using cloud storage after several celebrities had intimate images and videos leaded from Apple’s iCloud. It wasn’t a breach of security with cloud storage, but rather an exploited weakness in the password system. Nonetheless, iCloud took the blame and prompted changes in cloud storage systems. Implementing more stringent CIAM practices also plays a big part in preventing instances such as the 2014 celebrity fiasco. CIAM stands for customer identity and access management and it’s something that most entities on the web have become more aware of in recent years. Though the registration and login experience may not have changed much for customers, good CIAM solutions include multi-factor authentication and single sign on (SSO) security across all applications.
In addition to methods to protect initial login information, companies dedicated to protecting their cloud storage service are shifting to a new way of doing things. Software as a Service (SaaS) is replacing hardware solutions to ensure security protection. Human monitoring is being replaced by SDN (software defined networking) that can monitor the network in real time to better protect customers against cyber threats.
Implementing better CIAM solutions, along with using a state of the art SaaS model can make cloud storage services very safe for customers to store their data.
Quite a few things go into keeping cloud managed services running safely and smoothly. Much like any other machine, there are many intricate cogs that keep it going from a network administrator to the service monitor. It is essential that all parts of network security be constantly evolving and because it is, cybercriminals have a much tougher time with hacking personal information and sensitive business documents. Cloud service providers are considerably safer than they’ve ever been before thanks to a combination of encryption, CIAM solutions, and various other security protection measures designed to combat crime.
Sci-fi movies from as recent as 10 years ago seem startlingly familiar in today’s world as we close the gap between fiction and reality. Thanks to evolving technologies, new industries are being created that have never before been seen in human history. As the demand increases for ever evolving technology so does the need for a better, more secure workspace that’ll maximize productivity and seamlessly integrate the human and machine workforce. Here are just a few ways that 2019 is improving the workplace and the consumer experience.
AI and the Work Environment
As any office manager will tell you, an uncomfortable work environment leads to less productivity. Companies, such as a managed services company, help companies remedy this problem with AI. In today’s office, smart technology can adjust the temperature of the room, the lighting, window tint and even the height of the chair in anticipation. These efforts create a comfortable work environment that fosters creativity and productivity. By utilizing a technology services company, companies and employers now have the option to create an intuitive work environment that extends beyond just how hot the room is or if it’s sunny.
Many of us are already familiar with the iPhone’s Siri or Google Voice Assistant for Android, and that both can respond to hands free voice commands. In 2019 this technology can be utilized by office spaces thanks to intuitive AI. A voice command or a gesture can prepare an individual’s office for their arrival by adjusting everything from the pictures on their desktop to signing into applications in order to prevent a delay due to logging in. Soon AI will even be able to warn employees when they are spending too much time browsing the internet during the day.
Autonomous Things and the Workplace
Whether people realize it or not, autonomous things have been a part of the human experience for a while now. Examples include vacuums, check-in at hotels, self-cleaning litter boxes, and even toy pets. Autonomous things are robots that can operate with relatively little interaction with humans. As this field continues to evolve, opportunities for new and re-imagined industries are emerging. These changes have a major impact on many different industries.
For example, in 2019 self-driving cars are inching closer to being commonplace. Though car manufacturers shouldn’t expect a drastic shift from a manned car to a self-driving car in a single year, this growth facilitates the need for more AI programming and specialized companies that can create and constantly improve the technology. Another example is drones. Though 2018 saw some companies experimenting with drone package delivery, this industry will become a bigger part of life in 2019 as companies use them to deliver everything from the mail to pizza.
Though this trend of autonomous things may be alarming for some companies, the initial knee-jerk reaction that employees will be without a job isn’t quite accurate. As these technologies become more popular, so will the need for managed services jobs that can help a managed services company implement changes and then oversee the operations.
Internet of Things
Siri, Google Assistant and Cortana: What do these three services have in common? They are all examples of the internet of things (abbreviated IoT). A new term, IoT is technology that can share information with multiple devices. For years we have been familiar with this technology thanks to smart phones, smart watches and smart appliances that customize our homes to our schedules and needs.
Perhaps one of the most notable IoT developments and anticipated growths in 2019 is IoT in the automotive industry. Though we aren’t at the point of self-driving cars yet, today’s smart cars can tell consumers how the car is doing on their smart phone. Information such as fluid and tire levels can be provided to the consumer, along with the ability to control the door locks, lights and other systems. Companies that provide these services, and take advantage of a technology services company to help implement them, can expect to see a significant profit in the coming years as consumers and car manufacturers shift to integrate more AI into their day to day lives.
How Blockchain Can Change Business
Though many larger companies may not see blockchain as a positive innovation, in 2019 it could potentially be very profitable for small businesses, self employed individuals and artists of all types. For those unfamiliar with blockchain, it is a chain of blocks and inside each block is a time stamped record of information. Each block is connected to the neighboring block, hence the name. It is decentralized so it is virtually impossible for cybercriminals to corrupt the information, and it is free for anyone to access. Though blockchain originally was designed for bitcoin transactions, it has so much potential in today’s world and so far in 2019 companies are already being created to help teach consumers how to use and implement blockchain.
For example, imagine that a woman named Jill self published a book on a popular website. She charges $5 and after the website takes their cut, will receive $1 in royalties. With blockchain technology, Jill can promote her book on her own site, or on book review sites and can use blockchain to host her book and accept payment for it. She doesn’t have to trust another institution with her creation or wait months for her royalty payment from said entity.
Individuals and companies have seen an explosion of technology in recent years and in 2019, the momentum isn’t lost. As AI becomes more commonplace in the workplace, so does everything that entails. Employees no longer have to feel stuck and stagnant in an uncomfortable office. Delivery services soon won’t be battling traffic to get products to their customers faster, only high winds. And, our cars are only getting smarter and more intuitive to our needs and what we need to do. With this explosion of growth also comes blockchain, a new and innovative way to share information. It’s an exciting time to be a technology services company and with the growth of these industries, more and more managed services jobs will become available to an enthusiastic workforce.
The news media has made “WannaCry” a household name over the weekend, to the joy and fear of I.T. pros everywhere. On one hand, techies have a great opportunity to talk about managing risks and presenting their lovely solutions! On the other hand, they’re dealing with things that distract from your core mission – running a business.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be discussing the WannaCry outbreak with our MSP customers as part of our Virtual CIO offering. We’re going to be re-checking that each customer has a specific plan, appropriate to their needs, for dealing with these types of risks. Of course, this is just the latest example of how malware and ransomware have organizations losing sleep, so our discussions will involve the broader subject of protecting against cyber risks. Through those discussions, we’ll be helping customers to answer some of the following questions – maybe they can help you think about your own I.T. situation:
Should you just pay the ransom?
Could your backups be locked out too? If so, how do you restore?
Are your systems being patched and updated, reliably?
Do employees know how to be skeptical of email and attachments?
If you do need to revert to backups, how long will you be down? What are you actually restoring?
Once a computer has been infected, can you ever really trust it again?
We’re confident that the systems we put in place for customers will provide a solid foundation upon which they can make business decisions for dealing with these situations. How about yours?
Sometimes pundits will offer flippant responses to the question of “what do we do when we get hit?” such as restore from your last good backup, make sure you have good email filtering and anti-malware installed, be on current versions of software and always patch. These are merely platitudes.
In short, business leaders need to realize that any malware event like WannaCry is bad news. It means lost revenue, lost productivity, and lost profit. It means your business isn’t able to run. It means employees moods will worsen. Even if you have great backups, even if you have great tools, even if you don’t have to pay the ransom, the impacts are real.
Companies who plan accordingly, who implement smart protective measures, and who are able to stay on top of their systems will have a competitive advantage in their market. The less of your time and money you have to spend to gain this advantage, the better off you will be.
Nomerel can help companies of any size obtain the peace-of-mind that comes from having good systems, well implemented, and a solid plan in-place to minimize disruptions – from WannaCry, or any other form of malware. See how we can help you out as well.
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