Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

What do you do when you encounter an obstacle to your business’ processes? Chances are, you research software tools designed to overcome that obstacle and make the investment.

Here is the truth that might save you hundreds of dollars this quarter: You probably don't need to buy new software to solve your latest operational bottleneck. Sometimes it's just a matter of using the technology you have in better, more effective ways.

If you walk into a local five-person accounting firm, a boutique real estate agency, or a local consulting shop, you might be greeted by an office that uses consumer-grade electronics. You’ll see laptops purchased at big-box retail stores, home office routers from Amazon, and consumer-grade external hard drives sitting on desks. It might make sense that a small team doesn’t need the same tech as a Fortune 500 company, but in reality, a small office needs enterprise-grade hardware just as much—if not more so—than a 500-person corporation does.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If your business is still living by this mantra, then you’re far behind your competition, who have likely already embraced the concept of proactive > reactive IT. You aren’t going to get ahead when you’re dealing with hardware that’s aging before your eyes, and the increased costs and frustrations caused will impact your business in ways you can’t imagine.

Our digital lives are increasingly centered around on-demand entertainment, so the security of our streaming service accounts has never been more critical. Whether you are binge-watching the latest series or hosting a community watch party, your account is a gateway to sensitive personal data, including your home address, viewing habits, and payment information. Nowadays, the threats have evolved from simple password guessing to sophisticated AI-driven phishing and credential stuffing attacks, making a proactive defense imperative. Today, we’ll show you how to protect yourself.

In IT, there is a painful proverb we live by: A backup isn’t a backup until a restore has been successful.

Many business owners and even some junior sysadmins fall into the set-it-and-forget-it trap. They see the green checkmark in their backup software and sleep soundly. As an IT expert who has performed countless digital autopsies on failed systems, I can tell you that a green checkmark is often a liar.

Did you know that most businesses are only one hard drive failure or disaster away from permanently ceasing to exist? While we wish this were hyperbole, the fact of the matter is that not all businesses take data backup and business continuity as seriously as they should. At its core, you can boil down data backup to three key pillars, and with the help of a qualified professional, it’s not nearly as challenging as you’d expect.

One of the more frustrating parts of running a business with an IT budget is the rush to spend all those dollars before they get redistributed to other departments. This happens more often than you might think, yet despite this, you have businesses spending without thought, trying to use up the funds before they dry up. In reality, you want to have each of your IT purchases be an investment in the future of your business—an investment made with intention and thought.

Many businesses find themselves allocating their time for IT in a particular way—70 percent to maintenance, with only 30 percent dedicated to innovation and development. For real growth, the opposite is far preferable.

Fortunately, you can embrace better IT by simply reallocating some of your resources. Let’s explore how.

Have you ever wondered why your Wi-Fi is great in one room but practically non-existent in another? You've got a powerful Internet plan, a modern router, but are still experiencing those frustrating dead zones or sluggish speeds. Today, we’re going to tell you that one of the most overlooked, yet critical, factors isn't your Internet provider or router model; it's simply where you put your router.

The placement of your Wi-Fi router can make or break your home Internet experience. Let's dig into the optimal spots and common pitfalls to ensure you're getting the most out of your connection.

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.