Blue Lightning IT Services Resource Center

10 Hidden IT Risks That Might Threaten Your Business

January 12, 2020 by Matthew Schulz

Your business depends on intelligence. But can you count on your technology?

You may not be in the intelligence technology business, but it’s probably impossible to imagine your business without IT. Today, computing technology plays a vital role in the way you serve, work with, and communicate to your clients. Thanks to advances that have made technology more powerful yet less expensive, even the smallest practice can enjoy capabilities – in everything from marketing and sales to delivery and fulfillment – that were once the sole domain of large enterprises.

But today’s big IT advantages come with major risks. Your networks and systems serve as your silent partner in operations. Should they fail – and when they do, it’s usually without warning – you’re exposed not just to an IT problem, but to a potentially large business problem.

This post exposes 10 silent threats that might be quietly undermining your operations now – and proposes one quick, easy and FREE way to bring these threats under control, fast.

Risk #10: Wrong keys in wrong hands

It’s just common sense: you restrict crucial information, such as bank accounts and inventory access, to carefully designated employees. Yet many businesses have lost control of their network’s user level access privileges, exposing vital company and client data to people without authorization. One of the first steps toward security is to be sure the right people have the right level of access to appropriate applications and data.

Risk #9: Bring your own headache

On the one hand, new devices such as smartphones and tablets can increase employee productivity – and when employees use their own devices, save the company money. But this new “bring your own device” (BYOD) environment brings new headaches, too. These devices are easily lost and stolen. When they are, any information available to the device – including confidential practice and client data – may be vulnerable to illicit access. Yet fewer than 50% of businesses report the ability to use data encryption and/or remote data wiping to protect their assets. Take stock of your data inventory: you need to share permissions reports that reveal which devices and users have access to which files and applications.

Risk #8: Who's knocking at your backdoor?

Your business isn’t limited to your own systems. Thanks to access to outside servers and systems, you can leverage potent tools like Gmail and Dropbox to communicate with customers, share files and more. While these cloud services increase your capabilities without busting your IT budget, it’s important to remember that every connection that reaches out from your network may open an opportunity for someone else to reach in. Protect your portals: run an external vulnerability scan that reveals every “backdoor” through which an intruder might break into your network.

Risk #7: Weak Passwords

Your password protections are only as strong as the passwords themselves. Having no passwords – or using obvious passwords such as “12345” – undermines the very protection you seek. Yet employees often fail to establish passwords or, when they do, frequently use ineffective ones. Review your passwords’ strength to identify weak spots any unauthorized user could punch through.

Risk #6: Whoa, back up

If you lost a significant chunk of your data right now, how much business would you lose as well? Too many businesses run without sufficient policies, plans and procedures for backing up critical data essential to their ability to operate. If your business depends on manual procedures that are executed inconsistently, you’re exposed to unnecessary losses; it’s time to look for automated backup solutions that are always at work – even when employees might be forgetful.

Risk #5: Show me the compliance

Sensitive data demands special attention. In many businesses, the law obliges you to preserve client confidentiality – and demonstrate that you have processes in place to ensure compliance. The best way to prepare for a regulatory audit is to run regular compliance audits of your own that allow you to take corrective actions before your operation is called into account.

Risk #4: Print (lost) money

Despite high hopes for the “paperless” office, the reality is that businesses spend lots of money printing, faxing, copying and scanning paper documents. Consider the math: paper plus toner plus maintenance plus employee time, etc. It’s possible to bring these printing costs under control, but the first step is to discover who prints what, how often, and why. By monitoring your multi-function printers, you can limit access to authorized users, discourage unnecessary or wasteful usage, and encourage less-expensive options – such as scan to email or scan to file directories – that save time and money.

Risk #3: "Ghosts" in the machines

There may be “ghosts” haunting your networks – inactive users or inactive computers that remain part of your system, even if they are no longer contributing to your productivity. While the threat may not be immediately obvious, defunct computers represent an expense you don’t need to carry. Worse, inactive users may reflect open accounts (perhaps of people who are no longer employed by your business) that could present security holes for unauthorized access. Run audits that show you what’s active or not, then clean house – and close security loopholes – by burying the “dead” devices and accounts.

Risk #2: When IT can't keep up, your business goes down

Smart businesses and wise managers protect their critical networks with redundancy: backup servers and routers that are designed to kick in should the main system go down. But the contingency plan is only as good as the processes and practices behind them; should these be inoperative, your business will not maintain continuity in an emergency. To safeguard your business, analyze your network before disaster strikes to be sure that your contingency technologies – such as your backup designated router or alternate domain control – are online and ready for action.

Risk #1: Hiding in the dark

You want to run your businesses, not an IT department. While IT may not be top of mind, it should never be out of sight. Lack of vision into the true status of your technology, and the quality of your defenses against attack or failure, may leave your business vulnerable to disruption, legal consequences and loss of revenue. By implementing regular monitoring and review procedures, however, you can anticipate challenges before they become problems, and take adequate measures to ensure the smooth conduct of your firm.

Consider the Massachusetts model

Effective March 1, 2010, Massachusetts law M.G.L. c. 93h imposed the most comprehensive confidentiality requirements yet for the safeguarding of “personal information” such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and other means of individual identification. Among the requirements are these:

Encryption of all transmitted records and files containing personal information that will travel across public networks, and encryption of all data containing personal information to be transmitted wirelessly; and encryption of all personal information stored on laptops or other portable devices.

To ensure compliance, law firms should consider implementing practices that can:

Enforce strong password policies on all computing devices
Automate backup and restore functions for all systems
Restrict data, devices and applications to authorized individuals
Deploy remote lock and wipe capabilities for all lost and/or stolen devices

Are you sure your IT is a sure thing?

We all depend on IT. Given the stakes, it’s important our confidence is well placed. Are you sure the technology you rely upon is adequately protected? In our experience, nine out of ten companies have undetected vulnerabilities that could lead to data disaster.

Take a moment to complete this quick self-analysis. If you cannot answer yes to every question, request our FREE network assessment to give yourself – and your business – the confidence you deserve.

Have you assigned appropriate access levels and authority to restrict data and applications to the right people?
Can you create and review permission reports that tell you which devices and personnel have access to which data and applications?
Are the connections you use to access online services protected against backdoor invasions by unauthorized intruders?
Are your data and applications password protected, and are your employees using sufficiently strong passwords to ensure security?
Do you use automated backup programs for data protection, rather than random and irregular manual backups?
If the regulators arrived at your door, are you confident you comply with legal and regulatory mandates for your data?
Can you monitor and control printing, faxing, scanning and copying to lower costs?
Is your system cleared of ghosts users and computers that waste resources and expose your network to unauthorized access?
Can you verify that your data recovery and network restoration plans are operative and ready to work in an emergency?
Do you have timely and actionable visibility into your IT status, so that you can intercept problems before they interrupt your business?

Give yourself, and your business, a “yes” vote of confidence by requesting our FREE network assessment! Your network assessment will give you insight into the true status of your IT system, and point the way to appropriate corrective actions you can make to secure your business effectively and efficiently.

Want a free network assessment?

To get your FREE network assessment. Contact us today.

3 Reasons Why All Homes Should Have a Microsoft 365 Subscription

January 4, 2020 by Matthew Schulz

Microsoft Office has been THE office suite for more than a decade, whether it’s for business or students doing their homework. Other applications have come and gone, but it’s expected that most people will be doing their work in Word, Excel or PowerPoint. While you may have an older version of Office that you love, there are three good reasons you should upgrade to Microsoft 365 subscription.

It’s more accessible: A Microsoft 365 subscription operates in the cloud, which means you can use your Word, Excel, Outlook and other office products from anywhere. This means no more forgotten homework, files you can’t access until you get to work or lost documents. The cloud has them all ready and waiting for you, wherever you are. Save important files to a USB drive or your computer and use the cloud versions as your mobile copy, there really are no restrictions on how flexible a Microsoft 365 subscription can be.

Another benefit is that since it’s in the cloud, the barriers between Mac and PC versions have been erased. It runs on both platforms and on any device - iPhones, iPads, Android, tablets and many other smart devices. A hefty allocation of cloud storage comes with it too, in the form of OneDrive, so you can access your documents from any device. Many people have started using their OneDrive to store all of their important data, including photos, media and recipes. You can even share your files with a simple link, and you always have complete control over who sees what.

It’s more affordable: Previously, there was a large upfront cost per computer and you were stuck with that version until you dug deep and upgraded. For people with more than one computer in their home, for example 2 laptops and a desktop, this was a very expensive way to obtain software. A Microsoft 365 subscription has no large upfront costs, no matter how many computers or devices you need to install it on. It’s actually a monthly or annual subscription for a small amount, with no contracts. Depending on your location (pricing differs across countries), you can have five Microsoft 365 subscription licenses for a whole year, for less than the cost of your previous version.

It’s always updated: You are always rocking the latest version of Office. You aren’t stuck with the one you paid for years ago, like Office 2007, 2013 or 2016. A Microsoft 365 version is always the very latest. If you’re still using an older version, you’ll be surprised by how much Office has evolved. Gone are the annoying paperclip helpers, tacky looking clipart and templates and confusing buttons. Everything is intuitive and easy to use, so you no longer need to take classes or tutorials on how to work it. Even the jargon has been stripped out in favor of human-speak so you can get your tasks done faster and finally break up with the undo button. With the latest features, your files also take on a whole new level of professionalism. Plus, any updates, upgrades or patches happen automatically, so whatever Microsoft cooks up to impress you is added to your Office immediately. In the past, when you upgraded your Office version it was quite the drama and often left your files in a mess. Switching to a Microsoft 365 subscription is like a breath of fresh air in this regard, as it’s essentially a sign up and go situation. Older files remain intact, your hard drive doesn’t get cluttered, and you’re up and running in minutes.

With a Microsoft 365 subscription, you’re essentially getting more while spending less. It’s a popular option for good reason. The fact that it’s always available, always the latest version and works anywhere is reason enough to make the switch, particularly if you have students or work-at-home users. The baked-in security features also mean you’re less at risk of cyber-attack, so you can get on with your tasks and let Microsoft deal with the dirty work. It really is a stress-free solution, saving you time and money.

Switch to Office 365 Today!

Small Businesses & Digital Transformation: What’s in it for you?

September 16, 2019 by Matthew Schulz

Why Digital Transformation is a Top Priority for Small Businesses

New technologies are opening up new opportunities for business. They’re driving a revolution known as
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, where processes are simplified, ideas are implemented, and businesses are benefiting like never before.

Discover what digital transformation is, and the possibilities that even small changes can provide to your business growth.

Digital Transformation is more than a buzzword

Digital transformation may be a buzzword thrown around by large corporations, but small businesses are quickly embracing the core ideas behind it - using technology to improve processes, innovate and expand.

It’s an umbrella term that encompasses multiple areas of business transformation, each driven by new technologies, customer behavior, market demand and external factors. Many businesses have already begun their digital transformation with cloud applications, remote working and using email for communication. When you consider you may already be halfway down the path, it’s much easier to look around and wonder what else could be improved with technology!

The Joy of Disruption

Right now, small to medium businesses across the globe are in prime position to disrupt their industries. That is, to use their inherent flexibility to do things in a new way, introduce new products and services, and generally show the old guard how things should be done.

When computers reached the point where they were widely affordable and understood, it caused a massive shift in how business was done. Ledgers became spreadsheets, letters were replaced with emails and a new normal was quickly established. It’s been this way for many years, but now companies are changing again. This isn’t for the sake of being cutting edge and looking cool, but to claim their share of real, tangible benefits.

Which opportunity will you embrace?

Quite often, decision makers hold off from worrying about how their employees will feel about the new technology. There’s concern it will make them redundant, they won’t know how to use it, or it will make their job harder. It’s worth noting that digital transformation is not only about getting clever with tech possibilities, it’s about providing a business culture where it’s clear you want to make success as easy as possible - both for your business AND your employees.

Go completely paperless

Efficiency is always the order of the day, and going paperless is one of the easiest ways to achieve this. You’ll avoid lost paperwork and illegible handwriting, and filing becomes a chore your employees will happily skip. New technology allows information to be entered directly into the system, even from remote locations and on-the-go.

You’ll save money and stakeholders throughout your business process will appreciate the speed with which things now happen. With the right applications, you’ll also have analytical data at your fingertips, automatically generated and ready for you to act on.

There’s no limit to the innovation a paperless office provides, and the technology is there to support even the wildest ideas. According to Forbes, nearly 20% of companies have implemented chatbots across roles such as diary management, customer support, and even confirming sick notes.

Say Goodbye to Old Hardware and Software

A large part of your IT budget is no doubt consumed by maintaining software you’ve been using for years. Legacy software like this, applications you’ve had for so long that it feels too costly or difficult to switch, are a common problem for small businesses. It might have been state-of-the-art 20-30 years ago, but after all those years of patching to force it to play nice with your modern business, they can actually become a productivity black hole. The same goes for older hardware, systems you’ve kept running despite the rest of your business surging ahead around it.

You might be pleasantly surprised to discover a replacement for that software or hardware has been developed in recent years, or that new advances mean you don’t even need it anymore.

Clocking into the Virtual Office

Cloud productivity solutions are becoming more common, such as Microsoft Office 365 and Slack. Applications like these allow employees to collaborate with maximum efficiency and ease of use. There’s never any lost work, ‘locked’ files and employees are able to extend themselves to showcase their skills like never before.

Cloud solutions are changing the way people work, and even how they expect to work. Confining their workday to the traditional 9-5 plus 2 hours in an exhausting commute is no longer accepted as necessary; many employees are embracing the flexibility that comes with cloud applications and choosing to work from home (or elsewhere). Around 30% of employees now work from home at least one day per week, a statistic expected to rise to 50% by 2020.

Create Room to Grow

Digital transformation isn’t just about getting rid of the old, but having room to grow into the new. You’ll be able to take on new opportunities, do more, and operate in ways you couldn’t before.

It not only benefits you as a business but your customers too. They want faster responses, faster turnarounds, and digital interactions. Whether it’s fair or not, whatever they see a competitor do, they expect you to follow suit. This might mean always available services, ever more rapid deliveries, and one-touch bookings. While your business might not be able to (or want to!) morph into a new Amazon with drone deliveries overnight, all these new technologies open a world of possibilities for your future. It’s now easier than ever to find out what your customers want, so you can leverage the right digital platforms to evolve alongside them.

Something else?

These are just some options and we know every business is different. For each business, we determine what they want to achieve and work out a plan to get them there. We can analyze businesses and see exactly where improvements can be made.

Do you need a digital transformation for your business?

6 Business Problems You Can Solve with a Single Phone Call

May 18, 2019 by Matthew Schulz

More IT, More Problems

Technology itself is advancing at rapid speeds, but the way people conduct business is moving even faster. Processes that would have felt ‘space-age’ just 5 years ago are now the norm, and businesses are under increasing pressure to keep up.

With that progress comes increased complexity - ongoing headaches really - as cyber-attacks rise, data continues to burst out of your storage drives, and technology requires constant maintenance to avoid downtime.

While large corporations are able to hire entire teams to manage their IT, small to medium businesses find their IT budget is running dry, but the problems still remain.

Switching to Managed Services brings instant relief to both budget and problems, beginning with putting cash flow back in your control.

Cash Flow out of Control

Computer problems can happen at any time, and the fix can sometimes be costly. Replacing systems, servers, components, laptops, peripherals...the problems tend to quickly spiral out of control, as each failure triggers the next.

Unexpected expenses like this are terrible for businesses, especially those who have to carefully manage cash flow every single month. Our Managed Services will help remove this financial stress with a fixed monthly cost you can budget for, and preemptive maintenance protocols to avoid disaster of your storage drives, and technology requires constant maintenance to avoid downtime.

Reduce Break/Fix Emergencies

Without our Managed Services there to make sure problems are minimal, reactive solutions are always going to be costly. There’s always a mad rush to get systems back online, limited availability of technicians with expertise, and hustling around to locate suitable parts on short notice.

Your business ends up with a suitable solution, but it may not last as long and it sure cost more than it should have. Engaging with our Managed Services means your IT problems are proactively corrected, without the cost shock, and before everything goes wrong.

Business Growth Gone AWOL

It’s hard to grow a business without the right technology in place. In fact, it can severely throttle your growth. It’s like mowing the lawn with nail clippers - success never seems to arrive, no matter how hard you work! Not having the right technology will directly affect your ability to compete, streamline and innovate. Getting the technology to support your business growth doesn’t need to be expensive, but it does require expert strategy.

Take Advantage of Technology Consulting & Strategy

With Managed Services, we can work with your business to plan the IT strategy that will support (and drive) growth. Rather than dive on the latest technology for the sake of it, we’ll make recommendations based on the way you work, your goals, plus help you plug any productivity, efficiency or budget leaks. As your business grows, the technology we recommend can be scaled to keep you ahead and competitive.

Cybersecurity Concerns

It seems every month we’re hearing about a new virus or hack, usually with a regretful business taking the brunt of everybody’s frustration. All those patches and protections are a lot to stay on top of, which is why 43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses. Far too many are successful. During 2016, an average of 4000 ransomware attacks happened every day in the US, a statistic that continues to climb.

Remote Monitoring = Protected

Unfortunately, 60% of businesses fail to recover from successful cyber attacks. Considering the sensitive nature of data held by business and the fact that IT is essential to continued operation, daily defense is required. Our remote monitoring can help cut off cyber-attacks as they occur, maintain your antivirus protection and software patches, plus assist with creating a secure culture. Businesses with our Managed Services enjoy highly effective security against threat.

Tech Wars

Businesses spend too much time battling with their technology, time that could be directed towards their core profit-making activities. Every day, employees struggle with compatibility issues, repeated errors and systems that simply don’t work the way they should. Even if you’re able to patch together a series of workarounds to keep things moving, the outcome is rarely ideal and usually has a negative flow-on effect for the customer.

Claw Back Your Resources

While our Managed Services takes care of your technology, your employees are free to focus on internal initiatives, innovation and collaboration. When things go wrong, support is a call or click away, and situations that would previously have been a productivity black hole are simply solved.

Downtime Revenue Loss

A single server going down can cripple a business, and the longer it’s down, the more it costs. Combine lost income with employee hourly wages and downtime becomes a hefty write-off. Once you start adding in overtime to catch up and missed deadline penalties, that small inconvenience becomes an extensive issue. It’s estimated that just one hour of downtime costs around $10,000 - an unwelcome price tag that increases with business size.

Prevent Problems from Happening

We are able to remotely see when hardware is about to fail and take steps to prevent catastrophe. Downtime is limited or avoided completely, and your business is able to continue surging ahead. We’ll let you know in advance what’s about to go wrong, and suggest proactive measures to ensure the crash is avoided.

Data Management

Data is the backbone of any business, whether it’s customer databases or proprietary files, and a catastrophic loss can see the doors close for good. Our Managed Services can make sure your data is backed up, moving fast through the network and you have enough storage. As your data needs grow, we’ll make sure it’s safe and if regulatory compliance is a concern for your business, we can help make sure you’re getting the tick.

Safe Data at your Fingertips

Backups rarely make for fascinating dinner conversation, but they will save your business in the event of corruption or breach. It’s one of the first things we’ll set up and manage for you, so you never have to worry. Our Managed Services can go one step further and help you go paperless where possible, improving response speeds within and without your business, while at the same time increasing your communication security.

Peace of mind is priceless - Get Proactive Computer Management Services today!

Cyber Attacks are on the Rise and are Incredibly Expensive

April 27, 2019 by Matthew Schulz

Malware and web-based cyber attacks are the most popular forms that are growing in their complexity and method of delivery.

In 2015 companies saw an average of 160 successful cyber attacks per week, more than three times the 2010 average of 50 per week (The Ponemon Institute’s 2015 Cost of Cyber Crime Report).

Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, spyware, adware, etc. and is primarily installed via phishing schemes. When employees click rogue links or open malicious attachments, they unknowingly give hackers remote access to infect their systems.

One wrong move and sensitive company data or personally identifiable information, such as your social security number, could become encrypted and/or stolen.

Ransomware is the malware of choice now. You may have heard of CryptoLocker, CryptoWall and now Locky, malicious software that locks you out of your files and demands ransom payment for recovery. Factoring in this ongoing trend, cybercrime is becoming increasingly costly.

Data Security Now Requires Consistent, Vigilant Monitoring & Maintenance

With all of the various threats to your company’s data and factoring in the impact of exploited network or system vulnerabilities, you simply don’t have the time to do what it takes to keep your business secure.

IT security must continually be revisited. How much time would you say you’ve spent working on cybersecurity issues in the last six months? Are you staying up-to-date with cybersecurity threats?

If you don’t have someone constantly and actively monitoring your network, you may not detect any issues until it’s too late. What if you didn’t know you were hit with ransomware until after the ransom payment window closed, and you couldn’t access any of your files?

The average time to detect malware or criminal attack is 170 days (Heimdal Security).

Did you know?

79 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t have an incident response plan. Signature-based antivirus solutions detect on average less than 19 percent of malware threats. Ransomware is becoming more expensive, with the average ransom averaging around $679. The number of new ransomware families is predicted to rise 25 percent in 2017. 51 percent of business owners are unfamiliar with unified threat management (UTM) and do not fully understand its security benefits.

Examples of time-consuming, but necessary cybersecurity tasks you can offload include:

Reviewing firewall rules
Updating your firewall
Patching the latest vulnerabilities discovered
Maintaining required controls and standard certifications, such as: ISO, SSAE16, HIPAA, SOX, etc.
Filtering web content
Updating software

Dedicated Cybersecurity Expertise Combined with Advanced Threat Intelligence

Do you have the budget, skills or resources to have inhouse experts devoted solely to cybersecurity?

You may have employees who handle cybersecurity along with other general IT responsibilities, but that’s not enough. Through no fault of your own, you’re unprepared to protect against and remediate these cyber threats. If you’re attacked, you won’t be ready.

An MSP provides the proactive, preventative maintenance and technology you need to secure your workstations, servers, devices and networks. Working with an MSP is also a more cost-efficient way to address your information security needs. Some additional benefits you’ll receive include:

Multi-Layered Threat Protection and Prevention

You don’t always have the time, bandwidth or resources to stay up-to-date on the latest security processes and implement the proper defenses to keep your network protected. The easiest and most beneficial solution for you is to partner with an MSP like us and fully leverage our services and expertise. Together, we can minimize your business’ risk and develop a plan that focuses on resiliency, not only prevention. The best approach to IT security is a multi-layered approach, and we can provide that for you.

Simplified Management

If your IT security strategy is a patchwork of different devices from multiple vendors, it may be putting too much strain on your in-house team to manage. Our unified threat management and cybersecurity services allow for a more centralized management of threats to local and remote environments from a single console. And as your MSP, we can take care of the deployment, management and monitoring for you – thereby addressing your security needs in an efficient and simplified manner.

Your Ultimate Failsafe

We can be the expert you can turn to in case of a ransomware or other cyber attack. As your MSP, we’ll give you the steps you need to take so as to minimize interruption to your business and profitability, and also provide you and your employees with training and education to prevent future attacks. The key to protecting your business is to take preventative measures now. When you work with us, you can rest easy knowing that your network is secure, your data is protected and that we’re available for any and all of your support needs.

Don't waste any time protecting you and your business.

Are Your Old Technology Devices Dragging You Down?

March 20, 2019 by Matthew Schulz

How upgrades save you money and make you happier

For most people, technology is both a blessing and a curse. It makes life easier, we can now do and see things that even a generation ago would have been unthinkable. But keeping up can be time-consuming, frustrating and expensive.

How do you know when your technology devices have crossed the line into old-age and it’s time to upgrade? On the other hand, how do you know when to stick with your technology devices and ride it out for a while longer? Discover the clear signs your technology devices are ready to retire and the hidden costs you might not have considered.

How old is too old?

First of all, not all technology can be measured in the same way. The computer that drives an MRI machine is extremely specialist, built to exact criteria and has a very different lifespan to a home or office PC. Likewise, a home PC might last longer than a server, a desktop longer than a laptop, and so on. It’s less about the age of your device and more about whether it’s still fit for purpose.

Generally speaking, if your technology is older than four to five years, it’s definitely time for an upgrade. It doesn’t sound like very long, but in computing years, that’s an eternity! The Intel founder even measured the difference to give us some perspective - he called it Moore’s Law (named after himself), and it states that computer capacity doubles nearly every 18 months.

Remember the movies where the show rooms full of giant servers, floor to ceiling and covered in flashing lights? That was less than 60 years ago! Less than 20 years ago a single monitor weighed 40lbs/20kgs and took up half your desk. Today we carry science- fiction-style computers around in our back pockets!

One thing is clear: Technology is speeding ahead, and if we’re not careful, we’ll be left behind.

If you think your old computer and it’s connected gadgets are ‘good enough’, wait until you see what the current technology can do.

How will I know?

While there’s no official retirement date across the board, there are certain signs to look out for. Here are the most pressing ones you’ll notice.

You spend your time fighting fires

Not literally, although that would certainly be a clear sign that your technology device needs to be replaced. If you’re constantly on call to solve problems that simply shouldn’t occur, you know it’s time for an upgrade. Things like your computers not connecting to the network, crashing frequently, errors popping up or even problems as irritating as keys not working. Computers should be making things easier, making your business run more smoothly and facilitating growth, not headaches.

You've lost that zippy feeling

If you, your family or employees are complaining about slow computers, it’s time for an upgrade. It’s about more than taking a minute or two at startup, it’s about knowing you can sit down with a task in mind and get it done quickly. Those using resource hungry applications will notice this frustration sooner, but eventually even having a few too many browser windows open can cause an older machine to seize up.

Your computer is unreliable

Crashing, rebooting, overheating and making weird noises are all going to put you on edge and make using your computer a game of chance. Will you get to save before crashing? Will it connect today? Will it even start up? If you or your users can’t rely on the technology device to do what it’s supposed to do, then it’s no longer fit for purpose.

Your technology devices look old

No, this sign isn’t about buying the latest technology devices just for the sake of it, but rather a prompt to take a look around and see what other people are using. For business in particular, having outdated technology devices can damage brand regard and loyalty. Imagine needing to choose between 2 businesses, one has a connected mobile device that allows you to get what you need on the spot, the other says they’ll call you when they get back to the office tomorrow. The choice isn’t so tricky after all.

Your technology devices are fighting with themselves

As you replace broken tech components you’ll find that the combination starts to cause issues. It gets to a point where the fast technology devices isn’t just throttling itself down to allow for speed differences, it could be incompatible. When you discover new apps refuse to install, parts don’t fit, and errors are everywhere, it’s time to upgrade.

How is this already costing you?

While it’s normal to want to delay and hold off for a little longer, that delay is costing you. Money, time, productivity and morale are all negatively impacted, both for home and business. Some businesses may even find themselves in legal hot water.

Home concerns
- Reduced mobility
- Repairs/support very expensive
- Increased likelihood of hardware failure
- Increased likelihood of additional hardware failure (domino effect)
- Increased frustrations
- Exposure to cyberattacks
- Reduced software availability
- Higher running costs
Business concerns
- Reduced morale
- Compliance breach
- Insurance breach
- Lost sales
- Productivity losses
- Reduced mobility
- Unhappy customers
- Limited scalability/growth
- Repairs/support very expensive
- Brand/loyalty damage
- Increased likelihood of hardware failure
- Exposure to cyberattacks

Not convinced?

According to tech expert Val Quinn (The Gadget Guy), "you can cut costs by 50% if you upgrade to a new computer". He adds that "staff can be more than 2.5x more productive on new equipment".

If your business is bound by regulatory requirements, you could be penalized for a data breach, especially if that breach could have been avoided by keeping your technology devices up-to-date. In serious cases, your insurance may not even cover you. It’s happened before. In 2017, the ransomware Wannacry severely disrupted NHS hospitals in the UK, resulting to the cancellation of 6,900 appointments. While that was inconvenient, it was the breach of thousands of private patient files that was the bigger problem. More to the point, the entire debacle could have been avoided. The hospital was running Windows XP which was so old that Microsoft had stopped releasing bug fixes and security updates for almost 2.5 years before.

In some cases, it’s difficult to update because the software to run specialist equipment may only work on a Windows XP system, but there are always options to make it safe.

What should I do?

Select the technology devices that's right for you now and for the next 3 years. Upgrading your technology devices doesn't have to be painful or expensive, especially when you’re able to do it at your convenience. It’s only when bundling an upgrade with emergency repairs that costs begin spiraling.

Our team loves to talk about technology and can advise you on your upgrade plan, including helping you get ahead of any industry changes or end-of-life operating system retirements.

Our Top Technology Buying Tips

Opt for the latest processors. While the older processors may be less expensive now, the reality is that their technology is already lagging behind. The processor is the brain of your computer, so while we can easily increase the flexible components like storage later, right now you want to get the biggest, fastest brain you can.
If your choosing a laptop, balance physical durability with weight. Think about how you’ll be using the laptop, if you’re always on the go, weight will be your priority. If you’re mostly at a desk with occasional trips, durability and power should be your priority.
Select the computer that's right for your needs or those of your users. What will they actually be doing on the computer? Is a mobile device with cloud link a more suitable option, or do they need an extra-powerful processor? If you’re still not sure, ask them what they like about their current computer and how it could be better. Their answers will become your new technology checklist.
Explore any asset boosting programs, tax incentives or grants available.
Consider using managed services as a pay-as-you-go solution to keep your technology devices operating at 100%.

Is it time to retire your old technology devices?

If you absolutely cannot upgrade due to software or hardware requirements, we can make it safe. Talk to us about your options. Contact us today!

Think about what’s most important in your business today – does technology come to mind?

February 14, 2019 by Matthew Schulz

No matter what your core business is, there’s no denying that technology plays an important role in day-to-day operations. And as we grow more dependent on IT, it’s becoming increasingly-important that your network and systems are online and operating efficiently at all times.

That’s where our fully-managed approach to IT can help. With proactive remote monitoring and management, we’re able to keep tabs on your IT infrastructure 24x7, 365 days a year – and when a problem does arise, our technical experts can quickly resolve it; in many cases before you’re even aware that there was a problem at all.

Network Management

We provide complete 24/7/365 monitoring of your network and IT infrastructure, and provide full problem resolution and troubleshooting for servers, desktops, and mobile devices. Our technical experts are constantly working behind the scenes to ensure your systems are running smoothly, and when a problem does arise we’ll jump in immediately to fix it.

Help Desk

Our U.S.-based Help Desk provides professional and courteous IT support 24x7x365. Whether you’re locked out of your email, need help setting up a new account or anything in between – no problem is too large or small for our certified technical experts to tackle.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Our Backup and Disaster Recovery solution is a complete, end-to-end business continuity offering designed to provide you with true peace of mind and robust data protection – meaning your critical files will always be secure and accessible when you need them, even if disaster strikes.

Are you ready to start getting proactive IT support?

How To Eliminate I.T. Distractions In Your Business

October 25, 2018 by Matthew Schulz

Have you ever been on a great roll with your work, in the zone, progressing your project leaps and bounds, only for a popup to interrupt? System popups, user maintenance, and computer interruptions can often feel like they are timed to break your workflow on purpose. You may have already had the experience of trying to rush to meet a client while your laptop demands yet more updates before you can shut down and unplug.

Distractions cost workplaces millions every single year. IT interruptions can be particularly frustrating, time-consuming, and costly to deal with.

In this guide, we talk about some of the top IT distractions that impact businesses and what we can do to solve them.

Social Media

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can cost businesses a huge amount of hours in time and productivity losses. Web browsing can introduce unproductive downtime and often invite malicious links and attachments into the network.

Both productivity and security can be boosted by limiting access to unproductive sites over the company network. Sites can be selectively enabled for a single department or individual to ensure social media marketing remains open to the staff that need it.

Social media and web activity can be secured with the installation of a Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance. A UTM works as your "bodyguard at the door" to stop unwanted social media traffic traveling in or out of your company network.

Spam

One of the biggest and most well known IT headaches of the modern day is the spam email. You work hard every day to respond to clients quickly and efficiently with relevant information. However, in modern IT, even just to find a clients request in your inbox you often have to clear dozens of spam messages out of the way. With poor filtering in place it becomes easy to lose important messages and attachments amongst the incoherent mess.

Unified Threat Management can help here too, keeping spam at the door and freeing staff to focus only on what is important. By preventing spam from entering the network, a UTM solution can safeguard IT against compromising links, phishing attacks, and rogue applications. A UTM allows individuals to forget everything else and deal only with the queries that matter.

Windows Updates

Seemingly scheduled to happen at the worst possible minute, mandatory updates can lock you out of your machine at any time of day. These can happen when you're physically away from your machine. Windows updater can take control and decide to restart the computer to install a downloaded patch. When this happens, open work, unsaved changes, and active projects can be lost before you even return to the computer.

Even when an update doesn't apply itself on a whim, the system may decide that updates will be applied the next time you shut down the machine. These can work fine at the end of the day, but often occur when you need to unplug to visit a client, for an upcoming meeting, or to take home work for later review.

Updates are of course vitally important. They come with the latest security patches and bug fixes that keep your network and data safe from harm.

Using Managed Services, updates and maintenance are completed silently in the background. Updates, fixes, and security patches can be downloaded, installed, and applied at out of office hours to make sure your IT works to your schedule.

Virus Alerts and Updates

Antivirus is a critical component in every business. Keeping IT security up to date with the latest threats is vital to keeping your systems and data safe.

However, systems that need more attention than the threats they defend against can be counterproductive. Antivirus pop-ups interrupting your workflow with constant updates slow productive progress dramatically. Well-meaning staff can even turn off key security features just to get work done.

Effective security should work in the background. Securing your business against incoming threats without constant fanfare or interruptions. The best security works silently to allow you to focus on the important things.

Managed services allow security to be done the right way for you. We ensure that antivirus remains up to date and capable of handling new and evolving threats. Where a virus is detected, managed services allow us to take action, preventing its spread and securing your network before damage is done.

System Downtime

The ultimate distraction that a business can face is the complete loss of a system or network. Employees and owners both feel the impact when IT goes down and neither can work at all.

Complete system failures can seem unexpected and sudden, like a bolt from the blue. In reality, system hardware often gives subtle warning signals in advance. These signals tell us ahead of time one or more parts are destined for failure.

When monitored carefully these signals help us to fix problems before they even happen. A failing hard drive, for example, can be swapped for a fresh one at a time convenient for you and your business. Seamless data transfer means no interruptions or changes to data at all.

By keeping on top of your business-critical hardware, downtime and data losses can be avoided before a disaster occurs.

Ready to find out more?

Are Registry Cleaners a Good Idea?

October 20, 2018 by Matthew Schulz

You have likely been alerted by popups while browsing the web. These, often flashing, advertisements claim your computer has more than a thousand errors requiring urgent attention to fix. Perhaps helpfully, these popups offer a solution to cure your computer with a click of the mouse. Buttons marked "fix now" appear to offer a simple fix to all your computer troubles.

These advertisements are often described as Registry Cleaners, or by a few other names that attempt to convince the user they will somehow clean or improve their home PC. Within the IT industry they are known as "scareware". They are software designed to convince you that your computer has problems it might not have.

Are they trustworthy?

Almost all popups and advertisements that use banners saying "Fix now for free" are not trustworthy at all. They are little more than a scam attempting to take your credit card details, PC data or both. At best these programs might claim to scan your computer and show a convincing list of plausible sounding computer problems. Using this, they will ask for payment to "fix" these problems to get your PC back in shape again.

At worst these advertisements can be downright malicious. Some may attempt to use fake warnings and scare tactics to trick customers into installing spyware on their own computers. When installed, spyware will attempt to steal information in the background. Attackers may use this technique to steal usernames, passwords, emails, and credit card details. Sometimes the first sign a user has that something is wrong is when a virus scan detects software doing something it shouldn't be.

Do I need to clean the registry?

The Windows system and various applications installed on your PC do leave files on stored your computer. These files can stay behind or go out of date even after the application that initially made them has been removed. These files can use up a little space on the hard drive and generally cause minor clutter within the system.

Despite the large amount of "scareware" and fraudulent computer cleanup scans out there, legitimate applications designed to clean your system do exist. This can be something we cover and is often done as a single small part of a complete computer tune up. Keeping up with out of date files and freeing up unused space is worthwhile and can be considered "good housekeeping". The vast speed boosts many online advertisements claim to unlock by simply moving files around are almost always false.

The home computer, however, is commonly upgraded and can be boosted by more conventional means. If the speed of your PC is no longer up to the task, there are ways in which we can unlock far greater gains than simple housekeeping chores.

PC Boosters

Relatively low-cost hardware components such as memory can often be added to boost the speed of even an older PC and unlock a new lease of life. Upgrading the computers RAM can double the working memory available to the operating system. With extra memory, many programs can keep more information available to work with. This upgrade reduces loading times and increases the computers ability to run more programs at once.

Another common speed boosting upgrade involves how we store and load data from the computer. Switching from an older style mechanical hard drive to a modern Solid State Disk (SSD) can bring down the startup and loading time of any PC.

Loading data from the hard drive is very often the slowest part of a computer, the bottleneck in an otherwise very fast system. Because an SSD does not use any mechanical components the time to access the disk is nearly instant when compared to older, mechanical hard disks.

Safe Speed Boosts

These upgrades offer boosts in speed to rival a modern system at only a fraction of the cost originally paid for the computer. Upgrading the RAM, swapping to an SSD, or doing both will provide an instant, dramatic, and safe improvement to the speed of your PC.

Does your computer need a tune up?

How to Stop Your Business From Becoming a Victim of Social Engineering

October 14, 2018 by Matthew Schulz

You can have top-notch security in place but there is still one danger: social engineering. It’s the old kid on the block, but most of us have never heard of it. Perhaps the more familiar term is ‘con’: the art of manipulating people to take certain actions or divulge private information. Social engineers are a special type of hacker who skip the hassle of writing code and go straight for the weakest link in your security defenses – your employees. A phone call, a cheap disguise or casual email may be all it takes to gain access, despite having solid technology protections in place.

Email: Pretending to be a co-worker or customer who ‘just quickly’ needs a certain piece of information. It could be a shipping address, login, contact or personal detail that they pretend they already know, but simply don’t have in front of them. The email may even tell you where to get the data from. The hacker may also create a sense of urgency or indicate fear that they’ll get in trouble without this information. Your employee is naturally inclined to help and quickly sends a reply.

Phone: Posing as IT support, government official or customer, the hacker quickly manipulates your employee into changing a password or giving out information. These attacks are harder to identify and the hacker can be very persuasive, even using background sound effects like a crying baby or call-center noise to trigger empathy or trust.

In Person: A delivery man uniform gets past most people without question, as does a repairman. The social engineer can quickly then move into sensitive areas of your business. Once inside, they essentially become invisible, free to install network listening devices, read a Post-it note with a password on it, or tamper with your business in other ways.

It’s impossible to predict when and where (or how) a social engineer will strike. The above attacks aren’t particularly sophisticated, but they are extremely effective. Your staff have been trained to be helpful, but this can also be a weakness. So what can you do to protect your business? First, recognize that not all of your employees have the same level of interaction with people, the front desk clerk taking calls all day would be at higher risk than the factory worker, for example. We recommend cyber-security training for each level of risk identified, focusing on responding to the types of scenarios they might find themselves in. Social engineering is too dangerous to take lightly, and far too common for comfort.