Macro Systems Blog

Whether we like it or not, technology changes quickly. That change is usually beneficial; you can accomplish more, gain more visibility, stretch your resources further, and do things you wouldn’t have thought possible or affordable a few years ago. On the other hand, sometimes technology changes arrive with the frustration of having to learn something new, develop new processes, and deal with a mountain of other annoyances. Listed below are some tips on how to prepare you and your business for the inevitable changes that your IT will be facing over the next few years.

Technology has altered the culture of some office environments, for better or worse. While we tend to err on the side of implementing IT as being worth the risk, it’s always best to go into implementing a new technology solution with the thought of not just how it will affect operations, but how it might influence your company's culture. Below we go into detail about ways that implementing a new IT solution might affect the way your staff interact with each other, as well as what you should look out for when implementing such solutions.

Microsoft is discarding OneNote 2016 in favor of the OneNote application bundled with Windows 10. The note-taking app will still be supported until October 2020, with extended support offered after that, but Microsoft will not be adding any additional features to it; instead, they'll be putting all of their efforts into making the version bundled with Windows 10 the definitive version. Some details to keep in mind when making the switch between these two solutions are listed below.

Microsoft’s note-taking application OneNote will soon be reaching its end of life, along with the rest of the Office 2016 suite. Fortunately, most PC users already have the heir to OneNote 2016’s throne installed on their devices, so its end of life this October won’t be such a huge blow.

For most of the last half decade we’ve been told that the Internet of Things (IoT) was going to be the most vital innovation since broadband Internet. This growth, while mostly occurring under the proverbial radar, is happening. There are around seven billion “smart” devices in 2019 with expectations that it will be three times that by 2025. With that many Internet-connected devices, there are destined to be some that come with vulnerabilities, whether it comes from being designed poorly or not frequently updated with modern threat definitions. Let's take a look to see if the Internet of Things should be considered a threat to your organization.

Communication is a vital part of the workplace, and modern tools have made it more efficient than ever before to stay in contact with co-workers. One of the most imperative tools in the modern business’ repertoire is instant messaging, which is somewhat challenging to utilize without a way of ensuring productivity and professionalism.

You’ve probably noticed the increased use of smartphones. No matter where you go, people are on their phones. For the modern business, employee smartphone usage can be a major source of irritation. Let's look into how smartphone usage helps and hurts a business and how to go about keeping employees from being on their phones for large chunks of the workday.

SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2, two of Microsoft's most utilized relational database management systems, will be losing support on July 9, 2019. If your organization continues to use one of these titles for its database management, you are running out of time before you need to upgrade. Below we take a look at what the software is used for and what options are available to you going forward.

They say software runs the world, and it’s all thanks to the capability to merge with one-another via the use of APIs. API, short for application programming interface, is imperative to comprehend what these do in our modern technology environment.

Technology has become so mainstream in the office environment that work can be done from just about anywhere on any device. This has led to many businesses implementing a remote workforce, at least some of the time. There are actually several advantages to remote work, even for the employer.

Your organization is susceptible to countless threats and vulnerabilities, all of which aim to harm your business. These hazards include all kinds of technology-related issues that cause downtime and other negative situations that your organization has to overcome. Listed below are some of the threats you face every day, as well as an appropriate response to each.

Windows is arguably the most operating system in the world; thus, developers are always hard at work on the next new version of the OS. Nonetheless, businesses are often stuck in a tricky situation whenever end of support occurs for any popular operating system. When your reliable technology solutions finally stop receiving updates and patches, what do you do? Users of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will have to answer this question next January.

Databases are especially convenient for allowing access to critical data, but they, by default, expose data to risks depending on how they are stored. For example: if a database is stored in the cloud it could potentially be vulnerable to threats that put the future of your organization in jeopardy. Compared to the public cloud, a private cloud database can give you more opportunities for security, flexibility, and customization.

The office is a location where work gets accomplished, but it’s also known as a sedentary lifestyle. Workplace wellness programs may be an $8 billion industry, but the effectiveness of these programs has yet to be determined. Below we'll take a look at what kind of office wellness programs might work for your business. 

Collaboration is imperative to the success of your business; productivity can rarely happen without it. Some modern collaboration tools have enhanced operations so much that they have completely altered the workplace dynamic, making meetings easier to manage, clients easier to communicate with, and managing in-house processes in a more productive way. It’s not surprising that the proper collaboration tools can help your business overcome just about anything.

Artificial Intelligence is one technology that results in both excitement and fear. People’s imaginations tend to run away with them when they have conversations about AI. Organizations of all kinds are beginning to figure how they can utilize advanced AI platforms and machine learning to facilitate better business, but is it working? Below we'll take a look at how AI innovation is changing business and see how ready AI is for primetime.

It’s not usually the big bad hackers that pose the biggest risk to your organization's continued survival. Most of the time it’s simple problems that create a world of issues for your business. One usual way that an otherwise sound business plan could be disrupted is via an unexpected disaster derailing operations without having an adequate data backup solution in place.

There is one constant in the modern business environment: your business will be in a consistent state of being at risk the second you start to make a name for yourself. What a lot of businesses don’t comprehend is that it doesn’t matter how high or low-profile an organization is, there will always be data on a network infrastructure that is valuable to hackers and is targeted by threats.

Working in an office is the modern reality for many people, but it doesn’t need to be a distressing one. There are numerous ways to make life easier while working in an office. Let's go over review four simple adjustments you can make to streamline your time throughout the workday.

Businesses usually have to make a critical choice about which brand of productivity software they will utilize for day-to-day operations. Two of the heavy hitters in the modern business landscape are Google and Microsoft implementing their respective productivity solutions. While the choice of which service to work with seems exclusive, Google is making strides to break down this barrier and allow certain file types to be edited in Google Drive.