Technology is an imperative part of your business’s operations, but sometimes things don’t go quite as planned. It can fail when you least expect it to, and you’d really hate to pay your IT provider for an on-site visit. What can you do when you’re in a technology bind and need to keep operations moving forward?
It’s well known in the business world that outsourcing your IT will yield significant savings for your IT budget. However, did you know that the benefits of outsourcing IT go beyond monetary savings? For example, gaining access to a new skillset is just one valuable benefit to outsourced IT that doesn’t have a column in your budget.
We often discuss why it’s important that a business takes proactive measures to resolve IT issues before they become problems, but these definitions might be lost on some of our followers. In order to understand the true value of our IT services, it’s imperative that you’re able to distinguish the difference between these two disruptive sources to your technology.
Technology has come a long way since 2003. It seems like just yesterday that Microsoft dropped support for Windows XP, and in just a few short months, they’ll be dropping support for Windows Server 2003, as well. If your business is one of the many still utilizing this server operating system, you’ll want to make sure that you upgrade away from it before July 14th, 2015. Otherwise, you’ll be running without security patches or updates.
IT support is heavily reliant upon communication between both parties involved. Without both sides being on the same page, IT support miscommunications are far more likely to happen. Sometimes you just can’t help but laugh at poor communication skills, as seen in the 2001 movie Zoolander. But thankfully, these situations don’t arise too often in the non-fictional universe… right?
"Quick, to the emergency room!" These are dreaded words that nobody wants to hear. An emergency like this implies a life or death scenario, and it gets everybody worked up into a frenzy. After arriving to the ER and getting a doctor's diagnosis, how quickly do people's attitudes change when the emergency turns out to be false?
Data is the lifeblood of business. Therefore, IT workers who maintain business critical systems that "keep the blood pumping" are at the heart of every data-driven organization. Can your business live if an in-house IT worker took a vacation? Many employers think not. Statistics show IT workers have a difficult time "getting away from IT all."
The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The ancient Chinese military general Sun Tzu might have been around long before the Internet was a thing, but he sure knew how to make an impression on the world. In his extremely influential book on ancient Chinese warfare, The Art of War, he says that "every battle is won before it's ever fought." This applies to protecting your IT network, too.
A change is happening in the White House. Mikey Dickerson, a Google site reliability engineer, has just been appointed by the United States government as the deputy federal CIO, proving that even the big wigs need consulting from time-to-time.
The news that Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP, one of its most successful operating systems, was a great blow to many who loved the software. The greatest blow, however, will likely prove to be hackers, who will be able to break into the system now that Microsoft is not providing security patches.
For most small business owners, your average week includes several moments where you look at your expense sheet and search for ways to cut costs and improve the profitability, and thus, the sustainability of your company. Around the holidays, when business picks up for everyone, some small businesses run into problems that stunt their net profitability. The inability to spend the money that larger companies can will often result in handcuffing a business' ability to compete.
How does it make you feel having to call IT support? If you've never talked with one of our IT technicians, then you may think of the stereotypical scenario of dealing with an incoherent foreigner and dread making the call. We feel IT Support should be quick, easy, and resolve the problem, not test the limits of your patience.
When looking for a mate, you will be most attracted to a "total package." This is a guy or a girl that has it all: Looks, personality, a sense of humor, and everything else your heart desires. Looking for a business partner is a lot like looking for a mate. You want to go with a company that is a total package.
IT support is not without its stereotypes. These stereotypes can make for some great humor, as seen in Jimmy Fallon's Saturday Night Live character, Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy. Behind every Nick Burns stereotype is a truth about poor IT service. Let's take a look at Nick to show you how we are nothing like him.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that cat memes infest the Internet to the point where it’s difficult to not see one. But, have you considered that it might not be that people are obsessed with cats, and that maybe the cats are simply overwhelmed by their ego as a superior race? Perhaps cats understand technology far better than even humans do, and they are the masterminds behind why the Internet has gone cat-crazy.
How involved in your operations is your IT department? Does your SMB even have an IT department? Many organizations tend to consider IT an afterthought because they don’t believe themselves to be targets for hackers, or don’t anticipate costly technology issues. However, these business owners underestimate the power of complete transparency between an organization and IT.
