Your customers—both those you currently work with and those you have yet to onboard—are the key to unlocking your company’s potential. Therefore, it stands to reason that you’ll want a solution in place to help you manage the interactions you have with potential customers. This is what a customer relationship management tool, or CRM, is all about. With the right CRM, you can fully leverage your organization’s customer base to maximize profits and attract new leads.

Your business runs on data, but so do the cyber criminals who want to steal yours

One very painful truth about running a business is that you possess data that is attractive to criminals. There is no avoiding that reality. You have data. They want data. It is an ongoing challenge to maintain data security as cyber criminals' efforts evolve and change on a daily basis. The wall that kept you safe last week may have holes in them today. Keeping up with the latest threats is a specialized field that in-house IT support likely doesn't have. An MSP can provide the support you need in the face of ransomware threats and other malware. Also, an MSP can provide 24/7 monitoring.

Chances are, some of your employees operate outside the traditional office setting, whether it's occasional remote work or a permanent setup. Consequently, your business needs to furnish your team with the necessary tools and resources to ensure their success. It's a good practice to carefully evaluate the technology you provide, particularly for those who work remotely part-time, and to strategize how your team will access these resources.

One of the most dangerous types of threats is the many phishing scams you and your employees could fall victim to. While it might be tempting to poke fun at the people who succumb to seemingly obvious phishing attacks, the reality of the matter is that some phishing attacks are anything but, and they are only growing more sophisticated over time.

One thing that the best MSP can do is become a strategic partner. Your expertise is your industry, business, or profession. Trends and innovations in technology aren't your focus. However, your business can benefit from some long-term strategic planning in terms of the technology you will deploy to remain competitive. New technology will offer new opportunities. An MSP who has experience in your industry can become a partner. After taking the time to learn your business, your goals, and the competitive field in which you operate, an MSP can take a seat at the table of your business planning. At the highest level, this is where a skilled MSP becomes a significant asset as your business grows and faces new market challenges.

Managed IT services are a great way for your business to save money, but what specifically do these types of services do to have such a profound impact on your budget? The impact stems from three primary causes: a reliable level of service, a proactive stance on maintenance and management, and access to professional technicians with decades of expertise.

Technology isn’t just something used by Silicon valley firms and large corporations. Even the smallest start-up is now reliant on technology and the virtual marketplace. A business cannot function without operating in the digital world. At the very least, it means having a website, a social media presence and an online database of customers and prospects. Most likely it means conducting business online, which means you’re responsible for the security of client data: names, credit cards, addresses, and probably more information. Much of that information may be personal Information that you have an obligation to keep secure. That duty brings along many challenges because cyber criminals and even benign human error could mean that data is compromised. Data breaches can bring litigation, possible regulatory sanctions, and very importantly, damage to your brand and reputation. Because so much rides on the stability and security of your digital infrastructure, serious attention has to be paid to data security protocols. The problem is, tech is a complex and specialized field that most small businesses owners have little time to focus on. And spending time trying to understand and maintain an IT infrastructure means siphoning off attention to the operation of your business. That is why a Managed Service provider can be a lifesaver for a small business.

Passwords are the main line of defense between your data and the myriad of people who want to use it for their own benefit. Knowing the major threats is important with so much pressure on your passwords. Today, we’d like to provide a cheat sheet to help you manage your passwords more effectively. 

Are you finding that some of your younger hires aren’t sticking around nearly as long as you’d prefer them to? There’s a good chance that these employees are experiencing a relatively recent phenomenon called “shift shock,” the latest workplace trend focusing on employee engagement and satisfaction. Let’s examine shift shock and how to avoid its impacts in your business.

Are you a small- or medium-sized business that is in need of a more complete, dependable IT solution to support your business than you presently have? When your main focus is running your business, everything else becomes an afterthought. Other support operations tend to take a backseat. However, your business depends upon a reliable, stable “always running” IT infrastructure and you probably find that isn't always the case. Even if you have an in-house staff, it isn't large enough to put out fires and handle strategic planning and provide 24/7 support when something goes wrong. That is why many businesses large and small rely fully or partially on the support of a Managed Service Provider (MSP).

In business, the worst thing you can do is take your eye off the prize. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy to do. There are a litany of reasons that business owners can get distracted and lose focus. In this week’s blog we thought we would go through three technology-related issues that many businesses run into that can put your business in jeopardy.

With technology playing an important part in just about all businesses, it can be quite expensive to get the tools you need to succeed. Today, we want to recommend specific strategies you can use to alleviate the frustrations of working within the constraints of a limited IT budget.

Let’s face facts: regardless of how one spends their time at home, there really is no reason the vast majority of today’s workers would ever need the Xbox Game Bar application on their work device… and yet, there it is. Thanks, Microsoft?

This is an example of what is known as “bloatware”—unwanted software added to an operating system to help the developers, oftentimes to make a few extra bucks. 

Your business will not remain the same throughout its lifecycle, and as such, you need the services you utilize to be capable of changing with it. This is where it helps to have the flexibility and scalability of a managed IT provider on your side. Let’s go over why flexible technology is the path forward for SMBs like yourself and how you can take full advantage of the range of services an MSP can offer.

When it comes to network security, there are many common suggestions from IT professionals, like utilizing robust firewalls and antivirus measures. However, it’s easy to overlook some of these practices, especially if you are not necessarily a trained IT technician. We’re here to provide a short guide to three of the most common security pitfalls organizations like yours will likely face during normal everyday operations.

Wi-Fi is a huge benefit for everyone so knowing the basics of how your router works is a pretty good idea. For the business, the wireless connection can be a central resource for business productivity and data sharing. We thought it would be useful to give you a little more information about router settings to help you understand your wireless connection a little better. 

Have you been focusing on software packages and anti-virus tools to protect your data from hacking? That may not be enough, because it overlooks one of the biggest causes of security breaches. All of the security software and expertise in the world is useless if you or your employees don't remain vigilant about their behavior as it relates to hacking scams and data security. Human error remains the biggest cause of security breaches and data loss at almost all companies, large or small.

Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system has seen pretty positive reviews. In contrast, others just see it as an unnecessary update of the popular Windows 10 offering. Still, regardless of the opinions you come across, there are some pretty major benefits to upgrading. The thing is that Microsoft, like almost any other company, wants you to have an account to interact with their products. Fortunately, for those who, for whatever reason, don’t want to make a Microsoft account, you can update your computer to Windows 11. Today, we will tell you how. 

Yes, today’s blog is about office phone systems. You have one. They are dull, necessary, and no one wants to deal with them. They need to be re-configured for new employees, they’re confusing, and the telco lines probably cost you more money than you'd like.

The decision to outsource your company’s IT decisions to a managed service provider is significant, and the importance is not lost on us. After all, you're essentially handing over the keys to your company's assets and resources, and it's crucial to ensure you make the right choice for the future of your business. Fortunately, gauging the suitability of a managed service provider can be made much easier by asking three key questions.