First Off: Yes, Overwork is an Issue There are a lot of workplace challenges that remote work has brought to light beyond overwork, many of which are too deep and divisive to really broach into here?including wage inequality and racial imbalances in the workplace, for instance. However, while these issues can be too much of a challenge for us to properly address in this format, the one that overwork presents is different. Overwork can have significant impacts on the welfare of a business? employees in many different ways. Employees can feel fatigued, anxious, and experience a variety of other physical symptoms like headache, pain, and vision problems. In addition to this, it can wreak havoc upon interpersonal relationships? and all of this is for nothing because overworking can actually diminish a person?s productivity due to their increased fatigue and depressed performance. This all exacerbated when the pandemic forced more businesses than ever into remote work practices, with a far larger number of people suffering from the emotional stress and pressure that remote work can lead to. So? what can be done about overworking, even when the work is being done remotely? How to Help Diminish Remote Overwork While you obviously can?t go to each remote worker?s house and check in on them, there are a few policies that can help decrease overworking in general?helping to reduce the phenomenon in-house and remotely at the same time. 1. Support the Use of a Schedule ?and not just a schedule dictating work hours, either. Establishing a workday routine that starts when one gets up and ends when one goes to bed (not just one that lays out the time spent actively working) can help immensely, as it generates a habit of starting and ending work at consistent (and appropriate) times. This consistent schedule will help reinforce the limits you want the workday to have. 2. Use Time Tracking Tools Time tracking is another great way to help keep your team from overworking, as they?ll have a reference to where they are in the day in terms of their tasks. Plus, with a visual reminder of what they have on their plate already, your team members will be that much more cognizant of their limits. White Mountain IT Services can help you acquire these tools, so don?t hesitate to reach out. 3. Encourage Your Team to Speak Up Finally, you need to empower your team to let you know when their work requirements are starting to overcome them. If they are feeling overburdened and afraid to say no to additional tasks, they?ll be more likely to take on more and more and dig themselves a deeper hole. Make sure they know that they can approach you about these concerns before they get to that point. From the tools that your team uses to work, to those that help you manage when your team does its work, White Mountain IT Services is here to help you put them to use. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

The International Organization for Standardization, also known as ISO, outlines the steps required for an effective risk management strategy. You may notice that they are relatively straightforward, but this should not dissuade you from taking a close look at each of them. The process itself of outlining your risk management strategy will likely be a long one. Identify Risks The first step is to identify notable risks for your organization. This could include anything that threatens the future of your business, be it natural disasters, hardware failures, compliance challenges, cyberattacks, staff turnover, financial collapse, etc. Analyze the Likelihood and Impact of Each One Out of all potential threats, which are the ones you are most likely to experience? You must determine how likely each of them is to happen and analyze the impact that they might have on your business? future. Prioritize Risk Management Based on Business Objectives Depending on your company?s objectives, you will have to assign a priority for how you will address risk management. For example, if you live in an area where natural disasters are commonplace, this would be high up on the priority list. Another example would be data privacy compliance, especially if you are in an industry where this is expected and heavily reinforced. Treat or Respond to Risk Conditions Depending on the risk, there will be methods you can implement to handle them, almost all of which will be preventative in nature. The reason for this is simple: if you can prevent the risk from impacting operations, you effectively eliminate it. This is not always possible, but you should aim for preventative measures instead of reactive ones whenever possible. Monitor Results and Adjust as Needed Naturally, you can perform all the research into potential risks you want, but if you are not monitoring the results of your efforts, you won?t know if they are working or not. And if they are not, you need to take steps to adjust what you have in place so they align with your organizational goals. White Mountain IT Services can help your business implement a risk management strategy for its IT resources and systems. With our expertise, you can remain confident that you are prepared to handle the majority of issues your organization could face down the road. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Why the Cloud is So Valuable If your business is like many others, you probably have made the jump to cloud-based resources for some of your business? computing needs. You?ve probably done so because the massive costs of renewing your on-premise infrastructure doesn?t make a whole lot of sense since there are options that remove them from the equation altogether. Computing in the cloud is valuable because all of the costs associated with running enterprise-level applications are effectively whittled down into a per-month or per-GB offering. The value in streamlining your business? computing is palpable.  If you consider that today you can get about any type of computing resource in the cloud, it makes it pretty easy to set your business up any way you want. This means that you can embrace strategies to reduce cost, while still having the computing resources your business needs to thrive. Moreover, cloud-based tools give an organization the flexibility that other platforms simply don?t. We covered the cost, but it?s easier to scale solutions to your business? demands, and since you only need a working Internet connection to access these tools, people can work from anywhere at any time with little or no problems.  There are some drawbacks to cloud computing, however.  When It Makes Sense to Stay In-House Onsite computing is the traditional way businesses have been doing it for decades. Essentially you get servers where you host your applications and data and they function as a central hub to your business? operational ability. For businesses that have been around a while, having onsite computing isn?t so rare. This isn?t just because of the opportunity, it is because most businesses have systems they need uninterrupted access to, and even though cloud computing resources feature more uptime than ever before, any downtime for these systems can be problematic.  Additionally, security is a consideration. With onsite computing, your organization can control access, network traffic, and more, much more completely than if you utilize public cloud platforms. It stands to reason that systems that need to be maintained for compliance reasons or simply to protect your organization?s most delicate information should be hosted onsite. That?s not to say that you can?t get secure computing platforms in the cloud, it?s just that you don?t have assurance that you control the strategies and tools used to maintain data security.  Regardless of what type of computing infrastructure you choose to use, the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services can set your business up with the tools and support you need to keep your operations running efficiently and effectively. Give us a call today at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Your Computer is Slow Your computer could be running poorly for any number of reasons, one of which is that you might have too many applications open at once or too many web browser tabs operating. Basically, if you are trying to do too much on a device that can?t handle the amount of work, it?s going to be slow, period. A slow computer could mean there are some underlying problems, so it?s not a bad idea to have someone look at it. For a short-term fix, however, consider closing your apps so that the more resource-intensive tasks don?t produce too much slowdown, or restart your computer. A Bad Internet Connection Your computer might suddenly drop its Internet connection or slow down considerably, something which can cause a lot of problems for an organization that depends on cloud-hosted productivity applications like Google Workspace or Office 365. In the event you have a poor Internet connection, you can check the connection by clicking on the icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. If you aren?t connected, then simply connect, but if you are, then there is likely a problem with the network itself. In this case, try restarting the device or your router. Your Computer Makes Lots of Noise Computers are machines, and as such, they have complicated internal parts and components that can go faulty when you least expect them to. If your computer suddenly starts making noises that it?s not supposed to be making, then you know for sure that there is something going on with it. You might have to replace certain parts, for which we definitely recommend you call White Mountain IT Services. This means that you don?t have to worry about whether you are hooking things up correctly or replacing the correct component. You might be concerned about your technology budget not being able to withstand the brunt of getting the help you need, which is why we offer managed services. Thanks to this service model, you?ll never have to worry about breaking your IT budget and getting the assistance you need. Our managed service offerings give you all the help you might need with your technology management in accordance with a service level agreement. All you have to do is pick up the phone and get a hold of us; we?ll take care of the legwork and make sure your technology is in proper working order. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

What is Desktop as a Service? Similar to other ?as a service? offerings, desktop as a service delivers desktop infrastructures to the user via the cloud. Basically, any connected device can connect to the Internet and utilize cloud-deployed applications and desktop software, effectively granting your employees access to their work desktops in a virtual environment. Most DaaS services follow a subscription-based model or one in which you pay X amount of dollars per month for your virtual desktop infrastructure. Why Is it Helpful? Think about the various benefits that the ?as a service? moniker is typically associated with. One of these benefits is that DaaS can easily fit into a budget?especially much more easily than picking up a few dozen licenses for the latest Windows operating system every couple of years. It?s ideal for small businesses that have limited budgets, as it essentially eliminates the need to purchase new hardware in many situations as well as purchasing new software licenses?you just use the latest versions of available software through the cloud. These cost savings allow you to focus on your business and ensure that you are being as productive as possible with your existing solutions. Since DaaS is easy to implement, you don?t have to fret about how to manage or maintain it; leave the heavy lifting to your provider. Since DaaS is scalable to suit the current needs of your business, you can expect a much easier time as your organization grows and expands. Furthermore, you gain an enormous amount of flexibility in terms of which operating systems you can run without compromising on security. Since the instances of these desktops are located in a secure cloud environment, you can even get away with running unsupported software or legacy applications without running older server hardware just for one or two solutions. Get Started Today If you aren?t sure where to get started with your company?s desktop infrastructure, you?ll find working with White Mountain IT Services to be helpful in any capacity. We can help you make the decision as to whether or not you should move in the direction of cloud-based desktops and how you can do so with minimal frustration. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.