Today, we thought we would identify some phrases that we hear from people all the time either in improper context or simply just as an attempt to relate with us, and what they really mean.  ?Disruptive Technologies? What it means: Any technology that undermines the effectiveness of the existing technology used in any scenario.How it is used: Any new technology. The fact of the matter is that any truly disruptive technology, will sufficiently disrupt the market in which it is prevalent. it?s not just a new technology that disrupts people?s view of technology. When it is used improperly, it suggests that the technology just appeared and took over what was a static existence beforehand. Today, we hear the phrase ?disruptive technology? far too much, and almost always out of context. Innovation takes time, and most technologies evolve to become the useful tech we use each day. Calling something disruptive when it has been in the pipeline for some time is incorrect.   ?Digital Transformation? What is intended: When an analog system is transitioned into a digital system.How it is used: Adding more IT. One of the most overutilized terms we hear is ?digital transformation?. This is because a true digital transformation happens when moving from an antiquated analog system to a digital one. Unnecessary upgrades to digital systems, isn’t a digital transformation. A lot of the time, it?s just a waste of organizational resources. Technology is a tool, not the rule. Be sure that you have a specific strategy before transitioning any of your internal processes to digital. That way you can avoid the shortcomings that many businesses see when hastily?or unnecessarily?implementing new IT. ?5G? What is intended: The fifth generation of wireless that brings impressive gigabit data speeds and extremely low latency.How it is used: The technology that is going to save the world.  ?5G? is the buzziest of buzzwords. That?s because it is legitimately exciting. However, many people are taking the features and benefits of 5G way too far. In fact, a lot of the wireless carriers that are claiming 5G connectivity, don?t let potential customers in on the secret that 5G is only available in a very limited number of places. It?s actually just being used to boost their phone sales. Marketing a technology that you won?t have access to in the life of the device you are about to buy may seem shady, but that?s where we are.  5G is also already a term related to the 5 GHz wireless band on modern Wi-Fi router. The 5 GHz on a router tends to have a faster speed, but a smaller coverage area, and has a harder time passing through walls in your home or office. Older devices might not support connecting to a 5 GHz wireless router, but for those that do, that faster speed can make a big difference. ?Machine Learning? What is intended: A form of artificial intelligence that is able to compute huge data sets and handle them efficiently.How it is used: A tool uses basic automation to complete a predefined task. Automation is the future of many businesses, and your business should be looking for ways to automate some of your tasks, but many places people use the term ?machine learning? to describe any algorithmic approach to automation. This isn?t true.  Machine learning […]

Reviewing Our Options If you were to open your Start menu and click Power, you?ll likely see a few options: Sleep Hibernate (you may not see this option, based on your hardware or any group policies that may be in place) Shut Down Restart Each of these options kicks off a different process concerning your device that are well-suited to different scenarios. Shut Down and Restart should be pretty self-explanatory but Sleep and Hibernate might be less so. Let?s go over them, and when they are most appropriate to use. Sleep Sleep is a state where your computer is inactive, but still on, which speeds up the time it takes to get back to business. After all, because your computer is still turned on, the entire startup process isn?t necessary to carry out?you essentially just have to wait for your monitor and peripherals to wake up and for full power to be restored to all the components. This speed is partially because all data is put into RAM when the device is put to sleep, allowing it to be called up rapidly?however, this also exposes your data to some risk. If your computer were to lose power (or run out of battery) during that time, your stored data would be lost. Save often! Hibernate Hibernate is almost the middle ground between Sleep and a full shut down, as it still allows your place to be picked back up, but the computer is functionally turned off. To achieve this, the hibernate function saves the stored data to the actual hard drive, rather than the RAM. As a result, it is a safer means of saving your data in the ?longer short-term?, but it can take up a lot of space on your hard drive if you aren?t careful. Resuming work is as simple as pressing the power button on your machine. Which One You Use Will Depend on Your Needs Or, frankly, what is available to you. Your hardware of choice, as we mentioned, may not provide a Hibernate option or it may be disabled at the admin level. So, depending on what your IT team or resource determines necessary (or what your hardware is preconfigured to) you may or may not have Hibernate to make use of. Are there any other matters concerning your computer, its settings, or the rest of your IT solutions that you want more information or guidance into? Lean on White Mountain IT Services for the answers you?re looking for. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out more.

Experienced Technicians Managed services technicians aren?t your run-of-the-mill computer repair company. They are constantly coming up with solutions to business problems. Sometimes new technology is needed, but most of the time the technology a business has in place can be effective as long as it is managed correctly.  At White Mountain IT Services, our technicians work with businesses every day. That means we have the collective understanding to ensure that any client of ours not only has the technology it needs to succeed, but also has the support it needs. We feature remote monitoring and management of network-attached resources, ensuring that if there is a problem, you know it before your technology fails and causes major problems. While having experienced technicians is nice, it isn?t always enough. You need to ensure that your specific technology has the coverage and support required. Trusting a support team that works to understand the demands of your business, and the technology that makes it work is a true benefit that many organizations can only afford through services like ours. Unwavering Support One reason that some businesses clutch to the notion that they need to have onsite IT technicians is that they don?t think that an outside technology support vendor will provide the response times they need. MSPs are typically confronting every issue right along, and this strategy can save businesses an immense amount of capital. The main draw of managed IT services is the proactive nature of it. Even if your business has an onsite IT team, an MSP can proactively support your business and keep your network resources working as intended. This not only gives you operational stability, it allows your onsite team to focus on technology projects that can expand your offering, and enhance your business? profitability. Not only that, we offer services that provide around-the-clock support, ensuring that your business has the coverage it needs after your in-office technicians have gone home.  Scope of Service Information technology is pricey, and it can be difficult to manage those costs. As mentioned above, with managed IT services, however, your business? whole IT infrastructure is completely monitored and maintained, leaving any IT projects you want deployed real options. Whether you want to build onto your existing network or you need a complete IT refresh, our technicians are not only versed with supporting your ongoing operations, we can help you design and implement technology that allows your business to move forward. Our professional IT consultants not only have great relationships with some of the best vendors in the industry, but have the technical know-how to assist any business get new technology implemented and working properly. The expanse of expertise you get with an MSP is one of the best benefits of using a managed IT services provider.  Cut Costs If you were to staff an IT department with all the tools, experienced technicians, comprehensive consultants, and technical skills that we have, it would cost your business a fortune. Outsourcing some or all of your IT responsibilities to a managed services provider not only gives you access to some of the best technical minds in New Hampshire, it does so at a fraction of the cost than it would if you were to do it yourself. The value you?ll see in the first six months with White Mountain IT Services will make […]

The Decentralization of Electronic Protected Health Information Healthcare data is one of the most private sets of information out there. Known colloquially as electronic protected health information (ePHI), it covers patient data, information shared with insurers, and any other data that has to do with an individual?s health record. Unfortunately, many of the same processes that have been used for decades remain, even with major advances in technology and mandates handed down directly from governments. The lack of innovation is mostly a result of a reluctance by healthcare providers to invest in the technology and risk inefficiencies caused by the implementation of new technology.  As tools get smarter, however, healthcare administrators have started to acknowledge just how much value this technology can have for their organizations? patients. Blockchain is one technology that is on the precipice of changing healthcare forever. It is beginning to be integrated into record-keeping solutions that will give people more control over their health data, and provide the kind of privacy that should be required when dealing with their sensitive information.  Blockchain is an immutable and encrypted ledger technology that provides some of the following benefits: Information is decentralized – The data on a blockchain is not owned by a healthcare organization, but is more of a ledger of an individual?s health profile.  Data on the blockchain is encrypted – The data is secured and cannot be altered. If situations change with a patient, another node is created amending previous information, it isn?t changed. The blockchain itself is reliable – Once information is entered as a part of blockchain, it is on the chain in perpetuity. Any changes need to be created in a new block. Any piece of information about an individual?s health can be identified by looking back over the blockchain. The blockchain improves transparency – Providing patients the ability to track their own health information, rather than relying on insurers or providers to coordinate information if there are questions about it, can give people control over their ePHI and quickly work to provide doctors and nurses useful information they?ll need to provide the best care possible. The technology that blockchain is most identified with is called an Electronic Health Record (EHR) or Electronic Medical Record (EMR). By integrating blockchain technology into these systems, individuals will have more control over their health information. As it stands, healthcare organizations and insurance companies have a monopoly over this information, leaving the patient relatively in the dark about the management of their own individual care. It?s not overstating one iota to consider blockchain technology a major step forward in healthcare reporting.  Integrating blockchain also incentivizes healthcare organizations to provide better care, as there would be a great deal more transparency. Some other benefits of blockchain in healthcare include: Blockchain nodes cannot be altered, and the chain is traceable. Patients will be able to send records to who they choose without the fear of corruption or mishandling.  Blockchain?s encryption will keep all nodes (and information held within) secure until it is shared with the healthcare provider or insurer. Blockchain can incentivize healthy behavior as insurers and providers can set up benchmarks that patients could meet. Blockchain integration could lower healthcare and prescription costs as it would allow and incentivize the tracking of prescribed drugs, lowering supply chain costs.   […]

Internal Fraud Look, we get it?you picked the people who work for your business, so one of them turning out to be a dud or a detriment is (in a very small way) a slight to you. However, this is no reason to discount the reality that you may have misjudged how much you could trust a team member. One way to help avoid issues without feeling excessively distrustful of your team members is to implement access control and other role-based restrictions. Doing so not only protects your data but can help boost your productivity by keeping your team members from exploring file systems they have no need of. Physical Access Control Measures Of course, your access controls should extend into your physical space as well, as the physical devices can easily open your IT to additional fraud. Unattended technology needs to be locked down and protected so it doesn?t contribute more to your vulnerabilities? particularly so that potential threats can?t be carried out on a coworker?s workstation. Insecure Apps Modern businesses rely on multiple applications to function productively. Unfortunately, many of these applications (particularly those used by one of your cloud providers or that were developed by a third party) may be lacking in their security protocols. To avoid data compromise, it is important to be discerning while picking the tools to use in your business. Human Error and Lacking Oversight Finally, we?ve reached the most prevalent, and severe, cause of data loss: the simple mistake. Human beings are inherently prone to accidents, and some of these accidents are bound to materialize in the workplace. Unfortunately, this can often lead to some of the most severe issues you?ll face and leave you open to threats. These threats?and some errors in and of themselves?can in turn lead to true disasters. While not all such errors can be mitigated, many can be through simple diligence, which itself will take awareness. Make sure you?re communicating to your team how important processes are to follow. By combining the right solutions with the awareness needed to protect your infrastructure, securing your business is a more realistic goal to reach. White Mountain IT Services can help you with both. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out how we can help your business with its specific challenges.