This month we wanted to cite a few ways that support costs can inflate, and how recruiting an MSP can provide boosts to both efficiency and productivity. How Support Costs Can Grow Out of Control There are many different types of reasons that your technology support can be extremely expensive. Here are a few: Your technology may be inherently expensive to repair or replace. Repair fees factor in additional fees and travel costs, on top of the charge for the actual service. Repair services tend to only focus on solving the immediate problem, with no consideration for the future. This leaves the possibility of the issue recurring almost immediately. It can also result in creating other interoperability problems, which again, would often require another billable visit from the provider. The responsibility ultimately falls to you to call in a technician to fix any issues that do happen and coordinate a time to get them fixed. It often results in significant downtime and the lost revenue that comes with it. These expenses are effectively impossible to accurately plan for. As a result, it is very easy to not be able to truly plan your IT support costs effectively. Break/fix causes these problems. Now, let?s go over how the MSP is a much safer and more reliable IT support investment: How an MSP Prevents Cost Inflation There are various ways that the MSP eliminates the challenges that the traditional provider?s services present. In addition to remaining up-to-speed on industry best practices regarding repair and remediation, an MSP will have formed business relationships with a variety of vendors who offer them better prices for and quicker access to the technology your company will need. Rather than requiring a member of their staff to travel to your location, your MSP will utilize remote access tools to diagnose and mitigate everything that doesn?t require hands-on intervention, resolving issues more quickly. Any additional travel time and associated costs included in the agreement are also covered by the monthly fee. When needed, the MSP goes beyond fixing the symptoms of a problem. Instead, they?ll use their access and monitoring tools to identify the source of the issue and resolve that, helping reduce the likelihood of further action being needed. Using state-of-the-art monitoring and management tools, an MSP is also capable of monitoring your network and systems for errors, inconsistencies, and other signs of a problem. This means even identifying potential, not-yet-realized issues. As a result, they can proactively prevent obstacles from interrupting your workflows. As an MSP operates similarly to a subscription service, budgeting becomes particularly simple as your financial commitment is made much more predictable. This also makes it simple to adjust your agreement to meet your needs, as your fee is simply adjusted to match whatever your business requires. At White Mountain IT Services, we aim to provide the best IT services in New Hampshire. To learn more about how we can provide all types of value to your business, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Use SaaS (Software as a Service) Let?s make one thing clear: software is a critical tool that your business will use each and every day, so you want to make sure that you are providing your team members with the best available tools possible. With the old-fashioned way of acquiring software, this wasn?t always easy, and certainly wasn?t cost effective as it required you to pay large sums of money up front. What?s more, what you got tended to be what you got. However, SaaS (short for Software-as-a-Service) changes that. As a cloud-based service, SaaS provides you with a set number of instances of a software title for your team to use, paid through an ongoing monthly subscription cost. Now, this helps you in multiple ways. First off, it changes what would once have been a single capital expense into a predictable operational expense, which greatly simplifies your budgeting. This can deliver significant benefits to businesses of all sizes, but particularly benefits those businesses that are smaller in size. Avoid Spending Sprees Just as most business owners will try to get the most return as possible out of their investments before making any new ones, it can often also be tempting for a business owner to want to dive right in and improve everything all at once when necessary. This strategy isn?t effective, as changes can be challenging to embrace individually?never mind en masse. A wiser strategy would be to fully embrace and implement each improvement separately, building one up upon the other. This will help you to see the full advantages of everything you adopt and avoid overinvesting in your technology. Train Your Team All the new solutions in the world won?t help your business if your team members don?t know how to properly put them to use. You need to prioritize teaching your team about how to use the tools you?ve provided them to do their jobs, including any new hardware and software solutions. Otherwise, you run the risk of your employees not seeing the benefits and internally rejecting the new in favor of the old. Of course, this kind of training will take more than one seminar. To maximize the impact you have, make sure that your training takes place periodically, following up with your employees and offering them with support. This will help improve your ROI, as your money is going that much further. Check Prices as Time Passes Markets fluctuate, which means that there are better times to invest in certain solutions over others. A lot of solutions tend to start off at high prices when they debut, but gradually decrease as time passes. Consider video conferencing: while it once required a significant investment into the infrastructure needed to support it, it is now far more accessible through its native support on most modern devices. So, rather than jumping on the bandwagon the instant a new technology is available, it sometimes makes sense to hang back until after the early adopters make their move and the faltering demand allows the price to ease. Invest Wisely Finally, let?s discuss perhaps the most important means of getting the most out of your investments: making sure that the technology that you adopt is directly supporting your operational needs. Weigh out the potential outcomes of each of your proposed […]
LG Wing The LG Wing is one of the most anticipated devices of 2020. When you first pick it up, it looks like a standard smartphone would, but when you get it in your hand a flick of the thumb changes everything. The LG Wing has a 6.8-inch P-OLED display that flips up to horizontal and exposes a smaller 3.9-inch G-OLED display that?s housed underneath. The Wing is built from aluminum and Gorilla Glass 5 front and back and runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G. It carries 8 GB of RAM and a 4,000 mAh battery that lasts a little longer with the lack of a premium chipset. The tri-camera setup includes a 64-megapixel wide angle lens and dual ultrawide angle lenses of different speeds. It is currently available in Aurora Gray and Illusion Sky and will be coming to most carriers soon. LG WingBody: Aluminum with Gorilla Glass 5 Front and BackDisplay: 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x (~511 ppi)OS: Android 10Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765GMemory: 8 GB RAMExpandable Memory: Yes (microSDXC)Cameras: Rear – 64 MP (wide), 13MP (ultra wide), 12 MP (ultra wide) Front – 32 MP (wide)Sounds: Loudspeaker, No Headphone JackBattery (endurance rating): 4,000 mAh (87 hours)Security: In-screen fingerprint readerMiscellaneous: Accelerometer, Gyrometer, Proximity, Compass, IP54 dust/waterOther versions: None Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 As smartphones go, the Galaxy Z Fold2 may be the most curious and gratuitous device on the market. Built on an aluminum frame with glass and plastic, the Galaxy Z Fold2 acts like a traditional smartphone when it is folded with a 6.23-inch Super AMOLED display, but when unfolded, the user gets a huge 7.6 inch display that resembles a tablet. The device offers specs similar to the Samsung flagship with a Qualcomm 865+ processor, three cameras, and a standard 4,500 mAh battery. It features two selfie cameras, one for each display. With two displays and three sets of cameras, Samsung has eschewed efficiency for a dedication to the form factor. Available in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, and a fancy Thom Browne Edition Grey, you can get it today from most major carriers. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2Body: Aluminum with plastic front and Gorilla Glass 6 backDisplay: Folded: 6.23-inch Super AMOLED Unfolded: 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (~373 ppi)OS: Android 10Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+Memory: 12 GB RAMExpandable Memory: NoCameras: Rear – 12 MP (wide), 12 MP (telephoto) 2x, 12 MP (ultra wide); Front (Folded) – 10 MP (wide); Front (Unfolded) – 10 MP (wide).Sounds: Stereo Speakers, No Headphone JackBattery (endurance rating): 4,500 mAh (87 hours)Security: Fingerprint readerMiscellaneous: Accelerometer, Gyrometer, Proximity, Barometer, Compass, Bixby assistantOther versions: 5G version Samsung Z Flip and Motorola RAZR The Samsung Z Flip and the Motorola RAZR take the nostalgia of the flip phone and turn it into something special. Utilizing the old form factor of the popular flip phone, each device flips open to reveal a smartphone. Pretty ingenious if we may say so. The Motorola RAZR 5G is actually the second edition smartphone RAZR. Motorola has built a device that features a small display on the front of the phone while folded, but the real gem is the 6.2-inch P-OLED screen while unfolded. The RAZR runs Android 10 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip and 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of onboard storage space. The Z Flip is Samsung?s attempt at making […]
Monitoring Your Team Without Telling Them For starters, you can?t just start monitoring your team without informing them and obtaining their consent. This is generally illegal, and therefore should be avoided at any and every opportunity. The basic rule of thumb is this: unless you have a valid and legitimate reason to suspect an employee of acting out and are actively investigating their behaviors, you are not cleared to utilize monitoring software without informing your team that it is in place. Therefore (as obvious as this point may be), don?t do that. What you should instead do is be transparent with your team. Let them know that their systems will be monitored, what it is that will be monitored, and?this is the really important part?why you are monitoring their computers at all. Maintaining this level of transparency will be important to keep your team comfortable with the thought of being monitored, while you enjoy the security benefits of keeping your fingers on the pulse of your business. Monitoring Your Team, Outside of Work Remote work has added an extra wrench into your considerations, as it obviously gives your team an increased level of access to their work devices. So, if you no longer have simple access to and control over these devices, it makes sense that you would want to continue monitoring their computers even after regular working hours. Here?s the problem with that: who is to say how your employees are going to use their work devices after the work day has ended, and what kind of data could you inadvertently capture through your monitoring solution? Even if it happened by accident, you could wind up capturing the access credentials to one of your team member?s bank accounts, potentially putting you in hot water legally. There are a few different methods that you can use to avoid this, ranging from banning your employees from using work devices for personal reasons to giving your team members the ability to switch off their monitoring while using or accessing personal information. Monitoring Your Team, For the Sake of Monitoring Them Finally, you need to have a direct reason for monitoring your employees? activities. Whether you?re trying to identify data leaks or resolve inefficiency in your processes, monitoring can be used to help collect the information you need. However, if you want to implement a monitoring solution simply to ensure that your team members are working diligently, you need to pause and reconsider. A good rule of thumb to follow, in terms of employee monitoring, is that there always needs to be a specific goal that serves as the purpose for monitoring your team in the first place. Otherwise, you could be on shaky ground. Using it strategically, employee monitoring can bring you significant operational benefits. With the right strategy, considerable benefits can be brought to your operations through the right technology solutions. White Mountain IT Services can help. Find out how by calling (603) 889-0800.
Although the term sounds super advanced and a little intimidating, artificial intelligence simply describes the ability of a computer system to learn, perform, or automate tasks. Narrow AI is limited to performing or learning certain tasks, while General AI can adapt and learn how to perform a variety of different tasks, much like a human brain and includes everything from virtual assistants appearing on smart devices to the technology that powers self-driving cars. Today, companies can use AI to achieve a variety of goals and tasks, including processes like process automation, data analytics, and engagement. Let?s go over these three objectives and how AI can benefit them. Process Automation By adding AI to their automation efforts, businesses have been able to more efficiently see the returns of implementing it. This form of automation does its work principally in the background. It also has the benefit of being both the most affordable and quickest to return some of your investment. Data Analytics This variety of automation is responsible for processing the massive volumes of data that modern businesses rely on, assisting to identify patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed and unseen. Whether it keeps an audit of all the exchanges your business makes or predicts how your audience will respond to changes, data analytics provide businesses with information that would be unavailable just a short time ago. Engagement Finally, automation has enabled businesses to more effectively communicate with their many contacts, from clients and employees alike, with specialized tools that simplify the process. Websites have customer service tools that help direct them to the answers they need, healthcare professionals can access treatment recommendation systems that can help customize a patient?s healthcare approach, and other applications enable simpler access to the desired information. Can AI be complicated and difficult to implement? Yes? but it doesn?t have to be. White Mountain IT Services can assist you in putting together a strategy and putting it into place. Learn more about what we can do for you by calling (603) 889-0800.
