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Cloud Services, Summarized For something named for the masses typically seen overhead, the actual purpose of cloud technology is pretty down-to-earth. Actually referring to a server or other piece of computing hardware infrastructure stored remotely, the cloud allows users to access it over an Internet connection to make use of the resources it contains. Many businesses have found this arrangement to be very beneficial to their operations, as it generally makes their operations much more flexible and convenient. The Types of Cloud While the technology that serves as the cloud?s foundation is pretty consistent, it can be used in a few different ways that serve businesses with various needs and priorities. Public Cloud Solutions Think the ?as-a-Service? offerings that Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are known for in the business world, and you?ve identified the public cloud. Encapsulating various services, these versatile solutions scale based on a business? need and eliminate any maintenance that the end user is responsible for. Combining all of this, the public cloud has become a popular option for businesses seeking out a reliable service that their budget can support. Private Cloud Solutions Quite similarly to the public cloud, the private cloud offers many of the same services with the addition of one important quality: access to these clouds is left exclusively to a single company, because that company owns it. With greater control over the setup of these clouds, businesses that maintain them for themselves can be more confident that their security is assured. Hybrid Cloud Solutions Much as the name would suggest, hybrid clouds combine public and private clouds into a single deployment, each half working independently but also cooperating with one another when needed. As a result, a business can make use of the public cloud?s scalability as needed, while also benefiting from the security of a private solution. Cloud-Available Services As mentioned above, the cloud can be used for multiple applications. While they all can store data and applications, the public and hybrid clouds can support additional as-a-Service benefits. Infrastructure-as-a-Service This cloud variety enables a user to access an offsite computing system, complete with servers and storage space, to host the data and applications they need to complete their operations. Platform-as-a-Service In many ways similar to IaaS, Platform-as-a-Service offers the same resources with the inclusion of the applications that the user would otherwise provide. Software-as-a-Service Likely the most familiar to most users, SaaS allows users access to software titles via an Internet connection. As a result, tools once reserved for large organizations can be accessed by those with needs on a smaller scale. If you want to learn more about how your company can use cloud-based tools and solutions to benefit your operations, we can help. Reach out to White Mountain IT Services by calling (603) 889-0800 today.

Video Conferencing is a Different Animal There is no denying that having a conversation via video conferencing just feels different to those used to in-person conversations. There?s a reason for this. Comparing face-to-face communications to remote conversations and how long we?ve had to grow accustomed to them, it is no wonder that conferencing seems so strange. After all, we?ve been having the former for about 70,000 years while we?ve only experienced remote voice communications for about a century. The human brain has developed to speak as efficiently in a conversation as possible, not talking over someone but picking up immediately after they are finished. This is exactly why ?awkward silences? are so awkward. However, because the signal can take a few milliseconds to reach us, these pauses become unavoidable as we are conferencing, which is where the following scenario comes into play: ??and that?s our progress on that so far?? ?Well, great, spinning off of that, I think?? ?..Now then, moving on to?oh.? ?Oh, sorry, thought you were done. Go ahead.? ?I wasn?t finished, but?no, that?s fine, go ahead.? it will ultimately assist your team in cooperating with one another and accomplishing more. For more assistance with your collaboration tools, or any of the other technologies your business relies on, reach out to our team of professionals at White Mountain IT Services. Help is only a call to (603) 889-0800 away.

What are Managed IT Services? Managed IT services are designed to help take care of your IT needs–regardless of what they may be. You will connect with a service provider to select the services your business needs: troubleshooting, ensuring that your network runs as efficiently as possible, and keeping up with your systems so that you don’t run into trouble along the way. If you have an in-house team, you can choose a managed IT service provider that covers the tasks your team can’t or augments your existing team’s skills. If you don’t have an in-house team, a managed IT service provider can take care of many of your tech needs. Services may include: Cybersecurity. Increasingly, in today’s online landscape, it’s important for businesses to have a solid wall of security that will ensure that their data, their business, and their clients are protected. Leaving cybersecurity on the shoulders of your internal IT team may not be enough to keep your business functioning smoothly or prevent potential problems. Many IT professionals do not specialize in cybersecurity, which can leave them struggling to keep up with the latest changes in the industry and keep your business safe. Staff augmentation. You may need IT support on-site for a number of hours across the course of a business week–especially when you have extra things going on. Whether you need help training team members, rolling out a new upgrade to your system, or simply figuring out how to troubleshoot problems, a managed IT service provider can help.  Server support and management. You want your servers to run smoothly and all of your data to remain accessible. With a managed IT, service provider, you can often get more effective support that will keep your business up and running more often, rather than dealing with expensive downtime that can prevent you from taking care of your customers the way they deserve. Systems engineering. Sometimes, you need a little extra help with a complex problem–and that’s where your managed IT service provider comes in. This provider can work with you to fix the big problems with your systems, keeping them running more smoothly.  The Advantages of Managed IT Services Will managed IT services offer your business exactly what you need? Many small business owners question the effectiveness of a managed service provider, preferring an hourly approach or an in-house team to handle most of their needs. Managed IT services, however, can offer a number of clear advantages. A managed service provider is less expensive than an in-house team. You won’t have to worry about providing vacation time, setting up space in the office, or many of the other expenses that go along with hiring an in-house team, either. Often, using a managed service provider is also less expensive than paying an hourly rate for another provider, especially if you’re working on a big upgrade or noticing more problems than usual.  Managed services are easy to scale. Your business’s needs are constantly growing and changing. Sometimes, you may need your IT service provider to offer more, and often quickly, if your business grows in a hurry. Other times, you may need to scale back as your business’s needs change or you slide into a quieter season. With a managed IT service provider, you’ll get exactly the services you […]

1. Establish Standards for Clarity and Concision Here?s the thing: while communication is an essential part of your operations, it has the potential to become a massive time-sink if it isn?t utilized appropriately. We?ve all found ourselves in those meetings that seem to go on and on when the important part could have been covered in five minutes. Any of your collaborative solutions could easily be used in the same way? not the ideal situation when working with a remote team. Make sure your team is using the tools you have provided intelligently and subscribing to the keep-it-super-simple rule as much as they are able. You may find it useful to create a company shorthand to use to help clarify the context of a message. For instance, if something is purely informative and doesn?t need to be acknowledged, a quick label of NRN (No Response Needed) would help save the recipient some time. Every business operates a little differently, so figure out what works best for you.   2. Use the Right Tool for the Job Of course, there are almost as many means to communicate within a business as there are things to be communicated (or so it can sometimes seem). This is for a purpose, as different messages and conversations may be better suited to one format than they are another. Have you ever tried to announce something to a group over an instant message? Unless you?ve stuck the aforementioned NRN label to it or directed anyone with questions to reach out separately, your message is bound to be lost in the crowd before long. In this case, an email would be the better option for you to use. Just as often, you?ll need to quickly inform another individual of something, and an IM would allow you to do so more effectively than an email would. This principle extends to any of your business communications, including virtual meetings and other remote-friendly operations. 3. Review What Works and What Doesn?t So, find a tool to help team members communicate, come up with standards, implement it, and done? right? Not so fast. Collaborative processes are just that: processes. This means that there is always room for growth and improvement to take place within them, and that you need to actively and continually figure out how to facilitate this development. It?s just another part of the process. Take the time to review how smoothly your collaborative processes function when they are implemented. Go through each step to see where any inefficiencies presented themselves, whether the process stalled due to unforeseen complications or it wasn?t executed properly. Once these points are identified, figure out what can be done to mitigate the impacts, be it adding another bullet point to the process or providing additional training to the employee involved. After the process has been adjusted, do it again, and stress test until it gets better, or a new solution presents itself as an option. For help with these solutions, please don?t hesitate to reach out to White Mountain IT Services. We understand how trying times can test a business and can do a lot more than just offer tips on how to make the most of things. To find out how we can improve your operations with the right technology in place, give us a call […]

Tip #1 – Use Block Sender Spam is annoying, and it can even be dangerous. While there are ways to reduce spam, there are no tools that can completely eliminate spam. Outlook has its own built-in spam filter that works pretty well, but a little manual action can help teach Outlook to do better. The Block Sender feature will make it so that particular sender?s email automatically goes to Junk moving forward. It?s easy to use, just select and right-click the spam email in question, choose Junk from the dropdown menu, and click Block Sender.  Tip #2 – Create Rules Outlook rules are a pretty cool way to make your email work harder for you. Outlook rules are incredibly flexible, and there is so much you can do with them, that we encourage you to take some time to review all of your options. Let?s try a simple one – let?s say you are working on a specific project, and want to funnel all emails about that project into a specific folder in Outlook. You could hunt through your inbox by hand, or you could make a rule that does it for you automatically. Select the first email you want to move into the new folder, and select Home > Rules > Create Rule. Outlook will then ask ?When I get email with the selected conditions (Subject, From, Sent to) do the following. You?ll want to set the conditions so Outlook knows which emails to filter, and then tell it what to do when it finds an email that meets those conditions. For this example, you would tell it to move the email into the desired folder. Outlook has a lot of overlooked features. Keep an eye on our blog for more tips and tricks for getting more out of the technology you already have!