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There is always risk in business. The better your organization can assess–and plan for–risk, the better it will respond after adversity. Here are a few variables that you should see in your business continuity plan: A Threat Matrix – Risk management starts with identifying possible risks. That means all legitimate threats; of which there are quite a few. Take a while considering all the relevant risks to your business and rank them from most likely to happen to least likely. Critical Processes – Outline what makes your business run. Every business relies on critical processes that if interrupted could be devastating to achieving success. Command Chain – Not everyone is a boss. Businesses have a chain of command that should be documented. Be sure to accurately represent how your business works and not just the titles of the people involved. Employee Safety and Evacuation Plan – One part of risk management is to ensure no one gets hurt and that everyone is updated with all relevant information. The first part relies on you having a comprehensive safety and evacuation plan in place. Communication Plan and Contact Information – The other part is to have an idea about who will be the point of contact for each threat. If your marketing office springs a leak and six inches of water rushes in, does your accounting team on the next floor need to be notified immediately? Breaks in continuity mean all breaks and every department should have a point of contact registered in the continuity plan. Backup Processes – One of the big considerations when any threat comes to fruition is data. It is one of the most important assets any company has. Ensuring that your backup and disaster recovery processes are regularly tested and maintaining redundancy is crucial to almost any problem. IT Inventory and Infrastructure – Most businesses don?t have a whole other office ready to go when something fails. Ensuring you know what is in your inventory, how it is used, and how to restore those systems if something were to happen to your physical infrastructure is an important consideration. End of Incident Criteria – When a breach in continuity happens, downtime is most certainly the enemy, but what would be worse is if you are fighting for your business? life and the threat has passed without any notice. Be sure that when a situation comes to light that you have the system in place to be able to review the problem and return to normalcy. A business continuity plan can literally save your business from anything…from a malware attack to a flood. These line-items will help you build a solid continuity plan, but if you really want to hash your plan out, call the IT consultants at White Mountain IT Services. We can help you build a continuity plan that will allow your organization to respond to anything thrown its way. Contact us today at (603) 889-0800.
Talking Collaboration Solutions With many businesses relying on remote teamwork, the collaboration tool has become an essential part of service fulfillment. The modern collaboration software allows people, regardless of their location, to work together towards a common goal. Hosted in a cloud server, the collaboration tool provides the tools, cooperative interfaces, and options necessary to fuel efficient production. Collaboration has been shown to reduce workplace stress and produce market-ready products faster. With a team of people working on a single task, often at the same time, you will see products come to market faster, and service delivery costing less. Collaboration Solution Varieties When we discuss collaboration, we could mean any interface developed to promote the following: Communication – Solutions like VoIP, instant messaging, and dedicated collaboration apps that build better communications through your staff. Conferencing – Allowing for face-to-face meetings (albeit over the computer) can clarify workflows and responsibilities. Coordination – Projects and customer relationships need to be managed properly and there is software designed to help limit inefficiency. Many people are working remotely nowadays so collaboration options, whether they are integrated into a CRM or a communications platform are useful applications that your business can use to keep your offering relevant and your staff productive. If you would like to talk about how to enhance your business? collaboration options, call the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.
VPN Explained A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a tool used by individuals and businesses, alike, to create a secure connection with resources stored on private infrastructure. Essentially it provides an encrypted pathway to send and receive data and is available from anywhere that there is an Internet connection. Regrettably, cybercriminals target the front end of the VPN solution and it?s causing some organizations to rethink their remote security strategies. How are VPNs at Risk? Like every cybersecurity tool, the VPN aims to keep unauthorized people out of your business. The problem starts with the often-public networks used to access the private networks using the VPN. Hackers make a point to target these public networks, and since a VPN is an Internet-facing system, users are exposed longer than they would be if they were just hooked directly into the private network they are accessing resources on. Hackers run their own code to access the secure endpoint, steal data, install viruses and other malware, and sabotage systems from the inside, presenting major problems for any business. Patched Software Wins Again This may concern you, but if your VPN software is routinely patched, these problems will be few and far between. It?s as simple as installing the new firmware and software patches released by the developer in a timely fashion. With up-to-date software, the risk of a data breach is significantly reduced. At White Mountain IT Services, we offer a comprehensive patch management platform designed to close vulnerabilities and keep unwanted entities out of your business? network. If you would like to talk to one of our IT experts about getting a reliable VPN for your business, call White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.
What is a Point of Sale System? The point of sale system is pretty much precisely what it sounds like: the system in place at the point of any sale. Starting with the 1879 invention of the cash register and culminating (so far) in the various computerized cash registers that we use today, the POS system has come a long way, which has contributed various advantages to the businesses that make use of them. The basic idea behind the use of a point of sale system is to help eliminate as many human errors and inconsistencies as possible, while maximizing a business? productivity at the point of a customer?s checkout. While this once meant that a POS system was little more than a cash drawer with a calculator attached, technology has provided a great many more features that businesses appreciate in their operations. Let?s go over some of these features. Big Data Insights By collecting and compiling data, a modern POS system can supply even a small business with data-driven insights and simplified reports to reference. This data is valuable, as it can help suggest trends and other influencing factors that can be used to help improve sales and other critical metrics in turn. The integration of customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities has only boosted the benefits to be had by a business owner. Consolidation When ecommerce first came into the fold, businesses found themselves separately managing two separate data sets?those that were generated by their POS system, and those that were generated through online transactions. Today, modern POS systems use a centralized dashboard, where all a business? data can be synchronized. As a result, the complications of keeping your transactions in line with your inventory are eliminated. Mobile-Friendly Functionality Cashless and contactless solutions have exploded in popularity, as of late, both for their convenience to the customer and the health benefits that contactless payments present. With projections describing 75 percent of all transactions as cashless by 2025, it is no wonder that POS systems that accommodate these payments will be in demand. Taking all of this into consideration, the logical course of action for any business is to embrace the advanced options offered by modern point of sale technology. White Mountain IT Services can help. Learn how we can do so by calling (603) 889-0800.
Risk Management Goes Both Ways Business owners tend to focus on their business, which is what you would expect them to do, but their business usually involves other people. When they start handing out mandates that they think will help the business, the other people involved (the employees) may not share that view. That is because most workers want to do well at work, but they leave the health of the company to the people in charge of it. When you recall all the people that have either been laid off, or working from home, back to the office, you should consider for a moment what is going through their minds. First of all, for the people who were laid off, they are probably thrilled to get back to work. Even with government subsidy over the past few months, most workers will take home as much or more in salary than they do when they aren?t working. For the group of workers who were working from home, however, they will almost certainly hate coming back to the workplace. This is because to them, COVID-19 is still going strong and they are scared of getting sick. To them, the risk isn?t worth the reward. That?s why you need to explain why you are calling them back?and mean it. If your staff has been busting hump for you over the past three months from home, and your only reason to recall them to an office environment where they (think they) have a much better chance to get sick is because you don?t trust them working from home, expect some pushback. Ultimately, you are the captain of the ship, but making fast and loose decisions (or decisions that seem fast and loose) with other people?s health, expect to squelch a mutiny or two. Don?t Open Just Because Seriously, if your staff is working well enough from home to keep revenue at a place that allows you to keep your doors open, why bother bringing your staff back to the workplace? Obviously, if you need people to man the store, you can?t just stay closed, but for office workers that can do their job from their favorite chair at home, why even consider exposing any of them to the anxiety and anger that goes into that? If it’s to bump up productivity, consider that many businesses shut their doors and will never reopen. At least your business isn?t losing you money. If You Have to Open, Preach Safety Many businesses that were deemed essential, haven?t closed at all. People still go to work, they wear a mask, they try to wash their hands as much as possible, they try to stay away from their co-workers or customers. If your business is one that needs to be open to sustain itself, be sure to emphasize safety. That means doing all those things listed above. Moreover, you should do what you can to keep your employees safe. You should provide hand sanitizer, soap, masks, and all the other resources they need to improve their piece of mind. Scared, angry people that are preoccupied with getting sick aren?t productive workers. Do what you can to ensure that if you need them to be out in harm?s way, that you take the steps necessary to protect them. Mental […]