In addition to Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 will also reach the End of Support date on January 14th, 2020. Don?t look at this six-month window as an opportunity to wait until the last minute–that?s the last thing you should do. In fact, you need to take action now to upgrade away from Windows 7 and these other solutions, as it takes much longer than just a few weeks to work through this process the right way. What Does End of Support Mean? You may have noticed the messages on your device telling you that there are updates waiting to be installed. While they might be annoying, it?s entirely in your benefit to implement them, as without these updates your devices could become security hazards. In other words, these updates are essential to a healthy infrastructure, and with the End of Support coming soon, you will stop receiving them unless you take action to upgrade away from these solutions now. Why is This an Issue? Security updates are critical to patching up known security flaws, but patches are also meant to respond to operational deficiencies that might plague certain software solutions–including operating systems. Furthermore, hackers are waiting to take advantage of these security threats, inefficiencies, and vulnerabilities to make your life miserable. We can assure you that it?s in your best interest to nip this issue in the bud before it even becomes a problem. Besides, isn?t it better to take action now than wait until it?s too late to do so? You?ll save a considerable amount of time and resources by upgrading away from your soon-to-be obsolete software. It?s much better to upgrade away now than wait until you?re already experiencing security issues and inefficiencies, so don?t waste any more time. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization upgrade away from antiquated software solutions that will soon lose support. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

These days companies are investing more than ever in their cybersecurity and network security awareness programs. This investment is the result of the increasing number of phishing and other social engineering attacks that businesses from all over the world are dealing with. These efforts, while necessary in today?s climate, have seen marginal success, however. One survey found that around 60 percent of organizations that took part had been breached at some point over the previous two years. That?s three-in-every-five organizations having dealt with at least one instance of unauthorized access. Where do companies go wrong? After all, they spend a lot of time and resources trying to keep unwanted entities off of their network. A disconnect between IT and management can have something to do with it. In fact, one-third of the organizations surveyed suggested that CIOs (and the like) had no idea what software their company was running. That could be a big problem starting at the top. Developer Patches Have Been Consistently Ignored There are endless examples where developers have released a patch for their software, but they weren?t rolled out to the systems on a network, leaving a vulnerability that was eventually taken advantage off. WannaCry and NotPetya attacks from 2017-2018 were largely the result of companies not immediately patching what seemed like a minor software vulnerability. These organizations realized pretty quickly that there really are no minor software vulnerabilities. How Can Your Business Improve? There are a few things you can do to ensure that there are no arbitrary holes in your network. Create a Patch Management Policy Comprehensive patch management starts like many other forms of the business, with a plan. A patch management policy is effectively the ?no software left behind? program for your business. By outlining processes and who is responsible for carrying them out, everyone will know what to do, when it needs to be done, and how to go about it. A strong patch management platform will include identifying the right patches, implementing a formal patch schedule, deploying the patches, and making sure that the software that you?ve patched, is patched sufficiently.  Test Your Systems There are several ways you can go about testing the patches that you make. To properly do this you need to first create a test environment; or, one that is a simulation of your company?s production environment. The easiest and most cost-effective way to do this is to use a virtual environment. It doesn?t have to be a spitting image of your work environment, but it should have some of the same component software on there. The goal, of course, is to replicate your production environment to test your software patches.  After you are confident that your patch is satisfactory, you could just roll it out to all of the titles getting the patch. Start with a limited amount of production devices, test again, and then if all functions as expected roll it out company wide.  While properly patching your solutions is serious business, you need to go about it in a collected way. Shooting from the hip (or in other words, just deploying the patch and forgetting it) could potentially create some problems with your other components or solutions. Instead, test new patches as much as you are able, and if you don?t have the […]

The opposite situation is one that is all too real. What happens if an end user experiences technical issues while they are trying to complete their tasks? Do they sit there and wait for it to be resolved, or do they actively try to solve the problem? Either way, the end result will be based on the same thing: whether or not they know how to address their technology troubles. Even if they wanted to, the computer problem is getting in the way, and this kind of frustration might be enough to derail their focus. Without the right help, they won?t be able to succeed. They might ask a coworker for help, or they might reach out to a manager, but there?s no guarantee that they will be able to help, as everyone has their own tasks to get to. Depending on how your business handles IT support, you might have a specific workflow for requesting IT assistance. Perhaps you would call your IT provider to have them walk you through the issue. Either way, it will involve approving a remote session or an on-site visit, authorizing a quote, and so on, just to get back to work. An employee who feels they aren?t doing a good job will simply get frustrated by this process, leading to a loss situation no matter what happens. Give Employees the Gift of a Help Desk Imagine if your employees didn?t have to go through the above process and instead could just pick up the phone or send an email to open a ticket describing their issues. Most of the time, tickets submitted in the mid-morning can be resolved by the time the submitter comes back from their lunch break. Bigger issues might be solved even faster, depending on how pressing they are. This gives your employees the power to report issues whenever they need to, giving them control over their day-to-day productivity. They will feel it?s more acceptable to ask for help, meaning they will be more likely to get their work done in a timely manner in the face of technology troubles. Does your business need help with technology troubles? Let our help desk help YOU out. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Digital signage involves having digital displays, like televisions or monitors, in the office for specific tasks. You may have noticed them while you?re out and about, such as in fast food restaurants for displaying menus or in shopping locations to showcase the latest hot trends. Basically, it?s a digital screen that displays whatever you want it to–usually something important that you want visitors or onlookers to remember and keep in mind as they go about their business. You can use them to showcase specific information, like deadlines for projects and key performance indicators, or you can simply use them to add dynamic elements to your office. Showcase Important Information or Statistics Employees need to see certain announcements, and there?s no better place to make sure they see them than a big screen in a public location. You can also use monitors to showcase statistics, like sales numbers or a countdown to a specific date or time. Digital signage is ideal for organizations that want to keep their staff informed and involved with their performance. Digital signage is also useful for helping outsiders navigate the office. You can broadcast content to monitors that showcase where important locations, like conference rooms or bathrooms, are located. Display Upcoming Dates and Events If your organization is one that deals with deadlines on a regular basis, you can use digital signage to broadcast them to your workers to ensure that the knowledge spreads to anyone who sees the screen. It?s an easy way to draw attention to important times, dates, or events that need to be prepared for in the future. Monitor Goals More Effectively Employees can be held accountable through the use of displays, and it?s all thanks to the ability to display goals and other types of key performance indicators that can showcase who is at the top of their game. This might be able to foster some healthy competition between your business? employees, as they will be able to work knowing their performance can be seen by anyone and everyone in the office. It also provides them with an easy to read way of gauging their own success. If your business needs help with the setup and implementation of digital signage, White Mountain IT Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Understanding Your Needs Your business is unique in that it has specific requirements for each of its software and hardware solutions, and they won?t be the same as any other organization out there. If you?re in the market to improve your infrastructure, be sure to take a look at what could be holding your business back. Are you suffering from server lag, network bottlenecks, or sluggish workstations? What about buggy and outdated software? Either way, the answer is the same. By looking at what your business needs, you can improve operations and make the selection process for new solutions much easier. It also gives you the ability to address specific issues and shore up weak points through implementing better technology solutions. White Mountain IT Services can provide your business with just that through a network audit designed to identify issues with your business? infrastructure that need to be addressed. Finding Vendors After you know which solutions you want to implement, you have to find someone who is willing to work with you to make it happen. However, this process can be somewhat challenging and time-consuming without having the proper connections. This is where working with a managed service provider can help. As a company dedicated to providing the best services and solutions possible to small businesses, White Mountain IT Services is in the unique position to not only help you identify faults in your infrastructure, but connect you with resources to solve them. Implementing Solutions Of course, even if you know what you need and where to get it from, the process of implementing a solution is no small task. You need trained IT technicians on-premises to make sure that the process goes smoothly and without incident. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization implement the best solutions for your business problems. To learn more about how your business can leverage hardware and software to the best of its ability, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.