Businesses of all sizes and industries can improve the way they function with the right collaboration tools, including the following. Cloud-Based Collaboration As a more broad solution to your organization?s collaboration troubles, cloud-based services provide a medium for employees to work together on projects in a secure online environment. Cloud collaboration can take place in documents, spreadsheets, projects, and so on, whether the team members are in the office or out and about, on any approved device. Instant Messaging and Communication Instant messaging gives employees the ability to send and receive messages on the fly in a way that email can?t. After all, not everyone checks their email every other minute, so an instant messaging program gives your business a more immediate way of getting an answer to a question. In essence, it takes the guesswork out of when someone will respond to a voicemail or email. Task Management Productivity hubs and intranet solutions give your business a way to access all needed resources in a single location. One example of this is Slack, which can provide access to communication and collaboration tools for individual employees, teams, and departments. All of this combines to create a great solution for getting projects done. Video Conferencing and Meeting Software If you want to have a meeting in your office, it?s easy enough to do; just find a room that?s not being used and pull together a team. Unfortunately, in crowded spaces, or for remote employees, this approach doesn?t work well. The right technology can give you the ability to hold meetings whenever and wherever you want. Video conferencing provides a way to hold meetings and collaborate in real time similar to a face-to-face gathering. White Mountain IT Services can equip your business with all the tools it needs to succeed. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Cybersecurity Artificial intelligence is being used to make automated systems smarter. As this automation ?learns? how to be most effective, it can be used for a litany of purposes. One of the main purposes where AI is already being utilized is in cybersecurity. The results have been mixed thus far, but one could see how AI?s role in cybersecurity will be profound in the future. The truth is that since the technology is still very much in its infancy that the application viability with something as complex as cybersecurity isn?t helping mitigate some of the most dangerous threats. That?s not to say that today?s AI doesn?t offer some value. According to the Ponemon Institute, AI is already affording businesses cost savings, a reduction of data breaches, and higher productivity tied to system viability. They found that companies have been able to cut their cybersecurity budgets by nearly 65%. Another benefit AI is currently providing businesses is that it makes up for what is a long-standing industry shortage in talent. With companies relying on so few IT onboarded technicians, simple issues can be quickly remedied before they become problems; and, coupled with analytics it can help the IT professionals that companies rely on, pinpoint where (and what issues) to analyze further. Operations Most businesses today rely on their IT to conduct operations. Distribution companies that rely on asset and fleet management, to manufacturers that use dedicated supply chain management, to the office where customer relationship management solutions are typically used to sync business with the demands of their customers, all need powerful software solutions to help keep costs down and keep business moving fast. AI is beginning to help these automated systems work more effectively. Most of AIs work within these constructs has to do with managing data and its analysis. Since so much data is created within these systems–especially in systems that also deal with the dissemination of services- it is hard for people to sort through it all. AI-enabled analytics systems are now being used that can automatically go through the mounds of data to find helpful information that can be used in the day-to-day application of business. Another place AI has begun to be utilized is in payment systems. For all the tech that many businesses use, their supply procurement and customer invoicing strategies are largely paper-based. When all other parts of a business is streamlined, having such crucial parts wasting time, being rife with errors, and causing inefficiency is not helping the business. AI systems are being used to sift through the documents and properly invoice customers in ways that were only capable through human labor only a short time ago. How Can I Use AI? This question is both laughable and sincere, much like the technology we are talking about. AI is nowhere near what you may think it is, but that hasn?t stopped some businesses from looking to incorporate artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps). The truth is that AI–that is, artificial intelligence–probably won?t help your business right now. The technology is way too new and it?s only been in the last couple of years that major software developers have been interested in creating products with modern-day AI technology. That shouldn?t alter your strategies to find the best solutions you can to eliminate business problems, and […]

Disasters are more common than you might think in the workplace. Whether it?s a natural disaster or occurrence, like a fire or electrical storm that hits your infrastructure or energy source, or a hacking attack that targets your business? data, the point stands that an unpredictable disaster could be just enough to knock your business off its game (if only temporarily). Even your own employees aren?t safe from unknowingly causing your organization damage. All it takes is one mistake–an employee downloading the wrong attachment or handing over credentials to a scammer–to create problems for your business. Depending on how severe the breach is, it could cause your business to shut down operations or lose important data? data that is only backed up if you have a solution in place to do so. User error is a common problem in the workplace. A case of a misplaced or deleted file could spawn a considerable amount of trouble, depending on how important the file is. Of course, we all know how easy it is to lose something in the workplace, and the complexity of computers means that this occurrence is almost a certainty. A data backup and disaster recovery solution is great for not just large data breaches or natural disasters, but for even the smallest user error as well. It could save you countless hours of frustration if you take preventative measures now. White Mountain IT Services has the skills and technology at its disposal to make sure your organization has the data backup solution it deserves. To learn more about how your business can implement data backup and disaster recovery, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

What?s the Worst That Can Happen? Consider the industry that your business finds itself in. Do you have any particular compliances that need to be met in regard to network security and the protection of credentials? Some organizations in the health industry may be subject to compliance fines due to breaches of conduct under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, meaning that any failure to protect records could result in negative situations. Furthermore, imagine the chaos that a threat on your network could create. Depending on its severity, it could impact operations to the point where they can?t continue until the threat has been neutralized. It?s even possible that the threat could destroy data or encrypt important files, hindering progress and keeping your organization from functioning the way it?s supposed to. You Might Even Go Out of Business. How?s that for Scary? Just about any business that has any kind of sensitive information could eventually find themselves subject to a hacking attack. Whether it?s financial credentials, medical records, or even passwords and usernames, there is always something of value on any organization?s infrastructure, and it?s your responsibility to be aware of this fact and respond to it. What You Need to Do You might be asking yourself what the best way to keep your organization from experiencing these issues is, and it?s a simple one: implement preventative security solutions as soon as possible. The more time you wait to protect your business, the more opportunity hackers have to make a move against your business. The best thing you can do is actively take the fight to them. White Mountain IT Services can implement the best IT security solutions for your organization based on its specific needs. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

1. Show Up on Time (If Not Early) Want to simplify the workday, while also keeping your bosses happy? One of the easiest ways to do so is to simply show up on time, prepared for the day. Management tends to view prepared workers as more conscientious than their coworkers, and as a result, will often score them higher on performance reviews. Whether or not it can be considered fair, those who perform at their best later in the day are often viewed less favorably than those employees who do their best work in the early morning. Attendance in general is often a concern. We?ve all known someone who seemed to miss days of work until they just… stopped showing up altogether. This isn?t always because this missed time has caused them to fall behind, either. Many organizations will look to people who are in regular attendance at work (but may not perform as well) as better employees than high performers who frequently miss time. As Woody Allen said, ?90 percent of life is just showing up.? 2. Set Aside an Hour to Tackle Your Most Pressing Issues For a place that is designed for getting work done, the office can often be a difficult place to accomplish this. You just get into your swing, when suddenly? emails, phone calls, instant messages, office chats… all start popping up at once. I don?t have to tell you how frustrating these interruptions can be, and how they can throw a day into flux. This is one of the reasons that it is so important to schedule yourself for one hour of uninterrupted work to address your priorities. Leveraging your office?s scheduling system to help manage this time and set aside this hour has shown to be an effective means of boosting productivity. One of the most effective strategies is to proactively eliminate (or at least reduce) distractions. First of all, you need to make sure that your team is aware that you will be unavailable for a period of time each morning. In order for this to be effective, you need to maintain clear and direct communication with your fellow team members. Another option you have is to actually use the tools that you frequently overlook. Take the ?Do Not Disturb? setting on your smartphone, or instance. This tool is a great way to shave back the amount of distractions that you need to deal with. 3. Turn Off the Music With the modern penchant for open office spaces, the workday can get loud and hectic. This makes listening to music seem like a good idea. Unfortunately, this isn?t so much the case, as it simply substitutes one distraction for another. You may be under the impression that you are accomplishing things faster, but the research indicates that this isn?t the case. One neuroscientist of prominence suggests an alternative: instead of distracting your brain with music as you try to be productive, listen to some music before you begin to put yourself in the right frame of mind. By listening to music – and then stopping – before you begin your task, you can also file away your mental distractions so that they won?t cause an issue. 4. End the Day by Planning Tomorrow Those last few minutes of the workday can […]