Here are some ways you can adapt your office?s printing tendencies to match your goals. Putting Together a Print Policy Any policies or procedures you put together for your organization?s printing policy should be documented, in language that is both clear and concise, in a location where it?s readily accessible to your staff. It should include all of the following: How many prints each department/user should make in a given period of time. Which documents can be printed in color, and which should remain in greyscale. Which documents should be produced in hardcopy, and which can remain digital. Which pages from a given document actually need to be printed, and which can be omitted from the hardcopy. The cases in which double-sided printing is an option. Whether or not a document has received an initial proofreading. These guidelines should be preferable ranges that you can change and adapt rather than those that remain static. You can never know when your business will require that you have hard copies of documents, so don?t be afraid to throw away the printing caps when you need to. That being said, placing a cap on your business? printing will naturally save you quite a bit of capital through simple awareness of resources. Using Network Printers with Print Management Software This kind of organic decrease in printing will only get you so far. It?s more economical to invest in a network-attached printer that the entire office shares. This is great for your organization?s printing policy because it can give you key insights into your organization?s printing habits and provide ways to decrease waste. It also decreases the number of devices that need to be maintained. White Mountain IT Services can provide your organization with a plethora of ways to take advantage of the latest printing technology. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Unfortunately, sometimes diligence isn?t enough, as exemplified by recent events at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. The capital-based college was struck in early April 2019 by a rash of computer vandalism. Vishwanath Akuthota, a postgraduate alum, pled guilty to charges of using a device known as a USB Killer to permanently disable 59 Windows campus computers, as well as seven Apple computers. This act ultimately cost the college a total of $58,371 to replace these devices. Akuthota, an Indian national in the United States on a student visa, used his iPhone to film himself using USB Killer to destroy the computers. As a result, he faces a $250,000 fine and ten years in prison. Understanding USB Killer USB Killer is a specially made thumb drive that draws power from the USB port, charging a capacitor within the device, then releasing that power back into the USB port. This overloads the components, burning them out and breaking the machine. The USB Killer is freely available online, apparently intended to be used as a surge protection test. Where Your Biggest Risk Lies Naturally, no business looks to have this kind of catastrophe happen. Unfortunately, USB Killer is particularly difficult to resist – but that doesn?t mean that there aren?t things you can do to help prevent the various kinds of employee-related security breaches. An independent study revealed that, in 2018, over two-thirds of data breaches were the result of an employee?s actions – whether they were negligent in their duties, were directly responsible for the data theft, or actively sabotaged the company. That?s right – your employees are the ones who are most likely to put your business at risk. Now, this is not to say that your employees are actively working against you – only a quarter of data breaches were caused by the actions of employees, either current or former – but you still need to keep your network and infrastructure protected against the kinds of situations that could put your data at risk through the actions of your team. How to Keep Your IT Protected from Your Staff?s Actions The best way to approach these kinds of issues is to identify and mitigate them before they have an effect. This will require a two-fold approach: for your staff to be properly trained, and for you to have the tools necessary to monitor your business? technology. This is to help cover all of your bases. The better your staff is trained, the more prepared they will be to properly utilize the solutions you provide them with, making fewer and less severe errors as a result. However, the better your staff is trained, the more willing they will likely be to take liberties with these systems – liberties that they wouldn?t have otherwise. A comprehensive monitoring strategy will help you to keep your business, its infrastructure, and its data safe and productive. To learn more about protecting your business through proper staff training and security solutions, reach out to the team at White Mountain IT Services by calling (603) 889-0800.
Bandwidth is still anything but cheap, which means that if you want to improve your business? telecommunications as a part of a cost-reduction strategy, a cloud-hosted VoIP solution may be your best bet. Here, we?ll discuss bandwidth and how VoIP offers enough value to effectively pay for itself. Examining Bandwidth Just like a private user goes through their local ISP in order to receive Internet service, any organization needs to do the same. Your Internet speeds will be largely dependent on how much bandwidth you purchase. As you consider your bandwidth needs, you need to consider how much your critical applications will need to function properly, where your resources are located, and which of your solutions require the most bandwidth to function properly. Today, the majority of businesses may have a few ISPs to choose from, but a business? needs often come at a premium price point. Smaller ISPs may offer some other options, but if you want to leverage a cloud-based VoIP platform, you?re going to need something a little higher than the base service plans that are available. Really, if you?re considering adding a hosted VoIP platform to your business? communications platform, you will want to make sure that you have the bandwidth to support everything that VoIP can do. One benchmark to keep in mind is that you should have at least 100 Kbps for each concurrent VoIP call being placed. So, if 20 people in the office all need to be on the phone at the same time, you?ll need at least 2 Mbps. Of course, this isn?t likely to be enough for all of your needs, but it is a good baseline to establish when preparing to implement a VoIP platform. The Value Cloud-Hosted VoIP Can Offer Once you?ve elected to make the switch over to VoIP, you have another decision to make, either you purchase a dedicated PBX server, or you utilize online hosting for your VoIP solution with White Mountain IT Services?s help. With this help, you can see a variety of operational benefits, including: Access to a fully-integrated communications platform. Not only is a cloud-hosted VoIP solution easier to deploy, they usually integrate will with any other solution your company may use, including your CRM tool, videoconferencing, or email solution. Complete customization. With cloud-hosted VoIP, a business can pick and choose the features that it actually needs and ignore the ones it doesn?t. Dynamic communication and business features integrated. VoIP systems come with many features baked-in that otherwise would only be available as premium features, if at all. Mobility. In addition to being available via a desktop client or physical headset, many VoIP solutions offer mobile device applications that allow you to take your calls with you. Flexibility. VoIP solutions are very easily scaled to a business? particular needs, allowing the business to funnel their resources to other needs more easily. Cost reduction. Among business-grade telephone systems, a cloud-hosted VoIP solution features reduced capital costs and operational outlay. When all is said and done, the biggest drawback to leveraging a cloud-hosted VoIP solution is the fact that you might have to spend a little more on your Internet connection. However, weighing the benefits against the costs, it certainly could still be worth it for you to adopt. To learn more about deploying a VoIP solution, […]
OneDrive comes preinstalled on Windows 10 devices and is integrated with the file explorer system that we all know and love, making file security and syncing a piece of cake. With drag-and-drop functionality, a user can sync files simply by moving a file or folder to the OneDrive folder of your PC. The same can be said in reverse, though it?s true that some people might not want their entire OneDrive folder available on their computer at any given time. Microsoft has developed OneDrive to respect these wishes, giving users the ability to designate the files synced with Windows 10. Here?s how: Select the white (or blue) OneDrive cloud icon in the Windows taskbar notification area: It will open a pop-up screen. In this screen select More > Settings. Select the Account tab, and select Choose folders You have to make sure the ?Make all files available? box is toggled off: You should now be able to select all the files you want to see. Press OK to start syncing your files with Windows 10. For more great tips and tricks, be sure to consult White Mountain IT Services?s expertise. You can reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
What is Blockchain? Blockchain is a decentralized ledger system that records information for all transactions on specific and permanent blocks. Any block that exists on a blockchain represents a change to the overlying information on the chain, meaning that any change to a block?s data would break and corrupt the entire chain. Developers can take advantage of this to create opportunities for data security, smart contracts, and other purposes. It?s also notable that blockchain is the technology that makes cryptocurrency like Bitcoin work as intended, and it has produced a method for some of the largest venture capitalist firms in the world to spend billions of dollars in funding on these companies. This kind of involvement by major investors has provided with a clear path to being more than just a fringe alternative to digital currency, paving the way for more research and ambitious ideas. Innovative Uses for Blockchain There are a lot of new ways people are trying to utilize blockchain technology. They include: Payment systems Smart contracts (including real estate and vehicle title transfers) Supply-chain management Loyalty rewards programs Authentication Medical record keeping Data sharing Wills and inheritances Intellectual property management Online voting Tax regulation and compliance Weapons and prescription drug tracking Labor rights management Internet of Things network management And more With such a huge increase in the way blockchain is used, many organizations are trying to implement it to solve operational issues. Therefore, we want you to take a moment to think about how the blockchain could solve some of your problems. Of course, you should ask this question about any service or solution you implement, and you?ll want to discuss this with trusted IT experts. White Mountain IT Services can provide you with that pillar of support. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
