I bet that you could easily list three such processes off the top of your head, right now. These processes, while needed, can ultimately be more of an annoyance than anything else. There?s just so many to see to, and your efforts could really be better used working on another task. A Hands-Off Solution The technology that could help you the most is known as automation, where certain processes can be automatically seen to once another has been completed. This is already a common enough solution. For instance, many websites have a handy dialogue box to help you better find what you are looking for, returning contextual answers that may solve your problem without the need to call in one of the website?s human support team members. The infamous Clippy, the Microsoft Office Assistant that would pop up and offer assistance with certain processes in Office applications, could be considered a very basic use of automation. If the user began to format their document in a certain way, Clippy would appear and try to advise them on how to do it properly, along with other pieces of unsolicited advice. Fortunately, not all automation is quite as insistent or obtrusive as Clippy was. Most of it can take place entirely behind the scenes, eliminating many of the time-intensive requirements that hold back significant productivity. Automation solutions today offer three particular benefits to those that leverage them: As we?ve mentioned, smaller tasks no longer require a user?s attention. This allows your employees to focus more on their bigger responsibilities in service to your customers and clients. Instead of spending time scheduling certain tasks to move to the next employee in line to work on a project, the right automation can take care of this, well, automatically. As a result, it is easier to maintain productivity and a standard operating procedure. Automation is also less error-prone than a human being would be, making it a faster and more accurate means of routing information to the applications that require it. Concerns Of course, no solution ever comes without any challenges, automation included. Some are more technical, but the major one that always comes up speaks to deeper human concerns. One the technical side, automation presents two major challenges: Automation still requires at least some monitoring by a human resource to ensure that the automation is functioning properly, and is also delivering a better return on investment than a human can. Otherwise, it may not be worth the effort it takes to implement and, again, monitor. This is something that many delegate to an outsourced provider. All of your different solutions and systems may not play so nicely with each other, making it necessary to integrate them into a single chain of automated processes. A technology professional from White Mountain IT Services can assist you in selecting the right ones for your needs. Finally, the last (and in many ways, worst) obstacle you may encounter is pushback from your employees. Yes, I know, you?re actually making their jobs easier and allowing them to tackle more important responsibilities – but look at it from their perspective for a moment. If you don?t fully explain the benefits behind your choice to implement automation, they may see it as their job being replaced by a machine. Therefore, to avoid this, bring […]
When you start to ascertain whether or not a piece of technology needs to be replaced or just eliminated, the first decision you have to make is obviously how does this piece of technology affect our product/service. If you can utilize the piece of technology and it helps fulfill opportunities, promotes productivity and efficiency, or is overall just a benefit for the company, it is pretty easy to ascertain how to proceed. If the piece of technology doesn?t provide obvious benefits, then you should try and understand what the problems are and why you may need to eliminate that technology. It isn?t always that simple. Today, we will go through technology that you might find in today?s business and describe the relevant signs that a piece of it may be failing. Server Hard Drives Traditional computing environments utilize hard disk drives (HDD) that generally last between three-to-five years and will show indications that a failure is imminent. They include: The drive is making strange noises (clicking, whirring, humming). Repeated crashes and software errors. Repeated disk errors. Strange computer behavior. These can also be signs that any computer that runs an HDD. Today there are computers that have what are known as solid state drives (SSD) in them. SSDs are largely expected to last longer, five-to-seven year and don?t always have the telltale signs of failure that HDDs do. Here is where monitoring your SSD comes in. Just like the RMM service we provide at White Mountain IT Services, if you like, you can download software that will allow you to monitor the strength of your SSD. Beyond that, there are some signs that your SSD is on its last legs. Error messages that continuously pop up, files that can?t be written or read, and there are frequent crashes during the boot phase. Upgrading your hard drive before a major failure of your IT would keep downtime to a minimum and keep costs associated with that downtime to a minimum. Networking Major networking problems can derail any business? relationships. The loss of access to the Internet and the data workers need to do their jobs extends pretty quickly to the cost of the product or service, and the staff?s ability to support. If you are having a problem staying connected, or getting the bandwidth that you need, you probably have a problem with a router, switch, or some other part of your networking system. What?s worse than having hardware that is failing? Not having that hardware in the first place. If your company needs help with their wireless network, mobile computing management system, or any other system used to connect people or move data around, reaching out to the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services can be a great decision. If your IT seems like it is failing there is only one way to be sure that won?t be horribly costly for your business, call our professional technicians to do a full assessment of your business? technology today at (603) 889-0800.
Why You Need Backup While there can be no discrediting the importance of data backup in the face of a disaster, everyday annoyances and mistakes can also prevent your organization from working to its full potential. User errors and mistakes can be quite costly. For example, coffee is everywhere in the morning to facilitate early morning productivity, so it?s a very realistic possibility that it will spill onto keyboards or other components at some point. Some users might make a mistake with a keyboard shortcut and delete all of your hard work. You might even have a thief on the loose, stealing devices that might never be recovered. In any case, this is data that is gone, making backup a necessity in order to avoid the many loss situations you might overlook. Designing Your Backup Not all data backup solutions will be designed in the same way, and not all are going to be the right fit for your business. It?s important to get this right the first time so that it doesn?t influence your business? budget in the wrong way. For example, a single data backup might make sense from a specific point of view. While it might make sense to manage both your original data and your emergency copy to convenience yourself, this simply isn?t how the situation will play out. Having one data backup isn?t enough to secure your data, especially if that data is all located in one place. The ideal data backup solution will keep multiple copies of your data in several locations. The main reason for this is to make sure an isolated disaster, like a hacking attack or a flood, that destroys all data in one place doesn?t harm your ability to recover. The Ideal Solution It only makes sense that multiple copies of your data will increase the odds of your data surviving such a disaster incident. You also want to make sure that all your backups aren?t kept in the same place as your original data. It might seem like a good idea to have an on-site copy of your data backup–and it is–but for the purpose of disaster recovery, the cloud is a more effective delivery option, as it gives you an out when one might not otherwise be visible. White Mountain IT Services can help your business stay afloat during even the most difficult and unfortunate times. To learn more about our data backup and disaster recovery solution, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Your Phone Since Microsoft formally announced that it has abandoned its smartphone division late in 2017, it has been working on making smartphones running Android and iOS work better with Windows 10. To help you integrate your phone with your Windows 10 experience, Microsoft has developed an app called Your Phone. Your Phone is primarily meant to work with phones running Android OS, letting you sync your photos and text messages. Some features include the ability to paste photos taken from your mobile device right from the PC, and the ability to send SMS messages from your PC, via your phone number. Microsoft has been trying to get these features to work with iOS-run phones, but Apple has restricted access to SMS data in iOS limiting iPhone?s integration with the Your Phone app. Timeline Outside of the development of mobile phone integration, Timeline is the major new feature for the 2018 update. Timeline is a more detailed version of Task View; a feature Windows 10 has had since its inception that lets people see what software they are currently running. Timeline shows you what apps and activities you?ve used on your Windows 10 PC in the past 30 days. Since this information syncs across all machines you are signed into with the same account, you can see when you worked or completed a task for up to 30 days on multiple machines. This feature also works with Microsoft Edge Apps on Android and iOS, which allows users to see their progress and keep their productivity up while on mobile. Enhanced Dictation Microsoft has had some form of integrated dictation for some time, but in this year?s Windows 10 upgrade, they?ve added an easy way to launch the dictation tool. To get it to work, you first have to turn on speech services. To do so, go to Settings > Privacy > Speech, inking, & typing. On this screen you will want to turn on speech services using the button. Once it is initialized, you only need to hit the windows key + h to launch the dictation service. Windows 10 is gaining more and more functionality as major updates are rolled out. To learn more about what is capable with Windows 10, call our knowledgeable IT technicians today at (603) 889-0800.
Naturally, this scenario is one that we all wish to avoid. To do so, it may help to look at why a Google account (and for that matter, any online account) needs to be secured, and a few ways to get you started. Why Your Security is On You (Including Your Google Account) Considering the relatively short time it has been around, the Internet has undergone a major image shift as its purpose has grown more complicated. Initially, the plan for the Internet was to create a means of sharing information. Even its name reflects that, combining inter (which means reciprocal, or shared) with a shortened version of network (defined as a system of connected things). When MIT?s J.C.R. Licklider composed the memos that described, as he called it, the ?Galactic Network? in 1962, this purpose of sharing was displayed in full force. Described as a system of computers that were all connected – despite stretching across the entire world – to provide access to data and helpful programs, the Galactic Network is a dead ringer for the Internet that we know today. Later on, Sir Tim Berners-Lee credits the concept of a decentralized and open environment as the framework upon which he developed the World Wide Web. As he put it: ?Had the technology been proprietary, and in my total control, it would probably not have taken off. You can?t propose that something be a universal space and at the same time keep control of it.? The Modern Internet Today, the Internet retains many of these qualities. Think about the popularity of social media today, and how much we rely on collaboration in our places of work. Having what is a largely unrestricted network available to us, enabling us to share and cooperate, has allowed us to expand and flourish. These qualities are what have inspired the development of safeguards like open-access information and net neutrality, adopted in most of the industrialized world. Having said this, an exclusively laissez-faire approach has since been rendered impractical, simply because of how the Internet is used. There is a large discrepancy in how the Internet is used now, as compared to the dream of the Galactic Network?s purpose. Rather than spreading education, exclusively, the Internet has become a conduit that can be (and is) used to transmit data of all kinds. This is important to recognize, as the data that is now transmitted is precisely the kind that requires intense security to protect it – and this is precisely why businesses like Google have devoted time to sculpting services that meet this balance. Growing from what was once a Stamford doctorate dissertation project known as BackRub, Google is now a household name. Many businesses rely on the solutions developed by Alphabet Inc., as do a large portion of the general population. One of Google?s most common offshoots is Gmail, with businesses and private users alike using it for everything…including as a means of opening other online accounts. This is exactly why a Google account is so incredibly important to protect. Assuming that you have one, consider your own use of your Gmail account – have you used it to create any other online accounts? How much of your inbox is private information? Putting the Pieces Together This is the crux of why […]
