We?re not talking about just using a web application like Gmail to access the Internet. Most businesses these days take advantage of some type of web-based service to keep their operations moving smoothly. They could either have a couple of applications hosted on the Internet, like Microsoft Office or the Adobe Creative Suite, or it could go as far as having the entire network infrastructure hosted in the cloud for easy access. Either way, business operations would change considerably without having access to the cloud and Internet-based solutions. Before web-based applications became commonplace, businesses rely on applications and solutions hosted locally on a network or desktop infrastructure. Nowadays, if solutions are stored in the cloud, they can be accessed on a plethora of devices that allow for more flexibility and innovation than ever before. We?ll talk about some of the various ways that the Internet and web-connected services change the way that businesses function. CommunicationsBusiness communications rely heavily on staying connected. Considering how the Internet is also all about connectivity, the two naturally go hand-in-hand. Businesses have access to all sorts of communication solutions, including voice and video chat, instant messaging, and email–all designed to keep your organization connected to all of your contacts and users in a way which fosters productivity. Imagine being able to take your business?s telephone solution on the go with you simply by having a mobile application on your device. You might even already be taking advantage of mobile email solutions. It?s just one way that a constant connection to the Internet and web-based apps really help businesses stay connected while on the go. Software SolutionsYour business relies on software to get work done, including a productivity suite of some kind. Thanks to the cloud, these solutions can be hosted online and stored in a way which allows for access via mobile devices and desktops alike. If you?re using a word processor, spreadsheet creator, or other type of software that lets you build out business documents or check information, you stand to benefit from web-based access to these applications. Now that you don?t have to rely on constant access to a desktop to work on text files or other projects, your organization is free to pursue a method of working and operations that best suits it. This gives your employees the freedom to choose their own devices. Furthermore, access to web-based applications is often much cheaper as a whole, since you?re simply paying for access to the latest versions of each solution in a web format rather than purchasing licenses outright for your desktop workstation. Access to InformationPerhaps one of the most important parts of Internet access for a business is the unprecedented access to important information. Businesses can investigate potential new solutions, potential clients, and competitors to create some of the most lucrative possibilities imaginable. Some might say that business lives on the web, and in this situation, it certainly does. You can perform market research, find other organizations like yourself to glean ideas from, and potentially even find new clients. Is your business fully taking advantage of mobile technology and access to web-based solutions? White Mountain IT Services can help your organization fully implement solutions designed to improve access to important information, be it locally on your network or through a cloud-based hardware infrastructure. To learn […]

Here is a quick example of an occasion where changing the orientation for a single page in a document might be of value. Begin by navigating to the page inside your Microsoft Word document that you would like to change the orientation of. Once there, make sure that your cursor is on the page. Open the Layout menu and click the button to expand the Page Setup submenu, as seen below. Next select the orientation you desire and select what you?d like it applied to using the drop down menu, as demonstrated. In this case, you?ll select ?This section?. Click OK. Looking for more tips, tricks and hints that will improve the way you and your employees make use of technology? Make sure you check back to White Mountain IT Services?s blog every week for the latest and greatest IT how-tos!

Check Endpoint SecurityFirst things first, you want to be sure that your endpoints (that is, your employees? devices and workstations) aren?t contributing to any vulnerabilities your network may have. Are your employees using their workplace devices responsibly? Do they each have access permissions that are appropriate for their work? Are some employees misusing their permissions? Your business security starts with your end users and their behavior. Risky actions will only put the business at risk. You need to be sure that your employees understand what the misuse of their devices or their credentials could bring about. Furthermore, you need to make sure that your network has the minimum number of endpoints possible, and that any former employees have had their accounts revoked. Apply Updates and PatchesIn order for your systems to be properly protected, you should keep them as up-to-date as possible. This is because cybercriminals and malware developers are constantly trying to improve their products to overtake the protections their targeted victims have in place, just as software developers and security professionals are constantly trying to identify and resolve weak points in these defenses. This is what updates and patches serve to do–they fix vulnerabilities that could otherwise severely affect your operations. Without them, your business is left exposed to potential threats. You need to make it a habit to regularly implement these crucial pieces of software so that your business is protected. Keep it Positive Admittedly, most of these resolutions have been about avoiding the bad, but why not embrace the good? Look ahead and consider the future. What attacks might be more likely to be leveraged against your business? What do you need to do to defend yourself? You want to put yourself in the best-case hypothetical scenario. Now, how can you go about attaining that standard? By taking an honest look at what is needed to have a year free of cyber-attacks, you get a better idea of how this can be achieved, and what you need to do to get to that point. Then, it?s simply a matter of doing it. Make Sure the Basics are Covered As you put these resolutions into action, don?t forget about the simple security measures. Solid password requirements will always help keep threats out of your network and accounts, and they can always be bolstered by two-factor authentication. While you?re putting these measures into place, you also need to make sure that your team is kept up to speed on these changes, and are taught how they work. Otherwise, they may resist these security changes and figure out workarounds. How have you resolved to improve your business? Have you made progress? Let us know in the comments!

One experience that almost everyone has been involved in is the clashing of personalities. This is only natural, as different people are born with different predispositions and are raised in differing environments. However, in the business world, one should do their best to keep personal differences from affecting the professional relationships they form. In their recent publication Networking Like a Pro, Dr. Ivan Misner and Brian Hilliard explore the effect that a person?s innate behavioral style has on how they act as they rub elbows with other professionals. While these behaviors are present to some degree in everyone, the book posits that one or two of them make up the lion?s share of each individual?s behavior. How well you network, or generally interact, with someone is based on how well each of your behavioral types meshes with the other. Does that mean that there are just some people who you will not be able to network with successfully? Not exactly. Misner and Hilliard offer a cheat sheet, of sorts, to inform how to interact and cooperate with the four behavioral types: Go-Getters, Promoters, Examiners and Nurturers. Go-GettersThere is a definite need for speed when dealing with a Go-Getter. The Go-Getter wants to see results now, if not sooner, and have no problem with bending the rules a little in order to achieve their goal. In order to effectively communicate with a Go-Getter, they need to see the value that you offer as being relevant to their goals. In other words, they need to grasp how you can make business move faster for them while still delivering the results that they demand. Go-Getters will also want options, but won?t respond well to a planned-out script in lieu of a pitch. A Go-Getter wants to hear the highlights, and most importantly, needs to see that you deliver results as promised. PromotersA Promoter is someone who is always ready and willing to find a good idea and spread it, often based more on their gut feeling than on knowledge acquired through research. A true people-person, a Promoter will often attend industry events to meet new people and socialize. They tend to be non-confrontational, and will often have many different plans in the works at once. In order to communicate with a Promoter, you need to match their tempo and focus on their priorities. Since a Promoter is often concerned with their image, you should demonstrate how your offer could boost their recognition in their industry. When making a deal with a Promoter, make sure that the small details and minutiae are all in writing, and that you quickly provide them with plenty of assistance to confirm that they made the best choice. ExaminersAn Examiner is a born skeptic, and will do everything they can to evaluate the person they are considering working with. They are very thorough, and will often be a perfectionist. Unsurprisingly, an Examiner is fond of information, and can use their knowledge to carry on conversations quite well. They also value efficiency, so they will not hesitate to leave an event once their goal has been reached. When networking with an Examiner, concision is key, as is support for your position. You will want get straight to the point, providing facts and evidence that establish you as the best choice […]

When taking notes that relate to a business? operations, these notes need to meet certain standards of clarity, cohesiveness, and comprehension. To accomplish this, you will need the right tools at your disposal. Today?s tip will evaluate two of the industry?s best note-taking applications to help you identify which is best for your needs. The applications: Microsoft OneNote, and EverNote. OneNoteThis application is available on multiple platforms, allowing its user to access a mostly comprehensive set of note-taking tools and features. While it naturally offers the traditional text-based note format, some platforms also permit a user to add quick drawings, incorporate recorded audio and video, and paste images and spreadsheets into their notes. OneNote also allows notes to be shared between users. OneNote keeps a user?s notes organized in a simple hierarchy, with each notebook they create being divisible into sections, subsections, and individual pages. Creating notes will be simple for anyone familiar with Microsoft Office applications, as OneNote?s functions and tools are organized in the same tab setup that the other Office applications utilize. Using the Windows version of OneNote offers the most features within this setup, with fewer features offered in its versions for Apple products, its web version, and Android applications. However, OneNote?s Achilles heel in this comparison is definitely its web clipping functionality–or its lack thereof. If a user clips content from a webpage and adds it to OneNote, it is only added as an image. This has two ill effects on the comprehensiveness of the application. First, any video content or links are rendered unusable, and second, a user is unable to copy and paste content from the clipping. Furthermore, only users with a Microsoft account are able to use the web-clipping function. In order to synchronize itself across all of a user?s devices where it is installed, OneNote leans on OneDrive. Your version of Office will have an impact on how much storage space you have on OneDrive. If you should find that you need more storage, there are plans available that enable you to access more, for an additional fee. EverNoteWhile the basic functions are effectively the same as OneNote?s, Evernote has strengths in different enough areas that comparing the two isn?t exactly a one-to-one consideration. Most notably, while Evernote offers similar note-creation capabilities as OneNote, it has its strengths in how well it can be used to clip web content. Through the use of a toolbar application, Evernote permits a user to pull content from the web in a variety of ways. In addition to taking a simple screenshot of a page, Evernote can pull a single article, removing ads, extra content, or even the original formatting. A user can also use Evernote to grab the entire web page, ads and all, along with a working bookmark that directs to that page. You can tag content you capture with the clipper, and edit it by adding text, highlighting certain elements, drawing notes and arrows, and various other functions. The only portions of a captured page that you can?t edit are elements like videos, but these act like links to the original page that the content was pulled from. Evernote proves to be set up much differently between Windows and Apple versions. As a result, the application is a little harder to navigate […]