The cloud has seen explosive use of its services and solutions since it was first introduced, and for good reason–it offers benefits that are too useful for a business to pass up. These benefits vary, but all serve a singular purpose: to make the user?s experience easier. Here are some of the ways that the cloud can enhance the daily operations of your business. Security: Starting off with a critical consideration for any business, the cloud can offer improved data security. Cloud providers base their entire business on their ability to safely store your data, and so they invest heavily into their security protocols. Furthermore, you can greatly reduce the risk of a lost device leading to a security breach, as there is cloud-based software that permits you to wipe the device remotely. This prevents your data from falling into the wrong hands, whether the device is misplaced or stolen. Reliability: Cloud providers stake their reputations on the ability to guarantee service to their clients at all times. While true 100 percent uptime is impossible, a cloud provider will keep the necessary skilled manpower on-hand to resolve any issues as efficiently and quickly as possible. Cloud services also allow you to enjoy the use of resources without worrying about keeping them up-to-date. Most providers will take the liberty of implementing operational and security updates on your behalf. This leaves you free to remain productive, instead of interrupting the workflow to install another patch. Access: A cloud solution allows productivity to have a place outside of the office. If an employee gets sick, or otherwise can?t leave their home, a cloud solution gives them a way to access their work files and maintain their output. The same goes for an employee on the road. If they can establish a secure connection, the cloud will allow them to continue their progress on work-related tasks. Financial Effects: Perhaps the most enticing feature, the cloud also allows for some considerable cost savings upon implementation. Since cloud computing utilizes your provider?s hardware instead of your own, you are no longer responsible for its acquisition and upkeep. As a result, you can otherwise utilize the funds that would have been devoted to your on-site infrastructure and the not-always-considered utility bill. White Mountain IT Services can help you to enjoy these benefits. Call us at (603) 889-0800 to find out more about what cloud-based services we offer.

What a Firewall DoesIn its simplest terms, a firewall is software that analyzes data flowing in and out of your network. Before allowing the data through, the firewall makes sure that it doesn?t pose a threat to your system. If the data in question meets the criteria of a threat, it doesn?t get through–similar to how a roadway checkpoint works. Plus, in order to safeguard your system from the latest threats, firewall software routinely updates itself via the Internet with the latest threat definitions. A firewall is most commonly used to analyze threats from Internet traffic, but it?s also useful for discovering threats from the traffic of your in-house network. They are also helpful for validating connection and data packets, checking for legitimate application data, and performing cavity searches on all messages going to and from your network. You also need to know that firewalls come in varying strengths. For example, an operating system for a home PC comes pre-installed with a firewall. However, a consumer-grade firewall is woefully inadequate to handle the traffic of a company network. Therefore, businesses need an enterprise-level firewall solution that can adequately safeguard all of its servers and workstations, like what you?ll find with a Unified Threat Management solution. Another advantage of a UTM is that the included firewall is just one of its security tools; spam blocking and content filtering are additional UTM tools that are included in order to provide your business with a comprehensive approach to network security. What a Firewall Doesn?t Do While it?s crucial for every business to have a firewall, it?s equally important for business owners to have additional security measures in place so they?re not solely reliant on their firewall solution. This means taking additional preventive security measures like backing up data, actively monitoring the system for threats, and applying security patches and updates. For your convenience, these tasks and all of your security needs can be outsourced to White Mountain IT Services. Companies also need to be mindful that having a firewall solution doesn?t give employees a pass to browse the Internet irresponsibly. Too often, users will think they can click on every link and download every email attachment because they?ve got a firewall in place to block malicious content. While it?s certainly helpful to have a firewall, the fact remains that a user who?s intent on downloading a certain file can bypass the restrictions put in place by their firewall. Therefore, a firewall is most effective when users are educated with security best practices, like knowing what a scam or a malicious link looks like, so they can avoid it altogether. Now that you know what a firewall does and doesn?t do, your next step is to equip your business with a firewall solution that?s right for your needs. Not all firewall solutions are the same, therefore, you?ll first want to take an assessment of your network?s size, traffic patterns, and number of users before selecting a model of firewall that fits your organization. To that end, White Mountain IT Services can assess your network?s security needs and equip your business with a firewall solution that protects you from the worst of the web. To get started, call us today at (603) 889-0800.

The aforementioned scenario is one that is common in the realm of break-fix IT. Someone?s computer or other piece of technology breaks down and they don?t know how to fix it themselves. They wind up investing in expensive IT support, but more than this, they waste valuable time and resources resolving a problem that could have been prevented. This has led innovators in the technology maintenance sector to create what?s called managed IT services, which are designed to take a proactive stand against IT troubles, rather than resolve them as they occur. It?s More Cost-EffectiveThe more time you spend spinning your wheels on an IT problem, the more time you wind up wasting. The more time you waste, the less time you can spend on profit-making initiatives. Previously, your organization was almost certainly including IT in its budget as a capital expense, but by implementing more flexible monthly payments, you can effectively turn your IT budget into an operational expense. The end result is more flexibility in your budget as a whole. You Have More TimeWhat would you do if you didn?t have to waste time managing or maintaining your business?s technology solutions? Perhaps you would invest time into building your brand, or maybe you would rather focus on improving internal operations and employee morale. Maybe you?d like to give out the raises that your team deserves, or invest in future innovation. Either way, you?ll have more time and resources to devote to what really matters: running your business. Your Technology Gets the Help It NeedsToo often businesses rely on their own employees to ensure that technology gets updated. This generally happens if an organization doesn?t have the resources to hire an internal IT department to take care of their technology. In other words, when you have people who have no clue what they?re doing managing and maintaining technology, chances are that mistakes will be made and time will be wasted. By having professional technicians working with your technology, you can know with confidence that your systems are being maintained by trained professionals. With proactive managed IT solutions from White Mountain IT Services, you?ll never have to worry about your technology again. We?ll make sure that your mission-critical systems are being managed and maintained properly so that you can focus on running your business. To learn more about what preventative solutions we can offer your organization, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Additional findings from the study include: Only about 17 percent of respondents claim that they have any sort of process for gathering intelligence about network threats. 38 percent of companies don?t have any method of intelligence gathering at all. Other companies either have one for specific purposes, or have one that?s not spread out throughout their entire organization. Regardless, the point stands that not enough is being done to learn about, and prevent, threats from accessing business infrastructures. The Ponemon Institute claims that businesses are experiencing, on average, at least one or more external cyber attacks every month, and these breaches are costing the businesses about $3.5 million annually. Your business? administration should consider whether or not it can afford to become the target of further data breaches. More often than not, we expect the answer to be ?no.? Yet, so many businesses refuse to accept that they could become the target of a data breach. One of the major threats comes from phishing attempts, a strategy used by hackers that tempt email recipients into divulging their personal or organizational credentials. The hackers on the other end of the email will then use these credentials to gain access and control. If people can?t tell the difference between friend and foe, they could potentially invite threats into the network without knowing it. Here are two strategies we suggest you take into consideration when deciding how to improve your company?s network security: Introduce proactive measures: This includes introducing security measures that work for every user accessing your network. Security solutions such as firewalls and antivirus can help you detect and eliminate threats that could potentially cause problems for your organization. Additionally, you should be prepared with other solutions including spam blocking and content filtering to cut down on your employees? exposure to threats. Educate your employees: Your team needs to be aware of security best practices, like password security, how to identify phishing scams, and so on. Security should be a part of company culture, and your team needs to embrace it if you want to keep your data safe. White Mountain IT Services can be the security professionals you need to keep your systems safe and secure from external threats. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Promoting collaboration Collaboration is key to creativity, as people work together to brainstorm and give each other feedback. IT professionals can help your business maintain strong, secure lines of communication, whether your employees are using a VoIP system, Skype, Google Hangout, or a secure mobile app to trade ideas. High-quality IT services will also make it easier for employees to share and edit files, working on projects collaboratively across locations and at different times of the day. The creative process never needs to shut down. There are also different software solutions for managing projects and extracting the most value out of brainstorming. One example might be idea management software. People love to share their thoughts on a variety of platforms, including social media sites. Savvy businesses draw on ideas and feedback from different groups of people, including customers, employees, business partners, and industry experts. Idea management software helps you streamline the process of gathering ideas from a given community, culling the insightful ones that will help your projects and disregarding the feedback that’s poor in quality. The way you conduct creative work will be highly specific to your business and to your personal style. IT professionals can work flexibly with you to develop the best ways for your employees to collaborate on projects and record, develop, and implement creative ideas. Giving you the stability to try new ideas Let’s say you want to launch a new e-commerce platform or transform your marketing or sales workflow. IT professionals can give you the underlying stability and support to try new ideas while minimizing the chances that they’ll crash. All creative new ventures come with some risks, so it’s critical to give yourself as much cushioning against failure as possible. This could mean ensuring that older systems and data get backed up in case you need to restore them. It also means creating a strong underlying foundation that you can build on in the future. For example, a recent article from CIO talks about how important it is to develop guiding strategies for taking your business through digital transformations; when using new technologies in innovative ways and deciding on future developments, you need an underlying plan based on a thorough understanding of your company’s IT needs. Guarding your creative secrets Cyber criminals often go after sensitive personal information, including financial data such as credit card numbers. But another prime target for data breaches are your company’s creative secrets. These include your ideas for new products and services and information about undergoing projects that you haven’t released yet to the public. This critical information can get stolen by cyber criminals or accidentally leaked by employees. IT professionals can help you come up with a number of solutions for better protecting your confidential data. These include software solutions (such as anti-malware programs) and cyber training for employees to minimize the chances that they’ll expose your data to unauthorized parties. Be sure to contact us for more information about how our IT services can help your business innovate and thrive. In a digital world, so many creative solutions will depend on the right kinds of technology. You need forward-thinking IT professionals to give you the support and advice that will help your business succeed.