Recent Blog Posts
More Endpoints Means More Open DoorsWhen you add new devices to your organization?s infrastructure, like a new workstation or server unit, you?re adding a component that could potentially be used by a hacker to infiltrate your network infrastructure. Therefore, it becomes a top priority to secure any and all devices that you plan on adding to the network, regardless of whether they can be seen as a security red flag or not. The fact remains that any device can be used to initiate an attack, and you need to plan accordingly. This is particularly important to consider when dealing with mobile devices. Just like the number of workstations or servers that you have can provide opportunities for hackers to infiltrate your network, so too can mobile devices. This means that you need to apply necessary patches and ensure device security to retain maximum security. With a mobile device management solution, you can manage and maintain your mobile devices, including which apps can access data. Most importantly, you?ll have the opportunity to remotely wipe devices that have been compromised or lost, allowing you to keep your data safe from those who might pose a threat. More Software Means More UpgradesLet?s say that you add a new piece of software to your organization?s infrastructure. While it might be great for improving operations, it comes with the same shortcomings of any new software solution. Applications require patches and security updates that are issued by their developers whenever new vulnerabilities or performance problems are discovered. Therefore, the more software solutions you use from multiple different developers, the more likely it is that you may miss an important upgrade. One way that you can make this change more manageable is through implementing a remote monitoring and management solution. With this service, White Mountain IT Services can remotely monitor and maintain your organization?s software solutions. This includes deploying patches and security updates without a costly on-site visit. It?s actually worth mentioning that most technology troubles can be resolved remotely, so it?s in your organization?s best interest to implement a remote monitoring and maintenance solution. You?ll save more in the long run by taking a proactive approach to your IT management. To learn more about mobile device management or remote monitoring and maintenance, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
When you need computer support, or help with software and networking issues, tech support should be quick, responsive, and easy to communicate with. We maintain our own full-time technical support staff right here in nashua new hampshire and are committed to providing exceptional remote and onsite customer service, every time you need us. We provide multiple ways to communicate with the help desk when you need assistance. Telephone call to the tech support hotline Email into our trouble ticketing system Secure portal for entering, viewing and updating tickets Secure chat, directly with a technician All new tickets are triaged by our Service Coordinator who manages the workflow and assigns the next available, most appropriate technician to your ticket. Our secure support portal is easily accessible with an icon in the task-bar and provides complete transparency into the help desk process and workflow. Users can see the status of their ticket, who is working on it, the technicians’ notes and scheduled resources. They can enter notes for the tech, including updates or any new information, directly into the ticket, and can even chat directly with the technician. If you would like to be included in management oversight of the workflow, the portal also gives you the ability to approve or reject requests and to bump up priority on any ticket, directly in the ticketing system. If the work involves any changes to your systems or configurations, our staff will update our documentation portal with the new info to be sure that our records are always current, to ensure that our entire team has access to the latest knowledge and information about your systems. We take user satisfaction seriously, included with EVERY ticket completion email, is a simple user satisfaction survey. We monitor, report and follow up on user feedback. White Mountain Help Desk Services can be structured on a flat rate basis, where you have unlimited access with no additional charges, or you can choose to pay as you go and be billed in 15-minute increments as needed. Engineering & Support Help Desk Services Onsite Services Server Support Network Management Data Backup Disaster Recovery System Engineering Network Operations Network Security Project Work Staff Augmentation Cloud Services Computer Consulting Professional IT Management Service and Support Management Project Management Standard Operating Procedures IT Policies Systems Documentation Technology Consulting Cyber Security Training Reporting and Metrics Co-Managed IT Services Planning & Consulting Virtual CIO Services Strategic Alignment Budgeting IT Road-Map Business Continuity Workflow Analysis
Understanding the best way to get the job done, using the technology that you already have. Workflow analysis is the process of documenting and analyzing the steps, tasks, and decisions involved in a specific business process or workflow. The purpose of workflow documentation and analysis is to understand and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the workflow, identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies, and identify opportunities for automation or streamlining. To document and analyze a workflow, an organization typically follows these steps: Identify the workflow: Identify the specific business process or workflow that needs to be documented and analyzed. Gather information: Gather information about the workflow, including the steps involved, the people or departments involved, the tools and resources used, and any decision points. Document the workflow: Document the workflow by creating a visual representation of the steps and decision points involved. This may be done using a flowchart or other visual representation tool. Analyze the workflow: Analyze the workflow to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies and to identify opportunities for automation or streamlining. This may involve collecting data about the workflow, such as the time required for each step or the number of errors or rework required. Identify improvement opportunities: Identify opportunities for improving the workflow based on the analysis. This may involve reorganizing the steps, automating certain tasks, or introducing new tools or processes. Implement changes: Implement the identified improvements to the workflow. Workflow documentation and analysis can help organizations improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their business processes and identify opportunities for automation and streamlining. It’s important to regularly review and update workflow documentation to ensure that it reflects the organization’s current processes and to identify any changes that may be needed. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been in conversations with a client, when they mention something that raises the ‘There are easier ways to do that‘ red flag. Nowadays, there are many, many tools available to automate or streamline workflow. Executives and managers just need to be open to identifying places where ‘There should be an easier way to do this’. With technology today, there usually is. So, if you have a process in your company that should be easier, give us a call. Let’s see if we can work together to find a way to use technology to simplify, automate or eliminate the problem. Planning & Consulting Virtual CIO Services Strategic Alignment Budgeting IT Road-Map Business Continuity Workflow Analysis Professional IT Management Service and Support Management Project Management Standard Operating Procedures IT Policies Systems Documentation Technology Consulting Cyber Security Training Reporting and Metrics Co-Managed IT Services Engineering & Support Help Desk Services Onsite Services Server Support Network Management Data Backup Disaster Recovery System Engineering Network Operations Network Security Project Work Staff Augmentation Cloud Services Computer Consulting
IT budgeting starts with planning, which is why it is usually tied into our Strategic Alignment services and IT Roadmap , or into a Virtual CIO bundle. The goal is to tie IT spending to company strategy. The first step is to divide your Technology budget into a few key categories: • Run: These are the costs to run your day-to-day IT systems and applications, and to support your users. For instance: Costs for computer purchases, server hardware and software refreshes, and day-to-day support costs. • Grow: These are costs to support expected growth and change in your company, or which can help support sales or marketing initiatives. In the beginning, these types of initiatives are often necessary to ‘fix’ pre-existing problems. For instance: An upgraded virtual server or cloud environment that allows for growth or less likelihood of outages; an upgraded firewall to reduce security risks; a new website that makes it easier to interact with potential customers. • Transform: These are costs to support strategic initiatives or research and development, for instance new products or entirely new marketing strategies; or changes to company workflow that dramatically increase productivity. For instance: A new database and data visualization system that allows for a new client-facing product; a Customer Relationship Management system that integrates with your Website and allows for full tracking of the sales process from lead to followup to quote to sales; New integration or automation systems that could dramatically improve company productivity. White Mountain can help with the entire process, we start off by looking at your current IT systems and budget, in order to put together the ‘Run’ portion of the budget. We’ll review whether it makes sense to move your company to a Managed Services plan for your day-to-day IT service and support. Instead of traditional Time and Materials pricing, these plans provide support under a flat-rate contract. This helps transfer business risks to your IT provider, and gives them incentive to work proactively to reduce IT problems, since problems come out of their bottom line, rather than yours Next, we use the information we gathered in the Strategic Alignment process to put together a list of Grow and Transform initiatives that mesh with your company’s Business Strategy. We also prioritize these projects based on Business Goals. Then, we go through a process to scope these projects to in order to get estimated costs, so we can compare these costs against expected gains or potential risks being mitigated. Finally, we can come up with an approved IT Roadmap for the year ahead, tied to expected quarterly costs from the approved services and projects. With certain virtual CIO plans, we also tie these single-year plans to multi-year budgets, and help you monitor your IT spending as we go to ensure that run-rates match your expected budget over time. At the end of the day, you need to make the best use of your company resources, and to match Technology investments to what is most important for your busines. Using the budgeting process to help meet that goal is just like turning on your headlights. Happy driving! Planning & Consulting Virtual CIO Services Strategic Alignment Budgeting IT Road-Map Business Continuity Workflow Analysis Professional IT Management Service and Support Management Project Management Standard Operating Procedures IT Policies Systems Documentation Technology […]
