Don?t Fear New TechnologyThere?s a certain convenience of being able to communicate with the click of a button. While email and conference calling have been office staples for the collaboration environment for some time, there are several new technologies that are capable of making this process vastly easier. For instance, consider the profound effect that comprehensive solutions like video conferencing and instant messaging have brought to the office. People can communicate in ways which were previously unprecedented, like using an IM for urgent requests rather than sending an email for delayed reactions, or having face-to-face conversations from halfway across the world. In other words, your business shouldn?t be concerned about adopting new solutions. If anything, your company should embrace the power of the latest technology while using the basics to augment your communications strategy. Email is still necessary, and telephone lines are still helpful under certain circumstances. Even while some of these solutions might feel like they?re unimportant compared to the latest communications strategies, they are still vital assets. You Don?t Have to Be an ExpertEven though it helps to have a little technical know-how, it doesn?t take a brain surgeon to operate the latest collaboration technology solutions. Many modern technology solutions are very similar to everyday services that are provided by consumer products. For example, an inter-office IM solution utilizes a similar interface to other instant messaging applications, like Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts. Video conferencing tools are similar to Skype video calls, which means that users will likely be familiar with the general user interface of video chat solutions. Be Sure to Enforce Boundaries and Usage ProtocolEven if some solutions are easy to use, others will still require a fair amount of training, particularly in terms of ensuring your team handles your new technology solutions in ways which benefit your organization. Basically, you want to make sure that your team isn?t using your new technology solutions to distract others around them, and that your employees use the solutions in a logical manner. For example, why would you want to use video conferencing technology when there?s a perfectly fine conference room for that express purpose? Another problem is your employees using the in-house communications solutions, like email and instant messaging, for their personal purposes, which is both unprofessional and potentially problematic, should they choose to leave the company or engage in illicit activities. Your business?s technology solutions should be designed to get the most productivity and efficiency for your buck. For more information, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

Achieve a Stable Internet ConnectionAs is the case with most online technology, your business needs a strong Internet connection to ensure that your systems remain online as much as possible. If your Internet connection is shaky at best, your calls could drop while you?re in the middle of important business. In general, downtime makes things difficult, especially if it means a lack of communication. CyberTrend explains: If you?ve ever been on a VoIP call and heard the other person?s voice cutting out, then you?ve experienced jitter, which is due to occasional packet loss. Other issues, such as echo and delay, also impact the quality of a VoIP call and are often caused by network-related issues. Therefore, your business needs to ensure that your Internet connection can handle the amount of traffic that?s expected. You need to work with your Internet service provider to make sure that your connection is as secure and stable as possible. White Mountain IT Services can help you understand exactly what your business needs in order to ensure stability. Make Sure Your Network Can Handle ItAs a business grows, so too does the amount of traffic that a network experiences. What worked for your company when you were just a small startup might not work now that you have more employees, more technology, and more responsibilities. Older networks, especially those that have an increased workload, might no longer be effective for use with VoIP technologies without some retooling. In general, any amount of activity on an aging network infrastructure could be directly affecting your ability to get work done in a timely and efficient manner. CyberTrend explains: If you run your VoIP system in-house over your own network and encounter performance issues, then it’s possible your current network was set up ?using older assumptions,? says Dan Conde, Enterprise Strategy Group analyst. ?When your network was built,? he says, ?you perhaps only had regular landline phones and were not set up properly for VoIP.? The best way to ensure that your business?s network is ideal for use with Voice over Internet Protocol technology is to contact White Mountain IT Services. Our professional technicians can analyze your business?s network infrastructure for any choke points that might be affecting the way that your data and information is deployed. We can also help you shore up any weak points in your network, making it optimal for VoIP communication and so much more. When it comes to troubleshooting your VoIP solution, or simply implementing a new VoIP solution for your business, there is no better choice than to contact White Mountain IT Services. Our trusted technicians can test your network to find out if it’s ready and capable of handling VoIP, and we can offer assistance with both the preparation and implementation of your new communications solution.  

To make your life easier, we?ve put together a list of features that your business?s data backup and disaster recovery solution should have. Automatic Backup ProcessOne of the many complaints that businesses have concerning their current backup solution is the fact that tape backup, the most common method of data backup, is a manual process. Users are responsible for setting the backup, and storing the backup media somewhere that is safe and secure from both internal and external threats. This means that tape backup is prone to user error. If your staff forgets to set up the backup, it?s a whole day?s worth of data that?s on the line. An automatic backup solution eliminates this potential issue. Multiple Backups DailyAnother big problem caused by common backup solutions is that they only happen once throughout the workday. This is problematic, especially considering the amount of data that could be lost if even half of a workday is lost. Tape backup is so resource-intensive that it can cause downtime if it?s not performed at the end of the workday while the office is closed. Furthermore, tape backup makes complete copies of all files on the network, even if those files haven?t been changed from the last backup session. White Mountain IT Services?s Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution is capable of looking at all files on your network, and recording the changes made to them multiple times throughout the workday. Since the backups are less intensive, more of them can happen, and your data will remain up-to-date at all times. In most cases, we prefer to back up data every fifteen minutes. Off-Site and Cloud StorageYet another pain point for small business continuity is where they store their data backups. Some organizations, despite using tape backup, will store their data on-site, or even just keep it on the network for easy access. There?s a slight problem with this method; if the office or network were to be destroyed, via hardware failure, a devastating natural disaster, or even a hacking attack, all of that data could be lost. By using White Mountain IT Services?s BDR device, your data is backed up and stored remotely, off-site and safe, in either a secure data center. This makes accessing the data infinitely easier in the event of a major disaster. Fast Disaster RecoveryThe final thing that your business wants to achieve with your backup and disaster recovery solution is a relatively quick data restoration time. Restoring from tape can be a time-consuming process, since the backups are frequently very large and limited by the restraints of the hardware, like needing a technician to manually restoring the data. With BDR, in the event of a data loss disaster, it can immediately deploy the backed-up data from the cloud, effectively restoring your network in a matter of moments. In the event of a hardware failure or similar disaster, the BDR device can even act as a temporary server, eliminating downtime while you repair your downed server. For more information about White Mountain IT Services?s backup and disaster recovery service, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

What?s a Botnet?A botnet isn?t just a single threat; it?s a collective term used to describe several computers or devices that have been turned into bots, which are at the mercy of hackers. Essentially, as described by CyberTrend, botnets are: […] a series of computers, or smartphones and tablets in the case of mobile bots, that have been infected with a self-replicating backdoor Trojan that lets cybercriminals force the network to perform unauthorized commands, en masse. Once infected with such malware, a computer or mobile device becomes a single node in the botnet, referred to as a zombie or bot. The strength of the botnet is in the numbers. Cybercriminals use a system known as a command-and-control computer to issue commands and distribute the malware. In other words, a botnet emulates a zombie horde, absorbing more devices into its control and forcing them to bend to the will of a hacker. These devices can then be used for any number of purposes, such as spreading malware and viruses across a vast network of users, generating spam, collecting information, and so on. One of the worst things botnets can do is initiate a DDoS attack, which overloads a server with traffic, rendering it useless until the attack ceases. This causes excessive downtime, which can lead to wasted time and expenses. But Why Mobile Devices?As previously mentioned, the same security solutions that work for many desktop and workstation platforms don?t necessarily work the same way for mobile devices; or, rather, people tend to not consider mobile devices as a threat medium. This makes mobile devices a prime target for being turned into botnets. The fact that so many people are partaking in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), where employees bring their own devices to the office for work purposes, is also fostering the idea that mobile devices can be used to spread malware and viruses. What You Can DoThe best way to avoid becoming part of a botnet, for both a mobile device and a workstation PC, is to integrate comprehensive security protocol on all of your devices. By taking a proactive stance against this threat, you can avoid getting infected and becoming a tool to spread the infection to others. For mobile devices, be sure to take advantage of some sort of security solution, and to keep it updated at all times. The same goes for any applications you use on your devices. Ensure that you are using the most recent versions of your apps, which will minimize the security holes in your system?s defenses. Of course, while mobile botnets are increasing in number, their PC counterparts are far more prevalent. Therefore, you need to ensure that your business?s workstations are also secured from the threat of botnets. A Unified Threat Management solution can provide the means to keep malware and viruses out of your system, eradicate those that do get in, put a halt to spam, and block malicious or time-wasting web content. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

The private cloud, as we describe it, is an infrastructure that?s hosted in-house or remotely by a managed provider. This cloud system is managed and maintained by your own dedicated IT technicians, or if it?s hosted remotely, by White Mountain IT Services?s trusted IT staff. The main reason a business would want to host their cloud solution in-house is that you get complete and total control over how you want to manage your data. The public cloud, on the other hand, is a more hands-off experience. You get the ease-of-use that your business deserves while the heavy lifting is done by the service provider. Despite this seemingly great benefit, some businesses find that they?d prefer to have more control over their data and its security; hence, they want to use a private cloud solution. Here are a few ideas to consider before going all-in with a private cloud solution. Are You Confident in Your Staff?s Abilities?The integration and management of your cloud solution?s infrastructure, especially a privately hosted one, is knowledge-intensive. If you have dedicated IT personnel in your office, you?ll want to make sure that they?re trained on the proper maintenance and management that an in-house private cloud demands. If you don?t have the assets of an in-house IT department, you can still take advantage of a private cloud solution. White Mountain IT Services can host and maintain your cloud solution for you. It?s one of the many benefits of working with a managed service provider for your company?s cloud needs. Are You Dedicated to Data Security?Data security is one of the biggest things that people want to get out of their cloud solution, and the private cloud is far more dynamic than the public cloud in this area. The main idea is to ensure that your cloud solution is protected by some sort of secondary security solution, like a Unified Threat Management (UTM) device. Granted, the public cloud is relatively secure (although there are exceptions), but the private cloud allows you to put other measures into effect that can further enhance your data?s security. Are You Focused on Data Control?Data control is another pivotal part of choosing a cloud solution for your organization. Businesses who want complete and total control over their data, and are unwilling to budge on this issue, will want to utilize a private cloud. Since a private cloud is often hosted in-house, you know with certainty that your business is handling your data. If you are on the fence about any of these three pain points revolving around a private cloud implementation, you should consider integrating a hybrid cloud solution that combines the ease of use of the public cloud with the security and control that a private cloud offers. As reported by Processor magazine, ?It?s also safe to assume that hybrid cloud environments will advance as both private cloud infrastructure and public cloud offerings share the market.? This means that you can invest in the future by looking into a hybrid cloud solution. Don?t be left behind by the ever-growing nature of today?s technology; instead, embrace it, and use the power of cloud computing to send your profits skyward. To get started with a cloud solution, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.