Recent Blog Posts
First off, we have to mention that most businesses use the two terms ?data? and ?information? interchangeably. This is true for White Mountain IT Services and it?s an acceptable practice within the industry, especially for marketing purposes. Although, to get technical about it, there?s a significant difference between the two terms. Essentially, data is raw numbers collected by technology. Data looks like a bunch of ones and zeros, and if one were to read data, it would make zero sense. Subsequently, information is data that?s been processed and interpreted so that meaning can be attributed to it. Once you, the business owner, understand the meaning of the provided information, you can use the information to make informed decisions for your business. This is why it?s so important that your company?s data-collection process is sound. Otherwise, your information may not be accurate, which will in turn lead to poor decision making. As you can imagine, how data goes from a seemingly-random number to become helpful information used to direct your organization, can be a bit of a process. If just one aspect of this process is weak, so will the end result. One way to view this data-transformation process is with the DIKW Pyramid. This is a four-tier pyramid where wisdom is on the top and data at the bottom. Business 2 Community provides us with a salad metaphor to describe the DIKW pyramid levels. Data: I have one item. The data displays a 1, not a zero. Information: It?s a tomato. Now, we understand the item and its characteristics. Knowledge: A tomato is a fruit. We can identify patterns in the information and apply them to the item. Wisdom: Tomato is never added to a fruit salad. There is an underlying, commonly understood principle that governs the item?s purpose. B2C goes on to say that ?bad data costs time and effort, gives false impressions, results in poor forecasts, and devalues everything else in the continuum.? You can see why it?s in your company?s best interest to place a high priority on having data quality software that ensures your data is as reliable as possible. Additionally, if your servers and computers are functioning properly and your company?s communications are efficiently mapped out, there will be less chance of leaking and corrupting corporate data. As you can tell from the DIKW pyramid, if something were to happen to your data, you?d lose your company?s foundation. White Mountain IT Services can help meet both of these concerns with our managed IT services and our Backup and Disaster Recovery solution. Call us at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.
Less is More When it Comes to TextAn inexperienced presenter will make the mistake of cramming a slide full of text, perhaps to the point of having a summary bullet point for every paragraph of their speech. Don?t do this. When it comes to PowerPoint presentations, less text brings more value. A slide full of text will distract from what you?re saying, due to the viewer trying to both read your slide and listen to you talk, which can make for a rather exhausting presentation. Instead, use a single graphic or statistic for your slide that summarizes your point. Use High Definition GraphicsWhen putting together your presentation, you?re likely working on a normal-sized computer monitor. Therefore, the graphics you choose might look great on the small screen, but what happens when it comes time to project it to the large screen? If you?re using low-to-normal quality graphics, you?re going to be disappointed and embarrassed by blurry results. Avoid this all-too-common mistake by making sure that every image you use is of high quality. Bonus tip: Try to avoid using old clip art graphics that have come standard with Microsoft Office since the 90s, along with generic stock photos found in every business presentation. Use Animated Transitions Sparingly (Or Not at All)Just because PowerPoint gives you the ability to animate every slide transition and bullet point, doesn?t mean you should. For your audience, too many slide transitions can be a distraction. People may begin to zone out, focus on your slides, and think, ?The last three slides were dissolve transitions. I wonder what the next one will be?? Remember, PowerPoint is supposed to aid your presentation, not the other way around. Use a Clear and Consistent Font othing screams unprofessional like a PowerPoint presentation full of different fonts–except maybe Comic Sans. Don?t ever use Comic Sans. Be sure to pick one font and stick to it for every slide. Additionally, make sure that the font you choose is a basic font like Arial that can be clearly seen no matter what the size and from all parts of your room. Going with a fancy font with curly Q?s may be hard to read and distract from your presentation. Use a Consistent Color Theme Throughout Avoid using slides that are drastically different in colors. For example, if your presentation looks like a clown?s outfit and uses every color under the rainbow, it will be both distracting and unprofessional, kind of like a clown. One color direction to take is to borrow a color scheme from your company?s logo. Also, be sure to take advantage of the PowerPoint templates provided by Microsoft. They have some really sharp templates that are both easy to use and professionally designed so that your colors won?t conflict and distract. Notice a theme here? For everything you do and don?t do with your PowerPoint presentation, you will want to make sure it doesn?t distract from the actual presentation you?re giving. It?s easy to get wrapped up in the finer details of making a PowerPoint presentation, but at the end of the day, you want your audience to remember your message, not your PowerPoint. Five presentation tips are just scratching the surface of what it takes to make a dynamic PowerPoint presentation. For more tips on how to get […]
While bulky desktops can eat up a ton of electricity and space, the thin client is essentially a desktop terminal without a hard drive. That might sound pretty useless at first, but their truly redeemable factor is that they are incredibly versatile. The thin client doesn?t have anything stored on it locally. It calls all of the applications and other mission-critical information from the server it?s connected to. It?s not uncommon to find these devices on college campuses, public places like libraries, and in more recent years, the workplace. These machines generally only consist of the graphics interface, and for businesses who store their information and services on the cloud, they only need a web browser in order to function properly. Are you considering setting up thin clients for your business? Here are three topics to think about when making your decision. Fewer Costs Associated with Thin ClientsAs you can expect, thin clients tend to not use up as much energy as a full-fledged workstation. This is because all of the computing power is coming from the server itself, rather than the hardware. Wouldn?t that put a lot of strain on the server itself, though? Servers consume a ton of energy, producing excessive amounts of heat, and they generally require some sort of dedicated air-conditioned environment. However, there?s a solution for this. If your business takes advantage of virtualization services, you can move your server to the cloud and save on those energy costs, too. If you?re not sure how to proceed with your server virtualization, White Mountain IT Services can handle this daunting task for you. Minimal Points of FailureThis particular fact is a double-edged sword. If the server does indeed process the applications and information for several clients on your network, what would happen if something were to go wrong with the server? A thin client infrastructure is vulnerable to all of the same issues that plague server maintenance. If a hardware failure were to strike and cause server downtime, the thin clients would cease to function properly. On the other hand, this also means that thin clients rarely need the heavy-duty protection that the full-fledged workstation would. The only machines which need software-level protection from common threats would be the server, since the thin clients pull all of their applications and information from it. It?s imperative that you keep data loss and security in mind when using thin clients. White Mountain IT Services can arm your hardware with the best security solutions on the market, so you can concentrate on maintaining normal operations. We also have our powerful Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution available to prevent downtime and data loss in the event of a server crash. This is especially important when using thin clients, since all functionality relies on the server itself. Our BDR can take the place of your server in the event of a disaster, so operations can resume while you integrate a more permanent fix to the issue. Flexibility and ScalabilityIf you find your business is really taking off, it?s simple to add another thin client to your IT infrastructure. Think of it in these terms: When you hire a new person, they?ll require a machine to work on. Equipping a workstation with all of the software they?ll need to perform their duties can take plenty of time […]
VPNs are a common means to extend the reach of your business?s network. They are often used by remote workers to access corporate data locally through their Internet-connected devices while on the go. This, in turn, allows for increased productivity and availability of mission-critical information. However, with the advent of cloud computing and the immense amount of new Internet-connected devices entering the market (thanks to the Internet of Things), your VPN solution might be in need of a good evaluation. To find out how your current solution holds up, it?s important to see how the cloud and other new technologies are going to affect it in the years to come. Considering the CloudAccording to Processor magazine, the cloud is changing the way that company?s look at VPNs and mobile computing in general. VPNs are a technology that?s been around for a while, and it hasn?t changed much since its inception; unlike the cloud, which is growing more popular and dynamic by the day. For instance, many VPN users might only be using it to manage their own on-site network, and their particular solution isn?t designed to cope with the advances in cloud technology. When considering that your business?s data will be directly available for anyone able to connect to your network, it?s important to take into account the different ways a user will access that data. This includes mobile access points, wired connections, and even through the cloud. Security and Identity AuthenticationThis, naturally, leads businesses to a solution which should be designed with security in mind. The purpose of the VPN is to provide users with a secure avenue of access for confidential corporate files, even if the WiFi hotspot is sketchy at best (think free hotel WiFi). Therefore, you need to ensure security if you?re hoping to reap the benefits of a VPN successfully. According to James McCloskey at Info-Tech Research Group, ?If a person is [connecting via VPN] from an unmanaged, non-corporate device, you do really want to make sure they?re not going to be in a position to intentionally or otherwise access resources they don?t need and store them on their local machine.? This is a very real risk that is associated with VPNs and must be addressed if you want to continue taking advantage of one. White Mountain IT Services?s VPN is capable of maximizing the security of your business?s network while taking advantage of a flexible, easy-to-use solution. Additionally, with our other managed IT services, we can augment your VPN with cloud management, security services, or a mobile device management solution. If you?re not sure how to approach a reevaluation of your network security and performance, we?d be more than happy to lend you our expertise on the subject. Give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 today for a free analysis of your network security and efficiency. Together, we can help your business achieve optimal productivity with your technology and push your bottom line to greater heights.
By default, business owners are leaders, and as a leader, you understand that one of the best ways to sharpen your leadership skills is to surround yourself with other knowledgeable leaders. It?s the classic ?iron sharpens iron? principle. Additionally, because nobody?s perfect, it?s best to be influenced by multiple industry leaders. Otherwise, if you lean too much on one person, you will pick up their flaws and shortcomings. This is why using the team model is standard for businesses looking to succeed–it brings out the best in people! If your business hires and runs its operations using teams, then you will appreciate our team system for providing exceptional IT support. At White Mountain IT Services, we have a highly competent and professional team made up of key personnel that specialize in different aspects of business technology. It?s also the case that our team is bigger than it looks. In fact, our IT support team includes professionals that aren?t directly a part of our staff. We?ve built a network of competent IT professionals that we learn from and can access if you need a repair for a specialty piece of technology that we don?t cover. We call this expanded team approach to IT our vendor management service. With it, your business benefits greatly by gaining access to our extended team that we?ve carefully selected based on their professional qualifications and reputation for excellence. When you outsource your IT needs to White Mountain IT Services, you?re essentially making us part of your team. If you?re satisfied with our performance and contribution to your team, then you will be pleased with the quality of the additional team members that we bring to the table. When it comes to doing business in today?s complex business environment, it?s dangerous to go alone. Wise leaders know that the most dangerous number in business is one. They also know that not one person has the answer to every single problem, and the difficult problems are best solved when a highly competent and experienced team of professionals come together to resolve it. At White Mountain IT Services, you can tag us in as your competent and professional IT team. This will free up your time so that you can focus your leadership strengths, allowing you to expand your team and your business so you can take your company where it needs to be. Expand your company?s team to include competent IT professionals by calling White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800 today.
