What is a DBMS? The database management system is a piece of software used to create and manage your organization’s databases. It offers features that allow you to create new databases, update the tables, easily and quickly retrieve information from the database, and enhance the data found in the database. It is effectively the dashboard that allows you to sort and view your organization?s data.  Most DBMS titles also provide tools that allow users to alter the way a database works, so that a business can alter it to meet the needs of that business. Many times your business? databases will be managed by a single party with the front end fueling business management titles like a customer relationship management (CRM) program.  The Benefits of Database Management There are several valuable benefits of a DBMS. Some of which include: Improved Data Security A DBMS can help users share all types of information quickly and easily, sure, but one thing it excels at is keeping that information safe. By providing fast answers to database queries, the DBMS provides access to data, often in real time. The integrated access control system inside the DBMS ensures that only authorized parties are subject to the underlying data, keeping the system secure.  Better Data Integration The DBMS can be used to see how processes in one part of your business affect the processes in another part. This was once done manually and took a long time with a lot of people, but now can be completely automated making it much, much quicker and much more accurate.  Consistency and Regulatory Compliance In using a DBMS, you can be certain that the view you have of your data is accurate and consistent. This, along with the ability to manage your organization?s data centrally, provides intrinsic data privacy and security benefits, making the DBMS a crucial tool for organizations that need to stay compliant with data regulations.  Improved Decision Making The reliability of the data managed by a properly deployed and maintained DBMS are simply better than data that is loosely tied together manually. It?s that simple. Better data management creates more truly actionable information that can help your business move ahead quickly.  With data being a huge deal for nearly every organization, having the tools and expertise at your disposal to help your business? data work to help improve your business is important. If you would like to learn more about databases, the DBMS, and the role they play in business give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

First, we?ll talk about how managed IT can provide value for your organization?s project management efforts, and then we?ll tackle how project management software specifically can aid in this. Managed IT for Project Management You can?t make progress on a project if your technology solutions are constantly experiencing problems. For example, if an employee is trying to work with Microsoft Office, but the license runs out for the solution, they?ll be unable to get work done with that solution. The same thing could happen for just about any software your business relies on to get the job done, as well as just about any other asset that your project management team needs. White Mountain IT Services can help your business manage its IT so that your assets are always available when you need them most (like in the middle of a project implementation). This means that you won?t have to worry about your technology experiencing any inefficiencies while you?re focused on the project?s implementation. In essence, by effectively doing our job, we can help you get your job done as smoothly and efficiently as possible. This means that instead of focusing on keeping your technology solutions working as intended, you?re focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible, meaning you experience less downtime and save more money for other endeavors. Project Management Software Project managers have the responsibility of managing all of this information and connecting the implementation team with all the resources they need to get the job done. This is often easier said than done, but thanks to project management software, your organization can take advantage of a central hub-like interface to connect all resources to users in a centralized fashion. In essence, project management software helps your team communicate and access resources in the most convenient way possible. Project managers can take a look at progress, assign tasks to specific individuals, check the current state of the project?s budget, and so much more, all through a single software solution. This helps to make sure that projects are completed in a timely manner, keeping your business from having to redo the implementation process multiple times (because we all know that doing something twice wastes time and money better spent elsewhere). White Mountain IT Services can help your business get started with managed IT and project management. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Adjust Your Startup Page in Google Chrome The startup page in Google Chrome will open up whenever you open a new tab, so it?s important to set it to whatever you think will get the best results for your productivity or convenience. To access these settings, use the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Select the option for Settings. In the left column, you?ll see the On Startup option. Click this and select one of the three options which appear: Open the new tab page Continue where you left off Open a specific page or set of pages Now, your choice will largely depend on what you want your startup page to do. You can have it open a plain old tab, have it open up the last one you closed, or open a specific page (or pages, if you?d rather). It all depends on what functionality you want from your browser. For example, you might want your browser to open up to your email or maybe even your cloud storage. Now, you could always navigate to it yourself, but you can save some time by having your browser do the work for you. If you want more assistance with your technology, be sure to call us at (603) 889-0800.

Minimal Level Obviously, you can choose to invest minimally or not at all. A lot of businesses choose to avoid technology upgrades as much as possible because they don?t find them to have any major positive effects on their business. Today, technology is an extremely important part of the customer experience, so some investment is going to be necessary, but you can bare bones it pretty well if you find minimal technology and instituting break/fix strategies are worth it for your business.  Base Level The base level IT investment is basically spending enough every year to ensure that your business can use the technology you have effectively and that you have a minimum amount of technology in place to ensure that you deal with technology-related problems enough to keep things on the up and up. Many times, businesses that don?t have the capital to invest in a lot of technology-related upgrades find themselves investing enough in their IT by choosing services over purchasing IT outright. This means subscribing to managed IT services in lieu of hiring in-house IT administrators and choosing cloud computing over hardware that has to be constantly monitored and maintained. Moderate Level The moderate level of IT investment is where you will find a lot of technology-centric companies. They may not be overhauling their IT and implementing a quarterly IT project, but they do house their own hardware and keep it managed and maintained well. Typically, companies that adhere to a moderate IT investment schedule complete regular refreshes and keep their IT up and running effectively with comprehensive redundancy and have a plan for their IT should there be problems with it.   Superior Level A company that makes IT a priority tends to have significant capital to spend with a very specific plan of how that money will be spent. These companies have teams of IT administrators working diligently on implementing new projects, training their staff, and keeping their employees working on up-to-date technology. Companies that invest a lot of capital in their technology don?t just throw money at it and hope it sticks, but can get through a failed implementation and still commit to trying again without taking too big of a hit to the bottom line. What kind of business are you? At White Mountain IT Services, we can help any business stretch their technology investments from consultation and planning, to managing and maintaining crucial systems, and helping to cut down on the costs of your new IT projects. Give us a call today at (603) 889-0800 for more information.

Let?s consider some of the costs that neglecting to invest into your data privacy measures can force your business to pay. Issues Concerning Your Data Privacy Get Expensive, Fast? ?and for a variety of reasons. Any given company?s data handling practices are now given a lot more scrutiny from regulatory bodies and security-minded customers and clients alike. News headlines and the lower-thirds of broadcast news have announced ?CYBERSECURITY BREACH? far too often as of late for cybersecurity to not be a priority?and yet, many businesses still shortchange their defenses, assuming that their business? size?or relative lack thereof?shields them from being a target. Guess what? It doesn?t. On top of that, not only could you suffer your data being breached, you?d also have to deal with the consequences that such a breach brings about?the loss of reputation, the regulatory fines and backlash, and the damage done to the trust your clients feel for you. In short, the breach of privacy is just the start of your troubles?and the rest of these troubles carry a significant price tag with them. How Breaches of Privacy Get So, So Very Expensive? Let?s say, for the sake of example, that you were running a medical clinic just as sexy as the ones on TV. In between dramatically complicated and emotional cases and the decidedly not HR-approved relationships amongst your staff, your facility suffers a data breach that exposes the considerable amount of data you’ve collected from your patients?medical histories, personally identifiable information, and financial details all made available to whomever wanted them. That?s pretty bad. Can?t imagine many patients (new or existing) are going to be excited to receive treatment at a facility that allowed all of that personal data to be breached. Chances are, your clinic is going to lose most of its patients. However, while all your patients may want little to do with you, you?ll certainly get plenty of attention from regulatory bodies and authorities looking to collect fines for your likely non-compliance. You?ll also need to provide some form of recompense to all those impacted by the breach, which often takes the form of extended monitoring services on your dime for everyone involved. On top of all this, you?ll also need to resolve whatever problem led to the breach, which can easily rack up costs, as can any downtime that these events will cause. But Isn?t It Just as Expensive to Implement All The Requisite Security Tools? In a way, yes?but when implementing these tools, it becomes a question of capital costs versus operational costs. Let?s say your hypothetical melodramatic medical clinic was hacked. Without the security that may have stopped the hack, you have all of the above costs to deal with, all hitting your budget at the same time. Forgive me for assuming, but this kind of event will ruin your budgetary planning, unless you had both the foresight and sufficient funds set aside to cover this kind of event. However, today?s IT?from productivity to security?is delivered differently than it once was. Rather than investing a large lump sum and having to completely replace your software every few years (including another large lump sum paid out), White Mountain IT Services can help you by offering a scalable, sized-to-fit implementation of the necessary resources. Due to this approach, you?ll be able to predict […]