Hardware Costs Are On the Rise The supply chain and events all around the world have impacted hardware costs dramatically. The microprocessor shortage has in turn affected people consuming the technology?businesses included. With the costs of components not decreasing anytime soon, you can expect this to become problematic for your business. This inflation leads many businesses to just abandon the purchasing of new hardware altogether. We know that hardware refreshes are frustrating enough without having to worry about your budget, which is why we do our best to hook your business up with affordable and effective technology that suits its needs. Through comprehensive consulting, we?ll help you get the best bang for your buck. Cybercrime is Also a Factor You know you need to invest in cybersecurity, but do you know what you should focus on and how? You don?t want to deal with a data breach or a ransomware infection, so we urge you to consider just how you are going to protect your business so that you can prevent these expensive issues from impacting you even after the fact. You might think you won?t encounter a security issue with your business, but you can?t know that for sure?and therein lies the problem. When you have a lot of options at your disposal and you?re not confident in any of them, we urge you to consider investing in three primary areas of security. They are: Employee training: Most security exploits happen because someone on your staff falls for a scam, whether it?s a phishing attack or accidentally downloading the wrong file from the Internet. A lot of good can come from training your employees to identify potentially hazardous situations, and trust us when we say that paying for proper security training will pay for itself. Security tools: Preventative tools that can help you keep your network secure are great ways to prevent small issues from becoming larger and dramatically more expensive problems. It?s far easier and less expensive to put a stop to an attack in the early stages compared to after it has weaseled its way into your network and corrupted or encrypted it, for example. There are many security tools on the market, so we recommend you work with White Mountain IT Services to identify the ones that will best suit your needs. Annual security assessment: Similarly, a proactive method of keeping your IT safe and secure, like performing annual security assessments, can help you preemptively address problems before they become even bigger and more dangerous. It helps to have this assessment performed by a third party, too, so that the results are not skewed or biased. Businesses Don?t Know What They Need Unfortunately, investing in the wrong parts of your IT can lead to more expensive implementations over the long term. Indecision leads to disorganization, so if you aren?t sure what you need, then change your mind halfway through the implementation, you can bet that the next project will be vastly more expensive because you have the failed attempt haunting your every step. To ensure that you know what your business needs from its IT, we recommend sitting down for a discussion with a knowledgeable IT consultant like those at White Mountain IT Services. We can help you make the most informed decision possible so you can appropriate your funds in the […]

This Rebrand Has Been Years in the Making We?ve taken note that, over the past few years, Microsoft has clearly and deliberately made steps to promote Microsoft 365 as the be-all, end-all option for businesses to use. Now, it seems that they have determined the time has come to fully retire their Office branding. So, the big question is, what does this mean? What Microsoft Has Said About These Changes Based on the webpage that the transition was first announced on, your business? users should see minimal impacts, besides more options and features and a few cosmetic alterations to reflect the new brand. These options include things like: New templates to make content creation easier and faster Tagging capabilities to help organize content A new Apps module to help you prioritize your most-used tools A new feed to deliver relevant content to you based on what you work on, and with whom. What Do You Need to Do? Nothing. That?s right, nothing. Microsoft will push out an automatic update to give the application its new icon and name later this month. Your existing account and profile, subscription, and files will remain untouched. This is mainly just a heads-up to let you know that your Microsoft subscription will see some changes so you aren?t concerned when it happens. Something that won?t change, however, is that we?ll be here whenever you have challenges or questions concerning your IT. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more about our services.

A Useful Guide to Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts Let?s look at a quick list of some of the best and most useful keyboard shortcuts found in Google Chrome.  Ctrl + Shift + B: Show or hide the bookmark bar Ctrl + Shift + O: Open your bookmarks manager: Ctrl + Shift + T: Reopen a closed tab:  Ctrl + Shift + W: Reopen a closed window Ctrl + Click: Open a link in a new tab  Ctrl + D: Bookmark your current tab Ctrl + J: Open the downloads manager Ctrl + T: Open a new tab Ctrl + H: Open your History Ctrl + Shift + Del: Delete your History Ctrl + Shift + N: Open Incognito Mode Obviously, all of the common shortcuts that you are used to using in Windows or macOS still apply. For a complete list of all available shortcuts that work inside Google Chrome, click here.  At White Mountain IT Services, we do our best to assist New Hampshire companies to use their technology more effectively. For more great tips and tricks, return to our blog regularly. 

It?s impossible to say how the idea first entered my brain, but once conceived, I couldn?t get it out of my head. There was no reason for it, there was no feeling behind it. I really liked my boss. He had never wronged me, he had always respected me. I wasn?t even that jealous of his money. I think it was his eye?yes, it was this. Whenever we were working in the office, his gaze would fall upon us and my blood would run cold. After a while, very gradually, I determined that I needed to take my leave of the company, and rid myself of his critical gaze.  To do so, I would take the company?s data along with me to make me more valuable to the next company I found. Now, this is the point, and why you probably think I?m nuts. Here?s the thing, though?would a crazy person so carefully and cautiously make such a plan as I had? I was the ideal employee for the boss. Every day, after the boss had left, I would copy a bit of the company?s data onto a hard disk drive I kept hidden in my desk. I did this for an entire week, adding a little more data to my drive each time. Every morning, when work began, I would stride in confidently and greet the boss, asking him how his evening was. So, he would need to be very quick to suspect that I was siphoning away some of his data after he left. On the eighth night, I set up my hard drive to copy more data than ever, and I felt more accomplished than any night prior to this one. There was so much data that I now had to offer a new employer. To think I had managed to collect so much valuable data, little by little, and for the boss to have no idea. I couldn?t help but chuckle to myself. The boss heard me, and he came out of his office quite suddenly. You?d think that I?d be concerned?but no. The office was dark, with most workstations asleep, and the door could only be opened from the inside. I knew that I was hidden from his sight, so I continued my work. Suddenly, my workstation beeped, and the boss turned to my direction, crying out??Who?s there?? I stayed very still at my desk. For a whole hour I didn?t move a muscle, and he didn?t close his door after he returned to his office. He was waiting there, listening, just as I had done each night of the preceding week. After a moment, he groaned, and I knew he was scared. This wasn?t a groan of pain or grief?oh, no?it was the sound that comes when someone is stifling back deep terror from their soul. I knew it well, because the same feeling would hit me in the late hours of the night, and would make a similar sound myself. I knew how my boss felt, and almost pitied him. Almost. I could hear him muttering to himself, trying to explain away his nerves. He quickly gathered his things, continuing to explain away his nerves to himself, and promptly left?still never discovering me at my workstation. I waited a long time, listening for […]

Today, customers buy goods in many different ways, so being able to support those platforms takes some work. The key to doing this is to make inventory management a core component of your business to be able to support all these sales channels. In order to successfully do this, a business needs to be able to predict any shifts in sales that come about. Once you understand why keeping up with inventory is so important, how do you do it? After you?ve done it, how do you keep it up? It might seem like a lot of guesswork to know what the market will call for and how to deliver. Let?s take a look at three actions your business can take to enhance your inventory management strategies. Get an Inventory Management System Implementing a digital inventory management system is one of the best ways to manage your inventory. There are a lot of different types of tools that have options that will allow for this, but having a stand-alone inventory management solution in place can also help a business forecast demand and analyze inventory from any device, from any place. Here are some features found in a comprehensive inventory management system: An easy-to-use interface that doesn?t confuse the average user. Built-in automation that eliminates a lot of the manual processes that are traditionally used. A reliable and secure database that can be updated in real-time. The ability to scale using integrated software modules.  The ability to integrate other software that can be useful in managing inventory and its role in your business.  First In, First Out One of the best strategies to follow when managing inventory is what is known as ?First in, First Out?. This basically means that whatever is purchased first, must be sold first. Many businesses sell perishable goods and they need to be sold first to ensure they don?t go bad. Furthermore, if you sit on goods too long, and sell newly acquired goods first, older ones may be improved upon and are no longer viable for sale.  Keep Track of Your Stock Your business inventory software can handle this task. You need to have a strong system in place to keep track of your stock levels so you know what to stop ordering, what needs to ship first, and what?s a new arrival. Many small businesses prioritize their more expensive products but using this approach throughout your inventorying process is a good strategy.  For the retail business, keeping track of what goods you have on hand can help you stabilize costs and run your business better. If you would like to talk to one of our IT professionals about getting the inventory management system you need up and running, give us a call today at (603) 889-0800.