Establish a Usage Policy Your company should have a policy in place that governs how your employees use it. This means that you must establish clear guidelines for appropriate use of instant messaging. For example, having a group chat for a department is perfectly fine, but having a group that is exclusively for sharing distractions is a problem that can lead to too much wasted time.  Keep It Professional You should always use greetings when sending instant messages, similar to the way you would if you were using emails. Using a salutation such as ?Hi Name,? rather than opening the conversation with a question can make a world of difference. You should also try to use similar professional language in your IMs as you would in an email. Keep It Short and Sweet As we previously mentioned, the big difference between the IM and email is that IMs are designed for instantaneous responses and quick conversations rather than long, drawn-out, detailed messages. The best way to use IMs inside your business is to use this strategy. If you expect someone to respond to a long IM that requires a detailed and analytic response, you might be asking too much. Besides, it may seem like the user is ignoring the message until they can find time to respond to it in the way that you expect. Still, you?ll want to make sure that you are conveying thoughts and ideas clearly, but instant messaging is a great place to encourage questions to prevent communication gaps. You can really do a lot with many of today?s instant messaging apps, so writing long, drawn-out messages is just counterproductive most of the time.  Respect the Status Message Most instant messaging applications allow the user to set their status. This might be something like Available, Away, In a Meeting, Busy, etc. If the user has a status message up, typically they are unavailable.  If this is the case, you should reconsider sending the message until the user is indeed available to take your message. Otherwise, there is a solid chance that the message will slip through the cracks. Don?t Solely Rely on IM Obviously, an instant message is not a substitution for a good old face-to-face conversation; it?s just a good option to relay quick messages and communicate when you need to talk to someone who isn?t in the same place as you. Much of communication is non-verbal, so having face-to-face interaction helps you avoid instances of messages being taken out of context as well as establishes that you can make time in your busy day to make connections in this way. White Mountain IT Services can help you implement the best instant messaging platform that suits your company?s needs. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Change Default Router Passwords Many users will opt to keep their default network names and passwords for their wireless networks, but this practice can be exploited by hackers with relative ease. If a hacker knows the device, they can look up common default passwords online, meaning that it is that much more likely they will compromise the network. Make sure you change your network names and passwords to keep them as safe as can be. Restrict Access to Your Networks or Set Up Guest Networks Your network should be restricted to your employees or anyone else on an as-needed basis. You shouldn?t be letting any random strangers off the streets access your network. If you do have guests visit the office on a regular basis, you can set up a guest account to ensure that your main network has the greatest security and privacy possible. Patch your Access Points Devices accessing data over a wireless network should be kept as up-to-date as possible with the latest patches and security updates. We know it can be difficult to keep up with them, but this doesn?t make it any less necessary or important. Any endpoints, including computers, laptops and desktops, as well as smartphones or other mobile devices, should all receive regular patching and updates. It?s the only way to make sure that devices accessing your network are secure. Implement Comprehensive Security Measures You should protect your wireless network and the devices accessing it with the same measures you would use to protect your in-house network, including antivirus, antimalware, and firewalls to prevent threats from getting in. Use a Virtual Private Network With a VPN, you can encrypt data sent to and received by your wireless network. This means that any snoopy onlookers won?t be able to steal data while it?s moving between your systems. The data is effectively rendered useless to anyone who does not possess the decryption key. Let Us Help! If you struggle with keeping your business secure, White Mountain IT Services can help. Our trusted technicians know all the ins and outs of network security, wireless included. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

What is Your Supply Chain? The supply chain is the network of vendors a business has that allows them to create a product or service for resale. All of the different vendors your business uses make up your business? supply chain. It isn?t just goods, it consists of activities, people, information, and resources that allow you to offer your products or services to the marketplace. A business? supply chain is essential to its operational functionality. For example if your business makes shoes, your supply chain includes all the resources needed to create the shoes such as leather, rubber, and any other materials; the computers your businesses use to manage your business, and several other products that make your business possible. If you have shortages in one part of the supply chain, it affects your business? ability to operate, or at the very least changes the timelines, which can obviously affect your relationship with the companies or customers you sell your product to.  Why is the Supply Chain Having Problems? There is no single reason why your business? supply chain is disrupted; there are many. Firstly, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way most businesses operated. Not only were they forced to move essential talent offsite, they couldn?t always source the materials they needed efficiently because there were pandemic-related impediments to production. The main reason that there are such supply chain problems at the present time is because the demand for goods and services didn?t wane, it accelerated. That?s why certain components are in short supply and prices are inflating rapidly.  Additionally, there are shortages of crucial workers that typically drive supply chain forces. Millions of people have quit their jobs over the past fiscal year and some of them are leaving the workforce?warehouse workers, truck drivers, etc.?and are creating massive bottlenecks in the supply chain. Simply put less people are being asked to do more and logistically, they just can?t. The longer this goes on, the further issues we will see with the supply chain.  What You Can Do? There are a few things you can do to mitigate the negative impact supply shortages have on your business. They include: Inventory Control This is a two-issue problem. Firstly, in order to reduce your company?s exposure to supply chain disruptions, you will want to keep comprehensive inventory. You need to know what you have and when you need a certain number of products/components. If you don?t keep up on it you could find yourself falling behind rapidly. Secondly, you will want to eschew risk and add to your inventory when you can. Typically, this isn?t great business, but with the supply chain issues expected to outlast the pandemic, you need to alter your thinking on this issue.  Be Flexible Traditionally, if you source certain components or products from a manufacturer, if they have some supply chain hiccups, they will do their best to make it right by you. Unfortunately, a lot of times they simply cannot fill the order. You need to shop around for vendors that will make it possible to get your products and services out on the market. It?s nice to have working relationships, but if they aren?t working, you need to look for alternatives in this market.  Use Technology Today, there are plenty of technologies that can help take […]

IoT Pros New technology can bring a lot of benefits to a business and IoT technology is one of those innovations that some people may not even realize they are utilizing. One of the most important benefits of IoT is that it can help automate certain tasks. In business, the more uniform the quality of any task, the more consistent the workflow. IoT can present a lot to a business in the way of enhancing the machine-to-machine presence, thus taking some of the more mundane responsibilities off of human resources. This enhanced automation sets up most of the other benefits IoT can bring to your business, including: Enhanced communication – IoT devices are ubiquitously connected which improves company-wide communication and results in better quality service and product delivery. Cost realignment – One of the biggest benefits IoT can bring a business is to optimize resource utilization, improving overall efficiency and reducing costs. Reporting – IoT devices create data that can be used to identify further inefficiencies and improve workflow performance and service and product delivery.  IoT Cons Unfortunately, any technology comes with some type of detriments. Whether it is cost, the high price of management, or some other issue, it is important to have a clear view of any technology before you jump in with both feet. The largest detrimental characteristic of IoT technology is the less-than-stellar track record of network security that comes with having so many endpoints on your network. That?s not to say that the IoT, when deployed correctly, is a risk, it is just that there are some IoT devices that might be problematic if integrated without planning. Other cons include: Compatibility issues – Since there is no standard to go by for IoT devices, it can be difficult to get every IoT device to play nice with your current computing environment or even IoT devices from the same manufacturer. It can be an enigma.  Increased complexity – As we mentioned earlier in this article, when something goes wrong with a single endpoint on your network, it can be a catastrophe. With increased endpoints, the chances of something going wrong increases.  Lifespan – One variable not many people consider when implementing IoT in their business is that each of these devices have to be consistently updated for functionality, security, and more. Each device you add could have a negative effect on your employees and on workflow.  It?s important to understand what you have with IoT. It is a big part of future computing and could very well be the largest technological shift since the Internet was created. If implemented carefully and conscientiously, the IoT can be a major benefit for any organization, but it does have risks at the current moment.  If you would like to have a conversation with one of our IT professionals about IoT technology implementation or just kind of pow-wow about how it would fit into your business, give White Mountain IT Services a call today at (603) 889-0800. 

Let?s dive in and examine the situation. Asking the Workers How Collaboration Tools Have Impacted Them Software developer Lucid conducted a survey in conjunction with The Harris Poll to evaluate how we collaborate?fittingly, compiled in their 2022 The Way We Collaborate report. This report revealed something specifically telling amongst its various stats and figures. While 90% of those surveyed predict a continuation of remote work, and 87% claim to have grown more comfortable with digital collaboration solutions, it isn?t all great. For instance, as different people prefer to collaborate in different ways, the report reflected that 57% have communication preferences that aren?t supported by the tools they are using. There are three primary ways that people tend to communicate in the workplace: ?Expressive? workers prefer visual information?charts, graphs, and diagrams?as a means of collaboration. ?Relational? workers are the ones who thrive when they are able to form bonds with their coworkers. ?Introspective? workers embrace the chance to independently ponder and consider ideas before bringing them into the fold. With these archetypes in mind, it’s easy to see how concrete means of collaboration?while extremely effective for some?might not be as effective for all. Providing Additional Options Can Only Improve Collaboration More and more collaboration tools are now available that are well-suited to different forms of cooperation, and that enable those with different preferred styles to thrive. White Mountain IT Services is here to help you acquire and maintain the solutions that are best for your individual team. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.