Evaluate Your Current Technology Before you can create a new IT roadmap, you should evaluate your current technology first. Make a record of the company’s total systems and programs. Are they being leveraged correctly or used to their full potential? Do they have any limitations that may be a problem in the future? After you’ve noted the full capability and quality of the company’s technological tools, you can start working on improving it. Determine Your Goals and Objectives Once you’ve made those evaluations, it’s time to figure out the company’s most important strategic goals and objectives. The goals should be clear and specific. Next, spend time brainstorming how technology help the business achieve those financial and operational goals more quickly and efficiently. Anticipate the Future Companies that don’t anticipate the future rarely succeed. Consider what the company may need in the future to stay ahead of the competition. Do you anticipate any federal or regulatory changes in your industry? Does your company plan to expand into different markets or offer new products? When you plan ahead, you can have the foresight to use technology that’s flexible and can easily scale with the company. Plan Realistic Budget and Time frame Create a realistic timeframe and budget for the IT roadmap with several milestones you can use as markers to determine your progress. The most important objective should be the highest priority. Remember to include SaaS (software as a service) subscription fees, maintenance fees and other one-time or ongoing expenses when creating the budget. Incorporate Business Continuity Plans The IT roadmap plan should also have a section that discusses how the technology will continue to function in case of an emergency. Every process should be clearly mapped out so that there’s no confusion later on. Make the IT Roadmap Transparent To Every Employee Your company’s IT roadmap should be transparent to every employee. That can allow everyone to understands how leadership plans to leverage technology to meet the company’s strategic goals. When management is open about the entire process it can help build trust and credibility with employees, while making it easier for them to accept the changes. Hire Professionals To Create the IT Roadmap Not sure where to start in making a tech roadmap? Don’t worry, you can easily outsource this to an experienced managed IT company. They can evaluate your company’s needs and consult key decision-makers before helping you develop a solid plan. An objective party can facilitate communication easier between departments and get a holistic view of the company. Besides creating the IT roadmap, they can monitor the progress of the project and make assessments. Frequently Update the Plan Let’s face it, your technology strategy will continue to grow like your business. The IT roadmap will evolve over the years due to changes in the marketplace, government regulations or competition. You can also revise the plan to capitalize on new opportunities. White Mountain IT is a New England based company that specializes in providing professional IT management and support services to small businesses. Regardless if your company needs a short-term technology solution or a dedicated outsourced IT team, we can help. Please contact us today to learn more about how our experts can assist you with developing a long term technical strategy or roadmap.
Why (And How) Does Google Do This? The ?why? is simple. Google actively works to make its services more useful to its users, just as any solutions provider should. As to ?how?, that part relies on machine learning. Basically, Google?s technology constantly incorporates data to better work around cognitive bias and adapt to the way that people work. In this case, Google processes common sentences and phrases to better understand how they are intended to be used. By doing so, Google (and again, other solutions with similar features) assists users as they try to put their best foot forward in their writing. Of course, this is precisely why trying to come up with a name for your business or a service can be frustrating, unless you know how to ?teach? Google that your invented word is acceptable. How to Add a Word to Google?s Dictionary This process is a remarkably simple one. Open one of your documents in Google Docs. Make sure your invented word (or name, etc.) is spelled as you want it in the document. In the top-left corner, you?ll see the button for Spelling and grammar check (Ctrl+Alt+X). Clicking it will open a box at the top of the right-hand side of your window. Your invented word should appear in the box, with Google?s suggested change. You will have the ability to: Ignore the change Accept the change, or Access more options through a triple-dot menu For this process, you?ll want to open the triple-dot menu. There, you have the option to Add ?[your invented word]? to dictionary. You can also review your personal dictionary from here. Of course, you could also just right-click the word and select Add ?[your invented word]? to dictionary from there, as well. Removing a Word Accidents happen, or you may eventually decide to stop using an invented word. You can remove words from the dictionary by: Opening a Google Doc that contains the word. Right-clicking on the word. Selecting the option to Remove from personal dictionary. Of course, if you happened to access your personal dictionary by following the process to add a word, you can easily delete a word with the trash can button that appears when you hover over an entry. There you have it: how to modify your personal dictionary in Google Docs. For more IT tips, tricks, and best practices, make sure you subscribe to our blog!
Outsourcing HR The human resources department, like any other job that is difficult to track, has been under fire. Traditionally, they handle seven core functions in a business. They are: Recruitment Payroll Administration Benefits Administration Training and Professional Development Performance Reviews Labor Relations Managing Compliance Over the past several years, the company human resources department, especially at small and medium-sized businesses, has been outsourced to vendors that can help the business reduce costs by replacing a dedicated HR staff with a whole team of HR professionals. This service uses software as the intermediary between the business and their HR professionals. The Relationship Between Automation and HR Technology changes things. Does it make it better? That?s a matter of opinion, but for the business owner, it can work quickly to reduce overhead costs, making it advantageous. The benefits of automating HR tasks is the same as automating any other part of your business. It allows for a reduction of human work, which reduces business costs and improves efficiency. Some benefits of HR automation include: Reduced employee turnover through improved employee engagement Reduced storage and printing costs Improved risk management and properly managed compliance Improved document management Enhanced business decision making with comprehensive reports Optimized business growth through efficient onboarding Of course, there are many software titles that work to help build a more productive and efficient business, but the act of automating human resources is taking humanity out of it. Most HR automation platforms are moving away from traditional HR administration and moving to something called human capital management. What is Human Capital Management? Human capital management is a strategy that encourages business owners and managers to look at their staff as they would look at any other asset they have. The core thesis behind the strategy is: since the goal of most businesses is to get their human staff to work as effectively and efficiently as possible, spending time on the individual needs and motivations of workers is not going to help the bottom line. Human capital management looks for metrics that can be quantifiable and strategically improved upon, that?s all. It doesn?t matter how people feel or what is going on in their lives. None of that is the business? responsibility. It basically aims to change an organization?s view of their workforce from a commodity to an investment. What Strategy Is Best for Your Business? There are multiple ways that automation can be implemented in the HR/HCM process, but depending on your staff, the strategy that is used will make all the difference. Basing your business? HR decisions solely on inhuman productivity metrics may actually have the opposite effect than you may expect. HR is always a balancing act. If you would like to talk about technology for your business reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 today.
As with most subjects we discuss in this blog, there is a right way of doing things, and a very wrong way of doing things. This case is no different. That?s why we?re going to take you through the how (and why) of properly disposing of an old desktop or laptop. Deal with Your Data While you want to replace the piece of hardware that you use on a daily basis, you probably don?t want to lose the data you have saved on it, right? Therefore, you are going to want to be sure that all your data is properly backed up and protected before you remove it from your old device. Why remove it at all? That?s simple enough–once your old hardware leaves your hands to be disposed of, you have no guarantee that it will be secured throughout this process. As a result, you can’t be sure that one of its storage components won?t be taken and your data extracted. Of course, just deleting your data isn?t going to cut it. You should instead use a special software solution to delete and overwrite all stored data, preventing any potential data recovery efforts. Then you will need to encrypt the drive, deauthorize your computer from any accounts, delete any and all browsing history, and uninstall any programs on the device. A quick factory reset at the end will ensure your data is good and gone. Of course, you also have the option to remove your hard drive and either physically destroy it or securely store it as an archive. What If The Computer Won?t Turn On? I?m Safe, Right? Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that your dead computer no longer has any data on it. In fact, your data is likely still in there, as the majority of issues that ?kill? the computer leave the hard drive untouched. This means there?s good and bad news for you? the good news being that your data can likely be saved by someone who knows what they?re doing, the bad news being that hackers tend to know that they?re doing as well. Getting Rid of the Computer Once you are confident that your old system no longer contains any data, you can get rid of it–but you do have to be careful of how you do so. Leaving it on the curb like a couch from a college apartment isn?t an option. You may not have known this, but your computer and other electronics contain heavy metals and materials that can cause serious harm to the environment, so just dumping it into a landfill is dangerous and irresponsible. Therefore, it is better to recycle it? but even then, you have to be cautious. Some recycling companies will take your machine and send it to a developing nation, where children will pick through the hazardous materials we mentioned to extract valuable materials from its components, thereby poisoning groundwater. Make sure you find a resource that will only leverage recyclers that operate ethically. Finally, you could also donate your system once you?ve wiped or replaced the hard drive. Many good causes could use computers, but don?t always have the means to procure them. White Mountain IT Services can help with this process from start to finish. Reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.
How to Minimize General Exposure in the Office Based on what is currently known about the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have some recommendations as to how to keep the potential impact of coronavirus to a minimum: Encourage employees who are ill to stay home. This will help to minimize the spread of infection within your business. Make sure that your employees are aware of this policy by reiterating it verbally, and by posting notices around the office encouraging them to stay home if under the weather. Emphasize hygiene and etiquette. Properly stifling coughs and sneezes and keeping hands clean are surprisingly effective ways to keep your workplace healthier. Rather than using their hands to catch a cough or sneeze, your employees should use a tissue or–if unable to do so–use the upper part of their sleeve. The CDC recommends that tissues and alcohol-based hand sanitizer should be made readily available. Make sure your employees are washing their hands with soap and water for the recommended 20 seconds. Engage in keeping the workplace clean. There is a chance that coronavirus (and other illnesses) could be spread via infected surfaces. Make sure that all surfaces that are touched frequently, like desks, workstations, and doorknobs, are kept sanitized. Provide your employees with disposable wipes so they can proactively disinfect these surfaces before use. If you find that one of your employees is confirmed to have been infected with coronavirus, make sure that you inform their coworkers of their possible exposure while still maintaining the confidentiality that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires. These employees and those who are living with a sick family member should assess their risk of exposure using the CDC?s guidelines. Coronavirus as a Cyberthreat Unfortunately, coronavirus will also require you to also keep an eye on your network security, particularly if you operate within the healthcare industry. Hackers and cybercriminals have taken advantage of the widespread concern that the disease has caused. For example: Scammers have phished healthcare providers with updates that appear to have come from the World Health Organization or hospitals local to their area, but actually introduce keyloggers into their systems. Those involved in the medical supply chain have been targeted with emails referencing the coronavirus that install malware to steal information. Ransomware has been introduced into consumer systems by promising recipients of an email information about COVID-19?s spread. While the current climate may not make it easy, these emails and other threat vectors can be overcome through the same best practices that foil other cyberthreats. In addition to comprehensive digital protections, training your employees to spot these threats will be crucial. Of course, you should also maintain a comprehensive backup in case you need to recover from a successful attack. How to Maintain Productivity with Your Team at Home With today?s technology, sending an employee home sick doesn?t necessarily mean that you will be sacrificing that employee?s productivity. We now have many ways that your team can work effectively from home, still contributing to your organizational agenda without exposing their coworkers to their illness. Equipping Your Employees Remote access solutions, paired with virtual private networking technology, can allow your employees to securely continue their work from home, safely accessing the applications and data their tasks require through an encrypted connection. As […]
