“Ask any tech-savvy business owner whether they can run their business from their mobile phone, and you’ll likely get ‘yes’ for an answer. Expect that chorus to grow louder as more advance[d] business-friendly mobile apps hit the marketplace.” The article shares relevant data from ComScore to show the increasing use of mobile devices: “…mobile digital app use has grown by roughly 50 percent in the past two years, with more than 75 percent of that growth ‘directly attributable’ to the mobile app. ‘Mobile has grown so fast that it’s now the leading digital platform, with total activity on smartphones and tablets accounting for 62 percent of digital media time spent, and apps alone now representing the majority of digital media time at 54 percent,’ ComScore adds.” While going exclusively mobile isn’t the norm, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or issuing company mobile devices for workers is the norm for the majority of modern businesses. This is validated by an article found on TechRepublic called: “80% of IT business leaders believe employees need mobile devices to do their jobs”, written on June 20th, 2018 by Mark Kaelin, as he explains: “…80% of the respondents believe their employees can’t do their jobs effectively without a smartphone. In fact, 75% said their mobile devices are essential to their company’s business workflows. The successful modern enterprise workforce is a mobile workforce. …However, while mobile devices offer more convenience and flexibility for the modern workforce, they also bring with them additional risks and support issues.” Security Concerns with Mobile Devices at Work As mobile devices become ubiquitous within work environments, mobile IT security policies must be created and implemented to ensure cybersecurity, especially, for BYOD work environments. Essentially, employees’ mobile devices used at work must be encrypted and have strong authentication protocols. An article found on Mobile Business Insights called: “The importance of data encryption on employee mobile devices”, written on July 5th, 2018 by Rose de Fremery, explains more: “Once accessed, unencrypted mobile device data can quickly yield a treasure trove of sensitive financial, business or personal information that should be kept from prying eyes. …Mobile devices should be protected with long alphanumeric passcodes. Enterprises whose BYOD participants access particularly sensitive data might want to implement biometric authentication methods as well.” Developing Mobile Security Policies With mobile devices becoming more advanced and useful for work environments, businesses will need to consider developing mobile IT security policies that fit their unique situation. The security variables involved include: private vs. public cloud systems on-premises vs. cloud enterprise systems mobile devices vs. desktop/laptop systems industry’s level of customer data sensitivity BYOD or company-issued Hybrid work environments with a mixture of all of these variables are the most common, as cloud and mobile computing technology, increasingly, becomes integrated within modern enterprises. Whatever the variables may be, mobile IT security policies should comprehensively address and remedy the security risks that mobile devices create. As the Mobile Business Insights article surmises: “By taking prudent security measures now and educating employees on the importance of protecting their personal devices from unauthorized access, enterprises can maximize the benefits of a robust BYOD program while minimizing their risks.”   White Mountain IT Services has witnessed the rise of mobile technology in the workplace since our beginnings in 1985; our comprehensive managed IT services […]

The Beginning At the beginning of the mobile device there was war. The invention of radio early in the 20th century was the first noteworthy moment. Guglielmo Marconi and Nikola Tesla had a spirited competition to see who could bring radio to market, with Marconi ultimately winning out, he was honored with the Nobel Prize in 1909. This technology was immediately picked up by militaries from all ends of the planet, and was used in the late stages of WWI, the Russian Revolution (and the subsequent October Revolution), and the Spanish Civil War.   Over the next half century, the radio, while still used for war, became commonplace throughout the world. The radio was the first wireless consumer device, and they could be found in tens-of-millions of homes worldwide. In fact, in the United States alone, 95 percent of homes had a radio on VJ Day, the end of World War II. At that time, there were over a thousand radio stations in the United States alone.  As radio became the predominant way people got the news of the day, listened to the ballgame, and were entertained, radios got smaller. They could fit in the car, and then not too long after that, they could fit in a person?s hand. The development of the portable radio was the first time people understood the convenience of having portable technology. The worldwide reliance on the medium was absolute, until the establishment of the television in the 1950s.  Early Wireless Devices It wasn?t until the late 1970s until the modern mobile device began to become a possibility. With technology advancing on many fronts, manufacturers began to see the utility of having mobile telephone and computer options. This led to several manufacturers trying to find the technology that would allow them to communicate in places that simply weren?t possible.  The first set of wireless phones were added to luxury cars and train cars and other places where affluent people could take advantage of the technology. The first cellular phones–phones that today carry the 0G designation–started being developed as early as 1974.  Personal computers were just becoming a trend at this point. It would take almost 40 years before the trajectory of the two markets would intercept. In the early 1980s, something changed. Cellular technology began to improve, as did the form factors of mobile devices. In 1984, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X Advanced Mobile Phones System was introduced. The phone, which weighed in at a whopping 28 ounces, cost $4,000, and took 10 hours to charge for 30 minutes of talk time. Irregardless, it flew off the shelf. It sold around 1,200 phones in 1984 alone; and, based on that success, innovation was swift. If the mid ?80s were good for the cell phone, things were great for the PC market. From the mid-70s to 1980 there were an estimated one million PCs in the U.S. By the mid-80s, 10s of millions of personal computers had been sold. It took till 1981 for manufacturers to develop anything resembling what we would call a mobile PC. The Osborne 1 was the first mobile PC, but it was about the size of a suitcase. The Epson HX-20, a PC that had a four-line display and used a microcassette to store data, would forever be known as the very […]

What Exactly is Blockchain? Blockchain is an encrypted and distributed ledger system that creates an individual and uneditable record to provide continuity to any type of transaction. The blockchain is not only stored on every device involved in a transaction, it also provides transparency that isn?t possible with any other type of secure transaction. Let?s take a look at the ways blockchain can improve the systems your business depends on. Accountability As stated above, the blockchain creates a permanent record for each and every transaction. This means that every transaction–whether it is correcting a mistake made, or it is a stand-alone transaction–is documented and encrypted. As a result, applications on a chain will offer a genuine log of transaction nodes. This tech can be used in the following ways: Banking and Financial Services Banks and other financial institutions will absolutely benefit from the automated record-keeping nature of the blockchain, ensuring that funds make their way where they are supposed to go. Voting Voting has come under more scrutiny than ever. Blockchain can present an innovative tool in which to maintain the integrity of any election. Real Estate It?s amazing that real estate ownership has the amount of confusion that it does, but by putting blockchain in the center of real estate transactions, the real estate buying and selling process can be much more transparent. Wills and Inheritances Wills and inheritances often come under question. This unfortunate situation can be quickly mitigated by transparent blockchain transaction logs.  Supply Chain Management and Logistics Managing your business? supply chain and logistics can be aided by blockchain technology. With each transaction now having its own dedicated tracking information, the log can be used to manage the flow of resources and finished products, alike. Secure Shareability More digital communications are sent and received daily than ever before. With everyone?s reliance on this technology, finding the most secure and reliable ways to share data is an absolute priority. The blockchain could be used this way, logging all the relevant information you?d need without disclosing the contents of the blockchain nodes. The technology can also be used to ensure that agreements are fulfilled and that proper compensation is fairly provided. These capabilities could soon be found in: Healthcare Like most innovative and emerging technologies, healthcare is at the forefront of developing working options. Blockchain implementation could lead to a situation where individuals could manage his/her own health care records.  Stock Trading Blockchain could be used to log financial information that will assist stock exchanges from potentially building convenience while improving security. Education With blockchain, verification is a snap. Eliminating many of the paper files needed will make registration, financial aid, and management more efficient.  Internet of Things By decentralizing IoT devices, security can be improved exponentially.  Public Records Many states are actively launching initiatives to reduce their reliance on paper documents, which would help to minimize fraud and improve security (while also boosting accountability among officials). If you are interested in finding out more about blockchain, and the types of software currently being developed, reach out to our IT professionals at (603) 889-0800 today.

Make no mistake about it, larger businesses, with their larger budgets and team-specific solutions do the best collaborating. That certainly doesn?t mean that smaller businesses will find collaboration hard to implement or track, it just means that the more useful a tool is for a job, the better the tool is and the better that the job tends to end up.  Collaboration comes in a lot of different forms, and no business can last without some form of collaboration. After all, sales relaying orders can be considered a collaborative effort. What we?d like to highlight today are some technology trends that are used to build better collaboration. By mastering a strong culture of collaboration your business will improve. One of the most important concepts to understand when discussing business collaboration has to be overwhelming demand that today?s businesses have for them. Since collaboration comes in many forms, we will largely be talking about the type of collaborative efforts that build additional value for the operation end of the business. Some of the most utilized collaborative tools allow businesses to cut their overhead costs by hiring outsourced workers. With a lot of businesses willing to rely on outsourced talent, collaboration fuels the work they do with the in-house talent to produce products and services that have value to customers. Let?s take a look at some of the technology that small and medium-sized business decision makers are looking at to help fuel necessary collaboration: Communication Collaboration doesn?t happen without communication, and while your business has had a phone system since you opened, today there are other tools that a business can use to promote strong collaboration. These include instant messaging, video conferencing, and new tools that have been created with collaboration in mind.  Integration Another strategy that many businesses are using to improve collaboration is software integration. Integration is the act of streamlining workflow by having development teams create connections between core line-of-business software and productivity software. Since software is a massive part of almost every business, getting the software that your employees depend on to work directly with your management software is one way to effectively collaborate.  Management Speaking of management software, finding the right management software can do wonders for team collaboration. Project management software, like Microsoft SharePoint, or collaboration apps like Slack, provide teams all the tools any project team would need. When your business is talking about improving collaboration in your day-to-day product or service delivery, however, choosing the right line-of-business software for your collaborative needs is important. Many businesses choose to rely on Professional Services Automation (PSA), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to ensure that customers, administrators, and staff are on the same page.  Collaborative efforts can be just the thing to take your business to the next level. If you have questions about solutions designed to solve your collaboration and productivity problems, call the IT experts at White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800 to get some answers.

What Is the Difference Between IT and OT? As time has passed, this distinction has become harder and harder to make. It was once as simple as determining whether it was more concerned with the data your business collects, or with the machines and equipment that your business uses. However, as these separate entities have drifted together over time, it is nowhere near that simple today. In fact, it isn?t even all that practical to refer to them as ?software? and ?hardware? anymore. Today, IT and OT work together to keep processes running, creating new challenges that businesses need to contend with. Let?s briefly review some of these challenges. Targeted Cyberattacks As IT has introduced the Internet to OT, attackers have embraced the opportunity to specifically target these systems? especially proprietary technologies and legacy solutions. In other words, operational technologies now need to be protected from threats once reserved for information technology. OT networks are also susceptible to the threat of disruption tools, like ransomware, botnets, and other attacks intended to suspend operations, but it is also important that IT networks are protected with network monitoring solutions. Compliance Complexity Numerous government bodies and industry authorities alike have laid down various standards for businesses to uphold, lest they be fined for non-compliance or fall victim to the circumstances these standards are meant to avert. Keeping your operational technology manually managed can become prohibitively expensive, so certain IT implementations can assist in maintaining the intricate requirements businesses are beholden to. Mounting Security Challenges As new devices rise in popularity, particularly the connected devices that make up the Internet of Things, the opportunities for an attack to take place see a similar rise. These increased opportunities put added strain on your cybersecurity. Selecting the right solutions to monitor and mitigate these threats is therefore crucial. Controls for Your IT and OT Security In order to properly prepare for the threats that the blending of IT and OT can create, you should make sure you establish the following practices: Hardware inventory controls Software inventory controls Ongoing vulnerability management Measured use of admin privileges Secure hardware and software configurations Audit analysis and maintenance White Mountain IT Services has the experience to keep your business on the right path as information technology and operational technology become more and more integrated. To learn how we can assist you, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 today.