What is Office 365? Microsoft Office has been a line of Microsoft applications that have been around for almost 30 years. The most common are Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but Office has always been bundled with plenty of other applications with various tiers and license options for home users, students/educators, businesses, and enterprises. Every few years, your version of Office would become out of date, and you would need to purchase new licenses of the newer version. A single license could cost hundreds of dollars, so upgrading licenses for your whole staff could feel like a very big hit. Office 365, which was first made available in 2011, has a subscription-based offering, and updates are applied when new versions are available. You no longer have the perpetual license, but you also don?t have to worry about Office becoming outdated, incompatible, or insecure software. On top of that, Office 365 adds massively valuable online services which we feel are underutilized by many New Hampshire businesses. OneDrive for Business OneDrive is Microsoft?s cloud-storage and collaboration platform. Every user gets 1 TB of online storage. Files and folders can sync between OneDrive and the user?s desktop, so files can be accessed offline as well, but having access to documents from anywhere on any device is a huge advantage, especially in today?s mobile ecosystem. One feature that is especially nice is Files on Demand which allows the user to see their files and documents from within Windows in the same way they?d view files on their desktop or on network folders. This makes it much easier for users who sometimes struggle to acclimate to new systems. OneDrive also empowers your users to share documents and larger files with just a few clicks. Want to share a presentation? Right-click the file and select Share, and you can send a document to a contact or create a link to allow others to view/edit the file. OneDrive can also be accessed from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Speaking of mobile access? Online and Mobile Versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint If you have staff that sometimes need to work from home, coffee shops, airport lounges, hotels, client sites, or conferences, they can access files AND the applications that open them from virtually any device. Office 365 includes mobile applications, which are available on Google Play and Apple?s App Store. The apps are free to download, and users simply log in with their Office 365 account to use them and get access to their files. If you aren?t comfortable with editing documents on your smartphones, you can also log in to OneDrive in any web browser and edit Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. Skype and Microsoft Teams Skype has long been the de facto standard in online meetings. It allows you to hold HD video conferences with team members, partners, and customers. Microsoft Teams is Microsoft?s modern instant messaging tool, allowing organizations to set up groups for collaboration and communication. SharePoint Online SharePoint has long been Microsoft?s enterprise-driven collaboration tool. It hosts a huge suite of tools and features to allow file sharing, communication, and team management. Where OneDrive is more of a user-centric system, SharePoint is controlled from the top down, and administrators can restrict what gets shared. Exchange Online Microsoft?s Exchange has long […]

1. You need time to get rid of the bugs. No network shift runs completely smoothly. Changing out the hardware ? even if you schedule the bulk of the work for the weekends when no one is around ? inevitably causes delays and inconveniences once Monday starts up. If your company decides the best way to improve network speed is to get rid of the server and shift everything to the cloud to clear up space, everyone else on the team needs ample time to get used to the readjustment. Holidays already have complex problems, dozens of emergencies, and potential system crashes. 2. Increase user familiarity before complex problems start. If your company is large enough to have an in-house IT team, that can smooth out a lot of the headaches from upgrading your network or changing network providers. However, they will still need training. They’ll also need a gradual release of the training wheels of the new network. It’s easier to train IT employees, especially entry-level employees, on routine problems and solutions before throwing in complicated, season-specific problems.  The earlier you make the change, the more time they have to start making training manuals and simplified or templatized responses to tickets.  3. Changing your network has beneficial impacts on your supply chain.  No matter what industry you’re in, you’re both part of and have a supply chain. This is true even if your company specializes in services. While your network’s slowdown might be an internal problem that hasn’t yet reached customers, speeding up in-house processes still has a direct impact on external success. A faster network allows your company to maintain inventory better, especially in complex integrations that pull from multiple programs at once. Internal problems are also just the beginning: they can quickly spike into site shutdowns during peak buying seasons. Instead of pushing off the warning signs for the new year, solve them before they can impact Q4. 4. Support hours are more expensive during peak times. Subscription management plans are always the way to go when they’re an option. Paying for preventative maintenance isn’t just cheaper than paying for repairs. It means there’s no (or at least far less) unscheduled downtime. But when you’re making systemic changes, most service providers will charge hourly or daily rates. There may also be flat fees for expedited requests if you call halfway through November for a weekend switch before December. Schedule any potentially expensive projects during off-seasons as much as possible. Not only are you going to avoid peak fees or emergency hour fees, but your technicians will also be less rushed and are more likely to do a high-quality job. Seasonality impacts everyone, so don’t get caught up in the price hikes. it’s one thing to know that it’s time for a network change. It’s another thing to know how to get started. Contact our team today at White Mountain IT for easy, friendly support. 

1. Establish Good Communication Habits If there?s anything that the success of your project will directly rely upon, it is how well you communicate with everyone involved. This will require you to not only have reliable communication solutions, but to actively put them to use. From the very beginning of your project, make sure that everyone involved is sharing all of the information that is appropriate to be shared, with whom needs to see it. As the person in charge, you should set this communication in motion, leading by example. As we will cover in more depth below, this means utilizing the tools at your disposal appropriately – keeping conversations pertinent to the group as a whole visible to the group as a whole. 2. Define Milestones, Objectives, and a Timeframe Any project should have four distinct stages to it: initiation, planning it, executing it, and a wrap-up at the end. Each of these stages should be punctuated by different milestones and objectives to be reached, as well as a set schedule as to how quickly each needs to be achieved. This can benefit you in a few ways. First off, it is always better to be more organized during these kinds of things, as it helps eliminate the chance of wasting time and money. Look at it this way: if you have Tasks A, B, and C to do in a project, and three employees to see to them, it isn?t going to help much if all three of them go out and spend their time on three separate versions of Task B.  Furthermore, timeliness is usually a factor in these kinds of things, so it is important to establish a set schedule based around any limitations. Let?s say that you were planning a Halloween party for your office… it wouldn?t do much good (or make much sense, for that matter) to have that event two-thirds of the way through November, would it? Your projects are likely influenced to some degree by outside stimulus, and so should be treated the same way – set deadlines and timeframes ensuring your preparations don?t run long. 3. Use the Tools and Resources Available There are many business solutions out there today that make the many processes involved in managing a project from start to finish much easier. Take, for example, the practices we?ve already reviewed in this blog – there are many communication solutions that are ideal for group project work within an organization that you may not be using to their full advantage. Likewise, there are project management solutions that allow you to better track and manage how your team is using its time and energy. Finally, you also have the option to utilize automated solutions to simplify and expedite many of the moving parts that a project has. Rather than risking a crucial step be missed in the flurry of responsibilities your employees have, allow the facets that can be automated to be, and let your business solutions serve their full purpose. Interested in learning more about how your internal projects and other processes can be benefited by technology solutions? Reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 to learn more!

First, it may be helpful to briefly review what VoIP is, exactly. Understanding Voice over Internet Protocol Originally, the telephone worked by taking the sound of a voice and converting it into electronic waves, which were then sent to the recipient and converted back into sound. Nowadays, digital phone systems translate sound information into packets of binary data that are transmitted to the person on the other end of the line across the Internet. How Does VoIP Ultimately Save My Business Money? There are quite a few ways that the cost savings that are so often touted with VoIP can be accomplished. You?re Paying for One Less Thing On a very basic level, VoIP can save your business money by eliminating one of the utilities that you?d otherwise pay for: your telephone service bill. Since VoIP uses the Internet to transmit data, all you need to pay for is your business? Internet connection. While this does present the possibility of communication issues should you lose Internet service, the cost savings over time can make this issue less worrisome nevertheless. VoIP is Easier Because VoIP is delivered via the Internet, your employees no longer need any additional infrastructure to enable them to make calls – which makes the process of adding (or, if the need should arise, removing) phones much less intensive. After all, you will no longer potentially need to redesign the office to accommodate your infrastructure, eliminating the costly construction that this could bring about. This all contributes to a decreased investment necessary to leverage VoIP to your advantage. VoIP is More Efficient Depending on your industry, you may field repeated calls from clients and customers coming in for assistance and other assorted requests, often addressing similar topics. Some VoIP solutions enable you to provide them with an auto attendant recording that walks them through the process that is troubling them. As a result, they are satisfied, while your employees won?t need to deal with interruptions throughout the day that could be avoided, allowing them to be more productive during the time you pay them to be there. Are there other benefits to VoIP solutions? Of course… there?s the enhanced mobility it offers, the customization we only briefly touched on, and many other considerations that make it a great option for businesses. However, the cost savings can?t be denied. To learn more about implementing VoIP into your business? technology, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800!

Reason Number 1: You Won’t Have to Worry About Hiring Employees and Creating an In-house IT Department The hiring process can be a long and drawn-out process that may momentarily disrupt everyday business operations. Human Resources may also experience difficulty locating qualified employees in the IT field for certain positions, especially if your main office is not located in a large metropolitan area. That’s why many companies prefer to hire a Managed Service Provider. They can function as an extended IT team without the large absorbent salaries of an in-house IT department.   Reason Number 2: You Will Gain Access to A Large Team of Highly Trained and Experienced IT Staff Are you tired of using online search engines to look up the solution to every technical issue you come across? Managed Service Providers are staffed with highly trained and experienced staff members who can answer your questions at any time. Their customer support team can also resolve problems and provide additional resources that can help your business succeed in the future.  Reason Number 3: A Managed Service Provider Will Give You The Opportunity to Focus on Your Core Business Again  The best part about working with a Managed Service Provider is that it will give your company’s decision-makers and employees the opportunity to focus on its core business. Outsourcing time-consuming activities like IT will free up everyone’s schedule so they can work on more important tasks and priorities instead of problem-solving tech issues.   Reason Number 4: A Managed Service Provider Will Help Your Company Become More Efficient Extremely efficient companies are more likely to be profitable and get an edge on the competition. Businesses that decide to offload their IT needs to an outside Managed Service Provider can use them as leverage to improve their overall efficiency. The provider can act as an extension of your team, which can allow you to save valuable time and money.    Reason Number 5: A Managed Service Provider is Available Around the Clock with 24/7 Service  Murphy’s Law states that if something can go wrong it will go wrong. With that in mind, it’s not uncommon for IT problems to occur after hours in the middle of the night or during a busy time of day. A Managed Service Provider can offer 24-hour technical support every day of the year, including nights and weekends.  In conclusion The right Managed Service Provider can allow your business to save money, become more efficient and focus on your core business. They can also give you peace of mind since you can be confident that their skilled and knowledgeable IT staff will handle your company’s technical issues at all hours of the day.    Learn More About Our Managed Services  Please give us a call today at 603-889-0800 today or contact us online to learn more about why you should use White Mountain IT as your company’s Managed Service Provider. One of our team members can give you a customized quote based on your specific IT needs.