Why is this? We live in a world that is more connected than any other previous generation. The Internet allows us to view information about a particular company in the blink of an eye, meaning that, if something good happens, we can know about it instantaneously. Unfortunately, this also holds true for when bad things happen. If a customer has a bad time dealing with your company, you can be sure that the Internet will find out about it; and in turn, so will the rest of the world. Customers Shape Your BusinessYour company is at the mercy of its clients. With a single bad review, your potential revenue can plummet. However, at the same time, a good review can make others that much more confident in your abilities. According to Vision Critical, it takes somewhere between 10-to-12 positive reviews to make up for one negative review. What?s worse is that 80 percent of people won?t buy products or services from a business with negative reviews. If there?s anything that can cause the death of a company, it?s a lack of customers and a lack of business. Other statistics concerning unhappy customers include: Customers are three times more likely to tell their friends about negative experiences, be it on social media or through word of mouth. Businesses with an average of three stars or more on Google Places get 87 percent of all clickthroughs. Restaurants in the Seattle area reported 5-to-9 percent increases in revenue gained following positive reviews on Yelp. That?s a Lot of Lost CashNow, here?s the really scary part of this whole situation: if you can?t make your customers happy, they will find someone who can. The lost profits are staggering. Here are some rough estimates concerning how much money an unhappy customer can actually cost your business: In the U.S. consumer market alone, there?s around $1,300,000,000,000 on the line. Yes, you read that right: trillion, with a capital ?T,? and thirteen figures. 51 percent of customers will switch businesses or service providers due to poor customer experience. 81 percent of customers who switch businesses claim that the company could have prevented them from leaving. Totaled together, that?s approximately $537,030,000,000 lost by unhappy customers every year. What?s more, customers who are completely satisfied will always contribute more cash (up to 14 times more) toward a goal than those who are even somewhat dissatisfied. Remember, it costs 6-to-7 times more cash to gain new customers than to retain an existing one. Logically, the best way to do business is to satisfy your current clients before taking on new ones. Therefore, one of the most dynamic ways to increase your bottom line may be to simply keep everyone happy. As you know, this is a task that?s easier said than done, but obviously, it?s worth the extra effort. What are some ways your business likes to engage customers to increase satisfaction? Let us know in the comments?

Cloud OptionsThere are three major cloud computing platforms that every small and medium-sized business owner should know. They are Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Each of these offerings can be deployed from a public or private cloud system. Platform as a Service – PaaS provides organizations with a platform that provides users all the computing they need to develop, run, and manage web-based applications. This interface allows for high-level customization, without the complexity inherent in traditional development platforms. In other words, this is an extremely custom solution developed specifically for your unique needs. Infrastructure as a Service – IaaS provides users with a fully virtualized computing infrastructure platform. This interface allows users to do anything they would regularly do on their traditional computers. It can be hosted as an outsourced solution, or on a partitioned on-site server. Software as a Service – SaaS is basically the delivery of a piece of software that?s hosted in the cloud. By implementing a software as a service plan, users get the same software that they would have had to purchase and manage, in the cloud for a flat monthly fee. This allows business to shift costs from the capital budget to the operations budget, on a month-to-month basis. Microsoft?s Office 365 is a popular example of this. Cloud SecurityWhile it took some time for cloud computing to convince business professionals that it is a secure enough platform to ?do? business over, cloud implementation, specifically SaaS offerings, have seen an impressive increase over the past three years. This growth is due in large part to the revelation that a cloud interface is as secure as any other server as long as they are managed and maintained properly. A solution hosted in a data center that?s three states away is equally secure as the cloud environment hosted in your server room as long as they use the same security protocols; in fact, they can often afford better security than your budget may allow. For this reason the cloud?s upward trend figures to continue. By relying on secure and scalable cloud platforms, businesses can find affordable computing resources from dozens of reputable vendors that are no less secure than if you hosted them yourself. If you are one of the many business owners who feel as if they absolutely need control of their organization?s data, relying on a cloud platform that?s hosted outside of your place of business may be a difficult change to make. If you believe that controlling security permissions in-house and deploying it to the people that absolutely need it is the only way to keep your organization safe from security issues, then it may be time to reconsider that position by considering the benefits that integrating a cloud solution can deliver. At White Mountain IT Services, we can build a secure and powerful cloud platform that meets the needs of your business, and we can set you up with any cloud resource you may need to keep your IT costs low without losing the essential computing systems your business depends on. Call us today at (603) 889-0800 to speak with one of our trusted technology professionals.

There are two different kinds of ways virtualization services can affect your desktop business model. They are Desktop as a Service (DaaS), and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI): Virtual Desktop Infrastructure: A virtual desktop infrastructure, or VDI, takes advantage of multiple desktop instances on a single server. This allows for different systems to be called from a single server, effectively giving your employees access to multiple applications and operating systems without having them installed on their desktops. Similarly, your IT department has the ability to allocate CPU and RAM accordingly, offering great versatility and control over your computing infrastructure. The primary dissuading factor for small and medium-sized businesses is that this kind of infrastructure, while offering an impressive amount of control, demands attention from dedicated IT professionals. Desktop as a Service: Rather than be in full control of your technology, the DaaS service model is a completely hosted solution that?s designed with the small and medium-sized business in mind. It?s designed to be outsourced to IT professionals who know how to utilize the latest technology, and have the resources to handle an increased workload. This allows your business to avoid the responsibilities of dealing with complex technology, while allowing your users to take advantage of the benefits with any of the management knowledge or responsibility. What?s Best for Your Business?It?s likely that even if your SMB does have an in-house IT department, they?re strapped for any spare time to innovate and integrate a new solution like a VDI. It?s often more beneficial for SMBs to outsource this responsibility to a managed IT service company like White Mountain IT Services. You gain the abilities of several professional IT technicians who have years of experience implementing solutions just like these, and your business?s bottom line will substantially increase due to the decrease in operational expenditures. With virtualized desktop services, you can run thin clients instead of full-fledged workstations, which consume less power and are more dynamic in nature. Furthermore, since your solution is completely hosted on our virtual server, you?ll save money by operating minimal hardware on-site. For your business to take full control of its technology, you want only the most qualified professionals on hand. White Mountain IT Services can provide the necessary experience to fully utilize your virtualized desktop solution. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Depending on your situation, you might have an internal IT department that focuses on daily operations, or one that focuses solely on innovation, leaving your users to handle the various daily maintenance and upgrades your network needs. While this is better than no IT department at all, you run the risk of user error that could potentially leave your infrastructure unguarded; or worse, breached and compromised by hackers. This is the primary reason you want your IT department to be in complete and total contact with the rest of your business?s departments. It smooths operations and makes troubleshooting issues much easier than if you?re relying on those who aren?t trained professionals. Plus, ensuring that your IT department is in contact with the rest of your team allows for them to communicate network troubles, server issues, email complications, and more. This helps to make sure that everyone is on the same page, and thus, understands that situations are under control and being addressed. For example, one of your users isn?t skilled at working with technology. They might experience simple issues, like being unable to access the network or having difficulty working within your chosen email solution. Instead of bothering your internal IT department, which should be primarily focused on implementing new time-saving solutions, they can contact White Mountain IT Services?s Help Desk. When you work with White Mountain IT Services?s experienced, helpful IT staff, you get the quality of work you expect from an internal IT department at a fraction of the cost. Not only are our technicians more than capable of solving average, day-to-day issues, they?re also skillful and knowledgeable enough to diagnose and treat more serious problems with your IT infrastructure. It?s our mission to know and understand the nuances of your network so a user can?t catch us off guard. At the end of the day, White Mountain IT Services wants to be your go-to source for any and all technology-related issues your business might encounter. We work with you to establish clear, concise expectations, so you can always know what services you?re getting, and at what cost. There are no secret fees or hidden add-on costs. For more information on how we can help your business succeed, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

Finding Qualified Individuals for IT ManagementYou don?t want your end-users to be the ones administering and managing your technology solutions, mainly because they?re probably not trained or experienced enough to confidently do so. You want IT professionals handling your technology whenever possible. These technicians should have an impressive resum? complete with experience, certifications, and a good reputation. Balancing Innovation and UpkeepBusinesses need to ensure that a certain amount of innovation is happening in order to keep themselves at the forefront of the competition. Unfortunately, integrating new solutions and normal, everyday maintenances often conflict with each other; especially if the team performing maintenance is the same one which is responsible for innovation. In order to succeed in the most secure and efficient way possible, businesses need to adapt to changes in their IT environment while keeping their technology maintained and up to date. Gathering Information and InsightsOne of the best ways your business can get a head start on IT is by doing your research before committing to a particular solution. A tech-savvy professional is someone you want on your side when considering significant changes to your IT infrastructure. This helps you ensure that you don?t make changes that could potentially be incompatible with your hardware or software. Planning Ahead for Future DevelopmentsWhat problems can you see your business running into in the future? You want to make sure that your IT infrastructure is flexible enough to account for growth if necessary. Building an IT roadmap that anticipates the growth of your business, as well as changes in your business model and more, can help you prepare for the future of your IT. Providing Training for End-UsersYour users are arguably one of the most valuable assets your business has, and if they don?t know how to use your technology solutions, what good is the technology? One of the most vital roles that your tech support should be able to supply for your end-users is training. This helps them better leverage their technology and saves your team time, especially when trying to diagnose potential issues that are caused by simple user confusion. This might feel a little overwhelming, but you don?t have to worry about it. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization overcome these five challenges. We can equip your business with personal IT consultants whose ultimate goal is the same as yours; for your business to succeed. Our talented professionals examine your infrastructure for potential weak points and improvements, then work around your budget to get the solutions you need to maximize efficiency. Furthermore, we can help your employees better understand their technology and get more out of their workday. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.