You can gauge the state of your business by taking an honest look at these three important topics. It?s All About AttitudeLet?s face it. If you don?t absolutely love what you are doing, you won?t have the push needed to drive your business forward. It?s this lack of passion that often can drive the final nail in the coffin of small startups. If you just don?t feel how you used to about your ideas and concepts that built the company, your clients and employees will be able to tell, and it will affect them and the decisions they make concerning your business. If you really love what you are doing, then you will work to make it happen at all costs. There are some things you can try to get yourself back on track. As the business owner, what are you doing with this business? If you think about what you are trying to accomplish, the answer could determine just how much passion you have left for your profession. If that doesn?t work, try taking some time off to gather your thoughts. Maybe you?ll figure out what?s got you so stuck in the first place. Indifferent ClientsPerhaps one of the worst possible scenarios is that everything is set and ready to go, but the customers just aren?t buying it. In this case, you need to change something. Maybe your marketing strategy could use some work, or your product needs to change a bit. The trick is to find the fine line between client attention and your own personal goals. Unfortunately, nobody is going to like your product as much as you do. As an entrepreneur, that?s a truth. Your idea is your child, and you want to see it grow and succeed; but if nobody cares, it won?t have that opportunity. Turn your efforts toward studying the market more in-depth, and understand your customers? opinions of the product. Only then can you manage to get your business back on its feet. Go Down With Your ShipSometimes, founding a company just isn?t in the cards. The stars are unaligned ever so slightly. Basically, we?re talking about fate, or rather, the market; something that you can?t really do anything about. Perhaps you simply misjudged the market or the demand for your product. It all comes down to being honest with yourself. How much has the market changed since you first created your business plan? It?s time for some personal reflection. Only then can you come to terms with an exit strategy. If you can bail out via acquisition, that might not be a bad idea, but not all companies have that luxury. Of course, we believe that arming your business with the right solutions is a big way to provide a needed boost to get you out of a rut. Before you pull the plug on a venture that you were once oh-so-passionate about, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out if there are technology solutions that can better meet your needs and make operations easier.

Why should you care about the rainforests on the other side of the world? With the rainforests producing 40 percent of the planet?s oxygen, it is imperative that we keep the rainforests alive. Conservation International (CI), an organization dedicated to the preservation of natural biodiversity, understands this, and is trying to use technology to solve one mankind?s biggest problems: its continuity. Obviously, analyzing information on all manners of plants and animals which inhabit the rainforest is exhausting, if not impossible, without the help of analytic tools. CI put together a network of over 1,000 cameras designed to monitor and record information on passing animals. The goal of this project was to use the gathered information to discover the effects of changes in climate and land usage. Before big data was implemented by CI, all information had to be gathered manually. As CIO explains: Because the camera traps are located in some of the more remote locations on earth, there?s no infrastructure. Teams have to manually collect the data from the traps and upload it, at which point CI scientists run a series of scripts and models to identify the various species appearing in the images. They then blend that data with climate measurements (precipitation, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, etc.), data on trees (growth, survival, deforestation, etc.) and land use data from public sources to create a model of the health of the animal populations at the sites and how they are changing over time. Sandy Adnelman, the chief scientist at CI, likes to think about this process as a check up for the planet. When you go to the doctor, they check specific parts of your health to make sure you are healthy, and the planet is similar. There are various aspects of nature which should be monitored to make sure that the planet is healthy. As you might guess, the process of analyzing the vast amount of data gathered by these cameras was painstakingly time-consuming; and when the changes in the environment are snuffing the life out of the rainforests, time is a critical factor. In order to combat these changes, CI brought in big data analytics. While the information still had to be gathered manually, the process of analyzing data became much more simplified. The results of data analysis were processed up to nine times faster, and far more accurately than manual data analysis. The result is much more progress on maintaining the vital signs of the rainforests, and some big steps toward rejuvenating a hurting ecosystem. Your business can take advantage of big data, too. Trends in industries shift all of the time, and it?s always best to stay ahead of the curve and adapt your strategies respectively. For example, with big data analytics, a company may notice that most people are visiting their website through mobile devices. Their website, however, is not optimized for mobile viewing, and it is unappealing on such a small screen. The company can then shift their focus to creating a more user-friendly mobile website. White Mountain IT Services can equip your business with big data analytics tools that can save your business world. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to see how we can change the ecosystem of your business?s technology.

Have You… ? Hack-Proofed Your Passwords? Complex passwords can go a long way toward protecting your business?s network from threats. By using a string of both lower-case and upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols, you can maximize password security and make it drastically more difficult for hackers to guess your passwords. ? Integrated Two-Factor Authentication? Two-factor authentication turns your mobile device into a security key, which means that any would-be hacker needs access to it if they want to get into your protected account. ? Updated with the Latest Patches and Updates? With the latest patches and security updates, your business?s hardware and software solutions will be as secure as possible from both internal and external threats. ? Integrated a Firewall? A firewall is your first line of defense against potential threats. It scans data moving to or from your network, to keep threats out or lock them in for prompt elimination. ? Integrated Spam-Blocking Solutions? Not only is spam an annoying waste of time, but it often comes attached with viruses and malware. You can save time and increase your network?s security by using a comprehensive spam-blocking solution. …. Tried an Antivirus Solution? This is usually the first thing that people think of when they think of network security. An antivirus solution allows your business to detect and eliminate threats, or quarantine them before they cause any significant damage. ? Put a Web Filter in Place? Not everyone has the most secure web browsing habits. Web filters prevent them from browsing sites which might hold malware or other malicious entities. ? Scanned Your Network for Potential Threats? Threats come in all shapes and sizes. It?s not beyond the realm of possibility that you?ve missed one or allowed it to get into your system. Regular security scans can help you locate rogue malware and eliminate it before it causes any trouble. The good news is that White Mountain IT Services has a way of helping businesses just like yours optimize security practices with our comprehensive solutions. For instance, the Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution combines all of the benefits of a firewall, antivirus, spam-blocking, and content filtering solution into one easy package. Another example is our remote management solution, which consists of remotely applying patches to your software and operating systems, as well as monitoring for any suspicious activity. Contact White Mountain IT Services for a comprehensive network audit today. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Some businesses go about their day-to-day duties without a solid business continuity plan. As explained in the above scenario, an external backup is paramount to the survival of your organization, should you face circumstances that threaten to uproot your operations. This generally entails taking snapshots of your business?s data using some sort of backup method. One of the most common methods of doing so is using tape to store data. The problem with tape is that, in physical form, it can easily be destroyed if accidentally left on-site during a flood, fire, earthquake, or another equally devastating disaster. Furthermore, tape backups can be time-consuming, so they?re generally performed after hours; even then, they?re usually only performed once every 24 hours or so, which means that you run the risk of losing that much data in the face of a disaster. Since tape backups often need to be run manually, they?re also more prone to user error than other automated systems. These are just a few reasons why it?s important that you consider your backup and disaster recovery solution carefully. There?s nothing wrong with using tape, but it?s an outdated system that pales in comparison to other, more modern solutions. You want a solution that stores your data in a secure, off-site data center. Unlike data backup, data recovery is the act of restoring from the backups stored in a data center in order to offset data loss caused by any number of variables, like the destruction of hardware, or even user error. The quality of data recovery is generally based on how quickly it can restore your data; therefore, the faster a solution can get you back in action following a major loss of data, the better an asset it is to your business. Of course, data backup and disaster recovery are two very different things that often go hand-in-hand. Take, for instance, our Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution. It?s a backup solution that takes multiple snapshots of your business?s data, which is then stored off-site and in the cloud for later access, combined with rapid data recovery that helps your business get back in action in a moment?s notice. Unlike our BDR, tape backups can be time-consuming, and when time is of the essence, it can be difficult. BDR ensures that your data is always backed up and readily available when you need it most. It should also be mentioned that our BDR solution has the ability to temporarily take the place of your server in the event of a hardware failure. This adds to the value of your investment, and can help you get the ball rolling again while you decide how to replace your hardware. If you?re ready to start taking proactive measures to ensure the continuity of your business and its data, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Do You Rely too much On Your Smartphone? How can you tell if your mobile technology use has reached addiction levels? To help you self diagnose your condition, ask yourself these seven questions regarding smartphone addiction. The more questions that you answer positively, means the more power that your device holds over your willpower. Are you ever without your smartphone? Apart from the obvious like when you bathe (though, there exists accessories for this purpose), is there ever a time throughout your day when you don?t have your smartphone within arm?s reach? Also, if you do happen to become separated from ?your precious,? do you find yourself feeling antsy? Is your smartphone a table accessory? By this we mean, during mealtime, do you leave your smartphone on the table, keeping it within reach as if it were an eating utensil? This is a problem because meals are one of the most social experiences that humans can have together. If you can?t stop checking social media during this time, then you?re cheapening the social experience of the meal. How many times per day do you check your phone? To find this out, think about how many times per hour you check your smartphone. Now multiply that number by how many hours you?re awake each day. The result might be higher than what you?re comfortable with. Continuously checking your phone, especially when you?re not expecting to receive a communication, is a telltale sign of addiction. Where do you place your smartphone when you sleep? Keeping your phone within reach when you snooze will only exacerbate the problem. For example, receiving a call or notification will disrupt your sleep, which can leave you groggy and moody the next day. Also, if you use your phone as an alarm clock, the temptation is to check your notifications as soon as you turn off the alarm. Having your smartphone be the last thing you look at before you go to sleep and the first thing you interact with when you wake up isn?t good. Do you ?take care of business? when ?taking care of business?? Do you use your phone while going to the bathroom? That?s gross. In the name of common decency, stop. Just stop. Do smartphone notifications change your emotional disposition? The problem with this is that notifications happen suddenly and unexpectedly throughout the day. If you get flustered with every notification, this will affect your overall state of emotional well-being. Given the chance, do you choose to communicate using your smartphone instead of face-to-face conversations? We?re not talking about texting norms like messaging a friend about the ETA of your visit. Instead, we?re talking about texting people from across the room, and purposely avoiding a person because you?d rather message them over Facebook. If left unchecked, these patterns of behavior can develop into a crippling social anxiety. Did these questions hit a little too close to home? If so, here are four steps to take back your life from your smartphone. Take a simple approach to your technology. One of the characteristics about mobile technology is that it gives you access to a wealth of time-wasting apps. Instead of downloading every app that comes across your plate because it ?looks cool,? try minimizing the apps and devices that you use to the […]