IT Professional Job Description – What do they really do?

So, you’re working on drafting an IT professional job description. This series covers the most important factors to consider before you hire an in-house IT tech or team. Our last article reviewed the hidden costs of hiring an IT Professional. Now, we’re talking about what IT actually does besides ask if you turned your computer off and back on again.  Depending on the size of your organization, work in IT can be complicated and time-consuming. Let’s go over Continue Reading

The Hidden Costs of Hiring an IT Tech

If your business is at the point where you’re thinking about hiring a fulltime IT tech, congratulations! Having enough consistent needs to fill this role means you’ve worked hard and made good decisions that drove business growth. Our best advice? Don’t stop now!  Moving forward with hiring requires a lot of analysis to avoid major consequences down the line, though. One of the biggest decisions whether you’ll hire someone directly or use a third-party MSP Continue Reading

Ransomware Is Alive And Well

By now, you’re likely familiar with the threat of ransomware, and hopefully that is through training and not experience. While ransomware may not dominate the headlines the way it used to, don’t get fooled into thinking cybercriminals have retired this attack – it is alive and well.   What is ransomware?   In case you’re unfamiliar, ransomware is a malicious software that blocks computer access until a ransom demand is paid. Ransomware has been around for a long time, in Continue Reading

How to Spot a Phish

Phishing scams have become one of the most common forms of cybercrime today. Millions of people fall for Phishing scams every day, you may even know some who has fallen for a phishing scam. Phishing e-mails are a great danger to not only your computer, it can also lead to having your identity stolen, or worse it could cause a massive security risk to your business. These e-mails are more concerning due to the fact Continue Reading

Social Media in the Office

Everywhere you turn today you will find social media. People taking selfies at the grocery store, responding to Instagram while walking down the street, and of course checking Facebook while clocked in at work. What do you do when social media use gets out of hand in the workplace? It can seem like a never-ending battle with employees, but it doesn’t have to be that way.   Before you go any further, draft up a social Continue Reading

Ma! Did you make a new FB account?

Have you ever received a Facebook friend request from your mom even though she is already a friend of yours on Facebook? So, you call her up to make sure she didn’t forget her password again and just create a new FB page. Then, right after that, “she” sends you a video link saying you’re in a YouTube video. You think, “Well dang! I didn’t think she even knew how to use Messenger.” As the Continue Reading

Five Tips for Working in the “In-Between”

We’ve reached an in-between status of this quarantine. Businesses are starting to open back up (with restrictions), but a lot of employees are finding themselves in an awkward spot between working in the office and remaining at home. Doctors are utilizing video and tele-conference appointments but are holding office hours to see patients and perform “elective” surgeries. Companies are requesting that their employees work from home, if possible, but they’re relaxing requirements for coming back Continue Reading

Are you protecting the right data?

Are you protecting the right data?  You’re ready to purchase a BDR. You’ve done all of the research, found a company you’re confident in and are excited to finally have peace of mind. Now, you start thinking about exactly what you need to back up. Is all of your data necessary or should you salvage a little server room? Most businesses want to back up everything – you never know when you’ll need it, but sometimes that is cost Continue Reading

No Business as Usual

Currently, there is no such thing as Business as Usual. Every day, small and medium businesses are re-inventing how they function. The most unfortunate side-effect of this COVID-19 crisis is that many small businesses have closed, and many of those will not re-open. The economic repercussions from this event will ripple throughout the landscape for decades. Only the strong will survive.  For those who will survive this paradigm shift, now is the time to re-structure Continue Reading

Should’ve seen it coming…

You’ve invested in a BDR (Backup and Disaster Recovery) and now sleep more soundly at night, but the hardware itself is really only part of the solution. You want to ensure your provider does preventative maintenance, periodic testing, multi-location storage, and staff training. Having these things in place will help avoid downtime if the worst happens.  Preventative Maintenance: In addition to the hardware itself, a solid backup solution also has its own backup including generators, backup Continue Reading