XFER Blog

Everyone’s job has some degree of minutiae involved. Not everything can be exciting: I mean even a stuntman sits around for most of the day before his or her death-defying scene happens. This week, we thought we’d go through the importance of these seemingly rote tasks and how instituting technology that allows you to automate more of them can actually help a business accomplish a lot. 

Let’s say that, right now, someone was attempting to break into your network…could they do it? Is there some vulnerability present on your network that has left you open to attack? This is a question you need to know the answer to so that you can resolve it.

One way to get this answer is by bringing on a professional to perform a penetration test on your business IT.

With the COVID pandemic still affecting businesses all over the world, many are still considering remote and hybrid work operations. In fact, there are many employees who have yet to step back into the workplace in any capacity, meaning that workspaces previously well-populated are being underutilized.

The Internet of Things—the IoT—is very much a double-edged sword, insofar as it can create some very real threats just as easily as it can offer businesses considerable benefits when leveraged properly. Let’s focus on this latter point and explore the kinds of benefits that the IoT can bring to the workplace.

Nowadays, there seems to be risks at every turn that can negatively impact your business. Obviously, some are more concerning than others, but ultimately you need to find solutions to every problem you have to ensure that it can run routinely, let alone efficiently. Let’s take a look at some of the risks the average small business faces and what technology can do to help you circumvent these particular issues. 

Do you know those horror stories you catch every so often where a huge business has their network hacked and millions of their customers and employees have their personal and financial information leaked onto the Dark Web? Your organization isn't likely as big as theirs, but regardless of how much money, people, and diverse revenue streams an organization has, having its network breached and its customers’, or its employees’, information strewn about over the Dark Web is not an ideal scenario. 

Most things in your office depend on technology in some way. That’s just the simple fact of life these days. Let’s examine just how much of your business depends on the technology that powers it and how companies increasingly depend on IT to manage the countless devices that have permeated the office environment.

There are countless stressors that must be taken into consideration for your business, but there are two that stand out as chiefly important during the workday: digital/workplace friction and interpersonal friction. What can you do to help make them less of a problem for your employees?

Innovation is a driving force behind business, and it has been for essentially the entirety of human existence. The pandemic has brought about an era where businesses are producing solutions that have many new features, but these features don’t necessarily enhance or add anything to the customer experience. Let’s examine how this desire to stay profitable flies in the face of true innovation and doesn’t provide useful or practical products to consumers.

Businesses are rarely successful without the ones steering the ship having the ability to make great decisions. Whether it’s managing your workforce, supporting your customers, or procuring the right equipment to best facilitate productivity, good decision making will be at the heart of any organization’s success. Let’s examine how you can make better decisions as they pertain to your technology solutions.

The pandemic forced businesses to reexamine the way that they operate, but even though the pandemic is, unfortunately, still ongoing, many have returned to conducting business as usual like they did before it began. One part of business that will not return to normal anytime soon is the supply chain, as these issues will likely persist into the future.

Companies hire many talented individuals for many different types of positions, but one way that some organizations choose to amplify their operations is through proper outsourcing. This practice can be invaluable for businesses that want to take things up a notch and adjust the way they operate for the better.

There are plenty of companies that have implemented remote work policies to combat the isolation forced upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some businesses even had to resort to downsizing or shutting their doors completely because they could not adapt to these circumstances. Today, as we enter 2022, we thought we would take a look at the role security plays in an effective remote work policy.

Have you ever wondered how it is that people can build up bad habits over time, yet break them and establish better ones? Have you also noticed how difficult it can be to break habits that have been ingrained into the very fibers of our being over an extended period of time? Believe it or not, people can change, and the science behind it—neuroplasticity—can provide some valuable insights into how to make it happen.

In order to get the most value out of your business technology, it’s important to understand best practices and how they can figure into your business operations. Let’s examine some of the most effective practices that you should include in your day-to-day operations and how they can benefit your organization.

Turnover happens in the business world. It’s just a matter of when and how often it happens, as well as how your organization responds to it. If your company fails to address certain parts of the turnover process, it could have negative consequences that must be addressed. We’ve put together three ways that you can be sure former employees do not cause you trouble when they leave, particularly in regards to staffing and cybersecurity.

Technology has always been ingrained in the operations of businesses to an extent, but it was only recently (in the grand scheme of things) that standard business technology such as desktops, server units, and other computing hardware really started to take off. That said, it’s now a staple, so your organization should be making informed decisions regarding any new hardware that you implement.

There is a misconception going around that the absolute only way you can possibly take care of your organization’s technology is to hire dedicated professionals to monitor and maintain every aspect of it. There is considerable benefit to doing this, we won’t lie, but there is value in applying specific mantras from everyday life to your IT infrastructure. With these small, common-sense practices, you might see some long-term success in IT management even without professionals at the helm.

Business continuity is difficult to talk about for some business owners, specifically because no one likes to talk about the worst case scenario. What would you do if your business were to suddenly go through a disaster? Do you have a plan in place? If not, let’s talk about that. Here are some aspects of business continuity that you must consider. Remember; your company’s future depends on it!

Remote work has been a popular topic for a few years, but over the past year, with so many people forced into working from home, a lot has been written about it. Today, we wanted to briefly talk about some of the technology that is suggested for the remote business, and what we can do to help you support remote workers.