XFER Blog

Picture this: you or a team member encounters a technology issue in the middle of the workday. Simple, you might think… just call your in-house IT department. However, the members of your IT team are visibly overworked, scurrying around the office, trying to get some of the tasks off their to-do lists. They’re visibly running out of time, patience, or, most likely, both. It isn’t a good time to bother someone for help; that’s obvious, but what option is there?

Chances are that your business’ technology has gotten more complex in the past few years. This complexity has likely created some confusion on how best to manage your technology. Couple this with the more sophisticated threats that have been developed over that time, and there is a real risk to the welfare of your business coming from the technology you depend on daily. Today’s blog will discuss how increased complexity can be managed competently.

Businesses that struggle with managing technology have a lot to gain by working with a managed service provider, or MSP. These providers are able to help businesses just like yours maintain and improve operations through the use of technology management tools and services. Here are three of the greatest benefits that working with an MSP can provide for businesses just like yours.

As technology continues to advance, businesses inevitably encounter challenges and technical issues. In such scenarios, an IT help desk plays a pivotal role. Let’s delve into the operations of an IT help desk and elucidate why it stands as a valuable asset for any business.

Businesses that don’t leverage managed services for their technology infrastructure are leaving a lot of money on the table, but it’s not always easy to see until you break down what the solutions really do for you. In isolation, they might not seem valuable, but when combined, they save your business significant amounts of capital.

Cloud computing has become one of the most utilized technologies in business today, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. It makes it possible for nearly any business to acquire advanced technologies that they could not afford previously, and use them to level the playing field with larger, more capital-rich companies. This month we thought we’d talk a little bit about how moving to the cloud can benefit you and your business.

Even the most technology-literate of your average employees is not going to have the knowledge needed to manage and maintain your entire business infrastructure, and you shouldn’t expect them to, either. It takes a special kind of attention and training to manage complicated enterprise-level technology, but how can you make sure your business has access to these important resources?

Technology is not cheap, especially not business technology that has features that the average user might not find much value in. To help you keep your business from investing in the wrong solutions or spending unnecessary capital on solutions you won’t find useful, we’ve put together some of the common places where businesses like yours might accidentally waste hard-earned funds.

Apple has long been a key part of the technology industry, producing quality hardware year after year. Although Apple tends to produce sleek and high-end hardware running its proprietary operating systems, these devices are far from perfect and were especially controversial at certain points in the past.

Businesses need to adjust their technology to meet their operational goals. Oftentimes, this can be the difference between loads of inefficiency and things going smoothly.  Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to ascertain where your business should spend its capital. Let’s take a look at how you can match your technology with your operational goals.

There is an inherent value associated with outsourcing the management of your technology to a managed service provider, or MSP. With your team taking a more hands-off approach to technology, they can instead focus on being more productive. If you’re still on the fence about this approach to technology and business, then we have some questions you should consider asking if you are thinking about learning more about MSPs and what they do.

Let me ask you a question: if you had a toilet that needed repairing, would you rather trust a plumber with a few decades of experience or a toddler that had just (mostly) learned how to use the toilet?

That’s what we thought… but when it comes to your business’ technology, finding someone with experience can be a bit more challenging. Let’s discuss the way that the right IT management produces improved business outcomes.

Your business’ technology is critical to its productivity, but unfortunately, this technology can (and at some point, likely will) break. So, what do you do if and when it does?

Let’s go over some of the options that you have to consider.

If you work with technology, then you are likely to have a good idea of what innovation is and isn’t. Innovation is born from creativity, and while it’s not often associated with business IT, there is something to be said for how technology professionals solve problems in a creative fashion, solving problems with solutions available either in-house or on the market. Today, we are focusing on how this creativity can be an asset and how you can foster creative thought in your office.

It’s fair to say that, across the board, times have been particularly tough as of late for businesses. On top of businesses having to fight through the socioeconomic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply chain issues, they also have to juggle more data than ever.

In short, businesses need reliable and cost-effective ways to manage their critical technologies.

Sometimes it might be tempting to just smack your computer to make it work appropriately, and while it’s often a joke that this can fix the problem, it’s not something that we would recommend you get used to doing. Let’s discuss why it might not be a good idea to abuse your computer.

How does your company manage its technology? Does it struggle with the idea of managing multiple workstations, server units, networking components, mobile devices, and more? If so, then read on—we have some tips to help you better manage the many different technological parts of your organization.

In today’s business world that is so reliant on technology, there are few issues more disruptive than a computer that is not working properly. When your computer stops working and you have no clue what to do next, who is first on your calling list for assistance? Do you have someone on-hand who can resolve your technology problems?

With every new year comes new resolutions designed to help you defeat bad habits and bring better ones into your organization. Here are a couple of resolutions you can adopt for your business, particularly in terms of technology management and IT.

Each year we try to come up with a creative Christmas article that ties IT into one of the many holiday fables, but this year we thought we would just forgo the pageantry and talk a little bit about how important our client’s are and what we can do to help take them where they want to go.