XFER Blog

The cloud has been a good resource for business for quite a while. Just how good? Currently, nine-out-of-ten businesses operate with some type of cloud-hosted solution. In fact, by the figures, we’re definitely looking at a cloud-hosted future. We thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the cloud computing stats and trends to paint a picture of just how the cloud has grown up. 

Your technology resources are likely deployed across your business and while all that IT can really help speed up your business and make it more effective, you also have to watch your technology spending so it doesn’t become a problem as you move your business forward. This month, we are going to get into how to deploy certain resources to help you save some money and at the same time get the technology you need to be more productive. 

Cyberattacks have caused many millions of dollars worth of damage to businesses over the past several years, so it makes sense that your business should invest in its cybersecurity to mitigate these damages. That said, there is only so much you can invest into your cybersecurity budget, as you have to factor in other parts of your business, too. Today, we want to share with you three ways you can invest in cybersecurity initiatives that won’t completely break your bank.

There is no denying the versatility that technology like the cloud can provide, but it often comes with hidden costs that might affect its cost-to-benefit ratio for your organization. Here are some of these hidden costs, as well as what you can do to minimize the impact they have on your bottom line.

Cloud technology has changed the way we do business, and it has provided countless opportunities for companies to achieve their wildest dreams. Granted, different businesses will use the cloud in different ways, but one fact remains the same: it makes financial sense to implement the cloud, no matter what type of business you are. Let’s go over some of the benefits.

Let me ask you a question: if you haven’t already gone back to the office full-time, are you looking forward to the opportunity? Research has shown that your answer probably depends quite strongly on whether you are the boss or the employee. Let’s explore this phenomenon.

Internet connectivity is an increasingly important component to a business’ capabilities in this day and age, as well as all the more crucial to an individual’s everyday life. However, with financial difficulties restricting this access for many, the Federal Communications Commission has stepped in. With a $50 subsidy being made available to low-income homes each month, this situation warrants a closer look.

With businesses actively searching for ways to cut costs in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, one place a lot of businesses are considering cutting is their printing initiatives. Today, there are several new solutions that can provide businesses options without having to rely on printed materials. If your business is one that cannot, however, you should know just how much your printer is costing your business. In today’s blog, we’ll review how you can calculate this investment.

Saving on capital expenditures is the successful business owner’s superpower. Today, a lot of the strategic cost cutting that is being done is through collaboration. When you increase the productivity of your staff, you can do more with less. Let’s look at some of the tools being used by successful organizations to enhance their productivity.

When a budget comes into play, it is important to remember that there are a few ways that you can adjust it beyond eliminating line items. For instance, you can instead optimize some of the most egregious financial requirements your technology has--its support costs--by translating the unpredictably variable costs you likely deal with now for your support, to the much more sustainable agreement that a managed service provider will operate through.

Once upon a time, the printer was absolutely crucial for business to be conducted properly, but nowadays, the use of digital solutions has greatly reduced the need of printing things in greater volumes. However, this is not to say that printing is not still an important facet of your business to manage. Here, we’ll examine how print management can help a business do so.

A Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy is something that many organizations have adopted, for a few good reasons: employee satisfaction, cost savings, and productivity boosts included. However, it’s crucial that you don’t just assume that you can adopt a policy like BYOD without establishing some ground rules that your employees need to abide by.

As any business owner knows too well, a budget is a very finite thing - and this can seem to be doubly the case when trying to budget for your business’ technology. Fortunately, there are also a few ways that technology can help you save some capital. Here, we’re offering some tips to help you reduce the financial toll of your business’ IT.

Your business depends on a budget to come out in the black at the end of the fiscal year, and the way you invest that budget will have a considerable impact. As you create this budget, your IT needs to be one of your top considerations - after all, it is what effectively powers the modern business. Here, we’ll discuss how diligently incorporating your IT into your budget can help your business be more successful down the line.

The cloud has proven to be an extremely useful tool for the modern business. Not only does it provide anywhere-anytime access to applications, processing, storage, et al; it also delivers those products as a service, allowing you to budget for recurring costs rather than major upfront ones. This provides your organization with functional, supported, and secure computing environments that eliminate a lot of the support costs that traditional computing environments require. It sounds like a perfect scenario for small and large businesses alike, but things aren’t always what they seem, as a lot of cloud users have found that they have incurred several hidden costs by using cloud platforms. Today, we take a look at these hidden costs.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing?” Well, there’s a hint of truth to this, especially in the business world. Just because your cloud solution allows your business to store a huge amount of data in the cloud, doesn’t mean that you are getting the best return-on-investment. In fact, you might just be unknowingly wasting resources that would be better used elsewhere.

If we asked you to think of a business technology that doesn’t take advantage of the cloud in some capacity, would you be able to come up with one? Cloud computing has become a part of almost every business endeavor, and for good reason. SMBs can leverage the cloud for any number of services or solutions, including email, data storage, server virtualization, and so much more.

The cloud is a great way to make services and solutions available to your employees anytime, anywhere. There are now plenty of ways to leverage out the cloud for the benefit of your business. Here are four such ways:

Running a business is challenging, especially when it comes to juggling your assets and your IT budget. That’s not even mentioning managing your workforce, or delegating tasks out to those who are qualified to perform them. While you’re busy with all of these responsibilities, chances are that there will always be one task within your organization that’s better handled by a professional: your IT management.

The traditional telephone system has been a staple in the office for decades. However, your typical landline telephone system hasn’t aged well, and has been left relatively useless in the wake of better, more flexible solutions, that are designed to save your business money. Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is a great tool that can be used to improve your business’s ability to grow.