XFER Blog

If you've been in the market for upgrading your hardware, be it a new graphics card, CPU, or even a laptop, you might have experienced something alarming: soaring prices. The once-stable cost of computer hardware has been inflated recently, leaving consumers frustrated that they can't find the hardware they are looking for at reasonable prices. Let's briefly go into what's causing this unprecedented spike in hardware prices and how we can help you navigate through it.

Selecting the right servers for your business is extremely important and can either promote optimal performance, reliability, and security of your business computing; or it can present nothing but problems. Today, we will go through six tips to help you make good decisions about servers for your business.

Your servers run the technology that fuels your business. That’s why they are the most important (and expensive) pieces of hardware that you house. When it comes time to refresh one (or all) of your servers, you need to make a choice: Do you purchase a new server to host in-house or do you move your central computing to the cloud?

The small business has been really hit hard recently and has been doing some hand wringing about their future IT investments. One of the major considerations is: do you keep your computing resources onsite or do you look to the cloud? Today, we will take a look at this very question.

The way a business handles network security is directly related to what problems will arise from their use of information systems. Cybersecurity has become a major part of all businesses, of all geographic locations, and all sizes. Because the better your cybersecurity is, the less problems your business will have to overcome, cybersecurity has grown into a multi-hundred-billion dollar a year industry. Cybersecurity hasn’t always been a concern for businesses. After all, the internet hasn’t been around for THAT long. However, the history of cybersecurity has a fascinating story behind it, and today we’d like to share it with you. 

So your small business needs a new server. What are your options? Do you know what they are? Today, we’ll try to shed some light on how you should look at the server-buying process and what your organization’s options are. 

The cloud is one of the most valuable tools available to modern businesses, but the extent to which organizations utilize it will vary depending on their specific needs. For example, some organizations might be fine with the limited control offered by the public cloud, but others might need more dynamic features and control over their data with a private cloud. We’ll help you determine which is right for you, as well as some of the specific considerations needed for a private cloud solution.

It is little wonder that, with millions of businesses relying on their secure servers for a variety of computing needs, that Microsoft reigns supreme in profitability. In order to maintain this status, Microsoft must make sure that their software is properly cared for and supported - or retired if these titles are no longer practical to maintain. SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 are soon due for the chopping block, with an official retirement date of July 9, 2019.

It is impossible to understate the importance of a server to today’s businesses. We talk a big game as to how important data is, but we don’t often broach the topic of how important it is to ensure that your server is well-maintained. Below, we discuss how to determine what your servers need for optimal performance, and how you can be sure that they get it.

Your server room may be somewhat intimidating to consider. Wires everywhere, mechanical boxes that just sit there, lights blinking intermittently, and the distinct feeling that you probably shouldn’t touch anything - not even a proxy server, whatever that is. However, to help you get to know your tech, the proxy server is exactly what we discuss below!

Generally, small businesses will only have, at the most, a couple of servers in the office that are dedicated to storing or sharing data across an in-house network. These machines are absolutely critical to the success of your organization, as without them, you wouldn’t be able to access or store important information. If you want to optimize the way your server infrastructure is set up, however, virtual cloud-based servers can offer a significant benefit for your organization.

You don’t have time to worry about managing your email solution, but it’s still a vital aspect of your business’s operations. You never know when someone will fall for a spam message, and you certainly can’t look over the shoulders of each employee to make sure they don’t. What’s the busy business owner to do? How can you get quality email management without it eating up too much time and effort on your part?

Virtually every business needs data to function, yet not every SMB has the skills or resources needed to maintain their in-house server units. If you’ve found yourself struggling with server upkeep, then you’ll be happy to learn that this responsibility can easily be outsourced to a third party.

Business owners know all too well how painful it can be to manage technology. In addition to making sure that your business functions properly, you also need to keep your technology in working order. Many organizations that rely on technology in order to stay productive free up valuable time and resources by outsourcing their needs to third-party providers.

Do you know which database management system is used by your company’s servers? Obviously your end users aren’t expected to know the answer to this question, but this is something that you, as a business owner, need to be aware of. If you don’t keep track of which database software you’re using, you might accidentally wait too long and wind up running an unsupported piece of software. For example, you need to move away from SQL Server 2005 (which is now unsupported) as soon as possible.

Technology, while a great asset that can be leveraged for your benefit, can also frighten businesses due to how unpredictable it can be at times. The constant threat of data loss, identity theft, and hardware failure can cripple your business’s ability to retain operations. Specifically, businesses can learn about risk management by analyzing the processes used by an industry where risk management is absolutely critical: nuclear power plants.

With the United States’ Presidential election ramping up, it’s hard to go anywhere without seeing Hillary Clinton’s face. The former U.S. secretary of state and first lady, Clinton is making her second attempt at the Presidency. She has gained some negative attention recently in regards to emails she had sent from a personal email address when she was the United States’ top diplomat and it’s opened up some questions about data security at the highest reaches of government.

In order to keep up with the latest industry trends, businesses are turning to technology management solutions that help them better leverage their assets to garner leads and optimize operations. One such technology is virtualization, which improves access to desktop infrastructures and data stored on virtual servers. In fact, you can even use virtualization to make your applications much more accessible and flexible.

Is your business taking advantage of server virtualization? It’s a popular solution that increases efficiency and minimizes risk. Yet, despite the well-known benefits of virtualization, there are still businesses that are hesitant to adopt it. Are you still on the fence about virtualization? Consider these top three reasons why server virtualization may be right for you.

The next major operating system to get the ax from Microsoft is Windows Server 2003. Slated to have its mainstream support ended on July 14th, businesses that currently use the software need to begin making plans to upgrade their system as soon as possible. With this server operating system no longer being supported by Microsoft, your data will be vulnerable to the latest online threats.