XFER Blog

When you start looking at your company’s communications costs, you may not always like what you see. If you think you are paying far too much for far too little, you aren’t alone. Many businesses just like yours are making the switch to communications tools that can be leveraged through the Internet. This month, we will take a look at some of these solutions. 

A lot of business owners kick the tires on mobility before moving onto committing capital to other facets of their IT. When we write about mobility typically what we mean is a commitment to technology that allows staff to work on company projects, access company resources, and do it all from remote locations. This month we’ll talk a little bit about what it means to enhance your operational and staff mobility and provide you some solutions that will facilitate that change for your company. 

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we thought we’d share some of our very best tips and tricks to help you and your business keep your data and network safe in the modern ever-changing threat landscape. Cyberattacks can happen anytime, so being aware is crucial. That’s why cybersecurity in the modern business starts with you. It is your job to keep information safe. Sure, you can improve the tools you use to keep your infrastructure free from threats, but ultimately, to protect this data, you will need to stay vigilant.

We are constantly advocating the usefulness of having a comprehensive data backup and disaster recovery system in place. This is because you never know when some detrimental situation is going to negatively affect your information systems, and being prepared for that eventuality is a prudent business decision. In the modern office, the need for BDR grows rapidly. Today, we’ll take a look at our BDR solution and how every office absolutely needs one. 

Working in an office can often be a grind. People that have never experienced it may not realize just how much coordination is needed to perform successful service delivery and support. One way the modern office functions is with the help of integrated technology. This month we will take a look at the modern office, the technology used by the office staff, and how the managed IT service provider can help build operational efficiency.

Most businesses think about Microsoft Office when the topic of Microsoft comes up, or at least Microsoft Windows. One of the services that has flown somewhat under the radar is Microsoft Azure, the tech giant’s cloud computing platform. What are some of the biggest selling points for Microsoft’s proprietary cloud computing solution, and what does it mean for your business?

Chances are, during your time running a business, you’ve thought at least a little bit about how best to distribute Microsoft Office software to your employees. Of course, the answer is never the same, so we recommend taking a look at what some of the options are before making your choice. In particular, we think the decision between Microsoft Office 2019 and Microsoft Office 365 will be an important one to address.

Many businesses struggle with the reality of everyday IT issues, one of which is receiving the right kind of support and maintenance to ensure everything goes according to plan. When considering your business’ IT maintenance and management, you need to consider the service provider, the distance they travel to and from your office, and ease of support. How can you make sure that your business finds the right solution or service?

Twenty years ago, the term “Internet of Things” was coined by a marketer named Kevin Ashton. Working for multinational consumer goods corporation Proctor & Gamble, his idea to use RFID to help manage P&G’s supply chain led to a partnership with MIT. For his efforts, Ashton became a high-tech entrepreneur and best-selling author, but his lasting legacy will likely be tied to the actual Internet of Things (IoT).

Windows might be the most popular operating system out there, but it’s not perfect. This is why your systems receive patches and security updates as they are released. The problem, however, is that these updates don’t last forever, and one of the most popular Windows systems out there will lose access to support on January 14th, 2020. Are you going to update now, or are you going to risk your systems going without critical updates?

Telephones have been in the office for so long that it would be weird if they weren’t in the office in some way, shape or form. With the advent of cloud-based options, however, telephone communications have become much more sophisticated and accessible. A voice over IP system that uses the Internet is one way that you can take advantage of modern technology to reduce costs and optimize your network.

Karma is a pretty powerful force. If you do enough good, good will become of you. At least, that’s the idea. The same idea applies to the people around you; if you cultivate a positive environment and offer everything your staff needs to do a good job, they will perform better than the alternative.

We talk a lot about managed services for small and medium-sized businesses, but unless you’re familiar with the business model, you won’t be able to learn much about who we are and what we provide to organizations like yours. Today we are hoping to clear up some definitions of managed service providers, or MSPs, as well as what kind of services we can provide for businesses with limited budgets.

It’s hard to think about the modern office without considering the role that information technology plays in it. If you think about it, it wasn’t so long ago that organizations were struggling with gaining access to important resources and maintenance, but sometimes it’s important to reflect on the way things were before IT infested offices all over the world. Let’s discuss how the IT-less office functioned before and after technology solutions were implemented en masse.

In the business world, it’s natural that you encounter those that want to see you fail, but there are also those that simply want to piggyback off your success. In many ways, security threats are a little bit of both, as they can potentially steal your data and leverage it to their benefit, as well as cause harm to your organization. We’ll dig into some of the details of the most common security threats and the risks they cause for your business.

The Internet of Things is a phenomenon that must be accounted for, as the sheer number of devices accessing networks means that security is always a concern. How can your organization be sure that the Internet of Things doesn’t create problems? It all starts by being aware of how your organization’s network infrastructure operates in relation to the Internet of Things.

Downtime can be devastating for your business if you allow it to persist. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t have the mindset needed to keep downtime from influencing operations, and it’s most telling when a disaster strikes. We’re here to help you understand downtime, its effects, and what you can do to prevent it.

Email is generally considered to be one of the more effective ways of communication in the business world. An organization that can use email adeptly is one that saves time and money. Today, we’ll be discussing how you can get the most out of your email solution through the use of best practices and other tips.

It doesn’t matter how intensively a business uses their technology, there will always be a need for maintenance of some sort, whether it’s something as simple as a point-of-sale system or a full-fledged desktop workstation. Some businesses might have a complete IT department, while others might not have the resources to allocate to this role. We’ll walk you through how, no matter what kind of organization you operate, your business can benefit from a help desk solution.

Cybercriminals have been altering and ramping up efforts to steal data for much of the past decade. Once thought to just be a nuisance, now it has become evident that the cost of doing business now includes comprehensive network security strategies, designed to keep threats from affecting your business’ ability to create revenue. Let’s take a look at a working cybersecurity strategy.