Black Friday deals seem like they begin earlier every year. Most of the bigger retailers don’t even wait until Friday to roll out the specials on big-ticket or most wanted items. As your trusted IT company, we are here to offer you some insight into this year’s tech deals. Whether it’s about a new 4K TV or how to get that great new gaming system running, we will do our best to help make your Black Friday tech shopping a bit less stressful. But is it worth your time and aggravation to wait in line half the day or more on Thanksgiving, or should you stay home and overeat on turkey and stuffing? After all, the same retailers will have the same items available (mostly) on their website for the same prices and quantities, but with less physical violence over a toaster oven. Every year Wal-Mart is the hub people pushing and fighting for the last set of pans or the last coffee maker. In recent years, Wal-Mart has moved Black Friday deals to Thursday night and there have been less of the crazy pricing and more handing out numbers to alleviate tensions and fist fights. Quantities are still limited and you’re going to have pushing and shoving over things like WWE 2K18 for $29, but what you should be worried about is whether it’s worth it to stand in line for $100 off an Xbox One S. Speaking of the Xbox One S, Wal-Mart will have the 500GB model on sale for $189 (a savings of $110). Similarly, the PS4 will be on sale for $199, also a savings of $100. Wal-Mart is advertising that they will also have stock of the Nintendo Switch. No sale price, still $299, but considering you couldn’t find one anywhere all summer it’s an item worth braving the crowds for. Of all three retailers we’ve covered, Wal-Mart has the best overall pricing on movies and games for Black Friday. Titles vary by location and not every title Wal-Mart has the competitors have, but if you are in the market to pick up a few low-priced gems for someone, this would be a place to look. A couple highlights are the Call of Duty Combo Pack (WW2 & Infinite Warfare) for $59, Horizon Zero Dawn for the PS4 only $19, and Overwatch for $29. 4K TVs are the gift of the year for 2017. Everyone wants to go 4K, and Wal-Mart has a wide selection of TVs to do just that. The best buy here would be the Sharp 4K 55” Smart TV. It does everything you want a 4K TV to do, and it comes with Vudu, Netflix, and more already installed, and it’s only $298! 55” not big enough for you? How about the 65” inches for $998, featuring built-in streaming apps and 4K Ultra HD. Wal-Mart also has the Google Home Mini for $29, an iPad for $250, a Nintendo 2DS system that comes with The Legend of Ocarina of Time for $79, and everything you need to take your home into the next stratosphere with Google Home, a Netgear “Nighthawk” router for $89, and a home security setup. Bottom line, Wal-Mart may be the better overall deal as far as movies and games go, but do you really want to brave the crowds for something that you can find online with free shipping for $35 or more. The 4K TV might be hard to pass up, but is braving an angry mob of shoppers worth the savings? Only you can know for sure. {company} wants you to have a happy Thanksgiving and a productive Black Friday experience. Look for more Black Friday tips from us tomorrow.

Black Friday deals seem like they begin earlier every year. Most of the bigger retailers don’t even wait until Friday to roll out the specials on big-ticket or most wanted items. We are here to offer you some insight into this year’s tech deals. Whether it’s about a new 4K TV or how to get that great new gaming system running, we will do our best to help make your Black Friday tech shopping a bit less stressful. Once again, this year the deals (and lines) will begin at 6:00PM on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day at most retailers. But is it worth your time and aggravation to wait in line half the day or more on Thanksgiving, or should you stay home and overeat on turkey and stuffing? After all, the same retailers will have the same items available (mostly) on their website for the same prices and quantities, but with less physical violence over a toaster oven. First, we’ll look at Best Buy. The electronics giant seems to be bucking trends and will open at 5:00PM Thursday night, then reopen at 8:00AM Friday morning. Their ad is highlighted by 4K TVs and deals on video games, movies, and phones/tablets. The 4K TVs have savings ranging from $150 off to $350 off, depending on brand and size. In particular, the Sharp 50” 4K TV is only available in stores and will be on sale for $180, a savings of $320! There are savings (albeit small) on Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple iPad Mini 4, and loads of accessories for your TV or gaming system. Several Chromebooks are also on sale, most over $100 off. The big one to watch here is the Microsoft Surface Pro Core M, which is on sale for $629 (that’s $370 off!). On the gaming side, Best Buy is offering a PS4 1TB console for $199, a savings of $100 off retail. That’s a good deal for the PlayStation fan on your list. Best Buy will have the Xbox One S 500GB console for $229, which is $40 more than both Wal-Mart and Target. However, getting the console at Best Buy will also net you a free second wireless controller and a downloadable copy of Madden 18 video game. This amounts to $50 off the console and $120 worth of extras for free. Or you can get the Xbox One S on its own for $189, which matches Wal-Mart and Target’s price. Either way, expect quantities to be severely limited. If you’re desperate for a new 4K TV or getting that free football game with your Xbox, I suppose standing in line could be viable. But in all honesty, is it worth it when you could be sitting on your couch and order the same items from your phone, getting the same deals and free shipping? {company} wants you to have a happy Thanksgiving and a productive Black Friday experience. Look for more Black Friday tips from us tomorrow.

Internet of Things (IoT) has been dominating conversations in the tech industry for some time now. The interconnectedness of an IoT network offers streamlining capabilities that are attractive to individuals and businesses alike. Using technology to make life easier – at home or in the office – is a huge plus. However, considerations must be made for how an increase of connected devices also increases cyber-risk, making IoT networks more vulnerable to cyber invasions and infections. What is Internet of Things (IoT)? How Digital Connection and Transformation is Taking Shape in Business Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) is any network of physical devices that contain embedded technology which enable varying degrees of internet access, communication, command and control. Connected physical devices include traditional machines like laptops, and tablets, but goes further to include a variety of other non-traditional devices including vehicles, thermostats, appliances, wrist watches, manufacturing equipment, medical devices and more. For business owners, IoT offers huge streamlining capacities that pack a productivity punch. By having all business devices and equipment synced with internet access, communication and collaboration is easier and work gets done faster. In turn, business owners reduce overhead costs and can take on new business. Technological transformation like this can truly transform the way organizations do business. Though it may seem futuristic, the last few years have been huge for the actual implementation of IoT, driven by cost reductions and compelling business case value. There has been a transition from ideas and prototypes to production and implementation. On the market smart-cars and wearable devices with embedded systems are readily available. Business owners in every industry are looking for the ways to best capitalize on IoT technology. However, as IoT explodes onto the scene, many of these networks simply will not have adequate security, leaving businesses more susceptible to cyber invasion. Anatomy of an Attack: How IoT Devices Put a Cybercrime Target on Businesses TrapX Labs, a leading Cyber Security company in the US published a 2013 report detailing the specific ways in which IoT devices significantly increase cyber risk for businesses. “The vast majority of IoT devices provide a wide-open door to advanced attacks, persistent threats and other sophisticated malware,” says TrapX Labs Vice President, Founder and Security General Manager, Moshe Ben Simon. “Cybersecurity must be designed into these products initially. Without this design and implementation, these devices will present a huge potential risk to your organization, your employees, your business partners and your customers.” Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated and malicious by the day. The ways in which these seasoned professionals can gain access to your company data are endless, but here are a few of the leading ways IoT hacks and attacks take shape: Botnets Botnet attacks, also referred to as ‘thingbot attacks’, specifically target networks of connected computers and smart devices to infect them with malicious software. Once infected, criminals can seize control of the entire network without the owner’s knowledge. This can result in a variety of damaging impacts to business networks including the wiping of data, the sending of inappropriate spam messages as well as identity and data theft. IoT networks are at increased risk simply because botnets are able to access and control more than just computers and laptops. They can get their hands on every device connected to the network, leaving endless opportunities to disrupt or rob a business. Data/Identity Theft As with all forms of cybercrime, a leading motivation is the accumulation and theft of useful data. This could be business data, but often cyber criminals seek out identity details to steal individual identities for financial fraud. The risks are even higher with the implementation of IoT, because obtaining these details becomes easier. Between a little online research into social media accounts, general Google inquiries and the ability to hack into non-traditional, less-monitored devices like office thermostats and smart-watches, becoming someone else is made much easier thanks to IoT networking. ‘Man-in-the-Middle’ Attacks The man-in-the-middle concept occurs when cybercriminals hack a network with the intention of intercepting communications between two systems. This can be incredibly damaging as it gives criminals the opportunity to trick parties into thinking they are having a legitimate communication exchange when they aren’t. This means clients could think they are communicating with your company, when really, they’re giving valuable information directly to criminals, without your knowledge. This is even more dangerous with IoT networks, as it leaves an open door for cybercriminals to intercept communications with company smart devices like manufacturing machines, connected vehicles or smart TV’s. Social Engineering Anyone with even a base-line understanding of cybercrime trends knows a little bit about social engineering scams like phishing emails. Criminals send convincing looking communications to clients and team members, often posing as a high-level company representative. The communications request details from recipients that could include anything from banking info to confidential company data. Social engineering scams are even scarier when it comes to IoT networks because of the varied ways criminals can stay connected once they gain access. Even with phishing protections in place, if a single, unmonitored connected device is missed, criminals can hold onto network access. This means even if an office has protected all their computers, tablets and cellphones to prevent phishing scams, but forget about the smart TV’s and thermostats that are also connected, cyber criminals can keep hold on their network access to attack again. Denial of Service A Denial of Service or DoS attack occurs when regularly functional services are rendered unavailable. Using a botnet, cybercriminals use a variety of programs to attack one specific target, often by overloading the service target with requests. This results in capacity overload and the service becomes unavailable to those who regularly rely on it. Unlike phishing scams, the goal of DoS attacks is not to steal data or identities, but rather, it is to completely disable businesses from operating. With IoT networks, more devices are connected meaning more services are open targets for criminals looking to shut down functionality. While

Construction companies, be they large or small, have some unique aspects of their business that make them a different kind of business from others that rely on a managed service provider.  With programs like CAD, construction project planning and procurement of materials are unique to that industry and would require an MSP that is dedicated to the construction industry. Construction companies do use typical IT software and hardware for standard office tasks and accounting functionality.  What really sets this industry apart, however, is how collaborative it is.  Workflow does follow traditional paths such as design, construction, and testing.  There is also a role played by industry compliance and security in all aspects of the industry. But success is dependent on collaboration between architects, engineers and the actual foremen and workers at the on-site level.  An MSP must be able to manage this team and collaboration in real time.  This is why many larger construction companies use an internal IT team rather than outsourcing to an MSP that isn’t fluent in CAD or certain planning software. When it comes to construction companies, not all MSP’s are created equal.  You need one that can specialize in the construction industry and has your best interests at heart.  Some things to look for are: Access to highly trained and specialized staff. Supporting the technologies that run your critical core applications such as estimating, accounting, project management, document management and scale management. Extensive experience with supporting software such as Sage, JD Edwards, Quickbooks and Autocad Solutions. An MSP that provides Mobile Device Management (MDM) and remote access solutions that allow your team to have access to anything, anytime and from anywhere. Affordable and comprehensive services, such as standard IT solutions, to go along with the specialized services. Any good MSP will do a few basic things for every type of industry, but these things are just as important to the construction industry as any other industry.  You want one that will be available when you need them as well as one who is up-to-date with current technology.  Hiring an outside IT company will save you money.  Having IT in-house means paying them a salary and possible benefits and 401k.  Hiring an outside company negates the salary and 401k, which becomes the problem of their company not yours. The MSP will perform monthly updates and preventative maintenance, keeping your software and hardware running at peak efficiency, cutting down the probability of failure at critical times.  When the system is running efficiently and smoothly, that equals peace of mind and best of all, profits. By using a third-party IT provider, you are more likely to stay ahead of new cyber threats and viruses.  An MSP makes it their business to stay up to date on new cyber threats and hackers so that they can keep your business ahead of these threats and running smooth.  Should something get through or hardware breaks down, you have an experienced and dedicated team you can call to fix the problem.  Most MSP’s are available 24/7. The MSP can run an analysis of your IT environment to prevent issues such as having to add equipment and up the budget given.  This also serves to give your business a deliverable, comprehensive executive summary of your company.  The summary shows any vulnerability in your system as well as the pros and cons of your current network.  It will also give you the MSP’s recommendations for any adjustments to your current technology. Never one to rest on their laurels, tech giant Google started a project that could revolutionize the construction industry.  Beginning as a project for Google X it has spun off into its own company, Flux.io.  Essentially a cloud-based platform, Flux is a collaborative platform that allows architects and construction engineers to work together in real time on a project.  It sports an advanced analytic engine and state of the art simulators. With the ability to translate data from multiple programs such as Excel, ACAD, and Rhino into a single platform, various collaborators could work simultaneously rather than one at a time.  All computations are done in the cloud, so no worries that your system will slow down or cause it to freeze.  Flux.io is touting that it will save 30% to 50% in manufacturing and construction costs.  Overall, Flow has the potential to save the construction industry over $120 billion a year. As technology gets better and new software makes the collaboration process more streamlined and easier to communicate with members of your team, the need for dedicated IT grows even bigger.  Whatever IT service provider that you choose to go with, make sure to get the system analysis to check for any vulnerability in your network.  The MSP will be able to tell you what is essential and what isn’t while saving you money.

By following these simple steps, you can make your website stand out from the crowd with shining star ratings in Google’s search results.   Have you ever tried searching for your own business on Google?  If your business has a website, you likely pay attention to the content on your site, the efficacy of your site’s search engine optimization, how you advertise your site, and perhaps even its Google Analytics.  Have you ever considered what your website looks like as a Google search result, though?  Many business owners overlook this simple, yet important step in driving traffic to their websites.  An organic search result listing which is well-designed and organized with respect to relevancy and aesthetics will ensure you make a great first impression on your webpage’s potential viewers. When searching through Google for other reasons, you have probably noticed that some webpage listings, which appear on the list of search results, include a star rating in addition to the site’s title, meta description, and meta tags.  Although Google does not publicly release the specific parameters of its search algorithm, one can speculate the great difference that a good star rating which appears next to a website on a Google search results page makes when the average internet user selects one website while choosing to ignore the rest.  The increased traffic to your webpage, as a result of displayed star ratings, should work well to improve your page’s place in search results for at least your top few keywords and keyword phrases.  Not only do star ratings draw a surfer’s attention to your search listing, they also immediately gain your company priceless earned media (i.e. trusted reviews and word of mouth advertising from your customers). Simple Steps to Stardom You or your web developer can make short work of affixing a star rating (and its added credibility) to your website with the help of either a plugin or some basic backend HTML coding. Follow these simple steps to stardom: Get Rated and Reviewed– You can skip this step and go on to those which follow, but if your business has no existing online reviews or ratings, then Google will not be able to locate or calculate an average star rating to display on the search engine results page.  To gather reviews, you will need to encourage your customers to rate your business, products, services, or their experience with you on a trusted review site, in an acceptable format, or on your Google Business Page.  Google provides a complete list of the types of reviews which they consider trusted, here. Add a Schema Markup to Your Website– Once you have acquired a sufficient number of online reviews and ratings from customers, you can manually add directions to your website which specifically tell Google’s search engine crawler about all of the great, new reviews you want your customers to see when they search for you.  In order for Google to detect your reviews, you will need to add a schema markup to your webpage.  This schema should include various types of structured data for Google to read in order to learn more about your webpage and type of business. While you could include all sorts of data in the footnotes of your page, the most pertinent information for star rating purposes includes defining your company as a local business or a more specific sub-category and specifying your product or service.  You will also need to point Google to your business name, address, logo, business hours, phone number, and email.  You will also include a geolocation section in the schema, which defines your location’s latitude and longitude (NASA will help you determine your coordinates here).  In the schema, you will add information to define the number of reviews you have and your average star rating, which will help Google include this on your page’s search result listing.  As your reviews increase and the average rating changes, you will need to manually adjust the rating in your schema. Take a Shortcut Using a Plugin– Manual entry for the schema is the best way to ensure the most accurate search engine results and star ratings for your webpage.  If, however, you feel uncomfortable with the code, you can add a plugin to your website to handle entering the schema (or structured data) on your behalf. Give It a Test Run– Once you have either entered all of your webpage’s structured data yourself or had a plugin fill in the blanks with an automated scan of your site, you can test the data using Google’s handy Structured Data Testing Tool.  Enter your web address into the search tool and scan through the results looking for noted errors or warnings.  This tool can help you locate typos, incorrect data, or data which might not add up in all of the right places.  If the tester finds an error, go back and correct the issue and then re-test to make sure all of your data is in order. Wait and Watch– Your search result listing stars will not appear immediately after you have completed the setup process.  It should take Google’s web crawlers about four or five days to re-crawl your recently updated website and add the star ratings to your listing on the search results page. Make Your Page a Star If you want to improve your business, your webpage’s search results, and bring your page to the top of the list with star ratings which are displayed in your customers’ and potential customers’ search results, but do not feel comfortable making the back-end changes to your website yourself, our skilled IT professionals can help you.  In addition to setting up your star ratings, we can also provide advice on optimizing your existing webpage to improve your search engine results with back-end coding designed to assist web crawlers when they read your page and its riveting content to boost your click-through rates.  To learn more about how we can help your business convert more leads through improved search engine results, contact us today.  We look forward to being an integral

Whether you believe that more screen space equals higher productivity or simply more room for distraction, the dual monitor discussion isn’t going away anytime soon.   Walking into an IT department in most offices may make you feel as though you’re in some futuristic movie:  with multiple screens shifted at all angles, all with variations of code scrolling across them.  While this isn’t unexpected from a technology team, how can you evaluate whether or not multiple monitors are helpful for your business users?  When trying to determine whether they’re a productivity booster or simply offering your business users more virtual real estate to play on social media, you’ll want to consider a variety of factors such as available desk space, job requirements and yes — the cost. Potential Distractions Humans do many things well, but not necessarily many things at the same time.  The potential distractions available when you have multiple monitors is exponential, as you’re offering workers that much more space to open additional windows into their tasks.  Multitasking has been shown to reduce job satisfaction, impair cognitive function and distracts us, as well as dividing our attention and sabotaging our performance.  Multitasking is actually a misnomer, as essentially what’s happening is that your brain is hopping back and forth from task to task very rapidly, which can damage our ability to think deeply and creatively in the long term.  What has been considered a boon on a resume in the past (“excellent multi-tasker”) might well become a detriment as businesses look for individuals who can dig deep, focus and solve tough business challenges. Space Requirements When you’re considering adding a second monitor to any desktop setup, there are two space requirements you have to keep in mind.  The physical space required on the desk and whether the user will still have enough room to balance a coffee cup, notepad and pen and the digital requirements of having enough system resources to keep things running efficiently and latency-free.  The physical desk space may not seem like much of a challenge until you attempt to fit two large monitors on a desk and see how far away from your user will need to sit to view them effectively and without eye strain.  Creating a physical setup that helps maximize efficiency is particularly important in call center environments or when there are significant requirements for contract review or other paperwork, for instance.  Ensuring that you have covered any additional video card requirements and ensuring that you have a swift enough processor will keep programs opening, closing and moving swiftly as well. Cost Implications While monitors have come down a great deal in cost in recent years, adding a second or even a third monitor can cause some unexpected expenses.  For instance, while many computers will support up to two monitors, adding a third monitor often requires a special video card in order to get everything properly connected.  The cost of two monitors is generally higher than a single widescreen monitor, but this setup can be more effective than a single widescreen monitor simply because the separation between the monitors often allows the mind to separate work functions more effectively.  If you’re using a laptop, having an additional monitor may be a bit confusing as you’re often looking at two differently-sized monitors, which can be incredibly distracting.  When you purchase dual monitors, it’s best to get exactly the same brand and style so the screens line up effectively.  A large organization can be facing a massive cost impact to add second monitors at every workstation, and even small businesses will feel the pinch of the additional cost — which may or may not be offset by the productivity gains. Big Boost in Productivity Anyone who has used a setup with multiple monitors can tell you that having the additional space available is highly beneficial, especially for jobs such as programmers, designers, social media gurus and anyone working with video.  Using a single monitor setup would be difficult if not impossible, due to the requirement of switching back and forth between various tasks, software, and workspaces on a regular basis.  Some experts believe that productivity is increased by more than 40% when using two monitors, while other studies have shown that errors are reduced as well as improvements found in the level of employee stress.  This isn’t difficult to believe when you consider the challenges associated with flipping back and forth between programs in order to transfer information between software packages.  Fewer clicks can equal a faster workflow, especially important in today’s world of rapid-fire communication. Many organizations have implemented a hybrid model, where some teams utilize two or more monitors based on business needs, while other employees work with a single monitor. If you’re considering dual monitors to boost productivity or you are too concerned about distractions to take the plunge, our technology professionals can help you work through the various scenarios to determine what will work most effectively for your organization.

Wondering what the HITRUST/AMA workshop partnership means for your business?  Here’s a brief primer on the new workshops being rolled out, and what you can do to increase cybersecurity.   Cyber risk is everywhere.  While we all know it’s real, it’s hard to conceptualize in real-world terms.  Instead, we remember that one time that Target got hacked.  Or we imagine some sort of cartoon supervillain with a mask and cape, and a black uniform covered in green 1’s and 0’s. Okay, so that’s a little extreme.  It is true, however, that many people are so overwhelmed by the nebulous idea of cybercrime that they aren’t really sure what to do about it.  That’s where we come in, with a stated mission of providing insurance, retirement and investment organizations with cutting-edge, trustworthy and secure software.  Here at {company} we take the utmost caution to ensure our clients’ information is safe, and that the vital information they safeguard for others – health and financial documents – is always secure. Naturally, when we heard that the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) was partnering with the American Medical Association (AMA) to provide physicians and their staff with information risk management training, we just had to tune in.  We’re guessing, if you’re in a profession that exposes you to sensitive client information, you’re pretty curious too. So just what exactly is going on with this partnership, and what can we learn from it? The HITRUST/AMA Cyber Risk Management Education Partnership If you started to get a little drowsy while reading the words “cyber risk management education partnership,” that’s okay.  You’re only human, and the fundamentals of managing risk in our increasingly digital world are pretty nebulous. HITRUST and the AMA recognize that too few businesses – even larger ones – have adequate cyber protection and risk management plans in place, often because the requirements are unclear and companies have little to no budget dedicated to these endeavors.  Even when they do, it’s not always obvious how to proceed with a plan that will address not only short-term risks but longer-term issues as they develop. In response, the two organizations are teaming up to provide a series of workshops around the country.  The first and most important point to understand is that in the last few years, cyber attackers have set their sights increasingly on the healthcare industry.  While it might seem counterintuitive to steal healthcare information – is Grandpa Jim’s asthma record really worth hacking into a system for? – there actually exist compelling reasons for hackers to do so. Much of the data that exists in electronic health records (EHRs) can be monetized, including social security numbers, financial information, and insurance policy data.  The results?  Identity theft, false insurance claims and in some cases, severe monetary consequences.  The motivation to hack investment accounts is even more obvious, with many of the same results.  (In a phrase: It’s not good.) Cleanliness Is Next to … Financial Security? They say cleanliness is next to godliness, but HITRUST and the AMA are taking a slightly different tack:  Cleanliness is next to fiscal safety.  As a healthcare or financial institution in {city}, there is much you can do to ensure impeccable “cyber hygiene.”  The workshop teaches actionable steps to take, such as: How to perform a cyber risk assessment How to assess HIPAA protocols to ensure you stay in compliance when it comes to safeguarding medical information The basics of good cyber hygiene, including daily risk management routines, safe online behaviors, and periodic risk assessments How to implement effective cyber risk management strategies on a budget Case studies from a variety of medical practices One of the main purposes of the workshop is to address the options for smaller businesses, which don’t have the major risk management departments larger organizations can afford.  Even without the larger budgets and staffing, however, smaller practices can do a lot to mitigate risk. If you’re a larger business, never fear:  You can learn plenty from this workshop as well.  Whether or not you go, speaking with an administration software provider can help you learn even more. How Can You Implement Principles of Good Cyber Hygiene in Your Business? So how can you meaningfully address this risk when receiving managed IT services in {city}? Your approach must encompass more than information technology solutions; you must also take care to incorporate the highest level of financial and medical data security. What you need are meaningful ways to address this risk that don’t break the bank.  Here’s where we once again look to the HITRUST/AMA partnership for guidance on how to move forward with a safe, repeatable and flexible cyber hygiene plan that will keep your clients’ information safe and your business in good standing. First and foremost, you do have the option of attending the workshops.  The first American Medical Association Cyber Clinic, hosted by Children’s Health will be held in Dallas, with workshops to follow in at least 50 cities across the nation over the following year.  If you don’t want to wait for the workshops to roll out in your area, you can book a ticket to the event now. Whether or not you opt to participate, it’s a very good idea to get in touch with your managed IT provider and ask about cyber hygiene right away.  A good administration services company will have the fundamentals of cyber risk management down to a science (like we do) and have the ability to further customize your IT plan to meet your organization’s specific requirements. Moreover, they should specialize in your field – in this case, medical – to ensure they’re up-to-date on the current risks and best solutions with which to help mitigate them. If you’re curious to learn more about how you can make your systems watertight, as well as increase the security of your EHR and general online behavior, it’s time to get in touch with a professional today.  Whether you already work with us here at {company} (hi!) or are looking

Small to mid-size businesses around the country are considering how to maintain data security in the aftermath of one of the largest data breaches in history at Equifax.  How can you ensure that your business has critical patches covered while still staying focused on operational effectiveness? Recent national news regarding big data breaches in organizations such as Equifax has small business owners scrambling to understand what went wrong — and how it can be prevented at their organization. The reality is that the potential of a data breach can’t be eliminated completely from your organization, but there are plenty of ways you can minimize the threat and make plans to come back up to full speed quickly after a breach.  Possibly the worst thing that you can do is start looking around in all directions in the hopes of shoring up your defenses. See how data security can become part of your ongoing strategic technology planning so you can skip the scramble. Small Business Impact Small businesses are every bit as vulnerable as enterprise-scale businesses to hack or data breaches, and sometimes even more vulnerable.  The thought of having the personal and financial data of 143 million Americans stolen is enough to cause any business owner to get a bad case of the hives.  Equifax’s security was violated due to the failure to correctly install a software patch, something that many small business owners can relate to as their internal IT departments are increasingly stretched in a variety of different directions.  Installing patches and keeping software up-to-date is one of the first lines of defense for organizations attempting to reduce the possibility of a cybersecurity attack. Dealing with Long-Delayed Issues Many business owners find that there are hidden pockets of issues that could be exploited by cybercriminals, such as that one workstation that didn’t get updated from Windows XP or a proprietary platform that kept system administrators from applying a Windows patch, for instance.  These risks may not seem significant by themselves, but allowing them to continue simply compounds the issues facing security professionals.  Small businesses rarely have access to the same level of technical support as a larger enterprise, leading them to lag behind in both learning and application of ever-changing security principles.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop cybercriminals from targeting small businesses — a recent Verizon survey indicated that more than 60 percent of the breaches that occurred in 2016 happened in organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees. Split Priorities Staying focused on patching potential security breaches is challenging with IT departments in a constant state of damage control due to user needs and other ongoing, operational issues.  This split priority provides the ideal breeding ground for security problems in businesses of any size. When there are not enough staff hours available to focus on creating a truly secure infrastructure and data privacy policies — along with ongoing training for business users and technology teams alike — businesses can find themselves in trouble.  When IT teams shift their focus to security for the near term, they are often able to catch up on critical patches but will take heat from internal business units and leaders who feel that the technology team isn’t pushing forward critical business initiatives.  It’s literally a lose-lose situation for understaffed mid-size business technology teams. Dangerous Endpoints Nearly everything today is an endpoint for your network:  cell phones, laptops, tablets and WiFi hotspots are all crucial parts of your network as well as being at risk of infiltration by nefarious parties.  While security concerns around these items are nothing new, the complexity of ensuring that you grant appropriate access to individual devices is growing as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) becomes a more widely accepted practice.  Endpoint security solutions continue to morph and grow, with a great deal of misconceptions and misunderstandings surrounding best practices.  Any smartphone that can attach to your corporate network is essentially an endpoint, and must be secured — and that is true for VPN access from unsecured devices as well.  The true danger of endpoints is not necessarily the technology; instead, the problem often lies in the lack of training, policies, and procedures being followed by business users.  Simple antivirus and anti-malware protection are no longer enough. Ongoing Training Training around endpoints isn’t the only required training for business users.  Every employee in the organization needs to be explicitly shown the dangers of clicking on links in questionable emails or online and how these actions can open the organization up to malicious actions.  This proactive security training has been shown to reduce the risk of malware and ransomware being introduced by employees or contractors — which is important as phishing attacks are often launched on internal assets in an effort to get business people to click on a link or provide personal information.  Simulated phishing attacks run within the organization may not get your technical team any popular votes, but they are incredibly effective in demonstrating how truly legitimate attacks can look in today’s world. Backup and Disaster Recovery Having a proactive training and patching plan in place are solid first steps, but a truly holistic strategy includes backup and disaster recovery plans that you can trigger instantly in the event of an attack or physical harm to your location such as fire or flood.  As Equifax has shown us, even the largest enterprise organizations can be caught off-guard and make decisions that later come into question during an emergency stop-gap situation.  Having a backup and disaster recovery plan in place can allow your business to quickly react to a negative situation, minimizing the impact to customers and employees alike. Ready to learn more about protecting your {city} organization from cyber attacks?  Contact {company} today at {phone} or via email to {email}.  Our cybersecurity team will walk through your current data security plans and see where we can make adjustments to shore up your overall security strategies.  

Are you afraid of new technology disrupting the way you do business? Don’t be. These three tech trends will completely change the way people do business by 2027—And for the better.  Technology changes, but what it takes to run a successful business never does. The most capable business owners are the ones who have the foresight to adopt new ideas and to adapt to different ways of doing things. {company} helps our clients use advances in technology to build their companies and to help them reach their personal and business goals. We believe the best way to grow any business is keeping one eye future while working hard today. We’re living during a time of rapid innovation when it’s close to impossible to catch your breath between each new extraordinary development. Although it’s true that tech trends come and go, we believe these three technologies are here to stay—And they just might change the way you do business five or ten years down the road. Three Digital Trends That Will Influence Tomorrow’s Business World Artificial Intelligence. Embrace it or fear it, AI is coming—And it’s going to alter everything. Already, AI programs have the capability to beat human players in games like Go and DOTA 2. While that may seem impressive, within the next ten years, the abilities of companies to harness the power of AI is going to be something to behold. When you hear the term. “AI”, don’t imagine Andrew Martin, the android from “The Bicentennial Man”, or even HAL 9000 from “Space Odyssey. Instead, picture a powerful computer with the capability of self-monitoring and correction. This is the type of AI that will have the ability to increase productivity by completing tasks and helping humans to make better decisions. They will do this in part by analyzing the big data most corporations have been collecting for years—And, AI will do it better and more quickly than any human ever could. Companies will come to depend on AI to make major (and minor) business decisions from the best way to market products, to making extremely accurate predictions regarding financial markets. Augmented and Virtual Reality Augmented and virtual reality is just now on the cusp of what these technologies will become in the future. Virtual reality (VR) is the technology that most are familiar with–However, augmented reality (AR) holds more promise for businesses. As you probably already know, VR creates a fully simulated environment by using computers much in the same way as the holodeck from Star Trek. AR. It lets a user see the real, physical world but creates and superimposes images on top of it. A popular example of this technology is the Pokémon GO game. Within ten years, companies will be able to take advantage of both technologies in a variety of ways. Virtual reality is a natural for immersive training scenarios, virtual meetings, and inspections, or for walking a client through a computer-generated model of a home. Augmented reality will let consumers “see” how they’ll look in an outfit, or if a new sofa will look good in their apartment before ordering it. However, this technology offers more important capabilities. The real power of AR won’t be completely realized until technicians can use it to guide them through a critical repair, or doctors to perform delicate, life-saving surgeries. The Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) will radically influence almost every aspect of the way large companies do business within the next ten years. But what is the IoT? It’s a network of physical objects that constantly interact with one another, remotely. These connected objects can be anything from the cell phone you use to start your “smart” coffee maker, to Wifi-enabled chips to keep track of the precise, physical location of inventory items. The IoT will also allow companies to make better and more timely decisions. This is because it can remotely monitor things. By using the IoT, companies will have access to a constant stream of up-to-date information.  This is thanks to the use of connected sensors and cameras. Whether a business uses this information to decide when to fill up a vending machine or to know when it’s time to do preventive maintenance on an engine, depends on the type of company using it. The IoT is a marketer’s dream. Using the IoT, businesses will be able to collect enormous amounts of data about the behaviors and preferences of customers from the ways they interact with their connected devices. The future of business is here. If you want to remain competitive in your market, you should begin to investigate which future technology is best for your particular company.  We can help. To learn more, contact the experts at {company} at: {phone} or {email}

What a Virtual Private Network Is and Isn’t. Virtual private networks are an understandably complex topic. We shatter all the myths here—Read on so you’re informed. VPN is an acronym for “virtual private network.” It’s a term that describes a popular way to extend a private network across a public one (like the Internet). Think of a VPN as a special lane on the highway that only you and your employees can use. You’re still traveling up the Interstate with hundreds or even thousands of other cars— Yet, anything you do in your lane stays safe and secure at all times. VPNs are essentially like this, just played out across the technological landscape. They’re a fast, efficient and (most importantly) a secure way for you to send and receive information over the Internet without worrying about identifying the information being compromised. Myth #1: Free VPNs Are Perfect for Your Business. Perhaps the biggest myth surrounding VPNs is that you shouldn’t have to pay for them because there is a wide range of free options available. When you need a VPN for business use, this is absolutely not the case. Paid VPNs not only offer a higher level of security by way of better encryption, but they also provide faster speeds and larger data allotments. Myth #2: VPNs Are Too Slow to Use. Many people think that because VPNs encrypt data at the device level before transmission, they’re too slow to use for most professional purposes. This is only true if you’re talking about a free option. If you’re willing to pay for your VPN service (and you should be) this isn’t an issue because you’ll get priority service. Myth #3: VPNs Are Too Hard to Use. Another common misconception is that they’re too hard to use unless you’ve got an advanced level of technical knowledge. This may have been the case at one point, but it isn’t today. While configuring your VPN may take some time, it really isn’t difficult to do. Once you get your service up and running, you won’t have to think about it again. You’ll be able to use the Internet the same way you always have. Myth #4: VPNs Are Completely Anonymous. Many people think that because VPNs offer a sophisticated level of data encryption, their online activities are totally anonymous. This isn’t so. While it’s true that 256-bit encryption is difficult to break, it isn’t impossible. Likewise, your VPN provider will keep a log of some or all of your activities for a period of time dictated by the terms of service. You’ll be more anonymous and more protected than ever before, but nothing in life is certain – especially when you’re talking about technology. Myth #5: All VPNs Are Created Equal. This is another myth that creates problems, particularly among enterprise users. People think that because all VPNs work in essentially the same way, those VPN providers are all the same. In reality, there are a number of factors that separate one provider from another. Speed, supported platforms, the number of available servers, and price all play significant roles in the quality of the service you’ll receive. As always, it’s best to shop around to ensure you’re teaming with a VPN provider who can meet your needs. Myth #6: When You Use a VPN, You’re Totally Safe Online. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that because a VPN offers increased privacy and security, they are totally protected online. Just because you have a VPN doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want online (like clicking on that link in an email from a recipient you’ve never heard of without fear of consequence). A VPN isn’t a suitable replacement for antivirus software, network protections, and good, old-fashioned common sense. All a VPN does is offer additional protection while you’re online, and allow you to keep some of your activities private. That’s it. A virtual private network was not, nor will it ever be, designed to keep your browser safe and secure. As a business leader, you should continue to invest in additional training for your employees to prevent costly mistakes that could easily lead to a data breach or other cyber incident. One thing’s for sure: As privacy and security become more important in today’s fast-paced digital world, technologies like VPNs are going to become more essential. However, at the same time, it’s important to always do your research to make sure you understand what a virtual private network can and cannot do. Only then, do you stand the best chance to stay safe from the types of people who want to do you harm? If your business is in {city}, and you’d like to find out what type of virtual private networks is best for your purposes, contact {company} at {phone} or {email}.