Do You Really Want to Hire That Computer Guy from Craigslist? Desperate times call for desperate measures, or so we’ve heard, but do you really want to hire a computer guy you’re not 100% certain is great? Think about it: everything you do within your organization depends on technology. If your technology doesn’t work properly, you can’t get anything done – and that means losing valuable productivity time and missing business opportunities. {company} knows when you need technology support, you need it fast. But wait one minute before hiring that computer guy from craigslist! Call {phone} or send us an email: {email}. We’re here to transform the way you use technology, instead of simply fixing broken equipment. When you need technology support, you need it fast; but here’s the thing: computer guys from craigslist have a secret: they want your technology to break, and they want it to break often, because that means they’re able to come in and charge you high amounts to fix the issue; often taking a ‘band aid’ approach instead of getting down to the root of the issue. Do you really want to hire a computer guy as opposed to an entire team of experts who can act as your entire IT department? Here’s the difference you can expect from an outsourced IT company: More knowledge and skill-sets: A computer guy from craigslist might be knowledgeable, sure, but they don’t have the knowledge and skill-sets of an entire team that’s certified and trained on an ongoing basis. Dedication to staying proactive: A computer guy from craigslist WANTS you to call them with issues, whereas an outsourced IT company stays proactive to prevent issues from occurring in the first place. Strategic planning to achieve goals: A computer guy from craigslist is simply not a partner, they’re someone you call when things break, whereas an outsourced IT company partners with you to achieve goals and objectives. Unsurpassed level of client service: A computer guy from craigslist might strive to make sure you’re satisfied, sure, but not in the way an outsourced IT department with a reputation to build will. Think hard before you hire that computer guy from craigslist, or better yet, contact {company} at {phone} or send us an email at {email} for more information.

Google Releases Impressive New Tool – Giving You Armor to Fight Relentless Spyware That Frustrates Your Staff to No End! New Software Removal and Browser Reset Tool Released By Google for Chrome Users In an effort to combat such common user issues as spyware and crapware, Google has recently launched a new tool to their arsenal. This tool will be a valuable asset and is a great start in providing assistance in cleaning up infected computers that are underperforming and bogged down with useless nonsense. Discover how quick and simple the new software removal and browser reset tool is – all you need to do is:  Navigate to google.com/chrome/srt Click the download now button. When using the tool, users will have the option of resetting all of the computer’s customized settings, which can be really useful if you are experiencing system difficulties. This software removal tool will trigger this reset even if no crapware has been found on the computer. The tool runs in two phases: Scanning your computer for toolbars or other issues that are affecting the web browser. Uninstalling your extensions, clearing cache/cookies and resetting your browser settings. The second phase is optional and can easily be canceled depending on your unique needs, however, it’s incredibly handy for slow performing workstations. Interested in learning more? Contact {company} at {phone} or by email at {email}.

The cloud-computing market wouldn’t be as exciting if there wasn’t any competition – it’s good to have options! For those unsure or unfamiliar; Azure is a cloud-based platform service directly from Microsoft. There are 4 main competitors on the market. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is leading the pack, but that’s not to say Azure isn’t catching up. In fact, Azure’s Q1 2015 indicates a +96% growth! Is your organization ready for AWS or Azure? Throughout October 2014, Microsoft gained 10,000 new clients per week on Azure. Below you can see how rapid these Cloud Infrastructures are growing by revenue: Microsoft has learned from Office 365 and implemented the same winning formula. Their Azure roadmap promises tons of new features that will further enhance their platform -The Cloud Platform System known as “cloud in a box”-. One new feature they will be offering is on-demand cloud-based access to Windows Server and System Center. To get up to date with Azure’s newest features, click here and check out Azure’s roadmap. Gaining leverage is the three main cloud nomenclatures, Software as a Service (SaaS) – currently their largest player is Office 365, and then Azure’s winning combination – Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Organizations should take notes as Microsoft invests a great deal of marketing efforts into spicing up Azure. Azure offers a broad range of deployment options for vendors and service providers, as well as the largest VMs in the cloud. Our team of engineers can help leverage Azure to benefit your business, so call us today!

Without a doubt, email is one of the most ubiquitous parts of daily office work in businesses today. It is often the first and best choice of contact, allowing for clear expression of information, with recent advances in the medium granting more and more features to users that offer further functionality. One valuable feature that is quickly becoming an industry standard is Cloud archiving for business emails. By backing up copies of your digital correspondence through the Cloud to remote and digital servers, you can enjoy many benefits, including: Opportunities for Improvement An increasingly common service for businesses these days is data mining, in which a business has the entirety of its data analyzed for patterns and other noteworthy trends. The information gained from this process can be highly beneficial, allowing a company to eliminate areas of redundancy and capitalize on unrecognized strengths. By archiving your business’ emails, you can offer that much more data for a mining service to comb through, which only improves the results of the process. Failsafe Capabilities One of the basic benefits of any Cloud service is that it keeps a safe backup of your information in case of emergency. Whether a natural disaster compromises your on-site hardware or a human error accidentally deletes the wrong file, a regularly updated copy of your email data is always available to you through the Cloud’s archive. Legal Security Industry requirements and standards tend to mandate that any business have a clear and accessible record of all communications. In the event of any legal concerns, it’s good to know that a complete record of any correspondence undertaken on the company’s behalf is available to you through the Cloud at a moment’s notice. Accurate and Convenient Reference  Aside from a legal context, for your own purposes a complete backup of your company’s emails can be very valuable. By retaining an infallible record of how your business operates over email, you can ensure that not a single memorable action taken in the name of your company is forgotten. Reduced Expenditures When compared with Cloud-based archive benefits, processes employed by companies to access and utilize stored data is exorbitantly more expensive. For one example, Osterman Research looked at a 500-seat organization responding to a regular audit that would require access to a great deal of stored data. All variables considered, the study found that it would cost the company approximately $74,538 to process the information, and concluded that a Cloud-based archive could cut that figure in half. Cloud-based email archiving can do so much for your business, increasing convenience and security all while lowering costs.To learn more about how your business can benefit from Cloud email archival, contact {company} today at {phone} or {email}. 

When your email doubles as your work space, it is important to keep it organized. That being said, this can be a frustrating and time-consuming task. Thankfully, managing your email has gotten a whole lot easier thanks to these innovative apps: Outlook Microsoft rolled out its Outlook app for iOS and Android about two months after acquiring Accompli. The decision gave users a more desirable alternative to the Outlook Web App, and a more powerful alternative to the default iOS Mail app offered. Some of Outlook’s key features include: Your inbox is separated into ‘Focused’ and ‘Other’ to help prioritize important emails. It will support IMAP and various email services, including Office 365, Outlook, Exchange, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and iCloud. Files can be selected from OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive, or from recently sent and received files. Microsoft’s Office apps are equipped with a ‘Send with Outlook’ button. Microsoft has also been working on improved document collaboration features in Outlook. They have added in workflow between Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and of course Outlook to make editing files on a mobile device much easier. Google’s Inbox There’s no denying that most of us tend to get our answers from Google. Well, Google’s answer to email clutter is the simply named Inbox. Google’s Inbox app offers Gmail users tons of innovative time-saving features, some of which include: The ability to bundle email into social networking, news, updates, and trip bundles. Offers highlights. Offers reminders (and Snooze). Reminders written in Google’s note-taking app, Keep, are added to Inbox automatically. Inbox has got your back, and will suggest that you add a Reminder if someone sends you a ‘to-do’ email. Spark Spark has rolled out its version of the smart inbox as well. The app is loaded with a lot of cool features, and it is definitely smart with natural speech search and the ability to easily toggle between views. Some other helpful features Spark has to offer are: Integration with third party apps including Evernote, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, Pocket, Evernote, and OneNote. Features to customize everything from widget shortcuts to email workflow. For people who use multiple email signatures, Spark also lets users swipe between them from within an email. The ability to minimize an email you’re working on. Zero The name says it all! Zero is all about keeping your inbox clear. Instead of prioritizing or grouping emails, Zero’s Mailfeed takes a different approach and offers a summary of each email in full screen “cards”. Here is how they work: Swiping a card upwards will push the email to the archive. Pressing the star icon will keep it in the inbox. Reply to an email by swiping right to get the inbox view. Although you are aiming for ‘Inbox Zero’, they have developed a clever way to focus on what you want to keep, not what you need to delete. Along with this, when scrolling through Zero, the interface is similar to that of a social media app, which works well. Boxer The Boxer app is offered in a free and paid-for version on iOS, and also as a freemium app through Android. Boxer supports Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, Yahoo, and IMAP. It offers Box, Dropbox, Evernote, and Facebook Calendar integration. It also has unique swipe features, such as: A short right swipe on inbox items (which brings up a grid of shortcuts for things like sending a response, creating a to-do list, or making a note). A long right swipe (which offers a shortcut to the to-do list). A short left swipe (which will archive the email). A long left swipe (which will delete an email). On iOS, the free version of the app is limited to one webmail account, and you don’t get access to Boxer’s custom quick templates. Though, it does still provide a short list of stock replies. Mailbox by Dropbox Mailbox by Dropbox allows and encourages users to transfer as much as possible out of the inbox, while still providing easy access to the archive. The Mailbox app has its users choose one of three ‘rules’: Archive all messages. Archive all messages, except for unread. Achieve all messages, except for starred. Mailbox offers a lot of unique swipe actions as well: A short left swipe will display a grid of scheduling shortcuts. A longer swipe offers a list of to-do shortcuts such as ‘to buy’, ‘to read’, and ‘to watch’. Users are allowed the option to create their own shortcuts, too. Mailbox obviously uses Dropbox when it comes to syncing and storage for file attachments, but by default, the app will send attachments as Dropbox links (as opposed to attaching a file to the message). CloudMagic CloudMagic is a search-focused email app that provides a simple and clean design. In April 2014, CloudMagic won the Webby Awards People’s Voice for their visual design, and again in September, winning the “Best Design” award at the Evernote Platform Awards. Aside from the design and search capabilities, here are some key features of CloudMagic: It can send attachments from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. It supports IMAP, as well as Google Apps, Office 365, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, Exchange, and iCloud. Introduced ‘cards’, which are activated by tapping on the content of an email (or the card icon next to the sender’s name) for the option to complete tasks in third-party apps. It offers easy bulk email actions. CloudMagic recently displayed a new contact-focused add-on. The add-on is called Team Contacts, and it is being aimed at business users that want to help their colleagues introduce new contacts from outside of the organization. For now, however, it only works with Google Apps. {company} helps you stay up-to-date on the latest apps designed with your productivity in mind. Contact us at {phone} or send us an email at {email} for more information.

The never-ending search for an IT service company for your business can feel like you’re soaking a paper cut in lemon juice. Trust me… We’ve felt the pain! (Of both…. Don’t ask…) When you are looking for an IT services company, it is essential that you completely understand the three service plans that most IT companies utilize and offer their customers. Choose the wrong one and you’ll be overpaying for something you never use – kind of like the unwanted television network in your cable package. There are three basic models to consider: Cost for Time and Services. This is also known as “break-fix” service, which means that there is an hourly rate paid for a technician to solve issues when and if they arise. Thus, they fix your system if it breaks. This one’s pretty simple, right? Managed IT Service Support. In this model, the IT service company that you hire becomes your IT Department and can help you daily. Thus, the company provides support for all of the devices, including computers that are connected to your server(s). On-site help is also offered, along with security against viruses. This type of package let you get your full eight hours of sleep – or that’s the goal anyway. Software-Related IT Services. This third model gives customers remote IT support or help desk support. However, these services do not include all of your company’s needs. This means that if you have a problem that is not within their application, they will not be able to help you. Useless? Quite possibly. So Which One Will Rock Your… Boat? Managed IT service support is generally a necessity for businesses because this type of IT service ensures that your systems are running well through routine monitoring and maintenance. Managed support also protects your system from being hacked, from computer viruses, or from any other computer-related issues. This is my personal favorite because I’ll never have to deliver the bad news that you’re not covered! A Cost for Time and Services (only when you need it) approach to IT services may be a good idea for a company if there is already an IT person in-house or team that solely works on IT projects. However, if this isn’t in your budget, managed IT service support is probably your best option. After all, prevention services, which are provided by managed IT services are also more inexpensive than waiting for an emergency to occur and paying a large amount of money to a technician in order to fix it. When your company utilizes an “only when you need it” approach to IT, your company’s interests and the interests of your IT Company become at odds with one another. You may be wondering, “Why would there be a conflict of interests?” Well, the IT firm you hire to fix issues when they arise has no reason to make your computer system run as efficiently and effectively as possible because they are paid by the hour and are only paid when your system is not working at its best. Thus, you might have to pay more money for a problem that could be solved if you had a more permanent relationship with your IT services company. Not all companies are honest, which can cause unnecessary stress and expenses for you and your company. Now for the question we’ve all been waiting for! What about the Cost?  Hourly Emergency Service Fees: These costs are estimates and may not be accurate for all IT companies offering hourly service options for when your system has a problem. Generally, however, the charges per hour are between $125 and $225 with a 1.5 hours minimum. Managed IT Services: If you decide to hire a managed IT service company (like us), the cost will be monthly based on the number of devices that must be monitored and maintained. Looking at the city of {city}, the monthly fee is between $300 and $500 per server, $50 and $150 per desktop computer, and approximately $15 for each smart device like a cell phone. This may sound like a lot but Managed Services will drastically reduce your stress, and will cost you less in the long run. When you hire us as your trusted Managed Service Provider, here’s some services you’ll receive right away – just to name a few: Patches for security – these should be applied at least weekly and possibly daily to protect against urgent and potential threats to your system Updates to antivirus software and monitoring Updates to firewall protection and monitoring Constant computer backup and test restores Installation of a spam filter and updates to it Security against spyware and removal if necessary Observation of hardware for signs of emergency Optimization of the system, including desktop computers for speed and efficiency We’ll support you in all of your IT needs! (And may even bring you a coffee in the morning if you’re nice). We promise to keep both your network, and wallet protected! Contact {company} today for your FREE, No-obligation, 27 minute consultation. {phone} or throw us an email at {email}.

Password security has been a big concern in 2015, and for good reason. An increasing number of businesses are falling victim to hackers. Most recently, Last Pass, an award-winning password manager, was the target of a hack. The breach was highly unexpected, as Last Pass guarantees maximum-level security. While no organization or individual is impervious to password theft, there are some precautions that you can take to reduce your risk. Always use complex passwords. Many websites allow users to pick simple passwords that are very easy to hack. Use a series of letters, numbers and even special characters if allowed. For example, if you want to use an address, capitalize some letters and randomly replace letters with numbers and special characters. In this way, 1011 Oak Tree Lane can become IOII 0@k Tr33 L@n3. The new password is both virtually unbreakable and easily memorable. Pay attention to the password strength ratings provided by websites. Due to various encryption keys, some passwords may have a higher security rating on some sites and a lower rating on others. While a “strong” security rating usually means that it would take a state-of-the-art computer more than a year to crack that password, a “weak” rating normally means it would take less than a day. Never use the same password more than once. Most websites default to your email address as your user ID. Consequently, if someone knows your email address, they already have half of the combination required to break into a number of your accounts. Finally, write down your passwords and store them in a secure and easily accessible place like your computer, which has its own password. If you choose to write your passwords down on paper, lock them in a file cabinet. Still, creating a strong password won’t be enough if you fail to take security measures when connecting to free public Wi-Fi networks. Sensitive data can easily be intercepted by anyone else nearby. To ensure a more secure connection, subscribe to a VPN service that will encrypt your data and provide a high level of security on open networks. For more helpful tips about password security, connect with our IT support team by calling {phone} or sending an email to {email}. 

Is Your Business Getting the Best Mac IT Support Available? While the popularity of Mac products in the personal consumer market has made their appeal clear, did you know that Apple has lot to offer businesses as well? Apple devices are groundbreaking in terms of their speed, security, and ease, but it can be difficult for businesses to find the right IT support for Apple products. Most IT support companies focus solely on Microsoft solutions such as Windows, Windows 10 or Windows 7, and have nothing to offer those looking to benefit from an Apple-based system. {company} is proud to offer comprehensive Apple & Mac IT Support to businesses in {city}, so they too can enjoy the benefits of Apple devices, which include: Apple Support In {city} From {company} Apple systems are incredibly secure, boasting less vulnerability to malware than any other option available, which makes for a reliable and stress-free IT infrastructure. Apple’s iOS is clean and simple, designed with everyday users in mind, which can help you and your employees avoid unnecessary confusion in accomplishing daily computing tasks. With a complete Apple set up, you can enjoy a strong, seamless network of devices that makes file sharing and collaboration a straight-forward process. Comprehensive Support: We employ only the best Apple support technicians, each of which has undergone extensive training and has further experience in the field. With our Mac IT Support, you can enjoy many provisions, such as: We can troubleshoot any issue with your Apple tech, often from a remote location, saving you the time and expenditures that come with having a technician visit on-site. We can facilitate a seamless transition between your existing Microsoft set up and the new Apple system to ensure that you don’t lose a single file, contact or calendar entry. We keep an eye on your IT network around the clock to ensure that any issues are identified and addressed immediately to avoid any unnecessary downtime. Start enjoying the best Mac IT Support in {city}! To learn more about what we can do for your Apple products, contact {company} at {phone} or {email}. 

There are two types of companies: those who have already been hacked and those who are going to be hacked. What type of company are you? Studies have shown data breaches are not only more common than ever, they’re also more expensive – totaling an average $194 per record that’s compromised. Can you afford this? For most companies, the cost of a data breach is far too much – recovering all lost or stolen records is just the beginning, you’ve also got to worry about paying in terms of loss of client trust, missed business opportunities, and reputational damage. Fortunately, data breach is easily avoidable when the proper steps are taken. Here are 4 vital steps to complete network security – allowing you to avoid costly data breach and safeguard confidential information: Configure all devices and systems properly: A large majority of breaches are due to firewall misconfiguration or general flaws within the firewall. That’s why it’s vital to implement the right security measures, which means making sure devices are updated, patches are applied, and absolutely everything is properly configured. Educate staff with ongoing security training: Your employees are the biggest threat to your network security. That’s why it’s important to educate staff members with ongoing security training – making sure to keep them informed and reminded of proper security best practices, such as strong passwords, how to identify phishing emails, and what websites to avoid. Keep all wireless access points encrypted: More than 50% of all wireless networks aren’t encrypted, which means they’re left open to attackers looking to steal sensitive data and wreak havoc on companies. Make sure you’ve encrypted all wireless access points using WPA2 encryption – ensuring a highly complex key is used to avoid a dictionary attack. Block inappropriate websites from being accessed: Your employees likely browse the web once in a while – passing the time on social media platforms, online gaming websites, or video streaming websites. This often leads to malware infection as most of these inappropriate and time-wasting sites are malware ridden. Use web-content filtering software to set controls on what can be accessed via your network. {company} is your trusted technology partner – we’re here to help you achieve complete network security to prevent costly breaches. Call us at {phone} or send us an email: {email}.