Tech Minutes

So, you’ve just finished up a huge, potentially career-altering project. Your finger is poised over the mouse, ready to click ‘save,’ when suddenly your entire project disappears. Turns out, a critical issue just killed your network, your progress, and your mood. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to keep this from happening?

The scenario we just described was a classic example of the traditional IT approach in action--a problem occurs, causing progress, profits, and productivity to be lost.

The main problem with this strategy is that it’s reactionary, and gives circumstances control over your business. Besides the day-to-day hassles and shortcomings that this approach brings, there are potential dangers that threaten your entire establishment. What if a disaster struck and destroyed your entire infrastructure, or you were suddenly struck by a crippling malware attack that infected your critical data?

Without preventative, proactive action, there wouldn’t be much you could do to bounce back; and, based on what has happened to other businesses after such events, it isn’t very likely that your business would last.

However, it is very possible to reduce the risk of such events with some planning, forethought, and preparedness. When a system is built, it’s built to behave a certain way. When it behaves differently, that’s a red flag.

You’re in the middle of a project when your computer starts acting up. You smack it around a little bit to see if that has any effect, but it only makes the problem worse. Suddenly, there’s a blue screen and you have no clue what to do. What happened to your data? What will happen to your project? What will you do about the workstation replacement? Read on to find out.

The aforementioned scenario is one that is common in the realm of break-fix IT. Someone’s computer or other piece of technology breaks down and they don’t know how to fix it themselves. They wind up investing in expensive IT support, but more than this, they waste valuable time and resources resolving a problem that could have been prevented. This has led innovators in the technology maintenance sector to create what’s called managed IT services, which are designed to take a proactive stand against IT troubles, rather than resolve them as they occur.

It’s More Cost-EffectiveThe more time you spend spinning your wheels on an IT problem, the more time you wind up wasting. The more time you waste, the less time you can spend on profit-making initiatives. Previously, your organization was almost certainly including IT in its budget as a capital expense, but by implementing more flexible monthly payments, you can effectively turn your IT budget into an operational expense. The end result is more flexibility in your budget as a whole.

You Have More TimeWhat would you do if you didn’t have to waste time managing or maintaining your business’s technology solutions? Perhaps you would invest time into building your brand, or maybe you would rather focus on improving internal operations and employee morale. Maybe you’d like to give out the raises that your team deserves, or invest in future innovation. Either way, you’ll have more time and resources to devote to what really matters: running your business.

Your Technology Gets the Help It NeedsToo often businesses rely on their own employees to ensure that technology gets updated. This generally happens if an organization doesn’t have the resources to hire an internal IT department to take care of their technology. In other words, when you have people who have no clue what they’re doing managing and maintaining technology, chances are that mistakes will be made and time will be wasted. By having professional technicians working with your technology, you can know with confidence that your systems are being maintained by trained professionals.

Computers can feel one dimensional, requiring the user to read and type. Humans don’t naturally interact like this. We communicate best with our voices and our ears. One day, our PCs will have artificial intelligence and we will be able to communicate with them as if we were talking to a person. Until this technology becomes mainstream, these two audio features will have to make do.

Doing a project right the first time around is the most valuable way to get it done. Businesses that best understand this concept are the ones that have experienced the folly of choosing the cheap route to get something fixed, only to then have it break again--which ends up costing them more in the long run. Nowhere is this more true than with IT support.

It’s 2015, and if you have made any New Year’s resolutions, there’s a good chance that “getting more exercise” is on your list. Can’t find time to exercise because you’re stuck in an office all day? Don’t let that stop you. Here are some tips to help you exercise, even while you’re at work.

The majority of employees love the idea of working from home. Its benefits are well-known; saving on commuting expenses, freeing up office space, improving employee satisfaction, the list goes on. Yet, many employers are hesitant to allow their staff to work from home. Why is this?

The computer mouse makes navigating your PC easy. However, the mouse isn't always the most efficient way to get computer work done. By taking advantage of keyboard shortcuts, you can shave precious seconds off your workflow and wow your coworkers with your computer prowess. Here are five time-saving keyboard shortcuts to get you started.

If you are a heavy user of the Internet, then your Downloads folder is likely bloated with pictures, music, files, and whatever else you have picked up along your online journey. You may cringe every time you open it because of how messy it is. To help you out, there is a free utility called DropIt that will automatically organize your Downloads folder.