SMART Blog

When searching for tech support for your organization, you might often wonder if what you’re paying for your current service provider is really worth the maintenance that you receive. At times, it might feel like you’re being charged an arm and a leg for a simple network audit, and you can forget about purchasing new hardware components in the event of a technology failure or disaster. Rather than pay for services that are extorting money from you, your budget might find that the price of managed IT services is just right.

Anyone who uses the Internet has to be aware of the dangers involved. Beyond the safety of your network’s security solution, there lies a horde of malicious entities just waiting for you to let your guard down. All it takes is one moment to release the floodgate and allow dangerous viruses, malware, or even ransomware, into your network infrastructure. We’re here to make sure that doesn’t happen.

One of the most important aspects of any IT infrastructure is its data. In fact, it’s the sole reason your business continues to function properly. If you were to lose your data, would your organization be able to recover quickly, or would it sink to the depths of downtime and be swallowed by it?

Your organization is constantly at risk of being attacked by malicious entities. This is a fact that modern businesses have to live with. If this is the first time you’re seriously contemplating cyber security, you need to take all potential options into account; including the worst-case scenario, and how you would combat it.

One of the greatest advances in technology solutions to have emerged in the past few years is cloud computing. In fact, it’s one of the most popular Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms out there for the modern business. Are you prepared to commit to a cloud solution that can potentially improve productivity on all levels of your business infrastructure?

Your staff’s ability to access the data they need to do their jobs is paramount to the success of your business. Are you serious about making it as easy as possible for your team to get the information they need, or is this responsibility an afterthought?

While it might be nice to imagine making $500 a day by working from home, this is the type of thing only really seen in a website’s spam comments. If these annoyances are common, know that you’re not alone. Even the most innocent sites can be stricken with this issue. So, how can you minimize spam comments?

We live in a world where money is the solution to all problems. If you have a problematic piece of technology, what do you do to fix it? You can call in the professionals, or shell out for new hardware or software. Either way, you’re spending money, but the difference in how much you need to spend depends on the policies your IT support budget specifies.

Running a business isn’t easy, and it’s only made more difficult by the incredible amount of responsibility thrown at you on a daily basis. One of the most difficult parts of running a business is managing the technology, as well as all of its bells and whistles. Here are five of the most difficult challenges that a business faces when trying to optimize their IT infrastructure.

How involved in your operations is your IT department? Does your SMB even have an IT department? Many organizations tend to consider IT an afterthought because they don’t believe themselves to be targets for hackers, or don’t anticipate costly technology issues. However, these business owners underestimate the power of complete transparency between an organization and IT.

Virtualization services are nothing new in the technology industry, but the way we take advantage of it is always evolving. You’ve heard of server virtualization, where you separate the software operating the server from the hardware itself; but have you heard of desktop virtualization, and the vast benefits it can provide for your business?

By now, most businesses have implemented a cloud solution or at the very least took a long, hard look at one. Some businesses might not even realize some of their data is in the cloud. For the small or medium-sized business the benefits are too numerous to ignore. Not only can the cloud cut your capital technology costs, but increasing mobility can provide anywhere access to crucial IT systems. It provides a ubiquitous data delivery system to improve organizational mobility. With its proverbial laundry list of benefits, including cost reduction, have you taken a close enough look at the cloud for your business?

Entertainment has grown so synonymous with smartphones and technology that it’s almost impossible to think about these innovations without considering their entertainment value. Virtual reality augmentation, while slightly different, is an emerging technology that brings elements of virtual space to the lives of everyday users. So, how does virtual reality work, and can it be used for more than just entertainment purposes?

It's no secret that smartphone owners love their devices. Although, is there ever a point where smartphones become too much of a good thing? If someone can’t seem to live without their device, that’s a pretty clear sign things have gotten out of hand.

When was the last time you let your phone’s battery die on you? Due to the takeover of mobile technology in the workplace, smartphones have basically become inseparable from their owners, particularly the ever-busy business owner. Despite the imperative role that smartphones have in the workplace, you should know that there are several battery myths that might be holding you back from achieving maximum efficiency with your device.

Mobile WiFi is an imperative part of how you get things done while you’re out and about, but did you know that you can use your mobile device as a hotspot? This is one of the many features that modern smartphones come equipped with that are designed to help you remain as productive as possible. There are three ways of tethering your device to your smartphone to take advantage of a mobile WiFi hotspot, but which one is the most efficient?

As a business leader, you’re expected to make a presentation from time to time. This is where Microsoft PowerPoint comes in handy. However, if your PowerPoint presentation is lame, your message will suffer because of it. Here are five tips to help you make a dynamic PowerPoint presentation.

With more businesses moving toward Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) than ever before, the workforce grows more mobile by the day. These workers generally need a network connection in order to access important data and applications that are crucial to their day-to-day responsibilities. One way to do this is to use your service provider’s mobile data plan, but this can be both expensive and draining when used excessively.

When was the last time you provided your business with improved technology that offers a great return on investment? If your business is using software and hardware that hasn’t been updated in several years, the same technology that’s necessary for your operations could be holding you back from achieving optimal efficiency.

It might seem like the obvious reason for hacks and data loss is due to technology being unpredictable, but in all reality, it’s important to remember that some of the problems we experience with technology come from the people operating it. To this end, it’s important to realize that the people operating technology can also protect themselves from hackers.