The capabilities of business technology are truly incredible, and they’re only becoming more impressive. This means that the solutions you have in place now will certainly need to be upgraded to other options at some point.
Author Archives: Level5 Management
I don’t mean to gross you out, but have you ever considered how disgusting your laptop is? Studies have compared the relative cleanliness of a keyboard and a toilet seat… and unfortunately, the keyboard wasn’t the cleaner of the two. This is why it makes sense to regularly give your laptop devices a good cleaning, and why we’ve put together some tips to ensure you safely sanitize a laptop device.
Over 90 percent of people in the United States feel like their data is out of their control, and judging from the impression that the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation left on the world, it’s surely not going to be the last piece of privacy legislation that is issued. Still, will it be enough to urge certain governments and organizations to practice what they preach? The results could have long-lasting effects on businesses, as well.
Automation has helped many businesses improve operations, but at what cost to the people that work for these organizations? Many systems rely on the autonomy of artificial intelligence systems to keep certain tasks and workflows on point. Automation could replace up to a quarter of the current workforce in the next ten years, so people are naturally skeptical and worried about their jobs in the near future.
For this week’s tip, we thought we’d talk about something that most businesses have already dabbled in: the cloud. If your business is like those that we interact with, you’ve already implemented some type of cloud service, but if you haven’t, you should know just how cloud-hosted services can benefit the small business. We’ll look at the benefits of cloud-hosted services and how to pick which services are right for you.
What has proven to be one of the more effective ways of preventing phishing attacks may be under fire from more advanced threats designed specifically to penetrate the defenses of two-factor authentication. This means that users need to be more cognizant of avoiding these attacks, but how can you help them make educated decisions about this? Let’s start by discussing the phishing attacks that can beat 2FA.
In business, making good decisions is a must. You have to manage risk well. Today’s business is using analytics to drive decision making, and therefore needs to design and implement platforms that make this possible. If a business doesn’t properly set up their analytics or intelligence systems, their decisions may not be made with a useful perspective. Let’s take a look at these systems to see if you may be being fooled by your own numbers.
For those of us that don’t have access to fiber-to-the-home or LTE Internet, the cable modem is a must-have. You can always rent a modem from your ISP or you can purchase your own, but no matter what your decision is, knowing what to look for when modem shopping is advantageous. Let’s take a look.
Communication plays a critical role in the way you develop relationships and clients. To optimize communication with your clients and customers, proper use of technology is essential, but it also makes for a much nicer experience from an operational standpoint. How can your business utilize this powerful communications technology?
Virtual assistants have seen an increased usage in the workplace, improving general productivity, but not without placing organizations at considerable risk if left unchecked. Depending on how much you rely on virtual assistants, you might want to take a closer look at what data is being accessed by them, and the role they play in your organization.
Why do manufacturers and developers constantly issue updates and upgrades to their software and hardware solutions? A business’s IT solutions might seem like something you want to set up and not think about ever again, but this is simply not how the cookie crumbles. This week’s tip is dedicated to why your organization needs to have a strategy in place to approach your upgrades.
If you own an Asus laptop, there is a chance that a recent update could have installed malware, and we are urging anyone who has an Asus device reach out to us to have it looked at.
We’re not overestimating the importance of vendors by stating that they are literally what make your business work. The company that provides your Internet service, or the software you use to track your employees’ workflow, enables you to get work done. Operations would be impeded without the solutions these vendors offer. Of course, not all vendors provide adequate services. We’ll help you weed out the good from the bad.
Productivity is something that either happens or it doesn’t, but it’s important to keep in mind that nobody can work at optimal efficiency at all times. This doesn’t mean you can’t leverage some best practices to make better use of your time, though. Today we’ll examine three general ways to improve your productivity, including examples of how to make them happen.
Your business’ finances are something that weighs heavily on your mind at all times, whether it’s paying your employees or ensuring healthy acquisition of new hardware or software. Cash flow for businesses doesn’t have to be hard, though you wouldn’t know it, according to a recent report from Intuit.
Today’s business has to be concerned about more variables than ever. Companies that depend on their supply chain, and those that distribute goods, need to be able to rely on their management to coordinate efficient and effective business. In the past, business moved slower, and the management of a supply chain was done by a department of people. Today, the process is significantly more streamlined. Today, we’ll take a look at contemporary supply chain management and how thorough logistics can be a real difference maker.
When a business uses its technology the right way, it typically has positive effects on the business. That’s not to say that technology is a major priority for EVERY business. There are some business owners that don’t prioritize having the newest, shiniest technology on the market; and, that’s fine, if the business functions efficiently.
Disaster recovery isn’t the easiest topic to approach for a business, and it’s precisely because it’s something that nobody ever wants to talk about. The reality of the situation is that it’s something that must be discussed, as the future of your organization depends on it. This might seem like an exaggeration, but we assure you that it’s not.
All good things must come to an end eventually, and Windows 7 is no different. Microsoft is officially ending its support of this operating system relatively soon, but this doesn’t mean that you should jump ship without a plan. In fact, Microsoft realizes that some businesses and organizations simply can’t make the jump in time, so they have implemented contingency plans for these companies. The problem is that it’s expensive. We’ll walk you through everything there is to know about how Microsoft is handling the end of life events for Windows 7.
The cloud offers countless benefits and services to organizations of all kinds, so we want you to think carefully before answering this question: to what extent does your business utilize the cloud? Do you store all of your data and applications on local servers, or do you utilize cloud servers to an extent? You might be surprised by how much you stand to benefit by having a solution in place that allows for seamless access.
It’s no secret how useful the Google Chrome browser is to a user. What is a secret, however, is that Chrome has some added capabilities that make it even more useful than first impressions would suggest. For our Tip of the Week, we’ll review some of these capabilities so you can implement them into your daily workflows.
Earlier this week, you may have seen the first part of this article, where we discussed how robocallers collect your information. Today, we continue our discussion on data privacy and what you can do to keep your organization and personal data safe.
Protecting your business’ data is no simple task. To make it as secure as possible, you’ll have to understand how personal data flows through online channels. We’re digging pretty deep with this one, so get ready for an informative and, if nothing else, interesting read. This topic is especially important in an age where Facebook and Google exist, but there are countless other threats to data privacy out there that we all experience on a regular basis–business or not.
If you have an internal IT administrator, they might be pretty stressed about your business’ security. Why? Simple – there’s a good chance that they feel trapped in a few common situations. Let’s review some stresses that influence IT employees, negatively affecting your security.
Like a well-oiled machine, any business needs its internal components to line up correctly, interacting with the others to accomplish the ultimate goal of the device. This is more or less how we always describe collaborative processes in the context of your IT. Here, however, we’re going to focus our tip on ensuring these processes are directed by employees who are ready to collaborate as well.