The Office “IT Guys”: Refuting (and Embracing) Stereotypes About Tech Support and IT Providers

What pop culture gets wrong — and right — about IT support You’d be hard-pressed to put together a group of people in any American workplace who can’t recite a few lines from the iconic TV show The Office. Indeed, the show (Netflix’s most-watched-show in history until the series was reclaimed by its creator network […]

Does Your Business Have an IT Issue?

Here’s some hints that it may be time to consider managed IT support outsourcing As someone who owns or runs a SMB, your day to day is pretty packed. You’re likely the major decision maker — the one who is ultimately tasked with keeping the company growing, keeping everyone and everything working, and keeping your […]

Why a Managed Services Provider is the Solution to So Many Business’s IT Problems

What You Need to Know About Choosing the Right Type of IT Provider for Your Business The Mistake Businesses Make in Managing IT Infrastructure Yes, we know. Business IT is one of those things that most businesspeople don’t really want to spend their limited time thinking about. So one can hardly be blamed for not […]

Beware the Clones: How Cybercriminals Use Website Trickery to Gain Access to Your Business Data and Personal Information

Website cloning has made phishing attempts much less easier to spot. Whether you realize it or not, some of the smartest professionals in your industry have fallen victim. Did you catch the 2019 film “Us?” Or any of the riffs and remakes of “Invasion of the Bodysnatchers?” If so, you probably remember why the idea […]

How to Avoid Cyber Scams this Holiday Shopping Season

Online shopping is rife with security issues, but you can outsmart the risks. Today kicks off the 10-day countdown to Christmas. (If you’re like the millions who haven’t even started shopping yet, do what you can to suppress your panic.) With holiday commerce projected to take place online this year more than any before it, […]

MSP business planning for 2021: What you should consider

From remote working to new security threats, 2020 introduced a range of new dynamics for MSPs. Here are four important considerations to address in your business planning for 2021. However exhausting and obvious the sentiment may be — and however redundantly it’s been conveyed by months of memes and dark sarcasm — it bears repeating […]

Are Your Employees’ Smartphones Putting Your Business At Risk?

Even before the Covid pandemic forced a mass acceleration of the shift to remote work, 67 percent of us were using our personal smartphones for work. For employers, the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend has seemed like a huge win. After all, according to Cisco, BYOD generates $350 in cost-savings per year per employee, […]

5 Ways to Keep Your Remote Workers Happy (and Why Nurturing Employee Morale During the Work From Home Era is Good for Cybersecurity)

Contented employees make vigilant teams; vigilant teams help make secure networks Nearly a full fifth of the workforce is now telecommuting full time, and it’s likely your business is supporting at least some level of remote work.  From a business IT perspective, we spend a lot of time talking about the implications this has for […]

Boca Raton’s Business IT Provider Has a New Technology Blog

Level5 Management’s IT Resources for Businesses As a Managed IT Service Provider for businesses in South Florida and across the U.S., we’ve had an up-front view of what businesses have been up against this year. As of the end of the summer, the number of active small business owners in America had dropped by a […]

Tip of the Week: Simple Steps to Safer Email Practices

Security is always a business priority, and with so many business needs now fulfilled digitally, it is critical that cybersecurity has a strong presence in organizations big and small. Nowadays, collaboration solutions have also had even greater importance in the workplace, making tools like email completely essential. Unfortunately, this gives cybercriminals an increased opportunity to use it as a means of attack.

You Need Data Backup Even If You Think You Don’t

We tell every business owner we come into contact with the same thing: If you haven’t done so yet, you‘ll want to establish a data backup strategy. Some businesses are really small, some operate in industries where the cost of backing up data is seemingly prohibitive to the success of the business. To the people that operate those businesses, we repeat: If you haven’t done so yet, you‘ll want to establish a data backup strategy. Let’s examine why. 

Blockchain Is Changing the World, One Node at a Time

Blockchain was all the rage for five years. You couldn’t talk about technology without someone bringing it up. At that point, it was listed as the remedy for all the world’s problems. Five years later, it’s not being mentioned quite as much, but it has been used to create some very useful products. Let’s take a look at what is going on with blockchain technology in 2020. 

Partition Your Network to Improve Productivity

Most homes and businesses use Wi-Fi of some sort. It is the most useful way to get the computing resources to computers and mobile devices without having to go through the headache of laying cables and dealing with data overages. What you may not know about your Wi-Fi network is that it can be set up in a way that can ensure that your most important Wi-Fi processes get the bandwidth they need. Let’s take a look at how partitioning your Wi-Fi can benefit your business.

Tip of the Week: How to Make Social Media a Little Less Political

Social media platforms have proven their worth as a communication tool and advertising platform… something that many political campaigns are embracing with an election looming. As a result, many people have found their feeds cluttered with campaign ads. The thing is, the ads aren’t always welcomed on a platform that many use to keep up with friends and family—even less so if the content doesn’t align to their political views.

Is Blockchain Still a Big Deal? (It Sure Is)

It seemed that, not so long ago, everything was going to be associated in some way to blockchain and blockchain technology. All online transactions and data were going to use the blockchain for security. However, as 2020 has provided some very effective distractions from the thought of blockchain, it seems to have slipped from the public consciousness. Let’s look at how blockchain is still being used today to drive innovation as a quick reminder.

What’s the Oldest Piece of Tech You Use?

The good old days, the timeless oldies, there’s no school like the old school… A lot of us fondly look back on the simpler times, but technology typically pushes forward. In fact, if we look back at what we were collectively doing with computers back in the 80’s and 90’s, it’s practically embarrassing. Sure, the music and television shows of our formative years will never be topped, but less can be said for the technology. Unless you are a Boeing 747…

Which is a Better Spreadsheet Option, Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel?

Spreadsheets are a supremely useful tool for businesses to use, but it is important for you to consider which option will work out best for your particular needs. Let’s consider the biggest two spreadsheet applications available today—Microsoft’s Excel and Google’s Sheets—to familiarize yourself with your options.