Directive Blogs

No matter how big your business is, you’ll always have technology expenses. It’s just a fact of the current workplace, and your profits will be inexorably tied to how well your IT works for you. Furthermore, the more IT costs rise, the more impact small and medium-sized businesses will feel from them. Today, we wanted to address this issue and how you can minimize the frustrations that stem from seemingly uncontrollable technology costs.

Look, we get it: remote work has become a bit of a topic of contention lately. While employees have been relishing the benefits that remote work offers them, many employers have been doing everything they can to bring their workforce back into the workplace.

Now, it wouldn’t be unfair for you to assume that we would push remote work as a managed service provider because we just so happen to assist businesses in managing it as a part of our services. This is true enough…but we aren’t the only ones with an opinion on the topic.

Sad to say, but for the foreseeable future, cost control is going to be the number one priority for almost every business. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering, and revenue streams interrupted, many businesses are still being extremely cautious with their capital. One place where most businesses can cut back is on printing. Let’s discuss how to cut your organization’s printing costs. 

Let’s face it… when you think of business communications, the telephone is still one of the first things to pop into your head, right? Telephony has been intrinsically linked to business since it was first created, and as technology has advanced, so has our capability to use the phone to our advantage.

With inflation proving to be a significant concern for businesses at the moment, reaching highs that it hasn’t in decades, there is a distinct need for businesses to get as much value as they can out of the investments they make.

Let’s discuss a few technologies that offer this more desirable cost/benefit ratio so you can consider them for your own use.

Outsourced IT is a great option for the modern small business, and no matter where your shortcomings lie in managing technology, we are confident you can find value in the service. Whether you need a full-fledged IT department or someone to help implement new solutions, we’ve got you covered, and for the right price point, too! Let’s take a look at some of the trends you can expect from managed IT, as well as how they influence the costs compared to those of the traditional break-fix model.

A lot of companies are making large technology investments, in fact, if you are here now, you are probably thinking about making such an investment for your own business. One problem that growing companies have is identifying and investing in the right technology. Today, we thought we would give you a couple of tips on how to go about making technology investment decisions that will be the most advantageous for your business.

While protecting the credit card data you collect from your customers and clients is obviously important, you likely also have a line of credit for your business’ use that you need to think about as well. Let’s turn our focus to that card for a moment and discuss some tips and best practices to keep this company resource safe.

You’ve probably heard people talk about a business’ carbon footprint. You even might think you have a good idea of what your business’ footprint is. With global climate change evident by the rising temperature of the planet, having an idea of what effect your business’ environmental impact has is not only good for the planet, it can help avoid risk or even save you money. There are a lot of factors that go into determining your carbon footprint and many of them you may not consider. Today, we will go through how to calculate your business’ carbon footprint and what you can do to reduce it.

Did you know that the United States is the leader in ransomware payments? According to a survey from Mimecast titled “The State of Ransomware Readiness,” the U.S. has the highest average payment for ransomware out of the entire world at more than $6 million per victim. These shocking numbers likely stem from high-profile ransomware attacks, but they are also indicative of a larger problem, that being people who still pay the ransom.

If you ask a person that has been using the same technology for years what they would like to see in new technology, you’ll often get the answer, “for it to do the work for me.” This is a popular response that is almost always delivered as a joke. With technology going the way it is, it’s not as funny as it once was. Today, automated tools are being developed that work to actually do a lot of that work for you. This can be both a detriment and a benefit for your staff. Today, we’ll take a look at both.

For some companies, their IT is like a boat to a fisherman: they could conceivably do the work without it, but they wouldn’t have a business. For this reason it is important to know how to ascertain which technology investments are right for your business at any given time. Let’s go through a few considerations decision makers should highlight when choosing new technology for their businesses. 

Businesses use cloud resources all the time; and, they use them for many different reasons. Some use them because they have to support a remote workforce, some use them so they don’t have to come up with large swaths of capital or don’t want to pay interest rates for financing their central hardware. Some only use them sparingly to fill in the gaps created by product and service demand.

Whether you’re referring to an individual’s personal needs or their work-related responsibilities, the Internet has become an essential component to most processes. Unfortunately, financial limitations often make sufficient connectivity unattainable for many. This is why the Federal Communications Commission stepped in last month to provide some assistance.

All businesses, in some way, shape, or form, exist to generate revenue—whether their profits are retained for their own benefit or dedicated to supporting some other cause. Either way, this balance makes the difference between the investments a business makes and the return these investments see a critical consideration. By using modern technology, today’s organizations can tip this balance to be more in their favor.

With all the communication tools that businesses use today, there still is no more important option than the telephone system. Unfortunately for small businesses, the telephone system can be expensive and hard to manage. However, there is a way for you to get a fully featured telephone service with some of the most important tools your business needs, at a fraction of the price you currently pay for your enterprise telephone system.

The cloud has proven to be an extremely useful tool for modern businesses. Not only does it provide anywhere-anytime access to applications, processing, storage, and more, it also delivers those products as a service, allowing an organization--or an individual--to budget for recurring costs rather than major upfront ones. This provides your organization with functional, supported, and secure computing environments that eliminate a lot of the support costs that traditional computing environments require. It sounds like a perfect scenario for small and large businesses alike, but things aren’t always what they seem, as a lot of cloud users have found that they have incurred several hidden costs by using cloud platforms. Today, we take a look at these hidden costs. 

COVID-19 has changed the way that most business owners look at a dollar. For months, businesses have been making strategic budget cuts to try to stay afloat. Cybersecurity has been the ultimate growth industry over the past several years, but in the face of the pandemic, the market for these products and services is seeing substantial retraction. In fact, Gartner estimates that in 2020, the cybersecurity industry will shrink by almost $7 billion. Today, we’ll take a look at the cybersecurity market and why it is important not to slow your cybersecurity spending if you can help it.

If you’re trying to minimize your operating costs to improve your budget, it is important to keep in mind that sacrifice isn’t your only option. Instead, you also have the option of streamlining and minimizing some of your larger expenses by enlisting a managed services provider and the more sustainable business model we adhere to.

There was a time when business was run through the printer. These days, there are many digital solutions that can really limit the need for high-volume printing. Today, we’ll take a look at how the average business can cut their printing costs and do it while improving their business using print management.

It isn’t exactly a secret that small and medium-sized businesses appreciate any opportunity to reduce the amount of money they have to spend to successfully operate. One means that businesses of all sizes have used to do so has been VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony. Here, we’ll explore just how VoIP solutions are friendlier to a business’ budget.

Budgeting for your technology can be pretty difficult. You never really know when some problem is going to present itself and cost your business an arm and a leg. Since you can’t always see what’s coming, saving money when you can is important. Let’s take a look at a few ways that you can save money on your business’ IT.

Enterprise businesses have historically had access to bigger and better technology solutions than their small to medium-sized counterparts, their sheer size allowing them to bulldoze any potential competitors who weren’t of their size or larger. However, with the changes to technology that we have seen, business opportunities for SMBs have become more accessible and affordable. This allows more businesses of all sizes, but particularly SMBs, to embrace solutions that can drive them to success.

Does your business have trouble with managing and maintaining your technology? If so, you’re not alone. Many small businesses struggle with even the most basic elements of IT maintenance. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just take this responsibility and shift it off of your employees? The best way to approach technology maintenance is to implement managed IT services.

Between you and me, how is your business doing financially? If you answered with something along the lines of “not great,” you are certainly not alone. Cash flow is an issue for businesses all around the world, as a recent report from Intuit makes all too clear.

Want to get more done in a days time? We all do. If you are a business owner, it is likely you'd love to see your employees get more accomplished during the course of the day. There is a lot that can be done to make your time more efficient (that is an industry all on its own!), but one very frustrating cause of lost productivity is faulty technology. The most overlooked culprit? Slow computers!

Hit the jump to see our analysis of what workstation slowness can cost your company.

It’s the holiday season, and shoppers are flocking to stores to find the perfect gift for anyone: the gift card. However, these handy little plastic rectangles may not be so perfect after all. This year, they’ve been a key component to a business email compromise scam that has been popular in the past few months.

There are a few sounds that are familiar to any office: keys clacking away, coffee being sipped (or slurped), and the rattling, squawking hum of the printer. Yet this image presents a crucial question: do you know how much your printer is costing your business each time it is used? In today’s blog, we’ll review how you can calculate this investment.

No matter how you look at it, technology is expensive. You’ll rarely look at your IT invoices without cringing a little on the inside. However, it’s important that you take a glance at these every once in a while to understand just what you’re getting from your technology budget. Ultimately, you want to ensure that your IT purchases are yielding a positive return on investment, and therefore, providing value for your organization.

Controlling and managing a big network with multiple servers is no small endeavor, especially keeping them maintained. On top of that, software licenses, warranties, user permissions, and security all need to be managed and controlled. As your business expands, you may need more servers in order to perform certain tasks ranging from email, file distribution, specialized software, and security management of various levels. Pretty soon your server room is beginning to look like a cramped mini data center and you need to worry about controlling the heat and maintaining multiple high-priority, mission critical machines. There's got to be a better way, right?

Cloud computing is the new way to get things done for small businesses.  It's easy, it's secure, and it is great for the environment.  According to a report put on by the Carbon Disclosure Project, cloud computing can potentially reduce the world's carbon emissions by millions of metric tons.  The differences are wildly significant compared to running your own in-house data centers, even if you just have a server or two.

If you use email, you've probably seen spam. If you think we're talking about a canned meat product, and are wondering how it relates to email, then we envy you. For everyone else, saying your inbox probably has a little spam is a dramatic understatement. Spam comes in several different flavors; ranging to inappropriate solicitations to unwanted gibberish to carefully coordinated scams. We're going to go over one of these tricky spoofs that is known to fool users.

Sometimes when your workstation feels bogged down, a relatively cheap and simply hardware update can make a huge difference in performance. Adding more RAM (Random Access Memory, often just referred to as memory) can be a game changer for your bogged down PC.

You are an expert in your field, right? Whether you sell a product or commit to a batch of service offerings, you know your job and you know it well. We're guessing you have some great employees who know their job well too, right? You hired them because of their drive, interest, and possibly knowledge in the field (or you spend plenty of time teaching and training them). So when someone's computer goes down, why should they waste their time trying to fix it?

Computer equipment is expensive, but most people don't even think about the costs it takes to run an entire office worth of tech.  Modern hardware is becoming more and more energy efficient, but older equipment can take a lot of electricity to run (not to mention the maintenance of keeping things running smoothly.  One of the biggest energy hogs in an office these days are old CRT monitors.

One of the benefits of managed IT services is allotting time and having the proper tools to effectively monitor an entire network for issues. This allows technicians at Directive to detect, identify, and resolve issues before they start to affect users.

Server Virtualization has been around for a while but has quickly become more popular for small businesses due to the long-term costs saved when your servers are virtualized. What exactly is server virtualization and how can it benefit Upstate New York businesses?

A lot of Upstate New York small businesses are taking advantage of regular proactive maintenance that keeps their servers and workstations in tip-top shape much longer than their typical lifespan. Amazing amounts of money are saved on new hardware and downtime and everything is just peachy! You've been able to run that old server for years and you have workstations that are still chugging away on Windows XP. What you don't know is that your old technology, even if it is in perfect working order, could be drastically slowing things down for your business.

We've all been there; dealing with long, annoying tech support, hoping to make that extended warranty worth while. Should you eventually speak to a human, you run the risk of running smack into a language barrier. Then, there is always the inevitable 'Did you turn off your computer and turn it back on?' Would you really be still on hold if you hadn't tried everything you could think of?

Unfortunately cell phone service providers are discovering that smartphone users love their bandwidth. With the majority of carriers dropping unlimited data plans, when a user goes over their limit massive charges can apply. Let's cover a few tips to limit the amount of bandwidth you use on your smartphone.

Veterans to building and running small and medium-sized businesses probably know about the huge initial start-up costs.  A small business needs to consider investing in all of the necessary infrastructure, from things like desks, chairs, computer equipment, security devices, break room appliances, heat, air conditioning, a website, marketing materials… the list goes on.  Today, small businesses are finding new ways to streamline and reduce the costs of getting started.  Hit the jump to see a few ways small businesses are cutting high start-up costs.

Today, small businesses that go green and take action towards reducing energy consumption, waste production, and apply sustainability concepts benefit from a lower cost of day-to-day business. Being green looks great for investors, employees, and consumers alike and can contribute to press and media attention. That sounds great, right? Unfortunately, like most things, going green isn't something you can do over night. It takes time, dedication, and sometimes, a little bit of investment. Hit the jump for some tips to go green with your business.

Businesses are inundated with information, programs and quick solutions on making companies green. Some of these suggestions can be implemented today, others my take more time. However, going green, can save your organization significant amounts of money. Wasted paper, plastic cups and wasted electricity are all money literally thrown away.  Here a few suggestions to get you off on the right foot:

Businesses these days depend on having reliable, fast desktop computers. The trouble is, these high-end desktops offer plenty of resources that never get touched, making them underutilized. Huge hard drives and extremely fast CPUs mean each desktop has more capabilities than most users will ever tap into.

Who isn't looking to spend a little less or get more out of their current investments? The costs of day to day business for small businesses need to be within budget, but you still need to give your staff the tools they need to get the job done. Here are some tips for cutting costs without making big sacrifices.

Voice Over IP phone systems add a lot of great features that businesses can take advantage of, and are improving the way companies are using their voice communication. Besides the fact that supporting older analogue phone systems is becoming increasingly harder as technology carries us forward, here are 7 reasons why Upstate New York businesses should switch over to voice over IP.

Nobody wants to spend more than they have to, especially when it comes to those necessary evils like bills, utilities, insurance, and the general costs of keeping things running smoothly. At Directive, our goal is to provide outstanding enterprise-level solutions for small business prices. Let's talk about a few ways to cut long term IT costs.

Saving a little on your technology can go a long ways, but cutting too many corners can lead to additional problems and expensive downtime. Here are a few ways you can cut costs without creating long term issues.

As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, it's a good time to step back and look at ways to rejuvenate your day-to-day operations and do some spring cleaning. These practices won't cover dusting up cobwebs but will offer a few practices to improve your overall IT.

Voice over IP phone systems revolutionize voice communications for small businesses by providing plenty of big benefits. VoIP uses the Internet to send signals as opposed to standard telco phone lines. Let's go over a few major benefits that businesses see when they switch to VoIP.

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.

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 cloud has taken the computing world by storm. You’d be hard-pressed to find a technology that didn’t tie back to the cloud in some way. This is especially true when you consider the needs of the SMB, and how the cloud can provide for those needs.

Which is worst, fingernails scraping down a chalkboard or slow internet? A person who would answer the former has likely never experienced internet speeds in excess of 1 Mbps. It is a proven fact that faster is better. Before you decide to complain to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or even switch providers, make sure that you are informed about what your internet speed is and should be.

Telecommuting (also known as working remotely) is where some or all of your staff have the flexibility to work in the location of their choosing (and in some cases, the hours that they choose). Not to be confused with freelancing, telecommuters are dedicated employees who work under a management style geared towards the final results (as opposed to how the work gets done). While telecommuting isn't for everybody, it is often practiced. Microsoft is well known for having certain positions where the employee spends most of their day in a coffee shop working remotely, and that trend certainly doesn't stop with the big M.

A short time ago, cloud computing was a resource that was only taken advantage of by organizations that could afford to virtualize and manage their hosted platforms. Nowadays, many businesses, including startups, are using cloud computing for their organization’s primary computing functions. As this enormous shift happened, many of the world’s largest companies have pushed their cloud platforms forward to offer secure storage, software deployment, and even communications for organizations that are either just starting out, or are looking to reduce their capital computing and support costs.

Businesses always try to eliminate unnecessary costs, but printing isn’t necessarily everyone’s first idea of an unnecessary cost. With so much revenue being invested in paper, ink, and toner every year, just think of how many resources this can free up for your business if you could find a way to eliminate them from your budget. With the right technology solutions, you can easily cut costs on printing.

It’s a known fact that technology doesn’t last forever. In fact, technology grows at such an astounding rate that some users often feel the need to replace their devices the second a bigger and better tech is launched. What if this unprecedented growth and increase in reliability become a hindrance to the sales of PC manufacturers?

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.

From the perspective of a business owner, spending money on technology is an investment that one hopes to see a return on (ROI). After the initial investment is returned, then all funds generated by the technology are sweet profit--which is the driving goal for every business. One technology that’s the most capable of driving profits for business is cloud computing.

As technology grows more and more complex, the usefulness of your business's landline is declining. There are just plain better ways of communicating - cell phones are much more portable, and the Internet allows people to communicate with others while taking care of other work. One of the best ways to communicate over the Internet is by using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which provides the best of both worlds for those stuck in the landline age.

It's the nature of trends for people to want to capitalize on them, which means that many sellers of what's trendy may have little experience working with the trends that they're selling. As a business looking to take advantage of the latest technology trends, it's important that you're not bamboozled by a smooth talking technology marketer with no depth.

It takes a special kind of person to give great customer service. If someone can't pick up on social cues, or if they have a low tolerance for repetitive questions, they will end up offending a lot of customers. To assist our clients with their IT problems, we make sure to hire the most helpful customer service representatives that we can find.

Remember when you upgraded to a flat screen TV or monitor just a few years ago? You may have marveled at the increased picture quality and celebrated getting rid of your old and bulky equipment, but do you know what happened to the old CRT monitor after you threw it out? Unfortunately, the answer doesn't bode well for the environment.

This statistic comes from California-based market research firm In-Stat, and it highlights the growth of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. To give you an idea of how far VoIP has come in recent years, this figure was at 42% just five years ago. Is your business taking advantage of the VoIP revolution?

For a business owner, leaving money on the table is the worst feeling because it means passing up on easy money. From forgetting to upsell to a customer to having a delivery route be longer than it needs to be, there are many ways that businesses leave money on the table. Take a look at your company's technology; you may be leaving money on the table by using inefficient technology that's literally sitting on your table.

Starting a new business is a huge undertaking that's highly demanding. Wishy washy people need not apply. An individual starting a new company will need to take into consideration every possible scenario and make plans for it as best they can. Taking advantage of the right technology from the very beginning will make starting a new business much easier.

Due to the irreplaceable nature of data, server units may be your company's most important assets. Therefore, when it comes time to purchase a new server, you will want to make sure that your new unit will be exactly what your business needs. Getting a model that's too small or too powerful can be costly. Here's what to look for when purchasing a new server.

Simplifying a complicated procedure is a sure way to get ahead. An enterprise's communication system can be extremely complicated with everything a business needs out of it. Voice over Internet Protocol, aka VoIP, is a solution that can simplify your entire communications system. Simplifying something major like communication will benefit your business in many ways.

"The Cloud" may mean very different things to different people, and has certainly been used in a number of ways that obscure its actual definition. The cloud a place to store and access files, run software, automatically back up files, virtualize data, and much more. Globally, smaller cities are becoming cloud cities using all of these capabilities to save money and improve their infrastructure and services.

Expenses from running a business can add up quickly. We want to help by sharing six easy things you can do that will save you money and improve your workplace. Even though these two goals may seem diametrically opposed, we have found that they can work together in a synchronized harmony!

The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently stated that the fastest growing sector of cloud computing is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). IaaS allows technology end users to use Internet connections to tap into entirely virtualized computing systems in order to get their work done. This cloud service is changing the way we do IT. Is it time for your business to join in?

Wired telephone service, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is seemingly nearing their extinction. This is thanks to the more economical and convenient Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone option. Until recently, nearly every American home was connected to the PSTN, but by 2015, this option will see a 75% decrease. What does this mean for your business?

Did you know that your computer may have the capability to be turned on and off without ever physically pushing its power button? Besides helping you feel like a wizard, your computer's Wake-on-LAN feature has many convenient applications for your business, including saving time and energy, and aiding your campaign to create a greener workplace.

If your business has never experienced a major computer problem, then it's easy to underestimate just how damaging downtime can be. This conclusion can be drawn from a recent survey of small business owners, where 65% estimated they would only lose $500 if their company's network went down for a day. In reality, downtime is much more costly than $500.

As a busy person, you're constantly on the move. The downside of being busy is that you sometimes miss important phone calls, even if you there are a dozen different ways to reach you. VoIP provides you with a solution to help you never again miss a call with a feature called Presence.

We've all learned in our Business 101 studies that cutting costs is an absolute priority of business operation. While there are plenty of products available that promise to save your business money, perhaps the easiest and most effective way is to downsize. Gartner Inc. reports that you can eliminate a quarter of your IT expenses by simplifying your IT network.

Today's business environment is environmentally conscious. Companies that implement green policies and use energy-saving technologies are making a positive impact on the environment. Going green is the responsible thing to do and will also positively impact your business. Here are three ways using green technology can benefit your business.

Managed IT services are designed to be an affordable solution to keep an organization's IT infrastructure running smoothly and minimize expensive downtime. To help you better understand how managed IT services can save your business money, let's look at five modern IT methods that our IT services are founded upon.

Many businesses are taking advantage of cloud hosting because it's a convenient way to downsize their IT infrastructure. The cloud also makes installing new software easier, and has several more advantages; although, it's important to not rush to the cloud and go with just any cloud hosting service. Choosing an inferior cloud service with poor support can have disastrous consequences.

Outsourcing jobs is never a safe topic to bring up in a group discussion. If you mention "outsourcing," be prepared to hear nationalistic rhetoric followed by, "They took our jobs!" When outsourcing is done right, it can save your business money, and when you outsource IT services with us, you can rest easy knowing where the work is going.

As a business owner, you are always on the lookout for money saving solutions. Technology offers cost-effective options because it can be used to save money by implementing something new, instead of making cuts. A print server solution is one example of how upgrading your technology can save you money.

Upselling and add-ons are the reason why you go to buy a new smartphone, expecting to pay the too-good-to-be-true sale price, and walk out locked into a contract that costs twice as much as you planned on spending. One add-on that's pushed hard is the device protection plan (smartphone insurance). Is a protection plan worth the expense?

When you break down our IT Company, you will discover that we are about more than just computers. In fact, everything we do with technology is basically one big effort to help your business perform better and save you money!

The whole point of making a budget is to control costs. All it takes is one surprise to undo all the careful work of budget planning. No department is immune to unplanned expenses, and while it's impossible to totally prevent budget-busting expenses across the board, you can take action to turn many surprise expenses into controllable costs.

Every business needs to backup their data. If your company is hit with a disaster, and there is no backup in place, then it will be a critical hit to your operation. Backing up data with tape is a widely used solution, and while this is better than nothing, it is very inefficient compared to using BDR.

When shopping for your personal computer, you will gladly pay the extra money to buy the best machine possible. However, when buying piles of workstations for your business, paying extra for the best equipment adds up quickly. Utilizing Desktop Virtualization for your business is a great way to get away with buying inexpensive computer hardware and that allows you to save money.

It's a digital revolution! Everyone is enjoying their new technology...and then there's the sad fax machine, still hanging around, printing off faxes, and reminiscing about the good old days before there was this new fad called the Internet. Fax machines put a damper on the whole digital revolution vibe. It's high time to retire them and start saving money!

Do you feel tied down by your phone system? Traditional phone plans can be expensive and your phone bill will grow if you try to do more, like add lines and use extra features. One of the ways that the Internet can help your business save money and grow is by replacing expensive phone plans with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

We often talk about the need to back up your data, but did you know that it is also a best practice to back up your hardware? Backing up your hardware works differently than data backup; whereas data backup involves network devices and a cloud, backing up your hardware is a simple matter of having extra computer components on your premise.

Servers have always been one of the more expensive yet crucial pieces of your IT infrastructure. A new development in servers is the microserver, which is a stripped down version of a server. The appeal is that they can be designed to handle one task efficiently, and therefore, use fewer resources while costing less to purchase and maintain.

Isn't it nice to have everything prepared for you? Of course it is. Whether it's having your dinner made for you when you get home, or having your car turned over to you fueled up and cleaned out, everybody appreciates having everything taken care of. In the world of technology, we take care of everything with our turnkey business management solutions.

There are many challenging aspects that come with running a business, but which aspect is the most difficult? According to a 2012 survey of small business owners by The National Federation of Independent Businesses, managing costs is the most difficult responsibility. We can help; our managed IT services turn technology into a predictable expense.

As a business, you do things differently than the mild-mannered consumer. Like paying bills, it’s not like a business can sit down for half an hour every month, write a few checks, and then be done with it. Businesses have employees whose major duty is paying bills. Technology is the same way, and businesses have different technology needs than consumers.

Have you ever felt like your business is missing out on a big opportunity simply because you are unaware of it? In order to see a hidden opportunity, you need a fresh set of eyes. You need the help of an expert who knows what to look for, and you need regular input. This is exactly why we offer business technology reviews.

As busy as you are, the last thing that you want is to have one more thing to keep track of. This is why you have us take care of your IT infrastructure; it is worth it compared to learning how to troubleshoot each problem by yourself. Did you know that we can take care of more than just your computer network? With our vendor management service, we can also keep track of all of your technology.

Your electricity bill is the worst. This is because you know that it could be smaller if you only made a few adjustments to how you run the office. Little tricks like turning your lights off will save you money, but to really make a dramatic cut to your bill, you can virtualize your servers.

There are many advantages that come with switching your company's traditional phone system to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP uses the Internet to handle all of your communication needs; this can streamline your communications and save you 50-70% compared to a traditional phone plan. Not only can VoIP save your business operating costs, it can also make your company more efficient.

If your business is large enough to have its own IT department, then you know firsthand how valuable it is to have a knowledgeable technology professional on the premise. Being IT technicians ourselves, we experience this appreciation all the time from helping our clients. Sometimes, a technician's popularity can be almost overwhelming, and for times like these, it is nice to have backup.

The majority of today’s more conscientious shoppers will check out the consumer reviews of the device as well as the detail specifications before purchasing a product.  Just because it’s pretty and all their friends at school have one, doesn’t always mean that it is the best value for your money.  Still, we rarely consider: Do review sites and vendor release notes tell the whole story? Is this device really better because of its price tag or big name brand? There is a widely underused but extremely valuable resource online where customers can gain a little more perspective. This is called the product "teardown”.