by Felicien | Sep 6, 2019 | Education
Every month, we host Microsoft Office and other technology training sessions. Our training sessions are completely free of charge and are available “on-demand”. Yes, you can tune-in whenever and wherever you like.
This month’s training session: 4 Ways To Use Microsoft Outlook Efficiently.
Our in-house Microsoft training specialist, Dawn, will guide you through some very important tips and tricks, such as:
Quick Parts
Templates
Automated Responses
Signatures
Tune into this month’s training by clicking here.
by Felicien | Sep 6, 2019 | Education
Every month, we host Microsoft Office and other technology training sessions. Our training sessions are completely free of charge and are available “on-demand”. Yes, you can tune-in whenever and wherever you like.
This month’s training session: 4 Ways To Use Microsoft Outlook Efficiently.
Our in-house Microsoft training specialist, Dawn, will guide you through some very important tips and tricks, such as:
Quick Parts
Templates
Automated Responses
Signatures
Tune into this month’s training by clicking here.
by Felicien | Sep 4, 2019 | Education
Here Are Top Questions to Ask Potential IT Service Providers
Discover the most important questions to ask about products, quality, expertise, competency, security and breadth when selecting an IT service provider.
Business leaders who want to cut operating expenses, improve efficiency and leverage the newest technologies turn to IT service providers. With the right technology partner, a business can see considerable gains in productivity, communication and data security.
Choosing the right IT service provider is an important decision. Here are a few of the questions to ask to help you make the right choice.
How Do We Know If an IT service provider is a Quality Business?
Determining if a business is run well and according to best practices is often a difficult assessment. Here are some things to look for:
Staff Size. If you have extensive needs, a large staff with specialized areas is usually better equipped to handle complex clients. However, a smaller company may get lost in the shuffle of a large organization only focused on the largest clients.
Technology Partners. IT service providers cannot do everything by themselves. That’s why the best rely on partnership agreements with high-quality tech companies to deliver specialized products and services. Ask for a list of their partners; strong connections to top companies is a good sign.
References. If you encounter an IT service provider that refuses to provide references, walk away. Ask for references from clients that are the same size, in the same industry or facing similar challenges as yours.
What Do We Ask to Determine if an IT service provider is Technically Competent?
You rely on your IT service provider to have the technical expertise to address your needs. How can you assess their technical abilities? Ask about the following:
Competencies. Certifications and preferred partner status are good indicators of technical quality and where the IT service provider’s strengths are. Especially in small shops, an emphasis and expertise in Linux may mean they’re not as strong at Windows. Use this space to ask about professional development for their staff and their training commitment.
Out of Scope. If you are paying a flat rate for managed services, you need to know what’s included and what isn’t. There are plenty of services that could be included in a package, including network security monitoring, ISP troubleshooting, software and firmware upgrades and patching, hardware installation and server upgrades. Be sure to shop around and know what’s covered by your plan and what is either an extra charge or not available.
Disaster Recovery. If a natural disaster or hacker attack hits your company, you need a business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place to reduce the damage and impact. It’s a common service for an IT service provider to offer. But you need to know what your IT service provider’s own disaster recovery plan is. If your IT service provider can’t be up and running quickly after a disaster, they are unlikely to be able to help you.
Compliance Coverage. More and more businesses face compliance challenges at the federal, state local and industrial level. Foreign entities are also demanding compliance with mandates, often concerning securing and using personal data. Ask your IT service provider about their experience with the compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI or FSMA, that your company has. Inquire about a service level agreement (SLA) that guarantees compliance with the mandates you are required to fulfill.
Automation. Advances in automation have taken the place of lots of manual tasks. Your IT service provider should be committed to using automation and AI solutions wherever possible, freeing their staff to work on higher-level projects. If they are not using the most cutting-edge technology, how will they advise you on how to leverage new solutions?
Can We Measure the Service Quality of an IT service provider?
Service is critical when choosing an IT service provider. You want a partner that’s attentive, responsive and effective when you have a critical need. Ask the following:
Internal vs. Outsourced. Your IT service provider will promise to deliver an extraordinary range of products and solutions. However, it’s important to know who will be doing the work on your account. Ask your potential IT service provider what work is done internally by their employees and what is outsourced (and why).
Strategy and Advising. Some IT service providers focus exclusively on selling you technology solutions. Others take a comprehensive approach. You want an IT service provider that can act as a virtual chief information officer, providing help with technology strategy, budgeting and growth that aligns with your present and future business priorities.
Scalability. As your company grows, you need solutions that can scale rapidly as new customers, data and technologies emerge. Be sure to ask how scalable an IT service provider’s solutions are, how they will help improve efficiency, how they will reduce costs and how they will reduce workload.
Thoughtful questions asked consistently of each potential IT service provider puts your business in the best position to select the right technology partner.
by Felicien | Sep 4, 2019 | Education
The Fall of Windows 7 Support: A Guide for Businesses
According to Microsoft, Windows 7 support is ending. Find out what this change can mean for your Windows 7 computer systems in your business operation so you can start preparing now.
Beloved by many and still in use by a lot of business owners, Windows 7 has been one of Microsoft’s most sought after operating system software products. Even though Microsoft has released other OS designs since Win7, most prefer the simplicity of Win7 and have stuck with it. Unfortunately, Microsoft has announced the end of an era. The company will stop support for Win7 as soon as January 2020. Here is a look at some of the things you will need to know as a business owner who is using devices with Windows 7 installed.
You Will Be Able to Use Win7 without Support
Even though support is ending for Windows 7, it does not mean that you will no longer be able to use the operating system in your business operation. There will, of course, be some differences, such as:
no ability to bring in the aid of support when you have a Win7 problem
there will be no patched security updates from Microsoft to protect you from the most recent malware attacks
some system processes may have slight issues on occasion
It Will Be Possible to Install Win7 After Support Ends
Win7 has garnered itself a pretty stable fan base over its 10 years in use. In fact, the OS is so popular among users that at least 44 percent of people still use Windows 7, according to British Technologies. Microsoft has stated that they have no intentions of completely discontinuing Win7, so it will still be available for installation; it just will not have open support available if you run into problems during installation.
There Could Be Security Risks of Using Windows 7 After Support Ends
If you are looking for the biggest reasons to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 once support ends, security comes in at the top of the list. Microsoft regularly releases and automatically installs patched security updates to Windows 7 systems when a new threat spurs the development of a new line of software protection. A serious downside to consider here is the fact that some hackers will take advantage of the end of a major operating system’s line of support.
Support Could Be Extended for Certain Win7 Business Users
If you know there is no way that you can get your systems updated before the end of support, it is a good idea to get in touch with Microsoft. There has been talk that Microsoft will be offering extended support through 2023 on a case-by-case basis for businesses who have struggles upgrading in time and can be in danger of security threats.
Internet Explorer Support Will End As Well
Internet Explorer is a product of Windows7, and Microsoft pretty much did away with IE with the development of Edge. Therefore, support will end for IE along with Win7. Unfortunately, this end of support could make an already weakened browser a little less secure and a little more attractive to hackers.
The end of Win7 support is a major change for a lot of business owners. If you need help with upgrading your devices to a newer Windows OS, reach out to a managed IT service for help.
by Felicien | Sep 4, 2019 | Education
Are You Ready for the Cloud?
With a clear, comprehensive implementation plan, you can minimize downtime and disruptions while you move your data and applications to the cloud.
Let’s walk through the 5 W’s + How.
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
No, this isn’t an intro to journalism course. Instead, we’ll use this formula to break down your options for finding the best IT outsourcing firm to help you move your health care practice to the cloud.
What Should You Be Looking For?
Clouds are private, public or a hybrid of the two. These labels can be confusing. Public clouds aren’t open to the public and private ones serve as remote data centers for a single health care provider.
To decide the best cloud for your organization, determine what you’re actually looking for. Choose from a service that supplies platform, infrastructure or software as a service — PaaS, IaaS or SaaS. Relevant considerations include company size, HIPAA impact and what you wish to accomplish.
Who Is the Best Cloud Provider?
Healthcare IT News identifies seven top providers:
Amazon Web Services, who developed these services first, has aggressive pricing and releases new features regularly. Their main service is IaaS.
CDW Cloud Solutions, familiar to many healthcare organization, offers a variety of services, such as migration planning and project support.
IBM Cloud, ClearDATA, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and VMWare receive honorable mention.
It’s best to look into several services to determine the best one for your IT needs.
When Is it Time to Switch to the Cloud?
Most companies have some kind of cloud-based functionality already. For those still deciding whether to switch, the following questions can help clarify your thoughts.
Who can help us with the migration plan?
Is the management team stable?
What’s the strategy driving the move?
Are local providers reliable?
Is it in the budget?
Will we net a positive return on our investment?
These questions get right to the heart of the matter and help you find out if your team is ready, able and willing to make the switch.
Where Should the Data Centers Be Located?
The physical location doesn’t matter that much. It’s more important to replicate data and applications in distinct regions for redundancy and to ensure access to your data. Where you locate or have your IT consultants locate your backups is determined by the technology and configurations that work best with your systems. In fact, if you’re paying for around-the-clock monitoring, location becomes irrelevant.
Why Are You Thinking About Moving to the Cloud?
This question is a bit outmoded. A better question would be, “Why wouldn’t you move to the cloud?” That’s a question most companies have or are asking themselves right now. Cloud systems scale easily and they’re cheaper than the cost of maintaining your own local data centers. In the cloud, critical processes, such as data replication or disaster recovery are more straightforward.
Cloud services also offer a pay-as-you-go model that fits the budget of more practices and startups. While data security used to be considered a risk on the cloud, new technology has helped ensure the security of your systems and client data.
How Can You Get There?
Vet out an experienced healthcare IT provider that’s handled multiple cloud implementations and integrations. Reputable providers should be able to share their own cloud models, provide references, and ensure that you start and end with a reasonable budget.
Scalability is key in the cloud. It’s one of the major benefits, so make sure your organization is in a position to leverage it. With the right cloud set up, scaling up your user base should be easy and hassle-free. The documentation your IT consulting provides should include detailed plans regarding the tools and features needed for HITECH and HIPAA requirements. With a clear, comprehensive implementation plan, you can minimize downtime and disruptions while you move your data and applications to the cloud.
by Felicien | Aug 30, 2019 | Education
To make the most out of what we hope will be a gorgeous long weekend, we will be closing our office for the day on Monday, September 2nd.
And as always, we’ll have technicians on call for all of our managed IT services clients, and you’ll be able to reach us by calling our office if any emergency technical issues arise.
