IT Support Solutions That Increase Efficiency

it support solutions that increase efficiency

Increasing efficiency is a common goal for many small businesses. Streamlining your operations leads to increased productivity and revenues. One of the most effective ways to increase efficiency is by improving your IT infrastructure. The following are several ways you can use IT support solutions to help increase efficiency in your business.

Upgrade Your System

Relying on old equipment is risky. If your workstations are extremely outdated, you will run into software issues, computer crashes, and more that could slow down productivity. Upgrading your equipment is always optional. However, new hardware can greatly enhance user workflow.

Outsource Your Technical Support

Dealing with IT security and network problems takes up a lot of productivity hours. Hundreds and even thousands of dollars are lost due to network downtime. Outsourcing your IT support to experienced IT technicians can alleviate a lot of the hassle of common IT issues. You and your employees will have immediate access to tech support when you need it.

Data Backup

A major disaster could occur at any time. Is your data safe? Without a data backup and recovery plan, your business will have a difficult time recovering and becoming operational again. A managed services provider can create a continuity and contingency plan for your business to help ensure your data is safe and secure.

These are only a few of the ways in which you can use IT to help improve the efficiency of your business.

Contact us today and learn how you can prevent hundreds of lost hours due to inefficient hardware and software. We provide preventative, proactive, and reactive IT support solutions for any IT infrastructure.

Jobs in IT Support: Priorities Set Out in the Cybersecurity National Action Plan

jobs in it support priorities set out in the cybersecurity national action plan

jobs in IT support

Jobs in IT support demands a strong set of skills and diverse knowledge. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with a variety of machines, systems, and software. Furthermore, your job will demand that you keep learning and stay up-to-date with rapid developments in technology.

When it comes to jobs in IT support and in tech more generally, one particular area that’s receiving a great deal of attention is cyber security.

Recently the administration unveiled the Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), an outline for an initiative that will combine government and private sector resources to improve cyber security and stay ahead of hackers.

As spelled out in a press release from the White House, one of CNAP’s goals is to bolster cyber security education and offer some additional incentives for people to study and work in this area; for example, people joining the federal workforce in the area of cyber security may have a greater chance of benefiting from student loan forgiveness.

Cyber Security Skills

Even if you’re planning to work in general IT support and not focus on cyber security, employers will welcome any skills you can offer in this area. Data breaches and other IT disasters are a nightmare for businesses, non-profits and government agencies. At least some of your duties will include strategies for preventing, detecting and rapidly responding to cyber attacks.

Your cyber security skills should include a knowledge of firewalls, and network routers, switches and load balancers. Ideally, you’ll know some scripting languages, such as PHP and Perl. You’ll also know how to apply your understanding of different operating systems, network architecture and applications to evaluate cyber security vulnerabilities; for example, would you be able to examine your employer’s website and identify points of weakness that a hacker could exploit?

To further discuss different job possibilities in IT support, please contact us. Regardless of where you choose to work, developing a cyber security skill set will likely impress employers.

Computer Tip of the Day: Quickly Find & Delete Duplicate Files

computer tip of the day quickly find and delete duplicate files

 

computer tip of the day

Sometimes you accidentally download the same document twice and tell yourself that you’ll delete the duplicate later. But you forget to complete that small task before heading home in the evening. Don’t you wish there was a quick and easy way to delete duplicate files?

Well, there is! A duplicate file finder program will locate duplicate and similar files. From there, you can delete, copy, or move the files as needed.

Here are three free duplicate file finders that don’t come with junkware:

DupeGuru

This program searches for similar files, not just exact replicas. Thus, if you start more than one document for a project on accident, you can delete the old one that’s not being used.

DupeGuru has two other editions, a music DupeGuru and picture DupeGuru. The music edition searches for duplicate songs – a program only helpful if you’re in the music industry or have music on your work computer. As its name suggests, the picture edition of DupeGuru detects duplicate pictures on your computer, so you can delete the unnecessary photos.

DigitalVolcano’s Duplicate Cleaner

If you don’t like the barebones interface of DupeGuru, then you’ll prefer DigitalVolcano’s Duplicate Cleaner for locating duplicate files. The downside is you have to upgrade to pro for searching through your music and pictures.

VisiPics

This free application scans your images for similar and identical files. It will locate images that have been rotated, resized, or edited in some way. VisiPics is good to use if you have a lot of pictures on your computer because it has a more visual interface than other duplicate file finders.

Running a duplicate file finder every once in a while is important for freeing up space and maintaining organization. Some duplicate file finders install junkware and toolbars on your computer when you download them, so be careful if you try one that wasn’t on this list. DupeGuru, DigitalVolcano’s Duplicate Cleaner, and VisiPics are clean programs that won’t mess up your computer.

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Contact us if you want greater security for the data stored on your computer. We offer various IT services, including data recovery, contingency plans, and consulting.

IT Support for Medical Practices: Are You Prepared for Data Breaches?

it support for medical practices are you prepared for data breaches

it support for medical practices When you’re faced with the ever-increasing threat of cyber attacks, the only way to protect your medical practice is to develop a comprehensive data security program.

Along with the sensitive data collected by most businesses, such as names, addresses and bank account information, medical practices are also responsible for safeguarding a wide variety of private patient data, ranging from current medications to history of illnesses.

Medical practices must at the very least meet HIPAA guidelines for protecting patient information and complying with certain standards for electronic data security.

As discussed in a recent article from Diagnostic Imaging, part of your cyber security program should also include a response plan to a data breach. If your system experiences an unauthorized intrusion, how would you react? Do you have strategies in place for containing the damage from the intrusion? Do you have reliable ways of detecting a breach, along with employees who have the expertise to respond effectively? Who would you notify?

Working with IT Professionals

IT professionals with experience assisting medical providers and healthcare companies can help your medical practice develop a powerful cyber security program.

This program would include technological safeguards against data breaches and reliable IT support for system monitoring and maintenance; the IT support personnel you work with would also respond quickly and effectively should a breach occur. Furthermore, your cyber security program would involve training your employees in safe practices to better protect your patients’ data.

Medical providers remain an attractive target for cyber criminals. When working with IT experts, you reduce the chances of experiencing an embarrassing, damaging data breach and violating HIPAA standards.

If you’re looking for powerful and trustworthy IT support for medical practices, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Why Network Audits Should Be a Regular Part of Your Network Support

why network audits should be a regular part of your network support

According to this recent article, network auditing is the collective measures done to analyze, study and gather data about a network with the purpose of ascertaining its health in accordance with the network/organization requirements.

In order to maintain the safety and security of your network, it is important to have regular network audits included as part of your network support plan.

What is Network Auditing?

Network auditing allows IT technicians to study and analyze all of the information on your network. They can test the effectiveness of your network and identify any potential security issues that could damage your system. Once these details are found, any necessary changes are immediately made and your network is continuously monitored.

What Does Network Auditing Involve?

The network auditing process involves a network administrator mapping all computers on the network, including all of the software on each computer. The administrator inventories the software and checks for any delays or malfunctions.

After auditing of all computers and software, the network administrator can then move on to auditing all other network devices. These devices can include items such as routers, mobile devices, fax machines, and any other devices connected to the network.

The network auditing process is usually completed after auditing the network devices. All data is then analyzed by an administrator.

How a Network Audit Keeps Your Network Safe

A network audit can alert a network administrator to any changes on the network. For example, if a staff member installs unauthorized software that could cause harm to the network, the change is immediately reported.

Network audits also help with personal devices your staff may use in the workplace. Often times, staff do not take proper security measures with their own devices. The lack of security on personal devices could negatively impact your network.

Network auditing is an important part of network support. It is natural for changes to occur as new users and devices are constantly added to the network. Regular network auditing helps to ensure any potential security threats are quickly resolved before they can escalate into major problems.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. Our team of qualified computer and network engineers develop preventative, proactive, and reactive solutions for any IT environment.