SCW Blog

Regardless of which industry your business belongs to, chances are that, given time, there will be some element of change involved in your organization’s operations. This is natural, but it can make planning out your IT infrastructure a bit challenging. How can you take the pain out of managing IT when you have so many ever-changing variables to account for?

If you’re looking for a relatively simple way to boost your office’s productive output, look no further than your employees themselves. Are they under the weather? Are they apathetic about their job, and generally down in the dumps? It isn’t hard to understand why this would make for a miserable workplace. Fortunately, fixing the problem can be an easy fix.

When you first opened the doors of your business, you were probably preoccupied with thoughts of running said business. What you probably hadn’t spared much thought to, however, was the prospect of it all going wrong. Fast-forward to now: how prepared are you to deal with an impending crisis that is poised to wipe out all you’ve worked for? This exact scenario is why it is crucial for every business to have a business continuity plan prepared, as well as a data recovery strategy set up and ready.

When people shop for a mobile computing device, they typically choose from one of three technologies; a smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop. If you’re looking for a fourth option (perhaps a handheld device equipped with Windows 10 and joysticks), then look no further than GPD’s WIN device.

Having quality IT support is essential to keep your business running, but how can you know for sure that you’ve found the support that’s right for your organization? Often times, good IT support can be tricky to find, especially in areas where the technical skills required to perform IT maintenance are sparse. How can you get the support you need without making a difficult compromise?

Sometimes a good opportunity to improve the way your business works is something as simple as cleaning up your computer annually. Today is National Clean Out Your Computer Day, so why not take a little time out of your day to review the current state of your workstation? We’ll give you a couple of pointers to get you started.

If you’re looking for an outsourced IT provider, perhaps the best thing you can ask a prospective company is how they can save you money and improve the flexibility of your budget. Break-fix IT can place an unneeded burden on your organization, but managed IT allows you to save money and improve operations all at the same time.

However far back you’re able to recall your family tree, it’s likely that the Internet can go even further; all by typing your name into a genealogy website like FamilyTreeNow.com. While such a tool is helpful for those curious of their origins, it can also creep out those who have a problem with too much of their personal information being publicly available online. Therefore, for this week’s tip, we’re going to show you how to opt out of FamlyTreeNow.com.

What kind of a workplace culture do you have? One where employees feel confident about voicing their concerns, or one where workers keep their mouths shut and don’t question anything? While the latter model may appeal to a business owner’s pride, a new study shows that it comes at a steep price.

Did you know that partnering with the right IT provider can actually enhance your company’s productivity? It’s important to go with an IT provider like this, seeing as not every IT company offers this kind of assistance. For example, an IT provider that generally only repairs broken technology won’t be able to meaningfully enhance productivity beyond fixing what’s broken. Whereas an IT provider that proactively manages and maintains your IT infrastructure has the ability to constantly and considerably bolster productivity.

People who constantly nag, typically only do so because they care. Yet, nagging is counterproductive because doing so only pushes people away. Thanks to the Nagbot app, you can find the motivation you crave by outsourcing your nagging needs to a bot!

When you decided to start a business, did you ever think that there were so many angles to cover? From the core work that goes on to all the small seemingly mundane details that you have to acknowledge, there is so much work that, for the small business owner, it can be extraordinarily difficult to cover all the bases. This is doubly true when it comes to your company’s technology. If you don’t have the technical expertise to manage your company’s technology, and you don’t have the financial resources to hire a dedicated IT administrator, then you need another option.

Has anyone checked out Mr. Robot, on USA? Mr. Robot’s two seasons are as good of an indication as the entertainment industry has made of just how afraid businesses should be of hackers. The true-to-form drama’s two seasons have been largely spent portraying how easily hackers can get into business networks, and how they use aptitude of information systems and social engineering to thoroughly compromise individuals, and organizations.

Security is a critical component for businesses, regardless of their size. However, since so many considerations need attention, it can be easy to get lost in a swirl of solutions. In times like these, it’s best to get back to basics and make sure you have the essentials covered. To help, here are two steps to help you evaluate your initial security implementation and current processes.

A Poem about Internet Bandwidth
There’s a hunger still unsatisfied that reaches far across the land,
Caused by devices in every hand.
Encumbered forever by desire and ambition,
Who can feed this Netflix addiction?
Or, to put it plainly;
Keeping up with increasing bandwidth demands is straining.

There’s no denying that education, whether through a professional or autodidactic medium, is important in cybersecurity. While it’s not always the case, organizations like to hire people with a formal education. The problem in this case is that most educational institutions do little to foster an understanding of actual cybersecurity.

Your phone is a repository of data that hackers would be glad to get their hands on. This is especially true of company devices. For the sake of your business, you need to keep your mobile data safe. Therefore, for this week’s tip, we’re going to show you how to connect your Android device to a VPN.

What if a computer simulation could teach a user about security best practices? This is the idea behind Orwell, a simulation that puts the player in the position of a surveillance agency employee who is on the hunt for the perpetrators of a terrorist attack.

With mobile technology more accessible than ever, Google has become the go-to search engine for those in need of quick answers. Now, Google is making it even easier for a user to describe what they want by increasing its usability with Twitter and the little images known as emojis.

Business owners can understand that managing a workforce can be a challenge, especially when that workforce is divided into departments. Despite all employees working for the same business, the goals of the each department sometimes don’t seem to line up with the goals of the rest as much as they should.