SCW Blog

Now that many of us have been working remotely for the past 18 months, what are your thoughts on the concept of a remote or hybrid office? Have your opinions changed at all, or are you still clinging to your previously conceived notions of what it would be like? It does not help that some major companies, like Microsoft, are sending out mixed signals on their own experiences with remote work. What can we learn from these experiences?

One of the most important solutions for a small business to implement is a data backup and disaster recovery system. It is a crucial element of any business continuity plan, yet many organizations fail to implement one in an appropriate manner. Let’s discuss three of the best reasons you must consider data backup and disaster recovery now before it’s too late.

Instant messaging is a solution that has picked up in the business world, and for good reason. While email allows for more passive communication, instant messaging allows for more instantaneous communication, similar to a phone call in its urgency. But are you using instant messaging in the proper way?

The traditional 40-hour workweek feels like a staple in the business world, where employees work 8 hour shifts and then head home for the day. This was not always the case, however, and there can be a case made that even the 40-hour workweek should be adjusted to at least some degree. Let’s take a look at the modern workplace, how it has changed, and how it can still be changed to better employees of all levels—including you.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had an easy way to track your device even if it were lost or stolen? Thankfully, this feature exists to an extent for Android devices in the form of the IMEI, or international mobile equipment identity number. If you know this number, you could potentially help mitigate the issues that losing a device can present.

With so many workers performing tasks remotely, it’s no small wonder that authentication is one of the major points of discussion this year. How can you be sure that your company is doing all it can to verify a user’s identity before they access important information on your infrastructure? One such way you can do it is by using voice-based authentication.

Artificial intelligence used to be the work of science fiction, but nowadays it is seen as very real and a possibility for businesses of all types. There are benefits to artificial intelligence, but it could also create problems in the future. Let’s take a look at some of these advantages and disadvantages.

Most companies use a word processor of some sort in their day-to-day tasks, but there are none more dynamic and well-known than Microsoft Word. To get the most out of Word, you need to take advantage of keyboard shortcuts.

Many businesses simply do not have the resources or budget to hire technicians to perform regular maintenance on their systems, let alone someone who is managing the technicians behind the scenes. The chief information officer, or CIO, is the one who would normally make these calls, but businesses that cannot hire an in-house CIO for whatever reason have the option of hiring a virtual CIO.

There are generally two approaches to technology maintenance. One of them addresses issues as they appear, and the other involves addressing possible issues before they become operational problems. How does your business go about technology maintenance? If it’s the first, also known as “break-fix” IT, then you are going about things the wrong way and leaving a ton of savings on the table.

Hackers and scammers are always trying to turn a profit on businesses just like yours, and you might be surprised by some of their ingenuity. One such way that some hackers choose to make a profit is by twisting the “as a service” business model into something that is particularly dangerous. Even Microsoft has gone on record and called out a particular group of Phishing-as-a-Service providers as a problem.

When it comes to your business technology, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. Unfortunately, technology is one facet of running a company where many business owners feel they have the least amount of control, perhaps due to its many moving parts and overwhelming complexity. The question becomes one of how you want to approach managing your business’ technology and finding the right skill sets to do so.

Believe it or not, someone can actually purchase access to your organization’s network under the right circumstances. This is the unfortunate reality that we live in, where the commoditization of data and network access has become a real problem. According to a study from KELA, hackers can sell access to compromised networks for a pittance compared to the amount of work you have invested in building your business. Therefore, you must do everything in your power to protect your network and prevent this from happening.

The term firewall is not a new one, and it’s not as old of a term as you might think. Before it became commonplace in the computing environment, it was first introduced to the world in 1983 when it was used in a movie titled WarGames. Nowadays, it is used mostly in regard to network security. Let’s take a look at what a firewall does and what the different types of firewalls do.

No one likes to imagine the worst-case scenario, but as a responsible business owner, you have no choice but to see the bad before the good. After all, the investments that you make in the future of your organization mean nothing if you have no power to preserve it in the event of unfortunate circumstances. Due to the nature of technology, it is an ideal place to start thinking about preventative and proactive measures to keep your future secure.

The future can be unpredictable at best, especially in today’s times. You never know when your company will suffer from circumstances beyond your control, whether it’s a disaster that uproots your office or a pandemic that forces your entire workforce to transition to remote operations. Thankfully, even in today’s trying times, technology presents opportunities to overcome these challenges.

Passwords have long been a staple against security threats, but the password could soon be a thing of the past. Microsoft is advancing toward this new concept, but what does it mean for your business? Let’s take a look and see what going “passwordless” can mean for an account’s security.

Upgrading technology can often come with risk. While you might get some return on your investment, will you get it back fast enough to actually make that investment worth it in the end? How can your technology solve problems that your company experiences, and how do you acquire the capital necessary to make significant upgrades? If you dig too deep into the details, you might find that it is difficult to move forward with these major decisions, preventing you from leveraging these amazing benefits. Here are four signs that will give you an idea that it’s time to upgrade your technology.

Real cybersecurity preparedness is, like most things in a business, a team effort. Everyone needs to be aware of the best practices involved in cybersecurity. Naturally, this will involve training. In the interest of making sure this training is as effective as it needs to be, we’ve assembled a few best practices to keep in mind as you design a curriculum.

Virtual private networks have become integral to the safety of both businesses and even individual users, but we want to use today’s blog to clear up some of the misconceptions about what a VPN can do and what a VPN cannot do. You’ll find this information helpful for keeping your business as secure as can be.