29
May, 2019
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Tip of the Week: Proactive Maintenance Keeps Tech Running Smoothly

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Whether they are expected or not, there will always be situations when your business incurs some damage or loss due to natural disasters, downtime, or other issues. You might find that a little preparation could have kept some of the disaster at bay, and it could honestly save you a ton in terms of lost time and resources. In fact, it could save your organization from the brink of disaster.

The Word is Proactive

When something bad happens, you might look back to see what you could have done to prevent the issue from happening in the first place. The word to remember here is “proactive.” Being proactive requires risk assessment, which demands that you analyze the greatest possible threat to your continued existence and prepare for it. In the event that your business’ IT is unable to function as intended, your business would stop functioning. All it takes is a single component failing to leave your employees unable to do their jobs. This is why you need to be as proactive as possible–to ensure that you have plans in place for when your systems inevitably fail.

Proactive IT Maintenance

For the past decade, proactive IT maintenance has been making strides in the office environment. When one of the most important parts of running a business–your IT infrastructure–no longer works as intended, you lose out on profits and shell out for repairs more often. Furthermore, downtime can be a major cost that your business suffers from due to technology malfunctions. If you can keep your hardware operating properly, your network safe from threats, and your business productive, you can eliminate potential problems before they have time to escalate into the expensive kind.

NuTech Services’s proactive IT services provide your business with monitoring and management software. With our expert technicians behind these tools, you can rest easy knowing that we are monitoring each and every critical component of your technology for any telling inefficiencies. This gives you the opportunity to address them before downtime occurs.

Patch Management

Security troubles such as software vulnerabilities can also lead to problems for your business. If you can’t rely on your software tools to get the job done without issue, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. Furthermore, you will need the latest threat definitions and software patches to keep your solutions secure from threats that could derail productivity. A major part of our proactive maintenance platform is deploying patches as they are released, eliminating the chances of known vulnerabilities affecting operations.

For more information on how your organization can be more proactive with its IT maintenance, give NuTech Services a call at 810.230.9455.

3
May, 2019
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Shrug Off Downtime with Managed IT Services

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Do you know what can completely kill a business’ momentum? Downtime. Businesses of all types look for a myriad of ways to save themselves the headaches that come from significant downtime. One way that is sure to reduce an organization’s downtime is by having conscientious IT management and support at the ready. One problem with this is that it’s typically costly to hire a team of IT professionals with the experience and knowledge to keep your technology up and running.

Not anymore.
A concept called managed IT services has taken the business world by storm. Experienced technicians work diligently with some of today’s most powerful monitoring software to proactively manage a business’ network and infrastructure, keeping technology working better longer, and reducing downtime to a point where it isn’t the huge problem it traditionally has been.

NuTech Services is a proud managed IT services vendor. With our technicians’ expertise, we are able to offer our clients a massive cache of services that include:

  • Remote and onsite support
  • Around-the-clock monitoring
  • Help desk
  • Server, workstation, and mobile device support
  • Networking support
  • Software patch management
  • Stronger cyber and network security
  • Data backup and recovery
  • Professional technology consulting
  • Periodic business reviews
  • Vendor management
  • And more

It is increasingly rare for many small or medium-sized businesses to hire onsite IT staff. If you don’t have the support your technology needs to function properly, you are looking at variable capital expenses that can, and likely will come to pass at exactly the wrong moment.

NuTech Services’s IT services provide your business with access to dedicated and knowledgeable IT technicians that are well positioned with some of the most powerful technology management software on the market; and, does it for a predictable monthly rate.

If you would like to get rid of your IT headaches for good, and kick downtime to the curb, call us today at 810.230.9455.

29
Apr, 2019
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4 Emerging Technologies Being Used for Business

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Technology plays an important part in managing any modern business, especially with the elevated importance of information in a data-driven world. Today’s blog is dedicated to four emerging technologies that are changing the way that organizations approach operations.

Artificial Intelligence
AI might be primitive in a lot of ways at the moment, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not growing in popularity. Machines can get smarter the way that humans do when they perform the same function several times, but unlike humans, machines don’t have various emotions to hold them back. Here are a few ways that a business can leverage AI to its advantage:

  • Processing large amounts of data
  • Personalizing customer experiences
  • Operational automation
  • Security
  • Predicting demand
  • And more

Businesses might have expensive operational issues that demand AI-integrated solutions to handle them, thus expanding the market and allowing for rapid adoption. Automation in particular is being adopted at an alarming rate, and this is driving the demand for artificial intelligence.

Blockchain
Blockchain has been making headlines in the news, fueled by the cryptocurrency fads that have utilized the technology. Blockchain creates a public ledger that is distributed rather than centralized, with each block storing all of the data that is relevant to a transaction. Once this data is captured, it can’t be altered without changing all data that has come afterward. This presents considerable data security benefits.

Some businesses hope to use this increased security to their benefit using a more distributed system. The more people who utilize the blockchain, the more we learn about it, meaning more tools are created to help organizations leverage the blockchain. Here are some of the ways that organizations can utilize the blockchain:

  • Managing supply chains
  • Identity management
  • Recordkeeping & archiving
  • Data security
  • And more

Blockchain is so popular that even Oracle’s head of blockchain development claims that half of businesses will find a use for blockchain in the next three years.

5G
The past 40 years have shown that wireless technology has a lot of opportunity to improve. Wireless broadband will see an increase from the 4G used today to 5G. In fact, it could potentially change the world. Data speeds could reach as high as 1GB/second or higher, giving many businesses access to the following benefits:

  • Faster speeds
  • Reduced Latency
  • Greater Capacity
  • Improved Battery Life
  • And more

Innovation will drive businesses to adopt faster technologies than ever before, and Qualcomm has found that 5G will become a “general purpose technology” in the near future, used so much that it will be akin to electricity or vehicles.

Virtual Reality
The consensus is that virtual reality is pretty neat, but not practical in the business environment. Unfortunately, this is far from the actual reality of the situation, as hardware and software advances have given organizations the means to use virtual reality in ways previously unheard of. VR is great for immersing users in virtual environments that can be used for practically any purpose, including training simulations, talent management, product design, and shared experience.

What are some other emerging technologies that you think will be helpful for businesses in the near future? Let us know in the comments.

26
Apr, 2019
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Manufacturers Are Really Leaning on IT

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One industry that most people wouldn’t necessarily consider to be IT-rich is manufacturing. With automation becoming a major point of emphasis for many businesses, IT has taken on a larger role for today’s small and medium-sized manufacturers. Today, we will take a long look at what the manufacturer’s IT needs are, and what solutions they use to help steer their company forward.

The Manufacturer’s Puzzle

Making products can be a bit of a puzzle. You have to fit the right parts together to create the product. Each of those parts comes from somewhere. Some you need to create yourself, but most of the time there are companies that manufacturers acquire the resources from. The process is called procurement.

Procurement is the first of many puzzles that a manufacturer has to solve. Essentially, the products they create have a purpose. Many small and medium-sized manufacturers tend to make the products that make up larger products (that other manufacturers build). As a result, their revenue typically comes from supplying other manufacturers with pieces that will make up the products they are manufacturing. To streamline the procurement process, many companies have started relying on automated systems to tell them when they need to re-up.

Once the resources have been acquired, now it’s time to make the products. Of course, the costliest part of any manufacturing company is the actual manufacturing of the products. This is mainly because the capital costs of purchasing the machinery needed to manufacture goods, coupled with the operational costs of payroll and downtime caused by machinery malfunction (and the subsequent maintenance required), adds up to a significant investment. Companies today are searching for new ways around these costs. Enhancements in automation have made it possible for the smaller manufacturer to trim their production costs, while keeping their output static.

The last piece of the puzzle for the manufacturer is the distribution of the products to consumers. In many cases the consumers in this scenario are retail businesses. They need the costs to be low enough to be able to offer them to their customers with a markup.  Problems with distribution, like problems in the procurement stages, can be devastating to the manufacturer’s ability to create a positive revenue stream.

Where IT Fits

The entire process can be aided by information technology, but manufacturers tend to look at things in stages…like their workflow. Typically, organizations that have leveraged automation through the use of software systems, find that they are able to have more transparency and less overall inefficiency than organizations that don’t. Some software platforms that modern manufacturers are using include:

  • Customer Relationship Management – This software helps a company streamline their customer service. It’s used to manage leads, opportunities, and customers.
  • Supply Chain Management – This software helps a company control their entire supply chain from procurement to distribution.
  • Inventory Management – Manages stock and standardizes and automates replenishment.
  • Asset Tracking – Using sensors, every product and resource can be tracked to provide efficiency.

These solutions and more can be found in what is called an Enterprise Resource Planning software. While ERP software is comprehensive and offers organizations a lot of benefits, smaller manufacturers may not need the immersive control that many ERP systems provide. Finding the right software to meet your needs is important to ensure that your business can be as effective as it can be.

The IT professionals at NuTech Services can help you find the software you need to gain full control over all of your business’ processes. Call us today to learn more at 810.230.9455.

13
Feb, 2019
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Tip of the Week: 4 Tech Questions, Answered

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Have you ever thought about why we use certain techniques to get the most out of our technology? Believe it or not, there is often a rhyme and a reason for why certain tactics are most useful for business technology solutions. We’ll try to get to the bottom of some of the strangest questions you might have about how to use your business technology.

What Does Restarting the Computer Do?
You might think of restarting the computer as something that cuts down on productivity, but this is far from the truth. While it stops you from working in the interim, it’s beneficial in the long run to routinely restart your computer for periodic updates and general upkeep. Have you ever tried to run a machine all the time without giving it a break every now and then? When you do this, it’s more likely that the device will be run into the ground. Your devices will run much better if you restart them every now and then to ensure that they aren’t being overworked.

What Use Is There for Your Task Manager?
You can imagine the look on someone’s face when their computer freezes up and it can’t run properly. Well, once upon a time, someone had the brilliant idea to include a task manager in a computer’ operating system to ensure that you can identify the problematic application (if there is one) and end its tasks without having to restart the computer. Overall, it’s a way to see how your computer’s resources are being allocated, as well as how to end troublesome tasks without restarting the computer.

Why Must Passwords Be Changed?
While some might argue that passwords should only be reset when they are discovered, this in-turn highlights why passwords should be reset frequently. Sometimes passwords will be stolen without the user knowing about it until they are being used against them, but other times, they will be stolen and sold on the black market to the highest bidder. It’s up to the user to make sure any passwords potentially stolen are changed before they can be used against your organization. The best way to protect against this from happening is to assume they will be stolen and change them periodically.

How Do Drivers Affect Your Work?
Drivers can be considered pieces of software that make your device compatible with a variety of external devices. You might have noticed that drivers must be installed on your device in order to use that USB mouse or wireless keyboard. These drivers must be kept up to date so that compatibility with devices doesn’t interfere with your work, and that security vulnerabilities are not presented to nefarious folks who want access to your systems and data.

Do you have any tips that you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

28
Jan, 2019
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Focus Your Technology on Producing Efficiency

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Technology can go a long way toward helping businesses be more productive with their time, but only if the solutions implemented are right and proper for your organization. We’ll discuss three services that you can provide for your business that can maximize productivity with technology solutions.

The Cloud
The cloud has risen in popularity over the years, and it’s because the benefits are simply too incredible for businesses not to adopt the cloud. Many of these benefits are a result of the cloud improving productivity. For example, cloud computing’s flexibility makes it great for use on mobile devices. Users are no longer limited to being in the office, and as long as they can access resources in a secure way, they can get just as much work done while out of the office over the Internet as they could if they were in-house.

Outsourced IT Management
Technology is only worth the investment if you have the time and resources available to properly manage it, as if you fail to take proper care of your technology, it could fail much sooner than you expect it to. The problem is that not all businesses can afford to hire a full-fledged in-house IT department to properly maintain their IT infrastructures. Thankfully, businesses like NuTech Services provide outsourced IT management to businesses with limited budgets who want to turn IT from a capital expense to an operational expense. Even if you have in-house IT resources, you can supplement them with outsourced IT to save time and make opportunities for other employees to get more value out of their employment with your organization.

Collaboration Solutions
There are many solutions out there that are designed to help your organization be more effective at collaboration. Whether it’s Voice over IP, hosted email, or instant messaging applications, your organization can use them to collaborate and share experiences in a way that facilitates cooperation and productivity.

Does your business want to implement technology to focus on improving productivity? NuTech Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

14
Jan, 2019
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The Pros and Cons of Automating Business Processes

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Most industries utilize automation to at least some degree. With plenty of benefits that can be taken advantage of, businesses need to remember that they still must be careful about implementing these systems, as failing to do so could cause downtime and negatively impact productivity. Here are some of the major benefits and detriments that your organizations should consider when examining automation.

The Pros
There is more than one application and way to use automation. While the uses are more general than specific, they can be applied to several different kinds of goals or processes, whether it’s customer service or data processing. In this sense, automation can be used in a pretty universal way.

Efficiency
It’s obvious that certain processes take a considerable amount of time to complete, but if they are handled by automated systems, they can be completed much more efficiently than before. In other words, since you don’t have to focus on these tasks, you can instead devote the time to something else entirely. This effectively adds more time to the workday by removing routine tasks that can be handled by an automatic process.

Minimizing Repetition
If someone has to do the same task over and over again, they are doomed to lose interest and make mistakes. If these tasks don’t require focus, then the employees will likely let their mind wander, and productivity can suffer. This makes even a quick task more likely to be repeated multiple times, making it less likely to yield a return on the investment. Automation makes it more convenient and less risky to leave monotonous tasks to employees. Trust us when we say employees will thank you for taking these tasks off their plate and freeing up their schedule for others.

Convenience
When someone reaches out to your business, it’s likely they need your help with something, and they need it fast. If you can’t provide it on a convenient time frame, chances are they will take their needs elsewhere. Automation gives them the ability to get help from a chatbot or other similar automated system without the need to staff someone at all times to address immediate needs. This gives you a better chance at being able to respond to their needs when they reach out to your organization.

Potential Cons
Automation might be quite helpful for businesses, but there are some issues that should be addressed in order to ensure it doesn’t become a liability for your business. For example, some processes are simply too complex for a machine to handle in the same way a human brain can. Most automated systems are limited by design, thus ensuring that they will be limited to the task assigned to them. After all, an automated system’s purpose isn’t being fulfilled if you have to provide constant feedback to it. Here are some ways you can make sure the faults of automation sting less:

  • Use automation sparingly: Some of the services that could be automated likely don’t need to be. This is particularly true for more complex issues. Consider that many of the people who contact your business have a point of contact within your organization and regular requests, meaning that working with a human might not be such a bad thing if they are available at that time. In this way, automation supplements human contact rather than replaces it.
  • Have employees direct the automation: If an automation system can’t perform a task on its own, having employees direct it during more complex tasks can work to mitigate the issue. A complicated request can be made, but still processed and understood with the right direction.
  • Ingrate your automation: You don’t want to stop processes midway. As long as your automation is well-designed and thought-out, tasks can be integrated with automation to ensure they are handled in the most complete way possible.

What are some ways your organization can benefit from automation? Let us know in the comments.

4
Jan, 2019
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The Rise of Machine Learning for Small Businesses

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A.I. is one of those technologies that captivates the imagination with endless possibilities. You can’t turn your head these days without using something integrated with early artificial intelligence. Machine learning platforms, which are very rudimentary forms of A.I. are now being used to improve many of the tools a small business uses. Today, we will briefly go into what machine learning is and how small businesses are using it to their advantage.

Smarter Machines?
The first thing you have to understand about machine learning is that it is just a branch of A.I. As such, it basically describes a method of analyzing huge amounts of data in which prospective models of problem solving are automated. In layman’s terms, the computer solves basic problems without human intervention. This is significant for a few reasons, but the most glaring is that businesses today, and even small businesses, take in a lot of data. Traditionally, humans were paid to go through all this data, or it was archived and disregarded until there was a major question.

This shift is in the manner in which these machine learning systems analyze data, identify patterns, and make decisions from the analysis of those patterns.This seemingly advanced technology is being deployed at a dizzying rate and is beginning to surround us all, in our phones, on search engines, and in the systems that we manage our business data. For the small business, there are opportunities to utilize this technology to help carve out a larger market share.

Small Business Machine Learning
The philosophy behind utilizing machine learning for a business is just an extension of the overarching strategy of deploying automated systems to cut down on personnel and human resources costs. This strategy has worked in several sectors, albeit with automated systems that were more pre-programmed than “smart” like the machine learning systems.

An issue many small businesses will run into when deciding whether or not to try and innovate to the point where machine learning is an option, is where exactly it fits. Other questions persist as well. They include:

  • What is the capital and operational investment of deploying this technology?
  • How it will have to be utilized to provide a competitive advantage?
  • What systems can be improved through the use of machine learning?
  • How much time do you have until you would be at a competitive disadvantage if you didn’t invest in the technology?

Once you’ve ascertained how exactly to deploy machine learning, you can go ahead implementing it where you feel it is warranted.

Benefits of Machine Learning
A.I. and machine learning carry with it specific benefits. Some of them include:

  • Forecasting business – What might be the most popular use of machine learning, the technology can be used to replace data and service analysis while being used to replace processes that were done manually or not done at all.
  • Customer service – Chatbot technology essentially automates the customer service experience by directing customers to certain solutions based on query.
  • E-commerce – Rolling out machine learning for your e-commerce site helps customers by adapting to customer behavior. Giving prospects and customers easy access to obtain the the products and services they are most interested in is sure to improve revenue generation.
  • Reputation management – Machine learning can be set up to analyze internal and external data sources to monitor brand popularity. When it finds negative sentiment, you can use the information provided to smooth the situation over, fast.

These are only four of the many processes that can really help improve your business. As the technology improves, more A.I. and machine learning applications will be used to manage, maintain, and streamline a lot of your business’ slow-moving manual processes.

Machine Stupidity
These technologies are extremely advanced and are programmed to learn for themselves, so oversight of them may be difficult. If you are one of the many business owners that have a difficult time trusting technology, machine learning may not be for you. These constructs tend to be less predictable than typical analysis, because it is so thorough. Also, you may run into problems getting all of the data that needs to be analyzed into the system, providing results that may not be accurate for your entire business.

One could see how a small business owner can be in ‘wait and see” mode, but the problem with that strategy, however, is that your competitors may be using it now to improve their business. If you are interested in learning more about how this emerging technology can be used to make your business better, contact the professionals at NuTech Services today at 810.230.9455.

24
Aug, 2018
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Reduce Setup Costs with IT Consulting

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It’s always exciting when the idea of a business becomes real by finding a space to conduct operations. It’s extra exciting when a business has outgrown its space and has to move into a new space. Whatever situation you are encountering, it can be excruciatingly difficult to affordably move into new offices.

NuTech Services can do several things for any business, whether you are a startup or an established company that’s moving or expanding. Our consultants are trained IT professionals; and, as a result, they can work with you to plan an efficient (and connected) use of your available space.

Moving Offices
When your company becomes too big for its britches you have to get some new ones. The problem is that you can’t just move everything over at once over one day; it’s a process. There are things that you can do, however, to make the move less of a headache. They include:

  • Choosing your Internet service provider – Having the necessary bandwidth to meet your business’ needs is crucial to its ability to run efficiently. If your new place of business needs to be rewired it could take up to a couple of months for it to get completed. At NuTech Services, we have good working relationships with several area ISPs, and can make sure that when it’s time to move in to your new building, you’ll have access to the bandwidth you need.
  • Property Assessment – While there won’t be any furniture or technology in place, walking through the property with our team to get a sense of where the technology will go can be helpful. This will simultaneously provide a chance to ascertain what will go where, and to make sure that all connections are in place.
  • Plan the logistics – If you expect your business to remain functional during a move, you need to plan how it is going to happen. Who is moving the hardware? Do the phones need to be connected? Is all the furniture there? There are over a dozen vendors you have to deal with when you are moving to a new location and making sure everything is squared away logistically is essential to a successful transition.

At NuTech Services, we provide the kind of technological expertise and vendor management services that make us a perfect partner for a rapidly growing company. Call us at 810.230.9455 today to talk to one of our knowledgeable consultants about how we can help make your transition easier.

23
Apr, 2018
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How to Properly Assess Your Technology Needs

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Nothing lasts forever, especially not the technology that a business relies on to function. Between typical wear and tear and the always-improving trajectory that the technology industry follows, you will likely need to actively evaluate your needs and what you resultantly need to obtain. Today, we’ll walk you through how this technology assessment should be shaped.

What Should your Assessment Focus On?
As you go about evaluating your technology, you need to consider how it has (and is projected to) affect your business. Looking to the past, anticipating the future, and being aware of the present where your technology is concerned will allow you to make better choices as you move forward.

The Past
For example, take the lesson that philosopher George Santayana coined: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is more or less a fancier way of saying that, if someone never learns from the mistakes they’ve made before, they’re going to keep making the same mistakes. This is why your technology assessment needs to consider the decisions you have made, and if the results were as you expected.

Were your investments into certain solutions ultimately worth it? Did that new process you implemented see any success, or was it even actually adopted by your workforce? Looking at your past decisions and their outcomes will help you make more informed decisions with a better chance of benefiting your company.

The Present
Of course, there will be other signs of issues around you at any time, so it is equally important to evaluate your technology’s efficacy in the given moment. Are your employees able to use the tools at their disposal to properly and successfully do their jobs? If not, what is the root cause of their difficulties? Where do they see the solutions just being insufficient or problematic?

This insight will allow you to reevaluate if your investments are getting as much mileage as they need to be, and therefore will give you a better idea of how your business’ needs should be prioritized moving forward.

The Future
Speaking of moving forward, you need to do something with all the insights you’ve collected from your analysis of the past and present. Making informed decisions based on what you anticipate the future to hold in technological innovations will allow you to center your solutions around your anticipated needs. While this isn’t an exact science, it is better to at least try to predict an outcome than it is to be blindsided by something you could have seen coming.

Benefits of a Technology Assessment
Running a comprehensive assessment of the technology that you leverage in your business’ operations can provide you with various advantages that you might not have access to otherwise. First of all, an assessment is an excellent way to identify any problems your technology may be suffering, as well as to zero in on your business’ needs, as was discussed above. As a result, a technology assessment also serves as an excellent means of narrowing down possible solutions to these deficits. This enables you to select the solutions that are right for you, reducing the costs incurred by deploying solutions that aren’t a good fit.

How Technology Should Be Assessed
Just as trying to sweep a mess out of a carpet is much less effective than using a vacuum cleaner, just giving your needs a quick once-over before making a change or electing not to will not provide your business with any benefits.

Instead, try a more in-depth method to maximize your returns.

  • Study Workflows – Are your employees encountering problems in their workflow? Ask them what improvements would be welcome and compare their suggestions with the growth plan you have projected for your future. Will their suggestions be compatible with the growth plan you’ve established?
  • Analyze Technology in Place – Working again with your employees, establish what strengths and (more importantly) weaknesses your current solutions exhibit that could influence your workflow. A comprehensive understanding of your business technology will help with the next step.
  • Explore Alternative Approaches – Before you charge ahead and take a chunk out of your finances, take the time to brainstorm other resolutions to your IT concerns and deficits. If a slight tweak to the process can resolve the problem, or more effectively using the solutions you have on hand is all it will take to fix it, wouldn’t you say that’s a better option than making huge, expensive changes?
  • Take Stock of Your Resources – If it happens that you do need a new system or solution, it helps to know what you have going in and have your priorities lined up. If a new solution is too expensive, or your team is resistant to change, blindly implementing it all at once could open you up to problems.

Once these steps are completed, you should be much more prepared to make a decision concerning your technology. Need some more help? NuTech Services is here with the expertise to assist you in assessing your IT. Give us a call at 810.230.9455 for more information.

2
Apr, 2018
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Using a QR Code to Log In

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Passwords are still an incredibly valuable part of security, but it’s becoming quite difficult to maximize network security through passwords alone. Even if you somehow manage to sell the idea of network security to your staff, whether or not they follow through is another thing entirely. It’s critical that you make it as easy as possible for your employees to stay secure, and that’s where scannable QR codes come in.

Why QR Codes?
By using a QR code to connect to your business’ wireless network, you can improve security. There are several benefits to this approach compared to the traditional alphanumeric password. An alphanumeric password can’t be shared as easily as a QR code, and the last thing you want to do is share your specific Internet access credentials. The real kicker is that a QR code makes things much easier on the side of the end-user. Instead of using a touchscreen to plug in a PIN or password, you can simply use the right app on your mobile device to take a picture of a QR code. It’s a great way for businesses to allow guests access to a wireless network without carelessly handing out credentials.

How to Use a QR Code
If you want to use a QR code to access the Internet, you will need to have a system in place that generates a code. You can use any of various websites or applications that create QR codes for whatever network that you want to connect to, as well as its password. You’ll also want to review any terms of service or other policies before making sure that you want to share this information for any reason.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to download the end result. You now have an easy way to access your Internet without creating a security risk for yourself. Do you have any other security concerns that need addressing? NuTech Services wants to help. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

14
Feb, 2018
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Tip of the Week: Which Storage is Better for Your Needs?

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Keeping your company’s data safe is extremely important no matter where it is stored. Making the decision to store data in the cloud or in an in-house server is just one consideration you need to make. Today, we will compare these two options to help you select the one is right for your business.

Cloud Storage
There are many advantages to using the cloud for backup and storage. Firstly, the platform is cost-effective because not only are you likely paying for only the space and services that you need, you also don’t have the extra utility and maintenance costs that onsite hardware tends to come with.

Another benefit is the scalability that you can get in the cloud. You can always get just the amount of space and computing services that you need, which is not something that you can expect in the case of an in-house computing platform. By being able to increase and decrease space as needed, all you’ll need to do is notify your service provider, and they will increase or decrease your storage space accordingly.

With cloud-based storage, you also typically improve on your accessibility. Any data stored in a cloud-based storage facility can be accessed through most Internet-connected devices that run an Internet browser (or through an app). Just log into your account and gain access to all the information you need when you need it.

Depending on your business needs, some of the few disadvantages cloud storage brings may not even impact your decision. The big one is speed. If you have a lot of data to store, and your Internet connection is less than stellar, backing up or transferring data to the cloud provider could take a while.

Local Storage
Speed is the one main advantage of storing your data locally, but there are some others. Businesses that rely on in-house computing infrastructures have more options than those that use cloud-hosted solutions–especially since you can just unhook the drive and the data is protected.

By having complete control over the management and design of your in-house computing infrastructure, you can create some pretty useful setups that will save your business money. Not only can you set up multiple virtual machines on one server, you can have full-scale redundancy to protect all of the information on your systems.

Some downsides include the upfront expense of purchasing all the major hardware and software systems needed. Scalability is more difficult, and most damning, if your data is saved, backed up, and protected in one place, if that one place gets hit with any issues, your data could be inaccessible, or worse yet, destroyed altogether.

While you have to make decisions for your business, depending on NuTech Services to help you make the right ones is advisable. Call us today at 810.230.9455 and one of our professional IT experts will help you design and implement a storage plan to meet your business’ needs.

20
Dec, 2017
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Tip of the Week: Sync Your Inboxes with IMAP

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How many emails do you send on a daily basis? You use it so frequently that you might not second-guess how it actually works. Depending on the way your business uses email, you might be able to optimize the way that it works for your mobile devices. There are two types of protocol that work to varying degrees for your email solution.

The first kind of email protocol is called POP, or Post Office Protocol. This can be seen in a similar way to snail mail. POP works by downloading messages to your device from the mail server through your email client. However, this keeps you from downloading the messages onto other devices. If you want to check your email on your smartphone, the same messages will not be accessible on your desktop–it’s just the way it works.

On the other hand, you have the preferred method of handling multi-device email: IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP stores the messages live on an email server rather than downloading them directly to the devices. This means that the messages remain on the email server and are accessed by a mail client on any device you use. Any actions performed on the messages are done so through the mail server. This is the best way to use email if you’re hoping to keep your messages in sync across your devices.

Modern email systems generally allow for IMAP, including Google’s Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, and Mozilla’s Thunderbird. Some, like Apple’s iCloud, even default to it. Depending on your business’ needs, you’ll want to implement a communications solution that allows your team to access email on a multitude of devices–that’s where we come in.

If your business is unfamiliar with mobile devices, NuTech Services can work with your organization to ensure that your mobile device policy matches up properly with your email client. You want to ensure that any devices accessing company information are secured from end to end. Furthermore, these devices need access to information unimpeded so that productivity can commence. We can work with your organization to make this happen.

To learn more about email, mobile devices, and business technology for a modern workforce, reach out to NuTech Services at 810.230.9455.

10
Nov, 2017
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What to Expect from IT in 2018

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As one of the most famous head coaches in NFL history, Vince Lombardi has several quotes that can be applied to success. One particular statement to note is “If you are five minutes early, you are already ten minutes late.” As it turns out, this quote inadvertently refers to technology. The technology industry moves a mile-a-minute and businesses are always looking for ways to innovate and make significant improvements to technology.

In fact, it’s just one small way you can make a big change for your small business’ operations. Here are some of the best developments to look forward to for your business’ IT in 2018, as per some of the most notable IT professionals in the United States.

  • Emerging technology is important. Of all technology observed, security (81%), mobile device management (51%), and big data (49%) are likely to play a major role in future technology development.
    • What this means for the small business: The threat of a hacking attack or data loss should never be underestimated. In order to commit to keeping your business secure, it is best to proactively take steps to keep threats out of your network. Considering how popular mobile solutions have become, you need to include mobile device management in your maintenance strategy.
  • Network security is a focus. Businesses understand how crucial it is that their network data is properly protected. 70% say that securing this data will be their top priority in 2018.
    • What this means for the small business: While peer pressure isn’t usually a good thing, this statistic is the exception. When almost three-quarters of your industry contemporaries are taking steps to improve their security against cybercrime, it’s a good indication that you should as well.
  • Balancing in-house and outsourced solutions. 54% of survey respondents plan to combine internal and external IT support and administration to fulfill their needs.
    • What this means for the small business: Some positions are simply more difficult to fill as a part of an in-house staff. For example, there just aren’t enough security experts for all the vacancies in small businesses, especially when large businesses lure candidates away with more pay, better benefits, and other perks. Furthermore, not many small businesses would likely need a full-time security resource if best practices are followed.

      As a result, many businesses are looking externally for their cybersecurity needs. A managed service provider can provide an outsourced team of experienced IT professionals who will communicate and work with you to meet your organizational technology needs. This allows you to preserve your budget by eliminating the need to hire and train your own internal resources.

  • Increased use of a virtual environment. It is expected that using the cloud and virtualization technologies will lead to a 69% decline in utilizing installed applications on local systems.
    • What this means for the small business: Complicated infrastructures have no place in the digital climate of today, and relatedly, there is a need of scalability to meet the needs of your business and workforce. A virtual environment lends itself to that ability to change, and easily allows you to securely make necessary changes to your data–whether those changes are alterations to user access permissions, the addition of new user accounts, or scaling services.
  • Increase in SaaS. 61% of those surveyed predict that the operating system will gradually become irrelevant as applications move more and more to the browser.
    • What this means for the small business: The move from self-managed applications and software to fully-managed Software as a Service will allow business users to be productive from anywhere, with their solutions maintained for them by the hosting service. This includes installing updates and applying patches as they are released.

How do you plan to leverage these technologies in your business? Whatever your plans are, NuTech Services is here with the solutions and experience to help. For more information, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

31
Jul, 2017
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Is Your IT Holding Up Its End Of The Bargain?

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As you design your business’ IT infrastructure, it is important that you look months and years into the future, rather than just what you need in the moment. A good managed service provider will understand that–which makes it your job to find a good one. The following questions will help to more quickly narrow down your search to find the best provider for your needs.

What is included in the service level agreement we would have?
There is nothing that requires all companies to promise or provide the same things. This means that a provider can offer services A and C, but will have nothing to do with anything involving B. The same could just as easily be possible of services A or C. Some providers will have some sort of offering for all services, but offer so little that A, B, and C are more accurately described as a, b, and c. That’s not even taking response times into consideration. It wouldn’t matter if your provider could deliver A through Z, if it took them weeks or days to provide them, rather than hours.

Ideally, you will find a provider that will offer comprehensive services designed to resolve any pain points you may encounter in a swift and professional manner. In order to be sure that you have, you need to know what that provider will provide.

How to you approach network management?
This is an important consideration for a few reasons, first and foremost to ensure that you will not run up an obscene bill on what another provider would include in their basic IT support package. If your management costs are going to hold you back going forward, it makes a lot of sense that your provider can adapt with you to save you some much-needed capital.

Since making a profit is the primary goal of business, the more your organization grows the more agile you need your service provider to be. More technology to monitor and manage, the more time it will take, so choosing a provider that has shown success helping small businesses grow is advantageous.

How will you help us protect my network and data?
An IT disaster is usually a data disaster. Losing data can present all types of problems for your business; and, can happen in a number of ways. Hardware failure, malware, or user error can all result in critical data being lost.

As a result, along with the IT provider’s continuous monitoring and their use of automation to keep everything managed around the clock, an MSP has to be able to have a plan to protect the digital assets a company may have. A good amount of an organization’s data is useful, and having a plan to back it up, and recover it quickly can keep your business going. After all, a staff that is battling downtime from data loss (or any other IT-related reason) is less productive, and less engaged (leading to further productivity and revenue loss).

These are just a small number of the issues you have to be able to trust your IT Services provider to prioritize for your business. If you are looking for a comprehensive partner to protect your business from IT-related downtime, call the certified professional as NuTech Services today at 810.230.9455.

3
Jul, 2017
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There’s a Better Way to Approach Technology Than Fixing What Breaks

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Technology is a major factor that can determine your business’s fate, yet some organizations don’t necessarily recognize IT problems before they make themselves apparent. Unfortunately, by the time you notice any issues with your IT, they are usually turning into problems that cause your business considerable troubles. To keep issues from evolving into major problems, it’s up to you to ensure that your technology is maintained in a proactive fashion.

What NOT to Do
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about tech support isn’t necessarily the best option out there. Most users think of a break-fix IT provider, which uses the following formula for providing service:

  • Some piece of technology or equipment stops working and it begins to affect operations.
  • You contact your tech support.
  • A technician is dispatched to assist you.
  • You wait for a technician to arrive on-site to fix the issue.
  • The tech arrives and fixes your issues.
  • You pay the support fees.
  • Your employees get back to work.

While this method of IT support certainly gets your problem taken care of, the true cost of such support is that you’re paying every single time you require it. While you pay your IT provider for services, there are plenty of other costs associated with this type of break-fix support. After all, your employees will still have to be paid for any time spent in the office, even if their technology isn’t allowing them to work properly.

Plus, what if the problem is not just affecting your employees, but your clients as well? If they can’t receive the goods or services that you provide for them, then they aren’t going to be happy. If this happens too frequently, they might even consider breaking their agreement with you and moving to a competitor who might offer more reliable services. Therefore, while break-fix IT is certainly a solution, it’s unlikely to minimize damage. You’re better off taking a proactive measure to resolve your technology troubles.

The Right Way to Approach IT
Many organizations are shifting from a dependence on break-fix IT to more proactive solutions, with the primary one being managed IT services. This particular approach takes a much different method of administering IT support:

  • One of the managed service provider’s technicians notices that there are components that might experience a critical issue. They then inform your organization of the possible issue.
  • The managed service provider then works to resolve the problem remotely while possible.
  • If your issue is covered by your service level agreement, then you pay nothing for the service besides your usual monthly fee.
  • Your employees get right back to work with minimal interruption.

The managed services provided by NuTech Services offer your organization dynamic, enterprise-level solutions that allow you to minimize downtime and take a proactive stand against IT issues. We can monitor and maintain your solutions so that your organization can focus on what it does best, without worrying about whether or not your technology will remain functional. To learn more about managed IT, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

2
Jun, 2017
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Advice for Passing Your Next IT Audit With Flying Colors

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Most people think of audits and immediately cringe, but the fact of the matter is that businesses wanting to maximize output can really benefit from an audit. Audits can be great ways to ensure that a business’ priorities are being given their due attention, and that best practices are being utilized. An audit of your IT infrastructure and network can go a long way toward helping you determine if there are changes you need to make in order to maximize the profitability of your organization.

Here are three of the most common problems that our technicians find when conducting our comprehensive IT audits.

Outdated Software
It doesn’t matter if it’s the operating system on your workstations or the software on the servers, if you fail to apply critical updates and security patches to your operating systems, then your network will be vulnerable. This is a big red flag during any IT audit. Since outdated versions of software can become problematic for your integrated security protocols, by not properly updating your mission-critical software, you could be putting your business at significant risk.

An Absent Business Continuity Plan
As a part of a risk management strategy, any organization that doesn’t have a business continuity plan is ignoring the truth. The facts suggest that a disaster could happen at any moment, whether a company is ready or not. If you fail to prepare for a disaster, you’re staring failure in the face.

Poor or Lackluster Implementation
When it comes to regulatory compliance, NuTech Services will audit your internal processes, and analyze how they could be more efficient or secure. If you have outdated IT policies, they can end up costing you a lot more than a passing grade on an IT audit. If you haven’t properly tested your infrastructure, or if you’ve failed to deploy modern security best practices like multi-factor authentication, then your organization will perform poorly on an IT audit. Furthermore, if an auditor sees that your organization’s IT department splits responsibilities on a per-task basis, you’ll be more likely to score lower than if all IT resources understood how to perform every task necessary to their position.

These are only a few ways that your company could fail to perform as intended during an IT audit. If you want to ensure that your organization can pass your next audit, then you’ll want to ensure that your IT understands the importance of adhering to security best practices and industry standards.

Lastly, it is incredibly important that you remember that auditors aren’t the ones who are trying to sink your business. If anything, they are attempting to help you improve the way your organization operates. They are simply doing what your IT department should be doing in the first place by checking to see if you have unpatched or vulnerable systems, or aren’t adhering to best practices.

NuTech Services can help your business ensure its security by performing an IT audit. We can comb through your network for any potential issues and suggest ways to resolve them. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

12
May, 2017
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3 Reasons Why it’s High Time to Give the Cloud a Chance

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If you haven’t implemented cloud computing for your business yet… why? We understand that you can’t throw caution to the wind, but it’s really in your best interest to invest in the cloud. Doing so can allow your organization to experience unprecedented periods of enhanced operations and growth in the future. We’ll dispel three of the most common misconceptions about the cloud so that you can make the best decision possible for your business.

Misconception 1: Your Data Isn’t Secure in the Cloud
If you think that security is a problem for the cloud, we understand why you might think that way; especially in light of the many major hacking attacks suffered by organizations far larger than your own. However, in many cases, it’s actually safer to store data in the cloud than on your in-house infrastructure. In a study by Schneider Electric, it was found that 40 percent of participants host their security solution in the cloud, and another 45 percent of participants claim that they will move their security to the cloud in the near future.

Granted, you still need to be careful when you’re considering a cloud platform for your organization’s data. You, or a trusted IT consultant, should take the time to perform a quality analysis of the various risks versus the rewards–particularly in regard to the costs, opportunities, and risk factors. To get a second opinion about various cloud providers, you can look at vendors who might use their services. You’ll be able to see how great their services are from who they associate themselves with.

Misconception 2: The Cloud is Too Expensive
The cloud may have been a rather expensive investment in the past, but that’s not so much the case anymore. The cloud is so varied and commonplace in today’s workplace environment that you will likely encounter different rates for different cloud providers. Furthermore, since the cloud has grown much more common over the past few years, its costs have decreased, allowing more organizations to afford it than before.

There are still other expenses to keep in mind, though, including the cloud migration fees and any other costs associated with doing so. This includes opportunity costs, like time to market, disaster recovery savings, and customer satisfaction. You also need to consider just how much it will take to run an on-site cloud, as well as the maintenance that it would require, like resolving problems, installing new hardware, upgrading applications, and so on.

Misconception 3: You Can’t Get Flexibility from the Cloud
If you’ve made the decision to host data and applications on your in-house infrastructure, then you know that it takes a significant amount of time and resources to make this type of situation work for you. Usually an IT department would handle this responsibility, but it’s not always easy for small organizations to achieve the same level of care as larger enterprises. This is why a lot of organizations choose to host their network resources, like server/desktop infrastructures and data storage, in the cloud. This saves your organization a considerable amount of time and money, and all it takes is a talk with a trusted cloud provider like NuTech Services to make it reality.

Are you ready to invest in cloud computing? If so, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

5
May, 2017
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Webinars Take the Excuses Out of Missing Meetings

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For today’s businesses, displaying your organizational authority is crucial to success. Whether it’s McDonald’s with fast food burgers, Chevrolet with cars and trucks, or Walmart for everything else, the message you put out there is seemingly as important as the services you provide. For small businesses, this becomes even more crucial. For example, if you run a hardware store, you likely can’t compete with the prices of the big box stores, but you can bring to the table something of greater value to the consumer: your knowledge.

In the past, companies would have seminars to introduce new concepts to anyone that had a vested interest, or to present their consumer base a new set of practices. These seminars were great marketing tools for companies to show the consumer that they, in fact, know about the products or services they were selling. As a result, they were great ways to build organic traffic into their stores. This is a classic example of how word of mouth is the best form of marketing.

Cut to today, people are busy, and with social media being what it is, it was inevitable that companies would have to start coming to the consumer, rather than having the consumer come to them. Nowadays, the webinar (obviously taken from the root words web and seminar) has allowed the modern business to interact with would-be customers over the Internet. The webinar is set up much like the seminar with a presentation or course followed by a full question and answers section.

A webinar can be an hour or two, it can be a half-hour, it can be five. There really isn’t any set amount of time, but you have to remember that even if you are constantly at the computer, some of the people you are trying to reach aren’t. Also, no matter how valuable you think the information you have packed into your five-hour webinar is, it doesn’t take much for people, interested or not, to be distracted away from what you are saying. In fact, that brings up one of the main benefits of the webinar, the ability for the user to listen at their leisure. So while you may hold an event at 7 PM on a Wednesday, you can distribute the webinar for anyone to download or stream for as long as you’d like. It’s best practice to keep it between one and two hours, and don’t waste your listener’s time with fluff. If someone gets bored with one of your webinars, the chances decrease substantially that they will ever go to another.

Along with their platform for distributing your company’s knowledge and authority in your industry, webinars have shown to be one of the best ways to close new customers. In fact, Buzzsumo has stated that nearly one-fifth of their webinar attendees turn into paying customers.

The technology used to conduct a webinar is readily available. There are literally dozens of free and paid applications designed to let you conduct webinars. Some of these include GoToWebinar, AnyMeeting, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft’s Skype platform. If you are curious about what it takes for you to educate potential and current customers with a webinar, contact NuTech Services’s professional IT staff at 810.230.9455.

26
Dec, 2016
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3 Compelling Reasons Why Your Business Should Move to the Cloud

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Businesses are turning to the cloud because it’s designed to make operations easier and save them money. In light of these benefits, organizations that have yet to move to the cloud may be missing out on some serious advantages by continuing to do IT the hard way. If you’re still unsure about the cloud, then consider how these three features of cloud computing can change how you do business.

The Cloud Takes the Burden Off of Running an In-House Network
A business that hosts their data and IT infrastructure in-house is in charge of overseeing every aspect of maintaining their network. This includes everything from putting out fires when things go wrong to procuring new equipment. For many SMBs, what makes this responsibility challenging is the obvious fact that they’re not an IT company. However, by owning all of this equipment an SMB essentially has to take on some very technical responsibilities requiring professional knowledge.

The advantage of hosting your data and applications in the cloud is that you’re essentially outsourcing this responsibility to a cloud provider whose sole job is to oversee and protect your data. This frees up resources to better invest in your business goals, and gives you peace of mind that your data is being handled by professionals so that nothing is being overlooked.

Cloud Offers Flexibility
Today’s business environment makes accessing your work while on the go practically a necessity, and hosting your data can prove to be a complex endeavor when sharing files and information internationally. ITProPortal explains, “Global expansion has increased the need for international data centers, especially as security and privacy concerns lead to strict regulations that vary from country to country… Cloud computing with an established cloud partner with physical data centers across multiple geographies means your data can ‘live’ in just about any jurisdiction, and mitigates this problem.”

Plus, providing your workforce with anytime, anywhere access to their important files along with the ability to collaborate on projects in real-time is a huge bonus that will boost the productivity efforts of your business.

The Cloud is Secure
In the early years of cloud computing, one of the loudest arguments against the cloud was that it couldn’t be trusted because you’re essentially handing over sensitive data to a third party provider with unproven security protocols. However, with the rise of cloud computing in recent years, the public cloud option has undergone security upgrades by leaps and bounds and the data centers hosting your data have vast resources to commit to the security of your data–resources that SMBs lack. Therefore, today’s cloud options give users the security they need without having to sacrifice flexibility.

When all three of these features are considered, going with the cloud allows businesses to do much more for less. This allows SMBs to better distribute their resources toward profit-making initiates, while enjoying the benefits of a professionally maintained IT infrastructure, without having to pay for an in-house IT staff. To get started with cloud computing for your business, call NuTech Services at 810.230.9455.