Lauren E, Author at Bluwater Technologies

3 Web Apps Your Business Can Use Right Now For Better Productivity

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If you have a PC, laptop, or smartphone, there are a ton of web apps that can make your life easier and more pleasant.

Here are 3 great web apps for our computer tip of the day.

Mint is a free app that lets you keep track of expenditures. It helps you stick to a budget or to track expenditures in certain categories. Mint will provide you with a graph of how much you’ve spent vis-à-vis income for a given month. Additionally, send reminders when you are approaching the top end of a budget category. It can be set up to synchronize with a checking account, or amounts can be entered manually.
Want to watch the latest from your favorite TV show? Or are the election results on your schedule and not on the network’s schedule? Google Cast and you can do it. Google Cast, a free app, needs to be used with a smart TV. Additionally, a piece of hardware called a dongle. It is available at most places that sell computer software. Then, the dongle is inserted into the television. Then, the Google Cast app will stream anything you want to watch from a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet to your television screen. The advantage is that so much is available to stream, and you no longer need to watch any show at the time the networks decide.
As family and friends become increasingly far-flung, it’s great to be able to talk to everybody live, as it were. Using Skype for Business you can chat and see how everybody’s doing physically as well as by voice.

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Benefits of Outsourcing IT Support

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Outsourcing IT support is a step towards having a more organized business. Letting trained professionals handle your IT questions can make daily work easier and allow for more time for important projects, expansions, and other business-related tasks, as well as minimizing interruptions of daily activities. Here are 4 reasons to outsource your IT support to maximize your business’s productivity:

Prevention, not intervention. In-office IT support is likely there after the problem has already occurred, restoring normal activity. Outsourcing makes it easier to spot problems before they put a halt to your productivity, and can make preventing latent problems easier.
Improved response times. Outsourced help centers can increase the speed of resolution. Turning a face-to-face encounter into a brief phone call for simple fixes. Instead of waiting for the IT professional to come by, employees or managers can call the support center and receive the same level of expertise in less time.
Saved money on staffing. Because IT support centers are most likely located out-of-state, and even out of the country, the cost of receiving help is less. Hiring full-time IT technicians with benefits and other costs can drain a business instead of aiding in its growth. The support is there when it is needed, and no more.
Higher levels of security. By outsourcing IT needs, security standards are greatly improved. If a team of IT professionals within a company has access to sensitive information, it may be misused. External assistance is brought in on a need-to-know basis, protecting the company from internal damage.

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The Best Business Laptop For You: Computer Tip of the Day

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Some business owners choose a computer that’s strictly for their office, while others use a personal laptop. In plenty of ways, having your own laptop is much more beneficial than an office computer. First of all, you’re not restricted to the hours in your business, and you can also complete any unfinished work at home, right from your personal device. With that said, owning and purchasing a laptop for your business, involves making smart decisions and knowing what is the best business laptop. You can’t just waltz into the nearest Best Buy and expect any laptop to be a perfect fit for your business needs.

best business laptop

For today’s computer tip, here is how to make sure you’re purchasing the best business laptop for your needs.

First of all, you should consider the cost of what you’re purchasing. Just because a laptop is more expensive, that doesn’t always mean it’s better. On the contrary, a cheap laptop doesn’t always mean that it’s “worse”, either. Consider your budget, and weigh the pros and cons of each device. Speaking of which, consider your business needs as well. Many laptops have excellent hardware, but also come with plenty of accessories you may not even need. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing it if it’s within your budget, but always remember that there’s a huge difference between your wants and your needs. Lastly, before buying any laptop, check reviews, especially if you plan to purchase it online.

After all, cheap hardware is the last thing you want to buy. In relation to this, many developers think they’re sneaky. They cut corners and use cheaper hardware, so they can reduce the costs of building a laptop. In the long run, these laptops have a much shorter lifespan. Many consumers are unaware of this until the warranty expires, and by then, it’s too late for them. Knowing the general consensus on what you’re purchasing, can help you avoid these issues.

For more information, contact us today at Bluwater Technologies. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Do You Need A Managed Service Company? Find Out, Today!

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Do you need a managed service company? You may be doing reasonably well running your business’s own systems. You know something about computers, and the network isn’t very elaborate.

Still, there are good reasons why a managed service company can better suit your business.

Your focus should be on running the business. There are lots of things you can do, but it makes sense to devote your effort to the important management tasks and delegate other responsibilities.
Your systems will run more reliably. A managed service doesn’t just respond to problems; it prevents them. Keeping software up to date will make your systems more reliable. Monitoring the network will detect sporadic problems before they become serious.
Regular offsite backup will keep your data safe. Loss of data due to hardware failure, user errors, or physical disasters can destroy a business. Reliable, well-managed offsite backup will allow quick recovery.
Security measures will stop data theft. Keeping computers safe from intrusions and malware is a difficult task. It requires paying attention to a lot of issues, including firewall configuration, account and password management, email filtering, and anti-malware software. Managed service companies keep up on the latest threats and countermeasures so that you won’t suffer data breaches.
If something goes wrong, you want to fix it quickly. A managed services company will address any problems promptly, minimizing the impact on your business.
When you need to upgrade your systems and software, you want expert advice. Your managed service provider can tell you what the best current technology is, and how to avoid ineffective or obsolescent products.

For a reasonable cost, a managed IT service company lets you devote your time to running your business and keeps your computer operations efficient, up to date, and safe. Bluwater Technologies provides managed services tailored to your business.

Please contact us for details.

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HIPAA compliance consultants can save your business from serious financial losses

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Healthcare cyber attacks occur frequently, with hackers targeting hospitals, medical practices, insurance companies, and other businesses and organizations that handle medical information in some capacity. That’s why HIPAA compliance is so important. A recent article from Healthcare IT News mentions that the healthcare industry leads the way among different industries in experiencing cyber attacks.

Given the risk of healthcare data breaches, it’s no wonder that businesses are required to meet HIPAA standards. HIPAA, short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, lays out guidelines for keeping medical data private. If your business handles any sort of healthcare information, you must follow HIPAA guidelines.

Failure to meet HIPAA compliance can result in various fines, in some cases amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Prison time is also a possible consequence, depending on the severity of violations and whether they were deliberate.

Ensuring that you meet HIPAA standards can also improve your cyber security overall. When you evaluate your business for HIPAA violations, you can detect employee behaviors and IT practices that are compromising data security. For example:

Your business transmits sensitive healthcare information over unencrypted channels.
Your employees are sharing passwords freely or leaving unguarded access to various files containing medical information.
Sensitive healthcare data gets released to unauthorized parties, and in general, your business doesn’t sufficiently restrict access privileges to confidential data.
Your employees dispose of data without the proper safeguards. For example, they may discard a computer hard drive intact or throw out unshredded documents containing private information.

How can you make sure you’re meeting HIPAA standards? HIPAA compliance consultants can give you their guidance and assistance. Hiring consultants helps you avoid the legal penalties for violating HIPAA regulations. They’ll also strengthen your cyber security practices more generally, decreasing the chances that you’ll suffer a serious data breach. You’ll be in a better position to avoid steep financial losses and preserve people’s trust.