How Managed Services Can Provide Peace of Mind

a man sitting at a computer with headphones on

Technology has become an integral part of business in the modern era. Tracking shipments, inventory, sales, personnel hours, and countless other aspects of the business are now synonymous with a wide variety of systems and software. Managing these resources can be difficult, however. Many companies and businesses don’t have the means or resources to set up and manage their own infrastructure. So what are managed services and how do they fill this role?

The Technology Services Industry Association breaks down managed services into five distinct categories that customers may need.

Monitoring

Often, companies will purchase solutions marketed to their needs but can have a wide variety of difficulties operating them once installed. From performance issues to unexpected behaviors and crashes, without a dedicated IT team, even the smallest of issues can be difficult to isolate and resolve. The monitoring part of managed services is just what it sounds like. Watch the system to make sure everything is running smoothly. If there are issues, they will contact you and let you know what’s happening, however, this basic service may not extend to troubleshooting and resolving the issue.

Operate

Here’s where the hands get dirty. When businesses opt to have a managed service provider operate their system, they not only monitor it but take charge and fix the issue when things go wrong. A managed service provider becomes your safety net. Making sure everything is running smoothly and saving the day when disaster strikes is the most important part of this essential function.

Optimize

Technology is now a rapidly evolving machine and optimization is a service that makes sure the business stays on top. By assessing current needs and the best solutions available, many managed service providers are now advising their customers on the solutions that are right for them. You probably won’t need the latest and greatest out there, but actively having a consultant keep you informed makes sure you don’t miss out on vital opportunities to improve your technological solutions.

Transform

This is an extension of optimization and can fill a vital function in any business. Your managed service provider actively monitors the latest and greatest trends and technological solutions that can benefit your business. They help apprise you of changes and trends and then implement them seamlessly into your business. This helps you focus on what you do best while maintaining the most up-to-date and powerful hardware and software that suits your needs.

Managed XaaS/Cloud

While not right for every business, there are a lot of cloud-based solutions and an almost infinite number of software and hardware options for almost any need. More and more businesses are turning to Anything as a Service(XaaS) and cloud service solutions to help them expand, grow, and collaborate in new and effective ways. Managed service providers are happily filling this role, combining it with the rest of the services offered to provide an endless stream of solutions to best suit you and your business needs.

Think you could benefit from a Managed Service Provider?

Please contact us so we can help you see what solutions we can offer to help you and your business reach your potential!

Computer Tip of the Day – 4 Tricks for Using Gmail for Business

Gmail is the preferred email service provider for many people. People use it for business and personal purposes alike. Here are four useful tips to help you use Gmail more effectively.

Forward Mail From Another Client

If you have a business email address that is associated with your website, it can often be a pain to constantly have to go to your cPanel dashboard and log in. As an alternative, you can have your mail forwarded to your Gmail account. Just go to settings and click on Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Follow the instructions or ask your website hosting provider if you run into any hiccups.

Undo Send

What if you send an email and then suddenly realize that perhaps it wasn’t worded right or that sending it was a mistake? Click the Undo Send option that pops up in the yellow bar at the top of the screen if 30 seconds haven’t yet passed. First, though, you have to enable this option in the settings.

Preview Your Gmail Messages

If you have a large screen, you can enable a preview tab so that you get a pane to preview the beginning parts of your emails without even opening them. First, though, you have to enable Gmail Labs in the settings. You can then toggle between a preview pane, a vertical preview pane, and a horizontal preview pane. Gmail Labs is where you can get many features that haven’t yet been released to everyone yet.

Forward Entire Gmail Threads

If you want to forward an entire thread of emails to a contact right away, you can do that by enabling Conversation View in your settings first. When you click on the forward button, click on More and select Forward All.

For more computer tips and IT help, contact us today.

How To Gain IT Support As A Small Business

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As a small business, you may be envious of the large companies with their own IT departments. When something goes wrong with your computer technology, you feel as though it’s all on you to take care of the problem. However, IT support is available. You can be more proactive when it comes to your IT issues simply by finding the right partner.

Managed IT Services

One of the easiest ways to get IT support is to sign up for managed IT services. This essentially allows you to increase productivity within the workplace simply by letting someone else manage the IT components of your operations.

Your technology will grow as you grow, allowing you to have a scalable solution in place.

Additionally, you can rest easy knowing that both your data and network are secure. You can achieve a higher level of uptime simply because someone else will be monitoring your IT connectivity.

The IT services are managed remotely. Further, you can choose a service plan that meets the needs of your business processes as well as your budget.

Consultations

It may be time to sit down with an IT specialist to talk about the technology that you have and what you can benefit from in terms of making an investment. There may be new tools that can help you to boost productivity and lower costs. Creating a technology strategy is something that many small business owners miss when they’re running their business – and you don’t want to make the same mistake.

Regardless of what industry you are in, you can benefit from IT support. If you feel as though you’re missing various details, you probably are. Asking for support from a third party can be a smart business move.

Learn more about gaining IT support for your business by contacting Bluwater Technologiestoday.

Tip of the Day: Tweaking Computers

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Computers have changed a lot over the past decade. They are becoming more user-friendly and easier to manage. Newer computers such as smartphones and tablets aren’t as tweakable as older-style computers, nevertheless, all types can be tweaked in certain ways.

Many people don’t understand computers on a deep level and don’t have the time to learn about them. Throughout the workday of an average computer user, there is seldom time to search the internet for solutions to the little annoyances that creep up from computers; even if one can find the time to do so, search results can be vague and relatively useless. However, if the tips below are followed, one could minimize the frequency of those little annoyances that creep up:

Manage boot-time programs

Whether a newer or older-style computer is being used, there is almost always an option to prevent programs from running at boot time. Boot time is when a computer is powered on. When a program is installed on a computer, sometimes it’s automatically enabled to run as soon as the device is powered on. Learning how to disable programs from running at boot-time will help a computer to run faster. It can also help reduce conflicts on a computer overall.

Disable antivirus features

Again, for all types of computers, antivirus software can be overwhelming if not appropriately configured. Many antivirus features are automatically enabled after the software is installed. There could be too many features running within the software causing conflicts. Understanding antivirus software will help mitigate these issues. When installing software downloaded from the internet, great care should be taken. Regardless of what style of computer is being used.

Watch for malicious software

Usually, when a device gets infected with a computer virus, it’s because the software was downloaded from a malicious website set up by criminals. Software that initially looks good is commonly tainted with malicious software.

Add RAM memory

Lastly, no matter how much one pays for a new computer and how many great features it has, if it doesn’t come with sufficient RAM memory, one can count on a dull experience during use. Lack of RAM memory can cause sluggishness and various conflicts. Laptop and desktop computers’ RAM memory is generally easier to upgrade than smartphones’ and tablets’ RAM memory.

Please contact us for a consultation if assistance is needed with the tweaks suggested above.

Computer Tip Of The Day: Using Two-Factor Authentication

a person is typing on a computer keyboard

Two-factor authentication can provide your workplace with an extra foundation of security. It requires extra information beyond just a username and your password to access computer accounts.

Two-Factor Authentication for Emails

Two-step authentication will require a combination of a username and a password, in addition to an extra piece of information that includes a security code that will be sent to a mobile device. Adding an extra layer of security to an email account is one of the biggest improvements that can be made.

Workplace Social Media Accounts

We are aware of how popular social media accounts are in the business world, especially due to their ability to attract customers from across the world. It is important that the proper steps are taken to secure social media sites. Two-step authentication can also be used to secure social media accounts.

It is very important to always be cyber aware, even if you find it to be an inconvenience. The extra steps you take to secure your account can be the difference between having a successful business and a business that fails because it was not properly secured in the online world.

If there are various online accounts that need to be managed, it is greatly important that you take the proper steps to secure online accounts, customer data, and other vital business information.

Two-factor authentication will generally include one or more of the following:

  • One of your physical characteristics, such as your fingerprint.
  • A one-time security code that can be sent to your mobile device or email address that you will enter after you have entered your username and password. The login process will not be completed until the security code has been entered.
  • Another layer of security that can be used for identity verification is challenge questions. When choosing challenge questions, we encourage you to choose questions that may be difficult for others to answer. Avoid choosing simple challenge questions that hackers can find answers to by searching online, especially on social media.

Two-factor authentication is becoming a popular choice for many account holders in all industries. Contact us today for more information on two-factor authentication and how you can become more cyber aware.