Benefits of IT Support for Small Businesses

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The probability of thriving in an environment with huge corporations and established companies is minimal if you are a small business operator without the necessary support you need. Several strategies can help small businesses surmount competition in their respective industries, including the adoption of the right marketing strategy and investment in technology.

Unfortunately, small enterprises do not have adequate resources to invest in IT services, which is a prerequisite for achieving success. Outsourcing your IT services from reliable vendors can help your small establishment achieve set objectives as it grows. Here are the benefits of seeking the help of external IT support service providers for your small business.

IT Support Reduces Downtime

Experiencing lengthy downtimes is a severe setback for small businesses that rely heavily on technology. Since systems are prone to failure on various occasions due to diverse reasons, you cannot afford to remain without a backup plan as a small business operator. Engaging a credible third-party IT service provider in offering support services for the systems within your small firm will eliminate the frustrations of unnecessary downtime.

IT support service vendors can provide several services including data backups, regular maintenance, and system updates, in addition to ensuring quick response in case the unexpected happens thus taming system downtime.

Ability to Leverage the Latest Technology

Needless to say, in the world of technology what is relevant today will become irrelevant tomorrow. The demands of customers are also changing every day, and you need to remain informed to stay ahead of the curve. As a small business operator, you may have difficulties researching the latest innovations to incorporate into your operations to promote productivity.

A professional IT support services provider will help your small business leverage the latest advancements in technology so that you can compete favorably with others in your industry.

It Promotes the Achievement of Core Objectives

Most small business operators lose focus on what they should pursue as the primary objective of their enterprises when they shift attention to their IT requirements. Divided attention will undoubtedly lower the productivity of your business. That is why you need to hire third-party IT support service providers.

Releasing the responsibility of IT support to a qualified vendor of these services allows you to commit more time and resources to projects requiring your attention for your company to achieve set objectives. If you need more information on the benefits of IT support services for small businesses, contact us today!

Upgrading the Small Business

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Successful businesses usually start off as visions to be realized only through a duration of hard work. Regardless of whether the business is started in the home or in a more industrialized area, however, a successful business will generally grow and when that happens, in most cases, the computer technology needs of the business will change — computer equipment will need to be upgraded. Entrepreneurs, particularly those running relatively small businesses, typically start off with gear that’s being stored in a closet or already sitting on a desktop. If there’s strong speculation that profits will be coming in or that upgrading equipment will help generate more profit, it’s time to upgrade computer equipment. 

Coming to an understanding of what equipment is needed does not have to be a painstaking task. Neither does learning how to use it. Learning to use computer equipment could be considered a business expense at first, whether it’s time or money being spent. But once minimal knowledge is obtained, it will pay off in the long run. Consequently, saving costs on having to outsource technical support to computer-support firms. There is no exact science, however, on how or when the assistance of computer-support technicians may be used. Through self-study, one may learn what is needed only as it becomes necessary. Whatever the case, the internet is generally the best friend of the small business owner when starting the business. A plethora of information exists therein that can save on having to consult computer-help firms.

Managed Services

In many cases, entrepreneurs starting out don’t have time to research some of the money-saving bits of information that can be obtained from the internet to efficiently run the computer equipment they’re using. In some cases, self-managing computer equipment can also bring on damaging results. This is due to a general lack of insight as to how the technology works. Bluewater Technologies specializes in starting, building, and upgrading successful businesses. Please contact us if assistance is needed in the management of computer equipment.

Computer Tip of the Day: Security

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Do you frequently find yourself wondering how a hacker could launch a devious assault on your computer? Do you know what warning signs to look for? If you don’t, isn’t that OK? Isn’t it normal to not know? Yes, it is normal…however, in today’s world of ever-evolving threats to the security of your computer, your data, and your personal security, you need to know what the signals of a potential attack could be.

Email

Now, you might think of your email as your friend, after all, isn’t it how you communicate with your family, friends, and coworkers? How could something you use as a medium of communication with the most important people in your leaf be used against you? Unfortunately, email is a favored weapon in a hacker’s arsenal. An attacker can obtain your email address in many ways, but ultimately how your cyber assailant obtained your email doesn’t matter, what matters is that attackers can and do learn your address, and can send you malicious emails.

Never open an attachment or respond to an email from someone you don’t know, some of these emails can be outrageously easy to detect as a potential attack, but some may seem quite legitimate, and can even appear to be from people you know, ranging from Grandma to a coworker. Just open the attachment if you are expecting to receive it, or can confirm it is from the person it claims to be from.

Programs

So, now that you have learned about the dangers that emails can bring, it is time to learn about the dangers associated with programs that claim to be one thing…but are often another. One of the most common are programs that claim to clean up your computer or make it run faster. While these programs may claim to be beneficial, and can even do what they claim, they are quite nefarious and are a trojan horse that a cunning attacker can use to gain access to your computer.

While antiviruses and programs that speed up your computers are most often found to be malicious, these types of programs can take any form, some even claim to be legitimate programs such as Microsoft Word, or a major browser. Always download your programs from an established source, and do some research on the program before your download!

Physical Security

Finally, we reach the most basic, but most commonly overlooked form of security, physical security. Have you ever walked away from your computer where someone else can have unauthorized access? Do you have a simple, easy-to-guess password? It only takes a minute for someone to quickly guess your password and access data on your computer, or for someone to simply walk away with your prized computer, and everything on it. Once an attacker has physical access to your computer, it becomes a walk in the park for him to cause damage.

The modern digital landscape is awash in pitfalls, traps, enemies, and dangers of all sorts. Ranging from email to trojan horse programs, to someone physically threatening your computer, there are innumerable methods attackers can use. However, if you take basic security measures to protect your security and privacy, you will make an attacker’s job much more challenging. Even if your computer becomes compromised, contact us here at Bluewater Technologies and we will set up our expert team to work on preventing and cleaning up any mess that your assailant has made! 

Computer Tip of the Day – The New USB Restricted Mode for iOS

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Many people use their iPhones or iPads to conduct business while on the go.  While these types of devices offer great convenience and flexibility, they are often more prone to theft and potential hacking outside of an employee’s place of work.  If you use an iPad or iPhone for job-related activities, read on to learn more about what Apple’s USB restricted mode feature entails and how to access it.

What is USB Restricted Mode?

Apple recently added a new security feature to their iOS. It prevents anyone from attempting to connect to one of their iPad or iPhone devices from a USB device. This feature can come into play when the device has been locked for more than an hour. Or an hour from the time the device was last disconnected from a trusted USB accessory.  Essentially this reduces an Apple device to a dumb battery pack. It also does not allow it to be recognized as a smart device.  No data communication is allowed while the device is in USB-restricted mode.

The Right iOS

For those who find this feature appealing, you’ll have to make sure you have the right iOS.  To check to see what iOS your device is currently using, go under Settings > General > Software Update. If you are currently using Apple’s iOS 11.4.1 then you can use the USB-restricted mode feature.  If not, then you’ll need to download the latest iOS to have access to it.

How Do I Engage Restricted Mode?

If you have the proper iOS and want to see whether or not the USB restricted mode is applied to your device, click on “Settings”, then “Passcode”.  Enter your password when instructed to do so.  On the right, you should see a section entitled, “Allow Access When Locked”.  The last option listed should be, “USB Accessories”.  If you don’t want to allow USB access when your device is locked, then you should disable or turn off this feature.

If you would like more computer tips on how to safely engage in work-related activities while on the go, please contact us.

Clean Your Cache!

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Has your favorite browser been running slow lately? Not loading pages? Not updating the web-based application you use daily? Popping up errors when you try to input data in an online form?

All of these issues can be caused by a lack of maintenance of your cache files.

What are Cache Files?

Think of cache files as copies of your activity online. Every website you go to leaves information on your hard drive — the current version of the page or web-based application, data you share or enter, log-in information and more — to make any subsequent return visit faster and more user-friendly.

Why Should I Clean My Cache?

Imagine your internet connection is a tube. Every time you go to a website, a brick is laid inside that tube. At first, there’s no issue and your internet continues to perform optimally. However, the more places you go, the more cache collects, until your access to the internet slows down to a trickle, causing pages and/or photos not to load, search engines to fail, and more.

Cleaning out your cache files on a regular basis will prevent such issues.

Do I Need a Professional?

In most cases, absolutely not. This is something you can easily do yourself! Each browser has a different process to clean out cache, though, so check out the links below for your preferred browser:

Like most people, you probably have more than one browser on your computer. You just have to perform this clean up in one browser to eliminate unnecessary cache.

What If My System is Already Slow?

Cleaning out your cache is the ideal first step forward. Once you’ve cleared everything out, close your browser and restart your system, as some files can linger after they’re removed in the browser and will only permanently disappear once you’ve done a restart. Then your internet experience should be smooth sailing.

Performing this maintenance on a routine schedule will keep your internet access flowing, your data safe and save space on your computer, making for a happy user experience.

Need more help? Contact us.