With so many technical terms to know and processes to understand, one might think that the only possible way to take care of your IT infrastructure is to hire professionals to monitor and maintain every aspect of it. While there is certainly a lot of truth to this statement, and working with professionals presents a ton of value, it doesn’t take a genius to implement small, common-sense practices that can compound over time.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced much of the workforce to work remotely, but now that the pandemic is marginally receding in several parts of the world, the question of if this workforce will continue to work remotely is up for debate. A report from Gartner suggests that things will move in the opposite direction from what you might expect. Let’s dive into what this report suggests and what it might mean for your business moving forward.
The phrase “time is money” is something that you hear a lot, especially in the business environment. While this might be applied in small ways, such as employees taking one or two minutes longer on their breaks or leaving early for the day, the major issue with wasted time manifests itself in much larger and more unpredictable ways. The true silent killer of businesses is downtime, and you need to be aware of its impact on your organization on a holistic level.
Many professionals see the word “informatics” and think of one of two things. First, what the heck is it? Second, isn’t that just computer science? While the two certainly are similar and often used interchangeably, they are quite different. Let’s take a deeper dive and see what the field of informatics entails, how it can be applied to computer science and business, and why it’s important to consider for your organization.
With the future so uncertain, it’s no surprise that many organizations are turning their focus toward business continuity. There are a lot of components that go into making a successful continuity plan, and if you want to optimize your chances of survival in the face of a disaster, you need to ensure that all your bases are covered.
Data breaches have a tendency to destabilize relationships. With so many data-related problems befalling businesses nowadays, it is important that each side of every data-driven relationship understands their role in the protection of other organizations’ data. Today, we’ll take a look at the issue and how to determine if your partners are putting in the effort required to keep your data secure.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it no small amount of uncertainty, including amongst business owners who were looking at a very up-in-the-air future. With so many lacking the technology needed to support remote operations—never mind the fact that remote work was a new concept for so many—the learning curve was a considerable hurdle. However, with vaccines being administered and restrictions lifted, it now becomes critical to find a balance.
All businesses, in some way, shape, or form, exist to generate revenue—whether their profits are retained for their own benefit or dedicated to supporting some other cause. Either way, this balance makes the difference between the investments a business makes and the return these investments see a critical consideration. By using modern technology, today’s organizations can tip this balance to be more in their favor.
With tax season quickly reaching its crescendo, accountants and CPAs face increased threats to their data security. Your clients' financial information is too good for a cybercriminal to pass up. Now is the time to prepare yourself to fight a cyberattack. Learn how managed IT can support your business in a variety of ways.
When looking to improve your business via the use of technology, it helps to keep a few basic tenets in mind. Let’s review some strategies to help reinforce their importance.
Today is Christmas day. In normal years, you would be bundling up to go to visit family and friends or preparing to host them.
When Facebook released its Messenger app in 2011, it was primarily designed as a way for users to chat with each other outside of the main Facebook app. Since then, Facebook has added a plethora of new features and upgrades to Messenger, making it a tool that may have what it takes to meet the needs of your business.
Big data is a trend that’s gaining traction in the business environment. By taking a close look at the data that you collect, and identifying trends, you can potentially predict how your business can perform, and how your clients will respond to your products or services. Yet, there are two major questions that you need to ask: how are you going to use this data, and is the data that you’ve collected specifically to achieve that goal?
The busy business owner rarely has time to indulge in extracurricular activities, but there are still ways that you can make progress--even when you’re not actually in the office or working on important plans, there’s still the opportunity for self-improvement. One way that you can do this is by being well-read. In fact, science has practically proven that reading literary fiction is just as beneficial for your professional development as other seemingly more practical works.
All businesses need to use some sort of technology to keep their operations moving forward. Yet, it’s often difficult to gauge how new solutions will function with your current systems. You need to take your options into careful consideration before making such an important choice, and only an analysis of your current setup will help you ensure the success of your new technology.
One of the most high-profile hacking attacks in the United States struck last year when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was breached. 464,000 Social Security numbers were swiped; enough to file 101,000 tax returns using false personal identification numbers. Every organization can learn how to better protect themselves during tax return season, especially since you have so much on the line every year.
In response to the aforementioned threat, the IRS has made several improvements that allow the organization to (hopefully) better protect taxpayers as they perform their financial obligations. Specifically, these improvements are effective “before, during, and after a tax return is filed.” On the IRS’s official website, “This is highlighted by the number of new people reporting stolen identities on federal tax returns falling by more than 50 percent, with nearly 275,000 fewer victims compared to a year ago.”
One of the best tools that the IRS has used to cut down on these concerning identity theft numbers is an annual security summit. In part, the following results have been attributed to the summit:
While these improvements are quite a start, any business owner who is also a taxpayer will want to know that the IRS still needs to improve the way that they handle sensitive data. This is only one reason why you need to take the matters of your own identity security into your own hands. For your review, the IRS has created a list of steps that should be taken in order to protect your organization and all of those that your business engages with from identity theft. You can find a list of these steps on the IRS’s website.
To learn more about how you can keep better track of sensitive information, reach out to The Connection, Inc at (732) 291-5938.
Black Friday: it’s the name given to the unofficial first day of the holiday shopping season, and is associated with the generally unparalleled deals on consumer products. Many consumers use this day’s incredible deals to justify spending their day buying (and often fighting over) a limited amount of goods. However, have you ever considered that Black Friday can also be a good day to both advance your B2B operations and take advantage of some deals yourself?
Boosting Your Service’s Perceived Value
If there’s a single concept at the heart of Black Friday, it’s maximizing the value that one gets out of a transaction. The less one can spend on a product, the better the deal. You can take advantage of a similar concept in your business as well, albeit a slightly modified one.
After all, an unfortunate side effect of discounts and price cuts is that these methods can sometimes make the brand itself seem cheaper and of lower quality. Naturally, this should be avoided. You don’t want to alienate potential clients when you’re trying to draw them in.
Instead, Black Friday is a good day for B2B businesses to embrace bundled deals and free add-on services. This way, you’re offering your bargain-hunting prospects increased value without potentially damaging your brand’s reputation, even unconsciously.
Black Friday for Your Business’ Benefit
Of course, why should your clients and prospects have all the fun on Black Friday--or, for that matter, Cyber Monday? Your business can easily also enjoy the benefits of this infamous day of deals.
For example, many suppliers and dealers will offer some invaluable deals on hardware and especially software solutions, as the profit margins on software allow for the deals on them to be much more generous to the purchaser. It may be invaluable to ask your vendors what kind of deals they plan to offer in a public forum, like social media. This way, they can see some benefit if they answer by piquing the interest of their other followers.
It may also be of benefit to have a ‘wishlist,’ of sorts, for you and your vendors to reference as you seek the best deals on particular items.
However, it is also important to consider that many Black Friday deals have caps, where you can only buy x-amount of a particular piece of equipment. This means that bulk purchasing a particular laptop to standardize your office may be out of the question--but if there’s a big-ticket item that your office only needs one or two of, or you need to restock some of the basics that your office uses regularly, Black Friday might be your best bet.
Of course, the term ‘Black Friday’ has grown to cover what is more or less a week-long period of sales and deals. This means that you have an increased opportunity to nurture your audience and send them through their sales process. The urgency that Black Friday lends to it may help encourage their decision-making at a faster-than-normal pace, allowing you to encourage more sales and services in less time.
Whether you’re on the selling or purchasing end of a transaction, The Connection, Inc is here to help. For assistance, give us a call at (732) 291-5938.
In today’s political, social, and economic environment, information is more valuable than ever. However, this increased importance, paired with the speed that data can be dispersed via the Internet, has enabled many to use false information to manipulate the general public into agreeing with their views and acting upon them.
Fake News and You
Many researchers believe that cyber propaganda campaigns rely on three factors in order to succeed in their mission: the tools and services used, social networking, and the motivation behind the campaign in question. Without any of these elements, spreading fake news becomes almost impossible.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of resources out there that can be used to spread a fake news campaign.
For instance, the Dark Web can provide those attempting to spread their propaganda with the tools they need to do so, safe behind a veil of anonymity. Social media offers platforms that encourage sharing, allowing what could be an exponential spread of a story with little hands-on effort from those responsible. Finally, while the majority of fake news that has been heard of as of late has been politically motivated, it can just as easily be used to manipulate businesses. In addition to its use as a political tool, fake news and information warfare can be used to promote a company and increase or decrease its stock--both financially and where public opinion is concerned.
China’s Fake News Marketplace
One example of the effects that fake news can have on businesses is demonstrated in the Chinese marketplace. One content distribution service, Xiezuobang, charges a user based on where the article is to be published. Services like this are easy to abuse for one’s own purposes.
Furthermore, aided by systems that enable public opinions to be measured and modified, posts can be automatically posted to 3000 websites at a rate of 100 posts per minute.
In addition to these tactics, many Chinese social networks are filled with posts shared by influential users who have been paid to promote that particular content. Based on that user’s popularity, the price of their content sharing services goes up.
A Global Problem
Of course, these practices are present in more areas than just China. Researchers have been able to collect and compare disinformation campaigns from the US, Russia, and Middle Eastern countries, and have resultantly been able to identify trends in what tools are used and how these campaigns are shaped to each region.
No matter where you are located, you need to keep an eye out for misinformation and cyber propaganda online. Whether it's politically motivated, or intended to manipulate business and the market, fake news is divisive and only benefits those that spread it.
What’s your opinion of fake news? Do you feel that it’s a real problem, or is it being overblown? Sound off in the comments!
When security and efficiency are some of the biggest benefits to updated information technology, it sounds that IT is something that a governing body should prioritize internally. However, many governments have trouble doing so, oftentimes to their own detriment. Why is that, and what can a business learn from this phenomenon?
Running a business is never easy. There are so many moving parts to juggle and decisions to prioritize, it can be easy to skip over key steps on the path to success. While good business savvy is obviously a key requirement for this success to happen, there are certain things that can be done to give your business an extra push in the right direction. Today, we’ll go over three such seeds of success.
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