Recent research by Burning Glass revealed that nearly 8 in 10 middle-skill jobs now require digital proficiency – and jobs that require digital skills pay an average of 18% more than those that don’t. Essentially, the more literate you are digitally, the more money you will make. This means paying extra attention in class (instead […]

It’s the middle of the month and you’re waiting to meet a colleague outside a restaurant. As you wait, you idly browse the web and check emails, and then suddenly you’re hit with the notification you dread most. Your Android phone’s data is almost out. Questions race through your mind…how will I make it through […]

When considering a VoIP solution, many small business owners have a lot of reservations. What if the call quality is unsuitable? What if your staff struggles with the technology? What if you have to deal with the headache of installing an additional network? All these assumptions can prevent business owners from giving VoIP a try, […]

More and more small and medium-sized businesses are making the switch from on-premises SharePoint systems to cloud-hosted Office 365. If you’re one of them, it’s vital to ensure that you put in place adequate protection to counter the security challenges that come with the migration. While many businesses contemplating switching find themselves concerned about the […]

If you’ve managed to convince yourself that only large enterprises have the money to take advantage of Business Intelligence (BI), it’s time to think again. While it’s true that in the past you needed the help of pricey specialists to really delve into BI, these days a range of self-service tools mean that small- and […]

When it comes to Internet security, a reported 87% of small businesses have no security policies in place at at all. And considering that employee error is one of the most common causes of an online security breach, it makes sense to have rules in place that your staff need to follow. So to help […]

The old saying, “Pack your own parachute,” comes to mind when I think of data backups or, more specifically, data RECOVERY. However, how many people actually know how to pack their proverbial data backup “parachute” and instead rely on someone else – be it an employee or vendor? If that’s you, read on. Since the absolute WORSE time to check your backups is AFTER a data disaster, all company CEOs ought to know the answers to the following questions NOW so they aren’t unpleasantly surprised later when data gets erased and they’re scrambling to get back up and running: Where EXACTLY is your data being backed up, and how do you get access to it? If it’s being hosted in a remote place, you ought to have the account information and a direct contact you can call if your vendor or employee goes missing with this information. Ideally, it should be in your network documentation that is kept in your operations manual or somewhere you can easily access it if necessary. Who’s responsible for monitoring the backups to make sure they are working? When data is lost, the finger pointing starts. It’s not uncommon to hear, “Well I thought (they/he/she) was in charge of our backups!” only to discover that this person (be it a vendor or employee) actually has no idea that they had such an important responsibility. Keep in mind that many offsite backup companies allow you to store your data there, but they won’t agree to ANY responsibility for whether or not the data is being backed up correctly, completely or in a format that can be restored. How often do you run a test restore? The only way to know if your backups are working properly is to… conduct a test restore or “fire drill” of your data. We recommend running this once a month at a minimum to verify that you can actually restore from your backups in an emergency. If your data is lost, what’s the process required to restore it? Some business owners don’t realize that their raw data backups would take a LOT longer to restore than they imagine. If you are not “imaging” your data (a process that takes a snapshot of your server as is) you will have to reload all of your software, set up the network, reconfigure your settings and THEN restore the data – a process that can take the better part of a week PROVIDED you still have your original software discs and licenses. Our Free Backup Audit will give you the answers to these critical questions. If you don’t know the answers to these questions, give us a call to schedule a FREE inspection of your backup process. At a minimum you’ll know for sure that your data is safe and in a format that can get you back up and running again FAST. Call: xxx-xxx-xxxx or email us at: yourname@yoururl.com