Selecting the right servers for your business is extremely important and can either promote optimal performance, reliability, and security of your business computing; or it can present nothing but problems. Today, we will go through six tips to help you make good decisions about servers for your business.
k_Street Consulting, LLC Blog
AI is, by a landslide, the technology of the year. It was just a matter of time before Microsoft introduced their own enterprise-ready AI platform, and just like the launch of most emerging technologies, there is a lot of confusion and unanswered questions, so let’s talk about what Copilot is, and go over some things you should know as a business owner.
AI, or artificial intelligence, has made significant contributions to the world of business technology even at this stage of the game. AI can be used to streamline your business’ operations and processes, too. Let’s explore five ways that AI can help a business be more efficient and put forth their best efforts.
All businesses depend on the Internet in at least some capacity, and it’s so commonplace and accessible these days that people often take it for granted. However, a lot of work goes into making sure that the infrastructure you know as the Internet remains accessible and operational. Let’s go over the hardware you’ll need to ensure you stay connected.
Nowadays, data security, especially on files that are attractive to hackers, has to be a priority. Many businesses have deployed a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to help them improve their data security. If you haven’t, understanding the myriad of benefits that businesses get from deploying a VPN will put in perspective just how useful the VPN can be.
Technology is constantly evolving, but over the past couple of years, if you thought of yourself as being technologically savvy, you would have a pretty good understanding of the technologies that are trending in society. Let’s take a brief look at five technologies that everyone should have a good grasp on.
Microsoft developed their Teams platform to help people collaborate better. Remote collaboration has been on the uptick for several years, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it a regular feature in business processes. Recently, Microsoft has added a few improvements to the platform to help enhance its utility even further.
In recent years, educational institutions have widely adopted the regular use of laptops in the classroom, and with budgets being a pressing concern for many of these institutions, the cost-sensitive nature of Chromebooks make them an excellent option… at least, that would be the assumption. However, this is not the case in the slightest, as the software that powers these devices regularly reaches its end of life, despite the hardware being perfectly capable of more.
Technology has the power to hold businesses back when it’s not implemented correctly, but it also presents an opportunity to overcome challenges facing modern businesses. There are several interesting technologies that might seem strange at first for business purposes, but we suspect that they could bring significant value to the table for workers, customers, and your organization. Let’s look at these three technologies and how they might make significant contributions to your business’ continued success.
IT professionals have all but proclaimed the tape backup system, which dominated the data backup space for decades, to be all but dead. This declaration may have been premature however. Over the past several years, there has been a resurgence in companies that use tape backup. This week, we will go into why businesses are willingly utilizing what can only be described as an antiquated technology for their system redundancy.
Any business that utilizes technology is sure to accumulate wasted materials over time, whether it’s a drawer full of old chargers or a room full of old, outdated workstations. To make sure that they don’t land themselves in a landfill, you should make a conscious effort to recycle and reuse your old technology in some way. Here are some options to consider.
Let’s talk a little bit about deepfakes. If you aren’t aware of this technology, deepfakes are essentially synthetic media. Typically they come in the form of videos or images that use artificial intelligence (AI) to replace a person’s likeness with another’s. With deepfake technology, people can convince an audience that a person said something they didn’t say. This deliberate digital subterfuge can bring with it a whole lot of problems. This week we will outline a few of them.
Despite its undeniable value, data is incredibly fragile. The loss of critical information can spell disaster for a company, making data backup a paramount concern. In this article, we'll explore why data backup is so important for businesses and why it should be at the forefront of every organization's IT strategy.
Many individuals were skeptical about foldable phones when they were first introduced, all thanks to higher prices and stories about how fragile they are. That said, those who have stuck with the concept have contributed to the excitement and built it up to be a legitimate option that actually makes sense.
With the latest version of Windows, Windows 11, users can leverage all manner of great productivity-boosting features to take full advantage of the new technology at their fingertips. Let’s look at some of the features that users of Windows 11 can use to make better use of their time with the operating system.
In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a game-changer across various industries. One way that businesses can utilize these technologies is to understand how their businesses use their utilities as well as automate the control of some of them to cut costs and utilize these resources more efficiently. Let’s look at how businesses are using IoT tools to stabilize utility costs.
In business, organizations that are able to automate processes have a leg up on organizations that rely on humans to do everything. Not only does it cost a lot less to run a business that has automated processes, it also helps improve organizational focus and efficiency by streamlining processes and removing the moving parts that can sometimes hinder operational progress. That’s not to say that there aren’t some places that a business can greatly benefit from a human touch. Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument.
Without hardware, where would your business be right now? You can’t run your mission-critical applications and software without devices to host them on. You need to do all you can to ensure it stays in a proper state, but there will always eventually come a time when you cannot sustain it any longer and need to upgrade.
Here’s what you need to know about your hardware refresh cycle, including what it is, what you can do with one, and how to plan it out.
Managing your technology infrastructure can be challenging, but virtualized computing presents an opportunity for you to make considerable changes and progress to a more efficient way of doing so. With the right technology and the right solutions, you can break through barriers previously in place and do some remarkable things with virtualized technology.
The modern business creates and deals with a lot of data, and has for some time. For most of that time, this data has just been ignored, but recent developments in analytics and business intelligence has made this data extremely valuable. In order for your analysts to make accurate determinations they’ll need access to a wide variety of data from a myriad of sources. This is where data warehousing comes in.
The word “bandwidth” is thrown around a lot in business technology, but what does it really mean? Today, we wanted to cover some of the frequently asked questions business owners have about network bandwidth and what it specifically means for business technology infrastructures and data management as a whole.
The growth that digital storage has seen over the past several decades is immense. In that time most data has been stored on hard disk drives (HDD). Now with solid-state drives (SSD) being more affordable than ever, it’s no surprise that most computers are preferring this faster and less fragile model. Today, we wanted to highlight that fragility and try to expose some variables that help you tell if your HDD is about to fail.
Your business uses software to function, but we would like you to consider the role that each of your applications fulfills for your business. Do you have the right amount of software for your company’s needs, or do you have a lot of redundant solutions that only complicate your infrastructure and operations? Today, we’ll discuss the different types of software your company might use so you can make educated decisions about applications you might implement for your needs.
Have you ever considered the importance of client-side encryption for your Gmail and your Calendar? If you implement it, you can create meetings and send or receive emails that have been encrypted before they are sent to Google’s servers. Organizations using Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus can expect this client-side encryption tool, but personal users will be left in the dust.
We often mention the Internet of Things in this space because, as business technology goes, it is one of the most untapped resources that companies have presently. One of the most useful IoT tools is the RFID sensor. Today, we will explain what an RFID tag is and how it can work to improve your business.
Small manufacturers and distributors require a completely different set of conditions than your typical small business. Most small businesses just don’t have the resources at their disposal to properly address issues that surface. One way these organizations can improve the way they perform is through the use of a logistics platform.
It isn’t uncommon to hear about how much working from home has environmental benefits—and on its face, this claim makes a lot of sense. We did have to wonder, however, how much greener remote work really is—if at all.
Let’s go into why the question of whether remote work is the environmentally friendly option isn’t as clear-cut as you might expect.
Your sales funnel is particularly important to the success of your business, as you need to reliably get your goods and services in front of your prospective customers to make sales. How can technology aid you in your efforts? Let’s go over how the right technology can improve your sales funnel and help your team be more effective.
Collaboration is a key part of effective business processes. Nowadays, there are many, many technologies available to facilitate the level of collaboration that today’s organizations strive for. Let’s explore some of the options you have to implement technology that inspires your team to work as one, cohesive unit and accomplish your shared goals.
Your business runs on software, whether it’s the systems you implement to get work done or the customer relations management software you use to communicate with the consumers of your goods or services. You’d be hard-pressed to find a business that doesn’t rely on software in some capacity, so it’s not a stretch to say that your business is only as effective as the solutions you implement.
The traditional telephone system may have once been a prominent part of your business’ communication infrastructure, but chances are that since technology has improved, you are wasting capital if you are still utilizing an antiquated telephone system. Let’s look at why using older telephone systems can hurt your business.
It isn’t easy to run a small business, and a lot of this difficulty comes from the fact that, as an owner of a small business, you have some limitations that dictate how your business can be run. For many businesses, one of these is a budgetary one. If you are going to stabilize your costs, you need to know that the investments you make are going to work. One way a managed services provider accomplishes this is through remote monitoring and maintenance.
We write in a lot of general terms about technology, whether it’s how to secure your infrastructure, procure hardware, or implement software solutions for your network, and that is for one very specific reason: each business is different and has different needs. We thought today that we would take you through some of the questions you might ask when thinking about the best approach to new technology in your office.
Most people look at only the first page of Google when they are trying to find results; anything seen past the first page is looked at as inferior, inaccurate, or possibly even dangerous. However, Google’s new plans for the search engine will put an end to this bias through the use of a continuous scroll feature.
Google is a tool that everyone uses to varying degrees, but the reality is that Google is but one search engine. There are others out there, and while they perform similar functions, there is a reason why Google is synonymous with web browsing. Let’s take a look at why Google is so popular, as well as how it works to give you the best search results.
Business can get stressful. Not only for the people tasked with managing an organization, but for the workforce as a whole. Fortunately, businesses are identifying that technology can go a long way toward making all this work less stressful. Let’s go through some of the innovative technology that is being used to keep employees engaged.
The next time you’re near a desktop, take a peek at the back where the motherboard’s various ports offer the opportunity to connect to different cable types. Many of these cables have overlapping functions—like the capabilities of USB and HDMI. Having said that, however, one of these cables will probably outlast its contemporary.
When it comes to procuring new technology solutions for your business, what is your preferred method of doing so? If you haven’t thought about it, perhaps you should start. Gartner predicts a major decrease in PC shipments for the remainder of 2022. This has significant implications for any technology user, but this is especially true for business owners who might need to consider hardware refreshes in the near future.
The hard drive is an essential component of every computer. When you start looking at new computers you may notice that there are two different types of hard drives available. There are the HDD (hard disk drive) or the SSD (solid state drive). Today, we’ll go through what the difference is and what benefits you may get from outfitting your hardware with solid state drives.
When it comes to storing your business’ documents, you have a couple of options available to you. Some professionals enjoy the chaos of having documents strewn about their office, while others prefer the organization that a system of filing cabinets can bring with it. However, both of these options pale in comparison to the document management system, a technological innovation that could allow your organization to go paperless and improve efficiency in ways you might not have guessed.
Managing business technology is a challenge that many small businesses have difficulty overcoming, and this is largely in part due to the fact that managing technology is not the focus of these small businesses. The inability to overcome IT challenges can hold businesses back that otherwise would flourish. Let’s discuss some of the biggest issues that companies have for IT and how they could potentially be addressed.
Most things in your office depend on technology in some way. That’s just the simple fact of life these days. Let’s examine just how much of your business depends on the technology that powers it and how companies increasingly depend on IT to manage the countless devices that have permeated the office environment.
By now you’ve probably heard the term Internet of Things (IoT). You may not completely understand what it is, but you know it has something to do with all those “smart” devices that you see popping up everywhere. Today, we’d thought we’d get into what types of things are on the IoT and how they can have an impact on your business.
Many businesses make their profits from selling products, goods, or services to their consumer base, requiring that they have a way to process these transactions in place. The point of sale system is a business’ preferred method of handling these transactions, especially in retail. How can you know which features you might need for a point of sale system?
When it comes to business technology, there are sure to be a lot of electrical plugs, so you’ll naturally want plenty of outlets to plug them into. A power trip likely won’t cut it, though. For your needs, you’ll want to invest in a surge protector. Why is the surge protector so much better, you ask? Well, let’s explore this question.
The difference between productivity and innovation is not always clear-cut, but the biggest one is that higher productivity naturally creates innovation… assuming it is supported by the right tools and mindset. How can technology help your business be more creative and innovative in the way it goes about its day-to-day operations?
There were a few years there about a decade ago when everyone had to have the latest tablet and tech experts were predicting that most of the world’s productivity would be done using touchscreen devices. On one hand, they weren’t that far off. On the other hand, tablet sales fell off about as rapidly as they had spiked, leaving some question over the future of the form factor. Of course, tablets settled in as great personal computers, but their use in business has seemingly plateaued. Let’s take a look at how businesses use tablets and answer if they are right for your business.
Productivity is at the heart of running a successful business, but it’s not always apparent to employees how their effort translates into value for the company. Is there a way to use technology to help fuel productivity and ensure employees understand the value that their productivity provides to your organization? The right tools can eliminate barriers to productivity and allow your employees to reach their full potential.
These days you’d be hard-pressed to find a company that is not equipped to handle video conferencing in some way. The pandemic led many organizations to adopt these platforms, and as a result, these platforms have seen a dramatic increase in functionality and capability. We’d like to discuss some of the best features that your organization can take advantage of with video conferencing solutions.
Automation as a concept is on the rise, and so too is its practice. Even before COVID-19 created considerable problems for several businesses, it was in use, and there is no reason for it to fall out of fashion now. There are plenty of ways your organization can implement automation to improve operations moving forward.
Have you ever considered why the VoIP auto attendant feature is so valuable? When a person is greeted with directions that make their journey easier, it typically improves their general opinion of your business. The VoIP auto attendant feature helps guide you through their telephone system. Now, have you ever been to a place where you walk in and you are confused where to go and it takes a while to navigate because of the lack of predominant signage? Like the auto attendant, digital signage platforms can help guide your visitors and you may be surprised about how affordable they can be and the additional value these systems provide to a growing number of businesses.
Today’s world of video conferences and remote work means that many workers are forced to endure the dreaded “Zoom Call” or “Teams Meeting,” whichever solution is implemented at their organization. While these terms might be used in a negative way, there are opportunities for you to improve the way you hold your video chats. Here are just a few ideas for you to consider implementing.
The Internet of Things is growing rapidly and can be of benefit to your organization if it is deployed correctly. It offers a massive opportunity to automate certain parts of your business, saving money, and ensuring that human error is taken out of the equation. A majority of businesses have not fully taken advantage of the time and money savings a well-positioned IoT device can provide. Let’s take a look at three of the most useful IoT devices that a small business can implement.
The modern smartphone market is one of ingenuity, communication, and productivity, all of which are extraordinarily important in today’s business world. To help you stay apprised of the various developments in the smartphone market, we’ve put together a blog detailing the various flagship smartphone devices for early 2022.
How does your business manage its IT resources? Do you have a chief information officer, or CIO, in-house who manages everything related to your technology? If not, who is the one responsible for managing and maintaining your systems? If you don’t know the answer to this question, we have a reality check for you: you need to.
Science fiction shows artificial intelligence to be an entity compelled purely by logic, driven only by objective facts. AI tools used by businesses and in the real world, however, are a far cry from this perception. AI systems have some biases in their operations. Let’s take a look at some of them and how you can resolve these issues.
Blockchain has been one of the most talked-about new technologies for several years now. When we first heard about it, it had the potential to solve hundreds of problems, but there weren't any real-world applications available. Today, we’ll take a look at three applications for blockchain that are available today.
The holidays are rapidly approaching and each year people position themselves to get the best deals they can on all the potential gifts, whether they are gifts to themselves, or to others. Like many other years, bargain shoppers wake up from their tryptophan naps, bundle up, and head out to try and score the best deals they can. Today, we thought we’d talk a little about Black Friday and Cyber Monday and why they are great to get the technology-lover on your shopping list the products they’ll love this holiday season.
Just like business has changed dramatically over the years, so too have the tools they use to remain successful. One such tool is the telephone system, which is now capable of a host of impressive features that make it vital to the success of any business. What does hosted VoIP bring to the table, and how can you leverage it to your organization’s success?
When something goes wrong, it makes sense that you have a process in place to go over the issue and find a solution. This process, also known as troubleshooting, will have several variables that must be accounted for, but the general process itself remains unchanged. Here are the five steps to troubleshooting any problem, as well as ensuring that the issue does not become more problematic in the future.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a business that doesn’t rely on the Internet in some way, and everyone uses web browsers as a method of interfacing with the Internet. These browsers, however, are not necessarily the most secure applications by default. With some adjustments to the features, you too can optimize security and privacy when using your preferred web browser.
Most companies utilize a word processor of some sort, and one of the most powerful and dynamic (not to mention commonplace) is Microsoft Word. If you want to get the most out of this great solution, we’ve got your back. Stay tuned for a quick look at some of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts that we think you will find helpful during your business’ day-to-day operations.
With so many types of business software solutions out there, you might not immediately know what you should aim to use and why. Thankfully, while there are countless types of businesses and organizations out there, some staple applications make their way into most offices, giving your company a decent starting point. Let’s take a look at what some of these software programs are and why you might want them.
Just about all modern businesses rely on the Internet—especially the wireless kind—for at least part of their day-to-day operations. This means that there is a direct correlation between the strength and speed of their connection and the amount of productivity they can experience as a result of this connection. As your business grows, it is incredibly important to think about your Wi-Fi setup and how you can support its continued growth. Let’s go over the process for properly scaling your wireless network to accommodate its growth.
Voice chat and communication via telephone may have been the norm for years, but these days, video conferencing has really taken off in popularity. With remote and hybrid work still trending worldwide, now is as good a time as ever to reconsider the features of your video conferencing solution. Let’s take a look at some of the features that you should look for when implementing video conferencing.
With Windows 11 releasing sometime this year, most users are looking to upgrade to hardware that actually supports it, but today we are instead focusing on upgrading away from one of the more controversial of Microsoft’s recent operating systems, Windows 8.1. With its end-of-life date creeping up in January 2023, it’s never too early to start thinking about how your company will move away from this operating system toward a supported one.
With so many changes in the office environment over the past several decades, it’s no wonder that some of the staples from way back when are no longer crucial to the success of any organization. Technology has driven many conventions of the old office environment into extinction, rendering them obsolete and, in some cases, pretty much pointless to keep around. Here are just a few ways that technology has replaced some of these conventions.
Some keyboard shortcuts work within applications, but there are others that work all throughout the Windows operating system. To help you be as productive as possible throughout the workday, let’s go over some of the most common keyboard shortcuts that work not only within your applications, but whenever you are just navigating your operating system. If you use these effectively, you can dramatically improve your productivity and look like a Windows master!
In a world of “as a service” business models, where services are distributed by month or by billing cycle, users are not necessarily buying things outright to replace them at a later date. The issue with this Software as a Service (SaaS) model is that too many of these solutions implemented all at once can create a messy web of software that needs to be managed. How can you make sure that you are getting the most out of your solutions without driving yourself up the wall?
With more companies opting to get involved with the “as a service” market, it’s no surprise that Microsoft, one of the world’s leading software companies, went this route with the Microsoft 365 cloud-service offering. Microsoft has been aiming to take their strategy even further with Windows 365, a way for organizations to opt into virtual desktops. Here’s what you need to know about Windows 365.
No matter what role you are in at your company, be it management or otherwise, there are certain terms related to technology that you are going to want to be familiar with. Doing so will not only help you make the process of asking for help when it’s needed easier, but it will also help you stay current on business technology in general, leading to more awareness of what goes into a successful business technology strategy. Let’s discuss some of the important technology terms for everyday business operations.
When you purchase new technology for your organization, the decision is not always clear-cut. One decision that can be difficult is whether to implement hard disk drives (HDD) or solid state drives (SSD) for your desktops or other technology solutions. To help you make the best and most educated decision possible, we’re here to explain the differences and help you make the best choice.
What does your email inbox look like? Do you keep it clean for the most part, or do you let it get out of control because of how many email lists you find yourself on? If you find that you have a lot of trouble with managing your email inbox, well, read on. You’ll find some tips for how you can effectively manage and potentially even clean up your inbox!
Technology management is a pain point for businesses, particularly smaller ones that might not have the vast amount of resources as larger organizations or enterprises. That being said, small businesses have a secret weapon that allows them to compete with larger businesses, and it comes in the form of managed IT services. What is a managed service provider, and how does working with one dramatically change the dynamic of your business’ operations?
Over the week of June 14, a lot of applications and websites experienced outages, creating problems for many companies until it was resolved. Not only did these outages create business continuity issues, they’ve also exposed just how vulnerable the Internet is to these kinds of issues. Let’s take a look at what happened.
Mobile technology has permeated the workplace in countless ways. Many businesses will provide company-owned devices, be they laptops or smartphones, to employees so they can get work done while out of the office. This brings several opportunities for productivity into focus, but it also highlights some of the many risks associated with mobile devices.
Businesses are always looking for a way to be more effective. Whether that be avoiding operational hiccups, cutting costs, or anything else that aids them in an effort to provide a superior product or service. For businesses that take advantage of dynamic technology solutions in efforts to enhance productivity through collaboration and automation, keeping the platform that fuels those initiatives managed and maintained is important. No organization is situated to effectively do that better than an IT services provider.
Businesses go about their human resources in all different ways, but in today’s small and medium-sized business, it may not be looked on as crucially as it once was. The HR department may have a lot of responsibilities, but today there are tools that are available that can keep organizations from investing large amounts of capital into HR. Let’s take a look at the way HR is being approached today.
With a global market share of 71.9 percent, the Android operating system that Google provides is well and away the most utilized there is today. Despite the fact that different phone manufacturers will fiddle with the OS to fit into the devices they create, Android tends to be pretty stable—which is part of the reason why many users were surprised around March 22nd, 2021. This is when these users discovered that their applications were crashing incessantly.
Every business’ goal is to turn enough of a profit, and some businesses are better at it than others. One way that modern businesses can improve their revenue generation is by utilizing technology to cut down on inefficiencies and fuel productivity through collaboration. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the ways that businesses can expand their business through technology.
“Paperwork” has long been associated closely with life in the office, but like so many other “classic” workplace elements, it has been replaced by more modern means. In this case, a Document Management System (or DMS) offers a small-to-medium-sized business far more utility than its predecessor, the filing cabinet.