Network Synergy Blog

Cloud computing has been touted as one of the most innovative and important technologies for smaller businesses as they look to compete with larger organizations. How it makes this possible is by offering the dynamic computing environments that can help bring these smaller businesses into the information age without saddling them with massive infrastructure costs while doing so. That’s not to say that the cloud is cheap by any means, and this month we will discuss how cloud computing is a great option and how if it isn’t managed properly, it can be problematic for the businesses that rely on it. 

Communication is critical if you want to maintain positive working relationships with your customers and clients. If you want to optimize communication, you should be considering the latest and greatest technology solutions that provide operational benefits as well.

When it comes to network security, businesses need all the advantages they can get, especially since cybersecurity as an industry is one which is rapidly adjusting and responding to an enormous amount of ever-changing threats. One way in which security researchers have attempted to subvert this security rat race is through artificial intelligence measures, a trend that promises to change the way businesses protect themselves more effectively.

Unfortunately, cybersecurity is a lot easier to reinforce in the office than it is when your team members are working remotely—and even then, it can be a serious challenge to maintain. However, let’s focus on the remote worker’s situation for a few moments and review a few best practices that can help a remote worker stay secure.

The small business owner has to be diligent in the way they spend their company’s resources. Technology, and the automation that it often brings, can work to make your business more agile and efficient, but traditionally it does come with substantial upfront costs. Additionally, it means committing big chunks of money on management, maintenance, and regular upgrades. Let’s take a look at how other small businesses have been investing in technology to help you determine what you should be prioritizing.

Most businesses set out to do an IT project when their technology needs an upgrade. Whether your business is looking to add new hardware, refresh the systems you already have, migrate to the cloud, or add new applications to your playbook, it can get pretty intimidating as cost and time overruns threaten your profitability. This week, we thought we would discuss an approach that can help any business—large or small— get their IT projects completed and integrated effectively: co-managed IT. 

If you suspect that your organization has trouble managing its technology, you are far from the only one. Small businesses tend to have more difficulties with technology management and maintenance compared to their enterprise-level counterparts, mostly due to limitations placed on resources and time. You can make things much easier for your business by working with a managed service provider.

Phishing attacks can be scary to deal with, especially since it is not unheard of for staff members to not even know they are looking at one. To make sure your staff can identify and respond to phishing attacks in an appropriate way, we’ve put together this short guide to help you along the way.

There are countless ways your organization could face down a disaster, whether it’s a high-profile natural disaster, a physical disaster, or a technology-related disaster. If you aren’t prepared to face the consequences, your business could falter in the face of such incidents. How can your business best prepare itself for all manners of disasters?

The past several years have brought about a shift in the workforce, and it’s not one that anyone could have seen coming. More people than ever before are leaving their jobs. How can you keep your employees engaged so they have a minimal chance of leaving their position within your company?

Remote work has been growing for years, but as it becomes more commonplace it becomes more difficult for business owners and managers to ascertain how engaged a remote employee is. This week, we thought we’d discuss a couple of ways that you can keep your remote employees engaged and productive. 

While we’re all for efficiency, there are some boundaries that should not be crossed for everyone’s benefit. Take, for instance, the email you use to subscribe to online services. While it may be tempting (or, for some people, automatic) to use your work email address when you sign up for, say, your Netflix account or an online merchant, we wanted to discuss why this is a bad habit to get into that could have lasting consequences.

You’ve no doubt noticed that innovation is motoring ahead and a lot of businesses are now implementing technology to help build efficient, reliable processes to improve business operations and customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, many companies hang on to outdated methods for evaluating and implementing technology and it results in substantial lost value. Today, we will go through a few ways you can get the value your business needs from its technology decisions. 

In any business, the capacity to collaborate is critical to success. In order to do so most optimally, it helps to carry out a few preliminary and overarching practices. Let’s go over a few such practices to help bring your team’s collaborative activities together.

Did you know that people tend to spend an average of 3-5 hours on their phones every day? The smartphone might be one of the most useful modern tools out there, but it can get in the way of running your business if you let it. Here are a couple of ways you can get the most out of your smartphone for business purposes.

For every level of business, cybersecurity is a big deal. For the enterprise, they deal with a lot of would-be attacks and need their staff to know how to respond if they are targeted. For the midsize business, the convergence of underwhelming IT support and a growing workforce can be the perfect storm. For the small business, a significant cyberattack could be the beginning of the end for their business. This is why, no matter what size your business is, you need to have a cybersecurity strategy in place that includes tools, monitoring, and protocol. This month, we have put together a list of considerations your business should note to keep your network and data safe.

Microsoft Office is a super useful collection of software that serves the purposes of just about any business, at least to some degree. Since it is so popular—taking up almost half of the office productivity software market in February 2022—we figured it would be helpful to share a few tips to help speed up some of the things you may be spending time on now.

Your business’ technology is a great tool, or at least it can be. Like any other part of business, getting value out of your business’ technology is essential. In order for you to see the kind of value from your tech that you’d expect, you first need to approach it by making good decisions. This month, we wanted to go over a few ways that you could fall into a trap with your IT.

The workplace is, fittingly, a place for work to be done. While there are a lot of factors that can contribute to a person’s day-to-day productivity, having a space that is conducive to accomplishing their work tasks can be seen as essential. Let’s go over how you can design a workspace that does just that:

In most workspaces and offices, “productivity” is always present on the list of goals. Why settle for one task completed in a set time, when multiple tasks can be completed in the same amount of time without sacrificing the quality of the result? This goal is popular enough for many experts and consultants to have weighed in on. We’ve decided to give you a basic overview of some such strategies so you may consider them.