The Complete Managed IT Pricing Guide for Small Businesses
To say that managed IT services are an attractive option for small and medium-sized businesses would be no understatement.
To say that managed IT services are an attractive option for small and medium-sized businesses would be no understatement.
Austin, Texas, is a thriving and diverse economic center in the United States, with a booming population and a rich cultural scene.
Austin, Texas is quickly making a name for itself as one of America’s top technology hubs. Downtown Austin hosts an impressive cluster of global technology companies. It’s impressive enough to earn the neighborhood the nickname “Silicon Hills.” So, who are these Austin technology companies and why are they attracting so much attention?
Have you noticed that the more heavily people rely on technology, the more they tend to gripe about said technology? Perhaps you’ve even done your own share of griping, especially as ultra-fast, ultra-reliable Internet connectivity has grown more critical than ever. A few years ago, for instance, you might have made relatively little use of videoconferencing programs, whereas today a stuttering Zoom connection can sabotage a critical meeting. Like it or not, you can no longer get by with so-so speeds. You need better solutions for both your wired and wireless connectivity – and your answer may lie in a combination of Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi6.
If you are a large corporation, you probably have a well-established IT department who takes care of your data safety and security.You probably have invested a good amount of money to ensure that your business stays safe from data security threats. No one (except your IT department) has to bother about encryption, backup, email security, and other factors.
However, if you own a start-up or small to mid-sized business, you are ultimately responsible for the safety of your critical corporate data! Data loss could cost you severely. Many businesses that experience a data loss do not recover, or find that the costs of recovering the data far outweigh the cost of preventative measures. Here are some essential points for consideration that you may want to consider in order to keep your business data safe.
Your clients do business with you because they trust you. If they entrust you with sensitive data, it is up to you to earn that trust by protecting it. Make sure you encrypt all their confidential information such as tax forms, address details, financial sheets, business plans, etc. Similarly, it is important to encrypt your own data as well. Encryption is a process of converting your information into a format that can’t be read, understood, or decrypted by any third party. The encryption is password protected. Unless someone knows the password, he/she won’t be able to decrypt it. Encryption, in some form or another, should take place at least when data leaves your organization premises. For example, if you are an accountant focusing on tax returns, some encryption should be used when sending and receiving tax forms, working papers and finalized returns to and from clients.
Your data is at far more risk in transit than when it is stored in your PC. When you are sending something confidential to your client, make sure you find out an appropriate way to secure it. Email, by itself, is not a secure method of sending documents. Encryption will help you, and local encryption is fairly easy. However, encrypting data in transit is challenging. This is because you and your client have to agree on a common encryption process. If your client already has an encryption policy, you may want to use their system. If not, then you both have to figure out a common way through which both the parties can protect their data during transit. One common method, following on the accounting example, would be to use a 3rd party file share site which uses common SSL security to encrypt uploads and downloads.
Do not ignore basic protection. Viruses, malware, Trojans, worms, and other malicious elements can severely affect your productivity and provide hackers with copies of your data. You may either lose access to the contents of confidential client files or to the files themselves. Invest in a quality anti-virus program, and make sure it is always up to date. Also, secure all your PCs and mobile devices. Remember that laptops and portable devices can be exposed to extra risk due to the unsecure networks they access.
Backing up your data to a single local physical device isn’t enough. As you can imagine, a fire or flood can make short work of such devices. A tape or other multi-copy backup is a better choice, as you will always have copies away from the office. Many customers also use online backup either exclusively or in conjunction with premise-based backup. Online backup can be inexpensive for your core set of files, and may be a good choice for all of your data, depending on the size and type of data you are backing up. For some, the benefit of not needing to change a tape is tremendous!
We hope this blog helps you understand the basics of securing your data. If you are looking for professional help, get in touch with us www.GravityUSA.com
When Apple released the iPad, little did it know that this device would transform businesses dramatically in the same manner that it transformed personal entertainment?
Since 1997, Gravity System has helped thousands of companies focus on their business without bothering about information technology related issues. We have been on our toes to help companies minimize their downtime and maximize their revenues. We believe in offering quality services and this is the reason why we keep inventing something new that will help us enhance your satisfaction levels; our app is one such invention. This app is a handy tool that lets you access our entire website quickly and easily.
Recent statistics from app Analytics Flurry states that usage of apps is growing at a constant rate, whereas mobile web usage has seen a rapid decline in past few years. This data clearly indicates that people prefer using apps as they are light, easy to use, and can be accessed quickly. The team at Gravity System therefore, decided to build our own app apart from having a responsive website. We wanted our app to be informative as well as handy tool that will help us customers get access to our vital information easily. After a lot of trials and errors, we have finally being able to build something that you would love to use.
As soon as you click on our app, you will see our main interface that has buttons that will direct you to relevant sections. To know who we are, you can refer our about us section and for more information on what we do, please refer to our services section. Our resources section is fully loaded with helpful information that you must refer to keep yourself updated. We have a blog button that will direct you towards our company blog. This blog is a must-read for every business that is concerned about its Information Technology infrastructure. There are video and gallery sections that will help you gain more insights about our company and our past work. You can directly contact using the call or email buttons. To locate us, use the maps button on this app. To make communications easier, we have added a chat button where you can directly and instantly talk to our experts. We also have social buttons that will help you spread a few good words about us.
Resolving a technical issue when you are running a small time business can be frustrating and exorbitant. If all the investments are spent on resolving technical issues, what about other services which need upgrade? At this instant, the owners themselves take up the work of resolving the issue, which may further complicate the issue as they have no knowledge when it comes to IT solutions. This can test their patience and be frustrating and may lead to hopelessness.
Today, in our Common IT Questions blog series, the Gravity Team addresses the ever-present concern of employee productivity.
At Gravity Systems, we support computer systems every day for many small businesses. There are a lot of common questions we are asked by business owners and office managers. We decided to include them in a blog series beginning with this one regarding Quickbooks.