Ferrum Technology Services Blog

Have you ever wondered how in the world you’re going to get everything done, only to lose track of everything or get distracted? Some researchers believe that the tomato might be the key to unlocking the latent knack for productivity that lies dormant within us all. Albeit, not a real tomato, but the familiar tomato-shaped timer that counts down from 25 minutes.

No matter what kind of business you run, you’re likely to gain many friends and allies in the war of entrepreneurship. However, you’ll also gain a lot of enemies (i.e. your competitors) that you’ll need to one-up somehow. Of course, you could always just exploit what they are doing wrong, but what about what they are doing right?

When you hire a new employee, you make it clear what the job’s expectations are. You expect them to be productive, and you provide them with an environment that’s conducive to getting the job done. This leads us to ask a fundamental question about workplace productivity: How much responsibility do you have in aiding your employees’ productivity?

We’re all hooked on our email. It has revolutionized the way businesses communicate, and in many cases, it can be a major distraction. If you’re a small business trying to manage your own Exchange server, you’re probably aware of how much a headache email can be. Do you really have time to host and manage your own email solution?

For American retailers, Black Friday is the biggest and most competitive day on the shopping calendar. Consumers reap the rewards of all of this competition by taking advantage of deep discounts on their favorite items. Competition like this is a win-win for both parties! Can your business benefit like this from an infusion of friendly competition?

It seems as if you can't go anywhere on the Internet without encountering some security violation, and there's a lot of discussion concerning how to keep your data safe. Undoubtedly, mobile devices will surely arise in the debate. Without a doubt, mobile devices are capable of vastly improving productivity while out of the office, but is this enough to offset the incredible amount of risk which comes with hopping from network to network?

It seems as if you can't go anywhere on the Internet without encountering some security violation, and there's a lot of discussion concerning how to keep your data safe. Undoubtedly, mobile devices will surely arise in the debate. Without a doubt, mobile devices are capable of vastly improving productivity while out of the office, but is this enough to offset the incredible amount of risk which comes with hopping from network to network?

As technology continues to improve, workers are able to be more efficient and do more with less. In the name of efficiency, new technology changes things, including the office layout. "Hoteling" is the latest office trend in workplace efficiency, and with the right technology, you can organize your office in this new way and gain maximum collaboration out of your team!

The Internet is a vast and wonderful plain of many fruits and resources, but there are two sides to everything. It can also be a vile and disgusting place, with content that could make even the most hardened criminal flinch (or stare in astonishment). Keep your network safe by implementing a content filtering solution for your business.

Technology grows more powerful and complex every day, and there have been increasing efforts to automate certain repetitive tasks. In the near future, we may be able to look at fully automated assembly lines. While most companies are concentrating on what this means for their budgets, automation could very well be a threat to jobs around the world.

Ever since mobile devices gained the ability to connect to the Internet, the integration of smart technology has followed us out of the office and into our homes, and even on your family vacation. If you are afraid that unplugging yourself from the workplace will spell trouble for your business, think again - you might just be worrying too much.

Oh man, it's so hot outside! When the summer heat is at its worst, car door handles become like glowing irons removed from the fire and it feels like nature is one big oven. Summer heat is especially hard on your office building's air conditioning unit. Consequently, the heat can put your computer equipment in danger. Portable cooling to the rescue!

With the coming of spring, many people are taking the opportunity to get rid of all of the stuff they don't need anymore. As time goes on, you accumulate all sorts of junk that you probably don't even know you have. Sometimes it's a good idea to go through it all and see if you really need it - especially for your business's in-house IT department.

Chris Dancy is known far and wide for being "the most connected human on earth", but how exactly does he do it? It's much easier than some people think. He takes advantage of the numerous technologies and systems available, and they all work together to track his every move. Why would he want to do this? It's not for bragging rights, as some might say - rather, it is all about a "quantified life existence." To find out what this means, we got a chance to interview Chris about his tech journey.

Multitasking is something that everyone prides themselves on, but cognitive psychologist Art Markman seems to think otherwise. He says, "you are your own worst judge of how good a multitasker you are," due to the same areas of the brain that monitor performance are the same areas that work with multitasking, making it nigh impossible to determine how well you are actually multitasking. Of course, multitasking is something that every good employee should learn how to do, as it can improve productivity significantly.

Sometimes it's okay to waste time surfing the Internet, like when you're unwinding at home after a long day at the office. However, wasting time with mindless Internet browsing can become a problem when it cuts into your work day and makes you less productive.

It's a rare occasion that a company grows to have as much prowess over multiple industries as Google has. Since their launch in 1998, their mission has been "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." By launching products and services centered on this purpose, Google has grown to set the world's standard of information and how it's managed. What can your business learn from them?

How could it have ever come to this? The everyday practical use of the beloved computer mouse has been put in jeopardy due to the relatively recent introduction of touchscreen technology. Tablets, smartphones, and touchscreen computers are driving our handheld friends off of the shelves and into history books. Will the computer mouse go extinct in the near future?