Ferrum Technology Services Blog

If you have a bank account or a credit card, chances are you’ve been made aware of a hack or a data breach. Big organizations are more frequently being breached, forcing them to run damage control for the often millions of customers affected. News coverage often bashes these big organizations, but what about smaller ones? The truth is, smaller businesses are breached just as often, with the consequences being just as severe. 

Over 90 percent of people in the United States feel like their data is out of their control, and judging from the impression that the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation left on the world, it’s surely not going to be the last piece of privacy legislation that is issued. Still, will it be enough to urge certain governments and organizations to practice what they preach? The results could have long-lasting effects on businesses, as well.

Like a well-oiled machine, any business needs its internal components to line up correctly, interacting with the others to accomplish the ultimate goal of the device. This is more or less how we always describe collaborative processes in the context of your IT. Here, however, we’re going to focus our tip on ensuring these processes are directed by employees who are ready to collaborate as well.

For the average small business, technology use isn’t always a make-or-break scenario. Sure, there are some technologies that everyone uses nowadays. Inventory and point of sale systems, social media, and wireless Internet are some that you’ll often find used by small businesses. If, as small business owner, your plan was to enhance your company’s exposure to technology, cost may temper your expectations. Today, we look at some solutions that would be useful to your business, but will they break your budget?

Commerce has been fully embraced by the Internet, with online stores slowly phasing out many brick-and-mortar establishments. While you may not be in too much danger, depending on what you offer, you may also have the opportunity to leverage this trend in your favor. Below, we’ve outlined a few factors to help you decide if e-commerce is the right fit for you.

Does your business suffer from chronic miscommunication? Chances are that your business is not the only one. Small businesses often lack the ability to invest in solutions designed to cut down on communication problems in the workplace. To help your company’s workforce improve communication and collaboration, we’re going to discuss some of the many ways that you can implement technology to eliminate miscommunication in the workplace.

It’s important that your business get as much value out of your technology as possible, but this is often easier said than done. There isn’t an easy answer to how you can get the most out of your technology. Even if you implement a brand-new solution, who’s to say that you don’t actually need it or use it? Cutting costs is more important now than it has ever been, and for small businesses hoping to save on IT support, there’s no time like the present to secure your business’s future.

Identifying a qualified managed service provider can be challenging--especially if you don’t know what to look for. You should be able to gauge the worth of an IT provider based on a couple of key qualifications, just like you would if you were selecting an employee. What are some of the primary features that you want to look for in a managed service provider?

December 14th is the last day that our government representatives can vote whether or not to continue the Internet’s protection under the net neutrality rules established in 2015. Without these rules in place, your data can be analyzed by your Internet service provider, and they are free to act on that knowledge and manipulate your Internet in support of their own interests.

What kind of software does your business use to keep operations moving forward? Depending on what industry you are in, you might find it increasingly painstaking to procure and manage the software titles your organization uses, particularly if yours is a small business that has limited capital to invest in its software. Nowadays, however, the acquisition of software doesn’t have to be troublesome, as software as a service (SaaS) is providing organizations with limited resources access to software it normally could not afford.

If the results of a Google search for ‘small business technology trends’ is any indication, artificial intelligence (AI) is not something that just concerns larger businesses and enterprises. Judging by the sheer number of articles that have been produced over the last several months, it is easy to see why a user might get the impression that SMBs who are not considering (or that aren’t already) investigating possible uses of AI are detrimental to their own success.

Technology has revolutionized business. However, along with all the advantages and benefits technology affords us, it comes with a few risks and vulnerabilities that some businesses are still struggling to come to terms with. For example, storing records electronically makes them easier to organize and locate when they’re needed. It also makes them vulnerable to hacker and cyber-attacks. Still, most SMBs are working toward mitigating risks as opposed to abandoning the use of technology in their business operations - and a current assessment of the situation does show improvement over past years.

Mobile technology has changed the way that the business world operates. No longer do employees have to be tethered to their desks in order to remain productive at all times. Instead, they can work while on the road or from their home office. However, if your business’s mobile device management solution is too lax, it might encounter a number of different problems that could potentially ruin the mobile experience for your business.

Small business owners and executives spend a lot of time going over the expense sheet. Most times, this is a result of not having the financial resources to do everything they want to do, when they want to do it. When your organization's growth stagnates, finding a way to turn that trend around is of paramount importance.

Every business has to start somewhere. Starting a new business can be the most exhilarating (and often terrifying) endeavor a person can undertake. Technology can play a extremely important role to get your business venture off the ground quickly.

Saving a little on your technology can go a long ways, but cutting too many corners can lead to additional problems and expensive downtime. Here are a few ways you can cut costs without creating long term issues.

When you mention the term 'disaster recovery,' most people think about the big ground-shattering events like earthquakes, fires, floods, tropical storms, etc. While these natural events are certainly disasters and devastating in their own right, smaller things can constitute as a disaster for your business, and they aren't seasonal.

Tablets are definitely becoming a staple in the consumer electronics world. For the longest time, the tablet PC was an expensive, clunky device that just didn't wow consumers. Some businesses had adopted tablets back in the day, but they were difficult to use, hard to support, and they simply didn't perform for the price tag. However, like many consumer electronics, Apple reinvigorated the tablet market with the original iPad, and now it would seem tablets are here to stay. The question is, are they right for businesses?