Ferrum Technology Services Blog

Believe it or not, there was a time when a technology as prevalent as the landline was an exciting new solution for businesses, but that time has long since passed. These days, there are better options available for your communications needs. In fact, these modern tools might just be powerful enough to convince you to ditch your landline entirely in favor of them!

One of the biggest challenges facing small businesses is IT. More often than not, SMBs lack the strong IT leadership and plethora of resources that enable larger organizations to effectively manage their technology. While there are countless mistakes that SMBs can make regarding technology management and implementation, we’ve selected four that stand head and shoulders above the rest. These are the most costly mistakes your organization can make regarding its technology management.

When looking forward, it’s often useful to consider developing technologies to gauge what you might have access to in the future. Admittedly, a lot of these technologies can sound like a long shot at best (and ludicrous at their worst). However, some of these could very well transition into the business environment. Let’s consider a few out-there concepts that we might see gaining traction at some point in the future.

Cloud technology has shifted the way that many businesses operate in their day-to-day, offering advantages that were once a business owner’s pipe dream. Of course, there are now different ways that businesses can embrace these advantages. Let’s compare your options to determine which one better matches up to your needs.

No matter what type of business you run, we are sure that you have paper documents of some sort filling up a filing cabinet somewhere. These paper documents might be signed contracts by employees, clients, or just about anything else out there that you need to file and store away for later. These documents can take up a ton of space, though, so what is the business to do? The answer is simple: go paperless.

Ransomware has been a scourge to businesses for years now, with it unfortunately experiencing a renaissance of sorts as the COVID-19 pandemic came to the fore. With increased phishing attacks and other means of spreading ransomware now taking advantage of the ongoing situation, it is all the more important that these attempts can be identified and mitigated.

Some companies have been in business for so long that they are still relying on legacy applications in their operational system. This could be for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that there is simply not a better option—at least, not in their eyes. Enter virtual machines, the solution that makes these kinds of businesses possible without severely compromising on network security.

Data breaches are an unfortunate reality that businesses have to contend with, but small businesses often do not give them the consideration that they deserve. It is critical that you consider security challenges and take these risks seriously. Let’s examine how you can overcome some of the many challenges that small businesses have with cybersecurity.

Microsoft Excel is the premier spreadsheet software, but unless you know keyboard shortcuts and formulas, it can be tricky to get the most value out of it as a software solution. Thankfully, with just a couple of keystrokes, you too can achieve mastery over this software. Here are some of the most popular and useful keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel.

Countless high-profile ransomware attacks have surfaced over the past several years, all against targets like manufacturers, pipelines, hospitals, and utility companies. Obviously, these attacks are a cause for concern, but some small businesses might make the mistake of thinking themselves too small to target. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case; we’ll help you protect your business from these devastating cyberattacks.

Hackers are a crafty bunch. They will use any and all means to infiltrate businesses, including some that are downright shameful. One of the most devastating ways that hackers make these attempts is through the use of phishing attacks, or attacks where they essentially trick users to click on links in emails or hand over confidential information.

This past May, Ireland’s Health Service Executive—the organization responsible for providing healthcare and social services to the country’s residents—was successfully targeted by a major ransomware attack. Unfortunately, we are still talking about it now because the entire situation has forced us to acknowledge the aftereffects of such an event.

Some high-profile business owners are notorious for having daily routines that build good habits, like going to the gym or waking up early, but more often than not, the stressors of day-to-day business build bad habits that compound on each other over time. Therefore, it is imperative that you address this now and develop good, productive habits.

With so many accounts required on an everyday basis, it’s no surprise that people often struggle with passwords and password security. One way that individuals try to manage the countless passwords used on a daily basis while keeping them secure is through the use of password managers. What does a password manager do, and why should you consider implementing one for your business?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations to transition to online work, a notion that many businesses felt was previously out of the question. This transition came with its fair share of frustrations, but eventually businesses figured out that remote work offered various benefits. That said, one of the biggest issues also manifested, and was in the form of security.

The pandemic placed a heavy emphasis on the capabilities for organizations to shift to remote operations, and if you were one of the many companies to seek additional equipment and hardware to make this happen, you might have noticed a lack of product out there. The global chip shortage has made it difficult for companies to procure new equipment, but there is another darker side to this story, particularly in regards to issues in the supply chain.

Wrangling an email inbox that has been left to its own devices for months can be a challenge, especially for those who sign up for email lists and never unsubscribe from anything. If this sounds like you, be sure to read on and discover ways that you can finally take back control of your email inbox.

A new ransomware attack has surfaced, this time mostly targeting IT companies and their clients. The attack is specifically targeting the Kaseya platform. Kaseya is management software that many IT companies use to remotely manage and support technology. The attack in question attacked Kaseya’s supply chain through a vulnerability in its VSA software; this attack is notable because of how it targeted the supply chain, not only striking at the vendor’s clients—notably IT companies—but also their customers. Basically, this attack had a trickle-down effect that is causing widespread chaos for a massive number of businesses.

It should come as no surprise that cybersecurity is an important consideration for a business, which means it is important that you are aware of how effective your security practices are. Evaluating this is best accomplished by testing your team and their preparedness… but how often should you do so?

Now that Google’s Android Messages application has end-to-end encryption, it might be a good time to discuss the concept of what end-to-end encryption actually is and why it’s important. Let’s take a closer look.