Ferrum Technology Services Blog

With COVID-19 still in play, working remotely has become how many employees have continued to fulfill their work responsibilities. Now, as we settle into this new way of doing things, the question has arisen: after all this is over, will business operations return to the way they once were? Let’s discuss.

As statewide stay-at-home orders lapse, more and more businesses aim to reopen. For a fair share of these businesses, remote technology has been a godsend. For the businesses that cannot reopen yet, being able to monitor your IT infrastructure while you are out of the office is extremely important to the sustainability of your remote access solutions. Today, we’ll discuss monitoring your infrastructure.

Spoiler alert: it isn’t good news.

On September 7th, 2017, it was made public that Equifax had suffered one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in history, and as a result, had left 145.5 million consumers in the United States vulnerable to identity theft. Due to a website application vulnerability, the personally identifiable information of these people was exposed from May until July of that year.

With so many businesses experiencing drastic changes with continued social distancing recommendations and suspended operations, it is important that one of the most critical groups associated with any business remains in the loop: its clients and customers. Therefore, it makes sense to do so using a tool that is readily available (and that most people use): social media.

With all the threats that stand to create problems for your business, it can be surprising to hear that some of your biggest security risks actually derive from your staff, and their exposure to your technology. Less surprising to hear: security issues interfere with the successful operation of your business. Here, we’ve shared a few tips to help your staff better adhere to security practices.

The differences between VoIP and the traditional method behind telephone services are pronounced enough that comparing them isn’t so much a consideration of one team versus the other—VoIP is in another league, practically an entirely different sport. Let’s go over what makes VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) so different, and how this offers greater benefits to businesses.

Under the current circumstances, remote work is being viewed as the safer option. This has led a lot of businesses to adopt these practices for the time being--you may have already done so. However, some employees have a better grasp of how to properly work from home than others. We’ve put together a few examples of how an employee may conduct themselves while working from home.

When reading through Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report you will quickly get the notion that phishing attacks are some of the most prevalent cyberattacks. With businesses forced to use technology to support a remote workforce, this is definitely still relevant information. It, then, becomes extremely important that your business does a quality job of training your employees to spot phishing attempts before they become a problem. Let’s take you through some of the telltale signs that you have received a phishing message.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the world down for some time, shutting down nonessential businesses until conditions are controlled well enough for their employees to return to work. In the interim, many businesses have largely shifted to remote operations in as many processes as they can. Many still have questions about remote operations, so we’ve done our best to answer them.

Millions of businesses are being affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, it may not surprise you that you will have to adjust your budget to accommodate the massive amount of changes that we will see when the outbreak is handled and everyday life begins to normalize. Today, we thought we’d take you through some of the financial challenges your business is sure to have to deal with when the stay-at-home orders lift.

Productivity is a significant challenge for businesses in the best of times, which means that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has only complicated things. Now, many businesses are attempting to preserve their productivity by transferring to remote operations. This strategy, if acted upon appropriately, can prove to be effective if the right approach is taken.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of businesses to rethink their spending strategies, and one side-effect from making cuts to your operational budget is having to deal with your vendor representatives more frequently. Today, we’ll talk about how a vendor management service can not only help you manage your supply chain, but also mitigate the headaches caused by aggressive vendor reps.  

Collaboration has always played a critical role in a business’ success, which is one of the biggest benefits that the cloud offers. Since cloud technology has suddenly become even more important for a business--especially in terms of business connectivity as more people are displaced from the office by the COVID-19 pandemic--we felt that it was an appropriate time to address just how many different kinds of communication tools are available through the cloud.

Most computer users have at least a passing familiarity with Portable Document Format files, better known as PDFs. As a tip, we’ll review how a PDF can be created, and even edited.

In normal circumstances, the virtual private network (VPN) is a great tool for people who work out of the office. With the COVID-19 outbreak pushing a lot of workers out of the office, the VPN has now become an essential part of a business’ day-to-day operations. Today, we’ll define the VPN and tell you why you’ll probably need a VPN designed for business use.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been a trying time for businesses and individuals, alike. Not much positive has come from it, as people, who typically band together in times of unease, are asked to stay away from each other. This has led to many people turning to their smartphones and Internet connections to communicate with the people they hold dear. With a national reliance on Internet connections there have been some new voices (and some familiar ones) advocating for the return of net neutrality. Today, we’ll remind you what net neutrality is and why this situation has people calling for a change. 

There are many reasons that your team may want (or need) to work from home, and there are many reasons to allow them to do so. A 2019 survey by OwlLabs indicated that 71 percent of remote workers are happy with their job (as compared to 55 percent of on-site workers); remote workers responded that they are 13   percent more likely than onsite workers to stay in their current job for five more years than onsite workers will; and when respondents claimed to be working longer than 40 hours per week, onsite workers were doing so out of necessity, while remote workers did so out of desire and enjoyment.

Most smartphone users like to get a new phone every year or two. This isn’t just because the hardware or software on newer devices are better, but because after two years, many people have dropped their devices a half dozen times and there are cracks and dings in the device. After two years most device’s batteries start to degrade. Some newer software isn’t compatible or won’t run on older devices. Whatever your reason is for getting a new smartphone, you should know that your old smartphone still has some value. For this week’s tip, we’ll outline some ways you can use your old mobile device:

It’s not uncommon where a situation arises and you will find yourself working from home. To make this work, it is important that you keep a few additional issues in mind so that you can make the most of it. We have put together a few simple best practices that you should keep in mind as you operate remotely.

In light of the coronavirus outbreak that swiftly swept across the globe, there have been efforts made by many telecommunications companies to make life easier for their customers. These customers are likely holed up at home, working remotely if possible. One way or another, they are going to want Internet access, and in a show of solidarity, numerous ISPs and cell carriers are delivering.