Directive Blogs

Businesses always try to eliminate unnecessary costs, but printing isn’t necessarily everyone’s first idea of an unnecessary cost. With so much revenue being invested in paper, ink, and toner every year, just think of how many resources this can free up for your business if you could find a way to eliminate them from your budget. With the right technology solutions, you can easily cut costs on printing.

2015 was a brutal year for major corporations, as one by one they fell victim to hacking attacks. Major organizations like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Anthem, and even the United States Office of Personnel became victims of major hacking campaigns. A fact that’s often lost amongst these details is that not all hackers use their skill for evil actions, even if they are still illegal.

The continuity of your business should be a major priority, especially considering how the livelihood of yourself and your employees is on the line. Believe it or not, there are some organizations out there that don’t give a second thought to the preservation of their data and critical assets. Therefore, it’s clear that you need to pay proper attention to how your organization handles problems like natural disasters, data loss, hacking attacks, and other hazardous incidents.

The technological landscape of the office environment has evolved significantly over the past few years, especially in terms of technology that fosters inter-office collaboration. What could only be accomplished by sitting down together in the same room, can now be done remotely through the use of video conferencing and VoIP technologies. It’s a true golden age of business technology achievement, and if your business isn’t fully leveraging your communications technology, you’ll quickly fall behind.

You’re a small business, and as such, you need technology in order to keep your operations moving forward. Many organizations will refer to their services and products as “enterprise-level,” as if there’s a certain draw to them that wouldn’t ordinarily be there. Here’s what this term means, not just for larger businesses, but for your SMB.

What’s your reaction to your mobile device beeping at you? If you’re the kind of person that drops everything to see what it says, then you’re probably way more distracted at work than you should be. It’s a bad habit to look at your phone every minute or two, but with hard work, habits can be broken. Here are three actions you can take to minimize workplace distractions so you can be more productive.

Few people like going to meetings. Yet, there seems to be no way around them. The key to having a successful meeting is to run it as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, according to a recent study by Blue Jeans Network, meetings are becoming much less productive.

When it comes to your business’s data security, there can be no room for error. October is Cyber Security Month, so there’s no better time to ensure that your business is taking all of the proper precautions to maximize security protocol. However, there’s an often-forgotten aspect of cybersecurity called employee risk management, and it’s more complex than you might think.

If there’s one thing that our extremely technical society has evolved into, it’s one where technology is always striving to improve itself. This is especially important for businesses that are looking to maximize the return on investment they get from their hardware and software. Do you know where your organization concentrates its resources for tech upgrades?

Can you imagine how much easier it would be to manage your IT problems if you had a dedicated support team who you could always count on to receive calls and answer any questions your team has? This would technically qualify as an internal help desk, and they could potentially save you a ton of money and time in the long run. Why? Because your team wouldn’t have to waste time digging through complicated systems to find answers to their dilemmas.

Millennials may be looked down upon in the average workplace for a number of reasons that are entirely subjective, whether it be that they’re “spoiled rotten” or “just plain rude.” But in today’s workplace based around technology, millennials have a huge advantage, and have even given long-time CIOs a run for their money when it comes to technology management.

“Do you think this is a game?” In the past, a boss may have used this line to criticize an employee for not taking their job seriously. However, in today’s more creative work environments, many companies are using game mechanics to achieve their goals. This business strategy is called gamification, and it’s the most fun way to get work done.

When it seems like every idea has already been patented or brought to fruition, that’s a key indicator that innovation in your company is lacking. Traditionally, advancements in business technology have driven innovation for companies. If your company’s innovation well is running dry, then there are measures that your business can take to become more innovative.

We live in a world where money is the solution to all problems. If you have a problematic piece of technology, what do you do to fix it? You can call in the professionals, or shell out for new hardware or software. Either way, you’re spending money, but the difference in how much you need to spend depends on the policies your IT support budget specifies.

We all like to think that our businesses are the most influential in our chosen field. However, the true scope of how true this is, lies not only in your expertise, but also with your clients. If they aren’t satisfied, you can be sure that this fact will reflect itself in your sales figures.

We all like to think that our businesses are the most influential in our chosen field. However, the true scope of how true this is, lies not only in your expertise, but also with your clients. If they aren’t satisfied, you can be sure that this fact will reflect itself in your sales figures.

Just because something is brand new doesn’t mean that there’s a market for it. Just look at Windows 8 to see what we’re talking about. It might have been a brand new operating system when it first came out, but it didn’t really take to users, who preferred the familiar feel of Windows 7. How do business owners suspect Windows 10 will affect the business world?

Everybody loves a vacation from work, but nobody enjoys the stress of catching up when returning from said vacation. It doesn’t have to be this way. By taking a few precautions, you can avoid ever again having to say, “I need a vacation from my vacation.”

When you first considered starting your own business, you thought nothing could possibly go wrong. You had so much hope for the future. But, things are a lot more complicated than that. You start to think the worst - your business is failing, and you don’t know what to do about it. When times get hard, do you throw in the towel, or persevere?

It’s the goal of every IT administrator for every part of their network to run smoothly. Achieving this level of IT perfection is a beautiful thing that makes the job of everyone in the company easier. Unfortunately, all it takes is one component to fail for this dream of IT utopia to come crashing down.