Directive Blogs

As your business grows, so does the need to expand your network. If your IT infrastructure is not meeting your company's growing needs, then shopping for a new server is in your future. Servers are highly configurable and customizable to meet the specific needs of your business. Here are 4 things to consider when shopping for a new server.

The majority of businesses that experience data loss will not recover. You may think that, if you are careful, then you will not need a backup solution, but statistics say otherwise. A 2009 study by Blackblaze.com revealed that 46% of users experience data loss every year! This figure makes sense when you consider the five most common factors of data loss.

At the end of the workday you may be in a hurry to leave, and as you start tossing your belongings into your bag, you come across your USB drive plugged into your PC. You're now faced with a tough decision; do you take the time to safely remove the device, or do you save 30 seconds and just unplug it?

We often talk about the need to back up your data, but did you know that it is also a best practice to back up your hardware? Backing up your hardware works differently than data backup; whereas data backup involves network devices and a cloud, backing up your hardware is a simple matter of having extra computer components on your premise.

During the first week of PC ownership, you may have felt like the guy from the old Maxwell stereo ads being 'blown away' with your blazing start-up speeds. The "Wow Factor" eventually wore off, and after a year or two, your computer's start-up speed may have slowed down. What happened, and how can you again be blown away?

Computers have been designed to be easy and intuitive to use. Just about anybody can figure out how to open files and browse the Internet, but PCs are still complicated machines that require technical knowledge to fix and maintain. When it comes to the technical stuff, it's better to leave it to the pros.

The largest and most important components of your network is your servers. Technically, you can line up your servers on a big table and they will work, but if you want to get the most out of your servers, then we recommend using a server rack.

Your computer network is vital to your business continuity. Every component plays an important role, but it is your server that is the heart of your network, pumping data to all of your company's computers. You take care of your heart, are you taking care of your server?

We understand your desire to upgrade to a new computer, using the latest technology has its advantages. Although, upgrading because your old PC has "worn out" may be an inaccurate assessment. There are many reasons why a computer's performance slows down, but it is doubtful that hardware deterioration is a cause. This is because PC hardware is built to last.

Business growth is a double edged sword. It is great that you are increasing revenue, but you now have to deal with growing pains. These growing pains are often felt with your technology. Is your network cobbled together with random computers and your wires are one big tangle ball? Directive can help relieve these IT growing pains with network mapping.

Do you have a plan in place for when your technology breaks or crashes? As wonderful as computers are, the hardware wears down, and software can become buggy and crash. Having a go-to plan in place for IT hiccups, will save you time and frustration from having to react to a problem and scramble to find a fix.

With all this talk about mobile devices like tablets, smartphones, and ultra-portable laptops, you'd begin to think that traditional desktop PCs are going to seem archaic. Depending on your needs, that can be the case, but desktops aren't going away anytime soon, and for good reason.

We think this is something everybody can relate to. That computer or laptop that you bought a few years ago seemed very fast and capable when it was first set up, but these days it doesn't seem to have the same get-up-and-go. Why does performance degrade as time goes by?

For those who find themselves struggling with resizing windows and flipping between documents and getting lost in a sea of open applications on their desktop, connecting a second monitor to your workstation can double your screen real estate.

Your printer typically has pretty limited functionality, or at least one would think, right? It prints, maybe it can print on both sides of the paper, sometimes it can scan documents, and it can allow hackers the ability to steal your data and commandeer your network. Wait, say what?

Ever notice how much faster a brand new computer is compared to an older one? Think back... was your computer as slow as it is today as it was a few years ago when you first got it? How did you tolerate that back then? It turns out your computer actually gets slower over time, but to contrast that new computers are getting faster, cheaper, and more energy efficient. Computers aren't designed to last forever, and this isn't on purpose; general day-to-day usage and time give computer components a good thrashing. So why is your computer slow? Here are some Directive secrets about why your old computer struggles to keep up with you.

RAID, you hear it everywhere. From the techs in the server room talking about it to computer manufacturers asking if you want a RAID formation for your computer's hard drive. Not all RAID configurations are considered equal. Here's an explanation of RAID formats in plain English.

When can a single dust particle lead to thousands of dollars worth of damage (or more)?

The answer is when your data isn't backed up. Today we're going to talk about just how fragile your data's very existence can be.

When it comes to storing data locally on your organization’s workstations, you have a couple of options. There are solid state drives and hard disk drives, but the average user isn’t tech-savvy enough to understand the difference between the two. Regardless of what kinds of devices you use for your business, you should be aware of how they work and what you can expect from them.