Since the dawn of computers, passwords have been the primary way to confirm the identity of an authorized user and reject unauthorized users who do not know the correct password. At first, passwords were more like pass-phrases with meaning and significance. As hackers got better at guessing someone's password, numbers were introduced, but soon hackers were cracking these too.

Today, passwords are convoluted sequences of unrelated numbers, letters, and characters that have no psychological significance and are ideally difficult for hashing programs to crack. However, they have also become incredibly tedious to type. Especially on a mobile softkey where one must 'switch keyboards' to access all the necessary characters.

Mobile devices have infiltrated the workplace — not to outright replace desktop computers but to add diversity with which revenue can be obtained in different ways. There are some brands of mobile devices that are allegedly "better" than other brands, but the reality is that "better" depends on the specific needs and budget of the prospective buyer — if mobile devices are needed for merely communicating with others in the workplace via phone conversations, texting, and E-mail, then why purchase relatively expensive devices for that task — the inexpensive Androidphone could easily accomplish the task! Other buyers might have more application-intensive needs that Android phones might not be able to accommodate — Apple or Windows mobile devices may then be more appropriate. When it's decided which type of mobile device is best suited for the needs of the business, the next phase is management planning.

Trust is paramount in business. Many people won't even conduct business with someone they don't trust or respect. As a result, it may have taken some time to build a solid foundation of trust with your current managed IT service provider. Once trust is established they should be trying to help your company become more successful.

However, what do you do when you've noticed that the managed IT service provider you used to trust is not providing you with the same level of service that they did in the beginning? Or maybe you've noticed that they are no longer taking the initiative to advise you on how to navigate the latest technological changes in your industry. If you've worked with a managed IT service provider for a long time and built relationships with the staff it may be hard for you to remain objective and realize that they may no longer be a good fit for your company. For some of you who are still on the fence about whether you should switch to another IT provider, here are some red flags that should make you reconsider:

The holiday season is here, and the spirit of giving is in the air. Why not give the IT professional in your life a few things that they’ve been wishing for all year? Here, we’ve compiled a list of things you can give them, some of which will cost you (and your business) nothing.

No matter how big a business is, it has to leverage at least some IT in order to be efficient. Unfortunately, some organizations are reluctant to implement new technology if they don’t seem to need it immediately. What these businesses don’t know is that the reason they typically don’t implement new solutions--saving money--is in direct conflict with what the solutions are designed to do in the first place.