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So, what can the cloud offer in terms of lessons for your internal IT operations? How the Cloud Differs from Traditional ITThe cloud specializes in taking traditional elements of IT and transforming them into software solutions. In other words, these solutions are stored in the cloud and deployed on a per user basis. Basically, taking advantage of the cloud and virtualization technologies allow for greater agility, which your internal network can attempt to replicate. Since the cloud is a service that?s easily outsourced, businesses can take full advantage of cloud solutions without worrying about the upkeep or management of them. Compared to your business?s in-house network, the cloud is a more efficient manner of data deployment. As reported by CyberTrend: The reason why the cloud was able to arrive on the scene and help companies outsource so much of their infrastructure is because it can often offer performance and other benefits that internal IT teams simply can?t match. Traditionally, IT teams have had to deal with a ?procurement process? where they have to ?go out there, attain the hardware, and get it configured,? which requires quite a few manual activities to actually get everything online and to move the necessary workloads. In short, cloud computing is vastly more effective for both the deployment of data and applications, and the maintenance of your organization?s software solutions. White Mountain IT Services can help your business achieve the same level of success with both your cloud-based infrastructure and your own in-house IT. By outsourcing the hosting of your cloud and network infrastructure needs to us, we can increase your business agility and allow for far greater flexibility and cost savings. For example, virtualizing your business?s desktops allows you to use thin clients, which cut down on electricity and capital expenses. Furthermore, it?s much easier to deploy updates and patches, as the desktops are deployed from the cloud. By hosting applications in the cloud, you also open up the ability to work from home for your staff, further saving on energy costs. For more information about how White Mountain IT Services can simplify your network infrastructure and effectively utilize cloud computing, give us a call at (603) 889-0800. Together, we can help your business?s profits shoot sky-high.

According to Forrester Research, there are three major goals that businesses want to achieve with the cloud. Keep in mind that these might not apply to all small or medium-sized businesses, and every organization has their own specific wants and need for their cloud computing solution. Decreased administrative burden: Businesses that need to take advantage of the cloud generally want to handle the least amount of management. This is especially true for small and medium-sized businesses that have a limited budget and even more limited time and resources. Businesses that don?t need to focus on the management of their cloud solution can instead devote that time to being productive with their cloud, increasing the return on their investment. Increased implementation speed: Businesses wanting to use cloud computing, want to implement it as quickly as possible. They don?t want to spend time planning out the structure or deployment; rather, they want a fully functional solution that?s already planned out and ready for deployment within a moment?s notice. Enhanced security, with minimal expense: Businesses still want the most security possible out of their cloud solution, but they want it at a reasonable price. The ideal cloud solution will have a quality amount of security, with the least amount of work and expense on the administrator?s part. What these guidelines tend to describe is a public cloud hosted by a service provider. The public cloud is designed to provide the most functionality with the minimal amount of work on the business?s part. This means that the management is often handled by a third party, rather than an in-house IT management team. In contrast to the public cloud, a private cloud is one that?s usually hosted in-house, which provides a business with more control than is normally possible with a public cloud. The private cloud allows for businesses to add external security features that minimize data leakage. Furthermore, the private cloud is generally designed specifically for your business, so you know that your business can maximize its return on investment over the long term. However, organizations can still take advantage of private clouds by working with a managed service provider, like White Mountain IT Services. We can host and manage your private cloud solution for you, allowing your business to reap all of the benefits of a private cloud, without sacrificing functionality. Better yet, we can equip your business with a hybrid cloud, which takes the best aspects of both the private cloud and public cloud, and combines them into one convenient package. For more information about how to approach and implement cloud solutions, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Personal devices are practically impossible to leave out of the office these days. So many business executives rely on their smartphones to communicate, it?s as if the device has become a fully integrated part of the organization. In truth, BYOD scares some organizations due to the uncontrollable nature of unregulated mobile devices. What they don?t know is that there?s always going to be risk present when making changes to the way you do business, especially if you?re adding more devices to your network. While BYOD does indeed present a risk, there?s a reason why BYOD has grown to be so popular. Nowadays, BYOD is a common occurrence in the office. Once people got over their initial paranoia surrounding BYOD, they realized that the trend could be used much to their benefit. For example, end-users are more satisfied when using their own devices in the workplace. More often than not, they would rather use technology they?re familiar with, rather than a workstation that?s frustrating to maneuver around. Furthermore, businesses that have BYOD policies just seem to get more done. When employees have access to their work accounts and tools, they?re more likely to work from home and when traveling, which means there?s a possibility for more work to get done. This helps make progress on important initiatives that might not be possible with their current schedule. One of the often-forgotten benefits of BYOD is that it takes a big load off of your internal IT department. Since your end-users are supplying their own technology for the workplace, this saves on the costs of purchasing and setting up new hardware solutions for every employee you have. If you?re concerned about software being unavailable for your team, think again; the cloud and virtualization services allow for remote access to critical business systems and data, making BYOD an even sweeter proposition. Of course, this is also a double-edged sword. Since you?re relying on your team to apply critical updates to their own technology, you run the risk of them not applying them. While it?s certainly more likely that they?ll be performing maintenance and other updates, since they actually own the devices, it?s not a given. This also means that even if some of IT?s responsibilities are put in the hands of workers, there are still roles that IT must play in order to ensure that BYOD is still a secure and effective alternative to company-provided tech. One component of a comprehensive BYOD policy is using a mobile device management solution. This entails minimizing risk associated with allowing mobile devices to have access to sensitive information. Our mobile device management solution is ideal for organizations that need application management, file sharing, and data security for mobile devices. If your business needs help organizing a solid BYOD plan, a mobile device management solution from White Mountain IT Services is a good first step. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Personal devices are practically impossible to leave out of the office these days. So many business executives rely on their smartphones to communicate, it?s as if the device has become a fully integrated part of the organization. In truth, BYOD scares some organizations due to the uncontrollable nature of unregulated mobile devices. What they don?t know is that there?s always going to be risk present when making changes to the way you do business, especially if you?re adding more devices to your network. While BYOD does indeed present a risk, there?s a reason why BYOD has grown to be so popular. Nowadays, BYOD is a common occurrence in the office. Once people got over their initial paranoia surrounding BYOD, they realized that the trend could be used much to their benefit. For example, end-users are more satisfied when using their own devices in the workplace. More often than not, they would rather use technology they?re familiar with, rather than a workstation that?s frustrating to maneuver around. Furthermore, businesses that have BYOD policies just seem to get more done. When employees have access to their work accounts and tools, they?re more likely to work from home and when traveling, which means there?s a possibility for more work to get done. This helps make progress on important initiatives that might not be possible with their current schedule. One of the often-forgotten benefits of BYOD is that it takes a big load off of your internal IT department. Since your end-users are supplying their own technology for the workplace, this saves on the costs of purchasing and setting up new hardware solutions for every employee you have. If you?re concerned about software being unavailable for your team, think again; the cloud and virtualization services allow for remote access to critical business systems and data, making BYOD an even sweeter proposition. Of course, this is also a double-edged sword. Since you?re relying on your team to apply critical updates to their own technology, you run the risk of them not applying them. While it?s certainly more likely that they?ll be performing maintenance and other updates, since they actually own the devices, it?s not a given. This also means that even if some of IT?s responsibilities are put in the hands of workers, there are still roles that IT must play in order to ensure that BYOD is still a secure and effective alternative to company-provided tech. One component of a comprehensive BYOD policy is using a mobile device management solution. This entails minimizing risk associated with allowing mobile devices to have access to sensitive information. Our mobile device management solution is ideal for organizations that need application management, file sharing, and data security for mobile devices. If your business needs help organizing a solid BYOD plan, a mobile device management solution from White Mountain IT Services is a good first step. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

What we mean by this is that, due to the fast-paced changes and high demands of today?s work environments, older technology strategies like ?just go with what?s always worked,? may not cut it. Here are four approaches to technology that future-minded business owners should adopt. Quit Fighting Mobile Devices In the Workplace When mobile devices first hit the scene, many business owners were skeptical of whether or not they could really be a productive force in the workplace. Plus, there was the concern of employee-owned mobile devices compromising network security. While both of these concerns were valid when mobile devices first came out, enough mobile solutions have been developed over the years to make mobile devices a secure and productive force in the workplace (if they?re properly implemented and managed). If you decide to embrace mobile technology in your workplace, we think you?ll be pleased with the results. Design Your IT Infrastructure to Accommodate the Workload of Future NeedsAs wonderful as all of these new, productivity-enhancing solutions are, they require a significant amount of network resources and bandwidth. Therefore, you?re going to want to design your network with future needs in mind, like more people on your team taking advantage of video conferencing (a resource-heavy solution). To have a network that?s agile enough to handle the future of your business, you?re going to want to consult with the technology professionals at White Mountain IT Services who are knowledgeable of IT trends that affect your industry, and what it takes to implement these money-making trends. Learn How to Let Go of Faithful Solutions of the Past That No Longer Cut ItFor some business owners, ?out with the old and in with the new? is difficult to adopt when dealing with a solution that?s faithfully served your organization over the years. While it?s good to be sentimental when it comes to birthday cards and family photos, being overly attached to outdated technology can have disastrous consequences to your bottom line, especially if your competitor has adopted a better solution. This is the benefit of having a fresh, outside perspective assess your company?s technology infrastructure. IT professionals like White Mountain IT Services are able to spot outdated solutions that you may not even know are holding you back. Strive to Make Technology More SimpleThe goal of updating your enterprise-level technology is to make everything simpler. New solutions that are added haphazardly and without a plan have the potential to complicate matters, which will offset what you?re trying to achieve by adding the new solutions in the first place. NetworkComputing cites communications technology as an example: By integrating communication functions like calling, faxing, texting, and hosting virtual meetings, with software suites like Google and Microsoft, everyday communication becomes easier. Consolidate the number of siloed tools it takes for workers to get their jobs done. Give employees the luxury of never having to toggle between multiple screens or search for customer contact information again. At the end of the day, it?s all about planning for the future, so your profits don?t get stuck in the past. White Mountain IT Services can help prepare your network for anything the future throws at it. To stay ahead of the curve by taking a future-minded approach to technology, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.