Forbes magazine provides us with some great insight as to what happens to your personal information once it?s posted online. Computers Know You Better Than You ThinkWhen it comes to marketing, no one can anticipate your needs quite like the shopkeeper at the corner market that you frequent. Because you come in almost every day, he knows how you like your coffee, as well as which periodicals you’re interested in. This makes for a pleasant shopping experience, due in part because he will have all of your goods set aside for you. This is a rather old-fashioned way of doing business, and today, it?s been replaced and enhanced by the data-crunching power of computers. A marketing world that?s driven by computers, collecting and crunching data was foreseen by Lester Wunderman, the ?father of direct marketing.? Way back in 1967 a young Lester stated, ?A computer can know and remember as much marketing detail about 200,000,000 customers as did the owner of a crossroads general store about his handful of customers.? Today, all it takes is just a few pieces of your personal information to be run through a computer marketing algorithm in order to produce a frighteningly accurate profile that anticipates a consumer?s needs, much to the chagrin of kindly shopkeepers the world over. Your profile can include personal information about such things as your religion, political loyalties, marital status, sexual orientation, along with other personal details about your life that you would perhaps never divulge to someone like a random cashier or even a trusted friend. Don?t Underestimate the Value of Your Zip CodeYour zip code is one example of how a seemingly innocent piece of personal data can be quite valuable to a marketer. In fact, according to Harvard professor Latanya Sweeney, once a marketing institution is able to associate your name and date of birth with your zip code, there?s an 87 percent chance that the marketing company can not only identify you, but also place you on some very accurate lists for future campaigns. In fact, the United States Postal Service fully understands the value of basic personal information like your name and zip code, which is why they regularly sell this information to marketers whenever the information is updated. According to Forbes, selling customer information like this generates around $8 million per year for the USPS. Facebook: Where Marketing Magic HappensOf course, knowledgeable shopkeepers and the USPS don?t even come close to what happens to your personal data that you?ve willingly made available over the Internet, with social media platforms like Facebook taking the virtual cake. Essentially, the more transparent you are on Facebook by doing things like tagging yourself in photos, ?liking? pages and posts, and other normal Facebooky activities, the more in depth your marketing profile becomes, making your data even more valuable to marketing institutions. Every wonder why social media platforms like Facebook are free to use? It turns out that they?re making money off you whether you boost your post or not. In fact, even if you minimally post and interact with the content on Facebook, Facebook can still generate enough personal information about you to create a profile that?s valuable to marketers, just by connecting the dots with the likes and interests of your friends. This is why many of the […]

A VoIP phone system, or Voice over Internet Protocol, uses your Internet connection instead of a landline connection, to transfer your voice to the recipient. Essentially, your voice is turned into data and transmitted along your Internet connection. This removes the need to pay for expensive long distance phone bills that might be holding your company back. Before even considering VoIP, however, you need to consider whether your current infrastructure can handle the demands of this new type of communication. Your VoIP runs off of your Internet connection, so it?s important to consider whether or not your connection can sustain heavy use. If not, you might experience connectivity issues and poor call quality. Still, if your business is keen on improving operations, one of the best things you can do is switch to a VoIP solution. There are several different kinds of VoIP providers out there, all with different solutions. Despite this, one of the consistent choices you?ll have to make is whether or not you want hosted or in-house VoIP. The Difference Between Hosted and In-House VoIPCompared to an in-house VoIP solution, hosted VoIP offers plenty of benefits. Basically, a hosted VoIP solution allows your business the ability to push the responsibility of monitoring and maintaining the VoIP server onto an outsourced IT company like White Mountain IT Services. These companies generally allow businesses to host the server off-site and out of mind, or in the cloud. This means that the third party is responsible for ensuring the upkeep of the system, which lets your company go about business as usual with one less expense to worry about. Due to this shift in responsibility, it?s simple and easy to implement. However, you might run into complications if you?re one of the more hands-on business owners. Outsourcing any aspect of your IT infrastructure requires a certain level of trust, so if you want to reap the benefits of outsourcing your VoIP to an IT vendor, you need to make sure that you?re willing to relinquish this control. What to Look ForOne of the most vital properties to look for in a hosted VoIP provider is reliability. If the server where your VoIP is hosted goes down, you?ll be in a bind. This is why one of the most vital properties to look for in a hosted VoIP provider is reliability. You can?t hope to accomplish much without it. Furthermore, you should look for those who have a long legacy of excellency in the managed services department. What you need is someone like White Mountain IT Services, with exceptional, proven expertise in the industry. With our technicians on your side, you?re sure to integrate only the best solutions out there. White Mountain IT Services?s VoIP solution is flexible enough to be hosted both in-house or remotely. This makes it a versatile solution that?s sure to meet the standards and requirements of your corporate structure. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today to learn more and for help deciding the right solution for your business.

A VoIP phone system, or Voice over Internet Protocol, uses your Internet connection instead of a landline connection, to transfer your voice to the recipient. Essentially, your voice is turned into data and transmitted along your Internet connection. This removes the need to pay for expensive long distance phone bills that might be holding your company back. Before even considering VoIP, however, you need to consider whether your current infrastructure can handle the demands of this new type of communication. Your VoIP runs off of your Internet connection, so it?s important to consider whether or not your connection can sustain heavy use. If not, you might experience connectivity issues and poor call quality. Still, if your business is keen on improving operations, one of the best things you can do is switch to a VoIP solution. There are several different kinds of VoIP providers out there, all with different solutions. Despite this, one of the consistent choices you?ll have to make is whether or not you want hosted or in-house VoIP. The Difference Between Hosted and In-House VoIPCompared to an in-house VoIP solution, hosted VoIP offers plenty of benefits. Basically, a hosted VoIP solution allows your business the ability to push the responsibility of monitoring and maintaining the VoIP server onto an outsourced IT company like White Mountain IT Services. These companies generally allow businesses to host the server off-site and out of mind, or in the cloud. This means that the third party is responsible for ensuring the upkeep of the system, which lets your company go about business as usual with one less expense to worry about. Due to this shift in responsibility, it?s simple and easy to implement. However, you might run into complications if you?re one of the more hands-on business owners. Outsourcing any aspect of your IT infrastructure requires a certain level of trust, so if you want to reap the benefits of outsourcing your VoIP to an IT vendor, you need to make sure that you?re willing to relinquish this control. What to Look ForOne of the most vital properties to look for in a hosted VoIP provider is reliability. If the server where your VoIP is hosted goes down, you?ll be in a bind. This is why one of the most vital properties to look for in a hosted VoIP provider is reliability. You can?t hope to accomplish much without it. Furthermore, you should look for those who have a long legacy of excellency in the managed services department. What you need is someone like White Mountain IT Services, with exceptional, proven expertise in the industry. With our technicians on your side, you?re sure to integrate only the best solutions out there. White Mountain IT Services?s VoIP solution is flexible enough to be hosted both in-house or remotely. This makes it a versatile solution that?s sure to meet the standards and requirements of your corporate structure. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today to learn more and for help deciding the right solution for your business.

If you want to be truly productive, you need to work smarter and more economically. Don?t burn yourself out by working too hard. Instead, do things the right way, and you?ll never feel like you?re working again. Start a RoutineIf you are just haphazardly completing tasks one after another, you probably won?t be able to notice the difference between ?completing tasks? and establishing a routine. The difference is that a routine is optimized for efficiency and maximum production, where completing tasks is likely frantic and disorganized. Wake up at a certain time every morning. Spend a set amount of time checking your email. Try to keep your routine as consistent as possible. Create a To-Do ListOn a similar note, you should outline your days, weeks, and even months ahead of time, if you can. Assign large projects to particular days, and you won?t have any trouble remembering that they must be done. Having a solid schedule will also let you stay busy without overburdening one particular day to finish a project on a tight deadline. Prioritize TasksGoing along with the first few tips, look at what needs to be done and what is most important. You?re busy, and you know what tasks should be completed and prioritized. Hand off lesser work to others who are capable. This also promotes more teamwork and collaboration between departments, which can be beneficial in the long run. Set a Deadline, and Stick to ItThis is an absolute necessity for large projects, and even smaller projects. If you don?t tell yourself that you need to get something done, you won?t get it done. It?ll just sit there and collect dust until you finally set a deadline for it, and then you?ll scramble to get it done on time with subpar results. Instead, work on it a little bit every day with an overall deadline in mind. Set this deadline a few days before it is due to ensure that you come up with the best quality work that you can. Keep Your Work at WorkCentral to any successful smart working scheme is to separate your work life from your home life. While at the workplace, avoid distractions such as social media, text messaging, phone calls, and Internet browsing. You?ll find yourself accomplishing more in the workplace and relaxing more at home, away from the stress that the workplace causes. By sticking to these five rules, you?ll be able to drastically improve your productivity in the workplace, and cut down on stress. You?ll find yourself enjoying work and your free time more, all because you changed up the way you do things a little bit. For more tips and tricks on how to boost your workplace performance, contact White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.

If you want to be truly productive, you need to work smarter and more economically. Don?t burn yourself out by working too hard. Instead, do things the right way, and you?ll never feel like you?re working again. Start a RoutineIf you are just haphazardly completing tasks one after another, you probably won?t be able to notice the difference between ?completing tasks? and establishing a routine. The difference is that a routine is optimized for efficiency and maximum production, where completing tasks is likely frantic and disorganized. Wake up at a certain time every morning. Spend a set amount of time checking your email. Try to keep your routine as consistent as possible. Create a To-Do ListOn a similar note, you should outline your days, weeks, and even months ahead of time, if you can. Assign large projects to particular days, and you won?t have any trouble remembering that they must be done. Having a solid schedule will also let you stay busy without overburdening one particular day to finish a project on a tight deadline. Prioritize TasksGoing along with the first few tips, look at what needs to be done and what is most important. You?re busy, and you know what tasks should be completed and prioritized. Hand off lesser work to others who are capable. This also promotes more teamwork and collaboration between departments, which can be beneficial in the long run. Set a Deadline, and Stick to ItThis is an absolute necessity for large projects, and even smaller projects. If you don?t tell yourself that you need to get something done, you won?t get it done. It?ll just sit there and collect dust until you finally set a deadline for it, and then you?ll scramble to get it done on time with subpar results. Instead, work on it a little bit every day with an overall deadline in mind. Set this deadline a few days before it is due to ensure that you come up with the best quality work that you can. Keep Your Work at WorkCentral to any successful smart working scheme is to separate your work life from your home life. While at the workplace, avoid distractions such as social media, text messaging, phone calls, and Internet browsing. You?ll find yourself accomplishing more in the workplace and relaxing more at home, away from the stress that the workplace causes. By sticking to these five rules, you?ll be able to drastically improve your productivity in the workplace, and cut down on stress. You?ll find yourself enjoying work and your free time more, all because you changed up the way you do things a little bit. For more tips and tricks on how to boost your workplace performance, contact White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.