As an SMB, you may feel like the major corporations have the advantage because of their sheer size and buying power. While this definitely is an advantage, there is one thing that an SMB has on the big boys; the ability to make a quick decision and act on it. A major corporation has so many departments, branches, employees, managers, and red tape that it can take a painfully-long amount of time to decide on something and move forward. For example, a fast food chain restaurant will spend years developing and testing a new menu item before it?s released, whereas the owner of a single restaurant can effectively compete by offering new and exciting menu items on a daily basis. As the owner of an SMB, if you?re not doing everything you can to leverage this quick-decision-making advantage, then you’re rendering your company?s most powerful competitive resource inept. One common way for a business owner to cut themselves down at the knees like this is to neglect the performance of their main communications hub, i.e., their network. InformationWeek explains: One advantage of being an SMB is the ability to react more quickly than larger competitors. But if your company network is frequently down, sluggish, or unsecured, that competitive advantage is eroded. Time spent troubleshooting problems with your network equates to time not spent communicating ideas and moving company initiatives forward. The same can be said for a computer network that?s underperforming due to poor maintenance, as well as computers that are constantly being slammed with hacking attacks due to poor network security. InformationWeek goes on to describe how a properly working network can make the competitive difference: A secure, reliable, self-defending network based on intelligent routers and switches provides your business with maximum agility by providing reliable, secure access to business intelligence. What?s more, a secure, reliable network infrastructure provides the necessary foundation for a number of efficiency-enhancing technologies and solutions, such as IP communications. This is where managed IT services from White Mountain IT Services can help your business be more competitive. By outsourcing the management and maintenance of your company?s network, we make sure that your company?s computers are operating at optimal efficiency. This will free up your staff from having to deal with IT problems, which will make your business more agile at adapting to the needs of your customers, providing your business with the competitive edge. To discover how the competitiveness of your network can be improved upon, call us today at (603) 889-0800 for a free IT consultation.

Take a moment and think back to when Windows XP expired just last year. Remember how some business waited until the absolute last minute to upgrade? Some business owners made the executive decision to pay gratuitous amounts of revenue for extended support. Other users, like the average consumer, ignored the warning, and some still continue to use an unsupported operating system, running the risk of being hacked. Regardless, waiting until the last minute to upgrade your operating system isn?t the best way to approach an expiring software. Unlike the Windows XP end-of-support, businesses who run Windows Server 2003 generally have a plan to upgrade. In fact, according to a survey from Avandade, 80 percent of business owners have a go-to plan for upgrading away from Windows Server 2003. This shows that businesses and consumers tend to respond to end-of-support dates much differently. However, if you haven?t so much as thought about upgrading your server?s operating system, you should strongly consider doing so. You have until July 14th to find a replacement for Windows Server 2003. Microsoft will provide support up until the end-of-support date, but after that, you?re on your own. If you don?t upgrade before then, your operating systems will be without vital patches and upgrades that are necessary to achieve maximum security. Hackers are probably already watching and waiting to see if any unwary business owners are going to forsake updating their operating systems. For large corporations with well-funded in-house IT departments, upgrading right away generally isn?t a cause for concern. However, a medium-sized business might have trouble finding the time to dedicate to upgrading and replacing hardware. Ian Stephan, HP?s vice president and general manager for servers in EMEA, described this risk to V3.co.uk: For most small companies, it’s a relatively simple transition. They are probably buying one or two servers every three or four years and the next server they buy will have an up-to-date operating system version. The customer that worries me is the one that has 30 or more servers, probably of mixed ages, and they may have heard something about the end of life deadline, but they may not be doing anything about it. Companies that are rapidly growing will probably see the most trouble when it comes time to upgrade their server. A medium-sized company probably won?t have an IT staff that?s flexible enough to drop everything and take care of general maintenance. With their technology professionals stretched too thin, important tasks can?t be tackled with the certainty that they?ll be completed properly. Stephan explains that these companies also probably run multiple servers with varying applications and operating systems, making upgrading more complicated. Additionally, the SMB doesn?t have the freedom to upgrade hardware every few years. Introducing new machinery into your IT infrastructure takes time, and a lot of SMBs simply don?t have it in their budget to handle a task like this regularly. Thanks to White Mountain IT Services?s managed IT services, handling these issues becomes much easier. We can integrate regular maintenance into your IT routine, and we can apply the latest patches and security updates to your systems whenever they are released. This makes it much easier to achieve maximum security and efficiency without the hefty price tag. Of course, it?s not always as simple as it seems. Even a simple server […]

In honor of this glorious holiday, every computer user around the world is encouraged to backup their data. If you?re committed to doing this, you can go to the official WBD website and take the pledge, ?I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st.? When was the last time you backed up your data? Remember, you don?t have to wait until World Backup Day to do it, nor should you. In fact, the point of World Backup Day is to back up all of your important data. As a business owner, you may be doing a superb job managing your network and making sure that your company?s data is backed up; however, are you putting just as much priority into backing up your personal data? It?s an important point to consider, due to the fact that many business owners are so involved in their work that their personal devices, like a smartphone and home PC, may contain very important business files. If these files are only located on your personal device and they haven?t been transferred to your company?s network where they can be properly backed up, then you?re taking an unnecessary risk. If your personal device containing important files isn?t backed up and it was lost or stolen, these files would be gone for good and your business would experience a major setback. Backing up your personal data isn?t necessarily difficult to do. In fact, there are some great consumer-grade data backup solutions on the market that are both affordable and easy to use. Some of which include: An External Hard DriveExternal hard drives are useful backup devices that are easy to come by and relatively inexpensive, costing around $100 for a full terabyte?s worth of data. To put 1TB of data into perspective, that?s enough storage space for 750,000 MP3s or photos, or 230 movies, which should be plenty of space for the casual computer user. The CloudData backup is one of the many computing features afforded to consumers by the cloud. Some of the most popular consumer cloud computing services are Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Apple?s iCloud, all of which are fairly inexpensive to sign up for. The advantage of the cloud is that it?s much more flexible than having to depend on a stationary device like an external hard drive that needs to be plugged into a device for a backup to take place. With the cloud, all of your devices are connected to it via an Internet connection, meaning that your devices can automatically sync to the cloud so that your data will be backed up and consistent on each device. As great as the cloud is, there?s a difference between the aforementioned cloud solutions designed primarily for the consumer, and enterprise-level cloud solutions. White Mountain IT Services-provided cloud computing solutions offer businesses security and services that can meet the stricter demands of doing business, as well as the large amounts of data that accompany an office of several computer users. White Mountain IT Services can even work with you to connect your personal devices to your company?s cloud solution for anytime, anywhere access and easy data backup. Backup and Disaster Recovery from White Mountain IT ServicesWhen it comes to backing up your company?s data, a BDR solution from White Mountain IT Services is the ultimate way to celebrate World […]

Why have you never seen this function before? It?s simple, really – the mad scientists at Google probably felt like their experimental add-ons weren?t ready for the world to use yet, and they demand use from only the best, brightest, and bravest individuals. By this, we are referring to the disclaimer at the top of the web page, chrome://flags: While your computer might not spontaneously combust, these add-ons do warn the users that they may come with certain unwanted functions, such as deleting browser history, private information, security information, and randomly disappearing at any given time. This means that you should always be using the most up-to-date version of Chrome, as well as using a quality antivirus software and firewall solution. Here are the steps you must take to lock your Google Chrome browser window: Step 1: Finding the Right Add-OnIn order to locate the list, visit the chrome://flags web page that we mentioned above. This will bring up a list of all experimental features that are associated with Google Chrome. You are looking for Enable new profile management system: It?s a fair ways down the page, so to save yourself a lot of time and reading, simply use the CTRL+F (find) function to locate the correct feature. Step 2: Enabling the Add-OnOnce the not-so-hard part of finding the appropriate add-on is over with, all you need to do is click on Enable. Then, all you need to do is re-launch Google Chrome and the extension will be active. You?ll notice that the sign-in screen looks similar to those used by Microsoft Windows operating systems. You select a user and enter in your Google account password, and you?re all set to browse the Internet. This helps protect your web browser from those who would use it to look at peculiar? things, without your permission. Kinks in the SystemAs with most software add-ons, there are some undesirable features that come with this basic user login system. For those who have two Google accounts associated with their system user profile, you will not be able to logout of your primary account to use Google Drive with another one. This makes it difficult to move between two accounts at will, and can be infuriating for those who must use more than one account. Furthermore, the primary Google account for the browser would save open windows and tabs, but the secondary accounts would not, instead opening up to Google?s home page. Of course, if you don?t like the way that something is working, you can always remove it by visiting chrome://flags and clicking Disable, then relaunching Google Chrome. This add-on is a good security measure for your browser, but keep in mind that, while using a Chrome add-on is a good idea to keep unwanted users off of your computer, you will still want to have an enterprise-level network security solution in place to safeguard against malware and hackers.

When we discuss virtualization, it tends to go hand-in-hand with cloud computing. Rather than storing information locally on a physical server, virtualization means that you store it online in the cloud. Some professionals might be nervous about putting sensitive data online due to the notorious nature of online hackers, but contrary to popular belief, virtualization is actually very safe. Here are three of the best reasons why server virtualization is beneficial to the modern small or medium-sized business. Application IsolationWhen you virtualize your server, you gain the ability to isolate applications. Granted, this was possible when you were following the ?one application per server? rule, but this can lead to an incredible amount of wasted office space (not to mention the outrageous operation costs associated with running that many servers). Underutilized servers should be avoided at all costs, as they waste time and resources that are better spent elsewhere. A virtual server takes all of these applications and assigns them exactly what they need to operate efficiently, rather than wasting valuable resources with an underutilized server. These applications are operated in a controlled environment where they are provided with just enough resources to adequately function, without adversely affecting the rest of the server. Similarly, you might run some legacy applications that need specific standards in order to function properly. A virtual server can accommodate each application?s specific needs, making them both versatile and effective. Extraordinary UptimeWith a physical server, it could go down at any second due to a hacking attack, hardware failure, or maintenance. Downtime is a subject that?s enough to make even the most seasoned professional nervous. When your team can?t access information or applications crucial to your operations, you?re losing money. When you?re losing money, your business is running in place without moving forward. Virtual servers are more versatile when it comes to hardware specifications. Furthermore, if you?re partaking in White Mountain IT Services?s Backup and Disaster Recovery solution, we can swiftly integrate a device which acts as a server in the event of a disaster. Furthermore, a virtual server is far easier and more economic to replace following a hardware failure or other disaster. It can simply be moved to another virtual server, rather than going through the process of purchasing and integrating an expensive new piece of technology into your infrastructure. Cloud Migration is Made EasierSimilar to cloud computing, server virtualization makes moving your data infrastructure to the cloud far easier. In essence, by taking the leap of faith and virtualizing your server, you?re taking an important step toward integrating cloud computing into your technology strategy. Benefits of cloud computing include increased access to information, which helps your team better perform their jobs. White Mountain IT Services can get your small or medium-sized business started with both cloud and server virtualization services. All you have to do is call (603) 889-0800 to learn more.