3 “Techie” Reasons You Can Be Thankful This Season

1 .  Cyber Thieves Keep A-Knockin’ But They Can’t Come In. A study presented at the International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks showed that small business networks are attacked every 39 seconds by some type of hacker or malicious software. Thankfully, having the proper firewall and office network security tools can prevent even the most determined cyber hacker from getting his hands on your network. Are your systems covered?

 
2.  Downtime Should Be A Thing Of The Past. Thanks to monitoring and maintenance tools that are openly available, any reputable computer company can now actually notice when things go awry and prevent your computers from having issues. Hot fixes, patches and security updates are generally items that, when maintained on a regular basis, keep a network healthy and up and running. If, for some reason, your network still has some kind of downtime, cloud-based remote management tools allow your IT professional to access your system from anywhere, getting you up and running more quickly than ever before.

3.  If Disaster Strikes, You Can Be Back Up & Running In Minutes Instead Of Days. In addition to lost data, many businesses’ operations would be completely down for days or weeks if a major disaster like fire, flood or theft ever occurred. Here’s where Backup & Disaster Recovery solutions (BDR) can help you feel very thankful indeed. Most of today’s BDR solutions include a “virtualization” component, which means an exact “picture” of your server and computers is taken throughout the day and stored elsewhere. If you ever need to get back up and running, your IT company simply restores that image…and you’re back in business.

Here’s what you’ll receive with your FREE Network & Security Assessment:

• Check your firewall’s security settings to make sure you are protected from the latest hacker attacks, worms and viruses.

• Scan and remove spyware that is secretly stealing your company’s bandwidth, jeopardizing the speed of your computer system, and embezzling confidential information about you, your employees, and your business.

• Check your network’s back-up system to ensure it is working properly and accurately backing up all of the critical files and information you never want to lose.

• Verify that you have the most up-to-date security patches installed properly; miss one critical update and you’re a “sitting duck”.

• Diagnose slow, unstable PCs.

• Perform a quick network “tune-up” to make programs and files load faster.

Want to feel thankful instead of frustrated with your computers? Call us before November 30 for a FREE
Problem Prevention Network Assessment (a $497 value) that will help eliminate problems on your network and give you peace of mind. Give us a call today at 305-600-5459 or request your audit online at: http://www.virtualitmanagers.com/free-network-analysis-and-security-assessment/ to get started.

How Fast Could Your Business Be Back Up And Running After A Natural Disaster, Server Crash, Virus Attack Or Other Data-Erasing Catastrophe (2017)?

5 Easy Things You Should Do To Protect Your Business Now

Let’s face it: no one likes to think about bad things happening to them, much less plan for them. But, we want to give you a quick “brush-up” on some simple things you can (and should!) be doing to protect your business.

1. Review Your Business Insurance Carefully. Most businesses carry some type of general liability insurance that would pay them if their building and the things in it were damaged. However, many businesses do not have enough coverage to replace all the computer equipment and devices, desks, art, supplies and other things they’ve accumulated over the years that are housed in their office. Make sure you review your policy every year and keep in mind new additions and assets you’ve accumulated during that year.

2. Consider Cloud Computing. One of the biggest advantages of cloud computing is that your data and assets are stored off-site in a highly secure, high-availability data center, with failover and redundancy built in. That means that if your building were destroyed and you had to evacuate, or if your server melted down due to an unexpected hardware failure, everything you’ve worked so hard to create over the years is safe and not a sitting duck in your unsecured closet or server room.

3. Secure Your Data. Making sure that your data is protected from theft is a never-ending battle you don’t want to lose. Companies that get hacked and expose sensitive client and employee data can face severe penalties, lawsuits and massive loss of credibility in the marketplace. Make sure you never have to send an e-mail to your customers explaining the bad news that a hacker accessed their info through you. Further, if you keep any sensitive information (even passwords to portals containing sensitive information) on portable laptops, phones and other devices, make sure you have a way of controlling and safeguarding that information.

4. Write A Simple Disaster Recovery Plan. The key word here is “simple.” If your plan gets too complicated or difficult, you won’t do it. But at a minimum, think of the disaster that is most likely to happen and that would have a severe and negative impact on your company’s survival.

5. Review Your Employee Internet Policy. With so many people “addicted” to Facebook and Twitter, it’s important that your employees know where the line is in what they can and can’t post online. We also recommend content-filtering software to block content and web sites you don’t want employees visiting during work hours.

Call us during this month and we’ll give you a Disaster Recovery Business Assessment for FREE (a $497 value)!

Claim your FREE Disaster Recovery Assessment and get answers to these critical questions:

• How fast could you realistically be back up and running in the event of any natural or human disaster?

• What backup, security and business continuity systems do you currently have in place, and are they sufficient?

• Is all of your critical data being backed up, every day?

• What are the largest threats to the security and integrity of your critical business data?

• Do you know what steps and costs would be involved to rebuild your server and recover your data if you had to?

Claim Your Audit Now:

1.  http://virtualitmanagers.com/disaster-recovery-and-business-continuity-planning/

2.  Call: 786-488-2760

Why Your Company Needs An Internet Use Policy

With computers and Internet access such an integral part of every business, and the Internet filled with everything from gambling to x-rated websites, it is critical that every business has an Internet Use Policy in place. This policy can help prevent your employees from accidentally or intentionally causing harm to your company or your company’s reputation. While you don’t want to give your employees the idea that they are living in George Orwell’s 1984, you want them to have a clear understanding of practices that are and are not appropriate during work hours. It is necessary for companies to create an Internet policy that everyone can live with.

Why Have An Internet Use Policy?

The purpose of a business is to make money. In order to accomplish this, the company has to have productive employees. The Internet can be a time drain and often prevent employees from being as productive as they should be. With such a wide range of information available on the Internet, it is necessary to clarify the company’s expectations of its employees regarding Internet access. With a strong policy in place, the employee, as well as the employer, will find Internet use less confusing and frustrating.

Another important reason to have a strong Internet Use Policy is to save your company from unnecessary lawsuits. Unless you have a clear policy on what is and is not acceptable on the Internet in your company, you can risk having an unfair dismissal lawsuit on your hands when an employee is abusing the company’s Internet.

What Elements Should Your Internet Usage Policy Contain?

When planning your Internet Use Policy, it should contain certain key elements such as:

• The company Internet is for company business only and to be used only during company business hours
• All work done on company computers during business hours, including all emails, is company property and can be accessed by the employer at any time.
• Establish what type of computer use is unacceptable such as accessing personal social media accounts, personal email, pornographic websites, etc.
• Employees must refrain from accessing websites, creating, or forwarding email that promotes any type of discrimination such as racial or sexual discrimination, or that is defamatory or harmful towards another person or group.
• Employees are not allowed to gain access to or attempt to access other employee’s computers, employee stored information, or any information unauthorized by the company.

In addition to the guidelines above, inform your employees that whatever is done by the company, for the company, and on the company computers should remain confidential and within the confines of the company. In addition, let employees know that when they access unapproved sites, they risk infecting the company computer system with viruses that could possibly shut down the entire company network.

Having an Internet use policy in place helps to eliminate any confusion and possible abuse that could prevent a company from functioning productively. A solid Internet use policy help to make the work environment more pleasant and more conducive to getting the necessary work done in order to have a successful business. Creating a safe and productive environment is important for any business, and one way to ensure that is to implement an Internet use policy.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you benefit from an Internet Use Policy with our Technology Consulting Services in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

Cloud Computing – How Will it Affect You?

We are always on the watch for the ‘next best thing’ when it comes to technology and the Internet. Certainly no one can doubt that Cloud Computing and the next generation of the Internet has had a dramatic affect on how people interact and connect with each other – both from an individual standpoint and a business one.

The hottest emerging concept that has the power to change how we perform tasks is taking place before us – and it is Cloud Computing. Simply put, it is the ability to use resources and tools via the Internet without actually owning or being near them. The only requirement is to be able to access them.

The term ‘Cloud’ is used to indicate the whole of computing services accessible via the Internet. It is an all-encompassing description of the complex internet-connected networks that exist in datacenters all over the world that power services and applications behind the scenes.

The concept of utilizing resources in these networks is being adopted by businesses both large and small. These resources are categorized to describe their function, and include:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Web 2.0

In the most general terms, Infrastructure as a Service means that companies may no longer need to own and house their own back-end servers and other network computing infrastructure besides an internet-connected PC or laptop in order to maintain business functionality. This capability can be purchased on a subscription basis from entities that market these services in a ‘virtual’ manner. This allows businesses to keep their costs low by not having to purchase, maintain and recycle their own equipment for this purpose, and also mitigates the possibility of business interruption due to the highly available nature of these solutions. This equates to increased uptime and profitability for Infrastructure as a Service customers.

Platform as a Service is also known as ‘cloudware’, and refers to the availability of development tools in creating web applications and services to the end user. Like IaaS, you never ‘see’ the inner-workings of this environment unless you are a computer programmer or IT resource, but it exists nonetheless and again affords those who use these tools the ability to reduce costs while running their businesses.

Software as a Service is defined as software applications that are subscribed to and accessed only through the Internet, and not installed on local PCs or laptops. Applications built by and accessed via Google fall into this category, as well as the many photo sites to which you can upload your pictures and videos, edit and share them with others. These solutions are gaining tremendous popularity, because end users do not need to install, update and maintain software locally – only connect to it and use it when the need arises.

Web 2.0 describes the whole of the social networking movement on the Internet, and includes but is not limited to destinations such as Facebook, MySpace, eHarmony, LinkedIn and Twitter. These sites offer the ability for people all over the world to share common interests, stay connected and learn more about each other – and these sites aren’t just for the young. Statistics show that the over 50 generation is logging onto these sites in greater numbers than ever before. In fact, in one month alone, Facebook adds over 17,000 new members.

The next time you are on the Internet and upload a photograph and use the online tools to modify that picture, you are participating in ‘cloud computing.’ The picture is probably loaded to a site that uses IaaS for their servers, PaaS in order to provide the visual interface in which you modify the photograph, and SaaS applications you’ll use to access your email program and social networking sites in order to send it to or post it for those with whom you would like to share the picture.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you benefit from Cloud Computing in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

5 Reasons to Implement a Managed IT Services Solution

Information Technology services are essential to the success of every organization, large or small. With increasingly competitive business environments, CEOs and small business owners are under great pressure to maintain a highly qualified staff and to make sure their technology is obtaining a better ROI than their competitors’.

These goals are not easily achieved, particularly for young or small businesses with less financial resources and time available. Having your own successful information technology department can eat up too much of the company’s budget and time resources, and eventually cause a loss of its competitive edge. These disadvantages of maintaining an in-house IT department are why companies of all sizes have turned to using managed service providers to either assist their existing IT department or become their virtual IT department, handling all of the technology involved in keeping their businesses running at optimal levels.

The benefits of using a managed IT services solution are numerous, but the top 5 benefits of managed services for business include:

1. Benefit from the expertise of a specialist, without having to spend time and financial resources training your staff to become experts
2. Decrease your technology risks with Managed IT Services. Your company doesn’t have to worry about losing and trying to replace trained staff members, or about repairing, implementing or replacing complex technology solutions with Managed IT Services
3. Enjoy access to the most up-to-date, sophisticated technology solutions without having to invest in expensive equipment.
4. Experience ultimate control over your business technology without having to manage an information technology department. This gives you the time you need to focus on what you do best: your business functions.
5. Reduce stress and improve efficiency of your staff. When you make good use of Managed IT Services resources, your staff isn’t tied up with IT concerns and they have more time to focus on tasks that are productive for the business.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you benefit from managed IT services in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

4 Tips For Getting the Most Out of Your Technology Investment

How many times have you purchased new software or hardware, and avoided the help menu or user manual? Experts reason that about 90 percent of all features included with software go unused! Much of this comes down to lack of training for individuals using the technology – they use what they know and need most, and avoid anything that would require study or practice to implement. It’s human nature to take the path of least resistance, but with a little motivation you could better benefit from the money spent on technology for your business.

How to get the most out of your technology investment

Instead of letting your technology investments continue on underutilized, here are 4 tips for getting the most out of your technology dollars:

1. Put the client in the driver’s seat of communication.

You can improve the quality of customer service offered by your company through the use of simple technology. The more connected you are to your clients, the happier they are with your work. Use technology to give your clients a way to initiate discussion with you, either through blog interaction or a discussion forum. Set up instant messaging so clients can contact appropriate staff members as necessary. It’s simple technology, but will result in improved client retention, repeat customers and better communication.

2. Create a business culture of continuous improvement.

One of the most amazing aspects of technology is how quickly it is updated and improved. Just when you think you have the best of the best, new technologies and processes are created to improve productivity. Even in the sometimes mundane office environments, new ideas will enhance efficiency and productivity. Encourage staff and consultants to let the new ideas flow – continuous improvement is the key for making the most out of your technology.

3. Take advantage of training opportunities.

If the cost of sending staff to training courses is a bit much, and you’re unable to conduct monthly training seminars on your own – consider bringing in vendors and experts whenever a new version of software is released. You can also have managed service providers deliver training virtually as needed, in order to keep your staff up to date with the programs and tools used in the office.

4. Internal email newsletters with tips.

Most businesses recognize the value of sending newsletters to their clients to keep in touch and establish relationships, but what about internal newsletters among staff members? Send a weekly email to your staff with a single technology tip that explains how to do something that will improve their productivity or make their lives a little easier. Keep it fun and add a cartoon or a quick quiz to keep the staff looking forward to their weekly newsletter. Your ideas for topics can come from training and seminars you attend, or from questions staff ask the IT department. If one person doesn’t understand something, there are probably a few others who also don’t understand – but aren’t speaking up about it.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you make the most of your technology investment with our free Network Analysis and Security Assessment for your business in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

Tips for Motivating and Retaining Good Employees

In today’s tough economic environment, with job cuts and pay decreases, it can be a challenge to keep your employees focused on their job and motivated. While many employers are struggling and can’t offer pay raises, bonuses and other cash benefits to their employees, there are a variety of other creative ways to keep them happy and on the job. In fact, statistics show that people do not necessarily need praise in the form of money to stay motivated. Most actually prefer some other form of recognition. Here are some tips that can help boost your employees’ morale and productivity, resulting in your motivating and retaining good employees.

Tips for Motivating and Retaining Good Employees

First, always address your staff by their name. It is a natural instinct for people to want to feel valued. They want to be recognized. Make it a priority to learn your employee’s names and always address them by name. It can be demoralizing to know that your boss does not care enough to know who you are.

Give praise. People want to be recognized for their efforts. Giving on the spot recognition, praise at employee meetings or recognition in the employee newsletter for those groups and individuals that go the extra mile is a great way to boost morale. While it is great to point out team efforts, people tend to crave individual recognition as well.

Offer opportunities. These can really be quite simple. Help your employees focus on their career path by offering them one on one training or advice. Reward your hard working employees with special job titles. Job titles are very important to workers. A fancy title makes them feel good about themselves and offers respect and praise from friends, family and other co-workers.

Provide leadership opportunities. Recognize your hard working employees by letting them take on a leadership role. Have them present at a company meeting, take on additional responsibilities or let them lead up a company project.

Foster Team Spirit. Make the time to gather employees together and drum up some fun competitions will very often foster increased work production. A great simple reward for the competition is extra time off. Now that does not mean extra vacation days, but simply letting employees come to work a little late one day, take an extended lunch hour or leave early. Taking an employee picture, framing it and hanging it can also foster a sense of belonging.

Provide a Good Working Environment. Making sure the work space is clean, cosmetically appealing and comfortable actually can make a difference. Employees are more motivated to come to work each day if they have an inviting environment to report to.

Have Casual Dress Days. Employees love to dress down and offering them an opportunity to do so can brighten their spirits and keep them happy. Many places of business will do dress down Fridays. Another fun idea is to have dress down theme days. For example the week of the Super bowl you could wear your favorite team jersey, on St. Patrick’s Day everyone could wear green and on Halloween people could come in a costume.

Provide opportunities for social gatherings. A final great way to keep company morale high is to offer employees time away from the office to socialize. Having a summer company picnic, a holiday party, gathering for a softball game or a trip to the golf course are all fun ideas.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you in motivating and retaining good employees by fostering more effective communication with our messaging and collaboration solutions for your business in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

The Importance Of Communication, Messaging and Collaboration In The Workplace

With so much technology and messaging and collaboration solutions at our fingertips, it is difficult to believe that there are any communication problems in any business today. In the course of a busy workday, the importance of good communication can be something that can be easily forgotten. If you are noticing that it is difficult to get your employees to work together cohesively, that morale is very low, or worse, that your business is losing money, you might need to take a second look at your company’s communication.

Use the Telephone

While phoning someone is still a good practice, it isn’t always the best mode of communication for every situation. Using the telephone is good for setting up meetings or discussing items for which there is a quick resolution. It is generally not a good venue to tell an employee that they made a mistake on their last assignment. Save that discussion for a one-on-one meeting.

Write an Email

Email is a fast and convenient way of communicating with colleagues and employees provided you follow a few guidelines. Use email for only disseminating factual information. If you are writing anything that could be misinterpreted, it is best to address that face-to-face. For example, if you are trying to remind an employee that something that they are doing is inappropriate in the workplace, an email might come across like an impersonal and angry lecture. This could end up causing a backlash from the employee rather than alleviating the situation.

Have a Meeting

Meetings can help bring employees and colleagues together and make them feel part of the company. It also helps to keep everyone apprised of what is happening in the company. It is probably the best way to communicate all important company business and ensure that everyone hears it. It is important to encourage open communication in the meetings, so that employees feel that they are heard and that what they say matters.

Try One-on-One Communication

With so many different modes of communication today, one-on-one communication often gets forgotten. It is so much easier to shoot someone an email or leave them a voicemail, but there are times when good old-fashioned face-to-face communication is still the best way to speak with a colleague or an employee. Many people do not feel comfortable bringing up their concerns or problems at a meeting. Things written on an Email and said on the telephone can often be misinterpreted when you are not able to see the person and read their body language. This is why a face-to-face meeting can be a much better option in this situation.

Listen

Listening is probably the most glossed over, yet most important piece of the of communication puzzle. Without the listening portion, any other piece cannot fully succeed. Employees and colleagues need to know that their input is being heard. Feeling unheard can often be the cause of low morale and high employee turnover. While listening does not necessarily mean incorporating each suggestion into your company or changing every policy based on what one employee says, it does mean giving the ideas full consideration.

In today’s highly technological society where everyone can do and access everything from their computer or cellphone through messaging and collaboration solutions, the importance of good communication cannot be stressed strongly enough. Using the appropriate mode of communication for different situations will make everything flow easier, and help make your employees feel that they are important and valued member of your company.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you benefit from messaging and collaboration solutions for your business in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

3 Reasons to Cloud-Connect Your File Server

Half of your employees love the file server, since it is fast, easy, and centralizes all work files in a single location on the network at the main office. The other half of your workforce likely hate the file server, since they must login with their VPN to sync up with the server when they are remote, and more often than not, they are missing critical files when they are out in the field. The problem is especially acute for employees who are always remote. Over time, difficulties with remote access cause employees to get out of sync with the rest of the company, leading to data sprawl for corporate documents and to critical content becoming trapped in personal silos.

Fortunately, there is a different way.

Our business-class file sync solution has a feature called File Server Enablement. File Server Enablement connects your existing server(s) to the cloud and permits discrete folders from the file server to be logically mapped to users and team shares using the sync service. With this technology, all the data from the file server is available in real time on users’ mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and remote laptops and home office PCs. As new content is created on a remote tablet or PC, the data is instantaneously synced back to the server.

Here are three reasons to consider cloud-connecting your file server:

1. End data sprawl

Outdated means of remote access, like VPNs, contribute to data sprawl, as users shun the cumbersome process of logging in remotely. Over time, many users will build up large libraries of valuable work product that is less protected when housed on a remote PC, rather than synced to the file server. File server enablement reverses this trend and provides bi-directional sync between the file server and remote users.

2. Keep people in sync

Remote employees usually have a long list of complaints when it comes to IT support. One of the biggest complaints is the feeling of being out of sync with the rest of the organization. With file server enablement and business-class file sync, you can level the playing field. Remote employees are now able to access all of their files and team share content from any mobile device, be it their laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Field employees are the closest to the customer, so it makes sense to have these critical team members in sync with the whole company and all the files they need to do their jobs best.

3. Empower your employees

Savvy and growth-oriented companies should view their hyper-connected workforce as untapped opportunity. Smartphones and tablets, even if they are BYOD devices and owned by the employee, can vastly improve the productivity of your workforce. The trick is to balance convenience with security when it comes to corporate data. Business-class file sync and file server enablement put corporate data on BYOD devices, but you now have critical capabilities to protect your data, such as fine-grained audit trails, per user security policies, and remote wipe of lost or stolen devices. The key is to focus on employee empowerment, no matter the device they choose to access corporate data.

File Server Enablement and business-class file sync can help you better organize your company and your data, while fully maximizing the power of employee mobility.

Contact us at 305-600-5459 or http://www.virtualitmanagers.com to obtain additional information about our VITM Cloud Sync, Business-Class file sync and File Server Enablement solutions.

Should You Move Your Business To The Cloud?

Cloud computing is a concept that could possibly save your business quite a bit of money on software, hardware, upgrades and services.

Instead of purchasing hardware and software for your office, you can use “the cloud” to put your programs on a highly secure “super-server” online. All you need is an Internet connection to your office and you’re good to go.

There’s a good chance that MOST of the software applications you use every day are now “software as a service” applications. In other words, you don’t have to install them on your server or PC – you simply access the software on a pay-as-you-go model for only the licenses, space and features you use. This gives you the ability to access highly sophisticated software and functionality at a fraction of the cost – or even for free – and without long-term commitments.

It is quickly becoming unnecessary for some businesses to purchase and maintain an on-site server. Now companies can host one or more of their applications, data, e-mail and other functions “in the cloud,” in off-site, highly secure, high-availability “utility” companies that have far more power and resources than you could ever logically have on-site as a small business. And with devices getting cheaper and Internet connectivity exploding, cloud computing is suddenly a very smart, viable option for small business owners.

Want To Find Out If Your Business Is Ready For The Cloud?

During the months of April & May we’re offering a FREE Cloud Readiness Assessment to any Miami-Dade business with 10 or more PCs and a server. At no cost or obligation, we’ll come to your office and conduct a complete review of your computer network, data, software and, hardware, and how you work. From there, we’ll provide you with helpful answers about – and insights into – how you could benefit from cloud computing.

To claim your free Cloud Readiness Assessment, simply visit us online at www.virtualitmanagers.com/cloudreport or give us a call at 305-600-5459.