November 2018
microTECH Times Covered I.T. 24/7—Never Worry Again!
Most companies just like yours have a very specific way of making decisions. Don’t worry, there is no secret sauce recipe you’ve been missing. Business decisions should be made with the most information possible, in a timely manner, and with all the key players onboard. Take a look at these hot tips to build a solid decision making process and implement changes for your company.
Everything isn’t always pumpkin spice and everything nice. There will always be changes, updates, or adjustments necessary as you move along implementing new things. It is rare that a business decisions are made with everyone in the same room and 100% of the information. Expect to spice up your goals on the fly. The truth is, not every decision will be perfect or correct. Combat this pitfall with a detailed account of the decision, capture the next steps, and revisit the primary objective regularly as track your implementation progress.
Here’s how decision should roll. No, it’s not as easy as those tantalizing little brown and serve dinner rolls, 7 minutes in a hot oven and bam! Butter and enjoy. Final decisions to make changes in your business must be implemented in phases. Push changes out in small batches in order to test and tweak things to fit your company’s needs. This will also minimize downtime.
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Avoid the game of telephone. Often times decisions are made from a birds eye view and trickled down to everyone in the organization. Unfortunately, this method may prove to be inefficient. The final decision may be thrown off course by misinterpretations much like a childhood game of telephone. Do you remember sitting around in a circle with a handful of kids whispering into one another’s ears a message but, the initial information blurted out at the end was completely askew from the initial message? This is common in businesses too.
Thanksgiving has always been a fun filled holiday for you and your family. It’s all about family, friends, food and time off to visit. So, how much do you really know about this holiday?
Be sure each decision is delivered to all.
are a variety of pies, a dozen side dishes and ahhh... the turkey… it’s simply perfection, right? Well, sure occasionally the dog will eat something, a family member is in a “mood” or a small child devours an entire pie before dinner, but overall Thanksgiving is a fun holiday, right? Well, this year, share your new found knowledge at the dinner table.
A clear presentation is imperative for everyone to get behind the change. In order to implement everything and obtain the best results from your business decisions, give everyone all the same information. If they only have bits and pieces of the puzzle, they may discount pieces of their work that could be critical to succeeding with the change.
Communication is key. You’re off to a great start! You’ve nailed “We must find time to down a decision, now stop and thank the people who make a differ(Continued on page 2) ence in our lives.” ~JFK “Reflect upon your present blessings, of An Unsavory Unsubwhich every man has scribe……………...Pg 2 plenty; not on your past Stuff Your Toolbox misfortunes, of which With These New Serall men have some.” vices……….……...Pg 3 ~Charles Dickens Backup So You “What we’re really talkCan Recover In A Dising about is a wonderful aster…….………...Pg 3 day set aside on the fourth Thursday of The Dilemma Of TeleNovember when no one commuting: Is It Prodiets. I mean, why else ductive?..................Pg 4 would they call it Error Messages Driving Thanksgiving?” You Crazy?............Pg 4 ~Erma Bombeck
Dishing it up. There
Thanksgiving wasn’t just a one day thing. When the Wampanoag Indians joined the Pilgrims for Thanksgiving, they decided to extend the affair to a three day event. I guess we kind of honor that still today with turkey day Thursday, black Friday shopping, football all weekend and Cyber Monday. Oh wait, we’ve even (Continued on page 3)
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how can you move forward? For example, if your doing a network refresh including new computers, a new server, firewall and even and upgrade to your software. Start your overhaul off on the right foot by announcing your goals to everyone. Use a company meeting or company e-mail to outline the end results, define the initial steps, and communicate changes clearly as they arise. This will help everyone stay on the same page and be on the lookout for hiccups. Not only can work continue more smoothly this way but, if there are issues or setbacks everyone will be able to help identify and report them. A lack of communication may cause delays leaving less time to push changes into the current implementation schedule.
Technology rollouts are a great example. When you buy new computers, installing them on a day when your accounting department is invoicing your clients just won’t work. We recommend talking with each department impacted ahead of time to see if they have a good time frame in mind to bring down the workstations, database, or even Internet.
November 2018
This will allow them to plan ahead for the interruptions and ensure your clients are not impacted by the change.
Don’t forget some training time. Of course your staff will love their new workstations because they are faster and more efficient but, there will always be a learning curve. Account for training time or create standard operating procedures for employees to follow when implementing new processes or equipment. Even a little reminder note on the new copier, a listing of services for the new phones, or how to get into the new file system for your company can help everyone adjust quickly to the new environment and work for efficiently.
Ready to make some decisions about your technology? While these tips can be good for all types of decisions, we’d love to work with you if you’re ready to implement new technology. Ready to boost productivity? Give us a call today for your Network Evaluation and we will review your current setup and provide you with our best recommendations.
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If you’re seriously considering new equipment for your business, don’t miss out on the new limits for Section 179.
Give yourself a tax break for investing in your business technology. Most people think the Section 179 deduction is too complicated or that they won’t qualify. Really, it just allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and software during the tax year. Visit www.section179.org for more details.
Limits have changed. The new 2018 deduction limit is $1,000,000 for new and used equipment as well as off-theshelf software. However, the equipment must be purchased and put in place before December 31st.
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Give us a call to schedule your installation before time runs out.
I know we are always sharing new types of email attacks and online spoofs, but these ones really got our giblets. Even simple unsubscribe messages may not be safe.
Unsavory unsubscribe messages. We understand, you’re trying to keep your inbox manageable so you’ve been unsubscribing from all those silly newsletters you never read. However, hackers have been exploiting unsubscribe messages these days.
How to ID the bad ones. The best way to identify these virus ridden e-mails is to read the message in full and check the senders email address. Most companies use e-mail accounts that match their website address. If your message came from an e-mail like this: 4p29jl7@blkcsvz.uk chances are the message is no good. Toss it, mark it as spam, and never click anything in the message.
Spoofs. Some scammers have even started sending messages that look like you’ve sent yourself a message. They may even say in the email that they have compromised your email. Don’t reply. Don’t panic. Just junk the message and change your password.
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extended it from Thursday to Monday.
Who knows what they really ate? There is truly no proof that Turkey or any bird was associated with Thanksgiving from the start. Lobster, seal or even swan may have been their prime selections. Yet, we wait all year to cook up a big bird and devour it with family and friends.
The original port of Plymouth in MA, still holds it’s 17th century appeal. Did you know the English village and Wampanoag homes site is still a historic attraction today? Plymouth Plantation even sells tickets every June to draw in tourists to the attractions allowing people to indulge in authentic courses, learn the old tales of colonial life and hear centuryold songs.
Mary Had a Little Lamb. Spread the word, the writer, Sarah Josepha Hale of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, was actually President Lincoln’s guiding force to finally declare Thanksgiving as an official holiday in 1863.
Happy Thanksgiving! From our families to yours, have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday season and may your favorite football team win.
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Ready for some new tools to help you run your business more efficiently? Here are a few new options on the market today to help you share, connect and collaborate more.
Business is all about connections. Everyday we reach out to clients and coworkers to accomplish a variety of tasks. We are all in the business of making money, right? So, explore these three inexpensive tools to help make things more efficient.
Easy video sharing. Zoom Cloud Meetings are the wave of the future. They are a great way to share your screen, record training, meet with coworkers or clients around the world and make sure everyone is heard. Zoom offers a plethora of features and starting a meeting takes less than a minute to setup. Visit zoom.us to explore their packages. Sign-up for free to test things out and if you are thankful to have found such a great tool, continue the services for just $149.90 annually.
Bring a little sanity to your e-mail. Sanebox can help you make your e-mail useful again. If you’re anything like me, you get bludgeoned by your inbox every day. With Sanebox, I am able to filter messages and automatically send them where I need them for future reference.
It’s that time of year again when winter storms take their toll on us. Natural disasters, physical threats, even manmade disasters can negatively impact your business.
Plan for disasters… even small disruptions can knock things off track. Create a disaster recovery plan and contingency plan to keep your business afloat when there are power outages, flooding or even theft. When employees know what to do and are confident in their ability to make the right decisions for your business, they are more likely efficiently handle any disaster.
Planning doesn’t have to be difficult. There are a variety of resources on line to help get you started. Start by visiting your community web pages and
November 2018
There is even a reminder tool that I use quite often that allows me to send myself an e-mail reminder so I stay on track. If I type Nov.21.5PM@sanebox.com and I type in a reminder for myself, on the 21st of November I receive my own message back in my inbox. Ready to bring a little order back to your e-mail? Sanebox.com offers this handy tool for just $60 per year per user.
Login with ease and maintain strong passwords. Tired of asking someone else to log you in or find you a password for a vendor or website you need? LastPass has made this a thing of the past. You can generate and store all your company passwords and give anyone in your company access to login without showing them the full password. The password generator is a great tool to give you crazy difficult passwords and the best part is you don’t have to remember them. LastPass works with all browsers and you just have to remember your master password to use it. LastPass offers autofill and auto login features as well. This fancy tool costs just $2.42 per user per month for business users.
Build up your toolbox. Why not? Take the plunge. Stuff your toolbox with a few new tools that will help you and your team improve efficiency.
make a list of emergency response phone numbers and contacts. Visit www.sbaonline.sba.gov or www.redcross.org for more details and resources to build your preparedness plans.
Be proactive about technology. When it comes to disasters, technology is a more difficult piece to remedy. No one wants to run in and out of a burning building to collect computers, monitors, servers or phones—that’s just crazy. So, think ahead. Put a daily offsite backup solution in place to ensure your company data is safe from harm. These backups can be restored on you any computer so if you experience a total loss, your company can keep running from laptops and your environment can be more easily restored. Need help? Give us a call.
microTECH Times
November 2018
“We make all of your computer problems go away without adding additional full-time I.T. staff!” Ask about our fixed price service agreements — Computer support at a flat monthly fee you can budget for, just like payroll!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! The Dilemma Of Telecommuting: Is It Productive?
Studies also show dramatic absenteeism changes too.
She drives to work, gets stuck in a traffic jam. She arrives at work and needs a cup of coffee, but gets waylaid by a friend that has a love problem. Twenty minutes later, a colleague stops her to ask six questions about her current project. But, whoops, now it is time for lunch. Those distractions, according to one estimate, add up to $1.8 trillion in lost productivity.
The same PGI study showed that employers had 69 percent fewer issues with absenteeism. The numbers might mean workers don't call in sick because they are healthier telecommuting. Or, the numbers might just mean sick telecommuters just don't call in sick they power through their ailments while working at home.
Is telecommuting a cure all? What would the morning be
According to PC Magazine, highly social workers may become bored and disillusioned with working at home. For others, the issue will be discipline since working at home requires a strict adherence to office hours, self-motivation, and perseverance. However, some people find the option of working at home more peaceful and focused. They are able to work without coworkers interrupting their train of thought. “Drive by questions” as we call it in our office, can derail you from your current task and it could take a significant amount of time to get back on task.
like if she was working at home? She pours her cup of coffee, lets the cat out, feeds the dog, tidies the kitchen, settles down on the patio to drink coffee, cleans up the office, runs to the corner to get a donut, answers six questions via smartphone about the current project and now it's time for the morning teleconference. Too bad the internet connection is down. That is the dilemma for modern worker management.
Telecommuting may decrease time in worker socializing. Is that good or bad? Telecommuting may decrease time in unproductive work, but increase time spent on non-office activities. Is lack of oversight good or bad? One thing is indisputable, workers love telecommuting. A 2015 FlexJobs survey found that 30 percent of employees would take a 10 to 20 percent pay cut if it meant having more flexible work options. Studies from PGI showed that as many as 80 percent of workers had higher morale and 82 percent reported lower levels of stress when telecommuting.
Every worker might not be suited to telecommuting.
Technology is another factor. Successful telecommuting requires coworkers and clients to use screen sharing, webcams, chat clients, and meeting apps to collaborate. Not to mention all of these tools require a good computer with a stable Internet connection. If you’re going to telecommute or offer it as an option for your company, be sure everyone has the tools available to do their job remotely.
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