ATECH MSP Blog

Have you noticed that the difference between this year’s latest and greatest smartphone isn’t much different than the one you shelled out big bucks for last year? You aren’t alone.

Managed IT services are a great way to make your small business take advantage of a smaller budget while still getting all of the services that are critical to everyday success. One of the best ways you accomplish this is by using proactive maintenance to ensure unforeseen issues are accounted for. If a managed service provider only solved issues after they appeared, then it wouldn’t be any different from your typical break-fix IT solution. We take proactive measures to save your business in the long run.

If you need to make something very clear about a document, adding a watermark to it is an excellent route to take. Microsoft Word 2016 (if you have Office 365, this applies too) makes it especially easy to do so. For this week’s tip, we’ll review the process of adding a watermark to your Word documents.

Spreadsheets are great for organizing information, but they aren’t particularly interesting to look at--especially if you aren’t using Microsoft Excel to the best of your ability. Today’s tip is dedicated to going over some of the more obscure Microsoft Excel tips and tricks that will help you stylize your spreadsheets and make them more dynamic.

A lot is being made about running smarter businesses. Many businesses are looking to their data to try and work out how to build a better business. Two terms you typically hear during this conversation are business intelligence and business analysis. Today, we will take a look at the two terms, decipher their meaning, how they are different from one another, and how they can help you determine the resources a business needs to improve itself.

You can never be too careful about what you install on your computers. In this most recent example, Google Chrome users are finding themselves targeted by a new type of malware called Nigelthorn.

Managed IT service is a great way for the small business to save money on their IT support costs while still getting the coverage they need. One of the ways that an MSP is able to keep their costs down is by proactive maintenance. If an MSP had to fix every computer problem a company had after it became a problem, the service would largely be untenable for the small business. Today, we look at the proactive maintenance feature of our IT management strategy and how our clients save a lot of money as a result.

Ahh, the Internet. It’s an incredible tool that helps people all over the world get work done on a daily basis. It’s often thought of as a tool to achieve a means, but like any other tool, it works best alongside others just like it. Plug-ins are additional ways that web-based applications and software solutions help make your use of them even better.

The Internet of Things can be used to create a lot of opportunity for your organization, but there are considerable risks that your business can’t forget about, no matter how tempting it is to take advantage of them. Even though security remains a prime concern for businesses, it’s clear that the Internet of Things isn’t going anywhere. Therefore, you might as well embrace it, or at least prepare for it.

It’s no secret that a business’ security is one of its most important considerations. It would seem that there is a daily reminder of this unfortunate fact - but it’s even more unfortunate that many people aren’t aware of where many threats can actually come from. Below, we’ll discuss how some threats start on the inside - as well as what you can do to help stop them.

Your Windows computer has all kinds of different settings that let it connect to different networks. While this might not seem like major difference, it could have a drastic effect on your organization’s cybersecurity. This week’s tip is dedicated to helping you make sure that your network profile is as secure as possible.

An assistant has long been a greatly desired resource in the office setting. Typically, assistants do all the “grunt work” that the executives don’t have time for. Executives have long relied on a steadfast helper to make their professional lives easier, but capital for additional help may not be there. To counter this, small business owners are now using devices like Amazon’s Alexa to help them manage their busy schedules. You can too! Here’s how.

While the hope is that the office will be a haven of productivity and collaboration, it is also a prime breeding ground for huge amounts of stress. While different people may react differently to stress, it ultimately will hold a business back if left unchecked. In this blog, we’ll explore different kinds of stress, and how you can reduce it in your business.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. File Transfer Protocol. Internet Message Access Protocol. Post Office Protocol. While it may not be outwardly apparent, we certainly rely on quite a few protocols in order to use our computers and more directly, the Internet, as we do. Today, we’ll introduce you to what a protocol actually is.

If you subscribe to Murphy’s Law, you understand why it is so crucial for every business to have a backup solution planned, put into place, and prepared for the worst. However, not every business should go about putting their backup strategy together in the same way. After all, their needs will be different, based on their industry, the data they store, and a variety of other factors.

Voice over Internet Protocol can be a mighty attractive piece to any organization’s communications strategy. Any solution that eliminates huge upfront costs and allows an organization to scale their solution to fit the needs of their business is one that is truly beneficial. Today, we take a look at the pros and cons of instituting a VoIP solution and how it can put your organization in a good position.

If you’ve spent any time at all looking at the cables that connect and power your business’ technology, chances are that you’re intimidated and confused, to say the least. Having an effective strategy to manage and organize these cables is incredibly important for businesses, as with the right strategy, you can optimize access and connectivity to improve your organization’s operations.

Businesses need a lot of services to stay ahead of the competition. The “as a service” model allows businesses to save a lot of money in the long run by making previously inaccessible services much more affordable for the average small organization. We’ll walk you through the value you can take advantage of thanks to the “as a service” model.

There is certainty in that the small business can benefit from new technology. A problem sometimes rears its head when a business wants to improve their technology all at once and the costs associated with both implementation and downtime start to spike. For the responsible business owner, it has to be a matter of putting need over want, and instituting solutions that will work to build profitability, which will ultimately provide the capital needed to institute new technology. Today, we will look at some technology implementations that many small businesses consider, and how the implementation will bring the best return on investment.

What’s the point of doing business if you aren’t making money? Processing payments is one of the most critical parts of running a business. To make this easier and more efficient for your company, we recommend working with more effective invoices. This week, we’ll discuss how you can make your invoices more valuable.