TotalCare IT Blog

A virtual private network (also known as a VPN) is something that more and more businesses are using, especially now while most of the workforce is now working from home. As a means of encrypting data while it is in transit, the use of a VPN enables you to transmit assorted types of data more safely. Of course, not all VPNs are the same, and so you need to be careful to select the right solution for your needs.

When you want your workforce to operate more productively, and engagement has been shown to have positive effects on productivity, it makes sense that you would want to actively promote activities that have been shown to improve engagement. One approach that many companies and organizations are now embracing is gamification. Let’s discuss the concept of gamification, and how it might benefit your business.

Once a mobile device outlives its presumed usefulness, the default assumption is that there is nothing left to do but dispose of it. However, before you do so, reconsider. There may be other ways that your device could show its utility. For today’s tip, we’ll review a few ways that an aged-out smartphone or tablet can still be handy for you (even in the office)!

COVID-19 has companies rushing to put together work from home solutions for their employees.Chances are you have already made the switch in your company to allowing employees to work from home, or at least have had executive discussions about it. Not every industry has the luxury of considering this option (thinking about restaurants, construction, truck drivers, and medical practices). But chances are there are at lest a few employees (if not all) in your business that can do their work from home. Right now, keeping people at home is just the smart thing to do.

Although you may be considering this option out of necessity, working remotely might actually be the way of the future. I have many clients who have employees working from home already. Some of my employees work from home on a regular basis. What’s awesome is the technology we have today like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom, VoIP phone systems, etc., allows for excellent communication between teams; No matter where people are they can interact with their colleagues.

I know what you’re probably thinking, “Working from home is distracting!” However, results from a 2015 study in China suggest that employees who work from home have higher productivity and satisfaction in their jobs.¹ For the participants studied, productivity increased 13%, and attrition dropped by 50%. The study also showed no substantial negative results from the work-at-home environment. In fact, 65% of those studied said they were able to get more sleep due to no commute (better sleep = better work output), and 55% were able to spend more time with family.

Cleveland Clinic has found similar success. “Since initiating its work-from-home program,” writes Heidi Peris (2017), “the department has experienced a 13 percent increase in productivity. Leaders credit the improvement to fewer distractions.”2 This number is in line with what we saw in the China study. Peris continues, “The program has added flexibility for staff, improving engagement and satisfaction while reducing turnover and absenteeism. Employees who would otherwise not be able to continue working [due to illness or relocation] now have the option to work from home.”²

Although more studies need to be done, this data indicates working from home can benefit both the employee and the employer. Although right now work-from-home programs are being implemented out of necessity, maybe we will see them continue out of choice in the future.

¹Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., and Ying, Z. 2015. “Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment.”The Quarterly Journal of Economics (2015), Vol.130(1), p.165-218

²Peris, Heidi. 2017. “Virtual Work Drives Productivity At Cleveland Clinic: A work-from-home program improved employee productivity and engagement while reducing turnover and absenteeism.“ Revenue Cycle Strategist Vol. 14, Issue 9.

With most businesses dipping into their disaster recovery strategies, and millions of workers either out of work or working remotely, it is honestly a great time to remind you that March 31st is World Backup Day. This is a day where we help promote the idea of taking backups of your crucial IT systems to ensure that you have access to your important information if a disaster were to strike your business.

World events have always had a big impact on the banks that one finds on Wall Street, but in many ways, the one that coronavirus (COVID-19) has demonstrated has been unprecedented. As such, it almost provides a case study of the importance that disaster recovery planning has for any business… Wall Street institutions included.

Technology can be complicated, and it doesn’t help when all you hear is an alphabet soup of acronyms used to describe it. As professionals, this kind of jargon has become a second language to us and it is easy to forget that not everyone will recognize these acronyms. For your reference, we’ve assembled some common ones you’ll probably hear us use.

If you’re in business today, there are three words that are critical for you keep in mind: Cybersecurity. Is. Important. As such, every business needs to have taken the time to put together a cybersecurity policy--a set of guidelines that instruct the business how to proceed with the highest level of security possible. We’ve taken the liberty of suggesting a few guidelines for your business to follow as you do so.

Data is one of a business’ most important assets, and as such, it needs to be kept in such a way that it remains organized and utilizable. This has led to widespread use of databases in businesses, which has necessitated the use of database management systems. Let’s take a closer look at these systems, and why they are so crucial.

Most businesses that really lean on their IT go to great lengths and expense to keep those systems secure. Sometimes, however, all those firewalls and antivirus software don’t stop threats that come in from your staff. Today, we are going to go through the three different types of human error that your staff can undertake, and how to deal with each.

Remote monitoring and management software helps businesses of all sizes avoid issues of equally variable sizes, which is why it is a key facet of the managed IT service model. We wanted to review some of the ways that it benefits the managed service provider, and as a result, benefits our clients.

Cloud solutions are extremely popular among modern businesses, whether they rely on public cloud resources or maintain their own in-house private cloud. Some businesses, however, elect to take the middle ground and use a “hybrid” cloud solution. Let’s take a few moments to determine if your business could benefit from this approach.

Think about how happy you are when you first get your new phone. If you are like most of us you can’t keep your hands off of it. You try all the new features out and mutter to yourself, “wow, this is so cool”. The enthusiasm that people have for their new mobile devices can be a major benefit for the company they work for, too. Today, we are going to discuss how, with all the features and powerful computing power, you can work effectively on your smartphone.

As much as we hate to admit it, the first thing that many people still think of when they hear the term “tech support” is the experience that comes with an antiquated approach to technology services: the break/fix method. Fortunately for us, we are seeing many businesses make the better decision, and turn to the clearly superior option, managed IT.

It is apparent that Google is deeply invested in the G Suite, as they recently added an assortment of features to make basic processes much simpler and more convenient for their users. Here, we’ll go over a few of these updates, and how they can positively influence your operations.

The modern business has to deal with a lot of potential security problems. Today’s threat landscape is filled with people looking to prosper off of your misfortune. As a result, doing what you can to maintain the security of your network and data is essential. Today, we will discuss how maintaining your organizational cybersecurity doesn’t have to be costly or time consuming.The best way we’ve found to go about doing this is by highlighting a few key actions that you can take to keep your network secure and your data safe.

Windows 7 might not be supported by Microsoft any longer, but millions of people are still using PCs that run the antiquated operating system. Since Microsoft has put an end to extended support for Windows 7 OS, a couple bugs have been found. Let’s take a look at what exactly is behind these issues and discuss your options.

It wasn’t too long ago when the idea of video conferencing was a very complicated one. The technology just wasn’t there to make it a major benefit for companies. As conferencing technology has been innovated upon, however, it now presents a laundry list of substantial benefits. Let’s take a look at some benefits you can see by moving to video-driven meetings. 

Nowadays a lot of accounts give you the option to set up two-step authorization; and, most of the time you probably should. The security and privacy benefits that your business can gain are substantial. Today, we’ll describe how to enable what Microsoft calls two-step verification. 

Augmented reality has been one of the most cited emerging technologies for the past few years. It was the technology that was supposed to fuel Google Glass, the failed attempt at creating a pair of revolutionary smart glasses. Since then, there hasn’t been much press about AR in the mainstream media and not much is known about major tech companies’ attempts to improve AR technology.