Ferrum Technology Services Blog

Technology management is a challenge for small businesses, especially those that have limited resources at their disposal. There are a lot of decision makers that are under the impression that they cannot afford to take proper care of their technology, so they put it off until their technology starts to fail. So, we ask you this question: if not now, when is the appropriate time to take care of your technology?

How does your business handle technology problems that come with using servers, workstations, and other solutions in the workplace? Do you solve problems as they come up, or do you take a proactive stance to keep your tech under control? Either way, the fact remains that break-fix IT is an inefficient and wasteful way of approaching your technology solutions, especially with managed service providers changing the way SMBs implement technology.

Worker burnout is more prevalent than ever, and it can lead employees to experience negative effects such as stress, exhaustion, depression, and frustration. Do you see any of these symptoms in your IT workers? Let’s take a closer look at how burnout is impacting the IT industry and your IT talent, as well as some ways you can address it.

If you are like most businesses, you don’t consider a new IT project until you need to upgrade your current systems. It can be something like adding some new hardware to your network, migrating to the cloud, or adding new applications to your operations. No matter the project, though, there is one thing that is certain: you need professionals on your team to make sure it goes smoothly. This is where co-managed IT comes into play.

We all know that there are many nuances to managing and maintaining technology in an effective and efficient way, but who exactly is in charge of these tasks at your organization? Do you have a dedicated IT resource that you can trust to get the work done, or do you rely on your other employees to stay afloat? If it’s the latter, we have some bad news for you, as well as a silver lining to it all.

It can be a challenge to keep your business technology and solutions in proper working order. This goes doubly for businesses who don’t have time or resources to handle day-to-day management, let alone implementing new solutions that can improve operations. Thankfully, outsourcing gives small businesses like yours the opportunity to better manage their technology, and it’s all thanks to managed services.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand the importance of IT maintenance and management, but it’s often easier said than done to make sure it happens properly. A new survey from Gartner suggests that this might get even more challenging, as IT employees are increasingly more likely to leave their place of work than other, non-IT employees.

While browsing our website, chances are you will come across the term “managed service provider” or “MSP” more times than you can count, and that’s typically how we would describe our business model. However, we realize that this term might not necessarily mean much to you—at least, not without some context. Today, we want to clarify what MSPs do and how we can revolutionize the way you conduct business.

Have you heard of Log4j? If we asked you a week ago, you almost certainly did not. Now it is dominating headlines as one of the largest cybersecurity risks we’ve ever known, and your business needs to act immediately to make sure you aren’t at risk.

One of the main reasons a business finds success is their proficiency in bringing the products or services they offer to market. By better understanding why your company does what it does, you can create the processes you’ll need to run a better business. Let’s take a look at how to best do that. 

When it comes to your network security, there is a lot your company can do to take it seriously. However, one thing that a lot of organizations neglect is actively monitoring their networks for things that don’t quite make sense. Why is it so important to monitor your network, and how can you make sure that it happens in a way that is proactive for your company?

While it might be terrifying to imagine a scenario in which your business were to suffer a devastating event that threatened its future, you as a responsible business owner must consider any and all possibilities. If you don’t, all of the hard work and investment you have made in your company could be for naught. Technology is one aspect of your company that must be examined with intense scrutiny and prepared for with preventative measures to keep your future secure.

These days, if you are not taking cybersecurity seriously, then you are waiting for something bad to happen that could potentially destroy your business for good. While the number of threats out there has increased significantly over the past couple of decades, so too has the number of powerful security options out there. In fact, one way that you can leverage these solutions to your advantage is to use “self-healing” security software, the concept for which is pretty neat.

Ransomware is such a major problem for computing-dependent organizations that even government agencies are getting involved, equipping businesses and organizations with tools to help themselves identify whether or not they are at risk of these attacks. The most recent addition to this group, the United States’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have made their Ransomware Readiness Assessment, or RRA, available as part of its Cyber Security Awareness Toolset.

IT support can be challenging to handle for small businesses. They might understand the importance of IT, but their actions often do not speak to this. Some small businesses fail to invest properly in IT support, or they simply do not know what to look for in the services they need. Thankfully, you have us to help you make the right call for your business IT.

One of the biggest challenges facing small businesses is IT. More often than not, SMBs lack the strong IT leadership and plethora of resources that enable larger organizations to effectively manage their technology. While there are countless mistakes that SMBs can make regarding technology management and implementation, we’ve selected four that stand head and shoulders above the rest. These are the most costly mistakes your organization can make regarding its technology management.

When it comes to getting the technology support you need to keep your business running, nothing beats a great help desk solution. Unfortunately, not all help desks have the same quality that you would expect from experts in the field. To help you make the best decisions about your business’ technology support needs, we have outlined four key traits that you should look for in any help desk employee/solution.

Most businesses that have chosen to use managed IT services have found that their technology works better than it did before partnering with their provider. It’s not just a group of people sitting around fixing computers, however, there are some real strategies in place to allow for this to happen. Today we’ll give you a brief overview of the services we offer. 

We’re right in the middle of tax season and accountants are having to manage potential attacks on their data. Since people depend on your organization to keep their most sensitive information secure, having an effective strategy to protect that information is extremely important. As an IT service provider, we have solutions to help accountants handle this issue. Let’s take a look. 

We’re always trying to get our message out, sharing how our services can bring value to just about any kind of business, seeing as just about every organization today relies on technology to some degree. This month, we thought we’d tell you a little bit about managed IT services and how they can help your business.