Ferrum Technology Services Blog

With remote work standing front and center for the past couple of years, it’s no wonder that a conversation has begun about the benefits and shortcomings of it. It is now clear that remote work is something that is not going away anytime soon. Let’s take a look at how businesses might retain remote operations without making too many sacrifices in the process.

With the release of Windows 11 on the horizon, it is important that businesses looking to implement it start to consider not only their hardware, but their strategy to upgrade away from their current operating system. But that’s a topic for another day—we’re focused today on the folks who don’t even have Windows 10 yet and are still stuck in the days of Windows 8.1, an OS expiring in 2023. Don’t get caught unawares without a plan to upgrade.

Modern businesses need to take advantage of every opportunity they can get in today’s crowded marketplace, almost regardless of the industry they work in. One great way to gain an advantage is to put technology in place that can significantly enhance how your business works, inside and out.

When you run a business, solid decision making is crucial to achieving success. This goes from hiring and managing your staff, dealing with your prospects and customers, and procuring tools and resources that make your business possible. Today, technology is not only important, it is a major consideration when hashing out your yearly (or quarterly) budget. Let’s go through a couple of tips on how to make the best technology decisions for your company.

We talk a lot about how the cloud is growing in utilization, and considering the circumstances of the past 18 or so months, it’s not surprising. However, what might be surprising to you is that this movement to the cloud is not necessarily to the detriment of the on-site data center. In fact, there are several reasons why businesses still consider in-house data centers to be the ideal solution. But why is this?

It’s no secret that passwords have long held center stage when it comes to data security, but if we’re to be honest, a password just isn’t sufficient to protect your business. Don’t get us wrong: passwords remain immensely important, but their role has diminished with the availability of other, more advanced security features. One of these features is something called multi-factor authentication.

As a business owner in a sector that is not necessarily dedicated to technology, chances are that you do not need to know everything there is to know about computer hardware. That being said, it helps to have a passable knowledge of the various hardware terms you might use on a daily basis. This will especially make it easier for you to talk to your technician or your service provider—whoever handles your technology.

Technology has enabled some of the greatest changes in the business world, so it makes sense that your company should try to implement it as needed. Unfortunately, it can be a bit confusing, especially if you have not thought about it in recent years. Thankfully, there are three pillars that can hold up a digital transformation strategy and enable change for your business. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to respond quickly and radically change operations, but despite the circumstances, productivity is still at the center of most business professionals’ minds. If we can learn more about how businesses have managed to thrive even in the face of the pandemic, we can learn more about how to succeed when things get back to “normal,” whatever that looks like, particularly in regards to technology and the role it has played over the past year and a half.

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 looking forward, it’s often useful to consider developing technologies to gauge what you might have access to in the future. Admittedly, a lot of these technologies can sound like a long shot at best (and ludicrous at their worst). However, some of these could very well transition into the business environment. Let’s consider a few out-there concepts that we might see gaining traction at some point in the future.

Cloud technology has shifted the way that many businesses operate in their day-to-day, offering advantages that were once a business owner’s pipe dream. Of course, there are now different ways that businesses can embrace these advantages. Let’s compare your options to determine which one better matches up to your needs.

We often talk about how some businesses do not have the budget to hire technicians to perform regular maintenance on their IT infrastructures, but what about the one behind the scenes calling all the shots? If companies cannot hire technicians, then it stands to reason that they also cannot afford someone at the executive level who manages their workload. The concept of the virtual chief information officer, or virtual CIO, challenges this notion by providing access to technology leadership for small businesses.

Some companies have been in business for so long that they are still relying on legacy applications in their operational system. This could be for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that there is simply not a better option—at least, not in their eyes. Enter virtual machines, the solution that makes these kinds of businesses possible without severely compromising on network security.

Recently five bipartisan bills are being considered in the United States House of Representatives that intend to add additional oversight on the power of modern tech giants. Let’s take a look at these bills and why they are deemed necessary by many lawmakers. 

Businesses are always leveraging the latest technology to overcome modern challenges, but the implementation of new tools often comes with new challenges of its own. Chief among these is determining whether or not the new tool actually solves a problem for your organization. The more deliberate your intentions for implementing a new tool, the more likely you are to see a return on investment for it. Here are ways you can make sure that all new technology is appropriate for your business’ needs.

With Bitcoin picking up steam, the technology that fuels it, the blockchain, is being explored as an opportunity for many businesses out there. Let’s take a look at what some of the benefits and shortcomings of this technology are, as well as how they are commonly used.

Automation technology has many workers concerned about the future of their jobs. Computers are one of the many technologies that grow exponentially more powerful with every passing year, and these improvements lead to innovations that can save businesses tons of time and capital, but when applied to automation, does this come at the cost of jobs? Let’s see why workers in certain industries might be concerned about automation, as well as whether or not their concerns are warranted.

To stay competitive, businesses need to leverage any tools they can to optimize productivity. This includes what is often marketed as productivity software. Unfortunately, shopping for these tools can often lead you down the same rabbit hole, looking at the same products over and over, trying to determine which one is the best bang for your buck. Here are some pointers for finding the best productivity apps for your organization’s needs.

Remote work has thrown a wrench into the operations of countless businesses around the world, some more than others. While some employees have been able to adapt and make the most of the circumstances, workers with children at home might find themselves questioning their line of work or considering a change in careers.