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How one Company Saved Money while Getting Better Wireless Too, A Long-Term Care Case Study

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We all know that using the right technology can improve your productivity and efficiency, but did you know that it could also save you money and provide your clients with a better service? That’s exactly what happened thanks to a recent technology upgrade put in place by one of our clients, a Long-Term Care facility!

This long-term care facility, like most businesses these days, is dependent on strong Wi-Fi infrastructure. However, care facilities have the additional requirement of providing Wi-Fi for their residents and their visitors as well, not just for their own business needs! Read more

Our IT vision for 2019

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We are focused on our mission of helping our clients gain a competitive edge from their technology. This year we are looking closely at 3 key areas that are critical to supporting your success. Take a look at this quick video:

5 Ways Technology Can Improve Workforce Recruitment and Retention

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Advanced Manufacturers need new talent and must retain the talent they have. Technology may not be able to solve the problem, but it may be able to help. Take a look at the ideas below. Two focus on recruitment, the rest on retention. All are important to think about! Read more

8 quick ways to reduce your cyber risk

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Whether it’s the risk of a security breach or the possibility of hardware failure, every company has cyber risk that can affect their productivity or even their ability to continue running their business.

While there are no real shortcuts to proper cybersecurity and network management, there are a few simple ways to reduce your risks.

Here are 8 things you can do to reduce your cyber risk quickly: Read more

Downtime got you down? Here are 5 steps to stay up and running!

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IT downtime in your business can be caused by so many things – hardware failure, power surges, security breaches, storms, coffee spills, just to name a few. But no one cares WHY they’re down when they count on being up and running!

So, what’s the quickest way to get your business running again? At IT Direct, we use the axiom “proper preparation prevents poor performance,” in other words, plan ahead!

Yup, not the answer you were hoping for, I’m sure, but it’s the best way to ensure that downtime doesn’t ruin your day, your week, or even, possibly, your business.  Read more

5 Important Employee Cybersecurity Training Tips

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Employee cybersecurity training is, beyond a doubt, one of the most important things you can do to prepare your organization for the threats that exist now and into the future.

Here are 5 cybersecurity training tips to prepare your staff so that they can keep your intellectual property, data and systems safe: Read more

Why Standardize your IT?

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A state of (IT) confusion

The CEO has a Dell laptop with Windows 10, the finance guy has a Lenovo desktop with Windows 8, and your office co-worker has a Macbook. Some folks use Dropbox, others use Sharepoint, and still others use Google Drive. Linda has McAfee, Jane has Norton, and Bob has ESET. Alex VPNs into the network, while Sue uses remote desktop.

Does it matter?

These scenarios are all too familiar and you may think, ‘does it matter? All those folks can work, they can all share files, have access to the network, and they all have antivirus protection’. That may be true…but what happens when you need to update, replace, find, learn how to use, or support something. That’s when you’ll be pulling out your hair!

Higher level thinking

Handling your business IT with inconsistent standards is not only costly in terms of time and money but could be potentially damaging to your data and intellectual property in the case of lax cybersecurity standards. Read more

Is your IT strategy cohesive across your entire business?

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Is your IT strategy cohesive across your entire business?

In a previous blog post, we talked about the role of IT strategy and how it has changed over time. We described how to move up from a Reactive break-fix model and through the IT Pyramid to increasingly use your IT to drive value in your business.

What happens with an incohesive strategy?

Recently, we discovered a case where part of the business was still in break-fix mode, while other parts of the business had moved into higher levels of IT efficacy. Read more

Top 5 ways to prepare for a ransomware attack

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Ransomware attack!
A top cybersecurity threat for businesses today is ransomware – a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. In fact, 12 Connecticut state agencies were just attacked with ransomware, with 160 computers affected. Luckily, the attack was thwarted by the state’s excellent multi-layered cybersecurity strategy.

Your business needs to be prepared too. And just like the state of CT, the multi-layered approach is the best way to do it.

Here are the top 5 ways to prepare for a ransomware attack: Read more

How to get your business ready for the future of IT (part 2)

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In our first digital transformation post, we talked about the basics of digital transformation…what it means, how you prepare for it and the importance of a strong and secure infrastructure. If you missed that article, click here to read it.

In this post, we’ll talk about how the role of IT in business has changed over time and how your business approach can change along with it.

The IT Management Pyramid

The pyramid below describes the efficacy of your IT strategy as it improves and develops on the way to Digital Transformation. The goal is to move up the pyramid! The idea is to be continually thinking about how you use IT, the role of IT in business strategy, and where your IT is focused. Each tier of the pyramid is explained more fully below, along with the limitations and benefits of each stage as your business develops its IT strategy. Read more