BlackCSI Blog

Businesses these days rely on technology to keep themselves running, and without it, their ability to function can be compromised. Whether it’s a natural disaster or a cyberattack against your organization, you need to be prepared for catastrophic failure. What does this type of failure look like and how can you prepare for it?

There are numerous reasons to update your business’ technology—particularly if this technology is crucial to your business’ processes. However, many businesses still rely on legacy systems. This makes it a challenging prospect to update them appropriately, unless you know what you’re doing. This week, we’re devoting our tip to helping you do just that.

Cloud computing is used by just about all businesses in some capacity, but how much should your company rely on it for its important functions? Let’s discuss some of the options you have for your cloud computing infrastructure and how it can all contribute to your business’ continued success.

Depending on the technology, you might find that a wired connection will serve you better than a wireless one. Therefore, it becomes critical to know how to connect various cables to endpoints around your office. Today, we wanted to give you three practices that will help you ensure that cables are laid effectively and efficiently in your office. By sticking to these, you’ll be able to connect components to your network with ease.

If you want to secure your online accounts, then this starts with proper password practices. A good password can make all the difference in securing an account, and despite us constantly advocating for additional solutions and security measures, you should never discredit the importance of a password. Let’s go over some of the best ways you can use better passwords in your day-to-day lives.

The modern business is faced with countless challenges that threaten its existence, many of which stem from the problems associated with network security. If a business doesn’t have policies, procedures, and solutions in place that protect its data and network, it is making a fatal mistake. Here are five suggestions we have for how you can ensure your network is best protected from security threats.

If nothing else is certain, then you can bet that the need to improve circumstances or processes gives birth to innovations of all types. Technology has proven this time and again, as new solutions have emerged to solve previously unsolvable issues and challenges not only in the workplace, but in society as a whole. Let’s examine how economic difficulty has driven innovation, specifically in the technology sector.

If you have ever asked yourself if it’s possible to protect a specific file or folder on your computer using built-in Windows functionality, then the answer is yes, it is possible. With some very basic file encryption, you can protect a file on your computer… as long as you aren’t expecting military-grade encryption or security, anyway.

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.

Data backup is something that all businesses need in some capacity. The reasoning for this is simple: you can never predict the future, so your business’ life is never guaranteed… unless, of course, you plan for the worst. Today we want to share with you some best practices as they relate to data backup and disaster recovery, practices which we hope will give you the confidence that you can recover from even the worst-case scenarios.

Managers and employees might work for the same company, but the reality is that their responsibilities and experiences are two very different things. When you promote someone new to management, or if you join their ranks for yourself, you’ll have to keep certain practices in mind. Let’s go over some of these practices and how IT can ease some of the burden.

Phishing scams are a topic we frequently discuss on this blog. In their simplest form, they are emails or messages sent that are designed to steal from you or gain access to computers or networks. One such scam uses the moniker of the popular IT support company Geek Squad, a subsidiary of Best Buy, to steal from its victims. Here’s how you can avoid falling for these tricks.

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are; you probably use the telephone to a certain degree. Whether you are still relying on landlines or have graduated to more advanced solutions, your organization will always need a solid phone system to back up its communications with clients, customers, and staff. A VoIP system can be an incredibly valuable asset when implemented properly.

If you use Microsoft Word as your word processor of choice, then you know it’s a great solution, but you might not be getting the most value out of it. To help you get more value out of Word, we’ve put together four quick and easy tips that can help you organize and format your documents so they can look their best.

There are few things more important than network security for businesses, and all it takes is one or two mistakes to completely derail all of your efforts. Let’s take a look at network security faux pas, as well as how you can address these issues in an effective way. Here are some mistakes your business might be making in terms of network security and how they can be addressed.

How much time does your business invest in software and its management? There are some that you can’t really go without, like email solutions and productivity suites, but you might have other specialized software that also requires attention. When you acquire new software, you can either go the traditional route or you can go the Software-as-a-Service route. Which path is the best choice for your business?

If you have ever tried to wrestle with an out-of-control inbox, then you know it can be a challenge. You receive countless emails every day, and if you don’t find a way to handle them all, it can be challenging to stay on task. How can you make sure that your inbox organization isn’t putting your productivity on the line?

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.

How often do your employees find themselves stuck in repetitive task loops that not only kill their productivity, but also their motivation? Depending on the task at hand, it might be more often than you, and especially more often than they, would prefer. Workflow automation solutions provide a remedy to this challenge by taking some of the frustration and repetitiveness out of the equation and relying on technology to ensure things get done without a hitch.

It doesn’t really matter what your stance is on remote work, as it has become quite clear that it is one of the aspects left over from the ongoing pandemic that is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. Despite these new developments, however, employers are still demanding that employees return to the office, a prospect which some do not take kindly to. How can you ask your employees to return to the office while also making it worth their while to do so?