BlackCSI Blog

Business is not always a good time. There are times when things are going well, and then one problem pops up that leads to other problems, opening what seems to be an endless cycle of issues that you need to deal with. Some of these problems seem like they are catastrophic. While it may seem impossible, keeping a positive frame of mind can make all the difference when facing a river of problems. Today, we’ll go through a few things you can do to keep a positive frame of mind when things seem to be falling apart right in front of you.

Remote work has been a mainstay in most businesses’ standard operating procedures in at least some capacity, but it opens up a nasty can of worms regarding cybersecurity. If cybersecurity is not your top priority, and you have remote or hybrid employees, we need to have a talk—and probably a hard one.

Numerous workplace trends have emerged in the past few years, many of which employers are not fond of. “Quiet quitting” is an example of such a trend, where workers will do the bare minimum—nothing more—to retain their employment. More recently, the trend has been to “act your wage.”

Let’s look at what this means and how to handle it if you ever encounter it in your business.

Whether you like it or not, change comes for us all—particularly for businesses. Any organization that hopes to see any significant growth or innovation will be subject to change. Your organization should be capable of working with change, and when it comes to factors that can influence how well you adapt to change, there is no greater tool than your company’s IT.

There are many ways to increase your team's productivity, but one of the less obvious ones is to consider an alternative work week. Specifically, the idea in question is the four-day workweek, which advocates argue could potentially increase productivity by virtue of working less.

Your business is as valuable as the data it collects, meaning that if you’re not taking full advantage of your data, you’re leaving money on the table. SMBs need all of the strategic advantages they can get, and one way you can gain such an advantage on your competition is through utilizing big data. Let’s explore how big data can transform your operations for the better.

Businesses have done incredible things with the cloud, regardless of their chosen industries, sizes, and scopes. In particular, they have innovated to create opportunities for scaling growth and operations. How can your organization do the same? We want to help you implement a cloud solution that addresses all of your pain points. To do this, you can start by learning more about the differences between the public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions available to you.

We’d like to extend a very Happy New Year to all of our followers! The new year is a perfect time to make resolutions, particularly for your business. Let’s look at some common areas where a resolution might prove to be an effective motivator for change within your business, as well as how you can commit to it long-term.

We like to espouse the value of a trained and engaged remote workforce, but there is a lot that goes into ensuring that your remote team has the tools and resources they need to be successful. Let’s discuss some of the ways your business can build a remote workforce and company culture that not only encourages remote employees, but helps them thrive as well.

Now that we’re in Q3 of 2023, it’s time to start planning out your budget for the next fiscal year—including your IT services budget. Let’s go over some of the considerations you’ll need to keep in mind for this remarkably important aspect of running your business.

Running a business is hard enough without having to think about cybersecurity. Your business faces existential threats from cyberattacks every day it’s operational, as data breaches truly do have the power to bring your business down if you’re not prepared for the fallout. A zero trust approach can help to mitigate many of the risks that come from cybersecurity threats, and it’s all thanks to the principle of least permission.

Anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in a professional occupation knows that meetings come with the territory. After all, running a business requires a lot of coordination, communication, and teamwork, and meetings are opportunities for employees to gather and discuss important business-related ideas. However, the amount of time wasted and misused on unnecessary meetings is a topic of concern.

Remote work is now more common than it has ever been before, so we want to ensure that you are informed about the security implications of switching from in-house operations to remote or hybrid operations. Let’s discuss some practical ways you can implement remote work security policies and procedures.

Remote work doesn’t come without its fair share of issues, but with a little creativity and ingenuity, you can help your remote employees overcome them. Let’s examine structured problem solving, a particularly helpful approach to issue resolution that can help your team be more productive throughout the workday.

AI is a major topic lately, whether it’s on the topic of new and upcoming chatbots that are capable of generating text or making art that can compete with even the most skilled of artists. AI is commonly targeted as a culprit in stealing jobs, as well, and with these applications becoming more sophisticated over time, it’s no wonder people aren’t sure how to react to these developments.

The past several years have brought about innovations in artificial intelligence, or AI, that has workers worried for their jobs—especially as it moves into more practical and usable mediums. This can all be tied to the Turing Test, a way of measuring the intelligence of a computer, created by one of the most notable minds behind computing, Alan Turing.

Have you heard the term “quiet quitting''?” It’s been going around lately, and it can be a problem if it isn’t addressed. Let’s examine what quiet quitting is, what it means for your business, and what you can do to solve it.

Most people will spend about one-third of their lives at work. Naturally, this large amount of time spent away from home can lead to a lot of stress. Emotions can overwhelm your employees and lead them to experience negative side effects that could impact their physical and mental health. Let’s examine some ways you can minimize the workday stressors that your employees may suffer from.

It’s no shock that business executives are already busy enough, but you need to add “knowing more about your IT infrastructure” to that list if you haven’t already done so. It’s critical that you are on the same page as your IT staff, and this relationship will fuel productive relations with both your technology and the staff utilizing it.

Customer relationship management software, or CRM tools, are not just for use by large corporations with a large workforce. They can be used by small businesses, too, and there are several benefits for an SMB to use one. Here are some of the many benefits you can expect to receive from using a CRM for your organization.