Suffolk Computer Consultants, Inc. Blog

When you have a problem with your computer and you reach out for help, the first thing you will probably be asked is, “have you turned it off and turned it back on?” This is not because the technician is lazy, it is because a lot of problems can be fixed by rebooting your computer. Do you need to shut down or simply restart your computer? It might surprise you that turning your computer off and restarting it actually accomplishes different things. Today, we’ll discuss the difference. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, or if you’ve seen our blogs on social media, you’ve probably seen that we discuss data backup regularly. Some of you have a dedicated data backup platform that routinely works to keep your business safe from data loss. Some of you don’t, and need one. Today, we’ll talk a little bit about why it’s such a big deal. 

Have you received text messages from businesses? You are definitely not alone. Today’s businesses, looking for even the slightest advantage have begun using SMS messaging to push their products and services on potential customers. This strategy is more or less as effective as other forms of marketing that target people’s personal accounts. The problem with text-based marketing is that the phone numbers that people get messages from often change and seem very much like spam. 

To make any business decision, you must weigh the pros and the cons of your options. This includes when you may be considering managed services as your support method. As we are admittedly biased in favor of you adopting managed services, we wanted to review just a few ways a managed service agreement can help you optimize some critical business considerations.

While blockchain technologies may have entered the public awareness thanks to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, this is far from the technology’s only application. We wanted to take a few minutes and explore how the blockchain’s features promise many benefits to established and emerging industries.

Some of the best technologies blend in with everyday life. For example, smart speakers are designed in a way to be both functional and inconspicuous. Conversely, some technology that you may have dismissed initially can present some serious benefits for your company. One of those technologies is the digital sign. 

Most companies lean pretty heavily on their technology. They typically invest in tried-and-true technology solutions to cover their operational problems, while trying to find innovative tools that return higher yields on their investments. For 2020, there are a few trends most SMBs are going to want to take head on. They include:

When you consider all that the typical workstation has to endure (potentially grubby hands poking at it all day, crumbs, sneezes, you get the idea), there is little wonder that our devices can get so dirty. Here, we’ll be discussing how to properly clean your device.

As the data that you store on your business’ computers is valuable, it is inherently a desirable target to cybercriminals and scammers alike. This means that it is in your best interest to have comprehensive protections in place to protect this data from their activities. Let’s go over exactly what a firewall is, and how they make up a critical portion of your business’ defenses.

Upgrading your business’ technology can be extraordinarily expensive. If you’ve been using the same desktops for years, but don't necessarily have the money to upgrade your whole business’ IT, an option that you can consider is deploying a hosted desktop. Today, we will define exactly what a hosted desktop is, and why it is a good solution for companies that are in a bind. 

Virtual assistants are everywhere. Either a device can be controlled with them, or it has the assistant built into it natively, and they are now common in the home and the office alike. In fact, their daily use in the workplace has been predicted by Gartner to reach 25 percent by 2021.

Across the board, smartphones are useful. People can manage their home, work, and social lives through their phone. They can feed their pets, order food, and get about anywhere with the use of a smartphone. As 2020 descends upon us, we thought it would be smart to take a look at some of the top smartphones you can buy.

As the holiday season we just survived shows us, new technology can be a really popular topic, especially for consumers. Businesses, on the other hand, have a lot of their excitement tempered by how much of a risk new tech presents - something could just as easily be a game-changer for their operations as it could prove to be a major source of problems that ultimately creates huge issues.

The Internet is an indispensable tool, that much is certain. Unfortunately, the only other certainty is that there are millions of people on the Internet looking to intercept data, breach networks, and steal anything they can. That is why your business spends those extra precious dollars on cybersecurity. One tool that isn’t always mentioned as a part of a cybersecurity strategy is the virtual private network, or VPN. 

iMessage is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, and iPhone/iPad users get a nice, seamless integration across all their Apple products. With so many iPhone users using Microsoft Windows 10 PCs, we thought that there must be a way to send and receive iMessages in Windows 10. There are, but it comes with a lot of risks.

The Internet has made it possible to purchase goods and services so easily that we need new people to blame when we don’t have those purchases in hand in less than 72 hours. The speed in which shipping is capable nowadays is the result of superior logistics. If your business is beginning to utilize ecommerce, or if it has trouble with the costs associated with the distribution of your goods, a fleet management system could be the solution to your problems. 

Many business owners like to crunch the numbers in order to fully understand where their hard-earned money is going. Essential business communication tools are just one of the things that are under your expense's category. However, phone service is dwindling across the globe, much in part due to the benefits associated with VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol. 

When so much to do with business nowadays relies on collaboration, it only makes sense that the solutions that enable this kind of cooperation would be seen as assets. Take video conferencing solutions - while many of their benefits may seem obvious, they have additional impacts that may not be initially apparent. Let’s review some of these benefits.

A person’s smartphone is more than just a phone to most people. In fact, smartphone use is now so expected that companies are now trying to find a way to utilize their employees’ use of their devices rather than keeping them from using them. Today, we thought we would take a look at the current smartphone market. 

The more successful your business is, the more files you have. These files need a storage facility. For decades, each file that needed to be kept would be printed off and stored in a file cabinet. Today, there are better solutions; and, since a lot of the work being done today is collaborative, file sharing has really moved to the digital age. Let’s help you do some things you need to do to maintain efficient file management systems.