Monthly Archives: August 2016

Five Major Benefits of a Live Answer Help Desk

Manage Service, ,

 

20160729

A live answer IT help desk is a very valuable resource for your staff, allowing them to troubleshoot issues quickly and efficiently.

In the course of their work, your employees encounter a variety of IT problems. Some of them are easy to resolve, while others emerge as part of a deeper, more complicated issue.

To significantly improve the quality and speed with which your IT problems get resolved, it’s worth investing in a live answer help desk. A help desk is an invaluable resource for resolving IT problems. With a ‘live answer’ set-up that puts your employees directly in touch with IT professionals, your company can experience the following benefits:

1) Assurance that someone is working on the problem

Employees contact a help desk in situations where they’re confused, frustrated, and potentially facing a serious problem that’s hindering or damaging their work. When they request help and don’t receive a timely response, they’re more likely to feel ignored and anxious. Even if there isn’t a quick fix to their problem, they should receive the reassurance of a quick response from IT professionals. They should know that they’re communicating with people, and not dropping their requests into a void.

2) Quicker turnaround and less downtime

Because a live answer help desk ensures a more prompt response, your company will usually benefit from a quicker turnaround for IT problems. The help desk can resolve many problems on the spot. If the issue is more complicated, the help desk can immediately set to work investigating it further and consulting with other IT professionals as needed.

You avoid protracted email exchanges, which often result in miscommunication and delays. The help desk remains more in sync with employees and is able to interact with them. Clarification can be obtained on the spot. The help desk can give employees clear instructions and walk them through the necessary steps towards a solution. As a result, your company experiences less downtime. Downtime lowers morale and weakens your business by draining it financially.

3) New issues coming to light

In the course of interacting with a live answer help desk professional, your employees may inadvertently reveal another IT problem currently afflicting your company. This problem may have gone unrecognized or undetected. It isn’t something employees would know to request help for. It’s possible that it isn’t even a full-blown problem, but has the potential to develop into one. An IT professional can catch these stray revealing comments. They can start working on the unforeseen problem immediately or make a note to return to it in the future.

4) A boost in business

When a live answer help desk leads to effective solutions more quickly, it isn’t only your employees who benefit. Your customers also enjoy a more positive experience doing business with you.

IT problems affect your customers either directly or indirectly. For example, if your website is down, your customers can’t access information about you, buy your products online, or log on to their accounts. If there’s a problem affecting your customer relationship management software, your employees struggle to stay productive. They wind up devoting less of their time to cultivating a relationship with customers and clients.

The benefits of a live answer help desk spread to your customers, who enjoy greater trust in your services and more satisfaction when they work with you.

5) Less of a burden on other IT staff

Even if you already have in-house IT staff, a live answer help desk will ease their responsibilities. It frees up some of their time, so that they can shift more of their efforts towards important projects that will further your business growth. Your live answer help desk also provides another resource in case your IT staff encounters problems that don’t have a straightforward solution. The help desk can assist them with reaching the best possible solution. Or it can handle more routine issues as they devote their attention to the more thorny problem.

Please contact us for further information about our live answer help desk services. Whether your business is small, medium-sized or large, a help desk plays an indispensable role in resolving your IT problems and ensuring that your company doesn’t lose significant amounts of money through preventable downtime.

Why should you install Webroot Antivirus?

Anti-virus, Security, ,
20160722

Webroot Antivirus is an award-winning antivirus software that is effective and affordable.

Antivirus programs are a critical cyber security defense. A high-quality program will have the capacity to block a wide variety of attacks launched from different sources.

Cyber criminals are constantly coming up with malware to infect your computing devices. Depending on the kind of malware they use, your device may stop working. You could get locked out of programs and files. Your personal information, including passwords, could end up exposed and stolen, resulting in potential financial losses and identity theft. Cyber criminals can also turn your computing devices into bots that launch attacks on other computers, even without you knowing it.

Your antivirus software is a critical line of defense against cyber attacks. Although you can’t rely on an antivirus program alone to combat cyber crime, you need a high-quality program installed on your devices.

Why choose Webroot?

As with any other software, antivirus programs vary in quality. It’s important to buy a program that meets high performance standards and offers you efficient, cost-effective service.

Webroot Antivirus, which works for PCs and Macs, is a highly rated, award-winning program. The following are several reasons you should look into Webroot for your cyber security needs:

  • Real-time, cloud-based protection. Antivirus programs generally maintain a database containing known malware and rely on it to identify and block attacks. Instead of storing their database on your local devices, and requiring you to update it periodically, Webroot maintains its database in the cloud. The database gets updated in real-time and contains a gigantic list of all known malicious programs. When new threats come along, Webroot immediately performs sophisticated analyses on them. If the program is unknown, Webroot takes steps to find out more about it before allowing it to do certain things on your computing device.
  • Less interference with your device. You can successfully install Webroot in less than a minute. The program takes up very little space on your device, leaving much more computer memory at your disposal. Furthermore, it usually performs scans in only a few minutes at most. Other antivirus programs typically take at least 10 times longer to complete a scan of your device. Even though Webroot’s scan is significantly shorter, the program is still thorough. Once it detects and deals with a virus, it performs additional scans until the results come up clean.
  • A plethora of services. You can choose among different Webroot plans, and even the most basic one contains a variety of important services. These include a firewall, ransomware protection, and the detection of fake or malicious websites that trick people into disclosing personal information or downloading infected files. Webroot also offers enhanced identity protection, keeping your passwords and other user information more secure as you browse the Internet.
  • Available for multiple devices. These days, you need antivirus programs for phones and tablets, and not just for desktop computers or laptops. Many people use their smartphones for both personal reasons and work-related tasks. Their phones are full of sensitive information. With phones, people are also more likely to use public Wi-Fi, which remains unprotected and exposes their device to unauthorized users. Webroot offers versions of its program for multiple devices, including tablets and phones. For basic protection, there are free apps available for both iPhone and Android devices.

Please contact us to further discuss picking the best antivirus program for your computing devices. We recommend Webroot for its high standards, powerful performance, and ease of use. If you’re having difficulty deciding which Webroot plan to pick, we can review them with you and make sure you’re getting the most out of whatever plan you invest in. A high-quality antivirus program is essential for keeping your computing devices and online identity safe against cyber attacks.

The Misconceptions of Backup Disaster Recovery

Data Backup, ,
20160708

There is a misconception that backup disasters don’t happen very often or, when they do, that they are easy to recover from.

Whether you’re working in a small or large business, it’s always essential to have a contingency plan. Between natural disasters that could damage the business itself, or man-made incidents that may cause a data breach, always be prepared for emergencies. With that said, while having a backup disaster recovery plan is important, you need to have a full understanding of it as well. Too often in the business world, there are numerous misunderstandings that companies may have about recovering from disaster, among other things as well. When thinking of ways to plan and recover from disaster, here are some common misconceptions. With that said, these should also give you a better understanding of what the true facts are.

Misconception #1: The Plan Doesn’t Need to Be Tested 

Among businesses, a common misunderstanding is that the backup disaster recovery plan, doesn’t needed to be tested out. This misconception is quite common among small businesses, especially when it comes to potential attacks from hackers. Not only are many under the impression that large businesses are an easier target, but also that big breaches don’t happen to companies like theirs. However, this is far from the truth. Statistics even show that 70 percent of all information breaches happen against companies with less than 100 employees.

As for large businesses, the plan should only be used and tested when an emergency happens, right? While this is true to an extent, also remember that the business world is unpredictable. You may not need to use your plan until years down the road, but an emergency might also happen sooner than you think. Either way, testing out your backup disaster recovery plan is always important. With that said, testing it out on a regular basis helps you to make any changes/updates as well. While your plan may be foolproof as of now, the current one may not be so helpful to you if an incident were to happen years down the road.

Misconception #2: My Business Can Be Easily Recovered 

Another misconception among organizations, is that they don’t need a backup plan, because their business can be easily recovered. However, this isn’t necessarily true. After all, natural disasters might not only cause a loss of data (such as a simple power outage), but they can severely damage the workplace as well. In some ways, though, man-made disasters are even worse. Aside from causing a loss of information, a breach in security could ruin your business reputation as well. In the long run, this would make it extremely difficult to recover.

For example, let’s say you had potential customers who had heard of a recent data breach in your company. It’s very likely they’ll look for business elsewhere. After all, they’re not going to risk having their information compromised.

However, out of all the disasters that could make it difficult to recover, ransomware is certainly the worst. Though it’s not a breach in information, it is a malicious tool in which a cyber criminal locks all files on your computer. Not only are you forced to pay a ransom, but failure to do so will cause all of your files to be deleted. Considering how ransomware is becoming harder to crack, and the hackers actually go through with their word, recovering from the incident is nearly impossible.

Misconception #3: My Employees Don’t Factor In

One final misconception among businesses is that employees aren’t a factor when creating a disaster recovery plan. After all, as long as you have things planned out, that’s all that matters, right? Remember, however, that being successful in the workplace requires teamwork. Between training your employees on what to do in case of emergencies, and educating them on the types of disasters, they are a crucial part of making sure your organization recovers.

For more information, contact us today at SystemsNet.

The Benefits of Office 365

News, ,
20160715

Office 365 offers some unique and convenient benefits for both businesses and individuals.

When you’re in the workplace, there are many products that you should consider purchasing for your business. Whether they’re not a necessity or are absolutely essential, they can assist you in a variety of ways. If you’re purchasing an anti-virus product, for example, then it’ll be a great tool for protecting your network. However, what if you also purchased a product that helped you to better use social media? If that’s the case, it’ll be a step in the right direction for the success of your business. After all, social media is an easier way to draw in customers, right?

With that said, have you also considered purchasing and using Office 365? Perfect for any business, it’s a subscription plan which is both suitable for someone who’s working in an office or one working from home. Even more so, though, you can also install it on up to 5 PCs/Macs (in addition to mobile devices). The fact that it also comes with numerous applications makes it very efficient for just about any type of job. However, let’s look into more detail about why the subscription plan is important for your business. Overall, here are the main benefits of Office 365.

#1. Numerous Applications Available

As I had briefly mentioned before, one of the main benefits of Office 365, is the amount of applications at your disposal. Whether you want to complete a written assignment in a word document, or are looking to finish a lengthy project with PowerPoint, there’s practically no limit to the type of work you can accomplish. However, having these numerous applications available, also helps you to save time in the long run. After all, when you download Office 365, all these apps come with the entire package. Compare that to tedium of before when users had to download every application one by one.

#2. Office 365 is Easy to Use

Another benefit of the subscription is that it’s easy to use, and not just if you’re familiar with Microsoft Office, either. Unlike many other applications in the workplace, there are no “tricks” to learning how to use Office 365. It’s not some obscure piece of software that requires weeks of training. Whether you’ve used Microsoft Office to write a term paper, or created a PowerPoint for a school project, most people have used one or more of the applications that come with Office 365.

Between the numerous apps available, and a sense of familiarity that comes with using the subscription plan, Office 365 is easily accessible to anyone.

#3. It’s Portable

Another great aspect of the subscription plan, is that it allows you to work from anywhere. With the industry constantly changing, and more businesses becoming mobile on a daily basis, it’s great that Office 365 can accommodate said changes. However, Office 365’s portability isn’t just beneficial for helping you adjust to changes in the business world, but you can also complete numerous tasks faster.

Considering how the subscription plan can be installed on mobile devices, you’re no longer restricted to working in your business office. Not to mention you can communicate with your customers whenever. As an example, let’s say you did a lot of traveling on your job. You may be away from the workplace a lot, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited in the ways you could work or interact with your customers. Also, don’t forget Office 365 includes 60 Skype minutes per month, and the calls are always free. Between being able to work on multiple projects when you’re on the road, as well as interacting with your customers at the business, Office 365’s portability is a great feature.

For more information about the benefits of Office 365, contact us today at SystemsNet.