Data isn’t just purchase history and advertising responses anymore. It’s much bigger, and it’s coming from your customers as well as from within your own company. As information grows, so does the potential for better business, from the way you interact with your customers to your internal processes and efficiencies. Here are four ways your company can see the positive effects: Give customers more personalized treatment Every time a consumer makes a purchase, posts their status on social media or clicks an online ad, they’re generating data on themselves. And this data is priceless. It tells us who they are,…
To cloud or not to cloud
Everyone is talking about cloud computing these days and for good reason. The cloud is revolutionizing how computing power is generated and consumed. Cloud refers to software and services that run on the Internet, instead of locally on your computer. When tech companies say your data is backed up “in the cloud,” it has nothing to do with those white fluffy things in the sky. Your data isn’t actually up in the cosmos or floating around in space. It has a terrestrial home. It’s stored someplace – lots of places, actually – and a network of servers find what you…
7 Strategies to keep smartphones safe
In the span of a day, you probably do most of the following with your smartphone: Go through your inbox and respond to emails (and unsubscribe from the annoying ones) Check your bank account balance, breathe a sigh of relief, and purchase an item with your credit card Send a text message to a friend, or two, or ten, or twenty—group texts are the best! Play a game, get frustrated, and proceed to purchase an item within the game to move you along faster Download a new application Take a picture and send it to a family member or…
4 Ways to secure your digital life
Allowing a site to remember your password or to track your search history may make for a more user-friendly experience but that might not always be the best idea. More often than not, adding a step here and a step there will help you protect yourself within the Internet of Things (IoT) more successfully. Here are four not-so-difficult steps that’ll keep things relatively easy, but your data increasingly private. Log out It’s nice to open up an application or a website and automatically log-in, but this may hurt you in the long run. If anyone gains access to your device…
Simple tips to help your business avoid Ransomware
Simple tips to help your business avoid Ransomware Ransomware is not something you can resolve with a few clicks of the mouse. You can’t install a new anti-virus solution and expect it to work its magic. And you can’t call up your IT Provider and hope some nerdy tech will make everything new again within the hour, unless you have a solid backup solution and they can roll back to pre-ransomware data. Ransomware doesn’t work that way. Your business will be stuck. There will be downtime; there might be lost data, and there will probably be some angry clients…
How Businesses can use Social Media Effectively
How Businesses can use Social Media Effectively Social Media Is considered to be the future of digital marketing, but how to plug in to this massive new movement is a genuine business concern. A lot of businesses still struggle with understanding how to use social media effectively. As a business owner, it can be tempting to want to jump right in and establish profiles on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. After all, social media can be a great way to attract and convert new customers. But in order to be successful on social media, you have to…
The 5 basic requirements of a culture of security
The 5 basic requirements of a culture of security Securing your network and data isn’t just about a strong antivirus solution. It’s a lot more than that. It’s about employees. It’s about leadership. It’s about thought processes. It’s about how all of these things tie into each other to create, support, and encourage a culture of security. When you integrate these elements into your cyber-security strategy successfully, your business will be better off, and you’ll have a legitimate chance to fight off cyber-threats. So then the question naturally becomes: Does your preexisting security solution take into consideration the human element…
4 communication apps to help your team work together
4 communication apps to help your team work together Communication is the key to a solid team. However, finding an effective way to communicate with your coworkers can seem like a daunting task. But only at first. We live in a time where apps rule supreme, and if apps are good for anything, it’d be communication. So here are a few to get you started. Slack If you’re looking for the ultimate communication hub, then Slack might be it. Keep all your conversations in one place, share files, and integrate with other apps – like Twitter, Dropbox,…
Reusing a password is dangerous, but most everyone does it
Reusing a password is dangerous, but most everyone does it. 91% of people understand the risk of reusing a password. Yet, 61% of people still use the same password or a similar password from one account to the next. Why is this? Well, according to LastPass, you can blame Cognitive Dissonance for that. “You know it’s bad for you, but you do it anyways.” Maybe you rationalize this behavior because you believe that no one would ever want to hack your accounts. You’re nothing special… Or maybe you rationalize this behavior because you think you’re way too organized to…
3 reasons technology changes are good for business
3 reasons technology changes are good for business There are very few things that can positively affect multiple facets of your business at once. Usually, the impact of changes made to your business is segregated by department, function, position, or service. In other words, these changes don’t have what it takes to influence other areas of your business. However, this isn’t always the case with technology. With simple changes to your technology, you have the potential to make a large impact – an impact that will affect more than just one department, one person, or one function. A change as…