Directive Blogs

In many places, businesses have been operating in a manner that is closer to “business as usual” than “pandemic-altered”. This doesn’t mean the pandemic is over, but a lot of businesses are now able to make decisions as they were before the pandemic. This is a good thing, but there is one aspect of business that doesn’t seem to be normalizing: the supply chain. Let’s take a look at why supply chain issues persist and what you can do about them.

In most workspaces and offices, “productivity” is always present on the list of goals. Why settle for one task completed in a set time, when multiple tasks can be completed in the same amount of time without sacrificing the quality of the result? This goal is popular enough for many experts and consultants to have weighed in on. We’ve decided to give you a basic overview of some such strategies so you may consider them.

When it comes to your business’ visibility online, your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy plays an absolutely critical role. While SEO is influenced by a lot of different factors, we wanted to focus on one way you can boost it: your Google Business profile.

Remote work is more common than ever before, but it wasn’t always this way. It’s still a relatively new method of operations, and while there are quite a few benefits for both employees and employers, there are other impacts related to remote work that can have far-reaching consequences.

If you have tried to procure hardware or products over the past couple years, chances are you have noticed that it is harder to find them than usual. This is particularly the case for any companies that have dealings with computing hardware, as the price has been hiked considerably on even the most basic of components. What has triggered this dramatic change in the technology supply chain, and what can be done about it?

When it comes to procuring technology and working on technology projects, budgeting is a key issue that must be ironed out long before project implementation begins. This process can be troublesome and fraught with all sorts of challenges, but you don’t have to do it alone! We’ve got your back. Here’s a crash course on how you can manage your IT budget for maximum value.

Communication solutions are especially important in today’s world of remote and hybrid work, and we are here to tell you that the traditional telephone solution you’ve known and loved for all these years is simply not viable in today’s business environment. Thankfully, a viable replacement is widely available, and it’s all thanks to Voice over IP technology.

Healthcare is an industry that—quite understandably—operates under very high pressure for a significant share of the time. As a result, it is only natural to conclude that a technology that could potentially make the lives of healthcare providers and administrators easier in numerous ways shows some promise. That technology is artificial intelligence.

Let’s go over a few of the many ways that AI has been proposed (if not implemented already) as a solution to some of healthcare’s more challenging stresses.

Most everyone uses the cloud in some capacity, even if it’s not a professional one. Simply put, the value it provides even on a consumer level is astounding, and this is even more so with business applications. The cloud makes it much easier for organizations to manage their resources compared to hosting them in-house, but a problem has surfaced with some companies suffering due to what’s called “cloud sprawl.”

Sales. HR. Customer Service. IT. Accounting. Management. These different business departments have (for the most part) been categorized and compartmentalized for decades, cooperating to some extent but largely operating independently of one another. The question is, will this remain to be the case, with so many people now working remotely and communicating with their teammates as needed? Let’s try to make a few predictions as to the future of the departments we are all so familiar with.

Businesses around central New York have a few options available to them when it comes to their IT needs. However, in order to receive the best services and support for them, they need to select the right provider. While we are admittedly biased, we wanted to share some of the questions that we would ask any IT or computer consultant we’d work with and trust with our network.

There is so much technology to choose from for your business that it can be overwhelming to pick the right tools for your specific circumstances. There are communication tools, productivity solutions, and even mobile options that can enhance and enrich your clients’ and employees’ experiences with your company. As a business owner, you must do all that you can to keep the future in mind when implementing innovative new technology solutions to fit the needs of your organization.

The Google My Business application has assisted business owners in managing their online presence for some time now, having gone through numerous name changes in its time. However, Google has one final change planned for its application. 

While we certainly have a lot to say about the benefits of the right IT solutions, even we can acknowledge that there is a point of diminishing returns. So, how much technology is too much technology, specifically in terms of the software your team relies on? Let’s explore some of the warning signs.

Have your opinions of remote work changed at all over the past year and a half, or do you still want your employees to return to the office in full force? Many major companies, despite initially advocating for remote work, are sending mixed signals on the topic, including Microsoft. What can we learn from the experiences of these companies?

What do you do with your old email messages? Do they just sit around in your inbox and collect dust? If so, this is certainly a wasteful practice, as those emails can accrue over time and take up a sizable chunk of space. The question then becomes, what do you do with the emails to keep them from taking up so much space, especially when you might be paying for the space?

In today’s competitive business environment, you need every edge you can get to one-up your competition and make waves in your chosen industry. One of the best ways you can do so is by strategically implementing technology solutions that can enhance or transform the way your business operates both internally and externally.

With businesses relying so much on technology to accomplish just about everything, IT undoubtedly has an important role to play. It makes sense that you would want your business’ IT to deliver as much value as possible. To accomplish this, we wanted to go over three IT-centric processes that are primed to help you do so.

Most of us take streaming media for granted. Whether you are streaming a movie on Netflix, binge-watching a show on Hulu, or using one of the growing number of streaming television networks to stream sports, shows, and news, there is quite a bit of interesting technology fueling your entertainment. Today, we thought we’d briefly go through some of the tech that makes these streaming services, and their millions of simultaneous streaming feeds, possible. 

With so many technical terms to know and processes to understand, one might think that the only possible way to take care of your IT infrastructure is to hire professionals to monitor and maintain every aspect of it. While there is certainly a lot of truth to this statement, and working with professionals presents a ton of value, it doesn’t take a genius to implement small, common-sense practices that can compound over time.