Directive Blogs

Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days. In fact, most businesses are using it for a multitude of things. With everyone all-aboard the AI train, it’s easy to confuse the computational power and speed AI offers to be infallible. Unfortunately, AI can get things going sideways if you aren’t careful. When it does go wrong, the consequences can be more than just an inconvenience.

Here's a look at some of the most critical ways AI can go wrong:

The Internet of Things is not a futuristic concept; it's a fundamental part of many modern businesses. IoT devices generate a wealth of data that can be used in several ways. Unfortunately, deploying IoT devices isn't enough. To get the most out of your IoT investments and ensure a strong ROI, you need a smart, strategic approach. Here are the best strategies businesses can use to get the most out of their IoT investments.

Synergy. Paradigm shift. Disruption. There are so many buzzwords saturating modern business jargon nowadays, including and especially “digital transformation.”

Unfortunately, “digital transformation” sounds big and, worse, expensive… especially for our small and medium-sized business neighbors. We wanted to step in and assure you that this is not the case and that any business can benefit from it, provided it is approached correctly and mindfully.

The CIO or Chief Information Officer of any organization has a lot of pressure on them to get their organization’s technology right. Not only do they need to put strategies in place that will help the organization prosper; they need to take the brunt of the heat when these IT initiatives don’t work out in the way they forecast them to. A lot of their job is to say yes when their best instinct is to say no. Today, we will look at three of the technologies that today’s CIOs are green-lighting.

It feels good to use tools you’re familiar with, but there comes a time when old tools start to hold you back. You might start to see unexpected costs that only surface over time. Let’s take a look at how you can know when it’s time to update your business’ tech and some of the hidden costs associated with not updating it.

There’s a lot of comfort to be found in familiarity. It’s why so many of us cling to the way we’ve always done things. It’s the root of the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In many contexts, this can be very good advice. One place it isn’t: your business’ technology.

Neglecting to improve the technology your business relies on can itself incur significant inherent costs that aren’t immediately apparent. Let’s explore them to truly appreciate the benefits of keeping your business’ tech up to date.

Entertainment has changed a lot over the past several decades. When not too long ago teams of trained professionals were using ultra sensitive film stock to shoot your favorite movies, flatbed editors in dark rooms to edit them, and elaborate film projectors to show them, today there are digital cameras that rely on digital storage, digital editing that you can do from a phone, and OLED screens that use thousands of pixels to provide the clearest picture possible.

Cybersecurity is far from the most engaging topic out there, but that doesn’t diminish its importance. You, as a business owner, need to know how to protect your business from today’s threats, but your employees also need to be actively involved in the cybersecurity of your company. Today, we’re exploring how you can implement better cybersecurity training practices into your business.

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is great. It can be a pivotal tool to help you transform your business’ communications infrastructure, provided you implement it with intention. Today, we want to share three of the biggest benefits your business can expect to enjoy from switching to a VoIP solution.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re likely already utilizing the cloud in at least some capacity. The trick is to find the best way to manage your business’ cloud so that it works for your organization’s specific needs. Today, we want to look at the different types of cloud management policies and why you need to weigh your options to get the most value for your business.

The entire purpose of modern IT is to improve the processes that work requires us to do. Today, we wanted to address a few business priorities—productivity, cybersecurity, and accessibility—that the right tech can help you accomplish, explicitly exploring how different tools can contribute to your success.

We can’t tell the future—no one really can—but it is both possible and vital to make predictions based on present trends and current events. Let’s look forward to the rest of this year to see what predictions we can make for business IT and the notes we should all take over the next few months.

New technology is always a bit intriguing. It can also be scary for some. Business owners typically only see the cost, even if it presents solutions to their organizational problems and can err on the side of caution as to not too much strain on their budget. There are a couple of really cutting-edge technologies businesses can use today that can help them confront problems they have. Let’s take a look at them in today’s blog. 

Unless you’ve been living off the land in the wilderness for the past couple of decades, you’ve heard of Facebook, Twitter (now X), and Instagram. Most people have some type of social media presence on one or all of these platforms (or at least on LinkedIn, TikTok, or YouTube). Many businesses once used or currently use these platforms as a part of their marketing efforts, and despite being billion-dollar companies, there are some serious concerns about the viability of these platforms going forward. In this week’s blog, we will discuss some of the problems people are having with these established social media platforms and how alternatives might just be the future of social media.

In business, innovation and productivity go hand-in-hand. When you think outside the box, you open up new ways to get things done faster, smarter, and more effectively. In this month’s newsletter, we thought we’d discuss five innovative strategies to help your business reach new levels of productivity.

Businesses of every size need to prioritize their security. This fact has not changed and will not change anytime soon. What has changed, however, are the recommended ways to approach this security.

Today, we wanted to review the history of today’s predominant cybersecurity advice and explore how the zero-trust security model applies.

You might remember the buzz when Josh Allen, a digital artist, won first place at the 2022 Colorado State Fair for his digital artwork called "Théâtre D'opéra Spatial." The catch? He created the image using AI. Now, he’s in a fight with the Copyright Office to prove that his work deserves copyright protection.

Being a green business is certainly not a bad thing. Not only does it help boost your company's environmental friendliness, but it can often attract customers and clients who prioritize the environment. Less mentioned, however, is how being greener can actually give your business an advantage in the right circumstances.

The concept of a four-day workweek has started to gain significant traction among businesses of all sizes. There's a subtle distinction between the traditional four-day workweek and the compressed workweek, however. Today, we will discuss the compressed workweek and what it means for employees.

The tech we have at our fingertips has the potential to dramatically enhance our productivity, support a great deal of creativity, and improve a person’s overall quality of life. What happens when you don't use this technology to its full potential? The answer is simple: you lose out. Let’s take a look at some of the negative effects of not using tech to its fullest.