Coleman Technologies Blog

Making Sense of Gamification

Many parents have historically used a gamification strategy to convince their young’uns to cooperate better with notoriously less-fun parts of daily life. Take clean-up time, for instance, which many parents will turn into a race between themselves and their children to see who can pick up quicker. Taking an unappealing task and adding game-like elements to motivate people to do it is the concept that forms the foundation of gamification.

This isn’t a new idea, either. Mark Twain knew what he was talking about when he wrote about Tom Sawyer tricking his friends into white-washing a fence for him. By making the activity seem elite and enjoyable, he hoaxed and hoodwinked his friends into completing his chore for him while they all enjoyed proving themselves capable. As was written at the end of that particular chapter:

“If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do ... There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service, that would turn it into work and then they would resign.”

If the psychology behind this sounds silly to you, consider the concept of “employee of the month.”

Why Gamification is Effective

Human psychology is a big part of why gamification has been shown to be so impactful in motivating employees. As a species, human beings tend to be strongly motivated by certain desires, namely:

• Recognition - I want my efforts to be paid attention to.
• Competition - I want to win.
• Distinction - I want to be rewarded for my efforts.

While many tasks originally lack the potential for most, if not all, of these desires to be filled, gamification can inject this capability by fulfilling all three of these desires. If an employee were to have the satisfaction of knowing that they performed most admirably, gaining some perks and being looked upon with favor from the higher-ups, it only makes sense that they would continue to strive to that position from that point on. Furthermore, it also helps to motivate your other employees to strive harder, so they may have a chance of receiving the same benefits as well.

Don’t believe me? Just look at Google, where gamification has helped chop down travel expenses by allowing the person with the most budget left over after a business trip to keep the difference.

Adopting Gamification

If you’re now considering a more gamified approach to business-as-usual, you have a great variety of options available to you. Different use cases and different industry types each have their own options to do so, all with the potential to be a great investment.

You can also elect how much you want to put into gamification. Sure, there are solutions out there specifically to gamify common business processes, but you could also come up with your own homespun methods. Maybe an employee who visibly went above and beyond one day would receive an entry into an end-of-year drawing for a desirable prize. You really are only limited by your creativity - or how long you’re willing to spend searching online for ideas.

Just as though you’re the parent trying to convince your employees to pick up their playthings, the key to effective gamification is to turn a rote task into an engaging activity.

Have you ever tried out any gamification methods in your office? Which ones did you find most effective? Share what you did in the comments!

There are countless examples of IT turning to a reboot as a quick fix for technology issues in popular culture. Going back to August 4, 1999, Scott Adams’ syndicated comic strip Dilbert featured Dogbert working in tech support, interrupting a caller with the instruction to “Shut up and reboot.” The Channel 4 comedy, The IT Crowd, turned it into a catchphrase for one of its characters…

The joke has appeared in countless other places, including Supernatural, the long-running show that airs on The CW…

Even South Park used the concept as a joke, as Kyle effectively saves the world after the Internet stops by traveling to the “center of the Internet” and discovering that it is a giant router. I bet you can guess how Kyle fixes it:

As it turns out, this trope really is an example of art imitating life.

Why is Rebooting So Effective?

Well, let’s consider how much you actually do with your computer (or your mobile device, or your router, or your washing machine, or anything else that now has its own operating system) on a regular basis.

You start processes, you may install new programs, and that’s not even considering the massive amount of computing that goes on behind the scenes. A lot of these processes and activities will start things up in the background that are never really resolved, which means that your system resources are being used up. This usually has the biggest impact on your Random Access Memory, or RAM. Ultimately, your solutions aren’t able to work effectively any longer, and you see the effects.

However, rebooting inherently ends all of these processes, as they all require power in order to work. As a result, once the computer starts back up again, these processes are no longer running and impacting your system’s resources.

As a result, you have a better-working computer, and the IT stereotype is proven correct.

Keep in mind: if an issue seems to come back and persist despite a reboot (or multiple reboots) you likely have a bigger problem at hand. If this is the case, you can always lean on the professionals at Coleman Technologies to assist you with your technology.

Just don’t be surprised if we ask a particular question.

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The past few years have seen some of history’s greatest data breaches. For instance, the most notorious of these attacks, the Equifax breach, Yahoo, and Marriott-Starwood, resulted in a combined total of 3.5 billion accounts breached.

This means, statistically speaking, you would have a pretty good chance of picking a data breach victim of the past few years by randomly selecting two human beings from the entirety of planet Earth’s population.

Crunching the numbers, there has been an increase of security breaches of 67 percent since 2014.

What Does this Mean? Is Anything Secure Anymore?

Interestingly, there is a plus side to these enormous data breaches happening in the public eye, thanks to a few key points:

• It brings attention to these kinds of crimes - Thanks to disasters like the Equifax breach, more Canadians are aware of the impact of cybercrime. This kind of awareness is crucial to encouraging improved security.
• There is too much data for cybercriminals to practically use. This one can be chalked up to statistics… the more data that a given cache has, the less of a chance that your data is pulled up in an attack.

To clarify, we aren’t trying to sugarcoat the severity of a data breach, but having said that, the past few years’ cybersecurity threats have really given us all an example to consider. With new compliances, regulations, and other mandates being put into play, businesses are certainly considering these threats.

What About Small Businesses?

There is a tendency to overlook small businesses when discussing data breaches. After all, the ones that have struck large targets (like Yahoo, Target, eBay, Sony, and many others) almost always get a headline, along with the attacks that focus on municipalities, like the ones that targeted Wasaga Beach, Ontario and Midland, Ontario with ransomware.

What aren’t heard about so much, unfortunately, are the attacks that lead to much smaller companies shutting their doors for good… a side effect of the limited number of victims per attack, and the relatively casual approach that many have towards security. Unfortunately, a Verizon survey shows just how misguided the assumption that a smaller business size will protect it from threats, when 43 percent of businesses breached would be classified as small.

Security Needs to Be a Priority

Fortunately, there are ways that you can reinforce your business’ cybersecurity, especially with the help of Coleman Technologies and our experienced cybersecurity professionals. Call (604) 513-9428 to get in touch with us, so we can help evaluate and fulfill your business’ needs.

This is what is called vendor management, and it can go a long way toward saving you a lot of time and money. 

What is Vendor Management?

Think about how many vendors you use when it comes to your business’ IT. There’s a pretty good chance that there are quite a few. Hardware, software, services, and much more. As you get established with certain vendors, they become important to your business’ success, but aside from supplying you with their organization’s goods, they also take up a fair amount of time. 

That’s where the challenge lies.

Since you don’t have all the time in the world to keep your vendor representative on your speed dial, but you also need to focus on your business. At Coleman Technologies, we offer what we call a Vendor Management that serves as a go between you and your vendors, providing you the solutions that your business needs without having to spend all types of time being  bogged down talking to vendors. Vendor management helps to alleviate the issue significantly.

How Vendor Management Benefits Your Business’ Bottom Line

Now that we've told you what vendor management is, we can now tell you how it can significantly affect your organization’s bottom line. They include:

Better Use of Time

As we went over above, dealing with your vendors yourself can be a time-intensive process. However, by working with Coleman Technologies and allowing us to manage your vendors, all you have to focus on is your relationship with us. We will handle the vendor relationships, allowing you to focus on your business.

Benefits and Bargains

Since we have long-established relationships with all types of IT vendors, we are often able to procure technology quickly and effectively; saving you money on your technology investments. 

Simplicity

If we are to serve as your single point of contact, it keeps the situation simple. You don’t have to focus an ounce of energy setting up and managing your IT services and relationships. We do it all for you. 

Is a vendor management service seem like something you could really benefit from? If so, call Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428 to speak to one of our IT professionals about our managed IT services. 

Most cloud vendors will propose that an organization’s IT is too expensive for what they would get out of it and that by using cloud services a business can cut down on its hardware and management costs. For the most part, this is true. Cloud services can bring flexibility and capital cost reduction, but it can also bring substantial waste if your cloud-based resources aren’t managed effectively. 

We don’t want to give the impression that cloud services aren’t useful, they undoubtedly are, but you may be surprised to learn how much money is wasted by small and medium-sized businesses in the cloud. By routinely playing for recurring web service accounts may not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it only takes a couple accounts per month to add up to hundreds and thousands of dollars a year. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Many organizations that use hosted environments for development or deploy virtual machines for application distribution may initially find cost savings by moving to the cloud, but over time, see those savings dilapidated as larger-than-needed VMs are left running and other computing platforms chew up resources that are billed per CPU hour or per gigabyte. 

So how do you go about creating a strategy that will give your staff the resources they need, while also not having to waste money on unused cloud resources? Here are a couple tips:

• Track all online service licenses and correlate them with the number of employees that need that software to complete their jobs.
• Have a system in place where employees can find solutions to help them, while providing you the ability to block this Shadow IT software if it poses any threat.
• Clean up old volumes, snapshots, and machine images. 
• When you turn on resources in non-production environments, make sure to set it to the minimum size requirements. 
• Use the Reserved Instances option for any production resources and manage them closely. You could save up to 75 percent off your cloud investments. 

Use these five tips to control your cloud computing costs. Tracking your cloud services and eliminating any redundancies or unused resources will go a long way toward reducing your overall computing costs. For more information call Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Now, the phones we are reviewing might seem like overkill - and, in fairness, there are many more budget-friendly options that can handle most of what you’re likely to task them with. However, the lure of a new device can be tempting, so we decided to indulge that temptation and go over some of the best smartphones available today.

Samsung Galaxy s10 Plus

If you’re looking for a quality Android device, you’re probably leaning toward the Samsung Galaxy s10 Plus. The newest addition to the line of flagships, the s10 Plus comfortably ranks at the top of many “best phone of the year” reviews.

With an aluminum frame housing the 6.17 oz phone and its Dynamic AMOLED display, the Galaxy s10 Plus is finished in Gorilla Glass 5, and has sharper edges that previous models did, intended to improve the grip of the device.

Looking inside, the phone has some just as appealing specifications. Driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and between 8-to-12 gigabytes of RAM, this phone makes improvements to the rest of its features as well. There are five onboard cameras, with wide angle, ultra-wide angle, and telephoto lenses. The onboard fingerprint reader for authentication purposes is now cunningly hidden under the display, and the s10 Plus is likely to be the last flagship phone that Samsung produces with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Galaxy s10 is now the standard for an Android phone to beat (at least until the s11 comes out) and can be purchased in the following colors for somewhere between $599 and $1,200:

• Prism White
• Prism Black
• Prism Green
• Prism Blue
• Canary Yellow
• Flamingo Pink
• Ceramic Black
• Ceramic White
• Cardinal Red
• Smoke Blue

Samsung Galaxy s10 Plus
Body: Aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass 6 front, Gorilla Glass/Ceramic back
Display: 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED (~522 ppi)
OS: Android 9.0 with Samsung One UI skin
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Memory: 128 GB/8 GB RAM; 512 GB/8GB RAM; 1 TB/12GB RAM
Expandable Memory: microSD up to 1 TB
Cameras: Three back-facing (12 MP, 26mm wide angle; 12 MP, 52mm telephoto; 16 MP, 12mm ultrawide); Two front-facing (10 MP, 26mm; 8 MP, 22mm)
Sounds: Stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery (battery endurance rating): 4,100 mAh battery (91 hours)
Security: Ultrasonic, under display fingerprint reader; IP 68 resistant
Miscellaneous: Nano-SIM, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, 15W fast charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, NFC, FM Radio
Other versions: Samsung Galaxy s10, Samsung Galaxy s10e

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus

You probably remember the dramatic news a few years ago that the battery’s tendency to explode had led to a million-device-plus recall on their Galaxy Note phones, ultimately costing Samsung more than $5 billion. The issues have long since been resolved, and so the Note 10 Plus might just be the best large-factor phone for the business professional on the market today.

Again, enclosed in an aluminum frame with a coat of Gorilla Glass 6, the Note 10 Plus comes with a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display and an on-board s-pen stylus. Also featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and up to 12 gigabytes of RAM, it is powered by a fast-charging 4,300 mAh battery. This battery is also QI wireless charging-compatible, and supports reverse-QI charging, which allows you to use it as a wireless charger in a pinch. It has Android 9.0 installed at first, but can now be updated to Android 10 with certain carriers.

Most major carriers stock this phone for between $849 and $1,200, in Aura Glow, Aura White, Aura Black, and Aura Blue.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
Body: Aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass 6 front and back
Display: 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED, 1,440 x 3,040 (~498 ppi)
OS: Android 9.0 with One UI skin
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 
Memory: 256 GB/12 GB RAM; 512 GB/12 GB RAM
Expandable Memory: microSD up to 1 TB
Cameras: Four Back-Facing (12 MP, 27mm wide angle; 12 MP, 52mm telephoto; 16 MP, 12mm ultra wide angle; TOF 3D VGA camera); Front-Facing 10 MP, 26mm wide angle
Sounds: Stereo speakers
Battery (battery life): 4,300 mAh (~107 hours)
Security: Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint, IP68 resistant 
Miscellaneous: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, 45W fast charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, NFC, S-Pen functionality
Other versions: Samsung Galaxy Note 10

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Apple is surging back into prominence with the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which consistently ranks in the top three of phones developed in 2019. A stainless-steel frame holds its 6.5-inch Super Retina OLED display, as well as an advanced neural engine-improved A13 Bionic processor to boost the iPhone’s trademark features - namely, Siri’s performance as well as the functionality of its camera and AI. Along with the A13 chip, the inside holds 64 or 512 gigabytes of onboard storage space and four gigabytes of RAM.

Speaking of the camera, the iPhone 11 Pro Max houses three distinct 12-megapixel cameras, featuring a telephoto lens, a wide-angle lens, and an ultra-wide-angle lens. Most major carriers offer it for about $1,100, and it comes in SpaceGray, Gold, Silver, and Midnight Green.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Body: Stainless steel frame with glass front/back
Display: 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED; 1,242 x 2,688 (~458 ppi)
OS: iOS 13
Chipset: Apple A13 Bionic
Memory: 64 GB/4 GB RAM; 256 GB/4 GB RAM; 512 GB/4GB RAM
Expandable Memory: None
Cameras: Three back-facing (12 MP, 26mm wide angle; 12 MP, 52mm telephoto; 12 MP, 13mm ultrawide); Two front-facing (12 MP, 23mm; SL 3D camera)
Sounds: Stereo speakers
Battery (battery life): 3,969 mAh (102 hours)
Security: Face ID, IP 68 resistant 
Miscellaneous: Nano-SIM, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, 18W fast charging, wireless charging, NFC
Other versions: Apple iPhone 11, Apple iPhone 11 Pro

Google Pixel 4 XL

This phone marks Google’s latest effort to carve out a portion of the smartphone market. Again, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, the Pixel 4 XL really shines where its visual features are concerned. With 537 pixels crammed into every inch, it features a 6.3-inch P-OLED display, as well as one of the best camera setups available today - including a 122 megapixel wide-angle lens and a 16 megapixel telephoto lens with impressive low-light capabilities.

The Google Assistant can be summoned by simply squeezing the Clearly White, Just Black, or Oh So Orange phone.

Most major carriers will sell the Google Pixel 4 XL for between $899 and $999.

Google Pixel 4 XL
Body: Aluminum Frame with Gorilla Glass 5 front/back
Display: 6.3-inch P-OLED, 1,440 x 3,040 (~537 ppi) 
OS: Android 10
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Memory: 64 GB/6 GB RAM; 128 GB/6 GB RAM
Expandable Memory: No
Cameras: Two back-facing (12.2 MP, 28mm wide angle; 16 MP, 45mm telephoto) Two front-facing (8 MP; 22mm)
Sounds: Stereo speakers
Battery (battery life): 3,700 mAh (~73 hours)
Security: Face ID
Miscellaneous: Bluetooth 5.0, 18W fast charging, wireless charging, NFC, Squeeze for Google Assistant
Other versions: Google Pixel 4

OnePlus 7T Pro

Of course, not all of this year’s “flagship-level” devices are necessarily produced by the biggest companies, as dozens of smaller manufacturers are also developing high-performance smartphones. For instance, the OnePlus 7T Pro. This device is all about the speed of the user’s experience, which is why they augmented its flagship-level specifications with a 90 hz refresh rate, making it seem even faster.

The 7T Pro doesn’t exactly underperform in other considerations, either. With a 6.7-inch fluid AMOLED display that houses a fingerprint reader, it actually runs on Qualcomm’s creme de la creme processor, the Snapdragon 855+. With three rear-facing cameras and a front-facing selfie camera that pops out of the chassis when used, the camera notch has been eliminated. Finally, because price is always a consideration to some degree, this phone does the least damage to your bank account of the ones we reviewed here with the 8 gigabyte RAM model totalling around $699.

OnePlus 7T Pro
Body: Aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass 5 front/back
Display: 6.67-inch Fluid AMOLED, 1,440 x 3,120 (~516 ppi)
OS: Android 10 with OxygenOS 10.0.4 skin
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
Memory: 256 GB/8 GB RAM; 256 GB/12 GB RAM
Expandable Memory: No
Cameras: Three back-facing (48 MP wide angle; 8 MP, 78mm telephoto; 16 MP, 13mm ultra wide angle); Motorized pop-up 16 MP, 25mm wide angle
Sounds: Stereo speakers
Battery (battery life): 4,085 mAh (~100 hours)
Security: Optical in-display fingerprint reader, pop-up facial recognition
Miscellaneous: Bluetooth 5.0, 30W “Warp” charge, NFC
Other versions: OnePlus 7T

Finally, there are other phones that, while not included in our list, are definitely ones to consider under the right circumstances. These include the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and P30 Pro, the Sony Xperia 1, the LG v50 ThinQ, and the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

We included the “right circumstances” caveat because there is currently a ban on Huawei devices in the United States. Despite their superior hardware, government sanctions have put the kibosh on Huawei products for the time being.

Other devices are also just starting to rise in popularity, like those featuring foldable displays - including the Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X, and the nostalgia-pumping Motorola Razr. We’ll likely soon see how these foldable devices are received on a wide scale.

Finally, there is also the advent of 5G to consider. A few cities have started to implement the necessary technology for 5G, and so manufacturers will likely start developing 5G-compatible devices before long. While it will likely take years for 5G to become the standard, if you happen to spend time in one of these cities, it may be to your benefit to upgrade.

What device do you currently use? Do any of these interest you, or did we miss one that you’ve had your eye on? Let us know in the comments!

It’s not a secret that departmental cooperation is increasingly central to the workflows of today. Businesses need to stay agile, which means more has to be done with less. As more people take on more responsibilities, there needs to be better communication, and ultimately trust, if a business’ goals are going to be met. This has businesses of all sizes looking for tools that will help their staff be more collaborative, more efficient, and meet those benchmarks that will allow for organizational growth. 

Obstacles to Collaboration

It seems ironic that a strategy that most businesses need to foster, is actually getting harder to achieve. Today’s workforce is different in many ways, but one of the most glaring weaknesses of the modern workforce is that their needs supersede that of the organization they work for. This is not wrong per say, but it can be a major problem for smaller organizations that need collaborative initiatives to fuel their products and services. With the gig economy growing rapidly, and the cost benefits of hiring contract and outsourced workers, it makes it harder than ever to get a staff of people on the same page. 

There are several more barriers to collaboration, including:

• Differences in opinion
• Lack of respect and/or trust
• Internal competition
• Lack of solid project management

When you are asking people to work with others for a common goal, personalities can get in the way. That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be some semblance of professionalism and workplace decorum, but the truth is that some people just don’t like working with other people. If you are running a small business petty squabbles are unacceptable and can really hurt your chances of success.

It is important that every member of a team knows exactly what is expected of them, but it’s the decision makers that need to understand who works well with who and what type of collaboration to use. There are three different types of positive workplace collaboration. They are:

• Simple Collaboration - The most basic form of collaboration. This is your typical information and document sharing. If someone needs an answer, someone else provides it.
  
  
• Document Collaboration - Document collaboration is a significant step because it means that people are actually working together on a single document towards a common goal. Giving multiple users the capability to work as though they were side-by-side without regard to the actual distance between them is not being integrated into many software platforms nowadays.
  
  
• Structured Collaboration - This is the type of collaboration in which people need to work together to complete a predefined goal. If they aren’t able to work together, there will be no product or service. Essentially, anyone that has worked on a project with someone else has taken part in a structured collaboration. 

Collaboration and Technology

Most businesses use technology to bridge the gap between departments, teams, and employees. Technology is making it more possible than ever to collaborate, and many of a business’ technology investments are made with collaboration in mind. The idea is that if employees are expected to use centralized management software like a Customer Relationship Management tool or a document management and storage system like Microsoft SharePoint, that all the information and resources are then available from one place, making collaborative work more possible. 

Today, there is new software that simplifies the process. Software like Microsoft Teams and Slack are designed simply as an instant messaging-fueled forum that integrates with many of the major CRMs and other management solutions, creating a central hub to speed up communication and collaboration. These applications allow teams to be more agile and more productive. 

Collaboration is a huge part of doing business in the information age. If you want to learn more about how technology can fuel your business’ productivity, reach out to the IT experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428. 

5G

The first technology that anyone who's anyone in the technology industry has their eyes on is 5G. If you were to think of a technology that would transform business, 5G might not be on the top of your list, but, rest assured, it will completely alter society, so businesses will be affected. What is 5G? It’s the long-awaited fifth generation of wireless connectivity that is promising ubiquitous gigabit speeds for everyone. While most of the hubbub surrounding 5G has been about sating people’s need for download speeds and autonomous vehicles, the technology will bring big changes for businesses. 

As far as the business goes, 5G will reduce latency to the point where all of the smart devices that have been introduced over the past half-decade can effectively communicate. This presents more dynamic options to use smart technology for business purposes in and out of the office. Since data transmission will see less latency and higher speeds, data and services should be seamless.

At CES, plenty was made of 5G as a mobile-centric technology, but a lot of the technology that was on display at CES shifted past the smartphone and onto devices that are aimed at improving business. Cutting edge computers, apps, networking equipment, and things (a whole lot of things) aimed at impressing CIOs and decision makers with advanced functionality and speed, were on display throughout the event. From supply chain management to transportation to (of course) mobility, the innovators at CES touched on a large cross-section of improvements 5G is going to make for businesses and at home. 

Cloud Analytics, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence

Businesses have been pretty aggressive over the past couple of years implementing tools that claim to have some type of machine learning or artificial intelligence to improve many aspects of their business. The technology has been used liberally to improve customer service, optimize operations and logistics, even to predict customer behavior. Even in its relative infancy, the applications for these technologies seem to be vast.

At CES, visitors got a look at all types of new ways that businesses are going about using these technologies. One of the most impressive uses of these technologies is in new logistics tools. Between the use of autonomous vehicles that speed up businesses and lead to fewer shipping costs, and computer vision that provides transparency in the acquisition and viability of resources, AI is at the center of business-specific applications that will make it to market in 2020. 

Consumerization of IT

At an event called the Consumer Electronics Show, it stands to reason that it would be a treasure trove of new and useful technologies (or in the case of CES 2020, technology-fueled “things”) on display. The consumerization of IT has been ongoing for the past several years, and businesses have reaped the rewards of this. 

At CES, the whole event is dedicated to pushing the consumerization of IT. New solutions to problems, new products incorporating innovative technology, and strategic technology rollouts aimed to take advantage of other innovations were all over CES 2020. New computers, including the first look at some 5G-capable ones, are some of the more noteworthy of the event; and, are definitely aimed to catch the attention of CIOs and other business decision makers. 

With so many prototypes being unveiled at CES, it’s hard to maintain that this technology will even make it to market, let alone be available any time soon. If you want to learn more about CES 2020, visit the event’s website at https://www.ces.tech/. For more great technology-centric articles aimed to help your business, return to our blog soon.

First, it will help to briefly review how each attack works.

How Ransomware Works

Imagine if you tried to log into your computer, only to be presented with a message that your entire computer had been encrypted, and that (unless money is transferred to the perpetrator, often through cryptocurrency, within a period of time) the contents of your device will be wiped. This is precisely the experience of someone victimized by a ransomware attack.

How Phishing Works

Remember those old scams, where the target would receive an email from some nobility or long-lost relative that asked for a sizable loan or investment (all to be paid back with interest, of course)? These are phishing scams, known as such because the scammer responsible simply distributes a message and waits for someone to take the bait. As time has passed, these schemes have become much more effective - and harder to spot.

These Attacks Can Easily Cooperate 

Cybercriminals have taken to pairing these attacks together to help them take advantage of as many targets as possible. Let’s run through a fairly typical scenario that someone using both may subject you to, and how you can spot these kinds of joint efforts.

Let’s say you open your business email to find a message that appears to come from the Microsoft Support team - which, unnoticed by you, actually reads “Micrrosoft Support” in one or two places. According to the email, there’s a hugely serious security issue affecting systems across the board, which is why Microsoft is supposedly sending out these emails, with the necessary fix bundled in as an attachment.

Trouble is, this isn’t actually a fix to an issue - it’s actually an executable file that installs ransomware when you try to apply the “security fix” and creates a huge problem.

This is exactly why these two distinct attacks combine so well… by incorporating phishing strategies into the distribution of their ransomware, a cybercriminal has the ability to boost how successfully their ransomware can infect the users that are targeted.

How to Spot Phishing to Avoid Ransomware

There are assorted warning signs that a message is a phishing attempt that you should always keep an eye out for in order to protect your business. For example:

• Details are off - In keeping with our above example, how likely do you think it is that “Micrrosoft” would send out an email in which they misspelled their own name? While this is admittedly happening less in phishing emails, the same goes for the small things that are easily overlooked. Was the email in question sent from “user at example.com”? Or, was it actually sent from “user at exarnple.com?” Tricks like this are common ways that cybercriminals will try to pull the wool over a user’s eyes.
• There’s excessive urgency - To keep users from paying too much attention to the minutiae of the email - like the “off” details we just discussed - many cybercriminals will write their phishing messages to instill a sense of urgent panic. If an email starts to make you panic, collect yourself and look at it more objectively.
• There’s a link or an attachment - As the preferred means of delivering a ransomware payload or other issue, attachments or links to websites present no small amount of risk, especially if they are received unexpectedly. If at all possible, avoid accessing these without reaching out to the sender to confirm their legitimacy through another method of communication.

There are many other steps you need to take to protect your business from these insidious threats - from keeping a comprehensive backup to user training to applying spam filtering to your email. Coleman Technologies can help you implement them - give us a call at (604) 513-9428 to get started.

What is Data Virtualization?

It isn’t uncommon for today’s businesses to have multiple database management systems, and unfortunately, the different types don’t always play nicely with one another. As the amount of data that businesses leverage swells, it has become more important than ever for businesses to be able to consolidate all of this data into an easily accessible tool, without creating a new copy or moving it from its original source - a process similar to data federation, but one that allows access to different data types.

This process makes it far simpler for data to be put to use, allowing the various solutions that are used throughout the course of business to interact with this data.

The Primary Benefits of Data Virtualization

There are quite a few benefits to using data virtualization in your business, but for our purposes here, the fact that all of your data--stored in a variety of different locations--is interconnected and accessible from a single point is the highlight. Just consider how much more could be accomplished if you and your team could access all of the different data types you may need from one place.

As a result, data virtualization is exceptionally useful for processes involving analytics and Big Data, as both incorporate data that comes from a diverse variety of sources.

Of course, we would be amiss if we didn’t mention some of the other benefits that data virtualization has to offer. Productivity can be boosted through the integration of different data units and structures, management becomes simpler, and it is usually a more affordable option than the alternative of copying and converting all of your data into compatible formats.

Interested in Learning More about Data Virtualization?

Reach out to the pros at Coleman Technologies. Even if data virtualization doesn’t apply to your specific needs, we can come up with the right solution for you! Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Let’s start by examining the reasons for communications that businesses use to manage their internal processes.

• Information sharing - There is plenty of news that needs to make its way around any business. There are many different forms of communication that can accomplish this. 
• Collaboration - Today’s business needs to use collaborative strategies more than businesses of the past, and communication is a big part of any collaborative endeavor.

Now, let’s consider a few solutions that can help you to accomplish solid information sharing and collaboration.

Information Sharing

When you think of internal communications at work, the lion’s share of it will fill this need. Employees need to know certain things to maintain continuity of a business. This includes the publication of policies, procedures, plans, or potential changes to each. To accommodate the sharing of all this knowledge, businesses use the following tools: 

• Email - Email is the most tried-and-true solution for internal business communications because it works on every level. It is available, familiar, and with today’s email platforms, features dynamic tools that can help anyone get their point across. 
• Newsletters - Some companies choose to roll out a company newsletter for their staff. In these newsletters there are spotlights on points of emphasis. If you choose the newsletter as the tool you want to broadcast your internal communications, however, it has to be understood. 

Collaboration

Nowadays, collaboration is important for every business’ success. Business moves faster and if you don’t have some semblance of coordination between your employees in separate departments, it can cost more than time. It can be the difference between generating revenue and not. Here are some tools used to boost collaboration:

• Productivity Suites - Today, there are a lot of collaboration-based applications out there. They are designed for specific business needs, but the most effective are the productivity suites like Google’s G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 because they give you the collaborative tools and shared storage that any team needs to be successful.
• Chat Applications and Forums - Instant messaging apps have improved collaborations tenfold. Forums have been useful since the early days of the Internet. Today, developers have created apps that combine the two and offer hundreds of outside software integrations to help promote collaboration.

The IT professionals at Coleman Technologies have the expertise and access to solutions to help you solve any of your business’ operational problems. Call us today at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Even if you aren’t planning on replacing your phone soon, it may make sense to pay attention here, as this process will also make it easier to restore your data to a new phone if needed. Either way, this process is much easier if you make some proactive preparations on your current phone.

Enabling the Native Android Backup Capabilities 

The first step is to make sure that your current phone has the backup service running. It can be found in your Settings, under System. Tap the Backup option, and check to see that the option to Back up to Google Drive is selected. If it isn’t, do so.

Now you have a copy of your current phone’s configuration to restore from, which you can do from the initial configuration of your new device. If you were using the Google Now or Pixel Launcher, even your backgrounds, icons, and folder structure is saved.

During setup, hit the Let’s Go button that appears at the welcome screen. Tap Copy your data, and connect to Wi-Fi.

Now, you’ll be presented with your restoration options. Since we just went over how to save a backup in the cloud, let go with the option to use A backup from the cloud. You’ll be prompted to sign into your Google account, and to agree to Google’s Terms of Service.

From the list of backup options, select the correct one. You can easily hit Restore to recover all of your previous device’s settings and data, and can select which apps to reinstall via Apps.

As your data is pulled over, you will be guided through the rest of the setup process.

Voila! Your new phone is now equipped with your selected tools and settings, ready for you to jump right back in. For more handy tips, make sure you subscribe to our blog!

How the Cloud is Like a Rideshare

Cost Efficiency

Let’s say you are with three people and you need to get someplace and don’t have access to a car. You all could call an Uber or a taxi that would cost you $20 or so. If you are going to the same place, you could all share the cost of a ride for $7 each. You all get to the same place for a fraction of the cost. 

This is a lot like how cloud services work. Since you are paying for access to storage, processing, or application deployment on an outside computer, you are just paying rent for the privilege. This means that you can get the computing resources your business needs at a substantial cost savings. This is because you are often not the only one using these resources. 

Just like you pay less if you split your transportation costs, cloud service companies allow for substantial cost savings by virtualizing computing resources and making them available at attractive rates. 

Reduced Maintenance

The combination of leasing these virtualized computing resources, while taking on a majority of the management of these resources, provides substantial value for businesses and individuals. 

Let’s say that, to continue the rideshare metaphor, you decide to lease a car from a local dealership. One day the car breaks down. You’ve spent a premium amount of money trying to get a reliable ride to work, but if you don’t have access to your car, your investment isn’t cost effective. This is the same experience a business has that purchases hardware and has issues with it. Outsourcing the computing resources (or the management) ensures that you have continuous, reliable access to them. 

Productivity

Finally, just like ordering a shared ride, cloud services allow you maximize productivity. With cloud computing you can even work from anywhere with an Internet connection and utilize your time reliably. Turning to cloud computing resources is a great way to free yourself from the costs of purchasing expensive hardware, while giving you the resources your business needs to get where you want to go.

If you would like more information about cloud services and how they can improve your business, call the It experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

Lock. Everything. Down.

Did you know there are entire websites out there, devoted to providing the default factory passwords for different devices? They aren’t on the Dark Web, either - this is on the visible, indexed Internet. Imagine if I were to come in with some idea of what brand of routers you had… if I had the right default credentials with me, I could easily access your router and wreak havoc in your business.

You need to consider every potential access point into your business and ensure it is properly secured. The same goes for any online accounts associated with your business, like cloud storage. Take the time to make sure that everything is secured with a password that meets best practices, and if memories are an issue, use a reputable password manager to simplify the task for your employees.

This also goes for your physical location. Many access control solutions exist that enable you to keep track of who accesses a certain area, and when, with the added benefit of keeping those without authorization out.

Keep Your Antivirus Updated

Many people may assume that, once they’ve installed an antivirus/antimalware solution, they are all set. The trouble is, more malware is being developed all the time, and there’s a good chance it is being developed to help the malicious software get past your antivirus. As it happens, the developers of the antivirus are aware of this, and frequently add new threat definitions to the software to make it more effective.

However, all the threat definitions in the world will do diddly-squat if your antivirus solution isn’t updated to include them. This is why it is important to keep an eye on your network’s health and take the time to check that you have the latest definitions included.

Keep a Backup

Finally, you have the nuclear option against malware… mutually assured destruction, that only you can recover from. That is, as long as you’ve been maintaining a proper backup.

If you should fall victim to a malware infection, completely wiping your devices and quite literally starting from scratch with them is your best hope of getting rid of it. However, in order to keep yourself from crippling your own business while doing so, you need to maintain an ace in the hole. By keeping a backup that passes best practices, you can be sure to have your data if you have to sacrifice your original copy.

Coleman Technologies can help you do all of this, and more. Reach out to us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

We talk about Business Continuity a lot. Usually when we discuss it, we’re talking about backing up your data or having a plan in place to bounce back after a major disaster were to happen.

For example, if a fire were to take out your server room, what steps have you taken to prepare for it, and how quickly can you be back up and running?

The answer should be something like this:
We have our data backed up to an internal device in the server room. We can always rely on that, provided that the backup device remains operational. In the event that the backup device suffers from the disaster, we also back up our data in the cloud. The restore is a little more complicated, but we can manage for a few days from the cloud-based backup while new infrastructure is installed onsite.

That’s a really solid answer, and that is something that we specialize in helping British Columbia businesses achieve. However, that’s your backup strategy. That’s just a small part of your overall business continuity. That data backup is a real lifesaver when it comes to a physical disaster, but what happens when the disaster is a loss of life, or incapacitation, or even just a key individual suddenly walking out the door?

Let’s Look at a Scenario

Let’s say Bob is the business owner. He makes all of the decisions, he signs the contracts, he pays the bills. If Bob gets sick or suffers a stroke and becomes incapacitated, who takes over until he recovers? If Bob’s son works for the company, does the son have legal authority to take over?

We’re covering a lot of ground here, but technically, only the courts can intercede and make these types of decisions if it isn’t properly prepared for. You might run into a scenario where the court will choose someone to run the business temporarily while it is decided what to do next. This process can be slow, and the outcome might not be ideal.

If Bob establishes an Estate Plan, he can pick a successor to have legal authority to run the business. The Estate Plan should include a Revocable Living Trust and Powers of Attorney.

Let’s take a moment here to admit that we are not lawyers, and not offering professional legal advice, and that you should consult your lawyer before making any legal decisions. 

On top of all of this, you’ll want the family of the incapacitated business owner to maintain its lifestyle while keeping the business chugging along.

Business Continuity is About Smooth Recovery

Just like how we always recommend a backup device that can restore data quickly without a lot of overhead, the rest of your business continuity plan should cover a broad enough range of emergencies to enable the business to stay afloat during the toughest tides.

That plan should include taking a significant person or role out of the loop and continuing to operate normally. That may require thorough documentation and training for other capable employees before something bad happens.

Does your business continuity plan, or Emergency Action Plan (EAP) clearly cover this? If you would like to have a deeper conversation about business continuity, please reach out to us at Coleman Technologies to set up a call.

Technology #1 - Blockchain

You’ve probably heard of blockchain before. It is widely known as the technology that makes cryptocurrency possible. Software developers have been working to use the encrypted distributed ledger system to create applications that can help a business secure its processes and create situational transparency. 

Thus far blockchain’s applications are mostly security-related, but the applications for the technology are limitless. Right now, a business can start using blockchain to boost the security of their accounts-receivable process, for contract transparency, and aid the efficiency of their supply chain. 

Technology #2 - Business Process Automation 

Automation has been the name of the game for some time. Today, however, there are more devices than ever to build automated systems with. The smart-technology boom called the Internet of Things (IoT), coupled with advancements in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), is giving businesses more options in which to enhance efficiency. 

Business Process Automation (BPA) incorporates these technologies into business management systems to help a business be able to accomplish more. This boost in productivity can often be pretty obvious on the bottom line. 

Technology #3 - Powerful Collaboration Tools

With technology making collaboration much easier, businesses have begun to promote collaborative efforts. Today, there are several options for the modern business. Businesses are using complete productivity suites like Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite for collaborative work. They also have begun instituting new communications tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams that couple useful messaging software with dozens of application integrations.

Moreover, businesses are significantly expanding the technology they use to make their BPA strategy more comprehensive. Bringing in interdepartmental collaboration tools that include customer resource management (CRM) is helping businesses operate smarter and more efficiently. 

2020 could be your business’ year to shine. By integrating some of these emerging tools, you could create the efficient operations boost you are seeking. Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 today to learn more about what Coleman Technologies can do for your company.

By many, we mean about a quarter of them.

With the deadline just a week and a half away, we wanted to reiterate what a solution reaching end of support means, how it would impact you, and what your options are.

The first thing to address is what “end of support” actually means. It doesn’t mean you won’t have the ability to use whatever software it is (in this case, the Windows 7 operating system) after the end of support date. What it means is that Microsoft is no longer doing anything to it - including improving its security and patching issues. As a result, the software will lose its functionality over time. Worse, the computer running the software becomes vulnerable, which makes the entire network vulnerable - not a good thing.

To be fair, there are some ways that you can protect your network while still using these devices. For instance, if you rely on a particular line-of-business application that requires Windows 7, you could theoretically isolate a Windows 7 device to allow you to do so. However, to be completely fair, there isn’t any guarantee that you will be protected from vulnerabilities, short of completely taking problematic systems entirely offline.

Therefore, it only makes sense to explore your other options.

Your Other Options

With the deadline as close as it is, you will need to hustle to put any of these alternatives into action:

Upgrade to Windows 10

Objectively speaking, Windows 10 is better than Windows 7, if only for its improved security. Furthermore, it isn’t one of those solutions that requires insanely higher specifications to run. In fact, the minimum numbers you need to operate Windows 10 are as follows:

• Processor - 1 GHZ or faster
• RAM - 1 GB for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard disk space - 16 GB for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit
• Graphics card - DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display - 800 x 600 resolution

Mind you, this is all it takes to run Windows 10, not to run Windows 10 well. To improve your performance, we suggest that you make a few alterations - upgrading to a 2 GHz dual-core processor, increasing your RAM to between 4-and-8 GB, and Increasing your hard drive space to 160 GZB, at least.

Purchase New Hardware

While it will cost you a pretty penny, obtaining new hardware (that comes with Windows 10 installed) may be the easiest option, especially when you take your looming deadline into account. Windows 10 and regular updates to it are all included, but it may take some time to configure everything properly.

Virtualize with a Thin Client

In a similar vein as leveraging Chromebooks instead of Windows, you could use your old hardware as a thin client to virtualize your needed solutions. However, despite the reputation that virtualization has as a solid option for businesses, it may not be a practicable option with the deadline pressing so close.

Alternatively, you could simplify this process using one of Microsoft’s services. Microsoft 365 offers a combination of Windows 10, Office 365, One Drive with an included terabyte of storage, and fully featured security. Available at a predictable monthly flat-rate per user, it gives you a solid alternative for at least your productivity-software-using employees.

Regardless, you need to take action now. Reach out to Coleman Technologies today for help. We’ll figure out which approach is best for you and help you with your upgrade process. Call us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Rotate the Document

It is very easy to accidentally scan a document into your computer so that it doesn’t appear upright on your display. A program like Adobe Acrobat Pro offers an in-menu option that allows you to do just that - in Document, find Rotate Pages. This option will allow you to select the pages that need to be rotated, and how to rotate them. Other programs may feature a toolbar button that allows you to rotate each page.

Fixing your pages, despite taking a few moments of time, is certainly a worthwhile thing to do, as it makes the document easier to read, promoting accuracy and convenience.

Password Protecting the Document

As long as the person or people who need to see a particular PDF have the proper password, protecting the document in question with a password is a generally good idea - especially if it contains “for your eyes only” information. To make these files as secure as possible, make sure that the passwords are distributed through secure means.

In Word, you can save your files as a PDF using the “Save as” function, simply selecting the PDF option as you do so. You will also see a button offering More options, which brings up a second dialogue box where you can find “encrypt document with a password” in that box’s Options button. By selecting encrypt document with a password, you will have the option to provide a password (and confirm it). At that point, anyone opening the PDF will need to enter that password to view it.

Merging PDF Files

It isn’t uncommon for different parts of the same document to be saved as different PDF files, or for multiple copies to be saved with different information filled in. It is usually better to have all of this information consolidated, to make reviewing it much easier. While many free and paid software titles can allow you to do this, you should reach out to us before you select one, as we can help you make the right choice for your needs - you probably don’t want the program’s watermark on your finished document, or find yourself needing to merge more documents than a free program will allow.

If you’ve already acquired Adobe Acrobat, merging your files is fairly simple. After opening the program, access the Tools menu and select Combine files. Doing so will give you the ability to Add Files… and once you have selected all of the files that should create your new PDF, click Combine. Once they are combined, clicking Save as will allow you to store it where it belongs.

Signing a PDF

Many times, a contract that needs to be signed will arrive as a PDF. While many resort to printing these documents out to sign them, there is an easier way - signing them electronically.

This time, the free Adobe Reader software can get the job done, but you should still check with your IT resource before using it.

If Adobe Reader is approved and installed by IT, you can easily sign PDFs electronically. By opening the PDF file with Reader, you have access to a Fill & Sign button. Click it, then Sign and Add signature. You’ll then have access to three options:

• Type - you simply type your name into the field, and an electronic signature is rendered (which will not look like yours).
• Draw - you use your mouse to draw out your signature.
• Image - you use a scanned image of your actual signature that is then saved for future use.

Once you’ve positioned your signature where it should be, click apply and make sure you save your revised PDF.

Always remember to check with your IT team before you download any software! For more IT tips and other useful pieces, make sure you subscribe to our blog!

Before we discuss what the last decade brought us, I wanted to remind everyone just how limitless innovations are. Many years ago, many of these inventions or technologies seemed unrealistic for the times.

Let’s go through the past decade’s biggest hits, as well as what we might see in years to come.

2010: When Innovation Thrived

While many technologies were introduced in the 2000s, the 2010s saw these technologies used in bigger, more innovative ways. Let’s take a brief look at the past ten years and what improvements we saw.

4G

While 4G was actually first developed in 2009, but primarily spreading in the early 2010s, 4G wireless changed the capabilities of wireless data transmission. As a result, further innovations were made, encouraging (and sometimes forcing) technologies to improve. The companies that worked in real-time and heavily depended on application deployment were suddenly given the tools they needed to really take root. Furthermore, 4G was responsible for the viability of many of today’s biggest players, including Spotify, Instagram, Uber, and Snapchat - among many others.

Apple iPad

Can you believe that the iPad has only been around for about a decade? It was the first of many mass-produced consumer tablets, and it took other companies a few years to catch up as they followed Apple’s lead. Powered by iOS, and featuring a large screen, the explosive initial sales of the iPad cemented the tablet’s reputation as a useful device, both at home and in the workplace.

IPv6

In June of 2012, the longstanding wireless networking standard was upgraded for the first time in years. This sixth standard allowed a new age of connectivity, permitting a far larger number of devices to be connected to the Internet.

Chromecast

As we suggested in the section on 4G, streaming was growing in popularity, and it is safe to say that the first Chromecast was partially responsible for that. While it may seem practically ubiquitous today, integrated casting was revolutionary upon its release… and in many ways, it changed how businesses could communicate ideas. Conference rooms everywhere are now equipped to work with this (or similar) technologies.

Virtual Assistants

Today, every major technology brand has its own take on the virtual assistant. Apple has the OG - Siri - while Microsoft has Cortana, Google has its Google Assistant, Amazon has Alexa, and Samsung has Bixby. As such, the development of this technology spurred a new competitive spirit among these rivals, to the benefit of the user. With all of these companies working to create advanced, better assistants to sway consumers, machine learning has improved exponentially through these efforts.

USB-C

Despite largely flying under the radar, one of the most impactful advancements of the decade is the development of the USB Type C connector. With the exception of Apple, it has been accepted as the industry’s standard connection for power and data transmission, and can therefore be found on most post-2015 devices.

Windows 10

As they attempted to put together a mobile OS, and their redesigned Windows 8.1 OS failing to replace the aging Windows 7, Windows 10 was developed to standardize the Windows experience and modernize it for longevity. Now, Windows 10 has been established as the standard, running on 64 percent of all PCs in existence, a number that will grow even higher as Windows 7 is finally put out to pasture.

2020: When Things Will Thrive

While there is an argument that, technically speaking, the Internet of Things is more of a 2010s development, the 2020s are poised to be the decade that Internet-connected devices are truly viable tools, with the necessary integrations, functionality, and (most critically) security finally in place. This is predicted much for the same reason that mobile technology took off last decade - the fact that wireless networks improved. 

Frankly, there’s so much more we have yet to accomplish, as the near future is poised to turn what was very recently science fiction into fact. For instance, the next 10 years will likely see the following technologies come more into the mainstream:

5G Connectivity

With certain areas currently rolling out the 5G wireless standard, and more guaranteed to follow, there is hope of a fundamental shift in how people can use their technology. As if today’s networks weren’t already burdened by our data demands, we are only increasing these demands as time passes. However, 5G potentially promises a variety of benefits - including ubiquitous access, powered by broadcast sites that focus on delivering performance to each user rather than to a given neighborhood. Today’s 5G users have experienced speeds measured in gigabits, so just imagine this capability spreading.

Artificial Intelligence

While the phrase “artificial intelligence” has been somewhat inflated by popular culture, the more practical use of artificial intelligence is slated to increase by a significant amount in the 2020s. Today, neural networks are already in use as a means to recognize data patterns, assisting in automation processes. With the amount of data increasing exponentially, these neural networks are bound to see exponential benefits, and we will be able to put AI to use in more complex and dynamic applications.

The IoT

Like we said, the Internet of Things is only going to grow as time passes, and the many technologies and solutions that are included under this umbrella term will finally have the wireless capabilities needed to make a real impact. Cities will be made smart, using AI to increase the efficiency of crucial services and eliminate waste. Driverless cars will make commuting and traveling safer, and crucial systems in finance, healthcare, and infrastructure will be improved.

Mixed Reality

There has been a notable trend toward increasing how immersive our technology is, and that will culminate in something known as mixed reality. As the predicted replacement to today’s mobile platforms, MR would provide interactive overlays in real-time for all kinds of applications, ultimately reducing data strains. As a result, we could see a variety of applications be completely revolutionized, including education, entertainment, and social interaction.

Just as it did throughout the last decade, technology is sure to transform throughout the coming one. What innovations do you hope to see? Let us know in the comments!

One crucial component of any successful cybersecurity practices is the active effort to eliminate risk wherever possible. Here, we’ve compiled five practices that will contribute to your business’ capability to recognize where its threats come from. While these aren’t exactly policies to help protect your data, they can help you collect the data you need to form these policies.

1. Inventory All of Your Assets

When you resolve to protect everything, as many business owners do, it helps to know what exactly “everything” includes. Maintaining a comprehensive inventory of all of your technology-- each wire, additional peripheral, and software title your business has acquired--makes managing your technology far simpler and more efficient.

2. Push Cybersecurity Best Practices

Your staff, being the ones with their hands on your business technology, need to be trained on how to maintain its security. As it happens, this training should transcend just security and cover their cyber hygiene as well. The more they know about how to better secure their use of your technology and identify threats and issues, the more secure your business will be.

3. Address Shadow IT Head-On

Shadow IT is an insidious problem that many don’t even consider an issue. The phrase “shadow IT” basically serves as a blanket term for any software that an end user has downloaded without the knowledge and approval of the IT administrator. While there are many potential issues with shadow IT, the worst of them likely comes from the vulnerabilities that unapproved and unpatched software can bring into the network. By enforcing a policy of utilizing only the solutions that IT has vetted and approved, you can protect your business from one of the least expected threats there is: the employee who was just trying to do their job.

4. Ensure the Proper Tools are Implemented

Cybersecurity, on paper, isn’t such a difficult process. The issues come from the fact that everyone involved needs to understand the threats facing them and why the practices and tools they are expected to utilize are so crucial to security. Unfortunately, if the reasoning behind using antivirus and anti-malware, firewalls, spam blocking and content filtering (among other security tools) is never addressed, their use is more likely to be taken for granted, and ultimately neglected. Not only should these tools be in place, there needs to be an organizational commitment to using them… otherwise, threats are more likely to be an issue.

5. Keep IT Refreshed

As a general rule, the older your technology gets, the less effective it is at serving its intended purpose. This can be resolved by making a point of systematically and strategically patching, updating, and upgrading the technology you rely on to operate. More up-to-date solutions have better security and can better keep your assets safe, threats less of a consideration (but still one to be consideration).

Coleman Technologies can help you put these practices in place for the betterment of your business and its security. Reach out to our team for improved cybersecurity by calling (604) 513-9428 today.