A Few Words About Windows 11

Are you excited for Windows 11? We’ve been using it for a while now and, so far, it’s pretty nice. This new version of Windows has had a facelift and looks a lot more like MacOS or certain distros of Linux. That’s a good thing in our book. Your mileage may vary, though. Either way, things are changing.

Taking cues from MacOS and Linux, there’s instant messaging (remember that?!) built into the OS. It comes in the form of Teams. You can also use widgets from the taskbar and even run Android apps. Microsoft is finally headed in, what appears to be anyway, a right direction. It’s been a while since that’s happened.

You can upgrade to Windows 11 for free at this time, but there’s a few things you’re going to need to consider before you pull the trigger:

1. Windows 11 is unproven. When you upgrade to the latest OS, and nothing rings more true of a Microsoft OS, you will undoubtedly encounter some hidden bugs and unexpected incompatibilities. Your production environment (the computers you rely on every day at the office) is not the place to be trying out new things. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

2. Windows 11 has relatively steep requirements. Microsoft likes to tout enhanced speed and efficiency with every new OS they release. But, as history has revealed time and time again, this isn’t true. In fact, the opposite has always been true. With every iteration or update of Windows, it continues to get bulkier and slower. This means older computers will have significantly reduced performance. Just to have a decent experience, you’re going to want a relatively new PC. What with the electronics shortages still plaguing the world, expect to pay a premium on what you’re able to find on store shelves or from vendors.

3. Windows 11 has unusual security requirements. Building off the steeper hardware requirements is a new factor: TPM chips. You’ll have to have Secure Boot coupled with a TPM chip in your computer in order to install Windows 11. These two features greatly enhance physical security of the computer while at the same time increase trackability of the hardware over the Internet. We know a few ways around these issues, but in general, you’ll need a pretty darn new PC or laptop in order to satisfy Microsoft.

Windows 11 looks like it could end up being a homerun for Microsoft. But, just like every other Windows operating system, it’s fine for Day 1 deployment on home computers and totally a bad idea to roll it out on your office network. At least, not until a good 6 months to a year have passed while they iron out the bugs.

Click to Call or Email us today to schedule a meeting to discuss your company’s IT needs.

Let's Have a Serious Talk About Security

If your network and computers are compromised, and hackers help themselves to your data, the impact on your business and lifestyle could be quite severe.

Not only will it hurt the confidence of your existing clientele and potentially permanently damage your reputation with prospects, it can also end with your business facing serious legal action and fines. A lot has changed in the legal space over the last several years when it comes to cyber security. “I don’t understand that stuff” won’t cut it in court. Here’s three reasons to take your data security seriously:

1) In 2019 there were over 1470 reported data breaches in the United States that exposed over 164 million sensitive records. Guess where that ends up? Dark web and social media. Guess who has their name in lights afterwards? You.

2) It can take several months for businesses to notice they have a breach. Why? Because they don’t understand or take IT seriously and usually work with under-skilled or non-existent IT departments. Hiring your college buddy’s son who worked at Best Buy for a couple years isn’t the answer when things heat up, and by then it’s too late.

3) The average cost of a data breach for a large company is over $3 million, with the United States having the highest average at $8.64 million. Will you pay $3 million at your small or medium-sized company? No, of course not. But you’ll be on the hook for a figure that WILL sting just as bad in relation to your company size AND you’ll still have the job of hiring qualified talent to discover, understand, and close the wide-open security holes in your network that let the bad guys in, in the first place.

Cyber security is one of those things, like car insurance, that’s largely invisible apart from the monthly cost, until the moment comes and goes that you needed it. The world’s changing. Fast. It’s unfortunate, but you have to change with it to survive. There’s bad people out there and they’re not a dying breed. Click to Call or Email us today to schedule a meeting to discuss your cyber security needs.

What Kind of Metrics Do You Collect?

What kind of data do you analyze when making strategic business decisions?

If you’re like most small business owners, the answer is many times “nothing” or “not much”. With so much information flowing in and out, it can be difficult to spot all the opportunities and insights waiting to be discovered. You don’t need to hire a data scientist. There’s tools from Microsoft to help you embrace big data so you can make smart, data-driven business decisions. Check it out:

Analyzing data with Excel in Microsoft 365

Who doesn’t use Excel these days? Excel is an incredibly powerful tool for analyzing data. New features are being added every day. Take Excel’s Power Query feature for example. It’s quick and easy to connect multiple data sources, automatically updating with new data at the click of a button. It can help clean the data for you too.

Business intelligence with Power BI

Power BI makes it easy to get powerful insights into your data. It’s got a range of useful reports that can be fully customized to fit your business. Power BI also works well with other Microsoft’s apps like Teams and Excel. By connecting all your data sources, Power BI gives you high-quality insights across the entirety of your company.

If you’d like to discuss how partnering with us can help you make the most of the data that flows through your company, click to Call or Email us today to schedule a meeting today.

What is Slowing Down My Computers?

Does the speed of your computers slow down the speed of your business?

Before dismissing that thought, remember that slow computers tend to creep up on you. They slow down through a gradual reduction in speed instead of suddenly. That makes it difficult to notice the problem. So, why do computers get slower over time?

There’s usually three common reasons for computers slowing down:

RAM: The memory requirements for computers increase over time. It wasn’t terribly long ago that 4GB of memory was considered more than enough for most people and it was weird to think we’d ever need more. Those days are long gone, and even if you don’t run much more than your operating system and a web browser, you’d find that 4GB just isn’t enough and creates a painfully slow experience.

Crap: Having too many programs that run in the background can also slow down computers. If your IT support team hasn't been proactive in this department, it might be time to look for a different partner.

Hard Disk Storage: If the storage space on your hard drives is getting close to capacity, you will soon run into problems. Windows relies on temporary hard drive space to keep running. You'll also find that switching from mechanical drives to modern solid state drives (storage with no moving parts) will make your computers start and run much faster.

If you have slow computers and you’re not happy with the level of service from your current IT support provider, click to Call or Email us today to schedule a meeting to discuss your company’s IT needs.

Some Hardware is Still Hard to Get

COVID-19 created all manner of chaos last year including major disruptions to supply chains of critical hardware, affecting all electronic devices such as workstations, server, and laptops. As supplies went down, prices went up. Such is the way of things anymore.

Have you planned ahead for what hardware you’ll need this year?

With no end in sight, now’s the time to order what you need for the year. You don’t want to pay through the nose for mediocrity or get stuck with cheap, unreliable hardware that’s not what you really needed.

One of the functions of having Cyclone 365 as your outsourced IT department is procurement. Let us do all the hard work and planning. Focus on the core aspects of your business instead.

Click to Call or Email us today to schedule a meeting to discuss your company’s IT needs.