Managed Services Works to Support Your Business’ Technology
IT support is one of the most important parts of any modern business simply because it’s just not feasible to run a business without any form of technology at its core. For example, most businesses rely on email and other forms of communication, whereas stores might require access to a point-of-sale software to sell their wares. Either way, it’s critical to the success of most businesses, and where there’s technology, there is bound to be someone who needs to manage and maintain it.
These Four Technologies can Give Your Business a Boost
Small business owners need to find creative ways to build a strong, productive operation. The best way to create the kind of productivity required to successfully grow a business is to ensure that everything works in concert. Today, we will look at a four technologies that can go a long way toward helping any small business grow their organizational productivity.
To Backup Your Business’ Data, You Can’t Rely on Tape
These days, it’s unheard of to run a business without some form of data backup and disaster recovery in place, no matter how basic or crude. In a worst-case scenario, you could lose so much more than just your business’ data. All of the future ramifications of such an event compound and can snowball into a situation that makes it borderline impossible for your organization to recover. Therefore, the best way to approach this situation is to make sure that it doesn’t happen in the first place.
Don’t Let Bias Influence Your Business
Have you ever heard of the term “bias?” It has a negative connotation to it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A bias can predispose you to a skewed consideration or thought when met with what is known to be a seemingly neutral stimuli. In some cases, they can cause more harm than good, which is why it’s a good thing to take another look at how you approach certain situations. Researchers have discovered several trends about why we hold certain biases, as well as how we can overcome them.
Mobile Cybercrime Puts Your Business at Risk
The opening ceremonies of the Olympic games are always a spectacle, and the people of Pyeongchang County in the Republic of Korea didn’t disappoint. While the world watched, behind the scenes there was a cyberattack going on. The attack, carried out by Russian hackers, seemingly retaliating for a nationwide ban placed on their athletes at the games, paralyzed LAN and Wi-Fi communications, prevented tickets from being printed from the Olympics website, and took until 8 a.m. the following day to restore.
Access Control is Key to Your Business’ Security
Access control is an extremely useful way to manage a secure computing infrastructure, and one of the best ways your organization can protect important data. However, with innovations in the way that access control is implemented, it’s time to consider what you can do to secure your business’ future in more ways than one. Let’s discuss some best practices regarding access control, as well as some technologies that you can implement to further cement your business’ security.
3 Business Communication Standbys
Communication is one of the most important parts of running a business, and if you’re not communicating properly, it could spell trouble for your organization. Projects could be delayed and could ultimately cost your organization more money than they’re worth. Thankfully, technology makes communication better, easier, and more efficient. Here are some of the ways that the best communication technologies can improve the way your organization functions.
Don’t Let Bias Influence Your Business
Have you ever heard of the term “bias?” It has a negative connotation to it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A bias can predispose you to a skewed consideration or thought when met with what is known to be a seemingly neutral stimuli. In some cases, they can cause more harm than good, which is why it’s a good thing to take another look at how you approach certain situations. Researchers have discovered several trends about why we hold certain biases, as well as how we can overcome them.
Mobile Cybercrime Puts Your Business at Risk
The opening ceremonies of the Olympic games are always a spectacle, and the people of Pyeongchang County in the Republic of Korea didn’t disappoint. While the world watched, behind the scenes there was a cyberattack going on. The attack, carried out by Russian hackers, seemingly retaliating for a nationwide ban placed on their athletes at the games, paralyzed LAN and Wi-Fi communications, prevented tickets from being printed from the Olympics website, and took until 8 a.m. the following day to restore.
Don’t Let Bias Influence Your Business
Have you ever heard of the term “bias?” It has a negative connotation to it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. A bias can predispose you to a skewed consideration or thought when met with what is known to be a seemingly neutral stimuli. In some cases, they can cause more harm than good, which is why it’s a good thing to take another look at how you approach certain situations. Researchers have discovered several trends about why we hold certain biases, as well as how we can overcome them.
Defining a Bias
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: there is no justifying biases against other groups of people. Despite this, some have argued that biases originated as survival tools in ages past. A little bit of skepticism probably saved the skins of many of our ancestors!
Bias expert Maureen Berkner Boyt offers another theory about why the human brain errs toward bias. She states that the brain uses bias to keep itself from experiencing information overload. Boyt suggests that the world is filled with stimuli and a huge amount of information for our brains to process. Her theory is that biases keep our brains processing information in a quicker and easier manner. In essence, bias serves as a kind of filter.
If this filter isn’t in place, there is a chance that our brains wouldn’t be able to process all of the incoming information. Therefore, biases can be looked at as defense mechanisms that keep our brains from breaking down. Boyt’s theory also includes that biases can be associated with certain events, allowing for mental shortcuts leading to conclusions. Thus, biases in this sense aren’t necessarily a bad thing, and can be used to learn or save brain processing power for truly important scenarios.
How This Perception Creates Issues for Businesses
Biases, in this sense, can create problems for organizations in the form of prejudice, even if it’s not obvious right from the get-go. The prejudices can even be something as simple as adhering to stereotypical beliefs about any number of topics. The most notable instance of this can be seen in gender roles within organizations. Some industries are populated in favor of one gender over the other, whether the disparity is immediately apparent or not. These biases can have long lasting influences on the way that certain processes are accomplished for a business.
An orchestra generally includes mostly male musicians. While these people might not be hired based on their gender specifically, blind auditions have been shown to yield a closer male/female ratio. A study of GitHub coders shows similar results, showcasing that the typically male-dominated field often favors female coders in a blind environment.
Have Your Decisions Been Biased?
Unless someone is pointing out your biases, it can be difficult to identify that you have one. Even from the mindset that biases are shortcuts to facilitate easier decision making, this can suggest that they are simply not rational. This can be the case, but ultimately a strong bias is going to influence the holder’s thoughts and feelings. For those who would like to look at this phenomenon, there are tools out there that help you identify biased decisions. Harvard’s Project Implicit includes quizzes that you can use to identify and eliminate biases toward a number of different factors.
Once you know which biases your business is suffering from, you can take steps toward resolving them. One of the best ways that your organization can eliminate particular biases related to technology management is by reaching out to Catalyst Technology Group at (317) 705-0333. We’ll work with you to make sure that you can make educated decisions about your technology solutions.