Technology Basics: Wizard
The word “wizard” may not seem to have much to do with computing, besides calling someone a “computer wiz.” However, there is a particular type of program that serves a very similar purpose, referred to as a wizard as well. We’ll examine it in today’s blog.
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.
Technology Basics: CMS
Competition is either a driving force or a crushing detriment for small businesses. Consequently, marketing has become more important than ever before as well, but this marketing content needs to be managed in some way. This week’s tech term focuses on content management systems (CMS), and how they can help your business more easily manage its content.
Technology Basics: Uploads and Downloads
You may have heard the terms “upload” and “download” while going about your daily duties, but do you know what the difference is? While it might be clear that they are two very different things, they both have to do with the transfer of data. These two types of data transfer are used differently in a business setting.
Technology Basics: Encryption
Secrets need to be protected. That’s why humans created cryptography. Cryptography can be traced back to around the time the pharaohs ruled Egypt, but today’s cryptography is a lot different than simple hieroglyph replacement. Cryptography used in the computing systems today is called encryption. For this week’s tech term we will look back at the history of encryption and how it is used today to facilitate data security and personal privacy.
Technology Basics: Bits and Bytes
In business, everything is measured. Every minute is quantified in order to run the most profitable business possible. When measuring data the measurements you’ll most hear are in bits and bytes. Today, we’ll get into the various ways bits and bytes are used to describe the technology we all use.
Technology Addiction is a Problem in Children and Adults
Technology has become so ingrained in society and the workplace that it can be difficult, borderline impossible, to consider a life without it. Hours on end are spent in front of computer screens during the workday, but even after hours in the comfort of your own home, you might notice that you have a hard time putting down your devices.
As Technology Has Evolved. So Have Our Holiday Traditions
Merry Christmas! We know that for the small business owner, even on Christmas day, business doesn’t completely stop. Sure you can spend time with loved ones and take a couple days off from the grind, but tomorrow is another day. According to one study, people are gifting technology more than ever, so much so that new traditions that include technology, are replacing the once-held notion that technology was a distraction.
The survey called “Happy Digital Holidays: Technology, Culture and Emerging Holiday Tradition” has highlighted just how the holiday season is being changed by technology. This whole concept is not that surprising. Consider how much technology has become a part of our lives in recent times, and how much we typically rely on it; not to mention how eCommerce has changed the way people buy and receive goods (especially around the holidays).
From communicating and managing busy schedules, to the content consumption that has helped define an entire generation, technology is a static part of people’s lives. The surprising aspect of this for many, is that technology isn’t just being used more by everyone around the holidays, it is being integrated into typical holiday traditions. Some statistics include:
- More than 22 percent of men keep a family calendar to track the holiday activities
- More than 40 percent of people use social media to keep track of holiday events
- Around one of four people will use video calling in lieu of the phone
- Over half of people use social media to keep in touch with friends and family
- Over half of drivers use map applications that run on GPS technology to get to their destinations
- Over 10% of people will send virtual gifts this Christmas
As technology becomes a larger part of everyone’s life, and people don’t have the same amount of liberties to take time off from their regular tasks, expect to see technology become a mainstay in new Christmas traditions.
Has your family developed any new traditions with the use of new technologies? Let us know in the comments section below. From all of us at Catalyst Technology Group, have a very merry Christmas!
You Should Care About Blockchain Technology
We often go into depth about technology, management, and other business-oriented topics, and occasionally we decide to talk about a technology that may not be all that familiar to people with the hope that a short primer on the subject will ultimately help our readers to become curious and do their own research to understand the technology better. With Bitcoin being a trending topic in the news, understanding what a blockchain is will help you understand how this technology will drive data security in the coming years.
First, What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a type of digital currency. Bitcoin doesn’t exist physically, such as coinage or paper money does, but instead exists in code form. The interesting thing about Bitcoin is how it’s generated. Users can utilize high-end computing hardware (even commercially available computer hardware) to “mine” for Bitcoin and simply invent the money. Granted, there is a limited supply of Bitcoin and generating even a small amount of Bitcoin requires a lot of computer resources and a lot of time. That said, Bitcoin has become a viable currency online for many online stores. At the time of writing this, a single Bitcoin is worth about $ 17,112 USD, compared to $ 27 back in 2009.
What is Blockchain?
A blockchain is exactly as the name suggests, a series of blocks that contain information, chained together to provide a reliable and secure accounting for whatever the blockchain is set up to measure. The technique of blockchaining originated in 1991 and was developed to timestamp documents to ensure they couldn’t be tampered with or altered. It has since been tabbed “The Internet of Value” since it functions as a form of database. The differences between traditional databases and a blockchain are numerous, however.
In a blockchain, the information that is shared is both confirmed and encrypted; and, distributed over a number of linked transactions; and, automatically replicated by each user that uses the blockchain, providing users of the chain a secure and tamper-proof ledger of secure activity. This activity can be exchanges in currency, cryptocurrency, medical records, shareholder records, etc.–any information that requires a itemized and uneditable database in which to relay information.
Uses of Blockchain
Blockchain technology has been described by industry professionals as the “new Internet”, but since a majority of people have never heard of it, we thought it would be good to provide some examples of technologies that would benefit from moving on from the centralized hosted technologies that we have today to distributed hosting like blockchain. Here are a few:
- Security: The decentralization of data makes it exponentially safter to save files in multiple locations.
- Data Management: The verification data is completely transformed and more robust with blockchain.
- Logistics: Individual goods can be traced to their origin, giving companies and consumers enhanced transparency.
- Investing: Smart contracts using blockchain provide strong security for crowd-based funding and other investment.
- Internet of Things: Provides a construct to assign automation for remote systems, and the smart contracts required to give their consumers peace of mind as many IoT devices come with some privacy concerns.
Blockchain and Bitcoin
With Bitcoin being a hot-button issue in financial circles of late; and, with other cryptocurrencies popping up all the time, you can see how blockchain technology creates a construct in which a digital currency could thrive. Since there will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, people that choose to “mine” the Internet for this cryptocurrency do so with the understanding that today it would take a hundred years or more to mine one single Bitcoin. This ceiling protects the currency from inflation. Bitcoin miners have responded, building Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) systems to specifically mine for Bitcoins, but so many people have started to mine for them (especially as their value has started to increase) that new strategies have to be implemented in order for any of these miners are to hit paydirt, so to speak. Today, many of the so-called Bitcoin miners actually mine pools of data for small pieces of BitCoin.
What a Bitcoin is worth today is what the market for Bitcoins says it’s worth–no more, no less; and, since it uses blockchain technology, you can bet that any Bitcoin that is available, is legitimate. Since users expect almost 95% of all the Bitcoins there will ever be to be released by 2024, speculators are now saying that by then a single bitcoin could be worth a staggering $ 250,000. In fact, the demand is seemingly so high that some financial institutions have started offering investors the chance to invest in Bitcoin futures, suggesting that they completely believe in the stability of the Bitcoin market; a testament to the viability and reliability of blockchain technology.
The blockchain is definitely going to be a household name soon, but for now, we hope this article can give you a small look at the technology that will help the Internet of Things be the biggest shift in technological advancement this world has ever seen. Do you have any Bitcoin, or do you know about cryptocurrency? Do you think digital money is the future of currency? Leave your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
3 Ways Managed IT Can Prevent Technology Troubles
Is technology a major problem for your organization? If so you’re just like many small businesses out there that think they can’t afford proper IT maintenance and management. Thankfully, managed services threatens this misperception by bringing affordable preventative solutions to the table.
Outsourced IT, or managed services, can be a valuable investment for a business that wants to prevent problems from occurring rather than react to them as they happen. By effectively using managed IT, you can significantly reduce the risk of your technology failing before it’s meant to.
A Network Assessment
Before you can work toward resolving problems found on your network, you need to know that they exist. This is where a comprehensive network assessment comes into play. A network assessment shows you where your network has its flaws, whether they are traffic bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities, or even just failing hardware components. A third party like Catalyst Technology Group can provide this service for you so that you can get a clear, unbiased opinion on what you must do to improve your organization’s operations.
Remote Network Monitoring
Knowing what’s wrong is only half of the battle, though. Once you know where to look, you need to keep watch over your network to ensure that the weak points don’t develop into major problems. Yet, your in-house team likely doesn’t have time to monitor your entire infrastructure day-in and day-out. An outsourced IT provider like Catalyst Technology Group is far better suited to this role, as we can do so remotely without an on-site visit. We can then ensure that any maintenance that must be performed can be done before your network is put at risk.
Unified Threat Management
To keep your business from falling victim to a rogue virus or malware on your network, you need to take preventative measures. One of the best ways you can protect your business is with a Unified Threat Management solution, which provides the collective might of enterprise-level security solutions, including a firewall, antivirus, spam blocker, and content filter. By keeping threats like ransomware, Trojans, spyware, viruses, and so much more out of your infrastructure, you can prevent problems from happening in the first place.
Ultimately, managed IT that keeps issues from happening in the first place saves your business time and money. You can focus on making sure your business runs properly without interruptions. To learn more about managed IT, reach out to us at (317) 705-0333.