ZeroIn Blog
ZeroIn has been serving the Corte Madera area since 2008, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.
The Importance of Using Effective IT Services
I know very little about cars. When I take my car to a mechanic, I’m often left wondering if they’re addressing the root of the problem or just patching it up. Are they experienced with the issue? Most importantly, are they being honest about the diagnosis and cost? Small and medium-sized businesses face the same uncertainty with their technology—computers, internet, networks, phones, and printers. Often, they hire the first “IT guy” that picks up the phone or offers the cheapest rate. Unfortunately, some IT providers speak in technical jargon to sound competent or use scare tactics, like warning of potential downtime, data loss, or system breaches, to sell their services.
Forbes Outlines the Risk of the Shadow IT Trend
Article: No. 1 Reason The ‘Shadow IT’ Trend Is Benefitting Careers But Hampering Companies Shadow IT refers to the practice of using software or hardware that the IT department of the organization has not approved. As you can imagine, this creates security risks for the organization. I remember the excellent IT team at Twitter would periodically scan our computers for unsanctioned software, and we would have to get approval for any applications or hardware we wanted to use. They encouraged us to “work smarter, not harder”, so they would pay for applications and other software if it passed their security requirements and we could demostrate its value to our team.
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Cloud vs. On-Premises Backup
We wanted to tackle the great debate between cloud versus on-premises backup as succinctly as possible from a different angle: introduce a situation and describe why one may be better to use over the other. Of course, organizations must consider all these factors together when deciding on their data backup strategy. We do not mention the hybrid approach, utilizing both cloud and on-premises, which most of the time can be the best solution. We wanted to keep this simple and short. First, let’s quickly review what backup is and the general pros of each. Data backup refers to the process of creating copies of data and storing them in a
Five Guys Data Breach Class Action Settlement
Article: Five Guys to pay $700,000 to Settle Suit over 2022 Data Breach Our Thoughts: As a fan of Five Guys and their delicious burgers and fries, it is disappointing to hear about the data breach they experienced. Unfortunately, data breaches occur more often in today’s digital landscape, but how companies respond to such incidents is crucial. While the financial losses resulting from cyber-attacks can be significant, the loss of trust from customers and employees is equally impactful and often irreparable. In this case, employee data was compromised. The company did the right thing by providing credit protection and identity theft monitoring services to all 38,000 employees, but they still
Understanding Data Backup and the Vital Role it has for Your Organization
Data continues to be the lifeblood of businesses, powering operations, driving decision-making, and fueling growth. From customer records and financial transactions to intellectual property and operational data, businesses rely on their data to maintain competitiveness and drive innovation. Data loss can cripple an organization and weaken customer trust in your services. Per Gartner Consulting, only 6% of companies without proper backup or recovery plans survived for more than two years after the disaster. With the increasing prevalence of cyber threats, the potential of hardware failures, and the inevitable human errors, backing up your organization’s data is vital. What is Data Backup? When someone mentions computer data, they’re referring to any
Say Goodbye to Traditional Phones: Embrace VoIP
In today’s digital world, effective communication is the cornerstone of success for any business. With the advent of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, plain-old-telephone-services (POTS) are quickly becoming outdated and are unable to keep up with the demands of modern businesses. The revolution in communication began in 1995, but didn’t really take off until around 2003 when telecommunication companies and computer manufacturers began implementing the more cost-efficient and higher quality technology into their equipment and offerings. VoIP phone systems accounted for less than 1% of all voice calls in 1995 and jumped to 25% in 2003. After reading the rest of this, you will be surprised to learn that
Protect Your Business Against Cyber Threats
As a managed service provider (MSP), safeguarding our clients’ businesses against cyber threats is our top priority. In today’s digital landscape, cyber threats are more prevalent and sophisticated than ever before. They pose significant risks to businesses of all sizes. From data breaches and ransomware attacks to phishing scams and insider threats, the consequences of a cyber incident can be devastating. They can lead to financial loss, reputational damage, and a major disruption to operations. Let’s explore the importance of cybersecurity and some tips on how you can guard your organization against cyber threats.
Is Data a Commodity? Maybe Not, but It Is an Asset
The late American author Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, “New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.” Written in the 20th century, it has been put in practice by 21st century businesses. As the Internet has grown, the amount of companies expanded, and the amount of data that those companies collect has grown exponentially, especially now that there is a market for such data. Today, many of the largest and most lucrative companies in the world, Google, Apple, AT&T, Amazon, Verizon, Facebook and Microsoft are all, more than manufacturers of computer-based goods and services, data brokers. These data
A Look at Business Computing Costs: Cloud vs. On Premise
Profitability is less the measure of being able to turn a profit, and more the measure of how much profit you can make. For the successful small business, the integration of technology can dictate what kind of annual margins you are looking at. For the new company, however, it can be something even more critical: the difference between setting a course for success, or wallowing in failure. Today we analyze the cost difference between hosting your IT in-house, or choosing to host it in the cloud. For this experiment, we’re going to assume that we are starting from scratch. The optimism and cautious excitement that goes into starting a new
Knowing, and Planning For, Your Organization’s Compliance Burden
Despite what detractors say, regulations are in place for good reason. They typically protect individuals from organizational malfeasance. Many of these regulations are actual laws passed by a governing body and cover the entire spectrum of the issue, not just the data involved. The ones that have data protection regulations written into them mostly deal with the handling and protection of sensitive information. For organizations that work in industries covered by these regulations there are very visible costs that go into compliance. Today, we look at the costs incurred by these organizations as a result of these regulations, and how to ascertain how they affect your business. Today’s world is
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