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3 Questions to Ask About Your BYOD policy

Network securityNearly half of all companies have a BYOD policy, and more are making the switch every day. Allowing employees to use their personal devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) for work responsibilities can result in increased productivity… and increased security concerns.  We are sharing a post today from our partner at Informs, Inc. that presents 3 questions companies should consider before implementing a BYOD policy, or when revamping the one in place:

    1. Is your IT department equipped to handle a variety of devices?  With each individual employee bringing in their own device, your IT department will need to be prepared to properly configure the applications and software used by each employee.  With a wide variety of devices and operating systems to accommodate, IT needs to determine not only which users get access to corporate information, but also how to provide access for employees both local and remote. They also need to be able to provide troubleshooting assistance for these different devices. This can take more time and create more work for your IT department than it would to issue employees standard devices.
    2. Are the devices equipped with the proper security? Employees will need to access the company network, applications, and data, which probably contain confidential information. It’s important that this information is kept safe when employees leave the office. There may also be security measured dictated by your company’s compliance requirements. For example, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), devices might need the ability to delete data remotely if disconnected from the network.
    3. Are the devices suitable for the workplace? In certain environments, like warehouses, field service, and even hospitals, there’s a good chance a consumer-grade device just won’t survive. If there is a chance the device will be dropped, taken out in the rain, or run over by some large piece of equipment, it’s best to choose a rugged device for use in the workplace. This will save employees and employers the hassle of replacing devices that fail in improper environments.

Of course, even if you aren’t sure about the questions above, there are still ways to implement BYOD. Does your IT department just not have the extra time they’ll need? Look into a managed services offering. Don’t have the security you need? Check out what wireless LAN can do. Not sure about rugged devices? Ultimately, every company will need to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision when it comes to BYOD.

Regardless of what decisions you make on BYOD, having network security guidelines is paramount to any deployment of new devices or applications.

Learn more about our Data Security Product Suite

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Unique Challenges Arise With Thermal Printer Repair

thermal printingBusinesses across many different sectors are increasingly turning to thermal printers for their printing needs. Companies are always looking for unique ways to reduce costs and increase productivity, and thermal printing manufacturers have aligned their value proposition with these goals, resulting in rapid sales growth that is forecasted to continue for many years.

While managers, particularly in retail and manufacturing businesses, are delighted with the benefits of thermal printers, they are finding that change always results in a period of adjustment. Many companies have employed in-house IT specialists for years, most of whom specialize in repairing the traditional inkjet and laser printers that have long served as the standard. The specialists may be unfamiliar with thermal printing technology and thermal printer repair, leaving the company to scramble (usually at the worst possible time) when repairs are needed.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Thermal Printers

Thermal printers are often coveted for their unique combination of cost-effectiveness and speed. Clients are typically impressed by the fact that simply changing to a new printing system can allow them to reduce capital costs and save money via increased process productivity simultaneously. Most thermal printers come with a gentle learning curve that allows end-users to master the process quickly, and thermal printers can be used for a wide variety of applications such as tags, labels, tickets, and point-of-sale printing.

However, while the quality produced by thermal printers is usually high, color images don’t appear as vibrant as they do on traditional printer models. Also, while the high speed of the printing process itself is one of the format’s major selling points, it is offset somewhat with longer drying times for ink, as well as the fact that thermal printed images don’t survive during long exposures to direct sunlight.

Most Common Technical Problems

On the whole, thermal printers are low-maintenance devices that can operate well in a variety of conditions. Problems are likely to still arise, however, and we’ve yet to cross the hurdle of end-users being much more familiar with traditional printer troubleshooting than they are with newer thermal printer technology.

Typically, thermal printer users will experience difficulties relating to dirt collecting in the printer or ribbon due to the significant amount of dust that is produced during the printing process. Also, the printing speed can have a drastic effect on the quality of the image, and it’s important that the temperature of the print head and the print speed are correctly balanced in order for the image to transfer properly.

Achieving the Optimal Thermal Printer Benefits

Manufacturing, retail, and other types of businesses forecast revenue and profit on a strict analysis of the production and shipping schedules. When a technical issue causes a delay in barcode and label printing, the entire manufacturing chain becomes backlogged the bottom line suffers as a result.

Contracting with a managed print services company that specializes in thermal printing equipment repair, as well as ink refills, is a great way to experience all the benefits of your thermal printer.

Download our Managed Print Brochure

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Is it Time For Your Business to Scrap the PC and look in the Cloud?

PC's vs. the CloudThe PC has been a mainstay of the business world for decades, which is a rare feat in the frenetic world of technology hardware. Its form may have transitioned from towering desktops and chunky monitors to sleek, lightweight laptops, but the essence of the PC has remained intact for far longer than most pieces of tech that pre-date the internet era.

Along with in-house servers, PCs have likely served your business well, but it’s high time to explore how ditching your outdated IT infrastructure and moving all of your processes to a complete cloud platform can revolutionize your digital footprint. Companies offering complete cloud solutions, such as Avatara, a Great Lakes partner for their CompleteCloud solution, are showing businesses just how easy it can be to increase employee productivity, enhance data security, and reduce costs by hosting all of their IT operations safely and securely in the cloud.

Mobile is the Future

Telecommuting is becoming more prevalent in many different industries, and employees are increasingly working when they are traveling. They need to be able to have secure and reliable access to company data wherever they are, and with a cloud solution it’s easy for employees to stay connected all the time.

With mobile cloud technology, any employee can have 24/7 access to Virtual Windows and Office, Microsoft SharePoint, and any business apps that they need to get the job done. It will also be beneficial to your clients, as your sales team can give them quick and accurate answers to any questions they have instantly, even when they’re outside of the office.

Employee productivity in the contemporary business world relies heavily on mobile access, and it’s nearly impossible to achieve optimal results if your core business processes are chained to a PC. The cloud can free your employees to make things happen more quickly than ever before. For more informaiton about Cloud Computing:

Download Cloud Computing 101

Enhanced security and disaster recovery

Data security is paramount to any company that has a digital presence, and your native IT department can only commit so many resources to ensuring that you are safe from data breaches and hackers. Cloud services companies pride themselves on offering robust security for their clients, and they have the economies of scale necessary to excel at it without passing on the high costs of safety.

When it comes to traditional IT infrastructure, disaster recovery has always been a difficult task. The ability to recover lost or stolen data has relied on the efficacy of servers and the quality and frequency of backups. Cloud software takes all of the worry out of disaster planning by incorporating complete, automatic data backups as standard procedure.

Cost Savings

IT infrastructure is often prohibitively expensive, requiring frequent upgrades and maintenance, as well as the physical space necessary for hardware and server storage. Cloud solutions allow you to forego unpredictable hardware costs altogether. Instead you will be charged for license agreements per authorized user. You’ll never have to pay for what you don’t need, and hidden fees and invoice surprises will be a thing of the past.

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Warn Employees Against Ashley Madison Phishing Scams Now

IT BreachThe following is a Phishing Scam Alert from the KnowBe4 blog regarding the Ashley Madison breach, and while it is making 35 million+ people very nervous, it is important as a business owner or IT admin to educate your network’s users how the breach can cause some serious issues in IT environments (let alone marriages). Phishers are taking advantage of this breach by creating bogus sites and claiming that people can find out if their spouse is on the cheating list, only to fall victim to a scam. Read on:

Your end-users saw this in the news yesterday, or will read about it today. The hackers who stole more than 36 million records from the Ashley Madison site (which makes it easy to cheat on your spouse), have now posted all the records for everyone to see. This is a bad one.

Cyber criminals are going to leverage this event in a lot of different ways: (spear-) phishing attacks, bogus websites where you can “check if your spouse is cheating on you”, or ways to find out if your own extramarital affair has come out.

Any of these 36 million registered users are now a target for a multitude of social engineering attacks. People that have (had) straight or gay extramarital affairs can be made to click on links in emails that threaten to out them.

I have already seen phishing emails that claim people can go to a website to find out if their private data has been released. This is a nightmare that will be exploited by spammers, phishers and blackmailers who are now gleefully rubbing their hands, let alone the divorce lawyers and private investigators that are pouring over the data now.

What To Do About It

I suggest that you take immediate preventive action. It only takes one second for a worried end-user (or admin) to click on a link in an email and expose the network to attackers. I recommend you send something like this to your friends, family and end-users. Feel free to edit.

“Yesterday 36 million names, addresses and phone numbers of registered users at the Ashley Madison site (which makes it easy to cheat on your spouse) were posted on the Internet. All these records are now out in the open, exposing highly sensitive personal information.

Internet criminals are going to exploit this in many ways, sending spam, phishing and possibly blackmail messages, using social engineering tactics to make people click on links or open infected attachments. Be on the lookout for threatening email messages which slip through spam filters that have anything to do with Ashley Madison, or that refer to cheating spouses and delete them immediately, in the office or at the house.”

Please forward this to friends, family, colleagues and peers.

As you can see, stepping your users through effective security awareness training is an absolute must these days.

Great Lakes Computer is your trusted source for IT Support and IT Security. We will work with you to ensure the right tools are in place on your network for maximum security, and assist in educating your employees on security awareness.

Learn more about our Data Security Product Suite

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How Thermal Printing is Changing The Print Industry

thermal printersWhere once you had to physically visit a store or call a salesperson in order to purchase anything, now you can seemingly buy everything with just a few taps on a smartphone screen. This massive increase in the online purchasing market has resulted in a proliferation of new manufacturing and retail businesses. It’s no secret that this trend has been a boon to the retail giants, but it’s also proving to be very lucrative for manufacturers of thermal printers.

Along with the online retail and manufacturing boom has come a dramatic increase in the need for barcodes, shipping labels, and receipts. These items can be printed with anything from a traditional dot matrix printer to an industrial laser jet, but more and more companies are discovering why thermal printers offer unique benefits for their processes.

Why thermal printers?

While thermal printers are applicable for a wide variety of jobs, they have particular strengths that make them well-suited to the retail and manufacturing industries. Notably, they are inexpensive to purchase and maintain, making them an attractive option for a high-capacity production environment such as manufacturing. Additionally, thermal printers are able to produce mass quantities of high-quality images quickly, which means that businesses can speed up production times and get their products shipped to customers more quickly.

The one area where thermal printed images tend to not stack up against their traditional counterparts is when color is used, and this typically isn’t a problem for printing barcodes and labels. Also, thermal printed images work especially well for short-lived applications such as receipts and shipping labels since they don’t do well with extended exposure to direct sunlight.

Retail and manufacturing profit margins are notoriously razor thin, and these companies are looking for any way they can get an edge. With the ability to save money on the purchase and upkeep of the printer hardware itself, and increase revenue by speeding up productivity, it’s easy to see why thermal printers are taking the retail and manufacturing industries by storm.

What’s next for the market?

Forecasts have shown that the growth of the thermal printer industry shows no signs of slowing down in the near future. Up until this point, the North American market has been the largest consumer of thermal printers by a significant margin, but that is expected to change in the coming years as many countries in the Asia Pacific region continue to experience rapid economic growth and expand their manufacturing and retail sectors.

Another growing industry that is increasingly taking advantage of thermal printing is healthcare. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities have to constantly deal with replacing and maintaining expensive equipment, and they are discovering that inexpensive thermal printers are one solution for offsetting these costs.

How can my business benefit from thermal printers?

If the myriad benefits of thermal printers will help your business, consider partnering with a managed print services company that will take the hassle out of ongoing repairs and supply refills.

Download our Managed Print Brochure

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Signs (and Labels) That Print is Not Dead

Managed PrintThe global printing market is expected to top $980 Billion by the year 2018, according to a report by Smithers Group. This growth is despite the fact that many consider print to be dead, as we move towards an expanding paperless world. Consider, for example, the items and events in your life that are now paperless. Parents all around the world are required to fill out a multitude of forms before every school year, many containing pages upon pages of legal speak. Most districts across the US and beyond have moved to electronic forms for this annual ritual.

When was the last time you walked through airport security? Did you notice more and more passengers displaying their smartphone to TSA for scanning rather than presenting a paper ticket? Or how about at concerts and sporting events, where patrons are no longer presenting paper tickets, but using their iphones to carry their entrance pass. Not only does this cut back on printing costs for consumers, it has significantly reduced illegal scalping.

With all this reduction in paperwork, where is the increase in the printing market coming from? In short: labels. Food labels, clothing labels, and all sorts of other product labels. Thermal printers and thermal barcoding are the new heavy hitters. With global populations rising, and global demand for more goods growing, more labels are needed. Think also of the increase in laws that require product labels to contain more detailed information about the contents within.

With the increases in thermal printing required, especially in the manufacturing sector, it is no wonder that associated goods and services related to these thermal printers are expected to see growth. CNBC released a report earlier this year that the Managed Print Services market is expected to experience continued growth at a compound annual growth rate of 10.1% over the period of 2015-2019.

Managed print services is a professional service usually provided by a third-party service provider. It helps organizations manage their print environment with a cost-effective solution. Providing a well-managed imaging and printing environment for manufacturers and others who use print significantly is paramount to the company to deliver their goods and services efficiently and effectively. MPS involves monitoring a company’s print environment, as well as regulate and improve their print network.

While Managed Print Services requires a monthly fee, companies find significant cost savings in their annual printing spend. Performing a free print cost assessment is a great first step. With MPS, companies are no longer forced to pay for maintenance on machines and costly repairs, as well as extreme savings on toner and ink cartridges. The downtime component of a broken printer is nearly eliminated with Managed Print Services, as Service Level Agreements are put in place to repair in a timely manner.

The argument for Managed Print Services becomes even more compelling coupled with these statistics. 80% of the Total Cost of Ownership of a printer is from costs incurred after the purchase. Gartner Group found that most companies are spending around 3% of their total annual costs on their printing system, and that the mismanagement of output fleets (copiers, printers,fax machines) can cost an enterprise somewhere between 1 and 3 percent of revenue annually. Further, managed print services operation can save businesses in the region of 28% on their printing budget.

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