Macro Systems Blog

About 10 years ago, when managed IT services were just beginning to gain traction, one of the critical selling points was that break/fix was expensive; not only was the machine you needed fixed broken, your business had to eat the cost of downtime. Now that many businesses have benefited from the proactive approach to IT management, and managed IT services are a big part of business for a lot of companies, one question is left unanswered: What happens when technology breaks under a managed IT services agreement? 

A lot of companies need to deal with many vendors in order to keep their doors open - enough that, at times, it might seem that the most time and energy is spent juggling these vendors. However, that doesn’t have to be the case, at least where your technology solutions are concerned. 

By the time you read this, Microsoft is shortly going to retire both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems; assuming that you are reading this before January 14. If you still are using these software in your business at this point, you need to upgrade, or else deal with the security consequences of dealing with unsupported software. We review your options below.

There are many backup strategies; some are attractive for their affordability, some for their comprehensiveness, but regardless of the strategy you utilize, it will need to fit the kind of work that you do. Some businesses need to make considerations for the amount of data that is created, and what would happen if it were lost. This is where an operational backup strategy comes into play. 

One of the most irritating modern things to deal with is a slow computer. There are a lot of factors that can slow a computer down: viruses and malware, too many applications running in the background, even time can seem to turn a relatively fast computer into a slow-as-molasses impediment to productivity.

If your computer is overall healthy but beginning to slow down, there is one simple upgrade that can help tremendously. 

Data has become a critical factor in what most businesses do every day. Even smaller businesses have begun to utilize their data for strategic purposes, and in doing so have begun a trend that has taken the world by storm. Let’s take a look at the data services that are designed to inform business owners and decision makers on how their business is actually working and how to enhance operational effectiveness.

There are numerous technologies that come to define the point of time in which they were developed: the printing press, the light bulb, the automobile, etc. We now live in a time where new, and potentially transcendent technologies seem to be a dime a dozen. In the past twenty years we’ve seen the development of the mobile device, broadband technology (both wired and wireless), social media, blockchain and cryptocurrency, all the way to self-driving cars. However, none of these technologies has the promise that Artificial Intelligence has. 

Because cybersecurity talent is at a critical shortage, data breaches that expose millions of people’s sensitive information are routine occurrences; it is one of the biggest issues that today's business faces. Because of this, we have compiled five Cybersecurity tips about keeping your systems' secure that everyone should know.

The notion of cloud computing and cloud storage has revolutionized the way companies manage data storage and software distribution. Macro Systems has helped many of our clients utilize cloud-based services, and these days, most of us are connected to this entity labeled as “the cloud” in one way or another. The question is: how can we tell if our data is safe?

Fact: Windows 7 is still one of the more popular operating systems. This is concerning since Microsoft is shutting off support for this operating system on January 14, 2020.