Blue Ridge Technology

As an SMB leader, you know the challenges of budgeting and forecasting all too well. Certain areas of your business are trickier than others, too, with complicating factors and uneven or spiky costs. IT hardware spend is one of these challenging areas for many SMBs — especially those that keep all their IT planning and procurement in-house. Whether you’re going it alone or working with a managed IT partner, check out these strategies for simplifying and managing your annual hardware budgeting process. 1. Know What’s Due for Replacement By Planning Out Your Hardware Lifecycle If you’re like most business leaders, you’re used to a steady stream of complaints about hardware. Sometimes those complaints have to do with training or other issues, but sometimes the problem really is that the person’s computer is just too old and slow. But how do you keep track of what to replace when? By planning out your hardware lifecycle in advance. For most businesses, this means replacing every employee’s...

If your business is like most, you have plenty to worry about in terms of keeping costs low, and you’re constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency and shed costs. This just makes good business sense. Still, savvy business owners know that there are areas where cutting costs can be strategic and other areas where doing so can damage the business, perhaps irreparably. In other words, saving money by making workflows more efficient is a great idea, but saving money by skimping on quality or service could be disastrous. Where does your managed IT services partner fall into this matrix? Should you look for the absolute cheapest deal around, or is choosing bargain managed IT support something that could cause deep problems in the long run? Here at Blue Ridge Technology , we believe the right answer is to take a holistic approach to managed IT support. Often, the best deals aren’t really the best: they don’t lead to the kinds of outcomes you want for your organization. Underpayment for...

As a business owner, you’re understandably worried about digital threats to your business. One of the most persistent and frustrating threats is credential compromise, where a bad actor gains access to systems and services simply by pilfering someone’s credentials. You may have heard password managers mentioned as a potential solution to this problem. Here’s what you need to know. The Problem: Too Many Passwords, Bad Choices The typical internet user has somewhere north of 80 distinct accounts on various sites, services, platforms, and so forth. Most if not all of these are secured with a password. (Not to get too far off track, but say “most” because of newer technologies now coming into their own, like multifactor authentication and passwordless logins. These are massive improvements on the old username + password model, but they’re not yet in place on many sites and accounts. If you have the option for either one at your business for key accounts and services, turn it on right away....