Blue Ridge Technology

When did you last have a health check? As we’re rolling headlong through the early part of the year, many of us would benefit from a quick check-up — or at least a check-in. Every new year, health and fitness-related goals and resolutions are some of the most common on a personal level. And a few weeks into every new year, most of us begin to falter on those goals, if we’re honest. At a minimum, now is an ideal time for a health check-in, asking ourselves: how are those goals going? Do any of them need adjusting to be realistic and attainable? And how’s my health overall? Along the same lines, perhaps it’s time for something a little more official. When was your last health check-up or physical? Most physicians would rather see patients once a year proactively rather than wait until a problem grows more serious. Of course, we aren’t doctors, dieticians, or trainers— so please don’t take health advice from us! So why are we talking about check-ins and check-ups? Because your business — ...

Are your younger employees experiencing ‘tech shame’? Most businesses have a decent mix of ages in the office, with workers spanning from their early to mid-twenties up to retirement age. This kind of age diversity can be a great asset, but it can create some complications, too. We’ve all heard the generational stereotypes, but let’s be frank: those broad-brush labels aren’t very helpful. While there may be a kernel of truth in some of them, every employee is unique, and judging with broad brushes creates more problems than it’ll ever solve. Now, if you’re like most managers and leaders, you already know this about negative stereotypes. But what about positive generational stereotypes? We see one crop up all the time, and it’s a mistake many employers make with their younger workers. Put simply: it’s a mistake to assume that all younger workers are good with technology— especially the types of systems and software common in the workplace. The De Facto Tech Guy One way this mistake show...

3 steps to better cloud security These days, the cloud is everywhere. And that’s (mostly) a good thing: if you’re working from home — or have anyone on your team accessing your business systems remotely — then you’re most likely already relying on the cloud in numerous ways. Work flows better when everyone can access what they need from anywhere. Still, you might be leery of a broader move to the cloud. Sure, maybe it’s good for occasional file sharing or storage, and maybe a provider like Microsoft already convinced you to move email to the cloud (probably without all that clear an explanation what was happening). But is the cloud really secure? The short answer is yes— but that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily safe. Here are some things you should know. The Cloud Itself Is Very Secure Let’s cut the mystery out once and for all: when people talk about “the cloud,” what they really mean is “someone else’s servers.” So those applications and services that used to run on your PC or on you...

A little trust can go a long way If you’re like many business owners, the way work gets done has changed — most likely, for good. You probably have employees that work from home some or all of the time now, and you almost certainly have more of them than you did in the idyllic old days of 2019. In many ways, this shift is a good thing— but that’s not what we want to talk about today. Instead, we want to talk about how managers and business leaders can effectively manage employees and measure their work in this new mix of remote, hybrid, and in-person. Whether you love the change or hate it, the best ways to manage people look a little different than they used to. Here are a few quick tips on managing remote and hybrid employees in a way that gives you the information you need without driving your people crazy. Trust or Verify? Much of the disagreement or confusion surrounding management techniques in the new normal comes down to whether and how much managers can or should trust their t...

Windows is the prime target for cyber criminals If your business is like most, you rely on Microsoft Windows to get work done. Unless you’re a 100% Mac workplace (or Linux, we suppose), someone, somewhere in your organization is using a PC running Windows. That’s not exactly surprising news, and neither is this: because Windows is ubiquitous throughout the business world, it’s a prime target for cyber criminals and cyberattacks. The important question is what this means for your business, and what you should do about it. Should you throw out all your PCs and switch your entire company to Mac? Probably not. But you need to be aware of the threats and take the necessary steps to stay protected. Good News: Most Attacks Fail We’ll start with some good news: while something like 95 percent of all cyberattacks target Windows itself or applications running in Windows, most of them fail. That’s because, at least in part, Microsoft didn’t achieve this kind of success by failing to protect its u...