Blue Ridge Technology

Return to Office for Remote Workers? Remote, hybrid, in-person—It’s time to check in and ask: How well is work working for your business? This month marks the fifth anniversary of COVID, which was officially declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Five years out, much of daily life has returned to how things were before the pandemic. But not everything: several large-scale changes seem like they’re here to stay. For many businesses like yours, the way we work is one of those lasting changes. Remote work existed before COVID (about 6.5% of private-sector jobs were primarily work from home in 2019), but not anywhere near the scale of today, where around 20% work from home at least some of the time. Even though some of this increase seems lasting, there’s plenty in the news about large companies demanding a return to office—and in some cases of employees quitting instead of coming back in. If the biggest companies in the world haven’t totally figured out what to do here, chances are our ...

Young employees have different attitudes to cybercrime. If you look at your team as a whole, how would you say they think about cybercrime? Hopefully you’ve taken the time to get them educated; maybe we’ve even stopped in and done some of that training. But do you think all members of your team understand the threats equally well, and take those threats as seriously as you should? Most managers and business owners would say a quick “no” here— and we agree. But maybe not for the reasons you’d think. Conventional wisdom says your older employees might not get this cybersecurity stuff as easily, and since they aren’t digital natives, they may be more likely to fall for a scam. On the flip side, your younger employees live and breathe tech, so they’re going to be pretty safe. Right? That’s not what the latest studies are showing. Younger People Too Carefree About Cybersecurity A recent study discovered that among people 16 to 19 years old, attitudes about cybersecurity are pretty lax. It s...

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...

Are you using Teams to share sensitive data? We love Microsoft Teams as a collaboration, chat, and video calling hub. The way it integrates deeply with everything else in Microsoft 365 is nearly miraculous when it works as it should, and the tool is one of the biggest influences on making our new way of working work well. But did you know that Microsoft Teams has a dark side? Don’t get us wrong: the app is well built and generally secure. But there are risks you should be aware of, mostly centering on how your employees use the app. Here’s what you need to know. What Are People Sharing? Understanding the risks of Teams starts with understanding what people are sharing on the app. Sensitive, Confidential, and Critical Information Recent research found that around half of employees admit to sharing sensitive company information on Teams. To be honest, we think that number is a little low. After all, Teams is specifically designed for sharing information within a company, so there’s no su...

Make sure your cloud server is protected from this Here at Blue Ridge Technology, we’re big fans of the cloud. Cloud technologies can unlock so much potential for today’s businesses: file storage and even applications that can be accessed from anywhere, software tools that don’t have to be installed or updated on everyone’s laptops, and access to computing power to do seriously cool things that SMBs likely couldn’t afford to do on their own servers. For nerds like us, there’s plenty to geek out about with the cloud. But there are some security dangers associated with the cloud (at least, with using the cloud poorly), and we want our readers to know about them. Is the Cloud Secure? A whole lot of people have the idea that the cloud is less safe than the alternative. After all, if you’re putting all your sensitive data “out there” on the internet, isn’t it easier for the bad guys to steal? Hang with us for a second: while this is sort of exactly what we want to warn you about, it’s still...

How to get the perfect video call setup, whatever your budget If you’re like most business leaders in the Asheville and Hendersonville metro areas, remote meetings and video calls are practically a way of life now. When the pandemic first pushed us all onto Zoom, it was a mad scramble just to get online and on video. Worrying about the quality of your video presentation was an afterthought for most of us. But that was almost two and a half years ago. Today, it’s different. Whether you’re meeting with clients, leading a team meeting, or speaking to your entire workforce, the quality of your video presentation matters. If you’re tired of looking washed out or fielding constant complaints that people can’t hear you very well, your video call setup might need some love. (The same goes for your team members if they’re dealing with the same problems!) With that in mind, here are a few quick tips you can implement right away to improve your video call setup. 1. Natural Light Is Your Friend If...

Are your team still working at 10 at night? This week’s post is for the bosses, founders, and leaders out there. Have you ever wished for a way to improve your employees’ productivity without sacrificing their well-being? Even better, what if you could do so in a way that led employees to say “thank you!” in the short term AND improved your company culture in the long term? We think there’s a pretty straightforward way to do all of that, and all it takes is a simple change from you (and the other leaders in your organization). The Issue: After-Hours Work If there’s a central issue plaguing office / white-collar / knowledge-economy workers today, it just might be after-hours work. We’re not talking about the night owls or early birds who want to put in some time when most folks are asleep. If those hours work for your business, great—those people may be better off for it. No, we’re talking about the biggest portion of your workforce, the ones who’d say they work 9-to-5 jobs (or some var...

How to protect your webcam from spies A few years ago, news rumbled through the tech press that Mark Zuckerberg, leader of Facebook (now Meta), was doing something unusual with his MacBook. It showed up first on Twitter , and was quickly picked up by numerous outlets, eventually reaching general news markets like The New York Times and The Guardian . So, what’s the weird thing Zuck was doing? Taping over the webcam on his MacBook Pro (and the microphone, too). The reason is straightforward enough: someone as powerful as Zuckerberg doesn’t want to be caught on camera or on audio discussing trade secrets, future products, or even his personal life. And he knew then that there was at least a possibility that his webcam and microphone could be weaponized against him without his knowledge. Paranoia or Something More? So what was going on here? Did Zuckerberg know something the rest of us didn’t? Maybe. But if so, he’s never come out with it. In all likelihood, Zuckerberg didn’t know of any...

Time for a Work from Home Review? As we finally get to a place where the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be winding down (or at least toward endemic status), many businesses are reassessing their emergency work-from-home plans. If you opened up to remote and/or hybrid work for the first time due to the pandemic, your teams might be wondering what’s next. Maybe you’re wondering that yourself! Do your teams hate working from home, or do they love it? Are they eager to come back to the office, or will they quit if you require it? We’ll provide some key answers here, plus top strategies for supporting your at-home or hybrid workers long-term. Desire for Remote and Hybrid Work Has Never Been Stronger So, what do your employees want? Polling your employees can offer insights, of course. But some might be reticent to tell you how they really feel. And there’s already some good research out there that can give you a hint about what they’re thinking. According to a wide-ranging FlexJobs survey co...

Phishing Emails: How Well Do You Trust Your Team? And Is Trust Enough? As we enter a new year, many of the digital threats targeting small businesses aren’t changing drastically. They’re just getting more sophisticated. Phishing was a top threat to your business’s cybersecurity last year, and it’s going to be this year, too. With attacks getting more and more believable and harder to detect, just how much should you trust your team to get this right? We believe business leaders should leave their digital security up to chance. Now is the time to go on the offensive. Phishing: a Refresher In case the term phishing isn’t quite ringing a bell, here’s a quick refresher. Phishing describes email-based attacks where people or groups send an email that looks like it’s coming from somewhere official (like Microsoft, a big bank, or a prominent supplier in your industry). They send you an urgent message and ask you to click a link (and usually log in). The link is malicious, though: clicking co...

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...

Workers are more mobile than they’ve ever been at many office-oriented businesses. Your business likely pivoted hard to a virtual or work-from-home environment thanks to the pandemic. That move was crucial at the time as it was the only way to keep work moving, even though it created its own set of security concerns (which we’ve discussed here before). Now, as the world starts to open back up, many businesses are keeping more relaxed policies in place regarding where employees work. And employees are taking advantage, working from wherever they happen to be. If you or members of your team are working on the go, being Wi-Fi aware is also crucial for your company’s security. Here’s what mobile employees (executives, too) need to know about the potential dangers of unfamiliar Wi-Fi. Be Cautious About Connecting to New Networks The first step in being Wi-Fi aware is simply to be cautious when connecting to new Wi-Fi networks. It may seem like a Wi-Fi connection is merely a way to access th...