Knowing, and Planning For, Your Organization’s Compliance Burden

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Despite what detractors say, regulations are in place for good reason. They typically protect individuals from organizational malfeasance. Many of these regulations are actual laws passed by a governing body and cover the entire spectrum of the issue, not just the data involved. The ones that have data protection regulations written into them mostly deal with the handling and protection of sensitive information. For organizations that work in industries covered by these regulations there are very visible costs that go into compliance. Today, we look at the costs incurred by these organizations as a result of these regulations, and how to ascertain how they affect your business.

Support is Ending for Microsoft Office 2010

Upgrading to a more recent version is paramount to your security. What Does End of Life Mean for Software? Essentially, when a software reaches EOL (also known as End of Support or EOS), it means that the developer is taking the program off of life support. While it will remain as functional as it was after its last update, it will no longer receive any new security parameters or protections. As a result, any organization that still uses it will be subject to increased and unavoidable security threats that their solutions are not equipped to handle. After October 13, 2020, Office 365 will no longer be fully compatible with Office 2010 clients for their email and productivity services. While these applications will still technically work, their performance and reliability will be compromised… in addition to the security shortcomings we already discussed. This means that it is absolutely essential that, if your organization is using Office 2010 or anything that predates it, you take the necessary steps to upgrade to a more secure, recent solution: Office 365. Not Sure Which Version of Office You’re Working With? Checking your current version of Office is simple: From one of your Office applications, choose File and then Office Account. Your version number can be found under Product Information. If this isn’t available, the Help page also displays this number. Benefits of Upgrading to Office 365 Microsoft Office 365 is the latest iteration of the famous productivity suite, and as such, it provides businesses with greater options and opportunities than the relatively limited past versions can. Office 365, as a unified platform that combines a variety of useful business tools with collaboration features, offers your operations and processes a greater level of flexibility  than ever. Your users will be able to collaborate with one another, regardless of where they are located or the time they are able to work, with the most up-to-date versions of the familiar tools that Microsoft Provides. Geekbox IT is here to help you upgrade your IT as needed. To learn more, fill out the form at the bottom of this page.  

Protect Your Personal Information when Using FinTech

For decades you had to go into a bank to complete your transactions. Today, you can do most everything you need to do without stepping into one. Between online banking and now FinTech-fueled mobile apps more people than ever are avoiding the bank. In fact, a study from Bank of America found that 62 percent of people are now using some type of digital banking or financial services. Today, we’re going to give you a few ways you can protect yourself when using mobile banking apps. 

How to Create a Useful Employee Handbook

If your procedures and policies aren’t currently documented, they need to be. A written policy and procedure guide can help keep your team up-to-speed on the expectations that you have of them. Consider it a quick and easy reference for your employees to use to answer their questions. In light of this, here’s some tips to keep in mind as you put together your business’ employee handbook.

People Have Been Working From Home Longer than You Think

Working from home isn’t new, but with the COVID-19 pandemic sparking public health fears many businesses decided to move their operations offsite. For much of the past decade remote work was an available strategy for business, but many business owners feared it would give them a lack of control over their workforce, and therefore was largely ignored. This was despite remote work being a strategy people have embraced for a long, long time. Today, we take a look at the history and progression of working from home.