Technology has touched nearly everyone over the past decade or so. More is done using technology than ever before. In this week’s blog, we go beyond individual uses of technology and discuss how technology is going to be used to improve infrastructure and the delivery of services that we take for granted. Smarter and More Efficient Cities The rapid urbanization we see today demands smarter solutions to address the growing challenges of building and managing urban infrastructure. This is where technology comes in. Technology plays a crucial role in creating smart cities that are sustainable, efficient, and responsive. Through the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors and connectivity enable real-time monitoring such as traffic flow, energy consumption, waste management, and public safety. These data-driven insights empower city planners to make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, and enhance the quality of urban life. Intelligent Transportation Systems Transportation infrastructure is undergoing a remarkable transformation thanks to technology. Intelligent transportation systems use advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and real-time data analytics to enhance the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of transportation networks. From smart traffic management systems that alleviate congestion to the development of autonomous vehicles that reduce accidents and fuel consumption, technology is revolutionizing the way we move people and goods. Sustainable Energy Infrastructure The future of infrastructure heavily relies on sustainable energy sources, and technology plays a pivotal role in enabling this transition. Renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind power, is becoming increasingly affordable and accessible, thanks to advancements in technology. Moreover, smart grids and energy storage systems allow for efficient distribution and utilization of renewable energy, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and minimizing environmental impact. Resilient Infrastructure In an era of increasing climate change and natural disasters, resilient infrastructure is of utmost importance. Technology equips us with the tools to design, build, and manage infrastructure that can withstand and recover from adverse events. Through predictive analytics, remote sensing, and real-time monitoring, technology enables early detection of potential risks, allowing for proactive measures to mitigate damages, ensure public safety, and minimize disruption. Advanced Construction Techniques The construction industry is not immune to the transformative power of technology. Emerging technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), robotics, and 3D printing are revolutionizing the way we design and construct infrastructure. BIM facilitates collaboration, reduces errors, and improves efficiency throughout the entire construction process. Meanwhile, robotics and 3D printing enable faster, more precise construction, reducing costs and increasing sustainability. Technology will shape the future of our culture, including the way we go about improving efficiency in all walks of life. If you would like to have a conversation about how technology can push your business forward as it is pushing infrastructure forward, give the IT professionals at GeekBox IT a call today at (336) 790-1000.
The Windows Clipboard Offers Far More Utility Historically, the Windows Clipboard had a one-and-done level of functionality. You could copy one clip into it and use it for the rest of the time you were on the computer… provided you never copied anything else. If you did, your original clip was lost. Nowadays, the Clipboard is far more capable than just this. Today, multiple clips can be stored and selected from—and what’s more, these clips can be stored in your Clipboard permanently, potentially making it far more convenient for you to replicate content that you come back to on a regular basis, from multiple devices. To view the complete Clipboard, press Windows Key + V. A window will open that displays all of the clips you’ve taken during your session. You can also identify anything you want to persist after your device restarts by selecting the three-dot icon on any copied content and selecting Pin. This is great if there’s any boilerplate you regularly need to paste into an email or document template, and it ensures that this content will be there until you actively delete it from your Clipboard. Focus Sessions Allow You to Eliminate Distractions For all the benefits that technology and its inherent connectivity bring, it does have one pretty significant drawback: it makes it far more difficult to focus on any one task, with all the reminders and notifications for other things that need to be done popping up and dinging, breaking your concentration. To address this, Windows 11 offers a feature called Focus sessions, which effectively puts the operating system into Do Not Disturb, muting notifications for a time that you determine. To start a session, search for clock in the Search box and access the Clock app. There, you’ll see the Focus sessions option, where you can set a duration for your focus session. If the session is 30 minutes or less, no breaks will be factored in, but longer sessions will have breaks automatically incorporated into your session unless you check the Skip breaks option. Click Start focus session to get down to business. You can even link your Spotify account to play music during your session, as well as set long-term goals for its use. Microsoft Teams is Accessible Via the Taskbar Many organizations have formalized the use of Teams as their internal communications platform of choice, which makes the decision to incorporate a quick-access tool for it into Windows 11 sound like a smart decision. The operating system now incorporates a simple version of Teams in the taskbar itself, allowing you to repeat your most recent activity on the platform—all you have to do is click the icon or press Windows Key + C. From there, you can start a video call via the Meet option or a text conversation via Chat. If these options aren’t enough, you can also Open Microsoft Teams properly via this easy-access menu. We hope these capabilities help you throughout your workday, along with the other tools that Windows 11 makes available to you! For assistance in other ways that your technology can work harder for you, give us a call at (336) 790-1000 today.
You Can’t Flub Your Cybersecurity Awareness Cybersecurity is something that you can’t just ignore. It’s not going to ignore you—cybercriminals target the people who think they aren’t a target in the first place. Most businesses these days have at least some level of cybersecurity-based compliance regulations to meet and follow. Some can come from the state, some can come from the industry you are in, some apply based on the type of information you work with, and some can come directly from your business insurance provider. One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners and C-levels make is that they have overconfidence in their own cybersecurity. Most business owners are the least secure people I know (and I don’t mean that in an insulting way; CEOs and entrepreneurs, in general, are just wired to be efficient, and cybersecurity practices can feel like a big roadblock to efficiency.) Heck, I lose sleep at night when I suspect that the owner of a company we work with refuses to use multi-factor authentication, but I catch myself longing to turn that feature off because of the extra couple of seconds it adds to getting into an account every day. The point is, even as a leader, you can’t skimp on security. In fact, you should be the shining example of it in your organization. You Have to Know If You Are Compliant or Not Depending on the regulations your organization needs to meet, you likely have a laundry list of tasks to check off quarterly or yearly. For many organizations, a part of that might include a regular penetration test. A penetration test is a very specific set of tasks that involve an ethical hacker attempting to break into your business network using a variety of different ways. There are multiple phases that include reconnaissance, scanning for vulnerabilities and other weaknesses, getting in and attempting to steal, change or delete data, staying within the network undetected for a period of time, and looking for non-technical ways to exploit your organization, such as social engineering. It’s not a small feat, and it’s far from the typical quick network audit or port sniffer scan and things that a technician might do to solve a problem or investigate an issue. Don’t confuse the small stuff with a penetration test. I’ve talked to business owners in the past who were convinced their network was secure because a third-party ran some network audit tools that came back with devices that were out of date and fixed them. While that’s important to do, and something we do regularly, and maintain for our clients, it’s a long way from an actual penetration test. Let’s Make Sense of Your Cybersecurity, Together Protecting your business from modern-day threats and meeting regulatory requirements is a challenge if you try to do it by yourself. Let GeekBox IT be your trusted IT partner and keep your business operating smoothly. Get started today by calling (336) 790-1000.
In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a game-changer across various industries. One way that businesses can utilize these technologies is to understand how their businesses use their utilities as well as automate the control of some of them to cut costs and utilize these resources more efficiently. Let’s look at how businesses are using IoT tools to stabilize utility costs.
In business, organizations that are able to automate processes have a leg up on organizations that rely on humans to do everything. Not only does it cost a lot less to run a business that has automated processes, it also helps improve organizational focus and efficiency by streamlining processes and removing the moving parts that can sometimes hinder operational progress. That’s not to say that there aren’t some places that a business can greatly benefit from a human touch. Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument.
Without hardware, where would your business be right now? You can’t run your mission-critical applications and software without devices to host them on. You need to do all you can to ensure it stays in a proper state, but there will always eventually come a time when you cannot sustain it any longer and need to upgrade. Here’s what you need to know about your hardware refresh cycle, including what it is, what you can do with one, and how to plan it out.
Managing your technology infrastructure can be challenging, but virtualized computing presents an opportunity for you to make considerable changes and progress to a more efficient way of doing so. With the right technology and the right solutions, you can break through barriers previously in place and do some remarkable things with virtualized technology.
If you recently set up a new Internet service account with your provider, they may have hooked you up with a two-in-one modem and router device. Is this modem/router combo the appropriate device for your business, though? The answer is no, for many reasons.
The modern business creates and deals with a lot of data, and has for some time. For most of that time, this data has just been ignored, but recent developments in analytics and business intelligence has made this data extremely valuable. In order for your analysts to make accurate determinations they’ll need access to a wide variety of data from a myriad of sources. This is where data warehousing comes in.
The word “bandwidth” is thrown around a lot in business technology, but what does it really mean? Today, we wanted to cover some of the frequently asked questions business owners have about network bandwidth and what it specifically means for business technology infrastructures and data management as a whole.