k_Street Consulting, LLC Blog
With technology becoming more mobile, the way we interact with tech has changed considerably. Now that dial-up has evolved to broadband and cellular networks have dramatically improved, technology has allowed people to become more connected than ever. Your business can improve its communications and operations with the right mobile technology.
Your computer has a brain, of sorts, in its CPU… a tiny square that literally enables everything the device does, as it processes billions of instructions at a time. Of course, to support this on such a relatively tiny piece of hardware, most CPUs are packed with microscopic transistors—these transistors being small enough to fit hundreds on a single blood cell.
As you might imagine, this means things can go wrong pretty easily… and gone wrong, things have. Many newer computers are suffering from a bug that could cause permanent damage to the CPU… and if you don’t take steps fast, it could be too late.
A successful business thrives on building beneficial relationships, which generates a lot of data and contracts that need to be efficiently shared and stored. While this might seem straightforward, leveraging today’s technology can significantly cut down on filing costs and enhance file-sharing efficiency. Let’s explore how.
With little fanfare, the AI Wars have begun. When we say “war” we mean just that: a battle for the survival of tools designed to improve human productivity. To start we should rewind a little. Most new software platforms (and many, many established ones) have started to use “artificial intelligence” to improve their products, or at least improve the prospect of selling them. In this week’s blog we will discuss the increased prevalence of “AI” and how some of the largest names in computing have gone all in on the technology.
When someone mentions cookies, people start paying attention. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles… Browser? While Browser cookies aren’t the most scrumptious, they do need some attention. Nowadays, many websites you visit have a popup asking if they want to allow cookies for that site and knowing what you are agreeing to is important. In today’s blog, we will describe what cookies are, how they work, and why they can sometimes be better than cookies with chocolate chips.
Everyone knows that a telephone system is a core component of a well-functioning business. Unfortunately, many businesses’ telephone systems haven’t advanced, but the way people do business has. If your business is paying a premium for its telephone system and isn’t getting the collaboration benefits needed to stay competitive, the answer might be VoIP.
The past several years have brought about dramatic increases in internet speeds, further fueling online activity and allowing businesses to innovate in all kinds of ways. Here are five of the best benefits that these increased Internet speeds have brought about for small and medium-sized businesses.
Today’s businesses have more technology involved in their processes than ever, making it essential to have access to the support that will keep them in operation. Nowadays, that kind of support is best obtained through a relationship with a managed service provider.
Now, I feel it is appropriate to acknowledge that all this is coming from a managed service provider… but that’s just because we feel strongly enough about the benefits of managed services to offer them over the traditional approach to business IT support and services.
You can’t take two steps outside of your home or two mouse-clicks or screen-taps online without seeing something written or hearing someone talking about AI. This has created a situation where every business is claiming AI as a revolutionary tool and consumers, overwhelmed with the term, have begun to take the technology for granted. In today’s blog, we want to determine whether AI brings added value or is just a term used to help companies market their products.
Data is at the heart of all successful modern businesses. The information you collect and store can help you make better decisions, plan better strategies, and gain a competitive advantage. Let’s look at how your raw data can be refined into more meaningful insights through the use of business analytics tools.
Business can get messy, particularly when variables outside your control are involved, which could spell doom for your organization. We’re talking, of course, about instances where your organization might be under a particularly large threat—instances where your data is at risk, which could jeopardize your future. Thankfully, there are options to mitigate this risk.
Nowadays, finding a business that does not use technology in its everyday processes would be extremely challenging. That’s just how things are today. This technology also typically sees advances in capabilities and accessibility, particularly for the small and medium-sized business sectors. This year, 2024, seems poised to be no exception.
Augmented reality is one of the more intriguing technologies that have come along in recent years, and businesses have begun to use it in pretty interesting ways. In today’s blog, we thought we’d go through three of the most popular and effective use cases of AR and the effect it can have on your business.
More small and medium-sized businesses than ever are seeing AI's potential to transform their operations. However, like any technology, AI has its own set of pros and cons. Let's discuss three major advantages and drawbacks you can expect if using it in your business. Hopefully, it helps you make an informed decision about adopting AI.
Running a business has definite highs and lows. When things start spiraling seemingly out of control, it’s important to maintain the confidence that with the right decision-making and conscientious action, you can get through any problem that a business faces. In today’s blog, we’ll discuss some of the technology that can help you get through tough situations.
How can you know when your organization should upgrade its technology infrastructure? The truth is that it’s not always immediately obvious when you should do so, as there are countless factors in play to consider at any given time. Today, we want to help your business determine when to bite the bullet and upgrade your technology.
As necessary as technology is in modern business operations, a variety of common IT-related obstacles must be overcome for your efforts to succeed. Fortunately, partnering with a managed service provider (MSP) can make these obstacles less “mountain” and more “molehill.” Let’s examine some of the most often seen business technology challenges and discuss how a relationship with an MSP helps alleviate them.
A business telephone system has picked up some pretty costly requirements over the past several years. Not only does your business need to have a clear and concise calling system internally, it needs to incorporate video conferencing and remote communications. This can get pretty costly if you don’t have the right technology in place. That right technology is VoIP and it can save your business money and present options that allow your employees seamless communication capabilities.
The cloud is a remarkable innovation that businesses of all industries and sizes can utilize to scale growth and operations. How you use the cloud, though, will change depending on your company's specific pain points and requirements. How can you invest in a cloud solution that ticks all your boxes? It starts with assessing whether you want to utilize a public, private, or hybrid cloud infrastructure.
A digital twin could arguably be seen as a somewhat niche technological innovation. Regardless, they are an invaluable resource to quite a few industries that help the businesses that use them optimize their processes. Let’s go over what a digital twin is, and how it helps a few different business types meet their needs.
Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) are incredibly important elements of any successful business, as without them, you’re just one disaster away from a world-shattering wake-up call. We take a strategic approach to data backup and disaster recovery that considers your daily data backup needs while recognizing its long-term benefits. Let’s discuss how you can ensure that your business can use BDR to survive any potential threat the world throws at it.
With business technology, your company can reap countless benefits, but at the same time, failing to implement the right tools—or worse, implementing the wrong tools altogether—can have devastating consequences. Today, we want to help you understand how you can make the best, most educated decisions regarding your business technology needs while avoiding investments in technology that won’t pay dividends.
There are certain unspoken rules of doing business, one of which is that technology allows for innovation in various capacities to the point of making older, more traditional ways of doing business obsolete. If you properly use technology, you can improve your business' operations. Let’s look at three ways technology drives innovation in the business world.
AI, or artificial intelligence, has become a staple of application development in recent years. The result is that businesses have more opportunities to address inefficient processes and optimize for time and cost. We wanted to share some of the most exciting ways AI has changed the way businesses operate for the better.
If your business is still using its old, tired landline for communications, then you’re in luck; you haven’t yet tapped into the power of one of the most transformative technology solutions on the market today: VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol. Today, we want to discuss the benefits of VoIP and why it’s such a high-value investment for businesses.
It’s likely that the conference room holds significant importance for your business, serving as a reflection of the way your organization functions. It becomes crucial to ensure that your conference room creates the right impressions, especially if you tend to invite clients and prospects into your office. Let's explore ways to enhance your conference room and make it the best it can be.
Technology is one part of today’s business world that is known for its rapid rate of growth and innovation. In times when the future is uncertain, you can know with certainty that technology will continue to grow and address the pain points of tomorrow’s companies. That said, let’s take a look back to the past and see if we can make some educated guesses as to what the future holds.
Recently, artificial intelligence has become a widely discussed topic among businesses of all sizes. According to a Forbes survey, 97 percent of respondents see potential benefits in incorporating AI into their operations. Despite its pervasive integration into modern life, however, it's crucial to recognize that AI is a human creation and, as such, is susceptible to bias.
Selecting the right servers for your business is extremely important and can either promote optimal performance, reliability, and security of your business computing; or it can present nothing but problems. Today, we will go through six tips to help you make good decisions about servers for your business.
AI is, by a landslide, the technology of the year. It was just a matter of time before Microsoft introduced their own enterprise-ready AI platform, and just like the launch of most emerging technologies, there is a lot of confusion and unanswered questions, so let’s talk about what Copilot is, and go over some things you should know as a business owner.
AI, or artificial intelligence, has made significant contributions to the world of business technology even at this stage of the game. AI can be used to streamline your business’ operations and processes, too. Let’s explore five ways that AI can help a business be more efficient and put forth their best efforts.
All businesses depend on the Internet in at least some capacity, and it’s so commonplace and accessible these days that people often take it for granted. However, a lot of work goes into making sure that the infrastructure you know as the Internet remains accessible and operational. Let’s go over the hardware you’ll need to ensure you stay connected.
Nowadays, data security, especially on files that are attractive to hackers, has to be a priority. Many businesses have deployed a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to help them improve their data security. If you haven’t, understanding the myriad of benefits that businesses get from deploying a VPN will put in perspective just how useful the VPN can be.
Technology is constantly evolving, but over the past couple of years, if you thought of yourself as being technologically savvy, you would have a pretty good understanding of the technologies that are trending in society. Let’s take a brief look at five technologies that everyone should have a good grasp on.
Microsoft developed their Teams platform to help people collaborate better. Remote collaboration has been on the uptick for several years, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it a regular feature in business processes. Recently, Microsoft has added a few improvements to the platform to help enhance its utility even further.
In recent years, educational institutions have widely adopted the regular use of laptops in the classroom, and with budgets being a pressing concern for many of these institutions, the cost-sensitive nature of Chromebooks make them an excellent option… at least, that would be the assumption. However, this is not the case in the slightest, as the software that powers these devices regularly reaches its end of life, despite the hardware being perfectly capable of more.
Technology has the power to hold businesses back when it’s not implemented correctly, but it also presents an opportunity to overcome challenges facing modern businesses. There are several interesting technologies that might seem strange at first for business purposes, but we suspect that they could bring significant value to the table for workers, customers, and your organization. Let’s look at these three technologies and how they might make significant contributions to your business’ continued success.
IT professionals have all but proclaimed the tape backup system, which dominated the data backup space for decades, to be all but dead. This declaration may have been premature however. Over the past several years, there has been a resurgence in companies that use tape backup. This week, we will go into why businesses are willingly utilizing what can only be described as an antiquated technology for their system redundancy.
Any business that utilizes technology is sure to accumulate wasted materials over time, whether it’s a drawer full of old chargers or a room full of old, outdated workstations. To make sure that they don’t land themselves in a landfill, you should make a conscious effort to recycle and reuse your old technology in some way. Here are some options to consider.
Let’s talk a little bit about deepfakes. If you aren’t aware of this technology, deepfakes are essentially synthetic media. Typically they come in the form of videos or images that use artificial intelligence (AI) to replace a person’s likeness with another’s. With deepfake technology, people can convince an audience that a person said something they didn’t say. This deliberate digital subterfuge can bring with it a whole lot of problems. This week we will outline a few of them.
Despite its undeniable value, data is incredibly fragile. The loss of critical information can spell disaster for a company, making data backup a paramount concern. In this article, we'll explore why data backup is so important for businesses and why it should be at the forefront of every organization's IT strategy.
Many individuals were skeptical about foldable phones when they were first introduced, all thanks to higher prices and stories about how fragile they are. That said, those who have stuck with the concept have contributed to the excitement and built it up to be a legitimate option that actually makes sense.
With the latest version of Windows, Windows 11, users can leverage all manner of great productivity-boosting features to take full advantage of the new technology at their fingertips. Let’s look at some of the features that users of Windows 11 can use to make better use of their time with the operating system.
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.
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.
The growth that digital storage has seen over the past several decades is immense. In that time most data has been stored on hard disk drives (HDD). Now with solid-state drives (SSD) being more affordable than ever, it’s no surprise that most computers are preferring this faster and less fragile model. Today, we wanted to highlight that fragility and try to expose some variables that help you tell if your HDD is about to fail.
Your business uses software to function, but we would like you to consider the role that each of your applications fulfills for your business. Do you have the right amount of software for your company’s needs, or do you have a lot of redundant solutions that only complicate your infrastructure and operations? Today, we’ll discuss the different types of software your company might use so you can make educated decisions about applications you might implement for your needs.
Have you ever considered the importance of client-side encryption for your Gmail and your Calendar? If you implement it, you can create meetings and send or receive emails that have been encrypted before they are sent to Google’s servers. Organizations using Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus can expect this client-side encryption tool, but personal users will be left in the dust.
We often mention the Internet of Things in this space because, as business technology goes, it is one of the most untapped resources that companies have presently. One of the most useful IoT tools is the RFID sensor. Today, we will explain what an RFID tag is and how it can work to improve your business.
Small manufacturers and distributors require a completely different set of conditions than your typical small business. Most small businesses just don’t have the resources at their disposal to properly address issues that surface. One way these organizations can improve the way they perform is through the use of a logistics platform.
It isn’t uncommon to hear about how much working from home has environmental benefits—and on its face, this claim makes a lot of sense. We did have to wonder, however, how much greener remote work really is—if at all.
Let’s go into why the question of whether remote work is the environmentally friendly option isn’t as clear-cut as you might expect.
Your sales funnel is particularly important to the success of your business, as you need to reliably get your goods and services in front of your prospective customers to make sales. How can technology aid you in your efforts? Let’s go over how the right technology can improve your sales funnel and help your team be more effective.
Collaboration is a key part of effective business processes. Nowadays, there are many, many technologies available to facilitate the level of collaboration that today’s organizations strive for. Let’s explore some of the options you have to implement technology that inspires your team to work as one, cohesive unit and accomplish your shared goals.
Your business runs on software, whether it’s the systems you implement to get work done or the customer relations management software you use to communicate with the consumers of your goods or services. You’d be hard-pressed to find a business that doesn’t rely on software in some capacity, so it’s not a stretch to say that your business is only as effective as the solutions you implement.
The traditional telephone system may have once been a prominent part of your business’ communication infrastructure, but chances are that since technology has improved, you are wasting capital if you are still utilizing an antiquated telephone system. Let’s look at why using older telephone systems can hurt your business.
It isn’t easy to run a small business, and a lot of this difficulty comes from the fact that, as an owner of a small business, you have some limitations that dictate how your business can be run. For many businesses, one of these is a budgetary one. If you are going to stabilize your costs, you need to know that the investments you make are going to work. One way a managed services provider accomplishes this is through remote monitoring and maintenance.
We write in a lot of general terms about technology, whether it’s how to secure your infrastructure, procure hardware, or implement software solutions for your network, and that is for one very specific reason: each business is different and has different needs. We thought today that we would take you through some of the questions you might ask when thinking about the best approach to new technology in your office.
Most people look at only the first page of Google when they are trying to find results; anything seen past the first page is looked at as inferior, inaccurate, or possibly even dangerous. However, Google’s new plans for the search engine will put an end to this bias through the use of a continuous scroll feature.
Google is a tool that everyone uses to varying degrees, but the reality is that Google is but one search engine. There are others out there, and while they perform similar functions, there is a reason why Google is synonymous with web browsing. Let’s take a look at why Google is so popular, as well as how it works to give you the best search results.
Business can get stressful. Not only for the people tasked with managing an organization, but for the workforce as a whole. Fortunately, businesses are identifying that technology can go a long way toward making all this work less stressful. Let’s go through some of the innovative technology that is being used to keep employees engaged.
The next time you’re near a desktop, take a peek at the back where the motherboard’s various ports offer the opportunity to connect to different cable types. Many of these cables have overlapping functions—like the capabilities of USB and HDMI. Having said that, however, one of these cables will probably outlast its contemporary.
When it comes to procuring new technology solutions for your business, what is your preferred method of doing so? If you haven’t thought about it, perhaps you should start. Gartner predicts a major decrease in PC shipments for the remainder of 2022. This has significant implications for any technology user, but this is especially true for business owners who might need to consider hardware refreshes in the near future.
The hard drive is an essential component of every computer. When you start looking at new computers you may notice that there are two different types of hard drives available. There are the HDD (hard disk drive) or the SSD (solid state drive). Today, we’ll go through what the difference is and what benefits you may get from outfitting your hardware with solid state drives.
When it comes to storing your business’ documents, you have a couple of options available to you. Some professionals enjoy the chaos of having documents strewn about their office, while others prefer the organization that a system of filing cabinets can bring with it. However, both of these options pale in comparison to the document management system, a technological innovation that could allow your organization to go paperless and improve efficiency in ways you might not have guessed.
Managing business technology is a challenge that many small businesses have difficulty overcoming, and this is largely in part due to the fact that managing technology is not the focus of these small businesses. The inability to overcome IT challenges can hold businesses back that otherwise would flourish. Let’s discuss some of the biggest issues that companies have for IT and how they could potentially be addressed.
Most things in your office depend on technology in some way. That’s just the simple fact of life these days. Let’s examine just how much of your business depends on the technology that powers it and how companies increasingly depend on IT to manage the countless devices that have permeated the office environment.
By now you’ve probably heard the term Internet of Things (IoT). You may not completely understand what it is, but you know it has something to do with all those “smart” devices that you see popping up everywhere. Today, we’d thought we’d get into what types of things are on the IoT and how they can have an impact on your business.
Many businesses make their profits from selling products, goods, or services to their consumer base, requiring that they have a way to process these transactions in place. The point of sale system is a business’ preferred method of handling these transactions, especially in retail. How can you know which features you might need for a point of sale system?
When it comes to business technology, there are sure to be a lot of electrical plugs, so you’ll naturally want plenty of outlets to plug them into. A power trip likely won’t cut it, though. For your needs, you’ll want to invest in a surge protector. Why is the surge protector so much better, you ask? Well, let’s explore this question.
The difference between productivity and innovation is not always clear-cut, but the biggest one is that higher productivity naturally creates innovation… assuming it is supported by the right tools and mindset. How can technology help your business be more creative and innovative in the way it goes about its day-to-day operations?
There were a few years there about a decade ago when everyone had to have the latest tablet and tech experts were predicting that most of the world’s productivity would be done using touchscreen devices. On one hand, they weren’t that far off. On the other hand, tablet sales fell off about as rapidly as they had spiked, leaving some question over the future of the form factor. Of course, tablets settled in as great personal computers, but their use in business has seemingly plateaued. Let’s take a look at how businesses use tablets and answer if they are right for your business.
Productivity is at the heart of running a successful business, but it’s not always apparent to employees how their effort translates into value for the company. Is there a way to use technology to help fuel productivity and ensure employees understand the value that their productivity provides to your organization? The right tools can eliminate barriers to productivity and allow your employees to reach their full potential.
These days you’d be hard-pressed to find a company that is not equipped to handle video conferencing in some way. The pandemic led many organizations to adopt these platforms, and as a result, these platforms have seen a dramatic increase in functionality and capability. We’d like to discuss some of the best features that your organization can take advantage of with video conferencing solutions.
Automation as a concept is on the rise, and so too is its practice. Even before COVID-19 created considerable problems for several businesses, it was in use, and there is no reason for it to fall out of fashion now. There are plenty of ways your organization can implement automation to improve operations moving forward.
Have you ever considered why the VoIP auto attendant feature is so valuable? When a person is greeted with directions that make their journey easier, it typically improves their general opinion of your business. The VoIP auto attendant feature helps guide you through their telephone system. Now, have you ever been to a place where you walk in and you are confused where to go and it takes a while to navigate because of the lack of predominant signage? Like the auto attendant, digital signage platforms can help guide your visitors and you may be surprised about how affordable they can be and the additional value these systems provide to a growing number of businesses.
Today’s world of video conferences and remote work means that many workers are forced to endure the dreaded “Zoom Call” or “Teams Meeting,” whichever solution is implemented at their organization. While these terms might be used in a negative way, there are opportunities for you to improve the way you hold your video chats. Here are just a few ideas for you to consider implementing.