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Going Green by Going Digital

by Dennis Szymczak | Jun 1, 2021 | Business Advice, IT Services, IT Solutions

Going digital can also mean going green. Becoming environmentally friendly in this day and age is increasingly popular within the business world. In fact, offices that are run with paper records and filing systems are now considered out-of-touch and outdated. Technology is forever advancing at a rapid pace, and in order to stay relevant to your customer base, you must keep up. One way to accomplish this is by prioritizing the same things that your customers do, for instance, being eco-friendly.

Benefits of Going Green

Taking Care of Earth

Environmentally friendly businesses and those who operate sustainably stand to benefit immensely in many different ways. The most glaringly obvious benefit is the fact that you are assisting in taking care of the earth, and even if you are not able to diminish your footprint completely, you can reduce the effects that your business has. From industrial pollution to trash and waste that will never decompose, companies often leave many traces of their existence in the environment. By operating more consciously and actively seeking ways to reduce the negative environmental consequences of your business, you can move forward with the knowledge that you are doing your part.

Money Made

Another benefit to going green is the devoted clientele this eco-friendly choice brings with it. Those who are concerned about the earth actively make decisions to do business only with companies who are dedicated to environmental protection. If your business goes green, and shares the measures you are taking, as well as the positive results, there is guaranteed to be public support of this effort. In fact, one study has shown that 86% of Americans believe that a business should be involved in a corporate social responsibility or some form of activism. Going green shows your business shares the same priorities as the consumers, resulting in increased support. More support means more sales, and although making more money should not be the only reason you make changes for the environment, it certainly is a convincing one!

Money Saved

In addition to making more money, your business has the potential to save more money when you switch to operating more sustainably. Eco-friendly businesses often produce far less waste than standard operations. A mindset of reduce, reuse, recycle also shifts perspective on how goods can be manufactured or how services can be provided more effectively. It also can result in less energy consumption due to lowered utility usage, digital files replacing paper ones which reduces the impact on forests, and more.

Happy and Healthy

Last, but not least, a business that adopts greener measures for operations also results in a happier and healthier work environment. Less waste and less harsh chemicals around the office can greatly improve respiratory functions of employees, and knowing that the business cares for the earth improves mood and morale. This pleasant environment can have many physiological benefits for those who work for the company, and has even been shown to reduce the number of sick days taken over a certain period of time as well. Healthier and happier employees are more productive and take more enjoyment in their job.

How to Go Green

Now that you understand the many benefits of a business taking steps towards greener operations, you may be wondering how you can achieve this in your company. One of the easiest and most impactful ways to make your business more environmentally friendly is to go digital. Going paperless and transferring all of your files and operations to a digital platform can reduce the company’s waste by up to 90%. Since technology is ever-changing, there are solutions that exist for every business in operation. If you are wondering how to securely transfer information, store files and documents, communicate with staff or clients, or anything else digitally, ANAX is here to help. We offer managed IT services for mid-size businesses and can assist you with finding the ideal solution for your needs. If you are ready to take the next step in going green with your business, contact our team of experts today!

The Importance of Regular Backups

by Dennis Szymczak | May 15, 2021 | Business Advice, Cloud Services, IT Services, IT Solutions

We recently talked about going digital as a way to make your business more environmentally friendly. One concern that is often brought up with this approach to storing files and data is the security of this information and the potential for data breach or loss. In reality, a digitally-run company is equally as secure, if not more so, than a company that operates solely with paper files. In addition, information and documents are typically safer in the digital realm, considering that paper files can quickly go up in flames, get misplaced or lost, or otherwise disappear. Digital operations allow multiple copies of files to be created easily, accessed from anywhere, and give you the opportunity to backup your data, guaranteeing a level of safety and security that hard copies could never provide.

What is a Backup?

When we talk about a data backup, we are not referencing one similar to the backup of cargo ships in the Suez canal earlier this year. Instead, we are referring to a copy of your files being saved to an archive and stored on a secure server, hard drive, or other digital storage option separate from where your files are kept. A backup can include only specific files or information, or can be as expansive as an entire operating system, a library of files, and the settings that come along with them. Backups can include all information from all time, or only new files that have been added since the last backup. You can run a backup as often as you would like, and some businesses may need to run them more often than others, however, backing up your data on a regular basis regardless is important for many reasons.

Why Backup?

There are many reasons that you should consider backing up your data consistently. The most notable reason is to prevent the loss of data. For businesses, customer information, order records, employee files, and other similar data are the lifeblood of operations. Losing any amount of this data can be detrimental to the future of a business. Backing up your files regularly ensures that even if a tragedy struck your computer system, there would still be an archive of your data in existence, saving you the headache of trying to manually gather all of the lost information again.

Another benefit to regular data backups is for financial purposes. Business taxes and audits can be a nightmare, especially if data somehow goes missing. Having a backup of financial statements, tax records, employee payments, and more can help to prevent any mishaps, and will make your life tremendously easier should an audit occur.

Other various benefits to backing up your data include improved client relationships, proven reliability for investors, a leg up on your competitors, increased productivity, and peace of mind. Regular backups can also end up saving you time and money. Should disaster strike, you already have a plan in motion to restore lost data and continue operations as normal.

How to Backup?

Now that you are convinced of the importance of consistently backing up your data, you may be wondering how to go about accomplishing this. Depending on the size of your company or the amount of information you deal with, the task of initiating a backup and setting up a regular data backup schedule can be overwhelming. At ANAX, we offer secure solutions to your data storage needs. Reach out to our team of experts today to see what we can do for you!

What is Phishing and How Can ANAX Help?

by Dennis Szymczak | May 2, 2021 | Business Advice, IT Services, IT Solutions, IT Support

If you spend any amount of time on the internet, you have probably heard of phishing scams, and the disastrous results falling victim to them can have on your cybersecurity. These can have detrimental effects to businesses or even to individuals, and they can happen to anyone, so it is essential to remain vigilant and knowledgeable. WARNING! Recovering after a phishing scam or other security breach is difficult, and in some cases, impossible. Prevention is the best way to ensure that your personal and business information remain secure and invulnerable. Let’s take a look at what exactly phishing scams are, how to tell if you are being scammed, and how ANAX can help.

What is Phishing?

Phishing, in simplest terms, is an attempt to gain access to sensitive information by means of email or text message. This is a cybercrime, and is considered criminal activity punishable by law, as it poses great danger to personal or private data. Often, the attacker(s) pose as a well-known or legitimate corporation or company. They request information such as personal identification details, including social security numbers, banking or credit card information, usernames and passwords, and more.

As a result of their masquerade as a credible business, and well-designed emails or texts as ploys, individuals or businesses may fall victim by offering up information before recognizing the illegitimacy of the operation. By then, it’s far too late to recover. As soon as these sensitive details are shared, they can be used to cause irreversible damage to a business, it’s security, and it’s finances. Let’s take a closer look at how far this destruction can reach.

What are the Results?

This category of cyber attack can have disastrous results for businesses. These results can include security breaches of sensitive customer or client information, causing distrust in the future even if security is re-established. It can lead to identity theft and the long-term effects of that. It can also lead to attackers accessing financial institutions and stealing funds from the business or clients. Even if all money is recovered, and your business ensures security of information in the future, it can be impossible to rebuild ruined client relationships.

Characteristics of Phishing

Phishing is a tragedy that no business wants to fall victim to. Luckily, there are a few ways to verify the legitimacy of corporations when information is requested via email or text. Often, these requests come partnered with offers or statements that seem very, very good. Too good to be true, in fact, and that’s just what they are. Urgent action required is also a red flag for suspicious activity. Rushing your response is a tactic used by phishers to encourage you to act before you have a chance to think about it.

Another thing to watch out for is links within a sketchy email. In any circumstance, it is far safer to access the website directly as opposed to following links embedded into emails. If you are to click on a hyperlink, first ensure that the website is legitimate and secure. Verifying the sender’s email address can also prevent any information from being shared insecurely. Lastly, never download any attachments if you are unsure of the source of the email. Files can be disguised to look innocent enough, but may instead be ransomware or malware that gets installed on your computer as soon as you download. If you click an unsafe link or download an insecure file, and you do not have anti-malware present on your computer, the results could be disastrous.

How ANAX Can Help

Spam Filters

Staying attentive to the emails that you and the rest of your business receive is essential to preventing a phishing scam’s success. There are additional security measures that can be taken as well, and ANAX is here to help. Spam filters are just one way of increasing your cyber security in the world of emails. This technology assists with analyzing the validity of the email sender, and filters questionable email to a spam or junk folder. It isn’t guaranteed to catch every phishing email, and some legitimate emails may get caught up in the spam net as well, but having these filters in place can be extremely beneficial. Knowing which filters to use and how to set them up properly can be time consuming, confusing, and overwhelming. That’s where ANAX comes in.

Email Security and Training

Establishing cohesive email accounts on a server, creating new employee users and accounts, and setting limitations on storage capacity and what emails get filtered out are all services that ANAX can assist your business with. In addition, we offer one-on-one training solutions to ensure that all of your employees remain up-to-date and knowledgeable about the best ways to avoid falling victim to phishing scams. We develop a lasting partnership with your company to provide this training, monitor your company’s email habits and safety, and create and manage custom security solutions.

Internal Testing

Our tech experts are experienced and equipped to help make your business as secure as possible. We can identify the best practices to protect your company against these scams, and we put that knowledge to work for the betterment of your business! We also have the unique capability to send out test phishing campaigns to your employee database to monitor who opens or clicks on emails, and to give an accurate assessment of how vulnerable your company data truly is.

Additional Benefits

There are many benefits to bringing ANAX on board to prevent phishing scams. Not only will your sensitive information stay secure and private, you may even qualify for discounted insurance policies, and you can be better kept in alignment with regulatory organization requirements such as HIPAA, FINRA, and more. In order to prevent phishing scams taking a toll on your business, contact us today!

What Your Business Needs to Operate Remotely

by Dennis Szymczak | Apr 16, 2021 | Business Advice, IT Services, IT Solutions, IT Support, Network Solutions

In the past year, we have seen countless businesses move to a remote work set up due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of these businesses have seen great success with a model like this, and the transition has been seamless. Some businesses, on the other hand, have found themselves struggling to make the appropriate adjustments. It can be difficult to have to re-establish workplace norms, especially when you are no longer in a centralized office, however, it is not impossible. Your tech experts at ANAX are here to help, and we have come up with some ways to ensure your business, and your team, experiences the greatest success possible. Below you will find some suggestions on what exactly your business needs to operate remotely. Let’s check them out!

Connection

Establishing a solid connection means a few things for a remote-based business. First, your business and your employees need a reliable (and high-speed) connection to the internet. When based in a centralized office building, it can be fairly easy to establish an internet connection across the entire company. However, when your employees are working from home, it can be much more difficult to manage. Providing guidance on what your business expects from your employees in regard to internet connection and accessibility can be a great first step in ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Another form of connection that is necessary in a remote-based business is connection with each other. While some businesses operate smoothly without much intrapersonal connections, there are other markets that require employees to have a firmly-established connection with each other. This is seen most often in businesses that have teams or departments that must remain connected in order to be successful in achieving their respective goals.

Yet another kind of connection needed for a remotely operating business is the connection between your employees and the required information, data, or files for their job functions. Remote-access storage is necessary for employees to be able to connect with their work, and perform their jobs to the best of their abilities.

Communication

In addition to simply establishing connections between employees and personnel, reliable and effective communication must be in place. There are many kinds of communications that can take place throughout a workday, and many solutions that can be put in place to create effective communication even while working remotely. Upgraded phone systems with high-quality headsets, a company-wide email system, instant messaging software for speedy communications and quick questions, video conference calls, you name it. There are plenty of solutions that exist to bridge the communication gap in remote work, and ANAX can assist you with deciding which one is right for your business, as well as getting it set up!

Collaboration

Last, but certainly not least, collaboration is necessary to ensure the success of a remote-based business. Collaboration can only exist if connection and communication have first been established. In companies that have teams or departments, it is crucial to come up with collaborative solutions to ensure these groups of individuals can effectively work on projects simultaneously. There are many ways that collaboration can be woven into your remote business set up, including cloud-based storage solutions that allow for real-time participation of multiple team members, group conference calls and video conferencing, screen-sharing abilities, and more. When your team members are able to effectively collaborate remotely, nothing can stand in the way of growth for your business.

If you are ready to take your business remote, or need assistance with stream-lining your already-remote business, contact the experts at ANAX! We can help you determine your specific needs and get everything set up for a seamless transition.

The Differences Between Cloud Storage & Local Storage

by Dennis Szymczak | Apr 2, 2021 | Business Advice, Cloud Services, IT Services, IT Solutions, IT Support, Network Solutions, Servers

When it comes to storing data for your mid-size business, you may be in between a few options that exist. In recent years, there has been a tremendous push to move towards cloud-based storage and processing, rather than the traditional localized storage that many businesses have utilized for years. Some companies have even discovered that a hybrid mix of the two ends of the spectrum has been the most efficient solution for their storage needs. If you have been pondering what storage set up is best for your business, we can help! Let’s dive into more info about both cloud and local storage options!

What are They?

Cloud Storage

You may have heard marketing campaigns towards the beginning of the cloud-based computing era make the claim, “It’s in the cloud!” While catchy, and still memorable years after the fact, this phrase does not do much to explain what exactly cloud storage is. In essence, cloud storage is a way to store digital data, files, and information in the online world, one that encompasses several servers, across multiple locations. This storage method is typically maintained or managed by a web-based hosting company. The cloud exists outside of your given office space, without the need for physical copies of the data.

Local Storage

Long gone are the days of floppy discs and CD-ROMs, however, the idea of local storage remains the same, albeit in a different capacity these days. Local storage now refers to the use of updated and newer physical storage devices. These can include hard disc drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), and external storage accessories like thumb drives or flash drives.

What are the Benefits?

Now that you understand the difference between the two, you may be wondering which one provides a more practical solution for your business. Rest assured, we have outlined some of the most notable pros and cons for each option!

Cloud Storage

Pros

One of the most noteworthy reasons for the switch to cloud storage is the ability to access your stored data from pretty much anywhere you have internet service. In the past year, many companies have switched to remote work, and cloud storage provides a solution where employees scattered in multiple locations can access the data from wherever they are. This builds a more efficient workspace for those working from home, and allows more seamless collaboration. With cloud storage, you also establish a better disaster recovery system. Cloud storage solutions can be extremely cost-efficient as well as reducing energy consumption. There are many benefits to switching to a cloud-based storage set-up.

Cons

There are some challenges that arise with this cloud storage solution, however. When dealing with highly sensitive data, it may be slightly more difficult, though not impossible, to establish data security. In addition, because cloud storage often relies on a third-party hosting company, there must be trust that the data will be handled securely, and that it will be available and accessible whenever you need it.

Local Storage

Pros

With local storage, your business has all the data readily available at your fingertips. There is minimal upload and download time, whereas cloud storage can take slightly longer. Local storage also offers an extremely secure data-management process, since the information is stored only on those local devices, and can only be accessed by individuals who have access to said hardware.

Cons

The downside of only being able to be accessed by individuals with the hard copies of the information is just that, a very limited accessibility. This cuts down on the ability to effectively and efficiently collaborate on projects as needed. In addition, buying and storing excess physical storage can be costly, and requires room within your office dedicated to the storage of your storage devices. Lastly, should a disaster strike your office building, all the physical copies of your data could be destroyed.

What is Best for Your Business?

As you can see, there are benefits and challenges that exist with either storage option. Depending on what your goals are as a business, and what kind of data you are needing to store, you may decide that either cloud or local storage is a better fit, or you may wish to create a hybrid of the two. If you have additional questions, or you would like to move forward with establishing an upgraded storage system for your mid-size business, we can help. Contact the experts at ANAX today!

Why You Need Managed IT Services

by Dennis Szymczak | Mar 17, 2021 | Business Advice, Cloud Services, IT Services, IT Solutions, IT Support, Network Solutions

If you are a business owner, you have probably heard about Managed IT Services already. In case you haven’t, or you would like to learn more, we decided to dive a little further into what exactly this entails, and how your business can benefit from it.

What is Managed IT?

The majority of businesses operating in today’s day and age utilize some form of technology. Whether you have a POS system for your retail shop, are running a multi-line phone system for your customer service center, or you have dedicated work laptops that you provide to your employees, you will likely need IT support at some point. While many large-scale businesses typically have their own IT team, most small to midsize businesses do not. This is where Managed IT Services come into play.

Managed IT Services essentially means that a business outsources their IT and tech support needs to a third-party company, a Managed Service Provider (MSP). This company specializes in business technology, and exists to provide reliable support to their client companies. Every company’s IT needs look different, and an MSP has the capability of juggling multiple functions, from maintaining tech equipment to setting up networks and providing support to more. Approximately 64% of businesses utilize Managed IT Services, and most small to midsize businesses can benefit from an MSP.

Why Does Your Business Need It?

Speaking of benefits, let’s take a look why you should consider Managed IT Services for your business.

Less to Manage

We know you have a lot on your plate. Worrying about your IT problems shouldn’t add to that stress. Managed IT Services allow you to focus on getting your job done, and letting an MSP take care of the tech.

More Knowledge

Technology moves fast. It can be hard to keep up with if it isn’t your speciality. Managed IT Services allow you to have access to a team of experts in the field, who take care of staying up-to-date for you.

Less to Hire

With Managed IT Services, you won’t be burdened with the task of hiring, firing, training, and maintaining an IT support team. An MSP takes care of all their own staffing, and you reap the benefits of having qualified, knowledgeable techs take care of your IT needs.

Why ANAX?

As you can see, there are multiple benefits to having Managed IT Services. You’re convinced that this is something you want for your business, but now you’re wondering what MSP to go with. We know your options are vast for this, so we wanted to highlight why ANAX is the right choice. ANAX is locally-owned, Las Vegas based. That means our team is dedicated to the community, and wants to see your business succeed and thrive. We have years in the business, over a decade to be exact, and we put that experience and knowledge to good use for your company. We are well-rounded in our offered services, and pride ourselves on being able to take care of all your tech needs.

ANAX is committed to building relationships with our customers. We have developed an extremely loyal client base over the years and thanks to them, the bulk of our growth is the result of the referrals from many of our satisfied clients. Our consistent accountability has given our customers the peace of mind they need for their business, especially when it comes to IT management and services. If you are interested in learning more about Managed IT Services, or want to schedule a consultation, contact our team today!

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