Boost IT

Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity, & Cloud

productivity

5 Time-Saving Tech Tips

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When it comes to saving time at work, we all want the best tech tips so we can be more productive. Better tech is not always the answer to your everyday productivity problems. Sometimes it can seem like we are spending more time on devices, even though we have the best. While technology is continuously evolving with faster devices to help us do more with the time we have, we can do better with managing what we have.

At Boost IT, we have 5 time-saving tech tips to help you improve productivity.

Manage email

Email is one of the biggest time wasters in most people’s day. You’ve probably heard that it is better to schedule times to look at emails instead of reading every one as it lands in your inbox. The problem is you might feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails when you get to your inbox. There are dozens of apps out there to help – Microsoft Office 365’s Clutter, Google G Suite’s Priority Inbox, EasilyDo, Spark, Dispatch. Whether you use an app or not, keep it simple. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the mass amount of emails you get daily, be diligent in managing them. Use your filters, organize into folders and subfolders, and color code by using categories.

Make data accessible from all devices

With the cloud, you can access all your data from any device at any time. If you’re not doing this already, this will be a game changer. A helpful article to understand how you can save time is How to Increase Productivity with Cloud Computing. Additionally, Boost IT offers Rocketsync that makes it very easy to share and synchronize all your company files in the cloud with everyone in your company. Rocketsync can cloud-enable your existing file server, like we explain in the Case Study: Griffith Engineering, Inc. or allow you to eliminate an in-house server altogether, explained in the Case Study: Dexter Companies, LLC. With Rocketsync, we have already helped small to medium companies save a huge amount of time when their employees are on the go, in and out of meetings, at job sites without internet connections, and needing quick access to their data when talking to a client. We use it on our phones, tablets, PCs and Macs, and so do our clients.

Use a Password Management App

Just when you thought you had all your software synced on your devices, you change a password on one device only to be scrambling around trying to find the new password when you go on another device. It’s a huge time waster. You might even try to guess a variation of passwords until you finally get access. Yet, don’t you know that you should use a different password for every website, and that each one should be strong and not guessable? Finding a good password management app is essential in today’s world of technology, and there are a number to choose from, like Keepass, Last Pass, Dashlane, and Roboform. There are some features in Safari and Chrome internet browsers if you like to use the same browsers across all your devices.

Find Your Best Task App

Having an online tracking system is essential for staying on top of projects. There are many project management or time management apps to help set priorities and track projects. Apps like Trello and Quip provide quick checklists of tasks that you can set due dates and then easily check off when completed. In addition, they all store your tasks in the cloud, which eases collaboration so you can share and assign tasks to others while letting you access your lists from any device, at any time.

Maintain Your Devices

Downtime due to computer glitches or a slow computer are the worst productivity killers. Whether you are trying to complete a project and have a deadline, or you are giving a presentation and switching from slide to slide, you want your technology to perform at its best. Most glitches can be avoided with proper maintenance of your system and regular software updates. Boost IT can help with Managed IT Services like performance monitoring that help to keep your system running at peak performance. You can also read our article about How to Maintain Your Server.

Technology can be a help or hindrance when it comes to productivity. Having the right tools can help keep you on task and on schedule so you are organized and working effectively. But all your tools are only as good as your devices. To keep your devices working at peak performance, get a great team to back you up, contact Boost IT at 404-865-1289.

The Benefits of System Performance Monitoring

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Improving your system performance and increasing your productivity are goals every business wants to achieve. IT can be a big headache and cost you money when your system is slow or down. Therefore, system performance monitoring should be a priority against weaknesses and threats that are counterproductive and costly.

3 benefits of system performance monitoring

Prevent mistakes from reoccurring.

The truth is your staff has everyday responsibilities to concentrate on. It’s too easy to neglect IT responsibilities that don’t have their main attention. IT shouldn’t take a back seat in your business. This leads to mistakes. Chances are, your staff only think of IT when there is a problem. They fix the problem and then go back to their main duties. The fix is likely a patch for a certain period but does not really address the problem.

Instead of applying a patch, experts like Boost IT will quickly identify problems, evaluate them, and determine solutions with system performance monitoring.

Be more efficient.

Most service-oriented businesses rely on their IT system to be as efficient as possible so their employees can maximize productivity. When the system is slow, employees can’t be efficient in their work processes. When the system is down, limited work gets done. Yet many businesses continue to have employees responsible for IT when they are not qualified or don’t have the appropriate time for essential IT needs, let alone monitoring. Without the attention, weaknesses occur in the system that significantly affect performance – leading to slow processing, downtime, and lost revenue.

When you outsource to a company like Boost IT, having us provide system performance monitoring can help to improve your operational efficiency while lowering the total cost of managing the supporting infrastructure. The process, called benchmarking, helps us to continuously look at how your system performance compares to a set of key performance metrics. We’ll address problems before they occur based on the indicators.

Look at the whole picture.

To understand your business operation, it’s critical that you get the whole picture. In service-oriented businesses like engineering, architectural and healthcare industries, you rely on your IT. It must be a part of your analysis. It’s very difficult to make decisions about your IT system when you don’t understand how it affects your performance.

If you aren’t monitoring it, you could have a weakness in your IT system that is affecting everyone and not even know about it. Sometimes the effect seems insignificant – an employee deals with it. But often what one employee is dealing with, another deals with, too. Every bit of underperformance adds up.

When you outsource your system performance monitoring with Boost IT, you’ll receive monthly reports that help you see the whole picture for your IT, including how weaknesses in system performance cost money and create downtime. We’ll be able to tell you if there is an instance or a time of day when your system is underperforming. We can help tell you how certain transactions perform during peak periods of system utilization and how certain workloads will perform on a newly configured version of the database.

The whole picture can provide huge insight to make critical decisions regarding your infrastructure, software, and security – things that affect every aspect of your business. With system performance monitoring you get the whole picture plus indicators against a myriad of IT problems.

With Boost IT, you have trained and experienced professionals looking at what is going on with your system 24x7x365. We can identify problems that occur due to peak usage at certain times of the day or when a specific employee opens a file that has malware. System performance monitoring is what you need to address problems immediately and maintain optimum efficiency. We can help you determine when to make changes in your infrastructure or move to the cloud, adapting the monitoring services to your business.

For more information, contact Boost IT at 404-865-1289.

How to Become an Office 365 Champion

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It’s a new year and many people are resolving to be more productive in 2017. One way to do this is to be an Office 365 champion. Resolve to learn all you can about the technology. We’re not only talking about integrating it into your current workflow. We’re talking about making an all-out commitment to use it to maximize your productivity. Get more work done in less time.

1. Go beyond the basics

Many companies have made the switch to Office 365. If your company has migrated, they might have included training where you learn about storing and syncing data, using the calendar, running effective meetings in Skype, etc. This gives you the basics with an abundance of tools and features. Learn how to use them. Take this training further by mastering the basics and finding new ways to use the tools for better results. Understand that everyone is different and how you utilize the tools will be based on your specific needs and habits. Be creative in how you can improve your habits with the tools provided.

2. Explore the many features

Documents easily convert and once converted you’ll find features to help you use and share those documents in creative ways. There are many features, but don’t look at them as overkill. With so many, you can do some amazing things quicker and easier. Think of the many features as opportunities to be more productive. For example, discover clutter in Outlook and how it helps to sort low priority messages. Yes, you will need to spend some time on the front end with learning about the features and testing them out, but on the back end you will be able to save time so you can concentrate on what you do best.

3. Use features to stick to resolutions

Don’t forget about your New Year’s resolutions. Find ways to stick to those resolutions. This might require changing behaviors to improve, and many of the features in Office 365 can help you do just that! While you’ll love the bells and whistles of the new technology, using it is more about enhancing your productivity and workflow. Instead of looking at the cool features and how to fit them into your work, think about what you can use in your work to be more productive and search out the specific tools in Office 365. For example, if you want to stop being overwhelmed with email, check out sweep in Outlook. With sweep, you can quickly clean up unwanted emails in your mailbox. And to improve your task management, look deeper into integrating OneNote with Outlook for an effective project management tool. OneNote is also an awesome way to move your notes from paper to digital form so that they are searchable, always at your fingertips, and on your computer and phone. No more getting out the laptop to enter notes, just open OneNote on your mobile phone.

4. Keep up with the training

Stay on top of your game by continuously learning about the many tools and features. To be a champion you want to learn all the ins and outs. The Microsoft Office Training Center has many videos. There will always be more training as you discover additional features and find the need for other tools that increase your productivity, but by being proactive in your learning, you’ll be the ideal team player. You’ll be able to lead by example and help your peers as you master setting, tracking and measuring goals, communicating with your team, and sharing files with ease!

Migrating to Office 365 is a great choice for most businesses and Boost IT has perfected the migration with zero downtime. And if you need assistance configuring it on your device, see our how-to instructional articles on Configure Office 365 on Android and Configure Office 365 on iPhone / iPad.

Why Companies Are Doing Business in the Cloud

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With professionals on the go, in the office and telecommuting, more companies are doing business in the Cloud. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the technical landscape is continuously changing. Businesses are realizing the impact of the Cloud with greater competitiveness and productivity. They can operate more efficiently, more safely and cut costs that help free up capital.

4 Reasons to Do Business in the Cloud

Increased Security

It’s important to concentrate on your business’ primary goals, and your internet security should be one of them. Cloud servers offer a safe way to store data. Companies providing Cloud services have some of the best technology and security experts in the industry to continuously monitor threats and address them. And security is more than hacking; it is about making sure your data is stored safely so it is available when you need it. If a natural disaster or a system failure were to occur, you want to feel more than confident your data is safe. You want to know it is safe.

Accessibility

As an authorized user, you can get secure access from many devices at different times and locations. Doing business in the Cloud allows specified employees to access files from anywhere, at any time. For example, if you are visiting with a client and have an impromptu discussion on a project, you can pull up files even if you are halfway around the world. This can make the difference in landing new projects.

Productivity

It’s amazing how much more productive you can be when you operate in the Cloud. Software is up-to-date and doesn’t impede the speed of your devices. There are no barriers to moving in and out of applications and the applications are integrated with software to maximize productivity. The number of applications you can access are unlimited and help with time management, collaborations, note taking and more.

Cost Effectiveness

Many companies are realizing the savings by using the Cloud. You don’t need to maintain as large a server or you can do away with a server completely. The Cloud also provides a cost-effective way to backup files and store them. And it’s not just the cost of maintaining the backup where you save money. Backing up files can be especially costly when workflow is disrupted because the backup fails or is not done correctly. Additionally, you can decrease your costs for network consulting while your IT personnel spends less time on overhead and more time on billable projects.

A great example of why companies are doing business in the cloud is our client at Griffith Engineering. We consolidated their servers to eliminate the cost of a branch server and integrated their network with Cloud services using our Rocketsync software for increased productivity. Click here to view the case study.

If your business is not taking full advantage of the Cloud, you are missing out on continuously updated internet security, increased productivity, improved accessibility, and a quick and cost-effective way to back up files. Plus, you’re risking falling behind with your competitors. Contact Boost IT at 404-865-1289 or info@boostitco.com to start doing business in the Cloud.

How Office 365 Improves Productivity

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As a business professional, Office 365 is what you need to get the most productivity out of your devices. More companies than ever are using it for accomplishing goals and gaining an edge on their competition. Yet employees are not taking full advantage of the tools that can maximize their productivity.

Your time is valuable. By understanding ways to use Office 365, you can learn how to best manage your time, collaborate with colleagues, streamline your work environment and achieve more.

6 Ways to Maximize Productivity Using Office 365

Access Anywhere at Anytime

Today’s business takes you on the go and you need to access your files everywhere along the way. With Office 365, you can access files in the Cloud on any device and at any moment. For example, users can access their account through their PC, tablet and mobile devices. With mobile device management (MDM) you can connect quickly and security. And you have an additional level of security with Data Loss Prevention.

Share Files and Calendars Easily

Having access to the Cloud and multiple applications like OneDrive, OneNote and SharePoint allows you to share simply and easily with multi-person simultaneous editing capabilities. There is no more time wasted by saving, uploading and emailing a file to a colleague, only to wait for a response. The applications are straightforward with users simply right-clicking to share files internally and working collaboratively on a document. Imagine the potential increase in productivity when you can click on a file in Word, Excel or PowerPoint and share it with a colleague who can work on it at the same time.

Improve Communication

It wasn’t that long ago that people talked about the humor in sending a text message to a coworker in the next cubicle, but now it’s even easier to converse directly on your device. Use Yammer integrated with OneNote to establish groups for your teams on various projects and converse easily within the group. Your group can share conversations, combine calendars, exchange files and take and share notes.

Resume Reading Where You Left Off

The Resume Reading feature in Word allows you to pick up where you left off, even on different devices. Word automatically bookmarks the last page you were reading. You can check out, edit and upload changes to a document on one device, head into a meeting, and then connect on another device later to continue where you left off.

Get Functionality

Skype for Business offers great functionality with Office 365. Any sized business can benefit from the ease of using productivity tools for video conferencing, online meetings and instant messaging. Connect with one or more contacts in real time, on any device,  and on a moment’s notice. It’s that simple.

In-sync emails

With your emails being stored in the Cloud with Outlook, it is synced with all your devices. No matter where you’re logged in, you will get access to everything you sent and received. There is no more worrying about which device to retrieve an email on or cc’ing yourself. And to improve the efficiency of sorting through your email, you get Clutter to help filter low priority messages. Plus, your emails are backed up in case your computer crashes.

Office 365 is more critical to business success than ever before. Many of our clients are benefiting from it with increased productivity. If you want to learn more about how your organization can benefit, contact Boost IT at 404-865-1289 or info@boostitco.com.