Doing business is a balancing act – with so many concerns and issues on every business owner plate, it's only prudent to consider solutions that will help lighten the load to operate more efficiently. And for many, that solution is cloud computing.

As the economy rebounds, businesses need to be ready to stay competitive while keeping costs under control. Small and medium-sized businesses must maximize the productivity of resources without compromising the end product or service. Cloud computing is helping more and more small and medium-sized businesses balance costs and resources.

Lower Costs The cloud is generally more cost effective, and spreads payment out over time. Monthly payment for subscriptions for applications allows businesses to pay only for services used each month. Updates and maintenance costs are usually included in the subscription cost. Companies save on dedicated IT support – as well as the cost of the electricity, space, and hardware that run the applications that manage your business operations.

Ensure Availability Another plus for the cloud is that it is more reliable and dependable. Few companies can afford to frequently update their hardware and software, so when problems arise, they have nowhere to turn. With the cloud, the application provider pays for the specialized staff to keep hardware and software running smoothly.

Secure Data Speaking of dependability, the cloud is also a better place to store your data. Depending on your subscription, you can arrange for regular backups of data to secure servers in case of any sort of incident – hardware failure, natural disasters, and more. With data backup through the cloud, you are better assured that you can always access your data no matter what happens.

If you are interested in knowing more about how cloud computing can help your business function more efficiently, please feel free to contact us so we can sit down with you and develop a custom solution based on your specific needs.

Desktop Virtualization is a new way to simplify management, strengthen security, and ultimately gaining new efficiencies from your investment in IT. Read on to find out more.

There is growing interest in Desktop Virtualization with its promise of improved manageability, security and efficiency for the business. Simply put, Desktop Virtualization is new technology that separates the system software such as the operating system and applications from the underlying hardware.

Desktop virtualization allows the hardware, like a laptop or a server, to run multiple operating systems. Imagine having your Mac running Microsoft Windows and Office, or your Dell running OS X and GarageBand for example. To stretch the concept even further, operating systems and applications can be housed on remote machines – such as a server farm in Texas – which you access via the web. The applications are not resident on your computer at all.

Desktop virtualization shifts the burden of managing the system software from you or your in-house IT teams to someone else—people who can do a better job managing and updating your Windows and Office software than you can. If you have a fairly large organization managing a large number of machines, centralizing support allows the organization to gain from economies of scale—ie less people to manage more machines at less cost. Leveraging the computing power of server farms with faster machines also allows employees to get more value out of aging desktops and laptops.

Enabling anytime, anywhere access to applications and data, Desktop Virtualization connects your employees to the tools they need no matter where they are. As organizations support more and more remote employees, using desktop virtualization technology gives them access to their Windows desktop anywhere in the world, at any time, on any device.

Are you supporting remote workers or is your hardware slowing down your employees? Let's talk about Desktop Virtualization and how you can try it for your organization today.

The big difference between Android and the iOS is the fact that, on an Android device, you can play Flash videos. There are times however when this seeming advantage can be a disadvantage as Flash (such as Flash ads) can slow down your browsing experience or even crash your browser. There is a solution.

You can turn off Flash if you choose to. Simply go to your Browser's Settings by pressing on the Menu/Options button, then go to Advanced and change 'Enable plug-ins' setting from "Always on" to "On demand." Flash applications will now appear as an arrow that you must touch to start.

There are times when you may want to capture what is currently being shown on your iPad's screen. That’s easy to do on an iPad.

Simply press the Home button and then the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously. When you hear a click, the screenshot has been taken. You can then go to the photos gallery to see all of your captured screenshots.

For those of you using Google Mail or Gmail, chances are you're familiar with the "stars" feature, which serves as a visual reminder to follow up on certain messages or mark their importance. You may not know, though, that you can use different types of stars. To do so, click on the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen, click Mail Settings, and on the General tab look for the Stars section.

You will see many different types of stars that you can cycle through. Drag the stars between the lists that you want to use and in the order you prefer. Another neat trick is to use the name of the star to filter messages. Simply hover over the star to learn its name (i.e., "red-bang"), then use the "has" prefix to filter by star name. For example, typing "has:red-bang" in your search box will show all messages with that star name.

Did you know you can have the activity feeds/social stream or live updates from your favorite social network such as Facebook or LinkedIn appear in the latest version of Windows Live Messenger? Simply sign in to your Live Messenger account, select Add/Manager Services at the bottom right area of the application, and then choose a service you wish to integrate to (i.e., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn).

The application will ask you to sign in to the chosen service and give permission to integrate. After you have given permission, you will see updates from and be able to post to that social network in Live Messenger.

Cloud computing is changing the way businesses operate. By accessing software and services through the internet instead of on internal hardware, companies can save capital and respond to opportunities quickly.

With cloud computing, businesses can tap into software and services as they need them, using an Internet connection and a web browser. Cloud services can help you manage growth and connect with your staff across town or the world.

Manage Growth

One of the toughest aspects of running a small business is predicting what resources are needed to support future demand. If the company grows quickly, more people and equipment need to be added to fulfill the work. Too much investment for the future is risky.

Cloud computing allows companies to quickly access the applications needed to increase capacity, support growth and handle busy periods. If a customer or project demands increase, software in the cloud scales without a big outlay of cash. The flexibility of the organization increases with cloud computing because it is easy to adjust and scale.

Improve Collaboration

Companies with remote employees can particularly benefit from cloud computing. More and more small and medium-sized businesses support home workers and employees that aren’t in the main office every day.

No matter where they're located, employees can use cloud applications to have meetings, talk to one another, share files, and collaborate on materials in real time. With cloud computing, you can build a team that works together seamlessly, and improved productivity and better communication allows businesses to capitalize on new opportunities quickly.

Find out more about the benefits of cloud computing. We'll help you find the solutions that fit your business and your budget.

Dealing with printers in an office or business is usually a mundane and ordinary activity, but recent research suggests that these often-used devices can become doorways for hackers and online thieves to wreak all sorts of havoc in your IT systems – and even cause actual physical harm.

When it comes to printers, we usually think about ink, paper jams and minor irritations – but certainly NOT getting hacked. But recent research suggests that printers can be used by hackers to infiltrate computer systems.

According to researchers at Columbia University, printers that are connected to the are the weakest (and almost always unnoticed) link that can compromise an otherwise secure system. Details are emerging, as the research was done under government and corporate grants. The Federal Bureau of Investigation got the first look at the research results, followed by people from Hewlett-Packard. What is clear is that this new research reveals that printers CAN be used by hackers or online thieves not only to infiltrate networks, but also to steal personal information and even identities.

The security flaw involves the printer software used to run "embedded systems" which enables both advanced functions and connects the printer directly the Internet. Alarmingly, researchers were able to hack into a printer, and give it instructions to continuously heat up the part of the device that dried the ink after it’s applied to the paper. The resulting heat caused the paper to turn brown and smoke.

The implications of this type of security flaw are concerning, but can be addressed properly and promptly with the right planning. HP is looking into the study for their own line of printers and business owners should also take precautionary steps to protect already installed devices on their networks.

If you want to know more about how you can ensure that your systems are secure, give us a call so we can sit down with you and discuss a security blueprint that meets your specific needs.

If you own an Android phone, you can use it as a substitute for an external drive or a USB key. You can load files into your phone simply by plugging it in to a PC with a USB cable, then tapping on “Mount” when you are prompted by the system.

This mounts the internal storage of the device as an external drive relative to the PC, and you can easily drag and drop files or create folders on the device as you see fit. Of course, it is recommended you do this on the SDCard that likely came with the device, or one that you buy for your phone.

While the massive flooding in Thailand ravaged hundreds of thousands worth of property and infrastructure, it also has had an adverse effect on worldwide hard drive production. Since the majority of the world’s hard drive factories are located in Thailand, hard drives will be in short supply in the coming months.

In the same way the massive earthquake and tsunami damaged Japan's electronics industry, the flood crisis in Thailand is causing concern for companies that require hard drives for production.

The majority of the world's hard drives are produced in factories located in Thailand, where the flood crisis has put a damper on many industries, hard drive producers included.

According to reports, the shortage is already driving hard drive costs up and may just be the beginning of that trend. As companies like Hewlett Packard respond to the situation, the outlook remains unclear. PC sales could be affected well into 2012 and beyond. With flooding still an issue for some producers the shortage could expand.

As of now, there is still no concrete solution in sight for the problem with the supply of hard drives in the world, and while reconstruction efforts in Thailand are ongoing, getting the hard drive industry on its feet will take a while. As for the effects on the computing world as a whole, PC prices will likely rise as pre-flood inventories are sold out and replacement stock is delayed.