The Datamax Thinking Blog

There's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to using old office equipment – like copiers and printers – because they're still working.

Are you a “buy, don't lease, find a trusty mechanic because the car dealer will always rip you off” kind of a buyer? If so, I suspect you might also have a 10 year old copier sitting around that you have no plans to ever replace as long as it’s working. Why replace it until it breaks, right?

Maybe not.

The fact is that just because your trusty old office equipment might still be cranking out pages, you could be missing out on advancements in equipment technology that will not only make you say, “how did I ever live without this before,” but might also save you some money in the process!

Office equipment, like vehicles, can be an expensive investment to make. But the reality is that technology is moving at such a rapid pace that, just like your vehicle that immediately depreciates the second you drive it off the lot, office equipment has a point of diminishing returns.

Every business needs to be secure today. Data backup and disaster recovery are key tools to keep your office safe and in business.

There are two items essential to every business today:

1. a robust, secure data network
2. continued access to vital business information and documents

Without either of those, no business can succeed.

You want to be HIPAA-compliant? You need to perform a risk assessment.

It shouldn't be a surprise to know that security research shows that the healthcare industry is a prime target for hackers and assorted cybercriminals.

From insurance companies to small doctors offices to research facilities to hospitals, all have a treasure-trove of personal information that criminals are itching to get their hands on.

Not involved in the healthcare industry? If you're reading this and are in manufacturing, financial services, government, or transportation; those round out the top five targets.

“Only” a small business and think you're safe?

Stop thinking the small size of your business will protect you from cybercriminals. It won't.

Too many small and medium businesses believe that they aren't a target for hackers and cybercriminals.

If that statement describes your view of security, you're wrong.

Cybercriminals target businesses of every size and in every industry. They're looking for easy pickings. After all, why try to rob Fort Knox when the houses down the street all have their doors unlocked?

Here are eight things every SMB must know about cybersecurity.

Without a data backup strategy, SMBs put their business at risk of failure.

Most SMBs couldn't survive not having access to their information for a few days.

Yet many SMBs ignore the one critical thing they need to do to maintain access to their information – a data backup strategy.

Business owners often simply don't understand how important the issue is – or think that backing up their laptop hard drive or a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Box is a backup strategy.

IT pros know how important data backup is but have enough to worry about - about securing the network perimeter and preventing ransomware and other cyberattacks, troubleshooting copiers and printers, and trying to plan out an IT strategy that balances costs, business needs, and security.

Data backup is (or should be) a part of every businesses IT strategy. Add in the fact, that data backup is a final line of defense against ransomware, and you're crazy if you don't have an online backup strategy.

Cyber attacks on small businesses is BIG BUSINESS for cybercriminals. That’s because they know that you may not have the money (or the muscle) to secure your small business’s network. Even worse is the fact that there is little or no recourse for the small business owner who falls prey to a ransomware attack. Many simply pony up the money just to get their critical information back.

Canon's third generation imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series multifunction printers are designed to focus on helping businesses become more effective by helping you get your jobs done quickly and with little confusion. 

What we know today is smart phone usability is a hot topic. Wherever you see a crowd, its nothing but a sea of faces looking down — indefinitely. We love these devices and utilize them to more freely consume information and quickly get things done like never before.  What we also know, is users WILL NOT hesitate in chunking a phone (regardless of contract status) if the user interface (UI) and operation thereof (pardon the French) “sucks.” 

How do you know when your copier service partner is REALLY capable of servicing your Canon copiers?

Do you have an “ego wall?”

Go into a doctor's office, lawyer, or some other highly-educated profession and in many offices you'll see proof of their expertise in the form of diplomas and certifications hanging on the wall. I lightheartedly think of those as “ego walls.”

In reality, professionals show off their qualification for a few reasons, including:

• Pride in the effort to achieve their educational and professional goals
• Proof that they know what the heck they're doing

My tongue-in-cheek way of thinking about these is as “ego walls” because there are some people who will put up any scrap of evidence to show expertise.

Regardless, all of those certifications and diplomas reflect work and effort to master skills. That's why we're extremely proud of our Canon ATSP recognition:

• We're proud of the achievement and work we put in for it
• It's proof that we know how to service Canon copiers (in fact, I think we're the best option to service, repair, and maintain Canon copiers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area)

If a firm with 25 employees who bill at $200 per hour lose one hour of uptime, that’s $60,000 a month on lost opportunity. — Attorney at Law Magazine

As attorneys, you’re committed to providing your clients with the best legal advice and service possible. In order to do so, you recognize that in the world of law, time stops for no one. Court dates are appointed, not chosen. Contracts have deadlines. Client meetings are a must. Any type of power outage, therefore, is a huge threat to law firms. As a lawyer you have a finite amount of time to build your case, gather materials, research, etc. Should an outage strike your firm as a result of a natural (or most likely man made) disaster during your last few days before court, for example, it could be detrimental to the outcome of a case.

IT service partners often fail for one (or all) of these reasons: data loss, poor communication / customer service, downtime, and security breach. How's your partner doing?

Not every service partner will meet your expectations.

I know, I know; not a particularly shocking or unexpected revelation. We've all been disappointed in business services, whether it was the company that built your deck or the one that attempted to manage your network.

Sometimes you choose the wrong company.