The Datamax Thinking Blog

Is your SMB ready to think bigger about the technology you deploy? Are the practical advantages that come with cloud-based solutions a right fit for your organization? 

Author Tim Ferris says “Life’s too short to think small.”

Many ambitious, hungry start-up entrepreneurs begin with nothing other than a huge dream.

Naysayers may accuse them of having their head “in the clouds” when it comes to their business vision, with their seemingly unrealistic, impractical ideas and expectations.

Either way, business owners having their heads in cloud technology is both practical and advantageous. Given the right technology partner, utilizing cloud-based tools can boost productivity and demand minimal management effort on their part.  

Ransomware, namely the WannaCry and NotPetya viruses, filled newsfeeds last year as the most prolific cyber security attacks in history. How prolific? The two Ransomware attacks combined to infect 200,000 machines in 100 countries, and NotPetya caused an estimated $1.2 billion in damages.

The most common shark attack against humans is known as the “hit-and-run” attack. Typically occurring in the surf zone amid murky waters, the swimmer or surfer seldom even sees its attacker.

The same could certainly be said for Ransomware in 2017.

This legislation is a game changer for how applicable organizations process, retain and store customer data. 

On May 25, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was officially enforced, representing a watershed moment for consumer data protection and privacy moving forward.

This legislation, designed to better unify and protect data privacy for European Union citizens, applies to those within EU-member countries, so US-based companies may not think that this overseas legislation is relevant to their everyday business.  These companies should think again: The GDPR could be very relevant to you and the way you currently collect and store data.

It's no wonder that organizations are more active than ever in pursuing solutions to streamline traditional methods of managing documents. 

Every year, I learn more about copiers, document management, workflow, and, increasingly, managed IT topics than I did they year before.

I do my best to pass on what I learn to you.

Here are the 10 most popular posts in 2017. How to get the best service. Tips for HIPAA compliance. Scanning tips. How to track printing to keep costs down.

Read on for insights into those topics – and more – to get yourself ready for 2018!

Employees are a big weakness in any information security plan. These 6 tips will make your security stronger.

The biggest security hole in any business isn't the network or your computer assets or the various programs you operate on.

The biggest security threat to any business is the people that work there.

Because people do stupid things. And when they do stupid things with company information (like leaving a laptop in the backseat of a car with customer information), your company is at risk of a data breach.

That's why when it comes to cybersecurity, paying attention only to the IT side of things isn't good enough (though that's essential, of course).

You need to train your users.

Here are a few tips to help you get started on training employees on information security.

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?

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.

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.