One Up Solutions Northwest Blog

Have you ever noticed the digital screens at stores or restaurants displaying deals, menus, or videos? These are called digital signs, and they’re incredibly useful for businesses of all sizes. Let’s dive into why they’re so great!

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term you’ve probably heard by now but may not completely understand. That’s normal, as there are a lot of things that could be labeled under the IoT. This month, we thought we would go through some ways the average business can use the Internet of Things to its advantage.

The IoT, or Internet of Things, is everywhere. There’s a relatively good chance that a device that would be part of the IoT is within your reach right now, perhaps even on your person. Businesses of all kinds use the IoT for various purposes as well, but behind this usage lies significant risk from cyberthreats, and a shocking number of businesses seem to accept this risk without much concern… as in, the vast majority of surveyed businesses utilizing the IoT demonstrated a lack of protection, but seemed not to be bothered by it.

The IoT—the Internet of Things—is a fascinating technology, as it exemplifies just how much can be accomplished when Internet connectivity is used to augment the capabilities of otherwise “dumb” devices. Unfortunately, as fascinating as it is, the IoT is also infamous for its security issues…a reputation that attackers have been perpetuating as these devices grow more common.

For a very long time, Apple has been requested to share a workaround for their platform security with law enforcement, which the company has refused outright. Their argument has been that doing so would inherently undermine their lauded security. Well, the feds have given up asking, because they went ahead and developed a workaround themselves… and in doing so, have revealed that iOS isn’t quite as secure as it was purported to be.

While it may sound strange coming from a managed service provider, there is some wisdom to the adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We know, we know… it sounds a little hypocritical for us to say something like this, when we spend so much time touting the values of proactive maintenance and similar strategies. However, this now-cliché statement certainly holds water, as exemplified by many modern technologies—including the Boeing 747.

The people that support a business’ information systems are widely renowned as a bunch of nerds sitting in a basement office waiting for someone that matters calls them upstairs. Now, we think this characterization is unfair (of course), but since our jobs are so technical, it can be hard to relate with clients all the time. Fortunately for us, the most useful tool we have in our repertoire is excruciatingly simple. To fix your computer problem, have you tried turning it off, and turning it back on?