Which came first; the technology or the business?

January 7th, 2010 by Michael Giuffrida

Without a doubt, the answer to the above question is THE BUSINESS!  But it’s amazing how often we forget this when looking at new technology to implement in a business.  Far too often, a cool new technology noticed by a business owner or the desire of their IT company to play with a new technology [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

I gave myself surgery – bad idea?

November 30th, 2009 by Michael Giuffrida

When I was working from home the other day, I started to feel a sharp pain in my side.  At first, it was just annoying but it really started slowing me down.  I was working on filing the forms for my defense in the murder charges that had recently been brought against me which really [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

What should you look for in a technology partner?

November 3rd, 2009 by Tracy Fox

Over the years, I’ve worked with businesses, schools and nonprofits to help them find the right technology resources to meet their particular needs and goals.  In many cases, the “devil they know” is the resource that they continued to use year after year -  either because they were concerned that change might not bring something [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

When should I replace my network server?

October 20th, 2009 by Michael Giuffrida

Great question.  Maybe you shouldn’t?  We talk to clients about this all of the time and have counseled many businesses into and out of replacing network equipment currently in place.  Often the issue if forced when there is an outage of an aging server but in our network support model we try to be more [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Google Alerts Tell You What The World Is Writing About Your Business…And Your Competition

October 6th, 2009 by Michael Giuffrida

Have you ever Googled yourself or the company you work for?  Come on, you know you have!  It’s human nature to wonder what others are writing about you and the company you work for.  Before accepting your new position, didn’t you Google your new company to see if you could find any negative information?  Googling [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Is Social Media Marketing right for you?

September 15th, 2009 by Tracy Fox

Everybody’s talking about social media marketing, but how do you know if it’s right for your business?  And what if you are a nonprofit agency or a school – does social media have value outside the business world?
First let’s define social media by its most well known forms, including blogs and social networking (Twitter, FaceBook [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Revisions and new deadline for identity theft regulations

September 1st, 2009 by Tracy Fox

In response to concerns voiced by many small business owners in Massachusetts, the Office of Consumer Affairs has announced revisions to the identity theft regulations that were set to take effect on January 1st 2010.

The revised regulations are more consistent with Federal law, and therefore an appropriate guideline for businesses and other types of organizations in Connecticut to measure their risks and what steps they can take to minimize their exposure to security breaches and the potential remediation and litigation that follows a breach.

Read the rest of this entry »

Your web site should be a conversation, not a statement.

July 31st, 2009 by Michael Giuffrida

As a business owner, it’s sometimes difficult to think about upgrading things that seem to be “working”, especially in tough economic times.  The question is, “are they really working as hard as they can be for your business?”.  A great example of this is your company’s website.  While it was OK 5 years ago to [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

I just want IT to work!

April 9th, 2009 by Tracy Fox

One of the most common things I hear when I meet with small business owner to talk about technology is “I just want it to work”. You didn’t start your business because you wanted to design and maintain a computer network or a web site, but you have come to the realization that you [...]

Read the rest of this entry »