Call today to receive your 3rd year free on us. This is a limited offer and subject to change. Call 724-658-8300

Protect your employees anytime, anywhere, on any device with security designed specifically for small business. Worry-Free Business Security provides complete user protection for your PC’s Macs, Servers, and Mobile Devices that includes:

• Ransomware Protection
• Antivirus
• Antispam
• Web Security
• Data Protection

Choose the right service for your business:

The post We’ll protect your computer for 3 years, but only charge you for 2. first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post We’ll protect your computer for 3 years, but only charge you for 2. appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

Not All Carriers are created Equal

There’s a lot of different carriers to choose from. A lot of business think they only have one option and severely overpay for their services. We come into your business and evaluate your needs. From there, we reach out to all of the carriers available in your area, compile a comprehensive quote and present you with several options. 

A recent customer of ours overlooked their phone bill for decades. After using us, we saved them over $50,000 in 5 years. In fact, on average, we save our customers 40% or more. One appointment could save you thousands a year and provide you with the same if not better service then you had before. Our goal is to provide services that pay for themselves, provide you with new equipment that pays for itself and still save you money every year. 

Call us today to find out more. 724-658-8300

The post Not All Carriers are created equal first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post Not All Carriers are created equal appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

We save our customer an average of 40% on their Phone and Internet Service

We save our customers an average of 40% on their Phone and Internet Bills. After one meeting, we can save your business thousands a year. With over 30 years in the industry, we’ve created close relationships with Carriers. This enables use to pick and choose what services best fit your business needs. 

A recent customer we quoted saved over $50,000.00 in 5 years. That’s quite a lot of money to set aside for Christmas or invest in other area’s of the business. We’ve been around for over 30 years because our customers appreciate the investment we make in our customers. We get to know each business and provide solutions to save money. 

Become apart of the Favorite Family and enjoy our expertise in the IT industry. We take the hassle out of IT by providing our customers with a one stop solution for all their IT needs. No more waiting on hold with your phone provider because of an issue, we handle all of that for our customers. 

Call 724-658-8300 today to schedule your Free appointment. 

The post We can help you pay for your entire Christmas with just one meeting. first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post We can help you pay for your entire Christmas with just one meeting. appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

Do you know a business that needs help getting their IT up to par? Do you work for a company that is constantly running into issues and has a less then stellar “IT Man”. Are you an Accountant, but you’ve also been designated the “On Call IT Guy” too, who just knows enough to patch things up? We’ve all been there, let’s fix this together! Let us come in and show you how we can save a business thousands in one year. 

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The post Receive Free Gas for every Referral! first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post Receive Free Gas for every Referral! appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

With business becoming more digital and employee’s taking on multiple daily tasks, equipping your business with correct security tools is essential. Many businesses tend see Access Control in a narrow field of view consisting of Cameras and sensors. While these are important, they’re just a small piece of a unified security solution. 

As a Business Owner/Admin/Executive, ask yourself these questions:

• Has your business evaluated what you have to lose?
• Is your equipment/server room secure? Does it have a bio-metric/keypad installed?
• What about the need to read license plates of arriving/departing vehicles? 
• When an event occurs, are you able to remotely respond? 
• Are you tracking who is arriving/departing your business? 
• Does your business have the ability to remotely deter/stop intrusions? 
• Have you completed an assessment on User Access Control (UAC)? 
  • Who has access to your data?
  • Are you secure enough to stop potential data theft from occurring? 
  • Can you wipe/secure data in the event of a lost device?
• Do you need the ability to selectively buzz people in to your building? 

These are some scenarios, but not all, to think about. We offer a free on premise assessment of your security, data and infrastructure. With over 30 years in IT, our assessments are utilized to thwart many security holes that were never foreseen. For your free assessment, please call us today. 724-658-8300

The post Security Access Control- Why it’s important first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post Security Access Control- Why it’s important appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

Why businesses are turning to managed IT services

Organizations are increasingly turning to managed service providers (MSPs) to handle elements of their IT needs as part of a collaborative arrangement with the internal IT department, according to new research from IT industry trade association CompTIA.

MSPs have been around for a long time, but adoption has been relatively low. As late as last year CompTIA found that only 3-in-10 organizations had any of their IT in the hands of an MSP, says Carolyn April, senior director, Industry Analysis, at CompTIA. But more than two-thirds of companies surveyed for CompTIA’s Fourth Annual Trends in Managed Services Study, released Monday, say they have used the services of an outside IT firm within the past 12 months.

Companies have become more familiar with managed services and are turning to them for management of certain IT functions, particularly email hosting, customer relationship management (CRM) applications, storage, backup and recovery and network monitoring.

“While one-time projects account for some of these engagements, a significant portion is ongoing management of one or more IT functions by a managed services provider,” says April, who is also author of the report. “There is a much higher degree of familiarity with the term ‘managed services’ and greater adoption.”

Top MSPs extending their reach

Some upper echelon services are offering managed services around data analytics, business intelligence (BI) and advanced application monitoring — and April says there is increasing demand in those areas — but most MSPs have yet to extend beyond their heritage in managing network infrastructure and basic software infrastructure.

“I think mobile is an area where the channel is getting some traction but they’re really not tapping the full opportunity there,” she adds.

Part of the awareness problem in the past has been a definitional one, April says. In these days of software-as-a-service (SaaS), the customers (and sometimes providers) remain unclear about what actually constitutes a managed service.

“I think the definitional issue is an enormous one,” she says. “It’s one of the things that has made it extremely difficult to market size the managed services space and determine adoption rates.”

The MSP community hasn’t done the best job communicating the benefits of managed services to end users, April notes, though the fact that usage has nearly doubled in the past year suggests they’ve begun to do better.

Partners, not replacements

It is also important to note that while companies are increasingly relying on outside providers for part of their IT needs, MSPs generally complement rather than replace internal IT.

“Very few of these companies get rid of their IT staffs just because they join up with an MSP,” April says.

Instead, especially in larger companies, bringing an MSP into the mix frees up existing IT staff to focus on more strategic projects.

“It elevates the IT staff and brings them out of the shadows within the organization,” she says. “It allows them to focus on a custom app dev project or cloud initiative — something highly strategic. I think that’s a win-win for your IT staff.”

That also highlights that the reasons that organizations turn to MSPs have begun to change. In the past, April says, cost savings were seen as the primary benefit of MSPs. Now, she says, cost benefits are considered table stakes and customers are looking for additional benefits like generating revenue and helping the company become more efficient. Even security has evolved from being considered a roadblock to using MSPs to a reason for doing so.

April explains that companies have shifted their views over security as it has become clear that security problems are often the result of human error by internal staff.

Why IT turns to MSPs

CompTIA found that improving the efficiency and reliability of IT operations was a main driving factor for going with an MSP for 56 percent of companies with 100 or more employees and 47 percent of companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Enhanced security and compliance was a driving factor for 38 percent of companies of all sizes. ROI/cost savings was a driving factor for 33 percent of companies with 100 or more employees and 28 percent of companies with fewer than 100 employees.

The trade association found that six-in-10 respondents that consider their technology usage advanced are using an MSP for physical security services. Also, 63 percent of the same group are using an MSP for application monitoring. The managed services that are lowest in demand to date are videoconferencing, mobile device management and audio/visual services.

The post Why More & More Companies use a Managed Service Provider first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post Why More & More Companies use a Managed Service Provider appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

Blackhole Exploit Kit introduced the lucrative but hazardous exploit-kit-ransomware combo with CryptoLocker back in 2013. Soon after, other exploit kits like Angler, Neutrino, Magnitude, and Rig followed suit. At least 18 percent of known ransomware families now arrive via exploit kits.

It should be noted that exploit kits have been distributing a plethora of threats as early as 2006. Since 2010, we’ve seen at least 100 exploits incorporated in more than ten kits. Ransomware comprise just one of the many possible threat types that exploit kits can deliver to vulnerable systems.

Ransomware has already raked in around US$209 million from enterprises alone in the first quarter of 2016. While data loss is an immediate ransomware risk, other ill effects include damage to brand and reputation and legal fines to additional costs to recover critical data do surface.

What makes exploit kits an effective means of delivering a myriad of threats? They require less user action, for one, as they take advantage of unpatched vulnerabilities in the most popular software. In the first half of the year alone, Trend Micro (with TippingPoint) and the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) has already detected 473 vulnerabilities.

At any given time, networks will always have vulnerabilities, especially if they use legacy systems or software. Adding zero-day vulnerabilities to the mix turns system management into a constant race against time. IT administrators need to protect their networks even if security patches for zero-day exploits that are integrated into kits have yet to be released. They need to face various challenges like keeping mission-critical systems online while securing their network perimeters. It doesn’t help that they have to test patches prior to deployment. On average, enterprises need around 30 days for patch testing. These and other factors can introduce windows of exposure to threats brought on by exploit kits.

Read the attached guideon Exploits as a Service (EaaS) to learn how a company’s bottom line can suffer from related attacks and what it can do to secure its perimeter and data.

The post Ransomware could be costing your company more than just money. first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post Ransomware could be costing your company more than just money. appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

• Is your business protected?
• Do you have a disaster recovery plan?
• Are you sure your services are working properly?
• Is your business overpaying for services? 

2017 is nearing and November is the best time to schedule an EOY (End of Year) IT Audit. Do you want to ensure you start your business off to a great New Year? Limited slots are available, please fill the form out below to schedule your free IT Audit. 

The post End of Year IT Audit first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post End of Year IT Audit appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

Article by Forbes: Read the entire article Here

Here’s a list of seven specific reasons why your business should definitely consider investing in your organic SEO:

It still works – First and foremost, the techniques employed to improve SEO still work. Even though data regarding organic traffic from Google was pulled fairly recently, the techniques themselves remain sound. Plenty of SEO case studies performed post-Hummingbird can verify this. Joshua Guerra, CEO of marketing firm BIZCOR says “As long as you are focusing on optimal user experience while performing methodic SEO strategies, you will be rewarded with higher positioning and organic traffic.”

It is not going to stop working any time soon – Based on the way search engines appear to be developing, it is not likely that SEO will cease to be effective any time in the foreseeable future. On some level, even audio and video searches ultimately depend on keywords the same as traditional text-based content; this link ensures the continued success of SEO techniques as long as it exists.

It is cost-effective – Compared to the costs associated with other forms of online marketing such as PPC advertising, social media marketing, or purchasing leads for an email marketing program, SEO provides fairly good ROI. While PPC may drive more revenue and social media may be more important for your image, your organic SEO in many ways remains a bedrock of your online presence.

Search engines grabbing more market share – Somewhere between 80-90% of customers now check online reviews prior to making a purchase, and this number is only expected to increase. It won’t be long before virtually everyone is searching for products and services online. Do you want them to be able to locate your business, or not? Without organic SEO in place, people will have a very hard time finding you and will instead find your competitors.

Rise of mobile bandwidth and local search optimization – Later this year, the amount of traffic delivered to mobile devices is expected to exceed that delivered to traditional desktop devices. With this dramatic explosion in mobile usage, a whole new world of effective SEO techniques have opened up for companies, such as local search optimization.

Not having a healthy content profile is damaging – With each and every update to its search algorithm, Google and other engines change the way they look at websites. Things which didn’t exist a few years ago, such as social media indicators, are now given fairly high importance in terms of their impact on your rankings. Not building a healthy content profile spread out months and years is potentially damaging to your business, as it is one of the factors Google evaluates when looking at your site.

Your competitors are doing it – “Remember, SEO is a never-ending process,” says Jason Bayless, Owner of BestSeoCompanies.com, a website which tracks and ranks the efficacy and service of many of the nation’s leading SEO providers. “If you’re not moving forward and improving your position, you’re losing ground to a competitor who is. That’s a simple fact of how the process works.” Don’t let your competitors out maneuver you by ignoring this valuable tool for your business.

Investing in organic SEO is more important now than ever before, despite the current difficulty everyone finds themselves facing regarding the lack of organic keyword data and traffic. Your business definitely needs to have an SEO strategy in place if you are interested in succeeding in terms of online marketing; it remains one of the single most important components of any organization’s branding efforts and online presence.

The post 7 Reasons Why Your Business Should Invest in SEO first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

The post 7 Reasons Why Your Business Should Invest in SEO appeared first on Favorite Office Automation.

Article By Eweek- Read the full article Here

Small businesses in the United States are increasingly worried about the $1 billion ransomware crisis, with 79 percent of small-business owners saying a presidential candidate’s position on mitigating cyber-threats against their business will influence their vote in November.These were among the findings of a Carbonite survey of small-business owners (SBOs), which also found more than two-thirds of SBOs say that they do not think either of the presidential candidates understand the concerns of a small-business owner.Four in five said that regardless of who wins in November, they do not expect Washington to do anything to help their business.”With the rising number of U.S. small businesses—now more than 28 million—small-business owners have a substantial voice and will impact the upcoming election more than ever before,” Norman Guadagno, chief evangelist at Carbonite, told eWEEK. “The presidential candidates need to be placing more of an emphasis on both the issue of national cyber-security and the protection of small businesses—which can be largely considered the backbone of the American economy.”

As small businesses are creating an entirely new data-based economy—which has the potential to fuel our country for years to come—the disconnect between SBOs and Washington must be resolved to ensure the two groups operate seamlessly toward the common goal of nationwide economic growth, he said.The survey also found a growing number of small businesses (44 percent) believe the federal government should play a more active role in making sure small businesses protect their data.In fact, more than one-third (36 percent) of respondents said they believe the government should mandate data backup procedures to avoid unnecessary data loss.”The primary challenge starts with SMBs having limited budgets and resources dedicated to security,” Guadagno said. “These companies often don’t have the necessary resources to protect against the onslaught of new and evolving threats, like ransomware.”He said building on top of this, SMBs also don’t have the experience or education to deal with hacking situations, noting that from the company’s survey, more than half (54 percent) of respondents said they agree that if they were hacked from the outside, they wouldn’t know what to do.”New exploits pop-up every day and it’s nearly impossible to predict how the threats will manifest themselves in the future,” Guadagno said. “But there’s one certainty—malicious actors will be targeting business data because they know it’s increasingly becoming the single biggest asset to an organization.”The survey suggests that the majority (68 percent) of small businesses view data as their new currency, and there’s a trend for more established, midsize companies warming up to the cloud for business purposes.”The more these SMBs rely on web-based, cloud-cloud transactions, the more those transactions will be at risk,” Guadagno said.

The post Is your Business Protected? first appeared on Favorite Office Automation.

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