There are only so many hours in a workday, so making the most of your time is vital. If distracting websites, unorganized files, and cluttered inboxes prevent you from getting work done, consider these tips to better manage your time and stay productive at work.

Monitor productivity levels

Start by tracking how much work you complete on an average day. There are useful apps for this such as Google Chrome Extensions like RescueTime, which record your most frequently visited sites and track how much time you spend away from your computer. Running the app will provide you with a productivity rating and a detailed log of how you spend your time at work.

If you discover you’re wasting a huge portion of your time on social networking and other productivity killers, you’re more likely to make conscious adjustments on how you manage your time.

Get rid of clutter

You can also decrease distractions and increasing output by deleting old files, uninstalling unused programs, and organizing documents into appropriately labeled folders. This makes files easier to find and improves your computer’s performance.

As for the clutter in your email inbox, Gmail and Outlook both have features that filter out unimportant messages. Simply enable Priority Inbox on Gmail or Clutter on Outlook to get a clean, spam-free inbox.

Block time-wasting sites

Visiting non-work-related websites hinders productivity. A quick five-minute break to check your Facebook feed may not seem like much, but a few of those per day add up to a lot of time.

If you and your employees have trouble staying away from social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, it’s a good idea to block access to them using URL filters.

Alternatively, you can use apps like StayFocusd or Strict Workflow. These allow you to set a limit on how long and how many times users can visit non-work-related sites.

Stay on track with to-do lists

To-do lists help you break down large projects into manageable, bite-sized tasks. Crossing things off the list is surprisingly satisfying since it gives you and your employees a sense of accomplishment and total visibility of your progress.

You can choose from a wide variety of digital to-do lists like Google Tasks or Trello. These platforms allow you to set deadlines for small tasks and write clear instructions for each. What’s more, they’re incredibly easy to use and are great for keeping track of your workflow.

Use keyboard shortcuts

Mastering keyboard shortcuts will make it easier to perform simple functions. There are more than a hundred useful shortcuts, but some that you should always keep in mind are:

• Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + X – to copy, paste, and cut selected items
• Ctrl + Z – to undo changes
• Ctrl + T – to open a new tab on your web browser
• Alt + Tab – to switch between open windows
• Alt + F4 – to close the program

For many more like these, take a look at this list of advanced shortcuts for Windows.

In this digital age of short attention spans, focus is key to achieving business success. Drop us a line today if you’d like to know more about how tech can induce focus and improve overall productivity.

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If malware infects your computer, it would either crash at random, display annoying ads or notifications, or slow down. An Android device that has been breached by malware will not immediately show any signs of infection, unless it’s ransomware.

How does ransomware make it onto your Android device?
Like its desktop equivalent, mobile ransomware needs to be installed on your device before it can do damage. For Android devices, this means mobile apps that hide their true intent. There are two ways to install programs on your mobile device: downloading them from app stores like Google Play and Amazon Appstore, or downloading them directly from websites and email links.

Surprisingly, both come with risks. Unverified sources often advertise free apps that hide malware, and the best of these can occasionally avoid detection and be allowed into monitored app stores.

What does mobile ransomware look like?
Similar to ransomware on personal computers, mobile ransomware holds data stored on your device hostage and demands ransom. For example, the popular Russian social network app OK was infected by ransomware in early 2018. The malware prompted users to change device settings. There was no option to close the prompt, and tapping Accept locked everything down and left victims with nothing but a ransom note.

How do you protect yourself from mobile ransomware?
First and foremost, avoid downloading apps directly from websites or third-party app stores. Additionally, make sure you turn on Google’s security system — Verify Apps — which scans all the apps about to be installed on your device for potential threats. You can do so by opening Settings > Security > Verify Apps, and activating :Scan device for security threats.”

Second, install antivirus software on your device and keep it up to date.

Third, back up important files from your device to either a USB disk, a computer, or any cloud-based service. This way, you won’t lose valuable data if you are forced to factory-reset your smartphone or tablet.

Last, if ransomware made its way onto your device, don’t pay. According to IT security company ESET, mobile ransomware very rarely includes programming to reverse the damage it has done.

Losing any type of data is at least an annoying inconvenience or at most an enormous legal liability. Businesses need to be especially careful about careless employees. Data loss could result in lawsuits or regulatory fines, so it’s important that everyone knows how to safeguard their Android devices against ransomware.

For more in-depth advice on how to protect yourself and your business from this threat, get in touch with our experts today.

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The term “serverless computing” conjures images of a world where business owners don’t need to purchase expensive hardware or configure complex software. Luckily, serverless computing isn’t just a dream — it’s completely real and is the next big thing in cloud computing.

What is serverless computing?

Serverless computing is a bit of a misnomer since this model still uses servers, or computers that process requests and deliver data over a network. Outsourcing workloads to the cloud requires just as much hardware as if the computations were performed in an on-site server. The only difference is the location of the server.

In serverless computing, servers are maintained in the cloud. Office 365 and Google Docs are great examples of this model. Thousands of servers are set up to run these apps so that they can always handle millions of users at any given moment. Microsoft and Google need to manage and maintain these servers round-the-clock to keep up with demand — always on and always ready to handle more workloads, even during off-peak hours.

Serverless computing enables developers to create apps and websites that use cloud resources only when they’re needed. So if you were to create a web app, you wouldn’t need to pay for a dedicated cloud server. The cloud provider would host your app’s programming code and run it only when a user requested it, and allocate the appropriate resources and charge by the second for what is used.

What are its benefits?

Serverless computing is perfect for those who use cloud resources for processing power. It isn’t for those who use the cloud just to store files. But if you use the cloud to process information and turn it into something more useful, serverless computing will be a great help.

Take for example Amazon’s Alexa. Every command Alexa responds to is nothing more than an app that sits dormant until a user tells the AI assistant to run it. Small businesses are taking advantage of this by developing apps in Amazon’s cloud that Alexa can process without the burden of setting up a dedicated server.

Serverless computing isn’t about getting rid of servers; it’s about using their raw computing power without having to fine tune them first. It’s categorized as a virtualization technology and offers countless opportunities for SMBs working with limited budgets.

If you have questions about virtualization and how your SMB can use it to lower costs and increase efficiencies, reach out to us today.

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Business owners and managers are bombarded with large volumes of data on a daily basis and are increasingly having trouble making sense of it all. Today, they need cutting-edge solutions to generate reports and gain actionable insights to make smarter decisions. They need Google Data Studio.

What is Google Data Studio?
Google Data Studio is a data visualization tool that enables you to turn raw data into detailed and digestible reports. It pulls information from data collection platforms and centralizes it in a single dashboard.

At first glance, Data Studio may seem like any run-of-the-mill reporting software, but it has plenty of features worth mentioning.

Compatible with several data sources
Google Data Studio naturally collects data from Google Ads, Analytics, and YouTube. However, you can also import from various third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, MailChimp, Salesforce, and MySQL, just to name a few. By consolidating all this information in one dashboard, you’ll be able to gain valuable insights into your operations, finances, and marketing campaigns.

Fully customizable
Data Studio lets you customize your reports however you like. You can start with a blank template or use pre-packaged templates. From there, it’s easy to drag and drop widgets, charts, graphs, and data onto your dashboard. You can even customize aesthetics by changing colors, formatting, and fonts.

Interactive real-time reports
The reports you create are also dynamic. Whenever you add information on one of your data sources, Data Studio will automatically update the reports. What’s more, you can filter reports based on date, time, users, and other parameters to get the metrics you need.

Seamless collaboration
Working with your colleagues on Google Data Studio is as straightforward as using Google Docs. To share reports, all you have to do is send your coworkers a link and give them permission to comment and edit the information. There’s also no need to install local software on your machine. Data Studio is fully cloud-based, meaning authorized users can access your reports from any approved internet browser.

It’s free!
That’s right, Google Data Studio and all its robust reporting features come at no additional cost to your business. Although there are paid alternatives that claim to have better features, Data Studio is constantly getting feature updates and support from Google, so it’s a no-brainer.

If you want to learn more about Google Data Studio for your business, call us today. While it is fairly straightforward to use, we can show you how to make the most out of the software. We even provide comprehensive support services for all things IT.

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