MSPNetworks Blog

Financial management and accounting are two business needs that apply to all organizations of any size or industry. Fortunately, these organizations have access to tools like Intuit QuickBooks to help them fill these needs in a way that is accessible and convenient.

Let’s review some shortcuts to help you be more productive in managing your business finances via QuickBooks.

With technology becoming more mobile, the way we interact with tech has changed considerably. Now that dial-up has evolved to broadband and cellular networks have dramatically improved, technology has allowed people to become more connected than ever. Your business can improve its communications and operations with the right mobile technology.

Cloud computing has become a common tool, especially Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Hosted software provides robust options that make sense to all companies, including anytime-anywhere availability, scalability, and provider management of the underlying hardware. In today’s blog, we want to discuss a couple of tips people can use when working with cloud computing.

Protecting your business’ accounts is something we will advocate for on repeat. You’ll hear us tell you about complex and unique passwords and multi-factor authentication until you’re sick of hearing it. But one tool that our clients sometimes forget is the password manager—an equally useful tool that can help your business keep passwords safe and secure.

It isn’t a secret that working with different times in a spreadsheet can be a real pain… even if you’re just trying to add them all up. Fortunately (and a little unsurprisingly), this is because these programs have a specific function to accomplish this.

Let’s review the process you should follow in your spreadsheet program, whether you use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

Effective management is crucial for success. One way to achieve this is by using management software. With so many options available, how do you choose the right one? Today’s article explores the different types of management software to help you make an informed decision.

When someone mentions cookies, people start paying attention. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodles… Browser? While Browser cookies aren’t the most scrumptious, they do need some attention. Nowadays, many websites you visit have a popup asking if they want to allow cookies for that site and knowing what you are agreeing to is important. In today’s blog, we will describe what cookies are, how they work, and why they can sometimes be better than cookies with chocolate chips. 

You can’t take two steps outside of your home or two mouse-clicks or screen-taps online without seeing something written or hearing someone talking about AI. This has created a situation where every business is claiming AI as a revolutionary tool and consumers, overwhelmed with the term, have begun to take the technology for granted. In today’s blog, we want to determine whether AI brings added value or is just a term used to help companies market their products.

The entire point of modern technology is to make things easier. Businesses don’t invest in computers and software simply to throw away money—technology exists to streamline operations and help you get more done in less time.

Let’s look at some of the standard technologies your business should consider to gain more value out of your technology.

In mobile operating systems, each fresh iteration tends to bring forth marginal improvements and refinements to enhance the user experience. Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 17, follows suit in this tradition. Let's take a brief look at some of its noteworthy additions.

Streamlining Verification Code Messages

Basic multi-factor authentication is commonly employed for secure account access, with codes sent via email and text messages. Dealing with a barrage of these codes piling up in your inboxes is a familiar scenario. iOS 17 introduces a feature allowing automatic deletion of these messages once codes are entered through AutoFill. Navigate to Settings, then Passwords > Password Options, and you'll find the option to Clean Up Automatically under Verification Codes. This ensures that codes inserted via AutoFill are promptly removed from the Messages or Mail applications after use.

Elevated AirPod Capabilities

We've all witnessed or experienced the awkward fumbling with AirPods as a conversation kicks off. Thankfully, users with the second-generation AirPods Pro and iOS 17 can enjoy new features, such as Conversation Awareness. This feature enables AirPods to sense when the wearer speaks, reducing media and background noise volume while enhancing voices in front of you. Combined with Adaptive Audio and Personalized Volume, iOS 17 significantly enhances the capabilities of AirPods.

Siri Receives a Boost

"Hey, Siri." Repeat it three times, right? Not anymore. iOS 17 eliminates the need to say "hey" before Siri's wake word. Moreover, users can seamlessly string together a series of queries without repeating "Hey, Siri" or even "Siri" before each one.

Effortless Message Retrieval

If you're like most people, your Messages application likely harbors hundreds, if not thousands, of accumulated messages. Locating a specific message amid this digital haystack was a daunting task—until iOS 17. The updated system introduces a Search function in Messages, allowing users to pinpoint messages based on the sender's contact, the presence of a link, the inclusion of a photo, and more.

This is just a glimpse into the array of offerings in the latest iOS version. While we advocate for regular software updates for security, the added features are a delightful bonus. May your device find renewed utility with these enhancements.

Whatever your industry, there are going to be processes that need to be followed, and this will require no small amount of organization to keep all the moving parts in tandem with each other. Fortunately, tools that can help with your project management needs are readily available, so long as you take advantage of their capabilities.

Take Google Sheets, for instance.

It’s true! Not only does Google Sheets offer fully customizable templates intended specifically for project management purposes, there are a lot of other features that are conducive to the kind of processes that should make up your project management activities.

For instance:

Google Sheets Allows You to Create Custom Dropdown Lists

With all the standard updates that proper project management will require—for instance, the status of certain goals and initiatives within your process—having the ability to select from a preconfigured list is hugely helpful. 

The existing templates that Sheets offers give you the opportunity to edit the drop-downs they come populated with. All you have to do is click the small downward arrow in the cell, select the pencil icon in the resulting menu, and edit the rules for the dropdown. For added visibility, you can even apply different colors to the different options. 

However, you won’t be able to add new options to your dropdowns or change the order in which they appear if using a preconfigured option. That will require you to create a dropdown menu from scratch. Once you’ve selected the cell or range of cells you want the dropdown to appear in, click Insert and then select Dropdown. A sidebar will appear for you to populate the data validation rules you want… or in other words, what options you want your dropdown menu to include. Once you’ve added and arranged your options, click Done to complete the process.

The Inherent Collaboration within Google Sheets Makes It Easier to Fully Plan a Project

Today’s workplace is increasingly built on collaborative work, which means that it is all the more important that the tools used therein are conducive to this kind of collaboration. Google Sheets, just as with the rest of the Google Workspace offering, is built to help you accomplish just that. Adding contributors to your spreadsheet is a simple matter… all you need to do is click the Share button at the top right of your page, select who you want to grant access to and specify the level of access and permissions you want to provide.

Once you’ve done so, others will be able to interact with a given Sheet at the level you have permitted them to—and you’ll still be able to adjust these permissions as needs change.

Google Sheets Allows You to Tag Your Collaborators

Google Sheets offers a feature called smart chips—small interactive widgets that can be embedded into your documents that link to pertinent information. You can tag different collaborators directly in the spreadsheet, and from there, email them, kick off a video chat, or (most applicable to our purposes today) assign a task to them.

We Can Help Outfit You with Proper Project Management Software, Too

Of course, you may prefer to use a dedicated software to help organize your company’s activities. Turning to us means you’ll have someone in the wings to help you procure, manage, and maintain all of the tools that your company uses.

Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

It seems that almost everyone owns a smartphone these days, and with smartphones come a multitude of apps. Mobile applications are the driving force behind the world\'s largest computing ecosystems. Consequently, the question arises, "Is it necessary for my business to have a mobile app?" Whether this is a wise decision depends on your unique business objectives, target audience, and available resources. Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of developing a mobile app for your business.

Here are a few advantages of developing a mobile app:

• Enhanced Customer Engagement - Mobile apps offer a direct channel to engage with your customers, enabling personalized notifications and exclusive offers, fostering enduring customer loyalty.
• Improved User Experience - Apps provide a smoother and more interactive user experience in comparison to mobile websites, leading to greater user satisfaction.
• Access to Device Features - You can harness the capabilities of the device, such as the camera, GPS, and push notifications, to provide enhanced functionality.
• Branding and Recognition - Having an app can elevate your brand\'s visibility and recognition, giving your business a more professional and tech-savvy image.
• Data Collection and Monetization Opportunities - Apps offer opportunities to gather valuable data on user behavior and preferences, which can inform your business strategy. Additionally, you can generate revenue through app purchases, in-app advertising, or premium features.

Here are a few disadvantages of developing a mobile app:

• Development and Maintenance Costs - Creating and maintaining a mobile app can be considerably more expensive than maintaining a website, especially if it needs to support multiple platforms like iOS and Android.
• Market Saturation - There are millions of apps available, and if you operate in a market that has a lot of competition, having just another app could actually work to your business’ detriment.
• Compatibility Issues - Ensuring that your app functions smoothly on various devices and operating system versions can be complex, necessitating continuous development to ensure updates are available for each platform. If your app becomes incompatible with newer versions of iOS or Android, it will require additional time and financial resources to update.
• Security Concerns - Apps, especially those not in constant development, can be vulnerable to security threats. You must invest in security measures to protect user data.

Before deciding to develop a mobile app for your business, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, take into account your target audience\'s preferences, and evaluate your long-term strategy. In some instances, a mobile-responsive website may be a more cost-effective and practical choice.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to invest in an app or opt for a website depends on the individual business owner\'s assessment of what best serves their business\' needs.

What is art? It’s not an easy question to answer, especially with new techniques and mediums being developed all the time. By definition, art can be basically summed up as the creative expression of an individual through some medium.

For Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi, that medium is one that is familiar to those in and out of the art world.

Tatsuo Horiuchi Excels at His Craft…

…in a very literal sense. His art is not formed by clay or paint, but instead, the cells found in a Microsoft Excel worksheet.

Upon his retirement from his work as a medical equipment engineer, Tatsuo wanted to keep himself occupied, and his thoughts turned to becoming an artist. Lacking the supplies to do so traditionally (as well as the desire to invest in these supplies), the burgeoning artist decided to utilize a tool that he already had access to: Excel.

As he had never actively used the software for his work, Tatsuo dove into learning about the software and its features, teaching himself how to use different tools to accomplish different things. The autoshape feature helps with the overall design, the graph-focused line tool was repurposed to create trees, and the fill tool allows him to accomplish the shading that amplifies a painting’s depth. Gradually teaching himself these little tricks, Tatsuo’s process began in 2000 with the goal of creating something he would be willing to show to people within 10 years. His first three years were focused on learning to use Excel’s tools to create recognizable shapes and objects, while the next three were focused on combining them all into a cohesive image. In 2006, he won the Excel Autoshape Art Contest.

Since then, Tatsuo’s art has been featured at the Gunma Museum of Art, an honor shared by the likes of Monet and Renoir.

You can check out some of his work here.

One Moral of the Story: Technology Can Be Leveraged in Many Ways

All it takes is a bit of ingenuity. That being said, we don’t want your business to go without the information technology that would benefit its processes—or that keeps it compliant with various regulations and requirements.

Our team at MSPNetworks has been helping businesses around New York manage their IT since YEAR, and we’d love the opportunity to help you with yours. While we can’t promise to turn your team into award-winning artists, we can help them do more with their technology. Find out more about our managed IT services and what they can help you accomplish by calling (516) 403-9001.

The Windows operating system has gradually improved since it was first released back in 1985, bringing us to Windows 11 and its productivity-boosting capabilities nearly four decades later. Let’s take a closer look at just a few of these features so you can make the most of your time using the OS.

The Windows Clipboard Offers Far More Utility

Historically, the Windows Clipboard had a one-and-done level of functionality. You could copy one clip into it and use it for the rest of the time you were on the computer… provided you never copied anything else. If you did, your original clip was lost.

Nowadays, the Clipboard is far more capable than just this. Today, multiple clips can be stored and selected from—and what’s more, these clips can be stored in your Clipboard permanently, potentially making it far more convenient for you to replicate content that you come back to on a regular basis, from multiple devices.

To view the complete Clipboard, press Windows Key + V. A window will open that displays all of the clips you’ve taken during your session. You can also identify anything you want to persist after your device restarts by selecting the three-dot icon on any copied content and selecting Pin. This is great if there’s any boilerplate you regularly need to paste into an email or document template, and it ensures that this content will be there until you actively delete it from your Clipboard.

Focus Sessions Allow You to Eliminate Distractions

For all the benefits that technology and its inherent connectivity bring, it does have one pretty significant drawback: it makes it far more difficult to focus on any one task, with all the reminders and notifications for other things that need to be done popping up and dinging, breaking your concentration. To address this, Windows 11 offers a feature called Focus sessions, which effectively puts the operating system into Do Not Disturb, muting notifications for a time that you determine.

To start a session, search for clock in the Search box and access the Clock app. There, you’ll see the Focus sessions option, where you can set a duration for your focus session. If the session is 30 minutes or less, no breaks will be factored in, but longer sessions will have breaks automatically incorporated into your session unless you check the Skip breaks option. Click Start focus session to get down to business.

You can even link your Spotify account to play music during your session, as well as set long-term goals for its use.

Microsoft Teams is Accessible Via the Taskbar

Many organizations have formalized the use of Teams as their internal communications platform of choice, which makes the decision to incorporate a quick-access tool for it into Windows 11 sound like a smart decision. The operating system now incorporates a simple version of Teams in the taskbar itself, allowing you to repeat your most recent activity on the platform—all you have to do is click the icon or press Windows Key + C. From there, you can start a video call via the Meet option or a text conversation via Chat. If these options aren’t enough, you can also Open Microsoft Teams properly via this easy-access menu.

We hope these capabilities help you throughout your workday, along with the other tools that Windows 11 makes available to you! For assistance in other ways that your technology can work harder for you, give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today.

As a manager, some of the administrative work can be, if not the worst part of the job, easily the least engaging. For instance, having to create all the different folders for the employees under your purview, projects, and other organizational needs. Fortunately, Microsoft Excel offers a relatively quick and easy way of doing just this.

Let’s walk through the process.

How to Use Excel to Mass Generate Folders (and Even Subfolders!)

Rather than manually going through, creating and naming each folder you need, Microsoft Excel enables you to automate the process somewhat. The trick revolves around you creating a Windows Batch file—a type of file that contains a script that executes predetermined commands in a specified order.

The process is as follows:

• In one column, list all of the names your different folders need to have, whether that’s a month and year, each of your team members’ names, or your different departments.
  
  
• To turn this into a batch file, you first need to add a second column that formats this data in a very specific way. Let’s assume that you wanted a folder for each month of 2024, for instance.
  
  
  
  • Your first column will be your list of months, January, February and so on, with cell A1 formatted as “2024 - January” to help avoid Excel auto-formatting your data.
    
    
  • Your second column will have the batch command filled out. This will require the following formula to be used:
    
    ="MD "&""""&A1&""""
    
    Dragging the bottom corner of your top cell down will populate the rest of your list, referencing the proper cell in the first column to complete the formula.

• This will give you a list formatted as MD “2024 - January” and so on. Copy and paste this data into your Notepad application.
  
  
• Once your batch commands are copied over, save your Notepad file as a .bat file format wherever you want your folders to be saved. Clicking this file will generate the folders where the .bat file was located.

Hopefully, this will help you to more quickly create the folders you require for your assorted needs.

Microsoft’s operating systems have been around for a long time, and since Windows 95, Microsoft has published free utilities that can help users make slight adjustments to their operating systems to suit their needs. Microsoft PowerToys are even available now, and we want to explore what they can do for your business, as well as how you can acquire them.

We’ll be delving into what PowerToys can do for users of Windows 10 and Windows 11 today.

What Can PowerToys Users Do?

This is only a small sampling of what PowerToys can do for you. We’ve curated this list for ones that you are most likely to use in a business setting.

Shortcut Guide

While this tool is activated, your Windows Key can be used to provide a list of available shortcuts. If you hold it down, native shortcuts in your active window will display. It’s a great way to see at a glance just what utility is at your fingertips.

Keyboard Manager

PowerToys also lets you adjust your own preferences, including how your device reads your keystrokes. You can replace some shortcuts with others, for example. Just keep in mind that you’ll need PowerToys to remain active in the background if you want your changes to stay applied.

FancyZones

FancyZones lets you keep your desktop and applications better organized, dividing your display into various zones that retain information on display configurations and other settings, allowing you to keep things consistent.

Text Extractor

PowerToys also lets you extract text from anywhere on your screen, including things from images, videos, and the like. It might not always be perfect, so it will need some oversight on your part, but it’s a nifty tool nonetheless.

Always On Top

You will always have applications which you would prefer to be on top of the stack, and this PowerToy allows you to make that happen easily. It will keep your specified window open above the others so it’s easy to get back to, as long as you have it activated. You can customize the shortcut for this feature and turn it on or off at will.

Discuss PowerToys with Your IT First

We know that it can be fun and exciting to play around with new features, especially if it’s your idea to make things better and more streamlined, but we always encourage you to consult your IT first before making any drastic changes to your operating system. PowerToys would have to be downloaded from the Internet, and as such, it could be subject to a threat of some sort. We recommend that only IT download or install any applications on your workplace devices, or an outsourced IT provider like us.

While security is one reason for this, the other is that you want to test any applications you want to install before you actually follow through on the installation to make sure that nothing breaks. There’s also the chance that you could be downloading malware or bootleg copies of the software, and no one wants to be caught with pirated software!

Plus, there’s always the possibility that you already have tools out there that accomplish the same task installed on your infrastructure, or there might be better alternatives to your proposed solution. IT can open your eyes to the possibilities while respecting your desire to make operations and processes better.

Want to get started with IT management from MSPNetworks? It’s simple! All you have to do is call us at (516) 403-9001.

Every business depends on some type of software, but some businesses seem to have an application for every single thing and it can be too much for employees or administrators to manage. So the question has to be asked: What is the right amount of software for your business? Today, we’ll discuss the types of software every business needs and how to determine what you need. 

Mandatory Software

Obviously, the choice to use certain pieces of software is dictated by your organization’s needs. For example, a manufacturer will need different software than a retail organization, but there are some applications that every business needs to simply run their operation. These titles include:

Accounting 

Managing your business’ finances is made infinitely easier by using software that is specifically designed to do so. Every business needs software that will allow them to keep their taxes in order, manage their payroll, and do general accounting. Let’s briefly go through the features of each application. 

Tax

The object of tax software is to properly track and manage your business’ tax liability so that you are able to pay your business taxes on time and in accordance with the law of the land. Since taxes are mandatory, having software that will allow you to know how much you owe over time is important.

Payroll

Your employees are at the center of everything you do. Ensuring they get their payment every pay period is important. A comprehensive payroll system will have payroll processing, direct deposit, tax filing, and compensation features that allow your HR department to do all that needs to be done in terms of payroll.

Bookkeeping

Keeping the books clean and clear of errors is essential to running a successful business. A good bookkeeping system will have invoicing options, asset amortization, bank reconciliation, and thorough report generation to ensure that your business can stay on top of its money. 

Time Tracking

Time is an asset you simply can’t get back, and for a lot of businesses managing time is the way they dictate efficiency and overall productivity. By being able to track all the time that every service or project takes, you can make critical decisions that will dictate how your business runs. 

Project Management

Project management software covers a lot of ground. Essentially you need a platform for your team to share files, communicate about projects, and give the project manager the ability to assign tasks and coordinate the different resources needed for project completion.

Productivity

Most businesses use word processing, spreadsheet platforms, and presentation tools as a part of doing business. Today, there are a few really useful cloud-hosted tools that provide these applications and more. 

CRM

Customer Relationship Management software allows customers a way to interact with your business and provides your workers a place to store and share information concerning those crucial customer relationships. It is an essential productivity tool for any service provider.

Security

All businesses will need to handle their operations securely. In terms of cybersecurity, there are a lot of digital tools that can be used. These include antivirus software, content filtering, and firewalls. 

That is just a fraction of the software that most businesses have. Here are some other applications that businesses use:

Communications

Being able to effectively communicate can make or break a business. Typically, businesses utilize a combination of mail, email, telephone, video conferencing, and online collaboration. Finding the right communications platform not only improves operational efficiency, it can do wonders for customer satisfaction as well.

Marketing

The right marketing and advertising can put your business in front of the type of people that are looking to buy your products or subscribe to your services. Today, there are many different applications that allow businesses to manage their social media, run campaigns, and target prospective customers.

Sales

Likewise, sales teams often have their own dedicated software to help them track leads, schedule appointments and keep track of their sales funnel. 

Miscellaneous

Most of the software your business uses will be listed under this moniker. Software like operating systems, networking software, and Internet browsers all need attention so as to not cause security problems for your business. 

We Can Help You Get the Tools You Need

With so many parts of your business having to be addressed with software, our knowledgeable technology experts can help you get the tools you need to effectively run your business. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more. 

Smartphone applications are in high demand from both a consumer and a business perspective, so it stands to reason that these ecosystems are large in scope, encompassing millions of apps on both the Google Play and Apple App stores. Have you ever wondered how these companies ensure that the apps found on their stores are secure and legitimate?

The Current State of App Store Security

You’ll be happy to know that Google and Apple take measures to protect their users from malware, but it is admittedly not a perfect system, as there is a very real chance that malicious apps can find homes on the storefronts. This is dangerous because most people tend to trust the apps they find on the app stores, and criminals will use these presumptions to steal data, deploy malware, or spy on individuals.

Google Play has a system which effectively limits the amount of dangerous apps on the platform, but despite this, it still has the highest record for troublesome software available for download. The Apple App store does have fewer issues here, but note the word “fewer,” as this doesn’t mean that there are no problems to be found at all.

That said, even if most apps are safe to download from app stores, there will always be outliers that skirt the system to do evil.

App Stores Don’t Guarantee Safety or Security, Unfortunately

App stores generally have very strict guidelines for what they allow on their storefronts, preventing most malicious apps from finding their new homes on their distribution platforms. Unfortunately, there are always cases—even unlikely ones—where malicious entities are able to distribute their malware to unsuspecting users.

What Are the Potential Problems?

If you think you might have downloaded a malicious application, then you could see issues related to these problems:

• Ad fraud: Ads are nothing new—after all, developers need to make money somehow—but fraudulent ads could run in the background and reroute your clicks to various websites, thus eating up your battery and using your phone’s resources.
• Browser hacking: Malicious apps can also take over your web browser and make it open websites that could leave you vulnerable to data theft or fraudulent promotions.
• Data theft: Some apps are installed for the sole purpose of stealing your data, and if you’re not careful with the permissions you grant, you could wind up having a serious problem on your hands.

What Do You Do?

There are ways you can fight back against malicious apps. Here are just a few of them:

• Don’t jailbreak or sideload apps onto your phone: Downloading apps from other parts of the Internet and not from your app store (a term known as sideloading) on a jailbroken device gives malicious apps more control over what they can do with your device. Just avoid doing this at all costs.
• Update your operating system: Like all other software you might use, for work or otherwise, you’ll want to keep your operating systems updated to ensure you have potential vulnerabilities shored up.
• Do your research: Reading up on the reviews for any applications you are potentially planning to download could save you a lot of trouble. Furthermore, only download from trusted sources if you can help it.

MSPNetworks can help your business maximize security on all fronts, mobile included. To learn more, call us today at (516) 403-9001.

Software makes business run: that is an undeniable statement. From the operations software that allows your business to manage and pay its people to the CRM that provides a pathway to communicate efficiently with customers, to all of the applications that it takes to conduct business in earnest, software plays a crucial role in your business’ success. 

A lot of software is developed for business purposes, but very few are developed with the small business in mind. This is logical because the more licenses of a software can be sold, the more money the developer will make. More than that, the software developed for use by a large organization will have the features that can help an organization cover more ground. 

Some of the differences between the two include:

• Audience - Obviously, enterprise software is developed for a large organization to be deployed by one. Since most large companies have a hierarchical structure, the software that is developed for them is going to address the needs of the groups involved. 
• Options - The software that is built for enterprise business will need to have more options than a stand-alone application will.
• Storage - Since enterprise software is dealing with a lot of sensitive data, alternative storage considerations have to be made. Today, more and more businesses are utilizing cloud computing because of the flexible amount of storage that is available. Enterprise businesses can scale up and back without having to count every penny, a luxury many small organizations don’t have. 
• Different process - While the creation of software is relatively the same, enterprise software carries with it a lot of customization as it needs to fix specific problems the enterprise has. This whole process includes integration and interoperability that is necessary to be a viable solution for enterprise business. 
• Scalability - Any good business expects some semblance of growth or redirection of company objectives. In software, that means being able to scale to the new reality of a business quickly. It’s the only way for the seamless operations and thorough reporting that enterprise demands. 

Using Enterprise Software for an SMB

This is where the whole thing gets tricky for the small business. Do you purchase an enterprise-level software and parse it down to fit your needs; or, do you make due with the consumer versions of the software needed?

It depends on a few factors:

1. If you plan on deploying software in the cloud, you may be able to get the best version of a software and kind of make it fit your business. Typically, these massive software platforms like Professional Services Automation (PSA) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) have all the functions that your SMB needs. 
2. You need to consider the cost. What is the cost to purchase the software, the licenses, the underlying hardware needed to run it, and all the other considerations that go into making technology decisions for your business. 
3. The differences between enterprise software and regular software may be noticeable but they are shrinking. Most organizations that use Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms are getting robust software as part of their monthly agreement. 

While a smaller business might not want to overspend or get something that is overkill, there are long term benefits in being able to grow and scale into more robust options instead of fumbling along and upgrading when you can’t take it anymore. Software is important so having the perspective of experienced IT professionals can help you get the tools your business needs to be successful. Give us a call today at (516) 403-9001.

Software makes or breaks businesses, so your software strategy should be implemented with sound logic in mind. One of the ways you can make the most out of your limited resources and budget is to consider cloud-hosted Software as a Service offerings. With SaaS, you can implement better software that is more accessible, flexible, and manageable than the traditional method of hosting.

We want you to know that we have your back and can help you implement any technology solutions you decide would work well for your business. All you have to do is call us at (516) 403-9001 to get started. Now, let’s dive into the many benefits of SaaS applications for small businesses.

Remote Accessibility

Many employees are now going about their everyday tasks while out of the office, so accessibility is a major factor that plays into companies’ consideration of SaaS solutions. The cloud makes for a great way for your team to access their solutions, giving them the ability to get work done whether from the comfort of the home or from the office itself. If the application can be hosted in the cloud, the only thing you need is a stable Internet connection to get work done.

Flexibility in Your Operations

Your infrastructure is likely to undergo significant changes as your business grows and evolves, and so too will the stress you place on your company’s network. The scalability and flexibility that comes from SaaS solutions is extremely helpful here, as you can add or remove accounts and users as you need to. You’ll have greater control over your company’s capital by being able to remove accounts that no longer see any use.

For example, you can create an account for a temporary worker, then cancel the account after the employee leaves your business. This means you’re not purchasing an entire license for a short-term arrangement.

Better Maintenance and Management Practices

If you use SaaS solutions, you’ll be relieved to know that you aren’t going to be the one managing and maintaining the solution. This will be done by the cloud service provider, and on top of that, they will also patch and update their services so that you’re always using the most up-to-date versions of your software. It’s great for businesses that have limited resources for managing IT.

MSPNetworks can help your business implement SaaS solutions and best utilize your available resources. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.