The ACCENT Learning Hub

Castle builders in medieval times knew that they needed a layered defense to keep marauders out. They built structures with thick walls, towers and battlements. They surrounded themselves with moats or ramparts, and had built-in attack positions. Doors were the most difficult part of the castle to defend, so they had as few doors as possible, and they often reinforced them with metal. None of these defenses did any good, however, when a castle occupant unknowingly opened the door to an intruder.

I got a call from a client recently asking, “Why are emails from my customers getting caught in my spam filter instead of sent to my inbox?” Fair question. The emails he was referencing were from a customer that he communicates with all the time. And to make matters worse, he didn’t even know the emails had been sent until a customer called to ask why he hadn’t been responding. He was understandably frustrated.

Not a day goes by in the IT world without talking about cyber security. IT professionals are constantly discussing protection methods, access controls, new and existing threats, and ways to reduce risk. To most people who use technology, security measures just get in the way of being able to use or access whatever you’re trying to access. Things like complex passwords, password expirations, and multi-factor authentication are complex ideas that frustrate and confuse people who are just trying to log in to a website or system. In fact, a significant percentage of support calls to manufacturers are related to passwords and system access. Yep, security is a nuisance that gets in the way, and we don’t like to be bothered with it. Nevertheless, cyber security and IT security are crucial.

Why are business owners and executives are turning to managed IT services as a cost effective way to resource the IT function of their business? Because it makes financial sense to do so. When making the switch to managed IT, these leaders aren’t just concerned about cutting their technology expenditures, they’re recognizing that a proactive approach to managing the IT function brings benefits that help them to be good financial stewards, while enabling their business goals. Consider for yourself these top seven financial benefits of managed IT services.

Cybercrime and ransomware attacks have become commonplace in society today. The impact is worldwide, causing headaches and financial troubles for many businesses and consumers. So, how do you stay safe from these threats? Here are a few tips to keep your personal information out of the wrong hands.

Kenny Riedell’s eleven years at Accent Computer Solutions have been anything but boring. Starting right out of IT trade school as an apprentice, Kenny has worked his way through different positions before arriving at the role that he now fills as Senior Technology Architect. The primary goal of his position is to build, train and enforce standardization of client IT systems. Each day Kenny has opportunities to learn something new which means that he never stops expanding his knowledge and skillset.

As we move closer to the end-of-life date for Windows 7, Microsoft support for this popular operating system will be going… going… gone before we know it. January 14, 2020 might seem like it’s a long way off, but hopefully you’re already convinced that you need to upgrade. Here at Accent, we’re feeling a sense of urgency to get the word out that the transition process to Windows 10 needs to begin ASAP, and here are the two biggest mistakes that we don’t want you to make.

Do you ever have trouble finding the time to push a big project forward? Despite the project’s importance and your desire to do the tasks involved, it just never gets off your back burner. Because the project never gets your attention, you don’t move forward towards your goals. That’s what it’s like in your business when your internal IT team gets locked into day-to-day tasks and responsibilities that completely take over their time and attention. Unfortunately, in this situation, the technology innovations you envision never see the light of day, and no matter how determined you are to reach your goals, they remain out of reach.

May is normally one of the more forgettable time periods of the year. The rush of the new year is over, tax season is behind business owners, and summer is coming but not quite here. Typically when executives reach out to me, they’re nonspecific about what they need. They say they “just want IT to work,” or that they “don’t want to think about IT at all.” Those calls usually result in a meeting with the executives where we discuss the specifics of IT and how it can help advance the company if managed well. The calls this month were much different.

Have you ever wanted your work days to be a little easier, or to get things done just a little  faster? Technology makes us more productive in a lot of cases, but it can also slow us down if we aren’t familiar with the best ways to use it. Luckily, many time-saving features are built-in and easy to use.