Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

With a market share of 87 percent in 2019, Android is obviously a popular operating system and has been for some time. With the years that have passed since it debuted in 2008, it has changed shape quite considerably, with many features and capabilities introduced and phased out. Let’s go over the changes that each version brought with it, to see how Android got to the place it is now.

Cloud technologies have given businesses access to far more tools than they have had in the past. Part of this is thanks to an approach known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Let’s take a closer look at SaaS to see how it can be so helpful to small and medium-sized businesses.

Shadow IT is the moniker that people in the technology industry have coined for applications that employees download that aren’t vetted for use on an organization’s networks. For the better part of the past decade, IT administrators have universally demeaned the use of unsanctioned software for use on company networks due to potential vulnerabilities that come with these applications and any phantom costs associated with their use. What may surprise you is that some organizations are rolling back their shadow IT policies. Today, we will take a look at both ends of this issue.

In order for a business to succeed, it needs to create the proper relationships with a variety of parties. From their clients and customers, to their vendors, to other businesses they work with, the average business has a lot of contacts they need to manage - which is why a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application is so valuable.

For the average PC user, the Internet browser is probably the most utilized piece of software other than your OS. Depending on which browser you use, you may decide to download additional software to give you features that you typically don’t have or give you functionality that is all new. Before you use these software add-ons, you should know that there have been several examples of this software working against users. Let’s take a look at how browser extensions work and how you can get better functionality without putting your data at risk. 

Everyone in a business has set responsibilities that they need to fulfill, one major one being proper security maintenance. A failure to uphold this responsibility could have serious consequences, including the very real potential of a security breach. It could be argued, in fact, that if you aren’t patching your systems, you’re inviting cybercriminals in.

It is said that software runs the world, but it wouldn’t necessarily be so without the ability to integrate applications with others. What exactly makes these integrations possible? For this week’s tech term, we will briefly introduce you to the application programming interface, or API; and, why it's so crucial in software development today.

I recently read a statement from the National Security Agency (NSA) expressing concerns over the risks and vulnerabilities that come with running unpatched versions of older Windows operating systems. First, you know it’s serious if the NSA, an entity in the US who depends on the collection and processing of information, is worried that your personal information is at risk. Second, it’s another in a long line of reasons to not allow your network to fall into such disarray that you can no longer protect it.

Advances in technology are changing the way people look at the world. One, seemingly simple way technology changes society is through the access to products. Companies like Amazon and eBay have changed retail forever with their use of the Internet, and today, most businesses prioritize their Internet-facing marketing efforts to find new customers. One industry that has popped up from the use of technology is app-based food delivery. Today, we will take a look at the food delivery industry.

Businesses that have been around the block a time or two may have discovered specific software titles that yield little-to-no results. Some might even be security risks that you simply aren’t willing to expose your data to. The free or cheap software found by some organizations to make up for operational deficiencies don’t always cut it, and some can even put your business at risk. This week’s tip is dedicated to finding the best software for your business.

Even if coding isn’t your cup of tea, the knowledge of how to read it can be quite useful. Since the Internet is a thing with plentiful resources, there is no shortage of options for learning more about code. We’ll outline some of the best options for how to foster these skills and increase the knowledge you have on this topic.

Most offices contain a productivity suite, and most productivity suites will come with some type of slideshow software that can be used to prepare presentations. Microsoft PowerPoint is a great tool to make slideshows, but it can be used for other purposes that you might not immediately think of. We’ll go over some of the best, including when and how you might want to use PowerPoint.

You may have heard of .NET framework before, or if you routinely use a Microsoft Windows operating system you’ve probably been prompted to install it at some point. Pronounced “dot net”, it is the predominant software framework of Windows, the most used non-mobile operating system in the world. Today we will introduce some software terms, go into what a software framework is, and how .NET framework is unique.

Your signature has a lot of power, particularly in the business world. Because of this, it’s curious to see how so many companies are moving over to the more digital alternative. In order to fully take advantage of digital signatures for your organization, you need comprehensive security measures that can reinforce the authenticity of your signatures.

As a business owner, you should know that you shouldn’t abuse the software licenses that your business relies on to function, or use pirated software to fulfill that need. While there are many people do such things, the response from software companies in an attempt to stop such activities has created a system that can award those who exploit it.

Google’s Android line of smart devices have made their presence well-known in the business world. Google now offers a zero-touch enterprise solution for its Pixel-line mobile devices. The primary reason for this is that mobile devices are somewhat time-consuming to set up, especially on the business level. You can save time by pre-configuring these devices for your business to use using Pixel’s zero-touch solution.

What are some of the critical business applications that your organization depends on in order to function? Perhaps it’s something as simple as an email solution, or your productivity suite. If either of these stopped working properly, would you be able to sustain operations? What if your software licenses ran out and you lost access to them? These are some of the many pains of traditional software acquisition, and a new method of this can help you make significant headway in managing your organization’s technology.

Users can expect a change to how Google delivers results going forward, as the search engine has killed off its ‘Instant’ feature. This feature--introduced in 2010--influenced how results were displayed, and when.

The popularity of security software has required malware distributors to be clever with their delivery methods. This is why rogue security software exists, and why you need to be absolutely certain that your network doesn’t have these fraudulent programs installed.

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to account for each and every one of your organization’s software solutions, but do you know the exact value that your business is getting from them? This can be challenging when managing software solutions locally on each of your workstations, but the cloud makes this astronomically easier.