Preferred Blog

Who makes the tech decisions for your business? If it’s you, are you sure you know enough to make the best choices for your company’s tech future? If you’re not sure, don’t stress—we’re here to help with a service called a Virtual CIO.

Is your business frequently grappling with the challenges of implementing new solutions, whether software or hardware? Consider harnessing the power of virtualization in the cloud to address these issues head-on. With the right tools, virtualization can open up remarkable opportunities to enhance your business' operations while bolstering its security and flexibility.

A digital twin could arguably be seen as a somewhat niche technological innovation. Regardless, they are an invaluable resource to quite a few industries that help the businesses that use them optimize their processes. Let’s go over what a digital twin is, and how it helps a few different business types meet their needs.

Hardware is expensive, this much is certain. When a small or medium-sized business is looking to get the most bang for buck from their technology investments, they have to consider hardware to be the most crucial part of the equation. One option that businesses can take advantage of today is to use virtualized environments. Whether these computing environments are hosted onsite or in the cloud, a business can extend the usefulness of their IT budget by utilizing them. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of virtualization on your business.

Businesses are using more data than ever. Unfortunately, the data is usually spread out over different systems. Typically, this would make managing this data extraordinarily difficult, but with virtualization, the modern business that wants to use its data, can, efficiently. 

On a Windows machine, look at your taskbar, near the Start button and the search function. The next little icon, the one that almost looks like a bit of film, is the Task View button, the button that (among other purposes) allows you to create and manage virtual desktops. For this week’s tip, we’ll discuss how to use this handy feature, starting with why you might want to.

A big part of running a successful operation is knowing how to make the most of your resources, minimizing your operating costs while still generating optimal sources of revenue and other income. One way to do so is by making the most of the hardware you currently have - such as your servers.

In today’s modern business world, you’d be hard-pressed to find an organization that doesn’t utilize the cloud to at least some extent. Let’s take a dive into how businesses use the cloud to be more sustainable and efficient.

Virtualized technology services are great assets for businesses with limited budgets. Three of the best ways that your organization can take advantage of cloud computing and virtualization services are Software as a Service (SaaS), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and hardware virtualization.

Your network is arguably your business’s most valuable asset. It keeps your team connected to critical information and applications that are imperative to the continued success of your company. With complex cabling, however, your workstation and network infrastructure can quickly grow uncontrollable. Isn’t there an easier way to manage your network components that can help your business grow, unhindered by physical infrastructure?

One of the best ways that you can improve your business’s infrastructure is by implementing a virtual network. Basically, this process entails taking your current physical network infrastructure, virtualizing it, and migrating it to the cloud, making the deployment and access of data much easier. Doing so allows you to tie all of your IT components together without having to go through the painful process of cabling. Furthermore, a virtual network provides the following benefits:

• Mobility: Most notable is the fact that virtual networks allow business owners and their employees to access data from anywhere with an Internet connection. This is particularly helpful while out of the office. If you’re at a trade show or on a business trip, you can access data while on the road. Or, if you have a team of remote employees, they can access files that are critical to your company’s success.
• Flexibility: Playing off of mobility, adding new network users can be a huge pain, especially when cabling is involved. Instead of physically being connected to a network, anyone with an Internet connection and proper credentials can access the network. This makes adding new users and connecting new workstations to your company’s network much easier.

The Main Problem: Security
Of course, the biggest problem that faces virtual networks is by far security. If you’re accessing your network through a local wireless signal, you’re placing all of your faith on the wireless Internet connection to be secure. Particularly in public places, doing this can put sensitive data in the way of hackers. You need a virtual network solution that’s capable of encrypting your data while it’s in transit; otherwise, any hacker on the network can grab your data, which makes using public networks a liability.

A virtual private network (VPN) from Preferred provides a quality solution to this problem. A VPN encrypts data that’s transferred along your business’s virtual network, protecting it while it’s in transit. This allows your business to send and receive information from your virtual machine without fear of it being compromised by hackers. It’s an absolute must-have technology for business owners that are constantly on the move for work purposes.

To learn more about VPNs and other virtualization services, give Preferred a call at 708-781-7110.

How messy is your server room? When was the last time you took note of how many machines you have, and what each of them are contributing to your business’s goals? If either of these situations sound familiar, it might be time to take a closer look at your technology and examine how you can improve operations. One of the best ways you can do so is by eliminating unnecessary costs from unused and underutilized servers.

Do you know the difference between virtualization and cloud computing? If you don’t, it’s not a reason to be embarrassed. Most business owners have a hard time distinguishing the two and find the topic to be rather technical. Yet, we think businesses can benefit greatly from knowing the differences so they’ll end up with the right solution.

Anything that makes your business more mobile is a good thing, right? This is one of the main goals of virtualization services. These separate the software from the hardware it’s installed on, allowing it to be isolated and installed on a virtual machine where it can be accessed as an individual instance. Many businesses are finding success in their workplace by taking advantage of desktop virtualization services.

There are times when a specific task is asked of a server requiring all of its data to be moved. When this happens, all the files and applications are transferred to another server unit in a fascinating procedure called server migration.

April 22, is Earth Day. What is your office doing to help save the planet? We talk a lot about business continuity, but none of that matters without Earth continuity. Here are three office technologies that will help your business go green.

Your electricity bill is the worst. This is because you know that it could be smaller if you only made a few adjustments to how you run the office. Little tricks like turning your lights off will save you money, but to really make a dramatic cut to your bill, you can virtualize your servers.

Most companies will look at ways to save by spending less on products and services, like downgrading to store brand cola when budgeting. These cuts are never popular and have been known to incite office mutinies, "Dr. Thunder, are you kidding me?" Before you deprive employees of premium products, first take a look inside your server, it may be full of savings!

Server Virtualization sounds like a phrase from late 1990's science fiction, but it plays a big role for small and medium-sized businesses that want to cut down on the costs of housing and maintaining multiple servers at their location. What is it and how does it work?

Desktop virtualization is a method in which one machine can run more than one Operating System at the same time regardless of architecture requirements. There are two models of Desktop Virtualization that will be discussed here: Local Virtualization and the Client/Server Virtualization Model.

Server Virtualization has been around for a while but has quickly become more popular for small businesses due to the long-term costs saved when your servers are virtualized. What exactly is server virtualization and how can it benefit Chicagoland businesses?