Technology Is the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Each year we try to come up with a creative Christmas article that ties IT into one of the many holiday fables, but this year we thought we would just forgo the pageantry and talk a little bit about how important our clients are and what we do that can help take them where they want to go.

Anyone who runs a small business has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ebbs and flows in business that have resulted from it, and the overall uncertain feeling of “what next?” Many businesses haven’t made it and others are on the brink, even as people have begun to normalize their routines. Our dedication to helping all of our Chicagoland partners handle this difficult period in stride and coming out more prosperous on the other end, is one of our most important strategies. How do we accomplish this? Let’s take a look:

Keeping a Business Running

The most important part about running a business is that the business is available to sell the product or service, and that in the course of doing so, you don’t often pay for nothing. When your organization’s technology falters, you typically need to figure out how to fix it. If this happens quite a bit, you are looking at significant downtime, potential data loss, and the financial issues both create.

It’s not a good situation. 

Our services provide a solution to those problems. First, we assess your network to let decision makers know what systems are mission-critical and which ones are less so. Then we remotely monitor critical systems around the clock to ensure that network-connected devices are working as intended. If there are signs of inconsistency, our staff of certified technicians can typically fix the issues before they cause downtime. 

What’s more, we provide your staff access to a comprehensive help desk that can solve any number of computer-related problems quickly and efficiently. This keeps your team productive, your technology running smoothly, and downtime to a minimum. 

There will be times when a network-attached device is not repairable remotely and it will require technical support or replacement. Since our technicians will know before the component fails, we can ensure that you get the repairs/replacements needed before having to deal with large swaths of downtime.

Finally, in order to ensure that a business’ data is secured, we deploy a data backup and disaster recovery service that incrementally copies your data so that you don’t lose much if you need to use it. There are dozens of different reasons that an organization would have to use their backup, so with our BDR service, you get data redundancy onsite, as well as in the cloud, to ensure that any situation in which you may need to restore or migrate data is covered. 

Promoting Security

During the pandemic, the threat landscape became more dangerous due to the opportunities presented by the many relief programs that have been rolled out. Add this to the increase in ransomware and phishing attacks that were expected, it makes it a constant struggle for most businesses to keep up. 

At Preferred, we don’t just keep up, we use all of our resources and accrued knowledge to keep our clients as safe as possible. We can outfit businesses with a myriad of security tools including firewalls, content filters, virtual private networks, spam blockers, and many more. 

That’s just the beginning of what we can do to keep your business’ IT secure.

We ensure all of your software is patched and updated regularly to reduce the exploitation of potential vulnerabilities (and to ensure that you have all the new features that software updates provide). Since software is the lifeblood of most businesses, securing that crucial avenue of potential attack can stop a lot of issues, but it won’t stop them all. It’s for this reason that we also work with you to help put in policies, procedures, and training platforms that can substantially reduce your organization’s exposure to today’s worst threats.

Cybersecurity is one of the most critical components of the modern business’ IT strategy, and with the experts we have on staff in your organization’s corner, you will be able to be more effective, more efficient, and see many fewer issues. 

Using Innovation

One aspect of our jobs that we find absolutely critical—and our clients find indispensable—is our commitment to knowing how to deploy technology in such a way that it basically pays for itself. Any business owner knows that technology isn’t cheap, but if it is deployed the right way, the return on your IT investments can be robust. 

We like to keep our finger on the pulse of technology to find innovative new tools that can really push the needle for your business’ ability to operate effectively. From deploying and managing Internet of Things (IoT) devices, to outfitting your business with high-end tools like document management, to a comprehensive list of communications and collaboration tools that can allow your business to quicken the pace; Preferred has access to the knowledge and expertise needed to help integrate it for your business.

You can do a lot with technology, and we can do a lot with clients willing to trust us to do what’s best for their company. We would like to thank all of you for another great year, even if it was one of the most turbulent we can remember. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas tomorrow and a pleasant holiday season.