Horne & Benik Networks Blog

When you ask a managed service provider or other technology expert when you should be upgrading your technology, you’ll likely get a pretty nebulous answer like, “it depends.” That’s because there isn’t necessarily a hard or steadfast response to this question, and the answer will change depending on various factors that are inconsistent across businesses.

Budgeting for anything can present challenges, especially when businesses heavily rely on information systems. Securing funds for IT initiatives can be particularly daunting in such organizational landscapes. Despite these hurdles, however, the IT sector continues to build steam, with year-over-year business IT spending reaching its highest levels ever. Let’s go into how your IT budget is pivotal in advancing your organizational technology endeavors.

When it comes to your business’ data backup and disaster recovery, you want to have clear outcomes that you aim for, as well as metrics that help you gauge success. Today, we want to highlight some of the most important metrics associated with data backup and disaster recovery, as well as the importance of testing your systems. Trust us when we say that a solid data backup and disaster recovery strategy is crucial to the success of any business—including yours.

Healthcare is one channel where data continues to flow in and today’s technology is using some new innovations to keep up with provider demands. AI is one of the most transformative technologies in recent times, but understanding how healthcare benefits from it is important to get the most out of it. Today, we take a look at how AI is being used in healthcare. 

Phishing scams are one of the most common (and insidious) problems you and your team may encounter. While it may seem simple to avoid a phishing attack, the truth is that many of these schemes are highly sophisticated and are constantly evolving to become more so.

Passwords serve as the primary defense barrier safeguarding your data against many individuals seeking that data for personal gain. Given the immense pressure put on passwords, understanding the significant threats is mandatory for every person. Today, we aim to furnish you with a handy reference guide to enhance your password management efficacy.

How often do you struggle to talk about potential issues your business faces when you reach out to IT for help? Conversing with technicians can be especially challenging when you don’t necessarily understand the problem yourself, either. Thankfully, we have some tips to help you lead more productive conversations with your IT staff or managed service provider.

With technology cementing itself in all aspects of everyday life, businesses need a stronger competitive edge than ever to overcome the odds. SMBs can use technology for this purpose, specifically outsourcing technology management and maintenance to a third party. With the help of a managed service provider, your business can compensate for any skills deficit it might have and properly maintain its IT infrastructure.

If there’s one part of any organization’s operational expenses that concerns many business owners, it’s IT expenses. In fact, some companies have so little control over their IT expenses that they practically hemorrhage money, leading to limited capacity for growth and investment in other parts of the organization that desperately need the help. How can you fix your IT spending and improve your organization as a whole?

It all starts with a network audit and some intelligent future planning. Let’s review some of the most important work you can do to help your business better budget for IT expenses.

In today’s business, teamwork is absolutely necessary to make good things happen. One of the best ways to do this is through collaboration. However, putting together a strategy that can get projects out the door quicker or fulfill services more effectively is not always easy. Today, we’ll take a look at modern collaboration and how technology plays a major role. 

Cyberattacks often attack healthcare organizations, including businesses and vendors they associate with, primarily due to how lucrative they can be. One particularly nasty hack is just one of the many organizations which have been featured in headlines due to their inability to protect against security threats. Let’s explore this new situation with UnitedHealth Group and see if there is anything you can learn from it.

Most computers these days will come with their fair share of bloatware, i.e. unwanted software that comes preinstalled on the operating system by the developers. While the developers do tend to get paid for including bloatware with their operating systems, there is often no need for it, leading users to question why it’s there and what to do about it.

Does your business effectively use its technology for communication and telecommunications? Your typical business phone system is a costly solution. Thankfully, developments in favor of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) mean that it’s a more cost-effective solution for most SMBs. Not only can you implement the solutions you know and love, but you can integrate with other effective technologies like video conferencing and remote communications to create a much more effective phone system.

Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to use by industry leaders. Small businesses increasingly recognize AI's transformative potential to boost efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovative strategies. Let’s explore three of the most popular ways small businesses use AI to improve their operations.

Your business is as valuable as the data it collects, meaning that if you’re not taking full advantage of your data, you’re leaving money on the table. SMBs need all of the strategic advantages they can get, and one way you can gain such an advantage on your competition is through utilizing big data. Let’s explore how big data can transform your operations for the better.

Businesses have done incredible things with the cloud, regardless of their chosen industries, sizes, and scopes. In particular, they have innovated to create opportunities for scaling growth and operations. How can your organization do the same? We want to help you implement a cloud solution that addresses all of your pain points. To do this, you can start by learning more about the differences between the public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions available to you.

Google Chrome is one of the most utilized Internet browsers in service and it is because it is constantly being updated with new features. One of the newest features Google has added is the ability for users to save tabs for later reading. Today, we’ll briefly go through the process.

A competitive business can adapt to change with new technologies and innovate in their industry. Unfortunately, where innovation and new technologies are concerned, businesses often experience considerable pushback from employees who might not understand how the new solutions support the company’s mission. How do you get these employees on board?

Humans have all kinds of stakes in digital security thanks to today’s online world demanding that we be more online than ever. Whether it’s personal information or financial details, you can bet everyone is at risk to some degree. Today, we want to examine why individuals—even technology professionals—are not immune to data theft.

Today, we encounter situations in business where digital communication is preferred by many people, and as a result, the use of smartphones to conduct business has become more common. With this shift in the way people do business, there are several considerations that the modern worker has to navigate to properly use smartphones to their advantage. Let’s take a look at a few in today’s blog.