5/17/2013 1:13:00 PM | Josh Cantrell
By Rachel Noe
Searching for a managed services provider and determining exactly the services your business needs is an easily overwhelming process. There are many options available to you. We have been asked many times what different
managed services there are and how an organization might employ them. As an entry in our Q&A series, we take a look at a few of the different managed services options available to you through a provider like Claris.
Managed Computer Support
Let’s say you have the IT hardware but lack the time or technical staff to maintain it. This is a common experience among growing businesses, and is the point where managed computer support comes into the picture. This service ensures that each issue that affects your company’s devices is handled by a competent technician with experience resolving issue. This can also include remote monitoring of computers (and other hardware), which enables your provider to resolve many issues remotely, minimizing the effect on your workday and productivity.
5/3/2013 2:38:54 PM | Josh Cantrell
By Rachel Noe
In light of the recent bombings in Boston, it has become evident that one thing is incredibly important to us during an emergency situation: communication. While we pray that events like these never happen, it is imperative to familiarize ourselves with the best forms of communication during disasters like these. So that whether we are in the middle of the chaos or we are watching it transpire from the TV at work, we will be prepared.
Dan Thompson recently discussed this topic with local news networks in Knoxville and in Chattanooga, and what he said may surprise you. Some of the controversy in Boston bombings surrounded whether the police shut off the cellular signals after the initial blasts to prevent another explosion. This kept many people from communicating with loved ones during a critical time in the event. However, Dan shared that regardless of what was done in Boston, it’s likely the cell providers did not have enough towers to handle the volume of calls going out.
4/9/2013 7:05:22 PM | Josh Cantrell
One of the hot technology topics these days is the coming of “wearable technology.” We have all been wearing technology of some form or another for years: watches, cell phones, etc. Google, Apple and other tech innovators, however, are ramping this up to a whole new level. This year, Google released it’s Google Glass product to developers, and Apple’s iWatch is rumored to be released later this year. Each of these products represent a potential paradigm shift in the way consumers will both interface with technology and share their lives with others. Dan Thompson visited with Cindy Sexton on WRCB-TV’s “3 Plus You” in Chattanooga, Tennessee recently to discuss this exciting technology.
3/25/2013 3:15:55 PM | Emily Story
It is common knowledge that China has a central place in global technology growth. And while much of the country’s activities are tightly kept secrets, recent news shows how China is taking its information technology (in the literal sense of the word) “underground”.
China is so highly populated that real estate prices are ranked among the highest in the world. So Hong Kong is intensifying its innovation and building underground data centers to help curb costs. According to some sources, two thirds of the land in the region has “high to medium suitability” for cave digging, which makes underground data centers an ideal option. The subterranean data centers would supposedly lower the risk of both physical attacks and most natural disasters.
3/19/2013 1:58:48 PM | Josh Cantrell
China hacking US businesses has been all over the news lately. A report by Mandiant, a security-consulting firm, outlined a deep-dive investigation into where, how and who China was cyber-attacking. And the report has many US businesses watching their backs. Mandiant uncovered that the Chinese government currently has an army working on hacking into private businesses in the U.S. Dan Thompson and Mike Smith from Claris Networks visited local stations in Knoxville and Chattanooga to discuss the security threats to businesses’ information technology.