Blog
Are Managed Print Services Cost Effective?
When you look at the best use of your IT budget, you may find that outsourcing your office equipment management is a wise choice. Making the call to have your copiers, printers and other imaging hardware managed by an outside service can make sense for a number of different reasons. Centralize the Approach If you […]
The Importance of a Good Business Plan
Over the last few years, there has been a growing debate on the need for a good business plan. Those against it believe the time you spend writing a plan could be better spent talking to your potential customers about the products you plan to bring to market. However, a business plan is still important […]
How Your Business Can Avoid a Data Breach
The issue of data breaches is not limited to just the biggest companies. Those are the ones that draw the attention of the news media, but companies large and small have experienced data breaches varying in size from almost no significant customer exposure to the compromise of both customer and employee data. It is virtually […]
The Dangers of Growing Too Fast
Hypergrowth. If you have not yet heard of the term, it mean company growth accelerated far beyond normal expectations. There are companies that grow quickly, but a company undergoing hypergrowth will see rapid increases in demand for products and services. This is very common in Chinese markets because of their global economic power and the […]
The Dangers of Auto-Updating Software
In a business IT environment, the issue of software upgrades is far more important than for virtually every consumer. There are many reasons for this. One is simply the sheer number of computers that need to be upgraded, meaning that an upgrade error will affect hundreds or even thousands of users. Another is the impact […]
The Benefits of a Customer Relation Management System
Customer relations is one of the most important aspects of a business in the global marketplace. Even on a local scale, the difference between wooing local customers and having them go to the guy next door is one of how customers feel you have brought any problems to a successful resolution. That said, the idea […]
Potential Pitfalls of Cloud Computing
Many small businesses have discovered the use of cloud computing, which refers to the use of off-site servers to store data, as opposed to just having it on your own computer’s hard drive or on your own network’s servers. Many of us were using the cloud before it was called that by creating online accounts […]
Find Friends (And Customers) With Geolocation
Geolocation refers to the process of determining the location of a computer, a piece of networking equipment or a device. It usually uses Global Position Satellites (GPS) in order to determine the geographical location of the computer or device. GPS is built into most smartphones, and there are many apps taking advantage of geolocation to […]
Hackers Target Drug Company Secrets
It is no secret that hackers, the bad kind, seem to be everywhere. From local businesses trying to spy on their competitors to international peepers from anonymous foreign countries, every business and personal computer is under attack. In most cases, the goal is obtaining information for sale, whether it is to be sold on the […]
LastPass Falls To The Hacking Community
It seems that no security company is safe from hackers as LastPass finds itself among the recent high profile hacks. If you’re not sure what LastPass is, it’s a secure password service. You generate a Master Password, and use it to securely store all your other passwords. It’s convenient, because it leaves you only having to […]
A Visionary Approach to Your Security
The purpose of an IT partner isn’t just to fix something when it is broken, it is to keep your people working and your data secure. Astral moves beyond traditional managed services by addressing all the key areas of cybersecurity in today’s complex landscape.
