Links are often called hyperlinks, and they are calls to specific information that can be discovered by clicking on them with a mouse or tapping them with your finger on a touchscreen. Even if it doesn’t look like it, buttons and other on-screen elements often have a link contained within them so they can be connected to certain information.

Links can be used to provide a direct path to specific information, such as a location on the network or a certain web page. Links can be embedded into text, as well--chances are you’ve seen links in blog articles before, linking to external information on either the same site or elsewhere. Links can even be used to navigate to different parts of a singular web page through anchor text.

An example we like to use is an image on a website. Depending on how it’s set up, you can “navigate” to another page to view the image, or you can just view an enlarged image of it right there. Either way, a link is used to display the image. The same can be said for clicking on a link to a PDF. You either download it by clicking on it, or you open it from its source in the web browser.

Of course, with the ease of sharing information and files that links provide, some choose to use it to disseminate threats across the Internet. You should always hover over a link to see its destination before actually clicking on it. You certainly don’t want to download a dangerous file. This is a tactic used by many malicious websites. They will make a site that looks legitimate and use links to spread threats or convince users to download malicious files. You can basically avoid most of these just by paying attention.

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VoIP Improves Inter-Department Communication
If you’re relying on traditional landline telephones to get in touch with your employees, there are countless events that can make this more complicated and time-consuming. What if the employee isn’t at their desk and you have to leave a voicemail? Furthermore, what if the employee doesn’t see the voicemail until much later on in the day? While this might be fine if the issue isn’t immediate, it doesn’t help urgent situations where you need a response as soon as possible. VoIP doesn’t rely on your traditional handset, as it can be used on multiple different devices even while away from the desk, making it more likely that your calls won’t fall on deaf ears.

VoIP Allows for Flexibility
Many organizations these days have at least a couple of employees who work out of the office, even if it’s only from time-to-time. If you give these employees options for how to stay in contact with your office, you create more opportunity for collaboration when it matters most. Like we said, VoIP can be used on many different kinds of devices, including desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, bringing in a level of flexibility that you could only dream of with a traditional landline solution.

VoIP Takes Advantage of Additional Features
Can your landline phone service give you access to video conferencing to make remote workers or prospective clients feel like they’re right there in the room with you? What about instant messaging? How about all of the features that a traditional phone service has (conference calling, forwarding, etc.) in addition to all kinds of additional services that enhance the way your team collaborates? VoIP is so dynamic that you can add in any additional features you need as you see fit. It’s not like cable television where you have a bunch of channels you don’t need, but are still paying for--we only want you paying for services you find value with.

Does your business want to get started with a quality VoIP solution that can save you money while improving the success of your employees? Patriot Tech Services Inc. can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 877-874-4629.

Managed IT
Every business decision is made based on available capital. IT professionals--the good ones--can cost a lot of money, prompting many organizations to cut costs by simply going without hiring IT professionals. This presents another assortment of problems, as there is an inherent risk associated with not taking proper care of your technology assets. It also makes technology deployment considerably more difficult, if not impossible.

One-way organizations can take advantage of IT services without having a full-fledged IT department is through a managed service provider, or MSP. MSPs provide many services for a fraction of the cost of an internal IT department, including monitoring and maintaining your network and computing infrastructure. Furthermore, you can trust that they will adhere to industry best practices, as when you succeed, they succeed as well. Through preventative care, MSPs help your business find value in one of the most costly parts of operation: your IT.

Co-Managed IT
Even if your business would rather have an internal IT department, you can still benefit greatly from outsourcing at least a portion of their responsibilities to a MSP. This is called co-managed IT, where your business still maintains an on-site IT staff while outsourcing the remainder of its responsibilities to a managed service provider. This solves a number of issues related to having an on-site IT department.

For example, the IT department of a small business is likely to have issues keeping up with maintenance, helping those in need of assistance, and implementing major projects. There’s just not enough time in the day to make all of this happen regularly. Through co-managed IT, you can outsource specific roles to Patriot Tech Services Inc. to ensure it all goes off without a hitch. The end result is a more focused in-house team that can handle their primary responsibilities while the rest is handled by trusted IT experts. To learn more, reach out to us at 877-874-4629.