How IT can keep remote workers’ Windows 7 PCs safe
Employees connecting to corporate networks via old Windows 7 devices puts businesses at high risk. Here’s how to mitigate the threat. Tookapic / Insspirito (CC0) In the time of COVID-19, with so many people working from home, it’s inevitable that many will be using Windows 7 devices. And that’s a big security problem for IT. As of January 2020, Windows 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft. That means no security patches — particularly dangerous at a time when many people…
Returning to the workplace: IT’s role
IT and security teams must prepare for three different workforce scenarios to keep productivity levels high Chee Gin Tan / Getty Images When the pandemic hit the U.S. with a vengeance, most companies made on-the-fly decisions to shut down the workplace, forcing employees to make the switch to work from home with little to no warning. Ensuring that everyone had the right equipment and the ability to connect to the corporate networks – and do so securely – in…
13 IT skills paying the highest premiums today
From DevSecOps to cryptography, these 13 IT skills grew the most in market value over the past year, according to data from Foote Partners. Drew Graham (CC0) As IT jobs grow increasingly complex, there’s more ambiguity surrounding how job titles are defined by any given company and how employers can compensate candidates in the same role with varying skillsets. Pay premiums help employers track the value of specific skills, so they know how competitive the market is for candidates…
14 ways to speed up Windows 10
If you want to optimize Windows 10, take a few minutes to try out these tips to speed up your PC and make it less prone to performance and system issues. Thinkstock Want Windows 10 to run faster? We’ve got help. In just a few minutes you can try out this baker’s dozen of tips; your machine will be zippier and less prone to performance and system issues. 1. Change your power settings If you’re using Windows 10’s “Power saver”…
Why Crestron has a place in a Zoom and Teams world
When it comes to video conferencing, one key to success is interoperability. In a virtual world that seems increasingly dominated by Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Crestron could be a player. RichLegg / Getty Images Disclosure: Microsoft and Lenovo are clients of the author This week I got a briefing from Crestron about the company’s various video conferencing offerings for home and business. I was struck by the fact that it, like Lenovo and Plantronics, is focused almost entirely on two collaboration…
4 software development KPIs that matter today
In today’s Agile-driven world, traditional KPIs are not the best measures of software development productivity. Here are redefined metrics for assessing team performance, output, and morale. Getty Images If only measuring software development productivity and tracking team performance were as simple as counting lines of code or hours worked. But the efficiency of software engineering teams, as with any technical or creative work, cannot be measured in quantity alone. The quality of the work and the collaboration of the team…
Top 10 help desk tools for better customer service
If you’re looking to automate your help desk look no further than these 10 popular help desk ticket tools that can help you create a more streamlined customer service experience. Thinkstock Help desk software is designed to streamline customer service and create a functional, centralized point of contact for incident ticketing, customer issues and tracking the quality of customer service. Help desk tools focus on automating tasks such as assigning tickets, answering basic queries for customers, categorizing incidents or…
As smart cities evolve, so does the role of technologists in government
A rise of connected data and devices means more opportunity to leverage technology to improve our communities Getty Images Data analysis has become so common we often take it for granted. By revealing trends and patterns, applications can predict weather and allow us to navigate traffic. Information from COVID tests is used to reduce the spread of disease. We can even use this data to enhance the quality of life, solve environmental issues, and improve commerce, especially as…
