Velocity Network Solutions' Blog

When you're business has had to deal with little to no disasters in it's history, it can be difficult to see the reasons why you should shell out good money for offsite backup of your data. It might seem like you don't have the time, the experience or the need. It might even be something that is perpetually #20 on your to do list. However, taking some steps now can save you a world of heartache, headache and financial strain later on. Here are some reasons why it is so important to make sure that your data is protected.

It’s hard to believe that Windows 8 is already hitting big box stores. Windows 7 has only been around for a few years, and many corporate IT departments are still trying to get machines upgraded from Windows XP. Further, most people who use Windows 7 still don’t know how to harness the operating system’s full potential. Whether we like it or not, Windows 8 is here to stay and here is how to make the operating system work for you. 

Cloud services carry a lot of great benefits. We all hear about them and it's hopeful (in cloud provider's eyes) that we will also soon come to adopt them. However, the cloud also carries potential hazards. Most of us think of security as the primary hazard in the cloud, but in this article, we'll examine one of the most dangerous and often overlooked of these hazards...poor strategy.

Health care is an industry that often has difficulty adapting to new technology. This is not a criticism of the health care field so much as it is a recognition that the challenges of keeping up with research, staying in compliance with HIPAA and other standards, staying afloat financially, and maintaining the treatment and privacy of patients can often be overwhelming for health care providers. This is why cloud computing offers much hope in this area but brings with it some challenges.

Fortunately, in terms of cloud technology adoption the health care field does not appear to be lagging behind other industries: in a recent IT survey 32% of respondents associated with health care reported using cloud computing. 75% plan to adapt their current IT solutions to the cloud in the future. As we have an indication that the health field is ready to embrace cloud computing, let us break down some of the benefits and the challenges to this transition.

Benefits

• The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provides monetary incentives to care providers who adopt electronic health records (EHR) and can demonstrate “meaningful use." Such records and solutions give themselves over well to the cloud because the motivation for many of the provisions of the act are to reduce duplicative records and lower the cost-barriers to maintaining electronic records.
• Cloud services are not only typically service-based or pay-per-use, they allow organizations to avoid the high initial investments in hardware and labor.
• Medical practitioners benefit from being able to access accurate, up-to-date medical records with great ease. In fact, the adoption of cloud technologies can mean more opportunities to integrate efficient mobile technologies into the health care field as well.

The appeal of having a large IT department without the costs of running one has many Los Angeles area businesses wondering if colocation is the way to go. In a world where online presence is becoming more and more of a priority, colocation stands out among other hosting solutions for its stability and simplicity. Here are 5 reasons why businesses might want to consider the possibility of colocation services.

Small to mid-size businesses have a dizzying amount options available to them these days regarding technology and services. Executives, CFOs, IT Managers and CIOs are constantly weighing out the pros and cons by outlining each option's features, benefits and costs. The alarming news is that many of them are missing out on one of the biggest cost factors there is...their time. The fanciest technology and most reputable IT service providers in the world are doing nothing for you if they aren't adding precious hours and minutes back on your clock. Here's an overview of just how much your lost time can cost you when dealing with IT issues.

The entire purpose of developing and maintaining your business's computer network is to support and drive your key initiatives and long term goals. Unfortunately, not all networks are aligned with the businesses they're supposed to support and protect. In essence, these networks steal from the very company's that paid to implement them (or didn't pay to correct them). In this article, we'll look at 5 costly signs that your business can look out for. Some are obvious, some are not so obvious but all are guaranteed to steal from your bottom line.

If you don't feel like reading this entire blog, the answer is "yes". IT providers in the Los Angeles area could (or more importantly, should) support Apple's deeply rumored iWatch. There...you're free to go on about your busy day. You're welcome! If you want to read more, there are still some tasty nuggets of knowledge in here that may be useful to you.

Printers are often one of the most useful tools in your office, yet can also be the one of the most frustrating! In an endeavor to make your life a little easier, here are a few steps that you can take to save you time (and from going nuts).

Have you ever noticed how a majority of smartphone apps seem to make our lives busier instead of easier? Well, this article should help reverse that trend a bit by providing an introduction to some smartphone applications that will help you get a little more organized and thereby  increase your quality of life…at least a little.