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IT SERVICES AND SUPPORT

Have You Outgrown Your MSP? 6 Questions To Ask

When your business evolves from a scrappy startup to a more mature organization, there’s a good chance that your managed service provider (MSP) won’t evolve with it. Solo IT consultants or AI-based MSPs may work well for fledgling businesses, but as a company grows, so does its IT needs…meaning its old MSP may no longer be the right fit. If…

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What Is an MSP? 6 Ways to Think About Managed Service Providers

Years ago, when businesses needed tech support beyond what they could manage in-house, they often turned to IT consultants. But as the technology landscape grew more complex and security threats spiked, companies needed more than ad hoc consulting services — they sought to fully outsource their technology function. Enter managed service providers, or MSPs. What is an MSP? In basic…

How to Save on IT Support Services Without Sacrificing Security

Performance is top of mind for CFOs and COOs who are trying to do more with fewer resources. They are facing more pressure than ever to justify their spending and prove they’re providing value. Our goal is to help every department, not just IT, get what they want while still delivering results. The following are 9 ways we’ve found to get the best value from your IT investment.…

Drive More Sales and Gain Competitive Advantage with AI in Salesforce

By Chris Valiquet, Senior Salesforce Consultant, StarrData In a recent blog post, we explored how we plan to begin implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our business practices at Xantrion and why we feel it’s important for our clients to start thinking about how to leverage AI-based technologies. While many solution providers are beginning to tap into the possibilities of…

Strategic, Reliable, and Secure. Learn more about our services.

Reduce Costs and Beat the IT Security Labor Shortage

To keep your key systems functional, you need two centralized teams to oversee your entire network: a security operations center (SOC) and a network operations center (NOC).   Your SOC monitors, responds to, and remediates security threats to protect applications and data against cyberattacks. Your NOC keeps an eye on network status, applies updates and patches, and provides tech support…

Seven Reasons to Outsource IT to a Managed Service Provider

Organizations are always looking for ways to effectively manage costs, improve productivity, and scale efficiently. One method proven to help achieve these goals is to outsource IT support to a managed service provider (MSP). Not only is outsourcing typically 30-40% cheaper than hiring in-house1, it can also help you close critical gaps in your IT and cybersecurity infrastructure. Below are…

How to Compete for Talent in the New Era of Remote Work

A USA Today article explains why our current staffing crunch may take years to abate. Between pandemic-related changes to the workplace and early retirements, organizations are in a fierce competition for employees, including roles like IT that are increasingly important for supporting the primary business or mission.   Technology is playing a significant role in helping organizations meet the challenges…

Three of the Most Common Employee Offboarding Mistakes

By Derik Belair, President and CEO, Augmentt There’s a famous phrase you’ve probably heard before: to err is human. Those words sum up why your security posture needs to focus on human actions–or the absence of them. When seen from this lens, cybersecurity becomes about much more than cleaning up after mistakes. It’s about proactively putting into place measures to…

Our Top PC Picks for Work From Home Needs

Whether you’re counting the days until you can return to the office or your hoping you can work from home forever, you’ve spent more than enough time working on your home computer by now to know whether it’s up to the task. If you’re starting to realize that it’s not, let us recommend some alternatives from Dell, HP and Lenovo…

What Headset Should I Use with My PC?

In the work-from-home era, a good headset can make all the difference between being able to focus on your work and, well, sharing distracting or embarrassing background noise with everyone on an important call. But what makes a good headset?

7 Best Practices for Supporting Employees During COVID-19

During the hardest times, this quote is especially true—people always remember how you make them feel. In 10 or even 30 years, people will remember the coronavirus pandemic and how their companies made them feel during this unprecedented time.

Make Virtual Meetings a Place Where You Shine

Although virtual meetings are the new norm, we’ve all attended ones that have gone awry. By taking them as seriously and thoughtfully as physical, in-person meetings, you can use them as a way to be known as someone who’s digitally-savvy and professional—qualities your clients and colleagues will value. 

Microsoft Teams or Outlook?

Now that everyone is working from home, we can’t necessarily rely on communication methods we know and love. We need to branch out and start using new tools that can help us stay connected even though we are apart. One of those new tools is Microsoft Teams.

Handling Home Office Internet Issues

As we attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 by working from home, it’s not surprising people are running into Internet  issues. We are relying on and stressing our connectivity like never before. If the result of your issues are poor online meeting and video conferencing quality, the following are some recommendations to improve your situation.

An Employee’s Guide for Full Remote Working

While some of you are veteran remote workers, working from home, especially on a regular basis, might be new for others.  The following are some best practices to help guide you through it. 

A Manager’s Guide for Full Remote Working

While you might have managed a couple of team members remotely to date, managing a fully remote team, while balancing the challenges of being remote yourself, might be a new experience for you. The following are some best practices to help guide you through it.

How to Manage Those Annoying Auto-Play Video Clips in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge has several features to manage auto-play clips. For starters, Edge is designed to automatically silence these clips on background tabs — in other words, on web pages that are open but not currently being displayed. (Their tabs are greyed-out.) Edge also lets you mute auto-play clips on individual web pages as well as stop clips from running automatically…

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IT PLAN AND BUDGET

Have You Outgrown Your MSP? 6 Questions To Ask

When your business evolves from a scrappy startup to a more mature organization, there’s a good chance that your managed service provider (MSP) won’t evolve with it. Solo IT consultants or AI-based MSPs may work well for fledgling businesses, but as a company grows, so does its IT needs…meaning its old MSP may no longer be the right fit. If…

Keep current. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Subscribe Now

What Is an MSP? 6 Ways to Think About Managed Service Providers

Years ago, when businesses needed tech support beyond what they could manage in-house, they often turned to IT consultants. But as the technology landscape grew more complex and security threats spiked, companies needed more than ad hoc consulting services — they sought to fully outsource their technology function. Enter managed service providers, or MSPs. What is an MSP? In basic…

How to Save on IT Support Services Without Sacrificing Security

Performance is top of mind for CFOs and COOs who are trying to do more with fewer resources. They are facing more pressure than ever to justify their spending and prove they’re providing value. Our goal is to help every department, not just IT, get what they want while still delivering results. The following are 9 ways we’ve found to get the best value from your IT investment.…

Drive More Sales and Gain Competitive Advantage with AI in Salesforce

By Chris Valiquet, Senior Salesforce Consultant, StarrData In a recent blog post, we explored how we plan to begin implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our business practices at Xantrion and why we feel it’s important for our clients to start thinking about how to leverage AI-based technologies. While many solution providers are beginning to tap into the possibilities of…

Strategic, Reliable, and Secure. Learn more about our services.

Reduce Costs and Beat the IT Security Labor Shortage

To keep your key systems functional, you need two centralized teams to oversee your entire network: a security operations center (SOC) and a network operations center (NOC).   Your SOC monitors, responds to, and remediates security threats to protect applications and data against cyberattacks. Your NOC keeps an eye on network status, applies updates and patches, and provides tech support…

Seven Reasons to Outsource IT to a Managed Service Provider

Organizations are always looking for ways to effectively manage costs, improve productivity, and scale efficiently. One method proven to help achieve these goals is to outsource IT support to a managed service provider (MSP). Not only is outsourcing typically 30-40% cheaper than hiring in-house1, it can also help you close critical gaps in your IT and cybersecurity infrastructure. Below are…

How to Compete for Talent in the New Era of Remote Work

A USA Today article explains why our current staffing crunch may take years to abate. Between pandemic-related changes to the workplace and early retirements, organizations are in a fierce competition for employees, including roles like IT that are increasingly important for supporting the primary business or mission.   Technology is playing a significant role in helping organizations meet the challenges…

Three of the Most Common Employee Offboarding Mistakes

By Derik Belair, President and CEO, Augmentt There’s a famous phrase you’ve probably heard before: to err is human. Those words sum up why your security posture needs to focus on human actions–or the absence of them. When seen from this lens, cybersecurity becomes about much more than cleaning up after mistakes. It’s about proactively putting into place measures to…

Our Top PC Picks for Work From Home Needs

Whether you’re counting the days until you can return to the office or your hoping you can work from home forever, you’ve spent more than enough time working on your home computer by now to know whether it’s up to the task. If you’re starting to realize that it’s not, let us recommend some alternatives from Dell, HP and Lenovo…

What Headset Should I Use with My PC?

In the work-from-home era, a good headset can make all the difference between being able to focus on your work and, well, sharing distracting or embarrassing background noise with everyone on an important call. But what makes a good headset?

7 Best Practices for Supporting Employees During COVID-19

During the hardest times, this quote is especially true—people always remember how you make them feel. In 10 or even 30 years, people will remember the coronavirus pandemic and how their companies made them feel during this unprecedented time.

Make Virtual Meetings a Place Where You Shine

Although virtual meetings are the new norm, we’ve all attended ones that have gone awry. By taking them as seriously and thoughtfully as physical, in-person meetings, you can use them as a way to be known as someone who’s digitally-savvy and professional—qualities your clients and colleagues will value. 

Microsoft Teams or Outlook?

Now that everyone is working from home, we can’t necessarily rely on communication methods we know and love. We need to branch out and start using new tools that can help us stay connected even though we are apart. One of those new tools is Microsoft Teams.

Handling Home Office Internet Issues

As we attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 by working from home, it’s not surprising people are running into Internet  issues. We are relying on and stressing our connectivity like never before. If the result of your issues are poor online meeting and video conferencing quality, the following are some recommendations to improve your situation.

An Employee’s Guide for Full Remote Working

While some of you are veteran remote workers, working from home, especially on a regular basis, might be new for others.  The following are some best practices to help guide you through it. 

A Manager’s Guide for Full Remote Working

While you might have managed a couple of team members remotely to date, managing a fully remote team, while balancing the challenges of being remote yourself, might be a new experience for you. The following are some best practices to help guide you through it.

How to Manage Those Annoying Auto-Play Video Clips in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge has several features to manage auto-play clips. For starters, Edge is designed to automatically silence these clips on background tabs — in other words, on web pages that are open but not currently being displayed. (Their tabs are greyed-out.) Edge also lets you mute auto-play clips on individual web pages as well as stop clips from running automatically…

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