Grove Networks Blog

Have you ever noticed the digital screens at stores or restaurants displaying deals, menus, or videos? These are called digital signs, and they’re incredibly useful for businesses of all sizes. Let’s dive into why they’re so great!

Keeping your small business’ technology up to date is a lot like maintaining a car—you need to make updates to keep it running smoothly and avoid costly breakdowns. The problem is, with IT, where do you start? This month, we thought we’d provide a step-by-step guide to planning tech upgrades for your business.

There aren’t many successful businesses left that haven’t embraced technology in some ways. Even businesses that took a while to integrate it, like restaurants, are more often than not going to have some type of online ordering or point-of-sale system. Let’s take a look at some of the ways technology helps businesses advance.

Dealing with downtime is a very expensive and frustrating problem for any business. When we say “downtime,” we’re referring to periods when critical systems, processes, or equipment are not functioning properly. This month, we examine the negative impacts of downtime and what you can do about it.

To maintain a healthy and thriving business, it's essential to have a team that can effectively manage spending. For small businesses, this often means making strategic choices. Let’s focus on why a simple approach to technology might be the best strategy.

We all want our businesses to succeed… that’s generally the point of running one. However, this will require you to set the right goals and do so correctly.

Let’s walk through the process you should follow to accomplish this.

Big data is now a crucial resource for businesses of all sizes, including small enterprises. Today, businesses have unprecedented access to vast amounts of data, enabling them to make more informed decisions and operate more efficiently. This month’s newsletter explores how small businesses harness big data's power.

Technology is a major part of today’s business. It’s fair to say anyone that works in business today is at least semi-proficient with the technology needed to complete their tasks. Unfortunately, for many people, however, the fact that their business requires complicated technology is problematic. This is because at any given moment there are people looking to undermine their job, seeking access to accounts that will allow them to siphon money and data from organizations. 

Running a business can be tough and result in a lot of frustration from staff, management, and customers. Sometimes that frustration can boil over and cause consternation among the core elements that need to function for a business to be successful. This week, let’s look at an issue that can really hurt your business.

The effectiveness of your business' IT security heavily relies on the functionality of your IT operations. Ensuring that your staff understands their role in safeguarding your business assets is imperative. Let’s delve into the essential priorities for establishing a robust security training platform—an indispensable element in fortifying your business' IT defenses.

The importance of databases in the context of an average business might be understated. They serve as an indispensable tool for ensuring smooth operations. An efficient Database Management System (DBMS) is actually more important than you may realize. This month, we look at the DBMS and its pivotal role in elevating your business operations.

Managing the large number of devices in a modern office requires effective tracking and monitoring. The challenge lies in keeping tabs on each device, identifying users, and monitoring usage patterns. If your technology isn't currently being tracked, it's important to start doing so. The implementation of an inventory management system offers a more efficient and streamlined approach to this task.

To most businesses, effective leadership is essential to help promote growth, drive innovation, and ensure the successful conclusion of assorted tasks. While there are various leadership styles, one approach that stands out is leading from the front. Let’s take a look at what this means and how to do it effectively. 

Businesses use all types of sayings to try to draw in customers. One of the core selling points of managed IT services is that “it pays for itself”. This is more than just marketing. The multiple services that make up managed IT services all help a business save time and money, but when added together, it can really help the bottom line of a business more than most services they can use. In this week’s blog we thought we would go through the core elements of a managed IT services agreement to show how it really does pay for itself. 

Business is filled with all types of relationships, and some of them are very challenging. Consider for a minute how challenging some of the interactions you have with customers are; or some of the vendor conversations that happen; or some of the give-and-take you get from your employees. Sometimes it is hard to believe that without these people, your business would be a complete flop. This month, we break down how sometimes the relationships you forge in business are the key to things breaking your business’ way.

Every business’ clients trust that they’re taking every measure possible to protect data, like personal information or financial records. However, with the number of businesses using electronic records continuing to climb, along with the rise of cybercrime, many industries have begun to impose regulations and compliances that are designed to keep personal information secure. Health and finance are two of the most heavily regulated industries, with the government having stepped in and set a specific standard of data security regulations that these companies must comply with. 

We’re no strangers to talking about artificial intelligence. It’s been a somewhat regular topic on our blog and in our newsletters. AI is interesting—it’s sort of this odd technology that for many years, the average person didn’t know what to do with it. Now, it feels like AI is the dominating new technology of the year. What happened? Will it stick? Can a business take advantage of it? 

So much goes into proper network security that it can be daunting to know where to start. Thankfully, there are plenty of great ways you can, and probably currently are, protecting your business, even if it’s on a basic level. You can consider this a checklist of crucial network security tools that are important to have for your company’s success.

Business continuity is one of those topics that is frustrating to confront. It’s not terribly interesting and has very little practical value in the context of day-to-day operations, but it is intrinsically important to the sustainability of any business that happens to deal with problems. Consider for a minute how many businesses fared when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full force. There weren’t many businesses that had contingency plans for a “global pandemic.” The businesses that were quick to respond and adapt often came out on top, compared to businesses that struggled to commit.

If you become the victim of a hacking attack today, how would the hackers go about it? Would they try to find vulnerabilities in your network and infrastructure? You need to do what you can to answer the questions surrounding the strength of your existing network and infrastructure so you don’t have to deal with potential hacks. This month, we will talk about one really great way to find out where your security is light: by getting a penetration test completed on your business’ IT.