EMPOWER YOUR BUSINESS
with technology and IT Horizons

Watch Video Get Started

IT Horizons Blog

We are IT Horizons - an IT company that strives to provide the ultimate solution for all your technology needs. We are blogging to help educate businesses in our community and keep them informed of current trends and opportunities.
Angie Saltman

7 Simple Steps for Better Cybersecurity

padlocks
Bitwarden logo
Ironscales logo
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and at IT Horizons, we’re here to help you and your team navigate the digital world safely. While cyber threats continue to evolve, there are things you can do to secure your personal and professional information. Here are seven simple steps:   1. Use Strong Passwords Don’t use the same password for all your logins. Create complex passwords using letters, numbers, and symbols. Managing multiple passwords? Try using a password manager for increased security and convenience. We’ve found that BitWarden is a good, user-friendly option for managing passwords within an organization. You can customize it to provide just enough access for those who need it, and nothing more. Going passwordless is becoming a strong up and coming authentication method. It requires enrolling a PIN and matching your biometric (fingerprint) with your Windows devices using Windows Hello for Business. For all other devices you would use...
Continue reading
912 Hits
Angie Saltman

10 Reasons Why Incorporating Data Privacy is A Savvy Business Move

10-Reasons-Why-Incorporating-Data-Privacy-is-A-Savvy-Business-Move

Data privacy might sound like a dry topic, but actually, it's incredibly cool – and crucial – for Canadian businesses and organizations. Here’s why:

Continue reading
2197 Hits
Angie Saltman

An Introduction to IT

december_2023

You’ve probably heard of ‘IT’ a lot and might use the term yourself. But what does IT really mean? Let’s break it down.

Continue reading
2484 Hits
Angie Saltman

The IT Things We Do

feb_post_cover

Here are some things our team does for our IT Managed Services clients in an average week!

Continue reading
2944 Hits
Alex Saltman

Get Relief with IT Managed Services 

tech_headaches

Once a business hits 5 or 6 computer stations, managing IT can become a demanding task. Your business relies on its IT infrastructure to function optimally. As technology continues to change, it’s time-consuming (and often costly) to keep up.

That’s why IT Managed Services has become an increasingly popular solution for businesses looking to outsource the management and maintenance of their IT systems.

Here are a few ways that IT Horizons relieves the burden of managing IT for our clients:

Continue reading
2330 Hits
Angie Saltman

Ultimate Guide to IT Project Management

project_management

Some teams sit around the break room talking about that one big project that might happen, or vacation plans… but if you want to see our team get super animated about a topic, it probably involves IT Project Management.

Because there’s nothing more exciting than starting a huge IT project that’ll require everyone’s favourite skills, right? Wrong? OK, well, let’s chat about what we love about IT project management and all the things you won’t have to worry about because we’ve got it covered.

Continue reading
2505 Hits
Angie Saltman

Why Businesses Hire IT Consultants

now_hiring

So you’re thinking of hiring an IT consultant? Coming from our totally unbiased position (Note: we’re totally biased), we think that’s a great idea!

 

 

Continue reading
1922 Hits
Angie Saltman

IT Support: Why is it Crucial for User Experience?

magic_button

In a perfect world, all of your technology would work perfectly all day every day. No 404 Errors, no broken links, no wonky contact forms, no team members forgetting their passwords, no lengthy technical emails, no unhappy customers…

But that’s just not reality. So, we provide IT support that helps your staff ensure a better user experience for your customers. Let’s look at some of the details…

Continue reading
2160 Hits
Angie Saltman

How Can IT Management Help My Business?

how_can_it_management_help_my_business

IT (Information Technology) is an essential component for most businesses these days. Thanks to the Internet and computers, it’s far cry from the old days of pens, papers, and floor-to-ceiling filing systems. We can do tons more than we used to, but taking care of this technology brings some challenges.

In broad terms, modern IT management involves managing all the tech stuff at your business. Large corporations will have entire departments to handle this. While IT Horizons does help large businesses set up components for these kinds of setups, the bulk of our business is providing IT support and management for organizations that don’t need a dedicated department.

Continue reading
1504 Hits
Alex Saltman

All About Hybrid IT Management

blended_it-01

Do you remember the olden days, when an office would have a big monitor at each desk, under the desk everyone had their own chunky tower, a big noisy server sat in the back office, and a stream of cords connected everything together to make a ‘modern’ office? It’s almost crazy to try to imagine doing business that way now!

Of course, if you have an office (and you may not even need one of those anymore), you’ll still have some on-site equipment. But now you’ve also got cloud-based ‘equipment’—services that are accessed from anywhere and provide an essential link to co-workers, customers, projects, and data.

Continue reading
1797 Hits
Alex Saltman

What’s the Difference Between IT Services and IT Consulting?

june_blog_post_02

IT services and IT consulting are often used interchangeably. But there are some important differences between the two that will influence which your business needs—or if you need both.

If you want the short answer, it’s this: IT services does stuff, and IT consulting tells you what to do.

Regardless of which one your business needs, we all agree that IT (Information Technology) as an essential component of nearly every business. IT includes everything from computers to software, the internet, technical support, security, data protection (backups), and internal and external networks. If you’re reading this, you are accessing information courtesy of IT.

Continue reading
1684 Hits
Angie Saltman

Top Q&As About IT Consulting

june_blog_post_01
Hello! It’s us, your friendly Grande Prairie IT services company, here to answer some of your questions about all things ‘IT’.   Do you help individuals with computer problems? No , IT Horizons works with small to mid-sized businesses. Although much of our work is with individuals at those businesses, our work is only through these organizations. We always get the latest software and upgrades so we don’t need an IT consultant, right? That depends. Are you confident that you’re getting only what you need, and that what you’re purchasing is saving time and money? If not, we can help. An IT consultant is not a salesperson. Our job is to analyze your organization, your current systems, and your needs, and then decide what solutions will suit you best (and actually save you time and money). If your IT strategy is to always buy and upgrade, then you’re using excess...
Continue reading
1729 Hits
Angie Saltman

Ransomware - What it is and Why a Business Always Needs Backup

ransomware
With all the positive advancements in information technology, the growth of cyber crime has been a notable drawback. Cyber crime refers to committing theft or any other criminal act through the use of computers or any other tech gadget. In the past five years, Ransomware has been a major source of cyber crime activities. Ransomware is a malicious software that does not allow you to access your files if it takes over your computer. The creator of the software demands ransom (as the name suggests) from the victim, if they want to gain access to their files again. The payments are normally made in non-traceable transactions through a cryptocurrency (normally Bitcoin) to ensure the attacker’s safety. The victims get so confused and scared that they immediately agree to pay the amounts without considering if the hacker will grant them access or will not do it again. The hacker prevents you...
Continue reading
8157 Hits
Alex Saltman

Email Phishing - What Information You Should Never Give to Anyone

phishing
Have you ever received an email that does not look familiar or looks suspicious? Be wary of it, as it might be malware or any other form of cyber-attack, also commonly known as a phishing attack. If you ever come across any such email, that asks you to log in somewhere, the only logical thing to do is DO NOT LOGIN! The term ‘phishing’ comes from ‘fishing,’ only that in this case the victim is the “phish” and the hacker is the ‘phisherman’. It may (generally) ask you to allow access to an application or attachment sent in the email. And, if you follow the attacker’s instructions whether intentionally or unintentionally, you might get into serious trouble. The hacker can do anything, ranging from something less harmful like installing a simple virus in your system that handicaps certain applications, to attacking your computer with something as dangerous as ransomware. Ransomware...
Continue reading
10215 Hits
Angie Saltman

Be More Agile with IT Managed Services

Be More Agile with IT Managed Services
It can be difficult to accommodate even occasional changes for new hires, terminations, or staff changing jobs within your organization. If you’re like many other businesses in Grande Prairie and are dealing with seasonal highs and lows or high turnover, if your business has frequent staff changes it can be a nightmare on the IT side. When poorly managed, such moves, adds, and changes can be extremely painful, costly, and time-consuming to your business. You need to make sure your previous employee’s security access is neatly revoked on time. What should you do with their email? Who is taking over their responsibilities? Does your new hire have a computer assigned to them? Do they have the right printers? Are email list memberships and shared contacts in order? Do they have the documents and applications they need? Will it take a day, two, or even more before the IT changes are...
Continue reading
9078 Hits
Angie Saltman

Why You Want to Spend More on Business Class Hardware

Why You Want to Spend More on Business Class Hardware
When helping our Grande Prairie clients plan their hardware lifecycle I’m often asked about the price difference between consumer and business class devices. If you can go down the street to Costco or Best Buy and pick up the latest back-to-school-special laptop for $500, why on earth would you spend two or even three times that amount for a business-line laptop from Lenovo or Dell? Here are some important points to consider when purchasing computers to make sure you’re getting the best return on your investment. In the Windows PC market, inexpensive home lines come with whatever low-cost surplus components are available to the manufacturer on the factory floor at the time. Because of this, the specifications change month-to-month or even faster and there can be wide differences in the nuts and bolts even within a single model of PC or laptop. This means that not only are you often...
Continue reading
4943 Hits
Alex Saltman

Our IT Managed Services Could Have Saved $1000s from Ransomware

Our IT Managed Services Could Have Saved $1000s from Ransomware
You’ve probably heard of Cryptolocker. It’s the nefarious ransomware trojan targeting Microsoft Windows that made the rounds via email starting in 2013-2014 that locked businesses out of their own files by encrypting them and holding them hostage. It impacted many – including Grande Prairie organizations that you know and may do business with! Cryptolocker and its many ransomware cousins act like typical viruses in the way they’re spread and distributed. But what makes ransomware so dangerous to you and your business is the fact that it specifically targets corporate data for monetary gain and the results can be catastrophic for those whose network is unprepared and inadequately protected from such an attack. Ransomware works by encrypting and locking you out of the files on your computers, server, and network storage. These files could include your policies and procedures, sensitive contracts and agreements, or your accounting database and financials. The attackers...
Continue reading
5251 Hits
Alex Saltman

Choosing the Right Tech for Your Business

Choosing the Right Tech for Your Business
We all rely on tech to help run our business, and it’s great when it’s running smoothly, but it can be horrible and expensive when it isn’t. Hiring the right tech company to look after your technology will keep your systems functioning effortlessly, and can make the difference between just surviving and powering ahead in full growth mode! What to look for: A good IT firm will start by having a consultant sit down with your leadership team to listen and learn all about your business before recommending anything. They should provide unlimited computer support to you and your staff for a fixed monthly fee. A technology strategy plan will be offered and created for your business, with at least one year planned. Every business is different and has different technological needs. A custom tech solution is part of every successful business. Experience! Hire an IT company that has experience...
Continue reading
4679 Hits
Alex Saltman

Organizing Your Data With SharePoint.

Organizing Your Data With SharePoint.
Breakdown of File Structure
Folders suck at making your data and documents easily searchable and they’re slowing your business down. That’s a pretty bold statement isn’t it? After all, file folders have been used since the early days of enterprise to store documents and information, why all of the sudden do they suck? I’m going to answer that for you with a quickly conjured example of your typical folder, letting you down when you need it the most. I’ve always thought accounting was sort of a neat field, so I’m going to create a fake accounting firm called ‘Horizons Accounting and Bookkeeping Company’ (HABCO). Here is what a folder structure for a company such as HABCO might look like. You can see we have: Duplicate sub-folders such as invoices, taxes and year end. A complicated amount of folder/subfolder nesting. Folders are containers. They describe what is inside of them. The invoices folder holds invoices, straightforward...
Continue reading
3795 Hits
Angie Saltman

Cloud Storage is Not a Backup Solution

Cloud Storage is Not a Backup Solution
I hear people often refer to Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive as backups. I’d like to dispel that myth by explaining why these cloud services do not provide enough data protection to be considered a true backup and also how an actual online backup system can provide robust data protection that compliments the convenience offered by you cloud storage service of choice. Cloud storage service – how does it work? A cloud storage service like Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.net synchronizes documents and files from your personal computers and devices with your cloud provider. If you make a change to your documents on one of your connected computers or devices, those changes replicate to all your other devices by synchronizing through the cloud (and by cloud we mean a data center/set of servers and storage devices maintained by the provider). This is handy because now you can access your files...
Continue reading
6027 Hits

Kind Words