Why Should You Have guest Wi-Fi at The Office?

Offering Wi-Fi to your guests is not just about making sure their Instagram feeds keep updating, it’s about being professional. An office receives business visitors who come to make presentations, sell products and provide project updates. How unprofessional it would be if you couldn’t offer internet access to them.

Why may a business not offer Wi-Fi for guests?

• Nobody has had the time to set it up
• Nobody at the office knows how to configure it
• Fears about unintended access into office systems

In this article, NUMENTIS’ IT support professionals in Mississauga explain guest Wi-Fi in a professional corporate setting.

What is guest Wi-Fi?

Guest Wi-Fi is intended to provide limited network access to visitors. Typically, guests should be able to access the internet and, in some cases, access some of the company’s IT resources. Therefore, guest Wi-Fi shares company resources and must be configured to control access. Most businesses label their guest Wi-Fi networks with suffixes such as ‘-guest’ to demarcate them as being used for visitors.

How IT companies in Mississauga configure guest Wi-Fi?

There are two primary ways a business can set up guest Wi-Fi. Which is right for you depends on the separation you want between your internal company resources and guest access. Speak to our IT services professionals in Mississauga to understand which is right for you.

1. In-built guest Wi-Fi support

Most Wi-Fi routers today support guest networks. This means a separate ‘virtual network’ can be created from the same router. This is a simple and convenient way of setting up Wi-Fi, however, it is also less secure. Speak to our IT support team in Mississauga to have your network setup.

2. Separate access point

If your router doesn’t support guest Wi-Fi or you want to separate guest and internal access more thoroughly, deploy separate wireless access points. This means the Wi-Fi network is completely distinct from the one your employees use internally. Some businesses even install a separate ISP connection, so visitors don’t even share the internet connection.

Why you should have Wi-Fi at your office

Offering complimentary Wi-Fi to visitors is a must-have courtesy in today’s business environment. Not having it makes you look unprofessional and unprepared. Here are some other reasons why you should guest Wi-Fi.

Convenience – Make your guests comfortable. Everyone has emails to respond to, documents to download and work to do. Having Wi-Fi will make them comfortable. If someone is making a presentation, they won’t have to worry about the connectivity issues that come with using mobile data. Wi-Fi also allows easy wireless connections for making presentations.

Security – If you are sharing your internal wireless access point information with outsiders, you are opening your business to cyberattack. Even if a guest doesn’t have access to individual resources, such as shared folders, malware from their device can still infect your systems. Guest Wi-Fi helps you add a layer of protection.

IoT devices – The Internet of Things has the potential to empower your business, but a single unsecured smart device can compromise your entire network. A cybercriminal can commandeer one device and spread malware across the entire network. Connect your IoT devices to a guest network and limit their access to sensitive information and servers.

Don’t forget, even if visitors are using guest Wi-Fi, they are still using the same internet connection as you!

NUMENTIS has the IT support in Mississauga to configure your network

Get in touch with one of the best IT companies in Mississauga to set up your guest Wi-Fi. NUMENTIS’s IT services team in Mississauga helps protect your systems while making visitors’ experience seamless. We can set up internet blockers so your guests cannot access illegal websites and download malicious software over your internet connection.

Source:https://numentis.com/guest-wi-fi-office/

Want Unified Communication? Microsoft Teams is the Solution

Over the years, the business has been inundated with collaboration tools. Unfortunately, instead of becoming easier, ‘collaborating’ has become harder than ever with a multitude of tools – each with its own steep learning curve.

Perhaps, then, it is ironic that we are talking about ‘Teams’, a Microsoft product, that may just have perfected unified communication and brought standards online communication so sorely needs. As an IT support company in Mississauga which works with organizations in many different fields, we have seen enormous demand for Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams’ free version also offers powerful communication, but with limitations on storage and offline use.

Why has Microsoft Teams become the go-to communication platform?

Microsoft Teams has kept the formula simple: it un-complicates collaboration and leverages Microsoft Office 365’s wide install base. Though single-window programs risk becoming overly complex messes, Teams have avoided that trap; navigation is easy, and it works reliably. Also, where Microsoft’s standing in the corporate environment was once in decline, the company has rebounded with a sharp focus on services.

This means businesses no longer must invest in three or four different platforms to communicate with clients, customers, and vendors. Speak to an experienced IT services provider in Mississauga to help simplify and unify your internal and external communications.

Office 365, of which Microsoft Teams is a part, is used by 1 in 5 corporate employees!

A brief introduction to Microsoft Teams

Teams tie a lot of communication tools into one. Microsoft calls it ‘intelligent communication’; for everyone else, it means you can chat, voice and video call, host online meetings, share files and tasks through one single app. No wonder our IT services in Mississauga receive so many requests from CIOs to implement Microsoft Teams.

How Microsoft Teams unifies communication

It brings together several different capabilities that enable effective internal and external communication.

Messages – The return of the desktop ‘IM’, Teams offers a simple chat window. It even has built-in real-time translation capability, which means cross-language communication is finally a reality!

Meetings – If you have been using Google Hangouts for hosting meetings, Teams will blow your mind. Meetings support up to 250 participants from different organizations. You can also verify callers who are dialing-in over the phone. If a participant loses their connection, they can simply dial back in too.

Office 365 adoption has far surpassed GSuite, taking over a 50% share of the market and putting Microsoft Teams on millions of computers.

Calls – Microsoft Teams incorporates powerful calling technologies, including administrative rights, call queuing, auto-attending, call forwarding and even out-of-office support. Calls can even be routed to your telephone service.

Integration – Skype users can now join Teams meetings and existing Skype for Business accounts can be linked with Teams. In 2020, interoperability with Pexip, Polycom and Blue Jeans VTC systems is expected as well.

Call recording – Need to record calls in compliance with your policies or for contractual obligations? Microsoft Teams will be introducing compliance call recording to the program too, allowing you to customize your private message to callers, as required.

Make sure you rely on the most responsive IT companies in Mississauga to fully realize the potential of Microsoft Teams for your organization.

Benefits of Microsoft teams

1. Included with Office 365 and tight integration with other applications
2. Industry-standard platform with extensive interoperability
3. Complete communication and collaboration tool-in-one
4. The simpler interface means less time spent troubleshooting
5. Customizable workspaces available for different teams
6. New team members don’t face a steep learning curve
7. IT companies in Mississauga can set up Teams as part of Office 365 roll-out

Call IT support in Mississauga to get started with Microsoft Teams

Excited at the prospect of simplifying your workflow and communication? Speak to a NUMENTIS representative today and find out how we can help you migrate your legacy system to Microsoft Teams. Our dedicated IT support in Mississauga provides complete user training and helpdesk to ensure seamless collaboration.

Source:https://numentis.com/want-unified-communication-microsoft-teams-solution/

How to choose a managed IT service provider (MSP)

An organization looking for a managed IT services provider will have many expectations. It must provide the services the company needs; service offerings must be cost-effective, and IT consulting & services in Oakville must help make the business altogether more efficient.

While capability and cost are obvious selection factors, there are five things any business owner should look for in an IT company, especially one which provides managed IT services for small business.

What is a managed IT services provider?

Managed services providers (or MSPs) manages a business’s IT remotely. It is why ‘managed IT services’ and ‘cloud service providers’ are used so interchangeably. Their services are typically provided under a service level agreement (SLA), which can be a monthly, quarterly or annual commitment.

An MSP provides support remotely. Networks and IT infrastructure are monitored by an off-site team; though the support team will provide on-site support for system implementation and troubleshooting.

What you should look for in an MSP

Flexible contract

One of the biggest advantages of opting for an MSP is flexibility. A business should be able to scale up (or scale down) services and capabilities as it needs; commit to services on a project-by-project basis, and not be bound by long term contracts.

Look for flexibility in the contract your MSP is offering. Especially for small businesses, managed IT services must have provisions for changing the scope of the contract without prohibitive fees and penalty clauses.

Flexibility also comes in the form of service bundling. Too many services offered as part of a package will mean you are spending money on capabilities you don’t even need, defeating the cost advantage of outsourcing IT consulting & services.

Cybersecurity

Look for a managed IT services provider in Oakville that emphasizes security. Find out how the MSP secures IT infrastructure and network. The SLA must include monitoring of web traffic to and from your systems; regularly updated firewalls; and protection from hacking attempts.

Since the MSP may be backing up your data on its servers, you need to see how its own systems are secured too. It must show a high level of diligence protecting its own systems from exposure to cyber threats. Check for compliance with the latest industry security standards.

Compliance

Businesses are often bound by IT compliance requirements in sensitive commercial contracts. These can be regarding protocols and standards for data storage, communication, privacy policies and more. Failure to adhere to compliance standards can mean hefty fines and even termination of the contract.

An MSP must ensure your IT systems comply with your contractual obligations. It is a sign of experienced IT consulting & services if it can do so without tying your processes into a confused knot.

Third-party partnerships

The IT industry relies on vendor support – for hardware, software and cloud services. For an MSP to offer cost-effective and responsive IT services, it must have partnerships with vendors. An MSP with strong industry partnerships will be able to get you better deals on procurement and more favourable contracts.

Don’t just take the representative’s word about partnerships; be upfront and ask what vendors an MSP works with and how you will benefit.

Rapid response

Any MSP is going to offer an IT helpdesk and claims fast response times. But claims should translate into action. Server downtime, cyberattack, and lost devices are not the time to discover an MSP does not have the capacity to deal with rapidly evolving threats.

An MSP must be clear about its support services and propose troubleshooting time frames. Service tokens, initial response, and emergency response must be outlined too. It shows a maturity in process and the MSP’s experience fixing problems timely.

Managed IT services

NUMENTIS is one of the most responsive IT outsourcing companies in the business. Our goal is not just to provide IT services, we want to be great partners. We pride ourselves on transparency – in SLAs, commitments, and pricing. Contact our representatives and find out how we can fulfill your IT needs affordably.

Source:https://numentis.com/choose-managed-service-provider-msp/