Month: July 2017

You need to quickly move documents from one computer to another. Do you reach for a USB Thumb drive? You may want to think twice and entrust the cloud to your data. Let’s talk about why.

A Brief History of Recent Data Storage Methods
Throughout the 1990s, NAND flash memory–which is what stores the data on a USB flash drive–was progressively becoming more and more affordable. The first company to sell a USB Flash Drive was a Singaporean company Trek 2000 International, who released their proprietary ThumbDrive at the beginning of 2000. Later that year, IBM became the first producer to sell USB flash drives in the United States with their product, DiskOnKey.

The cloud, believe it or not, was thought up in 1969 by J.C.R. Licklider. His idea was an online storage system that could be accessed from an Internet connection anywhere in the world–an idea that had to wait until the technology was there to support it. Once it was, many well-known companies (like Google and Amazon) were quick to leverage the cloud to provide utilities, including data storage capabilities.

Comparing the Two…
…however, there isn’t much of a comparison. The biggest benefit that a usb flash drive has to offer is the fact that it doesn’t rely on an Internet connection to access files. Otherwise, there isn’t much to be said about them that’s positive other than the convenience of portability. They’re easily infected by malicious programs, easy to lose, and easily stolen. Plus, they don’t offer near the collaborative abilities that the cloud does.

Cloud storage is, first and foremost, very secure against threats and malware, and backed up to protect your data against any circumstances that might put it at risk. Security mostly includes AES-256 encryption and superior access control through multi-factor authentication. As far as collaboration goes, the cloud offers much more utility than passing around a USB drive ever could.

The cloud allows you to work on your documents and data from any device with an Internet connection (we recommend that you make sure your connection is secure), sharing access with any other user by sharing a simple link. Also unlike the USB device, which only allows a single person to work on a file at a time, multiple users can manipulate the data simultaneously, simplifying any responsibilities that require collaboration.

While the USB thumb drive had its moment in computing history to be the star of data storage and sharing, that title has moved on to the cloud. Has your business done the same?

COMPANYNAME can help you make the move to the cloud. Call us at PHONENUMBER for more details.

Sometimes, the small screen of your mobile device is just too small. Instead of buying a whole new device that’s bigger and better, you can remedy this by simply mirroring your phone’s screen to a larger screen. Here’s how to do it from your Android device to your Windows PC.

First off, a word about mirroring. We’re NOT talking about using your phone as a mirror to check your teeth for ‘passengers’ before an important meeting–though there are several apps that could help with that . Instead, mirroring is when what’s displayed on one screen is also displayed on a second screen in real-time. In the case of the goal we’re trying to achieve in this week’s tip, we’re showing you how to take what your Android device is displaying and mirroring it on the monitor of your Windows PC.

Now, your Android device does not come preloaded with this feature, which means you’ll have to pay the Google Play Store a visit.

There are actually a few different mirroring apps that you can download for free. One of the most popular apps is AirDroid. You can find it in the Play Store here .

Keep in mind that AirDroid requires root access and Wi-Fi in order to work properly, so it might not be possible for the average employee to do use. There are other apps that can be used, such as TeamViewer and various other screen sharing apps, but you’ll want to check with IT to ensure that one of them is a proper fit for your organization. Of course, you might already have a solution put into place in order to handle this function, so you might be pleasantly surprised.

An alternative to mirroring your device’s screen is to use a casting solution such as Google Chromecast. While this is primarily a consumer-based technology that can be used for streaming apps such as YouTube, Netflix, or other videos to a connected television, it also has business functions. For example, Chromecast supports a variety of business-related apps that can be cast from your mobile device or laptop to a television screen. You can view documents as a group or conduct meetings, depending on your business’s unique needs.

Mirroring your screen and casting applications can be a great way to help your business take its meetings to the next level. How is your organization conducting meetings? Could it use these technologies to change the way it functions for the better? If so, reach out to COMPANYNAME. Our trusted technicians will work with your organization to fulfill its goals. To learn more about business technology solutions, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.