by David Little | Dec 10, 2018 | Business Technology |
Fortis is a Sacramento area company that offers managed services and IT support to small businesses across Northern California. We also provide hosted VoIP service to businesses nationwide.
Successfully scaling a technology services organization requires equal attention to people, process and technology.
As Fortis has grown, we have been careful to hire the right people to support our expanding customer base. We have had to put the right processes in place to onboard our new customers and support our existing customers. As the last leg, we have implemented technologies that our team can use to easily follow the processes we’ve defined.
For an operational system, we investigated Customer Relationship Management software options. We wanted a system we could mold to fit the customer-facing processes we had designed and that we would continue to refine over time. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Nov 26, 2018 | Business Technology |
No too long ago, small businesses looking for budget-friendly accounting software only had a few options to choose from. The good news is that in 2018 – soon to be 2019 – there are now a wide range of solutions available. Cloud-based accounting apps are available from a variety of different vendors that span the whole range of features and price points.
The challenge now is trying to figure out exactly which cloud-based accounting solution is the best fit for your business.
In order help narrow down the field, and provide some insight about the various tools available to you, here are some of the most popular and widely used accounting software packages in the marketplace today, and who they’re a good fit for. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Nov 15, 2018 | Small Business |
Every small business owner at some point learns that change is necessary to survive. While most of the time those changes relate to the products and services a business offers or how they market them to their customers, sometimes change needs to be internal.
Improving business processes and technology is often critical to keep up with the evolving demands of customers and marketplace competitors. Unfortunately, simply dumping new technology, processes, and/or requirements onto employees without warning rarely has the desired effect. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Oct 18, 2018 | Small Business |
For many years now, search engine optimization (SEO) has been one of the secret weapons small businesses have been able to use to compete at both local and national levels for online visibility. As SEO has become more popular, more businesses have been willing to dip their toes in the water hoping for success.
To be successful however, small business SEO needs to be more than just a “one day build”. It’s important to understand that search optimization is a process, not a product. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Oct 14, 2018 | Business Technology |
The buzzword “collaboration” is thrown around by a lot of technology vendors. Sometimes, their products don’t offer business collaboration in the true sense of the word.
The definition of the word “collaborate” is very specific. It’s a verb that means, “work jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something.”
In business, several people often need to review and edit a document before it’s considered “final.” However, the traditional business collaboration process can be inefficient. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Oct 2, 2018 | Small Business |
A blessing and curse of modern office technology is the level of integration available between various systems. It’s fantastic when everything works, but it can be real headache when trying to mix and match, or replace technology.
For those who are considering switching from analog to the world of a digital cloud-based phone system, it’s critical to ask each vendor under consideration how their solution will integrate with your existing office environment—beyond just replacing the phones on employees’ desks.
Here are thirteen questions to ask each vendor on your shortlist before making a purchasing decision. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Sep 25, 2018 | IT Security |
When was the last time you got an email from a Nigerian prince asking you to help him recover a secret hoard of cash? It sounds like a terrible joke, right? But for many of us, getting one (or more) of these emails was our first experience with what is now known as “phishing”.
As the internet has grown, tools to filter out these kinds of spam have gotten more sophisticated. Unfortunately, so have the methods of phishing used by criminals. More important, the focus of their efforts has migrated from consumers to businesses. In 2017 alone, businesses targeted by phishing attacks lost over half a billion dollars. This year, it’s likely to be even more. (more…)
by David Little | Sep 21, 2018 | G Suite |
For several years, Fortis has provided a range of G Suite-related services to Northern California businesses.
Because so many of our IT support and VoIP customers were asking for G Suite services, we decided to make it official and become a Google Cloud Partner.
This partner relationship makes Fortis part of an exclusive group. Google has a higher acceptance bar than do most business technology vendors.
Whether you are unfamiliar with G Suite, have a passing familiarity, or know a fair amount, the following Q & A should help. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Sep 12, 2018 | VoIP |
You started a new business a while back. Your business is starting to really take off. Congratulations!
On the telephone communications front, so far you and your team have been operating successfully from mobile phones and from consumer VoIP accounts like Skype.
At what point does your business need a real telephone system instead of a collection of personally owned phone numbers? Here are some of the factors, which in combination can point to consideration of a change. (more…)
by Staff Writer | Sep 7, 2018 | Business Technology |
You may already be all too aware of the fact that there are a number of forces working against your in-house phone system’s long term survival.
Even if your traditional system is working fine today, it’s worth carving out some time to plan your next steps after your in-house business phone system reaches its eventual end of life.
Otherwise, you could end up in a costly crunch when your phone system experiences an untimely demise.
Below are some of the factors that could seriously impair an older phone system or even stop it in its tracks—whether the brand is Inter-Tel, Panasonic, Comdial, Executone, Isoetec, Inter-Tel, Premier, Iwatsu ADIX, NEC, Nortel Norstar, Toshiba, Vodavi or another manufacturer. (more…)
