IT Horizons Blog

Depending on the industry you're in, keeping track of the assets that are vital to your business can be significantly valuable to you internally, but it may also be a necessary step in meeting various security or compliance regulations. Accountability is an important factor in many IT environments, but depending on how your IT solutions are delivered or by whom, there may actually be little in the way of updated or clear documentation for you to draw on. In the last couple of blog posts, we've been talking about managed IT services and, specifically, the immense value that this type of arrangement can have for small and mid-sized businesses. This week, I'm going to discuss yet another benefit of managed IT from IT Horizons - greater accountability. Consistency & Transparency Sometimes, when IT solutions are provided in-house, knowledge is internalized rather than clearly and regularly documented. When it's time to...

In the 21st century, technology rules. There’s no way to get around it, or away from it, regardless of the industry you’re in, or the size of your business. But, just how important is technology to businesses today, and how are they addressing their technology needs? Clutch wanted to find out, so they conducted a survey of more than 400 small businesses to glean their insights. The results support what we already knew: demand for IT services is on the rise, with more companies both hiring more IT support internally and turning to outside vendors and contractors to help meet their needs. Most (69 percent) of small and medium businesses (SMBs) have hired at least one type of IT service provider. And, momentum is continuing to build; 39 percent of SMBs plan to boost their spending on IT services in 2016. The market is moving to more of a managed...

With all the fun and excitement of the holiday season, it's also a time of year when the number of break ins tends to rise. This year, in the Peace Country, it's no exception as there's been an alarming amount of crime in the last little while. Businesses have been particularly vulnerable and those without security systems or systems that are robust enough to provide quality security footage are left with little recourse. At IT Horizons, we install surveillance cameras, in addition to the range of IT security services we provide for small and mid-sized businesses and even households. Choosing quality cameras that are installed by a trained and experienced IT consultant can make the difference between catching the people who steal from you and leaving your business vulnerable to another break in. The Difference an IT Consultant Can Make When you entrust us with installing your surveillance cameras, you...

At IT Horizons, we strive to offer residential, commercial and industrial clients the most comprehensive IT solutions available. This means that beyond the unwaveringly awesome technical support, ongoing maintenance and monitoring, we also perform cabling and physical installations of all shapes and sizes in places that include office buildings and homes to remote job sites in the field. Whether you're moving locations, building a new facility or simply need to upgrade or add to your existing IT environment, IT Horizons is equipped with the expertise and equipment to satisfy all of your cabling and physical installation needs. Our Comprehensive Installation Service Offering Because our clients have very diverse needs, we're ready and able to provide a wide range of installation services: Structured cabling Ethernet Phone cable Coax cable Audio cable Server racks and closets Wireless access points Network infrastructure devices Environmental controls and monitoring Power management (backup generators, etc.) Physical...

While everyone affected by the Ashley Madison hack is still licking their wounds, I can't help but feel truly sorry for those who fell victim to the Android Stagefright debacle. While it's never nice to find out that an online provider you trusted with your personal information, not to mention your endeavours in adultery, have been released for all the world to see, Android users' data was hacked not because they did anything, but simply because they owned the smartphone. The Stagefright Hack at a Glance The hacker sent MMS messages with video and a malware code, and even those who didn't actually click and watch the video were still affected. Here's the kicker: the Hangouts app which automatically processes the video and images sent in MMS messages ensured that the hacker's malware code was ready to start wreaking havoc from the phone's Gallery. Once the message was sent, the...