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Today, virtual assistants are integrated into several products: phones, smart hubs, cars, and more. These virtual assistants, fueled by truckloads of data, can be quite useful for an individual, but what needs to happen before they can actually be trusted for business?

Virtual Assistants Aren’t All That Beneficial

Virtual assistants, for all that has been made of them, are still limited in their effectiveness. With their simple, direct line of operation--command, action, response--they don’t offer a lot, right now. They are useful to sync to some smart things (maybe), sync to your music, tell you the weather forecast, and a load of other simple functions that could be labeled “useful”, but aren’t going to help a person all that much.

Beyond that limited technology, however, you are looking at the future, where touch is replaced by voice. Some of the most powerful companies in the world are all-in on the development of this technology. Apple has Siri, Google has Google Assistant, Samsung has Bixby, Amazon has Alexa, and Microsoft has Cortana. Those are some heavy hitters developing this technology. It must be important, right? 

It is. For them.

Voice gives organizations the chance to intimately know individual consumers. This type of personalization is exactly what modern consumers use, even if it serves to creep them out. With practical uses of smartphones unquestioned--and the utility of smart speakers (and other distribution methods of these applications) growing--it’s only a matter of time where it will be successfully integrated to the workplace. 

For that to happen there needs to be:

Computing Improvements

While cool, what do you expect to do with your Echo Dot or Google Home Mini? Not very much. The competition between vendors will drive innovation of this technology forward faster than it would without it, but if the only benefit of these devices is to search databases with your voice, it will continue to be a middling product. There will need to be a concerted effort to improve these products, and their attached services if they ever want to be useful in the workplace. 

Enhanced Perception

The application developers have an uphill battle ahead of them. In order to completely understand the intricacies of human communication, you have to be able to ascertain tone, syntax, and even non-verbal cues. While microphone technology is improving, it stands to reason that virtual assistants will need to make massive improvements on how they understand a person’s voice if they are ever going to be a useful tool. 

Greater Trust 

Unfortunately, these companies did this to themselves. The most significant hurdle in the adoption of virtual assistants is the data collection strategy behind them. People simply do not trust that these devices, and the companies that manufacture them, can be trusted. If the past decade of data collection practices is any indication of how these companies are going to operate, you’re better off with a pad of paper. For now, the technology needs to be viewed as a tool, rather than a rule. Meaning that virtual assistants are a technology that is in its infancy and shouldn’t be trusted.

What are your thoughts about virtual assistants? What benefits do you think they can provide the average worker? How do you use your virtual assistant? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. 

If you are like many other businesses, IT is a crucial part of your business’ day-to-day operations and it stands to reason that it should be a priority to understand just how it functions to do so. This process, while pretty transparent, is not always cut and dry. With a simple IT assessment, you can get a clear look at how your organization’s IT functions, how it works to tie your business together, and get an idea how it can be improved. Today, we’ll take a look at an IT assessment and how it can be the first step on a path to improving your operations. 

The Assessment 

In order to get the most comprehensive look at how your IT is functioning for your business, you need to take a look at core functions those technologies are used for. They typically include human resources, financial information, hardware, software, specific needs of your business, governance (compliance), managing risk, and the ever-prominent security of said network.

Before we get started going through what to expect from an IT assessment, there are a couple terms that you need to understand:

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - This metric will measure the total cost of a piece of technology. This takes into account the initial cost, the cost of operation, the cost of maintenance, and the cost of any downtime related to the solution in question.
• Return on Investment (ROI) - This metric will measure how much you’ve profited off of an investment. 

These two metrics will come into play frequently during the IT assessment. 

But First...

You have to know why you would need an IT assessment in the first place. An IT assessment, or IT audit, is going to be the basis for the decisions that will come after. For that reason it is extremely important that you have trained technicians who know exactly what they are looking at, conducting the audit. It’s crucial that the people who conduct the assessment understand how IT should be used as a part of your business’ workflow, not aside from it. 

Starting the Assessment

The first thing that will happen during an IT assessment is to put together something called the Asset Detail Report. The Asset Detail Report lists all computers, servers, virtualized computing platforms, printers, switches, routers, and any other hardware and software that you have or pay for. This will present the age of all the hardware systems your organization has; provide the names of software, when it was installed, and what versions you’re working with; the status of endpoint security; where, and how much, data is stored; IP addresses and much, much more. 

At this time, it may be advantageous to create a site diagram. A site diagram shows you how your data flows through your network and devices. This visual representation of your IT infrastructure will give you a map of sorts of your organization’s network. The IT technicians at Digital Seattle can assist you with any part of the IT assessment process. 

Next the IT SWOT analysis, which is a metric that separates the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats affecting your business’ IT network. First, technicians will identify internal and external factors that are considered favorable or unfavorable to the network and infrastructure health--including security--of the organization’s IT.  Next, the techs will use the SWOT results to make recommendations on how to improve network security and suggest what types of investments will be needed to reduce organizational risk, promote rapid and sustainable ROI, and maintain a positive TCO. These suggestions will then be put into an actionable plan with the design to help a business make the right technology decisions. 

Finally, the assessment will produce a risk report from an evaluation of:

• Network hardware
• Security configuration
• Servers
• VPN/Remote Access
• Websites, domain names, and hosting provider
• ISP
• Phone System
• Email, messaging, and conferencing
• Computers, mobile devices, tablets
• Cabling
• Printers
• Software and mobile apps
• Procedures, policies
• Technology vendors

...and more

This report will identify domain controllers and online statuses, list users in Active Directory, a user’s last login, identify potential security issues such as weak passwords and machines that haven’t had their software updates, and provide the known vulnerabilities found on the network. With this report you will understand everything you need to know about your organization’s IT infrastructure and networking; and, their relationship to your team’s ability to be productive. 

Your organization’s IT is often what holds it all together. For more information about an IT assessment, or to schedule our knowledgeable technicians to complete one for you, call Digital Seattle today at (206) 709-9556.

Under A Thumb

Are you aware that there are readily available websites that are strictly devoted to providing the default factory passwords for devices of all types? With these passwords, and a little bit of knowledge about what hardware you have, people could access your network easily?

To combat this, you need to think about every single access point your business has and lock them down. Once they are locked down, you will also need to secure your online accounts and your physical location’s access points. To do this you should take time to document all of your network’s possible entry ways and do what you need to do to secure them. You can do this by ensuring that every access point is secured with different passwords (and two-factor authentication where possible).

Keep Your Antivirus Updated

The antivirus solution you use keeps out unwanted entities. But what happens when malicious entities aren’t recognized by the antivirus solution? That’s right, it passes right by, infiltrating your network. To avoid this scenario, you will want to ensure that your antiviruses, antimalware, and firewalls are all updated with the latest threat definitions. 

Keep a Backup

Most importantly, you may think you are in control, but it only takes one thing to slip by your defenses to complicate things. That’s why you will want to keep routine and periodic backups to ensure that if something does happen that you can restore from backup quickly and get back in business fast. 

Remember all it takes is one. Digital Seattle staff's professional technicians versed in the best practices and protocols of comprehensive data and network security. To talk to one of our knowledgeable IT experts about securing your business, call us today at (206) 709-9556.