Computer Consulting Service Blog

There’s a lot of comfort to be found in familiarity. It’s why so many of us cling to the way we’ve always done things. It’s the root of the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In many contexts, this can be very good advice. One place it isn’t: your business’ technology.

Neglecting to improve the technology your business relies on can itself incur significant inherent costs that aren’t immediately apparent. Let’s explore them to truly appreciate the benefits of keeping your business’ tech up to date.

Growing your business means making smart choices, and that definitely includes getting the right technology. Finding the right tech can often feel like a balancing act: you need powerful tools to compete and grow, but you also need to be mindful of your budget.

At Computer Consulting Service, serving businesses right here in Fayettville, we help you find that sweet spot where your tech investments truly support your goals without unnecessary costs.

Technology is a big deal for any business, but for small businesses, keeping pace isn't just a good idea; it's becoming essential to the survival and success of the whole endeavor. Every instant gratification and falling behind can have a real effect on an organization’s ability to support their offerings.

Technology is no longer just a support function for a business, it's a critical driver of business performance, security, and competitiveness. As systems age and newer solutions are implemented, the need to evaluate and upgrade your technology becomes important. While it’s easy to maintain the mindset of reactive maintenance, relying on outdated technology can quietly hinder growth and expose your organization to significant risks.

Businesses need a certain degree of good fortune to continue to grow in the manner in which they project when they hang out their shingle. With so many businesses failing after a very short time, taking advantage of the opportunities you’re given is extremely important. In this month’s newsletter, we’ll go through some of the things that a business can do to take better advantage of some opportunities. 

Technology is an essential component for most businesses. Strategic integration of technology has been proven to address significant operational challenges that often elude smaller businesses and startups. In this context, we'll explore three critical questions about business technology that every tech-savvy individual should be acquainted with and make clear the importance of such knowledge.

Any business can benefit from data and use it to improve its operations. This is especially the case where information technology is involved. By collecting the right metrics, you can better evaluate your business IT’s performance and identify areas for improvement.

Let’s review what some of these metrics should be.

Technology is becoming a standard tool used by nearly every organization. Learning how to adjust and do things better allows any organization to maximize productivity. In doing so, it creates the environment needed to become a more successful business. But, can innovation actually be a productivity killer? This month, we look at how innovating may not always be the best way to get your business to go where you want it to go.

The IoT, or Internet of Things, is everywhere. There’s a relatively good chance that a device that would be part of the IoT is within your reach right now, perhaps even on your person. Businesses of all kinds use the IoT for various purposes as well, but behind this usage lies significant risk from cyberthreats, and a shocking number of businesses seem to accept this risk without much concern… as in, the vast majority of surveyed businesses utilizing the IoT demonstrated a lack of protection, but seemed not to be bothered by it.

Over the past several years, it has come to the attention of people in various industries that there is going to be a time, very soon, where the data that needs to be stored is going to outweigh our ability to store it. Microsoft, in a collaboration with the University of Southampton in England has taken aim at this very problem and has come up with some innovative solutions. 

It seems that you can’t turn your head nowadays without seeing artificial intelligence being incorporated into some software or platform. However, many leaders in the technology space have expressed their concerns about—as they put it—the “profound risks to society and humanity” that AI poses, outlined in an open letter. 

The thing about technology is that, regardless of how miraculous or otherworldly it may seem upon its introduction, it can quickly become so very familiar to us. Hard as it may seem to believe, someday (maybe even soon), things like ChatGPT and other bleeding-edge technologies will seem typical, perhaps even humdrum.

The blockchain has been a hot topic in the past few years, if only tangentially. With all the buzz around cryptocurrencies, it can be easy to forget about the underlying technology that powers it and its other applications. Let’s pivot to these other applications for a moment and discuss how the blockchain could potentially be involved with security needs at some point in the future.

AI has been a hot topic in recent months and years, which only makes sense. Not only has it been used in more public applications, but it has also caused a bit of controversy as it seems to “compete” with people. Back in September, art made by using an artificially intelligent platform caused a stir by winning an art competition, and workplace fears of a computer taking one’s job have seemingly become more well-founded than ever.

Over the last few months, we’ve seen a huge explosion in AI-generated content. From AI-generated artwork to convincing but fake videos of famous people, AI has quickly become an interesting enigma with a lot of apparent applications.

Countless jokes have been made in the IT world about the perfect place to hide something being page two of Google—just hang out with some IT professionals, and there’s a good chance you’ll hear it. Unfortunately, Google is making a change to its search results that will make this joke completely irrelevant.

Have you ever heard of the Uncanny Valley? It’s the theory that explains why the human race tends to prefer humanoid robots, but only up to a point, after which we find them unsettling. It’s one reason why so many people found the 2019 film Cats bothersome to watch. The Uncanny Valley has also been present in film in recent years, especially when actors who have passed are recreated digitally to make an appearance, or when talent needs to look older or younger than they are.

There’s no denying that the economic forecast at the moment is a bit bleak, with murmurings of a recession growing louder by the day. As this situation develops, many companies are likely seeking out opportunities to trim the fat. Despite this, however, we anticipate that artificial intelligence will actually see a bit of an uptick. Let’s go over why.

Every piece of technology we regularly use today was once earth-shakingly innovative, regardless of how mundane and common it seems to us now. Think about it: people once had endless questions about the Internet, about computers…even about electricity. Let’s consider some modern innovations that we have many questions about now, but may someday be just as much of a given as the other tools we so commonly use today.

Artificially-intelligent image generation has become a hot topic in recent weeks and months. Not too long ago, an artist created a stir for winning a competition with an image that he largely created using an artificially-intelligent tool. Now, Microsoft has announced that similar AI-powered image generation tools will be integrated into many of their applications.