Be prepared for some sticker shock the next time you go to replace hardware in your business. Computer component costs have gone up 20% to 40% since 2020. Business-grade PC prices have doubled since 2019, thanks to the perfect storm of inflation paired with increased demand and decreased supply.

Do you like surprises? The answer probably depends on the context. You welcome surprises like lottery winnings and visits from an old friend. But surprises like, “Hey, we need an extra $5,000 to finish this project that’s already started” are very unwelcome. That’s where a contingency comes in.

Here we grow again! Twenty-twenty-one has been an exciting year filled with big changes and accomplishments. Over the Summer, we expanded our management team and promoted five employees to newly created management positions. Now, we’re thrilled to introduce six new employees we’ve welcomed to the Innovative family over the past few months.

As a fellow elder millennial, Iliza Shlesinger said, “Gather round Snapchat children, let me tell you the story of the landline.” Or, in this case, the story of how millennials introduced Google Docs to the workplace. There was a time when Microsoft Office exclusively ruled the corporate world and still does in many ways. But as the first wave of millennials started entering the professional workforce in the early 2000s, they expected online document sharing and collaboration capabilities.

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365 — which is best? Many people are passionately on team Microsoft or team Google when it comes to productivity suites. You may not even remember why you chose one or the other. It could have simply been what you knew was available way back when you started your business or first adopted the technology. Someone, at some point, came along and suggested switching from Google to Microsoft or from Microsoft to Google. When the question comes up, most organizations struggle to identify which solution is truly best for their business vs. which one was just the flavor of the month when they made the choice.

12/15/2021 UPDATE: Be sure to investigate all endpoints for signs that unauthenticated users exploited the Log4j flaw. The nature of a zero-day exploit means that attackers were able to start exploiting the vulnerability before software vendors were even aware it existed. Evidence suggests exploitation attempts began as early as December 1. Additionally, Microsoft published an update yesterday stating they’ve “observed multiple threat actors leveraging the CVE-2021-44228 vulnerability in active attacks.” Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) says these tracked threat groups include nation-state activity groups from China, Iran, North Korea, and Turkey. While no one detection tool is perfect, this Log4ShellEnumeration, Mitigation, and Attack Detection Tool is one of the more helpful tools we’ve found. But keep in mind that these tools alone cannot replace experienced IT and security professionals evaluating your systems for signs of exploitation. 12/14/2021 UPDATE: The US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) created a webpage specifically for sharing the most recent information related to the Log4j Vulnerability. Check the CISA’s Apache Log4j Vulnerability Guidance page regularly for new updates and additional information as it becomes available. 12/13/2021 ORIGINAL POST: Late last week, our team learned of a critical security vulnerability affecting systems that use Java-based programs. This article includes a basic explanation of our understanding to date and how our team is responding.

Do you have piles of notes lying around your computer? Are you constantly writing things down in different notebooks, then scrambling to find where you put the notes from that last project update or team meeting? Microsoft OneNote is your answer. It has all the productivity and organization you need conveniently tied to all your other Microsoft applications and functions.

It's here. This week, Microsoft is launching the latest version of Windows, Windows 11. This is certainly no secret, especially if you've been watching Sunday night football and the flood of Microsoft ads during the game.

The overwhelming responsibilities of IT are stressful. As if daily new security threats weren't enough, you're also keeping up with general troubleshooting and network administration demands. You're facing more pressure to perform amid staffing shortages and a global pandemic that crammed five years of technology advancement into a few months. It just never feels like there are enough hands to respond to day-to-day end-user support needs while ensuring the network runs as securely and efficiently as possible.

You have a capable IT team, but projects seem to drag on forever. Plus, you never have time to optimize your technology or plan for improvements because day-to-day support consumes all your attention. You outsource some specialized functions, but a third party can't completely take tasks off your plate when they require assistance from your team to gain network information and access.