All Insights

Women in STEM
An Interview with Astound Business's Kristell Janusz “By recognizing that things need to change, implementing programs, constant visibility and encouragement starting at a young age—the environment will change for the better for women in technology.” Kristell Janusz, Vice President of...

How to Set Up Business Grade Wi-Fi for Your Small Business
Five Easy Steps For Making Your Upgrade Simple and Effective CONGRATULATIONS! Your small business has taken off. But now, the residential-level Wi-Fi network you began with no longer serves your needs. Security has become a higher priority, you have more...

Communications In A Hybrid Work Environment
In a hybrid work environment, organizations need to make effective use of multiple communication methods and platforms to enable employees to achieve their goals. However, the overall objective should always be focused on ensuring clear communications. This white paper reviews...

Choosing The Right Small Business WiFi Solution
Learn the WiFi basics to stay connected If you’re a small business owner who needs to keep your business connected, you’re in luck. Broadband infrastructure has spread so widely these days, that WiFi is virtually ubiquitous (tech jargon for ‘available...

How to Keep Employees Engaged and Productive in a Hybrid World
Before COVID, remote office work was usually reserved for freelancers or those whose work-flexibility needs — such as parenting young children — were addressed on a case-by-case basis. But the rest of the rank-and-file punched in, swiped a security card,...

Three Wi-Fi “Best-Practices” for Small Business
What You’ll Learn How to correctly size your network Ways to make it more dependable What to do to strengthen security How to Ensure a Fast, Dependable and Secure Wi-Fi Network for Your Growing Business Small business Wi-Fi networks often...

How Can Small and Medium Businesses Increase Employee Retention?
Hiring the right talent has probably been an employer challenge since medieval bakers sought skilled apprentices to help fill their bread orders. From a simple ratio perspective, employees at small and medium businesses have more impact on their success than...

Why TV is Vital Tool for Your Business
Long before televisions became wider, flatter, and cheaper, we’ve been accustomed to seeing them in places like bars, airports … and especially airport bars. These days, it’s not strange to catch the local news while having your car repaired, waiting...

Understanding Edge Computing Technology (And Why It Matters)
We've come full circle. From storing data locally to moving it to a centralized data center, then connecting to the cloud, and then to a multi-cloud system, data processing is now coming back down to earth. In order to provide...

Trends in Cloud Analytics and Storage [ Webinar ]
What does it mean for your business The adoption of cloud analytics and storage continues to rise due to the improved usage of cloud-based services including, mobility, increased efficiency, cost-effectiveness, streamlined collaboration, and speed of connectivity. Astound Business was joined...

Here’s Why Cloud Computing Should Be In Your Plans
The changing dynamic of how and where people work is driving the need for more data storage capabilities among organizations. More importantly, heavy dependence on telecommuting and dependency on application and software services to operate, has been a big reason...

How to Educate Employees About Phishing & Online Scams
How to Educate Employees About Phishing & Online Scams People have gotten smarter when it comes to recognizing cyber crime and sniffing out email phishing scams. We are no longer excited when we hear from that Nigerian prince or go...

Top 4 ways to build your email list
Top 4 ways to build your email list Spring—a time of renewal, when millions across America hit their backyards to plant seeds and flowerbeds and prepare for a season of blooming wonder. As with a garden, a company’s email list...

4 Telltale Signs That You Should Update Your Business Wi-Fi
An unreliable Wi-Fi connection can mean big hassles for small businesses. There’s nothing more enjoyable than asking your biggest client to continually repeat themselves during a video conference because your glitchy connection has turned them into sputtering robots. Even more...

The DOs Don’ts and D’ohs! of Cash Flow Management
No money, mo’ problems. Small businesses need more than profits. They need cash! So, you go to a restaurant, stuff your face, then tell your server you’ll pay your dinner bill once you get paid next week...30-60 days, latest. Think...

4 Tips for Getting Better Online Customer Reviews
You don’t have to upend your business to boost your ratings. You didn’t know who Maggie F. was 24 hours ago, but you sure know about her now. You just woke up to her one-star review of your business, which...

What Is Business Impact Analysis?
A business impact analysis (BIA) is the process of identifying mission critical systems, determining the maximum outage each business function can endure, and assessing the short-term and long-range impact. Why Is BIA Important? There’s no need for you to run,...

5 DIY Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses
Don’t have the budget for a marketing agency? You can still promote your small business. Marketing is a crucial element to making your business a success, but not all companies have the budget to hire an agency to handle it...

Social Media Best Practices
Four Ways to Help Your SMB Climb the Social (Media) Ladder When it comes to social media marketing, some brands are exceptional at creating interesting, engaging content that truly resonates with their intended audiences. Others misuse it as an extension...

Grow Your Business by Shifting from Customer Satisfaction to Customer Experience
Focus on the Customer Experience to Keep Them Coming Back Most business executives agree that customer retention is a key strategic objective and is becoming ever more critical in a digital economy. Research tells us that Attracting new customers costs...

Why Small Businesses Should Switch to a Hosted Phone System
With Hosted Voice, Small Businesses Say Goodbye to Big Phone Bills More and more major corporations have abandoned their on-site phone service and made the move to the cloud, and it’s a no wonder why. Hosted Voice solutions offers scalability,...

Women: The Unmined Gems of STEM
4 reasons why more STEM jobs for women means more success for your business. When it comes to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, numbers matter. If they’re off by just a fraction, the data won’t add up,...

How To Create An Effective IT Disaster Recovery Plan
Your business' reliance on technology is a double-edged sword. While computers, data networks and hosted voice systems have enabled companies to exponentially increase productivity, expand operations and enhance communications, these same technologies can grind entire operations to a halt in...

Is Mobility the Driver for Digital Transformation?
4 steps your business should take to build a more mobile-friendly workplace Many organizations treat mobility as a separate IT silo, considering it a second banana to the more traditional desktop-centric approach to day-to-day business operations. But today, an increasing...

Choosing the Right Internet Speed for Your Small Business
Internet Speeds for Small Business The importance of Internet connectivity spans across a multitude of industries and businesses, both big and small. As a business owner, this is especially important to foster employee engagement and growth. Everything from customer contact,...

What Internet Speeds Do Small Businesses Need?
Ben Franklin’s quote, “time is money,” has never been more relevant than it is to business today. To compete successfully, businesses must maximize productivity. The Internet has become the most important tool to effectively communicate with customers, suppliers and employees....

PRI vs SIP at a glance
PRI (Primary Rate Interface) and SIP (Session Initiating Protocol) are two methods used to connect your business to a regional telephone network. Both methods require PBX (Private Branch Exchange) equipment where the interchange between your office or facility and public...

Case Study: All Pets Veterinary Hospital
As a full-service facility, All Pets Veterinary Hospital offers traditional, non-traditional, and emergency services in the treatment of a wide variety of animals. Providing comprehensive medical treatments, the clinic requires a fast Internet connection for sharing and storing medical records...

6 Ways SIP Trunks Can Improve Business Communications
More and more companies are replacing traditional phone lines with SIP trunks. And for good reason, SIP trunking integrates voice, video and data traffic over a converged access service making it a flexible, cost efficient solution for a growing business....

Fiber vs Coax: What’s The Main Difference?
Fiber internet is a technology that uses fiber optic cables to connect your business to the internet. A coax cable is primarily made of copper and transmits data through electricity. The main difference between fiber and coax data connections is...

Boost Productivity with High-Speed Internet
Have you ever experienced Internet issues like failure in streaming, slow buffering, poor connection, or you just can’t connect at all? If your answer is yes, you may be paying for a business Internet service that claims to be fast...

What Is Network Redundancy?
What Is Network Redundancy? A network redundancy, or disaster recovery plan, identifies the critical components of the network where a failure would cause significant outages. In the event of a failure with these various communications links or devices, redundancy allows...

Ethernet Solutions in Action: Regional Airport
Imagine if an airport network went down. What ripple effect do you suppose it has on passengers and aircraft? The world has seen the impact a technology outage from an individual airline can have on the functions of an airport,...

Understanding the Advantages of a Hosted IP-PBX Phone System
It was only a century ago that business phone systems consisted of lighted switchboards and telephone operators frantically trying to connect one call at a time. Fortunately, developments in telecommunications technology have come a long way. In today’s world of...

How PBX Fits Into a Simplified Business Communications Systems Strategy
To borrow a phrase from Mark Twain, news of the demise of the PBX is greatly exaggerated. Companies looking to modernize their office phone system are leveraging their existing Public Branch Exchange (PBX) phone system and switching to a business...

How To identify Risks & Vulnerabilities In Your Network Security
For IT security team members, technology advancements mean an increased level of risks. Security risks to your business network require you to take preventative measures by conducting a threat audit. To do so effectively, you need to identify the vulnerabilities...

Connecting to the Cloud
Today, companies big and small are migrating their computing to the Cloud. For many reasons; lower costs, scalability, mobility, simpler upgrades, and business continuity are advantages every business can appreciate. No matter what applications or benefits the Cloud offers, the...

Top 4 Benefits Of Outsourcing Data Backups
A managed services provider can help you avoid disaster and save money. Did you know that 140,000 hard disks crash in the U.S. every week? If you worked at one of those organization that crashed then, yeah, that’s probably not...

Virtual Events VS. In Person Events – Beyond 2020
There’s good reason to make the move to virtual events. But how do you do it? With numerous in-person events being canceled or postponed this year—and into next year—a lot of companies are moving their upcoming conferences, company gatherings, and...

What Are “Over The Top” (OTT) Services?
Have you ever watched a television program on your terms? We're not talking about DVRing an episode of Game of Thrones that aired at its scheduled time for you to watch later from your couch. We're referring to the growing...

Cloud-Based CRM Versus On-Premises: What’s the Difference?
You just got back from a sales call. People and processes at the account are changing. While the details are still top-of-mind, how do you capture them for future use and update other members of your team? Write notes on...

Moving Tips to Bring Your Small Business to the Cloud
4 Strategies for a Simpler Cloud Migration Cloud computing services are now available to organizations of all sizes, with packages to suit a variety of bandwidth needs and budgets. And more and more small businesses are heeding the call, lured...

Must-Have Marketing Apps for Your Small Business
6 Online Marketing Tools to Improve Office Efficiency The internet is a vital component to running any business, but if used incorrectly, it can become a small business owner’s worst nightmare. Between social media, streaming services and the seemingly endless...

Are Your Private Texts Private?
5 Steps to Improve Texting Security and Reduce Exposure to Security Breaches You probably don't give much thought to the security of a text message. Usually it's a stream of consciousness conversation with one or a few friends about where...

Transition Your Site from HTTP to HTTPS…and do it ASAP
Here Are Five Immediate Benefits You’ll Experience With an SSL Certificate. When it comes to the security of your website, hackers aren’t the only ones to be concerned about. Browsers are checking you out as well. Last year, Chrome began...

Is It Time to Update Your Business WiFi?
4 signs that your small business needs a WiFi upgrade Like a 10-year-old car, your metabolism or that yogurt in the back of the fridge, things generally do not improve with age. They become unreliable, they slow down and they...

Mobility is the key to digital transformation
“Upward mobility” is taking on a new meaning these days. What has been a term to describe one’s rising social power can now be applied to an organization’s plan toward digital transformation. Embracing today’s mobile lifestyle is a must, and...

Everything You Need to Know About Cloud Storage
Are you overfeeding your mainframe or server? It’s happening to businesses more and more. As it generally goes with physical structures, there’s only a finite amount of content these guys can store. And as the IT landscape continues to change...

Is the Gig Economy Right for Your Business?
The gig economy is an emerging workforce of professionals who choose to work as free agents...and it’s growing significantly thanks to evolving communications technology. But just because it’s easier than ever to tap into this market doesn’t necessarily mean it’s...

How Small Business Owners Can Gain More By Spending Less
Many business owners have been groomed on the old “you have to spend money to make money” adage, but there’s a difference between investing wisely in your business and throwing cash at products and services you may not need. With...

Maximize Your Modem and Router Power
Internet connectivity starts with your modem and router. Having a little knowledge of these devices can help your office run more efficiently (and save you a couple of bucks). Here are three quick modem and router tips to get the...

Ransomware White Paper
Ransomware incidents are skyrocketing and cybercriminals are targeting vulnerable small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). In this White Paper, Astound Business hopes to educate SMBs about ransomware and to provide simple action steps that every business can take to avoid falling...

What you need to know when setting up a LAN
A LAN can expand the capabilities and benefits of your small business. It’s a technology you already use but probably don’t fully understand. We’re talking about a local area network (or LAN). Got a computer and laptop hooked up to...