The Simply Smarter Blog

Classrooms have completely evolved over the past 20+ years.  We all remember the days of messy chalk on blackboards and overhead projectors.  Those big, bulky pieces of machinery wheeled in on a cart in the middle of the classroom.  Who doesn’t remember the thrill of being allowed to write on the transparency with a dry-erase marker and seeing the results projected on the wall? Fortunately, there has been an evolution in how educators can display their lessons.

Phishing remains one of the most common types of cybercrime according to the FBI's Internet Crime Report.  Cybercriminals took advantage of our state of unrest and found ways to profit from our heightened dependence on technology. With $10.2 billion in profits, internet crime is a lucrative business to be in. As cyber criminals get more savvy in the art of deception, these emails are getting harder to recognize. They are no longer desperate requests for money or a plea from an offshore prince. They are simple messages with a simple objective – to get you to click or respond.

Email is a key that cyber criminals can use to comprise you or your employer’s sensitive data - and bank account. It’s time to for us to treat it as such by analyzing every email received to catch phishing attempts. After practice, it will become second nature. Here are a few tips to follow in order to take back our inboxes.

You might only see the action on the playing field, but behind the scenes, it takes a lot of technology to support college athletics. Today, schools and their athletes need to stay ahead of the competition more than ever by incorporating collaborative digital tools for everything from personalized training apps to video capabilities for reviewing plays and archival footage. It’s no exception for Army Athletics of West Point, the oldest of the five American service academies educating cadets for commissioning into the United States Army.

Often overlooked as a gateway into your network, your copier is the most unsuspecting way cybercriminals gain access to your company information. In fact, according to a study by Quocirca, over two thirds of organizations have experienced data losses due to unsecure printing practices last year. The report also mentions that printer security is lower on the security agenda than say email or cloud platforms. Which is why with the recent launch of our new BP line of copiers, we decided to layer on the ultimate cybersecurity tools to keep customers one step ahead.

We are migrating to a digital era, but that hasn’t stopped educators from relying on their school’s multifunction printer (MFP) to quickly produce 30 copies of their students’ homework as they scarf down food on their lunch break. Despite an increase in digital technologies being incorporated into the classroom and at home, educators are still printing many documents each school year, from homework and assignments to study guides, worksheets and tests.

We can look at the data to determine why print is important from usage alone. But there are underlying benefits to having an MFP in the library, faculty lounge or administrative office. Let’s take a closer look.

The pandemic has changed so much of how the world works. From virtual learning to leading global meetings from makeshift living room offices, we have adapted regimes to ensure we are completing the best work possible. What happens when old routines, programs, and technology no longer fit the mold and aren’t helping us excel? There’s one clear answer: Change.

Microsoft Office 365 (M365) has become an increasingly popular platform for businesses, with its productivity, collaboration and communication tools. However, while M365 provides basic security measures, it is not designed to restore lost, deleted, or corrupted data quickly and easily.

According to Statista, 94% of companies that experience severe data loss never recover, and SMBs are 10x more likely to be hit with a data breach than larger organizations. While it is critical to have a backup solution to protect against data loss, 58% of SMBs have no backup plan for M365. But why is that? Below, we discuss four reasons to have a cloud backup solution in place and how cloud solution providers can provide comprehensive M365 data protection for your business.

Sharp and Bitdefender recently entered a new partnership, one that strengthens cybersecurity threat prevention in our new range of business MFPs at a time when cybercriminals are increasingly targeting endpoint devices – including printers – to plant malware, steal intellectual property, and launch espionage campaigns. 

Bitdefender is a recognized industry leader in threat prevention, detection and response, with its antimalware detection technology consistently achieving top performance results in independent, third-party tests.

Sharp sat down with George Yunaev, Senior Software Developer at Bitdefender to discuss the partnership and why it is so important to protect all endpoints of any network – regardless of business size.

When an online retailer, or a website, gets hacked, oftentimes all you hear in the news is about how many credit cards were lost or what the financial damage was. You rarely hear about the user accounts that were compromised. However, if you have an account on a compromised website, the username and password you used very possibly could be published and available to anybody who wants to look at it at on the Internet. Read on to learn about the one thing you can do to help remember your passwords without compromising your personal or businesses' security.

Educational technology helps today’s teachers to integrate new tools into their classroom. Teachers are able to upgrade and improve the learning in their classroom that enables them to engage their students in unique and innovative ways. Teachers are also able to expand their network and connect with other teachers and educators nationally and globally. Let’s dive into three ways in which technology impacts the classroom and its implications for the future of education.

Getting a new copy machine shouldn’t require a college degree. But with all the options out there, it sure can feel like it. Last time I checked, there was no University of Copy Machines, so I’ve tried to point out a few features that are worth looking into when renewing your school’s copier lease.

Of course, there are the obvious decisions such as monochrome or color, print speed and budget. While these are most certainly important, there are other aspects to investigate. Teachers have busy schedules, so when they have 5 minutes to print worksheets or copy student documents, the copier better work as expected, and be easy to use! To find the best copy machine for your school, make sure you’ve considered these five things.

It may be one of the greatest pet peeves for teachers. You get some fancy new technology to use in the classroom, oohs and aahs abound, but it’s incompatible or difficult to use with existing software and other systems. Or you need to learn an entirely new system, so it becomes a major time investment that counters what you thought you’d save with the technology. What educators need – and what will invariably make their jobs easier – is technology that can link up to existing devices seamlessly and that will require minimal effort to get up to speed on. This is where having an open platform solution can provide huge benefits. For interactive displays, open platform is essentially an agnostic tool that can connect with any other devices in the classroom environment.

We continue to hear workers want to work from home or remotely. With WFH sticking around, it’s important that your home office includes all that you need to succeed. We even polled from our social media followers and learned that the flexibility and ability to log-on to work from anywhere is favored, especially when you have an ideal home office set-up.  Here’s what our followers expressed as their must-have items for their remote office.

Did you ever watch a game at a sports bar or restaurant? How about looking at a meeting agenda on a display in a hotel lobby or a virtual directory in a hospital or shopping mall? Chances are you are looking at a commercial TV. You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t that the same TV I have in my house?” Well, not quite. There are a few differences between commercial TVs, mostly found in the environments mentioned above, and consumer TVs, which are mainly used in households.

As consumer 4K TVs and commercial display products are becoming increasingly similar in design, each product has special features for specific usage. Here are the basic differences between the two.

Let’s explore!

Data breaches and other cybercrimes are becoming way too frequent. But it's not just large organizations that are susceptible to being hacked or getting a virus. Small and medium-sized businesses are equally if not more attractive targets for cybercriminals because they typically lack the security infrastructure of a larger organization. A total of 88% of small business owners feel vulnerable to a cyberattack, according to a recent Small Business Administration (SBA) survey. If your business is the victim of cybercrime, recovery costs can be expensive, including specialized repairs and legal fees, and can severely harm your brand’s reputation. That's why cyber liability insurance can be a smart precaution for any size of business.

You’ve heard countless messages about the importance of data security.  In recent years, bad actors have stepped up their activity and are using more sophisticated techniques to take advantage of distributed and remote work environments. In today’s widespread threat landscape, a well-balanced, multi-layered security strategy is needed to help ensure your copiers and printers keep your information safe from malicious intruders. Read on to learn about some features that can keep your copier on lockdown.

Well-managed organizations are not immune to the risk of potential business interruptions and need to pivot and adapt in the face of adversity. However, if the events over the past few years have taught us anything, even the most agile businesses are not prepared for everything. In the event of a catastrophe, the need for a Business Continuity Plan is paramount to keep your organization thriving. However, if your business lacks the proper planning, you could be treading water without a life preserver hoping for a miracle. Let’s talk about business continuity and how your organization can secure its operations.

So, you’re looking to reduce print costs in the workplace, hey? In fact, you’re wondering to yourself right now, “Why? Why does this happen and how do I avoid spending a fortune on toner / ink / paper?” Luckily for you, there are three stages to resolving the eternal challenge of avoiding spending loads of money on print costs. And the good news is you can choose any stage you’re comfortable with (and can afford)! Let’s explore…

When shopping for a new copier or multifunction printer (MFP), things can get tricky. When you look at the specification sheets of similar devices from different manufacturers, at first glance, it may not seem like there is much differentiation among the group. But just because these devices look the same on paper doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference between them. And if it’s been a while since you’ve been in the market for a piece of print hardware, you may be surprised at what today’s devices offer.

Verizon recently released its latest “Data Breach Investigations Report” (DBIR) that analyzed 23,896 security incidents, of which 5,212 were confirmed breaches*, in the timeframe from Nov 2020 to October 2021. The hefty report, which for a data-filled technical piece demands your attention with cheeky jargon, offers the latest insights into how threat actors are operating, who they’re targeting and the attack methods that are delivering results. It’s overarching conclusion: this was one insane year in cybersecurity. Strap on your swimmies and let’s dive into the key findings of the report as well as some plain English explanations.

For years we have been hearing that print is dead. Digital technology has certainly cornered the market in the past 15+ years. Medical offices started transferring paper records to digital and many schools stopped using hardback textbooks in favor of digital textbooks.  Newspapers, magazines and books have gone digital. A lot of companies have decided to make the switch from print advertising to web advertising. It is obvious that print is no longer the only game in town. But is print really dead? Not so fast.

At Sharp, we’re always looking for ways to help you think “simply smarter.” So, we thought it would be a great idea to feature our leaders to get an inside look at what they are working on and their views on the office technology space while learning some fun facts about them too! Today, we’re interviewing Tom McElligott, CIO & VP of Information Technology. We hope you enjoy getting to know Tom!

Learning is becoming more and more digitized. Luckily, technology is also becoming more comfortable to use and takes less time to implement. With the ability to use the display as a touchscreen device, an interactive whiteboard allows teachers to accomplish a wide range of tasks, from presenting to collaboration. 

Over the past few years, working from home at least a few days a week has become a regular occurrence. This way of work has shifted family dynamics, as many have turned guest rooms into offices, splurged on top-notch Wi-Fi systems, and even moved homes due to no longer having to commute to work every day. At first, your ideal home office may be as simple as a room that is secluded from traffic or lawnmower noises, but if you really think about making your workspace perfect for productivity, there are clearly other aspects that need to be considered. In my quest to put together my ideal home office, I examined all critical components, from hardworking hardware to a motivating ambiance.

Does your school need a technology upgrade? If you’re still writing on chalkboards and working on older smartboard models – the answer is yes! Technology is at the core of virtually everything we do and exposing students to cutting-edge devices at a young age can set them up for success in the future. In addition, new display technology in the classroom allows teachers to streamline their daily plans and allows for an interactive environment for all to learn.

Now more than ever, small businesses are more vulnerable due to the lack of technology and IT support needed to effectively mitigate and recover from a cyberattack. Due to the pandemic, many SMBs had to scale back on operations, and if that included their IT departments, they become much more susceptible to bad actors. As more processes become digitized, employees continue to work remotely and cybercriminals become smarter, the need for small businesses to implement proper defenses to protect against security breaches has never been more critical. For small businesses, now is the time to strengthen cybersecurity measures. Check out these tips to address cyber concerns and prevent your organization from becoming a victim.

In a time where hybrid and remote work is more common than not, IT departments have played an integral role in keeping distributed teams connected and secured while working away from the office. Today, IT teams must accommodate the growing needs of videoconferencing, collaboration and simplified communication solutions. However, the demands for IT departments have dramatically increased over the past few years. Additionally, businesses are struggling to find and retain top IT talent to fill key technology positions or backfill roles lost due to the Great Resignation and face an overwhelming need to find candidates with technical skills to drive digital transformation. As many businesses know, not having the right people puts pressure on how fast any company can move, regardless of budget.

There are advantages to having a dedicated technology provider that can scale an IT environment, maintain business agility, upgrade an outdated IT infrastructure, provide advanced cybersecurity support and more. So, what are the benefits of Managed IT Services, and why consider them?

Even though inflation rates were at 5% in March 2023—lower compared to last year—it is still uncomfortably high.  The Federal Reserve has also raised interest rates over the past year, signaling that more increases are expected. SMBs are feeling the crushing inflationary pressure as well as reeling from a tight labor market and unpredictable fuel costs.  Times like these call for creative measures. Readjusting departmental budgets is a start, but if you take a closer look around you, there could be wasted money hidden in plain sight. You might be wondering, where to begin? My recommendation is a workplace technology assessment. It can provide numerous benefits, but right now the focus is to recover wasted expenses. Here are five ways a technology assessment can help businesses offset these financial constraints. 

According to the United Nations, climate change is on a “fast track” to disaster and it’s “now or never” to implement actions and decisions to reduce carbon emissions. No one individual can tackle global warming challenges on their own, so it’s our responsibility to work together to make changes, big or small, in our daily lives that will make the Earth cleaner and greener for years to come.

One area we often overlook when thinking of an eco-friendlier lifestyle is the office, whether that’s at home or a corporate space. In honor of World Environment Day on June 5^th, we’re sharing three tips on making sustainable decisions – and making a difference for the environment – with your office equipment.

In today’s continuously evolving workplace, the need for communication and collaboration is more important than ever. Digital technology is constantly reshaping the way people work. Employees are bringing tablets, laptops and smartphones into meetings as ways to share information. Additionally, many employees work on a hybrid schedule, where they are partially in the office and partially remote. One of the most impactful ways companies can create a collaborative space is by introducing an interactive whiteboard into their meeting rooms. With an interactive whiteboard in a business setting, meeting attendees can use their personal handheld devices to share their information with all participants using the interactive display, whether working in the office or remotely.