Category: The Business Desk

SIEM and SOC at a COUPLE of GURUS

SIEM and SOC

This month we would like to take some time and highlight our advanced security services, SIEM (Security Information and Event Monitoring) and SOC (Security Operation Center). As time progresses, more economic sectors and industries will have to adhere to regulatory compliance geared towards protecting data.  PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and CMMC are ...
Cybersecurity Awareness Month at a COUPLE of GURUS

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month. The theme of the month is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” The National Cyber Security Alliance is a great website you can visit to watch videos, review tips sheets, and search their resource library to see up-to-date information on cyber security threats and how to protect yourself ...
How To Keep Remote Employees Engaged

How to keep remote employees engaged

Having the privilege to be able to work with remote employees for the past decade, I've learned a few lessons over the years on how to keep remote employees engaged and embedded in our culture. Lesson #1 is be intentional If hiring a remote employee, when possible within their first ...

IT Budgeting: How to Get It Right

During periods of economic uncertainty, business owners start to question the value of everything in their operating budgets, including their IT spend. Information technology costs cover a vast range of elements, including hardware, software, and staff, and they can vary enormously depending on the sector, the company size, and the ...
3 Questions You Need To Ask Your CIO

3 Questions You Need To Ask Your CIO

Most business leaders don’t fully understand their technology enough to come up with an effective technology budget. Because of this, I highly recommend every business leader establish a CIO for their organization, whether through an outsourced provider like aCOUPLEofGURUS, or a part-time executive. It is important to form a relationship ...

7 Reasons Consumer-grade PCs Will Cost You More Money

One question I get a lot when I meet with small business owners in the Twin Cities is this: Why do I need to spend more money on business-grade hardware? It’s a common question that doesn’t always have a common answer. Because the answer is not clear, we wanted to ...

Two Business Disaster Stories, & What You Can Learn From Them

[img src="/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/07/when-disaster-strikes-acoupleofgurus.jpg" class="aligncenter"] Today we have a tale of two disasters.  Each story has a different cause and a different outcome.  Both stories we are dealing with catastrophic data failures that happened within the past year.  The reason I want to tell these stories is not to capitalize on someone else’s ...

OneSource Cloud Hosting is right for you

[img src="/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/08/cloud-hosting-600.jpg" class="aligncenter"] aCOUPLEofGURUS has been installing and maintaining cloud solutions since 2011. As we’ve written about before, there are a number of scenarios where cloud computing technology can truly benefit your business. This is especially true if you are facing a major capital expenditure to upgrade or replace your current ...

What Are YOU Looking At?!

As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. The same goes with monitors. It surprises me how often I walk into an office space and only see single monitors at people’s desks. Dual monitors are the most inexpensive way you can immediately increase your employees’ productivity. We techies ...

Don’t pay that ransom!

How do you recover from the CryptoLocker ransomware virus without paying the ransom? How do you make sure your data is safe and usable in the event of a power outage, a fire, or a tornado? Having a well thought-out and reliable backup plan is essential. In its simplest terms, ...