Carter Tech Blog

Did you know that more security breaches occur on computer systems due to the use of poor passwords than by any other method? A poor password is like leaving your car parked outside the shops unlocked with the keys in the ignition. Why make the job of compromising your system easier?

Common security breaches are caused by either hackers accessing your computer system or from someone inside your organisation accessing something they shouldn't. The risk of these can be reduced by having a good password. A good password is one that is complex but also easy to remember. There is no use having a complex password you can't remember stuck to a sticky note on your monitor (yes, I have seen this before!).

One of the biggest buzzwords in technology at the moment is "cloud computing". Cloud computing promises to save costs, provide upgrades faster and be easier to manage than a traditional computer system (where files are stored on a file server or your desktop and software is used to access those files).

What is cloud computing?

Despite the hype, cloud computing isn't exactly new. Many of us have been using cloud-based applications for some time without even realising it. If you have ever used webmail like Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo you have used software in the cloud - your emails are stored on your webmail provider's server and accessible from any internet connected device. Instead of having to have your own IT hardware and software, you can utilise the capacity of others and purchase services to suit your own needs.

Back in February last year, I was fortunate enough to be profiled in the Western Advocate about Carter Tech and my career as a whole. The paper called the philosophy which has guided my work as an IT consultant a "new view of IT" (for those interested in the article, you may read it here).

My philosophy is simple. Technology should support how your business operates without you having to adjust how you work to suit your technology. Your computer system should work for you, not you having to work to suit it. Why then is this rarely the case?

Technology is complicated and despite there being a wide range of products on the market, most IT professionals stick with what they know (or who they have supply contracts with) rather than on what their clients need. This is where Carter Tech is different - we are 100% independent of any vendor and base our solutions on what our clients need. If we need to work with something new, we are happy to learn it, test it and implement it. We see it as part of the service we provide to our clients.

With technology becoming integral to most businesses today it is crucial that technology does not only what it promises but also what you need. There's no use implementing a system which only burdens how you do your work. Our solutions work around you (not you working around it) to make life easier not harder.