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Because we love you guys SO MUCH, this month we've got 2 DEALS FOR YOU!

DEAL #1 - Get 40% off on an HP 2530-48-PoE+ Ethernet Switch. Due to high demand we only have 4 of these left in stock. (MSRP $1689.00/SALE PRICE $1013.40)

DEAL #2 - In honor of Embrace your Geekness Day on the 13th, we've got just the thing to help make sure you never miss a call or text message while at work... Check out one of our favorite geeky tech tools, the hand cell phone holder. ($17.99) It also doubles as a paper weight!

How not to ask for help—if you want to receive it

AUTHOR | Microsoft for Work

One of the hardest facts for entrepreneurs to face is that they can’t do everything themselves. That means small business owners need to learn how to ask for help. Those who don’t learn how to seek out help, delegate, and collaborate will find themselves tired, frustrated, and stunted in their pursuit of success.

The good news is that technology has made the ability to make connections, request assistance, and get help even easier. The bad news is that because the barrier to entry has been lowered, behavior has also been lowered.    Read More

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Product Spotlight | Bump Armor

AUTHOR | Jessa Erickson @ThinkSpace IT

WHO IS BUMP ARMOR? "We offer the ultimate protection for iPads, Chromebooks, laptops, and tablets for the classroom, office and home. Bump Armor products are created through a collaboration with an experienced mechanical engineer, a young industrial designer and direct feedback from educators in the K-12 market. Bump Armor protective solutions provide the best protection from a world full of dangers, including the rigors of the classroom."

WHY DO WE LIKE BUMP ARMOR? it's pretty simple really, they have a great product line with quality products for a good price. Considering the market for tablets and smaller laptops has grown recently, especially with Google Chromebooks coming on to the scene, the need for bags for these devices has also grown considerably. But what's more important to consider here is the fact that you need a durable bag to tote your stuff around in, especially if you're constantly on the go. Protecting your assets is always a big deal, and these bags do the trick!

From cases and sleeves to standard backpacks, they've got you covered. The bags come in different sizes and colors, and you can opt to get them embroidered as well for a more distinctive look. But most importantly, they protect your stuff. They have quickly become our go-to bags for all of our 1:1 solutions. We also highly recommend them for everyday use and like them so much that we use them for our own (personal) stuff and (company) demo units as well.

If you're in the area and want to check out some of these awesome bags and cases be sure to stop by the office. If that might be too much of a drive for you though no worries, simply check out Bump Armor's website and if you have questions or would like to get your hands on a bag or two, let us know!

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7 steps for safer surfing

AUTHOR | HP Technology at Work

You might not think about it when you’re browsing the web, shopping online and interacting on social media, but you are the first line of defense against cyber security risks. The power to be safe is in your hands, and at your fingertips. Developing and maintaining good habits can make online activity much safer, and more enjoyable for you and your colleagues.

The following 7 good habits take only minutes to learn. and are easy enough to incorporate into your daily work life.     Read more

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Top 10 items SMBs need to back up

AUTHOR | Joshua Turack @ThinkSpace IT

Backups, everyone has them and many people don't understand the value. That ism until it doesn't work when it is needed, and then it may be too late. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers, as many as 15,000 hard drives fail every day. But if you haven’t personally experienced a failure it’s difficult to understand how disastrous even just one failed hard drive can be. For many modern SMBs, vast amounts of data crucial to their everyday operation is left vulnerable to hard drive failure or other forms of data loss because they don’t have a good backup solution. In fact, 94% of companies that suffer catastrophic data loss are forced to close their doors within two years (PWC). For the companies that do recover, the median cost per day of downtime is $12,500 in lost revenue (PWC).

Garrison Data Secure, our premier cloud backup solution, protects you from these risks and, in the case of a hard drive failure, we’ll get you back up and running quickly, limiting your downtime and saving you a lot of hassle. There’s ten main types of data which are essential to backup.

Line of Business (LOB) Applications - Line of business applications are the programs which are fundamental to your daily operation like QuickBooks or Peachtree. The data associated with these programs, like most of your other data, is irreplaceable. Having this data regularly backed up ensures that you can quickly return to normal operation after a data loss.

Emails - Your email is a record of conversations you’ve had with other businesses or with your clients. This information is important to have backed up in case a dispute arises over a past conversation or you just need to go back and review what was agreed on in a conversation. We have all lost emails before, wouldn’t it be nice if you could get them back! Garrison Data Secure can restore your mailbox and even just get the one email that was lost or deleted!     Read More

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