Category Archives: Office/ Technology/ E-Commerce

Business Report: October 2020

October 15, 2020October 16, 2020

Rose Miller is president of Pinnacle Human Resources LLC.

By Rose Miller
As fall and winter approach, employers will not only have to plan for the on-going pandemic, but they must also address the challenges faced by working parents, a stressed workforce, decisions involving onsite versus a remote workforce and possibly shutting down again.
These decisions involve creating comprehensive and legally compliant policies and procedures.
It is also a time for employers to think about a comprehensive approach to its company’s benefits. Like every aspect of the business, employers need to assess how the pandemic has impacted their entire benefit offering. They need to also consider how new federal and state mandated leaves interplay with paid time off policies and insurance benefits. Based on their findings, they may want to revise what type of benefits are critical to both the company and its employees.
According to the annual MetLife Benefit Trends Survey for 2020, generational demographics show a glimpse on how businesses should revise their benefit offerings and possibly reallocate funds to better meet employee needs.

COVID Exposure Notification Mobile App Launched By New York, New Jersey Officials

October 15, 2020October 16, 2020

New York and New Jersey launched COVID-19 exposure notification mobile apps in their respective states that officials claim will serve as crucial tools to supplement the effort to trace and contact individuals subject to a COVID exposure.
The apps, COVID Alert NY and COVID Alert NJ, notify users of potential COVID-19 exposure while maintaining user privacy and security.
The states join Pennsylvania and Delaware in creating a regional COVID Alert app network that operates across state lines to stop the spread of COVID-19. Connecticut has also will launch the Exposure Notification System in the coming weeks.
The free mobile apps-available to anyone 18 or older who lives, works, or attends college in New York or New Jersey-are available for download from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
“We have a very exciting announcement that has taken a lot of work and it’s really creative and smart and I think it can make a big difference. This is a technology-based contact tracing app. Testing is only as good as your contact tracing,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “Testing is to identify a person, so you can isolate and quarantine that person and then find the connections from that person, and that’s contact tracing. We have about 15,000 people statewide who do contact tracing, they call them disease detectives. But we’ve been looking for a technology-based solution. And today, we are announcing an app that you can download for free from the app store called COVID Alert NY.

Small Businesses Can Use IT Companies To Handle Computer, Network Issues

October 3, 2019October 4, 2019

by Andrea Palmer
Technological progress continues to enhance business operations. With advances come new pitfalls and opportunities for growth, particularly for the small business owner.
“With the popularity of ‘the cloud’ over the past five years, it’s been an unprecedented time for cloud- or web-based software solutions designed specifically for small businesses to function and remain competitive,” said Carl LeGere, owner of EmpireTech in Queensbury. The company serves many small businesses, with some emphasis on construction and medical areas.
Security is another large issue. LeGere said damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by the year 2021.
“With this trend, it is critical to have a layered approach to cybersecurity,” said LeGere. “This should include training employees in security principles and phishing prevention, using multiple layers to protect your network and cloud data from attack, having a handle on what private or critical information is on mobile devices, and having a way to wipe those devices if they’re lost or compromised.”

Business Report: Design Trends To Boost Productivity, Satisfaction

October 3, 2019October 4, 2019

Dorothy Rogers-Bullis is owner and president of drb Business Interiors in Saratoga Springs.

By Dorothy Rogers-Bullis
At some point along the way, the term “trendy” became pejorative—a design concept to be avoided—evoking images of orange shag carpet and Harvest Gold appliances.
When it comes to office design, however, the latest trends aren’t just about flash-in-the-pan materials or color palettes. More often than not, today’s innovations in workplace technology and space planning allow for increased productivity, better ergonomics, and higher employee satisfaction.
Is your workspace keeping up with the times? Here are just a few of the many trends we are seeing in workplace design in 2019.
“Resimercial” style
Increasingly, office workers are seeking the comfortable furniture and settings they enjoy at home, but companies still desire the durability of traditional office products and materials.
Blending residential warmth and familiarity with pragmatic commercial design elements, the so-called “resimercial” trend sits at the intersection of the home and the office. This less formal, highly adaptable style appeals to younger workers, as well as to forward-thinking industries like technology and marketing. It can boost productivity, creativity, and even employee wellness.

Business Report: Benefits And Perks; Culture Or Hawthorne Effect?

October 3, 2019October 4, 2019

Jim Marco, president and principal consultant with Saratoga Human Resources Solutions Inc.

By Jim Marco
In the 1920s and 1930s, Elton Mayo conducted a series of experiments at the Hawthorne Electric Plant near Chicago. The study was intended to find out how different aspects of the work environment, like lighting, the timing of breaks and the length of the workday affected worker productivity.
The hypothesis was to see if changes in these environmental factors could increase productivity. The researchers found that productivity increased, for a while, and returned to normal once the experiment was over. This became known as “The Hawthorne Effect.”
We read a lot today about the new workplace; flexible office space, fully stocked kitchens, ping pong tables, bean bag chairs, stand up desks, even bringing dogs to work. Employers are trying to copy the superficial trappings of really successful companies like Google and Apple. They hope that these trappings will create a “culture” that will allow them to achieve some terrific level of success.
It won’t, and these programs will be abandoned, because the companies will not get the desired productivity or engagement boost from their workforces. Like Hawthorne electric, the effect is only temporary.

Business Report: What New Data Breach Law Means

October 3, 2019October 4, 2019

Richard Ruzzo is managing partner, COO, of Shepherd Communication and Security.

by Richard Ruzzo
On July 26, the Shield Act was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to direct that better security measures and policies are put in place by all business that store, maintain or electronically handle non-public personal information (NPPI) to help protect against hackers obtaining an individual’s personal and private information.
The law is set to take effect March 21.
What determines a breach in a security system?
A breach occurs when one’s NPPI is exposed, made vulnerable or stolen from the host organization by unscrupulous data thieves. The information at risk and covered by the new statue is as follows:
Any data that is compromised and consisting of any combination of; name, Social Security number, driver’s license number or non-driver identification card, account number, credit card number, security access code, password or PIN to a financial account, username/email address with a security question/password and any biometric data information based on unique features that can be viewed digitally.

Taking IT To Next Level Enables A Company To Use It For Their Competative Advantage

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018

Allan D. Robison, president and CEO of EXEControl Global Solutions in Clifton Park.
Courtesy EXEControl

By Susan E. Campbell

All business owners look for ways to increase their bottom lines by working smarter and Internet technology often helps them to do just that.

But businesses can rely on technology too much, said Allan D. Robison, president and CEO of EXEControl Global Solutions headquartered in Clifton Park.

“Computer programs are written so that people do the right things at the right time, like order materials before inventory runs out,” said Robison. “But when the software tells you to do something that doesn’t sound practical, someone ought to question it.”

Robison said there was a time in Hershey’s history when its ERP system told the company not to make more chocolate bars.

Look Of Today’s Office Spaces Features Both Open And Private Spaces, Designers Say

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018

This is an open office space collaboration area featuring a Rockwell library table and seating by Knoll, available from drb Business Interiors.
Courtesy drb Business Interiors

By Jill Nagy

Today’s offices often combine open areas with private conference space, may be furnished more like a living room or cafe than a traditional office, and allow for people to work either sitting or standing up, according to two Saratoga office designers, Lisa Boyle of the Boyle Group and Dorothy Rogers-Bullis of drb Business Interiors.

Boyle sees a trend toward “well-certified buildings,” similar to LEED-certified but focused on the health needs of the people inside the building.

“It’s a huge trend,” she said.

It may include ergonomically designed chairs, stand-up desks, task lighting that focuses on the work surface, locally controlled heating and cooling, and a lot of greenery. She noted that millenials, who now constitute a third of the workforce, are very concerned about their health and well-being.

StoredTech Named Again By Inc. Magazine As One Of The 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018

Mark Shaw started StoredTech in 2010. The company has an office in Saratoga Springs.
©2018 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jennifer Farnsworth

IT provider StoredTech has again been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fast-growing companies in America.

The company was added to Inc.’s top 5000 list for 2018, something StoredTech owner Mark Shaw said is due to their unwavering focus on customer service.

Inc. is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. It named StoredTech 2,555 out of 5,000 in 2017.

In 2016, the company was ranked 1,113 in the magazine’s ranking of 5,000. According to the magazine, StoredTech showed a 167 percent growth over the last three years.

PrimeLink Creates State-Of-The-Art Network Operations Center At Its Space In Plattsburgh

October 6, 2017October 9, 2017

PrimeLink Inc, a regional telecommunications company with an office in Queensbury, overhauled its Plattsburgh office to accommodate a state-of-the-art Network Operations Center.

PrimeLink Inc, a regional telecommunications company with offices in Champlain, Plattsburgh, and Queensbury, has continued to build its regional presence in the Champlain and Upper Hudson Valley areas by overhauling its original Plattsburgh office location to accommodate a state-of-the-art Network Operations Center.

The new NOC is a place from which network administrators and engineers supervise, monitor and maintain the PrimeLink telecommunications network, company officials said. The NOC includes a main observation room which contains several visualizations of the network being monitored, workstations at which the detailed status of the network can be seen, and all necessary software to manage the network remotely.

The company said the NOC is now the focal point for network troubleshooting, performance monitoring, and coordination with affiliated clients, vendors, and other networks.

It represents the center of the PrimeLink regional infrastructure, monitoring the activity and performance of its overall fiber infrastructure that stretches from Montreal, Quebec, to Albany. Officials said from this central location, the information exchanged through the PrimeLink network is carefully monitored so that all phone calls, critical documents, presentations, business transactions, and so forth—arrive on time and intact as expected.