Nearly a quarter of U.S. businesses continue to rely on the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) that has been in general use since the late 1800s. In 2015, however, the Federal Communications Commission established guidelines that would allow carriers to phase out the PSTN and transition to digital-only networks.

As we enter National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it is hard to escape the conclusion that cybersecurity has never been more important — or more difficult.

Threats are growing more frequent, sophisticated and costly. Data, devices and other assets keep moving beyond the reach of network perimeter defenses.

The accelerated adoption of digital technologies is a bit of a double-edged sword. While it clearly drives new levels of efficiency, productivity and innovation, it can also introduce new vulnerabilities. Increased reliance on cloud, mobile, edge and wireless technologies to support remote and hybrid workforces substantially expands the typical organization’s attack surface.

Recurring issues and long waits frustrate users. Managed services can help.

Virtual work is here to stay, but remote IT support remains a vexing issue for the millions of Americans working from home at least part of the time.

Because they are no longer working with office technology that is regularly maintained by the company’s in-house IT staff, remote workers often encounter technology issues they can’t resolve themselves.

Despite low-key launch, operating system update could make a big splash with remote and hybrid workers.

Microsoft has never been particularly modest about launching new operating systems. The Windows 95 launch party, for example, was hosted by Jay Leno and featured circus tents, a full-size Ferris wheel, and Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer dancing to the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up.” The company reportedly spent $500 million each on marketing campaigns for Windows XP and Vista and three times that for Windows 8.

However, the company has taken a far more measured approach with Windows 11, which became available on Oct.

Virtual desktop technology has been around for more than a decade, but adoption has lagged due to perceived cost and complexity challenges. With more organizations looking to use the technology to support remote and hybrid workforces, Microsoft is simplifying desktop virtualization with its new cloud-based Windows 365 service.

Fifty years after it was invented by an MIT engineer, email remains the world’s most popular business communication tool. Unfortunately, it is also the single greatest source of business data leakage.

A whopping 95 percent of IT leaders say that customer and company data is at risk on email, according to the 2021 Data Loss Prevention Report by the cybersecurity firm Egress.

It’s no secret that cybersecurity threats have become more sophisticated and dangerous. Hackers now use bots to carry out constant attacks and have become master manipulators, using convincing language and realistic graphics to fool people into clicking malicious links.

SMBs need a strategy for long-term data archival.

The amount of data created and stored is simply mind-boggling. According to IDC’s latest DataSphere and StorageSphere forecasts, 64.2 zettabytes (64.2 trillion gigabytes) of data was created or replicated in 2020, unusually high growth due to the number of people working and learning from home.

Software-defined WAN solutions meet new remote work requirements through enhanced connectivity, improved cloud access and better security.

In an era of increasingly decentralized workforces, software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) has become crucial for providing remote and mobile users with secure, flexible connectivity to essential applications and services.