Datalyst Blog

When a business owner looks at their monthly operating expenses, they usually keep a close eye on payroll and marketing spend. When those numbers spike, it triggers an immediate conversation. There’s one expense that quietly expands month after month, completely escaping executive scrutiny: the invisible tech taxes, like unoptimized cloud tiers, forgotten software licenses, and legacy telecom services that your business pays for, but hardly utilizes. 

Let’s face it: AI is currently being jammed into every single piece of software we touch. While you can escape the hype cycle at home, it’s nearly impossible to avoid at the office.

Just because a tool features artificial intelligence doesn't mean it's actually intelligent for your business to use it. We have officially hit the point of diminishing returns. If you want to keep your operations running smoothly, you need to know how to spot the bloat—and how to eliminate it.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are no longer futuristic concepts reserved for technology giants with limitless budgets. For small and medium-sized businesses, these technologies have become essential tools for staying competitive, efficient, and secure.

However, adopting AI isn't as simple as flipping a switch or signing up for a new app. It requires a solid foundation and a strategic approach. Is your business truly ready to harness these tools, or are you at risk of falling behind?

Business owners often make technology investments in a vacuum. You look at the metrics, you see the potential return on investment, and you purchase the platform. Two months later, everyone is still quietly reverting back to their old spreadsheets. You might want to mandate the new software and lock down the old files, but mandating the platform is not the core issue. The problem is that your team does not see the tool as a way to make their workdays easier.

Most business owners I talk to have some form of backup. Maybe it's an external drive plugged into a server, or perhaps everything is saved in the cloud. While these are great starts, they often have a single point of failure. If your office has a fire, that external drive is gone. If a user accidentally deletes a folder and it syncs to the cloud, that data might be gone before you notice.

To make a backup "trustworthy," we use a framework called the 3-2-1-1 Rule. It sounds like a football play, but it’s actually a recipe for peace of mind.

It’s almost impossible to find a workplace these days where mobile devices aren’t part of the furniture. We use them for everything from checking email between meetings to approving contracts while waiting for a latte. When done right, giving your team the ability to work from anywhere is a massive win for productivity.

Realistically, the biggest cyberthreats you are likely to face will be born within your office. This is not to say that you’ve actually hired a team of cybercriminals posing as good-intentioned employees… In many cases, the issue actually stems from how good-natured your employees are.

In their drive to prove their worth, these team members can develop habits that counterproductively harm your organization. Let’s dive in and discuss a few ways this happens, and what can be done about it.

There’s a lot of hardware in the modern business setup, and most of it is computerized to some degree. As such, ridding your business of any of it has become a more involved process than it once was… all in the name of data security.

The simple fact is that more devices than ever have memory, which can easily cause serious problems if you are not careful.

Every business owner knows that a new hire’s first few weeks set the tone for their entire career with the company. While you’re busy teaching them the ropes of their new role, there is something else just as vital to cover: keeping your company data safe.

Building a security-first culture doesn’t have to be intimidating. Here is how to navigate the first 30 days to ensure your new team members start off on the right foot.

Misplacing a file can be annoying and stressful, especially if that file is important. On complex networks, it could potentially be in multiple different locations, perhaps on a local network device or somewhere in the cloud. In moments of dire need, knowing how to locate such important files makes you a standout (and standup) employee, so let’s explore ways to find “lost” files, even if they’ve seemingly disappeared into the ether.

AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot have moved from hype to expectation. SMB leaders now expect their teams to work faster and smarter with AI support — drafting content, extracting insights from meetings, and turning data into decisions. But whether Copilot delivers on that promise depends on something most businesses overlook.

In every office, there is a hero. They are the ones who clear their inbox before they leave, manage five Slack threads simultaneously, and pride themselves on a five-minute response time. We value these people because they make things happen. Unfortunately, that same high-speed, can-do attitude is exactly what hackers are looking for.

Have you ever reached for your phone to check a quick notification, only to look up forty minutes later feeling drained, agitated, and behind on your schedule? For a business owner, this is more than just a bad habit, it’s a thief. While you are busy protecting your revenue and managing your team, these habits serve as an invisible tax on your focus. 

We’ve all been there: the Wi-Fi drops during a high-stakes meeting, or the TV remote ignores your commands for the tenth time. In a moment of pure frustration, you give the device a love tap, and—as if by magic—it starts working again.

Whether you call it percussive maintenance or just asserting dominance, that physical jab feels like a victory. While that slap might provide a temporary fix, you’re actually playing a high-stakes game of planned obsolescence.

Moving to the cloud is supposed to be the action any business can take to help them scale aggressively. For most companies, it comes with a fair amount of waste. Imagine signing up for a pay-as-you-go gym, but they keep charging you for classes you forgot to cancel and lockers you aren't using. That’s effectively what cloud waste is; a sad, empty locker you pay for.

We’ve all been there. You’re flying through your inbox, trying to reach inbox zero before a meeting, and you click a link in a shipping notification. The page doesn't load quite right. You stare blankly and your anxiety spikes.

That moment happens a lot and it is a fork in the road for your company’s security. In many organizations, that employee’s next thought isn’t: “I should report this,” it is: “If I tell anyone, I’m going to get fired.”

You've heard the grumbling, seen the memes, and probably even felt it yourself: that vague, all-powerful entity known as the algorithm. It's blamed for everything from political polarization to your inexplicable obsession with people eating military rations. What exactly is it, and what digital giants are pulling its strings?

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a solution that has grown more popular over the past decade or so, primarily because more employees already own devices capable of running work-related applications. The employee gets to use a device they already know and love, while the employer saves money from the cost of equipping that employee. That said, the security risks associated with BYOD can undermine an ill-prepared implementation and open the door to potential legal action.

As a business owner, you’re juggling a dozen things at once. The last thing you need is a digital crisis. Yet, a single click on a malicious link can bring operations to a screeching halt, costing thousands and damaging your hard-earned reputation.

The threat is real, but protecting your business doesn't have to be a Herculean task. These essential cybersecurity practices are your first line of defense.

These are turbulent times. Social media is an undeniable force in our modern lives, for the good and the bad. Anyone that has gotten into a discussion on their favorite social service knows how it can escalate very quickly. Navigating these digital mediums with intention is key to making it a positive and productive part of your life.

In this month’s newsletter, we wanted to roll out some pretty simple social media tips to live by, helping you to build a healthier and more meaningful online presence.