Craig Fouts, Author at Transcend Networks, Inc.

Tech For Humans Newletter

Craig Fouts — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 20:45:43 +0000

Over the next 1-2 years, the way we trust information on the internet is going to fundamentally change.

With AI making it effortless to generate incredibly realistic fake documents, emails, and deepfakes, "seeing is believing" is no longer a valid business strategy.

Soon, proving that your content is real will be just as critical as protecting it.

In today’s email, I’m showing you why AI content verification is about to become the new antivirus software.

You’ll also find a hidden privacy shield in your web browser, a reality check on invoice automation, and a tiny gadget that puts a 100-inch screen in your laptop bag.

So grab your favorite beverage, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

The Coming AI Content Verification War

For the past thirty years, cybersecurity has focused almost entirely on keeping the bad guys out.

We built firewalls to block unauthorized access and antivirus software to stop malicious code.

That’s going to change.

Cybercriminals have evolved past simply breaching networks.

They are now using AI to convincingly clone your identity, forge your invoices, and fabricate your data.

Within the next 1-2 years, we can expect the tech industry to launch a massive counter-offensive, which will properly start the era of mandatory AI content verification.

Think back to the early 2000s, when having antivirus software went from a "nice to have" to an absolute necessity.

We are at that exact threshold right now with digital authenticity.

Because AI has made it trivial and practically free to clone a CEO’s voice, forge a legal contract, or generate a hyper-realistic fake news story about a competitor, "seeing is believing" is no longer a viable business strategy.

To combat this, major browsers, email providers, and software platforms are rapidly adopting "authenticity watermarks".

Since detecting AI forgeries is becoming nearly impossible, this system takes the opposite approach by explicitly proving that content is authentic.

Soon, when you create a document, record a video, or send an invoice, your software will embed an invisible cryptographic signature tied to your verified identity.

The business impact of this will be massive.

In the near future, if your digital documents don't carry one of these cryptographic signatures proving a verified human at your company generated them, client spam filters, banks, and web browsers could flag them as suspicious or fraudulent by default.

Preparing your business for this change means understanding that proving who created a file will soon be just as critical as the contents of the file itself.

How do you feel about all this?

JOHN'S TECH TIP

AI-Assisted Software Updates

Before blindly clicking "Update" on software patches, try asking an AI tool like ChatGPT or Copilot to summarize the release notes so you know exactly what's changing and whether it could impact your workflow or existing systems. This is especially useful for IT admins managing updates across multiple machines or enterprise environments. A 30-second AI summary can save hours of unexpected troubleshooting down the road!

THE LATEST NEWS

🤖 Microsoft Rolls Out AI Content Verification

Microsoft is testing new watermarks and cryptographic signatures to prove which content is real, which is AI-generated, and which has been tampered with to combat the rise of deepfakes.

🧾The Invoice Automation Gap

A 2026 invoice-automation report shows more companies than ever are using AI in accounts payable workflows. However, 68% of firms still manually key in invoice data, highlighting a massive efficiency gap that small businesses need to close.

🌐 Europe Accelerates Mandatory E-Invoicing

The shift toward e-invoicing in Europe is accelerating rapidly, with 2026 marking a major turning point. Governments across the EU are moving toward real-time reporting, structured invoice formats, and mandatory digital systems.

INTERESTING STATISTIC

AI Phishing Success Rates Are Skyrocketing

According to recent academic risk analyses, AI-generated phishing emails achieve a staggering 54% click-through rate, compared to just 12% for traditional human-crafted emails.

For decades, IT departments trained employees to spot scams by looking for obvious red flags: terrible grammar, misspelled words, and generic greetings like "Dear Customer."

AI has completely eliminated those errors, allowing hackers to instantly generate flawlessly written, highly persuasive emails.

More than that, cybercriminals are now using AI to rapidly scrape your employees' LinkedIn profiles and company websites to craft hyper-personalized messages that reference their actual job titles and coworkers.

So as always, stay vigilant!

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If you travel for client pitches or need to set up a presentation in a room without a TV, the Kodak Luma 350 Smart Pocket Projector is an absolute lifesaver.

It’s a tiny, battery-powered projector that easily fits in your laptop bag alongside your mouse, yet it can throw a sharp, bright 100‑inch screen onto a blank wall from just a few feet away.

It features built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, meaning you can wirelessly mirror your laptop or phone screen without hunting for the right HDMI dongle, making you look incredibly prepared and professional in any environment.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

While written by a surgeon, The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is arguably one of the most effective books on building bulletproof business and IT processes.

Gawande explains how the simple, analog act of using a checklist prevents massive, unforced errors in highly complex, high-pressure environments.

He argues that the knowledge to do the job often exists, but the discipline to execute it flawlessly every single time is what fails.

It is a must-read for any business owner looking to standardize their operations and eliminate costly mistakes.

DID YOU KNOW?

Wi-Fi was nearly branded "FlankSpeed" (naval term for maximum speed) before marketing chose the catchier name.

Thanks for reading!

The Transcend Networks team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read 🙂

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help 🙂

Get Your Free IT Consultation

The post Tech For Humans Newletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Managing Cloud Waste as You Scale

Craig Fouts — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:11:23 +0000

Article Summary: Unchecked cloud resource management transforms the cloud’s promise of agility into a source of bloated and unpredictable spending known as “cloud waste” that eats into your bottom line. As such, business leaders need to adopt FinOps strategies that treat cloud spend as a business variable that requires continuous cost optimization to identify and eliminate waste. The goal is to ensure that each dollar is directly spent on initiatives that power your business objectives instead of just vanishing into unused resources.

When you first move your data and computing resources to the cloud, the bills often seem manageable. But as your business grows, a worrying trend can appear. Your cloud expenses start climbing faster than your revenue. This is not just normal growth, it is a phenomenon called cloud waste, the hidden drain on your budget hiding in your monthly cloud invoice.

Cloud waste happens when you spend money on resources that do not add value to your business. Examples include underused servers, storage for completed or abandoned projects, and development or testing environments left active over the weekend. It is like keeping every piece of equipment in your factory running all the time, even when it is not needed.

The cloud makes it easy to spin up resources on demand, but the same flexibility can make it easy to forget to turn them off. Most providers use a pay-as-you-go model, so the billing meter is always running. The team at Transcend Networks understands that cloud waste is not just about saving money. Every dollar you save can be reinvested in innovation, stronger security, or your team.

The Hidden Sources of Your Leaking Budget

Cloud waste can be surprisingly easy to overlook. A common example is over-provisioning. You launch a virtual server for a project, thinking you might need a larger instance just to be safe, and then forget to scale it down. That server keeps running and billing you every hour, month after month.

Orphaned resources are another common drain, especially in companies with many projects or large teams. When a project ends, do you remember to delete the storage disks, load balancers, or IP addresses that were used? Often, they stay active indefinitely. Idle resources, like databases or containers that are set up but rarely accessed, quietly add up over time.

According to a 2025 report by VMWare that drew responses from over 1,800 global IT leaders, about 49% of the respondents believe that more than 25% of their public cloud expenditure is wasted, while 31% believe that waste exceeds 50%. Only 6% of the respondents believe they are not wasting any cloud spend.

The FinOps Mindset: Your Financial Control Panel

Fixing this level of cloud waste requires more than a one-time audit. It requires a cultural shift known as FinOps, i.e., the practice of bringing financial accountability to the variable spend model of the cloud. It is a collaborative effort where finance, technology, and business teams work together to make data-driven spending decisions.

A FinOps strategy turns cloud cost from a static IT expense into a dynamic, managed business variable. The goal is not to minimize cost at all costs, but to maximize business value from every cloud dollar spent.

Gaining Visibility: The Non-Negotiable First Step

You can’t manage what you don’t measure, so start with the native tools your cloud provider offers. Explore their cost management consoles and take these steps to create accountability and track what’s driving expenses:

Use tagging consistently to make filtering, organizing, and tracking costs easier.
Assign every resource to a project, department, and owner.
Consider third-party cloud cost optimization tools for deeper insights. They can automatically spot waste, recommend right-sizing actions, and consolidate data into a single dashboard if you’re using multiple cloud providers.

Implementing Practical Optimization Tactics

Once you have visibility, you can act, and the easiest place to start is with the low-hanging fruit. For example:

Automatically schedule non-production environments like development and testing to turn off during nights and weekends.
Implement storage lifecycle policies to move old data to lower-cost archival tiers or delete it after a set period.
Adjust the size of your servers by checking how much they are actually used. If the CPU is used less than 20% of the time, the server is larger than necessary, replace it with a smaller, more affordable option.

Leveraging Commitments for Strategic Savings

Cloud providers offer substantial discounts, like AWS Savings Plans or Azure Reserved Instances, when you commit to using a consistent level of resources for one to three years. For predictable workloads, these commitments are the most effective way to reduce unnecessary spending at full list price.

The key is to make these purchases after you have right-sized your environment. Committing to an oversized instance just locks in waste. Optimize first, then commit.

Making Optimization a Continuous Cycle

Managing cloud costs is not a one-time project, it’s an ongoing cycle of learning, optimizing, and operating. Set up regular check-ins, monthly or quarterly, where stakeholders review cloud spending against budgets and business goals.

Give your teams access to their own cost data. When developers can see the real-time impact of their architectural decisions, they become strong partners in reducing waste.

Scale Smarter, Not Just Bigger

The cloud offers elastic efficiency, but managing waste ensures you capture that benefit fully. It frees up capital to invest in your real business goals instead of letting it disappear into unnecessary cloud spend.

As you plan for growth in 2026, make cost intelligence a core part of your strategy. Use data to guide provisioning decisions and set up automated controls to prevent waste before it starts.

Reach out today for a cloud waste assessment, and we’ll help you build a sustainable FinOps practice.

Article FAQ

What is the most common type of cloud waste?

The most common type of cloud waste is idle or underutilized compute resources, such as virtual machines, containers, or databases, that are running but not actively serving a meaningful workload, often left on accidentally or “just in case.”

Can cloud waste really make a big difference to my bottom line?

Absolutely. Industry reports consistently show that enterprises waste an average of 30% of their cloud spend. For a growing small business, reclaiming even 15–20% of your cloud bill can translate to thousands of dollars annually for reinvestment.

Are reserved instances always the right choice to save money?

They are excellent for stable, predictable workloads running 24/7. However, they are not ideal for spiky, experimental, or short-term projects. The key is to analyze your usage patterns for at least a month before making a commitment.

Is automating shutdowns safe for my production systems?

Automation should be applied cautiously to production. Focus initial automation efforts on non-production environments (development, testing, staging). For production, use scaling policies that automatically add/remove capacity based on real-time demand (like auto-scaling groups), which is safer than blanket shutdowns.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post Managing Cloud Waste as You Scale appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech For Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 21:57:50 +0000

There is one specific task that every business owner tries to put off for as long as possible.

I’m talking about replacing your company hardware.

Buying new computers is painful. It’s expensive, setting them up takes time, and moving all your files over is a hassle nobody enjoys.

While hardware does eventually wear out, most business laptops die earlier than they should because of a few bad habits.

In today’s email, I’m sharing 5 simple things you (and your team) can do to squeeze an extra year or two out of your company machines.

You’ll also find a fun mouse trick to declutter your screen, a scary statistic about customer trust, and a book recommendation that might change how you run your client meetings.

So grab your favorite beverage of choice, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

5 "Hidden" Habits
That Kill Modern Laptops

A good business laptop should easily last four or five years.

But we often see them failing around the two-year mark.

It is rarely a manufacturing defect. It is usually the result of physical wear and tear that accumulates from how we open, carry, and charge these devices every day.

Here are the 5 most common mistakes that shorten the life of your hardware, and how to fix them:

1. Stop opening it from the corner

This is the #1 killer of modern thin-and-light laptops.

When you lift the lid by one corner, you are twisting the delicate display assembly.

Over time, this torque snaps the hinge or cracks the internal screen layers. Always open the lid from the center, right where the webcam is.

2. The "Hot Bag" Syndrome

Modern laptops (especially those with "Instant On" features) often wake up from Sleep mode while bouncing around in a backpack.

If a laptop wakes up inside a padded bag, it has zero airflow. It cooks itself.

If you are commuting for more than 20 minutes, fully shut down the laptop. Do not just close the lid.

3. The 15% Storage Rule

Solid State Drives (SSDs) are fast, but they need "breathing room" to manage data efficiently.

If you fill your drive to 99% capacity, the drive has to work 10x hard just to save a simple file, which wears out the memory cells significantly faster.

Aim to keep at least 15-20% of your hard drive empty to prolong its lifespan.

4. Relieve the "Port Tension"

The charging port is now soldered directly to the main motherboard on most laptops.

If you sit with your laptop while it’s charging and the cable is pulled tight or bent at a sharp 90-degree angle, you are putting physical stress on the motherboard.

Give your charging cable some slack. If the port feels "wobbly," get it checked immediately before it shorts out the board.

5. Be careful with "Clamshell Mode"

Many people plug their laptop into a dock and work with the lid closed.

However, many laptops vent heat through the keyboard or the hinge area. If you run heavy software with the lid closed, you might be trapping heat that degrades the battery and CPU.

Check where your vents are. If in doubt, keep the laptop slightly open, even when using an external monitor.

These small adjustments cost nothing, but they can save you thousands in premature hardware replacements.

JOHN'S TECH TIP

AI to Tame Your Email Threads

Use AI email assistants built into tools like Gmail and Outlook to generate quick summaries of long threads so you can see key decisions and action items at a glance. Pair that with an inbox‑agnostic AI tool (like forwarding a thread to a general AI assistant) to get concise recaps and suggested follow‑up replies you can edit instead of writing from scratch.

THE LATEST NEWS

💊 AI-Designed Medicine Goes Mainstream

We hear a lot about AI writing emails or faking photos, but the real revolution is happening in healthcare. Insilico Medicine just hit a massive milestone by listing on the stock market, proving that AI-driven drug discovery is a real, viable business. They use AI to simulate how molecules fight disease, cutting years off the research process.

⚠️ The "Scam Center" Economy is Here

A new report lists organized scam centers as a top threat for 2026. The report predicts a sharp rise in "AI-driven" fraud, where scammers use tools to automate attacks on a massive scale. If anyone asks for money or login details urgently, assume it's a scam until you verify it yourself.

📅 Microsoft 365 Updates: Voice & Speed

Microsoft is finally fixing two common headaches for business owners. First, Copilot's "Voice Input" is now smarter; you can dictate brain dumps, and the AI will format them into structured documents automatically. Second, for anyone juggling multiple businesses, the new "Multi-Tenant" update finally makes switching between Teams accounts seamless.

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

55% of Consumers Would Leave You After a Breach

We often talk about the financial cost of a cyberattack: paying for IT recovery, legal fees, or ransomware.

But the hidden cost is much higher... Reputation.

According to a recent study, 55% of consumers say they would stop doing business with a company that suffered a data breach.

For a business, trust is everything.

Your clients trust you with their data, their plans, and their money. Protecting your network is both an IT task, and a marketing strategy to keep your customer base.

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If you carry a laptop charger, a phone charger, and a tablet charger in your bag, you know how heavy (and tangled) things get.

There is a new type of charger tech called GaN (Gallium Nitride) that makes chargers much smaller and cooler.

The UGREEN Nexode 100W is tiny, about the size of a standard phone plug, but it has enough power to fast-charge a laptop and a smartphone at the same time. It has foldable prongs, fits in your pocket, and replaces that heavy brick you’ve been lugging around.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Will Guidara is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which was named the #1 restaurant in the world.

In his book, Unreasonable Hospitality, he explains that they didn't get there just by serving good food. He got there by going to extreme lengths to make guests feel seen and cared for.

While the story is about fine dining, the lessons are essential for anyone who deals with clients.

Guidara argues that in a world where everyone offers a "good product," the only way to truly win is by how you make people feel. It’s a great read on how to turn a transaction into a relationship.

DID YOU KNOW?

For nearly 20 years, the launch code for US nuclear missiles was apparently set to just 00000000 so it could be entered quickly in an emergency.

Thanks for reading!

The Transcend Networks team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read 🙂

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help 🙂

Schedule Your Free IT Consultation

The post Tech For Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

The Server Refresh Deadline: Why Windows Server 2016’s End of Support Should Drive Your Cloud Migration Plan

Craig Fouts — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:59:51 +0000

Time moves fast in the world of technology, and operating systems that once felt cutting-edge are becoming obsolete. With Microsoft having set the deadline for Windows Server 2016 End of Support to January 12, 2027, the clock is ticking for businesses that use this operating system.

Once support ends, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or patches, leaving your business systems vulnerable. It’s not just about missing new features, continuing to use unsupported software significantly increases the risk of cyberattacks.

If your systems are still on Windows Server 2016, now is the time to plan your upgrade. With about a year until support ends, waiting until the last minute can lead to rushed decisions and higher costs.

Understanding the Security Implications

When support ends, the protection provided by security updates and patches disappears, as Microsoft will no longer fix bugs or vulnerabilities. Hackers often target unsupported systems, knowing any new exploits will go unpatched and open the door to attacks.

Legacy systems put IT administrators in a tough spot. Without vendor support, defending against threats becomes nearly impossible, compliance with industry regulations is compromised, and running unsupported software can lead to failed audits.

Additionally, customer data on servers running this operating system is vulnerable to theft and ransomware. The cost of a breach far outweighs the cost of upgrading. Using unsupported systems is like driving a faulty, uninsured car, failure is inevitable. The question isn’t if it will happen, but when.

The Case for Cloud Migration

With the end-of-support deadline approaching, businesses face a choice: either purchase new physical servers running the latest Windows Server editions or migrate their infrastructure to the cloud. Investing in new hardware and software comes with substantial upfront costs and locks you into that capacity for five years, the typical span of mainstream support for Windows Server, plus an additional five years for Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) releases.

On the other hand, a cloud migration strategy offers a more flexible alternative. Platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon’s AWS cloud services allow you to select virtualized computing resources such as servers and storage, which can scale as needed. On these platforms, you only pay for what you use, transforming your IT spending from capital expenditure to operating expense.

The cloud provides greater reliability and disaster recovery, eliminating concerns about hard drive failures in your server rack. Cloud providers handle the management and upgrades of the physical infrastructure, freeing your IT team to focus on driving business growth.

Analyze Your Current Workloads

Before moving to the cloud, it’s essential to know what you’re working with. Take inventory of all applications running on your Windows Server 2016 machines. While some are cloud-ready, others may need updates or reconfiguration.

Identify which workloads are critical to your daily operations and prioritize them in your migration plan. You may also discover applications you no longer need, making this an ideal time to streamline and clean up your environment.

When in doubt, consult with your software vendors to confirm compatibility, as they might have specific requirements for newer operating systems. Gathering this information early helps you to avoid surprises during the actual migration.

Create a Phased Migration Plan

When transitioning to a new system, moving everything at once is risky; ‘big bang’ migrations often cause downtime and confusion. The best approach is a phased migration to manage risk effectively. Begin with low-impact workloads to test the process, then proceed to medium and high-impact workloads once you’re confident everything runs smoothly.

Set a realistic timeline that beats the server upgrade deadline by a significant margin, and then work backward from the end-of-support date. This approach allows for plenty of buffer time for testing and troubleshooting, since rushing migrations often results in mistakes and security gaps.

Communicate the schedule to your staff clearly, they need to know when maintenance windows will occur, so that they can also manage their workflows effectively. Managing expectations is just as important as managing servers, and you don’t want to get in your own way. A smooth transition requires everyone to be informed and on the same page.

Test and Validate

Once you migrate a workload, it’s essential to verify that it functions as expected. Key questions to ask include: Does the application launch correctly? Can users access their data without permission errors? Testing is the most critical phase of any migration.

After migration, run extensive performance benchmarks to compare the new system with the old one. The cloud should offer equal or better speed, and if things are slow, you might need to adjust resources. Optimization will be a normal part of the migration process, until you find the perfect balance that works for you.

The summarized steps for a successful migration include: ·

Audit all current hardware and software assets
Choose between an on-premise upgrade or a cloud migration
Back up all data securely before making changes
Test applications thoroughly in the new environment
Do not declare victory until users confirm everything is working.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Ignoring the end of support deadline is not a viable strategy. Some businesses hope to delay until the last minute and then rush a migration, but this is extremely risky. Cybercriminals constantly target outdated, vulnerable systems, often using automated bots to scan for weaknesses.

If you continue using Windows Server 2016 past the extended support dates, you may need to purchase 'Extended Security Updates.' While Microsoft offers this service, it is extremely costly, and the price rises each year, making it more a penalty for delay than a sustainable long-term solution.

Act Now to Modernize Your Infrastructure

If your business still relies on Windows Server 2016, the end of support marks a pivotal moment for your IT strategy, upgrading your technology stack is no longer optional. Whether you choose new hardware or a cloud solution, decisive action is required.

Take this opportunity to enhance your legacy system’s security and efficiency, ensuring your modern business runs on a modern infrastructure. Don’t let time compromise your data’s safety, plan your migration today and safeguard your future.

Concerned about the approaching Windows Server 2016 end-of-support deadline? We specialize in smooth migrations to the cloud and modern server environments. Let us take care of the technical heavy lifting, contact us today to begin your upgrade plan.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post The Server Refresh Deadline: Why Windows Server 2016’s End of Support Should Drive Your Cloud Migration Plan appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech for Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:10:06 +0000

Happy Holidays! If you receive a smart thermostat, a Wi-Fi printer, or even a fancy coffee maker as a gift this holiday season, this email is for you.

IT experts call these devices the "Internet of Things" (IoT), and while they make life easier, they are becoming a massive target for hackers.

Ignored smart devices can open doors into your network. One weak camera password can give a cyber-criminal access to your entire business, expose sensitive data, or even let ransomware spread through your systems.

Don't panic though. In today’s email, I’ll show you three simple steps to lock these devices down without needing a degree in computer science.

You’ll also learn how to protect your data in the event of a stolen laptop, why a vertical mouse might fix your wrist pain, and the science behind why some ideas stick while others fail.

So grab your favorite beverage of choice, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

Is Your Smart Coffee Machine Secretly Spying on You?

IoT (Internet of Things) devices are everyday smart gadgets connected to the internet to make your business life easier.

I'm talking about smart thermostats, security cameras, Wi-Fi printers, voice assistants, smart lighting, and even the smart fridge in the breakroom.

They automate tasks and improve efficiency (which is great), but they also are potential entry points for cybercriminals.

The reality is that many of these gadgets come with weak security.

People tend to overlook them in their security plans because they see them as appliances, not computers.

The problem is… hackers use these to access business networks more often than you’d like to know.

No need to panic though, as you can lock them down effectively with these three steps:

Change Default Passwords Immediately.

Most devices come with factory settings like "admin" and "password." Hackers have lists of these for almost every manufacturer out there.

Change these to strong, unique passwords the moment you take the device out of the box. Use a password manager so you don't have to remember them all.
Isolate IoT Devices on a Separate Network.

This is the single most important step. Do not connect your smart lights or breakroom TV to the same Wi-Fi network as your accounting software and client files.

Create a separate "Guest" or "IoT" network on your router. This acts like a quarantine zone. If a hacker gets into your smart coffee machine, they are trapped there and can't jump over to your servers or laptops.
Keep Software and Firmware Updated.

Manufacturers find security holes constantly and release updates to fix them. However, unlike your laptop, your printer won't always tell you when it needs an update.

You need to check the settings regularly or turn on automatic updates if the option exists.

Bonus Tip: If you aren't using a feature, turn it off. Does your printer really need "remote access" enabled so you can print from another country? Probably not.

Disabling unused features gives hackers less options for them to hack into your network.

SANTA JOHN'S TECH TIP

Lock IT Down: Why BitLocker Matters

If you have travel plans this holiday season, BitLocker helps protect your business data by encrypting your entire drive. So, if a laptop is lost or stolen, your information stays secure and unreadable.

Turn it on by going to Settings → Privacy & Security → Device Encryption (or BitLocker) and be sure to securely save your recovery key in a safe location. Without it you will not be able to recover your data.

THE LATEST NEWS

🗣️ Hidden Code Reveals ChatGPT Ads

Code strings found in the latest Android beta version of ChatGPT suggest that OpenAI is experimenting with a new "marketplace" ad feature. While nothing is live for the public yet, the leaked "bazaar" and "search ad" labels hint that contextual product suggestions might be coming to your chats in the future.

🤝 Google and AWS Finally Play Nice

In a rare move, Google Cloud and AWS are collaborating to simplify networking between their platforms. This new "Cross-Cloud Network" means businesses using both services can finally move data between them easily, without the usual connection headaches or complex workarounds.

🧠 AI Tools for Mental Health

SonderMind has launched a new suite of clinically backed AI tools designed to assist therapists rather than replace them. The AI handles heavy admin tasks like note-taking and even helps generate treatment plans. It frees up clinicians to focus on the patient, but it begs the question: Would you trust a treatment plan put together by AI?

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

75% of Organizations Hit by IoT-Related Breaches in The Last 12 Months

According to the State of IoT Adoption 2025 Report by Eseye, a staggering 75% of organizations experienced an IoT-related security breach in the last 12 months.

These connected devices have become the definitive weak link in corporate networks, often providing hackers with easy backdoors simply because default passwords aren't changed or firmware remains outdated.

We actually saw a massive real-world example of this recently with the BadBox 2.0 botnet.

Disclosed by Google and security partners in 2025, this botnet infected over 10 million IoT devices, including smart TVs, digital picture frames, and even in-car infotainment systems.

Cybercriminals used these compromised devices to launch large-scale attacks and hijack accounts, causing damage far beyond just the devices themselves.

We’ve also seen hackers break into smart security cameras, like Ring devices, by exploiting reused credentials to spy on premises.

These incidents underscore that unsecured devices can compromise your entire business.

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If wrist pain or discomfort from traditional mice is slowing you down, the Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse offers an ergonomic solution designed for business owners and office workers.

Its unique “handshake” design keeps your hand and wrist in a natural, neutral position, dramatically reducing strain during extended computer use.

It connects effortlessly via Bluetooth, works on multiple devices, and fits medium and small hands perfectly. It’s a small affordable investment that saves you from experiencing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome down the road.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Ever wonder why some business ideas, slogans, or strategies seem to catch on like wildfire while others fizzle out and are forgotten?

Made to Stick breaks down the science behind what makes ideas memorable and effective.

The Heath brothers explain the six principles of “sticky” ideas: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotion, and stories. They offer practical steps you can apply to your marketing or leadership communications right away, whether you’re pitching a new product or rallying your staff around a vision.

DID YOU KNOW?

The first webcam was invented at Cambridge University to monitor a coffee pot. Researchers were tired of wasting trips walking down the hall to an empty pot, so they set up a camera to check the coffee levels remotely.

Thanks for reading!

My team and I wish you a safe and happy holiday season. 🙂

May the New Year bring you and your businesses much success and continued growth!

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

The Transcend Networks Team is here to help 🙂

The post Tech for Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Using a Password Manager and Virtual Cards = Zero-Risk Holiday Shopping

Craig Fouts — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:55:23 +0000

Have you ever been concerned about your credit card or personal data getting stolen while shopping online? You’re not alone. Each holiday season, as millions of shoppers flock online for convenience, hackers ramp up their activity. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned that scammers often create fake shopping websites or phishing emails to steal consumers’ money and personal information, especially during the holidays.

If you’re planning to shop this holiday season, now is the perfect time to boost your online security. Two simple tools, password managers and virtual cards, can make a big difference. But how exactly? This article will show you how to use them to enjoy zero-risk online holiday shopping..

Why People Prefer Password Managers and Virtual Cards for Online Shopping

Shopping online is quick, easy, and often cheaper than going to physical stores. However, it is fraught with security risks. Many people now use password managers and virtual cards for safer transactions.

A password manager creates and keeps complicated, distinct passwords for all accounts. This minimizes the chance of unauthorized access and theft. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommends using password managers to reduce password reuse and protect sensitive data from hackers.

Virtual cards also add an extra layer of protection when shopping online. Although the card numbers are linked to your real credit or debit card account, the merchant never sees your card details. This helps prevent identity theft and financial fraud.

Tips for Using Password Managers and Virtual Cards for Zero-Risk Holiday Shopping

Before you start adding items to your cart, the safety of your money comes first. Here are smart ways to use these tools to improve online security during the holidays.

Choose a Reputable Password Manager

Select a trusted provider with strong encryption and a solid reputation. Popular options include 1Password, Dashlane, LastPass, and Bitwarden. Fake versions are everywhere, so make sure you only download from the official website or app store.

Create a Strong Master Password

Your master password protects all your other passwords and should be the most secure. “Secure” means making it unusual and not something that can be guessed. You can achieve this by combining letters, numbers, and special characters.

Turn On Two-Factor Authentication

2FA adds another protection step by requiring two verification steps. Besides your password, you can choose to receive a verification code on your phone. Even if hackers steal your password, they can’t access your account without your verification code.

Generate Virtual Cards for Each Store

Set up a separate virtual card for each online retailer, many banks and payment apps offer this feature. That way, if one store is compromised, only that temporary card is affected, your main account stays safe.

Track Expiration Dates and Spending Limits

Virtual cards often expire after a set time or after one purchase. This is good for security, but make sure your card is valid before placing an order. Set spending limits as well, as this helps with holiday budgeting and prevents unauthorized charges.

Shop Only on Secure Websites

Be sure to purchase only from websites you are familiar with. Don’t shop from any link in an advertisement or email. You may end up on phishing sites that target your information. The URL of a safe site starts with “https://.”

Also, pay attention to data encryption. Look for the padlock symbol on your browser address bar. This indicates that the site has employed SSL/TLS encryption, which encrypts data as it is passed between your device and the site.

Common Mistakes to Avoid for Safer Online Shopping

Even with the best security tools, simple mistakes can put your data at risk. Developing strong security awareness is key to safer online habits. Here are some common pitfalls to watch out for when shopping:

Reusing Passwords

One hacked password can put all your accounts at risk. Keep them safe by using a different password for every site, your password manager makes it easy.to generate and store strong, distinct passwords for each one.

Using Public Wi-Fi for Shopping

Hackers can easily monitor public Wi-Fi networks, making them unsafe not just for shopping but for any online activity. To protect your data, avoid using Wi-Fi in coffee shops, hotels, or airports for online shopping. Instead, stick to your mobile data or a secure private network.

Ignoring Security Alerts

Many people overlook alerts about unusual activity but ignoring them can be risky. If your bank, password manager, or virtual card provider alerts you to suspicious activity, act immediately. Follow their instructions to protect your data, for example, changing your password and reviewing recent transactions for any signs of fraud.

Saving Card Details in Your Browser

While browsers allow card information to be saved, it is less secure than virtual cards. If hackers access your browser, your saved cards are compromised.

Shop Smarter and Safer This Holiday Season

The holidays should be about celebration, not about worrying over hacked accounts or stolen card details. Using tools like password managers and virtual cards lets you take control of your online shopping security. These tools make password management easier, protect you from phishing scams, and add extra protection against cybercriminals. As you look for the best holiday deals, include security in your shopping checklist. Peace of mind is the best gift you can give yourself.

Need help improving your cybersecurity before the holiday rush? Transcend Networks can help you protect your data with smarter, easy-to-use security solutions. Stay safe, stay secure, and shop online with confidence this season. Contact us today to get started.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post Using a Password Manager and Virtual Cards = Zero-Risk Holiday Shopping appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech for Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 20:25:56 +0000

What's the one thing that's almost guaranteed to punch a massive security hole in your business?

An employee leaving.

It sounds simple, but it's a bigger, more expensive problem than most people think.

In today's email, I'll run you through a simple 7-step checklist for when an employee leaves (it'll also save you a fortune on wasted software licenses).

You'll also find out about your options to VMware's fundamental changes, what's new in the tech world (including some wild AI stuff), and why a physical key for your online accounts is a good idea.

Plus, as usual, I'll share a book that's a genuinely useful for business owners and a fun fact you can use at your next BBQ.

So grab your favorite beverage of choice, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

How to Securely Offboard Employees in Just 7 Steps

When it comes to an employee leaving, most businesses log into M365, disable their account, and call it a job done.

But that’s just the first step, and it leaves a lot exposed.

What about all the other stuff they had access to? The accounting software? The password manager? Your project tools, your marketing platform, the company LinkedIn account?

Not only is that a massive security hole, but you're probably still paying for their licenses.

Here’s a repeatable checklist you can use to keep your business secure every time you offboard an employee:

Get or Wipe the Company Hardware. On their last day, get their company laptop, phone, key card, and any physical office keys back. If they're remote, remotely wipe and lock their company-issued devices immediately. This is step one.
Forward Their Email Inbox. Before you nuke their email account, forward it to their manager or a teammate. This stops any client emails or important vendor messages from disappearing into the void.
Disable the Primary Account. Now you can disable their main login (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace). This is what locks them out of their email, cloud storage, and calendar.
Go Down the Software Master List. This is the step everyone misses. You must have a master list of all the software your company uses. Go down that list and remove their access from every single app (accounting, marketing, sales, project tools, everything). This is what stops that "software waste."
Change All Shared Passwords. Did they know the password to the company's social accounts, the main support inbox, or a vendor portal? Change them. All of them.
Handle Their Phone Number. If they had a company phone number or extension, forward it to their replacement or a manager. You don't want clients calling a dead line.
Remove Them From Payroll. After you're 100% sure their final pay and any reimbursements are sorted, remove them from your payroll system. This is the last step that officially closes the loop.

Without a written checklist, you're almost guaranteed to miss something.

If you'd like to chat about building a secure process for your business, reach out to us.

JOHN'S TECH TIP

Check If Your Password Has Been Stolen

Ever wonder if your email has been exposed in a data breach? You can check for free in seconds.

Visit haveibeenpwned.com and enter your email address. It will instantly tell you if you've been part of a known data leak. If your email is on the list, change the password for the affected site immediately, and for any other account where you've used the same one.

IN THE KNOW

VMware’s Broadcom Shake-Up: What SMBs Must Know Now

Broadcom’s VMware Acquisition: What It Means for SMBs

In 2025, Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware fundamentally changed the landscape for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) relying on virtualization. This move has led to dramatic pricing increases and strategic shifts favoring big enterprises over smaller clients. Many SMBs are now facing renewal fees that are 3x to 10x higher than what they paid under VMware’s old model, as affordable “perpetual” licenses were eliminated in favor of costly subscriptions tied to the number of CPU cores in use. Basic version free licenses have also disappeared, making it increasingly tough for SMBs operating on tight budgets

Open-Source Alternatives: Proxmox Leads the Way

Affordable virtualization alternatives, led by Proxmox VE, are now in high demand among SMBs. Unlike VMware, Proxmox is open-source and free, with enterprise support available at low annual subscription rates. Businesses gain features like clustering, live migration, and high availability for no extra fee. Proxmox supports a wide range of hardware, offers simple web management, and lets businesses dodge vendor lock-in and runaway license costs.

Other strong alternatives include Microsoft Hyper-V and Nutanix AHV, which suit organizations with more advanced needs or those who are already invested in Microsoft infrastructure.

Migration: Pros and Cons of Making the Switch

Pros

Massive Cost Savings: Businesses can save 80% or more compared to VMware’s new pricing.
Freedom and Flexibility: No vendor lock-in; open standards let you adapt and pivot with less risk.
Feature-rich Environment: Most enterprise-grade virtualization features (clustering, high availability) come included.
Vibrant Community: Big user base and clear development roadmap mean strong support.
Hardware Flexibility: Works on a wide range of server types.

Cons

Learning Curve: Teams must learn new management tools and processes if moving off VMware.
Software Compatibility: Not all third-party enterprise software may support Proxmox or similar platforms out-of-the-box.
Conversion Complexity: VM migration may require manual file conversion and downtime, especially for disk formats.
Support Differences: Paid support is available, but might not match VMware’s extensive partner ecosystem.
Feature Trade-Offs: Some niche VMware features may not be replicated.

Take Action: What Should SMB Owners Do?

Review your VMware renewal and licensing status immediately.
Evaluate your virtualization needs and research alternatives like Proxmox before next renewal.
Plan for a phased migration, and work with experienced partners or MSPs to make transitions smooth.
Pilot test any migration before going business-wide.

This new era is forcing SMBs to reconsider and future-proof their IT strategies. By acting early and being informed, owners and operators can regain control over technology budgets and ensure a stable, predictable platform for the future. Transcend Networks can help, having setup and supported virtual environments for many years, we can consult with you on a strategy that works best for your business.

THE LATEST NEWS

Google Replaces Assistant with Gemini on Home Devices

Google is rolling out "Gemini for Home," upgrading the Google Assistant on Nest speakers and displays. This update makes the voice assistant more conversational and capable, allowing users to have more natural, back-and-forth chats about complex topics without using the "Hey Google" wake word for every follow-up question.

Proton Launches Free 'Data Breach Observatory'

Proton has launched the Data Breach Observatory, a free, public-facing hub that tracks business data leaking onto the dark web in real-time. The tool (which has already identified over 300 million exposed records) shows which industries are being targeted, helping businesses get a more accurate picture of their real-world cyber risks instead of relying on self-reported data.

UT Dallas Demos Brain-Inspired Computer Prototype

Researchers at UT Dallas have built a neuromorphic computer prototype that learns patterns more like a human brain. This new hardware design is far more efficient, requiring significantly fewer computations and less power for AI tasks than conventional systems, potentially paving the way for more powerful and efficient AI on mobile devices.

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

The Average Company Wastes 37% of its software budget

How many software tools does your company pay for, and how many are actually being used?

An analysis by Zylo found that the average company wastes 37% of its software budget on applications that are unused, underutilized, or completely forgotten.

This waste happens in a few common ways:

Shadow IT: An employee signs up for a free trial with a company credit card. The trial expires, the subscription automatically starts, and you begin paying for a tool you never formally approved.
Redundant Subscriptions: Your sales team uses Dropbox while your operations team pays for Google Drive. You are now paying two different companies for the exact same function.
Orphaned Licenses: An employee leaves the company. Their email is deactivated, but their recurring software licenses for tools like Slack or Adobe are never canceled. These "ghost charges" can continue for months or even years.

These tools are often a security risk, as the may hold sensitive company data, are rarely configured with proper security settings like multi-factor authentication, and are not included in security updates.

A data breach in one of these forgotten apps could compromise your entire business.

Getting control of your software stack is one of the fastest ways to cut costs and reduce risk. A professional software audit identifies every application your company pays for, eliminates wasteful overlap, and makes sure every tool is secure and properly managed.

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

We all know passwords can be stolen, and even the security codes sent to your phone aren't foolproof. For your most important accounts, like your email, financial software, and cloud storage, a physical security key is probably the best multi-factor authentication solution.

A YubiKey 5C NFC is a small, durable device that you put on your keychain. When you log in somewhere, you plug it into your computer's USB port or tap it on your phone as your second step of verification.

With this key, even if a hacker successfully steals your password, they still can’t get into your account. Without the physical key in their hand, the stolen password is useless to them.

It adds a physical, real-world layer of security to your digital life. It's a simple, affordable one-time purchase to make sure only you can access your most critical business information.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Ever feel like you're just stuck?

Like your business is growing, but you're dealing with the same problems over and over?

People issues, processes that don't stick, no one seems to know what the main goal is. It's a total headache, and it feels like you're just spinning your wheels.

Traction by Gino Wickman is pretty much the antidote. Wickman lays out a simple system for running your business called the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Don't let the fancy name scare you off.

It's a set of practical, real-world tools to get your head screwed on straight across six key parts of your company.

The whole point is to get everyone, from you down to your new intern, all paddling in the same direction. Everyone knows what the goals are, and everyone knows exactly what their job is.

It's a guide for owners who want a more structured and consistent way to run their business.

DID YOU KNOW?

The first thing ever sold online wasn't a book or a CD, like most people would guess. It was a large pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut. The order was placed back in 1994 through a website the company had createdcalled PizzaNet.

Thanks for reading!

My team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read 🙂

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help 🙂

The post Tech for Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech for Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 21:54:33 +0000

In the world of business technology, there are few things more critical than your data. And yet, many business owners rely on a single, often vulnerable, system to protect their most important asset: their backups.

Today, we’re unpacking a core principle of data protection: the 3-2-1 backup strategy.

You’ll learn exactly why a single backup is a recipe for disaster and how to build a resilient data safety net. But that’s not all. We also cover:

The alarming number of productive hours your slow hardware is costing you annually.
The rise of "Agent Mode" AI that can buy products and run complex analyses autonomously.
A closer look at the Georgia automotive manufacturing industry and an upcoming event highlighting its supply chain.
A classic psychology book that helps you master decision-making.

So grab your favorite beverage of choice, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

The 3-2-1 Rule: How to Keep Your Data Safe and Avoid Costly Losses

For most businesses, data protection goes like this: You save your files, they get copied to an external drive or a cloud service once a day, and you never think about it again.

That approach is fatally flawed.

If your data and your backup are in the same physical location, you don’t have a backup. You just have two copies that can be lost at the same time.

This single point of failure, the dependence on one device or one location, is how businesses go under after a disaster.

A fire, a flood, a local ransomware attack that encrypts every drive connected to your network, or even a simple power surge… any of these can wipe out both your primary system and your backup simultaneously.

That’s why the 3-2-1 Rule is the gold standard for data protection.

The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy

The rule is straightforward and easy to remember:

3 Copies of Your Data: This includes your original production data (the files you work with every day) and at least two separate backup copies.
2 Different Media Types: Store your two backup copies on at least two different types of storage media. This could mean a local external hard drive, a network-attached storage (NAS) device, tape drives, or a cloud backup service. The key is to avoid having them all on the same type of technology, which might share the same failure mode.
1 Offsite Copy: Keep at least one copy of your backups stored offsite (away from your office). This is the critical line of defense against physical disasters like fire, theft, or local ransomware that could spread across your network. A cloud backup service is the most common and simplest way to satisfy the 1 offsite requirement today.

The True Cost of Cutting Corners

What happens if you ignore the 3-2-1 Rule?

Ransomware: The latest ransomware is designed to seek out and encrypt local backup drives before it locks your main files. If your backup is just an external drive plugged into your server, it will be encrypted right alongside your primary data, leaving you no option but to pay the ransom.
Hardware Failure: A server hard drive fails. You reach for your local backup drive, only to find its power supply failed last month, and you didn't notice. Now you’ve lost both.
Human Error: A staff member accidentally deletes a critical folder. You restore it from the local backup, only to discover that the backup job had been failing for three weeks. The offsite copy becomes the only thing that saves you.

What You Can Do This Week

If you’re relying on a single backup, it's time to fix it.

Audit Your Current Backups: Where does your data live? How many copies do you have? If the answer is one, you have work to do.
Activate an Offsite Strategy: If you're only backing up locally, immediately sign up for a reputable cloud backup solution. This is the single most important step in protecting against physical disaster or ransomware.
Test Your Restore Process: A backup is useless if you can’t restore from it. Test pulling a critical file from your backup to ensure the data is intact and the process works quickly. If you can’t get your business back online in an hour, your backup plan isn't good enough.

If you want peace of mind knowing your data is protected with this gold-standard strategy, we can set up, manage, and monitor your 3-2-1 backups for you. Just hit reply and let us know you need help.

JOHN'S TECH TIP

Instantly Restore Your Last Closed Tab

Accidentally closed a critical browser tab? Stop digging through your history! In any major browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, etc.), hit Ctrl + Shift + T (Windows) or Command + Shift + T (Mac) to re-open the last tab you closed. You can repeat the command to resurrect multiple tabs in reverse order.

THE LATEST NEWS

OpenAI Launches 'Buy it in ChatGPT' for Instant Checkout

OpenAI has launched "Instant Checkout" powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol, allowing users to buy products directly within ChatGPT. This moves AI beyond product recommendation to handling the secure, multi-step purchase process itself. This marks a major step toward agentic commerce, where the AI acts as a true personal shopping agent.

Microsoft Copilot Gets Smarter with 'Agent Mode'

Microsoft introduced Agent Mode and Office Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, focusing on "vibe working." This new capability uses advanced reasoning models to let Copilot orchestrate multi-step tasks in Word and Excel autonomously. You can now prompt Copilot with complex requests like "Run a full analysis on this sales data," and the agent will evaluate, generate, and verify the resulting spreadsheets or documents.

Major Discord Data Breach Exposes User Information via Third-Party Vendor

In early October 2025, Discord disclosed a data breach caused by attackers targeting a third-party provider, compromising user data associated with customer support requests. This incident underscores the growing risks of supply chain attacks, where external vendors become a weak link in the cybersecurity posture of major technology platforms.

UPCOMING EVENT

3rd Annual Southern Supply Chain Summit and Ports Authority Tour

Transcend Networks will attend and exhibit at the Georgia Automotive Manufacturers Association’s 3rd Annual Southern Supply Chain Summit and Ports Authority Tour, taking place November 4th and 5th in Savannah.

This event draws leaders from the region’s fast-growing automotive sector, which is experiencing record investment and job growth, particularly in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.

John Penrod, CTO of Transcend Networks, will contribute his expertise to a panel discussion on Cybersecurity in the Supply Chain, an increasingly critical topic for manufacturers.

Georgia’s automotive industry now leads the nation in EV-related investments, has created more than 38,000 jobs since 2015, and continues to attract global manufacturers with its logistics infrastructure and talent pipeline.

Georgia has attracted over $31 billion in EV manufacturing investment since 2015, outpacing other U.S. states.

Hyundai, Kia, SK Battery, and Rivian all have major high-tech facilities operating or being built in Georgia.

The automotive sector contributes over $22 billion annually to Georgia’s economy, supporting more than 50,000 direct manufacturing jobs and tens of thousands of related logistics and engineering positions across the state.

Georgia’s robust port and transportation infrastructure drives over $80 billion in trade activity each year, significantly boosting regional income and employment opportunities in automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors.

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

Slow Hardware is Costing You Weeks of Productivity

Did you know that clinging to old computers is costing you weeks of productive time?

A major study by Microsoft and Intel found that a single PC over four years old costs a business an estimated 112 hours of lost productive time per employee annually.

This massive time-drain is the equivalent of losing almost three full work weeks every year to slow boot-ups, application delays, and unexpected crashes.

Additionally, research shows that repair and upgrade costs for PCs older than four years are 1.3 times higher than for newer models, with the total cost often exceeding the price of buying a replacement machine.

You are effectively paying more money just to keep a slow, unreliable device barely functioning.

Old hardware also presents a significant security risk.

These machines often have to run unsupported operating systems and lack the modern security features needed to defend against current threats. Relying on aged devices leaves your entire network exposed to vulnerabilities that a simple, planned hardware refresh can easily solve.

If you need help figuring out which of your devices you should replace and which you should keep, reply to this email and we’ll help you out.

tHE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If you're struggling to find quiet time when you need it, you need the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

These are easily the best in class for active noise cancellation (ANC), using advanced processing to completely shut down the world. They create a pocket of silence that lets you finally get into deep work, whether you’re at your kitchen table or sitting on a train.

What makes them perfect for communication is their mic system. It's specifically engineered to isolate your voice, ensuring that when you jump on a video call, your colleagues hear you clearly, and not your dog barking at home or the coffee grinder at the cafe.

They are also incredibly comfortable for all-day wear and feature Bose's signature Immersive Audio.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

If you’ve ever wondered why your intuition sometimes leads you astray, Thinking, Fast and Slow offers the answer.

Nobel Prize–winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman breaks down the two systems that shape every decision you make: System 1 (fast, intuitive, and emotional) and System 2 (slow, deliberate, and logical).

Through decades of research, Kahneman uncovers the mental shortcuts and biases that shape our choices, from overestimating success on new projects (the planning fallacy) to fearing losses more than valuing gains (loss aversion). His insights reveal how these patterns influence everything from business strategy to everyday judgment.

Suppose you want to understand why customers behave unpredictably or why confidence sometimes clouds judgment. In that case, this book gives you the tools to see your own decision-making more clearly and to know when to trust your instinct and when to pause for analysis.

DID YOU KNOW?

The QWERTY keyboard you use every day was intentionally designed to be slow. It was created for early mechanical typewriters, where rapid typing caused the keys to jam. The strange layout was specifically chosen to reduce typing speed and prevent those mechanical failures.

Thanks for reading!

My team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read.

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help.

The post Tech for Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

7 Signs It’s Time to Outsource Your IT Help Desk

Craig Fouts — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 06:59:08 +0000

Your IT help desk should keep your business running smoothly, not slow it down. But if your internal team is buried under a growing pile of tickets, support requests, and software issues, it may be time to consider a managed alternative.

Outsourcing your help desk can free up your team, reduce response times, and improve end-user satisfaction. But only if you make the move at the right time.

Here are 7 clear signs your business is ready for outsourced help desk support.

1. Your Internal IT Team is Burned Out

If your in-house IT staff spends most of their time resetting passwords, fixing printers, or walking users through Outlook configuration, instead of working on strategic projects, you have a problem.

Outsourcing the day-to-day help desk tasks lets your internal team focus on high-impact initiatives like cybersecurity, infrastructure upgrades, and long-term planning.

Explore how our Help Desk Services can support your internal team →

2. Ticket Backlogs Are Causing Downtime

Slow response times don’t just frustrate your team, they kill productivity. If users regularly wait hours (or days) for basic support, you’re losing time and money.

An outsourced help desk can offer SLA-backed support, off-hours availability for critical issues, and scalable staffing to keep response times low, even during high-volume periods.

3. You’re Expanding but Can’t Scale Support

Whether you’re onboarding new employees, opening a satellite office, or transitioning to hybrid work, growth comes with growing pains. If your IT support can’t scale alongside your business, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Outsourced help desks are built to scale on demand, allowing you to grow your workforce without overloading your team.

4. You Can’t Retain IT Staff

When IT teams are stuck doing basic support all day, morale drops, and turnover goes up. That puts you in a never-ending cycle of hiring, training, and losing talent.

Letting an external partner handle help desk requests gives your team room to grow professionally, improving both retention and results.

5. Your Business Needs 24/7 IT Monitoring, But You Can’t Staff It

Clients, employees, and systems don’t operate on a 9-to-5 schedule. If your business needs after-hours support for critical issues, but you can’t justify night shifts or weekend coverage, outsourcing is often the smartest option.

Top-tier managed providers offer around-the-clock monitoring without the burden of internal scheduling, PTO gaps, or holiday coverage.

6. You’re Struggling to Track Issues or KPIs

Are tickets falling through the cracks? Do you lack visibility into support performance? If your team isn’t using structured ticketing, escalations, or performance metrics, it’s hard to improve.

A managed help desk includes tools and reporting that give you full transparency, from ticket status to first-response times.

Many MSPs (like Transcend) integrate help desk support with remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools, so some issues are resolved automatically before users even notice.

7. You’re Losing Focus on Strategic IT

Help desk overload keeps your team stuck in the weeds. If no one has time to focus on disaster recovery planning, software lifecycle management, cybersecurity policy, or vendor oversight, you’re falling behind.

Outsourcing your help desk gives you space to move from reactive IT support to proactive IT strategy.

How to Start the Transition

Outsourcing doesn’t have to mean “losing control.” Look for a provider that:

Offers US-based, in-house support teams
Customizes workflows to your business
Provides dedicated onboarding and migration assistance
Integrates with your ticketing or RMM tools
Offers clear SLAs and performance tracking

Is Your IT Help Desk Holding You Back?

Let’s talk about how Transcend can help you reduce downtime, boost user satisfaction, and give your internal team room to focus.

Schedule a quick call or demo →

The post 7 Signs It’s Time to Outsource Your IT Help Desk appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

AI Tools Demystified: 2025 Guide

Craig Fouts — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 18:55:43 +0000

Walk into almost any IT department right now, and you’ll hear the same conversation at least once a week: “Have you tried that new AI tool yet? I heard it’s a game-changer.”

The truth is that the market is buzzing with promise and noise. A recent McKinsey survey shows that 78% of companies now use AI in some form, and that number is climbing.

Plenty of software promises to slash workloads, automate everything, and make teams ‘future-proof.’ Some deliver on that promise. Others feel rushed to market just to ride the hype. For IT businesses, knowing the difference is essential to staying relevant.

Why AI Feels Different This Time

AI, of course, isn’t new. However, something has shifted over the last two years. Models have become better at understanding context, generating original content, and even juggling multiple formats at once.

Under the hood, the big three technologies driving this shift are: ·

Machine Learning (ML): These are the systems that improve with every dataset they touch. It’s what makes recommendation engines get eerily accurate over time.
Natural Language Processing (NLP): The bit that lets a machine understand your request when you type, “Can you pull the latest metrics from that report?” and not just spit out a keyword search.
Generative AI: The creative side of AI that builds something from scratch: a paragraph, a code snippet, an image, or even a full video.

The “multimodal” wave, where one tool can manage text, images, audio, and video without switching modes, is what’s pulling this technology out of niche use cases and into daily operations. It’s also why even cautious IT managers are starting to experiment.

The Tool Categories Worth Knowing

If you try to track every AI launch, you’ll burn out. Instead, it helps to think in broad categories and pick a few to watch.

1. Chatbots & Virtual Assistants

Not the clunky, one-question-at-a-time bots we remember from a few years ago.

ChatGPT now handles images, audio, and real-time conversation, and it remembers your preferences over time.
Google Gemini slots directly into Gmail, Sheets, and Docs. It is handy if you already live in Google Workspace.
Grok AI leans toward problem-solving and data-heavy reasoning, pulling in live info when needed.

2. Content Creation

For marketing, documentation, or client proposals, the tools below can shave hours off a job.

Jasper AI: Aimed squarely at marketers, with built-in SEO and formatting help.
Anyword: Used to tweak tone for specific audiences.
Writer: Used to keep enterprise-level brand voice consistent.

3. Image & Design

From mockups to campaign graphics, AI visuals are no longer a novelty.

Midjourney is the favorite for striking, artistic visuals.
Stable Diffusion gives you full creative control if you’ve got the technical chops.
DALL·E 3 is simple to use inside ChatGPT for quick edits and iterations.
Google Imagen 3 is precise and can handle prompts in multiple languages.
Adobe Firefly keeps everything legally safe for commercial projects and feeds straight into Photoshop.

4. Video & Storytelling

Not just for marketing teams anymore. Training, onboarding, and even client walkthroughs benefit here.

Runway ML combines AI image generation with video editing.
Descript and Filmora handle editing, transcription, and polishing without requiring a pro studio.

5. Search & Research

Finding the right information can matter more than creating something new.

Perplexity AI blends live search with AI summaries so you’re not guessing about accuracy.
Arc Search speeds up web research with on-the-fly summaries.

6. Productivity & Collaboration

These are the quiet workhorses. They include:

Notion AI and Mem: Used to surface the right knowledge at the right time.
Asana, Any.do, and BeeDone: Project tools used to schedule and keep track of tasks.
Fireflies and Avoma: These meeting assistants can take notes so your team can actually talk.
Reclaim and Clockwise: These calendar managers make meetings less of a Tetris game.
Shortwave and Gemini: Email helpers for Gmail to keep inboxes sane.

Where IT Businesses Can Actually Win

The real advantage isn’t “using AI.” It’s using it to make something easier, faster, or better for either your team or your clients. That might be automating repetitive monitoring tasks, generating clearer client reports, or cutting turnaround time for proposal writing.

It’s not without its challenges:

Integration: The coolest new tool is useless if it can’t connect to your stack.
Data accuracy: AI still makes mistakes; fact-checking is non-negotiable.
Security: If a tool sends your client data outside your environment, you need to know exactly how it’s stored and processed.
Adoption curve: Even great tools flop if nobody takes the time to learn them.

Getting Started Without Wasting Time

If you’re evaluating AI for your IT business, here’s a simple starting path:

Pick one problem that’s slowing you down. Maybe your project documentation is always late, or client Q&A eats up hours.
Test two or three tools aimed at solving that problem. Use the free or trial tiers; run them against real scenarios.
See how they play with your systems. Integration is often the make-or-break factor.
Roll out slowly. One team, one workflow, one clear measure of success. If it works, expand.

It’s tempting to load up a dozen tools and hope they magically boost productivity. More often, that leads to confusion, redundant features, and frustrated staff.

A Final Thought (and a Bit of Caution)

AI isn’t going away, and ignoring it won’t make the competitive pressure disappear. The current lineup of tools can be incredibly powerful, but they’re not magic. Think of them like a new hire: They can do great work, but they need guidance, guardrails, and a clear role.

Start with the jobs that nobody loves doing, the ones that are repetitive but still important. Let AI take the first draft, the first pass, or the heavy lifting. Keep the oversight with your team. That’s where it stops being hype and starts being useful. If you’re not sure where to begin, try one experiment this quarter. Small steps now will make bigger moves easier later. Contact Transcend Networks if you want help figuring out which AI tools actually make sense for your IT business and which ones you can safely skip.

AI Adoption FAQs

1. How many companies are actually using AI and does it make a difference for IT teams?

Over 78% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function, and adoption is growing most rapidly in IT, marketing, and operations. IT departments especially see benefits in automating repetitive tasks, boosting efficiency, and improving accuracy for tasks like monitoring, reporting, and ticket management.

2. What’s different about AI tools now compared to previous years?

Today’s AI is driven by smarter models: machine learning that gets better over time, natural language processing for more intuitive commands, and “generative” tools that create new content across text, images, and video. The recent leap is thanks to AI that can handle multiple data formats (text, audio, image, video) seamlessly, making it instantly useful in daily operations instead of just niche applications.

3. Which categories of AI tools are worth trialing first in an IT setting?

Key categories to watch include chatbots and virtual assistants, content creation platforms, image/design generators, video editing and storytelling suites, advanced search and research tools, and productivity/collaboration boosters. It’s best to start with categories that target your main bottlenecks, like client reporting, documentation, or repetitive inquiries.

4. What are the biggest challenges IT businesses face with AI adoption?

The main barriers are integration with existing systems, ensuring the accuracy of AI-generated data, security concerns around client or sensitive data, and getting teams up to speed on new workflows. Even the best tools won’t deliver value unless they “connect” to your current stack, are secure, and are actually used by your people.

5. What’s a smart process for testing and adopting AI tools without wasting time or money?

Select one annoying, frequent problem; test two or three solutions on real scenarios using free or trial versions; check integration capabilities; and roll out changes slowly to one team or workflow at a time. Expanding only after clear success prevents confusion, overlap, and wasted investment—and allows teams to learn and adapt at a manageable pace.

Get AI Ready with Transcend Networks

Transcend Networks offers IT assessments, technology alignment, and ongoing IT support and management. Learn more at https://www.tnius.com/services or contact us at https://www.tnius.com/contact-us

The post AI Tools Demystified: 2025 Guide appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Craig Fouts, Author at Transcend Networks, Inc.

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