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Embracing Cloud Computing
June 1, 2023 5:37 pm Leave a Comment
“[The] Cloud is about how you do computing, not where you do computing.”

–Paul Maritz, VMware CEO

Cloud computing has been around for quite some time and has had a steady effect on the way we do business. In layman’s terms, cloud computing is the delivery of different computing services (including servers, storage, databases, networking, and software) through the internet aka “the cloud”.

While it may have taken some time for businesses to embrace the cloud, we see how much it has recently flourished, especially in a more digital working world. Check out these stats gathered by explodingtopics.com that support this:
- The cloud applications market is currently worth over $150 billion
- It is predicted that there will be 200 ZB of stored data in the cloud by 2025
- It is forecasted that in 2023, $200 Billion will be spent on SaaS, $150 billion on IaaS, and $136 billion on PaaS
- 54% of global tech leaders want a cloud service provider who identifies technology strategies that are meant to increase revenue and reduce cost
- Post-COVID, 41.4% of cloud leaders say they are increasing their uses of cloud-based services, 33.4% are planning to migrate to cloud-based tools and 32.8% are migrating on-premises workloads to the cloud
Cloud computing can bring a lot to businesses and proves popular for the ones that are ready to embrace growth, performance, and stability. Some of the immediate benefits businesses can experience from making the switch are:

Cost Savings

The initial switch to cloud services can be off-putting but its ROI makes it worth it. Hosting the cloud lets you offload costs on purchasing, installing, configuring, and managing on-premises infrastructures. Also, most cloud-computing services offer pay-as-you-go options ensuring you only pay for what you need, and the overall easy access saves time and money.

Flexibility

Due to the nature of cloud computing, businesses can access cloud services from anywhere, from any device, at any time. Not only that, but the cloud can also be easily scaled up or down to match what a business needs at that time.

Security

Businesses can see up to 94% improvement in security when switching to the cloud because one of the main features of cloud-based services is full-time security monitoring. Security monitoring could be extremely limited if it was strictly in-house, but once switched to an off-site, encrypted, and automated security monitoring, your information will never be safer.

Disaster Recovery

One incredible benefit of the cloud is disaster recovery. Data and information stored in the cloud are safe from any physical emergencies such as natural disasters or power outages. Cloud-based services also provide quick data recovery allowing for less downtime which leads to less productivity and revenue loss due to disaster scenarios.

Better Insight & Quality Control

Poor quality and inconsistent reporting can hurt a business but with cloud-based systems, all documents are stored in one place in one format allowing everyone to access and edit the same information in real-time allowing businesses to maintain consistency and have a clear record of revisions or updates. In addition, many cloud-based services also offer customized reports for a bird’s eye view of your most critical data.

Sustainability

Cloud computing has a direct effect on the environment by cutting down on paper and waste. With data stored in the cloud and not as physical copies your information not only takes up less space physically but addresses wastefulness at every level of business and results in less of a carbon footprint.

Cloud computing is great for maintaining a competitive edge as a growing business and is relatively user-friendly, but there are a few basics you need to know before implementing the best infrastructure for your business. To ensure you get the best cloud experience possible, you need to decide between:

The Four Basic Infrastructure Types

Public Cloud Infrastructures are maintained off-site. They are available to the public while data is created off-premises. This cloud infrastructure has less security but requires no need to buy or manage software and maintain efficiency.

Private Cloud Infrastructures are managed in-house and can only be accessed by a single organization. This method can address and handle security and privacy concerns more effectively.

Community Cloud Infrastructures can support multiple businesses by sharing resources as a part of a community. This method closely resembles the private model and can support a large number of users who share in the costs.

Hybrid Cloud Infrastructures are a mix of public, private, and hybrid. Combining the efficiency of public, the support of community, and the security of private, hybrids offer the best of all three methods.

The Three Delivery Methods

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a software distribution model where the provider delivers applications through a web-based portal and is a pay-as-you-go model. Utilizing this model eliminates the need to buy hardware and software licenses while having your provider manage and store data.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) delivers the full cloud infrastructure along with a software platform that allows clients to develop and manage business applications without the frustrations of building and maintaining the infrastructure.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) has the capability to deliver networking, data storage, servers, and virtualization capabilities while allowing the client to access more data storage and computing power.

Once you pick the right infrastructure and delivery method, your business can begin to really reap the benefits of cloud computing and help bring your business to a new level. If you are ready to learn more about cloud computing or ready to have it in your business, contact us today at MMIT so that we can get you on the right path to ensure your business gets the full benefits of cloud computing.
Production Printing: Alive and Thriving
May 4, 2023 4:22 pm Leave a Comment
A common misconception is that print is done and while we might be flooded with technology and digital marketing, print still has its place in everyday business and has a significant impact both financially and influentially. Need proof? Check out these stats gathered by printful.com
1. In 2021, the Global Commercial Printing Market had a value of $433.79 billion. By the end of 2027, it is estimated to value $484.22 billion
2. 1 out of 5 customers is willing to pay up to 20% extra for personalized products and services
3. A study shows that print advertising offers a 112% return on investment, making it a cost-effective way to reach consumers.
Printer options can seem endless, but there is a perfect fit for every business. If printing plays a large part in your business, and you find yourself needing high-volume projects done quickly and reliably then a production printer might be the right choice.

I know what you are thinking, production printers are found mainly in print shops or copy centers that must deal with high-volume requests without sacrificing quality. This is another common misconception and while they regularly are seen in print shops or centers, they have quickly been growing in popularity for marketing departments and are an optimal option for graphic designers to create and distribute flyers, banners, catalogs, mail campaigns, produce marketing materials, employee training manuals, business cards, envelopes and so much more.

Now, every business has different printing needs and to figure out what is the best option for you, ask questions such as:
- What are your printing requirements?
- What do you need your printer to do?
- Does your printer need to be secure?
- How much time do you have to produce?
- What exactly do you need to print?
- How much are you printing/producing?
- How large of a role does printing have in your business?
- What device management, remote intelligence, and support are available to you?
Production printers are heavy-duty commercial printers that are ideal for high-volume print projects. These printers can include wide-format and cut-sheet printers, digital presses, commercial printers, and industrial printing. They are reliable and continuously provide higher-quality print resolutions, faster output, and increased capacity. Beyond being versatile and having the ability to handle large-scale products, production printers offer plenty of other benefits including:

Simplicity

Production Printers are not difficult to set up and extremely user-friendly. They give users more control without over-complicating things. Though they look heavy-duty, they are far from intimidating, and even less tech-savvy people can learn and utilize the advanced features in no time.

Productivity

Production printers work faster to help meet the demands of your business. They are designed to be quicker and can handle larger quantity projects more effectively than normal printers which helps eliminate downtime, they have on-demand access to professional projects, and are perfect for printer-intensive businesses with them commonly being able to print thousands of pages in minutes.

Sustainability

Production printers offer high-quality prints where businesses have total control over the content meaning they are printed right the first time. Using older printers can mean settling for low-quality results and can be a cause of reprints and paper waste. Switching to a printer that delivers high quality is a good way to save precious time, money, and paper.

Security

Production printers offer better regulatory compliance, enhanced security over the content within your prints, and achieve better quality control. In-house printers also ensure that any confidential employee or customer information stays in-house.

Flexibility

Since they are reliable and user-friendly, production printers are incredibly flexible, putting you in charge of the entire printing operation. Have control over meeting your deadlines and never panic if something does not look exactly right because changes and a reprint can be easily done within the same day in-house.

Cost Effective

Outsourcing printing, especially high-volume jobs that require quality can be expensive. Production printers are a long-term investment that keeps your service in-house and allows you full control over your product. Giving you this control ensures no reprints, returns, or added time from an outsourced printing agency and that your product is what you expect.

Is It Right For Your Business?

Not every business will benefit from a production printer, but if you find yourself needing a large number of marketing materials or just find yourself printing large quantities often – a production printer could be the best fit for you. If you have any questions or are ready to bring production print in-house, contact us today!
Mitigate the Risk: The Importance of Risk Assessments
April 4, 2023 2:32 pm Leave a Comment
There are plenty of factors that go into maintaining and protecting a business to ensure future stability and success. While it is important to focus on the positives and how to achieve this overall growth it is equally important to focus on the possibility of unknown, hidden, or undetected risks. This can be done with risk assessments. With properly done risk assessments, businesses can experience benefits including:
- Getting a clearer picture of where assets lie
- Identifying potential threats and understanding the likelihood and impact of them
- Implementing proactive processes
- Recognizing and controlling workplace hazards
- Creating awareness among employees
- Reducing workplace incidents
- Saving costs by being proactive
The Basics

Simply put, a risk assessment is the identification of hazards that could end up negatively impacting profit, stability, and how an organization conducts business. No matter what industry or size an organization is a risk assessment should always involve at least these five steps:
1. Identifying the Risks or Hazards
  1. Risks
    1. Financial – this should include looking into compliance, credit, liquidity, and debt risks. This can include making sure your business is up to date on federal returns, that your business is run ethically, that your business has sufficient cash flow, that your business can meet short and long-term goals, and that all your loan agreement payments, if applicable, are paid on time and in full.
    2. Operational – this can be broken down into areas like IT and personnel risks. IT can address general risks and security risks by ensuring customer information is protected and that your organization has a strong security plan. For personnel risks, your organization should address factors such as salaries, benefits, contracts, HR policies, and basic employee needs.
    3. General – this can fall into a lot of categories, but examples include answering questions like is your organization prepared for growth, are finances managed properly and is it profitable.
  2. Workplace Hazards
    1. Safety – spills, heights, electrical, or any unsafe conditions that can lead to illness, injury, or death.
    2. Physical – extreme temperature, prolonged exposure to sunlight, loud noises, or any other physical hazards that are factors within the environment that could cause harm to the body.
    3. Ergonomic – frequent lifting, awkward movements, repeating the same motions, or any type of hazard when the type of work, body positions, or conditions put a strain on the body.
    4. Organizational – workload demands, respect, and any psychosocial hazards that cause stress, anxiety, or strain to employees.
    5. Chemical – vapors, fumes, gasses, or when a worker is exposed to any chemical preparation in the workplace in any form.
    6. Biological – bodily fluids, fungi, or bacteria or when working with animals, people, or infectious plant materials.
2. Evaluating the Risks – answer the questions like who is at risk, what services/products/departments are at risk, how often are they exposed to these risks, how likely are these risks, how severe are these risks or how will these risks affect you long term?
3. Deciding on Control Measures – come up with effective strategies and procedures that help protect both employees and the overall business. Implement these control measures and make sure they are communicated throughout the organization.
4. Recording Findings – keeping a formal record of past risk assessments can help an organization keep track of hazards, risks and how to address them. These findings should include descriptions of the risks, how to assess them, outlines of evaluations, and detailed explanations of how conclusions were made and how they are to be addressed.
5. Revisiting – take the time to review and update your risk assessments when necessary. New risks can be added if an organization has a significant change in staff or procedures, plans on some type of growth, or if it has been a significant amount of time since risk assessments were reviewed.
The Best Fit For Your Business

Now that is just the base of standard risk assessment but they still come in many forms. Finding the best risk assessment for your organization is critical in performing an accurate one which means the organization is identifying and addressing the proper risks in order to protect itself. Here are five common types of risk assessments:

Qualitative Risk Assessment

Typically used in high-risk industries, these assessments measure the severity of a risk and usually measure multiple risks at once. Qualitative data is gathered through personal experience, observations, and knowledge often by an expert or member of management. The benefits of this type of assessment are that they are simple in method, easy prioritization, and have clear presentation options but they have limitations such as subjective evaluation, limited scope, and lack of differentiation.

Quantitative Risk Assessment

This type of assessment puts a numerical value on a risk, allowing organizations to gauge the impact of risk and its cost to the organization. This could look like using 3, 2, 1 instead of high, medium, and low and utilizing the 3×3 or 5×5 risk matrix. This assessment is also essential to support the understanding of the exposure of risks to employees, company assets, and reputation. An organization can get a clear understanding of:
- Potential accident scenarios
- Predicted economic losses
- Risk to specific main safety functions
- Input to operation restrictions
- Identification and assessment of prevention and mitigation measures
The QRA can be calculated using the following equation:

Risk = Severity x Likelihood

Generic Risk Assessment

This type of assessment typically will cover common types of hazards for tasks or activities in the workplace. These are typically not adapted for anything specific and can be used across different locations and industries. While it can be easy to find generic risk assessment templates online, if you use this route be sure to review, adjust and update them accordingly to be effective at mitigating risks.

Site-Specific Risk Assessment

These assessments need to be carried out for either a specific activity or location and are necessary to be effective at eliminating and controlling risks. This is one of the most thorough methods of risk assessments that are meant to protect your workforce, the public, and your business safe from any possible legal liability and reputational damage due to any health or safety breaches.

Dynamic Risk Assessment

These risk assessments are based on essential decision-making because they are used to address unforeseen circumstances that are carried out on the spot due to any significant or sudden changes within the workplace. These assessments are crucial for circumstances such as:
- Introduction of new equipment
- Change of supervision approach
- Threats to safety or security
- Reallocation of work
Key Takeaways

Regardless of size or industry – understanding your business, the risks it is susceptible to, and which assessments to utilize are key to being proactive instead of reactive when it comes to addressing risks to an organization. All risk assessments should follow the five basic steps and once implemented, do not forget to revisit them for reassessment especially if there is a significant change within the organization.