The Datamax Thinking Blog

Canon’s Unified Firmware Platform (UFP) allows Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE models to be updated with cutting-edge features, new functionality, and enhanced security measures on an ongoing basis.

For a runner, the challenge of keeping a steady, fast pace only grows stronger the longer the race goes on.

Hackers and cyberattacks are evolving faster than ever before. In response, necessary security updates often move at a sprinter’s pace, with no finish line to speak of. Meanwhile, your documents, your networks, and your devices need to stay "fresh" to protect against security threats … and obsolescence.

While attacks declined slightly this year, phishing attacks remained the most successful attack vector, followed by a number of other employee errors that could be mitigated with better security training.

The front line, in military terminology, is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment. It's a vulnerable position on the battlefield, but also in the office.

Employee cyber security education is an essential piece of any effective ransomware protection strategy. But as SMBs keep taking the phishing bait, their front lines — their own employees — are exposed as a weak link in their defense plan. 

Over the last 9 months, we’ve worked hard to answer COVID-19-related questions, to provide resources, to deliver the content that mattered most to our customers, in an unprecedented time for businesses everywhere.

We'd love to shake your hand, but an elbow bump will do for now. Either way, we sincerely appreciate you reading in 2020! 

Our year at the Datamax Thinking Blog kicked off with a New Year's-themed article, “6 Resolutions Your Business Technology Partner Must Truly Value in 2020.” It detailed characteristics that businesses should seek in any technology vendor relationship they engage with: Traits like “the ability to respond – and resolve,” “the creativity to dig deeper,” and “the worthiness of your trust.” 

Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income.

As organizations continue to wrestle with workflow challenges and seek ways to expedite routine business processes through technology, Section 179 presents a unique procurement opportunity.

From offering timely onsite and remote support, to the ability to avoid buzzwords and communicate clearly to your end users, you should expect more for your organization.

With overall small to medium-sized business spending on managed services growing at 15% per year (According to Datto’s 2020 State of the MSP Report), it’s no surprise that most Managed Service Providers are growing.

What is the CARES Act and how can it help you respond more timely to resident needs? And what technology tools are available for helping your employees work securely and succinctly in a remote environment?

Among the countless entities that COVID-19 afflicted, local governments were certainly a key victim to the pandemic. Local city employees were among the most needed to respond to the public health crisis and provide necessary resources for residents within a municipality.

Body temperature screening kiosks truly automate the process. These devices can read temperature in 1 second, and are ultimately designed to provide a safe environment for your employees, customers and visitors.

If you’ve made your way back to the office, you’re likely getting your temperature taken upon arrival.

Have you thought much about that old, familiar copier in the corner? Its obsolescence might be costing you more than just maintenance headaches.

That old workhorse in the hallway just keeps running.

The decade-plus-old copier is almost part of the workplace family: The staff is familiar with it, and its reliability (even with the uptick in maintenance) makes it harder to justify incurring new costs. Unfortunately, comfort can sometimes breed complacency. 

If the need for speed still exists within your workspace, these business communication solutions can help keep collaboration afloat, launch communication avenues relevant to today's work culture, and keep your team gliding smoothly across the waters of everyday business.

Much like humans, it’s amazing what companies will do when they have to, and how little they will do when the water seems calm.

How do you know that your office equipment service provider is taking all the necessary preventative measures? How can you ensure that they are not potentially raising the risk of COVID-19 infection inside your workplace?

Copiers/MFPs sitting dormant for a good stretch of time are often overdue for service.

Rollers go flat, causing jams. Corona assemblies get ozone built in them and print quality takes a hit. Typically, preventative maintenance visits prevent occurrences like this, but throughout the pandemic, these routine check-ups have inevitably become scarce.