Twenty-four hours seem to pass by in the blink of an eye, especially if you’re a small business owner. In order to stand a chance against the competition, the last thing you should do is bury yourself in a pile of endless emails. With the following Gmail tips and tricks, you’ll spend less time with your inbox and more time driving business growth.

Companies such as Apple, Samsung, and others have turned mobile phones into mini-computers that can serve as a substitute for your laptop, or as a storage device. If you’re using a smartphone as a communications and storage device, backing up now would be a wise move.

Office 365 is a complete cloud solution that allows you to store thousands of files and collaborate on them, too. In addition to its productivity features, the service comes with security and compliance solutions that will help businesses avoid the crushing financial and legal repercussions of data loss.

If you’re thinking of transitioning your business to the cloud, consider the security of the platform. While providers would like us to believe that the friendly, fluffy cloud image used to market the service means it is automatically secure, the reality is far different.

Facebook leads all social media platforms in terms of daily active users, audience reach, and cultural impact, but is it the best fit for your business? Every business has a unique audience, so what works for one business may not work for another. With all the available social media platforms to choose from, small- and medium-sized businesses should examine their options before they decide which is the best match for them.

If most of your company’s computers are obsolete, they double or even triple your chances of experiencing a data breach. This emphasizes how dangerous it is to have outdated applications, operating systems, and even web browsers. Failing to update your firmware could expose your business to major security threats.

Amidst the current climate of malware, hacks, and phishing scams, the internet really isn't safe for any company that doesn't take precautions. Without safeguards, browsers that you or your employees use are vulnerable to cyber attacks that may cripple productivity and profit.

Small- and medium-sized businesses don’t have the time to maintain IT infrastructure, let alone assess whether it’s still driving value for the company. However, if you want to ensure everything runs smoothly, it’s important to be proactive and conduct technology business reviews when you can.

There are plenty of things to love about Office 365. For a small monthly fee, it gives you the latest cloud-based version of Microsoft Office apps and robust communication tools that improve collaboration and productivity. But it’s also an extremely secure platform that can defend against the most cunning phishing attacks.

Do you spend hours obsessing about the inner workings of DNS-layer security, intrusion prevention systems, and data encryption? If you’re not a managed IT services provider (MSP), you probably don’t. Instead, you’re probably looking for a business partner to manage those nitty-gritty details for you.