Net3 IT Company Knoxville: 2019 Year in Review

We’re closing out yet another busy, wonderful year here at Net3 IT and we’d just like to say: Thank you for letting us be your favorite IT Company in Knoxville! We’ve certainly had a full year, and we’re sure you have too, but we’d be nothing without you!

What made this year so special, you ask? Well, let’s take a look back at all the incredible advancements in technology, updates to applications and policies, and company changes your IT company Knoxville has been through!

Our Move

That’s right — 2019’s the year of our big move to a more centrally-located space just off Cedar Bluff. In addition to the centralized location of the new space, which continues to reduce travel expenses and speed up business processes, our new office is larger which makes it much easier to spread out, avoid distractions and background noise, and provide you better, more focused customer service.

Goodbye Windows 7

It’s officially the end of Windows 7 as 2019 is the very last year Microsoft will support the software. In just a few short weeks — on January 14, 2020, to be exact — Microsoft will stop all support and security updates of Windows 7, making it a risky platform for businesses to continue to use. Because of this, any companies continuing to operate it could become targets for malware and viruses.

Hello Windows 10

But don’t worry, there’s a new software in town that will take care of all your needs and replace Windows 7 easily — Windows 10! Officially launched in 2018, Microsoft spent this year updating their newest software to run smoothly and securely as an efficient replacement for the beloved Windows 7 it’s left behind. In order to get access to all the features and capabilities, Microsoft does recommend using Windows 10 on a new device since some older models may be difficult to transition, however, if you are unable to upgrade your older computers they can still be updated to Windows 10 with just a little bit of planning.

Our New Services

Phishing is on the rise, and more and more workstations are becoming vulnerable to virus infections. In an effort to continually protect our clients from bad actors, we now include Malware protection in our standards Managed Workstation service. While no single tool can provide complete protection against a determined intruder, we aim to provide as many layers of protection as possible as a managed services provider to comply with industry best practices.

Similarly, we understand that even though managements generally require their employees to store company data on secure servers and/or cloud locations with regular backup protocols, the practice of storing files locally on laptops and desktops is inevitable and happens frequently. As a result, we’ve now added a Workstation Backup service to our service offerings.

AI’s Big Boom

You’ve probably already realized just how much artificial intelligence (AI) has grown throughout the year with the upgrades to Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri systems, but it’s also been hard at work getting a foothold on companies. Forbes reports that companies using AI “grew from 4% to 14%” and that conversational AI remains at the top of many corporate agendas.

Okay, but what does that mean for your small local business? As consumers become more accustomed to asking their preferred AI for help finding products and services, each company has to target that conversational AI in order to make progress with it. In other words, don’t forget that part of your audience is now an ever-learning AI!

Privacy Protection

Updates to technology aren’t the only new advances we saw in 2019 — the laws that govern our tech have also seen some upgrades! In the wake of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect in May of 2018, some U.S. states have also been updating their privacy protection acts. Namely, California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was signed into law and is set to take effect on January 1, 2020. After the sophisticated cyberattacks on Yahoo and Equifax, California is determined to protect it’s citizens’ rights through this new law by requiring that consumers get the option to opt-out of having their information recorded and to know exactly what said information is used for should it be collected.

Like we said — it’s been a busy year! But it’s not quite over yet. We still have a few weeks to continue working hard for you, and you’d better believe we will be. As your trust IT company in Knoxville, we thrive on making sure that our customers have the best experience and are always kept up-to-date on the many changes within the IT industry. Are you looking for help deciphering some of the IT updates of 2019? Or just looking for some more help with your VoIP or Managed IT Services? Give us a call! We’re always here to make your IT needs run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.