Farewell!

This summer I joined the TNS Group’s team as a Marketing/PR intern. I am now writing my last blog as this is my last day. I’m college bound next week, and going into my senior year. My experience at The TNS Group was extremely positive. Everyone here was very welcoming and eager to teach me about the IT industry. I just wanted to thank everyone for being so kind and teaching me so much.

I think we all can attest to IT being somewhat of a challenge for me but I tried to make the most of it! I learned so much relating to website design, pipeline reports, keeping up with the blog/twitter, creating PDFs, and cold calling from overhearing Joe and his “gift of gab”.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to intern with this company and the skills that I obtained will surely benefit me in future positions. I wish you all the best of luck with business, you’re a great team and contributed to a great summer!

Thanks!

Tara McKenna

 

Intel to buy McAfee

According to the New York Times, a business merger is about to take place. On Thursday, August 19^th Intel, the leading manufacturer of semiconductor chips agreed to buy McAfee, the computer antivirus software maker for about $7.7 billion in cash. Besides Intel’s efforts to produce a core-chip making, their efforts to expand the business and take over McAfee, has been their biggest effort to date in terms of expanding the company. Their last major purchase was in 1999, when Intel bought Level One Communications for $2.2 billion.

Paul Otellini, Intel’s chief executive, said, “In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences.”

With The TNS Group being in the tech industry, we know that this industry has been one of the busiest for deal-makers and companies taking over new sectors.  With Intel’s purchase of McAfee it will put the company into covering security tech.

Tara McKenna

Kids in Crisis Volunteering Today

In addition to providing superior IT services to all of our clients, The TNS Group looks to give back to their community any chance they get. Today Office Manager Maggie Cabral, President Steve Viscardi, and Office Manager Maggie Cabral are all attending Kids in Crisis seminar today. The event will be focused around teaching children of this program how to use computers, and introduce them to the ever growing world of technology. The TNS Group finds this aspect of community life vital to its local connections, and frequently participates in many other charity events.

To learn more about Kids in Crisis and how you can help their cause visit their website

http://www.kidsincrisis.org/

Joe Carretta

Testimonials

As a business progresses it needs recommendations that will ensure future clients that our work is commendable. At The TNS Group, we take pride in our work and we make sure that your IT performance will ensure long-term success for your business. With this mindset, we have recently received five new testimonials from very satisfied customers.  Below are some testimonial excerpts:

1.       “As a firm in the highly competitive financial services industry, we needed a vendor that would provide us with dependable and outstanding IT services. TNS has been more that an IT vendor to our firm. We viewed the TNS team as our partners and trust their expertise in devising our platform, providing our disaster recovery and most importantly, servicing our day-to-day technology support.  The team of TNS individuals that have serviced our account have been beyond excellent – they are respectful of our data, our time, and our business.  They have been instrumental in recommending (and not over recommending) products and services, and allowed our business to function smoothly. 

-ARCIM Advisors

2.  “Since partnering with The TNS Group, EC Scott has had vast improvements with our IT performance and stability. I would like to focus on the Total Care Solution that we recently purchased. The TNS Group was there every step of the way in designing the package that best suited our business needs and budget. Their professionalism and reliability let us experience the best possible customer service. “
                - EC Scott

3.  “Despite the challenging times in the publishing industry, The TNS Group has proven to be a valuable partner providing technical services at a good value. Whether it’s improving the security of our environment, enhancing our remote access capabilities, performance tuning and/or troubleshooting of our IT network performance, or a call for technical support help, The TNS staff has always been dependable and extremely capable of getting the work done.”
                -Guidepost

We are very happy that The TNS Group’s work adds to the success of partnering companies. Thanks to all who contributed!

 

Tara McKenna

 

Away from it all

What if we took a break, away from all of the technological machines and distractions we cling to every day? We are attached and addicted to some of these devices! It is argued that heavy technology use, which is only growing, can inhibit deep thought and cause anxiety, and that getting away or into a relaxing place can help (nature). 

From an article in the New York Times, Todd Braver and a team of scientists did exactly this, and got away from it all. The team traveled to Glen Canyon National Park in Utah, and stayed there for a week pursuing one goal: to understand how our heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.

There was no cell phone service on location, laptops were left behind and e-mail was inaccessible.  Some thought it was just time to relax and get away from work, but the trip’s organizer, David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, said that studying what happens when we step away from our devices and relax our brains, how attention, memory and learning are affected-is important science.  Mr. Strayer also added, “understanding how attention works could help in the treatment of a host of maladies, like attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia and depression. And he says that on a day-to-day basis, too much digital stimulation can “take people who would be functioning O.K. and put them in a range where they’re not psychologically healthy.”

At the end of civilization, or downstream, was where their adventure began. They rafted through the canyon, set up camp when it was dark and slept outside surrounded by nature alone. Participants noticed that nature started to refresh the brain. Mr. Strayer said, “Our senses change. They kind of recalibrate-you notice sounds, like these crickets chirping; you hear the river, the sounds, the smells, you become more connected to the physical environment, the earth, rather than the artificial environment.” A sad fact is that currently, more people are more connected to the artificial environment rather than the actual one we live in.

So do we need more time to let loose and get away from it all? It is questionable whether it will improve our mental and emotional capacity. The world, (in terms of technology) is growing immensely, so sometimes we need to step back and go back to basics.

Tara McKenna

 

Employee Workarounds

IT Security is crucial for keeping the office systems clean of viruses.  Certain sites cause pop-ups and viruses, hence the choice for some businesses to block specific sites. For marketing teams at many companies, social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube are essential for pursuing marketing strategies, but may cause trouble for the servers.  However, I think it all depends on the industry your business is in. Does your company need social networking-or should it be blocked? As stated on ITNEWS, “If you work at the Department of Defense, I don't think any time at a social networking site on a secure computer is acceptable.” 

Yet, there are sites that are universally blocked at all companies, some being pornographic and gambling sites. It goes without saying why these sites are blocked at the office.

Unfortunately, some employees have been working around blocked sites ignoring the consequences that follow. This puts the company’s network at risk. Hugh Thompson, Program Committee Chair of the RSA, said, “Industrious employees can, and do, find ways around site restrictions at work, potentially putting your network, data and even intellectual property at risk.  Some workarounds can be dangerous because they might create a channel that data can flow out through that is not managed or monitored. These types of bypasses might make defenses like some data loss prevention systems less effective."

Some workarounds that employees are using include:

1.       Typing IP address instead of domain name

2.       Finding a cached version

3.       Hiding behind encryption

4.       Using proxy servers and other privacy-friendly tools

5.       Using smart phones

As an IT company, The TNS Group must take all necessary precautions with which sites can harm our servers. Look into ITNEWS “Workarounds” to find the security fixes when employees enter blocked sites.

 

Tara McKenna

 

Customer Service

A company’s reputation falls completely on the customer service it provides. By impressing a customer, they will become loyal to your business, and there’s nothing better than a loyal customer.  Small businesses are familiar with the power of word of mouth (concerning your company’s services and capabilities).  This power can contribute or take away from a company’s profit.  At The TNS Group, we value our client’s opinions and urge constructive criticism. These components, we believe, will strengthen our company.  Last month we sent out a brief survey to clients, in hopes of high-quality responses that would allow a follow up, then reference letter to be issued.  After the survey was taken by clients, responses were received and references were requested. Fortunately we had positive feedback and many happy clients!

Inc.com recently wrote an article addressing the improvement of customer service.  In the article it stated, “"The experience that individuals have with a company and then what they hear from friends and family influence their perception of and likelihood to do business with a company," says Megan Burns, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, a Massachusetts-based research firm that specializes in customer service. It's "absolutely an essential moment of truth for companies."

To quote ARCIM Advisors, “The team of TNS individuals that have serviced our account have been beyond excellent – they are respectful of our data, our time, and our business.  They have been instrumental in recommending (and not over recommending) products and services, and allowed our business to function smoothly”.

Keep up the good work TNS Team!

Tara McKenna

 

Is Tumblr for you?

New marketing campaigns for avid businesses include posting updates on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. However, businesses are looking for a new unique way to speak to their clients and followers. According to an article in The New York Times, Tumblr is the new fresh outlet used for communication through blogging. It is said to be “the space between Facebook and Twitter”.  Many companies are joining the Tumblr community, being that 25,000 new accounts are added daily.

Tumblr allows users to upload images, videos, audio clips, quotes and text to their pages. It also has a more conversational tone with the “followers”.  Businesses can also portray their personality through Tumblr, where this is not as easy to do when using Twitter or Facebook.

Alexa Cassanos director of Public Relations for The New Yorker, and user of Tumblr said, “We can highlight graphic content like photo essays or slide shows to an audience that may not read the magazine. You just couldn’t do that, visually, on Twitter or Facebook.”

Companies that have hopped on the Tumblr bandwagon include, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Life Magazine, National Public Radio, The Paris Review, The Huffington Post, The New York Times etc.

At The TNS Group, we are always searching for new innovative ways to reach out to the public. Participating in different communicative outlets makes it easier to gain prospective clients and stay up to date with current ones.  For this reason, we are looking into joining the Tumblr community.

Tara McKenna