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MANAGED IT

Montana Credit Union Network Partners with First Call Computer Solutions

Montana's Credit Unions exists to promote and enhance a thriving credit union community. To fulfill this duty to their members, they have partnered with First Call Computer Solutions, one of Montana's top Managed Service Providers. As technology evolves, cyber...

How to Prioritize Your Technology Gaps

Today's technology-based businesses must deal with multiple issues, including cyberthreats, head-to-head competition and regulatory compliance. Hence, keeping your technology infrastructure up to date is critical, and a technology audit is the best place to start. A...

What is Co-Managed IT – BLOG

There is a common misconception that an IT department can only consist of either an internal IT Team or fully outsourcing to an IT partner. However, every business has varying IT needs depending on the size and complexity of their business. The misconception is that...

6 Questions to Ask Before Implementing a Technology Change

It can be exciting to introduce new technology into your business. Finding a solution that will help your team members do their jobs more efficiently and effectively by filling a gap in your technology infrastructure is certainly an achievement. However, before you...

It is Time to Partner with a Managed IT Service Provider

If you are unhappy with your current IT provider or simply feel that you are lacking the necessary tools and solutions, it may be time to revisit and make changes to your IT Structure!

5 Things You Should Do RIGHT NOW to Preserve Your Network and Systems

1. Back up Files Every Day As catastrophic as data loss is, the number of businesses that still are not backing up their network is unbelievable. According to the Symantec Small to Medium Size Businesses (SMB) data, only 23% of SMBs are backing up their data daily,...

3 Things to Think About Before Hiring Another Inside IT Person

While it may seem like a good idea to hire additional internal IT staff, this blog is going to line out why instead, you should look to hire a partner to Co-manage your IT. Let's line out the key factors that influence the decision regarding hiring an additional...

IT Service Management Trends in 2021

Technology is always evolving to meet the needs of the organizations it serves. In 2020 the adoption of technologies to enable remote work, flexible work, and collaboration accelerated. This sudden push to embrace new and unknown solutions strained many businesses and...

5 Ways to Reduce Downtime and Prevent IT Problems at Work!

It may not come as a surprise that operating a business is an expensive venture. When a business is faced with technical problems on their network, software or equipment, costs go beyond just a financial standpoint. The time that employees spend trying to fix these...

IT Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Business’s Future

It is not uncommon for growing businesses to find that their IT no longer yields the same returns as they had originally expected. In the past, technology was not necessarily top of mind for many business owners. There are numerous factors that play into misshaped and...

Questions You Should Be Asking When Considering a Managed Service Provider

Blog, Managed IT

These days it seems like there is a new MSP popping up every week. Deciphering their rhetoric is no easy task. The truth is every organization has different needs and every MSP has a different offering. No matter what the offering, there are multiple factors that you...

Swapping Partners: Yes, No or Wait?

Blog, Managed IT

Dancing alone can be fun. But in the world of business, it is a recipe for failure. If you are like most organizations, you have multiple partners navigating the floor at any given time. As the dance heats up, the beat quickens, or someone decides to change up the...

Top 5 reasons you should care about Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Blog, Managed IT, Managed Workplace

Managed Detection and Response is a suite of tools designed to detect and alert on security related events. Like an invisible mustache, things could be happening right under your nose and you wouldn’t even know it. Below you will find a few questions that can help...

Raise Your Expectations – IT is in a New Era

Blog, Managed IT

Blog Written by Conor Smith, CEO of First Call For 20 years I’ve been guiding companies and helping them implement IT. The expectations of business leaders has evolved. The short version looks like this: Accounting needs a...

Work Where You Want with Managed Services

Blog, Managed IT

There are a lot of different solutions out there for what is needed to work remotely, but the outcome should always be the same. Happy employees means happy customers and happy business owners! Although the solutions may change and the options may...

Speed Up Your Slow Computer at the Office

Blog, Managed IT

There is not much that is more frustrating than trying to conduct work on a slow computer. For many people, sitting there watching their mouse spin on the screen is enough for them to kick their computer to the curb. If you are at your wit’s end, trying to get your...

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MANAGED CYBERSECURITY

Embrace the CHANGE BLOG

The first password I ever created was 3232; it was my basketball jersey number twice. That was not exactly a secure password, but I could use it and not have any issues for years. Unfortunately, times now are no so simple. A four-character numeric password would be...

Cybersecurity is like Ogres

Is your business's approach to cybersecurity more like Humpty Dumpty than Shrek? No, I'm not crazy, but I'm sure you are thinking, "What the heck is this guy talking about?" Let me say it a little different, does your cybersecurity have a hard exterior with a soft...

Montana CMMC Assistance

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification or CMMC is seemingly overwhelming. A new cybersecurity framework, five different levels of maturity, 17 capability domains, 43 capabilities/, 171 practices, 3rd party assessors, defense contracting requirements, and...

5 Cybersecurity Trends We Expect in 2021

Do I Need Advanced Security?

Ever wonder if security is the right option for you? Check out this week’s

The Dangers of the Inbox

Every now and then, an email with a catchy subject line appears in your inbox and you end up clicking on it, either because you’re curious about the subject line or because you assume the sender is trustworthy. Unfortunately, this is how most cyberattacks tend to begin – with a single click. What unfolds next only puts your security and the security of your business in grave danger.

Top 10 Ways Cybersecurity Threats and the Pandemic are Alike

I never thought, even after countless Hollywood’s dystopian movies I have seen, I’d experience a pandemic in my lifetime. A cybersecurity incident on the other hand, I absolutely knew I would experience. Either on behalf of a client, or within the walls of my own...

Your Office 365 credentials are on the Dark Web. No sweat!

I just received an alert from my organization’s identity monitoring service stating one of my employee’s Office 365 email credentials were found on the Dark Web. Now let us get real for a minute. When the prince of Nigeria emails you requesting a transfer of $1000...

3 Cybersecurity Mistakes You All Are STILL Making

Blog Written by Kayla Blaedow, Application Specialist at First Call Computer Solutions Cybercriminals are only interested in large corporations. WRONG. This misconception comes from media and news outlets feeding us data breach information of larger...

How to Spot Phishing Attacks

Imagine that you are a fish swimming in a big pond full of other fishes and you spot something that you think is food. You immediately swim over and start inspecting the “food” in question. How can you tell if what you see is food or a rubber imposter that is waiting...

5 SECURITY PRACTICES TO TEACH YOUR EMPLOYEES

Advanced Cybersecurity, Blog

Many businesses provide their employees with the necessary devices that they need to conduct their work, such as mobile phones, laptops, or tablets. Surprisingly, not many businesses train their employees on the best practices to keep their work devices secure. ...

CAN YOU REALLY AFFORD NOT TO HAVE A BACKUP PLAN?

Advanced Cybersecurity

According to Symantec SMB, 50% of SMBs admit to having no backup and disaster recovery plan in place. 41% of those surveyed confessed that they had never even given much thought to implementing a disaster recovery or business continuity plan. If you are one of them,...

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MANAGED WORKPLACE

How to Choose the Right Printer for Your Business

You're about to read the most exciting and interesting blog of the year. Hang on tight. This one's a doozy! How to pick a printer! Okay… so maybe my enthusiasm is a bit much for something that puts ink on paper. When I told my colleagues that I was writing a blog on...

Dell

Maximize remote work: Choosing the right monitor for your home office By Yoon LeeMany companies have quickly pivoted to remote work arrangements for their employees, with some industries working from home for the first time ever. But with the rush to enable remote...

What is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft is at it AGAIN!Last week (week of Feb. 4th), Microsoft announced their Employee Experience Platform (EXP), Microsoft Viva, which they claim will be "the first EXP built for the digital era." This new platform's ingenuity offers organizations their first...

Is It Time To Trade In Your Old Operating System?

Flexible – The Future of Work

The COVID-19 Pandemic unwillingly thrust companies into an all-or-nothing remote worker environment. Small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) found themselves coming up short in providing the right solution for their employees. SMBs urgently, and in many cases without...

What are Flexible Workers?

Before you ask, no. Flexible workers are not employees who attend some new workplace yoga class trend. Please rest assured that there is no exercise required when working flexibly. Rather, the term is used to describe a more realistic and dynamic type of worker. ...

Your Office 365 credentials are on the Dark Web. No sweat!

Top 5 reasons you should care about Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

File Management Culture Shift

In 1973, the advent of the Local Area Network (LAN) was introduced. This new technology-enabled businesses to connect their computers, share and distribute applications, and most importantly, provide a common disk storage area for all LAN users...

What is Co-Managed IT – BLOG

Blog, Managed IT

6 Questions to Ask Before Implementing a Technology Change

Blog, Managed IT

Montana Dental Office’s Technology continues to Grow and Flourish with First Call

Case Study, Healthcare

FAMILY DENTAL GROUP Locally owned, patient-focused dental clinic. They have been located in the Southgate Mall in Missoula, Montana since 1982 and moved to its current location in 2008. While the storefront looks like a little “Mom and Pop” dental office there is a...

Expanding IT Access Into Rural Montana

Case Study, Small Government

FERGUS COUNTY Fergus county is geographically the most central location in Montana serves a primarily rural population of approximately 12,000 spread across 4,350 sq miles. It has a full range of municipal services including county law enforcement, land management and...

How to Choose the Right Printer for Your Business

Blog, Managed Workplace

First Call Helps Montana Healthcare Practice Implement Technology for Virtual Consultations

Case Study, Healthcare

Alpine Oral and Facial Surgery is located in Missoula Montana. They help patients across the state with a number of surgical and healthcare needs, including solutions for health problems like sleep apnea, jaw deformities, dental issues, and chronic TMJ pain. ...

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MANAGED VOICE

What is Microsoft Business Voice?

Did you know that your Microsoft Teams application can be set up to be your one-and-only business telephone solution? Businesses with less than 300 employees who have implemented Microsoft Teams may purchase the Microsoft Business Voice add-on, allowing Teams users to...

Ditch Your Desk Phone

How do you currently view your business phone system? Is it flexible and adaptable, or a stubborn mule that refuses to budge? Wouldn’t it be nice if your current system worked with you rather than against you? Many business owners are unaware of how embracing a...

Questions You Should Be Asking When Considering a Managed Service Provider

Blog, Managed IT

Swapping Partners: Yes, No or Wait?

Blog, Managed IT

Top 5 reasons you should care about Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Blog, Managed IT, Managed Workplace

Raise Your Expectations – IT is in a New Era

Blog, Managed IT

Work Where You Want with Managed Services

Blog, Managed IT

Speed Up Your Slow Computer at the Office

Blog, Managed IT

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CLOUD SERVICES

How to Move to the Microsoft Cloud – One Step at a Time (for SMBs)

We get it. Change is hard. Especially when you know that the change will permanently alter the way you conduct your business. Many small to medium-sized businesses have realized the benefits of moving to the cloud but have not yet made the change because they are...

File Management Culture Shift

HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING IF YOUR BUSINESS NEED CLOUD STORAGE OR ONLINE BACKUPS?

It is easy to confuse the differences between cloud storage and online backups. At first glance, they both appear to do similar things. As a business decision maker, knowing and understanding when to use cloud storage or online backups can be the difference between...

Everything You Think You Know About Teams is Wrong.

Well, probably not, but you may find a few common misperceptions here that could change your strategic planning for your company's technology platform over the next decade.The adoption and implementation of Microsoft Teams® can be an operational game-changer for...

There’s No “I” in Teams!

Implementing Microsoft Teams is one of those things that can be easy to screw up and a pain in the hinny to fix. The tool's abilities are deep and wide, and its effects on your organization can be substantial. Hence, it is crucial to take the time to plan for your...

5 Questions to Guide You Buying a Microsoft Teams Phone System

No matter what your business does, communication with coworkers and customers is critical to your success. There are many different communication forms, including email and chat, but voice communication continues to be a key tool within most if not all businesses. Not...

What is Microsoft Teams?

When looking for a Unified Communication and Collaboration tool, Microsoft Teams is the most robust, secure, and cost-effective software available on the market. Created by arguably the greatest pioneer in the digital age, Microsoft Teams has the power to...

File Management Culture Shift

5 Ways Microsoft Teams Can Deliver Immediate Benefit to Your Company

Microsoft Teams is an anchor point for the entire Microsoft 365 cloud platform. Teams can offer your company an excellent starting point for your entire Cloud Strategy whether you are at the starting point of your Cloud journey, or you are well along on your path.