Capstone Works Blog

Running a small or medium-sized business in Austin means constantly juggling priorities. You're focused on growth, customer satisfaction, and keeping your team productive. The last thing you need is unexpected IT headaches, sudden downtime, nagging cybersecurity worries, or unpredictable tech bills.

At Capstone Works, we get it. We do everything we can to remove those frustrating IT barriers, allowing you to breathe easy and focus on what you do best. Let's explore how the right IT services provider can revolutionize your Austin business.

For many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Austin, the start of the work week can often be accompanied by frustrating computer glitches. Common scenarios include critical software freezing, printers refusing to connect, or the persistent spinning wheel slowing down essential tasks. These seemingly minor technical issues can significantly disrupt workflow in Austin's fast-paced and competitive business environment. Even small IT hiccups kill productivity, cause considerable frustration, and divert focus from core business objectives. Reliable and responsive computer support is not merely a convenience; it is an essential service for business survival and growth in Central Texas. Businesses require dependable computer support in Austin to maintain operational efficiency and competitiveness.

We put together this guide to educate business owners and decision-makers on the core tenets of cybersecurity. While this might seem like a boring topic, it’s becoming increasingly important for business owners to understand. We tried to keep this as technologically simplistic as we could. If you have any questions at all or want to sit down and discuss your organization’s cybersecurity, we’re happy to book a call.

One quick fun tangent before we start—we originally had 6 pillars, and since all of them happened to start with the letter C, we almost called them the 6 C’s of Cybersecurity. When we added the 7th, which also happened to start with C, we figured we were starting to sound like pirates roaming the seven seas. We ultimately switched to calling them pillars, but kept some of the sailing motifs.

The 7 Pillars of Cybersecurity are the fundamental principles that form the backbone of any robust cybersecurity strategy. Putting them all together will give you a comprehensive, well-rounded defense plan for your business that is actionable and sustainable.

Sometimes, you can save a lot of money by doing something yourself. I had to replace a gutter on my roof the other day. I figured hey, I have a ladder, a hammer, and a free afternoon… I can do that! Maybe I’ll learn something from it too!

Several hours and a trip to the hardware store later, I wasn’t feeling as good about it, but I got the job done!

The reason I bring this up is because every so often when talking to a business owner about managing their IT for them, they hit me with “I can do that! Updates? Antivirus scans? That’s not that big of a deal.” 

So let’s take a look at what goes into a comprehensive IT maintenance package, for business owners who are willing to roll up their sleeves.

In the heart of Texas, Austin law firms are facing a new era. The legal landscape is changing rapidly, driven by the rise of modern technology. Lawyers are now leveraging technology to streamline their operations. From eSignature to cloud document storage, the digital revolution is here. It's transforming the way law firms work, enhancing efficiency and ensuring compliance.

But how exactly is technology reshaping the legal sector in Austin? What are the key technology solutions that Austin law firms should adopt?

Austin, Texas is a thriving tech hub, sometimes called Silicon Hills. With an active tech scene and a growing number of tech companies, there is a lot of opportunity for a small business to grow and thrive. To stay competitive in this tech-savvy environment, businesses in Austin need to embrace technology and ensure they have reliable IT support. A good IT consultant can help businesses in Austin navigate the complex world of technology, providing expertise and support to keep their operations running smoothly and securely.

By choosing the best Austin-based managed IT consultant for their needs, businesses can benefit from specialized services tailored to their requirements. Whether it's network security, data backup and recovery, or cloud services, a reputable IT consultant can help businesses in Austin optimize their technology infrastructure and stay ahead of the competition.

Just about every business owner finds themselves searching for a trusted IT consulting service at some point. Establishing and maintaining a complex business network is essentially a full-time job, and even the smallest businesses start to run into some pretty tough hurdles when it comes to this process. Once you mix in the modern-day line of business applications, user management/active directory, and cybersecurity best practices, even the most technical users are going to fall short of the knowledge and skill required to keep the gears turning.

As your business grows, or as you invest in expensive technology solutions to assist your business growth, you may need significantly more help managing, maintaining, and supporting the technology within your organization.

This usually happens when you outgrow your current computer support provider or get too busy to research, learn, and take care of everything yourself. Either way, you must focus on your business and need someone else to handle your IT.

Sure, you can hire internal IT staff; in some cases, that’s a pretty good call. We will discuss some pros and cons and alternative options before you spend a ton of money you don’t need to.

Austin, Texas is among the best places in the country to start and grow a business, and for good reason. We’ve got a great situation; we’re in a great place to raise families, and we have some of the best and brightest people in the talent pool. With all this growth and potential, however, Texas businesses have a proportionate risk to fall victim to cybersecurity threats.

With the increasing number of cyberattacks and data breaches, it's more important than ever for companies to prioritize cybersecurity compliance. In this article, we'll explore the importance of cybersecurity compliance and the role it plays in protecting Texas businesses and their customers.

With the ever-changing landscape of technology and the increasing presence of cybersecurity threats, it's crucial to have a well-planned and strategic IT budget in place. Let’s discuss the steps you can take to plan your organization's 2024 IT budget to prevent excess costs and get the most out of your IT investment.

Businesses, especially those in our native Austin, rely on technology more and more all the time—and with this increasing reliance, these businesses need a reliable IT infrastructure. A reliable managed service provider will be a huge asset in this regard, but it's important that you work with the right one. Let’s talk about some of the considerations to have when selecting your managed IT provider, and walk you through the process of making the best decision for your business.

Austin, Texas is undeniably one of the world’s largest tech hubs. Some of the largest tech companies in the world have installed themselves in Austin thanks to a large number of factors. For instance, the cost of living tends to be much more reasonable compared to other tech-based cities, the lack of state income taxes attracts business, and the generally nice year-round weather and recreational scene attract great people who want to accomplish great things. We love it here, from the growth opportunities, the talent pool, right down to the Keep Austin Weird bumper stickers.

But Austin businesses do face some additional challenges that come with being some of the brightest, most forward-thinking organizations out there.

If you're a business owner in Austin, Texas, you know how important it is to have reliable IT support. After all, your company's technology is what keeps you connected to your clients, your employees, and the rest of the world. Without it, everything grinds to a halt.

Austin, Texas is one of America’s tech hubs. It’s a place where many businesses are a few steps ahead when it comes to effectiveness and innovation. That also means there are a lot of different options for computer and IT support for Austin-based companies—which makes it important that business owners weigh their options carefully.

If you’ve been putting off a special project because your IT department doesn’t have the capacity to take on any more work, then perhaps you should consider taking advantage of co-managed IT. Co-managed IT allows you to gain the expertise and human effort of an entirely separate IT department without the costs and time associated with onboarding new staff. 

Nowadays, businesses seeking out IT services have a choice between two options: frequent a business that offers one-off tech support on a case-by-case basis, or subscribe to a managed service provider’s continuous and proactive support. Many small businesses might incorrectly assume that this latter option is reserved exclusively for large businesses and corporations… but this is very much not the case.

Texas organizations have seen an increased reliance on modern technology, ranging from adding collaborative features like conferencing, securing remote access, and lowering costs through automation and the cloud. Let’s talk about how we can help further streamline and optimize your existing technology through proper IT management.

For many, IT is synonymous with waiting on hold with technical support, dealing with frustrating, unexplainable computer issues, and running into complex problems that get in the way of actual work. It can sometimes feel like the whole world has to constantly catch up to technology, when technology is supposed to make us all more efficient and effective. The question is, how can modern IT be best utilized to drive your business forward? Better yet, can it be done delightfully?