Network Innovation Solutions Blog

 
Cybercriminals don’t always go after the toughest targets—they go after the easiest ones. Businesses without even the most basic protections are at the greatest risk.

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it’s the perfect time to revisit your defenses and make sure you’re not leaving the door open. Here are the essentials to get started—and the next steps to take your security even further.

Start with the Four Basics

1. Teach Employees to Avoid Phishing Scams
    Phishing remains the #1 way attackers gain access. Train your staff to recognize suspicious emails, attachments, and links—and make sure they know how to report them.
   
   
2. Require Strong Passwords
    Weak or reused passwords are an open invitation for attackers. Enforce password policies that require length, complexity, and unique logins.
   
   
3. Require Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
    MFA makes accounts significantly harder to compromise, even if a password is stolen. Where possible, use phishing-resistant MFA for the strongest protection.
   
   
4. Update Business Software
    Outdated software contains flaws that cybercriminals actively exploit. Regular patching and updates close these security gaps before attackers can take advantage.
   
   

Level Up Your Defenses

Once you’ve nailed the basics, it’s time to take the next step:

• Use Logging on Your Systems
  Logging activity gives you visibility into suspicious behavior and early signs of an attempted breach.
  
  
• Back Up Data
  A solid backup plan ensures business continuity. With reliable backups, you can recover quickly if an incident occurs.
  
  
• Encrypt Data
  Encryption keeps sensitive files safe even if criminals gain access to your systems. Without the keys, your data stays locked and unreadable.
  
  

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Every step you take makes your business a harder target. The basics will raise your defenses, and the next-level practices will strengthen them even further.

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant seamlessly integrated into the Microsoft 365 apps your business already uses. Think of it as a highly capable assistant sitting in on your meetings and helping with your daily tasks, but without the overhead. Instead of sifting through hours of meeting recordings or long email threads, Copilot does the heavy lifting, helping your team focus on what really matters. It's designed for small to medium-sized businesses that want to boost productivity without a steep learning curve.

How it Works: From Clutter to Clarity

Imagine your team's collaboration as a car trip. Traditionally, the driver (you and your team) handles everything—navigating, checking the maps, and keeping an eye on the road. This can be distracting. Microsoft Copilot is like a co-pilot that manages the maps, monitors traffic alerts, and even helps draft turn-by-turn directions. It frees up the driver to focus on the road and destination. In the same way, Copilot handles the tedious, administrative tasks of your workday, allowing you and your team to focus on strategic work.

In Microsoft Teams, Copilot is particularly powerful. It can:

• Summarize Meetings: Copilot can join a meeting and, with a simple request, provide a full summary of the discussion. It can list key decisions, outline who was assigned which action items, and even note any open questions. This is incredibly useful for team members who couldn't attend, as well as for anyone who needs a quick refresher.
• Draft Follow-ups: Immediately after a meeting, Copilot can draft a follow-up email for all participants based on the meeting summary. It ensures that everyone is on the same page and that no tasks are forgotten, streamlining communication and accountability.
• Provide Real-time Insights: During a meeting, you can ask Copilot a question about the conversation, like "What were the main concerns raised about the project budget?" and it will provide an instant, in-context answer. This enables teams to make informed decisions more quickly.

Why it Matters for Your Business

Implementing an AI tool like Copilot isn't just a trend—it's a smart business move. A Microsoft study found that 75% of users felt more productive when using Copilot (Source: Microsoft Work Trend Index Special Report). Automating routine tasks can save your team valuable time, allowing them to be more creative and strategic. It can also help reduce the risk of miscommunication by providing clear, concise summaries of meaningful conversations.

While the technology is advanced, your business doesn't need to be a tech company to reap the benefits. The key is to have the right foundation in place, including proper data governance and security protocols. This ensures that Copilot is working with accurate information and that your company's sensitive data remains protected.

Ready to explore how AI can transform your business' productivity and collaboration? Contact us at 304-781-3410 today to schedule a personalized consultation.

Safeguard Your Business' Future

IT compliance audits are critical for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Far from just avoiding penalties, these audits are vital health checks for your digital infrastructure, ensuring your business operates securely, ethically, and in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.

What is an IT Compliance Audit?

An IT compliance audit is an independent review of your business' technology systems, processes, and controls. Its purpose is to verify adherence to specific regulatory requirements and industry best practices. This varies by industry and data type, encompassing regulations like:

• HIPAA: For healthcare, ensuring protected health information (PHI) privacy and security.
• PCI DSS: For credit card processing, safeguarding cardholder data.
• GDPR: For businesses interacting with EU customers, governing personal data handling.
• SOC 2: For service organizations, demonstrating commitment to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.

Audits examine everything from data storage and access to cybersecurity defenses, employee training, and data backup strategies.

Why Are Compliance Audits Crucial for SMBs?

Proactive IT compliance offers significant benefits, safeguarding your business against costly risks: 

• Mitigate Financial & Legal Risks: Non-compliance can result in substantial fines and legal issues. Audits identify and fix problems before they escalate into significant liabilities.
• Protect Reputation & Build Trust: Demonstrating a commitment to compliance through regular audits builds credibility with customers, partners, and investors, proving you prioritize their data protection.
• Enhance Cybersecurity Posture: Audits uncover vulnerabilities in your defenses against cyber threats such as ransomware and data breaches, significantly strengthening your overall security.

• Improve Operational Efficiency: The audit process often reveals and helps streamline IT inefficiencies, leading to better data organization and improved operational flow.
• Ensure Business Continuity: By identifying IT infrastructure risks, audits contribute to robust business continuity and disaster recovery plans, protecting your operations during unforeseen incidents.

Partnering for Seamless Compliance

Navigating an abundance of compliance regulations can be challenging, especially with limited in-house IT resources. Partnering with the team at NIS simplifies this process, providing invaluable peace of mind. We help you identify relevant regulations, assess your current posture, implement necessary changes, and ensure comprehensive documentation for adherence. This allows you to focus on your core business with confidence, knowing that your IT infrastructure is secure and compliant.

Concerned about your business' IT compliance? To get started, please fill out the form. For a more personal touch, you can also reach out to us at 304-781-3410.

AI is quietly changing the game for businesses in 2025—but not everyone is ready. Some business owners are already seeing massive growth from AI-driven insights and automation, while others don’t even realize they’re falling behind. If you're running a business in the Tri-State Area, you've likely heard lots of buzz about AI. Maybe you dismissed it, thinking it’s just for big tech companies, but guess what? It’s a lot more accessible than you think!

The question is: where does your business stand?

Why You Should Care About AI for Business Growth Right Now

Businesses that aren't at least thinking about introducing AI are already starting to fall behind. Understandably, it’s being overlooked; your plate is probably already full running your business. But what if I told you AI could take some of those plates off your hands?

How AI Is Useful for Business Growth

• Customer Service That Never Sleeps

Have you ever woken up to a bunch of missed customer messages from the night before? Wouldn't it be nice to have someone (or something) taking care of those basic queries for you while you sleep? That's where AI chatbots come in. They're like having a super-smart assistant who works around the clock and never takes a coffee break. And best of all, they won't break the bank!

• How Can Predictive Analytics Help Your Business?

Predictive analytics is a branch of AI that helps you guess what's coming next in your business. For local businesses, this means you can better predict which products will sell, when you'll be busiest, and what trends are emerging. No more guesswork—AI makes inventory management smarter.

• Security That Gets Smarter Over Time

Let's be honest: cybersecurity isn't a topic you think about too much until something goes wrong – and then it's the only topic on your mind. AI-powered security is like having a guard dog that learns from every attempted break-in and gets better each time suspicious activity is spotted.

Keeping Your Business Safe

AI can be a game-changer—but only when configured properly.

This means:

• Regular check-ups related to security
• Ensuring your team knows what's what
• Keeping your operations legal and compliant
• Having tech experts on speed dial

AI Deserves All the Hype

A store owner we work with started using AI to manage their inventory recently. Within three months, they stopped running out of some of their more popular items and saved a lot of money on items that weren’t selling. Another client of ours let AI handle their after-hours customer chats and started catching 45% more leads. All this amounts to real money they were just leaving on the table before AI.

Are You Ready to Get on Board?

AI isn't going anywhere, and it's getting easier to use every day. You don't have to be a tech genius to make AI work for your business growth – you just need the right partner to help you figure out what makes sense for you.

Are you ready to learn more about keeping your business safe while using AI? Grab our complimentary guide on "The Growing Role of AI in Security" or reach out to chat about how we can help your business level up.

Here's the bottom line: getting started with AI doesn’t mean going all-in overnight. It's about finding the right tools that will make your life easier and your business stronger. Let's talk about how to make that happen for you!

FAQ: AI for Business Growth

What are the biggest AI trends for small businesses in 2025?

AI is transforming small businesses with:

• AI Chatbots – 24/7 customer service.
• Predictive Analytics – Smarter business decisions.

• AI Cybersecurity – Prevents cyber threats in real-time.
• Automated Marketing – Generates content & campaigns instantly.

AI is no longer optional—it’s a competitive advantage.

Is AI expensive to implement?

No! AI tools are affordable, scalable, and ROI-driven:

• Many chatbots & automation tools start at low monthly costs.
• Predictive AI saves money by reducing inefficiencies.
• AI prevents costly cyberattacks before they happen.

It’s not about cost—it’s about the cost of falling behind.

How can AI improve cybersecurity?

AI detects, prevents, and responds to cyber threats automatically:

• Real-time threat detection – Identifies suspicious activity quickly.
• Automated security updates – Keeps software protected.
• Fraud prevention – Detects unusual logins & transactions.

AI doesn’t just react—it predicts & prevents threats before they happen.

Microsoft's Artificial Intelligence Brings New Perspective to Business Computing

Your business needs every advantage. Microsoft Copilot adds another powerful tool to Microsoft 365. Microsoft’s AI tool helps you and your team work smarter, faster, and more creatively, freeing you up to focus on what matters most: growing your business. Imagine having an intelligent assistant that can help you conquer everything you need to do, while unlocking new levels of efficiency.

AI has become an extremely important part of today’s business, and Microsoft Copilot, integrated through the Microsoft 365 productivity suite, brings several benefits.

Boost Everyday Productivity

Microsoft Copilot gives you the ability to do much more today than you did yesterday. Let’s take a look at some of the ways Copilot can help build a more dynamically productive business:

• Reclaim your time - You’ll have to spend less time on administrative tasks. Copilot can summarize lengthy email threads in Outlook, draft professional responses, and help you manage your inbox more effectively.
• Create content faster - Generate first drafts of documents in Word, create engaging presentations in PowerPoint from simple prompts, and get suggestions for refining your work.
• Unlock data insights - Ask questions in natural language to analyze data in Excel, identify trends, and create visualizations without needing complex formulas.
• More effective meetings - Get real-time summaries and action items in Teams, ensuring everyone stays aligned and tasks don't fall through the cracks.

Enhance Creativity and Innovation

Besides enhancing organizational productivity, Copilot can open up new opportunities with its advanced creativity capabilities. They include:

• Overcoming mental blocks - Copilot can help brainstorm ideas, outline proposals, and kickstart your creative process, so you're never starting from a blank slate.
• Improve organizational focus on strategic work - By automating routine tasks, Copilot frees up valuable time for you and your team to concentrate on improving your customer relationships and strategic growth initiatives.

Empower Your Team’s Collaborative Efforts

What’s more, Microsoft Copilot can enhance your team’s ability to work together, which has more benefits than just efficiency, including:

• Fewer burnt-out employees - By taking on repetitive and time-consuming tasks, Copilot can help reduce workload stress and improve job satisfaction.
• Overhauling employee onboarding - Help new team members get up to speed more quickly by easily creating training materials and accessing information.
• Getting an AI you can trust - Your business data is not used to train the foundation models, ensuring your sensitive information stays protected.