Loosely defined, technical debt is essentially all the problems related to your technology due to a lack of planning and investment. So, like monetary debt, technical debt accumulates over time and grows largely because your business does not have an IT process in place. And, like monetary debt, the issues with your technology become interest-bearing,…

Advancing sustainable business: A conversation with Jill Doucette In this episode, Paul and Dave talk with Jill Doucette, founder of Synergy Enterprises and Synergy Foundation — two separate organizations with the same mandate: help business leaders reduce their carbon emissions. Jill highlights some of the ways in which the pandemic has resulted in a mind…

Recently I had a conversation with a prospective client who was weighing whether to hire an internal IT employee or outsource the IT function of their small business to a managed IT service provider (MSP). This is a very important question and one that we get asked all the time. When you are considering internal or outsourced IT, focus on process first. IT isn’t just a role that you hire a person…

Defending the human firewall: a conversation with The White Hatter In this episode, Paul and Ty chat with Brandon Laur of The White Hatter. They talk about security awareness training and the human firewall, drawing attention to the rise in social media phishing. They also chat about how different generations respond to online scams, intensifying…

Recovery and rebuilding: The United Way of Greater Victoria Covid-19 Response In this episode, Paul and Dave chat with Chief Executive Officer, Mark Breslauer, of the United Way of Greater Victoria (UWGV). Mark shares how their organization quickly pivoted at the start of the pandemic to narrow their focus to provide immediate assistance in three…

Why it is no longer a good idea to have a password expiration policy in a business network   Password expiration policies are a standard business practice and have been for a very long time. Many companies had or currently have policies in place that force employees to change their password every 60-90 days (which…

It’s tough to manage every cent spent in a business, but when we’re talking about a similar investment as a skilled employee, it deserves deliberate attention. Investment in IT is often made in large batches (every 3 to 5 years) when companies refresh their technology and these larger scale decisions require in-depth planning. Too often, not…

Scaling up Starfish Medical: Leadership insights from Scott Phillips In our final episode of 2020, we speak with Scott Phillips president of Victoria-based Starfish Medical — one of Canada’s leading medical device design service providers. Scott shares some stories from their 21 years in business, outlining how they moved from one growth plateau to another,…

What a wild year. Back in mid-February, we had our first internal discussions at Smart Dolphins about this thing called coronavirus, just before the world would get to know it as the pandemic. The first case in the United States had been identified in Washington State and then an outbreak on a cruise ship had…