THE BLOG

Notes from the shop.

Plain-English explainers for owners, step-by-step guides for doers. No fluff, no gate, no popup asking for your email.

IT Support & Managed Services

THE SERVICE →
Microsoft 365 for small business: what you actually need Explainer →
Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? How to pick Explainer →
Running Windows and Mac in one office Explainer →
Remote monitoring, explained: how we see problems before you do Explainer →
Automated patching: the boring habit that prevents ugly weeks Explainer →
What good help desk looks like (a person answers) Explainer →
Device management basics: MDM without the acronym soup Explainer →
The employee IT onboarding and offboarding checklist we use Step-By-Step Guide →
Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records that actually pass Step-By-Step Guide →
The 3-2-1 backup rule, and why restore is the part that matters Explainer →
License management: stop paying for seats nobody uses Explainer →
Vendor wrangling: one throat to choke for ISP calls Explainer →
Asset tracking: know what you own and where it is Explainer →
Troubleshoot a network printer like a tech Step-By-Step Guide →
IT documentation: the cheapest insurance you can buy Explainer →
Server care: what maintaining a server actually involves Explainer →

Cloud Setup & Migration

THE SERVICE →
Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud: an honest comparison Explainer →
What Cloudflare actually does for your website Explainer →
Your first Terraform project: one server on AWS Step-By-Step Guide →
You probably don’t need Kubernetes Explainer →
Install Docker on Ubuntu and run your first container Step-By-Step Guide →
Lift-and-shift, explained: move servers to the cloud without rewriting Explainer →
How we cut over systems without downtime Explainer →
Hybrid cloud for small business: keep the server, add the cloud Explainer →
Why your cloud bill is high, and how we shrink it Explainer →
Cloud backups and disaster recovery: the plan you hope you never use Explainer →
Serverless, explained: paying for work instead of waiting Explainer →
Host a static site on Cloudflare Workers Step-By-Step Guide →
Set up a WireGuard VPN between two offices Step-By-Step Guide →
Identity and access: one login, fewer passwords, less risk Explainer →
Set up uptime monitoring and alerts that wake the right person Step-By-Step Guide →
First 30 minutes on a new Ubuntu server Step-By-Step Guide →
Email migration without losing a single message Explainer →

Cybersecurity

THE SERVICE →
EDR, XDR, antivirus: what actually protects endpoints now Explainer →
Who’s watching your network at 3 a.m.? Explainer →
Ransomware defense: the five layers that matter Explainer →
How to actually test your backups: a restore drill Step-By-Step Guide →
The first 24 hours after a breach: what to do, in order Explainer →
Phishing training that people don’t hate Explainer →
Roll out MFA to a small business without a mutiny Step-By-Step Guide →
Set up a company password manager the right way Step-By-Step Guide →
Zero trust, minus the buzzwords Explainer →
What your firewall actually does (and what it can’t) Explainer →
Do you still need a VPN? Explainer →
Vulnerability scans vs penetration tests: which first Explainer →
Dark web monitoring: useful signal or scare tactic? Explainer →
HIPAA IT compliance: the checklist without the lawyer bill Explainer →
PCI DSS for small business: what taking cards commits you to Explainer →
SOC 2 prep without the panic Explainer →
NIST CSF: a map, not a mandate Explainer →
Okta vs Microsoft Entra: picking an identity provider Explainer →

Custom Software

THE SERVICE →
Why we build in TypeScript Explainer →
Python: the duct tape of business automation Explainer →
When React makes sense (and when plain HTML wins) Explainer →
Build a REST API with Node.js and Express Step-By-Step Guide →
Back up and restore PostgreSQL with pg_dump Step-By-Step Guide →
REST or GraphQL: how we choose Explainer →
Web app or website: which are you actually asking for? Explainer →
Native, React Native, or just a good website? Explainer →
The internal tool that pays for itself Explainer →
Customer portals: let clients help themselves Explainer →
System integrations: make your apps talk to each other Explainer →
Workflow automation: five real examples from real businesses Explainer →
Adding AI to your app without the hype Explainer →
Take payments with Stripe Checkout Step-By-Step Guide →
Send SMS and email alerts from your app Step-By-Step Guide →
Set up CI/CD with GitHub Actions Step-By-Step Guide →
Where to host your app: VPS, PaaS, or serverless Explainer →
Rescuing legacy software: modernize without the rewrite Explainer →
Data migrations: the plan that prevents the horror story Explainer →
Testing that fits a small app budget Explainer →

Networks & Infrastructure

THE SERVICE →
Why we reach for Ubiquiti in small offices Explainer →
Cisco, Meraki, or Ubiquiti: matching gear to the job Explainer →
Set up a pfSense firewall for a small office Step-By-Step Guide →
VLANs, explained like a floor plan Explainer →
Business Wi-Fi that reaches the back office Explainer →
Cat6, fiber, and doing cable runs right the first time Explainer →
Build a clean network rack: layout, labeling, patch panels Step-By-Step Guide →
The server room checklist: cooling, power, access Explainer →
Cameras and access control on your own network Explainer →
VoIP for small business: what changes, what it costs Explainer →
Failover internet: stay online when your ISP isn’t Explainer →
Switches and routers: what each box actually does Explainer →
Do you still need Active Directory? Explainer →
Virtualization in 2026: Proxmox, VMware, and bare metal Explainer →
NAS for small business: your own private cloud Explainer →
UPS and power: the $200 box that saves the $20,000 server Explainer →

Data & AI Analytics

THE SERVICE →
Build your first Power BI dashboard from a spreadsheet Step-By-Step Guide →
Free dashboards with Looker Studio Step-By-Step Guide →
SQL: the 40-year-old skill that still runs your business Explainer →
When your Excel file becomes a database problem Explainer →
Dashboards people actually open Explainer →
Forecasting from your own data: simpler than you think Explainer →
Data cleanup: why every analytics project starts here Explainer →
Do you need a data warehouse yet? Explainer →
ETL pipelines, explained with a coffee run Explainer →
Build your first LLM feature with the Claude API Step-By-Step Guide →
AI assistants that actually help (and the ones that don’t) Explainer →
Turn PDFs into data: document processing with AI Explainer →
The five numbers every small business should watch Explainer →

Digital Transformation

THE SERVICE →
SharePoint without the sprawl Explainer →
Slack or Teams: pick one, set it up right Explainer →
Your first Power Automate flow: an approval that emails itself Step-By-Step Guide →
Automate the boring stuff with Zapier or Make Step-By-Step Guide →
Airtable: when a spreadsheet needs to grow up Explainer →
Getting off paper: forms, signatures, and workflows Explainer →
Approval workflows: kill the email chain Explainer →
A small-business intranet that people actually use Explainer →
Scheduling tools: stop playing calendar tennis Explainer →
Connect QuickBooks to everything else Explainer →
New tools stick when people like them Explainer →

Staffing & Recruiting

THE SERVICE →
W-2 or 1099: hiring techs without the compliance headache Explainer →
Contract, contract-to-hire, or direct: which fits Explainer →
What to look for when hiring help desk techs Explainer →
Hiring sysadmins and network engineers: questions that matter Explainer →
Hiring developers when you’re not technical Explainer →
Staffing multi-site rollouts: field techs in 50 states Explainer →
Why techs should screen techs Explainer →
Background checks for IT hires: what to run and why Explainer →
When your only IT person quits: backfill fast Explainer →
NO FORMS. JUST EMAIL.
mason@hurbs.io
or (832) 457-4317, LA and Houston