As we approach the end of the year and the holiday season, it’s natural to feel grateful for the big things: family, friends, and career breakthroughs. And in the world of technology, we often spend all our time talking about the next big thing, like Artificial Intelligence or the Metaverse.
But what about the products we take for granted? The “boring” tech that ensures our work is reliable, secure, and productive?
For IT professionals, job candidates, and people who just want their computer to work, these simple foundations are truly essential.
In this post, we give our thanks to five of these unsung heroes of technology we should all be grateful for.
The 5 Pieces of Tech That Deserve Our Thanks
Automated Security Updates
The Tech: Those little pop-ups that say, “DellCommandUpdate: 15 updates are ready to install” or the quiet security patches that happen overnight.
Why We’re Thankful: Nobody loves a system reboot, but these updates are crucial. They stop hackers, fix hidden flaws, and prevent catastrophic failures, not just for big companies, but for your personal files, too. This simple, consistent maintenance is the reason you can bank online, shop securely, and focus on your job with peace of mind.
Document Recovery
The Tech: These are the systems that track every single change made to a document, program, or project over time.
Why We’re Thankful: Imagine accidentally deleting the most important file for a project, or making a change that completely breaks a system. Think about the common scenario where your computer crashes or the power goes out before you hit save, that’s when a system like this can automatically recover your document. These tracking tools are a saving grace. They ensure that even the biggest mistake can be undone with just a few clicks. This gives developers, IT professionals, and even just regular document users the freedom to experiment and innovate without the fear of permanent disaster.
The Virtual Private Network (VPN)
The Tech: Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) allow your computer to securely connect to your office network or the internet from almost anywhere.
Why We’re Thankful: You can work remotely without a VPN, but you can’t work remotely securely. The VPN takes your sensitive company data and protects it as it travels across the public internet. This essential step is what allows IT professionals and remote workers to handle confidential information with confidence, knowing their business data is shielded from potential threats.
Ticketing Systems
The Tech: This software (e.g., Jira, ServiceNow, etc.) takes every phone call, email request, and bug report and turns it into a structured, numbered “ticket.”
Why We’re Thankful: Ticketing systems are a huge win for both the user and the support team.
- For Users: Imagine you have an issue with a website. Instead of having to call and sit on the phone waiting for support, you can quickly submit a detailed ticket. This makes it easy for you to explain the exact issue on your own schedule.
- For Support Teams: These systems are the organizers for the IT Help Desk. They ensure that requests don’t get lost, allowing teams to prioritize the biggest system errors first. This crucial framework defines what needs to be delivered, turning a vague problem into a clear, manageable goal for the IT professionals responsible for fixing the issue.
Document Search
The Tech: This refers to the simple, everyday search function, whether it’s the search bar or the Ctrl+F command that brings it up.
Why We’re Thankful: How much time would you waste if you had to manually read every line of a document or check every single folder to find one keyword? This instant search function is perhaps the most taken-for-granted piece of technology of modern computing. It saves thousands of hours a year by allowing IT professionals, job candidates researching a company, and everyday users to instantly locate the exact information they need. This is the quickest, easiest way to find exactly what you’re searching for.
So a big thank you goes out to this unheralded tech. Without them our work would be much less reliable, productive, and secure.
