Monday 30 November 2020

What Are The Benefits Of Managed Services?

 Technology enables modern business by increasing efficiency and generating useful information through data. Their networks store your information and allow you to do more work than ever. As one of your most valuable assets, your network deserves the utmost care and attention when it comes to maintenance.


Many companies assume that the only option for network administration is to delegate it to the internal IT team. However, this is far from the truth. Managed IT and technology services provide competent support and service for your network, so you can focus on what your business can do best. The business benefits of managed services combined with the money you can save make it a smart solution for businesses of all sizes.


What Are The Managed Services?


Each company uses technology as a means to be competitive in its field and maximize efficiency. Businesses trust networks and IT more than ever, and the resources necessary to maintain an internal team continue to grow. For many small businesses, this often means sacrificing the quantity or quality of network maintenance efforts to conserve limited resources.


Managed services are a way to outsource maintenance and repairs to experts. A first-class managed IT service provider performs various functions for your business, eg.


  • Network administration

  • Backups

  • Network security

  • communication

  • IT support


WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED VS. REPAIR SERVICES?


Repair services have dominated the market for decades. If companies had a problem with a server, they would call an IT professional and try to explain the problem. Hopefully, a solution could be found quickly. Otherwise, you would face costly repairs and downtime. This type of reactive service is called an interruption repair approach.


Managed services, on the other hand, offer constant and constant monitoring of their systems in order to avoid failures whenever possible. With remote monitoring, your service provider can always see what's going on and fix the problem right away.


The advantages and disadvantages of managed services make it clear that partnering with an MSP is the best way to simplify your IT administration at low cost. These are the top 10 financial and business benefits of managed services.


1. Predictably low cost


Can managed services reduce costs? The answer is yes. This can also make your IT costs more predictable. With Managed Services, your costs are grouped into a fixed amount that is paid annually or monthly. An internal IT team, on the other hand, has far more frequent and unexpected expenses that can quickly drain your budget.


Networks come with many devices that require maintenance and sometimes need to be repaired or replaced. MSPs provide maintenance and repairs as part of the contract, so the provider performs a repair that can cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket. This model protects your budget from extreme fluctuations and improves the stability of your overall business.


Small businesses benefit greatly from managed services because the initial costs are so much lower. When a company starts again, the initial cost of hiring and training a team while paying for the servers and other necessary equipment can be overwhelming.


2. Scalability


The price of maintaining an internal IT team is high. For this reason, teams are often seen as understaffed, overworked, and unable to do everything due to lack of time and resources. It doesn't work every day and it definitely doesn't fly when your business tries to expand.


Training another employee for your IT department costs thousands of dollars, and there is no guarantee that you will stay with the company. An MSP covers training costs, and you no longer have to worry about your IT experts jumping off the ship.


Network scaling requires significant coordination, staff, and new equipment. This is a huge cost factor for any business and often leads to an IT team that is no longer focused on other important functions like security. With Managed Services, you can expand or update systems as needed without hiring and training employees you don't need later.


MSPs help your business stay flexible on resources and can adapt to rapid changes to which an internal team may not respond efficiently.



3. Minimized downtime


Downtime occurs primarily due to problems with the device. Servers may crash and computers may malfunction. Electrical interference can also occur. These problems are generally resolved by implementing redundant devices that allow systems to switch to backup in the event of a failure.


Accidental human error causes a significant amount of downtime, and there isn't much you can do to avoid it. Using strict security measures on critical systems is the best way to reduce potential risk.

Attacks on the system can also shutdown your networks and data. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cybercrime. Up to two-thirds of attacks target small businesses, and small businesses are least likely to have safeguards that minimize downtime in the event of a cyber attack.


Reducing the risk of downtime is a multifaceted task that an internal team may not have the bandwidth or experience to do effectively. Managed services can reduce downtime costs by preventing them from happening in the first place.


4. A preventive approach


If something breaks, fix it. However, with networks and data, repair costs can put significant pressure on your business budget. Depending on the size of your business, the cost of a security breach can be several million dollars.


Rather than turning to experts quickly after a disaster, it is wiser to take a proactive approach by working with a managed service provider. They monitor their systems for problems and can solve them before they turn into complete disasters. The cost savings associated with this approach are one of the main reasons for using managed services.


5. Proven experts


Hiring an IT team is expensive and time consuming, and you cannot be sure how good they are until you face a serious network problem. Some may pass the test with great success. Others may not be able to solve the problem on time or may not, which will cost your business money that you cannot afford to waste.


Even if your IT staff is knowledgeable and familiar with your systems, they may not be well equipped to operate or maintain new equipment and systems when you add them. The most common problem is that even the best-trained people don't have the knowledge and experience of a great MSP team.


An MSP can provide specialized services to fill in the gaps in your team's experience. It doesn't make sense for an employee to learn completely new skills for a single project. With an MSP, you have access to a team of experts with precise skills that you wouldn't otherwise have access to.


6. Restricted commercial focus


What are the benefits of managed services for your IT team? An MSP frees your IT team from the tasks that are most important to your business. The general perception of IT professionals is that they do minor repairs and ask if you turn them off and on again. While this applies to some companies, it is definitely an ineffective use of IT resources.


When your internal team is overcrowded to help users solve basic problems or solve equipment problems, they don't have the time or concentration to work on projects that drive their business.


Managed services can help by redesigning workflows, updating devices, and automating certain tasks. This frees your team from daily processes so they can focus on innovations.


7. Data compliance


Your company's information is subject to a series of regulations designed to guarantee the security of the information. Your team should review the hundreds of current rules and regulations and find out which ones apply to your business. You should also make sure to follow each of these applicable rules while doing your daily work.


PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) are the most widespread standards that companies must adhere to. The consequences for violating these and other standards are heavy fines and reputational damage that some companies cannot overcome.


A managed services provider takes care of the complexity of compliance and auditing so you don't have to worry about data protection breaches. You can also run reports and audits to demonstrate that your organization meets all requirements. This can save your internal team thousands of hours in the long run.


8. Reliable relationships


The ongoing relationship with an MSP has several advantages. Managed services act as a partner for your internal team and as a bridge between you and technology providers. They serve as a central point of contact for your business and become familiar with your business over time.


A trusted MSP is a valuable partner to your business growth, not just a service you call when something breaks. You have a vested interest in keeping your networks and systems in good repair and providing information that you can use for your results.


9. 24/7 support


Managed IT services use remote monitoring technology to monitor your systems day and night. Real-time warnings mean that problems that arise can be resolved before they affect your business.


Without constant monitoring, a network problem can easily occur outside business hours. If a system crashes in the middle of the night, it may take time for someone to figure it out. In some cases, the problem is not discovered until the next day, after significant damage has already occurred. Remote monitoring allows your MSP to take corrective action as soon as you receive a warning.


10. New technology


Technology itself is one of the highest costs in IT. Equipment updating is always required and it can be difficult to identify which ones are right for your business. There are few things that are more frustrating than investing in a new network infrastructure only to discover that it doesn't meet your needs, or that your team doesn't know how to do it correctly.


One of the main advantages of using managed services is constant access to current technology. You never have to worry about your systems being out of date or making an investment that doesn't work. System upgrade costs go directly to your MSP rate.


Sunday 29 November 2020

Discover The Many Benefits Of partnering Up With an IT Managed Service Provider

 Today, many companies work with IT-managed service providers. 60 percent of companies use IT-managed services, and this number is expected to continue to grow. And that is due to the many Managed Service advantages offered by these professionals. Here is a list of the benefits you should consider.


Control IT costs

Paying internal IT staff is an expensive task. With managed IT service providers, you get fixed IT costs at variable costs, allowing you to budget efficiently. Companies only pay for what they use and can use it when they need it. Outsourcing IT tasks only saves companies money.


Reduces labor costs

Not only does it cost money to have internal IT staff, it also costs money to hire and train them. And temporary workers don't always meet expectations. Outsourcing enables companies to focus on the human resources that are most needed in other areas.


Certified, trained, qualified and experienced

How can you be sure that the IT employee is truly qualified for the position? With an IT managed service provider, you get a certified, trained, qualified and experienced specialist. If you want to train an IT employee, keep in mind that certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) are very expensive.


Qualified does not mean experience

Regardless of how much you train an IT professional, this training is isolated and the employee may not have the proper experience. A managed IT service provider sends an experienced IT expert. When you see a doctor, you want an experienced one, right? The same applies to IT.


Increase efficiency and competitiveness.

When companies try to do all of the IT themselves, it is inefficient and costly in the long run. Much more time was spent on implementation, research and development. And all these costs are only transferred to the clients. Save operating costs and keep your service and product costs more accessible to customers and more competitive to your competition.


Deploy the latest technology quickly

Technology is changing as fast as lightning today. Few companies have the resources and the ability to use the latest technology and implement it quickly. Working on a project internally with the latest technology can take months to train IT staff. IT professionals at a managed provider have the skills and knowledge to quickly implement the latest technology. That saves time and money.


Focus on business

It is important for companies to take care of business every day and not be distracted by complex IT decisions or problems. Trying to fix a security breach or a hardware crash means that managers no longer have to focus on their core business. Valuable time and money are also lost here.


Lower business risk

Regardless of what business it is, there is always some risk. State regulations, technologies, market conditions, and competition are changing rapidly. IT vendor outsourcing reduces and controls risk through industry-specific insight, including compliance and security issues. Correcting these kinds of problems can cost a lot of money, not only for fines but also for downtime. IT-managed vendors can use their expertise to help avoid risk.


The same competitive conditions

Many small businesses simply do not have the funds that fit the internal IT services of large companies. IT outsourcing helps smaller companies improve the competitive environment with Mr. Big. The economies of scale and affordable cost structure of IT-managed service providers offer small businesses in need of competitive advantage.


Security and compliance

Businesses can get the security they need with bank transfers, electronic checks, credit cards, and gift certificates. Fraud is common today, and companies can lose a lot of money and reputation through fraud. IT-managed service providers are very familiar with PCI compliance standards. Organizations can minimize risk by managing confidential information along with credit card and customer information. They also make sure that your firewall is up to date and that a DMZ has been installed. "The Health Insurance Liability and Portability Act, the Family Education Protection and Rights Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act they have strict regulations on retail health and the financial industry. "


24/7/365 support

Today many companies work 24 hours. And their networks too. Help is always available from managed service providers, regardless of whether it is day, weekend, or holiday. Companies can always provide support. Overall, there are simply too many benefits of partnering with an IT-managed service provider for companies to ignore today. New technologies offer companies great opportunities, but they also pose daily challenges. Professional IT service companies can help your company overcome these challenges.


Thursday 26 November 2020

SD-WAN Deployment Options: DIY vs.Cloud Managed

 So you can implement SD-WAN. Now you must make a decision: do it yourself or buy it as a managed service?


As the market for software defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) continues to grow significantly, the way that companies use SD-WAN Deployment Service, and the way that vendors sell it, is evolving.


According to Lee Doyle, director of Doyle Research, there are three main models. At one end of the spectrum is DIY, where end users install and manage software and service. At the other extreme is a fully managed approach, where a vendor performs the installation and ongoing support of the deployment. A hybrid option combines the two, with the provider managing some aspects of installation and administration, and end users can tailor the solution to their needs.


"There is currently a real mix of customer attitudes towards deployments," said Ramesh Prabagaran, senior director of SD-WAN at Cisco. How do companies know which approach is the right one? He says it depends on your comfort level.


Many of the larger companies like Fortune 50 still use this technology, Prabagaran says.


Medium-sized companies are rather mixed. Some have the experience to manage installation and ongoing support, while others want some level of help from their vendor.


The hybrid option with managed service providers, with which customers can tailor certain aspects of provision, is becoming increasingly popular. According to Robert McBride, head of product marketing at software vendor SD-WAN Versa, this approach enables customers to control things like providing new network connections, setting compliance rules, and creating policies for specific applications. Versa, which sells its software to a variety of managed service providers and telecommunications providers, enables it through role-based access controls of multiple tenants in SD-WAN software. In this way, a supplier can enable the provision of certain aspects of the provision by the customer.


DIY vs. Managed SD-WAN

Deciding whether to manage an SD-WAN deployment yourself or use it as a service depends on the client's ability to run it. Does the customer have in-house staff to manage the deployment and resources to redesign WAN connections to branch offices and remote locations? As a rule, the largest companies have sufficient resources, says McBride. Smaller companies do not have this experience and use SD-WAN as a service. Medium customers are divided between the two approaches.

Capital One’s SD-WAN Deployment 

Capital One took a hybrid approach to implementing SD-WAN, Jason Abfalter, chief technology officer for Capital One's retail and direct banking division, said at the Open Networking User Group meeting in New York last fall. The company recently completed its SD-WAN installation at branch number 75 in the past five months. The company performs at least one new installation a week, sometimes even two a day. Capital One does this primarily in-house, but plans to install Versa installations, which are also available during installation, to resolve issues.


Andrew Dugan, senior vice president of technology planning, network architecture and security at CenturyLink, which offers a managed SD-WAN service, says working with a managed SD-WAN provider brings benefits. "Many customers come to us because they not only want to use SD-WAN, but also want to integrate it more fully into a range of network services that we can offer," he says. Customers combine various types of broadband connections, MPLS with a private connection, and even mobile or LTE services at their branches. A service provider can group these services on a consolidated invoice while performing ongoing maintenance.


Another advantage of working with a service provider, according to McBride, is that you can have direct connections to public cloud services, be it IaaS providers like Amazon Web Service or Microsoft Azure, or SaaS providers like Salesforce. It can be difficult for individual organizations to connect directly to cloud providers unless they go through a connection point.

The Next Wave: SD-Branch

There is currently an even bigger trend in the industry, which can be seen as the next development beyond SD-WAN. This involves creating a software-defined branch (SD branch) and managing many network functions in the branch through software. McBride says that many customer sites have six to ten network management devices, including routers, wireless access points, firewalls, unified threat management systems, and WAN optimization. The purpose of SD-Branch is to consolidate all of this into one system.


SD-WAN is considered one of the applications that can be consolidated into an SD branch. If customers want to combine these multiple branches into a single system, they face similar decisions to do it themselves or to work with a service provider. As with SD-WAN, customer appetite depends on the resources they have to move on to the next wave of branch virtualization.


Wednesday 25 November 2020

IOT Managed Services Role in the Enterprise IOT Evolution

 Managed IT Services is ready to assist businesses in a variety of ways, from building and managing the entire network to managing specific projects, such as switching to 3G extinction.


IoT is no longer just the domain of the first users. This also means that multiple companies can implement IoT without fully understanding what's ahead. Many face decisions about how to integrate IoT architectures into their existing network environments, how to continue to manage those architectures, what devices are connected to them, and what applications they run.


In the past, corporate IT staff faced many similar decisions when implementing new technologies. They decided whether they would like to be involved in creating or managing solutions, or asked the managed service providers for help. Who can do something for them? MSPs can help you with all your questions about planning, purchasing hardware and software, building architectures, and managing your networks and long-term services.


MSPs have been important business partners for decades and support them in developing connectivity, security and cloud computing technologies. The latest development that companies are looking for for MSP support is IoT development.


"The philosophy has changed because IoT is believed to be as easy as getting a data plan and connecting hardware," said Chris Baird, CEO of OptConnect, a communications company. Kaysville, Utah, which provided managed services. for many years and officially an IoT Managed Services offering at the recent IoT World Conference and Expo 2019 in Santa Clara, California. "When you think about the size of the IoT for businesses and what they need to get started, it can be difficult for many companies to combine different parts of the complete IoT solution."


According to Persistence Market Research, managed market IoT services are growing rapidly. The market, which includes services such as infrastructure management, network management, device management, security management, and data management, will be worth more than $ 94 billion by 2026, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20% between 2018 and 2026, an estimated PMR 2018- Study.






Different needs


Ultimately, there are many reasons why a business can choose a managed IoT service provider. Most obviously, they lack the knowledge and experience to do the job effectively and profitably.


Steve Garrett, Product Manager at OptConnect, said that given the growing interest in IoT, many companies are beginning to explore it. "They are completely ignorant and have no idea how to connect their devices." These are the companies that likely need a fully managed service solution that covers everything from sensor hardware to connectivity, security, network monitoring, and potentially more.

Other companies, Garrett said, "know the Internet of Things and are trying to rebuild it. You can try to make the decision to create or buy something and realize that there are simply too many options. An MSP can be one. Help companies manage this moment ". Parts of IoT construction or managing aspects of IoT architecture that the company does not manage on its own.


Garrett said companies that are very familiar with IoT and that are sufficiently advanced in their IoT travel may be forced to migrate a self-managed architecture to a third-party managed service. "We have clients who have distributed between 4,000 and 5,000 mobile sites, are overwhelmed and have learned that they can no longer expand their business. We have delivered many of these portfolios and transferred them to our services."


For some companies, the need for managed IoT services may not be due to a lack of knowledge, but to more practical managed business services, such as: B. Lack of budget for the distribution of IoT devices. These companies may find it more advantageous to pay IoT as ongoing operating costs than to provide a much larger budget for both initial investments in IoT distribution.


But not all companies may need a managed support service for "nut soup," as Garrett has described. Some companies may simply not have enough team members with specific skills to manage one aspect of IoT management, such as connectivity, security, data analytics, or device management. In these cases, an MSP can manage this pain instead of everything. For example, OptConnect, which focuses primarily on mobile technology for IoT connectivity, can focus on managing a company's connections with different mobile operators without being more involved in the company's internal IoT architecture, if that's all it takes


Tuesday 24 November 2020

What is a Managed Firewall?

 Qualified managed security service providers (MSSPs) often provide a "managed firewall service" as a solution for operating, managing, monitoring, and maintaining the firewall. The MSSP will help you establish, maintain, and modify firewall rules, monitor your network, and provide feedback, reports, and analysis.


Depending on the scope of the service agreement, the MSSP can perform firewall installation, application control, and web content filtering, as they help determine which applications and web content (URLS) to block. . They will also help manage patches and updates.


Do you need a managed firewall?


Firewalls are essential to protect network traffic, including the flow of confidential data. They are required to comply with mandates such as PCI DSS, HIPAA and GDPR. Businesses that do not have the human resources available to manage their firewalls or other security devices can fill data security gaps and better prevent data breaches by using a managed firewall service. Most of the companies our auditors work with employ in-house IT staff to manage their firewalls, but many also choose to use a reputable managed firewall service to better focus on their core business objectives.


Complete firewall management requires a high level of experience and constant vigilance. Firewalls are not point-and-click or configure-and-forget technology. The purchase and initial configuration of a firewall suitable for a given environment is only the beginning.


Whether for compliance or data security only, a managed firewall service can add significant security to a network.


Common firewall management mistakes


Our security analysts often face serious security risks in the field related to proper firewall configuration and management. These are some of the problems:


Multiple firewalls


A single firewall requires regular maintenance and daily monitoring - you should review rule sets, firmware fixes, and configuration updates; This work is multiplied with each unique firewall placed in an environment. When there are multiple firewalls and there are insufficient or insufficient staff to maintain them, serious security issues can be overlooked, resulting in the loss or compromise of critical data.


No firewall audit


Firewall auditing, where a company routinely checks and audits its firewall rules, is often neglected. One of the benefits of entering into a contract with an MSSP is that most providers will regularly perform firewall audits as a core part of their core services.


A SecurityMetrics auditor reported that in one case, no IT administrative staff from a healthcare organization had been logged in to examine the firewall configuration for two years. The auditor discovered a VPN connection connecting the firewall to the former IT employee's home network. This organization was unable to manage its firewall, and as a result, sensitive data on its network was greatly threatened.


Not understanding how firewalls work


There are firewall management concepts that not all IT staff are familiar with. The area between the external network and the internal network (known as the "Demilitarized Zone" or DMZ) must be secure. An audit found that some firewall ports / services were left open on each side of the DMZ, leaving the network exposed and vulnerable to external malicious activity, and the company did not initially see this as a problem.


Inexperience and lack of supervision.


IT staff is often supposed to just "make things work." There is tremendous pressure to maintain operating systems for daily business operations. This pressure sometimes leads to reckless or risky setups, as in the case of a merchant where, whenever there was a problem with the firewall, an IT employee simply applied the any / any rule while diagnosing the source of the problem. This made the merchant's network extremely vulnerable. And there is always the additional risk of not disabling / deleting this rule after the testing process is complete.


Convenience and access vs. security


One experience left a security analyst astonished when, after 4 years of auditing a lifetime customer, they realized that after reviewing and approving the hundreds of firewall rules, the customer simply changed the rules after the departure of the security analyst to facilitate access to company executives.





Firewall not compatible with PCI DSS


Even if a company uses an MSSP for a managed firewall, the MSSP may not be compatible with PCI DSS. In this case, the company would be considered non-compliant. Be sure to find a service provider that is PCI compliant and can provide you with a Certificate of Conformity (AOC) in the testing process.


Firewall security vulnerabilities are the rule


Our security analysts' experience in the field shows that firewall configuration errors and security breaches are the rule, not the exception. Many infractions in large restaurants and stores are due to poor firewall settings that allow external traffic.


If a company is determined to manage its own firewall or other security devices, it is essential that these companies have a solid understanding of how to implement, manage and maintain these devices, both conceptually and practically. It is even better if they consult an experienced and duly certified provider to help them manage their firewall. You'd be amazed at how often another pair of trained eyes will notice a potentially serious vulnerability that would otherwise go undetected.


SecurityMetrics Pulse SOC / SIEM


SecurityMetrics Pulse is a SOC / SIEM product that provides visibility in invisible areas of your wide area network. Pulse discovers threats to a company's locations so you can take action against them and stop a data breach before it occurs.


Pulse firewall security


To effectively protect your organization's locations, you need a well-managed firewall. With Pulse Firewall Security, you'll receive an alert as soon as potential threats are identified so you can stay secure on all your sites, protect your organization's data, and meet compliance requirements.


Pulse's firewall includes:


  • Managed security, not just visibility, for your wide area network

  • World-class firewalls and internal vulnerability scanning technologies

  • Managed firewall service to ensure that firewalls are installed and working properly


Monday 23 November 2020

9 Benefits of Managed IT Services

 One of the most important investments your company can make is the security, functionality and effectiveness of its technology. An internal team can support your company. However, outsourcing often brings more long-term benefits. A managed IT service provider who takes the time to understand your business goals and work with you can be incredibly valuable, even beyond the 9 benefits of managed IT services below.


1. High return on investment


For the same cost as a small in-house team, a managed IT service provider (MSP) offers many more resources that will benefit your business. An MSP offers a much larger team of IT professionals, as well as access to the latest technology solutions to strengthen your business. They often protect your business more effectively against cyber threats. MSPs offer far more resources and therefore a higher value than conventional in-house IT equipment at the same price.


2. Efficiency


By outsourcing your IT management, your business can focus on its core offering. The time spent training new IT staff is transferred to the MSP. The MSP also ensures that your business complies with your industry standards and regulations, saving you time and resources again. In addition, outsourcing to an MSP ensures that its technology is properly maintained, reducing downtime and increasing staff uptime.


3. Increased productivity.


You may have employees with IT experience who have been in charge of developing programs or training employees. However, it is easy for them to be distracted by various requests from employees, eg. B. Asking for help with login issues, leading to lost productivity.


Outsourcing to a managed IT services company provides your employees with a special hotline that they can use to solve IT problems. This allows your IT staff to focus on the tasks for which they were hired.


4. Avoid security breaches


Cybercrime is constantly evolving, but you can keep your business as safe as possible by outsourcing your cybersecurity to a specialist who is up to date on the latest safeguards. Your advisor will also help your employees identify and avoid the latest threats, further reducing the risk of a security breach. Although cybersecurity is technically outside of typical MSP offerings, most add cybersecurity offerings to their services.


(Learn the top questions to ask a cybersecurity consultant.)


5. Unlimited experience


Employees of a managed IT service provider likely have experience and knowledge of various industries. Employees also frequently continue their training and receive new certifications while working at an MSP, thereby offering a growing experience. Since your company is outsourced to an MSP, the MSP bears the costs of training and higher education, in contrast to an internal team (where costs would remain internal).


6. Cloud-based services


Fear of a security breach is a major hurdle for most companies considering moving to cloud-based platforms. However, cloud-based access is essential for users who need to access websites and accounts from their mobile devices. Through the cloud, your employees can also work remotely while traveling and access your network. An MSP can not only help you to safely switch to a cloud-based platform, but also manage maintenance in the future.


7. Better management of uptime.


All IT systems need to be updated regularly to increase efficiency and avoid downtime. To maximize uptime during the regular business day, system updates should generally be done in hours. With an in-house team, this can often lead to overtime costs.


By outsourcing information technology, a team of qualified professionals updates remotely when it is least disruptive to their employees. Availability is maintained or even increased without incurring additional overtime costs.


8. Use your company against the competition


By outsourcing your IT, you can focus on other aspects of your business to gain a competitive advantage and increase your value proposition.


Also, cyber security is often a key concern for your company's potential customers. A secure company that you can trust with your sensitive data is certainly more attractive than an unreliable one. Often, MSPs extend their services to cybersecurity and can use the latest cybersecurity technology to defend you and your clients.


9. Reinvest in your company


Budget constraints often limit opportunities that could help expand your business. By outsourcing to an MSP, you can reallocate any excess funds previously spent to an internal IT department to drive your business development.


Are you ready to choose a managed IT company?


Switching to a managed IT service provider can be an extremely cost-effective and efficient solution to problems that occur with typical internal IT teams. With increasing daily knowledge, MSPs provide companies with technology solutions that allow them to focus on achieving their business goals rather than worrying about their IT.


Friday 20 November 2020

6 Reasons To Outsource Your Cybersecurity Operations

 Cybersecurity has become increasingly important to businesses of all sizes, but so has the burden and responsibility to protect access to sensitive data in the wrong hands.


The complexity of cyber crime is due to rapid advances in the technologies we use, from smartphones to laptops to the Internet of Things. Bad actors are now using more sophisticated methods to take advantage of networks. To counter these threats, highly skilled and committed professionals must now respond effectively to incidents before damage occurs.


Businesses can start to improve cybersecurity by improving their IT infrastructure, such as: B. Integrate cloud-based IT services, outsource to a managed DNS provider, and use a professional VPN service. Reading the Surfshark manual gives you a more complete overview of how VPNs can be used as an additional layer of protection. While building and maintaining an IT infrastructure can be accomplished with in-house IT staff, managing all network security at the same time can be daunting and even risky.


What are the benefits of outsourcing to a managed cybersecurity provider? 


1. Dedicated security specialists at hand


Having a dedicated security team is a great advantage for any business, but it is especially beneficial for small businesses that would otherwise abandon themselves if their IT staff lacked security knowledge.


Cybersecurity specialists can help monitor cybercriminal tactics and behavior, identify network vulnerabilities, and most importantly, quickly identify and respond to incidents. Rapid problem resolution can prevent an attack from escalating, reducing the impact on a company's trust and reputation with customers.


2. Less expensive


Cybersecurity experts are in high demand and therefore demand higher wages. Therefore, it is not possible for many medium-sized companies, much less for smaller companies, to use an internal security team


Even existing IT teams can be overwhelmed by cyber security challenges and take the time to easily manage IT networks and create new solutions for the business. Cybersecurity is therefore a full-time function in itself.


Reaction to threats, adequate staff training, and the cost of investigating and patching issues can increase corporate spending over time.


Fortunately, managed cybersecurity companies can provide small and midsize businesses with an experienced team of online security experts, an affordable, tiered solution.


3. Stay updated as technology evolves


This may be one of the best reasons for companies to outsource cybersecurity operations, as technology advances, so too are the skills and knowledge necessary to deal with cyber threats that are new devices for networks. YOU.


Computers, laptops, and smartphones are not only connected to corporate networks, but home or office devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), create more endpoints that need to be examined for vulnerabilities and continuous monitoring . However, with such sophisticated network facilities, it is difficult for human analysts to keep up with such developments. Many cyber security companies are now turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning to scan vulnerabilities and identify threats that are faster and more efficient than manual inspections.


By outsourcing to cybersecurity specialists, you benefit from their ability to continually evolve with technologies that can identify malicious activities and detect vulnerabilities.


4. Make sure your company meets the requirements


Regardless of whether it is the GDPR in Europe or different government regulations in the United States, companies must ensure that they comply with the regulations or that they can be fined in the event of a serious data breach. Therefore, businesses of all sizes must recognize the importance of protecting their data.


No company is considered a low risk target for cyber attacks. Hackers are equally interested in infiltrating systems with malware or ransomware, as small business owners may think they are immune. The consequences of a data breach can range from loss of trust between clients or customers, damage to reputation and legal measures.


Outsourcing a dedicated team can build more confidence in today's IT infrastructure and protect personally identifiable information about customers from prying eyes.


5. 24/7 support


You get a higher level of service with a team that can respond to threats around the clock. In the case of a cyber attack, the longer an incident goes unnoticed and the longer the recovery time, the more damage IT systems can suffer. A dedicated team can ensure less downtime occurs during an incident, reducing the impact on other business operations.


6. Helps train internal IT staff


If you have an in-house IT team but intend to outsource much of the heavier security work to an outside company, it can be a great benefit to your employees when they acquire new knowledge and skills.


Dedicated security specialists can help identify vulnerabilities in networks, operating systems, and web applications that many IT staff members may be unaware of. By working with external managed service providers, you can reduce the risk of human error data breaches by discovering blind spots on your own computer.


When it comes to cyber security, being alone can be a costly mistake for most companies. The level of knowledge and skills required to identify and respond to threats can go far beyond what many companies have in their internal IT team. Outsourcing a dedicated security provider will greatly reduce the burden of protecting corporate data and ensure you have a strong team of professionals who are ready to protect themselves from bad actors.


Thursday 19 November 2020

4 Hints to Enhance your Office Range Network Infrastructure

 Albeit numerous business capacities move rapidly to the cloud, it is as yet not a commonsense alternative for some organizations to move totally. As a matter of first importance, the specialized skill required may not be promptly accessible, particularly in independent ventures. Furthermore, it is likewise valuable to keep information and procedures inside. 

In the event that you can enhance your office arrangement, you will find that your staff can store and process information rapidly and productively, which will bring about better generally speaking business effectiveness and higher benefits. Be that as it may, everything relies upon the best possible working of your Network Optimization and here are a few hints for doing it.


Check your system


Prior to undertaking any significant improvement or even update work, it is basic to see precisely where there are issues in the system. Are your PCs the genuine bottleneck or does your staff need preparing to exploit the offices you gave? On the off chance that this is one of these things, you should find a way to determine these issues, paying little heed to any system improvement. 

In the event that you find that your system is the issue, you should distinguish precisely which parts of it should be fixed. To do this, take care of the issues and test all the various parts in confinement.


Retrain workers on best practices


Having top of the line gear is a certain something and another is that your representatives can utilize it at full limit staying away from botches that could mess up them and different laborers. Try not to accept that your representatives are now well informed. Set aside the effort to deliver an agenda and survey it routinely. 

A typical error is a point at which a few workers possess organized assets, making the association unreasonably delayed for other people. Now and then the representatives being referred to can plan something totally irrelevant for your business. While it might appear that a few people who communicate Netflix over lunch ought not to be an issue, each extra individual can expand the weight impressively. Sending enormous records as opposed to utilizing cloud drives is another basic region where a brisk arrangement can be given.





Segment your system utilizing VLANs 


Not all system demands are made equivalent, both as far as direness and need. The most ideal approach to guarantee that higher need demands get more network is to execute VLANs on the system. While this can be an entangled procedure, the idea is basically that it is conceivable to make separate systems inside the system of the individual office. 

These systems can share assets and framework, yet are intended to permit demands from at least one virtual systems to take need in case of a lack. This is critical to permit the C-Suite to effectively make a pivotal video gathering with the main customer, for instance. It is additionally valuable from a security point of view, as infringement in a VLAN would be simpler to contain than those that enter a solitary system.


Screen and keep up


Regardless of how you streamline your system now, it won't remain splendidly upgraded until the end of time. You should watch out for organizing execution and measurements to ensure things are murmuring as they should. To do this, you may need to utilize particular devices or contract a specialist on the off chance that you don't have a huge inside IT office. 

As per Peter Di Stefano, Senior Director of Product Marketing for AppOptics, "It is basic that tests are performed routinely and that any recognized disappointments and bottlenecks are redressed at the earliest opportunity to maintain a strategic distance from decay. Regardless of whether you need to pay cash, the advantages as far as business proficiency would be more than balance. " 

With everything taken into account, the basics of having a well-oiled system for your business can't be exaggerated. At times, this can have the effect of progress and disappointment, however in any event, when it's not lethal, an inadequately enhanced system will affect your organization's proficiency and benefit. Utilize the tips above to change your Network Optimization and ensure your organization is on track.