Tag Archives: Network Management

Technology Budget

What’s in Your Technology Budget Next Year?

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Many companies start their budget this time of year. As you are thinking about strategic investments, consider how you can leverage technology to improve customer service, make your employees more productive, and possibly save money. Here are a few considerations for next year’s technology budget.

Network Upgrade

Your network is the backbone of your technology infrastructure. Growing demand for high bandwidth activities including Communications and Collaboration, Call Center and Cloud Backup all require a bullet-proof network. What’s more, a number of advancements in Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) could save you a bundle. Consider having a network assessment or Telecom Expense Audit to see if you can save on your communications and networking costs next year.

Fixed Priced IT

If you haven’t deployed Managed Services to augment your technology infrastructure, you might consider how you could benefit from this model. By proactively monitoring and managing your infrastructure, your systems will work better and your cost of systems updates and support will be fixed.

Cloud Computing

The economic model of Cloud Computing allows companies to avoid unnecessary capital expense (CapEx) and use operating expense to subscribe to a range of Cloud Services.  Software as a Service (SaaS) provides the latest version of your popular productivity applications, and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offers a consumption model for scalable computing power.

Data Protection

Cyber threat, privacy data breach, human error and natural disasters can put your business at risk. Having a solid data protection plan helps businesses avoid the unnecessary downtime, fines, legal fees, and loss of reputation associated with data loss.

There are many ways to invest in the future of your business. Technology infrastructure is one of them. Consult your technology advisor now to get input on your planning for next year.

How is Your Network Health?

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Proactive Network MonitoringYour network is the backbone of your IT Infrastructure. Your network health is also an integral part of your defense against Cyber threat. Cloud Computing, Communications and Collaboration, Data Protection, and Digital Transformation put more reliance on your network.  This begs the question, how is your network health? Ask yourself these three questions to find out the answer…

How Well Does Your Network Perform?

You rely on your network to communicate with your employees, customers, prospects, and suppliers. What’s more, your network links your company to public and private cloud services and applications that are critical to your business operations. Performance bottlenecks from social media, streaming applications, faulty hardware, and lost connections can impact your employees’ productivity. Offsite backup and other IT functions also rely on your network. Ensuring network health keeps systems running smoothly and available when you need them.

How Secure is Your Network?

Network security is an imperative for businesses of all sizes. Your business may face additional compliance requirements–for example, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Data protections standards are rapidly evolving, which could increase your responsibility and exposure to fines and penalties. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Union’s data protection rules, could apply to your business regardless of your location.

Keeping your network in compliance through monitoring, endpoint protection, content filtering, and other network security detection and protection technologies is a good start. Train your employees on the implications of phishing emails and how to identify one. Teach them to avoid malicious links in unsolicited scam emails. Underscore the importance of a strong password and steps to take to keep data private.

How Efficient and Flexible is Your Network?

Technology advances at an exponential rate, ensuring access to enhanced technologies at an affordable price. Network solutions continue to evolve, providing better value and performance for your business. Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) allows companies to mix and match networking solutions from multiple carriers in an efficient and effective manner. If properly optimized, SD-WAN provides you the best performance at the most competitive price.  What’s more, SD-WAN provides capability for failover for your most important voice and data systems.

Your Network Health is critical to your business success. Proactive network management keeps things operating smoothly without failure. If you are concerned about your network health, contact your technology solution provider and ask about a network health check today.

Can A Business Continuity Plan Save Your Reputation?

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Reputation Management is a hot topic in the boardroom these days. Having a solid business continuity plan could make or break your company’s ability to survive a data breach or other systems failure that could tarnish your hard-earned reputation. Company news about data loss, systems downtime and other unplanned interruptions occur with regularity. According to technology research firm Gartner, a business that has a catastrophic data event has a two-year survival rate of just 6%. Surprisingly, your company can avoid these scenarios by having a solid BC/DR Plan. It is no surprise that recent research by MarketsandMarkets forecasts the spend on DR as a Service (DRaaS) to grow from $1.68 Billion in 2017 in revenue to $11.11 Billion by 2020. Read on to find out how a Business Continuity Plan could save your business.

Understand Your Business Continuity Risk and Exposure

A great place to start with Business Continuity planning is a review of your company policies and procedures. Your business continuity policies should — in addition to identifying the technical standards for managing your company’s applications, data, and related infrastructure — should identify acceptable risk, what your employees will do in a disaster recovery scenario, and identify any compliance requirements. It is important to understand what information is most important and to consider the risks of suffering a data loss. What would be the impact to your revenue, productivity and reputation? If you could not access your information, or it was subject to data breach, how may that impact your customers’ trust and your business’s reputation?

An Ounce of Planning is Worth a Pound of Cure

Ensure you have a solid data protection plan. Ask yourself; how often is your data backed up, how fast could you recover if needed, who are the stakeholders and how would you communicate with them if you suffered a data loss? Another consideration is your Recovery Time Objective (RTO). Your RTO is how long it will take to restore your data. The size of your data and backup methodologies can impact how long recovery may take. Your network may also be a factor in how quickly you can get up and running. Network bottlenecks can turn a routine restore into a never-ending project. Make sure your network is robust enough to meet your Recovery Time Objectives. Also, remember to train your employees on how to avoid malware and phishing schemes. Last but not least, test your backups regularly to ensure data integrity.


Proactive Communications and Rapid Recovery are Critical

If you find yourself in a situation where your data has been compromised, most experts agree you should respond quickly and proactively. As of last count, the United States had 48 state data breach notification laws to comply with. Many countries around the world have various data protection breach notification laws as well. The EU is in the process of implementing The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which establishes data protection guidelines for its citizens’ information.

Having a Business Continuity plan could save your business. Being able to rapidly respond in a disaster recovery scenario is a critical element of survival. Not only will it help you get back up and running quickly, you will avoid unnecessary fines and protect your company’s reputation. If you feel your business would benefit from a risk assessment, contact your technology advisor today.

The Importance of Maintaining Network Compliance

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Network SecurityLast month’s blog provided information about ways to “Avoid Being Held Hostage by Ransomware.” Eight days later, on May 12, 2017, there was a global outbreak of the Wanna Cry Virus. With Cyber Threats on the rise, the importance of maintaining network compliance is top of mind with business owners and IT professionals alike. Industry compliance regulations, including PCI, HIPAA, and SOX, drive best practices in Network Compliance. However, most businesses today rely heavily on their systems to access Cloud Services, Voice, and Data Networks for mission-critical applications that run their business. What can you do to maintain network compliance?

Automate Your Network Administration

Keeping operating systems and network configurations up to date is a top priority for network compliance. Each device that connects to your network needs to have up-to-date operating system security patches, anti-virus definitions, and malware threat prevention in order avoid un- intended intrusion of your network. There are abundant tools and managed services to help your business stay up to date without adding to your internal labor cost.

Proactively Monitor Your Network

Monitor your network to identify any systems that are out of compliance. Proactive monitoring can also identify unauthorized devices connected to your network. You can monitor your network traffic to identify unusual use of network bandwidth. Aside from slowing down your systems, excessive bandwidth may be the result of a malware-infected device that is exploiting your network.

Documenting Your Network Security Controls

Achieving compliance with documented security procedures including password policy, systems maintenance, backup procedures, and compliance measures, is critical to following most industry compliance regulations. It is a  best practice to update these procedures annually. Reviewing your Network Compliance policies gives your business an opportunity to stay up to date and serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining network compliance.

Contact your Technology Advisor if you have questions about maintaining network compliance or other concerns regarding ransomware and other related Cyber Threats.

What are Managed Services and Why Should I Care?

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A managed services provider (MSP) takes on the responsibility for a company’s technology and infrastructure by proactively providing a defined set of IT services for a fixed monthly fee. This approach is preferred by businesses over the traditional Break/Fix services delivered on an hourly rate when needed. By emphasizing high availability and reliability, Managed Services align the MSP’s business model with a company’s business objectives. In contrast, the break/fix model addresses problems when they occur. According to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global managed‐services market will grow to $193B by 2019, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.5%.

Information Technology as a Service

According to the fifth annual Trends in Managed Service published by CompTIA, “The central tenet to the MSP model is a provider-customer relationship based on a contract backed by a service level agreement.” This approach provides IT services similar to other utility models.  Many Managed Service Providers (MSPs) rely on remote monitoring and management technologies to deliver a range of core IT services in a scalable and proactive manner. This approach streamlines the process for proactively identifying and resolving issues with IT infrastructure.  

What to Expect from an MSP

CompTIA research indicates it is common for a managed service provider to include desktop and network management, applications management, and remote help desk in their service level agreements (SLA). Security (including firewall management), server management, storage, network monitoring, Business Continuity/DR, Backup as a service (Cloud Backup), Email, and Virtual desktop are often available as managed services.

Benefits of Managed Services

The managed service approach is favored by business for a variety of reasons. Managed services are typically priced at a fixed cost to the business. This predictability in IT service, versus unexpected costs related to break/fix, give business owners more control of the cost of operations. In many cases, MSPs are able to use remote monitoring and remediation to identify and resolve problems before they impact the business. Many problems can be solved without an onsite visit, dramatically reducing the resolution time. This combination of benefits provides business owners peace of mind.

Today’s businesses rely heavily on their IT infrastructure for communications, collaboration, access to critical applications, and data on premise and in the Cloud. Companies with compliance requirements have greater needs to secure their information with reliable IT infrastructure. Managed Services is a way to increase the availability and reliability of IT systems in a cost-effective manner. If you are considering Managed Services, contact your Technology advisor to see how you will benefit from proactive IT and Network Support.

Rethinking Wide Area Networking

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SD WANThere is a shift in how businesses use technology. New applications, including Voice over IP VoIP phone systems, Cloud Based Email, File Sync & Sharing all require solid network infrastructure. According to a recent report from the Enterprise Strategy Group, Demonstrating SD-WAN Business Value: Rethinking WAN for a Modern Age, distributed organizations with multiple Remote Office/Branch Office (ROBO) locations may need to reduce unnecessary deployment and management of network infrastructure. Elements of infrastructure, such as head-end devices or appliances at branches, can be replaced with simple appliances supported by Cloud-based services. Here is a highlight of ESG’s findings:

Simplify your Wide Area Network

Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology can act as an enabler for Hybrid WAN technology by combining multiple transports, such as MPLS networks and business-class broadband networking. Managing your network can be streamlined by centralizing policy management, monitoring, and systems for troubleshooting. What’s more, reducing dependency on specific network suppliers and transport mechanisms results in the flexibility to find lower-cost alternates without compromising service levels.

Minimize Operational Expense

By using a zero-touch deployment model, companies can reduce truck rolls by remotely managing installation, configuration updates, and troubleshooting. Like Software as a Service (SaaS) works for application deployment, SD-WAN can remove the complexity of managing a Wide Area Network (WAN) for Remote Office/Branch Office (ROBO) environments.

Reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of Your Wide Area Network

Implementing SD-WAN technology is expected to save costs related to bandwidth by providing more flexible networking options. In addition, by reducing the operating expense of service delivery related to installation, configuration, operations, and management additional costs will be eliminated from moving services to the Cloud. Wide Area Networking (WAN) as a Service eases deployments by minimizing truck rolls.

If you are looking to save by upgrading your WAN infrastructure by using SD-WAN technologies, contact your network solutions advisors for an independent assessment of your needs.

Can You Afford a Data Loss?

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Business ContinuityAccording to the technology industry research firm Gartner Group, ninety percent of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years. Countless studies indicate the longer the downtime, the greater the risk. More and more businesses are turning to Cloud Backup and collation to ensure their critical data is protected. But how long will it take to restore that data when a disaster strikes? Here are some points to consider to minimize the risk of downtime.

Identify Critical Data

If you are an online business or rely on retail systems to keep your registers ringing, you could easily calculate the hourly loss due to system downtime. Similarly, manufacturers, distributors, healthcare organizations, and financial services firms all rely on mission-critical systems to keep employees productive and customers happy. How long could your business survive without email? More than likely, not very long. While more difficult to quantify, communications and collaborations are mainstays to employee productivity and interactivity. In addition to direct financial impact, consider the public relations consequence related to data loss.

Other files and productivity applications are also important to ongoing operations. However, there is a cost to rapid recovery. Understanding the tradeoffs between costs and how much time it takes to recover will help you balance the risks with the financial constraints.

Bullet Proof Your Network

Your network is a critical component for data backup and recovery. Some systems may have a backup window of several hours. A high-performance network can reduce the time it takes for backup and recovery. What’s more, an optimized network has less chance of downtime and connection loss. A flaky connection may reduce the integrity of your backup and impede progress during data recovery.

By monitoring your network you can identify performance bottlenecks, bandwidth constraints, and poorly performing hardware. Keeping your network up to date also reduces unforeseen risks from intrusion that can also impact your recovery time.

Test Your Backups Periodically

Data loss can occur for a variety of reasons. Unprotected systems may be stolen or become corrupted from Malware. Natural disasters including fire, earthquake, tornados, cyclones, and hurricanes may make data unavailable. Your data may fall victim to human error or hardware failure. Regardless of the reason, recovering from a data loss isn’t something any business wants to face.

Backup is really about recovery. Testing your backup provides a number of benefits. Missing files or systems components could cause delays during the recovery process. Data corruption may occur, leaving your backup useless. Network failure during backup may also add to the time it takes for your business to fully recover. By periodically testing your backup you can identify these issues before they occur and avoid common pitfalls associated with disaster recovery scenarios.

If you feel you cannot afford a data loss, research indicates you are not alone. Take the time to consult your technology advisor to minimize business risks from losing your critical data.

Technology Trends for 2017

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Technology Outlook 2017It’s that time of year when many businesses are setting goals and budgets for next year. This is a good time to reflect on the impact technology can have on your business. While Cloud Computing adoption remains strong, companies will increase migration from Public to Private Cloud and even migrate back “on premise.” Cloud adoption, digital transformation and streaming media will increase the demand for bulletproof networking. New technologies including SD-WAN will hit mainstream in 2017 to improve network performance in support of business requirements. Cyber threats will continue to keep business owners up at night with increased intrusions from ransomware and unplanned downtime from DDoS attacks. Here are a few takeaways to consider for your 2017 plan.

More Choices for Cloud Computing

In a recent study by the Computing Technology Industry Association’s (CompTIA), 43% of those using Public Cloud are expected to migrate to another Public Cloud Provider. For example, companies using Hosted Exchange may find themselves adopting Office 365 or Google for Work to keep current on the latest version of these communications and collaborations applications. The CompTIA “Trends in Cloud Computing” research also revealed 21% of Cloud usage will move from Public Cloud to Private Clouds. This scenario is driven by the need for compliance with industry regulations, including HIPAA regulations for health care and SOX compliance for Financial Services, among other business requirements.

Digital Transformation Will Emerge as Competitive Advantage for Business of All Sizes

Businesses will adopt new strategies for reaching new customers and servicing existing customers in 2017. These new strategies will fuel the need for digital transformation. Reaching new buyers through digital channels, along with automating customer service, order or fulfillment, and linking supply chains, will drive this digital transformation in support of new business strategies. Cloud Contact Center, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Marketing Automation, eCommerce, and other customer-facing technologies will emerge as transformation enablers. Other technologies helping with administrative functions (including workforce recruitment and development) will help companies maintain competitive advantage and manage their growth.

Resolve to Bulletproof Your Network in 2017

In 2017 Business Networks will become a strategic advantage. Access to Cloud infrastructure, connecting remote offices, reliance on VoIP, Cloud Call Center and video streaming will all drive demand for high-performance networking. Technologies allowing wide area networking optimization, known as Software Defined Networks or SD-WAN, will become mainstream technology in 2017. Through simplified management and reliance on business class Internet, network performance is expected to increase while related costs are expected to decrease.

Security will Continue to Keep Business Owners Up at Night

The Gartner Group predicts demand for Security related to the Internet of Things (IoT) will be driven by 11 billion connected devices. Similar to adoption of mobile devices in the workplace, connecting “things” will create the need for additional security and proactive management. Additionally, Cyber Threats from malware and phishing schemes will continue, as will additional threats and downtime from Ransomware and DDoS attacks in 2017. Keeping your network running will be more complex and more important for the foreseeable future.

As you adjust your strategy to accommodate the rapidly changing business environment, consider how technology can influence your outcome in 2017. If you feel you need help with your 2017 technology plan, contact your technology advisor today.

Tips for Reducing Telecom Expense

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Telecom ExpenseBusinesses today rely on resilient network connectivity to ensure employee communications, collaboration, and productivity. Applications including Voice over IP (VoIP), Hosted Contact Center, Cloud Backup, and more, need a bulletproof telecom network. What’s more, for companies with Remote Offices/Branch Offices ROBO), telecom expense can quickly add up.

Here are some tips to keep your telecom expense in check:

Audit Your Telecom Expense

By periodically performing a telecom expense audit, you can compare your telecom bills to the contracts for your voice and data network solution. Billing errors can add up, and the savings from catching these errors can be significant. Having an independent expert review your telecom expense can save you a lot of money.

Revisit Your Carrier Network at Renewal Time

When your telecom network contracts are up for renewal, you may be able to get better service for less. You may also find cost-effective alternatives when you add a new Remote Office/Branch Office (ROBO).The market for carrier services is competitive, with new technologies introduced all the time.

Consider Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN)

SD-WAN is an emerging wide area network approach allowing you to use multiple business- class Internet providers to get the same reliability as MPLS or other networking alternatives. By using multiple carriers to connect your Remote Offices/Branch Offices with each other, the savings can quickly add up.

Proactively Monitor Your Network

By proactively monitoring your network you can avoid downtime and ensure better network performance. Many of these issues can be rapidly resolved using remote management. This proactive managed service approach will reduce network failure while saving IT expense. In many cases you can subscribe to a flat fee managed service providing predictable costs and savings.

If you feel you are paying too much for network services, contact your technology advisor today. An independent advocate can evaluate your needs and find ways for your to save.

Achieving Network Peace of Mind

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Network Peace of MindBy proactively monitoring and managing your Network infrastructure, you can avoid the hassles of downtime due to bottlenecks, security intrusions and more. By having the latest data at your fingertips, you can make the best decisions based on the current status of all the devices connected to your network. Proactively managed devices including desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, routers, switches and firewalls all contribute to the overall health of your network. By monitoring your network for performance and auditing your devices for compliance, you can keep things running smoothly.

Moving to Managed Services

Managed services offers a fixed-price model to manage your network and IT infrastructure. A managed service provider will proactively audit the assets on your network, monitor performance, and remediate or escalate issues as part of a fixed-price service agreement.  Because the cost of service delivery is fixed versus billable hours, the managed service provider has incentives to keep things running with minimal interruption. A managed service agreement often includes onsite and remote support options in addition to remote monitoring and management. As a result, you have a trusted source to call when problems arise.

Is Your Network Worry Free?

By having a consolidated asset inventory of your entire network, your managed service provider can isolate issues that cause your network performance to degrade. This helps avoid jitter, packet loss, and data delay for networking infrastructure. Desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets can be checked to ensure they are in compliance and free of malware, viruses and other sources of network intrusion.

 

Benefits of Managed Services

 

The managed service model provides a predictable cost to the business owner for service delivery. Surprises from hourly overruns and network downtime are avoided, because your infrastructure is proactively monitored and managed. With less downtime interruption and improved network performance, your employees are more productive. What’s more, productive employees feel better about coming to work each day.

If you want to take the worry out of your network performance contact your service provider to find out how you can achieve network peace of mind.