A business continuity plan is a strategy that covers every possible outcome of a situation that threatens the continuation of your business. It?s a plan which allows your business to keep operations moving even when it seems the world is against you. Take, for example, a lightning strike. It could fry the power infrastructure in your building. Similarly, the uncontrollable torrents of a flood could leave your business underwater. Thus, the importance of preparing for such occurrences. You must enact a business continuity plan before any of these incidents have a chance to harm your organization. You certainly can?t go without one, as the risk is simply unthinkable. This type of preventative thinking is exactly what you need to keep your business afloat. First, you need to decide what exactly needs to be addressed by your business continuity plan. Build out a list of where you stand to lose the most in case a disaster hits home. In other words, think about the absolute worst-case scenario. What?s the maximum cost of your organization losing all business functionality? How do these expenses affect your budget? How much time would it take to recover from such a catastrophe? This is called the Business Impact Analysis, and it?s used to help you prioritize the biggest problems in the event of a disaster. Your business continuity plan should include the following: Establish the plan?s reach. Identify your key business areas. Establish which business functions are critical. Outline which business areas and functions are interdependent. Establish a limit to how much downtime each function can experience. Plan to continue operations. Once your plan has been created and well-documented, and your responsibilities have been distributed to your team, you need to train your staff and test the process thoroughly to ensure that it works as intended. You could have the best process in the world and it wouldn?t be complete without a comprehensive data backup plan. The ideal backup solution is one which allows your data to survive even an in-house disaster like a hardware failure, which can be done by storing it in the cloud or an off-site data center. These backups should be continually updated throughout the day to minimize data lost in the event of a disaster. Just make sure that you keep the backup in a separate location from the rest of your infrastructure, as you could lose both the original and the backup if they are in the same location. We can?t know when you?ll experience a data loss disaster, but that?s why managed IT services that take preventative measures exist. To learn more about how we can help your business survive in the face of inclement weather or other dangerous scenarios, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Each worker within an organization is delegated some sort of responsibility based on their role. Managers are responsible for managing, while human resources keep all workers accountable for their responsibilities. Yet, there are multiple responsibilities designated to all employees who use technology for their everyday duties. Here are ten of the most important responsibilities of all employees utilizing business technology. Take Advantage of the NetworkSaving to the network is much more beneficial than saving locally on your PC. This is simply due to the fact that the network is likely better equipped with the necessary redundancy to handle data loss disasters. It is also better for sharing information with others in your organization. If you store data on the network, you?ll be more likely to avoid a data loss incident, as it will be secured even if your workstation itself breaks down. Be Mindful of Your EmailIf you receive a lot of email messages throughout the day, it?s tempting to just quickly go through them without actually absorbing what they contain. Worse yet, it?s sometimes difficult to judge how secure a message is, as it could be nothing but a vessel for malware or viruses. You should always be aware of who is sending you messages and why, so be sure to keep an eye out for unfamiliar senders or unexpected attachments. Keep Data In-House and Backed UpYou want to ensure that your data is being kept on your network and not spread out across multiple devices, like mobile devices or portable media storage. Without the necessary protections and security protocol, your data could be at unnecessary risk–especially on unsecured devices that are outside your network. Use the CloudIf there is a reason to access data while outside the security of your network, you should be using a proper cloud solution that does all it can to protect your data. It?s also important to consider the use of a virtual private network so as to minimize the risk of your data being compromised while in transit. Implement Strong PasswordsSecure passwords are trickier to implement than you might think, and that?s because secure passwords are difficult to remember. With letters, numbers, and symbols, you might be hard-pressed to figure out what you made your password in the first place. Thankfully, password managers make this easier to do, as you?ll only need to remember one major passphrase compared to remembering multiple complex passwords. Don?t Share PasswordsYou shouldn?t be sharing your passwords with anyone in your organization. You know what they say; the more users of a password or account, the more likely it is to become compromised. You never know just how careful someone will be with credentials that aren?t their own. Think of your passwords like you would your Social Security number or credit card number. You wouldn?t share those with someone, would you? Lock Down Your WorkstationIf you have to step away from your computer for any reason, be sure to lock it, even if you?re in the office. You never know if someone will feel feisty enough to steal data from your computer, be it a stranger or an employee on his or her way out. Plus, you never want to go through your settings undoing the pranks of your coworkers. Report Any and All IssuesYou can take all […]

Cooperation Through CollaborationMicrosoft Office 365 offers its users the ability to work together on a single document, reviewing and editing in real-time. However, you will first need to enable others to access the document. To do so is fairly easy. First, start a new document in Word 2016, or in Word Online. Select Share, and then Save to cloud. This will present the option to save the document to either the OneDrive or SharePoint Online location. Press Save once you have made your selection. To share your document, open the Share pane. You have a few options for how to handle this part–you can either use the Invite people box to bring additional resources into the fold, or you can Get a sharing link to send an invite via email or instant message. Once these invitations have been accepted, everyone with access to the Word document can make changes–and if they?ve agreed to share those changes automatically, everyone will be able to see them as they are made. Communication Helps, TooCommunication and collaboration go hand-in-hand, so it only makes sense that Microsoft has also incorporated plenty of features that focus on keeping the channels of communication clear. Thanks to its integration with Skype for Business, Word offers the ability to instant message anyone working in a given document, as well as to send a group chat to everyone involved. Finally, so that everyone can be on the same page where progress in concerned, Word keeps a record of any changes made to the assorted versions of the documents. This makes it easier for everyone involved to see how the document is taking shape, and to work cohesively toward a unified end goal. Many of these features are also available in the other programs included in Microsoft Office 365, including Publisher, Excel, and PowerPoint. How do you most often use the features of Office 365? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you subscribe to the White Mountain IT Services blog.

Over the past several months, while watching the news or reading about business and technology, you?ve probably encountered a few words, such as ?ransomware? ?exploit weakness?, and ?security patch?. These terms are used often, and you may be confused as to what they really mean, and how they relate to you and the security of your business? data. In recent months, ransomware attacks like WannaCry and other malware have made headlines, with cyber criminals exploiting weaknesses in networks, application deployments, and operating systems. What is very hard for some people to understand is that often the weaknesses being exploited are known by software developers, who have released security updates known as ?patches.? For many small business owners and personal PC users, a better understanding of types of patches, how they work, when they?re released, and how to access them might be all that stands between a hacker and your network. Here are five terms that are associated with the continuous software updates that aim to protect users from data loss or worse. Patch Tuesday – For those who allow their computer to update and install patches automatically, it might have never really occurred to them that there was a schedule as to when Microsoft released patches. Similar to how new movies are released or video games are launched on specific days of the week, Microsoft releases patches on the second (and sometimes fourth) Tuesday of each month. With newer operating systems and software versions, there might come a time where Patch Tuesday becomes obsolete in favor of a real-time data exchange where software and applications are constantly updated as needed. Security Patching – This is what most people think of when they think of a patch for a piece of software or an application. It?s a series of data and files that fix or mitigate the threat of a known issue or vulnerability. These are generally what are provided on official patch days, like Patch Tuesday. That is, of course, unless the patch is a zero-day or immediate release, an action usually reserved for major security risks or weaknesses found after they have been exploited. Hotfix – Sometimes referred to as a ?Quick-fix Update? ?Quick-fix Engineering Update? or ?General Distribution Release?, a hotfix is a small patch that fixes a single bug or vulnerability that is significant enough that it should not wait until the next scheduled patch release. Although, Microsoft itself no longer uses the term ?hotfix? in an official capacity, the term is still widely used by majority of the industry. Zero Day Vulnerability – This is a specific type of weakness that is not discovered or disclosed until the hackers are already exploiting it. This is called ?zero day? because software developers and advocates have no time – or zero days – to create a patch or develop a work around, leaving both users and developers scrambling to keep data safe. Whitelisting – As related to malware and ransomware, whitelisting is the process in which a patch or application is declared safe, allowed access to the network, or otherwise approved for a certain network or program. The term ?whitelist? comes from the opposite of ?blacklist?. Made popular during the Cold War, blacklist refers to a list of people or items that are banned, rejected, or labeled in […]

Here are three ways that managed IT services can help your business improve operations. Managed IT Lowers CostsLet?s say that you don?t have a dedicated IT department that resolves issues as they happen, as it is rather expensive. You generally only contact tech support when you have already experienced a problem, reacting to an issue rather than preventing it altogether. This is what managed IT services attempt to resolve. By taking proactive measures that keep issues from happening in the first place, you spend less on hardware replacement, service fees, and downtime, making it practically imperative if you want to cut unnecessary costs. It?s like having a full in-house IT department without paying all of their salaries. Managed IT is Hands OffOne of the biggest perks of managed IT is that the issues are often resolved without you even knowing they existed in the first place. Through the power of remote monitoring and management, your managed IT provider can keep an eye on your systems without even being on-site, which allows them to identify and resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Rest assured that you will be notified of major issues that need your attention and awareness, but know that most problems can be resolved without an on-site visit. Managed IT is FlexibleThere are so many services offered by managed IT providers that you can practically pick and choose the perfect service level agreement that suits your needs. Whether you need something as simple as implementing a new email solution or the management of an entire infrastructure, managed IT services has a solution that can make your organization?s operations run just the way you want them to–if not better! Your business shouldn?t be wasting time managing its own IT infrastructure–not when you have much more important things to be doing. After all, you?re a business owner, and you need to be running your business, not focused on resolving technology problems. Still, this doesn?t diminish the importance of proper IT maintenance. Managed IT services from White Mountain IT Services is one of the many opportunities your organization has to improve your return on investment for your technology. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.