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As industry experts, White Mountain IT Services feels it is our responsibility to inform business owners of what the different cloud solutions are, and how they can benefit (or limit) their business. We can help you make the best decision for your cloud-computing need. According to Steven Vaughaun-Nichols of CSC, cloud computing is far more than ?a bunch of servers.? Too many business owners don?t understand in full capacity what a cloud solution is, and this prevents them from making an informed decision concerning their data storage needs. Rather than being virtual servers, a cloud takes the form of data stored on a virtual machine in a secure data center. Vaughaun-Nichols emphasizes that clouds deliver a ?user-controlled utility,? not unlike other services that are treated like utilities. Appcore defines cloud orchestration as ?the combination of tools, processes, and architecture that enable virtualized resources to be delivered as a service.? Just like real clouds, cloud computing can take on many different shapes and forms. Here are three of the more widely-used types of cloud solutions available on the market. Public Clouds: Businesses that take advantage of a public cloud are using services that can be accessed from any publicly-accessible network. These services are often offered by a third-party vendor. Smaller businesses and startups tend to flock toward the affordability and accessibility that the public cloud has to offer. Businesses that use the public cloud for their computing needs don?t have to take responsibility for the security of their data, but this also means that public cloud solutions might not be as effective as private or hybrid clouds in the security department. Private Clouds: Private clouds function differently from the public cloud because they are privately hosted in-house. This gives the business control over their data security through security-enhancing devices and applications, which can mean all the difference when choosing a cloud model. Hybrid Clouds: Hybrid clouds take the best features of both the private and public clouds, converging them into one that makes the platform exactly what you want it to be. One example of a hybrid cloud is one which hosts confidential information in-house, while hosting less important data in a public cloud. Now that you are familiar with these different cloud solutions, you have a tough choice to make. What kind of cloud solution does your business need? White Mountain IT Services can help your business make this decision. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out how.

This isn?t to say that cloud computing is without its benefits. There are many reasons to integrate cloud computing into your current IT infrastructure, including increased access to mission-critical information and a more flexible work environment. However, there are some common problems associated with the integration of cloud computing that hinder some businesses? performance. David Linthicum of InfoWorld discusses some commonly seen problems associated with cloud computing. Do You Have the Right Cloud Solution?Your business is vastly different from any other out there, and as such, the same solution that works for your competitors isn?t going to work for you in the same way. Thankfully, there are a ton of cloud solutions available for those of all different needs. The problem is finding the right one to integrate. You don?t want to invest too heavily in a cloud solution, only to find that there?s a better one out there. White Mountain IT Services can help your business decide what the best cloud solution is for your individual needs. We understand that a complete overhaul of your IT infrastructure takes time and resources. Our trusted technicians can equip your team with the best solutions that allow for maximum accessibility and flexibility when it?s needed most. Do You Understand Cloud Security and Compliance?When it comes to the cloud, business owners tend to fall into two categories; they either assume that the cloud is insecure, and therefore, shouldn?t be used, or they assume that their cloud is impregnable. Both are dangerous gambits, especially when the cloud has the power to make or break your business model. If you don?t take measures to protect your business, especially online, you?ll be stuck in a rough spot when the worst happens and you get hacked. Therefore, your business needs to exercise caution when integrating a cloud solution. White Mountain IT Services can help you secure your cloud-based data. We understand what to look for when it comes to network vulnerability and potential threats, and we?re willing to share our knowledge with you. Does Your Staff Understand Cloud Computing?One of the most imperative parts of applying cloud computing to your business is whether or not your team, the ones who will be using this technology, understand how to use it. If they don?t understand how to use your new cloud computing infrastructure, they won?t be able to perform at maximum capacity. The time wasted trying to figure out how to operate the platform should instead be spent being productive. White Mountain IT Services can help your team accomplish the most by providing any necessary advice and training concerning your new cloud solution. Essentially, White Mountain IT Services can assist your business with its cloud computing adventure from start to finish. Just give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Generally speaking, allowing your employees to use their own mobile devices does have its merits. In terms of morale, they?ll be happy that they can use their familiar devices rather than the provided workstation. Furthermore, having access to your company?s data while in the comfort of their own home might encourage them to work after-hours and accomplish more. However, this doesn?t come without its risks, as any business owner must know. As shown by a recent study from Flexera and IDC, many businesses are on the fence about how to keep their organizations secure from potentially malicious applications: 71 percent of enterprises will have a BYOD policy put into place within the next two years. Therefore, it?s safe to say that it?s a growing trend that will quickly overtake your industry. 69 percent of enterprises will put security measures into place to block risky application behavior within the next two years. 71 percent of enterprises claim that security is at the top of their priority list for BYOD. Despite this, having intentions and integrating a proper plan to assess the risks associated with BYOD are two entirely different things. Also revealed during the study was that many businesses aren?t exactly handling the risk assessment of BYOD particularly well: 55 percent of enterprises don?t have a set-in-stone list of applications that they consider risky for their business. 61 percent of enterprises don?t know what type of application behaviors they should deem risky. 16 percent of enterprises report that their current BYOD policies result in a lower level of application risk. Clearly, there seems to be a deficit in terms of actual practical knowledge of how to protect your business from rogue employee devices. All it takes to bring down a network is one infected device, so the responsibility for protecting your business?s network and data infrastructure falls on your shoulders. One of the best methods of handling BYOD is with a mobile device management solution from White Mountain IT Services. Some of the features include a comprehensive mobile device security solution, as well as the whitelisting and blacklisting of specific apps that might spell trouble for your business. We can limit which apps have access to sensitive corporate data, so your company?s private data can stay that way. For more information about BYOD and how to protect your company?s mobile devices, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

One major benefit of outsourcing your IT is that new people are overseeing your company?s technology. With the addition of new professionals comes new perspectives and new skillsets. These new skillsets allow your business to do more than it previously could, and perhaps even catch and remedy inefficient ways of doing things. This is a classic example of why it?s good to have more eyes on a project; only, these aren?t the random eyes of strangers looking at your technology. Instead, you?re getting trained IT professionals who possess unique skills that you may not have access to through your current internal staff. As a bonus, these skills that are newly afforded to your company will serve as a valuable asset that your business will gain automatically, just by signing up for White Mountain IT Services?s managed IT services. Compare outsourcing IT to the traditional way of gaining new and professional skills for your business, which involves the hiring of a qualified worker with education (more experience will cost you more salary dollars), and then training the new worker in the specific needs of your business (another major expense). When you outsource your IT with White Mountain IT Services, you automatically gain the skills and training of our crack team of IT technicians, without having to deal with the hassle of hiring, training, and managing in-house staff. In fact, as soon as a new business signs on with White Mountain IT Services?s managed IT service, we take the time to assess the needs of your company so that we can serve your IT needs to the best of our ability. Essentially, outsourcing IT is like the reverse approach to what it typically takes to gain new skills for your business; this comes from us taking the time to interview and listen to you. Of course, during this assessment process, you?re welcome to ask us questions too regarding the specific skills that we bring to the table. This back and forth is characteristic of something deeper than what you will get with a break-fix IT service: A relationship. When working with an outsourced IT company, your business will automatically gain the skills and resources needed to find success with your technology, which will translate to finding success in every area of your business. To have your organization benefit from White Mountain IT Services?s technical expertise, outsource your IT today by calling us at (603) 889-0800.

What?s Your Current Backup Solution?Even if you?ve never really considered your backup solution, you probably have some sort of measure taken to protect your data. One particular method is tape, which has been a commonly-used backup storage medium for quite some time. This consists of backups being taken manually, usually once a day. These backups can take a long time and are usually done after hours. Other businesses might keep their files backed up using some sort of external storage device, like USB drives or external hard disk drives. These might be useful for personal use, but they certainly aren?t compliant with data backup best practices for business. The main question to ask here is whether or not your backup solution is up to the standards that you want for your business. Tape backup, while certainly better than no backup at all, can have its limitations. If the backups are stored on-site, a disaster that destroys your office could lead to permanent data loss. Also, a thief or rogue employee could easily make off with your tape storage should they desire to. What Can You Do?So, what can you do to resolve this problem? You can start by considering a new backup solution; one which backs up to the cloud multiple times a day with minimal downtime. This same backup solution should also store backups in a secure off-site location that?s easily accessible when the data recovery process begins. It might sound like a lot to ask for, but there?s a solution out there that handles all of this, plus some. White Mountain IT Services?s Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution was created to address all of these common issues with tape backup solutions. With our BDR, your business can take advantage of multiple backups throughout the day; since only the data that?s been changed since the previous backup is being backed up, the time spent recovering this data is especially lessened. This allows for a more comprehensive backup compared to tape, which is more often than not from the previous day. Your data is backed up both off-site and in the cloud, meaning that you can use it to recover quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, our BDR device is capable of replacing your server in a pinch. This is exceptionally useful if a disaster, like a hacking attack or hardware failure, were to strike. With the BDR acting as your server, you can minimize downtime and get back in the game while considering how to replace or repair your hardware. For more information, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.