As a business owner, you?ve surely thought about what the future holds for your organization. However, one of the things that you need to think about that?s not often considered is the event of a data disaster. How can your business bounce back from such a catastrophic event? One of the first steps is understanding your data backup and disaster recovery process, as well as how you can improve your current setup. Most organizations that don?t take advantage of a cloud-based BDR system still utilize tape backup. This is the act of storing data on magnetic tape–certainly better than nothing, but not without its disadvantages. We?ll also discuss some of the differences between the two as we take a look at what you should (and shouldn?t) ask of your data recovery solution. DO Take Multiple BackupsIt?s a common practice to take multiple backups, but the unfortunate truth of this is that it?s practically impossible to do so with tape. Or, rather, it?s difficult to get more than one backup out of the workday due to how resource-intensive and time-consuming they are. BDR allows you to take backups as often as every fifteen minutes so that your data backups will be as up-to-date as possible. DON?T Store Your Backups in the Same LocationYou could have all of the backups in the world, but if you store them in the same place, you could be left with nothing in the event of a disaster. It?s a best practice to store all of your backups in three locations at all times: in-house (in case your disaster isn?t centralized or too threatening), a secure off-site data center from which your data can be shipped overnight, and in the cloud where it can be accessed in a pinch. DO Aim for a Quick Recovery Time ObjectiveIt?s important that your business not remain inactive for long following a disaster. This results in crippling downtime that can create problems for your business. Most notably, you?ll be paying employees for not being able to work, and you?ll have to purchase new hardware. These expenses at the same time aren?t ideal, so it?s best to get back in business ASAP. DON?T Wait Longer Than NecessaryThe more time you spend recovering your data, the more time that?s being spent not being productive. This type of downtime can cost your business in the long run, and you may not be able to recover from such a blow. BDR can allow for practically instantaneous data recovery. Since your backups are stored in the cloud, they can be deployed to any device–including the BDR component itself–in a moment?s notice. This gives you time to find an adequate replacement for the hardware that has failed. DO Shoot for a Maximum Recovery Point ObjectiveIt?s a best practice to recover as much data as possible, so set your sights high and aim to lose as little as possible. This is called the recovery point objective. Having a set goal of how much data you will need to backup (and ultimately recover) in order to get your business back working productively is crucial to the continuity of your business. DON?T Accept Data LossNo amount of data loss is acceptable. This is a standard that you should strive for. BDR does this through taking backups every fifteen minutes […]
The results these firms found differ slightly, but also share common trends that can tell us a few important things about how many small and medium-sized businesses will prioritize their growth in the next few months. While placing in different orders within each of these studies, both firms found their top three challenges to relate to budgetary and cost restrictions, maintaining the operations of their existing solutions, and securing their workforce against threats (although one of the data sets indicated that this concern was more focused on mobile security measures). If we take the liberty of drawing a few inferences from this apparent focus on these concerns, we can see that SMBs have a pretty universal set of priorities that will require somewhat similar solutions. First, many business owners who have had to review their company finances and prioritize their expenses to reflect their goals will probably be able to confirm that it can be a considerable task. The challenges that an SMB faces are therefore largely focused on getting the most return for their investments while attempting to reduce the total amount of capital spent. These financial challenges, however, can be faced much more easily with the help of a managed service provider. Without an MSP in their corner, companies had a tendency to provide a minimum budget for their IT solutions in the hopes that nothing unexpected would pop up, only to have to sacrifice what little budget they had when some issue did pop up. Alternatively, an MSP offers its services as a consistent, budgetable expense. This allows a company to predict their probable IT spending and plan a budget around a more consistent balance. An MSP’s services can also apply quite easily to the other major concerns that the aforementioned studies identified as considerable. Through their proactive services, managed service providers can more effectively ensure that the solutions that a company has in place remain operational and enhance their productivity. This is accomplished by monitoring their solutions in order to catch looming issues as quickly as possible, often before they have an effect on the company’s systems. The same can be said of the security a company has put in place, part of the MSP’s responsibilities are to ensure that security solutions are maintained to be as effective as possible. Remember, these are just the three top anticipated challenges. Many of the other technology challenges that are anticipated to influence companies during 2017 can also be mitigated through an MSP’s services. To learn a few more ways that an MSP can ensure that your IT is more of a benefit to your business than it is a challenge, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Managed IT services allow your business to function without worrying about the status of your IT. This includes email and any services related to it. We’ll discuss three ways that our managed email solution is the best fit for your organization. Reinforce Security with Spam BlockingSome of the Internet’s most dangerous threats find their way into infrastructures through spam and targeted phishing attacks. While you might know enough not to click on random links or download attachments that you receive via email, your users might not. All it takes is one mistake to bring down a network, so it’s best to keep threats out of your infrastructure in the first place. This is where enterprise-level spam blocking comes into play. With a powerful enough solution, your organization can keep dangerous messages out of your inbox in the first place. Hosting and Management for Hands-Off EmailWhen you’re the one responsible for adding new users and ensuring that your email servers are working as intended, you might find it distracts you from your real objective–running your business. In reality, nothing is more important than ensuring operations are going off without a hitch. With White Mountain IT Services managing your email solution to ensure uptime and optimal mail flow, your organization can focus on what it does best without being distracted by the troubles of technology management. Archive Your Emails for Later ViewingEmail archiving can be valuable for a number of purposes. For one, it helps to have a record of any incoming and outgoing messages sent by your organization for the purposes of preserving important information. Furthermore, it helps to know who sends messages to others within your organization. For example, if you have a former employee who has recently left your organization, the emails could become an opportunity to check what their reasons were. This helps you prevent turnover in the future. Email management is not something to be ignored, but it’s also something best left to professionals. You won’t regret leaving your email hosting and management in the hands of White Mountain IT Services. We assure you that we’ll do everything in our power to ensure your email solution is taken care of. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Misconception 1: The Cloud Isn?t SecureIt?s understandable why business owners are hesitant to store their sensitive data in the cloud. After all, stories of hacks against major corporations appear in the headlines all too often. Although, it?s important to keep in mind that these sensational stories don?t accurately reflect the state of cloud security today. In fact, studies show that in some instances, the cloud is actually more secure than storing one?s data on-premise. This proved to be the case in a study by Schneider Electric where 40 percent of participants were found to be hosting their security applications in the cloud, and 45 percent of participants said they are likely to move their security application to a cloud platform. That said, you should still exercise caution when selecting a cloud platform to host your company?s data. It?s prudent to perform your own analysis of costs, opportunity, and risk, as well as to be wary of exaggerated security claims by cloud providers. One way to go about this is to check with vendors for references. They will be able to tell you what cloud providers are reliable, and which ones tend to overpromise. Misconception 2: The Cloud Costs Too Much In the past, a move to the cloud may have been perceived by budget-minded business owners as too major of an expense to commit to. Today, the cloud computing market has become so varied that you?ll end up with several different estimates when you shop around with different cloud providers. Therefore, it?s worth it to be diligent when shopping for a cloud provider. Then there are the cost benefits you should consider that extend beyond the initial price tag of cloud migration and the subsequent monthly fees. This includes opportunity costs such as time to market, disaster recovery savings, and customer satisfaction. Also, a business owner shouldn?t overlook finally being able to avoid paying for on-premise maintenance, remediation, hardware costs, application upgrades, and the list goes on. Misconception 3: The Cloud Doesn?t Offer Enough FlexibilityIf you?re hosting your data and applications in-house, then you know firsthand what it takes to make a modification like an enhancement to your hardware or software. Often times, such an IT initiative will be expensive and take considerable time to implement. Now imagine needing to make the same performance enhancement to an infrastructure that?s hosted in the cloud. With the cloud, when you need more computing resources from your provider, it?s as easy as making a phone call or submitting a ticket. The time and money saved by simply requesting your cloud provider make the adjustments on their end will free up resources for you and your IT staff that can be better invested elsewhere. Do you still have reservations about the cloud? If so, then you owe it to yourself, and your bottom line, to discuss these roadblocks with the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services. You may be surprised to learn that the cloud can do exactly what you need it to do and more. To have a conversation about the cloud, call us today at (603) 889-0800.
Not only does the email look convincing, it’s also often coming from a contact you already know. Even worse, the link takes you to a Google.com URL with a legitimate-looking login screen. However, once you log in with your Google credentials, whoever is behind the attack will have full access to your account. Once it has them, it sends the same email to your contact list in an attempt to propagate itself. This attack is well-crafted, to the point where the easiest way to catch it before getting snared is to click the small link on the page that Google hosts to check the developer’s information. Since the attack utilizes legitimate Google account functions, however, who would think to check? Whenever you get an unsolicited email with links or attachments, it’s critical to think before you click! Fortunately, Google was able to apparently put the kibosh on this attack within an hour of taking action, but there’s still no indication of who was responsible for this attack or if/when they will strike again. Therefore, it is important to understand how to avoid falling victim to emails like this in general. First, if there’s ever any doubt of an email’s validity, check out some of the indicators that tend to go overlooked. This attack in particular had some oddities–for example, the email was addressed to “hh************@ma********.com.” Secondly, if an email is unexpected, it never hurts to confirm its validity with the sender through an alternate method of communication. To protect your business, you need to be sure that your staff understands that threats like this could be a major problem. In the meantime, be sure to keep your eyes out for more email-based phishing scams and other threats. If you do come across questionable messages, don’t hesitate to report it immediately, so that everyone on your team becomes cognizant of the threat. For more information about phishing scams, social engineering tactics, and other attempts to infiltrate your network, contact the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800 today.
