Compliance can actually be a competitive advantage.

Yes, compliance can be a pain in the butt.

Yes, the current administration has been eliminating a lot of regulations so for some industries, compliance has become somewhat easier.

But, no, not all compliance regulations are not going away, and, no, not all regulations are evil. A world without any regulations would be a difficult place to do business and consumers and companies alike would be at the mercy of bad players with no recourse. Regulations are necessary, although we are not going to get into the debate of how many are good and how many are bad.

The question for you, as the owner or an executive in a small to mid-sized business, is how to not only follow the rules, but use the fact that you are in compliance as a competitive advantage. Look, you have to follow the rules anyway, so use them to your advantage.

Not long ago, we published a full White Paper: “Compliance as a Competitive Advantage”. In it, we looked at a number of ideas. We started with the riskiness of non-compliance and the negative press that can follow. We discussed the large fines that can be incurred, including a $50,000 fine to a hospice that had a laptop with unsecured patient records stolen.

We also talked about the Public Relations nightmare that can occur. No, if you are running a small to mid-sized business here in Atlanta, your compliance shortcomings aren’t going to make the CBS Evening News, but you can definitely expect them to make all the local affiliates at 4 PM, 5 PM, 6 PM, 11 PM and again at 5 AM and 6 AM the next morning.

You’ve heard that there is no such thing as bad publicity? Don’t believe it because the next thing that will be affected is the confidence of your clients/customers. Your company doesn’t have the staying power or the public relations budget of Home Depot, Sony, Target or the other major national and international firms that have been hit by these scandals. In fact, statistics show that up to 60% of SMBs that have been hit with compliance scandals (this includes data breaches, etc.) either never reopen or close permanently within six months.

We strongly suggest you read the full White Paper, then look at the series of Compliance web pages we also published recently. Start here: Compliance: Getting Started, and in the lower right corner you will see links to a whole series of short but highly informative web pages on a series of compliance-related subjects.

Here’s the thing about compliance: it should be one of those things that you just do and do right so that so that it never becomes a major issue. Here at DynaSis, as a managed IT support provider here in Atlanta, we have been helping companies with compliance for more than 25 years. Give us a call and we can discuss your needs. 678-373-0716.

When is Your Business Ready for the Cloud?

Simply put: Now!

Like we’ve been doing in recent weeks, we are taking another look-back at some recent white papers we have written that we believe are important enough to again bring to your attention. This blog refers to the white paper: Is Your Business Big Enough for the Cloud?

First, what exactly is the Cloud? The cloud (and the term is not something we would have chosen) is simply a cluster of servers that serve many businesses. These servers are usually located in a highly secure facility that offers protections that no small to mid-sized company could afford. The cloud is not some bizarre technology that only the most sophisticated businesses should consider. In fact, you are using the cloud right now: smartphone apps, mobile banking, Google Docs, Gmail, and lots more.

While the White Paper mentioned above goes into more detail, let’s just quickly take a look at some of the advantages of using a cloud (like the DynaSis Business Cloud):

Data Backup: there are few things in today’s technology world more important than good backups. There is so much that can go wrong, although proper IT support and planning can prevent much of this, that you need to be prepared. Sure, you can back up in your office, but the cloud is much safer. (Hybrid systems are also good options, where some backup work is done in your office and other is done in the cloud. Ask us.)

Mobility: Your people are on the road, working from home, in hotels, customers’ offices, etc. Your cloud service is much less likely to go down than is your in-office service. The last thing you want is your sales team that’s visiting a customer on the west coast to be unable to open important documents.

File Synching and Sharing: Actually part of Mobility, the cloud allows quick and seamless ability to share documents and synchronize them so everyone is on the “same page”.

Storage: As your needs expand or shrink, you can cost effectively increase or decrease storage capacity without buying new server equipment. If your business changes, you can download archive document to tape and decrease storage costs.

Always Up-To-Date: For apps like Microsoft Office 365 and others, online versions (which are in the cloud) are always updated, including fixes. Your people are always working on the latest versions with the most useful features.

There is a lot more to understand about the cloud, so download the White Paper mentioned above. Even better, give us a call. After more than 25 years as an Atlanta managed IT support provider, and having worked with the cloud since its inception, we have a lot of good information we are happy to share. Call us at 678-373-0716, or visit us at www.DynaSis.com.

Not too long ago we published a white paper on Compliance as a Competitive Advantage. In case you missed it, we wanted to mention it again, along with a number of webpages on the subject that we have recently published.

Here’s the thing: if you are in a business that is compliance-centric (finance, healthcare, chemical manufacturing, etc.), you are probably already well-aware of the rules and regulations affecting your industry and, hopefully, keeping everything up-to-date. But there are many other businesses that need to be compliant that haven’t taken the steps necessary to ensure that disaster doesn’t strike…or if it does, be prepared for a quick and seamless recovery. We recently published a series of web pages that address some of the topics and sub-topics of which you should be aware, and they are quick and easy reads.

Compliance: Getting Started. The first step is often both the easiest and the hardest. The information included here gives you a good road map for pulling the trigger. Read More.

Compliance: Data & Network Protection. Takes a look at the protections your company needs internally, including from disgruntles current and former employees, among the biggest threat today. Learn More.

Compliance & Cyber-Security. Every business today, especially small to mid-sized firms, are at risk. Companies that fail to provide adequate protection to their customers’/clients’ data are more and more being held liable for damages. Learn More.

Compliance & Disaster Recovery Planning. With the complexity of today’s cyber-crime industry (yes, it’s an industry), 100% protection is virtually impossible. Planning for rapid and seamless recovery is critical. Learn More.

Compliance & Disaster Recovery Execution. Planning is critical, but so is having the tools and expertise to execute the plan if and when it becomes necessary. Learn More.

Disaster & Recovery Planning & Execution as a Service (DRaaS). If you have the expertise on staff to plan and execute, that’s great. If not, you may want to consider engaging a managed IT support provider to ease the burden. Learn More.

Business Continuity. According to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), 55% of small to mid-sized businesses that experience a major disaster never reopen, or close within a short time. The reason: lack of preparedness. This quick read gives you an overview of the part an experienced managed IT service company can provide. Read More.

DynaSis has been in the managed IT support business for more than a quarter century. If any of the above topics gives you cause for concern, give us a call. No obligation, no pressure. Just a friendly call during which we can start to explain the cost-effective support we can bring to your company. 678-373-0716.

 

 

Many businesses balk at the vague notion of managed IT services. What are managed services, and what do they do? The answer, in short, is any ongoing supported service related to your business’s IT.

But don’t take that to mean that managed services lack specific, tangible approaches that benefit business productivity. Working with a qualified Managed Service Provider (MSP) has countless approaches that can raise productivity while letting you focus on your business mission instead of fixing your technology.

We’ve put together a list of three managed services that will raise your business’s productivity, along with brief explanations of how they do it. The results might surprise you.

Network security to reduce downtime

Cyberthreats are on the rise and the risks affects companies of every size and shape. In fact, almost half (43%) of all cyberattacks target SMBs. In spite of this, many SMBs lack a professional, guided approach to their network security. This can create a recipe for downtime and lost productivity.

Malware and ransomware attacks get more sophisticated every day. And all it takes is one negligent or uninformed employee’s click on a phishing email to infect your network or put you in a data ransom or data loss situation.

Such situations cost your company more than just expensive downtime (the average ransomware attack costs $100,000 due to downtime).  They can also damage your reputation with clients and even cause legal repercussions for your business.

By having a qualified MSP handle your network security, you drastically reduce the chances that any of the above scenarios will affect your company.

Given the costs of downtime and data loss, it will likely have a positive impact on your bottom line, too.

Backup services to prevent data loss

Modern businesses live and die by their mission-critical data and systems. 60% of SMBs that lose their critical data close up shop within six months. Traditional data backup approaches leave significant exposure to partial or complete data loss due to their lack of redundancy.

For example, if you’re not backing your data up offsite, you’re sitting on a ticking data loss time bomb. Your business is one disaster away from total data loss.

But even if you manage to restore from your backups using outdated processes, your recovery process will take far longer than if you leave your data backup to an MSP. That’s because most MSPs will help you develop a business continuity plan as part of your data backup strategy.

In other words, when your systems go down or hardware fails, you’ll get back to work with far less downtime and incurred costs.

That’s not to even mention the added military-grade security data centers provide – or multiple layers of redundancy.

Your data is your business, and you should protect it accordingly.

You’re a professional in your industry with valuable insider industry knowledge that allows you to succeed.  The right MSP will be an expert in protecting and backing up your data,  too. They can reduce your potential for downtime and preserve your productivity and reputation in the process.

Total network management and support for streamlined systems

Troubleshooting is a huge time suck. Combining network management services with an in-house team can free up their time to deal with other issues that are pertinent and specific to your individual company needs.

The break-fix approach to solving IT problems costs not only money, but valuable time.

By hiring an MSP to manage your network and provide 24/7 IT support, you get the benefit of professional guidance and problem solving from qualified engineers who specialize in the exact kinds of problems that plague networks like yours.

This allows your team to focus on business while they monitor and eliminate potential problems from behind the scenes. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as the saying goes.

Nowhere is that more true than when it comes to network management.

The summary

Whether you take a hybrid approach by outsourcing some tasks to an MSP and keeping others in house, or you decide to outsource all your IT needs to an MSP,  there’s no question that professional guidance can help your business be more productive.

It can also insulate you from a host of potential productivity and downtime issues before they happen.

Where that balance falls depends in large part on the specifics of your business, your budget, and your approach. Often, determining the final balance means having conversations both internally and with potential partners.

Regardless, the first step is arming yourself with the right information.

 

 

The last thing you want is to have to call your clients and tell them that you have had a security breach that compromised their personal information, but this is happening with increased frequency. This is happening in spite the growth of highly sophisticated security methods and technologies and results in loss of client trust, negative public relations, financial loss, and even the shutting down of an entire operation. Often, and particularly in small to mid-sized businesses, this is because a company simply has not instituted basic security practices.

If you are a small to mid-sized business, your network security should begin with a qualified managed IT support company here in Atlanta. Why? Given the complexity of today’s IT world, there is simply no way that a company of this size, with a small in-house IT team (or none at all), can possibly keep up with the daily threats it will have to ward off. The installation of anti-malware software, firewalls, etc., can be accomplished in-house if your team has the proper training, but the right Managed IT service company with monitor, manage and maintain these and other protections 24 x 7 x 365, dealing with small problems before they become major ones. They can also be retained on a co-sourced (co-managed) basis to augment your own people.

While we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for keeping networks and data secure, it is important to understand that proper network security requires a layered approach, which we laid out is some detail in our white paper: Cyber Security 2017, which is very much an important read today in early 2018 (the 12 Layers begin on page 5). We also believe that in today’s world, this layering approach applies to data backup. For example, for many years, the most sophisticated backup approach was the use of a set of magnetic tapes. While tapes may still be considered part of an effective a layered approach. It should be tied in with both on-site and off-site backups. Over the years, we have seen cases of tapes that weren’t secured, or failed, or (more frequently) weren’t updated when they should have been.

Some of the protections that need to be considered:

Your data also should consider protection using multifactor authentication, such as entering a unique password, then a code received on a mobile device. This is particularly effective in warding off password breaches and what are called brute force attacks, during which the attacker will used complex algorithms to try and break through by repeatedly trying many thousands of different potential passwords.

Email is one of the most vulnerable touch points in most organizations, but not only do many firms lack reliable email continuity and archiving for compliance, eDiscovery subpoenas and other needs, but they also have not implemented email security measures to effectively thwart cyber-attacks. To help prevent an email catastrophe in any business, DynaSis provides its Unified Email Management (UEM) solution, a secure email gateway that examines every email.

Mobile devices are ubiquitous and most employers today have accepted the fact that their employees are going to be suing their own devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) for work. Simply put, this presents a security problem that requires sophisticated Mobile Device Management system and at DynaSis, we use what we (and many others) consider to be the best system available.

Network security is a major undertaking that needs to be taken seriously. Here at DynaSis, we have been doing just that since 1992. Give us a call today and we can discuss how we can work with you either on a full managed IT support basis, or a co-sourced basis with your in-house team. 678-373-0716.

 

 

If you follow our weekly DynaSis blogs, you know that we regularly put out some very important information. As much as we would like to believe that you eagerly await each Tuesday’s post, read every one, and even save many of them, realistically speaking, in today’s impossibly busy work environment, we know that’s just not true. Consequently, we have decided to recap some of those from the past year that we believe can be most helpful to you, and give you links to the full posts.

Cloud Back-up for Business Speed & Efficiency

Mobility and efficiency have been given much greater emphasis by businesses over the past ten years, all made possible by the tremendous advances we have seen in technology. Employees can now remain fully connected to their offices and peers while they are on the road. This post will help bring you up to date on how these technologies can make your business more mobile, and will also let you know how cloud technology can protect your business from data loss, corruption and theft while your people are traveling or working from home. See the full post here.

Solving Major Problems Before They Become Major Ones

This addresses a partial list of problems that may erupt, including your network going down and along with it your email, phones, and internet; printers and other devices not working; computers freezing; slow performance; corrupted files; recurring viruses; and so much more. The basic concept of solving these minor problems before they become major ones has long been one of our major driving principles and in this post, we discuss why. See the full post here.

Making Technology Work for Your Company

We always say that “today every company is a technology company” and we find that becomes more true with every passing year. Technology is great in so many ways, but when it moves so quickly, it can be very hard to keep up. In this blogpost, we look at how managed IT support companies in Atlanta, like DynaSis, can keep you up to speed on the latest developments for both business productivity and cyber security. See the full post here.

Myths About Managed IT Support Managed IT support (or managed IT service) means outsourcing some or all of your IT support to a third part provider. For some business executives, this seems a bit scary, like you are giving up important control. In this blog post we address concerns such as: “Outsourcing is more expensive (it’s not)”, “Outsourcing will make us less secure (not true)”, “Service levels will suffer (the opposite is true)”, “Outsourcing only works for large companies (it’s best for small to mid-sized firms)”, etc. This post is a great way to begin a conversation with us that can lead to a complimentary IT service and security assessment so you can better understand where your IT network is today, and where it can be in the future. See the full post here.

VoIP Training for Non-Technical Employees

This blogpost addresses modern VoIP telephone systems from two perspectives: first, most end-users (your employees) are unaware of most of the great features that modern phone systems provide. For some, productivity and efficiency can be significantly improved, and boredom and fatigue reduced, when they become more familiar. On another level, employee failure is still the leading cause of cyber security problems and this post also discusses how employee training can have a positive effect. See the full post here.

Speeding Up Slow Running PCs.

This is a problem we hear about fairly often, and one that can be prevented and/or fixed. In this post we explain how pre-installed software and bloated registry files, among other things, can cause slowdowns, and how this “clutter” can be eliminated. We also discuss the importance of installing software manufacturer updates on a regular basis. See the full post here.

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We hope this “reboot” of some of our recent posts is helpful. And remember, at DynaSis we have been working with small to mid-sized businesses in Atlanta for more than a quarter century and would love to begin a no-obligation conversation and IT network and security assessment with you, so give us a call at 678-373-0716.

 

 

Cloud Migration Strategies for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses

While we recognize the relevancy of keeping data storage on premises for many small to mid-sized businesses, we also recognize that for many other companies, moving data to the cloud is often the next logical step in computing. This migration can lead to cost savings through workload reductions as well as capital equipment costs. Add to this unlimited scalability and the ability of your employees to access data from anywhere, at home, on the road, even on vacation, along with increased network protection, and the logic starts to add up.

But making the move isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world. Cloud migration has great benefits for many companies, and is something we believe you should at least consider, but in order to make the implementation flow smoothly, you need to plan this out. Here are our thoughts on making this happen:

Cloud Infrastructure

In broad terms, there are three types of cloud infrastructure that can be examined.

Public: These include well-known companies such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Compute. All three have tremendous scalability but also provide their clients with less control…you have to follow their rules. If you have to deal with strict government regulations, this could become problematic.

Private: While private clouds will give you more control, which can also give you better performance and even a higher level of security, your in-house IT team and/or your managed IT service provider will have to remain involved. Many companies have determined that this is the option that works best for them because of the control and security issues.

Hybrid: Hybrid systems, where some data and functionality reside in the cloud and some within your own facility, are also a common choice. A qualified managed IT support company can help you make this determination.

The DynaSis Business Cloud can be implemented as a public, private or a hybrid solution. Contact us for an analysis.

Data Backup & Disaster Recovery

Nothing in the IT world is more critical than effective, professional data back-up and recovery preparedness. Stuff happens. Brilliant cyber criminals are at work 24 x 7 figuring out how to steal, destroy, and/or lockdown your data files. Equipment crashes. Fires happen. Floods happen. Tornadoes and hurricanes happen. Employee theft and destruction happen. Your customers may be sympathetic to your problems when these things occur, but they fully and rightly expect you to be back up and running just as soon as possible. You need to review and understand the service level agreements (SLAs) provided by your service providers. You and your managed IT support provider, or your in-house IT team, need to set proper recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs), and understand how these will be met.

Data Governance & Security

Cloud migration is a disruptive process. Please don’t think that you can totally eliminate the disruption. You can’t. But you can manage it. You are also going to have to accept that giving up some level of control of your data is not necessarily a bad thing. If you are a large company with a large in-house IT team, you probably have a number of individuals on whom you can rely for network security. A small to mid-sized company, however, even with its own small in-house IT team, cannot afford the level of support and security that the right IT support company, along with the right level of cloud storage and data backup, can provide. If you carefully research and choose the right partners, you will soon take comfort in the services they provide.

Cost

Many companies delay looking into cloud solutions, or managed IT services, because they believe these will increase their expenses. Here at DynaSis, we almost always find that our clients’ costs are less than they were previously spending, plus they have all the benefits started above, along with having a tremendous operational burden lifted.

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At DynaSis we have been providing managed IT support to Atlanta’s business community for more than 25 years. If you would like us to provide you with a complementary IT Network and Security Assessment, please give us a call at 678-373-0716 or visit us at www.DynaSis.com.

Business has changed a great deal over the past decade with more and more emphasis being given to mobility and efficiency. Technology has made tremendous advances possible, which enable employees to remain connected while out of the office, whether they are working from home or on the road. If you are the owner or an executive of a small to mid-sized company, while you may be aware of some of the technology available to you, you may not be aware of how using the cloud can help your business become fully mobile.

We suspect you already know that cloud backup is an important tool in fighting cyber-crime and in virtually eliminating the risk of data loss, data theft or data corruption, but we also see it as a valuable tool for employees who spend time working away from the office.

With technology like the DynaSis Business Cloud, for example, you know that employees always have access to their important files. A sales person from Atlanta who is visiting a client in California (or London, or Beijing) has the comfort of knowing that he/she can access any file, anywhere at anytime. Those of us who have spent time on the road know how it feels to believe you are fully prepared, that you have all the documents you need on your laptop or flash drive, only to discover that the client or prospect has unexpected questions that would best be answered by documents on your office desktop. How impressive would it be to have everything you need available with just a click? It not only shows that you are “business prepared”, it also shows that your company is technologically up-to-date. Today, that’s important.

There is also the matter of efficiency. CSpace, a multinational company dealing with a variety of business issues for their clients, uses the slogan “Moving at the speed of business.” The speed of today’s business is fast…very fast…and instant access helps you keep it moving that way. An annoying airport layover can turn into productive conversations with clients and prospects, or other team members. You have likely seen images of people sitting on the beach using their laptops from chaise lounges. While this may not be the ideal way to spend your vacation, it certainly beats coming back to the office to discover you lost “the big one.”

It put it succinctly, the cloud enables your mobile devices improved functionality which gives your employees improved productivity, which can only be positive for your bottom line.

There will be some who say that using the cloud in this manner opens the company up to security risks. Not so. Not when all mobile devices, both company owned and employee owned, that have access to your files are managed through a mobile device management system.

There is a lot of great technology out there and properly using it can help give you a competitive advantage. We have been working with small to mid-sized companies in Atlanta since 1992. If you have any questions, give us a call at 678-373-0716, or visit www.DynaSis.com.

Making Technology Work for Your Company

Technology has become pervasive. So much so that we like to say that today every company is a technology company. Every one uses technology. And innovations come so fast and furiously that it seems like it’s a full-time job keeping up. Just how much can the average business executive know about network security, cloud computing, servers, ransomware, processors, routers or firewalls? There is so much information out there, so much to know, that anyone trying to learn it all would spend years catching up. That’s why companies like ours exist, but there are still some things you can and should do on your own to be more efficient, to make sure your network is secure, and eliminate the tech logjam that way too many companies deal with. Here are easy steps:

1: Employee training. This is an important protection that is much too easy to overlook. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is an attitude that may work in plumbing or highway repair, but not in technology. Did you know that the majority of infrastructure problems occur when employees click on something in an email? Or that productivity is lost when employees are embarrassed to ask questions about how to get the most out of the applications they are using, like Word or Excel? As a business owner or executive, you need to make sure enough time is taken to train your people on their technology. Everyone who applies for a job these days claims expertise in Office, or Office 365, but most only know the fundamentals and can be wasting time for years to come.

2: Keep your equipment up-to-date. I know. You really don’t want to spend money on new equipment when the old stuff seems to be working fine. But once equipment manufacturers stop supporting older models of hardware and software, you open yourself up to a wide variety of security problems and failures. Outdated security is a prime target of cyber-criminals as they know that the manufacturers are no longer providing security updates.

The amount of time wasted on waiting for slow machines is also astonishing. If you lose 10 minutes a day, which may not seem like much, that comes to 43+ hours a year, or a full week of work lost, not to mention the frustration level of your employees.

3: Securing your network. No-brainer here. But many small businesses assume that because they are small, they are safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cyber criminals prefer going after small businesses because they know these businesses are less likely to have the protections in place that keep them out! Various recent studies have shown that as much as 43% of cyber attacks these days are against small businesses. If you aren’t sure how to secure your network, you need to be working with a qualified managed IT support company.

4: Security patches. This is one that many businesses do not keep up with. Patches are generated by software manufacturers when a flaw or weakness is discovered. These flaws and weaknesses are what are explored by cyber-criminals to attack a company’s infrastructure to either steal data or install ransomware. The trick is to get these patches installed BEFORE your network is attacked. This is another area for which meeting with an experienced managed IT support company may make sense.

5: Passwords. If you read our blogs and white papers, you know that this is something we preach about regularly. There is good reason. It’s way too easy to use a simple password over and over but the downside could be catastrophic. Here are two schools of thought on passwords:

A: Use a combination of upper case, lower case, number and characters…but they should not relate back to you. For example, fTr$#u& would be considered strong. mYbDayApr14 is not. Criminals use algorithms that can process thousands of variations of your birthday in seconds.

B: New thinking says that it is better to use a string of words that have no relation to each other, but that you can easily remember, for example, housebaseballrabbit or bathtubcrownextreme. The number of possibilities for 26 x 26 x 26 for 20 letters, is 766 nonillion possibilities (30 zeros), and that becomes unmanageable for the cybercriminal, yet is easy for you to remember.

6: Backup your data. Nothing is more important. In fact, we recently wrote a whole White Paper on Data Backup & Disaster Recovery, so rather than repeat ourselves, we strongly suggest you take a few minutes to read it.

Those are six important steps you can take to make sure your technology is working for you, not against you. Here’s one more: speak with a managed IT service provider that can offer you the services you need to make sure your network is safe and secure and your employees are functioning at peak performance. At DynaSis, we have been providing managed IT service in Atlanta to small and mid-sized companies of all types for more than 25 years. We will provide you with an extensive complimentary infrastructure and security assessment, and a review of the services we believe will be both cost effective and enable you to take full advantage of the technology that can power your business forward. Call us today at 678-373-0716, or visit us at www.DynaSis.com