By the DynaSis Team

With bad news about cybercrime appearing daily, many small and midsized business (SMB) owners may be wondering, “How vulnerable am I?” After all, most of the news accounts of data breaches and other attacks relate to major companies, governmental entities, and other very large targets.

Unfortunately, the reason SMBs aren’t making headlines is because they don’t make great news, not because they aren’t favored targets. A quick Internet search will turn up dozens of stories about the vulnerability of SMBs, as a group. In 2011, Symantec’s annual Internet Security Threat Report found that companies with fewer than 250 employees constituted 18 percent of targeted attacks. In the 2016 report, that figured had risen to 43 percent, with SMBs being the most heavily targeted group.

Why are SMBs so attractive? Major corporations have big security budgets, and they can afford to implement the latest techniques to protect their networks. Many have teams of security specialists whose primary tasks are to keep cybercriminals at bay. SMBs don’t have these types of resources, and hackers know that.

Nevertheless, the vulnerability of SMBs wouldn’t be enough, by itself, to make them targets. If hackers had to expend days, or even hours, finding and attacking a vulnerable SMB in exchange for a handful of proprietary information, they wouldn’t do it. Fortunately for the hackers, they don’t need to.

An entire ecosystem of cybercrime tools now exists, and many of them are freely available. Hackers have also learned they can turn groups of vulnerable systems into “botnets.” Here, multiple computing devices are interconnected and used to scan the Internet, looking for compromised websites to hijack, open corporate network connections to infiltrate, and other inadequately protected resources. Making matters worse, cybercriminals continue developing new attack tools and approaches, and even large organizations have a hard time keeping up.

For SMBs, becoming a victim at some point is a near certainty. In fact, most experts no longer counsel organizations that they can completely prevent a breach. Rather, the goal is to mitigate the damage when one happens.

Fortunately, it is neither expensive nor complicated to secure your firm and its resources and substantially reduce your odds of attack. It is also possible to implement automated mechanisms that will detect penetration and stop it, quickly. However, these tools are sophisticated and it is usually neither practical nor cost effective for in-house IT support teams to manage them.

For most SMBs, contracting with a managed services provider or an IT solutions firm is the most effective way of implementing and managing stringent IT security. However, not all IT consulting or IT support companies are created equal. Some are more security focused than others, with certified professionals and the latest technologies at their disposal.

To help organizations better understand cyber security and the considerations for hiring outside IT security assistance, DynaSis has developed two white papers: Cyber-Security 2016 and Managed IT Security. Both are complimentary downloads on our site. In future blogs, we will drill down into greater detail about cyber security, so stay tuned!

Selection of an IT outsourcing company is a very important business decision. For almost a quarter century, Atlanta’s small to mid-sized businesses have relied on DynaSis’ for managed IT services, internet security, and 24 x 7 x 365 helpdesk support. Today, with cybercrime becoming an ever-increasing threat, DynaSis has become an industry leader in network protection and ransomware prevention. Please take a tour through our website at www.DynaSis.com or speak with a technical expert at 678.218.1769.

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By the DynaSis Team

On Tuesday, June 14, 2016 from 12:00-2:00 pm, the DynaSis Team will host an Open House at its new headquarters, located at 950 North Point Parkway, Suite 300, Alpharetta, Georgia. All of DynaSis customers, partners and associates, as well as local media, are invited to attend. At the event, one of our favorite local barbecue restaurants, ‘cue, will serve a luncheon to all attendees.

DynaSis’ move marks a milestone for our organization, as we have not only doubled our size but also expanded our systems to enhance the IT support and IT services we offer our customers. Recognizing the increasing challenge that small and midsized businesses (SMBs) face in today’s technology-centric, threat-laden landscape, DynaSis has taken significant steps to ensure it will remain the area’s most proactive managed services provider in coming years.

A recent study of IT security among SMBs, conducted by Wakefield Research, found that only 37 percent of IT decision makers felt their organizations were fully prepared to manage IT security and protect against threats. Equally concerning, fewer than 25 percent have a dedicated, in-house cybersecurity team or individual. Improvements we have incorporated into our new facility to directly address these shortfalls for SMBs include:

• New seats in our Network Operations Center and Help Desk departments.
• The addition of 300 percent more monitoring screens for support personnel to view situational awareness data for service delivery.
• A research and development lab and a dedicated training area.
• New, cloud-based IOT (Internet of Things) alarm, access control and surveillance systems.

During the event, visitors will have the opportunity to meet some of the DynaSis Team as we lead guided tours that showcase our new offices and equipment and explain the inner workings of the Managed IT Services model. As a thank-you to the Atlanta community for its years of support, we will also donate $10 to the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) for every Open House attendee. For the convenience of attendees, we can accept donations of canned and boxed goods and forward them to the ACFB on donors’ behalf.

For more information, or to RSVP, please email events@DynaSis.com

For small to midsized business owners and executives who are concerned about managed IT support services and network threat protection, DynaSis is one company that has been at the forefront since 1992. In this ever evolving world of cybercrime, crypto virus and network access protection have become critical to every company’s security. DynaSis also provides 24 x 7 x 365 outsourced IT services, with its own trained staff for helpdesk, real-time monitoring and the DynaSis Business Cloud, for highly secure data storage and backup. You can find out more by calling us at 678.218.1769, or checking out our website at www.DynaSis.com.

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By the DynaSis Team

Several recent reports have highlighted the growing importance for small and midsized businesses (SMBs) of outsourcing their IT functions. There is also new evidence that SMB owners are actively embracing the use of managed services.

Per a 2015 report from the MSPAlliance, an international association of cloud computing and managed services providers (MSPs), North American firms spend approximately $154 billion annually for managed services. The MSPAlliance also reports that SMBs are at the top of the list, in terms of adoption. Benefits cited by the SMBs contracting for managed IT services include increased operational performance, decreased operational risk, reduced IT costs and accelerated innovation.

The IT solutions offered as managed services range from computing, storage and networking resources to mobility strategy and management, expert, 24/7 support for users, and even telephony services. Some IT support companies offer ongoing monitoring, management and maintenance of the underlying infrastructure (with service guarantees).

The most engaged MSPs also offer IT consulting and strategic planning services to help organizations create roadmaps of upgrades and improvements, maximizing budget while minimizing downtime. With all of these options potentially—but not necessarily—available, SMB decision makers considering managed services must both identify their own priorities and vet their candidates carefully. Following are a few issues to consider.

• Does the technology partner focus on the business goals of its clients when it makes a recommendation? Providers must develop offerings tailored to the client’s business goals rather than recommending a cookie-cutter service plan.
• Does the partner take a long-term view of relationships and act as a trusted advisor? MSPs that see value in ongoing technology roadmaps help their clients be more resilient as market conditions change.
• Is the service portfolio comprehensive? Even if your company is outsourcing only a few functions initially, identifying an MSP that can grow with you will ensure you never have to manage multiple vendors.
• Has the MSP identified and addressed your technology pain points? The most qualified IT partners should perform assessments and make recommendations based upon your vulnerabilities, not just on their strengths.
• Does the MSP value and commit to close communication? If the provider doesn’t offer a timetable for regular meetings with account managers, reports that show the effectiveness of the engagement and periodic formal reviews, you won’t be able to benchmark the value of the relationship to your firm.

In the long run, many organizations find that contracting with an MSP for all IT services is the most cost-effective solution. This is especially true when the provider offers proactive monitoring and problem resolution, which is proven to reduce outages significantly. With virtually all SMB staff requiring computing resources, IT outages quickly become costly based on wasted staff resource alone. When the cost of lost sales and goodwill are factored in, the price tag is even higher. For even the smallest providers, the new reality is that uptime is no longer optional.

Selection of an IT outsourcing company is a very important business decision. For almost a quarter century, Atlanta’s small to mid-sized businesses have relied on DynaSis’ for managed IT services, internet security, and 24 x 7 x 365 helpdesk support. Today, with cybercrime becoming an ever-increasing threat, DynaSis has become an industry leader in network protection and ransomware prevention. Please take a tour through our website at www.DynaSis.com or speak with a technical expert at 678.218.1769.

By the DynaSis Team

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IT consultants for many firms, whether they promote themselves as IT support companies or managed service providers, will tell you they are going to “monitor and manage” your systems and/or network. Others may say they specialize in “network and systems administration.” As a business owner seeking the most protection for your IT systems—and value for your investment—you likely wonder, what does this mean? Are all these types of services the same? How do they protect me and my company?

These are important questions you should ask of any current or prospective IT provider. To help you evaluate the answers you receive, here is some background.

From a generic perspective, network and system monitoring and management means keeping an eye on your network (and potentially its devices) and your servers or other IT hardware, to enable intervention before or after problems arise. Network and systems administration, generically, means the same thing, although some providers who “administer” do not “monitor.”

For a reactive IT solutions provider, this could mean looking at weekly or monthly logs (reports) of system “error codes” to see if anything might be going wrong. If the provider notes any obvious problems, they might notify the customer and ask if they want follow up (often for an additional fee). Alternately, they might not report the aberration but instead will note it, in case problems occur down the road. Neither of these approaches is cost effective in the long-run, and they also don’t promote system stability.

A proactive managed IT services firm, on the other hand, will likely provide remote monitoring. The service will scan the network and systems for problems, analyzing traffic and other information using advanced processes to identify signs of impending trouble. It will also create alerts for changing conditions, such as the need for system updates. The IT provider’s staff will have access to real-time performance data and can intervene to troubleshoot, respond to alerts and more, which helps to avert serious trouble before it occurs. (We call this issue avoidance.)

Proactive versus reactive IT service is an important distinction, as the examples above show. Some IT providers follow what we call a “break-fix” model—“If it breaks, we will come fix it.” Firms like this are at the far end of the reactive spectrum. They rarely have the ability to perform any automated monitoring or proactive troubleshooting and issue avoidance. Providers such as these may try to minimize the value of proactive services, asserting they are not worth the expense. Some will even mislead potential customers with obscure service descriptions.

In our experience, proactive network and system monitoring can dramatically increase system uptime, more than paying for itself in productivity gains. For small and midsized businesses hoping to grow and thrive, it provides another benefit. Per a study conducted by IT automation firm Kaseya, using remote, automated monitoring tools for both routine tasks and problem avoidance enables personnel to spend more time on strategic projects that drive productivity—and the success of the business.

DynaSis has been providing managed IT support services to Metro Atlanta’s small to midsized businesses since 1992. We provide Availability – making sure your network is up and running; Mobility – allowing your employees world-wide access to your network; and Security – as an Internet security company, we resolve “issues” before they grow into problems. If you want to learn more, please visit www.DynaSis.com, or call us at 678.218.1769.

By the DynaSis Team

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Although small and midsized businesses (SMBs) were a bit late to the cloud party compared to larger enterprises, several research reports indicate that SMB decision makers are now embracing the cloud enthusiastically. As we might expect from overworked, budget-limited business owners, they are expressing a preference for “bundled” cloud services, whereby an SMB can have its email, applications, data storage (servers) and security united under a single service with a single provider.

Such a solution makes complete sense from the SMB business perspective. Not only is it easier and faster to deploy the cloud with a unified solution, but company personnel enjoy access to business-critical applications and data without the bur­den of IT infrastructure support. Furthermore, the bottom line gets a boost from a fixed, pay-as-you-go model, including converting IT costs to an operating expense and eliminating infrastructure and software upgrade expenses.

So popular has this approach become among SMBs that a survey of 1,300 SMBs, conducted by Coleman Parkes Research, found that nearly 70 percent of SMB decision makers prefer to receive their cloud services as a bundle. SMBs expressed even greater support for having all communication-related services united. Among those surveyed, 80 percent supported the idea of receiving a single monthly bill from one provider for both cloud environment and telecommunications services.

So, what does a “bundled” cloud solution look like? Optimally, it would be a fully managed, cloud-based IT platform with the following features and functions:

• Corporate data, email and applications hosted at world-class, ultra-secure, compliant data centers, ensuring best-practices security for all corporate assets.
• Company personnel would be able to access corporate assets, 24/7/365, from a secure online portal that ensures security in transit from the cloud to the user. With no data stored on user desktops and devices, endpoint security will also be assured.
• The provider would guarantee system uptime of 99.999%.
• The provider would include 24/7/365 IT support for all users, in addition to monitoring and maintaining the cloud-based corporate assets.
• Space allocations would be dynamically managed to ensure users always had enough storage.
• All corporate data and applications would be mirrored to a separate, secure server for disaster recovery purposes.
• Migrations and subsequent updates and upgrades would be actively managed by the provider to eliminate unplanned downtime and inconvenience for company personnel.

Providers such as DynaSis offer solutions that meet all of these critieria, giving SMBs the freedom to walk away from IT burdens and headaches, forever. As SMBs realize the potential of these offerings, we expect a large percentage will move from supporting the concept of a unified cloud solution to actively using one. In essence, all-in-one cloud hosting is the best way to realize the core value proposition of the cloud, which is to deliver high-value applications and data securely, anytime, anywhere and on any device.

About DynaSis

DynaSis is an Atlanta IT services and cloud computing provider for small and midsized businesses. All of our solutions focus on helping companies achieve the three fundamental IT necessities of the modern business—availability, security and mobility. We specialize in on-demand and on-premise managed IT services, managed cloud infrastructure, desktops and backups, and professional hardware and equipment installation. For more information about DynaSis’ IT support and services, visit www.dynasis.com.