MSPNetworks Blog

The use of technology is one of the things that brings most people together. For the past couple of decades people have depended more and more on technology as a way to manage their lives, socialize, and get the goods and services they choose to purchase. This has led to the development of a lot of solid technology-related television shows. In this week’s blog, we thought we would take a look at three shows that cover multiple genres that are solid viewing for the technology enthusiast. 

#1 - Silicon Valley

Developed by Mike Judge, the comic genius behind Beavis and Butthead, Office Space, and King of the Hill, Silicon Valley is one of the best comedies created over the past decade. Silicon Valley is set, you guessed it, in Silicon Valley. It centers around software developers that live in an “incubator” in Palo Alto, California. The main character, Richard Hendricks, is developing an app hilariously called Pied Piper that is being developed as a tool to search for copyrighted music. The real value of the app, however, is that it has a revolutionary lossless compression algorithm that allows people to keep huge databases that can run just about anything. This overlooked feature opens a bidding war that quickly gets out of hand. 

Silicon Valley ran for six seasons on HBO and wrapped up in 2019. It is laugh-out-loud funny for the entire run of the show. Some of the highlights of the show are Hendrick’s ineptitude at running a company, his running rivalry with the head of one of the biggest technology companies, Gavin Belson, and incubator developers Dinesh and Guilfoyle’s back and forth banter throughout the series. 

Silicon Valley
Created by: Mike Judge, John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky
Starring: Thomas Middleditch, T.J. Miller, Josh Brener, Martin Starr, Kumail Nanjani, Zach Woods, Amanda Crew, Matt Ross, and Jimmy O. Yang
Network (years active): 2014-2019
Where to watch: Max

#2 - Mr. Robot

Created by Sam Esmail, Mr. Robot is a character study in schizophrenia. The show follows Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and cyberterrorist with several mental illnesses and a drug addiction. Elliot is recruited by Mr. Robot, a manifested characterization of his late father to head up “fsociety,” a hacker collective that is attempting to encrypt the financial records held by the world’s largest technology company, ECorp. 

Mr. Robot is fashioned as a thriller and has been universally praised for its representation of the alienation that can sometimes come through the use of technology. Throughout much of the run, the show uses the dissociation of its main character to great effect, providing intrigue and ambiguity. The show ran four seasons from 2015-2019 on USA Network. 

Mr. Robot
Created by: Sam Esmail
Starring: Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, Martin Wallström, Michael Cristofer, Stephanie Corneliussen, Grace Gummer, BD Wong, Bobby Cannavale, Ashlie Atkinson, and Elliot Villar:
Network: USA Network
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

#3 - Black Mirror

Black Mirror is a dystopian anthology that is centered around the view of technology in future societies. The series started in 2011 and has won critical acclaim for its representation of situational speculative fiction. The series covers multiple genres and has touched on many different technologies and how they will affect humanity in the future. 

Black Mirror started on Channel 4 in the UK, but after season two it was picked up by Netflix. They have produced four more seasons as well as one of the very first interactive movies, Bandersnatch. The series was created by Charlie Brooker and he has written most of the episodes himself taking inspiration from authors such as Philip K. Dick and Issac Asimov. 

Black Mirror
Created by: Charlie Brooker
Starring: Anthology series, multiple stars.
Network: Channel 4 and Netflix
Where to watch: Netflix

Technology is now ubiquitous in our culture, and as time progresses there will certainly be more shows and series created centered around it. For more great technology-related content, check back weekly to our blog.

With technology being deployed to help businesses solve all manners of operational inefficiency, it’s often difficult to pinpoint what IT will work best for your business. Organizations of all types look to technology; and, at some point you need to ask yourself if your technology is set up to help reach your business’ potential. 

If you are like many other businesses, IT is a crucial part of your business’ day-to-day operations and it stands to reason that it should be a priority to understand just how it functions to do so. This process, while pretty transparent, is not always cut and dry. With a simple IT assessment, you can get a clear look at how your organization’s IT functions, how it works to tie your business together, and get an idea how it can be improved. Today, we’ll take a look at an IT assessment and how it can be the first step on a path to improving your operations. 

The Assessment 

In order to get the most comprehensive look at how your IT is functioning for your business, you need to take a look at core functions those technologies are used for. They typically include human resources, financial information, hardware, software, specific needs of your business, governance (compliance), managing risk, and the ever-prominent security of said network.

Before we get started going through what to expect from an IT assessment, there are a couple terms that you need to understand:

• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) - This metric will measure the total cost of a piece of technology. This takes into account the initial cost, the cost of operation, the cost of maintenance, and the cost of any downtime related to the solution in question.
• Return on Investment (ROI) - This metric will measure how much you’ve profited off of an investment. 

These two metrics will come into play frequently during the IT assessment. 

But First...

You have to know why you would need an IT assessment in the first place. An IT assessment, or IT audit, is going to be the basis for the decisions that will come after. For that reason it is extremely important that you have trained technicians who know exactly what they are looking at, conducting the audit. It’s crucial that the people who conduct the assessment understand how IT should be used as a part of your business’ workflow, not aside from it. 

Starting the Assessment

The first thing that will happen during an IT assessment is to put together something called the Asset Detail Report. The Asset Detail Report lists all computers, servers, virtualized computing platforms, printers, switches, routers, and any other hardware and software that you have or pay for. This will present the age of all the hardware systems your organization has; provide the names of software, when it was installed, and what versions you’re working with; the status of endpoint security; where, and how much, data is stored; IP addresses and much, much more. 

At this time, it may be advantageous to create a site diagram. A site diagram shows you how your data flows through your network and devices. This visual representation of your IT infrastructure will give you a map of sorts of your organization’s network. The IT technicians at MSPNetworks can assist you with any part of the IT assessment process. 

Next the IT SWOT analysis, which is a metric that separates the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats affecting your business’ IT network. First, technicians will identify internal and external factors that are considered favorable or unfavorable to the network and infrastructure health--including security--of the organization’s IT.  Next, the techs will use the SWOT results to make recommendations on how to improve network security and suggest what types of investments will be needed to reduce organizational risk, promote rapid and sustainable ROI, and maintain a positive TCO. These suggestions will then be put into an actionable plan with the design to help a business make the right technology decisions. 

Finally, the assessment will produce a risk report from an evaluation of:

• Network hardware
• Security configuration
• Servers
• VPN/Remote Access
• Websites, domain names, and hosting provider
• ISP
• Phone System
• Email, messaging, and conferencing
• Computers, mobile devices, tablets
• Cabling
• Printers
• Software and mobile apps
• Procedures, policies
• Technology vendors

...and more

This report will identify domain controllers and online statuses, list users in Active Directory, a user’s last login, identify potential security issues such as weak passwords and machines that haven’t had their software updates, and provide the known vulnerabilities found on the network. With this report you will understand everything you need to know about your organization’s IT infrastructure and networking; and, their relationship to your team’s ability to be productive. 

Your organization’s IT is often what holds it all together. For more information about an IT assessment, or to schedule our knowledgeable technicians to complete one for you, call MSPNetworks today at (516) 403-9001.