MSPNetworks Blog

The cloud is a remarkable innovation that businesses of all industries and sizes can utilize to scale growth and operations. How you use the cloud, though, will change depending on your company's specific pain points and requirements. How can you invest in a cloud solution that ticks all your boxes? It starts with assessing whether you want to utilize a public, private, or hybrid cloud infrastructure.

Most businesses who utilize the cloud report that they have managed to cut costs while still getting the resources they need to perform to spec. Businesses can use the cloud for processing and storing data, as well as application deployment, making it a very dynamic solution to a business’ needs. However, you cannot make decisions based on cost alone. Here are some other factors to consider.

Explaining Cloud Computing

The benefits of cloud computing are many, with the cost of using it being perhaps the most important one. Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, is the most common way people use cloud computing with its global market being worth around $230 billion in 2022—a number that is increasing at this moment. It’s estimated that cloud growth sits at around 12-15 percent year to year, showing just how valuable businesses find these tools and possibilities.

To explain SaaS a little more in-depth, consider the following example. You might have purchased a software license to use a particular application in the past, renewing it year to year for the privilege of its continued use. Now, with cloud computing and SaaS, you pay what’s essentially a subscription fee for access to the latest version of the cloud-based software. You don’t have to outright purchase the solution and maintain it yourself—the provider handles that part for you and hosts it themselves on their own internal hardware.

There are other ways to use the cloud too, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The Benefits of the Cloud Computing Model

There are great benefits to cloud computing, and the cost savings from using it are just the tip of the iceberg. Cloud computing might be more expensive on the surface compared to a single software license, but that cost also includes flexibility that saves you money in the long run. It also saves you from having to manage and maintain the solutions yourself, which can be costly and time-consuming in its own right.

More than 92% of businesses use services that are connected or run through the cloud, establishing it as a crucial part of business operations both now and in the future. Here are some of the other benefits that your company can take advantage of through moving some of its computing tasks into the cloud:

• Potential cost reduction
• Fast scalability
• Promoted collaboration and efficiency
• Provider-side encryption and updates to improve data security

Challenges with Cloud Computing

Now, there are some reasons you should be at least a little wary of the cloud, despite its many benefits. Just like any other technology solution, you need to know what you’re getting into before committing to it. The deployment method itself requires a high-speed Internet connection, and it must be reliable and safe to boot. Most cloud platforms have security features built into them, which is why over 90 percent of businesses have no qualms with using it, but it’s best to be aware of the risk, however small it might be.

MSPNetworks can help your business with its cloud computing needs. To learn more, call us today at (516) 403-9001.

The telephone, as a technology, has been around for quite a while, more or less serving businesses for that entire time. Of course, we’ve seen quite a few advancements in telephony over the years, which has helped it to remain a cornerstone of modern business communications to this day in the form of Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.

Let’s take a few moments to consider just what it is that allows VoIP to remain a great business option.

What are Some Advantages VoIP Provides to Businesses?

A properly-configured VoIP solution will bring a variety of direct advantages to your operations, including:

Cost Savings
This is the big one. Think about it for a moment: how much do you spend each month for your phone services? Imagine if that just went away. With VoIP, this is possible, once you get past the initial set-up and equipment costs (and these are relatively minimal, regardless).

This alone can often be enough to convince business owners to make the switch over to VoIP services.

Operational Flexibility
One of the biggest issues with the landline is that it’s a little stuck in place, so if you or the team member receiving a call isn’t present at their desk, that message could easily be missed. VoIP enables you to leave the desk, answering the phone from wherever an Internet connection can be secured. This makes it far simpler for things like remote and hybrid work to take place, as your team will remain that much more communicative.

Intercompatibility and Capability
While VoIP is touted as an improvement to phone services, many modern VoIP systems offer far more features than just simple voice calling. Instant messaging, various voicemail capabilities, and far too many more to practically list here are all built into VoIP software.

In Short, VoIP is a Great Option Your Business Should Be Using this Year

We can help you get set up with it, too. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

Your business depends on software for many of its day-to-day operations, whether it’s an email system, productivity suite, or other specialized software. When it comes to acquiring software, you have two options: the traditional method of acquisition, i.e. buying it from a vendor, or subscribing to a Software as a Service solution. What are the differences and how can you make sure your organization is getting value out of its investment?

What is Software as a Service?

The traditional method of acquiring technology often involves purchasing a license, which gives you permission to use the software for what you see fit. For example, you might purchase a handful of licenses for Microsoft Office for employees in your office. This provides consistent access to the software, often through a downloaded application or client located on the user’s desktop or on the network.

Software as a Service, or SaaS for short, can be seen as more of a subscription-based model of acquiring technology. In fact, chances are you use SaaS in your personal life. Consider the business models of Netflix and other streaming services; you pay a flat fee for access to an app and its content. This is how SaaS works. Rather than purchase the software outright, you pay for access to it, often through the cloud.

How Does It Benefit SMBs?

SaaS can help SMBs in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of them:

• Fewer up-front costs: Let’s face it; licenses are pricey and not always affordable for a large workforce. Rather than pay for the full licenses, you pay per user. This means you don’t have to scrape together funds to pay for a new solution, and therefore can get right to work.
• More up-to-date software: You might find yourself constantly upgrading your software as new versions are released or as patches are issued to cover security vulnerabilities. With SaaS, you get the most up-to-date version of that software, complete with patches and updates.
• Less maintenance and management: SaaS solutions aren’t hosted on your infrastructure in most cases; they are hosted by the provider or a managed service provider, meaning less responsibility on your part to take care of them.
• Greater accessibility: Since the software is often located in the cloud, you can access SaaS applications on your preferred devices through either an app or an Internet browser.

Overall, SaaS is a great investment and one that can help your SMB either get a new project off the ground or save capital in the long term.

Get Started Today!

MSPNetworks understands that you don’t always have the funds available to invest in software licenses, especially when you have a larger workforce. We want to help you get access to the software you need to be successful in all of your endeavors. We can equip your business with Software as a Service solutions that are scalable and in line with the needs of your business, and we can even host them on our infrastructure so you don’t have to worry about a thing! It’s a great investment and one that will pay off in spades.

To get started with SaaS solutions today, reach out to MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

When you think of the government, you don’t immediately think of an organization that is at the forefront of innovation. Sure, they have all that money at their disposal, but most of it goes here and there to try to help the people of a constituency; and, frankly it isn’t terribly efficient. What may surprise you is that governments are embracing cloud services and it tends to benefit everyone. Let’s see how governments are taking advantage of cloud computing.

Regardless of what your feelings are about government programs, there are a lot of them. For every one of them, there needs to be an online portal. One way governments are able to address these always-growing needs is through the partnerships they enter into. For the populace that depends on these government services, efficiency is an important metric. Traditionally, government agencies hosted their own websites and portals, but with demands and the need for security increasing, more and more of these organizations are using partnerships to facilitate changes in hosting, process automation, and even support. 

Government-as-a-Service

In an attempt to address the rising complexity of governmental IT systems and keeping them secure, there has been a significant push over the past couple of years to take advantage of strategic partnerships with application and website developers as well as cloud service providers. As mentioned above, efforts to make systems easier to navigate, and with the big data capabilities these systems provide, have an interesting place in public service delivery pipelines. 

Consider a government service website. There is a potential for millions of people attempting to access the same or similar services, all the while having agencies filled will civil servants trying to meet the demand placed on them by the people who qualify for the service, as well as the lawmakers and other entities who appropriate monies and dole out a basic framework for the disbursement of those resources. That’s a lot of moving parts, but with established and reputable partnerships, these systems can provide some of the answers and deliver some semblance of efficiency for systems that are traditionally defined by inefficiency. 

Boosting Trust

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, public trust in government has never been lower. Establishing systems that work for people, without the inefficiency and red tape, is a key to building trust. With these partnerships in tow, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that these cloud-hosted government systems begin to curry favor with long-frustrated citizens.

What do you think about the government working with outside vendors to make their systems more user-friendly and responsive? Leave your comments below and check back soon for more technology-related content. 

Cloud computing is being used by nearly everyone nowadays, and most of the time it presents a lot of value that can’t be found with purchasing, managing, and maintaining an in-house computing infrastructure. As an organization begins moving more and more of their computing to the cloud, there is a situation that arises that industry professionals call “cloud sprawl”. 

What is Cloud Sprawl?

Cloud sprawl is the loss of awareness about cloud computing expenses that can add up if not monitored carefully. For example, say you have a project that requires a certain software title to complete it. You decided to get each member of the team a subscription to a certain Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) title. As the project extends more people are added, but when the project is completed the accounts that were added subsequently aren't canceled immediately. If they are found three months later, you are on the hook for the monthly cost of the software and infrastructure related to it.

This may seem like a small issue, but for organizations of dozens of departments, hundreds of project teams, and thousands of user accounts, you are talking about a large waste of capital. Wasting money buying things that aren’t being used is always frustrating, but it’s even more of a problem when with a little foresight and reliable documentation (and procedure), these expenses can be completely eliminated. 

The first thing you will have to do if you want to control your organization’s cloud expenses is to design, and completely map, a computing infrastructure that takes into account all current infrastructure plans, projects, and future computing investments. Once your entire infrastructure is completely mapped, it should be much easier adding and subtracting cloud resources based on need.

What is Cloud Complexity?

Cloud complexity is exactly what it sounds like. Not all software deployments are cost-effective if you use the SaaS per user model. There are definitely applications that your business uses that you want to host and manage yourself to ensure that it is secured the way you need it to be. Most businesses need to meet some type of regulatory requirements—and with much of that requiring proof of security—hosting those applications and data offsite may make it a little more difficult (and probably much more expensive). 

Other examples of cloud complexity are when organizations decide that they want to migrate away from onsite infrastructure and don’t take into account the different configurations that cloud platforms present. One major problem is that when an organization decides to migrate data and applications into a cloud-hosted environment, the legacy infrastructure (servers, databases, and other computing platforms) continues to exist for some time. 

Also, cloud options are unhindered by compatibility and compliance. Hosted infrastructure makes it easy to select whichever brand or functionality your organization needs. All these moving parts can make cloud computing a maddening jumble of sudden changes that can waste plenty of time and money if left unchecked. 

What is Cloud Security?

Since the advent of cloud computing, IT professionals have been asking this question. The biggest problem with cloud computing was the fact that they had little to no control over the setup and management of the underlying computing infrastructure. The single sign-on feature of most cloud platforms was (and is) disconcerting to the IT professional tasked with securing your organization’s technology. 

The truth is, cloud security is strong and shouldn’t be too worrisome for organizations using cloud computing for most enterprise computing needs. There are a few things you can do to ensure that your cloud security is commensurate with the IT security you have for your physical infrastructure. They include

• Backup and recovery - Hackers do attack cloud systems, this much is true, and if something were to happen in your cloud platforms, having a reliable backup and strong data recovery plan in place would take a lot of the heat off.
• Multi-factor authentication - One of the biggest problems with cloud platforms from a security perspective is the single sign-on. Today, all cloud platforms support multi-factor authentication procedures that work to enhance an organization's ability to keep unwanted entities out of cloud platforms. 
• Use encryption - Data is data regardless of where you store it. To protect any data, you will want to use encryption. Encryption restricts access to data and when looking to build secure practices around data, it is one of the best solutions out there.

The cloud is changing the face of business, but it does have its drawbacks. If you would like to have a conversation about your organization’s use of cloud computing and how you can use the cloud more effectively give MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.

You might be familiar with the concept of hosting a service or application in-house on your own server units, and if you are, you know all about the struggles that come along with doing so. But what if we told you that you can get the same benefits of hosting your own applications and IT systems without the need for any of the bulky equipment taking up space in your office? Yes, that’s right—you too can host your business applications, even if you do not have the space to do so, and it’s all thanks to the cloud.

Traditional Hosting

Small businesses often struggle with the traditional methods of application hosting, and it’s really due to no fault of their own. If you think about small businesses, you might notice that many simply do not have the space to accommodate hosting technology. They also might run into challenges with procurement due to limited budgets, and if they do manage to procure the correct technology, it can be a challenge to maintain it and keep it functional.

One way that companies can circumvent these challenges is by working with a managed service provider who offers hosting services. Take MSPNetworks, for example. Our cloud services give small businesses the ability to leverage the technology without any of the struggles of your traditional methods. Basically, we can host aspects of your technology infrastructure, like your email, line-of-business applications, or Voice over IP telephone system, so that you don’t have to worry about hosting it yourself. You might be surprised by how convenient cloud hosting can be for a business like yours.

Cloud Hosting

We cannot discuss cloud hosting without first discussing the limitations of traditional hosting. It used to be the case that hosting applications on your in-house network would limit how and when you could access it. For example, if you host your own email server, if it’s not configured to allow remote access, you can only access it while on the in-house network. This is why the cloud has really taken off in the business sector; the anytime-anywhere access idea is just too good to pass up.

Most services your business implements can be accessible online via the cloud, and as long as you are working with a managed service provider for your hosting needs, you don’t have to worry about where those services or applications will live. Best of all, outsourcing the hosting and management of your services means that you can focus elsewhere within your organization, like keeping operations running in the most efficient way possible.

MSPNetworks can help your business achieve this hands-off approach to its IT management and maintenance. To learn more about how we can change your outlook on technology hosting, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

The cloud is a great tool to improve the accessibility of applications and data, but with so many options available to businesses, it can be a bit intimidating to get started with it. Let’s go over some of the various types of cloud solutions available, as well as some of the more well-known services that you might find helpful.

Keep in mind while you are reading this that all businesses will have different cloud needs, and as such, no two solutions will work in exactly the same way. We encourage you to reach out to us before making a decision as to what cloud solution you implement, as you will want to make sure that the solution you implement benefits your business as best it can.

The Public vs Private vs Hybrid Dilemma

Many businesses are unsure what type of cloud solution is best for their particular needs. To simplify things a bit, we have outlined some of the most common types of cloud environments. Use the information below to make the most informed decision possible:

• Public: The public cloud involves your organization storing data in its own dedicated part of a public cloud infrastructure. Basically, think of it like renting space online to host whatever you need to be hosted. Many businesses prefer the public cloud because of its ease of implementation, but it is not as flexible or customizable as other solutions out there, as you have limited control over the infrastructure itself.
• Private: A private cloud is a private place for you to store your data on-premises. Think of it as buying out a whole building to do whatever you would like with. Many businesses prefer the private cloud because they can make any changes they want to their infrastructure, including (most importantly) security.
• Hybrid: A hybrid cloud solution is kind of like a mixture of public and private clouds. Similar to the public cloud, you are not responsible for hosting the hybrid cloud solution, but you have just as much control over it as you would if you had a private cloud solution. It’s a great middle-ground for any business looking to implement cloud solutions.

Examples of Cloud Solutions

To give you an idea of what is out there for cloud solutions, here are some of the more popular cloud hosting providers that you might be familiar with:

• Google Workspace
• Microsoft OneDrive/Microsoft 365
• Amazon Web Services/Amazon Drive
• Dropbox
• iDrive
• And many more

While the above are some of the more popular choices for cloud storage and application deployment, we want to urge anyone looking to take advantage of the cloud to do their research and make informed decisions by working with a managed service provider like MSPNetworks. We can help you sift through the options available to you and implement a system that is perfect for your needs.

MSPNetworks can help your organization make the best decision possible for its cloud-based needs. To learn more about how we can help your organization, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

When we talk about the cloud, what springs to your mind? The cloud might sound like a business buzzword, but in reality it’s one of the most important components of a technology infrastructure, especially in today’s online environment. Considering the ongoing pandemic and unpredictability that the situation brings, you don’t want to wait any longer; you should have started thinking about implementing the cloud yesterday.

What is Cloud Computing?

When we talk about the cloud, it’s mostly in the context of cloud computing. Most people utilize cloud computing on a day-to-day basis in at least some capacity, whether they realize it or not. Most email solutions these days are stored in the cloud, so anytime you access your Gmail account, you are using cloud computing. Cloud computing is essentially when data lives in an online environment. This makes the data available through some kind of account or portal, improving accessibility and flexibility in general. It’s a great way for businesses to keep operations going even while out of the office.

That being said, most businesses will have to ask themselves whether a public or private cloud is the ideal solution.

Public vs Private

When considering cloud computing, you will find that these services can be broken up into two major categories: public and private. Each of these have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s dive in.

Private Cloud

It’s perfectly fine for businesses to host their own private cloud infrastructure. In fact, many organizations already do this. They have servers on-premises that they manage and maintain, allowing their workers to access the data found on them through approved mobile devices. The private cloud allows for many benefits that the public cloud does not, including greater control over your data and the ability to customize every little piece of your infrastructure. On the other hand, it is saddled with the costs of building, managing, and maintaining a complex server infrastructure, as well as securing it from would-be hackers.

Public Cloud

For those who do not have the capabilities to store, manage, and maintain an entire infrastructure of cloud servers, we have the public cloud. The aforementioned online services that many consumers use run on the public cloud. The public cloud is online space that is partitioned off per user, meaning that you and only you have access to your data, despite it being located in the same place as other users’ data. While this makes the cloud infinitely more accessible and easier to utilize, it does come with some drawbacks. Since the space is managed by a cloud provider, you might not have as much control over your data as you would like. This also extends into security; you might want to implement more powerful data security measures (especially since it is the public cloud), but you’ll be unable to do so.

This presents a difficult position. Do you skimp on security and customization, or do you bite the bullet and build an infrastructure that is impossible to manage and maintain on your own? Well, neither. We do have one other option for you.

The Solution: A Hybrid Cloud

Small businesses are in a unique position regarding cloud computing. They might not have the capabilities to manage and maintain their own private infrastructure of cloud servers, but don’t want to compromise on their ability to protect their resources or implement a solution that only solves one of many issues they are experiencing. This is why a hybrid cloud solution is often ideal for small businesses.

The way it works is simple: you essentially “rent” server space in a data center, allowing you to do what you will with it. The space is managed and protected by the service provider so that you don’t have to. It’s a great compromise that makes services more accessible to small businesses without losing out on the imperative security that is inherently unavailable to those utilizing the public cloud.

MSPNetworks can help your business implement a quality cloud solution specific to your individual needs. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Cloud computing has been one of the most utilized tools for business in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it crucial for businesses to give remote access to tools and one effective way to make that happen was to look to the cloud. This has expanded an already booming market and presents businesses of all sizes with the opportunity to get the computing they need without huge upfront costs. Today, we’ll take a look at the cloud computing market and how you can leverage hosted computing solutions to improve your business. 

The Cloud Market

The cloud market was already hundreds of billions of dollars before 2020, but the realities of a global pandemic accelerated the growth of many cloud services. While overall growth might seem a little subdued when you look at the numbers, the percentage of growth cloud computing platforms saw in 2020 makes it one of the most utilized technologies in the world. 

Gartner has estimated that the 2020 public cloud market will come in around $258 billion which is a firm increase of 6.3 percent over 2019 numbers. In a clear recession that is extraordinarily impressive. What’s more, nearly half of all IT spending is now spent in the cloud. In fact, 60-to-70 percent of all new software purchased in 2020 were in the form of cloud solutions. 

A case could be made that cloud computing was COVID Kryptonite and it is actively changing the way we do business. The growth of AI and other automation-fueling technologies will be at the top of most business’ “get” lists as uncertainty takes hold over businesses. 

How Can My Business Use the Cloud?

Your business probably already has invested in cloud services at some point. If you have a hosted email server that you don’t have physical access to, you are using public cloud services. With the uncertainty of business today, with everything that is going on, having control over your digital resources is important.

One of the best reasons to use cloud services is that you can get the computing you need. Do you need a certain amount of file storage? You can get it in the cloud. Do you have a budget that is set in stone? You can find the resources you need in the cloud. Do you need scalable computing resources for specific project needs? The cloud presents a massive benefit for a business with variable user software demands. In fact, today, you can literally get any type of computing that you need in the cloud: from full infrastructures to host your business’ IT environments to software, to security to communications and much, much more.

Your business is most certainly a candidate for cloud services. It’s that simple. You just need some professional insight to help you determine what IT investments would be better off hosting yourself and which are right for the public cloud. At MSPNetworks, we have a team of certified technicians that are adept in the procurement, deployment, and support of today’s most important business technologies. Our staff can help you determine the best places to invest in IT, and how to keep your costs down at a time when everyone is looking to manage their budgets. Give us a call today at (516) 403-9001 to see how we can help you use technology to build a better business.

The cloud has proven to be an extremely useful tool for the modern business. Not only does it provide anywhere-anytime access to applications, processing, storage, et al; it also delivers those products as a service, allowing you to budget for recurring costs rather than major upfront ones. This provides your organization with functional, supported, and secure computing environments that eliminate a lot of the support costs that traditional computing environments require. It sounds like a perfect scenario for small and large businesses alike, but things aren’t always what they seem, as a lot of cloud users have found that they have incurred several hidden costs by using cloud platforms. Today, we take a look at these hidden costs.

A study from Research In Action polled 468 CIOs about their cloud usage and the costs associated with them. Many admitted that cloud investment was one of the largest expenses their organization would have from a technology point of view. The study went on to find that while a majority of CIOs considered the “hidden” costs of this technology, much of the concern is alleviated by the reputation of their vendors. Some of the potential problems they considered include:

Having to put forth more effort to properly manage vendors, and their corresponding Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Bottlenecking and the impact poor cloud performance could have on brand perception, productivity, and customer support. The increased cost of solving complex problems inside cloud environments.

Are these concerns justified? Sure, but they are hard to measure. Many businesses just haven’t developed a system to properly quantify the perceived loss in revenue tied to cloud inefficiency. In fact, most companies don’t have updated, automated methods in use to track and manage their cloud performance.

Costs of Scalability

Many organizations also run into cloud cost overruns when dealing with the scale of their cloud platforms. Costs associated with over-provisioning (buying too much), under-provisioning (buying too little), management, and administration of cloud hosted environments present costs that may not look significant up front, but over time can have negative effects on the overall profitability of a business. Understanding the amount of space/processing you’ll need to meet your organization's needs is almost always going to be a fluid situation, but understanding how they affect your business’ bottom line is crucial to mitigate unwanted monetary responsibilities or cost overruns associated with the cloud platforms you utilize.

Going Too Far

Cloud platforms are nice, but you don’t have to look much further than your personal situation to see how the ease of use these platforms provide can get expensive pretty quick. For the individual, costs add up quick thanks to cloud-based streaming media and other platforms that come in a subscription model. You’ve got Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, and many, many more that are relatively cheap. Microsoft Office 365 is exceptionally useful and affordable, providing unparalleled value for about any computer user. The more you subscribe to, the more costs add up, which is why you’ll want to design, and stick to a dedicated plan to avoid overextending yourself, or your organization.

Utility computing in the cloud, whether it be applications, storage, processing, or some other form, is extraordinarily valuable, but only if you understand how to avoid paying more than you should for your cloud assets. The knowledgeable technicians at MSPNetworks can help you come up with cloud deployment strategy, while also helping you avoid cost overruns typically associated with these assets. Call us today at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

This is a strange time for everyone. For business owners, it’s filled with uncertainty as many of their businesses have had to shut down in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Others were forced into embracing remote operations. For these companies, their cloud platforms are turning out to be major benefits. Today, we’ll explain why.

Identifying the Best Plan Ahead

A business owner’s priorities have likely changed during the past few months. They’ve gone from worrying about specific problems to being concerned over the sustainability of their entire enterprise. It is important for the businesses owner to stop worrying about how to keep their business functioning in the same way that it was, and focus on coming up with a plan to adjust to the situation they are in and do the best they can to keep operations sustainable and profitable. 

The advice we’d give is to consider a cloud migration strategy. This shift will allow for anytime/anywhere access and will work to reduce your management, support, and utility costs. Furthermore, there are specific tools available in the cloud that can simplify your entire computing platform.

If you are chomping at the bit to move your computing infrastructure to the cloud, you should start by choosing the systems that need remote access. This will ensure that you will have a lot of the most valuable resources for your needs. After that you can work your way onto new workloads. Migrating your business’ computing resources to the cloud in phases will reduce the strain you will put on your staff, as the process of doing so is time consuming. 

As you are doing so, you will need to train your staff on the best practices of authentication, including password management and other security protocols to prepare them to protect your new cloud systems. Otherwise, setting up the cloud is as simple as working with your IT administrator to get the tools to the people that need them.

MSPNetworks can help. If you want to improve your IT infrastructure, or if you are forced into accepting remote operations, give us a call at (516) 403-9001 and our knowledgeable professionals will help find the solution that works for your organization’s needs. 

Cloud solutions are extremely popular among modern businesses, whether they rely on public cloud resources or maintain their own in-house private cloud. Some businesses, however, elect to take the middle ground and use a “hybrid” cloud solution. Let’s take a few moments to determine if your business could benefit from this approach.

First, let’s examine what makes a cloud solution a “hybrid” one.

What is a Hybrid Cloud Solution?

As Peter Mell and Timothy Grance defined in Special Publication 800-145 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the hybrid cloud deployment model is defined with the following excerpt:

“The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities, but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).”

Or in other words, two different cloud models that function separately, but are both used for regular business operations. Some businesses elect to run their operations and applications on a private cloud solution, but use public cloud platforms for their backup and disaster recovery needs.

Benefits and Challenges of a Hybrid Cloud Approach

There are quite a few benefits that a hybrid cloud approach has to offer, including:

• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: You have the option to focus the hybrid cloud exclusively on your continuity strategy. With a backup in both a public cloud and private cloud, your chances of not having access to your data when you need it are effectively eliminated.
• Better Control-to-Need Ratio: Combining private and public cloud solutions together allows you to ensure you have the control over some elements of your business, while the public cloud allows you to better scale to meet your needs.
• Cost Benefits: There is no denying that some projects are too big to efficiently run on a private cloud. A hybrid cloud approach allows you to both keep your data secure while accessing the processing power a public cloud platform can provide.

However, the hybrid cloud does have some inherent challenges that could prohibit you from benefiting from its use.

• Lack of Visibility: In a hybrid cloud system, it can be difficult to keep track of where your data is being stored, and whether you are investing more than you need in one of its parts. This can have detrimental effects on your budget.
• Complicated Security: Even though your cloud vendors are putting forth their best efforts, the security of your data is your responsibility, and the marriage between public and private clouds introduces additional risks.
• Bottleneck Concerns: When data moves between public and private clouds, there could easily be a bottleneck somewhere in your network, creating severely negative impacts.

Still not sure if the hybrid cloud is right for you? Reach out to MSPNetworks and find out! Give our experts a call at (516) 403-9001.

Technology plays an integral part in just about all modern businesses in some way, shape or form. Without a place to purchase devices, however, no one can reap the benefits of them. Some businesses are vendors that provide organizations with these devices. In a sense, they act as the middle man between the producer and the consumer, acquiring devices for sale to businesses and users alike. In this way, vendors are critical for every single business.

There are vendors for just about anything that businesses need, including supplies, equipment, and services. One particularly important vendor nowadays is one that provides cloud-based services to businesses. Since the cloud is much more than just your average utility these days, your choice in vendor will play a significant role in how much your organization benefits from the cloud.

Selecting the Right Cloud Vendor
Doing your research is one of the best ways you can learn more about cloud providers and your specific goals. Once you have a list of your business’ priorities for both the short-term and long-term, you’ll be able to work with your IT resources to ensure that compatibility with the cloud is adequate. This is more involved than you might think. The vendor you ultimately go with needs to provide what you need at an affordable rate, and there should be some kind of consistent service that you can measure. You should also be able to trust your vendors to provide the agreed-upon services in a timely manner, whether it’s for services rendered or for equipment.

How Cloud Services Are Different
Vendors for cloud services are generally held to a higher standard. The data hosted in a cloud-based environment will naturally be at stake, meaning that security is a major aspect that can’t be ignored for these services. Be sure to also consider data access; who within your organization (and without) will be able to access data stored in the applications? Will your vendor be able to access it as well? Following the setup, you’ll have a variety of factors to include in your discussion with your vendors. This might include how important specific functions of your service are, how compliant their policies are, and how much risk is associated with working with the particular vendor.

MSPNetworks can help your business make the right call regarding its cloud services. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Businesses spend a lot of time thinking about new technology solutions, but new organizations in particular need all of the tools they can get to be competitive in the competitive marketplace. The cloud is one of those tools that will continue to grow alongside your business provided you take measures to keep it flexible enough to change as needed. We’ll help you understand how the cloud can be great for new businesses, as well as some of the solutions you can take advantage of through it.

The Cloud for Communications
All businesses need a telephone system of some kind. The traditional telephone infrastructure used by older organizations got a lot of mileage, but it’s unnecessary for the modern office. In traditional business telephone solutions adding users can be irritating and expensive. Cloud-based communication solutions like Voice over IP allow you to add extensions while taking advantage of everyday features that you would get with a more traditional telephone system. The benefits include eliminating an unnecessary service in traditional telephony while consolidating your infrastructure to use your bandwidth for communications.

The Cloud for Data Storage
The cloud allows for easy access to data storage. This gives your team the capabilities to access the same files from anywhere at any time as long as they have the correct permissions. Cloud-based data access promotes flexibility in devices used for work purposes as well as productivity by enabling employees to work as they see fit. Of course, permissions are something that must be paid attention to, as the more people who can access data, the more likely it is that something goes wrong with it. A good rule to follow is limit data access by user role.

The Cloud for Application Access
Some businesses have critical applications installed on every workstation, but this can be expensive and time-consuming. For one, you have to install this software on all devices they are needed on. This means you need multiple software licenses for each instance of the software running, whether it’s in use or not. Storing applications in the cloud gives your business more opportunity to apply patches and updates as needed, as well as making account management much easier.

How does your business use the cloud to its advantage? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to reach out to us at (516) 403-9001 for more tips on how you can leverage the cloud to your organization’s benefit.

The cloud is such an important part of today’s business environment that most organizations use it to some extent, even if it’s just for basic storage needs. However, the cloud needs to be properly maintained, starting with the way you secure your cloud services. Take a moment to ask yourself if your cloud--whether it’s hosted on-site or by a provider--is safe and secure.

Here is a list of four major issues that many organizations have regarding their cloud security.

End-to-End Encryption
To protect data on your network, the most effective method is to encrypt it. Encryption jumbles the data, making it difficult for hackers and other malicious entities to read the data unless they have also stolen an encryption key to decrypt the files. Encryption is there to put the user’s mind at ease, as it provides the knowledge that even in a worst-case scenario, your data is safe.

Physical Security Measures
If you don’t host your data on-site, you need to make sure that the data center you use is protected against not just digital intruders, but invaders who would use physical access to infiltrate the systems. You should have some combination of armed security patrols, biometric authentication procedures, and monitoring to keep intruders out. If you host in-house, you need to consider many of these same solutions. You should always have your servers being monitored, while being stored in the most secure locations possible.

Compliance Regulations
Various industries are subject to specific compliance laws that need to be adhered to, lest they face fines that could cripple even the soundest budget. For example, any business that uses health records to any extent is subject to HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This means that they must take specific measures to protect any of this information or face steep fines.

Standard (Scalable) Security Measures
The same security measures you want to use in-house should also be protecting your cloud-based infrastructure. These measures include antivirus, firewalls, a spam blocker, and content filter. All of these measures are implemented to keep your cloud solution as safe as can be from any threats bold enough to attack, whether they are internal or external. An enterprise-level Unified Threat Management solution is critical to the success of this endeavor, and it’s the best way to make sure your business’ assets remain secured.

MSPNetworks can help your business keep its cloud resources secure. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.