MSPNetworks Blog

Nobody likes getting large support bills from technology companies—especially when they are unexpected. This is the case for both the business owners footing the bill and the employees who might be held responsible for racking up the bill in the first place. This puts SMBs in a bit of an impossible situation; either spend money to keep employees productive, or save money and suffer from productivity issues.

Unexpected downtime can wreak havoc on businesses large and small, which is especially bad when so many paths lead to it. Let’s explore some of downtime’s causes, and equally importantly, how it can be avoided.

While your business might last into the near future, your IT is more challenging to upkeep and preserve over time. You’ll have to consider reworking and restructuring your infrastructure to ensure that it stands the test of time. Let’s review some warning signs that it might be time to do just that.

Your business needs IT expertise, regardless of how much it is integrated into your operations. You need someone on staff who not only understands your technology, but someone who can help you make the most of it to get the leg up on competition. Today, we want to explore how you can hire the right IT professionals for your organization’s specific needs, including both hard and soft skills.

As a small business, we’re sure you want to improve your profit margin so that you can offer more exciting and innovative services or products. One way that many businesses bleed capital is through their IT expenses. While it might make sense on paper to address technology challenges only when they present themselves, the truth is the exact opposite.

One of the biggest signs that your business is doing well is that it is growing. When it starts to grow, you might notice that your office suddenly feels a little cramped. While moving an office can be stressful, it is often necessary to ensure that your company can continue to flourish. From an IT perspective, it can be even more challenging.

There are significant benefits to be had by businesses that choose to seek out IT services and assistance from a managed service provider like us. We’re very aware that our word isn’t going to be super convincing on its own, of course, so let’s review what a managed service provider can do and how working with us can help your business.

Let’s begin by breaking down what we are as a managed service provider, and what we provide as such.

What are Managed IT Services, and What Makes Them So Different Than Typical Computer Support?

Managed services are the handling of a company’s assorted IT needs by an outsourced consultancy, staffed with subject matter experts who work proactively to prevent any possible IT issues before they interfere with a client business’ productivity. On top of this, true managed services also involve the active optimization and improvement of the business’ technology—not just preventing issues, but actually counteracting them through increased productivity that’s supplemented by on-demand technical support for a business’ employees.

Just a few short years ago, the term “managed services” was relatively niche. Today, the various attributes that MSPs—managed service providers—offer as an element of their business model have proven beneficial enough that the idea has become more noticeable, if you know where to look.

How to Spot an MSP

First of all, if you’re reading this, you’ve found one of the best options for managed services in New York. However, if you’re one who likes to do their due diligence, a real MSP will generally offer some version of the following services:

• MSPs commonly work remotely, only coming onsite when there’s a need that requires hands-on mediation. This not only cuts down on in-office distractions and interruptions, it allows your issues to be resolved much more quickly.
  
  
• While many traditional IT companies would operate on a piecemeal basis, the ongoing services of an MSP make the subscription model a much better option. Not only does this allow you to more confidently predict your IT maintenance costs and budget appropriately, it also gives the client clear expectations through a pre-arranged service level agreement.
  
  
• Relatedly, rather than offering their services in catch-all blocks, an MSP can customize their services and prices to more exactly fit the needs of a client. Then, if those needs ever change, the MSP can adjust to meet them. This eliminates the tendency for companies to either overinvest beyond their needs, or miss out on clearly beneficial services because the price is too high.
  
  
• Critically, most MSPs offer all-hours support and remote maintenance services, so regardless of when an issue needs to be resolved, someone is there to work toward a solution.

In addition to these services, many MSPs can step in and actively boost your existing in-house IT department. Let’s say you have a few legacy systems that are on their way to being replaced and upgraded, but still need to be supported in the meantime. An MSP is motivated to keep their team educated so they will be able to offer that support if you lack a team member with the required knowledge.

Alternatively, your existing team may not be sufficient to handle both the maintenance of your existing systems and also serve their equally important function of strategizing improvements for the future. With the help of a managed service provider, either one can be taken off your internal team’s plate, allowing them to more effectively serve their role.

Plus, MSPs regularly communicate with assorted vendors to obtain services for their clientele. In these cases, you and the rest of the MSP’s clients effectively join the MSP as part of a cooperative, as an MSP often has access to better deals due to their regular business that can then be passed to you. 

Do the Services of an MSP Sound Beneficial to You?

Now, I know you likely have options to consider, but my team and I would love the chance to talk to you more directly about your needs and challenges so we can better roadmap an approach that would work best for you. Of course, if you aren’t ready for that yet, we’re also here to answer any questions you may have regarding our services.

In either case, give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

While most of us know that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, fewer know that he’s specifically built his big, rambling castle in the Laughing Valley. It is there that he and his workforce, the elves, sprites, pixies, and fairies that help him make his toys all live, all working hard to give the children of the world their presents each year.

Of course, as magical as Santa and his team may be, it isn’t unheard of for them to need a little help every once in a while.

The Laughing Valley sure does live up to its name. From the brook that winds its way through the emerald green banks and chuckles as it goes, to the wind that whistles a merry tune through the trees, to the cold sun that gives what heat and warmth it can to Santa’s establishments, to the poinsettias and daffodils that smile their way up through the snow. It only stands to reason that the Laughing Valley would be a place of contented happiness, and Santa Claus was proud to know that this contentment could be found in every nook and cranny of the valley he made his home and place of business.

To one side of the valley stood the Forest of Burzee, where all the elves—and even Santa himself—spent their childhoods amongst the mighty trees. At the other side, however, rose a great mountain, riddled with the Caves of the Daemons. In the middle is the peaceful and serene valley, where jolly old St. Nicholas has made his home.

Now, no one could blame you for thinking that Santa, the Santa Claus, the right jolly old elf who worked tirelessly to make the children of the world happy, would have no enemies. For a long time, you’d have been right to think that, too.

However, it wasn’t long before the Daemons who occupied the caves developed a loathing of Santa Claus, and it was largely because the toys that Santa delivered each year worked.

The mountain was home to five Daemons, each with their own cave. Closest to the ground, a broad path leads to the first of the caves, ornately decorated with intricate carvings that could easily draw in an unsuspecting witness. This was the home of the Daemon of Phishing. Just behind this cave was another cavern, much more utilitarian, this one occupied by the Daemon of Ransomware. Just beyond this entrance stood the cavernous hole that the Daemon of Data Theft called home, and if one were unfortunate enough to pass its threshold, they would find themselves approaching the heart of the mountain—the home of the Daemon of Business Failure—and all the weaving snares and traps that littered the caverns within.

Each of these caves had a small tunnel that emerged from beside it, all of which led to the last daemon’s home: the much cozier and safer-feeling cave that the Daemon of Disaster Recovery called home. The trails to this daemon’s home, while not quite as worn and traveled as the others, still showed signs of many a traveler having bypassed the other daemons in order to pay the much more pleasant Daemon of Disaster Recovery a welcome visit.

It was not long before the Daemons believed they had a reason to dislike Santa Claus and his work, and so they called a meeting to explore why that may be.

“I’m so bored,” complained the Daemon of Phishing. “Santa Claus gives all the children such neat toys, they’re happy and satisfied… no, thrilled… and aren’t tempted by my cave and all its glory.”

“I know what you mean,” replied the Daemon of Ransomware. “It’s as though Santa has warned the children about my plans, so many are on their guard whenever I approach.”

“You’re one to talk,” scoffed the Daemon of Data Theft. “I rely on you, Ransomware, to distract and confuse all those silly children so I can take their information without them realizing. If you can’t catch anyone in your web, how am I supposed to steal from them while they’re distracted?”

The Daemon of Business Failure quietly shook its ponderous head, as none of the children were letting it into their parent’s critical data on their business laptops.

“I mean, I guess I’m a little lonely, too,” chimed in the Daemon of Disaster Recovery. “If you all haven’t had any success, there really is no need for my activities.”

“It’s all that Santa Claus’ fault!” spat the Daemon of Ransomware. “His interference simply cannot be tolerated any longer. This might be my modus operandi, but we must concoct a plan to stop him in his tracks.”

All of them agreed (although the Daemon of Disaster Recovery was a little hesitant) and started plotting their strategy. Santa Claus would be easy to find—most of his hours were spent in the workshop, collaborating with his elves to create the gifts he was to distribute on Christmas Eve. The daemons determined that their best bet was to try and use their talents to prevent St. Nick from accomplishing his mission.

The Daemon of Phishing was chosen to try first, and so the very next day, the mountain dweller descended to the workshop and approached Santa and his elves as they merrily toiled away. The Daemon, putting on his most charming smile, addressed Santa Claus:

“Oh my, look at you all, so hard at work! You know, I have plenty of toys up in my cave. I’d be happy to give you all you need to fill your sleigh, you just have to come with me.”

Santa’s eyes brightened for a moment, until a small elf whose eyes had narrowed the moment the Daemon had approached, pulled the old man’s sleeve until he could whisper something in his ear.

“Oh, that’s quite all right,” Santa chuckled. “It is a sincere pleasure to create all these toys for the children of the world, and I wouldn’t want to take any too-good-to-be-true shortcuts.”

Scowling, the Daemon retreated, returning to the anxious faces of the others. He announced, “Santa does not seem to want an easy solution, so my best trap has failed.”

The next day was the Daemon of Ransomware’s turn. Using his influential magic, the Daemon caused all of the workshop’s machinery to suddenly stop. When he saw Santa, the Daemon of Ransomware approached, feigning concern. “Oh, no, your factories! How will you ever make all the toys you need if your workshop is dark?”

Santa, however, seemed unconcerned, and in a few moments the workshop surged back to life as the same small elf from the day before emerged with a triumphant look on his face.

“Ho, ho, ho! I learned long ago that, despite the most important aspect of my work happening on a single night, all the rest needs to be protected in order for me to be ready for that night. It was long ago that I was advised to maintain a backup of all my operations, just in case something were to go wrong.

Thus a second Daemon was foiled, but the next day was the Daemon of Data Theft’s turn. The daemon went straight to the workshop and found St. Nick’s all-important list of all the good children’s wishes, written in Santa’s unmistakable script. Extending his proboscis, Data Theft began slurping, removing all the ink from the document. Once finished, the daemon sought out Santa Claus.

“Santa, wait! I have the worst news! I stumbled upon the list, and I realized it was blank! How could this have happened?”

To the daemon’s shock, St. Nick simply chuckled and gestured an elf over, her hair carefully braided and draped around her shoulders. Once this elf had seen the document, she nodded, and clapping her hands three times, produced a magical whirlwind of text that swiftly repopulated the list, not an apostrophe or suffix out of place.

Santa winked at the daemon. “Good thing I always keep a backup, eh?”

Aghast, the Daemon of Data Theft retreated in defeat, and informed the others of their lack of progress. All the subterfuge and scams they had tried were for naught. However, it was the Daemon of Business Failure’s turn, and they were even more resolute than the others.

So, when Santa next took the sleigh and his crack team of reindeer out for a practice flight, his deep laughs of joy were suddenly interrupted by a lasso that wrapped around his famous belly and jerked him from his bench.

Landing heavily in the snow with a grunt, Santa was quickly bundled away by his assailants… the Daemons, led by Business Failure as his devious strategy came to light. Hurrying to a deep and secret cavern in their mountain, the Daemons soon had Santa affixed to the wall, helpless.

“Aha,” cackled four of the daemons, with Disaster Recovery hanging back, obviously conflicted. “We have him. We have him! No longer will he be able to distract the children of the world from our efforts, and they will grow up to be so vulnerable to all forms of cybercrime! Phishing Attacks will be more effective than ever, leading to Ransomware and Data Theft! Business Failure will be at an all-time high, despite everything that Disaster Recovery tries! We, the Daemons of the Caves, have finally won!”

“Eh, not really.”

Shocked, Phishing Attacks, Ransomware, Data Theft, and Business Failure spun toward the unexpected voice. The Daemon of Business Failure was the first to speak:

“It’s… you.”

Standing at the entrance to the cave was the elf who had produced the backup of Santa’s list. She arched one eyebrow at the huddled group of Daemons.

“Yep. It’s us.”

Us? The word hardly had the chance to register with the daemons before their own lasso arced over and looped around them. Somehow, the Daemons turned, only to see a freed Santa holding the other end of the rope, along with the other elf and—instilling no small amount of rage in the hogtied daemons—the Daemon of Disaster Recovery. This time, the Daemon of Ransomware spoke first.

“You, you traitor.”

Rather than shrinking back, the Daemon of Disaster Recovery fired back. “Yeah, maybe I am. Or maybe I’m just the guy who’s sick of cleaning up the messes you all make as you try to interfere with the happiness of a whole world of children.”

Scowling, Disaster Recovery stepped forward. “Every year, I watch you interfere with the joy and good tidings of people around the world. I see you influence people with little choice to convince them to spread their own misfortune through scams and cyberattacks. I observe as you four treat the world as though it's your own little sandbox of cybercrime.”

Disaster Recovery continued to advance upon his neighbors.

“I’m done watching. From now on, I’m going to do whatever I can to help Santa and his elves here prevent these kinds of issues, teaching those in the workshop the signs of threats of all kinds.”

Disaster Recovery stopped, looking to Santa and the elves. “If that’s okay with you all, of course.”

Santa grinned, and the elves snapped up a quick salute. “Welcome to the Laughing Valley Cybersecurity Defense Squad, friend. I’m sure your expertise will be a great help.”

Now, while we here at MSPNetworks aren’t the Laughing Valley Cybersecurity Defense Squad, we’d like to think that we can serve a similar purpose for the businesses of New York. Have a very happy holiday, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us at (516) 403-9001 as your resolution for the new year.

Technology is complex, and it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. This is more the case for business technology than consumer technology. Even those who consider themselves tech-savvy might be lost when it comes to managing business-grade technology solutions. How can you make sure that your business technology is receiving the service it needs to stay operational long-term?

Managed IT services can help your business keep its technology functioning with a minimal amount of stress and involvement on your part. Even a small business can afford the assistance of a managed IT provider, giving them the same care and expertise for technology management that an enterprise might have for their internal IT department.

Consider the size difference between an enterprise and small business for a moment. Chances are the enterprise has a larger budget and more wiggle room for things like IT management. Smaller businesses that don’t produce as much revenue compared to their expenses might be operating a bit more frugally, and one of the first departments that gets cut is the one that has the biggest expense tied to it: IT. This is a major problem, though, because IT is hopelessly intertwined with other parts of your business which enable it to generate capital.

While some large companies are able to hire full, in-house IT departments, the most fortunate small businesses often only have one, or maybe two technicians on-site. Having a full IT department is great because it gives the technicians the ability to spread the workload, allowing them to focus on both innovative new tools and maintaining current systems simultaneously. The same cannot be said for small teams, who are already stretched to the point where they have to choose operational maintenance over innovation.

The answer to this is simple, but it doesn’t seem affordable at first glance: you need more help. Hiring extra technicians and adding them to your payroll is difficult, though, and not always the easiest or most sustainable decision. Rather than worry about this, you can outsource certain responsibilities to a third-party managed service provider so that your in-house team can focus on things that truly matter to running your organization. You receive services rendered according to a service level agreement, and you pay monthly in a budget-friendly payment plan. It’s a great alternative to hiring multiple new technicians to handle the increased workload. 

MSPNetworks can give your business the services and expertise it needs to properly maintain and manage its enterprise-grade solutions. We can help regardless of your current situation, whether you are looking for external help or you have an internal IT department who already maintains your infrastructure. All our assistance means is that your team is freed up to focus on what you hired them to do, and that should make everyone happy—including you and your bottom line.

To learn more about our technology services, give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today.

When times get tough, businesses are pretty quick to start cutting costs wherever they can…and frequently, the business’ IT is the first thing to hit the chopping block.

While we contend that IT is the last thing you want to cut back on when times are tough, you may not have a choice. Therefore, we wanted to take a few moments to explore how you can resist some of these cuts—and if not, what you need to prioritize.

Let’s begin with why you should avoid cutting your IT spending if you can help it.

Let Me Ask You This: Would You Fire Your Most Effective Employee if You Were Downsizing?

Cutting your IT spending is effectively doing just that—for modern businesses, IT can often be seen as another employee, and one who accomplishes a considerable amount for your business each and every day. If you were to really take a deep dive into the benefits that your IT provides to your business, we’d be willing to bet that your IT does a lot more than you might have considered without taking that deep dive.

Therefore, if you “fire” your business’ technology by cutting down on its budget, you’re quite literally hindering one of your most effective business resources. So, what do you do if you have no choice but to downsize your IT budget?

How to Downsize Your Budget without Hurting Your IT

First, you need to properly identify which IT metrics should be focused on, as there is a huge difference between suspending a potential technology after a failed stress test and suspending a reliable and proven function that provides measurable value. Otherwise, you could potentially create what is called a false economy—perceived savings that result in higher costs later on.

It’s also important to acknowledge that some costs simply should not be cut, like technology refreshes. While it may be tempting to do so, the relative value that these investments bring make them too valuable to sacrifice.

If You Need to Minimize Your Budget While Still Getting the Most Value, Consider Managed IT Services

I know, I know… the advice for trimming a budget being to add another service may sound crazy, but there are a few ways that working with an MSP can prove to be a great cost-saving investment.

First of all, you need to consider that signing on with a managed service provider is effectively the equivalent of hiring an entire IT department for a predictable monthly cost. An MSP also gives you easy access to better deals from vendors and more advanced IT tools that allow you to accomplish more with less. Cloud-delivered services, virtualized tools and software, and remote-enabling technologies can all have a positive impact on your expenses.

My team and I would love to discuss this with you further, so if you need assistance in streamlining your IT to better fit your available budget, please give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001.

In business, experience is always useful. Nowhere is that more apparent than when managing your organization’s IT infrastructure. The problem is that acquiring the expertise to do just that can be quite confusing for most business owners. Today, we’ll talk about how technology management experience can produce better business from one end to the other. 

Value of Modern IT

For any-sized business, the use of technology can present huge steps forward in terms of productivity and efficiency. For the business that actively tries to find the right technology to aid its operations, it can be maddening and frustrating. This is because there is seemingly an endless amount of options available, all of which promise to help build a better business. The thing is, not all technology that works for one business, works for another. 

The technology consultants at MSPNetworks work daily with New York businesses to help them get the technology to drive their business initiatives forward. This isn’t just about getting computers set up, it’s about getting the tools into a business that can work to make productivity easier, automate menial tasks, and build an efficient workforce that doesn’t have to struggle to collaborate. 

The value of modern IT can be immeasurable if it is implemented and supported correctly. That’s why having experienced technicians that understand both the fundamentals of supporting business technology and how it works to improve a business’ operational effectiveness is important. 

Experience With Business Technology

As far as delivering the right technology, technicians with experience not only understand how a business can utilize certain solutions to solve operational problems, but they also understand the potential value it has to a business as a whole. The procurement of new technology can be difficult for people that don’t know exactly what is needed to accomplish organizational goals.

Since most businesses have to be diligent about choosing prudent technology investments, having experienced perspectives is a great benefit that can go beyond dollars and cents; it can create environments where workers can be the most productive and allow business leaders to build processes that can bring a level of consistency that isn’t found in businesses that don’t have expert perspective driving their IT investments. 

In business today there are a lot of considerations to be made about IT. Does your business use remote workers? Does it have systems that need more security or more transparency? Most important of all, can it build the dynamic IT infrastructure you need to forge ahead confidently? With MSPNetworks consultants working to help build your business’ technology, you can gain the peace of mind needed to know that you are getting the IT you need affordably. This makes for a more reliable technology environment. 

Experience with Support

Getting the right technology is only half the battle. If it isn’t supported, managed, and maintained correctly, you might as well flush money down the toilet. The key to a reliable IT infrastructure is expert support. This means experienced IT technicians that know what they are looking for/at and that are able to reliably keep your technology up and running efficiently and securely.

Today, there are more threats than ever, and that is before you consider that technology breaks. To ensure that your business doesn’t grind to a halt with technology problems, having experienced IT experts actively working on keeping your IT running effectively is more important than ever. Of course, you can hire IT staff to accomplish this, but if your business can’t afford the thousands of dollars a month that a professional IT technician would command, considering a managed service provider like MSPNetworks is your best option. Not only can you have experienced IT technicians at the ready if something happens, they work proactively to ensure that you don’t have to deal with productivity-sapping downtime. 

Business IT can get complicated, but at MSPNetworks we pride ourselves on being a solution to our clients’ IT problems, not another problem. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today to talk to one of our consultants about how we can help you get the most out of your business. 

More businesses than ever before are seeing the value of outsourcing their technology management to a managed service provider (MSP) and it’s easy to see why. With a more hands-off approach to technology management, businesses can focus on delivering quality goods and services instead of worrying about their technology. If you are considering jumping on the MSP wagon, consider asking the following questions to make sure you understand what you are getting from your provider.

What Services Do You Offer?

It helps to know what services an MSP is capable of offering to your organization, specifically because it helps to establish expectations and inform your ability to add or remove services according to your specific needs. For example, if you can foresee a situation where your business wants to move to a more cloud-based infrastructure environment, you want to ensure that your provider offers services like cloud hosting and cloud migration. Otherwise, why would you consider them?

How Experienced Are Your Technicians?

When it comes to your technology, you don’t want some greenhorn handling it. You want a seasoned and experienced technician who has had their fair share of time working with business technology solutions. This is especially the case in a world where security needs to be at the forefront of every business owner’s mind. You want technicians who both know what they are doing and are knowledgeable enough to distill complex ideas into easily-understood concepts.

What is the Service Level Agreement?

The service level agreement, or SLA, is an agreement between your business and the service provider which dictates the services rendered and the costs associated with them. It might include information such as how much you pay, which services are included with that payment, how often you pay for your services, and so on. Basically, asking this question helps to determine what kind of expectations you have from your MSP and the services they provide for you based on what you pay.

Get Started with Managed Services Today

If your business is considering working with a managed service provider to fill the technology skills gap that so many companies find themselves with, we encourage you to think local and work with MSPNetworks for your needs. Our trusted and trained technicians can work with your team to ensure that technology is never a pain point for your business again.

Plus, depending on your specific needs, we can either fulfill the roles of a full-fledged IT department, act as a consultant, implement new technology solutions, operate as a help desk, and so much more. Our services are truly customizable to suit your company’s specific needs.

To learn more about how we can support your business goals, call us today at (516) 403-9001.

It’s easy to use the terms “patches” and “updates” as if they mean the same thing, and they are often used interchangeably within the same context. However, understanding the difference between the two can make a world of difference in terms of how you approach implementing each of them. We’re here to clear things up a bit and help you better understand the patches and updates you deploy on a month-to-month basis.

What is the Big Difference?

Patches and updates are critical to ensuring that your devices and mission-critical software are kept secure from potential threats. Over time, vulnerabilities or operational issues which impact security could arise, and software developers rise to the occasion to resolve them by issuing these patches and updates. The big difference between the two is scope and scale.

Patches are generally used for quick fixes to specific problems which need attention. You can think of it like patching a rip or tear in a piece of clothing. You get a piece of fabric, throw it over the problem, and sew it on for a fix.

Updates, on the other hand, are more structural in nature, and they are generally larger in scope. They might address multiple problems at once. It’s like changing the fabric of your shirt entirely rather than just patching the hole.

Why Should You Care?

In short, the biggest reason why you should care about the difference between patches and updates is that it could very well impact your ability to do your job correctly.

Let’s say you implement a new update. Yes, it solves several problems with the security infrastructure of your software or applications, but it could very well introduce new bugs or operational issues that either affect the way your team gets work done or your ability to perform specific tasks. Imagine if someone updated your operating system overnight and, all of a sudden, the user interface changes, or a critical task you need to perform no longer works the way you expect it to. You have to take the time to adjust to the update or review documentation to ensure that it’s not going to disrupt your operations too profoundly.

Make Patches and Updates Easy to Apply

We know that applying patches and updates can be a bit disruptive to your day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Furthermore, you don’t want to be applying patches and updates on a whim; you need to approach these carefully to ensure they have minimal negative impacts on your business’ operations. This is why MSPNetworks offers remote patching and security update services. We can apply any patches or updates your systems need without the need for an on-site visit. With our management tools, you can rest assured that someone is keeping an eye out for your systems.

To learn more, reach out to MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

Try as we might, we can’t prevent all computer issues from occurring—for instance, there’s not much that we can do if a stick of RAM dies, at least, not remotely. However, if you’re stuck with a broken computer and need to bring it in for repair work, there are a few things we recommend you do.

Pick a Provider You Trust

The hard truth of the matter is that some places are just a better option than others when it comes to your hardware repair needs. There are, of course, differences in the quality of services rendered, but also in how these services are rendered. For instance, it is important that you take the provider’s privacy policies into consideration. Just consider how much data you’re handing over to your provider in the hopes that they’ll keep it secure.

Before you entrust your technology to just any repair service or maintenance provider, do a bit of research and ask a few questions. For instance, what kind of privacy policy do they have? What—in detail—do they do to ensure your data remains secure, and if your data happens to be leaked, what measures will be implemented to mitigate the damage? You need to be confident that your provider is going to provide their services responsibly.

Maintain a Data Backup (Just in Case)

Okay, just to be clear: there is generally a very, very small chance that a repair shop will cause data loss. Saying this, very, very small isn’t zero. This is just one more reason that a data backup is so crucial. Disasters can come in all shapes and sizes, and accidental or unavoidable data loss during maintenance would qualify as such. Abiding by a BDR (backup and disaster recovery) strategy can mitigate the negative effects of these circumstances.

If Possible, Remove or Protect Your Personal Data

Without questioning the overall trustworthiness of any business or organization you choose to work with, there’s once again a non-zero chance that there’s a less-than-scrupulous employee there who might be tempted to take advantage of the data on the device being repaired. If you can, it is always better to remove this data before handing the device over, although storing the data in an encrypted state is also advisable. That way, even if your data is accessed, it won’t do the person responsible any good.

Retain Your Software Keys

Software is critically important for your productivity, so you’ll want to also have the ability to—just in case the repair process removes it—reinstall the software you rely on. To do so, you’ll need to have the software keys to activate it. Keeping these keys will therefore be a form of insurance for everything, from your productivity software down to the operating system itself.

Just in This Case, Make Your Device Easily Accessible

This is the one exception to our typical rule, as you don’t want the support professional to have any more difficulty than they already will have in dealing with the issue. To do this, they’ll need access. Removing the password requirement to log in will help.

On a related note, you might consider writing up a brief description of what the user is experiencing and providing it along with the device. If your device is in a condition that allows it, you can have a file containing this information display upon startup by saving a copy ro the Startup folder (found here: %appdata%\\microsoft\\windows\\start menu\\programs\\startup\\)

Things Break, So It Pays Off to Be Prepared to Fix Them

With what amounts to a guarantee that things are going to break at some point, it only makes sense to be fully prepared to deal with this outcome. The above list is a great starting point. Working with an MSP can make all of this (and more) far easier to manage.

An MSP (or managed service provider) like us can not only assist you in obtaining hardware maintenance services, we can remotely monitor it to detect software and hardware issues and resolve any issues we can preemptively. Working with us could be the difference between an extended downtime incident and a slight hiccup.

Interested in learning more about the benefits to be had from a managed service agreement? Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today!

When it comes to implementing new technology solutions for your business, there is always a desire to solve some sort of problem. Maybe you are not as productive as you would like to be, or perhaps there is an operational inefficiency that you hope to address or streamline through the use of the technology. Either way, the end result is the same; you are trying to make progress and move forward, not over-complicate your infrastructure.

Believe it or not, businesses of all types have to grapple with issues that implementing new technology comes with, regardless of how much IT support or resources are available. It all boils down to the central question of, “What problem am I aiming to solve with this technology?” If you understand the problem, you can start taking steps toward finding the appropriate solution. Unfortunately for businesses, however, the solution to the problem is not always clear-cut.

For example, let’s say that two companies are looking to increase the accessibility of network resources for remote employees. The obvious solution is to host these resources in the cloud so that they can be accessed from any location, provided the device is familiar and is properly secured. In this case, the problem is the same, but the solution will vary depending on a variety of factors.

For one, in the above scenario, the business’s pre-existing resources will dramatically change the way that this cloud solution is implemented. If the company has the technology infrastructure to host its own cloud server, then that becomes an option, provided that the organization has enough technical know-how to deploy, manage, and maintain said infrastructure. On the other hand, if the company does not have these kinds of resources, then perhaps the best solution for their cloud needs might be to outsource this responsibility to a managed service provider. The provider would then be able to host, manage, and maintain the cloud solution for the company.

Notice how in both scenarios, the companies are examining their problems and potential solutions, as well as the resources that will determine the initiative’s success. This is the key to making progress toward resolving problems with your IT infrastructure; if you can accurately gauge what must be done and what allows you to get it done, you will have a much greater chance of overcoming the issues associated with implementing new technology.

MSPNetworks understands the many pitfalls that organizations can face when implementing new technology solutions, and avoiding these starts with understanding your business’ current needs and the problems that must be solved. We can help you make these difficult decisions through a comprehensive network assessment and infrastructure audit that can identify potential areas of improvement. From here, you can use the information to make informed and educated decisions for your company’s technology needs.

You can count on MSPNetworks to be there for every step of the process, from identifying problems to recommending solutions, as well as implementing said solutions and training your team on how to use them effectively. To get started, give us a call today at (516) 403-9001.

Cloud computing is a monster of a topic in and of itself, perhaps more so than most people might expect. Let’s define what cloud management is and take a closer look at what goes into properly managing your cloud-based resources.

What Does Cloud Management Really Mean?

“The cloud” can mean many things, some of which have different contexts depending on the company and industry it is a part of. The differences come from how they make use of resources and the capabilities their solution can offer, as well as what the solution is used for. Some of the more popular options include the public cloud, the private cloud, or a combination of the two called a hybrid cloud.

In terms of usage, many companies use the cloud for data storage and processing, application hosting and delivery, and improving accessibility of information in a way that would make on-premise solutions blush.

You can see how the cloud can make certain processes easier, but it also comes with its fair share of complications to consider. This is why managing your cloud-based resources is extremely important.

What Tools Can Help You Manage Your Cloud Resources?

No matter how you choose to implement the cloud, you can bet that there are resources out there and tools to use that can help you get the most out of your cloud solution. Depending on your needs, you might need differing levels of resource management tools, scalability, automation, compliance, performance monitoring, and so on.

These needs will generally require different technologies that adhere to best practices. Here are a couple of examples:

• For scalability, your cloud management tools should be compatible with new and improving technology, as well as different networking environments.
• For compliance, you must know who owns the various resources that your organization makes use of, as well as their roles in its management.
• For performance management, you should establish status review measures and automatic scaling according to your resource requirements. It is important that this be done proactively rather than after the fact.

MSPNetworks can assist you in putting your cloud resources to their optimal use.

If you need a hand with managing your cloud solutions, MSPNetworks can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

IT support is a major pain point for small businesses. While they understand that technology is not something to be trifled with, they often have to pass on getting the most comprehensive service out there in favor of saving capital for other parts of business. 

There are three pillars of comprehensive IT support that all businesses should consider when implementing a new service provider or IT resource: enterprise-grade security measures, a focus on proactive maintenance, and a single point of contact for all technology assistance. Let’s discuss why each of these are important for any organization looking to take technology management seriously.

Enterprise-Grade Security Measures

We won’t beat around the bush. Security is absolutely critical for not just large enterprises with high-profile technology infrastructures, but small businesses as well, even those that don’t think they have anything worth stealing. All it takes is one small mistake to send your business into damage control mode, so you must do all that you can to protect your business with powerful enterprise-grade security solutions designed to protect your business in a comprehensive manner.

A Focus on Proactive Maintenance

When thinking about technology, there is a lot that can go wrong. You have software bugs, data loss incidents, data breaches, botched hardware or software deployments, the list goes on. Many of these issues can be addressed proactively before they even become problems, and some even have warning signs that give you a chance to react before they spiral out of control. By focusing on this more proactive method of administering maintenance, you keep yourself from suffering downtime and the hefty replacement costs associated with hardware failure, data breaches, data loss, and anything else that can go wrong over the course of operations.

A Single Point of Contact

IT infrastructures are complex with a lot of moving parts, all of which require intensive knowledge in order to maintain them properly. The last thing you want to do is reach out to your plethora of vendors in order to get the individualized support required for each specific part of your infrastructure whenever something goes wrong. It is much easier to just pick up the phone and call your managed IT provider to handle anything technology-related with a single phone call. This saves you time--time that can be better spent getting back to work and being productive.

MSPNetworks understands the tenets of comprehensive IT support to a great extent. We provide managed IT services that are designed to help your business focus on what it does best rather than worry about managing IT properly. Let us help you take this hands-off approach to your technology today; get started by giving us a call at (516) 403-9001.

All businesses, in some way, shape, or form, exist to generate revenue—whether their profits are retained for their own benefit or dedicated to supporting some other cause. Either way, this balance makes the difference between the investments a business makes and the return these investments see a critical consideration. By using modern technology, today’s organizations can tip this balance to be more in their favor.

Let’s consider three ways that you could leverage technology to ultimately benefit your cash flows.

Improving Operational Efficiency

Let’s jump right into it and acknowledge something: the more you can effectively accomplish with the time, energy, and resources you’ve invested, the better off your company will be. Today’s technology offers a means of doing so through automation.

Rather than having an employee commit time to certain tasks, modern IT can easily carry out these tasks with minimal oversight or interaction. With predetermined triggers to instigate key processes, you and your team can spend less time on busy work and more on tasks that will help to increase your business’ dealings.

Whether you need to track and organize data, send out repetitive communications, or generate insights and reports, there are some means of carrying these out properly.

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Business technology is, in a word, expensive. Whether you need a specific software suite to support your operations, or improved infrastructure hardware, or more storage space for your team to use, the associated costs are typically substantial if you plan to support it yourself.

Now, today’s technology opens a new option: cloud-based services. These services can be tailored to better fit the situation of the business using them, in terms of the number of users and specific services rendered. That way, you can optimize your budgetary spend to suit your precise needs, eliminating waste and freeing up more of your budget than otherwise possible. Furthermore, these services give you more flexibility overall, as your delivered services can be trimmed to match your precise needs more closely.

Reconsidering IT Expenses

On the topic of cloud-hosted services, the pricing structure these offer can also assist you in optimizing your budgetary spend. Rather than a single, lump-sum price to be paid up front, the cost of cloud-hosted software services is billed per month as a subscription. This helps to make your expenditures far more predictable, assisting you in managing your available budget, while also offering flexibility as your needs change over time.

Furthermore, not all cloud providers and vendors are created equal, and the market is volatile enough that one service might not always be the best option for you at a given time. Therefore, you should regularly go over your available options to ensure that you are investing as much as you can in the ideal choices.

Managed IT services offer many of these qualities, enabling you to squeeze every bit of value out of the technology you rely on. Find out more about what MSPNetworks can do for you by calling (516) 403-9001.

A business’ budget is the biggest authority over it. As a result, each business needs to spend some time adjusting their operational investments to put itself in the best position to reach its goals… a process that a managed service provider’s help can make much simpler. Let’s review some ways that an MSP can help a business get that much more out of its investment into its IT.

To begin, let’s review how you can optimize your costs (particularly your IT-related costs):

• Digitizing and automating your processes to help eliminate waste and boost efficiency.
• Negotiations can be made for services and solutions, allowing you to reduce your costs.
• Streamlined and standardized resources enable more to be accomplished for a smaller investment.

A managed service provider can enable a business to do all three of these things. For instance, here are just a few services that can help you to optimize the technology-related costs that your business generates.

Vendor Management

Vendors are an important player in a business’ operations but interacting with them can take away from the time you need to spend on your other essential tasks. We can take care of these interactions for you, allowing your focus to remain upon your actual operations. This offers a few additional benefits too, as we likely already have experience working with these vendors and can therefore get some better deals with them on your behalf.

Proactive Maintenance

While technology is an insanely valuable tool for businesses, there is no denying that it comes at a high cost to these businesses as they implement it. In addition to the costs required to acquire and implement it, its maintenance can quickly introduce additional and unpredictable costs that significantly add to the total. The proactive maintenance that an MSP provides and the preemptive issue resolution that can be accomplished enables costs to be saved.

Cloud-Based and Remote Services

Today’s business technology is built in such a way that the services and solutions that are available can be more easily scaled to their needs. As a result, a wider range of businesses can use the tools that support healthy operations—with improved support tacked on—in a financially sustainable way. By working with us, these tools can be embraced and used in the most effective way. This ultimately delivers the most amount of value to the business possible.

With MSPNetworks on your side, your business can accomplish more without overreaching its capabilities. To learn more about how our services could help your business function better, give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

Managed services have quickly become the most reasonable option for businesses of any size to use, and based on what we’ve seen recently, will soon be the only real option for most operations. However, when considering the managed service option, you need to make sure you find a provider with the following capabilities and service offerings:

Speedy Responses

Downtime is the natural enemy of any business, regardless of its cause. If work cannot be completed in a timely manner, there are going to be some consequences. If these interruptions continue for a while, they can make your business’ survival much less likely.

This is precisely why it is so important that your provider needs to be able to diagnose and resolve the source of your downtime as quickly as possible. Ideally, your provider would be able to do so remotely, eliminating the need for travel that would only add to your lost productivity. A guaranteed response time is another promise that an MSP can make, but other providers often cannot.

Disaster Recovery Services

You might not always consider how much the term “disaster” can cover while you’re referring to your business, but it goes far beyond the data loss events or physical infrastructure damage that many tend to focus on. Lost productivity also qualifies, especially that which is brought along when an entire workforce is ordered to stay home. Find out if an IT provider can help you to minimize these interruptions and get you back in business (as much as you are able) as quickly as possible after any conceivable disaster event. This means that your resource will need to have considered the impacts that an event could cause and have prepared a strategy to minimize them.

Support Options

With so many employees now working remotely, it is crucial that they have the means to receive the support they may need to deal with any issues that they may experience. Thanks to their remote capabilities, the managed service provider can still deliver dedicated helpdesk services to your team if need be. As a result, productivity is more likely to be maintained, without trying to convince anyone to make a house call.

Proactive Upkeep

Of course, why leave your technology open to issues during a challenging time at all? An MSP can use their remote solutions to proactively monitor your tools, preventing issues from occurring in your infrastructure by catching them early. With the MSP’s support, your team will see fewer interruptions and obstacles overall, and will be able to accomplish more as a result.

Budgetary Flexibility

Again, current events have demonstrated that effectively anything can throw your business’ budget entirely out the window, which makes it all the more crucial for you to have a provider whose services are scalable, and can be adjusted to suit your circumstances. The MSP’s inclusive pricing structure, tailored to meet your business’ budgetary capability, makes it much simpler to sustain your services throughout the year.

With businesses contending with so much, especially now, their IT support shouldn’t be a pressing issue. Working with MSPNetworks can take these considerations off your plate while assisting you in accomplishing more. If this sounds like a better option for your business to consider, give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to discuss all your options.