MSPNetworks Blog

IT support is essential for businesses, but traditional on-site support can be expensive and inefficient.

Thankfully, remote IT support, such as that offered through managed services, is now available. This is a game-changer for small to medium-sized businesses. Let's explore the benefits of remote IT support.

The entire premise of managed IT services is that they can save your business money, but in what specific ways does working with us make your budget more predictable? It’s really quite simple, and it encompasses three primary pillars: an established level of service, proactive maintenance and management, and the reliability and access to expertise that might otherwise put a stopper on your business’ potential.

Among IT professionals, an acronym is sometimes used when discussing certain issues and challenges: “PEBKAC,” or Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair. In other words, user error. 

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face the challenge of managing complex IT systems with very limited resources. Enter managed service providers, or MSPs, the guardians of IT that can help your business stay ahead of the game. An MSP's approach to IT support delivery offers many benefits that traditional IT support and even an in-house team might struggle to match.

Let's delve into three compelling reasons why our innovative approach is best for your IT support needs, especially if you want to scale up and streamline operations.

I was meeting with an old colleague the other day. We met over Microsoft Teams to just check in and see how they were doing—no real itinerary, just to check in with a familiar face that I haven’t personally talked to in a few years. They had a little trouble getting into Microsoft Teams, since they were used to Zoom. I patiently smiled and helped them through it, and told them “No worries, it’s always the little differences that complicate things!”

At the time, I said this just to be empathetic. At first, the nerdy computer-geek part of my brain told me that the process to get into a Zoom meeting vs a Teams meeting, from their perspective, is exactly the same. But after the call, I really thought about this small interaction, and you know what? Things have gotten complicated.

Modern Technology is Amazing, But Also Very Chaotic

It’s easy to take advantage of literally anything in our modern world. Take your car, for example. Some of our readers might have a pretty decent idea of how to diagnose some issues with their car, but more likely than not, you probably aren’t going to take apart your engine to replace a camshaft. An even higher number of you will probably just rely on the professionals for just about everything when it comes to your car. And sure, cars have gotten a little more complicated over the years, but the same basic principles haven’t changed much. Still, there’s going to be this layer that you (and the general public) understands, and then a much deeper layer underneath that only a select few understand.

Your computers and your network are the same way. You see and work with one side of it. As a business owner, you might have a little more knowledge when it comes to some of the inner workings—after all, you did have to pay for it. Still, what matters to you is that the outer layer works for you and your staff, and all of the complicated, technical pieces on the inside perform as they are supposed to.

Look at your average desktop, or even your smartphone. Not much has changed in that landscape over the last several years that makes the average user say “Wow, this is so much better than before!” Each subsequent device gets a little better, a little faster, and a little sleeker. Your new phone has a slightly better camera than before, or the stylus it comes with is a little nicer, or the screen is a little bigger. Your new laptop isn’t quite as loud and the battery sure lasts longer, but all in all, any changes just seem arbitrary, right?

I know it seems like I’m saying a lot here, but to get to the point—even as a techy, who eats, breathes, and sleeps IT, I understand where you are coming from.

Everything Under the Hood is Extraordinarily Complicated, And It’s Only Getting More Complex

I’m not talking about computer hardware. I’m not talking about the stuff that you see and touch and use every day. I’m talking about the underlying way that a modern business needs to be set up in order to succeed when it comes to its IT.

It’s complicated.

Ninety percent of this complication is due to cybersecurity. Nothing has rocked our industry (and the business world in general) more than cybersecurity in a long time. Oddly enough, up until very recently, cybersecurity has all but been ignored by most businesses. It’s seen as a luxury—a nice-to-have expense. 

These days, a cybersecurity incident can end up costing a business their reputation, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and can lead to subsequent attacks over and over until the business is forced to throw in the towel. 

10 years ago, the standard practices for defending a business were implementing centralized antivirus, running scans regularly, and having the network logs monitored daily. You could establish decent network policies to make sure people only had access to what they were supposed to see, enforce some strong passwords, and maybe implement a firewall and content filter for added security and productivity.

That’s pretty simple. Today, that’s far less than the bare minimum.

You see, computers haven’t changed much on that top layer that we all interact with, but the inside layer that only a select few understand is wildly different. Unfortunately, a portion of the “select few” who understand technology are using it for illegal and otherwise nefarious purposes. They are taking advantage of businesses and organizations that aren’t properly secured.

Our Role in This Ever-Complicated Technology Landscape

MSPNetworks can serve as your organization’s technical liaison. Our current clients tend to look at us sort of like an internal IT department that just works in a separate office. We’ve truly worked hard to convey this sort of culture over the years. We’re not a service provider who just does XYZ, gets paid, and leaves. We align ourselves with your organization’s goals, and work with you to personalize your IT to make sure it suits your business. On top of that, we handle the complicated inner workings so you can focus on your business.

If you haven’t tried us out yet, we encourage you to give us a call at (516) 403-9001 for a consultation. We’d love to meet, talk shop, and chat about how we can help give you and your business confidence in its technology.

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.

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.

Look, I’m not going to pretend that the executive level of any size of business doesn’t already have plenty on its plate. Having said that, it is important that a business’ top dogs are on the same page as its IT team members. Let’s run through the different points that this relationship should focus on for your operational benefit.

To begin, we’ll review the role that your IT should play in your workplace.

Technology Maintenance Goes Far Beyond Basic Tech Support

Despite all the effort we and other service providers like us put into spreading awareness about modern IT services, the first impression of an IT person—or even an IT department in its entirety—is largely similar to what it has been for decades:

• They’re someone you call when something breaks
• IT is ultimately a necessary business cost
• Communicating with your IT staff is more often than not a painful or drawn-out task

However, more modern methodologies have made these conceptions decidedly outdated. Today, your IT should be a legitimate business asset that brings increased value to your operations—something that is very possible with today’s solutions.

In addition, technology doesn’t need to break before IT gets involved. Nowadays, the industry is shifting its focus to something called proactive maintenance—basically, the idea that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, just applied to business technology.

Let me put it this way—let’s say you’re cooking. Does it make more sense to have all your ingredients out and prepared as you go, or to run back and forth between the pantry and your cooktop to hurriedly prep each ingredient as you need it? While the latter option might help you get some extra steps in, the first is clearly going to be more effective in your attempt to make Duck Pâté en Croûte.

Modern IT maintenance is the same. Instead of encountering an issue and scrambling to make the needed updates, repairs, or what-have-you before your operations are impacted too much, modern MSPs actively work to maintain your technology so that updates are applied in a timely manner, repairs are avoided through maintenance, and what-have-yous become you-don’t-have-tos.

Why It’s Crucial That IT and Management Collaborate

Nowadays, there are a lot of places where IT needs to be involved in the workplace and its processes. In addition to the aforementioned maintenance, IT plays various roles that management should be depending on, if they aren’t already. Management should be leaning on IT to help create a roadmap for their future business technology to follow, based on industry trends and how their particular business plans are taking shape.

This means you need to ensure that you are working with your IT resource—whether that’s an in-house department or an outsourced provider like MSPNetworks—to ensure that your goals are aligned with their priorities.

Working with us, you can be sure that they will be.

We work with our clients closely to ensure that their leadership is ready to not only use their technology, but thrive through its use. Interested in learning more about what we can offer you and your business’ IT? Give us a call at (516) 403-9001.

Burnout—a psychological process that can impact an employee and lead to stress, exhaustion, depression, and frustration—is a serious threat to any workplace. However, have you ever considered the potential harm that could be done if your IT-focused staff members succumbed to these feelings? Let’s examine the phenomenon of IT burnout, and how we can help fix it.

First, let’s dive a little deeper into burnout itself, and then apply it to your business’ IT team.

What is Burnout, and Where Does It Come From?

Burnout is a complicated animal, as it involves a lot of different feelings and phenomena that vary from person to person. Bill may become cynical about his role and be easily frustrated in the workplace, whereas Olivia may more frequently call in sick and feel depressed when she is in the office. Laura may make uncharacteristic errors in her work. Oliver may seem disconnected from his role.

All of these individuals could be feeling burnout, and just be exhibiting it in a different way. According to a 2018 Gallup survey, nearly 25% of employees felt burnout… and that’s before the concept of the workplace became a lot more complicated and, in many ways, stressful.

In short, burnout is a form of psychological exhaustion brought on by conditions in the workplace.

The reasons that people feel burnt out are just as diverse as the way that these feelings are displayed. While most people might assume that burnout is related to an employee’s workload (as it often is), other reasons can contribute to these feelings as well. If an employee is unsure of their role, for instance, or they feel they are not being adequately represented or treated fairly in the office, they could easily feel burnt out. Maybe they feel they don’t have the time or the support to accomplish what they are meant to accomplish. This is another source of burnout that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Lately, IT Professionals Have Been Hit Especially Hard

While this perhaps isn’t such a surprise, information technology professionals have recently shown particularly high levels of burnout. So much was proven in a global survey conducted by Yerbo, a mental wellbeing platform.

In this study, The State of Burnout in Tech -- 2022 Edition, Yerbo collected 32,644 survey answers from IT professionals from 33 different countries between January and September 2021. We encourage you to review the study’s conclusions for yourself, but we’ve assembled a few highlights here:

Burnout Leads to Four Major Issues for Employees, Each with Their Own Impacts

Based on the study’s findings—which had an entertaining facade put over them reminiscent of the famous cabinet arcade game Pac-Man—their Burnout Index identified four symptoms frequently felt by those suffering:

• Exhaustion often impacts burnt-out IT professionals, with 62% feeling drained physically and emotionally after the workday and 56% being unable to relax once back at home.
• Self-Inefficacy, which can develop into chronic procrastination and Imposter Syndrome, was shown to impact 51% of those surveyed to make them feel as though they were underachieving, and 33% feeling inefficient at work.
• Cynicism builds walls between a burnt-out employee and the rest of their team, causing diminishing engagement amongst 43% of those surveyed and causing 27% to lose sight of their purpose in the workplace.
• Depersonalization, or the emotional shutdown of the burnt-out IT professional, led to 26% of respondents reporting fears of growing harsh with their teammates and a lack of sympathy amongst 22%.

Ultimately, the survey concluded that almost half—42.1%—of the IT employees they surveyed faced a high risk of burnout.

So, How Can You Help Reduce Burnout Amongst Your IT-Focused Employees?

Fortunately, there are a few ways to actively fight against feelings of burnout in your workplace and the team members you’ve hired to work there—including the people who make up your internal IT department.

Eliminate Stress Wherever You Can

Perhaps this is a little bit obvious, but if you can make their jobs even a little bit easier and express your appreciation for their efforts, you can go a long way toward reducing your team’s feelings of burnout. By giving them more specific objectives to meet, providing them with the training they’ll need as time goes on, and otherwise creating a more supportive and comfortable workplace (including sufficient time off), you’ll take away a lot of the stress that burnout feeds on.

Giving Your Team Some Autonomy

Let me ask you something: when was the last time having someone hovering over you, breathing down your neck, motivated you to do something?

I didn’t think so, so why would it ever help motivate your team members? Giving them a degree of self-management and reasonable flexibility will help to keep them engaged and motivated to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Paying them at a rate that reflects this autonomy will help as well.

Provide Them With the Support They Need

If your IT team is feeling overworked by the responsibilities your business presents them with—particularly if it’s to the point that they are working extra hours to keep up and don’t have the opportunity to keep up on their certifications—burnout is certain to set in. We can offer our services to help support your team by taking over some of their workload. Think of us as adding a bunch of employees to your existing team for a single monthly cost. We’ll let your internal IT team do what they do best and pick up whatever is left over, allowing them to succeed, which translates into greater benefits for your business.

Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to discuss your options with us today!

Innovation is something that you want the people working with your technology to have a highly-developed sense of. Creativity isn’t often associated with business IT, but it is something that should be considered a true benefit if it can be brought into your operations.

Let’s explore exactly why creativity is an asset (even with your in-house IT team) and how you can nurture it in your employees.

Why Creative Thinking is a Business Benefit

Employing and nurturing a creative team in your business—in IT or not—presents many benefits. Having said that, it should be clear how your IT department would particularly benefit from a creative mindset after we consider some of the impacts that one imparts:

Improved Efficiency

If someone is a creative thinker, putting a challenge in front of them and telling them, “Go,” is a great motivator… and their thought process will immediately bypass those ideas that they can see won’t work. This makes it possible for better results to be accomplished faster… a key goal for any department, but particularly for IT.

Focus on Results and Problem Solving

Speaking of, creative people are largely results-oriented. Not only are they motivated to complete their objectives, they are also empowered to focus on the process instead of how the process itself will ultimately play out.

But, you may be asking, what if the process doesn’t work out? With a creative team, this is still a problem, sure, but one that you have a much better chance of resolving faster and more effectively. 

Better Ideas and Thought Processes

As it happens, this is often related to our next benefit: more productive thoughts in general. When a creative mind is applied to an issue, new and innovative ideas can result, with improved thought processes to match. The benefits are derived from having a team that is able to consider a problem from different angles, not just the ones presented to them initially.

Leadership Skills

Finally, creative people often have the ability to take leadership—whether that’s over their own work and its challenges, or over a team and its combined struggles. Giving some of your creative team members this kind of leadership—even on a small scale—can result in improved internal processes.

How to Cultivate a Creative Team

Naturally, having creative individuals on your IT team is a good thing, so let’s explore some ways you can help them embrace their creativity and put it to use at work.

Encourage Collaboration

Here’s the unspoken truth that a lot of collaboration-promoting businesses like us don’t want you to know… IT, as a general rule, isn’t a very collaborative role in an organization. However, you can fix that. Try breaking your IT team up into groups every once in a while and challenge them to solve a problem. Not only can your team members blow off some steam by focusing on a low-stakes challenge, they are naturally driven to balance their own expertise with that which their teammates hold.

Focus on Customer Challenges

Here’s another idea—ask your IT team members to brainstorm ideas for the most impactful projects… with the constraint that they can only address issues that your customers and clients have. Not only will this limitation help them to focus their efforts and think more creatively, you have the opportunity to discover the solution to a considerable business problem your team can then focus on solving.

Encourage All Ideas

We all know that all the ideas your IT department comes up with aren’t going to be winners. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t encourage these ideas to be developed and shared. On top of being good creative exercise for your team members, some part of one person’s idea may help to inspire another to come closer to solving the problem at hand.

We’re Here to Free Your Team Up for Their Creative Efforts

The biggest obstacle most teams face that prevents them from developing creative ideas and plans is time. If your team’s schedule is packed with improvement line items and support requests/demands from the rest of your team, there’s not much time left for creativity.

That’s where we come in. We can take on some of the responsibilities that bog down your IT team’s time, freeing them up to have good—no, great—ideas that directly benefit your business. Reach out to learn more about our services at (516) 403-9001.

It’s safe to say that businesses have had a difficult time lately. In addition to the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have also had to deal with supply chain issues and other challenges related to their data. How does your company manage its mission-critical technology solutions?

Managed Services Can Provide Modern Businesses with a Reprieve

It’s not much of our business, but we can’t help but wonder how you pay for your IT services. Depending on the business model, you might be paying in a way that is not sustainable over time. If you pay for your IT on a case-by-case basis, for example, you could very well be losing capital in the long term.

The issue with pay-as-you-go IT services is that there’s no motivation for the provider to solve issues in the long term.

If you think about it, you will never get the IT services you deserve from an organization whose business model relies on your failures. If you don’t need them at all, then they will go out of business—it’s as simple as that.

Managed services are designed to address this shortcoming. Instead of focusing on problems as they arise, managed services work to actively prevent and deter issues from becoming problems in the first place. It’s like changing the brakes on your car before they get worn down entirely, causing a crash that could total your vehicle. With a comprehensive managed services agreement, your technology can be maintained in a way that prevents catastrophe from striking in the first place.

This Predictability is Something that Today’s Businesses Need

In such uncertain times, the last thing you need is to worry about whether or not your technology will work tomorrow when you go to the office or remote into your desktop. This uncertainty can lead to many challenges when managing business technology.

By making the switch to managed IT services, you can make considerable strides toward making your technology management practices much easier and more predictable. It can give you more of an ability to budget for IT challenges, as issues that would normally incur severe costs will instead be covered by your managed services agreement.

MSPNetworks can help you take the next step toward taking back control of your IT budget. To learn more about how you can achieve this, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

There are countless issues that could arise when it comes to managing and maintaining your technology, but the people who are in charge of the process should not be one of them. If you don’t have a dedicated IT team to take care of your business technology, you might not be properly maintaining your technology. Thankfully, there are ways to get around limited resources, and it might not be what you think.

Who Manages Your Technology?

As is often the case with businesses with limited resources, more employees wind up doing more tasks than they should be. Sometimes businesses expect their employees to have a baseline understanding of technology, but it is not necessarily the case. In fact, assuming this can be dangerous, and untrained employees should absolutely not be maintaining your technology solutions. Under the wrong circumstances, an untrained employee could cause irreparable harm to your infrastructure.

Plus, consider the fact that poorly functioning technology can get in the way of employees doing their jobs properly, reducing productivity and impacting your bottom line. Employees who don’t know any better will simply let the dysfunctional technology be, which is why it’s better to have professionals handle the maintenance on a regular basis.

One of the biggest hold-ups for businesses without internal IT resources is that they don’t have the budget to hire full-time technicians to take care of all their technology challenges. They might choose to address problems as they occur rather than before they occur, and this could impact operations in a negative way.

The conundrum is that companies need regular IT maintenance, but they can’t afford or access it. So what’s the solution? It’s actually pretty simple: managed IT services.

The Good News

Whether you have an in-house IT team or not, all businesses can gain access to the IT support they need to be successful in the business world, and it’s all thanks to outsourcing. Most maintenance and management of technology systems can be performed without the need for an on-site visit, so it doesn’t matter what your geographical location is. Plus, considering how affordable it is compared to adding more salaries to your budget, you’ll find that it saves you time and money.

MSPNetworks wants to be your go-to IT resource for all of your technology needs. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

Most businesses set out to do an IT project when their technology needs an upgrade. Whether your business is looking to add new hardware, refresh the systems you already have, migrate to the cloud, or add new applications to your playbook, it can get pretty intimidating as cost and time overruns threaten your profitability. This week, we thought we would discuss an approach that can help any business—large or small— get their IT projects completed and integrated effectively: co-managed IT. 

What Problems Do IT Projects Present?

Before we get into explaining co-managed IT, we want to talk about the problems that can happen when integrating new technologies. It starts with management. Before the project commences, you need to have all of your ducks in a row. This means having a dedicated project manager that has a clear idea about what tasks need to be delegated, how those tasks fit into the project as a whole, and what deadlines and cost restrictions there are for the project. This is a lot of work, and as a result, it can be difficult to keep a project on the rails, especially if the project is a major overhaul of your current computing infrastructure. Some of the problems you may run into when implementing new technologies include:

• A lack of a clear path forward - Many businesses will want to add IT without putting together a clear and efficient plan. This will inevitably cause issues with inefficiency, problematic implementation, and cost overruns that could put a damper on your new technology and on your business. 
• No plan in regards to vendors - In order to make a successful IT change, you will need to coordinate with the vendors supplying the technology to ensure that they can deliver as you are ready to implement it. 
• Problems with the speed of progress - Most IT implementations require input and work to be done from different vendors, suppliers, and workers. This collaboration needs to be coordinated so as to not hinder the speed of progress. If one or more collaborators are lagging behind, there will likely be deadlines missed and the project will take longer, and cost more than you had planned. 
• Changes in scope or priority - Many times, businesses will alter an IT project’s path forward. This puts a lot of pressure on the project manager and can lead to a devastating lack of results. Plan ahead and adjust only when absolutely necessary to get the most out of any project. 
• A lack of compatibility - One issue that can really derail an IT project is to get to a point where it needs to be integrated with standing technology, and the two systems aren’t compatible. Know what you need before you get too far down the road so as to not run into problems that could put your whole endeavor at risk. 
• Not planning for training - If your business is looking to include new software systems into your IT infrastructure, it stands to reason that the people who are using it will need time to adjust. If you don’t plan for that adjustment period, you could be looking at a complete failure. 

How Co-Managed IT Can Help

IT projects are detail-oriented ventures and require a lot of attention to produce the expected results. This can leave a business’ IT administrator and technicians searching for ways to complete an efficient project while still maintaining a company’s IT infrastructure for regular production. With co-managed IT services from MSPNetworks our knowledgeable technicians can either help run the project to get it implemented effectively, or we can take over the proactive management of your business’ IT infrastructure to keep your business running productively as your IT team proceeds in implementing your business’ new technology. Not only does this service work to get more trained eyes on a project, it can also be advantageous as we have relationships with vendors that can expedite the project’s progress. 

With the IT professionals at MSPNetworks working for you, you can ensure that your business runs as intended and get the experienced resources needed to make your new IT project a rousing success. If you would like to learn more about our co-managed IT services or talk to one of our consultants about the future of your business’ technology, give us a call today at (516) 403-9001. 

You’ve probably already heard about Log4j this week. Maybe you don’t recognize the name, but it’s likely that you have run across emails or news articles talking about this widespread vulnerability. You need to take it very seriously.

What is Log4j?

When developing software, developers utilize different programming languages. One of these languages is called Java, and in Java, developers have multiple libraries to work with. Log4j is one of those libraries, and it has recently been uncovered that there is a huge vulnerability that cybercriminals can exploit to gain access to your systems and data. It’s a huge open door that has been there for years, and now that the world knows about it, it is just a matter of time before it is being used to do damage.

This particular Java library has been used a lot over the years. The vulnerability impacts some pretty big names in software and cloud hosting, such as:

• Amazon
• Apple
• Cisco
• Fortinet
• Google
• IBM
• Microsoft
• SonicWall
• Sophos
• VMware

…as well as others, large and small. Even the United States’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is affected.

Is My Business Impacted by Log4j?

It’s almost certain that it is. We can’t stress enough that this is a big issue, and that major tech companies are scrambling to put out patches. It doesn’t just affect the folks at Amazon and Microsoft, it affects those that use their products as well.

What You Can Do to Fight Back Against Log4j

One of the scary things about this vulnerability is that most businesses are at the mercy of their vendors to patch it, and some experts think it will take years before this vulnerability is totally removed from the world. Fortunately, as we mentioned earlier, the big names in tech are scrambling to get a patch out the door, and many, if not most, already have.

However, it also falls on the impacted webmasters and businesses to apply the patches that these developers put out. Beyond that, it is critical that you as an individual remain vigilant in your cybersecurity hygiene. That goes double for your business.

For example, let’s assume for a moment that you’re a user on a fantasy football league website. If that website relies on technology that Log4j impacts and they don’t apply the fixes, the information you’ve provided to the website—account details, financial information, and whatever else—would be vulnerable and easy to steal.

This applies to every website or application that uses this technology; if they don't react, your account with them is not very safe. 

The problem is, as a user, you can’t really tell if a website or piece of software is using this particular Java library. In other words:

Everything just potentially got a little more dangerous, when it comes to cybersecurity. It’s up to everyone to work harder to protect themselves.

How to Protect Yourself from Log4j, as an Individual and a Business

It’s critical to use strong password hygiene. “Password123” isn’t going to cut it. Using the same passwords across multiple accounts needs to stop, immediately. This involves following the basic password best practices that we always talk about, like:

• Using a unique password for each account and website
• Using a mix of alphanumeric characters and symbols
• Using a sufficiently complex passcode to help with memorability without shorting your security
• Keeping passwords to yourself

Audit your IT IMMEDIATELY

All organizations need to bring in a professional to audit all of their technology and update what can be updated to remove the influence of Log4j. Not only will this help protect your business and your employees, it will also protect the interests of your clients and customers. 

We recommend that you give MSPNetworks a call at (516) 403-9001 to schedule an appointment. This is extremely important, and you need a professional set of eyes to audit your IT to make sure you aren’t affected by this awful vulnerability. 

Each year we try to come up with a creative Christmas article that ties IT into one of the many holiday fables, but this year we thought we would just forgo the pageantry and talk a little bit about how important our clients are and what we do that can help take them where they want to go.

Anyone who runs a small business has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ebbs and flows in business that have resulted from it, and the overall uncertain feeling of “what next?” Many businesses haven’t made it and others are on the brink, even as people have begun to normalize their routines. Our dedication to helping all of our New York partners handle this difficult period in stride and coming out more prosperous on the other end, is one of our most important strategies. How do we accomplish this? Let’s take a look:

Keeping a Business Running

The most important part about running a business is that the business is available to sell the product or service, and that in the course of doing so, you don’t often pay for nothing. When your organization’s technology falters, you typically need to figure out how to fix it. If this happens quite a bit, you are looking at significant downtime, potential data loss, and the financial issues both create.

It’s not a good situation. 

Our services provide a solution to those problems. First, we assess your network to let decision makers know what systems are mission-critical and which ones are less so. Then we remotely monitor critical systems around the clock to ensure that network-connected devices are working as intended. If there are signs of inconsistency, our staff of certified technicians can typically fix the issues before they cause downtime. 

What’s more, we provide your staff access to a comprehensive help desk that can solve any number of computer-related problems quickly and efficiently. This keeps your team productive, your technology running smoothly, and downtime to a minimum. 

There will be times when a network-attached device is not repairable remotely and it will require technical support or replacement. Since our technicians will know before the component fails, we can ensure that you get the repairs/replacements needed before having to deal with large swaths of downtime.

Finally, in order to ensure that a business’ data is secured, we deploy a data backup and disaster recovery service that incrementally copies your data so that you don’t lose much if you need to use it. There are dozens of different reasons that an organization would have to use their backup, so with our BDR service, you get data redundancy onsite, as well as in the cloud, to ensure that any situation in which you may need to restore or migrate data is covered. 

Promoting Security

During the pandemic, the threat landscape became more dangerous due to the opportunities presented by the many relief programs that have been rolled out. Add this to the increase in ransomware and phishing attacks that were expected, it makes it a constant struggle for most businesses to keep up. 

At MSPNetworks, we don’t just keep up, we use all of our resources and accrued knowledge to keep our clients as safe as possible. We can outfit businesses with a myriad of security tools including firewalls, content filters, virtual private networks, spam blockers, and many more. 

That’s just the beginning of what we can do to keep your business’ IT secure.

We ensure all of your software is patched and updated regularly to reduce the exploitation of potential vulnerabilities (and to ensure that you have all the new features that software updates provide). Since software is the lifeblood of most businesses, securing that crucial avenue of potential attack can stop a lot of issues, but it won’t stop them all. It’s for this reason that we also work with you to help put in policies, procedures, and training platforms that can substantially reduce your organization’s exposure to today’s worst threats.

Cybersecurity is one of the most critical components of the modern business’ IT strategy, and with the experts we have on staff in your organization’s corner, you will be able to be more effective, more efficient, and see many fewer issues. 

Using Innovation

One aspect of our jobs that we find absolutely critical—and our clients find indispensable—is our commitment to knowing how to deploy technology in such a way that it basically pays for itself. Any business owner knows that technology isn’t cheap, but if it is deployed the right way, the return on your IT investments can be robust. 

We like to keep our finger on the pulse of technology to find innovative new tools that can really push the needle for your business’ ability to operate effectively. From deploying and managing Internet of Things (IoT) devices, to outfitting your business with high-end tools like document management, to a comprehensive list of communications and collaboration tools that can allow your business to quicken the pace; MSPNetworks has access to the knowledge and expertise needed to help integrate it for your business.

You can do a lot with technology, and we can do a lot with clients willing to trust us to do what’s best for their company. We would like to thank all of you for another great year, even if it was one of the most turbulent we can remember. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas tomorrow and a pleasant holiday season.

Technology is one element that many small businesses struggle with, but it turns out that a lot of the same advice that you might get for regular life lessons can also apply to IT! Let’s take a closer look at how we might apply some of these lessons and why it just makes good sense to keep these tips close at hand.

Prepare for the Unexpected

Just like when life hands you unexpected circumstances, so too will your IT infrastructure. That server unit could fail one day, leaving your business without any of the data or operations required to stay running. A hacker could find their way onto your network and put your data security at risk. A fire could burn down your office and destroy everything you have worked so hard to achieve.

All of these things can be prepared for with adequate foresight and proactive planning. You just have to understand that even the unexpected can happen when you least expect it and plan accordingly.

Don’t Skimp on Quality

Certain things you might be able to get away with lower quality, but IT is definitely not one of them. The lowest quality services or goods are not going to get you anywhere. While you might save a bit of cash in the short term, long-term you will spend much more than you think replacing hardware or purchasing new solutions entirely.

Just like in your personal life, you want to plan your investments around you and your lifestyle, things that are specific to you rather than the accepted norm. After all, no two businesses are the same, so your IT shouldn’t be, either.

You Don’t Have to Know Everything

More often than not, the journey through life is in a constant state of confusion and you do things not because you know what to do, but because you know that inaction is the incorrect choice. You know you need to take care of your IT systems and you know you need computers of some sort for your business, but you might not have the entire picture in your head as to what this means for your organization. And that’s perfectly fine! Nobody can know everything, after all.

For areas where you have a clear knowledge deficit in your understanding of various topics, you can instead rely on experts in their fields. For example, you might rely on an IT provider like MSPNetworks to make major technology decisions for your business. It sure beats taking a shot in the dark and getting it wrong, and it always helps to work with someone who knows what they are doing!

MSPNetworks wants to help you build a better future for your business and your employees through the use of industry-standard best practices and IT management. We can work with your company to ensure that these practices are implemented in such a way that you are never caught unawares. To learn more, reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

For small businesses with limited budgets and workforces, getting the type of maintenance needed to keep complicated pieces of machinery and technology in tip-top shape seems like a tall order. Sometimes it might be a budgetary issue, where it costs too much to hire in-house staff to handle this burden. Other times it might seem like you just can’t find any talent in your location. Thanks to modern technology—remote monitoring and management technology, in particular—you are no longer stuck by these limitations

We would be poor technology consultants if we told you that not having the resources to properly care for your technology is a good excuse. Thanks to remote technology, this type of maintenance is easier and more accessible than it has ever been before. Here’s what you can expect when you work with MSPNetworks for remote monitoring and maintenance services.

Improved Accessibility

If nothing else, RMM tools promote accessibility for small businesses by breaking down the barriers of entry that have traditionally stopped them from leveraging this type of technology. By this, we mean things like price and talent pool. For price, RMM services fall into the operational costs category, meaning that they are the equivalent of a monthly payment compared to adding additional salaries to your expenses. As for the talent pool, since the majority of services can be administered remotely, physical location is not as much of an issue unless you need on-site maintenance.

Proactive Maintenance and Monitoring

It’s not easy to run a business while also keeping an eye on all of the little things that could go wrong at any moment, be it hardware hiccups or security discrepancies. When you implement RMM services, you have your outsourced provider keeping a close watch on your network for all of those small things that might fly under the radar normally. When your network is monitored in this way, we can catch small issues before they spiral out of control.

Prompt Resolutions

Sometimes issues need to be resolved quickly, and in these situations, you cannot wait for a technician to travel to your office. Remote desktop solutions allow technicians to remote right into the system itself, see the issue first-hand, and resolve the issue quickly and efficiently without the need for an on-site visit.

Implement a RMM Tool Today!

Ultimately, RMM services are incredibly beneficial for all businesses, big or small. They save time, money, and resources that you can then spend elsewhere for your business, such as growing your customer base or innovating with new ideas or services. MSPNetworks can provide your organization with remote monitoring and maintenance services; all you have to do is reach out to us at (516) 403-9001.

All businesses have different goals when it comes to developing their IT infrastructure. While some might struggle just making ends meet with important maintenance, others might decide that it’s time to branch out and try innovative new solutions to take their infrastructures to the next level. We want to make one thing clear; both situations are perfectly fine, so long as you are willing to accept that you could always be doing things better, and today is the perfect time to take the next steps.

In a post-pandemic world, Gartner predicts that worldwide IT spending will increase by 9% in 2021, reaching its peak at around $4.2 trillion. This is significant, and it should be indicative that organizations are starting to move away from the old way of doing things in favor of new solutions. While organizations may have struggled throughout the pandemic just to keep operations going, they now seem to be more receptive to spending more on IT and pushing ever onward.

Where does your business lie on this spectrum? Have you worked past the operational challenges of the pandemic? Are you in a place where you feel comfortable enough to start optimizing and innovating? Working with a managed IT provider is a great decision no matter where your business currently lies. Here are some ways that we can help businesses in both categories.

For Those Who Are Struggling to Keep Up

Small businesses often have issues keeping up with their technology infrastructure, and this could be for a number of reasons. Some simply do not have the talent to administer important maintenance as it’s needed. Others don’t have the budget to procure new technology or deploy new solutions. In both cases, working with a managed IT service provider like MSPNetworks can be beneficial. We can function as an in-house IT department would, providing the technical expertise and support needed to keep up with everyday operations.

For Those Eager to Jump Ahead

Let’s say that you have your basic technology needs covered by an in-house IT department. Chances are they have their hands full, especially if your IT department consists of one or two technicians whose sole responsibility is to manage and maintain your tech. This stymies your ability to innovate and deploy new solutions to resolve issues or streamline operations. A managed IT provider like MSPNetworks can be the extra muscle needed to get these big projects off the ground. Alternatively, we can manage day-to-day tasks while your in-house team works to deploy projects.

No Matter What, We Can Help

No matter what your goals are for your organization’s IT, we are confident that managed IT services from MSPNetworks can help you reach them. Whether you are trying to get by during these difficult times or you are focusing on growing your organization, we can help you implement solutions that make your life easier. Give us a call at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.

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.