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Archive for April, 2015

Five Questions The Financial Industry Should Be Asking About Security

As the mobile market continues to skyrocket and gain new users, financial industries are finding it increasingly more difficult to protect their customers against online fraud. Add in the seemingly never-ending wave of company breaches and data loss, coupled with an increasing number of users relying on mobile for their banking needs, and you have a recipe for potential disaster. As a result, customers are pressuring banks to add features and functionality, but at the moment, the US is behind the rest of the world in rolling out such features. Fortunately, there are ways for banks to mitigate these risks and fight back against these threats to their customers. Here are five questions the financial industry needs to be asking about security.

If you’re interested in knowing the five questions and respective answers, proceed to the following link at Webroot’s blog.  A leading Internet Security/Protection/Anti-Virus Application Provider.

http://www.webroot.com/blog/2015/02/18/five-questions-financial-industry-asking-security/

 

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5 Smart Tips To Know Before Moving Your Data To A Cloud-Based Application

Cloud computing is all the rage these days, and while some companies are moving their whole IT infrastructure to the cloud, many others are choosing to streamline their businesses by moving individual business applications.

If you are considering moving any of your company’s software applications “to the cloud,” make sure to consider these 5 tips BEFORE pulling the trigger:

  1. Back It Up!

Migrating data to any new location is a mess, and anything can (and usually does) go wrong. Therefore, make sure you have good, recent backup copies of everything before you make the move.

  1. Maintain An On-site Copy

At first, moving to the cloud can be a bit scary. What can help mitigate the risk (and the fear) is keeping a local, on-site copy of your data and network image on an NAS (network-attached storage) device. That way you have a local on-site copy in addition to the working cloud copy.

  1. Have A “Plan B” To Access The Internet

One of the biggest questions about moving IT to the cloud is “What if the Internet goes down?” To mitigate that fail point, have a business-class Internet connection as your initial and main way to connect, and then also have a second Internet connection service as a backup. If <<Comcast>> is your main connection, you might consider keeping a <<AT&T U-Verse>> account as a backup.

  1. Use It As An Opportunity To Do Some Housekeeping

You could just copy and paste your files from your local machines into the cloud, but why not take this as an opportunity to reevaluate the structure and organization of that data? Here are some ideas:

  • Reevaluate and/or update your file-naming conventions and file organization. A good file-naming policy will make it much easier to find files and information. Also, consider reorganizing all the folders into smarter, more efficient categories.
  • Consider who will be using what and what levels of permissions are required to access files. Revisiting your permission levels will help keep sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.
  • Look at old files and consider deleting them or archiving them so they aren’t cluttering up your server and costing you money for storing and backing them up.
  1. Phase The Move

Don’t try to migrate everything all at once. Create a transition plan and implement it. Make sure you move your files in bite-size pieces so the changes are easy to digest for your clients, employees, partners and everyone else involved. This also gives you the opportunity to test the water before taking the plunge, and it allows you to put out one fire at a time instead of having all systems down or broken.

 

Free Cloud Readiness Assessment And Cost Analysis Gets You Started

     As a prospective customer, you are eligible for this FREE Cloud Readiness And Cost Analysis.

Free of charge (a $497 value), one of our expert cloud computing engineers will walk you through our 3-step Cloud Readiness process:

  1. Cost Analysis and Inventory. We’ll look at your current network hardware, software, data and applications. We’ll also compile an IT cost assessment to reveal your total spend on IT, including Internet connectivity, support and other fees. Our goal is to find ways we can significantly lower your overall IT costs while simplifying and improving your workflow.
  1. Cloud Readiness Assessment. After looking at the above areas, we then look at how you and your employees work and see how well your applications or processes will move to the cloud to improve ease of use and lower costs.
  2. Cloud Action Plan. When the assessment is complete, we’ll give you a comprehensive plan that shows how we can save you money and resolve a number of workarounds and problems you have been experiencing to date. Even if you decide not to hire us, this third-party assessment will give you a good idea of what you are able to do with the power of cloud computing.

Get yours FREE today at www.virtualitmanagers.com/cloud-computing  through the end of May 31st!

or call us at Phone: 305-600-5459

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‘Ransomware’ a Growing Threat to Small Businesses

I thought I’d pass on an interesting article on “Ransomware” that a friend shared.  For those of you that thing that you run a small business and you don’t have to worry about Cyber Security, “Think Again”.  The threat is real and up close and personal.

‘Ransomware’ a growing threat to small businesses http://www.wsj.com/articles/ransomware-a-growing-threat-to-small-businesses-1429127403?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories

If you need assistance with Cyber Security, Network Security or Firewall Management, please reach out to us at sales@virtualitmanagers.com or 305-600-5459.

Here to serve your Information Technology needs,

VITM Team

 

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Making The Switch To Managed IT Services

When the time comes to make the switch to Managed IT Services, it is important to know what you are looking for from a provider. As most business owners have or are beginning to realize, there are plenty of benefits that can be realized by bringing on a managed services provider to address IT and other needs. In order to get the most from your managed services contract you must carefully compare all potential providers to ensure they are willing and able to provide the services you need to keep your business moving forward in the future. If your managed services provider cannot supply the following three things (at minimum) keep looking until you find a company that addresses these issues.

  • Security – The managed services provider that you choose should work with vendors that guarantee security. This is imperative when trusting an outside party to handle and maintain private and confidential data that is crucial to the running of your business. Service providers should provide detailed proof of security procedures as well as how they intend to keep abreast of changes in the industry.
  • Recovery – Managed IT Services providers are not only contracted to help keep the day-to-day running of your business going smoothly. They are also an important part of any recovery situation that follows a natural or man made disaster. It is important to discuss with potential providers what procedures they have in place to guarantee your downtown will be minimal and that you will be up and running as soon as possible after an emergency. These precious minutes and hours can make or break the recovery of your business.
  • Customer Service – As with any other business, if there is no customer support backing up the products or services, there isn’t much of a commitment from the provider.

Why are these three things important? To understand you must consider the Managed IT Services model. Managed IT Services providers are hired by a company to provide any or all of the following services:

  • Website hosting
  • Network monitoring
  • Network security
  • Remote data backup
  • Recovery services

Originally these services were provided to large corporations while small to medium size companies struggled to maintain an IT budget that was often more expensive then beneficial. Managed services providers charge a flat, or monthly fee, making it possible for smaller businesses to reap the benefits offered at a much lower price than in-house IT staff or outsourcing on an as needed basis.

The Managed IT Services platform continues to grow as many businesses look for ways to reduce costs in this tough economy. By offering technological services that might otherwise be beyond the reach of a small business budget, managed services make it possible for smaller businesses to remain competitive with others in their industry. Small business owners must take the time to carefully review and research each provider before signing on the bottom line. A good managed services provider can change the way you do business- in a positive direction, whereas the wrong choice could be a costly mistake that does more harm than good to your business.

Click here to learn how Virtual IT Managers, Inc. can help you improve business productivity while reducing technology costs with our Managed IT Services for your business in Miami, FL and surrounding cities.

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