What an MSP Can Offer Your Business

by

It’s not as if the name “managed services provider ” (MSP) is that self-explanatory. You might read that business description and have no real idea what it is an MSP can do for you. We’re providing managed services … OK, but what does that mean? To make things easier, this article outlines the actual IT services an MSP provides.

Most important, an MSP provides preventative services. We detect issues before they become a problem. The mission is to protect your business against costly downtime.

Too many businesses are reactive: they wait for something to go wrong with their business technology, then they look for someone to help resolve the problem. Ours is not a break-fix approach to IT. Our job is to keep your business technology safe and available. We get to know your business. That way, we can anticipate your needs and ensure your IT is always supporting your success.

An MSP proactively monitors, patches, and updates your software. We keep your technology current and optimized. This includes your laptops, desktops, and mobile devices, plus your network and servers. We’ll also keep an eye on your firewalls, switches, and access points. That way, you can focus instead on other elements of your business.

But, wait. That’s not all

This proactive mindset extends to cybersecurity services. Hackers target small businesses, expecting them to have less protection in place. You need to defend your business. The MSP’s security experts review your systems to identify and address vulnerabilities. We can keep up with system updates, software patching, antivirus, and more to shore up your security posture. You can’t keep up with the myriad daily security alerts, because you don’t have the bandwidth. For us, it’s part of our job.

Another beneficial MSP service is strategic advice. You know the ins and outs of your business; we know the finer points about technology for businesses like yours. We get to know how you and your people work and suggest the best tools to meet your needs. We can help you decide on the right technology and the best timeline for your budget. Outsourcing IT management to us, you get a well-informed CIO on your team. That’s without having to take on the burden of recruiting and retaining top tech talent.

We can also manage your business continuity and disaster-recovery strategy. Your MSP will establish a solid data-backup plan. Plus, they’ll regularly audit recovery capabilities. They will ensure everything can be restored efficiently if the worst does happen.

Yet another business burden we take on for you is end-user support. Unless, that is, you like being the one your people call when a printer goes down or they can’t connect remotely. Our personable, professional tech experts can become your tech support team. You gain an on-call support provider responding to your users’ needs.

Get the right services managed

So, now you know what an MSP can do for you. Maybe you don’t need all those services managed by your MSP. That can work too. Many of us offer packages bundling different levels of service or capabilities. The point is that your MSP will work with you to provide reliable, safe, and efficient IT for your business. Find out more today by calling us at (515)422-1995!

The Business Risk of Abandoned Domain Names

by

When setting up your small business website, you want a memorable name and sleek Web design. You know your website is an important online calling card. Then, when you grow or your business evolves, you might rebrand and add a site. But wait, don’t abandon the old one.

When you set up your Web presence, you select a domain name, and it’s part of all your URLs (FYI: URL stands for uniform resource locator). For example, you have created stylish caps and coats for small dogs. You pick the CoutureCanine.com domain name for your business. Your emails come from TheBoss@CoutureCanine.com. Then, off you go building Web traffic to your cool dog duds.

Maybe you even think ahead and buy similar domain names. You can redirect traffic and avoid losing customers to misspellings or typos.

The domain name, after all, establishes the business and provides you with a foundation to grow. As you build the business, you may expand to new verticals and outgrow the dogs-only website. Or, perhaps you wrap up your line for pups and move on to dressing parakeets. Whatever your reason, don’t abandon those old domain names.

Abandoned Domain Name Security Risks

To keep your domain name, you must continue to pay annual registration fees. If you have multiple domains, that can be a lot of small renewals to track and pay. Along the way, a domain renewal gets overlooked. So, the domain name is abandoned.

Domain names can also get abandoned as a result of a business rebranding or company restructuring. Or you might decide a domain is no longer worth continued renewals.

Your hosting company should tell you the Internet domain name is due to expire. After you stop paying, after a certain grace period, anyone can buy that abandoned domain name.

That doesn’t sound so bad. You didn’t want it anymore anyway, right? But you don’t know who might snatch up your old online calling card. Bad actors buy up abandoned domain names and re-register them with catch-all emails.

What’s a catch-all email? Well, remember TheBoss@CoutureCanine.com? That was you. But maybe you also had distinct emails for accounts, info, sales, support, James, and Shauna. All of them were going through CoutureCanine.com. If someone emails someone at the previous domain owner’s business, it goes instead to the new owner. Having seized control of your old site, they gain access to all incoming emails, and they could see the information you don’t want them to see.

The bad actor could also access online services once used by james@CoutureCanine.com. All they would need to do is reset the password to hijack that account.

Security researchers have seen criminals claim abandoned domains to:

  • access confidential email correspondence;
  • access personal information of former clients and current or former employees;
  • hijack personal user accounts (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) linked to old domain e-mail addresses.

What to do with domain names

Especially if you use a domain name for email, don’t let the renewal expire. We didn’t even mention pirates who look for business websites that have lapsed so they can charge exorbitant ransoms to return that domain.

When you move to a new domain address, communicate the change with all your clients and vendors. Close any cloud-based user accounts registered with the old domain email address. Also, unsubscribe from email notifications that might share sensitive data.

Not sure about your domain name registrations, renewals, and what’s set to expire? An IT service provider can handle this for you. Our experts can make sure you don’t abandon domain names. Or we can ensure you close any associated accounts properly to protect your security.

Contact us now at (515) 422-1995.

Understanding the Cost of Downtime

by

Business downtime is costly. Research abounds on just how much it can set a business back. Some small businesses can’t even rebound from the expenses associated with downtime. This article outlines the many expenses a business can encounter as a result of downtime.

What do we mean by downtime? There are many reasons a business might experience IT downtime. Say, the Wi-Fi goes down or there’s a simple power outage. Either could lead to a small-scale, short-term downtime.

Worse, you could be the victim of a cyberattack that sees criminals encrypting your data. A data breach or malware infection could force you to take systems offline to solve the problem.

Severe weather events such as tornadoes or hurricanes can also cause downtime. Or maybe the building suffers a gas leak or a fire, and your business isn’t immediately able to get back on-site. If you don’t have cloud-based access to your applications, you could suffer downtime.

Every minute you are without your business technology can add up. Let’s consider the various costs you could encounter.

Loss of business revenue

If your people can’t access business systems or network applications, productivity drops. Your sales team can’t close deals, or your product development team can’t access schematics. Perhaps someone in client development can’t get to their pitch presentation.

Remediation costs

Fixing your business technology after downtime takes extra work, which means added resource costs. You may have to pay overtime to the IT team working round the clock to get you back up and running, or there could be places you need to catch up when you had to spend time doing things manually. This disrupts efficiency and costs money.

Customer dissatisfaction

How often do you hear someone apologize for their computer running slowly? When you call a customer service line it’s a familiar frustration. Imagine telling someone instead, “our systems are down, and we are unable to help you right now.” You will be compounding customer aggravation. They don’t want to wait for your downtime to end to resolve their issue.

If there’s a data breach, customers will worry about personal data or compromise of proprietary information.

Legal and compliance fees

Your business could run afoul of compliance or face legal action. For instance, if you are in the health services industry and are breached, you could be hit with hefty fines for jeopardizing personally identifiable information.

Brand reputation

Say your payment processor goes down, and you’re not able to take any orders. Some customers will get impatient and order from a competing website. They may end up switching to that company permanently.

There’s also a misconception that any press is good press. But you do not want your business to make headlines for having fallen victim to a cyberattack.

Employee engagement

Every business owner recognizes the importance of retaining motivated and skilled staff. Employees frustrated by downtime may start looking elsewhere.

Morale and your business culture could decline. Turnover could rise. You’ll need to invest time recruiting, training, and retaining fresh new hires.

Key takeaway

Don’t think business downtime can’t happen to you. When it comes to technology, threats are ever-evolving. Keep current with updates and software upgrades, and be vigilant about fresh threats.

Partner with an MSP to develop backup plans. An IT vendor can help move systems to the cloud to ensure mobile access. MSPs can also be proactive. They perform preventative maintenance and help cut your cybersecurity risk.

We can’t promise downtime won’t happen, but we can make sure you are resilient and able to bounce back more quickly should problems arise. Contact us today at (515) 422-1995.

Onboarding an IT Provider: What’s Realistic?

by

When you hire a managed service provider, you want instant results: you want all your technology to run faster and more smoothly, and everyone to be more productive. And there will be no problems again, ever, right? But that’s not realistic. Managed service providers are pretty great (even if we do say ourselves), but we’re not miracle workers. So, let’s discuss what you might realistically expect when onboarding a new IT provider.

Sometimes, quick wins are achieved. The managed service provider (MSP) may be able to immediately get that server powered up again or fix that printer on the second floor that’s only been taking up space for the past three months. Yet there is no magic wand that allows these IT experts to solve every issue instantly.

What should you expect?

If there is a pressing issue, the MSP will start there by looking into what has gone wrong. Then, they’ll be able to make plans for addressing the concern. Maybe a part failed, or your hardware has reached the end of its life. They’ll look into how you use that technology and provide suggestions to make a fix.

Otherwise, if nothing is immediately wrong, your MSP will begin the engagement by learning about your business tech. They’ll want to talk with your stakeholders to discover:

  • where you are now;
  • where you want to be the future;
  • how you use your IT;
  • what your IT budget looks like.

In getting up to speed, this outsourced IT team should be making a great impression on you. This is the beginning of your relationship. They have won your business, but you can expect them to be proving that you made the right choice. Still, this doesn’t mean they can get everything perfect right from the get-go.

The timeline depends on the context.

There could be issues that will take longer to resolve. They may need to do diagnostic work to get to the root of the problem. Solving the issue could take creative problem-solving and a lot of research legwork.

We’d love to say that every business we work with comes to us with pristine IT. Everything is in great shape, and we can immediately step in and make everything work even better. But there can be lingering or unidentified concerns. The business may not have the IT depth to recognize the problems that the MSP will quickly diagnose. Perhaps you’ve been ignoring security warnings or network errors or you’ve been bombarded with access requests from malicious IPs. The MSP is going to have to take on those outstanding concerns.

Again, there is no magic wand. The MSP can’t instantly turn the ship around if it’s been sailing toward a massive iceberg for the past year.

Expect to give your MSP team some time to learn your business and get up to speed with your IT. However, don’t give them forever. If it has been six months, and they’re still “figuring it all out,” you may want to reconsider that partnership. But be aware that cutting those ties means starting from scratch to build a relationship with a new MSP.

The better approach is to expect ongoing, informative communication from your new MSP. They should be letting you know what they are learning about your technology needs along the way and making suggestions to improve usage, boost security, increase productivity, and drive efficiency.

One thing you can realistically expect? Your MSP will make a real contribution. These experts should be more than a vendor and more like a partner in your business success.

Contact us at (515) 422-1995.

Supply Chain Shortages Making It Hard to Buy IT

by

The computer chip and semiconductor shortage is an IT supply-chain stumbling block. Take, for example, Marvell Technologies, which develops and produces semiconductors and related technology. In late 2021, they were offering customers a 52-week delivery time.

Meanwhile, Intel’s chief warned the chip shortage could last into 2023. The founder of Dell said even cheaper components are proving difficult to source. In a Reuters report, Michael Dell said that “the shortage will probably continue for a few years” and that “even if chip factories are built all over the world, it takes time.”

What’s causing the shortages?

For one thing, more people bought computers during the pandemic for remote work. Meanwhile, COVID-19 created a logistical nightmare for technology production and shipping and continues to do so. In March, the major Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, went on lockdown to combat an outbreak of virus cases.

Critical international ports are also struggling to stay open amidst COVID-19 outbreaks. In March, trucks couldn’t reach container ships at the port city of Yantian due to lockdown. The port had already closed last June for a week, and it took months to deal with the shipping backlog.

Many manufacturers need Chinese components before they can start building their products. Thus, the shortage stops an entire production line.

None of this is helped by people hoarding products to take advantage of supply-chain shortfalls.

Plus, business tech manufacturers aren’t the only ones needing semiconductors and chips. If it’s got an on-off switch (e.g. your phone, your car, or any other electronics), it’s hit by this supply chain shortage.

What does this mean for your tech?

Business technology is going to cost more. No surprises there. It’s basic supply and demand. Not only is technology more expensive, but it’s also going to take longer to reach you.

What can you do? Plan ahead. If you’ve been thinking about a hardware upgrade, don’t wait to make your purchasing strategy. Anticipate your IT needs in advance to accommodate buying challenges.

You’ll also want to prioritize maintenance of your existing technology. You can’t risk a critical piece of your network failing. You might have to wait weeks (months even) for a replacement.

With hardware in short supply, a repair can also take more time and money. You’ll want to take care of what you currently use to make sure it lasts as long as you’ll need it.

Working with a managed service provider can help. Our experts can do preventative maintenance and support your long-term IT strategic planning. Our established vendor relationships could also help us access the technology you need. Let us take care of your short-term and future technology issues. Contact us today at (515) 422-1995!

What IT Services Should You Outsource?

by

Every successful small business owner reaches a point when they need to tap others’ talents. When it comes to IT, depending on your skill set, that point could come pretty soon. Yes, there are IT services you can do in-house, but there are others that are beneficial to outsource.

When you started, you might have been dealing with one computer in your home office. As the business grows, so will your IT footprint. Eventually, it could make more sense to outsource your IT infrastructure. Managing your own hardware could prove too costly and time-consuming. In particular, a cloud service provider allows you to take advantage of economies of scale.

There are umpteen options for outsourcing your cloud computing. Once you settle on the provider, someone else can manage updates, handle backups, and track security.

Even if you keep your hardware infrastructure on-site, you can outsource its management, as it can grow too complicated for you to handle alone. Bring in an IT expert to source, manage, and troubleshoot your hardware. You can return your focus to other business areas that better suit your skills.

Other IT areas to outsource

If your business sells to customers online, you might outsource your e-commerce. There are many excellent e-commerce operators out there. They focus on ensuring your customers are always able to shop and buy from a secure online shop. You don’t want to risk losing sales because you’re trying to manage e-commerce as well as all other areas of your business.

Security is another key area for IT outsourcing. Cybercriminals are not slowing down. In fact, security agencies from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom reported in February 2022 on the increasing threat of ransomware. One of their findings? No one is immune, no matter the size of their business.

As a single-computer shop, you could do automatic updates and change Wi-Fi passwords. But, as your operations grow, there are many more entry points to protect. Identifying vulnerabilities becomes more difficult, and you can’t spend all your time monitoring cybersecurity threat feeds. There’s other work to do, too.

Cybersecurity can’t be set and forgotten. Sometimes, updates can’t wait until the next one you have scheduled. You may need to react quickly to a major event or move proactively to identify whether you are at risk. Outsourcing to professionals who track new threats can help you avoid the worst. When updates are due, they can schedule them at the least disruptive time for your business. Plus, if there is an infected file or malware issue, you have someone on call to deal with that issue immediately. That can help cut costly downtime.

Outsource to IT experts

You may be brilliant in your business area, but that doesn’t mean you’re also skilled at IT. By outsourcing some IT tasks, you can gain peace of mind about your business tech reliability. Instead of trying to recruit and train your own IT people in a tight labour market, you can let the experts in. Then, you can get back to focusing your attention on the other core elements of your business.

Outsourcing IT can lower your tech costs, increase your productivity, and provide peace of mind. By turning to our experts, you can be more productive and enjoy a higher level of IT services. Contact us today at (515)422-1995!

How to Save on Hardware Refreshes

by

Your business may have an established hardware refresh cycle. Good. Or you might refresh hardware every few years when you feel it’s needed. OK, so you like the casual approach. That can work, too. You don’t refresh your hardware? Not a great plan. Yet, no matter what, you’ll want to read this article about how to save on IT hardware refreshes.

What is a hardware refresh?

Let’s not confuse a hardware update or upgrade with a hardware refresh. When updating hardware, which you should do consistently, you patch any security vulnerabilities. You’ll also address any other issues the manufacturer may have discovered post-release. Then, in the case of an upgrade, your hardware stays in place, but you might add drives or RAM.

Next, there’s the hardware refresh. This sees you replacing the hardware you have with new technology. You’ll replace outdated equipment with the newest versions. Read on to learn why you’d do that.

Why is a hardware refresh needed?

Business relies on technology to function and offer a competitive advantage. Yet your hardware can reach the point at which it slows you down. Or, worse, it becomes an actual security risk, which could lead to devastating downtime.

There is no one magic bullet to remove all risk of cyberattack or difficulties with your business IT, but refreshing hardware helps you combat:

  • performance issues;
  • capacity issues;
  • security vulnerabilities.

Plus, you gain any new functionality built into the equipment since you last bought it.

Many businesses have a set hardware refresh cycle; perhaps every three to five years. Yet that timeline is only a general suggestion, and it may not suit your particular business needs. Upgrade too early, and you’re not getting full value for your technology investment. Upgrade too late, and you risk productivity and security.

Knowing when to upgrade, repair, or refresh helps ensure return on investment. You can also save on the refresh itself. More on that next.

How to save on hardware refreshes?

It’s a good idea to have a hardware refresh process, yet allowing the calendar to dictate server unit, workstation, or networking component changes can waste resources.

Reduce hardware refresh costs by doing an IT and network audit. This audit helps you understand what is currently used, how it is being used, and whether or not it is up to the task. This can also help you identify areas where you are over-equipping your employees. For example, a design firm’s administrator won’t need the same amount of RAM as the designers need to run graphics programs.

You can also save on hardware refreshes with virtualization. Instead of replacing legacy technology with another physical machine, host it in the cloud. Take a server unit. Doing away with the on-site server unit provides access to the server’s resources online. You gain the flexibility of being able to run multiple operating systems on the same device. Plus, you’ll save on electricity, cooling, and maintenance costs.

Help with your hardware refresh

Refreshing business equipment brings both labor and infrastructure expenses, but failing to refresh hardware can overburden IT, slow employees, and risk security. Optimize your hardware refresh by knowing business needs, auditing current technology, and exploring alternatives.

Partnering with a managed service provider to help you establish a refresh plan can help, too. Our experts can determine what equipment needs to be changed and what is still viable. We can help you evaluate options to get the most cost-friendly solutions. Plus, we can help with upgrades and updates, too. Contact our team today at (515)422-1995!

Could the Business You Work for be More IT Savvy?

by

Working for a small business, you can be asked to wear many hats. Even if one of your many roles is not IT, you may need to speak up about your business technology or cybersecurity.

It’s easy to think cybersecurity is someone else’s responsibility, but IT may not be getting the attention it deserves, and that could be damaging to the business, your career, and your identity.

A data breach can destroy a business. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that 60% of small businesses close within six months of a breach. It’s easy to calculate why. In Ponemon’s annual Cost of Data Breach report, the average cost was $161 per record. That adds up. If you’re at a business that can’t recover, you could be out looking for work again.

Of course you care about your customers. You don’t want their personally identifiable information (PII) getting out to criminals. But their information isn’t the only thing at risk. Your employer has a lot of PII about you, too. They’ll have your name, address, salary amount, and bank account details. Plus, they may have health information related to your benefits. They probably also have copies of your government identification.

Not only about protection, prevention

If your business tech is out of date, you’re at greater risk of cyber vulnerability. But improving IT isn’t only about protecting data and preventing downtime. Having the right technology to suit your business can also help you be more productive. Speaking up about IT could see the business improve, grow, and gain resiliency.

Working with a good MSP can help both you and your business:

  • If your company isn’t as protected, IT experts can help with data security or backup and disaster recovery.
  • Frustrated by network failures, lagging conference calls, or error messages? Trust the MSP to make sure the business technology is up to the task.
  • When the devices you’re working with aren’t doing what you want them to do, the MSP can suggest the right tools for the job.
  • Feel like you’re wasting time on repetitive or mundane tasks? An MSP partner could help you embrace automation. Allow machines to take on the routine and leave you free to focus on the more challenging and innovative work.

A slow system is painful to use. Having to wait even a few minutes for a computer adds up over a 40-hour work week. Worrying about the security of your data doesn’t help your focus at work either.

You don’t have to be an IT expert to understand that there is room for improvement with your technology. Connect us with your employer to schedule a consultation for your business needs!

Contact us at (515)422-1995.

All You Need to Know about Catchall Emails

by

The majority of small businesses rely on email as their primary means of acquiring and retaining customers. When that’s the case, you can’t afford to miss emails prospects send you. A catchall email can help prevent that from happening. Read on to find out all you need to know about catchall emails.

Catchall emails literally catch all emails sent to your domain. This ensures that you don’t miss any important emails. Plus, the catchall email helps you filter mail for cybersecurity reasons too.

Let’s examine some of the scenarios in which a catchall email, also known as wildcard emails, would come in handy:

  • Someone intends to email joe@yourdomain.com but mistakenly types jo@yourdomain.com.
  • A customer emails julie@yourdomain.com, but she left the company months ago.
  • A customer emails with concerns but uses an address that doesn’t exist on your domain.

In all these instances, the email would go to the catchall email address for your domain. Otherwise, you might miss that customer desperate to buy a hundred of your product for overnight shipping because in their hurry they missed one letter in an email address. Or you might not receive that customer complaint. Then, you’d miss the opportunity to rebuild that relationship.

Using a catchall email lets your small business communicate professionally with people. The customer isn’t getting error emails telling them the address does not exist. Instead, someone can follow-up, whether the individual email is still with you or not.

Setting up a catchall email

When you set up a catchall email, you can select one person who will review all those different emails. Pick someone with a strong Spidey sense for scam emails. After all, the catchall email may mean more Spam comes to your domain.

The wildcard account accepts non-defined emails instead of bouncing them. This doesn’t mean you have to read it all. View this inbox as a staging area to review, reject, and prioritize emails.

You can also set up the catchall email as a sort of cybersecurity filtration tool. You might give distinct email addresses to your different vendors. For example, your Amazon account would go to amazon@yourdomain.com. Your cleaning services would use cleaning@yourdomain.com. The catchall captures them all for appropriate distribution.

With a catchall email set up, you can have many different aliases online. This benefits you in the case of a data leak. If you start seeing spam or malware delivered to one of those addresses, you’ll know that the vendor has been hacked. Or has sold your information. Being able to trace the threat can make it much easier to cut the risks.

Email management made easier

Weighing the benefits of a catchall email for your business? Our experts can help you with this and other email management issues. Reach out to us today at (515)422-1995!

On-premises Software “Ownership” vs. The Cloud

by

Cloud computing is common in business. Yet there are some who remain skeptical. One of the sticking points is that the business doesn’t own the software it is using in the cloud. This can cause concern, but this article helps you weigh up the options.

Your business has two choices really. Buy a software package and install it on your devices, or subscribe to the same or similar software offering online in the cloud. (You might also develop and customize your own software, but that’s another story).

When you buy the software, there’s a feeling of ownership. You pay for what you want, and it’s yours. But while you may have the discs in hand, you never really own that software. What you did was enter into an agreement with the manufacturer to use that application in a certain way.

If you go the cloud-based software route, you don’t own but rather subscribe. Meanwhile, you get the benefit of always up-to-date and evolving software. You have access to that software online, often from any internet-enabled device. The software is sharable with more than one person, and every user enjoys the same, consistent and convenient access.

Software support and security

When you “own” the software, you’re responsible for upgrading it and keeping it patched for the latest security vulnerabilities. You’re also limited to the features installed when you purchased that product.

Also, the standalone version of the software is supported only for its lifecycle. You can grow used to using certain software in a particular way. But after five years (typically), the software will be out of date. You can keep using it afterwards, of course, but there will no longer be manufacturer support. That can mean security risks for your business.

Those who subscribe to cloud software get ongoing support and security upgrades, for which there is an ongoing fee. Yet in return, you automatically receive maintenance updates and security improvements. Plus, as new features become available, you get access to those, too, so you can always enjoy the latest and greatest version of that software if you want to install it.

Software developers like this approach, because they can be more responsive. They are able to respond to user requests in real-time and make changes within days.

Scaling with software in the cloud

Scaling with the software you own on-premises is more challenging, as the software is static. If you want more features, you will need to buy more software to install.

With the cloud version, you often gain access to an expanded roster of features. If they are not included, you may have the option of adding on or “unlocking” a new level.

An advantage to the cloud approach? You can install those added features when you need them. But if they add cost and you don’t need them all the time, you can scale back.

Develop a cloud strategy

The type of software “ownership” that suits you will depend on your business goals. Budget can be a factor, too. It helps to have an overall technology strategy. We can help with the decisions you need to make. Schedule a free consultation with our experts today at (515)422-1995.

Click to see our BBB Report

FOLLOW US

VISIT US

Privacy Policy