Is your business prepared to handle all kind of online threats? A recent study shows that it probably isn’t. According to the think tank Ponemon Institute, four out of five businesses don’t have the infrastructure or security experts they need to spot and prevent incoming cyber attacks from succeeding. This is a significant statistic that can’t be ignored, especially if you want to secure your business.
So you keep hearing about the need for a firewall, but maybe you’re not exactly sure what it is or even what it does. As a business owner, you don’t need to fully grasp the complexities of network security in order to effectively manage your company. Although, it is beneficial for every business owner to understand the basics of what a firewall is, along with a working knowledge of how it protects an organization’s IT infrastructure.
The cloud has seen explosive use of its services and solutions since it was first introduced, and for good reason--it offers benefits that are too useful for a business to pass up. These benefits vary, but all serve a singular purpose: to make the user’s experience easier. Here are some of the ways that the cloud can enhance the daily operations of your business.
When it comes to data breaches, some users don’t know or suspect one has occurred until it’s far too late to do anything about it. Sometimes viruses or malware will lurk on a device until certain criteria are met. Others will execute immediately. We’ve listed some of the potential threats that you will encounter in the business world, as well as what you can do about them.
Regardless of what industry a company is classified under, they all are responsible for upholding particular standards to ensure compliance with industry regulations. However, according to the 2016 State of Compliance survey, a shockingly high number of organizations were shown to be a bit fuzzy on their requirements.
Data might be the single most important asset of any business, but you would be shocked to hear about how many organizations don’t consider data loss to be a prominent threat. The fact remains that it doesn’t take an immense disaster to wipe out an entire infrastructure, and that you should expect the worst to happen regardless of how unlikely it is to do so.
Is there any good reason to use desktops in your office? While many businesses still utilize workstations, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the advantages afforded by mobile technology should make desktops obsolete, especially in light of a recent study.
One of the biggest benefits to the modern business is the scope and breadth of the Internet that connects them with potential and current clients and allows them to communicate their goods and services. This scope and breadth are also one of its biggest pitfalls, as there is plenty of room for the multitude of threats and other potential issues to reside as they menace businesses everywhere.
Is your organization using the latest technology solutions? If so, that’s great--you’ve taken the first step toward achieving maximum productivity and efficiency. However, you need to realize that no technology solution comes without its quirks that need to be addressed. Here are two ways that your new technology solutions could potentially be putting your business’s infrastructure at risk.
Every business from any industry probably has servers that hold important and sensitive data. However, not all organizations have the assets and skills necessary to manage and maintain these complex pieces of hardware. In particular, small businesses struggle with this aspect of running an in-house server, but there’s another option--an outsourced server hosting service from a third-party provider.
Flexibility is often cited as one of the major reasons to consider a VoIP solution, but what exactly does this mean for small and medium-sized businesses? We’ll explore some of the major benefits that stem from the flexibility of VoIP, as well as how your business can better leverage it for your business’s future.
When was the last time you had to reach out to IT support, only to have to wait for the tech to drive to your office and resolve the problem far too late? This is a common occurrence amongst business owners, and if your technology is mission-critical, you can’t afford to deal with more downtime than necessary. How can your business more effectively take advantage of technology support? A remote monitoring and maintenance solution may be just what you need.
Security has never been easy for any business that deals with sensitive information. Nowadays, even a small business that uses an Internet connection has to worry about hackers and malware of all types. This is especially problematic for small healthcare offices that need to keep sensitive information secure and safe from online threats.
When a business finds new software solutions that can effectively replace their older, less efficient systems, applications can often go unused for extended periods of time. However, these unnecessary apps can waste time and money for your business, which can add up quickly. In fact, as much as 38 percent of enterprise applications are wasting away on organizations’ networks.
You may have heard about CEO fraud, which is commonly referred to as “whaling.” It’s like a phishing scheme, but on a much more intricate scale. Instead of faking the identity of another employee, or someone from a financial institution or government agency, the hacker will try to use the identity of a business owner or CEO instead. The idea is to use an employee’s fear of confrontation and eagerness to comply with requests to the hacker’s advantage--and you’d be surprised by how often it works.
Insider threats are defined as internal threats that could come in the form of either malicious or negligent users. Perhaps an employee recently quit and left the office in a flurry of madness, or maybe you have employees who just don’t care to follow security best practices. Either way, insider threats are major problems that need to be addressed.
Cloud Management
The cloud continues to increase in popularity, in part due to the overwhelming convenience that it provides for small businesses. When your workforce needs to be agile, they need access to data and applications on the move. This means that they can be productive anytime, anywhere. However, managing a cloud server can be a daunting task for a business that doesn’t have a full-time internal IT department. Outsourcing this responsibility to a managed service provider lets your business focus on productivity, rather than managing your technology.
Since its invention in 1898 by Edwin G. Seibels, the storage solution of choice in many office environments has been the filing cabinet. However, there is a better option available with far greater utility in the modern office: the document management solution.
When your organization is suffering with failing computer hardware, you will almost certainly experience increased downtime that will result in operational inefficiency and an overall lack of productivity. In order to keep your business technology properly working for you, you will need access to knowledgeable technicians and their years of IT expertise.
Data backup and disaster recovery are critical to the success of the modern business, but so many organizations still don’t see the importance of maintaining copies of their data infrastructure, or simply don’t think that they will fall victim to a data loss incident. Unfortunately, in this case, we have to insist that you consider data backup and disaster recovery; it’s not a matter of if you lose your data, but when.
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