How to determine if the Managed IT Services are Right for Your Business

 Technology plays a central role in companies and is therefore a key component in almost all companies. Keeping track of your company's computer game can be a real challenge as the technology environment changes. Many companies often spend too much on IT without understanding what technology costs are significant, luxurious, or unnecessary.

This is especially true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), since large companies work with larger budgets and have the ability to maintain internal IT roles. But it is SMEs that may really have a hard time staying afloat in relation to the crisis. It always pays to cut costs and maximize efficiency for all businesses whenever possible. Outsourcing in the IT department can lead to an advantageous scenario that saves time and money, not to mention improving team productivity.

Defining managed IT services

Managed IT services consist of outsourcing the coordination of everything to do with IT, from office equipment maintenance and network security requirements to cloud storage and processing services. Examples of this are outsourced help desks, outsourced CIOs, disaster recovery, and backup planning. If you're not a tech savvy, forgetting to make sure all of your antivirus software is up to date can lead to an attack that can disrupt your company's services and seriously damage your internal security systems. - as well as the reputation of your company. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for IT, as each company's requirements can vary considerably.

The economic impact of traditional internal function has been estimated to represent up to 70% of a company's IT budget just to make critical systems work. Given the growing importance IT continues to play in every business transaction, this is certainly not a viable formula, especially when experience is priced higher. In addition to the economics of these remotely managed services, you can take advantage of the more advanced skills your team may lack.

Where do I start with managed IT services?

Some companies may recognize that they need to download parts of their IT infrastructure, but they are not yet ready to get a complete plan from a third party. In this case, some a la carte services are a good place to start.

A common strategy is to outsource your company's cloud infrastructure management. This way, you have more time to work on new functions that offer your customers better value. Outsourcing an MSP to manage a single function that is routine but necessary, such as: B. Specific software maintenance or virus protection can also be the most cost-effective first step. In this way, less time is required to be informed about the technical details of managing these standard responsibilities.

Network Deployment

Network infrastructure change programs should always be associated with an improvement in users' perception of the quality of the service received. Before starting such a project, there are technical and commercial bid phases and evaluations that must be approved.

Once this is accomplished, the main phases are:

• Commitment.
• Operation and administration.
• The breakdown or transition of the network to a new project.

In the Network Deployment Services, operations are performed in which devices are started / installed. The end result is the contracted service. In this phase of the project there are:

1. The agreed service periods and delivery times must be respected.

2. Tools that simplify predictable bulk configuration tasks must be available.

3. A team of specialists must supervise the installation of the devices in a previously agreed location.

4. Validation of the entire start-up process so that the project location can go to the operational phase.

While this list contains the obvious, it makes the network implementation phase one of the most intense and troublesome parts of a new scheme. This implies the not insignificant additional costs for the commissioning of external services.

In general, the service provider or freight forwarder offers its clients an all-inclusive package with the best possible service / price ratio. They are expected to select device manufacturers that not only meet the technology and economics side, but also help keep network deployment costs low.

One of the most important components for network provisioning is a zero-touch installation service for participating devices. This means that starting the service on the site must include:

• Customers should receive a device with basic on-site connection instructions (similar to automatic installation of home services like ADSL / FTTH). The customer can simply connect and turn on their device according to the basic instructions.
• The automatic configuration process begins: the device downloads its individual configurations from a control center and then activates them to provide the contractually agreed service.
• The status and availability of these services are determined from the central office (validation of the entire process).

The availability of automatic configuration during deployment and the use of pre-validated templates reduce installation costs by optimizing lead times and minimizing configuration error rates.

In this phase, there are not only advantages: maintenance procedures are significantly optimized, but an office with a device that is out of service only has to send a new router to start the business again. The rest of the configuration, the restoration of saved data, etc., is carried out almost automatically through administration tools. This facility optimizes SLAs and punishment.

In summary, automatic configuration throughout the network deployment becomes a very relevant aspect and should always be included in the commercial offer of the manufacturers. Not only because this represents a great improvement in their products, but also because they can offer tools through their sales network to reduce overall project costs and improve the perception of service quality for their clients.

Understands this concept and integrates its software tool, the NetManager Colibrí, to manage networks. In addition to other standardized tools and together with its WLAN and access routers, this offers optimal solutions for schemes where your clients need them.

Discover The Many Benefits of partnering up with an IT Managed Service Provider

Today, many companies work with IT-managed service providers. 60 percent of companies use IT-managed services, and this number is expected to continue to grow. And that is due to the many Managed Service advantages offered by these professionals. Here is a list of the benefits you should consider.

Control IT costs

Paying internal IT staff is an expensive task. With managed IT service providers, you get fixed IT costs at variable costs, allowing you to budget efficiently. Companies only pay for what they use and can use it when they need it. Outsourcing IT tasks only saves companies money.

Reduces labor costs

Not only does it cost money to have internal IT staff, it also costs money to hire and train them. And temporary workers don't always meet expectations. Outsourcing enables companies to focus on the human resources that are most needed in other areas.

Certified, trained, qualified and experienced

How can you be sure that the IT employee is truly qualified for the position? With an IT managed service provider, you get a certified, trained, qualified and experienced specialist. If you want to train an IT employee, keep in mind that certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) are very expensive.

Qualified does not mean experience

Regardless of how much you train an IT professional, this training is isolated and the employee may not have the proper experience. A managed IT service provider sends an experienced IT expert. When you see a doctor, you want an experienced one, right? The same applies to IT.

Increase efficiency and competitiveness.

When companies try to do all of the IT themselves, it is inefficient and costly in the long run. Much more time was spent on implementation, research and development. And all these costs are only transferred to the clients. Save operating costs and keep your service and product costs more accessible to customers and more competitive to your competition.

Deploy the latest technology quickly

Technology is changing as fast as lightning today. Few companies have the resources and the ability to use the latest technology and implement it quickly. Working on a project internally with the latest technology can take months to train IT staff. IT professionals at a managed provider have the skills and knowledge to quickly implement the latest technology. That saves time and money.

Focus on business

It is important for companies to take care of business every day and not be distracted by complex IT decisions or problems. Trying to fix a security breach or a hardware crash means that managers no longer have to focus on their core business. Valuable time and money are also lost here.

Lower business risk

Regardless of what business it is, there is always some risk. State regulations, technologies, market conditions, and competition are changing rapidly. IT vendor outsourcing reduces and controls risk through industry-specific insight, including compliance and security issues. Correcting these kinds of problems can cost a lot of money, not only for fines but also for downtime. IT-managed vendors can use their expertise to help avoid risk.

The same competitive conditions

Many small businesses simply do not have the funds that fit the internal IT services of large companies. IT outsourcing helps smaller companies improve the competitive environment with Mr. Big. The economies of scale and affordable cost structure of IT-managed service providers offer small businesses in need of competitive advantage.

Security and compliance

Businesses can get the security they need with bank transfers, electronic checks, credit cards, and gift certificates. Fraud is common today, and companies can lose a lot of money and reputation through fraud. IT-managed service providers are very familiar with PCI compliance standards. Organizations can minimize risk by managing confidential information along with credit card and customer information. They also make sure that your firewall is up to date and that a DMZ has been installed. "The Health Insurance Liability and Portability Act, the Family Education Protection and Rights Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act they have strict regulations on retail health and the financial industry. "

24/7/365 support

Today many companies work 24 hours. And their networks too. Help is always available from managed service providers, regardless of whether it is day, weekend, or holiday. Companies can always provide support. Overall, there are simply too many benefits of partnering with an IT-managed service provider for companies to ignore today. New technologies offer companies great opportunities, but they also pose daily challenges. Professional IT service companies can help your company overcome these challenges.

5 Best Practices for Outsourcing Cyber Security & Compliance Services

Cybersecurity Outsourcing Report 

Cybervisors (cybersecurity advisers) from Lazarus Alliance, Inc. provide information security chiefs (CISOs) and IT security teams with information and advice on how to address the cybersecurity skills gap.

How to find a trusted GRC partner

Outsourcing Cybersecurity Operations is a great way to save money and time and close the very serious and growing gap in computer security skills. However, it is also a very serious decision. Your cyber security provider has access to your entire network and all your confidential data. How can you ensure that you trust your business to a provider that is not only legitimate but also suitable for your organization and data environment? Below are five best practices to follow when outsourcing your IT security and IT compliance.

If something seems "out" of a company, it is likely

At a minimum, avoid providers who do the following:

• You cannot provide an address and phone number.
• They do not have corporate email addresses and instead communicate with addresses from Gmail, Yahoo, etc.
• Do you have websites that look very "amateur" in design and / or contain broken English text.

These are instant red flags indicating that you are dealing with a hobbyist, or possibly night surgery.

Get referrals

Even if a provider seems absolutely legitimate and professional, always ask for references and call them. Professional cyber security companies are happy to provide verifiable references. You should also Google the name of the company and its customers and look for comments, or complaints.

Make sure the provider can meet all of your compliance requirements

GRC's ongoing assessment and evaluation services include HIPAA and HITECH, PCI DSS QSA, SSAE 16 and SOC, FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST, CJIS, ISO, NERC CIP, SOX, ISO Certifications and EU-US Privacy Shield reports. We are the only company based in Arizona that offers this depth of coverage.

However, many GRC companies, including some very large ones, meet certain IT compliance requirements, but not others. Make sure that your provider not only offers all of the compliance services you need, but also has experience performing these specific audits. Ask about your specific compliance requirements while reviewing supplier references.

Ask the provider about their audit and compliance processes.

Believe it or not, some IT auditors still use Excel or other spreadsheet programs for reporting and IT compliance audits, although spreadsheet programs were never used with the large amounts of data found in today's complex data environments. They were created. A GRC provider who is still messing around with spreadsheets will end up costing you a lot of time, money, and headaches.

Make sure your provider uses modern RegTech software to perform compliance reports and audits, such as: B. Continuum GRC's proprietary IT Audit Machine (ITAM). ITAM leverages big data and rapid reporting capabilities to automate reporting and data management. Instead of dozens of different spreadsheets and general ledgers, ITAM creates a central repository of all IT compliance requirements with associated controls and automated information flows for audits, evaluations and tests. This saves you time, money, and stress and gives you a complete picture of your data environment, as well as its risks and weaknesses.

Get everything in writing

Finally, make sure the provider signs a written contract that details what is expected of them and is willing to guarantee any promises you make.

By following these best practices, companies can reap the benefits of outsourcing, minimize risk, and build fruitful long-term relationships with trusted cyber security providers.

9 Benefits of Managed IT Services

 One of the most important investments your company can make is the security, functionality and effectiveness of its technology. An internal team can support your company. However, outsourcing often brings more long-term benefits. A managed IT service provider who takes the time to understand your business goals and work with you can be incredibly valuable, even beyond the 9 benefits of managed IT services below.

1. High return on investment

For the same cost as a small in-house team, a managed IT service provider (MSP) offers many more resources that will benefit your business. An MSP offers a much larger team of IT professionals, as well as access to the latest technology solutions to strengthen your business. They often protect your business more effectively against cyber threats. MSPs offer far more resources and therefore a higher value than conventional in-house IT equipment at the same price.

2. Efficiency

By outsourcing your IT management, your business can focus on its core offering. The time spent training new IT staff is transferred to the MSP. The MSP also ensures that your business complies with your industry standards and regulations, saving you time and resources again. In addition, outsourcing to an MSP ensures that its technology is properly maintained, reducing downtime and increasing staff uptime.

3. Increased productivity.

You may have employees with IT experience who have been in charge of developing programs or training employees. However, it is easy for them to be distracted by various requests from employees, eg. B. Asking for help with login issues, leading to lost productivity.

Outsourcing to a managed IT services company provides your employees with a special hotline that they can use to solve IT problems. This allows your IT staff to focus on the tasks for which they were hired.

4. Avoid security breaches

Cybercrime is constantly evolving, but you can keep your business as safe as possible by outsourcing your cybersecurity to a specialist who is up to date on the latest safeguards. Your advisor will also help your employees identify and avoid the latest threats, further reducing the risk of a security breach. Although cybersecurity is technically outside of typical MSP offerings, most add cybersecurity offerings to their services.

(Learn the top questions to ask a cybersecurity consultant.)

5. Unlimited experience

Employees of a managed IT service provider likely have experience and knowledge of various industries. Employees also frequently continue their training and receive new certifications while working at an MSP, thereby offering a growing experience. Since your company is outsourced to an MSP, the MSP bears the costs of training and higher education, in contrast to an internal team (where costs would remain internal).

6. Cloud-based services

Fear of a security breach is a major hurdle for most companies considering moving to cloud-based platforms. However, cloud-based access is essential for users who need to access websites and accounts from their mobile devices. Through the cloud, your employees can also work remotely while traveling and access your network. An MSP can not only help you to safely switch to a cloud-based platform, but also manage maintenance in the future.

7. Better management of uptime.

All IT systems need to be updated regularly to increase efficiency and avoid downtime. To maximize uptime during the regular business day, system updates should generally be done in hours. With an in-house team, this can often lead to overtime costs.

By outsourcing information technology, a team of qualified professionals updates remotely when it is least disruptive to their employees. Availability is maintained or even increased without incurring additional overtime costs.

8. Use your company against the competition

By outsourcing your IT, you can focus on other aspects of your business to gain a competitive advantage and increase your value proposition.

Also, cyber security is often a key concern for your company's potential customers. A secure company that you can trust with your sensitive data is certainly more attractive than an unreliable one. Often, MSPs extend their services to cybersecurity and can use the latest cybersecurity technology to defend you and your clients.

9. Reinvest in your company

Budget constraints often limit opportunities that could help expand your business. By outsourcing to an MSP, you can reallocate any excess funds previously spent to an internal IT department to drive your business development.

Are you ready to choose a managed IT company?

Switching to a managed IT service provider can be an extremely cost-effective and efficient solution to problems that occur with typical internal IT teams. With increasing daily knowledge, MSPs provide companies with technology solutions that allow them to focus on achieving their business goals rather than worrying about their IT.

How Does Office 365 Migration Work?

GoDaddy offers email migration services for Office 365. We take care of the hard work of moving your email data and send you and your users a message every step of the way, along with all the necessary instructions to complete the transition. 

If you have configured your Outlook client with POP email settings, you and your users must download and install the Outlook Migration Wizard to migrate local data. The wizard copies your client's settings and prepares each desktop with the existing settings. Make sure all your computers / users meet the requirements.

Starting The Migration

To start your Office 365 Migration, you need to contact a GoDaddy guide to guide you through customizing your migration, which includes:

1. Which mailboxes are migrated to Office 365?
2. Set up plugins like advanced email security, email archiving or email backup
3. Add email aliases, distribution groups and / or forwarding addresses
4. Choose a date to use Office 365

Step 1: domain verification

To set up Office 365, proof that you are the owner of your domain is required by entering a TXT entry in the DNS domain. We will email you instructions for updating your DNS. It is important to do this as soon as possible, otherwise your migration may be delayed. This change does not interrupt your current email service.

 Note: If you have already set up your Office 365 accounts before contacting a guide, or if your domain and DNS are on the same GoDaddy account as the migration, we will do this for you. TXT for GoDaddy managed DNS is not normally required.

Step 2: collect passwords

1. In order for us to migrate email from your current email service to Office 365, we need to access your accounts to start data synchronization. To this end, our migration partner SkyKick (upgradees@skykick.com) sends each end user an email with a clear and secure link requesting you or your users to provide their email address and password. This is the current email address and password that you are using now.

 Note: If you migrate from GoDaddy Workspace email, you don't have to enter your current email passwords. We already have everything we need for this part and you don't need to provide additional details or passwords to continue.

2.               After entering your current information, the page will ask you to set a password for your new Office 365 account. This is the password you use to access your new account.

3.               Once you have created your new password, we will start migrating emails in the background as you continue to use your current email service.

Step 3: download the Outlook Migration Wizard

Necessary:

Make sure that you and your end users are qualified to use this program following the requirements. If you are not authorized, you may not receive all of your data.

To facilitate the migration process and allow us to move your data and settings even further, we recommend that you and your email users download and install the Outlook Migration Wizard before the scheduled update date. The wizard is only available to Windows PC users.

If qualified users download and install the program before the migration date, the Outlook Migration Wizard does the following for them:

1. Automatically create a new profile in Outlook using new Office 365 email
2. Migrate local .PST content from the old email to the new profile. This means things like:

·        POP email data

·        Contacts / calendar / tasks

·        Firms

·        Autofill cache

The account owner receives daily reports of Outlook Migration Assistant downloads from their email users. We recommend everyone (who can) download and install the wizard as soon as possible.

Anyone who cannot use the Outlook Migration Wizard must manually move local content and configure their client manually. We send instructions to these users on the migration date. Mac users and users without Outlook already configured cannot use the Outlook Migration Wizard.

Step 4: Migration day: DNS change

You can use Office 365 depending on the date and time you choose. You will need to change your DNS settings to point to Office 365 before using your new email.

These settings will be emailed to you 8 hours prior to migration. So if you need to take steps to prepare with your DNS provider, give them these DNS instructions. If your domain and DNS are with GoDaddy, we will make these changes for you.

If you downloaded the Outlook Migration Wizard, you must update DNS so that the wizard can complete the configuration of your Outlook client.

Step 5: finishing the touches

When you use your email, almost all of the data is there, but you may be missing some of your most recent emails. Once you use Office 365, you need to schedule up to 48 hours as we sync the final email from your old email server with your new Office 365 account.

We will monitor your old email accounts for up to 72 hours if emails are diverted during the transition.

Enjoy upgrading to Office 365!