Category: Blog

Categories
Blog

Embracing Remote Work Necessities with the Right Technology

Remote work necessities


Whether you’ve accepted it at your business or not, remote work is only going to grow and become a necessity for businesses to offer partial or full remote. 

If you currently offer remote work or looking at potentially expanding this option, there are a few key items to consider.

Let’s lay out the most important remote work necessities.

Table of Contents

Hardware

User’s computers should be: 

1. Laptop  

or  

2. Desktop at work AND home 

Either of these computers are remote work necessities as they allow personal devices opens your organization to risk that can easily avoidable. 

For desktop, it’s easy. Identical setup at your business and at their home 

For laptop, here is the perfect setup:

1. Powerful laptop 

2. USB Docking station - These are easier and more compatible than the old school “docking stations” 

3. Dual Monitors – Now they have 3 monitors! 

That’s it! Simple and easy. They unplug their laptop and connect the USB port and are instantly running at home.  

G16 Mobile Worker Starter Kit

 VoIP Phones: This is listed under hardware and are great remote work necessities, as physical phones are quickly becoming obsolete. Download the included software phone and provide an inexpensive headset for your employees and they easily take their work phone with them on their computer! 

Access

There are lots of ways to make access easy without sacrificing security. Having your employees connect to the office to a physical server is the “old school” method that many businesses are still utilizing. Consider moving to SharePoint .  

With SharePoint, folders can sync to the file explorer, so it looks just like what they’re used to! That data is then backed up, just like a server would be. 

G06 SharePoint Versus OneDrive 1 scaled

However, you may have business specific applications that is not cloud based and requires a server. These are becoming rarer but may still be applicable. I don’t want to get too technical, so you can reach out and we can provide an audit on the best solution for accessibility.  

Moving to a hosted (cloud) solution or ensuring remote access for your users to your server onsite would be the primarily recommendations here.  

Security

As mentioned, you don’t want users accessing company data on their personal devices. There are very easy force functions your IT provider can implement to ensure this is not occurring.  

As more devices move away from the umbrella of the firewall (firewall is a physical device on your network that “filters” your internet data and protects computers at your business) you will need to ensure your security is focused on the computer and laptop, rather than the office location. 

How do we improve the computer/laptop security?

There’s a lot that we do, and I’m sure your current provider may do too. Here is a quick summary of the highest benefit lowest impact layers you need to have in place: 

  1. Multi-Factor Authentication – when the users log into their Microsoft accounts, they will be prompted with a push notification to their mobile device confirming it’s them This prevents 99% personal identify attacks… it’s a no brainer.  
  2. Anti-Virus – There are lots of terms for this, but at the end of the day you need a trusted anti-virus on all computers. 
  3. Conditional Access Policies – you want to make sure company data is NOT accessed on personal devices. Get your IT team to set this policy up and you’re all set. Need help? Let us know.  
  4. Managed Detection and Response – This is the one all of those cybersecurity insurance questionnaires ask about. Make sure your provider has this on ALL machines.  

There are more layers to consider for a remote work environment, but these are the non-negotiables.  

Conclusion

Moving to an increased remote workforce should not be a scary proposition. If you embrace remote work necessities and make it easy for yourself and your employees, it will improve your business. Ensure employees have strong KPIs and that you have an IT team with ample experience in consulting and implementing these types of setups.  

Categories
Blog

How to pick the right Co-Managed IT Provider: 10 Important Questions to Consider

Co-Managed IT Provider

In the past, businesses either had an internal IT person/team or they worked with an outsourced IT company that provided Break/Fix or Managed IT Services. As the model has developed, businesses are finding it advantageous to have a combination of in-house and outsourced IT as known as a Co-Managed IT Provider. For instance, they may not have the budget or need for a full-time senior network engineer but need to have that expertise on-hand if needed. The opposite is also true, where they may have a high-level IT professional, but need to provide support for the person or team to lessen pressure and expense.  

In our previous blog we outlined how to determine if your organization is ready for Co-Managed IT. In this blog, we’ll cover how to pick the right Co-Managed IT provider.  

In this blog we’ll be covering:

Table of Contents

10 Questions to ask a potential Co-Managed IT Provider

These questions are meant to be difficult. Coming prepared with the right questions will help you identify if a Co-Managed Service Provider can adequately provide these Co-Managed services. 

  1. Why should we partner with you as our IT Firm? 
  1. Why shouldn’t we partner with you as our IT firm? 
  1. What is your process for keeping up with the rapidly changing IT environment? 
  1. What reporting can you provide our organization? 
  1. How many customers do you currently support that have internal IT Support? 
  1. What role(s) do you normally take on as the outsourced IT help? 
  1. Are you willing to provide 5 customer references that we can reach out to? 
  1. Do you have a customer portal? What does it include? 
  1. What is an ideal partnership with an in-house IT team? 
  1. What makes a partnership/client relationship less ideal? 

Just like a job interview, you want to come equipped with questions. These are some of the best questions we’ve received as the Co-Managed IT firm. These will provide an excellent starting point when interviewing a Co-Managed partner.  

The Co-Managed IT Worksheet

Every Managed Service Provider will say they provide Co-Managed IT services, but few have extensive experience with Co-Managed. They sign on the client and try to “figure it out” on the go. We recommend using this worksheet to identify which team will be accountable for which roles. Some roles can be shared, and others cannot. For instance, the CIO (Chief Information Officer) either needs to be the in-house IT or the Managed Service Provider.  

Review and complete this worksheet. What roles do you want to see in-house versus external? Does the MSP have recommendations based on this worksheet? 

While simple, this worksheet will eliminate any finger pointing and headache down the road! 

Other Considerations when evaluating a Co-Managed IT provider. 

There are other considerations when evaluating potential providers. We’ll list a few here, but if you have any questions or would like to learn more about Co-Managed IT, please give us a call. 

Location 

When a business solely depends on a Managed Service Provider, location becomes very important. In the case of an onsite issue, you need your MSP onsite right away. However, when you have internal IT, this requirement becomes a bit more lax.  

When you can only evaluate providers in your immediate area, you’re at a disadvantage. Co-Managed allows you to evaluate providers around the state or even country! 

The Tools 

Many of the tools outsourced IT teams use can be cost prohibitive for a smaller internal IT team. However, in a Co-Managed environment, they will often provide access to most or all these tools to your internal IT. This perk alone can pay dividends! Ask what tools/programs/productivity software comes with the Co-Managed IT relationship. You might be surprised by the additional value that comes with the agreement.  

Office Visit 

This may be lower on the priority list, but we always recommend visiting the provider. Go check out their office and meet their people. Try not to get stuck in the trap of only talking to the salesperson. Meet their team, see what their inner workings look like, and check out their office culture. This should be reserved for finalists of course but could help you make the final decision. 

Conclusion 

Choosing the right Co-Managed IT provider can be difficult, but it’s incredibly important. The right team can truly improve your business in many measurable ways.  

We are experts at Co-Managed IT at Data Magic and would be happy to answer any questions about these types of partnerships.  

Contact us today! 

Categories
Blog

Fiber vs. Cable: How Sticking with Cable Holds Your Business Back

Fiber vs. Cable

We know the decision about internet service can be a complex one, but for most small businesses the choice comes down to just a handful of service types like fiber vs. cable. If you’re still stuck on cable (or another first-gen alternative), it’s time to investigate whether you have access to a fiber optic connection through one of the ISPs services at your business location.  

Because here’s the bottom line: sticking with cable can hold your business back.

Table of Contents

Fiber vs. Cable: cable could cause you problems  

  • Cable is less reliable  
  • Upload speeds with cable are drastically lower than the (already lower) download speeds  
  • No such thing as a dedicated cable connection: your actual speeds depend on what others on your node are doing  
  • Cable is an aging technology that few ISPs continue to invest in  
  • Cable is far slower than fiber  

If you’re like most, your business environment is competitive — more so today than at any point in the past. You can’t afford to fall behind the competition.  

An old, less reliable, slower internet connection runs the risk of putting you behind.  

Fiber vs. Cable

  

Is There Fiber Optic Internet Near Me?  

Availability is the big question when it comes to fiber. We’ll be honest: while fiber is the future, not every customer has made the transition, because some of them don’t have access to fiber yet.  

The good news is that fiber access is rapidly expanding, thanks to the tireless efforts of ISPs to build out the necessary infrastructure.   

  

Ready to Make the Switch?  

If you’re ready to make the switch to fiber optic internet after reading about fiber vs. cable, we can guide you through the process. If you’re a current customer, simply reach out to your rep. And if you’re not, we hope you’ll consider us as a managed services partner. We can take care of your entire suite of IT needs — and help you find the best fiber internet connection at the same time.  

Ready to chat? Reach out today.                       

Categories
Blog

5 Most Common VoIP Questions 

VoIP

In the modern business world, communication is vital – every moving part in your business needs to stay connected and in sync in order to meet the expectations of your clients. It’s no secret; technology is the driving force behind effective collaboration for businesses. 

The question is: could you benefit from VoIP phones? 

And as much as email and instant messaging have changed the way we communicate; business phones are still a primary utility in the professional world. Any business that’s serious about communication, growth, and success needs to think critically about their telephone solution. 

If you’re not sure, that’s OK. Here are the most popular questions we receive about VoIP and our responses. 

Table of Contents

What Is VoIP and How Does It Differ from Traditional Phone Systems?

Voice over IP business phones let you make and receive calls over the internet with 99.999% uptime reliability, crystal clear connections, and enterprise-grade features that aren’t found with traditional phone services. 

Are There Different Types of VoIP Systems? 

The two primary types of VoIP phones are on-premise and hosted phones, and the difference between them is the location of the appliance that runs the system. In the former situation, as the name suggests, that appliance would be on your premises, likely in a server room or IT closet. In a hosted arrangement, that appliance is stored in an offsite data center and accessed through the cloud. 

Is VoIP Complicated? 

Not necessarily – an on-premise solution is more work for you or your IT team onsite because they manage it there. A hosted solution is outsourced to another location, and another team, likely managed by the third-party vendor selling the solution. 

How Does VoIP Prepare Your Business in The Case of Another Shutdown or Natural Disaster? 

VoIP offers the ability to carry on as usual in the event of a power outage, or even when your office itself is out of commission due to a disaster situation such as a fire or flood. 

What Are the Key Benefits? 


VoIP phones provide improved efficiency by limiting issues that come from having to replace or fix phones, as well as complicated management of adding and or removing employees. On traditional landline phone systems, you would have to wait lengthy periods of time for a phone to be replaced, or for a roll truck to fix issues. All this time spent waiting is time when you and your team can’t work. 

With this system, you don’t have to deal with these issues, which means less downtime. It also improves efficiency by providing you with numerous options for routing and answering calls, without the expensive on-premises technology and staff. 

With an assigned business phone number, you and your employees can take work calls on any device they like, both in and out of the office. This is especially powerful for businesses with mobile, remote workers, and Bring Your Own Device Policies. 

Whether your employees are in a single location or at multiple sites, desk-bound or road-bound, taking inbound calls or making outbound calls, VoIP provides a solution that best fits your business communication style. 

Categories
Blog

Moving to SharePoint: A User-Friendly Guide  

Can your company move away from an on-premise server to a SharePoint environment? 

On-premise servers had their advantages in the past, but for most businesses, everything and more can be done in a Microsoft 365 SharePoint environment. This guide will help you identify whether you are ready to take the leap. 

Table of Contents

Applications:

  1. Review all your applications – Are these currently web-based or hosted on your server? 
  • Adobe 
  • QuickBooks 
  • Business Specific Applications 
  • Office Products

2. If you are still hosting applications on your server, is there a cloud-based option? 

  • Review the cloud-based option to ensure the functionality is similar. If not, would the adjustment be easy? In most cases, the answer is yes.  

Computers:

  1. Ensure your computers are less than 5 years old 
  1. They must be equipped with an SSD as a hard disk drive can and will cause problems in a SharePoint environment  
  1. Ensure their specs meet a minimum of: i5 processor, 256GB SSD, 16 GB of RAM 

Internet Service:

Check on what type of connection you have 

  • Cable/Coax – if the first number (download speed) is larger than the second number, this is likely a coax connection. Example: 100/10 
  • Fiber – the download and upload speeds are identical. Example: 100/100 
  • Fiber is ideal for a cloud-based environment due to the higher upload dependency nowadays. However, a high enough cable connection would suffice depending on a few factors. Please reach out and we would be happy to audit this for you.  

Microsoft 365 License:

Check what licenses you have. Most come with SharePoint and OneDrive. However, the Business Apps license does not.  

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is highly recommended for a SharePoint environment for additional cybersecurity benefits. See our guide on Microsoft 365 Business Premium to see why this is the recommended license.  

Files:

  1. Review the amount of data you currently have on your servers 
  1. Review what data is live and would need to be migrated to SharePoint. SharePoint comes standard with 1TB but can be expanded if needed. 

Printing:

In most cases, your printing is managed by the server. Ensure you have a solution for this to manage printing. Printix is a great option that we can implement for you.  

Technology Partner:

  1. Evaluate your current IT provider. Do they have the expertise needed to set this up correctly? Microsoft 365 licenses are not cheap, having a provider that can maximize your subscription is critical. 
  1. Ask your IT provider for references of similar projects they have completed. 
  1. Contact us to get a FREE review of your systems to provide a SharePoint readiness report. 

Other considerations:

  1. Multi-Factor Authentication should always be used with your Microsoft 365 license.  
  1. Consider how you currently scan. Is it to a shared folder on a server? You may be able to scan directly into a SharePoint folder or you may want to switch to scan to email. 
  1. All computers should be synced to OneDrive. There are many benefits to syncing your primary work computer to OneDrive. If your computer crashes, your files are still secure. As well as the ability to take your files with you wherever you go, among other benefits.  
Categories
Blog

Common Sense Cybersecurity: 4 Scenarios to Avoid

It’s true: even businesses that have impressive cybersecurity practices in place get breached. However, it is SIGNIFICANTLY less likely. The vast majority of breaches come from businesses that are missing common sense cybersecurity. 

It’s easy to blame the IT company for this. “I don’t know anything about cybersecurity, and I rely on my IT team to tell me what to do!” 

That argument is perfect, if you’re actually implementing what they have to say. 

For instance, multi-factor authentication blocks 99% of personal identity attacks, yet many businesses opt out when their provider makes this recommendation. Banks already require MFA for sensitive information: your business data is no less important. 

MOST breaches occur from a few easy to avoid scenarios:

1. Patches and updates are not being pushed out quickly enough – Think of these as holes being filled. If this is not getting done, your computers and network are filled with holes for attackers to sneak in! 

2. Open RDP ports – Don’t worry about what this means, just know that an open port leaves your business open to the world. Ask your provider about this! 

3. No Multi-factor authentication – This is a second form of authentication outside of your password. Taking 2 extra seconds when you login could save you from weeks of downtime! 

4. No GEO-IP blocking on firewall and email – Do you do business with China, Russia, or other countries outside of your home country? If not, block those countries! It’s a force function that keeps a lot of hackers at bay, and a barrier that will have them looking elsewhere for low hanging fruit. 

Cybersecurity gets complicated, yes. But at the end of the day, there are EASY common-sense layers you can put in place that will set you up to be resilient in this new cyber landscape. 

Make sure you’re covering the commons sense items first, and if you have an engaged IT provider, make sure you’re listening to their recommendations. They’re most likely not trying to “upsell you,” but rather protect your business, your reputation, and their own integrity and reputation as well. 

If you would like a 30-minute-high level audit of the common-sense cybersecurity layers, reach out (HERE ) and our owner will give you a call. 

Categories
Blog

16 Questions You Need to Ask When Evaluating an New IT Provider 

IT provider

Finding the right IT provider for your business is tough. It always helps to ask the correct questions, so we have compiled 16 great questions to ask your potential IT provider that will help you to successfully gauge the personality and capabilities of the MSPs you are considering. Take a look at each and incorporate the ones that will benefit your business the most! 

  1. Why should we work with your firm? 
  1. Why shouldn’t we work with your firm? 
  1. What are the biggest challenges to a successful partnership? 
  1. How does the escalation process work? What if I am not satisfied with the response/resolution time of a particular service ticket or project? 
  1. What end user training do you provide, other than cybersecurity awareness training? 
  1. What reports do you provide to the management team, and what is the cadence? 
  1. What does the onboarding experience look like with your firm? 
  1. What do you believe your differentiators are compared to other IT providers? 
  1. Do you use in-house or contracted resources for services? 
  1. What would you need for a successful transition to your service? 
  1. How often do you meet with your customers for future planning? 
  1. We were just hit with ransomware: what would the Disaster Recovery process look like? 
  1. A new team member starts at your organization. They receive a ticket from our organization. What did their onboarding look like to ensure they are ready and able to effectively manage that request? 
  1. How do you monitor customer satisfaction and quality assurance on an ongoing basis? 
  1. How often do you raise prices and when did you last raise prices for customers? 
  1. We have a new employee starting, what does that process look like for your team? What should we expect and what would they expect from us? 

These questions cut through the fluff of sales speak and get right to the needs of your business, allowing you to find an MSP that is capable of propelling your IT to the next level. Ready to find your perfect match? Reach out today 

Categories
Blog

Lazy Passwords Are Putting Your Business at Risk: Try Password Managers Instead

Password Managers

Passwords are a pain, make life easier with password managers.

No one enjoys trying to remember login credentials for upwards of 100 unique sites and services. More to the point, no one can remember 100+ unique sets of credentials, which leads to all sorts of other awful security problems (don’t worry, we’ll discuss them in a minute).  

Thankfully, new technologies are on the way or already here that either do away with the password entirely or add additional layers of security. But these new elements — passkeys, single sign-on, password less, and so on — have their own issues, and they aren’t yet available for every system, service, and account that you have a password for currently.  

Someday we’ll live in a post-password utopia. But we aren’t there yet.  

For now, password managers are the best near-universal solution for solving the security and access problems passwords create. This article is all about password managers — why you need one, what’s at stake for businesses that don’t rein in poor password use, and which password managers are worth your time.  

Understand the Risk of Poor Password Use

Like we said at the start, passwords can be a pain. They’re hard for humans to remember and easy for machines to guess. Even worse, no one can legitimately remember hundreds of username and password combinations. So, what do most users do?  They use unsafe shortcuts to overcome this hurdle.  

Some people write down all their important passwords in a notebook or leave them on a sticky note under their keyboards. The problem here is that absolutely anyone that might have physical access to your space could easily steal every password. All it takes is a single smartphone camera snap, and every account listed could be compromised.  

Others create one or two passwords that are easy for them to remember, then reuse those passwords across dozens of different sites and systems. Most people — around 90 percent by one survey — know that this is dangerous, yet almost 60 percent admit to doing it anyway. (And let’s be real: most of the remaining 40 percent are lying!)  

The trouble here is that if criminals manage to steal your username and password anywhere (through a data breach, a phishing attack, or anything else), then chances are good they now know your password everywhere — including sensitive accounts like your bank and your corporate logins. And when our email addresses are reused as usernames, the problem is even worse!  

Don’t be lazy when it comes to your security. Reach Out for a free list of password managers that work best for your business. 

Categories
Blog

Cable Isn’t Stable – What Fiber Internet Can Do for Your Business

Fiber Internet

The title may have you thinking, “why are they so bullish on fiber internet?” The answer is simple: it’s already transforming the way many of our clients operate, and we want you to discover the same benefits for your business.  

These are just a few of the ways that fiber internet will benefit your business.  

 Superior Speed

First, the typical fiber connection is exponentially faster than the typical cable connection: 10x increases aren’t uncommon for businesses that make this switch. Fiber internet providers are offering business fiber connections as fast as 100Gbps, vastly outperforming coax connections.  

 More Reliable Technology

We’ll try not to get too deep in the weeds here, but the technology underlying fiber internet is more reliable and better for data transmission.  

Copper and coaxial connections turn data into electricity and send it over wire. This works fine, but there are distance limits to doing this effectively, and electrical wire also has bandwidth limitations.  

Fiber optic cable doesn’t transmit electricity. It transmits pulses of light (via LED or laser). Light travels faster, transmits data longer distances more reliably, and enables higher bandwidth.  

When we say that fiber optic is “more reliable,” that isn’t just marketing spin: the actual tech underlying the product is literally more reliable than cable.  

SLA-Level Reliability  

Fiber networks are generally more stable and reliable, and they offer users an experience much more in line with advertised speeds than cable does. That’s why you’ll find providers offering fiber with service level agreements (SLAs) in terms of availability and speed.  

Most fiber connections reach an impressive four nines (99.99%) reliability. 

 

Upload and Download Symmetry 

Another massive advantage — especially for business users — is fiber internet’s symmetrical upload and download speeds. On cable networks, the main number you see advertised (“1Gbps”) cover only the download speed. Upload speeds are exponentially lower. This isn’t a big deal for the average home consumer — Netflix downloads plenty and uploads next to nothing.   

But businesses often need to do both — especially in the era of cloud services and remote work. Cable can cripple your cloud productivity, while fiber can supercharge it.  

Dedicated Connections

With cable, every connection is a shared connection. This means that if the other business or businesses on your particular node are cranking through the bandwidth, your availability, speed, and latency might all suffer.  

Some fiber connections are shared in a similar way, but because the bandwidth capabilities are 10 to 100 times higher, this matters less.   

Also, dedicated fiber connections are available through some ISPs. These are more expensive, but even more reliable, consistently delivering blazing-fast speed with no competition.  

Failover Systems

In our cloud-connected era, your business can’t afford to go dark. Failover systems — essentially a backup internet connection that your business can shift over to automatically if your primary connection fails —keep your business operational when the inevitable happens. Whether that’s an ISP outage or a backhoe severing a fiber optic cable, having a failover system in place could be the difference between going dark and continuing to serve customers.  

Modern fiber connections make it much easier to set up automatic failover systems without sacrificing the other advantages of moving to fiber.  

With all of these benefits, the switch to fiber is a no-brainer. Reach out to start the process of upgrading your business’s internet. 

Like this article? Check out the following blogs to learn more:

Traditional Vs. Hosted Phone Systems | Data Magic (datamagicinc.com)

Cybersecurity Audit: What It Is And 9 Steps For Securing Your Business | Data Magic (datamagicinc.com)

The Comprehensive Guide To Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience | Data Magic (datamagicinc.com)

Why are business leaders choosing Co-Managed IT?  | Data Magic (datamagicinc.com)

Categories
Blog

Why Multi-Factor Authentication is so Important for Your Microsoft 365 Account 

Multi-Factor Authentication

Cybersecurity can seem overwhelming at times. Your IT Provider handles this so why do you have to know so much about it? 

Our goal is to limit the impact any one cybersecurity layer has on our clients. However, in some situations it does require buy-in from our client base. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a perfect example of this. This is one of the few layers that will require the user to participate. 

What is Multi-Factor Authentication?

In the past, a username and password has been somewhat sufficient to protect your accounts. However, more data is ending up on the dark web and easily accessible to the bad actors.  

Multi-Factor Authentication is a second form of authentication to login to your account, rather than just your password.  

While this may sound cumbersome, we make this easy.  

After implementing the rule that all users must have Multi-Factor Authentication, they will be prompted to set up a second form of authentication.  

There are multiple options to choose from:

  1. Authenticator App – Preferred Method  
  1. Text code to their phone 
  1. Call their phone 
  1. USB Key – For organizations that do not have company owned mobile devices or do not want employees using personal devices to authenticate. 

The user will just need to set up their preferred method and go through the prompts. This process is usually quick and easy, but we are here to help if they run into any roadblocks.  

The Authenticator App:

This free app can be downloaded from an Apple or Samsung device. The user will be prompted to “add and account” and scan the QR code that is displayed on their computer screen. This will pair the app with their account. 

User Experience

With this enabled, the user can now easily log in to their Microsoft 365 account but with significantly enhanced security on their account and your organization. 

They will be prompted every single time they login to a new device. However, their primary device will be remembered so it will not prompt the user every time, making it less intrusive. The primary concern is a login on a new device, which is why the policy is laxer for the daily/weekly use computer.  

Your question may be, how long does it take?  

What’s your favorite movie?  

It’s as quick to answer that question as it is to use MFA with your Microsoft 365 account. 

The Benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication

There are few cybersecurity layers that have such a massive impact. According to Microsoft, 99.9% of account compromise attacks can be prevented with this enabled.  

While it’s impossible to completely prevent cyber-attacks on your Microsoft 365 account, this layer makes it significantly more difficult for the bad actor to gain access to your businesses Microsoft 365 accounts. With more data than ever moving to the Microsoft platform, this layer is no longer a recommendation but a requirement.  

Microsoft will soon be requiring this for all accounts, so it’s best to get ahead of this change and start today.  

If you need help getting this started for your business, please reach out and we’ll walk you through the quick process.  

Skip to content