Tag: TechAdvisory_draft

  • Why every business needs a documented backup and disaster recovery strategy

    Why every business needs a documented backup and disaster recovery strategy

    As the proverb goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Now that businesses have become so reliant on modern technology, more hangs in the balance than ever before. Solutions such as cloud storage and automation offer better opportunities to secure your most valuable business asset — digital data. That’s why backup and disaster recovery are vital to your entire digital strategy.

    Protect your business from unexpected events

    Despite the availability of solutions that can secure the continuity of business operations during almost any type of incident, most organizations never reopen after a disaster or close their doors within a year. Disasters include cyberattacks, human error, hardware failures, and natural disasters. While there are many steps you can take to mitigate the effects of these disasters, you won’t get too far without a documented business continuity and disaster recovery strategy.

    Cloud computing makes it possible to build a location-independent business that transcends physical borders. Even if your primary workplace is rendered inoperable by a flood or fire, your employees can continue working from a secondary facility or even from home if all the apps they need are hosted in the cloud.

    Bring peace of mind to your employees and customers

    Today’s customers have more choices than ever before. That makes them a lot less forgiving of organizations that fail to address their needs and leave their data vulnerable. No one wants to hear excuses like your network falling victim to a cyberattack or a hardware failure. If you can’t provide the level of service they expect, it won’t be long before they set their sights on your competitors.

    When it comes to employees, the inability to recover quickly from an unforeseen incident will quickly put a dent in productivity and morale. Worse still, some might even be hesitant to use systems that aren’t adequately secured or backed up. No one wants to live in constant fear of making an apparently small and innocent mistake that ends up wreaking havoc to the entire business, which is why disaster recovery planning brings peace of mind to all concerned.

    Fulfill your data retention and compliance obligations

    Industry regulations make it a legal requirement for organizations to retain certain records for a predefined period of time, while also deleting personally identifiable data at the customer’s request. Many regulations require businesses to have a documented disaster recovery plan for this very reason. If, for example, your systems get taken down by a ransomware attack you haven’t taken every reasonable effort to prevent, your company could potentially end up facing litigation in addition to reputational damage and remediation costs.

    Backing up data isn’t just about securing your business through unforeseen events — it’s also about staying on the right side of the law by ensuring your critical assets are kept safe. Disaster recovery is a core component of compliance, even if many regulations are vague on the exact requirements involved. In the end, a documented backup and disaster recovery plan is about demonstrating accountability, confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

    Minimize disruption to your business

    Most businesses either never reopen after a disaster or close within one year due to suffering unacceptable losses. Fortunately, modern technology provides opportunities to greatly reduce or even eliminate any disruption to your operations during such an event. With a cloud-hosted backup and disaster recovery solution, your apps and data will always be available thanks to redundant servers and storage networks stored in off-site locations. With automatic rollovers and decentralized storage, there’s no need for your organization to suffer crippling downtime. That’s why backup isn’t just about keeping a copy of everything, it’s a process that covers every necessary step to ensure the continuity of your critical operations.

    Valley Techlogic provides backup and recovery services to businesses in Central California. Call us today to learn more about our tailor-made plans.

  • Four cost-effective alternatives to hiring more IT staff

    Four cost-effective alternatives to hiring more IT staff

    With the costs of running an in-house IT department easily running into seven-figure numbers even for smaller organizations, business leaders are constantly looking for ways to reduce the impact of technology on their bottom lines. When high-level executives like CIOs command a typical salary of over $142,600 per year, it’s easy to see why. As the world of enterprise technology gets increasingly complex, the expenses only seem to keep on coming.

    If your IT department is struggling to keep up with demand, or ailing infrastructure is leading you to miss out on new market opportunities, then it’s definitely time to rethink your technology strategy. Fortunately, for most small- to medium-sized businesses, hiring extra IT staff is rarely necessary. There are many other options for managing your IT without breaking the bank, such as the following:

    #1. Remote monitoring and management (RMM)

    RMM is the process of controlling and monitoring IT systems remotely from a centralized web-based dashboard. With specialized RMM software, administrators can maintain visibility into their technology infrastructures through real-time insights. It greatly simplifies management as well by automatically detecting new devices and the installation of new software. Using RMM software provides benefits in four key areas: service availability, cybersecurity, maintenance, and productivity.

    Being a proactive measure for optimizing and protecting your network and its endpoints, RMM helps reduce costly downtime and detect and resolve problems before they disrupt business operations. This, in turn, improves productivity by reducing the need for staff to find temporary workarounds. Furthermore, RMM can handle many routine maintenance tasks, such as patch management, malware-scanning, and file synchronization.

    #2. Automation and simplification

    As a general rule, anything that can be automated should be automated. Business computing isn’t getting any easier, so you should consider anything that simplifies your IT infrastructure as an opportunity to add value to your business and reduce costs. By automating routine tasks, your existing IT staff can focus more on strategic initiatives rather than getting overburdened with repetitive workloads. This also boosts morale and productivity, while reducing the risk of costly human error.

    One of the best ways to simplify your computing infrastructure is to migrate to the cloud. With cloud-hosted apps and desktops, you no longer need to worry about hardware upgrades, and many routine maintenance tasks will also be taken care of by your service provider. Moreover, cloud-hosted resources are accessible from anywhere, which makes it possible to work with remote employees and tap into the best talent from around the country and beyond.

    #3. IT project consulting

    Technological innovation requires careful planning and expertise. There’s far more to it than simply chasing after the latest trends just because that’s what everyone else seems to be doing. Choose the wrong technologies, or those which you’re not adequately equipped to use and implement, and you can easily end up in a worse situation than before. If your IT department can’t handle the extra workload or doesn’t have the necessary skillset, there’s a good chance you’ll end up being stuck with dated technology that can’t keep up with demand.

    IT project consultants don’t come cheap, but they can provide quick returns on investment. A dependable consultancy firm has a vested interest in learning about your company’s goals and priorities and matching them with the right IT solutions. Given this, your existing staff will be able to focus on core business functions, and you’ll be able to tap into economies of scale while keeping any disruption to your everyday operations to a healthy minimum. Add ongoing help desk support into the mix, and you’ll have everything you need to put your innovation on autopilot.

    #4. Help desk support

    If you have a small IT department, helpdesk support is a great option. By outsourcing tedious support jobs to help desk technicians, your in-house IT staff can spend more time managing important projects that add value to your business. What’s more, help desk support companies pride themselves on quick response times and same-day ticket resolutions. This means you can expect IT issues to be handled promptly and professionally, keeping downtime to an absolute minimum.

    Valley Techlogic provides expert advice and managed IT services to help your business enjoy more out of technology without the high cost burden. Call us today to start getting the support your organization deserves.

  • 3 Challenges when implementing new technology, and how to address them

    3 Challenges when implementing new technology, and how to address them

    Every business, no matter its size or industry, faces constant pressure to innovate to keep up with an increasingly dynamic market. However, implementing new technology is always disruptive, and a lack of strategy can easily result in your business being in a worse situation than when it started. Instead of just thinking about the end result, you need to approach any kind of new technology implementation as an ongoing process in staying at the forefront of innovation.

    #1. Aligning people and processes with technology

    One of the most common reasons digital transformation initiatives fail is that many see it as a destination rather than a journey. All too often do technology enthusiasts implement the latest technology just because it’s a popular industry trend without giving much thought to the people who are actually using it.

    Adopting new technology requires strong leadership skills and the transparency needed to achieve buy-in throughout the organization. No one wants to be forced to learn how to use a new system just because it’s new; what matters most is that your technology aligns with the unique needs of your employees and your customers. If there are no clear end-user benefits, adoption rates will be low, and the first casualties will be morale and productivity.

    New technologies should be integrated into existing business processes in a way that keeps disruption to a minimum. Focused implementation tends to be more effective than trying to use one tool to solve every problem for every member of your team. This also reduces the need for additional training. Of course, there will always be some onboarding necessary with any new technology implementation, so be sure to include training costs in your budget.

    More importantly, earn the support of your team by getting them excited about the benefits the tech can bring to their workflows.

    #2. Overcoming compatibility issues with legacy systems

    Few sectors are as hyped up as the world of enterprise technology. The industry has built up an infamous reputation for pushy salespeople who seem to be all about encouraging people to chase after shiny gadgets and do away with every last system they currently have in place.

    Rather than trying to overcome compatibility problems with legacy systems, IT leaders are often encouraged to neglect their old processes and infrastructure entirely. But all these new systems will only end up being replaced by something else before long. This fact reinforces the need to view innovation as a journey rather than a destination, in which you continually adapt your environment to the changing needs of your business.

    Although most businesses are now moving away from in-house IT in favor of more agile cloud technologies, innovation doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch. Rather, it’s about tapping into external expertise and computing resources to augment your existing IT department and infrastructure. That way, your internal team can focus on more strategic initiatives while a dependable third party takes care of things like migration challenges.

    #3. Keeping digital risk to a healthy minimum

    Everyone knows that relying on old and unsupported technology is asking for trouble, but it’s important to remember that implementing new technology also brings security risks. A poorly executed technology implementation can easily leave your business open to threats that weren’t even a factor before. For example, implementing a cloud storage service without thinking about critical factors like data encryption and access control is a recipe for disaster. Some businesses also try to cut corners to save time and money, relying on default installations and hasty migrations.

    When implementing any new technology, cybersecurity should always be a top priority, rather than something that’s just tacked on at the end. Innovation is all well and good, but you must ensure it’s fully protected with multilayered defenses and is compliant with industry standards.

    Valley Techlogic provides the full range of IT services and expertise to businesses in Central California. Call us today to discuss your needs.

  • 5 Common causes of data breaches and how to stop them

    5 Common causes of data breaches and how to stop them

    Although data breach reporting dropped by 59% during the first half of 2018 in California, no business can afford to be complacent when it comes to cybersecurity. Everyone’s a potential target, and cybercrime continues to rise.

    To protect your organization, you’ll need to identify the common causes of data breaches and how they can affect your operations. Here are the most common threats you need to watch out for:

    #1. Human error

    Human error is still the prevailing cause of data breaches, even though technology is usually the first to get the blame. Many people have developed poor security habits that put businesses at risk. For example, a lot of people don’t even use a PIN code to protect their smartphones, while others use easily guessable passwords or fail to lock their screens when they leave their desk.

    Such habits are akin to leaving the door to your home wide open when you go on holiday. The only effective way to combat human error is to conduct ongoing security awareness training programs that help people understand that information security is everyone’s responsibility.

    #2. Outdated systems

    The cyberthreat landscape is constantly evolving. Hardware manufacturers and software developers are fighting an ongoing battle to be one step ahead by releasing regular security updates for their products.

    That means you should always be running the latest version of every operating system, firmware, and application connected to your corporate network. Use automated patch management to keep everything up to date and immediately identify devices that are no longer supported. Any software or hardware that’s reached the end of its support life cycle should be retired as soon as possible, since the original manufacturer won’t be releasing any more critical security updates for it.

    #3. Malware

    Malicious software, or malware, refers to any kind of malicious code, such as computer viruses or ransomware. Malware comes in many different forms, from the mildly annoying to the highly dangerous.

    Signature-based detection methods like conventional antivirus software will help protect IT systems, but they still need to be kept up to date to protect against new and unknown threats. However, signature-based detection is not enough to protect against zero-day exploits, malicious code injection, and a variety of other threats. To prevent malware infection, businesses need to implement comprehensive scanning to identify potentially suspicious activities, not just known threats.

    #4. Social engineering

    Most cybercriminals aren’t actually hackers staring for hours on end at unintelligible lines of code. Rather, they’re looking to build your trust by masquerading as legitimate businesses or your fellow employees. These social engineering scams hope to dupe victims into giving away confidential information.

    Usually, there’s no specialized technology involved — scammers use the same platforms as everyone else, with the most popular mediums being email and social media. Sometimes, fraudsters even use physical means like dropping infected USB drives to trick an unwitting employee into using them in order to infiltrate a computer. It’s a lot harder to protect against these threats through technological controls alone, so the only real way to stop them is to train your employees to be more cognizant of them.

    #5. Physical theft

    It has become commonplace to use mobile devices in the workplace and for employees to bring their work laptops home with them, making physical theft a more serious problem than ever before. But far worse than losing the device is a thief gaining access to all the data stored on it.

    Although there are ways to minimize the risk of theft, ensuring data safety is still more crucial. That’s why every device used for work should be encrypted and protected with multifactor authentication. Just for good measure, administrators should be able to remotely wipe lost or stolen devices, too.

    Valley Tech Logic provides information security services that help organizations in Atwater, Merced, and Winton protect their most valuable assets and use modern technology with confidence. Call today for support.

  • What does the California data breach notification law mean to your business?

    What does the California data breach notification law mean to your business?

    California has long had some of the toughest data breach notification laws in the country and, in 2018, attorney general Xavier Becerra announced a new law to address certain limitations of the original SB 1368 bill that went into force in July 2003.

    The new legislation expands on existing laws to add requirements for organizations to notify their customers if their passports, ID numbers, or biometric data are stolen. It aims to close various loopholes in current legislation, and was partly enacted in response to enormous data breaches such as the Marriot hotel chain breach, in which 383 million records were stolen.

    It shouldn’t come as any surprise that businesses in California are facing constant threats from hackers and other malicious actors. Being home to Silicon Valley, the state has long been a leader in information security legislation. Many states have followed a similar model, but for organizations based in or with branches in California, the new laws place very specific requirements on data breach notification.

    The primary measures companies need to take is to report data breaches within 72 hours of them being identified, verify that personally identifiable information (PII) was adequately encrypted at the time, and provide detailed reports for legal and auditing proceedings. Although the introduction of the law was greeted with some hostility, particularly by technology companies, it will come into effect at the end of 2020.

    What else does the new law stipulate?

    The consumer-focused law aims to make it harder for hackers to get their hands on private data while also forcing organizations to be more transparent about how they collect data and what they do with it. To that end, businesses must disclose precisely which information they will collect and specify why they need it and what they intend to do with it.

    If a business wishes to send the data to third parties, they’re also legally obligated to specify who those third parties are. Furthermore, businesses will have to allow their customers to opt out of their data being sold to third parties, and they cannot retaliate by changing the pricing or level of service. They can, however, offer financial incentives to collect data.

    In many ways, the new data-protection laws mirror those of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which was introduced in the European Union last year, and enforces strict practices on the collection and use of data. While many businesses struggle to overcome compliance challenges, it’s more important than ever to stay a step ahead.

    Information privacy and security are now some of the biggest concerns of modern times, so it’s only to be expected that the introduction of legislation such as SB 1368 will soon be mirrored across other states and countries. As cyberthreats continue to evolve, compliance is only going to get harder, hence the need for a more proactive approach.

    Why your business needs a compliance strategy

    Overcoming compliance hurdles isn’t easy, but it does help protect both your customers’ data and, consequently, your brand’s reputation. By adopting a culture of continuous improvement with regular security and compliance audits, your business will be better placed to stay ahead of both cyberthreats and legislative changes alike.

    It’s essential to have a compliance strategy; a clearly defined process that incorporates crucial factors like ongoing security awareness training, compliance auditing, and multiple layers of protection. Above all, it requires a culture change; one in which information security and privacy are considered business advantages rather than just a necessary evil.

    Valley Techlogic provides network security services and compliance advice to organizations in Winton, Merced, and Atwater. Call us today for immediate support.