3 Critical Services Your Current IT Support Is Missing

3 critical services your current it support is missing

It’s always fun for IT guys to see people in the financial industry marvel at Bitcoins and their fluctuations. Here in IT, fluctuation and change are the norms.  A significant service can be a lifesaver now but give it a few years, and it will be completely null. Herein lies the problem. In IT, things change fast, and businesses that don’t adapt to these changes are flushed down the toilet. This is why choosing IT Support is a daunting task. The service spectrum is broad, needs are always changing, and it’s always difficult to tell if your IT service provider is providing you with the best services, or leaving some vital things out of their checklist.

Your IT service provider may be missing the following boxes on their service provision checklist:

Cloud Cost Optimization

The internet always seems free for everyone except for IT firms. Your internet provider may be intentionally or unintentionally, making you pay way more to the Cloud Service Providers than you should. Statistics show that most companies spend about 36% more than they should pay to their Cloud Service Providers such as AWS.

Most IT businesses lose out on massive savings by outsourcing their Cloud Management to IT Service Providers who overlook cost optimization. To these providers, getting you to the cloud is an accomplishment, even if your business has to spend fortunes to use it.

There are a plethora of actions your MSP should be undertaking to cut your cloud costs significantly. Your IT service provider should be:

  • Using or being heavily invested in Cloud analytics
  • Integration of Auto Scaling To reduce costs
  • Using AWS cost optimization tools
  • Power Utilization Practices such as Power schedules
  • Right-Sizing Of Computing Services
  • Use of Spot instances when necessary

Contingency Plans and Security

Once you have outsourced most of your IT service requirements to an IT firm, the security and safety of your data and the customer’s data become a priority. The two most essential things in security are contingency plans and constant improvement. Though most MSPs invest heavily in security, very few offer “Plan Bs” when the ceiling caves. Failure to plan, in IT more than in any other industry, is planning to fail.

  • Your MSP should have:
  • Clearly laid out Disaster Recovery Plans
  • Insurance in case of a Cyber Attack
  • Extensive and Secure Backups for your data

In terms of constant improvement, your IT service Provider’s security plan should always be evolving. Security in IT is not a destination but a journey. Malware is continuously changing and improving, and so should your IT providers Security Plans. Your IT provider should be keeping up with the following cybersecurity and malware trends:

  • Increase in instances of Ransomware
  • Third-party Cryptomining
  • State-sponsored cyber attacks
  • Artificial intelligence in cyber terrorism

Regulatory Compliance

For years now, it was assumed that the web and IT were beyond regulation. Well, the amount of regulation in IT has significantly increased for two fundamental reasons. Governments and regulators have spent the past few years catching up. Also, the rise of IT and its growth has seen IT expand into uncharted territory and industries increasing its influence. This has called for more regulation.

Navigating the regulatory landscape is an essential service your MSP needs to offer. Some of the past, present and future regulations that have been lorded over the IT industry include:

  • The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union
  • Consumer Privacy Act in California (CCAP)
  • The Biometric Data Law in Illinois
  • Consumer Online Privacy Right Act(proposed Bill)
  • Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
  • To show how a lack of regulatory compliance can cost a business and how fast the regulatory climate is changing, YouTube was recently fined $170 million for violating the COPPA regulations.

Regulation in itself is a noble idea, but it may lead to massive losses in money and time if neglected. Your IT provider has the responsibility of preparing you for future regulations and how they will affect your business. Your IT provider should be able to

  • Extrapolate your current investments and plans to see if they will be legally viable in the next ten years or so.
  • Align the services they offer to ensure that they comply with present and possibly future regulation.
  • Assure the privacy of your IT firm and the data of your customers and staff.

Though it’s true that the IT climate is always changing, we here at 4 Corner IT have always been changing with it. For any inquiries about IT and Custom solutions on your IT needs, contact us and let us be part of your story.

Also, check out our cabling services!

Is it Possible to Host a Private Cloud in the Cloud?

is it possible to host a private cloud in the cloud

Many business owners have finally made the decision to move their computing tasks and even their data to the “cloud”. This is typically done at the urging of their technology services company. Some of the benefits, including reduced costs and anytime/anywhere access to corporate systems is appealing. However, some business owners have security concerns and question if they can “be in the cloud” yet still maintain privacy. In this post, we will define the various cloud options. Thus, business owners can determine which route is ideal for them.

The Public Cloud

Any technology service using shared hosted resources with others is considered part of the public cloud. Office 365 and Google Drive are two such examples. They both offer anytime/anywhere access to users. Additionally, the added benefit of minimal or no costs for usage and/or infrastructure maintenance. These are two applications hosted by well-known technology companies. However, there are many other industry-specific applications and/or services that companies may provide through the public cloud. 

A Private Cloud

Using their own hardware resources, large companies typically host their own private clouds, providing the convenience of anytime/anywhere access to their employees. However, even small companies can have their own private cloud, either hosted on their own premises or on a external provider’s hardware resources, typically in an off-site location. More and more, smaller companies are considering the advantages of maintaining a private cloud, since a private cloud can also incorporate other services such as data storage, application hosting, and data backup and disaster recovery. 

The Best of Both Worlds

Some companies decide to take a hybrid approach and use some applications and services offered in the public cloud, while also maintaining a private cloud. By utilizing the best of both worlds, a company can take advantage of the lower costs typically associated with using the public cloud, while still keeping vital corporate data safe and secure on their own private cloud infrastructure. 

If you would like more information on to set up a comprehensive cloud computing plan for your company, please contact us!

Benefits of Using Cloud Servers

benefits of using cloud servers
cloud servers.

A cloud server refers to a virtual server that runs on a cloud computing environment. This explains why cloud servers are commonly called virtual dedicated servers (VDS). Undoubtedly, there is plenty of buzz about cloud servers. If you’re interested in using cloud servers, here is some information about the benefits.

Benefits of Using Cloud Servers

One of the main advantages of using cloud servers is that you are free to modify the server software to suit your needs. In fact, you can even modify the operating system kernel, which is not possible with many other virtualization solutions.

Cloud servers tend to be more secure and stable. If you encounter a software problem, it will likely be isolated to the cloud computing environment. You won’t be harmed by the cloud servers of other people. The opposite is also true. Cloud servers also possess the best stability to cost ratio.

You will find that cloud servers are economically efficient. You will spend less on cloud servers and receive more resources and speedier performance. Essentially, your site will run faster if you have a cloud server rather than a traditional server at a comparative price.

Another advantage of cloud servers is that they scale quite well. This makes cloud servers especially beneficial for individuals who have needs that increase or decrease significantly from time to time. If you need to upgrade the disk space, CPU, or memory of your cloud server, it will be easy and affordable to do so.

Undoubtedly, there are many benefits of using cloud servers. For more information about the benefits of using cloud servers, don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Hype About Cloud Hosting

the hype about cloud hosting

“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.”

Robert Kennedy

Let’s face it. Change can be hard. This is especially true when entire industries have to go through growing pains. Think about how frustrating it was when the home video industry changed up on Blockbuster. They had a nice, cozy place as a household name throughout America and several other countries. Then, wham!

This is the way a lot of companies that focus only on dedicated hosting are likely feeling today. Yet, for many businesses, dedicated hosting still does have a place. Every dedicated hosting customer isn’t going to cancel. However, for many business models, switching to the cloud just makes more sense.

Because of natural competition, many professionals with biased interests haven’t done much to clear up confusion over the security that cloud hosting platforms can offer businesses, especially SMB’s.

The popular discourse can have you imagining all sorts of cloud vulnerabilities, yet truthfully, nothing leaves you more vulnerable than having only one server. In addition, the top corporations of the world (like Google), rely entirely on multiple cloud hosted servers.

The Numbers

Simply put, cloud hosting puts the resources of several servers at your disposal. This is financially impossible for most companies that rely on dedicated servers. Hence, these companies typically have just 1 or 2 servers. Should your website experience a DDoS attack for example, bandwidth issues and other problems your competitors will experience won’t be a concern for you.

With cloud hosting, you can also pay for what you need. If your business grows, you pay for more resources. Dedicated servers cost much more money to set up. You also have to maintain them and update them yourself. For many businesses that means hiring staff and buying new hardware and software every year.

Though these are tax write-offs, it’s important to determine if dedicated servers are affordable and practical in the long run. Alternately, some businesses share servers with other businesses to cut dedicated server costs down to cloud hosting costs. However, this diminishes reliability and redundancy. Shared VPS typically isn’t the best solution.

Contact us today at 4 Corner IT to learn more about cloud hosting. Let us get your business running smoothly in just a few days.

The Truth About Cloud Computing

the truth about cloud computing
Cloud Computing

You may have heard plenty of hype surrounding cloud computing, but now it’s time to delve into the truth.

A lot of the hype surrounding the cloud has to do with its future possibilities. Some experts are predicting the cloud to be used by virtually every consumer within the next few years. The logic being that even if they don’t have a personal cloud system, they’ll use a service that uses the cloud to some extent.

We don’t worry ourselves too much with the outlandish predictions concerning cloud computing. Instead, we focus on the cloud’s role in business today.

Cloud Computing for Small Business

The reality is that the cloud is helping thousands of small businesses with their daily operations. It levels the playing field by giving them access to the same features that large corporations enjoy.

With cloud computing, employees can access their business files from any device as long as it has Internet access. This is completely different from having to access files from an office computer. It frees up employees to work while they’re not in the office.

In addition, businesses don’t have to pay for data centers or security. Cloud computing service providers invest in these things and make the service available for hundreds of clients. This is called economies of scale, and it’s the reason why cloud computing is an affordable service even though the upfront costs for service providers are high.

So if you’re thinking about switching over to the cloud, don’t pay too much attention to 2020 predictions. Sure, it’s important to know that the cloud is expected to become even more popular and reliable. But all you really need to understand is how cloud computing will affect your business. If you’re looking to improve productivity, give your employees more opportunities to work, and secure your files, then cloud computing is the right solution for you.

To talk more about this, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks.