Datalyst Blog

When was the last time you actually had a decent experience working with a vendor? Depending on who you are trying to contact and work with, it can either be an extraordinarily pleasant or an extraordinarily painful experience. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to work with vendors at all? What if you could just contact a trusted resource who could handle everything for you? Well, you’re in luck; that just so happens to be what vendor management is all about!

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that a lot can go wrong with business just about every day. If something were to go horribly wrong and you lost access to your data infrastructure, what would you do? Let’s take a look at some of these disaster scenarios and how much data backup and disaster recovery can make a difference for your organization.

We often discuss how your business can avoid the impact of ransomware, but what we don’t often discuss is what happens to businesses that do, in fact, suffer from such a devastating attack. We want to use today’s blog as an opportunity to share what your business should (and should not) do in the event of a ransomware attack, as well as measures you can take to avoid suffering from yet another in the future.

When it comes to what is included under the umbrella of managed services, it is remarkably clear how much more they cover than traditional computer repair tech support. What’s more, these services are critical to your organization’s prolonged success and continuity.

Let’s examine some of the most beneficial services included, and how they play off each other to maximize your received value.

You might be familiar with the concept of hosting a service or application in-house on your own server units, and if you are, you know all about the struggles that come along with doing so. But what if we told you that you can get the same benefits of hosting your own applications and IT systems without the need for any of the bulky equipment taking up space in your office? Yes, that’s right—you too can host your business applications, even if you do not have the space to do so, and it’s all thanks to the cloud.

The term “encryption” has found its way into the mainstream, appearing just about anywhere information security is brought up. Whether it is ransomware encrypting data or the encryption protecting your password security, it is a powerful tool that can be used for both good and evil. Let’s discuss the former and how you might use encryption in the workplace.

There are always going to be those who want to use your hard-earned data and assets to turn a profit. One of the emergent methods for hackers to do so is through twisting the “as a service” business model into network security’s worst nightmare. This type of security issue is so serious that Microsoft has declared that Phishing-as-a-Service is a major problem.

Artificial intelligence has always been an intriguing concept, from the works of Isaac Asimov to the initial work at Dartmouth College in the 1950s. Nowadays, many of the technologies that we rely on each day incorporate some version of artificial intelligence… and more progress is made each day. Of course, for all its benefits, artificial intelligence can also create some problems for businesses.

With the ongoing fascination with cryptoassets that started with the cryptocurrency boom, the term “NFT'' has popped up again and again in the headlines. We wanted to help provide some clarity into what an NFT actually is, and why they have been such a big deal as of late.

Cloud computing is a monster of a topic in and of itself, perhaps more so than most people might expect. Let’s define what cloud management is and take a closer look at what goes into properly managing your cloud-based resources.

With countless threats out there waiting for IT professionals to slip up, it’s no small wonder that many of these professionals are opting into what is called a zero-trust policy for their security standards. But what is a zero-trust policy, and why is it so effective at curbing potentially dangerous situations for your business? Let’s investigate this in today’s blog article.

If you visit a McDonalds while traveling, generally the burger is exactly the same as your local McDonalds. It uses the same ingredients, and it is prepared the same way. The entire process is locked down to the most minute detail. This means that, with ideally little-to-no exception, every customer’s McDonalds experience is the same no matter what. Say what you will about fast food, this is a model that works. We do something very similar, and we’ve been helping our clients adopt it too.

We don’t like it any more than you do, but if we have learned anything at all over the past several years, it’s that security absolutely needs to be a priority for all small businesses. In the face of high-profile ransomware attacks that can snuff companies out of existence, what are you doing to keep your own business secure? To put things in perspective, we’ve put together a list of some of the more common threats that all companies should be able to address.

When it comes to implementing new technology solutions for your business, there is always a desire to solve some sort of problem. Maybe you are not as productive as you would like to be, or perhaps there is an operational inefficiency that you hope to address or streamline through the use of the technology. Either way, the end result is the same; you are trying to make progress and move forward, not over-complicate your infrastructure.

What would you say if we told you that someone could buy access to your organization’s network for a measly $1,000? Well, this is the unfortunate reality that we live in, where hackers have commoditized the hard work you have invested in your organization. A study from KELA shows that the average cost to buy access to a compromised network infrastructure is insignificant at best, which is why it’s more important than ever to protect your business as best you can.

Remote work carries with it a different set of risks than does a traditional workplace setup. Being forced to move in that direction only exacerbates the issue of figuring out how to operate under what people are calling the “new normal”. This month we thought we would go through a couple of the risks that come with having your staff working remotely, and what to do about them. 

With COVID cases back on the upswing here in Massachusetts, it may not be a bad idea to revisit and reevaluate how prepared your business is to manage operations as the state closes back up. Whether you had certain practices in place last time or not, you don’t want a lack of preparation and due diligence to be the reason your business fails now. 

Modern businesses rely on a lot of technology to stay operational, much of which can be considered hardware, or the physical computing systems that contribute to your infrastructure, like workstations, routers, switches, and servers. Unfortunately, no technology lasts forever, and this is true for hardware as well. One of the most devastating problems that a business can face is hardware failure, and no matter how well you maintain your technology, you must be ready to face down this threat at any given moment.

Everyone always tries to drive home the importance of passwords, but the simple fact of the matter is that passwords in today’s day and age are not enough to keep your business safe. While passwords are still important, they play a relatively small role compared to some of the more advanced security features that businesses must implement in order to stay as secure as possible.

The average person spends hours a day on their phone. For the average business, finding a way to support this trend is extremely important. This is why many businesses have begun to do away from their traditional telephone system for the massive benefits that Voice over Internet Protocol brings. Today, we will outline four major benefits of hosted VoIP to help you understand that if you aren’t using VoIP, you are probably leaving money on the table.