With so many solutions available in the IT landscape and more companies needing them, IT support is integral to every business venture. Enterprise software is becoming more sophisticated, and getting reliable technical support is one of the best ways to maximize the value of these applications.

Suppose you are looking for a dedicated IT resource team to deploy, secure, and manage your solutions and maintain a productive work environment for your company in general. In that case, you are on the right track. The only question left is: should your organization choose an in-house team or outsourced IT? We shall explore the pros and cons of both options so you can make informed decisions.

In-house IT support Pros

You can determine the technical qualifications and skill set you want to hire. Therefore, you can ensure that most of your needs are covered, especially if you already have a solid setup for your IT environment.

Your team will ensure they have an in-depth knowledge of your system and infrastructure and how you can integrate it into your business objectives. With a technical team, you can resolve any IT-related issues. If your organization has specific IT projects that require close monitoring and management, an in-house team will also be constructive.

Cons

IT employees’ average salary does not count the costs for their benefits, pension contributions, and ongoing training to update them with the new technology.

Another disadvantage of managing your own IT department is that it may not have the skills you can get from IT outsourcing. Of course, they will be familiar with the systems and solutions that cover your day-to-day operations, but if you come across something, not within their capabilities, it will prompt you to seek outside help.

Furthermore, if your team is fragile, say one to two people (in small businesses), they feel overwhelmed in maintenance tasks and solve software and hardware problems, leading to the dropping of large, more innovative projects.

Outsourcing IT support Pros

Even if only two full-time members of the IT department had to spend significantly, some would argue that the most significant advantage of outsourcing IT support is its cost-effectiveness. Outsourcing your IT gives you the option of paying a flat monthly fee that is much lower than the employee’s salary or spending on the services you want to offer and the technology you need. On the other hand, while giving you a wide range of IT skills, you will not be able to enter with an in-house team.

Good external support can evaluate your infrastructure and actively identify issues with outdated hardware, problematic devices, and warranties in your IT environment. In addition, many IT support companies have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that helps ensure high quality of service is maintained. Organized IT support can also provide consulting services to help you choose solutions to drive business growth and adapt to changing market or industry needs.

Cons

While you can agree on common goals and priorities with your managed service provider, it is different from the supervision of your employees.

The key is to find a reliable IT support company such as AccuIT with a proven track record of credibility and reliability.

Which type works best for whom?

Small and medium-sized businesses perform best by partnering with a managed IT services company for technical support. With this option, they will not have to hire a full-time IT professional, but they can still get professional IT support for their various concerns. However, finding the best IT support for your business is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Many organizations have found that the hybrid approach – hiring IT professionals to perform routine tasks and outsourcing more specific needs – is ideal for them. Assess your strengths, weaknesses, conditions, and resources to find the best IT support for your organization.

Whom to contact for excellent IT support?

Your company’s computer systems, like most companies, require responsive and experienced IT support. You can’t wait for the final solution, but you can’t afford the extra cost of hiring an IT support person- this is where AccuIT’s contracted IT support services come into play.

AccuIT is your 24/7 IT support solution, with all your business needs skills.

The coronavirus pandemic has created a significant impact on the cybersecurity landscape. According to a survey, 61 percent of IT and security leaders report that they are concerned about increasing cyber-attacks targeting employees working from home. With cyber-attacks, data breaches on the rise across all industries, and remote work is now typical; businesses need to take the initiative to protect confidential information from digital intruders.

Covid-19 has created a new wave of cyberattacks.

Hackers are common to prey on victims after a disaster or high-profile event. These constant threats have changed the working class globally. Cyber-attacks come in many forms, from malicious domains and malware to ransomware attacks and phishing scams. Below is a brief look at some of the recurring cyber threats since the beginning of COVID-19. Ransomware is becoming more and more popular. Ransomware is malicious software that affects a computer and threatens to block or publish access to the victim’s data when the ransom is not paid.

Phishing emails seem more reliable.

Cybersecurity landscape phishing is a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, or credit card details- This is achieved when the hacker shows up as a trusted organization.

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to trick users into clicking on malicious email links or passwords.

Malware is leading to more beaches.

Malware is any software deliberately designed to harm a computer, client, server, or network. There are several kinds of malware, such as computer viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware, rogue software, and adware. When individuals accidentally download malware to their system, they can be harmed, making it unreliable.

How to deal with cyber security threats during COVID-19

Cyber security threats can have a detrimental effect on businesses. Loss of data, corrupted files, and other costly incidents can lead to significant downtime and loss of business customer confidence. Companies need to learn how to deal effectively with cyber security threats during COVID-19.

Improve staff member awareness

The cyberattacks threat is always present in the cyber security landscape. Staff members should always be aware of cyber-attacks and take appropriate steps to prevent these security incidents. You should train the employees to detect phishing emails, avoid suspicious downloads, use suitable browsing methods, create strong passwords, and retrieve information from trusted websites. Business leaders should conduct mandatory and ongoing cyber security training to raise awareness about threats and reduce risks.

Ensure proper spam filtering

Employees need to use antivirus software and other protective tools that act as a barrier against cyber-attacks. Though employees are working from home, their computers must be equipped with antivirus and antispyware, and they must be updated regularly. All software vendors offer regular patches and updates to their products to improve performance and security issues.

Take full and partial backups regularly.

Regular partial or complete backups of business data can protect a business from significant losses if it encounters an unexpected cyber-attack. Restoring from a backup is more reliable and often less costly than paying criminals for an encryption key. However, the backup must be comprehensive and up-to-date.

Review our cybersecurity checklist for 2022.

Business leaders must take appropriate steps to protect their organizations from cyber incidents. Institutions should go through the cybersecurity checklist to ensure that their business is protected in 2022.

Talk to a professional cybersecurity consulting company such as AccuIT. Experienced leaders cannot predict cyberattacks, but they can prepare for such threats. Unfortunately, Covid-19 is expected to continue to impact the cybersecurity landscape for the foreseeable future, meaning organizations are still at risk. To learn more about avoiding cybersecurity threats during COVID-19 or speaking with a professional cybersecurity consulting firm, contact AccuIT today.

Hackers have discovered a new way to attack the corporate computer system through the devices of employees working at home due to the coronavirus epidemic. The threat is designed to take advantage of the vulnerabilities created by the increasing use of corporate virtual private networks (VPNs) and the elimination of personal verification.

The latest hacker campaign was launched and used voice phishing. Additionally, cybercriminals have launched phishing campaigns – with random targeting to gain access to employee tools across multiple companies – with the ultimate goal of gaining access.

Phishing has evolved into sophisticated and coordinated campaigns to obtain confidential and proprietary information and trade secrets through their VPN. Criminals have discovered this type with the help of company employees.

It’s harder to find safety when your employees have keystrokes. Cybercriminals removed the victim company’s clients’ information database to leverage hidden credentials in other attacks. The monetizing method may vary depending on the company, but they are very aggressive with a tight schedule between the initial breach and a disruptive cashout system.

VPNs are widely used in today’s remote work environment, and they aim to create a secure platform for remote employees to log in to their company’s network from home. Many companies use VPNs since they provide secure remote connections and allow the company to monitor the activities of employees on the web and detect potential security breaches.

How do scammers do this?

The cybercrime group sets a goal for the company and conducts extensive research on its employees. Attackers collect victim files of employees based on scraps of their virtual presence on social media.

The attacker can find out the employee’s name, location, place of work, position, company tenure, and even the employee’s home address from an employee’s social media profile.

After that, the hackers register the domain and create phishing web pages that copy the login page to the company’s internal VPN.

The attacker then contacts an employee on his mobile phone and pretends to be an internal IT professional or help desk employee for security reasons. Using the information collected about that employee during the visible research phase and convincing the employee, the employee gains confidence that the fraudster needs to log in to a new VPN link to address security issues or other technical requirements.
The attacker sends a link to a fake VPN page to an unsuspecting employee, which looks exactly like the company’s VPN login site. The employee enters his username and password in the domain and clicks on the login link. If applicable, the employee also completes a two-component authentication or one-time password request.

With one click on a VPN link, the attacker has a complete set of employee credentials. Attackers use this access to my company’s databases, records, and files to obtain information to pressure the company for ransom or to be used in other cyber attacks.

Take precautions

Employers should seriously consider their safety protocols and take steps to prevent employees from inadvertently falling into phishing traps by continuing to work remotely.

Advice to employers includes:

• Restrict VPN connections only to managed devices using mechanisms such as hardware checks so that only the user input is not sufficient to access corporate VPN.
• If possible, limit VPN access hours and reduce access beyond the usually allowed time.
• Use domain monitoring to track the creation or change of the company’s brand name domain.
• Actively scan and monitor web applications to detect unauthorized access, alterations, and unusual activity.
• Implement the principle of minimum privilege, enforce software restriction policies or other restrictions and monitor authorized user access.
• The formal authentication process for employee-to-employee communication can be applied to public telephone networks as another element is used to authenticate phone calls before discussing sensitive information.

Depending on the organization, not all consultant advice is feasible. But all companies must heed the agency’s warning and seriously evaluate security protocols, VPNs, and network access to protect their confidential and proprietary information and trade secrets.

Separately, companies should continue to engage employees and train them on the proper use of the network, security concerns, and when to call a certain IT number.

Cybercriminals will continue to take advantage of remote employees. Therefore, companies should regularly remind employees that any requests for their login and credentials (or other personal information) should be suspicious and remind employees where to go and who to contact if they have any security issues.

Whom to contact to prevent the attack of cybercriminals?

After understanding the danger of cybercriminals, you might think about preventing the attack. We at “AccuIT” have experienced technicians to ensure maximum productivity and uptime in Microsoft-based client/server network infrastructure and security. By properly deploying and maintaining computer assets, AccuIT will help your business reduce downtime and IT-related support calls from the start. So contact us today and avoid the risk of cybercriminal attacks.

Cloud computing offers businesses a variety of advantages, such as efficiency, economy, and scalability, that allow them to perform business tasks quickly and efficiently. With cloud computing services available to everyone regardless of their size or type, companies are increasingly turning to adopt them as a way to streamline their business processes and become more competitive. You should always seek help from an IT service provider to evaluate your business to ensure that you are ready to use cloud services.

Companies should not rush to adopt cloud computing without proper planning and evaluation. 

The number of small businesses that involve cloud computing may grow over five years. 

Here are a few things to consider if you want to migrate to cloud technology.

1. Return on investment (ROI) and cost.

A well-organized migration to the cloud should always be based on migration costs, including the provider’s fees for the first three years. After that, you have to consider your infrastructure because sometimes, you can get the guarantee of a third party that will help you dramatically reduce costs and allow your business to better plan and prepare for future migration.

2. Business Impact Analysis.

If you do not have the complete infrastructure to evaluate how this migration will affect your business, you should analyze the business impact of the application. For example, it’s not a good idea to start with an app that your company relies heavily on. Otherwise, it would be best if you also planned to move the workload to gain experience by first putting your most important business application in the cloud. For example, email servers, intranets, and departmental applications may be the first to use the cloud.

3. Development and testing against production.

You can start with a less critical development and testing environment. Keep the configuration and infrastructure you use with your product the same as you move to the cloud to reduce the likelihood of problems and issues.

4. Performance is essential.

It would be best not to consider moving environments that require intensive data processing or performance-sensitive applications because if there are any issues with these requests, such as increased response time, your business will suffer.

5. Complexity.

Avoid moving complex architecture systems with several points that need integration between various applications.

6. License.

You should evaluate the supplier’s cloud model and assess whether modification from this custom model will be costly in the future. In addition, license and User Terms and Conditions may vary from one vendor to another and the cloud service provider. So, you must always check to see if the seller has allowed you to run additional copies of the same event under the same license.

7. Service level agreement.

Evaluate Service Level Agreement (SLA) to understand the service provider’s responsibilities, such as uptime, redundancy, and recovery. Some vendors may have specific SLAs. So, if your SLA is too difficult, the cloud vendor will not agree to support it.

8. Security.

Security factors can be your top priority when choosing a cloud vendor. Before moving to the cloud, you should check that the cloud service provider has adequate security measures and any regulations or data security restrictions that the cloud service provider must support.

9. Future migration needs.

Think about the consequences of moving your environment to another location with a new cloud service provider later. Migrating to cloud technology is not as easy as shifting to a physical office.

10. Reliability and Internet bandwidth.

Internet bandwidth requirements and service reliability are two of the most overlooked aspects of migrating to the cloud, which is crucial because you will be utterly dependent on your cloud service provider if you move your IT infrastructure to the cloud. Hence the credibility of the cloud service provider is significant to you. You should consider the number of users of your company, the nature of the business, and your location to evaluate the service provider. In addition, you should ask your cloud service provider about availability and bandwidth requirements to access the service.

Whome to contact for migrating to cloud?

After understanding the necessity of the cloud migrating factors, you may be searching for the best IT service provider to solve your issues. We, AccuIT, provide IT support and services, including migrating to cloud technology. Call us today! 

Managing technology in an organization can be a time-consuming and costly intrusion for small businesses that need the capital to purchase hardware, software, and security and dedicated staff to take care of them. Responsibilities will be more when money and time are scarce.

Your company can grow as much as your technology allows. However, if you fail to invest in the right tools, you will become helpless because other people take advantage of opportunities that you cannot pursue.

Digital transformation is everyone’s business. The people who lead your company don’t just need to know how the new technology works. They also need to understand how this technology will affect their operations and position in the market.

Check these signs in your company to determine if you need a managed IT service:

1. Your customer expectation is rising.

Consumer expectations are rising every year. Companies must face this challenge or lose ground because competitors provide customers with an intuitive, seamless experience.

Changes are needed when your technology hinders business value. Technology is continuously evolving, and companies have to evaluate the workforce and tools to learn and grow.

There is no requirement to lead the industry in technology-driven customer experiences. But, staying with the basic expectations of service, customization, and ease of use will allow your customers to earn their business.

2. You are open to cyber security risks.

No one is entirely safe from cyber threats. But if you are not upgrading your system for a longer duration, the situation will become more dangerous. In addition, most consumers decide to share personal information whether they trust the company or not. So the company has to handle the customer’s personal information responsibly.

Even if you do not keep personally identifiable information, older devices sometimes leave data traces that hackers can exploit. Vendors may also use outdated systems that expose their customers to potential abuse. Stay away from threats by modernizing your system and working with partners who take information security seriously.

3. You are using repeated solutions to keep working.

Using repeated solutions indicate that your company is in dire need of upgrades. Sometimes you may need to change your process before your technology. However, in most cases, outdated techniques force you to compromise and take extra steps to achieve the desired results.

Thus, while workarounds help reach solutions, they can hide problems and create confusing processes. Moreover, workarounds can quickly become a new, informal business process rather than a temporary solution to an emerging issue.

4. Your IT team spends all their time putting out fires.

Your technology team will always be the first to suffer from immediate breakdowns. Hence, more companies realize the value of investing in technology than simple maintenance costs.

Talk to IT leaders and team members to determine how much time they spend on maintenance against new projects. If the answers are too much for the care, start looking for technology options that can take away the burden of your IT teams.

Involve the entire leadership team in the process. Your IT experts know how your options will integrate into your existing system and explain the benefits of adding new tools. Finally, find a solution by contacting a managed IT service to help your IT teams spend more time staying active. 

Hence you can hand over all the complex tasks to contractors who provide managed solutions at a fixed cost to concentrate on your primary objectives peacefully. 

Realizing the cost

The service provider will update the hardware regularly as part of the agreement. Therefore, there is no necessity to invest in new hardware and infrastructure from time to time. Instead, these investment costs are moved from the balance sheet to the profit and loss statement and replaced with regular and fixed costs. This idea makes it easier to plan a business, especially for a growing company.

When disaster happens

Cost is usually the most enjoyable benefit of managed services, but other payoffs such as reliable operations can also be availed. If a disaster happens, it will spoil the server room, and an alternative server has to be borrowed to load the data. 

The data centers responsible for allowing the employees to access email and remote desktops fail to operate in the event of a disaster. Managed IT service providers can find excellent solutions to these problems.

When the system is adequately planned and implemented correctly, the rewards of managed service approach can be significant – financially for management and functionally for IT staff and employees.