Info Advantage Blog

To protect against the risk of cybercrime, many businesses add cyber insurance to their business insurance policies. So, what exactly is cyber insurance and why is it important for your business? Cyber insurance covers your business’ liability for a data breach that involves sensitive customer information. According to Nationwide, besides legal fees and expenses, cyber insurance typically helps cover the costs associated with notifying customers about a data breach, recovering compromised data, repairing damaged computer systems, and restoring personal identities of affected customers.

Here’s a bit more about the state of cyber insurance in 2023:

• In 2020, the global cyber insurance market was worth $7.8 billion. (org)
• Forecasts suggest that by 2025, the cyber insurance industry will grow to $20 billion. (org)
• A 2022 survey indicated that only 19% of organizations claimed to have coverage for cyber events beyond $600,000. (Network Assured)
• The same study showed that only 55% of organizations claimed to have any cybersecurity insurance at all. (Network Assured)

The benefits of cyber insurance are numerous, but these are some of the top ones: coverage for data breaches, reimbursement for business loss, defense against cyber extortion, forensic investigative support, and notification requirements.

• Coverage for Data Breaches: Cyber attacks can be both devastating and dangerous. Cyber insurance can offer coverage for data breaches, including the costs of litigation, recovery, and identity theft.

• Reimbursement for Business Loss: On top of compromising sensitive information, attacks can often interrupt business and cause lost revenue. Policies can insulate a company from these costs and provide reimbursement for any income that was lost due to a cyber-attack

• Defense Against Cyber Extortion: Malware infections have seen a sharp rise in popularity in recent years. Cyber insurance provides effective defense against these type of attacks by allowing businesses to recoup associated costs of cyber extortion.

• Forensic Investigative Support: After a cyber-attack, it’s imperative that a business rectify the problem and implement strategies so that it doesn’t happen again. Any policy should reimburse costs associated with a forensic investigation of the attack and/or additional investigative support.

• Notification Requirements: Mandated by law, the costs of notification can add up, averaging $1.72 million according to one survey. Access to a law firm to serve as counsel and an incident breach response vendor to handle notifications is crucial.

Cybersecurity needs to be a priority. As Ginni Rometty, IBM’s CEO, notes, “Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world.” With Info Advantage’s Managed IT services, you get full access to professional support, goal-oriented solutions, and downtime-preventing maintenance; allowing us to serve as a resource for businesses who need support for their information technology, as well as a consultant who can assist them in managing it.

Learn more about how an IT partner like Info Advantage can help make sure you have the right security tools and strategies in place to be eligible for Cyber Insurance, contact us today!

Have you ever thought that your business could benefit from a solution that helps employees to recognize and neutralize social engineering attacks and human error? Then make sure you keep reading, because you’ll want to learn more about Arctic Wolf.

Arctic Wolf’s Managed Security Awareness focuses on the three pillars of Engage, Measure, Transform.

• Through Engagement you can train and prepare employees to stop social engineering attacks like phishing.
• Through Measuring you can identify employees that fall behind and determine which threat topics require reinforcement.
• Through Transformation you can achieve a culture of security and strengthen cyber resilience.

Offering a more effective Security Awareness Program, Arctic Wolf provides the tools and expertise to develop the behaviors organizations need from their employees for better protection and stronger resilience, which includes:

• Awareness Training: Employee-centric security microlearning with timely topics and threat vectors covered in each lesson.
• Phishing Simulation: Automated testing based on current phishing threats and built-in coaching when employee engages phishing simulation.
• Account Takeover Monitoring: Identification if employee credentials are compromised or expose your organization.

The Arctic Wolf Difference enables employees to recognize and neutralize social engineering attacks and human error through microlearning content, automated phishing tests, and awareness coaching.

Arctic Wolf is an industry leader in security operations! With a mission of ending cyber risk, Arctic Wolf believes every organization should be so effective at security operations that both the likelihood and impact of a cyber attack is minimized to the point where risk is essentially zero. An innovative platform and concierge delivery model enables Arctic Wolf to provide better protection in a way that is uniquely fast and cost effective; better value, stronger protection, faster outcomes!

When you work with Info Advantage, there is no catch, no gimmick, just experiences and best practices that we’ve honed over the years to make our services work for your business needs. One of the ways we’re able to do that is through our partnerships with great companies, like Arctic Wolf.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can help to end cyber risk at your organization, contact us today! You can also join our upcomign event where we team up with Arctic Wolf for, "SMASH Security Threats: End Cyber Risk" after-hours networking at Recreo in Rochester on March 22nd from 4:00-7:00pm (EST). REGISTER HERE!

In today’s digital environment, one question a lot of companies are facing is whether they should keep things internal by developing and maintaining their own technical solutions, or invite a third-party to help. If you’re feeling apprehensive about selecting a managed services partner, consider the fact that 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyberattack go out of business within six months!

As you assess your IT environment, here are two questions you should consider:

1. How do you reduce the risk of a cyberattack to your business?
2. How do you know when your business needs to partner with a managed services provider?

In addition, here are four criteria that may be helpful when searching for and selecting an IT partner: Expertise, Responsiveness, Organizational Effectiveness, and Customization. At Info Advantage, we are passionate about these categories. 

Our difference is that we’re in this business to help other businesses grow and move forward; it’s as simple as that! We’re driven by the philosophy that if we help businesses solve their IT issues so they can become more profitable and successful, then we will inherently grow along with them. Our Proven Process provides a clear roadmap we follow to create consistency and deliver an optimal customer experience. This is what we do best and how we do it!

We make it our mission to not only understand your organizations technology, but also how your business operates. In order for us to succeed together, we are continually adapting to the changes with your organization and making sure that every step of the way, we clearly understand what drives your business. As a Tier-1, full-service, information technology and telecommunications firm, we specialize in cloud computing, managed services, virtualization, disaster recovery, data storage, wireless, voice-over-IP, telecommunications, and more.

At Info Advantage, we are consultants. We design, procure, install, and support technologies that connect businesses to their customers; helping businesses to improve their operational efficiency, increase productivity, and strengthen network security using technology.

Think you might be ready to find your IT ally? Contact us today to see how we can help you. 

Did you know that both Google and Microsoft have gone on the record to discuss the benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)? In fact, the tech giants have acknowledged that research indicates that MFA can block over 99% of attacks! MFA is an improvement upon the security of the traditional username-password combination and can have numerous benefits for your business!

A 2020 study estimated that the average cost of a cyber breach is around $3.92 million, giving each business nearly 4 million reasons to take their security seriously. But, according to a 2020 penetration testing report from Rapid7, 67% of businesses tested didn’t use MFA for any of their login points! This security layer simply adds a quick, extra step that can be accomplished within seconds, allowing you to have immediate access to your accounts without worrying that someone on the outside does as well.

If the reasons above aren’t enough for you to consider this solution, here 5 more ways you can use MFA in your business:

1. Provide User-Friendly Authentication Management

When implemented by a business, MFA becomes an intuitive process for employees and IT departments. Well developed MFA solutions should enable a smooth flow of business operations, not be difficult to use or disruptive to your workforce.

2. Protection Against Credential and Device Theft

MFA provides additional layers of security that can be a much-needed failsafe is a hacker successfully steals employee credentials. MFA solutions should offer multiple authentication options for end users, as well as the capability to secure any corporate applications.

3. Safeguard Devices Outside of the Workplace

With the tremendous rise in remote work through the pandemic, there are a new set of questions and concerns about the security of remote workforces. MFA requires end-users to provide two or more credentials to access company systems or accounts, ensure employees stay protected and productive during times of enhanced risk.

4. Regulatory Compliance

Implementing MFA if often a key requirement for achieving compliance with data protection laws and regulations. It’s a great way for organizations to increase their reputation and establish themselves as a trustworthy business partner.

5. Scalability for Changing User Bases

MFA easily adapts to your business needs and can be set up for all users, including employees, customers, and partners. Combining single sign-on with MFA eliminates the need for multiple passwords, streamlines the login process, and improves the user experience. It creates a protective shell that is impassable to bad actors that are attempting to access business-sensitive electronic data.

At Info Advantage, we know that MFA cuts down on the chance of unwanted access to your business’ solutions, any account protected by MFA is substantially more secure. Turn to the solution that can effectively block all automated attacks! Contact us today to learn more.

To help with this holiday season, we want to share a few Tech Tips for your holiday travels! 

1. Keep an eye on your electronics.

No matter where you go, don’t leave your laptop, phone, or tablet unattended. While the majority of focus today is on cybersecurity, theft is still a real element of that. Keep your devices tucked away and off of chairs, counters, or tabletops when not using them. 

2. Use a VPN to protect your privacy.

Public internet connections are not secure, even if the airport, hotel, or restaurant Wi-Fi requires a password to connect. If you aren’t using Virtual Private Network (VPN), your privacy and information are at high risk. A VPN helps encrypt your data so that hackers who are sharing public Wi-Fi networks can’t access it easily. Use a VPN and have antivirus software set up on all your devices.

3. Back up your data before you leave.

Backing up data can help to ensure that you don’t lose the irreplaceable moments from your life. Whether your mobile devices or computer is lost or stolen, safely backing up and storing your photos and videos will allow you to retain that data in the event of a catastrophe. Another way to help with this is to make sure that all you have updated the operating systems and software on all your devices, making them fully patched and up to date!

4. Save your important documents.

Physical documents can be damaged, lost, or stolen while traveling. Scanning and saving these documents in your phone, through a cloud data storage service such as Google Drive or iCloud, allows you to easily recall them if need be, while also keeping them safe and secure. You should also employ strong passwords on your laptop, phone, and tablet to protect these documents for your privacy.

5. Protect your whereabouts and private information.

While we all like to share photos of our travels with our friends, there’s no need to do it while you are traveling! Save the social media posts for once you’ve returned home. Besides preventing thieves from targeting your house, this will help to prevent cyber criminals from using your information to impersonate a hotel in an attempt to steal your credit card information.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency is also a great resource, with tips on everything from email and communication to mobile devices to network defense and enterprise security to privacy and so much more! Info Advantage can be your technology ally, from useful resources to proactive care to 24/7 maintenance, it’s our goal to help you improve efficiency, increase productivity, and secure your technology.

We hope you and yours enjoy a wonderful holiday. Please reach out to us if you have any IT needs!

As we move closer to January and the turning of the page on 2022, we’re so thankful to have been able to spend another year doing what we love. It’s now been 31 years since Info Advantage was founded in 1992 and we remain just as dedicated as ever to providing top-notch, enterprise-level IT practices and solutions to our clients!

One of the most important things that we have learned over the years is the importance of having the right ally to help guide your business. That’s why we adhere to the Info Advantage Proven Process; the roadmap we follow to create consistency and deliver an optimal customer experience!

The most pivotal point in our relationship with a client is the first step: Understanding Your Business! We’re able to do this through a process that includes assessing your technology, assessing your operations, conducting a gap analysis, and then creating an executive summary.

From there, our Proven Process includes developing your strategic technology roadmap, offering guidance on what solutions make the most sense, implementing your plans step-by-step, and then continuing to ensure your technologies stay up to date in the future.

Info Advantage continues to partner with businesses across numerous industries, striving to eliminate IT issues before they cause expensive downtime, thus allowing you to continue to drive your business forward.

Our staff loves seeing our clients succeed. We believe that your success is our success, and as you grow, so do we.

Our clients drive everything that we do and knowing that we have met or exceeded their expectations is what drives our business forward. That’s one of the main reasons we’re so appreciative of client feedback, reviews, or testimonials.

Not only are they helpful from a business perspective, but they serve as a constant reminder of why we do what we do – to help you succeed! These are a few of our favorite Google Reviews from 2022:

• “Strong, knowledgeable team. Never forcing a preconceived idea or solution. Always finds the best solution or mix of solutions for the situation at hand.” – Dennis A.
• “Staff is always pleasant and most anxious to create a pleasant experience.” – Betty M.
• “Matt’s service was fantastic. He was professional and fixed the problem in a timely manner. You guys are the best!” – Brenda C.

At Info Advantage, we like feedback and learning how we can improve our client’s experience! In that regard, we’re happy to announce our Holiday Google Review Raffle!

Google Reviews are a great way for us to gather feedback, to learn what we have done well and where we can improve. With that in mind, anyone who leaves Info Advantage a Google Review by December 31^st, 2022, will be entered into a raffle to win a $30 Amazon Gift Card!

We hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday season and look forward to hearing from and working with you again in 2023!

The holiday season is always an important time for reflection. Taking a pulse of where you are, what you’ve done well and what you can do better, where you want to be in the future, and most importantly, what you are thankful for. Today, we want to share more about five technologies we’re thankful for and the impact they can have on your business!

Enterprise Mobility Management: We understand that, in some way, mobility is a major pain point of most businesses. Our Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution is geared towards helping your organization better understand, manage, and secure your mobile systems. With EMM you can access mobile device productivity solutions, expect secure device management, and utilize mobile device management; allowing you to improve operations with mobile devices, keep your operating systems and software solutions in check, and remotely manage and maintain devices and business apps.

Remote Maintenance & Network Monitoring: Despite the difficulties that come with technology management, maintenance is an absolutely vital task that must be fulfilled in order to get the most from your hardware and software. Our proactive Remote Monitoring Maintenance & Network Monitoring (RMMNM) solution is designed to remediate these issues for your business, while making them more affordable than ever before. RMMNM provides regular system updates and patches, comprehensive remote monitoring, and affordable fixed rates!

Hosted Server: The cloud is everywhere! Today, one of the top benefits of cloud computing comes from what it can offer in the form of server and infrastructure hosting. By choosing to host your company infrastructure, you ensure optimal levels of reliability and stability, along with minimized downtime. Some of the benefits of Info Advantage’s Hosted Server solutions, and other critical computing solutions in our data center, include: less hardware to maintain, more space in your office, considerable reduction in costs, reduction in overhead, and professional support.

Voice over IP Phone Systems: Fully featured VoIP solutions are able to offer your business major costs benefits by utilizing your internet connection for all of your organization’s communication needs! Info Advantage’s Voice Over IP Phone System solutions eliminate the communication limitations of money and geography and comes standard with dozens of useful features.

Disaster Recovery as a Service: The more data your organization has, the more important its protection becomes. Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) offers new options to help your business sustain itself should disaster strike, ensuring that your files are protected and that your operational downtime is kept to a minimum. With DRaaS you can leverage cloud solutions and cut down on organizational risk to provide your business with peace of mind. If your business relies on hosted computing solutions, you cannot afford to not have a solution in place to protect your business from the perils of data loss!

As a technology consulting company, Info Advantage helps businesses improve operational efficiency, increase productivity, and strengthen network security using technology; differentiating ourselves through our ability to translate operational needs to technology initiatives, navigate manufacturers and different technologies, and align the best solutions to solve business needs!

Interested in seeing what we can do for your business or how we can put some of our favorite technologies to use for you? Contact us today for a free consultation! We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and friends and lots of food! Now that you know the technologies that we’re thankful for, we’d love to know something you’re thankful for this holiday season!

Would you be interested in working with a company that over 615,000 other businesses have trusted with their cybersecurity solutions? What about one that offers the most comprehensive solutions to help accelerate security, maximize productivity, preserve user experience, and lower total cost of ownership?

We certainly were! That’s why we’re excited to tell you more about our friends at Fortinet, a global leader of cybersecurity solutions and services!

As the yearly cost of cyber crime continues to rise and attacks continue to target a variety of businesses, it’s more important than ever that your organization has the proper cybersecurity protocols in place.

Fortinet delivers broad, integrated, and automated protections across the entire digital attack surface, securing critical devices, data, applications, and connections from the cloud to the data center to the home office.

Founded in 2000, and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Fortinet is committed to cybersecurity innovation and excellence. Fortinet works with enterprise, small business, service providers, and partners and offers a range of products including network security, cloud security, security operations, endpoint security, managed services, and technology alliances.

Believing that today’s enterprises require a new approach to cybersecurity, the Fortinet Security Fabric brings together the concepts of convergence and consolidation to provide comprehensive cybersecurity protection for all users, devices, and applications, across all network edges!

Along with our friends at Fortinet, Info Advantage is excited to share that our next event will be a Movie Premier Event, featuring a “The Way To Cyber Protection” presentation. The movie? Avatar: The Way of Water, a sequel to 2009’s Avatar, which is the highest grossing movie of all-time!

Join us on Thursday, December 15^th at 5:30pm to enjoy the Fortinet presentation, networking, and a movie premier; all of which will take place at the Tinseltown Theater located at 2291 Buffalo Road in Rochester, New York!

At Info Advantage, we take pride in our ability to partner with other area businesses as we strive to eliminate IT issues before they cause expensive downtime. Partnerships, like our one with Fortinet, and events, like our upcoming movie event, are a few ways that we try to ensure you get the best service possible!

Head over to our registration page now to save your spot for the upcoming movie event or contact us today to learn more about cyber protection and how Info Advantage and Fortinet can ensure that your business is secure!

Are you or your organization interested in learning more about how you can stop hackers? Interested in doing that in a fun environment where you can network at the same time? Then you don’t want to miss our upcoming event with our friends from Arctic Wolf, an Axe Throwing Night at Lasertron in Rochester, New York!

The “Take The Hacker’s Bullseye Off Your Back!” event will take place on Thursday, October 20^th from 4:00 – 7:00PM and is a great opportunity to join us for an evening of games, food, drinks, and networking!

We’re delighted to be taking on this event with our friends at Arctic Wolf, the industry leader in security operations. Experts will tell you that cybersecurity is a field that requires 24x7 vigilance and constant adaptation. Arctic Wolf provides that, delivering uniquely effective security solutions!

Arctic Wolf’s key security offering, their Security Operations Platform (SOP), is designed to collect, enrich, and analyze security data at scale. The SOP provides rapid feature and capability development that evolves in line with rapidly changing security demands.

The Arctic Wolf Security Operations Platform provides broad visibility across endpoint, network, and cloud. Processing over 2 trillion events per week, the platform enriches those events with threat intelligence and risk context to drive faster threat detection, simplify incident response, and eliminate alert fatigue.

The Arctic Wolf difference centers on an innovative platform and concierge delivery model that enables them to provide better, more cost-effective protection. It is:

• A Cloud Native Platform that features a purpose-built security operations platform and predictable pricing.
• Delivered as a Service allowing you to establish or augment your SOC while receiving world-class expertise and security effectiveness.
• A Concierge Experience with named resources, personalized protection, and continuous progress towards your security endgoals.

We’re driven by the belief that if we help businesses solve their IT issues so they can become more profitable and successful, then we will inherently grow along with them. Having good partnerships is a key piece of that and Arctic Wolf is one of the best partners you could have!

At Info Advantage, our team of experts can become your outsourced IT department. Responding to issues quickly, often before you even know about them; we provide end-to-end solutions for all of your technology needs!

Make sure you reserve your spot today, head over to the event registration page now and make sure to contact us with any questions you have about the event, our friends at Arctic Wolf, or how Info Advantage can help ensure that your business is secure!

Now in its 19^th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues to build momentum and impact, helping individuals and businesses to protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace. A collaboration between government and private industry to raise awareness about digital security and empower individuals to protect their personal data from digital crime, Cybersecurity Awareness Month promotes the importance of cybersecurity while providing guidance on how to better protect against cyber threats.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) lead a collaborative effort to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. The theme for this year’s campaign is “See Yourself in Cyber” with a strong focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity. Now available are resources to help educate individuals and organization on how to make smart decisions on the job, at home, or at school, both now and in the future!

As part of the education process, the CISA and NCA have highlighted four key actions steps that you can take to increase your cybersecurity posture:

• Think Before You Click: Recognize and Report Phishing
• Update Your Software
• Use Strong Passwords
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication

Everyone has a right to a safe internet; part of that involved taking a risk-based approach and focusing on the behaviors that are most important to your organization!

Long gone are the days were setting up antivirus and a firewall were enough to protection your organization’s data. Today, an organization needs to have a comprehensive cybersecurity posture; that includes things like endpoint security, mobile device management, unified threat management, and more.

At Info Advantage, we take pride in our commitment to cybersecurity. Our iaGuardianSecure solution is always on and always watching out for you. From Risk Assessments to Phishing Simulations and Dark Web Monitoring to Managed Protection, we make sure that you make cybersecurity a priority.

Be an active participant this month by engage in the Cybersecurity Awareness Month efforts and creating your own cyber awareness campaigns. Whether you’re an individual, a family, a cyber employee, or organization, there are multiple ways to stay active in the fight against cybercrime!

Take advantage of available resources this October; visit the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency website for more information on Cybersecurity Awareness Month or give us a call to learn more about how we can put cybersecurity solutions to work for your business!

Get ready for October! Cybersecurity Awareness Month is quickly approaching and we want to bring you some key considerations. Did you know that the average reported cyberattack cost among small businesses (fewer than 250 employees) in 2021 was roughly $25,600? Hiscox, an insurance provider, shared that number in a recent report and noted that that amount could be enough to shut down many small businesses.

Why is that important? Well, cyber insurance is a major option that businesses can and should utilize to help protect against losses resulting from cyberattacks. But, according to that same Hiscox report, only 41% of the businesses they surveyed carry some form of cyber insurance, leaving them vulnerable to the devasting financial consequences of a cyberattack.

It's not just small or medium sized businesses that are at risk. Fortinet reported that a breach to Sony’s PlayStation Network in 2011 exposed the data of 77 million users and cost Sony over $171 million that could have been covered by cyber insurance, if they had had a policy that is. This added security layer can offer broad coverages to help protect businesses from various technology-related risks. Protecting your business with the right policy allows you to respond quickly after a data breach or cyberattack.

The following instances are a few that were identified by The Hartford as occasions when coverage can help your business:

• When a business’ computers get a virus that exposes private, sensitive information.
• When your business is sued by customers or patients after losing personally identifiable information or personal health information.
• When you face high public relations costs to help protect your business’ reputation after a data breach.

So, what should a cyber insurance policy cover? When looking for cyber insurance, you want to ensure that your business is protected from data breaches, cyberattacks, attacks on your data held by vendors and third parties, attacks that occur anywhere in the world, and terrorist attacks. 

Now that you know what cyber insurance is and what it should cover, you should know that it’s important that your business have the proper protocols and systems in place in order for you to qualify for an insurance policy. Cybersecurity solutions like endpoint security, multi-factor authentication, compliance, threat management, and network security are just a few of the things insurance companies will be looking for when you attempt to gain a cyber insurance policy!

At Info Advantage, we know that dedication to the prevention of data loss and other business technology disasters before they happen is key. Your cybersecurity is our priority; we’re committed to protecting your business, your staff, and your customers. Ready to schedule a discussion? We're ready to help. Stay tuned for more cybersecurity insights for Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

Technology can help transform a classroom to facilitate the highest level of interaction between students, faculty, and administration. As education changes, schools need to change with it and the implementation of dynamic computing solutions can advanced a student’s education exponentially!

The use of technology in education keeps improving every year and at Info Advantage, we believe that the more that educators depend on technology solutions to provide their students with a quality education, the more cost-effective support they will need.

Ed Tech Magazine noted that the post-pandemic future of higher education will require institutions to prepare better for what lies ahead. A few of the trends that highlighted include: the rise of videoconferencing platforms, an increased use of augmented and virtual reality, the proliferation of outdoor Wi-Fi, and new ways to give remote exams.

Each academic institution has unique challenges they face while attempting to provide their students with an education that they can use to become productive members of society. Educause highlighted the Top 10 Education IT Issues of 2022, acknowledging that developing a shared transformation vision and strategy that guides the digital transformation of educational institutions is an important first step.

Info Advantage knows that students often benefit from a hands-on approach to learning, because of that we offer IT solutions that you can leverage to present powerful and interactive learning corridors. Teaching and learning is made easier through Info Advantage’s IT and bandwidth consulting, hardware and software procurement, IT support, and mobile device integration solutions.

Digital learning tools in the classroom can increase student engagement, help teachers improve their lesson plans, and facilitate personalized learning, all while helping students build essential 21^st-century skills. And, as we all know, knowledge is indispensable. Utilize today’s greatest technology solutions to education the professionals of tomorrow! With all types of hardware, software, networking, and other IT-related products, Info Advantage is your one-stop shop for all of your educational technology needs.

At Info Advantage, our mission is to improve the overall effectiveness of our public and independent K-12, higher education, and library clients by providing information technology solutions that extend beyond the chalkboard. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your school leverage its IT assets into a dynamic workplace for your educators, as well as an equally dynamic learning environment for your students!

Today we want to introduce you to another of our partners, our friends at Barracuda! Envisioning a safer world for businesses everywhere, Barracuda delivers innovative security products that are easy to buy, deploy, and use.

More than 200,000 customers trust Barracuda to safeguard their employees, data, and applications from a wide range of threats. By building cloud-first, enterprise grade security solutions, Barracuda provides easy, comprehensive, and affordable solutions for email protection, application and cloud security, network security, and data protection!

Email Protection: Barracuda's email protection allows you to get started in minutes and provides complete security that stops all 13 email threat types and protects Microsoft 365 data. Their products include Threat Prevention, Data Protection and Compliance, and Post-Delivery Detection and Response.

App and Cloud: They offer complete web application and API protection (WAAP) platforms to secure your workloads in the cloud. Their products include API Security, Cloud Security Guardian, Advanced Bot Protection, Web Application Firewall, and WAF-as-a-Service.

Network Security: Leverage the benefits of enhanced protection and optimizing your network. Their products include CloudGen Firewall, Zero Trust Access, Industrial Security (IoT/OT), Secure Access Service Edge, Secure SD-WAN, and Web Security & Filtering.

Data Protection: Barracuda protects your data wherever it resides to minimize downtime and prevent data loss. Their products include Cloud-to-Cloud Backup and Data Inspector.

With solutions targeted at healthcare, retail, financial services, education, and state and local government organization, Barracuda partners with organizations, like Info Advantage, that are aimed at providing customers with world-class products, service, and support.

As a technology consulting company, Info Advantage helps businesses improve operational efficiency, increase productivity, and strengthen network security using technology. We’re unique in our ability to be human at all levels of the IT hierarchy within an organization and relate to and understand what people tell us to help them maximize technology.

Don’t miss out on our upcoming event with Barracuda and Nutanix! Join us at The Distillery in Rochester, New York on August 24^th for a Lunch N’ Learn where you can join us for lunch, networking, and engaging presentations to Secure Your Data’s Future! Register for the event or contact us today for more information on our partnerships and how we can keep your business up and running!

Nutanix operates multi-cloud architecture to solve the toughest cloud challenges. By simplifying cloud complexity with an open, software-defined hybrid multicloud platform, Nutanix allows you to focus on business outcomes and new innovations. Whether on-premises or hybrid, you can ensure business continuity through centralized management, one-click operations, and AI-driven automation with Nutanix.

• Your Apps: Nutanix makes it easy to deploy, manage, and provision your apps.
• Your Infrastructure: Compute, storage, virtualization, and networking are converged and driven by software on the Nutanix Cloud Platform.
• Your Cloud: You can move apps effortlessly, anywhere you want, with zero data loss.

The Nutanix Cloud Platform comprises hybrid cloud infrastructure, multicloud management along with unified storage, database services, and desktop services, to support any application and workload, in any location. Numerous industry leading organizations, such as Home Depot and Toyota, rely on Nutanix to deliver their mission-critical applications, desktops, and data across private, edge, and public clouds.

The Nutanix Cloud Platform advantage features three distinct benefits:

• Power of Simplicity: One-click deploy, patching, provisioning, and scaling, the power for users to provision their own apps and services, and AI-powered application automation, self-service, cost, and security governance are just a few of the simplified services of the Nutanix Cloud Platform.
• Data Centricity: Integrated protection to protect your data, integrated storage for bare-metal workloads, and simplified database operations across any cloud result in lead to data centricity.
• Customer Choice: Choice of hypervisor, the ability to run Nutanix software on servers from any of the major vendors, and workload portability across clouds offer the freedom of customer choice.

With Nutanix you can modernize your datacenter, unify all your clouds, and run any app at any scale! At Info Advantage, we have an enormous amount of appreciation for the businesses we partner with. By working with industry leaders like Nutanix, we are able to provide our clients with best-in-class solutions, therefore ensuring the best business outcomes!

Don’t miss out on our upcoming event, Secure Your Data’s Future, with our friends at Nutanix and Barracuda! Taking play on August 24^th at The Distillery in Rochester, NY; the upcoming Lunch N’ Learn provides a great opportunity to enjoy lunch while networking and taking part in engaging presentations. Visit our events page to register for the Lunch N’ Learn or contact us today to learn more about our services and how we utilize our proven process to ensure the best results for your business!

Unitrends is built on 30 years of innovation, creating solutions to your problems! Increasing uptime, productivity, and confidence in a world in which IT professional must do more with less, Unitrends offers all-in-one backup appliances that simplify data protection, application spin-up, and SLA policy automation.

Unitrends introduces backup appliances and cloud data protection that leverage cutting-edge technology to automate manual tasks, eliminate management complexity, and deliver tested hardware and software resilience. They claim 2 exabytes of data protected, 100 petabytes protected in the cloud, 30,000 customers, and 98% customer satisfaction! Their solutions paired with our consultative approach will help you cut management time by 50%, reduce costs by 33%, and have 100% confidence in recovery!

Unitrends emphasizes simpler, better, smarter IT and provides that through:

• More Productivity with All-in-One Simplicity
• More Uptime with Cloud Continuity
• More Confidence with Business SLA Analytics
• More Free Time through Smart Analytics & Proactive Support
• More Flexibility with Broad Technology Integration

At Info Advantage, we recognize the importance of strong partnerships and the resources they can provide to our clients.

Our Proven Process provides a clear roadmap we follow to create consistency and deliver an optimal customer experience. Part of the process is crafting a solution, and it’s that piece which really lets the solutions from our partner’s shine. Our team of experts can become your outsourced IT department; responding to issues quickly, often before you even know about them. Covering everything from your servers and network infrastructure to your computers, workstations, and mobile devices, we provide end-to-end solutions for all of your technology needs.

Hosted by the Genesee Brew House in Rochester, NY, the upcoming Business & Brews event provides an opportunity for to enjoy after-hours networking, food, and drinks. Don’t miss out on a fun night with Info Advantage, Unitrends, and Palo Alto Networks, register today and you'll get a $25 Amazon gift card just as a thank you for spending your valuable time with us!

Info Advantage has been serving the IT industry since 1992; and our experiences have allowed us to build and develop the infrastructure needed to keep our prices affordable and our clients up and running. Part of that infrastructure is the partnerships we’ve developed over time. Today we want to share more about one of those partners, our friends at Palo Alto Networks!

Palo Alto Networks is a global cybersecurity leader that continually delivers innovation to enable secure digital transformations. With over 85,000 customers, in more than 150 countries, they provide the visibility, trusted intelligence, automation, and flexibility that help complex organizations advance securely. By delivering a comprehensive portfolio and empowering a growing ecosystem of partners, Palo Alto Networks is at the forefront of protecting tens of thousands of organizations across clouds, networks, and mobile devices.

Palo Alto Networks offers a variety of solutions for businesses in any industry; these solutions include network security, cloud delivered security services, secure access service edge, cloud native application protection, endpoint security, and security operations. As one of the world’s cybersecurity leaders, Palo Alto Networks offers seven reasons why they’re the right company for your business to work with:

• Their comprehensive, best-in-class cybersecurity portfolio
• Delivering The Zero Trust Enterprise
• Enabling the future of secure access
• Best-in-class protection for multi-cloud
• Leading platform for the autonomous SOC
• Your true partner for digital transformation
• World-class threat intelligence and incident response

We’re in this business to help other business grow and move forward and we’re drive by the philosophy that if we help businesses solve their IT issues so they can become more profitable and successful, then we will inherently grow along with them. Having partnerships like the one we have with Palo Alto Networks is a major part of that equation.

Together, with our friends at Palo Alto Networks and Unitrends, Info Advantage is happy to bring you our upcoming Business & Brews event. This event will take place at the Genesee Brew House located at 25 Cataract Street in Rochester, NY from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on Thursday, July 21^st! Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity for after-hours networking, food, and drinks. Register here today or contact us with any questions you might have about the Business & Brews event or our partnerships with companies like Palo Alto Networks!

According to HP, more than 92% of companies use services that are connected to or run in the Cloud.

The Cloud has changed the face of business computing. For Info Advantage, that means your servers are now able to be housed on our secure data center and maintained by our technicians. Hosted solutions ensure that your company is delivered a secure and efficient computing infrastructure that enables you to focus on the administration of your business and not your IT.

Cloud computing is a major shift from the traditional ways that businesses thought about IT resources. With Cloud computing you get the delivery of computing services – including servers, storage, databases, networking, and software – over the internet.

While the first Cloud computing services are barely a decade old, a variety of organizations are already embracing Cloud technology for all sorts of reasons. Cloud services even let you do things like create cloud-native applications, stream audio and video, analyze data, and embed intelligence.

One thing you should know is that not all clouds are the same; there are several different models, types, and services that have evolved to help offer the right solution for your business needs. The three different ways to deploy Cloud services are through a public Cloud, a private Cloud, or a hybrid Cloud.

If you already use any cloud services for your business then you’ve already realized some of the perks, but, according to IBM, these are the three major benefits of the Cloud:

• Flexibility: Users can scale services to fit their needs, customize applications, and access Cloud services from anywhere with an internet connection.
• Efficiency: Users can get quickly get applications to market, without the worries of underlying infrastructure costs or maintenance.
• Value: Cloud services give businesses a competitive advantage by providing the most innovative technology solutions.

Other notable benefits of the cloud for businesses of all sizes include data security, mobility, disaster recovery, quality control, sustainability, and potential cost reductions.

Additional computing options, or hosted IT solutions, offered by Info Advantage include hosted email exchange, email filtering/spam protection, desktop virtualization, hosted VoIP, and hosted security and backup.

At Info Advantage, we believe that Cloud computing presents solutions for any of your business’ problems; from e-mail, to communications, to a full-scaled hosted infrastructure. To this regard, cloud computing is presenting companies of all sizes with considerable benefits.

For more information about Cloud-based computing options that work to increase your company’s efficiency and productivity, and how those solutions can benefit your business, contact us today!

Did you know we partner with the among the world’s leading technology companies to help transform people’s lives and scale businesses? With Dell Technologies, your business is always ready to move forward, allowing you to bring your brightest ideas to life and securely drive continuous innovation with intelligent technology. Every organization needs to be a digital organization powered by data, running in a multi-cloud environment, and able to harness artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, edge computing and more.

Info Advantage’s IT ingenuity, combined with Dell’s quality technology, delivers proven technology solutions time and again!

Cloud: Organizations are adopting multi-cloud to get the best of breed capabilities they need to support their applications and data. With Dell you get simplified and consistent multi-cloud, operational and strategic agility, multi-cloud without compromise, and can stay in control of your data.

Hybrid Client: Exclusive cloud-managed client software solution ensures access to apps and data, wherever they are hosted. Designed for anytime, anywhere access, Dell Hybrid Client brings simplicity and flexibility to every workspace and enables your workforce to work confidently in the office or remote.

Security: Cyberattacks never sleep, but with Dell Technologies you can have peace of mind that your data and IT assets are secure, protected, and available. We stop at nothing to help thwart cyber threats with intrinsically secure infrastructure and devices, comprehensive threat detection and response, data protection and cyber recovery.

Servers: Dell has the only server vendor offering a cross portfolio solution for cryptographically verified hardware integrity, dynamic system lockdown, and robust firmware and boot protection. Anchored by a well-established silicon Root of Trust, we provide security that starts at design and continues through the supply chain and full lifecycle.

Storage: From the exponential growth of data to hybrid clouds to constant cyberthreats, it’s never been more important to deliver a future-ready storage experience. Dell's software-driven storage solutions help you automate IT, gain multi-cloud control and mobility, and innovate securely.

As a business technology provider, we understand that we need to provide only the best solutions and products for our clients, which will in turn offer the best chance of success. Regardless of what your technological needs are, Info Advantage can outfit your business with quality, cost-effective, and comprehensive solutions.

With the power of Dell’s hardware and software, and Info Advantage’s trusted IT consultants, you can achieve your business goals. Contact us today and take the first step toward making your business dreams a reality!

Did you know that Info Advantage has multiple New York State Contracts? These contracts allow us to consistently leverage our collaborative agreements with partners to better serve our clients in obtaining products and services faster and at a more competitive price.

According to the White House, during the 2020 fiscal year, the U.S. Federal government spent nearly $600 billion on good and services. Although these are larger scale purchasing decisions than those of the state of New York, they stand to provide an example of how investment and innovation can be spurred through government contracts.

The Office of the New York State Comptroller offers that state contracts can provide many necessities for local governments and school districts like road salt, fuel, vehicles, heavy equipment, food, furniture, computer hardware and software, and much more. These goods and services contracts fall intro one of three general categories: commodities, service, and technology.

In addition to potential monetary savings, New York State contracts meet the competitive bidding requirements of New York State General Municipal Law. Thus, local governments and school districts have assurance that the necessary research, solicitation, and negotiation has been done! The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) notes that the government wants to buy from or contract with small business for several reasons, including:

• To ensure that large businesses don’t “muscle out” small businesses
• To gain access to the new ideas that small businesses provide
• To support small businesses as engines of economic development and job creation

On top of our New York State OGS Contracts, Info Advantage is proud to be a New York State Certified Woman-Owned Business! To satisfy the state’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise (MWBE) Supplier Diversity Program, Info Advantage offers procurement services to New York State agencies including state, county, and local government offices.

A contract with the New York State OGS helps to define discounted pricing for products when sold to eligible buyers in New York State. These buyers typically include state/county/city/town/village office, public K-12 and SUNY schools, and various types of non-profit organizations. If you’re an eligible buyers that is looking to take advantage of the opportunities provided by these contracts, contact us today to learn more about how our services could benefit your organization.

According to a recent survey, three out of five Fortune 500 executives believe that up to 25% of their workforce will continue to work remotely, full-time, after the pandemic ends. Words such as hybrid, flexibility, and remote were mentioned by more than 53,000 employees in surveys gathered by Great Place to Work between early 2020 and May 2021. These words came in response to the question of what employees liked about their workplace or what could make their workplace better.

The main takeaway of that information? The hybrid work model is here to stay! The hybrid work model allows employees to split time between in-office locations and remote locations. But, for it to be effective, on top of being beneficial to employees, it also has to bring value to a business. This is where we believe technology play a big part in the equation!

Security will continue to be a major focal point for organizations in the modern technology age, especially as businesses continue to navigate between on-premises, remote, and hybrid work models. Making it even more important that ever to make sure devices are protected and secure. Technology, specifically solutions focused on connectivity, communication, and teamwork, will allow you to bridge the gap between on-premises and remote employees and enable your teams to function seamlessly regardless of location.

To help navigate the changing working model, Dell Technologies has introduced the Dell Hybrid Client, the world’s first client computing software with hybrid cloud management enabling seamless access to application and data wherever they may be. Designed for anytime, anywhere access, Dell Hybrid Client brings simplicity and flexibility to every workspace and enable your workforce to work confidently in the office or a remote setting.

The Dell Hybrid Client experience is one of a kind, providing:

• Instant Access: Convenient and secure single sign-on, provides immediate access to necessary apps and data.
• Simplified Workflow: One time login and seamless use of an array of IT-approved web apps, Linux apps, virtualized apps, and storage.
• A Consistent Experience: A “follow me” feature allows employees to get a consistent, personalized experience no matter which device they log in from.
• Ready on Day One: All features are available right out of the box, with intelligent, low-touch deployment from the cloud.

It offers multiple ways to deliver apps, multiple cloud providers, and multiple form factors, as well as safety at every touchpoint! At Info Advantage, we want to ensure that your business can grow and move forward, regardless of where your employees are working! It’s a simple philosophy that allows us to help businesses solve their IT issues permitting them to become more profitable and successful. If your business is trying to navigate the hybrid work model or you’re interested in learning more about the this solution, contact us!