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: How do you reduce the risk of a cyberattack to your business? 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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! 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. 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. 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! 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. 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 31st, 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 […]