Cloud Computing. No longer a new concept, but one that may still be a relative unknown for small and medium-sized businesses. Which brings into light the question: What is Cloud Computing? In their ?Beginners Guide to Cloud Computing? Microsoft explains that Cloud Computing is the delivery of computing services over the internet (?the cloud?) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. Computing services can include anything from servers to storage to databases to networking to software and so much more. Insight from Foundry notes that 69% of companies have accelerated their cloud migration since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic; with an expectation that the percentage of companies with most or all of their IT infrastructure in the cloud will grow from 41% today to 63% in the next 18 months. With that in mind, here are a few of the Top Benefits of Cloud Computing for small and medium-sized businesses: Cost Effectiveness: Regardless of the service model you choose, you only pay for the resources you actually use. Avoid overbuilding or overprovisioning your data center and give your IT team back valuable time to focus on other work. Flexibility: Access the data you need anywhere and everything; cloud-based app can keep your offices connected to the communications systems you use between employees, clients, customer service, and suppliers. Reliability: Make data backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity easier and less expensive as data is mirrored at multiple redundant sites on a cloud provider?s network. Scalability: Easily adjust the number of users with access to cloud applications; either up or down, and only pay for what you use without every having to worry about running out of capacity or adding unnecessary expenses. Info Advantage?s iaGuardianCloud has changed the way businesses communicate, collaborate, and budget their IT, providing a highly customizable, flexible, and scalable business solution. Using Info Advantage for your Cloud Computing needs allows your business to take what used to be a large capital expenditure and shift it to a nominal operating expense. Thus, allowing small and medium-sized businesses to no longer be limited to the infrastructure you can afford to manage in-house, but to start to see enterprise-class features and capabilities without seeing enterprise-class costs. At Info Advantage, we pride ourselves on providing fast and reliable IT solutions, 24x7x365, for your business users. No catch, no gimmick, just experience and best practices that we?ve honed over the years to make our services work for your business needs! Cloud Computing is the future of small and medium business technology that will save money and increase efficiency! Contact us today to learn how your business could benefit from Cloud Computing!
Coming this June, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will implement a new Safeguards Rule.The new guidelines will require organizations to develop, implement, and provide ongoing maintenance of security controls that are designed to protect client information such as Cybersecurity, Incident Response Plans, Risk Assessments, and more. The Safeguards Rule, which now has a compliance deadline of June 9th, requires non-banking financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program to keep their customers? information safe. At Info Advantage, we?re asking? is your business prepared for these new compliance requirements that start in June? Originally, the Safeguards Rule took effect in 2003, with a 2021 amendment that aimed to allow the Rule to keep pace with current technology, reflecting core data security principles that all covered companies need to implement.The FTC recently shared an article titled FTC Safeguards Rule: What Your Business Needs to Know and these were our major takeaways from that article: Information Security Programs need to have administrative, technical, and physical safeguards elements that are designed to protect customer information. The amended rule covers information about your own customers and information about customers of other financial institutions that have provided that data to you. The three main objectives of a company?s Information Security Program should be: To ensure security and confidentiality. To protect again anticipated threats or hazards. To protect against unauthorized access to private information. Long gone are the days where antivirus software and a firewall were enough. Today, businesses require fully managed cybersecurity solutions to protect all of their endpoints from both external and internal threats, helping them to meet industry compliances like HIPAA, PCI, DSS, SOX, and more. Info Advantage already specializes in this as part of our Security Services focus on Compliance, allowing you to meet and exceed industry compliances and get regular security compliance audits and evaluations. We aim to be the best at what we do, providing a level of service that is top notch. We stand by our best practices; training our talented team and providing them with the best tools in the industry to make sure they can provide you with the best services possible! Don?t wait to ensure that you have the proper security controls in place. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you meet compliance standards before the FTC deadline approaches!
Communications can be a major pain point for small and medium-sized businesses. However, a fluid communication system helps promote growth and allows for optimal operational efficiency. That?s why today we?re sharing our thoughts on the Top 5 Benefits of Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS)! Gartner defines UCaaS as a cloud-delivered unified communications model in which the infrastructure is owned, operated, maintained, and delivered by a managed services provider (that?s us!). The five major components of UCaaS are voice, video, messaging, collaboration, and the cloud. Now, for those Top 5 Benefits of UCaaS that you were waiting for: Cost Reduction: Lower communications costs by consolidating overlapping services, reducing IT overhead, and minimizing travel. Enhanced Connectivity: Connect and integrate with CRMs, Help Desk applications, and ERP systems, with access to a full sales and automation platform. Mobilized Workforce: Employees can remotely transfer calls or send and receive SMS messages from their mobile devices to their desk phones, to colleagues, or to contact centers. Quickly Scaled: Quickly add or remove applications, update telephony resources, and manage users based on access requirements and security. Remote Support: Benefit from help desk support in the form of fast response times, efficient collaboration tools, 24/7 availability, product guides, and education or training programs. As you begin to question whether or not UCaaS might be right for you, consider this? cloud-based communication technology is more unified, better integrated, and more efficient than traditional tools. Businesses that want to maximize the return on investment for their communications tools should take advantage of a customized Unified Communications Solution from Info Advantage. Info Advantage?s iaGuardianUC offers VoIP, HostedPBX, SIP Trunking, and seamlessly Unified Communications. With iaGuardianUC, you get comprehensive communication solutions designed to drive productivity that is both scalable and flexible, and ready to meet virtually any business? needs! iaGuardianUC stands out because it is highly customizable while being fully managed by our IT experts. Our team manages your telecommunication system and handles upgrades and software patches, as well as phone support as you and your team need it. At Info Advantage, we aim to help your business through improved operational efficiency, increased productivity, and strengthened network security using technology. Contact us today to learn more about what Info Advantage and UCaaS can do for your business!
Did you know that with Microsoft Teams you can set up your team?s space so everything you need to work together is available any time, all in one place? Well, it?s true! Built for hybrid work, Microsoft Teams allows you to feel seen and heard no matter where you are and do your best work, your way! Microsoft highlights the Meet, Call, Collaborate, and Chat features of the Teams application, so we?ll share a bit more about those here too: Meet: Screen sharing, background edits, and together mode offer different meeting space options. Call: Make and receive call while utilizing features like group calling, voicemail, and call transfers. Collaborate: Utilizing apps like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to find, share, and edit files in real time. Chat: Share more of yourself by sending GIFs, stickers, and emojis in one-to-one or group chats. Yet, Microsoft Teams is so much more than just those four features; providing numerous resources that help you to thrive in a hybrid work world! Here are a few of our favorite tips and trips for getting the most out of your Microsoft Teams subscription: Create Breakout Rooms: Create and open breakout rooms to let attendees hold smaller, more focused discussions. Make Your Chats Stand Out: Get a colleague?s attention by tagging them in the chat using the @ feature, this ensure the recipient receives a notification to read your message. Search Conversations & Message Threads: Using the search feature to access the full context of a message threat allows for improved communication. Utilize Live Translated Captions: Increase communication with employees with either speak a different language or prefer non-spoken language with this added tool. Take Advantage of Intelligent Recap: Utilize the AI-powered, post-meeting summary that is provided to all attendees that will quickly recap your Teams More is possible with Microsoft Teams; stay connect and access shared content any time to learn, plan, and innovate ? together! Microsoft 365 has been redesigned to provide elite usability, with quicker load times to improve workflow. By taking advantage of their cloud solutions, the work you do on all of their applications is automatically saved and backed up, providing you and your organization with peace of mind1 By simply naming Info Advantage as your provider for Microsoft 365, you get the added benefit of real experts being able to help you get the most out of your apps. Whether aiming to access your Microsoft 365 applications anywhere or benefiting from real-time collaboration, Info Advantage is here to help! Ready to take the next step with Microsoft Teams? Contact us today to learn more about how you can get the most out of your subscription with Info Advantage by your side!
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!