The Bay Area IT Experts

How Managed Services Free Up Resources

First, we should establish what a managed service provider actually does for your business. Basically, for a business that doesn’t have an IT department, a managed service provider can offer services in accordance with what the business needs, no matter how complex or how simple. MSPs are an outsourced service, so you get services rendered in accordance with a service level agreement. You can control just how much you need or how little you need.

This frees up resources by giving your small business more reliable access to labor for technology maintenance, and it’s something that absolutely cannot be understated in its value. If you are currently relying on your employees—those who are not trained to maintain technology, mind you—to take care of your IT infrastructure, you are putting your organization on the line. It’s better to work with a managed service provider like 415 IT to ensure that you get access to the professional maintenance and services you need to be successful long-term. Even if you do have an in-house IT department, we can take some of the burden off of them by way of taking on the more menial tasks associated with IT maintenance, like patching and updating systems.

Managed Service Providers Save Time (and Money)

The biggest benefit of working with an MSP is that you can save time and money, either in the short-term or the long-term, depending on your level of commitment. Businesses using the break-fix IT model are known to address technology issues as they occur rather than prevent them outright, a prospect which can be both wasteful and time-consuming. You can save so much in terms of time and resources simply by taking proactive steps to maintain technology rather than respond to issues as they occur.

This is no small task, so we recommend that you work with an MSP to detect and resolve problems by way of preventative maintenance and monitoring services. This is the best way to eliminate downtime for your business. Imagine what you can do with all of the time you’ve taken back from the clutches of downtime! How will you use that additional revenue and time? We’ll let you answer that question for yourself.

415 IT can be your go-to IT resource and managed service provider. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call us at (415) 295-4898.

First, let’s go over what makes a phishing attack.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is one of the most common forms of cyberattacks used by criminals with goals ranging from stealing data to gaining access to an infrastructure. Essentially, a phishing attack is an attempt by a cybercriminal to communicate with your team members in hopes that they will give away important information or allow access to critical systems. Phishing attacks are a natural evolution of cyberattacks that rose in popularity due to the advancement of security standards; while solutions have grown stronger and more difficult to crack, the human mind remains ever-vulnerable.

Phishing emails are the most well-known type of phishing attack, but they also come in other forms, like online forms designed to harvest credentials, SMS messages with infected links, phone calls, and other means of communication. Since phishing attacks can take so many different forms, it’s important that your team knows what to look for in these attempts, as well as how to report them to your trusted IT administrator. 

Let’s go over some of the ways your team members can identify a potential phishing attack.

Signs That a Phishing Attack is Targeting You

There are plenty of warning signs you can use to identify a phishing attack. Here is a short list to consider, but if you have any concerns at all, we hope you will reach out to us at (415) 295-4898 to learn more about them:

• A tone that doesn’t match the supposed sender
• Misspellings and other discrepancies in key details, like email addresses, domain names, and links
• Out-of-the-blue messages
• Egregious spelling and grammar errors
• Unexpected or out-of-context attachments
• Excessive urgency behind, or open threats as a consequence of, not complying with the message
• Ambiguous messages that motivate the recipient to investigate
• Unusual requests, or requests for explicitly sensitive information

It’s incredibly important to know what these warning signs are so you can actively keep a lookout for them. If you don’t, who knows what could happen?

We’re Here to Help Keep Your Team Safe!

If you feel you could use some help keeping your business safe from phishing attacks, we are happy to help. To learn more, reach out to us at (415) 295-4898.

Disaster Recovery Is a Big Issue

There are two ways to approach a disaster: reactive and proactive. The reactive approach involves the mindset that you cannot prevent the disaster; therefore, there is no reason to try, as you will experience the consequences anyway. The other mindset, proactive, subscribes to the idea that you can be ready for a disaster and can mitigate the damages ahead of time with the right amount of preparation.

In just about all situations, it’s better to be proactive than reactive, especially in the case of disaster recovery. Due to the nature of the situations, you never know if and when they will strike, so you had best be prepared to handle natural disasters, physical disasters, and technology disasters. Let’s go over them.

Natural Disasters

A natural disaster is usually what people think of when they think of disasters, and they include situations like fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and so on. You could even put a pandemic in this category. While the severity might vary, there can be no denying that these situations can impact operations. You need to have a plan to address unexpected weather and illness for your business; the continuity of operations hangs precariously in the balance.

Physical Disasters

A physical disaster has to do with the physical infrastructure of your company, which might include your building, its utilities, physical security breaches, or theft. Examples include burst pipes, HVAC system errors, and power failures. While it might not seem like a massive loss, you can be sure that the accumulated downtime will be costly enough to make you wish you had a contingency plan in place.

Technology Disasters

Technology disasters are the result of technology failures, including the components of systems, as well as cybersecurity breaches. These are the most likely issues you will deal with regarding your hardware, and it will inevitably fail with enough wear and tear. Furthermore, they require a very specific skill set and expertise to maintain. Technology-related disasters like data loss and cyberattacks can both be prepared for, so it’s your responsibility to do so.

How to Go About Planning for the Worst

The general goal of a disaster recovery plan is to reduce downtime and get back to business as usual as quickly as possible. The devil is in the details, here; you need to know exactly what must be done, including metrics and benchmarks you want to hit, in order to successfully prepare for a disaster incident. There are certain things you’ll need regardless of the situation, though, such as data backed up both on and off-site. With the appropriate preparation, you can ensure that these situations don’t derail your operations.

415 IT can help you build out a disaster recovery plan and test it periodically to ensure your business can recover without a hitch. To learn more, reach out to us at (415) 295-4898.