Coleman Technologies Blog

Managed services differ from the traditional method of IT management and maintenance. Perhaps you remember the old days when you sought technology repairs as needed thinking that it actually saved you money. While it may have been true to an extent in the short term, did it actually save you money for the long haul? We’re willing to bet that it didn’t for one big reason: the downtime associated with technology maintenance.

When we talk about downtime, it’s important to remember that it’s a major cause for budgets being flattened. If you are waiting until your organization suffers from technology issues before resolving them, you’re practically begging for operations to be affected by downtime. Wouldn’t it be better to actively prevent these issues from evolving into bigger, more costly problems that are much more difficult to resolve?

It is this mindset that managed service providers take on. Managed service providers and preventative technology maintenance aim to eliminate the majority of downtime and save businesses serious capital in the process. 

Furthermore, managed IT makes for easier infrastructure management, as it involves outsourcing the majority of your organization’s technology management to a third party. In this way, you save time and resources from being consumed in a way that is counter-intuitive to operations. Remember, your employees aren’t necessarily learned in repairing technology, so unless they have actually been trained in how to administer IT help, you should leave it to the professionals.

Coleman Technologies can provide your business with the preventative technology maintenance and solution management needed to ensure operations are always at their maximum. Not only that, but we can also maintain your solutions and host them on our infrastructure specifically so that this responsibility doesn’t fall on your shoulders. In other words, you’ll have an easier time managing your business because you’re not bogged down trying to manage all of its technology solutions.

To learn more about managed services and everything we can do for your business, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Before we get too deep, we want to emphasize that there are two primary categories for threats to your business: external and internal.

External

External threats are those that come from outside your business’ network. The majority of threats will fall into this particular category, and it contains a lot of big names that you have likely heard in the past. Here are a couple of examples of threats to your business, as well as what they can lead to:

• Viruses/Malware: these are malicious bits of code or full-blown software programs that can be customized by hackers to perform a certain role. It would take far too long to list off everything that can be done with these kinds of threats, as the options are literally limitless.
• Ransomware: Sometimes malware will encrypt the user’s files and demand payment for the decryption key. Without access to important files, businesses might crumble under the pressure, losing both money due to the payment and a little bit of dignity in the process. In cases like this, it’s important to never pay the ransom, as it only serves to fund further attacks.
• Spam: Hackers like to send countless emails with threats attached to them, hoping that someone will download them and expose their organization’s network to threats. Spam can be prevented for the most part, but if left unchecked, your business could wind up installing threats on your network by accident.

Internal

Internal threats can come from the most unlikely sources, as even the most well-meaning employees could accidentally expose your business to potential threats. Furthermore, there could even be more sinister forces at work with employees potentially trying to actively sabotage operations. Here are some ideas for threats and what could happen from them:

• Phishing Attacks: Your users are your weakest link. While you might think that you have an understanding of adequate security practices, they may not, leading hackers to utilize underhanded tactics to leverage this to their advantage. Phishing attacks convince users to click links, download attachments, or provide credentials/sensitive information.
• Account Hijacking: Let’s say an employee’s account is hijacked by an external threat. You might see account activity from your employee, but how do you know that it’s not someone else using their account? Data could be stolen, or worse.
• Access Control: Have you ever fired an employee? Have they ever resented you for it? Chances are they may have felt the urge to go into their old accounts and cause some trouble. These internal threats could lead to embarrassing situations, as well as a loss of control over certain types of data. It’s up to you to cut off access as soon as you can.

Does your business need help maintaining security and keeping track of the countless threats out there? Coleman Technologies can equip you with the best security measures on the market. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

The Internet of Things is essentially a massive network of connected devices. Some of them have not traditionally taken advantage of network connectivity, but now depend on it. The more obscure examples of Internet of Things devices include kitchen appliances and other oddities, whereas the more usable devices include watches, wearables, connected vehicles, smart homes, and more. Some Internet of Things devices can even communicate with others, sending data and using it for a certain functionality. It all coalesces into a security disaster waiting to happen.

To prepare for this, you need to implement what’s called an Internet of Things policy within your workplace. Here are some ways you can keep the Internet of Things from devastating your business.

It’s Impossible to Stop Them All

One of the most valuable lessons of dealing with Internet of Things devices is that it’s impossible to keep tabs on every single device that enters your office. If you assume that each employee has a smartphone, a laptop, and at least one or two other minor devices, it all adds up. Therefore, you need to prepare for the worst by expecting it.

You Need to Do Your Best

The best way to protect against the Internet of Things is to be prepared for them. Implementing security measures is key, and the best ones for this situation include a Unified Threat Management system (UTM) and a Bring Your Own Device policy (BYOD). What this enables is the ability to eliminate threats and keep them from entering your network in the first place, including from your employees’ personal devices. It also helps to have a password-protected network so that passing devices don’t automatically connect to your wireless network.

Working with a managed IT provider like Coleman Technologies can make it easier to manage all of the devices that make their way to your business’ network. To learn more about what we can do for your organization, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

What is Downtime?

Downtime can mean many things, but it generally means any situation where your business cannot function like it’s supposed to due to drastic issues such as a data breach, a natural disaster, or hardware failure. In many cases, the reason why your business isn’t functioning is irrelevant, as the fact of the matter is that you’re suffering from downtime that could have been prevented with the proper action.

As you may have guessed, it’s not always about what caused your business to experience downtime, but what you can do to keep it from happening in the future. It’s times like these when learning a little bit about your business’ shortcomings and failures can be beneficial. You need to have measures in place to keep disaster from striking.

What Are Some Effects of Downtime?

We can use a simple situation, like an electrical outage, to showcase just how damaging downtime can be. Imagine a situation where your employees can’t get anything done due to a power outage keeping them from using their devices. Maybe they are sitting around and chatting. It’s difficult to put the blame on them, since they’re not the ones that control the weather.

This particular situation shows just how much your organization relies on technology, and it’s incredibly important to make sure it remains functioning. If your technology fails, you lose out on possible revenue, providing support for clients, and being productive as a whole.

Plus, fixing your technology will take a heavy toll on your business’ budget. If you’re replacing a piece of hardware like a server unit, you’ll be forced to shell out just to get back in proper working order. On the other hand, if you were to proactively maintain these devices, you can prolong their lifespan and mitigate costs associated with downtime.

What Should You Do?

Proactive technology maintenance is key to ensuring your organization doesn’t suffer from downtime. With the right solutions, your business can actively prevent IT issues from impacting operations. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Talent Acquisition

Consider the way that IT maintenance and management was before modern technology solutions became prevalent. Businesses had to either hire a team to manage their IT or outsource the responsibility to a third party. The key factor here is that both are limited by geographical location; if you can’t find a local business or enough talent to manage your business’ IT maintenance, it might not get done properly (or at all).

On the other hand, with remote technology maintenance and management being more available than ever before, plenty of businesses are finding that they can better maintain their technology infrastructures. What’s more is that these businesses don’t need to have these providers visit the office, meaning they get the maintenance they need without expensive on-site trips and travel costs.

Streamlining of Operations

Depending on the industry your business is a part of, you may have had run-ins with outdated technology or solutions that simply haven’t aged well. Perhaps you’re still using spreadsheets to keep track of inventory, which creates opportunities for user error and produces displacement. Maybe you’re finding that it’s difficult to find enough space for document storage, as filing cabinets are clunky and take up a ton of room. The list goes on and on… if you think of a former inconvenience, chances are there is a technology solution that has been developed to solve it in recent years.

That being said, modern technology solutions have given offices the ability to move past obsolete and outdated technology to make operations more manageable and dynamic. One great example of this is file management software and digitizing documents. It eliminates the obsolete and bulky filing cabinet in favor of a searchable database for storing your documents.

Consolidation of Resources

Your business might take advantage of several services that you think are beneficial for operations, but there is a serious chance that they are counterintuitive to your business’ bottom line. Your business’ phone service is a prime example. A phone system is critical to being in business, but it can come with considerable expenses, including some that can be avoided thanks to modern technology solutions.

The Internet gives your business the opportunity to consolidate resources in a way that wasn’t possible in its infancy. For example, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) utilizes your Internet connection and eliminates the need to go through a telephone provider for this important service. VoIP uses an existing resource to lower your organization’s expenses. Furthermore, the “as a service” model allows your business to take advantage of solutions previously unavailable, and it’s all thanks to the accessibility provided by the cloud.

You might look back on the good old days with nostalgia for a time when technology wasn’t so necessary, but it’s hard to deny the effect that it has had on the business world. You want someone managing your technology that knows a thing or two about how to get the most out of your resources. To learn more, contact Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.