When I heard about the space, I had to check it out (you can check it out, too, just click on the video above).

It got me thinking about the way we discuss technology projects prior to installation.

As a technology decision maker, you’re probably used to the traditional relationship with an integrator or installer when it comes to implementing new technology. You create your request for proposal, send it out to bid, choose the installer that best suits you, and start the build.

Often, the installers you choose from will get on the phone with you and/or travel to your building to meet with you about what you’re looking for. You’ll hash out details both major and minor and, before long, the project is off and running.

Now, at first thought it might seem strange to visit the integration firm at their space, rather than the other way around.

It’s certainly not the way things are typically done. However, many of the best decisions are those that go against the traditional way and introduce a newer, improved way of doing things. That’s what Carousel Industries hopes for with executive briefing centers.

“For existing customers, we kind of go through any updates in our service offerings, and any updates to the company that we may want to give,” says Jason Albuquerque, Chief Information Security Officer for Carousel Industries.

“If they’re a net new customer we literally go through the entire gamut, soup to nuts, of what the company is about. Our mission to be client-focused, and getting them to know our company.”

After that, Carousel Industries flips the script and asks the customer to tell them about their business. What drives the business? What generates revenue? What holds the company back, or creates headaches to those missions?

In a crisp conference room outfitted with the types of technology Carousel installs for its clients, the conversation steers not toward what the company can do for its clients, or even what the clients need done, but instead simply what the clients are trying to do as a business.

“The benefit of that is we want to understand their business drivers, and what outcomes they’re looking for,” says Albuquerque. “In order for us to be that true technology partner, and be able to integrate into the business, we need to learn about how they manage their business. Not only from an IT perspective, but also from a business perspective. That way we can align our technology and services to their needs.”

Music to my ears, as it should be for any technology manager.

At My TechDecisions, we focus on the business of technology – I constantly stress to technology managers that the business case is what make a technology work, not the technology itself.

If you go in with an expectation that a specific solution will fix your business, you’ll come out disappointed.

Often, that technology will fix a small gap, but does nothing to solve the long-term strategy behind the problem. It seems that Carousel Industries subscribes to the same point of view.

“That’s why we talk about those business drivers,” says Albuquerque.

“It allows us to see, and really consume, the long-term strategy of the company. To say that this is a short-term fix, but let’s think about the long haul. Maybe you need something more enterprise-level, or a different technology altogether.”

The beauty of it is that Carousel can help customers put investments into the organization with a plan. Instead of instant gratification, the company puts a premium on the long-term plan.

Meeting at the executive briefing center helps to create that connection, have that discussion, and come up with a plan that suits the end user to the best of Carousel’s ability.

It’s an interesting take – certainly there is more pace in flipping projects and moving on, but the long tail of setting up partnerships is where Carousel hopes to truly make an impact.

However, you’re not only going to the executive briefing center to have a conversation…

As I mentioned earlier, that can be done over the phone or on your own turf. Where the EBC takes it to the next level is two-fold: not only does it serve as an experimental space for Carousel to try new things, but it serves as a showcase for customers to see the technology Carousel recommends in action.

“From each one of the technology stacks, we run the gamut,” says Albuquerque.

“We have best-of-breed partners that we leverage – the Crestrons of the world on the AV side, Cisco and Avaya from the Unified Communications side, if you look at the data center side we’re partners with the VMWares and Microsofts of the world, from the networking technology obviously the Ciscos and Junipers, and from the security side the Fordinets and the Cisco security side of the house. We cover every technology vertical out there aside from application development.”

Depending on the customer, an end user might head to the EBC during the bid process to discuss the possible partnership, or during the sales process to get a better idea of the potential technology to utilize, but customers really go in during that relationship-building stage rather than the transactional stage of the project.

The EBC is meant to be strategic, to foster a relationship, and then to show off the technology. As the meeting is being set up, customers will talk about what they’re interested in.

Carousel Industries will then build the team to present – focusing on areas of need and bringing subject matter experts that focus on the areas (security, data center, AV, etc.) that the customer needs. As a technology manager, you’re speaking to exactly the people that you need, and the ones that know what they’re talking about.

Afterwards, the customer can see the technology in action, whether through the automated presentation system in the meeting room, one of the data centers housed in the facility, or at the fully-staffed, 24/7/365 Network Operation Center just down the hall from the meeting room.

Read Next: 10 Lessons for Education Institutions in Selling Technology Implementation

“Typically coming out of these meetings there are outcomes that are put together,” says Albuquerque.

“It could be anything from getting you a deeper meeting on security, and scheduling an on-site meeting with our security experts, to getting a quote after sitting in the meeting, realizing the needs, and then being able to architect a solution to that need. Normally it’s either going right to a quoting process or going to a deeper dive at the customer’s organization with our subject matter experts.”

Technology is complex. Years ago that complexity meant hiring an integrator to install the wires, boxes, and such necessary just to make a display screen work. Today it means hiring an integrator to design a system that makes every piece of technology work together.

The technology at every company is a business in and of itself – wouldn’t you want a business partner instead of simply an installer to help you set that up? Spaces like the Carousel Industries executive briefing center offer a conduit to that partnership, and it’s well worth the trip to get the service, in my humble opinion.

The post How Executive Briefing Centers Can Benefit Technology Managers appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Whatever the driving factor, many lessons have been learned that would-be clients for outsourcing would be wise to study before making the leap into the relatively unknown. For many the hard lessons are buried deep, and it can be difficult to get beyond the hype.

While there is much new interest in IT outsourcing, there is also a great deal of antipathy towards the practice. The antipathy will persist, especially among those who tried outsourcing early, until the scars and the corporate memory of the failures fade. Many are now realizing that among the coal that they were sold hidden diamonds, jewels whose return is proving very expensive.

Of course, many news articles contain plenty about new and ever greater contracts being proffered and won. But not that long ago the news was about contract after contract being terminated with great acrimony all around. Indeed, it was reported that one company was about to attempt what for many observers feel could well be the impossible- to switch providers after years of service. Many were watching this transition with interest to see if it worked- following which many more firms could be expected to seek similar switches.

A couple of very quick lessons came out of these contracts. First, there was too much emphasis on short-term cost savings and not enough focus on improved quality or delivery of service. Second, that contracts were written in haste by people who were not really sure what was expected; the result was that many of the promised savings did not materialize, that there was not enough flexibility, and that changes in the business were not taken into account.

To achieve real ‘step change’ in terms of cost savings requires the outsourcing to go off-shore. Taking outsourcing off-shore, though, provides other interesting communication and logistic challenges. Do not assume that just because everyone else is going to Indian and Singapore that you should do likewise. It is likely that in the not too distant future other countries will be taking center stage before perhaps outsourcing clients begin looking to countries like China.

The most important question to consider when looking at IT outsourcing is just how important technology and systems are to your business. If you think that the intelligent application of technology can bring you competitive advantage, or that others may win that advantage over you, then the probability is that you need to think beyond the original types of contracts.

The latter basically saw firms give up all control over their systems. To outsource software development makes sense. Not many companies want to be in the software development business. To outsource the maintenance of hardware and systems along with the associated help desk makes sense too. However, to outsource the decisions on what systems you can or will use and what software you may or may not run in your environment makes no sense today.

Perhaps the biggest mistake that many people made was to outsource entire functions or departments. These organizations thus not only lost equipment and systems, but also the knowledge of the staff who understood the ‘how’ and ‘why’ regarding those systems. At one point, Volkswagen sold off and outsourced its IT functions to another group business. However, the company subsequently re-hired business analysts to document and own the business processes and analyze why it was using so many duplicate systems.

The results archived found that the company had been reporting 20% reductions in its outsourcing costs, greatly improved quality of service, and increased customer satisfaction. On the other side, the outsourcer has had to admit that the new contracts and reductions in costs associated are reasonable- although it is not clear how much it likes either the transparency of the new arrangement or the fact that the company is taking more responsibility.

Looking to the future, there is plainly going to be great confusion in the marketplace. Unconvinced about pure cost savings, companies will look to ways of increasing quality and productivity. This is where the crossover with business process and outsourcing comes in. Of course, some will look to BPO (business process outsourcing) just as a means of taking those back office savings from the 3% level to the 5-7% that some analysts suggest.

There is a mix of trying to sell or buy IT outsourcing contracts and then leveraging the BPO benefits that will lead to confusion. The two are not compatible. One can not expect to give everything away and then manage remotely. It has to be decided first and foremost what is important to the business and then work out which aspects might lend themselves to being outsourced. Only then can the customer select which type of outsourcing is appropriate. That is made all the more difficult by the fact that suppliers are positioning themselves across both camps.

In conclusion, IT outsourcing is not the right answer for many companies as people think. BPO will likely be seen as a flawed concept It if appears to be just a new way of trying to make functional outsourcing appeal to a broader audience. The two biggest assets in any business are the people and processes. In both cases, the management and responsibility have to remain in-house.

The post The Hard Lessons of IT Outsourcing appeared first on My TechDecisions.

More importantly, they understand the problems and pain points and already have the know-how to improve their customer’s operational efficiencies.

Trust but Verify

A large part of MSPs new customers come from referrals by existing customers; because of this, there is an inherent level of trust. This is a great foundation for a good customer relationship. We hope that the trust relationship improves over time so the customer can focus on their business and trust that we are taking care of their technology. They will understand that they are hiring experts in their field and will take their recommendations based on industry best-practices. The best customer is one that focuses on results and does enough evaluation to build trust with their IT provider and then leave it to them to manage their technology while the customer runs their business. Customers that don’t trust their MSP simply won’t get the true benefit of the MSPs experience and knowledge because the MSP will be less likely to make recommendations if they feel the customer isn’t going to accept them.

Be Pro-Active

As an MSP, we are pro-active by nature and our goals are aligned with our customers goals which is to have their network and technology run smoothly. We do our best to achieve that goal because when the customer has a problem it costs us money in the form of labor. The more time we spend working on a customer’s network each month – the less profit we make. As a customer, it is important to be pro-active as well and take those quarterly meetings to discuss your technology and projects so that your company continues to run smoothly.

Standardization = Great Support

MSPs can scale and provide great support because they standardize across their customer base. As a customer, you need to let them. Forcing an MSP to use your existing firewall, anti-virus software or backup and disaster recovery appliance to save a few dollars up front will most likely cost you much more in the end. If you have an issue, especially when it comes to recovering your critical business data, you want the MSPs staff to be fully trained and experienced on the products running your business. It is impractical for any MSP to train their staff on all vendors and you shouldn’t want them to either.

Be Willing to Let Go

Great customers wanting to outsource their IT management and support to an MSP, let go of that responsibility. Customers should not try to have an MSP support only a portion of their technology. Customers should really want ‘one throat to choke’ when something happens. If you have multiple vendors or possibly a niece or nephew that ‘knows computers’ and want to have them handle some of the easier technical work – don’t. You will generally end up paying more to have the MSP fix the problems created by them. That’s not to say we don’t want an interested customer, as we want them to have a willingness to attend quarterly business review meetings to discuss their business goals and technology-related issues.

The perfect customer perceives technology as a critical component to improving their business profitability and efficiency. They consider the financial investment as just that, an investment, rather than simply a cost. They are value-driven and not least-cost driven and will perform their due-diligence to find an IT provider that can best support them and understand there is an investment associated with that.

The post How to Be the Perfect Customer for IT Providers appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Here are four suggestions to ensure that your next technology engagement is a successful and mutually beneficial one:

1. Perfect customers understand that making a change requires buy-in and cooperation from all departments. Many times, when making changes to your company’s business processes and technology, there may be unintended impact to departments and personnel that you have not anticipated. By engaging with all departments and employees from the outset, these types of impediments can be avoided. In addition, by starting that dialogue early in the process, all departments will be aware of anything that they will need to do to ensure that the project is a successful one. Too many times projects get delayed when a critical person or piece of information is not available during implementation.

2. Perfect customers trust their technology provider. It is quite normal (and recommended) that you properly vet any new vendors that your company works with. Upon the initiation of that business arrangement, however, it is important for there to be a certain level of trust in the relationship. You have hired them to perform a task or to implement a new project. It is important that you trust them to guide you through their vision and to bring about the results that you hired them for in the first place. Far too many projects get derailed by micromanagement.

3. Perfect customers are forthcoming with all of the details related to a project. There have been many instances where we engaged with a company to implement a new project or service only to find out that another firm had already attempted the same project and failed. If we had been notified of the previous attempt prior to starting the project, we could have traced back their steps, found out what caused it to fail the first time, and found a solution prior to beginning the work on the project. By failing to disclose the previous failure, our client put us in a very difficult situation: trying to find a solution in the middle of a project that was already started. Needless to say, failing to reveal critical information can be a big detriment to the success of a project.

4. Perfect customers adhere to their IT firm’s processes. The key to successful IT (and running a successful IT business for that matter) is efficiency. Taking the time to understand and follow your provider’s processes can be the element to success for both the client and the provider. For example, if your IT prefers support tickets to be submitted via email with phone calls reserved for “true emergencies only”, following those guidelines can have a significant impact on the relationship. We recommend taking the time to learn your IT provider’s processes prior to any engagement. This will allow you to make sure there is a fit between how your company likes to be serviced and how they like to provide services.

The technology landscape is fraught with failed projects and soured relationships. Following these four suggestions will help build a great working relationship with your chosen IT provider and to help to ensure that your technology projects have the greatest chance of success.

The post The Perfect Customer According to This IT Service Provider appeared first on My TechDecisions.

AV, IT and security integrators want employees who can not only follow orders, but also complete a complicated task quickly and without constant supervision.

They also want someone who’s able to react quickly when a situation changes and there’s a critical need to address with someone’s system, which is often the lifeblood of their customers.

We’ve highlighted some of the programs available for military branches in the AV industry, IT and jobs in security in the past.

With Veterans Day approaching this weekend, it seemed like a good time to revisit how those programs are helping veterans re-enter the “real world” after their service time ends—along with singling out a couple of exemplary veterans in AV who are examples to follow:

Programs for More Veterans in AV

The Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association [AVIXA] partnered with the United Veterans Learning Centers (UVLC) a few years ago on an education program focused on training veterans for jobs in the AV industry.

In the six-week program that’s “designed to enhance the capabilities possessed by many veterans,” trainees “are exposed to the employment possibilities of the AV industry and receive preparation for the CTS certification exam.”

CompTIA’s Troops to Tech Careers program helps veterans get certified for careers in IT in an effort to fill thousands of open positions in that segment of the industry for which veterans were trained during their time overseas or defending our freedom on U.S. soil.

Meanwhile, PSA Security Network members — including integrators in USAV Group and CI Edge — can utilize Matterhorn Consulting services to hire U.S. military veterans.

The veteran hiring program, SalesMarines, helps veterans from the U.S. military find employment, matching up employers’ integration job needs with veterans’ skill sets.

CI‘s 2016 Integrator of the Year, Diversified, urges military veterans to put their “years of unique and valuable experience to work” for the industry’s second-largest company through its Hire A Veteran program.

A few years ago, we told you the story of Joshua Ellis, who served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division as radio communication specialist, focused on telecommunications and roaming cell towers, during the initial invasion in 2003 before a medical discharge as a sergeant in 2006.

Ellis ran ATHIO [All To Him I Owe] Technologies from 2013 to 2015, with a goal of hiring only U.S. veterans returning from service in a case of helping those who helped him.

After closing ATHIO Technologies, he joined Power Design, Inc. two years ago and today works there as a senior systems project manager.

David Salley, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, started DasNet in the fall of 1997 “after it became evident that AT&T was going to abandon its position as the premier U.S. provider of telecommunication services to the U.S. and Saudi Arabian governments, as well as the commercial sector within the Middle East,” he says.

His military training and his upbringing taught him the importance of loyalty to his customers, even in tumultuous circumstances. We highlighted Salley and DasNet in a CI cover profile last year and he continues to be a beacon in the integration world to this day.

We know there are many more military veterans in AV, IT and security industries today and we thank them all for their service to our country, both in times of peace and war.

We’d love to share more examples from our readers of these brave men and women finding jobs in security, IT and AV, and the programs available to help them find work when they’re done with their service.

The post Could the AV, IT, and Security Industries Be the Perfect Fit for Military Veterans? appeared first on My TechDecisions.

1. Analyze open source alternatives for expensive paid software being used.
2. Come up with a comprehensive migration strategy for specific software.
3. Do a risk assessment for the migrations and proceed accordingly.

Another option Roussey suggests is to switch to virtualized servers, and to eliminate in-organization servers all together. They take up space in the office and in the budget.

Repurposing resources is another effective method to cutting costs. For example, selling old or outdated machines on Ebay or using old desktops for a Linux cluster. Making money or the most out of a machine no longer in use is always a good way to be resourceful.

Related: How IT Departments Can Save Money on IT Costs

Prioritizing your company’s budget is also a good way to save money. Spending money on what is important and sticking to a strict budget will be key in saving money.

Other ways to save include:

• Tap cloud-based software
• Implement outsourcing to data centers
• Embracing green technology such as cooling technology in data centers
• Migrating to thin client technology where possible
• Reexamine mobile reimbursement policies
• Make budget individual in order to understand what the needs are department by department

Finding ways to save money anywhere can be instrumental in the success of a business or organization. People are often criticized for being too cheap, but at the end of the day being cheap can save and earn you a lot of money, especially in business.

The post How Can Organizations Trim IT Spending? appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Donning the metaphorical lab coat (actually Senior Director of Community Dave Sobel literally donned a lab coat for his presentation), the company also outlined future market opportunities for SolarWinds and its managed services provider partners, including artificial intelligence and machine learning; security and privacy; cloud services; and the Internet of Things.

Vice President of Product Management Greg Lissy, who came to SolarWinds MSP in June from a similar role at Citrix Systems Inc., says that NetPath, the network path monitoring solution for cloud services first unveiled last week, illustrates the company’s ongoing shift from device-centric to user-centric monitoring and management. With users accessing cloud services from a proliferating variety of devices, he explains, MSPs will increasingly be expected to troubleshoot issues.

“[NetPath] allows the MSP to track the path of a user to the cloud service, identify any chokepoints, and either remediate that problem or at least be able to identify to the SMB that ‘you’ve got a problem with your internet service provider,’” he says. “It’s a way they can get more granular on helping users identify any connectivity issues to essential cloud services.”

According to Lissy, NetPath also illustrates SolarWinds MSP’s ability to make enterprise-level technology from parent company SolarWinds available to MSPs and their SMB customers.

“We believe being part of SolarWinds affords us a differentiator, because we have access to intellectual property, resources, and branding that will allow us to bring enterprise-grade IT solutions into the MSP community so they can service their small and medium businesses in a more efficient way, and bring enterprise-level tools to their customers,” he says.

Lissy adds that NetPath, which took roughly six months to develop, is still in preview, with general availability expected the first half of next year. It will be integrated with the company’s cloud-based MSP RMM solution first, followed by the on-premises N-central RMM system.

The MSP RMM platform is due to receive two additional innovations in the future as well. One is a device filtering capability that will allow MSPs to identify endpoints with shared characteristics, like Windows 10 PCs in need of patching, and apply remediation to them collectively. “It will make techs more efficient,” Lissy says.

The second capability, due the first half of next year, will provide the ability to monitor network devices such as printers, routers, and switches, and “elevate them to first-class citizens in the RMM dashboard,” Lissy says. “This is an important feature. We think managed network devices is a step toward the broader Internet of Things.”

Available since August, meanwhile, is a product named Backup Documents that Lissy calls “a lightweight version of our [backup] solution, targeted at the file folder. It’s priced to be accessible, easily deployed, and is targeted at helping prevent ransomware.”

The product will relaunch in November, with a lower price and, unlike the original edition, no restriction on file size.

The Security Opportunity

Research that SolarWinds MSP conducted this summer found that 80 percent of decision-makers at U.S. and U.K. businesses that work with an MSP are planning to change the way they manage security in the next 12 months. Company executives say that is an opportunity for MSPs. Among the key findings, according to the study, 60 percent of respondents are handling security internally—in whole or in part—but more than 4 in 5 are planning to switch to an outsourcing model in the next 12 months.

“The next cyber battlefront is at the SMB, and the only way to protect them is to get those folks who are managing them to take security seriously,” says Tim Brown, the vendor’s vice president of security since July.

Mail Assure, a new product announced on the Empower conference pre-day, is based on technology from the company’s acquisition of SpamExperts. “If you look at the way a lot of threats come in, email is still one of major events we see, it’s not slowing down,” Brown says. “The better technology we can have and push out to the MSP is incredibly helpful, and a big part of our overall program.”

Brown adds that MSPs looking to become managed security services providers (MSSPs) can provide several different levels of service, from offering anti-virus and managing backups, to understanding regulations and offering compliance as a service for SMBs in industries like healthcare. The top tier MSSP offerings that also monitor and manage threat information is “probably overkill” for most SMBs, Brown says.

To help its MSP partners in security, Brown says the company “should have some good things to announce at the end of the year. One thing missing right now is the glue that glues everything together to make security easier for the MSP to manage and monitor. You’ll see us producing solution accelerators to provide the glue between our solutions, which will give the MSP the ability to protect their customers by giving them consolidated information.”

He continues, “My mission is to talk to MSPs, understand what they’re missing, what would be good to have in a single pane of glass, what components they can both sell and add value to their customers.” How that strategy is executed, he says, will likely comprise “build, buy, and partner decisions.”

Going forward, SolarWinds MSP is talking with partners and customers about what the future of management systems will look like. Up on the virtual whiteboard are topics like artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, self-healing and auto-provisioning, and the a back end that moves management to a user-centric model.

According to Sobel, the Internet of Things will come into play as well. “As more sensors come online we have to think differently about how we manage them,” he says. “If we don’t, these device classes will outpace our ability to manage them. And how are we going to secure all these things?

“We know one of biggest expenses with MSPs is labor. Can we make your people smarter? Give them better intelligence? Allow them to deliver a better customer experience? And what does that look like?”

The answers to these and other questions will play a prominent role in SolarWinds MSP’s future strategy, Sobel says.

The post SolarWinds MSP Outlines User Experience, Automation, and Security for End User Customers appeared first on My TechDecisions.

“Historically, the show has had a very sales-minded orientation to it,” says Michael Schwab, the Harrisburg, Pa.-based company’s co-president. “This year in particular, I believe, it’s all about enablement.”

An expanded lineup of seminars and instructional presentations from vendors including Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, HP, Brother, and Lenovo on hot markets like cybersecurity brought that goal to life, as did a series of exhibits on solution categories most channel pros overlook at present.

Those include “connected home” systems from vendors like Google’s Nest unit. Chiefly used in consumer settings at present, the digital door locks and wireless security cameras such companies make are equally suited to use by SMBs.

“Inevitably some of those products will make their way into business environments,” Schwab observes. “You can see quite quickly how they could become a small business solution.”

D&H also encouraged the 900 resellers and dealers expected at today’s show to explore underexploited opportunities in the digital office market. A booth devoted to that topic showcased content digitization and management offerings for customers in targeted industries with specific needs, such as Brother’s secure, HIPAA-compliant scanning solution for medical practices.

A “Gaming Experience” booth, meanwhile, called attention to yet another source of incremental income many channel pros neglect. Indeed, though PC shipments overall declined 0.5 percent on an annualized basis in the third quarter of this year, according to IDC, computer gaming enthusiasts are snapping up powerful laptops and desktops specifically tailored to their tastes and demands in rapidly mounting numbers.

“It is really a compelling and fast-growing market,” Schwab says. “The average selling price is strong, the market is growing, and we’re seeing great takeaway and sell through from these initiatives.”

The increased emphasis on enablement at this year’s October Mid-Atlantic show is but one manifestation of a larger campaign by D&H to position itself as a trusted advisor to its partners, rather than mere “pick, pack, and ship” distributor. The company has long sought to make its exclusive commitment to the SMB channel a competitive differentiator, Schwab notes.

“This is just now the next stage in that evolution where we can take on more of a role helping them succeed in business, not just being a great partner by providing them great products at competitive prices,” he continues.

Other examples of that effort in recent months include the creation of a new team of pre-sales product experts and a new group of strategic business consultants operating under the leadership of Ken Fabozzi, the senior director of VAR field sales D&H hired in August.

The post Highlights from D&H Mid-Atlantic Conference appeared first on My TechDecisions.

They could not have been more wrong.  In the Season 6 finale [SPOILERS], “The Winds of Winter,” the snow began to fall in the north, signifying that “Winter is Here.”  The White Walkers moved closer to the wall, all the while, the ignorant houses in the south believed they are completely safe…but they are not. (This becomes clear in Season 7, but I’ll stop here to not spoil for those who haven’t watched yet).

Subsequently, you may be wondering, what does this have to do with Cybersecurity?  Many business owners have been cautioned to become more vigilant with their cybersecurity efforts before it is too late.  These warnings aren’t just coming from IT Providers, but also from government agencies.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Cybersecurity

So, you’ve been advised that “Winter is Coming,” but have you prepared your business for the Long Night? Or are you one of the many business owners who replies with one of the following responses:

“My business is too small for them to come after.”

“I didn’t have to worry about cybersecurity 10 years ago, so why start worrying now?”

Unfortunately, these answers leave your business unprepared for the truth, which is that Small businesses are in-fact the low-hanging fruit because many small business owners do not believe that they are a target, and therefore do not put the proper policies and solutions in place.  Now that you have accepted you are at risk, let’s examine cybersecurity in more detail and how to prepare your business.

“Winter is Coming,” is now a caution from the past, because in the virtual world of cyber-attacks and the fictional world of Westeros, “Winter is Here.”  The statistics are alarming when looking at the number of businesses being hit with cyber-attacks and that ransomware attacks are up over 200% in 2017.

While Jon Snow is out looking for Dragon Glass to use against the White Walkers, here are the four vital cornerstones for protecting your business from cybercriminals:

Policy

Before putting together any security policy, it’s important that you have a security assessment completed.  With a security assessment, you will be able to establish a baseline and red flag any immediate vulnerabilities that can be quickly resolved.  I’d recommend finding an IT Provider who can complete this Security Assessment for you with the ability to provide a  detailed report.  Once your security assessment is completed, you should use this to create your security policy to ensure any vulnerabilities are covered.  At minimum, your security policy should define password policies (No, Password123! Is not a good password), deny or limit USB file storage access, limit user access and set lock-screen timeouts.

Training

Many breaches can be caused due to human error.  Most ransomware attacks begin as an email to an employee, and since at least one employee in every company will click on ANYTHING, they gain access in and are able to attack your network.  By training your employees and training them often, you teach them about data security, email attacks and the policies that you have created above.

I’d also recommend PII (Personally Identifiable Information) protection training for your employees.  As users become aware of how cybercriminals attack and what to look for, they help to close your borders. Additionally, you can research for services or providers that offer fake “phishing” attacks and reporting to help identify the employees within your organization that put your business at the highest risk.

Endpoint Protection

It’s no longer as easy as installing business class firewall and any anti-virus suite you can find out on the internet.  Cybercriminals have evolved and are some of the most creative individuals out there.  Your Endpoint protection must be multifaceted, protecting your network entry (firewall), DNS protection, Advanced Endpoint Security with Ransomware detection.  This will help to ensure you are protecting your computers and data from malware, viruses and cyber-attacks.  With the latest in Advanced Endpoint Security, you can replace your outdated antivirus solutions that protect against file less and script based threats of today.

Business Continuity

When disaster does strike, no matter if it’s from a cybercriminal, natural disaster, or human error, the most important cornerstone is your business continuity plan.  Even the FBI agrees, as they have stated in their ransomware warning, “The creation of a solid business continuity plan in the event of a ransomware attack.”  When you have a solid business continuity plan in place and disaster strikes, your IT provider can roll you back to just before disaster struck and get your business working again.

Unlike popular belief, saving to USB Flash Drives and to services such as Dropbox are NOT a business continuity plan.  Business continuity is the insurance of your data and it’s critical that you ensure you find the right provider to provide this protection.  When looking for a business continuity solution, look for one that provides automated screenshot verification, 24x7x365 support, and ransomware detection to ensure your backup chains never fall victim to ransomware attacks.

By starting with these four vital cornerstones, you ensure that your business is protected and prevent your company from becoming just another statistic during the next ransomware census. I would also recommend obtaining cyber insurance, so if all else fails you have protected your income and business with cyber damage and recovery insurance policies.

Remember, that it is absolutely okay to seek help in protecting your business.  Jon Snow asked for help to go after the White Walkers and you can do the same to protect your business.  Find an IT Provider who offers Security Services, you can sit back and focus on running your business, while they focus on protecting your business, in addition to implementing the needed blocks for your success.

The post When It Comes to Cybersecurity, Winter is Here appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Think of your own IT department for a moment. Quick gut check: what percentage of your department’s time is spent innovating versus completing chore tasks? Many organizations spend as much as 90 percent or more of their time on run tasks. Even the best struggle to bring their run below 65 percent. We continue to lose ground as we increase our effort and expenses around supporting the run of our IT systems.

Though your department may be bottled down by the slog of day-to-day tasks, the reality is that IT departments need to be at the center of innovation. In fact, according to the Society for Information Management (SIM)’s 2017 report which surveyed CIOs, other than the CEO, the CIO has the most complex, broad, and diverse set of responsibilities.

In many ways, IT professionals are on a never-ending journey… searching for validation, seeking respect and longing to be relevant within organizations. They are on the path I like to refer to as “The Road to IT Relevance,” only maintaining relevance if they can stay abreast of and drive market trends.

Let’s examine five core factors complicating the job of today’s IT professional:

1. Technology Consumerization

The modern IT world is incredibly different than it was 20 years ago, even five years ago! Today, the power of technology is in the hand of the consumer thanks to the rise of smartphones, Wi-Fi access almost anywhere, mobile applications, and cloud-based solutions. The consumerization of IT has made the end-user more tech savvy and, consequently, they have greater demands of the technology they use and the expectations of their IT departments. For instance, they may think building an enterprise ERP system is as simple as flipping the switch and moving to the cloud. Or they may hear IT say a rollout could take a year and wonder why it can’t be done in two months. These contradicting beliefs and expectations can erode IT’s value to the organization over time.

2. Digitization of the Enterprise

Companies like Amazon, Uber and Airbnb have demonstrated firsthand the power of transformation. They are innovating on a dime, keeping the customer front and center, and driving towards evolution daily. The new digital era has disrupted entire industries, almost overnight, and its creating awareness that things don’t need to be done as they always have been. Pressure is on today’s IT leaders to harness technology and talent to advance the organization’s digital ambitions. But the availability of talent to understand and manage technology is reducing, making it harder to find and retain the people needed to drive digital innovation in the enterprise.

3. Managing Modern IT

When I first started out in IT, businesses solely invested in on-premise equipment that would be stored securely in the data center. Over the years, however, we saw a natural shift to colocation and then hybrid environments and now the cloud. This complicated environment has created the modern IT world, one in which data, tools, software and hardware are distributed anywhere in the world. One of the chief complications caused by this new paradigm shift, however, is that there is not a great way to manage this environment with a single pane of glass—or a single set of tools. Instead, each environment comes with its own need for management. Today’s IT leaders grapple with how to manage this distributed IT environment that is no longer under lock and key, or under the four walls of the building.

4. Cost of Running IT is Rising

We all know that running IT is more complex than ever before, but it’s also more expensive—just consider the cost of operating IT Operations Management (ITOM) or IT Service Management (ITSM) systems required to support this new “AlwaysOn” imperative. In addition, the expense of these comprehensive tools—coupled with the cost of implementation, integration and maintenance—will break the bank.

Related: 11 Surefire Cost Saving Strategies for IT Managers

In addition, the cost of building and supporting an “AlwaysOn” environment is increasing. In the past, an organization may have had a few mission critical applications requiring AlwaysOn support. Today, it seems like all applications and systems require 24/7/365 support. IT operations are no longer confined to a 9-to-5, M-F workweek, meaning the amount of manpower required to run IT is increasing.

5. Talent Deficit

It’s well understood that the talent deficit is alive and well. In fact, the crisis is so prevalent that we are witnessing a dramatic increase in salaries (even having to pay premium salaries for mediocre talent), an extended talent search process, and greater challenge in retaining talent. And when we find top talent instead of enabling them to spend time setting the strategic vision, they become glorified firefighters—extinguishing fires all day. Our IT teams are drowning in a sea of alerts, alarms, events, complaints and requests for help, all of which drowns out the important tasks. Instead of your IT team being proactive, they are stuck in reaction.

It’s Time For a Revolution

With these mega trends complicating the success and relevance of IT professionals and their organizations, isn’t it time to stop the insanity? Isn’t time for a revolution?

IT leaders need to transform the way in which they run IT. They need to reposition their top talent so they are focused on driving the business forward, rather than putting out fires. They need to set aggressive growth goals and make sure the organization is assembled in a way that allows the department to take a step closer each day to revolution. And they need to figure out how to run IT cheaper, faster and more efficiently than ever before.

For many companies, the revolution starts by teaming with the right partner to offset the chore tasks so they can reposition their talent to focus on strategic growth imperative. In fact, MarketsandMarkets predicts that by 2019 managed services spend could represent nearly 20% of all IT services spending around the world. The notion of out-tasking—or outsourcing specific functions of IT—is growing in popularity so that a business’ in-house talent can get back to driving transformation and innovation

In the coming weeks, we will continue to look at the global forces affecting IT leaders as well as the ways in which these leaders can reimagine how to run IT. After all, as IT, we are in the revolution business.

The post An IT Revolution is Brewing appeared first on My TechDecisions.