MSPNetworks Blog

If your business experiences a technological failure, how many operations simply stop dead in their tracks until the problem is resolved? While it might seem like you have no control over your business’ technology (at least the issues that cause downtime), this is far from the truth. If you take action now, you can prevent issues from cropping up in the first place rather than reacting to them later, after they have already caused considerable problems for your business.

If you think about it, waiting to fix problems as they appear is simply accepting that downtime will be an issue. This is a dangerous and wasteful mindset to have. If you can prevent it from happening, then you should. Your bottom line will thank you for it.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to add new initiatives to the docket, whether it’s because you have plenty of other responsibilities or you don’t have the budget to hire new staff members to handle it. Thanks to a service called remote monitoring and management (RMM), you won’t have to worry as much about these problems. MSPNetworks can provide your business with remote maintenance to catch issues early and resolve them before they cause trouble. Here are some of the benefits:

The Benefits

• You’ll acquire a better understanding of your organization’s IT: Countless questions about your IT are asked throughout the day, and many of them have to be answered in order to maintain operational efficiency. RMM can address these issues before they even become problems. It’s not uncommon for issues to be resolved without the business even knowing they were about to have a major problem on their hands.
• Your internal productivity will increase, diminishing downtime: Imagine that you have recurring issues that keep your staff from being as productive as they can be. These repeated problems can basically equate to downtime, as they are unprepared for (and can create situations where) your staff cannot work as intended. MSPNetworks can monitor your systems to ensure they encounter as few problems as possible, adding more productivity back into their workday.
• You’ll learn more about your maintenance needs: Internal IT networks are essentially the engine of the business. They are what provide organizations with the tools and data needed to proceed. Of course, they will always require maintenance at some point, as they are built out of technical components that receive wear and tear from daily use. If these are monitored, you can keep them from failing when you need them most. This gives you the chance to act on these inconsistencies and prevent a disaster.
• Efficiency will increase: Without downtime in their way, employees will be empowered to get more done throughout the workday. Remote monitoring and management can cut these distractions out completely be solving the root issue of the recurring problem.
• Security will improve dramatically: Security updates can become a major point of contention for organizations that don’t issue patches as they are released. This is why so many businesses fell at the hands of ransomware like NotPetya and WannaCry. Updating systems is made much easier thanks to RMM solutions, as the patches and updates can be issued remotely without the on-site intervention of technicians. This helps you focus on operations rather than keeping your business safe.

The benefits of RMM basically mean that you’re putting all the time you would normally spend worrying about keeping your business functional back into your schedule for other tasks. If this sounds like a great deal for your organization, reach out to MSPNetworks at (516) 403-9001.

What are your chances of being hacked, or targeted by some kind of cyberattack? I hate to tell you this, but they’re probably a lot higher than you might think.

For instance, despite almost 90 percent of small business owners believing they’re safe, about half of all small businesses will suffer from a catastrophic cyber-attack.

Are you at risk of being part of the unfortunate half?

Fortunately, there is a lot that you can do to help reduce the chances that a cyberattack will successfully target you. This is a really good thing - not only will a hack damage your relationships with everyone involved with your business, half of the businesses that are attacked close up shop within six months.

I’ve seen it happen far too often to businesses that just weren’t prepared.

Here, I’ve compiled a few tips to help you improve the basics of your cybersecurity, reducing your risk of a successful attack:

• Updates - We know how annoying those update notifications can be, but it is important to remember that the vast majority of them are meant to improve security in one way, shape, or form. Therefore, you should prioritize these updates whenever possible. It may prevent an attack from victimizing you.
• Involve Your Employees - The unfortunate reality is that your employees can be the biggest vulnerability your business has. Properly educating them in cybersecurity best practices and holding them to these standards will help reduce the chances that one of them will inadvertently let in a threat. Training them in various security best practices and explaining why certain requirements are in place will help to motivate them to participate for the company’s benefit.
• Limit Access - On the other side of the coin, the less an employee has access to, the fewer chances there are that one of them leaves you vulnerable in some way. The same can be said of your clients - regardless of how much someone is trusted, you shouldn’t allow them privileges beyond their role. Whether its role-specific resources, data, or other information, employees should be given individual login credentials to make assigning privileges easier. Your business Wi-Fi should also remain separate from the Wi-Fi made available to clients.
• Backup, Backup, and Backup Again - If, despite all your preparations, you are still infiltrated, you want to have an extra copy of all of your important data somewhere else, safe and sound. This backup copy would ideally be stored offsite and securely encrypted.

As it happens, MSPNetworks is able to help you out with all of these measures, and many more.

If you want some added help with these cybersecurity basics, or want to do more to protect your operations, you can always lean on us. MSPNetworks is committed to ensuring that your technology allows your business to operate better, improved security being a major part of that goal. Reach out by calling us at (516) 403-9001.