Managed IT Services Blog

Managing today’s increasingly complex technology ecosystems requires specialized expertise that few organizations have on staff. As a result, more companies are turning to managed services providers (MSPs) to fill talent gaps and control costs while driving improvements in security, innovation and efficiency.

If you’ve ever experienced extended hold times, dropped calls or repeated transfers when calling customer service, then you are well-acquainted with the concept of “customer friction.” The term refers to anything that gets in the way of a smooth and effortless interaction between businesses and their customers — and it is contributing to a growing sense of dissatisfaction among U.S. consumers.

Security log files are a rich source of information about IT systems, providing critical insight into unusual login attempts, system changes, access requests and other anomalous activities that may have security implications. However, the sheer volume and diversity of logs generated across today’s complex IT environments makes it difficult to analyze and use that information.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has implemented new rules requiring publicly traded companies to report cybersecurity incidents. The rules will also affect privately held companies in a public company’s supply chain.

Although inflation has slowed considerably and interest rates have stabilized, many companies remain wary of lingering economic challenges. According to the recent State of IT Report 2024 from Spiceworks and Aberdeen Strategy & Research, 74 percent of companies say they are looking for ways to trim IT spending to conserve cash and maintain financial stability.

Growing numbers of artificial intelligence-based threats are expected to create unprecedented challenges for most organizations in the coming year. The FBI recently warned that businesses, governments and individuals should anticipate “alarming” increases in AI-powered threats over the coming months.

Enhancing the customer experience is a top priority for many companies — and with good reason. Myriad studies show that CX investments deliver a huge return. The Temkin Group found that companies can increase revenue by 70 percent or more within three years of investing in CX. According to a report from PwC, consumers are willing to pay 16 percent more for a great experience.

Billions of people worldwide use the Internet daily to send and receive information for personal and professional purposes. However, most have concluded that it is impossible to ensure the privacy of these transmissions. In a recent global survey by Statista, 63 percent of respondents said they consider privacy risk to be an acceptable tradeoff for the convenience of online communications.

Software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WANs) are effective tools for connecting increasingly distributed offices, data centers, cloud services and remote workers. Nevertheless, the technology remains something of a mystery to many business decision-makers. More than 30 percent of respondents to a 2022 survey cited a lack of knowledge about the technology as a key barrier to adoption.

A low-tech social engineering scam has created high-stakes consequences for MGM Resorts International. A September “vishing” attack cost the Las Vegas casino giant about $100 million, according to the company’s recently filed disclosure with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

There may be no use crying over spilled milk, but spilled data is another matter. When sensitive information inadvertently trickles out of networks or cloud platforms, it’s enough to bring tears to the eyes of executives, board members and IT leaders.

Manual security processes are no longer sufficient for dealing with the growing volume of sophisticated cyber threats across increasingly complex IT environments. With an estimated 560,000 new pieces of malware detected each day and a cyberattack occurring every 39 seconds, security automation has become a necessity.

Research consistently shows that about 80 percent of all confirmed breaches are related to stolen, weak or compromised passwords. Password management solutions offer a simple and effective way to secure credentials by eliminating the burden on users to create, type, change and remember dozens of different passwords.

Disaster planning presents organizations with a difficult paradox. Reliable communication is essential for maintaining contact with staff, customers and business partners in the aftermath of a catastrophic event. However, effective communication is usually among the first casualties when disaster strikes.

During the first nine months of 2023, the U.S. experienced 24 natural disasters with damages exceeding $1 billion each — the most since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began tracking such events in 1980. The numbers reflect a troubling trend, with eight of the 10 worst years for billion-dollar disasters occurring in the past decade.

Businesses need technology, but not many need to own it. That’s the beauty of the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model  — it enables companies to access the robust technologies they need without taking on any of the capital costs, maintenance expenses or obsolescence risks that are part and parcel of in-house IT infrastructure.

Although more people have returned to the office with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that a third of employed people still do some or all of their work from home. As a result, malicious actors continue to exploit home office security shortcomings.

Help Wanted: Seeking IT administrators, developers, engineers and analysts. Six-figure salary with bonuses, paid vacation and sick leave. No formal education required. Highly flexible work environment — work remotely with no dress code and no set schedule. Note: Duties may involve illegal activities such as coding malware, stealing data or launching ransomware attacks.

Cloud computing has changed how organizations access applications, data and IT resources, but it also introduces significant security risks. With more than three-quarters of businesses experiencing a cloud data breach in 2022, improving cloud security has become an operational imperative for organizations across all industry verticals.

In a recent global survey conducted by Dimensional Research, 95% of IT decision-makers reported that their companies have disaster recovery plans. However, only 24% said their plans are up-to-date, well-documented and tested often. Having a plan without disaster recovery testing is a recipe for … well … disaster!

Email has been an essential communication channel for more than 50 years, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Despite the proliferation of alternative messaging platforms, global email volumes continue to rise each year. Nearly 350 billion emails are sent and received every day.

The division of labor has been a core principle of economic theory for more than two centuries. Organizations can increase productivity and efficiency by dividing complex jobs into smaller, more specialized tasks. A downside of this model is that it can encourage a “not-my-job” mindset. Individuals often decline to take responsibility for tasks or duties that aren’t explicitly outlined in their job descriptions.

Official approval of the seventh-generation Wi-Fi standard may be more than a year away. However, many organizations are already laying the groundwork for an upgrade. According to a survey by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), more than one-third of service providers, technology vendors and enterprise organizations plan to begin deploying new Wi-Fi 7 gear by the end of this year.

An early August ransomware attack against a California-based network of healthcare organizations forced hospitals across four states to close their emergency rooms, divert patients to other facilities and take their computer systems offline. The attack on Prospect Medical Holdings is the latest in a concerning escalation of attacks on healthcare and other critical infrastructure sectors.

Global spending on IT security and services will exceed $200 billion this year, with the average organization now devoting more than 20 percent of its IT budget to cybersecurity. However, in their efforts to guard against sophisticated, new threats, too many organizations are neglecting to shore up old, existing vulnerabilities.