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Should You Break Up with Your MSP?

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How one St. Louis practice shed an underperforming MSP and questions to ask so you don’t end up in the same situation


Relationship challenges occasionally happen, even between businesses.

It’s frustrating when a potential vendor promises epic solutions to all your problems, but over the course of months or years prove themselves not up to the task. This was the case for M. C., owner of a St. Louis healthcare practice. She recently sought the help of Anderson Technologies to replace her managed services provider of over a decade. “I was pretty loyal to them,” M. C. says, “but it was nightmare after nightmare for ten years.”

A self-described workaholic, M. C. didn’t have time to spend worrying about the technology that carried her practice. “IT is the skeleton of [most] businesses in America today. If you don’t have it, then your practice has no skeleton. It’s just a floppy amoeba.” Much like the revenue lost during business downtime, time wasted waiting for computers to meet performance expectations or techs to return your phone call is a drain on your business’s resources.

Your managed services provider (MSP) should be working with you, not against you. According to M. C., an MSP and the work they do for your business should feel like “a blessing from God.” Here are four questions you should be asking to determine whether or not your MSP relationship is benefiting your business.

  1. Are they professional? Can I unequivocally trust them in my office and home?

M.C.’s relationship with her former MSP started with a trusted colleague’s recommendation. System administrators were in and out of her office and home, providing service on her internal systems and home workstations for remote connectivity. Her practice used specific programs and hardware daily. It was essential that these functions were reliable and safe for patients.

“Anyone with an EMR [electronic medical records] system really needs to have the best IT possible,” M. C. says.

If you don’t have good IT, you’re out of luck.”

It was when M. C. needed to move her practice to a new location that she realized how many problems the vendor had overlooked or, in some cases, caused.

“I had just spent $10k getting all new computers and they still weren’t working,” M. C. recalls. “They recommended that I change phone systems to save money, but what they actually did is cut out my fax and the phone situation just got worse.” These issues surfaced when one of M. C.’s employees pointed out that on the day of the install, the MSP only spent ten minutes on-site. Along with a few other questionable interactions with the MSP’s team at her home, M. C. began to lose complete trust.

  1. Are they communicating effectively?

After M. C. realized the extent of her technical problems, she reached out to the owner of the company, a person she felt she could trust. However, the owner wouldn’t acknowledge that his employees had been careless and made mistakes.

Aside from her annoyance with the work the company did do, it was often difficult to reach help during her early and long work hours. “I was at the point where I had to demand they come and fix things,” M. C. says. Communication breakdown reached a head when M. C. contacted the owner once more, only to be berated. “I had spent thousands of dollars at this point, and all he had to say was, ‘Why are you bothering me? You’re a demanding client.’”

  1. Are they taking ownership of their work and keeping detailed records of all solutions?

One reason problems weren’t getting resolved was because the MSP seemed very unorganized. Every time M. C. or one of her employees contacted the company about a problem, they acted like they had never stepped foot in the office, let alone replaced all the hardware.

“Troubleshooting was nearly impossible,” M. C. says. “After ten years they knew nothing. No organization, no blueprints of what I had, what went where.” The company also constantly insisted on upgrades to the practice’s hardware, but would replace them with old computers that were clearly used and not up to enterprise standards. Hardware replacement policies are a common MSP requirement, but the level of disorganization around the “new” computers they were recommending seemed suspicious. “It’s like there were no records of any improvements or work done.”

Mark Anderson stresses with importance of industry software and documentation with Business News Daily.

  1. Are they keeping their promises?

It took ten long years for M. C. to face the facts: her business relationship with her MSP was no longer serving her well. The promises the MSP made at the beginning of their partnership had never been realized. “My practice’s management system was still getting popups and crashing, computers were still slow and congested, we still had outdated hardware, no fax, scanners, or remote connectivity,” M. C. describes. “Systems were still so slow, and even slower when working remotely.”

She felt the managed services company took advantage of her, taking her money and then slapping Band-Aids on problems to conceal the bigger issues. “I was nervous spending the money to start over,” M. C. says. “It’s like getting divorced and finding someone new. For ten years I had the patience of Job, but I think it wasn’t really patience—I was just scared.”

Thankfully, she reached out to Anderson Technologies, which was able to quickly extinguish the immediate fires. “Once Anderson took over, 99% of the problems went away immediately.” Instead of making huge promises at the beginning of the partnership, Mark Anderson and the team developed a strategic action plan to implement long-term improvements.

Anderson Tech is reachable, affable, quick, professional,” M. C. says. “It’s been nothing but professionalism and action, ‘true to their word’ situations. I have never gone this long in my ten years where I didn’t have a problem.”

Now that M. C.’s IT infrastructure is efficient, reliable, and secure, she can focus on her clients and allowing her business to really grow over the next ten years. Thousands of dollars and a decade of frustration later, M. C.’s practice is building a new relationship with Anderson Technologies: “I wish I had met you ten years ago!”

 

To find out more about reevaluating your IT partnership, give Anderson Technologies a call today. We can be reached at 314.394.3001, and look forward to hearing from you.

Tired of Waiting to Work?

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The true cost of ransomware.

Ransomware is a major threat right now. According to Datto, experts in data backup and recovery, 80% of managed services providers (MSP) report ransomware attacks in 2018, and 35% report that some of their clients experienced multiple attacks per day. Clearly, ransomware is nothing to sneeze about.

Surprisingly, though, it’s not the ransomware attack, but the downtime afterward that accumulates the greatest cost to your company. Time, manpower, customer and vendor trust are all affected. This increases the importance of defending your company against this threat.

Here’s a quick recap of what happens in a ransomware attack. First, your network or computer is compromised. Next, an intruder plants an infection that encrypts your data files, until, theoretically, you pay the “ransom.” Until then, you are stuck. You can’t use your hardware, applications, or access any of your data. Any employees who connect to your network for their job can’t work. Even if the ransom is paid, the likelihood of getting your data back as it was is fairly small. During this attack, your network is fair game to the cyber criminals, and you’ll have no idea which files they will exploit. In all reality, you might be starting from scratch to get your company up and running again. And that takes time. If you aren’t protected and prepared, you could suffer weeks of lost revenue with a high cost to recover.

The best solution for defending your company against ransomware is a multi-layer approach. To keep your network safe, you must have the following:

  • A properly configured hardware firewall
  • An internet content filter
  • Email scanning prior to delivery
  • Antimalware/antivirus software on each workstation
  • Current operating system and third-party application updates
  • Consistent, reliable, and tested backups

Whether it’s a cyber attack, human error, or hardware failure, a multi-layer approach is a safeguard for when one layer is compromised.

Read more about ransomware!

Backups are one of the most important aspects. They are your insurance policy to eliminate a huge amount of downtime. If ransomware infects your network despite all of the safeguards in place, your current backups will ensure your data is retrievable. Consulting with your IT department or MSP to ensure your backups are properly configured will keep the ransomware from infecting the backups as well.

Unfortunately, many companies don’t have all of these measures in place, and when ransomware hits, things get chaotic. Downtime can turn a disaster into a catastrophe.

Studies show that downtime has twelve times the cost of the actual ransomware attack. To calculate downtime, you must take into consideration direct employee costs, productivity losses, halted company production, and even more importantly, how your clients are affected. Are they getting the products and services they paid for? How does that affect their trust in you?

To counteract these detrimental costs to your company, it is important to focus on prevention and prepare for the worst, so when something does happen, your downtime is minimal. Backup services provide disaster recovery as a service to ensure your peace of mind no matter what.

Downtime Contributors

Ransomware isn’t the only cause of downtime, though. There are other things potentially sapping your company’s productivity every day. Poor performance due to outdated hardware, slow internet speeds, and hardware failure. How much are these often-overlooked daily experiences costing your business?

Old Hardware – New Software

Continually spending money on hardware can be frustrating. Unfortunately, that is the reality in the tech world. One year, the latest technology comes out with a wow and a bang, and by the next year, that amazing equipment is already out of date. Within a few years, it’s obsolete and can no longer handle even the most basic software updates.

Older hardware simply wasn’t designed to handle the latest resource-intensive apps.

Because technology changes so quickly, Anderson Technologies recommends replacing computers every three to five years, depending on your specific requirements. Replacing 20% of your machines per year keeps all equipment on a five-year rotation and your budget reasonable.

How can this plan save your company from downtime?

By upgrading your hardware regularly, your systems stay efficient and fast. You won’t have to wait those 30 seconds for an app to load when it should load in a fraction of that time.

Thirty seconds of downtime doesn’t seem like much until you calculate the cost of those accumulated seconds lost every week.

Hardware Failure

Hardware failure, be it a laptop or server, will happen, and inevitably it will occur at the worst possible moment, like during your busiest time of year. Because of this, it’s best to be proactive. If you’re continually refreshing hardware, not just computers, at the rate of 20% per year, everything will be less likely to experience failure due to age.

Just like with ransomware, the best insurance policy against hardware failure is having up-to-date backups. Failed hardware can easily be replaced, but the information stored on it may be lost unless it’s backed up regularly. Your MSP can help you determine the frequency of backups and provide backup options to ensure that your company can get up and running as quickly as possible.

Slow Internet

This is probably the most common downtime-inducing culprit. There are several factors that may contribute to slow internet. The first step is to double check what speed you pay for with your internet provider and make sure it matches the speed you observe on your network. If the two speeds match, then you may need to invest in more speed.

If you’re paying for a higher grade of internet, but still experiencing slow speeds, there may be something misconfigured in your firewall or switch. If the firewall or switch are over five years old, they might need to be replaced. Older firewalls or switches are just like the old hardware we mentioned earlier – they can’t keep up with the traffic going through them and act like a bottle neck. For instance, your LAN switch may be running at 100 Mbps, but you’re paying the ISP for a 400 Mbps internet connection! Upgrading to a gigabit switch in this example is a simple, cost-effective solution. A properly configured and updated firewall and network switch will give each user the full speed the internet allows instead of bogging it down.

 

Would you like more information about saving your company from the threat of ransomware and downtime? Contact Anderson Technologies at 314.394.3001 or email us at info@andersontech.com.

Office Depot Pays for False Malware Reports

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Do you trust your computer’s security to anonymous department store employees?

For many, the low price, high convenience, and ease of taking a home computer or laptop to a store like Office Depot or OfficeMax for maintenance or repair far outweighs any risk that would normally be associated with a stranger sifting through your files. A solid reputation for service makes a free scan from stores like Office Depot seem like the perfect solution to minor computer issues.

Unfortunately, between 2009 and 2016, one corporation violated the trust that comes with that reputation.

PC Health Check

During this time, Office Depot/OfficeMax utilized an application called PC Health Check and ran the program as part of its in-store computer services. The program’s free scan was marketed to check the “health” of PCs by scanning for malware. However, instead of actually checking the computer, if any one of four signs of probable malware were selected by the user, PC Health Check automatically reported the presence of malware and suggested the user pay for PC cleaning and repair.

PC Health Check was licensed to Office Depot and OfficeMax by Support.com, who received a percentage of each purchase. In late March, the FTC reported on their ruling that the companies will now be prohibited from making deceptive claims, and will pay $35 million in fines to the FTC, which the government will then distribute as refunds for fraudulently-triggered purchases.

Exposed!

Ars Technica reported that in November of 2016, this scam was exposed by Jesse Jones of news station KIRO 7 in Seattle. The investigations team ran six brand new computers through PC Health Check, and four of the six were flagged with symptoms of malware, even though the computers had never been connected to the internet. These same computers were found to be malware-free by an independent IT services provider!

After this report, Office Depot/OfficeMax pledged to take appropriate action and pay the agreed-upon fine. According to the FTC, that had not yet happened, though the PC Health Check program’s use was discontinued.

Read about Anderson Technologies’ approach to managed IT services here!

The Takeaway

This FTC ruling should serve as a warning to anyone soliciting unneeded maintenance and repair, but it’s also a warning for consumers. The security of your business machines and network shouldn’t be trusted to just anyone.

Ask questions. What evidence does the IT services expert have for the action they propose? Does the software they utilize for diagnostic purposes have a solid reputation? Have other individuals and businesses experienced positive results after working with the expert or team?

At Anderson Technologies, we recommend cultivating a relationship with your IT services provider over time. The best results come from managed services providers who interact with all levels of your network and computer systems. Of course, emergencies happen, often when we least expect it. In those cases, resist the temptation of a quick fix even from a brand name.

Could you be eligible for a refund from the FTC in this case? Click the Get Email Updates button on their announcement. Seeking an alternative to cookie-cutter IT support? Contact Anderson Technologies and see how we’ve earned our reputation over twenty-plus years.

Small Business for Small Business: An IT Partnership

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If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you might recall that we’ve written about Anderson Technologies’ avoidance of canned, one-size-fits-all solutions for IT. As a small business that specializes in serving other small businesses, we know that different clients have different needs. What works best for a small local nonprofit organization might cause more problems than it fixes for a bustling assisted-living facility.

A St. Louis law firm experienced this firsthand when they were looking for a new IT services provider.

A Personalized Approach

Founded in 1986, this law firm began as a family-owned and -operated law firm. Attorney L. C., stuck to the firm’s guiding values and became the third partner in 2010.

The firm specializes in tax law, as well as business and commercial law and estate planning. “We do the type of planning that you find at a bigger firm,” L. C. says, “but we do it in a way that’s more approachable to the business owner.”

We can put ourselves in their shoes and say, ‘This is what I would do for my business if I were you.’ I think that’s a value that you don’t get everywhere.

Much like Anderson Technologies, this law firm focuses on serving local small businesses. “The types of planning we do for our clients you would traditionally find at larger firms, where most of the people you’re meeting with are partners but they don’t know what it takes to run the business,” L. C. says. “They can’t tell you those things that small business owners really do feel.”

L. C. continues: “Most of [our clients] are business owners, so we treat them the way we’d want to be treated—or better. We can put ourselves in their shoes and say, ‘This is what I would do for my business if I were you.’ I think that’s a value that you don’t get everywhere.”

Appealing For Change

L. C. recalls that when she first started at the law firm, the firm only had a server without backups to the cloud. If something went awry, their one-man, paid-by-the-hour IT provider would come and perform a quick patch job. Though this was a solution for any immediate emergencies, L. C. knew that they could benefit from investment in a new server backup system or better IT services altogether.

“Like any business owners, we don’t have time to deal with anything unnecessary in our day and we certainly don’t want to deal with technology that we don’t understand causing us issues,” L. C. says. “It’s crucial to have somebody who will always be available to answer those questions for you, because they do come up, even if you try to be proactive about it.” For L. C., moving to managed services seemed like the right option.

After transitioning to a different IT company who advertised remote service capabilities and made empty promises of new hardware,the law firm decided to reevaluate their needs and priorities concerning tech.  “Maybe we should look at that relationship,” L. C. remembers thinking of their previous IT partner.

The final straw happened when they moved the law firm to Office 365 and OneDrive. This enterprise-grade business software has numerous benefits, but to this law firm, without guidance from a managed services provider, it was more of a hindrance than an upgrade. “No one was telling us proactively ‘don’t put your computer to sleep’ or ‘don’t turn them off when you leave the office,’” L. C. says. This led to broken processes and incomplete data syncing that, even though the law firm had all new computers, were working less effectively than before.

I’m just going to get out a typewriter and write letters that way because it would be faster than having to deal with my computer.

Instead of getting to the root of the OneDrive syncing problem, the law firm’s previous IT company created a workaround that was inconsistent for the firm’s daily functions. Even less helpful was the company’s unapologetic attitude about the entire situation. “I didn’t get that they really gathered how annoying that glitch had been for us,” L. C. says. She remembers telling them “I’m just going to get out a typewriter and write letters that way because it would be faster than having to deal with my computer.”

Finally, L. C. met Anderson Technologies’ Principal Amy Anderson at a local networking event, and she decided to get a second opinion about their conundrum. “I’d heard her talk about their complimentary technology assessment,” L. C. says. After hearing about what the law firm had experienced, “[Amy] said, ‘That doesn’t make any sense. Office 365 and OneDrive are widely used. It must not be configured properly because there’s nothing unique about your situation that would cause it to work so poorly.’”

The red flags that came up in their 2018 assessment were things that small businesses usually don’t realize they should be looking for, such as the lack of an enterprise-grade firewall and wireless internet routers—which their previous managed services provider should have immediately remedied. Since the law firm deals with sensitive client data, ensuring they had a secure infrastructure was a top priority. And the issue with 365 had to be resolved in order to ensure their data was being replicated and shared internally properly.

After working with Anderson Technologies, L. C. says: “I trust that they’re not going to do something wrong and that they wouldn’t be telling me to buy something I didn’t need or that they wouldn’t do for themselves.”

Looking Ahead

Although L. C. is very enthusiastic about Anderson Technologies’ technical work, her real trust lies in Anderson Technologies’ accountability and responsibility to clients. Like the law firm, Anderson Technologies is a small business for small businesses, and this value assures that the client’s best interests always come first. “That’s kind of their approach,” L. C. says, “that if they were me, they’d do XYZ. . . . They’re going to actually do what they say they’re going to do.”

They’re going to actually do what they say they’re going to do.

Anderson Technologies continues to assist this law firm with onboarding new employees and installing hardware, including a high-speed scanner. Tax season is a very busy time for the firm, so it’s especially important that their computer infrastructure is now stable, ideally configured, reliable, and secure.

If your business IT needs some TLC (or even just a second opinion) contact Anderson Technologies today for a free consultation or call 314.394.3001.

3 Key Ingredients of Our Managed Services “Secret Sauce”

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Over the past 20-plus years, Anderson Technologies has seen what works really well in the IT industry and what should be avoided. Simply completing a project is the bare minimum needed from your IT partner and shouldn’t be where managed services ends. Along with technical knowledge and skill, three key traits improve the relationship between client and IT team more than any other – excellent communication, logical systemization, and earned trust.

Technical Knowledge and Skill

One of the primary reasons you hire a managed services team is for their technical expertise and they should be capable of handling most any technical challenge you face. This really isn’t a secret! Additionally, dedication to maintaining a high level of technological skill should be key for any IT firm.

It can be difficult to determine if a managed services provider prioritizes technical skills, especially for a small business owner who isn’t familiar with the technology industry, but there are a few clues for the layperson. In addition to checking their history and references, information like certifications, education, and satisfied customers can reveal much about a managed services provider, even before they’re hired.

Fixing what’s broken is the fundamental requirement for any managed services team but when building the Anderson Technologies team, technical knowledge and skill is only the first ingredient we look for, and just the beginning of the “secret sauce” of IT services.

  1. Communication

A huge part of managed services is acting as an interpreter.

Every industry has its own language, whether it’s attorneys, dentists, nonprofits, finance, manufacturing, engineering, etc. It’s probably easy to remember an incident when communication was a barrier rather than a bridge. The best managed services providers can explain a problem and its solution in laymen’s terms as well as industry-specific vernacular, and easily translate between the two for clients. Poor communication between system administrator and client makes gathering accurate information and completing a project successfully unnecessarily difficult.

Clear communication is vital to not only providing clients the best service but helping them understand what needs to be done and why it is important.

Hand-in-hand with excellent communication are the systems and processes a managed services provider follows to deliver truly excellent service.

  1. Logical Systemization

A huge part of systemization is establishing ideal methodologies and creating processes and specialized documentation designed to produce consistent, repeatable results. Taking the time to develop these best practices and build a structure around them can be easily overlooked by busy entrepreneurs. Members of an effective managed services team should be enthusiastic about combining technical and communication skills into this vital process documentation. Keeping accurate and detailed records not only helps you, the client, but maintains a consistent level of service throughout the team and ensures requests are resolved quickly and correctly.

Systemization and record keeping aren’t incidental to the best managed IT services teams – it should be built into their approach from the beginning. Included in Anderson Technologies’ managed services plans are an extensive client onboarding process, regularly scheduled proactive maintenance designed to prevent breakdown, periodic audits of client infrastructure, systems for tracking project progress and responding to user support calls.

Process documentation and customized methodologies enhance the performance of managed services providers, and, even more important, the performance of the client.

  1. Earned Trust

For some IT firms, an individual’s technical ability trumps everything else. But the system and network administrators hired to interact with your most confidential data and technological vulnerabilities should be a team you can implicitly trust.

When building our managed services team, Anderson Technologies seeks those who align with our core values: Integrity, Respect, Dedication, Team-Oriented, Dependability, Initiative, and Client Focused.

These qualities are the most important ingredients in our “secret sauce.”  They define our organization’s character, which has been developing over two decades.  It is who we are as a team and what we represent and strive for every day as a company.

The best managed services firm goes beyond that skill to provide service on another level. Excellent communication, logical systemization, and earned trust combine to make the secret sauce that comprises an IT managed service that truly shines.

Anderson Technologies looks forward to sharing our “secret sauce” of managed IT services with you. If you need assistance, call 314.394.3001 or email info@andersontech.com.

IT Glue: Holding the Keys of Your IT Kingdom Together

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At Anderson Technologies, your business’s IT security is our highest concern.

To that end, last year we implemented a documentation platform called IT Glue after recognizing the benefits of storing critical information in a single, organized repository. Our team consolidates knowledge, building a shared, encrypted library that helps address your needs better than ever before and ensuring your network isn’t reliant on how well one person can remember details.

What Is IT Glue?

IT Glue is an efficient documentation repository that keeps your relevant IT information readily at hand in a customizable environment. Documentation platforms help managed service providers maintain their internal processes and client credentials.

The website securely stores configurations, domain expirations, contacts, locations, passwords, security specifics, wireless data, backup schedules, and documents in its easy-to-access dashboard. Information is updated as needed by various team members, but controlled access allows the data to be viewed by the client via separate accounts as well.

Another helpful feature of IT Glue is that it easily integrates with other tools IT consultants use—like their PSA (Professional Services Automation) application—with two-way retrieval of data. This ensures information entered in one is automatically synchronized to the other. Too often, clients that Anderson Technologies inherits from other managed service companies arrive with minimal or outdated records. Documentation platforms make record keeping easier and more integrated while strong security implementation keeps the data safe.

Keeping Your Sensitive Information Locked Down

Multifactor Authentication

To login to the secure documentation platform, users must activate multifactor authentication (MFA). After entering a username and password, MFA requires the use of a third-party app configured on a mobile device to generate a single-use, six-digit code that expires after 30 seconds. Once the code is entered, the user is granted access.

Multifactor authentication provides an important added layer of protection to keeps accounts secure by preventing unauthorized logins. If someone has the password but not the MFA device, any login attempt will be unsuccessful. The concept is similar to showing your ID when using a credit card in a store. Secondary verification mitigates the chances of a thief taking your stolen credit card on a mall shopping spree.

Passwords

IT Glue organizes passwords so users can easily access the multiple accounts for websites, email addresses, computer logins, and applications clients use every day. Credentials are organized in a user-friendly way, and URLs can be launched with the passwords populated. This saves valuable time, whether you’re monitoring servers and firewalls or updating a web page. IT Glue allows for granular permission levels as well as user-based permissions and group permissions, allowing contributors to specify who should be able to access each addition to the system.

Legal Compliance

SOC 2 compliance means that IT Glue is audited by a third party and its security and best practices are verified. Among other things, this helps companies comply with HIPAA—an essential for those providing IT consulting services to health organizations.

IT Glue’s website says, “To pass the audit for SOC 2 compliance, IT Glue had to demonstrate best security practices in terms of its physical infrastructure, the software that it uses, the personnel involved in governance, both automated and manual processes used, and data. The audit can only be passed when each of these areas of IT Glue’s system are compliant with SOC 2 standards.”

Organization Equals Efficiency

Efficiency for our IT team means your IT service is more capable with these shared resources – providing resolutions faster and reducing your frustration and down time.

IT Glue’s dashboard allows for speedy access by keeping track of recently accessed data. It also offers two types of searches—organizational and global—which helps our IT professionals quickly find information with just a couple keystrokes. Instant indexing of all uploaded data helps expedite the process for troubleshooting and problem solving.

Anderson Technologies tracks client domains within the system to keep DNS records readily at hand and has configured the platform to send an email alert if a domain is expiring. Our team documents license keys for apps and programs, allowing us to quickly install programs on new computers. IT Glue logs all user access as well as deletions and revision history within the app, providing a full access log for each team member.  By combining this data with a robust feature set, the platform gives us the ability to thoroughly document client information for more efficient service.

The key to achieving the full potential of a process documentation platform is to realize it only manages as much information as you provide it. This means it works best if clients help keep it updated with any changes, such as passwords and other credentials that may be needed in the future.

Elena Estrada, Anderson Technologies’ IT Support Coordinator says, “Whenever we’re notified of a change in the client’s environment, we add that information into IT Glue. Keeping us up to date is essential. When clients fail to share updates with us, it can get confusing. The information stored in IT Glue is only helpful when it’s accurate and current.” An important feature for documentation repositories is input of information by users.

Anderson Technologies is committed to efficient, accurate, and professional service. Using IT Glue as a documentation repository is one of the ways to serve you better. If you would like more information on IT consulting services, call 314.394.3001 or email us info@andersontech.com.

Cloud Storage Service Provider Keeps Things Working Smoothly

Is Your Cloud Provider Working for You?

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By now, most companies are working hand-in-hand with cloud providers. Cloud storage is unavoidable, incredibly useful, and becoming more relied upon every day, especially for companies moving toward a paperless office. Therefore, an important question to consider is: are your providers working for you, or do they end up being a hassle?

Cloud services should be seamlessly integrated into your network and IT system as a whole for best practice. Above all, cloud services should be reliable and secure. If they are affecting productivity or leaving you vulnerable to data breach, it’s time to start thinking about changing to a new cloud service provider!

Assess Your Needs

Every company has specific needs their cloud provider must meet. Usually, this includes security, reliability, speed, and regulation compliance related to their industry.  Companies in the medical industry need a provider that is HIPAA compliant, while organizations in the investment industry need one that’s SEC/FINRA 17a-4 compliant. Whatever your needs, it’s vital to ensure that your provider meets those standards.

Your company’s unique environment dictates different network and system requirements. For instance, a company that centers on remote access requires different security measures compared to a company that works solely from a single main office. Budget, granular permissions, and whether you need a dedicated server environment must be taken into consideration when assessing and choosing a cloud service provider.

Cloud Provider Warning Signs

There are several cloud provider warning signs to look out for.

Data loss and lack of flexibility or scalability are major red flags. Data loss should never happen. If you lose data due to a failure within the cloud provider, they are either not testing backups or not doing them—neither of which is acceptable. If there is an outage and you don’t get your data back, that alone is reason to switch.

Some cloud providers also fall short with granular file-based permissions and cloud applications that don’t allow companies the control they need over their files and don’t allow them to assign permissions for individual employees. The lack of cross-platform support and poor mobile apps is another reason companies switch providers. As your company grows, scalability becomes incredibly important. You should be able to double your cloud infrastructure in the same day. If the cloud provider isn’t prepared for an increase in infrastructure, it’s a problem. Flexibility is one of the driving forces of cloud computing, so don’t be dragged down by poor scalability.

How to Assess Your Cloud Provider

According to Joseph Baker, systems administrator at Anderson Technologies, companies should pay attention to four things when assessing their cloud providers:

  1. Uptime/Service Level Agreement (SLA)

The most important thing to look at is uptime/SLA.  Major companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox have very good guaranteed uptimes and SLAs.

  1. Data Ownership

Some cloud companies claim that if data is stored on their servers, it’s theirs. They are not going to use it to copy your business, but if you don’t pay your bill or if you decide to migrate, they could legally hold your data ransom.

  1. Data Center Locations

Partner with a cloud service that has data centers in the same part of the world as you to decrease latency. Many low-cost cloud vendors are located in China and India, but the latency will be noticeably higher than with a domestic choice.

  1. Multi-Tenant or Single-Tenant “Dedicated Server” Environments

Some businesses care about multi-tenant environments. This means your data is stored on a remote server along with someone else’s data, or even a few different clients’ data, depending on resources needed. This is generally safe and the data is segregated, but sometimes there are compliancy requirements, and there is a chance that if someone’s data is infected, it might affect the entire server. If you want the peace of mind and are willing to pay more, a single-tenant “dedicated server” is another option.

After checking these things, don’t forget to look at the front-end, too. Make sure you ask the following questions:

  • How do I access the cloud provider?
  • Is the provider antiquated and forcing me to use outdated Internet Explorer or can I use any browser?
  • Does the provider have a smartphone app?
  • Does the provider work with Mac, Linux, and Windows?
  • Will my legal compliance be met?

Compliance isn’t always ubiquitous, even among the bigger companies. If your company has a specific compliance requirement, request the specific certification for it from your cloud vendor.

Is Your Provider the Most Economical Option?

There are a wide variety of cloud service providers, and each with different options and services, depending on what you need and are able to afford.

If speed and reliability aren’t a priority for you, it may make sense to go with an overseas data center. There will be some latency, but the vendor will be cheaper.

For cloud storage, you want to purchase a plan that fits your needs. If you know that you need somewhere close to 500 GB, it is wise to purchase that right off the bat so you have it and won’t need to change plans. If your company is planning to grow, but you don’t know at what rate, a “pay as you grow” plan may be your best solution. You will pay for what you use on a per GB basis.

Some providers charge overages for unexpected traffic spikes. If you have a cloud-hosted website, this could mean outages or huge overage charges to keep your site online. Keeping your cloud services economical depends on what’s important to each individual company.

Speed, reliability, and ease of access should always be vetted before making a decision. On the most basic level, as long as your internet is decent, you should be able to upload something and walk across the office to another workstation and access the file.

Hybrid solutions are another option to consider. Many companies like having cloud storage in conjunction with physical storage, just in case something happens to either storage service. They also like knowing that what they have is theirs instead of being reliant on another company. Hybrid solutions can be cost efficient and simple to implement.

OneDrive Might Be the Solution for You

Anderson Technologies recommends using Microsoft’s Sharepoint OneDrive and Office 365 because they quickly, reliably, and seamlessly integrate with many common Microsoft applications. It’s one of the only cloud providers that can be combined with other apps—and still work! Not only does it work, but Office 365 is HIPAA, FISMA, and HITRUST compliant, which can be a big relief.

Baker says that once someone switches to OneDrive, they note that “their previous cloud application didn’t allow them the control they needed over their files,” nor did they have the ability to permission them out to employees. “OneDrive uses NTFS permissions which is the same thing as all the versions of Microsoft Windows, so a lot of people are used to setting that up, and it’s a little more intuitive.”

Contributor at Forbes and owner of Evans Strategic Communications LLC, Bob Evans says, “Microsoft remains an absolute lock at the top due to four factors: its deep involvement at all three layers of the cloud (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS); its unmatched commitment to developing and helping customers deploy AI, ML and Blockchain in innovative production environments.” Behind Microsoft, Evans ranks Amazon’s and IBM’s cloud services as the next best options.

Originally, consumers dismissed OneDrive because it wasn’t as feature rich as Dropbox, but with so many people moving to Office 365 and the improvements Microsoft has made to the system, it’s now a much more viable option. OneDrive is extremely reliable with an uptime of 99.9% for each of the last four quarters.

Are You Ready for a New Cloud Service Provider?

If you are paying for a service you aren’t getting, or if you have lost data because of unreliable services, talk to your IT provider about a more reliable and economical system.  Managed IT services can assist you in the migration process if you choose a new cloud service provider, and help with all IT needs.

Your time is valuable, and you want your cloud service to be working for you! Call Anderson Technologies at 314.394.3001 for a free consultation.

Use Managed IT Services to Handle Common Tech Problems

4 Common Tech Problems Impeding Your Business’s Growth

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Like most business owners who live and breathe their enterprises, you and your long-time employees are probably familiar with the quirks and qualms of your office technology.

Does one of the front-desk workstations sluggishly boot up at the beginning of the day or frequently crash? Do your mobile devices only pick up a wireless internet connection on one side of the office? Simply coping with these issues costs your business valuable time and money.

Without a consistent framework for growth in place to manage your technology, your business may face unnecessary challenges preventing it from reaching full potential. This was the case for the corporate office of a large property management company based in Florida that manages many residential properties throughout the southeastern US and Arizona.

Having grown from a start-up to midsize company in just a few short years, the company inherited a significant number of legacy IT systems and hardware from acquisitions.  It didn’t have a scalable platform to support further growth.  “We’d been growing very quickly and didn’t have a solid foundation for IT,” says T.R., Vice President of Finance and Administration. “As we acquired new properties and hired more people, we decided we needed one standardized system that met all our business requirements and was available to all employees. We couldn’t afford to continue with a mix-and-match approach. It wasn’t efficient.”

“It also became clear that we needed someone to manage IT on an ongoing basis,” says T.R., “not only for the right functionality, but also for security and helping us make the right choices.”

When T.R. contacted Anderson Technologies, it was not only to bring on a managed IT services partner to handle an expansive company network, but also to build a platform that could be used to efficiently onboard new properties for years to come.

Principal Mark Anderson worked closely with T.R., first evaluating the corporate headquarters’ immediate needs. The two also discussed to what extent Anderson Technologies would be involved. “At first, we looked at using a consultant,” says T.R., “but we quickly realized that we need more than just a part-timer who is ‘on call.’ We needed someone who was willing to take ownership.”

Anderson quickly identified areas where the company had learned to cope and where radical improvement was needed. With the help of Anderson, T.R. and his team became aware of how legacy infrastructure adversely affected the company’s operations.

Four common technology problems came to the forefront after an initial assessment.

  1. Unreliable and Slow Internet Connection

One of Anderson’s first priorities was helping T.R. get their internet up to snuff. “The company network was completely wireless, and they were paying for a 300 Mb connection,” says Anderson.  “However, their laptops were only getting anywhere from 1 to 12 Mb. Abysmal!”

From VoIP telephone services dropping or not receiving calls, to slow access to vital documents, a temperamental internet connection has many costs. Inconsistent access or frustrated clients may result in lost sales and wasted time.

Not only was the network unreliable and slow, the entire network was running on a single wireless router provided by their internet service provider—a router without an enterprise-grade firewall. “We had an unsecured network that really didn’t have any kind of firewall on it,” explains T.R..

Anderson recognized the office’s physical environment was greatly impacting the network’s performance and reliability. “They were in a high-density office building,” Anderson says, “so tons of businesses were fighting each other for clean Wi-Fi.”

Wired connections to stationary devices proved a perfect solution. Hardline connections aren’t subject to severe weather or frequency interference. Anderson says, “Unless you hammer a nail through it, the wire in the wall is good forever.”

Maintaining a wireless option was still important to the company. Employees who travel to the properties need an internet connection for their laptops and mobile work devices while they’re at corporate headquarters. To give them the wireless support they need, Anderson Technologies installed a Meraki device, an enterprise-grade wireless network and security appliance.

“What’s great about our Meraki solution,” says Anderson, “is it automatically detects channels with lots of interference and auto-selects the cleanest one. The speed is now dramatically improved.” After Anderson Technologies’ intervention, its wireless devices now regularly see 250 Mb instead of 1 to 12 Mb!

  1. Outdated Hardware

T.R. had many remote employees who work on machines that should have been retired years ago, not realizing their equipment barely qualifies as home-grade. This was especially the case with many of its more mature properties. Every property operated under varying technological standards. Machines at some properties were still running Windows Vista!

“We’ve grown really quickly through acquisition,” says T.R.  “Elena [a member of the Anderson Technologies team] helped us put together a survey of all our hardware [at different properties]. She made sure that we knew what was out there and made recommendations for replacement.”

Because the organization was growing so quickly, discovering this information and securing recommendations was vital. Anderson Technologies got “everyone onto hardware that actually works for what we need,” according to T.R.

The recommendations ensured that not only was hardware up to date, but they were enterprise-grade and protected against today’s cyber security threats.

  1. Inconsistent Email Configuration

Beyond building out the company’s hardware and network infrastructure, Anderson Technologies also took charge of internal organization. When onboarding new properties, T.R. noticed wildly disparate email configurations. “It was clear that the way it had been configured wasn’t right and there were downsides to continuing to use it,” says T.R.

The answer for these disparate systems was to migrate everything to a single Office 365 environment. This system of tools and applications enables every employee to work on the same cloud infrastructure. Office 365 also houses the company’s email, and moving forward as new properties are acquired, they’ll be seamlessly integrated into the primary email domain.

In concert with Microsoft’s Office 365 platform, Anderson Technologies’ remote monitoring and management platform makes a difference when it comes to IT support and rapid issue remediation. “It’s the right solution for us,” T.R. says.

  1. Missing a Strong, Multi-Layered Backup Solution

With the corporate headquarters located in Florida, natural disasters such as hurricanes are a concern to the company. While Tampa was largely spared from 2017’s Hurricane Irma, elsewhere in Florida, more than 58,000 insurance claims were filed for commercial property and business interruption.

“One of our biggest potential IT risks is data loss,” says T.R. “I wanted to make sure that our financial data is covered by a real-time backup solution.”

Anderson installed a Datto device that serves as a standalone server backup with a redundant cloud backup to Datto’s two geographically dispersed data centers. This way, if a disaster hit corporate headquarters, the local data infrastructure could be almost immediately virtualized and made accessible online via Datto’s proprietary cloud platform.

When T.R. and his colleagues discussed whether a managed IT service provider was right for them, it became clear that the IT solution Anderson Technologies provided was exactly what they needed. “It’s nice to have somebody who’s monitoring the status, health, and warranty of everything out there to feel much safer against any kind of threat,” says T.R.

What seemingly inescapable tech problems plague your business? Are there issues that may be affecting your speed and efficiency? Are you ready to utilize managed IT services to find out? Let us know by requesting a free consultation today, or call 314.394.3001 to speak with a member of our team!

How 5 Critical IT Issues Are Compromising YOUR Business

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Are you sure your company’s IT technology is efficient and secure?

In a recent study of St. Louis small businesses, Anderson Technologies found common technology problems. While not all apply to every business, it’s important to be aware of IT issues that could one day strike your company. It’s also best practice to evaluate your business’s individual IT needs—you may have a weak spot you never noticed before!

Without your knowing, an issue may have been improperly addressed by professionals. During our initial infrastructure assessments, we found a disheartening number of instances when another IT support firm told a company it resolved a problem when it unfortunately hadn’t. Could this be happening to you?

In our recent study of businesses audited in 2017, Anderson Technologies found a pervasive set of problems that included firewall misconfiguration, missing Windows patches, lax password policies, unchecked backups, and failing workstation hardware. After receiving IT consulting from Anderson Technologies, these St. Louis businesses experienced vast improvements in security and performance.

In the event of a hacking breach or physical devastation, the following five components work together for security and prevention of lost data. An evaluation of these common problems, along with help from your managed IT services provider, can bring your business up to speed.

  1. Hardware Firewall: Your Fortress Barrier (Or Is It?)

The number one issue we discovered was problems with firewalls. One hundred percent of the small businesses we assessed operated with hardware firewalls that were either out of date or not performing to their utmost capability.

Envision your firewall as a fortress barrier. If the wall collapses, the entire city becomes vulnerable. A firewall protects your system from outside attackers and is your first line of defense. To be effective, firewalls must be updated regularly, and patches should be audited. If an update isn’t applied properly, it’s imperative that it be corrected quickly.

There are two types of firewalls. The first is a hardware firewall. This physical device stops a threat before it ever gets into your system. The second is a software firewall, a security application installed on your computer or server. Many small businesses believe a software firewall provides adequate protection, but it allows the threat onto the local area network before it can be stopped. In other words, a software firewall is not a wall fortifying your city of information. It’s the guard who raises the alarm that the enemy has already infiltrated.

To make matters worse, one-third of the companies we analyzed did not have anti-virus and anti-malware software on their servers! Make sure you’re not a sitting duck for a hacker to target.

At Anderson Technologies, we use a multi-layered approach to cyber security. If malware makes it through the first layer, there should be other defenses available to detect and stop it before it reaches your vital information.

  1. Keep Your PC Agile: Microsoft Windows Updates and Patches

The number one reason for keeping Windows updated is for security; the next is to make sure the operating system is running at maximum efficiency.

If your computer’s operating system isn’t updated with the latest patches reviewed by your security team, your computer is more easily compromised. Many times, if you’re not prompted for the update, you may think that your computer is automatically updating. It’s wise to seek out updates or patches that aren’t pushed through. Keep an eye on them, or have a managed IT services provider monitor these updates in case something doesn’t get installed properly or shouldn’t be installed due to a vulnerability.

Aside from security, Windows updates fix software problems and keep your operating system running smoothly with the latest technology. Using earlier versions of Windows, such as Windows XP, Vista, or early versions of Windows 7, compromises your security. Some of these operating systems are no longer supported by Microsoft, which means Microsoft is no longer making security updates and patches for those versions. For instance, Microsoft stopped releasing updates for updates for Vista in April 2017.

Every St. Louis business we audited last year had major problems with their Windows updates and patches. All companies were missing critical security updates and patches, and almost 70% of them had other general software problems. Don’t let your computers lose their agility or security.

  1. A Responsible Key Keeper: Password Policies

Do you use the same passwords for various sites or systems?

Are your passwords set to never expire because you or your employees have a difficult time keeping track of multiple credentials?

Forty percent of the companies we audited last year had their passwords set to never expire. This is a major liability. Never changing a password increases the likelihood it will be compromised and used to access secure information. Changing passwords routinely using a password protocol (and ensuring those updates are not predictable) will help your business stay ahead of the hacking game. Although your employees may feel that having secure passwords is difficult in a constantly changing environment, there are applications that can help. Using an application such as LastPass provides a secure repository for your access credentials and keeps your employees from having to remember complex passwords.

Stolen passwords are something Anderson Technologies hears about regularly. They’re going to continue to be a problem until businesses make it a priority to come up with a system for managing strong passwords.

In addition to periodically updating your passwords, outside IT support can help you put a company policy in place that ensures employees are creating complex passwords that truly protect your business.

  1. Fire Drill: Audit Your Backups for Integrity

Backing up servers is vitally important to any business. If something happened—a flood, fire, or malware attack—would you be able to recover?

Do you know how often your backups occur? Do you know how to make sure they’re working? Do you know how to recover your data? If not, check out our blog on why you need better backup solutions.

In a fire drill, each component of the evacuation is carefully tested. Could your backups withstand such a test? Even if you know you have a solid backup system, you should still regularly check it for issues and test it periodically, or have a managed IT services team do this for you. We often see flaws in backup systems due to IT companies who say they have addressed backup weaknesses but failed to catch a vital issue.

Backups can be performed in a variety of ways. Many businesses choose to back up to cloud services. If you choose this route, you could recover your data from anywhere and on any machine. Other businesses choose to back up to a local source, like an external hard drive that can be taken off premise. Either way, the goal of the backup is to have your system up and running again quickly after a disaster.

Depending on how often your data changes and the specific regulations within your industry, backups should happen regularly, whether it’s every hour, every day, or every week.

Half of the companies we audited had some, but not all, data backed up, and another seventeen percent of businesses had no backup system in place at all.

Do you need to rethink your system backups?

  1. The Aged Workhorse: Antiquated Workstation Hardware

Technology ages rapidly.

The capabilities of current computers versus even five years ago is astounding. Machines are much more efficient than they used to be in their processing and energy consumption.

If your hardware is seven years old, you’re working on an ancient workhorse needing to retire.

Over 80% of our audits last year had issues with workstation hardware. If you’re on an antiquated machine, you probably notice the slow speed or glitches. Many businesses operate on a limited budget and may feel they aren’t ready to prioritize hardware purchases because the existing machines still work. Time lost due to slower machines, data lost due to hardware malfunctions, and potential risks of unsupported software are much more expensive than purchasing new hardware.

Computer processor speed, solid state disks, memory capacity and screen quality have all made incredible progress in the last few years. Each of these enhances the user experience and makes your computers and employees vastly more efficient.

We found that workstations were less than half as likely as printers to be kept up to date and monitored. Computers should be replaced at least every five years to keep them up to speed and at their greatest security advantage. Your server’s functionality is no different. Just because you might not work on them every day doesn’t mean they aren’t working for you! It’s time to retire that old machine and employ a nimbler one to improve your day-to-day processes.

Do you think your company could be suffering with any of these issues?

Contact Anderson Technologies’ IT consulting team to help resolve any of these problems. Email us at info@andersontech.com or call 314.394.3001 to start addressing your business’s security issues today.

Is Your Inexpensive, Shortsighted IT Provider Leaving You Exposed?

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If you’ve experienced a technical malfunction or cyber security breach, you know the havoc they can wreak. As email scams, mobile malware, and ransomware attacks rise daily, your business is subject to more threats than ever. That’s why it’s important to have a trustworthy IT team to keep your systems up-to-date—and some IT service methods just don’t pass muster.

A leading management company in St. Louis is an Anderson Technologies’ managed IT services client.  When J. O., president of the firm, first met Mark Anderson, her company participated in a free cyber security seminar. At the time, they received break/fix IT support from another local firm.

“As we talked with [Mark] afterwards, he asked questions about what we were currently doing and looked at some of our hardware,” J. O. recalls. “The more we talked, the more they looked at what we had, it became clear that we needed to move away from the break/fix model.”

If you’re contemplating switching from a break/fix IT company to managed IT services—or if you don’t have IT support at all—take the many benefits of managed services into consideration.

Cyber Security

Symantec reported an astounding 1,271 successful ransomware events per day in 2016. Ransomware often targets businesses specifically, and the number of attacks is growing. Having a managed services team of cyber security experts can go a long way in protecting you and your assets from crippling cyber attacks.

Before the management firm committed to switching to a managed IT services provider, Anderson conducted a thorough infrastructure analysis that explored multiple layers of cyber security. “He looked at some of our hardware and pointed out that we hadn’t had any updates recently,” J. O. recounts, “which I understand is pretty critical to keeping your hardware secure.”

Anderson Technologies took the wheel. “Several areas needed immediate attention,” Anderson says. “The hardware firewall wasn’t being updated, three servers were missing enterprise-level anti-malware software, offsite backups didn’t exist, and patches weren’t being run regularly.” These security holes hadn’t been addressed by their previous break/fix IT company, leaving J. O.’s company exposed to a wide variety of digital threats.

Lower Long-Term Costs

Compared to a break/fix IT company, managed services is a wiser investment over time. Calling a break/fix company when the worst happens often incurs larger one-time fees without actually solving the root cause. This is something they had to consider when deciding to transition from the break/fix model. “Managed IT services mean that we’re getting proactive service so that we fix things before they become problems,” J. O. says. “I think you get what you pay for.” Putting band-aids on your most important investment—your business—is only going to cost you more money later if issues aren’t resolved as soon as they’re identified.

Proactive Approach

A break/fix IT company may work for quick fixes, like when you’re blindsided by ransomware or lose a file. But one of the most significant benefits of managed IT services is that you don’t have to be blindsided at all. Managed services covers the bases to predict and prevent technical difficulties your business may face. Most importantly, when something unexpected does happen, you have a team who knows your network inside and out for a speedy resolution.  The last thing you need when your workflow is paralyzed is guesswork as someone tries to learn about your environment.

While issues like firewalls and anti-virus software are preventative measures, managed IT services assess many more facets of your business’s technological systems. For example, the management firm didn’t realize that an outdated email infrastructure and a poorly-managed Active Directory server could leave them vulnerable to unrestricted users. With Anderson Technologies combing through their network and practices, the business was able to safeguard their daily work and reduce downtime, in what Anderson called a “dramatic improvement.”

Partnership That Considers Your Company’s Values

Managed IT services means you’ll always have a caring, proactive professional looking out for you. Most managed IT service providers offer both onsite and remote support. Calling your IT support team when you get locked out of your machine, submitting a service ticket online to resolve a minor issue, or having a technician upgrade hardware at your office are just a few examples of what a managed services agreement can do for your business.

Customer service and consideration are qualities that elevate Anderson Technologies and other managed IT service providers. Beyond simply finding the best solution to a problem, managed services aim to connect with your business’s goals and values. This is something that many businesses praise. “We know their environment backwards and forwards,” explains Joe Baker, Anderson Technologies’ Systems Administrator.

When the management firm needed help moving servers and other equipment in their office, the Anderson Technologies experts were immediately onsite to assist. “It was a pretty standard procedure, but some of their environment didn’t come online correctly,” Baker says. “We were right there to recognize and diagnose the problem and get them back up and running in no time because collectively we’ve seen it many times. If we hadn’t been there or they were a small business operating without an IT company or with a break/fix style company, it would’ve been a lot longer downtime.”

Take Pressure Off Your In-House IT Team

If your company relies on in-house IT support, don’t dismiss the prospect of managed IT services altogether. While having an external IT team working in parallel may seem superfluous, it actually benefits everyone.

“Distracted business owners constantly putting out technology fires are unable to focus their energy on their business’s growth and thrilling their customers,” says Anderson. Managed services gives your in-house IT team the freedom to work on bigger picture software issues and creative custom projects. Instead of running from workstation to workstation solving small internal problems, they’re free to dedicate their energy to technology solutions that will impact your bottom line.

The management firm is only one of the businesses Anderson Technologies has introduced to managed IT services. Not only are more companies ditching the traditional break/fix model, but managed services are adding industry-specific compliance and technological advances to their skill set, thereby reducing downtime due to potential IT problems.

“I’d suggest that any company feeling held back by their existing computer and network infrastructure would greatly benefit from investigating what a formal managed IT services relationship could do for them,” says Anderson.

If you’re tired of experiencing glitches in your business’s day-to-day operations, or if you just want to explore your IT options, contact Anderson Technologies today at info@andersontech.com or 314.394.3001 for a free consultation.