When it comes to performing day-to-day functions, serving customers, operating efficiently, and maintaining a high level of productivity, most small to midsize businesses (SMBs) are as reliant upon IT systems as large enterprises. If servers crash, applications stop working or slow down, or employees can’t access network resources, SMBs lose money and are forced to play catch-up.

In a previous post, we discussed not only the prevalence of phishing attacks, but the email subject lines and social media attack simulations that were most effective at getting users to click. No security solution or IT team can detect and block every phishing attack or manage shadow IT apps and services, which is why security awareness training is critical to helping users recognize and avoid these attacks.

Robust monitoring solutions provide commanding view of network operations. 

In ancient Norse mythology, the god-king Odin presided over the universe from a magnificent golden throne — a towering perch with a view of the entire cosmos, which allowed him to see everything that happened among gods, giants, elves, dwarfs and men.

Microsoft offers multiple cloud- and premises-based upgrade options for Windows Server OS.

The end-of-support deadline for the Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 is rapidly approaching. After Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provides automatic fixes, updates or online technical assistance, nor will it fix any vulnerabilities discovered after this date.

According to IDC forecasts, the unified communications (UC) and collaboration market is expected to grow at rate of 7.1 percent through 2023, reaching $48.3 billion. IDC research analysts point out that the decision to migrate from legacy analog, digital and TDM voice platforms to Voice over IP (VoIP) and UC solutions is long overdue.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), more than 26,000 users fell victim to phishing, vishing, smishing and pharming attacks in 2018, suffering more than $48 million in financial losses. All four types of attack use social engineering to trick users into giving up sensitive information, clicking on a malicious link or attachment, or visiting a malicious website.

If there has been one perceived drawback to advances in communication technology, it has been that emailing, texting and instant messaging has replaced face-to-face communication. As a result, relationships aren’t as strong as in the past. Thanks to the emergence of video conferencing as a core collaboration technology, this trend is being reversed.

Transcending fantasy, AI concepts expanding into real-world usage.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is usually associated with human-like computers such as Isaac Asimov’s positronic robots and the Star Wars droids. In truth, AI has moved way beyond the realm of fantasy and into the mainstream thanks to a range of new products, technologies and applications.

Security training plays a critical role in improving an organization’s cybersecurity posture.

Small to midsize businesses (SMBs) are aware of the dangers of cyberattacks, and most are doing everything they can to beef up security. But is that enough?

Installing antivirus software and occasionally warning employees not to open suspicious emails won’t protect sensitive data or satisfy a growing number of regulatory requirements.

As cloud spending and governance issues mount, more organizations turn to managed services providers.

It is now almost universally accepted that cloud computing is the ideal model for the consumption of IT resources. According to the RightScale 2019 State of the Cloud Report from Flexera, 94 percent of businesses across all verticals are using cloud in some form, 84 percent have a multi-cloud strategy using an average of five different cloud platforms, and almost 80 percent of all workloads now run in the cloud.