Without access to business applications, data and cloud resources, many organizations can’t function. In a best-case scenario, operations are severely limited, which results in low productivity, missed deadlines, lost sales, a poor customer experience and high mitigation costs.

Hurricane activity has spiked dramatically in recent weeks. As the National Hurricane Center monitored the simultaneous formation of a half-dozen named storms and five other areas of concern in mid-September, NHC scientist Eric Blake tweeted, “They are forming like roaches out there!”

An active hurricane season is always a reminder of the importance of disaster recovery planning.

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.

Boost IT security with a layered approach featuring a combination of tools and solutions.

Elephant calves in the wild are protected by the herd, which will circle the calf in order to fend off lions, hyenas, crocodiles and other predators. The huge size and coordinated action of the adult elephants creates a defensive ring that successfully discourages 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.