Is Ransomware a Threat to Enterprise Back-ups?

Recently, in May 2017 a ransomware named WannaCry was the matter of discussion among many organizations. The considerable damage WannaCry made to some of the corporate giants was constantly in the news and organizations were horrified due to the extensive loss in data. However, interestingly it didn’t take much time for the organizations to recover the lost data back from back-ups. Although this is a good thing, it may be an alarming situation if the enterprises are slowly adapting to ransomware, it is surely going to target advanced backup strategies.

How could ransomware target system backups?

When the user attempts to hold data located at the target for ransom, it can be difficult for the target to restore it from the backup. Most of the home users and municipal corporations don’t invest heavily on data backup and recovery systems and rely on the basic, built-in protection for their computers, laptops, and servers. This basic system, known as Windows Volume Shadow Copy is present in the editions since Server 2003 and XP and stores pictures of the files on an endpoint. As it is commonly used by home users as well as small businesses, the ransomware such as WannaCry have tools to delete it.

Ransomware like Locky, WannaCry, Cryptolocker, and CryptXXX are capable of deleting the volume shadow copies with the help of strings in command line. This is probably the reason why some ransomware variants failed to make much profit as most enterprises use more robust protections than just shadow copies. WannaCry hit enterprises rather than attacking small businesses or home users and as a result global companies with thousands of employees fell victim to its attack. Within an enterprise, data backup adoption is at extremely high levels while cloud backup and recovery comprise a high percentage of cloud-based investments. Companies have the best potential to overcome a ransomware attack by restoring from backup.

Conclusively, with a malware like WannaCry, it’s proven by the ransomware authors they can attack enterprises. However, they don’t have a persistent mechanism. Additionally, the enterprise backups are too robust to cause much damage as they are capable of retrieving data from backups within a day at most. Although the enterprise backup systems are sufficiently secured, there’s something really to worry about as hackers intelligently innovate ways to overcome these technical obstacles. So, companies must be prepared with the possibility of ransomware attacking their backups for encryption or deletion.

Visit http://www.netactivity.us/wannacry-ransomware-latest-hack-explained-and-prevention-tips for more details about how Net Activity, Inc. is helping organizations stay protected from the malicious malware attacks.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/is-ransomware-a-threat-to-enterprise-back-ups/

Sophos Security Equipment - Security Made Simple

Choosing from the many brands of Unified Threat Management (UTM) is a tough task pertaining to the fact that many competitive companies have set their foothold on the market. The decision making process has become more difficult with overwhelming options available out there. To narrow down your quest for network security equipment, here is a proven technology that’s relied upon by many users for managing their IT security in a cost-efficient manner – Sophos.

Sophos Technologies, an international network security appliances provider features unified threat management appliances that offer user identity-based network security. Providing extensive security to individuals, it offers high-end security to organizations on a larger scale.

However, before deciding on a UTM provider, you must consider the following parameters:

 

Intrusion prevention

The UTM provider must be capable of identifying malicious activity and log pertinent information about any fraudulent activity. The Sophos Security equipment performs the intrusion prevention that is a to menace entities and prevent their access. It bounces back intruders even before they enter your system and cause further damage.

Anti-Virus scanning

With the emergence of various kinds of malware, ransomware, backdoors, malicious LSPs, Trojans, etc. the role of anti-viruses expanded to implementing strategies to protect the PCs from other computer threats such as malicious and infected URLs, phishing attacks, electronic spamming, and advanced persistent threats.

Bandwidth adjusting

The UTM provider must detect the tempering of your internet service by an ISP. Sophos abates the traffic coming to a network to avoid congestion and allows intersections to perform smoothly.

Data loss prevention

Data loss prevention is a strategy that is used to prevent sending critical data across in a corporate network, accidently or maliciously. Your unified threat management provider should ensure NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that is capable of protecting proprietary information or any type of trade secrets.

Reporting

Many UTMs create reports that show how your network is being used. The implementation of reports involves extracting, transforming, and loading procedure (ETL). Reporting is very important for knowledge administration and business intelligence.Sophos tracks and stores all the information and facilitates easy retrieval.

Call us at 888-545-5346 to know more details or visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services to browse through our IT managed service offerings.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/sophos-security-equipment-security-made-simple/

Beware of PC Registry Cleaners: Are They Safe?

Windows registry is a repository which collects massive data about your computer as it practically records everything that is performed on Windows. It is literally a cluttered space as Windows, by itself is not capable of cleaning the system efficiently as it’s always busy in creating new entries. Even though you uninstall a program or application, it leaves some unneeded pointers in the registry and thus slows down your system.

To resolve this issue, many PC registry cleaners are marketed to the users with the claim that they would speed up the computer system making it function better. However, before making your decision to purchase or install a free PC cleaner on your computer system because above all claims they make everything depends on the condition of your registry and the effectiveness of the registry cleaner that you select. Another thing to be considered is that registry cleaners usually delete things from the registry. 

While most of the times it is safe, there are times when registry cleaners caused serious problems to the computers and their data. Though most of the modern PC registry cleaners feature built-in methods to reverse changes when things go against expectations, it is not recommended to invest in an advertised PC cleaning system. Being diligent while making your choice is the first step towards protecting your system from unwanted attacks. Also, remember to back up your registry before letting the cleaner to remove or delete entries. Doing this would save you even if the registry cleaner doesn’t have an ‘undo’ option, you can use the backed up registry file to restore it back.

One more important thing to be highlighted is that registry cleaners do not speed up the computers and so, you do not need to run them regularly. Hackers are talented enough to compromise the quality of the wide range of PC cleaning software as happened with CCleaner software in August and September wherein malicious hackers had illegally modified the version 5.33 of CCleaner software which was available for download for about a month. 

Your computer data is precious and we, at Net Activity, Inc. recommend you not to install any PC registry cleaners without proper survey of their history. Also, think twice before going for cleaners that invest huge amounts on marketing and advertisements as they are no good. 

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/beware-of-pc-registry-cleaners-are-they-safe/

How to Train Non-IT Professionals for VoIP Phone Systems?

Incorporating VoIP phone systems for your business adds value to your routine operations and results in improved profit margins. However, this is possible only when your staff is well-informed about the complete feature set of the phone system. Using the VoIP phones does not require any technical expertise; however, the non-IT professionals want to be trained to utilize the system to its full capabilities to extract the best possible outcome. It’s important to train the non-IT staff during the procurement and deployment of business VoIP phone systems. This will also give the employees reasons to excited about this transition and adapt to the new work environment.

 

Get end-users involved in the selection process

When you make decisions at the managerial level, you often tend to concentrate on figures and integration with your infrastructure. The system features appear to be a perfect solution to your business. However, you may be missing an important step – talking to the end users. The job duties of end users involve them in getting hands-on with the system on a day-to-day basis. So considering their views before making a selection would help in discovering the most useful features for employees so that they meet the expectations of the businesses to their full capacity.

Arrange extensive training sessions

Implementing VoIP phone systems to your business set up would mean a sudden transition in the working environment. The best thing to do is train your employees, especially the non-IT staff members so they are prepared for change in the work processes.
If you are a business in Northeast Ohio looking for a VoIP service provider locally, Net Activity is the place for you. We offer customized VoIP plans and well-planned training sessions for your staff members so that you define the objectives to be achieved by the implementation.

Sell focused benefits to the non-IT staff

Individuals tend to be more interested in role-specific benefits of the VoIP system implementation rather than knowing the complete set of features. The VoIP system has the potential to explore the untapped areas of your business. By addressing non-IT concerns while deploying it into your business will help in aligning the right efforts towards accomplishing your business goals. Net Activity, Inc. can be your technology partner for VoIP system installation. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/voip-business-phone-services to see a list of our offerings or contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346 to discuss further.
Source - 

Why Choose Hybrid Cloud over The Public & Private Clouds?

For several years now, enterprises have been concentrating on cloud computing solutions but there is a small group that is extremely security conscious and therefore hesitates to move their workloads and precious data into the cloud. Hybrid cloud model comes to the rescue of such a class of organizations that offers a combination of private and public cloud networks and thereby is a more organized, customized, and secure platform. In a hybrid network, the private and public cloud infrastructures, which otherwise operate as independent entities, communicating over an encrypted connection.

 

The hybrid arrangement allows organizations to store their highly precious and privileged data on a private cloud while providing the flexibility to leverage computational resources from the public cloud. The most obvious benefit of a hybrid cloud environment is that enterprises can have on premise, private infrastructure resulting in reduced access time and latency when compared to the public cloud networks. The feature of leveraging to the public cloud for any failover circumstance provides an additional benefit of paying for the extra compute only when the resources are utilized.

Hybrid computing creates a balance between internal assets and external services. On one hand, it enables technology to optimize its infrastructure to meet business needs while maintaining security and reliability of vital data and applications. On the hand, it allows access to the public cloud’s storage and network capacity for routine operations and additional space on demand. 

Let us consider the following criteria to decide whether hybrid cloud solution is designed to suit your business needs:

 

Reliability–A network downtime is really frustrating and unaffordable. So, you must enquire about the service provider’s redundancy capacity and ensure that there are no points of failure. 

Security – Before finalizing a hybrid cloud computing service, enquire about the provider’s flexibility to be compliant to the security and privacy regulations that are specific to your industry.

SLAs – Check how your hybrid cloud partner’s service level agreements are defined.

Latency – Enquire how hybrid cloud service providers run applications and whether data transfers across platforms are involved. 

Hybrid cloud is a likely answer to enterprises looking for more flexibility in balancing the priorities of business and cloud infrastructure. However, choosing the right hybrid cloud computing service provider is important. In Cleveland, Net Activity, Inc. is an established cloud solution provider offering customizable plans for all business sizes. We are a team of professionals serving a large base of clientele since 2002. For more details about our services, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services or feel free to contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346. 

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/why-choose-hybrid-cloud-over-public-and-private-clouds/

Top 5 Differences between VoIP and Regular Telephone Service

Voice communication has undergone a huge revolution in the past few years and VoIP is a common term now. In fact, VoIP represents all the voice communication nowadays as the traditional telephone service has become an extinct species. VoIP has set high standards in the telecommunication industry as they are reliable, convenient, cost-efficient, easily scalable and offer utmost flexibility. Let’s understand why VoIP crept in and acquired the already established monopoly of the traditional phone services.

VoIP and Regular Telephone Service – Top 5 Differences

VoIP is in tune with the latest technology
VoIP emerged as a completely unique technology rather than just bringing in an update from regular voice calls. It utilizes internet connection and packet switching technology to set up a voice call in contrast to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and is more freely available to users across the world.

VoIP is economically priced
When a call is placed using the traditional telephones, the entire circuit from one end to the other is utilized and needs to be kept open which is why long distance calls cost high. On the contrary, VoIP converts the human voice into packets that travel using different routes and are assembled together at the other end. This packet switching technology reduces the overall cost of the calls placed as voice communications use the internet connection that already exists.

VoIP is a complete package & doesn’t serve a single purpose
For multi-tasking persons of the 21^st century, communications are not just limited to voice messages. VoIP offers several additional features such as a customizable virtual attendant, call forwarding, voicemail to email, three digit dialing, and many more. This whole set of convenient options for users tend to attract them towards the Voice over Internet Protocol service.

VoIP is more convenient and reliable
The concept was introduced to make communication easier, convenient and effective. VoIP allows maximum flexibility to users such as attending calls from anywhere, placing conference calls, computer to computer calling, etc. Also, it is very convenient to record calls and keep a record of the conversations (especially for businesses) on the internet.

VoIP is scalable at the least cost
Despite the estimations, one may require to expand or collapse their telephone services at any time. VoIP allows maximum flexibility and there is not much cost included. If the same has to be done with the traditional phone services, it would invite unnecessary cost escalations.

Net Activity, Inc. provides reliable VoIP phone services since 2002 and has saved 80% of the telephone costs of customers. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/voip-business-phone-services to know more details or contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/top-5-differences-between-voip-and-regular-telephone-service/

Tips to Stay Connected During the Hurricane Attacks

With the recent Hurricane Irma striking the Florida and Harvey striking Texas, there was and still is a crisis as friends, family, and co-workers panicked as they were not and still are not able to connect to each other along with little to no communication to first responders for assistance. There was an is no power and offices weren’t and still aren’t able to function to their fullest capabilities.

In today’s internet dependent world, the effects of such powerful hurricanes are really devastating as cell phone apps wouldn’t work that could otherwise update users on the weather conditions. You cannot rely solely on your phones for news. Some reports also stated that storms from of Irma would drift towards northeast Ohio from Wednesday night into Thursday. It is important to follow certain steps that will help you stay connected even in this critical situation.

Net Activity’s (http://netactivity.us/) security officials have enlisted the below tips that would ensure your safety and enable you stay connected during hurricanes.

ENSURE THAT YOUR MOBILE PHONES ARE CHARGED ENOUGH AT ALL TIMES

At this time, you would require you cell phone the most. Hurricanes will strike at any hour and your power might get disconnected. So, it’s very important to have your cell phone fully charged at all times. It would be great if you can arrange additional power banks for backup if the power doesn’t regain for a couple of more days.

LIMIT TELEPHONE USAGE DURING THE DISASTER TIME

Although you want to use your phone to get safety updates from your loved ones during hurricanes, prefer text messages over calls to save battery. Avoid using social media except for weather updates. Every citizen in the affected area should try and minimize network usage as it leads to congestion.

RESET YOUR PHONE’S EMERGENCY CONTACTS

Reset your phone’s contacts to include the police department, fire department, hospital, and a primary contact. This step will help people get instant help if they need immediate assistance due the storm.

PRACTICE DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLANS

Businesses should mark it in their calendars. Annual or bi-annual disaster management sessions with enacting mock situations are sure to be of great help during actual disasters.

Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/tips-to-stay-connected-during-the-hurricane-attacks/

Cloud Computing for Healthcare Industry – How Hospitals Can Use the Cloud?

The Healthcare industry moves at a slow pace when it comes to adopting technological changes and most of the organizations prefer to have paper records, film based images, duplicate tests, handwritten notes, and relies on outdated technology for communications. However, as other industries have flourished and improvised their culture by adapting to the cloud platform, the healthcare industry also has a whole lot to explore and benefit from the cloud

Cloud computing uses internet-based servers to store, manage, and process data while enabling on-demand access to a shared pool of networks. Healthcare industry is also experiencing a drastic shift towards a care model that is information-centered and value based. To support this shift, cloud computing extends its support and has become prevalent over the past decade.

There are a variety of options available for healthcare providers to choose from. 

Software as a Service (SaaS)

 In case the healthcare provider requires custom software, mobile application, or data analysis program, SaaS can help by providing on-demand resources from cloud-based servers located around the world.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS enables healthcare providers to code and deploy applications efficiently and quickly. PaaS is a category that allows customers to develop and manage applications without needing to maintain a typical infrastructure for creating and launching an app.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

When healthcare providers prefer a highly automated and standardized platform with ample storage and networking capabilities that is owned and hosted by a third-party service provider and can be made available to general users on-demand, IaaS is the solution for them.

How does cloud computing benefit the healthcare organizations?

The benefits of cloud services can be categorized in clinical and non-clinical. The clinical advantages include managing EHRs of patients, ease of transferring information, enhanced clinical research and long term statistical analysis. However, the clinical applications contribute only 52.4% of the cloud usage by healthcare providers. 73.4% of the cloud applications aid in the non-clinical functions like the administrative tasks. Healthcare professionals prefer using the cloud services more for the administrative tasks like payroll management and other IT related functions as it eases them from the hassle and allows them to concentrate in what they are best at

Cloud computing services for the healthcare industry are designed to simplify calculations, lessen IT infrastructure costs, smoothen modern day latest technology adaption, and enable a high-tech healthcare environment that is lucrative for patients and convenient for doctors or physicians. We offer reliable cloud computing services for the healthcare industry and have assisted many healthcare organizations achieve a hassle-free IT collaboration. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/who-we-help/health-care to understand our service offerings better or get in touch with Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/cloud-computing-for-healthcare-industry/

VoIP Phone Benefits: How is it Advantageous to Your Business?

Traditional phone systems, also called as Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) have been long ago morphed into a digital communication system – the VoIP networks to eliminate the need of hardware and transform into a completely different communication medium.

VoIP Phone Benefits

The VoIP phone service offers software application driven features that proves to be the biggest advantage over the traditional PBX systems. It allows for a set of unique features that ease communications and foster a sophisticated IT infrastructure. The PBX functions on traditional methods and is programmed to function likewise. It will keep on ringing simultaneously even if the caller is not at place. However, an IP-based phone may be programmed to ring only when an external call is received or to ring only for a certain while and become silent or take a voice-call in case the user is not in place. Users can even route their calls from one number to another if they are travelling or can set up to receive a voicemail transcribed in a text message or email. VoIP also benefits users by allowing them to have voice or video calls over the internet for better convenience.

VoIP leverages many benefits over the PBX telephone systems that lead to its popularity across businesses. There is no hardware set-up; just a small footprint of VoIP phones and adapters along with a standard API for accessing applications. Moving to VoIP is like taking a giant leap into a completely different world of communication that is innovative, flexible, and cost-effective. However, organizations must assess their network for all verticals before establishing a VoIP solution.

Net Activity, Inc. is a popular and reliable VoIP service provider in Ohio serving the industry since 2002. We are a team of trained professionals who possess technical expertise and customer handling experience and are determined to deliver the best of our VoIP services to our customers. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/voip-business-phone-services to know more about what VOIP services we offer or dial 888-545-5346 to discuss further.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/voip-phone-benefits-how-is-it-advantageous-to-your-business/

Why Do Nonprofit Organizations Need to Upgrade to VoIP Phone Services?

VoIP phone service is a common term now and does not require an introduction. This type of telecommunication is highly recommended for non-profit organizations as it eases the jobs and saves money. Collaboration with VoIP service providers brings in a feature-rich system which ensures smooth functioning of the non-profits in a cost-effective manner. Convinced by the benefits, a large number of non-profit set-ups have adopted the VoIP Phone Services communication system. However, some of those are still lagging behind.

Here’s how VoIP phone services for nonprofit organizations have changed the way they operate:

Receive calls while on Appointments

VoIP allows workers to twin a single phone number on two devices so that they ring simultaneously – one on the desk and other mobile device. This feature enhances reachability of the non-profit workers as they will never miss a call just because they are atan appointment.

Auto attendant

Non-profits run on a small budget and cannot afford to appoint a full-time receptionist to handle calls attentively. So, the auto-attendant feature provided by VoIP phone system proves to be an economical and sophisticated option. This enhances customer relationship management and displays a bigger picture of the organization at literally no extra costs.

Greener fax messages

VoIP services are known to be a greener technology service. It offers the ‘UniFax’ feature that receives fax in an email format wherein there is no paper wastage. Since non-profits are known to contribute to a good cause, this would be an extra step that promotes greener living.

Voice mail transcription

Users of VoIP phone systems are amazed at this feature as it adds up to their comfort by receiving the voice messages in an email format so that you don’t end up taking a paper and pen to note down every message in a hassle. This saves a lot of time and effort.

Net Activity, Inc. has helped one of its non-profit clients save nearly $250,000 over a 5-year period by installing a VoIP phone system and the organization now operates economically and more efficiently. If you wish to experience the VoIP telecommunication methods and benefit from the feature-rich service, contact the Net Activity office at 888-545-5346. You can also visit us at http://www.netactivity.us/who-we-help/non-profits to know how we can help your non-profit organization.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/why-do-nonprofit-organizations-need-to-upgrade-to-voip-phone-services/

VoIP Phone Benefits: How is it Advantageous to Your Business?

Traditional phone systems, also called as Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) have been long ago morphed into a digital communication system – the VoIP networks to eliminate the need of hardware and transform into a completely different communication medium.

VoIP Phone Benefits 

The VoIP phone service offers software application driven features that proves to be the biggest advantage over the traditional PBX systems. It allows for a set of unique features that ease communications and foster a sophisticated IT infrastructure. The PBX functions on traditional methods and is programmed to function likewise. It will keep on ringing simultaneously even if the caller is not at place. However, an IP-based phone may be programmed to ring only when an external call is received or to ring only for a certain while and become silent or take a voice-call in case the user is not in place.

Users can even route their calls from one number to another if they are traveling or can set up to receive a voicemail transcribed in a text message or email. VoIP also benefits users by allowing them to have voice or video calls over the internet for better convenience.

VoIP leverages many benefits over the PBX telephone systems that lead to its popularity across businesses. There is no hardware set-up; just a small footprint of VoIP phones and adapters along with a standard API for accessing applications. Moving to VoIP is like taking a giant leap into a completely different world of communication that is innovative, flexible, and cost-effective. However, organizations must assess their network for all verticals before establishing a VoIP solution.

Net Activity, Inc. is a popular and reliable VoIP service provider in Ohio serving the industry since 2002. We are a team of trained professionals who possess technical expertise and customer handling experience and are determined to deliver the best of our VoIP services to our customers. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/voip-business-phone-services to know more about what VOIP services we offer or dial 888-545-5346 to discuss further.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/voip-phone-benefits-how-is-it-advantageous-to-your-business/

Top 5 Benefits of Outsourcing IT Through Managed Services

Just until a few years ago, business owners, especially the start-ups or ones who have small scale investments worried about the IT set up and resources that estimated a piled-up expense. However, with the concept of outsourcing all the IT tasks, it became easier and manageable. Outsourcing is a business strategy that has proven its efficiency in establishing businesses faster and allowing them to cut excess costs, thereby promoting a convincing business structure. IT managed service providers have performed outstandingly to offer more tangible benefits to small as well as large scale businesses.

Top 5 Benefits of Outsourcing IT Through Managed Services

Read further to understand the reason why outsourcing IT operations and maintenance has found greater acceptance in the past few years.

Drastic Fall in Operational Costs:
Moving the IT off-site can result in huge savings for businesses. As this is the main driver for decision making for small businesses, cost consideration draws in the interest of business owners. The hardware expenses, cabling, storage, data-center, servers, etc. are taken care of by the cloud vendor.

Inexpensive Upgrades:
IT demands regular updates and outsourcing IT means the updates are the responsibility of the managed IT service provider and not the business. Sometimes, it is obvious for the non-IT persons to skip or ignore a few updates that could offer something more to their business. When trained IT professionals take charge of a company’s IT requirements, they become liable for any further upgrades, of course at a nominal fee.

Undivided Attention on Core Business Activities:
There’s intense competition on the market and survival of businesses depends on stringent lines. If non-IT people spend their precious time in understanding IT, they might lose on something that they are good at that would fetch better returns.

Better Disaster Management:
Natural disasters may occur at any time and could cost a huge loss to the business data. Most businesses are not well-equipped for recovery options in case of these unexpected disasters. Outsourcing to an IT expert would take this worry away as they are designed to handle such crisis without letting any harm done to your routine operations.

Increased Productivity:
Organizations who have a smooth IT infrastructure have reportedly been performing well consistently. A qualified managed service provider contributes so much to the business that the overall productivity automatically increases.

The Net Activity team complements core businesses by taking charge of their complete IT operations and has successfully partnered with hundreds of organizations to help them save considerably on their IT spending. You can benefit by hiring our reliable IT managed services. We are just a call away. Call us at 888-545-5346 to know more details or visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services to browse through our service offerings.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/top-5-benefits-of-outsourcing-it-through-managed-services/

Why Cloud Computing is The Right Choice for Your Hospitality Business?

Hospitality industry undergoes rapid turbulence as it needs to adapt itself to the constantly evolving lifestyle trends. Customers look for more convenience and prefer those organizations who pamper their needs the most. Economy is tough on the hospitality industry and with a huge competition in the market; it has become more difficult to survive. Cloud computing offers a cost-effective solution to hospitality businesses while minimizing risk and increasing scalability.

With cloud computing, hospitality industries experience a higher return on their investments and allow them to experiment more on newer technological aspects that focus on customer retention and appreciation. Cloud computing services make applications run faster and considerably less expensive for a low monthly subscription or an annual fee. It completely eliminates the need of investing heavily on expensive hardware and thereby reducing the financial risks associated with maintaining the infrastructure. Moreover, the cloud keeps your data secure by offering added protection from hackers which reduces the risks of a security breach. There are automatic updates at virtually no cost which means added convenience for users.

Specifically, for the hospitality industry, the cloud provides a platform that eases human resource management, inventory tracking, ordering, processing orders, and providing point-of-sale facilities.Additionally, the cloud allows faster reservations, promotions, loyalty rewards, and customer feedback. It is a package that serves the complete processes of the hospitality industry and ensures reliability while providing business owners the time to look into core business operations and plan for expansion or diversification. Cloud can accommodate unplanned expansions too and is simple to use.Regardless of all these features, cloud services ensure that the staff and consumers have the relevant information on their fingertips which builds trust in them and hence prospers business. 

Hospitality industries are progressing with the advent of cloud computing solutions for their businesses and as a result many cloud computing service providers are flooding in with appealing plans. However, it is important to make a rational choice and hire the services of a reliable cloud computing solutions provider. Net Activity Inc. has been in the industry for more than 15 years and has technical expertise that has delivered proven benefits to many industries in Ohio and across the United States. To know more about our service offerings, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/who-we-help/hospitality or contact us at 888-545-5346.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/cloud-computing-right-choice-for-hospitality-industry/

Keep Your Stress and Profit Loss to A Minimum with Cloud Computing

IT administration is constantly under pressure and intensifies with the advancement of technology. Cloud Computing is probably the best thing to happen in the IT sector and has penetrated deep into every business as well as households. This has changed the complete scenario of how operations and transactions take place using the information technology. Cloud solutions ease the IT administration and saves the admin’s time and efforts in keeping the systems up and running. Managing a wide range of IT tools like those for management, security, and monitoring is very convenient as the cloud lightens the hardware and software load and makes it easier to manage.

Cloud provides a more flexible option to store your data with the ease of use. Now, there is no need of constant updates at user end whenever a new version is launched as it is done on the vendor’s site on the cloud. With transition to the cloud, the admin as well as general users having access to the cloud can use the tools from almost any device and location. Managing your IT systems and other office operations can simply be done from your desk, a tablet, at home, or a laptop on the beach. Moreover, the IT infrastructure tools also work perfectly in synchronization with remote machines you may be using in office or at home.

Cloud fosters a relaxing work style and allows some overtime to be done from home or at your convenience. The stressful IT employees and business owners can now work in more relaxed and flexible work environments and worry less about any losses as cloud stores securely and is a very affordable platform even for start-ups.

At Net Activity Inc., we focus on collaborating your IT infrastructure with the cloud environment so that you experience extremely functional IT solutions to run your business smoothly. We are a team of professionals who have immense knowledge and years of experience in establishing IT systems on the flexible cloud platforms leveraging lot more options that scale up your business operations exponentially. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services or contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346 to discuss further.

Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/keep-your-stress-and-profit-loss-to-a-minimum-with-cloud-computing/

How To Choose Trusted Managed IT Service Provider For Your Business?

Today, business sizes are not big enough to be able to afford hiring and maintaining a team of professionally trained IT technicians with the infrastructure required for the same. Therefore, to focus on their core operations, many businesses are thinking intelligently and economically by hiring an outside firm to take care of the IT operations instead of investing substantially in IT. However, this must be a careful decision as with all the dependency on computers, networks, servers, emails, or VoIP systems. Businesses can’t imagine downtime in today’s 27 / 7 work environment. So, choosing a Managed IT Service Provider needs to have a thoughtful approach.

Here are some things to consider while making your selection

Technical Competence

The level of competence of a managed service provider should define their criteria to walk you through your selection list. The staff working at the provider ought to be well-trained and experienced enough to be able to handle your specific business needs.

Flexibility at Work

The managed service provider must serve you at any emergency hour instead of being available for certain hours when you are working too. You can work out these kinds of arrangements while signing the contract so that there are no complications or lapse in service.

Remote Monitoring

IT has advanced to a level that there’s no need for the IT technician to be present at your premises to solve an issue. By simply accessing your system remotely would resolve issues. With remote monitoring applications, your IT managed services provider can monitor systems hourly or minute by minute and alert you in case any ambiguities are observed.

Billing Methods

Once you’re confident about the quality of services provided by a Managed Service Provider, you must be assured of the genuineness of the amount they bill you for. For this, you must be aware about the market trends and have a fair idea of what costs how much. All said and done, it’s a sensitive matter and you get to know the pros and cons of the services provided by a Managed IT Service Provider only when you begin your contract with them. So, it is a wise choice to get along with an established and reliable IT Managed Services Provider like Net Activity, Inc. who are equipped with latest technology and trained professionals to work for business’s very crucial IT infrastructure. For more details, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services or discuss your business requirements with Harry Bhatia, President, Net Activity at 888-545-5346.

Article Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/how-to-choose-trusted-managed-it-service-provider-for-your-business/

Give Premium Features to Your Business Using VoIP Phone Services

VoIP Phone Services – Must Know Facts

Businesses – small or big are making a move towards using VoIP phone services over the traditional phone systems. The voice over internet protocol business phone systems leverage powerful features that can benefit businesses to a large extent. There are many commonly known features such as call waiting, voicemail, call forwarding, toll free numbers, and remote operation. Apart from these, there are some other premium features your business can benefit from. Have a look at these awesome features that would boost your business operations.

Analog Door Phone

VoIP ensures safety at your office entrance as it allows a two-way call with visitors and unlocks the door with the phone only if they seem worthy.

Follow Me/Find Me Call Routing

There is an option for mobile users that you can create a list of numbers where you can be found like office/home such that you have your office phone ring twice but on the third ring your cell phone starts ringing and then on the fifth, your home phone.

Play Music on Hold

If the company has to place clients on hold, this feature is very important as there is nothing worse than the elevator’s noise or silence. Businesses can even promote their offers while the customers hold their line when it is being transferred to respective executives.

Voicemail to Email Transcriptions

This feature alerts you by allowing the transcription of your voice mail messages to your email address or as text to your phone.

Bandwidth Utilization

A managed VoIP solution provider allows you to view and track data usage over a period of time. You also get inbound and outbound call reports and estimate hours invested and costs of the calls made using VoIP.

Coaching Tools

On-the-call training is possible with the new and innovative VoIP features that allow training and monitoring employees on their phone performance. There are two options available: whisper and barge. Whisper allows you to provide tips and information needed to your employees when they are on call with the client without letting the client know while barge is a feature that allows you to listen to the conversation between the employee and client without interrupting.

Auto Attendant

Make your business look more professional and impressive by allowing them to choose an appropriate extension. It is like getting an electronic receptionist for your business!
And there are many… VoIP allows you to portray a highly professional business that customers like to deal with and businesses like to partner with. Net Activity, Inc. is teamed with trained professionals who have been in the business of setting up VoIP phone systems since 2002. You can call Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346to discuss further.

Article Source - http://www.netactivity.us/blog/give-premium-features-business-using-voip-phone-services/

5 Aspects to Consider When Selecting Your Cloud Storage

There are a wide variety of choices when it comes to deciding on cloud storage for your business which leads to confusing the business owners. Every business has a different set of requirements and thus considering both the technical as well as non-technical aspects while making the selection is essential.

Below are some points to consider while selecting your cloud storage:

COST CONSIDERATIONS
The main reason for shift to cloud storage solutions is decreasing operating costs while securing company data. Cloud storage providers offer solutions at very competitive prices. However, you need to be analytical about the overall value the providers have to offer you at the quoted price. Factors that influence the price of cloud storage is storage space in the cloud, the sites/ other applications, and number of servers in the cloud. Here, you need to understand a fact that a low priced cloud service provider may not necessarily provide you more value for your money. You must consider the complete data lifecycle.

SECURITY MEASURES
The cloud has struggled a lot to prove its security as businessmen still do not completely trust this third party storage service. Due to the past stories of big companies being prey to data breaches, businessmen are not enthusiastic about relying on any third party to maintain their data. So, cloud service providers are working on innovating new, improved security measures including firewalls, data encryption, routine security audits, and anti-virus software. Once you are sure about the vendors’ security undertakings, you can figure out which plan suits your specific requirements.

LOCATION OF YOUR CLOUD STORAGE
Storing data on the cloud is very much like storing it on a physical location. You need to understand from the cloud service provider where your data will be located on the cloud. Suppose your data is located in another country, it may be affected by that country’s laws and the data can be accessed and controlled as per those laws. Also, another important factor to be considered is whether the data storage location is prone to natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes.

FEATURE SET
Cloud solutions offered by different cloud service providers consist of a variety of features like content management, in-cloud snapshots, in-cloud disaster recovery, file level access, etc. You must be known about what features your cloud solution provider has to offer you.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
A breakdown can happen anytime or at any hour. While choosing a vendor, you need to question about their availability, who to contact in a situation of crisis, or how much time it would require to resolve an issue.
Apart from the above listed considerations, analyzing your business and a discussion with technology experts would give you some other major points to be thought upon while choosing the services of a cloud service vendor.

If you wish to immediately contact a reliable cloud computing solution provider, Net Activity, Inc. can be your partner. Please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services to understand what we offer or contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346.

Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/5-aspects-to-consider-when-selecting-your-cloud-storage/

What is New in Microsoft Azure Web Application Firewall?

Microsoft recently made its new Web Application Firewall available for customers. Initially, they announced the centralized WAF service that protected the applications running in the Azure public cloud environment from attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks.

According to Yousef Khalidi, Microsoft corporate vice president for Azure Networking, it is difficult to prevent the 7-layer app-level attacks and requires maintenance, monitoring and patching through the application tiers. With the introduction of Web Application Firewalls, users will not have to make any application changes for protecting against web attacks and simplifying security management. Microsoft assures a better security against threats and intrusions with its application and compliance administrators.

Microsoft’s Azure Application Gateway can host multiple sites as this application delivery controller (ADC) includes SSL termination; URL path based routing, load distribution. The ADC also provides end-to-end SSL encryption and logging as well as SSL policy control. The WAF comes with Open Wen Application Security Project (OWASP) ModSecurity Core Rule Set (3.0 or 2.2.9) that is designed to protect against threats such as command injection, HTTP response splitting, HTTP request smuggling, HTTP protocol violation, crawlers, bots, and general scanners. Microsoft has attended to the issue of denial-of-service attacks that occur against multiple web pages
.
Presently, the Azure Application Gateway can host up to 20 sites behind each gateway, all of which are capable of defending against such attacks. The Microsoft team confirmed that they intend to add the new WAF service through the Azure Security Service that recommends ways to re-mediate discovered issues after scanning the cloud based subscriptions for vulnerabilities. Their security service did not include protecting web pages that aren’t scanned by a WAF. However, it offers third party firewalls from a Barracuda Networks.

Net Activity, Inc. is a Microsoft certified partner and has actively been supporting businesses across Ohio for installation of Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. We operate since 2002 and ensure a secured cloud presence while enhancing business productivity cost-effectively. For more details, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services or get in touch with Harry Bhatia, President, Net Activity, Inc. at 888-545-5346.

Article Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/what-is-new-in-microsoft-azure-web-application-firewall/

Why Cyber Security Should Be Your No. 1 Business Priority for 2017?

A significant number of CEOs along with their executives and managers have reported that their technology budget will see a considerable increase in 2017 – a recent survey report from Mondo read. According to one of the Business Insider’s reports, it is estimated that nearly $655 billion will be spent on cyber-security initiatives for protecting mobile devices, PCs, and IoTs between 2015 & 2020.

Cyber security is at the top of all the IT spending priorities as companies are more concerned about their network and data due to increasing threats and hackers on the market. President Trump also said (cnet.com) in one of his pre-election speeches that the only way to keep America safe is to make cyber-security a major priority.

Cyber criminals are evolving at a very aggressive pace as they intelligently utilize the opportunity of being anonymous and spontaneous. They are developing new, innovative modes of attack every day. They study an individual’s or an organization’s cyber behavior and intervene instantly wherever they find a loose string. Companies must start being prepared for potential cyber-attack as otherwise they might face heavy data losses, disruption of operations, or loss of customers’ trust.

Despite the efforts put in by the cyber security experts and government agencies, cyber-crime is likely to increase in the coming years. Technical innovation and use of smart phones invite more online dangers. Moreover, the development of Internet of Things has made machines more vulnerable attack points for hackers.

Malware protection must be a key concern rather than just having policies for securing emails, web browsing data, and personal devices. Cyber security can be strengthened with the right measures and by collaborating with the right Managed Service Provider (MSP).

We, the Net Activity, Inc. team have been consistently serving businesses across Ohio by securing their networks and data from any possible discrepancies since 2002. We are also Microsoft partners which strengthens our identity as a reliable Managed Service Provider in Ohio. If you wish to gather more details, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services or you can contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346.

Why Businesses are Moving their Severs to the Cloud

Virtualization has impacted businesses a lot and cloud servers are changing the data storage aspects. With the emergence of cloud servers, there is no upgrading of hard drives, no external storage devices, and no emptying the recycle bin. Cloud servers have been a wise investment for start-ups as well as established corporations to manage and secure their data. In this process, an operating system is separated from the hardware without impacting either in any way. Cloud servers use virtualization to allow users to install their operating systems on a generic layer overlaying the hardware. They are software independent units and do not require centrally installed software.  

When cloud technology was a novice concept, it took several days for commissioning a server and involved outsourcing the process to a third-party vendor by a server rental agreement or purchasing hardware. A cloud server eases the whole thing and uses ‘redundant hardware’ which is already installed and tested by the vendor. This reduces the provisioning time to merely a few minutes.

Let’s have a look at the benefits of cloud servers:

• Cloud servers offer a more economical solution than the standard dedicated servers. For the same price, cloud provides more resources and flexibility.

• Your data is safer in the cloud environment as a software problem is isolated to and from your cloud environment. Your resources are dedicated and thus stability is guaranteed.

• They are safe, fast, and secure. Cloud servers provide the best stability/cost ratio performance and they do not suffer from the usual hardware problems.

• Cloud provides scalability – easily and reliably. It is more affordable too.

The list is endless. However, one thing is for sure that the cloud server can benefit IT managers largely who need to administer and manage multiple locations and devices. Here, cloud helps them reduce the cost of ownership of their network and find an efficient way to manage the networks and devices/applications.

Net Activity, Inc. can help you get a secure, accessible, cost-effective cloud space allowing you enjoy unlimited data storage capacity on a pay-per-seat basis. To experience lot more benefits of the cloud technology, please feel free to contact Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346 or visit: http://www.netactivity.us/contact-us for further details.

Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/why-businesses-are-moving-their-severs-to-the-cloud/

The Next Generation Ransomware Detector & Virus Cleaner: Sophos Intercept X

Sophos has always deployed intelligent security solutions to businesses and with the introduction of Sophos Intercept X users can be extra careful with the malicious attacks on their systems. The Intercept X uses big data analytics in addition to a deep understanding of attack vectors, threat patterns, and criminal motives much sooner without needing any updates or signatures. The Sophos Intercept X is a combination of several techniques for faster identification and response that does not require specialized security staff.

The Sophos Intercept X has already been in the headlines for detecting and protecting computer systems from ransomware attacks. Sophos ransomware protection and advanced anti-exploit has the capability to block zero-day threats. Unlike other threat management systems, Sophos Intercept X features root cause analysis and automated forensic reporting that pinpoints infection points and offers a detailed guidance for strengthening an organization’s security position. It observes the actual behavior of the process in a signature less manner and understands whether the process is malicious or not, rather than acting at a later time when the damage is done. Sophos Intercept X goes down to identify the source of attack and responses with a deep cleaning of all the harmful attackers. The product can be easily installed and managed through the Sophos Central cloud based management console. The Sophos virus removal tool closes many of the security gaps that existed for organizations all around the globe.

The Intercept X features the Anti-exploit technology as studies revealed that almost 90% of the breaches are due to exploits and most of the exploited vulnerabilities are already known. Sophos has diagnosed 24 different techniques used within the exploits rather than tackling the exploits directly. The Intercept X gives a meaningful response to the possible attacks while providing both cleanup and forensics. The Sophos Intercept X displays the what, where, when, how, and by whom of the virus attacks and also guides a novice user to the list of next steps. It can be installed as a standalone product or can be merged with the Sophos Central endpoint product for better results.

If you have any further queries about network security and virus cleaners, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/contact-us Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346.



Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/the-next-generation-ransomware-detector-virus-cleaner-sophos-intercept-x/

IT Suffering from Bad Weather Conditions in Cleveland : What is the Solution

On Wednesday, the March 9th 2017, Cleveland was struck by heavy, strong winds and many businesses suffered huge downtime issues. The winds were harsh on the roads and in offices too as there was no internet connectivity. Many of the business owners faced serious network failures and had to stay off as a consequence. At some places, the power outage was so serious that it is said that there would be no power till Saturday. People are even not able to access their emails on the local exchange server. One of our clients faced an unexpected internet failure while they tried to fix somebody else’s cable.

Then and now, IT security has always been a crucial component and a key concern for every business. Business data is important and it has to be secured. However, natural calamities like the wind that hit Cleveland yesterday are things beyond control and enterprises must have a plan B. Nevertheless, businesses must have a backup solution to prevent unexpected data loss due to natural calamities.

Is Cloud the solution?

Yes. Cloud providers host your backups on their servers. It is as simple as connecting to the server via an internet connection and backing up the data. Interestingly, you don’t need to invest in infrastructure, IT resources or maintenance as everything is managed by the cloud providers. Moreover, the cloud backup solution is very scalable. It is very affordable and easily accessible. The cloud servers are scalable and can be easily set up in just a few hours.

How can Office365 help?

Microsoft Office 365 is an effective tool that protects sensitive information. The Office 365 features standard data loss prevention (DLP) policy which identifies, monitors, and protects your sensitive information. It prevents accidental sharing of your sensitive information and helps users to learn how to stay compliant without interrupting the workflow.

Net Activity, Inc. has been serving clients across the Ohio state since 2002. The team suggests using Cloud services and Office 365 to build a protected IT network management system that does not interrupt business workflows in spite of natural calamities or any threatening cyber-attack. We are a Microsoft Cloud Partner and offer complete IT solution to businesses including unlimited remote and telephone support, monthly preventive maintenance, 24x7x365 server monitoring, and all what you expect from an IT Managed Provider. Our Cloud services in Cleveland are one of the most reliable and economical solutions to your data security. We can discuss further – visit or get in touch with Harry Bhatia at 888-545-5346 and we would be happy to get your business data protected. http://www.netactivity.us/contact-us

Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/it-suffering-from-bad-weather-conditions-in-cleveland-what-is-the-solution/

Are You Taking Data Recovery and Backup For Granted

It’s highly irritating if you experience a sudden shut down in the midst of important work on your computer system. Computers or laptops are our virtual world and has all your important data. Anyone would freak out if this happens. The situation of CEOs and CFOs who handle critical information and work on important confidential documents cannot be even imagined after losing such precious data.

Users understand the role of managed service providers who ensure that data is backed-up and the backup data is fully encrypted to protect it from disgruntled employees, added hackers, and snooping competitors. Apart from the various services they offer, data backup and recovery is a crucial task. A hosting company worth partnering makes all critical arrangements for saving your precious data. So, this decision is very critical and ignoring the services of a managed IT support service provider could prove disastrous to businesses.

Furthermore, as a business professional, you must be aware of the level of backup and what is the recovery mode used by the host. Below are some basic things you must know to ensure data backup and recovery:

A backup takes place when a snapshot is taken of the data of each tier in the EBS (elastic book system) of the cloud. This snapshot is stored while still being encrypted in a cloud section that makes it accessible in all availability zones. Besides this, the backup service makes encrypted copies of your website periodically and distributes them across all the available zones of the cloud. It is a daily process and the data is retained for as long as you want it to.

Here are 5 disaster recovery incidences that trigger an action when recovery issues arise within the cloud:

• Failure of data volumes or application servers in a solution tier
• Failure of a data volume or individual application server
• Failure of the elastic load balancer (ELB)
• Failure of entire cloud region
• Failure of the complete availability zone

Your data is precious. Assure yourself that you are not compromising with the security of your systems. Trust only a reliable IT managed service provider for securing your data. The cloud is a complex environment and only experienced professionals can be responsible for a safe environment for your data. Net Activity has been in the business for long and has served a diverse clientele assuring data security.for more details about the managed services we offer or you can contact Harry Bhatia at 216-503-5150 X 206 to discuss them. http://www.netactivity.us/contact-us


Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/are-you-taking-data-recovery-and-backup-for-granted/

Are Big Data and Cloud Computing Related? How?

Big data and cloud computing are the most hyped phenomenon driving the IT stream of businesses all around the world. Experts say that the emergence of big data was a result of the rise of cloud computing and cloud data stores. Unexceptionally, both these terminologies hold high degrees of similarity in the IT industry. They are inter-dependent in the manner that cloud resources are required to support big data projects and storage while big data is a huge business case for moving the cloud.

Big Data is more about extracting VALUE out of Variety, Velocity and Volume while Cloud has its focus on scalable, elastic, on-demand, and pay-per-use self-service models. Big Data needs a large on-demand compute power and distributed storage and Cloud seamlessly provides elastic on-demand computer required for the same. The workload nature of the Big Data computing infrastructure makes it a perfect case for the cloud.

There are many patterns which highlight the relationship better:

SIMPLICITY: To mention it simply, simplification is the key component of Cloud and Big Data, which is the prime reason for their mass adoption.  The simplification provided by the combination of Big Data and Cloud Computing can increase the adoption of a seemingly complex problem of large scale distributed processing.

COST-EFFICIENCY: Both Cloud and Big Data deliver value to companies by lowering the cost of ownership. Their combination has been driving the cost down for enterprise and bringing value to enterprises.

SECURITY: Both the platforms offer data security and protect privacy concerns. System integrators have been building solutions within the enterprise to build Elastic Scalable Private Cloud Solution that brings in the value which enterprises can leverage to bring a Scalable Distributed Processing in action within the enterprise.

For more details on cloud computing, visit NetActivity or call Harry Bhatia at 216-503-5150 X 206. http://www.netactivity.us/contact-us



Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/are-big-data-and-cloud-computing-related-how/

Only 10% of Hospitals & Clinics Keep Their Patients’ Data Safe

                     Startling Findings and Educates Healthcare Providers on Solutions


This is a startling fact that has many people questioning the data security practices of hospitals and clinics everywhere. According to privacy researchers at the Ponemon Institute, “Recent numbers show 90% of health care organizations have exposed their patients’ data — or had it stolen — in 2012 and 2013.” The implications of this research are far-reaching and unsettling for most consumers. However, unified communications and IT security providers, like Net Activity, have devised many solutions to help curtail this epidemic.

Most attacks are the caused by hackers who want to acquire medical records due to their extreme value. The information in medical records (name, birth date, addresses, phone numbers, medical history and social security numbers), can be easily used for identity theft, fraudulent medical billing or acquiring prescriptions to resell on the street. Hackers can use the medical information to accomplish just about anything once acquired. This flaw in IT security is not a series of isolated incidents but an incredibly widespread problem now affecting millions of people across the nation.

In August, Community Health Systems reported that Chinese hackers had allegedly stolen a staggering 4.5 million patient records in what could be the largest breach of patient data to date. The company is treating the breach as a violation of HIPPA, even though the hackers didn’t gain access to medical records (only names, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers were stolen). The breach happened between April and June this year, and was discovered in July. According to cyber-security firm Mandiant, which helped investigate the breach, the group responsible for the attack is known as “APT 18,” and may have links to the Chinese government.

The majority of hospitals and health organizations are using outdated technology on a single network making the job of hacking into networks even easier for criminals. IT security is often a large oversight for healthcare organizations because their objective is to save lives. Unfortunately, lack of internal IT expertise and outdated technology plagues the healthcare industry making it an easy target.

The challenge here is that doctors are inherently more interested in saving lives, instead of upgrading their IT security. This a great thing for society and we believe that’s exactly what doctors should be focused on! The only thing is that IT security must be addressed too. Over the years, we’ve learned exactly what it takes to protect health organizations and we love being a part of the solution to this problem. It’s unfortunate when something like this happens but it brings much needed education to the issues at hand. It is Managed IT Service Provider’s duty to educate  the small businesses and provide doctors with the technology tools they need to do their jobs, protect their  patients and spend their time focused on saving lives, instead of firewalls.

Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/only-10-of-hospitals-clinics-keep-their-patients-data-safe/

Review This Checklist When Outsourcing IT Help Desk Support

Outsourcing any sort of IT services brings in a unique set of worries to the business owners. Where do I start? How do I find a trustworthy and knowledgeablemanaged IT service provider? Will they help if my whole system crashes? Will I lose all my data? The list of doubts is endless.

Outsourcing IT help desk support is one of the most important strategic decisions and you want to make sure that your data is safe throughout the contract period. Here’s a list of questions you need to ask before finalizing the deal with an IT help desk support provider.

• Is comprehensive network assessment included? Taking down the details will save on time later on. Having a well-documented overview of your network as well as your IT service provider will save time and confusion.
• Are they providing you a signed service agreement? This will clear up any confusion about legal and billing jumbos. It is the best way out to set expectations.
• Will they assign a specific engineer to your account? While this would not be possible for larger entities, having a dedicated engineer for your company would be beneficial at times, but it also limits the range of support that can be available to you. On the contrary, having multiple engineers on your team broadens the amount of expertise and experience available to you.
• Do they have a separate telephone line to answer your queries?  Most of the IT companies have a separate line for support instead of the administrative office. You should know the details in case of an emergency.

When are their off hours?What are the charges for emergency support? Any notable IT company will offer a higher rate for their emergency support services. You should have information about the charges so that you will be ready in the event of an emergency.

Seeking answers to these questions from your IT managed service provider would make it easier to initiate terms of communication and have a long-term contract. If you are looking for a reliable IT Managed Services Support provider in Cleveland, Net Activity, Inc. holds a strong reputation for providing 24x7 help desk support to its clients since 2002. In case you need to know about our services in detail, please contact Harry Bhatia at 2165035150 X 206 or visit http://www.netactivity.us/contact.html


Source: http://www.netactivity.us/blog/review-this-checklist-when-outsourcing-it-help-desk-support/