Category: IT How To

When your server shuts down or you can’t find your data files, you need help right away. But if you don’t have tech staff onsite, you’ll just have to sit there and wait until your IT company can send someone. In the meantime, you’re wasting time and money because your employees can’t do their jobs.

Does Your Company Have Onsite IT Staff?

The problem is that many small businesses in and around {city} can’t afford to employ a full-time tech. Salaries for capable IT professionals, along with the benefits and insurance expectations required to hire one, are cost-prohibitive for companies on a tight budget.

However, if your staff is sitting around without the use of their computers and they can’t do their jobs, in the end, you’re spending your hard-earned money paying employees to do nothing. Clearly, your business needs onsite IT service so it can continue to function. So doesn’t it make sense to contract onsite IT support for one or two days a week?

How Can You Afford Onsite IT Staff?

Having onsite IT staff doesn’t always mean employing them. Today you can find qualified help from a Managed IT Service Provider who will charge you an affordable fixed monthly fee for onsite services.

Whether you need an IT professional once a week or more, you can schedule your onsite tech service according to your current needs. Your costs will be predictable, and you can scale the hours of service you require up or down as your business requirements change. It’s like having the best of both worlds – the IT service and expertise you need without all the overhead.

Why Do You Need IT Staff Onsite?

1. Your Onsite Tech will understand your IT system. With an IT professional there at least once a week they’ll keep up with the inner workings of your technology and will be able to troubleshoot problems more easily because they understand your system in and out. They’ll also understand your operations and workflow, and what technology individual staff members need to do their jobs. If Jason in accounting needs a new program to do his financial reports, your onsite tech will be there to help decide the right course of action. It’s like having a specialist instead of a generalist working on your network and IT solutions.

2. Your Onsite Tech will know if your software and hardware are up to date. Software patches and updates will be applied as they should to prevent security vulnerabilities that can let hackers in. They’ll also be in charge of keeping your licenses up-to-date and ensuring that you stay abreast of any needed hardware upgrades. If you need new hardware, they’ll know what you require and can shop around and find the best deal for you, whether this means purchasing new equipment or leasing it through a Hardware-as-a-Service agreement so you won’t have to spend your capital reserves, and you can write off the lease as an operating expense.

3. Remote Monitoring & Management is great – but sometimes you just need a tech in-house. When your internet access goes down or your business phones aren’t working, you’ll have a technician onsite who can figure out what’s gone wrong. They can act as your liaison with other vendors like your phone company or Internet Service Provider to get you back up and running quickly. This saves you and your staff the stress of having to do this yourself during an already hectic time.

4. You’ll trust your onsite tech to communicate what you need to know. With the continuity of service you’ll receive from an onsite technician, you’ll trust that he’ll know what’s best when it comes to making decisions about your technology. He can also help you decide if you need new technologies or extra IT support when taking on a big project. And he can even help you make strategic IT decisions for your company down the road. Your onsite tech understands your needs now and your goals for the future, and can develop an IT roadmap that will take you there in the most cost-effective way.

5. You’ll be able to arrange for additional IT support if you take on a new big project. You’ll never be without the IT staff you need. If you need to switch to a new EHR solution or migrate your technology to Microsoft Office 365, you’ll have the specialty support you need for these projects. If your onsite tech needs more assistance, he can quickly call for help from his IT company. Once again, you can contract for precisely what you need and nothing more.

6. Onsite techs will maintain your IT system proactively. Rather than waiting for things to break, your tech will have been monitoring your network for irregularities and can fix problems right away before things get worse. And because your onsite tech understands your technology, he can get to the root of issues, so any problems that you do experience are solved once and for all.

7. In an emergency, most techs you’d employ will be home after hours. With an onsite tech from an IT service company, their off-hours team will be there 24/7 if your system goes down. And your onsite tech can meet with them the next day to follow up and make sure the problem was totally and adequately resolved.

8. Your IT security posture will be stronger with help from an onsite tech. Not only will he ensure that you have the multi-layered security solutions needed to detect and eradicate cyber threats, but your onsite tech can also ensure your staff is educated and aware about how to avoid being a victim of a phishing or other scam. They’ll be there to talk to your team about safe internet and email use.

9. Your backups will be reliable and recoverable. If, in the end, your company does get hit with ransomware and your data is locked, or if an employee accidentally deletes your digital information, your onsite tech will have assured that your backups are up-to-date and recoverable. Backups onsite aren’t enough. They will ensure you also have a cloud-based offsite backup copy that you and your staff can access from wherever you are.

10. You’ll have peace of mind. Technology is always changing and evolving, as are cyber threats. With a dedicated tech onsite who also has a team to depend on if he needs some extra hands or specialized experience, you’ll have peace of mind that everything will be covered. You and your staff can let go of IT worries and concentrate on your business.

In Summary – Why Should You Use Outsourced Onsite Tech Services?

Outsourced Onsite Tech Services from your IT provider allows you to have a tech onsite without significant added costs. You can contract for the number of days a week you need onsite support, and your fee will remain predictable and easy to budget for. Get help with big projects when you need it, and cut back on the number of IT employees you hire. You’ll have the people and the help you require if a problem crops up during the day or in the middle of the night.

You’ll know that your technology will work at peak performance and your tech will keep you informed if you need something more to ensure that it does. You’ll also have access to IT professionals with experience in your industry, and who knows about the latest cybersecurity threats. And, even better, since outsourced onsite techs aren’t directly employed by you, the overhead you would have paid for benefits, insurance, and sick or vacation days can instead be used to grow your business.

 

Cloud computing transformed the way companies approached their infrastructure. You’re not locked into using on-site resources only. Instead, you have access to a range of cloud-based service providers. It’s common knowledge that the cloud saves businesses money, but you may be wondering about the specifics of how that works and how to get the best value out of these solutions.

Easier Collaboration

Many cloud solutions have features that streamline collaborative efforts between employees, teams and departments. Everyone accesses the files from a centralized location and can make changes at the same time. Employees don’t need to be in the office to make that possible, as cloud-based systems support remote access from a variety of devices.

Improve Customer Experience

Customers have high expectations of the companies they do business with. They want rapid responses through a variety of platforms. Trying to maintain that level of availability through customer support solutions that are tied to a specific workstation is difficult. A cloud-based unified communications solution brings all of the customer contact channels together in one place and provides the necessary mobility. The improved experience and response time leads to more customer recommendations, higher satisfaction ratings and a loyal audience.

Securing Bring Your Own Device Environments

Employees enjoy working on devices that they’re most familiar with, but it’s challenging to maintain a safe environment. Malicious applications installed on personal smartphones, tablets and laptops can compromise your entire network. The IT department can go through every piece of equipment that comes into the workplace, but that takes their time away from other critical tasks.

Cloud-based solutions eliminate this need since it takes your network out of the equation. The service provider has security measures in place to stop compromised devices from accessing its application. They handle the security measures necessary to work with remote connections from a variety of devices.

Eliminating Update Downtime

Updating software is a time-consuming process for your IT team. Patches come out regularly, and they have to track all of this information and find the time to deploy them to the network. If an application’s updating process is difficult to program a script for, the IT technicians have to go to individual workstations to push out the latest version. Cloud-based solutions are updated by the service providers on their own servers. Your employees connect to the cloud resource as usual. Downtime is minimal or nonexistent, and you don’t have to dedicate your in-house IT team to this process.

Since the cloud provider covers the ongoing maintenance and support of the product, your IT workers have more bandwidth to handle their daily duties. They can move to a proactive and strategic approach that improves your company’s infrastructure and supports your business goals.

Avoid Expensive Licensing Fees

The software licensing structure for non-cloud applications can be cost-prohibitive, especially when you consider that a new version typically comes out every few years. The subscription model that cloud-based services use does away with the upfront cost and spreads the total cost of ownership throughout the life of the product.

Reduce the Need for New Hardware

Hardware failures are a fact of life. Servers stop working or grow too outdated to support the applications. Over time, these expenses far outweigh the total cost of ownership associated with cloud-based systems. Consider the long-term equipment expenses when you’re evaluating whether a cloud infrastructure is the right choice for your organization.

Cost-effective Backups

Disaster can strike your business at any time, whether it’s a tornado or a malicious internal actor. Downtime eats away at your profitability and causes long-term damage. Robust backup solutions that give you all the features you need to have business continuity are expensive and require a lot of upkeep. When you use cloud-based solutions, you’re automatically moving vital systems and data offsite. The typical cloud company handles the necessary backups and follows best practices for this process.

Getting Help with Compliance

Regulated industries have many compliance rules that they need to adhere to. Businesses without a compliance team have to bring in costly consultants and legal experts to ensure that they are following the requirements. If you fail to comply with these regulations, you may be subject to financial or criminal penalties. Working with cloud-based platforms allows you to leverage the provider’s legal team rather than shouldering the cost yourself.

Seamless Scaling in Both Directions

Demand for your products and services isn’t a static number. Traditional IT infrastructure requires you to have enough on-site hardware to accommodate the capacity needed at your highest demand levels. When you have seasonal shifts and other factors that impact your company’s activity level, you’re stuck maintaining equipment that’s not actively in use. One of the best cost benefits of the cloud is the ability to scale up and down as needed. Since many cloud-based systems have a subscription model based on actual use, it’s easy to adjust your payments.

Moving part or all of your infrastructure to the cloud provides many direct and indirect cost benefits. While on-premises equipment has its uses, especially when you’re dealing with extremely sensitive data, the cloud drastically reduces how much you pay for vital systems.

If the thought of letting go of crucial parts of your business gives you the hives, it’s time to get real about outsourcing. It’s practically impossible for one individual or even a small group of people to adequately perform every function of a business. Even if you were able to hire specialists for each stage of your work — technology, accounting, payroll, human resources — would you really have enough work to keep a full-time asset occupied? Chances are, you need support in a way that would make a full-time hire the wrong decision for your business. You would either be hiring an extremely ineffective (yet low cost!) staff member who will be a drain on resources, or you struggle to perform multiple roles yourself. This leaves you with no time to focus and a poor experience for your customers. Fortunately, there’s a better way: outsourcing.

The New Outsourced Office

Outsourcing parts of your business doesn’t carry any sort of stigma and it doesn’t mean that you’ve failed as a business owner. What it means is that you’re being strategic with your time and determining where you are personally adding the most value to the business. Perhaps you need to know that your accounting and payroll are perking along in the background, but don’t have the expertise yourself to stay on top of the latest changes in legislation, compliance and tax law. This is an ideal situation for outsourcing to a trusted partner whose job it is to maintain compliance for your business. You’re effectively offloading that risk and stress from yourself or your staff to another organization, so you can focus on your core competencies as a business.

Focus Where It Counts

There’s something that makes every business unique, and that special sauce is the one thing that you don’t want to outsource. Everything else should be fair game for consideration, especially your technology and telecommunications infrastructure. The highly complex tasks associated with these operations can be expensive to hire outright, and difficult to find the right person for your needs. As your operations change over time, you may discover that you take your business in a different direction. This often means shifting staff members or expensive retraining for current staff. When you work with a managed IT services provider, you’re able to be much more nimble with technology changes and can expand your operations in a much more fluid manner.

Understanding when to outsource and when to maintain specific operations within your business can take time. Starting with a highly complex operation such as technology may give you the confidence that you need to outsource additional work so you’re able to focus on the core needs of your business — and to leverage your expertise towards exponential growth.

As tax season rolls around, another tax scam has reared its ugly head, this time in Australia. This particular scam is fooling so many people that the Australian government’s Taxation Office has issued an urgent warning about it to the citizens of the country. It is the goal of the Taxation Office to prevent any other Australian citizens from falling victim to this scam, as it can have a devastating effect on a person’s finances. To protect themselves, it is important that all Australian citizens pay close attention to the warning and heed it carefully.

According to the Australian Taxation Office, there is an email being sent to people around the country that has a convincing copy of the myGov branding on it that the federal government uses. However, the email and branding are fake. One will know the email is a scam by reading it, even if the branding initially makes them believe it is the real thing.

The scam email tells the recipient that they are owed money in overpaid taxes, and directs them to fill out an application form to receive these funds. When the email recipient clicks the link to fill out the form, the scammers, whose identities are not yet known, are able to access all of the extremely personal information the recipient puts on the form.

The amount in back taxes the email says a recipient is owed varies, but it can be considerable or quite small. One email obtained by a local newspaper in Australia claimed the recipient was owed $80.93.

Even when the amount is small, people usually want to claim any money that may belong to them, so those who are not aware of the scam may fill out the form even for miniscule amounts. To many people, receiving $80.93 back from the goverment would be worth filling out a simple form, and the scammers know this.

The email obtained by the newspaper reads:

Large software and hardware manufacturers are generally a trusted source for updates, but that same level of trust with consumers is what makes these groups a heavy target for hackers. The recent infiltration of ASUS made it all too clear that no one is safe from the threat of malware attacks. The Taiwan-based tech giant recently was the high-profile victim of hackers as their automatic update tool was leveraged to distribute a malicious backdoor on nearly a million computers and other devices before the discrepancy was identified — over five months after the update was launched.

Trusted Digital Signature — Tainted Software

The malware distribution took so long to identify due to the accurate digital signature that the hackers were able to put in place. ASUS computers accepted the malware due to the “acceptable” digital signature, even though the software package itself was tainted. The delivery package was only the first wave of the attack, opening a potential vulnerability in the systems that were affected. Now, hackers are able to target these machines at will. To date, only about 600 machines have been hit with this second-stage attack. The hack happened sometime in late 2018, with Kapersky notifying ASUS of the situation in January 31, 2019.

ASUS Implements Advanced Security Measures

How is ASUS responding? Oddly enough, they didn’t raise the alarm with customers until digital security firm Kapersky went public with their findings around the attack, which they’re calling ShadowHammer. This notification to customers downplayed the severity of the attack, calling it an “attempt to target a very small and specific user group” in the official statement posted on their website. ASUS noted that they released a fix in the most recent version of the Live Update, one that included additional security measures that were meant to reduce the possibility of this happening in the future. Not only did the company strengthen its end-to-end software architecture, but they also enhanced the overall encryption of their updates.

Supply Chain Attacks Growing in Prominence

This is far from the first time that attackers have decided to go up the supply chain to target computers. The notPetya cyberattack that devastated machines throughout the US, Europe, Australia and Asia was delivered as an upgrade to popular accounting software that experts claim was made not for the demanded ransom — but just to spread mayhem throughout the world. The hackers who built and distributed the ransomware used much of the code from Petya, but that is where the similarities ended. With notPetya, the cybercriminals clearly didn’t think through their process for collecting money from victims, as it quickly disintegrated under the pressure of organizations attempting to pay and request their unlock keys. Unfortunately, the damage was already done as not Petya spread rapidly through networks, infecting machines and destroying files as it went. Microsoft, CCleaner and Transmission are a few other organizations that have been the victim of this type of attack vector over the past decade.

Are My Computers Infected?

With any attack of this scale, the first question on business owners’ minds is whether or not their organization may be vulnerable to this particular issue with ASUS. The service professionals at ASUS have been busily reaching out to customers since the update was released, along with the recommendation that you update their latest security patches and updates to ensure that the effects of the hack are washed from your system. Security giant Kapersky Labs has created an easy tool to determine whether your device was one of the millions affected by ShadowHammer, with the results based on your MAC address.

With hundreds of thousands of devices receiving the primary payload and only 600 devices targeted for a secondary wave, cyberattacks such as ShadowHammer are meant to cast a wide net in the hopes of getting the highly detailed information on a limited audience that they need. A key benefit of working with an IT solutions provider is their constant focus on security, allowing them to proactively scan sources such as Kapersky and take immediate measures to remediate the scope of the attack.

There is a point in every small business’s lifecycle when technology becomes integral to the business. With some organizations, this could be the first day they are in existence — with others, it may be several months to a year or more before technical challenges begin to invade business operations. This can come on slowly, starting with a backlog of support requests, patches that are applied several months later and software licenses that are shared “for now”. Each of these small steps are leading your business away from secure operations, and into a spiral that can be difficult and expensive to undo. Before you get to that point, it’s important to consider the benefits of outsourcing the IT needs of your small business.

Technology Challenges Start Early

Simply managing your software licensing needs can be a challenge when your IT team consists of a single individual or perhaps a few overworked souls. Creating a cohesive strategy for your business should involve technology partners, but if they are focused on keeping the (digital) lights on it’s tough for them to be strategic in any meaningful way. Leveraging the minds that know your business best in places that they can add real value starts by removing some of the nuisance tasks from their plate, and passing them off to individuals who are able to act upon them in a timely manner. That way, you can take full advantage of the thoughtful advice and research that your internal team can provide to drive the business forward.

Why Should I Outsource My IT Services?

Small business owners and leadership wear a variety of hats: your customer service manager may also be supporting web design, while your operations head is juggling production levels as well as infrastructure and wiring. Having these professionals stretch outside their comfort zone is how many small businesses get started, but growing into the next level requires a strategic focus within several dimensions. Cybersecurity is a major concern for businesses these days, with thousands of attacks happening on an annual basis to organizations of all sizes. Experts estimate that email compromises alone constituted over $12.5 billion in losses over the past five years — a staggering sum when you consider that small businesses bore a large percentage of that loss.

Outsourced IT = Added Peace of Mind

Working with an outsourced IT service provides you with the peace of mind knowing that there are dedicated professionals fully focused on ensuring that your business stays secure. With active monitoring solutions that can quickly trigger an alert, you’re already avoiding the average 191 days that it takes a business to discover that they have been infiltrated by cyber attackers and that their data has been breached. Once a breach is identified, you’ll still need to remediate the problem — and it can be extremely costly in terms of both time and money to bring in an outside organization that is not familiar with the data or infrastructure of your business.

Consistent Billing Provides Budgeting Benefits

Technology budgets can be quite complicated, as you’re balancing the reasonable lifecycle of hardware products, software upgrades and the unexpected IT needs of the business on an annual basis. One way that you can add some consistency to your budgeting is by working with an outsourced IT provider. Instead of massive unexpected bills for services that you weren’t anticipating, your technology services provider is able to work with you on a retainer basis so you can spread your costs more equally throughout the year. This allows for a higher level of predictability when you’re working through your annual budgeting period.

With outsourced IT services, your business also gains around-the-clock protection for your data and network, robust backup and recovery platforms, access to professionals who can help quickly upgrade hardware and software as well as advanced security processes and procedures for your business. Together, you’ll find that your operations and service levels are higher for both internal and external constituents when you’re working with an IT solutions provider to support your business needs.

It’s difficult to scan through any news site and not see mention of yet another cybersecurity breach at an organization, and the devastation that can be caused to that business and the community are significant. Maintaining a robust cybersecurity presence is no different than budgeting for the cost of electricity to keep the lights on or the cost of basic internet — it’s something you simply have to consider. If your organization isn’t keeping cybersecurity top of mind, here are some suggestions for sharing the scale of the potential risk with your decision makers.

All Hail the IoT

We have been hearing a great deal about IoT (Internet of Things) in recent years, but the market may leave people wondering when the actuality will live up to the hype. Experts predict that 2019 will be the year that hackers truly take a shot at connected devices, looking for new and creative ways to infiltrate your networks and data centers. Nothing is sacred, as everything from wearables to connected toys and smart speakers are all potential attack vectors for the next generation of savvy hackers. This type of vulnerability is mostly preventable, as long as you’re actively managing endpoints and connectivity within your organization.

Malicious Mobile

As it turns out, your organization has more to lose from malicious mobile apps than thousands of hours of productivity (although that’s a problem, too!). Mobile attacks are becoming more evident with Symantec recently sharing that more than 24,000 mobile apps are blocked on a daily basis by their software. If your corporate mobile phones are connected to your network in any way and are infected, it could lead attackers directly into your data structures and other applications. It’s crucial that you protect all devices that can possibly connect to your network, or you risk a massive breach. A prime example is the recent hack of popular app My Fitness Pal, which could potentially be integrated into HR to track steps for corporate wellness programs. UnderArmor reported that this particular hack affected more than 150 million users of the app.

Costs of Ransomware

Ransomware is a significant cost for organizations — and it is growing every year. In 2017, the costs of damage to organizations from ransomware expanded to $5 billion — a number which increased a dramatic 15 times the 2015 expenses. Organizations regularly lose access to their records, but are often able to quickly return their business to full operations if they had previously invested in robust backup and disaster recovery solutions. An inability to regain operations within a few days can lead to long-term and drastic damage to the reputation and operations of an organization.

Machine Learning Gone Bad

There are many wonderful applications of machine learning, some of which exist in cybersecurity as engineers “train” systems to identify the hallmarks of an attack to trigger an action or notification. Unfortunately, hackers are also finding that there are opportunities within machine learning and artificial intelligence worlds, creating adversarial machine learning (ML) that will counter the work that these smart programs are meant to accomplish. Today’s hackers are starting to see how information technology professionals are utilizing ML as a defense, and creating countermeasures that will actually allow the cybercriminals egress into sensitive systems.

Carefully Watch Emails

In 2017, experts at Symantec found that the most significant attack vector for business was one that people use hundreds of times a day: emails. Phishing emails are becoming more targeted, as cybercriminals look for specific information about particular individuals on social media or in the news and then leverage that knowledge to create a customized attack. These so-called spear phishing emails often go after individuals at an organization who have access to sensitive data or financial power, such as an individual in the accounting or bookkeeping department. With today’s distributed workforce, it’s not unusual for traveling employees to need an advance on funds or find themselves in some sort of financial bind. Hackers are using this proclivity to create felonious requests — which can become untraceable once the transaction has been completed. Organizations combat these problems by creating an ongoing education program for staff members, especially those in sensitive positions.

How is an organization to survive when you consider all of these various threats, and the massive scale of the risk that is experienced on a daily basis? According to a recent report by Cisco, one of the key problems with an organization’s cybersecurity is having a variety of vendors providing support to the business. When you consolidate your operations with a single technology managed services provider, you’re more likely to incorporate a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity — a crucial step for the longevity of your business.

 

Running a business requires a great deal of focused attention. Unfortunately, when your technology team is spending a great deal of time dealing with login problems, software licensing, cybersecurity and more, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for growth activities and strategic thinking. As businesses grow, many organizations find that it makes sense to work with an IT managed services company to maintain a high level of security and staff productivity that would be nearly impossible using only internal assets. These technology partners provide best-in-class tools and support that can scale with your business as you expand. Here’s an overview of the type of services that many of these technology partners provide.

Day-to-Day Operations

Technology teams often refer to “death by a thousand cuts” — which is what happens when you have dozens of people relying on you to provide technical support for your organization. Everything from computers that refuse to reboot to conference rooms where the projection isn’t working all come into your help desk. This can overwhelm the individuals in IT and also cause a productivity loss for the staff members who are waiting on a response or support. IT managed services providers are able to step into this gap and solve a variety of simple challenges, including:

• Retrieving lost files or folders
• Resetting passwords
• Issuing software licenses (based on pre-set business parameters)
• Troubleshooting network connectivity
• Rebooting servers

These are only a few of the “Help me now!” requests that technology professionals receive on a daily basis, and all of these options can be resolved remotely by a friendly technician from your IT managed services provider.

Creating or Refining Cybersecurity

Ensuring that your business information stays safe is a primary directive for today’s organizations. With many companies storing personal financial and health information for clients or staff, cybercriminals are enjoying access to data from organizations of all sizes — especially those businesses without a robust security posture. Staying current with the latest threats takes time and attention, and can be challenging for technology staff members to juggle with other priorities. When you work with a managed services provider, you have easy and immediate access to cybersecurity professionals who are able to review your current processes, make recommendations for improvement and then even help with the implementation of those suggestions.

Long-Term Technology Strategies and Budgeting

Even things that you might think of as integral to your business can be supported through a trusted IT managed services provider. A good technology partner may have access to dozens of business models and be able to make recommendations for your business based on a broader scope of understanding. Your external IT team can help with research on new vendor partners, negotiating better pricing on software due to shared buying power and even help create budgets based on the unique needs of your business.

Advanced Backup and Disaster Recovery

Should the unthinkable happen, it definitely pays to be prepared. There are any number of reasons you might have to restore operations from a backup, but without a proactive backup and disaster recovery process in place this can be a big challenge for businesses. Massive fires, flooding or other natural disasters claim thousands of businesses every year, as those businesses are unable to restart operations after a disaster. Cyberthreats or data loss could also spell doom for your business, especially if the loss leads to an extended period of time without access to your business data. With an IT managed services partner, you’re gaining access to advanced backup and disaster recovery software and protocols that will help protect your business in the event of an emergency — and help you restart operations quickly. More than 96% of businesses with a disaster recovery solution in place continue operations, but the same cannot be said of those without the forethought to create a comprehensive plan.

There are hundreds of scenarios where an IT managed services provider can help support your business. The bottom line is that you are gaining access to a deep bench of qualified professionals who are solely focused on helping make your business successful. Whether you need immediate assistance with help desk support or longer-term strategic advice, IT managed services providers serve a vital role in today’s business world.

Living in a technology era that sees device upgrades and new products on what seems like an almost weekly basis, it’s difficult to imagine that Windows 7 has remained in play since its release in 2009.

According to Net Market Share’s December 2018 data, 40.86 percent were still using Windows 7 compared to a modest 36.37 percent engaged in Windows 10. Trailing the two leaders, Windows 8.1 saw a mere 5.07 percent and Windows XP stood at 4.08 percent. That means Windows 7 ranked as the most popular platform after a decade on the market.

However, the days of Windows 7 are numbered. Starting on January 14, 2020, extended support for this industry favorite will cease.

The Windows 7 end of life (EOL) is not a surprise for IT companies because Microsoft already cut off mainstream support four years ago. The imminent Windows 7 EOL leaves small and mid-sized companies weighing their options about the best next steps. Fortunately, the IT professionals at {company} are prepared to upgrade small and mid-sized businesses using Windows 7 to a suitable alternative.

Are You Prepared To Upgrade Before Windows 7 EOL?

While the EOL deadline may seem miles away when considering critical day-to-day business operations, conducting a critical systems analysis and reviewing next steps options is something that decision-makers would be wise to implement post haste.

Upgrading a company’s operating system is no small undertaking. The process could take a top-flight IT support team upwards of six months to develop a comprehensive strategy to test, implement and fully deploy the new system. That timeline hinges on prior decisions being made and only reasonably anticipated setbacks. Anyone who runs a business understands that x-factors can cause unexpected and costly delays.

CEOs and decision-makers who fail to make the shift before the Windows 7 EOL date risk losing security features currently protecting systems and data. We live in a world where hackers are persistent in their efforts to find vulnerable business systems that they can pluck like low-hanging fruit.

It’s not difficult to recognize that hackers are fully aware of potential vulnerabilities when the Windows 7 sunsets. They will be up all night identifying and breaching systems with inadequate security. Think of the Windows EOL date like a massive power blackout and hackers are like looters taking advantage of the crisis to break into your business and steal. The best way to avoid disruption and cyber theft is to take proactive measures now.

Positives About Upgrading From Windows 7

For all practical purposes, users are being forced to migrate from Windows 7 to another product. The mainstream support ended in January 2015 and extended support included some minor reductions in support. While it’s true that you can still use Windows 7 and it will function with Internet Explorer and other tools, after the 2020 EOL date, security risks will likely escalate without ongoing support. While business leaders often operate under the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” theory, Microsoft reportedly recommending that Windows 7 users upgrade to Windows 10 is not necessarily a bad thing for small and mid-sized companies. These are key reasons why change can prove beneficial.

• Improved Consistency: In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for operating systems to require significant changes every three to five years. That type of stress is expected to dissipate once users conclude their migration from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or another appropriate option.
• Ongoing Upgrades: Although Microsoft has offered differing degrees of Windows 7 support for 10 years, organizations that migrate to Windows 10 can anticipate a wealth of helpful upgrades. These upgrades started in 2018 and their lifecycles will reportedly last upwards of 24 months in terms of deploying and validating the newest version. Updates that were previously released about every six months. However, organizations may want to task their IT support team with monitoring emerging upgrades.

Your outfit will enjoy the most up to date functionality, productivity, user interface, and outstanding security measures. Upgrades have the potential to interact with important analytics, machine learning, and other emerging technological advancements.

At {company}, our team of IT professionals understands the inherent benefits that migration to Windows 10 and other options can bring to the table. Migrating to Windows 10 or a suitable alternative is not a nuisance; it’s a business opportunity.

Windows 7 EOL Presents An Opportunity To Develop A Uniform Process

Consider for a moment that your organization has developed protocols and processes that help it maximize productivity and profitability. Those might include anything from a manufacturing assembly line to information sharing to HR policies. Just about everything a successful outfit does helps improve its standing and bottom line. That being said, systems upgrades are no different and the Windows 7 EOL has presented an opportunity to create uniform policies and protocol.

By working with an IT support consultant, your organization can lean on the experience of a team that upgrades and migrates business systems regularly. You also gain the benefit of working with team members that have an expansive knowledge about goals within your industry and others. That information can prove valuable when applied to your niche.

Conducting a full review and documenting real-time process leaves your organization with a blueprint for future upgrades. Windows 7 is effectively going the way of the dinosaur and its replacement will likely go extinct as well. It’s important to seize this opportunity to reduce the six-month or longer process the next time. These are other benefits your organization can gain by creating a regular upgrade process in 2019.

• Rethinking Windows: It’s all too clear that Windows upgrades are already being planned. Rather than wait and react every time an announcement is made, you can rethink Windows as an ongoing service and not just a product. This means empowering your IT support team to maintain a focus on rollouts, tool management and deployment in a highly streamlined fashion. Having that blueprint means formerly onerous tasks occur seamlessly.
• IT Support Agility: A significant migration from Windows 7 is likely to be a time-consuming task. Part of the reason is that your outfit is starting from scratch and learning about unique aspects of your system, goals and workforce needs. Creating a blueprint for future upgrades eliminates that start from scratch mentality and allows IT support technicians the flexibility to act decisively.
• Ongoing Testing: Once your IT team has concluded its testing measures for the Windows 7 EOL migration, it’s essential to craft a post-mortem account of challenges and solutions. This will help inform team members about what to anticipate and improve their ability to adapt and overcome.

One of the expected benefits of moving to Windows 10 is that the product allows IT technicians to implement updates to a variety of devices simultaneously. This is expected to improve efficiency by limiting the time spent on tasks that are not directly related to your business’ profit-earning activities.

Other Windows 7 EOL Options

There’s a good reason that such a low percentage of users work with Windows 8. It was widely considered a disaster. According to The Inquirer, “Users and administrators adamantly demanded to step back to Windows 7 desktops. Not only was the new user interface of Windows 8 unwelcoming, but the removal of simple features such as the Start button sent users into a tizzy.”

The piece goes on to explain that although users freaked out over the Windows 8 product, migrating to a user-friendly Windows 10 option could be favorable.

“Adopting Windows 10 can be as simple as upgrading an existing Windows 7 computer based on your Microsoft licensing agreement, but in many cases, a device refresh may be necessary due to hard drive space, system resources or physical capabilities,” The Inquirer article states. “From a financial perspective, the cost of a new computer — plus IT staff setup time and lost user productivity during the transition — comes at a significant price.”

But there are other options on the market that decision-makers may want to consider. These include the following.

• Apple Devices: If Macs appear a more suitable product for your evolving business goals, the Windows 7 EOL may offer a logical time to transition.
• BYOD: Some companies are shifting to “bring your own device” workforces. Again, this may be a time to discuss the possibility with your IT consultant.

Although migrating to Windows 10 is expected to be a reasonably positive transition, there’s little argument that Windows 7 was a solid product. It continues to be a highly regarded operating system and some business leaders may want to consider the possibility of working with the product beyond the 2020 EOL date.

It may come as something of a surprise, but Microsoft reportedly may provide support for some organizations beyond the 2020 EOL date, according to The Inquirer, Computer World, and others.

Called Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU), the after-drop-dead deal will add support through January 2023, according to Microsoft. “While many of you are already well on your way in deploying Windows 10, we understand that everyone is at a different point in the upgrade process,” Computer World reported.

Additional Windows 7 support is expected to be sold on one-year deals and businesses can expect to pay a premium. The move is viewed as a costly stop-gap measure for organizations that are falling behind a reasonable migration timeline.

Organizations that have not already begun the process of migrating from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or another suitable option are strongly advised to contact an IT professional ASAP. Delaying the inevitable could prove expensive one way or another. {company} has a team of knowledgeable migration consultants and specialists with the hands-on experience to see your outfit through this challenging period.

Windows 7 has had a great run, but Microsoft has decided that it’s finally time to retire the platform. Windows 7 isn’t being deprecated by customers as quickly as Windows would like, with more than 38% of all PCs still running the aging OS. It seems that businesses like to hang onto an operating system once it becomes stable, because even Windows XP still owns 3.3% of the market share after support ended in April 2014. Windows 10 is still the top operating system for PCs, but it’s only a few basis points above the much older Windows 7.

As Microsoft enters the final stretch for offering support for Windows 7, there are 5 things you need to know to keep your PCs stable and operating in peak condition.

1. Windows 10 Offers Better Security

Cybersecurity is one of the topics on everyone’s mind in the technology field, and Windows 10 offers additional security measures you won’t find in the older OS. Ransomware, in particular, is being targeted to computers running older operating systems such as Windows 7, because there’s the perception that updates and patches may not be put into place. Windows 10 has a significantly more advanced end-to-end defense stack than you’ll find on Windows 7.

2. Get Ready for Windows as a Service

Another key benefit of migrating to Windows 10 is the speed of releases. While Windows 7 and previous operating systems from Microsoft had an extended release schedule, the team behind Windows 10 will be pushing out updates approximately every 6 months. What’s more, the updates each have a limited lifespan of support, a move to encourage businesses to shift to a more frequent schedule of updates. This requirement can be a burden on an overtaxed technology department, especially when Microsoft is expecting the updates to be completed at least every 18 months.

3. Are Your Business Applications Compatible?

Organizations that put off an upgrade to the newest in Microsoft’s operating system lineup may be doing so due to a concern about lack of compatibility with current business applications. Turns out, this is definitely a consideration, as some organizations are having to roll back their Windows 10 upgrade due to interoperability issues with line-of-business applications. Application compatibility is an important consideration any time operating systems are upgraded, so Microsoft is providing free assistance with app compatibility as part of their upgrade program.

4. You May Need to Refresh Your Hardware

You may find that older PCs are not hardy enough to handle the requirements of a newer operating system. While it will make your upgrade journey more complex, it’s best to ensure that you’ve got the best possible start with computers that will handle the additional computational load that Windows 10 requires. This is one of the steps where it is helpful to get a second opinion from a trusted service provider, as upgrading and then determining that your legacy equipment won’t handle the new business apps and systems could require labor-intensive and expensive rework. The load from Windows 10 is not extremely heavy, but it could burden older systems.

5. Need Extra Time to Upgrade?

Of course, there’s always the option that you can pay your way into a few more years of Microsoft support for Windows 7. While Microsoft isn’t recommending this option, it could be viable for an organization that is deeply rooted in the Windows 7 ecosystem — at least for the short term. The need to upgrade eventually is inevitable, but this extension on the January 2020 deadline may allow businesses to have a more orderly migration than rushing to get in under the wire. If you’re ready to upgrade the majority of your hardware and have a legacy application or two that is incompatible with Windows 10, there’s always the option of running a virtual machine with Windows 7 until you’re able to patch or rebuild your incompatible software.

Whether you’re going to stick it out or ready to make an upgrade, you’ll need to keep in mind the age of your current fleet of PCs as you carefully weigh the costs and benefits of taking this step. What is most important is that your team has the support that you need to make decisions as well as the technical support in the event of any bumps along the road.