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Communication is essential for any business today. Being able to connect with colleagues and customers is critical for getting work done.

That means having a reliable, features-packed phone system that lets you communicate effectively while in and out of the office. Without a powerful business phone solution, you’re at a competitive disadvantage.

Below is a closer look at some of the advantages of having a reliable phone system for your business.

How Can A New Business Phone System Save Us Money?

Most older private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems are simply not built for today’s business needs. With PBX phones, you’re sending signals via older telephone lines and paying for each incoming and outgoing call. These per-call costs add up. Instead, a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) solution provides you with predictable monthly rates and unlimited call volume. You’ll also no longer have to pay to maintain and manage your phone equipment stored on location. Instead, users connect via an internet connection with cloud-based reliability and call clarity. PBX phone users typically pay for each line and any carrier costs or contractual change orders. If your power goes out, you also lose your phone system until the power is restored.

What Is Different About VoIP Systems?

There are many advantages to installing a VoIP system, including:

• Call Clarity. With VoIP, your calls are transmitted via a high-speed internet connection, resulting in better call clarity and reliability.
• Technical Support. Use a managed IT partner to oversee your cloud-based VoIP phone system, and you’ll have access to remote support, on-site support and maintenance, vendor management and asset tracking.
• Comprehensive Security. With a trusted technology partner helping to implement and maintain your VoIP solution, you’ll know that a comprehensive approach to security is in place. The security measures may include:
  • Automated installation patches and updates
  • Network security
  • Monitoring 24/7 of all routers and switches
  • Traffic control and prioritization based on company-set policies
  • Non-compliant call detection and alerts
  • Toll fraud detection
• Scalability. As your business grows, you need a phone system that can expand accordingly. VoIP systems allow for easy addition or removal of users, extension changes and other administrative changes from an intuitive dashboard interface.
• Simple Set-Up. Transitioning to a new cloud-based phone system is a process with little to no user disruption. An adaptor can convert most existing desktop phones, which can then be plugged directly into your office internet connection. Both desk phone s and smartphones can access new features without the need for additional hardware purchases or installation.

What Are Some of the New Features VoIP Provides?

VoIP systems provide great features that will improve the way your team communications. Here’s a look at some of the most popular:

• Unified Messaging. You’ll be able to access voicemails from any device when the messages are forwarded to your email account. You can retrieve the messages, listen to them and forward to the appropriate party no matter what device you’re using or where you are.
• Find Me, Follow Me. If you want to be accessible no matter where you are, use this feature to have calls “follow” you from device to device. A caller may ring you first at your office and then have the call routed to your smartphone, your home office phone line or your hotel room while on the road. Providing this level of availability lets you serve your customers well with always-available access and connectivity. – your calls can ring at your office, then your cell phone, then your home office or hotel room while traveling – always maintaining the appearance that you are available to your clients.
• Conference calling. Connect multiple parties internally and externally.
• Connectivity. VoIP gives your company the ability to record phone calls and conferences. These files can be emailed to those who were unable to attend the session.
• Automated phone attendants. Staff managing your phones will be able to manage incoming calls, see who is available and route calls as needed.
• Desk-to-desk calling. Connect with colleagues in multiple locations by directly dialing extensions.

How Does VoIP Affect Smartphone Users?

Your phone system capabilities extend to mobile users using different devices and operating systems. You can use mobile applications to leverage many of the capabilities of your VoIP system, giving remote or traveling employees to connect easily to colleagues no matter where they are.

Choosing the right phone system is an essential decision for businesses of all sizes. Cloud-based phone systems give you the best options for today’s business needs.

Close to a million Michiganders are finding that their healthcare information may not be as secure as they thought it was, according to Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel. Unfortunately, the personal health and financial information of these individuals were part of a massive ransomware attack on a third-party subcontractor who prints and mails bills for healthcare organizations in the area. While the attack happened back in September 2018, the far-reaching repercussions are still being identified over six months after the breach occurred. These unlucky individuals are discovering that a vast array of information was impacted, including social security numbers, dates of birth, personal addresses, names, medical information, phone numbers and even information about their insurance contracts. It took nearly three weeks for the contractor, Wolverine Solutions Group, to regain access to their data after the ransomware attack.

Healthcare Organizations Are Often Targeted by Hackers

Due to the high volume of personal, financial and health information available, healthcare practices and associated organizations such as Wolverine Solutions Group are often the targets of cyberterrorists. The information that is stored within the vaults of these companies is extremely attractive, both for the data points and the perception that healthcare organizations will pay handsomely to regain access to their crucial healthcare data in the event of a ransomware attack. Ransomware costs American small businesses more than $75 billion per year according to Datto, a staggering sum when you consider that this downtime can result in costs upwards of $8,500 per hour. Ransomware is increasingly becoming a part of the technology landscape, as cybercriminals perceive it to be a relatively easy and untraceable payday due to the rise of anonymous digital currency such as bitcoin.

Was the Record Encryption Strong Enough?

One of the questions that cybersecurity professionals are attempting to answer is whether or not the encryption that was applied to the records was enough to protect the records from the cybercriminals. In the case of ransomware, Wolverine Solutions lost access to their data for a period of approximately three weeks. During that period, it’s still unclear whether the cybercriminals attempted to break the data encryption — and if they were ultimately successful, where that data might have been shared with others or sold on the dark web. While a security firm brought into investigate initially felt that the attack was strictly focused on gaining ransom money, that has yet to be independently corroborated.

Patient Notification and Next Steps

Patients who were potentially affected are being notified by Wolverine Solutions Group, an expensive and time-consuming process as it requires multiple contact methods and a great deal of support. The organization is also providing complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services for the affected patients, an additional cost that must be considered a part of the loss. These services will all be provided for the period of a year, while patients worry and wait — wondering if their personal health and financial information is in the hands of cybercriminals somewhere in the world. While Wolverine Solutions Group technology leaders note that they are taking steps to ensure that this type of attack doesn’t happen again, this negative publicity has likely affected their business in ways that will continue to be seen for years to come.

While it’s nearly impossible to create a system that cannot be breached, this instance illustrates the importance of having proactive, advanced backup and data protection processes in place. Cybercrime is rampant throughout the world, and there are no businesses that are truly immune from the effects of a major attack. Wolverine Solutions Group is merely the latest in a string of healthcare organizations that suffered from this type of aggressive ransomware attack and join Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center and other large healthcare organizations in the growing list of targets.

 

Technology is continually changing, and keeping up with the updates to your crucial infrastructure and software can feel like an overwhelming task. Many organizations begin to look for an IT managed services provider as they start to scale, but how can you know who to trust? You’re placing your mission-critical systems and devices in the hands of a technology partner. Here are some key questions that you should ask any new IT services provider to determine if they will offer you the impressive level of service that your business deserves.

1. Your IT Services Provider Should Listen

While there are similarities between businesses in the same vertical, no company is exactly the same as any others. Your IT managed services professional should take the time to listen to your concerns instead of immediately offering cookie-cutter responses to the problem that they assume you have in your organization. A true partner will listen to your needs and then slot in their proficiencies to make your organization stronger and more resilient.

2. Have Availability That Meets Your Business Needs

Are all of your problems going to occur during working hours? Probably not — and your IT managed services provider (MSP) should have qualified resources available around the clock so your customers and staff aren’t left waiting in the event of a service outage. Carefully read through any offering contracts or service agreements to be sure that the response times meet the needs of your business before you make your final vendor selection.

3. Provide Recommendations for Key Strategies

Whether that means budgeting or disaster recovery planning, a true technology partner will always be on the lookout for ways that they could save you money or help improve the efficiency of your business. This could come during the budgeting cycle, when they let you know that some of your hardware could be replaced in the coming year. Another time that your IT managed services partner should help your business is by leveraging their knowledge of various industries to share best practices in backup and disaster recovery.

4. Retain Security Experts on Staff

Cybersecurity is a constantly changing realm, and it would be very challenging for a single staff member to keep up-to-date with security advances as they’re made available. Keeping software patched and hardware updated is also a very time-consuming task, making these two ideal ways to leverage your managed services provider. You should be able to feel confident that your MSP is regularly running security tests and actively monitoring for hacks.

5. Proactively Update and Test Your Systems

The time when you could rely on reactive technology management to maintain the security of your systems and data is gone. Instead of waiting for something to break, your services provider should be actively seeking upcoming updates and creating a schedule for an application that is consistent with the needs of your business. This will help your business stay on the right track for reliable growth in the future.

6. Help Appropriately Scale Your Business Infrastructure

Making a single wrong decision early in a technology build-out can have disastrous consequences down the line. Your IT managed services provider should have the experience with businesses similar to yours that allows them to peek into the future and curtail any decisions that might cause your business to be less flexible or scalable in the future. While customizations are nearly inevitable when it comes to technology, a truly remarkable services provider will look for and recommend tools that are an exceptional fit for your business first — before they recommend expensive platform changes.

Finding the best IT managed services provider requires time and trust on both sides, but everything starts with open dialog. Your team must be able to detail your current needs as well as how your business is expected to scale in the future as well as a rough timeline. Your IT services provider should be able to tease these details from your project team so you have a shared understanding of how to move forward in lockstep. From a deep understanding of cybersecurity to a willingness to listen to your needs: an awesome IT managed services provider is not a mythical creature!

Successful businesses require smart leadership. How does a company effectively protect its profits? Planning for profits should also include company-wide management of expenses and security planning is high on the list. If the average ransomware payment has reached close to $15,000, a company’s leaders would want to plan ahead and ensure all security best practices for backups, network systems, cloud storage, and servers. Real profits include all revenues with an understanding of cost allocations for a business. Effective technology solutions can help make sure the right focus is on the products or services with higher profit margins. Security planning fits nicely with successful leadership, along with prevention plans to reduce all risks. Eliminating any unnecessary expenses from ransomware attacks could allow better allocations for salaries, employee satisfaction, company reinvestments, and provide improved planning for sales and profits.

How do you put a cost on employee reassurance for successful security planning? Do not allow a ransomware attack to affect your profits, employee satisfaction or customer confidence. How can you improve customer satisfaction with your plans for security? Employees and customers can benefit from understanding the successful planning for eliminating all security risks. Smart leadership with security planning includes documentation for policies, procedures and adequate communication for employees. Employee training should consist of documentation that clearly outlines security requirements. Employee retention and job satisfaction may not seem completely quantifiable but effective leadership is able to provide the best planning for staff morale.

Security planning

Effective leadership includes communication strengths, simplified technology solutions, employee support, and operational planning for client satisfaction. Marketing, client support, and branding require appropriate security planning and any security issues, such as ransomware attacks, are disallowed. On-demand support is important for employee support and client satisfaction. Security planning should be the focus of any customized IT services and flexible technology solutions. Support plans may include additional hiring and training for technicians. Packaged solutions and IT managed services are easily researched with the correct leadership involved and reviews of the cost-benefit analysis. Effectively managed IT support can help prepare a company for leading-edge technologies, cost savings, and marketing strategies. The improved promotions for profitability are part of the smart leadership of a successful business.

Business growth

A company’s growth can be comfortable for leadership teams and employees. Appropriate planning would be for new hiring, cost management, accounting and administration, and information security. A company’s asset allocations for new hires are a smart focus for scalable business growth. Support for the human resources departments can help simplify the hiring process, training procedures, and employee effectiveness. The technology staff and any partners for technology solutions should be high on the priority list for smart business growth. Technology teams can be some of the best for effective cost management, profitability, operations planning with sales projections, and marketing priorities. Experienced IT consultants can help with planning and success throughout a company.

Expense management

Appropriately allocating expenses with accounting and administration is an effective strategy. Technology teams and business executives are able to better focus on profitability and growth strategies. A thorough understanding of staffing needs is improved with effective expense management reviews. Some of the expenses and cost projections to consider include the following:

• Employee expenses including computers, mobile devices, and salaries
• Administration overhead with product and services support
• Technology costs with security planning, salaries, commissions, and partnership agreements
• Asset allocations and maintenance costs
• Trained technicians and experience with cost cutting are improvements for the business
• Product development expenses and allocated costs with packaging, distribution, and promotions
• Sales and marketing costs are monitored continuously for profitability and growth projections
• Costs for press promotions, media announcements, and public relations
• Social media support with company messages and communication plans

Regular security assessments

Reviews can include usability of information systems and an analysis of graphical user interfaces for all technology implementations with user access. Smart leadership could consist of a review of the regular security assessments for planned improvements, user support, and communication enhancements. Confirmation of success is smart for operations and client reassurance. Sales and marketing teams can use healthy reporting to demonstrate successful planning for security procedures and privacy of client information. Looking organized is also part of effective management with security reviews and regular assessments. Security plans should be a part of expense management and corporate planning.

Network administration

The salary for a network administrator is important to review often for effective leadership and employee planning. “An in-house network administrator can cost your business somewhere around the salary range of $45,000 to $80,000”,  https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Network_Administrator/Salary. Having the right successful leadership in place is a smart way to manage all business expenses and plan for successful growth. Working with the managerial staff, the network administration team can prepare the best documentation for employee training and new hiring processes. As some of the smartest planning for sales and marketing promotions, smart plans for the employees can help improve profitability for a business. Smart priorities can help assure employees are impressed with a company’s plans for success and business growth. Security planning can be improved with communication of the policies for networking, backups, remote access, client information, and employee administration.

Employee training

Training can be helpful for all employees, including new hires. Plans to prepare training can include impressive presentations or documentation to impress potential or current clients. The best type of training for technology and information systems, such as security plans, can easily be prepared to benefit the entire company. Communication with all levels of employees is friendlier with documentation or reports highlighting prevention plans and confirming the correct policies for security. Risk assessments and security reviews can foster better communication with employees or clients. The focus can benefit plans for profits and sales successes.

Successful planning to completely dismiss any risks of ransomware attacks is smart business. Preparing for profits and protecting your business work are good leadership plans. The appropriate planning can be appreciated by business executives, business owners, and managers. Confirmation of the best preparation for salaries and commissions is important for the network administrators and the entire staff for a company. Having the right leadership in place can help reduce all security risks and eliminate unneeded expenses of any cyber attacks or vulnerabilities.

We can’t function without passwords. So much of the internet is built on the concept of a username plus a password that the concept is core to users’ internet experience. It’s a clever but imperfect system that could certainly be improved upon, but until a game-changing replacement comes along, we have to play the game.

There’s a lot that doesn’t work very well about this system, and many people have questions about what password management best practices are. To that end, here’s a Q&A about passwords and password management.

What’s the biggest problem with how people use passwords?

The biggest problem with internet passwords is password management. Users have dozens if not hundreds of username/password combinations that they need for personal and business use. The problem with this is that nearly no one can reliably remember one hundred unique passwords. Many users, then, select overly simple (and easy to guess) passwords, or they reuse passwords across many sites.

What’s wrong with reusing passwords?

We live in a world of data breaches. When (not if) someone hacks favorite retailer or hotel chain, it’s embarrassing for those companies, but probably doesn’t affect your life too much. If the culprits gain access to your username and password for those sites, it’s a nuisance, but the amount of damage they can do is limited.

But when your hotel rewards password is the same as your credit card password and your banking password, you could have a mess on your hands. Scammers know that at least 51% of people reuse passwords, and you can bet they’ll try those stolen passwords on other, more valuable sites.

What makes a strong password?

A strong password is one that neither human nor machine can guess easily. Forbes compiles an annual list of the worst passwords being widely used, and it’s topped with gems like password, 123456, and qwerty. These are terrible because they’re just about the first things a human might guess. Other bad choices on the human front are the names of people, pets, or places that everyone knows are meaningful to you.

On the machine side, the shorter and simpler the password, the easier to hack. Make your password harder to brute-force by adding length, capital letters, numbers, and symbols. A password of 12 to 16 characters that mixes all these character types is generally considered a strong password.

I just keep my passwords on a sticky note. What’s wrong with that?

In short, everything. A sticky note hidden under your keyboard isn’t exactly a state secret. Think about who might have momentary access to see that sticky note. Clients? The cleaning crew? Maintenance personnel? Who else? This is especially disconcerting In the legal world, where those passwords could give a bad actor access to confidential materials that are under attorney/client privilege.

How can I remember passwords like j#%3M82*mRz!+?

Truthfully, you probably can’t. While that’s a tough password to crack, it’s not very useful for you. A better approach is to take a phrase that you can remember (perhaps one that relates in some tangential way to the site you’re on), and then make the phrase longer and more complex.

For example, iloveturtles is an easy phrase to remember, but it’s not that challenging to guess or to crack. Mix up the phrase by adding replacement characters, like <3iL0v3TurtleS<3, and neither your office mate nor a computer will easily guess or break your password.

Admittedly, this method has limits. Your own memory can be an obstacle, and sites vary with which characters they’ll allow in passwords.

I can’t remember 100 unique, complex passwords. What are my options?

Passwords need to be complex, and you shouldn’t reuse them from site to site. This creates a problem: Who can remember them all? One option that’s gaining a lot of traction in both the personal and enterprise markets, including in the law and legal tech fields, is using a password management tool. You’ve likely seen these advertised as “the last password you’ll ever need” or “one password to rule them all”; stuff like that. Password management tools are a reliable, secure way to generate and remember unique, complex passwords for all the sites and accounts you have.

How does a password management tool work?

Password management tools vary a little bit in terms of functionality, but at the core the services are similar.

1. First, you input or import all your existing credentials to the password management tool.
2. Next, you turn all your current weak passwords into strong ones. Some password management tools can do this automatically for you on many websites.
3. Last, you create one strong, secure password for your password management tool account.

After you’ve completed these steps, you’ll have just one password to remember—the password to your password management tool. It will store the rest of your credentials in a secure, encrypted vault and use them to log you into whatever account you need.

Are password management tools secure?

Yes. The companies offering these tools would be sued out of existence if not. Don’t believe us? Check out what a panel of experts has to say on the topic.

Conclusion

If you have additional questions about implementing a password management tool in your law office, contact us today. We’re here to help.

You have probably seen managed IT services offered from one or more providers in your area. The option of having your IT needs managed by an outside company has obvious appeal—you do not need to maintain a full-time IT staff, or at least as many IT employees, which should save your business some money. However, as a manager or business owner, you know it is important to read between the lines before jumping on just any opportunity that presents itself. How much does it actually cost to use managed IT services?

Managed IT Services Pricing Depends on Multiple Factors

The cost of having your IT needs managed by an outside provider depends on multiple factors. Each business has specific technologies that may be relatively simple or quite complex. The more complex the technology, the more it costs to maintain. And the level of management you can choose from varies as well. Managed IT services range from basic to comprehensive and are priced accordingly.

So What Does it Cost?

If you are looking for a direct answer to the question of what managed IT costs, you can estimate that your business could pay anywhere between $75 per user to $300 per user. The range is broad and maybe not terribly useful at first glance, which is why we encourage you to read on—and ultimately to speak to a reputable service provider to get a quote based on your specific situation and needs. Now let’s delve deeper into how managed IT services are priced so you can get a better idea of what your costs may be.

What Are Managed IT Services?

The biggest challenge with determining the cost of managed IT services—as we are attempting here—is the fact that there are so many services that fall under the umbrella of “IT”. Your business may have drastically different IT needs than another business. That being said, we can look at the basics of managed IT services to get a clearer picture of where your business may fall on the spectrum of technology service needs.

First, let us define what managed IT services means. At the core, managed IT means your IT needs, whatever those may be, are managed by an outside company. A team of experts offers to manage your IT needs, or at least a portion of those needs, for a fee. There is a huge range of services that fall into the IT category, though, which means managing a company’s IT could mean managing 10, 20, or 1,000 different things.

Managed IT services are presented as a way to save money because outsourcing IT management is typically more efficient for most businesses than employing a team of IT professionals. IT is a deep, complex subject, requiring extensive training in specific technologies and practices. Employing a team with the skillset to manage all your IT needs is costly, which is why only large corporations tend to do it. For small and mid-sized businesses, it often makes more sense to outsource IT management. With outsourcing, you only pay for the services you need, much like you would for legal services or other specialized, potentially high-cost services.

The Two Basic Approaches to Managed IT

Managed IT services fall under two broad categories—fully managed IT and partially managed IT.

Partially Managed IT Services

Some businesses have one or more employees that are tasked with managing IT. You may have specific IT needs that require a dedicated IT team to handle in-house. Even if you do not have an absolute need for an in-house IT person or group, you may just feel more comfortable having someone or a team there, in-person, every day to deal with certain IT tasks.

For businesses with existing IT personnel, IT service providers offer partially managed IT services. You can choose what they manage and when. Partial management can range from providing support for tasks that are exceptionally complex—possibly beyond the skill or workload of the in-house IT team—to providing support for routine tasks like security or backup administration.

Fully Managed IT Services

For many small to mid-sized businesses, the most economical and efficient option is to outsource all IT management. Instead of trying to determine what kind of IT employees you need, how many, etc., you can consult with a service provider who can give you expert insight, advice and the service necessary to keep your business technology running smoothly 24/7. A reputable managed IT services provider will be capable of collaborating with you and other leaders in your organization and deliver industry-leading services that an in-house team may struggle to match.

How Managed IT Service Pricing Works

The price for managed IT services varies by region, provider and customer. That being said, there are a few basic concepts that can help you understand how pricing works. These include:

Per User Pricing

Many service plans will be based on the number of users that are being monitored and cared for. You can calculate your users fairly easily—whoever is using the technology in your company can be considered a user. In today’s technology-driven workplaces, you can usually expect every employee to be a “user.” Anyone in your business that uses a PC, Mac, laptop, mobile device, tablet or anything else that requires IT support is someone you should count towards your total users.

Per Device Pricing

While per-user pricing is probably the most common, per device pricing is also a possibility. Instead of pricing services based on how many people are using the technology, the provider may offer to charge based on how many devices your business uses. You would include all the devices you want to be covered—which really should be every device that sees any use in your company—including PCs, Macs, laptops, tablets, mobile devices, etc.

Pricing Should Be Clear and Easy to Understand

Any reputable IT services company will be very clear about what your services will cost and what will be covered by the fees you pay. It will all be documented in your contract, so you can verify what you agree to before you sign anything or hand over any money. Clarity is beneficial for both you as a customer and for the IT company as they can justify their actions—or inaction—based on the contract that you both agreed to.

The Managed IT Service Options Available

IT management services are further broken down into service levels. The names that different providers use may vary, but you can expect services to fall into three general tiers:

1. Basic IT Services—Lowest Price Initially, But Variable Costs Are High

The entry-level IT management services are offered at the lowest recurring price. They involve basic monitoring of your systems and can cost around $70-150 a month. The services you get at this level are akin to having a security team keep track of your server. The organization pays close attention to what is going on and lets you know if anything seems off.

There are obvious benefits to having this kind of security and oversight, but the benefits are limited and the cost can go up quickly if you need any additional assistance. This is especially true if you do not have an IT team to address things when they do go wrong. If you need the IT service provider to do anything beyond monitor and notify, you can expect to pay between $50 and $300 per hour for assistance—depending on the complexity of the problem that needs to be solved.

It may be possible to purchase a block of time from the service provider at a discounted rate. If you can negotiate a contract for a block of time, you can have the IT provider work on issues until that block of time is used up. Of course, you will need to decide which issues are worth using the block for, and which may need to wait until next month when you have another block of time—or pay for a full-priced solution right now when you need it.

2. Mid-Range IT Services—Considered the Best Value for Most Businesses

As with so many things, the lowest priced option is often more expensive in the long run. IT services are no different. A mid-range managed IT service is more expensive up front, but can often save money over time as your service provider is able to help you avoid issues before they become major—and read to address issues immediately when they are easiest to solve.

Once you get into mid-range services, you are hiring more than just a monitoring service. You are hiring a team to serve as your IT provider in most if not all ways. The team will definitely keep track of your systems and notify you when something of concern pops up. But they will also take the initiative to solve those problems without the need for you to make unnecessary decisions—like whether you want to pay extra for the help. You have already hired the team at a rate that allows them to go into action now instead of later.

The services you can get, for a flat fee, may include:

• IT planning
• IT strategy
• IT design
• System backups
• 24/7 IT support (possibly unlimited)
• On-site support
• Remote support
• Disaster recovery

Mid-range IT management services are usually priced based on the number of users you have, or the number of devices you need support for.

Typical charges per user range from $50-$200 per user.

For per device services, pricing will be based on the type of device. For servers, you could pay between $120-500 per server. Workstations may cost between $30-120 per station. Firewalls can cost between $25-100, while switches may cost between $10-50 per switch.

3. High-End IT Services—Only Necessary in Certain Circumstances

The high-end of managed IT services is only necessary for certain types of businesses—specifically those that need full hosted or cloud systems. If the IT service provider needs to provide your business with the majority, or your entire infrastructure, then your fee will include the cost of providing that infrastructure. You get the full scope of services for the increased cost of the high-end pricing, including the use of the system and the support services you need with that system—as well as all the services offered in mid-range plans. A fully hosted service may cost $300 or more per user, per month, depending on the complexity of what is provided.

Some Factors to Consider With Pricing Managed IT Services

IT service providers are in business, just like you, so they need to price their services in a way that keeps them in business. As with most, if not all, businesses, IT service providers base their pricing on how much time and resources they will need to devote to the customer to get the job done. The harder the job, the more they need to charge. And the more unpredictable the job, the more pricing needs to account for possible spikes in time and resources required for the customer.

When an IT company is deciding how much to charge you, they will consider the following factors:

How Complex is Your Technology Matrix?

Your technology matrix includes all of your technological devices and the ways that they need to interact with one another. The more devices, the more variety, the more connectivity that must be maintained, the higher the workload the service provider will expect. Your system or systems may include:

• Laptops
• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Desktops
• PCs
• Macs
• Servers
• Workstations
• Antivirus software
• Wi-Fi for internal use
• Wi-Fi for guests
• Web filtering
• Personal devices
• Cloud applications
• Unique connectivity issues—like warehouse use or outdoor use
• Business software

This is a very small list of potential devices, software and circumstances. You can see how the complexity of a system can increase rapidly, even if you are not what is considered a technology-oriented company.

Do You Have an Existing IT Team?

At first glance, it is easy to assume that having your own IT team would make the job of the outsourced team easier—but this is not always true. Integrating with an existing team presents its own challenges. If you are just hiring the outside team for a specialized task it may be economical, but the price of individualized services is not necessarily the best deal. The more control the outsourced team has the better they can predict their workload, which can make for a better deal with pricing.

Do You Need Individual Services or Comprehensive Services?

When an IT management company is monitoring your system and tells you of a problem, you have the option of hiring that company to address the issue. The actual monitoring work is relatively low demand, which is why it is inexpensive. But actually addressing the issue requires bringing in an IT professional to examine the problem, identify a solution and implement that solution. The IT company only has so many employees, which means taking care of your problem may mean pulling a team member off of a current project to deal with the problem.

The cost of having your service provider address issues on a per case basis reflects the challenge of dealing with problems as they arise. But when you pay for comprehensive services, like with a mid-range plan, you are compensating the company to keep an employee on-hand for your issues. There may still be some juggling of resources to meet unexpected needs, but much of the workload of handling your systems has been accounted for.

What Will My Managed IT Services Cost?

You cannot get an accurate quote for your specific situation from an article, but you can use the information provided here to identify where your needs lie on the spectrum of potential services. Take a close look at your business and IT needs and consider the following:

• Do you have your own IT staff, or do you want to have one or more staff members devoted to IT?
• What is the complexity of your technology? (Answering this question with real accuracy may be difficult to do without the assistance of an IT professional. Even so, it is worth considering to get a ballpark idea of what you will be asking the IT service provider to do for your business.)
• Will you be satisfied with remote services, or do you want to have someone on-site at least part of the time?
• Do you need a full network provided for you, or do you have a network on-site?
• Are you interested in a low initial price point for basic monitoring services—with the potentially high cost of individual services as needed? Or do you that a flat fee for everything would be more appropriate for your needs?

Things to Consider if you Do Have Internal IT Staff

When you have your own IT staff, there is an additional layer of questions you need to ask yourself. Having an “IT” team can mean a lot of different things. You could have one or more serious IT professionals on staff that have the credentials and training to handle a wide variety of tasks. Or, you could have an employee that does basic technology support—that may or may not even specialize in IT. Maybe you have something in between these two scenarios? As you can see, your situation may be entirely different than that of another business.

If you have a serious IT team, you can decide if maintaining that team makes sense for your business. If it does, you can consult with that team to determine what kind of outsourced services you need. If it does not make sense to keep the team, you could consult with different IT providers about how they might take over the role of your team.

If you do not have a serious IT team, it may make more sense to outsource and move your existing IT people—if you have any—to roles that they are better suited for.

Are There Other Options Besides Managed IT Services?

While managed IT services are the recommended choice for most businesses based on cost and efficiency, there are other options available. These include:

On-Demand IT Services

There are a lot of different names for this kind of service, including pay-as-you-go, break-fix, hourly and time & materials. They all refer to the concept of paying for IT services only when you need them. The term break-fix sums the idea up perfectly. If your team breaks something, the IT provider will fix it. Given the unpredictability involved, the cost for these services tends to be high. It may cost anywhere between $50-300 an hour depending on the job, along with the cost of any materials needed.

Block Time

This is a lot like on-demand, as you still get the help you need on demand, but because you pay early you get a discount. You can arrange a deal where you pay for a block of time. When something breaks, you contact the IT provider and let them know you need help. They work for as long as the amount of time you have paid for. If you need more time, they will generally charge you at the hourly rate.

Support from Your Software Vendor

Some software vendors will provide support for their specific products. The support may be included in the price of the software. Usually, you will need to pay extra for support, which may cost thousands or tens of thousands depending on the software.

Get an Accurate Quote—Contact Your Preferred IT Services Provider

As you know, technology can be confusing and frustrating when things start to go wrong. The idea behind managed IT services is that you can keep confusion and frustration to a minimum by outsourcing the management of your technology systems.

If you would like to know precisely what managed IT services will cost for your business, please contact us. We are standing by to give you a quote based on your unique needs.

If your IT department is like many in the U.S., you are struggling with day-to-day operations — leaving very little time for strategic thinking about your business. Even if the time was available, would your team have the expertise and skillsets necessary to create a fully-featured technology plan, budget and business plans for the future? Organizations often hire all-purpose employees, people who are able to wear multiple hats. These generalists are excellent at keeping the business running and creating a great deal of value, but may not have the depth of knowledge required to survey the technology landscape and make recommendations that will guide the future of your business. As organizations turn to IT managed services partners to outsource more of their technology needs, there’s still a gap in terms of strategic thinking. A virtual CIO can help step into that gap and provide your business with the long-term strategic insight that will help you optimize your operations and crush the competition.

What is a vCIO?

Chief Information Officers, or CIOs, are rarely found in small to mid-size businesses as this can be an extremely expensive skillset. You may not need someone employed at this level full-time, but there are several times throughout the year when their guidance would come in handy. Budgeting, competitive analysis, operational efficiency planning and cybersecurity are a few of the topics that a CIO would address in an enterprise, and smaller businesses have the same concerns with a greatly reduced annual budget. A virtual CIO is a high-level executive who is able to step into your organization, understand your business needs and model, and make solid recommendations that will help your business be competitive in the future.

How Can a vCIO Help My Business?

You can see how a vCIO could help with budgeting, and longer-term strategic planning, but are there other ways that these individuals could add value to your business? Planning for the next several years requires a solid understanding of your business model, employees and competitive landscape. Your vCIO will also need to a great deal of research to understand your current software and hardware platforms and other options that are on the market. Your vCIO can also:

• Provide crossover business knowledge as a subject matter expert on a variety of topics
• Define IT infrastructure lifecycle recommendations, feeding into your multi-year technology budget
• Target inefficient operations, proposing changes that will save time and boost productivity
• Align technology strategies with business objectives to facilitate business process improvement throughout the organization
• Review vendor contracts and relationships, looking for economies of scale and reducing overlap
• Make suggestions for new business technologies that have recently entered the market
• Review overall disaster preparedness, including backup and recovery procedures and cybersecurity posture
• Determine operational readiness to deliver key product offerings
• Competitive analysis with an eye towards consolidation and information business technology solutions in the future

As you can see, these services are best delivered by an individual with over a decade of experience in business and technology, with the insight needed to recommend solutions that will meet core business requirements.

Getting Started with Your vCIO

Before your virtual CIO makes any recommendations for your business, they will be doing a great deal of listening and learning from your internal teams and may even request to interview vendors. They will review the competitive landscape, see what type of technology your partners and competitors are using and make lists of the current technology being used in your business. Your vCIO should ask a lot of questions, trying to determine where there are logical breakdowns in operations that could be addressed by advanced technology solutions. Finally, they will need to understand the budgetary landscape — is your business going to be able to make significant investments in technology in the near future, or are you looking for ways to reduce overall expenses? All of this information will go into their overarching analysis, as they attempt to plot a workable technology roadmap for your business.

Understanding the Technology Landscape

The technology landscape is complex and ever-changing, and your vCIO needs to have a solid understanding of the technology that will impact your business — as well as any future functionality for core software and hardware. Understanding your services delivery model and staffing requirements allows your vCIO to appropriately scale software and hardware rollouts, determining whether it’s time to move critical functions to the cloud, for instance. A firm understanding of the value proposition for cloud-based storage and applications versus the value of on-premise solutions is crucial, as technology and business teams become more mobile and look for flexible work solutions that are less dependent on their physical locations. Physical security as well as cybersecurity are hot topics for Chief Information Officers, as the threat landscape continues to morph and cybercriminals become more aggressive.

Having access to a vCIO provides your organization with a broad-spectrum talent, someone who can look not only at the problems of today — but at the solutions that will drive your business in the future. Your IT managed services provider may be able to provide this type of support, with the added value that they are already familiar with your business model and needs.

Small businesses are at considerable risk of cyberattack. With fewer staff resources available to maintain and monitor networks and fewer defenses in place, small businesses are an attractive target for hackers and other criminals.

The risks of a cyberattack are considerable. Companies could spend tens of thousands of dollars just to recover from an attack. There’s also the reputational and regulatory downsides if businesses allow data to be compromised, stolen or accessed by unauthorized parties.

To help businesses better understand the risks and solutions, this guide serves as a comprehensive introduction to cyberattacks and how to prevent them.

Defining Cybersecurity and Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity is a collection of preventative measures designed to defend computers, data, mobile devices, servers, networks and users from malicious attacks. Cybersecurity generally focuses on issues that arise from internet-connected devices and systems.

Cyberattacks are criminal activities designed to disrupt networks, prevent access to data, websites and systems, or extract valuable information. Some cybercrime is done solely to wreak havoc on websites and computer systems. Other activities are intentional attacks designed to steal and sell personal information, company secrets or intellectual property. Other cyberattacks are done for geopolitical reasons to disrupt governments, elections or economies.

What Are the Types of Cyberthreats?

Each day, there are new techniques, threats, codes, programs and approaches used to commit cybercrime. Businesses need a firm understanding of what these threat types are in order to choose the right defenses. Below are definitions of the most common threat types.

• Malware. Malware is a portmanteau of “malicious” and “software.” It is an umbrella term that covers programs designed to cause harm once installed on a targeted computer or server. Malware includes:
  • Trojans – Programs that hide a virus or other malicious program. Many “free software” offers trick unsuspecting users into downloading and installing other apps that are actually Trojans.
  • Adware or Spyware – These programs can take over web browsers and redirect activity to other sites, usually e-commerce pages. These can be difficult to remove and frustrating, as they often use pop-up windows or pages that appear behind another. More nefarious adware can monitor which websites you visit or track keystrokes.
  • Viruses – Often spread by using removable devices on otherwise clean machines, visiting malicious pages or clicking on email attachments, viruses are designed to damage or destroy files stored on a network.
  • Worms – A kind of virus that replicates and propagates itself from computer to computer connected to a network. Typically, worms consume computing resources, slowing or stalling your machine.
• Advanced Persistent Threats. Most hackers do not break into systems in one fell swoop. Instead, they stage their attack in phases. These advanced persistent threats (APTs), one embedded in a computer, may lie dormant for a period before they are activated. The program may also embed itself differently in different parts of the system, so if one threat is detected and eliminated, others can continue to cause harm.
• DDoS. A distributed denial of service happens when outside players overload a server with requests for access or connection. Quickly a DDoS can shut down a target’s networks or websites.
• Rootkits. Rootkits are a small piece of software that’s installed by another, larger software program or attacker that’s gained access. While rootkits may not be malicious, they can harbor malicious operations. Using rootkits, an attacker may be able to monitor activity, access information, change programs or use your computer to complete other actions.
• Botnets. Botnets are networked, automated programs that can be controlled by one or many outside persons. Botnets are used to spread spam or viruses or to facilitate a DDoS.
• Ransomware. A form of malware, ransomware infects your computer system and disables access or functionality, usually to your website. The cybercriminals usually demand a ransom in the form of bitcoin or other difficult-to-trace cyber currency in order to release control of your systems. If the ransom goes unpaid, the hackers usually threaten to release or sell information about your company, customers or employers.
• Phishing. Phishing is a common way hackers steal personal information, logins and credit card information. Phishing attacks usually begin with an email urging a user to visit a known website. Once there, a user can unwittingly reveal information that compromises their identity or finances.
• Fake Anti-Virus. An unsuspecting user may see an email from their anti-virus provider and install a fake update or upgrade. Instead, the installed software begins to make system modifications (including issuing false threat alerts) that make it difficult to eradicate the program.
• Corrupted Files. Even common file types, such as those used for word processing, spreadsheets, images, videos and presentations, can be corrupted by malicious code that’s embedded in a seemingly legitimate file. These programs can execute malicious scripts that consume memory or bandwidth, add or delete files, allow attackers access to your computer or use your computer to attack other machines.
• Zero-Day Attacks. When attackers unearth a security flaw or vulnerability in a piece of software before the developers do, it’s an incredible opportunity. Hackers exploit the vulnerability that can extract information or cause damage. The scope of a zero-day attack can be staggering as it can take months or years before the flaw is detected and a corrective patch is built and deployed.
• Password Attacks. The more characters and choices your company requires of users when creating passwords, the less likely you’ll be to fall victim to a password attack. A brute-force attack occurs when a hacker uses programs or guesses until they are successful in gaining access. Other attacks include the use of dictionaries to find common words used as passwords and keylogging, which captures keystrokes to steal login IDs and passwords.
• Email Spoofing. It is far too easy for hackers to create an email that looks to be from someone, even a known colleague or leader. However, these programs instead are imposters, looking to steal passwords or financial information. A recent series of spoofing emails asked employees at colleges and universities to purchase gift cards for their “colleague,” scratch off the protective coating and send the card authorization codes. If spoofing is used to contact your customers or partners, you may find them leaving to do business with someone else.
• Insiders. There’s a good reason to limit the number of employees who have administrative privileges. Inside attacks are often conducted by employees with administrative rights. They use credentials to get access to confidential information and use it for their own benefit or sell it to the highest bidder. Other inside threats manifest themselves when companies fail to remove access rights or user accounts of employees who leave the organization.

Cyberattacks can take many forms: targeting your users, your networks, your devices, your software or your websites. That’s one of the critical reasons why you need cybersecurity solutions that can address all of the potential threats.

Who Commits Cybercrime?

Many people imagine cyberattackers as hoodie-wearing, sunglasses-toting bad guys in their basement inflicting harm for personal gain or “fun.” While there is an element of truth in that stereotype, there are other players in the cyberattack realm. The criminals may be:

• Single actors or groups looking to disrupt or steal
• Political operatives looking to steal information for nefarious means
• Nation-states authorizing attacks that cripple electronic systems and defenses, disrupt communications or infrastructure, or corrupt or steal data
• Corporate actors or individuals looking to steal information that allows for an economic, strategic or military advantage

While there may be many players involved in cybercrime, the common theme is that your business needs to be protected.

Are These Threats Overblown?

No. Consider some of these statistics from the Ponemon Institute’s global 2018 Cost of a Data Breach study:

• The average data breach costs $3.86 million, a 6.4 percent increase from the previous year
• The cost per stolen record is $146
• The mean time it takes to identify a data breach is 197 days
• The mean time to contain a data breach is 59 days

When looking at the impact of cyberattacks on small businesses, the 2018 HISCOX Small Business Cyber Risk Report notes:

• 47 percent of small businesses had at least one cyberattack in the last year
• 44 percent had two to four attacks
• 67 percent of business owners and executives indicated they were concerned or very concerned about cyberthreats
• The average cost to a small business for a cyberattack is $34,600
• Small businesses incur indirect costs from a cyberattack, including customer loss, difficulty in attracting new customers, brand damage, distraction and productivity loss and staff hours committed to a resolution

Small businesses have other characteristics that contribute to their vulnerability, such as the lack of available budget and qualified personnel to manage the protective measures necessary.

What Kinds of Cybersecurity Tools Are Available?

The number and type of threats are constantly changing. That’s why small businesses need to be vigilant about how to address the potential attacks.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a helpful and clear framework that can help companies understand the layers and purposes of different cybersecurity solutions.

The NIST framework lays out five cybersecurity functions:

1. Identify – Asset management, business environment, governance, risk assessment and risk management strategy
2. Protect – Access control, awareness and training, data security, security processes and procedures, maintenance and protective technology
3. Detect – Anomaly and event detection, continuous monitoring and detection processes
4. Respond – Response planning, communication, analysis, mitigation and response improvements
5. Recover – Recovery planning, improvements and communication

Another way to look at the scope of solutions is to group them into categories based on the type of security they provide. These broad security categories of protective measures collectively provide your business with a comprehensive cybersecurity solution.

The categories and the protections that fall within those groupings are outlined below.

Operational Security. Processes and procedures for handling, storing and securing data, including user permissions, data locations and sharing guidelines.

Cyberthreat Assessment. Companies looking to provide blanketed cybersecurity protection should first conduct a thorough assessment of their existing IT infrastructure. Managed IT providers usually begin their engagements with new customers with this deep dive, which provides a baseline understanding of the data, processes and protection in place and the vulnerabilities that need to be corrected.

Security Policies and Practices. There needs to be a collection of well-defined and articulated policies and procedures that address what data is available, what its business function is, how and where it is stored and who can access it. These cybersecurity policies, and the consequences of not following them need to be spelled out for employees, taught and reinforced. Policies should also include the use of personal devices, peripheral devices, home computers, public WiFi and corporate credit cards or purchasing cards.

Access Control. Small businesses should have clear guidelines in place for who determines access to files and servers. Administrative rights should be limited as noted above. Access should be requested and approved using a clearly delineated process that presents clear business reasons for allowing permission. Access should be provided on a need-to-know or need-to-use basis. Access policies should also consider physical access to servers, data centers, data closets, physical media and off-site locations.

Regulatory Mandates. Many industries are subject to government agency or sector-based requirements for the storage and usage of data. These mandates are especially critical to those companies that collect or use personal health information, collect payment information, manage legal documents or do business with certain federal or state entities. Knowing these mandates is critical, as they inform the decisions about what solutions are used and what reporting is required to demonstrate or maintain compliance.

Insurance. Purchasing cyberattack insurance helps to reduce the financial risk of a potential assault. Like with other insurance products, demonstrating the existence of protective measures may result in lower premiums.

Information Security. Ensures data integrity and privacy when information is in transit or at rest.

Data Backup. Backing up your data (and applications and operating systems) is essential to making sure it’s protected and accessible in the event of an attack or natural disaster. Data backups should be done for information stored in the cloud or physical servers. Backup services should use most advanced security measures and best practices, including backing up data in out-of-region locations, automating backup functions and scheduling backups at regular intervals.

Encryption. Encrypting your data while it’s being backed up and when it is stored in the cloud or on-premises makes it that much more difficult for hackers to use the information, even if they can access it.

Network Security. Secures your computer network from intruders, attackers and malware.

Wireless Network Security. Protecting your wireless network is an absolute must. Next-generation firewalls secure your network’s perimeter, detecting, containing and destroying unwanted activity before it can cause significant harm. Network security should also include continuous monitoring with automated alerts if suspicious or unusual activity is detected. Wireless network segmentation and segregation can also prevent the co-mingling of use by employees, visitors and web visitors.

Passwords and Authentication. Your small business needs password creation guidelines, multifactor authentication procedures, guest access policies that make it difficult for hackers to break in and access systems.

Website Security. Maintain your website’s security with limited privileges to the web server and content management tools, multifactor authentication, aggressive password changes, application whitelisting, adequate resource availability, web firewalls and dynamic security scans.

Application Security. Protects your software applications and the devices that use those apps.

Hardware and Software Updating. Providers regularly distribute updates and patches that address important security issues, fix bugs and remove emergent vulnerabilities. The challenge for small businesses is making sure each connected computer, mobile device and server has the required updates installed. Automated updating is much easier with managed IT services and cloud-based applications and servers.

Mobile Device Security. Mobile devices enable employees to access information and networks from anywhere and at any time. However, mobile devices are especially vulnerable, especially when employees are required to provide their own equipment. For example, employees may not install the necessary updates, access information on unsecured public WiFi networks, or have devices stolen or lost.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery. Plans and policies to recover from a cyberattack and ensure business operations are up and running with little to no downtime.

Business continuity is the overarching guidance, policies, methods and protocols that ensure that a business can continue operations during and after a natural or manmade event. Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity, focused on the procedures used to restore systems, access data backups and deal with the incident at hand.

End-User Education. Training and awareness programs for employees and other users.

In many ways, education and awareness are the first lines of cyberdefense. Employees need to understand the scope of cyberthreats, how those threats appear and what they can do to defend themselves and the organization.

Cybersecurity is an absolute must for small businesses today. Knowing the types of attacks and the available solutions is the best defense against criminals looking to do harm.