It quickly went from helping companies declutter filing cabinets to migrating entire business processes to the digital landscape.

While this rapid growth offers a constant stream of new tools to boost productivity and profitability, it also demands continuous innovation to stay ahead of the competition.

If you’re reading this, you know that keeping pace with technological advancements is always easier said than done.

Upgrading your IT infrastructure can be daunting, especially if you:

• Struggle to find and test IT solutions to address your business needs
• Lack the internal capacity and the resources to complete projects
• Don’t have a trusted provider to monitor and support your IT systems

Here’s where our 30+ years of experience providing IT services to more than 40,000 organizations comes in.

We understand that every business has unique needs and goals. That’s why we take a tailored approach, finding and testing the best solutions that perfectly align with your situation.

We provide training for your staff and connect you with over 300 vendors to get you the best prices, ensuring your tech pursuit won’t hold your business back.

We also stand by the quality of our work. Not only do we provide reliable tech, but we also offer proactive monitoring and 24/7 support, guaranteeing everything runs smoothly.

 Yes, these lines could make us sound like we’re overpromising. You’ve likely heard these statements countless times from other IT service providers.

But here’s how confident we are about providing impeccable customer experience: if you’re unsatisfied within the first three months, you get your money back.

“CCB knows what they’re doing. Their proposals and advice are built on their deep IT knowledge and [are] predicated by caring about seeing you succeed.

That’s rare these days.”

Ken Ervin | Vice President of Operations, Concerned Women for America

Are you ready for your business’ digital transformation? Call 1-800-342-4222 or click here to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our experts.

What Are IT Services?

Think of your business as a machine and your staff as the cogs, gears, and pistons—the components making the entire system run.

 IT (information technology) services act like oil—the lubricant that prevents your enterprise’s internal machinery from breaking down and keeps everything running smoothly.

In other words, IT services combine business understanding with technical skills to help organizations create, manage, and optimize information access or business processes through technology.

Getting IT services involves a broad spectrum of options. It could mean anything from rolling out Microsoft 365 migrations to outsourcing IT infrastructure management to ensure your systems operate efficiently and securely.

What Does an IT Service Provider Do?

An IT service provider is what it sounds like—an entity that provides the tech know-how and IT solutions that can help your business grow through innovation and the power of technology.

An IT service provider will handle your tech initiatives, from procuring hardware and software to optimizing, implementing, and maintaining your IT environment.

For us, however, an IT service provider is more than that.

We pride ourselves in being a managed service provider (MSP) motivated by client success and dedicated to going beyond the traditional role of tech providers.

You’ll receive well-planned and executed IT solutions tailored to your unique business needs, budget, and timeline—not off-the-shelf services.

After all, we’re not solely a company that fixes computers—we’re an extension of your team.

The Evolution of IT Services

The IT industry has come a long way.

In the early days, IT services were all about helping you with the basics—setting up your computers and installing software.

Then came the 90s, the dawn of the internet age, where IT services shifted focus to managing networks and helping build your online presence.

Fast-forward to the “era of data” or the 2000s, when IT service companies would have helped you with data storage and cybersecurity.

Did you notice a pattern? IT services have constantly adapted alongside ever-evolving technology.

Today, outsourcing technology services would mean equipping your business with innovations, such as:

• Artificial intelligence (AI): Gives you machine learning-backed insights and helps automate your routine tasks
• Cloud computing: Enables you to access, save, and manage essential files remotely
• The Internet of Things (IoT): Allows you to link all sorts of devices to the web and make data processing more efficient

Our IT team works closely with you to understand your needs and identify the best solutions.

We leverage the latest technology, following established protocols, to deliver a secure and successful implementation within your environment.

But don’t worry. You’ll never pay for mismanaged IT. We put our expertise to work so we can deliver results, satisfaction, and peace of mind. 

Why Is IT Support Important for Businesses?

Whether you run a large enterprise, a small business, or a nonprofit organization, you’re likely using some form of technology to ensure your processes operate efficiently and your customers enjoy quality IT services.

But what happens when that tech eventually goes dark?

IT-related disruptions can arise unexpectedly—today, tomorrow, or next year.

The point is that if your in-house IT team—if you even have one—isn’t equipped or trained to resolve these issues, it can result in prolonged downtimes and keep you from conducting business as usual.

An experienced IT support services team can offer your company the following:

• Monitoring: Effective tech support can give insight into your IT infrastructure’s health and security.
• Increased productivity: Well-maintained IT systems, backed by excellent support, help prevent technical glitches and streamline your workflow.
• Enhanced security: Data breaches can be devastating. IT support services help you implement robust security measures to protect valuable data.

Improve Efficiency and Cut Expenses With Our Digital IT Services and Solutions

You may think it unlikely, but according to our research, each of your employees wastes an average of 22 minutes daily on IT issues.

Unfortunately, time is money.

We can help you stop these disruptions, improve business efficiency, and lower operational costs.

How? With our preventive PC (personal computer) maintenance support and 24/7 helpdesk care.

Not only do we provide business solutions that integrate seamlessly into your existing technology, but our highly trained team can also quickly respond to any tech events that can affect your IT environment.

The best part? We can streamline the support process and provide training to empower your team, allowing you to regain the time and resources your enterprise needs to dominate its niche.

“I love to brag about CCB as our helpdesk partner because of the great customer service I receive from their support team.

They provide great communication and never give up—even when finding a solution is a challenge.”

Janelle Thompson | Marketing Manager, Premier Staffing

What Are the Different Types of Information Technology?

Think of IT as a giant tech buffet—there’s something for everyone.

Whether you need a more efficient communication method or software that cuts time from some of your processes, IT offers a toolbox of solutions that can help you tackle almost any business challenge.

So, what are your options? Here’s a taste of some of the most sought-after tech solutions:

Microsoft Azure

Have you ever wished to ditch your bulky servers and access your data from anywhere? Microsoft’s Azure platform is the realization of that desire.

Essentially, Azure replaces or supplements your physical data center with a cloud-based one, supporting your business through multiple functions, such as allowing you to back up data and host and develop web and mobile apps.

And here’s the best part: Azure is super flexible. You only pay for what you use, making it an economical option for businesses of all sizes.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Imagine your enterprise no longer needing to install software and, by extension, eliminating often expensive software licenses.

That’s the beauty of SaaS (software as a service).

In a nutshell, SaaS lets you “rent” applications from cloud service providers, such as email, calendars, and office tools like Office 365, and gives you access to these programs through your web browser.

Networking Services

Your company’s network is the digital backbone that connects your devices and facilitates communication between your team members.

Network infrastructure services ensure your network’s reliability and security by building, optimizing, and maintaining routers, modems, and security measures.

Mobile and Remote Networking

As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has shown, flexibility and adaptability are essential for business success.

Mobile and remote networking allows employees to work securely from anywhere, using their laptops, tablets, or smartphones.

If you want to keep your team connected and productive even on the go—or if you want to save on office overhead costs—consider mobile and remote networking IT services.

Unified Communications

Juggling several communication channels, from emails and phone calls to instant messaging and video conferencing apps, can be overwhelming.

Unified communications consolidate all these methods in one user-friendly platform like Microsoft Teams.

With this type of IT, collaboration and information sharing in your organization become easy, boosting productivity.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Does your organization have multiple locations or remote teams? If yes, how do you handle long-distance communication?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions provide an alternative by shifting your channels from traditional phone lines to the internet.

The benefits? VoIP offers features not available with a standard telephone, such as call recording and voicemail to email (delivering voicemail straight to your inbox).

Communication Management

It may sound like a no-brainer, but effective communication tools are vital for any business.

But in today’s digital world, having the tools isn’t enough—it’s equally important to communicate the importance of security.

Yes, giving you the right tools ensures your team can communicate effectively, internally and externally. However, communication management should and must go beyond that.

It must also involve planning, training, and implementing communication strategies that foster a culture of security awareness within your organization, especially regarding sensitive data and network security.

Email Services

Email remains a critical channel for businesses, from sending company updates to nurturing customer relationships.

IT service providers’ email services ensure you leverage this communication tool by helping you choose a reliable and secure email provider.

Some IT service providers may even work alongside your sales and marketing departments to help them effectively communicate with customers and generate leads.

Information Security or Cybersecurity

Here’s an interesting tidbit: there are over 450,000 new malicious programs daily.

In short, cybersecurity is no longer an option; it’s a necessity.

Enter cybersecurity services—your business’ digital suit of armor, protecting your valuable data from cyberattacks and keeping your critical information safe and secure.

Leveraging this area of IT provides your company with armor and gives you insight into your infrastructure’s vulnerabilities and areas for improvement.

Firewall Services

Firewalls are like bouncers for your digital nightclub. They’re critical security measures that protect your business by controlling network traffic—only allowing authorized users and data to come in.

There are various firewall solutions to bolster your network security, including:

• Hybrid models: Give you additional control and network monitoring beyond basic firewall rules
• Unified firewalls: Offer a single solution to secure all your internal and remote devices

An experienced IT provider offering firewall maintenance and monitoring as part of their solutions will choose the right fit for your business.

Antivirus Protection

As they say, “Prevention is better than cure.”

And what better way to safeguard your devices and IT infrastructure from digital threats than with antivirus and antimalware software?

With antivirus protection services, you equip your business with digital security scanners that monitor, pinpoint, and eliminate malicious programs lurking on your systems—it’s that straightforward.

Data Backup and Restoration

What keeps you awake at night? For many business owners, it’s the thought of losing one’s essential data from a natural disaster or cyberattack.

Don’t let unexpected IT disasters slow your company’s momentum!

Data backup and restoration services help you preserve your business data and store them in cloud or off-site locations, allowing you to recover them and get back on track in case of unforeseen problems.

With this area of information technology, you never have to worry about losing all your hard work.

Software Development

Not all software applications are plug-and-play. Some will even have features your business may never utilize or find a use for.

If only your hard-earned dollars could be spent on apps that precisely fit your business needs. Custom software makes this possible.

Software application services can help turn your vision into reality—create a program that fits your specific requirements and, most importantly, improves workflow and productivity.

Troubleshooting and Technical Support

When it works, technology can be a game changer for many businesses. But when it doesn’t, it can be a crutch.

Software glitches, hardware malfunctions, and other IT issues can distract your team from what truly matters: ensuring your business is operating smoothly.

Here’s where troubleshooting and technical support services come in.

These solutions provide the help you need to resolve technical challenges and keep your IT systems running smoothly.

Remote Support

What if your company’s home base is inaccessible? What if your enterprise doesn’t have a physical presence?

With remote support services, you don’t have to worry about unexpected IT problems halting your operations.

After all, MSPs that provide remote support can diagnose issues and troubleshoot errors remotely.

Hardware Installations and Maintenance

Your business thrives on a robust foundation. Hardware installations and maintenance services provide that bedrock for your IT infrastructure. 

From setting up new computers and configuring printers to performing preventative maintenance and updating these units, this area of IT lets you focus on running your enterprise while IT providers handle the tech.

Monitoring

No one can see the future. But monitoring service providers come close—catching minor glitches before they become major headaches.

By proactively monitoring your systems and networks, IT providers can pinpoint and handle potential issues before they become more significant problems.

Technology Training

Technology is constantly evolving. Unfortunately, old habits die hard. 

Implementing or integrating new tech into your business processes may disrupt your staff’s workflow, especially if they’ve grown accustomed to their existing IT environment.

With technology training services, you can empower your team with the skills and knowledge to ease their transition and help them utilize your IT tools and resources to their full potential.

Project-Related Staffing

Are you struggling to maintain and fill IT positions in your organization for tech-related ventures?

Don’t worry. Some IT providers that offer managed IT services, whether full or co-managed, provide technical specialists such as a vCIO (virtual chief information officer) or dedicated project team.

Their job? Evaluate your current tech situation, design and implement IT solutions, and ensure project quality and performance.

Hybrid IT Services

Cloud services allow you to move your IT infrastructure to the digital realm. One primary benefit is that you eliminate the need for an in-house IT environment.

The most notable disadvantage is that you’re leaving control to your cloud service provider.

Hybrid IT services solve this problem by letting you use a cloud-based system and an on-premises one.

Other IT Services

Data Analytics

Data is the new gold. It’s the reason cybercriminals aim their attacks at businesses like yours.

Why not utilize this valuable asset for yourself?

Data analytics services help you make sense of all your data by collecting, analyzing, and transforming it into actionable insights for your enterprise.

IT Development

IT development goes beyond building software. It’s a strategic partnership that helps you leverage technology to achieve your business goals.

From comprehensive planning and QA (quality assurance) testing to migration and maintenance, IT development ensures your tech investments deliver maximum value and a competitive edge.

Printing IT Services

For many businesses, printing is an integral part of their operations. But is tasking your staff to handle all your printing needs the best use of their time? What happens when in-house printers fail?

Printing as a service (PaaS) lets you use your team’s resources more efficiently and eliminates the need to invest in new printers when old ones break down or hire technicians to fix them.

After all, this branch of IT can assist with your high-volume printing requests, maintain backups of your essential business documents, and even organize them for easier access.

Automation

Imagine a world where your team doesn’t have to waste time on tedious tasks and is free to focus on what truly matters.

That’s what automation can give you.

With automation services, you can—you guessed it—automate repetitive and error-prone tasks like data entry, form processing, and even email communications.

Artificial Intelligence 

AI (artificial intelligence) can revolutionize the way your business works, from helping you predict potential issues in your IT systems to providing round-the-clock support for your end-users.

However, responsible implementation is critical. After all, not all AI solutions are created equal.

For this reason, it’s best to work with an IT provider that prioritizes data security, privacy, and responsible practices. Doing so ensures your AI adoption is seamless and minimizes risks.

Didn’t find the IT service you’re looking for? Let’s talk. Call 1-800-342-4222 or click here to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our experienced IT professionals.

IT Services In the Industry

IT services are the “guy in the chair” for modern businesses, keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes—the Alfred Pennyworth to Batman or the Ned Leeds to Spiderman.

But unlike most superheroes, you’re not limited to one assistant.

The information technology industry encompasses various services, from hardware support and software development to cybersecurity and cloud computing.

Unfortunately, this abundance of options can make it challenging for business owners to identify what form of help they truly need.

So, to help with your decision-making process, here are some things about the IT services industry you should consider:

Market Size

The IT services market in the US (United States) is a powerhouse, and it’s only getting bigger.

Forecasts indicate that the industry’s revenue will grow to over $710 billion in 2024, driven by more than 497,000 participating businesses.

This growth is driven by various factors, including the need for reliable IT infrastructure to support remote and hybrid work models.

However, the most influential element impacting the expansion of IT services is the rising desire of business owners to digitize their processes.

What does a more robust IT services market mean for you?

Simple: you’ll find no shortage of providers offering tech innovations to help you improve efficiency, security, and competitiveness.

Market Segments

The IT industry is made up of several distinct segments that cater to specific needs.

For instance, cybersecurity focuses on providing security solutions, such as antimalware protection programs.

On the other hand, the systems maintenance and repair sector is all about providing IT support services.

However, cloud computing is showing the most significant growth among the various segments of the broader IT services market.

And why wouldn’t it?

After all, cloud computing services allow businesses like yours to manage analytics, databases, networks, servers, software, and storage remotely, eliminating the need for an in-house infrastructure and the costs that come along with one.

Industry Trends

In an industry that’s constantly evolving, IT trends come and go.

Artificial intelligence and its potential to automate business processes and provide intelligent, data-driven insights are certainly attracting attention.

But if we’re talking about the hottest trend, it’s edge computing.

Essentially, edge computing allows you to speed up the response times of your remote devices, allowing you to get detailed insights from your data quickly.

If you want to leverage information technology to improve your business’ efficiency and profitability, consider looking into edge computing.

Unique Aspect of the Industry

While the COVID-19 pandemic was undoubtedly a dark period for many, it taught businesses valuable lessons.

One of the most significant is that enterprises can still function effectively even with a remote workforce.

And that would not be possible without the IT industry and its ability to empower off-site work and enable collaboration—the sector’s unique aspect.

Challenges and Solutions in IT Services

Information technology services can offer various benefits for your organization. Unfortunately, they also come with their fair share of downsides, including the following:

• Keeping up with security threats: Just as tech innovations happen daily, digital dangers arise daily, too, making cybersecurity a persistent challenge.

But with our cybersecurity services, you’ll never have to worry. After all, we leverage emerging security technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to any threat—new or otherwise.

• Staying ahead of the curve: The IT industry moves at breakneck speed—what’s cutting-edge today may be obsolete tomorrow.

But don’t get caught off guard. Our reliable solutions and proactive strategic business reviews (SBRs) help you stay at the forefront of technological innovations.

We’ll streamline upgrades and software rollouts, ensuring your business leverages the latest tech and mitigating the risk of outdated systems holding you back.

• Encouraging innovation: Embracing new tech to gain competitive advantage can sometimes cause adoption challenges, especially for your less tech-savvy team members.

That’s why, apart from delivering you the latest technologies, we can also provide training to ensure your staff is equipped with the skills and know-how to utilize IT innovations fully.

• Managing costs and ROI: IT isn’t cheap. Small businesses spend around 6.9% of their revenue to stay relevant in this digitally dominated age.

But we believe IT should never hinder your company.

When you partner with us, expect us to deliver budget-minded IT solutions that maximize every dollar you spend and give you unbeatable returns on investment (ROI).

“Should I Use IT Services?”

Considering outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP like us? Here are some signs that your business could benefit from our IT services:

• Your in-house team lacks the resources to complete tech initiatives on time and within budget
• You struggle to test new IT solutions thoroughly before deployment 
• You’re finding it challenging to define unified IT goals
• Complex dependencies between your IT environment’s components are hindering innovation
• You don’t have a guiding voice to help you make informed tech decisions

If you have these concerns, you’re a prime candidate for IT services.

How to Choose the Right Type of IT Services

Knowing you need IT help is only one part of the equation. Determining what type of help your organization needs is another.

Here’s where our expert IT consulting services come in.

We understand that every business has unique information technology needs. That’s why we listen first instead of rushing to sell you a solution.

We’ll assess your current tech situation, identify areas for improvement, and design a customized plan to optimize your processes and workflow for growth.

“CCB has been our IT provider for our nonprofit agency for 26 years. They listen to your needs and respond with the proper solutions to meet them.

They are truly a gem in the IT services space.”

Dana Brown | Chief Technology Officer, Health Solutions

So, if you want guidance on choosing the IT services that would benefit your enterprise, let’s talk!

Why Choose CCB Technology IT Services?

Here’s something that you may find surprising. In our 30+ years as an IT service provider, we have a 98% client retention rate with over 40,000 clients under our belt.

The organizations that come to us for IT help stay. And here’s why:

• We’re committed to doing the right thing. You can count on us to be honest and transparent in all our dealings.
• We’re passionate about technology and its potential to transform your business. That’s why we’re driven to find innovative solutions to help you achieve your business goals.
• We take ownership of our work and are committed to delivering results. We’ll set clear expectations, solve problems, and apply what we’ve learned from our experiences.
• We foster lasting partnerships with our clients through trust. We follow through on our commitments and communicate openly.
• We’re not perfect. We’re always learning and growing as a company. We value different perspectives and believe that collaboration leads to the best solutions.
• We’re never satisfied with the status quo. We continuously strive to make our services better and empower our clients to achieve growth.

Partnering with us means partnering with a team that takes pride in understanding your business and is committed to your success.

But don’t just take our word for it. Check out our case studies to understand why clients stay and trust us with their IT projects.

“I’ve worked with CCB for 20 years, and I know they are a company with integrity.

I trust them and know that if they tell me something, it’s the truth. They are the only company that has access to our systems.”

Jon Keatts | Director of Information Technology, Russell Cellular

If you’re ready to experience the CCB Technology difference, call 1-800-342-4222 or click here to schedule a no-obligation consultation with our IT professionals.

Alternatively, feel free to visit our offices to discuss your IT challenges by visiting our Wisconsin office, located at 8411 Corporate Drive, Mount Pleasant, WI 53406.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the basic elements of an information system?

An information system (IS) has five components:

• Computer hardware: All the physical technology that lets you access data and communicate, such as keyboards, routers, and even smartphones
• Computer software: The programs and applications that tell your hardware what to do
• Telecommunications: The elements that connect your devices to form a network, such as ethernet cables or wifi
• Databases and data warehouses: Where your data is saved and retrieved
• Human resources and procedures: The human component of an IS—the people needed to run your IT system

2. How can CCB technology help your business save money on IT services?

We can help you reduce your IT costs in various ways. Here’s how:

• Budget-friendly solutions: We’ll find the perfect tech fit within your budget, ensuring value without overspending.
• Predictable pricing: Our monthly flat rate eliminates surprises. And if you sign a multi-year agreement, you can lock in this price for years to come with no hidden fees.
• Vendor network advantage: We leverage our partnerships with over 300 vendors to negotiate the best possible deals on your behalf.
• Referral rewards: Reduce your IT expenses further with our referral program. Get rewarded for pointing others our way.

3. Can we help your company address cybersecurity concerns?

Yes, we can help your business overcome cybersecurity challenges through cutting-edge security solutions and a proactive approach to keeping you up-to-date on current security trends and cyber threats.

4. How can we assist you with staffing challenges?

Through our IT services, you gain access to tech experts, from our helpdesk personnel to virtual CIOs (chief information officers).

5. What kind of support does CCB Technology offer?

Our round-the-clock helpdesk support team can assist you with your tech issues in no time—we have an average response time of under three minutes.

We also offer remote desktop support, ensuring your systems always perform optimally and no unexpected IT events disrupt your team’s workflow.

6. What does a dedicated network admin do?

The network administrator is responsible for keeping your computer network running as efficiently as possible.

While the precise initiatives a dedicated network admin undertakes will vary depending on your unique needs, they typically involve the following:

• Installing and configuring network hardware such as servers and routers
• Upgrading, maintaining, and troubleshooting the IT infrastructure
• Implementing network security measures and monitoring potential threats

7. How does the dedicated virtual CIO support your business?

Besides helping you hit project milestones on time, our vCIOs support your enterprise by ensuring your technology is optimized to improve your processes and aligned with your organization’s goals.

The post IT Services: What It Is and How It Can Help appeared first on CCB Technology.

It’s important to recognize that experiencing burnout in your personal or work life can significantly impact your emotional, behavioral, and physical well-being. Symptoms can vary from person to person, but some common signs include:  

• Low energy or fatigue  
• Frequent illness  
• Feeling trapped or defeated  
• Helplessness or self-doubt  
• Loss of satisfaction or sense of accomplishment  
• Feelings of cynicism  
• Detachment  

In this blog, we’ll explore some principles influenced by one of my favorite authors Patrick Lencioni, to help you avoid burnout and unleash your true potential.  

1. Embrace Teamwork and Collaboration 

As an IT professional, you often work on complex projects requiring collaboration with various teams. For most of us, communication isn’t our superpower. If that’s true for you, this might be where work is needed.   

Embrace the power of teamwork to prevent burnout. Fostering open communication, sharing responsibilities, and encouraging collaboration might be uncomfortable, but so is stretching. When the workload is shared, you’ll find it easier to manage stress and accomplish tasks effectively.  

2. Establish Clear Goals and Priorities 

IT professionals can easily fall into a never-ending cycle of feeling overwhelmed (we all can) when we don’t take the time to set achievable goals and establish priorities for ourselves and our team. Breaking down large projects into smaller tasks makes them more manageable and adds focus to what truly matters. This helps avoid getting overwhelmed by an ambiguous workload.  

3. Practice Effective Time Management 

Time management is crucial for IT professionals as technology evolves rapidly and deadlines loom. Develop a time management system that works for you. Prioritize your tasks, allocate specific time blocks for each activity, and minimize distractions. You’ll reduce stress while achieving more when managing your time effectively.   

Real talk—we know this principle to be accurate, but we usually don’t do it. It’s easy to get caught up in putting out fires, but if everything’s urgent and essential, then nothing is. Draw lines with your boss to increase productivity.  

 4. “Unplug & Untangle” 

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential for avoiding burnout. Stepping away from work and enjoying life outside the office is vital for your well-being and enhances productivity and creativity when you return to work. Dedicate time to activities that rejuvenate you. Engage in hobbies, spend quality time with loved ones, exercise regularly, and ensure you get enough rest.  

In episode 114 of The Impact of Leadership podcast, Michaela O’Donnell gives a simple analogy for avoiding burnout. “Like corded headphones, you’ve got to unplug and untangle. Then get plugged back in. Avoiding it will only make your situation worse.”  

5. Cultivate a Supportive Work Environment 

A common cause of burnout is a lack of adequate social support, so feeling supported by management can play a significant role in helping prevent it. Have open dialogues about fostering a culture where colleagues can openly discuss challenges, share ideas, and seek support. Encourage your team members to take regular breaks and vacations to recharge.   

If you’re the head of a department or team, use your authority to make a change. If you’re not, offering to help colleagues is a significant first step to developing a healthy environment. Creating an atmosphere of support and understanding will create a healthier and happier workplace for everyone.  

6. Continuous Learning and Skill Development 

Putting self-development and learning on the backburner happens easily when you’re already overwhelmed with a million other to-do’s that seem infinitely more important. However, technology is ever-evolving, and staying up-to-date is critical for an IT professional.   

Set aside time for yourself (even if it’s only 15-20 minutes a day) to invest time in blogs or podcasts, current news and trends, online courses, important conferences, or networking opportunities. Keeping up with the latest technology advancements will help you feel more confident and motivated. Networking with like-minded individuals allows you to discuss ideas and struggles with others and get solutions you might not have considered.  

You don’t have to know it all either – outsourcing aspects of your IT means you get access to a team of people with a wide range of skill sets and specialties, so you don’t have to overwork yourself trying to master everything.  

 7. Celebrate Success and Recognize Achievements 

In pursuing excellence, it’s easy to overlook the importance of celebrating successes. I am guilty of this constantly. You climb a mountain only to find yourself at the foot of the next one. Taking the time to acknowledge your accomplishments and those of your team members is vital. 

Managers that recognize and reward hard work and milestones achieved are people we want to follow. Not in management? No problem. Giving a co-worker a high-five or a shoutout goes a long way. Celebrating success fosters a positive work environment and fuels motivation, creating a buffer against burnout.  

8. Seek Support   

Knowing where to turn for support can be difficult when you’re feeling burnout. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness but rather a smart and proactive approach to caring for yourself. Share your concerns with trusted colleagues, mentors, or supervisors. Be honest and have an open dialogue about the struggles you are facing.   

Remember, lack of social support is a big burnout trigger. By addressing problems proactively, you can prevent burnout and find solutions that work for everyone involved (and save the company a lot of pain from losing you).  

Wrapping it up  

Preventing workplace burnout is a journey that requires effort and conscious choices. However, by following the above principles, you can maintain your well-being, unlock your true potential, and excel in your career.  

You’re not alone! Options like outsourcing can help you navigate your challenges and relieve the pressure.  

CCB Technology offers co-managed support and specializes in comprehensive project work. We’ve been there for countless individuals and are here for you, too. Let us help you maintain your sanity and manage your workload like a pro. 

The post Addressing Burnout in IT Professionals   appeared first on CCB Technology.

The most logical next step might be to see if the user has OneDrive installed locally on their machine, allowing for synchronization between their machine and Microsoft 365. However, you see that has not yet been set up since the organization is still new to Microsoft 365 and the user was most likely unaware they could do that.

So, with no on-premises copy of the document available, you turn to the 24×7 Microsoft 365 Microsoft support that is a part of your subscription. While working with Microsoft, you discover that the document was deleted more than 30 days ago. Unfortunately, that means that even though you changed the default for Recoverable Items > Deletions within your Microsoft 365 tenant from 14 days to the maximum of 30 days, Microsoft has no way to retrieve it since the document was deleted more than 30 days ago. This document is gone. Period.

This scenario happens more often than people realize – showing estimates close to 32% of organizations experiencing a data loss similar to this, with 75% of those losses due to people deleting content, most often accidentally.

What does this mean? EVERY organization should consider an Microsoft 365 backup strategy for data stored in the cloud. Here are some tips for finding the best Microsoft 365 backup solution to meet your needs as well as some possible solutions and how they compare to what Microsoft offers natively.

Evaluate your needs

Start by taking an honest assessment of your organizational needs because a good fit depends upon your organization’s requirements. With so many good solutions available, it will be overwhelming if you don’t do this evaluation first. Here are a few questions – by no means exhaustive – to ask as you go through the evaluation process:

Are you looking for a turnkey solution or something more robust?

We often find that turnkey solutions might not provide the flexibility and functionality organizations need. However, for organizations with minimal IT staff or with a need to simply get their data backed up, a turnkey solution can be the right fit.

Do you have compliance regulations that you need to meet?

Many organizations have compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, that they need to accommodate. Be sure the solutions that you are considering enable you to meet and maintain those requirements.

Do you need some data stored on premises?

Some organizations require that if your primary services, such as email, are running in the cloud that data must also be stored locally. There are solutions that automatically pull data down onto a local repository.

Do you need any additional services?

Consolidating multiple services can be a huge advantage for IT staff by offering ease of implementation and ongoing management. If your organization could benefit from archiving, data loss prevention, encryption, or SPAM protection along with a backup solution, then consider offerings that can be managed from a single pane of glass.

Are you planning to have someone else manage the solution?

If you are currently working with a managed service provider (MSP), include them in these discussions to ensure that they can support whatever solution you are considering. Don’t invest in a backup solution that you want to have managed without first consulting your partner. Your MSP should be a resource for advice and guidance on potential solutions that meet your requirements and can also be managed by them.

Compare Microsoft 365 backup solutions

Now that you know the priorities for your organization, you can start your search for the best Microsoft 365 backup solution. To help you get started, let’s look at what Microsoft offers compared to what a few of our top backup partners offer.

Microsoft’s backup solution

If a user accidentally deletes data and discovers it within 30 days, Microsoft is a great solution. However, if the incident exceeds 30 days, Microsoft’s resolution will depend on whether it involves data for which you’ve set up compliance policies.

Microsoft 365 contains features to help retain data longer but strongly recommends that for data governance, retention policies be used because a retention policy is the only feature that can both retain and delete content across the platform. However, many of these offerings are only available in the Microsoft 365 E3 Plan or higher.

Synology Microsoft 365 backup

Synology offers a great on-prem solution for ease of implementation, ongoing management and overall affordability. Their NAS device is easy to set up, receive notifications, and restore files, folders, etc. Synology covers Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive. It also protects your Microsoft Teams data if it’s stored in the online versions.

Synology NAS is license-free, without limits on the maximum number of allowed accounts. They also offer a cost-effective plan to NAS users for data availability in the cloud through Synology C2.

Barracuda Microsoft 365 backup

For organizations wanting services beyond simple backup, Barracuda Cloud essentials might be the right fit. It provides a solution that, in addition to Microsoft 365 Backup & Recovery, also includes Advanced Threat Protection, Inbound/Outbound filtering, Archiving, Compliance and eDiscovery.

Veeam Microsoft 365 backup

If you, like many of our clients, are already using Veeam to back up your physical and virtual servers or if you need to back up data to an on-prem location, Veeam might be the right fit for you.

The bottom line: Microsoft 365 has a feature-rich infrastructure for organizations wanting access anywhere at any time, but a comprehensive backup for your Microsoft 365 data is not included. It’s your data and you need to have active and successful backups occurring so that the next time a user accidentally deletes their data, you can restore it.

We can help make the process easier! CCB can make your search for the best Microsoft 365 backup solution simple and effective – from demo to trial to purchase. Let’s have a conversation.

The post How to find the best Microsoft 365 backup solution – and why you need it appeared first on CCB Technology.

In my former life as an IT manager, I had the same apprehensions and experienced firsthand the mixed emotions of considering a cloud-based solution. I was unsure about where our data would be residing or who might have access to it. There was something falsely reassuring thinking that if it was on-premise, it had to be secure!

Finally, like so many others, after years of staying on the ground with our infrastructure, we started to explore the benefits of cloud solutions and increased efficiencies they could provide our business. A huge impact that caused us to take a serious look at the cloud was realizing that if a disaster were to hit the office, all of our critical applications would still be functional with the right cloud solution in place.

As the number of cloud-based solutions grow every day, researching and comparing solutions can be time consuming, and in the IT world, time is a sacred commodity. Although I can’t make your final platform selections for you, I hope to provide you with insight into the advantages of cloud over on-prem options and the types of cloud solutions available to give you a foundation to work from.

Cloud vs. On-premise Infrastructures

Cloud solutions provide major benefits to both businesses and individuals over traditional infrastructure, including:

• Accessibility: With cloud solutions, users can access data anywhere on any device, providing collaboration across all aspects of a business. Writing this blog is a perfect example – I have my Microsoft Word file open on an iPad, MacBook Pro and Surface Book. All show progress in real time as I write, whereas without a Microsoft 365 subscription, I would have three different versions of my document between the devices.

• Cost Control: The cloud helps control costs through predictable subscriptions for enterprise-class infrastructure solutions, eliminating the heavy capital expenditure of an on-premise infrastructure. Additionally, pay-as-you-go models for some solutions mean you can add or subtract individual services and only pay for what you use.

• Scalability: Cloud solutions provide easy and often instantaneous scalability versus the cumbersome process of procuring hardware and software for a traditional infrastructure, which can take weeks or longer.

• Deployment: With cloud solutions, businesses can deploy mission-critical applications without any upfront costs and with minimal provisioning time, allowing IT staff to focus on more pressing activities and objectives. It can also help to reduce the time needed to get new applications and services to market.

• Reliability: Though a concern of most during the introduction of the cloud, technology advancements are making cloud solutions even more reliable and consistent than on-premise IT infrastructures. Most providers today offer Service Level Agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing close to 95% and higher uptime, and 24/7/365 availability.

• Security: This is a central focus for any cloud provider. Cloud solutions today provide greater security than on-prem counterparts because data is stored throughout multiple highly secured locations yet can be accessed no matter what happens. A very simple example is a user who loses a laptop. If it’s managed using a cloud solution, the company can remotely wipe any sensitive information and protect its most important asset – it’s data.

Cloud Solution Models

Now that you know some key benefits of cloud infrastructures, let’s look at the three types of cloud solutions to find out what’s right for you:

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS replaces traditional IT applications with a cloud model that is a software subscription provided by a third-party vendor. This is the most common cloud solution being utilized by businesses because it provides benefits to an organization such as the elimination of software updates, centralized management, and access through any device over the internet.

Examples of these services include Microsoft 365, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Services, WatchGuard Cloud, Dropbox and Salesforce. When I was just entering the cloud, these were solutions that greatly reduced the time and energy I was spending on installing and upgrading software.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS provides the foundation for cloud IT infrastructures. This model is all about IT operations and typically provides access to network features, data storage space, and computers, while allowing the highest level of management control and flexibility.

Google, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft Azure are third-party sources for IaaS, providing the ability to only pay for what you use – basically like renting the resource. That means if you’re coming into a slower season of business, you can power down three of the five web servers running and pay accordingly.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS allows organizations to build, run and manage customized applications without the need or worry associated with on-premise infrastructures, making it easier for developers to create efficiencies as a part of the application development process. Among the benefits of PaaS are a reduction in overhead and an increase in the speed of development and deployment. Microsoft Azure would fall into this category as well.

Here’s a good resource if you want a deeper dive into the types of cloud models.

Know What to Look For in a Cloud Solution

When considering a cloud solution for your organization, these are important factors you should know:

Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

SLAs outline the service expectations and responsibilities between your company and a cloud supplier. It should state the metrics used for measurement and any penalties if the services don’t meet those expectations. These agreements are for both party’s protection and necessary to build a successful relationship.

High availability is important and is expressed as a percentage of uptime in a given year, or the “number of nines”. (Note that maintenance windows for patching, deploying new systems, etc. are not considered downtime.) I have seen a few providers that promise “five nines”, equating to downtime of only 5 minutes and 15 seconds per year, and fail to meet that goal. You will need to decide what is acceptable for your organization to continue to operate. Discuss this with a potential provider and then get it in writing.

Redundancy

Redundancy or high availability in cloud computing means that multiple copies of your data exist or systems that can be accessed if your cloud solution fails. When talking with a cloud solution provider about their redundancy or disaster recovery plan, make sure to ask:

• How redundant are your data centers regarding power, ISPs and other resources?
• What happens when server solution ‘A’ is installed or goes down?
• How are the backend systems set up (i.e.: web or SQL servers)? Are they clustered?
• What happens if the site where the solution is hosted goes down? Will the cloud solution still be available?
• What automation is in place to make sure my systems remain operational when a disaster happens at a primary site?

Hidden Costs

Even when a vendor provides a quote, there may be hidden costs you should look out for. I learned this the hard way in my previous role when I received the first invoice for our new cloud solution – something that was hard to explain to the executive team! Learn from my mistake and be sure to review the quote’s fine print carefully and ask thorough questions.

How I Learned to Love the Cloud

When I was an IT manager at my previous company, the data we worked with daily was very sensitive (containing PII) and securing it was the highest priority for me, my team, and the success of our company. Part of my hesitation to move to the cloud was due to the data breaches I seemed to be hearing about in the news every other day. It seemed impossible to decide which pieces we could migrate without compromising our security.

As the business grew, my direction and mindset needed to change regarding cloud solutions. We needed to be able to scale rapidly, collaborate efficiently and have access anywhere at any time. We finally chose to migrate to Microsoft 365 from an on-prem Exchange environment. I was initially blinded to its benefits because of my security fears and wanted to retain total control like I could with our on-premise servers.

However, as we began using Microsoft 365, I quickly started to see the organizational benefits: teams collaborating efficiently in groups, simultaneous sharing and editing of documents, and meetings that no longer required being in the same building. It’s as if my eyes had been opened to a whole new world.

Yes, we still needed to protect sensitive data, but the cloud allowed us to quickly expand our resources at a much lower cost than what we could implement in our on-premise infrastructure. Most importantly, it allowed me to sleep better at night knowing if a disaster hit, we’d still be functional for our clients. I learned to keep my feet on the ground and love the cloud.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CLOUD?

Want to know how your business can benefit from cloud solutions? We’d love to discuss your needs and help you roadmap your migration. Let us help.

The post How I Learned to Love the Cloud & Why You Should appeared first on CCB Technology.

Let’s start by doing an overview of the two main types of Microsoft 365 migration options available – hybrid vs cutover. There are other migration choices out there such as Staged, Hybrid Lite, etc., but most often we see our clients choose a cutover migration or hybrid migration. Let’s look at the differences.

Cutover migration (or the git ‘r done approach)

One of the fastest ways to get your organization into Microsoft 365 is a cutover migration. This consists of migrating from your current email platform into Microsoft 365 with the “transaction” occurring at a single point in time, which is why it’s called a cutover. With a cutover migration there would be a definitive point when your entire organization moves from their current email platform into the Microsoft 365 platform.

The proverbial “flipping of the switch”, the cutover task itself can take under an hour to perform if a fair amount of staging and prep work happens on the front end. By staging and prepping, I’m referring to tasks such as moving your data into Microsoft 365 (email, calendars, contacts, etc.) or setting up other components as needed, such as AAD Connect and an Encrypted SMTP Relay. The overall process could take anywhere from 4-8 weeks to complete depending on the size of your organization, but in the end, everyone would move over together.

Hybrid migration (or let me ease into it approach)

If you are not a fan of making the switch for the entire organization all at once, then a Microsoft 365 hybrid migration might be a better fit. In a hybrid migration, you can move a chosen number of users or departments at a time into Microsoft 365, allowing your company to move over at a gradual pace. There are additional requirements though that need to be considered when choosing this option.

To begin with, you will need to set up a server that will function as the Hybrid Server to host the connection between your on-premise Exchange Server and Microsoft 365. You’ll also need to utilize directory synchronization (such as AAD Connect) since hybrid configurations rely on them.

How to choose between a hybrid vs cutover Microsoft 365 migration

Here are some questions to help guide you on your way to making an informed decision:

1. How many mailboxes, distribution groups, public folders, etc. will you be moving into Microsoft 365?
   We normally see larger organizations (250 users and above) more prone to choosing the hybrid migration path to better support their user base during the migration to Microsoft 365, especially if they have multiple locations. Smaller organizations can be more agile in their preparation for the move and an Microsoft 365 cutover migration is often a simpler approach, although mailbox size could be a consideration for them as well.
2. What is your current email platform?
   We see clients moving from all types of email platforms into Microsoft 365. In a hybrid migration, an Exchange platform is required, so if you are running anything other than Exchange or anything older than Exchange 2010, hybrid is not an option.
3. Are you currently utilizing Microsoft Teams, or SharePoint On-Premise?
   If the answer is yes, either a cutover or hybrid Microsoft 365 migration would work, however, there are a fair number of caveats – or “gotchas” as we like to call them – that need to be addressed.
4. Do you have additional complexity with your environment?
   This could include things like multiple Active Directory environments from past mergers/acquisitions or the need to move to a new domain and having that occur simultaneously. In cases like these, we see most clients choose the hybrid option to allow for additional testing and a slower phased approach for deployment.

Now that you know what to choose between a hybrid vs cutover Microsoft 365 migration, here are some vital tips to prepare for your transition and avoid common pitfalls.

If you have a unique situation or need more help working through which option is best, please feel free to reach out to us – we would be happy to talk with you about it. Every Microsoft 365 migration is different and feedback from an experienced professional at CCB can be helpful.

We can also help free up some valuable time by doing your migration for you. We have performed hundreds of Microsoft 365 migrations for clients over the years, helping to make the process more efficient and timely, and allowing them to get back to focusing on the achievement of their goals and missions. A consultation is completely free, so let’s explore together the advantages of moving to Microsoft 365.

The post Hybrid vs Cutover – Which Microsoft 365 Migration is Right for you? appeared first on CCB Technology.

Here at CCB we recently switched to a new VoIP solution and know just how time-consuming it can be to evaluate all of the available options. To help you focus your search, I put together this list of the top things to consider and questions to answer while evaluating VoIP solutions.

1. Feature Set

Before evaluating what a new VoIP system can do for you, first identify all of the pain points of your current system. This will help you start to generate a list of requirements that a new system has to meet and help you immediately filter out some VoIP solutions. From there you can start to identify some of the extra features that your company could benefit from.

These are features I prioritized:

2. On-Premise or Cloud Hosted

This decision is being made in more and more areas of our business these days, and when considering phone systems, you can go either way.

On-Premise

• Do you have the capacity to run one or more virtual machines necessary to accommodate the phone system software?
• With on-premise systems, you’re typically talking about a CapEx purchase, so depending upon your financial situation, this might make more sense to you.

Cloud Hosted

• Would you rather not have another on-premise system to manage?
• Would you prefer an OpEx purchase with a monthly payment?

3. Integration

Who doesn’t love it when their systems integrate with one another? Depending upon the current software that your company employs or the software it’s looking to implement in the future, this could be a deal breaker. For CCB, it was a fairly important requirement and I used this to narrow my search results.

Here are some questions to consider:

• Does the system integrate with Active Directory?
• Do you have any internal software such as a CRM or ERP system that would benefit from being tied to the phone system?
  • • From a CRM standpoint, the ability for the phone system to automatically register calls, voicemails, etc. into a CRM can be a huge boost in your sales team’s efficiency.

4. Uptime

Most businesses would prioritize their phone system in the critical column when asked its level of importance. It would then make sense to only consider systems that have a high level of reliability.

• Does the VoIP system offer any type of SLA? Determining an acceptable amount of downtime can help you identify how much you are willing to pay for the amount of uptime.

5. Availability & Mobility

This might not initially be something you consider when conducting your search, but it might be more applicable than you think. With today’s workforce choosing to work wherever they have access to a computer, mobile phone, and internet, how does your phone solution fit into this situation?

With more of the workforce becoming mobile, consider these questions during your evaluation:

• Can your employees utilize your phone system while working remotely?
• Do you have to purchase any extra hardware or software to achieve true remote capabilities?

6. Implementation

Everyone has deadlines to keep and depending upon the timeframe you will have to implement a new phone system, how long it will take could be an important factor.

• Based upon the size of your organization, how long will it take to implement the solution?
• Does the solution come with implementation assistance?
• Does the solution come with user training?
• Can you move any settings from your current phone system to the replacement VoIP solution?

Leveraging an experienced IT partner can help you meet your project goals and make the implementation process smoother.

7. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Does your company employ any BYOD policies? If so, here are some key features to consider in the phone system:

• Does the system offer any type of softphone application that users can use a headset with instead of just a traditional desk phone?
  • • This can alleviate laptop users from having to be at their desk to place and receive phone calls.
• Is there any type of application for mobile devices such as Android or IOS where users can place calls directly from their mobile phones?
• Is the sign-in process to the phone system tied to Active Directory where personal computers won’t work?

8. Proof of Concept (POC)

With the phone system having such an impact on the entire company, I would not recommend even considering a solution that does not offer an adequate trial period, or POC. I would also recommend strategically putting together a test group of employees that are good at giving detailed feedback.

There are so many questions that can only be answered by actually implementing the solution for a trial timeframe with people that will be actually be using it.

• How does the solution handle the load placed upon it?
• What type of feedback did you get from the test group chosen for the POC? This is an invaluable source of information to determine if the VoIP solution is going to work for the company.
• Is the POC using the same platform and licenses that you would receive if you purchased the solution? This is critical to determine as you don’t want to have any misconceptions on what the POC can do and what the actual system you are looking to purchase can do.
• Do you have full access to the solutions support team during the POC? It is important to be able to engage with support prior to choosing a solution and experience how their engineers will work with you during the various problems you will have from time to time.

9. Selling the VoIP Solution to Your Boss

This is often one of the hardest parts of any project. You conduct a thorough search to ensure that the phone system checks all of your boxes, but in the end unless you can sell it to your boss, you can’t move forward. Here are some suggestions on preparing for that discussion:

• Start with the bottom line: are there significant savings that the company will realize by making the change? Look at both the short and long term financial impact.
• Talk about increased efficiencies: Highlight new features that will simplify processes and increase productivity. What are important enhancements to phone system management?
• Close with mobility and accessibility: focus on the impact the solution could have on your continuity plan and the availability of the solution from literally anywhere.

With that said, it’s of vital importance to talk with all departments to ascertain how they currently interact with the phone system and what they would like to see in a new one.

If you align their goals with yours, not only will you have more people in your corner when it comes time to making a decision, but you will also have a higher user adoption rate when it comes to implementing the solution.

Making the Right Choice 

After all the questions were asked and trials were conducted, we decided to “cut the cord” and move to a VoIP solution called RingCentral. We’ve been on it now for four months and we are enjoying features that we didn’t have access to before with our traditional system.

The migration was easy and our employees did a great job of learning and embracing the new technology – and the cost savings was significant. It was a decision that has worked well for us.

Want help learning about VoIP solutions for your organization?
We can help you find, procure, and implement the right VoIP solution for your company. Let us know what you need.

The post VoIP Solution: 9 Things to Know Before Buying appeared first on CCB Technology.

1. Do they have what you need now and later?

Look beyond the products you need right now. What projects are you looking at down the road? Does the IT vendor offer what you will need in 3 months or a year? Do they offer a diversity of brands that meet your needs? Do they specialize in other areas that you might want to use in the future, such as IT services or support?

If you take the time to find an IT vendor who you can use for years to come, you’ll save time and research in the future by relying on that established relationship.

2. Who are they?

Once you find an IT vendor who has what you need, do a little digging to find out if they are someone you can trust. Check out their about page on their website to see how long they have been in business and what their philosophy or mission is. Look for pages that describe how they work with you to see if they would make a good partner.

You’ll also want to look off their website to get the full story. Are they active on social media? By looking at social sites like Facebook you can get a great understanding of their company culture. Also, look for any reviews on popular sites like Google and Yelp.

3. How are they qualified?

An IT vendor should not just be sales people in the IT industry. Anyone helping you make IT purchases needs to have IT qualifications to be able to answer a broad range of questions and help advise you on how to achieve your technology goals.

Find out how the IT vendor stays up-to-date with the continually evolving technology landscape and what standards they maintain for account representatives that you will be working with. If they have a services department, ask to see what technical certifications their engineers hold.

4. Do they have proof?

This is one of the best ways to find out if an IT vendor is right for you. Ask to see case studies or current customer references who you can call and ask about their experience. They should be more than willing to provide these resources if they have great relationships with their clients.

In addition to asking IT questions, ask their clients how they’re treated as a customer. Does the IT vendor invest in learning opportunities for them such as webinars, demos or events? Do they visit customers, send treats or sponsor fun outings to show they care? The customer will be able to give you insight into their relationship.

Finally, ask the IT vendor if they have ever been recognized for excellence in the IT industry or by technology partners they work with.

5. What’s their calling frequency?

This is one of the biggest concerns around IT vendors – no one wants to be harassed with sales calls.

An IT vendor should be a reliable resource who anticipates your needs and reaches out when relevant for help, news and updates – not spam. They should work with you where you are instead of trying to push you in another direction.

Current customers will be able to tell you how appropriate communication from the IT vendor is.

6. Can this be a long-lasting relationship?

If they pass 1-5 this should be the last question you need to ask. Find out how they will work with you over time, including how responsive they are to requests and quotes and what their shipping procedures are. Ask them about their employee turnover rate and how frequently you might receive a new account representative.

After you’ve done your research on an IT vendor, ask yourself these questions to find out if you should use them:

• Is this IT vendor someone who understands me and my company’s goals?
• Do they pay attention to details that are important to me?
• Do I trust their IT recommendations?
• Are they transparent in their business dealings?
• Do I like them?

If they pass the test, then you’ve just found yourself a trusty new IT vendor who can help you make informed IT decisions and quickly get you what you need.

But trust can be hard. If you truly have found the right IT vendor, over time they will continue to prove the validity of your relationship by providing value time after time. Here is a great example of how an IT pro leverages his relationship with CCB to help him stay on the cutting-edge of technology in his industry.

Related: It’s not me, It’s you: Signs You Should Break Up with Your IT Provider

Once you can trust an IT vendor, they can become an extremely valuable partner who can help you save time and money. By relying on their product knowledge and expertise, you can focus your efforts on larger IT initiatives to grow your business.

Is your IT vendor working for you?

CCB is a trusted IT vendor to over 40,000 customers nationwide, and has been helping IT pros achieve their goals with technology since 1991. Become a happy customer.

The post What to look for when choosing an IT vendor appeared first on CCB Technology.

Small businesses often make the false assumption that their data isn’t as vulnerable to compromise as big corporations, but this is proving to be an incorrect and potentially costly assumption. The National Archives and Records Administration reports that more than 90 percent of companies that experience at least seven days of data center downtime go out of business within a year.

So what’s your plan to ensure that downtime doesn’t collapse your company? You need a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place using a trusted solution like Azure Site Recovery before disaster strikes.

Cost vs. Complexity

When creating your disaster recovery plan, you’ll need to weigh the trade-offs between complexity and cost. What data can you afford to be without? For how long? If you lost some data, would that destroy your business forever? To answer those questions, let’s look at what your plan needs to include.

Five parts of a disaster recovery plan:

• Recovery Point Objective (RPO): RPO defines how much data you are willing to lose. You can give higher priority to saving your most critical data, while being willing to lose less important data, such as pictures of the Christmas party (which may be better off that way!). Customer records might be top of your list, while marketing data might rank lower.
• Recovery Time Objection (RTO): RTO weighs how long you are willing to be without your data. Depending on your business, you might decide that you can lose up to two hours of business operation. A higher time will create higher costs, so you’ll need to consider your options carefully.
• Personnel: Who should get their data back sooner? Who will support the plan? Do you have a backup person as well as backup technology? Is your plan dependent on human intervention, which may not be possible in all cases?
• Regulatory constraints: Is your business subject to regulatory compliance? How will you make sure you are covered?
• Critical data: Which data is critical to your business? What are the dependencies between different areas of the business?

Find a solution that fits your disaster recovery plan

A cloud solution can help you find a good balance between cost and complexity while fulfilling the requirements you’ve outlined in your plan. With Azure Site Recovery, you can easily create disaster recovery plans in the Microsoft Azure portal that can be as simple or as advanced as your recovery plan demands.

For small and medium businesses, you can protect all of your major IT systems inexpensively by implementing disaster recovery to the cloud using Site Recovery. It integrates with other BCDR technologies and you can set up and manage replication, failover, and failback from a single location in the Azure portal.

Site Recovery can also help you meet your RTO and RPO requirements since Azure VMs can be replicated between Azure regions as a part of your strategy. When failover occurs, Azure VMs are created based on the replicated data. Site Recovery provides continuous replication for Azure VMs and VMware VMs, and replication frequency as low as 30 seconds for Hyper-V.

Finally, Site Recovery integrates with Azure for simple application network management, including reserving IP addresses, configuring load-balancers, and integrating Azure Traffic Manager for efficient network switchovers. Learn more about Microsoft’s complete integrated Azure cloud solution for backup and recovery.

Train and test

Once you have a plan in place you’ll need to train all personnel. You’ll increase your chance of success when upper management endorses the plan and promotes training for all employees. Communicating the plan and even incorporating it in new employee training might be good strategies as well. Assuming everyone knows who is responsible for what can lead to failure.

Too often companies will create a plan, implement it and then stick it in a file. They don’t fully test the plan, or consider multiple scenarios. When a disaster hits, whether its cybercrime, a natural disaster or that rogue sprinkler system, the plan fails. The New York Stock Exchange had a plan before Hurricane Sandy, but they didn’t follow it when disaster hit – instead they closed the stock exchange for two days.

Your resources and business needs will evolve over time because location, personnel, and data changes. Annual training, and testing two to three times a year is the best way to make sure the plan is up-to-date, still supports your current business goals, and everyone is prepared for a short, efficient recovery with as little down time as possible.

Your disaster recovery plan can’t wait  

Nobody likes to think about their business getting hit by a disaster, and hopefully you never will, but facts show that you are likely to experience some level of compromise at some point.

Azure Site Recovery is a trusted and robust solution that can help you recover quickly from disaster. It monitors the state of your protected instances continuously and remotely from Azure. When replicating between two sites that you control, your virtual machines’ data and replication stays on your networks and all communication with Azure is encrypted. You can also select encryption for data at rest.

You can’t guarantee you won’t be affected by cyberattack, natural disaster, technical malfunction and uncontrollable human error, but you can protect your business from costly data loss by investing in a solution that aids in data backup and disaster recovery.

We can help you along the way

We’re here to help with all stages of strategy, planning and implementation. We can discuss your needs and help you explore all your available options, including the advantages of cloud BU and DR. Don’t wait any longer.

The post How to create a disaster recovery plan: Is Azure right for you? appeared first on CCB Technology.

What is a Penetration (Pen) Test?

Many successful hacks are done by exploiting vulnerabilities associated with externally visible servers or devices such as DNS, web, and email servers and firewalls. Penetration testing is a manual, authorized, simulated attack on a network that looks for security weaknesses within a system’s features and data. You may also hear penetration testing referred to as “ethical hacking”, “white hat” attacks or a “lights on” approach, so named because everyone is aware of, and can see, the tests being carried out.

Here are four reasons why penetration testing should be seriously considered for your organization:

1. Uncover Hidden Vulnerabilities Before Hackers Do

Many external breaches can be prevented by performing a penetration test. Pen testing shows you exactly where your vulnerabilities are or where policies can be compromised and addresses those weaknesses – proactively – before hackers find them. Bottom line: you can’t fix it if you don’t know where it’s broken!

Pen testing goes beyond finding security gaps and actively tries to exploit those vulnerabilities to see if a hacker could actually access data. It’s like an MRI for your infrastructure in that it looks for problems that may not have developed symptoms yet. It’s a true test of the effectiveness of your existing protections and it clearly reveals where your organization is leaving doors open for cybercriminals to enter.

2. Maintain PCI, HIPAA and CJIS Compliance Requirements

Although a penetration test is a wise decision for all types of companies, organizations that are required to be PCI, HIPAA, or CJIS compliant must perform annual pen tests and after any significant changes are made to network infrastructures. This may require both network and application layers, which could involve the addition of vulnerability testing.

Penetration testing is not a full compliance audit or security assessment since it does not address the dangers from within the organization, only potential threats coming from the outside. Vulnerability testing is an assessment of internal risks, that when combined with pen testing, can give you a 360-degree view of potential risk factors. Under compliance guidelines, both can be mandatory. Additionally, once vulnerabilities are addressed, retesting is required.

If you have enough credit card transaction volume to be bound by PCI or if you are storing Protected Health Information (PHI), you MUST perform penetration testing.

3. Evaluate Monitoring and Response Effectiveness

Though most companies will state that they place a high priority on security, few actually test their ability to detect, contain, and recover from a security breach. An active pen test provides the opportunity to evaluate how IT staff responds in a real life security incident. Here are areas to evaluate:

• Were IT security personnel able to detect the malicious activity?
• Did they effectively take the necessary steps to neutralize and control the threat?
• Were established communication protocols utilized to alert the company that an attack occurred?
• Did employees immediately respond and comply with alerts being sent out from the IT staff?

Your IT security staff may pass without issue, but if they aren’t able to identify compromising activity, the pen test reporting can be an invaluable tool to help them improve their incident response skills and reinforce security practices with the entire company.

4. Gain Management Support for Change

What happens when IT staff are aware of serious security weaknesses but are unable to get buy-in from management to make necessary changes? Bringing in an outside company with a reputation for security expertise could provide the analysis necessary to validate the need and convince management that additional investments are required.

The internal IT team may know that a vulnerability exists, but because they aren’t able to demonstrate the weakness effectively, management may not realize the potential risks of not adding the resources. Since an outside tester has no stake in the outcome or inside knowledge of a network’s details, management is more likely to respect their opinion after witnessing the vulnerability through testing. On the other side, pen testing can also be a confidence booster to management that their internal IT team is doing things right and reinforces their belief in their own IT team’s capability and opinions.

Who Should Do Your Penetration Test?

Do-it-yourself pen testing is not an effective alternative to hiring a professional testing company. It does not offer an unbiased perspective or the fresh look that may be needed to dig deep and find overlooked vulnerabilities. Performing pen tests requires creativity, skill, experience, and training to think like a cybercriminal.

Professional pen testers are trained to use techniques that hackers use to safely exploit your infrastructure and uncover vulnerabilities. You want an expert that can think on the same level as criminals so that they know what to look for and how to solve the issues. That brings us to the primary factor you should look for in choosing a pen tester: reputation.

CCB Technology collaborates with several companies that hold Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification to perform penetration testing for our clients. This means they have a minimum of 2 years of security experience and have passed a rigorous examination process. We have vetted them for their vast experience and reputation so that you can have confidence trusting them with your business, data and networks.

Here’s a simple breakdown of how the pen test process works:

1. A pre-testing consultation is held to discuss the process and needed preparations.
2. The Statement of Work (SOW) is defined and timelines for completion are established.
3. The penetration test is performed.
4. CCB meets with you to present the Network Penetration Test Assessment Report and discuss next steps for addressing any uncovered vulnerabilities.

Here’s a sample of the information provided on the pen test assessment CCB provides its clients:

2.1 Vulnerabilities

The testing uncovered several potential vulnerabilities, all of these vulnerabilities should be considered legacy and would be remediated by current versions of device software and patches. These vulnerabilities are illustrated in Figure 1. The vulnerabilities were classified by the following severity levels

• Critical – (Qty. 0) – easy for attackers to exploit and require immediate attention
• Severe – (Qty. 46) – harder to exploit and may not provide the same access but still require review
• Moderate – (Qty. 29) – provide information that can assist hackers in mounting subsequent attacks

There were 75 vulnerabilities found during this scan. No critical vulnerabilities were found. Critical vulnerabilities require immediate attention. They are relatively easy for attackers to exploit and may provide them with full control of the affected systems. 46 vulnerabilities were severe. Severe vulnerabilities are often harder to exploit and may not provide the same access to affected systems. There were 29 moderate vulnerabilities discovered. These often provide information to attackers that may assist them in mounting subsequent attacks on your network. These should also be fixed in a timely manner, but are not as urgent as the other vulnerabilities.

No critical vulnerabilities were found on any of the systems. 5 systems were found to have severe vulnerabilities. Moderate vulnerabilities were found on 5 systems. No vulnerabilities were found on the remaining 3 systems.

The report then describes in more detail the types of attacks that were attempted and the recommended course of action to remediate the threats.

Are There Limitations to Penetration Testing?

Yes. As much as the test tries to think and act like a cybercriminal, testers are limited by the tools, methods and time allotments available at the time of testing. Hackers have unlimited time and no limitations on methods, whereas testers have to work within the constraints of the agreement, budget and timeframe approved by the client.  It’s impossible to compete with hackers who work with limitless resources.

So… Will you be Hacked Next Week?

In the war on cybercrime, complacency can be your biggest enemy. Cybercriminals have all the time in the world to devote to planning their next attack and they only need one that works to hold your data hostage. Companies need to be prepared for any attack at any time by insuring that their protection is 100% effective.

Pen testing is not a standalone defense, but a critical part of a holistic security plan that should include documented security protocols and response plans, employee security training, network monitoring, and vulnerability testing. Comprehensive security strategies must be backed up with continuous testing to ensure that networks are adequately protected against an increasingly complex cybercrime landscape.

Need help with your security strategy?

Let our team of experts help you detect any vulnerabilities in your organization and safeguard your company against the next hack. Develop defense.

The post 4 Reasons Why Penetration Testing is Critical appeared first on CCB Technology.

Here are eight effective steps to take when looking at how to improve help desk management, efficiency, and performance and even how to build a help desk from scratch.

1. Document Help Desk Processes and Procedures

Your team’s ability to effectively deliver support services will vary depending on who performs the work, how they are feeling that day, whether they have had their morning coffee, or many other external factors without clearly documented processes and procedures. Documentation is the foundation for help desk efficiency and success.

Clearly lay out your guidelines and expectations for support personnel, in addition to the specific steps to be performed with recurring situations, to create a uniform support experience for your end users.

Documenting processes and procedures also allows you to visualize from a high vantage point how your help desk system works from A to Z. This can reveal inefficiencies to be optimized, gaps that need to be filled, or additional areas that need to be documented.

Giving everyone access to clear documentation and encouraging them to contribute to it will develop your team’s confidence in performing their duties and lead to increased productivity and efficiency for everyone. The book Work the System by Sam Carpenter, is a great resource that can help you implement effective process and procedure documentation.

2. Implement a Help Desk Ticketing System

Imagine walking into the dry cleaners to pick up your jacket without your receipt. You have nothing that connects you to that new sports coat. This is like having a help desk without a ticketing system. A help desk ticket gives you and the end user a unique number to reference for each specific problem. Email chains can trail off, get broken, or be forgotten. Tickets allow you to group all communication between the technician and end user around the ticket number, eliminating confusion about who responded, at what time, or if the issue was resolved.

Good ticketing systems also allow you to assign “Issue” and “Sub-Issue” types, as well as “Priorities” to sort incoming issues. Technicians can then determine what issues they are most qualified to solve and which are most critical. This can also reveal common issues users experience most frequently. Clear trends can allow you to proactively address the root problem of those issues.

Tracking how much time team members spend on resolving issues is another advantage which can identify areas for better documentation, opportunities for further training, and even help team members answer that simple question: “What did I do all day?”

Using a ticketing system can also help you better define and communicate response expectations. How long does a user have to wait to hear back from someone? How long does it take to solve an issue? These insights can help track and improve service levels and shorten resolution times.

Warning: There is room for ticketing system failure! If calling, emailing, or walking over to a technician’s desk is how your end users got results in the past, they may try to continue to use those methods. Your technicians may need to encourage end users by giving them a refresh on how to use the system. Help desk ticketing systems can also be set up so that users can send emails to the help desk email address and that email will open a new ticket. Helping end-users comfortably transition is the key to success.

3. Utilize Remote Tools for Help Desk

How much logistical time-savings could be realized by your technicians if they could leverage a remote support tool instead of providing desk-side support? Remote tools can help you improve help desk processes by finding problems faster and providing deeper insights into an ailing computer system than can be accomplished through manual discovery.

Many remote tools now give background access to view processes, services, event logs, and even provide live command line access to a user’s computer, without having to interrupt them. This allows your team to immediately start investigating a problem, without the inevitable user productivity loss while waiting for you to analyze their system.

Remote tools can more quickly, accurately, and completely document a computer system’s specifications than any technician. Having those specs on-hand can be a time-saver when trying to narrow down a particularly difficult issue, or even when doing routine inventory. The advantages of using remote tools simply add up to more productive time for both technicians and end users.

4. Manage Your Team’s Passwords

If remembering passwords were easy, everyone would be able to do it. Unfortunately, the idea of managing passwords often degrades into using sticky notes, Excel spreadsheets, and worse – reusing the same password for every account. If this is bad practice for an individual, imagine how much worse it is for a help desk team!

A password management tool is a non-negotiable for an organized help desk team. It allows technicians to easily retrieve the passwords they need while ensuring no one individual can run away with the keys to the kingdom. There are several good password management tools for teams including 1Password for Teams and LastPass Enterprise.

Some even provide features such as password history and reporting on weak passwords or passwords that haven’t been changed within a certain period of time. These insights can ensure your passwords are adequately complex and periodically refreshed. It also means a password is recoverable if it was updated in the documentation but not actually changed on the device or account in question. Features like these can add security and stability to your operations.

5. Invest in Training

Technology is always changing and your help desk team needs to keep pace to effectively serve your users. Google-fu is a great resource that may help you in the short term, but knowing your environment and systems well enough to avoid researching every issue will quickly raise technician efficiencies and improve help desk performance. Encourage your team to keep up on industry certifications, leverage online training and webinars, and invest in continuing education.

With so many good training resources available online for little cost, don’t limit training to just a technical focus. Be sure your help desk team is adequately trained on phone and email etiquette, as well as customer service and even typing skills. Some may need retraining on documentation or time management. Support your technicians by providing time for them to dedicate to training and your organization will see the benefits by their increased effectiveness in handling end user issues.

Cross-training is just as important – the last thing you want is for your one Cisco expert to be sick or on vacation when a Cisco issue crops up. Make sure that multiple technicians have shared skill sets to provide the redundancy necessary for stability when the unexpected occurs. End user training can also help alleviate help desk tickets.

6. Strategically Use the Time You Gain

What does your team do with down time? Ok, you probably laughed at that question! In the world of IT management, very little downtime exists, but what if you had more time when you weren’t putting out fires? You need to use it to finally tackle that preventative maintenance way down on your list.

When was the last time you did a network assessment? Are there servers that need to be patched with the latest Windows updates? What about outdated user laptops or workstations? What devices are nearing end of warranty or end of life that need a replacement plan? What other attention could your environment use to avoid problems later?

Having a help desk system in place is a win-win for you here! By more effectively handling your end user problems and issues, you gain time for doing those preventative tasks that will in the long run help reduce end user problems. Extra time strategically invested now means less reactive problem-solving later, which translates into smoother operations, happier users, and fewer headaches due to emergencies.

7. Follow the Golden Rule

The golden rule needs to be on the wall of every help desk team: treat users as you would want to be treated – with patience, understanding and respect. Let’s face it – help desk support is all about people and we need to treat users as we would want to be treated if we were the ones outside of our areas of comfort and expertise. For the successful help desk team, attitude will mean everything. That can require controlling any expressions of frustration and having a determined willingness to repeat things several times (and in numerous ways) until understanding is achieved.

Remind your help desk team that few users are experts in computer troubleshooting, and to have patience when listening to problems described in “non-IT” terminology or when getting the long rendition of “what they were doing just before it happened.” Responding with sympathy and encouragement to calm a frantic user who just lost a document, will help solve the problem faster.

Treating users with respect builds a relationship of trust and can help you do your job better. When you show an interest in resolving your users’ problems, they become more communicative about the issues they are facing and you can discover and address problems you would otherwise not know about. Everyone is in this together and wants the same thing: a tool where end users can freely express problems and pain points knowing that they will be supported by a responsive help desk. That will lead to a more smoothly run IT environment for everyone.

8. Don’t Do It Alone

If you don’t have enough resources or a help desk solution isn’t where you want to put your resources, you should consider CCB Help Desk Services. CCB’s help desk services can give you the services you need and support your end users with our highly trained and professional technicians. Leveraging the CCB team to meet your needs will help reduce fixed costs and increase your ROI by alleviating employee downtime, allowing your IT staff to spend time on projects that bring the company added value.

Using CCB Help Desk Services offers you the flexibility to adjust according to your capacity, handling changes in volume when you need it most, and our technicians are continuously updating their training to stay current on IT trends. We handle all levels of escalation and our Level 1 Help Desk is a call in help desk that will enter tickets for your users. Our highly effective technicians will keep communications and resolutions flowing seamlessly and make your IT team aware of recurring issues.

Need assistance improving your help desk?

Reach out to CCB to learn more about CCB’s Help Desk Services and the advantages of partnering with CCB for your help desk support.

The post How to Improve Help Desk: 8 Hurdles To Overcome appeared first on CCB Technology.