Blog Archives - Page 13 of 41

How Office 365's newest features will improve business operations

March 20, 2017/in Blog /by ISG Technology

Office 365 has been a staple business tool for six years. The program has evolved considerably in that time to better serve modern users and address company pain points as employee and consumer demands shift. Added functionalities have consistently improved Office 365 to the universal status it holds among organizations, and it will continue to advance in the future. Let's take a closer look at how Office 365's newest features will improve business operations.

1. Better service visibility

When your critical functions rely on a vendor's availability, it can be challenging to know when an issue appears and how to respond. Office 365 recently rolled out a commercial release of its service health dashboard. According to Redmond Magazine contributor Kurt Mackie, this function allows subscribers to access a dashboard that will show actionable service incidents and advisories, as well as the current state of their program. This portal provides better visibility into your Office 365 services and workaround information for any emerging issues. Future updates will allow users to send messages to each other, receive incident notifications and get health checks from IT professionals.

The service health dashboard will considerably improve business operations by quickly providing updates and necessary details for how to address an issue. This information will minimize downtime and help organizations quickly recover from problems.

Office 365 now offers visibility into service health.

2. Improved collaboration

Staff members must have a tool that enables them to communicate and collaborate effectively, no matter where they are working from. Microsoft introduced this functionality through Microsoft Teams in Office 365. The chat-based tool enables team collaboration for subscribers in 181 markets serving 19 languages, IT-Online stated. Microsoft Teams is becoming a project hub to find notes, tasks and documents in line with team conversations. The tool also has support for high contrast, screen readers and keyboard-only navigation. This type of accessibility provides new opportunities for businesses and will continue to add functionality in the future.

"Microsoft's Office 365 Secure Score API evaluates the risk of cloud services."

3. Advanced security

In the age of evolving cyber threats, organizations must have the right security to protect their sensitive company and consumer data. With the number of tools within Office 365, it can be difficult to manage all of these assets and provide the necessary authorizations. Office 365 Groups establishes a single team identity and set of permissions across Office 365 services, CMSWire contributor Dean Swann stated. This will help easily provision and take away capabilities to ensure information security. No matter what features that you decide to use, it will be much simpler to add users and grant access while maintaining protections.

Organizations have long been concerned about the safety measures within the cloud and whether it's secure enough to store sensitive information. For industries with compliance regulations, it's even more imperative to have a tool that adheres to these regulations. Microsoft's Office 365 Secure Score API evaluates the risk of cloud services, and if your particular data would be secure. According to Redmond Magazine's Chris Paoli, Secure Score monitors 77 different factors including user behaviors and security settings. The score from these points can be used to mitigate risk and identify trouble areas. Secure Score will also provide suggestions on how to improve your protections and ensure your cloud environment is safe.

Office 365's newest features have a lot to offer business operations. These additions will significantly improve security, collaboration and overall visibility. Staff can make informed decisions faster and ensure their systems are responding appropriately. To find about how to take advantage of Office 365's newest tools, contact ISG Technology today.

Is your disaster recovery strategy foolproof?

March 16, 2017/in Blog /by ISG Technology

No one wants to imagine what it would be like if an emergency situation impacted his or her business. Unfortunately, this is exactly what organizational leaders must do if they hope to get through various scenarios and recover quickly. According to a survey by Nationwide Insurance, more than 75 percent of small business owners don't have a disaster plan. To make matters worse, 52 percent estimate that it would take a minimum of three months to restore operations following a disaster. Here are a few tips to ensure your disaster recovery strategy is foolproof:

1. Take stock of hardware and software

If a machine or application goes offline, how would that impact your ability to operate? Business leaders must evaluate each piece of hardware and software to determine what items are mission-critical to support. This level of detail will help prioritize what elements are restored first and which ones can wait. CIO suggested keeping vendor contact information on hand at all times to quickly reach out for guidance. Managed service providers typically offer round the clock assistance, ensuring peace of mind during pivotal situations.

Businesses must take stock of essential hardware and software.

Keep in mind that any infrastructure changes must be reflected within your disaster recovery strategy. If these adjustments aren't accounted for, your business could be left without essential functions and prolong recovery time. Evaluate and adapt your plan every six months to accommodate any modifications.

2. Determine your disaster tolerance

Not all scenarios are the same. They all have different implications, severity levels and means of recovering. As The Business Journals contributor Heinan Landa noted, there are five event levels, ranging from inconvenient to catastrophic. It will be important to determine your tolerance threshold for each category based on how much downtime you can afford and your tolerance for lost data. This evaluation will help determine the best course to take to recover quickly and how your employees should respond to particular situations.

The tolerance level should take into account the variety of situations that can happen to your specific business. These scenarios could come as a result of your industry, location, dependence on technology and budget. You must set boundaries that follow these characteristics to ensure you have the processes and solutions in place to restore operations quickly.

"Running a drill provides critical insight into your DR plan."

3. Test your strategy

While it's great to have a disaster recovery plan established, you can't set it and forget about it. Effective disaster recovery requires training employees and testing the strategy regularly to identify any gaps. Of the organizations that have a DR plan, 40 percent test it once annually, according to CIO Insight. Another 22 percent test it rarely and 6 percent don't test it at all. These numbers are continuing to improve, but a number of businesses still aren't testing out their DR strategy as much as they should be.

Running a drill provides critical insight to demonstrate just how effective your DR plan is. If there are any issues or gaps, make changes to the strategy to cover them – and then run the test again. Evaluating your plan on a regular basis will account for infrastructure and personnel changes and provide peace of mind that any adjustments to the plan will be effective.

Disaster recovery isn't the coolest topic for business leaders, but it's one of the most vital discussions to have to protect your organization. By taking inventory of critical systems, determining your disaster tolerance and testing your strategy regularly, you will be able to foolproof your DR plan. You can have peace of mind that you're prepared for emergency events and are able to restore operations quickly.

3 easy ways to solve downtime headaches with network monitoring

February 27, 2017/in Blog /by ISG Technology

Every business must adhere to a guaranteed level of service that's agreed upon within client contracts. For many technology services, this means providing 99.999 percent uptime, the gold standard for ensuring reliable, continuous accessibility to critical business functions. However, disasters come in a number of forms and can severely impact an organization's ability to recover quickly and resume operations.

With the price of downtime climbing, it's essential for companies to have a solution in place that will help prevent and bounce back from these situations. Network monitoring can solve downtime headaches in three key ways:

1. Proactive maintenance

Within an organization, it can be difficult to monitor and maintain each active endpoint. There could be some devices that need repairs or other upkeep that are simply going by the wayside due to prioritized activities and other business endeavors. The longer that hardware goes unmaintained, the worse it will be when it fails. Hardware failure is a major source of downtime as well as data loss, making it particularly important to watch for any signs of unusual behavior or routine care needs.

Network monitoring gathers information about the infrastructure 24/7, and will send alerts to teams concerning any irregularities within the system. Real-time information from this solution will help address any issues immediately, minimizing potential damage and costs, Wired contributor Kornelius Brunner noted. Teams can also use network monitoring to proactively identify when equipment needs routine maintenance or has a deteriorating part.

Network monitoring can help ensure proactive maintenance.

2. Metrics tracking

Even when business operations are flowing smoothly, network monitoring tools are tracking the infrastructure's performance and a number of other key metrics. Utilization, for example, can significantly affect the network's performance. Organizations must closely watch when network utilization increases and how much is being used. This information can be used to scale the network as needed and ensure that performance levels are maintained.

Businesses can track a wide variety of metrics to reduce costs and provide reliable performance. TechTarget contributor Jamie Lerner noted that metrics from network monitoring solutions can also help calculate ROI based on expense avoidance and revenue generation. Proactive maintenance can help reduce diagnostic and repair costs, as well as maximize productivity, leading to increased overall revenue opportunities.

"Network monitoring enables you to get in front of your schedule rather than be controlled by unplanned network events," Lerner wrote. "And because it provides real metrics, you can more easily align IT with business goals. Rather than operating on gut instinct or the squeaky wheel principle, you can link IT assets to business functions through a business process view of your network."

3. Watch all downtime causes

"All causes of downtime must be closely monitored."

Hardware failures are just one means of downtime. There are a number of other factors that must be tracked, and network monitoring hits on many of them. For example, if a humidity sensor malfunctions, this could impact the amount of moisture and static electricity in the air. Information Age noted that even these small sensors must be tracked to ensure they are functioning appropriately and keeping hardware in optimal condition. Network monitoring solutions must also ensure that threats from outside influences are being effectively blocked. All causes of downtime must be closely monitored to minimize the impact of these kinds of events.

Downtime can create significant headaches for businesses, but with network monitoring, it can be avoided. The metrics and proactive maintenance afforded by network monitoring solutions are major benefits to track all causes of downtime and reduce the chances of it occurring. As the cost of downtime continues to rise, businesses should look into network monitoring to solve these issues.

Will your DR solution come through in the clutch?

February 21, 2017/in Blog /by ISG Technology

Customers value an organization's reliability and ease of access, so whenever unplanned downtime occurs, it not only costs businesses in lost sales, it also damages their reputation. To prevent this type of situation, many companies leverage a disaster recovery solution to get them back online as quickly as possible. However, are you confident that your DR solution will come through in the clutch? Let's take a look at how businesses can ensure that their DR plan works effectively when they need it most.

Document the plan

It's important to have the DR strategy fully documented for training purposes and to guide employees during difficult situations. When there's chaos in the office, it can help to have a policy ready to show workers what steps need to be taken to mitigate the problem. However, only 60 percent of companies actually have a documented DR plan, according to Zetta's "2016 State of Disaster Recovery" report. Of those that are confident in their DR plan, 78 percent have a formally documented plan. It's important to establish this type of mindset to help teams calmly and effectively handle unexpected events.

Organizations should routinely test their DR solution.

Test regularly

Once you have a plan in place, your work is just beginning. Even if you believe that your solution is going to be effective, how can you know that for sure? For example, if backups are a part of your plan, what happens if they malfunction or don't have the information that you require? It's vital to routinely test your DR solution down to the finest details to identify any holes or factors that hadn't been considered. As TechTarget contributor George Crump noted, you won't be able to do a complete test every time because it can be expensive and time-consuming. However, partial testing should be done on a quarterly basis, and a full-scale test should be executed once a year.

Testing is an important part of maintaining a DR solution to ensure that it stays in sync with the production environment. If new hardware or personnel are added into the mix, for example, the DR plan must reflect these changes as soon as possible. Testing offers a chance to review what items have changed since the previous test and allows decision-makers to update the plan. This will address any configuration changes, preventing data loss and other operational failures.

Utilize capable tools

"When downtime occurs, you'll want a DR solution that you know you can rely on."

When downtime occurs, you'll want a DR solution that you know you can rely on. If it lacks functionality or is too complex, it could just create more bottlenecks and make it challenging to restore operations quickly. Zetta's report found that 37 percent of respondents believe their DR solution is simply too difficult to use. It's important to not only have a tool that meets your needs, but also is user-friendly. Choosing such a solution will help employees catch on quickly and effectively guide them through difficult situations.

When it comes to tools, there are a wide variety of options to choose from. However, it's important to get a solution that integrates well with other programs. TechTarget contributor Jon Toigo noted that businesses might be looking at storage hardware, continuous data protection, data backup, virtualization and cloud tools. Develop a DR strategy with testing in mind, particularly how all of these solutions fit together and the best way that they would be evaluated. There might be a tool that has a number of these features, making it easy to test and perfect for your DR needs.

Disaster can strike at any time and can come in a number of forms. With the right tools and vendor support, plan documentation and strategy testing, you can ensure that your DR solution comes through in the clutch.

3 ways to eliminate gaps in enterprise security

February 13, 2017/in Blog /by ISG Technology

Enterprises have a large number of active endpoints, and each one can represent a major threat if it’s not protected properly. Bigger organizations often have challenges enforcing security policies and monitoring activities across the workplace to identify and address unusual activity. However, as threats become more sophisticated, it’s essential for enterprises to eliminate gaps in their security in three big ways:

1. Establish better access control

Organizations should place a heavier focus on internal protections in addition to external security measures. While it’s true that a malicious party can significantly damage a business, employees could be some of the biggest threats to data loss and compromised files. A survey by Ponemon found that the leading cause of data loss or theft is insider negligence. In fact, 62 percent of end users have access to sensitive company data they shouldn’t see, and only 29 percent of respondents enforce a least privilege security model. To make matters worse, 38 percent of participants don’t monitor file or email activity, making it difficult to identify ransomware encryption and other unusual behavior.

Enterprises must establish a security model that keeps business data on a need-to-know basis. This will improve accountability and reduce the overall likelihood for errors or data loss. A low-level employee should not have the same authorizations as a manager, and this accessibility must be reflected in enterprise protection measures and policies.

Your own employee could be the biggest threat to business security.

2. Communicate effectively between departments

Goals and resources can vary dramatically across different teams within an enterprise, and these disparities can lead to gaps in security. In fact, according to a survey by BMC and Forbes Insights, 33 percent of respondents noted that it’s difficult knowing what systems to patch first due to differing priorities between the security and IT operations teams. These groups only have a general or small understanding of each other’s requirements and that lack of knowledge can take a toll on the strength of the enterprise’s security posture, The VAR Guy stated. However, nearly half of survey respondents don’t have a plan in place to bring these teams closer together.

To close the protection gaps, enterprises must improve coordination between IT and security teams. This could include establishing procedural policies, leveraging collaboration tools and providing additional training. If teams can boost their understanding of each other, it will significantly enhance communication and decision-making processes. These advancements will be essential to patching systems and filling in security gaps quickly.

3. Utilize capable tools

“It’s essential for enterprises to augment and capitalize on their security capabilities by providing capable tools.”

The demand for IT professionals, especially those with security knowledge, is skyrocketing across industries. Unfortunately, the supply of available candidates cannot keep pace. It’s essential for enterprises to augment and capitalize on their security capabilities by providing capable tools. According to a survey by SkyHigh Networks, 80.4 percent of participants viewed incident response management as the most important IT skill to have within the next five years. However, IT members must have the right tools in order to facilitate this. Just over 40 percent have tools that send alerts without actionable information. Additionally, 27 percent have experienced incidents without receiving a security alert, and 31 percent ignore their alerts due to ongoing false positives. A lack of tools like this can leave significant holes within an enterprise’s security and can even lead to shadow IT.

Organizations must reevaluate what systems they have in place for security monitoring and if they provide valuable information. With the right tools, IT teams can view real-time security updates with actionable information to quickly fix issues. Providing this type of asset will improve protection measures and quickly root out any unusual behavior across the entire enterprise. Even with a small team, a tool can improve security over the network, monitor file activity and detect authorization failures.

Security is a critical priority for organizations, but any gaps can make it easy for vulnerabilities to impact an enterprise. With capable tools, effective communication between teams and better access governance, businesses can protect their systems and sensitive files from internal and external threats. As threats become more sophisticated on all fronts, enterprises should take the time to close their security holes and supply their teams with the means to maintain protection measures.

Backup and Disaster Recovery: What's the Difference?

February 9, 2017/in Blog /by ISG Technology

Unexpected downtime and compromised files are major threats to modern businesses as attack vectors continue to expand. As a result, many organizations are working to better protect their information through backup and disaster recovery. While these two initiatives have similar goals – protecting a company and its data – they should not be used interchangeably.

Backup and disaster recovery are two separate assets that can be used in tandem for an effective business strategy. Knowing the differences between these initiatives will help managers understand what they entail and where they fit into the grander scheme of business continuity efforts.

Backup business data

Backups are essential to disaster recovery strategies, but not every situation that calls for backups happens on a disaster scale or causes major business downtime. For example, if an employee accidentally deletes an important file, he or she can easily retrieve it if the document was archived or backed up. A backup initiative is the first line of defense against losing files due to human error or equipment failure, BizTechMagazine contributor James E. Gaskin noted. Backups are the most basic form of file security and accessibility that an organization can utilize.

Backups are the first part of a disaster recovery strategy.

Traditionally, companies would back up their important data onto tapes on a scheduled basis. However, the physical nature of this technology made it vulnerable to adverse conditions and prolonged use. Once security in the cloud improved, a new doorway was opened up for businesses to store and access their critical information. It's highly advised for organizations to evaluate their documents and back them up according to priority. Backup initiatives should follow the 3-2-1 rule: three backup copies, stored across two different mediums like hard drives and the cloud, with one stored offsite. Using this method, organizations can ensure that they always have an up-to-date version of their data available.

Prepare with disaster recovery strategies

As noted earlier, backups are a significant part of disaster recovery, but they are just the beginning. In order to have a truly effective disaster recovery strategy, businesses must have the right recovery systems connected to its data to reflect the production environment as well as the right people and processes in place when needed, Forbes contributor JP Blaho noted. Such a plan improves resiliency against events such as adverse weather events, cyberattacks, outages and other disaster situations.

"It's vital for operations to get back on track."

Disaster or unexpected downtime can severely impact a business's ability to recover and retain its unblemished reputation. It's vital for operations to get back on track as soon as possible, and a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy is the guideline that will help organizations get there. An industry survey of IT professionals found that 54 percent of respondents had a data outage of at least eight hours within the past five years, The Wall Street Journal reported. These events happened for a variety of reasons, including hardware malfunctions, power outages, human error, malware attacks and data corruption. However, despite these events, 40 percent of participants didn't have a documented recovery plan. Organizations must not only ensure that they create a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, they must also train employees and test their strategies at least once a year to identify any gaps that need improvement.

Protecting a business is no easy feat, but backups and disaster recovery are major pieces needed for this effort. Understanding the differences between the two initiatives and the situations where they are used will help organizations utilize them more effectively and establish a clearer strategy for business continuity. Preparing today can help avoid critical events in the future.

How to choose the right managed services partner: The ISG difference

January 30, 2017/in Blog, Managed Services /by ISG Technology

Managed services now play a leading role in many companies’ most critical infrastructure assets. Migrating from on-premises equipment to an environment that is maintained and updated by a team of dedicated experts comes with an array of advantages, and is spurring adoption across numerous industries.

According to the most recent estimate from MarketsandMarkets, the global managed services market – including offerings related to data center, infrastructure and networking services – is on track to reach $242.45 billion by 2021. As growth in this market continues and competition among providers heats up, it’s imperative that your business selects the best partner to support its needs. Here are a few things to consider in that realm:

Service offerings that align with your corporate goals

It’s imperative that organizations choose a vendor with the right service portfolio. Above all, the services supported by this provider should meet your company’s needs across the board, including both current and future projections.

Migrating to a managed service provider environment comes with a wealth of benefits.

Robust customer support

It’s also important to weigh the customer service capabilities your solution vendor is willing to provide. For instance, is support available any time of day? If a service issue emerges, how quickly can the provider respond? How active is the vendor with their clients?

“An MSP should offer remote and onsite support,” CompuData recommended. “You should be able to speak to an IT services technician at any time to correct any issue.”

Support for compliance needs

Depending upon the industry in which your company operates, finding a compliant managed service provider can be absolutely essential. Rules like the health care industry’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or the retail sector’s Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, for example, are crucial, and any managed service options must align with these guidelines.

ISG: Breaking the managed service provider mold

When it comes to managed service providers, no two solution vendors are the same. As an enterprise network stakeholder or executive decision-maker, this is one of the most critical choices you’ll make for your organization.

“When it comes to managed service providers, no two solution vendors are the same.”

Thankfully, here at ISG Technology, we understand you have unique requirements and must find a provider that can help you check off every box on your list.

ISG comes to the table with robust experience, helping clients in a range of different industry sectors reap the kinds of benefits that managed services can provide. We also have policies and processes to align with several different security standards, including HIPAA, PCI DSS, GLBA, SOX, FERPA and more.

In addition, because data security matters regardless of the industry, all of our solution environments are protected with robust safety measures. This includes firewall management capabilities, anti-virus and anti-malware, content and URL filtering as well as data backup to ensure that your most critical information and assets are always secured.

Our team works to proactively measure your available service resources in a way that provides the most value for your company. Here at ISG, we are dedicated to providing everything you need to support your IT needs. To find out more about our managed service offerings, contact ISG Technology today.

How managed services help you address your most pressing business challenges

January 23, 2017/in Blog, Managed Services /by ISG Technology

More and more businesses are turning to managed service providers for their business and IT needs. When a managed solution is adopted and integrated into a company’s existing infrastructure, it enables the organization to shift certain responsibilities to an outsourced, expert team. This offers considerable advantages, especially when it comes to addressing some of the most pressing company pain points.

As this approach continues to become more popular, the market for managed services considerably expands. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global managed services market will reach $242.45 billion within the next four years, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 11 percent.

But how, exactly, does outsourcing specific IT functions benefit today’s businesses? Let’s delve a little deeper to find out:

IT budgeting: An across-the-board challenge

No matter what industry an organization operates within, ensuring that users are being supported with the proper resources while aligning investments with the overall budget is an ongoing battle. As new technological capabilities emerge, it can be tempting to adopt these to help improve productivity and efficiency. However, it’s often difficult to fund these endeavors, especially when these are taken on in-house.

“Managed services allow businesses to eliminate significant up-front costs.”

Many IT strategies require the use of specific hardware and software, which can be very expensive. This, coupled with costs related to staffing, training and other required support can drive up prices even further.

Managed services, on the other hand, allow businesses to eliminate significant up-front costs while still utilizing the most advanced equipment maintained by a staff of experts. The solution vendor is responsible for the purchase of technological components, and its knowledgeable, trained employees update and manage these resources for the business client.

“Ultimately, an MSP will offer a much more extensive level of support for a fraction of the cost,” My I.T. Pros pointed out.

What’s more, the savings enabled by utilizing managed services can be put to better use internally. These funds can be shifted to support other areas of the business, providing financial backing for other important pursuits. This not only addresses the challenge of IT costs, but enables the organization to do more with its available budget.

Bridging the skills gap

A main driving factor behind companies’ decision to adopt managed services revolves around the level of internal expertise within the organization’s staff. Especially within smaller businesses, it can be difficult to find employees with the right IT skills. Some corporations simply don’t have the funds to bring on highly trained IT workers. The average salary of a systems engineer with a bachelor’s degree hovers around $85,000 annually, according to Sokanu.

As opposed to hiring an individual to fill this role, the business can turn to an expert managed service provider. This vendor provides access to a talented staff at a significantly lower cost. In this way, companies large and small can help cost-efficiently bridge any knowledge gaps that might exist.

Managed services ensure that IT resources are expertly managed by knowledgeable, talented experts.

Managed service support from ISG Technology

From aligning with available budgets to helping ensure mission-critical platforms are managed by knowledgeable experts, managed services can be a considerable boon for companies in every industry.

When it comes time to adopt managed services, it’s best to work with an experienced service provider that can address your organization’s most important challenges with an array of available solution options. ISG Technology helps ensure that your staff members have all the tools and support they require while keeping your IT costs down.

Our Managed Services – including Backup-as-a-Service, Network Management and Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service – can improve agility, eliminate silos and protect sensitive data. To find out more, contact ISG Technology today.

3 ways managed services provide access to the most advanced IT tools

January 11, 2017/in Blog, Managed Services, Networking, Storage /by ISG Technology

An increasing number of businesses are turning their focus to managed IT services. These solutions, when maintained and updated by a team of trained professionals outside of the core business, can offer numerous benefits, including cost savings, enhanced security and access to a growing number of advanced tools.

Those are just a few of the reasons businesses across many industries have adopted managed services as part of their critical IT infrastructure. As a result, the market for these solutions has been on the rise – MarketsandMarkets reported that by 2021, the global managed services sector will reach a value of $242.45 billion, a considerable increase over 2016’s $145.33 billion.

One of the most attractive advantages of leveraging managed services is the ability to access some of the most innovative, state-of-the-art IT tools and components. Let’s take a look at three ways managed service providers make this benefit possible for today’s enterprises:

1) Leveraging advanced infrastructure as a market differentiator

As the market for these services continues to grow, competition among solution vendors will only ramp up. Currently, there are more than a few service providers existing in the marketplace, with more breaking into the sector every day.

This not only creates more options for business decision-makers, but also helps ensure that companies have access to the most advanced infrastructure tools possible. In order to compete, solution vendors utilize their modern infrastructure components to differentiate themselves in their industry vertical. The most advanced tools become feathers in the caps of service providers, helping them grow their client base.

“The most advanced tools become feathers in the caps of service providers.”

“[A]s customers seek to adopt these new capabilities, managed services offerings must adapt too,” wrote MSP Alliance contributor Charles Weaver. “Offering higher value advanced services not only helps to overcome the potential revenue loss, it also helps MSPs differentiate and grow their businesses more profitably by providing greater customer value.”

In this way, having the most up-to-date infrastructure that takes advantage of the newest network components and management strategies enables service providers to make a name for themselves in a growing marketplace. Best of all, clients get to utilize the most advanced equipment possible.

2) Bridging internal technology gaps

One of the top reasons businesses adopt managed services is to leverage innovative solutions in a way that works with the assets the company already has in place. Managed service providers can provide technology that integrates with the enterprise’s infrastructure, helping to bridge any caps in capability or functionality that might have existed previously.

This is especially pertinent as vendors expand their reach, offering access to an increasing number of advanced solutions. In today’s market, an array of critical processes can be outsourced, allowing enterprises and small businesses alike to create a holistic technological approach.

“[W]hile companies are increasingly relying on outside providers for part of their IT needs, MSPs generally complement rather than replace internal IT,” noted CIO senior writer Thor Olavsrud. “Instead, especially in larger companies, bringing an MSP into the mix frees up existing IT staff to focus on more strategic projects.”

This is a considerable boon, not only for the service provider, but for its client partner as well.

Managed service providers can offer access to advanced tools that might otherwise have been too expensive for businesses to implement internally.

3) The most cost-efficient IT resources

Building upon this is the fact that managed services can help even the playing field among businesses of different sizes, providing access to advanced tools that might otherwise be out of reach for smaller organizations. Many solution providers offer innovative solutions at an incredibly cost-effective price, enabling businesses to eliminate the need for up-front investments while supporting predictable IT costs.

This benefit is especially powerful for small businesses, but can be a significant advantage for organizations of all sizes.

“Some small businesses just don’t have the capital to purchase new hardware,” Netswitch pointed out. “Instead of figuring out whether you want a lightning-fast server to work with your databases or your web hosting, you get access to high-end servers working in a distributed resource environment. This gives you an even better performance boost. You avoid paying the overhead for expensive servers while still reaping the benefits.”

This only scratches the surface when it comes to the advanced IT tools offered by today’s managed service providers. To find out more, contact industry-leader ISG Technology and check out our managed service solutions today.

What to consider when selecting a network monitoring tool

January 6, 2017/in Blog, Networking /by ISG Technology

The underlying network that supports a company’s most important technologies now represents the lifeblood of a business. This resource helps ensure that applications are accessible, communication is possible and collaboration is supported across the organization. With so much depending on the network, it’s imperative that this system is in top-notch condition at all times.

This is where network monitoring comes into play, helping to ensure performance and prevent network issues. Currently, there are more than a few network monitoring solutions available for enterprises, and it’s important that decision-makers select the one that will best suit their corporation’s needs. Let’s take a look at a few of the most important considerations to make when choosing a network monitoring tool:

Understand what the technology can do

When undertaking this process, it’s helpful to begin with the basics and glean a full understanding of what network monitoring tools do and the benefits they can offer a business.

CIO gathered answers to some of the most pressing network monitoring-related questions and noted that network monitoring helps resolve issues that can impede performance. These solutions monitor traffic and network activity, and can pinpoint problems like slow downloads, suspicious processes and bad connections. The best network monitoring platforms can also send notifications to a company’s IT team to ensure they are aware of any issues and are in the best position to address them.

This technology is able to monitor all servers, routers, switches and devices connected to the network. What’s more, an array of different network types can be monitored, including local area, wide area and wireless networks. In this way, no matter what type of system underpins the business’s IT architecture, a network monitoring solution can provide the critical oversight network administrators need.

Network monitoring solutions can help support security and performance.

All-in-one or add-on customizability

It’s also imperative to take a look at the capabilities each potential network monitoring solution can provide. There are different kinds of systems available, including those that come as all-in-one solutions, support an array of functions or provide base-level capabilities and can be customized with feature add-ons.

This choice will hinge upon your organization’s requirements as well as internal expertise. An all-in-one solution can prevent deployment challenges and ensure the business’s technology is up and running as quickly as possible. Add-on solutions, on the other hand, are typically more complex and demand a significant level of knowledge to support proper integration. These also offer more opportunities for tailored configuration. If your business has a capable, talented IT team on hand, an add-on solution may be more attractive. Smaller companies with less internal expertise are usually more well-suited for all-in-one solutions that don’t require as much interaction.

Hardware considerations

Another important factor to keep in mind is the type of hardware included in the company’s network architecture. TechRepublic contributor Nick Hardiman pointed out that some organizations may have specialized components within their infrastructure, or other instruments that demand unique considerations. Decision-makers should connect with IT stakeholders to ensure that the solution they select will match the company’s hardware needs.

“One of the most attractive capabilities of any network monitoring tool is the ability to notify IT staff of any problems.”

Alerting features

One of the most attractive capabilities of any network monitoring tool is the ability to notify IT staff members of any problems or suspicious activity. In order to support this critical function, it’s important to look for monitoring solutions that include customizable notification settings that will align with IT employees’ processes. For instance, it is helpful to be able to leverage an array of alerting types like email and text messaging to ensure that network admins always have the visibility and oversight they need.

Proactive network monitoring from ISG Technology

ISG is a leader in network technologies, and our Net Alert solution represents the gold standard in network monitoring. Net Alert provides real-time notifications sent by our expert technicians as well as custom reports unique to your company’s network. With our seamless integration and proactive approach, your IT team will be in the best position to consistently understand the health and condition of your mission-critical network.

To find out more, check out our solution page and contact us today.