The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Mobility and BYOD

There are a lot of advantages to mobility in today’s workforce, but the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) movement has also brought its share of headaches as well. We live in a society where everyone must have the newest technology. We are inundated with ads reminding us that the smartphone or tablet we just bought a year ago is laughably outdated and inferior to the upgrade that just hit the market. People who have just bought the latest technology don’t want to have to set it aside to use a separate company-issued device. As a result, businesses are beginning to grant these employee-owned devices access to their file and email servers, databases, and applications. While this brings certain competitive advantages to employers, it naturally carries many risks, too. Let’s begin with the pros of BYOD… The Advantages of BYOD Greater Flexibility and Productivity Personal devices allow workers more flexibility, which in turn can increase productivity. Today’s employee isn’t restricted to their office workstation or cubicle. They can carry out job responsibilities from home, a coffee shop, their child’s dance recital, or while traveling. Reduced Costs Purchasing even the most basic Blackberry for an employee can cost a company $900+ per worker. Costs like that can be completely eliminated by adopting a BYOD policy where employees are required to use their own device. Happier Employees/Attractiveness to Job Seekers Recent studies have found that 44% of job seekers are attracted more to employers who are open to BYOD and occasional remote work. Beyond this hiring advantage over competition, it has been found that employees as a whole are generally happier using the devices they own and prefer for work purposes. Better Customer Service This goes hand and hand with more flexibility and productivity. Mobility allows employees to occasionally resolve or escalate urgent client issues outside of normal working hours, and clients remember that kind of response time. Disadvantages of BYOD Compromised Data Security Unfortunately, letting employees use their own smartphones, tablets, and laptops increases the likelihood of sensitive company or customer/client data being compromised. It is important for companies to establish a comprehensive mobile device security policy and never make any exceptions to it whatsoever. Really. No exceptions. Ever. Employee Privacy Many employees may oppose using their own devices for work, especially if it’s a company requirement that they aren’t reimbursed for. You have to remember that these are the same devices employees use to log into their Facebook and Twitter accounts or do their online banking. In this age of constant paranoia over big brother watching our every move, employees may be concerned that their employer will spy on them or access their personal passwords and information. Handling Employee Turnover Companies must consider how they will address the retrieval of company data and information from an employee’s device if the employee either quits or is fired. Some companies may require that employees only save or edit company files on their servers or use cloud-based sharing software like Dropbox to share and edit docs. The Importance of a Mobile Device Management Tool Obviously, businesses must keep track of all of the devices that access their server, applications, and data. Mobile Device Management helps enterprises centralize what is an otherwise chaotic hodgepodge of devices and operating systems. This ensures that all devices are configured, deployed, and properly monitored and managed. This is a smart way for businesses to embrace BYOD while securing data and applications across multiple devices. Email us at sales@pennyriletech.com or use our contact form to see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business today.

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Addressing the Threat of Mobile Hacks

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

More cyber criminals are targeting small-to-medium sized businesses. One reason for this is too many workplaces have insufficient bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies in place. Some have none at all. Although firms are generally more knowledgeable about network security risks than in years past, they still woefully underestimate the security vulnerabilities linked to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Protecting against mobile hacks is a real cause for concern since data breaches have the ability to put many already financially challenged SMBs out of business. If customer/client data has been breached, there could be potential litigation costs, and naturally, lost goodwill and an irreparable hit to brand or company reputation. Don’t Just Say You’re Worried About the Bad Guys… Deal With Them SMBs say they view network security as a major priority but their inaction when it comes to mobile devices paints a different picture. A recent study found that only 16% of SMBs have a mobility policy in place. Despite the fact that stolen devices are a major problem in today’s mobile workforce, only 37% of mobility policies enforced today have a clear protocol outlined for lost devices. Even more troubling is the fact that those firms who have implemented mobility policies have initiated plans with some very obvious flaws. Key components of a mobility policy such as personal device use, public Wi-Fi accessibility, and data transmission and storage are often omitted from many policies. Thankfully, most SMB cyber crimes can be avoided with a comprehensive mobility policy and the help of mobile endpoint mobile device management services. A Mobile Device Policy Is All About Acceptable/Unacceptable Behaviors Your initial mobility policy doesn’t have to be all encompassing. There should be room for modifications, as things will evolve over time. Start small by laying some basic usage ground rules, defining acceptable devices and protocols for setting passwords for devices and downloading third-party apps. Define what data belongs to the company and how it’s to be edited, saved, and shared. Be sure to enforce these policies and detail the repercussions for abuse to help protect against mobile hacks. What is Mobile Device Management? Mobile device management (MDM) is software that allows IT administrators to control, secure and enforce policies on smartphones, tablets and other endpoints. The intent of MDM is to optimize the functionality and security of mobile devices within the business while simultaneously protecting the corporate network. Features of Mobile Device Management Services MDM services are available at an affordable cost. These services help IT managers, administrators, and business owners identify and monitor the mobile devices accessing their network. This centralized management makes it easier to get each device configured for business access to securely share and update documents and content and more on the business network. Mobile Device Management proactively secures mobile devices by: Specifying password policy and enforcing encryption settings Detecting and restricting tampered devices Remotely locating, locking, and wiping out lost or stolen devices Removing corporate data from any system while leaving personal data intact Enabling real time diagnosis/resolution of device, user, or app issues It’s important to realize that no one is immune to cyber crime. The ability to identify and combat imminent threats is critical and SMBs must be proactive in implementing solid practices that accomplish just that. If your business needs help implementing mobile device management, give us a call or use our contact form and one of our staff will reach out to you and see how we can help secure your mobile devices.

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4 Things to Consider Before Jumping Into BYOD

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

You’ve read it time and time again. “Bring Your Own Device” isn’t a trend, it’s the future. Workplaces, where companies let workers use their own devices for work purposes, are the new normal. What Is Bring Your Own Device BYOD Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) refers to the idea that employees should be allowed to use their personal devices to access company information. The main advantage of this approach is that it makes sure that the employee will always have his/her data available, even when he/she isn’t using the office computer. There are a few reasons why companies are beginning to allow this type of policy. First, many workers are already bringing their own laptops and smartphones to work. If employers don’t want them to do so, then they could simply ban these items from being brought into the workplace. Another benefit is that BYOD allows businesses to save money. Employees who bring their own technology usually won’t need IT support, and they’ll also avoid buying equipment for the business. However, there are some drawbacks to allowing this kind of policy. For example, it can make the job of the security team more difficult. This is because people may be accessing sensitive data that the employer would like to keep private. BYOD attracts new hires and lifts employee morale and productivity. But this doesn’t mean a small business owner should recklessly jump right into BYOD just because everyone else is doing it. There are a few drawbacks to bringing your phone into the office which you need to be aware of. BYOD Security The first issue relates to security. If you’re not careful then you could end up putting your entire business at risk. Data and network security concerns have to be thought out, defined, and addressed in a comprehensive BYOD policy. You need to make sure you take the time to educate your employees about it. When talking about IT security, employees are often the weakest link in a company. It’s important they know what they can and cannot do on their personal devices, why it matters, and what happens if the policy is broken. By implementing a BYOD policy, you can help protect against data breaches and cybersecurity threats. BYOD Cost of Support Most businesses salivate at the thought of the money saved by having employees participate in a BYOD program. With employees using their own devices for work, there is no need to shell out thousands of dollars for desktop PCs, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. While that’s undoubtedly a huge incentive, extra support costs must also be factored in. Chances are your employees aren’t necessarily tech savvy and will need help deploying applications and performing basic yet very necessary maintenance techniques. Unless you have a dedicated IT support team, which most SMBs do not have, you will need to turn to a Managed Service Provider (MSP) in your region for support. A MSP can provide specialized expertise and leverage Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools to keep your network infrastructure and business applications monitored, secured and fully optimized. Limited Number of Support Devices Obviously, you can’t accommodate EVERY employee-owned device. Limiting the types of devices accepted in your BYOD program will mitigate any need to pay for software or equipment upgrades for outdated devices and keep your infrastructure safer as a whole. It’s important to not be too exclusive, select a broad range of devices and their more recent releases to accommodate the varied preferences/tastes of your employees. BYOD Legal Risks Adopting BYOD at your workplaces will expose your company to more legal risks. Sensitive business or private client/customer data can potentially be exposed if devices are lost or stolen. The personal online habits of your employees can also increase your network’s vulnerability to viruses, phishing, or hacking schemes designed to steal such data. These increased legal risks are another reason why SMBs must take precautions such as working with an MSP that offers a solid MDM solution to ensure all employee devices are configured, deployed, managed and monitored in a manner that prioritizes data integrity and security. Ready to implement BYOD for your business? Contact us today for a free evaluation and see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business today.

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A Smarter Approach to Mobile Device Management

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

Mobile device management has become even more important now that more people today use personal mobile devices like smartphones and tablets for business purposes. Such devices, coupled with greater Wi-Fi accessibility and cloud services, have empowered us with the ability to access data and do business from practically anywhere at anytime. Needless to say, many small-to-medium sized business owners have embraced the BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) revolution. The benefits are obvious; increased employee productivity, enhanced services to customers/clients, and better overall customer and employee satisfaction. But what about the potential consequences associated with this mobility revolution? Are small business owners doing enough preemptive planning to address potential risks that could arise with the use of BYOD devices? Are they using mobile device management to help secure the devices and their IT infrastructure? What is BYOD? BYOD (bring your own device) in IT terms, refers to a policy that allows employees use personal devices to connect to companies network, access business applications, and company data. Personal devices may include smartphones, tablets, or personal computers. An estimated 59% of businesses have a BYOD policy in place and this number is increasing every year. What is Mobile Device Management? Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a type of security software used by IT departments to monitor, manage, and secure employees’ mobile devices—such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops that are deployed across multiple mobile service providers and across multiple mobile operating systems being used in the organization. It can be used to monitor hardware, remotely wipe devices that have been lost, and ensuring security standards are met before allowing the device access to sensitive company data to name just a few uses. Think of it like a digital toolbox for companies to keep all their employees’ smartphones, tablets, and laptops safe, up-to-date, and working correctly. What are some of the Features of Mobile Device Management? Device Configuration Management: Allows administrators to configure settings and policies on mobile devices, such as Wi-Fi settings, email accounts, and VPN configurations. Application Management: Enables the installation, updating, and removal of apps on mobile devices. This can include managing enterprise apps and ensuring that only approved apps are installed. Security Management: Provides security features such as enforcing password policies, encrypting data, remotely locking or wiping devices, and managing compliance with security policies. Device Tracking and Inventory: Helps in tracking the location of devices, keeping an inventory of devices, and ensuring that all devices are accounted for. Content Management: Manages access to corporate content on mobile devices, ensuring that sensitive data is properly secured and accessible only to authorized users. Compliance and Monitoring: Monitors devices to ensure they comply with organizational policies and provides reports and alerts for non-compliance or potential security threats. Support and Troubleshooting: Offers tools for remote troubleshooting and support, helping IT departments address issues on mobile devices without needing physical access to them. Mobile Device Management – Questions Every SMB Should Ask First, it is important that small business owners honestly assess whether their systems, networks, data, and overall infrastructure are ready for the use of an array of mobile devices. Once it is firmly established that both internal IT and components in the cloud are prepared for BYOD, solutions should then be put into practice that are concurrent with terms of use policies or any guidelines pertaining to remote and/or telecommute workers or the sharing of sensitive data. The following questions should be answered. What particular devices or applications are permissible for work use? Assuming security requirements are in place, not every device or application will meet those. Will anyone in the company be tasked with the daily management of BYOB strategies? What should BYOD policies cover and what kind of management solutions will be needed? Would a mobile device management tool that collects device information, deploys and monitors usage, and offers insight into compliance be helpful? Which costs will be the responsibility of the employee? This pertains to any fees associated with usage – from network plans to the device itself to software, accessories, and maintenance costs. What data will be accessible? Will data encryption be necessary for certain information traveling through the personal devices of employees? Which employees will have read, write, update/delete privileges? What is the process when handling sensitive data stored on lost or stolen devices, or the personal devices of ex-employees? Does the company or organization have the right to wipe out the entire device or just corporate data and apps? Mobile Device Management Conclusion BYOD is here to stay as it affords smaller-sized companies the mobility of a corporate giant without a huge investment. But when it comes to ensuring that devices, applications, and networks are safe from the variety of threats linked to greater mobility, small business owners may find it necessary to enlist the help of a managed service provider to adequately take on and implement mobile device management for their networks and the challenges that arise with it. MDM solutions are essential for organizations that support BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies, as well as for those that provide company-owned devices to employees. By centralizing the management of mobile devices, organizations can ensure better security, compliance, and productivity while reducing the risks associated with mobile device usage. If you need assistance implementing BYOD or mobile device management for your business, contact Pennyrile Technologies today.

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4 Essential Pieces to Any Small Business BYOD Strategy

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

Believe it or not, once upon a time, kids at the bus stop didn’t have cell phones and the mobile device strategy of many businesses was typically, “you’ll take what you’re given, refrain from using it for any personal use, and the data may be scrubbed clean whenever we please.” We’ve come a long way. Today, businesses really have no choice but to let employees use personal devices for work purposes. Blurred lines now make it difficult to differentiate between what is professional and what is personal. A company or organization may partially pay for an employee’s tablet computer or smartphone, but that same device is used to upload photos to Facebook or download torrents of this season of Game of Thrones. Naturally, security and privacy issues are a concern since these devices sync to the company network. Larger corporations may be able to hire IT support or produce sophisticated BYOD guidelines for employees to adhere to, but smaller businesses have limited resources. In fact, recent surveys suggest that the small business sector is doing very little to preemptively prepare for potential network security risks that could arise with the use of BYOD devices. This could prove to be disastrous. The practical reality is that employees are going to use their mobile devices for personal use. However, too many firms have overlooked what this means for their data security. Implementing a comprehensive BYOD policy right now, rather than when it’s too late, is important. We’ve compiled a list of four items that any business currently building a BYOD strategy must consider. It must clearly be outlined what specific devices are permitted for work use. The company/organization must have the ability to remotely delete company-sensitive data from mobile devices without the device owner’s permission. Remote deletion capabilities are much more refined these days; simplifying the removal of enterprise-related data from devices while leaving other content like personal photos, contacts, apps and music downloads intact. Written policies should be put into effect that correspond with terms of use policies and any guidelines pertaining to remote/telecommuting workers or the sharing of sensitive data. There should be clearly defined consequences for violating any or all policies. Employee privacy should be discussed within the BYOD policy since employees often use these devices to check personal email, browse or post to Facebook and Twitter feeds, instant message, and store personal documents, photos, music and movie downloads. Employees must understand that employers still have access to the content stored on these devices. Location tracking, which gives employers the ability to locate employees, is also something to discuss since many people don’t necessarily welcome that kind of surveillance. It is understandable that BYOD and more mobile employees have some small business owners feeling anxious and nervous. But mobile management tools, periodic conversation, security checks, and research will do wonders when it comes to keeping small businesses safe. Use our contact form to see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business today.

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Co-Managed IT Services – Enhance Your IT Department

Uncategorized / Pennyrile Technologies

Everyone in the office loves Eric. Sporting a different ironic t-shirt every day, Eric is the one we call when technology spits in our face. Whether it’s a slow system, a bug that needs to be squashed, a website issue, or a crash that results in unexpected downtime and data loss, Eric is right there. Not only does he get to the bottom of any issue but he also rights the ship like he’s some sort of miracle-working captain who just happens to have a pretty wickedly funny Peter Griffin from Family Guy impersonation. But business is growing and Eric is overworked. Eric has certain skills that you’d love to use to develop innovative applications and revenue-generating projects– but he’s too busy running around fixing things that break. Or he’s performing the most mundane and routine tasks day-in-and-day-out just to keep things secure and running smoothly. You get a sense that Eric’s overburdened and he’s saddled with too many responsibilities. His demeanor has changed from pleasant to moody. He’s listening to angrier metal and punk music and you’re noticing cracks in his work. You fear Eric is being pulled in too many directions and the reliability of your server, network, and applications, as well as the integrity of your data, are all at risk. Someone who has watched a bit too much of Donald Trump on The Apprentice might think Eric should be fired. We’re not going to fire Eric. But we’re also not going to hire a full-time salaried Robin to his Batman or Cheech to his Chong. We’re going to help Eric by exploring co-managed IT services with a managed services provider to handle many of the monotonous tasks making Eric hate his job right now. What are Co-Managed IT Services? Co-managed IT is a service model that allows businesses to customize which IT services are provided by in-house staff and which are provided by external staff, or a managed services provider. Many organizations find staying on top of current IT trends to be overwhelming, especially when trying to find and retain top-level IT talent. This model allows businesses to pair the convenience and up-to-date resources of an external IT management service with their own in-house specialists to optimize efficiency. With co-managed IT services, you can pick and choose the resources you need and when you need them. IT co-management helps supplement, enhance and support your existing IT team. Focus Primarily on Cost-Cutting and Revenue Increasing Projects First things first, Eric has to realize that he can’t do everything himself. Where are his skills best used? Whether it’s processes that help drive down costs or ones with the potential to raise revenue, or evaluate the projects in the queue and rank them by what impacts the bottom line the most. Once that’s done, look at the day-to-day processes designed to keep things running securely and efficiently. What can be off-loaded from Eric? Determine which of those tasks can be automated either through the cloud or co-managed IT services. Take to the Cloud Some IT people fear the cloud spells the end to their job security. Meanwhile, the cloud can actually help them take on a more prominent contributing role in the company’s success. The cloud should be seen as another tool that further eliminates the mundane yet necessary daily drudgery from their workday. Those who work with the cloud will find that they have more available time to take on more meaningful cost cutting or revenue generating projects. With co-managed IT services, the MSP can focus on or provide the cloud infrastructure while the Internal IT department focuses on other issues supporting the business. Use a Managed Service Provider Using outsourced IT support or a managed services provider not only alleviates much of Eric’s pressure and stress but also boosts productivity and gives the company a much-improved ROI (Return-on-Investment) on their technology investment. While technology has gotten easier for the end user, it has become more complex on the back-end with the advent of virtualization, cloud computing, and advanced infrastructure. Using an MSP gives Eric access to a trusted advisor, a 24/7 help desk, remote monitoring and management tools, mobile device management tools, and much better disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. All without the overhead that comes with hiring more help for Eric. MSPs offer a consistency to not just your end-user but also your main IT guy who will certainly appreciate the help. Is Your Business Ready for Co-Managed IT Services? If your business needs help expanding or supplementing its’ IT department, then Pennyrile Technologies can help. We can provide tools, knowledge, and resources your IT staff needs to excel, while saving your business thousands of dollars in labor and insurance costs. We work with many IT departments to provide everything from tech support, to project consulting and implementation, cybersecurity tools, and more! Contact us today to see how we can help your business with co-managed it services.

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How to Trim the Fat From Data Center Costs

Uncategorized / Pennyrile Technologies

When smaller businesses look to cut costs, they commonly take shortcuts that are risky to their bottom line. They may go out of their way to avoid upgrading dated hardware, buying software licenses, or increasing bandwidth. In some instances, they layoff in-house IT support, or avoid hiring new help, even as the business grows. This often leads to a very cranky and disgruntled “IT guy” with a bad attitude as he or she runs around the office putting out one fire after another – feeling overburdened and underpaid. Operating even the most basic data center today means recurring operating expenses that aren’t affordable for most small-to-midsize businesses. Unfortunately, SMBs just have to accept that keeping their data center alive and kicking means significant overhead and expenses. That’s just the way it is. Or is it? There are actually several ways to reduce data center infrastructure costs without sacrificing the efficiency of your network, server, and applications, or the sanity of your IT guy. Rent, Don’t Own A data center needs experienced people and a virtual, always-on, 24/7 staff of administrators, networking experts, database specialists, systems managers, and dedicated IT personnel monitoring the network. From an economic perspective, it’s simply more logical to “rent” these workers rather than hire permanent employees. Keep Things Remote & Energy Efficient According to a study published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the fastest-growing sources of U.S. energy consumption are data centers. This is due to the increased power supply required to run and cool a data center. Hardware sprawl is also a problem contributor, as most businesses have space limitations and lack the available room for any additional hardware. Embrace Outsourcing Both of the aforementioned cost control measures can be accomplished by outsourcing data center operating expenses. Outsourcing isn’t a dirty word. Managing IT on your own is difficult and far from cost effective. Outsourcing the day-to-day IT management responsibilities through a Managed Services Provider is a strategic way to improve the efficiency of operations and dramatically cut costs. Is it any surprise that more and more SMBs today are tapping into the full spectrum of outsourced managed services to empower their business processes and reduce overhead? Are you?

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Click, Click, BOOM – You’re in Business But Is Your Technology Ready?

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

It’s a fast business world. Brilliant business ideas can be conjured up at some hipster-filled vegan coffeehouse, a website is thrown together, and poof… in no time at all there is a living, breathing, small business venture accessible from anywhere in the world. But as your head hits the pillow at night, with visions of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg dancing in your head, understand that many obstacles will greet you on your road to entrepreneurial success. A fresh innovative idea is merely a start. For every successful startup like Groupon, there are even more that have faltered. Some great, even revolutionary, business concepts that just faded into obscurity; leaving behind nothing but tales of what could’ve been and insurmountable debt. Failed business technology is often a big reason for this. Many startups think big but tend to operate small-minded to keep overhead and costs down. They then find themselves completely unprepared to meet the demands of growth, particularly when it comes to their IT infrastructure. There is no one-size fit all approach to how to manage technology for optimal efficiency, uptime, and profitability. Especially given the challenges of limited budgets and the need to keep overhead down. So exactly how do SMBs make sound decisions regarding their technology infrastructure? Choices that are cost-effective enough to get their business off the ground and running without screwing them over once it truly takes off? Combine On-Site and Off-Site Support for the Best of Both Worlds Over 45% of SMBs have no dedicated in-house IT staff and no contracted IT consultant regularly monitoring and managing their technology. Roughly only 7 percent of SMBs have a full-time onsite IT technician on payroll. The rest rely on third-party on-call IT companies who appear only when technology goes haywire and disrupts business. These on-call companies can sometimes take a day or two to even show up, which means issues aren’t resolved in a timely and efficient manner. And did we mention they’re expensive? Most SMBs say they simply can’t afford full-time in-house support. Even those who do budget for it face overwhelming challenges. They often experience a revolving door of on-site help who leave for a larger company and better salary once they’ve beefed up their resume. And those hires that do remain loyal often feel as if they have no reliable help and become overworked and frazzled as the business and their responsibilities grow. Discontent may even set in if wages aren’t raised proportionately to the added responsibilities, or if they grow bored of doing the same mundane repetitive work everyday. But today’s SMB has access to technology that won’t drain resources. In particular, the evolution of cloud computing and managed services can either automate or re-assign a lot of the day-to-day caretaking of technology to remote employees, leaving onsite support available for more meaningful and potentially profitable projects. Better yet, it saves money on equipment costs. Whenever possible, a mix of on-premise and off-premise IT support is the best way to make your technology scalable and prepared for growth. Use our contact form to see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business today.

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Three Steps To Fix IT Management for SMBs

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) tend to have a more difficult time managing IT than larger enterprises. Despite being as technology-dependent as larger enterprises, SMBs have tighter budgets and fewer resources to devote to IT management. This leads to a more reactive “break-fix” approach to their technology that never does any smaller company or organization any good. Here’s what break fix most often leads to. If the burden rests on the shoulders of hourly or salaried in-house IT support, and they’re too busy putting out fires all day, then their skills and talents are essentially wasted. If there is no in-house tech support, and many smaller companies and organizations don’t have even one onsite “IT guy,” SMBs are commonly taken for a ride by some of the more unscrupulous on-call IT consultants. Although “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a popular saying, it should never be applied to the management of business technology. The cost of downtime can crush any barely surviving small business. The combined impact of lost revenue, lost productivity, and lost brand reputation is a severe hit that many SMBs aren’t built to withstand. It pays to be proactive, not a reactive about technology. This requires a cultural shift from how IT has commonly been handled in the past. Say goodbye to manual, yet necessary, processes and hello to a better way for businesses to meet their technology needs – a smarter and more cost-efficient way. Three Steps To Better Manage Your Business Technology Be Proactive – More often than not, it’s the things that aren’t caught early on that turn into costly business disruptions. For instance, many of the hardware, software, and application failures that cause downtime occurrences are preventable; they’re just not detected and addressed early enough. SMBs today have the advantage of using a Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tool to help their existing in-house support staff get a grip on their workload. A RMM tool, combined with an outsourced 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC), monitors your technology all day and all through the night via one comprehensive interface that is even accessible with a mobile device. This kind of around the clock monitoring transforms technology management. Problems can be nipped in the bud with an alert and prompt ticket resolution before they turn into major issues that disrupt day-to-day operations. Automate/Schedule Mundane Tasks – Free the in-house support staff from everyday manual maintenance and monitoring by automating a broad range of IT security and monitoring tasks. Get More From Your In-House Team – If you have any in-house IT support, you’ve likely hired some incredibly skilled and talented people who would be more worthy contributors to your company or organization if they weren’t always so tied up fixing things and performing monotonous tasks. With RMM and NOC solutions, SMBs can put these individuals to work on projects that matter. They are freed up to work on concepts, strategies, and application development that better serve your customers, employees, and suppliers, truly giving business a competitive advantage. Use our contact form to see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business today.

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Understanding Managed Services and How They Benefit SMBs

Informative / Pennyrile Technologies

How Managed Services Benefit SMBs Small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) receive a lot of calls each day from slick sales people peddling the next technology trend that’s going to save them money and revolutionize how they do business. They’re all too quick to caution that if you don’t listen to them, you’ll fall behind the times, and eventually be swimming in a sea of debt and out of business. No doubt you’ve heard, or you’ve at least read about, the benefits of managed services. Managed services refer to clearly defined outsourced IT services delivered to you at predictable costs. You know the exact IT services you’ll be getting and what you’ll pay for them. There is no surprise sky-high bill for services rendered. So are solicitation calls that pertain to managed services worth listening to? We think so. Then again, we’re in the managed services industry. There may be a bit of a bias here. How Managed Service Providers Work Managed service providers (MSPs) use remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools to keep an eye on their performance and overall health of the IT infrastructure that powers your business operations. Your MSP should have a 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) that acts as your mission control center. If the monitoring alerts them to any issue with your servers, devices, hardware or software, they respond quickly to resolve the issue. Additionally, the NOC performs regular systems maintenance such as Automated tasks like the cleaning of temporary files Applying tested security patches as required Installing virus and Malware protection System backup and disaster recover/business continuity processes Additionally, your MSP should give you access to a Help Desk that services your customers and employees – speaking to and working with them directly as if they’re part of your staff. This proactive maintenance, stabilization of your IT environment, and rapid as-needed remediation helps SMBs control technology costs and better serve the end-users who rely on their technology. Is Managed Services Better than Other Ways to Manage IT We find that far too many companies have no real perspective about how much IT management costs them. Let’s review some of the alternatives to managed services. Hiring In-House IT Support Typically, a firm with anywhere from 20-60 employees may feel that one person can manage their technology. Understand that this one full-time employee can demand a significant salary since they’ll have to be proficient with desktop, server and network support, and interact with both end-users in the Help Desk role and management. They will likely be overworked and vulnerable to error or oversights that may prove to be costly. And what happens if they’re out sick or on vacation? The Break/Fix Mentality The majority of smaller companies take this route because they feel as if they’re too small for a more sophisticated 24/7 approach to IT management. They also feel pressure to direct all resources on the product or service, not behind-the-scenes operations. They decide to use on-call IT techs when broken technology has already disrupted business. The on-call team’s response time and overall lack of familiarity with your systems extends downtime and proves to be a much more expensive resolution to IT management. It’s reactive, not proactive, and it’s a costly mistake too often made. This is why many SMBs today feel that managed services are the most cost-effective way to support their IT infrastructure and the best way to get more bang for their buck. Use our contact form to see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business today.

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Pennyrile Technologies

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Mobility and BYOD

Addressing the Threat of Mobile Hacks

4 Things to Consider Before Jumping Into BYOD

A Smarter Approach to Mobile Device Management

4 Essential Pieces to Any Small Business BYOD Strategy

How to Trim the Fat From Data Center Costs

Click, Click, BOOM – You’re in Business But Is Your Technology Ready?

Three Steps To Fix IT Management for SMBs

Understanding Managed Services and How They Benefit SMBs

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