What is Data Redundancy and Why Is It Important to Your Business

Information Technology / Pennyrile Technologies

Many business owners who are unfamiliar with IT tend to believe that backup and disaster recovery plans and data redundancy are one and the same thing. This is not at all the case, even though both disaster recovery and data redundancy play critical roles in your company’s success. Understanding the differences between the two will help you make better business continuity decisions in the long run. Redundancy vs. Recovery Backup and disaster recovery plans, also known as BDR plans, are crucial for the success of your business. These plans line out how your company will react in the event that you experience a loss of data due to hardware failure, natural disaster, cyberattack, or any other event. If you look at a BDR plan like a wagon wheel, then data redundancy is one of the spokes that keeps it all together. To put this in perspective, if you have an offsite data backup, that is considered a recovery plan, and the redundancy comes into play when you reinforce that backup by keeping more than one copy for extra protection. Why Offsite Redundancy is Critical Imagine for a second what would happen if your company experienced data loss. You will not only lose your customers’ (and your company’s) data, but you will also lose time and money attempting to recover that data to keep your business functional. In many cases where businesses experience an unexpected data loss, they find themselves unable to carry on operations for several days, and in some cases, especially for newer, smaller businesses, this can result in serious issues that may even lead to failure. Having a backup offsite is a critical part of any Disaster Recovery Plan. Offsite backups help protect against natural disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, and floods. They also help protect against security breaches, cyber attacks, or recovering from ransomware. Redundancy and Customer Satisfaction The most important part of being successful in any business venture involves keeping your customers satisfied with the products and services you offer them. If you cannot deliver on your promises because of data loss, then your customer service capabilities simply do not exist. For a small business, or one that is just getting off the ground, this could be a serious hit to their reputation and one that they may not be able to recover from. If you must admit to your customers that their information has been compromised in some way, they will lose the most important thing in any customer/client-business relationship – trust. Once it’s gone, it’s difficult to get back. How to Put Together a Data Redundancy Plan While you can certainly create your own redundant data backups, managing and monitoring these backups takes a great deal of time and resources that many business owners just don’t have. The best and most popular way to protect data is to hire an outside company to provide your managed backup and disaster recovery plan, which includes redundancy for your company’s safety and success. Professionals will monitor your data around the clock, and should something go wrong, they will immediately resolve it, thereby saving you countless dollars and perhaps even saving your business’s reputation along the way. No matter how small your business might be, and even if you’re just getting started, if you rely on data for your success, then redundancy should be at the top of your priority list alongside backup and disaster recovery. By keeping multiple copies of your data backups in more than one place, you can easily recover that data in the event of an emergency without downtime, without loss of trust, and without spending a small fortune.

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Everything You Need to Know about Preventing and Overcoming Ransomware

Ransomware / Pennyrile Technologies

Surveys have shown that 71% of all ransomware attacks are aimed at small to medium businesses (SMBs) and that in each event, businesses lose an average of about $2500. Because of this big payday, cyber criminals show no signs of slowing down, so it is up to you to protect yourself. Below, you can learn more about ransomware, how to prevent it, and what you should do if you are a victim. What is Ransomware? Ransomware is a form of malware, much like a computer virus, that makes its way into your systems and essentially holds your data hostage until you pay the criminal a sum of money they determine. The most common entry point for ransomware is infected email or phishing. According to Statista.com, 54% of all the ransomware attacks in 2020 were delivered in this manner, and others were delivered via online ads or through unsecured websites. For a small business, ransomware can be devastating, so most business owners simply pay the ransom instead of working to rid their systems of the malware, and this drives the criminals to continue finding new ways to infect other companies. How to Prevent Ransomware Because so many ransomware attacks originate in email attachments and links, the absolute best way for you to keep your business safe is to educate yourself and your employees on basic email safety. For example, you should always check the sender’s address and make sure you recognize it before you click a link or open an attachment. If you receive an email from a bank or other service provider that addresses you as “Customer” or your by your email address rather than your first and last name, do not click any link or download any attachment. Other things you can do involve utilizing security software and a strong antivirus program, keeping both of these up to date, keeping redundant backups of all your data, and using cloud-based services wherever possible since you can simply bypass ransomware and roll back your data to a different point in time. What to Do if You are a Victim If you find yourself the victim of a ransomware attack, the first thing you should keep in mind is that you should never pay the ransom. Not only does this only encourage criminals to continue attacking small businesses, but there is never any guarantee that you will regain access to your data even after you pay. It isn’t uncommon for cyber criminals to demand multiple payments in succession from business owners who appear desperate to gain access to their data. The best course of action is to contact a professional right away. They can not only help you restore your data to get past the ransomware, but they can also do a network security check and offer solutions for common issues to prevent future attacks. Ransomware is still a serious problem in today’s day and age despite advanced technology and incredibly secure antivirus programs. For the most part, though, avoiding ransomware is about being diligent and making certain that you always use best practices for email, web browsing, and more.

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Can a Network Security Assessment Benefit Your Company?

Information Technology / Pennyrile Technologies

Data breaches occur almost every single day around the world, and not even major companies like Equifax and Capital One are immune to them. If you are concerned about your business becoming the next victim of a hacker’s determination to gain access to personal information, a network security assessment could be just what you need. Here are some of the benefits you can expect. You Can Find Potential Security Holes Even if you have a firewall running alongside some of the best antivirus software imaginable, there are still security holes that you may not have covered. Failing to use email security technology, for example, leaves your company vulnerable to ransomware, which is especially common among small to medium businesses. Trying to find these holes yourself can be impossible, especially if you don’t have expertise in information technology and security. A network security assessment is always a great idea for these reasons. It Enhances Cloud Security The cloud is the place to be in today’s digital age. It’s far more difficult for cybercriminals to access data in the cloud than data on a server or hard drive, and the cloud is also the perfect location for copies of your backups to promote redundancy as well as business continuity. Not all cloud platforms are the same, and the way your company accesses the cloud may be leaving you open to attack. A network security assessment will help you enhance your cloud security and keep your information even safer. You Can Lower Your Operating Costs In many cases, a professional network security assessment can even help you lower operating and capital costs by removing unnecessary and redundant equipment or programs. Essentially, you may be able to combine some functionalities and save money on programs you just don’t need. You can also lower your operating costs by reducing the likelihood of an attack that could lead to a data breach or even ransomware, which can leave you unable to access data at all until you can restore it. You Can Make Sure You Have the Security You Need Unless you have a full IT team on board or you’re using a managed IT service already, there’s no real way for you to know whether your security actually lines up with the architecture of your network. No two networks are exactly the same, and for this reason, no two networks have the exact same security needs. By allowing a professional team to run a network security assessment, you can figure out the best ways to be certain that the security level and type you have is right for your network. The main benefit of a network security assessment is the ability to find serious holes that could ultimately cost you your business altogether. No one is immune from attacks, and if some of the world’s biggest companies can become targets, smaller ones can, too. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is to schedule a network security assessment right away and make any necessary changes to protect your network and data.

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5 Important Benefits of Hardware as a Service

Information Technology / Pennyrile Technologies

If you’ve spent much time reading up about the latest in technology, then you have likely learned quite a bit about the benefits of Software as a Service, or SaaS. If you are a business owner, you may even utilize SaaS each day to keep operations smooth and seamless. Hardware as a Service, or HaaS, is also beneficial for many business owners in many ways. Here are five of the most important benefits. #1 – It Can Save You Money If your business is small and just getting off the ground, the idea of spending tens of thousands of dollars on network equipment can seem impossible. Fortunately, managed service providers (MSPs) offer HaaS to help you get the equipment you need without spending much at all. Instead of a massive investment, you can make a single (and affordable) payment that does not cut into your cashflow significantly and allows you to keep cash on hand for other things. #2 – You Won’t Have to Worry about Obsolete Technology Though buying your own equipment outright means you don’t have to deal with payments, once that technology becomes obsolete – which is anywhere from three to five years in today’s digital world – you will be out that money and forced to consider buying all new equipment. When you choose HaaS instead, you will never experience business hiccups due to outdated technology because your MSP will work hard to ensure that your equipment adequately handles your business operations. #3 – Your MSP Will Even Handle Maintenance Most small business owners aren’t sure about what goes into hardware maintenance. Perhaps they can keep a computer updated, but what about the software they use or even the programs responsible for backing up their data? These things require maintenance, but when you choose HaaS, you can rest comfortably in the knowledge that your MSP will stay on top of things for you. #4 – It Will Grow with Your Business Like most business owners, your goal is more than likely growth and success. If you choose to supply your own hardware, you will need to purchase more computers, servers, and other pieces of equipment as your company grows, and this can quickly become incredibly expensive. HaaS is designed to be completely scalable, so when you need access to more hardware, your MSP will provide it to you. This works in reverse, as well; if you need to scale things down, it is also possible. #5 – You Don’t Have to Worry about Security Keeping data secure can be a nightmare. While most people focus on making sure their software is up to date and all the security holes have been properly patched, they tend to overlook their hardware. Perhaps your old backup solution worked well for you until a specific point, but now that you must store even more data, your old solution is no longer as secure as it should be. In this case, the MSP will help you obtain the equipment you need to protect your backups and keep things running smoothly. As you can see, HaaS is incredibly beneficial, especially for small businesses without the funding to buy brand-new equipment and pay for a team of IT professionals to maintain it. Managed service providers exist to do this kind of work on your behalf, which allows you to worry less about your network and data and more about running your business.

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Why You Should Never be Scared to Outsource IT

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / Pennyrile Technologies

Whether you’re a first-time small business owner or you’ve been at it for a while and grown into the medium-size business status, outsourcing anything can be scary when you think of everything that could go wrong. But many businesses now outsource IT and are experiencing many of its’ benefits. Below, you can learn more about some of the common fears and why they shouldn’t be fears at all. What Are Outsourced IT Services? Before we talk about some of the common fears of outsourcing IT, you may wonder what it is? Outsourced IT services are when you hire an outside company to handle your IT needs. A third-party managed service provider (MSP) can cover everything from the security of your network and devices to the implementation of new hardware and software, cybersecurity implementation, backups, and more. The Language Barrier will be Too Difficult to Overcome One of the most common issues that arises when business owners start to think about outsourcing IT is the potential for a significant language barrier that can make communication incredibly difficult. All too often, if you’re located in the USA, your IT tasks could be outsourced as far as India, which could create such a barrier. However, with the rise of technology and with more people finding the benefits in working remotely, these days, you can outsource within the American border – or even perhaps in Canada, the UK, or other parts of the world where the language barrier will be minimal if it exists at all. You’ll Have Problems with Team Management and Processes It’s crucial that you take the time to make certain you understand how the outsourcing process works before you dive in headlong.Managed IT support services should have a very clear process that is easy for you to follow, and you should be able to track your team’s progress every single step of the way. Team management is very important, but this is where choosing managed IT comes into play. When you allow the experts to handle your IT department for you, you don’t have to micromanage it, and you can focus on other, more important parts of your business. The Work will be Poor Quality When Your Outsource IT The fear of poor quality work is a very real one, and it’s completely justified too. When outsourcing was a new concept, companies often had a hard time figuring out whether an outsourcing company or even a single IT professional met their expectations for quality work. However, if you choose an experienced team to help you find IT professionals who are perfect for the task at hand, the risk of poor quality work is very low. Choosing a company to help outsource and manage your IT is crucial; they do all the vetting, hiring, and more, and they only hire the best of the best. Remote Workers will Cause a Data Breach If there’s one thing that should be a huge concern – especially in the information age when big data is everywhere – it’s a data breach. If your customers’ or clients’ information were to get into the wrong hands, the effects could be detrimental. These days, many of the companies responsible for managed IT outsourcing also handle data security, which includes backups and disaster recovery. Not only do you get the best IT professionals for the job, but you also get even better data security than you already had. Though there are certainly plenty of reasons to be afraid of outsourcing your IT department, it’s important to remember that many of these reasons only existed when the concept of outsourcing was in its infancy. Today, all it takes is a little research and the right partner to find the perfect match for your company’s needs – and a few extra benefits on the side, too. Are You Looking to Outsource IT For Your Business? If you are looking to outsource IT for your business, contact Pennyrile Technologies today. We can manage your network infrastructure, devices, third-party vendors, and more. Be at ease as our professionals manage your IT and help you save money on labor, software, and insurance costs that you would have to spend on an internal IT department.

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What Does Managed IT Support Do for a SMB?

Leave a Comment / IT Support / Pennyrile Technologies

As a small or medium business, there’s a very good chance that you prioritize your company’s ability to operate efficiently. Such efficiency is the key to your revenue, after all; the more you can do, and the faster you can do it without sacrificing quality, the more you can earn. Unfortunately, not all SMBs have the equipment and personnel for that efficiency, and that’s exactly where managed IT support comes into play. What is Managed IT Support? To put it simply, managed IT support is designed to help small to medium businesses by providing them with access to the IT resources they need to succeed. Those resources may include human IT professionals, access to cloud-based servers, software and even hardware as a service, and much, much more. Back in 2016, some 64% of organizations used some sort of managed service, and by 2020, that number is expected to increase by 12.5%. Managed IT support can help small companies grow without huge investments in employees, equipment, and more. Round-the-Clock Care Back in the old days, when the internet was brand new and data storage was in its infancy, if a server or a computer crashed and a company couldn’t access its database, there was only one solution, and it involved calling a professional, waiting for that professional to arrive, and hoping that professional had the knowledge to get things up and running again quickly. Today, managed IT support not only prevents downtime associated with server and computer crashes, but it also helps to resolve these issues no matter the time of day. How They Do It You will get access to a variety of services when you choose managed IT support. These include: Assessment and optimization – First things first, your network will be examined for security issues, which will then be resolved. Your computer network and data will also be optimized. Support and management – Remote support software makes it incredibly easy for outsourced IT professionals to watch over and manage your computer infrastructure. Constant monitoring – You won’t have to stay up all night keeping an eye on things. That’s exactly what managed IT support is for. Not only do they watch, but they also resolve issues as they happen. Plentiful maintenance – Many of the tasks required for maintaining your servers and computers can be automated, which means you can proactively keep your network up-to-date and help your equipment last longer at the same time. Helpdesk access – If you have an issue, the remote help desk is just a call or an email away. Asset management – Inventory and asset management can be time consuming, so leave that to the professionals. Antivirus management – Last, but most certainly not least, managed IT support also includes a complete antivirus solution that includes best-in-class comprehensive security that is remotely maintained. At the end of the day, managed IT support benefits small and medium businesses by providing them with a bevy of services that would otherwise require several onsite employees. Everything from assessments and implementation to monitoring and security response comes with managed IT services, and when these things are managed remotely, business owners can focus on other things – like growing their businesses and boosting their revenue.

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Important Questions to Ask when Hiring an IT Support Company

Leave a Comment / IT Support / Pennyrile Technologies

Whether you are hiring your very first IT professional for a new business endeavor or you’re simply interested in moving to a remote IT support solution, there are many options out there in the world. Below are some of the most important questions you should ask an IT support company before you make your hiring decision. How Will We Communicate? The most common issue associated with IT support companies according to business owners is a lack of communication – or a lack of viable ways to communicate. For this reason, make sure you take the time to learn as much as you can about hours of operation, communication methods, and more. If you have an issue, what do you do? Will you be required to submit a ticket online? Can you pick up the phone and call someone? What about sending an email? If that issue occurs after hours, such as late at night or even on a holiday, will there be someone available to help you? These things are very important, so be sure you have the answers before you hire. What is the Process for Handling Requests? Once you’ve determined how you will communicate your need for IT support with the company you choose, the next question you should ask is fairly straightforward: how do you handle requests once you get them? A ticket system is the best way to go, and the system should be reliable enough that the IT support company can see the details, assign the best person for the job, and get that issue resolved quickly. Structure and workflow are crucial, so get a feel for these things before you make your decision. What Other Services Can the IT Support Company Provide? Though you may only need basic IT support services for now, this may change a great deal as time goes on. You might find yourself in need of a complete network overhaul, and in this case, hiring someone to assist with network design or network cabling can benefit you for many years to come. Try to find a company that offers you a variety of other services that you can take advantage of when the need arises. Cloud storage, telephone and VoIP, and even security cameras with remote access are all beneficial in their own way, especially as your company grows. How Do You Keep my Network and Data Secure? Finally, it is important to determine the steps your IT support company will take to keep your network and all its associated data secure. Do they utilize state-of-the-art firewalls? Are their cloud-based systems encrypted and protected? What antivirus do they use, and what are the steps for resolving a breach? Do they offer backup and disaster recovery services? How do they protect your email? Do they offer security awareness training or mobile device management? It’s also important to find out whether the company will run a network analysis to determine where your biggest security risks lie and then make recommendations for resolving them. Though there are certainly plenty of other questions you can ask an IT support company before hiring them, these are by far the most important. Above all else, communication, request processing, and security are the three most important factors, so learning how these work will help you make the best hiring decisions possible. If you are in need of an IT Support Company, please contact us for a free network consultation and see how Pennyrile Technologies can help your business.

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Onsite vs. Remote IT Support – Pros and Cons of Each

Leave a Comment / IT Support / Pennyrile Technologies

If the time has come for your small to medium business to have some dedicated IT support, you have two options: onsite or remote support. Each one comes with its own unique set of pros and cons, as well. Exploring these benefits and drawbacks can help you make the best possible choices for your business. Onsite IT Support Onsite IT support is still by and large the most common route for small to medium businesses to get the support they need. It requires hiring one or more people to oversee and maintain your company’s IT infrastructure. You might choose to hire someone who will work for your company, or you might choose to hire a private contractor who provides his or her services to numerous companies in the local area. The benefits associated with onsite support include: Immediate Resolutions: If you have a support person on your staff, if you experience an issue, he or she can address it immediately. You won’t have to worry about your IT support person being busy helping another client if he or she works for your company, though there may be a bit of a wait if you choose a contractor, instead. Controlled Costs: By putting someone on your payroll, you won’t have to pay extra for help when and if disaster strikes. Your IT person’s salary remains the same regardless of whether issues exist and no matter how much your tech might need to be adjusted for growth in the future. Just as there are benefits associated with onsite IT, there are also a few drawbacks to consider: Unexpected Costs: Although you can control your costs to a degree because your IT professional is salaried, there are times when you may have to pay for things you didn’t expect. What’s more, many businesses simply can’t afford to hire a full-time (or even part-time) IT professional who works onsite. Limited Expertise: Small and medium businesses typically only hire one IT professional, so unless that professional is the best of the best, his or her expertise is likely to be somewhat limited. What’s more, if your professional calls in sick or has a family emergency, you’re left without any IT support whatsoever. Remote IT Support More and more often, companies choose remote IT support. In this scenario, one or more individuals located anywhere from an office downtown to a company across the globe provide all the IT support you need remotely. This is perfect for many companies, but just like onsite support, it has its own unique set of benefits and challenges. The benefits include: Cost-Effectiveness: Small and medium businesses almost always find remote IT support is far more cost-effective than hiring a full-time IT professional. What’s more, there are no training and/or certification costs to worry about. 24 Hour Help: Perhaps the best benefit associated with remote IT is the fact that you can get help at any time of day. An onsite professional will spend eight hours at work, and he or she may not be able to be reached after that. There are a few downfalls, though. These include: Less Collaboration: Because your remote IT support is not employed by your company directly, they will not be privy to what’s happening in your business, which means you may have to spend some time explaining things. You can get around this with managed IT services, which requires the remote support team to better acclimate themselves with your company’s culture and needs. Language and Cultural Barriers: If there’s a lack of communication between your staff and your remote IT support team, this can cause some serious issues. Fortunately, more and more companies work hard to provide access to professionals who are fluent in numerous languages. As you can see, there are benefits and downfalls associated with both onsite and remote IT support. For the most part, though, small businesses will reap the most benefit from remote IT support – especially managed IT support. It’s affordable, it’s convenient, and it’s available around the clock should issues arise.

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Security Alert: Change Your Twitter Password

News / Pennyrile Technologies

Twitter has issued an alert to users prompting them to change their passwords after it was discovered some users’ passwords had been recorded in a plain text log file accessible by Twitter employees. Twitter has issued a message to most users alerting them of the issue with the following statement: We recently identified a bug that stored passwords unmasked in an internal log. We have fixed the bug, and our investigation shows no indication of breach or misuse by anyone. Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that you consider changing your password on all services where you’ve used this password. Twitter masks passwords through a process called hashing using a function known as bcrypt, which replaces the actual password with a random set of numbers and letters that are stored in Twitter’s system. Twitter Chief Technology Officer, Parag Agrawal, stated “This allows our systems to validate your account credentials without revealing your password. This is an industry standard.” Due to a bug, passwords were written to an internal log before completing the hashing process. “We found this error ourselves, removed the passwords, and are implementing plans to prevent this bug from happening again.” While Twitter’s security team determined that it was unlikely that the passwords had been leaked or misused, we highly recommend you change your password for any sites or services that utilized the same password.

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September Camera Sale

Sale / Pennyrile Technologies

Fall into savings this month with our security camera specials! Get 10% off any PoE or HD-TVI camera during the month of September! We love our customers and try to make getting the right security camera for them as great as possible. Discover how easy it is to safeguard your assets, better serve your employees, and improve the day-to-day operations of your business with a surveillance system that’s built to help in more ways than one. You’ll be able to buy great quality surveillance equipment at reasonable prices. At Pennyrile Technologies, we use higher quality components, and that’s a difference you can see. We also offer a 3 year hardware warranty on all security cameras we sell. Many competitors use no-name knock-off parts. Not all HD 1080P cameras are equal. Lower quality processors have slower bitrates which cause motion blur and compression blur. Our cameras have at least 4Mbps in processing power. This means your image will be far more crisp and clear. We offer security cameras with all the features you need to help protect what matter most. We specialize in indoor and weatherproof outdoor security cameras, featuring dome, bullet, PTZ, and low-profile camera styles. Our HD security cameras deliver great picture quality, and our outdoor cameras are designed for all kinds of weather conditions. Most models feature infrared night vision capabilities that will continue to keep your property safe through the night. Vandal resistant designs and rugged exteriors ensure uninterrupted service should someone attempt to disable or destroy them. Pennyrile Technologies can help provide you peace of mind in knowing that your business is protected around-the-clock.

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Pennyrile Technologies

What is Data Redundancy and Why Is It Important to Your Business

Everything You Need to Know about Preventing and Overcoming Ransomware

Can a Network Security Assessment Benefit Your Company?

5 Important Benefits of Hardware as a Service

Why You Should Never be Scared to Outsource IT

What Does Managed IT Support Do for a SMB?

Important Questions to Ask when Hiring an IT Support Company

Onsite vs. Remote IT Support – Pros and Cons of Each

Security Alert: Change Your Twitter Password

September Camera Sale

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