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What is Big Data Analytics?

Big data analytics is simple. It enables organizations to analyze a mix of data in search of valuable business information and insights to make them more competitive.

So you hear of big data analytics in the media however many do not know what it is exactly. Big data analytics is the process of examining large data sets containing a variety of data types to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations, market trends, customer preferences and business information.

Why do companies use Big Data Analytics?

In order to be competitive, companies are using analytical findings to more effective in various avenues of their business including marketing, new revenue opportunities, better customer service, improved operational efficiency and the most important use, how to be more competitive s over rival organizations and other business benefits.

Big data analytics helps companies in many ways however the primary goal is to make better business decisions by enabling data analytics professionals to analyze large volumes of transaction data.  There are many forms of untapped data including Web server logs, internet clickstream data, social media content and social network activity reports, text from customer emails and survey responses, mobile-phone call detail records and machine data captured by sensors connected to the Internet of Things.

What are some examples of Big Data Analytics in business?

Walmart’s latest search engine for Walmart.com includes semantic data. They use a platform that was designed in-house and relies on text analysis, machine learning and even synonym mining to produce relevant search results. According to Walmart, semantic search has improved online shoppers completing a purchase by 10% to 15%.

American Express started looking for indicators that could predict loyalty and developed sophisticated predictive models to analyze historical transactions and 115 variables to forecast potential churn. American Express believes it can now identify 24% of Australian accounts that will close within the next four months.

What can small business use Data Analytics?

Small and midsize business (SMB) can use a wide variety of technologies that give them cost-effective data analytics. Google AdWords is one many businesses already use as it is a big data app that offers small and midsize business (SMB) market insight as well as improved decision-making ability resulting in better bottom-line results.

Small and midsize business (SMB) can also use data analytics intelligently to do better business that can improve pricing and just-in-time supply chains. Companies can find cheaper suppliers that are closer to their location and that offer more price transparency.

365 iT SOLUTIONS offers industry leading IT services including Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Take advantage of our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com

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Gmail is back from Easter outages

This past weekend, Google Gmail users faced downtime due to an issue with SSL security certificates.

Gmail users were shown a large amount of error messages and safety warnings as Google’s SSL certificate for the service expired without being renewed.

What is a SSL Certificates?

A SSL Certificates is a file that digitally binds a cryptographic key to an organizations. When the SSL certificate is installed on a web server, it activates the padlock and the https protocol (over port 443) and allows secure connections.  SSL certificates are used to secure credit card transactions, data transfer and logins and now even social media sites.

What was the Gmail SSL certificate issue?

On April 4th, when Gmail users tried to send email, it would result in an error. Google has admitted that the problem affected a majority of Gmail users and that the issue was caused by “smtp.gmail.com” security certificate appearing as invalid.

The issue was caused by a simple mistake. Google had forgotten to renew the security certificate for Gmail. The error primarily affected people using Gmail in email client programs and apps such as Microsoft Outlook, OS X Mail or Windows Live Mail, alongside Google’s own Gmail app.

How does the Gmail SSL certificate issue affect your business?

Many companies do not realize it but they each have their own SSL security certificates for multiple services including if you have an internal email server. It is very important that such certificates get renewed in a timely manner to reduce downtime or other IT technical issues.

365 iT SOLUTIONS offers industry leading IT services including Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Take advantage of our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com

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Is your business looking at the cloud?

Many organizations are looking at cloud services however there are many ways to take advantage of them and Microsoft Azure is a great resource to bring your IT infrastructure to the next level.

Azure is Microsoft’s offering of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and it has provided organizations an opportunity to reduce their capital expenses and expand their IT infrastructure. Azure may not be for your company however there are many other cloud services providers out there that can help your business migrate.

Microsoft Azure can help reduce cost and provide the flexibility and agility is crucial to utilizing this service. Cloud services is and effect service for businesses however many do not have all the information to make decisions on which applications are compatible or the total costs.

A cloud assessment will help assist in determining your business readiness and costs prior to any deployment or commitment. You should look at an IT consulting partner with experience with cloud services including extensive experience in deploying Private, Public and Hybrid Cloud scenarios for many different types and size of customers.

Your partner company should not only have experience on deploying cloud services, they should also have experience managing it with a proactive managed IT services program.  The end result is business goals that are aligned with your business.

What will a cloud services assessment will address?

  • Inventory target servers to determine cloud readiness
  • Gather performance statistics on metrics that impact the cost of using the cloud
  • Determine which applications are the best candidates to take advantage of cloud services
  • Provide estimates on various cloud service such as server, email, storage and network requirements
  • Provides detailed reporting on cloud services costs and budget estimates

How a cloud services assessment will benefits your company?

  • IT consultants are experienced in assisting in estimating costs associated with cloud services
  • Gain knowledge and insight on the best use of cloud services according to your business goals and requirements
  • Learn how other customers are using cloud services to cut costs and be more agile.
  • A typical cloud services assessment require a couple of weeks to gather information and performance data.

After your assessment, you should have in-depth discussion with your IT consulting company so they can provide you with more insight into the importance of cloud services and help you determine how much effort will be required.

Most IT consulting professionals offer cloud services assessment at no cost.

365 iT SOLUTIONS offers industry leading IT services including Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Take advantage of our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com

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Why do companies partner with Managed Services Providers?

Many small and midsize businesses (SMB) do not have an internal IT department and often face different IT challenges however in this article we will demonstrate why companies partner with Managed Services Providers (MSPs).

As companies look to maximize productivity and profitability, many are utilizing their IT budgets and turning to managed IT services providers as part of their business strategy and strategic goals.

What Are Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services is the practice of outsourcing everyday IT management responsibilities to a third party. This allows organizations to strategically cut operating costs and improve operations.

Managed IT services is an arrangement of services and skills that provides partner companies with proactive IT support services and IT outsourcing.  Many small and midsize businesses (SMB) favor managed IT services as they do not require a full-time IT professional or their internal IT team is busy focusing on large projects and not daily IT manage management tasks.

This makes managed services providers a cost-effective solution for small and midsize businesses (SMB).

What are the advantages of Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services give small and midsize businesses (SMB) access to the best talent in the industry for a fraction of the costs however there are many other reasons why companies turn to managed services providers as follows:

Managed IT Security

Managed IT services takes full control of your IT security company wide. Security is paramount to all organizations and with the rising threat of malware, companies need to protect themselves and let IT consulting professionals handle it.

Managed Cloud Storage

Cloud services is growing daily and cloud storage is a key player.  If a company has no backup, they are risking all their information as it is unprotected.  If a company experiences data loss or a security breach, they can lose business and it could cost them significantly financially.

Managed Email Services

Email is one of the biggest business communications tools and companies are expected to maintain a professional and secure email service.  Managed IT services providers can offer many options including onsite or cloud services to help your company deliver the best solution to your business’s needs.

Network Infrastructure

Managed services providers can setup your network right the first time to increase productivity and efficiency. Your network consists of many devices and they all need to be linked together efficiently. Your partner managed IT services provider will implement, integrate and maintain your entire network.

Server Infrastructure

Your server is the heartbeat of your network and managed IT services providers provide proactive maintenance of your servers.  Managed service providers will proactively manage your server no matter if it is onsite or offsite plus they ensure that servers are backed-up on a regular basis and protected from unexpected issues.

Disaster Recovery

This is one of the biggest area companies take for granted. Companies cannot take any risks when it comes to data and other essential business information. All of your data needs to be backed up in case disaster strikes.  If it does happen, organizations can restore from back up and get up and running quickly.  This is would be handled by your managed IT services provider.

365 iT SOLUTIONS offers industry leading IT services and we are here to provide small and midsize businesses (SMB) with quality and affordable IT support and IT solutions in the Toronto area. We offer provide Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Take advantage of our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment by 365itSolutions.com

 

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Boost Productivity with Technology

It is important that companies boost productivity with technology these days and we have put together a list of where technology can help your business.

Technology should not slow down your business, it should speed up productivity and profitability.  Here are some ways on how technology can blast your business into the future.

Remote Group Work Environment

Cloud Services has made a lot of things possible for businesses including allowing employees to work easily from anywhere no matter their physical location.  When looking into CRM, ERP or any other applications, cloud-based suite products allow employees to log on from a remote locations and access company files securely from any smart device.

Since staff can access files remotely, cloud-based technology also allows your employees to collaborate with one another no matter where each employee is physically located.  This allows staff to remain on the same page which in turn boosts productivity and profits.

Cloud Data Storage

With the advantages of cloud services, by storing files in the cloud, all your data will be in the cloud and in one place.  With its remote access and collaboration possibilities, it also gives your employees easy access to all of your data no matter on your physical location.

Technology Restrictions

Technology is not always beneficial to your environment and may work against increasing productivity. If you use out-of-date technology, it may slowing down your business and it is time to upgrade.  There are many upgrades you can look at including desktops, laptops, tablets, internet connections, obsolete software and outdated email systems.

All companies should review their entire IT infrastructure and identify what is stopping your business from hitting its true productivity potential. Many managed services providers (MSP) or IT consultants will offer you a complimentary evaluation and help you create a plan to upgrade your IT infrastructure therefore increasing your profitability and productivity.

Bring in the IT Talent

Managed IT services providers (MSP) have been instrumental at helping companies move forward at a rapid place. Companies need to focus on growing the business and not maintaining their IT infrastructure. IT outsourcing is proactive in preventing technical issues from popping up and they fix problems without clients even knowing they existed.  This will boost productivity and therefore profitability.

365 iT SOLUTIONS provides leading IT consulting in Toronto including industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Take advantage of our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment to get the entire picture of your IT infrastructure.

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New router malware puts porn into websites

A new router malware threat has been uncovered and it injects ads and porn into websites.

This router malware threat can hijack nearly every website for malicious purposes.  The router malware threat injects ads and porno into websites by modifying the compromised routers DNS settings.

This router malware intercepts the Google Analytics code on websites and redirects requests to the cyber criminal’s server that sends back ads and porn.  Many websites use Google Analytics for traffic statistics so this turns out to be the perfect target for this DNS attack.

The malware will inject ads and porn into almost every website a user browses to while the cyber criminals will sell ad spots and generate revenue.  As with most cybercrimes, this can be a very lucrative business based on the large number of routers that can be infected.

The malware gains access to routers by exploiting one simple principal, most people do not change their router’s default login credentials and that is a huge security breach.  This router malware threat will also attempt to send unauthenticated configuration requests to routers however the best safety here is to keep your router’s firmware up to date.

According to security experts, traditional anti-virus software will not pick up router-based malware since it is not installed on the computer which makes it difficult to remove.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto providing industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Is your network secure? We offer our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment.

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Premera Blue Cross hacked and medical information exposed

Premera Blue Cross hacked and the health insurer is the latest victim of a cyberattack and it may have exposed over 11 million personal records of medical data and financial information.

Premera immediately hired FireEye Inc. which is an industry leading security company that provides threat forensics and malware protection against threats. FireEye Inc. is working closely with the FBI to investigate the security breach.

The recent cyber-attack has affected Premera Blue Cross as well as Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions.

This cyber-attack is one of the largest breaches in the industry involving patient medical information.  According to the report, the attack began back in May 2014 and cybercriminals may have gained access to claims data, clinical information, banking account numbers, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other sensitive data.

About 6 million of the accounts that were hacked were residents of Washington state and employees of Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Starbucks. The remainder of the accounts are spread out across the United States and there is no indication of Canadian information being involved.

Cyber criminals go after medical records as they very valuable on underground criminal exchanges where stolen data is sold because the information is not only highly confidential, it can also be used to engage in insurance fraud.

According to Premera Blue Cross, they have stated that there is no evidence that any member data was “used inappropriately” to date.

The breach was discovered on January 29th, 2015 which is the same day that insurer Anthem Inc. disclosed a cyberattack involving records over 79 million members in Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across the United States.

Premera Blue Cross has stated that the two recent attacks are completely unrelated and that it has independently identified the breach.

With this recent cyberattack, you can expect other healthcare companies and insurance carriers to review their own IT infrastructure and test their network to uncover the possibly of possible intrusions.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto providing industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Is your network secure? We offer our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment.

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Premera Blue Cross hacked and medical information exposed

Premera Blue Cross hacked and the health insurer is the latest victim of a cyberattack and it may have exposed over 11 million personal records of medical data and financial information.

Premera immediately hired FireEye Inc. which is an industry leading security company that provides threat forensics and malware protection against threats. FireEye Inc. is working closely with the FBI to investigate the security breach.

The recent cyber-attack has affected Premera Blue Cross as well as Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions.

This cyber-attack is one of the largest breaches in the industry involving patient medical information.  According to the report, the attack began back in May 2014 and cybercriminals may have gained access to claims data, clinical information, banking account numbers, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other sensitive data.

About 6 million of the accounts that were hacked were residents of Washington state and employees of Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Starbucks. The remainder of the accounts are spread out across the United States and there is no indication of Canadian information being involved.

Cyber criminals go after medical records as they very valuable on underground criminal exchanges where stolen data is sold because the information is not only highly confidential, it can also be used to engage in insurance fraud.

According to Premera Blue Cross, they have stated that there is no evidence that any member data was “used inappropriately” to date.

The breach was discovered on January 29th, 2015 which is the same day that insurer Anthem Inc. disclosed a cyberattack involving records over 79 million members in Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across the United States.

Premera Blue Cross has stated that the two recent attacks are completely unrelated and that it has independently identified the breach.

With this recent cyberattack, you can expect other healthcare companies and insurance carriers to review their own IT infrastructure and test their network to uncover the possibly of possible intrusions.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto providing industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Is your network secure? We offer our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment.

 

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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Cisco IP Phones Are Vulnerable to Remote Eavesdropping

Does your company use Cisco IP Phones?  Well Cisco has issued a warning to all clients about several vulnerabilities in certain models of their phones.

Cisco has stated the Cisco SPA 300 and 500 Series IP phones can allow unauthenticated remote attacker to listen to the audio stream of an IP phone.

Cisco has confirmed the vulnerability is a real threat and they are working on a new firmware version to fix the threat.

According to Cisco, this vulnerability is due to improper authentication settings in the default configuration.  Cyber criminals exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted XML request to the Cisco SPA 300 or 500 Series IP phones.  Once executed, this exploit can allow the cyber criminals to listen to a remote audio stream or make phone calls remotely.

The vulnerability exists in version 7.5.5 of the firmware for the Cisco Small Business SPA 300 and SPA500 IP phones. There currently is no fix for this threat however Cisco is actively working on it.

Cisco has stated that to exploit this vulnerability, a cybercriminal “may” need access to the trusted internal network behind a firewall in order to send crafted XML requests however if your IP phones are not behind a firewall, your exposure has gone up significantly.

As with most threats, this threat has allowed the discovery of another threat which enables an XSS attack on Cisco IP phones.  The vulnerability in the web user interface of the Cisco Small Business SPA300 and SPA500 Series IP Phones could allow a remote attacker to execute a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto providing industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Is your network secure? We offer our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment.

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Cisco IP Phones Are Vulnerable to Remote Eavesdropping

Does your company use Cisco IP Phones?  Well Cisco has issued a warning to all clients about several vulnerabilities in certain models of their phones.

Cisco has stated the Cisco SPA 300 and 500 Series IP phones can allow unauthenticated remote attacker to listen to the audio stream of an IP phone.

Cisco has confirmed the vulnerability is a real threat and they are working on a new firmware version to fix the threat.

According to Cisco, this vulnerability is due to improper authentication settings in the default configuration.  Cyber criminals exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted XML request to the Cisco SPA 300 or 500 Series IP phones.  Once executed, this exploit can allow the cyber criminals to listen to a remote audio stream or make phone calls remotely.

The vulnerability exists in version 7.5.5 of the firmware for the Cisco Small Business SPA 300 and SPA500 IP phones. There currently is no fix for this threat however Cisco is actively working on it.

Cisco has stated that to exploit this vulnerability, a cybercriminal “may” need access to the trusted internal network behind a firewall in order to send crafted XML requests however if your IP phones are not behind a firewall, your exposure has gone up significantly.

As with most threats, this threat has allowed the discovery of another threat which enables an XSS attack on Cisco IP phones.  The vulnerability in the web user interface of the Cisco Small Business SPA300 and SPA500 Series IP Phones could allow a remote attacker to execute a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto providing industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT Support ServicesIT Outsourcing ServicesTech Support Services and Cloud Services.

Is your network secure? We offer our Complimentary Network and Security Assessment.