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4 Key Points When Selecting a Managed IT Services Providers (MSP)

Are you selecting a Managed IT Services Providers (MSP)?  Managed IT Services Providers (MSP) are your business partners as they are a vital role in all aspects of business operations and productivity.  With technology pushing cloud services and applications forward, businesses are eager to leverage technology to drive growth and productivity.

Business leaders leverage virtual technologies to remain competitive plus they are not in the business of managing their IT infrastructure including IT Support Head Desk, IT integration and disaster recovery.

By selecting a Managed IT Services Providers (MSP), this is a critical business decision that will help your organization succeed.  Businesses must ensure their Managed IT Services provider (MSP) is using the latest technology including industry leading tools such as Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Software to navigate the sophisticated and rigorous regulatory and PCI compliance issues involved in working with financial, health, or personal customer data.

Headlines are full of security breaches and security is becoming a bigger challenge for IT professionals.

Here are four key points to consider when Selecting a Managed IT Services Providers (MSP).

 

1. Comprehensive Technology

Businesses should ensure the IT support services provider they select has a wide range of tools to meet their current needs but also scalability to allow for growth as the business leverages cloud and virtual technology to develop new products and services.

A Managed IT Services Providers (MSP) offers proactive IT infrastructure maintenance and IT support.  Since they cover your entire IT infrastructure, they will handle everything including IT infrastructure, local and cloud storage, application management and much more.  All this is backed by a service level agreement (SLA).

 

2. Industry Best Practices

When selecting a Managed IT Services Providers (MSP), you should look at whether they are able to maintain and grow your IT infrastructure according to business goals and technology needs while maintaining industry best practices.

A Managed IT Services Providers (MSP) should ensure seamless migration for clients by taking existing infrastructure and applying the latest technology to it to increase network uptime and security.

 

3. Customer Service

Businesses should select a Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) with a commitment to their clients. Ensure you have a dedicated account manager who serves as a single point of contact.  This will provide quick support and escalation if required.

Your Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) has to be your leader in technology.  You should select an IT partner with fast, responsive and effective trouble shooting capabilities.  Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) should available to address problems around the clock.

 

4.Security

A Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) must have a proven track record in securing client networks.  Your IT partner will allow you the flexibility to architect and design its infrastructure with security and disaster recovery elements across data centres and geographies.

With a robust infrastructure, your Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) must embed security into every aspect of your IT infrastructure including implementing proactive intrusion detection.  The Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) technical team should continuously monitor threats and ensure the security infrastructure is being optimised both physically and virtually redundancy at every level.

 

Successful companies know how to manage productivity in today’s complex environment.  It is critical that businesses select a Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) with a comprehensive suite of technologies.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Canada Revenue Agency Launched Tax App for Businesses

Attention business owners and accounting professionals, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has launched a new mobile application for Apple iOS, Google Android and BlackBerry.  This applications will allow business owners to manage their tax management including the creation of alerts for payments, returns and remittances.

Canada Revenue Agency Launched Tax App for Businesses and this is how it will help.

Taxes are a major concern for business owners however the Canada Revenue Agency is turning to technology to make tax management easier.  The application was introduce by Minister of National Revenue Kerry-Lynne Findlay in Vancouver.  This is a first for Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and free.  It is available at the CRA website and app stores.

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) specifically developed the app for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with annual revenues less than $20 million and fewer than 500 employees.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Windows 9 Coming Soon – Release Date and Feature

Recently, Microsoft has announced several deadlines for their products including Server 2003 and Windows 7. In addition, Microsoft was not entirely successfully with Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

According to industry experts, Microsoft is still has a long way to go to produce a unified operating system to cover workstation, laptops, tablets and smart devices.    They also report that Microsoft main goal is to collapse the number of platforms to one.  Windows 9 could be the answer.

Here is a list of some features in the upcoming Windows 9 operating system:

  • Windows 9 will allow expand on Cortana. Watch out Siri.
  • Windows 9 Start Menu. That’s right, its back.
  • Windows 9 will be smaller and offer many more apps.
  • Windows 9 will work nicely with the cloud.
  • Windows 9 will have advanced power management.
  • Windows 9 will work with gestures and experiences.

 

What does Windows 9 mean to your IT staff, IT Support Services and Managed IT Services providers?

Simple.  IT staff worldwide will have a companywide uniform IT infrastructure to monitor and maintain.  When working with the same operating system on all workstations, notebooks, laptops, tablets and smart devices, this will give IT staff worldwide to increase security, uptime and productivity.

Currently, we can expect to see Windows 9 in a preview build by the end of September.   Rumors have suggested a release date of late 2014 or early 2015.

 

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Microsoft Announces Windows 7 Deadline

In an endless list of announcements, Microsoft has now announced the end of mainstream support for Windows 7.  Microsoft is using fast software release cycles which in turn affects product lifecycle support polices.

For many IT Support Services professionals, the industry norm is to work with a new Windows operating system release every three years.  As part of most managed IT services programs, proactive service pack installation have helped maintain and secure operating systems along the way.

As of January 13, 2015, Microsoft announced it will stop mainstream support for Windows 7.  The unfortunate part is most operating systems have seen two services packs per release but Windows 7 is the only operating system to get just one service pack.  Microsoft should support Windows 7 with another service pack however it is not happening and mainstream support ends.  Microsoft has supported Windows 7 for six years when the deadline hits.

So how will the Windows 7 deadline?

No more free incident support or warranty claims and no longer design changes and feature requests. There will be no more non-security hotfixes unless your organization signs an extended hotfix agreement within 90 days of the end of the support deadline.  This will be an issue for consumers or businesses without IT staff or a Managed IT Services provider (MSP).

Good news is Extended Support will be available until January 14, 2020.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Hacked Gmail on Smartphones

With an incredible 92% success rate, US researchers have hacked Gmail accounts.

By exploiting a weakness in smartphone memory, the researchers disguised malicious software as a downloaded app and they were able to gain access to a number of other apps including Gmail.

The researchers performed this test on many popular apps however Gmail was among the easiest to access on an Android phone but the researchers believe it could work on all smartphones.

So what was the hardest? The Amazon app with a 48% success rate.

The US researchers hacking method involved accessing the shared memory of a smartphone using malicious software disguised as an app or wallpaper.  This shared memory is used by all apps and the hack would analyze it which would tell them how a user was logging into apps such as Gmail.  This would provide them with login details and passwords.

All tests were carried out on Android phones however researchers believe the attacks could be successful on Windows and Apple phones because their apps use shared data in the same way.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Legacy Technology Killing Your Organization?

It is common knowledge that technology is an integral part of businesses in today and many have invested into technologies to increase productivity and competitiveness however now IT professionals and IT departments have a serious new issue to deal with, innovation blocked by legacy IT systems.

Companies have been facing an increase in consumer and market demand while IT departments and IT budgets have been facing budgetary limitations.  Legacy IT systems are limiting many organizations ability to be competitive in today’s marketplace.

If properly planned and approached, Managed IT Services Providers (MSPs) can reduce risk, reduce downtime and implement the latest technology to make your company competitive again.

 

How is legacy IT technology a problem? Simple.

Technology is constantly evolving.  Legacy systems cannot keep up with today’s demands and it is becoming a major challenge for many organizations.  The unfortunate part is that many business owners and senior executives believe that their legacy systems are up to the demands of today.

Many legacy systems are complex, slow and full of complicated processes.  Also, many legacy systems are poorly documented causing more issues when trying to maintain or manage.  This is a major issue for businesses, IT budgets and to stay competitive.

New companies have the luxury to start with the latest technology therefore making them competitive, established businesses are using older technology tied to legacy technology.

How to manage legacy IT technology? Simple.

No matter what fears or restrains a business may face, legacy IT systems must updated or face extinction as demand on your legacy IT system fails.  Here are some steps to updating corporate legacy IT infrastructure.

  1. Project Team – Organizations must identify who needs to be involved in the upgrade planning process.  Times have changed, processes have increased and the demands are different.  Survey your staff in what they think is beneficial and what are your corporate goals.
  2. Corporate Goals – Employees need to understand what is happening and why it is important.  A guideline of the upgrade process and management process to the entire company.  You may also need to educate employees on the new systems and processes however outsourced IT providers or Managed IT Services providers (MSP) will usually handle this for you.
  3. Research – Invest in the best products for your business. There are many industry specific software and hardware in the market place.  Contracts with third party suppliers should be clear regarding services to be delivered, timeline, level of application quality and identified risks.
  4. Consultants – You still have a business to run so you may look at third party IT consultants to help your company.  There are many different IT consultants in the Toronto area and many of them offer several other services such as Managed IT Services, IT Outsourcing, IT Support Services and Cloud Services.  Interview many IT consulting companies, check client and project references.  This is a big decision so you might as well get off on the right foot.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Update is Crippling Systems with BSOD

As Toronto’s leading Managed IT Services and IT consulting firm, we are proactively maintaining our networks however a recent Microsoft update is causing some trouble.

There have been some issues since the patch was rolled out.  Many IT professionals have been reporting that they have discovered that four individual updates are causing random BSoD issues for its users.  The KB2982791 kernel-mode driver is the biggest culprit. Dues to the severity of this issue, Microsoft is recommending that anyone who updated their system go and uninstall a couple of the specific updates, or rollback using Windows Restore.

Here is a list of updates that should be uninstalled from you system

  • 2982791 MS14-045: Description of the security update for kernel-mode drivers: August 12, 2014
  • 2970228 Update to support the new currency symbol for the Russian ruble in Windows
  • 2975719 August 2014 update rollup for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2
  • 2975331 August 2014 update rollup for Windows RT, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012

The uninstall process is a simple but done at your own risk.  You can simply uninstall the updates as any other program or application in Windows.  There is one additional step, in the “Programs and Features” section, you have to click on “View installed updates” on the left.  Microsoft recommends that you uninstall 2982791 however you may wish to uninstall the others as well, just in case.

Microsoft is still investigating what went wrong with the update and they have pulled the download known as Update 2 from its website and it has also been removed from Windows Update.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is Toronto’s leading iT consulting firm offering industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT SupportIT OutsourcingRemote IT SupportCloud Services and VoIP services.

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Malware Targeting Virtual Machines

Recently Symantec has released a whitepaper called “Threats to Virtual Machines”.  Symantec has shown that there is an increasing presence of malware attacking virtual machines.

According Symantec’s whitepaper, approximately 18% of the samples studied tried to detect the presence of VMware virtual machines.  There were peaks at 28% in January 2014 before dropping back down to approximately 20% in February 2014.

This is a threat to companies running Virtual Machines (VMs) as some malware may try to infiltrate the host servers on which the Virtual Machines (VMs). It’s a particularly sticky problem given the emerging popularity of Virtual Machines (VMs) over the past several years.  An interesting point is that over 70% of businesses plan to implement server virtualization within 12 months.

Some malware may avoid detection which may allow bad code to infiltrate a Virtual Machines (VMs).  Another study last year showed that 40% of businesses experienced data loss after storing their data in virtual environments.

 

So how do Managed IT Services providers protect your business?

  • As leaders in the industry, true Managed IT Service and IT Support Services providers acknowledge there is a threat to Virtual Machine (VMs) and approach this layer of IT with the same security focus as they apply to physical hardware.

 

  • Managed IT Services (MSPs) proactively maintain your IT infrastructure and apply security practices to maintain your network to industry best practices.

 

  • As part of your corporate Disaster Recovery Strategy, your IT consulting partner will develop a virtual data protection strategy to ensure that if a Virtual Machine (VM) is compromised, you have a clean backup to recover your business virtual data.

 

365 iT SOLUTIONS is Toronto’s leading iT consulting firm offering industry leading Managed IT ServicesIT SupportIT OutsourcingRemote IT SupportCloud Services and VoIP services.

Click 365itSolutions.ca and our take advantage of Complimentary Network and Security Assessment.

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Get a Free $25 iTunes Gift Card from Apple TV

Great news for anyone considering Apple TV.  Apple has just announced that they are giving away a free $25 iTunes gift card with each Apple TV purchase.

Apple is giving away a free iTunes gift card to those who purchase an Apple TV between now and Sept. 30 Apple is preparing to release a new software update for Apple TV this fall that will make it look more like iOS.

To view the promotion regarding the iTunes gift card, please visit the Apple Online store.

365 iT SOLUTIONS is a leading IT consulting firm in Toronto. We provide industry leading 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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Industry Insights IT Solutions Managed IT Services

Google Gmail Crack Down on Phishing

With so much spam out there, Google Gmail is stepping up its effort to stop spammers.  Google rejects emails that include restricted character combinations.

Google has introduced a tool to block spammers to getting to a Gmail accounts users box.  Google announced that it was adding spam filtering support to its email platform in an effort to stop scammers from sending misleading or phishing messages.

 

So how the newly introduced Google Gmail Spam filters work against Phishing?

The new filters deal letter that look similar from the Unicode Consortium.  This may allow spammers to fool people as many companies, apps and websites use Unicode standard icons so that characters work across platforms however some characters look identical such as the Latin and Cyrillic lowercase “a.”

 

Here is an example of how the filters help reduce spam:

Spammers and scammers exploit the “0”, “૦”, and “ο” as they look nearly identical to the letter “o”.

Now scammers can mix and match the character and attack unsuspecting victims.  Think about it as they can create some of the following emails such as “Sh0ppingSite” vs. “ShoppingSite” or even “MyBank” vs. “MyBɑnk”.  The combinations our countless.

 

Google is taking a firm position on this and claims that its new filters will block these combinations included in emails sent to Gmail users.  Google has now put the Unicode Consortium lists on a highly restricted status.

 

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

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