IT Voice

Author: seth

  • Know your IT risks

    Know your IT risks

    Whether you have your in-house IT team, or have outsourced your IT needs to be taken care of by a Managed Services Provider, you need to know what are the possible risks to your business from the IT perspective. Having an IT risk checklist can help you be better prepared for an IT emergency.

    Getting started

    In order to assess your IT risks, you need to first know your IT landscape. Answer questions like

    • What role is IT going to play in the success of your business
    • What areas is IT supporting your business in, currently
    • What new roles can you foresee for IT in improving your business efficiency
    • Do you have any new technology in mind that you want to implement in the next year
    • If you have your in-house IT team, what kind of staff structure do you see in the next year
    • If you are planning to expand your in-house IT team, how many team members will you need to bring onboard and what will be the cost associated with this decision
    • Would it be more effective and efficient to hire an MSP instead to supplement your in-house IT department
    • What is your IT budget for the year

    The checklist for your IT risks

    The next step would be to create a checklist of your IT risks. At this stage, you should be answering questions like
    • What IT risks are most relevant to you? For example, data privacy is a serious concern for a business operating in healthcare, while phishing can be a bigger concern for an accounting firm. Another angle to look into are environmental risks. For example, do you operate in a hurricane-prone area, or someplace prone to wildfires? Make a list of risks most relevant to you and assess the possibility of them happening to you. Such assessments will help you arrive at the key safety measures that you need to take, as a business, to keep your data safe.
    • In the worst case scenario, if your IT infrastructure were to fail, how long can you survive before it will be difficult for you to bounce back? Can your business operate without your key IT systems working? If not, how long can you afford to keep it shut?
    Whether you have your in-house IT team or rely on an MSP for your IT maintenance, this exercise will help you understand your key IT goals and the possible impediments to them, and help you survive in the event of an IT emergency.

  • How to manage cookies effectively so they are not a threat to your data

    How to manage cookies effectively so they are not a threat to your data

    Avoid third-party cookies: Third-party cookies are primarily used for online advertising and retargeting, so you won’t miss anything significant by avoiding these cookies. So, whenever you see a cookie alert on any site, first, check if it is for third-party cookies and if yes, it’s best to ‘Not accept cookies’. As a business, don’t allow third-party cookies on your site.

    Secure sites: Make sure the sites you visit are secure (HTTPS) and have a valid SSL(Secure Socket Layer) certificate. The SSL certificate ensures that any data that’s exchanged is encrypted, meaning even if the hackers get access to the cookies, the information will be garbled eliminating any data leakage. As a business, make sure your site is secure and has a valid SSL certificate.

    Anti-malware software and security patches: Install antimalware software programs on your computers and make sure they are up-to-date. Install security plug-ins and patches as soon as they are available, without delay. Do not use outdated software or operating systems for which support and security upgrades have been discontinued. Cybercrime modus operandi evolves at a rapid pace, an outdated cybersecurity setup will do you no good.

    Invest in a good password manager tool: One of the reasons people tend to store passwords and other sensitive information online–which involves use of cookies, is because they have a tough time remembering passwords. A good password management system provides you with a safe and secure alternative.

    Educate your staff: Train your staff to identify and steer clear of basic cybersecurity risks such as
    1. Phishing links
    2. Clone websites
    3. Using public Wi-Fi
    4. Poor password hygiene
    5. Unverified app downloads, etc. ,
    IT Policy: Establish a solid IT policy that spells out the dos and don’ts for your staff to follow in the office and also when accessing work data remotely.

    If all of this feels overwhelming on top of running a business, it makes good sense to bring an MSP onboard who can take care of not just the Cookie monster but also of your entire IT security setup.

  • Insider threats: Not as uncommon as you think

    Insider threats: Not as uncommon as you think

    When we speak of cybercrime and data theft, we typically think of seasoned cybercriminals. But you’d be surprised to know that the cause of businesses becoming victims of cybercrime is most often their own employees–sometimes on purpose, sometimes inadvertently. Remember Bob from accounting who was let go? Or the new intern who worked for 3 days and never showed up? Yep! They could engage in cybercrime activities to ‘get back at you’. Many businesses have been victims of cyberattacks brought on by disgruntled employees, both current and ex.

    No matter who attacks you virtually, whether it is a seasoned cybercriminal or an employee who is simply upset with the kind of coffee your office coffee machine makes, becoming a victim of cybercrime causes you a lot of damage. For starters it erodes the trust your customers have in your brand, it affects your brand negatively. If your data is held ransom, you have no choice, but to pay up the demanded amount of money, there may be legal/regulatory penalties to pay as well and then there are chances of lawsuits that you will have to settle. And, remember, your business won’t be running as usual during this time, resulting in a direct revenue loss as well. So, how do you prevent such internal threats? Here are a few tips.

    1. The first step is to recognize that your own staff can be a threat. Adopt a trust, but verify, approach and take the necessary steps in line with that attitude.
    2. Educate your staff about the dangers lurking online. This will prevent cases where your staff are inadvertently party to the crime. Sharing OTPs, passwords, use of unsecured Wifi networks, leaving devices unsecured, visiting suspicious sites, clicking on phishing links, opening dubious attachments, etc., are all examples of your employees accidentally opening the doors for a cybercriminal.
    3. Conduct sessions on corporate ethics, reinforcing what’s acceptable and what’s not. Also brief your staff on the consequences of unethical virtual behavior such as data theft, hacking or wilful compromise of your network and data security.
    4. Perform surprise audits to check if your IT policies are being adhered to. Take actions against staff found flouting the rules.
    5. Invest in cybersecurity systems such as firewalls, network monitoring tools that identify and alert you on abnormal IT activities, powerful anti-malware programs, role/permission based access management mechanisms.
    An MSP specializing in cyber security will be able to help you build a secure IT environment that takes into account all of these and more, so you don’t have to worry about threats to your data.

  • Ransomware and disaster recovery plans

     
     
    Ransomware and disaster recovery plans
     
    Disaster recovery is a basic element of good business continuity planning. Business continuity planning refers to the broad range of plans created so that a business–that includes contact centers–can continue to be operational no matter what negative event might occur. Business continuity planning addresses severe, catastrophic events, loss of the CEO, director, or other principals in the organization, severe natural disasters that incapacitate a physical location, etc. Disaster recovery planning is one piece of this broad planning. Specifically, disaster recovery plans refer to how to quickly recover from some event that compromises your IT infrastructure.
     
    In general, smaller centers–which often have no IT support staff – will utilize the services of a managed service provider to develop disaster recovery plans. One piece of your disaster recovery planning needs to address how the contact center can protect its data from a ransomware attack. Unike more well known viruses, ransomware doesn’t just access your data, it locks it down so it is unusable. The business model behind this approach is simple: they are betting you will have no segregated backups and will be willing to buy back access to your data.
     
    The only real defense against a ransomware attack is offensive. Just routinely making backups of your data may not necessarily protect it from being held hostage. Talk to your managed service provider about the design of your backups and how they are structured so you will always have a “clean” copy of your data. If you want to defeat the designers of ransomware, your only real solution is to have uninfected backups. As long as you have these, you can simply refuse to pay the ransom. In the case of this virus, offense is the only defense that will keep your business data safe.
     
    The most important thing you can do to make sure your data cannot be held ransom is strictly adhering to a regimen of backups. Routine backup your data. However, even backups may not be foolproof. If your data has been infected and you are unaware of it, or the backup is not segregated from your network, your backups may also be corrupted. Given the severe consequences of a ransomware attack to a contact center, consider having a security evaluation done by a managed service provider who will have the security expertise to advise you on the best backup protocols for your situation.

  • PROS AND CONS OF CLOUD PHONE SYSTEMS

    With the advent of cloud phone system technology, there has been much discussion about the pros and cons of cloud compared to traditional on-premise systems. Overall, many companies are switching to cloud-based technology in an effort to save money and improve reliability, but there are still some factors affecting the way cloud phone systems are being implemented today.

    COST

    In general, the cost of operating a cloud phone system month to month is less than the cost of on-premise phone systems (in some cases significantly less). This is because cloud-based systems have a set monthly subscription fee that stays level no matter how many calls you are making or where you are calling. This is a huge plus for businesses who have been paying extra for long distance phone calls by the minute. In addition, cloud-based systems are able to leverage a much larger system that supports hundreds of clients, whereas traditional phones required their own land lines and maintenance – a large up-front expense. If you already have compatible IP phones from previous purchases, you may have almost no upfront cost to move to the cloud. Even if you don’t, the upfront costs are usually half that of a traditional system.

    FLEXIBILITY

    Another major bonus of using a cloud phone system is the amount of flexibility you have. Not only can you add and subtract devices from your system with ease, but you can also move devices between locations without a problem. Instead of being tied to one physical land line that is assigned to you, your device is now capable of connecting anywhere you have an internet connection. These systems are particularly useful for companies that operate in multiple office locations or those who have team members who are in the field and traveling frequently.

    MAINTENANCE

    In terms of maintaining system hardware, cloud-based systems have a clear win here. Since the majority of the equipment is housed at the service provider’s location instead of at your site, you will have far less to worry about when it comes to maintaining your phone system. Where traditional phone systems required routine maintenance of devices and lines to ensure quality connections, cloud-based systems require minimal work on your end.

    RELIABILITY

    In general, cloud phone system technology has proven itself reliable and sustainable for many businesses. Unfortunately, areas that do not currently have strong or reliable internet infrastructure available have had difficulty implementing cloud phone systems successfully. Others who have good internet but share the internet with other applications (such as web browsing) have also seen issues when there is not enough bandwidth to cover the total need. Dropped calls and other interference caused by spotty or over-utilized internet have been a problem. While there are firewalls that can protect voice traffic, there is no immediate for many location-based problems until internet providers find ways to offer better services in hard-to-reach areas.
    As cloud phone system technology continues to grow in popularity, it will be easier to get great deals on IP phones and other necessary equipment. For the most part, cloud-based systems excel when it comes to cost-friendliness, ease of maintenance, and flexibility. Their major struggle is the internet providers who are unable to provide adequate service to all areas equally. Over time even this will be less of an issue, and cloud-based systems will be the new standard in business phones.

  • IT Red Flags to Watch Out For

    IT Red Flags to Watch Out For

    As someone running a SMB, you probably have a lot on your plate. You are the core decision maker, responsible for growing your business, keeping your clients happy and getting all the working done. Often, when you have so much going on, one area that gets overlooked is IT. When you are so busy looking into other things, the start of IT issues may slip your watchful eyes. In this blog, we discuss the IT red flags that you need to watch out for.

    Adware ambush

    This happens generally when your internet browser has been hijacked and an adware has been sneaked into your system. When you try to surf the net using a hijacked browser, you will find online ads popping up everywhere. And by that we don’t mean the few sponsored search results or a couple of ads that show up when you browse a site. We are talking about ads showing up just about everywhere on your browser. Even a simple link click will take you to an unintended page. It is so evident, you just cannot miss identifying an adware ambush!

    Strange pop-ups

    Much like the Adware ambush, strange pop-ups show up when you least expect them. For example, you may be trying to open a presentation or a document and a series of pop-up windows will appear before you are allowed access to the file. Watch out for these, as they indicate the presence of a malware in your system.

    Spam/Fake emails

    If, all of a sudden, you see a lot of spam emails being sent from your/your staff’s official email IDs, there may be a worm at work. Often email worms enter the IT system through the download of one infected file and then replicate themselves across the network via email. Worms do this by penetrating the victim’s email security and spread itself across all of the victim’s email contact list through automated emails that look as if they were actually sent by the victim. So, is Sam from Accounting sending you a lot of junk emails? Probably time to get his PC checked.

    A lot of what used to work before is now broken

    We all have minor software and hardware issues here and there. But, if all of a sudden, a lot of stuff that used to be up and running seems to be broken, it screams “Red alert”! It could mean that the malware is slowly taking over your IT system, one program at a time.

    Bottomline–Surprises are good, but not so much in IT. If you find anything amiss, anything different, like a machine that suddenly slowed down, or a program that just doesn’t work anymore or a new plug-in added to your browser or a new homepage, it’s better to take a deeper look and arrest the problem before it spreads elsewhere wreaking havoc through your IT network.

  • The contact center and omni-channel communications



    The contact center and omni-channel communications
     
    We’ve talked in other blogs about the value of contact centers over traditional, one –  dimensional call centers, but we haven’t talked yet about the need for contact centers to be designed on the omni-channel model. This blog explains what omni-channel means and why this is a critical part of the contact center design.
     
    Omni-channel refers to a specific model of multi-channel communications. We already know a contact center makes use of many different modes of communications in order to best meet all of your customers wherever they choose to be. But we haven’t talked about the fact that contact centers need to be omni-channel. In the omni-channel model, all of the channels are integrated.  The idea here is to allow for cross channel “communication” so that the information and customer data that is accumulated on one channel is immediately communicated to all the other extant channels. The goal: whenever a customer connects on any touchpoint, they pick up right where they left off at the last interaction. Ideally, the channels could be used simultaneously – for example, speaking to a service rep on the phone to make a change to an order while watching on a website order page the change being made in real-time.
     
    Why is this omni-channel aspect so critical to the success of a contact center? The answer is that customers have come to expect that this will happen. It isn’t enough to be able to communicate with customers on many different, separated channels. That only partially meets today’s expectations. To be very practical, there isn’t much value to being able to use several channels to communicate if the information you provide then resides in separate silos, depending on what data you provided on which channel. Without the omni-channel aspect, you are leaving the customer open to being unsure of their status. For instance, take this very simple example. If I place an order by phone, I immediately receive an email that the order has been placed, yet go to the website an hour later and find no information about the order, I’m going to feel pretty frustrated and unsure of my order. And as we know, a frustrated customer is unlikely to be a repeat customer. To conclude, it is important to be aware that a successful contact center has to be built on the omni-channel model. Multiple siloed channels aren’t much use to anyone.

  • PHONE TECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESS: IS A VIRTUAL PHONE SYSTEM RIGHT FOR YOU?


    Hands down, the most important factor in deciding between phone technology for business is the type of equipment you already have. Despite what you may think, the functionality of virtual phone systems and cloud-based systems is strikingly similar, but the costs are vastly different. When it comes time for you to make a decision, here is what you need to know.

    What You Need

    The major difference between a virtual phone system and a cloud-based system is the location of the hardware. With a cloud based system, a third party provider holds all of the servers where your software is installed, and you access it remotely via the internet. In a virtual phone system, the servers hosting your phone software are local to your office. The software itself is largely unchanged, but you are now responsible for maintaining the hardware on your own.
    What It Costs

    What It Costs

    Typically, the setup of a virtual phone system requires the purchase of the server hardware up front, as well as the software license. By contrast, a cloud-based system usually includes a monthly rental and service subscription, but minimal up front costs. If you are a small business looking to upgrade from an on-premise or land line system, the cost of purchasing the hardware can be quite prohibitive while the cloud option is more affordable. On the other hand, if you are a business that already has some server space available, you can take advantage of the hardware you already have to host your phone system. This brings the cost of a virtual phone system way down compared to other phone technology for business and may make it more affordable than paying a monthly fee for use of a cloud server.

    Reliability

    If you’re still on the fence about whether a virtual phone system is right for you, it’s important to understand what you do gain from the virtual system. Since the hardware and software are local, your phone system is less likely to experience outages caused by Internet issues. This is a common problem that is not covered by the cloud provider since it is usually the fault of the intermediary Internet provider. If your business requires a high level of reliability at all times, the extra money to buy your own servers for a virtual phone system could be well worth the investment. This is especially true if you can’t guarantee the quality of Internet service you will get.


    Phone technology for business has come a long way. While many people are moving to the cloud today, virtual phone systems remain an important piece of company communications strategies across the nation. Depending on the equipment you already have available to you, the cost of a virtual phone system can vary greatly from case to case. If you do choose a virtual phone system, you can be assured a higher level of reliability all around.



  • How the cloud is a solid survival tool for your business during a crisis

    How the cloud is a solid survival tool for your business during a crisis

    One thing the Coronavirus pandemic taught businesses is the fact that it is important to move with the times and adopt and adapt to the latest technology. While you don’t have to be the first one in the market to invest in the newest technology, once its effectiveness and usefulness is proven, it does make sense to switch to it. Here’s how the cloud allowed businesses to overcome the challenges posed by having to suddenly switch to the remote operations model.

    Challenge-1: Access to critical data and applications

    This could have been easily resolved by migrating to the cloud. The cloud offers unparalleled connectivity to your data—from anywhere and at any time, with any internet-enabled device.

    Challenge-2: Data safety, cybersecurity concerns

    The cloud provides solutions to data safety and cybersecurity challenges as well, as data stored in the cloud is naturally much safer and difficult to break into than data stored on your employee’s home computer. The cloud offers multiple layers of security, including some from your cloud service provider.

    Challenge-3: Data loss

    With the cloud, businesses wouldn’t have to worry about losing data, as it wouldn’t be stored on their employee’s personal computer, but at a centralized location in the cloud.

    Challenge-4: Hardware issues

    The cloud rendered any hardware issues non-existent, as the employee’s personal devices were just gateways to access their work stored in the Cloud. They needed devices that met the basic specifications, and the rest of the work was happening online, without additional load on personal devices.

    Challenge-5: Phones

    Businesses that had adopted the VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) were able to overcome this challenge easily. VoIP allows you to communicate by sending voice as data packets using the internet. The VoIP system is primarily software-based and can be accessed from anywhere, using an application that your VoIP provider offers. (Physical instruments are optional). This meant, companies with VoIP systems could keep their office phone numbers responsive even when their staff were working from home.

    While these technologies can help a great deal to maintain business continuity, you will need the assistance of a reputable MSP to deploy them and also to ensure they are functioning as they are supposed to. Plus, there are always other security concerns that crop up in a remote working environment when you can’t monitor your staff’s IT activities. Your MSP will be able to offer solutions and control mechanisms that can help put those concerns to rest.

  • What is the Cloud: A Simple Analogy

     
     
    What is the Cloud: A Simple Analogy
     
    You use the cloud and don’t even know it. Do you go to Amazon and create a wishlist? Do you have an email account on Yahoo? That is cloud computing. All your emails are stored on Yahoo servers somewhere. They are on physical servers, of course, but they aren’t on your laptop. The advantage is that when you spill your coffee onto the laptop keyboard, you haven’t lost all your emails even if you never backed up your hard drive. (If you haven’t, shame on you, by the way.)
     
    Here is a simple analogy to explain how the cloud works and why it might be a very useful part of your business model. Picture the small, very cramped office space of a little start-up. You and a few coworkers sit in tight quarters with messy desktops buried in mounds of papers, files, and pizza boxes. There is absolutely no room for storage. (Throw the boxes out yourself. There are limits even to cloud technology) It will be a long time until you can afford a larger office space. Your building manager offers to rent you an empty file cabinet in the basement. Although the basement space is shared with other tenants, only you and your team have keys to this locked cabinet where you will store all those piles of paper. Your rent is relatively cheap compared to other tenants, since you’re only paying for the cabinet, and not the larger lockers they have leased.
     
    Suddenly, those once covered desktops are clean, leaving space to work. More importantly, the papers are all nearby, each of you has a key, but they are safe from everyone else in the building or outside. They are also safe from spilled coffee and pizza crumbs. You’ve avoided the dramatic jump in fixed costs required to find bigger office space, when all you needed were several feet of filing cabinets. Even better, the money saved is put back into the core goal of providing a product or service to a customer.
     
    The cloud does the same thing. You rent only the space you need, it is safer from hackers than your on-site server will ever be, secure from thieves, and protected from accident-prone employees. Unlike the rest of us, cloud service providers don’t have coffee cups near their keyboards or forget to do monthly backups. In short, the cloud provides scalable storage without large incremental leaps in fixed costs you really can’t afford.