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Outsourcing: an overview

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Outsourcing: an overview Outsourcing today simply involves using external entities to handle specific, specialized business functions so that organizations can focus on their core competencies. The idea of seeking outside support for areas that are not core to a business is many decades old. However, seeking support from external providers can make a lot of sense, especially in fields that involve considerable complexity. One example, as human resources becomes increasingly complex practice, especially in areas that involve often complex and arcane laws such as benefits and employment law, many smaller companies are increasingly outsourcing some or all of their HR tasks. IT is another example. Like human resources, IT covers a wide range of specialties, for which no one or two individuals can possibly hope to be fully versed in. As the CEO of a small- to medium-sized firm, or perhaps a line manager, why should you consider outsourcing all or part of the IT function? One immediate rea
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Can you do this at home?

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Can you do this at home? Outsourcing HR, real estate portfolio management, tax audits, etc is fairly common nowadays. This whitepaper discusses another function which, when outsourced, can bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to your business’s overall functioning--IT. IT is one of the core functions of any business. There’s no aspect of a business that is untouched by IT. Outsourcing IT is a big decision and it is not surprising that many organizations choose to manage their IT in-house rather than relying on outsourcing. However, outsourcing your IT to a managed service provider offers numerous benefits. Availability Depending on your service level agreement with the MSP, you get access to an IT team 24/7 when you bring a managed service provider on board. With your in-house IT team there will be days when some of them may be on a vacation or an unexpected day off. You also probably cannot justify 24/7 internal IT support, even though your IT needs to run 24/7. All of these cha
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MSPs save money And you get stuff that matters

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MSPs save money. And you get stuff that matters. Outsourcing has become a fairly common element in business processes today. What started off as a means to cut business costs and take advantage of cheaper resources based offshore has now become an essential part of running a business today. (Its definition doesn’t necessarily include offshore outsourcing, of course) This blog looks at two additional areas where IT outsourcing can dramatically improve revenues. In particular, outsourcing can avoid high-fixed costs when you are trying to meet peak demand periods or have 24/7 coverage available. Cost benefits Having an MSP manage your IT infrastructure completely offers tremendous cost savings vis-a-vis having an in-house IT team. When you have FT IT professionals on your payroll, you incur many other HR and training-related costs that come with employing full-time staff. These may include 401(k) expenses, health insurance, paid time-off, etc., which can be avoided by outsourcing your IT
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Quality matters: Get the best

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Quality matters: Get the best IT is one of the core functions of any business. There’s no aspect of a business that is untouched by IT. Outsourcing IT is a big decision and it is not surprising that many organizations choose to manage their IT in-house rather than relying on outsourcing. However, outsourcing your IT to a managed service provider offers numerous benefits. Here are two areas where outsourcing at least some of your IT can be especially beneficial. Expertise The first and foremost benefit of outsourcing your IT to a reputed MSP is the expertise they bring into the process of managing your IT infrastructure. As we discussed before, outsourcing is all about leveraging the expertise of another organization that specializes in something that is not your core competency. Managed service providers are experts in IT and will be able to manage your IT infrastructure more efficiently. Sure, you could hire IT experts and make them a part of your in-house IT team, but that would be e
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Train your staff: Your first and best firewall

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Train your staff: Your first and best firewall Protecting your organization against cyber threats can seem like a challenge that involves extremely high-tech wizardry, sophisticated knowledge etc.. Much of this is true. Protecting your data and your company against cyber threats requires skilled professionals. But that isn't only what is needed. The first line of defense in data security is everyday common sense and diligence on the part of everyone who works in your organization. Some thoughts . . . The first challenge in beefing up your data security is creating awareness among all of your employees that they really do have a serious role in data security. Many of the ways they can protect your data are simple, but until they are aware that they may represent a threat to data integrity they won’t take their role in protecting your company seriously. Provide training that both explains that their actions may unknowingly create problems, and then review what they can do to avoid
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Three best practices to protect your data

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Three best practices to protect your data. While malware and phishing attacks have evolved over time and are constantly becoming more and more sophisticated, there are ways to protect your data from them. Here are two best practices to observe no matter the size of IT infrastructure needed in your company or organization to follow that can help safeguard your business. Install a strong firewall A firewall can help prevent unauthorized access to your network by monitoring access attempts and allowing or rejecting them. Firewalls are flexible in the sense that you can choose how stringent or lenient you want it to be in terms of limiting access. There are different kinds of firewalls, each serving a particular purpose and offering different protection levels. An MSP with deep experience with these technologies, as well as your specific industry, can be an excellent resource. Firewalls basically work to block unauthorized traffic to your network based on various factors including IP addr
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Ransomware vs other malware attacks

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Ransomware vs. other malware attacks There is no end to the volume and type of malware out there in cyberspace. For a very long time, organizations were aware that viruses could attack their data, render it corrupted and unusable. They were also aware that malware was used to steal data and use it for–primarily–monetary gain. Sell off banks of credit card numbers, steal identities, re-sell Social Security numbers, etc. Phishing, as we talked about in an earlier blog, is a set of tricks to get access to personal information and probably even to your IT network by stealing access credentials, but that’s not the only way. Cybercriminals also deploy various malware such as viruses, worms and trojan horses to attack IT networks. These malware usually gain entry into the system disguised as genuine email attachments, links to file downloads, etc. and then corrupt the data. If it is a case of a virus whose sole intent is criminal mischief, your surest protection are consistent and frequent b
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