Tag: backup

How an IT Support Provider in Irvine Can Help Build a Storage Backup Plan for Your Business

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How an IT Support Provider in Irvine Can Help Build a Storage Backup Plan for Your Business

Businesses today churn out more and more gigabytes of data each day. It is absolutely vital that a business should have a backup storage plan in case a storage disaster strikes hard. Loss of valuable data could have a lasting negative impact on the financial health of your business. An IT support provider in Irvine can help you develop a solid storage backup plan to overcome a future catastrophe.

Why Businesses Need a Storage Backup Plan

There are a lot of ways that data loss can occur. Events like hardware failure, a malicious software attack, natural disasters, and human error are some common causes for loss of data. For small businesses, though, their ubiquitous use of computers hasn’t caught up with backup and storage strategies. Many small businesses consider backup plans to be too expensive or time-consuming, ignoring it altogether.

It is important for businesses to devise an effective storage strategy to ensure that files are recoverable should a loss occur. A majority of small businesses are unaware of data loss risks or simply do not understand how to better manage their data. Almost half of small business owners underestimate the impact that loss of data could have on their business and do not have a recovery plan just in case.

Data loss can cause a major inconvenience that disrupts the daily productivity of your employees setting back your timelines. It could potentially lead to loss of trust from customers if their private data is exposed to hackers and other third parties just because vital pieces of information was lost after a storage disaster. Also, your business will incur the costs of trying to recover the data, spending time and resources to recover these files.

IT Assistance for Data Recovery

Data recovery processes can be complex and often require that you seek the help of an IT support group in Irvine. IT support professionals are dedicated to helping you recover vital data and records and save you from a complete disaster. Whether it’s due to human error, a complete burn down of the building or theft, IT professionals with the technology and tools can help restore your data.

While most SMBs still use traditional backup methods such as USB drives and blank CDs, these are still vulnerable to damage. Cloud-based backup solutions provide better data security at a fraction of the cost. Businesses can opt for encrypted cloud storage which adds a security layer that cannot be hacked into or compromised by malicious software.

Choosing a robust backup strategy will give you peace of mind knowing that you can recover your data whenever you need. An IT support provider in Irvine can help your business achieve optimum data security by providing cloud-based storage solutions with data recovery tools. Contact us now at Advanced Networks for more information.

Backup and Data Recovery: Integral Operational Supports to Acquire from IT Support in Santa Ana

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Backup and Data Recovery: Integral Operational Supports to Acquire from IT Support in Santa Ana

IT support Santa Ana

IT support in Santa Ana through the right provider can help you apply comprehensive BDR (Backup and Data Recovery). These concepts aren’t synonymous, but they are complementary. You need backup solutions so that you can recover in the event of an emergency. Data recovery itself needs to be facilitated through previously-defined protocols designed to expedite your normal operational egress.

Certainly, it’s possible to produce BDR solutions internally; but this is going to be more expensive if you’re going to do the job right. Expenses will compound the larger your business is. Ideally, there’s something called the 3-2-1 rule which you want to apply to your security solutions. There should be at least three copies of your data on at least two separate mediums, and one of the redundant copies you make should be located off-site. If you’re operating BDR through an entirely internalized campaign, that will require a backup server array on-site, a backup server array off-site, and some tertiary backup solution like select information on portable hard drives or cloud computing.

Managed BDR

Cloud computing brings businesses into outsourced territory, however. IT support in Santa Ana can provide public, private, and hybrid cloud computing options, depending on the needs of your business. Through the cloud, you can do something called database mirroring. Basically, whenever you update your system, this is saved on the cloud in more than one place. If your primary network becomes compromised, your secondary network can be activated with utmost expedience, reducing downtime and allowing operations to continue while the issue that undermined your primary network is addressed.

Especially if you’re a smaller business, MSP-facilitated BDR can be very cost-effective and comprehensive. You can use more than one cloud if you’d like in order to diversify your backups and additionally keep one backup on an internal server solution. There are quite a few different ways you can construct your BDR. A high degree of individualization is possible.

Some Pragmatic Considerations

The reality is— there’s no way to tell when disaster will strike. Whether that disaster involves something which physically affects the location of your business or which compromises digital assets, you’re likely to experience some form of incursion throughout the run of your operation. Planning for this and protecting yourself against these things in advance is eminently recommendable.

IT support in Santa Ana through Advanced Networks can help you design a BDR solution which fits your business like a glove and allows you to operate in a more sustainable and reliable way. Contact us now to see which BDR options are the best fit for your business.

IT Consulting in Los Angeles: 5 Cybersecurity Tips for Small Businesses

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Almost any company today depends on IT for some of its commercial operations. With so much dependency on IT and computer networking, even small businesses now have to be wary of security threats. However, there’s a way you can do to fortify the security of your business. Here are 5 cybersecurity tips from IT consulting firms in Los Angeles to help strengthen your cyber defenses:

1. Backups

The foundation of security against both cyber attacks and disasters is the backup. Data you don’t backup is data you don’t want. Consider the data used in your company. If you lost that data, would it cost your business in terms of time or money? If so, you had better back it up.

In fact, the cost of storage has fallen so much that for most companies, and especially for small businesses, buying the storage you need should not be a cost issue.

Remember, however, that local backups may be lost if you suffer a disaster such as fire or flood. Therefore, you need to have a backup strategy that includes both local (accessible faster and more easily) backups and offsite backups that are safe from disasters at the site.

2. Password Strength

Poor password practices cost businesses a lot of money. For greater password strength, use long passwords and include a variety of characters such as numbers and symbols, as well as both uppercase and lowercase letters. Don’t tolerate stale passwords. Change passwords on a regular basis, at least every three months. Do not share passwords.

3. Antivirus and Malware Software

Ensure your business computers and network are safe by using antivirus programs and malware tools. These are not a “fit and forget” solution. The malware and virus definitions need to be updated regularly, and the programs themselves must be kept up-to-date.

4. Operating Systems

New weaknesses and exploits for Windows, MacOS and Linux/Unix are being found every day. Therefore, you need to make sure your laptops, desktop computers, and servers are kept up-to-date. IT consulting firms in Los Angeles advise that any applications your business uses also need to be kept up-to-date to prevent old vulnerabilities that can leave your organization open to hackers.

5. Mobile Devices (BYOD)

With the proliferation of mobile devices, such as phones, tablets, and laptops, it is more and more common for staff to use the same devices for work and personal business. This can create security holes for your business systems and a way for your company data to be lost if a device is stolen or lost. Apply the same rules regarding updates, antivirus, and passwords to BYOD. Use a mobile device management (MDM) system to help manage and mitigate the security pressures raised by BYOD and mobile devices.

You can reduce the security risks for your business by following the tips above. A comprehensive corporate security strategy involves many other points, however. Advanced Networks is one of the leading IT consulting firms in Los Angeles that work with businesses like yours on this very challenge. Contact us now for your business security.

IT Support in LA: The Importance of Proactive Security

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With so many cyber attacks hitting the headlines, companies that need IT support in LA must do all they can to protect their infrastructure and sensitive data from thieves and hackers. It is all very well knowing what to do and coping with the fallout if a business suffers a data breach. However, ideally, the best way to cope with the threats is to be more proactive, stopping them before they happen. It is much safer to protect a company by preventing incursions than it is by just fighting the metaphorical fires that a breach causes. In order to get ahead of the hackers and keep your networks running, you may like to consider implementing these points:

Training and Real-time Backups

Your employees have to be onboard with any security changes as they are working at the sharp end. Training is important so that they will know how to identify spam and phishing emails and recognize the risks concerned with clicking on any embedded links. They should also be made aware of the inherent dangers of BYOD and know the best practices that will ensure continued protection for your infrastructure.

It is also important to ensure that your backups are not only effective but will work as expected. Testing of backups is often omitted, but regular checking to make sure your company’s data and programs can be restored in the event of a breach is vital for future security.

Living Documentation

Creating a security document that can be constantly updated can consolidate the ethos behind security measures that are being taken. It should include what steps are needed to protect data with regards to BYOD, as well as password and encryption management, network access control, and what the policy should be to enforce such procedures.

Full Protection

It goes without saying that firewalls, antivirus programs, and full encryption of sensitive data should be employed throughout the company. However, IT support experts in LA also suggest that it can be advantageous to have specific devices such as those that can prevent internal intrusion, mail systems that protect against phishing and anti-malware gateways.

In order to protect your business, you need to be aware, organized, and proactive. There is a great deal to think about so that all vulnerabilities can be found and protected, but an IT support provider in LA can help you. At Advanced Networks, with our extensive experience in defending companies’ data and improving their overall security, we can help you protect your infrastructure and keep your business safe for the future. Contact us now for more information.

IT Consultants in Los Angeles Provides Necessary Disaster Recovery Solutions

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IT Consultants in Los Angeles Provides Necessary Disaster Recovery Solutions

IT consultants in Los Angeles can be an integral component of disaster recovery. If you don’t have some kind of solution in place, you’re very likely to experience downtime. So, consider these questions:

  • Have you ever had downtime?
  • Can you afford to lose all your files suddenly?
  • When was the last time you experienced a system crash?

Downtime

IT consultants in Los Angeles providing disaster recovery can reduce downtime expenses, which are often substantial. If you only lose $1,000 an hour from downtime, then one eight-hour day of losses comes to $8k. 10 days like that in a year comes to $80k. If you can find disaster recovery solutions under $1k a month, you’ll find they pay for themselves many times over. If you’ve ever had downtime, imagine seeing that lost productivity essentially erased. With a cloud-based backup and disaster recovery solution, you’re going to see failover that reboots systems almost instantaneously. Data mirroring is one way this becomes possible. Basically, data is mirrored on the cloud, and when a system starts to crash, the mirrored network launches, allowing for continuing operations while whatever issue undermined primary systems are addressed.

Data Retention

You need to have data retention solutions that are continuously in play, because if you don’t, something could erase all your files in an instant and leave you no recourse. Consider ransomware, as an example. This is a program that holds your information for ransom under encryption. If you don’t pay the ransom, your files are destroyed, often within a 24-hour period. What’s worse is that you may be ransomed again if you don’t have a disaster recovery solution in place. Ransomware tends to hide itself and can be very hard to find once it has wormed its way into your systems.

System Crashes

Some businesses use data that must be maintained on-site for security purposes. Having a backup solution of this variety is commendable; but you’ve still got to test it as regularly as you can. When was the last time you had a system crash? Was it three or four years ago? Have you tested your backup recovery solutions since then, or have they remained invisibly operating in the background?

It’s absolutely essential to have a regular regimen of tests for your backup solutions. They’re no any good to you if they can’t restore systems when you need them most. This is especially true considering Moore’s Law predicts technology will double on itself every 1.5 years or so. This trickles down to businesses, for example, laptop purchased five years ago will be presently so anachronistic it’s near unusable. If you haven’t tested your backup in the last three to five years, you may not have one.

Securing Backup

IT consultants in Los Angeles providing disaster recovery through Advanced Networks helps you be sure systems are at their most secure in a perpetual way. You’re likely going to come against situations where tech doesn’t function as it should. Not having disaster contingencies in place is catastrophic. Contact us for backup solutions designed to avoid such situations.

IT Consultants in Los Angeles Help Maintain Business Continuity

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IT Consultants in Los Angeles Help Maintain Business Continuity

IT consultants in Los Angeles can be an integral component in maintaining business continuity. You don’t necessarily need to onboard the entirety of security services from a given MSP to experience the security of business continuity. Sometimes you can work with them on a basis of consultancy. However, there is such a thing as opportunity cost. That is to say, by doing something yourself internally, you’re likely to spend more money and take more time, limiting your outward marketing potential— or other operations that require some quotient of funding. With that in mind, following are several considerations to take into account as you go about designing your business continuity solution:

  • Malware is a primary threat to small businesses
  • Small businesses are a primary target of malware
  • The majority of security situations develop internally
  • Many businesses neglect to test backup solutions properly

Malware and Small Businesses

IT consultants in Los Angeles providing business continuity will definitely recommend that you defend against malware. Small businesses are more susceptible to things like ransomware because they can’t afford not to pay the ransom. Hackers understand this, and as a result, there are quite a few small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) who are primarily targeted— approximately 43%, in fact.

Malware is a big threat to your business— especially if you’re smaller. And as an SMB, you’re a primary target. If you don’t have some kind of business continuity solution designed to overcome such hacking problems, you’ve got greater than a four-in-ten chance of being compromised.

Majority of Security Situations Develop Internally

Complicating the issue is the fact that most of your greatest security threats develop internally. A lot of that comes from a lack of education. Basically, employees don’t realize that many of the issues which compromise systems come from their poor online etiquette. Many MSPs can actually help you educate your workers pertaining to best online practices; it’s wise to employ such solutions as best as you can.

Don’t Neglect Backup Tests!

It doesn’t matter how comprehensive, extensive, or expensive your backup solution is if you have not been careful to test it. Backup systems that are maintained by your business on-site are subject to entropy just like any other system. The same goes for physical backup solutions maintained offsite. The best marriage of cost-effective backup that simultaneously reduces maintenance costs and invokes redundancy solutions will often come from a cloud computing solution. Cloud backups are maintained by the providers of the cloud solutions they purvey. It’s in their best interest to ensure all systems operate correctly. This is especially true when things like shared liability come into the equation. HIPAA predicates fines for MSPs who don’t properly secure clients in accordance with HIPAA regulations. Ergo, MSPs and cloud providers who may be in a position to provide such services must be very careful they don’t get fined. This is one of many reasons why many SMBs outsource to the cloud for backup.

IT consultants in Los Angeles can help safeguard your business in ways you may not even have the ability to anticipate. Contact us at Advanced Networks for security you can trust.