Small businesses seemingly always need to take a long look at the way they do things because they need to be as efficient as possible to carve out a market share. This often means using technology to make everything work. There are many different types of technologies that can help any SMB build more efficient operations, but the two we will outline in today’s blog, are two technologies that are probably doing the most to help SMBs improve.
Cloud computing has undeniably become one of the most important tools a business can use. Most businesses use some form of cloud computing, with 4-of-5 using multiple SaaS applications, virtualized computing environments hosted in the cloud, or other cloud-based tools. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using cloud computing.
After all, by leveraging the cloud, a company can take advantage of up-to-date and reliable solutions and resources with no added maintenance needs, and the cloud’s flexibility is extremely well-known. Whether your employees are working in the office or from home, the cloud allows them to access and collaborate upon the same documents with the same resources.
Here, we’ll go over the steps you need to take to adopt these capabilities in a hurry, with the help of an MSP like Coleman Technologies.
It is important to remember that, if you want to avoid managing an entire private cloud infrastructure in-house, you will more than likely be signing up for a public cloud service. With this setup, you are entrusting your business’ data to an external cloud provider who will manage and protect it on your behalf. This is a great option that many businesses use to great success, but there are a few downsides that you need to take into consideration.
“The cloud” is a term that is used extremely loosely, effectively referring to any data that is stored on the Internet. So yes, online storage spaces like Google Drive, Microsoft 365, and Dropbox count as the cloud. Your website’s hosting service counts as the cloud. The social media sites you use, like Facebook and Twitter, qualify as the cloud in a way. Arguably, even online banking is a cloud-based service, as your information is stored on your bank’s online servers.
If you use a store’s photo printing services, or attach a file to an email, or ask your virtual assistant to wake you up early, you are utilizing a cloud service. Businesses around British Columbia use cloud technology to share documents, store data, and host apps and line of business software titles.
Any data you have stored online is data that you have in the cloud.
Truthfully? It all depends upon what data you are storing, and where it is being stored.
It is important to remember that - in essence - all the cloud is, is someone else’s computer that you can leverage. Storing data in the cloud is quite literally entrusting its security to someone else… something that has both benefits and drawbacks.
On the one hand, many businesses have onsite servers in which they keep their company data, which requires them to keep those servers secure. If something happens to this data (despite the network protections and backups that should be in place) it is on that business.
On the other hand, cloud services are typically provided by big-name companies who can feasibly afford to protect the data they have been entrusted with. Who would have more capital available to invest in cloud security… your business, or the likes of Google or Microsoft?
It should also be considered that these larger companies can provide much more value to the people who can successfully hack them. It isn’t unheard of, either… Yahoo, Dropbox, and Apple iCloud have all been breached at some level, and attacks are always happening.
All this may make you feel as though your most secure option is to eschew the cloud as much as possible - but, depending on what you’re storing and how this data is protected, you may have other options. Here are a few practices to help you balance the potential risks and rewards.
Encryption is a very popular buzzword among cloud solutions. Public cloud providers will throw terms like “256-bit encryption” around, making their services sound pretty great. However, your data will only be encrypted like this as it is being transferred. In storage, it is unencrypted, and is therefore vulnerable. If your data were to be encrypted independently of the cloud, on the other hand, it would be rendered effectively useless to someone who didn’t have the ability to unlock it.
Different industries maintain different standards for the security of your customer and client data, in addition to the data privacy laws that are on the books. The medical field has HIPAA, and many businesses need to abide by PCI DSS. In order for you to use a service provider’s cloud solution to store your data, you need to confirm that it is compliant to the requirements imposed upon your industry by such regulations.
While this is important to consider when leveraging a cloud service, any of your online activity should abide by the same rules. If you don’t repeat passwords across accounts, you can effectively limit the number of accounts that can be breached through one action.
Cloud storage and services is a growing industry, thanks to its low barriers to entry and huge potential profits. You need to make sure that you select a service that is fully protecting your data, not just the one that offers you the lowest price.
Coleman Technologies can help you with your cloud service needs, without sacrificing your security. To learn more, give us a call at (604) 513-9428.
With so much computing now done in cloud environments, it is important to address how this approach can benefit security, but still need to be secured.
It isn’t a secret that any kind of software, from applications to entire operating systems, can have holes in it. These security flaws and issues could easily leave a business vulnerable to attack if they aren’t resolved. This is why software developers will issue patches, which are just corrections to these mistakes, for users to install. By applying the patch, the user is protecting themselves from threats that would otherwise exploit that vulnerability - but just on the system where the patch is installed.
Now, consider how many computers some companies use, and all of the different software titles that would be found on each.
Can you imagine going to each one and applying an update, each time a patch was released? Furthermore, you have to consider that more and more devices are mobile nowadays. This means that there is no guarantee that every device is present when someone goes on their patch application marathon. Factors like these frequently lead to incomplete patch deployments, and as a result, holes in organizational security.
However, by utilizing the cloud as you manage your organization’s patches, the device no longer has to be present in order to receive the patch. Instead, the cloud can be used to push it out to all of your devices, so once they connect to the Internet, the patch will be implemented. This means you can keep your employees using the solutions you want them to use, assisting both your productive operations and your security.
However, it is important to take note that all the cloud is, is a computer located somewhere else (often owned by someone else). As a result, it can also be vulnerable to flaws and issues of their own - which is why you need to be sure that your cloud provider is properly maintaining the cloud solution with its own patches. This is especially the case if you are using an internal cloud solution.
Coleman Technologies can help you keep up on your updates, whether they involve the cloud or not. Reach out to us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more about our services.
Azure is like other cloud computing platforms in that you can host applications and data in an online environment. This has several advantages over hosting on-premises hardware, such as lower chances of downtime, less equipment maintenance, and extremely low odds of device theft. In fact, many organizations that can’t afford to hire in-house IT workers can leverage the expertise of cloud providers to take advantage of the same services as organizations that have much bigger budgets, effectively giving the little guy more competing power.
Another big benefit of using cloud solutions like Azure is that they are scalable to suit the needs of your business. Let’s say you hire ten new employees who all need to be connected to your infrastructure; this might be a daunting task, but if all of the resources are available in the cloud, it instead becomes a convenience. You don’t need to waste time running cables and hooking up workstations to your server infrastructure. All you need to do is create accounts for them.
Before implementing any sort of cloud solution, you want to first assess your options. If you’re new to this type of solution, or you want to have your options explained to you by a professional, we always suggest working with a managed IT provider, who can consult your business on the best cloud-based solutions for your organization. Of course, depending on the needs, you might find that a different type of cloud solution will better suit your organization.
Coleman Technologies can help you determine the best path forward for cloud-based services at your organization. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.
No matter what your business needs, there is likely a cloud solution for it. Hosted VoIP and email are great communication tools. Infrastructure and Platform as a Service solutions empower organizations to leverage more flexible computing power. Software as a Service and hosted storage are available for all of your organization’s needs.
In the end, you can get just as much done with cloud infrastructure as you can with onsite hardware.
The cloud allows for functionality and redundancy, no matter what the industry is or the kind of workforce it contains. These services can be utilized as needed and deployed quickly.
Cloud computing isn’t perfect. Businesses can create a private cloud system that can create large costs for their bottom line while also maintaining the control, management, and accessibility… but again, a lot of thought needs to be invested into this kind of solution. Environments that are hosted outside of a service provider can be difficult to control, since your organization doesn’t have control over the hardware it’s hosted on.
A major drawback of cloud computing can actually be the cost. Since the IT infrastructure used to run the solutions is managed by the service provider, the price is adjusted accordingly. If your business needs a certain number of cloud licenses, you could see the cost of your solution rise. Plus, if you don’t cancel accounts when employees leave, you could be paying more for services that aren’t being utilized.
Furthermore, imagine if your organization has teams assembled that need to use three or four cloud-based applications to complete a project. Think about all of the money that’s spent just providing access to the appropriate software solutions. If it’s not properly managed, your return on investment could be put in jeopardy.
Coleman Technologies can help you keep track of your cloud-based resources, whether you’re just hitting the cloud environment, or you have an established presence in the cloud. To learn more about how we can help you manage cloud applications, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.
Costs
A lot of business owners don’t realize that creating cloud platforms has been completely possible for a long time. It wasn’t until public cloud offerings like SaaS or IaaS were made available that the business world really turned an eye toward these virtualized computing constructs. The reason was, of course cost. As cost goes down, options get more viable. One problem that businesses that have jumped into public cloud computing with both feet have found is that they haven't properly accounted for the risk inherent in hosting their business’ data and infrastructure with someone else. These risks can significantly reduce (or in some cases decimate) the ROI of a cloud computing initiative.
One of the major risks, loss of data security, has driven many organizations toward a more private cloud strategy. Building a private cloud can be complicated as it involves calculating both fixed and recurring costs over a pertinent time frame. Since with a private cloud platform, an organization will be responsible for the hardware systems, management, and control, variables such as usage (forecasted/actual), system and data redundancy, and the general specifications of the machines used to run the virtualized infrastructure have to be taken into account.
So, while it’s true that public cloud costs are also difficult to determine, when settling in on a private cloud solution, you need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s at every turn to ensure that you are properly forecasting what the private cloud will cost your company in both migration and operation.
Integration
Chances are your business already uses several public cloud applications, and some of those applications function better, and more cost-effectively, if left there. You see, if you utilize public cloud resources to host non-critical infrastructure or applications, you will likely want to consider setting up a hybrid cloud system, where your private cloud and your public cloud resources are integrated.
This hybrid cloud platform will absolutely have its difficulties, but once it is up and running, your business’ computing will be accessible through one single access portal. If you so choose to reinforce this strategy with secure access control systems you can do that, but know that it requires a lot of effort to include security provisions and configurations to allow workloads to be run anywhere.
Time
One big problem many businesses have when deciding to move a portion of their IT out of the public cloud and into their own private cloud is just the time it will take to get this finished. These virtualized computing environments are more robust than ever and can facilitate a lot of organizational flexibility, but operational issues and hardware management of on-premise hardware is time consuming and costly.
Not only does your IT admin (and team) need time to configure and migrate all relevant data, they will be on the hook for all the maintenance and management of the virtual machines and the underlying hardware, making it problematic for small IT teams.
At Coleman Technologies, we know how important collaborative work environments are, we also know how crucial data security is. As a result, we are in a great position to help you. Our technicians can work with you to find the right balance between public and private cloud resources, while having the technical expertise to help manage and maintain any computing environment or infrastructure. If you would like more information about hosted solutions, whether they be on the web or in your server room, our technicians can help. Call us today at (604) 513-9428.
Applications
Applications, or “apps,” are pieces of software that can be used for specific purposes in the workplace--but you probably already knew that. If used properly, they can streamline specific processes within your organization. Some apps don’t use connectivity, but there are countless others that utilize it to connect all kinds of workers from the professional spectrum together. These kinds of connected apps are generally found in the cloud, and their wide range of use is one of the defining things about them.
The Cloud
You can think of the cloud like a big data center that gives you access to all sorts of software, processing, and storage options through your Internet connection. Computing resources tend to be made available to users through an “as a service” model, in which users secure access to it by paying a monthly fee rather than purchasing a license outright. Apps deployed through the cloud are slightly more expensive as a result, but the flexibility offered by being able to cancel at any time or add new users makes it a valuable opportunity to save money in the long run. Basically, it creates a situation where you transfer your capital costs of purchasing licenses to an operational cost.
Public, Private, Hybrid
There are several different ways that a cloud solution can be constructed. For example, most of the Software as a Service (SaaS) apps are offered as a public cloud solution, which means that the application and any processing or storage associated with it is on shared hardware. It’s made available through the browser or dedicated app, and for this purpose, its costs are generally lower than more private solutions.
In comparison, a private cloud that’s hosted in-house on a network or server unit is much more secure and customizable, as you’re controlling all of the maintenance and management of the system. For this specific reason, however, we recommend private cloud systems only for businesses that have the assets to take care of them; this includes those who outsource IT maintenance or those who have an in-house IT department who can provide the necessary management and oversight of the system.
For the best of both worlds, a hybrid approach can work. After all, some data is more sensitive than other data is, so anytime-anywhere access to it might not be in your business’ best interests. By combining the cost-effective public cloud model with the security of the private cloud, you can maintain adequate accessibility and data security.
Cloud Services
Just like there are many different types of clouds, there are many different cloud services, all for both businesses and individual users. There are generally three major categories that these cloud services are split into:
To learn more about how the cloud can help your business, reach out to Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.
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