Make the Most of Your Tech

Onsite IT support will help establish a strategic plan that propels you toward your business goals. Onsite IT support will help prevent problems before they arise. IT systems should be maintained, updated and patched with regularity to guarantee they operate as designed. So don’t hesitate to hand over network maintenance to our IT support team in Sacramento that can take on any problems that develop. Regular maintenance provided by the experts at Noverus will pinpoint issues as soon as they occur. This will thwart problems in a timely manner so that they do not prove costly and even more troublesome.

Our IT support crew has all sorts of methods to monitor and track activity on networks. We can identify issues and patterns in data that are most likely to cause problems as time progress. This analysis will even make it easier to pinpoint patterns in sales data and other data that can help your business improve its bottom line. So, don’t assume onsite IT support is all about preventing and remedying complex tech issues. Our IT team really can help your business in other important ways.

IT Planning

IT planning is certainly necessary, yet it can prove problematic if it chews up too much time. Review the amount of time you invest in this planning. If you spend an abundance of time formulating this plan, you might be neglecting your business. Let the IT experts help you so that you can return your focus to advancing your business’s bottom line. Strategic IT planning, when done right, will fortify your business infrastructure today while still allowing for growth. Strategic IT planning also helps form the optimal practices for customer interactions, communication, the tracking of sales and so much more.

Strategic IT planning allows for the integration of hardware into the current network so that you can reap all the rewards your tech has to offer. Once your tech is properly implemented, the current system will enjoy seamless communication with new options. This fluidity is essential for workplace efficiency. The moral of this story is IT must be a fundamental component of every organization’s overarching plan. It is really important for continued success across posterity, regardless of your line of business.

You can reach out to Noverus for your IT needs. Outsource some or all of your IT work to our crew and your operations will prove that much smoother. We provide 24/7 IT support for Sacramento businesses, virtual CIO services and plenty more. Reach out to us today to coordinate an initial consultation.

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• Phishing Scams
• Social Engineering Attacks
• Security Breaches

Phishing Scams

One of the most pernicious and prevalent issues defining security compromised comes from phishing. IT support providers in Sacramento are familiar with the variety of phishing scams that currently define the market today–but there are quite a few of them out there, and new ones are always developing. The best way to get around phishing scams is education. You want to find an MSP which can help educate your staff pertaining to the dangers arising from phishing scams. Additionally, that MSP should provide BDR–or Backup and Data Recovery–support. This will ensure that even if someone manages to break through your educated security solutions, you still don’t lose data or find yourself subject to paying from “ransomware” scams and the like.

Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering attacks basically use human psychology to invade systems. For example, if you’ve got business with the CEO and it’s fairly urgent, you may be able to bull past a secretary through sheer momentum. Oftentimes this isn’t the case, but it happens. In business, professionalism dictates varying modes of either pleasantry or rebuff. Some CEOs get bombarded non-stop and are therefore under a general policy of non-admittance. Some aren’t and have an open door policy.

Social engineering requires a very little computational hacking and a great deal of conversational savvy. Basically, the “hacker” tricks an individual into giving out personal information which will allow them to hack the company. Here’s a great example of this: a young lady acts like the spouse of a man with a cell phone number. She puts on the sound of a baby crying in the background, acts busy and flustered, and gets the email address of a man who is totally unrelated to her. The only thing she did was “spoof” from his number, and that doesn’t require a lot of skill.

Security Breaches

Beyond social engineering and digital phishing scams, you’re going to have blunt-force attacks on occasion, as well as malware. You want traditional antivirus protocols in place and these require a skilled MSP to implement. Additionally, you should expect regular patches to silhouette operations.

Everyone On Duty

Because of the perniciousness behind phishing scams and social engineering, it’s integral that everyone is conscious of the hazards which define daily operations. Proper password protection is absolutely integral as is security support from a trustworthy IT company. IT support providers in Sacramento through Noverus Innovations can cost-effectively reduce instances of operational intrusion by educating staff as well as providing antivirus software and continuous proactive monitoring solutions. When your business is monitored closely, and everyone has a security-conscious attitude, you’ll see fewer security compromises.

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Considerable Factors in ERP Deployment

IT support in Sacramento that provides your business an effective ERP solution can save you tens of thousands of dollars annually. When everything can be consolidated into a single software solution and monitored directly, it will cut down costs substantially. Installing such a system and getting it to its proper “cruising altitude” may take a little while, but once you are there, you can immediately start optimizing. You will see where certain operational practices are not doing your business any good and where others need to be encouraged. Re-apportioning priorities accordingly can shave percentage points off costs and add percentage points to profits. A business big enough to benefit from an ERP solution will be adding and subtracting tens of thousands of dollars with each operational “course correction” as facilitated through ERP software. Several direct advantages you can expect from ERP include:

• Reporting enhancement
• Increased customer service
• Compliance simplification
• Integration possibilities

Reporting Enhancement

This was touched on but in a nutshell: you can generate statistical operational analyses as you need them, instantaneously. You do not have to send “Fred” from the analytical department off to generate you a report— you just click a button, look at the results, and make the move you need to.

Increased Customer Service

Here is a hypothetical situation: a customer asks if something is in stock. Without ERP, you send someone to notify a manager to ask one of the guys in the warehouse, who must then take a little golf-cart down the labyrinthine corridor between toiletries and towelettes to find whether the item is available. Alternatively, you could do a “Ctrl + F” command in your ERP software and immediately provide an answer.

Compliance Simplification

Compliance is no joke— or if it is, it is not very funny. It is also a complex operational necessity. ERP comes with built-in audit capability that can help you automatically retain operational compliance. This is a huge time saver.

Integration

The right ERP software through the right provider can be integrated into existing software solutions to compound and expand utility. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) can be combined with existing sales stats to help you see if there is a relationship, or how that relationship should be fostered. The possibilities are essentially endless.

Optimizing Your Operation

IT support in Sacramento through Noverus Innovations can help you employ ERP solutions that optimize your business cost-effectively. Contact us for ERP implementation.

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Why IT Support Should Offer Cloud-Based Phone Systems

There are many reasons why businesses that need IT support in Sacramento should consider taking their phone systems to the cloud. One of the most important reasons is that you will maintain business continuity during and after a disaster if your cloud provider uses redundant servers that store your data in multiple locations. The system can be configured to automatically redirect your calls to various locations.

Traditional phone systems, on the other hand, can experience extended downtime if a power line is knocked out of service. Another problem with the traditional phone system is that it relies on the physical capabilities of its local infrastructure. But in the case of flooding, fire, or other unexpected disruptions, an old phone system will possibly be out of commission, while a phone system that operates in the cloud doesn’t have this vulnerability.

Business Growth Benefits

One of the catalysts for business growth is being able to cut costs while enhancing technology. Simple scalability is a primary benefit you get when you migrate your phone system to the cloud. You will be able to plan your growth more clearly and predictably, since you can add as many accounts to your database as you need with an exact idea on costs. It gives you more flexibility and room for experimentation, along with these other cost-saving benefits:

1. Extensions and features are easily integrated into cloud services
2. Hosted PBX doesn’t need to distribute hardware to customers
3. Provides remote access to anyone anytime anywhere
4. Less need for technicians to visit customer locations for troubleshooting
5. Latest upgrades can be delivered seamlessly to devices

Mobility is another dimension of technology that integrates well with the cloud. Your business can expand its geographic reach by hiring employees in remote locations, since the cloud is an excellent environment for real-time collaboration. It allows team members to have the same phone functions as in an office with a traditional phone system. The fact that workers provide endpoints from multiple locations gives the company a chance to become a global operation without expensive long distance phone costs.

Ultimately, your customers will have a more hassle-free experience by moving your phone system to the cloud due to reliability for business continuity. If you’re not ready to make this change, consider a hybrid solution, in which you can connect your existing phone system to the cloud. This issue is solved through a process called Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Trunking, which delivers video, audio, data, text, and more.

Consider adding cloud-based phone services to your IT support in Sacramento. Find out more about how our cloud-based VoIP phone systems can help cut costs and grow your business by contacting us at Noverus Innovations to discuss your phone situation and options. We help businesses improve communications internally and externally.

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Why Monitoring is Important to Your Business

Your company runs on data. This data is stored and accessed from your servers and without it, your business grinds to a halt. Customers are unable to find your business, invoices fail to be sent out, and sales pitches cannot be made. Having your server down for even the smallest amount of time costs your company a great deal. By having your servers monitored 24/7 issues are addressed before downtime occurs. Many faults with servers have telltale signs, and constant monitoring lets you make use of the diagnostic data from your servers.

If the server does fail, the monitoring system provides the information required to troubleshoot and fix the failure in a timely fashion. Keep trails in the diagnostic data help IT technicians find the root cause of the failure, which gets you up and running faster. With the root cause identified, future failures are mitigated with precision.

Constantly monitoring your servers also helps to identify trends in user data and server performance. Knowledge of peak times, server responsiveness, and other key factors help your business make the most of the servers that you do have. By analyzing this data, your company can adjust settings to ensure your customers have access to your website when they want it.

Security of Your Server

Keeping your server up to date is incredibly important. Developers are finding vulnerabilities all the time. In order to address these security weak-points, patches are released regularly to keep your data safe. Monitoring support installs updates regularly and reviews any new releases appropriately. Through active monitoring of your businesses servers, you take a proactive approach to web security. Proactive steps help reduce downtime and risks associated with malicious attacks.

Proper monitoring of your server also blocks many of the attacks that malicious users inflict on servers. There are clear signs for many of the common server attacks, and monitoring addresses these promptly. Breaches in security hurt your company in a variety of ways, including poor public relations and possible lawsuits.

Getting Timely Support

When looking at IT support in Sacramento, it is critical that your business gets the quality services that your company needs. A monitoring service knows the configuration of your business’ servers and the settings that impact troubleshooting and recover. The familiarity with your specific server setup saves you time when things go wrong. Reducing downtime saves your business money and improves customer satisfaction.

As more business is done through online channels, the importance of servers is ever growing. The right IT support in Sacramento is critical in making your business happen. At Noverus Innovations, we provide the support your company needs to keep your clients happy and connected. Contact us for more information.

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IT support in Sacramento needs to provide comprehensive solutions which protect from all sides against known and unknown IT threats. At Noverus Innovations, Inc., we advise a number of protective measures to help ensure operations aren’t undermined by cybercrime. One aspect of our protections concerns identifying software threats and providing means of barricading operations from them. Common cyber threats to consider include:

• General Viruses
• Corporate Espionage—Think: Spyware
• Pernicious Adware
• The Recently-Dubbed Scareware
• Ransomware
• Trojans

General Viruses

Antivirus software can help against general software viruses. These are more annoying than anything. Some are designed as impractical jokes, some are designed to siphon information, some are designed for no discernible purpose. You’re likely to find these attached to .exe files. They tend to spread through your computer and at the worst can crash it. At Noverus Innovations, Inc., we recommend real-time file scanning solutions in conjunction with antivirus protocols for the most comprehensive protection

Corporate Espionage—Think: Spyware

Spyware is another way other businesses may steal operational secrets from yours but there are other corporate espionage techniques which use multiple means of intrusion. IT support in Sacramento recommends anti-spyware solutions, and at Noverus, we can help you to properly apply anti-spyware protocols. Something else you want to do is hide your login information so that some physical espionage agent doesn’t find his way into your system simply by memorizing a sticky-note.

Pernicious Adware

Especially on insecure sites, adware can be a real scourge. You’ve seen it. Pop-ups sometimes jump out of certain websites and make it nigh-impossible to navigate your end-user portal. These can be especially annoying on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, as touch-screen interfaces are exploited against the user’s best interests. Some of these adware pop-ups can end up installing unwanted software on your operating systems. Regarding sensuous markets, this can be professionally damaging to your business. Compounding the issue is that such adware often accompanies seeming milquetoast sites. You need to have firewall protections in place and carefully meter which sites are accessible on your business’s network. The right Sacramento cyber security team can help you design an appropriate strategy here.

Scareware

These are adware viruses which pretend to notice a virus on your computer and offer a solution. They try and scare you into downloading what they offer. Avoid these, they can usher in all manner of underhanded software.

Ransomware

Ransomware can cost you a lot. In 2017, May, the WannaCry virus combined ransomware with a worm that transcended countries, affecting over 150. You need to have patches, which are continuously updated as new ones become available. Additionally, you need to educate employees pertaining to best email practices. Email is traditionally where ransomware comes from but WannaCry exploited an inbuilt vulnerability commissioned by the NSA. This is why patching is, additionally, necessary.

Trojans

Last but not least are Trojans. A big trend today has viruses of the Trojan variety hiding in third-party software and striking as the hacker desires. This caused a massive internet outage via DDoS attack in 2016. Avoid third-party apps.

Properly Securing Your Business

IT support in Sacramento through Noverus Innovations, Inc. can help you safeguard yourself against these and developing cyber threats. Contact us for comprehensive and continuously developing solutions.

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IT support in Sacramento can be instrumental in making your business a cost-effective operation. With new tech innovations, you can totally reconfigure your business in a way which could free up tens of thousands of dollars annually. One of the best ways to do this is through BYOD – Bring Your Own Device – solutions.

If you save $1,000 in equipment per employee, including desks, cubicles, and chairs, an office of twenty employees (which likely costs no less than $5k a month in rent) is spending around $20k on equipment that must be upgraded at least every five years. Meanwhile, if you can cut out the equipment and downsize the office (to say, $1,000 a month for management exclusively), then over the course of five years, you stand to save $260,000 or $52,000 annually. Now, these are all conservative estimates; your savings will likely be much higher with a 20-person office, but you’ve got to exercise best practices pertaining to BYOD for the sake of full advantage, otherwise, you’ll end up shooting yourself in the foot. A few best practices to consider include:

• Ensure only devices that are approved are used
• Ensure all devices are properly secured
• Give employees rules of use
• Apps used should be vetted and approved beforehand
• Educate employees as to their responsibilities using a BYOD platform

Approved Devices

IT support in Sacramento can help you determine which devices are ‘safe’ and which could cause issues. Third-party devices, or those from less-than-reputable providers, have a propensity to undermine operations through dint of poor manufacturing and easily exploitable vulnerabilities. You want employees using devices that won’t intrinsically compromise your network. An MSP can help you find the right ones.

Proper Security

Devices need anti-virus, anti-malware, and tech support solutions. Additionally, it’s best to operate from a remote desktop which uses two-step verification techniques. i.e., after entering a password, an employee gets a text message with a code that grants them access. The best DaaS (Desktop as a Service) options only allow manipulation of approved files within the remote desktop. No information can be pulled from it to a personal laptop, or put in from one.

Give Employees Rules

You’ve got to let your employees know their limitations. You can save on remote desktop solutions by informing employees they can’t download or upload anything, but you’ve got to trust in altruism at that point. “Legislate” your employees wisely.

Apps

Avoid third-party apps, and any applications an employee will use must be approved beforehand, no matter how innocuous. Hackers tend to hide their Trojan viruses in the most harmless of applications.

Educate Employees Pertaining To Responsibility

You’ve got to let employees know the dangers they could put your company in through negligence. They shouldn’t be gaming with the device they’re using for work. There are many applications they shouldn’t use either. Let your employees know; this will prevent hassle later.

Optimized Operations

IT support in Sacramento through Noverus Innovations can help you roll out a BYOD solution that will save you tens of thousands annually. Additionally, we’ll help you manage it, and exercise best practices to cut down on unwelcome or unexpected maintenance costs. Contact us to streamline your operations and conserve resources.

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A Shift from Cloud Adoption to Cloud Optimization

Most of the private cloud vendors offering infrastructure as a service (IaaS) spent the better part of 2016 and 2017 developing and refining their cloud strategies. Around this time, giant public cloud vendors, such as Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon and IBM, came into the market with each offering their own version of IaaS. In 2018, businesses such as yours won’t be lacking in options, as you will have plenty from which you can choose your preferred public cloud services vendor in Sacramento. With the presence of many other IaaS providers on the market, these providers will have to optimize their offerings through competitive pricing and other strategies to attract new and repeat clients.

Integration of Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Containers

As an IT support provider in Sacramento, we at Noverus have acknowledged the importance of facilitating software and app developers to create new business opportunities in the expansive cloud. There is a need to ensure that the apps and software developed by these developers can run across different platforms. It is expected that both PaaS and Containers will be integrated across various hybrid cloud solutions in 2018.

Optimized Connections

There are many companies that are currently offering co-location services. These companies have come up with a way through which they can help firms using private and public cloud options to enjoy optimized network connections. Those on a hybrid cloud will also get to enjoy the optimized network connections similar to those enjoyed by businesses using private or public clouds. The optimized connections are meant to ensure that you, the client, get to enjoy improved usability and efficiency.

More On-Site Services Will Be Launched

Tech giants are expected to use the public cloud to come up with serverless platforms, which they will offer to their clients. These serverless platforms can then be used to deliver public cloud resources from the cloud to the business’ in-house data centers. Firms will benefit from this service, which will allow them to enjoy public cloud resources without having to access the public cloud.

Take Action

With the interesting things set to happen this year, you cannot afford to be left behind. Talk to us at Noverus Innovations, Inc., and we will help you take advantage of these trends. As an IT support provider in Sacramento, we have helped so many companies get ready for the changes that are coming. You too can be among the successful companies. Contact us today and let us discuss how you can benefit from these trends.

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Before you hire a managed service provider to handle your cloud networking needs, you first need to decide on which type of network you would like to invest: private, public or hybrid. Private cloud networks are owned by large organizations, and public cloud networks hire space to smaller firms, while hybrid cloud networks combine both. There are pros and cons to each of these options but in this article, we will focus on the benefits and challenges of having a hybrid cloud network.

Most firms have found it both practical and economical to blend public and private cloud networks. Adopting a hybrid cloud infrastructure will afford you the security and control that comes with private cloud networks while at the same time benefiting from low cost and flexibility of public cloud networks.

The Benefits of a Hybrid Cloud Network

• Cost savings – When you work with an IT support provider in Sacramento, the firm can redirect your IT needs during peak times toward public cloud networks where you will only pay for the infrastructure you need instead of having to pay for more on a private cloud network.
• Improved security – Backing up your data in the cloud is one of the safest ways to secure your data. You can redirect sensitive and critical functions to be handled by the private cloud infrastructure which has enhanced security features, while the other functions which are not sensitive can be handled by the public cloud.
• Enhanced agility – Your organization can leverage the flexibility afforded by public cloud networks during peak hours to avoid down times.

The Challenges of a Hybrid Cloud Network

• Tools and skill set – Managing and operating a hybrid cloud requires staff that has skills, tools, and expertise. Your organization might have to look for outside talent to handle this kind of network.
• Cost – Building a private network can be a costly undertaking. Similarly, unchecked use of the public cloud can prove to be expensive in the long run.
  Security – While cloud computing is considered to be secure, you must ensure that access to the system is limited only to authorized people.

Weighing the benefits and challenges presented above, it is clear that you stand to gain more from a hybrid cloud network and that any challenges which may arise can be overcome. At Noverus Innovations, we are a leading IT support provider in Sacramento with skills and expertise needed to help you build your hybrid cloud. Talk to us today!

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Digital Attacks are at the Highest Level Ever

APWG’s report states the number of digital attacks has soared since the report was first released in 2004. Attacks have jumped nearly 6,000 percent in the past 12 years. China is receiving more attacks than any other nation. Nearly 50 percent of Chinese machines are infected. Turkey and Taiwan are the second and third most affected nations.

APWG’s Data Shows Phishing Attacks are on the Rise

The report states that phishing attacks have increased 65 percent since 2016. The most phishing attacks occurred in April while the least occurred in December. In particular, spear-phishing attacks are spiking. These attacks on employee email accounts put companies square in the cross-hairs for data theft. Phishing is also becoming more advanced. The digital attackers behind these schemes are zeroing in on specific employees and organizations that are particularly vulnerable.

The bottom line is no company or employee is exempt from the wrath of phishers and hackers. If you are not properly equipped to handle phishing attacks, you need an IT support provider in Sacramento that can help you thwart attacks and keep your operations hitting on all cylinders without interruption.

Phishing No Longer Requires Specific Domain Names

Phishers typically provide similar domain names to fool victims. Such a tactic is referred to as spoofing. The APWG analysis shows fewer digital attackers are resorting to spoof brands in domain names. This indicates deception is no longer necessary to confuse web users. Phishers are resorting to additional tricks like placing brand names elsewhere in URLs, shortening URLs to create the destination domain and letting the user move his mouse over the hyperlink and see a phony destination domain.

The Retail and Service Industries are Being Targeted at High Rates

Retail has been a prime target of phishing attacks for several years; yet in the fourth quarter of 2016, the retail and service sectors received a whopping 42 percent of reported phishing attacks. The financial sector was the second most targeted sector with nearly 20 percent of phishing attacks. ISP came in third at nearly 13 percent. The APWG reports also state targeted brands averaged an incredible 400 attacks per month across the initial three-quarters. This figure decreased to 264 in the fourth quarter of 2016. This data lends credence to the idea that phishing tailed off a bit when the holiday season arrived.

Conclusion

You need a reliable IT support provider in Sacramento to protect your company and prevent phishing and other forms of cybercrime. At Noverus Innovations, our mission is to custom-tailor IT solutions to your unique tech challenges. Ally with our team and you won’t have to worry about network, hardware and software problems stifling your organization’s productivity and efficiency. Contact us today!

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