What's New at CTG
Steve comes to Corporate Technologies Group with 30 + years of experience in the communications field as well as working with clients on their infrastructure cabling and local networking needs. We are excited to have Steve part of the team as a Senior Field Technician!
This publication is provided compliments Brett Harney, President of CTG
The Impact of Poor Internet Connectivity on Your Business
Remember the days of dial up internet when you had time to grab a coffee while your computer connected to the internet? Even though internet speeds have improved over the last 20 years, many businesses still do not have the best internet connection. Since so many business applications have gone to the cloud, it is even more confusing as to what is causing the “slow” internet response. Adding bandwidth isn’t always the solution. If the cloud website is having issues adding bandwidth is not going to be the answer to your Internet problem.
We want to help you gain some valuable insight on what is causing your poor internet performance as this might very well not be on your end. We are here to help!
Problem: Tangible Decline in Revenue
Retail stores or commercial facilities are the obvious ways a specific industry can lose revenue due to having a less than stellar internet connection. However, there are many other industries that can be affected by an internet outage. Hospitals can experience issues with transmission of Electronic Health Records (HER), manufacturing companies can have issues with shipping labels, orders, and assigning truck routes, property managers can have issues with tracking vacant units, online applications or scheduling tours.
Essentially, in today’s environment businesses use the internet for more than just web searches to order lunch for a team meeting. There are many different options for internet and the list of providers and speeds are endless!
Solution: Obtain SLAs (service level agreements) for uptime for your internet service at your main location. Also, having a backup internet connection could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars because the cost of an outage could potentially be greater. Make sure the backup internet connection has a diverse internet connection last mile though.
Problem: Loss of Productivity
Regardless of the industry, productivity is key to running a successful business. With the advancement of cloud computing, most businesses are noticing an increase in productivity using various applications such as MS Teams, SAP, AWS, and 8x8. In a survey conducted by Virtana Research it was revealed that over 80% of businesses have a multi-cloud strategy, and 78% are using public clouds. There are some who are unhappy with their decision to move to the cloud and while slow internet is not the only cause of their headache, it is a measurable factor. How productive can your payroll manager be if your payroll CRM system is constantly lagging? How are your warehouse employees able to get orders shipped in time? How can your sales team make a LinkedIn connection when they are struggling to log on every morning?
Solution: Based on your budget and needs, it is important to choose solutions that fit both. The performance of your ISP can be a source of issues but also understanding the performance of your cloud applications is equally important and understanding what the service levels that are guaranteed.
Problem: Poor Performance of Applications
If your business is using VOIP, or video conferencing applications, having a reliable internet connection is vital to the performance of these applications. Using a lesser-speed internet connection could cause everything from dropped calls to loss of revenue.
Solution: Improving your overall network health is essential for clear and reliable communication. This includes not only managing your bandwidth but prioritizing your WAN network traffic between applications. VOIP and Video Conferencing are very “delicate” and if not prioritized right by your edge device will cause performance problems.
Problem: Delayed Data Backup
Delayed data backups can create security risks, cause work to be missed or duplicated, and even mess up disaster recovery plans.
Solution: To avoid these issues, consider using a mix of cloud and local storage, optimizing your network, and keeping local backups.
Don't Lose Competitive Advantage
There are many areas where technology can be impacted. Don’t lose your competitive edge as it often leads to loss of revenue. In fast-paced industries, even minor impacts on service delivery, customer experience, and internal processes can quickly add up to major revenue loss. Optimizing your internet connectivity options, boosting WAN services efficiency, choosing the right colocation partner, leveraging software for IT procurement, and proactively reviewing internet performance and upgrading technology are essential steps.
A strong, steady network is crucial for business success. If you need help optimizing your business internet, reach out to the Corporate Technologies Group team at 330-655-8144 today. Experience the benefits a robust internet connection can bring to your business.
Click This Link To Learn More About How A Strong Cybersecurity Strategy Can Help Protect Your Business: Cyber Security for Your Small Business | Schauer Group Risk Management & Business Insurance
DID YOU KNOW…
85% of small businesses believe that their company is safe from hackers, viruses, malware, or data breaches
Securing Your Business: How Penetration Testing Can Help You Protect Your Business
The cyberworld shows no signs of slowing down. Businesses and customers are looking for more ways to complete tasks faster and more efficiently. With this comes the very real possibility that your business could become victim to a cyber threat. Understand, no business is too small, and no amount of money is too little to be attractive to an intruder. Your business may not have the time or resources to implement an exhaustive security strategy, but you can take steps to be more proactive now and start to build your ideal cybersecurity defense plan.
Where To Start
Penetration Testing can be a starting point for small to medium sized business. It can give you a comprehensive plan to map out your most vulnerable weaknesses, allowing you the control to decide what is the most important area to address. Risk management and compliance is more than just a formality, it’s a literal safety net for your business, customers, and employees. If your business is facing any compliance, or risk management requirements, a pen test can help your business to meet those standards and avoid hefty fines and penalties – which is also crucial for obtaining cyber insurance.
If you wait to start building your strategy and experience a breach, you will have a difficult time obtaining insurance at a good premium because, after a breach, insurance companies may view your company as “high risk” and impose more strict requirements for coverage, or you could end up paying a hefty premium for even the most basic level of coverage. To mitigate the possibility of this, there are many security assessments available for SMBs – such as a pen test.
IN FACT...
The percentage of budget that SMBs should use to help protect their data, network, customers and employees is somewhere between 1 to 3%.
As a preventative measure, SMBs should religiously devote a set budget to building a sustainable plan for protecting both their data and financial health of their business.
If you have a dedicated IT department, here are 4 Steps to Take to Increase Application and Network Security | CTG – Corporate Technologies Group (ctgusa.net) that are fairly painless to implement with little to no increase in spending as this is knowledge that your IT manager should already have. Corporate Technologies group offers as much or as little help you may need with your security initiatives. When you are ready to begin mapping out a strategy for your business, call us at 330-655-8144 or visit our website at Security Services | CTG – Corporate Technologies Group (ctgusa.net)
If you need to know exactly what you need to do to meet compliances for cyber insurance, visit www.schauergroup.com or send an email to insure@schauergroup.com.
DID YOU KNOW...
Shockingly, nearly 40% of SMBs have no backup measures in place in more than one location (1)
5 Limited Cost Steps That You Can Take To Secure Your Data
- Perform Regular Updates and Patches: Be consistent about updating all software, operating systems, and applications with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities.
- Use Strong Password Policies: Strictly enforce company password policies to require complex passwords and scheduled password changes. Using passphrase techniques helps to further ensure password security.
- Employee Awareness Training: Educate employees about common cyber threats such as phishing attacks and social engineering tactics. Encourage your team to report all suspicious activity.
- Data Backup and Recovery: Perform backups for all your critical data and store those backups securely. Perform scheduled tests on your data recovery processes to Test data recovery processes to confirm their effectiveness in case there is a cyber-attack.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): For an additional layer of protection, enable multi-factor authentication when accessing sensitive systems, files, and accounts.
If you don’t have a dedicated IT team, Corporate Technologies Group offers MSP services (Managed and Co-Managed) to provide you with as much or as little support as you need to help you build a more stronger security defense plan.
Our range of products and services is designed to help you strengthen your cybersecurity strategy and protect your data. Here's how we can assist:
- Security Assessments: Our team can conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify vulnerabilities and develop tailored cybersecurity strategies.
- Managed Security Services: We offer managed security services to proactively monitor, detect, and respond to security threats, ensuring continuous protection for your business.
- Employee Training: Educating employees about cybersecurity best practices is essential. We provide training programs to raise awareness and promote a culture of security within your organization.
- Incident Response Planning: Preparation is key in mitigating the impact of cyber incidents. We help businesses develop incident response plans to minimize downtime and safeguard sensitive data.
- Cybersecurity Consulting: Our expert consultants provide personalized guidance and recommendations to strengthen your cybersecurity posture and address specific challenges.
If you are not sure where to start, give us a call at 330-655-8144 to speak with a security professional today!