Dec 8, 2023 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
As seen in various trend reports, spending is expected in certain areas like cloud computing, digital innovation, and more. These developments sound exciting, but whether or not your company wants to embark on one of these directions depends on your business goals. Read on to learn how to assess whether emerging technology fits with business plans. Perform an Information Technology Audit A good place to begin, when contemplating tech spend for the coming year, is assessing where you are. In cooperation and communication with your trusted technology advisory, CIO or the head of information technology, look at your IT picture–including infrastructure and devices as well as policies and operations. Reviewing all your tech assets can show where more spend might be needed. Are there devices, such as, PCs, Macs, and servers are out of warranty and no longer in compliance? Is there any risk of data loss or compromise, or inability to comply with data protection regulations? And are there legacy systems that could be moved to the cloud, to save operating expenses? Finally, could expanding your consulting budget to work with your technology budget help you start new tech initiatives? These and other questions can show you strong points in your infrastructure as well as any deficiencies. Examine Trends in Terms of How They Can Help Your Business For 2024, many businesses are looking at some exciting trends. For example, Artificial Intelligence can help with automation, which in turn can save labor costs. Many companies are hoping to use the cloud for their internal infrastructure as well as customer-facing applications. Taking note of these...
Dec 1, 2023 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
With cutting-edge technology and digital innovation continuing to take center stage, technology spending is expected to continue expanding. With digital innovation like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and even the Internet of Things also comes a greater potential of cyber threats. Read on to learn more about technology trends and how they may affect businesses in 2024 and beyond Tech Spending to Increase in 2024 In general, worldwide technology spending is expected to increase by 8%, according to a Gartner article in October of 2023. The key sectors expecting growth include software at 13.8% IT services at 10.4%. Data privacy spending is expected to jump from 18.5% in 2023 to nearly 25% in 2024, and even network security equipment is expected to grow but more modestly, from 12.9% to 13.9%. Main business drivers are digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to a Telarus report for 2023. Businesses are expecting to think about moving legacy systems for business operations to the cloud, when previously most of the cloud applications used were for customer-facing services. This has the possibility of driving managed services spending as well. Along with digital innovation comes cybersecurity concerns, propelling information security and risk management spending to $215 billion, a 24% increase from 2023. Harnessing Artificial Intelligence An IDC blog post forecasts global IT spending to expand to over $500 billion by 2027, with more spend allocated to AI implementation and adoption of AI-enhanced products and services. Technology providers anticipate investing money along with time and brainpower in incorporating AI into the core of their business. Although AI is a major turning point–with...
Nov 13, 2023 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
The state of cybersecurity seems to be getting better, though there’s always room for improvement. According to a recent report by CompTIA, “The State of Cybersecurity 2024”, more companies see the need to take a proactive approach and look at cybersecurity from a risk management standpoint. Read on to learn what this might mean to your efforts to protect technological assets. Encouraging Signs, with Room for Greater Improvement In recent years, businesses have made strides in adopting a proactive stance toward cybersecurity, according to the CompTIA report. Of the small to medium-size businesses surveyed, solid percentages have formal frameworks for cybersecurity (45% for small businesses, and 63% for medium-size companies. Many small companies are assessing their risk, but without a formal framework. Over the last year or so, general satisfaction about the state of cybersecurity has increased, as well as satisfaction of respondents with their own company’s cybersecurity. Even with these modest increases, progress is still somewhat slow. In spite of said progress, data breaches still occur. The global average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million! In 2022, 96% of organizations had at least one breach, according to a report cited by CompTIA. The top of mind question is quite naturally “What is the cost of a cybersecurity incident?” What if organizations could also ask what the cost is not just in terms of money but in time and effort taken to prevent an incident? Constructing a Risk-Management Plan Cybersecurity has often been considered a secondary factor in the past, but businesses are now shifting from a defensive posture to a proactive...
Nov 9, 2023 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
The old defenses against cyberattacks–firewalls, antivirus programs and operating system patches–worked well when the security perimeter was the office. Now that remote work is here to stay and more devices are connected to company networks, protecting networks is more complicated. Read on to learn how defense in depth, an integration of individual tools, can help you better protect your technological assets. The Significance of Defense in Depth With business operations having altered in the last several years, more endpoints are connected to networks, and the threat surface expands. Not every remote worker may have the most up-to-date antivirus protection, for example. Bad actors could use brute-force attacks, seeking entry into numerous parts of the network. With defense in depth, other controls would keep the criminals from getting very far. This redundancy can give administrators time to enact countermeasures to keep the intruder from penetrating the network deeply Typically, defense in depth involves three layers of controls–administrative, physical and technical. Administrative controls have to do with the policies and procedures that workers follow; for example, restricting permission to certain portions of the network, and allowing access to the data and applications they need to do their work (least privilege). Another layer involves physical security, and protects data centers and IT systems from threats like data theft. These controls include guards, security cameras and biometrics and/or ID cards. The layers of controls are working at different layers yet are integrated to provide a strong defense against cyberattack. Getting Started with Defense in Depth But where to start? CompTIA’s article on the topic makes several suggestions. One is to...
Oct 12, 2023 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
With an increasing number of devices connected to networks, as well as increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks, the threat landscape is incredibly broad. In 2003, the US government and various industries collaborated and created Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Each October, the spotlight falls again on keeping your system secure and being secure online. Read on to learn about becoming not just aware, but prepared, all year long. Benefits of the Awareness Movement The goal of the collaboration on Cybersecurity Awareness Month is to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, and to ensure that businesses–including small to medium-size businesses–have the resources to be safer and more secure online. Such resources include educational tools like guides, planners, training modules, and much more, to help your business make cybersecurity awareness a visible part of your organization. Not only do these tools come in different languages, but they can be modified to fit the specific needs of your organization. Awareness Just the Beginning While awareness is certainly important, it’s just the beginning of being prepared. A good first step in preparedness is mapping your entire network, finding out every device connected to it and learning whether those devices are secure. Another step is keeping track of the latest threats–phishing emails that can introduce malware to your network, or hacking attacks to take advantage of weak spots in your infrastructure. Evaluating the risks particular to your geographic location is important, though even a low-risk location is still subject to the risks of power outages and the resulting downtime. And don’t forget assessing the knowledge of your workers, including any weak spots...
Oct 5, 2023 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
With the recent wildfires in Maui, disaster preparedness is (or should be) once again top of mind. Aside from the physical recovery of businesses, integrity of their data (the lifeblood of the business) is at stake. Even if you think you’re prepared, you may not be. Read on to learn more about where to start in your disaster recovery planning. Consequences of Not Being Prepared The disaster may be twofold, as discovered in Maui. Not only did brush fires start, but winds from Hurricane Dora blasted part of the island, resulting in an even worse catastrophe. Businesses and homes were burned to the ground, and work stopped. Do you know what your business would do during an outage, let alone a disaster like Hawaii’s? And why limit preparedness to major disasters? These days, anything can happen–even a worker unwittingly clicking on a link in a phishing email, giving away confidential information. Disasters can be big, or stem from small actions. Data can be lost or stolen, resulting in regulatory fines and loss of confidence in your business. Bad actors are always looking for ways to catch businesses off guard; the cyber damage can last even longer than physical damage. Where to Begin Perhaps you’re overwhelmed by the process, wondering how to even get started. A good place to start is doing an audit of your current preparedness level. What systems, data and applications need to be up and running first, to keep your business operating? Which ones can be delayed a bit while you get your bearings? A thorough review of business-critical functions can show...
