With the cost of a data breach averaging $3.86 million as of 2020, it's no surprise that more organizations than ever are increasing their cybersecurity budget. While there are hundreds of things your organization can do to limit your exposure, what you really need is a robust and comprehensive plan to lock down your network.
What is a Network Security Assessment?
In a nutshell, a network security assessment is essentially an audit within your organization's IT environment. Think of it as a review of your network's security measures, which is meant to find vulnerabilities in your system. In the end, the purpose of a network security assessment is to keep your networks, devices, and data secure by discovering any potential cyber-threats - both internal and external to the organization.
With large volumes of users and organizations utilizing Microsoft 365, there comes the need for IT to manage this environment to meet the specific needs of each organization. From firewalls, to email security you may think your organization has all its security bases covered- but have you considered how to monitor, protect, and optimize your Microsoft Tenant?
Azure Labs was released by Microsoft in February 2019, however not many schools have heard of it. Technology is here to stay, and students who learn more than basic computer skills will have an advantage in the future. With more schools opting to offer computer courses such as SQL or Python, the need for a cost-effective and easy to use tool is crucial. If you're looking for a way to provide these classes for your students, even during remote or hybrid learning environments, Azure Labs might be the answer.
What is Microsoft Azure Labs?
Created by Microsoft, Azure Labs is a cloud based computer lab that allows schools and other organizations to run programs on preconfigured virtual machines. This means that instead of having students come into a traditional computer lab with the programs downloaded on desktops, the program itself is held in the Azure cloud and accessed through virtual machines set up for each individual student. When students login, they can access as many labs as they are enrolled in and can connect and start working from anywhere without their own Azure subscription.
Datalink Networks has been apart of the Microsoft CSP program for several years, in which we have seen the benefits this program brings to our customers. We wanted to provide our customers with an end to end Microsoft cloud experience and CSP enables us to do just that. Continue reading to discover what a cloud service provider is, the benefits of the CSP program, how to choose a CSP, and frequently asked questions.
Schools are slowly beginning to adjust back to an in-person learning environment, but to do so safely requires patience and creativity. Today’s classroom are filled with technology, from more common tools like interactive white boards to emerging tech like augmented reality, not to mention tablets and laptops
Business leaders will often say they leverage "risk-based analysis" to help them make decisions. However, when asked which model or framework they are using, they cannot point back to one. Without a plan, model, or framework, leaders instead rely on their experiences and the recommendations from those around them
Today, work-from-anywhere is becoming increasingly common amongst professionals. With big tech companies, like Facebook and Apple, allowing their employees to permanently work from home, it is clear that this trend isn't going anywhere. Studies have even shown that 62% of employed Americans have worked from home during the COVID-19 Crisis and 59% of remote worked would work remotely as much as possible if their employer let them. With your employees working remotely, it is important that they have access to their documents, files, and software easily and securely. If you don’t already utilize a Windows Virtual Desktop, this might be the answer you are looking for.
Between increased saving, increased security, and lower downtime, there are several reasons why your organization should migrate to the cloud in 2021. In fact, according to Right Scale's Annual State of the Cloud Report, 72% of businesses used a private cloud while 91% of businesses used a public cloud in the year 2020.
Over the last several years, organizations have become more familiar with managed services and are turning to them for management of certain IT functions, particularly email hosting, storage, backup and recovery, and network monitoring. From better IT support to financial benefits, the value a managed service provider can bring to your organization is unmatched.
Did you know that 22% of all data breaches in 2020 involved phishing attacks? In 2020, the newly adopted "work from anywhere" model made everyone at risk to cyber-attacks due to the difficulty to track threats over home networks. Additionally due to the blurred lines between home and work, it creates a security nightmare for IT departments if safety protocols are being ignored by employees. Because no industry or organization is immune to these attacks it is critically important for all organizations to take preventive measures to both recognize, avoid, and report phishing emails attacks.
As more and more organizations look to accelerate cloud migration in 2021, it is important for your organization to recognize all aspects of the Azure migration including benefits and cost. Datalink Networks has helped SMB's migrate to the cloud and so we know that it is critical to understand not only the technical benefits of a cloud transition, but also the financial and economic opportunities associated with it.
Is your organization considering implementing UCaaS within your organization in 2021? If so, you are not alone. In fact, 67% of organizations are moving significant portions of their unified communications solutions to the cloud.
According to Risked Based Security, a staggering 36 billion records were exposed in 2020, with 2,935 publicly reported breaches in the first three quarters. IT industry insiders are aware that it’s increasingly important to understand and control how companies share, store, and receive information. Industries like healthcare or law firms have to follow strict guidelines and frameworks to ensure they are compliant.
In a report from AT&T, 80% of businesses acknowledged they experienced some sort of a cyber attack. For today’s companies, falling victim to one of these attacks is no longer a question of “if” but “when.” Today’s employees are connected to the Internet all day every day, communicating with colleagues and stakeholders, sharing critical information and jumping from site to site. With hackings, data breaches and ransomware attacks on the rise, it is essential for all companies to plan for the worst, with mandatory cybersecurity trainings for all employees and with the recommended solutions for mitigating the risks.
Considering a transition to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)? When it comes to connecting your people and customers, traditional PBX systems or basic on-premise UC systems can be inefficient, expensive, and unreliable.
“We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft in their Quarter 3 earnings call. But what does migrating to Microsoft Azure have to do with this? The digital transformation Nadella refers to, includes staying agile and being adaptable in every situation your organization may run into- all things that Azure can do for you. There are endless reasons why your organization should migrate to Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing service, in the new year, but here are our top 5:
According to Upwork, 42% of the American workforce remains working remotely due to COVID-19. Because employees can work-from-anywhere and have proven that they can be productive, a hybrid or remote work model is bound to be the new normal. In fact, 93% of employees surveyed by Global Workplace Analytics would like to keep working remotely at least part of the time, and 70% of managers reported the same or better results from their employees working remotely.
As we all know 2020 has been the year of the unexpected. The COVID-19 Pandemic led to working from home, remote education, cancelled events, and panic-buying essentials. Unfortunately, 2020 was also quite a successful year for cybercriminals, with at least 80% of firms seeing an increase in cyberattacks in 2020. Here are three of the top types of cybercrimes for 2020 and how you can prevent them in your organization in 2021.
Is your organization thinking of finding a backup and disaster recovery provider? How do you begin choosing the right BDR vendor or solution? Here as the top 8 questions you should ask to get you started.
Today's businesses require a backup solution that delivers much more than a traditional local only strategy. Given the constant risks to its data, from all directions it is important for businesses to ensure that their data is protected and that they can remain operational in lieu of a system disruption.
Did you know that 25% of respondent companies will move 10% of their employees to permanent remote positions post- COVID 19? In fact, according to Owl Labs, 25% of employees would take a 10% pay cut to continue working remotely. If your organization has not supplied appropriate devices for your remote employees you might want to consider it. Keep reading to find our favorite work from home devices:
Did you know that between 2018-2019 there has been a dramatic increase of publicly disclosed cyber security incidents of up to 300% ? In fact, according to K-12 Cyber Security Resource Center, the misuse and abuse of school technology and IT systems resulted in 348 publicly disclosed incidents involving 336 educational agencies across 44 states. With virtual learning, schools and districts must now be more vigilant on obtaining the proper cyber security tools and establishing up-to-date protocols and security policies.
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the nation, there is no clear timeline for students to return to their school campuses. Cybercriminals have been given the perfect opportunity to attack. Due to the lack of protection against these threats it can cost schools time and money to rebuild their IT infrastructure and cause a disruption to student’s learning. Continue reading to discover the most common cybercrimes and how can you prevent them in your school?.
A study done by analyst firm IDC reported that 95% of enterprises will be using SD-WAN technology by 2022 and 42% have already deployed it. With such a strong market presence, you may have been hearing about SD-WANs over the past few years, but what exactly is SD-WAN and why is it important? Keep reading to find out.
Did you know that 56% of businesses use Microsoft Office 365 daily to accomplish work tasks. Office 365 allows your employees to work from anywhere, anytime, making it a powerful software tool for email communication, team collaboration, and document retention. However despite its excellent infrastructure, Microsoft lacks in protecting your data the way you might expect. Since there is no product that is 100% hack-proof, read on to learn how to gain control over your Office 365 data.
Did you know that one third of SaaS users report losing data in the cloud. Storing data in cloud applications is far safer than storing data on on-premise storage systems, but "safe" does not equal "invulnerable".
Introduction
In March 2020, schools across the country began shutting down amidst the COVID-
19 pandemic, forcing schools and school districts to initiate a remote learning agenda. As the 2020- 2021 school year was set to begin remotely, Birmingham Community Charter High School (BCCHS) sought out to provide the best remote learning experience for its students and educators.
As a managed service provider, Datalink Networks handles an organizations IT needs both remotely and on-premise at a significantly reduced cost than employing an in-house team. By contracting an MSP, it allows for knowledgeable professionals to proactively work to maintain your IT needs as well as help develop an ongoing plan to ensure that your infrastructure, security, and systems stay in perfect working order.
Keep reading to find out the top 5 reasons why you should consider a managed service provider for your organizations future IT needs.
Due to COVID-19, educators went from an on-campus environment to a home office. One of the keys to any home office environment has been our reliance collaboration service that supports audio, video, chat and file transfer. As we all know the market leaders have been Zoom, Teams ,and Google Suite.
We can all agree that data security is important, but did you know that email security is often overlooked? With phishing attacks and other malicious emails on the rise, it is more important than ever to ensure your organization is prepared and secure. To give you some insight, our trusted partner and leading IT Security company, Barracuda, collected the following statistics regarding email security:
The digital remote learning model has become heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic requiring districts nationwide to establish a remote learning tool to use across all classrooms. Datalink Networks has worked with countless schools across the nation including Birmingham Community Charter High School find the right IT solutions for their students.
A common issue that we have come across amongst schools and school districts is the ability to find the right web conferencing tool that will work best for remote educational purposes and be cost-effective. Here are some of the reasons why Datalink Networks recommends Microsoft Teams as the best web conferencing and collaboration learning platform.
According to Forbes, 83 % of enterprise organizations will migrate over to a cloud platform by the end of 2020, with 20% predicted to be private cloud based followed by 22% running on a hybrid model. It is critically important to understand the many factors to consider when thinking of the quality and the duration of the cloud migration process. Below are six best practices, our Datalink Network's team has discovered when completing cloud migrations for various of organizations.