5 Cloud Migration Mistakes to Avoid

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Getting to cloud successfully can be a big challenge. Increase the chances of success by taking steps to avoid these mistakes when you plan your cloud migration:

1. Thinking too small

Migrating a workload to the cloud requires understanding that workload in detail, but it’s a mistake to focus only on individual applications or datasets. All of your cloud migration work should be guided by an overall cloud strategy. The strategy should determine how you select cloud resources and ensure that your end state in the cloud is efficient from both a technology and a spending perspective.

2. Thinking too big

Attempting to migrate all your data at once or starting with your mission-critical application is likely to run into obstacles your team doesn’t have the skills to handle, at least at first. It’s better to begin with smaller datasets and less important applications that allow your team to gain familiarity and expertise in the cloud with relatively low risk.

3. Forgetting about security

Don’t forget that you are responsible for the security of your data in the cloud, and don’t plan to add security after the migration is over. Before you migrate a single byte of data or line of code, you should have an understanding of the security capabilities in your cloud and the risks you face. Configurations should be set up with appropriate security from the beginning.

4. Forgetting about the network

Too much of cloud talk is about hardware and software, but your access to those resources depends on the network. You can experience performance and security issues related to the network that connects your users to your cloud, as well as the network connecting resources internal to the cloud. Understand these issues and take the network into consideration when you architect for security and performance.

5. Mimicking your on-premises environment

Lift-and-shift is certainly a legitimate approach to cloud migration, and can be the most expedient and speediest approach to the cloud. However, lift-and-shift shouldn’t mean that you don’t tailor your cloud environment to the demands of your application. You also still need to be conscious that cloud can require changes to configurations, monitoring, and security, even if the workload’s overall architecture isn’t altered.

Learn more in Choose the Right Approach for Moving Applications to the Cloud.

Another big mistake? Thinking training your team provides the expertise needed to succeed in cloud. While training your team is an absolute necessity, becoming comfortable with cloud and developing a true cloud mindset requires more than a few hours of classroom training. It requires time working with cloud, experiencing and overcoming challenges. Instead of relying on your team’s book learning to guide your adjustment to cloud, it’s often better to bring in a team that’s already experienced in cloud. They can make sure the cloud journey succeeds while your team learns from them and goes solo only when they’ve got the skills needed to keep your business operations in the cloud successful.

Contact CCS Technology Group to learn how our IT consulting and managed cloud services can help you plan and execute a successful cloud migration.

Additional Cloud Resources

4 Solutions for Performance Problems in the Cloud

Calculating the ROI of Moving to the Cloud

9 Ways to Get Cloud Costs Under Control

Five Tips for Working in the In-Between

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We’ve reached an in-between status of this quarantine. Businesses are starting to open back up (with restrictions), but a lot of employees are finding themselves in an awkward spot between working in the office and remaining at home. Doctors are utilizing video and tele-conference appointments but are holding office hours to see patients and perform “elective” surgeries. Companies are requesting that their employees work from home, if possible, but they’re relaxing requirements for coming back into the office. Other organizations are welcoming people back from tele-worker status to full in-office expectations.

With “in-between” operations, we’ve helped our clients through a few technology hiccups and wanted to help you avoid them too. Here are the top five things you need to know when working from wherever you’re expected to be.

1. The Power of the Web App

The majority of business applications have some type of web version. You don’t have to have the software installed on your system to be effective. While you may not be able to use every aspect of the software (higher processing functions may be limited to the desktop version), test out online versions. This is particularly effective if you’re trying to use a laptop or device with a much smaller hard drive in a remote working environment. For example, you can get to your current emails without storing your past five years of email history on your system’s limited disc space. When using a web app, install two-factor authentication wherever possible to maximize security.

2. A Note on External Hard Drives

First came the punch card, then tape and the floppy disc; now if you want portable physical data storage, it’s all about external hard drives (USB). They are a fantastic way to easily transport data from one place to another, but there are two precautions:

  • Hackers love to stash USB drives places just hoping that people will pick them up, get excited, plug them in, and then infect their computer and network. Moral of the story, only trust USB drives that you are familiar with.
  • If you are transitioning between a Mac and a Windows system or vice versa, there is a very high likelihood that your external hard drive will not work on both. Hard drives are configured to be read on one type of device, and you usually have to delete the drive to re-configure it to work on another type of system.

3. Maximize the Cloud

We firmly believe in the cloud for document storage, backup purposes, and accessing line of business applications. When it comes to document storage specifically:

  • Selective Sync Will Save You. If you already have large files stored in your Dropbox/Anchor/Google Drive/SharePoint, you don’t want your system trying to sync all of it to your hard drive for space, time, and speed considerations. Select only the folders that you’ll be using on a regular basis. The rest of the data will be accessible in the cloud. The online-only feature is also particularly helpful.
  • Follow basic sharing rules. Pay attention to read-only or editable sharing links. If you want someone to collaborate, make sure you give them the right to edit. When sharing, you can share a file or a folder. If you share a folder, bear in mind the recipient will have access to everything currently in the folder, as well as everything you add to it later. Never delete files that you did not create. It’s entirely possible that you delete the file for everyone while attempting to simply delete it from your system.

Learn more in Why SMBs Should Upgrade to the Cloud.

4. Security

Your safety is our biggest concern whether you’re working in the office, at home or a mixture. In order to remain secure, invest in:

  • Enterprise-level security: Install an enterprise-grade firewall, anti-virus, and monitoring system on every computer.
  • Two-Factor Authentication: Like we mentioned above, enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.
  • Complex Passwords: When you’re utilizing multiple systems, you may feel tempted to simplify your passwords because you’ll be logging in numerous times. Instead, store your credentials in a password vault to protect all of your passwords, and rotate your passwords regularly.

Learn more in Closing Common Cybersecurity Holes.

5. Backup, Backup, and More Backup

We have seen a surge in interrupted power and Internet connections, particularly with people working from home. Nothing is more frustrating than losing all of your work right in the middle of a project.

  • Install a battery backup on any mission critical system (AKA anything you’re using for work). This will kick over and maintain power in case of a surge, and keep you running for hours in the event of a longer outage.
  • Ensure that your laptops remain fully charged. The myth that you can overcharge and shortcut long-term battery life is completely false. Most laptops today have lithium ion batteries and have an internal circuit to stop the charging process when full-charged. Charge away!

Deploy an effective network-wide backup solution so that you can restore data whether you lose a single file due to an employee mistake or lose a significant amount of data in the case of a disaster or breach.

Learn more about our disaster recovery services.

Additional Work From Home Resources

8 Practices for Safe Computing When Employees Work at Home

5 Tips for Successfully Working from Home

7 Necessities Before Sending Your Workforce Remote

How Do We Make This Work? 5 Ways to Adapt in this New Work World

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You’ve probably grown tired of hearing the words “adjusting to the new normal.” Unfortunately, though, there’s really no other way to say it. This pandemic has permanently changed our work environment, whether you’re already back in the office or remain in quarantine for several more weeks. We must create a new normal for how we work, manage network security, and maintain productivity across a more widespread team.

For example, a client earlier this week asked with their employees working from home, how are they supposed to ensure HIPAA compliance? What if someone innocently leaves the computer screen open, or takes a note with a patient’s name and walks away from the notebook? Here’s how we recommend redefining work parameters to create the greatest opportunity for compliance and security in all work situations.

1. No personal systems

If you allow your staff to utilize their personal systems to work, store company data, and interact with customers, you’re just asking for a data breach. First, you have no control over that system. You can’t log in to perform updates, ensure it has the latest virus definitions, or wipe it if they left the company or were terminated. Second, they are probably not running the strongest virus protection, intrusion prevention, and monitoring. Supply systems that meet minimum standards. Some companies have sent employees home with their work equipment. As long as it’s properly documented, this is a safer bet than letting someone go rogue (intentionally or unintentionally) on an un-managed personal machine.

2. Clear Expectations

There is a difference between working from home and lounging on the couch in your pajamas getting work done. If you’re expecting people to be effective remote workers, set clear expectations for their work setup and communicate clearly. For example:

  • Do they need an office with a door that closes?
  • Can they utilize their cell phone for business calls or do they need a VoIP/softphone tied into your network?
  • How often do you expect them to check in on a daily basis?
  • If you can’t get a hold of them immediately, how long do they have to respond?
  • Can they attend meetings via phone, or is video required?
  • How do they connect to your secure information? VPN? Firewall?

3. Signed Employee Agreement

Whether you expect remote work to be a temporary situation or believe it’s a permanent shift, put in place a clear remote worker agreement. It should lay out all of the expectations that we listed above. If you’re expecting employees back in the office, reiterate the temporary nature of the arrangement. If it’s a trial, state that. Working from home is one of those things that seems really appealing at the beginning, but depending on the worker, it may or may not be effective. As the employer, you want to maintain the option to bring them back into the office, if necessary.

4. Regular Communication

We recommend touching base via video at least once a day and having one other scheduled touchpoint – video, phone, email recap, something that is scheduled and required for each and every employee, whether they’re on-site or remote. You cannot underestimate the power of water cooler conversation throughout the day, so you need to find some way to replace that in order to keep your employees engaged and effective.

One of the ways we do this is by opening each meeting with a “good thing.” Every team member shares something good (personal/professional) happening in their lives. When you’re in the thick of it, sometimes it’s hard to come up with something good; but it sets a positive tone for the meeting and allows you to get to know a little bit more about your staff. We also encourage shenanigans more than usual. Perhaps set up a chat feed for funny memes, allow people to use filters on their video calls, just something that brings a little levity and lets people connect outside of their daily tasks.

One of our favorite collaboration tools is Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams is cloud-based team collaboration software that is part of the Office 365 suite. It brings everything together in a shared workspace where you can chat, video/audio conference, share files, and work with business applications.

5. Effective Administration

Ultimately, adapting to this new normal is all about effective administration. Have the right policies in place, communicate the standards and expectations, follow-up with your employees, partner with an MSP that specializes in creating secure, remote workspaces.

Together, we’ll continue creating this new normal. That’s where we come in. Whatever your IT challenges, we bring 280+ years of experience and expertise. Contact us to learn more.

Additional Work From Home Resources

8 Practices for Safe Computing When Employees Work at Home

5 Tips for Successfully Working from Home

7 Necessities Before Sending Your Workforce Remote

Freedom to Grow: How True Cloud Scalability Empowers Distributors

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It’s hard to remain competitive in the distribution space. Whether you’re working to fend off the rise of Amazon’s recent B2B initiative or stand up to traditional competitors, your customers expect you to work faster, more accurately, and more effectively than ever to deliver their needs.

From Survivability to “Thriveability”

For many businesses, Spring 2020 was a nightmare, but as things slowly get back to normal, you’re coming close to a pivot—moving from survivability and stop loss to ‘thriveability’ and growth. Understandably, you’re not out of the woods—the lockdowns have changed customer expectations, reinforced Amazon’s brand, and likely resulted in shorter fuses for your customers.

That said, you might have big pants to fill, and meeting your customers’ needs may require you to grow into them. In the coming months and years, your ability to adapt to customer needs will likely require you to embrace a smarter system of growth.

Maybe you see an opportunity to acquire a competitor or distributor in a different market who was hit particularly hard in the last few months. Maybe you need to add a few new SKUs to meet the expectations of your customer base. Maybe you could buy up an empty facility to get closer to your customer base.

Learn more: How True Cloud Technologies Help Distributors Stay Future-Proof

Growing Needs for Growing Distributors

If you’ve been solvent over the past few months, you may have an opportunity to embrace cheap growth. But before you do, you need to ask yourself whether your people, processes, and systems are ready to handle this.

  • Say you’re adding a second, tenth, or fiftieth facility. Do you know how you’re going to route your orders?
  • Say you’re trying to embrace an ecommerce initiative, build up a customer portal, or start selling on a third-party marketplace. Do you have the visibility into each warehouse to provide customers with the exact information about each product?
  • Say your largest, make-or-break customer wants you to reduce shipping times. Can you route and fulfill orders fast enough to satisfy them?

Not only will this require you to bring on the people to do the job, you will also need to expand the processing power required to manage the data generated from this expansion. What will that take?

Technology Needs to Scale with You

Unfortunately, for those companies who do have the money and motive to pivot, they may end up running into problems in other areas, namely technology. For example, if you’ve been using a legacy system for a while, are you ready to buy ‘perpetual’ licenses and physical servers, train new employees on the limitations and nuances of the software, and run inventory for the additional warehouses or SKUs?

Too often, those with legacy software have more trouble getting their software up at a new location than they do securing property and setting up the warehouse space. If you’re outgrowing your distribution product, you may look to the cloud. Why? For one reason, scalability.

Scalability refers to a solution’s ability to handle tomorrow’s needs—when you need them. Unlike legacy (or fake cloud) products, true cloud scalability doesn’t require you to anticipate your needs, it simply ‘grows with you’, adding or removing capacity as needed.

Acumatica: The True Cloud Product for Tomorrow’s Distributor

From new locations to SKUs, you can’t let outdated technology stand in your way. Luckily, Cloud ERP delivers. Acumatica is a true cloud solution, ready to grow with you, deliver the insights you need, and evolve when you need it to.

Not only does it grow with you, it doesn’t rely on growth-crippling per-user pricing either. Acumatica bills strictly on resources used, allowing you to add new users, suppliers, or customers without hassle. Not only this, but its true cloud architecture helps you do so much more. “Like what?,” you may ask.

If you’re looking to know this, we invite you to download the free whitepaper titled  True Cloud vs. Fake Cloud: How Companies Can Tell the Difference in Distribution right now. It’s an invaluable resource for comparing your distribution management software options, including Acumatica Distribution Edition.

Acumatica and CCS: True Cloud Partners for Distribution Firms

If you’re looking for a flexible and powerful solution that doesn’t hinder your initiatives, it’s time to get rolling with Acumatica. Built in the cloud to deliver the adaptable, feature rich, and integrated enterprise resource planning software that streamlines your processes and facilitates your decisions, this solution is ready for the needs of distribution firms.

Get to know more about how this product has helped distributors like you by reading these case studies, reading 7 irresistible qualities of cloud ERP, and contacting leading Acumatica Partner CCS Technology for a consultation.

Additional Distribution Resources

4 Strategies for Smarter Inventory Control

Top Reasons for Installing a Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Recommendations for Selecting a Distribution ERP Solution

What is the Total Economic Impact of Your ERP?

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Whether you’re moving on from accounting software or addressing the challenges presented by legacy ERP products, the move to a new software often represents a significant investment. But like any investment, the decision is one that is meant to create value—no different than moving to a new facility, buying a fleet of vehicles that deliver better fuel economy, or introducing a new product line.

It Pays to Analyze the Big Picture of Your Investment

Understandably, an investment needs to be justified. A new facility in a higher-taxed jurisdiction could expose you to unnecessary damage to your margins. Higher insurance or maintenance costs could override any fuel savings. Your new product might not work for your customers, and your ERP implementation project could fail to deliver the benefits you need.

Balancing risks, costs, and potential benefits is a major part of any business decision, and to help companies in need of advice, leading analyst firm Forrester Research recently took a different look at measuring the value of ERP. From the report,

“To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed four Acumatica customers with various before states. Some interviewed customers had legacy on-premises ERP solutions that had outlived their usefulness. Some organizations often ran numerous (or dozens in one case) of instances of various ERP solutions. Integration, management, and upgrades were labor-intensive and time-consuming. Other organizations had no ERP solution at all, relying on a mishmash of disparate solutions to run their businesses. Each of the interviewed customers recognized that they needed to overhaul their environment to drive growth and reduce costs.”

In turn, the firm used the interviews to look at the potential financial impact of Acumatica on their organizations

Total Economic Impact: A Broader Look at Return on Investment

While the concept of Return on Investment has long been part of an ERP analysis, and still delivers a direct understanding of the potential value of a project, better metrics and a broader understanding of ERP has led to a broader understanding of ROI.

What is the Total Economic Impact Framework?

This framework, called Total Economic Impact, seeks to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision, noting,

“The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of IT initiatives to both senior management and other key business stakeholders.”

Four Pillars of TEI

This approach accounts for the following:

  • Benefits represent the value delivered to the business by the product. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and the measure of costs, allowing for a full examination of the effect of the technology on the entire organization.
  • Costs consider all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the product. The cost category within TEI captures incremental costs over the existing environment for ongoing costs associated with the solution.
  • Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. Having the ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
  • Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”

Combining customer interviews, analysis, and interviews with Acumatica stakeholders, Forrester was able to create a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewed organizations.

The Results: The Combined Experiences of Four Real-Life Customers

The composite organization is representative of the four organizations that Forrester interviewed, and it’s used to present the aggregate financial analysis used in the study.

So how did this composite organization fare? Though the report goes into much greater detail on the path to purchase, the outcomes, and the benefits, Forrester found the composite organization was able to:

  • Increase their gross margins for gains of $1.3 million.
  • Reallocate 50% of IT time, saving $614,300.
  • Increase sales volume by 15%, boosting revenue by $471,700.
  • Eliminate legacy licensing costs for savings of $464,300.
  • Enhance operational efficiency by 45% for a $309,600 savings in labor costs.

Get the Entire Report and Get to Know TEI

If you’re looking to understand just how much of an impact Acumatica can have on your business, the entire report offers much more detail, exploring every single moving part that goes into the numbers. The Total Economic Impact™ Of Acumatica: Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By Acumatica provides nearly 30 pages of insights and analysis, discussing how Acumatica Cloud ERP equips organizations with the tools they need to succeed in today’s rapidly changing atmosphere.

The Right Solution Starts with the Right Partner: CCS Technology

One of the hardest parts of an ERP decision is not just the solution, but the partner who gets you there. The wrong ERP partner can derail even the best ERP for you, so it pays to work with someone who has been there, done that, and can get you where you need to be.

With centuries of combined experience, the CCS team has led software projects of all sizes and has the skills to deliver for you. Get to know more about our process, our skills, and our team, and when you’re ready to get started, reach out.

Additional Resources

Getting More from ERP: New Gartner Report Predicts Push Toward Enterprise Business Capabilities

ERP Evaluation Checklist: 5 Important Things to Consider

Why Growing Companies Need ERP Software

Four Reasons Leading Analyst Mint Jutras Believes Acumatica is Primed for Unprecedented Growth

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What makes an ERP solution better than the rest? It’s a question that many companies hope to answer but few realize. From personalization to pricing to partnership, so many things go into an ERP decision, and selecting the right one can be the line between easy growth and painful progression.

One of many ways to compare this is to look at how fast the company is growing to see if other businesses like yours have embraced the solution. But the term fastest-growing is a misnomer, with little backing from companies who know the solution best. But a recent report from leading Analyst Firm Mint Jutras has a few things to say about their beliefs about one such solution, Acumatica.

Customer Friendliness

One of the most important reasons that Acumatica has and will continue to grow is that the company is known as one who treats customers right. Something discussed in many other reports including the Emotional Footprint Buyer’s Guide from Info-Tech and the Nucleus Research Value Matrix, Acumatica is among the most highly rated when it comes to satisfaction.

This comes down to the company’s willingness to not only talk a big game, but walk the walk when they say that they are customer-first. How? Through the Acumatica Customer Bill of Rights—a no jargon, no malarkey way of telling customers exactly what they’re entitled to when they choose the software.

Acumatica customers have a right to:

  • A readily comprehensible and unchanging SaaS end-user license agreement
  • A flexible, open platform for rapid integrations
  • Consumption-based licensing that does not inhibit business growth
  • Sustainable pricing with annual increases of no more than 3% when needed
  • ERP implementations without hidden fees
  • Deployment flexibility
  • Access to THEIR data, anytime
  • Consistent, 24/7 customer service
  • Local channel expertise
  • 5% uptime

Built on Innovation

Paired with the focus on the customers, Acumatica has been able to deliver innovation—not only through its own team but through its vast network of partners. Part of its 100% channel model, Acumatica’s staff is there for two reasons: to build a better product and support it. In this, nearly three quarters of its staff is focused on research and development, meaning the company can stay more agile than competitors and deliver innovation its customers need.

But Acumatica goes further. With no sales staff of their own, the goal of the company is to empower partners. This means that partners have more flexibility to create products to enhance the ERP.

Mint Jutras notes,

“While many software vendors, even those that have modernized development platforms, might pay lip service to encouraging partners to fill gaps in functionality and extend their solutions into new verticals, these kinds of fees often present an economic barrier to executing on that strategy.

Not only does Acumatica make its platform available to all, with no added fees, it also hosts an online Marketplace in which viable, certified extensions can be showcased and purchased.”

Priced for Growth

An ERP vendor can’t grow if it doesn’t deliver for customers, and the easiest way to grow is to help customers grow alongside them. Not only is Acumatica a scalable solution that makes life easier for companies who choose the solution, it facilitates growth as well. As noted:

“Most other ERP vendors price based on number of users. Per-user licensing is very common, both in the traditional on-premise and the SaaS worlds and anywhere in between. But it can also raise some barriers to growth. As you add more employees or you expand your implementation to a new department or function within your organization, the user count goes up, and so does the cost.

Acumatica is different. Its price is based on the computing resources you use, not on the number of users. Need a price? Just answer a few questions including, “What applications do you want to start using now?,” “What type of license are you considering: SaaS Subscription, Private Cloud Subscription, or Private Perpetual License?,” and “What is your projected level of consumption based on the volume of your business transactions and data storage?”

This unlimited user model means that everyone from the occasional report reader to the power user can have an account—all without scaling up costs.

Designed for Usability

Products need to be functional, well-supported, and usable. While the first two were discussed above, the last of these three concepts is often overlooked. Without usability, customers will be spending a lot of time talking with support to get the functionality. Especially in today’s world where more people need to use ERP, learning curves can’t be steep.

Acumatica has flattened the curve, delivering easy-to-use functionality that encourages growth and collaboration. Acumatica 2020 R1 strives to improve navigation, business intelligence, and import processing. This is a collection of seemingly “little things” that make a huge difference in the day-to-day use of Acumatica, plugging typical leaks in productivity.

From dashboards to easier uploads, usability continues to be a core focus of the provider, and they deliver with ease.

Get to Know More: Free Report Dives Deeper

As the growth of ERP continues and more cloud vendors get into the game, read this report to find out what separates the leaders from the also-rans. The Mint Jutras report, Innovation Fuels Acumatica’s Accelerated Growth, explores a variety of reasons that the analyst firm backs the product, including:

  • Why Acumatica’s “100% channel” sales strategy is driving growth.
  • How Acumatica’s flexible development platform gives you a cost-effective way to customize.
  • What Acumatica’s unique pricing policy can mean for your bottom line.
  • How Acumatica’s platform enables continuous innovation that gets passed along to customers twice a year.
  • Which powerful new features to look out for in Acumatica 2020 R1.

Download it here.

Acumatica and CCS: True Cloud Partners

If you’re looking for a flexible and powerful solution that doesn’t hinder your initiatives, it’s time to get rolling with Acumatica. Built in the cloud to deliver the adaptable, feature rich, and integrated enterprise resource planning software that streamlines your processes and facilitates your decisions, this solution is ready for the needs of distribution firms.

Get to know more about how this product has helped distributors like you by reading these case studies, reading 7 irresistible qualities of cloud ERP, and contacting leading Acumatica Partner CCS Technology for a consultation.

Additional Resources

Getting More from ERP: New Gartner Report Predicts Push Toward Enterprise Business Capabilities

ERP Evaluation Checklist: 5 Important Things to Consider

Compare the Top 14 Cloud ERP Solutions

Choosing the Right Offsite Location for Backups

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It’s well-known that one of the best strategies for backups is to follow the 3-2-1 rule: have a least three copies of data, use two different storage media, and keep one copy offsite.

When it comes to deciding where to keep the offsite copy, cloud is an obvious choice today. However, cloud isn’t the only choice. The backup copy can be stored at your secondary data center, or at some storage facility.

How do you choose? The cost of the storage is one factor, but other factors should be considered as well. While the primary reason for keeping the copy offsite is to ensure you won’t lose it if your primary site it totally destroyed, there are other considerations as well.

The things to think about in addition to cost are the level of risk and the impact on recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO).

Offsite storage can impact your RTO depending on how long it takes to access the data. If you use cloud for offsite storage, this will be impacted by both data access times (backups stored on a less expensive storage tier will take longer to access) as well as the time to transfer the data. That data transfer process will in turn be affected by network bandwidth. If you choose to store data offsite at a storage facility your RTO will be impacted by the time to locate the backup as well as either the network bandwidth or the time to physically ship the media to your data center. If your offsite location is a secondary data center and you’re failing over there, you may be able to recover almost immediately; otherwise, transferring the data back to your primary site requires either network bandwidth or physical transport capability.

The time delay in delivering offsite media also affects RPO. You’ll lose any data between the last backup and the outage. If it takes a day for a tape to be delivered and processed, you won’t be able to recover yesterday’s data; you’ll be recovering the day before yesterday, while yesterday’s is still in transit.

The final consideration is risk. Offsite storage that’s nearby is conveniently accessible by your onsite staff, but it’s vulnerable to being damaged by the same natural disaster that’s taken out your primary site. A more remote storage site reduces that risk but can increase delays or errors in accessing the data you need to restore.

Many times, if you’re following the 3-2-1 rule, you’ll have a second copy in your data center and won’t have to worry about accessing the remote copy. But if that onsite backup turns out to be bad, getting access to the remote copy will be extremely important. CCS Technology Group helps businesses develop comprehensive business continuity solutions that ensure you’ll have access to your backups when you need them. Contact us to learn more about what you should consider when developing your backup strategy.

Additional Backup Resources

Don’t Let Ransomware Destroy the Backups You Need to Recover from Ransomware

Effective Backups Need to Address These Challenges

The Differences Between Backups, Disaster Recovery, and Archiving Matter

7 Sources of Network Problems

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Solving network problems is a frequent task for IT departments. While there are many possible network problems, problems commonly arise from these causes:

1. Configuration problems

There are multiple places where misconfigurations can lead to network problems. These include IP addresses that are assigned incorrectly, firewall rules that block valid data, and pointing to the incorrect DNS server.

2. Hardware problems

Hardware problems can arise in any of the devices involved in networks, including bad network cards in users’ computers, bad routers, and damaged cables. These problems can be as simple to fix as tightening a loose cable or require replacing the whole device.

3. Overload problems

Overloaded networks greatly degrade the user experience. Buying a bigger pipe can help, but so can solutions such as blocking user access to bandwidth-intensive sites that aren’t required for business, such as video streaming services.

4. Network design problems

Bad network design can lead to both performance problems and security problems. Sometimes the problem is that the network wasn’t designed to provide the type of service being used, such as VoIP. Even a good network design that’s badly documented can make network support harder than it needs to be.

5. Security problems

Problems can be the result of malware or a targeted attack on your systems. Appropriate security tools can help block malware and detect attacks before they’re able to damage your systems.

6. Application problems

Poor application design can contribute to network overload.

7. Shadow IT

Although shadow IT is often used to describe unauthorized usage of cloud services, there can also be unauthorized use of applications and other technology resources on premises, and these can put excess load on network. Be on the lookout for unapproved applications as well as internet of things devices.

Many network problems can be diagnosed through real-time monitoring that shows where slowdowns are occurring. Applying policies to users and groups will help ensure the existing network capacity is properly used. Sometimes the best solution is upgrading the network to higher speed or higher capacity components, along with redesigning subnetworks to improve traffic flows.

One way to minimize the impact of network problems is through comprehensive managed services such as those offered by CCS Technology group. Managed services provide around-the-clock monitoring and resolution of system problems, as well as planning and preventative maintenance to prevent problems from developing in the first place. With network support, server support, and desktop support, managed services provide all your IT resources with the care and attention they need. Contact us to learn more about how managed services can help your network and your business run more smoothly.

Additional Network Resources

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Are QuickBooks Workarounds Putting Your Business at Risk?

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As a software product built on delivering a simple accounting-focused solution for small businesses, QuickBooks does laudable work. But start adding other processes—sales tax, inventory management, warehouse, and the like, and the solution no longer delivers answers. Just questions, spreadsheets, and workarounds.

Following our last blogs on the annoyances that come with a QuickBooks file size limit that holds your business back and the challenges that come from a desktop software in a remote world, we would today like to turn our attention to another challenge—or should we say commonality—of using QuickBooks: The use of workarounds.

Shadow IT and the Necessity of Workarounds in QuickBooks

As discussed in a recent article on the risks of Shadow IT, “Shadow IT is any IT service that is accessed without the oversight of company information technology teams. It can be in the form of spending approved by business departments or it can be accessed by individual employees without the knowledge of their supervisors.”

Why Employees Use Shadow IT

These services are often used either as a workaround, a simplification, or an ad hoc integration, and any way that you look at it, they present risks to both security and visibility ranging from unforeseen audits and penalties to risk of data loss, breaches, and more. Employees use shadow IT to overcome some kind of limitation or annoyance that comes from using a software product. Though not limited to QuickBooks, the product’s limitations are often a common reason that employees use it.

If it sounds scary, unvetted technology is one of the most common parts of QuickBooks. Everything from Excel Macros to side products might be considered shadow IT.

Another Tradeoff for QuickBooks Users

Yes, they may help you work around the limitations set in QuickBooks, but the problem comes in the lack of vetting from IT, the unnecessary permissions or access given to the workaround, or vulnerabilities in these workarounds that leave blind spots and openings for hackers.

Pair this with a lack of good user permission control, and one poorly vetted application could start running rampant through your storage, leaving you high and dry.

This is bad enough, but remember, if you’ve been paying attention to our series, you know that there’s a difference between business as usual and the current environment where security and product ability is already stretched thin.

Shadow IT and the Demonstrated Need for New Technology

That said, the use of shadow IT does provide one fringe ‘benefit’. It helps you understand how your employees work, demonstrates that your current software isn’t standing up to its promises, and points to the necessities that will be needed in any future solution.  If your goal is to eliminate the need for shadow IT, a new solution can take you there.

Better yet, with many new solutions delivering a marketplace-based source for vetted and easy to set up applications, it’s much easier to overcome the dangers of shadow IT.

For example, the Acumatica Marketplace gives users an easy way to find the right add-ons or integrations for the specific needs of the business, taking the shadow out of shadow IT.

Secure, Easy to Use and Configured for You: Get to Know Acumatica

Growing businesses need to handle growing challenges—and QuickBooks is rarely built to handle these. Built on modularity and easy customization, Acumatica helps you get what your employees want and need.

Acumatica delivers a full-featured accounting suite that addresses the most complex requirements for companies of all sizes. Plus, it integrates with Project Accounting, Customer Resource Management (CRM), Manufacturing Management, and other product suites offered by Acumatica.

We invite you to learn more about your journey from entry level to the cloud by reading Seven Signs You Need ERP Software, 5 Benefits of ERP for Accounting and Financial Management, and How to Improve Efficiency with a New ERP Solution. Read to learn even more? Contact us for a free consultation.

8 Practices for Safe Computing When Employees Work at Home

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Employees working from home can be casual about their dress, but they shouldn’t be casual about their computing practices. Whether they’re working on their phones, tablets, laptops, or desktop PCs, employees need to take steps to make sure the business they do at home doesn’t endanger their business.

Employers can help employees work safely when they’re working remotely by teaching them to follow these 8 practices:

1. Safe networks

Only secure WiFi connections should be used. When working from home, a home firewall should be turned on to block unapproved connections. When working away from home, employees should avoid free public WiFi and always double-check the name of the correct network. A virtual private network (VPN) is always a good idea.

2. Safe devices

Employees shouldn’t use obsolete hardware and should be sure they’re up to date with operating system security patches. They shouldn’t root or jailbreak mobile devices, as that can disable built-in protections. Antivirus software should be kept up to date, and devices should be paired only with known Bluetooth devices. Every device should be protected by a strong password. In addition to data security, physical security matters too. Employees should use a surge protector to prevent damage to their computer and loss of data.

3. Safe accounts

Employees’ devices at home might be shared with other users. Everyone should have a separate account. Keep passwords private and don’t write them down where snooping children might find them.

4. Safe applications

Because home devices are also used for personal matters and entertainment, you may not be able to limit them to business applications obtained via your company; however, employees shouldn’t download applications from unofficial sites on any machines used for business.

5. Safe data

Any business-related data stored locally should be encrypted. There should be regular backups to an official company data server or cloud location.

6. Safe computing

All the usual safe computing practices apply when working at home. Employees shouldn’t email sensitive information or use unapproved cloud services. Only business email should be used for business matters, and unexpected documents and suspicious links should be left alone.

7. Safe communicating

SMS messages can include phishing links, and employees should be cautious when clicking links, especially in unexpected messages. If employees use a videoconferencing service to keep in touch with friends and family, they should ensure that no company documents are visible.

8. Safe browsing

Employees shouldn’t go to unknown websites, and should avoid clicking on ads or popups unless they know they’re from a trusted source.

Working from home is becoming a key practice to keep businesses functioning during challenging times. By following these safe practices, risks to company data can be minimized. Contact CCS Technology Group for help training employees and ensuring your cybersecurity practices keep your business safe wherever your employees are working.

On-Demand Webinar: Learn More About Managing Remote Employees

For more information, check out our on-demand webinar: 5 Biggest Challenges Working Through COVID-19. We discuss:

  • Safety and Security Working Remote: Hackers are having a heyday right now taking advantage of an already difficult situation. Here’s how you can cope.
  • Bandwidth Challenges: How many things can you expect your network to do?
  • Productivity While Working Remote: We gathered tips and tricks from experienced remote workers that help you settle in to work mode without the commute.
  • Connecting with your team: You can’t gather around the water cooler anymore, but personal connection is still critical.
  • Woes of Video Conferencing: Everyone is trying to adapt to video calls. They can be immensely frustrating or your greatest gift to project management. It’s all in how you use them.

Also, please consider joining us for our upcoming webinar (May 13) where we will discuss a tool to help you manage your remote workforce. Click here to learn more or register.