The Connection, Inc Blog

Moving to the cloud is not an easy task, and it’s certainly not a process that will be the same for every SMB. Therefore, you need to be open to adaptation as the process wears on. Unplanned-for issues might make it difficult to adhere 100 percent to your plans, so if you can’t adapt to that which you can’t predict, your cloud migration is doomed to failure.

The cloud lets your business share files easily and efficiently, but regardless of how useful this feature is, you need to make sure that your team understands how and why they’re given access to certain files. Giving the freedom to share files is great, but it can quickly become a hindrance when you have inexperienced users doing the sharing. Be sure to take these three risks into account before handing over the keys to your business’s file sharing.

Files Shared to Accounts With Poor Password Security
Most, if not all cloud services provide each individual user with their own account for file storage and whatnot. These accounts are all protected by a specific password, which is almost always decided by the user. The unfortunate part of this is that the password is basically all that stands between the hacker and the contents of the account, as well as any files shared with that account. Passwords made without concern for account security could have the potential to leave your data vulnerable. There’s no guarantee that the account you’re sharing files with is using a complex password.

The security of data stored in a cloud solution is only as strong as the weakest link. Business owners need to ensure that each password used by employees, and anyone who accessed company data, is strong.

Files Shared with Unauthorized Hardware
If you have employees that work remotely, you need to consider that these employees might be using older technology that may not be cleared with IT. Any device that’s accessing company data can be considered an access point. Unapproved devices could potentially be infected by malware or outdated devices may not have proper security updates and patches.

Another example is an employee who travels a lot using a public Wi-Fi connection, or a public PC in a local library or a hotel lobby. If these devices are being used to send and receive files with the cloud, this data could be put at risk. Implementing a solid Bring Your Own Device policy and educating your staff on security best practices will help ensure that this doesn’t happen.

The Security of the Cloud Service Provider Itself
You may be taking advantage of top-tier security solutions for your in-house network, but your cloud service provider may not have taken the same measures to protect your data. Whatever your chosen cloud service is, make sure that it’s secure and universal throughout your company, and that it’s the standard way of sharing and storing files for your business. The last thing you want is for your employees to use an unapproved cloud sharing solution that your business has no control over.

By keeping these risks in mind, your can share files with confidence. For more information on how to achieve such a feat, The Connection can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (732) 291-5938.

Did you know that 43 percent of IT decision makers have plans to increase their cloud investments throughout 2017? This is according to a recent survey which, when combined with the steady rate of cloud adoption seen during the past decade, proves that the cloud is the next phase in the evolutionary development of business computing. While this shows great promise for the future, cloud adoption is not something to dive into blindly.

After all, this is a tendency that many business owners regularly exhibit: after little research or preparation, it’s easy to adopt the latest technology trends without regard for the effects of these changes. Estimates identify the cloud as another technology that fits this tendency. In fact, projections place Software-as-a-Service as accounting for 59 percent of cloud-hosted workloads by 2018.

Clearly, the cloud is a valuable asset for businesses. Although, if a company were to dive right in (anticipating to immediately enjoy the cloud’s benefits), then they could easily experience detrimental issues.

As you weigh the many factors of your cloud solution against each other, it is especially important to invest time into considering your service provider--even more so if you don’t plan to host your solution yourself.

This is a very common practice, as not many companies can spare the time it takes to manage a cloud solution, let alone handle the administrative duties of adding new users, adjusting permissions, and the litany of other responsibilities self-managing entails. Utilizing someone else’s services allows you to invest that considerable amount of time into other matters, however, there is an obvious disadvantage.

By utilizing someone else’s services to see to maintaining your cloud solution, you are trading off your control for the sake of convenience. Therefore, if your provider encounters an issue, you will also face the consequences as you lose the ability to access your cloud services.

To avoid this, you will need to select a provider that guarantees maximum uptime, no matter what.

In order for your cloud solution to be worth the investment, your provider will need to care for your solution as a member of your internal team would, as well as ensure that interruptions are avoided, if not eliminated entirely.

In order to receive this kind of treatment with a solution that’s as complicated as the cloud, you’ll need trained IT professionals in your corner.

If you’re looking for these quality cloud services and freedom from having to maintain them, all for a reasonable, budgetable monthly expense, reach out to us at The Connection. We can provide data storage services, cloud-based email, or any other hosted utility. All you have to do is give us a call at (732) 291-5938.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way that businesses approach technology solutions, but its biggest impact might be in the consumer environment. With so many new devices connecting to the Internet and communicating with each other, it can be difficult to slap a label on the Internet of Things and associate it with the countless devices being created every day.

You can think of the Internet of Things as a group of mostly consumer-related devices that wouldn’t ordinarily have Internet access, which have been granted connectivity and the ability to communicate with one-another. Gartner predicts that there will be approximately 26 billion IoT devices by 2020, with other aggregates putting the figure as high as 30 billion. In many cases, these devices are small and relatively inconsequential, like fitness-related wearable devices designed to monitor someone’s heart rate or physical progress.

Other, more complicated Internet of Things devices could range from small household appliances, to computerized motor vehicles. Items like thermostats and refrigerators are commonly seen connecting to the Internet so that they can be controlled or monitored through a connected smartphone app, regardless of where the user is. Even in various industries, the Internet of Things is a tool that helps keep operations moving forward without a hitch. Take, for instance, these examples of how the IoT has been applied to specific industries:

• Manufacturing: Manufacturing plants use IoT devices to not only monitor progress of product assembly, but also for automating process controls, safety features, and security measures. In other words, the IoT devices used by manufacturers are mainly used to optimize the functionality of the plant.
• Energy management: Some manufacturers are using IoT devices to monitor energy-consuming devices, and control these devices to ensure the maximum amount of energy is saved. Many of these devices are either set up to allow for remote control, or for access via a cloud-like interface.
• Medical and healthcare: On the medical front, IoT devices are capable of remotely monitoring medical equipment for information like blood pressure, heart rate, and other vitals. There are even pacemakers, insulin pumps, and other medical devices that are capable of connecting to the Internet and can be controlled remotely.
• Building and home automation: Some of the great IoT devices in the home automation industry include the aforementioned thermostats, garage doors, security cameras, lighting systems, air conditioning, and any other minor appliances that can be controlled remotely via a smartphone.

Security Issues and Discrepancies
With so much connectivity, security is a major issue and something to be considered when using any IoT device. Indeed, IoT devices present a unique challenge in keeping your network as free of them as possible, or at least minimizing your data’s risk of being accessed by one of them. Since these devices communicate with each other, if even one of them is compromised, you could be looking at a potential data breach. This is why it’s so important to both enforce a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in the workplace, as well as to manage the permissions and restrictions of devices on your network.

If your business is having trouble managing the threat that the Internet of Things presents, The Connection can help your organization sharpen its focus on them. To learn more, give us a call at (732) 291-5938.

There was a time when the cloud was considered nothing more than a novelty, but now that most serious businesses are taking full advantage of cloud computing, it’s time that you consider it a viable option for your organization. For those who are unfamiliar with cloud computing, though, you want to make sure that you properly plan out the process of moving to the cloud. When it comes to remodeling your IT infrastructure around the cloud, doing so can save you a lot of pain.