Business & Technology

Deciding to use a managed service provider (MSP) for your business’s IT security services and cybersecurity needs is a decision that will put any company ahead of the game. But how do you know which MSP to choose? Here are ten questions all businesses should ask before choosing an MSP.

1. What services are important to my business?

All businesses, regardless of industry, need to invest in cybersecurity services and basic maintenance of systems and networks. This should include patch management, asset monitoring, plus maintaining firewalls and antivirus software. If your business has specific needs, always tell any potential MSP to make sure they’re up to the task.

With compliance regulations requiring businesses to maintain specific standards, it’s even more important for businesses to use MSPs who are familiar with the different requirements your business may need to comply with.

2. What kind of contract am I looking for?

The right MSP will have flexible options and shouldn’t tie you in for lengthy contracts. Check if there are any onboarding fees, and discuss the possibility of flexible or scalable plans for your specific business needs. Ideally, seek out an MSP with no lock-in for the possibility of monthly review. This can give your company peace of mind knowing that you hold the reins when it comes to your IT services.

3. How does the MSP deliver services?

Some managed IT security service providers might have a great sales pitch, so look beyond this and ask how your services will actually be delivered. Ask what staffing numbers are like, what their facilities are like, and how they plan to provide you with the cybersecurity services you need. You should expect a confident, clear answer with zero jargon.

4. How will these services help grow my business?

A good MSP should be able to talk to you about improved brand reputation thanks to secure client data, or how spending fewer employee hours dealing with IT issues gives you the time and energy to focus on business-critical projects. Plus, MSPs could help you achieve your IT compliance requirements more easily than handling them in-house.

5. Does this MSP provide 24/7/365 support?

You might think it’s reasonable for an IT security services firm to close at 5 pm on a Friday, but what happens when your website goes down in the middle of Saturday night? Ask your potential MSP how they would cope with out-of-hours emergencies.

6. How will this MSP help protect my remote employees?

A great MSP will discuss cybersecurity risks for all your employees, regardless of where they are based. They’ll understand the risks of connecting to a work network remotely, and will talk to you about smart devices that handle company data.

7. What experience does this MSP have?

What other companies have they worked with? Do they have comments or reviews from previous customers? Can they talk to you about major incidents they’ve prevented or fixed up? Your MSP should be able to proudly display their experience and accolades.

8. What can I expect from this MSP?

Your MSP should provide you with a guaranteed level of service. Ask about uptime, response times, and service level agreements (SLAs). Ensure you’re happy with any agreements and challenge anything that seems slow or places too much responsibility back with you or your business.

9. What are other businesses saying about this MSP?

While not every review left online is one hundred percent accurate, it can be incredibly useful to see what other companies are saying about their experiences. Look to see if the MSP you’re looking at has a page on their website with testimonials and take a look at what the word on the street is.

10. What sets this MSP apart from other businesses?

Ultimately, why should you go with this particular MSP? Do they provide services at a level you can’t get elsewhere? Is their customer service outstanding? Or do they have an unparalleled level of experience? Ask what they can bring to your company that sets them apart from the competition to help you stay secure and achieve IT compliance.

Get a free cybersecurity evaluation today to get started on improving your business’s security.

Many businesses have started charging high prices and offering mediocre or questionable services with little to no perks or incentives. In the world of IT, managed service providers have revolutionized how you can get high-quality, affordable IT.

Getting a great deal on IT services shouldn’t be a one-time transaction or only available to new customers at the time of sign-up. Besides flexibility and freedom to change or renew your IT services as needed, ThrottleNet has come up with several ways to make your IT services more affordable on an ongoing basis.

Getting a free month of IT services or actual cash back with ThrottleNet is as simple as just spreading the word about our services to your trusted network. It doesn’t end there: not only do we offer a no-risk, no-fuss 30 day trial period, we’ll actually pay for cancellations before the end of the trial period! Not only do ThrottleNet’s customers have nothing to lose by trying out our affordable IT services, but there’s also potential to gain!

Here are three ways that ThrottleNet makes outsourcing your IT services more affordable:

Referral Program for Affordable IT Services

Our approach to providing high-quality and affordable IT services revolves around trust. We want our services to be as accessible and flexible as possible so that you can get the options you need without worrying about being locked into expensive long-term contracts. With our referral program, we reward you for referring great clients to our affordable IT services.

Our referral program can make your IT services more affordable in two ways:
Managed network service plans can earn a free month or discounted month of service with a successful referral. It’s a win-win for everyone involved!
Successful workstation referrals can earn $1,000 for ten eligible workstations or $500 for successful referrals for fewer than ten workstations.

Either way, you’re making money just by spreading the word about the IT services you’re already using.

30 Days Commitment-Free and $1000 Guarantee

We give new meaning to the concept of satisfaction guaranteed. Not only will trying our IT services not cost you money, but we’ll actually PAY YOU $1,000 if you decide to leave before the end of the 30 day trial period. How’s that for an incentive? Why would we do this? For one, we understand that finding a new IT service provider is no small feat. It’s also not cheap in most cases.

In addition to making our IT services as flexible and affordable as possible, we’ll kick in an extra incentive to help you hedge your bets and throw in a little peace of mind to make the decision easier for your company.

No Contracts and No Onboarding Fees

Whether you’re with us for six months or five years, you’ll never be locked into a contract or oppressive terms of service. We offer month-to-month contracts, so you’re free to cancel at any time should your business needs or budget change. You’ll also save money on additional onboarding fees.

We don’t just want to offer you the best managed IT services at the best prices. We want you to profit from your investment with us! Contact ThrottleNet today to get started!

A virtual Chief Information Officer, or vCIO, is an experienced IT professional with deep knowledge and understanding of business technology and strategy. vCIOs advise their clients in many ways, from IT security to operations. The main job of a vCIO is to keep your business’s technology running smoothly and performing optimally. What is a vCIO and how can one help your business?

How a vCIO Can Help Your Business

Adding a vCIO to your team can give you a serious edge over the competition by supporting the growth of business in alignment with your IT goals.

Strategy

You’ll have access to their expertise when you need it most. Most vCIOs provide their services on-demand, meaning you can access their wealth of knowledge and experience when you need it instead of keeping a full-time vCIO in house.

They will help you build a robust and long-term technology strategy. Since vCIOs don’t have to focus the majority of their time trying to sell you more services or products, they are dedicated to the well-being of your organization. As such, they work to help build long-term business technology strategies that will align with your company’s unique goals and needs. vCIOs have a vested interest in the future success of the companies they work for, giving them every reason to help ensure a successful and smooth digital transformation.

Productivity

A vCIO will help boost employee productivity. When you count on the expertise of a vCIO, you don’t have to scramble to call every employee into your office when the network is down. You won’t waste time trying to track down that one employee who is more tech-savvy than the rest. Instead, you’ll simply alert the vCIO, who is a dedicated IT professional, and they will take care of it for you. This allows you and your employees to spend more time focusing on the daily operations of the business, which leads to a boost in productivity and focus.

Reduces Risk

Reducing your operational risk should be a high priority for your business. When in the wrong hands, your data is at risk of being stolen or compromised. A breach can cost your company its credibility as well as a large chunk of change. A system failure can leave your business unable to function properly, which will lead to substantial losses. When you work with a vCIO you are proactively reducing your risk by simply investing in an experienced professional.

Future Planning

In this day and age, technology is the foundation of most businesses. When things go wrong with technology, it can have severe impacts on your operations, both in the short and long term. Ensuring your infrastructure is protected and has space to grow is essential in today’s market. Working with a virtual Chief Information Officer is both a proactive and strategy-driven choice that protects your valuable assets while allowing you the time to discover new opportunities and improve on your daily operations and practice.

Watch our video explaining more about the role and importance of a vCIO. For more information and to find a managed IT provider, contact ThrottleNet today.

ThrottleNet is an all-inclusive outsourced managed IT service provider. We provide organizations with a full-time team of IT experts that combines advanced IT solutions to keep your network running smoothly and safely.

With emerging data security and privacy laws that are making impacts at the global scale (like GDPR and CCPA), many businesses are beginning to closely scrutinize their IT processes to make sure they’re in compliance. We’re willing to bet that your IT department has more on its plate than keeping up with the latest regulations, so we compiled a list of four common IT compliance mistakes your department is likely overlooking.

Avoiding Internal IT Compliance Audits

Your business has a long list of responsibilities and, on a day-to-day basis, checking for IT compliance mistakes probably isn’t at the top of your list. However, far too many companies make the mistake of waiting for a regulatory audit to come around before they take a close look at their policies and procedures. Doing so is sure to cost you.

If you wait until a regulatory audit happens, you’ve put it off for too long. You should work an internal audit into your schedule on a routine basis, ensuring that you’re aware of issues far in advance of any regulatory audit so you can work through things before they become a threat to your business. By conducting routine audits, you’ll be ready when a professional regulator makes observations or asks questions.

Failing to Analyze Business Events

Getting a complaint, laying off an employee, a missing document — individually, these seem like small, independent issues, yet looking at them all together may help you realize that they’re connected. As a business, it’s important that you analyze business events and work to connect the dots, recognizing when small events could reveal a bigger issue.

You can liken this process to looking for a fire when you see smoke, and it plays a big part in making sure you aren’t blindsided by issues when a regulatory officer comes along.

Using IT Compliance Policy Templates

These days, you can find a template for just about every document your business could ever need. For a startup, using one of these templates can feel like a huge time- and money-saver. However, in the long run, these templates are sure to cause problems. If your policies and procedures are based on a template rather than written under the guidance of an advisor (and legal professional), your business is setting itself up for issues.

Customized compliance policies are crucial, especially as your business grows. If you haven’t already consulted an advisor, pencil it into your schedule. Any template-based procedures or policies need to be closely scrutinized to ensure they actually work for your business. Moreover, all of your policies — custom-written or not — should be reviewed and updated regularly as needs change.

Ignoring The Impact on Business Value

If you have any plans for your company to be sold or acquired, you simply cannot overlook the connection between compliance problems and business value. While it may be forgotten during early negotiations, any due diligence process is sure to reveal compliance problems and they can have a far-reaching impact on the valuation of your business and your ability to sell it.

So, are you making any of these common mistakes? The right IT compliance services can help make sure you’re on the right track. ThrottleNet can ensure your business is in compliance with the latest standards, providing peace of mind and business security. Reach out to us today to learn more.

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has dramatically altered our lives, both personal and vocational, especially the processes for how all and medium-sized businesses operate from day to day. The question of how the transition away from the office, and towards the new digital reality of remote working is an interesting one. 

Some businesses have adapted quicker than others, but it has opened up a plethora of opportunities that won’t be subsiding just yet. We’re going to explore this issue in more depth to find out more about this matter that’s so vital to SMBs right now.

The Shift Towards Remote Working

The shift towards remote working has presented businesses with a range of challenges, but it’s a shift that can’t be overlooked. The pandemic has led to varying and ever-changing restrictions depending on location. 

Many businesses have been forced to adopt remote working out of necessity, including businesses that have never adopted remote working as a company policy or an option for employees before now. Since the start of the pandemic, the percentage of people working from home has risen sharply to 42%.

What the Transition Means for Businesses

The pandemic is an example of a disruptive force for many, even most, businesses. The need to adapt means adopting new digital protocols that facilitate remote working, team collaboration over longer distances, and managing teams no longer stationed at the office. Each of these disruptions and challenges break down into a series of further challenges, each of which have had to be overcome in a short period of time with very little prior warning.

How Successfully Have SMBs Adapted?

Many businesses are adapting faster because they had already begun implementing remote work principles and resources earlier, and many are also now considering making it a long-term staple. 

Deloitte found that businesses that are coping better tend to make use of cross-functional teaming in order to create faster responses to situations as they develop. They also found that a clear communication strategy from the top of the company was key in order for businesses to respond positively to the new situation.

Another example of how businesses have had to adapt comes from a study carried out by Visa. They found that SMBs are reporting taking fewer cash transactions as more and more customers switch to contactless card payments in response to the health and hygiene risks posed by COVID-19. This has forced more businesses to accept contactless card payments if they weren’t doing so already. And that’s a trend that won’t reverse anytime soon.

Essential Tips for SMBs Adapting to Remote Working and Going Digital

If your business is in the process of transitioning to remote working and going digital, there are some tips that should be on your radar. Find out more about them below.

Simplify Employee Communication

A simplified approach to employee communication is key. In order for your team to be able to collaborate across distances, it has become essential for them to be able to communicate digitally. Rather than leaving this for employees to organize among themselves, you need to put a structured plan in place, along with the right software, to facilitate fast, smooth and easy communication between staff members.

Scale Up Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is now more important and more useful to businesses of all kinds than ever before. Cloud computing makes it possible to share, edit and collaborate on documents in a team, even when the team is spread out across different locations. So it’s no surprise that so many businesses are now discovering its utility.

Work with a Managed IT Services Provider

Working with a good managed IT services provider is a good idea. Now more than ever, businesses are reliant on their IT systems as they attempt to collaborate remotely, many of them for the first time. Having a managed IT services provider ensures that things remain running smoothly at all times.

Implement High-Quality Tech Solutions

High-quality tech solutions are vitally important and certainly shouldn’t be ignored. If you don’t have the right hardware and software in place for both managers and employees to use from day to day, your new remote working arrangements simply won’t function in the way you need them to.

It’s clear that there are some businesses coping better than others with the transition away from the office and towards the new digital reality of remote working brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. If your SMB is still transitioning, the tips discussed above should help you get where you need to be faster.