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What MSPs Need to Know about GDPR

By Joshua Oakes posted 23 hours ago
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On May 25th, GDPR becomes enforceable law. Even though it’s a European law, there’s a good chance it will apply to your business, too. We reached out to GDPR consultant   Ale Brown   of   Kirke Management Consulting , to write this guest post to provide you with the information you need to know about GDPR. Background The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been a topic of interest for the last year or so among organizations that collect or store personal data from residents of EU countries. The law will be enforceable beginning May 25, 2018. Here’s what you need to know right now: Your company probably has legal obligations under GDPR ...
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Benefits of Virtual Tunnel Interface - VTI - It's Not Your Grandfather's VPN

By Mike Siegler posted 6 days ago
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Ecessa’s network engineers not only stay on top of developments in technology, they help lead them. VTI is one such breakthrough.  Data security is in the crosshairs of most IT departments. As organizations move secure applications and sensitive data to the cloud, they need secure connections between their locations and the cloud application. Virtual Private Networks (VPN) are vital to networking because they provide secure communications between sites (in site-to-site VPN configurations) and make corporate networks available to remote users (via remote access VPNs). Trouble is, with discreet VPN connections, it's all or nothing in terms of your traffic ...
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Documenting and Managing Internet Domains & DNS at Scale

By Vincent Tran posted 8 days ago
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HTG Peer Group partner MSPs understand the value of using automation to drive operational efficiency and profitability. Managing across hundreds of customer environments forces your teams to work smarter: leveraging the RMM to the hilt with custom scripting, developing efficient workflows, and diligently documenting processes. Only when you must, you seek to hire the best engineers money can buy. However, even in the best case scenario, your visibility into system configurations stop where you're unable to install an RMM agent . This means for systems like domain names, network devices and cloud services, engineers are manually logging into individual ...
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Building a Culture of Innovation: Part 2 - How

By Arial Harland posted 03-19-2018
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Last week, I wrote about why innovation in today’s competitive landscape is critical in order for your company to thrive. Then I gave you a formula for delivering success in this aspect of your business. A culture built around innovation leads to success through the reinforcement of idea generation and having a method for executing those ideas. Now, I’d like to share how you can intentionally design a culture of innovation, where the ideas are flowing and being consistently implemented into your organization. The first step is creating your case for change. Get a good grasp on why your company needs to prioritize innovation and what benefits you’ll see ...
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Building a Culture of Innovation: Part 1 - Why

By Arial Harland posted 03-19-2018
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​ “He who does not move forward, falls behind.” – Wayne Keegan This is one of my favorite quotes, but it’s also a little scary. It reminds me of the need to constantly move forward. Even if you’re in a good position today, you can’t rest or your competition will surpass you. Therefore, I’m always thinking about how our business needs to evolve in order to stay relevant in a world that’s always changing. The competitive landscape is so severe; we can no longer simply provide customers with what they already know they need. Instead, we have to anticipate what our customers want before they realize it. This requires thinking and looking at problems differently, ...
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​Cultivating Culture

By Arial Harland posted 03-19-2018
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You’ve heard of the benefits of a strong, positive organizational culture well aligned with your business plan. Plow in hand, you’re now ready to begin the good work of cultivating your own culture, to begin reaping the benefits of happier, more productive employees. But, looking around your organizational landscape, you wonder, “Where do I even start?” The key to using this powerful aspect of your business to garner motivation and retention of internal talent, while also driving business performance, is an understanding of how to take a focused, systematic approach. After all, no fruitful garden happens overnight or without a little perspiration!  Imagine ...
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Strengthen Your Business with Network Resiliency

By Mike Siegler posted 03-14-2018
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Resiliency is the ability to recover quickly and spring back. Today’s networks demand resiliency because downtime can be catastrophic to any business. Now is the time to review the resiliency of your clients' networks to ensure they have plans in place to prevent outages and bounce back after any unforeseen challenges. In fast-paced, constantly connected environments, the network needs to keep up. Email has become the primary form of communication. Account databases have become the sole location of important customer information. Credit card processing has evolved and is now instant through an internet connection. Phone systems are becoming digital, allowing ...
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How to Lead Prospects through the Sales Process Faster

By Kendra Lee posted 03-05-2018
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Your sales prospects don’t know how to be good prospects. They don’t ignore you out of spite. They don’t avoid sharing their proposal decisions to annoy you. They do those things because they don’t know how to be good prospects. Prospects know they want to buy something, but they don’t always know what to buy, and they don’t know how to figure out what’s best for their company. They get stuck in their own decision-making loop, frequently making no decision at all. It’s your job to help your prospects be good prospects. It’s your job to guide them to make the right decision for them. Your prospects’ job is to be open, responsive, and move forward toward ...
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Get More Value from Microsoft + Pax8

By Jennifer Bodell posted 03-02-2018
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Did you know that Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) represents a   $180 billion   opportunity in 2018 alone? As your wingman in the cloud, Pax8 wants to help you fully capitalize on this massive chance to build solid monthly recurring revenue today and for years to come. To support your success in the cloud, we're engaging in strategic vendor partnerships and training opportunities. And we're pleased to announce that we just wrapped up Microsoft's most successful Azure boot camp in its history. The fully-booked workshop, with more than 50 Pax8 partners in attendance, offered comprehensive education and hands-on training on how to profitably deliver Azure ...
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Pax8 Expands Cloud Security Portfolio through a Strategic Partnership with Webroot

By Jennifer Bodell posted 03-02-2018
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DENVER, CO   (February 14, 2018) -   Pax8 , the leading value-added cloud distributor, today announced a partnership with   Webroot , the Smarter Cybersecurity® company. Through the new partnership, Pax8 is now offering the full suite of Webroot cloud security solutions, including   SecureAnywhere® Business Endpoint Protection ,   SecureAnywhere® DNS Protection , and   Security Awareness Training . "Our partners asked for Webroot, and today, we delivered," said Ryan Walsh, chief channel officer at Pax8. "Webroot's intelligent cloud security solutions empower MSPs to protect their customers from cyberattacks. By combining the industry's first fully cloud-based ...
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Automating MSP System Configuration Documentation with Roar

By Vincent Tran posted 02-26-2018
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Hello HTG! We're so excited to be a part of the community! Liongard's Roar platform automates system documentation by retrieving configuration state data from cloud, network, and on-premise systems. With the data, Roar enables rich system discovery, detection of critical changes, and best practices assessments (e.g. user lists, MFA, Password Policy, license/domain/SSL expirations, and open S3 buckets, to name a few.) Snapshots of the systems are captured on a daily basis. This allows MSPs to look back to see how things were configured prior to any changes by staff, the client, or possible intruders. Roar is a DVR for an MSP's CMDB. "To Liongard, ...
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SD-WAN - The State of the Industry

By Mike Siegler posted 02-15-2018
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Welcome to the New Year! As the new CEO of Ecessa I wanted to introduce myself. I joined Ecessa in 2014 serving as Vice President of Development and Support where I focused much of my time on software development and feature innovation. Subsequently, I became Chief Technology Officer, expanding on that technical role and helping to focus our position in the expanding Software-Defined Wide Area Network  (SD-WAN)  marketplace. Prior to Ecessa, I held various leadership roles at technology companies in different industries. I’m thrilled to step up to the CEO role at Ecessa, continuing to drive our growth in this exciting space and helping customers adopt this ...
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Tips for Migrating Applications to the Cloud

By Richard Parker posted 02-15-2018
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Tips for Migrating Applications to the Cloud by Rene Alamo | Tech Data Field Solutions Architect Let me start off and quote Charles Dickens by saying, “ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” . I would say we are in the best of times with the ability to use and connect to any number of leading Public Cloud vendors. You really have a blank canvas to create whatever service you want — SaaS, PaaS, IaaS — and all connected faster in the Cloud than it would take to configure the same on premises. Some people would say we are in the worst of times due to the many Public Cloud vendors and all the complexity that brings. While ...
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WatchGuard Technologies Acquires Percipient Networks and Adds Security at the DNS Layer to Company’s SMB Security Platform

By Marlene Kouba posted 02-05-2018
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Acquisition supports the company’s long-standing vision of making enterprise-grade security accessible to every organization through simplification of packaging, pricing, and product usability.  Learn more here
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How Datto Delivers Network Continuity on the Race Track

By Anna Bernath posted 01-30-2018
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The   North American Ferrari Challenge   is a highly competitive racing series run by Ferrari North America. The racing teams require state-of-the-art technology to deliver instant results and stay ahead of the competition. One of these teams, New Country Competizione, relies on Strategic Micro Systems and Datto team up to provide  network continuity   to the race engineers and the rest of the team. Learn more by watching the video here
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SamSam Ransomware Strain Kicks off 2018

By Dryden Geary posted 01-29-2018
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Last year was the year that a single ransomware payment hit the $1 million mark.  As the year progressed, we watched cybercriminals shift their focus from single users to targeted attacks on businesses and organizations.  The massive scale of the WannaCry and Petya attacks sent shock waves amongst cybersecurity professionals and company boardrooms.  While both attacks generated large disruptions in business operations that resulted in lost income and in some cases, falling stock prices, the instigators behind the attacks made little to no money to speak of from their efforts.   In many cases, however, the cost of dealing with the destruction and aftermath ...
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Employment laws to watch in 2018

By Dannie Diego posted 01-24-2018
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Employment laws continue to evolve, and 2018 will usher in some big changes in two of our most populous states, California and New York. The HR world is abuzz with all the implications of implementing New York state’s paid family leave legislation and California’s ban-the-box law, both of which went into effect January 2018. If past trends are any indication, these new laws will likely spread to other parts of the country soon, so it’s good to be aware of the changes because you may see them soon in your state. Click on the link to read more about 2018 changes in employment laws. https://www.insperity.com/blog/employment-la
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It’s Time to Capitalize on the Cloud Distribution Revolution

By Jennifer Bodell posted 01-19-2018
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Nostalgia is nice, but legacy distribution partners are failing to fully support Managed Service Providers (MSPs) as they move their businesses to the cloud. Outdated contracts, provisioning systems, and support processes effectively clip MSPs’ wings, thereby grounding cloud efforts. “Pick, pack, and ship” distribution is quickly becoming a relic of the past, going the way of the rotary phone and typewriter. And being good at traditional distribution doesn’t seem to translate well into the cloud. It’s a completely different mindset. Even putting fresh talent and funding behind newly formed cloud teams, traditional distributors are still stuck with their legacy ...
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How Pax8 is Revolutionizing the IT Channel by Helping MSPs On-Board Cloud Customers Faster

By Jennifer Bodell posted 01-19-2018
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What’s constantly expanding, growing at a   19% CAGR through 2020 , and made easily accessible by Pax8? If you said the SMB cloud, you’d be right. This space is poised for epic growth, and Pax8 is making moves to ensure its partners are prepared to capitalize on emerging opportunities. In fact, the born-in-the-cloud distributor managed to snag the Best in Show and Best Keynote awards at the NexGen 2017 Conference & Technology Expo. At the event, Pax8 made a game-changing announcement that will help Managed Service Providers (MSPs) more easily deploy services to new customers and users. Called Pax8 Stax Designer, the solution helps MSPs instantly move ...
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HTG Member Insights from CES 2018

By Scott Scrogin posted 01-18-2018
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Last week I asked two HTG members to send me their observations from CES 2018 , the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. My comments about CES are online . Thank you to these members for sharing!  Marc Harrison ( Marc@Silicon-East.com ) is with Silicon East in Morganville, NJ. Marc is a member of HTG18 and a multi-year attendee of CES. My observations: The show has gotten so big that’s it’s impossible to see everything.  I was there 3 full days and saw maybe 50%. On the other hand, almost EVERYTHING at the show was network connected.  So knowledge of diverse product areas will become more urgent over time. PCs were definitely de-emphasized ...
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