A: At a minimum, Managed IT Services provide proactive IT support 24/7, through monitoring, repair, and maintenance, performed by both IT Help Desk and on-site technicians, although the range of services offered by a Managed Services Provider can be massive. Hardware as a Service (HaaS) and Software as a Service (Saas) may be included as well.
A: Using Managed IT Services saves money – both in IT costs, but in terms of cutting downtime and productivity loss. Everything about IT support and services is taken care by the Managed Services Provider of with minimal client involvement. This allows the client to concentrating only on their business goals – not their IT support. Forbes provides an excellent overview of the factors that help determine if a Managed Services Provider is a good fit for your business.
A: Managed IT Services usually consist of a monthly subscription or retainer fee arrangement with the Managed Services Provider, and the costs depend on the range of services. The range can go from a ‘bare-bones’ arrangement at $80+/per user/per month, to the more all-inclusive IT Support Service Level Agreement (SLA) pricing which generally falls between $100 to $175 per user/per month. Especially for small business IT services, one should look suspiciously at anything higher than $175. According to Thumbtack, the overall average price for minimal Managed IT Services runs $80 to $100 per user per month.
A: The key concept is that IT Services Management take a proactively holistic approach to network infrastructure – looking after the whole rather than dealing only with individual components. We do this with IT support 24/7, monitoring and predictive maintenance. As issues arise in components, we not only address them, but examine why the issue occurred and how it matters in relation to the overall infrastructure. This is extremely important for small business IT support.
A: There are many excellent reasons to choose Managed IT Services, but the most important are the client’s peace of mind and bottom line. The client is able to focus completely on their goals, rather than IT support, which is the job of the Managed Services Provider. The old school ‘Break & Fix’ model of IT support leaves the client open to frequent and ongoing emergency situations. A Managed Services Provider keeps things running at an optimum level, but behind-the-scenes, primarily out of sight.
A: Every company needs IT Support of some kind. A ‘garage startup’ may do things themselves, but it won’t be long before they will need to look at some form of IT outsourcing services. Typically, once a business has a minimum of 10 users, they will need IT support and services, both financially and productivity-wise, although for small business IT support, a company can benefit greatly, depending on the nature of their business and the complexity of their network setup. Once a business grows to the 10-user threshold and uses a Managed Services Provider, there should be very little difference between large and small business IT support.
A: The IT help desk is the center in the offices of a Managed IT Services provider that provides ongoing remote IT support to clientele. It is not generally associated with free-lance IT service providers. On a day-to-day basis it is the primary point of contact between medium to small business IT support and its end-users. When an issue is detected within a client’s network infrastructure, the alert generated from the IT services provider’s monitoring software goes directly to the IT help desk. When end-users have any issue, it is the IT helpdesk they contact. To find a reputable IT Help Desk, just Google ‘MYFLORIDAMSP LLC’ and you will find qualified experts to interview.
A: MYFLORIDAMSP LLC constantly strives to improve its IT help desk response times and the quality of interactions with our clientele. We do this through continuing analysis of the following:
1) The promptness with which we handle IT service requests
2) The transparency with which we interact with clients (NO ‘Geek Speak’)
3) The quality and consistency of the detailed IT Support Ticket notes supplied by the IT help desk personnel.
4) Establishing priorities for IT help desk: Obviously, a down server takes priority over a printer connectivity issue. Each and every possible problem with a network has its own logical priority, and are acted on by IT support accordingly.
5) Delegation and Escalation: We keep each member of our both our IT help desk team operating at the level at which they are most competent. Senior, specialized technicians do not handle simple password resets, and junior technicians do not struggle with complex issues.
6) Ownership & Responsibility: Our IT help desk personnel do not just ‘visit’ an incoming service request that has been assigned to them, they take ownership of the technical issue and the responsibility for the client’s satisfaction upon resolution.
7) Defining the goals of our IT help desk: We set IT service goals for response and resolution times, and the number of tickets handled (rated according to task complexity), and use the metrics we examine to gauge our effectiveness.
8) Ongoing training: Business does not stand still, and neither do our IT help desk people or our field technicians. We provide the training and insist that every member of our IT support services team are currently devoting time to become qualified for their next certification. As we develop better methods of IT support execution – either through internal policies and procedures or in adopting new software that enables us to work better and faster, we train our IT services team on them.
1) The promptness with which we handle IT service requests
2) The transparency with which we interact with clients (NO ‘Geek Speak’)
3) The quality and consistency of the detailed IT Support Ticket notes supplied by the IT help desk personnel.
4) Establishing priorities for IT help desk: Obviously, a down server takes priority over a printer connectivity issue. Each and every possible problem with a network has its own logical priority, and are acted on by IT support accordingly.
5) Delegation and Escalation: We keep each member of our both our IT help desk team operating at the level at which they are most competent. Senior, specialized technicians do not handle simple password resets, and junior technicians do not struggle with complex issues.
6) Ownership & Responsibility: Our IT help desk personnel do not just ‘visit’ an incoming service request that has been assigned to them, they take ownership of the technical issue and the responsibility for the client’s satisfaction upon resolution.
7) Defining the goals of our IT help desk: We set IT service goals for response and resolution times, and the number of tickets handled (rated according to task complexity), and use the metrics we examine to gauge our effectiveness.
8) Ongoing training: Business does not stand still, and neither do our IT help desk people or our field technicians. We provide the training and insist that every member of our IT support services team are currently devoting time to become qualified for their next certification. As we develop better methods of IT support execution – either through internal policies and procedures or in adopting new software that enables us to work better and faster, we train our IT services team on them.
A: We manage our IT help desk by designing a clear workflow, automating some processes, empowering our IT services team to collaborate and ask for help when needed, communicate in a clear and friendly way with our end-users, monitoring and analyzing our IT support teams, and tracking our customer satisfaction.
A: They start with the customer contact, when the user sends an IT support ticket by email, website or phone. The ticket is logged, the first of the IT service notes are entered, the issue is examined, the user is answered and given an estimated timeline for resolution. The issue is resolved, whether remotely or on-site, the result is logged, the final notes are entered, and the IT service ticket is closed. At MYFLORIDAMSP, 80% of all IT support issues are resolved in an average of 35 minutes. Forbes has an excellent article on how to use any Help Desk Center to your best advantage.
A: The cost of IT outsourcing services of any kind, from technical on-site visits to remote IT help desk, to the full array offered by Managed IT Services providers vary greatly depending on the particulars laid out in the Service Level Agreement (SLA). Typically, IT help desk alone, with no on-site privileges, tend to run between $75 per user/per month to $125 per user/per month. IT Support LA offers a package at $50 per user/per month which includes, among other things, unlimited IT help desk and on-site IT services. We can do this because of the way in which our procedures are set up, and frankly, because of our success: we can afford to.
There are a number of ways to configure your Managed IT Services with or without using your own employees as an IT asset. Ntiva performs an excellent analysis and explains hidden costs as well. The average costs, just like it is with gasoline prices, may vary from region to reason. The average prices estimated above are consistent with the IT Services South Florida community.
There are a number of ways to configure your Managed IT Services with or without using your own employees as an IT asset. Ntiva performs an excellent analysis and explains hidden costs as well. The average costs, just like it is with gasoline prices, may vary from region to reason. The average prices estimated above are consistent with the IT Services South Florida community.
A: In the most basic of terms, simple Cyber Security guards against attacks in Cyberspace. Cyber Security services are one part of standard IT support and services – generally not split into a separate category with a different vendor than an IT support company or Managed IT Services provider. Simply put, it consists of planning and implementation of security measures designed to give a network infrastructure the greatest degree of security against threats both external and internal, through the application of firewalls, anti-virus (AV), and encryption tools, among others. The security analyst is the member of an IT services team who will monitor the network for weakness, keep abreast of current trends and methodologies used by cyber criminals, educate both the rest of the IT support team and the clients on ‘Cyber Security Dos & Don’ts’, and carry out simulated attacks to test the defenses.
If you currently without reliable and proficient IT Support, and concerned with how secure your network is, it is better to Google ‘MYFLORIDAMSP LLC’ rather than ‘Cyber Security South Florida’. The former will provide a much wider range of services than the latter.
If you currently without reliable and proficient IT Support, and concerned with how secure your network is, it is better to Google ‘MYFLORIDAMSP LLC’ rather than ‘Cyber Security South Florida’. The former will provide a much wider range of services than the latter.
A: A threat is any attempt by a cyber crook to breach a network. What the criminals seek is either money or data. Malware is the component of many of these attack styles – injecting itself into your system for a number of nefarious reasons. Data theft is where the crooks just copy the client’s data and steal it. It doesn’t disappear, so the client won’t know it was stolen – but the IT support and services company should. The FBI regularly publishes updates to the official government overview of the Threat-Matrix, and recommended Best Practices.
For threat methodologies, there are quite a few - below are the most common manifestations that IT support teams look for:
1) Phishing/Spear Phishing: This is a form of click-bait, but with bad intent. Malware is hidden behind links and attachments in emails from seemingly legitimate sources. Spear Phishing is more targeted – usually towards high level executives. Again, clients should be advised how to spot these as part of a greater ‘Cyber Security Dos & Don’ts’ training.
2) Ransomware: The criminal looks to trick an end-user into opening an attachment or clicking a link in a Phishing email that allows the malware into the system, where it encrypts all the data, not allowing the client to access it until they pay a ransom for a decryption key, paid in Crypto-currency. Any decent IT provider or Managed Services Provider should have protections, early breach notifications, AND remedies (secure local and cloud backup systems) in place, because sooner or later, it WILL happen – one bad click from an end-user on a Phishing email lets the malware into the system. The Federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency publishes ongoing updates on the specific threat of Ransomware.
3) Denial of Service (DoS): This aims at overwhelming the network with a barrage of requests that flood the system, making it unusable. Using infected devices for a more targeted attack is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS).
4) Zero-day Exploit: This attack occurs when network vulnerabilities in hardware or software is announced (such as Microsoft’s end date for security support for Windows 7 last year). Cyber crooks wait for these dates, and any companies who have not upgraded become the slow-running antelopes at the back of the herd. Not a good place to be. Your IT services team should be on top of these dates.
5) SQL Injection: The crooks gain access by uploading malicious Structured Query Language (SQL) scripts into the system, allowing the hackers to wreak havoc on your data.
6) Man in the Middle: Typically, the crook gets in between two users, pretending to be the persons both are communicating with, but in effect, they are gleaning sensitive information to use in a larger attack.
7) DNS Attack: Criminals exploit weaknesses in the Domain Name System (DNS) to redirect website visitors to malicious sites (DNS Hijacking) and steal data from the compromised networks involved (DNS Tunneling). This can be hard to catch by your IT support and services team, as it happens outside of the network – they will catch it when the crooks use the info from the website attack to enter the network.
8) APT Attack: Advanced Persistent Threats occur when a cyber-criminal gains access to a network system and ‘homesteads there – simply sets up shop and filters data out over time. Many can remain undetected for a while – this is where a top-notch IT support company is worth every penny the client pays for it. Many lesser IT providers won’t catch this threat.
For threat methodologies, there are quite a few - below are the most common manifestations that IT support teams look for:
1) Phishing/Spear Phishing: This is a form of click-bait, but with bad intent. Malware is hidden behind links and attachments in emails from seemingly legitimate sources. Spear Phishing is more targeted – usually towards high level executives. Again, clients should be advised how to spot these as part of a greater ‘Cyber Security Dos & Don’ts’ training.
2) Ransomware: The criminal looks to trick an end-user into opening an attachment or clicking a link in a Phishing email that allows the malware into the system, where it encrypts all the data, not allowing the client to access it until they pay a ransom for a decryption key, paid in Crypto-currency. Any decent IT provider or Managed Services Provider should have protections, early breach notifications, AND remedies (secure local and cloud backup systems) in place, because sooner or later, it WILL happen – one bad click from an end-user on a Phishing email lets the malware into the system. The Federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency publishes ongoing updates on the specific threat of Ransomware.
3) Denial of Service (DoS): This aims at overwhelming the network with a barrage of requests that flood the system, making it unusable. Using infected devices for a more targeted attack is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS).
4) Zero-day Exploit: This attack occurs when network vulnerabilities in hardware or software is announced (such as Microsoft’s end date for security support for Windows 7 last year). Cyber crooks wait for these dates, and any companies who have not upgraded become the slow-running antelopes at the back of the herd. Not a good place to be. Your IT services team should be on top of these dates.
5) SQL Injection: The crooks gain access by uploading malicious Structured Query Language (SQL) scripts into the system, allowing the hackers to wreak havoc on your data.
6) Man in the Middle: Typically, the crook gets in between two users, pretending to be the persons both are communicating with, but in effect, they are gleaning sensitive information to use in a larger attack.
7) DNS Attack: Criminals exploit weaknesses in the Domain Name System (DNS) to redirect website visitors to malicious sites (DNS Hijacking) and steal data from the compromised networks involved (DNS Tunneling). This can be hard to catch by your IT support and services team, as it happens outside of the network – they will catch it when the crooks use the info from the website attack to enter the network.
8) APT Attack: Advanced Persistent Threats occur when a cyber-criminal gains access to a network system and ‘homesteads there – simply sets up shop and filters data out over time. Many can remain undetected for a while – this is where a top-notch IT support company is worth every penny the client pays for it. Many lesser IT providers won’t catch this threat.
A: Information security is practically synonymous with Enterprise Cyber Security, as they both protect data on a more complete level, however Information Security is ONLY concerned with the data itself. Enterprise Cyber Security is concerned with the data, but with the network infrastructure in its entirety.
A business would do well to choose an IT Services company that incorporates Enterprise Security over a company that advertises itself as a simple Cyber Security Service.
A business would do well to choose an IT Services company that incorporates Enterprise Security over a company that advertises itself as a simple Cyber Security Service.
A: Forensics of any type deals with an issue or crime after it has been committed, by tracing the steps of the breach and amassing evidence for legal proceedings. Cyber Security Services deal with the prevention of the attack, and the disaster recovery if an attack occurs. Simply put, Cyber Security fixes the problem while digital forensic science supports those (the legal system) that fixes the blame.
A: ‘Enterprise’ simply indicates a higher level of proactive monitoring, protection, and disaster recovery for businesses. It is more all-inclusive than the basic Cyber Security used by consumers who have no need for actual IT support. Enterprise level security is the standard in use by the IT Support South Florida community.
A: At a minimum, Managed IT Services provide proactive IT support 24/7, through monitoring, repair, and maintenance, performed by both IT Help Desk and on-site technicians, although the range of services offered by a Managed Services Provider can be massive. Hardware as a Service (HaaS) and Software as a Service (Saas) may be included as well.
A: Using Managed IT Services saves money – both in IT costs, but in terms of cutting downtime and productivity loss. Everything about IT support and services is taken care by the Managed Services Provider of with minimal client involvement. This allows the client to concentrating only on their business goals – not their IT support. Forbes provides an excellent overview of the factors that help determine if a Managed Services Provider is a good fit for your business.
A: Managed IT Services usually consist of a monthly subscription or retainer fee arrangement with the Managed Services Provider, and the costs depend on the range of services. The range can go from a ‘bare-bones’ arrangement at $80+/per user/per month, to the more all-inclusive IT Support Service Level Agreement (SLA) pricing which generally falls between $100 to $175 per user/per month. Especially for small business IT services, one should look suspiciously at anything higher than $175. According to Thumbtack, the overall average price for minimal Managed IT Services runs $80 to $100 per user per month.
A: The key concept is that IT Services Management take a proactively holistic approach to network infrastructure – looking after the whole rather than dealing only with individual components. We do this with IT support 24/7, monitoring and predictive maintenance. As issues arise in components, we not only address them, but examine why the issue occurred and how it matters in relation to the overall infrastructure. This is extremely important for small business IT support.
A: There are many excellent reasons to choose Managed IT Services, but the most important are the client’s peace of mind and bottom line. The client is able to focus completely on their goals, rather than IT support, which is the job of the Managed Services Provider. The old school ‘Break & Fix’ model of IT support leaves the client open to frequent and ongoing emergency situations. A Managed Services Provider keeps things running at an optimum level, but behind-the-scenes, primarily out of sight.
A: Every company needs IT Support of some kind. A ‘garage startup’ may do things themselves, but it won’t be long before they will need to look at some form of IT outsourcing services. Typically, once a business has a minimum of 10 users, they will need IT support and services, both financially and productivity-wise, although for small business IT support, a company can benefit greatly, depending on the nature of their business and the complexity of their network setup. Once a business grows to the 10-user threshold and uses a Managed Services Provider, there should be very little difference between large and small business IT support.