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Archive for category: Network Assessment

Network Assessment Is An Essential IT Security and Productivity Tool

Network Assessment Is An Essential IT Security and Productivity Tool

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Network security is – or should be – at the forefront of every organizational strategy.

There is simply too much evidence that points to inaction as a root cause of security breaches.

Network Assessment Is An Essential IT Security and Productivity Tool

Can you prevent every attack?

Maybe not.

But the proactive organizations – the ones that assess risk, address risk, and reduce risk – are more likely to survive an attack should one happen.

Creating and maintaining an efficient network begins with a thorough assessment.

What Will a Network Assessment Accomplish?

A network assessment is a proactive tool to help prevent risk, downtime, security breaches, and loss of revenue.

There are many areas where a network assessment can help an organization achieve peak efficiency, but the main areas covered by a network assessment include analyzing infrastructure, security, and performance, to determine:

Resource Use

Are you over-utilizing resources and putting a strain on your network?

Do you have underutilized systems that could increase your efficiency?

Do you have assets that are nearing the end of their life cycles?

A network assessment can help you more effectively allocate resources, to improve productivity and save money while planning for necessary investments.

Security Risks

Do you have regulatory compliance requirements?

Handle secure customer data?

Have proprietary business information to protect?

A comprehensive assessment will quickly identify urgent security risks that can be immediately addressed.

Bandwidth Issues

An assessment can identify bandwidth bottlenecks and alleviate them with network traffic control and increased bandwidth.

A network assessment will help identify installation or connectivity problems as well as performance issues caused by users or apps.

It is impossible to plan for future growth and innovation without knowing the existing state of your network.

A comprehensive network assessment can help you:

  • Determine your network’s overall performance and capacity
  • Isolate network issues in your existing infrastructure
  • Assess your readiness to begin network infrastructure improvements
  • Prepare your organization for a shift to the cloud.

Network assessments are essential for monitoring network health.

The ITeam provides essential IT support to Calgary businesses, with fully managed and customized services designed to meet the needs of virtually any business. The ITeam will work with your Alberta business to customize a cost-effective solution and help you develop a comprehensive IT strategy that will help you survive economically stressful times. Contact us for a free consultation or schedule a network assessment today.

Develop a Better IT Strategy For Your Business Needs

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Develop a Better IT Strategy For Your Business Needs

According to the 2016 US CEO Survey from PwC US, 78 percent of CEOs are somewhat or extremely concerned about the rapid pace of technology change.

Gartner calls this rapid technological evolution – “the convergence of mobile, social, cloud and information [that] has become the platform for digital business” – the nexus of forces.

These forces are disrupting business models and forcing business leaders to evaluate how they use IT.

Whether or not your organization has an official IT strategy, obtaining a better understanding of your IT needs is something that should happen.

As technology, cloud services, and industries change more rapidly than ever, the only way to remain competitive, flexible, and protected is to know what you have and what you need.

Moreover, the ever-changing trends in technology demand that you regularly reassess your IT strategy, adapting your approach accordingly.

Identify Core IT Functions

Most likely, you are already using cloud services for some of your operations.

It’s even possible that there are cloud services that you do not know about being used by your employees.

An important first step in developing a better IT strategy is to identify the core IT functions that drive your business.

This will include things like email, data storage, data backup, applications and software, and phone services (VoIP), as well as infrastructure, such as servers.

Once you have listed all of your core needs, you can determine which are most critical.

Identify Areas of Risk

Your organization may have developed a robust backup and recovery system with offsite data storage yet have no email security.

You may have already shifted to software-as-a-service for most operations but have an outdated legacy system that you are still using.

You may have regulatory compliance issues that need to be addressed.

The point is, in order to mitigate risk, you must know what your risks are.

Bring IT Strategy to the Forefront

The organizations that remain competitive on a global scale are the ones that take a proactive stance in understanding and implementing IT strategy instead of waiting for technology to force their hands.

By developing a partnership with a knowledgeable IT Managed Services provider, savvy business leaders can stay a step ahead of the “nexus of forces”.

This can be done through leveraging emerging technologies to better meet the needs of customers and adjusting their business models to remain at the forefront of their industry.

As technology fundamentally changes how we do business and how we serve customers, business leaders must reevaluate whether their current IT strategy is meeting their needs.

Do you understand your organization’s IT needs?

Are you making a rapid shift to cloud-based services and need to identify your core needs?

Are you concerned about security and want to gain a more in-depth understanding of how secure your data and email are?

The ITeam is committed to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses develop proactive IT strategies that keep them competitive. Contact us to learn more.