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Last month, Govtech.com posted information to help government agencies get better at buying cloud-based services in an info graphic illustrating a cloud board game. Although you cannot actually play the board game, it does provide a fun illustration with simplified steps for moving to the cloud. They created 21 Steps to the Cloud to provide an easy guide to help public agencies understand the procedure of buying software, infrastructure and platforms as a service.

The information on the design includes the below steps to consider when selecting technology service providers:

• Operations – steps to assure that your cloud provider’s system performance and service reliability meet your needs

• Audits – traditional auditing practices can help you control public expenditures

• Security – its imperative to ensure your data is safe and encrypted

• Personnel – data must be secure no matter where it is

• Breach Notification – prompt notice of a security incident gives agencies time to take action

• Data – it is essential for public agencies to protect data integrity

You can view the full document and further information here: http://www.govtech.com/pcio/articles/21-Ways-to-Improve-Cloud-Purchasing.html

21 Steps to the Cloud offers a quick guide when looking at cloud solutions. Cloud and As-A-Service Procurements is another report released by Govtech.com outlining the changes needed for more flexible and agile procurement processes. To download the full report, visit: http://www.govtech.com/library/papers/Best-Practice-Guide-for-Cloud-and-As-A-Service-Procurements.html

View past articles here: techINSIDER
View blog posts by our engineers here: BLOG

Managed Solution is the premier provider of IT support services and technology recommendations for the public sector. Whether your infrastructure is on-site or cloud based, we have solutions for both. For organizations looking to move to the cloud, we can certify you are cloud ready. For more information contact Managed Solution at 800-550-3795 or fill out the form below.

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Microsoft recently concluded its Worldwide Partner Conference and it became clear after CEO, Satya Nadella spoke that the company would push forward with its cloud-based agenda. While the company’s roots lie in software, they are looking to dissolve the lines between work and personal computing – through a convergence if you will. In order to do this, Microsoft will continue to develop and focus its efforts on a cloud infrastructure.

“We’re building out that digital infrastructure that ties together people, their activities, their relationships - to all of the artifacts of their life, be their photos or documents and more. That’s what digital work and life experiences mean,” says Nadella.

Moving forward, the company will continue to develop products such as Skype, Lync and OneDrive to benefit enterprises and individual consumers alike. For instance, Microsoft is grooming Skype on its speech recognition, translation, learning and synthesis capabilities. This will radically transform communication. Additionally, they are working on building an integrated stack of cloud services (private, public and hybrid) and applications with existing products such as Office 365, Azure and Dynamics CRM.

This speech comes at a time when major layoffs are expected throughout the company. Nadella, although recently appointed, remains hopeful and encourages listeners that a renewal of company culture with a cloud vision in mind is the only way to be successful.

Discover how cloud computing can greatly impact your enterprise. Call us at 800-550-3795 or fill out the contact form to the right to learn more.

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Microsoft announced that it is coming out with new hardware and cloud management features for its StorSimple hybrid storage solution. The added benefit…it promises lower costs and better data protection. Microsoft plans to roll out the new StorSimple 8000 series on August 1 within the Azure cloud environment.

 

BENEFITS:

• Cut storage costs by 40-60 percent.

• Receive faster access to disaster recovery

• Access tools that provide usage snapshots and trends

• Consolidate management with central console

 

HOW IT WORKS:

Storage - The hardware (StorSimple 8100 and 8600) tier information between SSD and HHD drivers as well as within the Azure cloud. This gives users the flexibility to expand storage capacity in the cloud and set disaster protections. The Virtual Appliance feature enables the functionality of the on-site StorSimple hardware except that it is deployed via virtual machines within Azure. When coupled with StorSimple hardware at customer sites, the virtual appliance can run applications in Azure by accessing virtual volumes uploaded to the cloud from the on-premises storage. This model results in less disruption of the existing data-center workloads by utilizing cloud-based snapshots instead.

Recovery – Applications that have be virtualized on-premises can be restarted on virtual machines within Azure using data that has been stored there previously. Once data is restored on-site, the changes made from within the cloud during the restoration process are synced. The benefit of data duplication extends past disaster recovery, and into development and testing of applications as well as search and application migration.

StorSimple was an independent startup purchased by Microsoft in 2012. This is the first generation of products since its acquisition. Storage ranges from 15T to 40T Byte (on-site) with 200T Byte capacity in the cloud.

 

Discover how to access and recover data faster with Microsoft hybrid cloud solutions. Call us at 800-550-3795 or fill out the contact form to the right to start saving.

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A loss of data or productivity can be disastrous for an organization. While many companies see the value in protecting their operations from downtime or loss, they simply don’t have the in-house expertise or budget to develop a sufficient recovery plan. What if you were told that there was a flexible, lower-cost solution to increasing your resiliency? The secret’s out - companies are exponentially adopting cloud-based models to improve their disaster recovery capabilities. Here’s why:

1. It’s Easy to Get Started

Forget complex processes that involve hardware, hiring and training specialized staff, etc. With cloud-based disaster recovery setup is simple, secure and automated. In the event of a disaster or disruptive occurrence, applications and data are replicated and recovered easily – so you don’t have to worry.

2. It’s a Flexible, Lower-Cost Alternative 

Stop compromising your security in order to stay within budget. In-house BDR solutions are expensive and relatively static. Cloud-based BDR options are flexible and scalable, meaning you only pay for what you need, plus you don’t need to invest in all of the hardware.

3. It’s a Simplified Environment 

Don’t tear your hair out trying to create a disaster recovery plan when you can consolidate all of your IT needs under one roof. With cloud-based models you can leverage the same tools, skill sets and processes that you currently use with confidence and ease.

4. There’s Consistency in Management 

Don’t hire new specialized staff or invest in complex training for current staff on BDR processes. Cloud-based models provide a single interface and common management with your onsite environment. Therefore, admins can operate in an environment they are comfortable in with access to your BDR at all times.

 

To learn more about Managed Solution’s cloud-based disaster recovery offerings, fill out the contact form to the right or call us at 800-550-3795.

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Storage, Backup, and Recovery

Azure provides scalable, durable cloud storage, backup, and recovery solutions for any data, big and small.

Azure works with the infrastructure you already have to cost-effectively enhance your business continuity strategy as well as provide storage required by your cloud applications.

StorSimple cloud-integrated storage (CiS) provides primary storage, backup, archive, and disaster recovery. Combined with Windows Azure, this hybrid cloud storage solution optimizes total storage costs and data protection for enterprises.

Hybrid cloud storage provides an optimal combination of data control and cloud economics.

StorSimple cloud-integrated storage provides an on-premises enterprise-grade storage area network (SAN) that works seamlessly with Windows Azure to enable unlimited capacity scaling, significantly lower cost of ownership and automated data protection in the cloud.

Access frequently used data locally and tier less-used, backup, and archive data to the cloud using StorSimple and Windows Azure. Your data is de-duplicated, compressed, and encrypted before sending. You can rapidly recover your data to a StorSimple device from virtually any location with an Internet connection.

About Managed Solution

We're technology enthusiasts with a people-first approach. For over two decades, we've witnessed the profound impact that the right technology and support can have on businesses and individuals. Success, to us, is seeing our clients, partners, and team conquer challenges to achieve their greatest goals and build lasting connections. This relentless pursuit of inspiration drives us forward, pushing us to deliver innovative solutions that empower growth and lasting success.

View Services. 

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The amount of data produced, stored and shared electronically is enormous…and continually growing. As a result, more than half of U.S. businesses are turning to cloud storage, according to Forbes. While the cloud provides a low-cost, scalable solution to storage, application deployment, and backup it may not be suited for everyone. Read on to discover the top three things to consider before making a move to the cloud.

 

1. Know your Cloud Vendor

Make sure your cloud vendor is up-to-date on data center and industry certifications. It helps to select a provider with experience in your industry. This will further ensure regulatory compliance and lead to a more appropriate cloud design. Finally, once you’ve selected a vendor be sure to read their Service Level Agreement (SLA) in detail before signing on the dotted line. Make sure guarantees are clearly stated and cover availability of data and systems, and response times for different issues (i.e. security, technical, etc). Finally, talk to your cloud vendor about the recovery process and understand the level of support you can expect when data is lost or disrupted.

 

2. Understand its Capabilities

Bandwidth limitations should be a big consideration if you are planning to utilize the cloud as a backup approach. Since data must be moved from a local area network to a wide area network, try to gauge if it will take minutes, hours or days to transfer. This should also set the expectation for recovery/restoration. In addition to bandwidth it is important to ensure that data is encrypted for maximum security. Often the service provider has the ability to encrypt your data, however if they encrypt it, they can also decrypt it. Experts suggest encrypting data on your own.

 

3. Visualize the Cost

Make sure you understand what is covered in your monthly service and what is extra. Before migrating to the cloud, compare the cost of your existing solution to different levels of cloud offerings. Often, cloud solutions are relatively inexpensive in relation to on-premise IT; with that said, don’t overbuy storage. Determine the appropriate amount for your organization and pay as you go. Cloud computing is flexible and scalable, therefore there is no need to buy more than what you currently utilize.

 

To learn more about a data storage option that’s right for you, fill out the contact form to the right or call us at 800-550-3795.

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The first step to a successful cloud migration is to assess, price and validate your cloud migration. This assessment is a comprehensive review of your business' infrastructure - your organization as a whole, operations and technology. This assessment focuses on determining if you are, or evolving your organization to a point where you are, ready to move a significant portion of your infrastructure to the cloud.

 

Assess

Determine if your current infrastructure is ready to move to the cloud with an in-depth view into what you currently have in order to identify any areas that may need to be improved. This way, you can build these planned improvements into your budget for the cloud migration.

Price

Once we have fully assessed your current infrastructure, we can establish a clear view of what your organization needs to migrate to the cloud. We can then compare pricing of a variety of IaaS providers and show you what a cloud IaaS solution will cost your organization as compared to traditional delivery models.

Validate

Use this assessment to properly plan, budget, and validate your cloud migration.

 

To determine if your current infrastructure is ready for a cloud migration, fill out the form below to schedule a no-obligation Cloud Readiness Assessment (valued at up to $1,000), and one of our Cloud Solution Experts will contact you shortly.

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One by one companies and agencies are falling victim to data theft. In fact, some of the biggest breaches have occurred within the past year. This level of vulnerability has forced organizations to re-think their security strategies and develop multi-layered defenses against cyber-intrusion. Here we review eight notorious data breaches of the past year and remind ourselves to tighten up!

1. California DMV

Sometime between August 2013 and January 2014, the California DMV cited a possible credit card breach through transactions conducted on their website. The DMV is concerned that other information such as driver’s licenses, social security numbers, email and physical addresses were also stolen.

Affected: 11.9 million (or more) credit card transactions

Aftermath: While the DMV is not 100% sure that the breach occurred, they are performing a full forensic investigation and notifying banks and other institutions of the possibility.

2. University of Maryland

In February, the University of Maryland suffered a large cyber-intrusion. Hackers reportedly accessed 16 years’ worth of social security numbers, birthdays and university ID numbers of staffers, students and employees.

Affected: Anyone with a campus ID since 1998 (approximately 300,000 people)

Aftermath: Another cyber-attack was reported shortly after the initial one which prompted the FBI and Secret Service to get involved.

3. Sally Beauty

Also in February, Sally Beauty Holdings became aware of suspicious network behavior. Thanks to Tripwire’s intrusion detection technology they were able to shut down external communication and look into the potential breach. Unfortunately, the investigation showed that credit card data had been stolen.

Affected: 25,000 records

Aftermath: Verizon’s cybersecurity and forensics teams along with the Secret Service have been deployed to investigate the data breach further.

4. Target

Last December, Target announced that it had been the victim of a massive cyber-attack via their point-of-sale (POS) devices. Personal data, credit card numbers, and PIN numbers were all stolen in what some are calling one of the biggest data breaches in history.

Affected: 70 million consumers

Aftermath: Target has offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection for those affected. Additionally, Target will cover any fraudulent charges made (as a result of the breach) to customer credit cards.

5. Neiman Marcus

Between mid-July and late October of last year Neiman Marcus said that it too had suffered a data breach similar to Target. While credit and debit card numbers were stolen, PINs were not.

Affected: 1.1 million customers

Aftermath: Much like Target, Neiman Marcus is offering free credit monitoring and identity-theft protection to those whose data was compromised.

6. Apple Developer Portal

In July of 2013, apple noticed suspicious behavior on their developer site and initiated a three-day shutdown/investigation of the site. While sensitive information was encrypted and therefore safe, information such as names, email and physical addresses were thought to be compromised.

Affected: 100,000 developers

Aftermath: Apple promised developers that it would overhaul its systems, update server software and rebuild their entire database.

7. Adobe

In October, Adobe reported a cyber-attack on credit card data and login records of its account holders. Source code for Photoshop was also taken. Luckily, credit card information was encrypted therefore making it more difficult to abuse. This breach apparently affected Evernote users as well, hence conflicting data below.

Affected: 3 million users (or 38 million – reports vary)

Aftermath: Adobe is offering free credit monitoring to users whose encrypted data was stolen.

8. LivingSocial.com

In April of 2013 LivingSocial suffered a cyber-intrusion and lost user’s names, emails, birthdays and passwords.

Affected: 50 million users

Aftermath: Registered users were asked to reset their passwords.

Don’t fall victim to a data breach. Have the appropriate security measures and monitoring in place to stop a cyber-attack before it happens. We’ve learned that everyone is potentially vulnerable, including large corporations and the government, so ensure that you have an up-to-date backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan in effect.

To learn more about data security and BDR solutions from Managed Solution, fill out the contact form to the right or call us at 800-550-3795.

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