Great Lakes Computer Corporation

Managed Service Provider

Bob Martin

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How Do You Know if the Cloud is Right for You?

Cloud ComputingLet’s begin with this false statement, “Moving your IT functions to the cloud may not be right for you.” I say it’s false because moving to the cloud is inevitable. But, by adding one little word, we can make this statement true. “Moving your IT functions to the cloud may not be right for you, yet.” Fail to plan for it and you’ll get left in the dust. I don’t just mean some applications either, as many early adopters are applying. According to Gartner, “by 2019, more than 30 percent of the 100 largest vendors’ new software investments will have shifted from cloud-first to cloud-only.” But, how do you know when the time is right?

Some might say the cloud will immediately save you money because it gives you updated and robust security, virtually limitless scalability, constant redundancy, disaster recovery, and total mobility in terms of your workforce. While all those benefits are real and true,you can’t just flip a switch to turn on the cloud. It doesn’t just appear and suck up all your data. You have to transition it there. And that’s where you might not be ready, yet.

You need to assess your current IT environment and decide if you have the capability to shift with your legacy applications. The average business is dealing with loads of storage already existing in their data centers. To make the shift to cloud, these may need to be re-platformed which can be costly in the short term. Alternately, you may take a hybrid approach with the ultimate goal of full cloud operations. The key is to look at the savings over the next five years.

An article from Network World suggests how we should evaluate the situation:

The answer… can be found by exploring the provisioning, usage, and utilization patterns of your current compute, and then building an unbiased economic model around it. The challenge is churning through hundreds-of-millions of data points to find the best fit for your workloads, while ensuring the results are not tainted by the hand that holds the pencil, so to speak.

To that end, many of today’s leading enterprises, cloud providers and consultants use analytical and algorithmic decision making platforms to assist with the rightsizing and right-costing of enterprise compute. Adopting the right analytical solution can enable your organization to identify the best fit — on premise or cloud, instance size, and pricing option — to accommodate the real-time compute needs of your enterprise workloads.

While analytic and algorithmic analysis solutions will come in various shapes and sizes, to find the right fit there are a few key things to consider. The solution should be one that is cost-effective and does not require new agents to be deployed. Algorithms that have been validated by both hardware and cloud providers will ensure the outcomes are vendor agnostic and always represent your ideal future states. Lastly, the solution should contain a reference library of current on-premise costs, which will allow you to get immediate value and make it easier to identify the best fits for cloud.

By looking at the real-time compute needs of your current workloads and associating it with the economics of ideal future states, you will have the tools to make “To Cloud or Not to Cloud?” an easier question to answer.

If you are ready to start the move to the cloud, either via baby steps (like Software-as-a-Service) or a leap of faith (Complete Cloud), Great Lakes Computer can help. We offer a full range of cloud computing options to help you reach your business goals and keep you competitive. Contact us to learn more.

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4 Reasons You Need Managed IT Services in 2017

Managed IT ServicesMaybe you’ve overlooked managed services in the past because you weren’t ready… ready to pay someone to do what you felt you could… ready to outsource control of critical business functions… ready to trust anyone other than yourself to protect your business. But, now that you’re running full-steam ahead with your 2017 plans, you realize something’s gotta give. Here are four ways that outsourcing your IT services can help relieve your burden and free you up to focus on growth.

    1. Enhanced Security.We’re no longer just trying to protect our office computers and servers from breaches, we have to look at the bigger picture, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, and wearable tech. Your staff, like everyone else in the world, is hooked in all the time. All of it is capable of hooking into your system, and most of the time, your staff puts your data security at risk without even being aware of it. If your security was represented by the walls of a house, imagine all those access points as open windows. Hackers can quickly assess the easiest targets, and a small to mid-sized company with lax security protocols are ripe for the picking. Managed Service Providers (MSP) are experts in up-to-date security measures. It’s a full-time job learning about all the new threats on the horizon and then how to address them. Don’t make it your full time job. When it comes to data security, not only is DIY a risky approach, it could very well be catastrophic to your business.
    2. Proactive IT Management.

      It’s not realistic for business owners to be constantly monitoring the state of their network, software, and hardware. When self-administering your infrastructure, you’ll find your time is spent putting out fires and addressing emergencies, like network crashes, equipment failures, and supply re-ordering. An MSP monitors your IT state 24/7/365. Security services can proactively build new defenses in advance of new attack strategies. Managed Print Providers (MPP) can remotely monitor your toner level and have the replacement installed before the old one runs out. If there’s a network slowdown, your MSP will detect it immediately and make the adjustments needed to improve your service without you ever being bothered with it. As your equipment performance starts to wane, your MSP will know what needs to be done, whether it’s a simple repair or if a replacement is needed. You’ll be able to plan for the expense of new equipment in advance, instead of emergency replacement.
    3. Maximize Uptime. Now that we’ve enhanced security and are getting problems fixed before they even become problems, you stay online and your productivity increases. Every equipment or network failure slams the brakes on your team’s progress, and impacts your customer experience. Managed IT services eliminate those failures, and you help streamline everyone’s work flow. Your IT staff will be freed up to focus on growth issues, not emergencies as well. It is estimated that 1 in 4 help desk calls are printer-related. They would have 25% more time to use towards improving the business.
    4. Modern Technology Updates.  If you are fortunate enough to have in-house IT staff, they may be great at what they do but likely spend most of their time responding to issues instead of getting ahead of them. Are they proficient in the newest technologies available? An MSP provides knowledgeable and current expertise in addition to being able to repair and maintain your current environment. Your staff and your clients will reap the benefits of applying new technology, like cloud computing, Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD), and disaster recovery.

There are so many critical IT services that can now be outsourced. Great Lakes Computer has been offering a wide-range of managed services for the last 30 years, and we continue to offer new ones as the IT environment has evolved. Whether it be cloud computing, server monitoring, managed print, cybersecurity, or hardware service, we can make sure your data is flowing safely and freely and free you up to grow your business.

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Make the Most of Your Shadow… Shadow IT That Is

Shadow ITToday, shadows are very front of mind. Unfortunately, Punxsutawney Phil saw his, meaning six more weeks of winter. But there’s another shadow that we’ll be seeing a lot more of in 2017… Shadow IT. Shadow IT refers to IT systems and solutions that are managed outside of the IT department in an enterprise, and often without their knowledge. It includes file sharing apps (like Dropbox), social media, collaboration tools (like Skype), and Software-as-a-Service (like Office 365). These apps can make employees more productive and enhance collaboration, and companies that recognize this will find ways to leverage these advantages. But, they must also take responsibility for ensuring compliance and security now, more than ever before.

According to Gartner, by 2020, a third of successful attacks experienced by enterprises will be on their shadow IT resources. Additionally, they recommend that organizations develop an enterprise-wide data security governance program. Identify data security policy gaps, develop a roadmap to address the issues and seek cyberinsurance when appropriate. So just how do they maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks of Shadow IT?

    1. Reduce Roadblocks to IT Implementation. Often, these apps are used because there isn’t a comparable option readily available internally, so employees decide to circumvent the system. If there are IT-based productivity solutions waiting in the pipeline, develop a process to fast track them.
    2. Embrace the Cloud. If your partners are pushing for cloud adoption, it’s time to get on board. There’s no avoiding cloud computing, it’s not the future anymore, it’s the now. There are so many ways to adopt the cloud to your enterprise, and they all increase productivity, enhance collaboration, and increase security, redundancy, and scalability over your legacy systems. If you encourage your IT team to support the cloudshift, they can get ahead of data security issues by creating proper authentication, authorization, and accounting mechanisms.
    3. Get Ahead of the Trends. Pay attention to the new apps on the horizon, and consider how they might be useful to your business model or staff communications. If you can introduce a solution before your staff can do it on their own, you can put into place compliance regulations and security protocols. IT members should make an effort to collaborate with department heads in this regard as well. Individual departments may have valuable input on what needs they have that aren’t being fulfilled by current IT.
    4. Be Open-Minded but Firm-Handed. If you discover that your staff already has apps in use without your knowledge, don’t be so quick to shut them down. Investigate why they are using it, the benefits, the risks, and if you can find a way to utilize it securely. However, don’t encourage them to just try new apps that create open windows to your data at their whim. Encourage them to present to you the case for their needs so your IT team can investigate. Establish policies and procedures for access and use for each app individually.

Shadow IT was once seen as only a negative… one more point of vulnerability for your security. But, if adapted with caution and IT involvement, these SaaS solutions can be a boon to your competitive advantage. If you’d like to introduce cloud computing to your business environment, Great Lakes Computer can help you do it securely. We offer a range of solutions from single apps to complete cloud, based on your preference. We also offer several cybersecurity enhancements, like antivirus and “human firewall” training, to help you control any vulnerabilities shadow IT has already created. Contact us today to learn more.

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