SOFTWARE SERVICES - Awareness

The dangers of leaving disaster recovery out of your IT budget.

Why disaster recovery should be a necessity for your business, not an option. Many UK corporations take the view that investing in disaster recovery and business continuity is just not necessary and opt to apportion the company budget in different areas. If this is your view, it’s a very risky one and could result in the loss of more than a period of downtime. A significant number of businesses fail to fully recover from the impact of a disaster that they could have survived if only they had had the foresight to plan ahead. So, what stops businesses from planning for the consequences of what could go wrong? Why businesses don’t plan for DR. There are a number of reasons why SMEs fail to plan for how they will recover after a disaster and continue to operate. These include ignorance of the need and/or consequences, thinking it doesn’t apply to them due to size and/or reach of their operation or assuming that their IT infrastructure is secure. However, the three main reasons are: 1. Cost – it is widely assumed the costs associated with implementing a DR (Disaster Recovery) plan are going to be very high. Businesses weigh the perceived cost against what they assume to be a small probability of experiencing a disaster and draw the conclusion that it’s not worth the expense. A ‘we’ll cross that bridge’ attitude is adopted, only to find that trying to deal with the consequences of a disaster when one is actually happening, is too late and costs far more than the initial outlay of an effective DR solution. 2. Lack of outage awareness – many SMEs don’t realise how their business is being affected by small outages and this is likely due to a lack of reporting. Management may assume that their IT infrastructure is solid because they are unaware of any problems. This lack of awareness can accumulate over time to negatively impact running costs and reputation and result in lost business, customer loyalty and productivity. An effective DR solution with appropriate monitoring (see our PRTG product for details) would quickly identify areas in the infrastructure that require improvement and immediately have an impact on efficiency and security of data. 3. Small amounts of downtime are routinely accepted – as par for the course in business and, consequently, they are overlooked or viewed as unimportant. However, what may start as a small problem could exacerbate over time if left unchecked. Disaster could be as a result of human error, a natural event, software/hardware malfunction or cyber-crime but the fact is, the more businesses are relying on their IT environment to support the operation, the more need there is for a reliable disaster recovery solution. Why should you make DR a priority for your SME? Without a disaster recovery plan in place, your business risks: picking up the bill for new hardware/software that may have suffered catastrophic damage paying expensive ransoms as a consequence of cyber-crime (ASL would never advocate paying a ransom) losing income from production/sales losses paying salaries of employees unable to work because the business has ground to a halt security threat to own/client data loss of client confidence inability to recover altogether and facing business closure. How ASL can help with your DR planning and implementation. ASL have over 20 years of experience in helping small, medium and large corporations to plan for and avert the worst happening, keeping you up and running when they need it the most. Our experts can visit you on-site and offer a review of your IT environment and create a disaster recovery solution that is scalable to your business needs and tailored to your budgetary requirements. DR doesn’t necessarily mean having to invest in a secondary data centre. Other options exist, such as Cloud-based Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), which we will be more than happy to discuss with you to help you conclude which is the best recovery strategy for your business. To discuss your disaster recovery option in more detail, speak to an ASL expert on 0345 862 0350.

Using network and systems monitoring to protect against UPS failure.

Ensuring your business doesn’t get caught out by UPS outage. The need for effective network and systems monitoring was recently highlighted by the May outage suffered by BA. Their systems failure not only caused days of travel chaos for customers, it also led to BA suffering significant financial loss and major damage to its reputation. The failure was blamed on a datacentre UPS system failure, however this is unlikely to be the whole story as the secondary disaster recovery facility was also affected by the outage. What really happened is still unclear, but the fact is, having the right monitoring solution in place can help you to avoid a similar catastrophe. Why is a UPS so important? Having your data replicated to a datacentre means your files will be protected against loss or corruption in the event of a disaster. To maintain the integrity of your data as well as ensuring your ability to access it, you must remain online. A continuous supply of power is essential for this to happen, which can be achieved with a UPS. If properly configured, a UPS can have two functions in the event of an outage. The primary function is to keep your systems running until mains power is resumed, eliminating any downtime that could interrupt the normal operation of your business. The secondary function is to smooth out any spikes in electrical current, which could cause a power source to blow. Smoothing out these surges helps protect your hardware and its components from damage. Having the correct monitoring software solution in place means that your UPS resilience can be ensured, and problems caused by power surges can be immediately identified, smoothed and reported. Safeguarding your data in the event of an outage. After making sure your system is fault-tolerant, there are three other things to consider when safe-guarding your critical data: SAN (Storage Area Network) Maintaining the integrity of your critical data can also be done by separating it from the server using a SAN (Storage Area Network). The intelligent controlling of dual power supplies should also be implemented to ensure continuous protection. Disaster Recovery With a good disaster recovery solution, a replication server is dedicated solely to the roles of backup and export. All servers that are in a DR mode can be exported out in a clean and consistent manner to ensure data integrity so that it cannot be influenced by a failure at the primary site. Disaster Recovery testing Constantly testing your DR solution means that you can be secure in the knowledge that should an unplanned event happen your contingency will work when you really need it to. Avoiding a high level of disruption to your business due to a UPS failure could save you and your customers days of frustration and hassle. Outsourcing your network monitoring to ASL makes sense. At ASL, we can provide you with effective network and systems monitoring that protects your critical data. This includes safeguarding the resilience of your UPS, and the implementation and testing of a comprehensive disaster recovery solution that’s tailored to your needs. To find out more about our networking and systems monitoring solutions, ask your Sales manager or call us on 0345 862 0350.

Provisioning for data backup and disaster recovery

Why is lethargy and ignorance as much of a threat to business continuity as disaster itself? An essential part of maintaining business continuity in the event of a disaster is backing up your data and keeping it secure, because, should disaster strike and your data prove unrecoverable, your business could be forced to close. Regardless of such dire consequences, the fact is, that over 50% of UK SMEs remain ignorant of the risk. Instead of planning for a disaster, they do nothing, risking both their own livelihoods and those of their workforce. Awareness of the dangers and implementing business continuity solutions gives you the opportunity to do something about it, helping to safeguard your business today – and tomorrow. But, what are the dangers and where do the threats come from? Disaster and recovery – obvious threats The more familiar threats to the integrity of your data come in the form of cyber-criminals, natural weather-related occurrences, and human error. Recent high-profile cases point to the rise in ransomware attacks but major disruption has also been caused to businesses by flooding, or people simply disconnecting a power supply. Without a proper disaster recovery plan in place, it could take you weeks to get back up and running. By consulting with an expert business continuity service provider, you can insure your business against such events. The continual automated backup of your systems means that any data lost can be quickly and easily restored in a very short period of time. Disaster and recovery – less obvious threats Moving to the Cloud – as your business evolves, a less obvious threat comes in the form of transitioning your environment to the Cloud. As your data grows in volume and your network expands to accommodate mobile users, adequate backup and recovery and network monitoring are essential to secure your files and alert you to any unusual activity. Lethargy and ignorance – according to market sources, more than half of all SMEs don’t perform a daily backup. The assumptions could be that backup is time-consuming and costly or that they don’t need to because they are ignorant of the consequences or maintain a ‘won’t happen to us’ attitude. The dangers of not having a disaster recovery strategy include: loss of data loss of revenue high cost of replacing costly hardware/software loss of client confidence inability to continue to operate. Reasons to use ASL’s disaster recovery services ASL are a specialist provider of disaster recovery services with 20 years of experience helping SMEs guard against the worst happening. Planning for a disaster means your systems and files are protected against human error, natural disaster or malicious attack, enabling you to continue to operate your business with minimal disruption. We consult with you to fully understand your business needs, and offer tailored backup and recovery solutions that match your requirements. To find out how to provision for data backup and disaster recovery, contact us at ASL on 0345 862 0350.

Why is it vital to have an effective PRTG network monitoring solution?

Has moving your network to the Cloud put your data at risk? The rising popularity of expanding networks to the Cloud, coupled with the increased threat of serious cyber-attack, means that effective systems network monitoring is more important than ever. As more businesses move to using a mix of public and/or private cloud services, network management needs have become more complex. However, regardless of this fact, many businesses still fail to seek expert advice from a specialist provider, and instead bury their head in the sand and take a ‘hope for the best’ attitude towards both cloud and security. Cloud-based hosting. Why can network monitoring be more complicated with cloud-based hosting? Expanding your system to public and/or private cloud hosting options means that your workforce can use their mobile devices to access your system, enabling them to work at any time and in any location. Although the advantages are obvious – including improvements in speed, availability and application, the downside is the loss of systems visibility. A lack of visibility means an inability to accurately track the performance and behaviour of your system’s workload. Left unchecked, this could lead to downtime, negatively impacting your bottom line as well as your brand’s reputation. Cyber-attack – how can network monitoring reduce the system’s security threats? It is not only large organisations such as TalkTalk, Reddit and Twitter that are at risk of being targeted by cyber-criminals, smaller businesses are under threat too. However, this threat can be significantly reduced by using an effective system monitoring tool that not only alerts you to system malfunctions but also to any unusual activity, which could mean you’ve been hacked. Becoming aware of this at the earliest opportunity allows you to investigate and respond appropriately, minimising the risk of disruption. The benefits of PRTG network monitoring Having the right network monitoring solution is imperative to maintain your system’s levels of reliability, PRTG network monitoring offers: increased uptime – problems identified before they become an issue increased network performance – improvements identified and made increased application performance – performance issues detected and diagnosed enhanced security – potential threats detected and flagged Contact ASL and solve your network monitoring issues. ASL are specialists in network monitoring and are a PRTG service provider. Our solutions can give you insights into Cloud infrastructure and effectively monitor your environment. We offer a transparent approach to cloud-based hosting and offer peace of mind with no-fuss contracts that don’t tie you in legal knots. Our terms include an initial contract of one year, which becomes a 90-day rolling contract thereafter. At ASL, we deliver simple PRTG network monitoring solutions, to discuss your requirements in more detail call us on 0345 862 0350.

Ensuring business continuity after a DDoS attack

Keeping your business running after a Distributed Denial of Service attack. Throughout 2016 there was a significant rise in serious DDoS attacks, with many large organisations including; PayPal, Twitter, GitHub, and Spotify having reported disruption to their online services. In 2017, we expect to see a rise in the number of organisations targeted for financial gain, as it’s predicted that the increased use of IoT and mobile devices will open the door to attack. Today, the resources often used to increase business flexibility and agility, can unfortunately also increase cyber-threat and attacks, these include: increased employee use of mobile devices virtualized computing infrastructure increased texting and emailing of employees outside of work employees working from home or remote locations. Is your business prepared for a DDoS attack? A Distributed Denial of Service attack happens when a machine is targeted by other maliciously corrupted systems. The purpose is to cause your IT infrastructure to crash, ultimately resulting in your business shutting down. The reasons behind attacks vary and are not limited solely to financial gain. Attackers may want to steal data or be motivated by revenge, as in the case of a disgruntled employee, or they might simply want to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in launching an attack. Reports in the media of DDoS attacks against well-known brands, mean that most of us are well aware of the level of disruption they cause. Despite this, few organisations have a business continuity plan in place. If your business was attacked today, how confident are you that you would be up and running again with minimal delay? The impact of a DDoS attack can have far-reaching consequences. The vast majority of businesses rely on IT systems to operate, and uninterrupted access to the Internet is fundamental to our digital economy. Any break in service, for whatever reason and however temporary, has an immediate impact on your bottom line. In addition, reputations are quickly damaged and client confidence diminished. ASL – keeping your business up and running 24/7/365 In order to safeguard against DDoS attacks and ensure the continuity of your business, it’s extremely important to be prepared. As business continuity can only really be guaranteed with professionally implemented backup and recovery services, the advice is to seek assistance from ASL. We have 20 years of specialist knowledge and expertise in ensuring our customers are prepared for cyber-crime. In the event of such an attack, with backup and recovery in place, you can be up and running again with minimum disruption and loss. To find out more about ensuring business continuity after a cyber-attack, call us at ASL on 0345 862 0350.

Early warning systems monitoring

Why do you need ‘early warning’ IT systems monitoring? Businesses today are under pressure to keep their IT systems up and running, however ensuring systems and services are maintained 24/7 is no easy task. With systems monitoring, failures are detected early, often before they occur, allowing you to react and prevent minor problems from becoming major issues. Regardless of size, businesses need to remain fully operational. However, with more limited IT resources, SMEs often struggle to provide the level of in-house monitoring that’s truly required. In addition, many have IT systems that are based on disparate hardware and software, which makes monitoring complex. This situation will only get worse as more systems are added to the IT infrastructure. Problems encountered by SMEs include: Employing a highly trained systems monitoring team is often cost-prohibitive. Deploying and maintaining your own in-house monitoring solution can also be challenging, unproductive and leave you open to shortfalls e.g. staff sickness and holidays. Too often IT staff are required to focus on daily problem solving, leaving little time to monitor and predict potential issues. The way computer assets are structured can make it too complex to gain clear insight into what’s happening. What are the alternatives to an in-house monitoring team? In the modern digital age, an early warning system that’s capable of predicting system outages and unforeseen failures is crucial to maintaining services 24/7/365. Systems monitoring offers you the necessary insight to keep your business running in an optimal state. It’s vital to have an overview of your entire system, as the causes of repeated server crashes, can be identified, resolved and prevented from ever happening again. Do you have the ability to monitor all of your important IT assets, and provide early warning of potential issues? If the answer is ‘no’, and you don’t have the resources to employ a highly qualified in-house team, then outsourcing to a managed service provider is the way to go. Outsourcing to Awareness – we monitor, manage and mitigate risk. Too many businesses rely on users to notify them once an issue occurs, but once a problem has arisen your business has already been negatively impacted. That’s why at ASL, we deliver a proactive approach to systems monitoring. We find problems before they occur, and prevent them from ever happening. For instance, we’re alerted when a server is getting close to running out of resources – we then carry out proactive work to ensure this does not happen. We monitor: servers – CPU usage, disk space, memory and more server service(s) to ensure websites, databases and mail flow are working efficiently network infrastructure, remote sites, internet connection, traffic and trends. Systems are checked every minute of every day to make sure key areas of functionality are working effectively. With our help you can decrease downtime, prevent issues and ensure your performance is maximised. Our managed service allows you to offload the responsibility for monitoring, maintaining and resolving IT systems problems. We free up your IT staff to concentrate on running your business. Call us on 0345 862 0350 to discuss your systems monitoring requirements or email sales@awre-soft.co.uk.

What IT disasters should you prepare for?

The top 5 causes of IT disaster – is your business prepared? For most, the word disaster recovery conjures up images of environmental catastrophes such as earthquakes or flood, however for those businesses that have experienced an IT disaster, the reality is often far more mundane but as easily catastrophic in nature. If you’re thinking – I don’t need to plan for disaster because I don’t operate my business in a flood area, have fire prevention measures in place, and being in the UK I’m low risk for other natural disasters, think again. You’re only ever one step from disaster, and should the worst happen you need a backup and recovery plan in place to protect your business from loss, BOTH data and financial. What IT disasters should you be preparing for? You’ve ruled out an imminent earthquake and your business is fortunately located 1000s of miles from Tornado Alley, so what are the more likely disasters you will face? Computer virus Today viruses are a common occurrence that can infect or delete mission critical data, the worst of which is Ransomware. An infected machine that remains connected to your network will systematically encrypt all of the network files it has access to, making them useless. Hardware/equipment failure The most common example is the failure of a hard drive in a server. Malicious intent The most obvious perpetrator is a hacker trying to gain access and cause damage. However, not all malicious intent is from the outside, sometimes the damage can come from within. A disgruntled employee can easily delete/corrupt data to cause an IT disaster. Environmental catastrophe IT disasters can be caused by natural events such as flood; however, they can easily be caused by structural failures within the office environment. For example, a water leak from pipes above or next to where your servers are located, can easily lead to disaster. Human error Humans make mistakes, from overwriting critical files to deleting sensitive data. By regularly backing up your data and having a recovery plan in place, you can protect yourself from disaster. Can you afford downtime and financial loss? NO? Contact us at ASL for no-obligation backup and disaster recovery advice 0345 862 0350 How can you prevent permanent critical data loss? Most businesses are at risk of experiencing some form of IT disaster. The obvious thing therefore is to take the threat seriously, and plan what to do when it happens. By assessing likely risks and considering every eventuality, you can take control. Knowing what might happen can help you to plan how best to restore your critical data and services, to keep your business up and running. For advice on disaster recovery contact us at ASL. Can you afford not to have a backup and recovery plan? Any business that has experienced a disaster, will tell you that the cost and losses incurred by not having a plan in place, were far more than the cost of developing and implementing one. Downtime equals losing time, money AND customers, and this is something that no business can afford. The simple fact is customers are fickle and vote with their feet, and most businesses that experience extended outages and downtime lose custom. After all, why deal with a business that has production issues or can’t access your data, when you can go elsewhere? If disaster has already struck and you need to prevent it ever happening again, or you’re concerned about what could happen if you lost critical data, then contact us at ASL on 0345 862 0350. About ASL Disaster Recovery Services. For over 20 years we have been a specialist disaster recovery provider for SMEs across the UK. We have the expertise you need to implement a disaster and recovery solution that minimises business disruption and financial loss through downtime. ASL keeps UK businesses up and running 24/7/365. Find out more about our disaster recovery service by calling 0345 862 0350.

Why outsourcing network monitoring is the way forward.

All the benefits of a dedicated network monitoring team without the high cost. In today’s digitally connected world, businesses and consumers demand access to data and services anywhere, at any time. To successfully operate in data-driven markets, network monitoring is critical to ensuring 24/7 operations and service availability. While large corporations have the means to employ a dedicated team of people to monitor and manage their network 24/7, this is not the case for the majority of smaller businesses. The downside of not monitoring your network is potential downtime, leading to loss of revenue and reduced customer confidence. By not monitoring you are open to network failure, which could have massive consequences. So with network monitoring being so critical to business operations, what is the affordable alternative for SMEs needing to focus internal resources and staff on business, rather than IT? The answer for many is to outsource. By outsourcing you can reap the benefits of an IT team dedicated to continually monitoring and managing your network, without incurring high staffing costs. Reasons to outsource: frees up your resources/staff to focus on value-added functions safeguards your business from network disruption increases systems availability reduces business risk by minimising downtime The benefits of outsourcing your network monitoring Contracting a specialist network monitoring service provider, enables you to save on costs and gain peace of mind that your network is being looked after by an expert. When outsourcing you can expect: Monitoring of your hardware and software to notify you of potential problems that could lead to systems failure. In addition, usage can be monitored to ensure it doesn’t exceed network capacity. Identification of hardware or software problems to prevent a network or systems failure. Notification when system upgrades are required to ensure your business always operates at optimal efficiency. Access to highly trained experts. You receive the networking expertise you need at a fraction of the cost it would take to employ and train your own staff. Disaster recovery protocols to ensure that should your network fail, it can be quickly restored to working order. Why choose ASL as your network monitoring service provider? With over 20 years’ experience providing network monitoring services to UK businesses, we have the expertise to protect your business at a price that you can afford. Our 24/7/365 network monitoring makes your systems reliable, more responsive and robust. By outsourcing to us you gain access to a highly trained team of experts, which frees up your staff to concentrate on running business operations. Our affordable solutions can be easily scaled up to provide maximum server and network infrastructure availability in line with your changing business needs. Act now before your computer network suffers a system failure, call 0345 862 0350 to discuss your network monitoring requirements.

The Value of Network Monitoring

Why Invest in Network Monitoring? Network Monitoring to resolve business critical issues. A reliable network monitoring solution pro-actively identifies and prevents issues from arising that could jeopardise your business’ network infrastructure. It alerts you to problems with hardware, network, bandwidth, availability and services (i.e. email) as well as other key IT system issues. With pro-active monitoring, these potential issues are solved before they become business critical. IT systems are maintained to guarantee maximum uptime and reduce outages, which in turn limits any financial losses incurred through downtime. Optimization of network reliability: By monitoring your network you are aware at all times of whether routers, servers and other key systems (i.e. databases) are available. By taking a pro-active approach you don’t risk preventable issues becoming a major problem. You are able to plan, schedule and resolve issues before they become critical. Visualize topology: By mapping your network topology, at a glance you can see your entire network. This can highlight both problems and required improvements. In addition, in the event of a failure, having an accurate view of the system prior to any outage helps with troubleshooting. Understanding capacity: A flexible monitoring system enables you to maintain service levels and plan for additional devices/bandwidth to remain ahead of demand. Troubleshooting: Monitoring enables you to check any device and review performance statistics, to diagnose network problems before they impact business operations. Trend tracking: By tracking trends you are able to review the historical performance of a device, to identify intermittent problems and implement corrective measures. Network monitoring allows you to save time and costs on network management. By being aware of impending problems before they arise, you are in a stronger position to avert downtime and remain open-for-business. Why OUTSOURCE your network monitoring to ASL? We have been providing network monitoring services to businesses UK-wide for over 20 years. Our chosen partner is Paessler, an industry-leading network monitoring software provider. With our 24/7/365 PRTG Network Monitoring systems, we make your systems robust, reliable and more responsive. we safeguard your business from data loss and disruption we increase your system availability, minimise downtime and limit business risk we offer maximum server and network infrastructure availability/performance we free up your staff to focus on adding value to your business we provide you with peace of mind that your core business systems are operational we provide accurate reporting on your IT systems over the duration of a year we ensure you experience zero knowledge drain with staff changes our solutions are designed to fit any budget and can be scaled up to meet your growing business needs our experts are highly trained and focused on the smooth operation of your business IT our systems monitor 24/7/365. To discuss your network monitoring requirements in detail, call us on 0345 862 0350

How to choose the right disaster recovery solution

Choosing the best Microsoft Dynamics backup recovery solution The right backup and recovery solution is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach.If you were to ask us – how can I protect my Microsoft Dynamics environment from data loss – our response would depend on your unique requirements. Our extensive experience providing MS Dynamics backup and recovery solutions, has taught us that what’s appropriate for one company, is not necessarily appropriate for another. Working out the best recovery solution is dependent on many factors: your recovery point objective – which is how much data you can afford to lose or re-create your recovery time objective – which is how fast you need to recover the type of data you are trying to protect the scenarios you may need to recover from – virus attack, hardware failure or data corruption your budget. A solution that works for one business might not work for another. Which is why we use our specialist knowledge and expertise to develop cost effective, tailor-made solutions according to specific business requirements. Preparing your MS Dynamics DR plan Data backup Regardless of business size, the first step in any disaster recovery solution is regular data backup. There are various approaches to this, such as SQL dump to disk or virtual machine backup, and the one decided upon, depends on the complexity of your IT environment. Any backup strategy needs to take into account security considerations, and will be defined by: type and frequency of backup required nature and speed of hardware method of testing backups how the backup is stored where the backup is stored. Once a strategy and method for backup have been formalised, the next step is to ensure that backed up data can be easily restored. Data recovery A well-designed recovery strategy minimises data loss and maximises data availability. The recovery strategy defines: how databases should be restored to meet availability goals how databases should be restored to minimise data loss who should recover the data where the data should be recovered to. ASL Microsoft Dynamics data backup and recovery solutions By outsourcing your MS Dynamics recovery to us after a system failure, we enable you to focus on adding value to your business. Our recovery service offers: reliable and simplified daily backups FULL virtualisation – live standby virtual servers provisioned for all key servers service desk monitoring 24/7/365 complete offsite data replication secure data centre storage unlimited restore capabilities. To discuss what MS Dynamics backup and recovery strategy would best suit your business needs, call us on 0345 862 0350

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