The Difference Between Managed and Unmanaged Cloud Services

Cloud computing and the needs of individual organizations have immensely changed the way information technology works. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the need for cloud technology as organizations are looking for smarter ways to run their business. Organizations can choose to manage their cloud infrastructure themselves or opt for a managed cloud service to help reduce the burden of day-to-day management.

Both options, i.e., managed and unmanaged solutions, have their advantages. The ultimate decision of which option to go with depends on the business and the requirements of the workloads they plan to move to the cloud.

What Is Unmanaged Cloud Computing?

An unmanaged cloud has a ‘do it yourself’ model where organizations pay for the resources they use. This is generally a public cloud where the customer rents the infrastructure and has administrative access to manage their solutions directly. This approach gives businesses two key things – control and freedom to customize and deploy software as per their need. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Is Your SAP Managed Service Provider Transparent?

The first step to holding real transparency between SAP users and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) is giving credit where credit is due. At Pathway, we don’t pretend that SAP is easy. It is a very complex software program with an all-inclusive set of integrated, cross-functional dealing processes. Its multi-layered application system is exactly what makes it so appealing to our clients because it promises to synchronize data simply and comprehensively for the user.

It was once necessary for a company to house an entire IT team amongst its internal staff, rendering the answer to all IT inquiries a tap on the shoulder away. But, in our new digital landscape, businesses have the option to outsource. Nowadays, it is more affordable to outsource rather than spend large amounts on hiring and training an internal team of varied experts. With a managed service provider, an SAP user does not have to identify the problem themselves and is connected to the expert at the root of the issue—just a phone call away.

SAP Is Complex – Communication Is the Key

Since outsourcing is now accessible and affordable, a new issue arises; lack of internal company communication. Unlike the guy at the IT desk down the hall, some managed service providers don’t act like they’re a part of your company’s team. They may even withhold specific documentation that they consider their intellectual property. Those managed service providers consider themselves independent from your business, but at Pathway, we understand that what your company needs in IT support is a teammate.

When working with a program as complex as SAP, we believe that communication is the key. We provide managed SAP support 24/7 so that your phone inquiries feel as easy as tapping the IT guy on the shoulder. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

 

All About Carrier Neutral Data Centres and Its Benefits to Businesses

From cloud storage to web hosting, businesses rely on data services to keep things running smoothly. Decades ago, companies had to choose piecemeal from a variety of providers and assemble integrated data solutions depending on their needs. Carrier-specific data centres provide broadband connectivity that is affiliated with a singular network partner. This can limit the efficiency and growth of businesses. Better solutions for today’s companies are carrier-neutral data centre services.

What Are Carrier-Neutral Data Centres?

To offer ultimate freedom to its clients, a carrier-neutral data centre is entirely independent of network providers. This setup allows end-users to select their preferred connectivity option. In most situations, these data centre solutions are accessed by multiple telecommunications companies. No single ISP, or Internet Service Provider, owns or controls it. These carrier-neutral data centre services are also known as carrier hotels. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Significance of Compliance Certification to Businesses

Many businesses see compliance in opposition to growth and innovation. It’s true that compliance requires conforming to rules set out by external organizations. However, there are valuable benefits to be gained by adhering to regulatory expectations. IT compliance certification is essential for businesses that want to grow and maintain positive relationships with their customers and employees.

Defining Regulatory Compliance

Depending on the industry, IT compliance standards will vary. The governing entities that oversee the industry may have regulations about the type and frequency of reporting. For instance, some businesses are required to publicly post financial documentation that proves compliance. Other regulations may set out expectations for security protocols and data privacy for customer and client information. It’s the job of the business to demonstrate compliance, and one way to do this is with an IT security compliance certification. 

There are several industry-leading certifications. To demonstrate safe financial transactions, companies can get PCI DSS certified. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

The Importance of Service Level Agreements in the Customer Service Industry

When you Google the term ‘SLA’ or ‘Service Level Agreement,’ you will come across many definitions beginning with contract or commitment or covenant. While it isn’t a contract in itself, it is an important part of a contract that includes mutually agreed upon terms between a company and their customers, ensuring the services provided meet certain thresholds (i.e., uptime, responsiveness, etc.).

This can include technical support services such as guaranteeing improved CSAT score, faster email response, or that 98% of customers calling in will receive First Call Resolution (FCR).

Why is it important?

In the customer service industry, an SLA functions as a blueprint of the service the provider guarantees to provide and can protect your organization’s assets and reputation, which is of utmost importance to your organization. Below are three reasons why your organization should have an SLA with its technical customer support services provider. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Green Data Centres: An Essential for Enterprise Success

A typical data centre requires air conditioning and cooling systems to protect the data and the servers. A company could be losing revenue because of the cooling costs associated with enormous, outdated server rooms. Hence, businesses should consider switching to eco-friendly server practices for cost savings and improved sustainability by trying green technology for data centre services. It saves money and reduces ecological footprint.

Here’s what your company needs to know about Green Data Centres.

What Is a Green Data Centre?

A green data centre refers to a data centre that uses sustainable practices to manage data. Often, this infrastructure transition includes cloud computing, which means that we don’t have to rely entirely on physical servers. Reducing the number of physical servers will reduce the amount of CO2 emissions put out into the atmosphere. Green data centres also employ other techniques, such as redesigned cooling systems to keep physical servers cool with sustainable methods. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Most modern businesses now rely almost completely on some form of technology to get things done. This means they need an IT support system that can ensure problems are kept at bay, and even if they arise, they can be rapidly solved. Some companies choose to manage IT support services in-house, but it’s now more common than ever for organizations to outsource this work to an external IT help desk.

Here are some of the benefits of outsourcing your IT operations to a trusted provider:

Benefit from Industry Experts

Unless your core business is related to IT, there’s a possibility that you don’t have staff representing a broad spectrum of industry expertise. Even if you have a few staff members, they may not be able to keep up with the rapidly changing technology. Outsourced IT help desk service providers hire diverse staff with expertise representing various aspects of IT. They keep up with the latest developments so that you can benefit from the latest industry knowledge. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications
Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.
City: Markham
State: Ontario
Zip Code: L3R 1C7
Phone: 416-214-6363
Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Four Best Practices for Endpoint Management

As cyber and ransomware attacks continue, many organizations no longer respond quickly to endpoint threats as they should. For instance, around 30% of all known breaches are because of malware getting installed on the endpoints. Today, IT security is more important than ever, and there are several best practices your company should follow.

Best Practice #1: Protecting Your Endpoints

The endpoints are doors that can lead to some of your most important data. Endpoint devices can help hackers since they often can’t get into internal networks from the internet. Usually, next-generation firewall protection keeps them safe, and content delivery networks let you access the data in the cloud. Along with firewall, anti-malware and anti-virus software play an important role in keeping the network safe.

Hackers often have to have access that is near-physical. If you do not have proper IT security measures in place, hackers can get to your sensitive, valuable data without the employee or company knowing about it. 

Best Practice #2: Having the Least Privilege Access

Currently, the best practices of managed IT services involve giving your users as few privileges as possible. When a common user accesses the endpoint using an administrator’s credentials, it is easy for malware to get installed. You should make sure that each user can do their job, but you should give them the least privilege access rights. Many users will not need software installation rights.Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications
Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.
City: Markham
State: Ontario
Zip Code: L3R 1C7
Phone: 416-214-6363
Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Do you Think Your Organization has a Secure IT Environment? Think again.

The past week saw the US Cyber Command warning organizations about a major security bug in PAN-OS, Palo Alto Network’s operating system that runs on firewalls and enterprise VPN appliances. The CVE-2020-2021 defect was given a 10/10 score on the CVSSv3 severity scale, meaning that the vulnerability was both easy to exploit and could be exploited remotely. Threats like this are becoming more and more common as technology evolves.  

It has become increasingly difficult to keep up with all of these technological changes and even more difficult to keep up with the evolving security threat landscape. Still, organizations must take the necessary steps to protect their data and improve their cybersecurity footprint, starting with the implementation of robust IT security policies. In the current threat landscape, it’s better to be proactive than reactive. 

Prevention, detection, and response should be the top priorities when organizations think about cybersecurity. Here are what organizations can do to create secure IT environments: 

Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

How to Keep Your Remote Team Secure at the Time of a Crisis

The unexpected shift of millions of workers from on-site work to remote workspaces has challenged organizations like never before. Now, organizations not only have to worry about motivation and performance, but also have to maintain the highest level of cybersecurity to avoid breaches.  

While the internet and cloud services providers have made it possible to transition to work-from-home operations, the number of cyber-attacks has increased considerably. Those that took precautionary measures early on and invested in cybersecurity systems have seen a smoother transition to remote work environments without compromising security. Still, the same cannot be said for those who didn’t. 

Reducing the Risk of Cyber Attacks

Every remote worker in your organization comes with potential cyber threats that are essential to account for in your overall comprehensive IT strategy. Securing a remote workforce means protecting your business from threats. Here are some measures you can take to keep your data safe: Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Is Moving to Server Colocation from a Server Room a Good Idea?

Whether you’re a small, medium or large business, colocation is always an option that’s available to you. Essentially, colocation data centers allow businesses to seek benefits of a larger internal IT department without incurring any of the costs of a full-fledged data center. Besides costs, there are other factors such as space, power, cooling capacity, and IT support and maintenance that could influence your decision to move to a colocation facility.

Should You Consider Moving Your Server Location?

The moment a business considers purchasing a new or additional server is also often the moment when transitioning to a colocation facility is considered. 50 percent of businesses surveyed say company growth prompts a new server purchase while 38 percent cite performance degradation and maintenance costs according to the 2019 Spiceworks State of Servers survey.

It is usually a combination of factors, like the ones addressed earlier, that prompts a business to consider moving to a colocation data center. And of course, let’s not forget the many advantages a business can receive from choosing the right colocation data center provider.

Let’s review some of the advantages.

Enhanced Network Security and Privacy

Colocation data center providers have far greater security than an in-house server location. With data centers being ISO 27001 certified, SOC2, PCI, HIPAA compliant and having grade firewalls, onsite security, and many other safety measures, your data will be safe. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Customer Service is all About R.A.C.E

Business and customer service are undergoing changes that make the ties between business profits and customer service stronger than ever. This has created a business climate where the cost of poor customer service can mean the end of a business. The answer to this broad challenge for all businesses is to contact centre solutions to impact R.A.C.E.

This acronym is a simple way to break down the four building blocks of excellent customer service: Resolution, Availability, Cost Reduction / Control, and Efficient Operations. To improve these aspects of a business, you must improve how technology impacts people and processes to better serve the customer through IT support solutions.

According to a recent PwC Future of Customer Experience Survey, 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience. But by looking at each aspect of R.A.C.E, businesses can turn loss to gain. In fact, 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.

Resolution

By focusing on personalized service and fast resolution of customer fulfillment and queries, businesses can create a customer experience that drives loyalty and increased profits. Today’s customer services go beyond multichannel client communications to omnichannel via live chat, chatbots, SMS, email, social networks, and live video among others.

The goal is to move beyond multichannel communication approaches to omnichannel to eliminate silos that hamper fast customer resolutions. This requires customer service, communication, networking, and applications systems within call centers and network infrastructure enabling:

• First call resolution (FCR)
• Frictionless customer experiences
• Customer support and business process fulfillment 0% downtime.
  
  

That may require business technical support for contact center solutions and business systems that provide integration with IoT devices and technical products used by end-users as one example. Expert call center agent support is another way to drive fast resolution by augmenting internal services with third-party agent support services to meet growing customer service demands. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com

Approaches to improve your IT Help Desk Economics

With the advent of digital transformations, cloud migrations and IT systems becoming more disparate through SaaS and other online productivity solutions, the IT Help Desk has become vital for keeping organizations operating a peak efficiency. Having an outstanding Help desk isn’t a convenience any more, it’s a necessity. It has become a major factor for employee satisfaction within the organization and a key component to driving productivity. 

But it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Many businesses fail miserably at their Help Desk operations primarily due to the lack of IT experts, limitations in hours service (or hiring lower skilled agents to offset the expense of staffing a 24×7 service), not having proper tools – or just not using them – and inadequate processes. A productive Help Desk not only requires skillful resources but also requires efficient processes, governance and quality reporting, and certified technical expertise and technology. Here are the six major considerations to optimize your IT Help Desk costs and transform them from being a cost centre to the growth engine for your business. 

Focus on First Call Resolution (FCR)

Users don’t want to log several support tickets and call the IT Help Desk staff multiple times to solve their issue. It’s expected that logging a single support ticket or call with the Help Desk will end their involvement in the issue resolution.  Your staff want minimal interruptions so that they can focus on their core business tasks. Deliver significant value by ensuring employees have the right solutions on the very first interaction.  By achieving a better FCR you’ll be improving employee satisfaction and driving down the cost per interaction within the Help Desk. 

Improve Service Quality

Not all issues can be solved in the first call.  Having a detailed understanding of your IT Help Desk’s service quality is crucial in sustaining a high satisfaction record. By diligently monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the service your Help Desk provides, you’ll be able to determine where your problems exist. For example, if you receive feedback that employees are unhappy with delayed responses and high wait times, your KPIs should pinpoint the issues and help you design a solution.

Better Process and Methodology

It’s not always easy to stay ahead in everything. You might be burdened with a massive ticket heap that runs from “Why don’t I have the internet connection?” to “why is my desktop running so slow?” Sorting them all might take time. Setting up a better process for categorizing, resolving and documenting fixes in self help portals will lead to faster resolutions and lower ticket volumes over time. Visit source to read more.

What You Need to Know about Meltdown and Spectre

What are Meltdown and Spectre?

Meltdown and Spectre and are side-channel vulnerabilities that enable attacks based on information gained from the physical implementation of almost all CPUs manufactured since 1995. Essentially, normal interactions between operating system memory management and CPU optimization technologies could allow attacks that expose otherwise secure and private information.

The vulnerabilities were identified simultaneously by Google Project Zero, the Institute of Applied Information Processing and Communications (IAIK) at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), and others.

Meltdown

Meltdown breaks the isolation between user applications and operating systems. A Meltdown attack could allow an application to access the memory, and thus information, of other applications and the underlying operation system.

Spectre

Spectre breaks the isolation between applications and allows attackers to trick otherwise normal and well-designed applications into leaking information. Some safety checks and best practices can even increase the attack surface and make applications more vulnerable to Spectre.

Is my Business Affected by these Vulnerabilities?

Yes. These two vulnerabilities can be exploited to expose any information contained in memory on almost every computing system manufactured in the past two decades, including workstations, tablets, cell phones, IoT devices, and most importantly servers hosted in collocated, virtualized, and cloud environments, such as managed cloud hosting.

Shared cloud environments are particularly vulnerable as an attack on one vulnerable virtual machine could expose the information on other environments on the same physical host. JavaScript based attacks are also possible through a web browser.

Microsoft, Apple, Arm, Google, Intel, Amazon, VMware, Citrix, various Linux providers, and Mozilla have all confirmed that their hardware and/or software is vulnerable to these attacks. Everything you and your company uses on a daily basis is vulnerable. Visit source to read more.

Contact Us:

Pathway Communications

Address: 95 Apple Creek Blvd.

City: Markham

State: Ontario

Zip Code: L3R 1C7

Phone: 416-214-6363

Email: anusha.parikh@pathcom.com