Archive for the ‘Security’ Category

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PRIMER: How are Disaster Recovery and Backups Different?

April 16th, 2013
Posted by: Donna Hemmert

So, you are working through your go-forward IT strategy and need to make sure that you have things covered should something go wrong. Pretty quickly, you notice that the terms “Backup” and “Disaster Recovery” are quite often being used interchangeably. But, the truth is, they are different. Related, yes, but different.

Backup

Backup really can be defined very simply. Backup is just a copy of your files on another disk (or tape, cloud, etc.). In fact, if you copied each and every file to a DVD (and we are not sure why you would do that), that would be a backup. Having a full backup that is up-to-date means that when you lose a few files or a whole drive or more, you can take the time it takes to copy those files back once your systems are ready to rock. But, it can be a time-consuming disruption. You will likely need to setup a new server(s), re-install the OS, and reinstall all the applications, etc. There are two ways to backup your systems:

  • Onsite Backup: This is when you backup locally to some kind of physical storage option. These solutions are capable of imaging servers and storing data locally so you can recover from incidents.
  • Offsite Backup: This is when you backup your data to an entirely different location. This, of course, helps protects you in the case of an entire geographic location being affected by a disruption. Also, often organizations need offsite backup to be in line with compliances such as those rules defined by Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, FISMA, NASD and NYSE, etc.

Disaster Recovery

So, what is Disaster Recovery? Disaster recovery is beyond backup. The big benefit of disaster recovery is that rather than taking what may be days or months to recover for an unplanned outage, Disaster Recovery will greatly shorten that time.

With Disaster Recovery, a complete image of your disk drives and servers are mirrored. This is sometimes referred to as a “bare-metal” backup, meaning the backup isn’t just the files, but the OS and everything. For example, with AISN’s Disaster Recovery service, we replicate the “bare-metal” backup image to another geographic site so in the event of a disaster in one geographic location, it can be restored from an entirely different geographic location. This gives you added protection and the image(s) allows you to restore systems more quickly – there is no need to reinstall an OS and copying files. The amount of time it takes to actually continue operations after a disaster also depends on whether you choose “Hot Site” or “Cold Site.” So what is the difference?

  • “Hot Site”: Environments are available at a moments notice. So, in the case of an outage, all data processing can quickly be moved to the “Hot Site” and operations continue.
  • “Cold Site”: Critical applications are available at a secondary location. This is similar but is supplied as basic office space, but with “Cold Site” the customer provides and installs all the equipment needed to continue operations. It is less expensive but will take longer for full operations to continue.

So, that’s really all there is to it from a high level. You really need to understand what your goals and objectives are. Do you need systems available in minutes, hours or would days be just fine? Is backup just fine, or do you need Disaster Recovery? And what level of Disaster Recovery do you need? There are lots to consider, but remember, we are always here to help you think through your IT plans.

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The Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Workplace, Part 2

March 27th, 2013
Posted by: admin

 

GUEST BLOG

By Daniel Dimov
InfoSec Institute

In Part I of this two-part blog, I explored the advantages of restricting social media access for employees.  In this second part, we explore the disadvantages.

Disadvantages of restricting social media access for employees

There are seven main disadvantages of restricting social media access for employees; namely, the (1) decrease in morale of the employees, (2) missed opportunities for free advertising, (3) missed opportunities for team building, (4) missed opportunities for skill building, (5) missed opportunities for internal and external communication, (6) missed opportunities for networking, and (7) the attraction of new employees becomes more difficult.

Decreasing the morale of the employees

The main disadvantage of restricting social media access for employees is that the employees may feel oppressed by the employer. This may affect employee morale and satisfaction from their work. In this regard, Ann Cavoukian, a privacy commissioner for the Canadian province of Ontario, noted that blocking of social networks in the workplace is a mistake. She also said that “It’s like waving the proverbial red flag in front of your staff – it’s almost a challenge to them to find a way around it.”

Missed opportunities for free advertising

In most cases, employees add to their social network profile the name of the companies for which they work for. Thus, each of their friends can see the name of the company. Taking into account that, in 2012, the average number of Facebook friends of U.S users at 18-24 years of age was 429, an employer with 10 workers who restricts social network access will lose thousands of views of his/her company name and logo.

Missed opportunities for team building

Social networks allow employees to know more about each other. It may lead to a better cooperation between team members which, in turn, will improve the team’s performance. Social media also gives team members the opportunity to communicate on a personal level. This may bring them closer together. Moreover, social networks may be used for organizing team building events. For example, Facebook has a comprehensive system for event scheduling. The organizers of events in Facebook may not only post information, including audio and video content, about the event, but may also see the users who are going to attend the meeting or not.

Missed opportunities for skill building

In the past five years, there has been a steady increase in the users of social networks. As a result, effective skills in using social networks are a must for anyone willing to practice certain professions, such as PR and Marketing. Allowing the employees to use social networks may serve as a valuable training for them.

Missed opportunities for internal and external communication

Communication between employees, and between the company and its potential customers, is very important to the success of any business. Social networks provide excellent opportunities for internal and external communication because it is more interactive than traditional means of communication, such as email and phone.

Missed opportunities for networking

Business networking allows the employees of a company to know what other companies are doing and obtain information about recent developments in the company’s field of activity. A business network can be very well supplemented by an online social network. Through an online social network, the people who have met in person will be able to receive more information about each other. The most prominent business social network is LinkedIn.

Making the attraction of new employees more difficult

Many potential new employees may get to know that the company restricts social media access for employees. Some of them may not apply for a position at the company because they may consider the restriction of the access to social networks as a form of oppression.

Conclusion

The restriction of social networks at the workplace has both advantages and disadvantages. The decrease in the productivity of employees seems to be an often cited disadvantage. However, a recent study has indicated that employees who have access to social networks may be more productive than employees in companies that block access. While it is debatable whether or not the restriction of social networks increases the productivity of a company, it is certain that the use of social networks may be a source of malicious code. Consequently, the restriction of the use of social networks at the workplace may be considered as a preventive information security measure. It should be added that doing so may not only limit the risk of getting viruses, but also protect the employees from identity theft. As many know, the results of an identity theft can be catastrophic for both individuals and companies.

The restriction of social networks has several disadvantages as well. One of the most important disadvantages is that some employees may feel oppressed as a result of the restriction of social networks. The decreased morale of the employees may then negatively affect their productivity. Besides, by not allowing employees to use social networks, the employer may deprive himself of free advertising that employees would otherwise make using social networks. Moreover, the employer will also miss opportunities for team building, training the staff in skills related to social networks, developing internal and external communication, and networking. Last but not the least, the restriction of social networks may have a negative impact on attracting new employees.

Daniel Dimov is a security researcher for InfoSec Institute.  The InfoSec Institute is a provider of information security training specializing in PMP certification classes.

 

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The Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Workplace, Part 1

March 25th, 2013
Posted by: admin

 

GUEST BLOG

By Daniel Dimov
InfoSec Institute

Employees using social networks such as Facebook and Google+ may not only waste a lot of their working time, but also spread viruses on their work computers. Due to this, some employers have implemented security systems designed to closely monitor or restrict, as needed, an employee’s access and use of social networks. The purpose of this blog is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of restricting social media access for employees.

social media in workplace

Restricting social media access in the workplace has four main advantages but it also carries some disadvantages.

Advantages of restricting social media access for employees

The restriction of social media access for employees has four advantages; namely, it (1) increases employee productivity of, (2) decreases the risk of getting malicious software, (3) increases the availability of bandwidth, and (4) prevents identity theft. These four advantages are discussed below.

Increasing the productivity of employees

Surfing in social networks may waste a lot of an employee’s time. A Proskauer International Labor & Employment Group survey conducted in 2011 indicated that 43 percent of businesses using social media have dealt with employees’ misuse of social networks, and approximately a third of all businesses have taken disciplinary action against employees concerning this. It is also worth mentioning that, on the basis of an analysis of the web traffic of 1,636 companies, the firewall supplier Palo Alto found out that there was an increase in employees’ use of Facebook to run web apps and games. The wasted time spent there can be otherwise used for completing tasks assigned by the employer or for educational purposes. This is why implementing security systems that restrict access to social media may improve the productivity of the employees.

It should be noted, however, that a study conducted at the University of Melbourne found out that employees with access to social networks were actually more productive than employees in companies that block access. Dr. Brent Coker, a researcher involved in the study, noted that employees who can reward themselves between the completion of one task and the start of another with a visit to their Facebook or MySpace page are more motivated than the workers who do not use social networks. The study found out that workers using social networks get 9 percent more accomplished than their blocked counterparts. Consequently, it is doubtful whether the restriction of social networks should be considered as an advantage.

It is important to note that the study of Dr. Coker should not be interpreted as stating that the use of social networks cannot decrease the productivity of the employees. Social networks may increase productivity only if they are used moderately. As Dr. Coker said, “Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity.”

Decreasing the risk of malicious software

Often, social networks are a place where users can easily exchange files, some of which may contain viruses. In this regard, it should be noted that, after analyzing the web traffic of 5,500 PC users in 20 nations, firewall maker Barracuda Networks discovered that one of every 60 Facebook posts and one of every 100 Twitter tweets contained malicious code. The press regularly publishes reports noting the appearance of new types of Facebook viruses.

For example, a new computer virus labeled Steckt.Evl has been recently discovered by Trend Micro. This virus spreads via the chat window on Facebook. In particular, a message from a friend appears in the pop-up window that is used for person-to-person chat. The message contains a link to an innocent-looking website. If the victim installs the virus on his computer, it instantly disables and removes the existing anti-virus software. Then, it spreads itself by opening chat windows on the Facebook friends of the infected user. (For additional information on malware, check out the ceh training course offered by InfoSec institute, an IT security training company.)

Increasing the availability of bandwidth

Social media may generate a lot of internal traffic. This is because the use of social media websites is often accompanied by the use of video sharing websites, such as YouTube. In this connection, Patrick Wood, senior director of product management for Exinda, a provider of WAN optimization and application acceleration products based in the US, stated that, “While it varies from organization to organization, we have seen instances where as much as 60 percent or more of network resources are being consumed with things like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.”

Preventing identity theft

Social networks can be used by criminals to steal identities. For instance, photo- and video-sharing websites like Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube may provide a lot of information about their users. Moreover, such social networks may contain information about the family and the friends of the users.

The next section of this article will discuss the disadvantages of social media in the workplace and draw a conclusion on the subject.

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10 Dangerous Risks to Your Server Security

February 27th, 2013
Posted by: admin

GUEST BLOG

By Sarah Morris
KirkpatrickPrice

Security.  That’s usually the first thing on the minds of those in the IT world.  To keep up with changing technologies, we are constantly changing and improving our security standards, so that we can remain one step ahead of malicious attackers in defending our confidential information.

Royce Howard, of Global Knowledge, offers some tips about the 10 most dangerous risks to your server.  These tips are important to remember when developing and securing your IT infrastructure.

Physical Attacks. Make sure no one has physical access to your server.  Server rooms should be kept secure, and sensitive data should be encrypted.

Password Policies. Create complex passwords and change passwords every 90 days.

Privileged Accounts and Social Engineering. Vulnerabilities can be mitigated by removing administrator rights.

Email Attacks. Beware of phishing emails.  Never open an email from an untrusted source and avoid clicking on links in emails.

Worms. Worms are self-replicating programs that copy themselves from machine to machine, using up computer processing time and bandwidth.

Increasingly Malicious Malware. Scheduling regular scans can help detect and prevent against malicious malware and spyware.

Unauthorized Network Access. Network Access Control and Network Access Protection can help control network access of a computer host while using a set of protocols to define and implement a security policy.

Not Updating Patches. Automatic updating of patches can help avoid threats.

3rd-Party Applications. Check security platforms of 3rd-party vendors and applications from independent developers and manage exploits.

The Human Factor. People are the weakest link in security initiatives.  Develop strong policies and procedures so that people are prepared.

At KirkpatrickPrice, we have years of experience in information assurance by performing assessments, audits, and tests that strengthen information security controls.  Contact us at info@kirkpatrickprice.com for more information on how we can help you in your compliance efforts.

Sarah Morris is a technical writer for KirkpatrickPrice, a provider of world-class audit services. Visit www.kirkpatrickprice.com.

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Top 10 Security Risks Found by Your Auditor

February 21st, 2013
Posted by: admin

GUEST BLOG

By Sarah Morris
KirkpatrickPrice

At KirkpatrickPrice, we strive to provide the proper assurance and resources to help our clients maintain security within their organization.  Recently, we held a client webinar focused on the “Top Ten Security Risks” that your auditor finds during your auditing process.  Below is a summary of the most common risks that we find.

1.      No Formal Policies and Procedures

Formal guidelines of policies and procedures help provide your employees with clarity of what’s expected of them.  They define the accountability for each employee and also establish necessary training. Information security policies are mandated by the FTC Safeguards Rule, PCI Data Security Standards, and the HIPAA Security Rule. This means they are mandatory.

2.      Misconfigurations

Standards need to be applied consistently. Organizations should utilize benchmark configuration standards from a recognized entity such as: Center for Internet Security (CIS), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), SysAdmin Audit Network Security (SANS) Institute, and the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST).

3.      No Formal Risk Assessment

Assessment should cover assets that are critical to your enterprise to continue business operations for the following: hardware, software, human resources, and processes (automated or manual). Some important things to consider when thinking about risk assessment are the threats to your assets as well as the likelihood of vulnerability being compromised. Threats can be both internal (employees or third party contractors or partners) as well as external (natural events or social engineering). Developing a proper risk assessment can help to mitigate potential risks that you face.

4.      Undefined Incident Response

It is always important to have clear instructions on reporting procedures when determining incident response. It is suggested to build a culture within your work environment that encourages reporting of all incidents the moment they present themselves.

5.      Lack of Disaster Planning

Disaster planning is important in a situation where written plans were available for others to follow in the event that key personnel are not available. A business impact analysis can help quantify what level of redundancy is required for disaster planning. Proactive arrangements should be made to care for the staff and to communicate with third parties. Walkthroughs and training scenarios can benefit organizations so employees are properly prepared in the event of a disaster.

6.      Lack of Testing

The concept of testing applies to all areas of your security. If your security is not tested, there is no way to determine whether or not vulnerabilities are present.

7.      Insecure Code

Developing secure coding is something we find lots of companies struggling with. To develop secure coding, training must be implemented as well as specific development standards and quality assurance.

8.      Lack of Monitoring/Audit Trails

Log Harvesting, parsing, and alerting methods must be determined to efficiently deal with massive event logs. The responsibility for review must be formally assigned as part of daily operations.  Audit trails should be stored in such a way that system administrators cannot modify without alerting someone with and oversight role.

9.      Data Leakage

Some things we often forget are where the data is located and how long should it be retained? How is encryption implemented and verified? How is access to data granted and audited?  These things are all very important, and if not corrected, can keep you from complying with federal and industry standards and regulations.

10.  Lack of Training

A lack of training can prove to be a striking blow to the security of your organization. Employers should recognize the importance of properly training all employees on safety and security best practices. Standards and guidelines should be clearly set and determined in each organization. Several training opportunities are offered through KirkpatrickPrice to properly train you and your company on the basics of security awareness, awareness for managers, awareness for IT professionals, and awareness for credit card handling.

Determining your individual risks is the first step toward the mitigation process.  Maximum security of your sensitive information is KirkpatrickPrice’s number one priority.

If you’re ready to get started with your assurance process, you’ve come to the right place. We’re ready to help. Let’s work together.

Sarah Morris is a technical writer for KirkpatrickPrice, a provider of world-class audit services. Visit www.kirkpatrickprice.com.

 

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Disasters Happen. Is Your Business Ready?

February 14th, 2013
Posted by: admin

 

By Laurie Head
AIS Network Vice President

Preparing for an emergency is a key factor to business continuity after a disaster. Wherever the threat comes from – whether it’s physical, virtual, network failure or cybercrime-related – it’s important that your business is equipped to deal with the problem.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that over 40 percent of businesses never reopen following a disaster.  And, when we consider these potential consequences, it’s important that you have a disaster preparedness plan ready.

We consulted Cindy Bates, Microsoft US SMB Vice President, for some tips.  As you create your business continuity plan, she recommends that you keep in mind the following:

Communication strategy.  Make a plan about how you will communicate any disaster and its impact on your internal and external audiences.  Remember that 40 percent of businesses will never reopen following a disaster.

Financial management. Ensure that you can still access your company accounts, pay bills on time and make the payroll.

Data backup.  Keep your company information safe by backing up assets and storing a copy offsite on a regular basis.

Cloud-based software. Move software to cloud-based versions of the programs that you use today.  This acts as a great alternative to data backup and enables your employees to have access to email, important documents, contacts and calendars – anytime and from virtually anywhere.

Technology updates.  Maintain vigilance when it comes to keeping your technology updated with security patches to safeguard your network against the latest threats.

Your digital assets are extremely important to business continuity in the aftermath of a disaster.  Do you need help protecting them?  Contact us for a free assessment.

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The Datacenter Tiers – What Are They?

October 20th, 2012
Posted by: Donna Hemmert

By Donna Hemmert
AIS Network Vice President, Strategic Development

We’ve heard from some of our clients recently that there is some confusion about what the hosting tiers are and why they matter.  Well, we’d love to shed some light.

So, why are there tiers at all? The tiers help people understand the capabilities of a datacenter by describing the availability of data from the hardware at the datacenter. The Tiers are the requirements for “each level” of data center infrastructure. Overall, the higher the tier, the greater the availability.

Tier One

  • Basic site infrastructure with expected availability of 99.671%
  • Single non-redundant distribution path with non-redundant capacity components
  • Planned work and outages will require most or all of the site to be shut down

Tier Two

  • Meets or exceeds all Tier 1 requirements
  • Redundant site infrastructure capacity and single, non-redundant distribution path with expected availability of 99.741%

Tier Three

  • Meets or exceeds all Tier 1 and Tier 2 requirements
  • Concurrently maintainable site infrastructure with expected availability of 99.982%
  • Multiple independent distribution paths, but only one path required
  • Equipment is dual-powered & fully compatible with the topology of site’s architecture

Tier Four

  • Meets or exceeds all Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 requirements
  • Fault-tolerant site infrastructure with electrical power storage and distribution facilities with expected availability of 99.995%
  • Fault-tolerant with multiple, independent, physically isolated systems that provide redundant capacity components and multiple, independent, diverse, active distribution paths simultaneously serving the computer equipment.  Independently powered Cooling and power provided after infrastructure failure.

I hope that answers some of  your questions.  Feel free to comment with questions.

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Cloud Computing Benefits for Accounting Firms

August 19th, 2012
Posted by: Julia Uglietta


By Julia Uglietta
Associate, Marketing and Sales

Accounting firms deal with data day in and day out. The volume of numbers that go through an accounting office each day is unimaginable. The number of emails that go in and out of the offices is inundating.

It’s not only the size issue that challenges accounting offices every day.  Rather, it’s also the need to work faster while remaining efficient – in addition to improving better client and interoffice communications. These goals sound fairly standard for a successful business, right?  But in fields such as accounting, where large amounts of data are being received and stored, achieving these goals can be onerous.  The good news is, however, that new technology known as cloud computing is helping accounting firms attain these goals and save money too.

AIS Network accounting

Taking business to the cloud allows accountants to work from anywhere, at any time.

Taking accounting firms to the cloud is a way to reduce costs, improve efficiency and make data more accessible.  Throughout the industry, the discussions about cloud computing and how many accounting practices are moving to an outsourced cloud computing model has people thinking.  Accountants can see clearly that cloud computing is moving up and moving fast.  Now, more firms are looking into cloud solutions before they buy that next new sever.  They’re performing a cost benefit analysis, and in the process, they’re discovering that the operational expenditure associated with implementing an outsourced model is more desirable than the large capital expenditure associated with buying and maintaining all those new servers.

Not only does migrating to a cloud-based, paperless environment cut costs for accounting firms, but it also introduces new efficiencies.  When you put your data and applications in the cloud and entrust a cloud provider to care for them round-the-clock, you’re achieving IT efficiencies such as:

  • Eliminating the need for physical storage (throw out those old filing cabinets!)
  • Upgrading to industrial strength physical security (including partial or full fault tolerance, fire protection, etc.)
  • Improving backup and disaster recovery processes
  • Enhancing data security
  • Increasing availability (through improved power redundancy,  etc.)
  • Extending IT resources with a 24x7x365 team of hosting experts

For many accounting firms, this makes the decision to switch to the cloud even easier.

The most brilliant feature of the cloud is, in my opinion, its “anywhere” accessibility – which is an aspect that most accounting firms will find appealing.  When your data and your applications are in the cloud, they are accessible via any Internet-enabled device whenever you need them and wherever you are.  It just makes life easier.  Allowing the staff to work faster (and, I might add, without necessarily increasing billable rates) allows them more time to focus on the clients’ needs.

Most customers prefer communicating with their accountant via the Internet, and in many ways, the new cloud-based dashboards, reporting applications and unified communications systems that are now available only make this easier.  By enabling better collaboration and communication among geographically diverse staff and clients, accounting firms’ processes and workflows are vastly improved and the work gets done much faster – often with greatly reduced travel costs.

Life in the cloud has changed many industries’ ways of operating.  Slowly but surely, accounting firms will ease into cloud computing and reap benefits that were previously unachievable any other way.

 

 

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Why Email Archiving?

August 3rd, 2012
Posted by: admin

 

By Laurie Head
AIS Network Vice President

Why email archiving?  Well, from the knowledge management perspective, valuable information is contained within our everyday email conversations, and yet that vast knowledge repository is typically not documented or stored using any formal means or framework.  Email archiving solves this problem, especially if it is designed with simple yet robust search capabilities.

email archiving

Email archiving addresses legal readiness and regulatory compliance needs, among other business requirements.

However, information archiving also addresses several key business requirements, particularly for enterprises.  To start, consider:

  • legal discovery readiness
  • regulatory compliance
  • email storage optimization

Being prepared for legal discovery and regulatory events means knowing where data is stored and being able to collect, search, and retrieve that data in a short period of time.

Organizations must also be able to establish and enforce policies, which reflect specific regulatory and geographic market requirements that align with internal information governance strategies. When managed improperly, exposure to legal and compliance risks can be significant and challenge an organization’s ability to defend its processes. This can lead to costly fines, guilty verdicts and damaged reputations.

Also, keep in mind that because regulations mandate that data must remain in its original state (native format), robust search capabilities are needed.  An archive provides a centralized, searchable repository that provides end users with access to historical information.  We believe that this access should be simple and intuitive, with a familiar user experience that fits existing work habits and enables greater productivity.

Finally, an information archive should address all of these requirements while also supporting the dual IT objectives of centralizing email storage and reducing the cost and management complexities of exploding data volumes — both within managed systems as well as in the wild.

AISN has recently introduced a new cloud-based offering for enterprise email archiving — one that has a variety of attractive features, especially if you need to meet high compliance standards.  AISN’s next generation email archiving, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive™, offers a proven email archiving solution architected explicitly for the cloud.  It features ultra-rapid parallel email search capabilities for discovery, DoubleBlind Encryption™ as the industry’s only email archiving solution to secure against hacking or legal challenges, and unlimited storage with straightforward flat-fee pricing.

Read more about our new email archiving solution on our site’s email archiving page; it’s also briefly highlighted in our disaster recovery section.  Because we price email archiving on a case-by-case basis, you won’t find a pricing guide, so please be sure to contact us for a free quote.

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AISN’s Redundant Power and Connectivity Protect Customers From Power Outages in Aftermath of Massive DC Storm

June 30th, 2012
Posted by: admin

By Jay Atkinson
AIS Network CEO

data center reliability

Unplanned outages are costly. Redundant power and connectivity are critical values that managed hosting providers offer.

Can the AIS Network data center reliably maintain data availability when a massive storm hits?  Yes!

Last night, the Washington, DC, metropolitan area suffered a massive, highly destructive storm replete with high winds, thunder, lightning and heavy rains.  This afternoon, more than 1.3 million households and businesses across the area are still without power.  In fact, power company officials are predicting a “multi-day outage.”  All this bad news comes in the middle of a heat wave when weather forecasters are calling for dangerous heat levels and still more storms.  We sympathize with those who are still without power and who have suffered property loss.

Last night’s storm, which crippled many businesses with a primary utility power outage, underscores why it’s tremendously advantageous to host your mission critical data in an SSAE 16 Type II-compliant data center.  Outages are costly.  Customers don’t really care if there was a storm, an earthquake, a rolling blackout or some other issue responsible for an outage.  They  simply expect perfect availability of and connectivity to their data, and that is understandable.

Reliable, redundant power and redundant IP connectivity are two of the most important safeguards that a managed hosting provider can offer its customers, especially when a natural disaster strikes.  Yet, what many hosting providers offer falls short of that.  AIS Network’s Tier III data center in Virginia came through with flying colors and kept our customers’ data up and running.  No hiccups, just solid availability.

Choosing to move your mission critical applications and data from an on-premise hosted environment to a fully managed hosted environment within a secure data center definitely makes good economic sense but it’s also a decision that provides for more reliable protection against power and Internet connection outages.  That’s a critical value proposition.

Managed hosting support systems must be predictably available, and system availability is only as predictable as the availability of power to those systems.  When you host your data in AISN’s data center, you are choosing to add a level of built-in redundancy for failover protection during common and extreme conditions.  AISN facilities are designed for redundancy and high availability of power to our clients’ critical server systems, and high density Internet connections.  Clearly, to build this sort of environment for your data on-premise would be cost-prohibitive.

Some data centers promise redundant/ backup systems, but nonetheless, it’s still very important for a prospective customer to confirm precisely what that promise entails.  In some cases, a physical inspection may be necessary or advisable.  If you’d like to learn more about AISN’s data centers or take a technical tour, please contact us.

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