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April 13, 2016 In Cloud Computing By admin

Why is Virtualization a Key Technology in Cloud Computing Environments?

Virtualization, as the word explains, is a separation of the physical infrastructures to create various dedicated resources. The term is often seen coupled with cloud computing and you always wonder – Why is it so important? Here comes the answer –

Saying it straight and clear, without virtualization, cloud computing would leave the data unstable, uncontrolled and unsafe. It is an important and probably an inseparable element of cloud computing services. Virtualization allows us to consolidate multiple physical components so that they can be managed at one place. With the help of virtualization, organizations have a better visibility and also a greater control of their infrastructure making security management simpler for the cloud.

It is due to virtualization that the cloud computing services are so cost-effective. Moreover, it is also responsible for the simplicity of delivering services by providing a platform for optimizing complex IT resources.

A few examples to convince you on the above thought –

  • Intelligent use of single computers: Virtualization software enables 1 computer to perform as though it were 20 computers. It empowers you to move your data center with thousands of computers to a single one that supports as few as a couple of hundreds.
  • Virtual memory: Computer systems can use virtual memory to borrow extra memory from the hard disk. Although, it performs slower than the disk spaces, this substitution works considerably well.
  • Efficient use of IT resources: Cloud data storage services let you optimize your resources/capacity based on your needs. Whenever you need more capacity, you can easily leverage the cloud provider’s infrastructure.
  • Easily migrate and balance workload: When your workloads vary greatly (mostly happens with e-commerce websites), the cloud computing environments can proactively add more capacity in anticipation of the need.

Though not completely dependent, virtualization and cloud computing rely too much on one another and when combined, make up a power couple. The former provides more strength and reliability to the latter. But you need to choose the cloud computing service providers with diligence as your data is very important.

If you are based in Cleveland or looking for cloud services in Cleveland, you ought to visit https://www.netactivity.us/cloud-computing-services and get in touch with the experts.Net Activity, Inc. is uniquely positioned as leaders in providing cloud infrastructure services network. Our superior solutions let you have a competitive edge over your competitors.

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March 23, 2016 In Managed IT Services By admin

Expert Advice – Hiring vs. Outsourcing Managed IT Support Services

Having to decide whether to appoint in-house IT technicians or to outsource to professional IT Service Company is the most difficult situation for businesses. Although, many of them are tempted to hire an in-house technician or a team of engineers to manage their IT infrastructure, the pitfalls can’t be ignored.

This definitely doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t hire a professional to take care of everyday network administration remote IT support services. The focus is about who serves better and what costs better – the latter question interests more, isn’t it? Definitely, it does. While analyzing the situation impartially, outsourcing to an IT Managed Service Provider weighs on the heavier side and here are clarifications to convince you:

You get permanent benefits – Unlike staffing, outsourcing your IT support services serves you with long-term benefits. Imagine the situation when your IT professionals leave you and you have to hire a new one. This would mean re-engaging resources, time and money for the training purpose. Instead, the managed service providers (MSPs) serve you as a team and don’t even bother you with any change of personnel.

You save tremendously – When you staff an internal resource for maintaining remote IT services, you need to ensure a fixed amount for hourly or monthly salary, a dedicated system and other aligned resources. This may seem to be little expenditure initially. However, the bigger picture shows a different scenario. You are bound to invest a set amount periodically whether or not a problem occurs. With MSPs, you have the flexibility to pay as per number for of pc and server supported. The good news is you can scale without creating your own support infrastructure.

You recover network failures sooner – A single IT engineer fails to attend multiple issues at a time and your work may come to a halt for a while incurring huge losses to your business. By outsourcing IT support for your business, you ensure a quick assistance and faster recovery from system failures as the MSP would rush in and look into the problem with multiple technical heads brainstorming and troubleshooting the real point of error; furthermore with multiple clients MSPs have the advantage of having seen the issue before at another location.

You have an updated technology – You definitely don’t wish to drag an obsolete technology and expect glorifying results. Managed IT service providers introduce you to the latest technological upgrades and ensure that you maintain your systems accordingly to prevent irreparable consequences.

It’s never too late. If you haven’t outsourced your IT support services yet, you can discuss in your network and find out the most reliable managed IT support service provider in Ohio. Or you can choose to test the services of Net Activity, Inc. – a leading provider of network security services in Cleveland and Akron (refer: https://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services) for an uninterrupted workflow at reduced expenses.  You can reach to us at 888 545 5346, 216 503 5150 ext 206. Email: info@NetActivity.us

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March 23, 2016 In Managed IT Services By admin

How to Choose the Best IT Tech Support Services for Business?

Tech support services are very important in the decision to purchase from one supplier over another. In the most basic terms, nothing is more frustrating and irritating than a computer or network system that doesn’t work. Network downtimes exaggerate overhead costs and leads to loss of productivity, customer satisfaction and revenues. So, deciding on which company to hire for your business’s managed IT tech support services is crucial at the first instance.

What features to look for?

Pricing – Check the pricing model as companies have different pricing policies on the basis of what they offer. You can choose the one which makes sense for your budget. These are the possible options you will come across:

  •  Trip Charges                                                       
  •  Preferential  consulting price                                    
  •  Monthly subscription                                   
  •  One-time fixes

Your choice may vary depending on the size of the network and number of people involved.

Experience – A tech support company having an established history and a solid track record would prove beneficial as you can expect better results and a hassle-free service. Also check whether the company has provided managed IT support services to an industry similar to yours.

Devices – Make an exhaustive check list of devices you need the tech support services for. Ensure that the tech service provider can offer help for every device on your list – PCs, printers, scanners, routers and mobile devices.

Quick response – Quality service providers offer remote IT support services whenever you need. They should have encrypted connections and must be certified.

Type of tech services–Many IT managed services in Cleveland/Akron, Ohio specialize in providing a part or complete tech services. So, it is necessary to check and be clear about the type of services offered. For example, some tech services may offer diagnostics support, data recovery, virus and malware help or firewall and security services or two or more of them.

Customized support – Obviously, you cannot afford to pay for the services you don’t require. So, hire the services of an IT tech support service for your business who is ready to provide customized solutions.

If you are looking for professional IT tech support services, Net Activity, Inc. can satisfy your specific requirements with proactive solutions. We have been in the industry since 2002. Our support plans include 24x7x365 server monitoring, backup management, spyware detection and removal, online asset and vendor management, service pack installation along with unlimited telephone support to our support desk.

Visit https://www.netactivity.us/services/it-managed-services to know more or contact us at 888 545 5346, 216 503 5150 ext 206, email: info@NetActivity.us to discuss further.

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March 9, 2016 In VOIP Services By admin

Why Small & Medium Businesses Need VoIP Services

A strong communication system builds the base to large establishments. The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology emerges as the most reliable and easiest sources of ensuring voice connections for the heavy use of businesses. No matter your services are unmatched, but if you are not communicating well, it doesn’t hold any worth.

VoIP enables a cost-effective way of communicating as it uses broadband internet connections & hosted VoIP providers to transfer voice message at the users’ convenience. The internet telephony (as it is denoted nowadays) converts voice data to compressed digital signals that further translate to IP packets. These packets then get transmitted to regular telephone signals.

Small businesses are the ones who must be imperatively using VoIP phone services for their business. Here are reasons to convince you:

Increased mobility & flexibility:

Apart from saving heavily on costs, VoIP phone services offer convenience to the user as he can access other applications including the internet while speaking on the phone. Individuals can discuss things even when they are away from their desks.

Easy Installation, configuration & maintenance:

Since there is no phone system, onsite installation is a breeze. All you need is IP phones, POE switch and configurations are done from a convenient web portal. Hosted VoIP service providers make it easy to add new users & portal allows moving, adding, or changing the system’s configuration.

Convenient scaling up or down:

With the costs involved in fixed line phones, you have to be accurate about the number of devices you would need. VoIP services allow you to add or remove new phone lines, which is a good news for small businesses as employee stability is the major issue with them.

Add-on functions included:

In addition to the functions of traditional phone systems, VoIP gives you access to find me/follow me call routing, voicemail to email transcription, music on hold, call screening, auto attendant, conferencing & do not disturb features. So, you don’t have to compromise on your favorite features.

About Net Activity, Inc.:

We have helped many businesses to save huge with our IP based solutions. It’s your turn now… If you are still not convinced about the ease of use and reliability on VoIP services, visit  https://www.netactivity.us/services/voip-business-phone-services and gather more information or call us at 888 545 5346 to discuss further.

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March 4, 2016 In Cloud Computing By admin

10 Best Cloud Storage Services 2016

The major concern of businesses today is how & where to keep their precious data secure. Ridiculously, it has been more important than safeguarding physical assets. Coming to the rescue, online/cloud storage has become the strongest game changer. Every business, small or big, has partnered and trusted the very reliable and inexpensive cloud storage for storing their data. Cloud services have matured with time just to feature immensely customizable solutions to businesses which will definitely pose a puzzle in making an appropriate choice.

Net Activity, Inc., a leading provider of public and private cloud computing solutions in Cleveland & Akron, realizes the upsurge of data dependency and takes the initiative to describe 10 best cloud storage services of 2016 you can rely on:

Easy usability

  1. Dropbox: If you need no more than 2GB of free space, Dropbox is amazing! It shells out more space (as high as 18GB) for you in simple ways such as referring friends. The UI is clean and what interests more is it allows you to share data with non Dropbox users too.
  2. Sync: Comparably a newbie, Sync is gaining popularity due to offering quite a large 5GB of free space, upgradable to 500GB for $49/year & 2TB for $98/year with an easy-to-use interface.
  3. eFolder Anchor: A strong alternative to Dropbox, Anchor stands as a comprehensive file synchronization platform built exclusively for MSPs, IT service providers and VARs. It characterizes easy usability, true multi-tenant management and monitoring, full white label branding with wholesale monthly billing and RMM & PSA integration.

Efficiency

  1. Google Drive: It hits the list as you get a whopping 15GB of free storage on sign up. It allows you to experiment a lot by letting you create, save & sync data with the help of integrated apps without using your free storage.
  2. Box: It generously offers you a free space of 10GB along with security, task management & discussions within Box. However, it restricts file size & doesn’t permit file version history.

Privacy

  1. MEGA: An intuitive UI with a sufficient free storage space of 50GB is what users experience with MEGA. Sharing of public links is allowed but you can’t password protect shared files. MEGA doesn’t access your data.
  2. SpiderOak: It’s kind of a dearly priced service with regards to storage provided. Data is encrypted for both transfer & storage. So it’s extra protected & serves good unless you forget the password.

Other reliable cloud storage options:

  1. OneDrive: Microsoft’s OneDrive lets users benefit from 15GB free space on signing up and offers several upgrades for an extra cost. It works closely with MS-Office apps and that’s where it gets a thumbs-up.
  2. pCloud: You get an instant 10GB of data storage for free with pCloud and can expand it to up to 20GB. It functions well with all the operating systems and can also be conveniently used on desktop & mobile screens. An instant backup of photos from social media is an added feature to make it appealing.
  3. Mediafire: The free account invites 10GB of free data storage expandable by easy tasks or paying extra. It displays an elegant interface & allows you to create, save and manage a wide range of file types.

We have simplified it for you. Visit https://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services to understand how the Net Activity, Inc. team can help manage your cloud services.

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March 3, 2016 In Cloud Computing, IT Security Services By admin

Security Issues: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Cloud Computing. How to Overcome?

Cloud storage has become immensely popular among the businesses (small, mid-sized or big) and has been positively being adopted across the globe. Depending upon the features and approved budget, organizations choose a cloud computing service that serves their purpose in the best possible manner.

Here is a quick list of characteristics summarized by cloud computing storage providers to help you decide the best one for you:

Characteristic

Public cloud storagePrivate cloud storageHybrid cloud storage
SecurityGood. Depends on the security measures of the service providerMost secure as all storage is on-premisesVery secure. Integration options add an additional layer of security
PerformanceLow to mediumVery goodGood, as active content is cached on-premises
ScalabilityVery highLimitedVery high
ReliabilityMedium. Depends on Internet connectivity and service provider
availability		High, as all equipment is on-premisesMedium to high, as cached content is kept on-premises. Also depends on connectivity and service provider availability

Although the cloud computing solutions have witnessed a remarkable growth in the past few decades, many organizations are skeptical about accepting it due to the security issues associated with it. Sharing your valuable private data with some other company’s storage systems is undoubtedly daunting and leads to an open invitation to data breaches.

What are the security challenges you must be aware of before moving to the cloud?

  1. Loss of Governance: Ideally, you have very less control over your data when you delegate the authority to a private cloud computing solutions provider. So, it is better to be knowledgeable about the level of security training their personnel receive, their security infrastructure and policies, their patch management, logging policies and vulnerability assessment and intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS).
  2. Loss of Data: Despite of the security measures taken by the cloud service providers, there have been cases in the past to make you feel insecure about the attack of hackers and data loss. Examples include a group of hackers that could obtain e-mail addresses and SIM card numbers for over 100,000 iPad users from the AT&T website.
  3. Threat from a shared infrastructure: The cloud offers a multitenant storage system which makes it difficult to locate who you are sharing the infrastructure with. They may possibly be hackers! & you might be risking your critical data to them.Vulnerability in your neighbor’s web application could mean the loss of your sensitive data, if all customers share the same backend database.

How to overcome security challenges of the cloud storage?

Regardless of the above risks, a critical and thoughtful proactive approach can lead you to a smooth functioning of the cloud computing solutions. Here are three steps to help you overcome cloud security challenges:

  1. Establish criteria to evaluate public cloud vendors:
  • Perform pre-employment checks
  • Change control and remote access policies, backup procedures, patch management, log retention and review policies, isolation technologies &application security
  • Business Continuity Management: recovery and failover procedures, customer communication processes
  • Define strict escalation procedures, security monitoring infrastructure, documentation, metrics
  1. Develop your internal infrastructure into a private cloud: Building a private cloud is similar to building a virtual network. This would save you time as well as monetary resources. But be careful to maintain security & make sure you see the blind spots.
  2. Sequence your migration to the cloud: Your management might be encouraging you to establish a cloud storage network to increase agility and reduce costs. Starting with low risk applications, you can demonstrate to management the inherent risks of cloud computing while not sacrificing your critical data, reputation, and potentially incurring legal or financial risk.

Net Activity, Inc. a certified Microsoft Cloud Provider, we can provide you Cloud, On premise or Hybrid solutions.   Contact us on (216) 503-5150 ext 206 or write to us at https://www.netactivity.us/contact-us. For more about our Cloud Offerings please refer to https://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services.

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