10 Aug

Is VPN Dead?

in Articles, Cloud, Operations, Security

Today’s modern and mature business can’t function through the VPN or an antiquated remote desktop solution.

Remote access to corporate technology (email, data, infrastructure, financials, etc) isn’t new. Most organizations have had some sort of solution in place for at least the last decade, with stragglers getting a push from the pandemic.

But as conversations like Zero Trust or UX (the user experience) become more common, our clients look to better position themselves and it’s no longer just about “accessing the network”. Cost, compliance, latency, security, productivity, collaboration – all of these are shaping the way IT teams and corporate leaders consider the future of their information technology and nothing can match a virtualized environment.

Users want easy access to business applications, data, and email. Managers need productivity analytics and integrated collaboration tools that are easy to use. Regulatory and compliance requirements call for advanced cybersecurity. Finance wants a cost-effective solution with clear billing and no long-term obligations.

The solution is an integrated cloud computing model with a native user experience and services that include analytics, cybersecurity, computing, database, mobile, networking, storage, and web apps.

Fortunately, we’ve come to a place and time where all of this possible, at a cost that’s affordable and easy to understand.

Next-Gen Cloud from OWG is built on the Azure infrastructure and from safety to UX we’ve considered it all. For a closer look, check out our published live demo. From a higher level, our solutions let’s you and your team:

• Stay productive from home and outside the office. Sign on to any device and quickly launch office apps and securely access corporate data.

• Protect IP and business-critical data. Give users freedom and easy access to their work from anywhere over a secure network.

• Control access through the user profile. Conditional access controls determine user access based on user profile, geo- location, team, etc.

• Simplified licensing and billing. Can be included with Offices 365 billing which you’re likely paying already.

• Leverage advanced cybersecurity features. Including integrated and enforceable multi-factor authentication, and auditing features for easy compliance and reporting.

• Remain vendor agnostic. Don’t get hamstrung by your IT services vendor. Next-gen cloud allows you to select the vendor of your choice and makes it easy to leave when you decide.

To learn more, or have a conversation about how Next-Gen Cloud from OWG can benefit your business complete the request for info below, or just book a time on my calendar.

05 Aug

The Helpdesk Experience is Priority

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Operations, Services, TeamOWG

Comments

Small and midsize businesses deserve the best technology support and services at fair prices.

Partners in business. Not just words.

These are stressful times, and our support staff understands that you never know what the person on the other end of the phone is going through.

Providing world class service to the small and midsize business community, our help desk technicians realize they are the front-line for your business. They bring their a-game every single day and we can’t say enough how much we appreciate all of their efforts! So we’ll let our partners speak for us with this handy animation —

Our client satisfaction (C-SAT) rating in 2022 is over 98%. Not getting the experience promised from your IT services provider? We wrote about this recently in our blog on all-inclusive support, and talk about our (more than 100 five-star Google Reviews often. Delivering on end-results is what OWG is all about.

Book a time on my calendar and let’s talk about your concerns.

01 Aug

Should your IT managed services plan include support?

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Operations, Services

Comments

For some businesses, an all-inclusive monthly support fee seems like a great option when engaging an IT services vendor.

While in principal we don’t disagree with the model, how does a business leader understand what they’re getting?

What do you do when “the trip doesn’t match the brochure”?

Managed IT services contracts generally follow a rigid set of one-size fits all services and support terms. While most issues are covered, many customers find themselves with unexpected monthly bills for issues that don’t fall within agreed to parameters.

So what can you do if you want a predictable billing model? What if that’s the only option the vendor is offering? Here are a few things to do…

1) Review the “fine print”. Discuss service exclusions, data retention fees, technology refreshes, and network updates. These “edge cases” (which many are led to believe will never happen) are in fact where IT vendors can profit the most.

2) Ask about what’s not included. It’s not just about Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) and response times. Exclusions should also be clearly documented and easily explained. Most IT providers won’t cover things like printers, phones and 3rd party apps. But what if those are critical to your business?

3) Talk with your team. Understand all your company’s specific technology needs. A more technically savvy staff with modern equipment could require less support, but things like remote access, collaboration tools, cybersecurity, and support for third-party apps should be considered.

4) Don’t get locked in. Critical is a solution where you aren’t locked into a single provider and can move business apps and data without a massive lift and shift operation. This is key to the client-vendor relationship and ensures transparent billing and the best service possible.

5) Check the MSP’s reviews! And not just two or three referrals…It’s 2022 and every service business on the planet is being reviewed by satisfied and not-so-satisfied clients. OWG has over 100 five-star reviews.

It’s important to note that as systems have advanced, some service providers can now match all-inclusive offerings with specific, individualized client needs.

However, this is more difficult than it sounds and requires a mature MSP with an empathetic approach, and an ability to problem solve. It also requires buy-in from both sides, and a true desire to for that trusted partner relationship.

Success today stems directly from an organization’s flexibility and its ability to adapt. A trusted IT services partner/MSP is a must-have, and critical for any organization looking to build or even remain competitive. Take your time, chose your partner carefully, and reach out with any questions or concerns. We’re happy to be a resource!

Drop your name and email below to learn more, or tag our calendar and let’s have a conversation.

08 Jul

Your Incident Response Plan

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Operations, Security

Comments

It’s Monday Morning and your organization was just hit with a cyber-attack. Your response to the incident in the next few moments is critical.

Do you know what to do next? Does your team? Is the process documented? What’s automated and how much manual intervention will be needed?

Your company needs a published Incident Response Plan OWG can help you get organized.

30 Jun

Next-Gen Cloud from OWG

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Cloud

Comments

Our Cloud sets growth, efficiency, and security within your sights.

How do you manage IT operations, implement and control security policies, maintain a high-level technology strategy?

How is your business adjusting to the hybrid workforce and the stress it places on IT infrastructure, collaboration, and cybersecurity?

Next-Gen Cloud from OWG makes it easy!

Business applications and company data securely reside on platform-independent technology
Data and applications are seamlessly delivered to any approved device
Workloads are secured with industry-leading tools and artificial intelligence
Access is protected in a Zero Trust framework with multi-factor authentication, single-sign-on (SSO), and AI-driven threat detection
Your business is free from weather related issues, power outages, fire, flood, theft, or other logistical constraints

To learn how our Next-Gen Cloud can help your business drop your name and email below, or tag our calendar and let’s have a conversation.

17 Jun

Remember your first day on the job?

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Operations

Comments

I learned long ago that the experience I had on my first day of work at my very first job was fairly unique.

When I showed up to work at 7am my first day, I was given the obligatory office tour, handed my access badge, introduced to the key players on my team, shown the lunch room, and received a very warm welcome.

Once it was time to get to work, I was shown where my desk was; on the desk was a branded tin box with a mouse keychain, flash drive, pen (all branded), a box of business cards with my name spelled correctly and a polo shirt in my size. I didn’t appreciate this at the time but I do now.‍

On my desk was a large envelope with the following inside:

My usernames and temporary passwords for all company technology

A welcome letter wishing me success within the organization

A contact list for all the departments and key players

A laminated card with details on contacting the Service Desk

I read through all of the materials and I was off to the races within a few minutes. From that point forward I knew who to email for anything I needed, call for support, and where to send just about any kind of request. Asking for support within the organization was easy and there was never any doubt that what was needed would get handled and handled in a timely fashion. I didn’t think much about it at the time to be perfectly honest and being my first job, I subconsciously assumed this was just how employee orientation and onboardings were handled everywhere, but I could not have been more wrong! This was in 2006 and thinking back, is pretty impressive for the time.

Years later, I was flown into a new city for an interview and subsequently accepted an assignment with a new organization. The first impression was vastly different. My laptop hadn’t arrived, so I used my personal laptop for a week. I had no idea who to call to get logged in to company applications; it also turned out that the person who I was supposed to report to had been relocated to a different division — I had no boss?! It took me at least a week to get access to all company applications, all my logins to various platforms, and finally a company laptop. A few weeks later my business cards arrived with my email address spelled incorrectly so those became scrap paper.

While I enjoyed my time and the challenge of that project, in hindsight, my “orientation” and onboarding experience was indicative of things to come and unfortunately it set the tone for the bulk of the subsequent work my team and I had. Sadly, the experience became a bit of an internally accepted joke.

Since then, my career has shifted more towards the service delivery aspect of the IT industry and luckily, I was able to retain both of those experiences and apply my experiences from both sides of the coin. I now know what is possible and learned valuable lessons from both experiences.

Overseeing ITSM practices for an MSP comes with a new set of challenges. We work with thousands of users from hundreds of different partner organizations spanning many different sectors. Each group maintains different leadership styles at each helm.

I firmly believe that the relationship and confidence in our service all starts from an employee’s very first day and from the very first time an end user logs in to their company computer.

In my current role, I often ask myself questions such as:

What will their first experience with IT and their new employer be like?
Will they know how to get ahold of our service desk for support?
Will they know what software and systems we support?
Do we have processes in place to make the technology aspects of their job as seamless as possible?
How do we make sure they know we truly care and want to support their needs?

How do we do it today?

As part of continual service improvement, below are a few steps we have taken and questions our team must review on a regular basis to make sure we are creating the best possible first impression for our own new employees as well as those of our partner organizations.

Creating unique onboarding forms for each of our partner organizations
Each form generates a series of service tasks
All get assigned directly to our onboarding team

When these forms are submitted, do we know the who, what, where and when of everything pertaining to that new user from an IT standpoint?

Communicating realistic expectations to our partners
Clearly addressing needs and timelines

How much time is needed to procure devices? How much notice do we need from the submitter?

Knowing and understanding our inventory
Understanding the capabilities of our suppliers
Being realistic with current supply chains issues

What do we have in stock today? What does the current supply-chain look like? How fast can we get equipment to a remote location?

Are we delivering new credentials in a secure way? Is 2FA a part of our on-boarding checklist? (Passwords on a sticky note just don’t fly with our team.)

Does a staff accountant need a different computer than a graphic designer? Does a graphic designer need QuickBooks? The word standard means repeatable and repeatable always equates to a better user experience and is almost certainly more efficient.

How long does each onboard take? How many are we doing? How many tickets do new users open after they start? Are there seasonal trends we can prepare for? What can we automate?

Maintaining a living, breathing Service Catalog for all users that contains:
Instructions on how to get ahold of our service desk using their preferred channel (Portal, email, phone, etc)
Ticketing portal for guided support on common ticket types
Clear guidelines on what we support and what we don’t support
Clear explanations on how we provide support and what to expect
A flowchart of ticket handling practices we use to provide the best support possible
How to get emergency support after-hours
How to provide real-time feedback directly from a service ticket (positive or constructive)

Our process will likely never be perfect, nor will there ever be a one-size-fits-all manual for all businesses and users, but we can keep striving to get better on every interaction and create the best possible first impression for our partners’ users on their first day.

We believe this reflects just as much on the organization itself as it does on our services. It should not matter what title or position a new user holds — trust and confidence (or lack-thereof) is slow to be gained, quick to be lost and can be extremely contagious.

10 Jun

The Dangers of Shadow IT

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Operations, Security

Comments

Protect your company from Shadow IT.

Shadow IT may seem like a resourceful attempt to problem solve, but it actually can be quite harmful and introduces serious security risks through data leaks, compliance violations, unpatched software and more.

Michael’s trying to share a file with a client, but’s having trouble… the file’s too large to send in an email. After a few unsuccessful attempts he’s getting frustrated.

Then he remembers a free file sharing app and tries downloading it to his company computer.
Within minutes he gets a notification from the IT Service Desk reminding him company policy prohibits “Shadow IT”, or the use of non-approved software. They also explain that he has Office 365 and can take advantage of its easy to use, secure file sharing abilities.
Bonus! The client also uses Office 365. The process is seamless and the two can easily collaborate without dealing with multiple versions, emailing back and forth, and lost data.

Drop your name and email below to learn more, or tag our calendar and let’s have a conversation.

26 May

Verify. A PSA from OWG

by Mathew Mendel

in Articles, Operations, Security

Comments

How do you protect your company from business email compromise (BEC)?

Here’s a tactic we call #Human2FA

Ever get an email asking for financial or banking information? Ever fall for it?
Today’s social engineering tactics are pretty good and more than a few corporate executives have fallen prey.

Client Area

Articles

Today’s modern and mature business can’t function through the VPN or an antiquated remote desktop solution.

Fortunately, we’ve come to a place and time where all of this possible, at a cost that’s affordable and easy to understand.

To learn more, or have a conversation about how Next-Gen Cloud from OWG can benefit your business complete the request for info below, or just book a time on my calendar.

Small and midsize businesses deserve the best technology support and services at fair prices.

Partners in business. Not just words.

These are stressful times, and our support staff understands that you never know what the person on the other end of the phone is going through.

Book a time on my calendar and let’s talk about your concerns.

For some businesses, an all-inclusive monthly support fee seems like a great option when engaging an IT services vendor.

While in principal we don’t disagree with the model, how does a business leader understand what they’re getting?

What do you do when “the trip doesn’t match the brochure”?

Managed IT services contracts generally follow a rigid set of one-size fits all services and support terms. While most issues are covered, many customers find themselves with unexpected monthly bills for issues that don’t fall within agreed to parameters.

So what can you do if you want a predictable billing model? What if that’s the only option the vendor is offering? Here are a few things to do…

1) Review the “fine print”. Discuss service exclusions, data retention fees, technology refreshes, and network updates. These “edge cases” (which many are led to believe will never happen) are in fact where IT vendors can profit the most.

3) Talk with your team. Understand all your company’s specific technology needs. A more technically savvy staff with modern equipment could require less support, but things like remote access, collaboration tools, cybersecurity, and support for third-party apps should be considered.

4) Don’t get locked in. Critical is a solution where you aren’t locked into a single provider and can move business apps and data without a massive lift and shift operation. This is key to the client-vendor relationship and ensures transparent billing and the best service possible.

5) Check the MSP’s reviews! And not just two or three referrals…It’s 2022 and every service business on the planet is being reviewed by satisfied and not-so-satisfied clients. OWG has over 100 five-star reviews.

It’s important to note that as systems have advanced, some service providers can now match all-inclusive offerings with specific, individualized client needs.

However, this is more difficult than it sounds and requires a mature MSP with an empathetic approach, and an ability to problem solve. It also requires buy-in from both sides, and a true desire to for that trusted partner relationship.

Drop your name and email below to learn more, or tag our calendar and let’s have a conversation.

It’s Monday Morning and your organization was just hit with a cyber-attack. Your response to the incident in the next few moments is critical.

Do you know what to do next? Does your team? Is the process documented? What’s automated and how much manual intervention will be needed?

Your company needs a published Incident Response Plan OWG can help you get organized.

Our Cloud sets growth, efficiency, and security within your sights.

How do you manage IT operations, implement and control security policies, maintain a high-level technology strategy?

How is your business adjusting to the hybrid workforce and the stress it places on IT infrastructure, collaboration, and cybersecurity?

Next-Gen Cloud from OWG makes it easy!

To learn how our Next-Gen Cloud can help your business drop your name and email below, or tag our calendar and let’s have a conversation.

I learned long ago that the experience I had on my first day of work at my very first job was fairly unique.

When I showed up to work at 7am my first day, I was given the obligatory office tour, handed my access badge, introduced to the key players on my team, shown the lunch room, and received a very warm welcome.

Once it was time to get to work, I was shown where my desk was; on the desk was a branded tin box with a mouse keychain, flash drive, pen (all branded), a box of business cards with my name spelled correctly and a polo shirt in my size. I didn’t appreciate this at the time but I do now.‍

On my desk was a large envelope with the following inside:

I firmly believe that the relationship and confidence in our service all starts from an employee’s very first day and from the very first time an end user logs in to their company computer.

In my current role, I often ask myself questions such as:

How do we do it today?

As part of continual service improvement, below are a few steps we have taken and questions our team must review on a regular basis to make sure we are creating the best possible first impression for our own new employees as well as those of our partner organizations.

When these forms are submitted, do we know the who, what, where and when of everything pertaining to that new user from an IT standpoint?

How much time is needed to procure devices? How much notice do we need from the submitter?

What do we have in stock today? What does the current supply-chain look like? How fast can we get equipment to a remote location?

Are we delivering new credentials in a secure way? Is 2FA a part of our on-boarding checklist? (Passwords on a sticky note just don’t fly with our team.)

Does a staff accountant need a different computer than a graphic designer? Does a graphic designer need QuickBooks? The word standard means repeatable and repeatable always equates to a better user experience and is almost certainly more efficient.

How long does each onboard take? How many are we doing? How many tickets do new users open after they start? Are there seasonal trends we can prepare for? What can we automate?

Our process will likely never be perfect, nor will there ever be a one-size-fits-all manual for all businesses and users, but we can keep striving to get better on every interaction and create the best possible first impression for our partners’ users on their first day.

We believe this reflects just as much on the organization itself as it does on our services. It should not matter what title or position a new user holds — trust and confidence (or lack-thereof) is slow to be gained, quick to be lost and can be extremely contagious.

Protect your company from Shadow IT.

Shadow IT may seem like a resourceful attempt to problem solve, but it actually can be quite harmful and introduces serious security risks through data leaks, compliance violations, unpatched software and more.

Michael’s trying to share a file with a client, but’s having trouble… the file’s too large to send in an email. After a few unsuccessful attempts he’s getting frustrated.

Drop your name and email below to learn more, or tag our calendar and let’s have a conversation.

How do you protect your company from business email compromise (BEC)?

Here’s a tactic we call #Human2FA

Ever get an email asking for financial or banking information? Ever fall for it?Today’s social engineering tactics are pretty good and more than a few corporate executives have fallen prey.

But there’s an easy way to stay a step ahead of the criminal and we call it Human Two Factor Authentication.

Watch the video, share it with your team and make verifying finical requests policy at your organization.

What will it take for your business to make the jump to the Cloud?

For this exceedingly traditional Los Angeles-based law firm it was a global pandemic and state lockdowns that almost brought the business to a stand-still.

A dynamic leader in the space, this entertainment law firm serves the hottest names in the music business and reps hundreds of artists across all facets of their career. They provide a level of attention that allows their clients to navigate touring agreements and deals with major labels.

We’d been advising the partners on the risks associated with on-premise equipment and the benefits of Cloud technology. But, with no serious disruptions, their reluctance to embrace new technology meant they would continue to operate at a disadvantage.

Want to know how we did it? Complete the form below and download the business case.

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Ever get an email asking for financial or banking information? Ever fall for it?
Today’s social engineering tactics are pretty good and more than a few corporate executives have fallen prey.