Monthly Archives

January 2015

IT Trends – 2015 Edition

By | Data Security, Managed IT Services | No Comments

Crystal BallLast year we predicted several IT trends that are, for the most part today, standard operating procedures for most businesses. From VoIP to secure collaboration using Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing, the big focus last year was the shift away from legacy processes and applications, with the gradual adoption of access-anywhere, work-anywhere work tools that didn’t compromise security.

This year we predict nearly every operational focus trending in IT will have something to do with security. IT security is the trend of 2015.

In fact, the biggest trend of 2015 will be the acknowledgement that no business is secure. No business – from the one-man work-at-home freelancer to the largest international corporation – is immune from incident. If you use technology and access the internet, whether from a smartphone or through applications on a bank of servers, you are a potential target for malware, cyber-attacks, viruses, natural disasters, and other business-disrupting issues.

Managed IT

Managed IT services, while not a new trend, will take center stage for even more companies because the need to maintain state-of-the-art equipment and have access to offline backup and disaster recovery will be too great to ignore and too costly for every non-IT business to do well. Shifting from a capital expenditure model for IT to an OPEX model will also be a priority for businesses striving to remain globally competitive. Managed IT services accomplishes that.

BDR Goes Mainstream

When disaster strikes, business leaders recognize the need for remaining operational. Backup and disaster recovery services provide a cost-effective business continuity solution that reduces downtime and allows you to keep serving customers from anywhere.

Enterprise Threat Detection

Rather than waiting for hackers and malware to highlight security gaps, then developing security patches in response to protect businesses, you can make your approach to security more aggressive. Enterprise threat detection offers proactive security that uses predictive analytics to stay ahead of the next attack. This will become a necessity for businesses of all size.

The most competitive businesses are the ones preparing for possibilities and designing their infrastructure in such a way that they can remain flexible, proactive, and competitive. Managed IT and BDR are not new concepts, but they are trending in 2015 as adoption becomes ubiquitous.

Discover how thinkCSC can help your business. Learn more.

Windows Server 2003 Nears End of Life

By | Managed IT Services | No Comments

windows server 2003If you thought it was tough to adapt to the extinction of Windows XP, you’ll find yourself mired in a tar pit if you don’t soon take action to upgrade your Windows Server 2003 operating system. If your business is utilizing Windows Server 2003, begin your countdown now: Support for Windows Server 2003 will end July 2015, and businesses that hope to escape issues associated with bottlenecks, security, and third-party applications need to upgrade now.

Don’t Let Your Business Be Affected

Even though Windows Server 2003 has a short amount of life left in it, the third-party applications you use are going to create issues sooner than later – and may already be affecting your processing speed and uptime. Newer applications use larger amounts of paged-pool and non-paged-pool memory, something Windows Server 2003 simply wasn’t built to handle. This will cause your server to slow or stop running, requiring a reboot. Slowed and down systems are costly – and in the long run are more costly than upgrading to the recommended Windows Server 2012.

Don’t Let Windows Server 2003 End of Life Herald Your Doomsday

July 14, 2015 may seem far enough away to keep you from sensing any imminent doom, but the application-moving process required to upgrade your server from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 is a time-consuming and delicate process requiring:

  • Application inventory
  • Analysis of which applications are using which servers
  • Careful planning of server migration and application updates

With proper planning, your migration from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 can be a relatively painless process. The thinkCSC team is here to handle all of the heavy lifting for you. Failure to migrate in a timely manner will result in security issues, reduced functionality, issues with applications on which your teams rely, and increased downtime.

Take Action Now

Windows Server 2003 has moved to the top of the endangered species list. Better performance and security is within your grasp. We recommend upgrading to Windows Server 2012 as soon as possible to ensure ongoing security and stability. If you’re not sure where to start, thinkCSC can facilitate the migration of your Windows Server 2003. Contact us today for more information.