CIO Solutions Voted Top 3 Best Technology Companies

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Thank You Fresno Customers and The Business Journal

CIO Solutions extends our heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed Fresno customers and The Business Journal for recognizing us as one of the Top 3 Best Technology Companies in The Central Valley. This acknowledgment is a testament to our unwavering commitment to serving the Fresno community with excellence.

Being acknowledged among the best companies serving our local business community by The Business Journal is truly exciting. The organization’s commitment to celebrating business achievements and fostering community spirit through engaging events like the annual Best of Central Valley Business Readers Choice Awards is commendable and we’re honored to be acknowledged within such a dynamic group.

(L to R) Derrick Herdewel, vCIO, Kristeen Paraguas, Director of Service, Maniver Sandhu, Customer Success Manager, Michael Barnes, Senior Engineer

(L to R) Derrick Herdewel, vCIO, Kristeen Paraguas, Director of Service, Maniver Sandhu, Customer Success Manager, Michael Barnes, Senior Engineer

To celebrate this achievement, a few members of our top-notch team (pictured above) took a break from behind the screens to celebrate. This gathering reminded us of the strong community ties we share and the collective success we’ve achieved together.

This recognition isn’t just an accolade for us; it’s a reflection of the trust and confidence our customers have in our services. We’re deeply humbled by the fact that our customers and community took the time to cast their votes for CIO Solutions. Your belief in our services motivates us to continually strive for excellence and push the possibilities of what exceptional IT service means.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to our valued Central Valley customers and The Business Journal for this incredible recognition. We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering top-notch IT services and look forward to continuing our journey of innovation, reliability, and customer satisfaction.

Business-IT Alignment – The Secret to Propelling Your Business to New Heights

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The Secret to Propelling Your Business to New Heights

By Sean Gill, Director of Client Strategy

IN THIS ARTICLE: 

For every business leader, the ultimate goal is not just to survive, but to thrive and achieve success. For any organization that depends on technology to operate, there is a crucial aspect that can significantly impact that journey- how well you align IT with your business objectives. 

“Business-IT Alignment” is a cool sounding buzzword, but what does it really mean?  

True alignment is not all that exciting or fancy. It’s not about adopting the newest, shiniest new tool or jumping on the latest buzz-worthy tech trends. Don’t get me wrong, we love exploring new tech and keeping an eye on what’s emerging as much as (well, more than) the next guy.  

But the real magic happens when your IT strategy is thoughtfully aligned with your business vision. In simplest terms, it’s about crafting a tailored IT roadmap that complements, supports, and enables your specific goals. 

Here are some best practices that help ensure your IT is on the same wavelength as your business objectives: 

  1. Share Your Vision 
    • Start by revisiting your business goals and vision. Share these with your IT team and service provider (that’s us!). Understanding your objectives lays the foundation for a powerful IT strategy. 
  2. Communicate Continuously 
    • Business-IT Alignment is a team effort. We recommend forming an IT steering committee that gets your key stakeholders, IT team/provider, and leaders involved. Decisions for your IT strategy can’t happen in a vacuum, they need to involve the valuable insights of these different company stakeholders to shape an effective IT roadmap. 
  3. Identify Pain Points 
    • Pinpoint IT challenges that are preventing your progress. Recurring problems can’t be solved unless they’re identified, and until they’re solved, they’ll keep holding you back and wasting time and money. Whether it’s outdated software or process bottlenecks, recognizing these pain points helps your IT partner tailor effective solutions. 
  4. Prioritize Security 
    • A strong cybersecurity framework is the backbone of any well-aligned IT strategy. Will an upgrade improve your security posture and protect your data? That should be a priority. Whether it’s upgrading outdated machines, implementing MFA on critical applications, or a focused push around anti-phishing employee education, security should always be part of the conversation and is often a good place to start.  
  5. Embrace Flexibility and Agility 
    • As we’ve seen in recent years, the business landscape can change rapidly. Your IT should be agile enough to keep up with the changing world AND the changes in your business. Ensure that your IT infrastructure is scalable and adaptable to accommodate expansion and new opportunities without disrupting your operations. 

These practices help ensure that you and your IT provider are on the same page when designing your IT future.

Sharing your business objectives with your IT team empowers them to give you expert advice and experiential insights about what will work best to get you where you want to go while solving for current pain points and accounting for other business considerations that might influence the timeline.  

It all starts with a conversation that includes key internal stakeholders and goes beyond the nitty gritty of IT. If done right, these conversations will lead to a deliberate technology roadmap that focuses on getting you to your goals.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sean has been shaping the IT strategies of businesses across a wide range of industries and sizes for over 10 years. As a vCIO at CIO Solutions, he works with business leaders every day to create a clear IT vision, mature technology solutions, and ultimately, enhance business productivity and security through technology.

He and the rest of the Strategic Client Services team at CIO Solutions are constantly evaluating important trends in the industry and advising clients on best practices and long-term IT strategies for success.

Are you a current client of CIO Solutions? Contact your vCIO to continue the conversation! 

Not a client yet? Contact us to see how we can help get your business where you want to be! 

CIO Solutions Acquires Compass Consulting in Ventura

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CIO Solutions Acquires Compass Consulting

July 13, 2023, Ventura, Calif. – CIO Solutions, one of the Central Coast’s leading Computer Consulting and Network Management companies, has acquired Compass Consulting, further expanding its local presence. Compass Consulting is a Ventura County-based Information Technology consulting and managed services firm, providing cloud solutions, managed IT services, software development, and IT consulting to small and medium size businesses.

“We want to assure everyone that Compass Consulting and its employees are not going away, nor is their location changing,” explained CIO Solutions’ CEO, Eric Egolf.  “This acquisition will simply enhance and expand the company’s services. The alignment of our two companies, which share similar values, will provide current and future clients with more security solutions, cloud solutions, more co-managed IT options for customers with internal IT departments, and more growth opportunities for existing Compass employees. This acquisition will also lead to more local job opportunities down the road.”

Headquartered in Goleta, California just outside of Santa Barbara, CIO Solutions has additional offices in San Luis Obispo and Fresno. The company plans to bring Compass Consulting clients an upgrade to Security Operations managed by CIO Solutions Network Operations Center; an advanced network monitoring system and additional manufacturer options for equipment replacements including Datto, Palo Alto Networks, Watchguard, Juniper and more.

Compass Consulting’s name will initially transition to Compass Consulting Powered by CIO Solutions. Eventually, everything will converge under the CIO Solutions name, according to Mr. Egolf.

Darin Selfridge, Compass Consulting’s current CEO, will transition into the position of virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) after the acquisition. He said, “We are looking forward to becoming part of CIO Solutions — an industry leader with local roots that has a wider breadth and depth of capabilities to meet our customers’ needs. It’s a win-win for everyone – our company, their company, all our clients, and Ventura County as a whole. Our clients will continue to be serviced by the same world-class Compass technical staff; our service processes will operate the way they always have; and our response times will remain the same. In my new position, I will also still be our clients’ relationship manager.

“There are no current plans to increase monthly pricing or rates. Any changes in pricing will be communicated months in advance. When you’re seeking computer and networking help, there’s nothing that beats having a trusted partner when the capabilities align, because these are the folks who will best understand and be able to respond quickly to your needs.”

In the coming months, CIO Solutions will also add these capabilities and solutions to the Compass team: the availability of a large team of Citrix Experts; additional Security Capabilities around the CrowdStrike Ecosystem; a First Call Resolution Support Department that will address clients’ needs on the first call; a dedicated Network Operations Center; and options for “co-managed tools” which will allow clients’ IT departments to use some of the same tools CIO Solutions uses.

CIO Solutions has been providing IT management and consulting services to Central Coast companies and organizations – large and small — since 1986.  Many of their clients are medium-sized businesses with 10 to 400 employees. Some of their larger clients have included the cities of San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Paso Robles, the Santa Maria School District, OK Produce, Teter and EyeQ.

“From day one our goal has been to tailor our services for both small and large businesses and to provide IT options that did not exist before,” explained Mr. Egolf, who has been with the company since 2004. “As we have evolved, so has our ability to meet our clients right where they are in their growth curve, not just where we are. It’s become a win/win solution that works for everyone, one that frankly makes our jobs more interesting, challenging, and fun. Our local locations in Ventura, Santa Barbara/Goleta, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno enable us to provide faster response/resolution times to our clients in these areas and provide each customer with the right mix of remote and onsite support.”

Today, CIO Solutions employs a total of 92 employees, who service more than 250 clients from Fresno to Paso Robles down the coast to Los Angeles, as well as national and global clients.  The acquisition of Compass Consulting will take the company to 100 employees.

To learn more, visit ciosolutions.com or compassconsult.com online or phone  805.692-6700

Safeguarding Your Business Beyond Device Security: The Rising Importance of Identity Protection

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By Eric Egolf, CEO

IN THIS ARTICLE:

In today’s digital landscape, IT security is a hot topic of discussion, and for good reason. Security is a constantly changing and complex field and while it may seem repetitive, as we rely on technology and digital interactions more for core business operations, companies have more to lose when their security posture is lacking. Staying ahead of the curve and paying attention to the emerging trends of IT security is now vital to keeping your business safe. 

In terms of priorities, securing individual endpoints (computers, laptops, servers, etc.) should be the initial step. If your organization hasn’t addressed this yet, that should be first and foremost. If you have this covered (maybe you have already implemented a solution such as CrowdStrike EDR), we can start to look ahead toward the next important concept on the rise: securing corporate user identities.  

User Identity- Who’s Who & What They Can Access 

A “user identity” is the digital version of who you are online. It includes things like your credentials (username and password), and other personal information that you use to access and control what you do on different websites and systems.

For our purposes, we will focus specifically on the corporate user identity (the usernames and passwords used to access your corporate data and applications) and how to secure it. Note that this does not include consumer user identity i.e., the credentials that employees use for personal online activity. 

When a user’s credentials are stolen, devastating credential abuse happens every day on devices without any security software. If your endpoints have powerful prevention, detection, and response capabilities, then the impact of this breach won’t be as disastrous as it would be on endpoints that aren’t secured.  

But considering how much power is associated with corporate user identities, it only makes sense that now, in addition to securing the endpoints, the next important security technology on the rise is identity protection- securing and detecting anomalies in the user identities accessing your business’s data.   

In the coming years, we see Identity Protection tools becoming equally as important as Endpoint Protection ones.  

On The Rise: Identity Protection Solutions 

Identity protection needs to be considered separately from securing a workstation. Endpoint security is done via software that is installed on the individual device or workstation (such as antivirus (AV) and Endpoint Detection Response (EDR) solutions).  

User Identity, on the other hand, is secured by monitoring databases of the corporate identities that access your business data. Identity Protection solutions catch risks in configuration and detect anomalies in credential usage.  

Some examples include: 

  • Someone logging in with a stale user account (user account that hasn’t been used in 90 days). 
  • Using a user account from a machine that doesn’t normally use it – different than baseline behavior.
  • Using an account from two geographically distributed locations, North and South California in the same hour.  

Identity Protection tools are an emerging technology that show incredible potential for increasing a business’s ability to detect and prevent user identity (specifically credential) abuse that they would have otherwise been blind to. 

At CIO Solutions, we offer CrowdStrike’s best-of-breed solutions including EDR and CrowdStrike’s latest module: Identity Protection. These solutions combine the power of modern Artificial Intelligence, a flexible cloud-native design, and now the power of Identity Protection logs to increase your organization’s security capabilities. 

Are you a current client of CIO Solutions? Talk to your vCIO to continue the conversation!

Not a client yet, but wondering how to improve your IT security? Let’s talk!

Business Email: M365’s Exchange Online vs. Exchange

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Microsoft is a dominant player in the business email market. For most businesses, the question isn’t whether to use Microsoft email solutions, but rather “which one?” While Microsoft’s Exchange server solution has been the go-to option for years, the rise of cloud-based solutions has given businesses a more flexible and cost-effective alternative: Exchange Online through Microsoft 365. 

IN THIS ARTICLE: 

The Difference between cloud (M365’s Exchange Online) and premise (Exchange) 

Exchange Online and Exchange are two business email solutions offered by Microsoft. Exchange Online is a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution within the Microsoft 365 suite. In this subscription-based model, Microsoft owns, manages, and secures the infrastructure. 

In contrast, the premise-based solution, Exchange, requires someone to own and manage the server infrastructure that the licensing is installed on. Large enterprises may manage this in-house on their own servers. Smaller businesses often contract with a third party for email hosting services (such as CIO Solutions’ Hosted Exchange). In this case, the third party manages the solution on their own servers.  

Both solutions offer similar features but differ in one major area: who manages and secures the email infrastructure. 

Although the idea of having control over managing their own infrastructure may seem less risky and appeal to many businesses, shifting that responsibility back to the vendor can actually provide significant advantages. 

Benefits of Exchange Online 

With great control comes great responsibility. Managing Exchange servers requires both time and resources. It’s also limited to the capabilities of your business or IT provider and evolves at a slower pace. This can mean fluctuating costs, occasional downtime, and yes, even additional risks for your business.  

Alternatively, M365’s Exchange Online infrastructure is managed and secured by Microsoft. Having the vendor in control of these responsibilities means your business benefits from: 

  1. Consistent Maintenance

    Exchange Online provides built-in enterprise-level security features, high reliability, and regular maintenance, upgrades, and feature updates. This reduces the complexity and burden of maintenance for your business. 

  2. High Availability

    Exchange Online in M365 offers high availability and disaster recovery features. Microsoft guarantees the system’s uptime, ensuring that organizations have access to their email at all times (via the Internet). On the other hand, organizations that depend on Exchange servers may experience potential downtime and data loss in the event of a disaster. 

  3. Enhanced Security Features

    With Exchange Online, businesses benefit from a consistent and robust security framework. Exchange Online offers the latest security features and advancements, with Microsoft implementing advanced security measures and managing the infrastructure in accordance with industry regulations. 

  4. Quick Application of Security Patches

    A major advantage of Exchange Online is that Microsoft swiftly applies security patches when vulnerabilities are detected. This guarantees that your business stays ahead of the latest security threats, with the vendor efficiently and rapidly implementing patches to maintain the highest level of protection.

  5. Predictable Costs

    Exchange Online provides a cost-effective and predictable pricing model as a subscription-based solution. With monthly or annual subscription options, it’s bundled with the rest of the 365 suite and doesn’t have additional costs for managing the infrastructure or maintaining the system. By using Exchange Online, you can avoid unexpected costs such as hardware upgrades, infrastructure costs, or special projects that come with running your own Exchange environment.

  6. Scalability & Integration Capabilities

    Exchange Online plays a central role in the M365 suite. It serves as the foundation for the function and interconnectivity of the entire suite of productivity tools. Migrating email into Exchange Online is the first step for businesses looking to leverage Teams, SharePoint, and other tools in the M365 ecosystem. As businesses continue to embrace collaboration, connectivity, and flexibility, Exchange Online can be a key first step to setting up scalable productivity options in the future.

Considering your Options 

Microsoft 365’s Exchange Online offers several benefits over Exchange servers in terms of flexibility, cost-effectiveness, high availability, scalability, and enterprise-level security and disaster recovery features. As more and more organizations opt for cloud solutions for their ease of use and flexibility, it may be worthwhile to explore whether Exchange Online could be a good fit for your business. 

Are you a current client of CIO Solutions? Talk to your vCIO to continue the conversation!

Not a client yet, but curious about maturing your productivity tools? Let’s talk!

Neglecting MFA: The Scary Reality of Your Business Risk

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IT security is more important than ever. Cyber-attacks and data breaches are a daily occurrence, they just don’t all make headlines. Businesses that fail to take proactive security measures put not only themselves at risk, but their customers too.

One of today’s foundational security measures is multi-factor authentication (MFA). But here’s the scary part: many businesses still aren’t using MFA, which means they’re at risk of some serious consequences.

IN THIS ARTICLE:

MFA Explained 

MFA is a security feature that requires users to provide a combination of two or more authentication factors to gain access to a system or application. This is typically something the user knows (like a password) and something the user has (like a phone or security token). These are used to verify the user’s identity. Unlike solely relying on a password for access, requiring more than one authentication method adds an extra layer of security. If the user’s password is stolen, the second authentication factor helps to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information and systems.  

Business Consequences of Not Implementing MFA 

MFA is a relatively simple solution that can significantly increase your preventative security posture. In today’s world, it’s only a matter of time before a user’s credentials are compromised. Without a second verification method, that’s all it takes for a bad actor to get into your systems. The fallout of that can be severe.

Here are some examples of what can happen if your business doesn’t use MFA on critical business applications: 

  1. Data Breaches

    Without MFA, hackers can easily gain access to business accounts or systems by stealing or guessing a user’s password. No one’s password policy is good enough to prevent this. Once inside, your sensitive data including customer information, intellectual property, and financial records are at risk. 

  2. Financial Losses

    Along the same lines, without MFA, stolen credentials can give bad actors all the access they need to transfer funds, make unauthorized purchases, or steal sensitive financial information. This can result in significant financial losses, legal fees, and regulatory fines. 

  3. Reputational Damage

    A breach can damage a business’s reputation quickly which is difficult to recover from. Customers may lose trust in your business and look elsewhere. Depending on the severity of the breach, it can cause prospects to think twice about choosing your company. Reputations take a long time to build, can be damaged in an instant, and may take years to recover. 

  4. Compliance Violations

    If your business has cyber-liability insurance (something all businesses should have these days), MFA is a requirement. Failing to adhere to this could risk your insurance coverage. Additionally, many industries, such as healthcare and finance, are subject to strict compliance regulations that require the use of MFA. Failing to comply with these regulations can result in legal penalties, fines, and even license revocation.

  5. Operational Disruption

    The day-to-day impact of a breach resulting from the failure to implement MFA can be damaging on its own. Bad actors who gain access to your business systems can disrupt your operations or even shut down your systems. This results in downtime, lost productivity, lost revenue, and negative customer experiences.

The scary truth is businesses that avoid implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) put themselves at significant risk for avoidable incidents. Cybercriminals are always looking for easy targets, and the absence of MFA makes your business just that. 

It’s true that implementing MFA won’t solve all security problems; it’s just one part of a robust security posture. But failing to take this foundational prevention step can lead to catastrophic events. The consequences for your business can range from uncomfortable to completely disastrous. 

It’s crucial that businesses take proactive measures to protect themselves and their customers. Implementing MFA on your key business applications is a simple yet effective way to increase security and mitigate risks. As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Are you a current client of CIO Solutions? Talk to your vCIO to continue the conversation!

Not a client yet, but wondering how to improve your IT security? Let’s talk!

Employee Spotlight: Tach Martinez

Employee Spotlight: Tach Martinez

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Employee Spotlight: Tach Martinez

Behind the Screens- Meet Tach

Meet Tach! Tach has been a Rapid Response Technician on team CIO for about a year and a half. As an RRT member, he answers the call for help when our clients hit a snag in their work day. This typically means taking phone calls to resolve issues, but in his role, it could also include performing server maintenance and even going onsite to one of our clients. 

In his spare time, he enjoys going to metal shows, fishing, art, and working on his Miata. He has no pets right now, but as soon as his landlord allows it he plans to add a cat to the mix!

Read on to learn more about Tach!

 

What would the title of your autobiography be?

The Autobiography of Tach Martinez

 

What has been your proudest moment at CIO?

I wouldn’t say there is just one moment that is proudest but the current, I am proud of the growth as a technician and a person I have had at CIO.

 

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I am a trained artist. Before working at CIO I would regularly sell commissioned artwork. 

 

How would your family or friends describe you in three words?

Determined, stubborn, goal-driven

 

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?

The best advice I’ve ever heard was while working at CIO, I was told “It’s better to be nice, not right,” the ability to step back during a conversation and think “Would I rather have an argument to prove I’m right, or just accept differing opinions and move on?” Helps to avoid strain on friendships and relationships.

 

What was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve had?

I’ve had no unusual or interesting jobs, so the most usual uninteresting job I’ve had was working at McDonald’s.

 

If you could go back to any moment in time, when would it be?

Maybe go back to the 90s, I could see all my favorite bands without emptying my wallet for tickets.

 

Would you rather be the funniest or smartest person in the room?

I wish both were an option, but I think I would prefer being the Smartest.

 

What’s the weirdest fact you know?

The grass in Shrek 1 isn’t grass, it’s hair. The animators at the time couldn’t figure out how to make grass.

 

What’s your favorite famous or inspirational quote?

I won’t believe there are no fish in this lake until you catch the last one.

 

If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?  

If I could learn one thing, it would be the guitar. How cool would it be to shred like Dave Mustaine, Van Halen, or Slash? Always been a pipe dream of mine but I’ve never had the commitment to actually learn.

 

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

The obvious answer is money, but maybe an unlimited supply of chicken parmesan would be nice.

 

What’s your favorite TV show? 

My favorite TV Show would probably be “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” It’s a show I always end up coming back to and re-watching.

 

What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?

As a kid, I always heard that ants are good for you because they had protein, so I ate an ant and it bit me.

 

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Time manipulation. It would be so practical. Late for work? Freeze time. Missed a deadline? Rewind. Stuck in traffic? Fast forward. Kind of like that Adam Sandler movie Click

 

What could you give a 30-minute presentation on without any advance preparation?

I could rant for hours about Metal Subgenres, it’d have to be that or NA and NB Miatas.

 

If your life were a movie, who would play you?

Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, we look nothing alike but I think it would be pretty cool to have him do tech support in a feature-length film.

 

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Bonus: What 3 words would you use to describe CIO Solutions?

Determined, Rewarding, Collaborative

 

We are proud of our team of skilled and friendly individuals. It’s a unique group of collaborators and innovators who share a common “can-do” mentality paired with a fondness for gifs and puns. 

Looking for opportunities to join our team? Visit our Careers page to see all open positions in our Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno offices!

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SaaS Backups- Whose Job Is It Anyway?

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The importance of backups for Microsoft 365 

By Sean Gill, Director of Client Strategy

IN THIS ARTICLE: 

More and more, companies are relying on Software as a Service (SaaS) applications to run parts, or all, of their business. 

You’re very familiar with SaaS applications, whether you realize it or not. In the SaaS model, users access software applications over the internet. Some common SaaS services you may use regularly include Google workspace, Microsoft 365, MailChimp, and Zoom. Learn more about Software As A Service!

The Business Benefits of SaaS Solutions 

With the SaaS model, businesses can easily access effective software solutions without taking on all the management tasks. SaaS providers manage their infrastructure and security, regularly implement updates, and ensure consistent uptime of their services.  

All of this is wrapped up and accessible to users through subscription-based usage fees. Businesses that subscribe to these services gain useful and flexible Cloud-based solutions along with the peace of mind of knowing that the backend systems have experts focused on maintaining them.  

This offers incredible bang for your buck and ease of management. However, the other side of that is knowing where the business continuity responsibilities end for the vendor and where they start for your business.  

Understanding Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model 

One of the largest market shares for a SaaS solution belongs to Microsoft and its 365 platform. Businesses of all types benefit from the productivity tools and security features that Microsoft 365 offers.  

With all the ease and benefits of SaaS solutions, many business owners assume that their data in Microsoft 365 is backed up and easily recoverable. But is that really the case? 

The answer is yes and no. Enter the Microsoft “Shared Responsibility” model. 

SaaS providers like Microsoft do maintain backups to a degree. They store data around the world to ensure availability of service and protect against disaster. However, these recovery capabilities are limited. Microsoft doesn’t protect against things like human error (someone accidentally deleting files), malicious software, or hardware failure. 

The responsibility of protecting client data is shared with the client themselves. It’s their responsibility to back up their data above and beyond Microsoft’s native recovery capabilities. Many SaaS vendors have similar limitations like this, with the remainder of the responsibility belonging to the users.

This may come as a surprise to business owners who may assume that all recovery and backup functions are an included service with their SaaS solutions.  

Effectively Protecting Your Data 

So, what can you do to ensure that your data is protected? 

SaaS providers recommend using additional third-party solutions for backups to ensure business continuity for valuable data. If your business runs on SaaS solutions for critical functions, it’s important that these are properly backed up.

CIO Solutions offers solutions specifically designed for this through our technology partner, Datto. Datto SaaS Protection works natively with the 365 platform. This tool can capture multiple backups daily of Microsoft 365 applications including Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. This allows for granular restores directly back into 365 that go well beyond Microsoft’s native backup and restore capabilities to ensure your data is protected.  

It is important to know what you’re getting with SaaS solutions and where there are gaps for your business. Knowing this, you can implement the right tools to ensure your data is secure while benefiting from the flexibility and productivity benefits of SaaS.  

Additional Resources:  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sean has been shaping the IT strategies of businesses across a wide range of industries and sizes for over 10 years. As a vCIO at CIO Solutions, he works with business leaders every day to create a clear IT vision, mature technology solutions, and ultimately, enhance business productivity and security through technology.

He and the rest of the Strategic Client Services team at CIO Solutions are constantly evaluating important trends in the industry and advising clients on best practices and long-term IT strategies for success.

Are you a current client of CIO Solutions? Contact your vCIO or Client Success Manager to continue the conversation! 

Not a client yet, but curious about maturing your IT? Let’s talk!

CIO Solutions Receives SOC 2 Type II Attestation

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CIO Solutions Receives SOC 2 Type II Attestation

Independent Audit Verifies CIO Solutions’ Internal Controls and Processes

Santa Barbara, CA – January 2023 – CIO Solutions, a leading local IT Management and Cloud solution provider, announced that it has again completed its SOC 2 Type II audit. Performed by KirkpatrickPrice, this attestation provides evidence that CIO Solutions has a strong commitment to security and to delivering high-quality services to its clients by demonstrating that they have the necessary internal controls and processes in place.

A SOC 2 audit provides an independent, third-party validation that a service organization’s information security practices meet industry standards stipulated by the AICPA. During the audit, a service organization’s non-financial reporting controls as they relate to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of a system are tested. The SOC 2 report delivered by KirkpatrickPrice verifies the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of CIO Solutions’ controls to meet the standards for these criteria.

“We like knowing our operations, data integrity and data security practices are reviewed by a 3rd party to the highest of standards. Kirkpatrick Price uses the SOC 2 audit to achieve this goal,” said Eric Egolf, CEO of CIO Solutions.

“The SOC 2 audit is based on the Trust Services Criteria,” said Joseph Kirkpatrick, President of KirkpatrickPrice. “CIO Solutions delivers trust-based services to their clients, and by communicating the results of this audit, their clients can be assured of their reliance on CIO Solutions’ controls.”

About CIO Solutions

CIO Solutions provides premium IT management services, including private cloud solutions, to small and large businesses and non-profit organizations across the Central Coast and Central Valley of California. They live out their mission statement “productivity enhanced, lives enriched” by enabling businesses to maximize their time and resources through technology.

They have been around for over 3 decades and continue to grow each year with one goal in mind – to provide their clients with expert custom IT solutions supported by first-rate customer service. Their team of 85+ employees serves clients from their offices in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno, CA.

About KirkpatrickPrice:

KirkpatrickPrice is the leader in cyber security and compliance audit reports. Our experienced auditors know audits are hard, so they take complicated audits such as SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST, GDPR, and ISO 27001 and make them worth it. The firm has issued over 10,000 reports to over 1,200 clients worldwide, giving its clients trusted results and the assurance they deserve. Using its Online Audit Manager, the world’s first compliance platform, KirkpatrickPrice partners its clients with an expert to guide them through the entire audit process, from audit readiness to final report.  For more information, visit www.kirkpatrickprice.com, follow KirkpatrickPrice on LinkedIn, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Understanding Office 365

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By Josh Farlow, Director of Cloud Services

You’ve likely heard of Microsoft 365* in some form. However, what it is and what people think it is, are often two different things. Many people still think of it in limited terms. Without understanding the full value and extent of productivity benefits this tool can offer, it’s easy to miss out on what it can really mean for a business.   

*There are a lot of terms thrown around with this tool (M365, Microsoft 365, Office 365, etc.). Depending on the product licensing, the naming may be different. Office 365 is the most ubiquitous, so for the purpose of this article, that’s how we will refer to it.  

IN THIS ARTICLE: 

How people think of it: Email 

Often when people refer to Office 365, what they really mean is “email”. Many people think of O365 as just another way to host their business email. When this is the case, a business may consider it solely as an email option that offers additional security features and high availability (which Microsoft offers with multi-regional data centers and locations.)  

While email is the thing that interests businesses in the O365 ecosystem in the first place, this alone is not the primary value adder of O365. Using it as simply another option for hosting email will provide significant additions to security and availability (which shouldn’t be ignored), but it isn’t going to change much as far as experience or functionality. 

Migrating email to O365 is the first piece that enables a whole new range of productivity opportunities.  

What it really is: a suite of applications  

If we stop thinking of O365 as synonymous with “email”, we can start to see the tool for what it really is. A way for a business to consolidate, access, manage and connect many of the Microsoft tools that are important to their productivity.  

At its core, Microsoft 365 is “a subscription service that ensures you always have the most modern, up-to-date productivity tools from Microsoft”.   

In other words, it is a subscription service that offers subscribers access to a suite of cloud-based Microsoft applications. Instead of licensing all these applications separately, they’re bundled under different licensing tiers.  

Your business likely uses one or a few of these applications already for some of your key business functions: 

  • Meetings & Voice (Ex: Teams)  
  • Office apps (Ex: Word, Excel) 
  • Files & Content (Ex: Teams) 
  • Email & Calendar (Ex: OneDrive, Stream)  
  • Work Management (Ex: Forms, Planner) 

Each subscription level includes different combinations of applications. Businesses can choose the subscription tier that offers the tools that best fit their unique needs. Ultimately, bringing all these tools together in one place under one license.  

Business benefits beyond just email hosting 

When thinking of O365 in this broader sense, we can start to understand the benefits of the platform as a whole. Having all these applications under one umbrella not only simplifies everything but brings with it a ton of other business benefits as well.  

1) Ease of management (licensing)  

From a licensing standpoint, everything becomes easier. Businesses don’t have to license applications separately. They just need to manage one license in order to get access to all these productivity apps.  

Bundling and consolidating your tools like this makes procuring licensing, managing them, and budgeting for them so much easier. 

2) Ease of management (security)  

When you centralize applications, you bring an inherent level of security with that. You get a clearer understanding of what you have that needs to be secured.   

Now, instead of thinking about multiple different points, everything is in one place so you’re only concerned with a single identity for everything. When you have that one identity, now you can protect it much more simply with multi-factor authentication. 

3) Cost for value 

Office 365 is very cost-effective versus traditional Office licensing and email hosting. Even if it works out to be comparable in cost, you get a ton more value built in for the price.  

With a subscription-based licensing model, you get access to more features, control, and ease just due to the nature of the platform. 

4) Consistent updates 

Because it is a cloud-based platform, your applications are always up to date (which lends to added security as well). You don’t have to worry about managing updates, encountering issues if someone is running old versions, or patching any security updates. It’s all built-in.  

5) Upgrades included 

In addition to regular maintenance, you’re also at the forefront of any advancements. With the ongoing subscription model, you automatically get access to any upgrades that are released. You no longer need to purchase or implement any major software upgrades.  

Productivity Tools for the Future  

With this approach to licensing for productivity tools, your business is always able to tap into the evergreen innovation that Microsoft offers. You’re automatically at the cutting edge of new tools and enhanced ways of working instead of having to pick and choose, budget additional upgrade fees, and create an implementation plan.  

Some businesses may be skeptical of a subscription-based licensing model for their Microsoft apps. It’s a different approach to what many are used to, so there may be a fear of relinquishing control, or concern about data and backups (to learn more about this, read more in our “what to plan for when moving to M365”). But there are many options for tailoring the subscription levels and tiers to meet your needs. At this point, the benefits far outweigh most reasons for not transitioning to this model. 

Now you know a bit more about O365, what it is, and potentially what it can mean for your business. It’s important to understand that it’s not an either-or situation; it’s not just email, and it’s not just office applications. 

It’s a flexible suite of business applications that can truly help your organization consolidate your Microsoft licensing, open doors to more efficient tool management, and unlock more opportunities for collaboration, productivity, and effective work. 

Are you a current client of CIO Solutions? Contact your vCIO or Client Success Manager to continue the conversation! 

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