Is It Time for a New IT Partner?

Are you able to work remotely and collaborate with the same efficiency as you can in the office?

Yes, my team can work anywhere! We have the proper firewalls, VPN connections, can access business-critical applications, collaborate virtually using Teams, and more.

We can, but it’s not easy. For instance, I can only get my voicemails when I go the office on Wednesdays.

No, and we have no idea what is needed to do this in a way to make sure we are doing this safely to avoid security vulnerabilies.

How confident are you with this statement? All critical systems and data are automatically backed up, tamperproof, and can be restored in a timely manner.

Yes, we know our critical data and applications, our sensitive data is encrypted and backed up on a regular schedule that protects our business from downtime in the event of a disaster. We take actual backups, not just RAID mirroring or database replication, and store them in a secure cloud location as well as onsite. We also regularly test our backups and to ensure we can recover our data quickly.

We live by a set it and forget it mentality. I’m sure backups are happening and capturing all the data we need, but I’m not sure we have tested to make sure we can recover anything from them.

Honestly, I have no idea. Is that bad?

Do you have a plan to deal with ransomware attacks and demands?

Yes, we have a complex plan that includes a decision-making framework to help us analyze whether we can restore data and systems on our own or whether it makes sense to pay the demand. Our team is up-to-date with insurance guidelines to have in place, regulatory implications of ransomware, the value of engaging external counsel and extortion service providers, and the importance of running periodic practices to ensure we’re ready.

I have some idea of how we would respond, but if it happens I’m sure I can Google it and find a checklist of what to do first.

My response plan includes swearing, crying and lots of faith! But I’m not worried, it’s never going to happen to us.

Do you have an IT strategic plan based on best practices that allows you to proactively track, manage and forecast your IT budgets and needs?

Yes, our plan provides ongoing visibility into the health of our IT ecosystem, and informs our strategic plans. It allows us to view multi-year budgets that’s based on real-world conditions to ensure predictable ROI.

We have a plan, but unfortunately, it’s not very thorough and typically based on what fires we need to put out ASAP vs. what new initiatives will have the biggest impact on the future of our business.

No, but that would be amazing! Where can I get that?

Do you feel your organization is up-to-date on new and emerging technologies that increase efficiency to save you time and money?

Yes, our IT provider always lets us know if there is a more efficient way to do something with a new technology. I love that they have the team to stay up-to-date with this because we sure don’t!

No way! There aren’t enough hours in the day. I’m sure there are efficiencies we could put into place, but I’m not sure what they are.

Does your organization use security measures such as two-factor or multi-factor authentication and SSL to securely access your cloud services?

Yes, we authenticate with 2FA/MFA to protect our applications and environments.

We don’t use 2FA/MFA, but we encourage our team to change their passwords regularly and make them complex.

No, we like to be welcoming to everyone who tries to log in, even if they’re hackers.

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