In a perfect world, maintaining your network would be a simple process. There wouldn’t be any suspicious activity or network sabotage, no aggressive viruses or data breaches. But given the state of communications in the modern world, IT Nirvana doesn’t exist anywhere, and the potential for these and similar attacks becomes more real every day.
That explains why Total Technology Solutions, the Melville, New York technology leader, has made a major expansion in its Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Group.
“IT is the lifeline of every organization. It’s the working route through a rough and tumble world,” Tim McKnight Total’s Managing Partner asserted. “When an IT network is threatened or goes down, whether from a natural disaster like Superstorm Sandy or from aggressive intrusions, all operations are at severe risk. In fact, the success or failure of an entire business can be at stake.”
Mother Nature’s hurricanes and superstorms will always be unpredictable. Terrorists, grudge-bearing antagonists or malicious-minded hackers seeking to steal sensitive information never broadcast their intentions.
Preparation for unexpected events is essential. The questions are huge and demand answers: How are your records and infrastructure safeguarded? Are you prepared to combat sabotage? How well trained are your people in disaster recovery? How effectively can your people work offsite, and where is the information coming from? These are typical questions that often don’t get asked, let alone answered. And with IT systems, reliability boils down to the preparation and expertise of the teams that monitor, manage and maintain them, 24/7, day in, day out.
IT SWAT Team & Strategic Solutions
Total has been a player in troubleshooting IT bottlenecks, minimizing downtime and preventing data loss since its inception. The company’s recent expansion is fueled by the realities of the day, and it is impressive in its depth and scope.
Dan Bernard, with a 25-year background in the field, understands business continuity and disaster recovery from both the information systems side and the business side. His initial priority? Expanding, then further educating and training the Total staff.
“True business continuity planning involves grasping the whole picture, meaning everything needed to continue business operations,” Mr. Bernard stated. “Information systems infrastructure is a critical part of that planning. I focus on the three P’s: Preparation, Prevention and Planning.”
Preparation makes intrusion prevention and intrusion detection far easier (and infinitely less expensive) than responding to emergencies, whether they are employee sabotage, phishing attacks, aggressive viruses or the vicissitudes of Mother Nature. Mr. Bernard noted, “Too many organizations suffer when something happens because they either don’t have a plan or it’s not up to snuff.”
Good business continuity plans must be thorough and real world tested. That’s why Total’s Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Group is likened to a SWAT team. “Our Team,” Dan said, “ensures that businesses are primed to prevent disruption and prepared to respond quickly and intelligently to any interruption of core business operations.”
Total’s planning knows no SIC boundaries. The Total team has helped organizations in diverse industries, from government entities and municipalities, to public safety leaders, law firms and manufacturers.
Network Assessment:
An ounce of prevention…
Optimally configured and well-protected networks are far tougher for saboteurs and hackers to penetrate. Total developed a comprehensive suite of network assessment tools, which includes a detailed security analysis and penetration scan. The end product? A series of reports detailing all findings and a dedicated network management plan. The latter provides a description of every issue, scores each by severity and includes Total’s recommendations for remediation. Once remediation is completed, Total will rescan, report the new score and document the client’s new state of improved preparedness against potential attacks. So an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure!