How Azure is Improving Business Worldwide

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How Azure is Improving Business Worldwide

How Azure is Improving Business Worldwide

Your company’s data is a ticket to its success. Immediate access as well as protecting and securing that data is at the top of the priority list. NexusTek’s Microsoft Gold status and being a Microsoft Azure certified partner ensures that you have a technology partner that can handle your data in a responsible fashion.

According to a Microsoft SMB Study, 78% of small businesses will have adapted cloud computing by 2020.[1]

What is Azure?

Azure is a cloud computing service, developed by Microsoft, which allows your business to access your data, documents, and applications from anywhere. This in turn enables conveniences such as work-from-anywhere, data mobility, etc.

What are the primary benefits of using Azure?

Security, reliability, scalability, cost, and flexibility are all benefits of using Azure as your cloud platform.

Hosting your company’s data in the cloud significantly reduces the risks of natural peril, theft or physical damage to servers.

Where is Azure available?

Microsoft Azure has datacenters globally. There is a total of six centers across three continents. The reach provided allows companies to cut cost and time while achieving goals and keeping business continuity at the front of mind. This means that from anywhere, you can access your files and applications via an internet connection.

What does this mean for my business?

At NexusTek, we take pride in using the industry’s best tools and measures when taking care of your company’s IT infrastructure. You can rest assured knowing that your business is backed by the best practices, policies and tools. When it comes to cloud migrations, we work extensively to provide a seamless transition in migrating your company’s infrastructure.

What size businesses benefit most from Azure?

From a ten-employee location to a large business, Azure caters to companies of all sizes.

Small businesses have the ability to adjust on the fly as needed. Deploying a web app or virtual machine can happen in seconds with the ability to scale with point-and-click simplicity. All while managing your IT budget efficiently and predictably.

Medium-sized businesses will also reap the benefits listed above. In addition, as their businesses continue to growth and become increasingly nimble, Microsoft Azure will seamlessly scale to meet all their cloud computing needs.  Whether the need is to match the growth of your overall business or the increasing number of employees that require the need to work remote, Azure will adapt and expand to meet your business needs.

How do I find out more about Azure?

If you are interested in finding out more about Azure and how it can benefit your infrastructure,
contact your NexusTek Account Manager or email us!

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[1] https://biztechmagazine.com/article/2018/12/how-cloud-can-help-future-proof-your-small-business

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How To Guarantee Expense Deductions By The End of 2019

READ TIME: 2 MIN

How to Guarantee Expense Deductions by the end of 2019

How To Guarantee Expense Deductions By The End of 2019

In 2019, the Section 179 Tax Deduction allows small businesses to write off up to one million dollars from equipment purchased during 2019. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Servers
  • Desktops/ Laptops
  • Software considered “off the shelf”
  • Phone systems and equipment

Does My Business Qualify?

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Did your business purchase or lease technology equipment or software (totaling less than $3,500,000) during the 2019 tax year?
  • Does the equipment purchased meet the qualifications listed on section179.org?
  • Was the equipment purchased and put into service between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019?

Why Upgrade Your Equipment in the Next Month?

Technology is a critical part of businesses in today’s economy. With state-of-the-art technology available to you through NexusTek business should be running as efficiently and effectively as possible and ensuring optimal productivity.  Some of the benefits of upgrading software and hardware include the following:

  • Security Enhancements
  • Lower Maintenance Costs
  • Workforce Empowerment
  • More Storage Capacity
  • Better & Faster Performance

“This is a game-changer, and some of our clients are already reaping the rewards. At the end of the day, re-investing in your technology infrastructure is what’s really going to help you grow your business. Small business owners on the edge of the income limit can now re-invest in the tools their team needs to reach their full potential. From content management software and cloud computing, to firewalls and data back-ups, the new Section 179 has finally given SMBs the excuse they need to take that first step in their digital transformation.” – Randy Nieves, CTO at NexusTek

What Next?

NexusTek has experts that will guide you through the tools and equipment that could provide more efficiency and productivity for your business. We stay up-to-date on promotions offered by manufacturers and share the benefit of the knowledge and savings with you. Let us modernize your business and technology while your business receives an expense deduction by the end of 2019.

Watch our On-Demand Webinar

SECTION 179 WEBINAR

Contact NexusTek

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NexusTek Achieves Triple Crown Status for 2019

nexustek triple crown crn

NexusTek Achieves Triple Crown Status for 2019

CRN Recognizes Exceptional IT Solution Providers in North America

Denver, CO (November 19, 2019) – NexusTek, a top national cloud, managed IT services and cyber security provider (MSP), today announced its recognition as one of CRN’s 2019 Triple Crown Award winners.

Now in its sixth year, the Triple Crown Award recognizes solution providers that outshine their IT channel peers. It is awarded to the top solution providers in North America based on revenue, growth, and technical expertise.  The Triple Crown Award for 2019 recognized 47 solution providers total in North America for achieving the highest rankings of three award lists. MSPs that achieve this status stand out to existing and potential customers and top technology vendors seeking strong partnership opportunities.

“The Triple Crown award distinction places NexusTek among the few elite MSPs in North America and is a tribute to what we do for businesses across the country,” said Bill Wosilius, CEO at NexusTek. “Our teams work hard every day to bring the best expertise, knowledge and service to our customers.”

As a CRN Triple Crown Award winner, NexusTek ranks among the largest IT solution providers in North America on the Solution Provider 500 list. The IT firm also placed #4 among the fastest-growing organizations in the channel today on the Fast Growth 150 list and has made the Tech Elite 250 list by receiving high-level certifications from leading vendors. This recognition not only reflects excellence in the IT industry but is a value statement for business customers who place their trust and investment in NexusTek.

“Triple Crown Award winners have pulled off the trifecta — they’re among the top solution providers in North America according to revenue, have experienced substantial growth over the past year, and are committed to building and maintaining the technical skills needed to provide customers with the highest level of service,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “We are honored to recognize these solution providers as Triple Crown Award winners for their exceptional achievements across the IT channel.”

This year’s Triple Crown Award winners can be viewed online at www.crn.com/triplecrown.

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5 Tips for Failure-Proofing Your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans

READ TIME: 4 MIN

5 tips for failure-proofing

5 Tips for Failure-Proofing Your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans

In a day and age where IT downtime costs $20,000 an hour, SMBs can’t afford to leave disaster recovery planning to chance.

Recently, we talked about various threats SMBs face — from natural disasters and cyberthreats to day-to-day hardware failures. We also showed how most disasters strike when we least expect them, and for the unprepared business, downtime costs can range from $20,000 per hour to total business loss.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you don’t want to be like the more than 75 percent of small businesses that have no disaster plan in place. And you don’t want to be like the 71 percent of companies that don’t back up data from SaaS environments like Salesforce or Microsoft Office 365.

Here are some best practices you should follow as you develop your business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) strategy:

#1: Avoid Cost-Per-Gigabyte Backup Plans

In the past, backing up data to an offsite private data center or the cloud was primarily sold by the gigabyte with price reductions given once specific thresholds were met (e.g., a 10 percent cost-per-gigabyte [CPG] reduction after reaching 100 GB level). These data plans make it difficult to predict your monthly expenses because it’s impossible to predict how much your data needs are going to grow. Once you’re locked into one of these programs, it can be challenging to migrate to another plan. Plus, CPG plans often lead to compromises such as backing up only what’s deemed “mission-critical data” to reduce costs. Avoid this complexity and choose a modern, fixed-rate plan with a more predictable cost structure.

#2: Don’t Use Consumer-Grade Backup Software

There are lots of choices when it comes to selecting backup software, and several pitfalls you’ll need to avoid. One of the primary pitfalls we see is SMBs using consumer-grade backup software, such as the free offerings that come with Windows and Apple computers. These apps offer limited features and functionality. For example, they’re not managed, so that even if the backups work correctly early on, events such as software updates and system patches can cause backups to stop working without warning.

With a managed BCDR solution, on the other hand, users’ computers and servers can be viewed from a web-based portal. If a backup fails, an automated alert lets you know right away, and in many cases, the problem can be fixed remotely.

#3: Identify Your RTO and RCO Needs

Another critical BCDR selection consideration is how quickly it can recover data. To determine how fast you need it to recover your data, start with the following key metrics:

  • Recovery Time Objective (RTO): RTO is how much time an application can be down without significantly harming your business. For example, a small plumbing company could get by with paperwork orders and invoicing for a week or more. An online retailer that does a high order volume, on the other hand, might only be able to withstand an hour of downtime. More than the time duration between data loss and recovery, RTO also defines what IT must do to restore the application and its data.
  • Recovery Point Objective (RPO): How much time is acceptable to lose data before significantly damaging the business? A shorter RPO is vital for customer-facing applications. The RPO number decides how frequently data backup sets should be performed.

#4: Don’t Wait For Disasters To Validate Your Data Recovery Strategy

Even if you’re using a managed BCDR solution that confirms each successful backup, there’s one more step you should take to avoid getting burned by a “false positive.” Validate your recovery plan regularly. With legacy backup and recovery apps, this step was cost-prohibitive and time-consuming for testing large (e.g., 1 TB or more) data sets. However, some of today’s BCDR solutions support virtualization, which enables you to perform a virtual machine (VM) restore in a fraction of the time it takes to complete a physical image recovery. Additionally, you can perform the recovery in an environment that’s dissimilar to the production environment, which eliminates the necessity of building duplicate servers and drivers before beginning the restore process. What’s also attractive about performing a VM restore is that it can be performed without disrupting your production environment and with minimal effort.

#5: Work with a Professional DRaaS Provider

If any of the points outlined earlier felt a bit overwhelming to implement, remember this: you don’t need to figure this out on your own. And, it’s probably not a good idea to try. Working with a disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) provider like NexusTek is more likely the more economical and less risky option.

NexusTek Cloud Services offer the flexibility, visibility, and control businesses need to be agile and can address your company’s unique cybersecurity, business continuity, compliance and auditing requirements in cloud, hybrid or on-premise environments.

With our disaster recovery and backup services, your business never misses a beat. Leveraging award-winning tools like Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365, we can help eliminate the risk of losing access and control over your Office 365 data including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business, ensuring your data is always available and protected.

With our DRaaS offering, your data is backed up continuously and immediately retrievable in the event of a disaster.

Eventually, you’re going to face a situation that requires data to be restored from a backup, whether it’s a single file that was deleted by accident or an entire network of files encrypted by a ransomware virus. Whether the recovery is a success or a flop will depend on the quality of your BCDR technology, and the competence of those responsible for using it. When you partner with a DRaaS provider like NexusTek, you can rest assured that we have you covered on both fronts.

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