NexusTek Ranked Again on CRN’s Elite 150 Category of MSP 500 List for 2022

NexusTek Ranked Again on CRN’s Elite 150 Category of MSP 500 List for 2022

Recognized for the sixth consecutive year as an exemplary technology provider

Denver, CO (February 24, 2022) — NexusTek, a top national cloud, managed IT services, and cyber security provider, announced today that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named NexusTek to its Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Elite 150 category for 2022. CRN’s annual MSP 500 list identifies the leading service providers in North America whose forward-thinking approaches to managed services are changing the landscape of the IT channel, helping end users increase efficiency and simplify IT solutions, while maximizing their return on investment.

NexusTek was selected for inclusion on the Elite 150 list because of its continuing responsiveness to clients’ IT needs, many of which changed in the wake of the pandemic. Notably, NexusTek assists organizations with the integration and optimization of remote operations, and provides support to adopt cybersecurity best practices to protect their employees and data. NexusTek also collaborates with technology partners to deliver end-to-end IT solutions and the support businesses require to achieve their desired business outcomes.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized on CRN’s Elite 150 list for the sixth year in a row,” said Mike Hamuka, CRO, NexusTek. “NexusTek’s consistent inclusion on this list is evidence of our commitment to excellence in IT services. We will continue to draw upon our team’s considerable talents, core values, and aspirational goals to deliver solutions that meet and exceed our clients’ evolving needs.”

“In addition to having to adjust their own business operations to account for the changed conditions during the pandemic, MSPs have also seen increased demand for their managed communications, collaboration and security services,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “The solution providers on our 2022 MSP 500 list deserve credit for their innovative and game-changing approaches to managed services in these unpredictable times, as well as their ability to optimize operational efficiencies and systems without straining IT budgets.”

The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2022 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/msp500.

About NexusTek

Trusted by thousands of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), NexusTek is a national managed IT services provider with a comprehensive portfolio comprised of end-user services, cloud, infrastructure, cyber security, and IT consulting. We design holistic solutions for customers that deliver a superior end-user experience, backed by a 24/7/365 domestically staffed support team. NexusTek Managed Service Plans offer end-to-end IT management with fixed-monthly, per-user pricing through which SMBs can leverage helpdesk, backup, disaster recovery, dedicated engineers, security, 24×7 remote support and network monitoring services while creating predictable IT budgets.

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Creating Opportunities for Your IT Team

READ TIME: 3 MIN

  • (Updated May, 3 2023)

Creating Opportunities for Your IT Team

In today’s business context, where most—if not all—critical functions are mediated by technology, it’s not an exaggeration to say that your IT team literally keeps your business running. As elevated turnover rates persist stubbornly across industries and job types, the unfortunate reality is that the chances of losing some of your top IT talent are high.

The financial costs of turnover are staggering; a conservative estimate is that the costs associated with losing and replacing a single worker come to about 33% of the employee’s salary1. Losing key members of your IT team, however, can have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the financial costs.

Turnover within the IT department can be unsettling to remaining team members, resulting in increased workloads, fatigue, and mistakes. This type of disruption can ultimately create ripple effects across all departments, reducing organizational productivity and performance. Clearly, holding onto your top tech professionals is an urgent business priority.

Predictors of Turnover for IT Employees

Stemming turnover of your IT talent requires a solid appreciation of its root causes:
  • Stress due to excessive demands: Work overload can cause IT employees to feel lower levels of commitment to their organizations, which increases the chances that they’ll submit their resignations2. Many IT professionals—especially in smaller businesses—are a “one-stop shop” for any and all technology-related processes and administrative tasks.On any given day, this may include maintaining technology infrastructure, managing updates, and troubleshooting technology issues. Compounding IT workers’ stress levels are the after-hours tech support calls that can adversely impact their work-life balance. These conditions set the stage for burnout, which is a common cause of turnover.
  • Lack of opportunity for growth: One of the most important factors IT professionals seek in a job is the opportunity for stretch goals—those that challenge them to develop their skills and abilities in new ways3. Many IT employees may have valuable strategic insights into ways to better utilize technologies to achieve business goals. IT staff who are run ragged managing service calls and administrative tasks all day, however, may be deprived of the chance to apply their technological acumen more strategically. If this is the case, they may look elsewhere for better opportunities.

Supporting Your IT Team Via a Managed Services Provider

Working with a managed services provider (MSP) can be a great way of addressing predictors of turnover in your IT team. Partnering with an MSP reduces demands on in-house IT staff, making their workloads more manageable and decreasing the likelihood of burnout. The nature of MSP support can vary depending upon an organization’s needs and priorities:

  • Help desk support from an MSP provides employees with guidance and instruction to resolve a variety of IT issues that arise during the workday.
  • On-site technical support from an MSP provides a dedicated engineer to help with troubleshooting and planning when an in-person presence is important.
  • Full MSP support involves system monitoring and technical support on both a remote and on-site basis.

Freeing up IT professionals’ time gives them the opportunity to grow and expand, ideally into more strategic roles. A robust IT strategy that aligns with the overall business strategy is essential to maximizing your organization’s performance.

Creating opportunities for IT employees to contribute to strategy not only creates a stimulating environment where they can thrive, but it also furthers the company’s capacities for attaining its overall business goals. This is the definition of win-win.

As technology occupies an increasingly pervasive role in the business realm, leading thinkers suggest that all businesses are now essentially technology businesses4. Recognizing this fact, we must acknowledge that our IT employees are no longer solely technicians who help us get through the tactical elements of our days. IT professionals now represent an essential voice in strategic planning conversations.

Partnering with an MSP such as NexusTek can ensure that you stay on top of day-to-day IT needs, while also giving your in-house IT staff the opportunity to contribute in strategic ways to your business.

Would you like to learn more about using MSP services to create opportunities for your IT team?

CONTACT US

References:

  1. Avogino, T. (2019, February 23). To have and to hold. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/pages/to-have-and-to-hold.aspx
  2. Harden, G., Boakye, K. G., & Ryan, S. (2018). Turnover intention of technology professionals: A social exchange theory perspective. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 58(4), 291-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2016.1236356
  3. (2021, June 23). New research finds that stress and burnout are the main reasons more than half of leaders plan to leave their jobs in the next year. https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/labor-shortage-study/
  4. Rakesh, N. (2018, December 7). Every business is a technology business—some just don’t know it. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/12/07/every-business-is-a-technology-business-some-just-dont-know-it/?sh=566e6677360e

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Getting Ahead of Cybercriminals: 5 Essential Cybersecurity Practices

READ TIME: 4 MIN

  • (Updated May 2, 2023)

Getting Ahead of Cybercriminals: 5 Essential Cybersecurity Practices

Ransomware attacks that hold large, prominent companies’ networks “hostage” pending multi-million-dollar ransom payments make for attention-grabbing media coverage. We’re much less likely to hear news stories about cyberattacks on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), which might give you the impression that smaller businesses are less likely to be victimized by cybercriminals. “Did you know, however, that 43% of cyberattacks target SMBs1?

This may come as a shock, as the resources of smaller businesses are dwarfed by those of large companies. Although you might assume this would make SMBs less attractive targets for cybercrime, consider the following2:

  • SMBs often have less sophisticated security practices, making them easier targets for cybercriminals.
  • Lack of cybersecurity knowledge within SMBs may result in failure to recognize that a security breach has occurred, giving criminals ample opportunity to obtain sensitive information.
  • SMBs are less likely to report cybersecurity breaches to law enforcement, making them less risky targets for cybercriminals.

If you’re finding the prospect of staying ahead of cybercriminals overwhelming, you’re in good company: 88% of SMB leaders view their businesses as vulnerable to cybercrime3. However, many of these leaders share that they don’t know quite where to start to protect their businesses.

The first step in cultivating a security strategy is to understand your sources of risk. The following is a list of five essential cybersecurity practices, along with descriptions of the underlying risks they address:1

1. Cybersecurity Awareness Training

Why Is This Important?
Social engineering attacks, such as phishing and smishing, harness psychological manipulations aimed at tricking employees into clicking on links or sharing confidential information. All it takes is one employee to fall for a social engineering ploy for a security breach to occur. This is why employee error is the #1 cybersecurity risk your business faces; cybersecurity awareness training is the best way to counter this threat. In fact, businesses that offer awareness training can cut their cybersecurity risk by up to 70%4.

2. Install Patches and Updates Immediately

Why Is This Important?
Patches and updates are routinely required to address known vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can target. Staying on top of patches and updates is vital to keeping hackers out of your systems, but busy professionals often delay installations as they attend to competing priorities. Make it a priority to ensure your software and operating systems stay current.

3. Proactive Monitoring

Why Is This Important?
Although you might imagine that you would easily recognize if your systems had been penetrated, many breaches are not obvious to the untrained eye. In fact, the average length of time between breach and detection is over 6 months5. Proactive 24/7 monitoring of your systems by a certified engineer ensures that any breaches are identified quickly so that you can respond immediately.

4. Vulnerability Scanning

Why Is This Important?
Every device—remote or in-office—that is connected to your organization’s network creates a possible entry point for hackers. With the rise in remote work and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) practices, there is an increasing number of devices connected to workplace networks. BYOD practices create particular risks, as employees’ personal devices are less likely to be updated and more likely to be lost. Routine scanning of your company’s network edge helps to identify any points of vulnerability that need attention.

5. Create an Incident Response Plan

Why Is This Important?
Most SMBs lack the knowledge and preparation to respond effectively in the case of a cyberattack. This can be disastrous in the event of an attack, as 60% of SMBs are forced to close within 1 year of a cyberattack6. Develop a comprehensive incident response plan for your business, so you know exactly how to respond should you fall victim to cyberattack.

Partner with NexusTek for Your Cybersecurity Strategy

To address your cybersecurity needs, NexusTek offers the above and additional services in our three cybersecurity plans:

Essential Plan:
This managed protection plan offers 24/7/365 monitoring and alerts with managed cybersecurity and an annual security health review for a crucial foundation of defense.

Standard Plan:
Building on the protective base of our Essential Plan, this managed protection and response plan adds proactive steps to fortify your business, including security awareness training, managed DNS security, vulnerability scanning, and incident response.

Advanced Plan:
For robust cybersecurity, this managed detection and response plan enhances a business’s security effectiveness with managed SIEM to detect malware, log correlation and aggregation to analyze malicious logins, and incident response to eliminate threats. A security health review is conducted each quarter to stay on top of vulnerabilities and their solutions.

Would you like to learn more about how to get ahead of cybercriminals?

CONTACT US

References:

  1. Shepherd, M. (2023, January 23). 30 surprising small business cyber security statistics. Fundera. https://www.fundera.com/resources/small-business-cyber-security-statistics
  2. Gafni, R., & Pavel, T. (2019). The invisible hole of information on SMB’s cybersecurity. Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management, 7(1), 14-26. http://www.iiakm.org/ojakm/articles/2020/OJAKM_Volume8_2pp1-16.php
  3. S. Small Business Association. (2022). Stay safe from cybersecurity threats. https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/stay-safe-cybersecurity-threats
  4. Morrow, S. (2021). What is security awareness training and why is it needed? https://vpnoverview.com/internet-safety/business/security-awareness-training/
  5. Ponemon Institute. (2020). Cost of a data breach report, 2020. https://www.capita.com/sites/g/files/nginej291/files/2020-08/Ponemon-Global-Cost-of-Data-Breach-Study-2020.pdf
  6. Shepherd, M. (2023, January 23). 30 surprising small business cyber security statistics. Fundera. https://www.fundera.com/resources/small-business-cyber-security-statistics

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