Cory Communications

The Two Sides of SD-WAN Benefits

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Never be complacent with cyber security measures – being proactive can save you downtime.

You may have wondered what the buzz about software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) is all about. SD-WAN connects public cloud services to a company’s virtual private network (VPN), providing cost savings for those relying on internet protocol (IP) plus multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) lines. For smaller companies for whom MPLS is out of reach, SD-WAN helps level the playing field.

As SD-WAN emerges as beneficial to enterprises seeking a network upgrade, the market has been flooded with providers. How can you determine which provider is right for you? There are two major approaches that may help you distinguish a provider that’s a good fit.

The cost benefit: This is the factor that often ignites a conversation around implementing SD-WAN. It can effectively replace some or all of an enterprise’s MPLS lines, and because it is organized for subscription-based invoicing, your investment is categorized as an operating expense billed monthly, rather than a one-time capital investment. Finally, SD-WAN is easily scalable, so you’re never paying for extra licenses that you’re not using.

The drawback to approaching SD-WAN as a cost-saving measure is that the technology becomes at risk for being commoditized. The price of SD-WAN will be driven down deeper and deeper, eliminating all potential for innovation.

The service benefit: Instead of focusing on cost, the service focus offers a way for SD-WAN to escape commoditization by introducing opportunities for network optimization and innovation both at the provider level and within the enterprise. SD-WAN controls connectivity for the enterprise network, so it can apply identity-based policies to prioritize or block traffic.

With a high level of visibility in the centralized, virtual overlay of the physical network, network engineers access zero-touch provisioning and troubleshooting. The ability to segment out network traffic based on application or device type means that if a laptop is forgotten in an airport, that vulnerability can be identified and segmented, protecting the rest of the network from any potential breach.

It’s important to note that not all SD-WAN providers offer this level of segmentation and network optimization potential in their solutions. When evaluating SD-WAN providers, be sure that the goals you have for your network match what the provider can offer.

It’s possible that both approaches to SD-WAN will be necessary for making the technology available to all. Smaller companies are implementing it for the cost savings, while larger enterprises see the potential in creating a network-driven business growth plan.

To learn more about the important considerations you should include when choosing a provider for any technology solution, contact us at Cory Communications. We can partner with you to optimize your network, enhancing performance and eliminating downtime for solid, 24/7 connectivity.

Digital Transformation: Avoiding the Pain Points

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Plan for updating your security processes during your digital transformation implementation.

The pace of technological evolution is astounding, and for many organizations it can be challenging to keep up with the constant changes. However, for a successful digital transformation to occur, embracing new technology is critical. Part of the transformation must also include rethinking your processes, because a successful transitions is about more than just hardware and software.

Updated Security

Maintaining or improving security during a digital transformation requires first examining your current processes. Without a well-rounded picture of how your IT services operate, you won’t have a very good handle on how to proceed.

For example, your data is likely moving to the cloud at a rapid rate, which means your IT infrastructure is becoming more complex. You need to be able to see into those complexities so there are no surprises and complications with implementation.

Many enterprises are entrenched in the Internet of Things (IoT) as employees increasingly are bringing in endpoint machines and mobile devices. You have to know all the pieces of the puzzle that are connected to your system if security is going to be improved or maintained through a digital transformation. You then need to make the necessary adjustments in your security strategy to protect your data as you move forward.

Know Your Goals

If you haven’t already embraced automation in one form or another, the digital transformation will familiarize you with it. Integrating automation comes with a lot of planning and prioritizing, because the type of automation you bring in should be teamed with the right environments and applications.

It’s not just the chief information officer that is in charge of this process. Representatives from throughout the organization need to take the lead and assist in getting everyone on board. This brings greater visibility and sets the tone for establishing the goals you want to achieve.
The best cloud strategy for your organization must also be considered. If your goal is to remain adaptable and scalable, you have to have the right IT architecture, and that will involve key cloud solutions.

At Cory Communications, we have assisted many clients in eliminating the confusion of telecom hardware by offering support from the first call through implementation. If you’ve been dreading the process of digital transformation, contact us today and let us assist in taking the pain out of the project.

How Disaster Recovery Efforts Improve Different Aspects of Your Business

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Don’t let data loss sink your company; invest in disaster recovery solutions today.

Depending on what your duties are within your organization, your view on disaster recovery may be different from those in other positions. For example, leadership often takes disaster recovery and business continuity and rolls them both into a single process for stronger business, while an IT manager might be solely focused on the ability to duplicate data. Regardless of your perspective, disaster recovery is often a more comprehensive business tool than most know.

When creating a disaster recovery plan, every department has a role, which means knowledge is gained in the process of building a solid plan. New learning allows organizations to see where they can improve what they offer customers. With so many applications and business processes going to the cloud, the practice of migrating data to a secure cloud environment reveals other opportunities that can benefit the entire organization.

Improving Reliability and Accountability

Many organizations are blindsided by hackers that break into their systems and compromise their data. However, by carefully planning your disaster recovery strategy, the hit you take could be minimal compared to companies that haven’t invested time and energy into a good plan. Faster recovery from a cyber threat gives you an advantage.

Fast recovery is often the hallmark of an organization that has practiced what they will do once they discover a hacker has gotten into their system. Everyone jumps to their designated role and the damage is limited. They know what to do because they’ve gone through “fire drills” to prepare for this day.

Customer First

Most companies today rely to some degree on e-commerce as part of their business model. Therefore, to cover their bases, they know through a business impact analysis what a disruption will cost them. It’s not uncommon for organizations to begin losing customers within seconds of going down during a cyber attack.

While the business impact analysis is carried out to reveal the losses the company will take in an attack, it also underscores the importance of each and every customer, motivating the company to take further measures to not only minimize the risk of losing them, but to improve business processes so the customer experience is enhanced.

At Cory Communications, we help our clients cut through the telecom noise by taking care of their technology needs. We know that nearly three-quarters of businesses that suffer a major data loss will not make it beyond two years following the incident, which is why we’ve created disaster recovery and online backup solutions that will protect your organization. Find out more about what we can offer you by contacting us today.

Cloud Security Tips to Protect Your Data

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When it comes to cloud security, your data is your responsibility.

While a cloud provider will put safeguards in place to secure infrastructure, the responsibility for protecting data lies solely in the hands of the organization that owns the data. Cloud security cannot be taken for granted, and organizations must hold themselves accountable for the safety of their data.

It’s estimated that in just a few short years, almost 95% of cloud security failures will be because of something the customer has done, most likely in failing to manage controls built to protect data. We’ve seen around 80% of organizations having already been impacted by a security event, so the dangers are real.

The Great Protection Myth

Despite much evidence to the contrary, many organizations hold on to the belief that your cloud provider is protecting your data. They do offer safeguards for the infrastructure, but when you are moving your data to the cloud, it is up to you to make a plan for cloud security.

The vendor is responsible for the software, computer, storage, database, networking, regions, availability zones and edge locations. The customer must create cloud security for operating systems, firewall configuration, applications, identity and access management, encryption, networking traffic and anything else that has to do with protecting the integrity of the data. This should be made clear in any contract you have with your cloud provider.

Losing Control of Your Data

When you partner with a cloud vendor, you must be sure they always know where your data is going. In many cases, as you send your data to the cloud, the vendor will move it, often for disaster recovery purposes, to unknown locations. If this presents a compliance issue for you, you must consider a vendor that has more insight into the location of your data.

While you can request from your vendor various actions such as the deletion of your data, they aren’t necessarily required to comply. Again, if your vendor can’t give you what you want, keep searching for one that will.

At Cory Communications, our cloud-based telecom solutions ensure that our clients are secure. However, we also offer services that help our clients move their business to the right cloud strategy. If you’re looking to remain competitive, you have to have a scalable network and IT architecture, and we can help you with that. Contact us today and let’s discuss all your telecom and IT needs.

Discovering More About Threats and Cloud Security

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Identifying weaknesses is a great start to better cloud security practices.

Most organizations that have embraced cloud-based solutions will rave about the efficiencies the cloud offers, including the ability to scale without much effort in either direction. Cost savings and flexibility are also big perks, but what about cloud security? Is it lacking?

You don’t have to look far to see how hackers have established themselves as serious threats to what would otherwise be a normal day at the office. Data breaches have become an unfortunate part of the business climate. Here’s what your organization can do to protect itself.

The Threats

The most prominent threat looming in the background is a data breach through which sensitive company and client information gets out to where it’s not supposed to be. This could be intellectual property, health records, social security numbers, passwords, credit card numbers and more.  All of these can be hacked, and the ripple effect can be quite damaging.

One way to help avoid these data breaches is to keep your software updated and patched with security solutions, such as a two-factor authentication process to get into the system. This can help ensure your information stays safe.

Limiting Access

Most organizations strive for an efficient workflow, which is something cloud-based solutions can offer. However, it’s not always a good idea to allow everyone access to everything. A little access management goes a long way in offering you more cloud security.

You need to fully evaluate what type of information you’re dealing with, categorize it, and decide who absolutely must have access to it. Set permissions to restrict access to that information, making sure the only people who see it are those who couldn’t do their daily tasks otherwise.

Identifying Vulnerabilities

If you’re not looking for weak areas in your system, you can bet there are people outside of your organization who are doing that right now. When they find it, they’re going to sneak in, perhaps leaving no indication, and gain access to everything you have.

If you’ve got bugs in your code, they will likely be exploited at some point – so find them before hackers do and fix your issues to close up your vulnerabilities. Cloud security solutions include installing all patches in a timely manner and never pushing off updates as they become available. It’s tempting to put it off when you’ve got a heavy workload in front of you, but make it company policy to immediately install updates.

At Cory Communications, our cloud solutions help clients move in the direction of the right cloud strategy. If your goal is to maintain an adaptable and scalable network and IT architecture, our solutions, including cloud security, will be of interest to you, so contact us today and let’s talk about how we can customize a solution for you.

Closing the Cloud Security Talent Gap

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Have the right tools in place when cloud security talent is in short supply.

The pace of change in IT is currently measured in terms of cloud migration. Both in government and in the corporate sphere, business plans are largely centered around digital transformation. While the migrations result in better productivity, improved end-user experiences and cost savings, there is often a gap in cloud security talent.

Cybersecurity’s complexity and changing nature might lead government offices to outsource their security monitoring to a managed services provider, but cloud security talent and training are in short supply in the private sector as well. Covering cloud security, in many cases, should be addressed from a tools approach when talent is not available.

Common challenges: While there are a variety of difficulties that can come with trying to cover cloud security concerns, many of the challenges fall within a few categories:

  • Aging on-premise security monitoring tools that are not equipped to handle the monitoring of cloud solutions
  • Point solutions that are designed for handling on-premise applications or cloud applications, but are unable to handle both
  • Gaps in monitoring and the synchronization of data when elastic assets are introduced or eliminated
  • Managing a variety of consoles across different types of environments
  • DevOps challenges related to culture and technology that accompany a move to the cloud

Trusting the tools: Monitoring applications can help close the gap when government entities struggle to find the right talent, but it’s important to evaluate those tools to be sure they can be trusted. There are several questions that should be asked of your applications:

  • Can unified monitoring and management be achieved across both cloud and on-premise systems using a single set of controls?
  • Is the solution able to support the on-boarding or off-boarding of nodes as you need to access them, so that you have continuous security coverage?
  • Are you able to evaluate whether cloud solutions meet your internal security policies?
  • Does your monitoring application function well in an infrastructure that supports virtual, physical, private and public cloud environments?

These questions can help you assess whether you have the right applications in place for monitoring, or if current cloud security concerns require you to evaluate a new solution.

Managing the shortage in cloud security talent doesn’t require that digital transformation strategies be delayed or that government institutions train employees at the expense of other priorities. With the right monitoring tools in place, government IT can cover cloud security and move forward.

The first step is evaluating your monitoring tools to determine whether you have a cloud security vulnerability. Contact us at Cory Communications for an assessment of your current tools and, if necessary, the opportunity to close the gap.

Using Big Data to Drive Behaviors

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Having access to big data requires enterprises to take the next steps to not only analysis, but prescriptive analytics.

The Internet of Things (IoT), cloud technology and analytics have created a setting in which big data can play a major role in enterprise strategy. The determination to take data and use it to shape business policies is one of the driving factors that is allowing some enterprises to pull ahead of the competition.

It’s not enough to just analyze the data. Smart companies are using it to fuel their business strategy. There are four basic types of big data analytics:

Descriptive analytics: These types of data reports answer the question, “what happened?” They may provide micro-details that help the recipient of the data understand a full picture of events. After the event, the analytics can be investigated to determine the order of events and details about each of the components.

Diagnostic analytics: This analysis answers the question, “why did it happen?” It can be helpful in a situation where there’s equipment failure, or it can help marketers understand why visitors to their website leave after arriving at a particular landing page. Diagnostic analytics help businesses arrive at conclusions about why these events occur.

Predictive analytics: This area of big data assists those that would like to know, “what is going to happen?” It can be helpful, because monitoring data can help a company make changes when they notice a pattern in which a non-desirable behavior keeps occurring, such as a potential customer leaving the website. It can also help companies predict equipment-related events, such as when a vibration on a certain part of a piece of equipment means that the part is about to fail.

Prescriptive analytics: Instead of predicting what will happen, prescriptive analytics allows you to get a certain behavior to occur. Prescriptive analytics won’t just tell you that the way you are routing your products through departments is likely to create a bottleneck; it will prescribe the ideal way to route your products to improve efficiency.

Prescriptive analytics is the critical stop for big data. Many companies take data far enough to understand what happened and what will happen in the future, but what sets leaders in each industry apart is their ability to use data to prescribe behaviors. This not only applies to telling a line worker how best to pack a box, but also to suggest to a customer what they might like to purchase before they know what they want.

To learn more about creating a business strategy around the potential of big data, contact us at Cory Communications. We look forward to talking with you about technology solutions that can help you harness big data to meet your current and future business goals.

The Challenge to Business Agility at the Organizational Level

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Business agility strategies often work great in small teams, but challenges arise with broader adoption.

Enterprises are under extreme pressure to develop initiatives related to business agility. They know that the demand for faster analysis of data, quicker time to market for new products, and the implementation of improved productivity measures are each representative of a bigger contest to edge out the competition.

An agile business can adapt and be flexible as new technology arises, making the most of opportunities but maintaining the ability to move on when a particular strategy isn’t working well. Here are some of the hurdles facing organizations that embrace business agility:

Low-hanging fruit is usually the priority. Enterprises often land on an initiative or two related to agility that can help them better harness data for analysis and quick decision-making, or they may implement a platform that allows any user to update an application for improving a business process, rather than waiting for IT to write code for a change.

These can feel like a symbolic victory in a first step toward embracing an agile business strategy, but because the enterprise is grabbing for the most obvious changes to make, it can get significantly more difficult when the team moves on to a more challenging business agility task.

There are many hurdles to agility. Not enough buy-in or management support, too few staff familiar with agile platforms, and perceived time and cost are all difficulties that enterprises face with taking an agility strategy to the broader organization. There’s often a general resistance to change or a pre-existing framework that is rigid and makes it difficult for enterprises to embrace agility.

There’s also a need for a business agility tool that will scale with the business as initiatives that are developed in a smaller team setting are expanded across the organization.

In many situations, a particular team is isolated from their normal roles in the company and tasked with an agility project. Taking this model and replicating it across the organization won’t allow for pulling a team away from their regular positions. The enterprise should create a broader strategy and keep agility at a core foundational level as they make organization-wide decisions.

Enterprises wanting to differentiate themselves and pull ahead of the competition need to embrace business agility on a foundational level. If it’s treated with a project-by-project approach, agility will always have a disjointed feel to it.

Need help clearing those business agility hurdles? Contact us at Cory Communications to talk further about the role that agility can play in your business strategy.

What Enterprises Give up When They Don’t Embrace Cloud Solutions

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There are practical drawbacks to not implementing cloud technology.

There’s a saying in tech circles that “cloud is the new black.” Sure, for many enterprises, it’s the basic, go-to, dependable solution to any problem that comes up. For all the enterprises that treat cloud like the new black, there are still plenty out there that are hanging on to legacy, on-site systems, making investments in on-site data servers and purchasing hardware.

When enterprises decline to implement cloud solutions, there are complex, multi-layered trade-offs, such as improved communication tools or improved efficiency that allows more time for innovation. What is often sacrificed for maintaining legacy systems isn’t abstract. Here are a few of the practical ways that a reluctance to adopt cloud technology affects the enterprise:

All that space is going to waste: An on-site data center for an enterprise may take up valuable space that could be used to house offices, or could be sold to free up money for other investments. While some enterprises argue that they need their data center to remain on site in order to prevent latency, modern network configurations can solve latency issues with a cloud provider to eliminate the problem. There’s really no monetary benefit to keeping data storage on site.

Data protection isn’t covering all the bases: If you aren’t utilizing a cloud provider for data storage, you might not be doing enough to protect your data. For instance, if there’s a natural disaster, like a flood, many enterprises find that their backups were stored in a place just as vulnerable as their office. With a cloud provider, your data is off-site, likely in a data center located far from your systems.

Your IT team spends a lot of time on upgrades and implementations: When you access cloud solutions, your IT team no longer has to handle upgrades. In fact, upgrades may be so seamless that your staff doesn’t even know they’re happening. There’s no downtime, and no interruption to work. Your IT team is freed up to focus on vision projects and optimizing the infrastructure.

Your analysis is stuck in the past: One of the innovations that comes with cloud technology is the ability to collect massive data and apply analytics for predictive models. Legacy systems, by contrast, are always looking in the past. Cloud solutions provide you with the insight to make better business decisions.

Your competitors are getting the edge: One of the risks you take when you don’t invest in cloud is that your competitors are using that opportunity to gain an edge. They’re utilizing cloud technology to improve the customer experience and deliver the latest features to their customers — and to yours.

To find out more about what you might be missing by not investing in cloud technology, contact us at Cory Communications. We can help you identify the practical ways that cloud solutions will lower your costs and improve efficiency in your organization.

Planning Disaster Recovery for Today’s Environment

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Improving disaster recovery efforts ensures data availability.

If you’re familiar with the 3-2-1 backup strategy, you probably know the answer to that question. It’s something that is part of Backend as a Service (BaaS) or Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) solutions. This strategy states that you always have 3 copies of the data that needs to be backed up, and 2 of the copies should be on independent devices in case 1 of the devices fails.

When you utilize cloud services, you’ll have a much easier time implementing the 3-2-1 strategy because you’re going to have your data on local storage and independently on a remote cloud storage system.

Relying on Connectivity

When the internet goes down, how do you access data that’s stored in the cloud? It’s for this reason that your data should also have a place in-house.

Even if your local network fails, it’s still possible to configure a network connection with your backup and target servers, which will allow your data to be restored. Local disks can also come into play – just make sure your disaster recovery protocol spells out exactly how you’re going to do it.

Another great aspect of having your data backed up locally is that you can get to it much faster, which means your downtime will be limited. For companies whose clients absolutely can’t have any downtime, this is a go-to disaster recovery solution.

It’s true that as trends go, having investments tied up in technological capital isn’t always everyone’s preference. The cloud offers so many perks that we’re becoming accustomed to leaving the updates and hardware upgrades up to the cloud vendor. However, the most robust disaster recovery strategies don’t shy away from local components in the strategy to protect and have access to data, and neither should your organization.

At Cory Communications, we don’t let our clients get bogged down in all the technology options they rely on for keeping business moving at the right pace. If you’ve got disaster recovery needs that aren’t being looked after, let us assist you. Contact us today and let’s talk about your options.

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Cory Communications, Inc.
200 Haddonfield Berlin Road,
Suite 203
Gibbsboro, NJ 08026

Phone: 856-795-2223

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