As we enter 2019, it’s no secret the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to continue to grow at an exponential rate. From smartphones and tablets to wearable technology and appliances, these devices are everywhere and quickly becoming an expectation of doing business.

New Security Risks

Companies, responding to this growing trend, allow employees and guests to connect to their network for work, collaboration and personal communication. With a huge increase in the number of IoT devices on a company’s network, increased security vulnerabilities are a given and businesses need to be ready.

Aruba ClearPass

At DataVizion, we’ve been implementing Aruba ClearPass as an integrated solution for businesses of all sizes. ClearPass gives IT the tools needed to centrally develop, automate, enforce and audit network access policies across their network.

Benefits include:

• Visibility: The ClearPass platform provides ability to capture device information across all networks, ensuring that security policies leverage device attributes and ownership for all authentication services.
• Security: Enforcement, auditing and reporting features enable customers to comply with relevant regulations and legislation, demonstrate compliance, and mitigate the risk of a breach in access security.
• Workflow: Users are able to connect securely and easily from tablets, smartphones, and laptops delivering an improved mobility experience across both corporate owned and user-owned devices (e.g. BYOD).
• Mobility: Employees are given the flexibility to work from their preferred locations and devices while maintaining security posture.
• Cost: The automated workflows and reduction in IT help tickets through self-service and the reduced number of appliances required to secure enterprise mobility, make the ClearPass solution efficient and cost-effective.

IoT devices are going to continue to become more and more integrated as a way of doing business and will present unique challenges and security concerns for organizations. But, with Aruba ClearPass it’s manageable.

If you are interested in learning more about Aruba ClearPass or other security solutions, give us a call or visit www.datavizion.com.

Click here to read how DataVizion partnered with Aruba Networks to bring Midland University a secure and scalable wireless solution to support current needs and meet growing demands.

Our team at DataVizion would like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who attended our Third Annual Charity Golf Tournament Aug. 30, 2018, at the Tiburon Golf Club in Omaha, Neb.

Together, with our partners, hole sponsors and customers, we were able to raise $8,500 for Child Saving Institute (CSI). That’s $2,000 more than last year! In the past three years, we have donated a total of $20,500 to this amazing local organization. 

The donation helps this nonprofit provide services including counseling, therapy, education and support for children and families in the community.

“We are beyond grateful for DataVizion’s support of CSI year after year,” said Anna Willey, CSI events and project coordinator. “Our mission is ‘responding to the cry of a child’ and such a significant donation like this helps us to do just that.”

A special thanks to Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, who sponsored this event and helped make it possible.

“This golf tournament is a way to show our customers how much we appreciate them and being able to come together and give back to a local charity makes it even better,” said Kelly Schrad, DataVizion President and CEO, said. “Each year we have been able to increase our charity donation and that wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of all involved.”

For more information about Child Saving Institute or to learn about volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.childsaving.org.

Click here to view photos of the event.

The number of network-connected devices per person is expected to be nearly seven by the year 2020*. Seem like a lot? Not when you consider smart phones, tablets, laptops, fitness trackers, iPods and more.

Nowhere is this more evident than on college campuses, which can put a huge strain on existing networks. For colleges that want to keep up, it’s time to move to a mobile-first campus with Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company’s, Mobile First Architecture.

The Aruba Mobile First Architecture will allow your campus to seamlessly transition your existing network to a software-defined enterprise, with new features and functionality all while supporting your legacy systems.

Features include:

Mobile First:  It allows users and devices to connect to the network and receive the same policy and permissions regardless of how they connect, wired or wireless, making them truly mobile.

Open: No business wants to be locked-in and limited by a single vendor’s architecture. This solution supports open standards, but also provides rich API support for a seamless integration.

Secure: This solution provides security for both the wired and wireless infrastructure with signed code, secure boot, and cryptographic hardware protection. Rest assured, user data is protected with strong encryption and per-user level policy.

Autonomous: Machine learning uses massive amounts of analytics data in order to understand the operational and security state of the network. Automated systems optimize performance and will alert administrators of changes or highlight potential changes that require acceptance via on-premise and cloud-managed network operations.

If you want to learn more about what Aruba Mobile First Architecture can do for your campus, give us a call at 402-327-1880. DataVizion’s certified mobile-first engineers are ready to get started!

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/678739/forecast-on-connected-devices-per-person/

In an ever-increasing digital world, the use of mobile and other IoT devices will continue to rise along with the expectations of users. Whether it’s at work, on campus or while shopping, users expect to seamlessly access information, without having to worry about network issues.

However, as any IT professional knows, the increase in devices also means that networks are becoming more complex. So what happens when network issues do occur throughout your business? It can take hours or even days to troubleshoot and resolve wireless problems, during which the user experience is less than ideal.

To help our client’s combat this, DataVizion is implementing Aruba NetInsight, which gives your IT professionals access to AI-powered network analytics and assurance to detect problems and help optimize network performance.

“Through the use of Aruba’s AI- powered assurance and analytics, DataVizion is able to proactively customize our customers’ networks to meet their dynamic needs and dramatically improve the quality of experience for users on the network,” Kelly Schrad, DataVizion’s CEO and President, said.  “With a seamless and secure network, our customers can better focus on the user experience instead of reactive network management.”

Not only does Aruba NetInsight help detect issues, but also the web-based dashboard takes the guesswork out of troubleshooting by allowing network administrators to view insights along with root causes. Better yet, it provides recommendations to fix immediate and foreseeable network performance issues.

In addition to improving the network, NetInsight also allows our customers access to data visualizations.  This can provide information such as how people move around your business location or what areas they congregate in, all of which are valuable when it comes to planning and preparing for growth.

If you want to learn more about how AI-powered analytics and assurance can improve your business network, give us a call at 402-327-1880.  Read more about Aruba NetInsight here.

Looking back on 2017, it was a big year for major breaches and cyberattacks. The success of ransomware went mainstream, which lead to increasing cases of ransomware attacks.

Now that 2018 is here, we’ll continue to see the development of ransomware attacks, which will deeply impact the productivity and security of organizations. Here are some predictions for additional vulnerabilities in store for businesses this year.

• Political motives on the rise: Expect to see ransomware motives that are for political gain rather than just commercial.
• Increased sophistication: Security solutions will need to adapt faster than ever to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated ransomware.
• Expanded targets: Hackers are no longer just going after big business. While the statistics vary, most show a significant increase in attacks on small businesses.
• Focus on customer data protection: Customers are walking away from businesses that suffer cybersecurity breaches. To thrive, businesses will need to not only stay ahead of evolving threats, but also keep pace with updated regulation and compliance standards.
• Internet of Things (IoT) integration fueling threats: Hackers are finding new ways to get into your network through unprotected devices, including everything from point-of-sale machines and intelligent vending machines to smart home and vehicle devices.

While the concern for cybersecurity attacks will continue to rise in 2018, we're committed to protecting your data and your business. Our VizionCare Secure, Managed Service Security Solution, can dramatically reduce your chance of suffering a severe breach with 24/7 active monitoring.

Contact us today at (402) 327-1880 for more information about VizionCare Secure.

Today, headlines about IT security breaches read very differently than just worms and viruses of early days. Nation states actors, organized crime syndicates and idealistic “hacktivists” have catapulted cybersecurity onto the global stage.

Complex attack methodologies coupled with sophisticated social engineering has resulted in the grim reality that vulnerabilities exist in every organization, regardless of size. Even worse, is that the average amount of time between a breach and discovery is eight months.

This rising trend of cyber attacks has led us to offer a new managed security service solution, VizionCare Secure. This solution can dramatically reduce your chance of suffering a severe breach and reduce the amount of time between a breach and discovery to minutes.

Our solution provides advanced threat intelligence and the same level of security as the largest companies in the world, all at a low monthly cost. Your data is protected in real-time and meets your regulatory audit and reporting requirements. This includes providing specific compliance reports you’ll need to pass HIPAA, PCI, FISMA and other audits.

To show business just how valuable it is, we offer a free, 30-Day Security Health Assessment for your business. During that time, we will assess your security posture, risk profile and identify potential gaps.

Contact us today at (402) 327-1880 for more information or to enroll in the free assessment.

Aruba ClearPass Helps You Embrace BYOD

Regardless if you run a bank, hospital or retail organization, one thing’s for certain: your employees and customers have come to expect Wi-Fi access. But if the thought of letting anyone and everyone onto your network scares you, you’re not alone.

With the Aruba ClearPass Access Management System you can embrace the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture allowing guest and employee-owned devices like smart phones, tablets and laptops onto your network without losing control and visibility.

Here’s five other key benefits ClearPass offers:

1. Customized Guest Access Portal

Use your company logo and branding or create unique data-entry fields that users have to fill out to log on. You can even post customized advertisements and offers or other targeted content to create a unique user experience.

2. Seamless Integration

ClearPass is available as both a hardware-based or virtual appliance and can be deployed with any existing network infrastructure from any major vendor, which means you don’t have to replace existing infrastructure.

3. Real-time Analytics

With ClearPass, you have the ability to see which devices have connected to your network in real-time, which can be helpful when it comes to reporting, planning, auditing and compliance.

4. Comprehensive Security

ClearPass has an abundance of security procedures in place to protect your network. You can ensure devices are compliant with your policies before they connect, set a policy according to device type, block applications that don’t meet company policy, provide different service levels based on the user and more.

5. Easy Troubleshooting

ClearPass provides advanced troubleshooting and the forensics needed to easily pinpoint the root cause of a user’s network access or authentication issue. Your IT department will thank you.

So whether you have 10 users or 10,000 on your network, ClearPass will help create a better user experience while keeping your network secure. Curious if ClearPass would work for your business? Contact your account manager today.

Southwest Airlines was one of the latest companies to fall victim to what’s been referred to as a “computer glitch” resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations, delays, lots of unhappy customers and a negative impact to the company’s bottom line.

A router breakdown that led to a series of failures in critical technology systems has been blamed. The backup systems in place also failed to work as expected.

Even if you aren’t operating one of the nation’s largest airline carriers, if your company relies on technology (which, let’s face it, is most) a disaster recovery plan is a critical business need. Here are three reasons why:

1. Machines and Hardware Fail

Even the best hardware is not completely immune to failing. That’s where Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) comes in. In the event of a failure, your physical or virtual servers should be backed up by a third party so you can quickly and cost-effectively recover your data with as little down time as possible. In addition, you should be conducting regular network assessments and testing to avoid unreliable redundancy.

2. Human Error is Common

Ever had your computer crash or lost an important document? It happens to everyone. Having a disaster recovery plan in place can ensure you have online data backups that allow you to easily restore your data. In addition, having redundant firewalls, anti-virus, and anti-spyware software can help prevent security breaches that are often the result of human error.

3. Customers Have Little Patience

With the Internet, and especially social media, customers are quicker than ever to voice their frustrations and concerns to anyone and everyone. Those affected by the recent Southwest Airlines flight interruptions are a prime example. It’s not easy to earn a customers’ trust, and any downtime or inconvenience they experience, even if due to an IT disaster is a quick way to send your customers to your competition.

At any time, something unwelcomed can happen and affect your organization's overall IT infrastructure and your company’s bottom line. Call us to learn more about how VizionVault, our disaster recovery service, can help you prepare for the unexpected.

Here are 6 statistics you need to know.

Flexibility, scalability, mobility – the benefits of moving to a cloud-first network go on and on. If you’ve even been considering a cloud-first strategy, you’re probably already aware of at least some of these advantages. But these six key findings revealed in the RightScale 2016 State of the Cloud Report* may surprise you.

1. Security concerns are decreasing.

In past RightScale reports, security has always been the top concern among respondents. However, from 2014 to 2016, security concerns for Enterprise central IT teams, who typically have the most responsibility for security, declined from 47 percent to 37 percent. Is seems as cloud providers and best practices mature, security concerns will continue to decline.

2. Top cloud challenge cited is lack of resources/expertise.

Nearly 32 percent of respondents indicated lack of resources/expertise as their No. 1 cloud challenge, an increase from 27 percent last year. As companies continue to place higher demand on the cloud, the need for technical expertise has grown.

3. Cloud cost management is a significant challenge.

Cloud cost management as a challenge has steadily increased each year from 18 percent in 2013 to 26 percent in 2016. From reducing or eliminating data centers to utilizing flexible capacity, companies have significant opportunities for savings if they know what actions to take.

4. Cloud adoption is on the rise.

This year’s survey findings revealed that private cloud adoption increased from 63 percent to 77 percent, and hybrid cloud adoption increased from 58 percent to 71 percent since 2015. More enterprise workloads are also moving to the cloud – mainly the private cloud – from 22 percent to 31 percent since last year. Overall, 95 percent of respondents are using cloud, up from 93 percent last year.

5. Cloud users see increase in speed.

The survey findings show the two benefits that had the largest increase were faster access to infrastructure, which grew from 57 to 62 percent, and faster time-to market, which grew from 48 to 52 percent. 

6. Cloud initiatives differ based on company size.

The study showed that 2016 cloud priorities differed among Enterprises and SMBs. Enterprises, who generally have a larger number of applications, are more focused on moving more of those workloads to the cloud (57 percent). Small and Medium-sized Business (SMBs) indicated optimizing existing cloud use to achieve cost savings (43 percent) as their No.1 initiative.

Whether you’ve just starting to think about moving some applications to the cloud, have a robust cloud-first strategy in place, or you’re somewhere in-between – we can help. From cost savings to workplace efficiency, our experienced team of technical engineers will help you fully take advantage of all the benefits a cloud-first network can offer. 

* Source: RightScale 2016 State of the Cloud Report reveals results from a survey of 1,060 technical professionals across a broad cross-section of organizations about their adoption of cloud computing.

Wireless mobility – what used to be a convenient feature – is now an expectation that’s changing the way we live and work. From restaurants and airplanes to college campuses and sporting events, today’s 24/7 connected world expects anytime, anywhere mobile access.

To increase their competitive advantage, businesses of all sizes need a reliable and secure wireless network infrastructure. Here are five must-have components:

1. Future proofing

All signs point to a steep upward trend in wireless usage. Your network needs to be scalable enough to allow for proper coverage and density requirements as needed. And trust us – you’ll need it.

2. Indoor and Outdoor Coverage

Business doesn’t stop at the door and neither should your wireless network coverage. Even if you don’t start with it, make sure to leave open the possibility of adding outdoor coverage from the same platform.

3. Centralized Management

Regardless of how many access points you have, you’ll need a way to effectively manage updates and configuration changes from one central location.

 4. Access Management

Help solve wireless security concerns with access management systems such as Aruba ClearPass, which allows you to assign a role to the wireless device based on how it’s authenticated.

5. Mobile Device Management (MDM)

With a network full of mobile devices each running their own applications and programs, you need a MDM system to monitor and manage access.

We’ve designed and installed wireless network systems for companies of all sizes across the U.S. So whether you’re starting fresh or your wireless network needs an upgrade, we can help.