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.

School districts, government agencies and utility companies are just some of the businesses making the headlines as the latest victims of ransomware, a malware that encrypts your files and limits or eliminates access. Victims are then forced to pay a ransom to regain access.

The inability to access important data and the loss of confidential or proprietary information can have a crippling effect on companies. But it’s not just businesses that are being targeted – home computers are also at risk. The loss of personal information, family photos, video and other information can be devastating.

What to look for:

Email attachments containing malware are often the culprit, but not always. Your computer could become infected simply by clicking on a compromised website, often being lured there by a phishing attempt.

How to protect yourself:

• Keep regular backups of your data, because without a backup, there is nothing to recover if your files become encrypted.
• Do not open suspect email attachments, even if you know the sender. Email accounts can get spoofed and attachments will look odd with references to attached resumes, tracking numbers, payroll information, photos, etc.
• Ensure your anti-virus software is enabled and up-to-date.
• Only download software from official sites you know and trust.
• Use the same precautions on your mobile phone as you would on your computer when using the Internet.

How to protect your company network:

• Raise awareness of ransomware and safe practices to protect the organization’s data.
• Provide corporate training for employees to help identify potential phishing attempts.
• Back up data and verify the integrity of your backups regularly.
• Patch operating system, software and firmware on digital devices.
• Ensure antivirus and anti-malware solutions are set to automatically update and conduct regular scans.
• Set access controls and network share permissions appropriately.
• Implement controls or software restriction policies to prevent programs from executing from common ransomware locations.

DataVizion provides a VizionVault Cloud Backup Service. This service provides daily backups of your files, which can be restored to safe versions if files have been encrypted. We also provide managed cloud-based antivirus, and robust firewall solutions for threat prevention. Questions or want to learn more? Give us a call.

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.

For our clients, who already have a lot of on their plate, it can be overwhelming to keep pace with emerging trends in the Information Technology world. Don't worry. We’ve got you covered.

At DataVizion, we stay on top of the latest IT offerings from our partners to provide a level of service unachievable by many of our competitors. Here are just some of the recent certifications achieved.

David Andersen, Project Engineer, and Ken Cousino, Field Services Engineer, recently passed the Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE6) exam. From design and installation to configuration and troubleshooting, David and Ken possess a deep understanding of Palo Alto Networks technologies and can implement the best solutions to fit your needs.

DataVizion has been an Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, platinum partner since 2014, differentiating ourselves from our peers with the highest level of engineering and commitment to Aruba products.

Ethan Shold, Engineer, became our newest member of the DataVizion team to pass the Aruba Certified Mobility Professional (ACMP) exam. And Mat Lehn, Engineer, passed the Aruba Certified ClearPass Expert (ACCX) exam. We’re now more ready than ever to provide the expert support for any Aruba solution you decide to implement.

So whether you’re looking to increase mobility or implement an entirely new network infrastructure, we have the skills and expertise to help make it happen.

As the need for technology in the workplace continues to rise, so do the attempts of would-be phishers. They’re constantly crafting ways to use fake emails and clever scams to try and gain access to your company’s network or your personal information.

A recent report published by Software Advice, who surveyed employees to explore their awareness of phishing attacks, reveals some startling statistics.

Here are some of the key findings and tips to ensure you and your coworkers don’t fall victim to these scams.

About 39 percent of employees still open emails that they suspect might be fraudulent or contain malware.

Understand the goals of phishing attempts. Fraudulent emails often seek to:

• Infect your computer with spyware that can record your Internet activities or allow hackers access to your computer.
• Obtain and access your personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords and account numbers.

Only 36 percent of employees said they are “very confident” that they could recognize and resist a phishing attack.

Learn to recognize suspicious email. Here are a few tips to start:

• Look for misspellings and bad grammar. Legitimate emails from professional organizations are usually well written.
• Be aware of threats or requests for urgency. Cybercriminals often use threats that your security has been compromised and try to scare you into taking urgent action.
• Don’t click on suspicious links. If you see a link in an email, hover your cursor over it first to reveal the web address. Often it’s a series of cryptic numbers that looks nothing like the company website.

Just 39 percent of employees said they receive ongoing security awareness training or advice at their work more than once per year.

Look for opportunities to learn more about cyber security and share your knowledge.

• Read the news. Sadly, it’s full of stories about phishing scam victims. Share these examples and discuss ways you and your colleagues can avoid similar mistakes.
• If you’re a tech-savvy person, share your knowledge of phishing and network security with those who may not be.

Phishing attempts will continue to evolve. While it’s important to keep up-to-date with the latest in cyber security awareness, it’s also best to have technical controls in place. For more information on how to protect your company’s network or to implement security solutions, give us a call! We’d be happy to help.

From tracking your workout to navigating through rush hour, smartphone technology can do some amazing things. Unfortunately, providing unlimited battery life is not one of them.

So it’s up to software, settings and you to stretch out the limited battery life for as long as possible. Here are some simple tips and tricks you can use:

1. Dim the screen brightness. The display rapidly consumes battery. Most phones include an auto-brightness feature that automatically adjusts the screen's brightness as needed. However, you can save even more power by adjusting to the lowest level yourself.

2. Shorten the screen timeout. This setting controls how long your phone's screen stays lit after receiving input, such as a tap. Save power by setting your timeout to the shortest available time.

3. Turn off Bluetooth when not in use. Bluetooth can do some amazing things, but even if you’re not using it, it’s a huge battery sucker.

4. Avoid extreme temperatures. Smart phones are designed to perform well in a range of temperatures, but exposing them to extremely high or low temperatures can damage battery capacity.

5. Choose location services wisely. Many apps have the ability to monitor your location. You can either disable this feature all together if it’s not needed, or some will allow you to use location services only while using the app.

6. Close Apps that you’re not using. Don't leave apps running in the background if you don’t plan to use them for a while.

7. Turn vibrate off. Your phones vibrate features use much more power than playing a ringtone.

8. Turn off non-essential notifications. Every time an app sends you an alert or other type of notification, it’s consuming energy.

9. Check for mail less often. Unless you need email messages instantly, change your phone settings to only push email every so often.

10. Power Saving Mode. Some phones have a power-saving feature, which a manages the phone's various power-sapping features for you. Doesn’t get any easier than that!

If you’re like most people these days, you rely on your smartphone throughout the day (and night!). Hopefully these power-saving tips will help you get in that much more time between charges.

When DataVizion was founded in 2001, we were purely a professional enterprise services organization. Over the years we continued to expand, and now — in addition to our services — we offer a long (and growing) list of the latest in technology products and wireless solutions.

In the past five years alone, we’ve experienced triple-digit growth. That meant adding several new team members and, while we enjoy each other’s company, we needed more space. In August, we moved our headquarters to a larger location here in Lincoln, Nebraska, and opened up a satellite location in Omaha.

Growth has also meant the need to update our website and tell you about our new offerings. And, because we love what we do and the industry changes so rapidly, we’re introducing this blog where we’ll share the latest in industry news, technology tips and tricks, security updates and new product features.

Please take some time to browse our updated site and check back often to read our blog. We also invite you to stop by our offices any time. We’ll be happy to tell you more about what we do and how we can help you build a better connection for your organization.