Category: Protected Harbor

How we spent New Year 2022

 

How we spent New Year 2022

 

How we spent New Year 2022

While the world was busy welcoming the new year, Protected Harbor ensured that our customers were still up and running, regardless of date and time. Shortly after midnight on January 1st, 2022, our monitoring system raised an unusual condition, as emails suddenly stopped being transmitted for a client and instead started to build up. A build-up of outbound emails triggered the Application Outage Avoidance alert. Our team started the new year off doing what we love: helping businesses stay protected and productive.

What happened?

The email server was experiencing an error, stopping outbound emails from being delivered.

The Manager on duty, Fasif VP, immediately responded and found the problem was something we hadn’t experienced before. Fasif followed Protected Harbor protocols by restarting services, troubleshooting, and rebooting cluster nodes. Regardless of what he did, emails were still not being sent. Nick Solimando, our Director of Technology, was dispatched to investigate.

Nick confirmed Fasif’s concern. We had never encountered this error before. Nick walked through the standard procedure, reviewing the steps Fasif had taken to confirm the issue. Nick could not find a solution despite bypassing our reputation filter and moving emails from one node to another. Upon further investigation, Nick found other people over the internet are experiencing the same issue, indicating that there was a problem in the programming code of the server. His experience and intuition led him to disable the internal email filter, and emails began to flow again.

Eventually, he found a REDDIT thread – Exchange 2019 Anti-Malware – Bad Update? : sysadmin (reddit.com) covering the issue. One thing about the people at Protected Harbor, they are eager to learn. Technology is constantly changing, and our team needs to stay up to date. We are never egotistical enough to believe we know it all and enjoy working with the IT support and MSP community to stay on top of new trends and issues.

From beginning to end, the event took 40 minutes. Our customers were unaware of this event, nor did we receive a single support call or ticket regarding missing emails.

It’s just another day at Protected Harbor – where we solve problems others cannot.

Protected Harbor celebrated this new year by standing true to its name, protecting and delivering the customers at any cost, no matter the day and time. Customer satisfaction is the utmost priority, and this is what we strive to do.

“This is an example of events that customers are unaware of occurring but are the hallmark of the difference between other MSPs and us.  As CEO of a technical architecture company, there are the events I am most proud of.”     -Richard Luna, CEO, Protected Harbor

Closing thoughts and future plans!

We’ve all heard the saying, “Know thy customer.” It’s a simple concept that’s been around for ages. But it is also one of the most critical factors in creating a successful brand. If you know your customers—their struggles, their needs, and what they expect from you—you’ll be able to create a brand that resonates with them.

Having complete control and management of all our internal technology is our core philosophy to deliver better customer uptime, experience, durability, and responsiveness.
We refer to ourselves as the Anti-MSP since we take an opposite approach to most Managed Service Providers (MSPs). The majority of MSPs are now just reselling cloud services; they have no control over, or understanding of, the technology they are managing.
A more extreme example of this was the Office 365 attacks from 2021 when thousands of company emails were compromised due to the MSP that managed the accounts.
As the ANTI-MSP, your responsibilities are more significant.  We must respond 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, including on New Year’s Day 2022, since we control and manage our technology.

We plan to protect the customers and deliver at all costs in the future. The customer is interested in how we can help them with their IT needs, not what we offer. We need to articulate that value proposition and then deliver on it.

The good thing is that the new year brings a fresh start, and we are all ready to start something new. Switch from a reseller MSP to the experts who understand your needs. We at Protected Harbor are excited about the industry’s future and are looking forward to delighting our customers with unmatched services and solutions. Let’s get started with the new year 2022! Learn how we do this.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Other MSPs approach vs. Protected Harbor Customer-centric approach

Other MSPs approach vs Protected Harbor

 

Other MSPs approach vs. Protected Harbor Customer-centric approach

The arrival of the internet opened new doors and pushed the IT industry in new directions. With the growing consumer base of the internet and accompanying challenges, a need for solution makers became indispensable. Several IT solution providers, including value-added resellers (VAR) and managed service providers (MSP), came into play. They offered their services and solutions to the industry, such as infrastructure management and cloud servers. A solution provider is simply a vendor who answers all your IT needs with their products. These MSPs competed not only to capture the industry by taking small and mid-scale enterprises as their clients but to deliver cost-effective solutions to every need of the customers. Click here to know more about the IT solution providers, VAR and MSP.

What do they have in common?

After expanding cloud computing in the IT sector, they have broadened IT solution possibilities further. The solution providers now offer Infrastructure as a service (IAAS), software as a service (SaaS), desktop as a service (DaaS), and other on-demand offerings. The solution provider either builds and manages its cloud services or recommends (resells) the services of a public cloud provider like Amazon web services or Microsoft azure.

An IT solution provider, Value-added reseller, or Managed service provide what all of them have in common: they are simply software reselling, services, and pre-bundled packages in the name of a solution. For example, if your system is affected by viruses, they will provide you with the antivirus of any XYZ company. After installing it on your computer, if the product key is not working or you suffer from a data loss, the solution provider is not responsible. The same applies to most MSPs as they resell the cloud and infrastructure management services from a public cloud provider. If you face a technical issue, the provider plays the middle man forwarding your concerns to the original service provider while you are rendered helpless. These are not managed security services by any means as they lack the infrastructure to solve or eliminate any potential threats by themselves and rely on the end managed services network.

These solution providers and MSPs are just selling pre-bundled package solutions designed to attract most consumers and solve their percentage problems. The point to note is that no two clients are the same. Small-scale and mid-scale enterprises have their own set of requirements and issues. They switch to managed services companies as they are the most efficient options in the market compared to setting up your own data center infrastructure management (DCIM). Conclusively, the IT managed service companies follow the product-centric approach to design a product and sell it to as many people as possible rather than the customer-centric approach to design a specific product for one particular client.

 

Some of the Pros of Managed Services Include

Managed services offer numerous advantages for businesses, particularly when leveraging MSP software and partnering with a managed services provider in NYC.

  1. Proactive IT Support: Managed IT service providers offer continuous monitoring and maintenance, preventing issues before they become major problems.
  2. Cost Efficiency: Utilizing an MSP reduces the need for in-house IT staff, leading to significant cost savings.
  3. Access to Expertise: Businesses benefit from the specialized knowledge and skills of MSPs.
  4. Scalability: MSPs provide scalable solutions, allowing businesses to grow without worrying about IT infrastructure.
  5. Focus on Core Business: By outsourcing IT tasks, companies can focus more on their core operations.

The Cons of Managed Services May Include:

Navigating the landscape of affordable managed IT services can pose challenges for small businesses in New York. However, partnering with a local managed service provider (MSP) specializing in comprehensive manage IT services and network security solutions can transform these challenges into opportunities for enhanced efficiency and robust cyber protection. These MSPs offer tailored solutions that fit budget constraints while ensuring proactive monitoring and rapid response capabilities to safeguard against cyber threats. Choosing the right MSP means gaining access to expert IT support without the overhead costs of an internal team, allowing small businesses to focus on growth and competitiveness in their respective markets.

 

Protected Harbor’s customer-centric approach. How is it different?

We follow a seamless 360-degree approach while catering to the clients, and the process is integral to our brand’s culture. Protected Harbor’s market differentiator is highly customer-centric, keeping the customer at the center and formulating a strategy focusing on delivering the best experience by providing tailor-made solutions for every individual customer.
Being among the top managed security service providers, we keep customers at the center of our business philosophy and foster a positive experience at every stage of the customer’s journey.

Protected Harbor has its own hosted, in-house servers and networking equipment to eliminate costs, redundancies, and security risks. The hardware investment made by Protected Harbor is a critical factor in providing a positive experience to the customer. This increases control over safety and security with the flexibility to design and deliver services as per demand. We take pride and accountability for the security of the clients’ data with exceptional infrastructure management. The issues are solved in-house rather than waiting for the third-party, public service provider to do so.

The technology improvement plan is another benchmark strategy followed by Protected Harbor. We listen to customers’ needs, assess what needs to be done, and design the system accordingly. It’s an ongoing development strategy that suggests the best possible steps to enhance the experience and elate the customers. Customer satisfaction is the core of our business, and we challenge ourselves to exceed the expectations.

 

The Differences Between Managed Services and Professional Services

When comparing other MSPs to Protected Harbor’s customer-centric approach, understanding the differences between Managed Services and Professional Services is key.

  • Managed Services: Managed Services involve proactive, ongoing management of an organization’s IT infrastructure by an external provider, such as Protected Harbor. This approach focuses on preventative maintenance, monitoring, and support to ensure optimal performance and security. Clients benefit from continuous monitoring, updates, and comprehensive support, including remote IT support services and help desk support, to minimize downtime. Additionally, Managed Services include data backup and disaster recovery services for data resilience and continuity in disruptions.
  • Professional Services: Professional Services are project-based engagements, such as IT consulting and system design. While they offer valuable expertise and solutions for specific projects, they lack ongoing monitoring and maintenance. Clients may engage Professional Services for specialized projects but still require additional support, like help desk support or remote IT support services, for day-to-day operations.
  • Protected Harbor’s Approach: Protected Harbor combines both approaches with a customer-centric focus. We prioritize personalized solutions, providing comprehensive Managed Services including remote IT support services, data backup and recovery, and help desk support. Our commitment ensures clients receive the attention and assistance needed to achieve their IT goals effectively.

In summary, while Managed Services focus on ongoing management and support, Professional Services are project-based. Protected Harbor integrates both, setting us apart and empowering clients to succeed.

 

The choice is yours!

Since it’s no longer a secret as to how we do it and deliver industry-leading quality services, with the complete focus on customer satisfaction, we exceed the limits and expectations with our feature-rich cloud services, data center management, all-around IT support, and security 99.99% uptime with application outage avoidance (AOA). To move forward with a software reselling MSP or a dedicated customer-centric, IT-managed service provider. The choice is relatively simple.

WHY IS 99.99% UPTIME IMPORTANT?

WHY IS 99.99% UPTIME IMPORTANT

 

WHY IS 99.99% UPTIME IMPORTANT?

 

Today, businesses of all sizes have grown more reliant on their technology and no business, no matter the size wants to see their systems or site offerings offline – even for a few minutes.  This is why uptime has become vital.  For many companies, uptime is not a preference, it’s a necessity.

Uptime is important because the cost and consequences of downtime can cripple a business, however, no business in any industry can guarantee absolute perfection. Even with tremendous precautions and redundancies in place, systems can fail.  Natural disasters or other mitigating factors out of our control that may require a quick re-boot can’t always be predicted or prevented.

In order to evade debilitating periods of downtime, businesses must employ the most current technologies, designed with uptime in mind, or utilize a managed service provider well versed in the latest technology and long term solutions.

It is no secret that businesses look for 99.99% uptime.  If this percentage seems unrealistic, the additional decimals make a huge difference. The reality is that .1% of downtime is an unacceptable percentage for most companies.  When businesses encounter downtime, they cannot provide services to their customers.  Customers have short memories and as a result, may be tempted to take their dollars elsewhere if they cannot get what they want in a timely manner.

Not only is losing customers disastrous, but productivity can suffer as well.  This is never a good combination.  The average cost of downtime across businesses of all sizes and all industries is around $5,600 per minute.

When a customer selects a company, they need to trust that they are working with a professional and capable organization. Not being able to access a company’s website or employees telling customers they cannot help them at the moment they called does not ensure shopper confidence. This damage can be irreversible to a business’s reputation.

Given that the consequences of downtime are so costly, it’s easy to understand why achieving near-perfect uptime is so important. In order to completely avoid all of the costs and consequences associated with downtime, businesses need to be aiming for uptime of at least 99.99%. While these consequences may seem a bit disheartening, the good news is that there are ways to avoid them. Get connected to our data center and solve your issue.

Protected Harbor helps businesses across the US address their current IT needs by building custom, cost-effective solutions.  Our unique technology experts evaluate current systems, determine the needs then design cost-effective solutions. On average, we are able to save clients up to 30% on IT costs while increasing their security, productivity and durability.  We work with many internal IT departments, freeing them up to concentrate on daily workloads while we do the heavy lifting.  www.protectedharbor.com

Protected Harbor’s COVID-19 Response

Protected Harbor’s COVID-19 Response

Protected Harbor’s COVID-19 Response

Protected Harbor manages IT for a variety of small, medium and large companies.  Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, virtually every one of our clients decided to or were forced to work from home.  These requests came from all our clients at the same time over a matter of days.
Due to our infrastructure design, and the responsiveness of our staff, Protected Harbor was able to migrate our clients to “work from home” within hours of the request, and with minimal or no interruption in their business.
Also, support costs for clients as they work from home is included in our base price, which is a flat monthly rate.  So none of our clients experienced a rise in IT costs.
If you are struggling to migrate your business to work from home, please call Protected Harbor at 201-957-1616.
Protected Harbor also offers businesses Cloud Services, Network Management, Ransomware and Security Protection, Disaster Recovery and more.