Are virtual servers more secure and protected than physical ones?

In 2022, cloud data centers will process 94 percent of all workloads. It will dominate the workload processing and supersede non-cloud data centers. Thus, if you’re planning to migrate to a cloud server, this article will assist you in your decision.

Are the physical servers a thing of the past? Not long ago, people feared a future of thronging data centers covering the globe. While that sounds exaggerated, spatial concerns have always been a critical part of any information center or server room. Owing to virtualization, the development of physical infrastructure slowed within the last decade.
As more organizations benefit from virtualization, virtual servers are already becoming a vital component of the modern hybrid ecosystem.

Businesses and service providers are choosing virtual servers over physical ones due to several advantages, including:

• Reduced costs and overhead expenses
• Better scalability as new virtual servers can be created as per need
• Recovery and backup features for a fast and reliable restoration
• Technical support from the virtual server hosting provider for setup and maintenance.
• Ease of installing updates and software to several virtual servers

Is it true that virtual servers are less exposed to threats?

It’s not that virtual servers are less secure than the other servers. In many ways, virtual servers are more secure than physical servers because they depend upon a single-host server and are more isolated.
Each virtual server has its OS (operating system) and configuration, which may or may not be according to the benchmarks set by the parent company. Every one of these servers must be patched and maintained the same way other server does to keep up with the potential vulnerabilities.

The rise in virtualization has yielded a significant vulnerability. Gartner released a study that concluded that many servers being virtualized are less secure than their physical counterparts. So, using virtual servers has its benefits and leverages, but when security is concerned, at a minimum, organizations must have the same type of monitoring as physical systems.

Servers enable you to control and distribute the information and secure and protect the information. Servers can be distinguished into three main types:

• Physical server
• Virtual server
• Cloud server

Physical server

These are the dedicated servers that use the standard components including processor, memory, hard drive, network, and operating system (OS) for running applications and programs, also called Traditional or ‘bare-metal servers. ‘ These servers are mostly single-tenant which means a single server is dedicated to a specific user.
The pros of having a physical server are that it is dedicated, unshared, and can be customized to serve a specific purpose. The obvious disadvantage is that it’s expensive and space required to set up the infrastructure.

Virtual server

A virtual server is like renting out space on a physical server off-site, similar to AWS. They have the same efficiency as a physical server but not the fundamental biological machinery. A virtual server is cost-efficient and provides faster resource management. Multiple virtual servers can be created from a physical server with a hypervisor or container engine.
Cost reduction, less operational expense, and scalability are the most significant benefits of server virtualization. The drawback, however, is that the upfront investments might be expensive for the software licenses and servers. Also, not all applications and servers are virtualization friendly.

Cloud server

A cloud server is a centralized server resource built, hosted, and delivered through a cloud computing platform over the internet and can be accessed on demand by multiple users. It can perform all the functions of a typical server, delivering storage and applications.
A cloud server may also be referred to as a virtual server or virtual private server.
Cloud servers provide ease of accessibility, flexibility, customization and are cost-efficient. While network dependency, security, and technical issues are some of the cons that a reliable data center management company can handle.

Physical vs. Virtual vs. Cloud servers, Which is right for your business?

Each type of server serves its purpose and delivers according to the business’s needs. Still, there are several factors to consider when deciding on the exemplary service for you: budget, performance requirements, data security, space, environmental control, workload, and data type.
As the world is rapidly moving toward the cloud- lifting all applications and information, larger enterprises are quickly leading the approach and virtualizing.

The past decisions to move servers into the cloud, either in virtual servers or colocation environments, become intelligent decisions for most companies. The primary benefits of switching to cloud servers are:

• Affordability- since third-party providers manage cloud servers, it is far less expensive than owning your infrastructure.
• Scalability– cloud servers respond quickly, scaling up and down to meet demand or any data storage needs.
• Convenience– users can access the data from anywhere, anytime, and can be easily managed through a single API or control panel.
• Reliability– since the cloud runs on numerous servers in a managed environment, service continues even if one component fails. It can efficiently deliver the same performance as a dedicated server.

But the reality is, even in today’s world, there is still a use of physical servers. And the decision-making should be done by considering the factors above.

Protected Harbor among the top virtual hosting companies

As a top virtual hosting company, Protected Harbor has accomplished exceptional reliability, stability, and durability with its Datacenter management service. Eliminating the causes of failures, we have achieved 99.99% uptime for our systems. We provide an unmatched service over any other provider with features like application outage avoidance (AOA), proactive monitoring, and technology improvement plan (TIP).
To know more about switching to a cloud server and the migration process, consult our experts; click here.

Protected Harbor’s New PBX Phone System

Protected Harbor is proud to introduce a state of the art phone system 3CX.  It is available to all our current clients and anyone in the market looking to upgrade their current set up.  Protected Harbor partnered with 3CX, and provides system configuration and support.

The benefits of this new phone system are plentiful, starting with the end-user being in complete control.  This PBX can be installed on-premise and virtualized on a Linux or Windows platform.   It is easily set up via iOS and Android apps for remote work via QR code.  Staff can easily be added, and voicemail can be set up in minutes.  The user management is simple and easy which will save countless hours of work.

The biggest benefit perhaps, of our system is that it has a softphone so you can make and receive business calls from your PC, tablet or smartphone.  There is no need to be tied to a hard physical phone in your office.  It’s perfect for businesses that have employees working from home during COVID-19.

Moreover, many of the phone features that other vendors classify as add-ons, such as video conferencing, iOS and Android mobile apps or call center features, are included with Protected Harbor’s PBX. So, there are no hidden costs for the features you need.

Switching to this configuration makes complete sense when you compare pricing to that of other PBX vendors such as 8×8 and Avaya. Our system provides a complete unified communications solution that is easy to manage, flexible and affordable. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, you can save thousands and avoid all the hassle of purchasing additional extensions and add-ons as your business grows.

Think less about maintaining your PBX, and more about your business – call or email us today to find out more about Protected Harbor’s new phone system! www.protectedharbor.com

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

Keep Your Business Running – Prepare for The Worst

Since the face of how we do business has changed because of COVID-19, businesses should think about (and hopefully prepare for) cyberattacks and security breaches. Having a disaster recovery plan in place to restore critical information is a good place to start.  However, in these times this is simply not enough.

This is why it’s important to have a 360 business continuity plan ready.

Here are some devastating facts from Bureau of Labor, PC Mag, Gartner, Unitrends and TechRadar:

• Every year, 20% of businesses experience system loss from events such as fires, floods, outages, etc. These types of occurrences not only result in loss of data, but they displace employees and shatter operations
• 60% of companies that lose their data will shut down within 6 months
• Only 35% of Small Businesses have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place, according to Gartner
• The cost of losing critical applications has been estimated by experts at more than $5,000 per minute
• Network downtime costs 80% of small and medium businesses at least $20,000 per hour

If these facts are not enough to ensure a business continuity plan is in place, then you are rolling the dice in a game you will not win.  It is not a matter IF something will happen its WHEN.

A business continuity plan creates a means of keeping your business operational during a crisis. In addition, the plan should include protocols for your devices, communication channels, office setup – including employees, and more.

If you’re currently experiencing unexplained system slow-downs, unexplained outages and trying to maintain normal computer functions, then your system needs definite attention, and you probably don’t have a continuity plan in place. It’s not too late to start, but understand it’s going to take some time and effort but the end result will be invaluable.

This is where Protected Harbor can help. We deliver end to end IT solutions ranging from custom designed systems, data center management, disaster recovery, ransomware protection, cloud services and more.  On average, we save clients up to 30% on IT costs while increasing their productivity, durability and sustainability.  Let our unique technology experts evaluate your current systems and design cost-effective, secure options.

With us, you can be sure your systems will run during a crisis.  Contact us today to find out more.  www.protectedharbor.com

What Does Downtime Cost the Average Business?

Ashar Success Stories

What is a good NPS score?

Net Promoter Score
Protected Harbor Gets World Class Net Promoter Score

A recent survey completed by Protected Harbor clients yielded exceptional results in satisfaction.

The survey calculated Protected Harbor’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), which takes the percentage of promoters (good feedback) and subtracts the percentage of any detractors. Protected Harbor’s final score was 78 which is considered world class.

This is how the NPS classifies the scores. Given the NPS range of -100 to +100, a “positive” score or NPS above 0 is considered “good”, +50 is “Excellent,” and above 70 is considered “world class.”

Each customer was asked to rate the company on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most, on how likely they are to recommend Protected Harbor to a colleague.

The survey also allowed customers to give feedback with their score, and here’s what some of them had to say about Protected Harbor’s IT services and customer service.

Protected Harbor is proud of this accomplishment and the great response and feedback received by customers. Being considered “world class” in customer satisfaction and service is what all businesses wish they could achieve.

Protected Harbor offers businesses and organizations nationwide IT services including ransomware and network security protection, network management, IT service management, 99.99% uptime and cloud computing.