As the owner of an IT company, I recognize the integral part IT services have in keeping businesses running. Companies are panicking. Businesses, corporations to boutique in all industries, have folded, furloughed, and fired. And, business professionals are distancing themselves: from their offices, co-workers, and clients. My past few weeks have been spent on the phone with owners or executives, planning for business continuity and aiding businesses to have remote access to the systems needed day-to-day. Since I’m spending so much time on this topic, it only makes sense to write an article that will help others plan for business continuity. A business continuity plan is essential to provide maximum transparency to your employees and clients. Your plan should include a memorandum and agenda clearly outlining new standard-operating-procedures. More than ever, your IT partners need to be integrated with your business practices to properly advise, train, equip, secure, and support all staff for essential remote resources and infrastructure. Our partners want to know: is this doable? Is it possible to swiftly create a virtual environment where both staff and clients feel valued and served? The answer is yes, with proper preparation and implementation. With all the cloud systems available, we have never been more prepared to work remotely. IT Services Planning Identifying all the IT services used by the business is a great place to start. Try to categorize the services based on their level of importance to the business. Roles and responsibilities are also key in planning as these decisions should never be made by one person. It is important to pull in the right people who work with the IT services on a day-to-day basis. Don’t make assumptions. Working remotely for businesses that have never done so is a big transition. After your team has assembled and identified the critical IT services, it’s time to dig into each service and discuss what the options are for accessing them remotely. Below are examples of common critical services along with some thoughts and questions when preparing each IT service to function remotely.

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As a small to medium sized business, your tech provider should be helping with the strategic management to grow business.  Modern IT must be proactive to strengthen the office work efficiency.

Most companies see their IT provider as insurance only when something malfunctions. Not anymore. This podcast teaches you how to use the service and resources of the IT provider to grow business and have a more efficient office environment.

Email seems essential.  But, email will become obsolete in our lifetimes.  When? Why? What will replace it?  This podcast will answer those questions and dive into what is the future of email and digital messaging. All of this and much more on vitaltech's podcast, Vital Talk.

Help! My Company Had a Data Breach.  How Should My IT Company Repond? OUTLINE: -WHAT IS INCIDENT RESPONSE? -WHO IS INVOLVED & WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT THEM? -6 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL INCIDENT RESPONSE PLAN (via SANS*) 1.Preparation 2.Identification 3.Containment 4.Eradication 5.Recovery 6.Review Lessons Learned

1. WHAT'S THE CLOUD? 2. FACTORS TO CONSIDER MOVING TO THE CLOUD Stability Security Cost Scale-ability 3. MIGRATION PROCESS Planning Testing Migration Decommission 4. WHAT NOW? Maintenance Security

TOPICS DISCUSSED: -How Do People Get Hacked?-If Hacked, What Should You Do Next?-What Should Your IT Provider Do To Resolve the Hacking Issue?-How Do You Avoid Being Hacked?

What is SharePoint? The Evolution of SharePoint Benefits of SharePoint?   Downsides of SharePoint    Sean’s Final Thoughts on SharePoint