It’s never been a better time to be a Managed Service Provider (MSP). Why? Small and medium businesses (SMBs) use cloud-based services for their operations. Eighty-eight percent say they currently use an MSP or are considering one. But many obstacles remain even if SMBs are in high demand for MSPs. They need to keep their profits and revenue growing, focusing on cloud unit economics, customer pricing strategies, and efficient operations.

Now that most people are familiar with and thus able to avoid standard phishing attacks, malicious actors have shifted to something more insidious. Email spoofing is an attack in which attackers impersonate someone the target knows, is a much more subtle way to compromise a user’s credentials or device. Like phishing, however, once you know the signs of a spoofed email and train other users on how to spot them, addressing the issue is often straightforward.

When you choose to work with another organization, for the sake of your reputation and security, you need to carefully vet each organization before finalizing the decision. Choosing a vendor with which to do business relies on that vendor ranking highly on a vendor risk assessment, which occurs when that vendor practices robust security, ensures compliance with local regulations, and implements effective policies and procedures to ensure smooth daily operations.

In recent years, the number of cyberattacks has increased dramatically. These attacks can be costly and disruptive, and they can even lead to the loss of sensitive data. Patch management is one of the most effective ways to prevent these attacks, as it can help to close security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. However, patch management can be a complex and challenging process.

System Administrator Appreciation Day, also known as SysAdmin Day, has been celebrated on the last Friday in July since it was created in 2000 by Ted Kekatos. It is a special day dedicated to acknowledging the contributions of system administrators and IT professionals who play a vital role in managing and maintaining the technology infrastructure of organizations.

Security of data is essential in a business and technology environment where consumers are increasingly seeking cost-effective, secure, and scalable data storage solutions. Although you may think your security practices are effective, guidelines like SOC 2 can help you determine how well you’re really doing without the risk of any legal consequences or fines.

The cloud is integral to many organizations, and a substantial number regularly use SaaS applications during daily business operations. However, not all organizations have implemented backups, which can create problems such as accidental deletion, security incidents, or hardware failure. SaaS providers do not solve these problems, so the best and easiest way to protect your organization from downtime and losses is to implement SaaS Backup.

Anyone whose company has suffered a ransomware attack can tell you that the negative effects are extensive. Ransomware attacks are costly, time-consuming, and damaging to your organization whether you pay the ransom or not. Losing your data would almost certainly be a complete disaster. The question, then, is a pressing one: How do you get your data back without paying the ransom?

As an IT service provider, you’re likely dealing with all you can handle. The good news is that implementing remote management is not one more thing on your to-do list; rather, it’s an essential tool for getting tasks off your list more quickly. This post will provide an overview of remote management solutions, essential components of a good, reliable solution, and best practices that will help you get the most out of your implementation.

IT professionals always search for the most efficient and cost-effective solutions, methods, and best practices. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) are related guidelines that can help in this pursuit. Both ITIL and ITSM revolve around providing IT services. Although they prioritize and attend to different things, ultimately, their goal is to improve both efficiency and efficacy. Read more about ITIL vs. ITSM below.

Threat actors use a number of different techniques to gain access to company networks so that they can deliver ransomware payloads. In this blog, we look at four of the most common techniques currently being used to attack networks. The intent is to help MSPs and IT admins understand where the threats are coming from, and then where to focus their attention in order to protect their (or their customers’) networks.

For IT professionals and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) charged with managing multiple systems, software installation can be a major time-suck. Utilizing package managers like Chocolatey can be a game changer. Yet, ensuring Chocolatey itself is installed or up to date can also pose a challenge. To streamline this process, we have designed a PowerShell script that makes installing and upgrading Chocolatey — and consequently, your desired applications — effortless.

Your organization depends on reliable network and endpoint security to ensure that all data is handled, stored, and protected properly. Generally, a comprehensive network security plan includes anti-virus software, access management, zero-trust policies, and endpoint security tools, among other things. A Firewall is considered to be one of the most important components of a network security plan.

Cloud storage involves storing your data on a server that belongs to a third-party cloud service provider (CSP) rather than on-premises. Because many CSPs have large numbers of servers available, it tends to be more cost effective to pay a recurring fee for off-site storage rather than storing all of your files locally. Additionally, many organizations use cloud backups to save space in local storage and to improve accessibility and availability.

For a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to grow, it must win new customers. However, each new customer brings more devices and users that require management, incident ticket resolution, and provisioning. If the above is actioned manually, an MSP requires dedicated staff to handle the new clients’ users, devices, resolve tickets and requests. Bearing in mind, each staff member can only support a certain number of users and devices.

Last month, at N-able’s Empower partner event in Prague, Chief Security Officer, Dave MacKinnon conducted a roundtable with executives from MSPs from the UK, Germany, Poland, and South Africa. The topic centered around artificial intelligence (AI) and initiated dialogue around whether they were planning to embrace AI and their concerns around the impact it could have on technology as a whole. After the event, I sat down with Dave to discuss some of the insights gained from the roundtable.

Secure remote access is now a necessity for organizations, especially since the hybrid work model is expected to grow from 42% in 2021 to 81% in 2024. To secure remote access and provide support for hybrid or fully remote teams, businesses rely on remote access protocols, such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). With this post, you can dive deeper into various aspects of RDP, such as pros/cons and use cases, and acquire a better understanding of this essential protocol.

Providing IT support is a tough job, especially when devices in the IT environment you manage are all in separate locations. Luckily, that particular issue can be resolved by remotely taking control of the computers and endpoint devices you manage. Many possible methods and tools are available for remote control that enable you to access and control a device from anywhere.

As technology advances and businesses strive for efficient IT operations, the need for robust Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Patch Management, and Endpoint Management solutions becomes paramount. In the recently released G2 Summer 2023 Research Report, NinjaOne is proud to announce top ratings in multiple categories.

Perhaps the worst IT scenario an organization can face is an unexpected and forced suspension of all its operations. The downtime that’s experienced in such a situation can lead to financial damages that far exceed those from lost data or hits to reputation. While cyberattacks vary in intensity and approach, downtime and catastrophic loss of data come in many more forms and are equally, if not more, difficult to avoid.

Microsoft's July 2023 Patch Tuesday updates highlighted several vulnerabilities under active exploitation, including one (or more?) that remains unpatched. Here's what you need to know about CVE-2023-36884, a zero-day vulnerability that attackers are exploiting to gain remote code execution via "specially-crafted" Microsoft Office documents.

Having spent time with hundreds of different MSPs from around the world since starting our Business Transformation Program, we see that there are really three areas where MSPs are facing challenges today: This list in itself probably isn’t going to be news to anyone, but I think the way these topics are talked about within the N-able Business Transformation Program is a little different.

Today, data is one of the most valuable business assets. To ensure that the information stored in servers remains safe and accessible at all times, IT professionals rely on data backup. There are many types of data backup options for servers that save time and space, such as differential backup and incremental backup, but these do not capture the data in its entirety. Whenever IT teams need to capture all the data stored on a server, they conduct a full server backup.

We are now more than halfway through 2023—how is your MSP doing? Thinking back to January and the personal and business goals you set for yourself… Are you still on track, are you enjoying a successful year so far, or are you struggling? There are many studies out there that speak about the various success rates of individuals and businesses in keeping their new year’s resolutions and their business financial and operational goals.

As the world continues to shift toward a remote-first or hybrid work model that relies heavily on cloud applications and SaaS, new business challenges have emerged for the IT industry. One of these challenges we’ve been tracking here at Auvik is the lack of management for SaaS applications and the risks this kind of shadow IT can bring to a business. That’s why we think the 2022 Gartner Market Guide for SaaS Management Platforms (December 2022) is so critical.

When it comes to M&A, for some MSPs it’s just part of their DNA. In this blog we talk to Kevin Cook, CEO of The Purple Guys, about his company’s M&A journey, why standardization is critical during M&A, and some of the key lessons they’ve learned along the way.

As part of my work as a Head Nerd, I have the pleasure of meeting with MSPs from all over the world. About a month ago, I was speaking with four technicians from a global MSP based out of California. They were very technically savvy, had a deep understanding of PowerShell, and had a huge emphasis on automation in their business.