Virtualization has been rising in popularity during the past few years due to its ability to provide a viable solution for companies to increase productivity while reducing IT infrastructure costs. By switching to virtualization, companies have been able to control workloads in data centers while reducing energy consumption and IT infrastructure.
Before we discuss the specific benefits of switching to virtualization let’s first define what virtualization is and some of the reasons why more companies are making the change.
Meltdown & Spectre Follow-upOver the last week, most of you have heard about the latest exploits that are potentially impacting your business, Meltdown and Spectre. These particular exploits target a system’s CPU. The news of this particular attack was initially reported to Intel and the broader IT community by a group of researchers, led by Google. While this is a very real issue, there have not been any reports of it being used in a malicious manner as of yet.
Chipzilla Intel Flaw?There have been rumors in the wind that there could be an Intel chip flaw that affect Intel Processors built in the last 10 years. Linux distributions have been frantically updating their code, but being very careful about why they are updating it. The Register was able to find out that the bug allows programs to see some of the contents of the protected kernel memory. This area is protected because it could potentially hold information like logins, passwords, or other critical data. In a worst-case scenario, your browsers JavaScript could read files in your memory, thus giving others access to your data. It is speculated that the bug is fairly significant since this is under such secrecy, Linux and Mac have released patches and we expect Microsoft to release patches shortly.
IT New Years Resolution #1
Proper Licensing for Microsoft Windows Server
Microsoft Windows Server licensing can be a confusing topic and the details change on occasion. As of the writing of this article, Microsoft had switched from processor socket licensing over to core-based licensing for Windows Servers and Application Servers (SQL for example). There are two licenses available: standard and datacenter. All cores in the physical hardware must be licensed and there is a minimum of 8 cores for both editions. The Standard edition license covers two Operating System Environments (OSEs) while the Datacenter edition covers as many virtual machines as can be run on that particular set of hardware. If running more than 2 VMs on a set of hardware then all the cores must be licensed again.
A Look Back at 2017
Another year is coming to an end, seems as though they go by faster and faster every year. Before we look ahead to the new year we would like to take a look back at all of the great things that happened for Thrive in 2017. It is pretty crazy how much can change and grow in just 12 months. Here are some things that happened this year:
Do you know how to spot a malicious email or know if someone is trying to trick you into giving information on a phone call? If you are technical and been around the block a bit, you are confidently saying yes right now. You are also thinking that your end users need some help in this regard. You are partially right. Your end users do need some help. Since I do a lot of phishing tests both internally and externally, I feel pretty confident saying that you or others on your technical team need some help too.
Benefits of IT Consulting
As technology increasingly becomes a driver of success in business, having some IT consulting done is a good way to help develop an IT roadmap and identify critical issues. A great number of organizations have been utilizing IT consulting services to give them an edge over their competitors. Many companies that offer IT consulting services also offer a wide range of IT services. This will allow many different services to be managed and developed with greater efficiency. IT consulting companies usually focus on the needs of your businesses. They are operating in almost every industry in the field of network infrastructure, and applications. (more…)
As the new year comes into focus, it’s time to look towards the security improvements your company can make for 2018. It’s likely that you’ve run into more than a few situations where you thought “We should probably do that to improve our security.” Whatever “that” is, its time to put it front and center for 2018.
After the attacks and breaches of 2017, the landscape has changed yet again. Countermeasures that were seen as products all for the fortune 500 are now commonplace in all sizes of businesses. It’s likely in 2018 that the actors who perpetrate their acts are going to step up their game and you should do.
Does your Company Backup your Email?
Can they recover a single email message or mailbox?
10-15 years ago, when EVERYTHING related to Information Technology lived within the walls of a company’s office(s), most of the critical systems were backed up. Even when companies wanted to skimp out, email was always treated with care and was backed up. The most basic of email backups would allow an administrator to recover a single mailbox and the more granular approaches would allow a single message to be recovered.
Thrive Ranked Among Top 100 CSP’s
7th Annual Talkin’ Cloud 100 Report Identifies Top Cloud Services Providers
Thrive ranks among the world’s Top 100 cloud services providers (CSPs), according to Channel Futures seventh-annual Talkin’ Cloud (TC) 100 report.
The full list is available now by visiting ChannelFutures.com.
Based on data from Channel Futures’ online survey, conducted between August to October 2017, the TC 100 list recognizes top cloud services providers (CSPs), including MSPs, hosting companies, cloud consultants and more. Rankings are based on annual cloud services revenue growth and input from Channel Futures editors. (more…)