Intronis Cloud Backup + Recovery Blog

The stakes are higher for data protection and security, and it’s more apparent than ever in the wake of a recent fine levied by the Department of Health and Human Services. Fines have been imposed on large medical insurers and providers for HIPAA violations before, but recently the federal bureau turned its attention to smaller practices. Phoenix Cardiac Surgery, a five-physician practice, was fined $100,000 following an investigation that found the practice failed to safeguard patient information and take other security measures.

A while back, a partner requested that we add a feature that would automatically send an email alert to a client who surpassed 90 percent of their allotted storage. Interestingly enough, we used to have this feature several years ago. It was originally implemented because we don’t set a hard limit on a user’s available storage capacity *. Since we don’t ever shut off backups, we would at least provide a partner some way to identify when one of their customers was reaching a plan’s limit. With the introduction of centralized management, this automatic report was deprecated for a single page that provided the same information, and this page continues to exist in our current management portal:

As an IT service provider, you’re used to being in a position of power. Right now, your customers trust you to keep business running smoothly by controlling which applications and devices run in their environments. That trend is slowly changing however, with consumers steering information technology based on their own needs, and the widespread availability of cloud services that they can pay for without your approval.

In the fall of 2011, I committed to do the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life: running the Boston Marathon. You see, I’m not an athlete. I’m a solutions engineer at Intronis. I’m more adept at playing videos games, reading, and fixing software than doing anything remotely athletic. I enjoy running, but I had never run more than five miles in my life before.

Solution providers often get their share of road time, though managed and cloud services have shifted their reasons for making client site visits. With overall break-fix trips on the decline, proactive maintenance and sales opportunities make up a greater percentage of a VAR’s out of office time. Face-to-face conversations with clients and prospects are still a crucial contributor to an IT business’ growth—which is a key reason why mobility solution growth is so strong. For solution providers, a smartphone serves as a lifeline to their clients’ systems and allows them to offer effective operational support from any location. These mobility devices also provide managers and sales team members with access to the information they need to be successful; from customer contact information and financial status, to CRM applications and latest sales figures. Read more at The VAR Guy.

In case you missed our post on MSPmentor a few weeks back, we wanted to share this insight into the things we're doing to integrate our online backup and recovery solution to the tools you rely on most. Of course, our latest product release featured an all-new ConnectWise integration for streamlined billing and service ticketing. It's been well received; and we promise to continue our innovation.

If there is one thing I love about working in the IT channel, it’s working directly with our partners, whether it’s through email, beta tests, or at conferences and trade shows. What I’ve observed is that the IT channel is really a giant community, willing to share ideas and improve the community as a whole. And you guys really know your stuff; the amount of knowledge and insight that I’ve gained from the partner community has been fantastic.

In the past couple of days I have seen two articles about the growth of cloud computing and the resulting data centers that facilitate the cloud. This first one has some stunning stats. According to IDC, “cloud computing services - running software and storing files online, rather than on a computer hard drive - is expected to create 20,000 jobs in the Boston area by 2015.”

The Spork: an engineering marvel and one of the foremost technological advancements of the last few hundred years. Before the spork, primitive humans fumbled with countless pieces of silverware, clumsily trying to make heads or tails of the simple task of eating, mealtime devolved into a frustrating exercise in trial and error resembling a bad infomercial reenactment.