Is Penetration Testing Must for Your Business?

The burden of cyber security lapses is becoming increasingly heavier for the country. According to a CSI/ FBI report, on an average, each US organization loes a whopping $350,000 to standard security breaches. Whether you have a strong market presence or are just a start-up, if you are in a business that has to deal with a lot of customer’s data, you must invest in penetration testing. Several IT consulting companies in Tampa can help you. With more and more companies realizing the importance of this service, private sector penetration testing market has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry across the US. No wonder, many Tampa-based IT firms today offer pen-testing as part of their IT service package. 

What Is Penetration Test?

It refers to a planned software attack on a computer system. The scheme is aimed at detecting security loopholes and vulnerabilities. But instead of stopping there, it goes one step ahead to proactively simulate attacks in order to find out real-world attack vectors against an organization’s data assets. The findings are reported to the system owner with test reports assessing potential impacts to the organization and recommending countermeasures to cut down the vulnerability.
If your start-up belongs to an industry which mandates the use of pen-testing, the followings are the reasons why you should invest in it:

• Understanding the possibility of different types of attack that may hack disparate systems or the entire network
•  Sorting out high-risk vulnerabilities from lower-risk ones
• Identifying vulnerabilities that may be otherwise impossible to detect with software
• Assessing the financial impact of successful attacks
• Meeting compliance 
• Re-create an attack chain to validate the upgraded security system in order to avoid a similar attack in the future

Pen-testing is a high-risk endeavor. Ensure that you only hire a reputable IT consulting company in Tampa, one with enough domain knowledge and satisfied clientele. Hire it wrong and it is going to be all false alarms without any positive actionable result. So hire a team that comes up with a solid test plan and assessment of risks.

5 Things to Expect From a Good Application Developer

 Putting together financial back up, gathering resources, and having a smart marketing approach is not enough to get your startup businesses through the thick crowd of competitors. Uniquely designed and highly efficient applications working for your team can make the difference in generating leads and getting clients. Groundbreaking ideas in application development have already created quite the stir in Tampa. Now your startup business can utilize its effects globally and get ahead of the competition. All you need is a trustworthy application developer to make this happen. Let’s discuss about five things you can expect from a professional app developer.

Wide Variety of Services

To survive in this competitive market and to cater to multiple clients from different work sectors, you need a comprehensive app solution provider. Looking for a new developer every time a new or different assignment knocks at your door is time consuming, expensive and at the end doesn’t yield desired results. So, focus on finding app developing company that is adept in delivering solutions in:

• ERP

• Mobile Application Development

• CRM

• Portals

• System Integration

• Project Management Software

Personalized Solutions

Custom-made applications can help you to stand out from the crowd. It conveys the message that your startup company doesn’t offer generic solutions but cater to specific client requirements, which can work in your favor. But when looking for personalized app developers, make sure they have a few years under their belt. Also, check their success and satisfaction rate before hiring them. 

Customer Services

Getting and implementing applications in your startup business structure is never a one-time deal. Applications need upgrade and may even suffer from technical glitches. That is why you need a service provider with quick response rate and satisfactory customer service. You can check their testimonials or engage in discussion with the satisfied clients to get details about their customer managing processes. 

Fixed Delivery Time Frame

Being punctual is an asset in the online business arcade. An app service provider that doesn’t maintain a time frame or fails to honor one is not worth of your trust. So, make sure that your selected  solution provider can respect a strict timeline. 

No Hidden Charges

Besides quality services and support from your solution provider, you need to factor in the financial issues before shaking hands on the deal. Transparency in service charges is not a preference, but a necessity. Ideally, an honest provider will not have any hidden charges or shady transaction fees.

These are the five most important things you should expect from a quality application development company in Tampa or in other locations. Global aspirations of your startup business can now have the support and a competitive edge to win clients with the help of trustworthy app solutions. 

Online Backup Services: Top 3 Benefits

Small and medium-scale businesses are finding it challenging to meet their diverse IT needs. Fortunately, Tampa has emerged as the flourishing IT hub in the Sunshine State, making small and medium businesses (SMBs) reliant on online backup services. The importance of this service has stemmed out from the reduced costs associated with storing information online, portability, user-friendliness and outstanding customer support. Be it online data backup or IT support, Tampa presents a promising picture in terms of reliable and cost-effective services. 

Online backup service, also called backup-as-a-service or cloud backup, is a way of offshore data storage, where folders, files and contents of hard drive are periodically backed up on a remote PC or server via a network connection. There are manifold advantages of online backup services. Here are three of them: 

1. Keeps Business Data Safe 

Since information is stored via cloud backup, your business data is not prone to threats such as theft, fire, hacking, flood or any form of technological snags. Information stored on cloud platforms is secure on encrypted systems and servers. However, it’s important to note that you may have to consider additional cloud security services to protect sensitive data.

2. Data Easily Accessible from Anywhere, Anytime 

  

Information stored on flash drives or external hard drives calls for manual handling. Online data backup, on the contrary, makes your data accessible anytime, and from anywhere, provided there is uninterrupted internet connectivity. The data storage process is automated and you are not required to manually label, save or track information. It offers you complete convenience and helps you focus on your job instead of worrying about information loss. 

3. Easy Data Recovery 

When critical business data is deleted or lost due to human error, online backup services come to your rescue. You can store multiple copies of your data in independent locations. Multiple levels of storage imply enhanced data security. Get access to stored version of your business data if it is damaged or lost. 

When it comes to online data backup and IT support, Tampa offers plenty of opportunities to secure your business information. Do your research well to opt for the right IT provider that best executes your needs. 

6 IT Trends to Watch in 2016

We were treated to a plethora of game changing tech-innovations in 2015 in the fields of virtual reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and cyber security. As it gives way to another new year, it is time for small business decision makers to align their strategies around the trends that are predicted to rule the business arena in the coming months. Here are a few trends in the fields of  IT services that Tampa tech firms are banking on:

Rise of Contextual Data

The past year has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the area of IoT innovations. This year IoT will drive growth in the area of contextualized analytics.  This in turn will allow enterprises to create a more valuable information experience not only for clients, but also for employees and business partners.

Boost for Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS is going to dominate the enterprise infrastructure space by capitalizing business owners’ growing interest in public and hybrid cloud. However, Microsoft Azure will continue to be a strong competitive force. 

Forward March of Open Source 

2016 is likely to see the CIOs embracing open-source-software-first approach. More open source businesses are likely to enter the public markets in the upcoming months. 

Security 2.0

In 2016, a new class of security solutions will emerge. They are premised at ‘machine learning’, a branch of computer science that leverages pattern recognition to identify malicious intent and can predict attacks.

New Market Opportunities in the East 

With more than 352 million Internet users, India is going to emerge as the strongest market for US-based enterprise software companies. The subcontinent will also be the chief driver for enterprise cloud and analytics spending.

The Rise of Business Relationship Management

In an effort to expand its bottom line, IT enterprises will embark on business partnership with the right organizations. Termed as business relationship management (BRM), this type of business venture will benefit both IT companies as well as their non-IT partners. Non-IT enterprises will gain access to the right information and technology and be able to speed up their time-to-market. On the other hand, it will enable tech-companies to drive more innovations in the digital space.

When it comes to IT services, Tampa-based firms are all geared up to make the most of these new trends. They are on their way to create a solution line-up that is perfectly aligned to the needs of the new-age entrepreneurs. 

3 Awesome Tools for DIY Data Recovery

Trying to bring your data back from the dead? Let special applications give you a hand. Although, storage media options have already been upgraded into failsafe platforms for data storage and transaction, disasters do happen (occasionally). The best way to save data from unexpected issues is preparing beforehand. Special tools and applications can positively recover data from your storage devices. However, for complex business data recovery, your best hope is expert assistance of IT companies in Tampa and in other IT hubs. There are a few applications that are capable of handling simple recovery processes, but they cannot put back the puzzle together for data recovery from multi-layered storage architectures. 

Let us discuss about three awesome tools that recover data when professional assistance is unnecessary and too big a leap.  

Recuva

This application can help you to find and restore lost pictures, documents, audio, and video files. Once installed in your computer, it tracks your available storage options and allows you to either go for a complete scan or select files in specific location. It uses a red, yellow, and green light indication system to explain the recovery expectancy of your files. This application has a nice interface and an easy to use system.

PhotoRec 

This application is designed and developed upon some fairly simple work systems and ideas, thus making it easier for the users. PhotoRec can help users to keep their storage partitions intact, because it simply ignores the partitions as it searches the disks in a read-only mode. Although, its name has the word ‘photo’ in it, you can use the application to find and recover more than just image files. 

Undelete Plus

Undelete Plus works on all versions of Microsoft Windows operating system and on FAT and NTFS file systems. If you are planning to do-it-yourself, then Undelete Plus would be one of the best available options. This application has a user friendly GUI and it presents recovery expectancy ratio for every single file. It comes with a fast scanning process that can quickly generate accurate results. You can personalize the application through the settings window.

These three applications can make your data recovery a cakewalk. However, it is best not to use these applications for critical business data retrieval. Business data recovery requires surgical precision and extensive professional knowledge. When in need, it is better to hand that job over to experience IT companies. In Tampa, like in many other growing US cities there are many such expert IT solution providers you can count on. All you need to do is find the right one for your business. 

Why You Need Preventive and Personalized Maintenance for Business Growth

Continued technological improvement has presented IT solutions that promise business growth. IT facilities have introduced a better business perspective by simplifying complex multi-layered operations. From managing resources to enhancing productivity, IT service implementation can help your business to spearhead new operations. However, such services need maintenance and supervision to maintain its edge. Preventative maintenance, an important aspect of the many IT solutions offered in Tampa and in many other cities, can assure work accuracy of your expensive and critically important business assets. 

What is Preventative Maintenance (PM)

As the name suggests, this is the regular maintenance job performed periodically when a system is still in a working condition. The primary role of PM is to bring critical issues into light offer actionable insight on deterioration in operation integrity, and reduce the possibility of downtime. 

Difference between Planned and Unplanned Maintenance

Preventative maintenance programs are the result of precise planning and continued supervision. On the other hand, unplanned maintenance suggests implementation of generic strategies that never play well with unique business architectures. For instance, without the complete knowledge of the software installed and the systems operated, it might be difficult to identify the real issue. This will result in lost time. Each company or business entity has more than a couple of operations to care about, and without continued supervision of IT sources and assets the results rarely impress. Having a near-perfect maintenance plan in place can certainly guard the work standards and assure continuity.

Implementing unplanned or generic maintenance solutions is like forcing a wrong piece in the puzzle to complete the set. If your IT requirements are not handled carefully, the whole process can backfire and cause a costly eruption. As a business entity, sustaining service consistency should be your primary concern. Fortunately, planned and personalized maintenance solutions can help you in making consistency a business trait for your brand. Making better and safer plans for business growth is easy with preventative maintenance offered as part of IT solutions in Tampa and other growing US cities. All you need to do is choose a dedicated and reliable service provider that is sensitive to your business needs.

Web Application Development Trends That Will Rule 2016

Just like mobile apps, web applications are also a big part of the tech world. Web application development in Tampa and other growing US cities is steadily changing the landscape of the nation’s IT infrastructure. And with tidal changes of innovations taking place in the industry every year, we can surely expect to see some promising developments in the coming year. 

Here are five web application development trends that we can expect to see in 2016:

1. The Rise of Node.js

The focus is gradually shifting towards using a single language on web projects, and this is where JavaScript server-side frameworks come into play. Being a cross-platform, open-source runtime environment, Node.js is the forerunner that has made things a lot simpler on both the front end and the back end.

2. Exciting JavaScript Features

As browsers keep improving their speed and compatibility, an increased number of JavaScript features, such as WebGL 3D, will come into the picture. Furthermore, use of offline web applications along with two-way data binding will see a massive growth in the coming months.

3. Foundation for Fluidity

If you are tired of working with Bootstrap, Foundation can come to your rescue. This responsive front-end framework offers an awe-inspiring collection of JavaScript extensions and interface components such as navigation, forms, typography and buttons. Foundation’s grid system, especially the block grid feature, considerably enhances the fluidity of the development phase.

4. NoSQL will Take Over

2015 has been a year where numerous big brands have adopted NoSQL in order to shift to the cloud. In fact, many companies in Tampa opted to use Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and get on board NoSQL. From its already rising popularity, we can safely predict that this highly scalable solution is here to rule 2016.

5. Single Page Applications

We saw an increase in the number of web Application Program Interface (API) this year. This has become a popular practice, as it’s easy to maintain a single codebase. This, along with the other technological developments, will give rise to more single page applications in the coming year.

If you are looking for web application development in Tampa or any other US city, work hard to find the most reliable application development company in order to reap the best rewards. Know the trends and keep updating yourself to benefit in the long run.