Every business has a main goal in site: long-term, growing success. This type of success can only come from a history of making the right decisions. One of the most important decisions your business will have to make is the cloud solution.

While it may sound simple, this selection process can be difficult due to the fact that many hosting exchange options offer specific services that others do not. At Nevada IT Solutions, we understand the ins and outs of cloud solutions and we are here to help you make the right decision.

Picking the Right Product for Your Company

Office 365 vs.Hosted Exchange

This is a decision that can really only be made once you have a clear understanding of your business requirements and these requirements differ considerably from organization to organization. For example, the needs of a company developing its IT services from scratch are separate from businesses that know their way around the IT world. Industry regulations like encryption policies and email-retention policies also place more constraints on businesses, while your business organization might have its own share of issues to work out.

When it comes down to it, Hosted Exchange and Office 365 are the two main winners that businesses choose for their business email hosting. Both are great options. The main difference between them boils down to old vs. new. But which one is better?

ActiveSync

The cloud is extremely useful for businesses because of the fact that it allows users to synchronize email, documentation, and data across different devices. This prevents losing data employees have access to business information no matter where they are located. When a particular organization allows its employees to access and receive information and communication from afar or from their workstations then it is going to develop at a very productive pace. And thanks to ActiveSync technology, this kind of synchronization is available across a number of devices.

Although the majority of hosted exchanges offer synchronization capabilities, Office 365 comes out on top thanks to one very specific feature — BlackBerry support. Microsoft Office 365 is capable of lending support to the organization for BlackBerry contacts, email, and calendars directly out of the box. No extra fees or charges are implemented. This makes Office 365 a good option for enterprises who are behind the times when upgrading their IT infrastructure.

Unfortunately, Hosted Exchange will not provide this level of support without charging more. Not to mention that these fees, which are usually charged on a per-month basis, don’t have a fixed pattern so the prices change. This means that a company that has only a handful of employees with BlackBerry devices will have to shell out extra in order to lend some extra support.

If Blackberry support is a necessity for your business then Office 365 is the solution for you. However, today, the majority of business executives and professionals have migrated either to iOS, Android, or Windows Mobile gadgets. If this is the case for your business, then you have equal options between Office 365 or Hosted Exchange, concerning active synchronization.

Security

When it comes to security, most, if not all, businesses take it very seriously. When making a decision concerning your cloud solution there is no competition between Office 365 and Hosted Exchange: Office 365: wins hands-down. This does not mean that there is no security offered through the different hosted exchanges. It only means that Office 365 has more efficient features. For example, Office 365 is the only service that provides both FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) credentials to the users.

Office 365 includes certifications beyond security credentials for U.S. companies such as SSAE 16 Certified, EU Model Clauses Capable, ISA 27001 Certified, and EU Safe Harbor Compliant. Hosted Exchange options may be secure, but they don’t have all the credentials listed above.

Development

Hosted Exchange was created on the 2010 Microsoft Exchange platform while Microsoft’s latest Exchange-based productivity and email solution gave rise to Office 365. Hosted Exchange does not include updates, while Office 365 is cloud-based, making it automatically receive regular updates.

Each Microsoft Exchange Server Edition is quickly followed up with the release of an Outlook PC version of the same make. Outlook PC acts as the front end for end users. Because of the drastic differences in the user experience design of the Exchange versions, change management becomes a challenge for enterprises. However, once you move on to Hosted Exchange, you find that you have more control over when you accept upgrades and subsequent changes, Currently, Microsoft supports Exchange Server platform versions 2010, 2013, and 2016.

Being cloud-based, Office 365 automatically undergoes regular updates, making it a bit easier to manage.

Productivity tools

Businesses are constantly looking for ways to improve productivity. Hosted Exchange allows businesses to have access to Contacts, Email, and Calendar. However, a business that chooses Office 365 will have access to the Online Essentials plan, which provides Contacts, Email, Calendar, OneDrive for Business, and Skype for Business.

Office 365 also gives users access to online versions of the Microsoft Office software.

Who wins?

So what have we found? This information makes it quite clear that Office 365 as a whole is a safer and more reliable solution than Hosted Exchange. When looking at the quality of service, Office 365 makes use of an extensive defense strategy that offers businesses physical, data, and logical layers of the most effective operational and security features. Furthermore, Office 365 grants a company enterprise-grade admin and user controls that guarantee a more secure environment.

However, it’s important to recognize that if Office 365 was perfect for every company, then there wouldn’t have been any debate to begin with. Due to the fact that every company is different and requires different strategies of best practice, it’s best to look at the services and features that are offered individually rather than as a whole before deciding upon what is best for them. When an organization is able to determine which features will work best for them, they will easily be able to decide the product that fulfills their needs the best.

NVIT team is ready to help you move from hosted exchange to O365, get started here.

If you have been watching the news lately then you have probably seen how the price for just one bitcoin has skyrocketed. With its value as high as it has been in recent months, many people are curious as to what it is and whether or not they should look into investing. This leads us to the question of just what bitcoin is.

Bitcoin is a currency that is used in the digital marketplace. Bitcoins themselves are small stashes of data that are valued as currency. The transferring of this data from one user to another following the verification of a transaction is how they are spent.

In order to use this form of currency, Bitcoins must first be mined. “Miners”, as they are called, are users that use his or her computer’s processing power to create more bitcoins through the bitcoin network. This process is similar to that of a minting process. Once a bitcoin is spent, it goes through the bitcoin network and is verified once it is transferred. Bitcoins cannot be faked due to the use of blockchain, a very advanced cryptography. Through this advanced cryptography, they cannot be faked and are easily transferable and authenticated.

The way that bitcoins are spent can get a little complicated. Every bitcoin user stores his or her bitcoin data in a program called Wallet. Wallet requires a password and is automatically connected to the bitcoin system. When a transaction between users is made, the bitcoin system, as stated before, does everything. Unlike debit and credit systems, bitcoins do not have to go through a centralized bank which makes them self-sustainable.

As far as the question of whether or not bitcoins are money is concerned, they have economic value and are used to attain different goods and services. Therefore, a bitcoin is definitely real money. However, it is important to note that not everything can be purchased with bitcoin. There are a surprising amount of products that can be bought with bitcoins, but important products, such as groceries and bills, cannot yet be purchased with them. In addition, there are very few, if any, small businesses that accept bitcoin. Your rent, for example, more likely than not, can not be paid with bitcoin. In this sense, there really is no indication that bitcoin could replace standard currencies.

In order to attain bitcoins, services like Coinbase can be used to exchange standard currencies for bitcoins. You can also exchange dollars or bitcoins for other standard currencies. There usually a standard transfer fee, but that is fairly normal when exchanging currencies.

Bitcoin also fluctuates much more than any other kind of currency. Eight years ago, a single bitcoin was worth 25 cents. Today one is worth much, much more. Sure the value of one bitcoin is much higher today, but the journey to that has not been without its dips. This fluctuation can make bitcoins a rather questionable investment.

This is a very simple explanation of what a bitcoin is and how they work. For more information, take a look at bitcoin.org!

Send us a message if you have any Bitcoin-related questions.

Ransomware is arguably the worst kind of malicious program. Currently, there are two types of ransomware: Encrypting and locker. Encrypting ransomware encrypts your files and blocks you from using them unless you pay for a key to unlock them. Locker ransomware locks you out of your entire operating system unless you pay to unlock it. Both are awful and can not really be fixed unless you have a backup or actually pay the ransom. Because of this, the best way to protect yourself from ransomware is to take preventative action. Here are a few tips that will help you do that.

The very first thing you should do is back up your computer’s hard drive. It is also important to make sure that you are backing up your files on a consistent basis. It would be highly recommended that you have a backup on an external hard drive and on the cloud.

Personalize your anti-spam settings so that your server blocks attachments that have suspicious extensions. Such extensions would be .exe, .vbs, or .scr. These extensions are often connected with ransomware through email. Should something suspicious get through your anti-spam filter, do not open it. Be aware of who the email is from. Do not open an email if it comes from a suspicious person.

Really think before opening a hyperlink. Hyperlinks sent through social media or instant messengers can include malicious software. Always use your best judgment in opening anything on your computer.

Change your computer settings to allow you to see file extensions. By doing this, you can see the file type of the file that you are opening or are about to open. This way, you can easily avoid opening malicious files. Files should be avoided if they have two extensions.

If you notice a strange or suspicious process on your computer, immediately disconnect from the internet. This can instantly halt any attack as the ransomware attack requires the internet to connect to your computer.

Keep your computer’s firewall turned on and working at all times. In addition, make sure that everything on your computer is updated. This includes its operating system, antivirus, browsers, Java, Flash and all other software. In doing so, make sure that your antivirus can scan all files, including those that are archived and compressed. Disable Windows Script Host, file sharing, and think about disabling Windows PowerShell. Lastly, install a block up blocker for your browsers.

It is also important to use good passwords and be wary of your computer’s wireless capabilities. There are some cases where Bluetooth has been taken advantage of, so it is recommended to turn it off when not in use. Similarly, remote services should be turned off when not in use. AutoPlay should also be turned off. The last thing you want is to plug in is a USB and your computer automatically downloads everything on it!

Do you want more information on how to prevent Ransomware attacks? Contact us at info@nevadaitsolutions for more information.