Services
Network Design
Maximize the speed of your network, uptime and security to run your organization more efficiently. Boston Systems will help you develop and implement a technology plan that meets your short and long term needs while staying within a defined budget plan. From simple small business server environments to large scale clusters with multiple layers of redundancy and high availability, the BSS team is ready to meet the challenge.
Virtual Solutions
New technologies such as cloud and mobility are rapidly changing the way people work and live. They are also having a profound impact on overall business strategy. The traditional ways of managing, securing and supporting workforces, apps and data don’t always meet current business needs. A growing percentage of today’s workforce wants the flexibility, convenience and productivity that mobile solutions provide. They believe in collaborative work styles and the freedom to work from anywhere, on the devices and apps they choose. Competition is forcing organizations to strive for greater agility as well. Businesses are reinventing their processes to take advantage of mobile and cloud technologies that maximize operational efficiency and effectiveness. Utilizing the latest virtualization and storage technologies, Boston Systems can help you bridge that gap between your legacy systems, software and work flow to a more productive, cost-effective, competitive and agile organization delivering a superior end-user experience.
Network Security
Today’s cyber-criminals employ complex techniques to avoid detection as they sneak quietly into your company network to steal intellectual property or hold files for ransom. Threats are often encrypted to evade detection. Once they have exploited a target, attackers will attempt to download and install malware onto the compromised system. In many instances, the malware used is a newly evolved variant that traditional anti-virus solutions don’t yet know about. Attacks come in all forms including email, through mobile devices, in web traffic as well as via automated exploits. For cyber-attacks, the size of your company doesn’t matter. To a hacker you are an IP address, an email address or a prospect for an attack that may be the gateway to many more targets. Hackers not only prey on older technology, they also prey on unsuspecting end-users fooled by almost perfect looking counterfeit messages embedded with malware. They use automated tools to execute exploits or to launch phishing emails throughout the day and night. It’s impossible to 100% defend against their evolving technology. Let Boston Systems help you defend your hard earned property. We can design a redundant, multi-layered security solution that can mitigate the physical and financial damages if an attack occurs.
Managed Services
No matter what size your organization is you will need some type of ongoing IT support. Hiring and training full-time IT staff can be expensive, time consuming and unnecessary. Managed Services provide you immediate access to highly trained IT professionals ready to help your business leverage the right technologies for your productivity, efficiency and growth. Once upon a time, Managed Services was cost prohibitive to the SMB market. That is no longer the case as Managed Services Providers (MSP) have removed the budget barriers in the name of competition.
We understand that many requests can be addressed remotely. Those issues that can be resolved remotely are done so saving valuable time to the customer. We also understand that there are times when we need to be onsite, sitting next to our client fixing their problem and restoring confidence in their network. Our competitors offer Managed Services and promise you 80% or more of your helpdesk requests can be resolved remotely. When an IT company tells you that it means they will charge you a large monthly fee and will never show up at your company.
At Boston Systems, we offer a Hybrid MSP option that provides remote monitoring, maintenance and support with “feet-on-street” onsite support when needed. Our Hybrid MSP option provides you access to technology experts trained to provide everything from Help Desk support to disaster recovery. We tailor our services to your IT requirements and budget allowing you to spend more time managing your core business.
Infrastructure management, firewall and virus protection, WAN/LAN health monitoring, a fully secure virtual environment, disaster recovery, on-site support and more are all available to your business with a managed IT service partner working to keep your data safe, secure and accessible. Using industry standard monitoring and remote access tools, BSS provides 24x7x365 professional monitoring of your servers, PCs, switches and firewalls. On a daily basis, a BSS technician will check the completion of your backup job and complete periodic backup checks.
Backup/Disaster Recovery
The worst time to discover that your backup and disaster recovery plan is inadequate is after the disaster has occurred. Companies may think they have a strong backup with redundancy only to find out it hasn't been operational for months. Others find out the hard way that staff have not been properly saving data to the server to be backed up daily. When their PC or notebook crashes, suddenly panic sets in.
There are several key questions to consider when developing your backup and disaster recovery strategies.
“Should we maintain our premise based backup or go totally to the cloud?”
“How much data can we afford to lose in a disaster?”
“How quickly do we need to be back up and fully operational?”
Boston Systems will walk you through the “pros and cons” of cloud vs. premise based backup and disaster recovery solutions. There are a number of things to consider. Ultimately, the decision rests on the level of risk you are willing to assume and your budget.
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is the maximum targeted period in which data might be lost due to a major incident. It represents the period in time that the last backup was completed and successful. All data subsequent to that backup needs to be input again. The smaller the RPO, the least amount of potential data loss will be experienced.
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the amount of time the business can be without their server, without incurring significant risks or significant losses. The RTO is typically stated as “How long can your server be down before your day to day business is negatively impacted.” The shorter the RTO, the quickest recovery time. What you decide your RPO and RTO to be will directly impact your company’s IT budget. The smaller your RPO and RTO the more you will need to allocate out of your budget.
BSS can evaluate and test your plan, present backup system solutions and daily procedures to ensure your data is safe with minimal downtime without breaking your budget.
Mobile IT
As technology advances and alters how companies operate their day to day business, many customers have experienced a growing need for network administration to manage the hardware and software platforms needed to stay competitive. The problem is these companies do not have enough ongoing work to keep a full or part-time technician busy nor do they have the budget to justify the position. Boston Systems has solved this problem with a scheduled administrative program called MOBILE IT that provides the following services on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis:
- Preventative maintenance, monitoring and advance diagnostics on workstations, servers, switches and firewalls.
- Perform requested maintenance by the customer to include add/delete users, change security rights of users, analyze bandwidth usage, website monitoring, etc.
- Troubleshoot periodic application and hardware issues.
- Ad hoc technology projects.
- Set-up and configure new workstations and peripheral equipment as needed. Relocation of critical equipment.
- Assess the training needs of staff and implement an ongoing training schedule with management.
- Ongoing IT policy review and documentation of company procedures as they relate to the use of technology.
- Recommendations to management on how to optimize the office technology and reduce the level of paper and redundancy.
With several levels of pricing, the customer has the option of lowering their overall price per call significantly. Preventative maintenance will also generally result in fewer emergency calls at the higher rates.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service
SMART Option is our “infrastructure-as-a-service” providing you the IT infrastructure without the large initial capital outlay required. With SMART Option, Boston Systems provides the equipment, installation and ongoing maintenance and support for the life of the contract period for a reasonable monthly service fee. All parts and labor are included for all of the covered equipment. On a daily basis BSS monitors all servers, switches and firewalls using industry standard monitoring and remote access tools. BSS technicians review the monitoring health checks then remote into your server to look for any irregularities within the server, switch and firewall logs. The daily backup is checked for success. If a question arises from this review, BSS will notify the customer of the issue and provide options to resolve. If the issue cannot be resolved remotely or needs parts, BSS will schedule an onsite visit to fix the issue. Again, all parts and labor would be included in the monthly service fee. BSS handles all of the “care and feeding” of the equipment.
SMART Option Plans start as low as $495.00 per month
PC Lifecycle Management
Similar in scope to SMART Option, our PCLM Plan is a defined PC lifecycle replacement plan that provides you with new PCs, notebooks, monitors and business software over a three to five year period. The PCs used in this PCLM Plan are new units from name brand manufacturers such as Dell, HP or Lenovo. We bundle solid preventative Malware and Anti-Virus applications and Microsoft Office with each PC or notebook creating a stable and standardized baseline PC environment. Should a PC fail during the contract period, a BSS technician will repair or replace the failed unit at no additional cost to the customer.
Typical PCLM Plan
HP, Lenovo or Dell PC – 8GB RAM – 500GB HD – DVDRW
Windows 10 Professional.
20” (+) LED Monitor
Microsoft Office
Antivirus – Malware Software
Plans start at $45 per month, per PC.
Cloud Services
One of the most talked about trends in technology is the Cloud. The term “cloud” is a new name for “hosting service” that has been around for over twenty years. While Millennials trumpet the cloud as the only place to run a business, there are pluses and minuses that must be weighed within each business model.
On the plus side, there is minimal capital and operational investment needed to run your business in the cloud. That has tremendous appeal for start-ups and young companies struggling with growth and funding. The cloud allows these companies to leverage the economies of scale offered by the global service providers within the industry. The options for hardware and software are endless. The cloud also offers mobility by the end users. Cloud users can work anywhere they have a good Internet connection. This option allows companies to expand their workforce outside of a geographic commuter zone.
On the minus side, cloud computing makes you dependent on the speed and reliability of your Internet service. When it’s down, your data operations stop until it’s back online. For locations that suffer from poor Internet service including inadequate bandwidth and frequent outages, the cloud may not be the answer for you. Service reliability questions must be carefully considered with your cloud services provider. Most if not all of the largest global providers have been the target of malicious attacks resulting in outages lasting days. Can your business operations continue during one or more prolonged outages?
Is your data safe in the cloud? There are no guaranties in life especially with the security of data in the cloud. Because your cloud data is accessible from anywhere in the world, the higher the potential of a data breach from hacking, a disgruntled employee or just general carelessness by your employees. We have recently discovered that cloud data is susceptible to ransomware attacks in certain situations. Although the ransom payment may be small, the cost to repair and restore the damaged data could be exponentially large and time consuming. There have been cases where the company found out after the payment was made that the data had been damaged beyond repair.
Boston Systems provides cloud, premise and hybrid solutions that are tailored to the needs of our customers. We have partnered with many of the largest, industry leading providers servicing every major industry. Let us help you navigate through all of the advantages and disadvantages to help you make the best decision for your company.