COVID-19 Resources for SMBs

Updated 03/30/20; Additions in italics. As a service to our clients and to small and midsize businesses, we are collating resources to help you mitigate the economic and business impact of the COVID-19 emergency. Some of these resources are informational, others are tools that can help you adapt your business to current conditions. This post […]

Resources for Remote Work

To assist you in coping with the impact of the COVID-19 emergency, we are providing this list of resources to help you fully leverage remote work. We have additional business and technical resources listed in our COVID-19 Resources for SMBs blog post. (Updated: 3/27/2020 — Updates in italics)     Fast and Easy Intranets and […]

Creating a Virtual Classroom and School

With an increasing level of Coronavirus / COVID-19 infections transmitting via “community spread”, many schools are planning for the likelihood of closings that could range from days to weeks. Distance learning and virtual classrooms can mitigate the impact. The challenge is getting the systems, resources, and training in place quickly, before they are needed. Here […]

Coronavirus: Prep Instead of Panic

Updated Mar. 23, 2020. (new content in italics) Coronavirus is in the news with broad localized impact.  The Centers for Disease Control is urging everyone to prepare for a major public outbreak of COVID-19 will strike the United States. Here is a high level update: Extensive “Community Outbreaks” have been identified by the Centers for […]

Cumulus Global Recognized on CRN’s 2020 MSP 500 List

Continued Recognition of Cumulus Global as Pioneer in Managed Cloud Services Cumulus Global, the Cloud Forward service provider, announced today that CRN® a brand of The Channel Company has named Cumulus Global to its 2020 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Pioneer 250 category. The MSP 500 identifies North American solution providers that deliver […]

Customer Notice Update: Email Advanced Threat Protection

Given the demand and need to improve your protection from the devastating impact of ransomware, crypto attacks, and other forms of cyber attacks we are extending the Advanced Threat Protection Priority Opt-in discount period through March, 2020. We understand that adding a service, even a critical service, impacts your budget and costs. Our Priority Opt-In […]

Managing Chrome the Education Upgrade Price Increase

On January 22, 2020, Google is informing all Chrome Education Upgrade (aka Chrome Management Service) users that that perpetual per-device license price is increasing from $30 to $38 dollars, effective March 9, 2020. While Google is not unreasonable in raising prices to ensure continued innovation and feature expansion, the timing of the increase is problematic […]

5 Ways We Can Lower Your Chrome Device Costs

As part of our ChromeCycle Program, we help you manage the total cost of ownership of your Chrome devices. Here are five (5) ways we can lower the purchase cost for your next round of Chrome devices. 1. Preregister Your Purchase: We can often secure preferred pricing when we preregister your intended purchase with your […]

The Cost of Downtime Explained in 7 Ways

A recent survey found that 40% of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) experiences 8 or more hours of downtime due to a severe security breach within the past year. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of SMBs who experience a significant data breach go out of business within six months. The highest cost […]

Customer Notice: Email Advanced Threat Protection

(Updated January 20, 2020) We continue to witness the devastating impact of ransomware, crypto attacks, and other forms of cyber attacks on our customers.  The recovery cost and frequency of attacks are increasing at alarming rates. The average cost for a small or midsize business (SMB) to fully recovery from a cyber attack has increased […]

Managed Cloud Security: 7 Ways to Keep Your Cloud Environment Safe

In a recently published report, one of Forrester Research’s five key cloud predictions is that cloud management providers will tackle cloud security.  With the Capital One breach, the first major breach in a public cloud, the industry has a new focus on security and public cloud services. Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are more likely […]

Chrome Device Lifecycle Update

Like any hardware, Chrome devices have a useful life.  Per Google’s policies: Every Chrome device receives regular updates from Google until it reaches its Auto Update Expiration (“AUE”) date, subject to support from component manufacturers. When a device reaches AUE, automatic software updates from Google will no longer be provided. Chrome devices that have not […]

Cyber Protection: Time for New Best Practices to Safeguard Your Business in the Digital Age

According to a recent survey* of IT service providers, ransomware attack downtime costs 23 times more than requested ransom. The average ransom for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) victims jumped 37% to $5,900 from 2018 to 2019.  And lastly, the average cost of ransomware downtime jumped from $46,800 to $141,000, an increase of more than […]

Cyber Insurance vs. Breach Response: Why Not Both?

If you’re debating between cyber insurance and breach response, you should consider getting both to be fully protected. For example, cyber liability insurance covers monetary losses as well as legal protection in the event of a breach. A data breach response plan, on the other hand, will provide you with immediate resources to combat the […]

Tech Leadership: Focus on Business Success

The tag line of a recent ZDNet article says it all: Tech leaders have to support how their business generates revenues and profits if they are to be taken seriously. As reported in the article, KMPG reports that 76% of CEOs want their technology projects to “make” rather than “save” money.  And while this data […]

Manufacturers Beware: Attacks on Industrial Equipment are on the Rise

We have seen the issue ourselves: A malware attack crosses the bridge from your network PCs to the controllers in your industrial machines. Your shop floor comes to a halt until you can recover. The effort is painful as you deal with embedded and stand-aside controllers running out-dated versions of Windows, limited network options, and […]

Risk and Reward – Protecting the Value of Your Business

Several weeks ago, in a town not far from our headquarters, a massive fire destroyed a building housing six small businesses.  Our local business journal followed up a few weeks after the disaster with a poll asking business owners how prepared they are for a major disaster. Fewer than 50% of responding business owners feel […]

G Suite Security: Advanced Security for Modern Threats

In multiple blog posts over the past 2+ years, we have covered the changing and growing nature of threats to your organization, systems, and people. G Suite security offers advanced measures to protect user data, including encryption, 2-step verification, phishing protection, and admin controls.  For us the answer is CPR … Communicate and Educate; Prevent […]

Google+ Changes: What you need to know

In December 2018, Google announced that the consumer version of Google+ is shutting down in April 2019.  As the usage lines between the consumer and business versions of Google+ have often been blurry, we want to clear up some of the confusion following the notices you may be getting from Google. What is happening? The […]

G Suite Price Hike: Your Next Steps

Anytime a vendor critical to your business changes their product and pricing, it is tempting to reassess. We may see the world differently than other IT providers, but we, the team at Cumulus Global, strongly agree.  Now is a good time to examine your cloud services, as part of your full IT ecosystem, and determine […]