I recently had the chance to help Reader’s Digest update an article titled “11 Things IT Professionals Don’t Want You To Know”. It’s no secret that IT is a little misunderstood. Part of our mission at Kelser is to connect IT strategy to the overall business strategy of our clients. When integrated into the company as a whole, IT can be a major business enabler, helping achieve goals across the business. It starts with viewing IT as more than fixing things when they break.

Last week’s 23rd annual Kelser Charity Challenge set a new fundraising record for the event with a projected $28,000 raised for the Hospital for Special Care’s Center for Cognitive Health.

Technology plays an increasingly crucial role in organizations of all sizes and industries. That’s one reason why 89 percent of companies expect their IT budgets to grow or stay the same in the next year. However, when times get tough and businesses need to cut corners, the IT department is often among the first targets for cost reduction.

As a managed services provider in Connecticut, we often get asked about the pros and cons of having internal or outsourced IT services. There are benefits to both, but the right decision usually comes down to the specific needs of the individual organization.

It’s been a difficult summer for Connecticut public schools when it comes to cybersecurity. In addition to the three Connecticut school districts hit by cyber attacks in late July, it recently came to light that the Wolcott public school district suffered a devastating ransomware attack months ago from which it has not fully recovered. No data was stolen, but a great deal of data was locked and held for ransom, much of which was not backed up. As a result, teachers are starting the new school year without key materials.

Joining forces with an IT managed services provider (MSP) gives you the benefits of having a full-time IT staff, without the full-time expenses that go with them. MSPs can enrich even small and medium-size businesses with a wealth of IT knowledge and experience that wouldn’t be available at the same price point with in-house employees.

Cybersecurity risks have been on the rise in recent years, and products and services have been constantly evolving to keep up with these threats: 83 percent of organizations say that they experienced phishing attacks in 2018, up from 76 percent in 2017. Social engineering attacks use psychology to trick people into revealing sensitive information such as passwords and credit card numbers by impersonating a trusted authority. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are a new (and lucrative) attack target.

Every IT department can agree that achieving maximum efficiency is an important goal for them to work towards. Unfortunately, far too many companies aren’t able to reach this goal. According to a survey by Deloitte, only 22 percent of chief information officers agree that they have a high-performing IT culture.