Kelser Corporation announced today that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Kelser to its 2019 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the MSP Elite 150 category. This annual list recognizes North American solution providers with innovative approaches to managed services. These services help customers improve operational efficiencies, maximize return on IT investments, and continuously help them navigate the complexities of IT solutions.

Managed services providers (MSPs) offer 24/7 support for your entire IT infrastructure: software, hardware, and configurations. These services are remotely monitored and managed in order to keep a pulse on your IT environment at all times.

The “as a service” business model, in which third-party consulting firms provide IT services to customers on a subscription basis, has been nothing short of a revolution. In particular, network as a service (NaaS) has saved many companies from having to build their own networking infrastructure in-house. Configuring and operating devices such as routers, WAN optimizers, and firewalls is no easy task even for IT experts.

It seems like large-scale data breaches that expose thousands upon millions of records are regrettably becoming commonplace today. Protecting your personal and business data should be a priority for anyone that has ever entered information into a web form. Without taking proper steps to secure your data like login credentials, you could make yourself vulnerable to anything from phishing attacks to full account takeover (or even worse). Even a single breach can cost a business upwards of $2.3 million per attack (not to mention the costs related to things like the damage to your reputation) and personal accounts risk losing personal finances, priceless memories (like photos and videos), and more. One of the most basic ways to improve cybersecurity is to make sure you're following best practices for your passwords.

Maybe your in-house IT staff is overworked, or perhaps you simply don’t have the expertise necessary to build a robust network infrastructure. Whatever the reason may be, a growing number of businesses have chosen to outsource much of the heavy lifting to a network services company. Although there are many network services providers out there, not all of them are the right fit for your business. However, just because you’re not an IT company doesn’t mean that you aren’t able to evaluate potential IT partners. Below, we’ll discuss the six most important traits that you should look for in a network services company.

Software used to be such an adventure. Your company would buy a new program and then essentially be on your own to install it and learn how to use it. It might work out great, or it might be a frustrating fiasco. You bought it—it’s your problem now. Wisely, software companies have largely switched to a software-as-a-service model in which customers pay a recurring fee for use of software that is maintained and supported with customer service. Hardware is undergoing a similar transition with desktop-as-a-service, also known as device-as-a-service, or DaaS. Desktop-as-a-service shifts technology hardware from a capital expense to an operating cost. Rather than buying new computers and other technology in one large, up-front expense and then burdening your IT department with the massive task of setting them all up and maintaining them, a technology partner or managed service provider (MSP) will manage the assets for the entire lifespan.

It’s nearly 2019, and what it takes for CIOs and other technology executives to be successful looks a lot different than it did as recently as say, 2014. Recently, I was quoted by two major technology news outlets about the role of technology executives in the success of their organizations:

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Starwood Hotel breach. In November, Marriott, the world’s largest hotel chain, confirmed that as many as 500 million people who made reservations at one of its Starwood properties could have had their personal information—including names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, passport and credit card info—stolen by Chinese hackers. Peter Aiken, associate professor of information systems at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, calls the attack “the biggest threat to U.S. national security that we have ever faced” from a data breach.