Much like other industries, artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing IT. Factors driving the push for AI in IT operations (AIOps) include data’s exponential growth and complexity, increased reliance on edge network devices, and expansion of IT environments and infrastructures across the Cloud. The need for speedy issue resolution is also a key driver of AIOps. A study from Accenture found that 43% of help desk agents routinely handle 100+ issue tickets. AIOps promises to relieve some of the burdens of managing too much data across complex systems.

A common misconception is that AI replaces IT personnel with a “robot.” Instead, AIOps provides a unique opportunity to maximize IT efficiency. AIOps collects, aggregates, and sorts through massive amounts of data to pinpoint root causes of slowdowns, network bottlenecks, and other issues. Trends and pattern analyses can guide IT teams to get ahead of potential problems.

When partnered with an experienced IT provider, AIOps is a potent means of improving customer experiences by improving efficiency, security, and support.

What is AIOps?

Gartner first created the term AIOps (short for artificial intelligence for IT operations) to describe machine learning and natural language processing deployment across IT workflows. AIOps utilizes big data, analytical tools, automation, and machine learning to:

• Collect and aggregate data – AIOps gather enormous volumes of data from various infrastructure components such as networks, security, applications, and issue tickets. As a result, they can monitor the overall health of an IT environment, granting both bird’s eye and worm’s eye views of data flow.
• Filter out signal from noise – Another vital usage revolves around pattern recognition and real-time monitoring of potential issues.
• Diagnose and report problems – AI can quickly and accurately identify issues while offering suggestions on how to remediate the problem.
• Self-heal and automate – Some AIOps systems automate responses or even correct issues without IT oversight. (While this is an attractive feature, CBTS recommends pairing AI automation tools with seasoned professionals to avoid the drawbacks discussed later in this post.)
• Predictive modeling – Through pattern recognition and machine learning, AI can identify future issues and help to prevent them.

Also read: Six ways AI will transform the future of IT recruiting

AIOps customer experience benefits

At first blush, it may seem like AIOps only benefits IT departments. However, in reality, AIOps generates a number of customer experience benefits for end users:

• Greater accessibility to networks and applications.
• Improved support and speedier MTTR.
• Greater productivity and collaboration tools.

Additionally, IT teams and their companies can:

• Reduce operational expenditures (OpEx).
• Breed better developer experience (DevEx) and reduce product time to market.
• Reduce downtime.
• Provide greater security at the network edge.

AIOps helps IT to give customers an extremely reliable experience through real-time monitoring and proactive issue management. AI also improves collaboration across the entire enterprise by de-siloing data. When every department has improved access to analytics, insights can be mined and implemented across the whole enterprise—not just in IT.

Read more: How to move your network security strategy forward with automation

Use cases for AIOps

• Security and anomaly identification: By sifting through mountains of historical data, AI can flag outlying data points that can be indicators of data breaches or other harmful events. For example, advanced threat detection can scan through massive chunks of the Internet to proactively identify malware threats.
• Root cause analysis: A lot of labor in IT is lost to treating symptomatic issues rather than rooting out the issue’s core. AIOps hunts down the root causes of a problem, recommends actions, and even sets up protections to ensure the same issues don’t happen again.
• Performance monitoring: When companies primarily relied on on-premises data centers, monitoring the performance of networks and applications was a more straightforward process. With the prevalence of cloud computing, networks, applications, and processes may be dispersed across a multi-cloud environment. AI helps IT evaluate performance across increasingly complex environments by generating automated reports on usage, storage, availability, response times, and more. For end users, AI provides better information consumption through data correlation and aggregation.
• Cloud migration: As companies transition to the Cloud, rarely can the entirety of their digital ecosystem be migrated all at once. This leads to some very complex hybrid environments that may involve interdependencies between private and public clouds, as well as third-party “as a service” providers. AI creates greater visibility across these dependencies and simplifies the process of cloud management and migration.
• DevOps: AIOps can drive DevOps by further simplifying redundant processes with automation tools and granting developers greater visibility and control without additional effort.

Learn more: Why CBTS leverages Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for modernizing enterprises

Potential drawbacks of integrating AI

In previous decades, when your car broke down, you would take it to a mechanic who would spend several days ruling out possible issues. Now, a mechanic can simply plug in a device that communicates with the onboard computer and immediately pinpoints the problem. AIOps works similarly. IT professionals now have a much clearer path for finding and fixing the root causes of issues, but skill and experience are still needed to filter out false alarms and to “teach” the AI—which facilitates ongoing improved customer experience.

Lack of context/understanding

When AI is used to execute a vulnerability scan, the raw data may identify upwards of hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities. Importantly, the scan cannot tell you which vulnerabilities are already protected by other security protocols, and which require attention. There may only be a small number of vulnerabilities that need your attention. A seasoned engineer can interpret these reports to understand and correlate the priorities.

No filter

With the rise of “smart” doorbells, many people have access to a camera that securely monitors their front door 24×7. However, that camera is unable to decipher potential robbers from delivery drivers. Similarly, many AI tools lack the finesse that only comes from experience. Without someone to “drive” it, AIOps can inadvertently create more noise that IT teams must sort through.

Detrimental changes

Like many students, machines that learn sometimes make the wrong connection. An AI managing a switch might pinpoint an “issue” of MDU size. If this is a self-healing AI, it might lower the MDU size globally, disrupting operations for the rest of the switch.

Only an expert can manage AI recommendations and determine when a problem should be remedied. And with expert guidance, the AI “pupil” can make more refined recommendations over time.

How to get the most out of AIOps

Gartner estimates that AIOps usage will rise to 30% this year, a 25% increase from pre-pandemic levels. Driven by increasingly complex technology estates, companies of all sizes turn to AI to gain greater visibility, mine data for insights, automate operations, and increase security. Companies also leverage AI to provide better customer experience through more dependable network access and faster issue resolution. In addition, when employees enjoy greater collaboration enabled by AIOps, they can better serve their customers.

However, poorly implemented or understood AI can have adverse effects. CBTS can build a custom suite of AIOps tools for your business to achieve the most significant results. More importantly, CBTS can help you “drive” AIOps platforms and teach them to recognize the red flags and metrics that are most vital to your organization.

Get in touch to learn more about maximizing AIOps adoption in your business to improve customer experience.

Today, all businesses, regardless of size, exist in a highly globalized world with organizations across every industry broadening their scope to draw resources and services from around the world. Consequently, global IT services are particularly valuable for organizations. CBTS—a provider with a global perspective and experience serving clients worldwide—offers an expansive portfolio of global IT services utilizing its holistic APO method: applications, platforms, and operations.

This blog will explore:

• The CBTS approach to global partnerships
• Leveraging app mod to globalize IT services for your company
• IT security service on a global scale
• Staying relevant in the global landscape

The CBTS approach to global partnerships

When a client’s environment requires an upgrade, the CBTS team will begin a ground-up assessment to determine which applications to modernize, platforms to implement, and operations to optimize.

Additionally, this global footprint and around-the-clock service approach put a wide variety of information technology resources at the client’s disposal. If the client requires application development support, incident escalation, or remediation, CBTS assists the organization in addressing any issue it may have—no matter when it arises.

One factor that enables this effort is a robust global IT services structure distributed throughout North America and South Asia. A worldwide footprint and around-the-clock availability give clients the responsiveness and reliability they expect—the result is that crises are addressed immediately with as little delay as possible.

Leveraging application modernization to globalize IT services for your company

With more enterprises embracing cloud computing environments than ever, cloud transition services are seeing an uptick in demand. In these cases, offering support when it is needed is only one part of the equation. Your organization’s journey to the Cloud is not simply a product—it’s a partnership. A genuinely collaborative service vendor will take proactive steps to manage the entire process of your cloud transition and provide the right technical and human resources to see it through.

To this end, CBTS offers a close partnership throughout the consultation and implementation phases. It also provides a dedicated service delivery manager who is a single point of contact and ensures that the client meets its business objectives. This service delivery manager performs quarterly business reviews and collaborates closely with client organizations, providing a level of global service for the client that is both efficient and cost-effective.

Learn more: Leverage the application modernization process to stay competitive

Global-scale IT security services

Security is another core offering from CBTS. The most sophisticated and future-proof cloud environment won’t do your organization any good if it isn’t also kept safe from scams, phishing, and other intrusions. That’s why it’s critical to seek a global IT services provider that weaves security into every layer of your cloud transition and maintenance process while creating a sustainable shared risk model that limits liability for your enterprise.

The number and complexity of cyberattacks are growing exponentially, year after year. To keep pace with these global threats, IT service providers must scale their security efforts. CBTS has done just that by implementing bleeding-edge cloud security measures such as SD-WAN, SASE, and AI-powered ENI.

CBTS monitoring services proactively identify anomalies of any type and take full ownership of the recovery of the client’s environment if there is an incidence. In this way, CBTS acts as the client’s first line of defense, constantly on alert for any intrusions and taking on responsibility for the performance of the client’s core business functionalities and the security of mission-critical data.

There’s no need to “go it alone” and place all the burden of risk solely on your organization. To achieve the best results, partner with a global IT services provider that can put your organization’s needs first while addressing the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

Staying relevant in the global landscape

Businesses that refuse to evolve—and thus, stay competitive—risk falling behind the rest of the world. Relying on outdated legacy applications causes companies to become inefficient. Additionally, employees struggle to navigate platforms, and operations lag. Not to mention, organizations that remain stuck in the past put their companies at risk of cyberattacks.

With offices in five countries and partnerships in many more, CBTS offers global IT services to address these complex business challenges. CBTS specializes in application modernization, cloud migration, infrastructure as a service, communications, security, and consulting services to help you achieve your goals.

Contact us to find out how a global IT services provider can offer your enterprise a new level of service and success.

What is CXsync?

Small and midsize businesses must prioritize customer experience (CX) or risk losing sales. According to PWC, 73% of customers say that quality CX drives their buying decision. However, it can be difficult for marketing or customer service departments to create the customer touch points they need to ensure a high-quality experience without the resources of larger companies. Enter CBTS CXsync—a cloud-based Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solution.

As the name suggests, CXsync aims to synchronize customer experience across all channels. CXsync integrates Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), and Unified Communications (UC) technologies into a singular cloud platform that was previously unavailable without costly operating investments.

This blog will examine the benefits of CXsync’s cloud-based contact center platform and how its powerful features benefit every level of your organization.

CXsync’s cloud-based contact center is built for small business

CXsync’s platform is ideal for small to midsize companies that employ between 1 and 500 agents, but its rich features work well for call centers of any size. Businesses deploy CXsync to manage and report on integration across multiple voice and digital channels. The platform provides specific role-based tools for each level of the call center organization—call agent, manager, and administrator.

CXsync provides a high-quality front-end experience for both your customers and contact center agents. In addition, CXsync has robust back-end features that enable users to create a personalized platform.

Download our Essential technical guide to modernizing your cloud contact center with CXsync.

CXsync’s feature-rich platform enhances each level of call center operations

An omni-channel cloud-based contact center lets customers ask for help wherever is most convenient for them and allows call agents and supervisors to manage those interactions in real time. The advantage of the omni-channel approach (over multi-channel) is that communication feeds are streamlined in to a single agent interface, greatly simplifying the experience for agents. CXsync is also highly customizable and scalable. It can be configured to meet the specific needs of your call center, adding in new channels as needed.

Call agent

Hiring and retention of call center agents is precarious in the best of times but has become even more difficult in light of current labor shortages. That’s why CXsync offers customizable features for calling agents to heighten their experiences:

• Configure local station settings.
• Set status: Ready, Not Ready, Lunch, Meeting, Break, etc.
• Toggle auto-answer off or on.
• Initiate outbound communication through any channel.
• Schedule follow-up reminders.

Manager

Management can utilize role-based permissions through a set of low-code interfaces. Managers can:

• Monitor calls silently.
• Provide in-call guidance that only agents can hear.
• Barge into calls (unmute and talk directly to the customer).
• Access reports, recording playback, and in-platform training materials.
• Apply scorecard-based management tools.

Administrator

CXsync provides all the tools admins need to keep everything running smoothly. Administrators can supervise the performance of the cloud-based call center on macro and micro levels. They can monitor individual calls, view reporting on customer experience trends, and identify call agent and manager training opportunities.

Other features include: 

• Assign role-based permissions by an individual or in bulk.
• System monitoring and troubleshooting tools.
• Configure E911 services.
• Manage and assign out from queues.
• Caller Names Management (CNAM).

Why CBTS?

Modern customers demand the highest level of experience, regardless of channel. CXsync brings a powerful toolset to meet that demand and is only the latest offering from the CBTS CCaaS and UCaaS portfolio. CXsync has a rapid implementation timeline and CBTS has developed a methodology to guide clients through implementing the CCaaS solution. The phased approach allows our clients to set clear objectives and meet a series of milestones before reaching the next phase, ensuring quality control and efficiency at each step of the journey.

Get in touch with CBTS to learn more about how CXsync cloud-based contact center can give your business the tools it needs to thrive.

I’m writing this blog post because it needs to be written.  It seems pretty obvious that you should test patches to your OS or applications in a test environment that closely matches your production environment before you deploy that patch in production.  However, just because something seems obvious doesn’t mean that it is.

So that folks reading this can avoid the hours of recovery that I’ve had to endure back in the day—before I knew better—let’s go over some things that can go wrong with a patch, either to the OS or an application.

First, why do you have to patch?

Just because the vendor issues a patch, do you have to apply it?

No, you don’t have to apply it, but you need to consider the risk of not applying the patch before you simply ignore it. 

Risk? What risk?

When a vendor issues a patch to an operating system (think Windows Patch Tuesday or Linux updates or Apple Mac updates), they do so for a reason. Almost always, the reason the vendor issues the patch is because a vulnerability has been detected.  The patch ostensibly removes the vulnerability from the OS. Yay, risk averted!

Read more: our team looks at a recent incident in I just met a vuln named Follina

But what if you don’t want to apply the patch?

You’re a busy IT person, you don’t have time to reboot production servers after applying patches to the OS. What is the worst that could happen?

Well, let’s assume that the patch from the vendor fixes a vulnerability that allows an attacker to gain full control of your production server. 

That’s bad and you want to mitigate or remove that risk as quickly as possible.  

Of course, there are often mitigation techniques or compensating controls that can be used to lessen the risk of an identified vulnerability. Often the compensating controls involve removing a vulnerable service, or implementing firewall rules to block specially crafted packets, or adding Access Control Lists (ACLs) around a vulnerable device.  The compensating control(s) can limit or mitigate the vulnerability, but they often come with side effects, or additional restrictions that limit the functionality of the server or device.

Consequently, establishing the habit of regularly applying patches to your production environment is good InfoSec hygiene.

Next, now that you know it’s necessary to patch, how do you do that safely?

Make sure you have a test environment where you can apply the patches. This environment should match your current production environment.  The same operating system on your production servers should be on your test servers. You don’t have to have ten of the same kind of server in test, but if you have a production file server that is Windows Server 2016, that’s the kind of server you should have in test.  If you have a mixed environment in production, like a 2016 server and 2019 server, duplicate that in test. If you have a Mac running some applications and a Windows server running another application, duplicate that configuration in test.  If you have 100 virtual servers in production, all running the same OS, that’s fine; have one test server that mirrors the 100 virtual servers in production.

Step three: you’re ready to update your first test server!

OK, you’ve got your test environment setup, you apply the first patch, and…. nothing!

The server comes back up cleanly, meaning that it’s up and running and you didn’t detect any errors. Great! You’re done, you can quickly apply the patches to production.

Not so fast!

Have you done your testing now that the server is back up? Before you call it a day, ask and answer these questions:

1. Do the applications running on that server run or function as before?
2. Are there any errors in the event log or other logs?
3. Is server performance impacted?
4. Does the server perform all the functions it did prior to applying the patch?
5. Have you confirmed that the patch was actually applied? (Sometimes you think it’s applied, but the patch is not actually applied.)
6. Have you scanned the server to confirm the vulnerability is no longer present? See question 5 above.
7. Does your IT team have questions?

Ok, let’s assume the answers to the questions above are satisfactory. Guess what?  You should  run the server for 24 or 48 hours in your test environment and check questions number 1, 2, 3, and 4 again just to be sure everything is working as expected.  (Can you tell I used to run a production environment?)

If, after a quick but decent enough burn-in time—which is usually short for critical patches—you can now schedule the patches that have passed these questions for deployment to production.

Finally: How often should you patch?

When you apply the patch and confirm that the vulnerability has been removed, the risk regarding that vulnerability has been addressed.

As you can see, this is why we recommend testing patches in a test environment before rolling out to production.  Hopefully this short blog post will help you as you build up your patch management process and plans.

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to the CBTS Security Team!

Read more from John Bruggeman:

Cloud security controls that help mitigate risk

Cyber Insurance, part 1: What is Cyber Insurance and do I need it?

Cyber Insurance, part 2: Getting ready for the insurance company questionnaire

Cyber Insurance, part 3: Filling out the questionnaire

Cyber Insurance, part 4: What do you do if your cybersecurity insurance policy is denied?

In an increasingly remote work environment, governments around the globe are improving the effectiveness of their workforces by combining voice, video, and data functionalities in one streamlined channel, a technique known as Unified Communications (UC).

Adoption of UC is particularly crucial for communities navigating the economic impact of COVID-19. As the pandemic raged across the U.S. last year, CBTS assisted a government Jobs and Family Services (JFS) office in the Midwest that was overwhelmed by unemployed residents seeking new employment opportunities.

CBTS designed and implemented a UC for government solution to address service issues faced by JFS constituents. The solution included scaling existing call paths, organizing remote call center operations, and configuring a new Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution. Cisco’s Unified IP IVR was deployed at scale specifically to address mass layoffs by major companies.

Even as the pandemic dissipates, state and local governments worldwide are meeting citizens’ heightened service expectations with Cisco UC solutions. This article will explain the benefits of UC innovations for agencies and municipalities of all stripes.

Also read: VoIP vs UCaaS: What is right for your business?

How to utilize the benefits of UC for government

Accustomed to reliable online and automated voice service from retailers and other private-sector institutions, most people expect the same response from their government. Antiquated phone systems and outdated legacy systems are being replaced by UC technology boasting a wide range of benefits:

• Enhanced public safety: First responders are more efficient when they can communicate and access critical information from anywhere, at any time, under any circumstance.
• Improved service effectiveness: Citizen satisfaction is enhanced when services are easier to obtain. Reaching an employee or agent on the first call, receiving a medical consultation from a nearby clinic, or reserving a public meeting via an automated voice response system can foster greater trust and satisfaction among citizens and stakeholders.
• Citizen empowerment and social inclusion: Connected communities enable residents and businesses to get timely government information and services through self-service voice applications and web portals. UC for government also helps public agencies reach out to underrepresented or rural populations that are typically unable to access key services.
• Economic development: Employers are attracted to communities that make it easy to do business—which UC for government can provide while also enabling the education and training required to cultivate a skilled workforce.

Also read: Four Considerations for Building a Remote Network with SD-WAN

Eight benefits of UC for governments

Public safety, effective services, high productivity, and social inclusion are keystones of any strong community. A cloud-based UC solution can help transform governmental activities, while the right partner will lead your agency to success.

CBTS provides industry-leading modern communication resolutions for any number of municipal functions and use cases. Here are a few examples:

1) Surveillance video: An ability to see real-time video improves citizen safety and public safety personnel responsiveness. For example, when police officers in Everett, Washington, are dispatched to a crime scene, they can plan an effective response by viewing live surveillance footage from vehicles equipped with Cisco mobile access routers.

2) Rapidly deployable communications: Public safety agencies must be able to maintain lanes of communication in case of network shutdown or lack of infrastructure. With Cisco’s rapidly deployable communications solutions, a first responder can simply flip a switch to connect to an IP network by satellite. This creates an instant network through which to send and receive voice, video, and data utilizing wired or wireless devices.

3) Access to government services: In many cities, individuals who reach the wrong department must wait while an employee searches a paper directory for the appropriate extension. With Cisco UC for government, calls can be seamlessly transferred by selecting an employee’s name from an up-to-date online directory located on their Cisco Unified IP Phones.

4) Well-organized contact centers: Cisco Unified Contact Centers route calls to agents ready to meet callers’ pressing needs, improving service efficacy, and reducing call-handling time. Derwent Living, a UK-based not-for-profit organization that partners with local governments on affordable housing, harnesses UC technology to direct calls from citizens to expert housing advisors.

5) Unified messaging: With Cisco Unified Messaging, government personnel can access messages all from one interface, either their PC or voicemail inbox. Responsiveness improves further when employees retrieve communication and collaboration tools from a single screen.

6) Workplace transformation and efficiency: Many agencies provide permanent desks to mobile employees who rarely work in the office. Cisco UC for government solutions enable desk sharing, allowing workers to make and receive calls from any available desk. This is made possible either by logging into a Cisco Unified IP Phone or Cisco’s Unified Personal Communicator software on PC.

7) Access to human resources: Rural residents can link to social workers, child psychologists, and other human resource offices by using Cisco video telephony and Cisco Telepresence available at their local government offices.

8) Ease of doing business: With so many employers preferring to base their companies in business-friendly communities, Cisco IVR solutions and online web portals are key for governments seeking to provide secure tax payments and other services to new and established businesses.

Also read: Case Study: Safer travels with CBTS on-premises private cloud

A foundation for government services of all kinds

Cisco Unified Communications for Government solutions bridge the gap between needed services and available resources. Ultimately, this technology creates a foundation for a connected community, satisfying demands for public safety, service reliability, citizen empowerment, and a thriving economy.

Contact CBTS for more information on converting your government agency’s legacy infrastructure to a modern cloud-based environment.

Building and maintaining a data environment that is used for daily business activities may be expensive but, by any measure, is more than worth the effort. Doing the same for an environment that is rarely, if ever, activated is both expensive and burdensome, with little prospect for a decent return on the investment.

And yet, this is what a large portion of the enterprise community does in order to maintain continuity of critical operations during a disaster. In this age of connected devices, with applications acting as the lifeblood of most business models, downtime of data infrastructure for even a short while can quickly throw an organization into financial turmoil and perhaps cause lasting damage to the brand as users are able to switch to new providers at the touch of an icon.

When it comes to disaster recovery (DR) in the cloud, the enterprise must rethink the complex and costly approaches of the past in favor of streamlined, easily managed infrastructure that is ready to activate at a moment’s notice. And for this, there is no better solution than the public cloud.

Key advantages the cloud brings to disaster recovery

The key advantage that the cloud brings to DR is the ability to provide this vital function on the same footing as any other Software as a Service (SaaS) offering. This provides a range of cost and feature benefits that enable you to reap the rewards of a state-of-the-art DR environment without the high overhead of dedicated equipment that sits idle for the majority of its lifetime.

Specifically, disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) provides the following:

Low cost

By shifting disaster recovery services from a capital expenditure (CapEx) model to an operating expenditure (OpEx) model, you can vastly reduce your overall cost structure in two ways. First, you no longer need a massive upfront capital outlay because there is no infrastructure to buy, build, provision, or integrate. Disaster recovery services are delivered from the cloud, where the cost of infrastructure is shared among multiple clients. Secondly, ongoing operational costs are lessened because the management and upkeep of infrastructure are outsourced to the cloud provider. All you have to do is oversee your own internal processes and coordinate testing with the managed cloud provider to ensure data and operating environments can be failed over quickly and smoothly to ensure the highest levels of continuity are being maintained.

Advanced features

Unlike on-premises environments, managed cloud disaster recovery services are routinely upgraded with the latest features and to the most robust industry standards. Cloud DR providers must compete for your business just like any other supplier, which means they are constantly striving to out-perform their own competition. Already, in fact, many providers are deploying advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics process automation (RPA), and even quantum computing to ensure that their services stand out from the rest of the field.

Customization

Contrary to the stereotype of the cloud as a warehouse of generic computing and storage technology, the fact is that in recent years, providers have made great strides in the delivery of highly customized advanced features and solutions. Starting with robust templates for key industry verticals like finance and healthcare, most providers work closely with leading technology consultants like CBTS to craft solutions that meet the unique requirements of each enterprise and address your industry’s compliance and regulatory requirements.

Scale

Unlike the traditional data center, public cloud provides just the right level of storage and compute to satisfy business objectives—in this case, continuity after a failure—without over engineering the environment. There is no need to overprovision resources only to have them sit idle most of the time. The cloud provides near-instant provisioning of virtual environments so that your consumption matches your data load. Also, data environments can be migrated from cloud to cloud with relative ease, offering an added layer of protection against failure in the event of a regional disaster like an earthquake or hurricane.

Finding the right partner for your managed cloud disaster recovery needs

The key challenge when it comes to DRaaS, however, is the need to acquire expertise in cloud infrastructure and services. Your provider will certainly offer a wealth of assistance, but it is usually better to bring in an independent contractor to ensure that the environment you create offers the highest return on your investment.

This is where CBTS becomes invaluable. Our proven methodology delivers highly targeted solutions for your managed cloud disaster recovery needs. We begin with a thorough assessment of existing infrastructure, services, workflows, business objectives, and other aspects of your enterprise, followed by a robust program designed to fulfill optimal recovery point and time objectives (RPO/RTO). We also have the means to incorporate a wide range of managed services, including annual testing to ensure a successful recovery every time, and we also provide ongoing maintenance and support of the full environment so your IT staff can focus on running your data ecosystem.

The ease with which robust DR environments can be created in the cloud and integrated into the enterprise business environment is nothing less than revolutionary. With the business model quickly becoming wholly dependent on functioning data infrastructure, the risk is simply too great to avoid making this transition much longer.

As communication channels rapidly evolve in today’s digital age, businesses must adapt quickly to support seamless interactions across voice, video, mobile, messaging, and chat. With workplace trends shifting toward more remote collaboration, it can be challenging for organizations to effectively manage a multitude of tools to keep employees, customers, and partners actively engaged across channels, devices, and locations.

To provide a more flexible workplace for their employees, agile enterprises are turning to hosted unified communications as a service (hosted UCaaS) to streamline collaboration and maximize productivity. Now, the advanced collaboration capabilities of Cisco Webex are fully integrated into the CBTS Hosted UC platform powered by Cisco BroadWorks—bringing together hosted VoIP, chat, video conferencing, remote meeting capabilities, and many more features—all through a unified collaboration application: Webex.

By combining all the features of Hosted UC enterprise-grade cloud communications solutions with the Webex collaboration tool, CBTS delivers an integrated platform that empowers companies to stay completely connected. Keep reading to learn how this integration can increase productivity and improve efficiency in your organization.

Unified collaboration and communication

Modern communication can be a juggling act that requires toggling between systems, devices, and networks to carry on a conversation. When enterprise phone systems are completely integrated into cloud-based collaboration tools, it streamlines the user experience and simplifies IT operations.

Leveraging the leading VoIP technology from Cisco BroadWorks, the CBTS platform enables WiFi calling, hosted VoIP calling, and smooth VoIP handovers to support calls as you move between data networks. Similarly, the system can seamlessly move active calls from audio to video, or from desk phone to softphone to mobile phone with a single click—without interrupting your call.

By integrating these calling capabilities with Webex, CBTS users can enhance the omnichannel collaboration experience for internal employees and external partners alike. Group chat, file sharing, whiteboarding, chat, and presence features make it easy to collaborate anywhere, at any time, with built-in application integrations that automatically connect to other business tools you use every day.

Meanwhile, Webex meetings features keep teams connected even when working remotely. Users can join meetings from any device with a single click, while effectively multitasking and staying productive. Online meeting rooms blend audio, HD video, chat, messaging, screen sharing, and wireless content sharing to keep participants engaged.

Blending these features on a single hosted UC platform creates a seamless communication experience. Instead of dealing with dial-in numbers or using mobile phone minutes, CBTS users can join virtual meetings with the click of a button from the company’s enterprise dial plan. You can make and take phone calls through the Webex application—using the desktop, tablet, or smartphone device of your choice—to connect more easily and collaborate more effectively. If you prefer to continue to use a traditional desk handset, that option is available as well.

The enhanced Hosted UC experience

By integrating cloud calling and collaboration solutions onto one secure platform, CBTS delivers a managed UCaaS experience to help companies future-proof their communication infrastructure. Designed to be open and interoperable across the most complex enterprise ecosystems, our integrated solutions are custom-designed to deliver the tools you need to enhance your unique customer journey.

Whether your employees work from one central office, multiple locations, or remotely from home, they can enjoy one core user experience across multiple devices, software applications, and workstyle preferences. Plus, CBTS can layer on advanced applications such as hosted IVR, mass notifications, e-911, and other contact center features to make your employees or agents more productive and your business more profitable.

Simplifying enterprise calling, messaging, and video conferencing through the unified Webex platform can also reduce telephony hardware costs and ongoing maintenance requirements, since upgrades happen automatically without any downtime or additional investments. The predictable fixed monthly cost of hosted UC enables you to focus on core innovations instead of billing surprises.

Hosted UC from CBTS delivers all the features of an enterprise-grade, cloud-enabled communications solution, combined with the latest remote collaboration apps—all on a single platform that’s flexible enough to scale up as your business grows. With 99.999% network availability and full redundancy, along with end-to-end security and 24x7x365 support, CBTS integrates Hosted UC with Webex to meet the full range of ever-changing communication and collaboration capabilities your enterprise needs in order to be equipped for the future.

Contact us to learn how Webex can empower your business to leverage the benefits of Hosted UC.

I’ve spent more than half of my 23-year IT career in security. In seeing shifts from standalone viruses to networked worms to state-sponsored attackers and ransomware, I’ve heard folks say periodically that we’re failing as an industry. “Look at all the breaches,” they say, “we’re obviously having no impact, we need to rethink everything we’re doing.”

To which I say, frankly, that view is nuts. Totally bonkers.

Effective prevention, detection and response is the goal of information security

Of course, the number of breaches we see, the volume of lost records, and the degree to which certain threat actors can act with impunity inside certain networks, is always alarming. The practitioners I know don’t see that as a hopeless situation, but instead as an opportunity to which they will rise. The fact is, we’ve had a clear positive impact. I know that, because no threat actor can do whatever they want on any network they want. Attacks are stopped every day. Breaches are detected, cleaned up, and improvements are made every week.

Think of it like law enforcement: The goal of law enforcement isn’t to stop crime, because you’ll never stop all crime. It’s not possible. It’s not even a reasonable goal that any police officer aims for. The goal is to minimize crime and allow law enforcement to protect as much as they can.

The information security industry has a similar goal: It’s not possible to guarantee an organization won’t suffer a breach. However, organizations can commit to doing their best to stop opportunistic attacks. When a breach does occur, the organization can commit to a complete and effective response.

Use October to re-commit your organization to cybersecurity awareness

I’ve been reminded recently, though, where our most challenging work will continue to reside, and that is in improving the cybersecurity awareness of the non-technical folks in our midst.

Fraud, business email compromise, and e-mail account compromise are still plaguing many organizations.

Our partners Proofpoint and Cofense have some great resources available to help address this threat. I know we can continue to make our organizations more secure as we work together, equipping our customers with the tools and practices to protect themselves and their assets.

Happy October, and Happy Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

Related Articles:

Understanding the “attacker mindset” in security

Three steps to enhancing security solutions

Create your data breach response plan