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Google Cloud and G Suite

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G SuiteNew Names, Same Great Solutions

At this point, every Google For Work customer has likely received an email from Google with the big announcement:

Google for Work is now Google Cloud

Google Apps is now G Suite

Why the change?

Google’s has greatly expanded the range of cloud-based business services over the past few years, and the ways in which businesses are using Google’s cloud portfolio continues to change and evolve. Google Cloud better reflects how all of Google’s business cloud services are part of a single, integrated ecosystem. Changing Google Apps to G Suite, better represents the range of services that lets you communicate, store, collaborate, and manage your business. G Suite has grown beyond “Gmail and tools for business”.

What does it mean?

Your Google Cloud services, including G Suite, do not change. You will continue to use the same email, file, and collaboration services you know and love. You still have the features, security, accessibility, and ease-of-use you expect.

We will spend the next several days updating our website and marketing materials and remembering to use the new names.

What does the future hold?

Looking forward, we encourage you to explore more ways to take advantage of G Suite‘s capabilities and to watch for new applications, features, and functions. Google’s commitment to expanding the platform and ecosystem is greater than ever. If you want to explore new use cases or to further your digital transformation, please contact us for a free Cloud Advisor consulting session.

 

 

Verizon Acquires Yahoo! — Trouble for Business Subscribers?

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Yahoo SignWith Verizon’s acquisition of the Yahoo! core business services underway, subscribers to Aabaco Small Business — the business email solution from Yahoo! — face uncertain times. While there is no indication of what Verizon may do with the Aabaco Small Business services, the focus of the Verizon acquisition is clearly Yahoo! services that Verizon can roll into its upstart digital media business.  As reported by The Wall Street Journal and others, Verizon is acquiring Yahoo! for the content and audience.  Business email and ecommerce services are clearly not top of mind.

Priced from $34.95 to $119.40 per year, Aabaco’s email service is as a basic webmail solution. The service includes spam/virus protection, filtering, and forwarding, although the web interface is simple and the service only supports POP email clients (no IMAP service). The service does not include calendar, IM/Chat, video calling services, file storage, and other services typically found in more robust email and communication suites.

Many Aabaco customers may choose to wait and see how the acquisition plays out and, therefore, how long they can continue to get support and service on an aging platform that lacks competitive features.

For many others, the acquisition is a great time to explore other solutions for cloud-based services. Both Google for Work and Microsoft Office 365 expand upon basic email services with robust communication and collaboration features and tools, and both integrate with a variety of marketing and ecommerce platforms.

For those with Aabaco websites and ecommerce service subscriptions, exploring Shopify, ProStores, and others may offer more robust, modern, and cost-effective solutions. The migration, however, is more complex as it involves multiple services.

We recommend that Aabaco subscribers begin looking at alternatives.  Whether or not you make a change now or in the future, understanding your options along with the relevant merits and costs, empowers you to make better decisions. You can also be ready to make your move if/when the time is right.

Are you an Aabaco customer interested in exploring alternatives?  Offering both Google for Work and Microsoft Cloud solutions, our Cloud Advisors can provide you with an unbiased assessment of your options. Contact us for a free consultation.

 

 

Pokemon Go is a Security Game?

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No Pokemon Go
While the news coverage has trailed off, the Pokemon Go phenomenon continues as kids and adults continue to play, and the game expands to new locations.

Also in the news, but with less coverage, was the security hole that gave the companies behind Pokemon Go completely unfettered access to users’ Google Apps and Gmail accounts.  This access was not just to read your contacts so you can “share”, Pokemon Go had full read/write access to all user data.

In a short but sobering report, our friends at CloudLock assess and quantify the risk posed by Pokemon Go. Click here to access the report; it serves as a great example of the risks posed by 3rd party apps.

Contact us if you want to learn more about protecting Google Apps from 3rd party app risks.

 

3 Email Encryption Options for Google Apps

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Security KeyIn the Google Apps ecosystem, we see three primary players with integrated email encryption services.

  • ZixMail
    • A comprehensive message encryption service that includes user tagging of messages for encryption and heuristics and business rules to auto-encrypt. ZixMail also includes the ZixGateway of other ZixMail users, enabling automated end-to-end secure communications.
  • Google Apps Message Encryption (GAME)
    • A private-label of Zixmail run in Google’s data center. GAME uses the ZixMail encryption engine and services, matched to the email rules capability of Gmail.

 

  • Virtru
    • An encryption-in-place service that integrates with Google Apps which runs in the Chrome Browser, Outlook on Windows desktops, and on mobile devices. Virtru includes features such as forwarding blocks and email expirations. Data loss prevention rules for HIPAA compliance are available at an additional cost.

To learn more about these solutions in depth, read our new eBook: Email Encryption in Google Apps.

Email Encryption is Not Compliance

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Security Key
While providing a reasonable level of protection from inappropriate access to your data, the built-in encryption is not sufficient to meet information privacy regulations. Laws such as the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), and industry regulations including the Personal Card Information (“PCI”) standards require more than data encryption.

Privacy laws and regulations typically include three components:

  1. Policies and procedures that, when followed, provide appropriate data protections
  2. A means to monitor compliance, with the ability to detect and mitigate potential violations of the policies and procedures
  3. A defined response and resolution procedure in the event of a breach

As explained in our eBook, Email Encryption in Google Apps, Technology can support the implementation of these three components, but does not offer a full solution on its own.

Contact us to assess your email encryption needs and to define an affordable solution.

 

Beyond Restore: Use Cases for Google Apps Backup

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Backup Man

As we have noted several times in prior posts and webcasts, Google’s internal backup systems are designed to protect you should Google have hardware or software issues. You, however, are responsible for protecting your data in Google Apps from user deletions, user overwrites, malware, hackers, and other risks.

We have identified several use cases for backup/recovery in Google Apps that you cannot do from the Admin console.

A good Google Apps backup solution does more than restore

Preserve Data From Past Employees

  • If you want to preserve data from past employees, and need more than emails, your only option is to continue paying for the suspended Google Apps accounts.
  • With the ability to restore data to others, you can keep the backup as an archive and delete the Google Apps accounts.
  • An added benefit: the cost is less than 1/2 of a Google Apps for Work license and less than 1/4 of a Google Apps Unlimited license.

Transfer Data to New Owners

  • While you can transfer document ownership though the Admin Console and ownership of Sites data through APIs, these transfers are “all or nothing” and are destructive (they remove the data from the original account).
  • With the ability to restore data selectively and to others, you can transfer specific files, folders, sites data, emails, etc. to different people as needed.
  • An added benefit: You can transfer data between employees as they change positions and responsibilities.

Archive Documents (and other data)

  • While Google Apps Vault has eDiscovery searches for Gmail and Drive, Vault only archives Gmail.
  • A third party backup solution can preserve and archive documents, as well as email, calendars, contacts, and sites data in support of your document retention policies or regulations.
  • While a user can still delete a document and empty it from Trash before the backup, most users are unaware of the steps to take. With multiple backups per day, you are protected from losses other than those of a determined malicious actor.

Escape Hatch

  • As a “best-practice”, backups should not be stored in the systems being backed up without altering the format or content.
  • The right backup solution keeps your data in a separate location/service and restores data in its original format.
  • An added benefit: With an export feature, your backups become an easier way to extract data from Google Apps.

 

We offer multiple backup solutions for Google Apps, click here to learn more about our preferred solution.

 

Don’t Let Outdated Technology Slow Your Business Down

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Is Outdated Technology Slowing Your Business Down?
This article about detailing how outdated technology is slowing your business down is the first in a multi-part series providing ideas and guidance for companies looking to modernize their business with cloud and mobile solutions.

For many small business owners, it is easy to put off technology decisions for more pressing day to day matters. Sometimes, however, “If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it!” can do more harm than good. Outdated IT slows you down and costs you money in lost productivity and missed opportunities. Your old technology also sends a message to your customers about how well your business can serve theirs. In today’s cloud and mobile world, your small business has affordable access to the same caliber productivty tools and services as large enterprises. If your business is not taking advantage of the close and mobility, your competition is and you are falling behind due to outdated technology.

Here are a few ways in which outdated technology can slow down a business:

  1. Reduced Efficiency: Outdated technology often lacks the speed, processing power, and features of newer solutions. This can lead to slower system performance, increased downtime, and inefficient workflows, ultimately slowing down productivity.
  2. Compatibility Issues: As technology advances, older systems may struggle to integrate with newer software, applications, or hardware. This can create compatibility issues, data transfer problems, and hinder the ability to leverage modern tools and innovations.
  3. Limited Functionality: Outdated technology may lack the capabilities and features required to meet evolving business needs. This can restrict the organization’s ability to adopt new strategies, offer improved customer experiences, or take advantage of emerging trends in the industry.
  4. Security Risks: Outdated technology often lacks the latest security patches and updates, making it vulnerable to cyber threats and data breaches. This can have severe consequences, including financial loss, reputational damage, and non-compliance with data protection regulations.
  5. Inefficient Collaboration: Outdated communication and collaboration tools can hinder effective teamwork and communication within the organization. This can lead to delays in decision-making, slower response times, and decreased overall collaboration efficiency.

Addressing the Roadblocks of Outdated Technology in Business

Moving From Outdated Technology to The Cloud

Moving to the cloud does not need to be an “all or nothing” proposition. Most small businesses start with email and move on to file sharing/collaboration. Business apps, like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Accounting can also be good places to start, delivering a high return and value for the migration effort and spend.

For some, affordably migrating to the cloud and going mobile is easiest to accomplish with the latest version of tools and software that you already use. For others, moving to the cloud and mobile is an opportunity to change the way your team works, so moving your team to new tools is best.

Google Apps or Microsoft Office 365?

This is the question we are asked most often by fellow small business owners and IT leaders. Google Cloud or Office 365?

Our answer is: YES.

We are not saying your choice doesn’t matter when it comes to upgrading your outdated technology and speeding up your business. We are saying that Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365 fit different businesses differently. Microsoft Office 365 extends the Microsoft Office ecosystem with collaboration, communication, and data/information tools that will never exist in your desktop version of Office.  Google Apps integrates broadly with most of the newer, cloud and mobile first tools preferred by small business. And, we have five ways to integrate your MS Office desktop software with Google Apps, so you don’t need to abandon the tools you already know.

Both ecosystems help you get stuff done faster, communicate more efficiently, and make mobility easier. Which solution is best for you depends on a factors ranging from where your team works and how you want to improve communications and collaboration to which line of business systems are critical to your success. By looking at your full IT environment, you can pick the cloud productivity platform and other cloud services that make the most sense, and delivery the greatest return.

Footprints, Workloads, and Clouds

Beyond your basic productivity suite (email, documents, spreadsheets, files, etc) and collaboration tools (voice, chat, conferencing, document sharing), more small businesses are moving other workloads from their on premise footprint into the cloud. Do not get flustered by the jargon! Workloads are simply applications or data processing; your footprint is the physical IT systems you use; and the cloud is, well, any cloud infrastructure or hosted service where you can run your workloads.

For small businesses like yours, moving other applications into the cloud will improve security and reliability, offer better business continuity, and mitigate or lower costs. And while some applications don’t have a cloud version you can use (i.e., Quickbooks Online lacks features and reports most of our customers want or need), you can move those systems onto cloud server with remote desktop access.

Overcome Outdated Business Technology Today

Your job is your business and serving your customers. Our job is to make sure your IT helps you do your job better and more efficiently.

To overcome day to day challenges, businesses should regularly assess their technology infrastructure, identify outdated systems, and prioritize necessary upgrades. Investing in modern, scalable, and secure technologies can help streamline operations, enhance productivity, improve customer experiences, and position the business for future growth and success.

Talk to us about your business, your goals, objectives, and priorities. Challenge us to find ways to help you reach your goals with our managed cloud services. We will bring our vision, enthusiasm, expertise, experience, and pragmatism, along with our commitment to either add value, or get out of the way.

Let’s start the conversation!

Be Able to Recover

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Backup Man
Accidents will happen. And while accidents that damage or destroy data are more common, malicious attacks will happen as well.  The rate of ransomware is on the rise and large companies are not the only targets. Whether by phishing attack, advanced persistent threat, or other means your company is seen as having data valuable enough to extort a ransom, you are a target.

In short, if you are reading this, you are a potential target.

While improving your endpoint protection and educating users can greatly minimize your risk, no malware solution can provide you with a guarantee against ransomware. So, if you are hit, you need to be able to recover.

For your on-premise systems, you most likely have a backup/recovery solution. In the event of ransomware, you can delete the encrypted files and restore from a point in time prior to the attack. Yes, you lose data, but a solid backup plan can minimize the loss and the impact.

Your cloud data needs the same protection. You want the same recovery process.  

Traditional and cloud backup services can be installed and connected to cloud servers in much the same way as they work for on-premise servers. For cloud file services, like Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, traditional backup solutions will not work as they cannot connect to the service. The same holds true for data in SaaS applications like Salesforce.com.  You need a specialized solution.

Our Recommendation

For most of our Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365 clients, we recommend Backupify as our preferred solution for several reasons:

  • Multiple backups per day for some or all users
  • Unlimited backup space
  • Unlimited backup retention
  • Multiple admin accounts with delegation
  • Powerful search
  • Fast restores
  • The ability to archive data for past users (Google Apps)

Our Offer

Try Backupify for free for 21 days. If you like what you see, we can save you money on license and support.  If not, we discontinue the service.

Interested? Let us know.

Third Party Apps: The Overlooked Data Risk

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risks of third-party apps It is easy to overlook the risks of third-party apps. You see a cool app and install it on your phone. You see the prompt asking you for permissions. It is not clear what the app wants to access or why, but you want the app. You click “Grant” or “Allow” and away you go. Some third party now has access to your contacts, you schedule, and maybe even your files. Whether mobile apps, browser extensions, or freemium apps, your user community is installing apps and tools and granting access to your data. And while most apps are harmless and well-behaved, one rogue app can be a disaster.

The Hidden Dangers of Third-Party Apps

Not every app, and not every app provider, is trustworthy.  And since most apps need access to some of your data in order to function, permissions should not be granted without some forethought. Preventing individual users from installing apps and granting permissions, however, is nearly impossible. Most small and midsize organizations have neither the money or resources to micromanage browsers and mobile devices — especially in our BYOD world.

Using third-party apps can come with certain risks, and it’s important to be aware of them before installing and using such applications. Here are some common risks associated with third-party apps:

  1. Security and Malware: Third-party apps may pose security risks as they are not subject to the same level of scrutiny and oversight as apps available on official app stores. Some third-party apps may contain malware, spyware, or other malicious code that can compromise your device’s security and steal personal information.
  2. Data Privacy: Third-party apps may collect and misuse your personal data without your knowledge or consent. These apps may access sensitive information stored on your device, track your online activities, or share your data with third parties for targeted advertising or other purposes. This makes a good case for implementing proper data protection and security measures.
  3. Compatibility and Reliability: Third-party apps may not be as reliable or compatible with your device as apps provided by trusted sources. They may crash frequently, have compatibility issues with your operating system or other apps, or cause other technical problems.
  4. Lack of Updates and Support: Third-party apps may not receive regular updates or support from developers. This can lead to compatibility issues with new operating system versions or security vulnerabilities that go unpatched, leaving your device exposed to potential threats due to outdated technology.
  5. Inadequate User Reviews and Ratings: Unlike official app stores that have stricter review processes, third-party app sources often lack reliable user reviews and ratings. This makes it challenging to assess the quality, safety, and overall user experience of these apps.
  6. Legal and Copyright Issues: Some third-party apps may infringe upon intellectual property rights, such as copyrighted content or trademarks. Installing and using such apps could potentially lead to legal repercussions.

To minimize the risks associated with third-party apps, consider the following precautions

The Best Ways to Safeguard Your Device and Data from Third-Party Risks

Fortunately, for those of us running Google Apps and other cloud services, we have affordable solutions for monitoring and managing third party app access to your data.

Our Recommendation to Shield Your Device from Potential Harm

If you are running Google Apps, we generally recommend BetterCloud Enterprise as our preferred solution for several reasons:

  • The Domain Health and Insight Center provides you with activity reports, alerts, and advanced reporting
  • Bettercloud includes a robust suite of Google Apps admin tools that are not available in the Google Apps Admin Console, including bulk actions, dynamic groups, and a user deprovisioning wizard
  • BetterCloud monitors and lets you manage third party app access to any data within Google Apps, and provides a trust rating to help you determine which applications pose a risk
  • BetterCloud monitors activity in Drive against business rules to ensure compliance with data privacy policies and regulations. BetterCloud will proactively modify permissions and send alerts to prevent accidental or intentional violations.

Additional Ways to Guard Against the Pitfalls of Third-Party Apps

  • Only download apps from trusted sources, such as official app stores or reputable websites.
  • Read reviews and ratings from other users before installing an app.
  • Check the permissions requested by the app and ensure they are necessary for its functionality.
  • Keep your device’s operating system and security software up to date.
  • Use reputable antivirus software to scan apps before installation.
  • Be cautious when granting excessive permissions or sharing sensitive information with apps.
  • Regularly review and remove any unused or suspicious apps from your device.

How Cumulus Can Help Protect You From Third-Party App Risks

While there is a minimum fee for BetterCloud Enterprise, you can try BetterCloud for free for up to 30 days.  If you like what you see, we will waive the setup fees.  If not, you can keep running the Domain Health and Insight Center for free.