Here’s why:

Expand Your Business

Choosing a cloud hosting option that’s scalable gives you the best opportunity to have your network grow with your business in the future. Many companies hold off on moving to the cloud because they feel as though they aren’t quite ready to do so. Perhaps they don’t yet have the funds or the client-base to make that kind of change. However, making the move to the cloud in the beginning stages will not only make your business more accessible to more people, but it will also allow you to save money in the long run. This is because most MSPs offer scalable solutions, so you don’t need to pay for what you aren’t using right now — you can always make the necessary upgrades later on.

Take More Time for What Matters

Turning to an MSP means that in addition to gifting your company a brand new infrastructure set-up next year, you will also have the support of a professional provider. This means they will manage everything, while you continue doing the many jobs you need to do as a company leader. If you have a lot of projects you’re hoping to get done next year, managing your network shouldn’t get in the way. Make it your resolution to work on what you need to do, while an MSP stays on top of the rest. After all, why risk losing all the hard work you’ve done when your MSP can provide amazing backup and disaster recovery solutions?

Wowrack wants you to be on the right track for next year. Contact us to learn more.

Keep the Important Jobs in the Hand of Professionals

Is not knowing who to trust holding you back from making some changes for next year? That’s understandable, and exactly why we stress the importance of making sure you can trust your MSP. This is why Wowrack offers data center tours to ensure you’re getting a good look at the services you’ll be receiving. Therefore, you can feel confident knowing that this important job lies in the hands of a  dedicated team of experts. There will always be someone available that can solve the problem your network may be presenting, but ultimately, the team will help recognize any problems well before they occur.

Also, it helps to know that if something does happen — for instance, a data breach — you won’t necessarily be the one held completely responsible.

Provide Consistent Customer Satisfaction

Lastly, a major goal you should have for the upcoming year is to continue growing that trust between you and your clients. One of the ways to achieve this is by maximizing your security standards, thereby ensuring your customers that you’re doing everything in your power to mitigate risks that could have the potential to leak their information. This is why, depending on the industry you’re in, it’s so important to practice compliance laws. Opting for the services of an MSP as one of your New Year’s resolutions will help you bring in more customers, and improve your CRM overall. Additionally, it will keep you safe from problems like shut-downs, delays, data disasters, breaches, and visits from auditors. A strong approach to this means happy customers.

So, what’s the hold up? Let us help you achieve the New Year’s resolutions you have for your company.

The post Turning to Managed Services Should be Your Company’s New Year Resolution appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

You don’t need any problems to give you a spook. Here’s a list of the scariest things that can happen to your network and how to face them
h21) Your System Could Get Hacked

One of the most common yet unwarranted things that can happen to your network is that your system gets hacked. Some hacks are indeed worse than others, and the more sensitive information your company deals with, the more likely that a hack could cause a lot of problems in your company’s future. Therefore, it’s really important that your managed cloud hosting provider is utilizing a secure server and that they are keeping up with the latest security measures. It’s also critical that there is a solid disaster recovery system in place if you do get hacked.

2) Your Company is Audited for Compliance

There’s nothing scarier than auditors coming to knock on your door to see if you’re being compliant with security standards! If your company works in the Payment Card Industry, the Healthcare Industry, or any other industry where you collect private information from your clients or customers, you can expect auditors to come by. And, if you’re not prepared with proof of your compliance…well, let’s just hope it won’t come to that.

The good news is that your managed hosting provider is supposed to be taking care of all compliance practices on their end. That being said, it’s still your responsibility to check in about this as often as possible.

3) Too Much Traffic Slows Down Your Server

What’s more frightening than your server not being able to handle all the traffic it’s getting? While having a lot of traffic is never a bad thing, it can actually be a nightmare if it’s slowing everything down. Because, as soon as a website becomes frustratingly slow, people are going to turn away.

The best way to handle this is by making sure your managed service provider has scalable options for whichever package you decide to go with. When it’s scalable, it gives you the option of expanding your service as your business grows.

Wowrack understands the fears you have when it comes to utilizing a managed cloud hosting provider.
Contact us to learn how we can provide you the most secure services out there!

4) You Lose Your Data in a Breach

So, let’s say a hack does happen or an IT error occurs that causes you to lose a lot of sensitive information. After you reboot your system, you go back in and realize that all your files are just GONE. Well, that’s indeed pretty terrifying.

But, as long as you have constant backup for your cloud and a disaster recovery system that’s ready to deploy at any time, this won’t be anything you have to worry about.

5) A Natural Disaster Causes Your Server’s Data Center to Shut-Down

And, last but not least, but probably the scariest of all, is if a natural disaster or storm of some kind physically knocks into the data center where your server is held. Obviously, something like this can’t be prevented.

Or, can it?

One of the most important things you should do when inquiring about a prospective managed cloud hosting provider is schedule a visit to one of their data centers. If it’s in a zone that’s in the path of Mother Nature’s wrath, it’s best to look elsewhere.

Don’t let your fears become a reality. Take the proper measures BEFORE signing a contract with an MSP.

The post 5 Scary Things That Can Happen to Your Network appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

But, as you start to use Internet more and more for your business, you might end up learning the hard way that there’s a lot more that goes into having good Internet — and good Internet service overall. Obviously, both need to be reliable in order to get the best bang for your buck. Of course, part of investing in reliable Internet service is knowing what you’re getting, or in some cases, not getting.

Do you understand how your Internet service really works? These points should help you make sure you’re asking the right questions to your prospective ISP.

The Right Fiber Technology

The way people have connected to the Internet has changed dramatically over the years. As technology has improved, Internet Service Providers want to make sure they are providing the best packages possible to their customers.

That being said, you want to make sure your ISP is using the right fiber technology. Fibers can allow for the fastest possible connection, up to 10gbps.

That’s fast.

But, is it right for your business?

What Do You Get in Addition to High-Speeds?

Okay, high-speed Internet — that’s good, right?

Yes, it is. But, speed isn’t everything.

When you’re investing in the support of an Internet Service Provider, you want to see what else you get in addition to that high speed. Is there cloud backup available, and to what degree? How much server space are you getting? And, what about actual SERVICE? Will your ISP be there when you need them, without having to pay extra?

When you take all those questions into account, it’s clear that just having fast connectivity speeds isn’t the only thing that makes Internet services “good.”

Wowrack offers scalable Internet packages at a competitive price. Contact us today to learn more.

Is it Scalable?

As we mentioned before, the quality of the Internet is one thing. But, the quality of the Internet service itself is another. Part of having good Internet service is understanding whether or not the package you’re getting is scalable.

Much like the advancement of Internet technology, your business’ needs can change overtime. So, you don’t want to sign a contract with an ISP that keeps you locked into the largest, most expensive package, especially if money is tight.

Business might become slow. Business might grow rapidly. The thing is, you never really know.

You want the ability to change your Internet package whenever you need to. Because, if it’s not scalable, it’s not good Internet.

There are tons of Internet Service Providers out there. But, what is it that they are really providing, and how does one company stand out from the competition?

The post Do You Understand How Good Internet Service Really Works? appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

That’s why you should consider doing a tour of your prospective data center, before signing a contract.

Why Visit the Data Center

Even though your data is going to soon be managed in the cloud, that cloud still has to exist in a physical space somewhere. A data center is a place where a network of servers is kept. These servers handle a lot of data (in this case, your company’s data) and keep it safe, secure, and accessible for whenever you need it. Of course, some data centers are better at doing this job than others.

By visiting the actual data center, you can have a first-hand look at these servers. Just like the same way you would check out a building before signing a lease or scoping out a restaurant before choosing to sit down, it’s very similar.

What You Should Be Looking Out For

When you go on a tour of the data center, there are a few things you want to be paying attention to. One is you want to see the overall conditions of the center. If it looks pretty dusty, there are wires all over the place, and you can feel the intense heat coming off the machines, then those are all big red flags.

You want to make sure this data center is secure, has a cooling system that you can feel, and that it seems to be organized and well maintained. If this is where your data is going to be stored, it’s important that things are in a good place.

Wowrack offers potential clients tours of our data centers, so you can feel certain about signing on with us. Contact us today to schedule a visit.

What You Should Ask and Think About During and After Your Visit

While you’re visiting your prospective data center, you’re going to want to ask some questions about the place, so you can know information beyond what you can just see with your eyes.

• What’s this data center’s network capacity?
• Is the location of the data center in a place that’s prone to storms natural disasters?
• Does it have a generator or some other kind of backup solution if the power goes out?
• What were some challenges this data center has faced and how did they recover?
• How’s the physical security of the building?
• In addition to 24/7 management, is there in-house support in case something goes wrong?
• Is the data center facility free of any law-suits/financially secure?

When inquiring about the services of a managed hosting provider, ask them if you can take a tour of their data centers. If that’s not something they offer, move on to the next candidate.

The post Why You Should Consider Doing a Tour of Your Prospective Data Center appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Even after your potential hosting provider has sold you on their various packages, level of support, reliable data centers, and overall costs, there’s still one thing left you should ask.

And, that question is, how long has this hosting provider been around?

Why History is Important

Technology changes every minute, and the way computers were handled twenty, ten, or even five years ago, has changed dramatically. While on one hand it might be good to go with a hosting provider that’s new to the game and definitely up to date on all the new technology, they’re lacking that relevant and reliable history. On the other hand, a company who has been around for ages has been able to grow with the times. They’ve likely seen it all, and they have experience taking on new or different responsibilities.
After all, would you rather go with a doctor in his residency or one who has been healing patients for twenty plus years?

It Takes Time to Develop a Business

Just like your business is growing, your potential hosting provider has also grown a lot, especially if they’ve been around a while. In this time that they have grown, they have learned what they’re are good at and have had time to learn from their mistakes as well. A hosting provider has had time to build upon the different structures they’ve been using, build more data centers, follow steps to becoming compliant, and have overcome any obstacles they’ve hit along the way.

Like any new company, an up and coming hosting provider may not quite yet have the tools to support you in the best way possible, since they are still learning how to do many things themselves for the very first time.

Going with a hosting provider that has a long, qualified history, can leave you feeling more certain about who and what you’re investing in.

Wowrack has been around since 2001 and has an impressive timeline. Contact us today to learn more about how our long experience as a hosting provider can help your company more than the new guy on the block.

Compliance and Security is a Priority

As a hosting provider that collects sensitive information from their clients, it’s imperative that they follow compliance laws, and that they guide you into practicing compliance laws with your own clients, too. If one party isn’t practicing this, it can put the other at risk. But, how does one come to perfect their compliance?

After years of experience, of course.

Going with a hosting provider who has been around for quite some time will leave you with less concern in this department.

Experienced Staff and Expert Equipment

When a hosting provider company is just a start-up, they need time to figure out who they are. Time that you don’t have to waste. Even if they have the best staff and they’re working with great equipment, they haven’t yet had time or money to expand on what they can potentially  offer in the future. But, a hosting company who has been around for awhile, likely does. Additionally, a company with history can also provide reliable testimonies that you can use to help you make your decision.

So, who will you go with?

The post Why It’s Important that Your Hosting Provider Has Been Around a While appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Doesn’t your company deserve the same protection? After all, how do you plan on keeping business moving when the unexpected happens?

The Cost of a Disaster on Your Business

It goes without saying that even the smallest of IT disruptions can wreak havoc on your business. According to research done by Information Week, out of the 200 companies surveyed, the total cost of any IT downtime was over 26 billion. That translates to $150,000 lost annually by each company.

Not only is it a financial loss, but it’s also a long-term catastrophe. Companies who experience any type of IT shut-down, whether it’s due to a hack or a power-outage, can leave a bad taste with their clients. Their clients are going to be less likely to trust this company in the future, and may go with a competitor instead. Ultimately, the effects are long term.

Therefore, it’s no question that having a plan when disaster strikes is imperative. Just choosing the right provider with a solid approach is a major step in the right direction.

What is DRaas and How It Can Specifically Help YOU

Disaster Recovery as a Service, or DRaas, is a unique solution to disaster recovery designed by an expert provider catered specifically to your company’s needs. No two businesses are the same, whether it’s the size of their clientele, the type of industry they’re in, or the profits made. This means that your DRaas solution will be quite different from the next guy’s.

Your provider will help plan and design, architect, and deploy your disaster recovery solution from start to finish. This way, you’re fully prepared if and when a problem occurs. It will be your very own, fully managed, custom environment, that you can rely on. And, it doesn’t need to be expensive, either, as your provider can help you find a solution that fits your budget just as well as everything else.

Wowrack offers budget-friendly and high-quality DRaas packages that will fit your company’s’ needs. Contact us today to learn more.

How Your Provider Keeps Business Continuity

The most important thing any DRaas does is allow your business to keep moving if you get stalled by an IT interruption, whatever that may be. Sometimes, these interruptions can take some time to discover and solve, and you don’t want to have to keep your business waiting around in the meantime. As mentioned before, that can result in huge loss for your business.

Wouldn’t it be better to pay a little more to have that peace of mind? Knowing that you’ll be okay even if disaster strikes is a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

With the right DRaas solution, you provider goes through a series of steps to make sure your business continues running in the event of a disaster.

After your provider audits you in order to understand what your current IT situation stands, they’ll engineer a plan using their own internal procedures and tools that will be very similar to the infrastructure you’re already using. Once that’s taken care of, your provider will get ready to deploy that solution any time, anywhere, and will test it first to make sure it’s ready to go. Finally, your provider will constantly monitor your systems to make sure your data stays safe and your disaster recovery solution is ready to go at any moment.

With a DRaas, there’s no need to worry anymore. If something happens, your data will be protected and easy to retrieve in an instant. Meanwhile, your provider handles everything behind the scenes, so you can keep business going without IT interruptions getting in the way.

The post How Your Provider Can Help You When Disaster Strikes appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Here’s why:

A GPU Server Gives You Access on Any Device

That’s right. You don’t need a big, fancy computer to work all those graphic-heavy applications on. After all, that would kinda defeat the purpose. A company who relies on a strong GPU system might need to use a tablet out in the field or be able to download a complex document on their phone. If you can only do what you need to do at your computer located in your office, you’re not being efficient. And, that’s exactly the kind of thing a GPU server wants you to be more of.

Offices in Various Locations

If you’re a big company who has offices in every part of the state, country, or world, you need to make sure everyone can see and work on the same things. Especially if your company provides time-sensitive services, you need each office to have the ability to get things done without any slow downs. A GPU server gives you the ability to run all your applications no matter where you are in the world.

Wowrack provides the option for your business to utilize our reliable GPU servers, so you can have perfect access no matter where you are in the world.  Contact us today to learn more.

Send Messages and Look Over Things

When you’re traveling or on the road for whatever reason, you still need to do your job. Even if you’re in an area where the Internet access is slower than you’re used to, you can’t afford to be held up. You need to be able to get in touch with your colleagues, and look over things so you can approve them before they go out to a mass audience. A GPU server can handle your work wherever you are, so you don’t need to worry about your travels getting in the way of you conducting your business.

The whole reason a company chooses to invest in a GPU server is because they have very specific needs. The programs a company uses, or is looking to use, functions at its best when the right technology is their to support it. Even if you spend most of your time at your office, you want the ability to get work done when you’re on the go. The right GPU server can do that for you.

The post Always on the Go? A GPU Server Has Your Travel Plans Covered appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

While a GPU server is best for businesses working in certain industries like Media & Entertainment, Data Analytics, and Computer Design, their starting to become more popular among other industries as well; industries whom may have put aside the idea of a GPU server until further notice.

But,  if you have never considered a GPU server before, here’s why it might be time to jump on the bandwagon.

Are You Using Technology to Advance Your Business?

More and more companies are finding ways to incorporate technology in their businesses; ways which weren’t even thought of twenty, or even ten, years ago. For instance, take a look at oil and gas companies. When planning development for an oil field, scouters don’t have the ability to see through the ground and determine whether or not the place is a good place to start building. But, having a supercomputers that can demonstrate oil-rig simulators will help these companies save resources in the long run.

But, you can’t expect to use a supercomputer and utilize graphic-heavy workloads when you don’t have a server that can manage such a workload. If you find yourself using technology in a similar way, then it’s not out of the question for you to inquire about a GPU server for your own company.

Are You Getting Frustrated from Things Slowing There?

All computers and servers have chips in them to display images onto your monitor or device screen. Nowadays, most CPUs, or central processing units, are well-equipped enough to handle the basic images and videos we need to work. But, with so many complex apps out there that companies are now using, servers need to be able to handle it. If you’re finding that your current system is performing at too slow of a rate, it might be time to upgrade to something that is capable of handling such demanding environments.

A GPU server could be a great idea for your company. Contact us today to learn more.

The Bottom Line

Even though GPU servers may be more suited for some companies more than others, that doesn’t mean exceptions can’t be made. A GPU server is for any company who feels that they’re not getting enough from their current CPU server, and believes they need a serious upgrade to support their work.

Speak with your managed hosting provider about your concerns and why you feel a GPU server could be best for your company. They’ll walk you through the benefits and whether not it’s the right choice for you.

The post Why More Businesses are Turning to GPU Servers (And You Should, Too) appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

While most managed hosting options do their best to guarantee security, it’s good to know what that means. So, in the case of GPU servers, one thing to note is how well an MSP can integrate DDoS protection and mitigation into the overall package.

What is DDoS?

Most companies are familiar with DDoS attacks. But, if you need a refresher, DDoS is a sophisticated type of attack that stands for “Distributed Denial of Service.” This happens when multiple compromised systems flood the bandwidth of a targeted system (in this case your GPU server) by overloading it with traffic it can’t handle. This would of course be hard to stop and would quickly disrupt a company’s operations, by making it hard to filter out legitimate traffic versus unreliable traffic.

Some ways in which a company may realize a DDoS attack is happening is by noticing website behavior that’s out of the norm. This can include anything from rapidly increasing traffic (with no explanation), slow network (or slow loading of graphics on GPU servers), and the inability of users to access certain pages or the entire website altogether.

Why DDoS Protection is Important in GPU Servers

While any company should be proactive in preventing any kind of cyber security attack, it’s true that no two attacks are the same. Certain attacks are also more likely to happen on certain servers more so than others.

Though the industries that would require a GPU server (scientific research, engineering and computer design, media and entertainment, etc) can really be prone to any type of cyber security attack, DDoS attacks tend to be more common here.

And, since GPU servers are used for the sole purpose of speeding up functions, anything that can get in the way of that can cost your company big time. Companies who rely heavily on graphics and complex apps need a server that can support that kind of thing. Therefore, anything that could potentially slow down the server is a big risk to the company. Hence, DDoS attacks need to be prevented as best as they can be.

In addition to providing great solutions for your company in a GPU server, Wowrack will also take extra precautions in making sure your server is protected from DDoS attacks. Contact us today to learn more.

The Bottom Line

Your MSP will take all kinds of measures to protect your GPS server from a DDoS attack. However, nothing is ever 100% preventable. That’s why in addition to protection, they also help with mitigation. This means that in the case an attack does occur, they’ll do what they can to minimize the damage and get you up and running in no time.

The post How GPU Servers Integrate DDoS Protection and Mitigation appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Every network is built off a series of elements. For example, a typical LAN (Local Area Network) consists of common devices that often exist in many business settings. If your business is using IT, the chances are that these elements will likely be present within their IT infrastructure.

On the first day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

And a hypervisor let’s servers sit within a server!

Virtual servers – in layman’s terms are: “servers within a server.” Installing a network tool called a hypervisor on a server within (or on top) lets you run multiple virtual machines (VMs). A hypervisor is essentially a software tool for segmenting partitions of a server in multiple portions to create smaller-sized servers.

On the second day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Two-node failover clusters.

Cluster – a cluster is a group of servers that perform the same functions in parallel, allowing for multiple web servers or data servers to share the workloads amongst the group. This way, you don’t have to make your single server larger just to increase capacity. Instead, just add more servers together in your architecture!

On the third day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Three thousand workloads…

Mainframe servers – these servers are very large and serve as multi-functional equipment. They have the capability to run enormous amounts of traffic, supporting the workloads of thousands of users. Generally costing millions of dollars and found almost exclusively in fortune 500 companies or big financial firms.

On the fourth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Four redundant layers.

High Availability servers – although not as powerful (or expensive) as mainframe servers, these types of servers are also geared to house production applications. They are still very powerful computing intensive machines, but they also offer as the name implies: high availability. What this feature does is provide multiple hard drives arranged typically in a RAID array to offer redundancy, power supply backups, and redundant network interfaces.

On the fifth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Five websites down!

Web server – if you ever wondered how web pages are displayed, it’s because your internet browsers are connecting to a web server. Several software appliances can perform the function of a web server such as Apache or Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Services).

On the sixth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Six files-a-sharing.

File server – functions as a server to share files with users. Examples include Linux based SAMBA servers to allow for FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Today most file servers are cloud-based such as Google Drive and Dropbox.

On the seventh day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Seven Too. Many. Color. Pages.

Print server – manages the queue of printing requests by all the users in an office. Instead of having printing jobs sent directly to a printer, it gets directed to the print server and then the server distributes the workloads through designated printers.

On the eighth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Eight middleware apps need debugging.

Application server – these types of servers function to run enterprise applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software such as Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP) or a locally developed application.

On the ninth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Nine email servers deleted.

Mail server— functioned (past tense) as a server to handle all the email within a business. Today Office 365, Microsoft Exchange, and Google’s Gmail have become the gold standard SaaS models for handling email.

On the tenth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Ten databases still not upgraded.

Database server – almost always present in every business, these servers organize the data used by employees and system administrators. Popular options include Microsoft SQL and Oracle.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Eleven videos buffering.

Media server – these servers act exclusively for video streaming and sharing photographs (used to host photo galleries).

On the twelfth day of Christmas my DC tech said to me:

Twelve groups collaborating.

Collaboration server – functions as a waypoint enabling business to work together. Examples are Microsoft SharePoint and IMB Lotus.

Happy holidays from the Wowrack team!

The post The Twelve Types Of Servers Before Christmas appeared first on Wowrack Blog.