Drew Shanahan

Let's face it: Migrating to Microsoft Azure just isn't as straightforward as switching from a local version of Office to Office 365. Managed well, cloud migrations can pay great dividends, but for small and midsize businesses, the move can be more than a little intimidating. Most IT organizations tackle the process by starting with infrastructure…

Small to midsize businesses have small staffs, so they’re profoundly dependent on technology that enables their employees to be productive all day, every day — whether they’re in the office, on the road or working from home. Software solutions that support this level of mobility have become must-haves for such businesses, enabling small teams to…

You’ve read through Part 3 of my backup and recovery series and decided that cloud backups are the right thing to do. What do you do next? First, you will need an Azure subscription that has access to create a Storage account. This can be obtained a couple different ways, the easiest of which is to…

Backing up data to the cloud sounds like a great idea. But, then what? You’ve decided to take the plunge, now you have to start the journey. I talked about other parts of backup and recovery in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. There are several factors to consider when making the switch…

In Are You Taking the Right Approach to Backup and Recovery? Part 1 we covered many of the reasons backups fail, as well as the importance of having a backup strategy that fits your situation. Data storage needs are growing exponentially, which means more data also needs protecting for longer periods of time. Tape storage…

Are you still using tape to store your organization’s critical data? Are those tapes sent offsite daily? How long does it take to restore data if it is deleted, corrupted or destroyed? How will it impact your business? Backup and recovery are at the cornerstone of any IT shop. Above all else – if you…

Windows is not known for its security protection; attackers mostly target Windows devices because of the large install base and lenient security practices. Most IT admins know the pain of trying to clean an infected Windows machine from a multitude of toolbars, ad programs, malware and viruses. In a large organization, this problem is compounded…

Software is quickly evolving to deliver just-in-time services with frequent updates. Our mobile devices get updates to the OS and applications almost every single day, which is seamless to the users. Everything from our phones to our computers, thermostats, cars, servers and SaaS apps have all adopted this method to constantly keep software up-to-date. This…

Windows Server 2016, Microsoft’s cloud-ready operating system, promises to deliver new layers of security and Azure-based innovation when it becomes available this fall. A look at the preview version reveals that Microsoft has built multiple layers of protection into its latest iteration of the server operating system. Additionally, software-defined data center technologies will give businesses…

You have deployed some virtual machines into Azure, AWS, Google, Rackspace — or all of the above. Your email and a growing number of applications are being hosted not just in your data center, but also in the cloud. The tools you have been using to monitor and manage these platforms don’t work so well…

It’s easy for just about anyone to pick up a device and be productive in no time. Your users expect their documents and apps to be available just about anywhere from any device -- and sometimes many devices. But how are you protecting the sensitive data on these devices that could be anywhere in the…

What is your data worth? What if it got out into the public or fell into your competitors’ hands? Would it impact your organization or your reputation? What about your customers? How much would it affect your bottom line?  Data is your organization’s lifeblood and it contains a lot of sensitive information, not just about…

Microsoft has built upon their success with the Surface Pro 3 with the recent announcement of the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. These two new devices use the latest Intel chipsets, processors and components to deliver the best performance, battery life and security features of any tablet or notebook on the market today.  The…

The question to upgrade to a new operating system for any organization has far reaching impact to not only IT staff, but also to all of your users. There are always risks, the cost of support and the potential loss of productivity for the organization. With that said, should you take the time to evaluate…

So, Windows 7 has been out for six years and is the most reliable and stable operating system to-date. It is used on almost a billion devices around the world (870 million to be exact). Support doesn’t even end until 2020. It took a lot of effort and time to get off of Windows XP…

Mobility is dramatically changing the workplace to make companies more agile, efficient and productive. But these benefits don’t come without costs, and one of those costs is security. As more work is done on mobile devices that could fall into anyone’s hands, sensitive corporate data and documents must be appropriately protected. Companies must be diligent…

Windows 10 is coming – soon. Microsoft has announced that it will be giving away Windows 10 for free, but is this offer too good to be true? There is fine print for you to be aware of and some requirements, but you might be pleasantly surprised on what qualifies. The Requirements – Windows 10 has been…

Microsoft is making some ambitious goals with the next release of Windows – Windows 10. It’s not only targeted at the firm’s desktop/laptop users, but also Windows Phone and Xbox customers. Windows 10 will be a common platform for the majority of devices that are used at home and work. The features include the ability…