Choosing to host your company’s IT infrastructure and data in the cloud is no easy decision. However, the number of advantages that the cloud offers you and your business can make this change well worth it. The cloud is able to offer you many more features and guarantees for your data than you typically have in your own on-site or in-office server room. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages hosting in the cloud will provide.

1. Reduced Data Loss

This is one of the first things cloud vendors will tell you, and they’ll be right. Many laptops are not safely protecting data with the appropriate encryption. Data is sent here and there and it’s lost here and there. Cloud encryption protects transmitted data every time. And then there’s the obvious data loss issue. How many hard drives need to fail before we all recognize the incredible peace of mind cloud storage can provide? Cloud hosting varies in its security offerings, so look for a host that offers secure firewalls and robust backups.

2. Better Monitoring

Centralized storage makes it easier to monitor and control your data. Yes, this does mean you’re putting all of your data eggs in one basket, but as an IT professional I would much rather know where my data is and focus my security efforts on that location than spread my data all over the place and hope for the best. Besides, “all in one place” doesn’t have the same meaning for cloud servers. Cloud networks are mirrored so data is safe, regardless of what might happen to a single machine.

3. Responding to Problems

If a cloud server is compromised, it’s a matter of seconds to restore all of the lost data from backups. This means you have no downtime, ever. You can restore data remotely, from anywhere, and with your robust cloud monitoring, you’ll know the second a problem arises. With all of your data in one location, you can easily assess the problem and fix it.

4. Improved Logs

Logging is often overlooked, or it’s an afterthought and this means you may not have enough room allocated for your logs. With the cloud, you can index your logs for instant search results. This is true real-time view of your information. If your company is concerned with establishing a server audit trail, you can easily opt-in to allocate resources for extended logging.

5. Improved Security Software Performance

Security vendors are more accountable when their clients are more vigilant. The security concerns so many of us have surrounding the cloud have made many security software companies step up their game. They’re not only making their software more comprehensive and robust, they’re making it more efficient. Cloud clients are watching their billable CPU cycles. They know how much it’s costing them to run software. Visibility equals accountability.

In the end, if you’re concerned about the security of your data, cloud hosting is the best possible option. Best of all, it is designed with businesses in mind—providing the kind of security and accessibility that has never been available before. In addition to all that, it’s cheaper and more efficient than housing your own infrastructure in-house.

Need help choosing the right Cloud solution for your business? Contact TurnKey Internet today for a FREE consultation with our cloud hosting experts! Visit our website at turnkeyinternet.net or call us at 877-539-4638

The question of where to store data and sensitive information continues to concern many businesses. If you are like most companies, you worry about the security of your data. You may be thinking that you need to keep the data as close to you as possible, storing it at your own on-site server room where you can “keep an eye on everything.” How could you possible know what is happening with your data at a data center far away from your office space?

The fact of the matter is, however, that your data is much more secure at a data center, than on your in-house servers. A data center is able to offer you many more security features and guarantees for your data than you have in your own space. However, you have to feel comfortable with your data center keeping your data. A quick look at the many benefits of cloud storage may help convince you.

Benefits of The Cloud

Choosing to migrate your data and IT infrastructure into a data center or cloud provider is no easy decision. However, the number of benefits that data centers offer to you and your business can make this change well worth it. Consider the many benefits, including:

1. Data security – Possibly the most important aspect of cloud storage, data security is the main priority of data centers. With some high-profile companies becoming the victims of data breaches in the last couple of years, data centers and cloud providers have upped their investments in access control, identity management, intrusion prevention and virus and malware protection. These improvements have resulted in increased security protocols and more protection for communication between users and servers.
2. DDoS protection – Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are designed to overwhelm servers, flooding them with requests until the security breaks down and actual user needs are ignored. Such an attack can derail a business quickly, losing revenue, customer trust and authority. Data centers are now providing services that monitor and protect against DDoS attacks.
3. Regulatory compliance – Data centers are required to follow the industry and governmental regulations that oversee their sectors. This includes guarantees and restitutions for your data in the event of a breach.
4. Reduced in-house data costs – Migrating all of your data and infrastructure into a data center will allow you to reduce the size and cost of your on-site location. For example, you will be able to remove servers, lower your software costs and potentially reduce IT staff without compromising the integrity or security of your data. Most cloud storage is paid on an as-needed basis, so you will only pay for the amount of server and infrastructure capacity that your business needs, and you can change that amount at any time.
5. Constant availability – Data centers are exceptionally reliable. The connection is on 99.99 percent of the time, only going down for maintenance, and you will have access to your applications and data at all times and from practically anywhere.
6. Improved mobility and collaboration – The Cloud is available to those who need it no matter where they are located. With today’s internet connections via tablets and smartphones, you will be able to access your data and your applications no matter what you are doing. You can also share your information and conduct collaborations via shared storage capabilities offered by cloud providers.

Choosing the Right Data Center

Once you have decided that storing your information in the cloud is the right decision for your business, you will need to find the right data center provider. You are placing all of your important data in the hands of this provider, so you must make sure that you choose the right one.

The best way to find the right data center is to begin by talking to some of the provider’s current clients. These are the people who have already made the decision to trust the provider, and they will have the best insight into how the provider works and what it can offer. Try some of these questions to discover more about the service that you are considering:

• Did you find the on-boarding process relatively easy to accomplish?
• Did the service provide education and training about the new technology for your staff?
• What is the technical support like when you encounter problems with the service?
• Have you personally experienced any serious security concerns or incidents?
• How have your security concerns been handled by the provider?

If you are dissatisfied with any of the responses to these questions, you do not have to use that particular provider. Keep looking and asking questions until you find a data center that meets your needs and that makes you feel comfortable.

Your Security and Peace of Mind

Technology is constantly changing and improving, and you need to be able to trust that your data center will keep up with the evolution of security needs. For any cloud service, find out whether there are security protocols in place, including:

• Physical security of the data center
• Environmental controls
• Back-up measures for power and internet
• Back-up measures for your data
• Technical support when you need it

Frequent system audits are also necessary in order to ensure that all servers meet or exceed industry standards for data security.

When you are searching for a data center, ask potential candidates about their compliance to SSAE 16/SOC1. This set of standards measures the amount of control that a service organization maintains over your sensitive data and financial information. An audit will report any flaws in data flow. You should also inquire about compliance to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This regulation ensures the security and privacy of private health information that is stored on cloud services. A HIPAA audit will demonstrate holes in the security of such specific and sensitive data. If your data center choice is compliant with both of these standards, you can rest assured that your sensitive data will be monitored and its integrity will be maintained.

Choosing to put your business information in a data center rather than housing it on-site is an important decision that requires careful vetting of your potential provider. Once you have chosen a service, you can trust that a data center will keep your important information safe and secure.

TurnKey Internet owns and operates its own private data center located in New York’s Tech Valley region. Our SSAE-16 Certified data center was a former U.S. Government building that was purchased by TurnKey in 2010. It is made to U.S. Federal Government standards, with 1-foot thick concrete along the perimeter, plus additional reinforced walls and security enhancements. We have installed advanced security systems, and infrared based surveillance monitoring cameras. Employees all undergo background screening, and clients are not permitted within the facility except with photo ID and escorted by trained security personnel at all times. Owning our data center, we have been able to design, build and maintain every aspect of its construction to provide an ideal hosted server environment. This allows us to provide our clients fast, secure and reliable performance at all times. For more information, visit www.TurnKeyInternet.net

Once you have decided that utilizing the cloud is the right decision for your business, you will need to find the right provider and datacenter. You are placing all of your important data or even your company’s entire IT infrastructure in the hands of this provider, so you must make sure that you choose the right one.

The best way to find the right cloud provider is to begin by talking to some of the provider’s current clients. These are the people who have already made the decision to trust the provider, and they will have the best insight into how the provider works and what it can offer. Try some of these questions to discover more about the service that you are considering:

• Did you find the on-boarding process relatively easy to accomplish?
• What is the technical support like when you encounter problems?
• Have you personally experienced any serious security concerns or incidents?
• How have your security concerns been handled by the provider?

If you are dissatisfied with any of the responses to these questions, you do not have to use that particular provider. Keep looking and asking questions until you find a cloud service that meets your needs and that makes you feel comfortable.

Technology is constantly changing and improving, and you need to be able to trust that your datacenter will keep up with the evolution of security needs. For any cloud service, find out whether there are security protocols in place, including:

• Physical security of the datacenter
• Environmental controls
• Back-up measures for power and internet
• Back-up measures for your data
• Technical support when you need it

Frequent system audits are also necessary in order to ensure that all datacenters meet or exceed industry standards for data security. When you are searching for a cloud provider, ask potential candidates about their compliance to SSAE-16/SOC1. This set of standards measures the amount of control that a datacenter maintains over your sensitive data and financial information. An audit will report any flaws in data flow. You should also inquire about compliance to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This regulation ensures the security and privacy of private health information that is stored or hosted in a datacenter.

If your cloud provider’s datacenter is compliant with both of these standards, you can rest assured that your sensitive data will be monitored and its integrity will be maintained.

Choosing to put your business information or IT infrastructure in a cloud provider’s datacenter rather than housing it on-site is an important decision that requires careful vetting of your potential provider. Once you have chosen the right provider, you can trust that their datacenter will keep your company’s important information safe and secure.

Negotiation is both an art and a form of war.  On nearly a daily basis I find myself discussing with a potential new client reviewing our Cloud Server offerings that makes a general statement that the price is too high and could we match another offer they found on the Internet.

Often these requests are inclusive of a generic statement that they saw a lower priced offer on social media web site or forum from a competitor that may or may not be named, and may or may not even have a specific online offer, but our potential new client insists we should match the deal to earn their loyalty.

It’s not unheard of for someone to try and negotiate a deal, and sometimes people may bend the facts of a competing offer to see how far they can push  a discount or deal – after all we are living in a Black Friday ‘discount’ society now – year round bargains, and a good deal is front and center in just about any discussion between a customer and a business.  Deals are not just about TV’s and electronics any more – Cloud Services, IT Services, Internet Access – its more and more common to ask for a deal these days on everything,.

Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ suggests “Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” – and closing a sale when a potential client looks to you to match their perception of a good deal can be a real battle.  When I see these types of requests I seize the opportunity to showcase what I’m bringing to the table, and that few if any other competitor can come close to the total value being proposed. When I hear a potential client asking if I can “match their price”, I focus on asking the potential client if their other offer can “match what our service provides”.

My response usually looks like this.

Thank you for considering TurnKey Internet’s Cloud Servers – and I appreciate the opportunity to help showcase why we are the best fit for your IT project needs. You asked if we could ‘match’ this other offer you referenced, and I wanted to first clarify to help ensure we are comparing apples to apples (or at least apples to another fruit!)

Does this other competitor offer and provide :

• A money back guarantee, in writing – do they stand behind what they sell with a written policy?
• A 100% Service Level Agreement (Uptime, Network, Security, and more) in writing to guarantee your business?
• Do they Answer the phone – Pick up the phone right now, dial the phone number, does a real person talk to you within 60 seconds?
• Do they use latest Cloud Technology (watch out for vendors offering cut-throat deals using insecure, or outdated technology like OpenVZ based Clouds).
• Do they have 3rd party verified reviews about their product / offer or company – including BBB report cards, and public audit / certifications.
• Do they own, operate, and maintain their own Datacenter, servers, stoarge systems, staff, and infrastructure – or are they just a wholesaler or middleman between you and the people who do the work?
• Does their offer include Backups at no additional charge?
• Do they offer free Cloud-Migration assistance ?

While I am not personally familiar with the competitor / offer you mentioned – can they match what TurnKey Internet is offering you in this proposal?  Can they match what we offer – and will they agree to match the quality, service and price that we are offering?  

I understand that you always want the highest confidence in the online partners you choose, and I assure you TurnKey Internet is committed to your online success in every way possible.  I assure you that once you add in the entire scope of our proposal you will see that the our price is not only the best, but the total proposal is the best fit for your long term Cloud Services needs.

While some potential sales negotiations can’t be swayed to avoid the ‘price match’ war, the ones who see the value are the clients that will be there for the long term when you deliver what you promise.  The key is to showcase what you bring to the table – that sets you apart from the competition.  For those who remain price fixated who may choose a different path they may still find their way back to you eventually thanks to leaving them with the positive aspects in mind.

When discussing Cloud Backup with our staff here at TurnKeyVault.com I am reminded of a saying from the Late Billy Mays, that said “Prevention doesn’t Sell”.  The famous  pitchman, and star of his own Reality Show “PitchMen” often said that your product has to have a visual “wow”, and prevention based products just don’t sizzle because you can’t effectively demonstrate and produce the WOW effect for potential buyers.

Backing up your data, to the cloud or otherwise, is basically prevention; prevention from disaster, your own financial and corporate demise is what you ultimately are hoping to prevent.  Recently some new advances in the cloud backup space have come to market, that specifically being business continuity backup services that have added some new WOW to a prevention based product line giving it some new sizzle that is getting the attention of business owners and IT managers alike.  It may not have the WOW effect visually on TV of getting a stain out of a shirt, but the right backup solution will save you time, and ultimately keep you employed if you ever need it.

Cloud backups

 When I say cloud backup, what immediately comes to mind? I personally imagine a white, puffy cloud in the sky that resembles a vault. Was that what came to mind for you? If not, that’s quite all right. A cloud backup is a piece of software that takes a snapshot of your server or desktop computer and then stores the data in the cloud. What exactly do I mean by the cloud? The cloud is a piece of software or data that is stored off-site that can be accessed from any location. Cloud backups allow for greater flexibility than a local disk or tape backup. A disk backup or tape backup has the limitation of only being able to access the data locally and can be damaged, lost or stolen leaving you without your backup data when you need it most.  Even with cloud backup, to get back up and running from a disaster requires that you setup new computers, and copy back your data, and in many cases reconfigure and re-install most of your applications.  That’s how local and cloud backups have done things for years and quite frankly it doesn’t sizzle any more like it used to.

Now there is some WOW factor – the next generation of cloud backup service offered by TurnKeyVault.com offer live cloud replication and complete business continuity.   Cloud Replication allows restoration of your cloud-based backed up data to any virtualized server in rapid fashion.  That means you can restore your desktop or server including the entire operating system, applications, licenses, settings, and all your data to a perfect copy just as it was before the disaster struck.  Providers like TurnKey Vault even offer fully automated cloud replicated desktops and servers that utilize cloud-based infrastructure to make your data available instantly and allow you to access them remotely from anywhere in the world.  The key aspect here, the sizzle, is that cloud replication removes the bottleneck of the traditional backup technologies that would rely on local internet service providers bandwidth availability, and saves potentially hours of business critical time waiting for your systems to be back in working order.

Should a disaster occur in which your infrastructure is no longer available or accessible to be restored, the need to purchase new hardware and set it up in a new office can be completely eliminated. Utilizing cloud infrastructure you can be back online in minutes, not days. Employees can continue their work from home, remotely accessing images of their old workstations running live in the cloud, ensuring your business does not skip a beat.  Prevention may not sizzle on TV commercials – but in the IT world, knowing there is a business continuity plan regardless of possible disaster scenarios will leave you thinking of the WOW of your new backup plan.

Black Friday is in the rear view mirror, and Cyber Monday is quickly passing by – did your web site survive the storm?  Both Target.com and Paypal.com experienced major outages for Cyber Monday this year.

Being prepared for large spikes in traffic is one thing, loosing sales and upsetting customers can have long term ramifications that can’t be easily fixed.  One of our own employees happened to be participating in this years land rush to Cyber Monday during his lunch break, placed an order online Target successfully only to get emailed hours later that the order had been cancelled due to availability sold out (After having accepted the order).  He was luckier than most, the site took his order online – but the end result the same as other angry Target.com shoppers yesterday – he was left out in the cold this winter shopping season.

Target’s response online twitter confirmed the issues, multiple site delays and crashes and mentioned this year’s traffic exceeding double the previous year’s as a cause (though online traffic reporting and analytics company’s Alexa.com and Netcraft.com could not confirm a double in volume or remotely close to that regarding Target.com).

It brings up a good lesson for any business to keep in mind.  Just what impact is there on your business if your web site or customer data, inventory, or ordering systems are inaccessible or worse, crash and loose data.  Do you have a business continuity plan and what is the financial loss (time, sales, and loss of good will for the future) mean to your business?

Just a couple of years ago around Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping season Target announced falling victim to millions of account’s being compromised including credit card information – among the worst hacking scandals of the last decade in the news.  Yet Target has survived and continues, but not all business are so lucky to survive major mis-steps like these and being un prepared or blind sided when their IT infrastructure is not adequately prepared.

Being prepared for the best (big volume spikes for the holiday shopping season) also means being prepared for the worst (outages, data loss, data corruption, and more).   Having your web site or IT infrastructure hosted in the cloud using a seasoned IT firm like TurnKey Internet can offer a safety net utilizing hardened technologies to provide the scallability and redundancy crucial for your business.

Also, consider having your corporate data, servers, and web sites mirrored into the Cloud with a service like TurnKey Vault – regardless if you are a Billion dollar retail chain, or a small business office – we all need continuous reliable access to our data to keep the lights on.

Proper planning can mean the difference of going out of business versus surviving in an unexpected crisis – not every business gets multiple strikes against them and lives to tell about it.    Don’t wait until next holiday season to evaluate your cloud-based infrastructure.

 LATHAM, NEW YORK (October 6^th, 2015) – Sustainable IT solutions provider TurnKey Internet, Inc. announced today the launch of TurnKey Cloud the secure next-generation file sharing and data storage service . The cloud-based file sharing and data storage service targets corporate and business users by delivering a foundation of security, auditing, and privacy features ideal for businesses requiring true cloud-based compliance tracking.

TurnKey Cloud offers enterprise-ready features for secure online cloud-based file sharing and data storage allowing unified access to your data from any desktop or mobile device securely through private key encryption, local caching for off-line and traveling workers, reporting tools, data roll back, shared data among departments, and secure apps for Apple IOS, Android, and Windows Mobile devices.

TurnKey Cloud was built from the ground up with business users in mind. From encryption so strong no one but you can see your data, to the most advanced features on the market demanded by enterprise users. Included management controls provide granular access and sharing policies, coupled with historical auditing of every file access, changed file, login and device that touches your company’s data. TurnKey Cloud’s unique business-class features like file access reporting and version control tracking help maintain business privacy and security policies and provide compliance tracking.

“Most cloud-based file sharing services are not focused on privacy or security and focus on consumer grade options like photo or music sharing.” said Adam Wills, CEO of TurnKey Internet, Inc. He continued “TurnKey Cloud fills the gap that businesses are asking for by delivering a secure and easy to use end to end encrypted experience that provides access controls, reporting, and total compliance tracking”.

TurnKey Cloud offers the industry’s most secure all-you-can-eat models offering unlimited file sharing and data storage per user – combined with no user minimums, no contracts, no file size limits, and much more. For more information visit https://TurnKeyCloud.com

About Turnkey Internet

Founded in 1999, TurnKey Internet, Inc. is a full-service green data center and leading provider of sustainable web hosting and IT solutions. From its SSAE 16 Type 2 and ENERGY STAR^® certified facility in Latham, NY—New York’s Tech Valley Region—TurnKey offers cloud-based hosted services, web hosting, communication services, web-based IT systems, software as a service (SaaS), enterprise colocation services, and computing as a service to clients in more than 150 countries. For more information, please call (518) 618-0999 or visit www.turnkeyinternet.net/media.

TurnKey Internet, Inc Announces HostPC Fully Managed Cloud and VPS Services

LATHAM, NEW YORK (March 30^th, 2015) – Sustainable IT solutions provider TurnKey Internet, Inc. announced today the launch of their premium Fully Managed Cloud and VPS (Virtual Private Server) Service offering under the HostPC brand.

The HostPC cloud and VPS service offers a simple one-price bundle that  includes premium enterprise management including firewall setup, customized 24×7 server and application monitoring, Off-site Server Backups, 24/7/365 Technical Support, Free Migration assistance to the Cloud, and a 100% Uptime SLA guarantee!  Also Included are all the needed software and 3^rd party licenses to run your server including cPanel, DirectAdmin, and Windows Server 2012.

HostPC Cloud and VPS servers offer enhanced performance over typical public clouds and traditional virtual server (VPS) platforms by use of cutting-edge new Intel Xeon E5-2650 v3 Deca-Core (10 CPU Core) 2.3 Ghz Processors – offering 40+ total CPU Cores of processing power combined with ultra-fast Samsung SSD solid state drives attached via Raid-10 redundant connections provide over 600,000 DISK IOPS (input/output operations per second).   All HostPC Servers come with Un-Metered Gigabit Bandwidth (1000 up x 1000 down) which provides up to 1000x faster speeds than the traditional broadband connections used by small business offices.

“Combining the 15+ Year history of the HostPC team’s Full Management and expertise on top of our high performance enterprise grade cloud infrastructure creates a compelling option for businesses who are looking to not only cloud-source but out-source their web site, office server or custom applications.” said Adam Wills, CEO of TurnKey Internet.  He continued, “The 24×7 Access to the know-how and expertise the HostPC team brings to the table removes the traditional hurdle and worry that small businesses have when considering if it’s time to move their IT infrastructure to the cloud”.

HostPC has launched an all-new web site and product offering with this announcement which includes a 25% off for life discount, for more information visit https://HostPC.com

About HostPC

HostPC Internet Services has provided fully managed hosted solutions for over 15 years and is a fully owned and operated subsidiary of TurnKey Interenet, Inc.

About Turnkey Internet

Founded in 1999, TurnKey Internet, Inc. is a full-service green data center and leading provider of sustainable web hosting and IT solutions. From its SSAE 16 Type 2 and ENERGY STAR^® certified facility in Latham, NY—New York’s Tech Valley Region—TurnKey offers web hosting, communication services, web-based IT systems, software as a service (SaaS), enterprise colocation services, and computing as a service to clients in more than 150 countries. For more information, please call (518) 618-0999 or visit www.turnkeyinternet.net/media.