Uncategorized – CARTIKA

With cloud services outages becoming common place amongst the hypercloud providers, organizations need to start looking at alternatives

admin — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:40:12 +0000

Major Cloud Services outages are becoming common place. The trend really started back in 2016, when massive cyber attacks targeting Amazon AWS took down huge portions of the internet, including services like NetFlix, Twitter, Amazon, etc.. Today, major cloud outages are common place, with almost 20 such serious outages being recorded in 2023, and that trend is continuing and escalating in frequency and severity in 2024.

So many big brands have become reliant on these hyperclouds, that effectively they have become a single point of failure for many organizations IT infrastructure and critical services delivery. A targeted attack against Amazon AWS can take down millions of organizations. A bad software update by Microsoft Azure can take down critical services and millions of users and organizations. For huge corporations, with massive budgets and teams, this is workable to a certain degree. They can continually invest more and more into their AWS or Azure architecture and design and work to bi-pass such issues or minimize their impact moving forward.

For the average SMB, Mid Market or Small Enterprise type of customer, the hyperclouds are becoming an untenable solution for their organizations. Often times lacking an adequate amount of inhouse resources &/or budget, along with a lack of any real support from the cloud vendors themselves, these organizations are at the mercy of these major cloud services providers if/when issues arise. Even organizations who have aligned with Azure or AWS partners or Managed Service Providers (MSP’s), are still ultimately at the mercy of the underlying infrastructure providers.

My own company (www.cartika.com) and companies like us have resisted moving our infrastructure and customers to the major hypercloud providers. Preferring instead to run our own infrastructure in commercially available Tier3+ to Tier4 datacenters. We are consistently delivering higher service uptimes, lower frequency of serious issues and faster/simpler recovery from service impacting issues when they do occur. With greater separation of customers within datacenters, and greater separation between customers within a specific providers footprint within datacenters, issues, when they occur, tend to occur less often, be less severe and impact less users for shorter periods of time. Whereas with these massive hypercloud providers, you often see entire datacenters go offline, and millions of users impacted for prolonged periods of time. Sometimes, as was the case with this most recent Azure issue, a single issue caused global level outages. I just don’t see how this approach is palatable for the typical business any longer. We do not have a single service reliant on the major cloud providers. All of our customers did not experience a single second of downtime today, or during any of the other serious outages seen on the major platforms over the last few years. As the CFO of one of our key customers told us today – reached out to me personally to tell me this – when they were previously on Azure, this sort of outage would have shut down production in all 8 of our factories. $100’s of $1000’s of dollars in direct losses each and every time they had Azure problems for the day. The indirect costs are incalculable. Their business just could not survive if these scenarios kept occurring.

Far too many organizations made the push to the massive hyperclouds – for what apparently was no other reason than everyone else is on AWS and Azure, we should be too. But, with the strain on resources, financial pressures and pressures to deliver quality and reliability of services being at an all time high, I think its becoming irresponsible for the typical mid market business to be relying on providers like AWS and Azure. I would expect more and more businesses to once again seek out high value services powered by smaller more niche providers, at significantly lower total cost of ownership, with a proven history of better reliability, uptime and performance – not too mention lower costs and significantly better overall value and higher levels of day to day support – as compared to the mega cloud providers. It is quickly becoming the only rational path forward for the typical mid market business.

Andrew Rouchotas

Cartika Founder & CEO

www.cartika.com

How the mid-market needs to structure their IT to survive and thrive in 2022

Andrew — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 21:22:00 +0000

How the mid-market needs to structure their IT to survive and thrive in 2022

The mid market faces unique challenges with respect to their IT requirements.

Small business typically have simplistic IT footprints and requirements, with plenty of SaaS solutions available to fill in the gaps. Enterprises and Fortune 500 organizations have massive budgets, in house capabilities via fully staffed & expansive IT departments who are able to properly leverage hyperclouds like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud in order to consolidate their infrastructure, as well as, re-write their applications to be cloud native, and so on.

According to The National Center For The Middle Market

https://www.middlemarketcenter.org

“There are nearly 200,000 U.S. middle market businesses that represent one-third of private sector GDP, employing approximately 44.5 million people. These businesses outperformed through the financial crisis (2007–2010 period) by adding 2.2 million jobs across major industry sectors and U.S. geographies, demonstrating their importance to the overall health of the U.S. economy. They are private and public, family owned, and sole proprietorships, geographically diverse, and span almost all industries. The health of these businesses and their respective outlook serve as a solid indicator for the greater U.S. economy as a whole.”

One can safely assume that similar economic trends exist in every western economy, including Canada, Australia, the UK and the EU. Even accounting for variances in this reality amongst geographies, it is certain that the mid market is the engine which drives the free market economies of modern western civilization.

From an IT perspective, the mid market often faces unique IT challenges. Many have recognized the importance of technology with respect to their IT budgets and planning, however, often times, their IT department sizes and budgets do not align with their real contribution to revenue. It is difficult to quantify the effect of IT on the top line number, and traditionally, IT is viewed as an expense to be sacrificed in order to improve the bottom line numbers.

Many mid-market businesses continue to operate with on-premise servers and skeleton IT departments, constantly stuck in a break/fix cycle. Others have made the jump to the hyperclouds, either fully or in a hybrid capacity, only to realize that the promise of cost savings was not a reality, while simultaneously creating a new cycle of problems – unnecessary complexity along with reliability and compliance nightmares often found in these self serve environments.

In addition to compliance requirements, the mid market is now facing pressure from insurance providers and their underwriters in order to implement and renew their critical business and cyber insurance policies. Soaring insurance rates, based on escalating risk and exponential underwriter losses in recent years are driving the mid market towards more comprehensive solutions and back to more boutique service providers.

The current force within mid market organizations driving fundamental changes in their IT departments is now coming from the CFO position. With savvy CFO’s beginning to understand the role IT must play moving forward to ensure business continuity and stability in the current and upcoming market.

Repositioning IT spend away from high cost/valueless hyperclouds and capex heavy internal investments, along with supplementing your existing IT department with 3rd party contracts while offloading your infrastructure, cybersecurity and compliance/insurance provider requirements is a rational path forward for midmarket executives. This also leaves limited internal IT resources to be leveraged back into the core business. It is this authors personal belief, that the best IT resources in a midmarket organization needs to be brought into the executive discussions, and leveraged to build strong relationships with infrastructure and cybersecurity partners of choice.

“ Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam “ By Courtney Henry

But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes or avoids pleasure itself because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain

full Storage: Who is responsible?

Key Points to remember:

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But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter

How Cartika’s IaaS Support and Managed Cloud Hosting Solutions Empower Businesses to Grow and Operate With Agility

Andrew — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 18:41:00 +0000

How Cartika’s IaaS Support and Managed Cloud Hosting Solutions Empower Businesses to Grow and Operate With Agility

Originally Published @ https://www.hostingadvice.com/blog/managed-it-solutions-from-cartika/

Back in 1999, the world was a very different place. Our widespread fascination with digital technology was blossoming, “The Matrix” had just hit the theaters, and most people carried beepers on their belts. The Blogger platform launched that same year and was an early influence in the proliferation of blogging on personal sites.

Three years earlier, paid hosting had just become available. And in 2001, web hosting services, such as dedicated servers and colocation, came onto the market. Since then, the web hosting industry and IT infrastructure space have come a long way.

Although many things of that era have since departed, the web solutions provider Cartika has remained a stable force. Cartika has transformed in several ways since its inception, which explains how the company has remained competitive over the last two decades.

Cartika leverages over 20 years of experience to deliver optimal full-service infrastructure solutions to clients.

Cartika prides itself on being a partner to businesses and sees itself as an extension of its clients’ teams. The provider seeks to help customers grow and operate with agility by offering managed services and solutions that free up IT resources that would otherwise be allocated for infrastructure management. Pushing the boundaries helped Cartika maintain its success, and it wants to do the same for users.

“We manage everything from the operating system and the stack. And for us, what we’ve done the last several years has all been about compliance, personal data storage, and that’s where we found our niche,” said Andrew Rouchotas, CEO of Cartika.

Cartika focuses on bringing optimal full-service infrastructure solutions to mid-market businesses. By specializing in this niche category, the company can innovate and distribute services customized to its buyers’ interests. Cartika continues to elevate its operations and reimagine server infrastructure for its client base and itself.

Rivaling the Hyperscalers with Secured Managed Cloud Servers

When Cartika began its operations, its CEO Andrew Rouchotas didn’t intend on creating the business he has today. In 1999, Andrew had picked up a reseller account intending to build an osCommerce solution. The team’s vision was to establish the company as an application hosting and support firm. But, as Cartika grew, it began to encounter obstacles.

“We had issues with managed service providers and finding good ones. So we moved to colocation, got our own sysadmin going, and started selling reseller accounts,” said Andrew.

Seeking to solve this server problem in the market, the team dropped application hosting from its services and jumped fully into the world of infrastructure stocks. This shift helped Cartika grow as a business. The company now focuses on managing its infrastructure for clients and challenging the likes of AWS and Google Cloud.

Cartika offers cloud hosting capabilities to mid-market businesses.

But to stay ahead and compete in a disproportionate market, Cartika had to differentiate and find its place among the hyperscalers.

“It’s really specialized. We sell up to some enterprises and down to some small businesses. But, for us, the big market is 29 to 599, 699 employees. So where we found our niche was in the mid-market,” said Andrew.

Cartika offers secured IT and hosting solutions customized to mid-market needs. It helps mid-sized companies with small IT departments find their footing and establish their cloud hosting. Cartika also equips them with the tools to comply in their region and fight data breaches.

Simplifying IT Solutions While Preparing for New Trends

Many businesses struggle with technology because their IT departments are swamped, overstaffed, or both. This problem affects the entire system, dragging down productivity and efficiency across departments. The Cartika team considers this and goes beyond its role as an infrastructure service provider by working as an extension of these IT staff.

“You got these people running around, trying to manage hardware life cycles and, and all they’re doing is putting out fires all day. So instead of replacing or outsourcing a cell, we’re complementary to your IT,” said Andrew.

Cartika pros come in and handle the cloud computing and get everything up to speed. It helps teams simplify their IT processes, and because Cartika sources the hardware, its IT professionals can configure it easily.

Andrew said Cartika was always the small guy in its market, so the team understands what it takes to thrive in a competitive market. The group learned to adapt and take on challenges efficiently to stay ahead. The company’s innovation and planning for future trends helped it compete with the other tech giants.

If business owners don’t meet their compliance requirements, they can suffer significant ramifications, including penalties and criminal punishment. Cartika had scoped out the importance of compliance before most of its competitors and has helped its customers remain compliant in their industry.

“So the compliance, especially the mid-market, is still a little ahead. Now companies are starting to worry about it. You have to be ahead and make it easier for a lot of these companies on big IT departments, at least the ones we target,” said Andrew.

By preparing for new trends or potential attacks, Cartika can continue to ensure the success of its clients’ business future. The company has built big data and application performance monitoring, and disaster recovery solutions to help with backup and maintain its competitive edge.

Ensuring Peace of Mind with Expert Services and Cybersecurity

The Cartika team has grown and acquired invaluable experience and knowledge over its 20 years of operation. Andrew said the group’s expertise is one of its most significant assets. Cartika has seen trends come and go, and has adapted and attained tremendous growth. The company overcame hurdles in the industry, took what it learned, and now offers a full suite of services.

Security is a mainstay in all of Cartika’s offerings. The company understands the power behind reliability and why it’s vital to create solutions to keep its clients’ systems up and running in the face of adversity.

Cartika uses endpoint security to detect and handle threats in real time.

“So those are the kinds of values that we try to bring and give the business owners peace of mind. Like, look, you don’t have to worry about it. A customer hosting with us has never paid ransom as an example,” said Andrew.

When systems fail and get hit by ransomware or outages, it can take companies days to recover. Some businesses succumb to these blows. Cartika built a file and database backup to combat these types of situations. The solution allows customers to restore their data in the same or different geography through a snapshot strategy, which gets their latest files up and running in minutes.

Cartika uses its depth and expertise to innovate and give customers new solutions to problems. The company not only assesses present issues but also looks to prevent them. Cyber insurance has become a critical element in business processes. Cartika helps companies build effective cybersecurity strategies that include cyber insurance policies.

As for future changes, Andrew said Cartika is updating its server infrastructure to incorporate more virtualization. It will give customers more flexibility and resources even in the case of server outages.

“They still get the whole physical server for themselves. We just put a virtualization layer on it. It’s integrated into the managed offering. We’re just kind of doing away with pure bare metal. It’s not worth overhead, and the virtualization will give you extra resources,” said Andrew.

CFO with Cyber Security Concerns

Andrew — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 19:15:00 +0000

CFO with Cyber Security Concerns

Cyber Security concerns? Having issues getting or renewing Cyber Security Insurance? Are you facing escalating Cyber Security Insurance Costs?

Here is whats happened, and how to address it.

Obviously the world has been dealing with hackers since the day the internet was invented. However, in 2017, when the NSA tool kits were released to the world, we all lost our innocence – conducting business has never been the same and the Cyber Security business officially became a critical element – a requirement – for every business to incorporate into their daily operations, their business and their IT processes.

https://www.wired.com/story/eternalblue-leaked-nsa-spy-tool-hacked-world/

Ransomware became a very real daily threat. Breaches and loss of data became a routine reality, and no company, regardless of size or capability, was immune. Headline reports flowed daily of yet another breach, loss of massive amounts of personal data and soaring ransom (aka extortion) demands from hackers to decrypt users and companies data.

Countries and Geographies all over the world began implementing Personal Data Protection laws, ever increasing their requirements and penalties associated with non-compliance and breaches. PIPEDA in Canada, GDPR in Europe and various states in the US such as California with their CCP Act. More sensitive data associated with children under COPPA, and personal health data under HIPAA in the US and PHIPA in Canada became even more tightly regulated with even more stringent requirements and associated penalties.

Fast forward to COVID and the proliferation of mobile work forces – and the problem absolutely exploded. Companies began opening their networks and systems to remote staff so that some semblance of normal business activity could continue. More employees used their own computers and devices from home, or kids began using Mom or Dad’s work computer to play games. Companies already devastated by COVID lock downs, were now facing massive and serious cyber attacks – costing them even more time, effort, money and productivity.

Business owners and C level executives are now facing unique challenges even acquiring Cyber insurance. Underwriters are becoming more stringent with their requirements and costs are soaring as their losses have annually mounted. Small Business and Mid-Market IT departments are often understaffed and lack adequate budgets, resources and in-house experience to adequately tackle the problem.

Simply “moving to the cloud” is not enough. A pure IaaS solution will mostly just port your problems from your server room to the cloud. An end to end IT cyber security plan will be required moving forward to sustain and scale your business operations, as well as, secure cyber insurance policies and avoid hefty government non-compliance fines and penalties.

From managed devices, SD-WAN connections and VPN tunnels for remote users, End Point Security, Backups, Snapshots, Firewalls, Operating Systems and Stacks, Disaster Recovery Strategies, Logging and Analytics and so much more – must go into your IT strategy moving forward in order to maintain compliance and operations, let alone avoid hefty fines and secure the cyber insurance businesses require to operate.

Firstly, you can never avoid all risk. You must however reduce the probability of incidence and reduce the impact of incidence. This must be an ongoing plan and strategy, that is perpetually evolving and adapting. When disaster does strike, you must be able to recover in a timely manner and without being forced to pay ransom. If you are concerned about your capabilities to meet these objectives, you must start to build your roadmap towards this end goal. Whether you choose to reach out to Cartika for assistance or not (which I personally hope you do), this is the path you must take your business, and these are the goals you must achieve.

Proactive Management from Anywhere

Andrew — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 16:11:00 +0000

Proactive Management from Anywhere

With technology improving and becoming more ubiquitous in our day-to-day lives, many business owners are turning to proactively managed IT services for their cloud storage, servers, or staff management. Businesses are not only realizing the benefits of proactive management for their IT infrastructure, but also for the flexibility it offers.

What is proactive management?

Proactive management is a model used by Cartika to continually monitor and secure the stability of your IT infrastructure. Our team of IT experts uses all tools at their disposal to maximise uptime of all your IT services. This includes routers, desktops, mobile phones, and networks, ensuring all elements of your network community are in perfect working order.

What are the benefits of proactive management?

One of the most invaluable parts of proactive management for business owners is the flexibility it provides. Manage your staff and their assignments from anywhere with an internet connection. Connect a network of onsite and remote workers with shared cloud storage, or make the switch to paperless records and accounting. The possibilities with powerful IT infrastructure and expert proactive management are endless.

Other benefits of proactive management include:

Improved reliability, and less downtime
Rapid troubleshooting and maintenance
Immediate patching and upgrades as soon as they’re released
Live updates of infrastructure status and IT health
Increased security for your networks, computers, and phones

Proactive management with Cartika

Learn more about Cartika’s proactive management and Infrastructure-as-a-Service here.

If you’re ready to take the next step in integrating powerful modern technology with your business, Cartika is ready to help in setting up IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and proactive management. Our team is knowledgeable, experienced, and always looking for a new challenge. For any questions or inquiries, contact Cartika today.

Managed IT Services and ‘The IT Wizard’ – Not Quite the Same

Andrew — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 16:44:00 +0000

Managed IT Services and ‘The IT Wizard’ - Not Quite the Same

We all know one. They’re there to help you troubleshoot the WiFi, untangle your cables, and figure out why your mouse is doing that thing again. But when it comes to the big leagues, the ‘IT Experts’ in our lives and workplaces are often left scratching their heads.

Often, decision-makers in large companies are a little bit confused when distinctions are drawn between a friendly neighbourhood IT wizard, and professionally managed IT services. After all, they’re both in IT – what difference could it possibly make? As it turns out, quite a lot. This is not to detract from the work of those in IT – a knowledgeable, experienced IT expert can be an invaluable asset to your company. Instead, think of the difference between an IT expert and managed IT services like the difference between a fork and a spoon – both useful, but only when the situation calls for it.

So what does a professionally managed IT service give you that your local IT wizard can’t?

1. Resources

One simple advantage of working with a managed IT service provider is the resources that become available. By working with a company like Cartika, you gain access to infrastructure and systems that would take years to replicate, not to mention the costs associated. Having access to these resources provides a lot of flexibility in the kind of services you take advantage of, giving you more freedom to expand the IT side of your business.

2. An outside perspective

Another valuable asset provided by managed IT services is the chance to get a fresh set of eyes on your IT scenario. Your in-house expert might not have the objectivity needed to really identify where changes could be made. An IT service provider will help you choose a package that makes the most sense for your company, for today, and for tomorrow.

3. Knowledge of new technologies

An advantage of working with the industry experts at Cartika is their thorough understanding of current technologies, and their passion for learning about new ones. Your current IT staff certainly shares this drive for new and exciting advancements, but might not have the time or resources needed to really learn them, let alone implement them into your business. Our dedication to improvement is what lets Cartika – and our clients – stay on the cutting edge of technology.

4. Scalability

Another big plus of working with Cartika’s managed IT services is the potential for scalability. We can help you plan the services your company needs right now, and still leave room to add or remove features as needed. Like anything else, your company is dynamic, in motion. It’s simply the smarter move to set yourself up for success in the future, rather than tying yourself down to IT services that will become obsolete or unnecessary in just a few years. With Cartika, you can get unlimited flexibility, allowing you to adjust your IT services according to the scale of your company. In other words, Cartika grows with you.

Still have questions about managed IT services, or how implementing them can help grow your business? Wondering how to start upgrading your one-person IT department to a full-scale infrastructure? For all things IT, think Cartika.

PIPEDA and External Data Storage

Andrew — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 16:57:00 +0000

PIPEDA and External Data Storage

From PIPEDA, to HIPAA, to GDPR, to countless others, there are an astonishing amount of acronyms regarding the laws of storage and protection of sensitive data. Unless you specialize in combing through dense legal jargon, you might be missing some of the nuances of data protection laws. If you’re in the business of handling protected information, having a comprehensive understanding of relevant laws is the bare minimum of your responsibility. And while there’s a growing amount of information on these laws online, there is always more to learn. So here are a few things you might not have known about data regulations.

PIPEDA doesn’t just apply in Canada

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, is a Canadian regulation passed in 2000. The purpose of this act is to ensure organizations receive consent before storing an individual’s data, holding the organization accountable for the security, storage, and accuracy of the information.

As an organization ensuring compliance with this law, you might assume that these regulations apply only to data stored within Canada, but this is a misconception. Contrary to what you might think, offshore data storage is a legitimate practice, and is even referenced in the original PIPEDA document. However, there is one caveat – the organization that is outsourcing its storage is still responsible for the data, and is still held accountable to all applicable Canadian laws. So what does this mean for companies looking to move their data storage outside of Canada?

Be Aware

The most important thing to note when considering external data storage is the standards of security used in the facility. Regardless of where your data ends up being stored, it’s still your responsibility to keep safe. Here are some questions to ask when researching storage solutions:

Where in the world is your information being stored? Are there existing policies in place regarding PIPEDA and other province-specific laws?
Has your chosen storage provider been subject to an investigation by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada?
What types of security and compliance certifications does your storage provider hold?
What is the plan for the data at the end of your contract term with the provider?
Who will have access to your data?

By asking, and answering these questions for all potential storage provider candidates, you can save yourself from the legal and financial consequences of a data breach. Being compliant is not just about following the rules, it’s about doing the right thing for those that have entrusted you with their information.

Compliance and Cartika

If you’re still scratching your head when you read up on PIPEDA, or you’re having trouble finding a storage provider that meets your needs, consider contacting the experts at Cartika. We offer comprehensive compliance, unlimited flexibility, unmatched performance, and constant support. With Cartika, your data has never been safer – so get in touch today.

The Power of Data

Andrew — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 17:05:00 +0000

The Power of Data

From our phones to our refrigerators, the world is getting smarter all the time. And a by-product of the integration of technology in our lives is a sharp increase in the collection of large-scale data, also known as Big Data. And with data collection starting to occur at an unprecedented rate, now is the time to learn how to leverage your data to ensure your company’s success.

Personal data has become a key business asset, in almost every industry and sector imaginable. In other words, regardless of the line of work you’re in, you’re also in the data business. This shift in the way we view personal data isn’t just giving an ‘edge’ to savvy companies, it’s revolutionizing the way we do business.

Get strategic

There’s an overwhelming amount of data available to you as a company, which is why settling on a strong strategy ahead of time is so important. Deciding early on how you plan to use your data, and what you want to achieve with it, will help you to sift through what you have, and maximise the effect it can have on your business.

The first thing to do when creating a data and analytics strategy, is to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What do you plan to use your data for?

There’s a misconception in many sectors of the business world that data analytics is just an ‘IT thing.’ This attitude leads many higher-ups and company visionaries to sideline data collection in favour of more traditional growth strategies. However, there are countless ways that data strategies can help achieve goals that are not possible with other avenues, and lead to unprecedented growth within your company. Decide early on what kind of results you’re hoping to see from your new data strategy.

2. Where will you get your data from?

Make a goal-based decision on the best ways for you to start collecting data. You have a lot of options in how you approach this step – perhaps you already have a collection method within your company, something that can be expanded upon to increase its scope. You can also look into purchasing external data from other sources, or work on leveraging the data you already have for more valuable insights.

3. What will you learn from your data?

For most, the million dollar question with regard to Big Data is how it will be used to grow the company. In most cases, the insights you get can help you to understand the decision-making process of your customers, as well as get a better grip on current trends, helping you to generate value for your client base.

4. Are you set up to make good use of your data?

When expanding your data operations, it can be easy to overlook a crucial step: setting yourself up for success once you have the data you want. It’s important to establish systems to turn your raw data into valuable insights, and to do that, it’s a good call to work with experts in data and analytics, ensuring you’re making the best possible use of what you collect.

5. Are you keeping your data safe?

At the end of the day, you’re getting into data and analytics to keep up with the fast-moving trends of today’s business. It can be easy to think about data and its insights only in terms of potential profit, but there is another, equally important side to this coin. Federal and provincial regulations regarding the secure storage of personal data should be at the forefront of your mind. There are several regulations that will apply to your business, depending on the industry and the type of data that you’re working with. Compliance with these regulations is a must, which is why working with professionals is the best course of action.

At Cartika, secure data storage is our bread and butter. Our dedicated team of data experts has the knowledge and expertise to turn your Big Data into valuable consumer insights. Our data storage solutions are reliable, customizable, and 100% compliant with all relevant data laws. If you still have questions about Big Data, analytics, compliance, or anything else Cloud, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Cartika today.

IT Services for Medical Offices

Andrew — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 12:18:00 +0000

IT Services for Medical Offices

In this day and age, nearly every industry relies on technology to make its day-to-day operations run smoothly. Whether it’s your point of sale, shared files, or the storage of sensitive information, you depend on these systems to work without interruption, so that you can do the same. High-quality, reliable IT services are especially crucial to the medical industry. Patient data, workflow systems, and personal computers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the combination of medical bookkeeping and technology.

Here are Cartika’s three must-haves for any medical office’s IT services.

1. Simplicity breeds efficiency

In a traditional medical office, the process of following up with a patient is no simple task. You’ll have to find the hard copy of their patient file, review it for their medical history, find the contact information, and finally, reach out to them. Even if every piece of paper is in the place you expect it to be, and even if the patient picks up the phone, you’ve spent a bare minimum of five minutes on a single task.

Now imagine the same process in a medical office with top-tier IT services. You look up the patient’s information in your secure database. With just a few clicks, you’re now looking at every record on file for this patient. From here, the follow-up process could be automated, with emails or phone calls going out to patients to schedule follow-up appointments. This will save time and energy that should be going towards your practice.

2. Make it easy for them

In the age of information, many users expect a certain degree of convenience when booking appointments. A large portion of people will look for online portals, webforms, and easy-to-find contact information pages when booking an appointment. Not only do these practices help get patients in the door, it helps them to feel that they’re in capable hands. A prospective patient is more likely to use your services if there is an easy and effective way to get in touch. If you don’t streamline your intake process, you risk turning away patients before even seeing them.

3. Don’t settle for downtime

A common worry for offices going paperless and shifting to managed IT infrastructure is the question of downtime. Unlike restaurants or corporate offices, businesses in the medical sector can’t afford to take a day off if the server goes down. This worry has stopped some offices from modernizing their systems, and it’s more than valid. In all industries, it’s important to choose a reliable IT service provider. In the medical industry, it’s essential. Choosing a company with proactive management, real time alerts, and constant monitoring is a must, and can mean the difference between workplace synergy, and total chaos.

If your medical office is ready to take the first step from paper records and physical filing, and enter the world of managed systems, look no further than Cartika. Our fully scalable managed IT services mean that every implementation is totally custom to your office’s unique limitations and strengths. All of Cartika’s file storage methods are 100% compliant with HIPAA and all other relevant data protection acts, and our team of IT experts is always monitoring the security of your systems. The peace of mind offered by Cartika’s medical office IT services is unparalleled in the industry, and is a must for any organization ready to take the next step in serving the patients of the future.

If you’re ready to get started in implementing IT services to your medical office, contact Cartika today.

What to Look for When Choosing a Cloud Storage Provider

Andrew — Thu, 23 May 2019 12:38:00 +0000

What to Look for When Choosing a Cloud Storage Provider

As cloud storage technology is becoming more widely used across all industries, many companies are making the switch to Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

A survey by Forbes magazine found that 74% of Tech Chief Financial Officers said that cloud computing had the most measurable impact on their business in 2017. Forbes also predicts that the value of the cloud computing industry will reach $162B by 2020, more than double its 2015 value of $67B.

With technology trends showing a clear inclination for more forward-thinking storage systems, it’s no wonder that many enterprises are ready to make the transition to fully managed cloud storage providers.

Those that are in the market for a cloud hosting provider may be intimidated by the sheer amount of choices out there. You need to be aware of many different aspects of cloud storage plans, such as costs, the availability of support staff, as well as the configuration of your choice of platforms. So, here are three things to look for when choosing your IaaS host.

1. Storage Types That Are Right For You

Although they all fit under the umbrella category of ‘cloud storage,’ there are lots of more specific types that are better suited for certain applications and industries. Some of these cloud storage options include:

Enterprise file sharing: Also known as ‘file sync and share.’ This storage system allows an enterprise to save all relevant files to a centralized cloud storage provider, allowing team members to add, access, and edit files from anywhere with an internet connection.
File backup and archive: By creating a copy of existing files, and storing them in a secure, off-site location, companies can slowly begin the transition to cloud storage without a full overhaul of their current file system, as well as ensure that their information is never lost to server failure, natural disasters, or accidental deletion.
Object/block/file storage: This scalable cloud storage model is popular due to its versatility. Objects allow smaller increments of data to be accessed at a time, while block storage is most useful for high file size applications, such as big data analytics.

Of course, there are many unique configurations of storage options that can be combined to create your ideal cloud hosting scenario. It’s a good idea to create a lists of your needs when setting out to choose a cloud storage provider, so that you can easily identify which plans will work for your enterprise.

2. Security & Compliance

One of the primary concerns of people considering the switch to cloud storage is data security, and for good reasons. Many organizations are used to being responsible for the security of their own data, making the idea of a transition to third-party hosting a bit hard to swallow. This is why it’s so important to thoroughly research potential hosts, and to create a list of security must-haves. This is not only for your peace of mind, but also for the longevity of your enterprise’s cloud storage. Depending on your industry, you should do research on the relevant data protection laws such as:

PIPEDA – The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. A Canadian law governing the way in which private organizations collect and use personal information in the course of commercial business.
The GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation. An act concerning the procedure of data protection and privacy for citizens and enterprises in the European Union.
HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. An American law that outlines the security provisions necessary for the storage of medical information.

Your chosen web host should be 100% compliant with these laws, and should have transparency and accountability throughout the process. This will help you have confidence in your cloud storage provider, as well as to avoid unexpected issues down the line.

3. Support

In the case of an unforeseen problem, your cloud storage provider should be available around the clock to support you, and get your systems up-and-running as soon as possible. Your cloud storage support team should be effective, easy to communicate with, and knowledgeable on your unique cloud storage needs. Look for 24/7 support staff, and ensure that you can easily establish a line of contact with them before you need to. By creating a strong relationship with your provider, and being proactive about staying in contact, any issues that do come up can be solved much quicker, reducing the stress of downtime.

As cloud storage becomes ever-more popular in the commercial sector, there’s never been a better time to make the change to seamless, powerful, and well-supported off-site data management. Cartika offers scalable, customizable, and fully compliant infrastructure, letting you focus on the day-to-day operations of your enterprise. If you’re ready to take the next step in bettering your business or organization through cutting-edge technology, contact Cartika today.