As cyber threats
become more complex and potentially catastrophic,
managed IT services has important applications for dental practices, and
practice managers/owners need to weigh their options for how they want to
protect their data, especially with the constant moving target of HIPAA
compliance.

For dentists and multi-location dental practices, the potential cost of an IT security
breach can be very damaging. To this point, Mobile Computer Services offers
Wake Forest businesses and dental practices peace of mind with their effective,
customizable managed IT solutions, sometimes referred to as “Managed Services”
or “Managed IT Services.” Their 5-star service track record is based on many
years of working with dentists and practice owners. One of the most important
services that they offer is their network and hardware security services for
dentists who take network and data security seriously.

Managed IT Services for Cloud-Based Business Environments

There are two key points to look at when
understanding and taking steps to mitigate security threats to a practice:
business operations are moving to the cloud and
small businesses like dental practices are particularly vulnerable to data
breaches, website hack attempts and other security related threats and risks.

Managed IT Security Services Help Prevent Breaches

Increasingly practices are moving their operations online and to the cloud that is coming with the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) which enables more and more smart devices to be connected to the web – each of which is another potential entry point for hackers.

At the same time, security breaches are becoming more serious, as well as being more difficult to detect. In CDW’s Cybersecurity Insight Report, 25% of the known security breaches have had a significant impact on the company’s ability to continue operations as well as the cost of bad publicity and damage caused to clients. Working with a managed IT company that offers an end-to-end computer security service can help mitigate this risk.

HIPAA Compliance in the Managed IT Services Industry

Many small businesses think that their size
will protect them because they’re not profitable enough to be a target. But the
converse is true; hackers are attracted
to smaller businesses because their size
means that they are often seen as soft
targets. This is especially true for
dentists where data protection including ePHI and HIPAA compliance in a dental
practice is essential.

This means that installing an off-the-shelf anti-virus and hoping for
the best can no longer be considered a good enough option.  This is
because, in addition to the increased number of attacks (61%
of small and medium-sized businesses have had at least one attack in the last 12 months), the nature of the cyber
attacks is increasing in the degree of its malevolence.
A managed IT services provider like Mobile Computer Services in Wake Forest can
partner with your dental practice to ensure that you are protected.

How Practices Can Respond: Outsourced IT Security Services

Most small and medium-size businesses do not have the IT security staff needed to
manage their online security effectively but most also don’t need a full-time
employee dedicated to the IT services management role. This makes the option of outsourcing to a managed service provider
a good choice. It is a challenging job description to fulfill in-house, and business demands mean that the function of
security management is often pushed to the bottom of the pile when new network
and data projects arise. A properly trained IT service technician with HIPAA
compliance expertise can easily cost $5000-7000 per month for a full-time
employee. At Mobile Computer Services, we save our valued clients hundreds to
thousands of dollars each month with our Managed IT Services outsourcing
solutions.

Choosing a Managed Service Provider for IT Security

When deciding who to work with, partner with a managed IT service provider
that understands your business model, who will develop a comprehensive security
plan for your practice and has experience working with the technology that your
business uses. A dental practice has a number of online systems that will require an
IT partner who is familiar with them and with thus offer a managed IT solution
that is perfectly suited to your practice and to help maintain strict
compliance with HIPAA. Each business has its
own set of particular security vulnerabilities which means that your IT
services provider should take the time to understand your business and the
different technologies that are used. The
IT provider that you choose should be able to suggest policies and security
procedures, a disaster recovery strategy, as well as auditing and compliance
that is relevant to your business. The technology that a dental practice uses
is specific, and each managed It company
will have experience with different technologies. Choose one that has
experience with your technology who will be able to give recommendations for
improvements and additions that will work well with your current setup.

Mobile
Computer Services in Wake Forest is a managed IT service provider offering
a full suite of computer and network security
service options including anti-virus and internet protection, wireless network
security and data protection along with hardware and computer-related services.
They also offer support for computer and PC security, virus removal and
intrusion blocking, data disaster recovery, data backup and mobile device
management services.

They provide specialized managed IT services for
dentists, and dental practices have many
years of experience as a managed dental
IT security service provider. In addition,
they can offer network services, business continuity planning, IT consulting,
VoIP, office moves, email protection, and
hardware (HaaS) as a service for your practice.

The next article was originally published to Managed IT Services and Security Options to Protect Your Wake Forest Dental Practice and is courtesy of Mobile Computer Services, Inc. Find more on: The Mobile Computer Services, Inc. Blog in North Carolina

Managed IT Services Wake Forest NC

When businesses need a managed IT services provider in Wake Forest many issues spring to mind, such as whether you can trust the managed IT services company, if they are qualified and, because all businesses are different, if it is even a good match for what the business needs and a values match. There are five areas to ask about that will quickly give an idea of whether or not outsourcing your IT services would be a good decision for the business, and what managed IT services company you should choose.

Ask for References 

It is important to understand the track record of a managed IT services provider. You are going to be entrusting your IT and systems to a company, and you need to know that they can deliver. Get started by looking at the testimonials on their website, then have a look at their reviews on Google and Facebook. Finally, ask the managed services provider if they have a client that would be willing to chat with you, use the opportunity to highlight any areas of concern and ask how their experience has been.

Ask About Their Technical Expertise as a Managed IT Services Provider

There are many different hardware and software components on the market, and it will make the process smoother if the service provider that you are considering has a good grasp of the technologies that you make use of at your company. Find out about how experienced they are with using your systems, and how regularly they receive training on updates. Then, ask about how much experience their employees have in the IT industry and what technical skills they can offer.

Ask How Long They Have Been in Business in Managed IT Solutions

Outsourcing your IT isn’t a quick process, and you need to know that you have the option of a long-term partnership with the provider. While no one can foresee what the future holds, it is better to work with a company that has been working in the industry for a while as they are more likely to be operating for the next couple of years. Additionally, it is a good sign if they have managed to stay in business for at least five years, as the statistics show that most businesses in America fail within the first five years.

Ask About Their Partners and Accreditations as a Managed IT Services Company

This is a quick way to find out if the company is well-established and plans to be in business for a long time. Accreditations are a signal that the business can be trusted. In the case of Mobile Computer Services, they work with many of the world’s leading hardware and software service providers and are certified members of the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ask About What Managed IT Services They Recommend for Your Business

In order to weigh up the costs and benefits business owners need to understand what they are being offered by the IT service provider. Make a list of the services they can offer and decide whether they are a good match for your business. Then look at what it would cost you to manage those services in-house. From there you should be able to decide whether it is a good option for your business.

About Mobile Computer Services

Mobile Computer Services in Wake Forest offers managed IT services for small and medium-sized companies in North Carolina. Their dedicated IT team will manage and monitor the IT operations of your company. They empower businesses to become more profitable through the proactive management of the company’s computer network 24 hours a day, seven days a week by offering businesses the ability to run efficiently, removing technology headaches and allowing the business to focus on their core operations and their customers.

Their goal is to offer world-class IT support at an affordable price, matching the convenience of an outsourced IT support provider with the service levels that you would expect from an in-house specialist. They offer peace of mind through reliable support, so you know that your IT operations are secure and running at peak efficiency.

The following post was originally published to Managed IT Service Companies in Wake Forest – 5 Questions to Ask and is republished from Mobile Computer Services, Inc. Find more on: Mobile Computer Services, Inc. LLC

Dental IT Services a Specialty

Dental IT services is a special niche in
the larger “Managed IT Services” industry. Mobile Computer Services in Raleigh
understands that keeping dental information technology systems updated and e-HIPAA
compliant in a dental practice is mission critical, especially in the face of
day to day demands that are often prioritized
due to their urgency. In this way, staff resources are typically at capacity
and can also be overwhelmed which means that maintenance activities such as computer
updates, virus scans, email scans, security patches, and backups can be neglected.
This further increases the risk of bigger technology problems and outages
further down the line that will negatively affect a business. It also exposes a
dental practice to significantly higher risks of breaches, hacks and data leaks
that can trigger a HIPAA violation.

Managed IT Outsourcing

Managed IT services for dentists takes out the risk as it allows dental practices to outsource their IT operations to an external service provider who then puts measures in place to keep the business online – which is where the term MANAGED IT SERVICES PROVIDER comes from. Kara Mason, Founder and President of North Carolina based Mobile Computer Services, summarized the situation perfectly, “Working with a managed service provider with deep experience in dental IT and HIPAA compliance, offers several benefits including lowered costs, improved focus on core business activities, but most importantly, it delivers peace of mind as business owners and practice managers know that one of the most important aspects of their dental practice is being managed by true professionals around the clock, 24/7/365.”

He went on to note that it is important to distinguish between preventative maintenance (which is offered by Mobile Computer Services), and breakage or hardware failures. Unfortunately, while it is possible to continuously monitor maintenance issues such as failed backups and perform automated tasks, it’s not possible to foresee hardware failures, software issues or virus attacks in all situations. The purpose of managed IT services is rather to ensure that when these unexpected scenarios occur, there are safeguards in place in the form of backups, plans and systems that will result in minimum downtime for the business. When businesses and practices have a managed services provider like Mobile Computers Services as their IT support partner, these types of scenarios are few and far between and are typically the result of weather, fire or other natural disasters. The additional benefit and peace of mind comes from the fact that MCS offers and stands behind their 3 minutes or less guarantee for response times to any need, request or problem that may arise in your dental IT technology stack.

Managed IT Solutions Lower Overall Technology Costs

Managed services mean that a business or dental practice’s technological systems are being continuously monitored, managed and optimized to run optimally resulting in less downtime, the costs of which can be very high when factored in if a business is down for a half or full day. By proactively preventing issues from arising through continuous system monitoring, high repair and downtime costs can be avoided almost entirely. In addition, it is possible to budget accurately for managed IT services as the IT services and support are all-inclusive, charged at a flat rate that is payable monthly making it easy to plan and budget accordingly.

Managing the IT Technology Stack Critical

The technology stack forms a large part of
the operations of most businesses. It is surprising then that so many businesses choose to ignore this crucial aspect,
relying on non-specialist employees to solve IT issues and only calling in a
professional when all else has failed or when there is a critical outage of one
or all technology services the business relies on. But this approach distracts
employees from their core job functions and means that the business does not
run optimally. By removing the technological component, employees are better
able to focus on their primary job functions and large expenses and costs due
to downtimes being eliminated, along with the stress!

Peace of Mind Comes from a Properly Managed IT Stack

An IT service provider will monitor your
systems 24 hours a day, seven days a week
so they can take proactive measures in the event of a potential issue. They are
experts in their field which means that businesses will experience:

• Less downtime as issues are identified and solved before they escalate
• Fewer disruptions as updates
  and upgrades are run outside of office hours whenever possible
• Improved security through
  system monitoring, as well as regular updates and backups

About Mobile Computer Services

Mobile Computer Services has two locations, one in Raleigh and one serving the Wake Forest area business community. MCS offers managed IT solutions and specialized managed IT services for dentists and multi-location dental practices that cover the strategy, planning and set up of new systems as well as the repair and maintenance and optimization of any and all existing devices and computer servers. They offer remote desktop and on-site computer support when needed and a 3-minute response time guarantee.

Along with being of North Carolina’s premier Managed IT Services companies, Mobile Computer Services also offers network services, business continuity planning, IT consulting, security, assistance with office moves, VoIP, email protection and hardware as a service. They also have a quick response team that is available for on-demand services, helping with fixing hardware and software issues, mobile device management like tablets and company smartphones, along with new hardware and computer setup when its time to replace the desktops that sound like a jet engine when first started in the morning.

You may have found this article by doing a search for “managed IT services near me” or “managed IT providers near me” or “managed IT companies near me.” However you found us, we’re glad you did and hope you find this article informative and useful in answering common questions like how do I find the best managed IT services companies in North Carolina?

The following information was first published on Managed IT services for Dentists from Mobile Computer Services in Raleigh and is republished from Mobile Computer Services, Inc. Find more on: Mobile Computer Services, Inc. Blog

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