Firewalls are an essential first line of defense in an organization’s network security strategy. But if that’s true, why do so many companies ignore them? To better understand, we talked with C Spire Authority engineer Zach Smith, who specializes in all things firewall. 

The business IT industry struggles to provide quick and consistent customer support, but not at C Spire Business. Our technical support team touts a 98 percent customer satisfaction rate. How do we do it? This team is the best of the best, and, most importantly, we have a secret weapon: Customer Success Managers.

IT support is IT support, right? Nope.

An IT company with a strong support strategy doesn’t just plow through service ticket after service ticket. It helps customers meet their business goals.

What does that look like? For starters, it’s 24/7 support. It’s also a regionally based group of trained IT professionals assigned to your business who don’t just respond to service calls, but personally know your company.

Here are 3 tips for making sure your IT provider is part of your team:

The business world is on high alert. President Biden, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning the private sector about potential Russian-sourced cyber attacks. The consistent theme? “Lean into your cybersecurity strategy,” said Conrad Bell, C Spire Chief Information Security Office. “While there might be more threats than usual, malware, phishing attempts, zero-day attacks, etc, are not new. A smart strategy that deploys layers of security is the best approach to today’s threats.”

C Spire has again earned a spot on CRN’s 2022 Tech Elite 250 list. This annual list features IT solution providers of all sizes in the U.S. and Canada that have earned cutting-edge technical certifications from leading technology suppliers. This is C Spire Business’s 12th consecutive year to be named to the Tech Elite 250 list.

“Times have changed - communication has changed,” says Devere McLennan, co-owner of Ward Mechanical Equipment. “Business has sped up dramatically.”

As one of Mississippi’s largest HVAC product suppliers, the growing company needed an IT partner that would reduce the amount of time they spent trying to get their technology and communication tools to work.