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.

Bandwidth is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the internet.

Next-generation firewalls, also known as second generation firewalls, protect organizations through advanced security features. NGFWs provide functions like deep-packet inspection, intrusion prevention (IPS), advanced malware detection, application control, and overall increased network visibility through inspection of encrypted traffic. They can be found anywhere from an on-premise network edge to its internal boundaries, and can also be employed on a public or private cloud environment.

If you’ve received a message from your boss requesting a gift card, it’s probably a phishing attempt. “We’re seeing a rise in gift card scams,” says Conrad Bell, Chief Information Security Officer at C Spire. “Hackers send people emails or text messages in which they pretend to be a supervisor or a senior executive. They trick employees into buying gift cards and sending them the activation codes.” Once the codes are sent, the money is gone.