TECH TUESDAY

If your managed services provider changed hands in the last several years, you may have noticed something. The name on the invoice might be the same. The support portal might look familiar. But the engineer who used to pick up the phone and already know your setup before you finished your first sentence, that person may be harder to reach than they used to be. Or gone entirely. That is not a coincidence. It is the predictable outcome of what has happened to the managed servic

For years, firms believed Shadow IT was under control. Standardized systems. Locked-down devices. Approved applications. Centralized identity. It felt contained. Shadow IT has now returned, and this time it does not arrive as unauthorized software installed on a workstation. It arrives quietly, through the browser, through convenience, through curiosity. It arrives as artificial intelligence. Employees are using AI tools today. Not in theory. Not in pilot programs. In active

Most organizations believe they are protected because they have backups. Data is copied. Files are stored. Cloud data is replicated. Somewhere, there is a system that holds a version of the business in case something goes wrong. That belief creates comfort. It also creates risk. A backup is a technical function. Recovery is a business outcome. Confusing the two is one of the most common and costly mistakes leadership teams make. When an incident occurs, no one asks whether ba

Each spring, millions of Americans prepare tax returns, organize financial records, and exchange sensitive information with accountants, payroll providers, and financial advisors. It is a predictable annual cycle. Unfortunately, it is also a predictable opportunity for cybercriminals. Tax season consistently produces a surge in fraud attempts because criminals know two things. First, people are already exchanging financial information. Second, urgency and deadlines make indiv

Modern businesses depend on vendors. Cloud platforms run core systems. Payroll providers handle sensitive employee information. Accounting platforms store financial data. File sharing systems hold client documents. Managed service providers maintain infrastructure. Software companies host customer records. In many firms, dozens or even hundreds of third-party providers quietly support daily operations. This interconnected ecosystem delivers remarkable efficiency. It also crea

Does It Operates in the Open, Governed and Aligned with Your Business? AI is already embedded in the daily work of your firm. Employees use it to draft emails, summarize documents, write code, analyze data, and answer client questions. Some use sanctioned tools. Many use whatever is free and convenient. Leaders who assume their teams are not using AI are operating on hope, not evidence. This moment mirrors the early days of cloud adoption. Tools spread faster than policies. C

Cyber threats evolve every year, yet one attack method continues to cause more direct financial loss to small and mid-sized businesses than any other: Business Email Compromise, or BEC. It is not flashy. It does not rely on sophisticated malware. It does not require a dramatic breach. Instead, BEC exploits something far more reliable, trust. A message appears to come from a managing partner, a client, or a trusted vendor. It requests a payment change, a wire transfer, or sens

There was a time not so long ago when businesses could deploy technology, confirm it worked, and move on. Servers were installed, software was licensed, networks were configured, and the prevailing assumption was that, barring a failure, the environment would continue serving the business indefinitely. That era is over. Today’s technology environments are dynamic ecosystems. Cloud platforms evolve monthly. Security threats adapt daily. Software vendors change pricing, feature

“Shadow IT” is often described as a user behavior issue. Employees download apps. Teams adopt file sharing tools. Someone signs up for a SaaS platform with a corporate credit card. A well-meaning staff member uses an AI tool to move work along faster. IT discovers these tools months later and reacts with restrictions, warnings, or new policies. This cycle is familiar in many organizations. It is also misunderstood. Shadow IT is not primarily a user problem. It is a governance

Compliance is often mistaken for paperwork. Policies are drafted. Checklists are completed. A binder or portal fills with evidence. Leadership breathes easier, believing the organization has met its obligations. That belief is understandable. It is also incomplete. True compliance is not a document set. It is the visible outcome of disciplined operations, clear ownership, and daily decisions made with risk in mind. When regulators, auditors, insurers, or investors look closel