Why Outsourcing IT (Information Technology) with Network Essentials makes Sense

Information Technology has become a vital aspect of doing business today as companies are doing more with less, having remote workers, the explosion of the mobile offices and rapidly changing compliance standards.The training necessary to stay on top of trends and best practices is impossible for a one or two person IT Department to keep up with daily workloads and projects while dedicating time for continuing education.

Information technology outsourcing makes sense, as IT professionals are in big demand in most industries. Network Essentials ensures that we provide a challenging environment for our employees to work in diverse technology environments and project teams.  We have a yearly growth progression that allows our employees to gain all the general technical skill as well as training in customer service and business acumen. We mandate 80 hours min. of continuing education for our employees yearly.

In addition, many functions of IT can be managed more effectively by outsourcing to independent companies instead of using in-house providers as as Network Essentials.. Network Essentials has invested in our processes, systems and tools to ensure that we are able to help companies grow as we grow. We use a state of the art PSA system to manage everything about your business from managing assets to managing service requests and ensuring we are meeting Service Level Agreements (SLA). We use state of the art remote management tools that allow us to monitor and maintain all your equipment, alerting of issues and automatic service ticket generation for issues the system can solve. More importantly, we own all of our tools and do not outsource any of our core services.

Some of the benefits of outsourcing your IT to Network Essentials

• Reducing your risk, by owning all your IT challanages for a Flat monthly fee. Focus on your business while we manage your IT infrastructure
• Trained and certified technical staff with exceptional customer service skills
• All our employees have background checks and drug screening performed annually
• You have access to our entire team of specialists when you need them.
• Our processes are ITIL driven and constantly reviewed so we are providing the best services
• We answer your calls live, 3 rings or less
• Only W-2 employees of Tnessentials, Inc DBA/ Network Essentials have access to your systems.  We do not outsource the core functions of our business.
• We audit all of our interactions with your systems to ensure we comply with all industry best practice standards
• We do all the small stuff... Manage your assets,licensing compliance, backup's, hardware warranties, your A/V perform maintenance on machines, ensure patching is done correctly. These normally get missed by in-house IT and can end up costing your company time and money
• We do the important stuff...Manage your backups and test daily. If there is a disaster, we will be able to recover your business
• We drink our own Kool-aid.  We support the solutions we use internally. Reliability and Availability.
• We document our work and our clients have copies
• No long term agreements.  Our agreements have a 30 day out clause.  We don't lose clients!

 Contact Network Essentials IT Consultants today to talk about outsourcing your IT

Network Essentials based in Charlotte, NC Specializes in Fortinet Firewall installation and Fortinet Security Solutions

Network Essentials specializes in Firewall installation, Network Security and management including Fortinet products such as Forigate, FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer.

Network Essentials IT Consultants are trained in the following Fortinet Products

• FortiGate® Network Security Platforms and Appliances
• FortiManager Centralized Management
• FortiAnalyzer Centralized Reporting
• FortiClient™ Endpoint Security Suite
• FortiMail™ Messaging Security Appliances

Contact Network Essentials IT Consultant Security specialists to discuss your security needs

Cloud IT Solutions - Welcome to the Cloud

Cloud IT is the future of small and medium business technology management that greatly reduces the cost of setup and  IT management overhead, letting you focus on your business and not your IT.

Imagine being able to expand your company's capabilities without needing to purchase expensive hardware or worry about running and maintaining it in your office.  With the cloud, it is possible to get the benefits of a secure, expertly managed data center without the costs required to purchase and run your own equipment.

Firewall Installationand Network Security in Atlanta, GA and in the entire Southeast is one the major specializations of Network Essentials. 

Firewall Installation is one of the first steps in protecting sensitive private information from un-authorized access. A firewall should be placed between your Internet connection and your private computer and network equipment. Firewall features vary amongst the major firewall systems.  Network Essentials supports Enterprise class firewalls like Fortinet, Juniper, Sonicwall, Checkpoint, Palo Alto, and Cisco.  All Enterprise class firewall systems are able to monitor traffic coming in from and going out to the Internet, filtering traffic based on a variety of methods. Access rules are then created to allow or deny access to secure the private network resources. System functionality, monitoring and alerting may be handled different by each vendor.  Consulting with Network Essentials trained Security Experts will help you determine the level of needed security to protect your company while still allowing employees to work efficiently.

Some of the typical firewall considerations during the discovery, design, implementing and maintenance and on-going management process include:

• Determining the resources that are going to be protected, and what access level is required
• The acceptable level of risk and operation of the firewall are considered
• What needs to be monitored and / or audited
• Are there compliance regulations that need to be followed
• Will resources need to be accessed from outside the workplace for example from a home or remote office

Establishing a checklist through a through needs analysis and risk assessment is our first step to identify the best approach to help to secure your assets.

Using the resources of a firm that specializes in firewall solutions, such as Network Essentials, provides additional assurance that the company will achieve its goals and objectives. Network Essentials security professionals have real world experience and certifications for most Enterprise Class firewall systems such as Fortinet, Sonicwall, Juniper, Checkpoint, Palo Alto and Cisco.

Contact Network Essentials IT Security Consultants to discuss your Firewall installation or Network security needs

Firewall do have limitations Click here to read more 

Network Essentials is a Citrix Systems Partner and specializes in Private Cloud based Citrix installation as well as VDI-in-a-Box installation in Charlotte and Atlanta. 

Virtual Desktops for Less. Access Your Office from Anywhere

Businesses of all sizes,  small, mid-size and large are all looking to leverage the benefits in desktop virtualization (VDI).  Simple IT organizations face tight resources, budget constraints and the lack of qualified technical resources.  Network Essentials IT Consultants and Citrix VDI-in-a-Box addresses this need with a robust yet cost effective soltution.

VDI-in-a-Box is an easy, affordable, all-in-one desktop virtualization solution that makes the benefits of desktop virtualization available to every business. VDI-in-a-Box provides built-in high-availability and eliminates over 60 percent of traditional VDI infrastructure—including management servers and shared storage (SANs) – by creating a grid of off-the-shelf servers using local storage. The solution enables Windows® administrators to rapidly deliver centrally-managed virtual desktops to any user, on any device with the same rich high-definition end-user experience as our enterprise class XenDesktop —all for less than the cost of PCs. With VDI-in-a-Box, you can give your workers the freedom to work from anywhere while instantly lowering costs and improving security.

Desktop Virtualization (VDI)

• Reduce your PC-refresh budget by deploying VDI Virtual desktops
• Streamline IT Systems Management
• Cut Desktop and energy costs by deploying thin-client technology which consume much less power and extend the refresh cycle
• Work anywhere on practically any device (Windows PC's, Macs, and smartphones and tablets like Apple's iPhone/iPad, Android and Blackberry/RIM devices using Citrix Receiver
• Customized desktops personalized for each user
• Reduce costly downtime

Contact Network Essentials IT Consultants to discuss your VDI needs

Firewall Installation and Network Security in Charlotte, NC is one the major specializations of Network Essentials. 

Firewall Installation is one of the first steps in protecting sensitive private information from un-authorized access. A firewall should be placed between your Internet connection and your private computer and network equipment. Firewall features vary amongst the major firewall systems.  Network Essentials supports Enterprise class firewalls like Fortinet, Juniper, Sonicwall, Checkpoint, Palo Alto, and Cisco.  All Enterprise class firewall systems are able to monitor traffic coming in from and going out to the Internet, filtering traffic based on a variety of methods. Access rules are then created to allow or deny access to secure the private network resources. System functionality, monitoring and alerting may be handled different by each vendor.  Consulting with Network Essentials trained Security Experts will help you determine the level of needed security to protect your company while still allowing employees to work efficiently.

Some of the typical firewall considerations during the discovery, design, implementing and maintenance and on-going management process include:

• Determining the resources that are going to be protected, and what access level is required
• The acceptable level of risk and operation of the firewall are considered
• What needs to be monitored and / or audited
• Are there compliance regulations that need to be followed
• Will resources need to be accessed from outside the workplace for example from a home or remote office

Establishing a checklist through a through needs analysis and risk assessment is our first step to identify the best approach to help to secure your assets.

Auditing Network Security and Firewall installation is another service we offer.

Using the resources of a firm that specializes in firewall solutions, such as Network Essentials, provides additional assurance that the company will achieve its goals and objectives. Network Essentials security professionals have real world experience and certifications for most Enterprise Class firewall systems such as Fortinet, Sonicwall, Juniper, Checkpoint, Palo Alto and Cisco.

Contact Network Essentials IT Security Consultants to discuss your Firewall installation or Network security needs

Firewall do have limitations Click here to read more 

Network Essentials IT Consultants are Apple Certified for iPad / iPhone Mobility and have experience incorporating and securing mobile devices into small and large corporate environments.

The ability to connect to Corporate Technology Assets anytime and from anywhere has created the proliferation of mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, Andriod Tablets into almost every business. It has also forced businesses to look for ways to incorporate them into their day to day operations and use them as a tool to increase employee productivity and morale.  At the same time, the BYOD movement has created a challenge for IT staff  to secure and provide support for these mobile devices. Further clouding the use of mobile devices are the numerous compliance standards like HIPAA, SOX, FISMA and PCI DSS.

Network Essentials IT Consultants can help your organization with strategic consulting services around the use, security and management of mobile devices. Connecting and aligning Senior Management, Operations, Sales and IT for more effective use of Mobile Technology.

• Strategic Planning for the use of Mobile Devices within Businesses
• Acceptable Use Policy Creation
• Critical Corporate Data Protection Guidelines
• Mobile Policies for Configuration and Device Management
• Suggested Mobility Productivity Applications
• Mobile Device Management / Asset Management
• Mobile Device Application roll outs
• Mobile Device Training

Why Should You Engage Network Essentials IT Consultants?

• We are Apple Trained and Certified Mobility and Security Specialists
• Broad and Deep Enterprise IT Proficiency
• Customer Service Focused
• Relative Experience with System Security and Secure Data Handling
• Fixed Fee Service and Projects
• Thoughtful, Useful and Objective Advice
• One-Stop Mobility and IT Solutions

Contact Network Essentials IT Consultants to discuss you Mobility needs

Hosted Exchange Server, two main options 

Microsoft Exchange Server is the most widely deployed e-mail servers used in business and have continuously from the first release to the current version Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. The proliferation of Hosting companies, Data Centers and Co-location facilities has increase access to these resources for many small businesses.  The two main solutions for Hosted Exchange server; public Hosted Exchange and private Hosted Exchange server which the differences will be explained next.

 Public Hosted Exchange - is a large exchange server implementation that hosts multiple companies in one database.  The main advantage of this type of configuration is that is is very cost effective and widely available, giving all of the best features of Microsoft Exchange server for $9 -$25 per user per month. This implementation comes without the cost of owning and maintaining the equipment and purchasing licensing. 

The main drawback to public hosted Exchange server is the fact that your email resides on the same server as other companies.  This becomes a major issue if you ever want to move your service to another provider or bring it in house. Additionally, recovery can take much longer as there is limited ability to move your company email into its own Exchange Storage group.  This form of Hosted Exchange may also have problems meeting compliance regulations.

As a Small to midsized IT Solution provider we lose a lot of control over email using this method.  Once we verify the email has left the machine there is little we can do to troubleshoot other than getting on the phone and hoping to be able to get someone on the other end to create a support ticket.

Private Hosted Exchange is an Exchange Server that is hosted at a data center or Co-Location facility on either dedicated physical or shared infrastructure hardware. Using shared infrastructure in this environment meets compliance regulations because while the resources are shared, they are secured and run in a single instance where your company is on its own dedicated server instance.  The benefit of clustering host servers and redundant SAN back-ends offers Highly Available configuration while hosting in a data center offers the reliability of clean consistent power, cooling and redundant Internet connections. Additionally, the ability to purchase licensing on a monthly as used model offers benefits of Operating expense vs. Capital expenditure.

The main drawback of Private hosted Exchange is cost.  There isn't the cost savings of thousands of users sharing the cost of the hardware and hosting.

The control perspective from a  Small to midsized IT Solution provider in this senario, we gain total control over email using this method with the ability to follow messaging all the way through the creation to delivery.  Network Essentials also has a N+1 Highly available Network / Server infrastructure with the ability to add multiple site redundancy.

Contact Network Essentials to talk about your e-mail needs

COLOCATION HOSTING DATA CENTER Hosting servers and even desktops has become increasingly popular. Colocation facilities, commonly referred to as server hotels, are designed to keep your equipment running – all the time, and dependably. Bandwidth diversity, backup power generators and cooling are just some of the features that make colocation facilities ideal for hardware. Network Essentials has hosting space available in a state-of-the-art colocation center. We can host your machines or securely provision space in our N+1 designed systems and provide access just like it was your own without the expense of refreshing every few years.

Network Essentials Data Center Services Offered 

• Server Colocation - You provide the server, Network Essentials provides space, security, power, engineering labor and Internet
• Managed Security - Our Engineers - 3rd Party Audited
• Our Hardware, Hardware as a Service (HAAS) Managed Hardware no long term contracts
• Monitored 24x7x365 - 99.999% uptime since 2008
• Georgraphically diverse Data Centers - NC,MD, NY/NJ, NV and MN

 Some Benefits of Server Colocation 

• Mulitple Fibre Optic feeds to self heal service delivery and prevent service loss from damaged fiber optics
• Conditioned Clean power Power delivered to systems minimizing power spike issues
• Backup power, battery and power generator supplied
• Redundant cooling systems to keep electronics at optimal operating temperatures
• Security including gated perimeter, Video survellience, biometrics, alarms and physical keys needed for access
• Monitored 24x7x365

  Benefits of using Network Essentials Cloud Services 

• High Availability, N+1 Design without the huge upfront capital expense
• Fully Managed by Certified Engineers24x7 Proactive Technical Support
• Flexibility of Microsoft and Citrix SPLA licensing models. Pay for what you need.
• New Service available in hours not weeks
• Easy to setup and get connected

Contact Network Essentials to discuss your Hosting Needs

AOWFIT (Always On Worry Free IT) Proactive Maintenance Plan

Reduce downtime, increase profitability, and make your technology work for you.

AOWFIT (Always On Worry Free IT) is dedicated to keeping your technology investment up and running smoothly so you can focus on your business.  You can relax knowing our partnership with your organization means we take your IT personally, and strive to keep your staff productive with the tools they need to drive your business forward.
Change the way you think about IT with AOWFIT (Always On Worry Free IT).

How Much does Spam Cost Your Company?

You'd be surprised how much junk email costs a company in time and resources.  Reclaim your Inbox today.

According to a recent study, 78% of all email sent is classified as spam.  Other reports have claimed that U.S. companies lose $712 per employee each year due to spam email despite the software spam filters that come with most email clients.  Ask yourself if you'd like to continue sifting through spam and let junk email clog up your inboxes and exchange server.

Protect your Business Inside and Out

How Secure is your Network?
Are you at risk?
It's time to get proactive.

The Internet offers significant benefits to small and medium-sized businesses, but with it comes many potent security issues.  From Malware to Data Theft, layering protection into your current IT infrastructure is becoming more and more important every day.  We can help you by reviewing your company's needs and finding a solution that works best for your business.

Cloud Solutions and Services

"Private" Cloud services

Network Essentials private cloud services offer highly available custom tailored solutions using our equipment.  This solution is the best option when security or compliance is a major concern.  Our Network infrastructure is designed using N+1 methodology built around HP technology and Microsoft's System Center Management and Hyper-V Virtualization platform.

Benefits of Network Essentials "Private" Cloud

Safe and secure

Our security staff maintains our systems to the highest "best practice" standards.  All client systems are isolated and secure access is allowed only through monitored VPN access. We use UTM, DLP and other tactical measures to ensure data integrity. All client data is backed up both locally and off-site in two regionally separate data centers to ensure that your data is safe in the event of a disaster.  All production data runs locally in Charlotte and is replicated regionally to a Data Center in Baltimore for fail-over capability. 

Locally owned and managed

We run our own data center and own all of the equipment locally to provide highly available solutions. Network Essentials employees monitor and maintain our systems to the highest standards allowing for 99.999% up-time over the last 5 years of service. We never outsource core competencies of our infrastructure allowing us to control the experience end to end.

Disaster Recovery Solution

We are prepared!  All data is replicated from SAN to SAN for real-time fail over, additionally backed up to disk and then sent off-site to replicated data centers. This combination of local and off-site backup allows us to maintain data integrity regardless of any failure. Our certified staff continuously monitor the status and the security of all our equipment making sure your data is secure and recoverable at all times.

Server Co-location

You provide the servers, We provide secure space, redundant power and bandwidth in our data center.  We will provide 24x7 Monitoring and Management if needed.

For information about Microsoft's Office 365 and Google Apps click here  "Public" Cloud Services

Proactive Managed Server Support

Flat-rate, fully-managed, 24/7/365 Server monitoring, maintenance, and remediation

Get comprehensive support that includes remote & on-site server remediation services at a flat monthly rate, meaning there are no 'per-incident' charges. We utilize proactive maintenance in order to prevent downtime before it affects your bottom line.
Let us give you peace of mind knowing your servers are being watched 24/7/365.

Network Essentials offers full service support and training for Apple Mobility products including iPhone and iPad.

• Device configuration
• Connect to corporate e-mail infrastructure such as Microsoft's Exchange Server 2010 Platform
• Mobile Device Management (MDM) for compliance
• Training sessions (Full and Half day)
• Direct connections to Apple Business Division for purchasing multiple devices
• Mass Deployment of IOS Apps

We are a proud member of the Apple Consultants Network

Write a review for support provided by Network Essentials for your Apple Device

iPad in Business, Ready for Work.

Network Essentials is now part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN) certified in mobility!

Integration

Microsoft Exchange Server iPad connects directly to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 providing users push email, calendar events and contacts. Extend the native functionality of Exchange email with an application like iMExchange 2 to add enhanced tasks, notes, out of office and contacts view.

Virtual Private Networks (VPN) iPad easily connects with corporate VPN systems to give users secure access to critical business information.  VPN on demand on the iPadleverages certificate based authentication making the connection to the VPN transparent to the end user.  Management from a central location through MDM makes configuration painless.

Secure

Device Security iPad provides over-the-air policy enforcement to prevent unauthorized access.  A device passcode is the first line of defense which includes extensive options including timeout periods, password complexity and Data Erase after variable number of failed password attempts

Data Protection AES 256 encoding is used to protect data at rest.   Building on the hardware encryption capabilities of iPad, email messages and attachments stored on the device can be further secured by using Data Protection. Data Protection uses a user's device passcode to generate a strong encryption key.  This key prevents data from being accessed when the device is locked, ensuring critical data is secured even if the system is compromised.

Platform Security iPad provides secure platform foundation for third-party applications.  All iPad apps must be signed by developers, to ensure apps haven’t been tampered with or altered. Apps are also "sandboxed" so they cannot access data stored by other applications. Credentials used by applications are also sandboxed and stored in a secured, encrypted keychain. Developers can also build encryption into their applications, to further protect sensitive information.

Flexible Deployment

Self-service setup Configuring iPad for access to corporate services is simple for users. Deliver iPad directly to their desk and users can manually enter settings or install a configuration file to setup the device automatically and ensure their iPad is secure and ready for work.

Mobile Device Management (MDM) Deploying and managing a large number of iPad users is easier than ever. Mobile Device Management APIs can be integrated with third-party solutions to wirelessly configure and update settings, monitor compliance with corporate policies, and even wipe or lock managed iPad devices.  (learn more)

Mobile Device Management

Mobile Device Management (MDM) The proliferation of mobile devices and the B.Y.O.D  movement that it has created, businesses struggle with the ability to control access to sensitive data in the modern office era. Managing a diverse mobile fleet of different device types, IOS, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Blackberry etc. is making it much more difficult to manage and meet compliance standards requiring organizations to leverage comprehensive mobility management.

Our system provides the ability for the following:

• Multi-OS (IOS, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Symbian)
• Scalability from few to hunreds of devices monitored and managed 24x7
• Enterprise Security
• Mobile Application Management to manage public and purchased apps across employee, corporate or shared devices in any organization, including distribution of apps.  Integration with Apple's volume purchase program to purchase business applications
• Mobile Content Management
• Flexible solution to secure employee owned devices B.Y.O.D

Acceptable Use policy creation

Network Monitoring Offers the Peace of Mind that your systems are up and running even when you are not sitting there watching.  Network Essentials 24/7/365 monitoring solution is built around State-of-the-Art Monitoring systems housed on N+1 Systems in a redundant, regionally separate Colocation facilities.

Core Network Monitoring Services  are designed to monitor availability states (up/down), service availability (Windows, Linux, Unix and MAC), performance of Routers, Switches, Virtual Machines and Hosts, CPU and Memory usage, Internet connectivity, Network usage, Email availability, backups, system fan speeds, and many other critical network resources. All managed by  our trained Network Engineers.

Network Monitor Alerting is setup based on the critical nature of the issue detected.  In some cases automation will allow correction of the issue before it becomes a system outage causing event. Alerts can be sent to your IT staff or handled by our engineers 24x7x365.

Network Monitor Reporting can be sent out daily, weekly or monthly and is important to help analyze trends and potentially identify bottlenecks and potential issues. 

Contact us for more details about our Network Monitoring Services

Telecom Consulting Services, Network Essentials understands that your phone system is the life line of your organization, and the decision to select a telecommunications solution is not one that should be taken lightly. That's why, as part of your service agreement with Network Essentials, we offer comprehensive Telecom Consulting Services to help you find the best solution for your business.

We'll thoroughly analyze all your unique telecommunications needs, make recommendations on solutions that fit, and refer you to trusted industry providers. We're here to help you select and implement a hosted or premise-based solution that best serves your business needs and budget.

VoIP can be a practical, modern solution to replace your current PBX system. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is the general term for the transmission of voice communications over the Internet. By using the IP instead of traditional phone dialtone, VoIP often offers a significant cost savings over normal long distance and international rates, and provides a host of features not available with traditional telephone services.

Features include voicemail to email, where voicemails are emailed to you as a .wav file, allowing you to access them from a mobile device or computer; and unified messaging and "find-follow", which lets you instruct your phone to ring another number (such as a cell phone) if you do not answer your desk phone. VoIP phone systems also include auto-attendant, ring groups and hunt groups, and allow for a variety of call routing configurations.

At Network Essentials, we can help you understand its vast capabilities and, more importantly, help you determine if VoIP technology makes sense for your business. Contact one of our system experts today

• T1
• Metro Ethernet
• Metro Gigabit
• DS-3 / T-3
• OCx
• MPLS
• Colocation
• Private Line
• Video Optimized Data
• Hosted VoIP

Electronic Document Management (EDM) Studies show that in most corporate environments, employees spend up to 40% of their time trying to find information they need in their daily routines. Time spent searching for documents, re-creating documents that already exist and shuffling through unstructured information accounts for billions of dollars in the US alone. In fact, most organizations do not effectively track their corporate documents or realize the vast number of documents they create in their businesses.

NETWORK ESSENTIALS Electronic Document Management (EDM) is an extremely, easy-to-use Windows based, document scanning, image management, retrieval and distribution software.  The software uses the Twain scanner interface for color, gray scale and B+W paper scanning.  NETWORK ESSENTIALS Electronic Document Management (EDM) uses Microsoft  "SQL Server" database and its database search arguments may be coupled with OCR "full text search" requests to provide quick retrieval of individual documents within file folders. 

Network Essentials Electronic Document Management (EDM) is the Most Powerful Document Retrieval System available today. While extremely powerful, Network Essentials Electronic Document Management (EDM) couldn't be easier to use. A simple retrieval request gives the user immediate access to every file. Emailing, faxing or printing are all just one click away. Finally there is a real life solution for your record keeping and data archiving needs

Contact Network Essentials in Charlotte to setup a demo