Arraya Insights

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Microsoft Inspire kicked off on July 18th with CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote, providing information on a plethora of AI-centric products including Microsoft Copilot, Bing Chat Enterprise, and Llama 2 by Meta. He was joined by other executive members who addressed key partnerships at Microsoft and enhancements in Microsoft’s Partner Program that would allow partners to deliver AI-ready solutions and services to their customers. 

In this post, we are going to provide further details on the Inspire announcements that we’re most excited about and how Arraya Solutions plans to help deliver these products and services to customers like you! 

Bing Chat Enterprise 

Bing Chat Enterprise is Microsoft’s solution to providing businesses with an AI tool that is secure, private, and free from data leakage. By leveraging Microsoft’s AI principles, Bing Chat Enterprise will provide your users with the power of Bing Chat but with secure principles in mind.  

Data cannot be accessed by Microsoft, chat history is never recorded, and data provided is not used to train the model. You can rest assured that by supplying proprietary data for analysis, summarization, or key phrase extraction, this data will be protected and enhance your everyday workflow.  

Bing Chat Enterprise is available today at no additional cost for Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium subscribers. If you are not subscribed to these products, Bing Chat Enterprise can be purchased at a standalone offering of $5 USD per user per month.  

Microsoft 365 Copilot & Sales Copilot 

Microsoft 365 Copilot, one of Microsoft’s most anticipated products, was announced earlier this year. Copilot is built with enterprise-grade security, privacy, identity, compliance, and responsible AI. This means that Copilot will inherit your existing security, privacy, identity, and compliance policy, ensure data is logically isolated to your tenant, and respect the user and group permission policies. 

Copilot will be available in all Microsoft productivity products including Outlook, Teams, Viva, and Office apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 

During this year’s Inspire, Microsoft provided information on Copilot pricing as well as Microsoft Sales Copilot which empowers sellers to increase productivity and personalize every customer interaction. Built into CRM related programs like Dynamics 365, Outlook, Teams, or even Salesforce, Sales Copilot will enable your sellers to do what they do best! 

Microsoft CoPilot will be available for commercial customers for $30 USD per user per month for Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, and Business Premium customers.  

Azure Capabilities & Investments 

As you and your business rationalize your workloads to determine if they are cloud ready, Azure has received some new enhancements which can bolster your estate as you migrate to the cloud. Enhancements such as Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows Server 2012/R2 systems hosted in Azure or enabled by Azure Arc, enhanced assessment tools in Azure Migrate, Llama 2 integration to Azure AI, and GitHub Advanced Security for DevOps.  

We’ll touch base on a couple of these. 

Upgrading your Windows Server 2012/R2 systems to 2016 and higher can be a difficult task if they host mission critical workloads. That is why, come October 2023, Microsoft is offering their customers the ability to install extended security updates to ensure your workloads remain protected.  

To achieve this, you can purchase ESU subscriptions from Partners like Arraya or enable your workloads with Azure Arc and use technologies, such as Update Management, to push those updates to your systems. Additionally, Azure Migrate now supports in-place upgrades of Windows Server 2012/R2 servers to later operating systems (OS). If you cannot upgrade the OS, bring the OS as is and it will receive free extended security updates. 

Lastly, Microsoft has partnered with Tanium, a 2023 Microsoft Partner of the Year, to help enhance your workload assessments with real-time operational data that can be used by Azure Migrate to build a business case without the need of installing an Azure Migrate appliance on premises.  

Next Steps: Take Advantage of the Latest in Cloud Computing 

Arraya’s chosen top releases are just the tip of the iceberg on what new Microsoft products can do for your organization. Today, Arraya is dedicated to helping you with assessing your current state to determine if you’re ready for implementing the cloud fully or in a hybrid way.  

Reach out to one of our account executives today to schedule a consultation! 

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now. 

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While cyberattacks are a common culprit, data loss can stem from an unavoidable natural disaster, a technical failure, or even human error. As data is the root of all business decision-making and operational workflows, your organization needs to be prepared for an unforeseen outage.  

Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is a critical component of your business continuity plan. This service allows businesses to back up their data centers and infrastructure within a third-party, secondary environment that will be available should their primary environment become corrupt or inaccessible.  

For those looking for a reliable and cost-effective solution for disaster recovery of your on-premises VMware virtual machines or physical servers, you’re likely comparing VMware’s Cloud Disaster Recovery (VCDR) solution and Azure Site Recovery. Both solutions offer a way to replicate your workloads to the cloud for failover in case of a disaster.  

VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery  

This solution is a service that leverages VMware Cloud on AWS as the designated recovery site. It allows you to use familiar VMware tools and processes to manage your disaster recovery. This option supports various recovery scenarios, such as on-premises to cloud, cloud to cloud, and hybrid cloud. VCDR also provides features such as continuous data protection, near-zero RPOs, orchestrated recovery plans, and non-disruptive testing. 

Azure Site Recovery  

This service replicates your on-premises VMware VMs or physical servers to Azure as the recovery site. It provides a simple and integrated experience in the Azure portal or PowerShell, and it supports various recovery scenarios, such as on-premises to Azure, Azure to Azure, and Azure to on-premises. Azure Site Recovery also provides features such as application-consistent replication, flexible RPOs, customizable recovery plans, and test failover. 

VMware VCDR v. Azure Site Recovery: Key Differences 

To help you compare the two, we’ve highlighted some of the main differences between VMware’s VCDR solution and Azure Site Recovery so you can select the right solution for your business’s unique needs: 

Pricing:  

Depending on your workload size and frequency of replication, one solution might be more cost-effective than the other. 

  • VMware’s VCDR solution charges based on the number of protected VMs and the amount of storage used in VMware Cloud on AWS. For customers with lower Recovery Time Objectives (RTO), optional pilot light hosts can be provisioned and already available for recovery. 
  • Azure Site Recovery charges based on the number of protected instances and the amount of storage used in Azure.  

Compatibility:  

  • VMware’s VCDR solution requires VMware Cloud on AWS as the recovery site, which means you need to have an AWS account and a VMware Cloud SDDC. (Note: Both can easily be created as part of the on-boarding process.) 
  • Azure Site Recovery does not require any additional accounts or services, and it can replicate any workload running on a supported hypervisor such as Hyper-V, ESXi, or physical servers. 

Flexibility:  

  • VMware’s VCDR solution offers more flexibility in terms of replication frequency and granularity as it can replicate data continuously or at intervals as low as 5 minutes. This can protect individual disks or entire VMs.  
  • Azure Site Recovery offers more flexibility in terms of recovery options, as it can fail over to Azure VMs with different sizes and configurations than the original ones. 

Next Steps: Ensure Your Data Is Always Available  

To summarize, both VMware’s VCDR solution and Azure Site Recovery are viable options for disaster recovery of your on-premises VMware VMs or physical servers.  

They each have different strengths and weaknesses that you should consider before choosing one. Your business should evaluate both solutions based on your specific requirements, such as RPOs, RTOs, budget, compatibility, and flexibility. 

Arraya Solutions has certified staff ready to assist in your business’ Continuity and Disaster Recovery strategy. We can offer initial assessments and implementation from pilot to production! Contact one of our experts today to learn more. 

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now. 

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Microsoft Azure utilizes a pricing model based on the consumption of resources, typically charging customers in hourly or data (bytes) units. Microsoft refers to this consumption model as their “retail prices”, or baseline for all Azure customers.  

If resource usage data isn’t monitored closely, retail prices can result in high monthly fees. In a previous blog, we discussed how to monitor your subscription usage with native and third-party tools, but what about implementing discounts immediately? This is where Azure Reservations and the new Azure Savings Plan come into play to instantly cut costs. 

While both services offer customers the ability to purchase one-year or three-year commitments of usage for a variety of resources (compute, storage, SQL database, and more), they serve different purposes.  

In this blog, we’ll explore both Azure Reservations and the Azure Savings Plan to highlight their capabilities and their differences so you can determine which is right for your organization.  

Azure Reservations  

Azure Reservations is a service that covers the widest range of resource types in Azure by providing discounts of up to 72% off retail prices. Reservations are typically purchased for consistent or static resource usage and the discounts are applied immediately upon purchase.  

For example: If you have a workload that you know will be consistent in usage for one-year or three-year blocks, purchasing a reservation makes the most financial sense as this service can be paid entirely upfront or monthly (which comes with no extra fees).  

Additionally, reservations can be refunded or exchanged at any time. A refund allows you to cancel your current reservation and receive a pro-rated refund. An exchange will replace the reservation with a similar reservation type and restart the commitment term.  

For example: You purchased a reservation for 3 VMs with the same SKU type. After an operational review you realized you only need to cover 2 VMs as one will be deleted. Azure Reservation allows you to exchange the reservation to cover only the 2 VMs and the commitment term will restart at the time of exchange. 

Azure Reservations can be purchased by either manually determining what resources you want to cover and for how long, or you can follow Azure Advisor’s recommendations. These recommendations are for VMs only and derive from analysis of hourly usage over a 30-day look-back period. However, the Reservations purchasing menu can provide further recommendations based on 7-, 30-, and 60-day periods.   

Azure Savings Plan   

The Azure Savings Plan for compute, a newer service, was announced publicly during the Microsoft Ignite 2022 event.  

Savings Plans are available for:  

  • Virtual Machines 
  • Dedicated Hosts 
  • Container Instances 
  • Premium Functions 
  • App Services 

When you buy an Azure Savings Plan, this provides a significant reduction in discount eligibility when compared to Azure Reservations. However, they each provide a similar benefit for consistent compute usage in an Azure subscription by offering 1- or 3-year terms for up to 65% savings. As the customer, you can commit to a set price per month.  

For example: If you desire to pay $5 USD a month on compute services in a resource group with a single or shared subscription model, your compute usage will be discounted until you reach your commitment amount. Afterwards, you will be charged retail prices. This introduces more flexibility when compared to Azure Reservations, where prices are non-negotiable.   

Like Azure Reservations, the Azure Savings Plan can be paid upfront or monthly with no extra fees. The discount rate starts immediately upon purchase. However, it’s important to note that once you purchase a Savings Plan, it cannot be exchanged, refunded, or cancelled.   

Choosing the Right Solution for Your Organization 

 We are often focused on which solution works better. However, to achieve maximum savings you need a mixture of solutions.  

The evolving nature of the cloud presents a mix of static and dynamic resource usage. As such, implementing both the Azure Savings Plan and Azure Reservations will provide the opportunity to save the most money. Deploying each discount feature to cover both usage types will avoid high costs that can be associated with low operational efficiencies such as leftover resources, unmonitored compute intervals, and runaway storage ingestion.  

Microsoft’s diagram below provides visual key points to help you choose your discount offers: 

  

1 Microsoft supplied graphic showing the use of both discount services. 

  Note the following: 

  1. Reservations will always take priority in offering the largest discount as compared to the Savings Plan 
  1. Reserved instances (reservations) are best to cover the same SKU types in your given scope 
  1. The Savings Plan will cover the mixed SKU types as they will be lumped into your set commitment amount 
  1. Any overage of the Reservations or Savings Plans will be subject to retail pricing 

Next Steps: Optimize Data Usage & Save Money with Azure Advisory Support 

Analyzing your resource usage to buy reservations or savings plans can be challenging and time consuming. However, enabling yourself with the right tools can reduce your costs and optimize your IT investments.   

At Arraya, our Azure Experts can also assist you in controlling your Azure spend through: 

  • Microsoft’s Cost Management, which increases the efficiency of your cloud and implements financial governance
  • Azure Monitor toolsets, which guide customers towards a more informed decision. If we are your CSP, we can purchase and manage the reservations for you, offering competitive pricing when compared to the market

Ready to save? Reach out to one of Arraya’s account executives to schedule a call today.  

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now.   

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In this episode of the Arraya Insights Podcast, Arraya’s Kyle Jones and Halim Chtourou, welcome Liquidware’s Chris Walker, Jason Smith, and Ethan Brown to discuss Liquidware’s workspace management suite, including:

  • Stratusphere UX
  • Profile Unity
  • Flex App

Liquidware provides environment management, application layering, and monitoring and diagnostics through these solutions. Listen in to learn more about how you can enhance your end user experience, improve your bottom line, and lighten the load on your IT staff. In addition, Chris Walker includes a short demonstration on Liquidware’s Stratusphere UX.

Prefer an audio format? Subscribe to our Arraya Insights Radio feed in your Apple or Android podcast catcher for an audio-only version of our podcast. Or, you can use the player below.

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Microsoft Azure offers top in-class services in IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS products. These services enable businesses to optimize and modernize their business assets and workloads with almost limitless scaling, both vertically and horizontally.  

Two administrative domains can impact the growth potential of cloud workloads: Security and Governance. 

  • Security represents how a business will ensure that their cloud hosted assets are safe from internal and external threats.  
  • Governance represents how a business will ensure resource design, deployment, and modification fit into the business and technical requirements, and effectively mitigate the need for remediation in the future. 

Businesses must keep these in mind throughout the entire cloud adoption planning process. 

So, to move to the cloud or optimize your existing cloud footprint, here are the top 5 security and governance actions to keep in mind: 

  1. Plan Resources Consistently and Accurately 

    Poor planning is one of the biggest causes of cloud inefficiencies. Without a clear and concise plan, the potential for ad-hoc changes will increase, leading to resource misconfigurations. Having a concise and accurate plan means understanding the technologies offered in the cloud. Partner provided workshops can advise on which technologies will best fit your needs. 
     
    Ex. Deploying a domain controller in Azure without properly planning aspects such as authorization, authentication, and network security rules. 
  1. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege 
     
    You’ve heard it before, and we’ll say it again. It’s critical that you know who has access to what within the cloud. This ensures that rogue actors can’t bring down your business-critical workloads. Azure offers an extensive list of built-in roles for all services. Further, businesses can create custom roles so individuals within Azure work within limited permissions.  
     
    Ex. Providing your finance officer with “Virtual Machine User Login” on a single VM if they must access finance related files. 
  1. Maintain a Defined Security Strategy 
     
    Working with a CISO can help maintain a cloud readiness checklist to ensure all deployed resources fit your business’s security framework. This can be an internal CISO or a delegated CISO.  

    Azure provides a native Security Benchmark built on CIS Controls v7.1 along with the NIST SP800-53 guidelines. These guidelines encourage the use of specific configurations, so your baseline covers as much ground as possible. 

    Ex. Utilize Azure Policy or Blueprints to enforce resource creation compliance with the defined strategy. 
  1. Avoid Using Custom Security and Compliance Frameworks 
     
    Custom security and compliance frameworks that aren’t based on industry standards are not recommended. These can delay adoption or make it difficult to modify existing deployments to fit into the framework.  

    Most companies need to comply with similar industry frameworks to be secure and compliant. Azure provides admins with the ability to implement proven policy definitions and remediation tactics from the top-down. 

    Ex. Implement Azure Policy with pre-crafted definitions to enforce resource creation, modification, and maintenance to adhere to industry standards.  
  1. Manage a Defined Budgeting Strategy 
     
    Ultimately, cost management will be an ongoing and somewhat tedious task. However, it’s best to know how much you are willing to spend from the beginning. This will identify what kind of resources to deploy and what discount services to implement.  

    Azure provides admins with the ability to set budgets and cost alerts if resource usage creeps higher. Azure Reservations and Savings Plans can help ensure resources are running at discounted rates and cover static and dynamic workloads.  

Next Steps: Implement Security and Governance Frameworks 

If you’re a new or existing Azure user, figuring out how to implement security and governance best practices can be daunting.  

As Arraya Solutions is a trusted Microsoft Partner, we can assist you in communication with your CISOs, CTOs, CEOs, and other stakeholders to come up with a clear and concise plan of action.  

Reach out to one of Arraya’s account executives today to schedule a call.. 

Visit arrayasolutions.com to connect with our team now.  

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In today’s modern workplace, utilizing Microsoft technologies is a staple, whether you use server/end-user operating systems or Microsoft 365 services like Exchange and SharePoint Online.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to identify when to implement new features or even enhance existing configurations.  

This is where a Cloud Solutions Provider, or CSP, can step in. 

A CSP is a certified Microsoft Partner with certified technicians and architects who specialize in various Microsoft products and services. These professionals provide CSP customers with top-notch services, such as license procurement and workshops. In addition, some may provide support services.  

However, not all CSPs are the same in terms of reseller type. There are indirect and direct resellers, and each offers its own type of service: 

  • Indirect resellers work with indirect providers who provide the tools and resources to manage the customer relationship. The providers ultimately play the role of selling the Microsoft product/service. 
  • Direct resellers purchase directly from Microsoft and sell them to you through their in-house staff. They ultimately develop the sales, billing model, and support infrastructure.  

So which type of reseller is the best fit for your business? 

Most often, choosing a reseller will depend on organizational size and business needs. Most SMBs will benefit from indirect resellers as they will have smaller service needs, such as license procurement/management, and won’t need to work with in-house engineers in implementation.  

However, as an organization grows, they may find that they would like to implement bigger service projects. Partnering with a direct reseller will provide highly beneficial engineering expertise to advise, guide, and/or execute those projects. 

Next Steps: Start the CSP Onboarding Process 

Arraya Solutions is a direct reseller of Microsoft products and services. We can offer a range of services from license procurement/renewals, advisory services, professional services to deliver projects, as well as managed services to provide you with a solid support structure.  

We are fully aware of the challenges our customers face when procuring Microsoft licensing and we seek to demystify this process.  

Onboarding you as a CSP customer is simple and you don’t have to completely leave your old CSP to partner with us. It’s possible to keep one of your CSPs for licensing needs but partner with Arraya to work on a specific project, such as a Teams implementation or a file share migration. We will work with you and your current partners to facilitate a smooth implementation of your business needs.  

Arraya Solutions is dedicated to providing top-notch CSP services for Modern Workplace, the Azure Cloud, Application Development, Data Analytics, Data Center, Cyber Security, and Windows devices.  

Check out our partner page here or contact one of our sales reps today for more information. 

Visit arrayasolutions.com to connect with our team now.   

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Two years on December 31, 2021, the long-awaited removal of Microsoft’s Open Business licensing program took effect. This program provided the traditional way of purchasing perpetual licensing for small and midsized businesses for the last 20 years.  

With Microsoft ending the Open Business license program, this licensing has since been made available through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program.  

However, not everyone is familiar with the Microsoft licensing changes of 2022 or has not yet faced renewal. If your business is planning to purchase any perpetual licensing in the future or you’re up for renewal, the new year is a good time to purchase licenses through the CSP program with a trusted provider.  

In this blog, we’ll outline what end-of-life for Microsoft Open Business licensing means, and how the new Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program will take effect moving forward so your business can find the right partner.  

Microsoft Open Licensing vs CSP 

To help our Microsoft users better understand these licensing changes, we’ve broken down how the Open Business Program originally worked and what can be expected through the new, CSP partner program moving forward.  

Open Business Program  

Open Business was a one-time purchase option, with the option to add Software Assurance. Five licenses were needed to start an open business agreement.  

Once purchased, a 15-digit authorization number was provided. This authorization number was used to add more licenses, if needed, to bypass the 5-license minimum. If there was Software Assurance tied to the licenses on the authorization number, the Software Assurance was active for two years.  Once the two years passed, to keep receiving Software Assurance benefits the Software Assurance would have had to be renewed for another two years.  

Cloud Solution Provider Program 

Microsoft now offers these software licenses through CSP, with no minimum license requirement. Through the CSP program, you may purchase server licensing perpetually, annually, and with monthly options. Alongside the no minimum requirement for purchase, these server licenses include a feature called Azure Hybrid Benefit, which provides a discount for resources hosted in Azure such as Virtual Machines and SQL Servers.  

By using Azure Hybrid Benefit, Microsoft estimates that you could save up to 50% of your Windows server costs and 85% of your SQL Server costs. These licenses would no longer be managed in the traditional VLSC portal, but you would access these services through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. As all of your licensing is located in one portal, they’re much more convenient to manage.  

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is going to happen to my existing perpetual licenses?  

As they are perpetual, your licenses are owned. If Software Assurance was tied to these licenses and you wish to renew to keep receiving the benefits of Software Assurance, there are options to renew through CSP or Open Value.  

How do I know if I am due for renewal?  

If it has been about two years since your purchase, it may be time to renew your software licenses.   

The best way to tell is by looking into the VLSC as the last 4 digits of your authorization can determine the expiration date. The first two digits are the year, and the last two digits are the month. For example, if the last 4 digits are 2301, your Software Assurance/Authorization number expires in January 2023. 

Why would I need to renew my Software Assurance? 

The main benefit of having SA to your license is the version upgrade rights. Once a new version is released by Microsoft, you may activate the new version. 

What if I do not need Software Assurance? 

As Software Assurance is not always needed, it’s great to have for future upgrades. Software Assurance can not be added after your initial purchase of licensing. If an organization has an older version of licensing and is looking to upgrade, new licenses will need to be purchased if no active Software Assurance is tied to the licensing.  

How do I purchase perpetual licensing now? 

Perpetual Licensing is now available through CSP. 

Next Steps: Choosing the Right CSP Partner for Your Licenses or Online Services 

With the Microsoft Open Business Licensing Program changes, now is the time to partner with a CSP if your company hasn’t already.  

The CSP program offers several benefits for customers. This program provides flexibility so businesses can grow or downsize, as needed. Licensing can be added or subtracted at any time, billed monthly or annually. Customers can bundle and personalize licensing to fit their specific needs and make instant purchases. 

As a Microsoft Gold Partner and Cloud Solutions Provider, Arraya’s experts are available to modernize your Microsoft licensing approach to reduce complexity, save money, and provide you with strategic guidance and support.   

To learn more about the CSP program in general, check out our blog, Demystifying Microsoft CSP Licensing: Our Most Frequently Asked Questions.  

For more information on joining CSP, contact our team at CSPsupport@arrayasolutions.com or Andrew Ziropoulos, Arraya’s Licensing Manager, Modern Workplace, at AZiropoulos@Arrayasolutions.com. 

Connect with our team now.   

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There will always be uncertainty. The world continues to deal with the pandemic, global conflict, a potential recession, and more. Growing cyber threats stem from these issues and seem to be the only thing we can be certain of. With this, the demand for cyber security practices, solutions, and talent follows. It’s very likely that the cyber security workforce shortage of 2022 will carry on well into 2023.  

Amid the talent shortage the entire workforce is facing, IT and cyber security skills are particularly thin. It’s estimated that there are still 3.4 million empty cyber security positions according to a cyber security workforce study. This leaves businesses at risk without proper security professionals on staff and gives those that carry these in-demand skill sets the upper hand.  

As the demand for cyber security professionals remains sky-high, it’s never been more important for businesses to be flexible in their search for talent.  

For those looking to stay ahead, a contingent workforce is a great way to address vacant cyber security jobs and ensure your business has the talent you need to secure your organization.  

The Benefits of Hiring Cyber Security Contingent Staff 

Leveraging contingent staff allows businesses to address immediate staffing needs, acquire specific cyber security skill sets, and remain flexible should they need to scale up or down quickly. 

Contingent staff can allow you to: 

  • Remain Agile: Easily Scale Up or Down 

Certain industries were severely impacted by COVID-19, specifically. For example, the live events industry came to a screeching halt in March 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions. They had to suddenly scale way down to weather the lockdown and then as restrictions lifted, almost two years later, they faced excessive demand for these live events.  

Those with contingent staff on board are better prepared to make these rapid changes. This allows them to both control costs through difficult times and to rise to the occasion when business is booming, and their security needs suddenly increase.  

  • Fill Necessary Skill Gaps & Harness Specialization 

The pandemic certainly increased society’s reliance on technology and the “Great Resignation” tightened the job market. But even before this, the cyber security industry was facing a labor shortage. There are no signs that the demand within this industry will go down anytime soon as businesses continue to expand their digital footprint amid growing cyber threats.  

Whether your business requires specialized skills on an ongoing basis or for a single, specific project, contingent staff can help you fill this gap within your team (and quickly). These are often experienced professionals whose skill level is difficult to find on a full-time basis.  

  • Control Cyber Security Spend Amid Increased Wages 

The current job market is giving those with in-demand skills the upper hand as cyber security wages and benefits grow. The median salary for cyber security professionals in the U.S. is currently $135,000.  

Not everyone can afford to hire these skills in-house. Pulling in contingent staff provides a faster and more affordable route both through the recruitment process and wages. 

Contingent staff allows you to fill necessary roles while providing the freedom for your business to walk away should a particular partnership not work out as expected or is no longer needed.  

Partner Up to Find the Right Cyber Security Talent 

This demand for talent was discussed well over a decade ago and cyber security demand in future years will only grow. One of the biggest hurdles businesses face in finding the right talent and skillsets is within the hiring process itself. 

Here’s how the right staffing partner can help you find contingent cyber security talent to address your immediate and ongoing needs:  

  • Skip the hiring process altogether 

A staffing partner will set clear expectations for the role through the job posting or job description to ensure you find the right person with all necessary qualifications or certificate programs. A staffing partner will be quick to act so experienced talent won’t be deterred by drawn-out interview and hiring processes.  

  • Better identify your team’s needs 

While you may have a certain role or need in mind, there could be a better option. A staffing partnership will provide a high-touch, consultative approach to help you identify your skill gaps and the right professional to address that gap. By understanding what it is you’re trying to accomplish, your partner can ensure the person you’re seeking will be qualified to address that need and more.   

  • Find talent no matter your network 

Not every business has the bandwidth to spread the word and find the right people. A complicated project or task may require specialization, specific expertise, or leadership skills that you simply can’t find on your own. A staffing partner will be able to tap into their broad network to give you the best chances of finding the right talent.  

Next Steps: Connect with IT Resources On Demand 

Arraya’s on-demand IT staffing services provide you with flexible, cost-effective resource management that scales with your changing needs.

We work fast to pair you with highly skilled resources that provide the specific technical expertise you need today while allowing the flexibility to adjust on the fly. Our professionals mesh seamlessly with onsite IT units and can provide both short- and long-term technological relief with minimal onboarding.

The Arraya Staffing advantage includes:

  • Access to a large and diverse range of technology resources
  • Rapid and seamless sourcing, screening, and onboarding
  • Flexible, cost-effective solutions tailored specifically to client needs
  • Extensive region-specific talent pools
  • Low-risk, stress-free contract to permanent hiring options
  • Quality and satisfaction guaranteed

Sign-up for a 30-minute virtual Lunch & Learn and we’ll send you a $25 Grubhub gift card. 

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now. 

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On December 12, 2022, the FBI and CISA released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) as part of their ongoing #StopRansomware campaign efforts.  

This joint advisory highlights the dangers of Cuba ransomware, a group of malicious actors who have reportedly acquired over $60 million in ransoms and have affected more than 100 victims. Note, that this group is not affiliated with the country, Cuba.  

This advisory states: 

“Since the release of the December 2021 FBI Flash, the number of U.S. entities compromised by Cuba ransomware has doubled, with ransoms demanded and paid on the increase. This year, Cuba ransomware actors have added to their TTPs, and third-party and open-source reports have identified a possible link between Cuba ransomware actors, RomCom Remote Access Trojan (RAT) actors, and Industrial Spy ransomware actors.  

FBI and CISA encourage organizations to implement the recommendations in the Mitigations section of this CSA to reduce the likelihood and impact of Cuba ransomware and other ransomware operations.” 

The recommended mitigation steps to help protect against Cuba ransomware include: 

While ransomware prevention is important, it’s equally important that you’re prepared to respond to a ransomware attack that successfully infiltrates your system. Your company should have a well-rehearsed incident response plan in place that has been thoroughly vetted by regular ransomware tabletop exercises.  

A cloud disaster recovery solution can also provide organizations with failover capabilities and remote access to their systems and data, should they suffer a ransomware attack. This can have a large impact on whether or not your organization decides to pay the ransom demand.  

  • Implement strong password policies: 

A strong password is a complex password that is difficult for the threat actor, computer, software, or bot to guess. The longer the password the better. These should include a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.  

While MFA was once considered an extra security precaution, it’s now a required minimum. This simple, but effective measure requires users to provide a second piece of identifying information beyond just a password before being granted access. This small extra step has been reported to prevent 99% of attacks.  

  • Keep all operating systems, software, and firmware up to date 

Updates and patches are there for a reason. While these can be repetitive, they correct known vulnerabilities that must be addressed before they can be exploited by threat actors.  

  • Identify, detect, and investigate abnormal network activity 

A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution will log security-related event data, identify abnormalities, and generate alerts when appropriate. This tool will help you identify a potential threat, fast, to prevent further spread and damage.  

By separating your network into smaller segments, any threats that infiltrate your system will be contained only to that small portion rather than your entire network. This practice can improve security, visibility, and control.  

A company is only as good as its last backup. Your organization should keep a backup copy offline and ensure that all data is encrypted and immutable. Your backups should be regularly tested to ensure they’re highly available when needed.  

Next Steps: Test Your Ransomware Preparedness with a Ransomware Readiness Assessment 

At Arraya, we focus on a proactive security approach to combat threats and make cybercrime a less lucrative pursuit overall.  

Through our Ransomware Readiness Assessment, you’ll leverage our seasoned team’s firsthand knowledge of successful ransomware recovery engagements and business continuity efforts. Arraya can help determine your organization’s level of preparedness for a ransomware attack and help prioritize efforts for remediation. 

This assessment will review your: 

  • Configuration policies 
  • Logging & monitoring policies 
  • Vulnerability management 
  • Patch management 
  • Backup processes 
  • Endpoint protections 
  • Identity & access management 

To learn more about taking action against the threat of ransomware, contact our Arraya Cyber Team today.   

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now.      

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Maintaining the flexible work arrangements that employees have come to know has become necessary to both retain existing talent and broaden the search for new talent. While the added benefits of remote collaboration provide many perks for employees and their productivity, it also increases attack surface and risk.

As there are no signs of cyber threats slowing down, the growing number of endpoints that businesses rely on may pose a significant data privacy and security threat. Adding to this, many organizations have traditionally supported and implemented more bring-your-own-device conditional models, allowing employees to access company information and networks from their own laptops, cell phones, and more.  

Best practices require an endpoint management solution to protect data, apply configurations, manage access, and support users wherever they’re working.  

This is where the many benefits of mobile device management software come into play, specifically Microsoft’s Intune.  

What is Microsoft Intune?  

In a world full of endpoints, mobile device management with Intune provides businesses and enterprises with the ability to manage identities, applications, and devices. This cloud-based endpoint management solution keeps access and data protected on both organization-owned and users’ personal devices.  

Intune Integration with On-Prem 

Most modern environmental challenges can now be addressed with Intune’s improved capabilities. Previous challenges with authentication, applications, and processes have taken great strides in closing the gap with technologies such as certificate distribution, wireless connectivity, and VPN requirements. These have made the MDM experience seamless all while maintaining its core pillars of service.  

At the core of the services provided by Azure Active Directory, Intune integrates with cloud applications by making them available through Azure App Proxy, Certificate Connectors, and various third-party integrations for configuration management and immutable settings. 

Intune features the ability to manage applications and devices through three connection types:  

  • Mobile Device Management (MDM): Mobile device management is used for enterprise-owned device management in Microsoft 365, giving the IT team full control of the device. This includes the ability to manage, wipe, and locate the device, should they deem it necessary.   
  • Mobile Application Management (MAM):Mobile application management is designed to protect corporate data at the application level. This is used to install, contain, and control the application whether it’s on a user’s personal device or in a company-owned and fully managed state. MAM is commonly used in device BYOD models in which employees access company data, networks, and services from their personal devices. 

    This provides admins and IT teams with the remote capability to control company data by: 
    • Adding and assigning mobile apps to users, user groups, and devices
    • Configuring apps to start or run within specific settings
    • Updating managed apps already on the device
    • Monitoring reports to track managed app usage
    • Selectively wiping only organization data from apps without disturbing personal apps
  • Mobile Application Management – Without Enrollment (MAM-WE): MAM without enrollment provides the ability to create MAM Application configurations. These can fully manage the company data and apply security configurations to a personal device without affecting any other personal applications or data or requiring Intune Enrollment. 

    This is the more popular configuration that still provides top-notch security and control while maintaining the separation of personal content and business content on a personal device.  

Intune provides this security through app protection policies. These use Azure AD/Microsoft 365 identity protection to isolate organization data from personal data. When coupled with Microsoft Purview, these restrict certain actions, such as copy-and-paste, save, and more.  

The integration with Azure AD enables broad access controls, such as requiring mobile devices to be compliant with organization standards before accessing network resources. This includes requiring multi-factor authentication, conditional access settings for device enrollment, and allowing administrators to manage access to application features and services accessed on the devices with more stringent policy-based requirements.   

Understanding How Intune Fits into the Bigger Picture 

Intune is often underutilized, or businesses may not understand how it integrates with other tools and solutions. Here is a breakdown of what users can expect.

Virtual Desktop  

While we’ve previously focused on virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions for unmanaged BYOD devices within the remote workspace, this type of solution differs from Microsoft Intune.  

Azure Virtual Desktop is a virtual workstation fully managed by corporate which provides employees and contractors with client or web-based, remote access to their work environment from a personal device. While this configuration is a shared responsibility model within Azure, it does offer configurations based on an image that can come from the Azure catalog of images or Bring-Your-Own-Image support to maintain a uniform configuration. Additionally, Microsoft’s Intune can be integrated to deploy applications, user experience modifications, Windows Updates, and compliance restrictions to enrolled AVD workstations. 

Intune does integrate seamlessly with Cloud PC, which can be added directly in-console with the correct enterprise-licensed Cloud PC SKUs. Once the licenses are active, you’ll have the ability to create configurations and connect directly to your Azure Tenant network. This provides a similar capability to customize your images or take from a default configuration and assign a profile to your licensed users. 

Autopilot 

Windows Autopilot is designed to allow end users to deploy, reset, and repurpose devices without the involvement of IT. This is the traditional way to add a device to your network through Azure Directory within an MDM service, such as Intune.  

This includes: 

  • Starting the configuration of your windows device from the cloud upon Out of Box Experience (OOBE) 
  • Outlining configuration processes so you can keep track of progress, monitor enrolled devices, and apply configuration and compliance policies at the time of setup 
  • Providing a simple and personalized set up process with user assignment and application pre-provisioning, which speeds up the setup for the end user 
  • Connecting devices deployed with Windows Autopilot to Azure AD and Intune 

You can create an Autopilot Enrollment Profile using Intune for Windows 10 and Windows 11. This configuration also supports shared devices setup and device level initiation, which bypasses the user ID input at startup. 

Microsoft Managed Desktop vs Intune 

Microsoft Managed Desktop is a cloud-based service that brings together Microsoft 365 (including Windows 10 Enterprise and O365 Enterprise) and adds: 

  • User device deployment 
  • IT service management and operations 
  • Security monitoring and response 

For organizations seeking to accelerate their digital transformation, Microsoft Managed Desktop is a cloud-based IT management and security monitoring service that improves user productivity and empowers IT to focus on core business goals. Microsoft Managed Desktop customers enjoy fantastic device experiences that are always up-to-date, secure, and monitored, with actionable service insights for IT and device users. 

While Managed Desktop does manage registered devices and the Microsoft software they use, it can’t provide the remote capabilities many organizations need today. Instead, Intune will give you many more options to monitor your devices, apply configurations, and have them report back at regular intervals.   

Next Steps: What is Your Mobile Device Management Strategy? 

Whether you’re looking for licensing for your small business or enterprise, mobile device management with Microsoft Intune can help you provide the flexibility your employees are looking for with the security that your organization needs.   

Depending on your subscription, you may already have access to Intune included in your existing Microsoft licensing that you’re not using. Those in education, manufacturing, and healthcare often have an extensive number of devices connecting to their network. Managing these mobile devices can be made much simpler through Intune.  

An Intune user and device subscription is available as a standalone product, or within one of the following bundled licenses:  

  • Microsoft 365 E5  
  • Microsoft 365 E3  
  • Enterprise Mobility + Security E5  
  • Enterprise Mobility + Security E3  
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium  
  • Microsoft 365 F1  
  • Microsoft 365 F3  
  • Microsoft 365 Government G5  
  • Microsoft 365 Government G3  
  • Intune for Education  

Is Intune already a part of your licensing?  

Whether you have questions surrounding your Microsoft licensing or how to best manage your remote capabilities, contact one of our experts to start a conversation today and to learn more about mobile device management with Microsoft Intune.  

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now.      

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Follow us to stay up to date on our industry insights and unique IT learning opportunities.