Ryperion is devoted to providing small businesses with practical customized solutions that maximize your return on investment in information technology.

Backups  are a critical but often neglected and/or misunderstood networking component.  Backups are the process by which multiple copies of files are stored in multiple places to be recovered in the event of data loss.  Could you recover a recent copy of your critical data if your server or workstation’s hard drive failed today ?  Could your retrieve a previous version of a document if you needed it?  Ask us  to review the integrity of your current backup solution or monitor your backups as part of our managed service offering?  Ask us about our two hour free consultation  for new customers.

 

Disaster Recovery plan is closely related to your backup plan. Disaster recovery (DR) involves a set of policies and procedures to enable the recovery or continuation of vital systems following a natural or human-induced disaster.

 

A disaster recovery plan could be as simple as taking backup tapes off-site or as involved as implementing a hot site  but it is a good idea for any company that relies on technology to have a plan and review it periodically to help ensure acceptable business continuity.

 

Business Continuity is a plan to minimize or mitigate disruptions to business operations.  Three of the most important metrics for business continuity are Recovery Time Objective (RTO) , Recovery Point Objective (RPO ), and Business Impact Analysis (BIA).   In short RTO determines how long you can go without a critical service and RPO defines the tolerable amount of data loss a business can sustain.

Physical

 

A network server can have a single role or many. In a small business is not uncommon to have a single server provide most if not all services.  A server can act as a data repository allowing users to efficiently share information.  A network server can host client server applications and/or provide centralized management of security policies across your organization.  Since the server is a fundamental component of the network it is imperative to have a sound backup solution and disaster recovery plan to help ensure business continuity.

 

Virtual

 

Virtualization is a technology for sharing physical hardware between one or more virtual servers by use of specialized software called a Hypervisor.  Although not suited for all situations virtualization can provide a more efficient means for utilizing server hardware thereby reducing maintenance costs, power consumption, and physical foot print.  Virtualization can also provide affordable failover capabilities and/or faster disaster recovery for increased network reliability.

 

Switches

 

The most common type of switch in use for computer networks is the Ethernet switch and provides network connectivity between network hosts such as servers, computers, printers, and more.  Some Ethernet switches can also provide power to network devices such as VOIP phones and wireless access points.  Most Ethernet switches in use by small businesses typically operate at speeds of 100Mbps or 1Gbps which is 10x faster.  A faster switch can result in better network performance.  Ask us if your network can benefit by replacing you’re current switch.

 

Web Filter

 

A web filter can be implemented as part of a holistic approach to network security or as an individual component.  Similar to a firewall a Web Filter monitors Internet traffic and allows or denies connections to web sites based on configured rules but a web filter can make decisions based on individual web sites or specific content.  Although many firewalls can perform web filtering they are typically not as robust as a dedicated hardware solution and may reduce Internet speeds if not properly sized.  Let us review your needs and help determine which filter is right for you.

 

Email Spam Filter

 

Email spam at the very least a nuisance which reduces user productivity but can also contain malicious threats that can compromise your network security.   Email spam filters can be in the form of software, hardware, or as a cloud based service.  In extreme cases you may need a combination of cloud and either a hardware or software solution to meet the demand.  Let us know if you re receiving too much spam email.

Email spam , also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email (UBE), is a subset of electronic spam involving nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email.  In addition to being a nuisance, email spam will often contain links to direct users to phishing websites, contain malware, viruses, or just inappropriate and unsolicited content.  Email spam can be combated with software, hardware, cloud based services, or in extreme case a combination of the three.  Ask us to recommend the solution that is right for you.

 

Email Archive

 

Since email is such a big part of doing business it may become necessary for companies to archive and keep a history of email transactions either because of company policy or because of legal requirements.  How much email should you archive?  How much storage space do you need?  Do you require a legal hold for potential litigation?  Let Ryperion help design an email archive solution for your business.

 

Email Server

 

Although there are other solutions available Microsoft Exchange is the predominant and premier email server platform for any size business and is offered as an on premise or hosted solution.  If you require robust feature rich email solution Microsoft Exchange is the answer.

 

Hosted Email

 

Microsoft Hosted Exchange is a feature rich cloud based solution that provides your business all the benefits of having your own email server without having to purchase additional hardware to do it.   Ask us if your business can benefit from a hosted Exchange email solution.

 

Antivirus  software (often abbreviated as AV) is computer software used to prevent, detect and remove malicious software. We recommend AV software for all computers connected to the Internet and depending on your environment perhaps even ones that are not because viruses can be propagated by other means like unwittingly plugging an infected USB drive into a computer.  Because virus makers are evolving ever new techniques no antivirus software is 100% effective so it is recommended to be part of a more holistic approach which could include utilizing multiple scanning engines, web filters, and perimeter security devices such as a UTM firewall to catch malicious programs before they enter your internal network.

In today’s changing work force users are often working from home or on the go.  Whether users make a VPN connection to the corporate network or connect to corporate data in the cloud information has to be available from anywhere and everywhere while maintain security.

Many legacy phones systems are quickly becoming obsolete or are in a state of disrepair and newer voice over IP solutions have been taking their place.  VOIP systems benefit from the ability to operate over your existing network infrastructure and are feature rich.  A VOIP phone system can provide three digit dialing between offices, Integrate voice mail with email, and allow remote and mobile users to extend their office extension to their home and mobile phones.

A firewall monitors network traffic to and from the Internet as determined by configured rules.  Primarily it blocks threats coming from the Internet that may otherwise compromise the security of your network.  In addition to blocking threats from the Internet, most modern firewalls can provide UTM  functionality, Policy Base Routing , content filtering , load balancing  and WAN failover.   UTM and content filtering features can be utilized along with client antivirus to further protect your network from threats by looking more granularly at websites users are accessing, files users are downloading, and content that users are viewing to help prevent phishing attacks, Viruses, and lost productivity.  Load balancing and WAN failover refers to the ability to aggregate multiple connections to the Internet to increase throughput or utilize a secondary Internet connection in the event that one connection fails.