MTG is pleased to announce that they are now a Duo MSP Partner. Duo provides a 2FA Trusted Access solution that confirms the identity of your users and the health of their devices before allowing them to connect to your network, applications or computer systems.
Read more
We are proud to announce that MTG has achieved full certification to the ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 standards and is now certificated by ISO Quality Services Ltd. Having expanded rapidly over the past 12 months MTG recognised the importance of implementing an ISO 9001 compliant QMS to ensure we maintain our high quality approach to IT service delivery. ISO 27001 endorses our approach to information security.
Many of our customers, particularly those in regulated sectors such as financial services and insurance, will often ask about the security and regulatory implications of utilising cloud services such as Office 365, Azure and AWS. As you would expect, Microsoft has a wealth of information outlining their approach to compliance, trust and security. The UK FCA has also discussed the use of cloud extensively – which is also referenced in a paper by Microsoft. Read more
The way organisations purchase and consume IT and software services is changing. With the onset of cloud and SaaS applications, there has been a move away from traditional models of purchasing and maintenance towards subscription-based delivery models such as ITaaS. Opex is now the new norm. Enterprises are now demanding the latest technologies and features, inherent security, predictable costs and the highest levels of service – delivered under a subscription model. Read more
This article may grow over time as new features and market terms develop.
When you read a small business firewall data sheet or brochure, you may be confused by the terminology or lost in the wealth of performance metrics quoted. This problem is often made worse when different vendors use subtly different terms or use a different basis to assess performance!
What figures matter when selecting a firewall? Which feature sets should you be most concerned about, and those that, frankly – shouldn’t matter so much! This article will define those items, explain the significance and outline how to map this against a challenge or risk within your business.
If your business has a need to enhance its firewall or network security, or you need assistance in selecting the right firewall solution – speak to MTG and our team of firewall engineers.
Forbes recently outlined how an organisation’s IT department should work more effectively within an organisation. While the article focused on the internal IT department, the principles apply to external IT support partners such as MTG. Read more
In previous articles, we have explained the benefits of internal network firewalls, also known as internal segmentation firewalls. The primary purpose is to secure internal network traffic, particularly between sites, functional areas or departments. Another common use is to provide an additional level of protection for sensitive areas of your network (i.e. databases, R&D) or high-risk areas (i.e. development environments, staging areas).
These developed in popularity so we offered an internal network firewall service to our customers. You can read why below.
Read more
When an organisation is considering outsourcing or augmenting its IT support function, the management will need to consider how any arrangement could effect the business. Common considerations include the impact on business processes, response times, the user experience, privacy, security and familiarity, when it comes to the nuances of the company or industry. Outsourcing needn’t mean a loss of control or a reduction in service, in many cases – there is a considerable upturn in user satisfaction, response times and service. Read more
GDPR poses many challenges – not least because the penalties are high! In amongst all the discussion and the rush for compliance, many businesses are not really focusing on the use of Cloud Applications. Cloud apps undoubtedly deliver real benefit to business, whether that is Office 365, Dropbox, Quickbooks etc. In many cases, using trusted cloud apps can actually aide compliance.
A key challenge for many organisations is the unknown unknowns. What Cloud Apps are being used by their staff and business – that they do not know about. This type of unapproved cloud usage is often described as Shadow IT. Apps that bypass IT, bypass procurement and often bypass the business. A CRM used by a key sales guy. Someone throwing files into Box to work from home. Someone else installing an app that accesses their contacts. The challenges are endless (which is a common theme with GDPR). Read more
We have seen a significant uptake of Cisco Umbrella, primarily because businesses are recognising the risks and prevalence of malware, viruses and ransomware – the recent press is evidence to that. We wrote a brief article about how to defend against Wanna Cry – Umbrella is part of our advice. For small businesses, Cisco Umbrella is a fantastic and relatively inexpensive service that provides a great level of protection. For larger enterprises with antivirus and existing firewalls, Umbrella significantly enhances the existing defence systems. In all cases, the service is straight forward to configure and use. Read more
