5 Top IT Security Habits

5 Top IT Security Habits

We recently teamed up with PBO Advisory Group and Franklin | Soto to present the top best cyber practices to help protect your organization’s valuable IT and financial assets. The 5 top IT security habits we shared in the webinar will help your business get started right away with a better IT security posture. 

Listen to the full webinar, “Hacking Is on the Rise.”  

Read more “5 Top IT Security Habits”

Technology Service Provider centrexIT and Enterprise Software Developer Dreamtsoft Form Strategic Partnership

Scheduled to launch in mid-2021, joint venture project will transform the way businesses manage information technology services

SAN DIEGO – June 15, 2021 – centrexIT, an information technology (IT) services provider helping businesses thrive through technology, and Dreamtsoft, developer of an application Platform as a Service (aPaaS) designed to streamline building and deploying applications for enterprises, today announced a strategic partnership to transform the way businesses manage IT services.

Dreamtsoft was founded in 2014 by Bow Ruggeri, one of the original architects of the $100 billion tech giant ServiceNow. This same group is helping centrexIT tailor and evolve its platform to meet the nuances of the managed services provider (MSP), information technology service provider (ITSP) and managed security service provider (MSSP) industries. Featuring unparalleled transparency and customer service, adoption of the platform will provide small and medium sized businesses with the efficiencies and functionality long enjoyed by the enterprise world, all at a value-focused price point.

“As an MSP, it is critical for us to be able to efficiently manage and maintain the technical, financial and process controls of our clients’ IT environments,” says Dylan Natter, CEO of centrexIT. “Due to budget constraints, small and medium sized businesses often work with MSPs who cannot implement expensive, enterprise-grade technology platforms that provide this level of detailed tracking. We have partnered with Dreamtsoft to enhance the company’s core platform of MSP-based applications while consolidating our technology stack. From managing our clients’ services, products and financial management, the platform provides businesses with a system of record that oversees their entire IT ecosystem.”

Companies traditionally had physical networks on premise that required MSPs to provide one hundred percent of the system upkeep. Over the last five years, numerous companies have transitioned to a hybrid IT infrastructure or exclusively cloud-based model to accommodate the growing remote workforce. Clients have shifted their scope of IT priorities from traditional, all-encompassing services to emerging technologies like security and data governance. Additionally, scaling companies are seeking more tailored solutions that meet their unique business needs and evolving IT requirements. Until now, the industry lacked an adaptable platform capable of scaling, instead following a one-size-fits-all approach that diminishes the value of what an MSP has to offer.

As one of San Diego’s leading MSPs, centrexIT works with numerous clients who are looking to scale quickly and efficiently. Rapid change requires a system that can precisely track clients’ evolving needs and produce a detailed report of usage that directly correlates with their growth trajectory. Dreamtsoft offers aPaaS built on enterprise-grade technology. Its fully customizable software generates a user-friendly interface for IT companies to use in business management. By making it easier for them to synthesize information and seamlessly track where time and energy is being allocated, leadership teams are able to run their businesses more effectively.

“In the IT industry, there is a disparity between the level of service small MSPs receive in comparison to their enterprise-level counterparts. This imbalance often goes unnoticed, meaning poorly managed MSPs are more prevalent than one might think. If something happens to one client, it can affect the MSP as a business, which in turn impacts other clients,” says Bow Ruggeri, CEO and founder of Dreamtsoft. “Providers need to treat clients independently, offering carefully tailored programs rather than one-size-fits-all services. Dreamtsoft is built on that as a foundational element – everything is separate, which allows for better tailoring of services for end clients. We envision providers being an extension of their client’s organization, providing seamless IT service and functioning like an in-house IT department. Our partnership with centrexIT will allow us to roll out a platform that is poised to transform information technology services.”

Bow Ruggeri, CEO of Dreamtsoft, and Dylan Natter, CEO of centrexIT, are transforming the way businesses manage information technology services.
Bow Ruggeri, CEO of Dreamtsoft, and Dylan Natter, CEO of centrexIT, are transforming the way businesses manage information technology services.

About centrexIT

centrexIT helps small to medium-sized businesses focus on their success by providing a value-driven and transparent IT experience. With a wide range of available services, such as Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) management and consulting, centrexIT incorporates best-in-class solutions to establish stable, scalable, and secure technology environments. Since its founding in 2002, commitment to consistently providing excellent customer service and quality has defined centrexIT as the leading managed IT services provider in Southern California. To view centrexIT’s service and product offerings, or to join the centrexIT team, visit www.centrexIT.com.

About Dreamtsoft

Dreamtsoft is committed to developing and delivering an enterprise grade, multi-client, zero trust, low code flexible application Platform as a Service (aPaaS). The platform is designed to consolidate technology sprawl and business processes in order to elevate how IT service providers deliver exceptional experiences, while maintaining the highest quality and security for its clients. To learn more, visit www.dreamtsoft.com.

Media Contact

Olivia Metcalfe
Townsend Team
olivia@townsendteam.com

Why You Need a Security Plan for Microsoft 365

Why You Need a Security Plan for Microsoft 365

In our recent webinar with Veeam, we reviewed why you need a security plan for Microsoft 365. When Microsoft 365 was officially announced in 2017, it came as the next obvious evolution of the already powerful collection of Microsoft office tools. From a collaboration perspective, it provides an elegant solution to connect and empower remote team members. From an IT perspective, it streamlines IT management of users, devices, apps and services. And best yet, it uses integrated, intelligent security to safeguard company data, customer data, and intellectual property. If security is already baked into the software, why do you need a security plan for Microsoft 365?

Webinar recording: Microsoft 365 Security and Backup: Why You Need It.

Read more “Why You Need a Security Plan for Microsoft 365”

Our New Work-from-anywhere Office

We are excited to announce our new work-from-anywhere office! Last year, our team immediately transitioned to a full work-from-home model when the covid-19 shutdown occurred. We were already confident in the tech side of things, but we had not yet experienced the exclusively online interaction and KPI-driven success matrix that fully remote work requires. As it turned out, we loved it! Effective communication technology from Cisco and Microsoft kept us connected and productive, and cutting out the daily commute wasn’t all that bad, either! This year, we decided to make the shift to a permanent hybrid office and work-from-anywhere business model and move to a space that reflected our new and improved work structure.

Our New Address
12232 Thatcher Court
Poway, CA 92064

You can find us here and everywhere with an Internet connection, ready to help.

The IT Office Move

Moving computers to a new office space is a typical service we provide for our clients. It’s not often we get to do it for our own team, which made this particular move extra exciting.

Hadis and Fernando worked tirelessly packing up and transporting our technical gear to our new centrexIT building.

The New Office

One thing we love about our new office space is the ground-floor design. The high-rise setup we had before was great for our back office and service desk teams. However, moving equipment up and down fourteen stories was not efficient for our field engineers and provisioning department. With the hybrid work-from-anywhere office model, our back office and service desk teams now only visit the office on a part-time basis. This new space prioritizes the requirements of the technicians and engineers who come in regularly to prepare equipment and transport hardware to our clients.

Keeping Connected

How do we keep connected during our primarily online interactions? First, our entire team meets every morning at 8:00 am to catch up on any planned company initiatives or urgent client needs. We also have a weekly all-hands meeting with a mixture of company announcements, updates, training, and special guests. Of course, our favorite way of keeping in personal touch are our casual chat spaces. From IT memes to sporting events, we love to share our stories with each other online. This keeps our friendly company culture strong in the work-from-anywhere environment.

Dylan Natter’s Proposed Forbes Articles

Dylan Natter’s Proposed Forbes Articles

We were excited to publish our first Forbes article earlier this year and then we thought to ourselves…what article should centrexIT CEO Dylan Natter work on next? After all, as a true renaissance man, Dylan can provide some pretty good insight into a wide variety of topics. It turns out Dylan Natter had plenty of Forbes article propositions to send over.

Dylan Natter’s Proposed Forbes Articles

  • Nickelback is the greatest rock band in the world, and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.
  • Technology is cyclical: the triumphant return of the semaphore
  • I can hold my breath for 10 minutes
  • “Jack and Jill” was a movie years ahead of its time, and you owe Adam Sandler an apology
  • Hey! You look really nice today. Is that a new aftershave? It smells great!
  • The socioeconomic ramifications of rock and roll music in East Berlin, circa 1967
  • Forks are uncivilized
  • Mary Shelley kept her husband’s calcified heart in her desk, and that’s just about the most metal thing I’ve ever heard of
  • Can’t anyone else hear that terrible heartbeat from beneath the floorboards?
  • Scissors should absolutely beat rock
  • Grant Page owes me $15
  • The XFL is the future of sports entertainment

And our favorite:

  • Brown bears aren’t so tough, and I’ll wrestle one to prove it

As always, have a great April Fools Day!

The centrexIT Team

Podcast: The Digital Nomad

Podcast: The Digital Nomad

Darin Andersen and Merrin Muxlow from Seamless Podcast welcome special guest Sean Ernst, in this podcast episode “Smart Cities: Digital Nomad.”

“The missing link for us was a platform that allowed us to develop…but not be full-blown developers 100% of the time. So throughout the many trials and tribulations of looking for the right platform, we ended up partnering with a local San Diego company that had done just that.”

In this Smart Cities episode, Sean Ernst talks about the changed workplace environment from an IT and technology-use perspective, including work life during Covid-19, digital transformation and the digital workplace, the rise of the digital nomad, and the future of technology for human communication. He also discusses the new innovation platform being created by Dreamtsoft and centrexIT that is poised to transform the MSP world.

Listen here or on your favorite platform below. Quick transcript reference:

  • 00:02:43 Darin introduces Sean Ernst
  • 00:04:48 High-level market trends and application sprawl
  • 00:07:10 Efficient online collaboration improves efficiency & reduces working day
  • 00:09:29 Dogs barking & other new distractions when working from home
  • 00:12:14 How the shared experience of the WFH “new normal” has helped grow understanding & compassion for the WFH situation
  • 00:14:52 Managed IT platform development with Dreamtsoft & centrexIT
  • 00:18:40 How the new platform with help shape the IT industry
  • 00:21:52 The importance of having top-notch HR practices to support remote work and how accessing great talent is one of the benefits of a remote business structure
  • 00:25:37 Darin discusses how technology has shaped communication over the years
  • 00:28:42 How collaboration platforms have spearheaded new forms of language and communication
  • 00:35:48 What will future technology do to communication?
  • 00:29:42 Closing thoughts and contact info

 

Sean Ernst travels as a Digital Nomad while spearheading the MSP industry’s cutting-edge technology

Full Transcript

Read more “Podcast: The Digital Nomad”

Article: How MSPs Can Self-Regulate To Keep Businesses Safe

In the historically unregulated MSP industry, self-regulation is key to keeping businesses safe.

In this Forbes Technology article, Dylan Natter, CEO of centrexIT, exposes the correlation between the overall security of a company and the cybersecurity practices of their Managed Service Provider.

With damage related to cybercrime projected to hit $6 trillion annually in 2021, the critical importance of cybersafety cannot be understated, especially since the widespread shift to working from home has stripped users of traditional protections. Everything from the security of work from home users to broader system security can and must be considered.

Read full article on Forbes

Article: How MSPs Can Self-Regulate To Keep Businesses Safe

Podcast: The Digital Workspace

Darin Andersen and Kim Hakim from Seamless Podcast welcome special guest Dylan Natter, in this podcast episode “Futurecon: The Digital Workspace.”

It’s been a challenge to say the least. People have had to adapt and transform their skills almost overnight.

In this Futurecon episode, Dylan speaks about providing IT services during Covid19, the transition from the Digital Office to the emerging Digital Workspace, and cybersecurity in remote environments. He also shares his 20 years worth of entrepreneurial experience and perspective of numerous topics related to IT and cybersecurity. Additionally, Dylan discusses a new MSP software product centrexIT is developing that will radically change how the MSP industry operates.

Listen here or on your favorite platform below. Quick transcript reference:

  • 00:03:42 Darin introduces Dylan Natter
  • 00:05:16 How “fire drill” practice prepared centrexIT to move to remote work
  • 00:07:45 The digital workplace starts with communication
  • 00:10:01 The challenge of working with dozens of clients’ applications
  • 00:13:25 Securing remote workers
  • 00:17:15 Great tech partners were critical for the large scale remote-work transition
  • 00:21:57 centrexIT partnership with Dreamtsoft for platform development
  • 00:25:32 Need in MSP industry for new IT management solution
  • 00:28:15 Dylan’s thoughts on managing IT teams for success
  • 00:29:42 Closing thoughts and contact info

 

Full Transcript

Read more “Podcast: The Digital Workspace”

Taking Care of Business in 2020

When we chose “Taking Care of Business” as part of our tagline, we weren’t expecting the unique challenges of 2020. However, we here at centrexIT are blessed with the key to any challenge: a truly outstanding team that has gone above and beyond to support our clients, our community, and each other. 

Despite the myriad of difficulties, 2020 has been filled with countless unexpected joys. Here are a few examples of things to be grateful for that stood out to me over the past year. Read more “Taking Care of Business in 2020”

centrexIT Podcast Work from Anywhere

Podcast: Work From Anywhere

Darin Andersen and Kim Hakim from Seamless Podcast welcome special guest Sean Ernst, in this podcast episode “Futurecon: Work from Anywhere.”

I packed my dog, camping gear, everything, and I drove across the United States and I worked for two months on the road.”

Have you ever dreamed about packing up your dog and just taking off? That’s what Director of Technology Sean Ernst did, all while keeping connected and productive at work. In this episode Sean discusses why the business world is forever changed by the new work-from-home standard and why companies should be excited by the new normal.

Listen here or on your favorite platform below.

 

Full Transcript

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