Is Your Organization Ready for Remote Computing?

  • If a mandated quarantine forces your employees to stay at home, will you be able to keep your organization running?
  • If one of your key employees is forced to self-quarantine at home for 14 days, will they be able to continue to work remotely?
  • How safe will your organization be if you allow your employees to connect to their work computers remotely?

COVID-19 and Coronavirus are here and these are questions business owners and directors of non-profits are asking.  Unfortunately, it appears that the virus is going to cause extreme disruptions in the way businesses and non-profits in the greater Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area operate. If you aren’t prepared to allow your employees to work remotely, you may face an existential threat to your organization.

As a service to businesses and non-profits in Western Washington, we’re offering a quick and easy way for you to talk with an expert on remote computing to make certain that you’re ready for whatever comes!

My name is Owen Wollum. I am the founder and CEO of Dependable IT Support and co-author of the best-selling cybersecurity book Under Attack: How to Protect Your Business & Your Bank Account From Fast-Growing Ultra-Motivated and Highly Dangerous CyberCrime Rings. We have been helping small businesses and non-profit organizations in the greater Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area manage their computers, servers, networks and especially their security, since 1992. And yes, a big part of that is helping organizations provide their employees with remote computing that is safe, secure, efficient, and cost-effective.

If you’d like to schedule a 20-minute virtual meeting with me to talk about your needs or have me review your existing remote computing plan, please click on the link below and complete the form. There is no cost or obligation for this appointment – we’re simply trying to help businesses and non-profits be as prepared as they can be for whatever is coming.

If you have no idea how you’re going to offer your employees safe, secure, efficient, and cost-effective remote access, you will definitely want to take advantage of this offer. We can answer your questions and get you started down the path towards making good decisions that will keep you in business while keeping your employees safe should they need to work from home.

If you have some ideas, or even a plan of what you’re going to do to offer your employees safe, secure, efficient, and cost-effective remote access, we would be happy to listen to your ideas and provide feedback on what you might want to think about changing.

If you already have remote computing in place and are fairly confident that what you’re doing provides safe, secure, efficient, and cost-effective remote access, it never hurts to get an expert’s opinion. Perhaps we can offer a suggestion or two.

The problem we’re seeing now!

One of the biggest problems we’re seeing right now is a rush from organizations to quickly install remote access solutions that may not be the most secure, efficient or cost-effective solutions. The most common approach organizations are taking is to provide ad-hoc access to the computers of key employees through remote access software such as LogMeIn, GoToMyPc, TeamViewer and other similar offerings.

While these CAN be effective solutions, they tend to lack the security most organizations need and are much more expensive than solutions which are even more secure!

What most people don’t understand is that they can provide their employees remote access to their desktop computer in their offices that is highly secure and does not require any monthly fee! We’re talking about using your computer just like you were sitting in front of it from anywhere in the world. Without having to worry about creating unnecessary security risks. And WITHOUT paying any monthly fees for remote access!

In fact, you may already have the infrastructure in place that allows you to accomplish this by simply configuring it and downloading a piece of software to talk to it securely! If not, we can recommend the equipment you need and even help you get it set up if you want us to do that.

If you’d like to hear more, or have us review your remote computing plan, or create one for you, simply click on the link below and fill out the form. Remember, there is no cost for this short meeting and no obligation to buy anything. We’re simply trying to help businesses and non-profits in our community stay safe. And stay in business.

How about a virus to go with that virus?

What could be worse than having to deal with coronavirus and COVID-19? How about installing remote access software on your computers that exposes your organization to a computer virus or even ransomware?  Unfortunately, I firmly believe we’re going to see a rash of that happening in the coming months.

Hackers and cybercriminals are licking their lips right now at the prospect of organizations that don’t understand security and rush to implement a remote computing solution that has holes in it that they can take advantage of.

Most peer-to-peer remote solutions, like LogMeIn, GoToMyPc, and TeamViewer work by punching holes in your security infrastructure that is designed to protect you from outsiders. While there are ways to effectively secure these solutions, they can be cumbersome, and require you to remember to take several steps on each and every computer that you install the software on.

A far better approach is to use a company-wide solution that works directly with your security infrastructure to protect you. If you’re curious as to what I’m referring to, click on the link below and let’s talk.

Why pay more than you need to for a less secure solution?

Honestly, from the people I talk to, cost is the lowest item on their list of criteria in getting set up to offer their employees secure remote access. Speed of implementation is usually first right now, and security is second. They want to know that it’s going to work well (be consistent and responsive), but the cost comes in fourth on their list.

That’s understandable. We’re facing an unknown threat right now and it’s possible that options are going to dwindle as fast as toilet paper and hand sanitizer at Costco as the virus progresses! But why should you pay more than you need to?

Let’s face it, we’re all probably going to have to pinch pennies to get through this challenge, so finding a solution that is one of the most cost effective, but also meets all of the rest of the criteria people are looking for should be a no-brainer, right?

Click on the link below to schedule a short virtual meeting with me to talk about your options. We’re here to help you!

Our Staff Was Working from Home in A Matter Of Days!

When the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders seemed like they were imminent, we were faced with the extraordinary challenge of getting our key employees set up with the ability to securely access their desktop computers at work, remotely from their homes. Fortunately, we were able to make a quick phone call to Dependable IT Support and have them take care of everything. Owen and the team at Dependable IT Support provided home firewalls for all our key employees, then configured each employees’ laptop and firewall and worked with our employees to get them set up and connect securely to their work computers. All of this was completed in a matter of days, just in time to meet our local shelter-in-place order. We never could have gotten this done without the help from Dependable IT Support! Now our employees are safely working from home with very little impact to the efficiency of the organization!

Dr. Michael J. Adams President
Faith International University

We Think of Dependable IT Like Part Of Our Extended Staff!

We have outsourced our IT to Dependable IT Support for several years now and are delighted with their responsiveness and ability to anticipate our needs. They have supported us through good times and not so good times, so well that at times we even think of them as part of our extended staff. As a non-profit with a limited budget, we can’t justify a dedicated IT person, nor do we need one. And with Dependable IT Support, we know we’re getting a much more experienced skill set for pennies on the dollar compared to someone on staff.

Melissa Malott Executive Director
Citizens For A Healthy Bay

Responsive and Reasonable Rates! Highly Recommended!

Having Dependable IT as part of our team has allowed us to minimize downtime when any tech issues occur. I would highly recommend Dependable IT. Their responsiveness is outstanding. They were the only company we talked to that offer reasonable non-profit rates. They will help you get your job done better – because you don’t have to worry about IT issues. And, if that still doesn’t convince you, call me! I’d be happy to share our experience.

Anne Banauch Director
Highline Schools Foundation

We know we can depend on Dependable IT Support!

We depend on Dependable IT Support! As the owner of a rapidly growing business, I don't have time to stay on top of technology changes, let alone manage the technology we already use. That's why I partner with Dependable IT Support and rely on them to manage all our IT assets. From workstation and server management to acting as our IT Department for both tactical and strategic issues, we know we can depend on them to come through for us. If you rely on your computers to run your business, I highly recommend talking to Dependable IT Support!

Dave Theimer President
Thunderdog Delivery, Inc.