Archive for the 'Layered Technologies' Category

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Data Protection – Not Always a Slam Dunk

Published on April 4, 2013 in Layered Technologies and Security. Closed
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It’s March Madness time, one of my favorite times of year. Maybe it’s playing college basketball brackets with friends and co-workers that has me thinking of infrastructure strategy in basketball terms. But anyway, it occurs to me that while backup and recovery isn’t sexy, it is critical — and not always a slam dunk.

In fact, dealing with backup windows, complex file systems, data encryption and compliance issues, and planning the solution to meet recovery point and recovery time objectives — well, doing all that is anything but a layup. In fact managing this area continually can really take you out of the game and away from what drives your business.

The ideal data protection backup and recovery service is something that’s worth defining. Here are the capabilities I think every business or enterprise should look for:

  • Backup service that is quick and reliable with minimal impact to client applications
  • Rapid recovery of files and entire systems, locally or to systems in an alternate datacenter, to minimize downtime or disruption
  • Secure transfer and storage of the backup data with strong encryption
  • Above all, real confidence in the people and platform protecting your data in the event of human error, malicious attack, system failures, or natural disaster

We recently refreshed our backup and recovery platform to offer faster backups, quicker recoveries, and options for offsite storage and recovery in a secure and compliant framework. Our objective is to make backup and recovery something you don’t think much about (unless you actually don’t have backups in place).

Peace of mind is a good thing. It’s also true that backup and recovery service of this caliber is vital in many cases:

  1. When you need a scalable, usage-based model without any need to procure or manage a dedicated system, or provision excess capacity. For an expanding company it means that your system can grow as much as you need, cost-effectively.
  2. To accommodate both file and system restores so you can recover from a variety of potential issues including system error, human error, malicious attack, or outage.
  3. To accommodate clustered systems so you can back up your most complex environments with ease.
  4. When you need to be prepared for both local and off-site recovery. We help you defend all your zones: you can make a quick file recovery to the local system, recover files and systems to off-site resources, or in a rare event like Hurricane Sandy, you can recover to an alternate site.
  5. For quick cold-site recovery. Clients can replicate their backup data to another Layered Tech data center so they have the option to recover either to standby systems or to on-demand cloud resources. The Layered Tech eBusiness Cloud Data Center Service and eBusiness Data Protect Service give you a low-cost way to be disaster tolerant.
  6. When you must provide an environment that is secure and aligned to compliance requirements. In such a situation, another copy of sensitive data may not be a good idea unless you know your data is secure! Our strong data encryption, robust access controls, and change management let you ensure that your data is secure and managed for compliance.

Here’s a data protection game plan: One, backup and recovery is not sexy but it is essential. Two, when selecting your service provider you need to choose one that provides the recovery scenarios (speed of recovery, recovery location, retention, security) your business requires. Three, the best offense is a strong defense.

We have your defense covered so you can get back to playing offense and driving your business without worrying if your data is protected.

Image Credit: Creative Commons

Kevin Van Mondfrans, VP of Product ManagementAbout the Author: As Vice President of Product Management at Layered Tech, Kevin Van Mondfrans (@VANMONDFRANS | +Kevin Van Mondfrans) is responsible for driving the Layered Tech portfolio of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and managed service offerings. With more than 20 years of experience product development and marketing, Kevin has been delivering innovative computing, storage, cloud and service offering with companies such as HP, Dell, and Savvis.

2012 Reflection and 2013 Road Ahead

Published on December 27, 2012 in Layered Technologies. Closed
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With the holiday season upon us and another year coming to a close, we wish to express appreciation to our clients, partners and shareholders for their continued support of Layered Tech.

PCI, HIPAA and FISMA compliant managed service provider, Layered TechWe had many accomplishments in 2012, all with the objective of setting the standard for what clients should expect from their PCI-, HIPAA- and FISMA-compliant managed service provider.  Our extraordinary team of security and compliance experts worked day and night to understand the goals of our clients and solve their business challenges.

2012 Highlights:

  • In February of 2012, we became the first cloud provider to offer a ‘Compliance Guarantee.’  This ensures all Layered Tech compliance services, including PCI and HIPAA, are guaranteed to pass 100 percent of every audit or assessment.
  • In August of 2012, Layered Tech acquired NEW WORLD APPS, Inc, which specializes in secure private cloud solutions for federal, state and local governments.  Our expertise in the PCI- and HIPAA-compliant cloud hosting markets along with NEW WORLD APPS’ federal FISMA hosting experience made this a perfect combination, resulting in a compelling platform to achieve rapid growth.
  • In September of 2012, we launched the Layered Tech Cloud Data Center, a next-generation cloud platform that combines complete management, security and compliance capabilities with self-service functionality, creating a more agile and secure cloud.  This allows enterprises to run their critical workloads in a cloud environment to accommodate complex security needs and meet PCI-DSS and HIPAA compliance requirements.
  • In November of 2012, Layered Tech and Microsoft announced the availability of Microsoft Dynamics Government Cloud business solutions, a FISMA-compliant cloud application platform on which federal agencies can build and deploy mission-critical solutions for their constituents. (see related article: Update on FISMA Compliant Cloud Offering for Microsoft)

We see 2013 as a new year full of opportunities as we continue to lead the way for compliant and secure hosting services.  Layered Tech very much appreciates the continued support of our valued partners and look forward to a successful year ahead.

Have a happy, healthy and secure holiday season!

Brad Hokamp, Layered Tech PresidentAbout the Author: As President of Layered Tech, Brad Hokamp (@bradhokamp) brings over 26 years experience working in the IT and networking industry to his role.  His responsibilities include leading our sales and marketing efforts, as well as product management, customer service and business development initiatives.

Layered Tech Gets Fit During Kansas City Corporate Challenge

Published on May 16, 2012 in Events and LT News. Closed
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Kansas City Corporate ChallengeAs the world’s largest sports organization, Special Olympics looks to transform lives through the joy of sport, every day and everywhere. In support of Special Olympics’ mission, Layered Tech’s Kansas City office is thrilled to be competing in and volunteering for the 2012 Kansas City Corporate Challenge, April 27-June 30.

For 33 years, the Kansas City Corporate Challenge has provided an event featuring Olympic-type games to unite nearly 200 local businesses under a singular, charitable cause. During the two-month challenge, companies have the opportunity to compete in 30 sporting events, network and promote teamwork among employees. In addition, participating companies volunteer at the events – with more than 20,000 participants and 30 different events, the Corporate Challenge would not be successful without the 1,300+ dedicated volunteers.

We have already shared some fun times with fellow employees and other local companies at this year’s Corporate Challenge. At the kick-off party on April 27, Layered Tech participated in the one-mile walk and then grilled up some Kansas City-style barbeque at the all-company tailgate at Truman Sports Complex, home to both the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals. The photos you see are from the tailgate and walk – good food, good people and a great time! (View more photos on Facebook)

KCCC Kickoff

LT Crew at KC Corporate Challenge Kickoff

After the kick-off party, our Kansas City office immediately began gearing up for some friendly competition with other local businesses. This year, Layered Tech employees are participating in nearly all of the events, some of which include:

KCCC Events

  • Three-on-three basketball
  • Darts
  • Disc golf
  • Dodgeball
  • Fishing
  • Flag football
  • Golf
  • Pool
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Table tennis
  • Volleyball
  • Weight lifting

In addition to the camaraderie, fellowship and fitness generated by the Corporate Challenge, we are excited to further our mission of giving back to the community and staying involved in charitable organizations. Throughout the year, Layered Tech is committed to participating in charitable functions, including food drives, clothing drives and special events like the Corporate Challenge. We believe it is important to realize that charities’ needs for support don’t stop when various events or fundraisers conclude; they need volunteers and donations year-round.

How You Can Help
All year long, Special Olympics provides sports training and athletic competition in a variety of sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Through these activities, Special Olympics hopes to give participants continued opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in sharing gifts, skills and friendship with others.

The 2012 Kansas City Corporate Challenge benefits the Kansas City Metro division of Special Olympics Missouri, but there are Special Olympics chapters across the globe, so check online for a chapter near you. Whether you choose to coach, volunteer or donate, Special Olympics Missouri and all of Special Olympics’ locations throughout more than 170 countries need consistent, year-round support.

Now, let the games begin!

Blog Series: Reducing Risk with PCI-Compliant and Secure Community Clouds

Published on January 4, 2012 in Cloud Computing, Hosting Industry, Infrastructure, Layered Technologies, PCI Compliance, Security and Tech Tips. Closed
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By Jeff Reich, Chief Risk Officer, Layered Tech

It seems almost daily a new report emerges detailing how a company suffered a data security breach, resulting in the release of sensitive data for hundreds of people.  To help guard against these attacks, companies can become PCI compliant, but it is not an easy goal to achieve and does not guarantee complete and total security.  As an alternative, community clouds provided through third-party resources like Layered Tech offer security options and a path to compliance without the cost and labor issues present with in-house systems.

To better understand these issues, this blog series will explore the hazards data breaches present and how, even with its challenges, PCI compliance and added security can help protect companies.  Additionally, the series will discuss how leveraging a community cloud provides companies with added benefits, such as scalable infrastructure, flexibility and availability, all in a cost-effective manner.

The real risk hackers pose

PCI compliance can help protect data from hackers, but there are still challenges.In today’s business environment, data breaches are no longer disasters that happen to other companies, nor are they an issue that only plagues large enterprises.  These adverse events can affect small- and medium-sized businesses that have made the leap to computerized systems and digital records.

Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and are able to employ several different tactics to retrieve information, such as exploiting backdoors and using spyware, forcing companies to focus on every aspect of security.  Instead of just looking for credit card and social security numbers or personal data, such as birthdates, hackers are increasingly stealing online banking login details.  According to Verizon’s 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report, the U.S. Secret Service arrested more than 1,200 cybercrime suspects in 2010 that were connected to more than $500 million in fraud loss.

PCI compliance helps but includes challenges

All companies that accept credit card payments, either online or offline, are required to takes steps to secure customer information.  One way companies can accomplish this task is to become PCI compliant, meaning that the organization meets certain criteria throughout the security process, including prevention, detection and response, as set forth by the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).  These standards, developed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, provide a range of requirements based on a company’s size, its type of business and the number of credit card transactions it handles.  (Want to know more about PCI DSS?  See the helpful PCI DSS resources available on our website.)

The strictness of these requirements, however, can make it difficult for businesses to achieve compliance.  Verizon’s Payment Card Industry Compliance Report for 2011 states that only 21 percent of the companies assessed were considered fully compliant.  Additionally, even though PCI-compliant companies are safer and less likely to encounter a breach, PCI compliance does not guarantee complete security of data.  Additional security measures, including but not limited to patching and system interfaces, must be taken.

Many companies leverage PCI compliant hosting and managed services from providers like Layered Tech to take advantage of its security, compliance and cloud expertise.  With this approach, organizations gain all the benefits of a hosted IT infrastructure but without the headaches of owning and maintaining hardware.  In addition, you can dedicate your resources to what matters most: your business and your customers.  To learn more about Layered Tech’s services, please visit our website or send us an email.

In the second installment of this blog series, we will discuss PCI compliance and security in community clouds and how this environment can provide businesses with unprecedented processing power, bandwidth and storage capacity, without the burdens of capital expenses and IT staff overhead.

Image credit: Mikael Altemark



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Jeff Reich, Layered Tech Chief Risk OfficerAbout the Author: As Chief Risk Officer at Layered Tech, Jeff Reich (@LayeredTechCRO, +Jeff Reich) drives the company’s security and compliance services and guides risk mitigation efforts for clients. With more than 30 years of experience, Reich is a well-known risk management and security expert in the industry. He holds CRISC, CISSP and CHS-III certifications and is an ISSA Distinguished Fellow.

Brad Hokamp Interview with Light Reading

Published on August 24, 2011 in Cloud Computing, Hosting Industry and Layered Technologies. Closed
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We were recently approached by Light Reading, one of the most widely read IT publications in the industry, to do an interview on Layered Tech’s approach to cloud computing services.  Naturally, we obliged, and our president, Brad Hokamp, sat down with Light Reading’s editor, Phil Harvey, to discuss the results our clients are achieving with our managed compliant cloud solutions:

  • Control costs more effectively – with a cloud environment, customers can build/repurpose infrastructure towards normal loads of traffic and then use cloud for peak capacity management
  • Drive revenue growth and increase agility as a company – allows companies to bring on their customers more rapidly, load applications quicker, etc.
  • Innovate and launch products much faster – leading to faster return on investments

Security and compliance concerns have often prohibited businesses from migrating to the cloud, but a private cloud or even hybrid/community cloud architecture of the kind that Layered Tech regularly deploys for its clients has demonstrated time and again that data and transactions can be so secure as to meet even PCI DSS strict requirements.

The full interview is available as an audio podcast at LightReading.com and as a slide presentation summary on SlideShare.net.