Everyone’s favorite time of year – tax season – is creeping up on the calendar. Monday, April 18, may feel far away, but the filing deadline will be here before we know it. Tax season is prime time for online scams!
a 2017 Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research revealed that nearly one in three consumers reported that their data has been breached and become victims of identity fraud. So, what do you do to stay safe?
Be Aware of Phishing, Email and Malware Scams
Cybercriminals will try to get you to act so they can steal your personal information. Keep an eye out for unsolicited emails, text messages, social media posts prompting you to click a link or to share personal or financial information. If opened, these files can be harmful to your computer or social device and you might lose access to your personal files.
Fraudulent Tax Returns Are Out There
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) strongly recommends filing your tax return ASAP. If you submit your tax information early, it becomes impossible for a fraudster to submit another return with your personal information.
Only share your Social Security number when it’s necessary and with a trusted contact (financial advisor).
Never throw papers with personal information like your Social Security number or bank account information in the trash without shredding them!
Passwords and Secure Logins
Keep your software updated, including your computer’s security! Add the strongest authentication tools to your computer and files (like 2FA) will protect key accounts from being accessed.
When in doubt, trust your intuition. Happy tax season and remember these tips when filing your taxes this year. The myCREcloud team is here to help if you need assistance with accessing your Sage and Quickbooks tax information.
Need more? We also offer in-house IT support and can help you set up your cloud to be the safest possible!
myCREcloud is pleased to announce that three resellers have joined our Reseller Program.
Aronson Consulting
For more than 55 years, Aronson has purposefully expanded our service offerings and deepened our industry specialties to better serve the needs of our clients, people, and community.
Kerr Consulting
Through best practices consulting, managed services, software solutions, custom development, and design, Kerr empowers organizations of all sizes to optimize operations.
Software Consultants
With over 20 years of experience, Software Consultants is your go-to resource for innovative construction technology. Because Sage doesn’t sell directly, they have been their authorized, full-service business partner since 1994.
At myCREcloud we are committed to providing our clients with a holistic approach to cloud computing. Taking a holistic approach to cloud implementation means considering the people, processes and technology involved. This approach will ensure that myCREcloud has a positive impact on your business for years to come.
A Holistic Approach Place careful focus needs to be placed on the who, the what and the how of cloud in order to get to the benefits of a successful cloud.
Three key factors
The Who: People To be able to implement the successfully, we must think about the users. Who are they? What type of cloud services do they need? The requirements of both business and technical users must be considered – a developer is likely to have far broader and more complex cloud service requirements than a sales user. IT engineers also need to consider the level of empowerment they will deliver to their end users – and whether their cloud management platform is flexible enough to support that empowerment.
The What: Process Now, the fun really begins; defining what processes must be implemented to drive user satisfaction and ensure the cloud matches the business. The processes around ensuring myCREcloud conforms to the same security, auditing and regulatory and operational compliance standards of traditional IT – and that these management elements can be automated during cloud provision – must be defined. Additionally, defining processes related to managing the performance of cloud services and the capacity of cloud resources across both private and public clouds are essential, so that cloud availability and cost can be optimized.
The How: Technology At myCREcloud, we believe that the cloud needs to integrate across existing IT systems and processes, including processes such as change management and testing. For peace of mind around future proofing, keep in mind that the cloud works across a broad range of underlying resources – from physical to virtual servers to different storage and network providers to converged infrastructures.
Some of the biggest names in the technology industry are interested in having the US government invest in a “national research cloud” to centralize and share data sets and artificial intelligence with small tech companies and academic researchers.
The concept of a National Research Cloud (NRC) is to democratize education, research, and innovation. This would open the doors to smaller, less affluent universities and tech companies that would not have access to this data otherwise. The National Research Cloud has been received by bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. and lawmakers in both houses have proposed bills that would create a task force of government to develop a path forward toward implementing an NRC. Last summer, some of the U.S.’s largest universities came together to express their interest. Universities, including Stanford and Ohio State, have openly expressed their approval of such a program.
Cloud computing is a widespread standard across the corporate world and has spread into nontraditional fields, like aviation.
The Right Tools
Cloud platforms allow airports to meet their potential and set the standards higher than ever for meeting price-sensitive, resilient and adaptable solutions for commercial airlines, private planes, and travelers.
Contactless customer processing
Networking to allow ground handlers, pilots, and customer service agents to communicate on the same infrastructure
Omnichannel services allow passengers to be updates about their flights at all times
Keeping up with Changing Requirements
COVID-19 has changed the operations of every company, no matter how large or small. Airports previously tailored their tech to security, speed and cost, but the pandemic forced a new way of thinking and an emphasis on cleanliness and remote connection.
Opportunities for Improvement
Global hubs are better supported by cloud computing- this is demonstrated by optimizing passenger processes, air transport communications, and the ability to streamline operations that historically has needed man-power to operate (bag checks).
Cloud computing is revolutionizing aviation from commercial airlines to the private sector and will continue to steadily grow and cloud infrastructures mature.
When it comes to choosing a cloud provider, there are plenty of factors to consider. From pricing to uptime, you need to find a provider that matches your unique needs.
Look for proof of customer satisfaction
Check through their testimonials, online reviews and case studies. Are the customers happy? Are customers getting quality service for a fair price?
Ensure zero downtime Downtimes can be troublesome for your businesses. Cloud hosting helps in improving reliability levels of infrastructure and delivering uninterrupted hosting services to the customers.
See who your team is
Do they have a technical support team? When are they available? If not, are there extra fees associated with your cloud solution? These considerations can save you valuable time and money when a problem eventually arises.
Are there resources?
Some of the best cloud hosting providers offer a knowledgebase and other online tools to help you and your employees get the most out of their cloud solution.
