VARinsights – Helping VARs navigate the IT channel

FEATURE ARTICLES

Making The Move To Multi-Factor Authentication

Over the last few years, multi-factor authentication (MFA) has come a long way. In the past, MFA required that you carry a hard token on you at all times, but now, MFA has become a simple, one-touch endeavor. However, many still perceive MFA as a cumbersome addition to security that impacts both productivity and enjoyment. To make matters worse, experts have marketed MFA as a security necessity we should invest in, whether we like it or not.

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GUEST CONTRIBUTORS

Myth Buster: Data Fatigue Is Not Real!
The noise is real. Of that, we can agree. It started way back in history – whoops, wrong topic (shout out to all of you who know that lyric). Basic packet captures – the final arbiter of proof, started all this and has continued nonstop until this very day. Every security analyst worth his/her salt asks for the packet captures. Why do we have all this data? Do we need it all? With IOT today, my toaster can tell me how many toast points I have burned since 2019. Do we care? Should we care? To be honest, I’m not sure I want folks to know I struggle getting my toast just right :).
MSP Industry Trends To Watch For In 2020
Yes, it’s another one of these forward-looking new year posts. But we’re extremely confident ours will prove to be more accurate than the rest. In 2019 there were 3 notable trends that give indication of what can be expected in the coming year.
Foresight Is 2020: Predictions For The Coming Year
January brings with it new hope and new energy, but before you chart a course for the year, it’s always good to see which way the winds are blowing.

How To: Naming Conventions For Documentation
Consistent naming conventions are crucial to getting the most out of your documentation. With strong naming conventions, you’ll be able to find documents efficiently, avoid creating duplicate documents, and easily understand the contents of a document without having to click into it. It’s important to get naming conventions correct early on to avoid having to go back and update a bunch of documents later. Remember, naming conventions are all about utility; once the system is learned, anybody should be able to interpret the document name accurately.
How To Develop A Team That Can Self Serve
When your team is operating like a finely-tuned machine, with little intervention on your part, you’re positioned for growth. Your leadership team - from the CEO down to the senior techs - have more time to focus on growth activities when the rest of the team is running itself. But it’s easier to say than to do, so let’s go over a few pointers on how to get your team to a point where they self-serve.

VAR WHITE PAPERS

Cash Transactions In The Mobile World
For two decades, the PC has reigned supreme over all POS solutions, operating as point of sale terminals that sit on counters and control various peripherals. However, the need for PC-centric solutions is waning as a more flexible POS model emerges Leveraging cloud and mobile technologies, this model supports thin client and IP-enabled components such as cash drawers and printers.
Resellers Beware: Hackers Are Using You To Get To Your Clients
According to a February 2018 White House Report — The Cost of Malicious Cyber Activity to the U.S. Economy — cyberattacks cost U.S. businesses as much as $109 billion in 2016. A 2017 Ponemon survey found a typical firm experiences 130 security breaches each year. Because of this, business owners are turning to resellers to provide cybersecurity protection from hardware using point to point encryption (P2PE) to security services such as Tokenization. Resellers are becoming the first defense against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, phishing and spear-phishing attacks, and password and malware attacks.
Top 20 Best Tech Cities For IT Jobs
The CompTIA Tech Town Index illustrates that IT pros are in demand and have nearly endless options when choosing where to live and work. With overall cost of living an essential to 82% of tech workers, and nearly two-thirds citing weather and commute times as important factors as well, the good news is that tech workers have the opportunity to write their own stories.

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VAR USE CASES

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FEATURED SUPPLIERS

Shift4 Payments
Shift4 Payments is a leading national provider of touch-screen point of sale (POS) systems and payment processing services. As pioneers of the “as a service” model, Shift4 Payments offers an unprecedented “free” POS program that allows the company’s sales partners to offer a full-featured POS system with no up-front costs.
The ASCII Group
The ASCII Group is a vibrant community of independent MSPs, VARS and solution providers in North America. The organization offers members leveraged purchasing programs, education and training, knowledge sharing among peers, discounts on business services, and more. Founded in 1984 by Alan Weinberger, ASCII is the oldest and largest group of independent IT solution providers, integrators and VARS in the world.
Webroot
Webroot delivers intelligent cybersecurity for endpoint, mobile and web to channel partners, consumers, businesses, and enterprises worldwide. Powered by its BrightCloud® collective threat intelligence network, Webroot protects the internet of everything. Our cloud-based threat detection, high performance, lightweight agents, and single, web-based point of control have changed the way businesses think about protecting mobile devices, PCs and servers. Named a ‘Visionary’ in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms, Webroot’s smarter approach to security is why companies including Cisco, F5 Networks, GateProtect, HP, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Proofpoint, RSA and others choose our solutions for advanced threat protection for their security products and services.
Taylor Business Group
Taylor Business Group is an executive coaching and peer group firm that focuses on IT Solution Providers and Copier Dealers. Founded in 2001, Taylor has brought efficiencies and higher profits to IT Solution Providers through a focused effort in delivering best practices to the Service Provider and Copier Dealer's service, sales and administrative functions.
RSPA

RSPA stands for Retail Solutions Providers Association. We are the only association dedicated to the retail technology industry.
CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry.

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INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND ASSOCIATIONS

VAR INSIGHTS CONTENT COLLECTIONS

It’s never been harder to be a value added reseller than now. VARs operate on low margins, there are more distributors to choose from than you know what to do with, technology and pricing are constantly changing, and you need to regularly stay updated about the latest technology and the newest products in the market. VAR Insights has compiled an E-book to help you overcome these challenges. It's authored by business owners such as yourself and we're sure this guide will help you avoid some common mistakes.

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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Winning Recruiting Strategies For 2020 – And Beyond
Remember the #1 employee recruiting tool 10 years ago? Newspapers. Today print classified ads are about as effective as inserting a floppy disk into an iPad. So, what is working in 2020? Successful VARs and ISVs are implementing these five recruiting strategies.
New Cash Management Solution Brings Order To Cannabis Dispensary's Cash-Handling
When you’re running a cash business, keeping track of all proceeds from transactions is vital. But it isn’t easy. Just ask the owners of the Green America cannabis dispensary in Perris, CA. The store had virtually no controls and procedures for cash handling; employees issued no transaction receipts for traceability, and often grabbed bills from tills to pay suppliers and for petty-cash type transactions.
Future-Proof Your Fiber Infrastructure
Increasing traffic within data centers requires fiber optic link bandwidth capacity to keep expanding over time. But how do you avoid repeat rip-and-replace upgrades?
How To Get MORE Word Of Mouth Referrals
Discover how caring about your clients and contacts can be a powerful marketing weapon. Learn more about the four pillars of word of mouth strategy: over delivery; listening; surprise; and non-self-serving acts.
Lockdown Lessons 3: Closing Security Gaps
We can all agree: it’s the nature of technology to advance. Cybercrime is no exception to this rule, and neither are the tools we use to stop attacks. But you’d be surprised how much a business can accomplish in terms of their own security simply by keeping existing systems up to date and using technology to their best advantage. For instance, just staying on top of patches and disabling unnecessary services that may be on by default can go a long way toward closing security gaps.
Lockdown Lessons Episode 3: Closing Security Gaps
From regular patches to disabling RDP, there are lots of simple steps you can take to lock down your security strategy. Watch our Lockdown Lessons videos to see what crucial measures you may be missing.

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