Are your employees aware of some of the common security pitfalls that can compromise the integrity and safety of your IT system? With the digital landscape becoming an increasing part of managing day-to-day operations, staying on top of evolving risks and knowing how to be proactive is essential to avoiding disaster. Educating your team members, and staying aware as company owners empowers everyone to stay ahead of the curve and create a strong foundation for the future.

At Solūt, we know just how important it is to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to digital security practices. In addition to offering comprehensive IT services, we are proud to partner with businesses across Canada to build custom security plans, as well as offer extensive training so everyone knows how to model best practices. Below, we’ll cover 4 important areas for all staff members to be aware of when it comes to IT security. Read on to learn more. 

Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Passwords are one of the first, and most important first lines of defence against unauthorized access. Easy passwords that involve birthdates, obvious numerical sequences (eg. 12345) and other overly simplified choices may be easy to remember, but they’re also easy to crack. To bolster security, it’s crucial to craft complex passwords that include a mix of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols.

Multi-Factor-Authentication (MFA) provides an additional layer of security by requiring users to provide two or more authentication factors before granting access. This makes it significantly harder for hackers to gain unauthorized access, even if they manage to obtain the password.

Regular Software Updates


It can be easy to fall behind on software updates and firewall maintenance, but failing to prioritize routine upkeep can leave you vulnerable to cyber attacks or lead to systems lagging and performing poorly. Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in outdated software to infiltrate systems, and software patches not only help to address these vulnerabilities but ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible. Make sure everyone is aware of the importance of staying on top of updates, and that routine maintenance becomes part of company culture. 

Phishing Awareness

Phishing attacks have become one of the most prevalent (and effective) methods of compromising personal and business data by cybercriminals. Phishing emails have continued to become increasingly complex over time, with criminals getting even savvier with how they trap users into believing they are legitimate and revealing sensitive information. Constant education and awareness is crucial to avoiding falling victim to phishing scams, as is maintaining a healthy, skeptical mindset. If something seems too good to be true, it is, and if someone is requesting information or relaying something that seems suspect…it likely is. 

Data Encryption and Privacy

Data encryption is a powerful tool that ensures information remains confidential even if intercepted by unauthorized parties. Encryption methods convert data into a code that can only be deciphered by those with the appropriate decryption key, making it far more secure than haphazardly stored information. 

End-to-end encryption is vital for sensitive data and ensures that sensitive details remain private, whether they are sent by messaging apps, emails, e-commerce platforms, etc. For modern businesses, adopting encryption protocols for data storage and transmission is an essential practice to protect customer information and maintain trust.

Creating a Culture of Awareness

When it comes to avoiding cyber-attacks and ensuring your digital security, fostering a culture of prevention and proactivity is key. Consulting an experienced team like Solūt for IT strategy and risk mitigation is a strong way to make sure everyone is educated and informed, and that you have the right strategies in place when problems occur. 

Learn more about how we can help your team get prepared by contacting us today!

Is your business ready to embrace migrating your operational data to the cloud? Whether you’re finally making the switch to more modern practices or looking to upgrade your current solution, there are plenty of benefits to explore from utilizing the cloud for storage and integrated accessibility. In order to successfully transition, it’s important to be aware of a few key factors that inform what methods and long-term strategies will work best for your specific purposes. 

At Solūt we know that ensuring you have the right framework in place is essential when considering cloud migration. Below, we’ll take a look at 3 key elements to keep in mind when making the switch. Read on to learn more!

Understand Your Business Needs and Objectives

As with any major business change, it’s integral to fully understand exactly what your company needs, as well as what your current and future objectives are. Without a clear set of goals and objectives (i.e. enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations, adding security and accessibility options), the entire migration process may fall short of your actual needs, not just for today, but in the near (and distant future). By understanding both the needs and ideal outcomes for your migration, it will be much easier to configure a custom solution that’s tailored to you. 

Start by evaluating your current infrastructure, specifically your applications, data storage requirements, and current workflows. This assessment will help you identify which components are suitable for migration and which may require adjustments. You’ll also want to consider additional details like data security, compliance requirements, and potential impact on users during the transition. 

Choose the Right Cloud Model and Provider

Cloud-based services are a dime a dozen in today’s digital market, but not everyone comes prepared to deliver exactly what they promise or what you actually need. Cloud computing has a wide variety of models including public, private, and hybrid options, each with its own attributes (and detractors). Ensure that your IT professionals know which model best aligns with your business requirements, and that the chosen solution will be able to scale alongside your business as required. 

It is also crucial to make sure you have a reliable cloud provider that is able to offer security and peace of mind measures like uptime guarantees, positive reviews on their services, a diverse portfolio of IT services for broader industry understanding as a whole, and more. 

Develop a Comprehensive Migration Strategy

To protect your data and operations as much as possible, the process of migrating to the cloud requires a well-defined strategy that encompasses every aspect of the process. The strategy you put into place should highlight the requirements across different stages, and ensure that every aspect is covered to avoid gaps and unnecessary complications. Determine the most suitable migration approach: “lift and shift” (re-hosting), rearchitecting, or a combination thereof. Re-hosting involves migrating applications to the cloud without significant modifications, while rearchitecting involves optimizing applications to leverage cloud-native features.

During the migration itself, you’ll need to consistently test the process to mitigate disruptions, and have contingency plans in place should any inconveniences occur. Once migration has been completed, focus on ongoing optimization and management, and leverage cloud-native tools and services to enhance performance, automate scaling, and improve cost management.

Manage Your Cloud Migration with Ease with Solūt 

At Solūt, we bring over 20 years of experience to IT services, including cloud migration strategy and implementation. Our experts are here to help guide your business through the process, ensure everything is well-planned and executed, and that you have the right strategies in place to manage things moving forward.

Contact us today to get started on your cloud migration with confidence! 

With today’s business world dealing with the realities of rapidly advancing technology and a market that is more digitally centralized than ever before, companies must be prepared to implement security measures that protect sensitive information and streamline their operations. Information technology (IT) protocols can be an invaluable resource that helps to keep your business on the right side of privacy mandates and serves as an important foundation for your day-to-day practices. 

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the core principles that inform IT security, as well as the benefit of partnering with an external Canadian partner like Solūt. Read on to learn more!

Confidentiality Counts

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of IT security and a driving force that pushes the industry forward. IT security ensures that access to sensitive information is limited to the appropriate parties and that there are sufficient measures in place to prevent unauthorized access. Encryption is a key technique used to maintain confidentiality, relying on converting plain text to scrambled unreadable data that prevents the wrong parties from accessing data even if they somehow manage to access the system itself. Modern encryption algorithms employ complex mathematical functions, making it exceedingly difficult for attackers to decipher the encrypted data and increasing your overall data protection. 

Maintaining Data Trustworthiness

IT security is heavily concerned with ensuring the accuracy and reliability of sourced data, or in other words, its integrity. One crucial practice to maintain data integrity is the use of digital signatures. Digital signatures verify the authenticity of data by using cryptographic algorithms to create a unique signature that can only be produced by the original sender. If any changes are made to the data, the signature becomes invalid, alerting recipients to potential tampering. With businesses now storing ample information in the cloud (more on this below), ensuring your data remains trustworthy is essential to protect yourselves, as well as your clients. 

Ensuring Continuous Access

IT security isn’t just focused on protecting data. IT consultants are also there to ensure you have easy access to your system as needed. Denial of Service (DoS) and server hijacking crimes have become a common threat in the digital world, often leaving businesses struggling to get back on their feet in the aftermath. Partnering with the right IT consultant can help build safety plans to circumvent such attacks and always have a backup plan (more on that below) when trouble does arise. 

Verifying Identities

Know Your Customer (KYC) and other such anti-fraud measures have become increasingly necessary to remain compliant with domestic and international regulations, and IT plays an integral role in making them possible. By implementing standard authentication processes like passwords, PINs, biometric data (such as fingerprints or facial recognition), and two-factor authentication (2FA) unauthorized users have a significantly reduced opportunity to access sensitive information, and go a long way towards preventing fraudsters from sneaking in the “back door”.

Controlling Access

Speaking of sneaking in, hacking into a system or accessing it through other illicit methods is exactly what IT security aims to prevent. Authorization is the next step in protection after authentication and ensures that only users with the right “roles” can access the right data. In fact, role-based access control (RBAC) is a widely used authorization framework that assigns permissions based on predefined roles, streamlining processes and simplifying security at the same time. 

Staying Current

One of the most difficult aspects of IT security and cyber security as a whole is that cyber criminals and hackers evolve their tactics almost as quickly as new protection methods and software enter the market. The reality is, IT is a 24/7 job that requires constant maintenance and reeducation to stay on top of emerging trends and make use of new standards and tools. For most businesses, the cost of having an internal team do so while regulating your current systems and addressing problems on the fly can be unsustainable in the long term, with the necessity for multiple new salaries to fill a department significantly increasing your expenses. 

Working with an external consultant can be far more cost and time-effective by ensuring you have ready access to a paid team of experts who are able to allocate specific time to learning new pain points to watch for and how to overcome them. 

Security Awareness and Training

The perfect IT security strategy means nothing if the humans on your team don’t understand the purpose and core involvement they’ll have in utilizing protective measures. Some of the most common scams and cyber attacks in the market include social engineering, phishing attacks, and other tactics that target human vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access, many of which can often be avoided through awareness training. The right IT partner will empower your team to step in when and how they can, while still laying out how to stay in a preventative rather than reactive mindset.

Prepared for the Worst

Let’s acknowledge an uncomfortable truth: the unfortunate reality is, with cybercrime posing a significant threat to businesses across Canada, it is highly likely that almost every owner will eventually find themselves facing an IT-related breach or issues. Having a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan is essential, and can save your business, as well as your clients countless headaches and necessary moments of stress by simply being prepared. 

Meet Solūt 

At Solūt, we know how important IT security is when it comes to protecting your business. With over 20 years of experience partnering with a wide variety of businesses in Edmonton and Calgary, we’re here to provide transparent, easy-to-understand and utilize solutions that will have your team ready to face whatever challenges the digital sphere has in store for you. 
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get ready to face the digital world with confidence! 

Is your business set up for success when it comes to navigating the digital landscape? With technology becoming an increasingly normalized part of daily operations, knowing how to pivot and adapt to changing softwares and processes to stay on top of evolving standards is essential. Digital strategy audits, or Comprehensive Digital Assessment and Planning(CDAP) reviews are a crucial part of preparing your business to succeed and can help to uncover any weaknesses that are holding you back from optimal performance. 

At Solūt, we know that taking a proactive approach is one of the best ways to protect your business and prepare for the future. Read on to learn 4 key elements that CDAPs evaluate, as well as the benefits of partnering with a team like Solūt for your IT needs. 

Evaluating the Alignment Between Business Objectives and Digital Practices

One of the most important parts of a digital strategy, and one element that’s often poorly executed is making sure that your digital efforts actually align with your overall business goals. With so many options and variables available on the market, it’s not uncommon for confusion to creep in, and for missteps to take place. With that in mind, a CDAP will start by taking a close look at the alignment between your practices and goals, and thoroughly evaluate what is and isn’t working. This may involve spending time redefining your goals and budgetary needs, and building a refined plan to move forward with, or simply updating things with a few simple tweaks depending on the state of your digital assets as a whole. 

Effectiveness of Digital Channels

Once you’ve determined what your goals are and how your digital strategy aligns with them, it’s time to turn your attention to your active (or missing digital channels). Far too many businesses waste time and valuable resources on platforms that fail to convert and spend them thin time wise; the CDAP process closely evaluates your digital channels, from your website to social media accounts, email marketing, and online advertising efforts etc. The performance and ROI of each asset, including traffic, engagement rates, and conversion statistics, will help determine what needs to be altered for maximum impact.

Elevating User Experience and Engagement

User Experience (UX) is an integral part of customer conversion, and if your website or social channels are lacking resources, you’re setting yourself up for failure. A CDAP examines the UX across various digital touchpoints, assessing factors such as website navigation, mobile responsiveness, content relevance, and user feedback. A well-designed UX enhances your brand’s reputation, encourages conversions, and fosters lasting relationships with your audience; with the help of a CDAP, you can determine what elements are working in your favour and what may need to be altered to better suit your objectives. 

Empowered Decision-Making with Data Insights

The digital world moves fast, and user behaviour can be fickle as new trends evolve. The CDAP process delves into your data analytics practices, evaluating the tools used to track and measure digital performance and ensures that you have a solid guiding framework to inform your investment in digital strategy elements. By identifying patterns, trends, and customer behaviours, you can unlock a wealth of insights that shape the evolution of your digital strategy

Competitive Analysis and Market Trends

Staying competitive requires an acute awareness of industry trends and the strategies of your market peers. A CDAP involves a comprehensive analysis of your competitors’ digital initiatives and a close monitoring of market trends. By benchmarking your efforts against industry best practices, you can identify gaps and opportunities that drive innovation and set your team up for future success.

CDAPs with Solūt 

At Solūt, we know how important is to ensure that your digital strategy is working as necessary. With over 20 years of experience partnering with a wide variety of businesses across Edmonton and Calgary, we’re proud to conduct comprehensive CDAP audits that help your business get ahead. 

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get ready to face the digital world with confidence!

Are you looking to make the most of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP)? With businesses facing an aggressively fast-paced digital market, having the right tools at your disposal is essential when it comes to getting ahead and protecting yourself against cybercrime and other challenges along the way. If you want to maximize your benefit from CDAP, partnering with a qualified IT partner like Solūt is a great way to ensure you have the best opportunity to succeed.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at some of the key elements that help build the strongest foundation for getting the most out of CDAP. Read on to learn more!

Aligning Strategy with Objectives

Digital adoption isn’t a small undertaking, and just like prior to undergoing any major change, you’ll want to have a clear strategic roadmap that outlines your current and future goals, your current assets, unique needs etc. Experienced IT consultants like the team at Solūt are able to partner with your team to help you seamlessly build a strategy that incorporates your present and future objectives and allows you to hit the ground running from day one. 

Tailoring Solutions to Your Business

Canadian businesses cover an incredibly wide range of industries and sectors. As the Government pushes forward with digital incentives through CDAP, knowing how to make CDAP work for your business is essential. An IT partner can walk you through each aspect of the program, but also analyze your organization’s workflows, processes, and existing technology infrastructure to recommend tailored CDAP solutions.

Management and Employee Training

Undergoing a major digital makeover can be an overwhelming process for managers and employees if they’re left feeling unaware of what’s expected of them under the scope of your new initiatives. Even if you maintain an internal IT department, having experts train your on-site staff on how to approach group migration, user integration and other core parts of your adoption process can make everything go as smoothly as possible. 

An experienced IT consultant can develop comprehensive change management strategies, ensuring that your workforce is adequately prepared and even enthusiastic about embracing new digital tools.

Optimizing Resource Allocation

As we said above, each business is unique, and that means, for many owners, not every aspect of The CDAP will align with your immediate priorities or capabilities. An IT consultant can assess your resources and guide you in making informed decisions about where to invest time, effort, and finances. Rather than waste your ROI, working with a team like Solūt gives you the confidence you need to know that you’re making the best choice in every aspect of your involvement with CDAP. 

Continuous Improvement and Growth

The digital world moves fast, and system overhauls are far from a one-time event. Partnering with a trusted IT team sets you up for long-term success by ensuring you always have the right foundation in place for the long term, as well as easy access to in-the-moment updates, initiatives and evolving strategies that help your company grow and stay safe. 

Leveraging Government Support

The Canada Digital Adoption Program offers valuable incentives and resources to businesses willing to embrace digital transformation. An IT consultant can help you navigate the program’s intricacies and reduce roadblocks, and in doing so, helps guarantee that you’re able to tap into all available benefits and opportunities. From grant applications to compliance requirements, an expert consultant can streamline the process, allowing you to focus on leveraging the program’s advantages for your business.

Meet Your CDAP Partners in Edmonton and Calgary: Solūt!

Looking to get the best ROI out of The CDAP? Solūt can help! We offer comprehensive IT services, including digital audits to ensure you’re able to put your best foot forward for CDAP. Learn more about creating your custom CDAP strategy by contacting our team today!

Looking to refine your business’ digital strategy and ensure your IT services are set up for success? Partnering with a trusted external firm can be one of the best ways to alleviate internal strain and get your digital practices up to speed. At Solūt, there’s nothing we love more than partnering with Canadian companies to make sure you have the strongest foundation for support, proactive strategy and backup plans in place should disaster strike. 

Below, we’ll take a look at 5 of the top questions to ask a potential IT partner, as well as the benefits of partnering with Solūt. Read on to learn more!

What is Your Expertise and Experience?

Before you commit to partnering with an external IT provider, it’s crucial to verify their experience, as well as what areas (if any) they specialize in. Every business has unique IT needs, and ensuring your provider is able to customize to your requirements is essential for success. A provider with experience in your sector will likely have a better understanding of your unique IT requirements and challenges, enabling them to provide solutions that put you ahead of the curve rather than struggling to play catch up. 

How Do You Ensure Data Security and Compliance?

Data breaches and cyberattacks are ever-present threats in the digital age, with both holding the potential to significantly damage your reputation and your bottom line. The right IT provider will put security and compliance first, and conduct a thorough audit to find any gaps that need to be filled to give you the best preventative strategy. You should also inquire as to how they stay updated with the latest security threats and ensure compliance with relevant regulations for their business. 

What is Your Response Time for Technical Support?

The last thing you need when problems arise is to be stuck waiting for help. Ask your IT provider about their response time for technical support requests, as well as their ticketing process, triage scale, and what “urgent necessity” assistance is available for major issues. A reliable IT provider should offer various channels for support, such as phone, email, and an online help desk, and provide a clear service-level agreement (SLA) that outlines their guaranteed response and resolution times.

Can You Scale IT Services as Our Business Grows?

If you’re in a growth phase, it’s integral to find a provider that can scale their IT offerings alongside your business. Ask about their scalability options and flexibility to adapt to your expanding technology needs, as well as for examples of how they’ve partnered with businesses in similar positions. Experienced providers will know how to tailor (as mentioned above), and will incorporate your future plans and projections into your current services so you’re never left hanging. 

What Is Your Disaster Recovery Plan?

Finally, the unfortunate reality of working in a digital world is that hiccups and disasters will occur. To avoid further headaches, you need to ensure your IT partner has a robust recovery plan to handle hardware failures, weather-caused outages, cyber incidents and the many other issues that can arise at any moment. Inquire about your IT provider’s disaster recovery strategy, including how they back up data, restore systems, and maintain operational continuity during disruptions.

Managed IT Solutions with Solūt 

At Solūt, we believe that handling your IT needs shouldn’t be a hassle. We know that staying on top of evolving IT practices and software can be a challenge for business owners, especially in a market facing aggressive cybercrime threats and other related dangers. For over 20 years, we’ve partnered with businesses in Edmonton and Calgary to ensure you have the support you need to succeed when it matters most. With comprehensive IT services, quick response times, and a dedication to making sure you’re always protected, you can count on us to have you covered!


Contact us today to learn more!

Has your business recently been the victim of a cyber-attack or data breach? With cybercrime becoming increasingly prevalent and posing more threats to companies than ever before, many businesses across Canada are now finding themselves facing the reality of dealing with the aftermath of being hacked or targeted by digital criminals. 

While prevention is always preferable, it’s just as important to know what to do should you find yourself in such a situation, and having the right directions in place can help to minimize your damage and operational interruptions. Simply put, with the right strategic approach and the right steps in motion, you can recover, rebuild, and emerge stronger than before.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at what you need to know about getting your business back on track after a cyber attack. Read on to learn more.

Assess the Damage: Understanding the Impact

The first step in recovery is to assess the extent of the damage caused by the cyber attack. Identify which systems, data, and processes were compromised. This assessment will help you prioritize your efforts and allocate resources effectively, and ultimately how to prevent things from occurring again in the future.

Contain and Isolate: Prevent Further Damage

The last thing you want when you’re dealing with a cyber attack is for it to be able to infiltrate further. Take action right away to contain and isolate compromised systems and immediately disconnect any affected devices from all networks to prevent further spread. While you may or may not be able to recover the initially compromised data, the faster you act to regain control, the better your chances are of minimizing widespread damage.

Notify Stakeholders

All invested parties should know about the cyber attack, including what was affected and how you will be resolving things moving forward as quickly as possible. Make sure employees, customers, partners and any relevant regulatory bodies are informed and ensure that all involved parties have clear communication throughout every stage of recovery. 

Learn, Review, Plan

While cyber-attacks are never a pleasant experience, they present you with the opportunity to partner with trusted professionals to develop a better path forward. Use your current headaches to reassess your cybersecurity posture with the help of trained experts, identify weaknesses in your current security protocols and update them to prevent similar attacks in the future. In many cases, breaches point to a need for overall staff (re)education about current threats, active phishing/fraud scams, and other dangers they should be aware of. In other circumstances it may mean beefing up your approach and implementing multi-factor authentication, regularly patching software, and conducting thorough employee training on security best practices. 

No matter your business, a skilled team like the experts at Solūt can help you find what gaps may be in your current system.

Restore Data and Systems

The recovery process involves restoring your systems and data to their pre-attack state (or doing so as closely as possible). This can be a complex process, and having an ongoing digital/IT security strategy in place in advance can greatly expedite this process with the help of backups and other resources to pull from. 

Continuous Monitoring and Improvement

Recovering from a cyber attack means being better prepared to prevent a repeat. Implement continuous monitoring and threat detection mechanisms to swiftly identify and respond to potential future breaches. Regularly assess your security posture and adapt your measures to evolving cyber threats. With the right future-minded strategy in place, you can greatly reduce your chances of falling prey to criminals again. 

We’re Here to Help

We know that recovering from a cyber attack can be a devastating process that costs your company additional time and funds in addition to any further inconveniences. That’s why, at Solūt, we’re happy to help our clients set up preventive, proactive strategies that work, and to stand by your side should the worst happen. With decades of experience under our belt, you can trust our team to help you get back on your feet as quickly as possible and to avoid the chance of repeat incidences with ease.

Contact us today to learn more!

Looking to increase your data privacy and ensure your company’s IT infrastructure is up to date with best practices and mandatory regulations? Many businesses fall into the trap of thinking that previously implemented software and processes are “good enough” and only take a closer look once disaster strikes. Transitioning from a reactive to a proactive approach empowers your company to stay ahead of evolving technology trends and standards, and helps to protect you from costly mistakes when it matters most.

At Solūt, we know the value of conducting regular IT technical audits, as well as partnering with an external IT provider that’s able to ensure that your team is set up with everything you need to succeed. Below, we’ll take a closer look at some of the key areas evaluated during a technical audit, as well as why they are important to conduct consistently. Read on to learn more. 

Why Technical Audits Matter

As we said above, it’s a common misconception that you can ‘set it and forget it’ when it comes to IT. While it may be tempting to let things go until review becomes necessary, the reality is, you often leave yourself vulnerable to cyber attacks, fines for non-compliance, and a plethora of potential issues if you let your software and practices fall behind. Partnering with an experienced IT service provider like Solūt gives you the opportunity to take control of your situation and highlights any potential issues before they have a chance to wreak havoc. 


Common areas of assessment include:

Network Infrastructure Assessment

The backbone of any IT environment is its network infrastructure. When evaluating the current setup of your network, IT professionals will assess hardware components, network topology (how devices and components are interconnected within a computer network), connectivity, bandwidth utilization, and more. Taking a closer look at the overall structure of your network can identify potential bottlenecks, weak areas of protection, and other issues that may be compromising your overall efficiency and performance. 

System and Software Analysis


Technology is far from stagnant, with new products and processes hitting the market constantly. In order to make sure your systems and software are up to date and performing as needed, a thorough analysis will be conducted. IT audits will regularly evaluate the state of your patch management, software versions, licensing compliance and more. Identifying any outdated software helps to eliminate vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals, and keeping things up to date with the latest tools ensures that the rest of your systems are able to operate as intended without excessive lag or the risk of data being compromised. 

Security Audit and Vulnerability Assessment

Cybercrime is on the rise, and with digital threats becoming increasingly complex, businesses must be sure that their protective measures are able to stand up to the task. Routine security audits are essential to uncovering any issues or lacking areas, as well as providing a clear picture of the effectiveness of your policies and procedures. Through techniques such as vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, businesses can identify potential weaknesses in their IT infrastructure. This includes evaluating access controls, encryption mechanisms, authentication protocols, and intrusion detection systems. Proactivity is key to stopping the threats posed by cybercrime, and to mitigating the extensive damage that can be done by cyber-attacks and data breaches. 

Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Evaluation

Let’s be honest; we’ve all heard digital horror stories of lost data and failing technology. As much as IT and technology enhance our businesses, they are not immune from unforeseen issues. Having comprehensive backup and recovery plans in place is essential for minimizing disruptions and ensuring everyone is able to get back on track as quickly as possible following an issue. Assessing the frequency and effectiveness of backups, along with the availability of offsite backups, helps organizations recover swiftly from unexpected disruptions, and can help pave the way for stronger preventive measures. 

IT Policies and Compliance Review

Finally, it is integral to routinely ensure that your IT practices and software remain compliant with evolving standards and regulations. These mandates are put in place to keep businesses and their clients safe, and failure to abide by their guidance can lead to costly fines for companies. A detailed IT audit will review all IT policies, procedures and internal compliance with relevant standards to ensure you’re on the right side of legislation, as well as utilizing policies that are best suited for optimal performance in the long term. 

IT Audits and More with Solūt 

IT audits serve as a valuable resource for companies looking to protect their bottom line and ensure they are prepared when it matters most. With over 20 years of industry-leading experience, Solūt is happy to partner with businesses across Edmonton and Calgary to provide comprehensive IT audits, external IT support, cloud migration services and more. Find out how we can help your business be as prepared to face the digital landscape as possible by contacting our team today!

Canadian small businesses are facing a fast-paced digital landscape, with evolving technology playing a bigger role than ever before. As operations become increasingly dependent on new software, balancing the needs and challenges associated with IT infrastructure can be difficult to manage in-house. Partnering with an external IT team like Solūt can remove many of the barriers to implementing trusted security measures and give your business room to thrive. Below, we’ll explore just a few of the many benefits that come with outsourcing your IT needs. Read on to learn more!

Expertise You Can Trust

Effective IT security requires expertise and a dedication to staying on top of the many rapidly evolving practices that help to keep data safe, as well as learning new software to integrate into your practices. Most internal teams struggle to keep up and balance daily troubleshooting with proactive processes. Outsourcing provides consistent access to trained professionals who are well-versed in various IT areas including network management, cybersecurity, software development and hardware maintenance.

Cost Efficiency

Hiring, training, and retaining an in-house IT team can be financially burdensome for small and medium businesses, especially when factoring in salaries, benefits, purchasing assets, and ongoing training. Outsourcing eliminates these overhead costs and can allow you to maintain more financial liquidity. Outsourcing also allows you to focus on daily operational needs, and redirect energy towards strategic planning, product development, and customer engagement.

Rapid Response

Technology, and specifically IT-related issues don’t abide by 9-5 business hours. For those who need round-the-clock support, operate on weekends, or need access to assistance outside of standard work hours, outsourced IT management is a valuable option that removes the need to pay overtime or overnight premiums for internal employees. An external IT team provides round-the-clock monitoring and assistance, ensuring that potential problems are detected and resolved promptly, even outside of regular business hours. Rapid response times help minimize downtime, ensuring that your business remains operational and responsive to customer needs.

Scalability and Flexibility

If your business is actively growing, or you have ambitions to in the near future, your IT services need to be able to grow alongside the increasing needs of your company. From expanding operations to launching new products, onboarding new users and more, external IT support is able to scale alongside you and adjust their services to align with your business goals.

Enhanced Security and Compliance

Cybersecurity is one of the biggest threats facing businesses today, and staying on top of evolving criminal practices and best practices can be extremely time-consuming. Outsourced IT support can implement robust cybersecurity measures, including firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection systems, and regular security audits to make sure your data is as safe as possible and in full compliance with all industry regulations.

Reduced Downtime and Improved Productivity

IT issues, whether they involve network disruptions or software issues can cause significant downtime that leads to lost revenue and disrupted services. External IT providers are able to implement and maintain proactive measures that utilize the most relevant tools to avoid excessive problems and allow you to operate as smoothly as possible. 

Discover External IT Solutions with Solūt 


At Solūt, we know how important it is for businesses to have peace of mind where their IT solutions are concerned. From keeping your data safe to optimizing efficiency, we’re proud to be a trusted external IT service provider for businesses in Edmonton and Calgary. 

Contact us today to learn more about how we can partner with your team to ensure you have the support you need when it matters most.

Why This Should Matter to ALL Business Leaders

Traditionally, businesses approached cybersecurity as a technology concern, driven by IT. However, as technology becomes more integral to business strategy, and as cyber-attacks grow in sophistication, cybersecurity requires a more comprehensive approach. Consequently, successful organizations recognize that cybersecurity is a business issue.

Business executives shoulder responsibility for a broad spectrum of business needs that sometimes conflict. For instance, they must balance productivity and revenue goals with regulatory compliance and the need to protect digital assets. The trend toward remote work, quickened by the pandemic, adds additional complexity.

Find the Sweet Spot Balancing Cybersecurity with Business Needs

Technology plays an essential role in all those business goals. But implementing the best solutions requires business leaders and tech personnel to work closely together. For instance, not all data requires the same approach to security. Personal health information (PHI) requires much tighter security controls than marketing data, for example.

Business leaders with an overall view of the organization and business processes are better positioned to establish security priorities. They can also more easily identify what data carries greater potential for harm if breached and where that data resides.

Regulatory Compliance Goes Beyond Tools

One cybersecurity concern that frequently straddles the line between business and technology involves regulatory compliance. Securing sensitive data in accordance with regulations certainly requires technology solutions. But it also requires an understanding of business processes and a whole picture view.

For example, any organization that takes credit cards must demonstrate PCI compliance. The IT guy who simply fixes computer issues likely does not stay on top of regulations. However, PCI compliance requires organizations to show evidence of strict processes and controls around the handling of credit card data.

Business leaders that do not stay on top of privacy regulations set themselves up for trouble. If a third-party audit uncovers compliance issues, auditors will hold business leaders accountable, not the IT consultants.

Cyber Insurance Requirments

It wasn’t long ago that all that was required to obtain Cyber Insurance was a short questionnaire, a checklist of cyber hygiene best practices and some level of Firewall protection. Today, most Insurance companies are requiring annual security audits, in-depth detailed questionnaires, multi-factor authentication implemented throughout the organization, Phishing Campaigns, Cyber Security training for staff, etc. to even qualify for insurance. These requirements

Managing Supply Chain Proves Essential

As hackers ramp up their attacks, they frequently gain entrance through the supply chain. Every department, from the factory floor to the sales team, manages supplier relationships. Those relationships need to factor into risk management strategies. For instance, the organization must thoroughly vet both the vendors and the tools they supply.

Additionally, supply chain relationships affect regulatory compliance and logistics. Business leaders find themselves in a better position than an isolated IT department to develop a complete picture of vendors and the risks they introduce.

Technology Does Not Replace the Need for Good Communication

When organizations design cybersecurity from a primarily technology-driven approach, they miss critical human elements. Sometimes, for instance, well-meaning security teams implement solutions that make it difficult for people to access the information they need to do their jobs. When that happens, employees find ways to bypass security measures, introducing risk.

With good communication, however, business leaders can create a security mindset throughout the organization, from the top down. This requires coordination between business and technical elements. It also requires building trust through two-way communication. Leadership must educate employees about risks and security policies and also understand employee needs.

Cybersecurity Is a Business Issue that Requires Investment

To safely navigate an increasingly dangerous cyber landscape, businesses need to begin treating cybersecurity as an investment rather than a cost. Effective security programs can prove expensive. However, with effective planning, implementing the right tools and processes in the right ways delivers a critical return on investment.

In the first place, a solid cybersecurity strategy will prove more cost-effective than ransomware recovery. Additionally, keeping systems up-to-date and secure can introduce efficiencies and increase client trust and loyalty.

The business cybersecurity professionals at solūt understand the difficult balancing act required to support business goals while protecting digital assets. They will help your organization drive productivity and revenue growth while meeting security and compliance goals.

Go to https://www.solut.ca to read more about how we can help your business navigate the cybersecurity demands of Today. Reach out to us at solut to begin the discussion about your company’s Cybersecurity questions and needs.