NetStandard Corporate Blog

NetStandard Inc. offers Microsoft technology and applications via the Hosted ASP model or "Software as a Service" model. The Top 5 benefits for choosing hosted applications are:

1. Lower Cost of Entry
2. Lower IT Cost
3. Less risky investment
4. Cost-effective scalability
5. Gain immediate access to the latest innovations

The 'NetStandard Enabled Enterprise' a total solution for small to mid-sized businesses includes such applications as:

1. Microsoft Exchange
2. Microsoft Office
3. Microsoft Dynamics CRM
4. Microsoft Dynamics GP
5. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

http://www.netstandard.com/

Labels: Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics GP

View videos on enhanced functionality for Microsoft Dynamics GP Payroll and Human Resources (HR) modules.

• PTO Manager
• Benefit Self Service
• Advanced Payroll
• Advanced Human Resources
• Payroll Extensions

Labels: Microsoft Dynamics GP

A bank must perform proper due diligence when choosing an IT auditor. The IT auditor must be someone who can determine whether your IT infrastructure is properly secured, and if customer information is kept safe. However, more than that, the auditor must be willing and able to point you in the right direction if vulnerabilities are found. Simply telling you that a weakness exists is not enough. You need an IT auditor who can provide sound advice on how to correct the weakness.

The need for thorough and periodic IT audits has grown, and conducting these type of audits is essential to fulfilling the requirements of due care. Threats to information assets abound because of the reliance on computer systems and the Internet. A disgruntled employee can sabotage bank systems or send confidential information across the Internet. A high level officer in financial straits can misuse his authority. An external attacker can find an open door and deface a bank’s website. If any of these events occur, shareholders, directors and regulators will ask bank management if the principles of due care were followed. The lack of due care can expose a bank to serious liability. As such, IT audit is absolutely critical.

Exactly what is an IT audit? First of all, an IT audit is just as much about people as it is about technology. A row of firewalls can easily be bypassed if people are not made part of the security solution. An employee might give out information which should be kept confidential. An administrator might fail to remove an unneeded program from a server. Unneeded programs only provide more venues for the external attacker. A web developer might carelessly leave an open door or forget to update an application on the web server. A good IT auditor understands the people aspects of the banking business as well as the technology involved.

A good IT auditor also knows the laws and the regulatory requirements a bank must meet. An IT auditor must analyze your GLBA-related compliance program and provide helpful suggestions.

NetStandard has qualified auditors and the right tools in place to provide your bank with a thorough IT audit. We have an extensive IT Audit Work Program developed by a former federal bank examiner. This Work Program covers the areas emphasized by the examiners. The examination areas are:

1) Audit

2) Management

3) Development and Acquisition

4) Support and Delivery

5) GLBA Compliance

Keep in mind, though, that a good IT audit is far different from a regulatory examination. The examiners read policies, check access levels and interview personnel. They do not dig into your systems. They do not analyze Group Policy Objects and how the network truly functions. They do not perform vulnerability scans.

NetStandard has sophisticated software tools for scanning your computer network for vulnerabilities. These tools contain up-to-date databases of known weaknesses and attacks. We can scan your network from the inside. We can also scan your network externally and perform penetration tests to help determine your vulnerability to attack from the outside.

Moreover, NetStandard takes a team approach to IT audit. The IT auditor who conducts the audit has access to a team of network security specialists, engineers and disaster recovery experts. Our professional team has the knowledge and skill to help make your banking environment more safe and secure.

Robert Jenkins, CISSP
Office (913) 262-3888, ext. 228
Cell (816) 582-5670
Fax (913) 262-0660

Labels: IT Security

It seems everyone in IT either has a virutalization project or is researching it. Yet some remain unconvinced. If you remain a skeptic, read on.

Sharing case studies helps clear up misconceptions and increase confidence that we are beyond the hype cycle and indeed virtualization is ready for prime time.

• A large financial services company has now virtualized 51% of their 850 servers. Their focus has been on web and application services. This company indicates they have avoided $5 million in expenditures over the last 3 years and improved server provisioning time from 2 weeks to 20 minutes!
• A 25 server medical services firm needed to refresh their servers. They consolidated those 25 servers onto 2 physical server in a blade chassis with 2 TB of local storage. The results:
  1. A modest purchase savings of $8,000 over alternative standalone proposals,
  2. A significant improvement in application performance,
  3. A lowered total cost of administration for servers and storage,
  4. A projected improvement in system availability,
  5. An ability to rapidly provision new servers,
  6. An ability to provision servers for testing,
  7. Reduced power, ventilation and cooling requirements with projected annual savings of $1200. Less power consumed = smaller carbon footprint.
• NetStandard leverages VMWare Enterprise edition to provide servers to multiple customers. These servers deliver a guaranteed 99.99% uptime. NetStandard can provision servers for customers in under an hour and provide a secure isolated environment on shared virtual hosts, using virtual LAN technology, virtual firewalls and connected to virtual storage. NetStandard also leverages this environment to deliver secure hosted applications to clients for a fixed fee per user per month. Customers have the luxury of quickly obtaining capacity without investing capital on a month-to-month basis. Contact NetStandard at 913 262 3888 or Visit Us Online at http://www.netstandard.com/contact-us.php to obtain pricing or to arrange to provision virtual servers for your testing.

Labels: Data Center Hosting Services