MSPs do IT better.
Discover leading Managed IT Service Providers across USA, Canada & the United Kingdom.
- 100s of leading MSPs
- Find a MSP near you
- Latest IT news for SMBs
Shadow AI: How to Monitor, Manage, and Minimize the Risks of Unapproved AI Tools
Artificial intelligence is changing the way we do everything, from driving and writing to brainstorming and forecasting. As businesses learn to leverage this resource, they must also learn what cybersecurity protections and responsibilities need to accompany it. One growing concern is shadow AI—the use of unapproved and unmanaged AI tools. In this post, we’ll break
Artificial intelligence is changing the way we do everything, from driving and writing to brainstorming and forecasting. As businesses learn to leverage this resource, they must also learn what cybersecurity protections and responsibilities need to accompany it. One growing concern is shadow AI—the use of unapproved and unmanaged AI tools. In this post, we’ll break
Read full post on runnetworkrun.com
MSPdb™ News
Nonprofit IT Cost Optimization: What Should You Cut and What Should You Protect?
When leadership asks every department to reduce spending, a percentage cut can look fair on paper. However, not all technology expenses protect the same work. Removing one service might create little disruption, while another reduction could leave staff handling tasks the service previously covered. That difference makes nonprofit IT cost optimization a management decision, not an arithmetic exercise. You need to reduce unnecessary expense without quietly shifting work, risk, or cost elsewhere. Start with the capabilities your organization needs, then consider how you can provid
When leadership asks every department to reduce spending, a percentage cut can look fair on paper. However, not all technology expenses protect the same work. Removing one service might create little disruption, while another reduction could leave staff handling tasks the service previously covered. That difference makes nonprofit IT cost optimization a management decision, not an arithmetic exercise. You need to reduce unnecessary expense without quietly shifting work, risk, or cost elsewhere. Start with the capabilities your organization needs, then consider how you can provide them economically. A useful review separates spending into three decisions: protect, improve, or remove. These categories should apply to the work, not preserve a particular vendor’s position. A familiar contract can change even when its underlying purpose remains essential. Equally, a small invoice can deserve removal if it no longer serves a useful purpose. Protect the outcome before defending the expense Begin by describing what must continue working after the reduction. Your staff may need dependable access to program records, secure communication, and recoverable information. However, different activities require different levels of protection and availability. A public brochure website and an appointment system do not necessarily justify identical spending. Technical design guidance recognizes reliability and cost tradeoffs, including the expense of duplicate systems and recovery capacity. That does not mean reliability represents waste. Instead, leadership should decide what interruption the organization can tolerate, then fund protection that fits that decision. Document that minimum acceptable outcome before reviewing alternatives. Otherwise, a cheaper proposal may win because it quietly removes something important. Nonprofit IT cost optimization works better when everyone compares the same requirement, rather than different bundles wearing similar service names. Keep essential work covered Protect functions that your organization needs to deliver services responsibly. These might include account protection, dependable support, and the ability to recover important records. Still, protection does not require keeping every existing product. Ask whether another arrangement can maintain the necessary outcome without creating an unmanaged gap. A service change also needs a transition owner. Someone must verify the replacement before the previous arrangement ends. Include that work in the decision, rather than assuming two contracts connect automatically. Otherwise, the gap between them can undermine the savings you intended to create. Improve how necessary work gets done Some expenses support important work but reflect choices your organization has outgrown. An application may reserve more computing capacity than it currently needs. Alternatively, two related processes may use separate resources unnecessarily. Examine those arrangements before reducing the level of service staff actually receive. Cloud guidance on prioritizing individual workflows connects spending with the importance of each activity. The practical lesson extends beyond cloud design. Fund the tasks that matter most appropriately, while looking for simpler ways to deliver less demanding work. Remove spending with no remaining purpose A tool from a completed initiative may still renew automatically. However, cancel it only after a quick dependency check. Confirm that nobody needs its records, integrations, or access before removing it. Then preserve any required information and assign someone to shut the service down properly. The same review should cover ownership after removal. A canceled application should not leave an active connection or an unattended account behind. Also, tell affected staff what changed and where they should work instead. A clean removal ends the expense without creating a new support problem. Do not buy protection beyond the requirement Protecting essential capabilities does not justify maximum spending in every category. A nonprofit needs proportionate protection, not an architecture built around someone else’s operating model. Therefore, compare the proposed design with actual service hours, information sensitivity, and recovery needs. Even guidance for highly demanding systems warns against overprovisioning beyond business requirements. Additional capacity can improve resilience, but it also creates cost and management work. The decision should reflect what your organization needs to sustain, rather than the most elaborate configuration available. This is an important part of nonprofit IT cost optimization. You can question an expensive design without dismissing the importance of security or continuity. Ask the provider to explain which requirement supports each major cost. If the explanation relies on vague reassurance, ask for a clearer connection to your operations. Recognize savings that only move the work Consider a nonprofit that reduces application support while keeping the application unchanged. Staff still encounter problems, so a program manager starts resolving them. The supplier’s invoice falls, but the organization has transferred work to someone with other responsibilities. Whether that tradeoff makes sense depends on the time involved and the consequences. Evaluate the replacement workload before booking the saving. Include staff effort, specialist assistance, training, and any additional administration. Also, distinguish released capacity from a cash reduction. Giving employees time back can matter greatly, but payroll does not automatically fall when a process becomes faster. A proposal should explain both outcomes clearly. Finance needs to know which expenses will actually disappear and when. Program leaders need to know how their teams’ work will change. Without that distinction, nonprofit IT cost optimization can produce an attractive spreadsheet and a disappointing operating result. Check the contract before promising the saving A decision to stop using a service does not necessarily end the financial commitment. Subscription terms can restrict cancellation timing, refunds, or quantity changes. Microsoft’s current business subscription cancellation rules illustrate why billing agreements need careful review. The applicable terms depend on the agreement and purchasing arrangement. Build those terms into the proposed change. Include remaining payments, migration work, and any period when both services must operate. Then calculate the expected savings over the same time horizon. This prevents an annualized saving from obscuring costs your organization still needs to pay this quarter. Also, confirm who can authorize the change. A department may own the application while another team manages the contract. Bring both into the decision early, so the saving survives the handoff from analysis to execution. Test nonprofit IT cost optimization against daily work Before approving a significant change, bring finance, the service owner, and affected staff into one short review. Use evidence from actual work, not assumptions about how people should use technology. Three questions will help expose trade-offs that a price comparison misses: Which required outcome will this change preserve? Where will the work and risk move after the change? What evidence will show that the saving did not weaken service? Then choose a limited test where practical. Watch support demand, processing time, and errors alongside the invoice. If performance worsens, investigate before extending the change. This makes nonprofit IT cost optimization accountable to operating results, rather than treating approval as the end of the work. Make the provider explain the tradeoff A technology partner should help you question spending, including spending with that partner. At Proper Sky, we review cloud costs and configuration in the context of the work they support. A recommendation should explain what will change, what will remain protected, and how you will judge the result. The same applies when you examine backup and recovery. Reducing an invoice only helps if the remaining arrangement still supports your recovery needs. We should be able to discuss those needs without turning every question into a recommendation for more technology. Your Business Comes First. Always. That principle requires judgment about what your organization can remove and what it should retain. It also requires an honest answer when the current arrangement already makes sense. Leave the organization stronger than the spreadsheet A smaller technology budget should not require staff to quietly absorb the difference. Nor should nonprofit IT cost optimization protect every incumbent tool because change feels inconvenient. The useful balance comes from examining purpose, comparing complete costs, and checking results after implementation. Keep a short decision record for each approved change. Capture the expected savings, the work affected, and who will confirm performance. Then review the result once the new arrangement has run long enough to assess it fairly. When a reduction carries unclear trade-offs, bring us into that cost-and-capability discussion before committing. We can help separate a genuine saving from an expense that merely moves. Your nonprofit IT cost optimization plan should preserve the work your community depends on.
Read full post on propersky.com
IT Support for Accounting Firms: What CPAs Actually Need
IT support for accounting firms covers tax software, a required WISP, MFA, and backups on one flat monthly rate. See what CPA firms need and when to skip it.
IT support for accounting firms covers tax software, a required WISP, MFA, and backups on one flat monthly rate. See what CPA firms need and when to skip it.
Read full post on nsocit.com
TKS Named One of the Top 75 Places to Work in Baton Rouge for 2026
TKS Named One of the Top 75 Places to Work in Baton Rouge for 2026 There are a lot of awards that recognize growth, innovation, and business success. We are honored by those recognitions, but this one feels different. We’re proud to share that Turn Key Solutions (TKS) has been named one of the Top
TKS Named One of the Top 75 Places to Work in Baton Rouge for 2026 There are a lot of awards that recognize growth, innovation, and business success. We are honored by those recognitions, but this one feels different. We’re proud to share that Turn Key Solutions (TKS) has been named one of the Top
Read full post on turnkeysol.com
Multi Factor Authentication for Dallas Businesses: What to Protect and How to Implement It
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for business is a sign-in control that requires employees to prove their identity with two or more independent factors, typically a password plus an authenticator app, passkey, or security key. For a Dallas small or mid-sized business,
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for business is a sign-in control that requires employees to prove their identity with two or more independent factors, typically a password plus an authenticator app, passkey, or security key. For a Dallas small or mid-sized business,
Read full post on ightysupport.com
IT Onboarding Checklist: How to Set Up New Employees for Day One
You spent weeks finding the right person. They accepted the offer, gave notice, and showed up ready to work. Then they spent their first morning waiting for a laptop, a login, or a password reset. It is a frustrating way to start a new job, and it is almost always avoidable. The fix is not
You spent weeks finding the right person. They accepted the offer, gave notice, and showed up ready to work. Then they spent their first morning waiting for a laptop, a login, or a password reset. It is a frustrating way to start a new job, and it is almost always avoidable. The fix is not
Read full post on gocourant.com
Pearl Technology Participates in FBI Day in Springfield
On June 12, members of the InfraGard Peoria Members Alliance were hosted by FBI Springfield for a day of intelligence briefings and training. Critical infrastructure—which includes things like healthcare, transportation, banks, utilities, IT, food and agriculture, water supply, and emergency services—is 85% owned by private industry, not the government. Thus, it is crucial that the
On June 12, members of the InfraGard Peoria Members Alliance were hosted by FBI Springfield for a day of intelligence briefings and training. Critical infrastructure—which includes things like healthcare, transportation, banks, utilities, IT, food and agriculture, water supply, and emergency services—is 85% owned by private industry, not the government. Thus, it is crucial that the
Read full post on pearltechnology.com
Managed IT Support That Safely Integrates IT and OT Networks for Industrial Businesses
How to Build a 12-Month AI Roadmap for a Midmarket Company
Many midmarket leaders know they need an AI plan but are unsure where to begin. A 12-month AI roadmap should start with readiness, move into a controlled pilot, expand based on what works, and scale only after you can measure real adoption. A rushed rollout can leave security and data gaps unaddressed. Below, we break
Many midmarket leaders know they need an AI plan but are unsure where to begin. A 12-month AI roadmap should start with readiness, move into a controlled pilot, expand based on what works, and scale only after you can measure real adoption. A rushed rollout can leave security and data gaps unaddressed. Below, we break
Read full post on mdltechnology.com
2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Four Essentials to Protect Your Business
Key Takeaways Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a national initiative held every October that highlights essential actions you can take to reduce cyber risk. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) serves as the federal lead and offers no-cost resources to help businesses and government organizations educate employees, customers and vendors. It’s also a good time…
Key Takeaways Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a national initiative held every October that highlights essential actions you can take to reduce cyber risk. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) serves as the federal lead and offers no-cost resources to help businesses and government organizations educate employees, customers and vendors. It’s also a good time…
Read full post on skyterratech.com
How to Compare IT Service Plans: Month-to-Month vs. the Multi-Year MSP Contract
Key Takeaways: Whether you’ve been on one managed IT provider’s website or 100, you likely see the same three things promised over and over: responsiveness, proactivity, and security. That uniform messaging makes it harder to compare companies side by side. Fortunately, you can find differences between companies in two places: what the plan includes versus…
Key Takeaways: Whether you’ve been on one managed IT provider’s website or 100, you likely see the same three things promised over and over: responsiveness, proactivity, and security. That uniform messaging makes it harder to compare companies side by side. Fortunately, you can find differences between companies in two places: what the plan includes versus…
Read full post on intrust-it.com
Just Added to MSPdb™
MSP Jobs
All Jobs
MSP Marketplace
View All
Popular MSPs
View All
