IT, MSP & MSSP Industry Notes for October 4th, 2021

Sponsored by

September 29th, 2021

Arcoa Group

Why partnering with ARCOA makes sense
Electronics Recycling is an important and profitable part of the IT asset lifecycle, but it can be overwhelming with all you already do, varying state regulations, and the limited resources at hand. That’s where ARCOA comes in. When you partner with ARCOA, you get all the benefits of a big company without any of the capital investment. We’ve been doing this since 1989 and have the expertise, certifications, and nationwide resources to get the most for all your clients’ retired IT assets. Plus, positioning your clients as environmental stewards not only elevates their appeal to consumers, it meets government requirements and avoids fines.

What partnering with ARCOA looks like
Our role is to make it easy for you to bring more value to your clients. We work with you to help stretch your clients’ IT budget by reducing the total cost of ownership of their electronics. We’re experts at identifying and implementing the solutions your clients need for the end-of-use remarketing, recovery, and recycling of their technology assets. The sooner you involve ARCOA, the sooner you and your clients will see better results.

Survey of use of eSignatures

• Report published by DocuWare, a division of Ricoh
• 6% rarely use electronic signature solutions
  • 7% sometimes use
  • 7% use often

• 44% cite cybersecurity issues as biggest risk
• 29% note legal requirements or compliance as a factor
• 38% worry about unauthorized signatures

Cogent Growth Partners Advises HBK CPA in Acquisition of Leading MSP Vertical Solutions

• announced the successful closing of HBK CPAs and Consultants’ acquisition of Vertical Solutions
• HBK provides tax, accounting, assurance, business consulting and IT services to clients
• Vertical Solutions, a Managed Services Provider (MSP) based in Pittsburgh

Nerds On Site Inc. Announces 2021 Fiscal Year-End Financial Results

• announced its financial results for the fiscal year 2021, ended May 31
• revenue of $10,121,480 in Canadian dollars
• Gross Profit of $2,627,954
• improvement in cash used in operations of $1,315,468
• Net loss for the year ended May 31, 2021, was ($1,387,768)
• NERD will host an investor webinar on Wednesday, September 29 at 1:30 pm ET, where CEO Charlie Regan will discuss the 2021 financial results and answer any questions

Recent highlights from the associated MSSP Alert research

• MSSP revenue expects a 16% increase from 2020
• MSSPs surveyed that 85% expect to be profitable
• Frequent attacks targeting MSSP clients in 2021
• Vulnerability exploits 87%
• Phishing 96%
• Ransomware 89%

Buchanan Technologies Named to MSSP Alert's Top 250 MSSPs List for 2021 - Yahoo Finance

• After Nines Inc., names Buchanan Technologies to the Top 250 MSSPs list for 202
• list & research identify& honor top MSSPs, managed detection & response (MDR) & Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) providers worldwide
• “After Nines Inc. and MSSP Alert congratulate Buchanan Technologies on this year’s honor,” said Amy Katz, CEO of After Nines Inc.

Russian authorities arrest cybersecurity giant Group-IB's CEO on treason charges

• arrested and detained Ilya Sachkov, the co-founder and chief executive of Group-IB
• charges of treason
• reported on Tech Crunch

Laserfiche Announces Launch of Cloud Document Management and Process Automation ...

• Announced the availability of Laserfiche Cloud in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region
• prebuilt solution templates and customisable e-forms and processes support digital resiliency and agility

etherFAX launches DirectFax Messenger

• EtherFAX, headquartered in Fremont, CA, announced it has integrated Microsoft Teams, so that users can now send and receive faxes and other business documents using DirectFax Messenger
• Allows users to send digital, high resolution documents to other etherFAX programs and regular fax machines
• Uses the etherFAX Secure Exchange Network, a proprietary infrastructure-as-a-service technology
• HITRUST and PCI DSS certified, as well as HIPAA compliant

HP Simplifies Managed Print Services with New Cloud-Based

HP Managed Print Flex is a new cloud-based managed print service subscription plan

• Includes printer supplies, services, single-contract billing, centralized print
  management, HP Wolf security solutions and mobile printing
  • Base subscription includes:
  • Automatic supplies replenishment
  • 2 hour call back for service
  • Next business day onsite technical service
  • Optional “HP Roam” provides secure print release
  • Optional “page is a page” plan does not differentiate between b/w and color
    pages
  • HP Smart Pricing Plan automatically adjusts pricing month to month based on
    customer’s actual print volume
  • Launch in spring of 2022
    
• HP Amplify Data Insights combines proprietary, 3rd party and HP partner data into one dashboard
• Enables dealers to benchmark performance
• Claims that 98% of its dealers have agreed to report customer data to HP
• Allows dealer to access data analytics and use for customer segment strategies, anticipate purchasing, implement targeted campaigns, and influence customer buying process
• Includes:
  • Revenue and unit sales by industry and company size
  • Rankings by industry and company size
  • Ratios to hardware by industry and company size
  • Inventory levels by HP product group, category and product line
  • Sales mix by customer industry
  • Compensation and rebate history
  • Product warranty and renewal heatmaps
  • Customer buying intent predictions
  • Customer engagement topic insights
  • Customer interest topics based on past 6 months
  • Customer installed base recommendations
  • Product recommendations for campaigns

Sectigo Partners with Thomas Peer to Drive Expansion in Australia and New Zealand

• announced its partnership with Thomas Peer, an IT services and management consulting firm serving the Australia and New Zealand
• Sectigo's digital identity/automated certificate lifecycle management solution & Sectigo Certificate Manager — will be available in the suite of solutions Thomas Peer offers its clients
• Sectigo is a global cybersecurity provider of digital identity solutions, including TLS / SSL certificates, DevOps, IoT, and enterprise-grade PKI management, as well as multi-layered web security

centrexIT Welcomes Joseph Turso as Director of Operations

• welcomes Joseph Turso as its new director of operations
• also announces the promotions of Sean Ernst and Andy Albrecht to vice president of technology and director of technology, respectively

Unisys Named a Leader in Next-Gen Private and Hybrid Cloud Managed Services by..

• Advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has recognized as a global leader for its cloud and infrastructure solutions
• Reports published in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil
• Unisys is a global IT solutions company

FlexITy Acquires the Managed IT Business Services Division of Rally Enterprises

• Announced its acquisition of the Managed IT Business Services division of Rally Enterprises
• FlexITy, headquartered in Richmond Hill with offices in Toronto and Winnipeg
• Based in Toronto, Rally brings people together by offering fair, flexible and affordable TV

Aunalytics Unveils Secure Managed Services with Integrated Security

• Aunalytics, now announces the company’s Secure Managed Services offering
• ew service stack combines mission critical IT services leveraging zero trust end-to-end security to ensure people and data are protected regardless
• In 2020, malware attacks increased by 358% and ransomware attacks by 435% over attacks in 2019

Lexmark Reinvents How Manufacturers Use IoT with Launch of Optra IoT Solutions

• Now offering the new Lexmark Optra IoT Platform
• Enables customers to connect data from their devices with data from their other systems, such as their ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems and CRM (customer relation management) systems

• Enables predictive service, flagging issues before they occur
• Maximize device lifecycles based on device sensor information
• Monitor devices through their lifecycle
• Obtains performance and sensor data from Lexmark printers and MFPs
• Reporting dashboards and business process templates
• Lexmark has a team of dedicated consultants to assist in implementation

Cybersecurity

• The VA Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was apparently sitting on 10 pallets in the basement, have finally been scanned into the EHR.
• Robert Lizaragga of Oregon pleaded guilty illegally using the identity of a child who died 30 years ago, after stealing the PHI.
• The Port of Houston, TX announced it had successfully defended itself from a ransomware attack, which could have disrupted their operations.
• UC San Diego Health of California was hit by a lawsuit regarding a breach caused by an email phishing attack that exposed PHI of just over 500,000 patients.
• Coos County Family Medical Centers of New Hampshire notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack.
• The Department of Justice announced that its prosecutors will ramp their usage of HIPAA subpoenas in federal investigations of healthcare facilities
• Family Medical Centers (FMC) of Michigan notified an unknown number of patients that their PHI was exposed after ransomware attack, where hackers demanded and FMC paid a total of $30,000.00 to regain access to EHR.
• Censinet Risk Management published results of survey of affects of ransomware attack:22% reporting increased mortality rates
  • 61% lack confidence to combat ransomware
  • 67% have been victims
  • 33% have been hit at least twice
  • 71% say attacks cause patients to have longer lengths of stay
  • 71% say it causes delays in tests and procedures
  • 65% report increase in patients being diverted to other facilities
  • 36% report increase in complications from medical procedures

• The Washington Post newspaper is reporting that the FBI held back the ransomware decryption key for 3 weeks, which could have helped hundreds of businesses who were hobbled by ransomware attacks this past summer.
• Simon Eye Management, headquartered in Delaware, notified 144,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• USV Optical, headquartered in New Jersey, notified 180,000 patients that their PHI was exposed after email phishing attack.
• The Bellevue Fire Department of New York was sued by a man who claims his PHI was illegally disclosed by a firefighter.
• New Cooperative of Fort Dodge, Iowa notified customers that their info may have been exposed after ransomware attack.