-
Cloud Native, You Keep Using Those Words
Ask a hundred IT pros and their managers what “cloud native” is, and you’ll get as many different definitions. In part it’s because public cloud providers (PCPs) seek to provide all things to all IT teams, but it’s also because each organization has different goals for cloud. If I could get away with it, I’d enclose cloud…
-
Three Ways Agencies Can Improve Cloud Security and Performance
The Federal Cloud Computing Strategy (FCCS) makes it clear government agencies have significant responsibilities for protecting cloud-hosted data. The FCCS states the need for agencies to develop their own governance models and create service level agreements to ensure they’ll have continuous access to log data and prompt…
-
The Importance of “Soft” Skills in the Digital Age
First, I hate the term “soft” skills. I prefer we call them essential or non-technical skills or even essential non-technical skills, as that would be more accurate and not have implications about difficulty. I firmly believe these skills are crucial even in normal times. As the year wears on and there’s no end in sight…
-
2020: The Year IT Pros Were Built For
The theme for IT Pro Day 2020 is “You Were Built for This” and, while we knew it could be relevant in almost any minute of any day of any year, it seems exceptionally, especially apropos now. We, who make our lives and earn our livelihood in tech, find ourselves the most well-suited, and the most prepared, and (we hope)…
-
Proactive Security Strategy for the Public Sector (10 Steps, Part Two)
In the first of these two articles, we covered the first five steps public sector organizations should take to change how they think about their cybersecurity to overcome this challenge. So far, we’ve explored: considering risk, tech environment knowledge, effective cyberhygiene, security at every level, and security as a…
-
Geekly World News: September
Welcome to the first edition of Geekly World News! Though you might be familiar with who we, the SolarWinds Head Geeks, are, let’s kick things off with some quick, fun intros for those not in the know. “Real” bios are linked to our names, if you’re interested. Leon Adato Leon is a seasoned IT pro with over 30 years of…
-
Knowledge Management: An ITSM Lifeline to Connect Remote Employees
Knowledge management is a cornerstone of IT service management (ITSM). It provides technical guidance, steps to best troubleshoot issues, and in some cases an outlet to expand on tribal knowledge. Not only can knowledge content help drive self-service and employee empowerment, aiding in case deflection, but it can also…
-
Proactive Security Strategy for the Public Sector (10 Steps, Part One)
The U.K. public sector holds some of the most important and sensitive data in the country, from private medical records to military intelligence. Consistently protecting this data is a major priority, which means the IT teams working within the public sector are entrusted with implementing the most effective security…
-
Humanoid Robots - Why?
I just finished reading an article concerning a humanoid robot that will be "born" nine months from now. This begs the question, "Why do we need robots to look and act like people?" Artificial Brains About a dozen years ago I found myself alone at my computer, looking for someone to talk to via instant messaging. It came…
-
Protecting Patient Data Through Strict Access Rights Management
The healthcare ecosystem is complex, and the diversity of the different departments and devices results in a multifaceted IT infrastructure that can be hard to manage. With increasing digitization, healthcare institutions are also at increased risk of becoming victims of viruses, Trojans, and myriad other cyberattacks. The…