We Provide Answers to the Most Common IT Questions We Get

Data centers are responsible for providing reliable and uninterrupted service for their customers around the clock. Unfortunately, these facilities are not infallible, and will always be susceptible to sudden power interruptions caused by weather, equipment failure, or sudden loss of municipal utilities. Since an unplanned outage can cost a company thousands or even millions of dollars in just a few minutes, many data centers offer multiple redundancies to prevent downtime.

Differences Between N+1, 2N, and 2N+1 Redundancy

Redundancy is the duplication of critical components of a system in order to provide a reliable backup in case of sudden failure. Data centers typically offer some form of redundancy for power, ensuring that the customer’s systems and devices will continue to operate with no noticeable effect to the user in an outage. However, not all data centers’ redundancy systems are equal.

The most common redundancy options in carrier facilities include:

• N+1. An N+1 system, also known as parallel redundancy, offers alternate, redundant components capable of handling 100 percent of the work needed to supply power to the customer’s equipment in case of component failure. Although this system contains redundant equipment, it may run on a shared main power source, so it is not a multi-independent, redundant system.
• 2N. A 2N system offers not one, but two uninterruptible alternate sources of power, offering seamless transitions between sources to continuously support the customer’s systems and equipment. In addition, the power sources are run separately, fully independent of each other, and go through a fully redundant path to eliminate any single points of failure. 2N systems are more reliable than N+1 systems because they offer at least two options for power in the event of failure, and can be regularly maintained, independently, and be used in the event of an extended power outage. Our Chantilly location offers 2N redundancy for data loss and downtime prevention.
• 2N+1. A 2N+1 configuration is the highest common tier of downtime prevention, and offers double the amount of power needed to run all client systems and devices. Additionally, each power source has separate, parallel, fully redundant components that can seamlessly power all necessary systems. All this means that if one component from one main power source used in the path fails, there is a backup component which can fully take on its role. This applies to all the components in each separate path from the main power sources.

Contact Our Team If Data Redundancy Is Necessary To Your Business

The professionals at ATI can evaluate your needs and help you determine which service options are right for you. Contact us today to get more information about how our data centers can serve your needs or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

Service Organization Control (SOC) reports were introduced in 2011 as a way of auditing providers on security and availability of their services. The SOC 2 report evaluates an organization’s information systems relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy to prevent unauthorized access of sensitive information. If the auditor issues a clean SOC 2 report, the data provider may be trusted as a secure hosting company. Overall, this ensures that the client and their assets are as protected as possible.

Criteria in the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Report

SOC 2 reports are vital to maintaining the security of financial transactions and other highly-sensitive data transmissions. ATI combines the best practices and compliance with industry standards in our SOC 2 hosting. This allows clients and customers to enjoy secure access to protected information.

The five principles of a SOC 2 report include:

• Security. Systems and information must have physical and logical protection against unauthorized access and unauthorized disclosure of information. Security should address any potential damage to systems that could compromise the integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of information or systems.
• Availability. Systems and information must be operationally available for use as committed or agreed upon between the client and the provider.
• Processing integrity. Processing must be valid, complete, accurate, timely, and authorized to meet the client’s objectives.
• Confidentiality. Information designated as confidential must be adequately classified and protected as agreed upon between the client and the provider.
• Privacy. Personal information must be collected, used, retained, transferred, disclosed, and disposed of as agreed upon between the client and the provider.

ATI Solutions is happy to consult with business owners about the services offered in our data centers. Contact us today to get more information about the storage and service options in our D.C. data centers, or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

Scalability is the term for an application or network’s capacity to maintain its ability to function as its workload increases and, in some instances, decreases. The best scalable systems will be able to automatically adjust to increased queries or demands without manual intervention, and manage new workloads in a way that is most efficient, ultimately saving both time and money.

Risks of Choosing Cheaper Systems Over Scalable Software

Since scalable systems do not need to be redesigned in order to maintain optimum performance levels, they offer immediate and long-term commercial benefits. Businesses may install or subscribe to scalable systems that have the potential for growth that may not apply to the business at that moment, but only pay for the systems they immediately require. If the business experiences a sudden dramatic increase in workload, additional computing power and systems may be implemented or rather “turned on” to the existing system, responding immediately to customer needs.

When software isn’t scalable, it can lead to a variety of problems such as:

• Ineffective solutions. Productivity may suffer as more and more strain is placed on inefficient systems. As a way to remediate issues with scalability, companies may install patches as a short-term solution. This may temporarily fix the issue, but more resources will be spent on fixing these reoccurring scaling issues, whereas it could have been avoided if the business was scalable in the beginning.
• Delays. As simultaneous users increase and more data is stored on the system, the software’s ability to process requests drops significantly, causing delays or even crashing the system. If the infrastructure is not made to handle increasing requests, it will eventually crash.
• Data breach. As new applications are added to the system in an attempt to ease workflow problems, each new piece of software increases the possibilities of having vulnerabilities and makes it more difficult to diagnose underlying problems. These slowdowns can hinder the productivity levels of employees, in turn forcing them to resort to using unreliable software or unsecured systems to account for the delay. This can place the company at risk of a data breach.
• Customer frustration. In today’s culture of immediate customer satisfaction, users who experience slow loading times or unreliable software are unlikely to return to a business that could not fulfill their needs quickly and easily if the issues aren’t remediated. With a scalable business, customers experience fewer issues and have an overall better experience.

Contact ATI Solutions For Your Scaleable IT Needs

The data specialists at ATI Solutions would be happy to consult with business owners about the services offered in our data centers. Contact us today to get more information about the storage and service options in our D.C. data centers, or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

Just as you rely on a computer to run programs and store information, data centers have different methods of managing data and software. The infrastructure used in a data center must meet industry standards while also having the ability to respond quickly to changes. 

What Benefits Does Nutanix Offer My Business?

Nutanix is a software-based solution that allows IT departments to build and operate complex cloud computing platforms. While companies such as Facebook and Google spent millions building their own infrastructure for their mass scale applications, Nutanix makes cloud computing available to companies that do not have the level of resources that multinational corporations do. Nutanix products are built on hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) technology by combining storage, computing power, and virtualization into one package.

We partner with Nutanix to provide everything you need in a cloud computing platform, including:

• Infrastructure. Nutanix products include both software and hardware, offering turnkey appliances that deliver cloud building for businesses of all sizes. We work with many vendors and implement Nutanix software on a variety of hardware, giving clients more flexibility to choose the size and make-up of their infrastructure.
• Efficiency. A virtual platform uses hypervisors to run multiple hundreds of virtual computers on a single physical machine. This results in added reliability and huge cost savings for hardware and staffing. The system size and complexity can increase dramatically while still maintaining back-end manageability; this allows one administrator to oversee thousands of servers with the same amount of effort as if it were just one.
• Scalability. ATI works with you to provide you with an idea of realistic projected growth and helps you determine how much or how little of Nutanix’s services you’ll need. Nutanix services are completely scalable, allowing companies to purchase only the amount of computing, storage, and memory they need. Applications may be built, deployed, or redesigned quickly, allowing your customers to enjoy the highest level of service as your business grows.

ATI Solutions is proud to partner with vendors that meet our high standards, and would be happy to consult with business owners about the services offered in our data centers. Contact us today to get more information about the storage and service options in our D.C. data centers, or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

Businesses face a wide range of IT challenges, and failure to select the right options can have costly consequences. Your IT provider should provide a reliable platform for your customers, but also have the necessary measures in place to protect information and prevent downtime—all while working within your specific business requirements and budget. ATI’s management solutions are highly customizable, making us the optimal choice for insurance companies, banks, and other businesses.

Common IT Considerations for Small to Medium Businesses

The right IT solutions will be those that allow you to grow at your own pace, charge only for the resources you need, and perform interventions if an adverse event were to occur. The more flexibility your provider has, the better the chances that your needs will be met if you choose to scale operations up or down.

Business owners typically need basic IT services such as:

• Colocation. The purchase and maintenance of IT hardware can place a drain on your resources, especially for small businesses with few employees. Conveniently located in the DC-area, our two data centers have redundant power and cooling, connectivity with multiple carriers, and industry-standard security measures.
• Cloud hosting and deployment. If your company relies on any services delivered either over the internet or a dedicated cloud network, you will need someone to host and oversee your cloud platform. Our skilled technical staff can create a customized, scalable hosting plan for your infrastructure through private clouds, Software as a Service (SaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for a fully-managed virtual platform.
• Managed services. A managed IT service gives owners the ability to focus on their daily business operations while the provider prevents potential technical problems. ATI is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and wide area network (WAN) provider, and our vulnerability and patch management teams regularly audit systems and implement security solutions before they become problems.
• Disaster recovery. Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) offers the peace of mind that your business-critical systems will remain online in the event of a natural disaster or any other emergency.

The professionals at ATI Solutions can evaluate your needs and help you determine which storage and service options are right for you. Contact us today to get more information about how our data centers can serve your needs or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

Customers using online banking have seen a technological boom from financial organizations, making it easier to do business with the click of a button. A bank’s online platform must be user-friendly and available to customers 24/7, but also has to have security measures that meet state and federal standards for data protection.

Risks of Failing to Secure Your Financial Institution’s Online Platform

Financial institutions face not only all of the online security risks of other businesses, but also the added hazard of being a prime target for cyberattacks. Cybercriminals are constantly looking to exploit weaknesses in security systems, making it vital for banks and other financial institutions to consistently improve and implement new defense measures.

Financial institutions that do not have adequate network security and deployment are placing themselves at risk of:

• Theft of protected information. Banks have a duty to protect sensitive financial information, including customers' and employees’ personal identifiable information (PII). Data such as bank account numbers and balances, Social Security numbers, addresses, lending statements, and payment card numbers can all be sold on the black market and be used for identity theft.
• Penalties and fines. Each nation is responsible for controlling the security of financial information in its banks. Financial service providers operating in the U.S. are required to comply with numerous statutes and regulations pertaining to data collection and protection, as well as state or provincial regulations regarding the security of sensitive information. Failure to implement these controls can result in significant fines for bank owners and officers.
• Mistaken transmission of sensitive information. Financial institutions may have adequate security of their hardware, but use applications and third-party providers with undiscovered vulnerabilities. Email clients, file sharing services, and cloud storage systems can allow the transmission of protected data outside the bounds of a secure network (where opportunistic cybercriminals can easily access it).
• Loss of reputation. Even if a data loss event occurred because of an unknown glitch or an external entity, a financial institution will inevitably be associated with the event—especially if a strong data loss recovery system is not in place. The failure to implement data loss and recovery that meets industry standards ultimately results in a loss of reputation that can permanently halt operations.

Our Center Provides Cloud Computing For Banks Nationally

ATI Solutions has provided IT services to community banks for over two decades, and can implement financial infrastructure that is compliant with regulations and scalable to you your bank’s growing needs. Contact us today to get more information about the storage and service options in our D.C. data centers, or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack occurs when multiple computer systems attack a website or server, flooding the network with messages or connection requests. The attack overloads the system, severely slowing it down or even completely crashing it, resulting in a denial of service for legitimate users. These attacks can prevent users from performing their daily duties and operations, potentially costing your company millions of dollars and putting your company at risk of many other types of attacks.

How a DDoS Attack Occurs

Typically, an intruder begins a DDoS attack by invading a target computer or system through a security vulnerability or email virus. This is done by exploiting a known issue (such as a bug in a recent software update), opening an email with a virus, or bypassing security systems by something as simple as guessing a weak network password. Once the intruder has access, he or she can use the compromised devices to flood the target with bogus requests and traffic, forcing it offline.

There are three main kinds of DDoS attacks:

• Network-centric attacks (also called volumetric attacks) cause a denial of service by taking up all of the available bandwidth until it critically slows the system down or completely crashes it.
• Protocol attacks (also known as state exhaustion attacks) exploit flaws in the transport layer, overloading the available resources in the targeted systems such as firewalls, load balancers, and servers.
• Application layer attacks use bugs and vulnerabilities in the applications and software to inundate all available applications or databases with application requests, making it impossible for legitimate requests to get through.

DDoS Attacks are Constant Threats to Business Owners

Once an intruder has control of one system, he or she can use the internal network connection to identify other vulnerable systems and infect them with malware or control them remotely. The first compromised computer, known as the DDoS master, is used to gain control of others in the system—causing a network of infected systems commonly referred to as “bots.” The intruder then has full command of the network of bots, which can consist of hundreds of thousands of individual terminals, networks, or access points. Once fully compromised, your business can no longer perform its daily operations, causing your company to lose revenue and possibly customers altogether. This also puts you at risk of extortion, since the attacker can maintain your system shutdown for hours or even days. The attacker can also overwhelm your equipment to the point of permanently damaging it, requiring your company to purchase expensive new equipment. DDoS attacks often also act as distractions, allowing attackers to carry on with much more severe and detrimental cyber-crimes.

DDoS attacks are a constant threat to business owners, but the right protection and recovery protocols can significantly reduce or eliminate the impact on your commercial enterprise. At ATI, our managed IT services and patch management enables us to rapidly deploy emergency patches for Microsoft servers and workstations and third-party software, helping to avoid attacks before they occur. If your system has suffered a DDoS attack, our Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) can provide third-party server hosting and cloud resources to restore your operations as quickly as possible.

The professionals at ATI can evaluate your needs and help you determine which storage and service options are right for you. Contact us today to get more information about how our data centers can serve your needs or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

So many business owners oppose outsourcing their technical processes and critical hardware because they do not want to risk a security breach or create extensive downtime. While these risks are very real, they are minimized considerably with the right fail-safes and data protection procedures. ATI Solutions is a high-availability data center, utilizing reliable systems and components that will keep your virtual platform operational around the clock.

Our Physical and Virtual Data Protection Services

Our technicians and engineers understand that any compromise to your systems can directly affect your ability to retain and serve your customers. Whether you have entrusted us with your hardware, your virtual platform, or the full range of your IT services, it is our goal is to provide you with continuous and secure operations that can be scaled up or down to meet the needs of your business.

Our data centers offer the following protection methods:

• Redundancy. We have multiple redundant systems and components to eliminate downtime, all of which are maintained by onsite personnel and are regularly tested. Our Chantilly location offers 2N redundancy for power and cooling, while our Rockville location has N+1 configuration for power and cooling.
• Failover. We configure servers to switch mission-critical operations to a secure alternative server so that in a scenario where a sudden adverse event occurs (such as a power outage, natural disaster, or equipment failure) all function will seamlessly be transferred. This process allows operations to continue without disruptions to the user experience.
• Hardened security system. Our data centers use industry-standard privacy measures such as 24/7 security surveillance monitoring, CCTV with 365-day retention, and multi-factor access control system with biometrics, security PINs, and access card readers.
• Immediate intervention. Our business continuity team performs emergency and preventive services, helping you respond to an emergency and maintain your presence with as little interruption as possible.

Contact Our Team To Learn About Our Data Protection Services

The professionals at ATI can evaluate your needs and help you determine which storage and service options are right for you. Contact us today to get more information about how our data centers can serve your needs or set up an appointment to tour our Chantilly facility.

Related Links: Are You Prepared for a Disaster? How to Choose Cloud Computing That Works for Your Business Is it Time to Transition Your Business to a Hosted Computing Platform?

 

Industry Expertise and Experience With Community Banks

• ATI’s 20+ years of experience serving community banks has proven our knowledge is unmatched in the market.
• Having provided IT solutions for many denovo banks, ATI knows and anticipates the bank needs for rapid growth with limited resources.
• ATI delivers reliable, scalable and cost-effective solutions so that our clients can focus on banking.
• Our staff understands the IT needs for bank’s core and ancillary solutions and we have long-term relationships with the top three Core providers; Fiserv, FIS and Jack Henry. Fiserv has dedicated MPLS circuits to both ATI data centers.
• ATI understands the bank’s IT needs for various solutions such as LaserPro, Teller, Platform and other banking solutions.
• ATI completes the AICPA’s annual Service Organization Control Report (SOC 2 Type II) to fulfill our client’s vendor management requirements; we understand the bank’s critical IT regulatory needs.
• ATI proposes solutions that allow clients to save money and reduce operational risk.
• ATI currently support banks with combined assets of $50+ billion.
• We are a demonstrated market leader partnering with CEO’s opening denovo banks having helped 18 meet their technical regulatory requirements.

Demonstrated Customer Service Quality and Support

• ATI’s community banking references are superior and a testament to our service quality and support.
• The average client has been with ATI for 17 years.
• ATI employees have an average of 16 years with the company and/or financial industry.
• Our company added the first operational DR backup site in the Washington DC metro area based upon client/industry needs.
• We are proactive and continually evaluate and update processes, education, and client communications to address the root cause of client issues.
• We propose standardized solutions which result in higher end-user satisfaction and productivity; thin client desktops/laptops.

Vendor Strength and Stability

• Founded in 1997 with focus serving community banks.
• In 2015, ATI invested $10+ million for technology refresh and data center build.
• Use of Nutanix hyper converged solution that delivers enterprise-class storage, compute, and virtualization services to any application.
• ATI’s solution minimizes upfront and ongoing capital expenditures to keep up with rapid technology changes thus reducing overall cost of ownership.
• Eliminates need to build out facilities to support data center requirements.

Financial Considerations

• Flexibility to evaluate options for the bank’s amortization and repayment of upfront fees.
• Benefit of ATI’s “pay as you go” model for licensing, firmware, and recurring maintenance/patching eliminates ongoing one-time costs of software and assurances; some of
• Fixed cost per users per month provides predictable cost that makes CFO’s lives easy
• Reduces bank management’s oversight and expenses for audits and examines by consolidating vendors and leveraging ATI’s annual SOC2 Type II Report.
• As part of vendor management, our client’s internal auditors and examiners review our financials annually. ATI has had a positive cash flow since its’ founding in 1997.