What does 2015 have in store for the data center and cloud computing industries? We sat down with Online Tech co-CEOs Yan Ness and Mike Klein to get some of their informed predictions: Klein on the changing customer requirements for cloud and data centers: “One of the most significant trends in the cloud and data center market in 2015 will be the way companies in industries outside of healthcare, retail and finance start to incorporate security and privacy into their …

As we all take a step back to reminisce about the past year and drop the ball on a new one, those of us at Online Tech have plenty of achievements to celebrate. We’ve called this, our 20th year of existence, “the most ambitious and successful 12 months” in the company history in a recent press release. That’s notable, considering our 20th anniversary story about how we’ve evolved from being Michigan’s first ISP in 1994 to a leader in secure …

Since opening our Indiana Data Center earlier this year, we’ve spent plenty of time discussing the technical architecture behind creating Indianapolis’ first secure, compliant enterprise-class cloud computing, colocation, offsite backup and disaster recovery facility. However, we’re also quite proud of the staff we’ve compiled to operate that data center. This is the first in a series of posts introducing you to the Indiana Data Center team. We start with Data Center Administrator – and former military helicopter pilot – Travis …

When Online Tech opened its Indiana Data Center earlier this year, co-CEO Mike Klein said the company “saw a gap in secure cloud and data center infrastructure serving Indiana.” That gap continued to be filled when Online Tech launched its new and improved cloud infrastructure in mid-December, creating the only truly PCI, HIPAA and SOX-compliant cloud in Indianapolis. The enterprise-level cloud is built on EMC XtremIO all-flash array technology that offers clients faster application response times while increasing reliability and …

When you create a list of who you’re thankful for, your auditor may not jump to the top of your list. After all, isn’t that who asks for all those mountains of documents and relentlessly asks those probing questions? Let’s face it: the relationship between a business and an auditor can be a contentious one. The high price of reports, resources spent compiling the information and remediating any issues can be more than enough to give any CXO heartburn and …

News of major retail data breaches are becoming commonplace – Home Depot being the latest in a long line – but consumers don’t appear to be changing their behaviors in response. A report by the Ponemon Institute on behalf of RSA was released Tuesday showing half of the 1,000 consumers surveyed had been the victim of a breach, but only 14 percent say a data breach would affect their shopping or banking behavior. The study suggests consumers have become desensitized …

By JASON YAEGER Online Tech Director of Product Management, Risk Management Officer and Security Officer The cost of data loss can be staggering. A study at the University of Texas tells us that 43 percent of companies that experience a catastrophic data loss never reopen, and that another 51 percent close the doors within 10 years. For small- and medium-sized businesses, the cost is even more staggering: 70 percent of companies with fewer than 100 employees that experience a catastrophic …

In regulated industries, sensitive data must both be protected and retained, a challenging juxtaposition in a landscape of increasing cybersecurity threats. In the healthcare field, for example, losing data is one matter. Not having “exact retrievable copies,” as required by law, is another. And protecting those backed up files is equally important. Healthcare and financial data must be retained for several years, but in many cases companies that handle sensitive data may retain it much longer. This means exponentially more …

It’s official! Our newest data center in Indianapolis is open for business. We’re very excited to bring secure, compliant, enterprise class cloud, colocation and offsite backup and disaster recovery to Indianapolis. It’s a great pleasure to have the opportunity to serve Indiana businesses and its IT community from the 44,000 square foot facility on Merrill Street, minutes from downtown, that officially opened today. So what makes Online Tech unique in the Indianapolis market? Just like at our four other Midwest …

In a previous post, I laid out the first three questions your CIO should answer before you start your backup and recovery research. The CIO should provide direction around the value of the data, the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and the Recovery Time Objective (RTO). Once these executive-level business requirements are understood, the context can be used to ask the next set of high-level business and technical questions that drive your backup and recovery strategy. 1) How confidential or compliant …