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Geeks for Business is the Triangle's premier managed IT service provider for small- and medium-sized businesses. Let's Make IT Easy Let's Make IT Easy Let's Make IT Easy Let's Make IT Easy Geeks for Business is the Triangle's premier Managed IT Service provider Isn't it time for the IT support your business deserves? We take the stress out of IT, so you're able to focus less on tech and more on running your business. Learn more about how we simplify IT here Pricing guide Get in touch Learn more Managed Cloud Do you know what your business really spends on cloud services? Are you making the best use of your cloud services budget? Are your cloud applications and identities secure and backed up? Cloud adoption rates are nearly 100% across businesses of all sizes, while managing multi-cloud environments is increasingly complex. From Identity and Access Management to Microsoft 365 backups and on-premise to cloud migrations, we make cloud stress-free. + Learn More Cybersecurity Ransomware payments exceeded $1 billion for the first time ever in 2023. Don't run the risk of costly business downtime in the event of an attack. Geeks for Business leverages next-generation security services to protect your critical company assets. + Learn More Disaster Recovery Business continuity and disaster recovery should be top-of-mind for business leaders. Does your business have a recovery strategy in case of a ransomware attack or hardware failure? Learn how Geeks for Business can design and execute operational continuity and recovery procedures for your company. + Learn More Unlimited Remote Support & Help Desk Each of our Managed IT plans provides convenient Managed Support options for your business. Enjoy unlimited remote tech support, onsite support, outsourced help desk, and tailored tech support and training plans with Geeks for Business. + Learn More Managed Networking From design and installation to security and management, Geeks for Business provides comprehensive managed networking solutions for your business. From Internet failover solutions to site-to-site VPNs and secure, remote application access, we have years of experience in implementing and securing modern networks. + Learn More Testimonials What our clients are saying Cannot beat Matt. He was responsive, on time, quickly identified my problems, explained the fix and resolved the issues in no time. Just first class. I don't believe I will ever look elsewhere. Thanks! Edward S. Cary, NC

Causes we care about Causes We Support It's no secret our environment is in dire shape. Pollinators are facing population collapse, fossil fuel pollution continues to propel global climate change, biodiversity and wild areas are under growing assault from human interests. This is why we feel it's important to be candid about environmental causes we support in our area. We want to encourage everyone, whether you work with us or not, to dedicate some of your time to help the organizations below. This page is under active development. info@leaflimb.com 919-787-9551 www.leaflimb.com Donate to Project Pando Project Pando (by Leaf & Limb ) Leaf & Limb, based in Raleigh, NC, describes their vision: "Increase the health and population of trees to help address pressing environmental issues and restore the balance of life on Earth." Project Pando seeks to connect people with trees, providing native trees to any person or organization who needs them. Their goals of outreach, education, and environmental restoration are goals we deeply and actively support. Keep Durham Beautiful Keep Durham Beautiful is a Durham, NC based nonprofit that we want more people to know about. Their work in removing waste from outdoor spaces, establishing community gardens, and restoring our local environment is critically important and more needed than ever. Geeks for Business has worked with Keep Durham Beautiful to plant trees, shrubs, and bulbs in public spaces and at our offices, in addition to volunteering our time to assist in their regular waste cleanup efforts. info@keepdurhambeautiful.org 919-354-2729 www.keepdurhambeautiful.org Donate to Keep Durham Beautiful The Eno River Association https://www.enoriver.org/donate/ 04 Project Name Placeholder

Geeks for Business provides a comprehensive endpoint and identity security platform to keep your business up and running. Managed Cybersecurity Geeks for Business offers a comprehensive managed cybersecurity suite, including Managed EDR (endpoint detection and response) Ransomware costs the average small company a staggering $713,000, according to a report from Tech Transformers . Only around 1 in 5 small to medium sized businesses are confident in their IT security strategies. Cybersecurity is challenging and expensive to implement and maintain by yourself, especially as threats grow more sophisticated. Geeks for Business's experience in preventing and remediating security threats can help you spend less time worrying about managing your small business's IT security. Secure networking Modern networks carry more traffic than ever. HIPAA and PCI compliance add more layers of complexity to your network. Are you prepared for an Internet outage with a cellular failover solution? We've got it covered! At Geeks for Business, we're big proponents of Internet redundancy. We can ensure your network is secure, standards-compliant, and redundant. We monitor and update your network infrastructure, giving you insights into bandwidth usage, downtime, and network performance, all for a predictable monthly rate. Secure data backup The amount of data the world generates each year is vast. According to Statista, by 2025 the world will create, capture, copy, or consume 125 zettabytes of data. That's roughly 114 *billion* terabytes of data, or enough to fill 5.7 billion 20TB hard drives. As hard drives increase in capacity, so, too, do the chances of an unrecoverable error. Malware, hardware failures, and incomplete data backups don't have to leave you in the lurch. Geeks for Business provides ongoing, proactive data security for you and your business. We combine on-premises with cloud storage to give you resiliency, in addition to offering up to hourly snapshots of your data. Combined with our managed security plan, you can rest assured your critical data is safe. Identity and Access Management, Authentication, and Zero Trust Geeks for Business offers comprehensive solutions for IAM, authentication, and Zero-Trust access management. The rapidly evolving IT security landscape demands centralized management of users, identities, and assets. No more manually updating user passwords, scrambling to revoke credentials when an employee leaves your company, trying to get a clear picture of who has access to what within your business--Geeks for Business provides trusted security, IAM, Zero-Trust, and privilege management for your company, making life easier for you and your employees while keeping your business data safe.

Geeks for Business provides a powerful cloud management platform, protecting data, apps, and identities Secure Cloud Solutions Geeks for Business is here to revolutionize your business. We can help you slash hardware costs, simplify daily operations, and supercharge your productivity by harnessing the power of cloud technology from leaders like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Are your on-premises servers becoming a costly and complex burden? Reach out to Geeks for Business, and we’ll create a tailored plan to virtualize your hardware or shift your tech solutions entirely to the cloud. If your business handles sensitive data, large volumes of information, or demands top-notch performance, a hybrid-cloud solution could be just what you need! With a hybrid approach, we can seamlessly migrate certain tasks to the cloud while keeping critical functions onsite for optimal performance. Ready to optimize your current cloud services? We’ve got you covered! By collaborating with various vendors, we can assess your needs and often lower your cloud service expenses—because you deserve to pay only for what you actually need. Geeks for Business is thrilled to offer secure, enterprise-grade data backup services. Contact us today to explore your cloud storage options and discover how we can enhance your business's uptime and resilience with our secure solutions.

Geeks for Business is the Triangle's premier managed IT service provider. is Pro IT Management At Geeks for Business, our mission is simple: providing the best managed IT services for businesses in the Triangle and beyond. We help clients leverage IT to grow their businesses, reduce costs, secure their assets, and lower their stress levels. Get in touch with us today and we'll find the best solution for you. But, unlike other technical service providers, we don't like hiding the important stuff behind mandatory emails and calls. Check out the links below for more information on what we do, as well as in-depth business IT articles > Geeks for Business: Technical Service Plan Information Geeks for Business: Technical Service Plan Pricing (Monthly and Annual) Geeks for Business: An IT Infrastructure Primer Geeks for Business: How Secure is Your Business? Geeks for Business: Outsourced Helpdesk and Employee Tech Training Geeks for Business: IT Spending and Return-on-Investment Geeks for Business: Office 365 and Cloud-based Business Apps Geeks for Business: Pros and Cons of Cloud vs. On-premises Servers Geeks for Business: Building Redundancy for your Business Geeks for Business: Data Resiliency and Disaster Recovery Geeks for Business: The Importance of Managed Threat Detection and Response

Great IT service demands a great guarantee. Learn more about the ways Geeks for Business supports clients across the Triangle. The Geeks for Business Guarantee We take pride in our work, which is why our break-fix services come with a one-year warranty on both parts and labor. If a vendor provides us with faulty hardware for a client’s project, we will strive to replace it with an exact or suitable alternative within two business days. As of early 2025, supply chain challenges remain, causing some items to be harder to obtain than others; however, most common tech products are readily available. In the rare event that we make error during installation or inadvertently damage existing equipment, we are fully insured and will work diligently to rectify the situation. We in providing peace of mind, even for straightforward IT tasks. All labor performed by Geeks for Business is covered by a one-year warranty. If an issue arises, we will evaluate the problem within three business days and either carry out repairs at no cost or advise on the best next steps if external factors, such as electrical surges or natural disasters, are involved. We encourage clients to minimize risks in IT environments, where feasible, by installing uninterruptible power supplies, surge protectors, chemical fire suppression systems, and failover hardware, especially in settings where downtime can be costly. Please be aware that we cannot warranty items installed by Geeks for Business. Hardware installed by third parties is subject to their warranty terms and cannot receive additional coverage from us. We generally advise against purchasing extended warranties for hardware unless they are provided by the original manufacturer.

Learn more about the critical components of your business's IT systems, and how Geeks for Business can help you modernize and secure your existing technology. Understanding Your IT Needs Your business's IT needs are unique. Learn more about how different technologies work together below. Your Internet Connection Endpoint Devices On-premises Servers VoIP, ATAs, and Fax Internet of Things Operating systems Line-of-business applications Security, IAM, and Authentication Your IT Infrastructure Virtually every business now requires some investment in tech to function optimally. How does it all work together? There are a few core elements to a modern IT system to understand: Your Internet (Wide Area Network) connection, including downstream and upstream bandwidth, latency (ping), jitter (critical for Voice over IP telephone calls), and uptime. Why are these metrics important? Bandwidth is a measurement of how many bytes per second your physical connection to the Internet can send and receive. If you rely on a cable, cellular, or DSL Internet connection you may have noticed that your downstream (download) bandwidth is significantly higher than your upstream (upload). This is because these types of Internet connections are asymmetric, meaning, generally, your download speed will run about 10-20 times faster than your upload speed. This is fine for many business users, but if your business relies on sending large files (like videos, medical imagery, or uncompressed photos) to cloud services online, you'll feel the sting of low upload bandwidth. In this case, bonding two or more Internet connections can improve things, but often at fairly considerable cost. Latency (ping) and jitter are both critical metrics in your Internet connection's overall performance. Latency, or ping, is defined as the amount of time it takes a packet to be sent from your device to a server, like Google.com. Most ping tests are performed at the transport layer of the network stack, using ICMP packets, and as such may provide a decent estimate of how applications like Voice-over-IP will perform, but Round-Trip-Time (RTT) is often the gold standard for predicting how things will perform at the application layer (like VoIP). As a simple rule of thumb, the lower your latency, the better--this influences how fast Internet browsing "feels" and how fast web services load. Jitter is related to ping, but with one important distinction: jitter is defined as the variation in latency over time. That is, say you send 1000 packets to a server at www.google.com . Your first few packets take 10ms to reach the server, but the next few take 20ms, then a few take as long as 60-80ms, then drop back down to 10ms. This scenario means your Internet connection, or the path your packets are taking to a given server, are suffering from high jitter. High jitter negatively impacts web-based applications such as Voice-over-IP and online gaming, which are highly sensitive to variations in ping or latency. Uptime is another crucial metric to consider when evaluating Internet service providers for your business. A modern ISP (internet service provider) generally measures their uptime in terms of "nines"--that is, how many decimal points after 99% can they guarantee? An uptime of 99.9% would mean that, on average during a given year, you'd experience about 526 minutes of downtime per year. This might not seem like a big deal, but you never know if this downtime will come all at once or in small blocks, which can mean a serious headache for your point-of-sale terminals and other devices you rely on in your business. Endpoint devices We refer to client PCs as “endpoint devices” in the technical service industry. Any PC or device (like a smartphone or tablet) used by an employee of a business is an endpoint device. Thus, when we sell “endpoint monitoring” as a service, it means we’re actively monitoring each endpoint on your network and looking for problems. Desktop PCs may seem fairly mundane in the modern IT universe, but they’re still an important part of a business’s IT infrastructure, as they’re generally more cost-effective than a laptop with similar hardware specifications. It’s critical to ensure that all endpoint devices are properly configured, patched, and secured in order to minimize downtime and loss of revenue for your business. On-premises Servers With the proliferation of cloud computing and more affordable access to cloud business apps, like Microsoft Office 365, so-called “on-premises” servers have seen a decline. However, some businesses still rely on physical servers at their locations and there are good reasons for keeping hardware in-house instead of migrating it to the cloud. Applications where latency is important, specialized hardware is in use, or where large amounts of data are being sent over the local network frequently favor on-premises servers. For example, if your use case involves sending big video files or photos in RAW format over the network, an on-premises server with large capacity hard drives makes more economic sense than sending those big files to a cloud service like Google Drive, where storage is much more expensive and you’re limited by a comparatively slow Internet connection. VoIP phones, ATAs (analog telephone adapters), and fax machines While the fax machine has slowly faded into obscurity, VoIP desk phones and ATAs (analogue telephone adapters) remain a common sight in businesses of all sizes. Some businesses do rely on fax, but the fax machine has largely been supplanted by IP fax, or “e-fax”, which allows the user to send faxes from any computer, over the Internet. Voice-over-IP, meanwhile, should be a core component of any business's IT strategy. Managed VoIP platforms allow businesses of all sizes to leverage powerful calling tools like departmental routing, ring groups, transcribed voicemail, and more. Your IP phones are a critical part of your business and making sure they’re secured and updated, without breaking compatibility with your SIP provider, is essential. Analogue telephone adapters (ATAs) are used to connect generic cordless or corded telephone handsets to IP phone systems, and because they are essentially just small computers with their own software and firmwa, ATAs must be managed to ensure the security of your network and phone system. Internet of Things devices Perhaps the most contentious entry on the list, Internet of Things (IoT) devices are often poorly secured from the factory and are not usually well-supported by their manufacturers after the devices are sold. So, it should come as no surprise that IoT devices require special attention in order to keep your IT infrastructure secure. There are IoT device manufacturers that do care about the security of their devices, but many, sadly, do not. Things like security cameras, wireless thermostats, wireless doorbells, and so on are all considered IoT devices. Operating systems While some businesses are Mac-only, the vast majority rely on Microsoft’s Windows operating system (OS). Windows by itself is an extremely complex piece of software and requires a good deal of active management in order to maintain its security and performance. Your operating system is critical, as all of your other software sits on top of it; if Windows goes down, everything else goes down, which may include losing access to barcode scanners, cameras, sensors, and other important hardware. While Microsoft pushes out security, feature, and bug-fix updates for Windows on a regular schedule, they don’t offer any additional support, such as enrolling your employees’ computers into your local Active Directory, or configuring Exchange for you–that’s where we come in. Your line-of-business applications Business software is a massive industry, and includes highly specialized applications for businesses in finance, energy, banking, medicine, and more. Your business’s software may be under an active support contract with the software developer, but many business owners find that the software they rely on is either no longer supported by the publisher, or requires outdated hardware to continue functioning. This puts a considerable financial and technical burden on the customer; Geeks for Business offers consultative services for cases just like these. You shouldn't have to cobble together a solution for critical business software implementation and support. Navigating the business software landscape can be overwhelming, and migrating from one app to another is frustrating and regularly daunting. We do extensive research to keep a running catalogue of recommended business software for a variety of industries and can help you migrate your workflow from an outdated or unsupported application to a modern and functional one. Security, IAM, and Authentication Your IT infrastructure’s efficient operation depends on a properly configured security solution, which involves several different moving parts. A firewall appliance, endpoint security software, access control/permission management, and two-factor authentication tokens are all part of a modern security implementation for your business. You may have sensitive data which you’d like to grant access to only certain employees–this is where access control comes into play. Authentication is the process by which established users access a secure system (like a company file server). Owing to their relative insecurity, passwords are slowly being phased out in favor of more secure, passwordless authentication methods, such as TOTP (time-based one time passwords) codes and physical hardware tokens (such as those made by Yubico). Authentication is a critical component of building a secure access management system for your business. Geeks for Business stays up to date on current 'best practices' for authentication and follows the guidance of CISA (the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; cisa.gov) IAM (Identity and Access Management) is a framework of policies, processes, and technologies that facilitate user access to digital resources. IAM deals with how users are identified in a system; assigning permissions to users within a system; adding and removing user roles; and protecting sensitive data stored in the system. IAM and authentication aren't synonymous, however; authentication deals with the ways in which users access resources, while IAM deals with which users can access which resources. Generally, when discussing best security practices for accessing privileged information, we want a user to have something (a hardware token, for instance), to know something (a username and password), and in high security environments, to be something (biometrics; a retinal or fingerprint scan to validate a user’s identity). Integrating these components into a coherent system that works for your business can be an insurmountable task for a business owner with so many other demands on their time. Geeks for Business is ready to work with you to understand your unique needs and to design a managed service plan that keeps your business running, no matter what. Your Internet Connection Endpoint Devices On-premises Servers VoIP, ATAs, and Fax Internet of Things Operating systems Line-of-business applications Security, IAM, and Authentication

Geeks for Business offers managed IT plans for small and medium enterprise across a variety of industries. Learn more about our IT service plans today. A Managed IT Primer

Geeks for Business has partnered with Reolink to provide your business with powerful video surveillance solutions

Learn about the industries and business segments Geeks for Business serves. Industries we serve Agriculture Small farms, garden centers, and agricultural supply stores can reduce costs and improve operational efficiency with managed IT. Geeks for Business can empower your agricultural business with powerful, focused IT solutions. Finance and Legal Whether you're a self-employed CPA, a PLLC, or a community bank, you need an IT solution that considers your and your clients' safety. With comprehensive endpoint security and proactive threat hunting, as well as secure, tested data backups and Identity and Access Management, Geeks for Business provides a full-stack managed IT solution with operational security most in mind. Education Daycare, charter, or private school? Our managed service plans can help you more effectively track, manage, and monitor educational assets; isolate and secure network devices; provide comprehensive network printing management; and implement continuous, proactive threat monitoring to ensure the safety of students and staff alike. Energy & Utilities Companies in the utilities and energy sector are more prone to cyberattacks than ever, with significant consequences to public safety. Geeks for Business is equipped to provide critical cybersecurity services, including continuous vulnerability scanning and threat hunting, to ensure that your energy provider meets compliance and regulatory standards. Manufacturing Improve uptime, reduce ongoing IT labor costs, and increase organizational productivity with Geeks for Business. We know the technology needs of manufacturing companies can be complex, and security can be challenging when managing legacy systems. We're proud to work with a diverse array of manufacturers in the Triangle and we have a deep understanding of the unique IT challenges manufacturers face. Let us help you streamline your business processes with a managed IT solution designed for your company.

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Security should be top-of-mind for any business leader. Learn more about the considerations business owners should make when choosing an IT service or cybersecurity provider. How Secure is Your Business? IT security should be top-of-mind for any business owner. How secure is your business? The Importance of Cybersecurity As of 2020, cyber attacks were ranked as the fifth top rated risk in both public and private business sectors, according to The World Economic Forum . By 2025, IoT (Internet of Things) attacks are expected to double in frequency. The average cost a business incurs from a cyber attack is $1.85 million, as of 2022. Cybercrime, which encompasses corporate espionage, theft, embezzlement, and malware attacks, has risen 600% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. With that in mind, what is your company's security posture? Do you use multifactor authentication to validate your employees' identities within your organization? Are your employees required to verify themselves before they access business resources from a remote location? Do you have a system in place that allows you to restore data in the event of a ransomware attack? To understand why security is so critical to your business's operation, let's examine two security concepts you may already be familiar with: the principles of zero trust and least privilege. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines zero trust, in part, as such: "Zero trust (ZT) is the term for an evolving set of cybersecurity paradigms that move defenses from static, network-based perimeters to focus on users, assets, and resources." The zero trust model requires all users of a given resource (like your company's business applications and data) to be authenticated, validated, and continually authorized before being given access to those resources. Zero trust was a response to the edgeless nature of today's business networks; that is, zero trust functions the same whether your employees work remotely or in the office. Zero trust rests on three main tenets: User/application authentication Device authentication Trust Geeks for Business recognizes the NIST 800-207 standard for zero trust . NIST 800-207 is a comprehensive, vendor neutral set of standards for implementing zero trust security policies within any organization. NIST 800-207 provides for protection against modern cyber attacks in our current cloud-centric, remote work model. Next is the principle of least privilege, which is conceptually related to zero trust, but with some key differences. PoLP (principle of least privilege) is used to limit users' privileges to those strictly required to perform a task. PoLP is a fundamental element to building a modern cybersecurity framework for your organization. PoLP restricts access to sensitive data and other valuable assets, ensuring that no single employee has broad access to business resources. PoLP can be applied to systems, applications, and Internet-connected devices, which in turn limits user access to the resources strictly needed to do their job. PoLP provides an effective means to centrally manage user credentials and access rights while giving your IT provider the flexibility to revoke or extend privileges as needed. The main advantages of PoLP are : it reduces your company's attack surface (susceptibility to cyber attacks) it mitigates malware spread within your organization by limiting privileges on endpoints, thereby preventing malware from performing privilege escalation attacks it reduces IT help desk calls and can lower your ongoing IT costs by implementing a set of privilege policies that both minimize external threats and prevent users from invoking administrative-level privileges to modify system settings it makes security audits easier. PoLP demonstrates compliance with various security standards (such as those codified by NIST) and provides a clear log of all privileged activities on a network or device With this primer in organizational security, consider the following five questions about your business's security practices: Have you implemented zero trust policies within your company? Have you implemented the principle of least trust? Have you implemented multifactor authentication, either with a smartphone-based authenticator app (like Authy) or a hardware token-based authenticator, like YubiKey? Do you have a disaster recovery and data restoration plan in place in the event of a ransomware or other cyber attack? Are your employees' company laptops centrally managed and monitored to ensure security, compliance, and timely patch management? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, Geeks for Business can build a security solution that works for your business. We take modern threats seriously because one attack can mean the end of your company. Get in touch today and let us design the right system for you.