As governments and health agencies around the world begin considering to and/or easing quarantines, starting Wednesday, June 10^th, Wowrack will start requiring everyone that visits Wowrack’s office or data center to wear facial coverings within all common areas of Wowrack facilities.  

Regarding the protocols, you must:

• Wear any face coverings that fit snugly and cover one’s nose and mouth. Cloth-based face coverings are permitted (it does not have to be surgical grade or N95-rated masks).
• Wear the face coverings at all times within the common and near entry/exit areas.
• Bring your own facial coverings for Wowrack will be unable to provide those to visitors due to limited supplies globally.

During your visitation, we also suggest you to:

• Maintain proper social distancing guidelines.
• Limit your time in the common areas as well as site visits and onsite personnel to a minimum or critical activities only. Work activities requiring 3^rd party vendors, onsite auditors or non-essential staff should be deferred.
• Help keep the number of occupants per elevator to a maximum of 2.
• Immediately report onsite positive cases of COVID-19 to Wowrack Management at management@wowrack.com should you find any.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding pertaining to these guidelines and protocols. Should there be any future changes or adjustments, we will keep you updated promptly.

Regards,

Wowrack Management

The post Site Visit to Wowrack – Facial Covering Requirement appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Dear Valued Customer,
As the global effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, we at Wow Technologies, Inc are committed to the health and safety of our customers and employees. We continue to monitor the developments and the guidance of public health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In light of recent developments, including the recent Washington State “Stay at Home” order by Governor Inslee as of 3/23/2020, I wanted to provide you with an update on our efforts to continue to provide your Hosting needs.

What you can expect from us :

• Our business operation has been deemed as “essential” business as Datacenter operators and Network Operators in the “Stay at Home” order. This means that Wowrack will continue to operate our Data Center and Cloud infrastructure and be able to support it.
• Our Data Center continues to be operational and staffed 24/7. Employees who are not feeling well are required to stay home.  Employees onsite are required to follow the public health authorities’ guidance on personal hygiene, infection prevention, and control practices.
• All employees who are not essential to facility maintenance have been asked to work remote; we’ve limited travel and opted for virtual meetings whenever possible.
• We are increasing cleaning frequency in high traffic touch points such as door handle and finger print reader for our Datacenter and office doors.
• Only authorized customers are welcome to visit our datacenter when necessary, but at this time, we have asked our employees to refrain from shaking hands and to maintain the recommended six-foot distance from others.
• We are rescheduling and/or cancelling all non-essentials in-person meetings. We can still be reached virtually thru email, phone conferences, zoom meetings, and video calls.
• All on-site customer projects that requires our engineer to be on-site will have to be rescheduled unless it is an outage or emergency situation. 

  Our request to you:

• We recognize that your business still have to operate and projects still have to be performed in a timely manner. However, due to the “Stay at Home” Order and the safety of our employees, we request that all non-critical projects that requires in-person or on-site visit to be rescheduled to later dates. Our Network operation team is still available 24/7/365 to attend to your request remotely if needed.
• Unless necessary, please avoid interfacing with our employees face to face.  If you need carts, tools, etc during your visit to our Datacenter, please request those items by sending your request to support@wowrack.com so that our staff can put your requested items beside your cabinet.  Once you are done, you can leave those items beside your cabinet and update the ticket so our staff can retrieve them.
• We urge you to monitor the guidance of public health authorities and other sources of credible information. For your convenience, below are some references and resources for your consideration:
  Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO)

We appreciate the trust that you place in Wow Technologies Inc. and assure you we will continue to closely monitor the situation and take actions necessary to help keep our employees and customers safe while maintaining a high standard of service! 

Best Regards,

Erward Osckar
Chief Executive Office

The post Covid-19 Situational Update from Wowrack appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

SOC 2 engagements are based on the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria. SOC 2 service auditor reports focus on a service organization’s non-financial reporting controls as they relate to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of a system. KirkpatrickPrice’s service auditor report verifies the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of Wowrack’s controls to meet the standards for these criteria.

“The SOC2 Type II certification is a crucial achievement for Wowrack as it demonstrates our commitment to Uptime, Security and protecting our customer’s data and Privacy,” said Erward Osckar, Managing Partner at Wowrack. “We treat data very seriously at Wowrack. The SOC2 Type II shows that Wowrack is competent and serious about securing its customers’ data.”

“The SOC 2 audit is based on the Trust Services Criteria. Wowrack has selected the security, availability, and confidentiality categories for the basis of their audit,” said Joseph Kirkpatrick, President of KirkpatrickPrice. “Wowrack delivers trust-based services to their clients, and by communicating the results of this audit, their clients can be assured of their reliance on Wowrack’s controls.”

About Wowrack
Wow Technologies, Inc. (Wowrack) was founded in 2001 as a customer-centric cloud service provider offering various IT services, including Hosting services, Colocation, Cloud Backup, Managed Services, Disaster Recovery Solutions, and more. Our competency includes infrastructure design, provision, implementation, management, as well as compliance and high traffic web application monitoring that require scalability, fast performing, and secure infrastructure.

Also follow Wowrack on Social Media :
Facebook page, Instagram (@wowrack),  LinkedIn, and Twitter 

About KirkpatrickPrice
KirkpatrickPrice is a licensed CPA firm, PCI QSA, and a HITRUST CSF Assessor, registered with the PCAOB, providing assurance services to 1,000 clients in more than 48 states, Canada, Asia, and Europe. The firm has more than a decade of experience in information security and compliance assurance by performing assessments, audits, and tests that strengthen information security and internal controls. KirkpatrickPrice most commonly provides advice on SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST CSF, GDPR, ISO 27001, FISMA, and CFPB frameworks. For more information, visit www.kirkpatrickprice.com, follow KirkpatrickPrice on Twitter (@KPAudit), or connect with KirkpatrickPrice on LinkedIn.

The post Wowrack Completes SOC 2 Type II / SSAE 18 Audit appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

KirkpatrickPrice, a licensed CPA firm, performed the audit and appropriate testing of Wowrack’s controls that may affect its clients’ financial statements. SOC 1 Type II is a reporting on the controls at a service organization, established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). This report is in compliance with the SSAE 18 auditing standards and focuses on the controls of a service organization that are relevant to an audit of a user entity’s financial statements. The standard demonstrates that an organization has adequate controls and processes in place over a period of time. The SOC 1 Type II audit report includes Wowrack’s description of controls as well as the detailed testing of its controls.

“The reliability and security of our facility is of the utmost importance to us,” said Erward Osckar, Managing Partner at Wowrack.  “This is now our 7th consecutive year undergoing the rigorous SOC 1 audit.  We have a responsibility to our customers to continue providing best in class service, and the auditing process attests to the efforts we make in the backend to ensure the highest level of service.”

“Many of Wowrack’s clients rely on them to protect consumer information,” said Joseph Kirkpatrick, President of KirkpatrickPrice. “As a result, Wowrack has implemented best practice controls demanded by their customers to address information security and compliance risks. Our third-party opinion validates these controls and the tests we perform provide assurance regarding the managed solutions provided by Wowrack.”

About Wowrack

Founded in 2001, Wow Technologies, Inc. (dba Wowrack) is a cloud service provider; offering various Hosting services including Private Cloud Hosting, Hybrid cloud infrastructure, Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions, Dedicated Server Solutions, Colocation and more. Our competency includes being able to design, provision, implement, manage and monitor compliant and high traffic web applications that require scalability, fast performing, and secure infrastructure.

About KirkpatrickPrice

KirkpatrickPrice is a licensed CPA firm, PCI QSA, and a HITRUST CSF Assessor, registered with the PCAOB, providing assurance services to over 800 clients in more than 48 states, Canada, Asia, and Europe. The firm has more than a decade of experience in information security and compliance assurance by performing assessments, audits, and tests that strengthen information security and internal controls. KirkpatrickPrice most commonly provides advice on SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST CSF, GDPR, ISO 27001, FISMA, and CFPB frameworks.

The post Wowrack Completes 7th Consecutive SOC 1 Type II Audit appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

1) “Am I giving IT too many responsibilities?”

Regardless of whether or not you outsource your IT, your in-house team has a lot on their plate no matter what. Because of this, companies generally choose to have an in-house IT team working alongside managed services to make sure their network is constantly at the top of its game. If you are giving IT too many jobs to do, then they are going to have a hard time making sure all the roles are being met. So, if your IT person or team has already expressed this to you, then it’s time to hand over some of those responsibilities to a managed cloud hosting provider.

2) “What happens if there is a data breach?”

If a data breach is one of your biggest concerns right now (and, it should be), then that’s a good enough reason as any to begin outsourcing your IT. There’s no sense in taking any risk at all with how far your company has come. Why take any chances? A managed hosting provider can take this worry off your hands. In addition, they can come up with a disaster recovery solution just for your company, while also helping you pass compliance standards if you’re dealing with sensitive information from your customers.

3) “Is my business expanding at a rapid rate, but support isn’t measuring up?”

Perhaps when you first started, you just had a website, hosted by one of those generic providers. But, now, things have changed (for the better). Now, your website has consistent traffic 24/7 a day, and you cannot risk a potential traffic jam slowing down your business. If you require a network that can support what you’re dealing with, then don’t stress. Just hand it over to a managed hosting provider and let them deal with the rest.

Wowrack can help you answer all your questions about hiring a managed cloud hosting provider. Contact us today to learn more.

4) “Does my network require a specific infrastructure?”

Speaking of expanding your business, are you even set-up to do something like that in the first place? This has probably got you thinking. If you’re not sure how all the stuff works behind the scenes — a cloud architecture, different types of products, etc. — then don’t sit around trying to do it by yourself. It’s time to talk to a professional about the best options available.

5) “Am I too busy to worry about any of this?”

If any of the previous questions have come up at all, then you’ve probably dismissed them with a, “Wow, I’m too busy to even be concerned with this right now.” We get you. You shouldn’t have to be concerned with managing your your network on this scale. While that doesn’t mean you’re excused from all responsibilities, you have other things you need to take care of in the office. Let someone else do the worrying.

It’s hard to know when is the right time to finally move your network over to a managed service provider. If you’ve been asking yourself any of these questions, then you know what it is you need to do!

The post If You’re Asking Yourself These Questions, It’s Time to Outsource Your IT appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Here’s why:

Expand Your Business

Choosing a cloud hosting option that’s scalable gives you the best opportunity to have your network grow with your business in the future. Many companies hold off on moving to the cloud because they feel as though they aren’t quite ready to do so. Perhaps they don’t yet have the funds or the client-base to make that kind of change. However, making the move to the cloud in the beginning stages will not only make your business more accessible to more people, but it will also allow you to save money in the long run. This is because most MSPs offer scalable solutions, so you don’t need to pay for what you aren’t using right now — you can always make the necessary upgrades later on.

Take More Time for What Matters

Turning to an MSP means that in addition to gifting your company a brand new infrastructure set-up next year, you will also have the support of a professional provider. This means they will manage everything, while you continue doing the many jobs you need to do as a company leader. If you have a lot of projects you’re hoping to get done next year, managing your network shouldn’t get in the way. Make it your resolution to work on what you need to do, while an MSP stays on top of the rest. After all, why risk losing all the hard work you’ve done when your MSP can provide amazing backup and disaster recovery solutions?

Wowrack wants you to be on the right track for next year. Contact us to learn more.

Keep the Important Jobs in the Hand of Professionals

Is not knowing who to trust holding you back from making some changes for next year? That’s understandable, and exactly why we stress the importance of making sure you can trust your MSP. This is why Wowrack offers data center tours to ensure you’re getting a good look at the services you’ll be receiving. Therefore, you can feel confident knowing that this important job lies in the hands of a  dedicated team of experts. There will always be someone available that can solve the problem your network may be presenting, but ultimately, the team will help recognize any problems well before they occur.

Also, it helps to know that if something does happen — for instance, a data breach — you won’t necessarily be the one held completely responsible.

Provide Consistent Customer Satisfaction

Lastly, a major goal you should have for the upcoming year is to continue growing that trust between you and your clients. One of the ways to achieve this is by maximizing your security standards, thereby ensuring your customers that you’re doing everything in your power to mitigate risks that could have the potential to leak their information. This is why, depending on the industry you’re in, it’s so important to practice compliance laws. Opting for the services of an MSP as one of your New Year’s resolutions will help you bring in more customers, and improve your CRM overall. Additionally, it will keep you safe from problems like shut-downs, delays, data disasters, breaches, and visits from auditors. A strong approach to this means happy customers.

So, what’s the hold up? Let us help you achieve the New Year’s resolutions you have for your company.

The post Turning to Managed Services Should be Your Company’s New Year Resolution appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Here at Wowrack, not only do we take you on a tour of a data center, but we also host open houses every so often to welcome large groups of those who just want to come by and check it out.

The next data center tour is January 10th. After all, what better way to start the New Year and gift your company’s network a new home?

Why Going on a Data Center Tour is Important

Since the data center is the selected location of where your server will be stored, it’s super important to know what this is going to look like. And, in general (but not always) seeing one data center will give you a good sense of what the other MSP’s data centers look like, too.

Seeing a data center for yourself can, for one, show you the obvious things. For instance, you can see if the data center is physically secured, if there is a cooling system in place, and overall, how the machinery looks. If it seems dusty, cluttered, and there are loose wires sticking out every which way, you may want to take a look at some other data centers, too. It also gives you a chance to learn more about how it all works, as well ask any questions that come to mind or haven’t already been answered.

Which, brings us to our next point…

What Questions You Should Ask

When it comes to as something as big as this, you want to make sure you’re absolutely certain before making the time and monetary investment. This is another way to get a good read on your prospective MSP. If they seem hesitant to answer your questions or are making you feel uncomfortable by asking them in the first place, then you might get a good sense of how your experience will be in the long term.

And, if you can’t think of any questions, here are some examples to get the juices flowing:

• Security – Who has access to the building? Have there have been break-ins?
• Electrical Infrastructure – How is this place getting power? How many distribution, backup systems, and generators are there?
• Troubleshooting – What happens if there is a problem with my equipment?

If you’d like to attend our Data Center Tour, Contact us today to make an appointment.

Registration for Wowrack’s Data Center Tour

Here at Wowrack, we believe there shouldn’t be any mystery. We pride ourselves on being transparent, so what you see is what you get.

In just a few weeks our Data Center Tour will take place on January 10th, 2018 from 9 AM to 3:30 PM, in Tukwila, Washington. Come and see for yourself the quality of the servers we maintain.

What to Do if you Can’t Make it This Time

If you can’t make it to this Data Center Tour, no worries! Wowrack always has our doors open (of course, not the doors to our secured data center) so you can make an appointment for a time that works best for you.

The post Are You Ready for Wowrack’s Data Center Tour? appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

That’s why Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is a great solution for your business. And, when you have an expert manage this infrastructure, you’ll be in for a real treat. Here’s how it works.

What is VDI?

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, or VDI, gives you the opportunity to access the workings of your entire company with just a click of your button. Every task you need to handle can be configured from your smartphone, computer, or another device. This means if you’re on the go, leave your laptop behind, or need to sneak out of a movie theater to quickly take care of something, it can be done.

What Industries is a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Ideal For?

Any company could really benefit from a VDI, but there are certain companies within specific industries where it may be more ideal. For example, one industry you may see VDI is within construction and project management companies. These companies need to keep their workers, contractors, investors, and anyone else who may be involved, kept in the loop of what’s going on. With VDI, it’s very unlikely that any form of miscommunication will occur.

Additionally,  tasks can sometimes change from day-to-day, and if you want to stay organized, a VDI will help you with that. That being said, you don’t want just any VDI solution. You need a VDI that has an environment properly deployed and managed thereafter by your provider, as well as training services for you as the user, and of course, security.

Wowrack offers flexible plans for your virtual desktop infrastructure, which are fully scalable and reliable. Contact us today to learn more.

What Can I Expect if I Start Using a VDI for my Business?

The great thing about a virtual desktop infrastructure is that it can be designed to cater to the specific needs of your business. No matter how large or small your business is, any project that’s important to you should be equally as important to your provider. In addition to making work on the go a possibility, you can also expect these benefits from a virtual desktop infrastructure:

• Real-time markup capability on construction plans.
• Instant updates on blueprints and plans, so everyone is up to date.
• Lots of storage space (scalability).
• High performance rates.
• The ability to instantly message your team.
• Instant break/fix solutions if something goes wrong.
• Multi-cloud connection abilities if you’re already deployed.
• Maintenance when you need it.
• End-to-end, compliant security.

Does it sound like a VDI is right for you? Give it a try, and decide for yourself. It’ll be the best decision you made for your company.

The post What Is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and How Can It Benefit Your Business? appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

What exactly is cloud backup?

In simplest terms, cloud backup is the ability of storing data and software applications on external servers. These servers are generally located in a remote facility. 

There are dedicated companies to maintain cloud backup services; they lease out virtual storage space to customers who are in need. Generally, such service is offered for a monthly or annual fee which may depend on the service provider and the necessity of the customer.

It is then the cloud backup service provider’s responsibility to establish necessary security measures to protect the stored information while allowing respective clients to access the backup 24/7 without any interruption whatsoever.

Mechanism of Cloud backup

Cloud servers allow all the digital data to be stored including software packages, media files like audio and video, pictures, documents, databases, emails etc.

Once the customer subscribed for the service, they will have an uninterrupted, fast, reliable and secured access to the server (via internet). 

Automated systems will run at scheduled increments, backing up either entire drives or segmentations of files.

Protection of cloud backup

Cloud backup service providers focus on two main aspects in terms of securing the stored data;

• Prevent data theft

• Prevent data loss

Preventing data theft

Understanding the seriousness of the data stored, cloud backup service providers have taken sophisticated security precautions (with ultimate encryption levels which are sometimes stronger even than the ones used in banks) and stay one step ahead of the potential hackers.

Preventing Data Loss

Reputable cloud backup systems take supreme measures to prevent data loss since their existence in the industry depends on the reliability. They use multiple servers that are located in various facilities and use several energy sources to power up those servers assuring state-of-the-art protection against data loss.

Unlike earlier days, cloud backup services are available for very affordable rates. Companies or individuals can select the best matching plans that comply with the budget after referring the packages and comparing them to your needs.

Learn more about the Wowrack Cloud Backup service.

The post How cloud backup works appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Common Concerns About BaaS

While Backup as a Service has become extremely popular, there are still many concerns for companies who are unfamiliar with the system and how it effects their business. The following is a list of common concerns our customers have had about utilizing the Wowrack BaaS.

Cross-platform issues

One of the common problems with using BaaS is cross-platform support issues. Since backup as a service requires software to perform the backups, you will need to make sure your provider supports the systems you use. From the operating system side, file systems tend to be picky.

The Wowrack Backup as a Service uses an industry leaders software to manage your backup strategies, and is available on every major operating system. Those picky files systems can be a easy fix and should probably be made anyway. Our sales team will connect you with a support team member should you have any concerns about your file system and naming convention. We want every customer to have a flawless setup.

Compliance Concerns

Most all of our clients came to us with concerns about compliance. Compliance is extremely important, and we fully understand this. The biggest compliance concerns we see are HIPAA and PCI compliance requirements. While there are others, we deal with these the most often. Contact us about individual compliance needs if you need further information.

Our BaaS is built with integrity and security in mind. While compliance standards ensure meet minimum requirements, we have built our system to exceed these expectations. Protecting your information is top priority, and a job we do proudly.

Security and Encryption

Our entire business revolves around security and encryption, and your data is treated no different than ours. Hardware, software, and highly trained professionals constantly monitor and analyze traffic and connects to our facility. Threats are always a concern, and we take them seriously.

Your data will be stored in our SSAE-16 certified secure Datacenter, a facility you can actually take a tour of should you want to. Thanks to partnerships like the Open Alliance Data Center, Wowrack also has more access than ever before. Speed, security and encryption all in one spot!

Backup as a Service, Brass Tax

The common concerns our customers have are certainly understandable, and we want to make sure you have all the information you need to be comfortable in your decision. However, everyone wants to know the brass tax of Backup as a Service.

When looking at the price of Baas, it’s important to remember the costs associated with backing up and storing data. When your company is providing its own backup solutions, it will be covering all of these costs.

• Location (Space)
• Hardware (New, Maintenance, Upgrades, Failure Replacements)
• Power (Heating, Cooling, Computers)
• Software (Backup, Monitoring, Security)
• Staff (IT Admins, Hardware Techs, Network Techs, Software Techs)

When you step back and add up all the costs, the price of BaaS plans start looking like piggy bank change. There are certainly more costs associated with running your own backup solutions, these just happen to be the major ones to point out. As you might soon see, there are a huge amounts of savings available, especially the larger you needs get. With that said, lets take a look at the Wowrack BaaS specification and pricing guide.

If you need help deciding on which backup service plan works best for you, or have any concerns you need addressed contact a sales team member by calling 1.866.883.8808

Ready to go? Head to our Backup as a Service page.

The post What is backup as a service (BaaS) appeared first on Wowrack Blog.