Posted by Steve Fey, TCC Director of Business Development

I recently read an article on the 10 Critical Skills for Today’s IT Workforce, posted on the Creating IT Futures website: http://www.creatingitfutures.org/inspiring-success/blog/creating-it-futures/2017/03/21/10-critical-skills-for-today-s-it-workforce

I believe we all have a role in our own career path and this article reinforces that professional development is key to paving your future in IT. Continuous education should now be a part of every IT professional’s yearly plan. The world of IT is complex and constantly changing, and we need to stay on top of industry changes. I like that this article advised IT professionals to focus their learning on a few topics of interest rather than try to be a generalist. It is better to be in an expert on a few things and continue to hone those skills as your move through your career path.

Once you get to a good place in your own career, the article also states the importance of mentoring the next generation of IT workers. Sharing your passion with less experienced workers helps keep them engaged and excited about their own career path.

To learn more about TCC please visit our website at https://www.e-tcc.com/.

Posted by Mark Isenberger, TCC Solutions Engineer

WannaCry 2.0, EternalBlue, Assassin, and After Midnight are names that the majority of system administrators have heard of over the last several weeks that have kept administrators and engineers awake wondering at what patch level is their system operating. Those administrators and company executives who were caught by past virus events like Morris Worm, I LOVE YOU, and Slammer, hopefully learned that firmware, security settings and patch levels are all key components in the ever-increasing perimeter security monitoring that have system administrators on a constant vigil.

So, what patch levels are your servers on? Many companies prefer to stay at the second latest revision or “N – 1” so they can avoid the headaches of implementing patches that are not completely error free. Sometimes, this is perfectly acceptable for ensuring that your production systems are online without production outages. Do you have a Development environment that allows you to test the patches? Even more importantly do you have time and resources to review the patches, read notes, and determine if they will impact productions systems affecting the business? Unfortunately, the answer is usually no.

Ensuring servers and applications are patched and reducing the security vulnerability footprint is becoming more and more critical as is the ability to show the organization that you are at the correct revision\patch levels. Imagine if all your contacts, customers and vendors, your critical business applications and all business data, were suddenly gone or locked by ransomware.

Utilizing a standard patching cycle is a good first step in ensuring your organization understands the importance of patching and security updates. Do you utilize something like Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), System Center Configuration Manager, or Amazon EC2 Systems Manager? Guaranteeing you have a scheduled timeline, deployment system and reporting system reduces the potential attack vector, minimizes deployment time and alleviates manual reporting to the organization. Ensuring that your systems are protected is a top priority, and providing guidance to your end users is crucial as well because clicking on a LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs might just reduce all your business to cinders and ash!

To learn more about TCC’s IT Managed Services please visit our website https://e-tcc.com/managed-services

 

Posted by Michelle Thomas, TCC Senior Policy Advisor

TCC is a proud 5-Star Sponsor of the BUILD 2017 QRIS National Meeting taking place in Dallas from June 27-29.   Attendance is expected to be over 1,000 this year. Participants will learn about the latest research, effective practices and innovations in early childhood quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS).

Session 589. TCC’s New Early Childhood Integrated Data System

*****5-Star Sponsor Session*****

This session will introduce TCC’s new early childhood integrated data system, Ascend.  Participants will get hands on demonstration of the different modules including QRIS, Professional Development Registry, Licensing and Background Check and Mobile Forms.

Presenters:  Mike Boyle, Dawn Downer, Michelle Spence and Michelle Thomas, TCC Software Solutions.

Time:  Wednesday, June 28^th from 10:30-12:00.

You can find us at our exhibit booth or attend our 5 Star Sponsor session. To contact us prior to the conference and set up a private appointment, please email one of our friendly staff.

Mike Boyle, Mike.Boyle@e-tcc.com

Michelle Thomas, Michelle.Thomas@e-tcc.com

To find out more about TCC’s Early Childhood Integrated Data System, Ascend, please visit our website at https://www.e-tcc.com/ascend.

 

Posted by Derek Epps, TCC Senior Account Executive of Managed Services

To learn more about TCC’s IT Managed Services, please visit our website https://e-tcc.com/managed-services.