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What’s the story? How our manufacturing clients use technology – Part 2

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Last month, I got to tour another one of our manufacturing client’s facilities, Jaypro Sports, in Waterford, CT. They are a leading authority for institutional sport equipment and athletic field/facility solutions. This was a great opportunity to see what they do and how they do it!

At IT Direct, we believe that the overarching purpose of using technology is to solve a business problem or to improve efficiency or productivity. In this way, technology can help the business achieve their goals. During my tour, I got to see several areas where technology had really come together to help Jaypro Sports achieve those goals! Read more

What’s the story? How our manufacturing clients use technology – Part 1

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I’ve been heading out “into the field” lately to talk to some of our manufacturing clients about what they feel are their most important uses of technology. Read more

Compliance Crackdown – NIST 800-171

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If you have, or are downstream of, a government contract, the days of indifference about NIST 800-171 compliance are ending. The Department of Defense has begun enforcing cyber regulations on contractors to protect important data, including CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information). Not only that, but they have been sending out memos with further, and more in-depth, expectations. Read more

Cybersecurity for compliance: Top 5 reasons you may need a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system

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A security auditor may have recommended, or even insisted (in case of compliance requirements), that you have a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system in place.

Your first question might be, “What is that?” followed closely by, “It costs how much?” followed right after that by, “That’s a lot of money. Do I really need that?” Let us try to answer these questions for you.  Read more

Is your IT strategy cohesive across your entire business?

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Is your IT strategy cohesive across your entire business?

In a previous blog post, we talked about the role of IT strategy and how it has changed over time. We described how to move up from a Reactive break-fix model and through the IT Pyramid to increasingly use your IT to drive value in your business.

What happens with an incohesive strategy?

Recently, we discovered a case where part of the business was still in break-fix mode, while other parts of the business had moved into higher levels of IT efficacy. Read more

2018 Spending Bill is good for CT Manufacturers

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Senator Chris Murphy at manufacturing plant in Cheshire

Omnibus Spending Bill has positive effects on CT Manufacturing

As a member of a legislative council on Manufacturing, Ari Santiago, President/CEO of IT Direct, recently received this update from Senator Chris Murphy’s office on some of the positive effects of the new spending bill on Manufacturing in Connecticut. We thought you might like to read it too!

Good morning,

You may have heard that Congress voted on a $1.3 trillion spending bill last week. Senator Murphy supported this bill and wanted me to update you on what this means for Connecticut’s manufacturers, please feel free to share with your respective groups. Read more

Efficacy of technology – can technology meet everyone’s needs?

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Efficacy of technology – can technology meet everyone’s needs?

During a recent meeting with a prospective client, a CEO of a growing manufacturer in Connecticut, he described what he was looking for in technology in terms of efficacy.

Efficacy – the ability to produce a desired or intended result

I thought this was an interesting way to describe what he was looking for – efficacious technology. It leads to the question…what is your desired result? I think he chose this word, because this answer will be different for every single individual in an organization and is entirely dependent on their role. Yet, the request remains that technology be efficacious, or leading to results, for everyone.  Read more

How to get your business ready for the future of IT (part 2)

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In our first digital transformation post, we talked about the basics of digital transformation…what it means, how you prepare for it and the importance of a strong and secure infrastructure. If you missed that article, click here to read it.

In this post, we’ll talk about how the role of IT in business has changed over time and how your business approach can change along with it.

The IT Management Pyramid

The pyramid below describes the efficacy of your IT strategy as it improves and develops on the way to Digital Transformation. The goal is to move up the pyramid! The idea is to be continually thinking about how you use IT, the role of IT in business strategy, and where your IT is focused. Each tier of the pyramid is explained more fully below, along with the limitations and benefits of each stage as your business develops its IT strategy. Read more

3 Manufacturing Technology Trends for 2018

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Your manufacturing facility may look very different in the years to come. The technological changes that started just a few years ago are becoming readily available and more affordable in 2018. It’s time to start thinking of how you, too, can take advantage of Industry 4.0, aka the “smart factory”. Your company could become more efficient and your employees more productive when you take advantage of some of the technology that is changing the manufacturing industry. Read more

NIST compliance: it’s just good cybersecurity practice

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NIST compliance

We all know that cybersecurity risks are not going away. The truth is, they’re only getting worse. Cyber-criminality is an industry, with a lot of money to be made. And as we’ve seen from the news about security breaches lately, they’ll take just about anything they can get their hands on!

The government has a plan!

Hmm…that sounds a little scarier than it is and not completely accurate. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a government agency responsible for maintaining cybersecurity standards for all government agencies. As you may know, they have created a set of standards for non-governmental organizations that handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), NIST 800-171. They’ve created the standards, now you have to create the plan.

What is NIST compliance?

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