Articles
Harnessing the Power of AWS Primary Storage: Uncover, Utilize, and Optimize
In our previous article, we navigated the world of AWS archival storage, reviewed a real customer use case example and explored how to store data for the long haul. Transitioning from there, let’s shift gears into the realm of AWS primary storage— the vanguard of data...
Unlocking Cost Savings and Compliance with AWS Archival Storage
Nowadays, with data piling up like there's no tomorrow, businesses are continually seeking effective strategies to manage their ever-expanding data volumes. One key part of managing data involves archival storage, which is all about securely keeping data that isn't...
CNCF NATS: The Cloud-Native Messaging and Streaming Gem
In the dynamic landscape of cloud technology, certain tools and platforms stand out, not just for their technical prowess but for the solutions they offer to modern challenges. One such tool is CNCF NATS, a beacon in the world of messaging systems. In this post, we'll...
The All Things Open Conference: a quick look a some spectacular sessions
The All Things Open Conference schedule just landed and it's nothing short of spectacular. I've had a quick look and wanted to share some sessions that caught my eye.1. Industrial Mining at Scale – a Minecraft StorySpeaker: Kerim Satirli Dive into the world of...
HashiCorp License Update: What You Need to Know
Let's dive into an important update from HashiCorp.What Changed HashiCorp is transitioning the source code for its major products to the Business Source License (BSL) v1.1 for future releases. However, APIs, SDKs, most libraries, and Terraform Providers will still be...
Securing a “Cloud Native First” Strategy
Introduction As organizations increasingly adopt cloud-native technologies and practices, a "Cloud Native First" strategy is emerging as a popular approach to build and deploy applications that are scalable, resilient, and easily managed. However, alongside the...
Ensuring Business Continuity with the AWS DR Strategies – Part 1: Backup and Restore
Ensuring Business Continuity with the AWS DR Strategies - Part 1: Backup and Restoreby Phil SautterExecutive SummaryToday we are diving deep into AWS's disaster recovery (DR) strategies, specifically focusing on the "Backup and Restore" approach. It's not just about...
Navigating the Complex Landscape of Risk Management in Cybersecurity: A Guide for Practitioners and Leaders
In the rapidly evolving realm of information and cyber security, practitioners and leaders are often burdened with the perceived ownership of risk stemming from security vulnerabilities or audit findings. A prevalent misconception is that these professionals shoulder...
Manny Landron Honored for Leadership with NEXT TECH Award
This article was first posted on nctech.org. To view it click here. NC TECH, in partnership with Business North Carolina, launched the NEXT TECH Awards to showcase and celebrate North Carolina’s rising tech stars. NEXT TECH Awards will honor a selection of individuals...
Eight Pitfalls to Avoid When Pursuing SOC 2 Audited Status with AWS
Pursuing SOC 2 audited status is no small task, but if done correctly, it can provide organizations with a competitive advantage and increased customer confidence. By understanding the process, having the right resources and documentation, and addressing any findings...
ATG Founder featured on GrepBeat Triangle Tech News
This article was first posted on grepbeat.com. To view it click here. John Zemonek is the Founder and Managing Director of Aligned Technology Group (“Aligned”), a cloud advisory and services business focused on Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) with expertise in security....
Exploring the Potential Impacts and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Language Model Adoption
Large-scale language models, like ChatGPT (developed by OpenAI), are designed to understand, and generate human-like text, enabling it to engage in conversation with users, provide information, answer questions, and even generate creative content. The use of AI...
2 Key Services for Securing Your AWS Resources
Understanding AWS Config & AWS Security Hub in 5-Minutes What is the difference between AWS Config and AWS Security Hub anyway? AWS Config and AWS Security Hub are two different services offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that help users manage and secure their...
Securing Cloud Applications: Understanding why CNAPPs are vital to your Cloud Security Strategy
What are the benefits of cloud native application protection platforms and what value can they add to your cloud security program? Cloud native application protection platforms (CNAPPs) are security solutions designed to provide protection for cloud-native...
Is your service desk meeting the needs of your business?
Helpdesk Hour Doesn’t have quite the same ring as happy hour but it will work for the start of this blog. Why, you might ask, are we talking about helpdesk on this lovely Friday afternoon? Well because we are getting a number of requests for help with helpdesk. In...
The only thing that is consistent is change
Cloud computing officially turned 15 years old this year and is preparing for her Quinceañera. In 2006, Amazon Web Services started offering technology infrastructure services to third parties in the form of web services. Google followed up by launching Google Cloud...
A little update and some of our current investments
Where is the time going? Kids are off to school and the first time I started this blog post summer was just getting ready to move into full swing. So much for posting every month. Well, I am back at it and thought today would be a good day to share where we are and...
How to get started with AI & the bot movement
With all of the advancements made thus far, we are still very early in the days of AI & ML. With Tesla and Boston Scientific it is easy to see these wild achievements and wonder what is next on the grand stage but equally interesting to me are what I am...
Time for a little reflection: supporting work from home & getting back into the office
We are now roughly 13 months from the beginning of the covid shut down and sending our employees home to help reduce the spread of covid. That means for many organizations were just came up or are coming up on the one year purchase anniversary of many workforce...
Why you should consider UCaaS for your business communication now
Are you considering a move to UCaaS? If so, you are not alone. According to IDC in December of last year (2020) the UC market grew over 46% YoY and UCaaS specifically grew over 23%. Over the next five years it is estimated that virtually all UC deployments will be...
Contact Center as a Service – Changing your Customer Experience
As if we didn’t have enough already – a new aaS acronym to learn, Contact Center as a Service or CCaaS. For many years, organizations have been working to improve customer experience and drive the all mighty NPS (Net Promoter Score) up for their business. While there...
Are you protecting your company’s physical infrastructure with the proper level of security?
I have had the personal pleasure of walking the halls of many data centers both within service provider facilities and customer owned spaced. It is an understatement as those within IT know, not all of your data is secured in the same way. The large majority of...
Don’t be lazy: 4 Tips for Renegotiating a Technology Renewal
**I am not a contracts attorney and you should get one. I am just a guy who has sold colocation, cloud, hardware, software, consulting and managed services over the last decade.** Ok, so you have some awesome service from your MSP, data center provider or telco and...
Consulting & Advisory
Technology Brokerage, Consulting & Advisory services. So many companies (including ours) leverage these terms to suggest to our customers and prospective customers that we can help them in some vague way. So what’s the deal? I would do a bad job of selling if I...
Reducing the time it takes to buy new technology
In the technology marketplace today there are hundreds and thousands of suppliers and vendors offering up their tools and services. Many times, they all start to blend together while leveraging marketing key words like security, cloud and digital. While portions of...
3 ways to get serious about cloud
Before we dive too far into this discussion, I am not a 100% cloud guy nor am I suggesting you should think that way with this post. However, what I am suggesting is that you align your business and IT team in a way where you can get serious about cloud if you haven’t...
Top Tech Needs for Remote Work
There have been a wide range of prospectives provided in the past weeks in regard to the best way to set up your business for remote work. Given the changes created by COVID, it seems that all business owners need to look at remote work as a part of the new norm. I am...
Why Change Collaboration
Today’s business and technology climate is changing at such a rapid pace, it is hard to keep up for those that focus on it daily. I read a post recently that stated it’s now 2020 and every company is a tech company and every CEO is now a technology leader. While it...