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As a premier Houston IT consulting company, AVATAR Managed Services understands how a proactive IT strategy and a clear roadmap can help reduce operational risks as changes are made and facilitate budget planning. Information technology now permeates many business processes across all industry sectors, keeping data secure and available at all times can be the difference between winning new customers and earning their trust and losing existing clients and reputation damage. As Houston cybersecurity solution providers, AVATAR Managed Services works with clients to protect data. With an ever-increasing range of cyber security threats to contend with, prevention is always the preferred path. If a cyber attack is successful then the mitigation could be costly in terms of time lost, money spent, and a compromised reputation. As well as incorporating the smartest tools to help detect and counteract cyber threats, staff should all be trained to recognize the warning signs that an attack is imminent and should know exactly how to respond if a suspected cyber attack is confirmed. AVATAR Managed Services looks at all aspects of IT, from the platforms, servers, network protocols, maintenance patches, and hardware, to the processes, documentation, and communication that dovetail to make the IT architecture fit for purpose and suitable to deliver the expected return on investment.

As a premier Houston IT consulting company, AVATAR Managed Services offers a comprehensive range of services to support a business with its information technology needs, ranging from cybersecurity compliance through to a strategy to move away from a data center and beyond. Every company is unique and yet increasingly businesses across multiple business sectors have IT-related themes in common, two of which are dependence on information technology in order to carry out day-to-day operations and the need to protect and safeguard client data from cyberattacks and attempts to steal that data. A proactive IT strategy helps a business budget for the future with step-by-step enhancements to keep the company ahead of cyber threats while simultaneously upgrading infrastructure and harnessing cutting-edge IT tools and programs to automate repetitive tasks and monitoring. As Houston cybersecurity solution providers, AVATAR Managed Services have extensive experience across industry sectors including law firms, manufacturing companies, healthcare facilities, banking institutions, professional services, construction, engineering, energy, transport, and more. The starting point is usually a baseline IT assessment which AVATAR has developed and tuned over time to gauge the overall health of existing infrastructure technology performance and effectiveness. These indicators are quantitative and can be repeated over time to demonstrate the results of change and return on investment. A holistic approach is essential, with staff processes and procedures fully in scope for review and development. At times of stress in particular, after a cyber attack has been detected for instance, AVATAR's Computer Incident Response Team assumes command of the next actions to be taken, mitigating threats and minimizing risk moving forward in terms of cyber security, staff training, and reputation management. With IT operations a critical pillar of many businesses and with the need to have an online presence at all times, AVATARs security operations center operates 24x7x365, covering all business hours, weekends, and holidays. Once the assessment has been translated into a roadmap and plans, the next phase is implementation. Progress can be measured and plans should always be reviewed to ensure the option initially mapped out is still the best, this is because in the rapidly changing landscape of IT, new products may be launched or prices may fluctuate. Following the implementation of improvements and even after gaining cybersecurity compliance, ongoing maintenance and proactive enhancements are a sound investment for the future of the business.

For those working on a really important conference presentation, wishing for some way to make it really stand out from the competition, here is a suggestion: The Focusky presentation tool which enables telling a story in new, interesting ways, a real departure from standard PowerPoint. It is easy to use and allows great freedom in showcasing ideas. Complete information on Focusky can be found at http://focusky.com/.

Amateur photographers including many professionals ones as well often struggle with landscape photography because of bad lighting conditions. ND filters or neutral density filters are the photography tools that come very handy under such circumstances. All Good Friend Camera recently rolled out its online guide on ND filters.

A-PDF, a China based company, today released a new commercial template for customers across the globe. The new template is designed especially for business users and allows them to showcase their page flipping eBook in an unadorned style. The A-PDF digital publishing software for catalogs creation could be much easier now. The impression of audience can be deepened by inserting a proper background image.

Globalization of the economy paved way to the rise of information technology, particularly the development of the Internet and other communication networks. Increasing demands of business transactions and global competition forced companies to devise new business processes to improve business efficiency. Thanks to the internet, new business models were formed, processes were enhanced and information can be distributed anytime and anywhere.

Ultriva’s founder and CEO, Narayan Laksham discussed in the current company blog how many organizations fail to execute a best-practice solution beyond Proof of Concept at a single plant or site. Multi-national management organizations usually turn to improved best-practice technology solutions when one of two circumstances occurs: rapid growth requiring improved throughput capacity or serious quality-control issues. Both these challenges produce lower customer satisfaction if the correct products are not received in a timely, safe, and accurate manner.

iMortgageCalculator, a company famed for its ‘easy to use’  mortgage calculators , has today announced that it plans to relaunch its website in order to cater better for those that utilise mobile devices.

Executive coaching has become an integral part of online career counseling and life coaching. It is inevitable that people start to wonder what exactly are executive coaches or if they might need one too. An executive coach looks to improve upon their client’s personal development which will ultimately result in professional development. The main purpose of executive coaches is to help their clients in identifying the main aims and goals of their life.

MarketLine's Company Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Partnerships & Alliances and Investments reports offer a comprehensive breakdown of the organic and inorganic growth activity undertaken by an organization to sustain its competitive advantage.

Despite previous decline in sales of desktops and notebooks, as users substituted purchases to lower cost tablets, we expect solid growth of 4.1% in German IT spending in 2014 to EUR49.6bn. We expect hardware spending growth will underperform if substitution for cheaper devices continues. However, there is potential for stronger performance in our five-year forecast period to 2018, if ultra-thin notebooks and hybrids/convertibles gain traction with consumers. Software and services have a more positive outlook with cloud computing, machine-to-machine communications and big data analytics being key drivers over the medium term. Cloud computing is a particularly interesting market segment, with opportunities for local providers or global firms with a local presence, to capitalise on the negative impact of the Patriot Act and PRISM on perceptions of US providers.

Kable's Market Opportunity Forecast outlines the primary findings from our ongoing research into the dynamics in the Enterprise Communications market.

Encoding.com, the world's largest cloud video processing service, today announced support for producing HEVC video, the latest advancement in video compression standards.

Many music fans undergo a rollercoaster of emotions whenever their favorite artists announce a new tour- at first they are alive with possibilities, then they are distressed as they try to book tickets, left panicking as the tickets cost so much and disappointed as they sell out before they can put funds together. It was in response to this frustration that a group of entrepreneurial music lovers put together Cheap Ticket Sorted, in which a cabal of dedicated hunters would secure concert tickets and pass them on to real fans at amazing prices.

The Council on Competitiveness and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is hosting the American Energy & Manufacturing Competitiveness (AEMC) Partnership Dialogue 5 on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. System Insights’ CEO will be presenting at the conference. Sobel will be speaking with The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm Former Governor and Distinguished Practitioner of Law and Public Policy University of California, Berkeley. The session is entitled, “Aligning Forces in Clean Energy Manufacturing through a PPP Facilitating Access to Extraordinary Resources and Capabilities,” and begins at 9:45 am at the Hearst Memorial Mining Building, Berkeley, CA.

TraceGains’ will host a webinar on Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 12:00 pm EST co-presented by Elizabeth (Beth) Johnson, MS, RD, founder and principal of Food Directions LLC. Johnson will address the FDA's proposed updates and anticipated timing as well as the implications for food manufacturers as they prepare for the nutrition label changes. Register at: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=1jq0vq56res7. Gary Nowacki, CEO of TraceGains Noted, “This is getting a lot of attention across the board – industry, consumers, and government. Why? In part it may be because this is actually not a $64000 question, but a multi-billion dollar question. The Obama administration estimates the Nutrition Facts label changes could cost the industry $2 billion, but would lead to up to $30 billion in benefits over time. Regardless whether people agree or disagree with the cost or benefits side of the equation, it is a serious economic discussion.” Johnson will share her expertise on the Johnson explained, "After nearly two decades, FDA is proposing changes to its original nutrition facts label. While sweeping in nature, the Agency's proposal will impact over 700,000 packaged foods and could cost the food industry at least $2 billion. From updated serving sizes to major format revisions, understanding the proposed changes will help teams identify potential problems, which can be addressed now, and prepare for the anticipate costs companies will face in the near-term." TraceGains (www.tracegains.com) provides food and beverage manufacturers and distributors with a web-based, full-service supplier, compliance, and regulatory document management solution that automates and streamlines processes to convert static documents into actionable data. With a network of more than 5,000 supplier members and more than 250 deployment sites, TraceGains offers an ever-expanding database of suppliers, purchased items, and documents that companies can leverage to improve product quality, accelerate product development, and meet regulatory and audit pressures. TraceGains not only digitizes all incoming documents, making them easily searchable, but also extracts critical data and analyzes them against customer-specific business and compliance rules, alerting stakeholders to any non-compliance. TraceGains’ automated solution assures companies that documentation is up to date, organized, and searchable, making companies 365 Audit Ready. TraceGains’ customers boast a four to six month return on their investment. Recently, TraceGains was listed as one of Food Logistics Top 100 software and technology providers. Follow TraceGains on Twitter at @tracegains.

Fisil LLC, a software development company, added chat history to its Lync Linux software clients for Microsoft Lync. They are available for download at fisil.com

USA Scheduler has rolled out scheduling software for schools combining simplicity with comprehensive results. A reliable, automated software solution, developed with a planning-oriented approach makes scheduling easy and quick. A schedule can be built automatically or interactively, comparing combinations to arrive on the optimum schedule.

Finding the right college is something that can define a person’s life, yet much of the time spent searching is wasted on sifting out irrelevant choices. ApplyMap is a new approach to college counseling that can give people a step by step guide as to how to apply to the best schools for their grades, preferences and ambitions in as little as five minutes. The app has proved so exciting that it has been accepted into StartEngine, L.A.’s largest startup accelerator.

LaContempo, a leading online furniture store based in US state of California, welcomes you in the stylish world of contemporary designer furniture that it directly imports from some of the best furniture houses in Europe. The direct import enables the online furniture store to offer furniture at highly affordable prices to its customer from all over the US. The online store has an operating area of over 15,000 square feet that enables it to house the extensive range of furniture easily.

DerbyBox.com, a company that offers a wide variety of Kentucky Derby packages on its user-friendly website, http://derbybox.com/Kentucky-Derby-Packages.htm, has just announced the addition of a new Derby package.

In the 21st century, there is no reason why people's comprehension as to ‘how to get abs’ should be restricted to doing for crunches, reports the new website of the same name. The site provides health blog advice regarding state-of-the-art methods of flattening out the abdominal muscles and supporting that perfect sixpack with good nutrition and a matching lifestyle. The webmaster has recently announced it has expanded the range and number of advice articles, to give readers the most leading edge information it can in one convenient and straightforward online resource.

Coast To Coast Tickets is one of the leading online brokers in United States, offering genuine tickets to customers at highly affordably prices. The online dealer sells tickets to some big time live events taking place in various cities of the US. Being in the business for several years, the company has gained a great reputation by offering lucrative deals and discounts to customers on their ticket purchase. If you wish to buy tickets for an upcoming major event, you can rely on the services offered by the company. Coast To Coast Tickets is now offering personalized ticket selling solutions to event organizers in United States. If you are looking forward to sell your tickets, you can create an account by filling in an application form available on the company’s website. The form requires you to fill your personal information including your first name, last name, email address, phone number, username and password.

This Paid Social Media Jobs Review introduces a unique service because it allows users to choose the jobs they like, whenever they feel like working. Users basically just need to sign up at Paid Social Media Jobs, apply for one of the many jobs that are on the list, and if they are accepted, they will start working.

The Secret Millionaires' Club is one of the current binary options program which has been attaining high momentum online and has taken the world by a storm since it is launched in the market. Secret Millionaires Club is one moneymaking system which is stationed around automated binary options trading business.

Michael Fox has created a system called "Easy Money Machines" which is emerging to be one of the top systems to be ever launched in the market. It is basically a video-oriented internet marketing training program. The central aim of this program is to teach people how to earn money promptly and effortlessly.

Forex Strategy Master by Russ Horn is regulating selling techniques that aim a merchant who has some gangling time outward of their unchanging pursuit to make some additional cash. A Forex Strategy Master examination reveals either this Forex module can unequivocally offer anything opposite for a Forex trader.