TECHNOLOGY TIMES QUARTER 4 - 2019
READITECH BUSINESS TO BUSINESS PUBLICATION
ReadiTech Holds Grand Openings of Fargo and Grand Forks Offices Celebrations galore! ReadiTech recently celebrated the Grand Openings of two locations—Grand Forks and Fargo. ReadiTech acquired Insight Technology January 1, 2019. Over the past several months, ReadiTech has been learning more about their newly acquired customers plus moving into new office space. The Grand Forks office moved to its current location of 2600 Demers Avenue in July, while the Fargo office moved to its location at Rocking Horse Farm complex in April. After all the dust settled, it was time to introduce our company and employees to the businesses and chamber organizations. Between the two offices over 50 chamber members and clients attended the special events. Chamber Ambassadors were on hand to welcome ReadiTech to their respective organizations and communities.
Grand Forks Ribbon Cutting with The Chamber - Grand Forks/ East Grand Forks and Representatives from ReadiTech.
Fargo Ribbon Cutting with FMWF Chamber Ambassadors and Representatives from ReadiTech.
ReadiTech Grand Forks Office 2600 Demers Ave, Suite 104B
ReadiTech Fargo Office 4870 Rocking Horse Circle S.
LET'S VISIT!
If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by, check out our new office locations and we will chat about your IT needs...and of course the weather!
DRN ReadiTech named one of the Best Places to Work DRN ReadiTech was recently named as one of the Best Places to Work in the Northern Plains by Prairie Business. Earlier this year, employees nominated the organizations by submitting anonymous employee-satisfaction surveys, and Prairie Business used the survey results in selecting the 50 Best. The survey sought input on each employer’s benefits, workplace culture and employee morale, among other factors. And employees responded. Prairie Business this year “I am greatly received more than 1,400 appreciative of DRN/ nominations from employees from around the region. In ReadiTech’s employees 2018, there were approximately for selecting the coop1,300 nominations. erative as one of the 50 “Each year, it seems we’re Best Places to work. It is awed by the number of truly an honor to receive nominations we receive,” Prairie Business Publisher this award!" Korrie Wenzel said. “This year, it has happened again. And Kent Schimke after reading through the nominations, it is hard not to be impressed by the passionate comments made by so many employees at these great companies.” Here is what one employee said about DRN ReadiTech, “DRN ReadiTech is an awesome place to work! Here I am part of a group of experts working together for the same goal, to help provide solutions to the surrounding communities. It can be a challenge to bring the latest technology and security solutions to small town North Dakota, but it’s this challenge that keeps pushing each of us to excel and succeed as a team. We are a company that is heavy invested in improving the channels of communication that connect our members. The idea that what we do here improves our user’s ability to work and compete with other business at a national level is a great feeling,”—Anonymous DRN ReadiTech employee. Prairie Business is proud to present the results of the contest, which now is in its fifth year.
“It takes so much to be a great place to work. Obviously, it’s more than just pay or vacation time,” Wenzel said. “This year’s winners are good examples of companies that are working hard to make work fulfilling. It’s nice to see that it’s happening in so many places in our region.” “I am greatly appreciative of DRN/ReadiTech’s employees for selecting the cooperative as one of the 50 Best Places to work. It is truly an honor to receive this award! If there were an award to be given for the best employee group, DRN/ ReadiTech’s employees would have my vote for #1!”, said Kent Schimke, DRN ReadiTech CEO/General Manager. DRN is the parent company and ReadiTech is a subsidiary.
About Prairie Business For more than 17 years, Prairie Business has served as the only business-to-business magazine dedicated to the Northern Plains region. More than 20,000 print and digital copies are distributed monthly. The magazine focuses on success and opportunities in North Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota and covers a variety of business topics including higher education, finance, architecture and engineering, agribusiness, energy, health care, economic development, tourism, technology and construction. The 50 Best winners were honored in the September issue of Prairie Business, which is available online at prairiebusinessmagazine.com.
INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS? Visit the ReadiTech website at readitech.com/careers
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Yield Results: How to streamline your farming operations with ReadiTech The story of Neu Way Farms begins as many family farms’ stories do: with one man, a dream, and a 500-acre plot of land. Jacob Weber purchased the Ashley, North Dakota farm in 1895. In the century since, it has passed through the hands of five generations, survived dust bowls and floods, and increased its physical footprint by over 1,000%. Today, Neu Way Farms operates roughly 8,000 acres of spring wheat, soybeans, and corn and is recognized as a leader in crop production. And despite its growth over the years, Neu Way Farms has remained in the family. Jacob’s great-great-grandsons Anthony and Daniel Neu manage the farm along with their wives, Lisa and Jennifer. “It’s always been a family farm,” Anthony said. “We’ve been successful at continuing that for over 100 years.” The family that manages the farm may be the same as it was 100 years ago, but the way it operates is nearly unrecognizable from Jacob Weber’s days of steam threshers and horsedrawn combines. As Neu Way Farms has grown and expanded into new markets, it has become increasingly important for their operations to run as efficiently as possible. That’s where ReadiTech comes in. ReadiTech provides technology solutions—data backup and cloud services, computer hardware and software, network infrastructure, telephone systems, and security—to help businesses operate at peak efficiency. Which, as Managed Security Analyst Brandon Huber knows, is especially crucial for farmers. “I was a farm kid. I know from experience that any equipment or solutions we provide farmers just needs to work,” Brandon said. “Farmers have such a narrow window to get their work done with weather and other restraints, so they need equipment that is dependable.” Neu Way Farms has been a ReadiTech customer since 2016.
One of the ways that ReadiTech has helped streamline their operations is by setting up a managed wireless network that will reach them wherever they need to be. As general manager of Neu Way Farms, Anthony’s time is split between operational and administrative work. Depending on the season, he needs to be spraying fields and performing equipment maintenance, but he also needs to be checking emails and analyzing market data. “Phones and tablets often lose reception working in and around metal farm buildings,” Brandon said. “Having internet connectivity that actually works when and where you need it means that your device will be able to recall the information that you need faster, and you’re not sitting and waiting for service.” Without that wireless connectivity, Anthony would have to drop what he was doing and go inside the office just to check his email. And because a farm’s success is directly linked to crop production, that lost time can mean lost profit. “The speed is a vast improvement. It allows use to be more efficient, it’s dependable, and we have very few issues with not having service,” Anthony said. “Without it, well, things would just happen at a much slower pace.”
Read the rest of the story online at www.readitech.com/tip-news
ReadiTech welcomes new employees ReadiTech is pleased to announce the hiring of several new employees. “We are excited to welcome new employees to our team. Growing our business is a great sign of expanding quality service to clients. These employees bring experience from a wide range of professional fields that keep ReadiTech well-rounded,� said Kent Schimke, DRN ReadiTech CEO and General Manager. Ben Kettering, Network Analyst, has joined the team in the Grand Forks office. He previously worked for Altru Health Systems as a Information Service Analyst. Ben currently Growing our business is lives in Grand Forks and enjoys cooking and golf in his spare a great sign of time. expanding quality Cameron Frank has joined the team in Fargo as part-time IT Support. He is currently a student at NDSU majoring in Computer Science. Cody Naanes, Help Desk Technician, has joined the ReadiTech team in the Fargo office.
Melinda Maley has joined the ReadiTech team in the Fargo office as a Client Success Specialist. She previously was an administrative assistant. In her spare time, Melinda enjoys spending time with family and friends, shopping, watching football and scary movies. She currently resides in Fargo. Tyler Zahn has joined the DRN ReadiTech team at our headquarters in Ellendale as a Network Assistant. He resides in Kulm. In his spare time, Tyler enjoys hunting fishing, taxidermy and basketball.
To learn more about our team of experts, visit www.readitech.com/the-team.
service to customers. These employees bring experience from a wide range of professional fields that keep
Ben Ketterling Network Analyst
Cameron Frank IT Support
Cody Naanes Help Desk Technician
ReadiTech well-rounded. Kent Schimke
Gage Holmstrom joined the CEO & General Manager ReadiTech team as a Network Assistant in the Lisbon office. He was born and raised in Lisbon. He previously worked for Bobcat in the IT department. In his spare time, he enjoys watching sports, golfing, snowboarding, playing video games and hanging out with friends. Gage currently resides in Lisbon. Kristofer Hochsprung has joined the ReadiTech team as a Help Desk Technician in the Fargo office.
Gage Holmstrom Network Assistant
Tyler Zahn Network Assistant
Kristofer Hochsprung Help Desk Technician
Melinda Maley Client Success Specialist
SecurityIQ provides cyber security awareness training for employees SecurityIQ by ReadiTech is a multi-layered security awareness training program powered by InfoSec. The training includes personalized training to boost engagement, retention and mastery of employees. Employees are enrolled in learning paths based on their role, security aptitude and preferred learning style. Our ReadiTech security experts help customers set the groups and then SecurityIQ will automatically adjust training content and difficulty based on 22 measurable security behaviors. Event-activated learning in the teachable moment Integrate your endpoint protection software with SecurityIQ to immediately deliver training to end users following detected security events.
This provides continuous training for learners who:
• attempt to download malware • fall victim to phishing • execute hostile browser add-ons • run macros or malware-embedded attachments Continuous reinforcement of key security messages Customers can choose from dozens of awareness posters and newsletters to communicate key lessons in a variety of channels.
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SECURITY IQ TRAINING? Set up a cyber security audit! Contact ReadiTech at 877.559.4692
DID YOU
K N OW?
Less than 10 weeks left! WINDOWS 7 & SERVER 2008 SUPPORT ENDS ON JAN. 14, 2020
Microsoft will end extended support for these two systems on January 14, 2020. In less than 10 weeks, those still using Windows 7 and Server 2008 will no longer receive free technical support, software and security updates putting their computer at risk of viruses and malware.
Immediate action required.
Call our experts today!
MAKE SURE YOUR UP-TO-DATE Learn more about Windows end of life! Contact ReadiTech at 877.559.4692 or 800.279.4796
A USER’S GUIDE:
WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA
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Don’t click that link! What to do: Don’t click links in emails. Instead, type the URL you want directly into the browser. Why: According to Microsoft, phishing is still the number one favorite method of cyber-attacks.
Delete recorded conversations What to do: Regularly delete any recorded conversations used by your personal assistant. Why: There have been cases where Alexa revealed personal data to unknown persons without consent.
Be less social
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What to do: Minimize the amount of personal data you have on social media platforms. Why: Information like your pet’s name or mother’s maiden name is sometimes used to recover account logins. Don’t give hackers an easy way into your online accounts!
Keep off the beaten track What to do: Disable location tracking on each app. Why: A recent study of almost 1 million Android phones demonstrated that apps regularly harvested tracking data.
Encrypt stored data What to do: Encrypt any data you store on hard drives and use an email encryption tool if you share personal data. Why: Encryption is a layer of protection that can prevent lost or stolen data from being exposed.
Sources 1. Stolen PII & Ramifications: Identity Theft and Fraud on the Dark Web, Armor Blog 2. Identity Fraud Hits All Time High With 16.7 Million U.S. Victims in 2017, Javelin Research 3. Security Intelligence Report (SIR), Microsoft 4. 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon 5. Alexa user gets access to 1,700 audio files from a stranger, TechCrunch © 2019 InfoSec Institute. All rights reserved.
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6. 7. 8. 9.
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Use two-factor authentication What to do: Use a second factor for logging into accounts. Why: If you have a robust two or multi-factor in place, you are much less likely to lose personal data due to phishing.
Keep it clean — delete old files What to do: Make sure you keep data replication to a minimum. Delete old files you don’t use. Why: There can never be 100% security, but reducing the places that can be compromised helps lessen your risk.
Don’t sync for sync’s sake What to do: Disable automatic file and media sharing whenever possible. Why: A lot of devices set up cloud syncing when you first configure the device. Check if you really want to store these data in the cloud.
Let sleeping Bluetooth lie What to do: If you are not using Bluetooth, switch it off. Why: Bluetooth vulnerabilities can allow data to be siphoned off your device.
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Patch your devices What to do: Keep your computers and mobile devices patched and up to date. Why: Software vulnerabilities allow malware to infect your device, which can steal data and login credentials.
Woman says her Amazon device recorded private conversation, sent it out to random contact, KIRO 7 Binns, R., et.al., Third Party Tracking in the Mobile Ecosystem, Association for Computing Machinery The Attack Vector “BlueBorne” Exposes Almost Every Connected Device, Armis Breach Level Index, Gemalto
Readi Tech A DRN COMPANY
Regional Offices: Fargo, ND | Grand Forks, ND | Lisbon, ND | Oakes, ND Aberdeen, SD ReadiTech Headquarters: P.O. Box 69, Ellendale, ND 58436-0069
We are here for you. Education Money is tight, and there never seems to be enough. Educational institutions could be eligible for the E-rate Program. The E-rate Program is used by institutions large and small to enable them to afford the Internet access, infrastructure, and maintenance they need. Let ReadiTech help you take advantage of E-rate Program funding.
Readi Tech
ReadiTech is an IT solutions provider serving North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
CLIENT FOCUSED—TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN
TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN: SecurityIQ Provides Awareness Training
SecurityIQ by ReadiTech is a multi-layered security awareness training program powered by InfoSec. Learn how ReadiTech can help your business become cyber aware. Also, learn how you can protect your personal data.
Windows 7 & Server 2008 Support
Microsoft will end extended support for these two systems in less than 10 weeks. Make sure you are up-to-date and call ReadiTech. STORIES INSIDE >>