cmcwplgnomg404, Author at Cost Plus

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So far cmcwplgnomg404 has created 117 blog entries.

Should You Outsource IT in New York City? Pros and Cons for Local Businesses

Outsourced IT in New York City: For many businesses in New York City, managing technology has become a full-time job. Between cybersecurity, cloud services, remote access, and day-to-day user support, the demands on internal teams are higher than ever. As a result, more organizations are asking a critical question: should we keep IT in-house—or outsource it?

Outsourcing IT is nothing new. But in NYC’s high-cost, high-demand environment, the calculus is shifting. Businesses are weighing more than just budget—they’re evaluating risk, responsiveness, and how well their current systems support growth. Below, we break down the pros and cons of outsourcing IT in New York City and what to consider before making the move.

The Case for Outsourcing

Outsourcing IT can reduce overhead, improve performance, and increase security—when done right. The model gives companies access to a full team of experts across networking, compliance, cybersecurity, and support without hiring each role in-house. For NYC firms, that means reducing the strain on internal staff and freeing up time to focus on clients and operations.

Another benefit is scalability. Outsourced providers can ramp services up or down as needed, whether it’s onboarding new users, rolling out cloud infrastructure, or handling after-hours support. For businesses with fluctuating demands, this flexibility is often more efficient than maintaining a static internal team.

The Risks and Challenges

Of course, outsourcing isn’t without tradeoffs. One of the most cited concerns is response time—especially when providers are based outside the region. In a city where minutes matter, delays in support can disrupt operations. That’s why many NYC companies prefer to work with providers that are local or close enough to deliver fast on-site assistance when needed.

Another challenge is alignment. Some outsourced IT firms apply a generic approach that doesn’t reflect the client’s industry or workflow. This can lead to missed details, security gaps, or miscommunications. It’s critical to work with a provider that understands your business—not just your systems.

Cost Considerations

Staffing a full internal IT department in NYC is expensive. Salaries, benefits, training, and management costs add up quickly. Outsourced models typically offer flat-rate pricing or flexible billing that aligns with actual usage. However, pricing alone shouldn’t drive the decision. The best providers offer both savings and measurable improvements in service quality.

Is There a Middle Ground?

For many companies, the solution isn’t choosing between in-house and outsourced—it’s blending the two. This hybrid model allows internal staff to focus on strategic initiatives while day-to-day support, security, and infrastructure are managed externally. Working with a provider that is geographically close—such as Cost+, based just over the George Washington Bridge—can offer the benefits of outsourcing without compromising responsiveness.

When Outsourcing Makes the Most Sense

Outsourcing is often a good fit for businesses that:

Have fewer than 100 employees and limited internal IT
Operate in regulated industries like law, finance, or healthcare
Need 24/7 monitoring or advanced cybersecurity
Want predictable IT costs with clear deliverables
Are struggling to hire or retain skilled IT staff in NYC

Conclusion

Outsourcing IT isn’t about giving up control—it’s about gaining capability. For many New York City businesses, it provides a path to better performance, stronger security, and lower overhead. The key is finding a provider who understands your priorities, speaks your language, and can support your team without slowing it down.

To learn more about your options for outsourced IT in NYC, visit our New York City IT services page.

cmcwplgnomg4042025-07-06T11:55:19-05:00July 6, 2025|

How to Cut IT Costs Without Cutting Corners: A Guide for NYC Businesses

Technology spending in New York City has always been a balancing act. Businesses need reliable systems, strong cybersecurity, and responsive support—but they also face some of the highest operating costs in the country. In an environment where every line item is under scrutiny, cutting IT expenses is a natural consideration. The challenge? Doing it without exposing the business to risk or sacrificing essential performance.

The good news is that reducing IT costs doesn’t have to mean reducing quality. Many NYC businesses are now rethinking how they approach IT—shifting away from bloated contracts and toward service models that offer flexibility, clarity, and real value. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

Business people reducing IT Costs in New York City

Start by Auditing What You’re Really Paying For

Most companies don’t know exactly what they’re spending on IT—or why. Between overlapping vendor contracts, legacy tools, and bundled “managed” services, it’s easy for costs to balloon. The first step toward cutting costs is understanding them. That means reviewing line items, assessing unused licenses, and identifying areas where performance and price are out of sync.

Eliminate One-Size-Fits-All Service Contracts

Many NYC-based providers lock clients into service plans that don’t match their actual needs. Whether it’s an inflated monthly retainer or bundled services the business rarely uses, these contracts are often more about predictability for the provider than value for the customer. By working with flexible providers—especially those just outside the city—businesses can pay only for what they need and scale support as they grow.

Leverage Cloud Solutions Strategically

Cloud services offer major cost advantages when used properly. The key is to avoid over-provisioning. Many businesses pay for cloud storage or compute capacity they never use. A smarter approach involves right-sizing cloud resources, managing access securely, and integrating platforms that match business workflows. Working with a provider that understands both the technical and financial aspects of the cloud can yield immediate savings.

Invest in Prevention, Not Just Reaction

Downtime, data breaches, and compliance failures are all expensive problems—and most are preventable. The right cybersecurity tools, employee training, and system monitoring can prevent six-figure losses for a fraction of the cost. Cutting corners here is false economy. Instead, focus on providers who emphasize protection and prevention as part of their core service model.

Consider Working with a Nearby but Lower-Cost Provider

Firms located just across the river can provide the same level of IT support—often with faster response times and dramatically lower rates. Cost+, for example, operates minutes from the George Washington Bridge and supports NYC businesses with enterprise-grade tools and pricing that reflects a New Jersey cost structure, not Manhattan overhead.

Key Areas Where NYC Businesses Can Cut IT Costs Without Risk:

Vendor consolidation and invoice auditing
License management and elimination of unused tools
Replacing hourly support with flat-rate models
Shifting email, file sharing, and backup to secure cloud platforms
Outsourcing cybersecurity to specialized providers instead of piecing it together internally

Closing Thought

In New York City, smart companies aren’t cutting IT—they’re cutting waste. By aligning technology with actual business needs, they’re protecting their operations, improving performance, and lowering their costs all at once. The right provider won’t ask you to compromise. They’ll help you do more—with less.

To explore how your business can reduce IT expenses without sacrificing quality, visit our New York City IT services page.

cmcwplgnomg4042025-07-02T09:00:18-05:00July 2, 2025|

Cost of IT Downtime for Englewood Businesses

The cost of IT downtime for Englewood NJ businesses continues to rise as even short outages disrupt operations, delay client work, and create unexpected expenses. Whether you’re running a law firm, accounting practice, or medical office, any interruption to your systems can have cascading effects across your entire business—affecting both your bottom line and reputation.

What Exactly Is “Downtime”?

Downtime occurs any time your systems are unavailable—whether it’s your email server, case management software, file access, or even internet connectivity. For businesses in Englewood that rely heavily on technology to serve clients, process payments, or manage appointments, even a short outage can have serious consequences.

The Hidden Costs Behind the Outage

Many business owners think of downtime in terms of hourly billing losses, but the full cost runs deeper. Consider the following impact areas:

Lost productivity: Employees sit idle while systems are offline.
Missed deadlines: Court filings, financial reports, or patient follow-ups get delayed.
Client dissatisfaction: Poor communication during an outage can erode trust.
Reputation damage: Word spreads quickly when a business isn’t responsive.
Data recovery costs: Restoring files or systems after a crash is never free—or guaranteed.

A single day of downtime can cost thousands, even for a small firm. And that doesn’t account for the stress, client churn, or regulatory exposure it can create.

What Causes Downtime?

Downtime can be triggered by a wide range of issues—many of them preventable:

Hardware failure
Power outages
Cyberattacks like ransomware
Outdated software or unpatched systems
Poorly managed cloud services or network misconfigurations

In most cases, downtime isn’t caused by catastrophic failure. It’s the result of overlooked maintenance, lack of monitoring, or an absence of backup and recovery planning.

How Englewood Businesses Can Minimize Risk

Reducing downtime starts with visibility and preparedness. At Cost+, we help Englewood businesses stay ahead of issues with proactive monitoring, managed IT support, and fast response when problems arise. We also build backup and recovery plans that allow firms to restore operations quickly after an outage—without paying ransom or starting from scratch.

Simple Ways to Improve Your Uptime

If you’re not ready for a full managed IT plan, there are still practical steps you can take:

Ensure automatic backups are running—and test them
Keep software and operating systems updated
Use hardware monitoring tools to predict failures
Document a basic recovery process and assign roles
Work with an IT partner who can step in when you need help

Even a few of these actions can dramatically reduce your exposure to downtime and the costs that come with it.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Many business owners delay investing in IT protections until something goes wrong. But the reality is, reactive IT is far more expensive than proactive planning. Every hour of downtime chips away at client confidence and productivity—and that damage adds up fast. For Englewood firms, particularly those in legal and financial sectors, the reputational cost of being unreachable during a time-sensitive issue may be worse than the technical failure itself.

Protect Your Time, Revenue, and Reputation

Technology issues don’t just waste time—they cost money. The longer your business goes without proper IT oversight, the more vulnerable you become to preventable downtime. If you want to protect your operations, start with an IT partner that understands Englewood businesses and delivers solutions that work. We offer both remote and onsite support, helping your business stay secure, connected, and productive—even when challenges arise.

cmcwplgnomg4042025-07-02T09:17:35-05:00July 2, 2025|

Microsoft 365 Direct Send Exploited for Internal Phishing: What You Need to Know

Threat actors are now abusing a legitimate feature of Microsoft 365 known as Direct Send phishing to deliver fraudulent emails that appear to come from internal users. This attack method bypasses traditional email defenses by exploiting a trusted mail flow configuration, making it especially dangerous in enterprise environments. In this article, we break down how this attack works, what makes it effective, and how to defend against it using Microsoft best practices and layered security controls.

Understanding Direct Send in Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 offers three ways to send mail from devices and applications: SMTP AUTH client submission, Microsoft 365 or Office 365 SMTP relay, and Direct Send. The Direct Send method allows email to be transmitted from an application or device (like a printer, scanner, or third-party app) directly to Microsoft 365 without authentication, as long as the IP is allowed and the domain is valid. According to Microsoft, this method supports internal email routing without needing user credentials. You can read more in their official documentation here.

How Attackers Are Exploiting Direct Send

By impersonating legitimate applications and spoofing trusted IPs, attackers can send phishing emails through Direct Send that appear to come from verified internal addresses. These emails often bypass SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checks because they technically originate from within the organization’s domain and IP allowances.

This tactic gives attackers a powerful advantage: the messages don’t look suspicious to email security filters or to users. Targets are more likely to engage with a message if it appears to come from a known colleague or internal system—especially when the content mimics invoice alerts, password change requests, or file-sharing notifications.

Why This Threat Is So Effective

Unlike typical phishing campaigns that rely on misspelled sender names or domain lookalikes, Direct Send phishing creates emails that pass as entirely legitimate in both metadata and presentation. That means:

The sender appears internal and familiar
Email filters may not flag the message as suspicious
End users are less likely to report the message
Security logs may not show obvious red flags

This creates a perfect storm of risk: high trust, low detection, and quick impact.

Recommended Mitigations and Best Practices

To protect against this type of abuse, organizations should follow Microsoft’s updated guidance on Direct Send configuration, outlined in their official documentation here.

Microsoft emphasizes several key safeguards:

Restrict the accepted IP addresses in the mail flow rule to only known and documented devices.
Disable Direct Send unless it’s absolutely necessary for business functions.
Use SMTP authentication with strong credentials and MFA whenever possible instead of unauthenticated Direct Send.
Monitor email headers and audit logs for unexpected traffic from non-mailbox sources.

Additionally, your organization should conduct regular phishing simulations to educate users on identifying unusual requests—even when they appear internal.

How Cost+ Helps Secure Your Microsoft 365 Environment

At Cost+, we proactively defend Microsoft 365 environments through a combination of prevention, monitoring, and response services. Our Security+ offering includes email threat detection, 24/7 monitoring, and hardening of misconfigured or vulnerable Microsoft 365 settings. We also assist with:

Configuring secure mail flow and anti-spoofing policies
Disabling unused protocols and reducing attack surface
Alerting on abnormal internal email behavior

For organizations that rely heavily on application-based email—such as CRMs, scanners, or cloud apps—we provide auditing and remediation through our Support+ team to ensure your Direct Send configuration doesn’t become an open door for attackers.

Next Steps for Security and IT Teams

If your organization uses Direct Send—or isn’t sure how it’s configured—it’s critical to perform an immediate review. Start by inventorying every device or application that’s allowed to send mail using this method. Then verify:

Each sending IP is expected and documented
No new mail flow rules have been added or modified unexpectedly
End user reports of “weird” internal messages are followed up with proper investigation

You should also configure alerts for any unusual spikes in email volume from IPs tied to Direct Send or apps using SMTP relay. These patterns often precede broader phishing campaigns.

Final Thoughts

Direct Send phishing is a reminder that even legitimate tools can become threat vectors when not properly governed. Microsoft’s built-in mail delivery flexibility helps businesses function efficiently—but it also creates opportunities for abuse if not configured securely.

By following Microsoft’s published best practices and layering your security defenses, you can reduce risk while preserving business continuity. Cost+ is here to help you close these gaps before they become exploited entry points.

Get in touch with us to schedule a review of your Microsoft 365 security posture—including Direct Send risk assessments and remediation planning.

By Thomas McDonald
Vice President

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-30T15:50:34-05:00June 30, 2025|

Microsoft Confirms June 2025 Windows Security Delay: What IT Teams Need to Know

The June 2025 Windows security delay has raised serious concerns among IT departments and cybersecurity professionals. Microsoft confirmed that several critical security updates originally scheduled for release on June 11 were delayed due to an unexpected metadata issue. The delay was caused by an incorrect timestamp that prevented updates from being properly recognized or installed on Windows systems. As a result, organizations relying on timely patch deployment have faced heightened security risks and operational uncertainty.

What Happened: Metadata Timestamp Issues

Microsoft’s official explanation points to a publishing error involving the metadata timestamp embedded within the June 2025 cumulative update package. This flaw disrupted the normal detection and delivery of the update via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, and Windows Update for Business. The impacted update, identified as KB5060842, targets Windows 11 version 24H2.

Administrators began reporting issues almost immediately after the scheduled release date, noting that the update was either not being offered at all or was incorrectly flagged as already installed. Microsoft has since acknowledged the delay and is actively working on a corrected version of the update to be republished for proper detection and deployment across enterprise environments.

Why the June 2025 Delay Matters

Security updates are often the first and last line of defense against newly disclosed vulnerabilities. When these updates fail to deploy on schedule, threat actors gain an advantage. In this case, the delay was not caused by a known exploit, but by an infrastructure-level publishing error. That makes it harder to mitigate, because administrators expecting automatic deployment may falsely assume systems are up to date.

In the context of today’s evolving threat landscape, even a 24-hour delay can be significant. Microsoft’s own telemetry frequently shows exploit attempts within days—sometimes hours—of patch disclosures. With the June 2025 Windows security delay, the exposure window widened unexpectedly for tens of thousands of endpoints.

Recommended Actions for IT Teams

While Microsoft continues remediation efforts, IT leaders and administrators should take immediate steps to assess exposure and manually enforce compliance where necessary:

Manually verify that update KB5060842 is properly installed across all relevant Windows 11 24H2 systems.
If not installed, monitor for re-release and consider manual deployment via standalone installer.
Update your asset inventory to reflect known affected machines and prioritize them for audit.
Coordinate with your Support+ provider to perform a fast vulnerability review and ensure critical systems are not at risk.

Organizations using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager should also validate their sync processes and distribution point health to ensure that once the revised update is published, it can be delivered without delay or rollback issues.

Proactive Defense Through Layered Security

This delay highlights the importance of layered defense strategies beyond just patch management. Even when updates are delayed or flawed, a properly configured security stack can still provide meaningful protection. At Security+, we advocate for endpoint protection, threat detection, and segmentation strategies that reduce the blast radius of a missed patch.

Administrators should also consider deploying real-time alerting tools that can flag when scheduled updates fail, or when system patch status does not match the organization’s baseline configuration.

Communication and Risk Transparency

One of the most overlooked aspects of incidents like this is internal communication. IT teams should proactively inform business stakeholders and compliance leads about the nature of the delay and what steps are being taken to address it. Transparency not only builds trust but ensures that executive teams don’t mistake a vendor delay for an internal failure.

We recommend documenting this delay as part of your monthly risk register or change log, noting any compensating controls put in place during the patch window. This is especially critical in regulated industries where patch timelines are auditable under frameworks such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or SOX.

What to Expect Next from Microsoft

Microsoft has stated that a corrected version of the June 2025 update will be republished once the metadata issue is resolved. However, no specific timeline has been given for that release. The company’s update center is still listing KB5060842 as active, but with known issues. You can follow the latest official status directly from Microsoft here.

Once the revised package is available, organizations should prioritize deployment, particularly on systems exposed to the public internet or used in sensitive operations. Delays like this underscore the importance of combining automation with human oversight in all patching and update workflows.

Closing Thoughts

The June 2025 Windows security delay is a timely reminder that even highly automated update systems are not immune to human error or metadata corruption. IT and security leaders should treat this as an opportunity to audit internal assumptions, test their fallback plans, and reinforce the principles of layered defense. At Cost+, we work with clients every day to ensure that when vendors slip, their protection doesn’t.

Need help validating patch status, mitigating short-term risks, or automating your endpoint coverage? Schedule a call with our team and we’ll help you stay ahead of vulnerabilities—even when the update doesn’t arrive on time.

By Thomas McDonald
Vice President

cmcwplgnomg4042025-06-30T14:58:16-05:00June 30, 2025|

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