Annnnd we're back, sharing another week's worth of important MSP stories and blog posts! We like to consider ourselves your managed IT services RSS provider. Think we missed a notable headline? Drop a line in the comments section below! Without further ado, may we present your MSP weekly digest...

Continuum's Must-Read Blog Post This Week 

Referrals Are Great…Until You Want to Grow Your MSP Business

Ask any small business owner what the lifeblood of their business is and in most cases you will hear “Referrals!”.

As the great line from one classic Seinfeld episode echoes “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” As great as referrals can be, we want to help open the minds of Managed IT Services Providers (MSPs) to better ways of generating new business and growing beyond the referral mentality. Read more »  
 

News Headliners 

Managed Services Market Expected to Reach $256.05 Billion by 2018 - Report by MarketsandMarkets

InsuranceNewsNet, @InsNewsNet  

"With surge in cloud computing, big data and mobility opportunities, managed services have become more of a necessity rather than a cost effective choice. As businesses struggle to maintain their foothold in the highly competitive scene with receding global economies, managed services seem to be a viable option for enterprises to steer their way ahead and gain considerable momentum to succeed." 

Here's Who Made Gartner's 2014 Cloud IaaS Magic Quadrant

CRN, @CRN, Joseph Tsidulko

"AWS pioneered the public cloud a few years ago and hasn't ceded ground since as the industry's undisputed leader." 

US disrupts $100M GameOver Zeus malware cybercrime ring

CNET, @CNET, Steven Musil, @stevenmusil 

"US authorities on Monday charged a suspected Russian hacker with creating a botnet that was used by cybercriminals to steal more than $100 million from businesses and consumers since 2011." 

New Forrester study shows privacy concerns and user behavior are inconsistent

Abine | Online Privacy Blog, @Abine, Eric Bloom 

"Although consumers have privacy concerns, many believe that a tangible consumer benefit is more valuable than their personal information. And as long as consumers continue to feel this way, companies will continue to bribe consumers for their trust rather than earn it."

BYOD Is Not NBD

Data Dilemma: What to Do When BYOD Workers Say Bye'

Workforce, @workforcenews, Sarah Fister Gale, @SarahGale 

"If an employee leaves and you don’t have the technology and policies in place to recapture company information instantly, that data will likely walk out the door with them[.]" 

BYOD: Build A Policy That Works

InformationWeek, @IW_Digital, Ericka Chickowski, @ErickaChick 

Is BYOD a Cloud Provider’s Opportunity or Threat?

Compare the Cloud, @comparethecloud, Esther Rutter 

Cybercriminals Unite!

Organised cybercrime groups are now as powerful as nations

ZDNet, @ZDNet, Steve Ranger, @steveranger

Cryptolocker Hysteria Exploited by Hackers

BullGuard Blog, @BullGuard, Raluca Stanciu

"Victims should not be tricked: Cryptolocker has used a tough encryption method which cannot be cracked! Software telling you otherwise is deception."

Evernote and Feedly Hit by Cyberattacks, Held for Ransom

Mashable, @mashable, Samantha Murphy Kelly, @HeySamantha 

Passwords Used By Hackers Aren’t That Strong Either [Study]

Ubergizmo, @ubergizmo, Tyler Lee 

What data breaches teach us about the future of malware: Your own data could dupe you

PCWorld, @pcworld, Tony Bradley, @TonyBradleyBSG  

"Users have been conditioned for years not to open file attachments or click on links in email messages from unknown or suspicious sources. The way attacks are evolving, though, you now need to approach everything with similar caution. Attackers go wherever there are potential victims."

Windows Users Given 2 Weeks to Get Malware Off Their Computers

Latest Hacking News, Vasisht Thunga

"Victims and those who think that their computers got infected with Zeus malware only need to follow a few simple steps, he added, but they need to do it as soon as possible while the botnet is still down." 

More MSP Best Practices

Personal Privacy Versus Business Security

PCMag, @PCMag, Neil J. Rubenking, @neiljrubenking  

MSPs: How to Increase Revenues Without Increasing Costs

MSPmentor, @mspmentor, Dev Anand 

"Why do it yourself when you can offload? Choose a Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) partner for all non-engaging jobs. Offloading your day-to-day monitoring and management activities makes your employees spend more time on strategic activities."

Improving customer communications using data discovery and auditing

Healthcare IT News, @HITNewsTweet, Erin McCann, @EMcCannHITN  

"A March report by the privacy research firm Ponemon Institute, for instance, pegged the cost of healthcare data breaches at a towering $5.6 billion annually, industry-wide." 

Healthcare IT can be incredibly complex! That's why we've prepared Managed IT Services in Healthcare, a HIPAA how-to, for you!