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Syxsense to Showcase New Endpoint Security and IT Management Automation Workflow Capabilities at RSA Conference 2023

By Cybersecurity, News, Press Release

Other activities include in-booth GigaOm analyst, Howard Holton, Blanton’s Bourbon 8 Bottle Horse Collection Giveaway, a Cortex Pub Crawl, and more.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Syxsense, a global leader in Unified Security and Endpoint Management (USEM) solutions, today announced that it will showcase new updates to its flagship endpoint security and IT management platform, Syxsense Enterprise, at the RSA Conference in Booth #4339 in the South Expo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, on April 24-27.

Attendees can swing by the booth to get a demo of new and existing features. Syxsense is the first software vendor to unify vulnerability, patch, and compliance management, and layer on a powerful automation and workflow engine called Syxsense Cortex to improve the efficiency of IT operations and security teams. This unified solution allows organizations to better manage the endpoint vulnerability gap by utilizing workflows, pre-built playbooks, and sequences to automate the complexities of vulnerability detection and remediation. In addition to the new Syxsense Cortex updates, attendees visiting the Syxsense booth can also learn more about performance enhancements around device scanning, unmanaged device discovery, agent lockdown, and more.

“As the threat landscape grows and attackers become more sophisticated, organizations need to be able to quickly identify, assess, and remediate endpoint security and IT management issues,” said Ashley Leonard, Founder and CEO at Syxsense. “Syxsense gives customers that visibility and control, and we are excited to showcase some of our new capabilities at RSA. For organizations looking to reduce the burden of endpoint security and management, increase their security posture, and ensure compliance, Syxsense delivers the most powerful capabilities and automation technology for unified security and endpoint management.”

The RSA Conference is one of the largest international conference series designed to help IT and cybersecurity professionals strengthen their skillsets and improve organizational resiliency. Syxsense is proud to host Howard Holton, Chief Technology Officer and Analyst at GigaOm, in the Syxsense booth South Hall #4339 on Tuesday, April 25 from 4-6 PM PT, where he will be answering attendee questions about endpoint management, cybersecurity trends, and more.

Learn more about Syxsense Enterprise https://www.syxsense.com/enterprise.

About Syxsense

Syxsense is a leading software vendor providing endpoint security and IT operations management solutions to Managed Service Providers (MSPs), enterprises, and government organizations. Its solutions provide real-time visibility and control over endpoint devices, networks, and cloud infrastructure, helping organizations to protect against cyber threats, improve IT operations, and reduce risk. Syxsense is the first Unified Security and Endpoint Management (USEM) platform that centralizes the three key elements of endpoint security management: security and patch vulnerability management, remediation, and compliance controlled by a powerful drag-and-drop workflow automation technology called Syxsense Cortex™. Syxsense is a single cloud-based platform supporting Windows, Linux, Mac, and mobile devices on-premises and in the cloud. For more information, visit www.syxsense.com.

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3 Challenges to Overcoming Zero Trust Adoption

By Blog, Cybersecurity, News, Press Release, Uncategorized, Zero Trust

By Ashley Leonard, Syxsense CEO and Founder

Zero trust adoption has taken center stage in recent years because it can help better secure remote workers and hybrid cloud environments and protect against ransomware threats. But as organizations continue to press forward with digital transformation and look to protect stakeholders from rising cyberattacks, not all are reaping the benefits of a fully implemented zero trust strategy. In fact, a recent survey revealed that more than one-third of organizations are not pursuing zero trust strategies, and of those that are, more than half are still in preliminary exploratory stages of adoption.

But according to Gartner, cybersecurity spending on things like zero trust will double by 2026 to $267.3 billion. Why the disconnect? According to EMA research, 41% lack the budget and funding, 32% lack the technical capabilities, 29% have no clear direction on how to begin, and 24% are concerned that it could negatively impact business operations. It’s clear that organizations need more support to overcome the struggles associated with zero trust adoption. To better understand this, let’s look at three prominent challenges organizations are facing today and how they can best overcome them to accelerate – and feel more comfortable with – their zero trust journey.

Challenge #1 – Poor Visibility Across Environments

To understand the requirements that make sense for a zero trust framework, full visibility across the environment is crucial. That means being able to see all devices, data stores, and users. This also includes an assessment of where technical capabilities are lacking. Zero trust is not just another tool for IT managers. It’s a completely different method of understanding device and network access.

To support a zero trust project, organization’s need to first understand where their limitations lie (for example, do they know which databases have high-value data, or “crown jewels”), how existing tools and infrastructure have been implemented (such as who can access critical data or high-value assets, like servers), and have a documented process in place for managing the existing tools and infrastructure. Unfortunately, asset discovery can be challenging for many organizations, which is one reason zero trust projects can appear so daunting. It’s like moving into a new house where none of the boxes are labeled. Identifying the difference between kitchen or laundry supplies is required before you can really get organized.

Challenge #2 – Zero Trust is Complex

Zero trust can be hard to implement. Consider it a mesh solution – where the point is to create a reality where users and devices gain access to information through an authentication ‘conversation’ rather than just punching in their credentials. All sorts of data points are collected and collated to build the proof of authenticity required for access to be granted. Most zero trust frameworks, for that reason, are a combination of multiple solutions brought together under a unifying toolset.

Creating the logic needed to bring each tool together in concert can be complex. For example, part of your zero trust attestation process might be to validate that a device doesn’t have any active anti-virus alerts. That is one data point to manage. You might also need to validate that the device’s connection is coming from a whitelisted geography. On top of that, you might also want to validate that the device’s patch compliance is current. Maintaining a unified zero trust solution for parsing this data can be very helpful, but it requires you to mesh multiple disparate solutions together under the roof of a single solution.

Challenge #3 – Zero Trust is Resource-Intensive

Buying a suite of zero trust solution can be resource-intensive for many organizations. Why? Because it’s often a mandate above and beyond the foundational IT and cybersecurity stack (on top of the normal day-to-day). Today, many companies are rolling out zero trust solutions. Some of them are built to be incorporated into a larger zero trust ecosystem, while others are intended to become self-sufficient ecosystems.

Depending on the scope of the advertised functionality, zero trust can either demand extensive resources or require a reasonable amount of investment. But if the initial investment is reasonable, systems administrators can anticipate doing more work throughout their adoption journey. Alternately, full suite zero trust products tend to pull a lot of resources upfront and provide a much lower burden of effort on security and operations teams to implement functionality.

Zero trust adoption continues to be a complex and challenging initiative for many organizations, especially those using legacy systems. But vendors and the larger security community are getting better at delivering new solutions, approaches, and educational information that can help streamline the process (and better show the value). The first step is for organizations to understand the complexity of a zero trust project, gain full visibility into their security environment, and commit the necessary resources and expertise to implement it (or explore it) successfully. To reach its full potential, IT and security teams will need to make the fundamental shift from a perimeter-based security approach to granular and continuous authentication processes. That’s zero trust.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

syxsense - patch management, cybersecurity, mobile device management, security scanning, remediation

Ashley Leonard is the president and CEO of Syxsense-a global leader in Unified Security and Endpoint Management (USEM). Ashley is a technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in enterprise software, sales, marketing, and operations, providing critical leadership during the high-growth stages of well-known technology organizations. 

Ashley manages U.S., European, and Australian operations in his current role, defines corporate strategies, oversees sales and marketing, and guides product development. Ashley has worked tirelessly to build a robust, innovation-driven culture within the Syxsense team while delivering returns to investors. 

Ashley has founded several successful technology companies, including NetworkD Inc., with operations in 7 countries. NetworkD made several strategic international acquisitions and then completed a successful exit to Sparxent in 2008. In 2012 he founded Verismic Software and launched Syxsense in 2019.

Ashley serves on several boards and acts as a mentor to up-and-coming technology CEOs through his membership in the Young Presidents Organizations (YPO). He served as Orange County chair for two years. Ashley also served as Area Chair for YPO Pacific Region and was host city partnership chair for the 2020 YPO Global EDGE conference in San Diego, CA, welcoming over 3,000 of the world’s top CEOs. 

Ashley was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of The Year” and AeA’s “Outstanding Private Company CEO” Award and won the AGC Innovation CEO Award. 

Published Thursday, March 30, 2023 7:34 AM by David Marshall

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Verismic Software Launches Rebrand to Syxsense and New Product Offerings, Reinforcing its Mission to Strengthen Endpoint Security

By News, Press Release

Verismic Software Launches Rebrand to Syxsense, Reinforcing its Mission to Strengthen Endpoint Security

The New Name, Syxsense, Expresses Company’s Focus on Protecting the Endpoint with Powerful AI-enabled Solutions That “Know All”

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (November 4, 2019) – Verismic Software, a global leader in IT- and security-management solutions, announced today a comprehensive rebranding and repositioning of its products and messaging. This major initiative makes Syxsense the world’s first IT and security-solution provider to offer patch management, vulnerability scans, and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities in a single console.

Syxsense has created innovative and intuitive technology that sees-–and knows—everything, making it able to secure every endpoint, in every location, everywhere inside and outside the network, as well as in the cloud. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps security teams predict and root out threats before they happen—and to swiftly make them disappear when they do.

“Syxsense combines the power of artificial intelligence with industry expertise to manage and secure endpoints by stopping threats before they occur and neutralizing threats when they happen,” commented Ashley Leonard, CEO of Syxsense.

“By owning an IT management tool, IT professionals can patch to reduce the risk of a problem,” Leonard continued. “By owning an EDR tool, you can monitor a breach and quarantine a device. By combining both, Syxsense allows IT and security teams to eliminate many breaches by patching, track and quarantine potential breaches, and then remediate the environment after a security event—all in real-time.”

At the heart of the rollout is Syxsense Manage, a cloud-native offering that does the heavy lifting by collecting and collating a library of patches and updates. This allows IT professionals to deploy updates with AI-driven natural language and voice control. When the need arises, users have access to dashboards, query builders, and remote-control functions that provide insight into device health, inventory, and timelines allowing IT managers to troubleshoot and diagnose issues.

Syxsense Manage, therefore, becomes the IT managers’ “endpoint everything,” allowing them to see and manage all endpoints both inside and outside the network as well as in the cloud, with coverage for all major operating systems and endpoints, including IoT devices, physical and virtual devices, and all major cloud vendors. More importantly, they can complete day-to-day tasks and updates with ease and efficiency.

The companion offering, Syxsense Secure, brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams responsible for protecting businesses from cyber-attacks. It is the only cloud-native product on the market that truly combines endpoint management and endpoint security into a single unified offering. What’s more, it is tailored to the exact needs of companies that have limited resources and consolidated IT management and security functions in the same department.

Syxsense Secure includes proactive, always-on monitoring for malicious processes, automated device quarantine, real-time alerting, and live data that delivers insights in real-time to provide even greater visibility into the health of all the endpoints across your network. It is built on endpoint management technology that creates a baseline defense against known threats by ensuring devices are current with the latest software updates and security patches. This provides total visibility into the enterprise and eliminates blind spots so security managers can immediately detect anomalies that indicate an imminent or active threat.

By analyzing endpoint activity, Syxsense Secure predicts threats before they become breaches. Built on real-time, always-on endpoint monitoring, when breaches do happen, Syxsense knows how the attack entered the environment, how it spread, which data, files, and devices were impacted, and whether the threat has been neutralized in its entirety to prevent future vulnerabilities.

“Organizations are now able to combine and strengthen cybersecurity and IT management across their enterprise, enabling IT-SecOps convergence and digital transformation, improving enterprise performance while reducing the cost of cybersecurity,” concluded Leonard. “The Syxsense Endpoint Security Cloud, the overarching platform for Secure and Manage, provides multiple industry-proven capabilities in a single dashboard to simplify cybersecurity management and better protect people, businesses and assets from evolving cyber threats.”

About Syxsense

Syxsense is the leading provider of innovative, intuitive technology that sees all and knows everything about every endpoint, in every location, everywhere inside and outside the network, as well as in the cloud. It combines the power of artificial intelligence with industry expertise to manage and secure endpoints by stopping threats before they occur and neutralizing threats when they happen. The Syxsense Endpoint Security Cloud always-on technology performs in real-time so businesses can operate free of disruption from security breaches that cripple productivity and expose them to financial risk and reputational harm. https://www.syxsense.com

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Enterprise Security Trends that Will Rule 2015

By News

From 3D printers that can replicate the intricate details of the human heart to wearable technology that tracks everything from blood pressure to incoming emails, 2015 shows great promise in becoming “Year One” of the new digital world order. But before we get too distracted, it’s worth paying attention to—and learning from—the past, which has consistently revealed where even the most established industry giants stumble: enterprise security.

Last year alone, the U.S. witnessed colossal data breaches in both the public and private sectors—from home improvement, to health care, to the entertainment industry—including the highly publicized Sony attack. While it may have been the latest wake-up call, the Sony scandal was by no means the most significant. A string of breaches, including Home Depot, Target, Goodwill Industries, Dairy Queen and JP Morgan, which single-handedly affected 76 million households and 7 million small businesses, sent shockwaves throughout the world.

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Enterprise Infrastructure

If 2014 was the year of the hack, it’s logical to conclude that 2015 will be the year of fighting back. As diligently as an enterprise works to innovate groundbreaking advances in products and services, so too must they implement enterprise security solutions. Recent breaches, including leaks of users’ personal data and credentials from popular services like Dropbox and Apple iCloud have once again identified cybersecurity as a harrowing issue that requires immediate attention from both users and enterprises. Rather than focusing solely on prevention, however, today’s enterprises are now proactively beginning to use monitoring techniques for quick identification of and response to any kind of potential infiltration before it occurs. This trend, say analysts at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit—which takes a comprehensive look at the entire spectrum of IT security—will expand and evolve organizational roles to include a digital risk officer (DRO)

Read the full article on techzone360.com

Ashely Leonard pasword reset quote|

Common helpdesk complaints businesses face – and how to fix them

By Managed Service Providers, News

Help your users help themselves!

Working on a helpdesk can give you a sense of deja vu when it comes to some of the difficulties you hear from users. If you have heard a problem once, you have heard it a thousand times.

Whether you are a newbie on the support desk or a seasoned pro, many helpdesk problems that clog up the helpline can easily be avoided or solved. In doing so, you can save time and money and concentrate on the more interesting and critical challenges.

Here are some of the most dreaded helpdesk issues that plague IT staff, and how they can be avoided.

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1. I can’t remember my password

Forgetting a password is by far the most common problem users call up the helpdesk with. The reason behind this (aside from people’s inability to remember several passwords, each requiring a lower case, an upper case character, a number, a symbol, etc.) is that people think calling the helpdesk is the easiest and most efficient way of solving their problem.

“Lost passwords and Active Directory password resets are still the leading cause of service desk calls,” says Ashley Leonard, president and CEO at Verismic. “A lack of education [and often business technology] can mean that some users will still see a helpdesk call as the easiest and quickest way to sort out their problem.”

He says helpdesks need a self-service password reset tool that allows end users to control and reset personal passwords without calling the helpdesk. “End users, including remote workers, should be able to reset personal passwords by correctly answering a series of private questions. In many cases, a password reset tool can reduce helpdesk calls by up to 40%.”

2. My PC is too slow

Is the user running umpteen applications at once? Other reasons could be that system scans have been scheduled for the wrong time of day when the user needs their computer the most.

Izak Oosthuizen, consultant at Exec Sys, says that to reduce the volume of the most common IT maintenance complaints, such as a slow PC or network, organisations should look to automate maintenance items as much as possible with increased use of automation tools.

“Try automating the following ongoing, critical support tasks, including security patches, apps such as browsers, the scheduling of regular disk defragmentation, temporary file deletion and enabling real-time scanning,” he says.

3. I can’t print anything!

It’s the call helpdesk people dread – the user cannot print anything. The obvious things to look for are to see if the printer is turned on, is loaded with paper (in the correct tray) and has enough toner or ink. The trick to making these calls go away is to have users check for these issues first before calling in.

If it doesn’t appear to be an obvious answer then a connection problem could be the cause, i.e. the printer is not connected (or indeed the computer!)

David Weeks, channel strategies manager at N-able Technologies says that issues such as this can be resolved through a self-healing automation policy, which is typically implemented via the MSP’s remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform.

“Once the MSP has rectified the initial reactive issue, from there they can look at the subcategories that may have led to this issue occurring in the first place. If the print spooler is commonly filling up – why is this happening?” he says.

4. My mobile device isn’t syncing my emails?

According to Charlie Goulding, managing director of IT support firm Greencorn, this is quite common and quickly solved by ensuring that “push” is enabled on a phone so that new data is pushed to a user’s phone from the server.

“If you are using an Android phone, you may want to try removing all accounts on your phone, and then clearing all the data and cache files before shutting the phone down. Next, turn the phone back on and re-add your accounts. The ‘turning it on and off again’ method may sound overly simplistic, but it does in many cases solve syncing issues,” he says.

5. I can’t find anything in Windows 8

Windows 8 is a real departure from previous versions and some people find it difficult to get used to. Just remember that you can search for and find anything in Windows 8 using the top right search function, and that you can always get back to the last screen you were on by hovering at the top left of your screen – your active windows will pop up and you can select amongst them, says Goulding.

6. Why is the internet/network so slow?

The main cause of a user suffering slow internet access is usually down to malware or spyware. This is when you need your users to be honest with you and find out about sites they may have visited or applications they have downloaded.

Another reason why the internet or network may appear slow to the user could be because the user is connecting to the network via wireless. In an office building not everywhere will get a good signal, or could just be too far away from the Wi-Fi router.

7. My computer/application isn’t working!

In most cases, an application or hardware failure complaint is usually caused by a user’s lack of knowledge. Oosthuizen says that users must be “educated via scheduled training sessions; try creating a knowledge base for users and install workflow/procedures for complicated, propriety in-house software.”

8. I can’t log in!

Another common call to the helpdesk and reasons behind this range from the user leaving Caps Lock on when entering their password to an expired password that the user forgot to reset. Again, a self-service reset system should solve this issue.

Article published on techradar.pro

MSPs Need A Simple Systems Management Tool

By Managed Service Providers, News

It would be easy to switch off when people start talking about cloud. The subject is not only worn out, but is one that means so many different things to so many people. As a result of that jaded confusion, there is a danger that some of the potential opportunities cloud presents could be missed.

MicroScope garnered opinions from across the channel about what cloud technology could offer resellers this year and where efforts would be best placed for those looking to grow their businesses. The good news is that there are plenty of suggestions, and with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 support ending in July, it is a good time to encourage those running on traditional setups to look at a hosted alternative.

Management of Systems
Ashley Leonard, president and CEO at Verismic, says the channel community, particularly managed service providers (MSPs), need to arm themselves with a simple, cloud-based systems management tool.

“PCs and laptops are not going away, despite the rush to adopt tablets and smart devices. PCs and laptops need managing, monitoring, patching and licensing. Windows 10 will likely create a flurry of upgrade work, application compatibility testing and roll-out,” he says.

“MSPs need a systems management tool that combines the cloud with agentless end-device setup, so they don’t need to deploy and maintain another piece of software at every customer site and on every PC,” he says.

Read the full article at Microscope.co.uk

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PCR MSP article|Ashley Leonard of Verismic

Race for free Windows 10 will create MSP windfall

By Managed Service Providers, News
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Following the news that the new Windows 10 update will be free for a year, Ashley Leonard, president and CEO of Verismic, shares how he thinks this will affect managed service providers.

The latest figures from Netmarketshare suggest usage of the XP platform is dropping. Market share was 18.93 per cent in January 2015, down from 26.29 per cent in April 14.

OS upgrades to Windows 7 will be common in 2015 as customers come to realise support for XP has been stripped away, leaving them adrift.

Windows 8/8.1 has not been popular with all users, which could also prompt those XP and 7 users to actually jump to Windows 10. For a limited time only, one year, Microsoft has also said 10 will be a free upgrade, which makes this upgrade jump even more likely.

In any scenario, a flow of OS upgrades stretches IT resources not just through OS rollout, but through testing, fixing, repackaging and preparing existing applications for the new environment. It really is no small feat deploying applications.

Read More on PCR…

About the author Ashley Leonard, President and CEO of Verismic.

||MSPs patch management article|

Microsoft Patch Tuesday: Are Those Critical Patches Really Critical?

By Patch Management, Patch Tuesday

MSPs have the opportunity to position themselves as the authority on patch management for their customers, both in terms of making the best use of time available and patch prioritization.

Downtime. One word to strike fear into the hearts of even the hardiest of IT managers. Avoiding downtime at pretty much all costs is the name of the game now. However, with the reliance on Microsoft (MSFT) products, there is inevitably going to have to be some downtime to roll out patch updates to keep systems secure.

The problem: The more updates there are, the longer the downtime isMSPs patch management article needed to update and install patches. For customers this can be a challenge, but for IT service providers and Managed Service Providers, this can be a real headache. Invariably, your customers have a very limited window when systems can be taken offline to install patches. This is all well and good when there’s a only a few patches, such as in January’s update, but when there are a large number (generally eight or more), this can be a real challenge…Read more of Ashley Leonard’s article published on The VAR Guy

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Lessons From ESOS Energy Legislation In The UK

By News
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Originally Published on TechCrunch.com

The U.K. recently announced compliance guidelines for the government’s new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), a mandatory energy assessment and energy-saving identification scheme in response to the requirement “for all Member States of the European Union to implement Article 8 of the Energy Efficiency Directive.”

The objective of ESOS is to reduce energy consumption, help address climate change, increase energy security and improve the competitiveness of U.K. businesses. The scheme, which came into force in July 2014, applies throughout the U.K. to enterprises of 250 or more employees and to enterprises under 250 employees, which have an annual turnover exceeding €50/$63.71 million and a balance sheet exceeding €43/$54.78 million.

The scheme calls for mandatory audits — required every four years and administered by the Environment Agency — intended to trim excessive energy use as a means to cut carbon and pave the way for increased business profitability, competitiveness and security, while mitigating organizational energy waste.

In short but not-so-simple terms, qualifying businesses are required to a) measure total energy consumption, accounting for 90 percent of usage across all buildings, transport and industrial activities; b) conduct energy audits to identify cost-effective, energy-efficient recommendations; c) ensure that the ESOS assessment has been conducted or reviewed by a board-level director and approved by a lead assessor; and d) report compliance to the Environment Agency by December 5, 2015.

While the ESOS audits are mandatory, certain caveats exist—as there is no obligation to implement these energy-saving measures internally identified in the audit, which is expected to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of £17,000/$27,200 on average in the first instance and £10,000/$16,000 for each subsequent audit.

Though the legislation’s notable feature appears spineless by failing to require businesses make any of these recommended changes to save energy, participants must demonstrate an authentic and rigorous attempt to examine opportunities for reducing energy use and have these findings reviewed at the board level. With this considerable investment of time and money, companies will likely be motivated to implement measures recommended in the audit which, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, could lead to on average a savings of £56,400/$90,240 per year, per business.

In order to encourage compliance as soon as possible, the government will impose penalties for various infractions, which could include fines of up to £50,000/$80,000 and/or an additional £500/$800 for each day an organization is out of compliance. Furthermore, the governing bodies also have the authority to publish (i.e. publicly shame) the names of non-compliant businesses.

The Challenge to Measure and the Burden of Proof

While companies may find motivation for implementing the recommended energy-saving measures of the audit solely for financial benefit, the ESOS directive is as much about enforcement as it is about the need for companies to understand power consumption. Uncovering pockets of energy waste requires appointing personnel familiar with the scheme; the only other option is to outsource, adding to the challenges for some companies to comply by deadline.

To comply with the new ESOS regulations, businesses will have to track their power usage to its source – the device actually employing the power.

When it comes to IT, the vast majority of businesses lack the technology to accurately track such energy consumption. Measuring the energy consumption of a Macbook Air compared to that of a Dell Desktop PC, for example, will prove to be difficult. While some organizations already have the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) in place, allowing IT administrators to manage large groups of Windows-based computer systems, SCCM lacks the capability to provide the accuracy the ESOS audits will require.

Utilizing power-management solutions, with consistently updated content databases of makes and models currently in use, allows companies to reference the power consumption of each device, along with the actual power usage when on and off.

Though the U.K. has been relatively slow to implement PC power-management technology, mostly due to tax incentives, perhaps by example, U.S. rebates — which often cover the cost of implementation for this type of technology — will encourage something similar in the U.K. Of course, taking into consideration that the U.S. wastes an approximate $2.8 billion in PC energy every year, the U.K. may need to take a more effective approach to energy security.

Is Legislation the Answer and Will the U.S. Take Note?

There is little doubt that the ESOS regulations will be effective, considering the measures the government set in place to assuage potential resistance or roadblocks. Recognizing the additional administrative pressure placed on energy managers with ESOS — which will have many similarities to existing U.K. policies — the government is proposing that enterprises be allowed to utilize data from other schemes, such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Of the 7,000-plus businesses required to participate, as many as 6,000 are already in the CRC scheme and have reported substantial savings from implementing measures as simple as installing motion-sensor lights in hallways and stairwells. The government estimates that the net benefit of the new ESOS policy will be around £1.9/$3.04 billion between 2015 and 2030, based on a conservative prediction that only 6 percent of potential energy-saving opportunities identified will be implemented. However, real benefits for businesses are likely to be two or three times greater than those estimates suggest.

Although energy efficiency in the U.S. has been a buzzword for years, when it comes down to it, the U.S. continues to rank lower than the U.K., Germany, Italy, Japan, France and Australia. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, even China and India have fared better on the list than the U.S. — as American energy regulations for power conservation have been particularly scarce in recent years.

In fact, Congress hasn’t passed a major measure since the 2007 legislation targeting ethanol; and in May 2014, Congress blocked yet another energy-efficiency bill that could positively impact the environment, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and save citizens billions of dollars a year by 2030.

Although the Obama administration and the now Republican-dominant Congress continue to be at odds over legislation that not only addresses energy efficiency but also regulates it, the U.S. has seen substantial progress at a state level toward more energy-efficient practices, particularly in the top-ranking states of Massachusetts and California.

Ideally, a partnership between U.S. government and industry is essential for an energy policy to have a significant impact on the future of businesses and the environment. However, this achievement won’t be cheap or easy. The state-by-state approach indicates great strides in U.S. energy efficiency and environmental stewardship, but at what cost to businesses?

As the U.S. continues to rank among the top three energy consumers in the world, mandatory legislation may be the only real solution — with the U.K.’s ESOS as the litmus test.

CMS innovative product|

Verismic Awarded Most Innovative Product of the Year 2014

By Awards, News
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Verismic is pleased to announce we have been awarded Most Innovative Product 2014 for Syxsense. 

Ashely Leonard, CEO said “It has been an exciting year for us with the launch of Syxsense, being recognized as one of the Top Innovative Products of 2014 is a great way to end the year.”

The Best in Biz awards honours companies teams, executives and products for their business success and is the only independent business awards program judged by members of the press and industry analysts.

One of this year’s judges Mark Huffman, Consumer Affairs said “In the Internet age, it has never been more important to ensure your customers have a positive experience and, should there be a problem, to address it. These companies “get it,” and that’s not only good for them, but good for customers too.”