During the month of October, we had a great opportunity to host a customer of a customer during a full scale audit of our practices and data center security. The experience taught us a lot and I thought I would share with some of the results with you here. The company performing the audit was concerned with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliance, a well-known compliance and audit procedure performed in the health care industry. HIPAA compliance covers four major components which include a code set for practices that cover electronic transactions, security, unique identifiers, and privacy.

FastServers.Net received a phone call from one of our customers asking us to facilitate an onsite visit and I was given the honor of meeting/greeting and conducting the onsite audit with this organization. The process is something we are familiar with, but it was the first onsite visit of this nature that we have handled in quite a while. The day started out with a question and answer period about best practices on server security, network security, and overall operational procedures. We discussed DEFCON Management Levels, Operating System Support, Security Integration, Firewall Configurations, User Groups/Policies and much more. I provided them with a full firewall configuration dump, a security scan of the server in question, and a detailed description of what the DEFCON Management Service covers. The end result of this information opened up discussions on how FastServers.Net will enhance the current service offerings and tailor this solution to meet the HIPAA standards required by our client.

The second phase of the audit included a full data center tour which covered the security, access procedures, environment analysis, and overall configuration parameters of the data center. As we met the Data Center Group we were escorted to the central OPS center, asked to provide a valid form of identification and then issued official visitor badges. The Data Center group then laid down the ground rules before we entered the Data Center Floor space which included staying within the “red lines” (tour boundaries) and not touching any piece of equipment.

(1) The first stop on the tour started at what we call the “mantrap” which is the entry room to the data center. This room features key card entry scanners with a 2nd hand scanner. When you get authorized to enter the data center you are issued a unique access card and your handprint and bone density in your hand is entered into the (2) system for exceedingly thorough security verification. The “mantrap” room displays a wall that shows the 18” of cement that surrounds the underground data center which is waterproof and reinforced with rebar for added protection.

As the tour continued we entered the data center core and went through the overall security camera layouts, fire suppression system, power systems, rack layouts, cooling, and overall design concepts of the data center. Designed from the ground up, the data center employs a N+1 philosophy which includes redundant modules of all major systems with a backup system on constant stand-by. (3 - 6)

Interesting Facts about the Data Center:

40+ Security Cameras are used and monitored 24/hours a day. Video is stored digitally on a server and maintained for up to 30 days.

Fire Suppression Systems utilize VESDA system and FM 200 based gas which means in the event of a fire water will not be used, rather non-toxic flame gas to extinguish the flames.

(7 - 12) Being located in the Midwest (Iowa) provides an overall reduced risk for the operations of your business. A primary mission statement of this facility is the existence of an ideal hosting location that will allow your business to continue running without threats disrupting the environment.

The Data Center Tour and Audit provided me with a deeper understand on the due diligence and related thought processes that larger organizations go through when choosing partners and our facility itself passed the audit with an ‘excellent’ score. While we await the final report, I have been told that no changes in the Data Center are needed to meet their HIPAA compliance and that this datacenter registers as an “impressive and outstanding facility”.

For further information on the Midwest Data Center visit: http://www.fastservers.net/products-services/colocation-data-center.html

There comes a time in every business relationship when you must part with some of your hard-earned money. A time when we must say: “We held up our end of the bargain, now its time to pay up.” Sadly, but truly.

It’s called “Invoicing Time”, and for most people it is the least enjoyable part of running a business because no one likes to part with their money. If everything was free my job would certainly be easier, but paying invoices is a necessary evil that all businesses must deal with. The last thing anyone wants to do is make invoice paying any more complicated then it has to be.

So we have a few helpful suggestions to keep in mind. These tips will at least help keep your invoice paying processes as painless as possible.

#1) KEEP YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION UP TO DATE

If you take advantage of the ability to keep a credit card on file for your account, make sure the billing information is current. An expired or cancelled credit card creates unnecessary delays and additional steps in the payment process.

Even more importantly - make sure your contact information is up to date. Verify there is a valid phone number and email address on file for your account. This way we can reach you if there is a billing issue that you are not aware of. By allowing us the ability to contact you we can avoid unnecessary service deactivations.

#2) KNOW YOUR DUE DATE

Unless you request a change, your invoices will always be due on the same date every pay period. By simply knowing when your next invoice is due, and by actively preparing for it, you can avoid difficulties in the payment process.

I am sure that you are aware of the 5-day “grace period” that is allowed for payment of an invoice. Try not to rely on it all the time. It is there as a buffer zone in case you have trouble getting a payment to us by the due date. If you constantly rely on the grace period you run a higher risk of service deactivation. If you try to pay a bill on the due date and there is an unforeseen complication, you have some more time to get the issue resolved. If you don’t try to pay until the end of the grace period and there is an issue, you haven’t given yourself any time to work it out before the grace period is over.

This brings us to…

#3) KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN or “WHY ARE YOU IGNORING US?!”

Before we deactivate a service of any type we try to reach you multiple times by email and by phone (see tip # 1). We also send out emails when we find we have a bad piece of information on your account, or if there is some change or update to the billing aspect of your account, or if a credit card is expiring. Pay attention to these notices because they are all critically important. We will NOT waste your time by sending out junk emails that have zero bearing to your account and attached services.

We understand that sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances that can affect timely payment. Talk to us about it. We like to help you if we can. We send out notices and make phone calls as reminders and warnings, not to be annoying. We want to make sure you know what is happening or what could potentially happen with your account. If we can’t reach you or don’t hear from you and your payment goes past due, we have to deactivate the service(s) in question. And believe me, we do NOT enjoy deactivating services.

#4) KNOW YOUR OPTIONS

While it is very convenient (and recommended) to have a credit card listed on your account that automatically gets charged when an invoice is due, it is not the only payment method we accept. We also accept PayPal, Western Union, wire transfers, checks, money orders, and our newest payment method – Moneybookers.com: which is like PayPal but is specifically tailored for international transactions. If you are having trouble with one payment method, maybe another will work for you. Just because you use a different payment method one month doesn’t mean you need to use it every month.

And if you didn’t know, in addition to a monthly payment schedule, we allow you to pay on a quarterly, bi-annual, or annual basis. By paying quarterly, bi-annually, or annually you have fewer invoices to worry about and may even be eligible for discounts on your server fees. Contact our Sales Department at sales@fastservers.net for more information.

If you made it to this point, thanks for taking the time to read this article. I hope you were able to extract some viable information out of it. We value our customers and strive to provide the best customer service around. If you have suggestions for us, please do let us know, as we are constantly working to provide you better service.