Technology decisions, written for the people who make them.

Every article here starts from a decision an operator is actually facing. No product to sell, and how we are paid is on the page whenever a provider is involved.

Signals & Systems, the newsletter

Will writes it on LinkedIn. Latest issue: The Front Door Tells You More Than You Think. Read recent issues here, or get them by email.

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RPO and RTO That Stand Up to Outages and Audits

Effective RPO and RTO definitions linked to business impact, vendor SLAs, and compliance ensure resilient disaster recovery. Regular testing and clear frameworks minimize downtime and audit risks.

Reduce Technology Cost Without Adding Risk

Most technology cost reduction either finds nothing or trades a bill for an outage. The four places the money actually is, in the order that carries the least risk, and the one cut that is never worth it.

Disaster Recovery Plan Template for Regulated Environments

This template guides regulated industries in creating audit-ready disaster recovery plans aligned with NIST 800-34 and ISO 22301, covering RTO/RPO, compliance, communication, vendor SLAs, testing, and backup strategy.

Business Continuity Plan Template for Regulated Organizations

This BCP template aligns with ISO 22301, NIST, SOC 2, HIPAA, and FFIEC standards, covering governance, BIA, crisis communication, vendor mapping, recovery objectives, and tabletop exercises for regulatory compliance and operational resilience.

Disaster Recovery Services: Clear Criteria for Regulated Environments

This guide outlines key criteria for disaster recovery in regulated environments, emphasizing compliance (HIPAA, PCI DSS, FERPA), tailored RTO/RPO, cost-risk balance, DRaaS vs. hybrid options, data residency, SLAs, and continuous testing for resilient recovery.

Cisco UCS: Refresh, Extend, or Pivot with Confidence

The Deady Group guides Cisco UCS lifecycle decisions, refresh, extend, or pivot, by assessing cost, risk, performance, compliance, and hybrid cloud strategy for secure, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Stay, Upgrade, or Move to UCaaS

The Deady Group offers a vendor-neutral framework to help organizations evaluate Cisco Unified Communications Manager versus UCaaS, focusing on compliance, cost, reliability, and phased migration strategies for secure, scalable UC modernization.

Azure Monitor for Regulated Environments: Compliance, Cost, and Clarity

Azure Monitor deployment in regulated environments requires aligning data handling, residency, RBAC, and retention with standards like HIPAA and PCI DSS, while managing data collection, alert fatigue, and cost through KQL dashboards and clear workspace architecture.

Using AWS Cost Explorer to Drive Cost Clarity and Action

AWS Cost Explorer enhances cloud cost transparency via tagging, budgets, anomaly alerts, rightsizing, and savings plans. It supports governance, cost optimization, and strategic cloud spend alignment.

AWS Pricing Calculator: Model Cost, Risk, and Fit

Effective AWS cost modeling requires accounting for storage classes, data egress, encryption, and compliance costs. Regularly update assumptions, validate usage, and leverage independent expertise for accurate, risk-aware cloud cost optimization.

AI Governance Strategy Starts Before AI

Shadow AI is spreading through SaaS tools and embedded copilots faster than most organizations can govern it. Why AI governance strategy has to start with visibility, ownership, and readiness, not policy alone.

2024 State of Disruption Report

What 501 U.S. enterprise technology decision makers said about digital transformation, the role of trusted advisors, and where UCaaS, CCaaS, IaaS, colocation, cloud apps, and security are growing. Download the report.

How Digital Transformation Services Begin with Your Website

How a nearly 30-year-old dental lab used a website rebuild, SEO foundations, and structured data to modernize its digital presence for regulated, service-based growth without losing the trust it built on referrals.

Network Monitoring with Auvik

What Auvik does, who it suits, and how to try it. Includes our affiliate disclosure: we may be paid if you book through the link.

Guides and Resources for Technology Decisions

Checklists, reports, and guides for people making technology decisions in regulated industries: cyber insurance, copper retirement, vendor evaluation, resilience, and Zero Trust.

Securing Academic Integrity: VDI, MFA, and Data Enclaves

A short summary for universities: why VPNs alone fall short, and how virtual desktops, multi-factor authentication, and data enclaves protect exams, coursework, and research in the age of AI.

Zero Trust: Securing the Weakest Link

Zero Trust is a way of deciding who and what to trust, not a product. Why the human element is the weak point, and how to start without buying a platform first.