I’m going to write this in the first person as it will make more sense this way.

​

Over the years and working for companies that had dozens to hundreds of offices and the growth cycle meant that more offices would be added regularly.  We used to have a set of equipment that we called “Network in a Box”.  It consisted of all the items we would need to quickly stand up and connect a remote office to our internal network, internet, and/or remote computing system. “Network in a Box” was highly standardized so that the deployment and management of the system was easy.  All of the security and necessary patches were updated prior to installation in a predictable manner.  Think of XS Office Secure as a “Network in a Box”.

​

Now, the difference between our “Network in a Box” in 1997, and our 2024 version is that all parts of this version are configurable through a web interface or mobile application, and it costs a whole lot less.

​

Below is what you get with our XS Office Secure, and elements are fully managed:

• Enterprise Class Firewall *

• Enterprise Class Content Filter and Malicious Activity Blocker *
  (You must have the firewall to deploy this feature)

• Enterprise Class Access Point (WiFi)

• Enterprise Class Switch (if you need more physical network connections)

 

For the price of $50/month you receive two of these elements.  It is highly recommended that you get the firewall and content filter at a minimum.  That is where your security and protection is housed.  We would also recommend adding 1 or more Access Point (Yes, there is a small additional fee for this) to complete the fully managed set. If you have many hard-wired network connections, especially for conference rooms and public areas, we recommend this as well to make sure that employees that use those connections are using your internal network, and that guests in common areas that may happen upon a network connection, are directed to your guest network, thus segmenting your company equipment.

Now, what are you getting?  You are getting a setup and deployment of a completely secure network with the ability to segment the network into multiple physical networks and multiple wireless networks.  What else? Well, you get full visibility to what devices are on your network.

​

Why do you need to know what devices are connected to, and be able to segment, your network?  The short answer is, in order to keep your network safe from hackers and visitors who’s equipment may be compromised.  The Long answer is (still short), this is your house, and you need to know who is in here and if you don’t recognize someone, you can make them leave.  This includes former employees, and guests that have overstayed their welcome or are squatting in your network chewing up your bandwidth.

​

This solution is ideal for home offices, retail businesses, doctor's offices, lawyers, homes with children and elderly, and more!

​

Also, after one year, if you feel comfortable with the equipment, management, and deployment of security, you can manage it yourself and keep the equipment and call on us as necessary.

​

We might even be able to mitigate some of the cost by replacing any equipment rented from your provider with equipment that can own.

​

I hope you have found this helpful and check our Layered Security blog for more insight.