What is a Managed Mac Dedicated Server?

Clarity’s mac dedicated server clients use hardware that is dedicated to only them. This means no one else has access. It is 100% managed by Clarity. We are responsible for providing the hardware, repair, replacement, and making sure it is available. This makes it more simple for clients who want to focus on their business. Because they can lean on a partner to manage their tech.

Your Server, but Clarity’s Responsibility

Clarity provides the hardware whether you choose a Mac Mini or Mac Pro. So It is our job to manage and maintain all equipment, debug issues, and swap out any parts. Our team proactively monitors uptime and connectivity, which mitigates downtime. To ensure your mac dedicated server stays connected, Clarity provides a redundant environment supporting your apple hardware. In other words, components that provide power, bandwidth and cooling are configured in high availability for your mission-critical systems. As a result, servers stay online.

Benefits of Clarity Managed Mac Dedicated Servers

Clarity’s managed Mac Dedicated Servers keeps your data safe with cyber security and cloud security solutions for Macs. Bringing flexibility through a full spectrum of custom options. All this but without the hardware upkeep costs or extra work.

• Access to a team of Apple Mac specialists.
• Configurations to integrate with existing CI/CD pipelines via Anka Mac Cloud.
• Support for New and Legacy Operating Systems (Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave and more).
• Zero administration. We are responsible for all tech.
• Ability to run any operating system including: macOS, OS X, VMware, Linux and Windows.
•  99.9% Network Uptime Guarantee.
• Our 1 hour replacement guarantee for all Clarity dedicated hardware.
• 24/7 365 Full Spectrum Support. Delivering best-in-class Apple Mac customer support team.
• Pioneer in Mac Infrastructure hosting in Canada.

What if You Already Own Mac Hardware?

Already owning your hardware is great! Because Clarity can collocate it. This means we take it into our data center and provide power, redundant bandwidth connectivity, cooling and more. So since you provide the hardware, you get all the benefits of a secure Canadian data center, but at a lower cost.

Read more about Clarity’s Mac Colocation.

The Full Spectrum of Clarity Mac

Clarity believes that all businesses deserve clear and custom IT solutions. That’s why we were one of the first in the industry to work with Apple infrastructure and provide Mac hosting services, such as Mac Dedicated Servers. So we could offer scalable Mac hosting to control your Mac cloud. As a result, lower overall IT costs.

Our matchless expertise, innovative full spectrum tech solutions and customer focused results help our clients reach their goals while keeping costs low.

Contact Clarity to find out how Clarity’s Mac Dedicated Servers can help you reach your goals.

iOS applications are growing and evolving. To keep pace with application updates and changes, teams need to build code in a reliable way and test as often as they want. You can achieve this through automating the process to build and test your iOS applications with a CI/CD platform. You will need to run your builds on Apple hardware. But allocating hardware for each build can be expensive and become difficult to maintain as your environment grows.

Anka integrates with your CI/CD pipeline to accelerate your applications lifecycle. You can run macOS VMs to manage multiple CI/CD jobs simultaneously. Its container-like virtualization allows you to save VM templates providing guaranteed on-demand clean build environments. CI/CD jobs run inside of an ephemeral VM so you don’t have to clean it after each run and can also ensure a specific state of the VM each time you start one.

What is Anka Mac Cloud

As an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider in Canada, Clarity builds your macOS Private Cloud on Veertu’s Anka platform. Providing an agile, scalable and flexible solution for your iOS applications. 

It is a fully configured macOS private cloud. Since it comes built, your company can start creating and using it right away. Clients have flexible and affordable options allowing them to scale as needed. Expand your cloud and resources by simply adding new hardware through a simple support ticket. Our engineers will configure and deploy the necessary resources allowing you to scale your cloud infrastructure.

Who should consider using Anka Mac Cloud?

Clarity’s fully managed Anka Mac Cloud helps teams scale up consistent macOS environments quickly. It allows you to focus on running your builds and test without having to worry about managing the infrastructure. 

Mobile Teams – Test iOS applications and mobile apps on all macOS versions integrating with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Teamcity, GitLab CI, Buildkite, and even a REST API to connect with your custom CI software.

Gaming Teams – Test to ensure that your games are consistent and stable on multiple macOS and iOS Versions. 

Malware and AntiVirus Testing – Inject malicious payload in controlled sandboxed macOS environments. Test code in your users’ environments to develop security countermeasure strategies.

Who manages my Anka Mac Cloud?

Anka Mac Cloud is a fully managed Private Cloud. Clarity handles all hardware to make sure your cloud is always available. We monitor network performance and our team of cloud cybersecurity experts make sure your cloud is secure. There is zero administration overhead – No system administration, management, or configuration required.

It comes fully configured for you to start creating and using your macOS VMs. All you need to do is create your VM templates, install your macOS of choice, and build out templates with different application stacks and repositories for testing.

Why partner with an IaaS Provider?

Running a business has many complex components. Managing hardware and your cloud platform requires constant upkeep of resources from your team. Partner with a Hosting Provider to manage your infrastructure so that you can focus on your business. 

If you’re running macOS and thinking it’s protected from cyber attacks or safer than other operating systems, think again. 

The view that macOS is more secure out of the box and less susceptible to threats, is a misconception. 

According to Malwarebytes “State of Malware Report”, released in early 2020, they “detected an average of 11 threats per Mac endpoint—nearly double the average of 5.8 threats per endpoint on Windows.” 

Malwarebytes analysts identified a 400 per cent increase in malware infections in 2019. Compared to 2018. This is a significant increase. Also, adware was among the top cybersecurity threats to consumers and businesses.

One reason Macs are targeted is their increased popularity and market share growth. Even though Windows owns the majority of the market share, especially, corporately. Hackers found targeting devices running macOS pays well. 

Another reason, macOS’s inherent built-in security systems have difficulty fending off adware. Opening up consumers’ and businesses’ systems to suspicious programmes infiltrating their networks.

Keep macOS by Reducing the Risk of Attack

A business or consumer can keep their macOS, but they need to reduce their risk of cyber attacks or breaches. 

Once a business’s system is online and public, it must always put security measures in place beyond macOS’s basic inherent security features. Otherwise they are likely targets.

Here are 3 steps any business, regardless of its size, can take to reduce its risk of cyber attack. 

1. Enhance Your Mac Security.

Enhancing macOS security means a comprehensive cybersecurity plan. One that includes scalable encrypted VPNs, like Clarity Mac VPN solutions. Especially, with more people working remotely. 

Plus the inclusion of a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Mitigation plan. This is critical for any business with a website. Businesses should look for the fastest Time-to-Mitigation (TTM) response of 3 seconds or less. 

Finally, any enhanced Mac security plans means customized firewalls. When it comes to macOS, full scale firewall customization for the Mac environment reduces a business’s risk. By customizing the firewall for a Mac environment it prevents unauthorized users, stops unwanted access to a company’s cloud or dedicated servers, filters traffic and more. 

2. Safeguard Data with a Data Protection Plan.

A macOS data protection plan is similar to a Windows data protection plan, it’s about the backups. However, the critical difference is ensuring your IT security team has a deep knowledge of Apple Infrastructure and Mac Security.

With macOS systems, businesses have the flexibility of customized Mac Backup options. But identifying which backup and recovery option is best means an integrated understanding of Apple infrastructure and cybersecurity needs.

3. Employee Education plus Solid Cybersecurity Habits.

Employee cybersecurity awareness education coupled with solid cybersecurity habits goes a long way to protecting your macOS environment. Cyber threats take advantage of human error and habits. Such as when an employee uses easily guessed passwords or opens emails with malicious attachments or links.  Awareness education mitigates a business’s risk. 

A cybersecurity aware user can stop a cyber attack before its launched. Simply by being aware. 

Educate your employees on importance of:

• creating complex passwords and distinctive passphrases.
• spotting adware and/or malicious emails.
• using approved software and mobile applications.
• practicing social media and online safety habits such as not sharing personal information or corporate data to unauthorized persons.

Reducing your risk of cyber attack doesn’t mean getting rid of macOS. It means working with technology solutions providers with a deep understanding of Mac hosting, Mac cloud and Mac security. 

If your business or organization uses macOS, connect with Clarity. We offer the full spectrum of technology solutions, including leading Mac security and cybersecurity expertise. 

You aren’t alone if you don’t know where your company’s data is stored. Most Canadians and businesses think their data is stored in Canada, but often it’s not.

Your company may store its data in the cloud, but the issue is where that cloud’s server is located? Emails, databases, websites and any information considered consumer data are regulated by the laws of where the server is located.

In Canada, hosting and cloud storage falls under the Personal and Electronic Documents Act.

How is Data Storage a Privacy Issue?

Canada has among the strictest privacy protection laws and is known for being on par with EU and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Canadian privacy and data protection laws such as Canada’s Personal and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), covers all consumer data across Canada.

PIPEDA is designed to protect sensitive and personal data. This includes data storage, data protection and how this data is transferred. Also, depending on what type of business you run, you may be unable to transfer data outside of Canada.

In essence, where your company’s data is stored falls under privacy legislation. Making data storage a privacy issue.

Using Canadian Hosting or Cloud Service Doesn’t Guarantee its in Canada

For example, a small business is looking for Toronto based hosting or cloud services. The business owner’s online search turns up what looks like a few Toronto hosting and cloud services companies.

In fact, what they’ve found are hosting and cloud services resellers. Meaning that the company is Canadian, but the actual cloud and hosting is provided by a third party physically outside of Canada. 

Are Mac Hosting or Mac Cloud More Vulnerable?

Businesses using a Mac Hosting or Mac Cloud need to be vigilant to vulnerabilities.

Not many hosting and cloud storage companies have expertise in Mac hosting and Mac cloud services. Particularly in the Canadian data center industry. Increasing the risk that your business is contracting its Mac hosting or cloud services from resellers.

The best way to minimize this risk, not only with Mac hosting and cloud storage, is working with a company with data centers actually located on Canadian soil. Guaranteeing the Apple infrastructure storing your company’s data is actually based in Canada and not the United States.

Canadian Data Centers — Security and Privacy Compliance

Data sovereignty is required by both the Canadian Privacy Act and PIPEDA. Also, there are a number of additional regulations and laws both Federally and Provincially restricting the movement of personal data. Not to mention, any industry or sector specific security and privacy requirements.

Knowing where your hosting or cloud is physically located is part of ensuring you’re compliant with Canada’s privacy laws. Plus, any industry or sector privacy needs. It’s vital for all businesses operating or conducting business in Canada. Because even though information crosses borders, your business remains liable for any problems.

If you’re unsure where your company’s data is stored, then find out. Privacy compliance and safeguarding your data starts with confirming where your data is physically stored.

To get more information on Clarity’s Toronto and Ontario data centers, contact us.