We have all heard of tablet computers and how they are changing how the mobile workforce does business. With the seemingly endless applications for tablets, the question remains: Will they really benefit your business?

According to a recent Gartner study, by 2013 80 percent of businesses will support a workforce using tablets. How businesses implement tablets will determine if the 25 percent efficiency gain the study estimates will truly be recognized.

Recently, I spoke with a business owner that was an early adopter of tablets for his workforce. He discovered that after seeing the total cost of implementation, he would have invested much more time into research before purchasing the solution. He indicated that he asked his IT provider if they could support the tablets and received the affirmative. Unfortunately, the follow-up questions of: “How much will it cost?” and “What issues should we expect?” were excluded from the conversation. Much frustration could have been avoided had all the costs and potential issues been laid out up front.

What about my business?

If your business is already or looking at using mobile applications, cloud computing or has a mobile workforce – the addition of tablets will likely increase productivity if implemented correctly. The business gains of having information at the fingertips of your workforce can be exciting and should be a good catalyst to a conversation with your employees about the use of tablets in your business.

What should I look for?

Business owners should look at who in the organization will use the tablets, total cost of ownership, security and data protection. All of these things should be identified clearly and definite long before any purchases are made.

Advice:

Start with writing down requirements in this manner: Need to have, Nice to have, and Do not want. (Example: Needs to have: Mobile email, access to files. Nice to have: Integration with cloud computing. Do not want: Angry Birds.)

Talk to your employees about how they might use tablets and if they think it will increase their effectiveness. If implemented, they will feel ownership in the solution, are more likely to use the tablets and encourage your other employees to as well.

Speak with other businesses that have implemented tablets. Ask your IT service provider to put you in touch with their other clients that are working with tablets successfully. Use social media to connect with businesses in your industry who have adopted tablets. Specifically, discover what issues they experienced and what benefits they realized from the investment.

Clearly define all cost points. Consider hardware, software licensing, training costs, implementation, security measures, and data protection tools.

Encrypt and back up all business data stored on tablets and any other mobile devices you are using.

Ensure all tablets are insured and your business insurance policy is updated to reflect potential theft of the hardware and the data itself.

Understand the compliance implications for your industry. Specifically, if a tablet is lost or stolen, what actions are required of your business (notification of clients or authorities, etc).

Create a training plan for your workforce. Adoption rates and effective use of new technology greatly increases when training is provided.

Published at: Idaho Business Review

We have all heard of cloud computing and it seems to be a perfect fit for business owners trying to squeeze more from shrinking budgets.  The question remains:  Will it really help every business as the marketing claims, or will many businesses suffer from buyer’s remorse?

In the cloud computing space, we often hear of all the big players who have a large product offering, but who do not offer custom solutions based on individual business need.  The focus has traditionally been the consumer market or big business, and it is has not been cost effective for these providers to build custom solutions for small businesses.  This has left a sizeable gap in the market, and the smaller cloud providers are quietly making a play for the custom cloud business.

Recently, I spoke with a business owner who had migrated to a large hosted Exchange cloud solution.  Little did they realize that the restrictions placed on the solution would hamper their ability to effectively service their clients.  After a number of downtime issues and frustrations, they finally found a custom cloud solution that would allow them to fully use their technology tools in the manner that fit their business.

What about my business?

If your business is using traditional computing, a hybrid, or are using cloud services – it is often worth the time to explore a custom cloud solution.  Businesses are used to choosing between large capital expense for a traditional network or an inadequate cloud offering.  With proper planning, the options can expand to meet needs properly without the huge capital expense.

What should I look for?

Small businesses should look at security, total cost of ownership, backups, stability and reputation of each cloud provider.  Additionally, on-going support should be a major deciding factor as local IT support may not be able to completely correct issues that are in the cloud.  Treat cloud solutions the same as any major purchase and ensure you have all the details up-front.  One of the major expenses is the conversion and migration.

Advice:

Start with writing down requirements in this manner: Need to have, Nice to have, and Do not want.  (Example:  Needs to have: unlimited growth potential. Nice to have: integration with outlook.  Do not want: mailbox size limits.)

Research local cloud providers.  It is nice to have local support as is often a more relationship driven approach with hands on support through the migration process and local providers often have in-person training options.

Check the reputation of each provider using the Better Business Bureau, searching for them on Google to get feedback, and checking their web presence and social media.  Additionally, ask for a number of references for clients that asked for similar solutions to the one you desire.  A good track record of success will be the key to your own successful project.

Implement a second internet connection.  With any cloud solution, the internet connection becomes critical and having a second, redundant connection will increase uptime and reduce the risk of work stoppage.

Ask for proof of liability insurance from your cloud provider.  Keep the proof on file and ask for an updated copy yearly.

Ask for independent backups to a third party.  Keeping a backup of your data to a third party can reduce risk and allow you to control your data.

Update your own insurance policy.  Often, your hardware footprint will be reduced by taking advantage of cloud solutions and the risk of disaster is greatly diminished.  Check with your insurance provider to see if a change of coverage is needed.

Donate old equipment.  There are a number of non-profit organizations (Computers for Kids, etc) that would love to take your old PCs and servers.

Published at: Idaho Business Review

We have all heard the story of the hacker “taking down” a corporate network, maybe stealing corporate data or even someone’s personal information. The millions of dollars lost, the credit card numbers now publicly available, or even private photos stolen and now not so private.

What we don’t often hear is of hackers targeting small to medium-sized businesses. The sector, in fact, is under serious threat. Verizon’s 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report indicates that the small to medium businesses have become the main target for hackers. This is clearly linked to the lack of security investment made by smaller companies that has created an environment where there is relatively low risk for hackers compared to targeting major corporations.

What does it cost?

According to Symantec’s SMB Information Protection Survey, the average cost of cyber attacks for a small to medium business is $188,242. This number is especially daunting since smaller companies are typically not insured against cyber theft or hacking (usually covered by a cyber insurance endorsement). Clearly, most small businesses simply cannot afford to take the risk of a hacking incident.

Why does this happen?

Small businesses maintain valuable employee, customer, and industry data just like large businesses. Because small businesses often fail to adequately protect their networks, hackers can automate the hacking process and steal valuable data easily. Additionally, small businesses often don’t notice hacking activity until it is too late – which allows for hackers to breach networks and steal data without detection.

Advice:

1. Implement a firewall appliance in business office and home offices. Also, install a software firewall on all machines used on public networks (coffee shops for example). Simply put, a good firewall is a barrier that keeps hackers out.

2. Develop a corporate security policy. This policy should include password protections including creating complex passwords and changing passwords at least every 90 days. Additionally, the policy should direct employees to safely use the internet and network resources provided them by the company. Consequences for violating this policy should be also included.

3. Install and maintain anti-virus software that automatically updates, scans and protects all computers. Employees should be educated about viruses and discouraged from opening emails with suspicious attachments or from unknown senders.

4. Keep operating systems up to date each month. Microsoft releases patches and updates on the second Tuesday of each month and updates should be installed shortly after on each computer. Additionally, ask your IT Service Provider to check updates on your server(s), network equipment and PCs regularly.

5. Implement email security. Outsourcing email security to a known email security provider will allow emails to be cleaned prior to ever reaching business networks. This will cut down on maintenance costs and threats. Additionally, ensure that the company antivirus product chosen integrates with your email application.

6. Update your insurance policy. Small businesses should ask their insurance agent to add a cyber insurance endorsement to their business insurance policy. This will alleviate the cost of breach notices, damages and possible litigation.

We have all heard the story of someone losing all their data stored on their laptop or PC. The panic! The rush to the nearest computer store! The heartbreak of lost family photos, school work, email, and worst of all: time.

What we don’t often hear of is the loss of data by businesses. The business community is facing a serious threat with over 45% of responders to a Verio survey indicating that they have no data recovery plan in place. This is particularly frightening when you consider that same study shows that 70% of small businesses would potentially declare bankruptcy if catastrophic data loss was experienced.

A local business owner was recently relating to me how his organization lost all of their email because of “bad backups”. His IT provider had provided him with several options on backups, and the lowest cost option was chosen with no secondary backups or automated off-site backups. All it took was a simple hard drive failure for data loss to occur. The loss extended far beyond the lost data as the business also lost several business opportunities and all of the contact history they had obtained over the years (arguably the most valuable loss). He indicated that the loss was so detrimental to his business that he considered closing the doors.

Why?

Why did this happen? Who is to blame? What could have been done differently?

Unfortunately, there is never an easy answer. Clearly, the backup strategy that was implemented was insufficient to protect business critical emails and data. The level of importance placed on the ability to restore the data was clearly not high for either the IT Service Provider or the business owner. The business owner agreed with my assessment that he was not fully informed as to his level of risk. His analogy was that his insurance agent inform him of all his risk points and provide him with options based on risk level – why didn’t the IT Professional he trusted do the same?

Advice

The more important the data that is stored on the computer, the greater is the need for backing up this data. Add layers of backups with increased risk. A backup is only as useful as its associated restore strategy. For critical systems and data, the restoration process must be tested. Storing the copy near the original is unwise, since many disasters such as fire, flood, theft, and electrical surges are likely to cause damage to the backup at the same time. In these cases, both the original and the backup medium are likely to be lost. Automated backup and scheduling should be considered, as manual backups can be affected by human error. Backups can fail for a wide variety of reasons. A verification or monitoring strategy is an important part of a successful backup plan. Multiple backups on different media, stored in different locations, should be used for all critical information. Backed up archives should be stored in open and standard formats, especially when the goal is long-term archiving. Recovery software and processes may have changed, and software may not be available to restore data saved in proprietary formats.

System administrators and others working in the information technology field are routinely fired for not devising and maintaining backup processes suitable to their organization.

How to prevent potential loss:

Ask your IT professional for daily backup reports to be emailed to you. Ensure all backups are tested via test restores at least monthly – have all reports emailed to you. Have a backup audit performed by another service provider and work with your current provider to resolve any issues. This will go a long way to decreasing risk.