by Fred Harrah, CEO, The Network Co. of California

First in a series titled ‘Framework for IT Risk Assessment’ authored by The Network Co. of California ©2012

In this ever-changing technology industry and it’s multitude of available options, small business owners can be easily overwhelmed trying to understand their current IT set-up, how it’s handling today’s business needs, and what performance can be expected or planned for future growth. Fred Harrah, CEO of The Network Co. of California (TNCC) in San Diego, CA, says ‘often companies will increase their IT budget to increase competitiveness; but for those that do not have the room, or are unable to secure financing, an audit is helpful in accurately determining if IT expenses are justifiable and how to consider decreasing costs or increasing available options for better overall efficiency.’ Read further for more information to see if your company can benefit from an audit and what is included:

Q: Who should get a Business Technology Audit?

A: Any business that relies on technology, with or without an in-house IT department. TNCC primarily audits companies in the SMB market, from 20-250 users; however, larger companies can request an audit from their enterprise IT consultant.

Q: Why should our company perform a Business Technology Audit?

A: A Business Technology Audit can provide an in-depth analysis of a company’s business technology environment which includes business applications, core business systems infrastructure, IT planning and execution, budget, risk, and IT personnel utilization and effectiveness. The audit details how efficient the company’s business technology systems are meeting the company’s current needs, and provides a business technology roadmap going forward.

Q: When should a Business Technology Audit be performed?

A. Business owners should conduct a Business Technology Audit:

• When technology maintenance and support costs begin to rise or get out of hand
• When technology doesn’t meet the current business needs or expectations of the company
• When the company is considering major systems upgrades or large capital technology expenditures
• When the company’s customer service becomes hampered by technology, or when personnel and HR issues require updating or compliance.

Q: Are there any other benefits to getting a Business Technology Assessment?

A. At the very least, the Business Technology Audit will provide a measure of your information technology’s current health status that every CEO should be aware of.

• Business technology assessments can also provide a business owner with insight into technology resources that they may not be aware of yet can have a significant impact on their company. Key new technologies focusing on Cloud IT, mobility, unified communications, and IT-as-a-monthly-service are empowering employees like never before while lowering technology spending.
• An IT audit can compare available options for many business and financial situations.
• An IT audit can provide an unbiased, independent review of your overall business systems that you rely on every day to run your company.

A company does not need to have an IT department to conduct an audit. If you have technology, it can be accounted for and managed.

For further information, or questions on how to have an audit of your business performed by a reliable technology consultant, such as The Network Co. of California, call (760) 744-0442 or email info@tncc.com.

As we move towards spring, February gives us the opportunity to celebrate the first of the year’s two ‘ladies’ days’ typically associated with romance. Hopefully you were able to brave the crowds at your favorite dining establishment for a memorable evening with your special someone. Read on for the latest in technology news we know you are also going to love!

There isn’t much going on in the tech world, but rumor has it that Apple will be releasing the IPAD 3 sometime in March, PC prices will being going up in the short term due to the hard drive shortages resulting from the recent flooding in Thailand, and Microsoft will be releasing Windows 8, Office 15, SQL Server 2012, internet Explorer 10, and System Center 2012 sometime this year.

Here at TNCC, we are starting to see a lot more interest in the ‘Cloud’ from some of our C-level clients looking for ways to cut costs, operate more efficiently, and address staff needs for mobile access anywhere and anytime. Most companies are looking at refreshing their old technology to reduce their IT footprint, and take advantage of virtualization, new applications and capabilities that technology can provide since their last refresh. This makes moving into a privately hosted cloud environment a little more economical and cheaper to deploy initially, while reducing ongoing maintenance costs. This allows a company’s IT resources to be focused towards solutions that will contribute directly to the bottom line instead of on maintaining what’s already owned. Did you know that according to Gartner Research over 65% of a company’ IT budget is spent on maintenance? Something to ponder.

Have a great month and I’ll chat with you in March.

Fred Harrah, CEO
760-744-0442 x 208

Happy New Year from sunny San Diego! It’s really hard to complain about 70° days in December. I don’t know what happened to our weather the last few weeks but Christmas was more like a summer vacation than the start of winter. Hopefully everyone took some time off got a chance to spend time with friends and family.

The horizon brings exciting new developments from a business and social perspective. Looking into the crystal ball for 2012, we expect to see major changes in mobility, IT infrastructure as a monthly service, virtualization, adoption of cloud technology platforms, and increased “consumerization” of IT in the workplace.

Mobility – Access to information from anywhere you can find internet access has become a reality: information, people, and the office – anywhere, anytime and anyplace. This will grow exponentially as more devices enter the marketplace. Had a video conference meeting from Starbucks lately? Look for improved feature sets on tablets, smart phones, ultra books and other smart devices. Think where you would be today without your iPhone.

IT Infrastructure as a Monthly Service - Why invest large amounts of capital to replace existing business server and infrastructure when you can get the latest and greatest technology for one low monthly fee that can scale to meet the changes your business demands? This will eliminate the 3-5 year hardware refresh cycle while recovering some office space and lowering utility costs.

Virtualization – Server virtualization has been around for a few years now and companies have been adopting this option to reduce capital expenditures and do more with less physical hardware. It’s provided huge savings to companies that have deployed this technology. Now we can look forward to virtualizing the PC desktop and business applications while connecting with our smart devices. Please see the article below titled ‘Six Reasons Small Businesses Need Virtualization’ for a more extensive list of benefits.

Adoption of Cloud Services – “The Cloud”, as it is referred to, is going to see a lot of traction in 2012 as companies look for ways to reduce IT costs, improve profitability with technology solutions and reduce IT risk exposure. “The Cloud” comes in many flavors and will require a different skill set than IT has needed in the past to take advantage of all the benefits this technology can provide.

Increased “Consumerization” of IT in the workplace – Many companies are seeing staff use personal electronic devices to access corporate resources like email, the internet, lines of business systems, etc.; and this will only increase throughout the coming year. While this is a great benefit, it also comes with considerable risk to the company: security, viruses and potential for theft of corporate information.

That is what our technology industry crystal ball shows for 2012. TNCC has invested in these areas throughout 2011 and will also do so in 2012 so we can continue to be a leading IT and business resource for San Diego businesses.

Fred Harrah, CEO
760-744-0442 x 208

Used with Permission from Small Business Trends By Shashi Bellamkonda

We’re in the New Year and the time for making resolutions about health, wealth, family and oddball bucket lists. Don’t forget about making resolutions about your online presence as well. Your website 2012 resolutions should include content, communications, community, conversations and conversion.  The secret of successful small business owners is that they spend more time “on the business” than “in the business.” One of the tools for spending on your business is your web presence.

Small businesses are great at customer service and realize that their next customer will come from a current customer – Word of Mouth. In the digital world word of mouth is “word of mouse” a powerful tool to gain new customers. A new era of marketing is unfolding and digital marketing helps you in your objective to influence behavior to change positively towards you.  The audience who need your product and services are increasingly searching for them online. It is interesting to see how the communication tools are coming together.

Read more…

Used with Permission from Microsoft

These days, it seems that just about everybody uses a laptop or notebook computer to get work done away from the office or on the road. Unfortunately, the pervasiveness of laptop computing has made portable systems an easy target for theft. If your laptop computer is stolen, or if someone gains access to your files while your back is turned, your company information—not to mention your personal and financial data—can be exposed.

Looking for information about security features you can use on your laptop to keep your data safe while you travel? This article covers some of the most pertinent. If you’d like more general security suggestions (whether on the road or at the office), check out 10 ways to work more securely.

Use these 10 tips to learn how you can help protect your laptop from theft when you’re on the road.

Read more…

Used with Permission from Spend Matters by Mark Schaffner

Although many would have you believe otherwise, the cloud cannot create world peace. It can’t end hunger, lower taxes, or make your coffee taste better.

Although these specific claims haven’t been attributed to the cloud just yet, the cloud has been so exaggerated and misunderstood that the average organization isn’t really sure of what the cloud is.

If the cloud is not a panacea, what is it? The best and most accurate description I’ve ever heard came from our CTO, Bilal Soylu. The cloud, in his words, is simply another utility, delivering computing as a service, rather than a product.

Read more…

Used with Permission from Infusionsoft by Joseph Manna

As an entrepreneur, you’re probably a hunter. A hunter for information, tips, techniques and best practices to manage and grow your small business. The good news is, there is a ton of valuable information out there from authorities on entrepreneurship that you need to be drinking from right now. I’ve narrowed a large list of blogs down to the nine blogs you must read.

What makes a blog a must-read? Frequent updates, fresh content, and amazing information are just the start of what I consider a blog to be a must-read. Stop scavenging and hunt for the best information to grow your business. The truth is, there is a lot of crap out there that will just waste your time. I promise you that these blogs will give you a ton of value.

Read more…

Used with Permission from CIO By Paul Mah

If you run a small or mid-sized business, server virtualization promises cost savngs and improved IT efficiency. To help ensure you understand the advantages, we drew up a list of the most tangible benefits that virtualization has to offer small and mid-sized businesses.

CIO — Server virtualization has been around for more than 10 years and while issues such as storage and I/O bottlenecks can still rear their head, the multi-faceted advantages offered by virtualization are real and attainable even if you run a small business—and since your competitors may not have discovered the benefits of the technology yet you may gain a significant competitive advantage. To help ensure you understand server virtualization, we drew up a list of the most tangible advantages that virtualization has to offer smaller businesses.

Read more…

The use of social networks has changed the way many people communicate with each other online. In the same vein, internal social networks can also enhance communications within a given organization, but only if the right policies to govern its use are developed and implemented by the company it belongs to.

With the waves created by social networking in how companies do business nowadays, many have also utilized the same principle to develop internal social networks to enhance their in-house communications as well. However, the use of this new medium of communication also requires that companies develop new policies to cover its use.

One concern that may leave you apprehensive about creating an internal social network might be the fear that it could be abused by employees. However, reports have shown that introducing an in-house social network has produced generally positive results.

As long as company policies regarding the use of internal social networks are developed and implemented properly, employees will view such a network as an extension of the workplace, and will try to put their best foot forward. Such policies must specifically tackle the use of the internal social network, and many experts recommend revising existing company rules that govern the use of email, IT resources, and even external social networks. To be on the safe side, it’s a good idea to consult with a lawyer to avoid any legal problems with the policy in the future.

Who’s going to be in charge? Your managers, of course. Since the social network will be for company use, it follows that department heads should be given administrative duties and permissions which they will use for moderating communications and discussions in and pertaining do their respective sections.

While an internal social network can do wonders for your in-house communications, good policies and rules pertaining to its use will be what keep it working like a well-oiled machine.

It doesn’t matter how solid your security system is –any hacker or online thief can figure out a weak password in a couple of hours through trial and error. Don’t risk being a victim of a security breach and data theft. Avoid these passwords that are especially easy to crack.

If you think using ‘password’ as your password is no big deal, then it’s time to rethink.

Security experts have recently compiled a list of the worst passwords users can choose, and ‘password’ is at the very top of the list. Weak passwords make your information more vulnerable simply because hackers can guess them. It may be easier to pick a password that you don’t have to think about, but it’s a choice that you may come to regret.

To help you avoid common password choice mistakes that users make, management application provider SplashData has compiled a list of the 25 worst passwords to use:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

Make a smart password choice
Experts advise using a combination of letters and numbers when creating your passwords, and to avoid things that anyone might be able to guess, such as birthdays and anniversary dates. Passwords with eight characters or more are safer and it’s best to use different passwords for different accounts and websites. Use a password manager to help you keep track of all of your passwords if you’re finding it difficult to remember them all..

No matter how sophisticated your security system is, a weak password gives hackers and online thieves an advantage. Helping all the users in your organization understand the importance of password strength will help you secure the IT systems in your organization.

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us so we can develop a comprehensive and custom security blueprint that meets your specific needs.

Reference: Worst Internet Passwords