Japan’s earthquake was devastating to many companies, particularly electronics manufacturers. But the losses weren’t limited to Asia; many American companies felt the aftershock. The lesson to be learned: disasters can strike unexpectedly, and can have far-reaching impact.

What Japan Can Teach Us about Business Continuity

When a powerful earthquake rocked northeast Japan in March 2011, the impact was felt across the globe—a powerful reminder of how important disaster recovery plans are to all businesses.

You may think of disasters as being relatively rare events, like earthquakes—but however rare in any one location, events such as these can have an effect on many other locations.

Case in point: According to Bloomberg, at least 35 companies derive 15 percent or more of their sales from Japan. Among them are Aflac (an insurance company), Rambus (a memory-chip interface manufacturer), and Coach (a retailer). For example, Japan generated about 75 percent of Aflac’s 2010 sales. American ports and shippers were also affected:  the Port of Los Angeles temporarily suspended the transfer of hazardous materials and bunkering fuel operations.

The point is that disasters, whether acts of nature or man-made mishaps, can strike unexpectedly at any organization. Recovering from a catastrophe can be very demanding, expensive, and time consuming—especially for those who haven’t taken preventative measures and preparations.

What can you do to prepare? Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), which will enable your business to resume normal operations after a significant data loss or network downtime due to natural disasters, sabotage, theft, or equipment failure.

Even if you already have a BCP, it’s important to make sure that your plan is flexible and scalable, and can adapt to the natural changes that your business undergoes.

For example, software and hardware installations, updates, and modifications are an important part of business continuity planning. Your data should be properly and regularly backed up, and you need storage and recovery systems and procedures that are continually updated with changes that constantly occur in your IT.

In addition to having a flexible and scalable BCP, you also need a highly skilled IT staff that is up to speed on the importance of backup and recovery of data. It’s important that this staff is properly trained to implement your BCP in the event that your business experiences a major data loss.

Unfortunately, companies routinely suffer significant data loss because they discover the errors in their systems too late—usually while trying to recover the data.

Your business is important to you—and to us, too. We’re here to help you create or fine-tune a BCP that is best suited to your unique business needs, as well as prepare and assist your staff in implementing the plan should it become necessary. Contact us for more details.

Users of the old Windows Small Business Server 2008 will be glad to know that Microsoft has finally released a new SBS – Windows Small Business Server 2011 – which has improved features designed to make businesses function better.

Microsoft has released an upgrade to its Small Business Server Platform – Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard. Based on the Windows SBS 2008, it carries most of the easy-to-use features that have made it a standard in many businesses, plus several new features that make it a much more efficient and effective business tool.

Some key features of Windows SBS 2011 Standard include: the ability to recover files with automatic backup in case files and documents get compromised or lost; the ability to share documents and files from a central hub; access to information both in and outside the office; and new business software and application compatibilities.

Microsoft has also made the migration of data and other information from the old platform much easier, based on input from partners who tested the software during the beta phase of its development.

Other major changes that Windows SBS 2011 addresses are upgrades to both the Exchange Server and SharePoint foundation, as well as the SQL server. The upgrade also provides better remote access and better security, as well as an easier-to-use internal website that serves as a hub for users and clients to access information and data.

If your business is running Windows Small Business Server 2008, it might make sense to upgrade. If you would like to know more about how this upgraded platform can help your business, please contact us and we’ll be happy to provide a free assessment of your options.

Many businesses are now beginning to adapt a paperless policy, as doing so can go a long way in enhancing productivity and making operations much more efficient, while being much more cost-effective at the same time.

As companies are not only being more conscious of the environmental impact of how they do business but also of how they can create a much more efficient and productive system for operations, one trend that has emerged over the years is the move towards making offices use less paper.

While this may seem like a small issue, it actually impacts your business more than you might think. Just calculate the cost of buying paper for your entire business over the course of a whole year. A transition to a paperless office can not only save money, but can also affect operations by making things much more convenient and efficient. Here are some advantages of going paperless:

1.  Cost effectiveness

Going paperless significantly reduces costs spent on buying not only paper, but also costly printer consumables such as toner and inks. You also lessen the overall usage of your printers, reducing maintenance and repair costs and increasing the lifetime of your printer.

2.  Neater and greener

One of the most obvious advantages of going paperless is that it makes everything much neater. Remember those messy IN and OUT trays you couldn’t make heads or tails of? All gone. And with less paper to throw away, there’s also less waste. Plus, it’s much more environmentally friendly – using less paper, disposable printer consumables, and electricity means you’re doing your part to have a green office.

3.  Save space

Storing paper requires file cabinets, and file cabinets take up space. In one example, a company converted the massive documentation they were required to archive to digital copies, and eliminated an entire room of file cabinets. They were then able to use that valuable square footage as office space for a new salesperson.

4.  Better security

A paperless operation also enables you to better secure the data that you store. For example, you can set limits on the kind of data and information that is available to employees and workers based on their position and job description. Unlike file cabinets that can be broken into easily, causing possible theft or lost, storing data and information electronically not only makes it much more difficult to obtain that data, but online backups also give you a contingency in case of unforeseen circumstances or natural disasters that can compromise your data.

5.  Better productivity

Electronic storage and data management allow authorized employees to have access to information faster and more efficiently. A simple query or search term allows employees to find what they need in a jiffy, allowing them to get their assigned tasks done faster. With well organized file sharing and other document collaboration options, your people can get the documents they need in real time.

6.  Telecommuting and remote working

Enabling your team to work from home and while on the road is a key to productivity and keeping your company nimble. However, when you’re out of the office nothing is more frustrating than not having access to a document you need to act on. When your documents are in digital format, you and your employees have the information and documents they need at their fingertips to keep moving forward.

Different businesses need different systems and approaches to going paperless. If you’re interested in a paperless office, please contact us and we’ll be happy to present a solution that best meets your unique requirements.

Five years is a relatively short time to grow from a virtually unknown website to what is now one of the most effective social networking platforms on the web today. And businesses will be better off taking advantage of all that Twitter can offer internet marketing campaigns.

Social networking and “microblogging” site Twitter turned five years old recently, a testament to how effective this kind of approach to social networking is. And in those five short years, the number of users has ballooned to up to 200 million, sending around 140 million tweets a day around the world – and the number continues to grow.

March 21, 2006 marked the day Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent the first ever tweet that read, “just setting up my twttr.” Since then, people have used the service to broadcast all sorts of things, provided they stay within the 140-character limit – from what they ate that day to updates about news and current affairs.

Much more relevant to businesses, though, is how Twitter has become an integral part of internet and social media marketing. Twitter offers a plethora of advantages that enable businesses to share information on the web much faster than traditional means.

And it’s not only for small businesses. Big organizations such as ESPN (@espn, 1,098,906 followers), Dell (@DellOutlet, 1,581,201 followers), and Amazon (@amazondeals, 204,838 folowers) use Twitter’s wide reach and large audience to update about promotions, events, and other information.

Twitter enables businesses to get in touch with audiences and gain feedback almost instantly. It’s a win-win deal – clients get to say what they want in a short, brief 140-character tweet, and businesses can respond and make the necessary improvements very efficiently. Twitter also helps direct more traffic and visitors to websites and gives the impression of a hands-on, responsive service (provided website updates are timely and relevant). The platform on which Twitter operates makes for a fast-paced exchange of information that, with the right marketing strategies, can be very advantageous for businesses.

If you want to know more about how to harness this very effective medium to beef up your internet marketing efforts, give us a call and we’ll be happy to sit down with you and create strategies that meet your needs.

Studies have shown that companies can lose millions of dollars in productivity and bandwidth wasted on video streaming and online gambling during major sporting events. It’s best that you have the right systems in place to ensure that office hours and resources are spent on their intended purposes.

One of the many challenges businesses face is managing bandwidth and keeping productivity at a maximum. These challenges are especially apparent during major sporting events when hundreds of hours of productivity are lost to non-work activities.

During these times, many sports fanatics do their best to stay updated with the latest news in sporting events. And while there is nothing wrong with being a fan, there is a problem when office hours – not to mention precious bandwidth – are wasted on these unproductive activities. Besides video streaming live telecasts or replays of matches and games, there are also those who engage in online betting and gambling, especially during the final legs of a tournament or competition. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for some employees to spend the majority of their time at the office on these pursuits, with little to zero accomplishments for the day.

The problem is truly a serious one, with studies showing millions of dollars in productivity lost during popular sporting events. That’s beside the bandwidth wasted on what is, from a professional standpoint, useless and irrelevant activities. Naturally, the value of losses in productivity and bandwidth vary from company to company, but any loss is a loss that affects your bottom line.

The good news is that these kinds of situations can be prevented. With the right software, you can be immediately alerted when a particular workstation is consuming an unusual amount of bandwidth. This will not only help you cut off the bandwidth usage, but also help you identify employees who are wasting company resources. You can even use this software to catch people who might be illegally downloading content from the web through torrent or peer-to-peer programs, which also pose security threats to your system.

If you’d like to learn more about solutions to better manage your bandwidth and productivity, please don’t hesitate to give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to sit down with you to discuss a customized approach for your organization.

With the growing need to provide free Wi-Fi for clients and customers, small businesses are faced with the problem of whether to set up the connection themselves, or hire an outsourced company to do the job.

Many businesses have seen the demand for free Wi-Fi at their establishments jump drastically, as more and more people feel the need to be online as often as possible for personal and business purposes.

In response to this demand, one of the most common solutions is to allow clients and customers to use the business’s existing internal network. Some companies provide a password, while others simply leave the connection open to all. However, a better solution is to have an outsourced service or company provide the Wi-Fi hotspot you allow others to use for free.

Why? One of the most important benefits is security. Companies trying to handle their own Wi-Fi hotspots – especially small businesses without in-house IT resources – are likely to make fundamental mistakes that leave their networks vulnerable and exposed to abuse and infiltration. Outsourced Wi-Fi providers are experts in giving you a secure system that protects your own network and by extension, your business.

Another benefit of using an outsourced Wi-Fi hotspot provider is that you also have greater control over the network, allowing you to impose rules such as bandwidth and website limits. You can also determine whether you want to require the people who’ll be using the hotspot to log in with a password (which you provide), or simply enjoy an open connection. Another important point is the marketing that comes with the free Wi-Fi service – while you are providing your clients with a free internet connection, your primary goal is to promote your business.

If you want to know more about outsourced Wi-Fi, feel free to contact us so we can discuss a custom blueprint for a Wi-Fi hotspot for your business.

The Skype-enabled TV was developed by David Dinka and his team as a result of a series of worldwide interviews asking respondents about their communication needs. Common desires was discovered:  to be able to communicate with colleagues, family, and friends from somewhere comfortable, and to make video calls on a big screen.

Technology continues to evolve each day, and the internet especially has made life easier and more convenient. You can shop online, conduct research from any location, bank online, and even have meetings and conferences online. There’s no need to fly from one state or country to another for board meetings, and no need to pay for expensive telephone bills for conference calls. Downloadable internet programs allow you to meet as long as you want, and if both parties have downloaded the same program – it’s free. One such program is Skype.

Skype is a software application that enables registered users to make voice calls and group chats over the internet, as well as use offline messaging, instant messaging, and chat history storage. Calls between Skype users are free, and calls to landline and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system.

In January 2006, video conferencing between two users was introduced, and in 2010 Skype began offering free video conferencing with up to 5 people. Today, Skype has brought video conferencing a step further:  to your widescreen TV.

The Skype-enabled TV was developed by David Dinka and his team as a result of interviews conducted worldwide asking respondents about their communication needs. The interviews uncovered a common desire to be able to speak to their colleagues, family, and friends from a more comfortable place than their desks, and they prefer to make video calls on a big screen.

Together with its partners Panasonic and Samsung, Skype has developed the first generation of Skype-enabled TVs that allow you to call and receive video calls from anyone who has Skype. You can also video call users with Skype for Windows or Mac (version 5.0 and above) on their computers or laptops.

How does it work? You’ll need a Skype-enabled TV (Sony and VIZIO will also offer models later this year) and a webcam developed specifically to work with your TV and Skype. These special webcams have built-in microphones that allow you to make calls from a distance without having to shout or move closer to the TV. Some Panasonic TVs will even allow you to make HD video calls. To maximize your video calls, it’s recommended that you have a 1Mbs symmetric broadband connection.

For entrepreneurs with several offices around the country or even around the world, this will be especially useful, allowing them to link offices and have a full-time video connection for free.

And with Skype TV, you won’t have to stay glued to your desk staring into the small screen of your computer during conference calls. You can be seated comfortably on your sofa with a clear view of everyone involved. And because the service is free, you won’t have to worry about rushing through meetings to keep operation costs down. You get your work done at the pace that you set.

For more details about Skype TV, please visit the Skype website:  www.skype.com.

Softphones – software programs that allow you to make calls through the internet – can be a convenient way to communicate, but they can also pose security risks to businesses. Fortunately, softphones for PABX networks provide all the same conveniences but with more exclusivity and security.

Technology has always had a profound impact on the way we do business, especially these days with the constant need to stay in touch with bosses, clients, and co-workers. A breakdown in communication often means a dip in productivity – so you always need to have the best and most effective means of communication at your disposal.

One of these means is softphones, which are basically software programs that allow you to make calls in much the same way as you do using a telephone or mobile device, except it’s through your internet connection. The most popular softphones include Skype, MagicJack, or Yahoo Messenger’s call feature. However, there are also softphone technologies that can utilize your PABX (private automatic branch exchange) network, which – while more limited in a general sense – are much better for businesses because of the security they offer.

Softphones on PABX work better for business purposes because of the nature of the PABX networks themselves. The privacy and exclusivity for your business communications are maintained, and PABX softphones make communication convenient without compromising security.

If you want to know more about softphone technology for your PABX network, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss a detailed service blueprint that will work for you.

Professional service providers such as attorneys, accountants, and doctors no longer fall within the definition of a creditor under the Red Flag Rule.

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) so-called “Red Flag Rule,” which requires all businesses that are potential identity-theft targets to develop plans to spot red flags and prevent theft, received much criticism for being too broad. But now there’s some relief:  S. 3987, the Red Flag Clarification Act, which President Obama signed into law in December 2010.

To recap, under the Red Flag Rule, the FTC had been interpreting “creditor” broadly by including organizations that defer payment for goods or services and bill clients later. This led to widespread concern that the Red Flag Rule would be applicable to entities not typically thought of as creditors, including law firms and health care providers.

The Red Flag Clarification Act exempts such entities by revising the definition of creditor to exclude creditors “that advance funds on behalf of a person for expenses incidental to a service provided by the creditor to that person.”

Essentially, the Red Flag Clarification Act limits the scope of the Red Flag Rule to creditors that regularly and in the ordinary course of business obtain or use consumer reports in connection with a credit transaction; furnish information to consumer reporting agencies in connection with a credit transaction; or advance funds to a person based on the person’s obligation to repay the funds.

The legislation does include a provision that would allow other types of creditors to be subject to the Red Flag Rule if the agency with authority over the creditor (such as federal banking agencies) determines that the creditor has accounts that are subject to a reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft.

Learn how setting up your own private network can radically improve, if not transform, the way you do business.

The world is flat. That is if you ask New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman, who wrote a book of the same name describing just how the world got flatter and flatter thanks to a whole host of factors, one of which is technology. Technology—most notably computers, telecommunication devices, and the Internet—has allowed individuals and organizations to create, communicate, and collaborate like never before.

One question that always pops up, however, is how to maintain privacy and security in this brave new world of greater transparency and connectedness. Until recently, the only way was through cumbersome and expensive means. Companies, especially large corporations, previously resorted to setting up their own infrastructure (think miles and miles of cable, satellite uplinks, or large line-of-sight communication links) or leasing infrastructure from telecommunication companies, just to be able to set up and maintain their own private and secure telecommunication networks that can span large distances.

With the advent of the Internet, however, setting up private networks has become much cheaper and easier. Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, allow companies to create their own secure, private networks within the public network using technologies such as encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and the data within. The Internet is used only as the transport layer, radically reducing cost and time to set up because of its ubiquity, simplicity, and scalability.

Examples of how a VPN can benefit your organization include the ability to:

• Allow your people to work anywhere at any time—as long as they have Internet access and VPN support.
• Link together your offices and employees anywhere in the world, securely and cost effectively.
• Extend your operations around the world—sell online, move goods across borders, recruit talent from anywhere!

Can you think of other ways a VPN can help you and your organization? Let us know. Thinking of setting one up right away? Call us and find out how we can help.