That said, I hope today does some good and gets some business owners out there to reevaluate the status of their current approach to backup.  If it's anything other than a complete, end-to-end solution including EVERY bit of data, programs, settings, and information on your network, then you really need to address it.  There are so many great (and cost effective) solutions available now, it's almost a crime if your IT department or IT Service Provider doesn't have you covered to this degree.  I wish I could say 100% of our clients on our solution (most are, but there are still a couple of "legacy straggellers") - but the ones who aren't will feel the pain of not having this in place at some point.  It may not be today.  It may not be tomorrow.  But at some point (in the not too distant future), they will feel it.  But they shouldn't have to.  And I now see that this is the purpose of having a "World Backup Day". 

Again, on the surface this seems like a joke.  Ludicrous almost.  But a "Happy Easter" followed up by a quick "Happy World Backup Day" easily gets the discussion going.  And isn't this what naming today "World Backup Day" was all about?  To increase the visibility around a subject so serious. 

So, are you sure everything you have is being backed up?  And tested too?  Wait, this might mean we now need a "World Restore Day" too.

For these sorts of employees the line between work and play has not only been blurred, but it's pretty much been obliterated. Having access to information on mobile devices and working wherever and whenever they want has become their right of passage. It's not so much viewed as a benefit but rather they're coming into the workforce with this level of expectation. They expect to be able to work whenever and wherever they want. They expect to access the company's information on whatever device they choose (can you say "BYOD?).  And they expect this without question.

It's interesting to see that while much of the SMB world is catching up to the "dot coms" in remote access and remote work styles, is this the beginning of some of these leading edge companies reverting back to environments where intimate, one on one communication is being promoted? With all the technology that's out there to help to close the gap between the physical and virtual work worlds (ie: web conferencing, video conferencing, remote access, etc.), it's nice to see at least some value is being put back on the human relationships - which sometimes can only be made face to face.

However, seeing how Hurricane Sandy impacted small businesses on the east coast really should force business owners to reconsider how they can better protect their business from natural disasters. Weather-proofing your business is by no means the only reason to move to the cloud, but it certainly is a benefit. At least moving towards a properly executed Backup & Disaster Recovery Solution hosted in the cloud should be a minimum for ensuring the continuity of your business in the event of a disaster.

While Cloud computing allows employees to access all of their files and programs from any device with an Internet connection, having a solid Business Continuity plan utilizing the Cloud can accomplish the same thing during a disaster and is imperative to consider. With Cloud computing, all of your data is stored and backed-up in a data center as opposed to in an onsite server closet or individual computers. With FPA's Backup & Disaster Recovery Solution utilizing the Cloud for the offsite storage portion you actually get the best of both worlds - security and performance of your on-premise solution with the capability of running from the Cloud in the event of a disaster.

Certain businesses were completely shut down by Hurricane Sandy. However, those businesses in the cloud could operate as usual and those utilizing the technology in FPA's Backup & Disaster Recovery Solution could as well. We saw thousands of businesses utilizing our same solution able to function with minimal interruption during the disaster.

While we hope to never have to deal with this situation, seeing it in aciton is proof positive that it's well worth the investment and should be part of every business' Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan.

1. I will ensure my backups are really working.  This means they're complete, they're accurate, they're tested, and they're fully redundant in the cloud.

2. I will ensure I have a Business Continuity plan in place that's all encompassing ensuring my business will be able to operate regardless of any potential interruption to my business.

3. I will ensure all of my information on my network is secure.  That means in addition to a secured firewall, I will have a penetration test performed and make sure all USB ports (for Flash drive access) are locked down.

4. I will ensure my Wi-Fi spots are secure.  With a secure password and the appropriate encryption level.

5. I will ensure my software licensing is current and complete

6. I will implement a meaningful use policy when it comes to my staff accessing my information via their personal mobile devices.  I will also come up with a meaningful way to manage these items going forward.

7. I will ensure all of my staff's machines are performing as well as they (my staff) need them to be.  This includes replacing machines that are just too slow or upgrading to dual or triple monitors.

8. I will ensure my staff are all properly trained and can effectively use all of the systems and applications they need to use.

9. I will look into what the cloud can do to help me improve the effectiveness of my company's productivity and accessibility to our information.

10. I will look into which of my applications need to be updated, improved, or replaced.  Or moved to the cloud.

11. I will look into whether or not I can save money on my phone and internet services.  This should be a no-brainer!

12. Lastly, and sadly (for Fred), I will fire Fred and replace him with a quality firm ensuring that our systems are proactively monitored, managed, and maintained.  Uptime will be my competitive advantage this year!

Of course I will also ensure all of this happens with minimal (if any) disruption to our operations.  I'm just tired of Fred bringing down the network.  See ya Fred!

Q: What is virtualization?

Virtualization is a way to make more efficient use of today’s high-performance CPUs, by letting you run multiple (virtual) servers on the same (physical) hardware. One or more virtual servers share computing resources (provided by the physical server machine) under the control of a "hypervisor" (this is the controlling operating system layer running all the (virtual) servers on top of it. The more virtual servers you can get on to a physical machine, the more the need for physical servers goes down. If you take 5 physical servers and move them onto one physical server, you've reduced the number of physical servers by four. This reduces hardware, space, cooling, and power costs. Virtual servers can also be moved among different physical machines to further align available resources as demand on those servers change.

Q: What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a service that relies on a highly virtualized physical infrastructure. In the cloud, applications generally run on virtual servers that are independent of the underlying hardware. (Indeed, a virtual server environment for your application can be one of the services a cloud computing provider offers.) But there’s more to the cloud than virtualization - in that cloud computing is based on the concept of a "utility computing" service, where RAM, CPU cycles, storage and network bandwidth are commodities to be consumed on a "pay per use" basis, like water or electricity.

A cloud computing environment relies on many physical and virtual servers. It is configured in both hardware and software to provide high reliability and availability. Clouds are also very flexible and scalable, in the sense that an application can simply consume resources as needed.

Q: What are the basic pros and cons of virtualization?

Virtualization lets you reduce the cost and complexity of your IT infrastructure by maximizing the utilization of your physical computing resources. It also reduces your reliance on the physical machines reducing the number (and therefore the risk) of physical failure points. But keep in mind - you still need to purchase and maintain servers and software. Multiple virtual servers increases the complexity in the initial configuration and requires a knowledgeable and experienced staff (whether inhouse or outsourced) to manage.

Q: What are the basic pros and cons of cloud computing?

The primary benefit of cloud computing is that you basically remove the physical layer from your control and responsibility. The provider now takes care of the infrastructure your application runs on. You can eliminate the initial start up costs associated with purchasing all the needed hardware and software. Your IT infrastructure costs now become operating rather than capital. Everything becomes an ongoing monthly fee. But this is only a benefit if the provider does a good job. And your internet connection becomes uber-critical! While hardware failures may become a thing of the past, you are more dependent on your internet connection and bandwidth than ever before. Also, when your data is outside of your "four walls", your ability to control and secure it changes (and usually significantly). It's now possible (and sometimes probable) to lose access to business-critical services as well as data, when cloud services fail.

Q: What is a quick way to tell if a vendor is really talking about true cloud computing services or about virtualization?

As Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff recently pointed out, virtualization is a software-based technology. "They have versions with numbers after it. That is when you know you are dealing with software; if you hear about versions, you know you are not in the cloud." Cloud computing is a service that goes beyond what software alone can provide.

Q: Should we choose virtualization or cloud computing?

Which approach is right for your application? Virtualization can certainly save companies money in both the short- and long-term. But it is still necessary to purchase and provision hardware and software upfront in order to run an application on virtualized infrastructure. The IT costs associated with managing the virtualized application is also a factor.

Cloud computing, in contrast, costs less upfront because you don’t have to buy and manage the infrastructure. But the more cloud-based resources you use, the higher your costs will be. Ultimately, cloud computing might cost more than running virtual servers on your own hardware, depending on your requirements, workload, and many other factors.

Another key choice factor is data security. In a virtual environment, you control the hardware, the access permissions, the backup/recovery, etc. In a cloud computing environment the service provider handles those concerns, for better or worse. And many times your just stuck with whatever their approach is. For instance, what's their approach to backup? Many times cloud providers only retain backups for 14 days. If you want to save End of Month backups, good luck!

Q: What about application performance?

Whether you choose virtualization or cloud computing, or maybe even both, the performance of your applications is paramount. Both cloud and server virtualization place new and often hard-to-predict demands on the network. To ensure application performance levels to your distributed users, you need to be able to efficiently manage and troubleshoot network performance. Factors like bandwidth, latency, packet loss and jitter can play havoc on both virtualized and cloud-based applications.

Whichever path you choose, the ability to ensure network performance is a prerequisite for acceptable application performance.

Here are a few tips for a successful move:

1. "Plan the work, then work the plan!"; Make sure you have a project plan detailing all of the touchpoints along the way and then use it during the move!
2. Evaluate the new location with the help of an experienced consultant BEFORE the move.
3. Create a diagram of the proposed office layout and ask vendors for feedback and suggestions.
4. Plan to make the move during slow periods or over weekends to reduce business disruption.
5. Include a schedule for dismantling and reassembling your server room in the plan.
6. Let your clients know alternate ways to reach you while the network is temporarily down.
7. Schedule the move around the shut down and restart of business critical applications and their impact to your business.
8. Take the transport of your server room equipment seriously.  Spend the time to make sure equipment is properly wrapped and packaged and that appropriate casing is used, and consider an investment in an insurance plan.
9. Take care of cabling issues as well as internet and phone set-up before the move to prevent unnecessary delays. Ensure you've left enough lead time to setup the circuits at the new location with your phone and internet service providers (sometimes these can take weeks or even months).
10. Leave enough time to troubleshoot the functionality of the reassembled server room.
11. Have adequate help desk or onsite support available for when users return to their workstations.
12. Expect the unexpected - unanticipated issues will arise.  The best way to prevent a crisis is to devote enough time to the move, giving yourself enough time to address any last minute issues.

Staying Productive

Depending on the size of the company and the distance of the move, a typical relocation can take anywhere from a weekend to a full week, sometimes even longer when unanticipated issues arise. The best way to stay productive is to plan for delays and proactively combat looming issues. New workstations may not arrive on time, unexpected cabling issues may become apparent at the last minute, equipment may become damaged in the moving process, and so on. With some planning, the right hardware and software can be ordered in advance, cabling can be taken care of before the move, and appropriate care can be allotted to the process of packing. The key is to research, consult experts, and examine how the event can be used to your benefit. For instance, taking this opportunity to upgrade hardware and software may be the best way to take advantage of the disruption that is inherently associated with a move.

Building a Realistic Budget

When budgeting for a move, it is critical to consider where the company is going, especially if aggressive growth is anticipated. An IT consultant can assist in the planning process in more ways than one; we not only help you manage all the details, but use our expertise to identify and anticipate costs.

Careful Planning

The best way to manage the consultant-vendor-client balancing act is to begin by creating a Move Checklist. Plan to take steps to let your clients / customers know alternative methods of contacting you, coordinate a new office walk through with your IT service provider, cabling expert, and phone vendor, or if you’re upgrading, contact vendors and order workstations and new software licenses well ahead of time. Creating a plan a few months before the move will help you minimize disruption and downtime and ensure a success (and painfree) transition.

With significant experience over the last two decades assisting our clients with moving their IT infrastructure, FPA can help. Please contact us if you have any questions about moving servers, workstations, or peripherals or for a draft of an IT Move Checklist.

We've put our collective heads together and compiled a list of Money Saving Technology Tips which can quickly impact your business' performance. This list is not all-inclusive and each component is not necessarily applicable to every organization – the purpose of this compilation is to provide insight into unexplored avenues of business growth and to serve as a "grab bag" of ideas that we hope will inspire you to take action that you haven't previously considered.

Automate

1. Automate your KPI's (Key Performance Indicators). Many times the automation of this reporting can save days or weeks of time in providing the information you need to run your business successfully. Whatever accounting or ERP system you're using, there are always ways to streamline the process of creating this data in a more timely, accurate, and efficient manner.
   
2. Invest in the technology needed to provide remote access so that you and your staff can work more efficiently. Why sit in traffic for an hour when you can work at home during rush hour and then only take a half hour to get in? This simple change would improve your productivity by 2.5 hours per week which equals over 120 hours per year.
   
3. Build an intranet to improve your effectiveness and better share documents and information across your staff and locations.
   
4. Implement EDI with your strategic partners to save money by eliminating the need for data entry and the costly printing of paper documents.

Enhance Systems

1. Look to implement a VoIP phone system to increase capabilities while significantly reducing your ongoing telecommunication costs. VoIP is bundled with features such as conferencing abilities, caller ID, and call forwarding at no additional cost, and not only makes securing calls easier, but allows for user location independence.
   
2. Scan documents and save them on the network rather than printing them. This will help you avoid ongoing costs associated with paper, toners, printer maintenance, storage space, and more.
   
3. Implement bar coding and scanning if your business requires heavy data entry. Implementing bar coding and scanning in your warehouse can capture data entry at the point of origin and eliminate after-the-fact data entry. This will not only save you money by eliminating or minimizing reliance on data entry personnel, but will also reduce data entry errors.

Review Tech Expenses

1. Audit your telecommunication costs, especially if your contract is over two years old.  This is an area where we're seeing HUGE cost savings with many of our clients.
   
2. Audit your internet costs. Odds are, if your contract is more than a year or two old, better deals are available now.
   
3. Organize and review your ongoing software and hardware maintenance fees. This is an ideal way to track down licenses you no longer use and allows you to discontinue payment and unnecessary coverage.

Go Paperless

1. Configure your accounting application to email or fax client invoices and statements. This will help make your accounting functions flow more smoothly and efficiently and save you hundreds of dollars by eliminating printing costs.
   
2. Switch from printing paper forms to using computer-generated forms.

Conserve Energy

1. Implement a policy to have staff power off their computers, printers, and peripherals each evening as they leave the office.
   
2. Have an IT Support Provider automatically shutdown all business devices at the end of each night and power them up before your office opens for business each morning.

Improve Hosting

1. Change various applications from the purchase model to SaaS (Software as a Service) to run them hosted via the internet. This includes Anti-SPAM filtering, MS-Exchange Hosting, and much more.
   
2. Move servers to a third-party co-location facility to eliminate the cost of server rooms. This can also serve as a great disaster recovery solution!

Outsource Your IT Services

1. Consider replacing in-house IT staff with outsourced support, eliminating all of the costs associated with full-time staff (salary, payroll taxes, workers' compensation, benefits, vacation days, sick days, training, etc.).
   
2. Eliminate vendor responsibility avoidance by outsourcing. There is no multi-vendor finger pointing when there is just one, resourceful solution provider.
   
3. Do away with technology that is not the right fit for your business model. An outsourced IT provider with an intimate understanding of your business can guide your technology decisions based on your business objectives while steering you away from hidden pitfalls and overspending on unnecessary purchases and upgrades.

Modernize Marketing

1. Look into advertising on social networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn, if business appropriate.
   
2. Generate email blasts using simple, outsourced online companies such as Swiftpage, Constant Contact, or Campaigner.
   
3. Implement a contact manager or customer relationship management (CRM) system to allow you to effectively manage your customer list, generate email blasts, or various marketing and advertising campaigns.

Optimize Website Function

1. Consider adding B2B capabilities to your website to automate your interactions with your strategic partners. This will help automate and standardize correspondence.
   
2. Add eCommerce capabilities to your website and sell your wares online!
   
3. Allow your customers to enter orders through your website. The less time a client has to spend to place an order, the more likely he or she is to do business with you.
   
4. Integrate order taking on your website with your back office accounting to eliminate data entry costs and errors.
   
5. Optimize your website for search engines to drive more traffic and potential customers to your site.
   
6. Launch a pay per click campaign with Google or Yahoo to drive more traffic and prospective customers to your site.

Please let me know your thoughts on this subject...

Create a Travel Kit

Keep your various travel computer accessories - such as USB flash drive and hub, cable lock, extra phone battery, power strip, VoIP (Voice Over Internet protocol) headset, and webcam - in one place or kit.  When you're ready to hit the road, grab the kit and you're good to go.

Practice Logging in, and on

Don't try logging on to the corporate server or logging in to your remote accounts for the first time once you're on the road. Practice remote data access from the stress-free environment of your home.

Have IT on Standby

Information Technology people are your lifeline if you run into connection issues on the road.  Keep your IT Help Desk and support names and numbers handy.

Work Smart

Stay in hotels that provide free internet access and an in-room work space as well as fax, copy and print servies.

Keep a Neat Desk

Straighten up things at the office before leaving on an extended trip.  An organized desk will help co-workers find files or documents that you -- or they -- might need while you're away.

Schedule Time to Stay in Touch

Chasing down your staff or keeping in touch with family members can be challenging if everyone's on different schedules or time zones.  Before departing, setup call-in times.  Alternatively, start or end the day with e-mail updates.

Here are some basic ways to help maintain privacy and secure your information while on the web:

Understand Privacy Policies

Before conducting any financial transactions online, carefully read the privacy policies of each institution with which you plan to do online business.  Find out how the business intends to maintain and secure your financial information.  If you don't understand the legal jargon, ask questions.  You can always email or call a business and request a simplified explanation of its privacy policies.

Avoid Using Easily Decipherable PINS and Passwords

When deciding on PINS, passwords, and other login information, avoid using your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of our Social Security number, your kids names, or your phone number.  Avoid other obvious choices, like a series of consecutive numbers or your home town.  Also, avoid using the same PINS and passwords on multiple sites.  Then, if your PIN or password is discovered on one site, the others will remain secure.

Use Secure Web Pages Only

Use only secure browsers when shopping online to guard the security of your transactions during transmission.  There are two general indicators of a secured web page.  First, check that the web page URL begins with "https".  Most URL's begin with "http" - the "s" at the end indicates that the site is "secure".  This means that passwords and other information will be encrypted before sending back and forth to the server.  Second, look for a "lock" icon in the window of the browser.  You can double-click on this icon for details about the site's security.  Be cautious about providing your financial information to websites that are not well known.  Larger companies and well-known web sites have developed policies to protect the rights and financial information of their customers.

Keep Your Operating System Up-to-Date

High-priority updates are critical to the security and reliability of your computer.  They also offer the latest protection against malicious online activities.  When your computer prompts you to conduct an update, do it as soon as possible.

Keep Your Firewall Turned On

A firewall helps protect your computer from hackers who might try to delete information, crash your computer, or steal your passwords or credit card numbers.  Make sure your firewall is always turned on.

Do Your Homework

To learn more about securing your computer and protecting your personal information, visit www.getnetwise.org, www.onguardonline.gov, or www.wiredsafety.org.  These websites provide valuable information to help you protect your private information when conducting financial transactions online. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair practices in the marketplace.

While maintaining anonymity on the web can be challenging, it's important to protect your financial information and the financial information of your family.  In time, more protective measures will be established so that you can feel assured that your financial information will be protected from unknown third parties.  In the meantime, it's up to you to safeguard your financial information by being vigilant in your online practices.

Whether you're searching for a cloud hosting solution or a cloud-based application, here are a few things to look for when seeking a cloud provider:

A Solid SLA

If you're going to place your applications and your data in the cloud, you will need to get a Service Level Agreement from your provider that guarantees certain levels of performance if you have any hope of sleeping at night. Not all SLAs are created equal though. Therefore, it's important to evaluate SLAs closely. What do they really provide for? What sort of outs, if any, has the provider given itself that could leave you hanging dry? One of the questions we always pose is - will you provide your SLA BEFORE we sign up? If not, you know something's fishy.

Pricing That Passes the Sniff Test

You hear it time and time again: the cloud helps companies reduce costs. But does it? When you run the numbers, many cloud offerings appear unreasonably expensive. There are certain economies of scale where the cloud works and where it doesn't. Unfortunately, far too many companies don't run the numbers. Don't make that mistake.

An Experienced Founding/Management Team

If your business is going to rely on the cloud, you need to be able to rely on the people running your cloud. For obvious reasons, taking a chance on a cloud provider who hasn't been around for a while or run by those who lack enterprise-level experience is a risky proposition.

An Industry Standard Solution

One of the biggest problems with the cloud is that many if not most cloud providers have built clouds that aren't interoperable with each other (can you say Amazon Web Services?). This is great for them, as it helps create customer lock-in, but it's bad for customers who might want or need to jump to a different cloud down the road. Make sure your cloud solution is based on underlying technologies provided by industry leaders such as Microsoft, Vmware, and Citrix.

Strong Security

This is such a broad topic. Whether the concern is: Data Segregation, Secure Access, Encryption, Authentication, Regulatory Compliance, Data Location, or a number of other things… security is important. The tough thing with the cloud is - you have to do your due dillegence at a fairly low level. It's easy for cloud providers to demo a pretty solution, but on the inside it could be a mess of security problems. Don't be afraid to ask for an audited report of the data center.

A Clear and Robust Backup Strategy

Not all cloud providers have a plan for backup or what they provide is only a minimal solution. I've seen many default to a 14 day retention. This may or may not be good enough for your business. Many providers charge extra to retain data longer than this. And just try to get a cloud provider to store monthly or yearly backup sets! And, you need to consider more than just your data. Remove the hardware layer for a second (again, one of the benefits of the cloud) - what happens if a server goes down? Or gets corrupted. How does the cloud provider handle this situation? What if your Active Directory gets corrupted? Are you supposed to be performing a backup or do they have a strategy? Don’t just assume they are doing it. Get their SLA’s and guarantees in writing, and make sure you fully understand the ramifications.

Don't Forget the Pieces NOT in the Cloud

Moving to the cloud doesn't mean failures won't occur - just that they'll be different ones (than what you're used to in the past). Everything may be fine in the cloud, but you still can't work. Your internet connection goes down. Or your firewall. Or you get a virus on your local workstation. Now that everything's in the cloud, you still need to consider your points of failure - you just have to address them with redundancy like never before. You might want to consider a backup internet connection. You might need automatic failover on your firewall. The point is, you need to be prepared and (as Apple says) think different.

Right now, the cloud is like what the wild west was 150 years ago. There are a ton of companies offering their own brand of cloud. So it's hard (if not impossible) to compare apples to apples. It's also immature to the extent that it's still a boutique sort of solution truly requiring an intimate knowledge and understanding of your specific business. Not everyone can go to the cloud and not everyone should. But, there are a ton of success stories when done right. And the only consistent component of every successful cloud migration is the involvement of a highly knowledgeable and experienced IT Service Provider (like FPA) to help guide the client successfully through the process.

Whatever your own personal position is regarding allowing your employees access to your company's information via their mobile devices, at a minimum, you need to acknowledge that it's happening and you better get on board. So, rather than fighting it or just turning a blind eye and hoping for the best, you need to have a policy in place. And the fastest and easiest way to address this is to simply incorporate it into your (already existing) Computer Use Policy document. And a subset within this needs to be your policy regarding BYOD.

While setting policies to govern the use of mobile devices is an essential part of any BYOD initiative, dictating usage can be a delicate balance. Some people might not welcome the idea that their company can determine what applications can be downloaded or that data and applications can be remotely deleted from their phones – especially their personal devices.

BYOD means new thinking for both companies and employees, including new approaches for security, new ways to manage applications, and a changing model for technical support.  All of these areas can be wrapped up into the umbrella known as "Mobile Device Management".

That said, here are some key considerations for developing a Mobile Device Policy for your business:

1. Define your business goals. First, determine how many employees will be bringing their own device vs. the company providing them.  This will impact the initial capital outlays, the ongoing operating expenses, as well as the ongoing maintenance and support needs (and related costs). Determine whether your organization will pay for some or all of the cost of employees’ mobile devices or service plans. From there, you can develop your ROI model.
   
2. What is your risk tolerance? Mobility shines a spotlight on new risks, as sensitive information is carried outside the four walls your office. Understand your company's requirements for data protection, especially in highly sensitive environments where there may be legal or compliance issues or special protection for senior executives’ communications. The applications and data on mobile devices, as well as usernames and passwords, can be valuable to cybercriminals. Risk varies by industry. For instance, healthcare providers and financial services firms (like Investment Advisors and CPA's) generally have tighter legal, compliance, and regulatory requirements. Your company's policies governing access to appropriate (or inappropriate) content should also be factored into your Computer Use Policy.
   
3. Start with your existing policies. In many cases, you can use the current policies for remote access or mobility to develop a new policy that governs all of mobility (to include personal devices). Identify gaps in the existing policy that should be addressed by the new mobility policy.
   
4. Develop your mobility use cases. Mobile workers come in all shapes and sizes, from road warriors to corridor warriors to visitors and contractors. They may need access to a variety of applications and information, some of which may be sensitive. Mobile devices may be fully trusted, such as company-owned laptops, tablets and smartphones, and these devices may be given broader access - while employee-owned or visitors’ smartphones, tablets and laptops may have more limited access. Set up specific policies that describe the access that’s appropriate to the different user roles.
   
5. How will you segregate personal and organizational intellectual property? Successfully separating personal and company information on the mobile device enables you to manage your company’s information without affecting the individual’s personal information. This allows companies to remove business applications and data if an employee leaves without affecting their personal applications and data. Some applications and approaches keep the data off the mobile device entirely. Or you can use a container approach, such as through mobile device management (MDM) software, that keeps corporate information separate - and where it can be appropriately secured.
   
6. Use mobile device management software. Lost and stolen phones are a fact of life. MDM software will give you the ability to remotely lock or wipe lost or stolen mobile devices. MDM solutions typically also allow for over-the-air distribution of applications, data and configurations, which simplifies managing a large number of mobile devices, whether company owned or employee owned.
   
7. Clearly state the users’ responsibilities. It is a new reality of mobility that users have to accept more responsibility for protecting sensitive information and devices than they did in the days of desktop PCs. Education is key. Clearly outlining the risks and users’ responsibilities in protecting themselves and the organization against security breaches is essential. Have employees sign the new mobility policy agreeing to use strong passwords as well as accept the "wipe if lost or terminated" policy.  And above all - do NOT allow jailbreaking.

If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about our recommended approach to Mobile Device Management or how we manage our own fleet of mobile devices, please send us an email or give us a call.

While this concept (remote access) isn't all that new, the capabilities of these new devices along with the concept of actually managing them and controlling them is. While BYOD has its own inherent obstacles to overcome, they can all be wrapped up into the concept of MDM - Mobile Device Management. This is the overarching concept of how the IT department goes about managing these devices - both personal ones as well as company issued. From an IT management perspective, it's becoming one of the most difficult things to control. And we're only at the infant stage of this movement.

I’ve seen estimates that the worldwide cloud opportunity is anywhere between $166 billion and $280 billion in the next few years. Compare this with the estimates of mobility representing between $1 and $2 trillion dollars! This only begins to show what we're talking about here.

Anyway you look at it, without an organized approach, a defined set of policies to implement, and the appropriate tools to do it, Mobile Device Management is just a concept to most. While MDM can be quite a messy undertaking, it's critical to understand its importance. Without the appropriate approach, hours and hours of time could be wasted setting up and managing these devices manually. Without managing and controlling access to these devices, proprietary information could now be accessed from anywhere by anyone. What would the cost be to your company if your competitor got a hold of your client list? What would the cost be if you lost proprietary intellectual property? If you were a CPA firm, could your business continue if your clients knew that all of your tax returns were in some unauthorized person's hands? If you're an investment advisor, what are you doing to ensure you're meeting your fiduciary responsibilities and SEC compliance? If you're in the health care field, what are you doing to ensure these devices are controlling access to information to ensure you're meeting HIPAA compliance?

In the old days, all of these issues could easily (relatively speaking) be controlled within the confines of the computing resources within the four walls of your office. Even with the advent of "The Cloud", these are still relatively controllable issues. Mobile devices (and the different flavors of them all) add to the level of complexity exponentially.

This is where we come in. As a Managed Service Provider we have the systems, processes, and resources already in place to take this on for our clients. Mobile Device Management is just another opportunity for us to help our clients manage and control their information resources as well as their information. This is within our area of expertise and provides a great value proposition to our clients. While this is a new trend now, I believe it's going to be the future of computing - and we're just the right guys to help our clients navigate through these waters. I'd love to hear what you think of this latest "trend".

Basically, this means that if for any reason someone gets to personal information (SSN, credit card info, bank accounts, etc.) about your clients from your network, you need to immediately inform them that this has happened. Literally, it’s a crime to even investigate what happened if you haven’t already told them about it first. Again, I don’t know that people really understand what this all means. Imagine the impact to your position as a trusted advisor if your clients thought you didn’t even do the bare minimum to ensure their private information stayed private! I would think your business would come to a screeching halt, let alone the impact from the cost of litigating this.

I went on and asked some additional questions - Are their tax returns stored in PDF’s encrypted? Or, can anyone get to them? How is the security designed and managed around your document storage? Who has access to what information? Who can copy the files onto a USB drive? Which employees have business email on their personal devices? What would you do with that device and those emails if they left? While his head was swirling, I still wasn’t sure if he really got my point or he thought I was just there trying to scare him into action.

Needless to say, security is more complex than ever before and the ramifications are more far-reaching than most realize. While this law may seem draconian, the reality is the biggest ace in the hole is actually included in it. There you’ll find the words "reasonable effort". To me this means that if you’ve acted in good faith and have done what most in the industry are doing to prevent or reduce your exposure, then you should be covered. This is where Managed Services, Managed Security, and a proactive approach to technology comes in. This is where most companies are moving to and where the mindset for those who haven’t has to change. If you’re not managing your network proactively and aren’t working with a trusted advisor like FPA, then how can your clients look to you as a trusted advisor?

Beyond all that you’re doing for your clients, if you’re not doing all you can to ensure your network’s secure - are you really a trusted advisor to your clients?

Well, now a days it seems like there's a whole industry of "Cal Worthingtons" spouting off about how they can save you money moving you to the cloud.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying the cloud doesn't have its advantages and there aren't real and meaningful benefits that you can get from utilizing the cloud.  We have a ton of clients utilizing the cloud in many different ways and to different degrees.  However, what I am saying is it's a little bit more complicated than what a car salesman is trying to sell you.  And that's what it seems like is going on these days.

"The Cloud" is so new and such a buzzword now, that a whole crop of (non-technical) salespeople have taken over this industry "selling" a product rather than truly providing a solution.  I don't know how many quotes I've come across that showed that these guys were either a) completely unaware of the client's environment or b) simply attempting to bait and switch them knowing that they would be up selling after the ink on the contract was dry.  Turning a perceived savings into something else (usually something significantly more).  The other day I saw a quote for hosted Exchange that came out to be about $750 per month.  For a split second the prospect was contemplating this only to realize that it turned out to be $9,000 per year or $27,000 after 3 years (with no end in sight).  For their size company, clearly not a cost savings compared to an on-premise solution (coming in at around $13,000 after 3 years - including ongoing maintenance and support).

Recently, we attended CompTIA's 2012 Breakaway, our industry's conference for learning and sharing.  One of my biggest take-aways from this event was how many different variations of "the cloud" there are and how many nuances there need to be considered to ensure a successful implementation.  One of the others was how poor of a job the industry is doing communicating the differences between home/end-user cloud solutions and enterprise ones.  IT'S HUGE!!!  Ultimately, this then goes to having to set (or reset) the correct expectations with our clients. When people think of the cloud, they think of how they use it for themselves individually and then extrapolate that out to that same experience on the enterprise.  But, it's not the same (at least not yet).  And it's certainly not that simple (again, at least not yet).

Like all solutions we talk about, the thing with this Cloud thing is - it depends.  Is there a cost savings?  Well, it depends.  Is there a reduction in ongoing maintenance and support?  It depends.  Is there a real and meaningful reason to migrate all or parts of our infrastructure to the cloud?  It depends.  If you're considering anything to do with the cloud for your business, my first word of advice would be - ensure you've partnered with someone you can trust and can provide you with expert advice based on years of experience (can you say FPA? ;-)  My second word of advice would be - see my first word of advice.

With something so critical as your business' IT infrastructure - for most businesses, practically every part of their business touches or is impacted by IT - I still don't understand why someone would just go see Cal?  Would you?

But, beyond backup and disaster recovery lies the concept of "business continuity".  A true Business Continuity Plan really goes to how you keep your business running in spite of a disaster. A true Business Continuity Plan is more than the steps required to restore some files.  It's about how to ensure uninterrupted operation of your business or at least minimize as much as possible the interruption you might experience during a catastrophe.  Often times, the difference between the two (un-interruption vs. minimal interruption) is based on cost and assumption of risk more than anything.  Unfortunately, it seems smaller companies commonly ignore the need for a BC plan, which leaves them highly vulnerable in the wake of a disaster. While on the other hand, many larger companies who have BC plans themselves are starting to demand that their suppliers provide them with their Business Continuity Plan. The more critical the parts or service a company provides, the more detailed the plan must be.  This requirement is actually a good thing, since without that push, smaller businesses tend to investigate Business Continuity only after a loss, not before.

Just like every aspect of a consultative approach to IT, the Business Continuity Plan is based on the business' goals and objectives.  An accounting firm may not need to be back up and running for 24 hours (unless, of course, it's during tax season).  But, an investment advisor may lose millions of dollars if they're down at any point during market hours.  Unfortunately, we're living in a time where CEO's still think anything (and everything) can be recovered at any time without any consideration to realistic costs or realistic preparedness.  So setting the correct expectations from the outset is key.  And one of the keys is the foundation of an off-site backup.  Another way to avoid a disaster is to keep your servers elsewhere all the time, relying on virtual desktop technologies, Infrastructure-as-a-Service, or Software-as-a-Service. Keep in mind though, the use of application hosting of any kind makes internet access that much more critical. So you need to consider the added cost of having a backup ISP available. Adding to this complexity is the twist of remote workers working from home. Remote and mobile employees are constantly testing your BC plan.

Which leads to another piece to the puzzle - it’s critical to look at the human element.  In smaller businesses, one person may do four things. You need to understand those jobs and document them so that someone else can take over if necessary. How will you contact employees to coordinate the new working situation after a disaster? Decide on your phone call list now.  Do you have a list of all employees’ home and personal cell phone numbers? Is that list stored off-site?  Also, think beyond the typical IT equipment list. If you’re working from home, can you cut the checks needed? Who cuts checks if the printer is gone? Such back-office operations are easy to forget, and many businesses with older accounting software may be limited to certain printers. Follow the workflow of back-office operations as part of your BC planning.  As you can see, a proper plan requires that all of these complexities have been addressed beforehand.

And conceptually, any BC plan is sort like insurance - you pay for something that you hope you'll never have to use.  But boy, when you need it, you're sure glad that you did it.  And lastly, always, always, always remember to consider where you store this plan and who has access to it.  If you store it on your inhouse servers, it's just like you don't have one!

Just like anyone hit with a disaster, we're now shoring up own our home disaster preparedness.  Candles - check.  Matches - check.  Generator for wifi hot spot - check.  Never having to use any of this - priceless!

Recently, these two examples of Evil were brought to my attention - again by my staff touting some of the differences between us (Good) and them (Evil)...

First, a prospective client who was in the process of leaving a competitor (for lack of attention) called and let us know that their Anti-virus system had just expired and was looking for our input on what to do about it.  There were questions like: "should we renew it or move to our recommended solution earlier? or is there a temporary solution we could implement in the meantime? or any other suggestions?"  First, we let them know that this would never happen with us because we manage all of our clients' maintenance renewals, deal with them timely, and make sure they never lapse.  And then secondly, we suggested they contact their existing IT provider and see if they had any suggestions (as we weren't an authorized partner of that software).  Maybe they could renew temporarily.  Or give them a 30 day grace period.  Once they got in touch with them, the other IT provider told them they'd take care of it.  A few minutes later they called the client back and told them everything was taken care of.  They now had another 6 months.  They then went on to say that they took a license key from another client and installed it on their system.  I know - hard to believe.  But a true story.  Our client did ask us, "isn't this illegal?"  Clearly - a big difference between us and them.

For the second example, only today I was emailed a copy of the technical support documentation that AT&T provided after a client of ours upgraded their internet connection.  Literally it was a hand written note of a bunch of IP addresses on the back of the installer's business card.  While we document everything we can, we would never leave a handwritten note.  I'm glad it made such an impression on our staff that they felt compelled to share it with me.

As I see it, this is all good (no pun intended).  Using something as simple as "Good vs. Evil" to communicate the differences between us and them clarifies things around here.  But more importantly, it ultimately helps to ensure that the service we provide is of the highest quality.  And to me that's great!

If you've experienced "Evil" at the hands of your IT service provider, we'd love to hear about it.  Drop us a line!

Not that I hold them responsible for not knowing.  This isn't their job and shouldn't be their responsibility.  I do, however, have to hold our industry responsible for what seems like always over-hyping the latest and greatest technological solution as the "end-all be-all".  At first it was managed services, then virtualization, and now it's the cloud.  And don't forget BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).  This is another hot topic.  "Everyone get on board!  This is going to solve all your ills!"  This is what we're told by all the big players - Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple - all the channel partners, all the pundits reporting on the industry, and everything in between.  And this is what clients hear and then want to implement.  It seems no different to me than what I assume is happening with all the drug ads now on TV.  The end user hears something that's supposed to solve their problem and then tells the doctor what they should prescribe.  And with the ever "dumbing down" (i.e.: commoditizing) of IT - everyone thinks anyone and their brother can setup a computer - therefore we (professional, experienced, and certified) IT professionals are no different and they (our end-user clients) should be running the show.

What it comes down to is not the fact that a client didn't understand the difference between the cloud and virtualization, but rather here are some fairly complex concepts that are being sold as slam dunk solutions.  The reality is that while the concepts themselves might be easy to grasp, the nuances of them and the lack of proper consideration and implementation are making things harder for us and worse for our clients.  Bottom line - beware the panacea.  It usually isn't.

In my next blog, I'll actually define these two concepts.  Stay tuned...

While they still claim over 80 million users, BlackBerry's market share plummeted from 44% two years ago to just over 11% today and still falling AND it's lost nearly 75% of its market value since last June. This week RIM told investors that it probably will face an operating loss for the current quarter and announced that it hired bankers from JPMorgan Securities and RBC Capital Markets to help it with a financial "transformation." The company did not say if the restructuring would mean selling itself in whole or part, or closing weaker operations such as smartphone manufacturing. But it does realize that drastic measures are needed.

BlackBerry's early success was based on its strength in handling mobile messaging and email. Now, this compelling reason has become common place among iPhones and Droid mobile devices. Other than selling on security, its existing customer base, and its own proprietary App World, what does it really have to offer the market that's unique? Will RIM be able to salvage itself before it's too late or disappear into the technology history books like Palm, Compaq, Borland, and Ashton Tate? Hard to say, but objectively speaking - it's hard to ignore the writing on the wall.

So, what does this mean to you if you're still using a BlackBerry? Is this something you should "hightail" away from? Analysts consider it unlikely that the firm might shut down completely, especially because many government agencies, including the Defense Department, still use BlackBerry devices. However, if your plan is coming up for renewal any time soon, it may be the opportunity to change before any interruption of service occurs.

Something to consider before the knock, knock joke emails start flowing and you miss them all because RIM's servers have shut down.

Remember that when you upload content, you are essentially publishing it - even if you think it’s just for your eyes. For any cloud service to work as designed, you give the service permission to store and make copies of the content you upload - this is how your stuff ends up everywhere you want it. The cloud copy is the master. Google, for instance, clearly states in its terms of service that apply to all things Google: “You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.” But where the Google policy may read a bit murky is what you entitle Google to do with it: “When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.” That permission continues even if you stop using the services, the contract says. Google issued a statement, explaining why it, or for that matter others such as SkyDrive or SugarSync, would need to spell out its rights with your content. “Our Terms of Service enable us to give you the services you want - so if you decide to share a document with someone, or open it on a different device, you can.”

Competing cloud service Dropbox makes no claims to user content. “You retain full ownership to your stuff,” the terms of service reads. “We don’t claim any ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights that are needed to run the Services.” I’ve read and reread terms and privacy policies from SugarSync and another service called Box, and they don’t seem to make mention of ownership of your content. And what about someone else, such as law enforcement, trying to access your information? With your own server, you’d have to be served a warrant for legal access to your hard drives. But with remote storage, you may not know whether a subpoena or warrant has been served on the cloud service provider, depending on what the company says it will do in the terms of service.

One thing is certain - as these services become more and more integral in how we store and access our information, the companies will need to prove themselves trustworthy as we bank our bits and bytes with them. “All of this comes back down to trust,” said Frank Gillette, an analyst at Forrester Research. “These organizations, like banks, have to convince people they are trustworthy.”  Unlike banks, however, there is no insurance for the security - and replacement - of our information stored online. Although nearly every provider’s terms read differently, one thing remains the same. They all tell you explicitly they are not responsible for any loss you experience.

So before jumping on the cloud bandwagon, you might want to figure out how to back yourself up if your stuff should dissipate like an actual cloud in the sky.

While most smartphones are purely personal, we're seeing more and more of these devices being connected into the networks we're managing.  This means more and more of them have company information on them - emails, texts, documents, etc.  So, what does this really mean?  Well, from the IT channel's perspective it means MDM (Mobile Device Management) and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) have become hot topics.  Clearly the line is blurring.  The issue for us AND our clients is the impact to the organization.  One of the bigger issues relates to the additional threat BYOD brings to company security.  And here's why: a little known, but startling fact is 70 million smartphones are lost each year, with only 7 percent of them being recovered!  Most companies are unaware of this statistic and most are NOT doing anything to protect themselves when it comes to this potential loss.

We recently upgraded our monitoring and alerting system and one of the latest additions to it gives us is the ability to monitor and manage Android devices and iPhones.  Not only do we have the ability to monitor them, but we also have the ability to wipe their contents if they've "gone rogue".  This is a HUGE benefit to our clients who want to allow access for personal smartphones yet limit the risk these devices bring.  Regardless of where it's at, we can ensure everything that's on them won't get into the wrong hands.  This is huge!

So, what are you doing to protect your company's data sitting on your staff's phones right about now?

What exactly is the Cloud?  Well, it's so interesting to me that I've heard so many different ways it's been described from so many different people lately.  If you use Gmail, your mail's in the cloud.  If you use Dropbox, you're in the cloud.  I recently heard from someone in IT who said none of these are "the cloud".  He told me, to him the cloud means complete virtualization of everything down to the desktops.  So, anything less than this is NOT the cloud.  Intel sells a "Hybrid Cloud Solution".  There are "Virtual Private Clouds".  Again - this is the murkiness I was referring to.  Way too many different definitions.

For those of us responsible for managing IT, right now the negative related to the cloud really isn't about the loss of work this "evolution" looks to be (at least for those of us who don't provide IT as a commodity).  Nor is it about the loss of control - over the systems we manage nor the client relationships we value.  At this point in time, I believe the most difficult thing is helping our clients and prospective clients understand the complexities of this change and to properly and valuably navigate the waters of this change for them.  And it certainly does look to be a significant change.  What will work for one type of business may not work for another.  And what will work for one size business may not work for another.  And what will work for one business process for one business may not work for the exact same process for another business.

Beyond simply the initial capital costs, the ongoing maintenance costs, and ultimately the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), what we're seeing as significant differences between the Cloud and on-premise solutions is more about the impact to work flows, overall computing functionality, security of information, etc.  Things that really make a difference impacting the productity and efficiency of the staff of growing companies.  While this move to the Cloud certainly looks to be a way to continue to promote the ever increasing value of IT, as experience has shown us navigating these waters alone or just with the channel selling to end users will end up with IT as a commodity for our SMB friends.  Which will ultimately mean more and more businesses losing the ability to further leverage technology to its fullest.  And this is where we, our clients' Trusted Advisor, always fit in - providing that bridge between the technical solution and their business needs.  Business Before Technology - We Get IT!

One of our strengths historically has been our size.  Because we're bigger than many of our competitors, there are a lot of pluses that come from this - redundancy of staff, knowledge sharing, wider swath of capabilities and experience, etc.  One of the things that I didn't really consider till late was that in addition to all of these things, one plus that's actually a pretty big one is that we DON'T outsource anything we do when it comes to managing our clients' networks.  Everything we do from end-user helpdesk support to the NOC services we provide is performed by our very own talented staff.  This is a key factor for our clients in the financial services industry.  We're the only ones logging in to their systems and accessing their information.  As it turns out, this is a HUGE differentiator for us.  I don't know how many competitors I've spoken with recently who outsource monitoring, alert response, patching, troubleshooting, or helpdesk support services.  I've met some who even outsource ALL of these services.  Some of these companies are here in the US while a majority are offshore.  This certainly makes sense from a cost basis (of the service provider), but how does this really help the client?  The savings really isn't passed on to the client.  It's about operational efficiencies of the service provider.  And what about security and compliance issues?  I'm not sure any of these are really being considered.

One of our strengths too has always been assuming responsibility for our client's networks.  And there's no way you can reasonably ensure that you can be responsible for something if someone else is touching it (regardless of the security concerns).  Now don't get me wrong - I'm sure there's a place for these sorts of setups out there in the world (although from a client perspective, I'm still having a hard time really seeing it).  That said, I'm hard pressed to see a majority of our clients being ok with this.  This is why they hired us: to take care of them - NOT to offload our responsibility to someone else.  Rather than looking at this as a burden, we see this as an advantage and an opportunity.  Core Value #1 - "Take Care of the Client".

So, do you have any idea who's in your system?  Our clients know.

I recently ran across one of the most creative ways to take advantage of all that the iPad has to offer. And it's being done by none other than the NFL. That's right. A few of the teams in the National Football League are leveraging iPads like never before. It used to be that players were issued a playbook that came in a big, heavy 3-ring binder. Now, a couple of teams have reengineered this process and replaced their paper playbooks with iPads. For now, the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Bucaneers are the only two teams who have moved in this direction, but it seems to be a wining move (at least for the Ravens). Not only does this give the players an easy to use way to access all the information they need and in a great medium, it also allows the team to manage and control the information available. Rather than the manual (paper) system of old, updates can be pushed out at any point in time and everyone now has the same, exact information. Game day video is downloaded right after the game and now everyone can study the same film from anywhere.

In the old days, God forbid if a player ever lost their playbook. Let alone being fined by the team, all of their secrets would be revealed to their opponents. And for the rest of the season that player would be shunned by his teammates. Now, that's no longer an issue. Nick Fusee, the Ravens' Directory of Information Technology, was quoted as saying "If Ray Lewis loses his (iPad) in a McDonald's, I can click a button and remotely wipe it. That's peace of mind."

For the these two teams at least, iPads seem to be a winning technology that's showing results off and on the field.

1. How long have they been in business?

This may not seem like that big of a differentiator, but it’s a great place to start.  And, it could be a big differentiator.  We’ve been around since 1991 and have seen it all.  We’ve lived through all the different flavors of Microsoft Windows and all the related upgrade challenges. While we're up on all the latest and greatest, we've also seen Novell and WordPerfect come and go.  We understand the purpose of technology and Get IT!  Business Before Technology!

2. How big are they?

In this case, size does matter.  We’re 22 strong and have over 15 dedicated technical staff ranging from remote desktop support staff to network engineers to senior project managers.  We staff our own help desk and Network Operations Center (NOC).  We don't outsource any of the day-to-day functions you'd be expecting from your IT Service Provider.

3. What is their background and expertise?

How did they get to where they are?  What is their background like?  Why are they doing what they’re doing?  Are they “techs” who started out playing with computers or are they computer professionals?  Do they carry industry standard vendor certifications?  And are they current?  While our staff certainly have the technical chops needed (if not more), our unique approach has always been our business first approach.  Our unique perspective was founded on our initial approach from being software developers and system implementers.  We've always approached things from the application side of things and how the system impacts the business.  We've always thought of the underlying technology as a tool, rather than the end-all be-all.  First and foremost - we're business consultants.

4. What is their business knowledge?

Beyond supporting technology, how well do they truly understand running a business?  As a small business ourselves and with the track record we have we truly understand all too well the day-to-day factors impacting the goal of running a profitable business:  planning, budgeting, managing, leading, hiring, training, retaining, spending, investing, managing growth -the list could go on and on.  Fortunately, because we view ourselves as our clients' trusted advisors, we believe that we offer more than simply technology services.  We're constantly framing everything we're involved in from the business perspective.  Our discussions with clients utilize business terms.  We're constantly looking at ways to help clients become more effective, more efficient, and ultimately more profitable.  Business Before Technology – We Get IT!

5. How accessible are they?

What are their hours?  Do you get voicemail or do you get a live person?  What about after hours?  How can you get in touch with them then?  Is there anyone on-call?  Our hours are 7:00am - 7:00pm.  We're open when you need us.  When you call us, you will get a live person.  After hours, our voicemail system will send an email to our on-call staff as soon as you leave a message.  Our on-call staff are the same people you talk to during business hours.  They're not outsourced!  And they're not a message service.  We're accessible.  If you need help, we're there.

6. What does their hiring process look like?

Do they even have a hiring “process”?  We’ve honed ours to provide only the best and brightest with the technical chops, business acumen, and innate character needed to excel at the highest levels.  In addition to the standard interviews and background and reference checks, our process includes an in-depth online and in person technical assessment, an online workplace assessment, a DISC assessment and multiple levels of interviews.  We call it “running the gauntlet”.  We do this to ensure that we're starting with only the strongest and most capable candidates out there.

7. What does their training process look like?

Do they have a formal process around how they get their staff "up to speed"?  And how do they measure what, exactly this means?  We have our own FPA University which in addition to technical classes also contains classes detailing our processes, systems, and methodologies as well as classes covering consulting techniques, business applications, vertical market specific concepts, and detailed ways to improve their individual work flow (ie: how to be more effective in Office apps, how to better multi-task, how to improve communications, etc.).  Then only after passing all of these classes, performing a minimum number of onsite shadowing visits, and developing required documentation, they must pass a technical and consulting Final Exam.  Then once onboard, every one of our staff has an individual training budget reinforcing the need for personal growth through continuing education.  Our staff rocks!

8. What does their staff retention look like?

How long do people stay with them?  If there's turnover - why?  While everyone who’s growing always has new staff, how long has a majority of their staff been there?  We have staff who’ve been with us 5, 10, 12, 17 years.  That’s right YEARS!  This is pretty well unheard of in the technology field.

9. Do they do the work themselves or do they outsource key parts (like HelpDesk or NOC)?

Everything we do, WE do.  I'm starting to see more and more so called "MSP's" outsourcing these key functions.  While it may make sense on paper, we feel that it's not in our clients' best interest to farm this out.  We OWN our networks.

10. What do their references say about them?

Everyone can (and will) say great things about themselves.  Ask for a list of references.  Then, ask the references the tough questions.  What happens when things don't go right?  How does the IT Solution Provider handle it?  What happens when one of their staff leave suddenly?  How do they transfer the knowledge to the new person?  Ask them the last time their Solution Provider didn't come through for them.  Ask them what they think their Solution Provider should do more of?  Or less of?  Or what they should be doing better or more of.  Find out why they went with them in the first place and then what keeps them with them.  I think you'll be surprised by the results.

11. Do they deliver?  Really deliver?  And if so, what do they deliver?

At FPA, Core Value #1 is “Take Care of the Client”.  Note the use of the word “Client” (not “Customer”).  This is a significant difference.  Most, if not all, of our competitors use the word "Customer".  We build meaningful relationships with our clients that stand the test of time.  We're not out to sell them anything.  We make sure we’re doing what we say we’re going to do.  We’re open and honest.  We provide our own proprietary Client WebPortal so that our clients can access every piece of information about their networks at any point in time.  They can see what we see.  We provide a dashboard so that clients can see metrics about their network and about our performance.  Beyond the behind the scenes maintenance, we provide network status and performance reports every month emailed to our clients’ inbox.  We make sure that we provide value in everything we do. Above and beyond all the platitudes, simply put - we come through.

It's clear that people who use under-qualified people for their IT a) sometimes don't really know they are and/or b) are thinking they're saving money by doing this.  In actuality, this couldn't be further from the truth.  Because they've fallen into this trap, most small businesses who do this actually end up spending more money just to correct the mistakes of this approach.  Every "best in class" business I've ever seen or heard of takes their technology seriously, allocates appropriate resources to it (ie: quality and quantity), and invests in the long term.  Rich people get rich by investing - not cutting corners.  The same is true when running your IT.  Cutting corners will always cost you more in the long run and take you to places you really don't want to be.  And having under-qualified people providing your IT service is one of the fastest ways of getting there.  And as they say, "Don't go there".

I'm big on analogies and I think all too often too many people think that technology is like operating a car.  If you're driving along and it stops working, you simply pull over to the side of the road like you ran out of gas.  No big deal.  But really, technology is actually more like flying an airplane.  You simply can't afford to run out of gas - it's life threatening.  While I get that server crashes, data breeches, and downtime certainly aren't exactly life threatening situations (for the most part), they could actually be very threatening to the life of one's business.  It's been said that 50% of businesses who suffer a significant data loss are out of business within a year.

Way too often we've seen clients pushing the envelope on how long they keep technology in production (see my blog post on the Really, Really story).  These are usually NOT the Best in Class performers in their industries.  There's a reason why Dell  warranties servers for only 3 years out of the chute.  They know their own failure rates.  Beyond the cost of dealing with picking up the pieces after a crisis, most of these companies don't realize (or want to even consider) the performance gains by replacing 3 and 4 year old equipment.  Because technology continues to improve exponentially, 3 to 4 years is an eternity in performance gains.  Just because something's "still working" doesn't necessarily mean it's as effective or productive as it could be - which actually decreases staff productivity.  Increasing the performance of a staff member by 5% by upgrading their workstation can bring about a 200% return on investment in a year.  Unfortunately, most business owners don't factor the hidden costs into the equation as much as they should.

The most effective businesses leveraging technology these days ALWAYS have a proactive approach to their technology.  And overextending the technology lifecycle is NOT a proactive approach.  Like I said, you can view technology as though it's like a car or like a plane.  It's your choice.  Just make sure you pack a big enough parachute if you choose to fly.

Mistake #2: Using Mass-market Equipment to Run Business-class Tasks

Second to the "Set it and Forget it Mentality", we see this mistake in way too many new prospects (and some clients too!).  Maybe that's why they're calling us in?  While they're trying to save money by using inappropriate or outdated levels of a particular technology solution, they end up costing themselves more in the long run. 

For example, as I discussed in my previous blog, everything requires ongoing maintenance and administration - so there are always related costs to anything you implement.  This (ongoing maintenance and administration) is one of the most significant components of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).  Again, being penny-wise and pound-foolish means doing something like buying a firewall from Fry's that's meant for your home computer rather than your business.  These things increase your exposure to viruses, malware, and hacks - let alone the increased cost to administer, let alone diminished performance.  Then you invariably get the question as to "why is our internet so slow?"  I don't know - maybe it's that firewall that you're running 25 users on that's meant for 2 home users!  So, rather than replace the firewall, the business owner will spend more than they need to for their internet connection.  The same thing can be said over and over again when it comes to servers, backup solutions, workstations, and the like.

Over the length of it's life "cheaper" components break down sooner, cause more problems for your IT support staff, and perform significantly worse - which means more cost to you.  Unfortunately, these are the sorts of "hidden costs" that don't get connected when the owner only sees the cost of the hardware when he's writing the check.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not saying everyone needs a Cadillac when an Acura or a Toyota would do.  But, I can tell you too many companies rely on technology that's closer to a Schwinn than anything near what it should be.  This costs them more than they care to know and it's only a matter of time before it comes back to bite them.

Having a "Set it and Forget it" Mentality

This is probably the most common mistake small businesses make with their technology and probably one of the hardest habits to break. Make no mistake about it: hardware and software require routine and regular maintenance.  Without it, it's only a matter of time before something bad will happen.  Unfortunately, small business owners bring their consumer mind-set when viewing their technology.  Because most small businesses start out as a one or two person shop, they're still carrying around the mentality of a single, home user.  Unfortunately, it's hard to shed this mentality as the business grows and the technology needs grow with it.  As a consumer, they've been sold all along that their computing needs are the same as the cell phones they carry in their pockets.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Every large business knows this.  Unfortunately, it usually takes a serious blow to their systems before it trickles down to the small business owner. 

Think of your IT infrastructure as you would your car. If you forget to put oil in it or keep up the regular service, your engine will die. Servers, workstations, and related software applications need continual care and maintenance so that they can perform at optimal levels. Similar to a car, the more time and energy you spend in caring for your systems, the better they will perform and the longer they will last.  This has been proven time and time again.  Unfortunately, too many small business owners are penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to their IT.

A little background - this week, the Exchange Server at one of our clients crashed (they're about a 30 user company with 2 locations). It was a complete hardware failure (the motherboard failed and needed to be replaced). The timing of this couldn't have been more interesting - we were in the midst of the project to replace their server. If we had started the project a week earlier, we wouldn't even be talking about this. So, here's how it played out...

The first success - the server crash occurred after working hours one night and our monitoring system alerted us to the fact that the server was down. Our on-call staff sprung into action immediately responding by reviewing the situation and then calling the client via his emergency contact number and letting him know that there was a problem and we were on it. We performed some initial triage that night and then first thing the next morning we were out there dealing with things.

The second success - luckily (no, not luckily, but actually due to proper planning), we had implemented our BDR Solution for them about 6 months ago so not only were we able to restore the Exchange Server, we had a complete image of it and had it back up and running ON the BDR server within 4 hours that next day. Now keep in mind, this was a 200GB Information Store! For those of you who don't know, this is HUGE! A majority of our clients run Info Stores less than 35GB. Our's is about 70. Historically, this would have taken us easily two days to get it back up and running if we had to do a manual rebuild of the server and restore of the Info Store. Before the BDR, I can't remember EVER getting a crashed Exchange Server back up and running in production the same day! While the server was significantly slower than we anticipated (mostly due to the size of the info store), it was running and the client was functional. At the same time we were dealing with this, our procurement staff were dealing with expediting the replacements parts for the downed server. Two days later we had the parts, the Dell technician had replaced everything, the server was back up and then we transferred the active image back onto the server (with minimal downtime).

The third success - since this client is one of our Managed Service clients at our "ProtectIT" service level, all of our time involved in this response was covered! This means it didn't cost them anything more than their standard ongoing monthly fee. From a customer happiness standpoint, this is a huge win.

While it's understandable that the client wasn't happy having to go through a situation like this, and there are always things we can improve on our side, they do have piece of mind. This piece of mind comes from knowing that the decisions they made months ago to implement the BDR and go with our Managed Service approach prevented this situation from being significantly more painful, more costly, and certainly more impactful to their business. Seems to me this was a great example of success from failure. Proof of concept indeed!

What I mean by this is I see clients spending tens of thousands of dollars on technology infrastructure, software, systems, and recurring software license fees all the time. Yet when I talk to them about the need to proactively manage and maintain these very assets they've spent so much money on, they look at it me like I'm crazy. "Why do we have to pay anything at all to maintain them?" they ask. "I spent all this money on a new system. Nothing should go wrong. I'll just pay you when something breaks." We all know something will.  It's just a matter of when and to what degree. 

There are so many "hidden" costs when running a business. And one of the biggest is lost productivity due to inefficient systems and down-time. I seriously don't get it. Do they treat their bodies this way? Do they treat their teeth this way? Do they even treat their cars this way? No way.

I posed this question to a recent client, "how do you value your employees?" When I asked this, they were perplexed by my question. I probed further and asked, "how valuable are they to you?" I asked, "what's it worth to keep them happy and productive?" Again, still perplexed. "Of course we want them to be productive and happy, but I can't really put a dollar amount on their value." (actually, you can - but I didn't go there) So, I simply asked, "Do you provide them health insurance?" "Of course I do", they responded. "I have to. Otherwise, I can't compete". The "aha" moment didn't fully come till I put it in terms of dollars and cents.

Where I was going with this is - it's ok in almost every business owner's eyes to spend $200 - $400 a month on health insurance per employee, but spending even 1/2 of this to make sure THE most important tool EVERY one of their employee uses EVERY day to ensure up-time and consistent productivity is too much to ask. Personally, I don't see it this way. And neither do all of our clients under our Managed IT Services.

So, I have to ask - how much are you spending on health insurance? And how much is your technology worth to you?

So, now our support team is running around frantic trying to help them as best we can given the fact that their machine is just simply failing. We're now in the state of having to rebuild their Exchange Server and related Active Directory meta data. While we have backups, this really isn't how it should be. This is the sort of situation that our move to Managed Services is preventing for our other clients.

While it's a given how impactful this is going to be to their business, the saddest part is how preventable all of this could have been. I wish this was one of those Managed Service success stories where our monitoring system found symptoms and we addressed them before it became a crisis. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those stories - only because the business owner didn't care to hear us. This is a case where no matter what we did, it still wasn't enough. And now he's paying for it with major down-time and unwarranted extra fees. And yet, he's still wondering why they're down.

Sometimes, we just have to scratch our heads...really.

Again, I certainly understand this need (many of our clients never want to be without access).  However, while this in and of itself isn't unreasonable, what was most frustrating was the lack of any understanding or openness to work as a team to be able to achieve this for them.  The problem wasn't that they couldn't have any downtime.  The problem was that they didn't have a clear understanding of what this really meant and what this really takes.  They're simply under the perception that "our system has never gone done before, therefore it should never go down in the future".  And the vibe I was getting was if it ever does "go down", it's our fault.  Keep in mind, this is a network we inherited and had only been supporting it for a short period of time.

I've found through the years that one of the most difficult situations to overcome is building a trusted relationship while the perception of the business owner is incorrect as to the state of their network - especially during that growth phase from a small business with 1 or 2 servers and like 10 workstations to a multi-server network with around 25 - 35 users.  While the business systems and related processes have become more complex and the underlying network infrastructure has also grown more complex, the perception of technology within the business hasn't kept pace.  Many business owners seem to have trouble with this change.  More maintenance is required.  More sophisticated tools and management processes are required.  And more expertise and understanding as to the role technology plays in the overall business plan is required.  Yet the business owner views things statically.

It's not unreasonable to want uninterrupted service.  What is unreasonable is to think that it doesn't come at a cost - both in time, understanding, and the added complexity of redundancy.  This is one of the more compelling arguments for moving things "to the cloud".  However, the key point here is about the perception of technology, its related complexity, and the underlying costs. 

Getting back to the initial conversation, the problem wasn't that they couldn't be down.  The problem was that there were so many points of failure that our client didn't see and acknowledge and therefore wasn’t willing to address financially.  Little or no proactive maintenance.  No down time for server patching.  No added redundancy utilizing virtualization.  Somehow the word "backup" got translated into meaning they're protected against any downtime.  Again, it was his antiquated mindset that was getting in the way - they never went down before, so how could they be down in the future? 

It's interesting how much businesses have come to rely on technology, yet the mindset change needed to effectively run it hasn't kept pace.  The way we see things, as one of our clients' key trusted advisors it's our responsibility to help them bridge this gap. 

So, has your mindset about your technology kept pace with the change of your technology?

However, I can't believe this is just me. I wonder how many others of us are there out there? According to the AOL Mail's annual survey, which is loaded with statistics showing that the use of e-mail has, in many cases, crossed over the line into dependence. 62 percent of people check their work email accounts over the weekend, almost half claim that they are "addicted" (up from 15 percent last year) and nearly one fifth say that they specifically choose vacation spots that provide access to the Internet, just so they can check their mail! So, I'm not alone!

But, what does knowing this really do for me? Or any of us? The reality is our reality has changed. And I believe forever. This is another example of our "new normal". Email and texting are now the preferred method of communications. So, we just have to figure out how to manage this without becoming addicted and without having to go through total withdrawal to keep our balance.

Despite the continued lowering of costs for IT solutions and infrastructure, small businesses can still run into significant challenges in the design and implementation of backup and business disaster recovery (BDR) strategies. Businesses are using more and more storage, and as business volume and connectivity grows, the need to retain transaction data, log data, and archive databases increases.  The continued move towards more and more virtual server solutions only increases the size and complexity of the situation.  We've been seeing a trend where existing backup and BDR solutions (ie: backup software, tape and disk drives, and imaging software) are being outpaced by storage needs, and the "always on" mentality of business is beginning to make off-site storage of tape media not only impractical in terms of restore response time, but also antiquated and unable to meet the desired service level of businesses.

Fortunately, new technologies are available making business continuity and BDR solutions significantly more cost effective.  Over the last few years increased Internet bandwidth at significantly more affordable prices as well as the proliferation of off-site remote backup storage has helped.  Other factors such as cloud computing, WAN fail-over, multisite clustering, and other "high availability" and load balancing solutions have become more cost effective that they're starting to make inroads into the SMB market.

The key in all of this though is managing the client's expectations about what business continuity and fail-over really mean and what they really cost.  Simply put - what you think you're getting vs. what you're actually getting.  This also has to be balanced between what you think you "need" vs. what your actually willing to pay for (both initially as well as ongoing to maintain and support).  We've also seen a trend lately when taking on new clients of all sorts of misinformation being pushed out there about the simplicity of BDR solutions.  While there are several different "flavors" of Business Continuity, the difficulty lies not only in effectively communicating the differences, but in having clients who are willing to take the time to understand them.  The thing is - most clients don't really want to understand the complexities of the differences.  And they shouldn't have to.  But, they do need to understand the core differences.  There's backup, then there's offsite backup, then there's server virtualization, there's onsite server fail-over / redundancy, there's off-site server fail-over / redundancy, there's site replication, there's co-located server redundancy.  All having different impacts and all requiring different investments.

So, what are you trying to accomplish?  The key thing to keep in mind AND plan for in all BDR solutions is - it's all about the restore.  Even just talking about backup goes down the slippery slope of having to understand all the restore considerations... What's being backed up?  How's the restore process managed?  Who's responsible for it?  How is the restore tested?  How often is the restore tested?  How good are the restore capabilities? What is the true interruption to business operations?  What can be restored?  How long will a restore take?  Who needs to be involved in the restore?  All good planning points that should be part of everyone's Business Continuity Plan. 

My point is, Business Continuity and Business Disaster Recovery is not simple and it's not easy.  Regardless of what anyone may tell/sell you.  But, with the right plan, the right guidance, and proper communication it can be highly effective.

While they know they've outgrown their current IT company, they're still coming to grips with the thought that they need to outgrow their approach to IT. The bad news is that after all the years of neglect - both physical (ie: not spending the money as they should have) as well as spiritual (ie: viewing IT as a cost center rather than as a way to reap the benefits of improved productivity and efficiency) - have left them in a difficult situation. The difficult situation isn't the state of their technology, but rather the state of their mindset. Bottom line - because they haven't spent on IT for so long and have muddled through, most still think they shouldn't have to (spend on IT). There are some who think they've changed their view, but still think that once the network's "fixed", spending should go back down to a minimal level. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is - there is some minimum that needs to be spent to ensure the initial investment is maximized to achieve some basic benefits - extending the life of the assets, improving staff productivity, and ensuring stability.  Significant business benefits can also be achieved by looking at specific IT spending as opportunities to increase business efficiencies by improving, enhancing, or even sometimes simply utilizing, systems, processes, and work flows better thereby significantly impacting the bottom line. 

There are ways to spend to improve efficiency and effectiveness - but you have to have the mindset to do this. What would you be willing to spend to improve your staff's productivity by 10%? 20%? Or more? Or, would you at all? How much do you value your staff's time?  When was the last time you looked at their productivity and thought of ways to improve them?  Do you look for ways to increase staff productivity at all?  How often do you send them to training?  What are your performance schedules like?  How do you look at an increase in productivity?  In dollars?  Dual monitors improve the productivity of staff by at least 5%. For a staff member costing $50k/year this would amount to an increase in productivity worth $2,500. If it costs $500 to do this, this is over a 500% ROI. And for just the first year! If you can improve the productivity of a staff member by 10% by replacing their 3 year old computer, would you? Are you looking at your business this way? If not, a mindset shift needs to happen.  This ties in to the findings of a previous entry I wrote Businesses Who Value IT Outperform Those Who Don't.  I believe if you want to operate your business at Best in Class levels, at the core you have to adopt their mindsets.

I liken this mindset needing to be changed to be like going from your first bike when you're a kid to getting your first car to getting the SUV you need to trust your family's life with - but thinking you should still be spending at the same level as for your first bike. Certainly you can, but I wouldn't trust my family to this level of care. Nor would I (nor do I) run my business this way.

So, what's really your approach to your IT?

The interesting findings include the fact that despite the global recession, more SMBs surveyed in 2010 reported an increase in revenue for 2009 than in 2008. Those who reported growth view IT as critical to their business success.  Let me repeat that...

Businesses who reported growth view IT as critical to their business success. 

While I think this is huge, I also have to clarify this.  Every business owner I've ever met THINKS they view IT as critical to their business success.  Yet, NOT every one of them actually acts this way.  From where I stand, it's actually a pretty small percentage that act this way.  There is a difference.  And it is a critical difference.

In a recent meeting with business owners and key decision makers, I threw out the question asking who thought they valued IT and if their IT was critical to their business' success.  Every one of them raised their hands.  Then I asked if they knew or planned on how much they spent on IT.  Only a handful knew what they spent or were of the mindset that they viewed their IT spending as an investment.  The remainder viewed IT as a cost center (whether they admitted it or not).  One of them (who raised his hand earlier) even commented, "I only spend when I have to AND as little as possible."  Clearly this is NOT the mindset of someone who values IT.

Clearly the study backs this up. In fact of the SMBs that view IT as critical, 60 percent saw revenues grow over the past 12 months. In contrast, among SMBs that stated IT is not important, less than 29 percent saw revenue increase. 

In addition, the 2010 index indicates SMBs are beginning to see the benefits of cloud computing; more than 40 percent of the respondents that use hosted or cloud technology reported revenue rises of 30 percent or more compared with 90 percent of respondents not using hosted technology that saw decreases in revenue. The advantages of hosted or cloud technology are viewed as reduced cost and IT management and maintenance, as well as increased business value, productivity and competitiveness.

“Our assessment of the report tells us that an increased focus on IT correlates with good performance in all of the size categories surveyed,” said Dale Vile, research director of Freeform Dynamics. “This whole picture corroborates the notion that technology and hosted services can provide tangible business advantage, even for smaller companies, and it’s not surprising to see that investment in IT and hosting goes hand in hand with good financial performance.”

One of our successes at FPA has been our ability to align ourselves with growing companies who value IT and see it as an integral part of the success of their business.  There are meaningful acts that back up this thinking - acts like IT budget planning, implementing proactive maintenance, business continuity planning, and looking for meaningful ways to leverage technology to improve business processes.  Also, the perception that ROI is measured against true costs, not just the IT dollars spent.  What I mean by this is considering the impact of hidden costs of IT when making spending decisions - ie: reduced or lost staff productivity, reduced or lost sales, delayed orders, delayed receivables (impacting cash flow), etc.  Some people get the value of this and some don't.  Luckily for them, the majority of our clients seem to get it and get IT!

How does this tie in to technology you might be asking yourself?  Well, these days I'm feeling like we're reliving the same thing over and over and over again with much of what's going on with technology these days.  Every day it seems to be more of the same - this is faster, that's the latest thing, this will change your life, you can't live without that.  While there are a ton of new great things that keep coming out, where are the truly life changing things at? 

Case in point - the iPad.  Do we really need another "gadget" -  one that fits somewhere in between our smartphone and our laptop?  How does this really make our life that much better?  I understand how it will make Steve Jobs or an Apple shareholder's better, but c'mon - seriously?  The latest and greatest from Apple is a device that's vying for the space that's currently filled by Amazon's Kindle and a Netbook.  I can see where this could get to (and "could" is the operative word in this sentence) once they work out the kinks and add the other features it really needs.  When I can replace my home computer, laptop, netbook, smartphone, AND Kindle, then we're talking.  Till then, it seems like the same thing over and over again - promises, promises, promises.

So, what does this REALLY mean? It doesn't mean that if you want to email the mayor, his new email address is going to be TonyV at gmail.com. What it does mean is that the concept of "Cloud Computing" is maturing and getting a resounding vote of approval from a major organization. While I'm not here to voice my opinion on whether Google's solution is better than Micosoft's or Novell's (the other competitors), I am interested in what this means to the millions of other businesses out there and the trend towards more and more cloud computing.

If you're not familiar with this concept, simply put "cloud computing" is about moving the computer systems you rely on from being at your location to someone offsite who can provide these same functions through your internet connection. This also goes by the name "Software as a Service" (SaaS). This greatly reduces the strain put on your business to own, manage, and maintain pieces of your own network infrastructure and put this responsibility on to someone else who's sole purpose is to provide these services. We're seeing this more and more these days. The greatest example of this are things like Salesforce.com, Google apps, Mint.com, etc.

What does this mean for you practically speaking? For many of our clients this can be seen in hosted email and hosted spam filtering. You can run MS-Outlook internally on all your workstations while NOT requiring an internal MS-Exchange Server (but rather using one out in "the cloud"). While this has many advantages: lower cost to start, lower cost to maintain, upgrades taken care of, etc.) there are also a number of significant disadvantages: data stored offsite, reliance on your internet connection, reliance on a 3rd party, etc. Like I said, we are seeing this more and more these days. While it's not for everyone and certainly not for every application, for certain size businesses and certain applications, it's a very cost effective and valuable solution that we will be seeing more and more of in the future.

While the base need to leverage technology to achieve your business goals hasn't changed, what has changed is "how" (technically) this gets accomplished. And how, we, as a company are changing "how" we do what we do is changing. While historically we've been focused on internal technology and how we manage, maintain, and support it for our clients, we now are moving in ways to ensure that we're able to effectively provide similar consulting services for hosted or SaaS or "cloud" technologies to ensure the technology our clients' are using are as effective for them as possible.

• According to research by the University of Texas, only 6 percent of companies suffering from a catastrophic data loss survive, while 43 percent never reopen and 51 percent close within two years.
• According to a recent NFIB National Small Business Poll, man-made disasters affect 10% of small businesses, whereas natural disasters have impacted more than 30% of all small businesses in the US.
• According to analyst firm IDC, about 70% of all successful attacks on computer networks were carried out by employees and insiders.
• Gartner estimates that only 35 percent of SMBs have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place.
• According to a recent Touche Ross study, the survival rate for companies without a disaster recovery plan is less than 10%!

So, if your network crashed tomorrow what's the likelihood that your business could survive? How prepared are you?

One of our engineers was pondering this exact question at 2:00 in the morning the other day trying to rebuild one of our client's drive arrays. Much to our comfort, he was able to rebuild it and get our client back up and running before the day started. But, this brush with catastrophe really made us ponder how seriously all of our clients take the responsibility of securing their data.

As much as it's our goal to "remove the worry" surrounding IT for our clients, often times we're handcuffed by the limitations our clients put on us because of budget constraints.  And while this is (somewhat) understandable, from my perspective it seems like only those who have "felt the pain" have any sort of perspective on this issue and have taken proactive actions towards ensuring their data is safe. This is a tough one for businesses to consider - how do you justify spending money where there is no quantifiable ROI. In the best cases (ie: where you won't ever have to use it), this is money spent that will never be recouped. On the other hand, if it's not spent and you are hit, 90% of you will be out of business within the year.

So, how close do you need to come to losing all that you have to finally act on this and begin your Disaster Recovery planning?  This shouldn't be a question you put off answering for too long.

My point is, it's quite difficult (if not almost impossible) for your IT Service Provider to be a Trusted Advisor if you won't let them be one. We run into this all the time. If all the client cares about is doing the absolute minimum, reacting to problems, keeping costs down (at all costs), and always thinking short term, then you're in trouble.  There's almost no way to be a trusted advisor to someone who doesn't want it.

The word "advisor" is an active noun. It implies action. It implies proactive action. It's professional. If you're not planning, then your partner can't be advising. To have a "Trusted Advisor" is a two way relationship. It requires involvement on both sides. For us to be a "Trusted Advisor", we literally have to be a partner with our clients in their business.  We can recommend till we're blue in the face, but if nothing is done about it, are we truly advisors? No.

Now, you have to ask yourself - are you willing to pay for it? If the answer is no, then we're back to "do I care?" If you are (willing to pay for it), then regardless of whether you actually have to (pay for it, you've just escalated the discussion up to a whole 'nother level. The fact that you are willing to pay for it will take you to the level where your expectations are higher and the demands you'll be placing on your IT service provider are higher. And this is key. But - "willing to pay for it" doesn't necessarily mean what you think I mean - paying more for our services. On the contrary, we often times advise clients to spend less on us by spending more on something else. We may ask clients to spend for a better solution so that our ongoing support fees will be less and their productivity will be more (long term thinking)

For you to take your business to another level, you need to be surrounding yourself with advisors who bring more to the table than what you may be asking for. You need someone who will add value above and beyond what you ask for, but rather - what you need. This is where your IT Service Provider is truly a "Trusted Advisor".

So, back to the question - do you have an "IT guy" or a "Trusted Advisor"? The difference could be the difference between your success and failure.

Business Before Technology - We Get IT!

When people think about the cost of their IT, they tend to think about only the costs they see. This would seem to be logical - how do you think about things that you don't know about? But the problem is - When people think of the cost of IT, and more specifically, reducing their cost of IT, most of the time they're thinking only of the costs they see - the cost of the hardware, the software, and the related service fees. Rarely, in my experience, do you really see clients considering all the "hidden" costs.

Some of the most obvious "hidden" costs are those associated with lost or reduced employee productivity, wasted dollars spent on poor investment decisions, unseen administrative costs, and costs resulting from poor planning. Drilling down further, a lot of these costs are caused by things like downtime (caused by insufficient budgetting for proactive maintenance), poor performing machines (reducing staff productivity), redundant work (increasing staff costs), insufficient training (reducing performance), over-extending the life span of machines (causing increased support $'s and increased replacement costs), and improper configurations (also causing increased support $'s). Some of these are soft costs (lost productivity impacting staffing costs) while some are hard costs (increased replacement costs).

Rarely do we see clients considering the long term costs of their short term decisions. It's almost always, how do we cut costs NOW! But the reality is all of these decisions go to the bottomline impact IT has on your company. And more often than not, the long term impacts are way more costly than the short term savings. If I don't stay current with patching all my machines, I can save some $'s this month (while fixing that infected workstation will cost way more next month). But again, I believe one of the key components here is how clients define the word "cost".

You can easily have a conversation with a client contemplating spending $100,000 on a new piece of machinery with a 5 year life span, but talk about replacing the $3,000 server the business completely relies upon BEFORE it crashes and it's like pulling teeth. Why is it that people are ok running computers into the ground but wouldn't think twice to do this with almost any other part of their business? Why is it so rare that a business owner strategically acts to take a proactive approach to deal with IT issues BEFORE they bring their company to a screeching halt? Again, it comes back to the definition of "cost" (ie: how business owners currently think about costs).

I believe a lot of it has to do with the oversimplification our industry (with Microsoft leading the charge) has done over the last five to ten years. Everyone still thinks these machines are like calculators or dishwashers. But the reality is, when something that could bring your whole company to a complete standstill is treated like this, these hidden costs will continue to have a bigger impact on profitability than they really should. We (as an industry) need to do a better job of helping our clients understand IT "costs" and the business impact of them.

So, before you yank that weed (ie: make a short term decision re: IT), think twice about what's going to happen when it grows back...

Now imagine this car is responsible for generating your income. Imagine you own a fleet of these cars and your business depends on them. Sometimes you take them in for servicing, but most of the time you'd really rather not have to. And with the economy the way it is, you only want to take them in when something's not working - like it won't go fast enough to get on the freeway or it doesn’t turn right anymore (making 3 lefts does the same thing so you put up with it for a while). To cut costs, you'd do anything other than spend money on them. You basically drive them till they stop working (they're running, so shouldn't they just keep running?).

This scenario seems a little far fetched, right? Now replace the word "car" with "computer" and maybe you can see where I’m going. Driving a car without a dash is like running a network without a monitoring system. Literally. It's scary to say but probably 99% of businesses out there do this! They think that because this is the way it's always been, this is the way it should always be. When it breaks, call the computer guy. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It's "fine".

Well, it's not fine. It's just an accident waiting to happen. The best computer guys in the world are still at the mercy of the laws of probability reacting to things over and over again till something major happens. And the reality is, something major will happen. Machines last between 3 and 4 years. Sure you can push them longer, but why do you think all major manufacturers (Dell, HP, IBM, etc.) limit their warranties to 36 months? Because their actuarial tables tell them their machines won't last longer than this! Statistically speaking, this means pushing machines past this point will almost always ensure some system failure. Now, if you have 3 servers on your network, you could be looking at a crash, on average, of one per year! Still want to drive without a dashboard?

When clients ask me what's the one thing that they could do that would be the most impactful way to use their IT dollars, without a doubt the answer is - implement a network monitoring system and start proactively managing your network. But you have to notice how this question is phrased. It's not, "how can we save money?" It's, "how can we better use our money?" Because, the reality is, you have to spend a little to save a lot. The ROI is there.  But, it's all in how you view IT.  You can't just think "save" (as in "not spend"). Because it will backfire on you.

So, the next time you're thinking of ways to cut costs, don't drive blind - add a monitoring system to your network.

The first is the release of Palm's Pre. This is the supposed "iPhone killer". It's actually garnering rave reviews.It does sound pretty good.   It has all the bells and whistles of the iPhone but supposedly integrates the web much further. It also has some intelligence to integrate all your address books and contact lists into one. If it works, this would be pretty cool. Since the OS is based on the web, the apps are more platform independent and should be easier to build than iPhone apps. Palm says they're not looking to take over or cut into Apple's dominance in this area. Their approach is there's still plenty of room for a competitor.

Ths second item of interest is Microsoft's release of bing! (ie: www.bing.com). This is their response (again) to Google. How high are the stakes here? In their first TV commercial, it seems that they even go so far as to accuse Google of causing global economic ruin! Do we need a "better" search engine? Does anyone trust Microsoft to deliver completely objective results?

So, what do these two things have in common? Not much on the surface. But if you dig deeper, plenty. What it means to me is as comfortable and as ingrained as things could be in our daily lives (ie: the iPhone and Google), anything can change at any time. There were search engines before Google (hard to remember, huh!). And there were smartphones before the iPhone. What will the landscape look like in a year, two years, or more? I don't know, but it does remind me to not get complacent. We always need to be thinking about what the future may hold for our businesses and our lives to be successful.

Ok. So I know we're pretty much past the point where people are fighting the need to use computers (although, can you say "dial up"?). But there are still many businesses who look at technology as a necessary evil - "I guess we have to use computers. But, darned if I'm going to upgrade my fine Windows 98 machines!" Something to think about - what is the time of your staff worth? If you could improve productivity by 5 minutes per employee per hour, would you? Consider this: at $20/hour for a 20 person office, this would be worth nearly $70,000 per year! Or, if your server was down for 2 days, under this same scenario it would cost $6,400 in lost productivity - not including the fees to restore it which could double this!

The true innovators are the business owners who look at technology as a way of leveraging and scaling what they have to offer. These are the ones who are going to propel their businesses to another level. They're not the ones who are on the sidelines being passed by. They're the ones cutting their own path and defining what their competitors need to do just to follow and keep up with them.

This can be done in a number of ways, but the basic foundation of this comes back to the "mindset". How do these innovators get this mindset? How do they come to look at technology as a friend and not a foe? Besides having a successful track record backing up their intuition of spending money to make money, often times it takes a certain ability to move forward on a hunch. "I know if I spend to get a new server, our productivity will improve ten-fold." or "I know we need to automate our HR Performance System to improve our retention." They're thinking ROI, but often times it may not be easily quantifiable.

From my experience, another component to this mindset falls under "satisfaction". That is, true innovators aren't satisfied with what they've completed. They're always looking for more ways to improve things. When a project is completed, they're thinking, "ok, now what else can we improve?" This definitely isn't looking at technology as a cost center.

So, now, can you honestly answer the question - which are you? A cost cutter or an innovator? But more importantly - which do you want to be? It's up to you...

What we're seeing now is a huge push in the industry towards addressing this. It's an industry wide move towards fixed fee IT support - or what the industry has dubbed "Managed Services". The idea of this isn't revolutionary, but rather evolutionary. It's about time. For years, clients have been asking pretty much for two things - 1) to know what their IT support costs are going to be and 2) to know that their IT Solution Providers are on their side. It's hard to preach that you're objective and a trusted advisor when the whole Time and Materials billing concept is at odds with that. The more we work on something the more we get paid. It's sad but true. So, how are we truly on our clients' side? Regardless of our integrity and honor and the trust we’ve built up over decades with clients, this methodology of billing for our services is still at odds with what the client wants - which is the least amount of fees as possible.

Well, now the industry has a solution for this - and it's called "Managed Services". Because of the maturity of the monitoring systems and underlying technology, we're now able to truly and (more importantly) proactively "manage" a network. These new tools give us the power to see events and deal with them BEFORE they become critical problems. Before they create time intensive repair work. Before they become nightmares. We can now really KNOW what's going on with a network immediately, without being onsite, and without having to manually do anything. It's simplifying the management of a computer network down to something like having an "oil change" light on your car. Well, almost this simple. Not that the response is any less technical than before, but now we can deal with the symptoms rather than at the time of crisis.

These tools also allow us to automate certain tasks that we used to have to do manually. We can now push service packs and patches down to specific machines. We can now run scripts to install software across multiple machines. We can now remote control machines and devices quickly, easily, and with an audit trail. We can now have a real time inventory and know whenever a user installs something they shouldn't have onto their machine. We can now run reports and have quantifyable information about the network that we never had in the past.

So, how does this give us the ability to offer support at a fixed fee? Well, it allows us (the service provider) to commit to a better service level, because we can now prevent many things from happening, increasing the uptime, and ultimately decreasing the frequency and impact of issues. This now gives us the ability to be in control of the network rather than the network controlling us. Essentially, we're changing the IT Support paradigm - from a reactive approach to a highly proactive one. This gives us the ability to be accountable and responsible for the network. This gives us the capabilities to OWN IT!

So, is this truly the future of computing? In time (and not that long), every business computer system will be monitored and under a Managed Services or Flat Fee Support Plan. How can they not?

Here we are at the most technologically advanced time in the history of the world and yet while also in one of the deepest recessions since the 30's.  We're already seeing companies holding back rather than looking forward.  Unfortunately, this mindset will prevent many companies from taking advantage of all that technology now has to offer.  Some of the hot topics that we look to see more of in 2009 include:

• cloud computing
• managed services
• virtualization
• increased storage requirements and capabilities
• disk vs. tape backup
• online backup
• web conferencing
• video conferencing
• VOIP / unified communications

These all have their strengths and weaknesses, but the bottom line of most of these is how they can help companies become more cost effective in how they utilize technology.

We have to approach every single thing we do as though it's the only thing our clients see.  So, simply put, EVERYTHING WE DO MATTERS!  As a service business, the "how" of what we deliver is really more important than the "what".  Everyone assumes we can do what we do (that's why they hire us), but we believe clients stick with us because of "how" we do what we do.  One of our strengths through the years has been our focus on "Business Before Technology".  It's about how we can help IT fit into our clients' businesses.

It's one thing to aim to be "better" than our competitors, but it's another to be seen as "Best in Class".  This not only goes to the services we provide, how we deliver those services, the value we provide, but ultimately to the performance of our company as a business.  Being in business for 17+ years, we've seen a lot of trends come and go.  We've seen a lot of changes in the business model and we've have seen what works and what doesn't work over time.  Over the last few years we've not only invested in our internal systems but in our basic underlying structure and processes constantly striving to be Best in Class.

To be "Best in Class" we have to have the best staff possible.  This is why we have a dedicated, interal Recruiter focused solely on finding and hiring only the best and the brightest to join our team.  This is why we have a detailed process for determining which of the 1000's of candidates we go through will succeed here.  This is why we put every candidate through a rigorous assessment process including an online technical assessment, an online job profile assessment, along with a rigorous interview process.

To be "Best in Class" we have to grow our people.  One of our Core Values is "Take Care of Our Staff".  This is why we have FPAU, a formalized training program that everyone goes through when they first come on board.  This is why every member of FPA has a written Performance Plan that we meet and review every quarter.  This is why we have a Continuing Education Program where every member of FPA has an annual training budget.

To be "Best in Class" we have to provide value in everything we do.  This is why we're always looking for ways to improve how we deliver our services.  This is why we're always looking for additional service offerings that matter to our clients.  This is why we focus on "Business Before Technology". 

When you get down to it, to be Best in Class as an IT Service Provider - it's about business, it's about our people, it's not about IT.