Many companies have turned to Cloud Computing without even knowing it. Through rogue IT (end user adoption without IT assistance) employees may be using cloud backup technologies for file sharing, mobile applications that connect to the cloud and other productivity tools. Here are some ways your company can make a strategic investment in Cloud Computing to extend the life of your existing IT Infrastructure.

Cloud Computing for Desktop as a Service

Some companies have older desktop, laptop and servers that are not able to run the latest version of office productivity applications or other desktop software. Because these systems may not have fast enough processors, inadequate memory or are lacking in an updated operating system O/S, some companies had adopted hosted or cloud versions of these productivity applications to gain access to the latest applications without having to upgrade their computers.

Cloud Computing for Hosted Email

Hosted email services are another way for you to gain access to the latest version of popular products like Microsoft Exchange without having to upgrade servers and pay up front license fees. By migrating to a cloud based version, you can have access to the latest updates for a monthly subscription fee.

Cloud Computing for Customer Relationship Management

Salesforce Automation (SFA) and Customer Relationship Management solutions are one of the more popular technologies available as a Cloud Service. Many companies have home grown or custom solutions that are expensive to maintain or may not be compatible with the latest server operating systems. To avoid an expensive upgrade consider a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution to provide your enterprise class functionality, at an affordable price.

When considering migrating critical applications and their data to the cloud, consult your IT Service Team to ensure you have the proper network bandwidth and infrastructure, security provisions, project management and training to get the most productivity from your new cloud computing applications.

Many of our clients provide us with content to post on their site, so this article provides some helpful tips on how to write effective content using Search Engine Optimization.  The following techniques are referred to as “on page SEO”:

Focus on Quality Content for Search Engine Optimization

Content on your website should be educational or informative to the reader.  For example, if you provide IT managed services, consider writing articles about topics like remote monitoring, network compliance, backup and disaster recovery.  Three hundred words is all it takes to get your point across to a typical site visitor or search engine crawling your site.

Target your Search Terms

Use targeted search terms and make sure they are prominent (start your article with your search term) and ensure the search engine keyword you are targeting is used frequently throughout your article for website content, blogs and press releases.  Instead of using pronouns (e.g. he, she, it, that) insert your search term to increase the search term frequency of the key word in your sentences.  To make sure you hit targets for prominence and frequency of search terms, target your search term (e.g. this article is targeting the search term: search engine optimization or SEO).

Make your Content Search Engine Friendly

When a search engine visits or crawls your site, the search engine will read your content from the top of the page to the bottom of the page just, like a website visitor.  Make sure your search terms are prominent in the first few paragraphs.  Highlight the search term by including it in your page title, page description, headers, image names and labels included on the page.

Search Engine Algorithms used for ranking pages change periodically, as the search engine developers refine their techniques for ranking your website.  There are many additional factors that may contribute to your sites ranking for a specific term.  Well written content, that is search engine optimized (SEO) and search engine friendly is a proven formula for maximizing your results for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Many times Malware intrusions will go undetected. Some malware may cause your computer to run slowly.  Some malware may be programmed to silently harvest privacy data from your hard drive, while other malware is programmed to destroy data on your hardware.  Other malware can turn your PC into a Cyber Hacker by exploiting security holes and using your PC to attack other PCs.

Costs associated with data breaches is estimated to be as high as a billion dollars each year.  Moreover, the number of Malware threats are exploding.  Symantec estimates there will be over 250,000 new threats (not attacks) identified on Android devices in 2012 alone.  What can you do to avoid Malware?

IT Security Risk Assessment

The reality is you can not afford to eradicate one hundred percent of all cyber threats, so you need to have a pragmatic plan for defending yourself.  Start by understanding your security risks by reviewing your core applications and data, policies and procedures, as well as, your network infrastructure.  You are as vulnerable as your weakest link.

IT Security Compliance

To protect your applications and their data, as well as your employee productivity, make sure all of your IT Assets are up to date with Operating System patches and updates.  IT Assets include desktops, laptops, servers, smart phones and tablet computers.  Also, keep your applications up to date with the latest updates.  Many of these security patches are designed to protect you from Malware attacks.   In addition, keep your Anti-Virus and Anti-malware subscriptions current to protect yourself from Malware threats.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

If you are attacked by Malware you will minimize the impact on your business if you have a business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan in place.  By understanding what applications and their data are most important, you can get up and running quicker, if you suffer a data loss.

Training

Train your employees about the importance of IT Security.  If they are aware of the exposure they are more likely to follow policies and procedures by accepting security patches, reporting infections and data loss.  Periodic trainings will serve as a better reminder than longer sessions once per year.

If you feel you may have malware infecting your IT Assets, or are concerned about what you would do if you lost data from a malware attack, you should contact your IT Support organization and request an IT Security assessment.

It is important to separate basic data protection from business continuity planning.  Most companies have some type of backup in place to provide basic data protection.  When data is lost in an isolated situation, such as a hard drive failure, virus infection, or a lost device, your local or online backup provides a reactive way to rapidly restore your data.  Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery provides a proactive plan to pragmatically reduce the risks of a disaster recovery scenario.  Here are some important considerations:

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Risk Assessment

Start by gaining an understanding of your environmental risks and exposure.  For example, the geographic area your business is located in,  may make you more prone to flooding, hurricane, earthquakes or fire.  These variables may raise your risks.  However, if you are adjacent to a hospital or fire department, you may have a lower risk of losing power during a disaster.

Tailor your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan to Your Company’s Needs

Evaluate your core systems to determine what applications and data you need to operate.  Basic services such as phone, email or order processing may put your business at risk even with the a brief outage.  If you are a manufacturing or retail business,  you may need to focus on supply chain integrity.  If you are in a highly regulated industry such as: finance, healthcare or government, you may need to focus on data recovery issues to ensure uninterrupted service.

Keep your IT Infrastructure Up to Date

Outdated and unreliable underlying technologies may not be compatible with the concept of IT readiness.  Older systems may be more vulnerable (e.g. malware attacks), less resilient (e.g. surviving a power surge) and make it a larger challenge to recover systems in the event of a disaster.  Keeping your IT infrastructure up to date and compatible with the latest compliance patches and operating systems will make it easier to bring new systems on line in the event of a disaster recovery scenario.

It is fundamental to your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan to understand your risks, tailor your plans to meet your needs and make sure your infrastructure is up to date and supported.  If you have questions about your risks and exposure contact your IT Service professional to review your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans.

Email Marketing List

Build your list by “handshake”.  Every time you exchange a business card, let the person know that you have a monthly email marketing newsletter and offer to send it to them.  Don’t purchase lists, as they will only lower your overall campaign results and put you at risk of SPAM violations.

Content for your Email Marketing

Commit to publishing your email marketing newsletter at least once each month.  If you include quality content from your blog, news about your company or other media links you will get consistent open rates from your email marketing newsletter.  A couple of well written articles (300 words) will help position you as a thought leader with you customers and prospects.  It’s OK to include other information about offers, events and promotions within your email marketing newsletter.  Don’t go overboard with sales offers, as it may hurt your open rates and retention rates in the long run.

Track your Email Marketing Campaign Results

Most email marketing tools provide some sort of tracking.  You can use your open rates, click through rates and opt-out rates from your email marketing campaigns to predict the type of results you can consistently expect.  For example, if you have a 20% open rate on a list of 500 quality email customers and prospects this means your message is being read by 100 customers or prospects with each send.  If you get 5% of your list to click through that means 25 visitors went to your website to read more or take advantage of your offer.

If you are not maintaining an email marketing list and sending to it with consistency, you are missing out on an opportunity to create awareness about your company.  It may take up to five marketing interactions to turn a suspect into a prospect, so why not use email marketing as an essential component of your digital marketing strategy?

To take full advantage of smart phones, tablet PCs and laptop computers in your company, there are a few precautions to consider when rolling out a mobile solution. Here are a few tips to consider to get the most from your Mobility solution:

Check your Mobile Security Policy

Some mobile devices may be vulnerable to trojans, malware and phishing schemes. Ensure that your Mobile Solution includes security measures to keep devices connected to your network, corporate applications and data are up to date with mobile anti-virus and mobile-anti malware protection. Passwords aren’t enough to protect your devices, therefore, companies must also encrypt corporate data on mobile devices and be prepared to remotely locate and wipe lost or stolen mobile devices.

Check your Network Bandwidth for your Mobility Solution

Some mobile applications can put a strain on your companies wireless network. To receive maximum productivity from your employees using mobile devices in the workplace, provide secure and robust wireless access. Monitor your network for performance, but also monitor your network for unauthorized access.

Train your employees on your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy

Your employees may access corporate systems or have corporate data on their mobile devices if you have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. If your company provides a corporate owned mobile device, your employees may put personal data (e.g. photos, contacts) on your company owned assets. Regardless, establish an acceptable use policy within your business and train your employees the importance of compliance. Clarify if personal data can be stored on company owned mobile assets. Also, clarify if company data can be stored on personal assets. Train your employees on the risks associated with lost or stolen devices and make sure they understand the importance of reporting a loss or data breach, as soon as possible.

There are many aspects to getting the most from your Mobility solution. Ensuring that you provide your employees with secure, robust access to your approved systems and application data is key. Training your employees on your written policies is also important to ensure compliance with your mobile solution policies. Contact your IT Solutions expert for a network security assessment or review of your IT security policies.

But what about Cyber Security for small businesses? Small businesses are equally targeted by Cyber Security hackers and may be less resilient from a cybersecurity attack than larger businesses as they may lack the stability, reputation and financial resources to rebound.

Here are a few steps you can take to protect your business from the threat of a Cyber Security Attack:

Beef up your Network Security to Avoid Cyber Security Threats

Your network is only as strong as the weakest point. To avoid threats from Cybersecurity make sure you have a Firewall in place and keep all connected devices have up to date firmware, operating system patches and keep the latest anti-virus and anti-malware definitions current.

Cyber Security Education and Training

Educate your employees and staff on the threats of cybersecurity. Make sure they are aware of the threats of Phishing schemes and are able to identify and avoid these dubious attacks. Train all employees on the risk of sharing privacy data such as name, email, birthdays and financial information on social media networks.

CyberSecurity Policies and Procedures

Establish clear procedures on notification and escalation of a data leak or data breach. Ensure your team knows how to escalate a concern within your company. It is more important to raise the issues quickly rather than cover up a Cyber Security breach. Ensure you have clear policies on how to coordinate notifications outside of your company, should an attack occur.

CyberSecurity Insurance

Cybersecurity insurance is designed to help mitigate the loss of data leaks, network damage and other financial exposure of a Cyber Security attack. Your business may be eligible for affordable insurance to cover costs associated with CyberSecurity attacks.

There is no way to totally eliminate the risk of a Cyber Security attack, however, there are steps you may take to prevent attacks and be prepared on what to do in case your business is victimized. Contact your IT Support organization for a complete IT Security Assessment.

Here are some suggestions on how to integrate the components of your technology marketing toolkit:

Consistent Content is a Key Component of your Technology Marketing Toolkit

Start off with a focused topic for your content. Select themes that connect with your customer and be consistent with your marketing message throughout the marketing campaign. If you choose IT Security as a theme, consider writing a whitepaper on the topic. Some sample topics include; PCI Compliance for Small Business, Malware Threats or Bring your Own Device Strategies. To integrate your programs, write a blog article about the white paper. Post the blog article to your website. Share the blog post out to your microblogs (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin). Repeat as necessary!

Add a “Call to Action” to your Technology Marketing Toolkit

Let’s stick with the theme of IT Security. Consider offering a free IT Security Assessment as an offer to get onsite appointments. Highlight the call to action on your website. Make sure it is prominent on your home page and landing page(s). Include the call to action in your email marketing newsletter with links back to your landing page. Don’t forget to update your call scripts to include your offer. If you have a direct mail component, add the offer to your postcards and other outbound mail pieces. Post your offer on your microblogs as well.

Target the Search Engines with your Theme

Create optimized landing pages around keywords related to your theme. Make sure to include these keywords in your titles, descriptions, headers. Use the keywords prominently and frequently on your landing page. Don’t forget to include the call to action with an easy to complete opt-in form. While you are waiting for your SEO program to kick in, consider sponsored search options, such as, Google adwords to drive additional traffic to your optimized landing page.

By focusing your technology marketing toolkit efforts on specific themes, you are creating greater impact from your efforts. By maintaining focus and consistently integrating your efforts, over time you will have a cohesive technology marketing toolkit that drives your business forward.

Having a local onsite backup isn’t enough when a disaster strikes. You may not be able to access your facilities due to travel restrictions and your local backup of critical application data may be lost forever. It is imperative that your business has an offsite backup or online backup of your data to aid in a disaster recovery scenario.  Here are some considerations for business continuity planning.

Cloud Backup/Remote Backup for Backup and Disaster Recovery

Cloud Backup/Remote Backup provide small businesses with enterprise class infrastructure as an affordable option for backup and disaster recovery. High Speed Internet connectivity, data de-duplication technologies and cloud-based Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) make Cloud Backup/Remote Backup a safe, secure option for backup and disaster recovery planning.

Cloud Based Software as a Service (SaaS)/Hosted Applications

Cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS)/Hosted Applications provide an offsite alternative to premise based applications. SaaS applications store data in the cloud and are accessible across the Internet from multiple devices including, Desktop and Laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones and other mobile devices. After a disaster you will be able to access your SaaS applications, even when you can’t access your office facility.

Virtualization for Redundancy and Failover as Part of your Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan

Virtualization allows you to create an instance of your business on a shared hardware platform. Virtualization will provide your business an affordable option to maintain a redundant image of applications and their data stored in the cloud and is fully available without a need for data recovery.  This method can provide the ability to bring your entire business back online and recovery quickly from a any natural disaster including those from climate changes.

Match your risks of data loss from a natural disaster with the disaster recovery method appropriate for your business needs. Your industry regulations, compliance and security requirements should be considered in all cases. Contact your IT Support Professional for consultation on cloud, security and the compliance needs of your business.

So What is Cloud Computing and How Can Cloud Computing Help my Business? Here are a Few Ways you May Benefit.

Software as a Service

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a popular cloud based model for getting access to enterprise applications. Instead of having dedicated software running on your company premise you can opt for a cloud based version of your software running across the Internet. In most cases the Cloud option has the same features and performance as the “on premise” counterpart. There are many applications available in the Cloud including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA), Email and even Office Productivity Applications (e.g. Word, Excel, Powerpoint).

Cloud Backup

Cloud Backup or Remote Backup is another option for your business. Many companies rely on tape backup for their business. Cloud Backup provides an additional option for offsite backup and storage. Your application data, files and other important IT assets are stored across the internet using Cloud Backup. In many cases Cloud Backup Technology can back up as quickly as your local backup with the benefit of being stored off site in the event of a Disaster Recovery Scenario.

Virtual Servers

Virtual Servers are another way your company may benefit from the Cloud. A virtual server can be used for additional storage, file sharing, application hosting or for creating an image of your critical applications as failover for Business Continuity purposes to bring your entire company back online in a disaster recovery scenario. Virtual servers may provide the same performance as a dedicated server on premise with less hassle and overhead.

If you are still foggy about the cloud or not sure where to start, contact your IT Service Professional to discuss your business needs.