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The Latest in Cloud Back UpDoes Your Company Have a Mobile Computing Strategy?
Cloud computing, broadband Internet, and consumerization of IT are fueling the demand for mobile computing. Supporting employees in the field and traveling employees and connecting with customers are top areas of focus for IT today. Support for employees working from home and mobile commerce also drive the demand for mobile computing. The outbreak of mobile computing raises a number of concerns, including device theft and loss, mobile-specific virus/malware, and personal use of business devices. Additionally, mobile users may put additional strain on your corporate network and WiFi connections.
Is Your Network Ready for Cloud Computing?
Cloud-based computing adoption is increasing among many businesses. According to the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) Annual trends in Cloud Computing study, 60% of business owners reported having 30% or more of their IT Systems in the cloud. Additionally, research firm IDC predicts cloud-computing solutions to total $24 billion by 2016.
5 Things You Need to Know about Privacy Breach Notifications
Recent high-profile data breaches, such as those that occurred at Neiman Marcus and Target, have brought privacy breach notification laws into public debate. In the event that your company’s secure information is compromised, it is important to understand privacy breach notification laws and standards.
Avoiding Downtime by Having a Business Continuity Plan
Companies small and large are increasingly reliant on their IT systems and infrastructure. Having a Business Continuity plan is a proactive way of avoiding unnecessary downtime due to a disaster, human error, or security breach. Not only may downtime cause data loss, but also according to Gartner Research, a conservative estimate of the cost of downtime for a computer network is $42,000 per hour. For a small business without a Business Continuity plan, such downtime could have long-term crippling implications.
Thoughts from the Chief Pilot
A common theme we’ve picked up from conversations with our customers is that “The Cloud” means different things to different people, which is quite scary. Security, performance, flexibility, price, experience with the technology and the expertise to operate it are big areas of concern and risk. Having fourteen plus year of experience as a private pilot, I can tell you that flying in the clouds can absolutely be scary and I’ve come to realize that there are several parallels in comparing cloud computing and flying in clouds. One must have the proper equipment, training, experience and knowledge of the environment to fly safely in the clouds.
Heartbleed Bug: What a Business Owner Should Know
The name Heartbleed OpenSSL Vulnerability (aka Heartbleed bug) is as scary as it sounds. Some reports say up to two thirds of all secure websites (e.g. those with a web address starting with a green https://) are using OpenSSL. It has been reported that Google was first to discover the Heartbleed bug that compromised sites including Yahoo, Tumblr, Flickr, Amazon, and other websites relying on OpenSSL for security. This security breach may provide hackers access to accounts, passwords, and credit card information.
Mobile Security: Does Your SmartPhone need a Kill Switch?
Many Smartphones and Tablet computers have access to corporate applications and their data through Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and corporate-sponsored mobility strategies. Mobile Security has become a popular topic for good reason. According to CIO Insights, mobile data traffic is expected to increase eleven-fold by 2018. Because of increasing data traffic on mobile devices, some government agencies are looking at legislation to require manufacturers to add a smartphone kill switch to remotely wipe a mobile device if it is lost or stolen.
Will Smartphones and Tablets Kill the PC?
With Windows XP support ending soon for millions of PCs, many companies are considering a variety of replacement strategies. The adoption of smartphones and tablets is clearly on the rise. According to IDC, PC shipments are expected to decline by 6% in 2014, and that trend is expected to continue. Meanwhile, shipments of tablets surpassed shipments of PCs in 2013 and are expected to outpace shipments of PCs by 2015. Does this mean death to the PC? Likely not, here is why…
Windows XP Updates to End on April 8
According to Microsoft, support is ending for Windows XP after April 8, 2014. Technical assistance, including automatic updates that help protect your PC, will no longer be available after this date. Microsoft will also stop providing Microsoft Security Essentials for download on Windows XP.
Why You Need a Bullet Proof Computer Network
Your Computer Network is the information pipeline of your business. But what if your network goes down? If your computer network is not operating properly, you may lose access to critical applications and their data. If you are using mobile applications, software as a service, or other types of Cloud Computing, your computer network needs to be highly reliable and readily available. While reading this article, you will learn about information technology trends that impact your Computer Network.