2009 has been a tumultuous year for the small-business Owner. Cutbacks and spending freezes from our customers have forced many of us to make some very difficult decisions with regards to employee retention.

Some of us have been forced to lay off some really good people as we attempt to reduce our cost structures, collect on outstanding receivables and most importantly find new revenue.

I came across a recent article by Roger Grimes entitled “Do you have a handle on your managed resources?” The article is really geared towards a larger IT department but I think it sheds some light on a new challenge that the small-business owner needs to consider.

From a computer infrastructure perspective each employee must exist as a user on the network. In addition to being assigned a physical workstation, that user needs the workstation to be assigned as a resource on the network. Each user and resource are then granted permissions and assigned to groups based on their job roles.

For example, you hire a new controller, and want to give him or her a workstation with access to email, shared files and your accounting data.

To accomplish that on the network your controller is created as a network users in your network directory. He or she is then assigned a workstation as a resource. The controller is granted permission to access email, shared files and your small businesses accounting system as a member of the finance group.

Proper maintenance of this directory is essential to maintaining a secure, reliable computing environment. As new employees start and others move on, this directory must be updated to avoid risks to security. (stale accounts give malicious hackers great opportunities to exploit your network)

This is a difficult process to maintain under normal circumstances, but for the last nine months our business environment has been chaotic. It’s a good bet that network directory maintenance has taken a backseat to far more pressing issues. But it should be addressed and the sooner the better.

Roger’s article is a pretty easy read and it should help provide some direction for those of you that feel like you can take care of this issue by yourself. But as Roger related his story, it’s really easy to delete items from the directory and cause a catastrophe. (Follow this link to read the specific example) So if you’re going to attempt to do this yourself you need to know that you might delete something that could take your entire network down.

At Endsight, we’ve developed add move and change policies that we’ve baked into our internal systems and procedures. Our team does this all the time and we can guarantee our work. If you need help with this issue or with any other aspects of managing your computer network please feel free to contact us.

This is an article I found in business weekly which addresses Endsight’s main IT Security direction. Although the economy is down, companies cannot afford to skimp on security and IT maintenance. Endsight now offers virus and spam protection at the desktop and server levels. Many of our clients are realizing the value in protecting their most important asset- their knowledge. Back up is becoming more practicle, affordable and important these days. It’s a safe guard that many companies only realize the importance of once its too late.

Please enjoy this article written by Stewart Baines of silicon.com

Despite tight budgets, CIOs, faced with rising threats from malware and disgruntled employees, have decided it pays to be wary, surveys show

With IT budgets flat or declining, you might have expected security spending to be similarly under pressure. But it seems CIOs faced with rising threats—including those from malware and disgruntled employees—have decided that it pays to be wary.

Indeed, several surveys have reported that enterprises are increasing their security budgets in 2009 despite cuts in overall IT budgets, with tech chiefs expecting security issues to grow this year as a result of the economic uncertainty.

Speaking to IT directors, the story is the same: downturn or not, cutting security spending is not worth the risk.

Jane Kimberlin, the IT director of Domino’s Pizza, which is bucking the trend of depressing financial results thanks to diners downsizing to a takeaway, said: “We are in fortunate position of finding the downturn not affecting sales. Consequently I am not experiencing any budget constraints at all.

“Having said that, I don’t think we would ever reduce our security budgets. I often talk to other CIOs in the FTSE 250 and it’s not something anyone has said they would do.”

Similarly David Supple, IT director for Ecotec, a management consultancy working in the public sector, said despite the tricky economic climate: “Overall our IT security budgets are not down a lot.”

Crisis, what crisis?
So with IT security budgets largely intact, are companies well prepared for the challenges ahead? Over the past year there have been a string of high profile data breaches, and embarrassing cases of lost laptops, USB drives and CDs in the public and private sector.

But the fear is that such mistakes could be replaced with the deliberate theft of data, with disgruntled former employers made redundant in the downturn fuelling the insider threat to IT security.

Alan Rodger, senior research analyst, Butler Group said: “The insider threat is the most significant. With people’s jobs coming under threat, some will make the most of the opportunity before they leave. For others, simply being told their pay is being cut might inspire them to breach security.

“Investment over the years has focused on security threats outside of the organisation but I believe companies now need to spend a lot more time looking at the threats from within.”

Rodger’s stance is underlined by a recent Ponemon Institute survey of 950 people who had lost or left their jobs during the last 12 months. The research found nearly 60 per cent of them took company information, such as customer contacts, when they left.

The threat of flexibility
As the downturn rumbles on, there is pressure from business managers to be more flexible and cut costs: get closer to customers, work from home more often, and reduce the overhead on centralised offices. The counterpoint is that data leaves the once fortified confines of a company’s premises.

“My internal customers need to be more mobile and so we have seen an explosion of devices on market like netbooks which help them do this. I have to get the balance between making services accessible and security, and security has to win every time,” Domino’s Kimberlin said.

“But we have to recognise that there is a blurring between our work and personal lives so if our employees want to use social networking for instance, we let them do it as long as it doesn’t compromise our security,” she continued.

Ecotec’s Supple added: “Employees are working at weekends and in the evenings from home, maybe when they were not doing it before and using equipment that is not ours,” adds Supple. “Our perimeter has grown.”

So what can an IT director do when faced with conflicting pressures to make working practices more flexible, yet make access to sensitive corporate data more secure, particularly when there is little money around for investment in anything other than business-as-usual security? The trick is to focus investment on where it makes a difference.
Burton analyst Rodger said: “Over the years, most IT security projects have not had to be qualified by a business case but that is changing. Many businesses are recognising that they need to assess the risk, and find a balance between financial cost and the probability of a breach happening.

“When you understand the risk—and how the economic crisis could increase risks—you stop making short-term cost savings in the IT security budgets in ways that leaves you open to the worst risks.”

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2009/gb2009039_621530.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_global+business

Fix Computer Errors With These Quick Tips
By Kaiser R.

When it comes to fixing computers to make them run faster and smoother again. It can become quite a task if you truly don’t know how to. Here are a few things you can do to make your computer fast again.

As you use your computer files and folders become unorganized in your PC’s way of organizing things. This is called fragmentation. After your hard drive has so many fragments it will take longer for your computer to find files in its own filing system thus taking time to run or open programs and files you are trying to use. With Windows and other operating systems they usual provide you with a disk defragmenter tool which will get rid of fragments found on your computer. This will make loading programs and files much faster.

Get rid of any junk files that you may have. People tend to not clear out their internet browser temporary files folder, cookies, history data, etc. Cleaning this at least once a month will help keep the junk to a minimum and help in improving performance.

I’m sure you all know about scanning for viruses, spyware, and even malware. When you do scan for this make sure you are running in safe mode. For windows you simply turn on your computer and press F8 at the boot screen.

When Operating systems are running in safe mode they only load the bare minimum files and programs to run the operating system. This will make sure you are able to get rid of them certainly. Be sure to use more than one scanner some can find certain infections while others can’t.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kaiser_R.
http://EzineArticles.com/?Fix-Computer-Errors-With-These-Quick-Tips&id=2005769

I’ve been trying to find a purpose in the world lately, or at least one that garners quick recognition and ego stroking. Winning a Gold medal seemed plausible, until I thought about the intense level of exercise associated with that feat. It’s not that I’m lazy; I just care about my joints! Oh, and the minor fact that I gave up on competitive sports around the age of 16 and could be beaten by a child in most fields.

Then it occurred to me, I’m going to win the Nobel Prize! If Al Gore can sweet talk his way into taking credit for the internet and the discovery of global warming, then there must be something I can do? On my daily hour commute from 680 to 24 to 580 to 80 to Endsight in Berkeley, I noticed a billboard for the DaVinci exhibit at the San Jose Technological Museum (http://www.thetech.org/leonardo/) . This got me thinking about thinking.

Leonardo DaVinci has to be one of the sweetest people ever (and not cause he happens to also be the name of my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle), but because how much came out of that noggin. I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, read the DaVinci Code and rode on the DaVinci bandwagon for the past few years.  He definitely would have won the Nobel Prize. Maybe I should invent a time machine, go back in time, give him a Nobel Prize and in the process win one for myself- two birds with one stone! (Probably should clear up that whole Priory of Scion, blood line controversy while I’m at it).

This may all seem too optimistic and slightly offensive to the people who have worked their butts off to achieve this prestigious award. But the story goes that in the late 19^th century, US congress wanted to close the patent office because all that needed to be invented was invented! Point being, that people and society will never exhaust all resources and innovation needed for invention. 

Just because I’m not Harvard trained, don’t work in a lab, or have the political PR machine that Al Gore has access to, doesn’t mean I can’t change the world. Homer Simpson had this same idea in a classic Simposn’s episode trying to “out invent” Thomas Edison. But it was his accidental invention of a six legged chair, stemmed from his laziness, which eventually led him to the feeling of success.  So maybe the world will appreciate my desire for efficiency more than some deep athletic ability. My friends and I have come up with some pretty clever ideas while sitting in my apartment pondering the world. If only I had written those ideas down and acted on them…

And if this Nobel Prize thing doesn’t pan out, there is always an Oscar.   

-Lauren DaVinci

Let’s break the 4^th wall and come out into the open that I am a business development associate, and as my title reflects, I am responsible for developing the business of Endsight. Coming from a much more analytical and sociological background, I have been trying to come to a conclusion as to what exactly this entails for me. I know that Endsight sells outsourced IT management, that we assign a CIO, that we have system administrators and help desk guys. But so what?

This is all spectacular and innovative for clients but unless people know what that means for them, this laundry list of services will never take on their full potential. I call people all day long, people with the same problems and issues as I do, but unless I can resolve a pain, whether it be loss of productivity, finances, or customers, people will not take the time to hear about our company. Yes they may be  interested in our service, but they are really interested in what it can DO for them. This big WHAT is stress!

People always want a quick fix for stress and inconvenience in their lives. The same holds true for IT mangement and computer support. But everything in life takes a re-adjustment of perspective for long term goals to be accomplished. To lose weight, you cannot just react to weight gain but proactively help yourself through daily maintenance. And this process is an entire adjustment in thinking that requires someone to change their daily habits and complete nutrition paradigm. The same holds true with IT support. For the burden and stress of computer, server, and application maintenance, one must shift their way of thinking.

Yes- computer support has been done, but we aren’t trying to provide the latest “fad”, but a new way of thinking about computer health and the health of your company.  Humans are subject to their surroundings and must change as they become older, as health concerns arise, as politics evolve- in a long term fashion. A business is not much different in the organic sense of change.

And let’s now come full circle to the underlying issue of stress. If humans and companies are not much different, then shouldn’t they both address the issue of stress similarly? People become fatigued, irritable, desperate, unfocused and even in pain during the onset of stress. Don’t companies then suffer from these same symptoms? 

Endsight provides an awesome service from competent people, but what we really do is shift your business health paradigm. Stress cannot be ignored- it’s the fundamental problem which seems to cause the chain reactions in our lives, and in our businesses, that we dread the most.  

Mike Chaput - IT Management Entrepreneur

Being a newly acquired business development associate for Endsight can seem like a daunting task, especially as my first “real person” job since graduating from Chico State in May. Luckily I have the entrepreneurial spirit of my CEO, Mike Chaput, rallying behind me. Mike is always open to new and creative ways to expand business, which makes this “real person” job of mine much more fun and interesting since each day is different.

Morgan Allen, 23, of Endsight raves “OMG, Mike’s ambition makes me feel special and proud to work under him.” His innate charismatic nature and voracious consumption of business books makes him an excellent candidate for attention. Although he is not quite at the Steve Jobs, screaming on a megaphone in front of thousands of Apple employees, enthusiasm level, Mike’s casual demeanor facilitates an open dialogue.

Last week he was included in East Bay Business Times, Entrepreneur section-

Mike Chaput often finds prospective clients wary when he calls. Burned by lousy tech-support experiences past, the CEO of Berkeley’s Endsight Inc. finds selling them a contract for remote computer help takes work.

But about 80 clients, including local attorneys, researchers and even a few billionaires among others have come to rely on Endsight’s blend of remote maintenance calls and on-site visits to keep their IT systems humming. “The field of IT is littered with people who don’t know what they’re doing,” said Chaput. “That creates a rich environment for us.”

Endsight’s 33 employees use advanced networking to tap into 3,000 client computers, servers and gadgets from Berkeley, performing both routine maintenance and troubleshooting, frequently heading off potential problems or fixing small mishaps without an in-person visit. That efficiency conserves employee time while allowing for easy consultation with peers, said Chaput. The avid business book listener has also infused the company with “huddles,” daily 15-minute gatherings, to keep everyone on the same page.

Endsight also consults with each client to help the client get its IT infrastructures into peak shape, advising clients on IT purchases and buying equipment for them as needed.

East Bay Business Times - by Michael Fitzhugh Staff reporter mfitzhugh@bizjournals.com | 925-598-1425

The world has not seen the last of Michael Chaput. From his humble beginnings in rural Michigan, it was apparent that success was in the cards for this young maverick.

Last week I reported to all you IT management avid bloggers out there about my recent traumatic accident. Well, it was more tragic for my Jeep and my left wrist than for me. Since last week I have purchased an awesome 2008 Jetta from Dublin Volkswagen (thanks Ryan). It’s so cute and nice inside, and I will be the first to admit that it’s a chick car, but pretty much the sweetest chick car out there.  Besides its engine stuff, great gas mileage (25/gallon) sleek interior, it comes with something I never even knew I wanted- Satellite Radio!

Since its inception several years ago I have been interested in this form of media. Television and radio have always been favorites of mine due to their constant nature and background noise.  It’s just a matter of transitioning to a format that I’m not used to that never pushed me into this new realm. I’m happy to see this venture becoming successful, I feared we would lose it due to people like me- nerds who want it but are too lazy to do anything. Sirius and XM have recently joined to become one satellite powerhouse.  It took a year of litigation to approve of this merger due to anti-trust laws and fear from old school radio networks. Although I’m pro mom and pop operations and against Walmart-esque monsters taking advantage of capitalist America, I feel that there is enough room and desire for Siri-ex (not sure how they have combined names, I like my idea).

My Jeep Grand Cherokee (Rest in Peace 1994-2008) had been sans radio for the last year, not to mention the persistent check engine light, humming at fast speeds, clicking noise which I could not locate and random shutting off of all music for no apparent reason. Poor girl needed to go the way of “old Yeller”, but I never had it in me, so instead I rear ended a Dodge Van in 580 morning commute! That being said, it’s not surprising that when I drove my 2008 Jetta for the first time and heard the awesomeness of satellite radio, that I no longer minded the hour long commute from Danville to Berkeley. I never realized that I would enjoy non -stop progressive techno at 8am, or Led Zeppelin blared at full volume, but I do.  Whomever decided that people enjoy listening to DJ’s talk about why Britney Spears is crazy, what happened on Dancing with the Stars the night before or any other topic on the repetitive laundry list of morning DJ programming, obviously doesn’t commute every day.  Just give me music. So if any of you hundreds of thousands of Bayareaitmanagement.com blog readers out there are on the fence about satellite radio, ditch your grandmothers radio and move into the future, your sanity will thank you!

More on Sirius and XM Merger:

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/25/business/fi-xm25

Our company is always adding new clients and taking over poorly constructed and managed computer networks. Were in a position to see companies that are trying to use and support multiple types of operating systems, software, and hardware. In many cases it’s one of the reasons that they reach out to an Outsourced IT management company like ours since they don’t have the expertise to manage the computer network that has evolved over time. One of the first things we try to get through to our new clients is the need to standardize on one platform. When a computer network is homogenized it is much easier to support, maintain, and upgrade. For a company like ours economies of scale, and standardization help to provide the great service our clients come to expect and provide us the resources needed develop new services that help keep our clients and ourselves competitive.

Operating Systems:

While there’s certainly a need to have Linux and Macintosh networks in some types of businesses the need is sometimes outweighed by the cost to support and maintain them. Complexities such as the lack of expertise, new hardware and software to support and integrating networks with different operating systems can be cumbersome. For this reason we recomend to 95% of businesses out there that a Windows Computer Network is there best option.

Software:

When clients are running different versions of software and completely different software altogether, the time and cost involved in supporting these different software applications can be extremely costly for a business. Managing software licensing from, purchasing software, setting it up on individual computer workstations, and upgrading software when necessary can provide a great advantage.

Hardware:

Businesses that purchase the same types of hardware cost much less to support and therefore their employees are much more productive for this reason. Take the difference between business and personal desktops/laptops. Business desktops/laptops use hardware and software that’s designed for business, and thus components like motherboards and sound cards are more standardized and thus reliable. On the software side technical support issues commonly experienced due to faulty drivers or conflicts with other software are also greatly reduced for the same standardization.

Standardization and economies of scale help outsourced IT companies like ours provide best of class IT Management. The same way other companies improve their business by doing one thing really well over and over, is the same reason homogeneous computer networks make so much sense!

Hi, my name is Lauren and I drink Red Bull.

I’m not afraid to say that. Maybe it’s my generation. Maybe it’s my college past. But when I need a picker upper, I just don’t want coffee. Working in the Bay Area grind, it seems almost sinful to forgo coffee. Popular culture hasn’t over looked the obscene and often comical number of coffee shops in the land of business. But somehow Red Bull, which should be the “trendy” drink, has become a symbol for no-frills energy. I like the taste. I like the fact that my sugar free Red Bull has the calories of a stick of gum. I like that it’s not any more expensive than a cup of coffee.  But I don’t like the bad looks and feeling that I’m breaking the rules (or maybe I do!)

We all just need to admit that coffee shops are not just for taste, ambiance, or status. They are for when the corporate world needs their picker upper. Would it be necessary to have one every few blocks, with constant lines and an insider’s vocabulary to even order a drink if it weren’t for the stimulus it provides? Give me your decaf argument all you want, but besides for the select few decaf drinkers (I like to think of them as the coffee world version of ordering an O’Doul’s at a bar), you enter that coffee shop for a specific reason- to wake up!

So if I need Red Bull to liven up, please allow my generational disposition for energy drinks to not be frowned upon. Just because the twenty-year old coffee monkey on your back has now become status quo, don’t sneer my Red Bull - let me drink in peace. Red Bull Rocks IT Management!

After my 1^st week into the real world and becoming an adult, I had the rudest wake-up call as to what my new found “adult” responsibilities entail. Recently graduating from Chico State in May, I’ve been very fortunate to begin a career at Endsight as a Business Development Associate (fancy way of saying inside sales).

To end my first non-stop week, I was involved in an accident at the 24/ 580 interchange Friday morning. First time I’ve seen the airbags go off in a car. They whipped my hand and I thought that the irony of the world was also catching up seeing that August 1 was the first day of my new health insurance!

It was the classic Bay Area stop and go commute, where the lanes move so fast you get worried. And good reason so… cause this is usually the end result somewhere down the line.  It was inevitable that in my corporate career, and all the hours spent on freeways, that this was to happen. But on the morning of my first Friday? Come on world… I get it, I’m growing up, but let’s take it one thing at a time.

If you saw a green jeep grand Cherokee on the shoulder with a “Chico State” sticker on the back, I apologize for further inconveniencing your commute. I feel like everyone needs a turn at being “that guy”, the one who slows down traffic and when you come to the clog you think “why the heck is everybody stopping to look at this car?”, when in fact that very thought has caused you a minor deceleration. Traffic is a weird phenomenon.

A special breed of scientist actually devote their life to the area. You will never find me on that list, but IT Management also employs traffic management and analysis. If I could have it my way, we could drive hover crafts.  This weekend while icing my hand (which resembles a blown up latex glove), I watched Back to the Future II and III. They have predicted that by 2015 we will have hover crafts (crossing my fingers for a Deloreon).  Not even sure if this would solve the problem, just make traffic worse. Although, if Christopher Llyod’s character could just give me a hover craft and no one else, I’ll be fine with the idea!

Back to why I became rudely welcomed into the adult world. The poor Jeep, after 14 years of loyal service has finally passed away. Poor girl still had my Monte Vista High School senior lot decal on it, stain where I dripped sun tan lotion on the dash going to a soccer game (sorry Daddy, that’s where that came from), and countless scars of high school shenanigans.  Well good bye Jeep. Onto the new generation of my life- 2008 VW Jetta. Sold my soul to my father to finance it…