Cloud Computing

by Jason Clause Filed under: Email, Hardware, Hosted Services, Managed Services, Network Security, Outsourced IT Support, Software

There is a lot of noise about cloud computing. It’s fairly new and new is exciting. So what exactly is cloud computing? More importantly, why should a small business owner care?

The cloud is a metaphor used to describe the Internet. Cloud computing is building on that metaphor to describe using the Internet to deliver computing resources as a service. Broadly, cloud computing is the convergence of three technologies: server virtualization, utility computing and software as a service.

1. Virtualization allows software to be separated from physical hardware.This in-turn, allows a single physical server to become 10, 50 or even 100 virtual servers.
2. Utility / grid computing allows server capacity to be accessed across a grid of systems.This in-turn allows computing capacity to increase or decrease depending on user or resource demands.
3. Software as a service allows on-demand software applications via the Internet to be purchased on a predictable monthly subscription basis.

This convergence allows a provider to aggregate many computing resources and profitably deliver those resources as a service for a fixed monthly fee.

The resulting delivery model is highly efficient, but it’s not the key reason for a small business to consider cloud computing. The key reason is best illustrated by looking back a century ago to the emergence of the national electricity grid.

Originally, if a business needed electricity it would have to build and fund the generating capacity on its own. Boilers, turbines and transformers were expensive and so only the largest firms could afford the new technology. The emergence of the grid allowed everyone access to electricity on a subscription basis. All one had to do was plug in. No more expensive capital projects.

In the modern era, mostly because of its size, a small business is inherently forced to either pay for more computer resources than it needs or to suffer with systems that won’t quite do the job. It’s an unwinnable contest that does not balance out.

Cloud computing gives a small business the ability to finally balance that equation by allowing them to pay for only the specific IT resources, service and support they need. Small businesses no longer have to lay out huge amounts of capital for servers, software and staff to build and maintain IT resources such as corporate email, shared files and accounting applications. Instead, they can plug into a computing cloud and access only the resources they need on a fixed fee subscription basis.

As with any new technology, there are a lot of options and providers to consider working with. If cloud computing is an option for your business, moving an on-premise computer network to the cloud needs to be thoroughly planned. For more information about cloud computing click here.

In addition to operating a private computing cloud, Endsight manages more than 100 on-premise computer networks. If you’d like to discuss your current situation and determine the cloud’s applicability to you’re business click here to schedule an in-person meeting.

Tags: Cloud Computing, grid computing, small businesses, utility computing 1

Top 3 PC problems you can fix yourself

by Jason Clause Filed under: General, Hardware, Software

Generally, we do not recommend that our clients spend their valuable time attempting to solve minor computer issues.  Endsight maintains a fully staffed response center whose sole purpose is to solve these problems for our clients.

That said, I can appreciate those of us that like to tinker with things.  Sometimes I just want to understand what the problem is and figure out how to fix it on my own.  It’s a total time waster, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. 

I found this article on the HP Small Business Website and decided to reprint it here.  For more related articles, click here. 

 

Small & Medium Business

 

 

Tags: computer issues, Endsight, hp, Microsoft, small-business No Comments »

Firms Not Cutting IT Security

by Lauren Papesh, Business Development Filed under: Hardware, Managed Services, Network Security

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

Tags: Back up, budget constraints, business weekly, CIO, Corporate, crisis, economic uncertainty, Endsight, IT managers, IT outsourcing, IT Security, proactive maintenance, security direction, SPAM, SPAM filtering technology, Stewart Baines, Tech Budget, tight budgets, Virus Protection No Comments »

Easy Way to Fix Computer Errors

by Bay Area IT Management Filed under: Hardware

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

Tags: computer errors, disk defragmenter tool, f8, fix errors, improving performance, internet browser, IT support, quick tips, safe mode, Windows Computer Network No Comments »

Not Your Grandmothers Radio

by Lauren Papesh, Business Development Filed under: Hardware, Media

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

 

Tags: awesomeness, background noise, Bay Area Commute, Bay Area Traffic, Berkeley, Danville, Dublin, gas mileage, interior, it management, Jeep, Jetta, Media, Merger, powerhouse, radio, satellite, satellite radio, Sirius, trust laws, walmart, Walmart-esque, XM No Comments »

Which way to go mobile?

by Mike Chaput, President & CEO Filed under: Hardware

One of the most common question I get asked by my customers and prospects is regarding mobile devices. Most of my small business clients are using an e-mail platform called Microsoft Exchange, which has a huge market share and an enormous amount of benefits for businesses of all sizes. If you do not run Microsoft Exchange, please see my next post which will be regarding the advantages of using MS Exchange versus other options. For those that are using exchange, choosing your mobile device is all but a no-brainer.

MS Exchange has built in technology called Active Sync. Active Sync is software that enables all MS mobile devices to seamlessly and securely interact with an exchange server. This immediately narrows down the options for mobile devices to those that run on Windows Mobile. The following link is a good resource to check out the latest Windows mobile phones; however, I find it easiest to simply visit your wireless service provider and ask them to show you the latest Windows Mobile devices. My favorite is the BlackJack by Samsung.

If a user must have a BlackBerry or Goodlink device, that’s OK; but the user should understand the real cost of this luxury. To implement either of these two devices properly requires a separate physical server, an additional Windows Server license, and special expense software from the vendor. By the time you add services to get it set up, it would not be unrealistic to count on a $10,000 investment to get in functional. That’s just the beginning. The ongoing support costs also pile up. At Endsight, we estimate that it costs a small business $2400/year to manage that additional server.

Regardless of what technology you decide on, it is important to standardize across your entire company. If you go BlackBerry than EVERYONE uses BlackBerry….if you decide on Windows Mobile as suggested than all mobile users standardize on Windows Mobile.

Related Article - Microsoft unveils enhancements to Windows Mobile

Tags: Active Synch, BlackBerry, Goodlink, MS Exchange, Standardize, Windows Mobile No Comments »

Hail to the Tablet PC

by Mike Chaput, President & CEO Filed under: Hardware

I’ve been using my HP tc4200 for about a year now and it’s easily the best laptop that I have owned.

The tc4200 is a great machine and has a terrific form factor. It’s small, sleek, light, sturdy and has a swivel screen that makes it easy to give presentations on the fly. I’m hard on my computers and two previous machines (made by another manufacturer) had already started to fall apart within a year.

While the form factor of the tc4200 is cool, it’s the tablet software that really makes this baby rock and roll. By far the most useful feature is the Windows Journal. This application allows you to take handwritten notes on your screen and store them as a digital file. Others rave about how good the hand recognition software is, but I’ve found that just saving my handwriting is enough. I average about eight meetings per week and generate copious notes. In the past, I used notebooks and legal pads that inevitably got lost among the stacks on my desk. Storing my notes digitally has made recovery fast and easy and has been a huge advantage for my productivity.

I’ve also saved an enormous amount of time in dealing with the documents that come my way requiring signatures and fax-backs. Before, I had to print the document, sign the document, and fax the document somewhere. Now I simply open it on my computer, sign the screen, and e-mail it back.

Any business whose sales staff, consultants, or other professionals depend on the exchange of ideas and notes will benefit from tablet PCs. For reference, I’ve included a link to the HP site for more information on the tc4200.

Related Article:

Desktops becoming a less viable business

Tags: hp, tablet pc, tc4200 1