Endsight honored as a thought leader for managed service providers

We tend to stay away from the term managed services when we talk to clients about computer system support because we think it’s a confusing concept. 

Outsourced IT support and Managed Services are not the same thing.  There are still a lot of firms in the bay area that  provided traditional Outsourced IT services on an as needed, or hourly basis.  Managed services are an alternative  delivery and billing  approach that breaks from the pay by the hour model.   The distinction may seem subtle, but in practice it’s a night and day difference.  For more about the differences click here.   I also plan to post future blogs about this topic.

Endsight uses managed services to provide outsourced IT support for our clients.  In 2004, we were one of the first local firms to introduce the model.  Since then we’ve grown to almost 50 employees and nearly 5000 computer systems under daily management and support.   It’s success you can hang your hat on and we’re honored that our peers have noticed by inviting us to share what we know.

In June, Mike Chaput & Josh Carroll, two of Endsight’s founders, were featured in separate industry discussions about best practices for Managed Service Providers (MSP’s) .  Mike participated in a panel discussion at TruMethods’ Schnizzfest and Josh presented a case study with HP & Intel on Everything Channel.

You can read the details for each forum by clicking here:  Josh on Everything Channel and Mike at Schnizzfest.

The fact that our peers / competitors want to now what makes us successful is a real compliment.  We’ve worked hard to create a valuable service for our clients and will continue to innovate new ways to improve our clients experience with information technology!

About Everything Channel

Everything Channel is the premier provider of channel-focused research and consulting, events, media and custom solutions for the technology industry. Everything Channel provides integrated solutions to technology marketers for managing channel strategy to accelerate technology sales.

From building go-to-market strategies to partner recruitment and enablement to creating customer demand, Everything Channel offers the unmatched breadth and depth of global media and event brands, combined with the largest Solutions Provider database enabling an unparalleled audience loyalty and credibility built from over 30 years of experience and engagement.

About TruMethods

TruMethods is a consulting firm that helps IT solution providers achieve their full potential as managed service providers. TruMethods’ FormulaWon program transforms IT businesses by providing a proven, repeatable process that perfects leadership, solution packaging, sales processes, and results tracking through online tools, seminars, and the personal guidance of MSP sales authority Gary Pica, the company’s founder and CEO.

Be careful what you download

I was reading this online news article titled:

“One in 14 Downloads Is Malicious”

“The next time a website says to download new software to view a movie or fix a problem, think twice. There’s a pretty good chance that the program is malicious.”

I am sure most have seen pop-up windows while browsing the internet when suddenly, a WARNING flashes at you saying “you’re infected with hundreds of virus”. If you are lucky, you can click close and all is well. But sadly the majority get infected with what I call “scareware” in which you are attacked with an endless barrage of fake virus alerts and request to buy “the hackers” anti-virus program to remove the viruses which they used to infect you in the first place.

Working in the response center here at Endsight, I do my best to quickly resolve virus issues and limit production down time by trying to do a Windows system restore as soon as the virus hits. It doesn’t work all the time unfortunately since newer virus are starting to disable system restore. What we then have to do is hunt down the virus manually by booting into safe mode and running malware removal programs and inspecting the registry to clear the infection.

The main question I get from clients is, why do people do this. I find that people do this for different reasons, most for monetary reasons such as redirecting websites in attempts that you buy whatever is advertised there.  Also for the personal gratification that they were able to pull off such an attack on so many systems. Evil you say, I would agree.

Unfortunately, even the most secure computers with the latest antivirus software updates and protection can get bypassed when hackers exploit new holes in the system. Fortunately, Endsight is able to limit these attacks and the spread of chaos to other systems on the network through regular updates and patches. But in the end, it’s really up to the user to decide whether to browse unsafe websites or click on that suspicious link and download the video which a “friend” has sent of the funny cat playing the piano.

About Luan Trinh, Endsight Response Center Engineer:

Luan is a native San Franciscan with a B. A. degree in Graphic Design from San Francisco State University. He has an A+, Network+, MCDST, Windows 7 MCITP, and CCENT certification.  Luan has 5+ years’ experience doing remote tech support in a corporate environment for 2500+ users. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two children looking for the coolest museum and parks to explore and have fun. Some of his hobbies include photography, looking for online deals for electronics, tennis and watching sitcoms from the 80’s.

7 Simple Ways To Keep Your iPad Secure

This is a great list posted by our friends in Florida, Connections for Business.  I liked it so much, that I’ve decided to repost it.  You can find the original post by clicking here.

Don’t leave it lying around Although this is common sense, you’ve probably violated this rule more than once. iPads are easy targets for thieves, so don’t let it out of your sight when in a public place – and don’t leave it in plain view in your car or you might end up with a broken window in addition to a stolen iPad.

Use a passcode Although it’s not 100% hacker-proof, it will block unauthorized users from accessing your information. Consider enabling automatic data erasing You can configure your iPad to erase your data after 10 failed passcode attempts. Clearly this is not a good solution for anyone who constantly forgets a password or those who have kids who might try to endlessly log in to use your iPad.

Sign up for MobileMe This software will allow you to locate a lost iPad and, if it’s not recoverable, you can remotely wipe the device of your private information.

Limit its capabilities You can set your iPad to restrict certain functions such as access to Safari, YouTube, installing applications and explicit media content using a passcode. In the corporate world, an IT administrator could set these restrictions for company owned devices. At home, you can use this to restrict what your children can do with your iPad.

Install software updates As with all software, make sure you have the latest security updates and patches installed to protect against hackers and viruses.

Only connect to trusted WiFi networks Public WiFis are open territory for hackers and identity thieves. Whenever you connect, make sure it’s a legitimate, secure connection.

Survey Results

We’ve included lots of brief surveys in our blog postings.  This is thanks to a technology called Survey Monkey and the development talent of one of our team members, Peter Hornberger.

Peter also took the liberty of summarizing the results from our surveys.  His summaries are below.  You can get to the associated articles by clicking on the summary title.

Microsoft Office vs. Google Apps

In the analysis of our survey results, we found that more than half of our readers are currently using Office 2007 or higher. Also, more than half of our readers are considering a move to Google Apps with reasons of cost, frustration with Microsoft, a preference towards the Google web based experience, the excess of unused Microsoft features, and a feeling that Google Apps is the way of the future.

What to do when Yelp Bites Back 

All of our responders had a knowledge of the business review site Yelp. Of the readers that responded, only 50% have Yelp accounts, but more than half have used Yelp to find products and services. About a third of our respondents have received business due to Yelp and the same number have gotten a bad review on Yelp.

Another Social Media Blog

The results of our Social Media survey showed that Facebook and LinkedIn are the big players in the social media market, with Twitter close behind and other services trailing. All of our respondents have posted status updates or tweeted before and surprisingly, more than half have been recruited via social media outlets. While recruiting through Social Media appears popular, winning business seems much less common, as not one of our respondents has ever won business through Social Media.

When Disaster Strikes

From our survey regarding disaster recovery, we found that all or our readers that responded have written business continuity procedures. The majority of our respondents use off-site servers and data as their business continuity technology and two-thirds feel that they would be well prepared in the event of a disaster.

Cloud Computing: Real Rewards / Real Risks

I logged in one morning and had an email with the headline:

“CUSTOMERS OF MAJOR BANKS AND RETAILERS ARE BEING WARNED OF MASSIVE EMAIL HACK”

“A recent data breach at Epsilon, the world’s largest permission-based email marketing provider, has affected clients of many of the largest banks and retailers in the US including; Capital One, US Bank, Citi, Kroger, Walgreens and Target…just to name a few. These companies have now begun warning customers that their email servers have been breached and that customers’ email addresses and names have been compromised. “ (excerpt)

I am familiar with most of the brands listed above, except of course of Epsilon. Apparently, all of the brands I trusted with my “information” in-turn trusted Epsilon. It must have made good business sense to outsource op- in email. The problem is that Epsilon as it turns out cannot be trusted.

Prior to receiving this email, my wife and I planned to sign up for a new customer loyalty card from one of the affected brands. But not now. I wonder what this mess’s cumulative impact will be on customer loyalty, brand equity and, corporate profits?

Cloud Computing offers a ton of benefits, but as this data breach demonstrates it also exposes you to a ton of risk. I recently sat in on a Webcast that highlighted some strategies for structuring a cloud-computing contract to manage that risk. MSPTV hosted the presentation and it featured David Navatte, and Richard Santalesa of the InfoLawGroup.

I think they did a good job of covering how you can protect yourself from legal issues. But while I was listening, it got me thinking about a recurring conversation I have with business owners about security.

In my opinion, network security is a balancing act that is levered to the two questions, “How much time and money are you willing to devote to keeping a hacker out? And How much time and money is a hacker willing to devote to get in?

The hackers opinion of the asset’s (data, technology, etc.) value is key. If the target is big bank, it is likely the asset is highly valued. If the target is a small business, it may be less valuable.

As such, a reasonable small business security strategy needs to attempt to make its network more of a hassle to breach than its worth. The goal should be to make it easier for the hacker to simply move on to the next less protected network than to hassle with breaching yours.

If I extend this idea to cloud computing an undiagnosed risk emerges. Because of their scale, big clouds like Gmail / Google Apps, provide many features for a low per / user cost. But with every new customer, they become more and more attractive to hacking and other malicious behavior. By comparison, a local cloud provider may cost a little more, but it presents a much less attractive target. That’s if the local provider is on the hacker’s radar at all.

I think that Cloud Computing is maturing, but I still think this concept is in its infancy. As such, the benefits and risks warrant a serious evaluation before any kind of commitment. If you’re considering this technology and would like to leverage Endsight’s experience, click here and let’s schedule some time to meet and talk. Contact Endsight

Another Social Media Blog

My wife and I are avid “Grey’s Anatomy” watchers. Usually, the Thursday night drama merely entertains, as the characters (mostly doctors) seem to go out of their way to wreck their completely unbelievable lives. But in a recent episode, Dr. Miranda Bailey, played by actor Chandra Wilson, broadcasts her surgeries via Twitter.

While operating on her patient, Dr. Bailey would dictate what she was experiencing to one of the residents. The resident would then transcribe her words, on a Blackberry, into 140 character micro-blogs or “Tweets.” Doctors and medical students from around the world monitored the surgery via Twitter, Re-Tweeting questions and comments about the surgery.

Using Twitter as a communications platform, Dr. Bailey had turned her surgery into a teaching experience that extended beyond the operating room. In the past, something like this would have required a massive investment in technology and communications equipment and would only have been available to the affluent. All Dr. Bailey needed was an opportunity to do her work and a Blackberry.

Of course, one does not need to look far to find a real world example of the global impact of social media technologies such as Twitter and Facebook. All you need to do is pick up a paper or turn on the news. Oppressive regimes and dictators across the Middle East and North Africa appear to be dropping like dominoes as “the people” take to the streets and demand change.

Social media employed as a communication and collaboration platform seem to be a real driver behind these world-changing events. In fact, I’ve heard the term “Twitter Revolution” used to describe what’s happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere. I don’t disagree that social media has played an important role in what has and continues to unfold in that part of the world, but I think it’s a gross oversimplification and perhaps, even a little arrogant to say social media caused what’s happening.

Technology is not a silver bullet that magically solves problems. It is more of a force multiplier or an accelerator that can be used to speed up or intensify the impact of a good idea or a sound strategy. Without Dr. Bailey’s vision and creativity, Facebook is just a place to view a litany of un-remarkable vacation photos.

I talk with business owners all the time about social media. Most see it as a real distraction and productivity killer. Most of the time, I’d tend to agree. But I think recent events evidence the fact that we should really challenge ourselves to consider how we might apply this technology in the future in support of our business goals.

A great way to start would be to log in to Facebook or Twitter and see how your peers are using it. I logged in and found this posting from Shon Christy. Shon and I were lab partners in Mr. Glime’s chemistry class at Stow High School in Ohio in 1993. Other than being connected on Facebook, Shon and I don’t communicate. But because of his posting, I know City Cleaners is hiring. Now you know too.

So we know for sure that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be used to teach fictional doctors, recruit salespeople, and topple governments. What could you use it for? If you’d like to talk about it, let me know. You can email me at jclause@endsight.net

Microsoft Office vs Google Apps: Training is the Key

For years, small businesses only had one real choice for business productivity software: Microsoft Office. But that may change as web-based applications, delivered via the cloud, flood the market.

For many, Google Apps represents a viable alternative. However, before a firm chooses to shelve its investment in Microsoft Office there is a lot to consider.

To begin with, software packages evolve over time to accommodate the customer’s requirements. As a relatively young software solution, Google Apps is less complete than the more established Microsoft solution. It is extremely difficult for any company, even Google, to anticipate the real-world requirements for a full-featured solution right out of the gate.

The “completeness” of Google Apps may be less important because of the way its software is delivered. Google Apps is “cloud based”, allowing popular feature requests to be rapidly developed, tested and deployed without the end user having to upgrade his or her software. Once deployed, the new features just appear the next time the user logs in.

Microsoft Office has its benefits too. For example, it has been around for a very long time. A benefit best illustrated by a story I recently read in Network World about Microsoft Windows turning 25 years old. I am including a link to the full article here.

Network World also included a cool slideshow with screenshots of the different versions of Windows through years. To view the slideshow click here.

Just like Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010 inherits all the lessons learned from the previous decades of end-user feedback, research and development. However, a large number of users do not use or need many of the more advanced features offered in Microsoft Office.

Regardless of whether your organization chooses to use Microsoft Office or Google Apps, end user training is a real key to success.

Google Apps is not a “Webified” version of Microsoft Office. It sorts and presents e-mail differently, key function buttons are positioned in different places and working within a web interface takes some getting used to.

Microsoft Office 2010 has made several user interface changes that will take some getting used to and many of the advanced features that can help business users become more productive need to be pointed out and configured. Once that is completed, end users need to be trained on how to utilize the new features.

As the technology changes and as we get more sophisticated as technology users the way we use our core productivity software will evolve. Firms that embrace this change and seek to apply it in creative ways will gain real-time savings. Time that can be refocused on finding new customers, making current customers happier and finding new ways to more efficiently operate the business.

We spend a lot of time analyzing our client’s productivity needs as part of our outsourced IT service. If you feel like it might be helpful to discuss your needs, click here and we can schedule some time to talk in person!

I am including a brief survey about productivity software. If you have the time, I hope you will complete it. We plan to publish the survey’s results in a future blog posting.

Internet Bandwidth Options

Reliable, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity used to be a “nice to have”, but this is quickly changing. Traditionally, office based computer users accessed shared computing resources via a local area network (LAN). Internet outages and slowdowns would disrupt web browsing and e-mail but work could continue because a LAN centric computer network didn’t require an Internet connection to provide users access to resources such as file sharing, print sharing and database access. The only people that were completely shut down by a disruption were remote workers.

Over time, businesses have come to rely more and more on their connection to the Internet. That reliance is accelerating with the advent of cloud computing. Broadly, cloud computing is using the Internet to deliver computing services such as e-mail and CRM. I’ve written about cloud computing before, you can read more about the benefits of cloud computing by clicking here.

Over the next few years it’s expected that businesses will migrate their LAN centric computer networks to a cloud-based computing environment. In a cloud-based computing environment every worker is a remote worker that’s completely dependent upon the organization’s Internet connection for access to corporate computing resources. This dependence really elevates the importance of the quality of the Internet connection. In addition to being reliable and fast, the connection really should have some redundancy built into the design.

At Endsight, we’ve been working with our clients to help them plan for this transition as part of our “all-inclusive” outsourced IT support program. Typically, we employ a design that includes hardware from SonicWALL and two Internet connections from competing Internet service providers (ISP)’s.

The hardware design and integration is fairly straightforward but selecting the right mix of ISPs isn’t as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of options each with its own cost / performance tradeoffs. I thought I’d try to summarize the available options. I’ve also linked to Wikipedia descriptions of each option if you’d like more detail.

Telecom options include DSL, T-1, & MPLS connections. Basically, these options leverage the phone company’s (mostly AT&T) telephone infrastructure. These solutions are tried and true and include service level assurances. You can purchase these options from a variety of providers and resellers. If this option makes sense, it’s important to work with a provider that will offer more support than simply providing a 1-800 number.

WiMax or fixed wireless broadband internet is becoming more and more popular. Instead of providing a connection using wires, this option uses fixed wireless antennas that are installed on the roof of a building. These antennas point to other antennas that terminate a connection into the public internet. This option offers high speeds at an economical cost. Its key limitation is that to work the antenna must have a line of site to the terminating point. This can sometimes be a real challenge.

Fiber-optic communication uses pulses of light transmitted through optical fiber. It is extremely fast and when compared to many other options, its cost / throughput is really economical. The main drawback is that the optical fiber required to transmit a signal is kind of scarce. If your business is in a metro area such as San Francisco or Oakland then your building may be “lit” meaning a fiber connection may already be available in your location. If not, then to take advantage of this technology the Telecom Company or ISP will have to deploy optical fiber and that could be prohibitively expensive. To find out if your building is “lit” send me an email and I’ll be glad to put you in contact with a partner that can help you.

Cable internet access uses the same infrastructure that is used to deliver cable television. It also offers high speed / high throughput internet access for an economical cost. As with fiber-optic communication, cable is dependent upon availability. In addition, cable is less reliable then some of the other options out there. This is less of an issue if there is a redundant connection from a Telecom or one of the other providers.

As I said, this is only a summary of some of the options. There is a lot more to this. If you feel like a deeper dive into your options might be helpful, please feel free to connect with us at Endsight. We included IT Strategy and part of our fixed fee outsourced IT service

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010: End of the Year Tax Savings to Consider

At Endsight, we pride ourselves on keeping our client’s computer systems running smoothly and reliably. A component of delivering on that promise includes computer hardware and software life-cycle management. Each Endsight client is assigned an account manager who is responsible for documenting every computer, laptop, server, and networked device in the client’s computing environment. Over time, this information is used to help the client make informed technology replacement decisions.

Endsight provides hardware and software resale services as part of our “all-you-can-eat” outsourced IT service. Dale Hoffman, Endsight Senior Analyst, manages all our hardware and software purchasing on behalf of our clients. Dale has been with Endsight from day one and has always used his deep understanding of computing technology to help our clients make the most of their hardware and software purchasing dollars.

Dale recently forwarded me some interesting tax savings information included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that I thought we should pass on.

On September 27^th, President Obama delivered an early Christmas present to both small and large businesses alike, but businesses must act fast in order to take full advantage of the tax savings being offered.

“Section 179” Capital Equipment Expensing
For smaller businesses, the Section 179 expense limit was retroactively increased from $250,000 to $500,000 for 2010 as well as 2011. This means, for tax purposes, that certain profitable businesses may immediately write off 100% of qualified capital equipment (including qualified computer equipment and off-the-shelf software) purchased during these years, achieving immediate tax savings. In the past, this benefit began to phase out when a company had purchased $800,000 of capital equipment in one year, but under the new expanded version applicable to 2010 and 2011, the tax benefit is fully or partially available to businesses which have not purchased more than $2,500,000 in a given year.

Note that if a company is in a taxable loss position during the year the asset is purchased and unable to immediately benefit from this special deduction, the unused expense may be carried forward to offset taxable income in a future year.

50% Bonus Depreciation Allowance
Small and large businesses alike can benefit from the 50% bonus depreciation allowance, which has been retroactively reinstated for the entire 2010 year. Previously expired at the end of 2009, this popular provision allows all businesses to immediately deduct 50% of the cost of qualified equipment without regards to profitability or investment limits. But note: there is a very short window of opportunity: qualifying equipment must be purchased AND placed in service on or before December 31, 2010!

Cash Flow Planning
These tax benefits are available in the year the equipment is purchased or even leased, regardless of whether any payments have been made for such equipment during the year. In other words, businesses may enjoy a tax break now for assets they haven’t even yet paid for! However, not all leases will qualify — be sure to consult with your tax advisor.

You can learn more by consulting with your tax advisor or visiting www.irs.gov.

Good Process is Tasty and Delicious

Image via Wikipedia

I think I was six years old when I ordered my first Big Mac. I’d eaten one before, but this was the first time that I stepped up to the counter on my own to order and pay for one. Waiting in line patiently I mouthed the words as I thought through what I would say. “May I have a Big Mac please?” I wanted to sound like I knew what I was doing.

When it was my turn, I stepped up to the counter. The cashier, who looked like a giant, looked down at me and smiled. Then she turned her gaze to the woman behind me and said, “Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?”

I was devastated. But just as all hope was lost, the nice lady behind me said, “I believe this gentleman was first.” The cashier looked down at me and said, “Excuse me sir, what can I get for you?” …..Victory!

Since then, I’ve ordered thousands (that’s right, thousands) of Big Macs. Every time I do, I feel confident that the sandwich will taste the same as the one I bought 30 years ago.

McDonald’s has a specific process that they follow to prepare a Big Mac. This process is the same in Charlotte, North Carolina as it is in Seattle, Washington. It has been honed over time into a series of steps that is teachable and repeatable. In fact, many McDonald’s employees go to Hamburger University where they learn how to make Big Macs.

When it comes to selecting an outsourced IT partner, process is very important. Most providers say they have a process that they follow, but the word “process” rarely means that they’ve developed a step-by-step series of activities that’s teachable and repeatable. They may have a general idea or approach to clearing trouble tickets, building a server or monitoring a firewall, but their approach is rarely fully documented or integrated into their information systems. The result is that each employee has his or her own way to do the work.

The impact is an inconsistent level of service. Sometimes the client gets good service and sometimes he or she gets really lousy service. This result is often compounded by Murphy’s Law. For some reason, the lousy service experience always occurs when you’re on a deadline.

One way to avoid service level inconsistency is to make sure that your potential outsourced IT partner can show you its process. It’s not enough to show you a bunch of Word documents with bullet points that read, “Promote Windows Server 2008 to Domain Controller.” A well-documented process includes flowcharts, job aids and clear tie-ins to the firm’s information systems. A true process is teachable, repeatable and, because it’s clearly documented, it can be incrementally improved over time.

The ability to incrementally improve a process, assumes that the outsourced IT provider does not outsource its core functions to someone else. Outsourced IT providers that in-turn outsource functions like Network Operations and Help Desk don’t have a lot of control over service delivery. If they don’t have control of the function in the first place they can’t really impact the process. I wrote a blog about outsourced IT providers that in-turn outsource their IT. You can read more by clicking here.

At Endsight, we include a review of our process as part of our site visit. It also includes a tour of our facility, introductions to our staff and a review of a sample strategy document (I’ll write more about documentation and strategy in another blog). If you’re looking for an Outsourced IT partner, we’d really like to host you for a visit. To schedule one, click here.

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