Software

10 Behaviors of Highly-Effective Small Business IT (Part 2)

As mentioned in my previous article 10 Behaviors of Highly-Effective Small Business IT (Part 1), there’s quite a bit of overlap between many of the “best practice” articles I read online.   In my experience, there were really only 10 behaviors or best practices that seemed to provide the most bang for the buck (or time).   After all, as a small business, there are some “best practices” that are simply out of reach on a small scale (either due to cost or complexity).   In my first part to this two-part series, I gave you five of what I called the “10 behaviors of highly-effective Small Business IT.”   Lets take a look at the remaining five.

Utilize Remote Access Software/VPN:

Remote Access and VPN (Virtual Private Networking) is sometimes pretty confusing to people when I mention it.  After all, in the article detailing the first five behaviors, I told you to secure your Internet connection to prevent people from gaining access to your systems from the Internet!   Well, yes, but in that case I was referring to people NOT on your payroll!  VPN’s and Remote Access software can be handy in any number of scenarios.  For starters, it allows your employees the ability to work from alternate locations, such as the case with traveling salesforces, “road warriors,” or telecommuters.  Additionally, VPN’s can provide secure connectivity between branch offices over the Internet (utilizing cheaper broadband Internet connections versus expensive, dedicated point-to-point leased lines) .

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to do this (and it depends on what you wish to accomplish).  If you simply wish to enable connectivity to desktops inside your organization, get remote IT help, or enable remote collaboration, you can look into services such as  GoToMyPC.com, Microsoft LiveMeeting, or WebEx.  However, if your needs are more complex or you wish to enable connectivity between multiple sites (such as branch offices), you should probably look at hardware-based VPN options.  Here are a few to get you started:

• Cradlepoint MBR-1100:  Easy to configure VPN Endpoint and Wired/Wireless Router with built-in Internet connection failover capabilities.
• Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances:  Not for the faint of heart, but definitely enterprise-grade security!
• SonicWall VPN Gateway:  Provide your remote users access to internal resources using only their web browser!

There are quite a few ways to go when it comes to VPN.  It is best that you determine how you will use remote access in your business, and then choose a solution to fit your budget.  As you can see, there are plenty of options out there.

Encrypt Portable Storage Devices

If you’ve ever ran a Google search for “Security Incidents from Lost USB Drives”, you’d probably be amazed by the number of hits you’d get.  I know, the great part about USB storage devices is that they allow you to put a large volume of data in a small, portable package.  Unfortunately, their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness.   Think about it, how often do you misplace or lose something small like a book, MP3 player, or your car keys?  Worse yet, the size of a USB storage device also makes it easy to steal (putting your data and/or intellectual property at risk)!  According to a 2007 survey report published by ASIS International, the number of information compromise attempts increase year to year, with the financial impact of those attempts between the thousands to millions of dollars.  Bear in mind, those figures don’t include the loss of reputation and trust, competitive technological advantage, and overall profitability if you suffer a data leak.   Point being, the potential impact of a lost or stolen portable storage device is a hefty price to pay for something that can be prevented with a little bit of forethought!

Fortunately, it is easy enough to encrypt those portable drives.  There are two notable software packages that enable encryption of portable storage devices:  a free, open-source software product called TrueCrypt, and the “BitLocker” software built into Windows 7 Ultimate.   While it would take a while to cover all the features of TrueCrypt, just know that it’s quick and moderately easy to use as its use is well-documented on the Internet.  BitLocker is similar, and its use just as well documented.  There have also been some hardware-encrypted storage devices released in recent months, including the IronKey and Lexar JumpDrive Secure II.  As you can see, there really is no excuse for leaving those portable storage devices unencrypted.

Utilize NAS as an alternative to SAN (when it makes sense to do so)

Many people think of NAS (Network Attached Storage) and SAN (Storage Area Networks) as interchangeable terms/technologys.  However, that is far from the truth as there are a number of differences between the two (each with their own advantages and disadvantages).  I’ve seen in the past where businesses have made the shift in policy and thinking from having disparate local storage to a single centralized storage platform.  Generally, they’ve let some salesperson lead them down the path that “SAN is the answer to all their storage problems” or “SAN is the best performing centralized storage solution” (don’t get me wrong, you can pull some impressive performance stats from a properly configured SAN).   Whether you’re a large business shocked by the pricetag on your new SAN, or a small business on the cusp of centralizing your storage, I wanted to remind you that NAS can be a great addition to your centralized storage philosophy and can help keep your costs down.  If you’re looking for some great “NAS versus SAN” discussions, you may want to look at these:

• NAS v. SAN: Which tool for the job? – Infoworld
• DAS v. NAS v. SAN – Tim Phillips Blog

It boils down to this, there are some centralized storage applications that don’t need the high performance of a SAN.  The most notable instance of this – generic file storage (such as departmental or users’ home drives).  If you’re looking for a place to dump a bunch of data that will be accessed infrequently, NAS can quickly fit the bill.  Here’s why:

• It makes use of the network you already have in place (Wired and/or Wireless).
• NAS devices typically use inexpensive, large capacity disks.
• Most NAS devices have few moving parts (outside of the hard drives), making the NAS device itself fairly reliable.
• Most NAS devices utilize numerous file-sharing protocols, which is great if your environment has a mix of Windows, Linux, and Mac machines.
• Many NAS devices can integrate with pre-existing authentication directories/systems (such as Active Directory or LDAP).
• NAS devices come in a range of sizes and prices.  You’ll definitely be able to find something that fits your budget!

It is easy to find a NAS device which can fit your needs and budget.  However, not all NAS devices have easy-to-use configuration software, so make sure you read reviews before making a purchase.

Use a VOIP PBX for your phone system

If you’ve heard of services like Vonage, Skype, and MagicJack, then you’re already familiar with VOIP (Voice-Over-IP) services.  You probably also know that these services provide the ability to make telephone calls for a reasonably low rate (and a rate much lower than their Telephone Company competitors).  Have you thought about looking into similar solutions for your business?  If not, you should and here’s why:

• A VOIP PBX is generally easier to install and configure than traditional telephone systems (thanks to web/GUI interfaces).
• VOIP Phone Systems provide opportunities for significant cost savings:  lower hardware costs, discounted long distance/international calling (by using VOIP telephone service providers), and (often times) a larger list of included/standard features normally costing extra in traditional phone systems.
• Hardware and Software vendors for VOIP PBX systems must adhere to the SIP standard, meaning you can mix and match hardware and software vendors based on your needs.
• The architecture of a VOIP PBX allows for some fairly convenient features such as “soft phones” (i.e. software phones that you use through your computer and are great if you travel), desk roaming (move your phone to a new location in the office without needing to have it rewired in a closet somewhere), and scalability (increase capacity quickly and easily).

A pretty well-known VOIP PBX is the open-source software called Asterisk.  If you prefer a “turn-key” solution, you can contact the hardware vendor that wrote Asterisk – Digium.  I’ve also seen some other systems advertised by 3CX and OneBox which integrate with smartphones.  I’ll admit that I do not have personal experience installing and configuring a VOIP PBX, but from what I’ve read and researched it has the potential to save you a fair amount of money in the long run.  This may be one of those items you want to research before you call the phone company and sign a multi-year commitment for phone service.

Be Proactive

This one is so important, as the majority of problems I see result from being too reactive.   The most obvious and best example of this I can give involves security patching and antivirus definitions.  Yes, it’s annoying to apply those updates on a regular basis (and potentially need to reboot).  Yet, is it better to spend 15 minutes patching/updating the system(s), or 2+ hours recovering from a virus infection that exploited your unpatched/unprotected machine(s)?  (Attach hand to face as shown in the picture, yes?)

Here are a few instances where I suggest you stay proactive:

• Security Patches and Antivirus Updates – Stay Secure, Enough Said!
• Major Operating System Upgrades – Don’t wait until you have a problem to find out that “Windows 2000″ is no longer supported by Microsoft.  This also rings true for the application software you have installed on those OS’s.
• Data Loss and Disaster Recovery Strategies – Don’t wait until your closet catches fire or you lose hard drives to find out you never got around to setting up your off-site backups!
• If you’re a new business just starting out, look into utilizing cloud-based applications (such as Google Apps) and simplify some of your technology.

My advice (and the reason this is on my “10 Behaviors” list):  Be careful not to get so caught up in the day-to-day or comfortable with things just “humming along” that you don’t keep an eye on what’s ahead.  I’m not saying you need to be SO proactive that you’re “cutting edge” (or worse, “bleeding edge”), but forethought and proactive activities (be it implementing new stuff or maintaining old stuff) can definitely save you time, money, and problems in the long run. Ultimately, this contributes to the bottom line and your competitive advantage.

Conclusion:

So there you have it, the remaining five of my 10 Behaviors of Highly-Effective Small Business Technology. As always, I welcome commentary on your experiences with computers and IT in your own home or small business. If you have questions, feel free to Contact Me directly!

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Mac v. Windows – Contemplating the old Switch-a-roo?

It seems as time rolls on, the folks up in Cupertino (that’s “Apple” for the non-techies out there) continue trying to make computers less of “work machines” and more like “life machines” – works of art that become the hubs of your digital lives (and occasionally allow you to type up a document or do “business” stuff).  While I hardly concede that one should purchase a computer on looks alone, it is hard to deny the insane amount of positive reviews the Mac hardware seems to amass.   While I agree that the subject of this blog is predominantly “Windows-based,” I do like to remain open minded and throw out an occasional post about interesting things in the Mac and Linux world.

One of the things that generally held me back from making a switch to Mac was application compatibility.   In my mind, many of the programs I ran on Windows never seemed to have worthwhile Mac counterparts.  Many times, a software company either didn’t write a Mac-compatible version at all, or wrote a version that included basic functionality (and wasn’t a feature-to-feature equivalent).  I’ll admit that has started changing (case in point – MS Office:Mac, and Quicken Essentials for Mac) due to the greater overall adoption of Mac hardware platform (yay for Intel processors!) and positive acceptance of OS X.   One of the things I’ve been reading up on is the idea of virtualization within OS X.  While Windows OS’s have had this for years with programs such as VMWare and Virtual PC (and we can’t forget Linux with the “Wine” project), it seems that virtualization is something new on the block with OS X.  What is “Virtualization” you ask?  Basically, it’s running an Operating System (such as Windows) within another Operating System (Such as OS X).  Think of it as “Picture-in-Picture” for your computer.

Sidenote: Macs have supported “Dual-Boot” (by way of Boot Camp) since Intel processors joined the Mac hardware.  However, I personally think it would be annoying to reboot back and forth between OS’s when trying to accomplish different tasks.

If you’re like me and are worried about application compatibility on a Mac, then the following few links (noted from the Twitter-verse) may give you some new food for thought.  As you will see below, not only does the Mac have a number of merits on its own, but if you combine it with Virtualization (the ability to run the Windows-based everything else as though it’s a program within your Mac), you may just have everything you need.

• 10 Things I Love About My Macbook Pro – Mike Afford
• Virtualization Performance Testing – Macworld
• Windows on a Mac – Infoworld
• Side-by-Side Windows and Mac OS with Parallels – LifeHacker

As I said, this is just a little food for thought I wanted to share for any of you who may be contemplating the switch to a Mac.  As always, I welcome commentary on your own experiences switching to Mac and/or using some type of Virtualization software (Parallels, VMWare, etc) on a Mac. If you have questions, feel free to Contact Me directly!

Like this posting? You will definitely enjoy getting my free technology tips and tricks sent straight to you as I write them! No spam, and I will never give your email address to any other company!