VIDEO: Business Technology Predictions for 2011

Posted by: Chad Massaker  /  Category: Computer Networks


What’s in store for SMBs in 2011? How will The Cloud, Mobile Computing & Regulatory Compliance shape the business landscape in the years ahead?


Watch my presentation below and find out. This presentation was given to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Synergy. A condensed version of the presentation will be given on International Networking Day on March 24th at the Gwinnett Center.



PDF Version with Speaker Notes: Business Technology Predictions for 2011

I.T. Requirements for Compliance (HIPAA, HITECH, PCI, GLBA, SOX, etc.)

Posted by: Chad Massaker  /  Category: Best Practices, Business Management, Computer Networks, Managed IT Services

Given all of the recent corporate scandals and security breaches, the government is cracking down on all businesses – holding them more accountable for the security of their sensitive information like credit card data and personal health records. Since many businesses accept credit cards as a form of payment, almost every business is subject to PCI compliance.

Here is a high level view of some of the government regulations that might affect your small business and some suggestions on how to achieve information technology compliance (I specify information technology compliance because you may have to do other things from a human resources or business process perspective that this article does not address.)

Disclaimer: I’m not lawyer and am providing you this information to the best of my knowledge. If you have concerns, seek out an attorney, compliance consultant relative to the the regulation(s) you are concerned with, an IT consultant or any combination of the above.

You can find more information about these regulations and others at http://www.compliancehome.com/

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS or commonly called just “PCI”)

PCI is a set of comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security and was developed by the founding payment brands of the PCI Security Standards Council, including American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International. Credit card companies and acquirer banks can levy stiff fines and remove the merchant’s ability to process credit card transactions until the merchant is PCI compliant.

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

HIPPA requires that to ensure privacy and confidentiality, all patient healthcare information be protected when electronically stored, maintained, or transmitted. It also mandates that each user be uniquely identified before being granted access to confidential information. It specifies that access to personal health information (PHI) be restricted to only those individuals who need access as part of their role.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

GLBA mandates privacy and the protection of customer records maintained by financial institutions. These security requirements include access controls on customer information systems, encryption of electronic customer information, procedures to ensure that system modifications do not affect security, and monitoring systems to detect actual attacks or intrusions.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

This Act came about as a result of the large corporate financial scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and Arthur Anderson. Effective as of 2006, this Act only affects publicly traded companies. However, being “SOX-like” is a good idea if your goal is to be acquired by a large publicly traded company.

Technology Required for Compliance:

In the case of PCI, HIPAA and GLBA “encryption” and “archival” are the two words you will run into the most and likely to cost you the most money because it will require additional purchases in technology solutions.

Encryption

Encryption simply means “To conceal information by means of a code or cipher” so that only authorized people can access and use the information. In the case of PCI, HIPAA and GLBA, and, as it relates to information technology, files (information) and email (communication) must be encrypted.

To encrypt disks and files you can use Windows Server 2008 using the built in Encrypting File System feature or, for R2 users of Windows 2008 server, Bitlocker is available. which is what you would use on Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate desktops and laptops as well.

Email encryption would need to be done through a third party provider such as Carceron.

Email Archival

HIPAA and GLBA also require email archival. Even though recent versions of Microsoft Exchange come with some limited archiving ability, it’s not sufficient from a compliance perspective. You will need a third party company that can capture all ingoing and outgoing correspondence in an off-site archive where messages cannot be deleted. This is especially important for any financial businesses regulated by SEC through GLBA.

Access Control & Auditing

All of the above regulations have requirements regarding access control to files, email etc. as well as auditing requirements. Auditing in this case translates to “logs of who access what and when”. All of the current Windows systems (both server and desktop based) have these features built in – they simply need to be configured by an IT consultant. Another means of preventing access to sensitive information is 2-factor authentication.

Making the Case for SMBs to Switch to Windows 7

Posted by: Chad Massaker  /  Category: Computer Networks

windows-7-launch-1Are you anticipating the forthcoming release of Windows 7? If you are, that’s great! Here are some more reasons to validate your anticipation.

If you are not, I would totally understand your skepticism after dealing with Windows Vista. I’ll be the first to say the Windows Vista stunk. It took forever to install, had massive issues with networking and file copying, had issues with laptops power management, needed significantly better hardware then a Windows XP workstation… we could go on and on.

Ironically, there were also some good things that might have had a role in businesses not wanting to adopt Vista as well, such as better security (a problem that has plagued Windows Operating Systems for years) and a new interface that, while productive, did not feel quite done and created a learning curve that people were not willing to invest in given all of Vista’s other faults.

So why Windows 7? In short, it is what Vista should have been. Ask anyone you know that is in information technology and they will most likely mirror this sentiment. I have personally been running my laptop on Windows 7 for 6 months as of this writing with no incident. Everything that worked in Vista works in Windows 7. Almost all of my hardware detected and installed on the initial installation. The only thing that did not work was Digital Persona, software that works with my biometric login sensor – not a big deal for now (Digital Persona is developing a Windows 7 version due out anytime now). Overall, I have been very pleased.

Here are some of the top reasons you should consider the switch for your business:

  1. Speed, Speed, Speed… it is much faster than Vista (faster bootup, better performance, and more)
  2. More Default Hardware Drivers
  3. Improved Interface (especially in the networking section and the taskbar)
  4. Faster Search
  5. Bitlocker (drive encryption) is easier to implement and can be used on removable drives
  6. Faster Document Access form Start Menu
  7. Better support for 64-bit hardware
  8. Direct Access (lets users stay securely connected to the corporate network whenever they have an Internet connection – think dial-up VPN minus the dial-up part – Requires Windows 2008 Server R2).

Don’t take my word for it. Here are some other 3rd party sources that echo my feelings on Windows 7.

Windows 7 Survival Guide: From 32-bit to 64-bit

8 Things to Think About for Windows 7

Windows 7: What’s Coming for Business Users

Top Ten Reasons to Switch to Windows 7

7 Reasons for Upgrading to Windows 7

Why Windows XP Users will Switch to Windows 7

Microsoft Windows 7 Page

The Myth of the sub-$300 Business Computer

Posted by: Chad Massaker  /  Category: Best Practices, Computer Networks, Managed IT Services

300 PCOne of the frustrating parts of being in the IT business is quoting computers. I can’t tell you how many clients, prospects and colleagues I run across that complain about how much higher our prices are for computers relative to just going down to Best Buy or Office Depot and buying them off the shelf. It occurred to me to write an article to explain why this is the case as I suspect other computer resellers out there run into the same dilema. It’s not that our cost more, (in most cases we can be cheaper than a retailer), It’s that many people fail to remember all of the other factors that go into making a computer usable for production.

So, here goes:

When you buy that sub-$300 computer from your favorite store it generally comes with a Home Edition of whatever the current operating system is. The problem with this is that Home Edition Windows operating systems cannot connect to Windows domain servers (this is by design). You must have a business edition operating system to accomplish this, in the case of Vista those editions are Business, Enterprise or Ultimate (Enterprise is for larger companies under a Open Value license plan). So if you buy a PC with Home edition, you have to spend $100-$200 on purchasing the upgrade edition to take it from Home to a Business class edition operating system. You can probably do this yourself, but you might have an IT technician do it, which means an additional $100-$300 in labor.

Next: Almost everyone use Microsoft Office. These sub-$300 never come with Office (perhaps a 60 day trial, but that’s it). Office Basic (Word, Excel, & Outlook) will tack on an additional $100+ and the Small Business Edition (what most people use because it also has PowerPoint & Publisher) will tack on another $300. (Sadly, many businesses skirt this by installing the same Office licenses on every PC, which is obviously illegal).

Finally: A new monitor. this component is obviously optional if you are replacing an existing PC and simply want to use the existing monitor, but if you want a new system, the starting price is $150+.

Let’s summarize least and worst case scenarios:

Least Case: For example, replacing an old computer at your business

  • Upgrade to Vista Home Premium to Vista Business +$100 (do installation yourself)
  • Buy Office Basic $100
  • No monitor, (you have a spare)
  • Total: +$200

Worst Case: For example, adding a brand new computer that needs a full Office suite

  • Upgrade to Vista Business +100
  • Buy and install Office Small Business Ed. +$300
  • Monitor +$150 (17′ LCD)
  • Labor to install Vista Upgrade and Office software: +300
  • TOTAL: +$550 w/o labor; +$850 w/labor

So a new PC, if purchased correctly, really costs more like $500 – $1000.

Don’t believe me? See for yourself. This is a Dell Inspiron that I created this morning. The Inspiron is their consumer class, absolute cheapest model (both in cost and quality).

300 Dollar Desktop Total

300 Dollar Desktop