The Ides Of March 2015 Came And Went

Yesterday was the Ides of March (March 15) and it came and went like every other day, like clockwork. Wouldn’t it be fantastic and comforting to know that your business technology was as predictable and running smoothly and not in danger of downtime or attack?

Over the past 11 years of writing this Ides article, I have often made the analogy to watching your (technology) systems and taking good care so no attack is made upon your business from within or outside. And, if someone were to initiate an attack, your technology’s health and management would be solid so as to shut down the attacker with minimal casualties to your business.

Emperor Julius Caesar chose not to listen to the soothsayer nor did he ensure that he was protected or aligned by those whom he could truly trust. We all want to think the best of everyone and not be cynical about their loyalty and intentions. There have been times during our history of supporting clients when they don’t heed our warnings or consul and then we experience a “fire” that creates costly downtime and way too much stress on everyone.

We speak with our existing and prospective clients that the best and least stressful way to defend ourselves against costly downtime is to be prepared. This translates into ensuring that your business is managed  and monitored proactively which includes data backup and test restores coupled with solid documentation and contingency strategies. Those owners and those in management who minimize the validity of proactive IT support (internal, outsourced or a combination) are probably in denial and must not value productivity and protecting the assets of the business.

At CMIT Solutions of Denver, we leverage our engineers’ experience, technology training, and our nationwide support system within CMIT.

 

Constant Contact And CMIT Denver Go Way Back

The email delivery system that I have used for sharing my monthly e-newsletters and group emails (professionally and personally) is Constant Contact. Undoubtedly you have received emails in your work inbox where at the bottom the sender is identified and the middleman (i.e. Constant Contact) is displayed.

How does your organization (for or not-for-profit) communicate with your clients, vendors, members, and constituencies?

Do you know what your Open, Click Through and even Undeliverable metrics are for the emails?

Has your non-profit taken advantage of the non-profit pricing from Constant Contact?

Reach out to Debi at CMIT Denver to get your questions answered about Constant Contact. The email and survey functions are a big piece of the puzzle and there are more should you be curious. We can sign you up for an account and provide basic training on this wonderful tool.

5 Tips And Tricks To Supercharge Your Daily Use of Microsoft Windows

It is no secret that CMIT Denver is a Microsoft-centric business. We use Microsoft and most of our clients have Microsoft as their dominant OS and productivity suite (e.g. Windows 7, Office 2013).

The Microsoft Windows landscape is scheduled to change again in mid to late 2015, when Windows 10 will be released. That may excite some early adopters who love to have the latest and greatest operating system on their computer. And many industry experts are thrilled that Windows 10, which is currently in its public beta testing period, was designed with business customers in mind — and is forecasted to be much more responsive to user needs.

Predicted perks include free upgrades for existing Windows customers, lifetime device support, and a tiered system of security updates and patches that will allow administrators to opt out of non-critical ones until compatibility with their enterprise environments can be ensured.

But let’s be honest: many of us in the business world are happy sticking with our tried and true versions of Windows 7 — or, for those of us who relished the move to a redesigned, touchscreen-friendly user interface, Windows 8/8.1. So in the name of not rushing into a new product offering when an old one still works fine, we’ve compiled our favorite 5 tips and tricks that can supercharge your everyday use of existing Windows versions.

Click here to learn the 5 Tips And Tricks. And, then hold tight and watch for emails later this year about Windows 10 which, so far, has received solid reviews.

Whom Would You Rather Trust With Your Data?

A nameless, faceless online entity — or a trusted IT advisor backed by the power of a proven backup and disaster recovery solution?   At CMIT Solutions, we understand the critical nature of you business information. We feel the same way about ours, which is why we treat client data with the same care as our own. With our flagship CMIT Guardian solution, you’ll get:

• Automatic data backups you don’t have to worry about
• Data recovery protocols in case of manmade or natural disaster
• Business continuity plans that can weather any storm
• Elite encryption of data both in transit and at rest
• A level of personal commitment unmatched in the IT industry

Over the last 19 years, our CMIT offices have helped clients recover from fires, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, hardware failure and human error — even 9/11. We know it’s not a matter of if your business will have to deal with the loss of data disaster but when.

So, What Is SharePoint Anyway?

Many small businesses have huge problems when it comes to managing processes and sharing information. With every worker wearing multiple hats, it’s often difficult to keep track of who’s in charge of what, to say nothing of where all the information on a particular project is stored. So what do people do? They either have a short conversation by the water cooler, or they say, “Shoot me an email with the status update and your newest version of that contract.”

These approaches will get the job done – and for your average small business struggling to stay on top of a growing workload with limited staff and resources, just getting the job done is an accomplishment in itself. But if you want to get ahead by actively managing your work processes and sharing information efficiently, you’re probably going to need something like SharePoint.

What it is: In a nutshell, it’s the guts behind a good intranet. Think about your ideal company intranet. It would probably include:

• Information sharing, so that common documents like time-off request forms or expense forms were all in one place;
• Document management, so that you could all work off the same version of the employee manual instead of the sixteen revisions you have floating around the office;
• Collaborative capabilities, so that people could discuss individual projects or business issues in an open forum;
• Client access, so that clients could review contracts or other documents online instead of trading endless emails.

SharePoint gives you all of that in a single package. And it’s highly customizable to fit in with your company’s structure and work processes.

What it does: It centralizes all that information that’s been floating around in email, on hard drives, on various servers, and on paper so that everybody in your organization can find what they need in one place. It helps preserve institutional knowledge so that you’re not left in the lurch if a key employee leaves your organization. It can serve as the go-to bulletin board for company announcements. And it can foster lively discussions and the exchange of ideas.

What it won’t do: Like any collaborative tool, SharePoint thrives on participation and suffers when it’s ignored. In other words, it won’t work if you don’t use it. You have to actively post documents and participate in discussions. People may resist using SharePoint at first, preferring to just email documents or do whatever their old work habits dictate. But the more you can steer people toward it, the more they’ll use it, and the more value they’ll build into it. It’s a virtuous circle.

Sign me up: Not so fast. First you need to decide whether you’re going to go with a server-based, in-house SharePoint solution, or if you’re going to go with a hosted option. Both have their benefits and drawbacks. Talk with CMIT Solutions about which option is best for you – whichever one you choose, we can help you set up and customize SharePoint to fit your business.

CMIT Solutions of Denver has our own SharePoint consultant in Michelle Herring. She works with our Denver office as well as several CMIT Solutions offices across the country.

CMIT Stands By Our Promise

Ever try to do your job or grow your business without a computer or network? Not in this century. When it comes to using the technology that fuels your business, let’s be honest. You don’t really want to be the technology expert or care what’s under the hood, do you?

Good, because we do. All of us at CMIT Solutions of Denver live, eat and breathe bits and bytes.

• If it beeps or blinks, we manage it.
• If you can’t afford to lose it, we protect it.
• If your employees are pulling out their hair because technology problems are interfering with their work, we solve your problem (not that we can do anything about the hair).

We defend your network. We protect your data. We partner with only the best companies, and we vet their products and services to assure that we deliver what you need. We use what we sell, too — we don’t recommend anything unless it works how you need it to work for your business.

CMIT Denver knows that you often need more solutions than you realize. So, we craft the infrastructure you need to make your business succeed.

Go forth and thrive — and let us handle the technology. We love it. Now you will too.

DIY Backups Aren’t Fireproof

Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions – CMIT Guardian

Data is the most valuable asset your company owns.

Do you really want to entrust something so critical to a free or cheap option?

CMIT Solutions backs up EVERY SINGLE client’s data, and we take that commitment seriously. In the event of data loss or disaster, CMIT Guardian will always have your back — and we will work around the clock if necessary to help your business recover.

CMIT Guardian highlights:

• Regular, remote, and redundant data backup
• Disaster recovery, business continuity, and virtualization plans
• Tested and vetted solutions spanning a wide range of scenarios
• Real-world experience helping clients recover from disasters like Hurricane Sandy

Our comprehensive CMIT Guardian product offering doesn’t just back up your data — it serves as the backbone for our entire managed IT services platform.

We are the human intelligence behind information technology.

If you’re looking for a trusted business partner that is committed to keeping your critical assets safe and secure then contact us!

Celebrity Websites Can Cause You Trouble

In a recent Consumer Reports, there was an article warning readers of the potential and unknown dangers of clicking away on a celebrity’s website. This is a valid and very real fear of employers and IT firms such as ours.

McAfee has sourced data of the top five celebrities on whose websites you should be careful which includes Jimmy Kimmel. At least eight years ago we had a client instance where an employee had innocently visited Oprah’s website and clicked on something that subsequently led to a virus attacking the employee’s computer. So, CMIT Denver knows that these are not scare tactics on Consumer Reports’ or McAfee’s behalf.

With the constant barrage of cybersecurity threats and breaches, you’ll want to make sure that your business technology network is protected and that employees are trained on potential security risks should they venture out.

McAfee cites 6 ways to reduce the risk of getting caught on a faux celebrity website:

• Use Official Websites
• Use anti-virus software (CMIT recommends business-class A/V that can be centrally managed)
• Don’t offer up personal information too quickly
• Downloads are a potential danger so once again make sure you’re on an official site (e.g. pay attention to the domain such as .com versus .net)
• Do not open attachments in emails. Your gut will often tell you to delete the email right away. Go with your gut.
• Look at using a safe browser plug-in. McAfee and probably other reputable companies have these available.

Our CMIT promise includes defending your network and protecting your date which yields enhanced team productivity.

5 Ways How Proactive IT Services Can Help Improve Your Business’ Security

If 2014 was “The Year of the Breach,” with a whopping 43% of North American firms telling the Ponemon Institute that they experienced a hack in 2014, then what lies ahead in 2015 for technology and security? Tech Crunch described our current state of awareness as “a tipping point for cybersecurity.” 

Once it’s clear that heightened security is necessary to maintain the health of your company’s technology, the question becomes: “What can business owners do to achieve such goals?” Without in-house staff equipped to deal with the daily ins and outs of IT, this can be a major challenge.

Which is where managed services, best defined as a proactive rather than reactive approach to IT issues, comes in. Rather than struggling to come up with the time and resources to handle IT in-house, a trusted managed services provider can improve the productivity and efficiency of your staff while also keeping your business and its critical information safe. Here’s how:

1. Anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-malware efforts. Viruses and malware are proliferating at a rate never seen before in the tech industry. Keeping up with such advances is nearly impossible for the average business owner… [Click here to read more]
2. Remote backup. Maintaining the security of your data is one thing — making sure it’s around to be kept safe is another. With a redundant and repeatable process for regular data backups… [Click here to read more]
3. Patch deployment. Would you rather struggle to play catch up with software patches and signatures, or entrust a rock-solid business partner to take care of such issues while you and your staff are out of the office and even asleep… [Click here to read more]
4. Access, identity, and firewall management. Like the necessities listed above, access, identity, and firewall management are similar bedrocks of any sound technology strategy. Keeping unauthorized users out… [Click here to read more]
5. Dynamic, mobile- and cloud-ready security. But don’t let a good office firewall lull you into a false sense of security. As Tech Crunch said this month, “Traditional infrastructure security technologies that are based on the idea of a perimeter have become obsolete. The perimeter is dead… [Click here to read more]

Improving data and technology security in 2015 doesn’t have to be an unattainable New Year’s resolution or commitment. With a managed services provider like CMIT Solutions by your side, “The Year of the Breach” can fade into the rear view mirror. Contact us today if you’d like a trusted partner to worry about your IT so that you don’t have to.

CMIT Solutions of Denver recognizes the importance of having internal security best practices in place as we became certified for the CompTIA Security Trustmark in December 2014. What are your organization’s best practices when it comes to security of information?

How Many Emails In Your Inbox Are Too Many?

Don’t count the emails – it tells you how many you have. Perhaps, you should ask yourself these questions:

• Have I ever dreaded going on a well-deserved vacation, especially out of the country, because when I return my inbox will be overflowing?
• Do I justify taking a laptop or tablet on your vacation so I can keep my inbox under control so as not to be as overwhelmed upon returning to work?
• How many times have I told myself “I’ll clean up my inbox over the weekend” or “it’s okay to have thousands of emails in my inbox because I can easily search for a person or topic?”

Over the past few months we have heard or read rave reviews from peers in the IT industry on an email inbox productivity application called SaneBox. You can test it out for a 2 week trial to determine if it fits your needs. I have heard that SaneBox makes your inbox more fun because it’s a stress reducer.

On the home page of SaneBox, there is a quote from the casting director of The Hobbit, that reads “Sanebox has changed my life. I purchased SaneBox for my entire team, and they love it as much as me!”

Are there boat loads of unimportant emails that land in your inbox that you don’t want or you may want to view later because they’re not urgent or important but good to read? Problem solved with SaneBox. One cool functionality that is available is the Snooze Folder where an email will move from  he Snooze Folder back into your inbox when it’s a better time for you. If you are the person who hits your snooze button and then don’t get up when the alarm comes back on, you may want to reconsider using the Snooze Folder. Like most things in productivity management, it takes discipline.

To provide our clients with information and solutions on increasing producitivity,

this is part of our CMIT Promise.