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Cloud Computing – Security is key!

When people think about moving their technology into the cloud, one of the most command (and important) questions and considerations is security. After all, you are (in many cases) handing over your business, systems, data and intellectual property to a third party. Do you trust them to protect YOUR best interests.

There has been a lot of discussion of this issue; here are two:

How Secure is that Cloud Vendor? 7 Basics
How Secure is That Cloud Vendor? Part Two

What do you think about security and the cloud? Leave a comment here with your thoughts.

Jefric Consulting, LLC
http://www.jefric.com
IT Services and Consulting
Microsoft Small Business Specialist
info@jefric.com

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By AlanBuckwalter – February 3, 2011

February 2011 Small Business Technology News from Jefric Consulting

February 2011 – Keeping up with key business / technology issues in the news is difficult. Let Jefric Consulting help you.

Click here to view the February edition of our monthly Small Business Technology Newsletter.
http://www.jefric.com/news/201102.JefricConsultingNewsletter.html

All newsletters can be found here.
http://www.jefric.com/news/news.htm

Technology is an essential tool for success. Your business can use technology as a strategic asset rather than treat it as an expense.

Jefric Consulting provides IT consulting services and custom technology solutions for Small Businesses. With over 30 years of business and technology experience, we are uniquely qualified to work with you and understand your company goals, develop and execute a strategy that delivers the results you want in a cost efficient manner. Solutions include Windows (Small Business) Server, Exchange E-mail, remote access, mobile computing, office collaboration and much more. Where appropriate, off-premise hosted solutions are available, reducing the need for onsite office computing equipment. We want you to get the most value from technology and work smarter, not harder, improve efficiency, and increase revenue and profit for your small business.

Jefric Consulting is a Microsoft Partner, a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft Small Business Specialist.

Web: http://www.jefric.com
Blog: http://blog.jefric.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jefricllc

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By AlanBuckwalter – January 31, 2011

What is a Small Business IT Consultant?

Starting and growing a small business is no easy task. Even having the best business plan does not guarantee success. It requires (at a minimum) a balance of talent and resources, with the right level of expertise in a wide variety of disciplines. Small business owners (and employees) must remain focused on their product or service, acquiring and satisfying clients, and generating revenue and profits. To help round out their team, small business owners might enlist the help of a business coach, attorney, accountant and marketing specialist, and others. What is surprising however is that it is estimated that more than 50% of small businesses today perform their own technology planning, implementation and support; done by either the owner themselves or some other person in the office as a part time job. This is time taken away from servicing clients, the business and making money. Furthermore, the IT solutions they will have are likely to be no better than the knowledge of someone who is not versed or trained in technology. Is this a cost effective or strategic approach for success? Probably not.

A Small Business IT Consultant is someone who will work with you, the business owner (or other senior executive of your firm), understand how the business operates and makes money, creating and executing a business technology strategy for success. This should include a variety of options that will enable the company to grow, improve efficiency and productivity, save and make (more) money. Essentially being successful!

While there are a number of highly skilled technology service providers who will support your small business, you will want to find one that is more than an “order taker”; performing the specific implementation and (“break-fix”) support tasks that you design. This is again a scenario that will yield you a solution only as good as your technical knowledge. This is where an IT consultant will work with you, help you and add value.

As a small business owner, you have enough things on your plate to worry about. Technology should not be one of them. Find a Small Business IT Consultant who will be your partner for success.

Jefric Consulting, LLC
Small Business IT Services and Consulting
Microsoft Small Business Specialist
Microsoft Certified Professional
info@jefric.com
http://www.jefric.com/
http://blog.jefric.com

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By AlanBuckwalter – January 20, 2011

Backups, Backups, Backups!!!

It’s been reported that more than 50% of small businesses do not perform a regularly scheduled back of their office computers and of those that do, 85% never test their backups to insure that they will work when they need them.

Backups are a critical part of running your business and any disaster recovery or business continuity plan. This is clearly an area where one size does NOT fit all. The right solution should be based on your tolerance for data loss and the time you can afford to be down. It is vital to design and implement a solution that minimizes the impact to your business, employees and clients.

Things to keep in mind:

• Backup key and business critical files (e.g. financial data, contracts, etc.) frequently, keeping multiple versions. In the event that your technology is infected with malware and you don’t detect it right away, using an older backup set may be necessary to avoid any possible data corruption or loss of integrity with the backups.
• Create a backup schedule, rotate your backup media and take them offsite regularly. In the event of a natural disaster at your office you will want to make sure you have a copy of your data available to restore.
• Keep your software installation disks and software keys in a safe place, offsite if appropriate. In the event of a failure that requires a re-install or a new setup, these will be critical to rebuild your environment before restoring your data
• Create periodic backup “images” of key servers and workstations, including the operating system and applications. This can speed the recovery process in the event of a disk or other equipment failure, saving the time of rebuilding these systems from scratch.
• While onsite / local backup devices are less expensive and typically faster to recover data from, maintenance and support of these devices (e.g. changing and rotating them offsite) can be a challenge. People forget to change the device or take it offsite, the backup devices can fail as well, etc. An online backup service is also an excellent way to copy key and business critical files offsite, backed up safely and securely.
• Test your backups! Just because you have implemented a backup plan, don’t assume that it is (always) working. Test your backups regularly by restoring some or all of your data to the same or alternate equipment, making sure that you can get your data back when you really need it. As your business requires (and your industry mandates), you will want to test your disaster recovery and business continuity plan on a regular schedule.

For more information or help getting started, visit our website: http://www.jefric.com or give us a call 201-370-6430.

Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.

Jefric Consulting, LLC
IT Services and Consulting
Microsoft Small Business Specialist
http://www.jefric.com
201.370.6430

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By AlanBuckwalter – January 5, 2011

January 2011 Small Business Technology News from Jefric Consulting

January 2011 – Keeping up with key business / technology issues in the news is difficult. Let Jefric Consulting help you.

Happy New Year!

Click here to view the January edition of our monthly Small Business Technology Newsletter.
http://www.jefric.com/news/201101.JefricConsultingNewsletter.html

All newsletters can be found here.
http://www.jefric.com/news/news.htm

Technology is an essential tool for success. Your business can use technology as a strategic asset rather than treat it as an expense.

Jefric Consulting provides IT consulting services and custom technology solutions for Small Businesses. With over 30 years of business and technology experience, we are uniquely qualified to work with you and understand your company goals, develop and execute a strategy that delivers the results you want in a cost efficient manner. Solutions include Windows (Small Business) Server, Exchange E-mail, remote access, mobile computing, office collaboration and much more. Where appropriate, off-premise hosted solutions are available, reducing the need for onsite office computing equipment. We want you to get the most value from technology and work smarter, not harder, improve efficiency, and increase revenue and profit for your small business.

Jefric Consulting is a Microsoft Partner, a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft Small Business Specialist.

Web: http://www.jefric.com

Blog: http://blog.jefric.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jefricllc

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By AlanBuckwalter – January 3, 2011

December 2010 Small Business Technology News from Jefric Consulting

December 2010 – Keeping up with key business / technology issues in the news is difficult. Let Jefric Consulting help you.

Click here to view the December edition of our monthly Small Business Technology Newsletter.
http://www.jefric.com/news/201012.JefricConsultingNewsletter.html

All newsletters can be found here.
http://www.jefric.com/news/news.htm

Technology is an essential tool for success. Your business can use technology as a strategic asset rather than treat it as an expense.

Jefric Consulting provides IT consulting services and custom technology solutions for Small Businesses. With over 30 years of business and technology experience, we are uniquely qualified to work with you and understand your company goals, develop and execute a strategy that delivers the results you want in a cost efficient manner. Solutions include Windows (Small Business) Server, Exchange E-mail, remote access, mobile computing, office collaboration and much more. Where appropriate, off-premise hosted solutions are available, reducing the need for onsite office computing equipment. We want you to get the most value from technology and work smarter, not harder, improve efficiency, and increase revenue and profit for your small business.

Jefric Consulting is a Microsoft Partner, a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft Small Business Specialist.

Web: http://www.jefric.com
Blog: http://blog.jefric.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jefricllc

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By AlanBuckwalter – November 30, 2010

November 2010 Small Business Technology News from Jefric Consulting

November 2010 – Keeping up with key business / technology issues in the news is difficult. Let Jefric Consulting help you.

Click here to view the November edition of our monthly Small Business Technology Newsletter.
http://www.jefric.com/news/201011.JefricConsultingNewsletter.html

All newsletters can be found here.
http://www.jefric.com/news/news.htm

Technology is an essential tool for success. Your business can use technology as a strategic asset rather than treat it as an expense.

Jefric Consulting provides IT consulting services and custom technology solutions for Small Businesses. With over 30 years of business and technology experience, we are uniquely qualified to work with you and understand your company goals, develop and execute a strategy that delivers the results you want in a cost efficient manner. Solutions include Windows (Small Business) Server, Exchange E-mail, remote access, mobile computing, office collaboration and much more. Where appropriate, off-premise hosted solutions are available, reducing the need for onsite office computing equipment. We want you to get the most value from technology and work smarter, not harder, improve efficiency, and increase revenue and profit for your small business.

Jefric Consulting is a Microsoft Partner, a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and a Microsoft Small Business Specialist.

Web: http://www.jefric.com
Blog: http://blog.jefric.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jefricllc

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By AlanBuckwalter – November 1, 2010

The case for mobile computing and Wi-Fi – SAVE MONEY

Do you have field employees? Does your staff spend (a significant amount of) time out of the office during the day, only to rush back at the end of the day to wrap up their “normal” work, accumulating a significant expense (in overtime, and more) for your business? If you answered yes, you are not alone.

This is a very common scenario for many businesses, and while Smartphone’s and PDA’s have helped clear some of the email backlog there is often other work to be done requiring access to office systems and services and returning to the office.

By using a local and Free Wi-Fi Hot-Spot (see “Looking to be productive anywhere? Free Wi-Fi can help!”,) and one of a variety of technology solutions your staff can be productive during random moments of idle / downtime, waiting time, etc., decreasing (or eliminating those) unnecessary trips back to the office (during or at the end of the day) and SAVING YOU MONEY.

For example:

1) If you are using Cloud services for email, file sharing, or business applications, you may only need an internet connection and a web browser to be productive like your back in the office. Instead of using a desktop, the same functionality is available on a notebook, net-book, tablet / iPad or Smartphone.

2) If you have an office server with remote desktop / access capabilities, your technology may only be a VPN or Remote Desktop connection away. Again, by using a (shared) notebook, net-book, or tablet / iPad, access to key business services and technology may be an internet connection away.

Wouldn’t you like to save money? Reduce or eliminate your overtime spend? Get your employees home to their families at a normal hour? Consider the possibilities of mobile computing. You may be surprised!

For more information or help getting started, visit our website: http://www.jefric.com or give us a call 201-370-6430.

Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.

Jefric Consulting, LLC
IT Services and Consulting
Microsoft Small Business Specialist
http://www.jefric.com
201.370.6430

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By AlanBuckwalter – October 27, 2010

Jefric Consulting, LLC has a new LinkedIn Group

Jefric Consulting has created a group on LinkedIn, a forum where businesses can discuss, share and learn about a variety of technology issues of value and importance.

Come join us here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – October 8, 2010

Essential Office Technology for Pennies a Day

Is your business email branded to your domain, “@mycompany.com” or does it end in “gmail.com”, “aol.com”, “yahoo.com” or something else? When your email is sitting in the Inbox of a client or vendor, do you want them to think of your business or the phone / cable company?

Are you able to easily share documents and collaborate with people inside and outside your organization? Is web conferencing something that can help improve productivity, save time and money across your business? Would instant messaging be valuable within your business, helping your employees communicate faster and more effectively with eachother?

If you answered yes to one or all of these questions, the Microsoft Online Services may be able to help you.

Microsoft Online Services offers a solution for all four of these essential business needs, with NO onsite server required, and the ability to access your information from virtually any web enabled device. Email (Exchange), Collaboration (Sharepoint), Web Conferencing (Livemeeting) and Instant Messaging (Office Communication) are all available individually or as a suite for a low monthly subscription fee.

For more information or help getting started visit our website: http://www.jefric.com or give us a call 201-370-6430.

Jefric Consulting – We want to help you value technology as a strategic asset, rather than an ongoing expense.

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By AlanBuckwalter – October 5, 2010