Trusting the Cloud: Is It Right for Your Business?

There is little doubt that cloud computing will become increasingly important to businesses in the coming years.  If you're a business owner or an IT manager, you should take the time to learn more about cloud computing and how it may benefit your company.  But you should also know that cloud computing is not perfect.  Both Microsoft and Google have suffered cloud service outages in recent weeks, and this is not the first time it has happened.  It probably won't be the last time, either.  Does that mean you shouldn't trust your business's applications to the cloud?  Nope, it just means you need to be aware of the issues and know how to deal with them.  After all, network outages are not something new with the cloud.  With an on-site network, a server can crash, a router can fail, and a host of other problems can occur.  The difference is if your own server crashes it's a local event that doesn't make headlines.  If Microsoft's cloud crashes, businesses around the globe are affected, and that's news.  But the actual impact on your business may be less.  How long would it take you to recover if your own server crashed?  You'd need a new server (or create a new virtual server on one of your other servers), you'd need to re-install applications, and you'd need to recover data from your backups (you do have backups, right?).  This could take days.  With a good cloud service you could be back up in minutes or hours.  Don't get turned off by the idea of moving to the cloud just because of an occasional headline.  Think about it in terms of your other alternatives.

Cloud services aren't right for every business or for every application within a business.  But there are opportunities to improve efficiencies and reduce costs by deploying them judiciously.  Just use good, business-class cloud service providers and take preventative actions to minimize the impact of service disruptions.  Here's an interesting article from PCWorld that talks about the topic in more detail: Microsoft and Google Suffer Outages: Can You Trust the Cloud?

Five IT Trends for 2012 Every Small Business Should Know

At TeamLogic IT, we want our clients to stay on top of the latest technology trends impacting small and medium size businesses. Our corporate president, Chuck Lennon, serves as Vice Chairman of CompTIA, the IT industry’s leading trade association. It’s a role that gives us considerable insight into industry trends. Here are five trends we believe will have particular impact on small businesses over the coming year:

Cloud Services

“The cloud” is getting lots of hype these days. Microsoft even touts it in television ads. But what is it? In the simplest sense, going to “the cloud” means getting IT services on-line instead of on-site. Today you can use the cloud for everything from email to spreadsheets to data backups. You can even buy cloud-based server space to potentially eliminate the need for an on-site server. If you use Gmail, Carbonite, or Google Docs, you’re already using cloud services. But not every cloud service can meet the needs of businesses. What would you do if your email was out of service for a day or more? This happens all too often with services designed primarily for the consumer market. You need services designed for businesses. Going to the cloud also impacts the design of your network—you’ll need a fast, reliable Internet connection.

If you’re thinking of moving to the cloud, make sure you know what to watch out for with cloud services. Keep in mind that if your Internet goes down, you will be off line until it is back up. Also know that you don’t have to make a complete switch overnight. You can start gradually, perhaps with hosted email or off-site backups, while keeping business-critical software applications on in-house servers.

Mobility & Connectivity

This has been called the “consumerization” of IT.  Employees want to be connected at all times. They are buying smartphones, tablet computers, and netbooks on their own and want to use them on the company network. There’s even a term for the trend—BYOD, or “Bring Your Own Device.” But it’s fraught with perils. How can a business protect critical business data when that data resides on an employee’s personal device? What happens if the device is stolen or they leave the company?  What about the possibility that the device may be seized indefinitely if it contains data that is part of a legal dispute? And what about the extra workload thrust onto your IT technicians who now have to figure out how to securely connect a wide variety of devices to the company network? You need plans to address questions such as these before implementing BYOD.

Integration of Phones and Data

Remember when your phones and your computer network were different systems? That day is long past. Savvy businesses know they can integrate their office phones, mobile phones, and computers into a unified whole. Today you can have voice mails forwarded to you as emails, have your office phone and mobile phone ring simultaneously, and plug a company phone into your home network to use it as just another business phone extension. Some companies have switched from conventional phone systems to Voice over IP (VoIP) systems that use your computer network for calls. Two kinds of VoIP systems are common today. The first uses ordinary phone lines to deliver phone calls into your office and then distributes them via VoIP once inside. The second, known as Hosted VoIP, eliminates the phone company entirely; your calls are carried completely over the Internet. Each has advantages and disadvantages, so you will need to search to find the best solution for your business. A low-cost Hosted VoIP network designed primarily for residential users may not be adequate for a business. And you’ll need to make sure your network is up to the task. Audio quality may suffer if all traffic on your network is given equal priority. You need a router with a QoS (Quality of Service) function that puts a priority on telephone traffic. Otherwise your call may turn to gibberish when your neighbor in the next cubicle starts downloading a large data file.

Security

With the prevalence of laptops, smartphones, tablet computers, etc., in the business world, the risk of data loss has dramatically increased. And the sensitivity of data stored on mobile devices is growing. Employee records, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords are just a few kinds of sensitive data that may be stored on mobile devices. The penalties for unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data can be severe. If you’re in the healthcare industry, for example, penalties for unauthorized disclosure of patient records can range from $50,000 up to $1.5 million, depending on the level of your neglect. You must also notify patients of any unauthorized disclosures, a potential PR nightmare. The Payment Card Industry has similar penalties for unauthorized disclosures of credit card information. To minimize the risk of data on mobile devices being compromised, it is critical that these data files be encrypted. Robust encryption algorithms will prevent anyone from viewing the data without an encryption key. As a further level of protection, you should implement a remote-wipe process that lets you quickly disable any lost or stolen mobile device.

Integration of IT and AV

With the growing use of video conferencing, webinars, and distance learning, audio-visual services are becoming increasingly important to the business world. Traditional video projectors are giving way to large, highly-interactive video interfaces such as the InFocus Mondopad, billed as a “55-inch tablet computer.” In times past, the technician who serviced your audio-visual equipment needed different skills from the technician who supported your IT network.  Now, everything is part of the same network.  Rather than contracting with a separate AV tech, you need an IT tech who knows how to support all the devices attached to your network.

Whether you need a server in the cloud, a modern VoIP phone system, a compliant security strategy, or just a knowledgeable, reliable IT company who can reduce downtime on your existing computer network, TeamLogic IT can help. Our certified technicians understand how to assess and solve your IT challenges. They are familiar with the latest technologies and can sort through the myriad of conflicting information to determine the best IT strategy for your business. Give us a call and let us show you how we can help.

For more information contact:

TeamLogic IT

200 Montgomery Drive, Suite C

Santa Rosa, CA

                                                                                                         707-293-9525

TeamLogic IT Exec Named Top Managed Services Executive

Each year, MSPmentor, a publication of Nine Lives Media Inc.,  identifies the world’s top IT managed services experts, which according to their site include, "professionals who have mastered business leadership, marketing, sales, technology, coaching and other areas within the managed services market."  We're happy to announce that Chuck Lennon, President of the national TeamLogic IT, Inc., was once again named a top IT expert.  You can read about it here and see the full list here.

It's been a busy year for Chuck.  He was also recently named Vice Chairman of CompTIA, the industry's leading trade association.  Chuck's leadership role helps assure that all TeamLogic IT offices stay current with the latest industry trends to better serve our clients.  I'll cover some of those trends in my next blog entry.