[featured_image]By DynaSis

With the release of Windows 8.1, which tweaked Windows 8—and addressed some user complaints about the excessively "mobile-style" interface—many companies may be wondering if it is time for an upgrade. After all, Windows 8 gives uses a near seamless experience from the desktop to mobile devices, and Microsoft touts it as the most productive and stable user operating system, ever.  (For more about Windows 8 features, read this month's newsletter.)

Whether or not that's enough reason to upgrade depends on which version of Windows your company is running. Support for the hugely popular, widely deployed Windows XP ends in April 2014. Despite rumored pleas from corporate users to give it a softer landing, Microsoft will likely stick with that date, or something close. As a result, Windows XP usage is plummeting—from nearly 40% of businesses and users in July 2013 to 31% in October 2013 (per statistics firm NetMarketShare).

The end of support means more than not being able to pay Microsoft for phone assistance. After Windows XP's official "end of life" date on April 8, 2014, Microsoft will stop providing patches and security updates. Patches are crucial to system security, and be assured that hackers follow how many Windows XP machines are still in operation. After that time, they will likely start targeting them aggressively—and successfully. To avoid extreme exposure to malware and other nasties, companies should upgrade to a current version of Windows. (There is no sense in moving to Windows Vista or any other version of Windows before 7.)

Windows 7 has the largest Microsoft OS install base (near 50%, per NetMarketShare) among Windows users. However, Windows 8 is gaining ground, quickly—it has a nearly 10% install base within the first year, which puts it on a trajectory close to that of Windows XP when it debuted.

More importantly, Microsoft has made Windows 8 very affordable to all companies running any version of Windows, enacting no pricing "penalty" for upgrading, no matter how old the version of Windows it is replacing. It is keeping this approach with Windows 8.1, which will cost $119.99 per user for companies running Windows XP, Vista or 7; $199.99 for the Pro version.

Best of all, Microsoft is offering full-version software at these bargain prices. In other words, the purchase conveys a license for Windows 8.1 on any machine, previously running any operating system (OS). Each OS install is completely fresh, so there will be no upgrade "glitches" to work through. (All data stays intact; but existing software must be reinstalled.)

Of course, you may need hardware and possibly software upgrades, depending on the age of your equipment and applications. Nevertheless, the situation is only going to get worse, and companies that start the process now can budget and plan for avoiding danger before April 2014 rolls around.

With Windows XP support ending—and the OS already being a target of hackers for its less-than-robust security—we strongly recommend all our customers move to Windows 8.1. It's a bit different from what you are used to, but you'll be able to stick with it longer than you can Windows 7. If you don't upgrade, you won't perish, but you will be left standing in the cold, with you and your IT provider unable to fully protect your systems from the attacks that will ensue.

To discuss the upgrade process or start creating your plan, give us a call.

[featured_image]By DynaSis

Earlier this month, I talked about unplanned downtime in the context of disaster recovery and business continuity. That discussion got me thinking about the cost of the incidental downtime―the little inconveniences that impact some businesses on a regular basis. Things like employees not being able to log into the company’s network because the firm’s IT guy forgot to update everyone with new passwords on the first of the month. Or, even the tiny amounts of downtime that result when you work with a reliable (but not best practices) data hosting service.

This incidental―and incremental―downtime can really add up. Take, for example, the variations in “high availability” among Internet and data center providers. How much difference can there be between 99% uptime (industry average) and 99.99% uptime (what DynaSis delivers)? As it turns out, the difference can be substantial.

Let’s assume you have 50 employees that rely on their computers at the workplace each day. Let’s also assume your burdened hourly rate (pay plus benefits) is the national average ($29.11 per hour, per the U.S. Department of Labor; yours might be much higher). 50 times $29.11 equals $1455.50. That is your cost, per hour, of having your computing systems and/or network unavailable for an hour.

Now, let’s extrapolate that cost in terms of a network/systems provider’s availability over one year. If your provider promises 99% availability (uptime), over one year you could expect your systems to be down for 88 hours―365 x 24 x 1%. If your provider promises 99.99% availability, over the course of a year you could expect your systems to be down for .88 hours―365 x 24 x .01%. That’s a big difference.

Multiply that figure by the average burdened hourly rate we established earlier to get your downtime risk, in terms of wasted employee resource, and the comparison becomes even starker. With 99% uptime, your downtime risk is $128,084 per year. With the 99.99% availability provider, it’s $1,280.84.

Of course, these downtime figures include “down hours” in the calculations―periods when the office is closed and no one is using your systems. If you calculate the figure using eight hours per day rather than 24, the numbers drop substantially.

However, unless you work with a 24/7 managed IT systems provider, there will be no one in the office to note the downtime when it occurs. Depending on the nature of the event, it might interrupt backup operations, necessitate server reboots, and cause other disruptions that will result in unplanned downtime the next morning.

Furthermore, if your company relies heavily on technology―if you offer 24-hour e-commerce or service; for example, the cost of downtime escalates considerably. (When Amazon.com went dark for 30 minutes in August, it lost more than $66,000 per minute.) Furthermore, these calculations don’t account for lost business or reputation, which can occur frighteningly quickly in today’s “instant gratification” marketplace.

Finally, these figures are for availability of the data center and its network delivery mechanism, and do not include downtime from problems within your internal systems, like incorrectly configured network settings or server crashes. Take those into account, and unless you have a trusted rapid-response team, downtime can be a lot greater.

So, here’s a thought. If you currently work with a network provider or data host that isn’t delivering 99.99% uptime, or you have been disappointed by an IT consultant or in-house resource that cannot trace and resolve downtime problems quickly, give me a call. We’ll show you the “up” side to implementing round-the-clock systems monitoring and support.

By DynaSis

In my last few mobile productivity articles, I’ve talked about specific challenges and solutions. This time, we’ll look at mobile productivity from a strategic perspective. Few people still dispute that workplace mobility is both valuable and inevitable for firms that wish to remain competitive. Analysts Frost and Sullivan announced―in 2010―that enterprises were the new catalyst behind the growth of mobile.

However, embracing the concept of mobility is different from implementing a comprehensive mobile strategy. Many companies―especially small and medium businesses (SMBs)―simply avoid the issue altogether. They either operate in near or total lock-down mode (with some employees adopting or expanding the mobile office without management’s consent) or they throw up their hands and treat mobility―and especially BYOD (bring your own device)―like a child that’s run amok. They try to keep it in their sights and bear the expense and fall-out of whatever damage it does.

To end this impasse, companies need a clear mobile strategy, thoughtfully developed and equitably implemented and governed. With such a plan enacted, SMBs can move beyond the distraction of BYOD and other challenges and focus on the real goal of mobility―to drive better business outcomes.

So, what are the pillars of a mobile strategy? They’re surprisingly similar to those we recommend for business IT strategies, overall.

Opportunity Development and Analysis: The first issue you should consider (although it may be the last you finally resolve) is what you hope to gain from a mobile program. What level of risk can you tolerate in order to achieve those goals? How will you quantify the effort and measure its success? What mechanisms will you use to adjust your strategy if it is not successful, and how often will you make adjustments?

Governance: With an idea of what you want to accomplish, you can begin to set the framework for achieving your targets. Governance helps you codify such pivotal concerns as who handles administration and management of the effort, how you will comply with regulatory requirements, if any, and whether (and how) individual department managers can authorize activities, define specialized operating parameters, create department-specific apps, etc.

Platform: Will you standardize on a single mobile device operating system (OS) such as iOS or Android, or do you want workers to have true BYOD flexibility? Supporting multiple-OS devices (and even multiple device types under the same OS) increases management complexity but enhances worker satisfaction.

User Experience: What do you want the user to be able to DO with their mobile devices when operating within the company’s framework? Does your choice of device management platform support users’ expectations? If vendors or customers will be able to access your mobile resources, do you want their experience to be branded?

Security: What data in your organization absolutely cannot end up on user devices, and how will you secure it? How will you secure the information that users CAN access from mobile devices, and how will you handle lost/stolen devices?

At what level will you support BYOD (if at all)? If personal devices will be allowed, will IT want permission to wipe the data if the device is compromised or the worker leaves the firm? How will you handle security training and what will your policy be for workers who break the rules?

As you can see, there are a number of important issues to consider when planning your mobile strategy, and the examples I have given do not cover every aspect of the challenge. Many of these issues may seem unrelated to productivity, when in fact they are essential. If management and workers are operating without a clear strategy and related policies in place, neither companies nor their employees know what to expect from mobile working. That uncertainty will stifle enthusiasm and productivity growth, hamper adoption, and cause staff to be uncomfortable with the entire effort. To learn how DynaSis can help you develop a mobile strategy that works for your firm, give me a call.

By DynaSis

I was perusing the Internet recently when I saw a pop-up ad for an IT services firm that offered both cloud storage and managed cloud storage. Essentially, this company rents its clients raw space on cloud servers for a very low fee, but if a client wants any help getting its data to the servers, or managing it for optimal efficiency and access, there is an additional cost―and a pretty hefty one, too.

For large enterprises with a team of in-house IT experts, I can see the appeal of utilizing the “storage only” option. Why pay for third-party cloud management when you have staff that can load your files to the cloud, manage the security and continuity of connections and access mechanisms, and otherwise keep the cloud functioning?

The problem for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) is that they usually don’t have the expertise to perform these tasks. They buy some of the cheap cloud storage, realize they are out of their depth, technically, and end up spending big bucks for minimal assistance creating and managing their cloud environments.

Companies that plan their move to the cloud and thoroughly explore their options can avoid such unnecessary, tacked-on expenses. Many competent IT providers―and not just bulk cloud storage vendors―host managed cloud servers and include IT assistance as part of an economically priced package. For even more ROI, they often can bundle them with other services that help secure a company’s on-site network and IT resources, as well.

Furthermore, there are now solutions that can turn a company’s local (in-house) servers into cloud servers quickly, inexpensively and with very stringent security. DynaSis recently developed one of these solutions, DynaSis BLUE, for its customers. A tiny software agent, installed on an in-house server, enables authorized individuals to access company-designated files, folders and applications securely over an Internet connection. The agent consumes minimal space and system resources on the server itself.

This is just one example of the many ways companies are going to the cloud without blowing their budgets on unexpected, tacked-on expenses. Our Cloud Readiness Assessment can help you evaluate whether your company is ready for the cloud and determine which model might suit you best.

To learn more, give me a call.

By DynaSis

Anyone using a computer has heard the warnings about malware and viruses—and probably other, inscrutable names like "Trojan" and "spyware." What are these threats, and does each require a separate defense strategy?

The term "Malware" covers all of types of malicious software, including viruses, Trojans and spyware. If a program is harmful in nature—whether it captures information on your operations (spyware), masquerades as a helpful program but delivers a destructive payload (a Trojan) or corrupts your hard drive (usually a virus)—it is malware.

Researchers have created different names for the various types of malware because they work through different mechanisms and/or cause different problems. However, all are intended to be harmful and can potentially disrupt or destroy your business.

More important than these distinctions, for businesses and their users, is to consider that malware (and especially insidious spyware) is exploding at a nearly inconceivable rate. The AV-TEST laboratory—a recognized malware testing lab—records approximately 5 million new malicious programs every month.

To reduce their odds of becoming victims, companies—especially those that allow workers to use Android devices (where malware and spyware are rampant)—must enact a stringent defense against all malware—from spyware to viruses and everything in between. The good news is that a single, well-designed solution will protect against the great majority of malware threats, including the ones mentioned above.

DynaSis has always offered its customers protection against malware, and we are upgrading our protection package to make it even more vigilant regarding malware and spyware. Stay tuned for more information!

By DynaSis

Last month, I introduced our fall Disaster Recovery Education initiative and promised to provide you with more valuable information. This week, we’ll talk about length of downtime (period without access to some or all of your computing resources) and its cost to your organization.

A decade ago, many companies considered a week or more of downtime―in the wake of a disaster―to be acceptable. Small and medium businesses (SMBs) were becoming increasingly computerized and reliant on the Internet, but the hunger for instantaneous communications was nowhere near as ubiquitous as it is now.

Today, many large enterprises measure acceptable downtime in hours (if not minutes) and cannot imagine going for a week or more without access to their email, corporate files, customer records, business processes and other important revenue drivers. SMBs need to adopt this same strategy to compete effectively―and it’s becoming increasingly affordable to do so.

Let’s consider the cost of downtime. It varies by the business, industry and business application, of course, but it is considerable in every instance. Analytical software developer Alinean ran some numbers and determined that the average cost per minute of infrastructure downtime is $700. Having a business application down can cost far more.

Alinean placed the cost per minute of messaging outages at $1,000; with e-commerce pegging at an estimated $10,000 per minute. Supply-chain management software, where system downtime can literally disrupt your entire supply chain for a week or more following restoration, tops the charts at $11,000 per minute.
For SMBs that don’t conduct e-commerce, rely on complicated supply chains or have legions of salespeople in the field, these numbers may seem excessive. To help you get a handle on your own cost of downtime, I’ve provided some practical calculations you can run.

Quantifying downtime, at its most fundamental level, requires calculating two primary losses: reduction to individual or workgroup productivity and loss of transactions. Calculating both helps you pinpoint wasted expenses and lost revenue.

For the first number, you’ll run the “CPA” calculation:

C = average employee cost (salaries or wages + benefits)
P = number of people affected
A = amount of time they are affected

As of September 2013, the average U.S. average “burdened” salary (compensation plus taxes and benefits) per employee was $29.11 per hour, per the U.S. Department of Labor. (Calculating your real number would be more accurate, of course).

Multiply this figure by the number of employees in your operation, then by the amount of downtime you consider acceptable in the event of an emergency. That figure equals your cost of lost productivity.
For business impact, the calculations become more difficult. While you can calculate this per employee, it’s likely easiest to multiply your transactions per hour or day by the average profit per transaction and then by the downtime duration.

These calculations do not consider lost customer good will (or even lost customers), nor do they consider any overtime you will authorize to bring the firm back up to speed in the event of a disaster. These numbers are hard to gauge, but a good figure would be to increase the “people” and “business” numbers by a percentage that increases with the length of downtime (5% for durations of a few days; 25-30% for downtime of a month or more.)

Once you’ve calculated your downtime costs for a variety of disaster scenarios (server crash―1-3 day of disruption; fire or major weather event; possibly weeks or months of disruption), compare it against the cost to reduce your downtime exposure.

If it still seems expensive to implement a near-instant recovery plan, give me a call. Our IT experts can show you how affordable it is to never lose access to your data―even for a minute.

DynaSis, Atlanta’s premier provider of IT services and support for small and medium businesses (SMBs), today announced the debut of DynaSis BLUE, an affordable, secure cloud file system. BLUE turns customers’ on-site file servers into in-house cloud servers, enabling firms to harness the power of cloud-based file sharing and storage without relinquishing control of corporate files to a third-party provider.

“Workers increasingly need access to their company’s files and other resources from remote locations, but many firms aren’t comfortable storing digital assets on data center servers in a traditional cloud configuration,” said DynaSis President Dave Moorman. “BLUE creates an enterprise-grade, stringently secured and encrypted cloud on the client’s own server, enabling authorized personnel to access and share files over any Internet-enabled computing device, including mobile phones and tablets."

To deploy BLUE, DynaSis installs a tiny software agent on a client's file server and then configures the in-house cloud environment to meet the customer's specifications. BLUE incorporates 448-bit Blowfish encryption, two-factor authentication, full auditability and granular user-access and security controls.

Far more than a simple cloud-sharing site, DynaSis BLUE provisions companies with a comprehensive, 100% synchronized and backed-up solution that offers significantly better governance than leading competitors.

BLUE is a perfect solution for SMBs due to its affordability, ease of deployment and low impact on system resources. It does not require a special server configuration, does not impact server performance, and does not require firms to purchase additional servers, cloud storage or a VPN (virtual private network).

Yet it gives these companies’ remote workers near instant data accessibility from anywhere in the world. The deploying company also controls which data remote workers can view and share, with DynaSis enabling cloud-based access for only those documents and folders the client company designates.

“DynaSis BLUE was built from the ground-up as a highly secure, accountable business productivity tool,” said Moorman. “It enables SMBs to reap the benefits of remote file sharing and collaboration without the up-front investment or effort usually associated with developing corporate clouds.”

By Dave Moorman, DynaSis

The current forward momentum and pace of technology is extraordinary. It now pervades every aspect of business, from customer relations management to finance, as software solutions (often cloud-based) increasingly replace manual effort.

Yet, companies on tight budgets frequently struggle to fund the improvements that will enable them to leverage technology effectively and put it to work in their firms. Or, they are afraid to upgrade to new solutions because they don’t think they have the resources and skill to manage them. In the end, they muddle along, focusing on maintaining outdated solutions and missing out on the tremendous efficiency and productivity gains that newer technologies bring.

If this sounds like your company―if there are key areas of the business where you could put technology to work for your benefit but are not―it’s time to reevaluate your stance. And, if you are not working with an IT services provider―or your current provider is more of a “Hail Mary” problem-solver than a partner in helping you select and implement new technologies―you should reevaluate that decision, as well.

The question, then, is how? With the barrage of information on big data, mobility, disaster recovery, BYOD (bring your own device) and other technology challenges, where do you start the conversation? Following are some considerations that may help you answer that question.

Know Your Organization and Its IT Needs. Conduct a thorough assessment of your organization and how it uses technology currently. Which technologies are mission-critical? Which operations are absolutely essential to your daily operations? These are the areas where IT investments will likely result in the fastest payback.

Recognize Your Vulnerability. No company wants to have its data stolen or its network hacked, but for some companies, a security breach could threaten their business continuity due to lost customer good will, legal or regulatory ramifications, and other issues. Ensuring your business assets are sufficiently robust for your level of risk tolerance should come before adding a new sales management platform or other technology tool.

Understand Your Staff and Its Preferences.  What do your workers wants from their work environment? Do you have a troop of young workers that expect (and know how to utilize) new systems and solutions, or is your team composed of mostly older employees who are uncomfortable with “new-fangled” technologies? Issues such as staff retention (younger workers) and resistance to adoption (older workers) should be considerations for your IT strategy and decisions.

Define What Success Looks Like. It amazes me how few SMBs clearly identify their metrics for success. I don’t mean having an overall goal ―“We want to achieve $5 million in revenue by 2015”―but rather the performance indicators that let a company know if it is moving toward a vibrant and prosperous future. Companies that know (and can measure) whether or not they are succeeding in propelling more business value have a better chance of achieving their goals―and of choosing the right technologies to help them along the way.

If it sounds like a big effort to perform all these evaluations, that’s because it is. But it is also essential, not only to your accomplishments with technology but also to your long-term success as a company. The good news is you do not have to walk this path alone. Entrust your top personnel―and maybe even some trusted vendors―with providing input during your journey to discovery. If you currently work with an IT provider, include them in the conversation, as they will be making the recommendations that align with your plans. If you are not certain your IT firm is up to the task, or you do not currently work with anyone, give me a call. Our virtual CIOs specialize in helping companies develop technology roadmaps that drive businesses in the right direction.

By Dave Moorman, DynaSis

Social media activities are capturing many headlines these days, whether it's a celebrity tweeting something foolish or an employee being fired for posting the wrong thing on Facebook. These stories make for interesting reading, but they obscure the underlying message—social media is here to stay. Not only has it become deeply entwined with many peoples' lives, but the newer generation of workers is positively addicted to it.

Savvy, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are exploring social media in all its aspects. This effort goes well beyond creating social media policies for usage in the office or even launching social marketing campaigns. Social media in the enterprise, for which the new catchphrase is "social business," can include internal collaboration between employees and contractors, external communication and information sharing with vendors and customers, and much more.

Nearly 62% of businesses are expanding their investments in social business, per an IBM Institute for Business Value report. Increasingly, companies are weaving social throughout their operations—from marketing and customer service  to team collaboration and R&D.  The immediacy that social media offers has incredible advantages in today's fast-paced business world. Consider these examples:

• Attendees at a conference discover when arriving on Sunday that their packets lack Monday's session brochure. If office workers or meeting planners are monitoring conference Twitter feed, they can resolve the problem that night and ensure the brochures are awaiting everyone the next morning. If the problem had to be address via email, it MIGHT be resolved as quickly—if an attendee knows where to send the message. Otherwise, a phone message might go unnoticed until the next morning, and attendees might miss getting maximum value from the morning's sessions.
• An employee finds conflicting information in a report he or she is preparing for an important meeting. Their regular "go-to" person is unavailable, but the company has built a network of designated experts in various topics and connected them via internal social media. As a result, the employee can post out his or her question and it will appear, instantly, on the desks of qualified workers who can then respond.

These examples only scratch the surface of what social media can do for a company beyond marketing and branding. Anything that averts an unnecessary delay in company operations fosters momentum and agility. Every resolution that saves a few minutes of productivity adds to the cumulative value of social media, which can be enormous over the course of a year.

Simply connecting workers with better, more available information can provide extraordinary benefit. A 2011 IDC report estimated that knowledge workers spend 15%-35% of each day just searching for the right information.

SMBs that become social businesses can more efficiently process, leverage and disperse the massive amounts of data flowing through the world every day. They can help people connect, find expertise, make better decisions, take swifter action and develop stronger employee, customer and vendor relationships. Doesn't that sound good?

Of course, in order to achieve this benefit cost effectively, firms need their technology ecosystem to support the effort, and they need to develop lasting, viable social business programs tailored to their needs, not jump on whatever bandwagon happens by.

Furthermore, they must design the program with mechanisms and metrics to ensure sufficient management buy-in, security, governance and other success factors—just as they would with any major deployment. (Stay tuned—I'll talk about more about this in a future blog later this fall.)

DynaSis' on-demand CIOs have the knowledge and expertise to help you evaluate and develop a robust, fully integrated social business platform in your own firm. If you'd like to speak with one to learn more now, give me a call.

By Dave Moorman, DynaSis

Last month, I promised share more mobile productivity tips, and this week’s article marks the second installment in an ongoing series. Today, we’ll review some valuable productivity apps―mobile applications workers install on their phones to streamline their workdays.

While no mobile app can be deemed 100% uncrackable, none of these have been implicated in any security breaches and they require minimal access to corporate data or networks. (If you are concerned about security, discourage your employees from using Android devices. Android is a great platform, but the percentage of mobile malware that targets Android has risen to 80%.)

Expensify
Expense reports are an ongoing hassle for SMBs, their employees and management, especially frequent travelers who end up with briefcases full of receipts to process. Expensify lets users snap pictures of receipts with smartphones and upload them to a website. Expensify also supports and reads scanned receipts uploaded from desktop and laptop computers and can process receipts embedded in purchase confirmation emails. Just forward them to receipts@expensify.com in one of nine supported, common format and Expensify adds them to your account.

The first 10 scans each month are free, and companies that upgrade their subscription enjoy added features, such secure integration with leading accounting packages and direct deposit reimbursement to employees. We also like Shoeboxed, which in addition to these features will scan and process paper receipts that you mail to the company. Shoeboxed can be more expensive than Expensify if you need QuickBooks integration, but depending upon your level of disorganization might be a better choice.

Genius Scan
This app turns your workers’ smartphones into scanners. Whether they are across the country, down the street or on the other side of the office, they can use their smartphone cameras to take a picture of any document they want to scan. They can also capture details on items―such as equipment labels (or the equipment itself).

Of course, most smartphone cameras can already take decent pictures of just about anything. What makes Genius Scan so much more valuable is that it lets users tag their scans for easy document identification and upload them securely to a variety of cloud-based storage services. It also improves the quality of scans to make them more legible, creates a database that is searchable by name or date, and lets users group documents together into PDFs.

MobileDay
This application syncs with employees’ calendars and reminds them about conference calls and online meetings, then lets them dial in with a single click. It accomplishes this feat by auto-detecting conference call details within the meeting invites. In addition to traditional conference calling setups, it supports GoToMeeting, Google+ Hangouts, WebEx, Apple FaceTime and Skype Audio. For companies that use SalesForce, it offers a special version that lets workers upload details of new meetings and conference events directly to their accounts.

The corporate version also offers least-cost dialing, which means it chooses the least expensive dial-in option among the available lines offered by a company’s conference service. MobileDay also touts its strong security and states that no corporate information leaves a user’s device during its processes.