By the DynaSis Team

We talked about the benefits of cloud computing several times in our articles―and published survey results where executives of adopting companies tout its value. Today, we’re going to share some independent, concrete figures that may impress you. A February 2014 study by technology research firm Computer Economics found that migrating to the cloud reduces IT expenditures by at least 15% over maintaining a traditional technology infrastructure.

In the introduction to the report, Computer Economics noted, “We find that organizations that have fully or largely migrated to the cloud save on average more than 15% in IT spending as a percentage of revenue. Savings come not only from a reduction in data center spending, but also from lower IT personnel costs. Because cloud-based systems reduce the effort needed for ongoing support, cloud users are able to devote a higher percentage of their IT spending to new initiatives. The cost savings, combined with strategic benefits in speed, scalability and agility, argue in favor of organizations moving aggressively to the cloud.”

To assess the savings associated with the cloud, Computer Economics looked at six metrics: personnel, applications, data center, network, user devices and “other.” The analysis indicated that cloud technology makes processes easier and increases productivity (especially mobile productivity).

For the survey, the firm evaluated organizations in a variety of industries, including a wholesale distributor, a systems integrator and an online content distributor. Each had migrated all or a significant portion of their technology assets and services to the cloud. All were major enterprises―many of which have already optimized their technology systems and processes for cost-effectiveness before migrating to the cloud. Consequently, the savings for small and medium-sized businesses should be even greater.

On a related note, two recent surveys found that cloud adoption has finally hit fever pitch. One survey, released in late 2013 by 451 Research, indicated that 60% of CIOs are increasing enterprise spending on the cloud (2013 and 2014). Another study, from market research firm Vanson Bourne, found that 87% of North American businesses have already moved, or are looking to move, their services and data to the cloud within the next two years.

Despite this progress, roadblocks remain. In the Computer Economics study, 83% of respondents indicated they faced significant roadblocks―and not in the IT realm. Roadblocks they cited included people, processes and politics, indicating that management and perhaps personnel are still not fully on-board the cloud bandwagon. The Vanson Bourne study cited different barriers―specifically, regulatory and compliance issues―but these arose in conjunction with cloud provider selection rather than cloud adoption. Vanson Bourne also found that, among IT professionals, security remains the biggest bottleneck.

Despite being big fans of the cloud, we at DynaSis do understand that it isn’t for everyone―at least, not yet. Not everyone is ready to embrace the cloud yet, for security or other reasons. This is why we offer both a full-service, managed IT services plan for those with traditional IT infrastructure as well as a hybrid (cloud and on-premise) offering, in addition to our cloud-computing solution. To learn more about what the cloud can do for your firm, or to explore any of our IT services, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]Last week, we talked about your options and considerations for purchasing and installing Office 2013. This week, we’ll discuss Office 365 and give you some financial comparisons.

Office 365
For a fee ranging from $12.50 - $22 per user, per month (billed annually), you can license the full version of Office for each of your employees. Best of all, the installation is good for five devices. So, if you have workers that need Office on a desktop at work, a desktop at home, a laptop, a tablet and a smartphone, one monthly fee will cover them all. That can make Office 365 a bargain. If your employees don’t need Office in multiple locations, it’s not such a deal.

With the Office 365 Small Business Premium Edition, up to 25 employees can have desktop (PC or Mac) versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher and Link, plus online access to most applications from any computer, mobile access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus cloud perks such as a hosted website, a team intranet site, online conferencing and cloud file storage.

If you don’t need Android or iPhone access or desktop installations, you can opt for Office 365 Small Business, which for $5 per month, per user (billed annually), gives you web-based and mobile (Windows Phone only) versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint (plus the cloud perks). If you have more than 25 users, you’ll have to bump up to Office 365 Midsize Business (starts at $15 a month for up to 300 users), but it also includes Active Directory integration and self-service business intelligence.

Which Is the Best Choice?

Renting Office adds up, but you’ll automatically get upgrades, fixes and new versions. As we mentioned above, if your employees do not need access to Office on multiple devices, then Office 2013 is less expensive over a three-year period for those that want desktop installations ($399.99 per user for Office 2013 Professional versus $450.00 for Office 365 Small Business Premium or $540 for Office 365 Midsize Business).

If your employees are content using office only via a web browser, Office 365 is less expensive ($180.00) over a three-year period than all but Office 2013 Home and Student ($139.99). And, if upfront outlay is your prime consideration, then jumping to Office 365 is certainly the way to go. You can always opt later to switch to Office 2013 or its successor.

The virtual CIOs at DynaSis can help you evaluate exactly what you need as part of your Windows XP upgrade. (If you haven’t planned for that yet, time is running out. We really hope you’ll read this article and call us, today.) Either way, we’ll be happy to help you make the move to cloud productivity with Office 365.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]When Microsoft debuted Office 365, the technology world was buzzing. For the first time, Microsoft was offering Office in a SaaS (software as a service) model, which meant that companies (and consumers) could lease the product for a monthly fee. Today, businesses looking to upgrade their versions of Office have two choices: Office 2013 or Office 365. Both have benefits―which one a company chooses depends upon its needs and finances. This week, we’ll talk about Office 2013. Next week, we’ll discuss Office 365.

Office 2013
As with previous releases, Office 2013 comes in several editions. Office 2013 Professional ($399.99 per PC) targets businesses, including such perks as Microsoft Publisher (desktop publishing) and Access (relational databases). However, business owners can purchase a less-expensive alternative, Office 2013 Home and Business ($219.99 per PC). It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (which also come with Professional). If your business uses an email client other than Outlook, you can save even more money with Home and Student ($139.99 per PC), and get just Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Unfortunately, Microsoft no longer lets users install Office on more than one PC. Office 2003 supported two PCs per user; e.g. a desktop and a laptop. Office 2007 and Office 2010 sometimes supported more than one installation per user, depending on the version of Office you purchased (check your user license agreement to see what your installation parameters are.) With the release of Office 2013, users (and their companies) can install it on a different PC every 90 days, provided they stop using it on the previous machine. So, if a PC is stolen or breaks down and you purchase a new one, you do not have to buy it again. Nevertheless, the current usage policy is pretty strict.

With a DynaSis Technology Assessment, we will determine which versions of Office you currently have installed, and where, so you can decide whether or not an upgrade makes sense. We can then upgrade the designated PCs to Microsoft Office 2013 as part of your Windows XP upgrade. (If you haven’t planned for that yet, read this article and call us, now.) Either way, we’ll be happy to help you make the move to the latest, greatest version of Microsoft Office, yet. Or, if Office in the cloud intrigues you, stay tuned for next week’s article!

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]The weekend before we posted this article, news broke that Google’s DNS server had been hacked. The DNS (domain name system) is a system that assigns and keeps track of the Internet addresses for every Internet-connected resource. A DNS server uses this information to translate the domain names we associate with websites into their numerical equivalent (called IP addresses) to allow Internet users to reach their destinations.

For 22 minutes on Saturday, March 15, Google’s DNS server was under the control of hackers, who had the ability to redirect traffic to any domain they chose. In this case, millions of users who used Google were redirected to British Telecommunications’ Latin American division in Venezuela and Brazil―but their connection could also have been routed through any other Internet server along the way, exposing their connections and information, en route.

This news comes at the same time the media are announcing that Target ignored advice from its cybersecurity firm before its historic holiday 2013 data breach, and shortly after Bitcoin exchange MtGox filed for bankruptcy, saying it had lost some 8.5 million Bitcoins to hackers. (Bitcoins are a form of currency used for various online transactions―users deposit real money into these exchanges to keep Bitcoins readily available in their accounts for later use. All of them may have lost their investments.)

These stories once again underscore the vulnerability of even the largest merchants, Internet providers and financial institutions. In the case of Target, the news also reinforces the notion that companies can be culpable in the event of bad decision making―possibly leaving them deeply liable for their negligence when security breaches occur.

For this reason, DynaSis urges all its blog readers―customers and others―to have security assessments done and to ensure their networks are as robustly defended as possible. Furthermore, based on the recent spate of news, we encourage companies not to consider large entities or their Internet sites and services to be “safe.” As this news illustrates, any company whose personnel used the corporate network to access Google for searches or Target to purchase office items could potentially have put company IT assets at risk. Stout security defenses may be able to prevent such redirection, and, if not, they can certainly prevent attackers from accessing company information during the redirects.

We also remind our customers to upgrade all their Windows XP computers before the end-of-support deadline on April 8, 2014. At that point, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates for that operating system (OS), exposing to attack both the Windows XP computers and the networks to which they are connected. Upgrading your office systems to a new OS may require hardware upgrades, as well, so companies should not wait until the last minute to engage in this effort.

Our technical experts can perform a network assessment for your company, complete with a full software inventory, to identify and let you address every instance of Windows XP running on your network. To learn more, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]In last week’s blog, we talked about the upcoming end-of-support date for Windows XP (April 8, 2014) and touched upon the two migration options―Windows 7 or Windows 8 (8.1 is the most recent release). Although Windows 7 will “look” more familiar to users, Windows 8 helps companies make a huge leap towards the largely mobile world predicted for our business futures.

If your company is going to undergo the effort of a widespread operating system (OS) migration, you owe it to yourself and your business to fully consider the benefits of jumping straight to Windows 8. Some of the issues to consider as you are making your decision include:

1. Mobility: How many of your employees currently use, or will soon use, tablets? What about smartphones? Windows 8 was built from the ground up for mobility, and it is likely the best choice for companies that currently have―or intend to have in the next few years―a largely mobile workforce.

Even if your users are already running iOS (iPhone; iPad) or Android (“Google” devices, often by HTC or Samsung), there is a benefit in migrating to Windows 8 for your desktops. Windows remains the OS of choice for business usage, by far, and some (but not all) devices running the iOS or Android OS can run Windows 8. In cases where this is not possible, adopting Windows 8 for compatible desktops and mobile devices now―and changing platforms incrementally with planned upgrades in the future―lets companies eventually standardize on a single platform. A single OS streamlines user governance and training, and it facilitates the “Three Cs”―connectivity, communication and collaboration.

2. Legacy Equipment: Are your PCs running Windows XP old and outdated? If so, you will likely need new desktop PCs (or a shift to virtualization) in order to run either Windows 7 or Windows 8. Such a move requires thoughtful planning and resource allocation. If you are undergoing a major IT project like this, anyway, it makes sense to upgrade to the most recent version of Windows, now.

3. User Uptake: When Windows 8 came out, its highly mobile-centric interface elicited frustrated comments from many early adopters. However, with Windows 8, Microsoft added many elements of the “classic” Windows interface back into the user experience. Without any modifications, users can click one of Windows 8’s “tiles” to shift from the mobile-optimized interface to the classic Desktop.

It’s also possible to make the classic Windows user interface the default for Windows 8 machines and to disable the mobile-centric interface entirely, either through system tweaks or via a third-party applet. This approach lets employees enjoy a largely classic Windows experience as long as necessary to facilitate user adoption.

There are other considerations, of course, and DynaSis’ virtual CIOs can discuss these with you, helping you evaluate your business and user needs and create a workable roadmap for adoption. The takeaway here is that, while Windows 8 does involve a learning curve, this curve leads to the future of Windows-based computing. With Windows 7 (as much as we all love it), there is no comparable benefit. To evaluate your options, or to order a network assessment (during which we will identify exactly which OSs your users are running, and where), fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]After 12 years, Microsoft will end support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. Once support ends, Microsoft will issue no further security updates and will not offer any technical support for the Windows XP operating system (OS). Although Managed IT Services firms like DynaSis can continue supporting Windows XP, they will not be able to provide the same level of protection for their customers that they offered in the past. They won’t be able to apply anymore patches or fixes, because there will not be any.

Malware experts predict that Windows XP will become a prime target for cybercriminals, and having even one Windows XP system in a company’s network will put the entire firm’s IT infrastructure – and its intellectual assets - at risk.

If your company is still running Windows XP on some of its desktops, you are not alone. Estimates for the number of companies running the OS range from 30% to as high as 45%. Last year, one survey found that 20% of companies planned to continue running Windows XP after its “sunset” date of April 8, 2014. We urge all companies – our customers and others – not to take this dangerous path.

Consider Your Options

The most current version of Windows is Windows 8.1, and it offers numerous benefits for corporate users, including a common interface across desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Windows 8.1, while powerful, works differently from Windows XP, Vista and 7 and does require a learning curve. (We’ll talk about this in our next blog.)

For companies that want a more traditional Windows experience, Windows 7 is a stable, well-respected OS with an interface very similar to that of Windows XP. It is still available for purchase both as software and preinstalled on business machines. In fact, Microsoft recently announced that although it would stop selling Windows 7 for pre-installation on “home” computers in October 2014, it did not have any current plans to stop selling Windows 7 for business machines.

Migrating to a modern OS will give companies dramatically enhanced security, increased productivity, and a lower total cost of ownership. If that’s not enough to persuade you, consider this. Microsoft quit selling retail copies of Windows 7 (both home and professional versions) On October 31, 2013. However, a number of retail outlets are still selling it, so it is currently an option for companies that are hesitant to move to Windows 8 due to the learning curve or any other reason.

Companies that do not upgrade now, and wait to end their usage of Windows XP until their systems are compromised or obsolete, may be forced to migrate all their users to Windows 8.1 or it successor at once, with no time for their users to become accustomed to the differences in this intriguing OS.

Our virtual CIOs can evaluate your company’s needs and determine which users would be better suited to Windows 7 and which would benefit from the jump straight to Windows 8.1. We can also perform a network assessment, with a complete software inventory, to identify and let you address every instance of Windows XP running on your network. To learn more, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]Recently, Businessweek.com ran an article about a facial recognition software solution that retailers can use to determine the moods of their customers. They can then act on that information; for example, if customers appear angry or upset, they could send more staff out, perhaps with samples.

This struck as a pretty futuristic use of technology for customer relations management. It also got us to thinking about other technologies that our customers use to manage and enhance customer relations―and customer service. We thought this might be an appropriate week to mention a few of our favorites.

Using technology to manage and foster customer relationships can be a very effective tool for companies in a competitive landscape, especially when they take the time to select the right solution and then ensure their employees know how to use it. A few examples include:

• Predict Demand: Deploy software that tracks and analyzes orders to predict when a customer might want to buy more of something. The salesman can then reach out in advance of the predicted need.
• Impress Customers by Keeping Track of Dates: Products like customer relations management (CRM) software such as Salesforce help sales and service personnel keep tabs on everything from customers’ birthdays and anniversaries to follow-up dates for order completion, satisfaction surveys, and more.
• Preference Analysis: Business intelligence tools can analyze data collected from the customer and his or her order history to determine their preferences and buying patterns and reach out to them with special offers.
• Service Automation: Some customers love to be able to service themselves, such as checking up on the status of orders. Making this type of information available on your site also reduces labor expense.
• Workforce Productivity: Encourage staff to think outside the box and come up with new and creative ways to use mobile and remote technologies to stay in touch with customers.
• Unified Communications: Unified communications (UC), which store and aggregate a variety of contact methods, can help service customers in two ways. Telephony-based UC can follow a salesperson or other employee and help customers (as well as other company staff) find them no matter where they are―or what device can reach them. Another type of UC aggregates and tracks the information stream from a customer, whether it is via phone message, email, or other mechanism, so that sales personnel and others who interact with the customer know everything they have asked or requested.

If you’re interested in enhancing your customer relationships through technology, the virtual CIOS at DynaSis would be happy to help you explore the possibilities. To start a discussion about how to achieve these goals cost-effectively, with minimal effort and oversight on your part, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]Two major IT research firms―Gartner, Inc. and Forrester Research―have announced their 2014 IT spending forecasts, and they indicate some interesting patterns that we believe small and medium businesses (SMBs) should consider. Forrester predicts worldwide technology spending will grow 6.2 percent to $2.2 trillion in 2014. More cautious, Gartner Worldwide’s IT spending forecast estimates that international IT spending will expand 3.1%, reaching $3.8 trillion.

Most interestingly, perhaps, Gartner attributes its more conservative figures to various cutbacks that are directly related to the explosive growth of new technologies, including cloud computing and mobile devices. Despite differences in their overall IT spending forecasts, both firms see bright prospects for SMB expenditure on cloud computing and office mobility products this year.

So what does this mean for your company? If you’re like 66% of SMBs (per a recent survey by Spiceworks), it means you are either using cloud-based solutions or are planning to implement them in the first half of this year. SMBs that adopt cloud services cite cost savings, low maintenance and convenience as factors in their decision to replace old servers with cloud servers. Firms with smaller IT staffs find cloud-based services especially practical due to the minimal configuration and maintenance they require.

Mobile devices, which will account for another large share of projected IT spending in 2014, will also create tangible value for an increasing number of SMBs. Gartner projects spending on devices such as mobile phones, tablets and PCs to rise 4.3 percent to $697 billion worldwide in the coming year.

We’ve talked about mobility―and BYOD (bring your own device)―in this blog before, but we recently came across some new insights we found interesting. In addition to increasing employee productivity, employee mobility also improves customer response time for some 66% of businesses. Furthermore, a recent Dell Software study found that employee mobility and BYOD also leads to greater creativity, more innovation and more productive office collaborations.

Still, two thirds of the survey’s respondents stipulated that the benefits of mobile devices were limited unless the company made sure those devices fulfilled the needs of each user. In other words, comprehensive evaluation of devices and their feature sets, as well as effective planning and implementation of corporate-data-access mechanisms, will bring companies the most value from their mobile device investments.

If you’ve allocated more budget for cloud or mobile solutions in 2014 but are not 100% certain of your roadmap for those expenditures, the virtual CIOS at DynaSis would be happy to help you explore the possibilities. With proper program execution and device management and security, cloud services and mobile solutions can absolutely provide your business with a competitive edge. To start a discussion about how to achieve these goals cost-effectively and with minimal technical complexity, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]In late 2013, Internet security firm Fireeye released some disturbing news. Their research had uncovered evidence that a string of sophisticated, seemingly unrelated malware attacks had a common origin. Fireeye referred to the effort as a “broader offensive fueled by a shared development and logistics infrastructure.” In other words, multiple criminal entities and operations were working together, pooling and sharing resources and logistics to make it easier and more efficient to develop and launch highly sophisticated but distinctly separate attacks.

Fireeye dubbed the large operation, which provided the framework and resources for at least 11 separate malware campaigns, the Sunshop Campaign. All 11 of the attacks were built on the same infrastructure of malicious services and applications, including shared malware tools, code, timestamps and digital certificates. This “malware supply chain” supported a centralized planning and development effort, operating in much the same way as a large manufacturing facility―or a multi-player, organized crime ring.

The idea of advanced, highly organized and well-funded groups working together to make their efforts even more streamlined and effective should cause any IT security expert to shudder. It certainly got our attention here at DynaSis.

Malware attacks being masterminded by criminal organizations is nothing new, but security experts have always assumed most of them worked largely in isolation. The fact that they have decided to team up, sharing their best minds and practices to achieve an even more deadly and ruthless result, is positively horrifying.

It’s one of the reasons DynaSis has been emphasizing the importance of cyber security so much and so often, of late. It’s also one of the reasons we launched our enhanced anti-malware and spyware service earlier this year. This state-of-the-art anti-malware/spyware solution not only roots out and blocks known menaces but also works to identify “zero day” attacks― assaults that exploit unknown vulnerabilities in computer applications before researchers identify and write code to plug them.

It’s exactly the type of protection everyone is going to need in the brave new world where malware “factories” with sophisticated supply chains may well become the norm. To learn more about the current malware landscape and why we are so concerned about it, or to explore the specifics of our new malware service, fill out our inquiry form or give us a call.

By the DynaSis Team

[featured_image]Recent weather events in Atlanta and other southern cities have reinforced to many business owners their vulnerability when workers are unable to come to the office. “Snowpocalypse 2014” garnered national headlines for good reason, with thousands of commuters becoming trapped on icy roads―some for as many as 24 hours.

However, in hard-hit Atlanta―a metropolis of nearly six million people―there were plenty of workers who did make it home―and then sat there for several days while their offices remained shuttered due to the icy conditions. In many cases, businesses that had empowered their workers for mobile productivity were able to keep running their operations. Those that did not have such a solution in place weren’t as lucky. (Note that by “mobile,” we mean “out of the office,” not necessarily using a mobile device. Mobile workers can work anytime and anywhere, on any device with Internet access.)

Gaining the ability to move workers to a mobile environment, on demand, isn’t difficult or expensive. Unfortunately, misperceptions about security, cost and complexity keep many business owners and their employees from enjoying the benefits a mobile workplace affords. A few solutions that businesses can implement quickly and inexpensively to foster mobile productivity include:

1. Hosted Microsoft Exchange: Moving from Outlook or some other locally hosted email platform to hosted Microsoft Exchange at the corporate level gives workers secure, remote access to email messages, contacts and calendars via a mobile phone, tablet or laptop―or their home PCs. With this solution, workers can send and respond to emails, reach out to customers as needed, and perform other basic communications tasks.
2. Cloud-based data and application hosting: If company staff can’t access or work with files remotely, storing company data―and possibly applications―on cloud-based servers will power worker productivity. With access to appropriate corporate files, employees can write, edit and send documents, stay abreast of accounting tasks, enter and process orders, send and receive contracts, and perform other important work.
3. Locally based cloud hosting: For companies that want to (or must, for some reason) keep their data and applications hosted in-house, specialized software agents can turn those on-premise servers into cloud servers, affording workers access over the Internet (provided the company’s servers and Internet connection remain up during an outage). A solution like this provides the same benefits as a cloud server without the need to migrate data and applications.

While most companies cannot stay 100% functional with these solutions, they can operate at a level that maintains customer service until workers return to the office. They can also avoid the additional lost productivity that usually results when workers begin processing the backlog of work when the office reopens.

So, where were you during Snowpocalypse 2014? Did your office stay open or did you close? If you were closed, were you prepared to keep key workers busy during at least part of the unscheduled closure? If the answer to the last question is “No,” fill out our inquiry form or give us a call to learn more about solutions that ensure next time, you’ll be ready.