Helping Your Staff Work More Productively With Mobile Computing

Mobile computing technology allows company employees to work as productively from home or hotels as they can from the office, but the face of computing technology is changing. Employees no longer want to be tied to using company laptops when they have a PC at home. What’s more, Smartphones and tablets have now become as ubiquitous as the traditional mobile phone ever was, providing low cost computing for employees to access company information.

As a consequence, cost conscious business owners can now avoid the need to fund and manage mobile communications for their staff by establishing a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy, and allowing employees to select their own mobile devices for work.

Maintaining Security For Mobile Working

Companies have been using simple VPN technology built into firewalls to provide mobile computing for laptop users for a number of years, but as the range of devices that companies want to be able to support for remote working expands, different approaches need to be adopted to reflect the degree of trust that you place in the device connecting in to ensure that your IT systems are not exposed to an internet hack or security breach. You may have full control over software that is installed on company laptops, but this is not going to be the case if you allow employees to use their own PC’s or tablets.

• Laptops – Company laptops generally need full access to your company network. Nonetheless, if an “infected” laptop logs into the network, malware can be spread through your network causing your systems to crash. Laptops should therefore be screened before connection to your network to ensure that they have no unauthorised applications / malware installed. Screening for critical Windows patches and up-to-date antivirus can either be performed in the office using Network Access Control (NAC) software which is built in to the endpoint security software of the major security companies, or using VPN Gateways for remote users which will only permit access to your company network once the device connecting has been certified as “clean”.

• Home PC’s – Even though you have no control over software installed on your employees’ home PC’s, it is still possible to allow them to access your internal systems securely providing you restrict the applications that they have access to on your network using a VPN Gateway which can selectively permit access to your network while maintaining a degree of separation to prevent malware infection. In this way, it is possible to provide secure access to email and file shares from any device. You can also provide secure access to other business applications via Windows Terminal Server / Citrix providing your employees had administrator access to the PC being used to connect in. The VPN Gateway can even provision the appropriate “thin client” to the home user’s PC without them having to install the software locally.

• Smartphones / Tablets - Apps designed to run on smartphone operating systems undergo stringent review before being published on Google Play or the Apple AppStore. Device interrogation is therefore less critical for a tablet or Smartphone than for a laptop and in practice it is difficult to control apps installed on tablets or Smartphones. It is quite straightforward to provide access to corporate email and files on file shares from mobile devices, and access to line of business applications can be provided via a web browser. Mobile Device Management software should however be considered to ensure that password / PIN security is enforced to prevent unauthorised access to the device (and thereby to your network), as well as to ensure that company data is erased in the event that the device is lost, or that an employee leaves your company.

The Impact Of Cloud Computing

In many ways, mobile working and cloud services go hand in hand. You can now access your company business applications from any internet connected device using either Software-As-A-Service (SAAS) applications or Hosted Desktop technology which allows you to access your existing business applications via a web browser. Mobile Computing support isn’t however the primary driver for adoption of cloud computing. The ability to run any business software application for your company without having to invest in hardware and skilled technicians to maintain it is cloud computing’s primary attraction, but mobile computing has been the trigger for a number of companies to take their first steps into the cloud.

Keeping Hackers Away

Once you allow your staff to work remotely or indeed move to cloud computing, you are reliant on passwords to prevent unauthorised users from accessing your company data. Unfortunately, static passwords can be compromised since they either get written down on sticky notes, or may be too simple and can be guessed. The way to protect against password theft is to employ two factor authentication using an App that is installed on the employees Smartphone, which allows you to generate a unique 6 digit password every time your staff log in. The downside of using two factor authentication is that your users need to generate the one-time-password as an extra process when logging in, but if your data is confidential or has commercial value, you may decide that this is a price worth paying.

Summary 

Technology is now available to provision secure remote access from any device that can connect to the Internet, although a little planning (and knowledge) is required to ensure that opening the doors to remote working doesn’t mean that you expose your company data to significant risk. If you would like to know more about IT support services and network security products available from Clearview Data Systems, please download our "Secure Remote Access" white paper, call us on 01707 255060, or email info@clearview.co.uk.

Six Sure Signs You Need To Change The Way You Manage Your IT

When the engineer that came to fix your PC at 9 am is still in your office at 4.45 pm.

If your PC is infected by malware, the only way that you can be absolutely sure that you have a clean PC is to reload it from scratch. Without a recovery plan, it can take an entire day to reload Windows 7, apply all of the patches required, and then reload your business software. If you want to avoid escalating IT support costs, you need a recovery plan that allows you to rebuild your PC’s in minutes, not hours.

When your server crashes and your tape backup won’t restore.

Although there is dispute about how frequently tape backups fail to restore (some sources quote 70% failure rate), it is clear that manual methods of data backup cannot be relied on for data backup. In any event, your critical data should be automatically backed up to offsite storage to protect you not only against server failure, but also against fire or flood.

When your staff tell you that you need a faster internet connection and have no way of knowing if they are right.

Companies everywhere are turning to video and podcasts on their web sites to engage with their customers which is great for customer engagement, but can take up internet bandwidth that you need to use for VPN connections or client extranets. If your firewall is more than 2-3 years old, consider upgrading to a "next generation firewall" that not only protects you from hackers, but also provides you with clear information on how your internet connection is being used at any time.

When your internet link fails and your staff stop working because they can’t access your hosted email / CRM systems.

Cloud computing services allow you to reduce operating costs and access your business applications from any internet connected device … but only as long as your internet connections is working! Before moving your business applications to the cloud, make sure that you have considered making provision for access to key business applications using 3G / 4G cellular, satellite, or a second internet connection in the event of failure of your primary internet link.

When an employee’s PC “breaks” after they installed some software from the internet.

Free software is great until one of your employees installs the wrong kind of free software on one of your PC’s. Unless you want to keep on paying IT engineer callout charges, you need to take control of who can and can’t install software onto your company PC’s. You need to ensure that any software installed isn’t a Trojan in disguise or badly written freeware, both of which can make your PC’s run unreliably and eventually crash. If it isn't possible to lock down your PC's then you need to strengthen your web security to make sure as best you can that your users don't accidentally download malware from the internet.

When the engineer who took a £250 cheque from you yesterday is back at 12.00 today.

When new bugs are discovered in software that you have installed on your PC’s, the “bad guys” hurry to work out how to exploit them so that they can get their code onto your PC’s to steal your personal information and logins. You must make sure that updates required to protect your PC’s are installed, otherwise you are a sitting duck for malware that can be accidentally downloaded from comprised or malicious websites.

You may not be in the IT Business, but most businesses today rely on IT. Our IT Support Services keep your systems running as reliably as possible without the need for you to employ your own skilled IT staff. If you would like to know more, please download our white paper, visit our web site, or contact us by phone on 01707 255060, or via email at info@clearview.co.uk.

Moving Your Business To The Cloud

Cloud computing is a hot topic for large and small organisations at the moment, but as with any new technology, it can be difficult to see past the hype and potentially confusing marketing messages. The promise of cloud computing is to deliver access to the IT applications that you need to run your business from any PC, tablet device or Smartphone. If that isn’t justification enough, you won’t need to install any expensive servers, pay for disk space and processing that you don't currently need, or employ skilled technicians to manage those systems.

Planning Your Migration To The Cloud

Migrating to cloud computing will be a journey rather than a transformation, and it is likely that most companies will run a hybrid of cloud computing and on-premises systems for a number of years. There are also applications which aren’t a good fit for a cloud computing environment, so don’t try putting square pegs into round holes … just leave them as they are. Some applicatons are a better fit for cloud computing and far easier to migrate, so why not start with applications such as email security and data backup first? In many ways they are better suited to cloud deployment anyway. Once these simpler migrations have been completed, a more considered approach needs to be taken in migrating mainline business applications.

Moving Business Applications To The Cloud

In moving business applications to the cloud you need to decide whether you want to simply take your existing business applications and make them accessible via a web browser (Hosted Desktop), or whether you want to adopt Software-As-A-Service (SAAS) applications such as Google Apps For Business (Email / collaboration), Workbooks.com (Customer Relationship Management), or Xero (Accounts). If you choose the SAAS option, you need to be prepared for a change in business practices and the associated training requirement to ensure that the transition to cloud services does not adversely effect your business.

Whichever approach you choose, we would recommend that you either take some time to research the options available to you or take advice, and always run a pilot to make sure that you are able to prepare your staff for the change in the way that they will be working in future.

There are no prizes for moving your IT to the cloud in record time, but the cost benefits and ability to access your line of business applications from any internet connected device make it worth investigating how Cloud Computing will work best for you sooner rather than later.

If you would like to learn more aboutout our IT Support or cloud computing services, download our Cloud Computing White Paper or contact us on 01707 255060 or via email at info@clearview.co.uk .

How should your growing business manage IT?

Small businesses now rely heavily on IT, and the proliferation of Apple and Android tablet devices only serves to increase reliance on technology that many business owners don't fully understand ... But it sure needs to work!

As companies grow it becomes impractical to rely on ad hoc support contracts to keep their systems working reliably. IT Systems need regular maintenance to perform at their best and remain protected against internet malware, so business owners need to take a decision to either employ a full time IT Manager or outsource to a Managed Service Provider.

Why IT Management is difficult for small businesses.
Larger companies can cost justify employing a full time IT team including teams of first line support engineers, experienced systems professionals and an IT manager. The system is proven and works well because junior members of staff have clear opportunities for career progression, senior technicians can roll their sleeves up and get to grips with new technology, and the IT Manager can occupy himself with developing IT strategy to meet the businesses' needs and managing his team. Unfortunately, it’s a different story for SMB’s. Skilled IT staff are thin on the ground and command good salary packages, so you need to make sure that you are going to be able to keep them busy.

IT Managers Need A Challenge
SMB’s are not always attractive employers for good IT professionals as they have fairly simple IT needs. Since most IT Managers are techies at heart, they like to be able to get to grips with the latest technology. Given that most of the tasks required to keep your systems running smoothly are routine in nature (e.g. updating antivirus software and ensuring that required Windows Updates are installed) , a small company is unlikely to be able to offer an IT professional the opportunity to build the infrastructure of their dreams. There is therefore a relatively high rate of turnover amongst IT staff in SMB organisations with IT staff leaving to seek new challenges in larger companies where they can gain experience in the latest technology. 

Losing an IT Manager causes its own problems. Suddenly, the one person who knows the ins and outs of your systems is gone, so it can be a turbulent time while you go through the process of finding a replacement which in itself diverts you from the process of running your business.

Should You Use A Managed IT Service Provider?
The alternative to employing your own staff to run your IT systems is to employ a Managed IT Service Provider (MSP). For a fixed monthly fee, a managed service provider will perform all of the functions that you would expect from an IT Manager, but at a lower cost. What’s more, you don’t need to worry about keeping them occupied, or whether they may leave your company.

Equally important is that an MSP is equipped to carry out the routine system management tasks required to keep your systems running smoothly and to do so as efficiently as possible using automation software. Unlike a break/ fix contract, an MSP gets paid no more money for sending an engineer to site to re-build a PC that has crashed, so they will do everything possible to make sure that they don’t.

Because of this, many larger companies with their own IT Manager (50 - 100 staff) use a Managed Service provider to support an in-house IT Manager. This way, your IT Manager can concentrate on the bigger picture of how you can use IT to make your business more efficient, and leave the routine maintenance tasks to the MSP who can carry out the work more cost effectively than employing additional staff.

What About Cloud Computing?
he move to cloud computing will undoubtedly be an accelerator to the adoption of managed IT services by medium and larger sized organisations. Organisations who run their business applications as cloud services will have no need to employ a full time IT Manager, but PC’s, printers and firewalls still need to be maintained, and an MSP is perfectly positioned to provide these functions efficiently and cost-effectively.

Want To Know More?
If you would like to know more about our IT support or managed IT services, please download our white paper or contact us at info@clearview.co.uk .

Managed IT Services - A 60 second introduction

Small businesses without in-house technical expertise can often find managing their IT a challenge. To start off with, the task of IT management may fall to the person who knows most about computers, but as a company grows it becomes necessary to call in a specialist when problems arise. As the company grows past 5 – 10 employees however, a more structured approach to IT Management is called for to ensure that your data is properly managed. At much the same time it will probably become apparent that there has to be a better way of managing IT than waiting until something breaks before you fix it. It can take up to a day to re-load a PC from scratch due to the number of updates that need to be applied, and onsite engineering charges can easily start to mount up to a point whereby a single call-out can cost in excess of £500.

If you can't justify employing your own IT Manager, your best choice could well be to engage a managed IT Service provider, but although the approach has been around for some time now, and can deliver significant benefits for small businesses, many business owners don’t fully appreciate what is involved in handing over management of their systems to a Managed Services Provider (MSP), or what they get for their money and so they have shied away from it so far.

What does a managed service provider do?

A managed service provider can either run every aspect of IT Support for you, or can offload day-to-day administration tasks from your current IT manager, allowing them to concentrate on developing your IT to meet your business needs rather than performing routine maintenance tasks. It really depends on what suits you best. In general terms however, a Managed Service Provider provides you with all the benefits of a specialist IT department without having to pay out the associated full-time salaries, or worry about the HR hassles of managing your own IT team.

How can your IT be managed by a Managed Services Supplier (MSP)?

Remote Management software is installed on your PC's and servers and allows an MSP to monitor your IT systems and report back on potential problems such as low disk space, failed Windows updates, or out-of date security software so that preventative maintenance can be undertaken before a system fails. Many of these routine maintenance tasks can either be automated or undertaken remotely, minimising the cost of delivering support by cutting down on the need to send an engineer to your offices.

What happens when IT systems fail?

A managed services supplier should make provision to be able to recover your systems as swiftly as possible in the event of failure. To minimise system rebuild time, a spare PC should be kept in your offices together with a snapshot of your standard PC build. Onsite / offsite data backups are then take to ensure that systems can always be recovered in the event of a system failure, fire or flood.

What about system security?

Robust security is an essential component of best IT practices that MSP's use to make the job of managing your IT easier. By implementing best IT practices such as restricting who can add new programs to your PC's, and making sure that antivirus and Windows updates are installed, your MSP incurs less cost in managing your system which allows them to keep their service costs down.

Managed IT Services allow you to benefit from the same level of professional IT management as a FTSE 100 company without having to maintain your own full time IT team, or worry about your IT manager going off sick or taking a holiday. You can concentrate on growing your business knowing that your IT is being maintained as efficiently as possible. Please download our Managed Services White Paper or visit our web site if you would like to know more. Alternatively, please contact us on 01707 255060 or by email at info@clearview.co.uk. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.