Five Ways That Cloud Storage and Collaboration Is Good For Business.

Wouldn’t it make life so much easier for your business if your staff could use the cloud to collaborate on project documents within their teams as well as with business partners and clients? What about using the cloud to back up information on your company laptops and tablet computers so that you never need to worry about loss of data due to a hard disk failure or malware attack again? But can you trust public cloud services with your company data?

In truth, unless you need to store highly confidential or personal information, it's not difficult to set up secure online data storage for your employees as and when you need it. Where confidential information needs to be stored online, low cost encryption software can be used to secure files that you upload to protect information from prying eyes in the unlikely event that your account is compromised.

Today’s online storage and data sharing services also make it extremely easy for your employees, partners and customers to share files online. The reputation of organisations such as Google, Trend Micro and Accellion stands or falls on their ability to protect your data, so as you would expect they have made a significant investment in both technology and specialist staff to ensure that every reasonable precaution is taken to protect your confidential information.

Cloud based data sharing between project teams helps to increase the productivity of your staff. New versions of documents generated as part of a project are automatically updated on all relevant devices using data synchronisation. This significantly improves collaboration between distributed teams since everyone can be sure that they always have the latest copies of project documentation and drawings to hand. 

Setting up data synchronisation between your PC and the cloud is a simple operation. You simply download the software which sets up a synchronisation folder on your PC / device. You can create subfolders which will allow you to group items together (e.g. for different projects), and from then on the whole process of synchronising changes to the cloud and your other devices (e.g. your iPad) can be automated. The automatic synchronisation process runs silently in the background and requires no investment in hardware or training.

How safe is my data?

Cloud based storage encrypts all files stored in the cloud in secure data centres. Backup routines will also be used to ensure that your data is safe in the event of equipment failure and can be recovered quickly in the event of a technical or human error. The weakest link in the security chain is therefore the password that you use to access your account. To address this threat, two factor authentication can be used in conjunction with services such as Google Apps for Business.

Five key benefits of cloud data storage:

1. Simple File Sharing: Online file sharing services allow you to access your files from any device. For example, you may create a document on a work PC, but may also need to access it from home PC or on your iPad / Android tablet when you are on a client’s premises. With a few clicks you can also share any of your files with your clients.
2. Access anywhere: Your data is always accessible to authorised users at any time and via any internet connected device (including smartphones and tablets).
3. Safe storage: Data is automatically backed up to secure online storage. Robust security is provided to secure your confidential data, including encrypted transmission and malware scanning.
4. Synchronisation of all devices: As you update your information, it is automatically synchronised across all authorised devices, including PC and MAC clients as well as IOS and Android tablets and smartphones.
5. Efficient management: It is simple to create new user accounts from a central management console. In addition, you can allow users to create their own personal areas to manage their data.

For startup and small companies, it is entirely possible to use cloud storage instead of incurring the expense of installing your own file server. It allows you to store, synchronise, and secure your files online in a single location and share these files with colleagues and business partners at the click of a mouse button.

If you would like to know whether online collaboration services such as Trend Micro SafeSync for Business or Google Apps for Business would meet your needs for online data storage and collaboration, please call us on 01707 255060, or email us at info@clearview.co.uk. 

The 7 Secrets Of Successful IT Support

Your business needs expert IT support to keep your business running, and you expect good value for money, but what services should you look for from a potential supplier to keep your systems in good health?

There are a number of components of IT support that need to be costed and catered for to keep your IT running smoothly, protected from internet borne malware, and also to ensure that any IT issues can be rectified as quickly as possible.

1. Hardware Asset Management
By maintaining accurate records of our customers’ installed hardware, we are able to arrive on site ready and prepared to set about the task of repairing or rebuilding the system that has failed. Without this information, it can take an hour or more from the arrival of an engineer on site for them to identify the problem, work out which item needs to be replaced, and then buy a replacement from PC World (the most expensive place to buy replacement parts) before coming back to your office to effect the repair. All this time, the clock is ticking costing you money unnecessarily.

2. Software Asset Management

Software auditing allows us to monitor licence usage within your organisation on your behalf and better manage software upgrades that are required on your systems as old versions of software become unsupported. We can then advise you of recommended upgrades to be undertaken as part of a regular review programme.

3. Antivirus / Antispware Management
Maintaining up-to-date security software is an essential discipline in keeping your IT systems running reliably. Although endpoint security software is self-updating, modern malware can deactivate it in the event that your PC is infected. Indeed, antivirus software that is out of date or deactivated is a warning sign that the PC may have suffered a successful malware attack.

4. Windows Update / Patch Management

Windows and application patches are the front line battleground in combating internet malware that causes your PC’s to run slowly and crash. Sometimes Windows updates fail to install, and it is essential to monitor these events and take corrective action to make sure that the relevant update is installed as soon as possible. Also, when a WIndows patch continues to fail to install, it is a sure sign that something is wrong. When this happens, it’s time for a rebuild, and by catching the problem early we can schedule the support work so that it has a minimal impact on your business.

5. Desktop Policy Management

Your PC’s will run a lot more reliably if you ensure that you only have software that is essential for your business installed on your PC’s. We monitor software that is installed on your PC’s, and identify any unwanted software that we find. We then either agree a change to your policy with you if it is needed to run your business or take action to remove it.

6. Scheduled Maintenance

To keep your PC’s running at peak performance, you have to do a little maintenance on a regular basis. We make sure that routine maintenance is carried out to clear out temporary files and defragment your hard disk to make sure that you get best performance from your systems. We also make sure that a full antivirus scan is run overnight on your PC’s on a weekly basis.

7. Helpdesk Support

All IT Systems fail sometimes, at which point the support process starts and we will employ telephone, remote or onsite support as necessary. The benefit of diligence in undertaking all of the above processes however is that they will minimise the amount of times that your systems fail. The most expensive component of providing IT Support is the cost of sending an engineer to site, and it only makes sense to do whatever is possible to minimise this expensive activity.

Our approach is very different to self employed consultants who may charge cheaper hourly rates because they don't provide these essential preemptive maintenance services. Lower hourly charges may appear attractive initially, until you find that you are regularly writing cheques for £200 for ad-hoc support. Our approach is to do everything possible to avoid onsite callouts which are not only costly, but also result in lost staff productivity for you while your staff wait for an IT repair to be undertaken.

If you would like to know more about our IT Support services, please visit our web site, download our IT Services white paper, or contact us by telephone on 01707 255060 or via email at info@clearview.co.uk.

What Do You Do When Your IT Fails?

Many companies would simply stop working without access to their mainline business applications, so it is surprising to find that many companies' backup procedures fail to address best practices for contingency and business continuity planning.  As a business owner you need to plan for contingencies such as IT failure, fire and flood, and there are a number of sensible backup procedures that you should consider implementing to protect against IT failure and give yourself the best chance of keeping the wheels turning when disaster strikes:

Data Backup

Every company needs a plan for data backup, and in fact most companies do at least something. We often find however that these plans can be very simple, and often just comprise taking a backup of the server to a backup drive or tape.

Offsite Backup is a must!

Unless you have offsite backup of your company data, you are not protected against real emergencies such as fire or flood, where both a company’s main server and the backup drive can be destroyed. Given that loss of your data through fire is effectively your worst nightmare, surely every company should be backing up their business critical data (i.e. that which is needed to get you up and running again) to cloud storage to protect against this eventuality. Whilst many people still have legitimate concerns over data security in the cloud, there are a number of suppliers that provide affordable encrypted online backup which will protect your confidential data and ensure that you can recover your business data swiftly in the event that disaster strikes.

Don’t Rely On Manual Methods

We also still find companies where offsite backup is a manual process. While any offsite backup is better than none, do you really want to run the risk that lightning strikes when the person who performs data backup for you is on holiday? Given that there is little or no premium to be paid for automated offsite backup software, we strongly advocate that you should remove the element of chance and automate the entire process.

Don’t forget laptops and mobile devices

The great thing with laptops and tablets is that you can work on the move and carry your work round with you wherever you go, but unless you do something about it, that information is not going to be backed up anywhere in the event that your laptop is stolen, lost or the hard disk fails. There are some very neat solutions to address this issue now, some of which are built into standard data backup solutions, and others which provide cloud backup / synchronisation as part of a cloud storage service that allows you to share information across desktop PC’s laptops and tablet devices. You will need to take into consideration the way that your employees work in selecting the right solution for your company, but backup for laptops and mobile devices should be considered if you want to avoid the wringing of hands (not to mention data recovery costs) when your laptop hard disk fails taking with it the business plan that you have been working on for next week’s meeting with your bank manager!

Plan For Resilience When Moving To The Cloud

Cloud computing adoption is now moving swiftly ahead. Apart from email, many companies are starting to move business applications such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to cloud based services. If industry experts are correct, we will all be buying our business software on subscription from a cloud supplier within the next 5 years.

The benefits of cloud computing are clear. You gain access to all of the software that you need to run your business without having to invest in expensive servers, or the technical expertise to install and maintain them. Furthermore social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus are becoming part of everyday marketing and customer service activity. Yet the more we become reliant on the Internet to run our businesses, the more disruption we suffer when technology fails leaving us disconnected from our customers and business information.

Keeping The Internet Running

Fortunately, firewalls, routers and the links that connect us to the Internet are fairly reliable. Nonetheless, given the potential loss of productivity that businesses are likely to suffer in the event of the loss of Internet service, it makes sense to make provision for backup.

Firewall Resilience

The majority of business class firewalls such as those provided by SonicWall can be configured as a high availability pair such that a secondary unit automatically takes over in the event of failure of the primary firewall. The software and configuration of the secondary firewall needs to be identical to the primary unit, but manufacturers provide concessionary pricing so that the cost of firewall resilience is affordable.

Internet Link Resilience

Many firewalls will include the provision to automatically switch over to a second line in the event that your primary Internet link fails. Nonetheless, you need to be careful to ensure that your backup Internet link enters your offices through a different route to your primary link. It wouldn’t be the first time that a company’s primary link fails only to find out that their backup Internet link enters the building using the same cable route that has just been dug up by the gas board! To avoid this issue, there are two options:

• If you can live with a reduced service for a few hours that will provide you with limited browsing together with the ability to access email, a 3G or 4G cellular connection  can be connected to the firewall for use when the primary link fails.

• If you need better performance, a 2 MB satellite link can provide the backup Internet connection with only minimal degradation of service.

The problem with building resilience into your IT systems is working out where to stop. Should you install resilient hard disk configurations, mirrored servers, or do you simply outsource the problem of system resilience to a cloud provider? As a business owner, you will need to weigh the likelihood of a failure of a server, network component or internet link against the impact to your business and the cost of incorporating different levels of resilience, although we would be pleased to advise anyone who needs some help in these areas. 

The points raised above are simply a starting point, but if they help you to formulate a Business Continuity strategy that will help you to sleep a little easier, I will have done what I set out to do.

If you would like to discuss your needs for Computer Support or Business Continuity Planning, please call on 01707 255060, or email us at info@clearview.co.uk. We would be delighted to help.

How To Cut The Cost Of Running Your IT

Have you ever wondered why you still get viruses / malware on your company’s PC’s even though you have purchased security software from a reputable vendor? It’s a good question and one that you need to understand if you want to minimise the operational cost of running your business. After all, every time you need to call an engineer it costs you money, and not just in terms of cheques that you write to your IT support company. In addition, there is the cost of lost employee productivity caused by degraded performance as your system becomes unusable, as well as the time lost while your employee waits for their system to be rebuilt. So what should you do to ensure that you don't waste money on engineer call-outs and lost productivity?

IT Security Is A Process

You have to recognise that IT Security doesn’t just involve installing software. You have to make sure that you perform necessary housekeeping on a regular basis. Specifically, it is essential to keep your systems updated with the latest updates and patches for Microsoft Windows and common applications such as Adobe and Java to protect you against the latest security issues that are discovered.

The reason that regular maintenance is so critical is that newly discovered software bugs (also known as vulnerabilities) are used by hackers and fraudsters to plant malicious software on your PC’s. These are the cracks in your defences that allow your security to be breached even with security software installed.

It is likely if not inevitable that you will suffer malware infections at some point if you allow your employees to access the internet. Hackers and security companies are locked in a constant battle that is played out on your IT systems on a daily basis. When a new bug is found, hackers move quickly to write and distribute code that allows them to exploit it before the security companies react with countermeasures to identify and foil their attempts. Each time a new bug is found, a number of PC’s are infected before the new updates are installed.

To give you some idea of the scale of the problem, in 2012, Secunia (the industry reference point on IT security) issued 124 “Security Advisories” for Windows 7 covering 237 vulnerabilities, of which 5% remain unresolved at the time of writing this article. Internet Explorer 9 was the subject of 14 security advisories covering 70 vulnerabilities of which 7% are not yet resolved. These are just two of the most common items of software installed on your PC’s, yet we are already talking about a new security threat being discovered almost every day.

How To Keep Your Systems Up-To-Date

Your PC’s should prompt you to update Microsoft Windows, as well as applications such as Adobe and Java on a regular basis. If you ever see a message that an update has failed to install, you need to do something about it. The reason that the update has failed is very often that you have unwittingly downloaded some malware from a “hacked” or malicious website. If this is the case, malware can be silently gathering your login credentials and feeding them back to a hacker without you realising it. Very often your PC will start to run more slowly as the malware starts to take up resources. To make things worse, once malware finds a victim it will often send out for its friends, which themselves take up more resources until your PC becomes unusable and needs to be rebuilt.

Do It Yourself Or Call In The Experts?

It is understandable that many small business owners still take a reactive approach to IT security. Taking time to make sure that the latest Windows updates and patches have been successfully applied, or making sure that antivirus software on your workstations hasn’t been disabled by malware takes time and takes you away from running your business. The problem is that unless you do spend time making these checks, you are far more likely to suffer a malware attack.

If you are happy to maintain your own systems, you can buy PC Audit software which will identify systems that aren’t updating properly, or that show other signs that they have been infected by malware. Otherwise, you may be better off outsourcing the process of regular auditing and updating your IT systems to a Managed IT Service Provider who will be able to use automation software to manage the process more efficiently and cost effectively than you are able to do yourself. They will also be able to undertake a number of other essential housekeeping tasks at the same time such as clearing out temporary files and making sure that PC Hard disks are defragmented on a regular basis, which will also boost your system performance.

If you would like to know more about the IT Support or Managed IT Services that we provide, please download our Managed IT Services White Paper, visit our web site, or contact us by telephone on 01707 255060 or via email at info@clearview.co.uk

Online Storage - Taking Your First Steps Into The Cloud

In 5 years, Dropbox, the online file storage company has grown to a user base of 50 million users worldwide. That’s great news for their founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, but why is the technology so popular, and how can it help small businesses? Also, let's not forget that the online world carries some risk. Is it safe to use online storage, and what security precautions should be taken to protect your data in the cloud?

Why Is Online Storage So Popular?

Online file storage is cheap (free in some cases), simple to use, and incredibly convenient if you need to access files both in the office and at home. It allows you to access your files from your work PC, your home PC, as well as from any tablet device or Smartphone. It also overcomes the attachment size limitations of email by allowing you to upload the file to your online storage and create a link to the file that you can then email to the intended recipient. They then simply click on the link and download the file via a  web browser. 

Synchronising Data To The Cloud From Your PC

Most online storage services allow you to create a synchronisation folder on your Windows PC's into which you can "drag an drop" files that you want to upload to your cloud storage. This saves you having to log in to your cloud storage every time you want to upload a file, and also keeps your online files and folders in sync.

Integration With Tablets And Smartphones

My initial reason for using online storage was to allow me to access client documentation on my iPad. Apps are available for Smartphones and tablets (Android and Apple iOS) that allow you to access files that have been uploaded to your cloud storage. You will also find that some third party Office Apps available for Android and iOS plug straight in to online storage such as Google Drive which allow you to edit documents stored online. This is in fact my favourite feature of cloud storage, and I use it regularly to write blog posts at home while watching television (How much attention can you really give to Masterchef?). 

There is also an additional feature in Trend Micro SafeSync For Business which is worth mentioning, in its ability to allow you to view Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat documents on Android and iOS devices without running a Microsoft Office editor / Adobe Reader. I use this capability most on my Smartphone to access price lists as well as product documentation that I store online for reference while I am out of the office. It saves having to wait until I get back to the office to check out specific questions that people ask from time to time.

Data Backup

One of the obvious applications for online data storage is for online backup. Over the years, tape backup has proven to be unreliable, and no amount of onsite backup provisions can protect you against fire / flood. We strongly recommend that all companies should implement online backup for their data, since it provides the only reliable way of making sure that you can recover your data when you most need to.

Data Security 

As with all things cloud, data security is a consideration. Companies such as Trend Micro and Google have a pretty good handle on data security, but the weak point if there is one will always be a reliance on passwords. For general use, I would suggest that you simply use strong passwords including letters, numbers and at least one special character. It sounds complicated, but once you have worked out a system it's fairly simple to work with. Alternatively, if you need to make sure that it is only your employees who are able to access your data online, then I would recommend using Google Apps since Google allows you to authenticate access to the system using "one-time-passwords" (i.e. they change every time you log in) generated on your employees' Smartphones. This capability is provided by Safenet's Cloud Authentication Service, so you don't have to install security software on your network to keep your cloud storage secure

The US Patriot Act

If you are going to be using a provider of online storage who uses a US datacentre, you also need to take the US Patriot Act into consideration. Under the US Patriot Act, the CIA can demand to see your data if it is kept in a US datacentre. If you have concerns about this, then use a service that uses European Data Centres.  

Clearview Data Systems provide IT Service / Support and cloud computing services to Hertfordshire and the surrounding area. If you need advice on storing your data in the cloud, please call us on 01707 255060 or send an email to info@clearview.co.uk.

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.