Why Good IT Security Is Important For Small Businesses.

Why do small businesses need to worry about IT security? We all understand why banks need to have good security … they’ve got our money, and if they get hacked they are probably out of business. What’s the worst that can happen if you don’t have good security as a small business?

The truth is that the damage caused to a small business by poor security may not be as catastrophic as a bank getting hacked, but the consequences of poor security are still painful .. and costly. 

The first thing you’ve got to realise is that security isn’t just about getting your web site hacked. In fact, a good proportion of what we do in managing IT support for our customers involves managing network security. 

How does IT Security impact small businesses?

The problem for small businesses is internet malware. Malware is “bad” software that is unintentionally downloaded from hacked web sites that seeks out bugs in software that is installed on your PC. Unless your PC is kept updated with the latest security updates, malware can use these bugs to upload malicious software which can turn your PC into a spam sender or steal your internet passwords. The first you are likely to know that you have malware on your PC is when things start to grind to a halt, and this is the point at which bad security starts to cost you money. 

Few things are more frustrating than a PC on a go-slow because of a malware infection. It gets in the way of doing your work and causes frustration. You can try running applications such as Malwarebytes to lean it up, but you then lose your PC for the best part of a day while it runs a full scan of your system. Critically all of this is taking place when you want to be getting on dealing with your clients, costing you money with every minute that goes by … and you haven’t even called your IT support company yet!

How to keep internet malware at bay.

The answer is to make sure that your PC’s and servers are kept updated and maintained on a regular basis. If you’re a small business without a dedicated IT Manager that can be a tall order. In reality you are better off outsourcing to a managed service provide who will use automation software to run manage and update your systems remotely. Using automation cuts the cost of keeping your PC’s properly updated and in good working order. More importantly, it’s not your problem!

So don’t discount security just because you’re a small business. It’s just as important to you as it is to bigger businesses. You just see the benefits a different way. For you, IT security translates into reliability of your PC’s and servers.

Using Cloud Computing To Drive Sales in SMB's

Guest article in our blog from Anthony Romuald at Leadsberry:

Using Cloud Computing to drive sales in SMB's

• Are you convinced about the potential benefits of cloud computing for your business? 
• How do you figure about using cloud computing to drive sales?

Before we address these questions on cloud computing let’s start with the basics of Cloud Computing. Cloud computing is the use of computing resources over the internet. It offers many benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) by reducing IT costs, managing information, and improving time management.

In a poll by CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, almost 84% of businesses are using at least one cloud based application and over 76% of SMBs users have experienced big savings on cost. Though at its infancy, cloud computing has impacted business in many ways than one. Cloud computing has lifted the burden and reduced the cost of purchasing hosted solution. Apart from that, it also created significant leeway for sales initiatives. 

For sales managers in SMBs, cloud computing showcases a paradigm shift in marketing by:

1.  Efficiently track leads in the sale funnel
2.  Managing and tracking prospect data
3.  Lower marketing costs

Savvy marketers are now leveraging cloud computing to achieve significant growth and competitive advantage on sales front. 

Let’s now examine each point to understand how it improves selling and reduces cost of sales.
Track Leads on the Go

Sales team will benefit from cloud computing as it help to record, track and manage leads through efficient lead nurturing system. Data of customer or prospects hosted in the cloud will help sales team to access information readily.

Having accurate information of leads and activity on the cloud ensure that sales people can take appropriate action instantly. Further, it eliminates the delay in accessing information around each prospect.

For instance, cloud computing platform like Leadsberry support sales team by enabling lead nurturing campaigns. The tool includes options to set up lead nurturing campaigns, track leads and send collateral to leads based on pre-defined activity. Best part of these lead nurturing marketing programs is that it works automatically and results in conversion of over 35%.

Improve Marketing Efficiency

Cloud computing is used to overcome the limitation of working on application hosted in computers. This gives more mobility to sales team and marketers as it enables them to operate anywhere, and access sale information anytime. This online information access also helps to follow ad production, plan triggered campaigns, and plan out marketing.

Moreover, cloud platforms facilitate marketers to exchange training and customer education material through video tutorials, whitepapers, marketing tips, and marketing collateral.

Expedite Collaboration and Speed of Marketing Innovation 

Cloud computing broke the barriers of working in silos and compartments. With cloud solution like Leadsberry, marketers can collaborate with multiple team, working from different geographies and create innovate campaigns with ease.

By adopting cloud solutions, people can use multiple media, social media channels and integrate all these media to easily create unique marketing campaigns. Another key benefit of cloud solution is that multiple users can log in the same time to complete a task. For marketers, it reduces errors in the file and improves the quality of work.

Finally...

Cloud computing is here to stay. More salespeople are realizing its potential of using cloud services to monitor sales and improve conversion. It’s time you too wake up to the reality of cloud computing for improving the efficacy of sales team and build a conduit between business and customer.

If you would like free helpful advice on IT support or how you could use Cloud Computing to drive efficiency in your small business, please email us at info@clearview.co.uk.

How To Manage Company Smartphones And Tablets

For 3 days after the release of the iPad Mini tablet, Apple were shipping a million units per day. Every Smartphone and tablet has Gigabytes of storage capacity, can connect to Twitter, webmail and online storage facilities such as Dropbox, and can provide access to your company’s email systems. What’s more, they will probably  end up being connected to your network sooner or later. It's a problem that business owners would rather avoid.

Is There A Mobile Device Security Problem?

There are some genuine security issues. An employee's lost smartphone can potentially result in data leakage of client data or company intellectual property, yet the cost savings that can be realised by letting your employees use their own smartphones and tablets to access their company email and work from home are compelling. You therefore need to take a view on the risk of a security breach caused by mobile devices and formulate their own policy for how they can be used in your business.

How Serious is the risk?

The risk associated with mobile devices will very much depend on the nature of your company's business. If you are an Independent Financial Adviser for example, then you should be encrypting client confidential information on laptops anyway to comply with FSA regulation, and the same level of protection should be afforded to tablet devices. In this respect, the iPad has the lead over Android tablets insofar as encryption is built into Apple iOS by design. Equally if you don’t operate in a regulated industry, but you may carry client confidential or company confidential information on your tablet device, I would argue that the iPad is a better choice for the same reason. You may not attract the wrath of a regulatory body if you leave an iPad with your latest product design or your clients’ latest management accounts on the train, but it could still severely damage your company’s profits or reputation.

Sensible Mobile Security 

Mobile Device Security products are available from the major security vendors as well as a number of smaller vendors that allow you to apply sensible precautions for mobile devices. You can for example:

• Enforce a password / PIN policy for smartphones that connect to your network.
• Report on Apps that are installed on your Smartphones and Tablets.
• Block devices that don’t provide encryption.
• Selectively wipe files and company emails in the event that the device is lost or stolen, or if the employee leaves the company.
• Set up a portal from which recommended Apps can be downloaded.

The cost of this software is relatively inexpensive, and it can be managed by a Managed Service Provider as part of a Managed IT Service if you don’t have the skills to manage the system within your company.

If you would like more information on our support services portfolio for small businesses, please visit our web site, download our Managed Services White Paper, or email us at info@clearview.co.uk.