Planning For Cloud Computing Success

There is much to be said in favour of cloud computing, especially if you are a small business without the in-house skills to manage your IT systems properly. Irrespective of all of the arguments on how cloud computing saves you money, many companies who adopt cloud systems do so because they buy in to the idea that they will no longer have to worry about buying hardware, upgrading it, and making sure that their business information is properly backed up. However it is implemented,  outsourcing IT is increasingly seen as an easy win for businesses.

Furthermore, in these days of flexible working, your office becomes wherever you want it to be, since you can access your company information from a café or airport lounge equally as well as you can from your own desk.  

Nonetheless, if you decide that cloud computing is right for your business, you shouldn’t rush headlong into it. Change can be a painful process, and your implementation needs to be planned to make sure that you set off on the right foot and avoid push-back from your staff. Involoving your employees from day 1 is hugely important. They are after all the people who earn money for your company, and they may have genuine concerns that you will need to address prior to implementation. 

Plan For Change

When you move your business applications to the cloud you may well find that it requires minor changes to working practices for your staff. You may for instance be moving to a newer version of your business software, or the cloud version may work slightly differently to the way that your staff have been used to working previously. Alternatively, if you are looking to move to a cloud CRM system, you may be making changes to streamline your business processes. In any event, your new cloud based system should be installed as a pilot in parallel to your current systems for sufficient time to allow training and acceptance testing to take place.   

Security

If you are moving to the cloud, you have to consider the security of your data. Under the data Protection Act, you should not take your clients’ personal information outside the EU, so make sure that you know where your information is being stored. You also need to take into account that your data is now being stored on another company’s systems, so should you be taking additional security measures such as encrypting your information, or protecting access to your cloud systems using strong authentication?

One size certainly doesn’t fit all companies when it comes to cloud migration, but you need to make sure that you get the process right for your business. As with any IT project, planning for success will pay dividends.

Is Google Apps for Business Right For Your Company?

“How can I use cloud computing in my business?” is probably the number one IT question that I get asked. It can be a hard  question to answer because the cloud isn’t just one technology, and it all depends on what you need from your IT. Very often, small businesses owners simply want to store files in the cloud and share them with colleagues and clients, and I increasingly find myself suggesting to people that they should at least look at Google Apps for Business.

Google Apps for Business is the cloud equivalent of the Swiss Army knife.  It has a number of components:

Google Mail

Most people know about Google Mail, but many people aren’t aware of Google Apps for Business which works pretty much the same as the personal version of Google Mail, but you use your own domain (e.g. clearview.co.uk) instead of the Google domain of gmail.com.  You can also personalise the system with your company logo (see below).

Google Calendar

Google Apps provides a  calendar to help you organise your time. You can share your calendar with your colleagues and vice versa. In addition to scheduling meetings, Google’s “Tasks” component allows you to create a “To-Do” list which I keep on the right hand side of my screen. It’s no substitute for a CRM system, but it helps me to organise my activity for the day.

Even if all you got was email and calendar, surely Google Apps for Business has to be the cloud’s biggest bargain at £3.30 per user per month for businesses, and absolutely free for non-profit organisations. What’s more, if you have grown attached to using Microsoft Outlook as your email and calendar software, there’s no need to change. You can configure Google Apps to synchronise all of your email and calendar entries with your Outlook client.

But that’s not all! You can also use Google Apps for Business to store documents online and synchronise them with a folder on your laptop / desktop PC using Google Drive.

Google Drive

Google Drive allows you to store and share your files online and integrates neatly with Google Mail. There are two ways to access your Google Drive Files. Firstly, you can download and install an install programme from your Google account which creates a synchronisation folder on your laptop or PC. You can then drag and drop files and folders into your Google Drive folder and synchronise them with your Google Account.

  

Secondly, you can upload files to Google Drive using a web browser. This is a simple “point and click” operation that allows you to upload files to your Google account from any internet connected device.

Once a file or folder has been uploaded to your Google Drive account, you can share it using a right mouse click and clicking on the “Share” menu option. Files and folders can be shared with colleagues in your own organisation as well as with clients and business partners. You get the option to send an email to the person that you have shared the file or folder with.

Word Processing and Spreadsheets for Free!

In addition to email, calendar, file sharing and collaboration, Google Apps also provides you with a basic word processor, spreadsheet and drawing application at no extra cost. They aren’t as sophisticated as the Microsoft applications, or even Open Source suites such as LibreOffice, but if you only need basic word processing and spreadsheet functions, they do the job. I tend to compose everything in my favourite Office suite and just use Google for storage and collaboration. 

Great Value Cloud Computing For Small Businesses

Having moved over from Microsoft Exchange about 18 months ago, I'm a big advocate of Google Apps for Business. It's great value for money and there are ways that you can overlay automatic encryption to ensure data privacy. If you are a start-up and looking for a low cost way to store / back up data files in the cloud, as well as share files with your colleagues and clients, it's hard to fault.

Can Mobile Computing Increase Your Company's Productivity?

This week I am taking a week off! I am delighted to offer up an article by Paul Hillis of Thinkgrid who are one of our cloud computing service partners.

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You might not have even noticed, but gradually, the IT Systems you use and your workforce are embracing mobile computing. Look at the devices your staff use to communicate, compared with say, 5 years ago – now they will more likely use laptops, tablets, smartphones as opposed to PC’s under their desks. 

Next, take a look at what kind of applications they are using – if they are new applications to your business they are probably much more likely to be web browser based or app based than static applications that can only be accessed in the office.

For quite a lot of organisations, this seems to have just ‘happened’ without any directive or strategy behind it. Often the first step for an organisation becoming mobile in its operation is the MD wants to get his work email on his iPhone, like the rest of the lads at the golf club. However, proactively considering a mobility strategy is something you might want to consider, as there are many benefits to be had, as well as pitfalls that would be best avoided.

The first step in considering such a strategy is looking at your workforce to decide what they do, how they do it and what allowing them to be mobile would bring to the table. It might be the case that if they had the chance, they would happily update that tender they have been working on, or fire off a few emails at the weekend if they had the chance to do so.

The next step is to look at what you need to give them to work effectively in a mobile setting, and if doing so is feasible. It may be that just giving them access to email would give them the ability to do 90% of what they can do when they are in the office, or it may be that they would need to give them access to the complex software and databases to match what they do when they are at their desk.

Allowing your staff to be mobile can potentially bring lots or productivity benefits to your organisations. You can get closer to your customers, give your staff a better work/life balance, attract staff from further afield, plus get staff to put more into their jobs. There are plenty of technologies out there that will allow you to reap these benefits while mitigating the potential risks associated with going mobile too.

No matter where your organisation is on mobility - Whether your organisation is static, singular office, 9-5, or all working from home using cloud applications, tablet and virtual offices, it’s well worth taking a step back and to see if whether your business could become more efficient and more profitable by embracing mobile computing.

Cut Your IT Costs By Moving Your Business Applications To The Cloud

What do you do if you need to run Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server but you don’t have the expertise to hand to manage the system on a day to day basis? With the arrival of cloud computing, you can simply migrate your existing business applications to the cloud and access them using a web browser. Once you have logged in to your cloud computing service, all of your usual business applications are accessible from a Windows 7 style desktop.

It’s called a “Hosted Desktop” service, and it’s increasingly proving to be a smart decision for small businesses. You get your own server managed by the hosting provider. What you lose is the need to maintain Windows servers and having to make sure that all of the latest security patches are installed. 

If you would like to know how a hosted desktop service looks when you use it, take a look at the video below by ThinkGrid who we use for our client installations:

Thinkgrid Hosted Desktop Video

Since hosted desktop services are accessed via a web browser, you don’t need a high spec computer to run your business applications, so it may allow you to defer an upgrade to your company’s PC’s. What’s more, your IT systems can be accessed by any device that has a connection to the Internet, allowing your staff to use both tablets such as iPads and Android tablets, as well as home PC’s if you have home workers.

Data Security is an important concern when it comes to cloud computing, and rightly so, but there are plenty of measures that can be taken to protect your data. Where personal data needs to be protected, you can quite easily encrypt all data saved in specific folders and still allow it to be shared between members of your project teams. Even so, hosting companies that their responsibilities to protect your data very seriously, and employ rigorous procedures to protect customer data.

By moving your company applications and data to the cloud, you will be able to eliminate server support and management costs. Data backup, business continuity planning and archiving also come as part of the deal. What’s more, you only ever pay for what you need, when you need it. One day, I am convinced that all companies will run their IT systems from the cloud. You just need to decide when to begin your journey. 

What is stopping you from moving your business applications to the cloud? Please let me know using the contact form below. We will either reply to your points via a future blog post, or as a private email as appropriate.

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. 

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.

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.

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.