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April 29, 2008 | Comments: (0)

So the show is open, the booths are built, and the crowds have descended on the exhibitors. My first impression: Wow. If trade show attendance is any indication of an industry's heath, then data networking is heading toward a boom. I haven't seen a computer-industry trade show floor look this good in at least six years. People are talking purchases, exhibitors are showing lots of new products, and everyone seems to be in a good mood (as opposed to the the grim, depressed feeling that ruled for a while). Some quick observations:

Interop's Favorite Car: The Mini Cooper. They're cute, they can be wrapped with neat graphics, and they fit into a standard 20 x 20 booth. What's not to like?

Exhibitor's Favorite Accessory: Booth models are back in a fairly big way. I will say no more.

Big Themes: Wireless (of all sorts, from satellite to RFID): Mobility (with an emphasis on presence: Security (NAC, firewalls, and mobile security rank high): Layer 1 (10 Gig over copper is being shown in several place, I had a conversation with a company about 40 Gig over copper possibilities(!), and fixed-point wireless is scattered around the floor).

Surprisingly Quiet: 802.11n (I'm seeing it exhibited in several booths, but no one is really making a lot of noise about it) and WiMAX (similar to 802.11n).

There will be more to come soon...I've got miles to go before I...well, you know...

Posted by Curt Franklin on April 29, 2008 01:50 PM

April 27, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Looking at Interop

When I look at the press releases and phone calls that have come my way ahead of the Interop show, two phrases leap out: Unified Communications, and Network Access Control (NAC). It's not that there won't be anything else here at the show, but both of these areas seem to be gaining a lot of momentum heading into the rest of 2008.

Unified communications have been "the next big thing" for several years now. After several years of great promise and little implementation, it's easy to get jaded about new announcements compared to what's actually going to happen. This time, though, I think we may actually be getting close. The first big step in my move to this opinion was Microsoft's Office Communications Server. I'm not willing to say that it's the ultimate communication package (it's not), but it is positioned to help a lot of companies move in the direction of unified communications. Like the oft-referenced rising tide, it is helping to float a lot of UC boats in the market, and many of those boats have pulled into Interop. I'll plan to have more on UC announcements as the show goes on.

The other buzz phrase for the show is NAC. Now, it's important to note that we're not just talking about Cisco's brand of network access control. This year, it seems like every vendor has some flavor of access control that they're talking about. Some of them are focusing on ensuring that devices attaching to the network meet organizational policy requirements (the gist of the Cisco approach), while others are tying device policy enforcement with user account control for a single-device approach to making sure your network is secure. This kind of NAC is coming on fast, and is the sort of thing that's going to be of interest to small businesses. Security is one of the principal areas in which we're seeing vendors admit that small businesses have the same type (if not scale) of need seen by larger enterprises.

I'll be blogging from Interop through Wednesday -- if you want to keep up with the posts, keep checking back here or go to Twitter and follow iw_smb_it. It will let you know whenever there's a new SMB IT blog post, or if I just something truly cool at the show.

Posted by Curt Franklin on April 27, 2008 03:13 PM

April 26, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Getting technical practice

Have you ever wondered how your intrepid Test Center editors spend their weekends? No? OK, good for you -- you have a life. We, on the other hand, have networks to build. I'm in Las Vegas for the next few days, along with Test Center Senior Contributing Editor Brian Chee, at Interop. We're doing different things -- I'm writing, photographing, and podcasting around the conference, while he's helping build the network. Today, he was hard at work in the Interop Lab control center

where he was trying to figure out the intricacies of unified communications in a multi-vendor environment. It's taken some real effort, but I've enjoyed seeing things come together as he's been able to make products work together in ways the vendors suspected they could -- but in most cases haven't been able to prove for themselves. Brian did take a moment out to say hello

and I'm sure that he's going to be blogging about the process -- just as soon as everything is working as it should and the show floor is open to attendees.

I'm impressed by the number of small businesses folks who are part of the Interop network crew. They bring specific expertise to bear on different parts of the network, and get significant hands-on time with the latest technology (accompanied by top vendor technical staff) so they can take knowledge and experience back to their customer base. There's only one Interop, but there are a lot of technology conferences out there, most of which have volunteer-based network teams that are always looking for new blood. I know it can be expensive to take the time out of "paying" work to head off to a conference volunteer opportunity, but it can be a super way to boost your skills and help your network of contacts grow. If you haven't looked into one of the opportunities, you should -- it's the sort of experience that can make a real difference in the work you're able to offer your customer base when there really is a paying gig on the line.

Posted by Curt Franklin on April 26, 2008 05:46 PM

May 29, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; 5/29

Sometimes I really hate golf. I mean, just hate it. Ruins a perfectly good three-day weekend.

* The Penguin People fire back at Microsoft. In response to Microsoft hinting that it will be looking at patent litigation against Linux users soon (and Novell suddenly clamming up on the subject), BusinessWeek just pubbed an op-ed piece by Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin firing back at Microsoft. Zemlin reminds Redmond that Linux isn't with out huge patent pile of its own--and an enthusiastic community to stand behind it. We could wind up watching a real nerd war this year. Just make sure your SMB apps don't get caught in the middle. (Source: BusinessWeek)

* NY thinks Google-DoubleClick merger is hinky. Sure it's worth $3.1 billion, but before he clears it, Spitzer wants Google to come clean on exactly how it runs the usage-tracking part of its advert business. Now that's going to make the Googlers cranky. (Source: ZDNet)

* Avaya on the block? According to the NYT, Avaya has engaged Credit Suisse to manage the sale of part or all of the company. Possible buyers would be both Cisco and Nortel--which could really bite for customers of its SMB product lines. (Source: CNet)

* Toshiba snuggles up to AMD. Toshiba announced it was entering into a purchasing agreement with AMD for mobile CPUs. Looks like one or more lines of Toshiba notebooks will be running these CPUs, which means we might be looking at a new line of value machines for the SMB set...? (Source: PC Mag)

Posted by Oliver Rist on May 29, 2007 05:00 AM

March 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SMB Tech News Today; 3/30

* 5 Coolest Gadgets from CTIA. In video form. Includes a couple of cool new cell phones from Pantech and Samsung, a new media player and more. (Source: NetworkWorld)

* ICANN shoots down .XXX again. The concept of a separate porno domain has been floated before...and shot down before. But ICANN just did it again at its 28th International Public Meeting in Lisbon. Again, the ICANNers said that because .XXX is a content-based domain, it would have set them up as a content-regulating body, which isn't their mandate. (Source: PC World)

* Online gambling booming...offshore. Last September, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act--basically an anti-Internet gambling law. They figured that would kill online gambling, but apparently, all it's done is prompt the gambling entrepreneurs to move offshore. (Source: InformationWeek)

* New target for burgeoning game designers: retirees. Seems there's a new trend in the video game market and that's the over 50 and even the over 60 crowd. These folks have time on their hands, money in their pockets and a need to to maintain hand-eye coordination. And, again, it looks like the Wii is out front here. (Source: CNET)

Posted by Oliver Rist on March 30, 2007 08:42 AM

December 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Are Background Checks Worth the Effort?

Mention doing a background check on potential employees or even contractors and most executives (large or SMB) nod sagely and agree.

And the next time they're checking out a nice looking resume, they forget all about it.

Bigger enterprises are better about it mainly because they tend to have dedicated HR staffers who make it their business to do background checks. SMBs, however, tend to play a little fast and loose with this process because often the interview process is conducted without intervention from HR. That's a mistake.

We just bumped into this in the real world where a sys admin got himself fired after the company found him 'embezzling' customer data for identity theft. Frighteningly, it was sheer luck that exposed the weenie, because he went after paper-based data to flesh out some data he'd gotten digitally. The admin in charge of those files caught him with his fingers in the cookie jar and then our guys were called in quietly to trace his movements on the network. He hadn't covered his tracks at all, since no one else at the organization had any computer savvy. We had him dead to rights in about an hour and a half of digging.

That company was lucky. But once we pulled in a professional investigator, he turned up a criminal sheet on this guy in less than a day of looking. Had the company's HR consultant done her job, that shouldn't have been a surprise.

For those who don't use an HR professional, you can find plenty of personal search services on the Web. A professional, like the one this company hired after the fact, will charge around $500 for a full check--definitely the most thorough way to go, since they'r experts and don't rely on just electronic search services. But for a quick check, you can also choose from a HUGE variety of background check services aimed specifically at business, like EasyBackgrounds or Rapsheets.com. These services range from $10 to $50 depending on who you use and what searches you want run. Responses are received almost immediately and can be had on-screen or via email.

It may add cost to an employee hire, but for someone who has the ability to really hurt the business (like an IT manager), it's definitely worth it.

Posted by Oliver Rist on December 11, 2006 07:55 AM

August 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Private Rules for Private Data

Turns out the government isn't the only force trying to regulate the retention of consumer data. There's some private concerns weighing in as well.

Chief among these is Visa, a company that's probably tired of the threat of lawsuits from irate credit card holders who suddenly find they owe some department store in a different state $30K for a 52-inch platinum HD TV.

So Visa has published some guidelines, called the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (or PCI for short). Even more impressive, they've attached a penalty for those Visa merchants that don't comply -- up to $500K depending on who you are and what you're selling. Unfortunately, even with this butt-paddling in the background, it's estimated that only 25% of Visa merchants are at present compliant--this a year after PCI was introduced.

Fortunately, Visa isn't dismissing the measure. They're just being methodical in tracking down violators. So if your SMB is everywhere it wants to be, but hasn't yet thought about PCI, be aware they'll get you sooner or later. So you might as well consider the measure, especially since it isn't that difficult to comply.

And to help with that, the folks at StillSecure and Coalfire have put together this white paper. It touts how their products put you 90% of the way there to PCI compliance, but it also breaks down the 12 basic things you need to consider, so it's worth a read in any case.

Posted by Oliver Rist on August 16, 2006 10:44 AM

August 01, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Don't Just Dump Old PCs: Donate

You can call it any number of things: "equipment lifecycle", "asset turnover" or even just "Hey, get rid of the crappy old thing already." But the upshot is the same, clearing desk and rack space of old equipment to make room for sparkling new hardware.

There are several ways to handle this. A popular one is to lease equipment instead of purchasing it outright. End of lease rolls around and you simply roll over the old equipment for new stuff. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for all types of equipment or even all kinds of business situations.

So there are still plenty of SMBs who purchase hardware outright -- and that hardware eventually gets old and needs to be moved on out. Fortunately, there are more places to put that old stuff besides the dumpster out back. Key among these is donation. Not only do you get the fuzzy good samaritan feeling, you can also get a tax write-off. Here's some basic steps to giving your hardware away.

1. Don't bother with the really old stuff. The equipment you're donating is going to schools, non-profits and similar organizations. These folks still need to use this stuff to do real work in the real world. So if you've got a closet full of Pentium 66s, go ahead and ask the org you'd like to donate to if they're interested, but don't be offended if they're not. Besides, even if they did take them, they wouldn't be worth more than $20-$40 each as a tax write-off.

To make the donation process as good for you as for your chosen donatee, time your product cycles accordingly. Stick to equipment that's around three to five years old (tops), plan your new product purchases accordingly and make sure that the tax value is understood by both parties.

2. Speaking of that, don't just donate equipment and wait for a receipt. Send along an inventory of what you're donating, indicate current value, make sure you get back a copy of that inventory with some signature showing that the receiver agreed with your assessment, and then get a donation receipt on top of that. Never hurts to be careful or cover your booty, especially if you're donating a lot of stuff.

3. Clean your equipment. Yeah, I'm talking about wiping it down and dusting the interior; but I'm also talking about being very careful to clean your data. Wiping hard disks of all donated servers should be a careful process with more than one set of hands making sure each disk gets wiped clean. But don't stop merely with hard disks. Make sure to set everything back to defaults. Just think how much information can be contained in a network switch, for example, should it fall into the hands of someone looking to hack in later. Checklist:
a. Clean equipment. Use handy wipes & compressed air. No need to hand off dirty stuff.
b. Wipe all hard disks. Don't just hit . A low-level format is probably enough, but you can also use wiping utilities like WipeDrive, Disk Redactor or Acronis Drive Cleanser. There are any number of other similar applications.
c. Set all other equipment back to factory defaults. Most switches, routers, modems and similar products have provisions to return the box's settings to factory defaults. Way better than leaving user names, passwords and IP addressing schemes exposed.
d. Remove attached devices. Not just big stuff like printers, but smaller things you might miss: PC Cards, memory sticks, SD Cards, etc. If the device needs those to work, make sure propreitary data is wiped off.

4. Make sure everything's working. Don't donate broken equipment unless both you and the receiver know that the equipment is defective. Gets you a bad rep fast.

5. Look for local donation points first. Donating good stuff doesn't just give you a tax break. It also creates good will. No point squandering that on an outfit that's located in the distant land of Mordor. Expecially when there are so many equally deserving local organizations. In the new York Area, a quick Web search came up with New York Cares and Big Brother Big Sister New York. And that's not counting my local contacts which include friends and relatives who work for public schools, state universities, and the local Red Cross chapter.

6. If these local options don't work for you, then go national. Some popular choices include:

Digital Aid
Share The Technology
TechSoup
Youth For Technology

Posted by Oliver Rist on August 1, 2006 10:58 AM

July 31, 2006 | Comments: (0)

InfoDefense: Managed Security for SMBs

Larger enterprises have come to look at managed security services almost as a standard part of their IT budgets. Reason? I'd love to say to keep customer data safe, but the real reason is probably more along the lines of legal peace of mind, especially on the compliance front. Unfortunately for the SMB set, the word "managed" usually reads "priced-for-mega-businesses-only". Hey, until now.

If you look around, you can now find managed security firms with service prices aimed at the SMB set. My favorite so far is InfoDefense. Prices are down to around $800/mo on average with a few grand up front for initial setup charges. It goes up from there for specific things like compliance monitoring, but it's still in the realm of reality for businesses with smaller budgets.

Another up and comer is DataNode, but if its web site is any way to judge the company, it's still got a little ways to go before I'd feel solid about it. Rumor has it that Symantec's Managed Security Service has an SMB pricing plan, too, but I haven't been able to specific numbers yet. Worth checking out if you're willing to sit through the sales pitch first.

What should you expect from one of these services? To a degree, that's dependent on the kind of biz you're in, but here's a quick three-point checklist:

1. Look for the service to automate IT security tasks that normally require specialized (and expensive) on-staff talent. Intrusion detection, network vulnerability monitoring, maybe even security patch management and testing.

My lil' company, for example, is thinking about InfoDefense because we offer a Web-based application and that company has a new Web app security testing program. Something we can sorely use, but don't necessarily want to spend full-time staff money on.

2. If compliance is on your radar, look for service offerings in this department. But don't blindly buy anything that says 'compliance' on it. Identify your specifc compliance regulatory issues and make sure the service offering can address those things directly.

3. Walk through your contact points with the service. Look for specific reports, how those get delivered, the frequency with which they're delivered and whether you can run your own or not. Don't go for services that monitor your network and only tell you if you've been attacked or compromised once a month.

Posted by Oliver Rist on July 31, 2006 08:53 PM

June 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)

SBA Extends Disaster Loans for SMBs

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has extended the filing deadline for their Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This is still for businesses affected primarily by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Specific deadlines are determined by where you're located, but you can get all the skinny at the SBA's disaster loan web site.

They've also got some more news up (PDF file) about how ready they are for the upcoming hurricane season, which the NOAA is forecasting as yet another doozy.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 8, 2006 04:43 PM

April 26, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Online Biz Banking Extends to Direct Deposit

Wells Fargo Logo.jpg

Got a press release on this from Wells Fargo. Seems the bank is now offering an electronic version of direct deposit for SMBs that maintain a checking account with Wells Fargo.

The service is called Employer Direct Pay (even with a little patent pending action), and it's designed so you can manage your DD payments to employees across both salary and expense payments, even insurance premiums and the like. No problem depositing either within Wells Fargo or outside financial institutions.

Pricing is SMB, too, at $10/mo for unlimited users.

Cute, but I wonder how many SMBs have been turned off to yet another security perimeter being controlled by someone else--especially a bank. Wells Fargo insists it's safe with 128-bit session and data encryption as well as hierarchical access and authentication security, but geez--it's not like any of that is new. I'd probably do it simply because I'd prefer to handle my banking that way, but I'd sure feel better if they were throwing a few more security curve balls.

Posted by Oliver Rist on April 26, 2006 12:36 PM

April 18, 2006 | Comments: (0)

EMC Does more SMB

EMC just announced an extension of their SMB-targeted product blitz, releasing new software for their annoyingly-spelled CLARiiON line of storage hardware products.

The company just released the Insignia Solution for Exchange and Insignia Solution for Data Protection--man, these guys can really name a product.

Both products handle storage-related tasks, like message store back or server migration tasks in the case of the Exchange product. They do this via a GUI interface that's designed to plug seamlessly into the GUI tools that Exchange admins already use--no need for big re-training issues. A nice touch.

And, of course, they're priced with SMBs in mind, starting around $12,000, and you've got to get them through EMC's VAR network.

Posted by Oliver Rist on April 18, 2006 02:24 PM

March 29, 2006 | Comments: (0)

TigerDirect Getting Loads of Complaints

According to Digg, the company behind Systemax, Tiger Direct, has been getting hit by loads of customer complaints, recorded by the Better Biz Bureau.

Figures this comes out a few days after I recommend checking them out as an alternative hardware vendor. Sigh.

Posted by Oliver Rist on March 29, 2006 10:24 PM

March 15, 2006 | Comments: (0)

IBM Revamps PartnerWorld with SMBs in Mind

Had a chance to talk to Neil Isford, IBM's Worldwide Vice President of Business Partner Sales for the IBM Software Group last week about some fairly cool changes Big Blue is making to its reseller program.

The company is actually hosting a PartnerWorld event this week in Vegas, but the program details are available off the PartnerWorld Web site as well.

Bottom line: IBM wants you as an IBM reseller, and they're willing to pay to prove it. IBM has introduced a Modular Rewards Program. Instead of simply offering 5% for lead identification and 20% for fulfillment, IBM has broken the deal process down into four or five separate steps, each with a fixed commission rate. I'd detail them here, but Big Blue has restricted that press release only to folks who are registered with PartnerWorld.

Fortunately, registration is easy--for anyone. You, me, my Mom, could register as an IBM reseller for the first year. Nothing else required except a name, email address and a pulse. If you get a deal, you simply need to provide proof of your involvement and you're up for reseller commissions.

Utopia ends after the first year, tho; as Big Blue then wants you to have at least some certifications in your chosen product platform. These details haven't been released yet, but Isford said they should be forthcoming in the next couple of months. He also said:

[Handsome Oliver:] So why the sudden change?
[Neil Isford:] The feedback we were getting from our resellers is that they weren't making enough money. Competition between resellers is increasing and our previous program wasn't keeping up with other leaders, like Cisco, Microsoft and Oracle. The new program outstrips them all.
[HO:] What's the pluses to breaking up the commissions for different parts of the deal.
[NI:] It means you'll actually get paid for all your work. We had smaller resellers who were making the initial contact, identifying the deal, doing proof of concept and then putting the deal out to larger resellers who could do fulfillment and often losing most of thier commission in the subsequent biddin process. Breaking out the different steps with dedicated commission pricing for each protects these parters and ensures they'll get paid for their work.
[HO:] Probably also encourages partnering between resellers, right?
[NI:] Definitely; it creates a great opportunity to connect up partners with each other. They've now got real incentive to move into deals together, which was often a problem especially in vertical markets. Since the primary Partner's business strategy is protected, they're less inclined to block such markets from other Partners who can help them with the pieces of the deal they might be weakest in.
[HO:] Also sounds very attractive to smaller or startup companies.
[NI:] That's right. Smaller companies, especially consultants, used to have a maximum commission of 5%--if everything went smoothly. Now they can make up to 20%.
[HO:] Hang on a sec...I'm signing up.

Posted by Oliver Rist on March 15, 2006 01:41 PM

March 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)

The Patent Question

As a magazine pundit I take a lot of product demos. A lot of product demos. And there's a trend I've been noticing: Folks are patenting everything.

Being a small software biz founder myself, I know part of the reason: VCs like to see the phrases "patent-pending" or "patented" on anything into which they're considering dumping money. It's that mythical IP-value concept.

Yet some of the "patented technologies" I see are little more than process diagrams with black clouds in them; these usually have the name The Something Engine, and it's this engine that's up for patent. Look closely at what many of these software products are doing, however, and you'll be pretty hard pressed to figure out what they're actually patenting from a technology standpoint as everything they're using has already been invented by someone else.

On the other hand, watching successful technology companies like RIM get raked over the coals by companies that are little more than a bunch of lawyers with some patent documents, the question necessarily arises: Do I need to have patents in order to protect my business?

To answer this question, I called Richard Scott Draughon, who runs MyTechnologyLawyer.com, a great legal resource for small businesses oriented in technology.

Turns out, he's actually pretty down on patents. "It's easy to file a provisional patent application," he says "but those are only good for a year. After that, many people don't realize all the work involved in maintaining a patent." This is not a file-and-forget process. After that first year, the patent process begins in earnest, and you'll need far more detailed documentation and technology demonstrations. It also doesn't end there as maintaining a patent requires a long-term commitment to updating and maturing that documentation. "It's a lot of work over time," he says.

"Small companies should consult an IP lawyer, not just for patents, but for alternate solutions," continues Draughon. He describes one alternative I didn't know about: Trade secret law. This is a state-level law that's much easier to get than a patent and much quicker, too. Plus, there's no registration/application scheme to worry about. (Me likee already.) You may still need to deal with patents later, but it's a quick way to cover your rear in certain situations.

Draughon agreed with my VCs-want-it motivation for filing patents, but he also said that many of the folks he talked to were filing patents under the mistaken impression that it would scare off competitors.

"Quite the opposite," he argued. "If competitors see a burgeoning market, then filing a patent really only encourages that viewpoint. Thinking this will scare away competition is really a misplaced expectation. If it's a good market, competition will come regardless."

And while sites like MyTechnologyLawyer.com do offer legal resources for small companies, Draughon still recommends consulting a lawyer when doing things like applying for patents or even trademarks.

"Yes, you can download the forms and send in an application," he says, "even from our site. But you're missing on the extra searches and protective advice that only a lawyer can give you." File it by yourself and you can be rejected for any reason. File it with an attorney and it's not only more difficult to get rejected, you also have a clear reason of why and some immediate advice on what to do about it.

If you want to check out MyTechnologyLawyer.com, I highly recommend it. The stock legal forms and contracts alone are worth it--and many of them are free. Draughon's service gives you online access to these and other resources as well as discounted legal services once you get a membership--and that covers all kinds of stuff, including lawsuits, arbitration, incorporation, and other common SMB legal needs.

He's even got a syndicated radio show--and he flipped the tables on me by asking to interview yours truly next Wednesday. I'll plug it again with specifics before then.

Posted by Oliver Rist on March 14, 2006 09:45 AM

January 24, 2006 | Comments: (0)

For Microsoft Channel Partners or Their Customers: Win a Tech Makeover

Microsoft recently announced that it and HP are sponsoring three Microsoft partners who want to give one of their customers a full tech makeover. Ironically, it's called the TotalTechMakeover.

Submit the small biz of your choice and that customer can get a tech makeover that's worth up to $30K in earnings to you.

You've got to use MS technologies like SBS, Office, XP and Dynamics and you'd better run them on HP hardware.

But if you win, you not only get the $30K, but also local and national press coverage (tho no one contacted me, so I'm not sure how worthwhile it'll be) and Microsoft/HP will get their jollies in the form of a case study.

Enter soon, tho, 'cause they're picking the winners every month starting in Feb.

Posted by Oliver Rist on January 24, 2006 04:11 PM

January 20, 2006 | Comments: (0)

TechFilter Roundup: Bad Chacki Planning & The Evolution of Outsourcing

Had a couple of posts on TechFilter over the last few weeks that I neglected to cross-post, but should have.

The first is this one, which may have been the coolest chacki with the worst implementation. (I got this spelling for 'chacki' from a Yiddish etymology site, BTW, so no dings.) The company is called Walletex, and they make the coolest USB thumb drives I've ever seen: credit card thumb drives. They're made to fit in your wallet right next to your Amex card--you can even sit on them. Capacities go up to 1GB and they start at $20. Plus, you can call Walletex and have your corporate logo printed on them, giving you one of the coolest chackis at any trade show.

So why the downside? Walletex didn't render any with their own logo at CES. Biggest tech trade show of the year, these guys are advertising as chachki vendors and they didn't have any to give away. Dumb. Sheer luck that I found them. If they'd been giving a few away, there would have been a line to get into the booth.

The next post concerns the sad evolution of outsourcig. Seems the WSJ reported on a story where the author was interviewing university computer science students. These kids were real busy. So busy that they were using Rent A Coder to outsource their homework to programmers in India. No, I'm not kidding.

Means SMB managers running programming houses better check to make sure their newest employees aren't outsourcing all their assignments. Kills me.

Posted by Oliver Rist on January 20, 2006 09:20 AM

December 29, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Plugging InfoWorld Stuff

You probably already passed by this on the way to SMBIT, but I feel stupid ignoring it. InfoWorld's title page has a link to a guide called Securing SMBs. It's sponsored by an SMB-oriented security company, but the writing is mostly third-party and pretty informative. You've got to give them your vital info to get download access, but it's a small price to pay for the data.

Wish they'd marketed my Firewall Guide the same way. Geez.

If you want to read up on more tangible security product data, check out Garza's Dec. 5th review of Checkpoint and Sygate's end point security solutions. Definitely MB rather than SB, but excellent stuff if you'e got the user count to make it cost-effective.

Posted by Oliver Rist on December 29, 2005 10:24 PM

December 19, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Web-Based Outsourcing

'Outsourcing' today is a term that brings to mind a dusky programming sweatshop in India. Typically a disaster for most software shops--though that's something to discuss over time.

But outsourcing is a time-honored tradition that many companies have used to their advantage. Microsoft is a good example. Talk to a Microsoft employee and you find out these are substantially fewer in number than you might expect. That's because Microsoft outsources pretty much all job functions aside from product management and product development types.

HR, secretarial, office support, janitorial and more are all outsourced from other sources even if they work on-site in Redmond. The one big exception is IT, which is all in-house, though that's largelly because this department doubles as an early beta test site for new MS products.

Small businesses can benefit from outsourcing in many ways, though finding a quality outsourcer is always a trick. As I find more of these in my SMB travels, I'll post them here. For now, check out Administaff.

This is HR outsourcsing, which isn't new. What is somewhat new is that Administaff can manage most of its relationship with you over the Web. There are certainly initial setup sessions, but once that's done, Administaff is basically an HR department on the Web.

And it doesn't shirk its duty either. You get everything from basic payroll and hiring help, to full benefits and retirement services, government compliance help and long-term performance management.

For SBs with 5-10 employees that are going to stay at 5-10 employees for the foreseeable future, this is a luxury. But if you're at 5-10 now and 2006 looks like it's going to end in the 50-100 range, then having this extra staff help can be a lifesaver.

Posted by Oliver Rist on December 19, 2005 10:45 AM

November 16, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Post #1 on Fair Use Policies: Email

Big businesses spend quite a bit of time drafting reams of policy documents covering a wide variety of technology issues as they pertain to the enterprise. Most SMBs scoff at this as a waste of time, and get on about the task of making money.

And used to be that this was fine. But that was before the focus on technology legislation and its potentially devastating effects on any business-large or small. Fail one of these audits and you've got a lot to answer for.

Best way to defend is to make sure that the right documentation was there as a base. This covers a lot of ground, so I'll be writing about it piecemeal. One step at a time. This one's on drafting an Email Fair Use policy. This is a great way to start, as email is a ubiquitous business tool and favorite way for the malcontents to compromise security.

An email policy should be clearly written as it's likely to be one of the few that employees will actually read closely. But make sure it covers all the basics:

(1) Email is for business use, not personal enjoyment. (You probably can't fully enforce this unless you want to go all Stalin on your employees, but mentioning it means cutting down on at least some of this usage. If employees complain loudly, remind them that there are plenty of free and Web-accessible email services they can get for personal use and still access of corporate PCs without using corporate email servers at all.)

(2) Related to above is the very important fact that email is company property. This extends to the actual data as well as the company's right to access any email sent to or from any company PC. If you're really concerned, you've also got the right to retrieve emails that users have deleted from their inboxes--as long as you explain this right in your Use Policy. (All this gets real important in company vs. employee legal actions.)

(3) Emails can't be used to harass anyone else--employee or outside personage. (Creepy boyfriends or star stalkers beware.)

(4) Emails can't contain libelous, slanderous or generally offensive content. (This is more than just covering liars. It should also apply to the shmuck who thinks it's funny to send Dumb Blonde jokes to all the secretaries.)

(5) If you've got the technology and/or the talent, you might also mention that it's within the company's purvue to monitor or filter incoming and outgoing email based on keyword-style scanning. Emails that fail these scans are blocked. (This means you can block Freddy's daily Playboy Online Newsletter email; and it also means that if certain keywords are found, like say "jihad" or "kiddie porn", those emails can be flagged and analyzed.)

(6) End the policy with a mention that those employees who violate the policy are subject to HR discipline, up to and including termination depending on the violation and its consequences.

If you need a sample, here's a pretty strong and detailed one from BusinessLink.

UPDATE: And as the fates would have it, I got some supporting information for all this today from Harris Interactive regarding a survey they did on employee email usage in the US. Turns out many employees abuse these systems simply because they don't know any better. Pretty good incentive to write up some clear instructions.

Abstract From The Harris Interactive Survey:
The survey found that almost 70 percent of employees have sent or received email that could pose a risk to business. It also seems that many employees (92 percent) do not believe they have ever sent a risky email--uncovering a discrepancy between perceived and actual risks.

Some other interesting findings include:

- A majority of employees who use email at work (61 percent) admit they have used email at work for personal use.

- Those who earn over $75K a year are more likely to save work-related email outside of the company's network (62 percent vs. 41 percent of employees who earn less than $50K a year).

- Nearly half (48 percent) say they have sent or received joke emails, funny pictures/movies, funny stories of a questionable tone (e.g., racy/sexual content, politically incorrect) .

- One in five (22 percent) say they have sent or received a password or log-in information via email.

- While a majority of employees (73 percent) who use email at work are aware of corporate email policies, less than half (46 percent) say they 'always' adhere to the policy.

- Nine percent of U.S. adult employees who use email at work have used company email to submit their resume to another company .

- One-fifth of employees (22 percent) have sent personal details to HR including Social Security numbers, salary details, or medical information via email.

Harris did the study earlier this month using an online surveying tool, from a data set of roughly 2400 respondents. Be aware, however, that the company who commissioned the Harris survey is Fortiva, a leading vendor of managed email archving solutions--a pretty decent service by the way, and outsourced so the pricing isn't outside of SMB thinking.

Posted by Oliver Rist on November 16, 2005 08:56 PM

October 11, 2005 | Comments: (0)

HP Gets Serious About SMB with SmartOffice Update

It's a big day for HP's relationship with SMB customers. The company called me last week to discuss a whole passle of announcements it's making today to flesh out its SmartOffice line of SMB prods and servs.

On the product side, there's Storage Works Data Protector Express. This is a "full-featured" data backup/disaster recovery app built with SMBs in mind. That means (supposedly as I haven't actually tested this) an easy-to-use interface for the semi-geek customer. Also the ability to back-up to a variety of formats and a fairly low price tag of $779. Given all the low-end competition in this space, I'm going to need to see it work before I pass final judgement on the price tag.

I asked if Data Protector Express would take the place of Yosemite's Tapeware XE, which comes bundled on HP's lower-end (SMB-oriented) tape hardware now, like the USB-based DAT 40 drive I reviewed here a few weeks ago. Strangely, this didn't seem to have occured to the product reps I was talking to, but they promised to look into it. Guess we'll see.

Slightly higher end is the MSA 1510i Smart Array network storage enclosure. Puppy starts at about eight grand, however it's not only easy to use but flexible as all get out. Think support for SCSI as well as SATA disks, ability to grab disks out of ProLiant servers and pop them directly into a 1510i for instant data recovery and (again, supposedly) an easy-to-use Web-based management interface.

On the service side, you'll find new tools on HP's site today, mostly based around an expanded relationship with Cisco. There's a Solutions Designer tool, for one. Answer a few questions about your existing network and what you're trying to do, and Solutions Designer should be able to spit back a relevant answer--based on HP and Cisco products, of course. Smacks a lot of similar tools on Cisco's site, but it's supposed to be more intelligent than the configuration-style tools Cisco's employed in the past. I'd be more specific, but no one was allowed access to any of these services until today, so I'm still working on the real-world experience part.

You'll also find a Smart Chat capability for SMB customers looking to talk about specific SMB-oriented HP and Cisco products. This is probably useful if you're interested in those particular products, but I've got a funny feeling those looking for more individual solutions are going to be a little frustrated. Finally, the HP Locator tool is pretty much a closed find-me-a-reseller search tool aimed at resellers who are both HP and Cisco certified.

That may not blow up your skirt, but HP's SMB financial services news probably will. The company is promising new financing programs aimed specifically at SMBs, allowing for more flexible financing options and a deferred payment plan, too. Now that's attractive to SMBs!

There's significantly more stuff that I may write about later--but I want to play with these new online tools first. Anyone have any opinions based on first-person use, please let me know.

Posted by Oliver Rist on October 11, 2005 04:22 AM

October 03, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Announcements from Next Week's Mobile Biz Expo

I won't get a chance to go, 'cause I'll be in Orlando, but next week is Mobile Business Expo in Chicago. Fortunately, Ben Stricker, one of the show's organizers, zapped me a summary of some of the big announcements happening there:

"Advanced Media, Inc. will announce the most advanced 150x MMC Plus(TM) and 150x MMC Mobile(TM) flash memory cards available, adding to its RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media and electronic storage products. [Sounds like a good deal for smartphones and MP3 players--HA!]

Aventail will announce its Secure Mobile Access Solution for PDAs and Smart Phones [Gonna have to test this against some of the other WiFiSec products we've tested, like NetMotion Wireless]

Bluesocket will be announcing significant enhancements to its suite of WLAN guest services, making it easier for IT administrators to provide differentiated and secure guest access on their wireless network [BlueSocket always makes good stuff. Need to get this in the lab, too.]

Route1 will debut its groundbreaking Mobi Solution, a mobile thin-client that securely utilizes all of the existing wireless and mobile network infrastructures available today {Be interesting to see, though I'm expecting disappointment. If anyone sees this, let me know what you think]

Xirrus will be announcing a partnership to greatly enhance its XM-3300 Management Platform allowing IT administrators to greatly streamline the planning, deployment and ongoing management of an enterprise Wi-Fi network" [Want to see this one bad]

That's as much as I got, but it does make me wish I could drop in. If you can make it, head over here and register. Then let me know what you find.

Posted by Oliver Rist on October 3, 2005 06:56 AM

September 30, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Verizon Lays Out Nex-Gen Network Plans

Probably have to take most of this with a grain of salt, but it's an interesting read nonetheless. Jim Duffy of sister-pub NetworkWorld got an interview with Verizon CTO, Mark Wegleitner. We're talking a whole bunch of new goodies, especially fibre and multi-gigabit speeds.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 30, 2005 01:40 PM

September 26, 2005 | Comments: (0)

SMBs Should Take Another Look at Online Ads

Got a limited ad budget? Time to take another look at Internet advertising. Online ad revenues have grown about 26% since last year, due not only to more consumer presence on the Web, but a hard-to-beat ability to reach just the audience you want. And only pay for those views, too.

There's even new venues available, notably an ever-ravenous Google and a new MSN paid search service called adCenter to debut later this month.

The only thing to watch out for here is the continuing encroachment of spyware into many online ad networks. Few quicker ways to lose your potential customers than to infect their PCs with malware.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 26, 2005 09:17 PM

September 25, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Small Biz SOX Reprieve

If you're a small business facing some sweaty SOX moments, you can breathe easier. Seems the SEC's small biz advisory council has voted to extend SBs' SOX compliance deadline to July 2007. Even better, it defines a small biz as any with a value less than $75 million, which means I'm off the hook, too. Barely. No really.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 25, 2005 09:57 PM

September 16, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Katrina To Spawn SMB Dollars

According to our charismatic President, the Federal Government will shoulder much of the financial burden associated with rebuilding the Big Easy. Without increasing taxes, of course. Yup.

My tightfistedness aside, one of the key areas Bush and Co. intend to massage in order to breathe new economic life into the region is by beefing up small business loans for companies that work or will begin to work in the New Orleans area. (Oh, I mean the City of Louisiana.)

As you may or may not know, I run a small business in New York and it began just before the trouble on 9/11. NY state and NYC at the time both offered incentives for folks just like me to apply for SB loans. We didn't bite as most of them were contingent upon opening your office in downtown Manhattan. But despite the fact that much of this area was still covered in rubble, per sq. ft. dollars were still pricier than we wanted to afford.

We can expect the New Orleans loans to be of a similar nature, but be aware that all is not well with the 9/11 loan program. Apparently, there has been "flagrant abuse" of this program, often without the knowledge of the companies applying for loans. It's depressing to realize, but just because these loans are the result of a tragedy doesn't mean you're completely safe from con artists or abusive bankers.

So, rebuild New Orleans, but watch your back while you do it.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 16, 2005 02:25 PM

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