Social Networking
Riding the social media wave
Sunday 30 November 2008, 8:51 PM
Is Your Head (And Data) In The Clouds?
With Microsoft's recent launch of its Azure cloud platform, which bundles the company’s familiar software functions into an online service with your data stored remotely, cloud computing is set to become increasingly mainstream. However, the current trend to host data on clusters of remote servers ‘in a cloud’ is good news for online hosts and datacentres, but you need to look into your own particular cloud quite carefully.
The concept of cloud computing is not new. Your data in Facebook and Hotmail has been in the clouds for years and most end users are none the wiser, beyond enjoying the ability to interact with their data remotely instead of being tied to a computer or a mobile device with limited storage. But the lure of cutting costs is driving more corporates to store their data in a cloud rather than in their own managed facility. This is a trend that has been accelerated by well known companies like Amazon, Google or Microsoft, generating addition income streams by renting out their huge spare server capacity.
Cash-strapped small to medium-sized companies were quick to realise they could save a fair amount by not owning their own servers. But a great number of so called ‘server farms’ have sprung up to serve the market, causing IT managers concern over data security and privacy issues as well as continuity of service. That’s also been an issue with hosting companies cutting corners in a rush to launch new services and charging full price for services that should perhaps still be labelled ‘beta test’.
Just like the sky itself, all clouds are not equal. And some clouds are more than capable of pouring rain on your parade. In the last year I have seen a number of failures in these cloud server farms. Sadly, some of these well publicised failings have involved well known hosting companies where all the backup data was stored on one massive server, meaning hundreds, if not thousands of customers were separated from their data for days as thousands of terabytes of data were copied back onto servers.
It’s a situation that no-one should find themselves in. Cloud computing services should not put your data backups into huge storage units. Instead they should split backup data into manageable amounts stored on regular servers. If one server fails, it therefore only affects a few customers for a short time as much smaller chunks of data need to be restored. You should also look for companies that offer servers in secure datacentres, managed by on-site staff, located in various parts of the country, giving you a choice of geographically diverse locations for storage of your data.
Now that the data is being stored online, more and more of us are working on the move from mobile devices. It’s all too easy for records of their interactions with clients to get lost. It may be a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’, but the integrity of data storage is crucial to business survival. Data loss to a company, while rarely immediately fatal, is often the trigger for a succession of customer service, invoicing and financial problems that eventually bring the company down. In 2002 a report by McGladrey & Pullen indicated that a company prevented from getting at its data for 10 days never fully recovers and 43% go under. You wouldn’t drive a car with two wheels missing would you? So why risk your business data in the clouds, unless you know it is in a secure and proven facility.
One company I've come across recently that ticks all these boxes and seems to be doing great stuff in cloud computing is Xtraordinary Hosting. It's great to see an innovative early adopter in niche technology go to so much trouble to help customers gain and retain competitive advantage.
Christian Harris
Managing Director, BidUpBiz.com
The concept of cloud computing is not new. Your data in Facebook and Hotmail has been in the clouds for years and most end users are none the wiser, beyond enjoying the ability to interact with their data remotely instead of being tied to a computer or a mobile device with limited storage. But the lure of cutting costs is driving more corporates to store their data in a cloud rather than in their own managed facility. This is a trend that has been accelerated by well known companies like Amazon, Google or Microsoft, generating addition income streams by renting out their huge spare server capacity.
Cash-strapped small to medium-sized companies were quick to realise they could save a fair amount by not owning their own servers. But a great number of so called ‘server farms’ have sprung up to serve the market, causing IT managers concern over data security and privacy issues as well as continuity of service. That’s also been an issue with hosting companies cutting corners in a rush to launch new services and charging full price for services that should perhaps still be labelled ‘beta test’.
Just like the sky itself, all clouds are not equal. And some clouds are more than capable of pouring rain on your parade. In the last year I have seen a number of failures in these cloud server farms. Sadly, some of these well publicised failings have involved well known hosting companies where all the backup data was stored on one massive server, meaning hundreds, if not thousands of customers were separated from their data for days as thousands of terabytes of data were copied back onto servers.
It’s a situation that no-one should find themselves in. Cloud computing services should not put your data backups into huge storage units. Instead they should split backup data into manageable amounts stored on regular servers. If one server fails, it therefore only affects a few customers for a short time as much smaller chunks of data need to be restored. You should also look for companies that offer servers in secure datacentres, managed by on-site staff, located in various parts of the country, giving you a choice of geographically diverse locations for storage of your data.
Now that the data is being stored online, more and more of us are working on the move from mobile devices. It’s all too easy for records of their interactions with clients to get lost. It may be a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’, but the integrity of data storage is crucial to business survival. Data loss to a company, while rarely immediately fatal, is often the trigger for a succession of customer service, invoicing and financial problems that eventually bring the company down. In 2002 a report by McGladrey & Pullen indicated that a company prevented from getting at its data for 10 days never fully recovers and 43% go under. You wouldn’t drive a car with two wheels missing would you? So why risk your business data in the clouds, unless you know it is in a secure and proven facility.
One company I've come across recently that ticks all these boxes and seems to be doing great stuff in cloud computing is Xtraordinary Hosting. It's great to see an innovative early adopter in niche technology go to so much trouble to help customers gain and retain competitive advantage.
Christian Harris
Managing Director, BidUpBiz.com
Sunday 23 November 2008, 9:15 PM
Mobile Comms Combat Economic Slowdown
Whatever your small business, you must know how to keep it alive during a slow economy. There are vital areas in which you can baton down the hatches and keep your business not only afloat during economic declines but keep you in the much-needed cash flow to cover day-to-day needs.
Some quick fixes include using less electricity by turning off computers and peripherals when you and your staff are away from them for periods over 2 hours. Turn down the heat or air conditioning in your office area while on lunch break or out of the office over night, and buy office supplies in bulk and while they are on sale. You can also cut down on phone bills by returning calls when rates are lower. Or have your consultations and meetings over the Internet via VoIP to eliminate high phone bills altogether. You should also seek out and use quality low-cost and free advertising wherever you can.
Another option larger companies should consider is implementing a flexible working policy as a means to reduce overheads. However, while most small businesses probably believe that technology is becoming more important in the current economy, many of us feel that mobile service providers are not adapting their offerings to give us the flexibility and advice we need. Mobile communications contracts, for instance, rarely give us adequate flexibility to be able to react to an uncertain economy. This is despite the fact that technology is becoming more important in a slowing economy, and that we’re all under more pressure from our employers to work more flexibly (i.e. longer and harder) compared to two years ago.
Things are going to become increasingly difficult for many smaller businesses and it’s imperative that mobile phone suppliers work with us to ensure that we can continue to grow. Mobile working has an extremely positive impact, not just in terms of the performance and productivity of teams, but also in attracting and retaining excellent people. Mobile technology allows bigwigs to keep in touch with their minions and also means that they’re available should staff need support, advice or to call in a sickie.
Mobile communications providers need to work with small-company owners to tailor a tariff which not only matches your business needs, but also takes into account the potential impact of the credit crunch. As a business owner you should be looking for a simple, understandable price plan from mobile communications providers and ensure you get the specific advice that you require.
The UK has enjoyed 15 years of successive growth but this is now coming to an end. Many small businesses will have never experienced recession before and so the risk of under or over reacting to the downturn will be high. Life is going to get a lot harder before it gets better. We all know that our economy is built on the success of small businesses, which account for over half of the UK’s turnover and employment. All businesses need to take stock and revise their plans and strategy to continue to be competitive, and that means streamlining operations, reducing costs and increasing productivity. The important thing to remember is there is never a bad time to start a good business.
Christian Harris
Managing Director, BidUpBiz.com
Some quick fixes include using less electricity by turning off computers and peripherals when you and your staff are away from them for periods over 2 hours. Turn down the heat or air conditioning in your office area while on lunch break or out of the office over night, and buy office supplies in bulk and while they are on sale. You can also cut down on phone bills by returning calls when rates are lower. Or have your consultations and meetings over the Internet via VoIP to eliminate high phone bills altogether. You should also seek out and use quality low-cost and free advertising wherever you can.
Another option larger companies should consider is implementing a flexible working policy as a means to reduce overheads. However, while most small businesses probably believe that technology is becoming more important in the current economy, many of us feel that mobile service providers are not adapting their offerings to give us the flexibility and advice we need. Mobile communications contracts, for instance, rarely give us adequate flexibility to be able to react to an uncertain economy. This is despite the fact that technology is becoming more important in a slowing economy, and that we’re all under more pressure from our employers to work more flexibly (i.e. longer and harder) compared to two years ago.
Things are going to become increasingly difficult for many smaller businesses and it’s imperative that mobile phone suppliers work with us to ensure that we can continue to grow. Mobile working has an extremely positive impact, not just in terms of the performance and productivity of teams, but also in attracting and retaining excellent people. Mobile technology allows bigwigs to keep in touch with their minions and also means that they’re available should staff need support, advice or to call in a sickie.
Mobile communications providers need to work with small-company owners to tailor a tariff which not only matches your business needs, but also takes into account the potential impact of the credit crunch. As a business owner you should be looking for a simple, understandable price plan from mobile communications providers and ensure you get the specific advice that you require.
The UK has enjoyed 15 years of successive growth but this is now coming to an end. Many small businesses will have never experienced recession before and so the risk of under or over reacting to the downturn will be high. Life is going to get a lot harder before it gets better. We all know that our economy is built on the success of small businesses, which account for over half of the UK’s turnover and employment. All businesses need to take stock and revise their plans and strategy to continue to be competitive, and that means streamlining operations, reducing costs and increasing productivity. The important thing to remember is there is never a bad time to start a good business.
Christian Harris
Managing Director, BidUpBiz.com
Thursday 20 November 2008, 4:41 PM
NSFW!
The benefits that the Internet brings to business are growing every day. Social media and networking are increasingly important to people’s professional and personal lives. But employers must make sure that staff are aware of the dangers associated with working online. Without training, staff may well find themselves the weakest link in the security chain, without ever knowing what they are doing wrong.
As Get Safe Online Week draws to a close tomorrow, the TUC (Trades Union Congress) has launched a toolkit to help improve workers’ Internet security awareness and skills. Caring people at the TUC are concerned that while employers are improving their Internet security systems, their good work could be undermined if they fail to ensure that their staff’s skills are up-to-date.
It seems that over half of us admit to using the same password for multiple Web sites, a quarter of us post confidential or personal information online, and some of us even open e-mail attachments from an unknown source, potentially putting us at risk from Sarah Palin’s cleavage.
This could obviously have a ‘huge’ impact on employers, who may stand to lose valuable commercial or customer data, or lose money through damage or downtime due to attacks. In response, the TUC has teamed up with GetSafeOnline.org and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to produce ‘Not Safe For Work?’ - a free online toolkit for staff. The toolkit brings together video interviews from industry experts, quizzes and reading lists, and offers a personalised prescription on Internet security issues that is tailored to an individual’s Internet usage.
If you can’t sleep at night you can read all about malicious software, identity theft, your rights at work (the dos and don’ts of personal computer use at work and whether you are being monitored), and even your privacy online (tips for social networking users, whose personal and work life could be visible to more than they think). As well as being used by inquisitive UK workers directly, it is hoped that employers will make time available for their staff to use the toolkit, as a kick-start into longer term plans for training in this area and to ensure their employees are as up-to-date as possible.
The Internet is a fantastic place to be, and a valuable resource for both individuals and employers. But having the right software and infrastructure in place is not enough on its own to protect your organisation against online threats. Behaviour plays a key part, and knowing what should and shouldn’t be done while we’re using the Internet is just as important. As a result, staff training is an essential part of protecting organisations and employees against Internet threats, risks, and bare flesh.
As Get Safe Online Week draws to a close tomorrow, the TUC (Trades Union Congress) has launched a toolkit to help improve workers’ Internet security awareness and skills. Caring people at the TUC are concerned that while employers are improving their Internet security systems, their good work could be undermined if they fail to ensure that their staff’s skills are up-to-date.
It seems that over half of us admit to using the same password for multiple Web sites, a quarter of us post confidential or personal information online, and some of us even open e-mail attachments from an unknown source, potentially putting us at risk from Sarah Palin’s cleavage.
This could obviously have a ‘huge’ impact on employers, who may stand to lose valuable commercial or customer data, or lose money through damage or downtime due to attacks. In response, the TUC has teamed up with GetSafeOnline.org and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to produce ‘Not Safe For Work?’ - a free online toolkit for staff. The toolkit brings together video interviews from industry experts, quizzes and reading lists, and offers a personalised prescription on Internet security issues that is tailored to an individual’s Internet usage.
If you can’t sleep at night you can read all about malicious software, identity theft, your rights at work (the dos and don’ts of personal computer use at work and whether you are being monitored), and even your privacy online (tips for social networking users, whose personal and work life could be visible to more than they think). As well as being used by inquisitive UK workers directly, it is hoped that employers will make time available for their staff to use the toolkit, as a kick-start into longer term plans for training in this area and to ensure their employees are as up-to-date as possible.
The Internet is a fantastic place to be, and a valuable resource for both individuals and employers. But having the right software and infrastructure in place is not enough on its own to protect your organisation against online threats. Behaviour plays a key part, and knowing what should and shouldn’t be done while we’re using the Internet is just as important. As a result, staff training is an essential part of protecting organisations and employees against Internet threats, risks, and bare flesh.
Sunday 9 November 2008, 11:09 AM
Business Bloggers Leave Blogs Open To Hackers
Corporate bloggers need to pay as much attention to the security of their blogs as they do in writing them, to avoid being hacked. The two main threats bloggers face are comment spam and SQL injection attacks. Both Blogger and Wordpress have been vulnerable to SQL injection attacks, and don’t provide enough care when validating SQL queries. This is particularly bad news for corporate bloggers because any form of external interference with your blog can have a detrimental effect on your organisation’s reputation and credibility.
A new blog takes a lot of time to do well and all that work is being put at risk by bloggers not taking simple security steps. Most bloggers are not security experts, so their blogs don’t have the usual checks that their e-mail systems will have in place, for example.
Exploiting user trust is also a key factor in exposing bloggers to potential threats. Blog readers are more likely to trust something they read in a blog they subscribe to, and this applies to clicking on unknown links. Most of us are also pretty used to sharing the love - YouTube videos, or photo albums shared between friends, for example - and this can lead to complacency that hackers exploit.
Like everything to do with computing, blogging can cause a headache. Here’s a checklist to help bloggers stay safe:
• Make sure your software (including your blogging software) is up to date.
• Make sure your blog password is hard to guess and change it periodically
• Restrict administrator and access rights
• Use Captcha or other user authentication before allowing a comment post
• Use anti-spam software on the site and protect your blog with a firewall
• Don’t allow reader comments without authentication or moderation
• Change any default prefixes for names set up by your blogging platform
• Log in to your blog securely, over HTTPS (not HTTP)
• Disable error messages (this reduces the amount of information you are giving potential hackers about your blogging software)
• Check your blog at the weekend (the most common time for a hacker to infect a blog)
• Backup your blog regularly
Happy blogging, and remember to have fun!
A new blog takes a lot of time to do well and all that work is being put at risk by bloggers not taking simple security steps. Most bloggers are not security experts, so their blogs don’t have the usual checks that their e-mail systems will have in place, for example.
Exploiting user trust is also a key factor in exposing bloggers to potential threats. Blog readers are more likely to trust something they read in a blog they subscribe to, and this applies to clicking on unknown links. Most of us are also pretty used to sharing the love - YouTube videos, or photo albums shared between friends, for example - and this can lead to complacency that hackers exploit.
Like everything to do with computing, blogging can cause a headache. Here’s a checklist to help bloggers stay safe:
• Make sure your software (including your blogging software) is up to date.
• Make sure your blog password is hard to guess and change it periodically
• Restrict administrator and access rights
• Use Captcha or other user authentication before allowing a comment post
• Use anti-spam software on the site and protect your blog with a firewall
• Don’t allow reader comments without authentication or moderation
• Change any default prefixes for names set up by your blogging platform
• Log in to your blog securely, over HTTPS (not HTTP)
• Disable error messages (this reduces the amount of information you are giving potential hackers about your blogging software)
• Check your blog at the weekend (the most common time for a hacker to infect a blog)
• Backup your blog regularly
Happy blogging, and remember to have fun!
Sunday 9 November 2008, 10:44 AM
Corporate UK Facing Compliance Time Bomb
You would have thought any competent IT department would know the risk to their business from pirated software. Apparently, 60% of UK companies don’t, and a staggering 43% do not perceive a risk from a lack of compliance. At least that’s the result of research commissioned by the Software Industry Research Board (SIRB), which was conducted by IDC in 2008 across 601 IT executives and buyers of software in the UK and is representative of the UK business market by size of company and investment in software.
It’s evident IT managers aren’t pulling their weight and have got their heads in the sand when it comes to adopting an effective software asset management policy. If the survey is to be believed, then over half of UK businesses do not perceive a risk from misuse of software or counterfeit supply, and just under half do not believe they face a threat from the lack of compliance as they claim to have a Software Asset Management (SAM) policy. This is shocking!
The research also identified that 75% of companies have in place a SAM policy and yet 38% admitted that they had only a basic understanding of their software licenses. This lack of transparency can leave businesses open to the threat of the legal and financial consequences of under and over licensing. This is clearly not a good situation to be in under any circumstances, but especially not in the tough economic climate we are currently experiencing. The same research also found that a tad of half of those same companies had been subject to a software publisher audit within the last 12 months. This is a trend that is expected to continue, making it a very real risk for businesses.
Ever heard of The Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software (now merged as FAST IiS)? FAST is known for acting on behalf of software vendors, launching actions against software pirates, educating businesses and lobbying on behalf of the industry. Ever heard of The Business Software Alliance? Did you know that the BSA could fine your company heavily for using pirated software? Well, it can.
If you’re not keen on researching, let me sum up what you need to know: Software piracy is the unauthorised copying or distribution of copyrighted software. This can be done by copying, downloading, sharing, selling, or installing multiple copies onto personal or work computers. What a lot of people don’t realise or don’t think about is that when you purchase software, you are actually purchasing a license to use it, not the actual software. It is that license that tells you how many times you can install the software, so it’s important to read it. If you make more copies of the software than the license permits, you are pirating.
It’s not all bad news. Thankfully, the majority of UK businesses recognised that poor management of software can expose them to risks that can compromise the business such as viruses, corruption of data, Trojan horses, external hacking, and employee sabotage, any of which can carry enormous consequential impact. Dire news for IT managers is that the majority of employees believe it’s your job to manage this software nightmare and not the responsibility of a Board Director or CIO.
The point of this whole blog post is to stress to business leaders that you cannot afford to be complacent about the subject of compliance and risk to your businesses because you need to validate that you are able to demonstrate good governance and transparency in terms of compliance. Critical weaknesses can leave your organisation with material risk - and put bluntly that means a risk to the bottom line! You need to better manage software assets to reduce over spending, track software assets so you don’t leave your company open to attack through viruses and the like, and avoid legal risk and damage to reputation from using unlicensed or pirated software. Having a software strategy doesn’t seem such a chore now does it?
It’s evident IT managers aren’t pulling their weight and have got their heads in the sand when it comes to adopting an effective software asset management policy. If the survey is to be believed, then over half of UK businesses do not perceive a risk from misuse of software or counterfeit supply, and just under half do not believe they face a threat from the lack of compliance as they claim to have a Software Asset Management (SAM) policy. This is shocking!
The research also identified that 75% of companies have in place a SAM policy and yet 38% admitted that they had only a basic understanding of their software licenses. This lack of transparency can leave businesses open to the threat of the legal and financial consequences of under and over licensing. This is clearly not a good situation to be in under any circumstances, but especially not in the tough economic climate we are currently experiencing. The same research also found that a tad of half of those same companies had been subject to a software publisher audit within the last 12 months. This is a trend that is expected to continue, making it a very real risk for businesses.
Ever heard of The Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software (now merged as FAST IiS)? FAST is known for acting on behalf of software vendors, launching actions against software pirates, educating businesses and lobbying on behalf of the industry. Ever heard of The Business Software Alliance? Did you know that the BSA could fine your company heavily for using pirated software? Well, it can.
If you’re not keen on researching, let me sum up what you need to know: Software piracy is the unauthorised copying or distribution of copyrighted software. This can be done by copying, downloading, sharing, selling, or installing multiple copies onto personal or work computers. What a lot of people don’t realise or don’t think about is that when you purchase software, you are actually purchasing a license to use it, not the actual software. It is that license that tells you how many times you can install the software, so it’s important to read it. If you make more copies of the software than the license permits, you are pirating.
It’s not all bad news. Thankfully, the majority of UK businesses recognised that poor management of software can expose them to risks that can compromise the business such as viruses, corruption of data, Trojan horses, external hacking, and employee sabotage, any of which can carry enormous consequential impact. Dire news for IT managers is that the majority of employees believe it’s your job to manage this software nightmare and not the responsibility of a Board Director or CIO.
The point of this whole blog post is to stress to business leaders that you cannot afford to be complacent about the subject of compliance and risk to your businesses because you need to validate that you are able to demonstrate good governance and transparency in terms of compliance. Critical weaknesses can leave your organisation with material risk - and put bluntly that means a risk to the bottom line! You need to better manage software assets to reduce over spending, track software assets so you don’t leave your company open to attack through viruses and the like, and avoid legal risk and damage to reputation from using unlicensed or pirated software. Having a software strategy doesn’t seem such a chore now does it?
