Consumers and businesses have only begun to grasp the reality of cloud computing, with online apps like Google Docs, Salesforce and Twitter. Responza specializes in Cloud Infrastructure services like virtualization, but I forsee a future with much more. It leads me to wonder just how this technology will shape the future of IT.

Not so long ago, in a land not so far away, massive computing power was only available to the big corporations like IBM. Mainframe computers cost upwards of a million bucks, far too expensive for a mom and pop shop. Technology has come a long way since then. Now, even the smallest organization can leverage ten times the computing power for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, however, IT management is still an expensive investment. Small businesses can’t afford to employ an entire IT department to manage this technology.

Responza’s founder, Lance Becker, has often attributed the company’s raison d’etre to providing that CIO-level of IT strategy for small businesses. We provide a corporate sized IT department for small businesses, for much less than it would take to employ one IT guy. Cloud based services run a similar route, in that sense- taking a large portion of IT “off the racks” and putting it “into the clouds”. Security concerns have slowed progress in some aspects, but the technology is already revolutionizing IT, saving businesses thousands of dollars each quarter.

What about jobs?

Your typical IT guy may feel threatened by this change in the industry- and rightly so. In-house IT jobs may soon be replaced with automated NOCs and online apps. If your IT guy wants job security, a serious re-tooling may need to take place. It’s a sad, but necessary change. The IT infrastructure is becoming more and more complicated, so really, it’s going to take more than just one IT guy to manage your infrastructure anyway.

The Silver Lining

There are several advantages to using cloud computing. You can do more with less: more applications, more availability, and more scalability with less money spent on desktops, servers, and energy. According to Richard Marcello, president of Unisys, cloud computing will produce new business models and enable startups to compete with enterprise companies. That should be great news for any small business.

My perspective is admittedly limited, but I’m curious to see how cloud computing changes the IT industry. How do you think cloud computing will affect your business? Please feel free to leave you comments below.

Spyware, the sneaky, unwanted bits of junk that lurk in the corners of your hard drive observing your behaviors and slowing down system performance, has become a serious problem in modern computing. A study by prominent security firm Webroot found that 80 percent of business computers are infected with pieces of spyware. It is not uncommon for techs to find dozens of types of spyware on a single system! Some infections become so numerous and severe that the only remedy is a costly system wipe or even complete replacement. What’s worse, most spyware generates bothersome pop-up ads while using the web and more malevolent varieties can even result in identity theft.

For the most part, this pain and expense is unnecessary. While over 80% of businesses install antivirus protection on their systems, only 43% have implemented a credible form of spyware production. Most spyware sneaks onto systems through spam e-mail and questionable websites with flashy banner ads (we’ve all seen “you’re our 1 millionth visitor! Click here to claim your prize!”). After a few years of observing such sneaky tricks, most internet users are too savvy to fall into the traps, but it still happens—mostly during employees’ personal use of internet resources.

If employers want to substantially reduce the impact of spyware on their companies, in addition to blocking spam, they should publish and enforce an acceptable use policy for employee internet access. Two-thirds of large companies actively monitor email and Internet use by their employees, but not many small businesses do. If you find your systems weighed down with the burden of spyware, network security and monitoring packages like those available through Responza can diagnose and cleanse your resources and make sure they stay spy free.

Every business needs a plan for comprehensive disaster recovery. But plan development is neither quick nor cheap, and many entrepreneurs try to succeed without one. It’s best to have a complete plan, though it’s better to have a few crucial pieces in place than nothing at all. If a power surge blows out a server, could you recover? Even a basic online backup system could ease some of the pain. If the thought of developing a disaster plan leaves you overwhelmed, Responza can help. A small investment now can save money or even your entire business down the road.

The most common business disaster is data loss brought on by causes like human error, hardware failure, natural disasters, and theft. But it’s easy to recover with a backup solution in place. Here are a few steps to ensure you find the right one for your company’s needs:

1. Know your data. What do you have, where is it, and what is most important?
2. Consider your backup options. Are they offsite, secure, and available 24/7?
3. When outsourcing backup, choose a provider like Responza that offers constant security, monitoring, and support.
4. Do a run-through of the recovery process. Backup is nothing without recovery, so make sure you’re familiar with how to retrieve your files.
5. Review data regularly. Anything new to add to your backups?

In an emergency, things you take for granted like accessible contact information and reliable communication methods could disappear. If a storm took out your telecom or made your office inaccessible, could you stay in business?

1. Decide how to continue intercompany communication beyond your office. Cell phones are most common, but also be aware of web services like instant messaging and Gmail.
2. Make arrangements for incoming calls. Consider a Voice over IP (VoIP) system that will make forwarding office lines to other numbers possible.
3. Create contact lists that aren’t tied to your servers. Upload them to a secure public website or just make an old fashioned paper copy.

Even the best laid disaster plans will crumble if your staff isn’t on board and well informed.

1. Identify the most critical business functions to restore and decide who will handle the restoration.
2. Specifically designate an alternate work site, whether a different office space or simply having everyone work from home.
3. Make sure each employee has a complete version of your disaster plan available to them at all times and review it regularly.

Crisis management is not a question of if you will need a plan, but when you will need it. But with a little foresight and some help from the IT disaster pros at Responza, you’ll have nothing to fear.

This holiday season, Google is spreading some cheer by offering free WiFi service on every Virgin America flight and in major airports across the country. That’s right folks. From now until January 15th, you can surf the web for free. Burbank and Seattle airports will be offering free WiFi indefinitely. For more information, check out Google’s official site: www.freeholidaywifi.com/.

Is your small business server running at it’s best? Microsoft has a free tool to help you find out. It will automatically look at your server configuration and present to you a list of issues to review.
The Windows SBS Best Practices Analyzer examines the server and collects configuration information from many sources including:

• Active Directory Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
• Registry
• Metabase

If you’re running SBS 2003, click here

If you’re running SBS 2008, click here

Ok, so it’s no secret that small businesses often suffer from inadequate IT support. Maybe you’re in the same boat, maybe not… either way, we’d love to get your input.

Please click here to take our survey

If your small business uses a Microsoft Exchange Server, you can delay delivery of an e-mail. Here’s how you can delay delivery of all messages by having them held in the Outbox after you click Send:
^{Note: These steps were created specifically for use with Outlook 2007}

Delay delivery of a single message

1. In the message, click Options.
2. Under Delivery options, select the Do not deliver before check box, and then click the delivery date and time you want.

Delay delivery of messages to a specific person or group

1. On the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts, and then click New Rule.
2. Under the heading Start from a blank rule, select Check messages after sending, and then click Next.
3. Under Step 1: Select condition(s) list, check the box that says sent to people or distribution list.
4. Below that box, under Step 2: Edit the rule description, click the blue underlined words (should say people or distribution list).
5. Select the contacts you’d like to delay sending messages to, then click Next.
6. Under Step 1: Select action(s), check the box that says defer delivery by a number of minutes.
7. Below that box, under Step 2: Edit the rule description, click the blue underlined words (should say a number of).
8. A little window should pop up that says Deferred Delivery. Enter the number of minutes, then click OK.
9. If you’d like to set any exceptions, click the boxes that apply. Follow the same rules as above. Click Next.
10. Under Step 1, type in a name for the rule. Make sure the box that says Turn on this rule is checked, then click Finish.

In today’s tight economy, businesses need to save money wherever they can. The cost of maintaining and repairing an exchange server can be a major drain on your company’s budget. So how do you fix all this?
One solution is cloud computing. Google has several web-based applications to run your business. They require no hardware, no software, and need minimal administration.
If you’re running low on resources, this sort of solution may work great for you. But as I was researching this, I stumbled across this enlightening article: The Problem with Google Apps Engine

Ok, so Google Apps is great, but it isn’t perfect. One point I’d like to highlight- if you don’t feel completely safe entrusting your company’s data to Google, you may want to think twice before making the switch. The applications are great, but the framework they use is proprietary. You definitely want to pay attention to their EULA before handing off classified information.

According to Symantec, over 40 million people have fallen victim to “scareware” scams in the past year. Online criminals make millions off these scams, by simply convincing computer users to download fake anti-virus software. Scareware sellers deliberately use pop-up ads that are designed to look legitimate, using the same styles as Microsoft and other software providers. They often appear when a user switches between websites, and falsely warns that the computer’s security has been compromised. If the user clicks on the message, they are directed to another site where they can purchase the fake anti-virus software.
Attorney General Rob McKenna called the practice a “blatant rip-off of consumers,” explaining that users were being “duped into downloading a fake scan (of the computer) and then duped into paying for software they don’t need”.

Software deemed useless by the suite include Scan & Repair, Antivirus 2009, MalwareCore, WinDefender, XPDefender and WinSpywareProtec.

If you’ve been working with computers for any length of time, you know computers aren’t invincible. Hard drives crash, data gets lost, and it costs a good chunk of money to fix the issue.

Responza specializes in mission-critical data recovery for businesses like yours. We have IT experts who specialize in virtualization and backup.
The long-term solutions we offer could save your business thousands in recovery costs, but if all you need right now is a quick fix for a crashed hard drive, here are a few free tools:

TestDisk^* – cgsecurity.org
^*Only good for recovering lost partitions and making non-bootable partitions bootable again.

PC INSPECTOR File Recovery – www.pcinspector.de
supports the FAT 12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. Includes a ton of great features.

Recuva – www.recuva.com
The only freeware that can do a “deep scan” of your drives for lost files. It can take hours, but may turn up more missing data than the other options out there.