Over the last few months there has been an increase in attacks against small and medium size firms, where finances workstations are compromised giving an attacker access to the firms payroll and operating accounts. Unlike most personal accounts, banks will not make these accounts whole if money is stolen. This becomes an insurance issue.  Please take extra care to protect the workstation that has access to the firms accounts.

1. Restrict the profile of the PC that has this access
2. Restrict transfers and withdraws to a workstation with a specific IP address (Chase Requires this for its customers)
3. Have the bank confirm all transfers and withdrawals prior to executing.
4. Restrict this machine from casual web browsing and social media.
5. Make sure Virus Scan, Malware Scan software is installed.
6. Make sure security logging is working and checked frequently.
7. Use a Business Class Firewall and ship the logs off the box. Use reporting.
8. Make use of intrusion detection.

If you have questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Waypoint and we will be happy to dicusss what you can do specifically for your organization.

The Waypoint family is enjoying the fruits of our labor, recently being recognized by the Houston Business Journal. First, we made the publication’s list of top Technology Consulting Firms in the area. Shortly after, we were named to their list of top Computer Network and System Integrators.

This year marks the first time we were named to the technology consulting firms list, hitting No. 9 of 18. The ranking is based on top gross sales the previous year.

Waypoint was No. 16 of 25 in the system integrators list. Previously, we were named 20^th (2008) and 25^th (2007), so we’re happy our hard work is paying off and we continue to move up. The list is based on local gross revenue the previous year.

Although we appreciate the recognition, we know we can’t stay at the top of our game if we rest on our laurels. Everyone at Waypoint has worked hard to get where we are. We appreciate the trust our partners place in us, and we work hard to build on our successes.

We also look forward to capturing more opportunities to grow our business and build on our successes in virtualization, business continuity, disaster recovery and network and exchange hosting.

Although the recognition is a nice feather in our cap, it’s not a driving force or a focus for Waypoint. We’ll continue to work hard on behalf of our clients and partners.

Microsoft is slated to launch the next-gen version of its communications product, Exchange 2010, this month. There’s been a lot of buzz about 2010 – everything from better archiving capabilities to improved interoperability between Outlook and Outlook Web Access (OWA).

The new release offers features that simplify administration, protect communications and meet users’ demands for greater business mobility. With new deployment and storage options, enhanced inbox management capabilities and email archiving built-in, Exchange 2010 can help lower costs and enhance business outcomes. Add in other functionality – including improved framework for high availability and disaster recovery – and this new release is attractive for IT administrators and users.

The new release is being billed as improving collaboration between users, both in the office and in the field. So that should be great for business continuity. CEOs will love that.

On the end-user side, Exchange 2010 will offer some cool features. In Outlook, users will be able to see text previews of voice mail. Conversation View lets users combine related email messages in a single conversation. An email “mute” button will allow people to ignore conversations and remove themselves from irrelevant email strings. So less unwanted email and runaway reply-all threads.

There are also customizable call-routing menus and a MailTips feature designed to prevent email “oops.” You know the one – you send the email and then realize it either went to people outside your organization or you sent it to the wrong employee.

On the OWA side, a newly renamed version of OWA works with a variety of browsers. Users will be able to see if others are at their computer, so they know if they should email, call, send a quick instant message or send an SMS text message – from within OWA. So employees can use the methods to communicate that are most convenient for them and receive their messages all in one place for easy retrieval, archiving and searching. Another cool enhancement is a scrolling feature. What’s that mean? Rather than having to go through pages and pages, you can navigate through emails by scrolling.

Microsoft is marketing Exchange 2010 as a unified communications solution. Is it your next-gen communications solution?

Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system has been well received.  It appears the mistakes made with Vista are truely gone.  I have been running Windows 7 RTM for a little while now and I have been pleased with its performance and some of the new features.   

I do not get too excited about the O/S anymore, but small features add convenience.  The task bar seems easier to setup and I have it just the way I like it without too much fuss.  I like the handwriting tool, it seems to recognize my scratch much better with no training.  The editing and correcting seems easier as well.  I also like the snipit tool and the new journal tool. 

But, is there anything compelling enough to demand an upgrade?  Honetly, I am not sure at this point it matters.   We have held out long enough and technology has changed enough we really need an OS refresh. 

Those folks running Vista will want to upgrade as Windows 7 just runs better.  The other folks running Windows XP are probably on pretty old hardware and will use Windows 7  on their next PC purchase instead of downgrading as they did with Vista. 

One other trend I think Windows 7 will help push is desktop virtualization or VDI.  Windows 7 offers a unique opportunity for those organizations that have been thinking about VDI to actually execute.  The OS offers enough change that the end user community will be more understanding to the disruption of their workspace since they face it either way.  It also give the IT department budget and man power to actually implement as they will have to upgrade the desktops anyway.  It will help prove one way or another if VDI actually makes desktop management easier.

What are your plans?  Is Windows 7 in your near future?

So, I am finally recovering from attending the Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference in New Orleans in July.  The conference itself was well worth attending and as a Microsoft partner I am very excited to see the number of new versions of products shipping this year.

But, as attending this conference or any conference, I often struggle as if I should lug my laptop around all day in order to stay connected back to the office or access the latest conference information.  This year I opted to leave the laptop behind and just carry my Windows Mobile phone.

The results were pleasently suprising.  Naturally, I was able to keep up with voice, text, and emails like with most phones.  The benefit of the Windows Mobile device of course is the native integration with our Exchange server. 

But the really good stuff was the ability to use things such as the Partner connect website where I could find and schedule partner meetings while at the conference.  This was easy enough to do on my laptop, but the compatibility the developers of the tool included made it easy from both functionality and screen size. 

The other item was the conference schedule itself.  From the conference web site, I could keep up to date with room changes, search for additional sessions, and get general information on the conference.

The final item was I promised folks back home I would keep them posted on conference facts via Twitter.  While the ability to do this is nothing new or exciting, it is just one more method of communication available to us at our finger tips.

The only thing I found still to be a draw back is the ability to take notes.  I am not a fast thumb typer and there really isn’ t that killer note taking app f or my phone to get me over that hurdle.   I am also not a big voice note taker and it doesn’t work well anyway in a breakout session at a conference. 

What about you?  Still feel lost without the full features of a laptop or has the phone become your new traveling device?  I am curious to hear if others have made the leap and left the laptop at home.

The latest hot topics today are virtualization and cloud computing.  It is a development that we have been waiting on for a number of years and I am excited to see it here.  We are seeing more and more midsize and small organization start to investigate virtualization and how they can use it especially in disaster recovery scenarios.

The virtualization conversation often leads clients to the realization they should start evaluting shared storage in a SAN or NAS device.  They see direct attached storage limiting all the wonderful things they can do with a virtualized environment like moving servers from one physical box to another, snapshotting images, and replicating between sites.

And this is where cloud computing comes into play.  The work we do here moving our environments to the virtualized infrastructure puts us in line with the cloud computing movement.  Once we have abstracted our networks, server, and applications from their supporting layers it will allow us to essential create our own cloud infrastructure.

Once we have our own, then as the technology matures, we will be able to move pieces of that infrastructure in and out of our on premise or off premise cloud environment based on demands.  This is still several years away from becoming main stream, but it is coming.

The end result is the way we buy and manage hardware, software, applications, and data will be much different than the way we do it today.  We will gain access to some very advance software solutions because the cost of developing the infrastructure to support them can be shared across a greater population while at the same time allowing us to hold close the information we gain from it.  Imagine small research labs being able to run simulation software that before only organizations with enourmous capital budget could run?  The advancement we as a society could make with more minds working on a problem could usher in a whole new era of innovation.  Very exciting stuff!

Have you started the steps to the cloud with virtualization and centralized storage?  How has it impacted your future plans for the design and management of your infrastructure?

So as a Gold Certified Microsoft partner, we have built our entire practice on the Microsoft Windows platform.  As with any prudent business, we monitor our environment for upcoming changes and trends and ensure we and our clients can adopt accordingly.

Google has been a threat to Microsoft recently and it has been very interesting to follow.  I recently watched the video of the annoucement of their new communication product, Wave.  I have also been testing their other products as well such as Google Apps.

I have to admit I have been impressed.  While not as flashy as other tools, the approach is compelling.  The ease of use, the interconnectivity with other Google’s tools, the ability to share information and the anywhere availability make me think it could go mainstream.

Now I realize their are issues with Google’s reliablity, rights to information, and security.  But, I think those issues are being addressed and will be resolved over time.

When I think about who could go Google, I easily imagine a small office, say five folks or so, being able to run their entire business on a Ubuntu laptop ($299 from Dell), a wireless card ($40 per month from Cricket), Google Apps (free), Salesforce ($99 per user per year), and Quickbooks Online ($35 per month).  What more do your really need?

Most importantly, with a small upfront cost and a low re-occuring cost of about $3,500 per year, it frees up capital to invest in other areas without sacrificing technology.

Can Microsoft respond to this threat?  This really hits the bread and butter of their organization –  the desktop OS and Office.  If you make a dent into that market share you have hit a crucial inflow of revenue for Microsoft.

Google’s ability to offer products like these in the manner they do stems from the fact their primary revenue  and their technology is not dependent on the desktop and Office.  Conversely, Microsoft hasn’t been able to beat them on their own turf with search.  I think Microsoft is also contrained bit as they must answer to their investors who do not want them to reduce their most lucrative revenue streams.

Microsoft does have their Business Productivity Online Suite, Office Online, Small Business Online, but those do not seem to have captured the simplistic design nor the imagination of the online community.

Honestly, my biggest concern has been Microsoft’s public response to those who consider running their business on Google.  “Would you really want to run your business on non-enterprise software?”  I find that humorous as I can remember not too many years ago IBM using very similar language about Microsoft.  Microsoft at that time was the one with the fanatical rebellious community support working against big brother and now it seems they have become the big brother.

What do you think?  Will Google make its way into the Enterprise?  Do businesses view them as a choice?   What would it take for you to “Go Google”?

For those of us who live along the coast, hurricane season is approaching.  That of course means dusting off those continuity plans and ensuring your company is ready in case a hurricane strikes in your area. 

I find it interesting on how different organizations view their business continuity requirements.  The most successful IT organization take the approach of letting the business decide what is required and then providing management the effort and costs associated with it. 

For instance, a business owner may feel that if a hurricane strikes in his or her area they will not be in the office that week anyway as they get their personal life in order.  Their time horizon may be 72 hours or greater to have systems available again. 

On the other hand, an organization without their ERP system may lose so much in revenue they will decide they cannot be down for more than four hours.  That organization will find the budget to ensure they have a failover plan that meets that time requirement.

And finally, for some organizations, it is more about public perception. A web site and email communication to keep in touch with customers is all that is required to sustain their business.  All else can be brought online with best effort.

Thus IT needs to avoid the trap of thinking they know best.  Let the business units decide and then design systems that meet those requirements.  Some may argue a business unit believes everything as critical and that is okay.  IT should perform their due diligence to come up with the best design and cost to meet the business requested SLA.  More times than not, it will be adjusted to something more realistic and the business unit will make a more educated decision. 

As a follow up to that, be sure to document your SLA and how you will measure it.  This is important as business leaders sometimes have short memories and they need to review a signed off agreement between themselves and IT on the details.  It also gives yourself an accurate measuring stick on how your performance will be evaluated.

The details are important!  For example, having email flowing is not the same thing as having historical mailboxes available.  You can send email without having access to all of your mailbox.  Be sure that both sides understand the expectations and agree to them in your signed document.

How do you stand on your business continuity plan?  Will you do anything different this year than you have in the past?

I recently had the experience of sitting on the opposite side of the table of the sales process and saw first hand the value to the client and the software vendor of having the right partner in the room. 

To begin, Waypoint was hired to assist one of our clients with a software selection process for a very industry specific peice of software.  We helped develop the RFP and conducted the interviews and ultimately a mini proof of concept. 

During the initial interviews, none of the vendors included an implementation partner in their meeting.  All stated they worked with partners, but they felt for our client to get the best service they should be point on the project. 

During the proof of concept phase, one of the vendors wisely decided to bring the partner the had selected for the project if awarded.  This simple choice set them apart.  The partner commanded expertise not only on the software but also the industry subject matter.  He brought real world examples, provided advise on critical decisions,  identified pitfalls in the project, and offered connections to similar clients that went through the same process.  Most of all, our client felt they found someone who could truely help them above and beyond just software.

To emphasize the importance of the impact the partner made, the client stated the vendor went from next to last on the list to the first choice.  In fact, the Vice President of Technology made the statement that if they had the partner in the room during round one, there may have not been a round two. 

The point of all this  is if your organization is begining a new project with a software vendor or manufacture that has a channel partner program, I would strongly recommend they bring in the partner early.  You will get more honest answers, a deeper level of expertise, and more knowledge sharing than you will with the vendor alone.  The consultative sales process will help educate you and your team to make a more informed decision and ultimately the right selection for a successful implementation.

Do you have any vendor/partner experiences you would like to share?  Do you feel like the partner added or retracted value in your projects?

Tough economic times always fires up people’s creativity.  With scarce resources, many must think outside the box in order to get the job done.  Many IT Managers find themselves in their information technology lifecycle at the point where they must improve what they have in order to maintain or create efficiencies for the organization.  The business units have to exploit automated solutions so they can do more with fewer people. 

But, how do you implement new technology with capital budgets frozen?  How do you make the right selection so you are not locked into a long term situation that may not be the best for your organization when things turn around?

Waypoint has tackled this problem head on for our clients.  It basically means rethinking how we add tools to the clients IT portfolio.  The biggest impact and most flexible tool is Cloud Computing.  We define cloud computing as anything you don’t implment on your own equipment.  We do not consider co-location cloud computing in that you still own and operate the asset even though it is in someone else’s facility.

By adding cloud computing into your mix, you can get access to a new email system, additional disk space, hosted services, remote backups, database systems, etc. without the upfront capital expense and without adding operational support tasks.  

Most importantly, you pay for it as you consume it.  So you can start small and scale up or start large and scale down.  You can typically select shorter timeframes and migrate later to an internal solution if it makes sense. 

The savvy IT manager should be looking at all services available to him and mixing his environment between on-premise, dedicated hosted solutions, and pure cloud solutions.  Not one method will be right for all areas in the IT infrastructure, but the right mix will propel your organization ahead in areas you need to be the most aggressive without draining the budget.

Have you added cloud solutions to your organization?  Where has it made the most sense and do you plan to expand it or add new cloud solutions in the future?