IT

• Simplifying the IT Conundrum for Small Businesses

  Tue. Aug. 05, 2008
  by Robert Peek, SMB Liaison

  Working out what IT system works best can often be bewildering for resource-stretched small businesses – especially with the current economic uncertainty. The daily pressure of keeping the business afloat usually means that the technology infrastructure is often the very last thing they worry about.

  What many small businesses don’t realize is that technology can help their business run better and grow faster. Implementing the right IT hardware and software can bring major benefits including:

  · improved customer experience

  · significant cost and time-savings

  · better asset utilization

  This ultimately frees up resources in the form of money, time and people so that the focus can then be on the core business.

  To achieve these goals, small businesses should adopt the following in their approach to IT:

  Get IT faster

  It all begins with purchasing the most suitable solution for the business. Never automatically opt for buying the cheapest, or the most expensive, system. These days more and more vendors are tailoring solutions to the small business marketplace, meaning the best-fit solutions are available for all types of businesses, whatever their size.

  Run IT better

  In terms of running the IT operation, there are two aspects to making the investment pay. Firstly, standardize and streamline the IT infrastructure and secondly, be proactive in performing system management and support – therefore spending less time on day-to-day maintenance. Some small businesses may not have the resources to do this, but there are service and support solutions that can be customized to an organization’s individual needs, time demands and budgets.

  Grow IT smarter

  With changing times, companies need to foster an IT environment that supports rapidly changing business requirements -- whether that is in relation to data, devices, or the network. It’s critical they adopt a flexible foundation on which new services can be quickly rolled out, or enhanced, to adapt to the evolving marketplace. If a company has aspirations of growth but its IT infrastructure has a ceiling in terms of the number of users supported on the system, or the levels of data that can be managed, then there will be trouble. Standardizing the IT infrastructure from the beginning ensures that the organization can implement future investments to manage company growth easily.

  The goal for any small business should be to achieve the simplest IT environment possible. This way, more time can be spent focusing on growing the core business and not chasing issues that can hamper the company’s overall performance.
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• What is Smart Security? And, Do You Need It?

  Tue. Jul. 22, 2008
  by Robert Peek, SMB Liaison

  There are more security threats to small businesses every day. And, as IT becomes more complex --and workers become more mobile-- controlling access to key data is becoming even more critical. Millions of business users-and their laptops-travel through busy transportation hubs worldwide each year.

  Several weeks ago, Suzanne Atkinson described some of the ways Dell is helping Small Businesses secure and protect their data and machines while traveling. From preventing wireless connection hackers to avoiding physical theft and damage, the airport doesn’t have to be a threat to your IT security.

  Outside of the terminal, securing all your IT assets remains a concern for many small business owners. Don McCall, an enterprise security strategist here at Dell, discusses four primary areas of vulnerability and provides practical solutions to address them in a simplified way.  The topics he covers are:

  • · e-mail,
  • · lost laptops,
  • · identity management
  • · anti-malware

  Click this link to hear the podcast.
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