March 2010

Business Continuity Plan Preparation Checklist

As you prepare to develop a business continuity plan, the first step is to align and prioritize the goals of the plan with critical elements of your organization.

Think about what it would take to conduct normal business when your normal facilities and resources are unavailable, then center your continuity goals on supporting the most essential components.

Assess the following checklist for your organization to prepare your business continuity strategy. Focus on building the solution around specific requirements so it is tight and actionable if it has to be implemented.

How to Protect Your Small Business Network from Hackers

You’ve heard the anecdotes and probably some real horror stories as well: hackers can suddenly bring a computer network crashing down or work undetected for months, stealing personal information.

The harsh truth is that given time, any system can be hacked. Hackers are always looking for new ways to breach systems, and eventually they find them.

However, you're not helpless. Like most thieves, hackers tend to look for easy targets. They scan systems in search of known vulnerabilities and out of date security software.

In essence, rather than break down a door, most hackers search for one that is unlocked—and when they find it—they walk right in.

Vital Business Protection

Stay ahead of hackers with the following precautions and solutions.

Cloud Computing – Big Technology for Small Businesses

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is about accessing IT infrastructure via the Internet. Servers, applications, data management, security—you don’t need to own and maintain all of this anymore. With cloud computing, you can basically rent the capacity you need rather than buy and maintain the equipment.

Conceptually, cloud computing works like a utility. You don’t own your own power generator, you just pay for the power you use. With cloud computing you don’t own your own IT infrastructure, you just pay for the capacity you require.

Your infrastructure is maintained in data centers. These maybe large and anonymous, such as when you use free online applications like Facebook, or they may be managed by a provider that offers software or infrastructure as a service.