| New Year's Resolutions for Your Network |
| Wednesday, 23 January 2008 | |
 By Bill BlanchardIt’s that time of year again. Here are some New Year’s resolutions to make sure that your network is running safely and efficiently. I will take the appropriate steps to secure my network. Security is one of those things that always seem to get moved to the backburner due to either cost or convenience. By resolving to take basic steps to protect your network, you could save yourself a lot of headache down the road. Like the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is cheaper than a pound of cure.” Some basic steps that you can take are: installing virus scanning software on all computers, installing a small firewall for your network, and changing passwords every 90 days. None of these solutions costs very much, but can go a long way towards giving you peace of mind. I will protect my data against disaster and have a plan to keep the business running. While Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 were spectacular lessons in disaster planning, your business is more at risk to heavy rains or a server crash than hurricanes or terrorist attacks. That said, the preparation for any disaster is the same. Make sure you have a full backup of your data somewhere safe and off site. We recommend a safe deposit box at the bank. Make sure you have a backup system in place, whether it’s DVD archiving, tapes, or a Rev Drive. Finally, make sure you have a plan and all of your employees are trained on it. It is critical to make sure you have a backup system because if the server is wiped out, it will be very expensive (or impossible) to recover the data. I will create a budget for IT and disaster planning. Having a budget and sticking to it is the best way to prevent unforeseen expenses that could impact your bottom line. The recommended replacement cycle for PCs and servers is every 3 to 5 years. If you budget a system replacement schedule, it will allow you to keep on top of the latest happenings in technology without breaking the bank. With disaster planning, you should estimate what it would cost your business to be without access to your data for one day and base a disaster planning budget off that. Also, don’t forget to budget for unexpected system problems so that you don’t hesitate to contact a professional to fix your systems. I will keep a maintenance plan for my systems. By maintaining your systems, you can avoid costly service calls for when your computer begins to run slowly. You should be conducting monthly Spyware scans and anti-virus scans. There are service integration packages that can automate all of this and reduce your total cost of ownership. You should also make sure to clean up any programs that you are no longer using by removing them from your system. For older systems, monthly scandisk and defragment checks should keep your hard drive running in good shape. Finally, make sure you clean out your browser cache once a month. All businesses strive to be effective and efficient in what they do. You should demand the same from your technology equipment. By following these resolutions, you can reduce your overall technology costs, which makes your business more efficient. When your network is fine tuned and running on all cylinders, it makes it more effective. Most importantly, protect yourself and your data at all times. Bill Blanchard is a senior consultant for MSB Consulting LLC of Worcester. He is a disaster recovery and security expert specializing in small- and medium-sized businesses. He can be contacted at bill@msbconsulting.net This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or by phone at 888-609-5444. |
MSB Consulting, LLC | P.O. Box 16902 | Worcester | MA | 01610 |
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| Master Of Disaster |
| Monday, 15 October 2007 | |
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Picture for a moment that it's a cloudy Friday afternoon. The weather forecast calls for heavy rains with high winds to hit the area over the weekend. You're ready to lock up your office for the day and start to put together that large deposit for the bank after a great week of sales. You take one last look at the office and wonder, "What if water starts to leak in from the street?" You look at your watch, realize that the bank closes at 4 p.m., and rush out the door. Oftentimes, disaster planning is one of the last things on a small business owner's mind. With so many other things to worry about, a natural disaster or terrorist attack is the last thing you need consuming your thoughts. However, by having good practices and plans in place, you can have peace of mind knowing that you're protected. First, we'll start with the basics. Many companies are tight on space and, in an effort to maximize their work areas, computers and cables get lodged into the strangest of places. I've visited many offices that have all of their primary networking equipment on the floor in a closet. A simple remedy is to acquire some small stools or stands for your computer equipment. Also, make sure that those surge protectors stay off the floor as well. That one foot off the floor in a flood can mean the difference between having a powered down server or a very expensive doorstop. Secondly, where are your company's critical documents and data stored? You have that expensive tape drive backing up your data nightly, but are you rotating the tapes? Are you bringing one home with you? An inexpensive peace of mind solution is to make a complete backup of all your data (either onto a tape, CD or DVD) and put it in a safe deposit box at the local bank. That way, if you forget to take a tape home one night or if your home is struck by the same disaster, you are protected. It is also a good idea to keep all of your original documents in a safe deposit box as well. Things such as your business's articles of incorporation, accounting ledgers or insurance forms can be difficult to replace if they are destroyed in a fire or flood. You can maintain copies of these documents at your work site if you need regular access to them. Finally, the last step of protecting your company against disaster is having a plan in place. While you shouldn't spend hours fretting over everything that could go wrong, it never hurts to be thorough. With solid practices and planning in place, the wound your company suffers from a disaster doesn't have to be a fatal one. |
Protecting your company before the worst happens
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At MSB we're here to de-mystify the world of IT for our customers. As a testament to that, we're publishing a monthly newsletter covering important topics relevant to your business and all things IT.
September is our first issue. Click here to read the PDF version of our article.
Milford native uses lessons learned in battle to open his own business
It is often true that the best business deals begin with a handshake.
Blanchard, 25, returned to his home in Milford on April 1 after a yearlong tour of duty in Iraq with the 305th Psychological Operations Company. In June, he and his two partners opened MSB Consulting in Worcester, a full-service IT consulting firm tailored for small and medium businesses.
So far, Blanchard said, business is good. MSB has already built a small client base through family connections and word-of-mouth, and is looking to open a new office in Westborough in six to 12 months.
Sharp end of the stick
As a sergeant in the Army's PsyOp unit, Blanchard was one of only 2,000 such soldiers in the entire army. He said the three-man team he commanded was responsible for most of Baghdad west of the Tigris River, an area populated by more than one million Iraqis.
Blanchard's job, he said, was to be the marketing arm for the Army, convincing citizens, Imams, and business owners that U.S. Army programs were good for them, that cooperation was not a sign of weakness and that the real enemy were the insurgents.
This was in between trying to broker surrender agreements and negotiate truces during combat operations, of course.
The transition from being at the sharp end of the stick, so to speak, of the Army's "hearts and minds" campaign in Iraq to small business consulting stateside was not as much of a stretch as one might think, Blanchard said.
Battle-tested
Blanchard's experiences in Iraq prepared him well for the difficult task of starting a business from scratch.
Because he was an enlisted soldier, and not an officer, Blanchard said he had to work hard to earn the respect and trust of his superiors, much like he works at earning that same trust from his clients.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time, I was the lowest-ranking guy in the room," he said. "That's a challenge more than a hindrance. You have to earn respect on a peer level, not just an officer/non-commissioned officer level. It's the same as a client/consultant relationship."
Blanchard said he also learned how to work in an environment with very little room for failure or error.
"As it relates to my business, I learned how to work without a net, definitely," said Blanchard.
He said he sometimes has to resist the urge to be the sergeant that he is and take command of the business away from his two partners, with whom he's been friends for years. Instead, each of them has clearly designated roles and tasks, using the strengths of each to make the business stronger. Rather like the army, in fact.
Because of his pre-war experiences working in the IT department of a large corporation in Washington, D.C., while a student at American University, Blanchard said he is the de facto COO of MSB Consulting, making sure business operations are smooth and uninterrupted.
His experiences in D.C. as a student during 9/11 and immediately afterward also helped him in his current role as the company's resident disaster recovery, data backup and monitoring specialist. He said the company he worked for at the time enlisted his help heavily in feverishly trying to protect themselves in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
For his own part, Blanchard said he walked into a local Army Reserve recruiter's office on Sept. 12, and never looked back
"War is hell," he said. "But I don't regret it for a minute."
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