Business Technology Blog

Remember when you only knew one or two people that had an iPhone?  You still had a flip phone, but it worked just fine.  Now you can’t imagine life without a smart device.  Answers to everything, directions to everywhere, and constant connection.  What began as a population of early adopters has become the norm for just about every pocket and purse in the nation.  Cloud computing is following a similar pattern when it comes to small business technology.

Plan B’s, backups, redundancies, reserves, copies, duplicates.  There are many words, names, titles and strategies that are available if your plan A fails, or if you need to recover something that no longer exists.  Whether we are talking about business, technology, or sports, this is a universal concept, but if not planned correctly, can still have some flaws.  Take football for example.  Every team has a depth chart, multiple quarterbacks, etc.  So if your starting quarterback gets tackled (and injured) as he completes a pass, and that receiver is tackled out of bounds and takes out the backup quarterback who was holding a clipboard, well you just lost your “plan B”.  That scenario would be considered a physical risk.  The backup QB was technically “on-site”, in other words, near the field.  Had he been “off-site”, in other words, on the bench, he would have been safe and secure.  Your business can suffer a similar fate with on-site backup.  The physical risks are different, but the result can be the same.

Did you know that 3.5 new cyber threats are created every second?  According to a study done by Trendmicro.com, the amount of dangers lurking for small to medium sized businesses is growing exponentially.  Based on this startling trend it has never been more important for SMBs to have a firm grasp on their network and data security. 

Let’s start at the beginning.  In a baseball game you can’t call for a “double switch” if you’re still learning in which direction to run the bases.  The same is true for running a small business. A fitness expert or athletic trainer, even with all of their knowledge, can’t be thrust into Game 7 of the World Series and expect to successfully manage a roster.  For a small business, each day is a Game 7.  But instead of managing a roster of elite athletes and implementing a strategy to move 90 feet at a time, a business owner manages operations, employees, inventory and service.  So while your expertise in selling insurance, running a medical practice, building homes or anything other business endeavor is unmatched; handling the technology that businesses require in today’s market may be another story. 

We do a lot of things without really thinking about it.  When you fill up your car with gas there is a little tag on the door that says what type of octane to use.  Cool, no problem.  Taking medicine for a cold, take 2 every 6 hours.  Sounds good.  Of course these are all tested directions and recommended for a reason.  However, when it comes to technology and the self-sustaining features that software and drivers have developed, taking the simple, recommended action may not always provide the intended result like a full tank of gas or sinus relief. 

It never fails.  The week you spent on vacation in an exotic destination and the corresponding rest and relaxation that came along with it is quickly replaced with stress and frustration.  Sure, turning your phone off and leaving your laptop at home was just what the doctor ordered, but now it’s Monday and you can’t remember your password.  This happens more often than you may think, and it isn’t always vacation induced. 

Remember that old familiar sound of your dial up modem?  The clicks, buzzes and whirs meant that you were minutes away from having world at your fingertips.  It also meant that you needed the patience of a saint as you went from site to site and page to page.  Today we can navigate through the Internet at lightning speed.  Moving between apps, websites and cloud based software is as easy and as quick as turning a page in a book; that is until your Internet connection goes out. 

Just as a car runs on fuel, a business today runs on data.  It may not be the core element driving it forward, but every business in today’s market has some need to obtain data and a responsibility to protect it.  With all of the sweeping changes that impact how businesses operate today versus even 10 years ago, the task of keeping up with the things that keep your business going can be overwhelming.  However to do all of those things and not have a data backup and recovery plan can make all of those efforts all for naught. 

When it comes to solving a mystery there are two key questions to answer.  First of all, you have to know that something happened.  Secondly, and probably the most difficult question to answer is “what caused it”.  This is a very cut and dry example of making a general diagnosis, but at the core, these are two things that need be identified to find a resolution.  So whether you are a doctor making a health recommendation or a detective working on a case, these two items will be at the top of your list.  The same is true, and becoming inherently more imperative, for small business network and technology management.