Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

Smart Brief

Business owners can keep updated on IT issues in their industry by going online and subscribing to high-tech magazines. Some experts believe small businesses should bring on an IT consultant to help them bridge the high-tech gap. Companies delaying needed infrastructure upgrades put their businesses at risk. Owners should keep their IT equipment pared down to what they absolutely need. Many small businesses have been upgrading their systems in Customer Relationship Management (CRM). People are also spending more on intrusion detection and anti-virus programs such as spyware stoppers.

January 26, 2006—Small businesses are built on the visions of entrepreneurs who understand the dynamics of their particular industry yet when it comes to keeping up with developments on the information technology highway, they often have difficulty getting out of first gear.

Experts maintain that small business owners are still not as knowledgeable as they need to be about what technology can do, especially when it comes to separating the bells and whistles from basic technology.

“That’s why it’s the role of solution providers for education and simplification for the non-tech person is really important,” said Marian Banker, president of New York-based Prime Strategies that offers business coaching for small business owners. “They really need to get the big picture. They should go to the technology provider and say ‘I need to accomplish this.’ ”

Banker is involved in producing the upcoming Small Business Summit 2006 in New York along with Ramon Ray of SmallBizTechnology.com. The Feb. 10 event is targeted to give small business owners best practice and technology tools to grow their businesses.

Ray believes strongly in small businesses bringing on an IT consultant to help them bridge the high-tech gap.

“An IT consultant can guide you and give you that knowledge you need,” said Ray, an author, speaker and self-proclaimed small business technology evangelist. “If your sink is broken you call the plumber. If your company has 10 guys on a remote system doesn’t it mean that they should have one or two folks in their Rolodex for IT?”

Subscribing to one or two high-tech magazines would also be helpful for owners to familiarize themselves with basic terminology. Of course, Ray says, it couldn’t hurt to also attend a local tech show now and again. He stressed that all businesses should have websites built to grab local customers and there are plenty of free tools available to help them do that on sites such as Yahoo, MSN and Google.

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For those who are frequently away from the office and finding themselves at a client’s wishing they had access to a certain file, Ray suggested that they look into wireless broadband notebooks or a BlackBerry to see if these tools are right for them. For many business people, the word Blackberry has become synonymous with mobile email. These wireless devices—known as personal digital assistants or PDAs—can send and receive emails. They are basically mini-computers that can contain software for maintaining a built-in address book and personal schedule. Another popular product, Treos, combines a color PDA with a regular sized mobile phone and has integrated features making it possible to check the calendar while talking on the phone, dial directly from contacts lists and send emails.

Be aware of what’s coming up

Most small business owners are not IT experts but they should still have a clear understanding of what’s going on in the high-tech world as far as their own industry is concerned, according to Jason Charnov, a systems and network administrator for Fiducial’s Midwest region.

Charnov, who provides IT support for 13 Fiducial offices in five states, says entrepreneurs don’t have to stay ahead of the learning curve because as business owners they’re already there.

“You’re personally involved in your business so you’re going to know more than anybody else on the planet what you need to function IT-wise,” he said.

Sooner or later all small businesses are going to be forced to do infrastructure upgrades because their computer systems are going to wear out. Those that delay needed improvements are putting themselves at risk.

“You need to be aware of what’s coming up,” said Charnov who ensures that any upgrades are covered for Fiducial by looking ahead in three-year cycles.

Above all, he says that business owners should keep their IT equipment pared down to what they absolutely need. For companies dealing with hefty long distance charges each month, he suggested they look into Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that could make a difference in cutting communication costs. This could be a boon for small businesses that rack up tons of long distance charges with frequent calls to vendors and manufacturers.

“If they have VoIP or something like it they can set up communication between these people and almost entirely eliminate long distance costs between point to point,” he said. “It’s not a panacea but another option that’s there. It’s another tool.”

Companies are looking at replacing their old phone system with a VoIP, one to save money with most vendors making it appear less expensive to run than replacing the existing system. But Isabelle Oskinski, Fiducial’s information systems manager, says VoIP can get expensive if the network infrastructure isn’t ready.

“In order to get good quality of service you usually need to increase the bandwidth on the network that will support the phones,” she said. “This means a better Internet connection but also new network equipment and batteries because you still want to use your phone if the power goes down. Also you need to be aware that your phone system may be subject to attacks so keep some backup conventional phone lines.”

Mark Maglott , a Dallas, TX-based franchisee with Geeks On Call, revealed that a lot of small businesses haven’t heard about VoIP but they will soon.

“It’s cool technology—we’re seeing more and more people asking for it,” said Maglott who indicated that prices on VoIP phone plans range from about $30 to $120/month, depending on the features. “The key advantages are the cost has come down and you can have multiple phone numbers around the country.”

Securing backup data offsite

Maglott is often asked by small business owners about remote access since they want the ability to tap into their office computer from home.

“I get a lot of questions on ‘how do I back up my data,’ ” he said.

Indeed, the ability to backup data is crucial for any business. Still, Fiducial’s Osinski says it’s more than just being able to backup data because you also need to test your backups and make sure you can restore data on a regular basis.

“When you think about your backup policy, think about how much data you can afford to lose and then decide on the frequency of your backups,” she said. “You also need to make sure that your backups are secure. Most people do tape backup but leave their tapes on site thinking the only way they can lose a file is deleting it by mistake. But that’s not true since you should really be prepared for any kind of disaster and need to keep your backups on an external secure site.”

Owners need to be make sure they have sufficient spam filters in place to protect their systems. Charnov noted that some spam filters are available for $200 to $300 a year that provides support and updates.

“It’s not like a piece of software,” he said. “Once you set them up you pretty much leave it alone. They are very user-friendly.”

With nearly five new virus threats a day, Osinski says you really want to make sure your PC is protected by an auto protect solution running 24/7 that’s updated frequently. She recommends the use of products like Symantec Antivirus that has a quick response time on virus definition.

Businesses should also be mindful of any malware, a catch-all phrase for any piece of software that does something you do not want to do or causes harm to your software in general. Companies writing anti-virus programs are seeing increased usage in spyware which infects a system without any user action and is extremely difficult to remove from your computer.

Computer infrastructure top concern

Spyware infections will increase on corporate desktops using bandwidth and affecting productivity, according to Osinski. Spyware can also compromise data and lead to identity theft. That’s why it’s essential to invest in additional technology to combat this problem. If you think your computer has been infected by spyware you can check it online for free using http://www.trendmicro.com/spyware-scan/. Another option is Spy Sweeper Enterprise by Webroot.

The major IT concern of businesses in the service industries are the day-to-day costs of their systems and the quality of their staff.

“These are the primary tools that your staff uses—software running on computers and telecommunication infrastructures,” Charnov said. “Your software and inventory should be priority number two behind staff. You can always move a business but if your software goes down it’s pretty hard these days to just pick up pen and paper.”

With business owners involved in running their business, many don’t think about their software but Charnov says that the computer infrastructure is the top concern of executive management. Since many small businesses do not have an IT expert on staff, it’s vital for them to document their system with any receipts, licenses and records of set up to keep track of any system changes so when a consultant is called in to troubleshoot a problem, “they’ll have a good idea of what they’re dealing with.”

Even if the company can’t afford to hire an IT expert or bring in an outside consultant, experts say they can get up to speed by researching technology on the web that can benefit their business.

“It’s very important for the small business owner to stay up with technology in their specific field and to have the tools necessary to save time, money and resources much of which is available through the Internet,” said Jerry Oakes, president of Dallas, TX-based Synergy Consultants Incorporated.

Oakes observed that companies like Google or Yahoo initially launch their products as a free service that entrepreneurs can take advantage of and even when they commercialize those products for fees there’s still the aspect of a free service. He says owners should go into online chat rooms and find out information or ways to do things easier in the IT arena.

“There are people out there that will give you that information,” he said. “For example, if you have a problem with installing a certain type of software and don’t know what to do somebody has had that same problem in the private sector. If they’re available and like to help people, they will gladly provide that information to you.”

Some of the free or nominally-priced sites that Oakes recommends include Total Commander, a management program for your computer; Gadwin Print Screen, that can help you capture, print and save computer screen data; grisoft.com, a powerful anti-virus checker and ultravnc.sf.net, a program that allows you to easily access your customer’s computers from anywhere in the world when you provide computer support.

Security issues rank high

One of the key areas where small business owners have been upgrading their systems is in Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

“In terms of business applications it continues to be one of the lead areas as far as increased spending,” said Laurie McCabe, vice president of SMB, insights and business solutions for New York-based AMI-Partners Inc. that specializes in the global analysis of IT, Internet and telecom trends in the global small and medium business marketplace.

McCabe noted that many businesses are trying to come to grips with their inbound and outbound email problems so they’re looking for solutions such as Sales Force Automation (SFA) to help manage this high traffic avenue.

Security issues continue to rank high on the list of business owners when it comes to safeguarding information integral to their operation.

“We see this year after year,” she said. “People are spending more on intrusion detection and on anti-virus programs such as spyware stoppers. The whole security category is of huge concern.”

Citing an AMI survey, McCabe says 95% of companies under 100 employees have at least one PC in their office with an increasing number depending more and more on using technology in running their businesses. Though many of these small companies have limited budgets they face an even greater challenge in going out and educating themselves on various high-tech alternatives.

“If there’s any way a small business can devote precious time and resources to this the upside can be fantastic,” she said. “At the end of the day you’re probably going to get something much better for your business.”

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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