Many companies have closed the books on 2012 and are now looking forward to the rest of 2013. One of the major things companies tend to look at this time of year are their marketing plans. When it comes to marketing plans companies are starting to integrate a more tech-based approach. As such they are eager to know what marketing oriented tech trends are likely to emerge throughout 2013.

Here's an overview of what we think will be the five biggest tech-marketing related trends for the coming year.

1. Increased mobile demands With a crop of excellent, affordable and capable devices released this past year, it's a sure thing that many of your clients will be getting new devices for christmas. This will result in an increased demand for mobile friendly sites that are simpler, lighter on text and more interactive. 2013 will be a good year to review your website and optimize it for mobile users.

2. Increasing local demand With the increasing adoption of mobile devices many users are changing the way they use the Internet. Computers and laptops are increasingly being used for general searches while mobile devices are used almost exclusively for local searches. If you don't have a local presence that's optimized for local searches (e.g., Google Places) you will be missing out.

This 'localization' trend is referred to as SoLoMo (Social-Local-Mobile) and is the idea of businesses adding local information to their online platforms to capitalize on the increase of mobile users. 2012 has seen many companies begin to really use this by pushing locally oriented ads to mobile users. It's highly likely SoLoMo will become even more integral in 2013.

A recent infographic from Monetate highlights the importance of SoLoMo and how mobile users shop. The most interesting finding in relation to local search is that many customers use their mobile device to find out what's around them, and then will purchase either in-store or online. This trend should continue well into 2013.

3. Apps with better mobile ads Let's face it, smartphone users have gone app crazy. In the past few years many of the apps have come to include mobile ads shown to customers. Many of these ads aren't targeted to the user, but this is slowly changing as ads that are shown are becoming more trustworthy and targeted. There should be an increase in both the number of click-throughs and apps through 2013 which means it may be the perfect time to either develop your own app or invest in app advertising.

4. Increasing adoption of new payment methods The way customers pay for their purchases is changing. With the steady adoption of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, mobile payment systems like Google Wallet, and coupon systems like Apple's Passbook, 2013 should see a shift away from paper and plastic to electronic.

This has already started with huge companies like Starbucks announcing they will be launching payment services provided by Square which allows for mobile payment. It's not hard to see that 2013 will be a big year for mobile based payment.

5. More mobile marketing competition With the general increase of mobile adoption it makes sense that 2013 will likely see more companies looking into mobile related marketing. This will make this medium a little more crowded and competitive. What this equates to is that companies should move to take advantage of mobile related marketing, or at the very least take steps to optimize their processes for mobile.

All signs point to 2013 being a year of mobile oriented advancements. Indeed, most of the customer/consumer oriented tech advancements of the past two years have almost been exclusively mobile oriented. Mobile adoption and the data that comes from the different advancements and trends should be something companies factor in when they are making operational decisions for the coming year. If you would like to learn more, please contact us.

The venerable Winston Churchill once said, "to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." There is great wisdom in those words; they pretty much summarize the tech industry. We think that Facebook takes Mr Churchill's words to heart as they are always changing. The latest development brings a whole bunch of updates, mostly related around security and how Facebook presents and uses your information.

Facebook's changes should have been made to your profile by the time you read this. If not, you should see them by early January. Below is an overview of the more important features.

Security shortcuts One of the more common complaints about Facebook was that it's hard to change or even find your security settings. The update puts a button in the blue bar beside you name at the top of the window (it looks like a lock). When you press on it you are given three of the most popular Security requests:

• Who can see my stuff?
• Who can contact me?
• How do I stop someone from bothering me?

You'll notice grey arrows beside each choice. Pressing these will bring up the associated options and allow you to easily adjust your security settings.

App permissions The app is an essential part of not only Facebook but the tech industry. When first introduced apps could collect your data and send it to the producer of the app. This managed to tick off a lot of users, so Facebook started giving users the option on whether the app was allowed to send their information to the app's producer or allow the app to post on your wall on your behalf.

With the new update, when you try to add an app to your profile you'll get a big pop-up window asking you to grant the app access permission, or the ability to collect your information. You can then pick the settings you prefer.

Timeline clarification When Timeline was introduced, the vast majority of users disliked it. Now that some time has passed they have gotten used to it. The big problem most have with Timeline is that anything you posted, commented on or did stays visible on your profile. You had the option to hide stuff but it was terribly confusing as it still stayed on your profile.

The update clarifies this by giving you a warning when you hide something from your Timeline. If you want to expunge something from your timeline, you need to delete it, otherwise it will still show up if someone does a bit of digging.

No hiding from search In the past you had the option to keep your profile and information from showing up in search results when someone looks for you. Facebook has removed this option, meaning you will now show up in search results. We don't think this will harm many companies seeing as this is a social network and you really do want to be social and be able to be found by interested parties.

Improved Activity Log The Activity Log tracks everything you've done on Facebook. Keen on Farmville? Every action and achievement is recorded here. The big change here is that Facebook has made it easier to browse your activity by implementing a timeline to the right of the window. Facebook has also made it easier to find specific things like pictures and change them all in one go.

Overall, these changes appear to make Facebook better and easier to use. While not major differences, it's now easier to maintain control of your profile. If you would like to learn more about how Facebook can help your company please contact us.

In the modern business climate, many businesses have had to tighten their belts. This constriction highlights the need to maximize profits while minimizing costs across all departments. When it comes to IT, many business managers are unsure of how to go about this. To help, we have written a three part article on how you can maximize tech resources and improve your revenue.

The first part of the article focuses on maximizing the IT resources you already have.

1. Be the outside thinker The problem with many managers and business owners is that they tend to focus too closely on one or two key business elements. When it comes to technology this often means using only small parts of the technology available, while other parts are underutilized.

Therefore, it's important that you take a step back every now and then and really look at the tech you currently use. This can be hard to do, especially when you are so invested in a business. It's a good idea to consult with an advisor like a Managed Service Provider who knows how to get the most out of existing technology.

A lot of times outside help can really pinpoint areas where you can improve efficiency or reduce operating costs. In turn, this helps improve, or at the very least stabilize, your bottom line.

2. Always be looking around What we mean by this is: Be proactive. Technology and related systems are always changing and advancing. Managers and owners who aren't aware of the technological changes around them might see lower profits. This doesn't mean just looking at your physical technology, it pays to look at systems related to the Internet too.

Take for example social media. It's not going away and has been proven to be an effective marketing tool. The only problem is the service that's popular today may not be so next year. To get the most out of a system like social media, you need to understand and be aware of it.

If you keep your finger on the pulse, you'll be more informed about what's going on, what's coming up and what to do about it. If you spot something that you think will benefit your company, take the steps to integrate it. The interesting thing about most new technical advancements is that they are focused on making existing systems more efficient.

Don't just be looking externally either, it pays to look at what tech your employees are using the most and why. If you encourage them to be open and showcase their ideas you'll be surprised at what they come up with.

It's being aware of both internal and external trends that can help you identify the next big opportunity to further your bottom line.

3. Facts should determine actions This can be a tough thing to do, but facing the facts and current situation is incredibly important. If you don't know where your company is at in terms of what technology is used, then any decisions you make won't be effective and could end up harming your company. It's a good idea to conduct an audit of your current systems.

What to audit:

1. How many computers you have vs employees.
2. What software each employee uses.
3. How and what staff use the computers for.
4. Level of technical integration of current technology.
5. What systems and programs are used most often.
6. Operating costs of technology.

There are many different aspects you can look into. You are basically looking to get a picture of where your company currently stands and if there are any systems/processes you could be doing better, or getting rid of. If you find problems you can take steps to fix them, or if you need help, contact us.

Security of technical systems and devices used in the office environment is an issue that is important to many companies. Businesses often go to great lengths to ensure that their systems are secure from external threats, yet often fail to take into account inner threats. One of the most common inner security threats is that employees have too much access to systems. A recent survey's findings have highlighted this problem too.

According to the survey, conducted by Viewfinity, 68% of the 600 IT professionals surveyed don't know who has administrative access to computers in their office. While this survey looks at the numbers from the IT viewpoint, it's highly likely that many managers don't know who has what access rights to computers.

The survey also found that 20% of all respondents noted that between 15% and 30% of users in their company had administrative rights. Is this a bad thing? Yes and no. Some users need to have full access to their systems, especially if they manage other systems, while others don't.

Is this a big deal? One of the biggest drawbacks of unnecessary access privileges is security. If users have more access than they need, the chance of a security breach is higher. For example, malware on a locked down system likely won't spread to other systems in the network without direct transmission. Similarly, if a user can't install programs because they lack the administration privileges, malware, for the most part, won't be downloaded and installed.

If a user with full administrative privileges and downloads a piece of malware, chances are high that they won't even notice it's been installed and it will be transmitted to other systems with ease. In fact, one of the main ways hackers gain access to networks is through exploitation of administrative rights. They first look for an unsecured computer with administrative rights, hack it and then follow the chain up to more vital network systems.

What can we do? While the survey was largely centered around IT professionals, business owners can learn from these findings too. They should take steps to audit their network and figure out who has access to what. Then they need to validate the findings and ensure that users have an appropriate level of access privileges. If some employees have no need to download and install programs, then they likely don't need administrative access privileges.

If this sounds like a chore, it's a good idea to work with a service provider who can help determine not only the type of access employees should have, but also the appropriate security and management that's needed to ensure a more secure organization. If you're unsure of who has access to what, please contact us, we may be able to help.

When is the best time to buy tech? That's right, the first few months of a new year are a great time to buy new technology for the office. This would have been a fairly easy task 10 years ago, as choice was considerably more limited. Now there are so many different kinds of technological devices that it can be hard to pick what will be best for your employees. Have no fear, we are here to help.

When shopping for new technology it's beneficial to know what types of devices are out there and what circumstances they are ideal for. Below is a list of the major categories of technical devices available.

Thin clients Thin clients are a type of computer where the computing power is stored on a server. On an employee's desk there will usually be a monitor, mouse and keyboard that they use to access the system - hosted on the server. These systems are typically low power, but are generally cheap to run and maintain. Any updates are done on the server and are instantly accessible to all users. The beauty of thin clients is that the servers don't have to be in your office. They can be in another location, managed by another company - where everything runs in the cloud. Because of this, thin clients are becoming an increasingly popular option.

Due to shared resources, thin clients are ideal for positions that only require minimal computing power. For example: retail operations, restaurants, sales departments, finance departments, etc. For positions that rely on computer processing power, use programs like CAD, or use legacy systems thin clients aren't a good choice.

Desktops Desktops are the standard in the majority of offices mainly because they offer solid computing power and systems meet the needs of a wide variety of budgets and needs. Desktops can take up space and businesses usually require a solid management plan to ensure every desktop is secure and using the same software.

Desktops are ideal for employees that need computing power, or who have resource intensive roles e.g., engineers who use CAD, designers who use Photoshop Suite, etc. Desktops are not a good solution for employees who are out of the office extended periods of time, or if you have limited physical space.

Laptops Laptops are portable, relatively cheap and can do nearly everything a desktop can. Their size means they are popular with mobile employees, e.g., salespeople, franchise owners, board members, etc. While laptops can handle many of the same tasks as their larger cousins, they do struggle with multi-tasking. If you need to have more than one window or program open it can be annoying having to constantly switch.

Tablets The iPad has shown that the tablet is here to stay, with some companies even being able to do away with the laptop. Like the bigger laptop, tablets are designed to be mobile and are ideal for keeping in touch with the office while on the road. They are perfect for employees who give lots of presentations or need to multi-task. Where they lack is in document creation and editing. While this can be done on tablets, it just takes time and a whole lot of patience.

If you have a mobile workforce that doesn't need to change documents on a regular basis e.g., salespeople at trade shows, tablets are a great choice.

Smartphones It's pretty clear that the smartphone is ideal for nearly every company. Users can check and reply to email, look at most files and many have even started to use it as their main phone. If you have employees that need to be connected to the office e.g., doctors or support staff, the smartphone is a great way for them to stay in touch while not having to be in the office.

With the sheer number of devices and uses, you can guarantee that different positions will require/benefit from different tools, and you should take this into account when looking to buy new devices. The other thing that works well is to adopt a multiple device scheme where users have complementary devices. For example, you can have one desktop for two sales staff who also have a tablet. They can use the tablet while out of the office and the desktop for heavier tasks when in the office.

The key here is to pick devices that will best complement your employees, and allow them to be productive wherever they may be. If you're looking to purchase new devices for your office this holiday season, why not contact us? We may have the perfect solution for you.

One of the common business trends is making existing resources do more for less. When it comes to technology, many businesses are pushing their systems harder and longer, and because of this have come to rely on IT service providers to keep systems running. The only issue is, when they business hits a rough patch, service providers are sometime the first to be let go. However, this may not be a good idea.

Below are five of the more common issues businesses face when they decide to allow IT service contracts to lapse.

1. Increased response and resolution time - The way almost every company works is they provide support to paying customers before they provide support to others. If your systems bought from a vendor three years ago crash, and you didn't renew the support contract, you will be facing prolonged downtime and potentially high replacement costs which could be detrimental to your business.
2. Poor implementation of updates - One of the main jobs of the IT provider is to ensure that all systems are up-to-date, or at the very least are running the same version of software as other systems. Without this valuable service, it is almost guaranteed that users will be running different software versions which could pose security and integration risks.
3. Lack of diagnostic and analysis tools - IT providers often utilize robust diagnostic and analysis tools that can help determine what issues are causing problems. On the other end, many IT service companies are set up to be proactive, and will usually look for and fix potential problems. This business model minimizes downtime, which can be hard to do without a costly internal IT department.
4. Reactive support - The proactive nature of many IT service providers really helps, but when you don't renew contracts, your service will likely go from proactive to reactive. Meaning you likely won't know anything's wrong until it really goes wrong. So instead of systems being down for an hour for monthly maintenance, they could be down up to a week or longer. This is something no business wants.
5. Increased hardware overhead - With a good service provider, your systems will last longer. This equates to lower hardware overhead over a longer period. Without them, companies will often see higher overhead due to having to replace equipment more often.

Yes, we agree, it can be hard to justify paying what seems like a high monthly fee to keep your systems running, especially in this difficult financial climate. However, the potential of both lost revenue from crashed systems and replacement costs often make IT service providers an integral and valuable part of your technical systems.

If you're facing budget cuts, why not talk to us, we may be able to work with you to develop a plan that meets both your needs and budget.

Virtualization is a buzzword thrown around the tech community on a seemingly hourly basis. From the outside looking in it seems that everything is, and has to be, virtualized these days, and if it isn't you're lagging behind the times. This has led to somewhat of a craze, that can be quite confusing at times. One of the more popular forms of virtualization that has got many experts talking is the somewhat confusing issue of server virtualization.

Here is a brief overview of server virtualization, when you should use it and what you should look for in a virtualization solution.

What exactly is server virtualization? In a nutshell, server virtualization is the practice of taking physical servers and digitizing them into virtual ones. In truth, this isn't a fully virtual solution; your servers will continue to be on a physical server, just in virtual format.

Modern virtual solutions run multiple systems - commonly called instances - on one existing server. Traditionally, servers were inefficient especially when it came to use of physical resources and hardware - much was left under utilized. Virtualization ensures that use of physical resources and hardware are maximized, leading to users getting better value from servers.

This stacking of existing systems onto a smaller number of systems decreases acquisition and overhead costs - maintenance and power - while increasing the amount of physical space available for other functions including room to grow.

Virtualization is largely made possible due to increases made in technology. For example: A server with four processors costs about 1/10th of what it did a decade ago, and is more powerful. More power and cheaper cost has given companies of all sizes the capabilities to virtualize.

When should I employ server virtualization? Virtualization is ideal for functions that are small to medium scale, ie., most simple or day-to-day business functions. If you have applications that are resource intensive and rely on more than one or two servers to be able to run, then it's probably safer to not virtualize that particular service.

Most companies will run physical servers with virtual solutions to a maximum of 50% CPU usage during peak operations. If you have multiple servers running applications that, at peak, only use about 5% of the server's power, these would be ideal to virtualize - you could virtualize up to 10 physical servers.

If an application uses 48% of available computing power at peak usage, it's probably not the best candidate for virtualization as it will cause other instances on the same server to run slower, thus negating any advantages gained from virtualization.

What should I look for in a virtualization solution When looking for a virtualization solution many companies will have different needs that they need to take into account. There are three factors that almost every company should be aware of when shopping for a virtualization solution:

1. It's not 'all-in-one' - This seems to be an increasing demand of many clients; they want one system or server to take care of everything. This is not a good idea, as if something happens to the server all of your systems could be rendered useless. The best solutions take steps to ensure your solutions are redundant. That way if one fails, or needs to be fixed, it can easily be switched to the other with no loss of service.
2. There's a migration solution - Most businesses, especially small to medium enterprises, will likely be looking to migrate servers from a physical to virtual (P2V) solution. This can be a time consuming experience for the uninformed. Therefore, a good service will have P2V migration tools or options to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
3. The service is supported - Due to the increasingly complex nature of virtualization, good services should offer support. The best services should be able to manage your whole virtualization solution, including installing patches and updates and prompt service. They should also be able to work with your existing licences and ensure you're not paying extra, meeting your licensing needs.

There are many different aspects to take into account when virtualizing your systems, and if you don't have the IT support or knowledge, it could be a complete failure. That's why we recommend contacting us if you plan to virtualize. We have plans that can help, or will be able to point you in the right direction. So, call before you start.

One of the most important business tools is email. It allows us to stay in touch with the office and each other regardless of our location. While email is useful, it's not perfect. One issue is that we receive so many emails, with up to a 100 a day or more. This has led to many an overload and meltdown; there's just simply too many emails to get through. So, what do most people do? Delete them. However, this deletion could lead to problems.

When it comes down to it there are usually two options for users to keep their inbox from overflowing. They can either archive or delete emails.

Archiving or deleting emails These are features that are available to most email clients. By archiving email you essentially remove them from your inbox, usually into another folder. When you archive emails, they are still retrievable, and you are still able to search for them and access the information within them.

Deleting emails on the other hand is different. Yes, your emails are removed, but they will usually not disappear instantly. Most email programs move deleted emails into a trash folder. Some clients are set up to empty the folder on a daily basis, while others delete instantly or when they've set the program to. However, once you empty the trash, it's very hard to get these deleted emails back.

To archive or delete? The issue of whether to delete or archive emails is a bit cloudy. For personal accounts it's a little easier: If the email is junk, spam, or contains useless information, it's safe to delete it. For businesses, you can go ahead and delete junk emails, but for many other emails it may be a better idea to archive emails. Here's a number of reasons why:

It's the law Depending which country and industry your company operates in, there may be rules and regulations that state how long you should keep emails in your system for. For example: The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FCRP) in the US state that if a company can anticipate legal action from information contained within a message, or series of messages, it must keep/store (archive) them.

The EU has similar, yet slightly more complicated rules. The Data Protection Directive (DPA) of the EU states that, "Personal data must be stored, but no longer than necessary...The subjects of emails, the “Data Subjects,” have the right to access information about the storage and access to their personal data and to request accurate copies. If you operate in the EU, you must furnish personal information stored in email or otherwise, if asked for it. The kicker is: If you've deleted emails with such information, you are obligated to provide these as well.

Most other countries have laws similar to these, so it's better to err on the safe side and check with a lawyer to ensure you know exactly what the rules are.

Storage isn't an issue In the past, emails took up precious storage, so you really had no other choice but to delete messages. Nowadays, that's not an issue, especially for users of services like Gmail who get upwards of 10GB (more than enough to store all of your emails). This allows you to archive emails while keeping your inbox clean, and not having to worry about the law.

Email is a form of data Data is becoming big business. While it's highly likely that many small to medium businesses won't be implementing Big Data practices anytime in the near future, data in emails is still important. Say for instance you get an order for X amount of Y last year, and you were so busy you just filled the order but didn't fill in the proper records. When that client emails again, the only other information you have is from previous emails. If you delete it, that information is gone.

Beyond that, many decisions are made through and recorded in email these days, delete that important email with next year's budget decision on it and you could be in trouble.

Archive or delete? We're not suggesting you should keep all of your emails. In fact, the above reasons for archiving all have one thing in common: Useful information. This is key, as if information in an email isn't useful to you, your company or colleagues, or is stored in another location, you can probably delete messages.

Some people disagree with this view though and in fact some lawyers advise deleting emails due to the fact that they could turn out to be a liability one day. There are tons of stories of someone sending an inappropriate email to friends, only to have it leak to an unintended recipient. Situations like this could ruin your company.

What do you do/think? Do you delete your emails or archive them? Let us know.

Security issues seem to follow cycles. An exploit or security weakness is found in an operating system and all of a sudden, there's tons of hackers taking advantage of it. Then, the OS developers and security companies develop and implement a fix and things die down for a few weeks, only to have another exploit submerge. Microsoft knows this all too well, and has implemented some new security features into Windows 8 that will hopefully curb the cycle.

Below are three common security issues faced by all networks and how Windows 8 combats them.

Spear phishing Spear phishing is a form of social engineering conducted over email. If a hacker wants to access a system, they will often pose as a customer and either send an email with an attachment, or send this over IM. The attachment contains a virus or trojan horse which then gives the hacker access to any system that the 'attachment' is downloaded onto.

The main way Windows 8 prevents this is through Windows Defender. This is a full antivirus and malware solution that is based on the Microsoft Security Essentials platform. If you aren't currently working with a Managed Service Provider, or have decided to take on the migration in-house, Windows Defender can be a good device to protect you while you upgrade and before you implement other antivirus solutions, and is available on all versions of Windows 8.

Drive-by malware One way to infect a network is to post a link to a website or file that contains malware. When a person clicks on the link, the malware is installed, often without the user knowing. To combat this, Windows 8 has two features: SmartScreen and Secure Boot.

SmartScreen has two functions. It scans URL links typed into a browser. When a URL is entered that's known to contain malware, it blocks the user from accessing the website. While this isn't a new feature, reports have noted that this is the best URL scanner among any modern browser. The other function of SmartScreen is to scan files that have been downloaded for malicious software.

Many users know there is a similar feature on Windows 7, that notifies you that a file has been downloaded from the Internet when you open it, and gives you choices on what to do with it. SmartScreen improves on this, and takes an active role in notifying you about the security of downloaded items. SmartScreen is available on all versions of Windows 8.

Secure Boot on the other hand works on a far more basic level. Developed for use on motherboards using UEFI - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, a new form of firmware which will replace the aging BIOS. It works by validating the digital signature of all boot components - software and hardware that starts during the bootup of a computer - to look for any tampering. If a disparity is found, Windows Recovery will start and attempt to fix the problem. This will help cut down on the number of Rootkits - malware that modifies an OS before it starts up. Secure Boot is available on Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise

Out-of-date devices connecting to network One of the more common trends in the past couple of years is employees wanting to bring their own devices to work (BYOD). While there are many benefits to this, a device that an employee brings in which isn't up to date, or already infected, could pose a huge security risk. One way IT can manage this is through an approved list of programs that can be centrally managed.

Windows 8 allows this through a feature called Applocker. Applocker is an application control program that allows an administrator to create either a white (allowed) or black (not allowed) list of apps users are allowed to download on a company controlled system. If you create a BYOD policy where an employee can bring in their own device, but have to connect through a virtualized desktop, managed by the company, this is a great way to ensure malicious apps and unapproved programs aren't downloaded and that company security is maintained. Applocker is available on Windows 8 Enterprise.

These are just a few of the common security issues faced by companies, and how Windows 8 can protect a network or system from them. If you're thinking of upgrading to Windows 8, please contact us.

Security is a hot button issue, with nearly every company focusing on some form of security and many focusing on security related to the technology they use. This ensures company networks are secure from attack, and businesses often have drafted usage policies for employees to follow when using their computers. While this is a good step, there is one area that's usually glossed over - security of mobile devices. One common way to ensure these are secure is through the use of encryption.

Encryption is not a new concept, it's probably been used since the inception of communication. In standard terms it's the conversion of data into a form that can't be easily understood by unauthorized people. This form is commonly referred to as a ciphertext, or more commonly a cipher. Some people will call this a code, as codes are the same idea. Only the form is not meant to be secure and can be understood by other people e.g., binary code, Morse code, etc.

When data is encrypted, it can be sent to recipients, usually using normal transmission methods e.g., Internet or data connections. Upon receipt of the encrypted data, it needs to be decrypted (changed back to normal data). Decryption on mobile, and most computerized devices, is done using a key. This key is an algorithm that can understand both the encryption and normal data. It takes the encrypted data and essentially translates it to a form of data we can read or interact with.

Many businesses go to great lengths to ensure their data is encrypted both within the network, when sent amongst the network, or to trusted recipients outside the network. In a perfect world, all of your connection points - devices that connect to the network - would be secure. In the real world, employees using mobile devices that are unencrypted to store data or access company systems pose a big risk.

Take for example the CEO checking his work email on his own iDevice. Any emails sent between the company's email server and the phone's email program will usually be encrypted. However, when an attachment is opened with confidential news about an upcoming merger, a copy is usually downloaded onto the phone's memory. If the boss hasn't taken steps to encrypt the mobile device's memory, and the phone is lost then someone picking up the phone could turn it on and see this information. If the user can understand the information, they could create a ton of trouble for both companies involved.

Another scenario, one that's becoming more popular, is where the company's accountant has visited one of the increasingly popular drive-by-malware sites and malware has been installed on an unencrypted phone. The accountant might open work emails and download next quarter's financial projections, along with a document containing the password to a newly reset work account. The phone's memory is unencrypted, so the hacker who monitors the malware can come along and grab the information. Now, not only does the hacker have access to the system - through the password - they also have confidential numbers a competitor would likely pay a handsome sum for.

While these situations may seem extreme, they can and have happened. The risks can be minimized though. While the obvious answer to problems like this is to simply bar employees from accessing work systems from mobile devices, this solution runs counter to the way most people work, and will likely be largely ignored by nearly everyone.

The best solution lies in a mixture of different approaches, all centered around a solid mobile device usage plan. You should take steps to first figure out when your employees access office systems using a mobile device, why they are doing this and what are they accessing. From there it's a good idea to look into security options, vendors like us can help you with this step. It's also beneficial to establish a use policy that dictates when devices can and can't be used. Also, utilizing apps to encrypt memory on phones will help. At the very least, it's a good idea to encourage your employees to use a password on their phone.

Mobile device encryption should be an important part of your company's security plan. If you'd like to learn more, or implement a security system please contact us as we may have a solution that meets your needs.