A new offering from Microsoft, Office 365, allows users to subscribe to a cloud-based service that provides access to a set of Microsoft products, but without the hassle of updating and maintenance. Plans are available for medium enterprises as well as smaller businesses, and even educational organizations.

Small businesses now have the option to subscribe to a new service from Microsoft called Office 365. A cloud-based service that offers a particular set of Microsoft products based on different plans, Office 365 is designed to be a more manageable and cost effective means for smaller businesses to enjoy all the advantages of using Microsoft products without worrying about software maintenance and updates all the time.

Included in Office 365 are the set of Microsoft Office desktop applications as well as Microsoft's Server products (hosted versions) which include Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Lync Server. All these are delivered and accessed through the Internet.

Depending on the needs of a particular organization, Office 365 offers several plans companies can subscribe to. Whether you are a mid-sized business with an internal or partner-supported IT arm, or a smaller one completely without dedicated IT staff, or even an educational organization, there is an Office 365 plan (plus add-ons) for you. Office 365 can also be accessed virtually anywhere and with any device, which allows for maintained or even increased productivity because of the ability it affords the user to work when on the go.

If you want to know more about how Office 365 can improve your business or organization, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We'll be more than happy to discuss the impact of Office 365 – both short term and long term – on the way you do business.

Employees are using popular social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn like never before—even while on the job. This begs the question: are companies properly managing the use of these sites? Read on to find out.

The use of social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin is exploding, with some using them even while in the workplace. While these sites offer work-related benefits such as fostering better workplace communication and collaboration, they also expose the organization to risks as well. Some of the risks borne out of social networks include the mundane—such as potentially embarrassing the company through inappropriate posts online, to the serious—such as security threats via viruses and malware or through the inappropriate sharing of proprietary or confidential material. This begs the question: are companies properly managing the use of social networking sites of employees at work?

In a survey recently published by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics with the Healthcare Compliance Association, it was discovered that for most companies, this was clearly not the case. With a sample of almost 800 respondents from for-profit, non-profit and government organizations, the survey revealed that half, or 50%, did not have a policy covering the use of social networking sites at work. Of those companies that do have a policy, 34% include it in a general policy on online usage, and just 10% specifically address the use of social networking sites.

About half of the respondents also reported that their employer also does not monitor the use of these sites, or at best has passive systems in place—usually being done by their security department. Yet despite this, a significant number, nearly one fourth of those surveyed, or 24%, report that their organization has had to discipline some employees for improper use of these sites.

Despite the suggestion from the research that a lot of companies do not yet have formal policies and governance systems in place to manage the online activities of employees in social networking sites, it suggests that over the long term it is something that they should do. Employees may be engaging in risky activities that the company is not aware of—and therefore, as with other online activities such as email, should be managed properly.

Do you agree? Or do you think that the fears of some organizations are bigger than the actual risk? Let us know. We help companies understand more fully the risks associated with online activity and how to better monitor and manage them. We would be happy to speak with you on this subject and help you make sure that your data and systems are safe.

Like everything else in IT today, cloud computing can be either unnecessary in your business operations – or it could be something you really need. However, a recent survey on the perception of the cloud shows that almost half of small business owners are more or less dismissing it outright.

A recent survey by Newtek's SB Authority Market Sentiment shows that almost half of small businesses do not see how cloud computing can cut down on costs and help increase their productivity, with an additional 32 percent still unsure about the whole idea.

At the very least, what these results show is that there is a pressing need for a more widespread and comprehensive information campaign about cloud computing. While many companies see the cloud as a mere fad, there's much more to it than meets the eye, and what it offers can make a definite and concrete difference in the way a business conducts its operations.

What sets cloud computing apart from other hosting services is the way it's managed and used. Management is handled completely by the service provider, and subscribers can adjust the specific features they use and pay only for those, similar to how on demand IT services work. Cloud computing usually also includes virtual data storage, with most if not all data stored off-site and in the cloud service's servers.

Of course, the way the cloud impacts each particular organization will vary, and how it will affect your business in the short and long term depends on your needs and requirements – and whether you even need it in the first place. There are pros and cons to any cloud-based service, but at the very least it deserves some serious thought.

If you want to find out more about cloud computing and how it may affect your business, please give us a call and we'll be happy sit down with you and discuss any issues and concerns you have, and help you determine whether the cloud is right for you.