While there is lots of talk and press these days about virtualization we find that even seasoned IT pros are not well informed about how to make a business case to management.  This is true for the prospective clients we meet every week, primarily small and mid-sized businesses and the people who own and manage these businesses.

While virtualization can achieve significant cost savings and efficiencies, doing so needs to be done as part of an overall, effective technology plan.  And technology planning itself seems to be lacking in small to mid-size businesses.  Owners don’t speak tech.  IT people often don’t see things from a business or technology development standpoint.   Hence, effective planning doesn’t happen.

So what’s the answer for your organization when it comes to leveraging virtualization?  What does virtualization mean to you?  How should you approach virtualization as part of your technology planning?  All great questions to address with the Sindel team of talented engineers.

Share your thoughts and comments here.  Call us or email us and let us help you think through the virtualization process.

If you want to read an interesting post on virtualization click here to see it.

Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday of every month on which Microsoft releases it’s list of bulletins to address known security vulnerabilities. Most Patch Tuesdays don’t make the news headlines. But in the month of February network administrators will have their hands full. Why so? Namely because Microsoft is due to release 13 bulletins that address 26 different vulnerabilities in their software.

What we notice in working with many new SMBs is that IT  professionals can be so overwhelmed with other responsibilities that they don’t keep up with routine maintenance and patching. What does this mean to you if you own or manage a small or medium-size business? It means you’re more vulnerable to security breaches.

So what can you do about this?  First, make sure your IT staff is able to keep up with routine maintenance. Establish a policy whereby you as an owner or manager know that all aspects of routine maintenance, including patches, are done on a frequent and regular basis. At least monthly. Second, help your organization understand what the bulletins of the month can impact from an IT standpoint. Share it by email or in meetings. Help everyone understand what might happen with issues that pertain to Internet Explorer as one example.

If you want some peace of mind let our team run a free security vulnerability scan on your IP addresses.  We’ll share a detailed Executive Briefing with you and your IT staff so you can see exactly how vulnerable your network might be.

Concerned about your protecting your data and keeping your employees and business productive?  Here is yet another example of how Hackers of the Free and Not-S0-Free World intend to hurt you, your network and your business.  Read the full story here.

Want to know how secure your network really is?  Learn more and ask us about our free security vulnerability scan.

Doubts lie not in the core technology, but in the users.

By:  Sindi Major-Martinez

I recently had the opportunity to hear Denis Cortese, Mayo’s former CEO who now is an ASU faculty member, speak on health care reform and how the health plan is lacking.  As Mr. Cortese said “The fundamental problem of health care in the United States is the delivery system.”

As the CEO of an IT services and support company, my first reaction to the health care debacle is that the answer lies in technology. The health care industry as a whole currently lacks standardized IT infrastructure that would enable researchers, providers, insurance companies, drug companies, and patients to better communicate with one another. In pondering Dr. Corteges’ statement further, however, I came to the realization of how daunting a task it would be to reform the entire health care system in the U.S.  It’s easy to think, on a whim, that if we implement an infrastructure and delivery system using all the latest technology, then everything will work perfectly.  The economy would, as a result, be stimulated by all of the investments in new technology, and health care would consequently be reformed!

Whoa down there! When we see IT projects fail to deliver on the ROI promised, it is rarely due to faulty infrastructure design. Rather, the projects fail because we neglect to prepare the people who will be using the technology.  Perhaps the health care tech discussion needs to take a new direction. How are we going to take an industry with an ingrained culture and change behaviors to fully leverage new technology, so it works properly and is utilized to its full potential?

My friend runs the central billing department of a large health care provider in another state.  One of her responsibilities is to roll out electronic health records to their entire system.  In frustration she called me one day and said that the project was being rushed. They were not ready to train their “Super Users.”  That same day, the building they were training in was suffering from power issues.  The trainees who had driven in from all over the state, had already witnessed one previously failed attempt to switch to electronic record keeping and were skeptical of the major financial investment in new technology anyway. Now they were sitting around, wondering… would the new electronic health records system ever truly be implemented? Thus, a mental deficit existed from the very beginning.  Over time my friend had to earn their trust and respect back, constantly proving that the new EHR implementation would make their jobs easier and the organization more efficient.  Her battle continues to this day.

The story I tell above represents merely one organization.  What happens when we mandate technology changes throughout the entire health care system—not because we’re ready but because of political promises from our decision-makers in DC?  Can we afford not to get it right?  How do we prepare people and change the culture to ensure that the enormous investment we make delivers a return on investment for the taxpayers?

Not that any of us really need further proof that security vulnerabilities must be taken seriously by all C-level execs.  But here’s a timely story regarding how really bad it can get.  Read the full story here.

We all seem to read or hear on a daily basis about the many corporate network security breaches.  In fact, security breaches are one of many hazards that can prevent your IT systems from functioning in an optimal fashion.  Protecting your data and keeping your employees highly productive is what IT security is all about.  The truth is CEO’s, business owners, and most corporate executives don’t know what they don’t know about the many hazards to secure networks, data, and keeping systems working so employees can remain as productive as possible.  Which explains why so many businesses and business leaders learn the hard way about the negative impact of being violated by hackers and other major system failures.

One observation I’ve noticed in talking about these issues with business leaders is that most of owners and execs maintain a blind faith that their IT staffers or outsourced service providers have all the bases covered.  After all, leaders and owners are busy tackling their long list of deliverables on any given day.  But think about what I wrote earlier.  IT people also don’t know what they don’t know.  This partly explains why corporate technology giants such as Google are vulnerable to security breaches and other hazards.  The federal government is not immune either.  And these organizations have huge IT staffs with very smart people working on their behalf.  Guess what that means for most small and mid-sized businesses and other organizations with computer systems and networks?

So what’s the answer?  Get a second opinion and let the team of professionals at Sindel Technologies, LLC provide you with a free security scan for your primary IP address.  If you don’t know what your IP address is we’ll make it easy for you to figure it out with a few clicks and less than a minute of your time.  Simply complete a request to receive a copy of our free IT Evaluation for Smart Business which also includes the free security scan offer and information regarding how to get your IP address.  Click here to request this now.

So if you agree that you and I and all IT people alike don’t know what we don’t know, then get some peace of mind right now and request a copy of our IT Evaluation.  Let us provide you with a comprehensive report that reveals just how secure your network really is and what you need to do to better protect your data and systems.

Our security vulnerability scan can save you a whole lot of headaches.

Here’s a recent email communication that the leadership team at Sindel wants to share with our readers.  This message reinforces an important aspect of Sindel’s company culture and values.  Focus on the positive.  Get better results.  While Michael Bidwell shares this message relative to the many great things happening in the greater Phoenix area, why not take this approach to all aspects of life?

From: Michael Bidwill [mailto:mbidwill@gpec.org]
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 3:06 PM
Subject: OGP

Dear Community Leaders,

Arizona suffers from too much negative news: foreclosures, deficits, disputes over immigration policy, kidnappings, job losses and a reputation for poor education.  In an environment where local media outlets are shrinking and where coverage is too often negative, it’s time for Arizona to start telling its own stories!

We have many good ones to share. We have emerging solar and biotech industries, strong semiconductor and aerospace industries, top level research and development occurring at universities, centers of excellence in medicine and cancer treatment and countless stories of entrepreneurs taking advantage of opportunity in the greater Phoenix area.

Today, we are launching Opportunity Greater Phoenix to tell those stories and to get the good news out about the greater Phoenix area and Arizona. Please visit the site at www.opportunitygreaterphoenix.com. Add it to your favorites, visit it often and look for it to continue to evolve in the coming months as a community resource.

Sincerely,

Michael Bidwill
Chairman
Greater Phoenix Economic Council

Happy New Year from the entire Sindel Technologies team.  While most people are enjoying their holiday break, the Sindel team stands on call ready to assist clients with their IT issues.  After all, who would want a single technology malfunction to impact their business at any time of the day or night?  That’s why 24/7/365 the Sindel team is ready to help keep your business running.

We look forward to a fantastic 2010.  Stay tuned for posts regarding upcoming educational events to help business owners and executives understand innovative technology solutions and best practices when it comes to leveraging technology to grow your business.

When it comes to business continuity and ensuring you and your team can be as productive as possible, make sure you’re properly backing up your critical data and managing it in a way that you will never suffer a loss due to disaster or unforeseen issues.  If you’re interested in learning more about data back up and recovery, share your questions here or get in touch with us today.

Here’s a motivational video that the Sindel team would like to share…

Life=Risk

Well it’s certainly been a busy week for the entire Sindel Technologies team.  Yesterday the moving trucks arrived, were loaded and everything moved to our new address at 4650 E. Cotton Center, Suite 250 Phoenix, Arizona 85048.

The space is absolutely incredible and on Monday the team will be in full force at the new offices.  Stay tuned for news regarding some exciting educational events to be hosted at our new facilities.

Everyone is super excited now that the move is made and we look forward to helping even more clients with their IT consulting, planning and outsourcing needs for 2010 and beyond.