Small and Mid-Sized Business Specialists

The seventh common small & medium sized business technology mistake, often proves irrecoverable. Despite numerous choices, methods and options, many organizations fail to adequately back up data.

Statistics reveal there is a 50% chance an organization will cease operations immediately when critical data is lost. Worse, an organization’s odds of failure rocket to 90% within two years when critical data is lost. Data losses cost an average of 19 days’ productivity. Recovering data from damaged disks, meanwhile is incredibly expensive.

Even organizations that believe their data is properly protected may find themselves at risk. Occasionally incorrect data (as in the wrong data) is backed up. In other cases, tape backups prove unreliable (Gartner Group estimates only half of all tape backups restore successfully).

Fortunately, small & medium sized businesses can follow simple steps to securely protect their data.

Since data backups are so critical to an organization’s livelihood, small & medium sized businesses should work with proficient IT consultants or technology partners to ensure the right data is being backed up and that it’s being backed up as frequently as required. In addition, technology professionals should regularly test backup sets to confirm the data can be recovered in its entirety.

Consultants can work with small & medium sized businesses to determine what data, files and information should be backed up, how often to create the data sets, where to locate the backups and how often to test the sets’ integrity. Consultants also prove invaluable in updating backup routines when software upgrades, migrations and other updates change critical file locations. Further, technology professionals can ensure businesses’ data remains secure, which is a critical concern for physicians, financial institutions and even retail outlets.

A study by Software Advice, a company that helps buyers find the right software, found that small businesses in the U.S. are realizing the importance of connecting with customers throughout the entire buying cycle.  As a result, they're looking for integrated sales and marketing functions, typically provided within a Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) suite.

Software Advice numbers show that 62 percent of small-business CRM buyers are still looking for basic contact management as provided in a standalone application for sales force automation (SFA). That’s no surprise. SFA is typically the first step for businesses to organize their customer data and track customer interactions across the sales funnel. As such, it’s long been the first thing small businesses look for when it comes time to adopt a real CRM technology strategy.

"However, we also found that 42 percent of small-business buyers in the U.S. were looking for an integrated suite of multiple CRM applications, as opposed to a single standalone solution for just sales force automation, just basic marketing automation, or just customer service," said Jay Ivey, an analyst with Software Advice. "That number has jumped from 7 percent in 2013."

Of U.S. buyers seeking an integrated suite, 88 percent want a combination of sales and marketing automation. Bottom line: more small businesses want fuller-featured CRM to better align marketing and sales. Further, 71 percent expressed a preference for cloud-based over on-premises CRM systems—up from 48 percent in 2013.  When trying to select your CRM solution, contact a technology professional that can help you make the best decision for your company.

You've worked hard for your business, and it deserves the very best!

In addition to training, small & medium sized businesses also frequently fail to adequately accommodate security issues. Organizations either don’t recognize the risks or fail to take them seriously, thereby making security failures the sixth most-common tech mistake.

The costs are staggering.  Large US organizations lose some 2.2% of their annual income due to security attacks, according to an Infonetics Research’s Costs of Network Security Attacks report. That’s expensive. The FBI estimates such computer crime costs US industry in excess of $400 billion.

Organizations need not possess a high profile to become a target, either.  Hackers have created innumerable automated programs that scour the Internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, seeking poorly secured systems, servers, PCs and networks to infect and exploit.

Unfortunately, businesses everywhere are falling victim to compromised systems, robotic attacks, identity and data theft and more. Organizations that fail to properly secure client and customer data often find themselves in the middle of security crises that result in bad press, lost sales and forfeited customer trust.

Fortunately, completing simple steps assists small & medium sized businesses in preventing security failures.  Here are several best practices all organizations should adopt:

-  Implement and enforce strong password security policies for all PCs, servers, network equipment and software applications

-  Regularly update operating systems, network equipment firmware and applications with the latest security patches

-  Deploy business-class firewalls in all locations; connect no systems directly to the Internet

-  Secure all wireless networks

-  Disable guest accounts

-  Implement Internet and email usage policies that preclude personal use of those technologies

-  Prohibit file sharing programs

-  Deploy proven antivirus, antispyware and anti-rootkit applications and update them regularly

-  Regularly perform security audits and correct all deficiencies

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