Talking Tech

Complying with payment card security requirements
05/22/08
Compliance is one of those words that send chills down the spine, inspiring nightmares that involve blood-thirsty lawyers, courtrooms and large amounts of money. Handling customer credit card data is a serious responsibility with some attending requirements that are well worth understanding, but it needs not be all that scary for small retailers.

Bring me a password. Now bring me another and another ...
05/19/08
Chew on this statistic: Worldwide spending on identity and access management reached almost $3 billion in 2006, according to a 2007 IDC study of the authentication technology market. That's $3 billion to bridge the Internet Age moats around our castles, but it does not include the cost of aspirin for headaches that password issues cause network administrators and users alike every year.

Video teleconferencing: "Meet me half a world away – in five minutes"
05/09/08
Travel has become the bane of many companies' existence, thanks to escalating fuel and travel costs, unpredictable and increasingly frequent air travel delays and metropolitan gridlock. A face-to-face meeting can cost thousands of dollars and several hassle-filled days, yet small businesses often have customers at great distances.

Tighten your e-mail security
02/13/08
E-mail: we hate it, but we love it and need it. More than 80% of small business owners believe e-mail is a key to the success of their business, according to a recent survey by SurePayroll, an online payroll service.

A comprehensive data strategy will keep you out of the data swamp
01/17/08
As with everything else in business, data management requires a strategy for success. Developing a good strategy will save you time, money and heartache. Simply stated: it will make your life a lot easier.

Techno-sugarplums: IT’s holiday wish list
12/21/07
On the 12th day of IT, I gave to my boss: 12 workers whining, 11 computers crashing, 10 printers printing, 9 Windows updates, 8 phones a-ringing, 7 servers hanging, 6 vendors nagging, 5 worn out mice, 4 failing drives, 3 dead phones, 2 power spikes, and a bigger budget for IT.

Virtual IT is emerging reality for small businesses
11/26/07
Virtualization is a six-syllable (and very-high-Scrabble-value) word meaning “make the most of your IT hardware,” which is exactly what every small business wants to do. Until very recently, however, virtualization has primarily been a strategy for big organizations with large data centers, large IT budgets and -- especially -- the expert resources to implement it.

Unchain your computing power: Develop a wireless network plan
11/05/07
Computers empower today’s employees to do things that no individual could have accomplished a generation ago, but desktop technology does tend to chain workers to their desks. Small businesses are discovering that providing employees with mobile computing power increases the value and productivity of information technology and the employees themselves.

Options in optimizing
10/22/07
Ask business executives what tools they are focused on and eight out of 10 times they’ll say server optimization. It is little wonder why. Most servers are grossly underutilized, processing at a fraction of their potential capacity, while still eating up a nice chunk of your IT budget. By optimizing those underachieving servers, you can harness that capacity more effectively either to increase the business return on your IT infrastructure or reduce the investment and expense required to maintain it.

Top 10 venture capital deals of Q3
10/22/07
Of the nearly $750 million that investors poured into the top 10 venture capital deals of the third quarter, only $124 million went into start-ups building enterprise IT products, according to MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Financial.

SSL VPNs a good option for remote access
10/08/07
Companies of all sizes recognize that remote access has the power to drive productivity, improve customer service and add agility to the corporate business model by allowing users timely and secure access to valuable resources regardless of location. Consider SSL VPNs.

Why tomorrow is too late to think about business continuity
09/26/07
Designing and implementing a functional business-continuity plan is a multimonth process. Here's what to consider.

VoIP update: What small and midsize businesses should consider
09/17/07
 Although the self-anointed tech-savvy often deride them, late adopters of technology sometimes have a distinct advantage in that they are working with proven, mature technologies. The key step for late adopters is knowing when the pendulum has swung from business risk to lost advantage and cost savings. For organizations yet to consider VoIP, please note that in this area, the pendulum is moving toward the latter very quickly.

Letters to the editor: "2007: The Year of Being Outraged?"
02/12/07
2007: The Year of Being Outraged?; Earlier daylight-saving start costing IT departments time; Telecommute. Kill a career?

Letters to the editor: Moving targets
02/05/07
Sprint supports GPS technology for tracking school buses; Exchange 2007 integration issues arise; Telecommute. Kill a Career?; U.S. cities don’t make the intelligence cut

Letters to the editor: "Gone counter-phishing"
01/29/07
‘Rock Phish’ blamed for surge in phishing; The 50 most powerful people; 2007: The Year of Being Outraged?

Letters to the editor: "Christmas is a busy time for avoiding work"
01/22/07
Christmas is a busy time for avoiding work; French radio stumbles over podcasting; The perils of precaching; letter about replacing his Alcatel 1000 and SonicWall firewall; 2007: The Year of Being Outraged?

Letters to the editor: "More about BGInfo"
01/15/07
More about BGInfo; Bad ad; Virtualization and EULAs

Commentary: CES and sex in Sin City
01/11/07
A breakthrough in consumer electronics marketing occurred this week. Apparently for the first time at CES, a white lace bustier, matching stockings and high-heels were deployed as a marketing tool.

Letters to the editor: "Microsoft Research fights critics, targets innovation"
01/08/07
Microsoft Research fights critics, targets innovation; Muni Wi-Fi not just another utility; How much can a LAN switch protect your network?; Tech is getting easier, CIOs say; Qualcomm: Contrarians at the gate; Hell yes to virtualization!

Letters to the editor: "Are Cisco switches really so expensive?"
12/16/06
Are Cisco switches really so expensive?; Survey: ITIL’s ROI hard to measure; Content filtering to protect intellectual property; Broadband router throughput

Letters to the editor: "Automating change"
12/11/06
Automating change; IT worker shortage; Carriers: Make stopping spam a priority; Are Cisco switches really so expensive?; Slippery spam slope; Nuances matter in 'Net neutrality

Letters to the editor: "Spam that delivers a pink slip"
12/04/06
Spam that delivers a pink slip; Antiphishing fighters take on malware; Mismatched job titles; Big Brother gets virtual; Richard Stiennon’s open letter to Check Point CEO Gil Shwed; Automating change

Letters to the editor: "On the road to operating system glasnost"
11/27/06
On the road to operating system glasnost; In Microsoft partnership, Nortel marries up; Wireless mesh or WiMAX: Which MAN technology is best?; App launching and yet more Web OSs

Letters to the editor: "Another view of application acceleration"
11/20/06
Another view of application acceleration; Thoughts on Check Point; Murky forecast