As systems and market demands continue to require better productivity and efficiency, it only follows that the software that businesses use also needs to upgrade sooner or later. Such is the case with Windows XP, which Microsoft will stop issuing support for in 2014.

Part of using any sort of software is the inevitable need to upgrade. Most if not all software needs to either be replaced and upgraded as the demands of the market entail more efficient processing of the various data and information a business handles.

Such is the case with Windows XP. While many continue to use this proven straightforward operating system, Microsoft has decided to stop support by the year 2014. Microsoft further recommends upgrading to its latest OS, Windows 7, in order for users to continue to receive OS support.

While there are some lines of business applications that have not been upgraded to work with Windows 7, most have — and there are alternative approaches. Also, your business needs the security and protection that only a current, up-to-date operating system can provide.

We understand that changing your OS will entail some expense, including new licenses, hardware, and some training. Fortunately, these things are designed to help you operate more efficiently and increase your productivity in the long run. But such change will take time, and if you are interested in starting to plan for an upgrade now, we’ll be happy to sit down with you and develop an upgrade process that meets your specific needs.

A recent attack by cyber-criminals has highlighted the need for many SMBs to re-evaluate the security protocols between themselves and their bank. Hackers exploit weaknesses in such systems, and when successful, can siphon tens of thousands of dollars from your accounts.

In a recent attack, cyber-thieves managed to get away with $63,000 after they exploited vulnerabilities in the online payroll system of a small business with its bank.

First, the crooks managed to infiltrate the company’s system through a piece of malware called the Zeus Trojan. This gave them access to the company’s data, including the password and username used in transacting with the company’s bank. The thieves then created several new ghost employees and created payroll accounts for them, which they sent to the bank and authenticated using the company controller’s username and password. And to cover their tracks, the hackers erased the confirmation emails regarding the transaction.

This incident highlights the need for better security systems in both the business and their bank – as security experts cite online banking transactions as one of the favorite targets of cyber-criminals. Cyber-attacks such as this one exploit weaknesses in many existing systems that rely on very simple and automated authentication procedures to confirm transactions.

A direct threat to your business finances is not something to be taken lightly. You not only need to review your current online banking system, but also the current security protocols you have installed, since hackers and cyber-criminals are constantly updating Trojans and other malware to adapt to changing IT protection systems.

We encourage you to have us take a look at the systems you have in place to determine if you are at risk for attacks like these. Please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to draw up custom security solutions that address your specific needs.

References:
Sold a Lemon in Internet Banking
Cybercrooks Drive Away With $63,000 from Car Dealership

Are you investing in IT to win—or just to keep up? Many, if not most, companies use IT as a tool, and in doing so they tend to focus on its cost. A better approach is to consider it a strategic asset. Doing so can differentiate your company and increase your profits.

Differentiate your company and increase your profits—with IT

It’s easy to think of IT as a tool that comes with a cost—but doing so is a big mistake. That’s because IT, when used properly, can be a strategic asset. It can make your information more accurate, improve your employees’ response time, and even differentiate your company in the marketplace.

To make IT a strategic asset as opposed to a tool, it needs to add value. To determine where to make improvement, you’ll want to look at your value chain, which includes all the activities your business performs, and ask which ones earn profits. For example, if you’re a manufacturer, better IT could result in more efficient supply purchasing. If you’re a retailer, better IT could result in fewer units needing after-sales service and repair. Focus on improving IT in those areas and you’ll likely improve profits.

An added benefit of this exercise: The use of IT in a new way may create even more opportunities for your company. For example, the Internet allowed Apple to invent iTunes, and now mp3 downloads have overtaken CD sales. Even small businesses can experience this. Case in point: The invention of iTunes has given many startup software companies a distribution channel for apps that otherwise may not have been invented. But the idea doesn’t have to be visionary in this way: YourLittleFilm.com, a small business that creates custom short films, used customer relationship management (CRM) software to help follow up on business leads, and got a 10 percent response rate.

How and where you add value with IT developments will depend on your business model. There is little point, for example, in automating production if your customers cherish hand-made products. However, you might find that investing in a CRM system might give you a more efficient way to track your customers’ preferences and provide them with a more personalized service.

Using your IT as a strategic asset gives you tools to manage clients worldwide, increases your visibility, and lets you compete with much larger players. Contact us to find out how you can use technology to gain an edge.

Cost savings are always important to small businesses—but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on technology. New technology may be necessary for the survival and growth of your business, and may not be as expensive as you think when you consider its return on investment (ROI). In this four-part series, we’ll explain what ROI is, help you understand the types of ROI, and provide guidelines for predicting and measuring the ROI of a technology investment.

PART 1: ROI Basics

There are two ways to look at the value of technology: total cost of ownership (TCO), which quantifies only the cost of a project, and return on investment (ROI), which quantifies both the cost and expected benefit of the project over a specific timeframe.

Traditionally, businesses have used TCO when analyzing the cost of internal infrastructure projects such as upgrading an e-mail system. But even with internal systems, ROI can be a better method. If your old e-mail system goes down, for example, your sales team can’t contact customers electronically and must spend more time making phone calls. If your employees spend two more hours on calls than they would on e-mails, you’ve actually lost money by not upgrading your e-mail system.

As an example of how ROI works, consider the case of a small, high-end electronics boutique. The current point-of-sale (POS) software is beginning to show strains from the company’s expansion and increasing inventory, and customer service issues are arising—a problem since the company’s mission is to provide exceptional service. The company’s owner believes implementing a new POS software program will help address these issues, but deploying it will be costly.

The key question is which will cost more in the long term: spending the money to provide a solution, or the losses the boutique will incur by not doing so?

That question may be easier to ask than to answer. As important as determining ROI is, there is still little consensus about how to measure it accurately. That’s because ROI has many intangibles—things that don’t show up in traditional cost-accounting methods but still maximize the economic potential of the organization, such as brand value, customer satisfaction, and patents.

In the next part of this series we’ll discuss these intangibles

We are seeing Macs and PCs together in more and more offices. Here are some tips to make sure these devices can get along with each other—whether it be sharing files between the two systems, sharing printers, having them talk to each other on the same network, and even running apps on both systems.

Unlike a few years ago when Microsoft’s Windows operating system virtually dominated office desktops everywhere, today we are increasingly seeing the use of other operating systems in the office. Typically these other systems are some model of Apple’s Macintosh running its own operating system called the OS X. The OS X, known for its sleek graphics, great multimedia handling capabilities, and easy-to-learn user interface, has gained favor among many users and businesses.

Sometimes, however, problems arise when having to use different systems in the same office or network environment. Here are some tips to eliminate common issues your users might face when working with others on a different system:

• File Sharing. There was a time when transferring files between a Mac and a PC was a painful process requiring understanding different file system structures, resource forks, file name limits, and other such nonsense. Thankfully those days are over. Many Mac applications today can open files created on a PC and vice versa—such as office documents, images, video, and more. Getting files from one system to another is also easy as you can transfer via a removable drive. Both systems should recognize the file system on the drive—especially if it was formatted using Window’s file system (doing it the other way around might be a bit more difficult). OS X “Leopard” Macs can also read or write to drives that have been formatted using a special format from Microsoft called NTFS, and other freely downloadable utilities can also help. If this sounds like too much work to understand, you can also simply burn a CD or email files from one system to another—or better yet, set up a network for file sharing.
• Making Macs and PCs talk on the same network. If you’re a little more tech savvy, you can connect your Macs to your PCs directly or via a network. Typically this requires a network cable connected to both devices and having network sharing turned on. Enabling network sharing is outside the scope of this tip, but many online resources are available to help you connect a PC to a Mac or a Mac to a PC.
• Running the same desktop applications on both a Mac and a PC. For really advanced users, did you know that you can run Windows on a Mac or OS X on a PC? The former is bit easier and more common, thanks to techniques such as dual booting or virtualization. In dual booting (what Apple calls “Boot Camp”), you essentially install both operating systems on a Mac and on power up, you can choose which operating system to boot. Virtualization on the other hand is way slicker as you can run both operating systems at the same time. In virtualization, you boot Windows in a window within OS X, allowing you to effectively run Windows applications on a Mac. There are also many commercial applications that can help with this.
• The future: Cloud Applications. As we all start to access more cloud-based applications, the operating system you use is no longer as critical. As long as your systems have an Internet connection and a browser, then you can use different systems and it doesn’t matter what operating system or hardware is being used.

So running both Macs and PCs in the same office is not necessarily a bad thing, as it has been in the past. Dozens of options exist today to make the situation manageable, if not downright easy. If you need help, don’t worry — we’re here to assist. Call us today to find out how you can get Macs and PCs to work together for your business today.

Worried that you’ll be stranded by an EMR solution provider that isn’t in the business for the long haul? It’s a genuine concern: Many EMR providers are discontinuing their products and the support for those products, leaving physicians in the lurch. But gloEMR is here to stay.

An increasing number of EMR providers are discontinuing their products and the support for those products, leaving many physicians in the lurch. With gloEMR, you can rest assured:  We’re here to stay.

Many physicians who thought they were using reliable, long-lasting EMRs are feeling stranded because their EMR providers weren’t in the business for the long haul. Some EMR providers are going out of business; others are asking clients to upgrade to their newer solutions and pay a hefty upgrade fee.

Discontinuing a software solution and support for it without giving physicians an affordable and effective alternative has serious ramifications not only for physicians, but for their patients as well.

As a result, gloStream is committed to building all of its software on the Microsoft Office platform. Microsoft Office—a staple of the Microsoft software family—has been around for decades. Moreover, every year Microsoft spends billions of dollars on Office-related research and development, a sure sign that it will be around for many years to come.

When you invest in gloEMR, you know your EMR is here to stay, and that your data is safe and secure—not just when you buy our software, but years down the road. We believe so strongly in our product, we even make it easy for you to switch to another product. We store your data in Microsoft-based formats that are supported by thousands of technology partners worldwide, so if you decide to move that data to other applications, or even another EMR solution, you can do so.

To help physicians who are rethinking their current EMR, gloStream offers attractive discounts to practices that convert from other EMR software to gloEMR.

While many physicians believe return on investment (ROI) in health care technology is a figment of an overactive imagination, a growing body of evidence supports the conclusion that clinical applications increase efficiency, improve quality, and boost patient safety.

In his recent blog, “A Message to America’s Physicians: Purchasing EHR Technology A Shaky State of Affairs,” David Kibbe, MD, says that cost of purchase is not the primary barrier to EMR implementation – uncertainty is. But that doesn’t have to be the case.

To illustrate his point, Kibbe quoted Lawrence Summers, director of the White House’s National Economic Council. “If you as a business were considering buying a new boiler, and if you knew the price of energy was going to be high, you would buy one kind of boiler. If you knew the price of energy was going to be low, you’d buy another kind of boiler. If you didn’t know what the price of energy was going to be, but you thought you would know a year from now, you wouldn’t buy any boiler at all.”

According to Kibbe, what this means is that physicians who know their reimbursement rates will be high will buy one kind of EMR, while physicians who know their reimbursement rates will be low will buy another kind of EMR. On the other hand, physicians who don’t know what their reimbursement rates are going to be, but think they will know a year from now, won’t buy any EMR at all.

While there is certainly some logic to this, EMR implementation isn’t just about reimbursements. Certainly, reimbursements are important, especially for physicians in small practices. That’s because the amount they are paid per encounter by health plans, Medicare, and Medicaid are what determines how much money, net of expenses, they will have available for significant investments such as EMR technology.

But EMR technology can save you money in the long run. As with any technology there is an up-front cost, but the return on investment (ROI) increases with each year after implementation. While many believe ROI in health care technology is a figment of an overactive imagination, a growing body of evidence supports the conclusion that clinical applications increase efficiency, improve quality, and boost patient safety. That’s particularly true if you choose an EMR that can stand the test of time—so choose wisely, but choose soon.

More than 70 percent of office-based physicians are eligible for federal incentives but do not have a basic EMR, according to a recent study. However, that will likely change from 2013 through 2015, the final years of the HITECH bonus period, and as younger physicians begin practicing medicine.

Roughly 83 percent of office-based physicians could qualify for federal incentives for electronic medical records (EMR) implementation if they meet meaningful use criteria, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

The study—which used data from the 2007 and 2008 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to measure the use of EMRs by office-based physicians—found that some physicians would qualify for Medicare incentives, some for Medicaid incentives, and some for both. Eligibility was based on the number of Medicare and Medicaid patients seen.

Interesting data points from the study include:

• 70.5 percent of physicians are eligible for incentives, but do not have a basic EMR.
• 12.1 percent of physicians are eligible for incentives and already have a basic EMR.
• 14.6 percent of physicians are not eligible for incentives and do not have a basic EMR.
• 2.8 percent of physicians are not eligible for incentives and already have a basic EMR.
• Location matters: Midwest physicians were more likely to qualify, Western physicians less likely.
• Specialty matters: Psychiatrists are significantly less likely to use EMRs than other specialists.
• Practice type matters: Physicians in a solo practice and physicians in practices owned by a health maintenance organization (HMO) are less likely than those in larger practices to qualify for incentives and use EMRs.

While physicians may be slow to embrace EMRs, they won’t resist for long, according to Susan Dentzer, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs. Dentzer predicts more physicians will adopt EMRs from 2013 through 2015, in the final years of the HITECH bonus period. Moreover, as younger physicians begin practicing, the operating standard will likely change to using EMRs.

In our opinion, implementing sooner is better than implementing later. Contact us for more information about getting an EMR.

The impact of Japan’s earthquake wasn’t limited to Japanese businesses; the impact was felt around the world. American companies that depend on Japanese supplies, for example, also suffered. The lesson: Never get lax when it comes to having a business continuity plan.

What Japan Can Teach Us about Business Continuity

When a powerful earthquake rocked northeast Japan in March 2011, the impact was felt across the globe—a powerful reminder of how important disaster recovery plans are to all businesses.

You may think of disasters as being relatively rare events, like earthquakes—but however rare in any one location, events such as these can have an effect on many other locations.

Case in point: According to Bloomberg, at least 35 companies derive 15 percent or more of their sales from Japan. Among them are Aflac (an insurance company), Rambus (a memory-chip interface manufacturer), and Coach (a retailer). For example, Japan generated about 75 percent of Aflac’s 2010 sales. American ports and shippers were also affected:  the Port of Los Angeles temporarily suspended the transfer of hazardous materials and bunkering fuel operations.

The point is that disasters, whether acts of nature or man-made mishaps, can strike unexpectedly at any organization. Recovering from a catastrophe can be very demanding, expensive, and time consuming—especially for those who haven’t taken preventative measures and preparations.

What can you do to prepare? Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), which will enable your business to resume normal operations after a significant data loss or network downtime due to natural disasters, sabotage, theft, or equipment failure.

Even if you already have a BCP, it’s important to make sure that your plan is flexible and scalable, and can adapt to the natural changes that your business undergoes.

For example, software and hardware installations, updates, and modifications are an important part of business continuity planning. Your data should be properly and regularly backed up, and you need storage and recovery systems and procedures that are continually updated with changes that constantly occur in your IT.

In addition to having a flexible and scalable BCP, you also need a highly skilled IT staff that is up to speed on the importance of backup and recovery of data. It’s important that this staff is properly trained to implement your BCP in the event that your business experiences a major data loss.

Unfortunately, companies routinely suffer significant data loss because they discover the errors in their systems too late—usually while trying to recover the data.

Your business is important to you—and to us, too. We’re here to help you create or fine-tune a BCP that is best suited to your unique business needs, as well as prepare and assist your staff in implementing the plan should it become necessary. Contact us for more details.

Japan’s earthquake was devastating to many companies, particularly electronics manufacturers. But the losses weren’t limited to Asia; many American companies felt the aftershock. The lesson to be learned: disasters can strike unexpectedly, and can have far-reaching impact.

What Japan Can Teach Us about Business Continuity

When a powerful earthquake rocked northeast Japan in March 2011, the impact was felt across the globe—a powerful reminder of how important disaster recovery plans are to all businesses.

You may think of disasters as being relatively rare events, like earthquakes—but however rare in any one location, events such as these can have an effect on many other locations.

Case in point: According to Bloomberg, at least 35 companies derive 15 percent or more of their sales from Japan. Among them are Aflac (an insurance company), Rambus (a memory-chip interface manufacturer), and Coach (a retailer). For example, Japan generated about 75 percent of Aflac’s 2010 sales. American ports and shippers were also affected:  the Port of Los Angeles temporarily suspended the transfer of hazardous materials and bunkering fuel operations.

The point is that disasters, whether acts of nature or man-made mishaps, can strike unexpectedly at any organization. Recovering from a catastrophe can be very demanding, expensive, and time consuming—especially for those who haven’t taken preventative measures and preparations.

What can you do to prepare? Develop a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), which will enable your business to resume normal operations after a significant data loss or network downtime due to natural disasters, sabotage, theft, or equipment failure.

Even if you already have a BCP, it’s important to make sure that your plan is flexible and scalable, and can adapt to the natural changes that your business undergoes.

For example, software and hardware installations, updates, and modifications are an important part of business continuity planning. Your data should be properly and regularly backed up, and you need storage and recovery systems and procedures that are continually updated with changes that constantly occur in your IT.

In addition to having a flexible and scalable BCP, you also need a highly skilled IT staff that is up to speed on the importance of backup and recovery of data. It’s important that this staff is properly trained to implement your BCP in the event that your business experiences a major data loss.

Unfortunately, companies routinely suffer significant data loss because they discover the errors in their systems too late—usually while trying to recover the data.

Your business is important to you—and to us, too. We’re here to help you create or fine-tune a BCP that is best suited to your unique business needs, as well as prepare and assist your staff in implementing the plan should it become necessary. Contact us for more details.