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Categories Archives: Technology

Is Cloud Computing for You?

Posted on by Frank 1 Comment

Cloud computing is a hot topic these days, but many don’t understand what cloud computing really is. Very simply, cloud computing involves the use of computer services accessed via the Internet. If you’ve ever bought a book from Amazon or paid a bill via your bank’s website, you’ve been computing in the cloud.

Is it safe?

When considering cloud computing, you might wonder if it’s safe. While the safety of public clouds can be debated, private clouds are considered more trustworthy to keep your data secure. That’s because private services utilize firewalls and other data security techniques to create a safe environment.

All business people care about keeping data secure, but it’s not usually cloud computing that puts your information at risk. Most data security failures have resulted from internal hardware and software failures or accidental deletions.

Cloud computing actually helps protect against such problems. By outsourcing your computing operations to companies that specialize in these services, your business has access to state-of-the-art hardware, software, and data security processes.

Leave IT to the pros

Most of us are in business to do something other than provide computer service. IT operations are not our strategic focus. So turning to cloud computing for data processing or IT applications for most of us is an improvement in how we handle our automated processes.

The fact of the matter is, more IT operations are moving into the cloud. Like it or not, we’ll all soon be doing most of our computing there, too.

Managing Records in Every Form

Posted on by Frank J. Albi Leave a comment

As your business records take on more forms — and get stored in more ways — the idea of “records control” is evolving to something more complex than it used to be.

Controlling your business records means standardizing how you name those files and scheduling them for proper disposal. What? You thought because digital records weren’t filling up your office storerooms, you should just keep them forever? Nope.

Whether records exist on paper stored in boxes or in virtual folders in the cloud, your business is responsible for managing them according to relevant regulations. All of the best practices pertaining to compliance and risk and liability apply to records regardless of storage medium — digital, paper, or film.

Here’s what I tell my customers: For quick and easy retrieval, electronic records need standard names. Just like biologists use a taxonomy to identify different species, businesses need a taxonomy to identify and deal with their records. A records taxonomy will answer these questions:

  • What is the standard name for each type of record?
  • Who is responsible for the record?
  • Where is the record stored?
  • When can the record be destroyed?
  • How should the record be destroyed (e.g., recycling, shredding, etc.)?

Of course, most companies don’t have a taxonomy for their records, either because they don’t know how valuable it is or they don’t know where to start. In this digital age, taxonomies are more important than ever. Think about it: Human beings may realize that A/P and Accounts Payable mean the same thing when reading a paper record. Computers don’t.

If the prospect of creating naming conventions and disposal schedules seems daunting, get help from experts with records control know-how. For example, our BISplan™ software helps you name files and schedule them for timely disposal. If you have questions about BISplan™ or my thoughts on records control, please get in touch. I’d love to help.

Doing Business Up in the Clouds

Posted on by Frank J. Albi Leave a comment

Have you heard the term “cloud computing” or simply “the cloud” and wondered what the heck it’s referring to? I know a lot of business executives have probably come across this concept and scratched their heads, and maybe even worried about how this cloud could affect their companies.

Essentially, cloud computing means computer processing that’s done via Internet. Take Gmail, for example. Google provides you with free email service, using data centers located in different cities. If you have a Gmail account, you’re already in the cloud.

If you really want to get a good overview of cloud computing and what it means to you, read this recent Infoworld article. It outlines the various types of cloud computing, including software as a service (SaaS) such as Salesforce.com, web-based services like ADP payroll processing, and managed service providers (MSP). After running through the various cloud concepts, the author concludes:

Today … cloud computing might be more accurately described as “sky computing,” with many isolated clouds of services which IT customers must plug into individually.

So should you tether yourself to the “grounded” computing you’re used to, or float up into the cloud? Well, think of it this way: What if you had stubbornly clung to keeping all your business data on floppy disks, even as they shrank in size and eventually disappeared altogether? Or forced your employees to keep clacking away on typewriters when competitors moved to PCs?

Similarly, technology continues to evolve, and the practice of computing  in our own data centers will disappear. Business today–and increasingly, tomorrow–will be done in “the cloud.”

Worried about what happens to the data you store in these cloud-based systems and programs? Don’t be. The cloud is actually much safer than your own computer. Due to economy of scale, the cloud can provide higher levels of data security and backup than any individual user can by mirroring data on redundant computers in different locations.

The privacy of your data is another matter. My only advice is to read service providers’ privacy policies and decide if you trust them to comply with their own policies.