August 2014 In this issue: • Greetings! • Are Bad Email Habits Wasting Your Time? • The Best Use of LinkedIn • In Defense of Devices: Cyber Security Concerns Spread Beyond Your Phone • BYOD in K-12 Schools: 5 Tips to Help Parents Keep Their Kids Safe • Office 365: A More Cost-Effective Option for Business • Business Continuity Tip • Quote & Cartoon Office 365: A More Cost-Effective Option for Business used with permission from HTS As you know, moving to the cloud is a popular solution that many small businesses have decided to take action on. If you aren�t a �tech� person, then it can be scary to think of all of your programs or files saved in the cloud, floating in �outer space� where you can�t physically touch it. Believe me, I�ve been there! But, if you start to research your options, moving to the cloud, especially with Office 365 is a smart option that is more cost-effective than the traditional on-premise option for small businesses with more than 1 PC. When you break it down, for small and medium businesses, Office 365 is an easy choice. I�m sure there are some exceptions, but Office 365 is a great option for most SMBs. Read more Business Continuity Tip Isolated Incidents While all disasters pose a serious threat, sometimes it's the ones we least expect that cause the most damage. You never know when disasters such as burst pipes, illness, fire, or flooding due to a broken sprinkler system might happen to your business. Anticipating and planning for these types of disasters can make all the difference. Download Agility's Isolated Events Whitepaper for real world examples of these unexpected events and the various steps you can take to protect your organization. Quote of the Month "If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners." Johnny Carson Just For Laughs   Welcome! How many of you have heard the term, �you don�t know what you don�t know?� This is HUGE nowadays. We have become so specialized in so many different industries that we cannot keep up on the advances in so many things we use so frequently. Yes, the basics of plumbing when I have a leaky faucet can still be a challenge because we are inundated with knock-offs and misleading information. In my industry of information technology (a.k.a. IT) using computers and mobile devices, there are so many things going on that the common person cannot possibly understand. That is okay if you seek advice from a professional... on a regular basis. Asking once is not enough in the IT world since IT is a world of constant change. Until one can fully understand and appreciate the technical details, one must trust an honest expert. But here is another catch — I am noticing honest experts are not keeping up on the latest technology. Again, very key in our industry. Here�s the evidence: 1) an IT department that is responsible for protecting business computers, but a user got a virus; 2) an IT buddy that helped set up a home/office computer and now that buddy is not available; 3) a company email or production server that is down for longer than an hour; 4) moving an office and all the vendors are not �on the same page�; 5) a service used for business was hacked. TTJ has been providing IT services for almost 34 years and asks, �what can improve productivity and security� on a regular basis. If you would like to see what makes TTJ different and IT more affordable, I have a short 30 minute presentation to show you what makes our service special. Contact me at [email protected] or 503.363.2693. Chris Cummings President & IT Consultant/vCIO Are Bad Email Habits Wasting Your Time? used with permission from HP Technology at Work Are bad email habits distracting you, wasting your time, and causing miscommunications with clients, employees and others? Making a few simple changes to the way you handle email will help you improve focus, save time, and communicate more effectively. Here are five bad email habits that could be holding you back�and positive alternatives to get you moving forward. Bad habit #1: Sending emails late at night, early in the morning, and on weekends. This sends clients the message that you�re on call 24/7, so they treat you that way�which ultimately stresses you out. It also sends employees the message that you expect them to be on call 24/7�which stresses them out. Instead, try: Limiting the hours during which you and your employees send work-related emails. Prohibiting email from, say, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., will give everyone time to unplug, rest, and recharge. Read more The Best Use of LinkedIn used with permission from HTS LinkedIn launched in 2003 and is mainly used for professional networking. Business professionals connect using LinkedIn and it�s proven to be a great resource to find people and companies that fall into the One of Two Rule: They can benefit from your services/expertise, or You can benefit from their services/expertise. If you�re not on LinkedIn yet, here�s how you get started! Read more In Defense of Devices: Cyber Security Concerns Spread Beyond Your Phone used with permission from Norton by Symantec We're always hearing about the connected future, an �Internet of Things� (IoT) where our smartphones and tablets are joined online by ever more devices: cameras, TVs, microwaves and fridges, even baby monitors. It sounds great, but every one of those internet-connected devices is another security concern, as Symantec�s 2014 Internet Security Threat Report demonstrates only too clearly. As the report states, last year saw high-profile hacks of baby monitors, security cameras and even home routers by cybercriminals. Meanwhile, security researchers dug around in the software of other devices and found ways to attack smart televisions, cars and � most horrifying of all � medical equipment. That doesn't mean criminals are actively doing so just yet, and the potential financial gain from hacking certain devices is debatable, but the rapid adoption of connected devices means a growing number of relatively untested targets. Read more BYOD in K-12 Schools: 5 Tips to Help Parents Keep Their Kids Safe used with permission from Norton by Symantec by Melissa Segura Despite controversial beginnings, many school districts across the United States are embracing BYOD�bring your own device�in the classroom by expanding curriculum to include student owned devices. With this trend gaining momentum, some districts are starting to run pilot programs to explore the benefits of bringing mobility to classrooms through BYOD. Rather than fighting against change, forward thinking school districts are moving into 21st century learning environments because they recognize the advantages of incorporating tehcnology and learning applications into the classroom to better engage students. Teachers and administrators are taking a stance in favor of BYOD in schools because they believe that technology can be a key tool to engage students and enable them to explore, research, investigate, and solve problems. Among some of the widely acceptable devices today are laptops, tablets, smartphones and ebook readers. With this shift in the learning environment, it�s normal as a parents to have some concerns. Read more