Technology Every Business Needs as they Grow

If you are an entrepreneur, changing the way that you look at your business can be pretty difficult. Many businesses start out with not much more than a ray of hope, so if your business is doing well, you must be doing something right. When demand makes you think bigger, your technology spend becomes a major priority. Let’s take a look at some of the changes a growing business has to make.

You’ll find that a lot of businesses succeed because the people running them are able to adapt to the challenges tossed their way. Whether that is learning from particular case studies or an intuition that makes you know you were made for this, you know that problems come from every angle. Technology smooths those angles out. Here are a few tools worth talking about:

Hosted VoIP

Voice over Internet Protocol, further to be referred to as VoIP, is a telephone system, sure, but really what it is, is a financial correction. Why continue to waste money that could be better spent advancing your business? A VoIP system is a telephone system that uses your company’s bandwidth to deliver enterprise level call, text, and conferencing services.

A cloud-based, professionally maintained VoIP system can solve a lot of communications problems many could see with traditional phone systems. They include:

• Price – VoIP customers have the obvious cost reduction of eliminating their reliance on the telephone company.
• Scalability – A VoIP system makes adding and removing lines easy. A new phone can be up and running within minutes.
• Mobility – VoIP systems typically come with soft phone options that can turn any smartphone into a VoIP phone.
• Options – Any option a traditional telephone system can have, a VoIP platform offers. With VoIP you can get comprehensive communications tools that can be integrated with your business’ other operational systems.
• Hardware – Hosted VoIP systems typically use top-of-the-line hardware systems to ensure reliability.

A new Hosted VoIP system covers a lot of your business’ communications and can be a great tool for the growing business.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an end-to-end piece of operational management software that can function as a liaison between a business and their customers or potential customers. The CRM comes in many forms but their purpose is always to streamline and facilitate action on the operational end and offer support on the consumer end. Some of the features found in the CRM include:

• Contact management
• Lead management
• Relationship tracking
• Account management
• Quote and purchase management
• Procurement/Vendor management
• Workflow automation
• Sales process automation
• Service automation
• Campaign management
• Business analytics

…and more.

Why do you need these options? Because as your business grows, you will have less and less time to do all the things that need to be done. So as the amount of oversight that is needed to ensure that your sales team are doing the right things, your marketing team are doing the right things, your production staff are doing the right things, customers are getting value, and are properly supported when they don’t, increases, the reliance on automation will increase. The CRM automates a lot of the departmental interoperability, thus delivering an efficient and collaborative workflow that supports administration, staff, and customer, alike.

The CRM’s tools can be combined with payroll software, supply chain management software, service delivery software, and more to provide businesses the resources needed to support a business’ end-to-end operations. Growing businesses need to focus on efficiency and opportunities, and one of the best ways to get opportunities is by having a significant web presence.

Online Presence

Brand awareness is extremely important for modern businesses. In fact, it is right up there with convenience as the most important variable that consumers say plays into their decision to choose a product or service. With this in mind, having a web presence is more important than ever. Getting a website made isn’t enough anymore. Today’s businesses not only need to focus their marketing efforts locally using traditional methods, they also need to invest time and effort into their web marketing.

Many businesses have started using social media to start the conversation as it gives a business access to a customer base that they may not have access to in normal situations. The conversation that starts on social media by sharing knowledge via blogs and other pieces of content, responding to user problems with direct interaction, and promoting the good work that you do through case studies and other testimonials, can quickly become a great way to engage an audience that is looking for answers to their own problems. By linking your webpage to your social media accounts, you will increase traffic, which increases sales opportunities.

If your business is growing, you need to get out ahead of it by accepting that investing in technology is the way to go. If you would like to talk to one of our expert IT consultants about the technology your specific business needs, call us today at 216-503-5150.

When Securing Your Smartphone, Some Options are Better Than Others

Today’s smartphones are equipped with assorted ways that users can authenticate their identity, from the now old-fashioned PIN to basic biometrics. However, while these options are available on a wide range of phones, not all of them are equally secure. Let’s look a bit closer at these authentication measures to find out which is most effective.

Does Mobile Security Really Matter That Much?

In a word: yes.

Look at how much we can accomplish with a mobile device. While we’re used to the capabilities that a smartphone offers, it wasn’t too terribly long ago that these capabilities were unheard of outside of science fiction. It wasn’t until 1996 that practical PDAs came about with the Palm Pilot, followed by Blackberry in 2002 and 2004’s introduction of HTC’s Windows phones that we had a taste of what a “smart” phone would look like. It was only in 2007 that the first generally-agreed-upon smartphone, the iPhone, was released.

Just think about the difference between the devices we have today, compared to those that preceded them. While these so-called “dumb phones” were not devoid of sensitive data by any stretch, they may as well have been in comparison to today’s devices.

Now, there are applications for everything, from money management to medical data to shopping and every other purpose imaginable, many of which contain or regularly access personal data. Therefore, it is so important for these devices to be secured… the method by which a user can unlock the device being just one tiny facet of these security needs.

Evaluating Your Authentication Options

Nowadays, the authentication options present on mobile devices are designed to combine the needed security with the convenience of the user. Yet, since they aren’t all equally effective at securing the device, you need to be selective about the authentication method you use.

Let’s go over the options your device may offer and see which one is the best for your security.

Passcodes/PINs/Passwords

We’re all familiar with these authentication measures, as they’re generally the baseline authentication measure for any device, including mobile devices. They also help prevent other authentication proofs from being put in place without the user’s approval. While these security measures are far from impenetrable, they are secure enough to serve as the basis for sufficient security. This is, of course, provided that the user is responsible when they set them.

That said, many users don’t act responsibly as they should, leaving their mobile devices relatively insecure. A study conducted in 2012 revealed that the PINs people used were often of personal significance to them, were composed of repeated digits, or (most amusingly) featured the number 69. Other common numbers were those that could easily be typed in sequence, like 1234, 7890, and the like.

Another study showed that increasing the length of the PIN from four numbers to six rarely added any security benefits, again because of the user. Apparently, the added length makes the user feel more secure by default, and by doing so, gives them the comfort to slack off in how secure their PIN is.

Naturally, assuming the user has the patience to retype their password each time the device locks, this option is more secure than a PIN. Regardless, these options are generally accepted as the most secure option right now.

Biometrics

Thanks to the hardware and software that our devices now support, users can now use their physical attributes to confirm their identity, as biometric authentication has risen in popularity. Naturally, the different methods that make up biometric authentication aren’t as consistent as many would assume.

• Fingerprint Sensors: The first phone to have a fingerprint sensor—the Pantech GI100—first launched in 2004, and with the Toshiba G500, the fingerprint sensor became a mainstream inclusion on smartphones. This isn’t expected to change, with projections predicting that 90 percent of devices will still have a fingerprint sensor in 2023, as compared to 95 percent in 2018. Fingerprint sensors come in many kinds, which does impact their security somewhat. For example, Samsung has started to incorporate sensors under the screen to enable a three-dimensional image to be captured. However, this inherently secure technology can be undermined using a screen protector, as the screen protector can actually lead to any fingerprint being accepted. There is also the concern that fingerprints can be harvested from another source and transplanted to the device to unlock it, so the user needs to prioritize making sure their device is properly acclimated to their unique print.
• Iris Scanning: Currently, iris scanning is seen as the most secure biometric authentication, as the iris is even more unique than a fingerprint. While these capabilities are currently present in many devices, many users don’t use them. This is generally because it takes longer to scan the iris, as the user must direct their gaze to the sensor.
• Facial Recognition: Fingerprint recognition has begun to be replaced by facial recognition capabilities, particularly with the rising prevalence of full screen displays. With a decent software installed and a good set of reference data, facial recognition can make unlocking a device effectively effortless. However, that’s assuming that the software is good and that the reference images are good. If these images have blights like glare on them, it is harder for a user to unlock and easier for a hacker to crack.

Pattern Passwords/Knock Codes

Finally, we’ve come to the least secure option of all. Many Android devices offer the user the option to tap a pattern of their choosing on a grid to unlock their device. Multiple studies have disproven the security of this method, simply because it isn’t too challenging to figure out a user’s pattern.

In one study, it was found that 65 percent of the 351 participants involved created a code that followed Westernized reading patterns, starting at the top-left and progressing to the top-right. Increasing the size of the grid only led to users selecting shorter patterns. Many patterns proved common amongst the participants as well:

1. An hourglass: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, top left, top right
2. A square: Top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left, top left, top right
3. The number seven: Top left, top left, top right, top right, bottom left, bottom left

To top it all off, the researchers found that knock codes were rapidly forgotten. 10 percent of the participants had forgotten their selected code by the time the 10-minute study was over. Plus, they’re slower: knock codes took five seconds to input, while a PIN takes four and a half.

Don’t Skip Securing Your Mobile Device

If you’ve made it this far, you’re likely a smartphone user, and as such, it plays an important part in both your professional and personal life. As you have probably gathered, you can’t afford to short-change any aspect of your security, down to the way you unlock your mobile device.

Net Activity can assist you in ensuring your business’ technology is adequate for your purposes, and that it has the necessary protections surrounding it. To learn more about our services, reach out to our team at 216-503-5150 today.

Why Your Business Is The PERFECT Target For Hackers … And What You Need To Do NOW To Protect Yourself

Everybody gets hacked, but not everything makes the evening news. We hear about big companies like Target, Home Depot, Capital One, and Facebook getting hacked. What we rarely hear about are the little guys – the small businesses that makeup 99.7% of employers in the United States, according to the Small Business Administration. It’s these guys who are the biggest targets of cybercriminals.

Basically, if you run a business, that business is a potential target. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, what you sell or how popular you are. Cybercriminals go after everybody. In 2018, a cybersecurity survey by the Ponemon Institute found that 67% of small and midsize businesses in the US and UK were hit by a cyber-attack.

For the cybercriminal, casting a wide net makes the most sense because it gets results. It puts them in a position where they are able to extort money, steal sensitive information, and ultimately profit off of destroying the property, prosperity, and reputation of others.

Why do cybercriminals love to target small businesses? There are a handful of reasons why small businesses make sense to attack.

1.  Small Businesses Are The Most Vulnerable. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives aren’t always up-to-date on network security, current cyber threats, or best practices in IT. They have a business to run and that’s usually where their focus is. Unfortunately, that means cybersecurity can take a back seat to other things, like marketing or customer support. This also means they might not be investing in good network security or any IT security at all. It’s just not top-of-mind or they may feel that because it’s never happened to them, it never will (which is a dangerous way of thinking).

2. Small Businesses Don’t Take IT Security Seriously. Coming off that last point, it’s true that many businesses don’t properly secure their network because they feel that they aren’t vulnerable. They have the mindset of “It hasn’t happened to me, so it won’t.” Along those same lines, they might not even take password security seriously. According to research conducted by Trace Security, upward of 80% of ALL breaches come down to one vulnerability: weak passwords! Even in 2020, people are still using passwords like “12345” and “password” to protect sensitive data, such as banking information and customer records. Secure passwords that are changed regularly can protect your business!

3. Small Businesses Don’t Have The Resources They Need. Generally speaking, medium to large companies have more resources to put into IT security. While this isn’t always true (even big companies skimp on cybersecurity, as the headlines remind us), hackers spend less time focused on big targets because they assume it will take more of their own resources (time and effort) to get what they want (money and sensitive data). Many small businesses lack the resources like capital and personnel to put toward IT security, so hackers are more confident in attacking these businesses.

Just because you haven’t had any major problems for years – or at all – is a bad excuse for not maintaining your computer systems. Threats are growing in number by the day. While many small businesses might think, “I don’t have the time or resources for good security,” that’s not true! You don’t need to hire IT staff to take care of your security needs. You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg securing your network. IT security has come a LONG way in just the last five years alone. You can now rely on IT security firms to handle all the heavy lifting. They can monitor your network 24/7. They can provide you with IT support 24/7.

That’s the great thing about technology today – while many hackers are doing everything they can to use technology against us, you can use it against them too. Work with a dedicated and experienced IT security firm.

Tell them your business’s network security needs and they’ll go to work fighting the good fight against the bad guys.