The Savvy CIO

Technology infrastructure can be complex, but the business needs behind your technology are not.

Do you want to know if your technology is doing everything it should?

Perform a basic IT evaluation focused on business needs.

Don’t want to pay for a company (like ours) to do an evaluation?

No sweat, we’ll tell you all (well, a lot) of our secrets so you can do it yourself.
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Twitter, media darling that it is right now, is logging a bit of bad press for having company documents stolen.

The short version is a hacker got into an employee’s web email account, and from there was able to access information stored in Twitter’s Google Apps account.

Depending on where you read the story, the spin is:

Twitter has serious security issues (partially true)
Cloud computing is unsafe (mostly false)
Someone needs a better password (clearly true)

The real lesson to be learned here is be extremely cautious with your email. Think about it. Virtually everything online is linked to your email account.

Are you equally vulnerable?

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Smart phones are everywhere. In 2008, nearly 90% of respondents to a survey said they accessed email or company information on a smart phone purchased either by their company or themselves.

How many people in your company are now carrying emails, files, passwords and network access around with them 24×7?

Mobile connectivity increases responsiveness and productivity, but have you adequately addressed the security risks these devices bring?

The main risks you should be aware of are:

• A lost/stolen device or memory card with information stored on it
• A lost/stolen device with the ability to access the company network
• Interception of data over WiFi or 3G networks
• Interception of data over Bluetooth connections
• Departing employees with un-wiped mobile devices they personally own
• Lack of clear ownership of the phone number (if the phone itself is used for business)

What can you do to minimize these risks?

• Require passwords/PINs on all devices
• Use encryption for files and storage cards (this can require third party software)
• Restrict what software and which employees can connect to your network from a mobile device
• Use SSL encryption when setting up email accounts
• Use centralized solutions tied to your email/collaboration system that have remote-wipe capabilities
• Provide clear policies and training for your staff
• Include mobile devices with access in your end-of-employment security checklist
• Be sure you have ready access to carrier and account information

Are you aware of other risks or solutions when it comes to mobile devices?

Talking about data backups is as fun as going to the dentist.

Every time I visit the dentist, I get a lecture about flossing more. I’ve never had a costly cavity, crown or root canal, so my newfound concern for my teeth only lasts for a few weeks. I have more pressing matters than prevention.

Many leaders approach data backups this way. Like my teeth, they haven’t yet paid the price for lack of prevention. It isn’t likely to affect them and there are always more urgent issues on their plates.

Of course, backups (like flossing) are important to tend to. Businesses in Chicago still remember the 2004 fire on LaSalle that locked down a building for weeks. Most companies’ offices were fine, but they couldn’t get to their data.

Guess how the unprepared fared?

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What is the IT Myth?
The IT myth says IT is a subsection of your business, best tended by specialists. Technology decisions for your business should be made by IT professionals who understand that capabilities and limits of technology. Only a trained IT professional can decipher the tech lingo and dizzying array of options to deliver the best possible technology.

The Truth
IT is no longer a simple subset of business, but is often absolutely critical to reaching your goals. IT professionals are experts in technology, not necessarily in business. Technology decisions too often begin with “What would IT like to work with?” not “What business problem are we going to solve?” In the worst cases, we’ve seen IT use huge budgets to finally get a system they’ve been wanting for years, ignoring more recent, superior solutions that are a fraction of the cost.

Your business needs technology that serves your business strategy. Good technology decisions are made by business leaders for business reasons.

The lingo and options in IT can disempower business leaders and owners from leading their business in areas related to technology. Owners and leaders need straight talk from voices that understand business strategy and processes as well as technology—advice that starts with “What problem can we solve?” In short, every business—regardless of size—needs a good CIO.

The Savvy CIO is breaking the IT myth with simple, free advice on identifying and solving business problems using technology. We want to help you lead your business in technology by using IT to reach your goals.

In general, there are two roles of IT: reactive and proactive.

Your business needs both of these roles. Ignore one and you will have a problem, either now or later.

The Reactive Role
This is IT as fix-it person: supporting users, administering systems, hooking up new PCs and printers, and replacing parts. This role keeps your systems and users working. Reactive IT is a necessary cost center, with little return on investment.

The Proactive Role
This is IT as business strategist: planning for contingencies, improving productivity, adding capabilities, ensuring compliance and security, advising on emerging technologies, identifying business issues and potential solutions. This role helps you reach business goals and requires a high-level viewpoint on technology and business. Proactive IT is a business asset and can significantly improve your bottom line with reduced cost or increased revenue.

A recent study suggests that as businesses trim costs, IT managers at small companies are spending nearly 60% of their time on administrative tasks. When business leaders do not identify and value the proactive role, resources end up funneled into a reactive maintenance mode. If the IT managers in this study are skilled enough to be proactive, their companies are wasting a valuable resource and hampering long-term growth.

If you have an IT staff in house, what role do they fill? Are you compensating them correctly for that role? Depending on their skill level, consider outsourcing to free up internal staff or to provide proactive strategy. If you don’t have internal IT staff, be sure your outsourced service providers have the team-based expertise necessary to attend to both roles.

Technology changes fast. Your business can’t sustain jumping on the “new and improved” bandwagon every time. But changing too much isn’t the problem most businesses face.

For most it is changing too little, fighting down the growing certainty that a technology or business process that is paid for and familiar has become a problem. If this is you, here’s the bad news:

You have a legacy monster on your hands.

A legacy monster is usually some piece of hardware or software that was, years ago, a great source of efficiency and maybe even pride. Now faster, better, and cheaper solutions abound. But somehow the legacy monster is hanging on. Legacy monsters survive on lies like:

“It doesn’t cost us anything anymore.”
“Everyone is comfortable with this system.”
“We can’t take time for change right now.”

Don’t believe it.

Legacy monsters cost more to maintain than they did to purchase, better systems lead to better work, and today’s slow market means we all have a little extra time to improve business processes.

The truth is that the legacy monster’s initial cost is irrelevant. Hampering your business for months or years won’t “get the most” out of your investment.

Do you have legacy monster systems in need of slaying? Did you recent lay one to rest?

My friend Dave has four salespeople. Right now his company needs all hands on deck to best position themselves for the recovery. But one of them is coasting, content with the residual commission and long term relationships he has built over the years.

This salesman knows what Dave is now realizing: He “owns” his accounts and all of the information associated with that relationship. His notebooks, black book and Blackberry are assets the company can’t afford to lose.

Dave is held hostage in replacing or eliminating underperforming staff, because they control the information about the company’s customers and prospects.

Your company must own this information.  The technology that typically makes this happen is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Database.  A well-implemented CRM means:

⇨    Marketing, sales and customer service are in one place
⇨    Actionable sales and marketing campaigns flow in repeatable-even automated-processes
⇨    Management has clear visibility into the sales pipeline and salesperson performance
⇨    Salesperson turnover results in no lost information or relationships

With a CRM, Dave could replace underperforming sales staff and provide complete information on every lead, proposal and opportunity in a territory to a new sales person. That’s the power of owning your company’s sales information.