Protecting your "Social" Security - Part 2
Survey results from Symantec have shown that half of all social networking at work is conducted for business purposes. Although bosses may cringe to hear that 50% of social networking done in the office is for pleasure, it may come as a surprise that personal social media in the office actually increases productivity (we'll get to that in a second). Although this is good news, many organizations don't have security policies in place to safeguard company activity conducted on social networks.
The Good
A recent article in the Boston Metro reported findings from a study conducted at the University of Melbourne. Researchers found that typical 9 to 5ers who spent about a fifth of their workday using the web for personal browsing were actually more productive than those who were on the web for strictly business purposes.
The article also stated that workers should "batch" their personal activities - recommending a twenty minute session per every two hours of work for optimal productivity.
InformationWeek posted similar findings. A report from Forrester Research (conducted this past January) found that 70% of IT personnel viewed Web 2.0 and social media as having a beneficial impact on their organization's productivity. 78 % believed it helped their organization provide improved customer service. 80% thought social media had a positive impact on their company's innovation.
The Bad
According to the InformationWeek article, many organizations don't have a policy regarding social media usage. Some (about 5%) outright block access to sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. A policy to this extreme could result in less productivity, decreases in customer service, and create a sour workplace atmosphere.
Instead, companies should provide guidelines for employees and create a way to monitor how social networking is being used during office hours.
The Ugly
Without any policies in place, an organization is susceptible to a number of attacks including clickjacking, worms, spam, and phishing that can enter their internal network via social media websites.
The Bottom Line
If your office is in the Twitterverse, using Facebook, or posting pictures to Flickr, you need to have a set of rules or regulations in place to protect not only your employees' privacy, but your organization's privacy as well.
For Immediate Release
NSK Inc. IT Associate Receives CCENT Certification
Associate at Boston-based IT Consulting firm is now certified in small network implementation and management
Boston, MA, March 17, 2010 - One of NSK Inc's IT Associates, Michael McGowan, recently announced that he has received the CCENTTM certification from Cisco®. CCENT, short for Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician, validates skills in installing and managing small enterprise network systems, and is a stepping stone towards the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®) certification. McGowan's new credentials demonstrate his knowledge and experience in data networks, IP addressing, wired and wireless networks, and network security in the small enterprise sector.
McGowan states "It took me about four months to prepare for the exam." His efforts have paid off immensely. "Having a CCENT certification will help me provide better support with internet/networking, troubleshooting, and configurations for NSK and its clients." Although time consuming, McGowan says, "The experience was totally worth it, as it is the largest industry-wide certification." He will spend the next four months working towards his CCNA certification.
McGowan isn't the only NSK member who is Cisco certified. Ben R. Howard, a Senior IT Associate, holds his CCNA certification. Howard says that "Having the CCNA Security certification ensures that NSK meets the standards set forth by Cisco to have an understanding not only of how to configure a range of Cisco products, but to recognize security issues and how to effectively configure and deploy the devices to address the issues." NSK Inc is consistently expanding their knowledge base, and with two employees now Cisco certified the company can manage a multitude of network systems for their growing client base.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
About NSK Inc
NSK Inc is a leader in information technology consulting, with a focus on IT management for SMB companies. Headquartered in Boston, MA with an additional office in Palo Alto, CA, the company offers a wide array of IT services for business driven information challenges. They provide service and support for small and medium-sized businesses and groups working within large organizations. NSK Inc also creates custom software products for investment banks, equity management organizations, and other specialized industry areas. For more information, please visit www.nskinc.com.
Press Contact
For more information, please contact:
Cathie Briggette
NSK Inc.
(p) +1 617 303-0480
(e) cathie@nskinc.com
The Rise of Cloud Computing
The rise of cloud computing is shifting the center of gravity. It is changing the nature of competition within the computer industry. Technological developments have up until this moment pushed computing power away from central hubs: first from mainframes to minicomputers, and then to PCs and laptops. Now a combination of cheaper and more powerful processors, and ever faster and more ever present networks, is pushing power back to the center in some respects, and even further away in others. The cloud's data centers are, in effect, outsized public mainframes that users do not have to keep up, or update.[1]
Cloud Computing is making it cheaper and cheaper to use new technology and not spend a lot of money just to set it up.
Cloud computing is about offering infrastructure as a service instead of as an in house server or big desktop.
Cloud Computing is about using an application over the web. No longer having to install and update the software on your server, computer or laptop.
Cloud Computing is about no longer buying more and more space for your server, or computer, because all the data lives in the cloud instead of on your computer or server.
Cloud Computing is about not caring what operating system that YOU ARE running on your computer, as long as you have a browser, you can use it.
Okay WHAT is Cloud Computing?
First the term "Cloud" is a figure of speech for the internet. It was inspired by the cloud picture or symbol that is often used to represent the internet in diagrams.
[2]
Wikipedia explains cloud computing as an "internet based development and use of computer technology. Because the technology comes from the internet it was given the name 'Cloud'. In concept, it is a paradigm shift whereby details are abstracted from the users who no longer need knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them, because everything is done in the cloud (internet). It typically involves the provision of dynamically scaleable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet. "[3]
Characteristics
In general, cloud computing customers do not own the physical infrastructure; instead they are renting usage from a third-party provider. They avoid spending money on the hardware and software purchases. They use the resources as a service and pay only for resources that they use.
Web-based e-mail, Salesforce, E-Bay, Facebook and MySpace and online games are all examples of what are increasingly called cloud services, and are accessible through browsers, smart-phones or other devices.
Do I Need It?
Cloud computing offers significant benefits to any company, although it is an unbelievable dream come true for smaller and midsize companies. Now instead of making do with a small under-resourced IT staff trying to imitatate the productivity of a billion-dollar company, smaller and midsize companies can now access enterprise-class solutions with limited up-front costs and easy scalability. Today, the cloud makes leading-edge technology available to everyone, for pennies on the dollar, including consumers.
Compare a typical Exchange Server $3,000-$6,000 -- offering perhaps 500MB of email storage per user -- to Web-based email services that offer up to 7GB of storage. Free. (Google's corporate version offers 25GB per user for $50 a year.
Compare enterprise content-management systems with easier-to-use and more-flexible cloud-based publishing/sharing systems like Blogger, Flickr, and Facebook. They're free, too.
Where do I get it?
Look for providers who deliver adequate security and support -- and be willing to pay for it when appropriate. Do not under-estimate network bandwidth expenses. Being around for the long haul is important too, because there seems little doubt that over the long term cloud computing will supply more and more companies' technology needs.
[1] - The Economist - "Clash of the Clouds" [2] - Diagram showing overview of cloud computing, created by Sam Johnston [3] - Wikipedia Definition of Cloud Computing