No “I” in Team

You have probably heard the phrase “There is no ‘I’ in Team” but there IS in Irene. I was thinking of this phrase as my 9 year old daughter, Jayne, was asking me about the impending hurricane to the NYC area and the Eye of a hurricane. She wanted to know what the eye was and what would happen if the eye came close to our house. As I tried to explain that the eye of a hurricane is actually a very peaceful and calm center of one of Mother Nature’s most powerful forces, it reminded me of how calmness is needed in the midst of emergencies and disasters.

Back in December, I had a post about a snow storm in the area and how my accounting firm used technology to not only keep our employees apprised of any office closing but also how our infrastructure would allow them to also work remotely. Hurricane Irene presents another chapter in how we plan for disaster and the calmness one is able to attain or not depending on your disaster recovery plans.

One of the first and vital things needed in a disaster recovery plan is the need to have your data backed up. There are many ways to back up data from tape, to hard disc imaging and online back ups. Depending on the amount of data one has, the budget you are willing to put forth and the team’s willingness to trust others with ones data will help determine how you will back up your data. There are many entities out there that provide online back ups, but one I would recommend located in the NYC area is BUMI formerly known as BackUp My Info. They provide automated back up for small to medium sized businesses to their servers located in secure data centers. Data centers that are designed to withstand Mother Nature and have back up generators providing power.

One might ask ‘That is great I have my back up data but what happens if the servers I have my original data on are destroyed in a disaster?’ Well, you’re screwed in the short term unless you have planned. If your company is large enough, you may have the ability to have on loan backup servers or be able to purchase servers in an expedited manner. Chances are that is not the case and you will be down for multiple days while servers are obtained, software installed and data restored.

However, all of this is more of the traditional way of disaster recovery. Many companies have decided to take a more proactive approach to disaster recovery by utilizing the cloud. Backing up data to the cloud is great, but you still need to restore it. Utilizing SaaS, Software as a Service, is another way that more and more companies are finding as the best method not only for disaster recovery, but in running smooth, efficient, scalable businesses. By using software that resides in the cloud, businesses take the need to back up data, have equipment standing by for the ready and the worry out of the equation. One simply needs power and internet access to continue running their business. Cloud computing is what you hear everywhere and when you have companies like Apple introducing iCloud this fall you know cloud computing is here for the masses. The AICPA’s entity CPA2Biz has made a large push for CPA’s to utilize cloud based products with such products as XCM Solutions, Bill.com, Intacct and Copanion to name a few.

There may not be an I in team, but your team needs to keep an eye on disaster recovery and cloud solutions to stay one step ahead.

Tell me how you plan for disaster recovery and if you have no plan ask me how to design your plan as there is no “one size fits all”

New website for Accounting Profession

I recently found a website that I felt compelled to share with you. I had started hearing about it through my various social media outlets, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I have to admit at first I did not give it much thought as I initially heard it was a LinkedIn type of site for the accounting profession and between keeping up with my accounting friends through social media and the organizations I belong to, I thought why one more?

Well, iShade is much more than just a site for finding friends. Located at iShade.com, this site has many useful tools. The free site asks you to join and you provide personal & professional information for people to know more about you. Set up similar to a LinkedIn group page, you can post questions and comments on various subjects and find answers from your peers.

The “Dashboard” provides you new alerts and news, has a calendar of upcoming events and even the daily Dilbert comic. The site also has a section for continuing education. Still in it’s early stages there is a calendar of educational seminars that can be found by city. With most classes being offered in St. Louis currently, I was told they will be nationwide very soon.

I highly recommend that you join, search the site and find all the resources available (my personal favorite is the list of bloggers – yours truly included) and start sharing and finding answers.

Cyber criminals vs. Company Networks

I am sure that many of you have read articles or heard on the news about cyber attacks against some of major companies. Cyber attacks or “data security violations” are becoming more prevalent as our society is becoming more and more digital. In fact, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, there have been more than 2,500 data breaches involving more than 600 million records that have been made public since 2005. That is nearly one a day for the past 5 1/2 years.

Now I am sure that you may be thinking that all these digital records and computers may be a bad thing, but one of the reasons for the rise is, simply, there is more data and records in digital format than there 5 1/2 years ago.

These cyber attacks  against companies include various types:

• Intellectual property theft – US based companies are known throughout the world for developing cutting edge inventions, design and other intangible assets. These assest are vulnerable to online theft
• Fraud – Most commonly seen is stealing of credit card information which is sold
• Attacks on Infrastructure – For businesses this can include viruses & worms that affect servers and workstations. For countries and municipalities, it could include attacks on power grids or water supplies.
• Telecommunications – many times telecommunications systems get broken into for variosu reasons. The two that coime right to mind are the ability to force the network’s failure and to intercept communications.

There are ways for companies to combat cyber attacks and a lot of them are simple and require educating people about the ramifications of not adhering to policy. Though the digital world can be complex and many companies have detailed sets of information on policies and procedures to protect data and business information, the bottom line for me it is your people that are the best defense.

I say people are the best defense, but they need to be educated on the policies and required to know what they are and adhere to them. I like to say that people know the speed limit may be 55, but if there is no one there to make them adhere to it, they will drive faster. One way is to test employees on an annual basis to assess their knowledge and understanding of the company’s information security policy & procedures. This is one thing that I intend to do with my accounting firm, Fuoco Group, and all companies that I consult with. One thing to ensure compliance with testing and knowledge of the policies and procedures it to revoke system access to those not completing the testing. Watch how quick you get called when someone does not have access to the company network.

Here are some things that a company can do and should make clear in their policies to help prevent cyber attacks:

• Login credentials – No matter how much people may complain about needing to know passwords, make it a requirment that at a minimum they need to change passwords every 90 days. Also make sure they are informed how to protect their passwords. (taping it to their monitor just does not cut it)
• Software being installed without approval. Many times commercial software can icnlude security flaws that provide hackers an “open” door to the rest of the network. By using group policies to prevent installation of software on company computers, can prevent these open doors. There should also be Anti-Virus installed on every workstation, laptop and server in the organization and it should be updated regularly.
• Phishing emails – These are emails that appear to be sent from a legitimate organization but are really coming from people looking to steal your employee’s credentials to the network. This is something that employees need to be educated on as well as the general public.
• PERSONAL USE: I capitalize this one because more often than not this is one of the most abused things by employees and in my opinion the number one opening for attackers. Each company needs to make it clear to employees regarding the personal use of the company’s network, be it email, the internet or personal smart devices used to access the company’s network. (see next)
• Use of Company equipment – Employees need to be educated that it is YOUR workstation NOT THEIRS. You need to enforce company policy when it comes to the workstation, thumb drives, PDA’s, external hard drives and unsecured WiFi networks 

Protecting your company’s assets against cyber attacks is not easy, but employee awareness, policies and procedures that are enforced and the knowledge that these attacks are out there may make it a bit easier for you to sleep at night knowing you have done what you can. Now go put the alarm on so you can sleep!

Great article by @JodyPadar RT @ATomorro

Great article by @JodyPadar RT @ATomorrow Today on Tomorrow: Do you have a spot saved for your Bernie? http://bit.ly/hkxmdm

Been away, but checking in

Well, I have to be honest. I have ignored this blog as there have been many things going on in my life, personal and business, that have taken the forefront. I have been thinking of so many things that I would like to share in my little corner of the world, where I have My Eye on Technology.

It is now the middle of tax season and the list of ideas on what to write about is growing. Our firm is pushing forward many initiatives during this busy season to better serve our clients and technology is at the forefront of those initiatives. From instituting a client portal for delivery of tax returns, to moving to a hosted environment for our servers, to using CCH’s Knowledge Coach with ProSystem fx Engagement for more efficient audits technology is aiding us in better client service.

I will be posting some insight into my experiences in launching these initiatives and look forward to hearing from others.

Cloud computing or disaster avoidance?

This past Monday, December 27th was a major snow storm that affected a good portion of the northeast. There was enough snow that it affected travel on the roads and mass transit that we decided that in the interest of safety for employees that we should close our New York City and Long Island offices.

Besides sending emails and calling employees, we used other technology to not only inform our employees but also the general public. An announcement was posted on the firm website www.Fuoco.com, we sent out tweet on the firm Twitter account and updated the firm Facebook page. This was all done simultaneously by our marketing company LaBelVit Communications
(www.LaBelVit.com). I tweeted from my account @JoeManz and this is when the question of Cloud Computing came up.

I received a reply tweet from a colleague Jody Padar (@JodyPadarCPA) saying that because of the storm and office closings that we should be a SaaS firm. SaaS is Software as a Service which means having the software you use in your business available in the cloud. That means if you are not able to be in the office you could still work from wherever as long as you have an Internet connection. While our firm uses some Cloud based software
most of it is on servers. I tweeted Jody back that it was NOT the only solution as we have the infrastructure built utilizing Citrix and hosted Exchange to be able to work remotely. In our exchange of tweets she mentioned that in order to work remotely a entity needs to be built on a paperless or less paper model and I could not agree more.

While many smaller firms and businesses may not be able to build the infrastructure we have at our firm there are many ways for you
to work remotely through the clouds. Jody said I couldn’t plan on the storm, but I think she agreed with my reply that in many ways we had planned on the storm by being ready by having the ability to work remotely with digital processes, remote access and employees
trained in working in a digital environment.

I’d be glad to hear from you on how you use the clouds and digital
practices and processes to run your business. Don’t forget that I also provide consulting services on paperless initiatives and workflow optimization)www.Fuoco.com

Please take a minute to complete the one question poll here

Communication in a Digital World

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 46th birthday. It wasn’t one of those milestone birthdays and I am not one that goes out of my way as far as celebrations, but it was significant in that it was acknowledged by more people than I can ever remember. (OK, I can already hear the old age jokes about remembering things – feel free to comment with them) So what does this have to do with technology?

I received birthday wishes on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email and even via text! I had family members, co-workers, Friends, business associates and clients wishing me a great day. Why such an outpouring of well wishes? I’d like to think it is because I am such a wonderful guy or that my friend and colleagues are just thoughtful (they are), but the techie-side of me says it is technology that made me so popular this past birthday.

Social media sites ask you for your birthdate which your friends get notified about upcoming dates. Outlook or other calendaring programs provide reminders about events. These pieces of technology make it easier for us to stay connected and with the built-in notifications. In future posts, I will provide some pointers on using social media and tips on using Outlook until then I will leave you with a tweet that was sent on my birthday.

“Happy b’day to me and thanx to all who have sent well wishes on all #socialmedia platforms – funny not 1 phone call except my little Jayne”

The only person that went “old school” was my 8 year old daughter Jayne who used a phone to wish me happy birthday, but even she had to be a little 21st century, she used her cell phone!

Will software and technology solve your business issues?

Being a CPA, I see many companies that have issues within their business. They may not have as much profitability as they would like, they may not be as efficient or they may not have enough hours in the day to get things done. Many of these companies will look toward software and technology to try and solve the problems. I contend that this will not work!

You may ask, why would a CPA that has a lot of experience working with technology say that technology will not solve their problems? Well, software and technology are only Tools. They are not the magic elixir that solves all. However, software can be used as a tool to help solve problems.

The first step is identifying the problem. The next might be to find someone to talk about the problem. Your CPA firm would be a great place to start and when proactive will also help with step one in identifying the issues. Then the fun really begins in my eyes. Once the problem is in the forefront it is a matter of finding a solution. Many times it may involve software or utilization of technology but don’t rush into things. As I said, the technology is NOT magic, many times problems can be dealt with good old fashion ingenuity. It may be a matter of changing the way work flows around the business, it could be not using existing software to its’ fullest potential, no matter the issue it needs to be studied and a solution found.

In future posts, I will use examples of how technology can be implemented to increase efficiency, solve nagging issues and create more profitable businesses. I will also share insight on how to choose those technologies and when you may be able to use what you already have.

Please register to receive email updates on this blog and be on the lookout for future posts. I also encourage your comments and opinions as no one is the be all end all expert and we can all Lerner from one another.

Joe Manzelli – Having an Eye on Technology

Is less paper more efficient?

Read a copy of the white paper I authored and let me know. The free white paper is located here http://www.fuoco.com/PDF/White_Paper_Plan_for_Paperless.pdf

New Blog

Once I get the hang of this, I will be posting some interesting tid bits to have technology help you