The Connection, Inc Blog

For the small business, being more efficient with resources can make a massive difference. In fact, it can be the difference between organizational sustainability and organizational failure. The bottom line is that, no matter how big or small they are, today’s businesses need to be smarter to compete. As a result, some businesses have begun to utilize data management platforms (DMP) in order to put themselves in a better position to understand their business, their market, and their customers. Let’s take a look at the DMP, and how it works to help businesses like yours be more effective.

A database is an incredibly useful tool for organizing a lot of information in a relatively concise and accessible way. Did you know that you can use a relatively common program, Microsoft Excel, to generate a database for your business to use? For this week’s tip, we’ll walk you through this process to help you keep your data organized.

Step One: Enter Your Data
Opening Excel, your first step should be to enter the data that is to be included in your database - however, it is important that you do this correctly. If you are using a title, the only space between any of your inputs should be a row between the title and the data you are organizing. This includes empty cells, so you’ll want to make sure you determine a standardized placeholder to avoid any of your cells being unpopulated. This “no space” rule applies to the labels on your records and fields in relation to your data as well.

Records and Fields
In your new database, each row should represent an individual record, with each column serving as its own field.

• Each record should pertain to a single item in the database. Depending on what your database is organizing, this could be a specific piece of equipment in the office, or a particular employee… essentially, any single unit out of the contents of the database.
• Each field, on the other hand, dictates what information about the item is to be placed in the cell. This might be the price a certain item had, the date it was brought into the company, an employee’s middle initial… again, whatever piece of data should be the one in that particular column.
• Make sure you are consistent in how you input your data. For instance, don’t start by entering numbers as digits and suddenly transition to writing them out.

This will require you to set particular standards for data collection, as you will want to be sure that your records are as complete as possible. You will also need to stick to this organizational pattern, so you will want to make sure that you figure out what works for you early on.

Step Two: Convert Your Data into a Table
Now, you will want to create a table out of your data. To begin, highlight your data, with exception to your optional title and the placeholder space that separated it from the data. In the Home tab, open the Format as Table menu to select your choice of table.

This will add drop-down boxes to the field titles, allowing you to sort your data by the criteria you wish, without the concern that your data will be lost.

Step Three: Expanding Your Database and Putting It to Use
Of course, chances are that you will need to change the contents of the table, adding more records as your business continues. Excel makes it relatively simple to do so, with a simple click-and-drag interface.

To expand your table, simply hover over the bottom-right corner of your table, as indicated by a small dot. Your cursor should convert into the double-headed arrow icon. Click and drag downward to add the number of rows - or records - you have to incorporate into your table. Then all you have to do is add the new data in the proper fields, and your table has expanded.

Of course, as your database grows, it’ll become harder and harder to interpret due to information overload. At least, it would if Microsoft hadn’t incorporated a means to rectify this shortcoming as well. You can filter the data that your table displays, hiding the records that don’t apply to the criteria you set your filters to. Mind you, this doesn’t delete the data - you can easily display it again by clearing your filters.

To use your filters, click the drop-down arrow on the field category that you wish to filter through. You will see a few options, with a search bar and some checkbox options below it that specify each entry in that column. You want to uncheck the (Select All) option, and instead check the checkbox option that correlates with the data you want to view specifically. Once you’re ready to see your complete data, you can go back in and select the Clear Filter from option.

This is a very basic version of a database, but it can help serve you well in many ways. Are there any other uses you’d like to know about, let us know! Leave your questions in the comments, and for help with any of your bigger IT concerns, give us a call at (732) 291-5938!

Let me ask you a question… let’s say that you’re about one year from your projected retirement, when a ransomware attack encrypts all of your files. What do you do? Pack it in and retire early? This is precisely the situation that the practitioners of Brookside ENT & Hearing Services of Battle Creek, Michigan, have found themselves in - and it may not be over yet.

Businesses have a lot of data to protect and it’s not so simple as implementing a catch-all solution that can keep your data secure. In fact, it takes several solutions working in tandem to maximize data security. We recommend a combination of a unified threat management tool, a Bring Your Own Device policy, and a virtual private network solution. Let’s take a longer look at them:

Cloud solutions have proven their value in many different business applications, a major one being the ability to use a cloud service as a storage solution. By doing so, a business can enjoy a few additional advantages as compared to one that relies on more traditional storage solutions.

Picture this… In your office you have a bag filled with thousands of envelopes. In each envelope there is $242 in cash. Unbeknownst to you, a thief has gained access to your office, but you don’t realize this until 279 days later. How much is this going to cost your business?

Data breaches on average in the US cost $242 per breached record. With the average breach compromising 25,575 records, the average cost per data breach is $8.19 million. Of course, the financial cost per breach is determined by a number of factors, but regardless of how much each breached file is actually worth, the entire situation has a chance to be the end of everything that you’ve been doing. Today we discuss these factors and determine how your business can avoid experiencing the effects companies feel in the aftermath. 

Talking Numbers… Very Large Numbers

Let’s take a brief look at the 2019 Cost of a Data Breach Report.

It’s no secret that anything associated with the healthcare industry costs a pretty penny. Healthcare data breaches are no different. The average cost of a data breach in the healthcare industry costs approximately 6.45 million dollars. This number is a staggering $15 million in the United States, where healthcare costs outpace the rest of the world. The cost-per-record increased over five percent within just a year, increasing from 408 dollars to 429 dollars. This 21-dollar increase might seem insignificant, as well as non-healthcare records increasing 2 dollars over a year, but remember that the average breach compromises 25,575 records. That means comparing 2018 to 2019, even non-healthcare data breach costs increased by over half a million dollars per incident. 

Clients Will Forget About Our Breach … Right?

Word travels fast in the digital age. If your business suffers a data breach, statistically these are the long- and short-term hurdles you will face.

Once customers hear their personal data has been breached, some begin to look for alternative companies in which to do business. It’s not uncommon for customers to feel that their data cannot be trusted following a data breach, and it's hard to blame them. In fact, on average 3.9 percent (even higher in the healthcare industry) of customers leave service following a data breach. For businesses with fewer than 500 employees, a data breach could ultimately lead to problems attracting new revenue, and ultimately, failure.

Mitigation

What your business needs to know following a data breach, is time is of the essence. The faster you solve the issue at hand, the less it is going to cost. Solving the problem within 200 days reduces the total cost by $1.2 million on average. What’s better than saving $1.2 million? Not suffering from a data breach in the first place. The Connection, Inc offers services that can help prevent breaches. Call (732) 291-5938 to learn more about our security services.

Managed services offer businesses an improved means of obtaining and managing the technology they rely on. With data being so important to the modern business, much of this technology is devoted to storing, securing, and leveraging this data. Working with a managed service provider can help a business get the most value out of their data management practices. Let’s go over how.

The more time that passes the more files your business accumulates. These files need to be stored in a place where your staff has access to them. Since a lot of today’s work is collaborative, finding the right file sharing and collaboration solution is extremely important for the growing SMB. Today, we will tell you some things you need to do to maintain efficient file management systems.

You may not think much about managing mobile data, but if your business routinely transmits sensitive data over the Internet, you should. Today, businesses of all types are using the Internet as a tool to drive their sales and marketing processes, but they don’t often consider the threats that come in when they use it for productivity. Today, we will go over what a Mobile Information Management solution is, and how to leverage it for your business. 

IT inventory management is the process of making sure that your information technology resources are maintained to be their most effective, such as what needs to be updated, which licenses need to be renewed, and whether your resources are helping you accomplish your organizational goals. It is essentially a fancy way of saying asset management, specific to your IT - and it is a very important process for any business.

Data loss is no joke - and we’ve heard plenty of stories from people who have experienced it firsthand, when personal or business data was lost. We appreciate everyone who shared their experiences with us, and allowed us to post them here. First, we’ll tell the story of someone who learned something in college that wasn’t in the syllabus.

Don’t forget to share your own stories with us in the comments!

College was a pretty great time for me, so I have a lot of good memories of it. Of course, they weren’t all great... One memory in particular still bothers me a little: when I almost failed in sophomore year because my computer went bad.

I went to college to study journalism, so there was a lot of writing involved. So much so, that my Dad surprised me before I started my second year with a computer for my dorm room so I could write and edit my copy in peace. The student computers on campus were a little ways from the dorm, so it was nice not to have to hike across campus by myself.

Sophomore year started wonderfully - I wrote a few articles for the student paper each week, and I got some of my general studies courses out of the way so I could focus on professional development during my later years. I even went abroad for a few weeks on a mission trip that fall, and had assembled quite a photo album with the digital camera I had bought for the occasion.

However, toward the end of that first semester, everything went wrong, all at once.

I had heard I should keep up a backup, but I really didn't think I'd have a problem. My Dad had just bought me this new computer just before the semester started, so everything was updated and new. I had a copy of *most* of my files when I moved them over to the new computer, so I figured I was in good shape for a while.

Then, just before Thanksgiving, I was in a bit of a rush. My roommate had already taken care of everything she had to and was pretty much just waiting to go home for the holiday - she just had a few more classes to attend. 

I, on the other hand, was swamped - I wanted to get a few assignments started before break so I wouldn’t have to play catch-up after, and I had bitten off more than I could chew. 

I had to make sure I would have enough time to write everything that the paper would need after break, so I was trying to get a head start on some projects I knew were coming up. One was a research paper for the global history course I was taking. 

Knowing full well that very few college students would work on a research paper before a break, the professor had literally had us drawn our topics from a hat. I had pulled… the Hussite Wars, I think... and I had already put together an outline for this paper to be built around. This thing was supposed to be pretty hefty, with a full bibliography, according to our professor.

So there I was, typing away as my roommate watched Miss Congeniality for the third time that week. Just as Sandra Bullock was teaching self-defense using the SING technique, my computer started making weird sounds, and suddenly the screen went blank.

After a moment of shock, I started to panic. I had just put in hours and hours of work on this paper, and it was suddenly gone. Then I looked closer - everything was gone. All of my files, all of my work - everything… including the pictures I had taken during my trip.

My heart was broken, and my gut felt like it was filled with concrete.

It was late at night, so campus IT services had already gone home. I couldn’t sleep a wink, and the first thing I did in the morning was to haul my computer over to the IT service desk. They looked it over, and found that there was, unfortunately, nothing they could do to restore my files, although they got the computer working again.

I went home for break pretty stressed out - not only had I essentially wasted a ton of time on work that I was going to have to redo, I didn’t have all of the pictures that I had from my trip - those were what really hurt to lose. That’s why I was so happy when my Dad reminded me that I had already made him a CD of all the pictures I had taken, and he made me a copy to bring back.

The next few weeks were miserable, as I basically had to stay up all hours to get everything done. Somehow, I managed. I have since learned my lesson, and when working on an assignment, I ALWAYS keep a backup - although I don’t use a CD anymore.

What We Can Do Better

To protect your business’ data, you should always have more than one copy of it saved, and these copies should be kept in separate locations. While you should be taking multiple backups a day, it is best if they run continuously, ensuring that the most work you would lose would amount to just a few minutes.

We want to thank our contributor today, and remind you that The Connection, Inc can assist your company with its data backup and continuity needs. Reach out at (732) 291-5938 to learn more about our solutions!

Most businesses that really lean on their IT go to great lengths and expense to keep those systems secure. Sometimes, however, all those firewalls and antivirus software don’t stop threats that come in from your staff. Today, we are going to go through the three different types of human error that your staff can undertake, and how to deal with each.

Accidental

The most benign of the insider threats, the accidental mistake typically happens when data is in transit. Circumstances often lead to situations that are less than ideal. Typically, these types of mistakes are made when an employee isn’t properly trained. If you have security policies in place, but an employee hasn’t been made privy to them, or at the very least they aren’t given the knowledge on how to stay compliant of them, there is a disconnect that can often lead to problems. 

Negligent

Unfortunately, most insider threats are of this nature. These are threats that are brought on directly from user error because of a lack of diligence. When data is lost in a database, when malware is downloaded on the network, or when mobile hardware is lost, your company is dealing with user negligence. Most negligence is not premeditated, but due to its avoidable nature, it is looked on much less favorably as compared to accidental mistakes. 

Malicious

When an insider acts in a way that is intentionally malicious towards an organization. This can come in several forms. A user that has access to company computing resources can deliberately steal data, inject malware, and bypass security policies enacted by the IT administrator. Then there is the mole, who is a person that is actually an outsider, but is provided access to company computing resources, and uses his/her position to pass information onto competitors, steals it with the intention of selling it off, or using it nefariously later. 

How to Spot Insider Threats

The nature of the beast here makes spotting insider threats difficult, but there are some indicators that can help you identify if you have a bad actor in your midst. 

• Type of activity for users - If a user has access to certain resources, but their job doesn’t typically require them to use those resources, especially ones that are filled with sensitive information, you wouldn’t be misguided to further monitor that employee’s behavior on your computing network. 
• The volume of traffic - If you can’t account for a sudden uptick in network traffic, you may want to investigate. 
• Times of activity - If you see spikes in traffic at strange times, you’ll need to ascertain why.

How to Protect Against Insider Threats

You can take some pretty straightforward steps to combat any insider threats. They include:

• Increase visibility - You will want to put systems in place to keep track of employee actions. You can do this best by correlating information from multiple sources. 
• Enforce policies - Having your policies documented and easily accessible will avoid any misunderstanding of your business’ expectations on how employees interact with its technology resources. 
• Comprehensive training - IT isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. To avoid accidental mistakes and to help reduce negligence, consider putting together strong training initiatives. They will go a long way toward helping staff understand what is expected and what is possible.
• Access control - Of course, if you set up permissions for every part of your business, you can effectively set who can see what, making sabotage and negligence less likely to hurt your business. 

If you would like help identifying how to protect your business’ network and data from threats, even the ones that come from inside your business, call the IT professionals at The Connection, Inc today at (732) 291-5938.

Data is one of a business’ most important assets, and as such, it needs to be kept in such a way that it remains organized and utilizable. This has led to widespread use of databases in businesses, which has necessitated the use of database management systems. Let’s take a closer look at these systems, and why they are so crucial.

For a frame of reference, let’s imagine that our database is actually a library, and all of the books inside are actually our data. Following this analogy, the database management system (or DBMS) is like the Dewey Decimal System… it keeps the contents of your database/library organized and usable.

The Function of a DBMS

As you may have already figured out, the database management system helps you secure and organize the data stored in your database. By allowing you to better keep track of your database’s activity, you maintain more control over your database.

This control, paired with the added convenience of the DBMS, offers you a variety of benefits. These benefits include.

• A DBMS allows you to restrict access to data that an end user has.
• Users have a simpler time finding the data they need.
• It eliminates the need to restructure data to use different programs.
• Administration procedures can be unified.
• A DBMS makes data processing more economical.
• Data inconsistencies between file systems are eliminated.
• A DBMS allows for simultaneous data access between multiple users.

So, when all is said and done, a DBMS can simplify your users’ tasks, without sacrificing your control or data security.

If you want to optimize your business’ productivity and efficacy, The Connection, Inc is here to help. Call (732) 291-5938 today to discuss your particular needs with us.

A virtual private network (also known as a VPN) is something that more and more businesses are using, especially now while most of the workforce is now working from home. As a means of encrypting data while it is in transit, the use of a VPN enables you to transmit assorted types of data more safely. Of course, not all VPNs are the same, and so you need to be careful to select the right solution for your needs.

Let’s go over a few considerations you should keep in mind.

Why Do I Need a VPN?

Look at it this way: in a normal situation, how often do you find yourself accessing the Internet as you’re out and about--more specifically, checking on business matters and sending and receiving business data? Any time you do so (or otherwise access the Internet) your data is susceptible to being spied on and/or intercepted on its way to its destination. 

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic currently in place, we’re far from a normal situation. Now it is more important than ever to give your workforce a secure way to access company data.

This should make the importance of a VPN to businesses of all sizes only too apparent.

What to Look for in a Business VPN

There are fundamental differences between a VPN designed for consumer use and one designated for a business. A personal-use VPN allows your selection process to be boiled down into what is pretty much a simple value-based decision: which option gives me the protection and speed for the best price? Personal VPNs tend to protect home users from being tracked online. It’s yet another layer of protection, but they aren’t really designed for business.

However, a business has different needs than an individual user, the primary one being the fact that the end-user isn’t necessarily the one who should be controlling the VPN’s use.

To address this exact issue, business VPNs are designed to allow for centralized management, something that consumer-focused VPNs do not. With a business VPN, you have the power to make sure each user is protected by the VPN in a simple way.

Additionally, different types of VPNs exist to fulfill different needs. There are remote access VPNs, which are the better-known variety that preserves privacy and protects data while it’s in transit. There are also site-to-site VPNs, which allow users working on different networks to access resources from the others’. This is particularly handy in large businesses with multiple locations, as they allow data to be shared between locations conveniently and without any risk to security.

This has just been a brief introduction to the VPN-selection process. If you’re serious about putting one into place, or even if you just want to learn more about them, reach out to The Connection, Inc. Our team can help evaluate your situation and recommend the best course of action for you, as well as help you fulfill your business’ IT needs. Call us at (732) 291-5938 today.

Today, everything we do on the computer and on our phones creates data. Organizations that are good at utilizing this data, often look to capture everything that they can. This can leave the individual searching for a way to keep his/her data secure. Let’s take a look at some of the best practices used to prioritize individual data privacy.

As digital systems have been adopted by more businesses, data has become a bigger tool. This is due to businesses having the initiative to direct this data into creating strategy. Today, data services are a desirable component for a business to embrace. Let’s take a closer look at how businesses are expanding their use of their data.

Cloud-based databases are valuable for businesses on plenty of levels, but when you consider how much risk you expose your organization to by using a public cloud over a private solution, you suddenly start to realize that the ramifications could be far beyond repair. Compared to the public cloud, a private solution presents a greater opportunity for security, flexibility, and customization.

Each year there are changes that need to be made in the way that organizations manage their IT security. In 2017, ransomware burst on the scene in full force, and cyber security strategies reacted, coming up with fully managed security platform that remediate issues better, and cost organizations far more than they would have spent on IT security just a short time ago. In 2018, the same problems persist, while other developing technologies threaten the natural order of things. Today, we will look at how cybersecurity is being approached in 2018.

Your data is one of the most important assets at your business’ disposal. It’s really indispensable. Not only are large amounts of it the result of successful operations, it also can help your organization better understand the intricacies of its own operations, and where you want it to go in the future. Does your business have a process for collecting, storing, and sorting vital data so that your organization can figure out where to go next?

At The Connection, Inc our technicians come to work every day to help organizations like yours make full use of your technology. Moreover, we are just starting to realize the potential of data ourselves. By having our certified technicians build a dedicated data warehouse, you are creating a construct that embraces the future of data analytics. This analysis may just be the key that allows your staff to strategically plan the next initiative that will take your business to the next level. Here are some of the types of data a comprehensive data warehouse will hold.

Client Information
Your business depends on the patronage of many clients--people who buy your product or service on a varying basis. However, all of your clients will have information that you want to keep on-hand in the event that you lose it. This includes contact information (like email addresses and mailing addresses) as well as phone numbers and otherwise. You should also include any information about services that you’ve rendered for them so that you’re not caught unaware should you lose records of what type of relationship you have.

Vendor Information
Similarly, your organization also depends on contact with vendors who provide the resources required in order for your business to succeed. This could be in the form of software solutions provided by a developer, or hardware issued by a distributor. Utilities, like your Internet, electricity, HVAC, etc. are equally as important, as they make your office an environment suited for work. In the event the information about your vendors is compromised or lost in any way, you will want to be ready to recover it so that your business relationships can continue to function properly.

Analytics
While storing data and backing up any data related to your vendors and clients can help your business recover in the event of a disaster, you also want to use this information to learn more about your consumer base and create a profitable future for your organization. Doing this is called analytics. Leveraging analytics is a great way to take seemingly arbitrary numbers and find trends that mean something for your business. There are applications that can help your organization find new markets, target the best client base, and identify inefficiencies that compromise your organization’s ability to turn a profit.

If your business truly wants to take advantage of data during the new year, now is the time to take the initiative and invest in data warehousing and corresponding analysis. To learn more about these solutions, reach out to The Connection, Inc at (732) 291-5938.

When you delete a file off your PC, or your hard drive becomes corrupted, you just take for granted that the data is gone in perpetuity. That isn’t the case at all, and it can present problems for businesses and individuals alike. The thing is that it’s deleted, it’s gone, it ceases to exist, because you deleted it with your own hands.

However, depending on the method of deletion, your files may still be intact and ready for a hacker to steal. We’ll walk you through what happens when you delete a file so that you’re more aware of the way your computer stores data on its hard drive or network.

Deleting a File
When you delete a file from your computer, it will be moved to your Recycle Bin. You might think that the files are gone forever, but that’s absolutely not the case. The only thing that changes is the location of the file. You can still open it and everything included with it is intact. Even deleting the file from the Recycle Bin isn’t going to be enough. Deleting the file simply eliminates the file’s link to a name. After this, the space once held by the file is labeled as “free,” but it’s not overwritten.

The file data is still available, but since it’s marked as free by the system, it can be overwritten and used to store other files. The data from your previous files won’t be truly gone until you replace it with other data--which, if you’re using a large amount of storage, will take a long time to fill up. The reason for this is simple: you don’t want to ever be anywhere close to maxing out your available data storage.

What About Cloud Storage?
Let’s say that you use Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive for your data storage needs. What happens when you delete a file from your account’s drive? You might wonder if the cloud provider stores information that you delete behind your back. Well, the truth is that these cloud providers do keep your deleted files for a few days after the initial deletion, mostly just in case you have made a mistake and need to correct it. After that, if you are a consumer-grade cloud customer, you’re likely out of luck for getting any deleted data back.

Business cloud storage solutions are another story altogether, though. If you are a business customer of any notable cloud provider, it’s likely that your deleted data will be stored for as long as you would like it to be--assuming you want it deleted at all. Depending on your business’s needs, you may have other plans in mind. The Connection, Inc can equip you with a data storage system that can help you keep your business’s data under control, whether you want to store it forever or keep it from being recovered, even when it’s deleted. To learn more, reach out to us at (732) 291-5938.