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March 2011
In this issue
√
Make Business More
Efficient
√
Security: Small Things
Matter
√
Security Settings
√ Networking
Corner
√ Client
Spotlight
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Networking Corner
ITS Recommends. . .
The Philadelphia International
Flower Show is here! The theme is
Springtime in Paris. When you enter the Philadelphia
International Flower
Show, you’ll experience a heady dose of spring - just when it’s most
needed. The Flower Show kicked off Sunday, March 6 and will be on
display all week long through Sunday, March 13, at
The
Pennsylvania Convention Center.
One of the reasons the Philadelphia
International Flower Show is considered the premier gardening event
of its kind in the world is due in large part to the exceptional
talent of these designers and their ability to exhibit such a great
variety of exceptional plants for the Show. Flower Show garden
display exhibitors undertake the art of forcing trees, shrubs and
perennials into bloom for the Show, using temperature and lighting
controls to "fool" plants into full bloom in time for the March
event.
The Philadelphia International Flower Show is
deeply rooted in the history of the Pennsylvania Horticultural
Society (PHS), which was founded in 1827. Charter members
brought interesting plants to display at meetings and, eventually,
to share with the public.
Read
more
Please forward this newsletter to
anyone else in your organization
who
might be interested! |
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Ten Tips for Making
Your Business
More Efficient
used with
permission from Cisco
 To keep pace in an
increasingly competitive world, your business needs to run as
efficiently as possible. "Sooner or later, any company not operating
efficiently will be out of business," says Laurie McCabe, vice
president of small and medium business insights and solutions for
research firm AMI-Partners. Efficiency is even more important for
small and medium-sized businesses, McCabe adds, because their
resources are limited compared to large global companies.
Here are 10 tips for
using network technology to help your business work more
efficiently, cut costs, improve customer satisfaction, and stay
ahead of the competition.
1. Give employees
secure, consistent access to information. You have an advantage
over larger competitors because you can react quickly to business
changes. But you can quickly lose this edge if your company network
is frequently down, sluggish, or unsecured. A secure, reliable
network based on intelligent routers and switches lets your
employees access the information and tools they need to keep ahead
of competitors.
2. Deliver
anytime, anywhere access to employees on the go. To stay
productive on the move, your employees need to be able to
reach the people and information they need - anywhere,
anytime. With tools like virtual private networks (VPNs),
your employees can work outside the office and still enjoy
safe access to the business network.
Read more |
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Security: It's
the Small Things That Matter
by Blake
Britton, Axxys Technologies, Inc.
When (If) we think
about data security for our businesses we tend to believe if
we have a firewall and antivirus in place we are protected .
. . if this were only the case. There are so many other
aspects of data security that we have to consider on a
day-to-day basis. Here are a few of the most commonly
overlooked areas of business data security.
Mobile
Devices
Do you have a formal policy for cell phones? Is there a lock
feature or PIN they must enter in order to access the phone?
What is your action plan if they lose the phone or if it
gets stolen? Can you remotely "wipe" the phone through your
Exchange server? These are things that need to be considered
if your employees are receiving company email or if they
keep company and client contacts on their phone. There are
many features in exchange 2007 and 2010 to assist with
securing or protecting the mobile device. Also, if you have
iPhones in your organization we would recommend using the
password lock feature. The key is to have a formal procedure
and to ensure your staff knows that management needs to be
notified immediately if a device is lost or stolen.
Read more |
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Two
LinkedIn Security Settings You Must Set
by Stuart Crawford, Ulistic, Inc.
 LinkedIn is one of
the industry leading social networks and online communities
in use today across multiple businesses and industries.
LinkedIn's focus on business-to-business networking and
facilitating the sharing of ideas and strategies has won the
trust of business professionals globally. Not unlike many of
their counterparts, LinkedIn does have privacy challenges
according to many CEO level executives. Many organizations
are now reviewing their policies related to LinkedIn and how
information propagates through this business social network.
More and more
business professionals are turning to LinkedIn because of
its overall effectiveness in the marketplace. However, many
are unaware of the apparent risks to corporate contacts when
setting up their LinkedIn accounts. There are many settings
that are on automatically allowing for browsing of contacts
and also leaving a trace of who visited another profile.
Many organizations as part of their social media acceptable
use policy are now requiring specific changes to LinkedIn
privacy settings be made ensuring business contacts and
information are kept confidential.
LinkedIn is built
on a community and like many other online networks; they
embrace the sharing of information and contacts. How do
businesses balance the foundations of LinkedIn with the
compliance and confidentiality measures of business today?
Read more |
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Client
Spotlight
Partnership for Community Supports (Partnership) is a
non-profit organization established to provide supports
coordination for individuals with intellectual disabilities
in Philadelphia and surrounding counties. The Partnership
goal is to assist individuals and their families in locating
support services within their community and enabling the
individual to have a full and meaningful life.
Partnership takes a detailed team approach to finding the
proper support for each individual through their ISP
(Individual Support Plan). Thorough monitoring by
Partnership employees ensures that all ISPs meet the needs
of each individual. Partnership for Community Supports is a
Targeted Service Management provider and Waiver Supports
Coordination provider, under the Pennsylvania Medical
Assistance Program. Partnership for Community Supports bills
Medical Assistance for eligible services and also receives
funding from Philadelphia Intellectual disAbility Services.
Partnership offers the option to apply for FDSS (Family
Driven Support Service) grants allowing individuals with
disabilities to stay at home and in the community.
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"We
researched other providers and found that IT
Solutions had the expertise and necessary technical
knowledge to enable Partnership and our employees to
effectively manage our work load." - Carol
Frangicetto, Executive Director at Partnership for
Community Supports. |
ITS supports the PFCS mission and works
closely with the organization to provide network support for
their growing IT need through our
SharedVision Core and
Dedicated Hosting plans.
Read
more |
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