Tips on choosing the best cloud strategy for your business
If you are considering a cloud strategy for your network, you are probably already weighing the different cloud models out there today. Understanding that the cloud jargon is less complicated than it sounds should help clear up what the cloud is and isn’t, and make weighing the benefits of the different options for your business easier. Simply put, cloud computing is a style of computing in which massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service” using Internet technologies to multiple external customers. And the different cloud models – Public (Far) Cloud, Private (Here) Cloud and Hybrid (Near) Cloud – are simply the major different service models available.

Self-evaluate first

The most important thing to keep in mind when thinking about the cloud is to let your business strategy guide your approach. While making the decision to move to the cloud you should take a hard look at the specific needs of your organization, including individual usage requirements, budgetary considerations, the sensitive nature of data that will be stored in the cloud environment, as well as any applicable industry or financial regulations.

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Although it’s old news already, the new iPad made an impressive debut when it was released in early March. With this third iteration, Apple is still turning heads of consumers and furthering the device’s relevance as a workplace alternative or supplement to traditional computers. The latest iPad offers a quantum leap forward in display technology along with 4G connection speeds and more processing horsepower, keeping it still well ahead of the competition in almost every feature.

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FileMaker Inc. announced the release of FileMaker 12 this morning and with this news comes a new webinar series from FM Academy called “12 Days of FileMaker 12″. FM Academy, a collaboration of leading FileMaker development and training companies, will … Continue reading →

Written by: Frank Shiery, Consultant, CEH-Security+, IT Solutions

Suppose you check your e-mail one day and find a message from your bank. You’ve gotten e-mail from them before, but this one seems suspicious, especially since it threatens to close your account if you don’t reply immediately. What do you do?

This message and others like it are examples of phishing, a method of online identity theft. Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send communications to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal one’s identity. Phishers may claim to be, but aren’t really, from a business or organization that you might deal with (such as ISPs, banks, online payment services and government agencies). Phishers may also claim to be from an organization that you have never had an association with.

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If you haven’t noticed the posts about Salesforce.com in recent newsletter issues, then maybe the many ads for it on popular web sites have caught your eye. At a glance your first reaction is most likely, “I’m not in sales so this can’t be a product for me.” If you can get past the name, which, truthfully is a bit misleading, Salesforce is something every business and non-profit should at least look into, as it’s so much more than what the name would imply.

At its core, Salesforce is what it sounds like, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution. Used by businesses of all sizes and industries to track contacts, leads, opportunities and sales-related data points. But unlike most CRMs where functionality is focused around prospecting and closing sales deals, Salesforce and the related Force.com platform can be an end-to-end solution for sales, customer service, project management, and even accounting. A variety of off-the-shelf components and products are available as well as its ability to creating custom applications from the ground up, similar to a Microsoft .NET and SQL Server or PHP/MySQL, Salesforce can literally “do it all”.

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► Lunch and Learn: What’s up in the Cloud?

In case you missed our last Tech Trends 2012 Lunch and Learn or if you are interested in learning about cloud-based phone systems, IT Solutions is co-hosting a FREE event very similar to the last one, only this time with our trusted phone partner, Expert Technology Associates (ETA).

Join ITS and ETA at this educational seminar on Tuesday January, 17 2012 as we explore a question that many organizations are curious about, but few truly understand: “What’s Up In The Cloud?”

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By Ilya Pozin | @ilyaNeverSleeps

If you do it right, your website can be the best marketing tool you have. For many businesses, it’s the only source of business. If done right, it can be a major part of yours. Ilya Pozin, founder of the Web design firm Ciplex, discusses his quick-hit list of the top dos and don’ts before you get started:

Do:
Set smart goals. And make sure they’re measurable. Here are a few great ones a Web designer wants to hear: increase conversion rates, increase sales, generate more leads, reduce overhead, and improve brand awareness.

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Tables are extremely useful in documents of all types, but they can frequently be confusing when you want to modify them to get a specific effect.

We’ll show you two ways to insert a table. In another tip, we’ll show you where and how to modify border thickness and color, background colors, and more.

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Need a way to summarize a large amount of data or crunch numbers better? Enter the PivotTable feature in Microsoft Excel 2010. A PivotTable takes your dataset and lets you choose the fields and filters to build a report and PivotCharts.
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“As a small IP law firm, we depend on the leverage provided by state-of-the-art technology to serve our clients and to build our practice. Our long-term partnership with IT Solutions results not only from their reliability in connection with support and maintenance, but also from their proactive assistance in our utilization of information technology to the greater benefit of our clients and our practice.”
– Vince Pace, Partner, DDHS

Background
Dann, Dorfman, Herrell and Skillman (DDHS) is a Philadelphia-based law firm specializing in the practice of Patent, Trademark, Copyright, and related Trade Secret and Unfair Competition Law, as well as domain name matters. The firm represents technology companies and universities in obtaining, enforcing and defending rights relating to intellectual property in the United States and around the world. Technological strengths include mechanics, electronics, computers, chemistry, and biotechnology.

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