Business Intelligence (BI) has traditionally been the domain of big companies. It was costly to implement, required highly skilled employees who were in short demand to conduct it, and the software was incredibly complex. That’s all changed in the past few years due to the advancement of cloud technology. Many vendors now offer Software as a Solution (SaaS) apps that small businesses can use to conduct BI in their organization.

Here is an overview of four Business Intelligence SaaS apps that you could use in your business:

KPI KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a company that offers a cloud based dashboard that integrates with your CRM or ERP software. It provides a way for businesses to visualize, analyze and report real-time data from your business’s key metrics. All the results can be viewed on your computer or on your mobile device.

GoodData GoodData is an on demand BI provider that offers users a base service that they can add apps to as and when needed. The whole service and dashboards are stored and run in the cloud, and are considerably cheaper than traditional BI services.

Bimotics Bimotics offers an on demand BI service for businesses in almost every major sector. They offer one suite that has data connectors, an established BI engine and analytical tools that should meet most small businesses’ needs. The suite can also be accessed by almost any mobile device.

Tibco Silver Spotfire Silver Spotfire is a cloud based SaaS aimed at individuals and small businesses. It lets users create interactive dashboards and visual analytics without the need of costly infrastructure. This app also integrates with major social media services, allowing users to put live dashboards on their blogs.

These are just four useful apps that you can use in your business. If you’re interested in how you can integrate BI solutions into your business, please contact us.

Security of data and networks, an issue that companies are taking seriously. They’re going to great lengths to protect themselves from external threats and are, for the most part, safe from them. And yet, there are still stories about how businesses are being infected by malware. If they’re safe to the external environment, where’s the threat coming from?

In recent years the majority of security threats and compromises have come from within the company. A common threat to companies is the logic bomb - malware that targets IT systems and deletes data. As a logic bomb is introduced from within the network, the blame often lies with a disgruntled employee with full access to internal systems.

Insider threats Giving employees full access to the network when they don’t need it is a common mistake often made by companies. There’s little need for an employee who does graphic design to have access to weekly sales records. This practice could set your company up for a considerable security problem in the future.

Dawn Cappelli, an insider-threat expert at the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute stressed, "These types of insider attacks happen to businesses of all sizes, from small companies to very large corporations." This is an important issue businesses should be aware of if they want to remain secure.

Take Precautions Security threats can be a particularly harsh nightmare for small businesses, as many don’t have an IT department or staff with the technical expertise needed to maintain a secure network. If you’re one of these organizations, it’s a good idea to hire an outside consultant to help you with your network security. With consultants, it’s important that you maintain close contact with them to ensure any issues that crop up are dealt with expeditiously.

If you don’t work with an external company there are a few things you should do when you have an employee leave the company. First, their accounts should be deleted immediately and their access privileges should also be revoked. Second, if you have accounts with shared passwords, you should change them to ensure an ex-employee can’t gain access to the system.

If you’d like to learn more about internal security, and measures you can take to ensure you are safe, we are ready to help you. Please contact us.

Business Continuity Plans (BCP), plans on how to provide a stable service, or recover after adverse actions, have become top of mind with many managers. Businesses have adopted such plans, or are in the process of implementing one, but owners may have missed some crucial elements that could result in an ineffective plan.

Here are six key non-IT functions and processes that need to be in place to ensure your company is ready to effectively execute your BCP.

Easy to use plans Many continuity plans have been developed mainly for the IT department, as such, they can be a little complicated to understand and follow if employees don’t have a technical background. You should aim to have a plan that’s easy to follow and can be understood by all employees.

Communicate plans Remember that your plan encompasses all facets of your organization. It’s crucial that every employee knows their role and the relevant actions to take when the plan is executed. To do this, you need to ensure that all employees have access to a copy of the plan and any changes or updates are clearly communicated.

Test plans Beyond communication, it’s important to conduct regular tests, with every quarter being sufficient. The tests should be as real as possible and span all departments within the organization. This will ensure that employees are aware of how they, and the systems, will react under duress. It’ll be beneficial to your business if the first time the employees execute the plan isn’t during an emergency.

Short term and long term plans Your BCP should consist of both long term and short term elements that can be easily adapted to meet changing business environments and the emergence of new threats. You should aim for an even mix of short and long term solutions that cover as wide a variety of situations as possible.

Ensure buy-in from all levels If you’re in the process of instituting a BCP you should ensure that the whole organization is onboard with the plan. If an employee is unsure about the validity of a part of the plan, take the time to find out why and ask for suggestions. An uninformed or uncooperative employee could be the difference between survival and failure in a disaster situation.

Update and Review After every test, staff turnover and technological update, you should review the plans and make changes if necessary. Essentially, if anything in the company changes, review and update the plan. Remember: just because you have an effective plan this month, doesn’t mean it’ll be so in the future.

Continuity plans are only as strong as the weakest link. In an emergency, the last thing you want is an employee following the wrong process or be unsure of what they should be doing. If this happens, you could see an exponential growth in recovery time and costs. We’re ready to tell you more, so please contact us if you would like to talk continuity planning.

If you’ve ever observed people playing any sort of game, you probably noticed how involved the players with the game are. Why do players get so into the game? Competition and the desire to achieve established goals. There’s a Web trend emerging of companies using these game elements to drive engagement and customer buy-in.

The term to describe this trend is gamification, but what is it, and how can businesses use it?

What is gamification Gamification is the application of game design techniques and mechanics to non-game applications. Foursquare and its badges is a good example of this - users check in at locations to earn points, unlock badges and compete with their friends. Do they win anything? Nothing physical, but there’s something satisfying with competing with other people to be the best.

While gamification got its start with technological related operations, it has since been integrated by businesses of all sizes. Business that have adopted elements of gamification have seen improved user engagement and ROI.

How can businesses leverage gamification? Gamification is interesting because it can be applied in a variety of different business situations. For example, here are three such uses:

• To increase employee engagement. It can be hard at times to keep your employees engaged while they’re doing mundane tasks. One of the most common uses of gamification is deploying badges to act as a motivator to encourage employees to put effort into their job. When an employee reaches a predetermined level they are recognized for their achievement. This will go a long way in improving engagement.
• To create brand advocates. You can use gamification to turn your customers and fans into brand advocates. Before they start singing your praises, they need to be given a reason to do so. The best way to do this is to create a points/reward system. For actions such as purchases or reviews, customers gain points that can be spent on other services. Think of it as akin to the points system used by credit card companies.
• To generate traffic. Many SMBs are dependent on their websites for revenue but struggle to get traffic to their site. Gamification techniques can be employed to encourage people to spend more time on, and return to, your website, almost like a modern loyalty program.

There are many uses for gamification and we’ll continue to see new and innovative ways to deploy it in organizations. If you’re interested in ways you can implement aspects of gamification in your business, or would like to learn more, we are here happy to sit down with you for a chat. Please contact us.

In late Q2 or Q3 of this year, Apple is scheduled to release a new version of OS X, Mountain Lion. While it’s still a few months from reaching retail and online stores, there’s a developer’s preview available. The preview has introduced a number of potentially great features that will be in the retail version and are beneficial for businesses using OS X.

Here are four features of Mountain Lion that small business employees will find useful:

Enhanced communication and social media If you use OS X to access and monitor your social media accounts you’ll be interested to know that you’ll have the ability to post directly to Twitter from various apps. If you use iChat, it will be renamed: Messages. With it, you’ll be able to send messages, pictures and videos to other iChat/Messages users, regardless of the device. This could be a beneficial external and internal collaboration tool due to the growing amount of Apple users.

AirPlay mirroring If you or someone in your company gives a lot of presentations, Macs running Mountain Lion will have the ability to wirelessly broadcast whatever is being shown on the screen. To share your screen with an HDTV or Projector, you’ll need to have an Apple TV box. It works by streaming content to the TV box which is connected via an HDMI cord to the TV or projector.

Gatekeeper Security is top-of-mind for companies these days, and Gatekeeper is an extra level that businesses can implement. Its purpose is to restrict the apps that can be downloaded and installed on your computer. While many businesses should have measures like this in place, this app can act as another layer to ensure an even more secure organization.

iCloud Possibly the biggest trend in small business computing is the integration of cloud storage. Apple’s cloud storage service, iCloud, will play a prominent role in Mountain Lion, especially for businesses. With this feature, employees will be able to access data stored in the cloud using Apple’s different devices. Any changes made to documents stored in the cloud will be automatically updated in realtime, without the user having to save and update.

Mountain Lion is shaping up to be one of the best versions of OS X to date. There are numerous features that users will find appealing, and many businesses are eager for the retail release. A word of warning though, while a version of Mountain Lion is available to download, it’s an unfinished product and as such, we recommend that you hold off from installing it onto your business’s computers. If you’d like to prepare your systems for the OS, please contact us.

In April 2011 VMware purchased SlideRocket, an online tool that lets users create and share presentations. By itself it’s a useful tool for users who give presentations, which let’s face it, is almost every business owner and manager. SlideRocket’s recent partnering with Google’s cloud storage app has provided users with an even more powerful way to share and collaborate on presentations.

Google has recently released its cloud storage and collaboration app, Google Drive. What does this have to do with SlideRocket? Well, SlideRocket’s full set of content authoring tools have been integrated into Google Drive. This means that users of SlideRocket can use Google Drive as another way to create, collaborate on, and store presentations.

Chuck Dietrich, Vice President of SlideRocket by VMware, commented, “Together with Google, VMware is helping individuals and businesses embrace new technologies for collaboration in the cloud era.” He went on to note that SlideRocket and Google Drive provide users with a great way to do just that.

If you use SlideRocket and would like to work with other users over Google Drive, simply log into both services with the same account and in Google Drive select Create and More followed by SlideRocket. Once you log in and integrate your accounts, you’ll have access to your presentations without having to log in to SlideRocket.

If you’d like to know more about how you can virtualize your business, or the different products offered by VMware, we’re ready to tell you more. Let’s talk virtualization.

Windows phones may not have the biggest market share, but there are a number of advantageous features that make it a viable solution for small businesses. If your company uses Microsoft Office 365, and you or your employees have a smartphone running the Windows Phone OS, you can easily integrate Office 365 with your phone.

If you would like to connect Office 365 with your Windows phone, follow these steps:

Please be aware that these instructions are for Windows Phone version 7.5. If you are running an earlier version, it is recommended that you upgrade to version 7.5 first.

1. On your Windows Phone press Settings followed by Email and Accounts.
2. Tap Add an Account and select Outlook. This is a catchall for any email service that uses Microsoft Exchange, Office 365 included.
3. Enter your Office 365 email address and password, and your Windows Phone will automatically configure your account.
4. After the configuration is complete, a window will pop up informing you that your Office 365 email and SharePoint Online Team site have been set up on your phone. You’ll also be able to download Microsoft Lync 2010 from the Marketplace if you need it.

When you return to the home screen, you’ll notice that an Office 365 email tile has been placed at the bottom of the screen. It’s a good idea to go into the Email settings on your phone (follow step 1 above) and adjust the settings to your needs. For example, your email account will automatically be named Outlook. To re-name it tap on Outlook and select Account Name.

From the Settings page you’ll also be able to select which Office 365 services you want your phone to sync with e.g., contacts. By default your contacts will show up in your People hub. If you don’t want your contacts to sync, you can deselect it from this page.

If you use Office 365 and a Windows Phone you’ll find that the integration is near seamless. If you would like to learn more about Windows Phone or any other Windows product, we’re here to help.

Since its release in June 2011 many small businesses have been switching to Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud based Office suite, for its numerous features. One useful feature is that you can use Outlook to create and share your contacts’ information in a professional manner by using electronic business cards.

Here’s how to create and share an electronic business card:

Create an Electronic Business Card

1. Open Outlook and select Contacts followed by Home. Click on New Contact.
2. When the Contact window opens, press Business Card and the Edit Business Card window will open.
3. You will be able to enter contact information into the relevant areas under the Fields box.
4. If you want to add an image or change the layout of the business card, press the Layout button located in the right side of the screen.
5. When you have entered the information, press Ok and the business card will be saved as a .vcf file which is readable by most email clients.

Add an Electronic Business Card to an Email If you have saved a contact’s information as a business card, you can easily attach the card to an email.

1. In a message select the Contacts pane and search for the business card you would like to attach. When you find it, click it.
2. Select the Home tab, followed by Forward Contact. A drop-down menu will open, select As a Business Card.
3. You will see the business card as an attachment in the email.

Add a Business Card as a Signature You can add a business card to your signature in any email.

1. When you create an email message click Signature and select Add signature.
2. Select the signature you would like to use, if you have one. If not, press anywhere in the white space below Edit signature.
3. Click Business Card beside the paragraph alignment buttons in the Edit signature field.
4. Select the contact name you use and press Ok. Your contact information will show up at the bottom of the email as a downloadable .vcf file.

If you’re a user of Office 365 and would like to learn more, or would like more information on Office 365 or other products, please give us a call.

Social media is one of the most important communication tools of the modern era. Companies use it to connect with customers and like minded individuals, all in the name of building trust in their brand and products. While almost every company has a social media presence, they have been slow to trust employees to use personal social media at work. On average, 31% of companies block employees from accessing their accounts.

There are four distinct advantages to allowing social media:

• Increased productivity. There have been a number of studies that have found that judicious use of social media in the workplace will actually increase productivity. A study conducted by the University of Melbourne found that employees with access to social media are 9% more productive than those without.
• Increased buy-in. Employees like to feel trusted and empowered. If they don’t you can expect to experience higher turnover and lower morale. A good way to gain trust is to allow employees to use social media in the workplace. If an employee feels like they are trusted, they’ll be more likely to stay with the company.
• Recruiting. Small businesses have started to use social media for recruitment, but limit efforts to one account. If you have 10 employees in your organization, each with a social media account with 100 friends, you have the potential to reach 1,000 people. This is achievable if employees are allowed to access social media at work and are encouraged to share posts.
• Identification of business opportunities. Through the use of social media, employees in charge of sales and business development can source new clients and build fruitful relationships.

There are many advantages to allowing access to social networks at the office. If you‘re hesitant to completely open the social media floodgates, try doing so in short periods, like the final three hours of the working day.

No matter what you decide, allowing access to social media is a good practice for your business. If you would like to learn more about social media and how you can leverage it in your business, we are happy to talk with you.

The iPhone has quickly become one of the most popular smartphones on the market. When Apple launches a new version, fans line up for blocks to get their hands on it. What makes it so desirable? Well it’s easy to use and has powerful apps that users have come to rely on. Some would say the iPhone has even gone so far as to replace desktop calendars for many people.

The three most popular calendar programs are Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar and iCal. Here are the steps you can take to sync your different calendars with the iPhone. These calendars will all be viewable using the Calendar App on your iPhone.

Sync with Outlook Microsoft Outlook is the most popular email program in use, making the accompanying calendar just as prevalent. To sync your Outlook calendar with your iPhone:

1. Open Outlook
   1. Click Tools and select Trust Centre.
   2. Click Add-ins, followed by Details.
   3. Select iTunes Add-in, followed by Manage.
   4. Select Com Add-ins, Go and finally iTunes sync add-in.
   5. Click Ok.
2. Plug your iPhone into your computer using the USB cable. iTunes should open automatically.
3. In iTunes, select your iPhone. It will be located in the left hand bar, under devices.
4. Navigate to the Info tab and check Sync calendars with.
5. Choose Outlook. You’ll be able to select which Outlook calendars you want to view using your iPhone.
6. Press Sync.

Sync with Google Calendar If you use Google Calendar, syncing with the iPhone takes a few more steps, but it’s still fairly straightforward.

1. On your iPhone select Settings followed by Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
2. Press Add Account.
3. Select Microsoft Exchange. Note: Devices running iOS 4.0 can sync with more than one Exchange account. If you’re using a version that’s earlier than 4.0 you’ll only be able to sync with one Exchange account.
4. In the Email and Username fields, enter your full email address e.g., name@gmail.com. If you use a @googlemail.com account you’ll most likely get an Unable to Verify Certificate error message. If you do, press Cancel when the error message is displayed.
5. In the Password field enter the password you use to log into your Gmail account.
6. When you have entered the information, press Next in the top right of your screen.
7. In the Server field enter “m.google.com” (without the quotations).
8. Tap Next.
9. Select Calendar if you only want to sync with your calendar. If your company uses Google Calendar to setup meetings, you’ll also need to turn on Mail.

The calendar should sync automatically and show up on your iPhone within a few minutes.

Sync with iCal If you use iCal you can sync with your iPhone by:

1. Plugging your iPhone into the computer using the USB cable. iTunes should open automatically.
2. Select your iPhone. It will be located in the left hand bar, under devices.
3. Click the Info tab, followed by Sync iCal Calendars. You’ll be able to choose what calendars you would like your iPhone to sync with.
4. Press Sync.

No matter which calendar app you use, you can view it on your iPhone. There’s no need to carry around a day planner or appointment book with you anymore, just carry your phone. If you would like to know more about how to capitalize on the features of the iPhone we’re only a call away.