What is 4G Anyway?
4G stands for 4th generation wireless technology. Each generation is faster than the last generation, and speed, as we all know is the key to accessing more of our information faster. There are a couple of types of 4G. Verizon and AT&T are working on a 4G LTE technology or Long-term evolution which transmits all communication as data. The technology is currently in development and is not yet available, but it should be ready later this year. Clearwire Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or WiMax is a type of Wi-Fi technology. This technology currently offered by Sprint. The fourth generation technology will not only be available for cell phones and computers, but it will also be available to a wider range of media such as GPS systems, digital cameras, etc.
Why Would You Want 4G?
Speed
If you have ever sat in a client’s office fumbling through small talk as your important information is downloading to your phone or laptop, this technology is definitely for you. The 4G wireless offers download speeds said to be 10 times faster than its predecessor, 3G wireless. In addition to faster download speeds, 4G would also offer improved video conferencing. Clients would no longer experience freezing, jittery pictures, or breaking up at key times during critical negotiations or discussions. The new technology also enables users to download larger files at faster speeds. 4G wireless offers speeds similar to cable with better accessibility and convenience for the business person on the road.
Convenience
The days of frantically trying to find a Wi-Fi hotspot in order to quickly access your work email for directions would no longer be necessary. You would be able to access your network from anywhere in the metropolitan area without interruption. The 4G wireless signal is also said to be stronger than normal wireless Internet. You can take your 4G service anywhere--from a meeting with your client back to your home or office. You won’t lose your connection even when you are moving from one network zone to another. If you are video conferencing with an important client while you are on the road, you don’t have worry about the dreaded “dead zone” where you quietly drop off without warning to your client.
Economical
Although coverage for 4G is currently limited to only some cities in the U.S., it will be expanding to cover more cities in the near future. Clearwire and Sprint are currently offering 4G wireless service priced competitively with DSL cable, and many people are already taking advantage of the speed and freedom of 4G. Many are even opting to use 4G only and giving up their DSL service.
While 4G technology is still fairly new and being tested and developed, it has much to offer the business person on the go. It will enable users to download faster, download larger files, better quality video conferencing, and competitive priced with DSL cable and stay better connected to their clients.
<<Learn more, 3 Reasons for Faster Smartphones in your Business>>
original content made available throughmspu
Even the best managers and business owners struggle with an occasional case of employee retention. It’s hardest to keep the good ones, easy to keep the not-so-productive ones, and often difficult to even get the right ones in the right place. It starts with biggest dilemma is: if you’re not selective enough, you will end up hiring someone who is under-qualified, which leads to more headaches.
The Financial Factor
Consider how expensive it is to replace someone. To calculate the cost of turnover, a quick rule of thumb is to calculate 40 percent of a fully loaded salary (i.e., salary paid, Social Security payments, taxes, matching funds, full cost of benefits and bonuses). Then, add to that amount the less-tangible expenses, or "soft dollars." These include lost hours of productivity related to setting up and conducting interviews, reviewing candidates, and training new employees.
Why Do Employees Leave?
A few years ago consulting firm RSM conducted a study on employee retention. They discovered that the main reasons employees leave their jobs are:
Their managers' poor supervision skills
Lack of growth potential
The inability to freely express concerns
Lack of recognition
General job dissatisfaction
Inadequate pay
Lack of work-life balance
In addition, RSM found that the following five issues were the main retention concerns:
Fairness at work
Concern for the individual as an employee
General job satisfaction
Reputation of the individual's employer
Trust in the individual employee
Notice how these two lists are pretty contradictory? The real message is that employees are an organization's most important assets. Therefore, the responsibility falls on managers and business owners to groom employees and make them feel like valued members of the department and company. After all, it's better to lose an employee to a promotion than to another organization. Obviously, not all job turnovers are preventable. But, there is a big difference between losing 9 to 12 percent of your workforce versus more than 25 percent. Remember: The higher the employee turnover, the greater the loss of productivity and money.
Retaining Your New Employee
When considering ways to boost retention, a good place to start is with new hires. (However, don't forget your other employees, as well!). For both employers and employees, first impressions are everything. Studies show that people who develop negative perceptions of their company within their first 60 to 90 days of employment often look for new jobs within a year.
Learn how to put - and keep - your best foot forward:
Prepare for the new employee's arrival. Set up their work area; get rid of excess clutter; and alert your existing employees of the new arrival.
Give new employees a tour of the facility and properly introduce them to their coworkers.
Designate mentors to show around and train the new employees.
Begin with the basics. (Don't assume that the new employees already know your methods and procedures. Also, listen to them - you never know, they may actually tip you off to better ways of conducting business.)
Meet with new employees on a weekly basis to see how they're acclimating to the office. Do they have adequate space, tools and training? Have they encountered any obstacles yet? To ensure that new employees feel like valued team members, keep the conversation casual and friendly.
Finally, a little closing information relates to the part of the RSM study which identified these key traits managers should exhibit:
Participative leadership style
Concern for employees
Honest, direct communication
The willingness to confront poor performers
The prudence to praise in public and chastise in private
The capacity to deal with problems quickly and judiciously
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was created in order to protect health information and give patients certain rights regarding their private health information. It also allows for disclosure of health information necessary for patient care. This act specifies safeguards necessary for administrative, and physical and technical handling of patient health information.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.gov) HIPAA has many requirements and restrictions. It requires safeguards for:
- Access Control
- Audit Controls
- Person or Entity Authentication
Access control is defined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule as “the ability or the means necessary to read, write, modify, or communicate data/information or otherwise use any system resource.” It should allow authorized users to only access the minimum amount of information necessary to complete job functions. The Access Control specification also requires the implementation of an exclusive user identification or user ID, and immediate access in case of an emergency.
What Type of Security is Necessary?
When dealing with patient records in an office, maintaining privacy and security usually involves storing patient files in locked cabinets where the files can be physically secured and visibly monitored at all times. When you are storing patient information online, certain precautions must be met in order to maintain the same security and privacy guaranteed each patient.
While HIPAA permits patient records to be transmitted over the Internet, businesses will want a service that offers file encryption, authentication and password protection in order to secure the information. Although HIPAA does not require online data storage services to have encryption, it does require that patient information be adequately protected and accessible only to authorized persons. Encryption is the best way to protect that information and ensure authorized access to those records. It is also important to offer backup services in case of a virus attack, flood, or fire. Finally, the service must offer a method of tracking any security breach, as well as the ability to lock out former employees after they have left or been terminated.
When storing patient information, it is important to stay HIPAA compliant, as the fines for not doing so are expensive. While online storage for health care businesses guarantee less worry, work, and expense for health care providers, the service is only as good as the security offered. Remaining HIPAA compliant is vital in order to continue a good business relationship with the health care industry.
The economy is showing signs of recovery, yet many businesses are still reeling from the effects of the recession. From start-ups to multi-billion dollar businesses, everyone is looking for ways to cut costs while turning a profit. In fact, many companies are just trying to keep things in the black, however that does not eliminate the need for practices that will improve and grow these businesses. Since few people have the expertise to manage much of today's technology, a certain percentage of their budgets should be allocated to IT and software applications maintenance. How can managed services help to benefit small and medium businesses?
Increased productivity- Businesses are established to fill the need for a product or service while providing a livelihood for the business owners and their employees. In order to do this, businesses have to ensure they are working at full capacity at all times. Downtime or work performed at reduced levels is time and money wasted. Managed Services can help businesses not only quickly repair problems when they occur but also act as a proactive measure to spot and treat potential problems before they have an impact on productivity.
Supports in-house IT- Many businesses do not want to relinquish all IT maintenance control to an outside party, and small businesses do not always have the resources to support the type of IT department needed to keep their business running at full speed. A majority of businesses can benefit from adding the expertise, tools and availability of a Managed Services Provider to help support in-house IT departments.
Remote services- Managed Services Providers work from a remote location, providing desktop, email and back-up and recovery support services without adding to the actual number of "employees" on site. The services provided are unobtrusive and in the majority of cases, have no impact in the day-to-day activities of current in-house employees.
Affordable- Generally when you bring on a Managed Services Provider, a consultant will perform an onsite assessment of the company, its workflows and processes and the current state of its supporting technology to determine what services are needed to meet organizational goals. Business owners often have a choice between several different levels of service, making it possible for a company with a limited budget to choose a package that best suits their needs.
Security is a big concern for business owners and individuals alike. In the past, business owners have been reluctant to entrust secure or private information to a third party, offsite vendor. As Managed Services Providers continue to prove their value, more companies are realizing the benefits and value of their services. Managed Services Providers continue to improve technology to provide secure, quality services for businesses of all sizes.
As a result, smaller businesses which operate with leaner budgets find themselves in a position to reap the benefits of these services. Business owners often have to make difficult decisions regarding how they will improve their business while sticking to the budget. As the market for Managed Services experiences continual growth in the next few years, this method of IT maintenance and service delivery will likely become the "norm" for small to mid size businesses looking to reduce costs and improve uptime and business continuity. Companies that recognize the benefits of Managed Services will have a jump on their competition.
You may be thinking, what is a BHAG? Why should I even know what that means?
A BHAG is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. It comes from the book “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies", by James Collins & Jerry Porras. According to their philosophy (which is heavily based on decades of research), a BHAG is a long-term goal that changes the nature of a business. It alters perceptions, growth, and ultimately your market share.
It has been proven that change in itself is of little import, that the right leadership (including leadership at EVERY level) is the key ingredient in the making of successful companies. You can go changing things like processes, software, or even hiring a new style of leader, but until you put the right people in place, the overall goal remains unaffected. That is when BHAG’s come into play. With the right people in the right spots, there’s no stopping that big hairy goal from claiming its territory.
Collins & Porras describe BHAG’s in sort of a corporate “un”-comfort zone. They find that if you aren’t creating a little discomfort, the goal is nearly impossible to reach. In reality, those who succeed are found 
working outside their comfort zone, showing the utmost level of commitment (even above politics), and even presenting a morsel of arrogance.
A BHAG is more than a short term goal, it’s almost a dare. I dare you to be the best at something; you’re most likely to find more people wanting to bring you down if you’re the best! And don’t kid yourself about the time it takes to get that BHAG wrangled-down. If it’s a BHAG, it will most certainly take an organization 10, 20, or even 30 years, to rope.
The BHAG thought-pattern = Rome wasn’t built in a day...
Business continuity is the ability to continue doing “business as usual” in the event of an unforeseen interruption. Healthcare, Government, Finance, & Utilities have strict regulations to govern their compliance of data protection and recovery. However, the integrity of every bit of data is important no matter whom you are serving.
So, what can you do to better protect the people you serve? Here is a 3-part check list to assess your data protection and business disaster plans that will help you achieve the best results in continuing business as usual, no matter what how bad the interruption.
1. Data Protection and Digital Archival. Your data is only as good as your last backup. If you run a back-up once a week, or even once a day, think about how much data you would lose between back-ups if an error occurs. The crucial question is, “How much data can I afford to lose?” If you lose 4 hours or 4 days, how will your operation be affected? It’s crucial to have the data you need to continue business. The best way to do it is with a blend of local and remote protection, where your data is getting stored in diverse geographic locations.
2. Local (on-site) Restoration. Your server goes down and none of your employees can get to anything. They’re trying to figure out what is wrong. Who is working to get your data accessible again? Your receptionist or your project manager? Having at least a plan of action in the event of a disaster is half the battle. If you select a data back-up plan, make sure whomever is backing up that data can help you recover it when you need help. The best back-up plan includes an outlined effort (from your back-up service) to give you back your data in a local form you can access until your new server is provisioned.
3. Off-site Recovery. Hurricane, Tornado, or Fire renders your business uninhabitable and you don’t even have a telephone left. Your customers may have some sympathy, but they will still have the same (or greater) needs along with some fairly stiff expectations. Where will you set up shop until you are able to get back to your original business location? Who will help you get set-up? If you choose the right back-up plan, adding business continuity is an invaluable aspect that has the capability to build you a virtual environment to work from in the event of a local disaster. In the best cases, even if all you have is a
generator for power, you can get back to work within 24 hours.
Business Continuity planning is just like a fire escape plan and fire drills. It pays to be prepared, and although the risk is low, the repercussions are high. A startling number of businesses who lost their data for 5-7 days, declare bankruptcy immediately = 50%. Of the other 50% who stick it out for another year, only 20% have a better chance at surviving. Overall, losing your data for more than 5 days puts you at a huge risk for complete business failure.
Perhaps it seems amiss to put the name Steve Jobs in the same sentence as Small business, after all, he was one of the most successful men in the computer industry at his untimely passing. However, his story wasn't always being taken from a page of Forbes; and that makes it all the more accessible. I have followed Steve jobs closely, always enchanted by his simplistic style, utter perfectionism, and the excitement he oozed when he shared another one of his famous keynote speeches. Most of us have now heard his life story, if you haven't, it's a journey of awe when you hear the details (and the irony).
Looking back on the publicly-welded celebrity of Steve Jobs, I didn't think much about a direct correlation to small business. But the more life & business become one, as many a small business knows, the more the lessons of the two intertwine as well.
1. Empathize
The first three tenets of what would become Jobs’ philosophy actually came from Mike Markkula, angel investor and second CEO of Apple. In 1977, Markkula wrote a one-page paper titled The Apple Marketing Philosophy that stressed the notion that Apple should empathize with the needs of the consumer. “We will truly understand their needs better than any other company,” Markkula wrote. Jobs embodied this philosophy throughout his career: He saw himself as the consumer’s advocate within the company and demanded that all Apple devices made under his watch be as user-friendly as possible.
2. Focus
“In order to do a good job of those things that we decide to do, we must eliminate all of the unimportant opportunities,” Markkula also wrote. The best example of how Jobs lived this tenet out was in 1997, when, after having returned to Apple as interim CEO, he cut 70% of the products that Apple was working on. In one meeting that September, Jobs drew a matrix with four quadrants. One was “Pro” and one was “Consumer,” and underneath those were “Desktop” and “Laptop.” Jobs also got Apple out of the printer business and killed off the Newton, its personal digital assistant. “This ability to focus saved Apple,” Isaacson wrote, noting that in his first year back, Jobs laid off more than 3,000 people, which “salvaged the company’s balance sheet.”
3. Impute
Markkula’s final diktat was basically that people do judge a book by its cover, so it’s important that Apple put its best foot forward in all communications with the customer. Markkula dubbed this concept “impute” and explained it thusly: “We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software, etc. If we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities.”
Again, you don’t have to look far to see how Jobs carried this through. From the packaging of Apple products to the type of stone used in Apple Stores (it’s gray-blue Pietera Serena sandstone from Il Casone, a family-owned quarry in Firenzoula, outside of Florence, if you were wondering), there was always an eye on presentation.
4. Draw Inspiration from Outside Your Business
Jobs viewed himself as an artist and drew inspiration from the Beatles and Bob Dylan rather than industry contemporaries like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison. (The former was a frenemy, the latter a close friend, but Jobs doesn’t seem to have emulated the approach of either at Apple.) In 1981, Jobs also attended the annual International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado, which focused on Italian style and included people outside the tech industry, like architect/designer Mario Bellini, filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, car maker Sergio Pininfarina and Fiat heiress Susanna Agnelli.
“I had come to revere Italian designers, just like that kid in Breaking Away reveres Italian bikers,” Jobs told Isaacson, “so it was an amazing inspiration.” Jobs also saw parallels between how the Beatles perfected “Strawberry Fields Forever” and how Apple builds its products. “They did a bundle of work between each of these recordings,” Jobs told Isaacson. “They kept sending it back to make it closer to perfect. The way we build stuff at Apple is often this way … we would start off with a version and then begin refining and refining, doing detailed models of the design or the buttons or how a function operates. It’s a lot of work, but in the end it just gets better and soon it’s like, ‘Wow, how did they do that?!? Where are the screws?’”
5. Don’t Focus on the Money
As Isaacson details, Jobs had a conflicted relationship with money, but it’s safe to say that it wasn’t his primary motivation. His Palo Alto home was well-designed and might be considered opulent by some, but it was no mansion. Jobs also had disdain for people who started companies just to sell them. “My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products,” Jobs told Isaacson. “Sure, it was great to make a profit, because that was what allowed you to make great products. But the products, not the profits, were the motivation.”
This list was originally published on Mashable's Small business site. These mere snippets observed from the life of Steve Jobs, may seem like a far cry from your own business. Then again, do you think Jobs ever thought, "what reflective list will they write of my contribution to this world when I'm gone?" The reality is, we are all building a legacy every meeting, every quarter, every birthday. What will you take with you as another year closes and we enter Q1of 2012?
Helen Moss, Business Information Solutions, Inc.
photo credits:stcokphoto, fanpix.net
Business Information Solutions, Inc. announces our launch of the Intel AppUpSM Small Business Service.
What is this cloud you ask? The Intel AppUpSM Small Business Service is designed to provide local businesses with the cost flexibility of cloud computing and the data security of an on-premises server.
BIS is always looking for ways to make technology an asset to our clients. Using the Intel® Hybrid Cloud platform is effective for moving technology needs from a costly capital expense to an affordable monthly operating expense with managed services provided locally by BIS, Inc.
“Intel is excited to launch this service with Business Information Solutions, Inc.,” said Bridget Karlin, General Manager, Intel® Hybrid Cloud. “The Business Information Solutions, Inc. business model and client relationships will help local businesses adopt this technology rapidly with a very affordable monthly subscription model.”
Karlin continues, “Staying current with software and hardware can be a daunting financial concern for businesses, but with the Intel AppUpSM Small Business Service offering, staying current is simple, affordable and easy.”
“Through our partnership with Intel®, we are able to offer our clients next generation technology from the Intel® Hybrid Cloud platform,” said Phillip Long, CEO of Business Information Solutions, Inc. Long continues, “managing secure and efficient technology is a necessary challenge to any business. We are able to facilitate IT solutions our customers can afford with the Intel AppUP℠ Small Business Service.”
Check out our cloud solutions page to see how you can get more out of this technology. Then, sign up for our CLOUDevent coming this December. We will be hosting a lunch-n-learn with Intel and Barracuda about cloud computing. We are always available to answer your specifics at (251) 943-1744.
For more information, contact:
PHILLIP LONG, CEO
plong@askbis.com
There are always a great many reasons for being unproductive. Every season brings a new ailment or distraction. In the winter, energy dwindles and in the summer, all people can think about is being outdoors. While there is no cure for those distractions, there are several things you can do to help keep your employees focused and boost productivity.
Keep a clean office
Clutter and disorganization can easily distract people from the tasks they should be focusing on. Cleaning the office and encouraging your employees to keep their workspaces tidy can instantly eliminate one of the biggest distractions out there.
Increase the temperature
A few degrees can make a big difference in productivity. In fact, in one study, increasing the temperature from 68 to 77 degrees decreased typos by 44% and improved typing output by 150% – those figures are nothing to sneeze at. Even though your heating bill will increase, it might be worth the expense.
Lighten up
Another study showed that a brighter, better-lit office can help employees stay on task. Employees who worked in offices with windows spent 15% more time focused on their work than those in windowless offices.
Because this simple fix can make such a big difference it makes sense to open blinds and move as many employees as possible into windowed spaces. Not only does this increase productivity, it can also save you money by lighting up the office without using electricity.
These basic office adjustments are extremely easy to make and can make a huge difference in the amount of work that is accomplished.