Jack Safrit, President and CEO

In the past I have written in this space about the maturation of small businesses and how necessary it is for owners and principals to work on the business rather than in the business. Over the last year our business peer group has convinced me to take the initiative and move forward with establishing the position of CEO for Axxys Technologies. At first look, the natural question is why should a small company need a CEO? The answer to that question is found in how the roles of CEO and President are defined.

It has become clear to me that the success of a business is not only related to the effort put into the business but how the business looks forward and develops a sustainable business model. The question then becomes whether your company has a person responsible for the strategic thinking, goals, and vision for your company. While Axxys is currently an eleven person company, it has become imperative that strategic thinking and planning are essential for our ongoing success. Each member of management team has defined roles within the company for both strategic and tactical responsibilities. While each member of that team may still wear various hats at times, the strategic role and responsibility is definitely owned by me.

What does this mean for you? Someone in your company must be responsible for the long range vision and execution of the strategic plan for your company. After 23 years of running my own company, I have seen too many small companies fail because the companies' leadership did not find time to work on their business and its future. It is natural to want to work harder when times are difficult, but without continuing to work on your vision, the results generally fall short.

Whether you create the position of CEO or not is really not the question that needs to be answered. You must have someone to fill that role so your business can continue to growth and thrive. I no longer see the title of CEO attached to a small business and chuckle. Rather I now commend the ownership and leadership of those companies and realize what it takes to be successful.

Global Study Identifies SMB ‘Security Gap'
used with permission from Symantec

Call it the SMB security gap.

A new study from Symantec finds that while small and midsize businesses are acutely aware of today's security risks, a large number have yet to take even the basic steps needed to protect themselves. Further, the study shows that simple protection measures could have prevented many of the security breaches reported by these companies.

According to the study, based on surveys of 1,425 SMBs worldwide (defined as companies with 10 to 500 employees) in the first quarter of 2009, the lack of a dedicated IT staff and tight budgets were the main reasons for the lack of action. Respondents also cited a lack of employee skills as a top barrier to security.

The study finds that SMBs have no illusions about today's risks. Asked how concerned they were about a wide range of security issues, from spam to data breaches to insider attacks, respondents consistently described themselves as "extremely" or "somewhat" concerned.

• 59% of respondents said they have no endpoint protection (i.e., software that combines antivirus with advanced threat protection technologies such as desktop firewall and intrusion prevention for laptops, desktops, and servers).
• 47% do not back up their desktop PCs, leaving their important information at risk.
• 33% lack even basic antivirus protection.

• system failure
• a lost or stolen laptop, smartphone, or PDA
• human error
• the loss or theft of backup tapes or devices containing sensitive data
• the use of improper or out-of-date security solutions.

Looking ahead, half of the respondents said they plan to increase their IT security and storage spending in the next 12 months even in these tough economic times, while 41% said their budgets would remain the same.

Narrowing the security gap
With security threats becoming more complex and targeting critical business information such as confidential documents and customer data, it is becoming increasingly apparent that SMBs need a higher level of protection. Antivirus security products are simply no longer adequate. SMBs today require protection against new kinds of spyware, malware, and spam.

In addition, SMBs must ask themselves if the way they back up critical information is sufficient to protect themselves from system failures and disruptions and data loss. A recent survey of SMBs by Rubicon Consulting found that, of the companies that lost data, approximately 30% subsequently lost sales, 20% lost customers, and 25% claimed the data loss caused severe disruptions to the company. The same survey found that about 20% of the SMBs interviewed conduct no server backup whatsoever.

• Stay informed. Familiarize yourself with published threat reports about the security landscape. The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report is a great way to stay informed on current and future trends and threats. The State of the Data Center Research Report and the Underground Economy Report should be consulted as well.
• Use trusted advisors for needed expertise. Trusted advisors such as IT consultants or resellers help businesses match their IT needs with appropriate solutions. This is especially important when reduced staffing is an issue.
• Use layered security. Employ in-depth defense strategies to guard against single-point failure in any specific technology or protection method. This includes the deployment of antivirus and antispam software, firewalls, intrusion prevention technologies, device and application control, and security patch updates.
• Protect end to end. SMBs must actively protect all their devices against unknown threats, including laptops, desktops, messaging servers, and mobile devices.
• Back up data. IT systems can be brought down for a number of reasons, including natural disaster, human error, hardware failure, etc. It is critical to back up data regularly and store extra copies of this data offsite. Encrypting those backup stores adds an additional layer of protection.  
• Protect from the inside. Protect your company from data loss, random theft, vandalism, and employee malice. Put policies and controls in place to automatically safeguard company data and prevent sensitive information from leaving the company network.  
• Don't forget physical security. SMBs can strengthen their organization's security with practices such as using the screen-locking feature when away from the computer, shutting the computer off when done for the day, locking laptops with a cable, and not leaving passwords on sticky notes next to the computer.

Vacation Checklist: Prepare your PC
used with permission from Microsoft at Work

Whether you're leaving the office for the holidays, going on vacation, or taking a business trip, there are a number of things you can do to prepare your computer for your time away. Canceling appointments and letting people know you'll be gone are just a few of the things you can do to make sure your responsibilities are covered and people aren't trying to meet with you. Here are some best practices to make sure your work goes on smoothly, even when you're gone.

Decline upcoming meetings
Decline or cancel any upcoming meetings that are scheduled while you're gone. Co-workers will not expect you to be at meetings and will know not to attend recurring meetings you run. To decline a meeting using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and 2007, simply complete the following:

1. Open the meeting occurrence and click Decline.
2. If you're the organizer of the meeting, either send a cancellation or arrange for a co-worker to run the meeting.
◦To cancel the meeting in Outlook 2003, open the meeting occurrence and in the Actions menu click Cancel Meeting.
◦To cancel the meeting in Outlook 2007, simply select the meeting tab and select the Cancel Meeting icon.

Update your voice mail greeting
Record a voice message that lets people know you're going to be out of the office for an extended amount of time. Provide the name of the person to contact for immediate assistance and let people know when you plan to return.

Make sure your mailbox doesn't exceed size limits
If you're gone for a long time, you run the risk of your Outlook 2003 or 2007 mailbox exceeding the size limit set by your IT department. A full mailbox will prevent you from sending or receiving e-mail while you're gone. Before you leave, use the Mailbox Cleanup tool in Outlook to check the size of your mailbox and manage its size. To use Mailbox Cleanup, on the Tools menu, click Mailbox Cleanup. You'll be able to view the total size of your mailbox and individual folders, find and archive items older than a certain date, and more.

Block off time in your calendar
Don't forget to mark your Outlook calendar to show co-workers that you're gone. That way, they'll see you're not available and won't schedule meetings with you. To block off the time, just create an appointment in Outlook that shows you're out of the office:

1. In the File menu, point to New and click Appointment.
2. In Start time, select the date you're leaving. In End time, select the date you're returning.
3. If you're leaving for just one day, click the All day event box.
4. Under Show time as, select Out of Office.
5. Click Save and Close.

Keep your password from expiring
Your IT department might have a limit on how long your password will be valid before you need to change it. If you're going away for more than 14 days, change your network password to ensure it won't expire while you're gone. To change your password, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and select Change Password.

Check in work files
If you go on vacation with a file checked out, your team members can't work on the most recent version of that file. Make sure to check in all your files before leaving the office.

Secure your laptop
Laptop computers are a common target of theft. If you're not taking your laptop with you on vacation, take it home or lock it in your desk. If you do take your laptop with you, learn 9 ways to secure your laptop on the road.

Turn on your Out of Office Assistant
Use the Outlook Out of Office Assistant to let people who send you an e-mail know you're away. This Outlook feature enables you to set an automated reply to messages sent to you while you're out. In the reply, let people know who to contact while you're gone. You can also set up rules to file the messages you receive, send special responses to specific people, and more.

To use the Out of Office Assistant in Outlook, on the Tools menu click Out of Office Assistant. You can create an autoreply message to let people know important information-such as when you'll be back and who to contact in the case of an emergency.

Axxys Gives Back

The past few years have been difficult for a lot of businesses, but things are starting to turn around. Here at Axxys, we are seeing small businesses making strides to get back into a cycle of growth. So to assist in those efforts, Axxys is going to give away a new HP desktop, HP tower server, HP mini-notebook and Microsoft software to one lucky company in the North Texas Area. For a chance to win this package for your business, all you have to do is visit www.axxys.com/giveaway for more details and to submit your Entry.

Entries will be accepted from May 1 - July 16 with live drawing webcast held on Friday, July 30.