A small business seeking growth has a lot to consider. Obtaining and managing data now can affect decades of market presence, and swift management can mean meeting goals in months instead of years, but as with any organism, a business is at its most vulnerable when it is in its earliest stages. Security breaches are only becoming more common, and it is easy for a single software vulnerability or user error to compromise entire systems. That’s why reliable IT support, secure data management, and strong IT training for staff are essentials for directing growth and protecting company data regardless of company size or structure.  

The Techno-Interpreter 

What are your hardware and software needs? What software packages work best for your budget and goals? What specially designed applications could increase productivity and enrich user experiences? How do you gather and apply user and market data to direct company growth? Where are your vulnerabilities within your desktop ecosystem and IoT (Internet of Things) devices? How do you ensure that essential company data isn’t lost? These can be daunting questions that are relatively simple ones to experienced IT personnel, and lead us into our next point: 

Knowing Yourself Through Client Data 

This one is no secret: In many ways, applying gathered consumer data is the only real way to keep your feet planted in a chaotic, competitive environment. But what information matters? How do you gather only the important pieces in a sea of endless data? Specialized software allows you to identify trends, demographics, and observable curves in the market and apply them to your goals. Predictive analysis is an art that, when finely honed, can make an estimated guess into a confident statement that ensures success.  

A Watchful Eye 

Software vulnerabilities are always a concern, but user error is almost a certainty at one point or another. While you may trust your employees, nobody is exempt from making mistakes 100% of the time. Because everything is connected, one click on a phishing e-mail or the use of a less-than-savory external application can compromise your entire infrastructure. That’s where attentive administration and software procurement is key. Augment this with IT training for staff and you significantly lower your risk of technological catastrophe.   

Back It Up 

So let’s say the worst case scenario happens and your data is lost. This can happen either by cyber attacks or physical destruction of on-site storage systems by something such as natural disaster. This is where data backup services such as Datto save the day. Keeping your data in the cloud allows it to flow efficiently and securely throughout your company. 

Succinctly, the companies of tomorrow are being built today, and without harnessing new standards and technologies they will likely be overshadowed by their peers who have, and also are at increasing risk of digital breaches from outdated hardware, software, and practices. At amshot, we work with businesses who are ready to grow – that means providing technology training, developing software and applications, managing IT services, and more. Questions, concerns, or big dreams for your company’s data? Schedule a free consultation by emailing consult@amshot.com or calling us at (405) 418-6282. 

How does using data/business intelligence give businesses an edge over those who don’t utilize customer or company data?

Data is the most valuable commodity for any modern business. Small bits of information — such as customer age, consumer habits, and location — all add up to a bigger picture. Minute, seemingly disposable data accumulates to form what we call “big data”, an ocean of information gathered by a company’s day-to-day interactions with a consumer. Business intelligence is the practice of forming this bigger picture, making vast quantities of information easily digestible and actionable. Here are a few questions that data analysis can answer for you and your company.

Who is our customer?

Millions of people are regularly engaging with millions of products and services. Each and every day, a single consumer interacts with dozens if not hundreds of businesses by way of advertisement, digital applications, brick and mortar establishments, and subscription-based services. Add in what they’re not partaking in and you’ve got a much more vivid picture of who your customer is. By knowing the habits of your consumer, and by way of predictive analysis, a business can know how the market will respond to an idea before it’s even rolled out.

How are customers interacting with our product or service?

People’s personal relationship with and perception of your brand can make or break your business. Do you find that more of your sales come from older people or younger? Do they sell especially well at a certain time of day or time of the year? Do customers frequently pair another product or service with yours? These details can seem like minutiae, but they form the trends that will completely determine your success.

What is our public image and what do consumers expect from us?

Data analytics aren’t just important for the direct interaction consumers have with your brand. They also help summarize how those customers are responding after those interactions take place. Posts and digital reviews — across social media platforms and Google listings — give you the most honest, unfiltered representation of how your brand is perceived. Be it positive or negative, this data allows a company to self-reflect and apply tweaks to their image that will foster a positive relationship with consumers.

Who are our competitors?

Mistakes are the growing pains of any business, but data analysis of the mistakes of others is a much more painless experience. In today’s world everything is shared, and deep in the data trail are the reasons why others have failed or succeeded. For example, if a similar company’s product failed, look and see if the mistake wasn’t in targeting the wrong demographics, or casting too broad a net when choosing an audience to advertise to. These are the foundation of what is called competitive intelligence, and it is a vital practice. If you aren’t learning from others’ mistakes, they are most certainly learning from yours.

Knowing your customer, how they perceive and interact with your brand, and how you compare to your competitors are some of the answers that can steady a business during turbulent times or take profits to the next level for even the most successful business. Information is the single most important asset, and it’s just waiting to be taken.

That’s what we at amshot aim to do for your company. We know where to look, and our expertise is in creating custom programs and applications that make it possible for this data to be gathered, deciphered, and interpreted for easy understanding by decision makers within a business. If this sounds like something your company needs, email consult@amshot.com or give us a call at (405) 418-6282 to set up a free consultation.

In chemistry, equilibrium is created in acid-base combinations by using the five percent rule. Achieving chemical equilibrium in the products and reactants is akin to reaching an important state of balance. Though most businesses are far removed from the world of chemistry, five percent is still a useful measure to remember when balancing your IT requirements with staffing needs for other departments.

Although the number can fluctuate depending on your company’s focus and unique technology needs, five percent is often an excellent place to start when considering how to allocate personnel to the IT department. To put it in simpler terms, if you have 100 employees, at least five of them should be responsible for the IT needs of your business.

So, where exactly do you start? The first part of building an IT department of any size is to create a plan that accounts for both current needs and future growth. This can usually be done with the help of an IT consulting company or an in-house Chief Technology Officer.

Duties of Information Technology staff encompass a wide range of areas, all of which enable a company to store, receive, and send information. In some companies, the department’s role can include network management, software development, and database administration in addition to overseeing electronic communication tools, such as telephones, internal and external websites, and even email.

IT specialists may also provide technical support to a business or an organization’s employees and train non-technical workers on the business’s information systems. Advanced specialists may design systems and assess the effectiveness of technology resources already in use or new systems that are being implemented.

Additionally, a company’s IT specialists often work with external partners, including consultants, agencies, and vendors to develop the best systems for your business. They must always keep abreast of emerging technologies and how these advancements could be integrated into a business’s current systems.

Staffing for any role can require balancing current requirements with future needs. By incorporating the five percent rule into your staffing strategy, you can keep your company’s technology running smoothly.

What do you do if you only have 10 employees? It’s hard to hire half a person. That’s where outsourcing comes in. Working with an external IT company means that you’ll have a team of people monitoring your account, handling the day-to-day, and helping you achieve your technology goals. In fact, that’s exactly where Amshot comes in – we specialize in working with companies to transform and optimize their IT through Managed Services, Software Consulting, and Web Development. Are you ready to take technology off your plate so you can focus on running the rest of your business? Shoot us an email to set up a consultation and get on track to implementing a technology plan that meets your needs and helps your company – and vision – grow.

Popular culture loves to highlight the hard work that goes into creating a good legal strategy. From “Law and Order”, “Boston Legal”, and more recently “Suits”, viewers get a sneak peek into the client meetings, research and even courtroom performance of law firms. What is not often shown is the work that goes on behind the scenes, especially when it comes to creating a comprehensive information technology plan and securing client data.

Certainly, a well-researched, secure information technology strategy is a necessity for any business. Law firms, however, face a higher bar for security due to the elevated ethical requirement for client confidentiality. While some law firms can support an in-house IT department, many small firms don’t have the resources for this. Fortunately, there are many benefits for outsourcing IT service to an outside vendor, such as a more sophisticated level of security, data storage at multiple sites and greater workplace efficiency.

According to the American Bar Association, there are a few things legal firms should do before designing an IT strategy, including:

Creating high-level policies regarding the privacy and security of firm data. Policies should address the use of encryption, remote access, mobile devices, thumb drives, laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, cloud storage, Web email accounts and social networking sites.

Identifying points of contact with law enforcement, Internet service providers, the communications companies that service the firm and cyber forensic experts.

Working with your IT staff or vendor, conducting third-party vulnerability scans, penetration tests and malware scans. Antivirus software is essential, but it detects only a small percentage of new malware. Specialized services that detect sophisticated attacks may be required.

Performing software code reviews on Web applications and custom code to detect vulnerabilities.

Developing contractual security requirements for outsourcing vendors, cloud providers or other entities that connect to the firm’s network, including notification in the event of a breach.

These are things that we can help you with as we work with you to establish your IT strategy. Further, your IT solutions and software should be tailored to your unique needs – not just your needs as a legal firm, but strategies that further your individual tech goals. At Amshot, we offer a wide range of products and services to help law firms of every size create a robust, customized IT plan to fit their individual needs. A few of the legal sector-specific services we provide are:

• Capturing of Billables
• Case Management Software
• Data Backup
• Minimize Downtime
• Mobility
• Process Efficiencies
• Stability

To learn more about how we can help your law firm create a strong, consistent IT strategy, contact us here or give us a call at 405-418-6282.

It seems these days that hacker is a job title with a bright future. Take a few extra clicks through the web and you’re bound to read either a story about hacking or the actual information that has been hacked – emails, business financials, personal info, or even your grandma’s secret fruitcake recipe.

In 2017, businesses must go on the defensive to protect their intellectual property, customer data and revenue in an online world which has more and more troublemakers squeezing through the cracks.

And let’s be clear it’s not just governments and corporate giants which are the targets. Businesses on Main Street are too. Small and medium sized businesses, often with not a lot of IT or security resources are becoming juicy targets for the hacking bad guys. According to new data from Symantec’s 2016 Internet Security Threat Report: “Last year, phishing campaigns targeted small businesses (PDF) 43 percent of the time. That’s up 9 percent over 2014 and a stark contrast to the mere 18 percent of attacks that focused on small businesses in 2011 … Symantec’s report reveals a 55 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 in the amount of spear-phishing campaigns that target employees of a business of any size.” (Source) In 2014, Russian hackers (those guys are popular) grabbed customer information from more than 400,000 business websites, getting away with more than 2 billion passwords. And they haven’t slowed down. (Source)

Here are some steps that any business can take in order to make themselves a little less vulnerable against anyone prowling around the web. Remember, the best offense is a good defense.

1. Define the boundaries for your employees: A few bad clicks on phishing emails or strange web downloads are dangerous moves which could turn your company’s online security into swiss cheese. Educating your employees and creating acceptable use policies for what they should and shouldn’t do on the internet can make a big difference in whether a company network becomes a secret home to malware. Keeping them up with the latest threats will raise everyone’s radar.
2.  Control the admin keys: Even a small organization can create a hierarchy for who has administrative access to the company’s server, email dashboard and enterprise software. Allowing all employees admin access can create a stew of changes, which can often be traced back to employee making something work for them on their device. “Security policies and mechanisms must be put in place for company data access from personal devices,” said P.J. Gupta, a mobile security expert and the founder and CEO of iPlum to BusinessNewsDaily.com. “Tight control on who has the privileges to run which enterprise apps from which devices helps minimize the risk of data loss or corruption.” (source)
3.  Treat email differently: Many of the most notorious hacks of the past few years came from people sharing a lot of information in the body of unsecured and non-encrypted emails. If a business is worried about what is being sent over the email transom internally, then training can come first, but an encrypted email service might be next. Services are available which will warn an employee if they are sharing sensitive information like a credit card number or an attachment of client contact information.
4. Double-check Who’s Logging In: If you are worried someone is going to break down your door, sometimes the best solution is to just have two locks instead of one. Adding an extra step can frustrate and dissuade a bad guy just enough to make them give up and find an easier victim. On the digital side of a business, that more and more often means the addition of Two Factor Authentication. You are seeing this on everything from your bank to your favorite social media platform. Two Factor Authentication means that a password isn’t enough to get you to your data. These extra steps can include a secret piece of knowledge – i.e., “Mother’s maiden name” – or a fingerprint, voice password or PIN.
5. Verify unusual requests with a real person: Bad guys have begun impersonating employees e-mail addresses to request that co-workers transfer funds to external accounts. This can result in losses of tens of thousands of dollars. If a request for external payment seems unusual, verify with your co-worker via phone or face-to-face.

Those are just a few simple steps a business can take to keep their cybersecurity guard up going into 2017. For more information or assistance contact Amshot at 405-896-8152 or consult@amshot.com.