Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior. We have been pretty busy around here at SMB Nation in gearing up for our SMB 150 Awards, and our Spring Conference, which will be held May 3-5, 2013, at the Microsoft Redmond Campus. For more information, and to register, go to: http://spring.smbnation.com/.
As for other live industry events: Harrybbb will be live and in person at the D&H West Coast Technology Show held this Thursday at the Pacific Palms Resort in Industry Hills, CA. If you are around that way this week, drop by the SMB Nation booth and have a chat! In addition, Tom Poole, President of Cloud Nation, will be on hand to discuss the partnership announced today between the cloud portal and the distributor. Poole will also be headlining a session at the show: “The 5 Challenges When Becoming a Cloudie.”
Please take some time to peruse a few snippets of information that we didn’t get a chance to bring you last week….let us also know if there was something we might have missed, which is not mentioned in this entry…because as you know…we love news!
1.) Karl Palachuk: Reboot your Biz or Let it Die: SMB Nation friend and technology author Karl Palachuk said last week he will be holding a three-day online conference for computer consultants in June. The conference will focus on “Rebooting” a technology business for the current economy and will feature some of the best business and technology speakers in the U.S. and U.K.
This is the second year for the SMB Online Conference. Last year, this conference was the first event of its kind, targeting technology providers and computer consultants. Conference registration and information site is at http://www.smbonlineconference.com. The conference theme this year is “IT Business Reboot 2013.”
2.) CA Technologies, Ponemon Institute Cloud Security Study Shows Improved Practices: CA Technologies and independent research firm Ponemon Institute released “Security of Cloud Computing Users 2013,” a study commissioned by CA Technologies that shows companies have improved their practices around cloud computing security compared to a previous study from 2010. Still, the responses raise questions and concerns about organizations’ use of security best practices and their awareness of cloud services used within their organizations. It also confirms there are conflicting views on who is most responsible for cloud security.
Comparing the two studies reveals that organizations today are more confident in the security of cloud computing and have put in place better security practices around cloud use. Still, affirmative responses were only around half (50 percent) for questions involving cloud security best practices, confidence in cloud services and knowledge of the cloud services in use within an organization.
3.) Kaspersky Lab 3.0 Total Security is Newest Version of Company’s Flagship Product: Kaspersky Lab last week the new version of its premier product for consumer PC protection – Kaspersky PURE 3.0 Total Security. Offering everything users need in a computer security suite, including online banking security, password management, and online backup, Kaspersky PURE 3.0 offers maximum protection for users to secure their online activities and digital assets across their home network of PCs.
Kaspersky PURE 3.0 Total Security is available for purchase now on Kaspersky Lab’s online store and wherever quality software is sold in the U.S. and Canada. Current Kaspersky PURE and Kaspersky PURE 2.0 customers may upgrade free of charge to Kaspersky PURE 3.0 for the remainder of their existing license period. A standard subscription – 3-user licenses for a 1-year period – is $89.95.
4.) KineticD Urges Municipalities, Govt. Agencies to Consider Cloud Backup for Sensitive Data: KineticD is urging municipalities and government agencies to back up sensitive data to the
Cloud, instead of relying on portable devices that can be lost or stolen.
In December of 2012, a federal government department in Canada announced that a USB key containing personal information, including Social Insurance Numbers, of about 5,000 Canadians went missing. Only a few short weeks after, in January of this year, the same agency lost data on 583,000 Canadians when a portable hard drive went missing.
KineticD urges any city, municipal, or government agency and in particular, medical facilities and doctors offices that are responsible for sensitive personal data, to consider other means for storing and managing these types of critical files.
5.) Axcient, LPI Integrate Data Protection and Remote Monitoring: Level Platforms said last week that Axcient is the latest vendor to complete a deep product integration with its Managed Workplace RMM platform. Through its Vendor Alliance and Technology Integration Program (TIP) initiatives, Level Platforms is establishing Managed Workplace as the single platform for MSPs to manage the full range of vendor technologies impacting their end-customer's IT experience.
The Axcient Service Module installs with a few clicks and immediately provides a two-way integration between Managed Workplace and Axcient's hybrid cloud-based data backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity solution. The new Service Module allows MSPs to monitor the overall health and status of an end-client's backup and data protection system. This includes the ability to instantly identify protected, potentially unprotected and at-risk sites as well as the success and failure of backup and recovery jobs - through Level Platforms' Managed Workplace dashboard.
