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Assessing Technology Risk in Small Businesses
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CMIT Solutions of Stamford• Your Technology Team – We keep you advised
and running• Top Tier of 130 offices• 6 years of year over year growth• Continuous Technology Solution Pallet
growth and refreshing• Sr. Dean of CMIT Pacesetters• Small Business Specialists
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2010 NSBA Technology Survey• According to the survey, despite the challenge
posed by keeping up with the rapid pace of change in technology, 98 percent of respondents think it is important to keep up with new technology.
• “Small-business owners have to serve many critical functions within their business, including chief technology officer,” NSBA press release
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2010 NSBA Technology Survey57% of small business owners spend an hour a week, OF THEIR OWN TIME, taking
care of technology problems.
32 % spend 2-3 hours per week.
11% are spending 4+ hours per week
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…. And how much time is lost weekly on “figuring it out”?
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Small Business Technology Assessment
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Typically Technology Spend
3 PCs 10 PCs 15 PCs $-
$2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000
$10,000 $12,000 $14,000 $16,000 $18,000 $20,000
yearly $ in technology
yearly $ in technology
6.9% of revenue on IT
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How well is technology meeting the needs of the business?
What is holding them back from doing more faster?
What gremlins are lurking?
Are you positioned from growth?
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Assessment – The basics Does the computer match
the job Anywhere email Computer skills that
support productivity Adequate, outdated or
manual data backup solution
QuickBooks fluency Word processing and
spreadsheet software
Anywhere secure file sharing
Anywhere computing Industry Software Broadband internet
connection Proper Licensing Bring your own
technology
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Does your computer match the job you need it to do?
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Anywhere email
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Computer skillsFluency in
Windows or MacWord, Excel, PowerpointQuickBooksYour favorite browserInternet surfing GROVO.COM
YOUTUBE.COM
TRAINING.MICROSOFT.COM
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Protect Your Data 1 onsite copy1 offsite copy You don’t have to remember to do itSet up by someone that knows that folders
are important errors are checked and followed up onRestore Test
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Outside AssessmentsHow does your technology selections
stack up to best practice in small business?
Security AssessmentIntruition AssessmentDisaster Recovery AssessmentCloud Readiness AssessmentYou don’t know what you don’t know
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Risk AssessmentData Theft
MalwareEmployeesInternetWireless
Internet Reputation
DowntimeComputer
VirusHardware failureInsufficient computer skillsPatches and upgrades
NetworkInternetTelephonePower failure
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Growth AssessmentDo they know what
will trigger the need for a server
Hardware refresh plan
12-18 month technology plan
Standardized desktop
Collaboration environment
Technology knowledge
Delegation of technologyDay to dayexpansion
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The Challenge
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Do IT myself?
Do I know how?
Do I have the time to figure IT out?
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Goal
Balance cost of professional advice versus the immediate
value that they provide
Cost vs Business Impact
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Should I pay for prevention or deal with it if it happens?
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Goal
decrease incidents of “something going wrong”
resulting in a material wasted of time and/or money
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Travel Agency Story• Alcatra Media Tours• 75 employees• New computers produced 20% increase in sales
in 1 week; 40% increase in the first month• Prospects were on hold too long and hanging up• Agents waiting for 30 seconds for 1 page• Employee moral increase• No one had vocalized just how bad it was
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ResourcesNSBA – 2010 Technology Surveyhttp://www.nsba.biz/docs/nsba_2010_technology_survey.pdf
Top Technology Risks – Intel http://www.nor-tech.com/solutions/dox/Top_10_Technology_Risks.pdf
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How to Pick Technology Vendors & Services
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One-time purchasesFeaturesCostMarket LeaderReputationEasy to useEasy to work withSupport
Company strengthCost to operateTrainingIntegration
Hardware-Software-Internet Services
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IT Professional Services Companies
• Focused on my size company
• Established business with employees
• What is the client experience like?
• Do they know the technology I use?
• Industry credentials• Will they take
responsibility for their work?
• Response time agreement
• Rates• Service Area