As a result of this we decided that a product was needed to help ensure that should the worst happen and your laptop is started back up then your data is deleted from the drive and, where possible, the location is traced so the police can recover it. We decided on Laptop Cop which met all of the criteria that we set out plus much more. For those of you out there who love the “cool” stuff then you will love some of the features that Laptop Cop has. For example once your laptop is stolen or lost then you log on to a web portal and put the unit in “Stolen” mode. In this state you will be asked what you want to do about your data, either recover then delete or delete only. At all times, even when not in stolen mode, the Laptop is on and connected to the Internet the location is being broadcast back to the portal so that you know where it is. What also happens when in stolen mode is the tables are turned on the thief and everything that they do is recorded, all keystrokes are recorded and if there is a webcam built in to the laptop then this is used to capture evidence about the thief.

When you combine this is our encryption & backup solutions you the perfect solutions to mobile computer security.  If you want to know more about our laptop security solutions or require a demonstration then contact our sales team for more information.

Fundamentally Windows 7 is built on the foundation that was used to build Windows Vista but with some significant improvements, the most obvious one is performance. The initial release of Windows Vista was, to say the least, unpopular. Much of this was down to poor performance and compatibility with many of the hardware devices that were in current circulation as well as new devices. As time went by support for the hardware improved as did performance with the release of Service pack 1 last year.  Windows 7 out of the box is a vast improvement on both hardware support as well as the overall performance. Microsoft are committed on making Windows 7 capable of running on as many of the netbooks that are currently on the market such as the Asus Eee PC 901 as well as many others. One of the main reasons for this I believe is due to the fact that the inability of many netbooks to run Windows Vista is still keeping the Windows XP market alive as this is that choice of manufacturers as it runs so quickly on their equipment.

Another significant change to Windows 7 is the introduction of the new taskbar.  The traditional taskbar which has now been with us since the introduction of Windows 95 has finally had and overhaul which at first seems to be hard to get used to it is in actual fact a great improvement. What Microsoft have done with the new taskbar is instead of minimizing your applications down to a bar they have minimized them down to icons on the taskbar which is a much needed improvement where desktop real estate is concerned. Another improvement on the taskbar is the “fly out’s” that happen when using the Aero interface.  In the image shown I have two tabs open within Internet Explorer both of which are minimized, however when I move the mouse over these I see the two tabs pop up and I can click on with one of them to restore them back to their original state.

There is also support for multi touch surfaces as touch computing has become an upcoming trend with the technology becoming more affordable. Multi-touch support effectively allows the user to touch multiple locations on the device, typically a tablet, and the system will recognise the contact and act accordingly.  An excellent example of this is both the Apple iTouch and Apple iPhone both of which have support for multi touch on the devices.

Another introduction for the latest Windows 7 Release Candidate was XP Mode. What this allows the user to do is virtualize applications on the desktop, eh? Let me explain. Essentially speaking virtualisation is where an operating system is run within another operating system in a fashion that is similar to running it as a normal application.  What it does however is appear as a real computer from a networking perspective as well as from the user perspective. In the same way your desktop needs to run Windows Updates, so does the virtual machine.  Now XP mode takes this to the next level through the support of hardware virtualisation what it allows you to do is to install an application on the Virtual PC, which may only work in Windows XP, and actually run it on your Windows 7 computer as if it were installed but it is in actual fact running on the Virtual PC in the background. This has great advantages for businesses that would like to upgrade to Windows 7 but are unable to due to legacy application support being poor or in some cases non-existent.

But don’t just take our word for it, the Windows 7 Release Candidate is open to anyone who wants to download and try it. The release candidate will work until 1st June 2010, and will shut down every 2 hours from 1st April 2010 so there is plenty of time to try it out and see if your software will work.  If you would like to discuss any aspect of Windows 7 then please free to contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss it further.

- Rob

One of our fellow BNI members has put together a 2 day Strategic Marketing Masterclass which is perfect for small businesses. The masterclass will cover a variety of topics such as tools and techniques for analysing their business environment, objective setting, evaluation of different marketing tools, implementation planning and measuring key performance indicators. The course is suitable for any team member that wants to have a structured approach to business growth or who may be relatively new to marketing. Upon completion of the course each learner will have an accurate and relevant marketing plan to implement within their business. The marketing plan will be an action plan to ensure their commercial objectives are met for 2009. By attending this course, businesses have a much more cost effective method of obtaining strategic focus than hiring in a 3rd party which can cost thousands of pounds in consultancy fees. There will be options for post-masterclass
support to ensure that the newly produced marketing plan is being implemented and remains relevant to their business. Masterclasses will be held across April, May and June 2009. The course will be delivered in a Nottingham training facility where refreshments and lunch will be served on both days. Specific details of location, times etc will be issued in the learner packs sent to you. All learning material will be provided. The course is priced at £650 per learner (excluding VAT) with the option of group discounts. If you have 2-249 employees and have not had previous Leaders First Training you might be eligible for Business Link support. If you are eligible for funding you will receive a £575 contribution towards the cost of the course. Kirsty will arrange for Business Link to call you and allocate the funding. If you are eligible for funding you will be reimbursed by Business Link for the amount that you are entitled to. You will be asked to pay the full amount up front then you will receive the £575 reimbursement from Business Link.

The means that if you are eligible the course will cost just £75 + VAT, if you would like to know more then please contact rob.franklin@jpt-solutions.co.uk.

So what does cloud computing bring that was not there before?
What cloud computing brings is the ability for small businesses to run applications which typically can only be afforded by larger businesses.  This is made possible by having low start-up costs.  For example we have started providing hosted Microsoft Exchange 2007 which gives 10GB of storage, ExchangeDefender spam filtering, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Forefront which costs £10 per mailbox per month.  For a small business of 3 users this would mean a monthly cost of £30, giving an annual cost of £360 for the three users.  If you compare this with the cost of a typical Microsoft Small Business server entry level cost of approx £1,000 plus installation of around £750 then hosted applications make more sense.

What other benefits are there?
With hosted application you are able to access your application regardless of location which means that any of the users can work so long as they have an internet connection, given the rapid growth of communications this means users can work from almost anywhere.  Also with hosted application the provider typically will take care of backups so it is no longer your worry.
Whether it is suitable for your business is an individual decision based on your needs.  If you would like to discuss this further please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

The problem is that typically when you ask these users what security they have enabled or purchased for these devices the answer is either “nothing” or “no idea”.  The fact is that the information contained on these devices is typically just as sensitive and confidential as the information contained on the company network so why are these devices being treated differently?  The directors, managers or any one else using these devices need to understand that they are no longer carrying a phone anymore and that these devices are in actual fact a part of the business network and they need to ensure that the proper precautions are taken to ensure that the data contained on them is kept safe.
One simple question to ask is does your device have a password or PIN set on it to prevent unauthorised
access to the device?

Another consideration is what is your procedure in the event of the loss of one of these handsets?  Do you have the facility to remotely wipe the handheld device or indeed do you know how to do this?  The fact is that this can be achieved with Corporate Blackberry handsets, also with Apple iPhone 3G units using ActiveSync for Exchange as well as Windows Mobile devices that are using ActiveSync for Exchange.
If you would like to know more about mobile security solutions or would like to know what can be done to secure your existing devices please contact us by emailing sales@jpt-solutions.co.uk

But with all of this technology available to ensure that you are never out of contact whether it be voice calls, SMS or even email the question remains; Do you need it? This is something we have been asked many times and the answer is always the same; “Do you need it? Only you can decide”. What is clear is that it’s now more affordable than ever for anyone to have this technology at their fingertips. No longer is it the reserve of the large corporate environments it’s something that the Owner/Manager’s and Small Businesses can enjoy which in turn can help them to become more streamlined and agile in a fragile marketplace where an instant response can make all the difference. If you would like to know more about mobile email solutions please contact our team for more information.

The fact is that you cannot afford not to put this in plan. So what does the plan consist of; well it should contain the contact names and numbers of all individuals involved in the recovery
process (i.e. Telephone company, IT vendor, software suppliers etc). It also needs to contain all relevant passwords relating to your computer systems, details relating to the setup of the network and software. It should detail the recovery process for data relating to the network this should include how the backups are performed and what software is required to perform the recovery. The plan needs to contain absolutely everything that is required to run the business and with the recent floods and other adverse weather conditions it has never been more important to plan for the worst. So take some time and think about how your business will be affected should the worst happen and start and plan how you will recover from such and event before it happens.

The diagram above shows the fundamental differences between Small Business Server 2008 Standard and Premium editions.  One important changes that they have made is that Client Access Licenses (CALS) can now be purchases as single licenses as well as the previous 5 packs.  The premium edition also adds an additional Windows Server 2008 license.  Another change is the system requirements which are in-line with Windows Server 2008 which means in summary:

Processor:      2Ghz (x64 Processor)
Memory:        4GB Minimum
Disk Space:   60GB Minimum

Essential Business Server (EBS) is one of the new product offerings from Microsoft.  Small Business Server 2008 still maintains the license limit from previous versions of 75 users however EBS allows up to 300 licenses which will help bridge the gap for those businesses that are slightly too big for SBS but not really big enough to afford the full license model.  As you can see from the diagram above it also includes Windows Server 2008 licenses for 3 servers with the standard version and 4 servers in premium edition.

More information to follow as it becomes available.