Six Tips for Securing Your iPad and Everything On It

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that just because the iPad isn’t a typical computer, it isn’t a security risk. The iPad, and it’s Android and Blackberry kin, are all very much computers. They store both your private and business information. They store your emails messages, server information, passwords, contact lists, browser history, cookies, and so on...Read More

When Technology Doesn't Help Customer Service

I'm sitting on a slow and ocassionally not moving NYC subway right now. Every few minutes, there is a friendly automated announcement informing me "we are being delayed because of train traffic ahead." That's all well and good and it's somewhat better than the previous situation of no information at all.

But what is it really telling me? What I mean is, am I getting any useful information that will help me on the rest of this trip?

What I really want to know is how far up the line does the traffic extend and should I consider transferring at an upcoming station to a line that's moving better. It wouldn't be difficult to implement since all the trains are already monitored. Simply calculate the delay and update the announcement to include that information.

But the MTA hasn't done that (at least not yet). They installed new technology but didn't actually provide any additional value.

Don't fall into that trap with your technology. There are always new and exciting things out there. But just installing a new system doesn't necessarily give you an advatage. What has to be done with that new system to improve you business, sales, revenue, customer experience, etc.

The iPad is cool. But it can be more than just the slickest way to check your email. What should you do with it to drive sales? Same for Facebook. And Windows 7.

Don't take the easy way out and then wonder why you spent all that time and money. Take the next step and use technology to drive your business.

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Amazon Cloud Down for 12 Hours. What's the Lesson for a Small Business Owner

I love Amazon EC2. I love the concept. I love the technology. And I love the service it offers. Many, many, many companies that we're all familiar with and probably use frequently would never be if it wasn't for EC2.

Foursquare, Hootsuite, Quora, Reddit and many others all reply on EC2 for part or even all of their back end technology.

So when EC2 when down yesterday, everyone of these sites went down with it. Embarrassing, yes. Bad for business, yes. A pain in the butt, absolutely. But everyone one of these companies will survive and do fine, even though they were down for most of not all of the day. They'll do fine because they have pockets deep enough to absorb the loss. They'll do fine because they hire big PR firms to run damage control. They'll do fine because they've got millions of customers who use their services daily.

But what about your business? Where would you be if you were down for an entire day? No orders. No client service. Perhaps no email flowing. How easy would it be for your company to absorb a loss like that.

I'm not saying don't move to the Cloud. Cloud based technologies offer huge advantages to small businesses. But when you do make the move, do it smart. Get yourself a trusted advisor, one who knows 1) the Cloud, 2) your industry and 3) your company.

Get into the Cloud properly. Manage your risk, prepare contingencies, and use it to grow your business.

Internet Explorer 9 Officially Released

Was Internet Explorer 6 so much of a turn off for you that you've dropped IE never to return? Well you may want to reconsider. IE9 is here and from what we see so far, it's worth a look. Check out LifeHacker's screenshot tour at http://lifehacker.com/#!5638885/internet-explorer-screenshot-tour-the-best-new-features-in-ie9