Welcome

Security is really about putting the right information in the right place for the right people, stopping the wrong people getting at it – and making sure the right people don’t move it into the wrong place while they’re trying to get their job done. Forget the statistics about lost USB sticks; the vast majority of data loss is down to someone who wanted to get the information they needed from A to B when the system isn’t designed to do that even though B is what’s going to make the business money.

Looking at it that way, a lot of what we’re talking about this issue falls under security – and with 88% of the IT managers who went to the IT Expo show this year saying security was their top priority, this is an area where you want to be thinking laterally. We show you how to block spam (laden with password-stealing malware as well as time-wasting phishing messages), how to lock down USB, and how to recover password-protected documents when the password is lost or for-gotten. If you’re dealing with more customers wanting to use their iPhones for business, we show you how Apple’s new tools let you make them more secure.

We’ve also got details of what you can achieve with SharePoint 2010; put files in the right place for your customer with a document management system that works the way they want and security gets easier and less burdensome. If ever-simpler versions of Small Business Server leave you wondering what to offer small businesses, SharePoint could be the service you’re looking for.

Some of those spam-blocking tools are cloud ?services you can resell as well as software you can install. And cloud services come to the rescue for support as well; Microsoft InTune is an interesting combination of remote management with remote support (think of a cut-down System Center Essentials in the cloud) and there are several other cloud tools that can help you find problems before you get a complaint and save you a trip to deal with it. Double-Take is using Amazon’s cloud for backing up servers – and running replacements while you replace them on site; we look at the latest version that promises simplified billing. The cloud is an opportunity you can’t ignore; Gartner is predicting that 10% of what businesses spend on external IT will go to cloud this year, so we look at how you get your cut from cloud. And when customers do pick cloud services, their network matters to them more than ever; we look at the best free network testing tools and what the commercial tools offer on top, plus tools you can use for Wi-Fi site surveys that don’t need expensive hardware analyzers. We also talk to network specialists D-LINK about how they work with partners – and rely on the channel.

For all the software that isn’t cloud, we also have some cautionary tales about the complexity of licencing; this is still a minefield surrounded by ?a moat with a tripwire around that and I don’t understand why software companies make it so complicated and so confusing for customers when ?it’s how they actually make their money. Take the plethora of options for Microsoft licences; should you take your customers down the Software Assurance route? Probably, but Microsoft should make it a lot easier to do that calculation.

Some things Microsoft has just made easier for small businesses; they no longer have to buy Office with ?a volume licence to get Business Contact Manager – just the Small Business, Profes-sional or Ultimate versions of Office or a standalone version of Outlook. Don’t look at this as losing your margin; it’s an opportunity to start a conversation about how IT can support sales and customer satisfaction for your customers. It’s the same story with Microsoft changing licencing so that small businesses can legally use Security Essentials. At the very least you can make your customers much happier with the performance of their PCs by switching them from security software that slows down older machines, and you can make your life easier by getting them to run the same security software on all their machines. If they like it, you’ve got an opportunity to upsell them to Forefront Endpoint when that comes along, or to the added features in InTune. More than ever, succeeding with small businesses is less about simply selling them products and all about offering them services and solutions that make them more productive and more competitive. Think of security as a lot more than firewalls and you'll find plenty of opportunities there.

Mary Branscombe
Executive Editor