Have you ever found yourself going through computer specs or advertisements scratching your head over all the different terms used for storage and memory? For example, individual files are listed in megabytes, memory in gigabytes, and storage in gigabytes or terabytes. This article will give some history of the terms and also explain the differences between them.

To explain, remember that the decimal system is based on a 10-digit system of numbers between 0 and 9. All numbers can be expressed using this system. Conversely, in relation to technology, computers communicate based on the two-digit binary system. According to www.websters.com, binary is defined as “Anything composed of two parts. In modern computers, information is stored in banks of components that act like switches. Since switches can be either on or off, they have a binary character, and we say that the computer uses “binary arithmetic” to do its work.”

Here, the binary system only has two digits, either 0 or 1 (on or off / yes or no). Bit is derived from the words Binary digIT. Specifically, each 0 or 1 in binary equals one bit. Comparatively, a byte is normally made up of 8 individual bits. Why 8 bits? The same question could be asked why eggs come in a carton of 12, hot dogs in a pack of 10, and hot dog buns come in a pack of 8. Actually, 8 bits came about because early computers could only send 8 bits at a time. According to Wikipedia.org, “Historically, byte size was determined by the number of bits required to represent a single character from a Western character set.”

To compare both the decimal and binary systems side by side, look at the chart below displaying the numbers 0 to 10:

If it sounds confusing, don’t feel alone. Computer manufacturers add to this confusion by sometimes using the decimal system while at other times using the binary system. For example, hard drives or USB flash drives are normally labeled in the 10-digit decimal system, while memory (RAM) is labeled using the 8 bits = 1 byte binary system.

Therefore, the bottom line is that bits (in binary) are based on powers of 2, while bytes (in decimal) are based on powers of 10. Since computers store such large amounts of data, other names come into play when describing memory and storage, especially with today’s ever increasing capacities. For instance, terms such as megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte are now commonly used.

With all the terms currently being used, a common question is…..which is larger, a megabyte, a gigabyte, or a terabyte? The three most common terms used today are mega, giga, and terabyte. Of those, terabyte is largest. Just remember that every step up to the next level is 1,000 times larger than the previous level. With that, a gigabyte is 1,000 times larger than a megabyte and a terabyte is again 1,000 times larger than a gigabyte. The chart I produced below demonstrates this:

I could go on and on about the differences in bits, bytes, binary and decimal. However, here are some data sizes in more practical terms. For example, an mp3 music file is about 3,500 bytes, or 3.5MB (megabytes). An average digital photo ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 bytes or 3 to 5MB, depending on the photo quality and megapixels of the camera.  Speaking of megapixels, mega denotes a camera is x number of millions of pixels.

The chart below shows more practical applications of data size. It can also be viewed at www.searchstorage.com:

If you would like to view other types of data ‘facts’ in real world terms, please visit www.wikipedia.org. To demonstrate how vast some of the data are; I’ve pasted more storage facts below:

• LaCie released the world’s first 1 TB external hard drive in early 2004.
• Hitachi introduced the world’s first one terabyte internal hard drive in 2007.
• Ancestry.com claims approximately 600 terabytes of genealogical data with the inclusion of US Census data from 1790 to 1930.
• Facebook has just over 1 petabyte of users’ photos stored, translating into roughly 10 billion photos.
• Google processes about 20 petabytes of data per day.

With ever increasing volumes of data, the terms used for memory and storage will keep changing. Soon, the most common terms will move from giga and terabyte to peta and exabyte. If anyone would like more information, please feel free to contact me at kparrett@hotmail.com.

• 1914 – Rocket experiments began, which eventually allowed a group of courageous men to lead the exploration of space, then in 1969, step onto the surface of the moon.
• 1922 – provided the world to come to life in color movies, closely followed by the
• 1924 – introduction of the television…which today is a household staple – the larger, the better!
• 1928 – welcomed the life-saving technological discovery of penicillin.
• 1946 – brought us ENIAC – also known as the first computer. Who would have considered that in just 50 short years, we’d see computers small enough to also double or triple as a phone?
• 1972 – computers entered the home and provided entertainment with the ever popular “Pong” – does anyone else remember that little ditty? My, “Wii™” have come a long way, baby!
• 1973 – GPS was invented by DOD and is now not uncommon to find as a palm-sized version in many cars. We also saw the slow take-off of the “mobile phone” – I think I still have one of those HUGE phones in my basement.
• 1981 – the personal computer entered the scene.
• 1983 – Windows 1.0 – How many of you remember DOS?
• 1989 – the world exploded with the World Wide Web. It’s difficult to remember just 17 years ago when I had to go to the library for research!
• 2001 – AbioCor artificial heart allowed folks to continue living and the iPod gave them music anywhere to enjoy life.
• 2005 – YouTube online videos began changing the marketing, training, and understanding of our culture.

This short list only focuses on the technological advances in the last 100 years and doesn’t even begin to explore the cultural, social, and business changes. With all of these technological advances…how do they affect YOUR leadership? I will challenge you that as technology have increased over the years, effective leadership may have decreased. Don’t stop reading yet!

With cell phones, laptops, instant messages [IM], LinkedIn, e-mails, webinars, and teleconferences, we are becoming a society who relies more heavily on technology than the personal contact. The “front porch” argument will not come into play this time. I maintain my soapbox stand that effective leadership IS effective because you, the leader, take the time to communicate with, work through, and develop those you lead. Is it possible to learn a specific skill or tool through an on-line course? Absolutely! Will that method be as effective, lasting, and life-changing as if an individual would take time from the precious 24-hours God gives us each day to talk with, get to know, and coach another person? My opinion…no way! Technology has a place and that place can be very effective.

Technology… the double-edge leadership sword. So, how do you balance the wonderful tools of technology with the personal side of leadership? Use technology for what they are…tools. What are some ways technology can help you in your leadership?

1. Use IM to check in with your team and see how they are progressing on a project the two of you had discussed.
2. Use e-mail as a way to send some helpful information or as a good resource for developing a specific area; then, follow-up this topic over coffee.
3. Call their cell phone to schedule coffee or lunch where you can talk one-on-one.
4. Check out their LinkedIn account and submit a recommendation on their behalf.
5. When you are out of town, consider a teleconference with a group of your team for a brainstorming session.

There are certainly many reasons and benefits that swing in favor of keeping our technologically-advanced world and not returning to the days of carrier pigeons and smoke signals. Yesterday, my cell service was out…I found myself having withdrawals and an increased anxiety level with “what if” scenarios. You know, I got a bit more exercise yesterday, having to get up, walk over to talk to someone face-to-face…and the added benefit…I had a few more laughs, so I’ll live a couple of extra hours.

This month, I challenge you again:

1. Find at least one way each week that you can utilize a technology tool as a springboard to a personal one-on-one leadership coaching or development opportunity with your team member. The rewards will pay off in the end.
2. Intentionally plan to meet with each of your team members – in person – at least once during this next month. Do you have too many…select 4 or 5 that you feel are most pliable and on the path for leadership in your company.
3. Do you want to discover what areas your employees want to focus for their goals? Have them take a free goals report. [Visit our website: www.InspiredToLead.com]

To prove this, during 2008, laptops surpassed towers in sales for the first time. Not only that, tower shipments actually fell during the same period. According to iSuppli.com (same information reported in Business Week and through ZD Net Asia), this was a ‘watershed event in the history of the industry’:

“Global notebook PC shipments exceeded those of desktops on a quarterly basis for the first time ever in the third quarter, marking a watershed event in the history of the industry.

Notebook PC shipments rose almost 40 percent in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same period of 2007 to reach 38.6 million units. Conversely, desktop PC shipments declined by 1.3 percent for the same period to 38.5 million units.”

With laptop prices dropping, they are now targeted to many more marketing segments. As iSuppli.com also reports, “This marks a major event in the PC market because it marks the start of the age of the notebook. The notebook PC is no longer a tool only for the business market, or a computer for the well-off consumer; it’s now a computer for (all).”

Search online to view current prices of notebook computers. You’ll notice prices are much lower than a few years ago and even lower than last year. A notebook that used to cost consumers around $1,500 or more can now be purchased for less than $1,000. In many cases, laptops with good specs with ample computing power and speed can be purchased for $500 or less. Moreover, I have seen many ads with basic laptop specs in the $300 to $400 range.

Two primary factors have led to this shift. First, with dramatic reductions in the cost of manufacturing notebooks, firms have passed these savings and features along to consumers. Second, the notebook market is highly competitive which is also driving prices lower. This is more evident if you look at Sony’s notebook market share. With Sony selling its units at a higher price point, the company has seen its market share DECREASE.

So, which companies sell the most laptops? According to a Business Week article dated December 24, 2008 by Vivian Yeo, and through NotebookReview.com, the top notebook sellers and market shares through 2008 are listed below:

Notebook Manufacturer Market Share

1. Hewlett Packard (HP) 18.8%
2. Dell 13.9%
3. Acer 12.4%
4. Lenovo 7.5%
5. Toshiba 4.6%
6. ASUS 4.2%
7. Apple 3.2%

Hewlett Packard has maintained its lead, with Acer experiencing the fastest growth. Conversely, Toshiba’s share has slipped. Although not listed above, Sony computers fell from #6 previously to #9 in 2008. Many analysts attribute that decline to Acer and Lenovo gains. Additionally, Sony prices are more expensive, and this along with the recent economic events has led more consumers to by-pass Sony for more price competitive manufacturers.

With lower prices and portability still the greatest selling point for notebooks, the positive sales trend is expected to continue. Although the US economy may see sales stall a bit early on in 2009, notebook sales should regain strength in the latter half of this year.

So, are you currently a laptop/notebook owner? If not, now may be the best time to purchase one. Manufacturers are in a race for market share. Plus, with the US economy in decline, incentives to sell more computers are in full gear. If you would like a list of standard notebook specs to look for when purchasing, please feel free to contact me at kparrett@hotmail.com.

Happy Computing!

Technology is profoundly changing higher education. Specifically, advances in technology have allowed learning to move from inside the classroom to anywhere on planet earth, as long as there is a computer and an Internet connection. Any learning outside of the traditional college campus is called distance learning. Most of that distance learning is through online classes. Perform a quick search online and you will find growth rates in the number of students taking online classes in the 30-50% range just over the last year.

I’ve taken and taught classes online and this method of delivery does put more of the learning emphasis on the student. So, if a student is not motivated or self-disciplined, online learning may not be a good choice. In most cases, online teaching is just as effective as the traditional setting.

From the student standpoint, material and assignments are known each week. The difference here is that students have more control of when and where to complete read the material. A more recent development is with high schools nationwide. School districts are beginning to require that students take online courses while in high school in order to graduate. According to http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/37065219.html, 11 districts in Michigan now make online classes mandatory, simply to graduate high school. Moreover, in Alabama, students must begin taking online courses to graduate. See that story at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20081116/ARTICLES/811160343/0/SPORTS50.

From the professor standpoint, although initial course creation is time-consuming, those same courses already created can be re-used for later semesters. Professors also more quickly know the standing of students. Here, software calculates grades, along with letting me know who is and who is NOT participating in the course, and can even alert professors when a student may be going down the wrong path in the course.

If you wondered how the online learning process works, here it is in a nutshell. Colleges provide a secure website for students to log into. For example, KCTCS uses www.elearning.kctcs.edu; Ivy Tech uses www.dl.ivytech.edu. After going to the website provided by the college, students simply log in using their already existing student id and password accounts. Once logged in, the classes they are enrolled in appear on the screen. From there, students click the link for each class. Material is posted online and students submit assignments and take exams online. Then, the professor grades and adds comments online as well. As students today are so familiar with technology, they adapt to and prefer this new method of instruction.

In most cases, paper is not exchanged back and forth between the student and professor. This is another plus I see to online or distance learning – it’s more ‘green’ due to less paper use. More textbook publishers are also giving students the option to purchase electronic textbook copies at reduced rates as compared to paper copies.

With budget cuts and increased expenses, most colleges are quickly moving to online classes to reduce overall costs. Look at it this way; if more students take online courses, fewer students will be on campus, reducing the need for facilities, staff, parking, utilities, and so forth.

What does the future hold? The percentage of students taking online classes will eventually surpass that of students on campus. Moreover, I believe that local school districts in the K-12 range will begin to adopt a 4 day (or shorter) school week and use technology to make up the difference. Can you imagine the savings if Jefferson County Public Schools only had to transport students four days per week instead of five?

For more information, please contact me at kparrett0003@kctcs.edu or kparrett@hotmail.com.

Most of us cannot believe how fast technology has advanced just in the last decade. Ten years ago we were still using something called film in cameras. Now, adults and children alike take thousands of digital photos without ever buying a roll of film. Look at how digital technology changed the photo industry. The largest film company in America, Kodak, did not adapt quickly enough to this dramatic shift in photography. Since the firm waited too long before jumping into the digital age, it still pays for that costly mistake today as other companies have taken away its market share.

Moreover, just 10 years ago, music was on something called a compact disc. During the time of the CD, we were all amazed at the quality and ease of playing and finding the tracks on the disc. Although still used somewhat today, even CD’s are going to the wayside only holding 15-20 full songs. Music is now stored and played in the hundreds and thousands on devices such as iPods and mp3 players. Personally, one of the best gifts I’ve ever received was my 80GB iPod. I have over 5,000 songs and 3,000 digital pictures on a device about the same size as HALF a deck of cards. Even with that many files on my iPod, I’m only using 35% of its storage capacity.

Although DVDs are still popular, the next big move is to Blu-Ray. If you haven’t yet heard of Blu-Ray, www.blu-ray.com/info/ defines the format as:

“the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world’s leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers.”

What makes it far superior to current DVD’s? First, Blu-Ray is in HD or High Definition. Moreover, a typical DVD holds only 4GB single layer/8GB dual layer, while Blu-Ray holds an astonishing 25GB single layer and 50GB dual layer, or 6 times that of DVDs. Not to be outdone by those increases in storage capacity, the same site also speaks of Pioneer creating a Blu-Ray with 20 layers and up to 500GB of storage capacity. This is approximately 100 times what current single layer DVD’s can store. More amazingly, all of this has occurred just in the last few years.

Also, 10 short years ago, most of us didn’t know about satellite radio. Today, we can access over 100 stations, most commercial free, expanding our options from traditional radio. Online sites, such as www.pandora.com, allow users to create their own personalized station that will only play music they like. This is done by the user clicking musical formats of interest, then as the station plays, the user can give thumbs up or thumbs down to any song. The site then remembers these tastes and continually adjusts and personalizes the station. For example, you can choose country, rock, pop, Christian, R&B or a mix of any of the above to play on your station. Within your station, you can customize what groups or types of songs will play. Go online and give this site a try: www.pandora.com.

So, has technology advanced at the same pace or more rapidly over the past few years? The question is debatable, yet researching what is called Moore’s Law will shed some light on the subject. According to a multitude of websites, including Wikipedia, Moore’s law is defined as:

..a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware. Since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has increased exponentially, doubling approximately every two years. The trend was first observed by Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore in a 1965 paper. It has continued for almost half of a century and is not expected to stop for another decade, at least and perhaps much longer.

Almost every measure of the capabilities of digital electronic devices is linked to Moore’s law: processing speed, memory capacity, even the number and size of pixels in digital cameras. All of these are improving at (roughly) exponential rates as well. This has dramatically increased the usefulness of digital electronics in nearly every segment of the world economy. Moore’s law describes this driving force of technological and social change in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Therefore, in a nutshell, Moore’s Law states that computer technology doubles every 24 months. Some more recent studies suggest the average time technology doubles has decreased from 24 months to 18 months. The most recent technological developments follow this law.

Another advance in technology is touch. Many cell phones now offer touch screens and have very few buttons. The Apple iPhone and Samsung Instinct are two great examples of this technology. Users are able to be more ‘attached’ to the phone, if you will. Consumers can use stylus pens or fingers to activate features on the phone.

In personal computing, surface computing was unveiled in 2007 by Microsoft. Surface computing allows the user to become the input mechanism for the computer instead of the traditional input devices such as mice and keyboards. For a great demonstration, go to Microsoft’s website and view the video at http://www.microsoft.com/surface/index.html or visit YouTube and type surface computing for a wide selection of videos.

Most of you have already seen surface computing in action, but perhaps not realized it. During the most recent election, most networks used this type of technology when analyzing voting trends and statistics by state and county. Most newscasts, especially at the national level, use these as well. If you’ve watched the weather, you’ll see the meteorologist interact more with the screen behind them to zoom in or out of various maps. If you watch Extra, hosted by Mario Lopez, he too uses this type of technology when interacting directly with the video screens around him on the show. These are just a few examples of how surface or touch computing is used. This technology has so much in store that I will write a future article just on it alone.

What will the future hold? Even more of the same with big leaps in technology continuing!

With this month’s issue centered around Marketing & Branding, this article will show business owners the reality of a data or security breach occurrence. We all know the saying it takes a lifetime to build a reputation, yet that same reputation can be lost in just a matter of a few minutes. Successful firms perpetually try to build a good image or brand. That good image means firms attempt to avoid negative publicity at all costs, especially negative publicity with a business allowing others to steal private information of its clients.

In order to compete and survive in today’s business environment, firms must provide superior customer service. One part of superior customer service, is protecting client data. Since your clients entrust you with so much private information, this is critical.

A survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association reports that “the severity level of information security breaches experienced by organizations has shown a marked increase over the past year.” This can be viewed at www.allbusiness.com; once at the site, perform a search on Tech Security Breaches. This report contains the following consequences of a breach and its effects on a firm:

· Employee Productivity Impacted: 35%

· Network Downtime: 21%

· Revenue Generating Activities: 20%

· Physical Assets Impacted: 17%

· Legal Fees/Fines: 8%

From the above results, one can see that many areas of a business are impacted from a breach and the affect is not just limited to information technology (IT). Furthermore, not only are your clients affected, but also that of your business activities and profits as well. Imagine the additional time associated with clients contacting your business to verify that their data is still safe and secure. A data breach may also lead to clients taking their business and ‘data’ to a competitor.

An article published in Information Week magazine from 2007 states, “Security Breaches Cost $90 to $305 Per Lost Record.” This range is wide because some costs were very difficult to determine. In this article, Forrester Research sampled nearly 30 companies that had some form of data breach to arrive at this cost per lost record.

A senior analyst in the report, Khalid Kark states, “Although studies may not be able to determine the exact cost of a security breach in your organization, the loss of sensitive data can have a crippling impact on an organization’s bottom line, especially if it’s ill-equipped, and it’s important to be able to make an educated estimate of its cost.”

With data breaches occurring more frequently, this study attempts to shed light on the impact on expenses and the negative publicity associated with such a breach. Obvious costs are legal fees. From the article, Khalid Kark also notes that items such as “discovery, response, and notification costs can be substantial.” He “averaged (this alone) to be about $50 per lost record.”

As breaches occur more often, the public eye is focused even more on the items related to such an event. What firm wants the negative attention associated with such a breach? Moreover, there may be additional regulatory fines assessed to a business if such a breach occurs. With all the added public attention to breaches, more firms should take preventive steps to minimize the impact of any such breach.

If still unsure that a breach would really be that costly, all one has to do is look at the TJ Maxx (TJX) data breach. According to Peter Schooff of www.ebizq.net, “IPLocks, a compliance and database security company, has estimated that the cost to TJX Companies, Inc., which owns TJ Maxx, will be around $4.5 billion. This is based on a cost of $100 dollars per record, and costs are a total of fines, legal fees, notification, as well as permanent damage done to the brand.” Yes, you read that correctly, the estimated cost of the TJX data breach is around 4.5 billion, NOT million, dollars.

The same article states, “While $100 dollars per record runs pretty much average, others have said this amount is low. According to Information Week, The Ponemon Institute, a data protection think tank, believes the breach could reach somewhere in the range of $182 per record, which is based on the costs of 31 different incidents. For TJX, that would bring their ever-escalating fiasco to $8.6 billion.” Although this information is not meant to frighten, it does point out that data breaches could literally bring a firm to a screeching halt, trying to deal with the aftermath of such an event.

Most importantly, to ‘save face’ in the business world, if your firm ever experiences such a breach, a critical public relations move must be to notify ALL customers of the event, no matter how small. Many firms that experience a data breach simply do not act quickly enough. Instead, some look for more proof of a breach before acting upon it. Delays normally end up hurting them more than if admitted in the first place.

If you visit www.businesspundit.com, an article about notifying customers reports that “Telling the public that they’ve been breached is embarrassing for them, it makes them suffer from a loss of goodwill and in the case of public companies, the stock prices go down.” The article speaks of certain companies not wanting to admit a breach occurred, even when the Federal Government announced it.

As discussed in other earlier articles within Kentuckian Business Forum, first and foremost, verify that proper security procedures are in place with your business network so that data is protected. In summary, Information Week estimated a data breach costs between $90 to $305 per record, while IPLocks estimates it is between $100 and $180 per record. No matter which figure is used, just a few hundred or a few thousand records could negatively impact the future financial health of a business.

Therefore, any data leak, whether large or small, is counter-productive and will cost much more than any study can accurately estimate. With all other concerns facing small to medium-sized businesses in Kentuckiana, data breaches are yet another factor to consider in today’s digital world. Let’s all keep ‘branded’ images at high levels by protecting not only your business networks, but more importantly, protecting client data.

Think technology has advanced rapidly over the last decade? Answering yes would be an understatement. Technology is affecting all areas of small and medium-sized businesses, even with employee benefits and benefit administration. The bottom line is that using technology allows a business to administer benefits easier and more quickly to employees at a lower cost.

Throughout this article, I will include quotes from Kris Wood, director of Human Resources for Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC). This college is one of 16 campuses throughout the state of Kentucky and is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), which has more than 80,000 students attaining higher education. Kentuckiana Business Forum targets businesses up to 250 employees, which ECTC fits into. Kris’s comments apply to most, if not all, readers of this publication.

Today, many businesses give employees the ability to access employment-related data from the comfort of any PC connected to the Internet, whether at home, at work, or at a favorite coffee shop. Want to check how many hours you’ve worked, want to see how much leave time you have accumulated, want to check if a doctor is in your health provider network? All of this and much more can be accomplished using technology, inside or outside of the work environment. This technology has allowed employees to be more closely connected to the benefits given by their company than ever before. Kris Wood, HR director of ECTC, stated “Technology makes HR benefit administration more efficient, and employees like it because things are now available 24/7.”

Moreover, technology has affected and changed all players in the HR benefit arena. From the standpoint of the benefit agency providing the service, it’s in the firm’s best interest to keep up with the competition and to ensure that technology makes benefit administration easier and less expensive. For the provider, technology allows their service to be a simpler sell to businesses. From the small business standpoint, new technology will take many questions away from an already overburdened human resource department, in most cases. Here, employees can access much more common information on their own, without having to contact HR. Many businesses now provide online forms for employees, such as vacation or time off approval, time sheets, applications, and so forth. This very same technology is becoming a selling point for working at a particular company.

If your company hasn’t accepted new technology in benefit administration, it will soon have to. As Len Strazewski of The Rough Notes Company, Inc. states, “..now, COBRA and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) administration, consumer-directed health plans and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are among a growing number of services that require automated delivery and administration.” Therefore, with technology and benefits administration, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Also many companies and agencies are mandating direct deposit and other online/technology-based benefits and means of administration.

Kris Wood, HR director of ECTC, also stated in an interview that “At first, some employees are frightened about online benefit administration, yet once they try it out, most are very accepting of it.” With that, Kris also stated that after employees become familiar with using the technology, they will later express, “You mean I don’t have to come into your office for that now?”

From the simple to the complex, employees are beginning to expect this type of technology from their employers. For example, think of this situation and how small businesses using technology would assist employees: you’re out on a weekend and unexpectedly begin looking for a new car and find one that fits your need and price. The dealership needs a pay stub before the loan can be processed, yet no one is available in your human resource department. No need to fear, just connect to your employer benefit website, log in, and print your most recent or multiple pay stubs.

Moreover, if an employee wants to see the status of a medical claim, or wants to check the balance of their retirement plan, they can do that themselves with today’s technology. Direct benefit anytime access is a tremendous plus for employees. Finally, Kris Wood, HR director of ECTC, states that “Technology has allowed my office to provide better customer service to employees because of a reduction in paperwork.”

Don’t just think this current technology push related to HR benefit administration is associated with large companies. Many service providers cater to small companies with less than 50 employees. Business Week magazine is a testament to this trend. If you visit http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/servicecenter/humanresources.htm, the site offers many services to small businesses, including using technology in human resources. Here, small business owners can utilize tools for virtual HR, job descriptions, and so forth.

This new technology is also very prevalent if you search for HR service/benefit providers. At www.hr-guide.com, under benefits administration, most of the companies listed will mention technology in their description of services provided. When the word technology is not specifically mentioned, either efficiency or cost reduction using the technology is mentioned. Here are just a few from that site:

Ascentis Corporation – Connect, communicate, and control all aspects of HR with HROffice. HROffice eliminates the paper process and builds on the latest technologies from Microsoft for easy integration with those tools HR departments use on a day-to-day basis. Ascentis Corporation, creator of HROffice, is a pioneer in state-of-the-art human resources management systems (HRMS) for small to mid-sized organizations.

Benefits Concepts Inc. – In addition to industry leading technology, Benefit Concepts has a tremendous call center to handle employee inquiries, an administrative team that assists the client’s HR staff, premium accounting functionality, extraordinary on-line history of benefits, elections, communications, reports, and all electronic files.

Employease – Employease simplifies the administration and communication of employee and benefits information by delivering world-class technology without the pain of traditional client/server software.

Remember, like it or not, technology is prevalent and taking over in small to medium-sized business benefit administration.

Before diving into this subject, I’ll explain the difference between a threat and vulnerability. In my IT courses, I’ve used Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans as an example to demonstrate the difference. For decades, the threat to New Orleans was evident–that a major hurricane could come ashore, cause major damage, and ultimately flood the city. With New Orleans below sea level, this was an even greater threat.

Vulnerability, on the other hand, actually caused New Orleans to fall into chaos. Remember, it was the levee, not Katrina that ultimately led to dire situation in the city. In summary, the threat was the hurricane and the vulnerabilities were the broken levees.

Another great example is the Gold Bullion Depository located in Fort Knox, Kentucky. It is a heavily guarded facility with no public access. Armed guards with live ammunition are located on top of the building and on the grounds. Moreover, a heavily armored fence with barbed wire, electricity, and other deterrents encompass the building to keep threats away. All that protection, however, can be null and void by one vulnerability in that security system. That vulnerability could be an ill-trained security agent or a weak area of the fence surrounding the compound.

The same is true in small business. Threats are always present, yet vulnerabilities of small business networks are the real dangers. A small business owner may have the proper security on a computer network with firewalls, virus protection, and strict password requirements, yet vulnerabilities still exist.

Do you have strict password requirements? Moreover, can employees use similar passwords by changing just one character? I’ve visited several businesses where password requirements are very loose. Employees will openly say things such as “I just change the last digit to a different number”. When passwords are set with workers’ first or last names, pet names, children names, and so forth, it’s much easier for unauthorized users to gain access.

Strict password requirements, although more troublesome for employees, will remove some vulnerability from your computer network. In regards to the various universities for whom I teach, I quickly see the differences in those institutions that have secure password requirements and those who do not. For example, some mandate changes every 45 days and individuals are not allowed to use one of their previous 7 passwords. Others where I have taught have not prompted a password change in 6 months.

Another simple way to protect your network and information is to password protect any wireless networks. I test this frequently when making business visits. With my laptop, I attempt to locate and connect to open wireless networks in the area. More than 50% of those networks are not password protected and allow any user to gain access. An unauthorized user within range of an open wireless network can piggyback and obtain a free internet connection. Even worse, unauthorized users can gain access for malicious intent.

How can the small business owner protect a computer network and information? First, a risk assessment must be completed. Analyze the current network setup and how it is structured. What are the threats? What are the vulnerabilities? If you don’t think you’re network is at risk, think again. According to an FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey from 2005, 56% of all computer networks had unauthorized users. Read more about that story at: http://www.cpppe.umd.edu/Bookstore/Documents/2005CSISurvey.pdf.

Still don’t think your network is in danger? According to Small Business Network Security 101, “Perhaps the greatest threat to small business networks is the owner’s false sense of security and their lack of proficiency in protecting their networks. Very often, small business owners push network security issues down the priority list in favor of more pressing matters, and in many cases, network security is not a concern at all.”

Remember the different types of unauthorized users:

• Hacker – user with un-granted access on a network simply for the curiosity or challenge, with no intent to harm.
• Cracker – user with un-granted access on a network with malicious intent to steal, damage, or cause harm to the network.

As you can see, many people define hacker incorrectly. Hackers are normally just after the thrill of accessing a network. Conversely, it’s actually a “cracker” who is out to do harm. In class I normally get a few laughs when discussing the difference between the two. Even though most hackers do not intend to do harm or want to steal your data, it’s still a good policy to prevent ALL unauthorized access to a network paid to maintain and operate.

Once a risk assessment is complete, the small business owner can develop a strategy to protect its network and information. If an unauthorized user accesses your network and uses client data for identity theft, that’s an entirely different situation. In this case not only has the network been breached, but the lifeblood of your business (your customers) has also been jeopardized.

Due to the associated negative publicity in the past, many businesses have not prosecuted individuals who have gained access to or stolen data. After all, who wants their business to be associated with an unsecure network concerning client data? Moreover, if you outsource your network operation and security, verify with your vendor that steps have been taken to appropriately secure your network and to protect the data it contains.

An entire class could be taught just on securing a network; however, for a concise way to do this, read and verify that your small business network is secure by visiting www.computerworld.com.

(http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9003012&source=NLT_MW&nlid=43).