I t’s one of those little secrets that · 2016-09-07 · I t’s one of those little secrets that...

TECHNOLOGY TIMESJune 2016 www.aztechworks.com

June 2016Whats New

Obviously, burying your head in the sand won’t make the problem go away. Here’swhat you can do to not only take control of the situation, but actually use it to drive inno-vation and agility at your company.

Unfortunately, that tends to slow things down, sti� ing productivity and innovation.

is monthly publication provided courtesy of David Carattini, President/CEO of Arizona Tech Works.

minded entrepreneurs that inspires excellence, encourages collaboration and expands the capacity of all members to achieve great things.

I t’s one of those little secrets thatnobody wants to talk about...

was using it. He said, “We reached a point of no return and paying for it was pretty much our only option.”

When users on your network adopt apps and devices outside your control, protocols aren’t followed, systems aren’t patched, devices get infected without people knowing it, and data breaches happen. As a result, con� dential information can be exposed, accounts taken over, websites defaced, goods and services stolen, and precious time and money lost.

Not only that, you end up with soiled infor-mation in unknown places, data compliance issues, and missed opportunities for bulk pricing.

e obvious solution would be to crack down and forbid use of all but company-approved devices and apps.

e term “Shadow IT” refers to apps and devices used at work that operate outside your company’s sanctioned policies and protocols.

Shadow IT takes many forms, like conver-sations on Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Gmail or Skype. It can include so ware from Excel macros to cloud-based data storage apps such as Dropbox, Google Docs and Ever note. Or collaboration spac-es like Slack, Asana and Wrike. And then there are devices: USB sticks, smartphones, tablets and laptops within your network that you have no control over.

Robert J. Moore, CEO of RJ Metrics, re-lates how companies like Slack and Drop-box cra their pricing models to encourage rapid proliferation. One day, a few of his engineers were using Slack, then all the en-gineers, then the whole rest of the company

e hidden dangersof shadow IT

Bringing your shadow IT out into the light

continued on pg2

Announcing...

Our Mission: To builda community of successful

“Insider Tips To Make Your Business Run Faster, Easier, And More Pro� tably”

Can You Hear Me Now? As we’ve met with our clients over the past several months, we heard more and more concerns about costly phone bills and aging phone systems. We’ve been testing a cutting edge solution over the past year and have found one that meets our extremely high standards. We are rolling this out to a few clients each month, and they have seen an average of a 40% cost savings on their monthly phone bill. If you want to be one of the � rst to experience this savings, call quality, and ability to use cutting edge features, just give us a call.

It’s no longer feasible to simply ban cer-tain apps. If you don’t give employees the so ware they prefer, they will start using their own. ey can easily access a vast and growing variety of apps, all without your help – or control.

Develop a fullytested plan

Cut loose the“control” mentality

Recognize the delicate balance between risk and

performance

Foster opencommunication

Finding theright balance

Even if it’s only 70% complete, a tested plan will be far more useful when the need inevitably arises than a 100% com-plete plan that’s not fully tested. Most managers underestimate the confusion that occurs in the � rst few days following a breach.

Unfortunately, that confusion can create a defensive rather than constructive at-mosphere centered on discovering how, when, and where the breach occurred. A comprehensive incident response plan can go a long way toward achieving a speedy resolution, and keep an otherwise manageable event from turning into a full-blown business crisis. Security Assessment

Arizona Tech Works can help you with a security assessment. Our propri-etary Security Assessment helps you take the friction out of data protection.

Contact us today at 623-444-2395 to take advantage of this o er (normally $297), FREE through the end of July, and put an end to Shadow IT in your organization � nally and forever.

1) The only way to know for SURE your data can be recovered if lost, corrupted or deleted—yet fewer than 10% of businesses have this in place. 2) 7 critical characteristics you should absolutely demand from any of-site backup service. 3) Where many backups fail and give you a false sense of security. 4) The #1 cause of data loss that businesses don’t even think about until their data is erased

Free Report DownloadWhat Every Small Business Owner Must Know About Protecting And

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Evaluate risk on a case-by-case basis. en take control of high-risk situa-tions and keep an eye on the rest.

Get employees involved in creating intuitive policies. You can turn them from your greatest risk to your greatest asset by levering their input and ownership of protective protocols. is helps everyone maintain security while keeping practical needs for performance in mind.

Focusing only on security and asset pro-tection can drag down business perfor-mance quickly. However, balancing risk with performance enables you to max-imize your return from investments in detection and response. It also helps you become more adept at adjusting as the se-curity landscape changes. By developing your organization’s ability to recognize threats and respond e ectively to inci-dents, you can actually take risks more con� dently and drive business perfor-mance to a higher level.

Claim Your FREE Copy Today at http://www.aztechworks.com/bdr

You Will Learn:

“Take control ofhigh-risk situations

and keep an eyeon the rest.”

June 2016 www.aztechworks.com

What If Your Smartphone Had

Wings

Video streaming from the air is about to get a whole lot more a ordable. It just so happens that the brains, gyroscope, GPS and camera aboard all those new drone cameras you may have seen can also be found in your smart-phone… Slip your smartphone into a PhoneDrone Ethos, and you have your own � ying camera at a fraction of the cost of a fully equipped camera drone. Worried about your smartphone taking a hit in the event of a crash landing? For about $50 you can buy a cheap smartphone with all you need to � y the Ethos. Built-in mirrors enable you to shoot down, forward or to the side. You can preprogram it, or � y it manually from the ground. You can even control it with an Apple Watch. It’s scheduled to start shipping in September 2016, and “early-bird” discounts may be available at xcra .io/phone-drone.

Nancy McCord, chief talent o cer at Net� ix said, “ e best thing you can do for employees – a perk better than foos-ball or free sushi – is hire only ‘A’ players to work alongside them.”

Top talent likes to work with other top talent. Create a culture where team mem-bers challenge each other, learn together and propel the company forward. If your top talent is too busy managing disen-gaged, subpar workers, the work will get old very quickly. No one wants to go to work and babysit fellow team members.

To create a team of top-tier talent, focus your energy on engaging current mem-bers and improving the hiring process. Create a company scorecard for job can-didates. Outline the type of person who excels in the position and the character traits they must possess. If an applicant doesn’t meet the criteria, politely decline to pursue them further.

Your cash conversion cycle (CCC), or the amount of ime it takes for a dollar spent to make its way back into your bank account, is one of the most import-ant metrics to watch while scaling your business up. Growth requires money, and the faster you scale up, the more money you need. Learn how cash fows through your organizaion.

Scaling up is possible, but it takes focus and dedicaion to these three areas. Ev-ery industry-leading company started somewhere, and there’s no reason why your organization can’t be next.

ShinyNew Gadget

Of e Month


Building A Great Team

Improving YourCash Flow

Separating Yourself From e Start-up PackMany of America’s favorite companies began as a small start-up.

Ben & Jerry’s sold ice cream out of an old gas staion when they � rst opened in 1979. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in his college dorm room. Starbucks started with just one location in Seattle, Wash-ington.

e ability to scale up is a de� ning trait among businesses that want to move ahead of the start-up pack. To do that, companies must learn how to lose the start-up mentality and focus on a few key areas.

Your company’s strategy is the roadmap that tells you how to get from where you are to where you want to be. It’s the de� ned path that your start-up will take in order to grow and become a leader in your industry. You should live, breathe and make decisions based on this strategy.

is requires more than just vague goal-Setting. What matters most to your or-ganization? What’s your mission? All of these should be taken into consideration before you pick a strategy. Once this strategy is established, your senior lead-ership should meet weekly to discuss it’s progress.

Include your entire team in the of the strategy and educate them on the “why” behind it. Each employee should have a solid knowledge of the company val-ues, foundation and proposed direction of the company. is transparency will also aid in retaining the top talent you worked hard to recruit.

Choosing eRight Strategy

Andy Bailey can cut through organizational BS faster than a hot knife through butter, showing organizations the logjams thwarting their success and coaching them past the excuses. A er all, as he tells his clients, 100% annual growth is only 2% growth every week. It’s not easy. But possible. Andy learned how to build great organizations by building a great business, which he started in college then, grew into an Inc. 500 multi-million dollar national company that he successfully sold and exited. He founded Petra to pass on to other entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders the principles and practices he used to build his successful enterprise, which are rooted in the Rockefeller Habits methodology.


Social media apps, Bu er and Hoot-suite, both aim to help you achieve more impact in less time. So which one is right for you? While Hootsuite o ers a full-featured social media dashboard, Bu er focuses simply on prescheduling your content. When it comes to managing posts and track-ing which ones perform best, Hootsuite is the way to go. Yet Bu er gives you more timing � exibility by allowing you to pick when your posts get published, regardless of when you add them to the queue. Choose either of these apps based on your posting and tracking needs – and considerusing them both.

And its Clipper extension makes it easy to save web pages from Android or iOS directly into Evernote. So which app is best for you? If you just want to make quick notes on the go and share them easily, go with Google Keep. Plus, it’s free. If you want a deep database of notes, lists and web con-tent with lots of features, even if you have to pay for it, go with Evernote.

e Facebook Ad platform can work wonders when you apply these princi-ples: 1) Have a strategy. Don’t make the mistake of diving in without knowing how the money you put in will actu-ally pay o . 2) Remember “T-O-M”: TARGET the right audience with a great OFFER wrapped in a compel-ling MESSAGE. 3) Write great copy. Start with an engaging headline, keep your text simple and straight to the point. Make it easy to grasp and end with a clear call to action. Facebook ads give you access to the world’s larg-est audience – over 1.5 billion at last count… And one good ad could make a world of di erence for yourbusiness.

In e Matrix, Neo opens his eyes a er being programmed and tells Morpheus, “I know kung fu.” According to futurist and world-renowned inventor Ray Kurzweil, conversations like that will actually take place within the next 20 years. By implanting blood-cell-sized, cloud-connected nano-robots into the brain, humans will be able to literally download any skill set or body of knowledge from the cloud. Sound far-fetched? Scientists are already helping Parkinson’s patients, using a pea-sized implant connected wirelessly to an outside computer. And Kurzweil has a 30-year track record of accurate predictions – including a little thing we now know as the World Wide Web.

Keeping in touch with new and cur-rent customers via social media can suck up your time. Google Keep runs faster with a cleaner

mobile interface than Evernote. It also wins on consistent quality of search across devices. Where Evernote shines is in its ecosystem of third-party inte-grations that add cool features.


Hootsuite, Bu er…or both?

Which app best helps you take notes on the go –

Google Keep orEvernote?

Facebook wants to help you blow up your

business

Imagine just taking a pill to acquire a whole new

skill set

-Inc.com -MarketingLand.com

-Forbes

-CIO


e Grand Prize Winner of last month’s Trivia Challenge Quiz is Dr. Alvin Matthews of Alvin C. Matthews, DDS, PC. He was the � rst person to correctly

answer my quiz question from last month: How many dimples are there on a regular golf ball? a) 336 b) 294 c) 418 d) 377

e correct answer was: a) 336.

Amazon was not the name Je Bezos originallyselected for his Internet start-up company in 1995.

What name was his � rst pick? a) Kagera b) Bookmeister c) Juggernaut d) Cadabra

Call us right now with your answer! 623-444-2395

Now, here’s this month’s trivia question. e winner will receive a gi card to Amazon.com


Do I Really Need Anti-malware For My Mac?

One comment I got so o en is that Macs are virus-free or Macs don’t have the same security issues as PCs. Many think Macs are impervious to malware, so you needn’t worry about cybersecurity solutions. An-tivirus and anti-malware protection is for the PCs.

Out of the gate I can tell you that it’s true, Macs don’t have the same problem with malware as PCs do. One of the main rea-sons: sheer numbers. Cybercriminals look at the market and see that the vast majori-ty of folks are on PCs, so they concentrate their e orts on creating malware that will result in the largest return on investment.

But the tide is turning. Macs are now re-sponsible for 7.5 percent of global person-al computer sales. In the U.S., Apple is one of the top three PC vendors, just behind HP and Dell. And as creative departments grow in corporate environments (from design and content to programming and testing), more and more businesses are adding larger numbers of Macs to their environments.

e popularity of Macs leads to more cy-bercriminals wanting to write malicious code for OS X. Although still much lower than PCs, the number of threats targeting Apple operating systems has grown steadi-ly, with a spike in Mac infections observed over the last 18 months. A recent study by Bit9 + Carbon Black found that the num-ber of Mac OS X malware samples detect-ed in 2015 was � ve times greater than in the previous � ve years combined.

the machine detects a malicious program, it gets added to the signature database. From that point on, that piece of malware can’t be opened on any Mac, unless the user has explicitly disabled security up-dates. But clearly some malware is getting through.

Which forms? e worst o ender is ad-ware. “ ere are many di erent adware programs infecting the Mac right now, and they’re in a constant state of � ux,” says omas Reed, Director of Mac Of-ferings at Malwarebytes. “Adware-riddled installers are everywhere, and it’s becom-ing harder and harder to tell where a safe place is to download so ware.” Other forms of malware have given Apple the slip, including Potentially Unwanted Pro-grams (PUPs), Info stealers, Trojans, and even ransomware (KeRanger). While these forms of malware are less prevalent, they can still be quite dangerous. KeRang-er was downloaded by around 6,500 peo-ple within the 12-hour period that it was available. Some of those users had their data completely destroyed.

sites are guilty of bundling adware. For example, the popular Filezilla FTP client installs adware even when downloaded directly from the o cial site, and the free version of Avast had (and may still have) an ad-injecting feature in its browserextension.

e main way that adware and malware is getting through on Mac these days is through codesigned apps, using a certi� cate obtained from Apple. e certi� cate is either stolen or bought and simply treated as disposable, since it costs only $99. Apple can revoke these certi� cates if they see them being abused, and they do so quickly when they � nd a new signed malware. However, Apple doesn’t take a particularly hard stand against most ad-ware, which can persist for a long time with the same certi� cate.

In addition, video and audio streaming sites and piracy sites o en dole out adware. So -ware download sites distribute installers containing adware that has been added without the permission of the developers. Worse, even some developers’ own

Adware is a serious hassle. Injected ads are intrusive and can contain o ensive con-tent. ey can also slow down your com-puter’s performance and result in browser destabilization. Malicious ads can even direct you to tech support scams where you can be scammed out of your money or into installing other harmful so ware.

But that’s not all, Bob! What else have you won? Info stealers can, obviously, steal your info. And in the case of ransomware, data can be totally destroyed with no shot of getting it back.

Myth: Macs are impervious to malware. Fact: Macs, while less vulnerable than PCs, are assailable. eir security can be penetrated, especially by cybercriminals looking to deliver adware. So do you real-ly need a security solution for your Mac? “ Although the primary threat right now is adware, it’s still a problem of epidemic proportions,” says Reed. “ Even knowl-edgeable Mac users have been known to fall victim to some kind of adware, so it’s no longer true that you can avoid threats by simply being careful what you download.” With increases in Mac popularity making OS X more appealing for crooks, plus the already considerable onslaught of adware, it makes sense to install an anti-malware program for your Mac. It should catch what OS X misses and restore your Mac’s perfor-mance to the high caliber you expect.

Growing trend

Forms of malwareon Macs

What happens to your Mac a er an infection?

How are they getting through?

Final verdict

Article by - Wendy Zamoraand David Carattini


Apple security is fairly tight—OS X has a basic built-in anti-malware feature, and if

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Contact us anytime for all of your IT needs!3060 N. Litch� eld Rd., Suite 120 Goodyear, AZ 85395

I was excited to meet a hero of mine, Dr. Buzz Aldrin, at a recent Mastermind CEO conference in Nashville, Tennessee. When I told my younger friends (20 somethings) that I had met a hero of mine they said, “ at’s cool! Now who is Buzz Aldrin?” I was a little shocked that many people did not know who Buzz was or why he was fa-mous. So for those of you who do not know who this man is, he was the 2nd person on the moon a er Neil Armstrong in 1969. I did not even had my � rst birthday when this happened.

I thought about that and pondered it ever since the conference. I asked myself things like what kind of team am I building for my business? Can we accomplish the impossible?

Based on my answers to myself, I made a commitment to further focus on the culture I am building with my team. I ask you to think about the culture you are building. Does your team cultivate raving fans that say, “Can you believe what XYZ Company did for me? You have to try these guys out!”

When Buzz addressed the audience he men-tioned two things that really stuck with me. One, I’ll focus on. He said that with team-work, you can accomplish the impossible.

What I Learned FromBuzz Aldrin


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I t’s one of those little secrets that · 2016-09-07 · I t’s one of those little secrets that...

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