IT HANDBOOK. The Business Manager s. A guide to understanding the major components of Information Technology and how they impact your business

Transcription

1 The Business Manager s IT HANDBOOK A guide to understanding the major components of Information Technology and how they impact your business By Trevor Jones, Director of Marketing & Product Development, GWI

2 About the Author: Trevor Jones Trevor Jones is Director of Marketing and Product Development at GWI. A fifteen year veteran of the telecommunications industry, Trevor has worked in sales and marketing roles for cellular carriers, independent telephone companies, CLECs and interexchange carriers during his career. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine. Follow Trevor on Twitter 3

3 CONTENTS: Introduction: Why should a business manager understand IT? 5 Chapter 1: The Benefits of Speaking IT (When You re Not an IT Director).. 8 Chapter 2: A day in the life of an IT Director Chapter 3: Security & Disaster Planning: Protecting your data from threats and the unexpected..14 Chapter 4: Remote Connectivity: Securely connecting remote workers...18 Chapter 5: Wireless: Don t Sacrifice Security for Convenience..21 Chapter 6: Phone Systems: Understanding telecomm systems.24 Chapter 7: To Outsource, Or not to outsource Glossary: Learn Geek Speak: A short, easy-to-understand glossary of IT terms..29 4

4 Introduction: Why should a business manager understand IT? You re a business manager, not an IT Director. You just need to focus on running the business and leave technology to the pros, right? Not exactly. 5

5 Many small businesses don t have the luxury of an in-house IT director, let alone a full department. And in larger organizations where an IT staff is common, there are many IT decisions and expenditures that business administrators should understand. Business administration and technology go hand in hand. On a daily basis, small businesses and large organizations deal with a myriad of issues that range from accounting to human resources to marketing to IT. All of these administrative areas depend heavily upon technology, but many managers working in these areas don t have a working knowledge of technology. That s OK you re not an IT director. But when it comes to helping your company make smart business decisions (and ultimately provide cutting-edge products and services to your clients), there are many benefits for your entire organization when both non-technical and technical managers are able to speak the same language. 6

6 This handbook isn t designed for IT professionals. It s a guide for you, the business manager who has a voice in making important decisions: budgeting, staffing and hiring of external consultants. After reading this handbook, you should be able to answer these questions: What does an IT director do each day? How do the technology pieces fit together? Is my business investing wisely? This handbook is particularly helpful for a small business owner, managing partner, administrator or business manager who needs to work effectively with technical managers or vendors. You may be analyzing your short and long term technology needs in order to make budgeting decisions. Perhaps you re making staffing decisions that impact the day-to-day technology tasks that are essential to operations. Read on for an overview of how this handbook can help you work with in-house IT professionals and external technology consultants.

7 Chapter 1: The Benefits of Speaking IT (When You re Not and IT Director) Our goal in this chapter is to discuss the top four reasons why business managers should have a basic understanding of the IT function and how basic technology components fit together to keep your business running smoothly. 8

8 4 Reasons why business managers should understand technology: 1. Work effectively with your IT team or vendors. From human resources to accounting, various types of business managers and administrators find themselves faced with technology related decisions, sometimes of an urgent nature. When an IT manager or an outside technology consultant comes to you with a budgetary or staffing request, everyone will be better served by understanding the basics, rather than trying to educate yourself on a tight deadline. 2. Know your technology costs and where your dollars are going. Some business managers are unaware or misinformed about the actual costs of technology. Others simply trust that the technology vendor or manager has the company s best interests in mind. It s up to you to have oversight of where your money is going and how much time is actually being invested in technology on a day-to-day basis. Even a relatively small business can spend hundreds of hours supporting the technology issues that are both mundane and contribute nothing to your bottom line. 9

9 How many hours per week do you spend on IT issues? It s not uncommon for these issues to crop up on a daily basis: Perhaps an unwitting employee changes a setting in a frequently used software package and suddenly can t get their work done. Another employee clicks the wrong link and finds their computer infected with malware. A third employee may need a software package installed or removed. These and dozens of other issues come up all day long, consuming thousands of dollars worth of time. And someone must address these issues either your IT team or an outside vendor must step in to keep the IT functions running. 3. Make strategic use of external service providers. If you have an IT department, you may not realize what s happening down the hall. The truth is, most IT teams don t have ample time to focus on strategic projects when they are too busy supporting employees and all the things they do on their PCs. IT managers should have the time to focus on strategic decisions like migrating servers to new platforms and developing revenue producing applications and services. With a basic understanding of technology, you can help make smart decisions about the services that should be outsourced to a technology service provider. 10

10 3. Make strategic use of external service providers (continued). By working closely with your IT manager, together you can make strategic decisions about pursuing Managed Desktop services, which can free up significant time that was spent on daily user issues and trouble-shooting. Cloud computing platforms like Hosted Fileshare and Hosted Exchange can move server-based functions out of your office and reduce your operating costs. All of these areas of technology, and more, require an understanding of the company s technology landscape. 4. Budgeting and long-term planning. Finance and technology may seem like polar opposites, but it s actually best if both sides of the table can speak the same language. Whether you re involved in annual budgeting or longer-term planning, coming to the decision-making table with an understanding of technology will only enhance your ability to forecast technology related expenses and set realistic expectations for future investments. We ve made our case for why business managers should understand technology. Now on to explaining the basic areas of technology that IT managers or vendors eat and breathe on a daily basis, beginning with security. 11

11 CHAPTER 2: A Day in the Life of an IT Director Information Technology is a broad field. An IT director s job description will vary based upon the industry and the size of the organization. In small businesses, the IT Guy probably handles anything and everything that relates to computers and communication including PCs, printers and phones. 12

12 Speaking generally, an IT director will have broad oversight of all things technology in the company. On a daily basis, this could include: Helping employees with their PC s or mobile devices, either inside the office or in remote locations (known as Desktop Support or User Support ). When a computer breaks, needs a software update or is infected by a virus, the IT director handles these issues. Supporting a company s servers and data storage devices (known in the industry as System Administration ) Maintaining the company s network server and devices (routers, switches, cabling). (Often known as Network Infrastructure ). All of your company s data is stored on a server, and is probably accessible company-wide via the server. 13

13 CHAPTER 3: Security & Disaster Planning: Protecting your data from threats and the unexpected When it comes to IT, security, disaster planning and protecting your company from unexpected threats is a huge piece of the overall IT picture. When you discuss security with outside vendors, or even your own internal IT team, you re going to hear them discuss network firewall, anti-virus, antimalware, anti-spam features and more. You may also be faced with making decisions about investing in Unified Threat Management systems or multi-component security solutions. Natural disasters (from lightening to hurricanes) can also impact your company with loss of computer equipment and data. In this chapter, we ll cover the basics of security and disaster planning issues to give nontechnical managers a better understanding of how to protect your data from the unexpected. 14

14 Security 101: Keeping your company s technology assets and data secure You may not think your business is big enough to attract the attention of cyber criminals, but cyber crime impacts businesses of all sizes. Whether you re in accounting, law, retailing, or auto repairs you collect and store information about your customers that is useful to identity thieves. This includes data on how your customers pay their bills and may also include information on their driver s license or social security number. The financial losses and damage to your business reputation from a security breach are significant. Using a managed IT service for network security ensures that your network protection is kept up-to-date and managed to accepted practices. There are a couple of different ways to approach security. One approach is Unified Threat Management and a managed network security service. Understanding Unified Threat Management (UTM) UTM is a network security function that integrates a wide variety of security services into a single device or service. Learn more about the pros & cons of Unified Threat Management Services 15

15 The promise of UTM is that it simplifies an IT managers job and reduces costs by rolling the capabilities of many devices into one. GWI s Managed Network Security service s complete plan is an example of such a service. If you opt not to have UTM, the other option is to have multiple separate devices, each dedicated to one function. There are many pros and cons to UTM. A single appliance typically costs less than buying multiple devices, which means lower maintenance costs and less power consumption. It s also fully integrated, which can give you peace of mind that you won t have holes in your protection. On the flip side, a UTM device sacrifices specialization for versatility. In some cases particularly with anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spam features, dedicated devices are probably superior. Also, with a single device, if it fails, everything fails. If you opt for UTM, invest in a managed UTM service, which includes a full backup of your configuration. Whether you use a managed security service, a hosted PBX phone system, or a cloud data storage system, managed IT services generally have built in backup to ensure that both the configuration and the data are available for rapid restoration in the event of a flood, fire or equipment failure. If disaster does strike, you ll be back in business quickly with one of these services. 16

16 Disaster Planning: Protecting Your Company from Outages and Damage Whether it s a storm knocking out your power lines, a computer virus disabling your software, or a fire, your business can be disrupted by any number of threats. When that happens, a strong disaster recovery plan can make the difference between a brief hiccup in your operations and a costly blow to your company. Your company should have a few key elements of disaster planning in place for optimal coverage, such as: secure data storage a backup system in place a set of secondary resources, such as alternate communications lines to use if the phone network goes out backups for the company server. Work with management, your IT team or your technology vendor to develop a disaster recovery plan and make sure each of your employees are familiar with the plan and what they need to do in the event of a disaster. 17

17 CHAPTER 4: Remote Connectivity: Securely connecting remote workers If your business has multiple locations, you need a system for communicating between offices, no matter where they are located. This is known as a Wide Area Network (WAN) and it s just as it sounds a telecommunications network that provides communication across a wide area. Businesses need to move data from office to office quickly and securely in some form of WAN. In today s environment of converged voice, data and video networks, most IT managers must design their networks to provide Quality of Service (QoS) so that calls are clear and video is skip-free. 18

18 For business managers or owners, issues involving remote connectivity will likely cross your desk when there s a communication breakdown, or lag time, and employees can t accomplish an important task. For some companies, flaws in the WAN can mean major customer satisfaction problems. This chapter explains the basics of how a WAN is assembled and the factors you need to be thinking about, particularly if your company is growing and possibly adding more locations. Understanding WAN technologies: How do they work? Today s Wide Area Network technologies fall broadly into three categories: VPN (Virtual Private Network) Tunneling, MPLS (MultiProtocol Label Switching), and Ethernet. Each offers pros and cons as compared to the other platforms, and which is best for you depends upon your business requirements. Whereas tunneling offers the lowest cost, other platforms are better choices for speed, quality of service and security. This topic could warrant a handbook of its own, so we won t drill down into each platform. But we will give you a basic overview of the different categories: 1. VPN (Virtual Private Network) Technically, all of these technologies are virtual private networks, but in this chapter when we say VPN we mean a wide area network created by using encrypted tunnels over the public Internet. Your VPN is created using Internet Protocol (IP) and will be set up by your IT department, IT consultant, or managed firewall service provider. 19

19 A VPN keeps data safe as it crosses the public Internet by using encryption and is secure if properly configured. All you need is a working business broadband Internet connection with a publicly routed IP address. 2. MPLS (MultiProtocol Label Switching) Like VPN Tunneling, MPLS uses a router-based protocol to transport data from location to location. Although many operators run their MPLS network on a completely separate network from regular Internet traffic, others may be running their regular Internet network over MPLS. Your IT department or consultant will set up your an MPLS network by first selecting, then coordinating with a carrier that supports MPLS. 3. Metro Ethernet Unlike VPN s and MPLS networks, Metro Ethernet is not a router-based technology. Ethernet operates at the more fundamental transport layer, and creates point to point or point to multi-point paths using switches rather than routers. This means that in an Ethernet WAN, your carrier is essentially handing you a really long network cable, and your IT department, IT consultant, or Managed Router provider builds your own IP network on top of that. Now that we ve discussed the basics of WANs and the pros and cons of each type, you should now be armed with the fundamentals of how your various offices are connected. Chapter 5 will cover another important aspect of staying connected in a variety of locations: wireless. 20

20 CHAPTER 5: Wireless: Don t Sacrifice Security for Convenience We live in a wireless world. Wi-Fi networking connects dozens of devices in our businesses to the vital Internet services we need. Wi-Fi is a catchy name for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and uses radio waves instead of cables to exchange data. 21

21 The convenience of Wi-Fi makes it easier for employees and clients visiting your office to gain Internet access. With all of the benefits that come from wireless hotspots in nearly every business, data transmitted via Wi-Fi is at risk. Network security experts warn us that wireless networks can be insecure and leave our vital data at risk to eavesdropping and intrusion from unwanted guests. Wi-Fi security is not an oxymoron. There are things you can do to keep your network secure. Yes, some of the security measures can be a bit inconvenient, but your business should be primarily concerned with the security of your data. Keep Wi-Fi networks separate from wired networks. A wireless network is still more vulnerable than your wired network to snooping and intrusion. It s best to keep it completely separate from the wired network where you keep financial records, trade secrets and customer data. In this case, separate means outside your firewall. Use a secure password. When you buy a router, the administrative interface is usually accessed via a username like admin and a weak default password like admin, password, or the name of your router manufacturer. Change both, and be sure the password you use is a secure password. Disable remote administration. Most Wi-Fi routers have a remote administration interface that makes it possible for experts outside the network to make changes if they have the password. Unless you have a strong reason for leaving this in place, disable it so intruders can t change your configuration to compromise your Wi-Fi security measures. 22

22 Secure Wi-Fi with WPA2. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA2) is the current accepted standard for securing wireless networks. In order to use the Wi-Fi logo, devices must support WPA2 Wi-Fi security. WPA2 provides 128 bit encryption of data, based upon a user-specified network key. Without the key, any data traveling on the network is scrambled. Disable SSID broadcast. The SSID is the name of your wireless network. Broadcasting it makes it easier for employees and guests to find if they don t know the name, but it also makes it easier for people with malicious intent to find. As a result, you re better off hiding the SSID, and sharing it verbally with guests who request access. If people walking by, like this guy, can borrow your connection, that means intruders can access your network. Use a VPN for wireless access to your LAN. If your employees must access assets on your secure, wired LAN like printers and file servers from a wireless device, they should access it from a VPN connection, in much the same way as they would from a remote hotel or home. This adds an additional layer of password protection and encryption and keeps data safer. 23

23 CHAPTER 6: Phone Systems It s easy to think IT and immediately think of computers, software, wireless Internet, security, etc. Don t forget that IT includes telecommunications. Your company s phone systems must keep up with the growing amount of business handled remotely, from conference calls and scheduling to nurturing clients. Mobile phones have sped up the pace of business as well, making a robust phone system more important than ever. This chapter provides an overview of the common phone systems used by businesses of varying sizes. 24

24 The following are the types of phone systems that dominate today s business world: Key System Units KSUs take their name from Bell s classic switch operated phone system, and feature a central control unit and a menu of individual line buttons on each individual phone. Key systems are common phone systems in Maine, especially smaller businesses with relatively few phone lines, and offer each caller an easy way to monitor which lines are in use and make calls between extensions. Private Branch Exchanges Descended from central office telephone systems, PBX systems route calls through dedicated switches and phone hardware. Being programmable, they can scale more easily for larger businesses, while easily incorporating features such as recorded messages, hold music and conferencing across multiple phone lines. Premise-based IP Systems Voice over Internet protocol represents one of the biggest changes to phone systems in Maine and nationwide. Premise-based IP allows businesses to move their phone system onto VoIP, while integrating into existing data communication and business networks. 25

25 Hosted PBX Systems This approach essentially moves your business phone switching to an offsite service provider, who offers a standardized set of services. This represents a simpler path to a VoIP phone system, as installation and maintenance are managed by a dedicated staff at the service provider. Using flexible unobtrusive cloud-computing technology, a Virtual PBX can replace a traditional business phone system with better features for less money than installed systems. A Virtual PBX uses the IP network to handle calls. There is no longer a need for the on-site central phone system. Today all that is actually required is your existing computer network, Internet connection, and a desk phone. While the distinction between KSUs and PBX dominated much of the last quarter century, advances in software and infrastructure have led both systems to adopt features that were once unique to the other. FREE Whitepaper: 9 Steps to Select & Implement an IP Business Phone System 26

26 CHAPTER 7: To Outsource, or Not to Outsource The first major hurdle to overcome is deciding what to tackle in house and where you need outside help. Awareness and having a basic understanding of IT is key to making those decisions. That s why we designed this handbook to give business managers a basic understanding of how information technology components work together. 27

27 Now that you re armed with some basic IT knowledge, you may be facing another big hurdle: determining what you can handle in-house, what you need to outsource, and how much it s all going to cost. Here are some considerations as you make technology investments and staffing decisions for your company: Do you have the right skills? If you don t have an IT professional, these duties might fall on other administrative personnel, or in some cases, the business owner. If you choose to tackle all of your technology tasks in-house, make sure your staff has the skills and training to ensure the security and reliability of your data and systems. If you lack the necessary skills, outsourcing may be a faster and more affordable way to obtain them. Are you spending your time on work that makes you money? At the end of the day, you re in business to make money but many of your IT dollars aren t spend on work that contributes to your bottom line. For example, does IT focus most of its time and resources on day-to-day user issues? If you have an IT director already, find out where he or she feels they could be spending more time to the benefit of your company. Spend your hard-earned money wisely; put as much as possible into profit-generating work. Stop viewing outsourcing as a job killer. Smart outsourcing doesn t need to make jobs disappear. The benefit of outsourcing some of your IT is to allow your internal resources to focus on customer facing systems, process improvements and ways to use technology to improve profits. You can create more jobs faster by focusing on the stuff that counts. 28

28 Glossary: Learn Geek Speak: A short, easy-to-understand glossary of IT terms For business managers, IT isn t what you got into business to do, so you re not an expert. In fact, chances are when a real geek starts talking to you, everything they say sounds like a foreign language. However, you probably have vital data on your computers including customer information, your accounts, and possibly trade secrets you don t want your competitors to get access to. How can you effectively manage IT if you don t even understand the common terms? 29

29 Here is a short list of IT terms commonly in use in today s IT world that are useful for a non-technical business manager to know, along with an explanation of the term. Local Area Network (LAN) This typically refers the computers and other devices inside your building. Technically, it means a group of devices on one side of a network router, so for large businesses it is possible to have multiple LAN s within a building. Wide Area Network (WAN) Wide Area Network refers to a network that connects multiple buildings. Often the buildings are miles apart and connected using telecommunications services like Metro Ethernet, MPLS or a VPN. Technically, the wide area network is what s on the other side of the network router from the Local Area Network. Router A Network Router sits between the LAN and the WAN and routes traffic between the two, based upon instructions stored in an internal routing table. In homes and small businesses, they allow computers to share a printer and Internet connection. Routers are often confused with firewalls, but while they offer more security than nothing at all, they are not true firewalls. Switch A Network Switch allows you to connect multiple computers and other devices together inside your LAN. Some network routers have built-in switches, but they are often separate devices. 30

30 This simple network diagram shows the position of firewalls, routers, switches and servers in a typical network. Firewall A firewall either blocks or permits certain types of traffic from passing through it based upon a rule set, or policy, that your business defines. They are most often used between your Local Area Network and the Internet to prevent unauthorized access to your network. Unified Threat Management A firewall is not enough to protect businesses from complex threats. You must also secure against viruses, detect and prevent intrusions, and reduce wasted time and money from internal abuse of your network. Unified Threat Management is a service that protects against a broad number of attacks. Server A server is a special computer used to run applications that employees share. At some point you may need one to run and calendars, share files and printers, or run an application like an accounting program. Servers run special versions of Windows or another operating system. When the time comes, you ll need to decide if you should buy a server or rent space on a virtual server. 31

31 Backup A good backup is copy of your data that is both up-to-date and off-site. If your backups are less frequent than daily, or kept in the same place as your working copy you re vulnerable. Fortunately there are tools available to help with this, including an automated cloud backup. VoIP or SIP VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a method of transmitting voice communication over a data network, such as your LAN, or the Internet. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is the most common subset of VoIP. Whether you buy a phone system or opt to rent part of a shared system like a Hosted PBX, most modern business phone system use VoIP. Cloud Computing Cloud Computing refers to an industry trend whereby businesses can buy software (such as Hosted Exchange or Salesforce.com) and infrastructure (such as hosted file storage or servers) as services via the Internet. Cloud Computing has the potential to significantly lower up-front capital and reduce management headaches for businesses, but you do need to be sure the rest of your network is ready for Cloud Computing. Managed Services In a managed service, your service provider takes over the day-to-day monitoring, maintenance, and support for one or more components of your network, in return for a monthly fee. For many small businesses, these services can reduce the requirement for internal IT staff. For others, it reduces the time IT staff spends on mundane tasks so they can work on strategic issues. 32

32 Want to learn more about customized IT solutions? Explore the benefits of GWI s managed services. Contact us for a FREE 30 minute consultation with a managed services professional. We ll help you determine what it really costs to support your business IT environment. For more information about any of our business services and solutions, please call , services@gwi.net or use our simple inquiry form.