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Notice to all Symantec license holders - Check your renewal
dates.
 Symantec has changed their grace period to renew
license agreements. As of January 1, 2007, customers will only have
30 days beyond the expiration date of their licenses to renew
(formerly a 60 day grace period). After 30 days, a higher priced
upgrade must be purchased (as compared to the renewal price).
It's 9:00 AM
Do you Know What Your Employees are Doing on Their Computers?
Would you believe that non-work related Internet
surfing results in nearly a 40% loss of
productivity each year at American businesses. That
translates into an annual productivity loss of $35 million for a
company with 1000 Internet users. Startling, isn't it? And worse,
most employers have no idea that it is happening as they do not
monitor Internet usage.
So just what exactly are employees doing on the Internet today? A
recent survey of American employees shows:
37% of employees surf the Web "constantly"
at work
86% of employees use office email for
personal reasons
24% of employees admit to shopping online
while at work
30% of employees watch
sports online while at work
So what’s a business owner to do? Since employers can be held
liable for employee actions at the workplace it is important to
demonstrate a “duty of care” to reduce improper
employee activity and minimize the organization's potential
risks.
Implementing a clear written acceptable use policy and training
staff members is a good start to keeping Internet and office email
abuse under control, but many companies are now looking to further
means of monitoring which sites are being visited and what files
are being sent and received. With nearly 60% of all security
breaches being initiated from within the company, and behind a
company firewall, computer monitoring by employers is on the rise,
and for good reason. So where exactly is the line between corporate
monitoring and privacy invasion? Tech Republic offers some helpful
insight on Workplace privacy versus computer abuse prevention:
Which prevails?
If your company needs help with Internet and Email monitoring or
assistance with creating and implementing an Acceptable Use policy,
simply
contact us to learn more about what ForeSite can do to help
reduce your risks and increase employee productivity.
That was so 2006… Get with the Times
So you think your business is up to date with the latest
technology? Are you sure about that? With the ever-changing latest
and greatest continuously outdoing itself, what exactly are the top
business technology trends for 2007? Well, in order to really
appreciate what’s to come, we should take a moment to look
back and see what has happened in the past year alone, and how it
has affected our organizations.
Technology Trends of 2006
Voice Over Internet Protocal (VoIP)-
Talking on the telephone over the Internet delivered a huge
positive impact this past year on companies, providing tremendous
cost savings with increased flexibility and features compared to
our traditional phones. VoIP even allows us to retrieve voicemails
anytime Internet connectivity is available, and we can even have
our phone ring right through our PC.
Mobile Computing- Is anyone still sitting
behind a desk from 9 to 5? With the reasonable cost of Smart
phones, PDA’s and laptops, 2006 had everyone working on the
go. The ability to access business documents and check email from
anywhere provided companies with increased productivity and
efficiencies.
Security, Security, Security – Did I
mention this was the year of security? A 2005 year end survey
showed 73% of business decision makers considered Network Security
as the most important technology improvement to be made in their
company for 2006. Businesses allocated most of their technology
funds to protect the company from possible vulnerabilities.
So we have our phone over the internet, our office on the go, and a
secure technological environment. What else could we possibly
need?
Technology Trends for 2007
Goodbye conference calls, hello Video
Conferencing
Once a luxury for large corporations, video conferencing is now
becoming more available with basic features for any size business.
Whether "meeting" with clients located around the world, or a
fellow employee at another office, we can now have a real time face
to face conversation over a broad band network, enhancing
communication and saving time and money on travel expenses.
More employees than space used to mean costly
expansion… not anymore
Extension Mobility is the new way to conquer this battle. It takes
wireless and mobile technologies to the next level, allowing
several employees to share the same work space on a rotating basis.
By having a flexible IP network, an employee can use their
telephone extension to create a work environment tailored to their
voicemail and phone settings. Once they are done with the work
space, the phone is available for the next employee use. With so
many employees on the road, Extension Mobility will present a great
cost savings for businesses as well as increased productivity for
employees, regardless of where they are.
Unified Messaging
Most people follow a similar routine first thing each morning;
check email, check voicemail, and retrieve any incoming faxes.
(That’s after the usual cup of coffee, and 15 minutes of
water cooler socialization that can’t be missed). 2007 may
not bring an end to our caffeine addictions, or to our curiosity
about our co-worker's weekend escapades, but it will decrease time
spent on checking all of our message mediums. By consolidating
various mailboxes into one device, either IP phone or computer, we
can have quick and simple access to all our messages anytime and
anywhere.
Getting the Most out of Your Laptop's Battery
We’ve all experienced it… the blinking battery icon in
the lower right hand corner of the screen, letting you know that
you only have a few precious moments before you’re staring at
a blank screen, and potentially losing all of your work. You
frantically look around for power, hoping it will hold out long
enough. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. Well, with a few
simple tricks you can get those valuable spare minutes, and CNET
explains how to get the most out of your laptop’s
battery.
Attention Wolfpack Fans
ForeSite is once again partnering with your Hartford Wolfpack to
present the 2006-2007 "Save of the Game". Along with this
partnership, we get some great seats at the Wolfpack hockey games
and want to share them with you, our valued clients. If you are
interested in tickets to a game this year, email
Rosey Das and she will distribute on a first come first served
basis. Enjoy the game and see some of the best action at http://www.saveofthegame.com/.
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