Remote backup has been around for a decade, but it is just the past couple years that it is becoming much more mainstream, and for good reason:

• Some businesses like the convenience of set-it-and-forget-it.
• Set it up once and you get automatic backups every night to a remote site that safely stores your most valuable files.
• So that’s the other reason businesses choose to use this service – certain information is so valuable that the redundancy of the remote backup is sleep-at-night comfort.
• Remote backup does not require unreliable tapes, your data is always recoverable.
• No need to invest in an expensive backup system that needs to be maintained, and tapes replaced.
• Data is kept in a secure datacenter (at least ours is), and always recoverable.
• New pricing makes it very affordable.

How it Works. . .

Office 2010 – Love at First Sight!
by Jane Cage, COO, HTS

Gary Jacobson asked me to write about my experience with Office 2010. HTS is a Value Added Reseller (VAR) just like JCI Group, and as our client’s trusted technology partner, we feel duty bound to try before you buy. How can we make recommendations to you about products we don't know how to use? It's a dirty job, and sometimes risky, but someone has to try stuff first – so we do. Our experiences at being early adopters are sometimes frustrating. We figure our pain is your gain. I have a confession to make – it's not that way with Office 2010. Office 2010 is love at first sight!

Our IT manager had us install the advance release version of Office 2010 last week. Usually there is a little pushback on new releases from our staff because "things are different". That has not been the case this time. Every user has been thrilled with the new features in 2010. The single most appreciated element has been the ability to group email by conversation. It's true that you could make that choice in Outlook before but this is a huge leap forward from that early sorting ability. Now, when I choose to view my email by conversation, the 10 email messages that went back and forth on a topic while I was at lunch are suddenly rolled up into one single entry in my inbox with a right-pointing triangle next to it.

Read more

Call it the SMB security gap.

A new study from Symantec finds that while small and midsize businesses are acutely aware of today’s security risks, a large number have yet to take even the basic steps needed to protect themselves. Further, the study shows that simple protection measures could have prevented many of the security breaches reported by these companies.

According to the study, based on surveys of 1,425 SMBs worldwide (defined as companies with 10 to 500 employees) in the first quarter of 2009, the lack of a dedicated IT staff and tight budgets were the main reasons for the lack of action. Respondents also cited a lack of employee skills as a top barrier to security.

The study finds that SMBs have no illusions about today’s risks. Asked how concerned they were about a wide range of security issues, from spam to data breaches to insider attacks, respondents consistently described themselves as “extremely” or “somewhat” concerned.

So what does it mean to say that SMBs have yet to take the basic steps to protect themselves? According to the study:

Read more

If you’re still using Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2000 Server, please be aware that they will reach end of support on July 13, 2010. If you experience a problem, issue or outage on one of these products Microsoft may not be able to help you resolve your issues until you have upgraded to a supported level of product. JCI Group stands ready to help you with transitions and upgrades. Call us today to find out how to be certain your network and desktops stay at the ready to support your business.