Technology Management

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Two UNC Campuses Training 'Cyber Defenders'

Geek Gods
Business owners can make the right computer decisions,
but you must know the right questions -- and people-- to ask


By Lawrence Bivins

Ask Glenn Miller of Optinfo Inc. of Charlotte what he does for a living and you’ll hear a long list of answers typical of any small business owner. But it’s notable that Miller’s list – and yours likely as well – now includes serving as his company’s top information technology guru.

Among Miller’s tasks is keeping the company’s staff of 12 outfitted with maximum computing power. As a matter of policy, the company upgrades its PCs every 18 months. “You have to be a bit of a prognosticator,” says Miller, whose firm is housed at Charlotte’s Ben Craig Center, a small business incubator. For him, using technology that enables maximum productivity without breaking the bank is something of a balancing act. “It’s worth our while to upgrade our PCs often,” he explains.

Technology has become woven into the fabric of businesses of every kind. It has enhanced productivity, inventory management and customer service and fostered other conveniences, but it has also created new challenges. That is especially true for small firms lacking large technology budgets and in-house computer support personnel to sort through common problems ranging from spam to the constant threat of computer viruses.

But technology — its cost, as well as its potential to both help and harm your business — can be managed wisely only if owners, while not losing sight of everything else they have to do, concentrate on computer systems that are reliable, secure and supportable. That begins not with the selection of hardware, software and service providers, but with a sound understanding of current business practices.

“For anything you’re thinking about automating, get the process down on paper first,” advises Mark Schaffner, president of the Ben Craig Center, which enjoys a unique partnership with neighboring UNC Charlotte. That goes for everything from marketing and sales forecasting to new-employee orientation. The bottom line: don’t allow the complexities of technology to overwhelm the core mission of your company. To do that, Schaffner and other experts suggest that you should be able to answer these questions:

What financial benefits will the business receive by adopting new technology or upgrading existing systems?

How will it enhance the company’s brand image and competitive position?

What impact will it have on staff productivity and performance?

Will it make the business more or less dependent on outside contractors and service providers?

Having those goals clearly in mind will guide you when making the key decisions outlined below.


Outside Consultant or Inside Help?

Small companies should weigh the advantages of hiring outside expertise to build and maintain computer systems, says John Ove, owner of Aardvark Personal Computing, a technology training firm in Apex. “Often, an in-house person who has some interest in technology is given the lead.ºThat can be good and that can be bad.”

Even large corporations are turning technology operations over to contracted service providers. But Ove cautions small firms to move gradually when going with an outside technology vender. Start by asking other business owners for recommendations. Consider a potential contractor’s experience with clients of similar size and business focus. “Give them a small job first and see how creative they are,” says Ove. Another caveat is to make sure the consultant intends to remain in the business over the long-term. Current job losses in the technology industry have flushed many tech pros into involuntary self-employment. “Some will walk away from your project the minute a good job offer comes their way.”


Should You Buy or Lease?

In cash-strained times, many small businesses opt to lease computers and servers instead of owning. Lower upfront costs and an immediate tax write-off represent obvious advantages. In the short run, that means more computing bang for the buck, which some tech-driven start-ups may prefer. And leasing offers the added benefit of not having to find a home for obsolete equipment.

Over the long haul, however, owning is more cost-effective, and leasers should be aware that they are responsible for keeping good records on all maintenance checks and upgrades. Any “excess wear and tear” detected at the end of the lease can result in the loss of some or all of the leaser’s security deposit. Consider the analogy of renting an apartment vs. owning a home, though in this instance, technology — unlike a home — is an asset that depreciates quickly.

“Many computer manufacturers are now offering trade-in programs as part of the purchase,” says Ove, who prefers to own his equipment. Typically, they buy back their equipment provided it is no more than two years old. “More than anything else, it’s a way PC makers build customer loyalty,” he says. He advises small-business owners to purchase an on-site warranty with their computers. Such plans send technicians out to repair problems should they occur at the office or on the road. Care should be exercised when selecting additional software and other add-ons, as well. “About 70 percent of any software package is wasted,” Ove says. “Too many people get caught up on the vendor and the cost and lose sight of what their problems really are.”


What Speed Do You Need?

“The first thing business people should do, though many fail to, is clarify and identify the role the Internet will play in their business,” says Bob Sellman, general sales manager of small business in the Carolinas for BellSouth Corp.

A number of options exist for Internet access. Dial-up service via modem is the least expensive way to go — with some providers offering basic service for as little as $10 per month. However, dial-up is also the slowest and most unreliable route to the Internet, and it likely also necessitates maintaining a separate telephone line, which magnifies costs. At the higher end, there are T-1 lines, which transmit data about 60 times faster than a dial-up connection. But their costs can easily exceed $1,000 once equipment installation and other fees are factored in. There are, however, myriad options in between, Sellman explains. Cable companies such as Time-Warner offer high-speed connections via coaxial lines that are speedier and more reliable than standard analog modems. Time-Warner’s Roadrunner product averages about $45 per month on top of an installation fee that typically runs $100.

Comparable speed, reliability and cost can be found with digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. “About 72 percent of households and businesses in North Carolina have DSL available to them,” says Sellman. BellSouth and Sprint are rapidly expanding their DSL capacity, which enables both high-speed data and voice transmission across a single telephone line. DSL technology also offers greater security and flexibility, according to Sellman. Should a company require additional reliability, the service can be engineered to provide it. “You’ll pay far more, but you’ll be getting guaranteed speeds,” he says. Sellman advises against an older technology known as ISDN, which he says is quietly being phased out.

Depending on the type of technology a business opts for, it will also need to select an Internet service provider (ISP). Larger telecom firms such as BellSouth and Earthlink offer direct access, as do a number of smaller, local companies. “Price shouldn’t be a determining factor,” suggests Beth Morgan, systems administrator for Internet of the Sandhills, an ISP based in Southern Pines. “It’s a good idea to look for value-added features such as training, web site hosting and around-the-clock telephone support,” she adds.


Who Will Host Your Web Site?

Most ISPs include a small amount of web site space in the cost of monthly service. Many also will design and maintain your web site for an additional fee. Getting outside help to handle your online presence is a recommended course for most businesses. “Everyone thinks they’ve got to have a web site,” says Mike Collins, whose Raleigh-based company, A Perfect Workday, advises small firms. “But the amount of time you’ll end up taking with it can distract you from the functional areas of your business.” Instead, he suggests hiring a professional web design service or asking your advertising firm if they can create web-based marketing materials. Most can.

Even when there is sophisticated technical expertise in-house, it may nonetheless be wise to seek outside web site support. Optinfo’s Miller utilized low-cost co-op students from nearby UNC Charlotte after pondering the option of assigning one of his software developers the role of webmaster. “Web design takes a special set of skills,” he says. “Not just any programmer should be doing it.”

Some businesses fail to consider whether they can adequately fulfill the additional orders that come in via new online marketing tools. “That should be an up-front consideration,” says Aardvark’s Ove. And he recommends considering the creation of an Intranet. Such web sites are password-protected for access by internal users only. “Anything about your business that employees should know about should be placed on your internal web site,” says Ove. New-hire orientation materials, information on health and retirement plans — along with applicable forms, safety tips, training modules and other materials can be placed online, taking the burden off the human resources office, he says.


How Will You Protect Your Data?

Many businesses learn about the need for backing up data the hard way. “Ask yourself how much a dead hard drive is going to cost your business,” says Ove, who backs his data up at the end of each week. Depending on the business, some may want to secure vital information as often as every four hours. Easy-to-use CD-writers, with which most PCs now come installed, and inexpensive blank discs make data backup simpler than ever, he says. Still, some business owners drop the ball on the question of where to store backups. So valuable is the programming code produced by Optinfo that the company stores redundant data backups at several off-site locations. “We have a very well-defined policy on backups,” Miller says.

Other measures should be taken to safeguard computer systems and information from cyber-criminals. “The main thing we do to protect ourselves is make sure our public interface happens away from our network,” says Miller. In simple terms, that means keeping some distance between your publicly-accessible web space and your company’s most valuable information. You can do that by installing a firewall between your internal network and your web site. Keeping virus-protection software up-to-date also is necessary, according to Miller. Packages such as McAfee’s VirusScan and Symantec Corp.’s Antivirus remain the most widely used.

Technology has provided criminals with new tools as well, according to Hans Miller, a Jacksonville-based special agent with the State Bureau of Investigation. Crimes such as fraud, theft of proprietary information, stalking and money-laundering may all take place via computer, and every business owner should be aware of the risks. But a surprising number of computer crimes committed against businesses are done so by employees. “Watch your inside,” warns Miller, one of a handful of SBI agents specializing in cyber-crime investigations. “Know your employees. The real threat may be coming from within.”


How Can You Stop Spam?

An increasingly annoying by-product of the Internet Age is those unsolicited pop-up ads and never-ending stream of spam, the unwanted e-mails from dubious sources. Despite legislative efforts to end such practices, they persist. “It’s very hard to police,” says Barbara Baxter, president and CEO of Internet of the Sandhills. Though many of Baxter’s subscribers complain to her about it, there is little that she can do short of erecting a wall between her company and a large portion of the Internet. Marketers run massive “e-mail mining” programs to come up with the lists, and like traditional junk mail, they do it because enough people respond and send money. “It may be that the most effective thing you can do to stop the practice is to find the people that are buying this stuff and punch them,” says Baxter only half-jokingly.

There are a number of free and low-cost software packages that can filter spam out of your e-mail reader. Spam Arrest and Spam Cop are two that Baxter knows of. Annual subscriptions to such packages range between $20 and $40. Another one known as Mail Clean may be downloaded at no cost. Baxter strongly recommends against responding to unwanted e-mail in any fashion whatsoever, even to request removal from the list. “That’s when they know they’ve got a live body on the other end of an address. It’s the last thing I’d do.”

There is also some relief from pesky pop-up ads that clutter the screen with pitches for often racy products. Baxter recommends a new web browser known as Opera that has a tool for blocking pop-up ads. A free version of the package may be downloaded (www.opera.com), and a more complete version with email client, also downloadable, costs only $29. Beyond that, a software product known as Pop-up Stopper is available in various versions starting at $20.


How Will You Train Your Staff?

Getting the most out of your investment in technology relies on your employees’ capacity to use it properly. Though most in the workforce have at least some experience with PCs and the Internet, it may be necessary to have staff attend training on specific software systems. Private training organizations offer courses on computer applications of all kinds, as do North Carolina’s 58 community colleges. The latter can provide as many as 100 hours of training for as little as $60 per worker. “The real value to the small business is found at the community college,” says Ken Dillo, director of Wake Tech Community College’s Small Business Center in Cary. The center’s programs include basic, intermediate and advanced classes on software packages from Microsoft, Lotus, Oracle and others.

Even when skills are sharp, business owners must lay down sensible policies regarding employees’ treatment of technology. “The most important thing a company can do is write a policy on how employees are expected to use equipment,” says John Ove. To begin with, “all electronic communications should be business-like,” he suggests. Whether it is playing Internet backgammon after work or sending e-mail to friends during lunch hour, employees should adhere to company policy. “They may not be on company time, but it’s still on company equipment, and the company has the right to monitor it,” Ove says.

A sound technology management plan requires ongoing attention, experts say. But it needn’t consume your every waking hour. Asking the right questions at the right time for the right reasons — and asking a qualified professional — is the most important ingredient of a successful program. And changing business needs and rapidly evolving technologies demand business owners re-visit their technology strategies on a regular basis.



Two UNC Campuses Training 'Cyber Defenders'

Many businesses both large and small are woefully unprepared for a major breach of their information infrastructure. Gibson Grose, a Wilmington native and first-year graduate student in computer science at UNC Charlotte, is betting a career on helping you defend yourself against such cyber attacks.

Government research found that only 20 percent of U.S. companies spent five percent or more of their IT budgets on information security prior to 9/11, the figure has now grown to only one-third.

Uncle Sam himself isn’t much better prepared for a cyber assault. An audit of 24 major federal agencies gave a failing grade to 14 of them, including the departments of Defense, Justice, State and Treasury. The highest grade, a B-, was awarded to the Social Security Administration. The lowest score went to the U.S. Department of Transportation — a shocking 28 points out of a possible 100.

Under new legislation, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will spend $903 million over five years to create cyber-security research centers to combat terrorist attacks on private and government computers. UNC Charlotte and UNC Greensboro are among 23 colleges and universities in the U.S. receiving grants from the new program and both have classes under way to train “cyber defenders.”

The program, which is modeled after ROTC scholarships, matches each year of government-funded study with a year’s commitment by the student to work for the government in an information security role upon graduation.

The program was initiated in 2000, but took on renewed urgency after 9/11, according to Bill Chu, chairman of the Department of Software and Information Systems at UNC Charlotte’s College of Information Technology. Thus far there are 30 scholarships available in North Carolina, though the number is set to increase under the recently stepped-up legislation. “The main goal is to safeguard the U.S. cyber-infrastructure,” Chu explains. Most students are enrolled in a relevant master’s or certificate program, though undergraduate students are also eligible if they meet certain criteria.

“It pays for all of our tuition and books, as well as some living expenses,” says Grose, a cyber-defender scholar at UNCC. Grose would prefer to remain in North Carolina after he graduates, although the program’s guidelines allow for placement across the country. “It’s more important to me that I be doing interesting work,” he says. Ultimately, he would like to pursue doctoral studies and a career in academia, though he realizes real-world experience is also important. Without financial support from the cyber-defenders program, Grose would likely have to downshift his studies to part-time while working to support himself. “Without this scholarship, it would probably take me four or five years to get through the program.” Lawrence Bivins


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