All Companies Need a Disaster Recovery Plan
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (07/05/07) ; Sutin, Kathie

Ninety-three percent of businesses losing access to their data for up to 10 days generally file for bankruptcy within 12 months, according to the National Archives and Records Administration. For this reason, experts agree businesses should develop and implement a disaster preparedness and recovery plan before power outages and other events occur. THF Realty Inc. Risk Manager Sabrina Radney stated earlier power outages in Missouri prompted her firm to ensure an emergency preparedness plan was in place, particularly if outages severed the firm's ties to electronic records. Companies need to devise a plan that minimizes the steps firms need to recover data or access it during a crisis, and those plans should include backup of data, alternate sites, equipment replacement, and locations to store software and data. Plans also should spell out specific steps staff members should take during an emergency, and the plans need to be tested periodically to ensure all employees know what to do. Radney noted her firm moved its servers off-site, laptops were commissioned for a temporary meeting space, and server access was provided to those laptops.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/A638B
34271B441908625730E00048181?OpenDocument

Technology Key to Small Biz Success: Study
WebCPA.com (06/28/07) ; Gold, Liz

The Institute for the Future has released its second installment of the "Intuit Future of Small Business Report," which underscores the increased importance of technology to small firms during the next decade. The think tank believes digital connectivity will enable small firms to manage operations on their own time and terms and offer information to customers in a more timely manner. Additionally, the report predicts productivity gains will be achieved as small companies embrace mobile devices and analytic tools. Steven Aldrich of Intuit's small business division says some of the report's findings were a surprise. Aldrich notes that falling technology prices and ease of use have increased adoption at a faster pace than anticipated and that small businesses are unsure how to keep pace with changes in how the Web is used by consumers. The report also predicts more small firms will embrace social networking technologies.
http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=24632

Securing Your Small Business
SmartBiz.com (06/26/07) ; Gemmell, Dal

Small businesses are increasing connectivity and doing more business online to compete with larger firms, making themselves more vulnerable to crimeware, or security threats designed to gain access to financial and other sensitive data. Small companies tend to be sought out by hackers, mainly because they do not have the IT staff or financial resources to defend themselves, according to IDC's 2006 Security Survey. Experts say small businesses should be most concerned about viruses, worms, Trojans, bots, spyware, adware, spam, and phishing attacks that hinder employee productivity and put digital and computing assets at risk. Whatever security solution is chosen by the company should be easy to install using a wizard and involve the configuration of just one console. The system should not slow down servers or desktops when scanning and offer efficient tech support.
http://www.smartbiz.com/article/view/2147

How to Profit From Technology
ComputerWeekly.com (06/21/2007) ; Grant, Ian

Some experts argue that companies should regard IT as a service, so they should outsource such applications as payroll and accounting. Such a pay-per-use approach results in better process efficiency, according to author Nicholas Carr. David Craig and Ranjit Tinaker at McKinsey urge that 60 percent of an IT budget be used for maintaining and improving core services, adhering to compliance rules, email, and Web sites. Another 10 percent to 30 percent should be used towards lowering costs or boosting productivity over that of rivals. Other tools available through the Internet include the Intel-developed Business Value Index for assessing IT projects, Total Economic Impact Methodology, Val IT, and Applied Information Economics.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/06/21/224961/how-to-p
rofit-from-technology.htm

Paperless Payoffs
Accounting Technology (06/07) Vol. 23 , No. 5 , P. 18 ; DeFelice, Alexandra

Many small accounting firms are reducing the amount of paper they use, especially since document management systems are now available for as low as $400. However, many small companies do not understand exactly what it means to go paperless or the value of a true document management system. According to CPA Crossings co-founder John Higgins, "Small firms are scanning documents and storing them as PDFs in e-folders, staying in Windows using a normal file save command, and to them that's paperless. … If you're a four-person firm, workflow automation (one of the features larger firms seek out in such systems and vendors are starting to push to smaller ones), is just yelling to the person down the hall." Higgins says small firms are more interested in document management systems when they think of them as "structured indexing and filing systems" and learn that they can be integrated with existing systems and allow them to make notes on files, albeit electronically. Among the document management systems available to small firms is Cabinet NG, which integrates with QuickBooks and automatically files emails, faxes, and other documents in the appropriate folders. Other such systems are ProSystem fx Document from CCH and FileCabinet CS from Thomson Tax & Accounting. Meanwhile, some accounting firms are boosting productivity by 15 percent to 75 percent and simultaneously reducing paper consumption by employing dual-monitors, eliminating the need to hold a paper document while reading other information on the screen.
http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=24349