Dave Eike

The typical small business these days continues to struggle with issues of: 1) just tracking and managing the various computer systems in their environment, and 2) keeping those very same computer systems updated with the latest software updates. It’s not because they can’t or don’t want to, but it’s more often attributed to the fact that they have not been exposed to a set of tools they could use to do so.

If you’re a small business that finds yourself in the position I’ve just described – there’s a resource you should become very familiar with – and that resource is …

One of the most important aspects of any IT administrator’s position these days is the ability to accurately patch their respective networks to avoid the potential for risk. That said, many organizations today perform regularly scheduled patch updates…however, not without difficulty!

A majority of the world’s IT professionals today leverage Microsoft’s Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) patching technology. While it does a fairly decent job with Microsoft applications, it falls short in its ability to address the ever-expanding challenges with patching non-Microsoft applications.

The challenge is that many IT administrators, especially in small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), have so much on their plate that it’s hard to …

I have been in the IT management and IT security space for many years, and have had many discussions with IT staff in educational institutions about the same challenge they all face, keeping their networks secure.  Obviously patch management is very important for educational institutions but it’s often overlooked…or done in a less than effective manner.

Most educational institutions (specifically their IT departments) are continually struggling to maintain adequate levels of funding and manpower resources to ensure a reasonable level of service to their end users. Especially when the user-to-administrator ratio continues to increase!

By introducing the proper level of automation – …

Financial institutions have an immense responsibility to ensure that their networks are secure, and that their customers’ data is properly protected. The larger banks have sizable IT departments and considerable resources dedicated to addressing vulnerabilities and maintaining network operations.  However, small and mid-sized banks have to meet the very same IT network requirements, but often don’t have enough sufficient resources, making IT management an enormous challenge.  However, it can be done.  By implementing automated, cloud-based solutions to proactively manage some of the vital, but mundane and time-consuming tasks, IT staff can be freed up to focus on more important projects.

In …

For small or mid-sized banks, patch management is a vital part of ensuring that their networks are secure, customer data is protected and they comply with regulatory requirements.  Having the resources dedicated to making sure it’s done right is another issue altogether.  Just ask Matthew Hildebrandt, Assistant Vice President of IT at Integrity First Bank, a single location bank in Wausau, WI.

As the lone IT person at the bank, Matthew was spending way too much time fixated on his “sneaker net,” which consisted of 40 personal computers and four servers.  “It’s not an overly complex environment,” he said. “But being …

Today the number of virtual machines (VMs) being introduced into the enterprise IT environment is proliferating and SMBs are beginning to evaluate how they too can benefit from bringing VMs into their environments.  For SMBs the benefits can include: more agile and high available environments, lower total cost of ownership, and reduced downtime of critical servers.

However, as the level of virtualization adoption continues to increase at a very rapid pace there is a rising concern about the ever increasing number of “unidentified risks” that accompany this growth. Companies large and small are moving to implement some form of virtualization, but …

Since 2007, Spiceworks – a cloud based, social IT management technology company, has quietly evolved into one of the world’s largest IT technology service providers. With more than 1.3 million users and even more machines under management, Spiceworks has made an incredible impact on the world of IT.

In 2010, Shavlik and Spiceworks entered into a partnership that benefits existing Spiceworks users. Currently, the majority of Spiceworks users leverage Microsoft Window Server Update Services (WSUS) to aid in managing the challenges associated with patch management. Over the past three years, one of the most requested features by Spiceworks users has been …

One of the single greatest challenges facing any information technology professional these days is the need to do more with less. Even though it appears our economy is beginning to rebound, organizations are still taking a very conservative approach to spending, and the information technology sector is no exception. However, with the advent of cloud computing solutions – from cloud-based application ware, to full blown infrastructure platforms – the ability to do more with less is becoming much more realistic.

According to the Aberdeen Group, cloud computing is changing the role of IT from predominantly one of maintenance …

Over the past year, there has been an enormous amount of attention paid to activities, technology and innovation surrounding the subject of Cloud Computing, and for obvious reasons!  As the world of IT continues to reshape itself, the role of cloud-based services and technologies will play a vital role. That said, the ability to take advantage the “economies of the cloud,” which are the economic forces, business drivers, and structural issues affecting the costs and benefits of adopting cloud technologies, rest squarely with the technology adopter (user) and vendor alike. From the vendor’s perspective, cloud-based services need to be easy to consume and accessible from anywhere, …

The advent of regulations that impact IT (SOX, PCI, FDCC, etc.) are considered by many as a costly nuisance. However, one could argue that the impact of these regulations that require stringent controls and accountability have resulted in higher levels of measurable security.

Earlier this week, one of the most well known regulations (SOX) came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court…specific to concerns around oversight. There was an excellent article published that illustrates the courts ruling:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703964104575334771098178714.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection

The following is my summary of the results of the ruling:

1) The Supreme Court has ruled that the SEC now has the ability to …