With every New Year comes the chance to reset priorities. Unfortunately, when the topic of implementing a data recovery plan comes up, the comment we most often hear is “I know I should, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet…”

So…what if the pilot on the next flight you’re on announces right after takeoff, “I know we should have run through our preflight checklist, but we haven’t gotten around to it yet…”???

Without a solid backup and recovery plan in place, just one mission-critical file that gets lost or stolen could put your company in a world of serious hurt. When you compare the high cost of replacement, repair, and recovery to the relatively trivial price of keeping good backups, the choice is an absolute no-brainer.

Why Disaster Recovery Planning Matters More Than You Think

Let’s face it; data is the nucleus of your business. That means that a single ransomware attack could wipe you out in a matter of minutes. Today’s cybercriminals are raking in literally billions of dollars (yes, billions) preying on the unwary, the poorly protected, and those who “haven’t gotten around to it yet”.

Let’s consider the facts… Ninety-seven percent of IT services providers surveyed by Datto, a data protection company, report that ransomware attacks on small businesses are becoming more frequent, and they expect that trend to continue. These attacks are taking place despite anti-virus and anti-malware measures in effect at the time of the attack.

Windows operating systems are most often infected, followed by MacOS. Cloud-based applications, particularly Dropbox, Office 365, and Google Apps, are also being targeted.

Ransom demands typically run between $500 and $2,000. About 10% of those, however, exceed $5,000. And even at that, paying a ransom demand is no guarantee that encrypted files will be released. For a typical SMB, downtime from ransomware can cost around $8,500 per hour and will take an average of 18.5 hours of the company’s time. That’s a hit to your bottom line somewhere in the neighborhood of $157,250. Yet in many cases, the ultimate cost has reached multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a recent survey of 6,000 IT professionals by the Ponemon Institute, 86% of companies had one or more incidents causing downtime in the past 12 months. Typical downtime was 2.2 days, with an average cost of $366,363. And that’s just the average. Could your company survive that kind of hit? It’s no wonder that 81% of smaller businesses suffering such an attack close their doors within three years.

What’s behind these costly incidents? Here’s the breakdown of contributing factors:

• Human error: 60%
• Unexpected updates and patches: 56%
• Fire, explosion or Natural Disaster: 36%
• Power outages: 29%

Note that human error accounts for 60% of the breaches. It’s no wonder then that ransomware attacks are on the rise since they can be triggered by just one employee inadvertently clicking a bad link in an e-mail or on a social media site. Human behavior is hard to control. However, the #1 antidote for a ransomware attack is having a secure backup ready and waiting to replace encrypted files.

And when you scan through the rest of the list above, it becomes clear that, while you need to implement a comprehensive set of data security measures, having a solid and reliable data recovery plan in place and ready to go the moment disaster strikes is still your best defense.

Protect Your Company From A Knockout Blow In 2018

Cyber threats are proliferating, and are expected to grow throughout 2018 and beyond. Will this be the year you finally get your data backup and recovery plan DONE?

The choice is yours—exposure to a devastating loss… or rock-solid security. Let us help. Call us at {phone} or email {email} and let’s schedule a thorough Backup And Recovery Plan Audit for your company.

Do NOT wait until disaster strikes. Let’s make 2018 the year you finally get this DONE. Contact me TODAY so we can keep your company’s story from becoming yet another unfortunate statistic.

Apple has long been known as a high-end brand that caters to the younger, wealthier consumer. However, market shifts and changes in the industry have them rethinking their business model.  They are now focusing on mid-market consumers to maintain market share.

Apple’s marketing efforts have long been legendary throughout the world.  In the past, their target demographic was young, hip urbanites who had plenty of discretionary income. Owning an Apple brand was a self-expression of belonging and achievement.

Apple’s drive for efficiency, expedited access to information and advanced capabilities goes as far back as the iPod release and continues today. As a result, Apple has grabbed over 14 percent of the global smartphone market share.

However, fast-moving Chinese companies, along with market leader Samsung, are now taking command of global smartphone sales with their lower-cost products. This new fierce competition has Apple considering a jump into the fray of mid-market offerings.

Global Market Shifts

U.S. consumers may believe that they’re the most technologically advanced in the world—However, they are sorely mistaken. More than 44 percent of global users will own smartphones in 2017— And that number is even greater in countries like South Korea, which leads the world in smartphone ownership, with a whopping 88 percent of the population owning a smart device.

In fact, the U.S. is barely in the top five when you consider usage, with Australia, the UAE and Israel ranking higher, and Spain, the U.K, Canada, Chile and Malaysia following a few percentage points behind. This, in part, is fueled by the prevalence of lower-cost Android phones that offer much of the same functionality and design points as an Apple phone, but at a more affordable price.

Apple’s Marketing Prowess

Part of the reason that Apple has maintained their market dominance, even with their expensive price points, is due to their exceptional marketing prowess. Apple product releases are major events that the media and consumers flock to in mass. Their usability testing focus helps Apple understand their customers at a deep level, fulfilling not only their physical needs (a smartphone), but their aspirational needs (acceptance and a chance to be the “cool kids”). Apple’s strict focus on customer needs, combined with the highest quality in product design and packaging has created an attractive, premium brand.

The Shift in Cellular Provider Models

Another factor that is increasing Apple’s focus on the mid-market is the monumental shift in the cellular industry. Providers such as Verizon and Sprint no longer subsidize the cost of handsets. What this means is that consumers who may have paid on a monthly basis for phones without realizing it was part of a 2-year contract, are now being forced to shell out upwards of $650 for a new Apple phone every year or so. This will limit the range of consumers who can make this type of purchase, further narrowing Apple’s target market range.

Shifting to Mid-Market

Apple has already expanded into the mid-market with their various levels of Macs, such as the less-expensive MacBook Air at around $999 versus the MacBook Pro at several thousand dollars. They also continue to offer older model phones when new models are introduced, to provide customers with an entry-level option. The recent introduction of the iPhone SE seems to be taking off, and the iPad Mini offers a lower-cost option for the tablet crowd without sacrificing much in functionality.

Services Income

Apple’s services business is the size of a Fortune 100 company, with a 30 percent revenue from each sale on the iTunes and App stores, plus Apple Pay, storage payments for iCloud, and their new Apple Music offering. Services continue to outpace product sales by a significant margin, and this may be one reason Apple is looking to broaden their scope of offerings to appeal to a larger market.

Currently, Apple targets younger consumers to lock them into the services infrastructure early on.  They know that as this population ages, and moves upwards in their careers, making a change to a new service will be hurdle.

While targeting the budget market is not likely for Apple, other smartphone and tablet manufacturers should continue to watch their back as Apple extends their reach into the mid-market with offerings that appeal to a broader base of consumers.

Want to learn how to leverage Apple or other technologies for your business in {city}? Contact {company} at {phone} or via email {email} to speak with one of our IT experts.

Use Google My Business to update your Google Maps and Google Search Listings at any time and for free.

Have you ever wished you had a quick way to update your Google listings with new or timely news about your business?  Google has rolled out a useful feature for all business users that can help grant your wish.  You can create Google Posts from within your free Google My Business account to offer various kinds of updates that will automatically show up on your listings in Google Maps and Google Search.

According to Search Engine Land, political accounts have had this feature since early in 2016. Back then, they called this feature Candidate Cards.  After that, Google rolled it out to a few business accounts.  Every business now has a chance to let customers know about upcoming events, special promotions, and other timely news.  Take a moment to learn to create Google Posts and how they can benefit your company.

How to Add Updated Google Posts to Google Maps and Google Search

Adding live updates to your Google Maps and search results is pretty simple:

Create a Google My Business Account

If you don’t already have an account with Google My Business, you need to create one for your company.  Google does not charge for this tool, and it allows you to manage your business presence all across the network.  In addition to managing your listings, you can also use My Business to interact with customers and gain insights about your digital presence.  Even if you’re not interested in creating live updates with Google Posts, you should consider signing up and exploring various features of Google My Business.

Create Google Posts From Within My Business

From within your account, you can find “Posts” on the left-side menu.  Alternatively, you can click the link to go directly to the Google Posts section inside of your account.

This list highlights some of the different features that you can use to create your post:

• Text:  You can add a maximum of 300 words to describe your update.
• Events: If you want to update customers about a limited-time event, you can add an event title with start and end times.
• Images: Google allows you to add an image to make your post stand out more.

Add a Call to Action

Besides the basic options for your Google Post, Google also lets you choose a call-to-action button to add to your post.  Some of your options for button text will include Reserve, Buy, Sign Up, and Get Offer.  You link this button to pages on your website that could allow customers to make reservations, get more information, join your email newsletter, obtain a promotional code or coupon, or even make a purchase.

Keep Track of Post Expiration Dates

Remember, Google means for these posts to emphasize short-term updates and not to serve as permanent parts of your listing.  Your posts will expire after seven days.  The system helpfully alerts you on the sixth day that your current post is about ready to expire.  Right now, there doesn’t seem to be any way to renew the same post.

If your previous post performed well for you, you can simply create a similar one.  If you didn’t enjoy much response, you might test some different approaches.  Either way, keep in mind that these are meant to help offer updated information and not to last forever.

How Can Your Business Use Google Posts to Enhance Your Listings?

Most of you can probably think of several ways that Google Posts could enhance your search or Google Maps listings.  You might even experiment with a few different formats until you learn what works best for your unique kind of business.

These are some examples:

• Post events:  If you run a local restaurant, you may run a special menu for Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, or another holiday. Your bar might feature live shows that you schedule on certain nights.  Either way, you could use your post to highlight your special events and allow customers to book reservations with a couple of clicks.
• Gain subscribers: If you hope to build your email list, you might offer a subscribers-only giveaway or discount.  Offer news about this promotion and then let searchers directly signup and take advantage of the offer.  Even if some people aren’t ready to buy, you can still add them to your list of prospects this way.
• New products: Your retail store may have fielded a number of requests for a hard-to-find or specialized item.  Let searchers know that you have it in stock.  You can link your call-to-action button to an informational page with text, graphics, or videos that will help you close more sales. Alternatively, you might route searchers directly to a buy-it-now page for online sales.

Why Keep Your Listings Updated With Google Posts?

Most marketers would be happy to find ways to add more content to their listings and to keep potential customers informed about upcoming events and other news.  Since Google also lets you add a call-to-action button, Google Posts can serve as a powerful marketing tool that you may begin to rely upon frequently.  Even if you don’t decide to make use of Google Posts, it’s a good idea to learn about other helpful features you can access within your Google My Business Account.