New England Data Services Blog

Video Game Software Industry's Future Gives Opportunity

 

The Video Game Software industry is a low concentrated market with major companies involved.  But, we cannot only speak of the Video Game Software industry alone when involving data centers as well.  Data centers provide services to all industries and games that involve internet access.  The gaming market is one that looks to increase in the coming years and provide opportunities to other industries. 

Each company is trying to compete against each other by giving a unique gaming experience with each one of its products.  Games have come a long way from Pong and Space Invaders and now, games are interactive and visually fascinating. The gaming industry is also able to introduce advanced and multiple use technology to not only be cost effective entertainment system for a household, but also give the world a closer, hands on view of the latest technology.  Within recent years, high speed internet access has played a key role in expanding the gaming experience for gamers which in turn provides a bright future for gaming servers and data centers.  The expansion of the gaming experience benefits the gaming industry and many technologically related industries as well.

                The use of the internet in gaming has changed the industry for the better.  According to the GIA (Global Industry Analysis), the Video Game industry alone will reach close to 92 billion by the year 2015.  Players are now able to interact with other players around the world.  The MMOG or multi-player gaming concept has become a phenomenon in Internet cafes and a growth in East Asian, Japanese and European markets.  Also, the advancement of PDA's, smart phones and Iphones have also led to the increase of wireless/mobile gaming.  And many mobile phone providers have not made a transition into hardcore gaming which leaves a market open for the future.  The market is not only expanding globally, but also in age range.  Mature adults and women are accessing online gaming such as puzzles or trivia.

                A trend within recent years provides another opportunity for the Video game software industry.  Social networking sites have risen astronomically within the last 5 years.  With advancement in technology, a possibility in gaming can be user generated content based on the wants of the gamer.  With this kind of technology, it also provides opportunity for advertisers within games to concentrate their products to certain users.  This then generates a cash flow which could lead to companies offering users a chance to play the latest games through high speed servers.  This is not possible at the moment because of the speed of home computers and slow servers, but an opportunity for data centers to prepare for such an influx. 

                Currently, the United States and Europe dominate more than half of the world's video game software market.  This rising industry is affecting the Video Game Console industry with a slow decline in growth within the recent years.  Increase in innovation in graphics, picture resolution and ability for DVD and Blu-ray playback have given the industry a spark in growth and keeps the interest of gamers for now.   Recently, Microsoft has released Project Natal which will provide the gamer a wireless and controller free experience.  This could provide a boost in the video game console market and establish the market as necessity in a gaming experience.

It is a very exciting time within the gaming industry despite the current economic downturn.  Data Centers and hosting companies including New England Data Services are providing the uptime and reliability required for users to have the uninterrupted experience of online gaming. It has become apparent that online gaming organizations will be relying heavily on data centers and hosting provider's services in the future.

The Economies Impact on the IT Services Industry

While the failing U.S economy is certainly creating worries for most; for some the tanking market is creating growth opportunities.  Many companies view IT related tasks as the most expendable within the firm.  Technology maintenance and security positions are difficult to measure.  They don't contribute directly to a firm's bottom line.  During our current economic crisis, companies IT staffs may be among the first to be cut.  The major reason: these positions can easily be outsourced to IT service providers for a fraction of the cost.

Typically, hiring IT Service providers has been reserved for small-medium sized businesses.  When companies reach a considerable size they tend to invest in an internal IT staff.  Large firms are comfortable keeping company data in-house and having technology solutions tailored specifically for their business.  However, with the economy failing this is becoming a less feasible option.  Some large companies, like General Motors, outsource IT service because it is far more cost effective.  

So why are third party IT service providers a more feasible solution?  IT service providers typically charge a low monthly fee for their services.  They take care of everything an IT staff would handle; ranging from data back up, application/web hosting, internet connectivity, etc.  In addition to this, IT service providers are constantly making necessary upgrades to hardware and technology void of pricey additional charges.

If your business decides to have your own IT department, expect a significantly greater investment.  IT professional's salaries (approx. $85,000 per qualified personnel), servers and other necessary hardware are a major expense.  In addition to this, technology and hardware needs to be upgraded or replaced every few years.  Also, if your IT personnel encounter major issues, they may have to branch out and outsource from IT service providers.  

While the economy is certainly creating instability, businesses have numerous options for their technology needs.  Large firms may decrease internal IT operations through personnel downsizing or minimizing network hardware.  Or, they may outsource their IT needs to a third party service provider.  The IT services industry has a vast amount of providers capable of fulfilling businesses technology issues.

IT Outsourcing in Today's Economy

Anyone who has turned on the news in the past four months, or has picked up the newspaper, can tell you the American economy is in quite a decline.  Because of all the issues within the market itself, and the cost of operating any business these days, many companies are forced to lay off employees.  In fact, in September of 2008, non-farm jobs had decreased by over 159,000.  However, the IT services industry alone increased by more than 8,500 job positions.  The reasoning is very simple: Outsourcing.

Recently, companies have started a shift to outsourcing, and in some cases, laying off their own IT staffs in the process.  It is much easier for companies, in these struggling times, to pay a company as a whole per month for their services, versus paying several staff members a larger salary to manage their IT services.  

Besides saving on staff salary, there are other benefits to outsourcing as well.  For example, not every aspect of your business needs to be outsourced.  Perhaps you're more concerned about losing data, or you just want someone else to provide your internet connection to secure up-time.  On the other hand, maybe you are looking to expand and need more server space, and don't have the staff to fulfill the requirements for this.  Most outsourcing companies have the capabilities to do these things and could provide you with these services more cost-efficiently.  

Like any other plan of attack, there are always the risks, especially when considering outsourcing to overseas IT centers.  One example would be that if something fell through, you're left with a huge problem and most-likely lack the resources to fix it.  One must also be sure that the outsourcing company is capable of handling everything your IT department requires, and isn't just jumping at the chance to sign a larger contract.  

As a cliché rule of thumb, one should try and see each decision from every angle before eventually going with it.  Ask yourselves the questions: "Why is this company less expensive than this one?"  "What services does this company offer compared to that one"  "What are my benefits of having an IT staff versus outsourcing locally or over-seas?"  "Will the quality of service outweigh the money saved?"  Those that attack these situations from every angle will ultimately end up better off in the end.  

One thing that everyone should come to understand is that the IT services industry is a $748 billion industry, and has only continued to grow despite economic woes.  The businesses that are struggling with their financials should consider cost-effective alternatives such as outsourcing or other ways that would solve their IT problems.

Computer History: From Start to Art

 

I remember my family's first computer was an Apple Macintosh design where playing an 8 bit Oregon Trail was the future and almost seemed it could not get better.  Now, technology has advanced to be smaller, faster, and sleeker where style goes hand and hand with performance.  This blog will show some of the first and older styles of computers up to the latest types.

•·        UNIVAC I

The UNIVAC I was the first commercial computer, but don't think it was ready for a household.  Distributed in June of 1951, the U.S. Census bureau sold 46 of these computers at over $1 million dollars each. It used 5,200 vacuum tubes and consumed 125 kW of power and a mercury delay line capable of storing 1,000 words of 11 decimal digits plus sign (72-bit words) for memory.  I keep in my backpack 2 Gb flash drive just to give some perspective on technology.

•·        Vacuum Tubes to Transistors!

When computers were first being innovated and produced, it was thought the technology would be scarce due to the size, cost and skill to interpret the results.  Transistors came into play and reduce the size and the cost.  Transistors made the switching of ones and zeros to the speed of millionth even billionth per second.  The IBM 1401 was now being produced on a worldwide scale and captured one third of the computer market.

•·        The Beyond

Microchip and the Microprocessor took the computer to the levels of which we see today.  This was around the 1960's where only businesses, universities, and computer centers for industry.  Although other computers were out with similar technology, Steve Wozniak was credited for developing the first home computer called the Apple I. 

So that is the basic history of the computer.  Now, Here are some pictures and descriptions of some of the newest technology and some interesting looking computers.

The Macbook Air is a ultrathin laptop, no thicker than your index finger, that also provides high resolution pictures and a 120Gb hard drive.

This is the actual thinnest laptop in the world.  The Dell Adamo is the 0.65-inch thick and weighs four pounds.  The Adamo is also powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, has 2GB RAM, 128GB solid state drive.

The Singulum Laptop.  The options include your choice of exotic wood, ivory or gold keyboard and even a Diamond track point tip.

This is the Asus Bamboo Laptop Computer.  The shell of the computer is made of bamboo in effort to become more eco-friendly, but it also includes 12.1-inch screen, Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessor, and Microsoft's Windows Vista Operating System.

This is the Tsunami Dream.  Personally, I have not seen a problem with this computer yet and it has style like no other.  It runs incredibly fast and has all the latest technology on it.

These are just a few computers that have caught my eye.  Comment on past or present computers that you have experienced or seen a concept of.

Intern’s Wish List: 7 products on my Wish List

 

Being an intern and college student does not exactly give you the luxury of the most disposable income.  I have tasted the fruits of expensive gadgets (I have an older Ipod that works awesome and a Blackberry which can also be seen as a drug).  It's almost impossible to keep up with innovation; things are becoming cooler, smaller, and faster.  Now, when I grow up from intern to a possible Senior Sales Executive (inside joke here at NEDS), these are a few items I wish to own.

1.     Ipod touch

I have experienced Apple and am almost ready to follow, just don't tell my CTO please.  The Ipod touch is a sleek, internet accessible and fun product.  My roommate recently was given one and has not put it down for anything.  During a boring class (not recommended, education first kids), the games and applications you can load are incredible.  Oh yeah, it plays music as well.  I can't wait to see what Apple comes out with when I am able to afford this.

2.     Terrafugia Transition

This product has only recently been in the news and still in the testing stages, but is still really cool.  The Transition is a car that turns into a plane in only 30 minutes.  The look of it is definitely not of likes of a Bentley or of a G5 jet, but it is a CAR that turns into a PLANE.  It gets 27 miles to the gallon in the air with a top speed of 115mph while on land it gets 30 mpg and reaches speeds of 65.  This would definitely make the drive to work a little less stressful.

3.     TiVo HD

TiVo is a product that almost seems illegal.  When this product came out I said to myself "You are trying to tell me that I can watch whatever I want whenever I want?"  Yes, Matt, you can.  Named "The best DVR of 2008", TiVo allows you to watch movies, favorite tv shows, and even youtube videos on your television.  Now, that I think of it, I would never leave my house.  I think I will hold off for awhile on this one, but definitely a cool product to have.

4.     Marantz VP11S2 DLP Projector

With my TiVo, I will need something to watch it on.  Since this my wish list, I immediately went for projection systems and the Marantz VP 11S2 DLP Projector came into my path.  The world's first 1080p unit to use TI's DC4 chip, this product offers what the company says increased brightness and higher contrast than other DLP chip sets.  Suggested Retail Price: $14,999.  Now, I am no judge of product quality, but if I went on price alone, this product is the Tiger Woods of projectors.

5.     Acoustimass® 16 speaker system

For this product, I thought when looking for surround sound who is the first company to come to mind.  It was Bose and I went for the 16 speaker system.  It has 6.1 channel surround sound, Direct/Reflecting® cube speaker arrays to get direct or reflecting sound, and the bass coming from powered Acoustimass module.  This surround sound is on steroids.  Just trying to make my tv, movie and audio experience that much better.

6.     Blackberry Curve 8900

I picked the Curve 8900 as a phone because I have seen the Blackberry touch and does not appeal to me.  No Iphone either because I have (figuratively) the Ipod touch which is too similar.  This phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera, talk time of 5.5 hours, standby time of 15 days, and a very sleek design to it.  The Blackberry I have now is just incredible, especially when you need your e-mail right away.

7.     Vado HD Pocket Camcorder

This item is combination of looks and utility to make the list.  Vado's mini camcorder has a 2-inch, 680-by-240-pixel display for high quality previews of your video.  It will hold 2 hours of 720p at a high bit rate or 4 hours of 720p HD lower bit rate.  The battery is user accessible so you can carry extra one just in case.  This camera will make you want to either create an awesome video for family and friends, make a video for youtube and become famous, or catch your friends in embarrassing moments.

Well, I have an incredible home theater system, a car/plane, and something cool to make calls on.  Making this list was really fun and motivating to someday own these products.  I recommend you try making your list or even comment about some items that I am missing.

Simplifying Virtualization, It Could Be the Option For You

 

First hearing virtualization, the movie matrix came to mind and thought my boss was going to offer me a blue pill or a red pill.  After some research and failed attempts at flying, virtualization is much simpler than that and a great option for businesses.

Virtualization has multiple advantages that not only benefit the customer, but also the provider and earth.  It is a software allowing organizations to run multiple virtual machines on one physical server.  A virtual machine has the same functions of a physical computer containing a CPU, RAM hard disk, and network interface card, but multiple virtual machines are consolidated into one.  One physical server on average only uses 5 to 10% of its capacity leaving 90 to 95% of waste.  So, not only do you utilize more space on your server, but it is a cost effective solution by only using a single server.  The extra space also benefits a datacenter because of obvious reasons that if multiple servers are consolidated into one, then the datacenter has more space to sell.

The use of virtualization enables rapid deployment of applications by isolating the application in a known and controlled environment. Unknown factors such as mixed libraries caused by numerous installs can be eliminated. Severe crashes once required hours of reinstallation which would take valuable time from an organization.  Now, it only takes moments by simply copying a virtual image.  The ease of using a virtual image also allows technicians to test and experiment in an isolated harmless environment.

Now say a virtual server is over utilizing its resources for a server.  Well, that virtual machine can be easily switched to a different server that is using fewer resources.  This is an efficient process for utilizing the capacity of a server and creates flexibility.

What is surprising when researching this topic is some companies will add virtualization as a way to enhance there being "green" initiative.  Being "green" over the past years has become a selling point for many companies.  The IT industry has a very tough time justifying being "green" with the amount of energy used to run a data center.  Datacenters have to not only run the servers, but also the air conditioning units to keep the servers running at optimum performance.  Virtualization on the other hand cuts down on operating costs such as electricity and reduces CO2 emissions just with the consolidation of servers.  This is a way of protecting the environment and paying less while not sacrificing performance. 

This is the future in the IT industry.  Datacenters are able to collect inefficient servers and merge them together.  Software is easily tested on virtual servers and recovery of information is less stressful and easier.  Datacenters can now move with innovation and shifting business environments.  Virtualization is a great, unique and innovative option for a business.

New England Data Services is now providing a virtual hosting solution!!! To learn more about this release, visit http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/new-england-data-services-launches/story.aspx?guid=%7BE1F39BDB%2D8B6D%2D43EE%2DA45B%2D88AA2E381821%7D&dist=msr_13 .

Firewall? Do I Really Need It?

 

So there is a pop up saying my firewall is not turned on, does it matter?  Yes.  Firewall is a term taken from firefighting where a firewall is used to prevent the spread of a fire.  Like the original term, a computer firewall is a barrier keeping things such as spyware or malicious software from infecting your computer or spreading the "fire".  It uses a certain criteria or set of rules to distinguish what or who can enter into your network.  Frequently, firewalls are used to exclude unauthorized Internet users from accessing your private network connected to the Internet. 

Firewalls are broken into four types, but depending on which product you use, your firewall can fall beneath more than one if not all.

Network Layers

Network layer firewalls are also known as packet filters and are very fast and transparent to their users.  Traditionally, a router is the network layer firewall.  A router typically could not make complicated decision about what a packet is talking to or where it came from, but now modern network layer firewalls maintain internal information about the state of connections passing through them.  In order to use a router though, you need a validly-assigned IP address block or a private Internet address block.

Application Layer

This type is not as transparent as the Network Layer firewall possibly decreasing performance.  Application layer do provide more detailed audit reports and tend to enforce more conservative security models.  Application layer firewalls are hosts running proxy servers that do not allow traffic between networks by performing elaborate logging and examination of the traffic passing.  These can be used as network address translators as well.

Proxy

A proxy firewall offers more security than the other types, but at the cost of speed and functionality.  With a proxy, traffic does not flow through it.  Computers instead establish a connection with the proxy which acts as the "middleman" and starts a new network connection on behalf of the request.  This prevents direct connections making it difficult for a hacker to find where a network is.  It also provides protocol-aware security analysis for the protocols they support.

Unified Threat Management

This is a valuable type of firewall for small to medium sized businesses.  This guards against intrusion, but also performs content filtering, spam filtering, intrusion detection and anti-virus.  The all-in-one approach reduces complexity and makes troubleshooting an easier process.

So, a firewall is ultimately your friend and bodyguard.  By using one, you can save yourself time and trouble from possible viruses in the future.

10 Useful (and mostly Free) Programs/Websites

Tis’ the season to give, right? Well with that sentiment in mind, I have put together a list of useful programs/web sites for your PC/Laptop that can help your productivity, increase speed, provide entertainment, enhance protection, and bring about world peace; well the last one I can’t really guarantee, but it was worth a shot, right? Please enjoy these programs/sites below and feel free to comment with suggestions of your own!

1. Spybot Search & Destory (Protect yourself from Spyware, Malware, Trojans for free!)

I’ve personally used Spybot for over 5 years on virtually every computer I’ve ever used. The reason for this is because it is effective, it’s constantly updated, and best of all it’s free! Spybot has a bunch of features that make it a great tool for any PC user.

First off, it can be set up to perform daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or whenever you want scans for malicious software such as spyware (go figure!), malware, trojan’s, and more. Best of all, it is extremely effective at detecting and eliminating threats.

The immunization feature is just plain awesome. It effectively scans through Internet Explorer, Firefox, or whatever browser you use and plugs holes that have been known to be exploited by malicious software, so you can surf the web in confidence (Disclaimer: If your surfing the web and click on a link that says: Click here to get a virus then, I am sorry, but you will need far more help than Spybot or any program can provide!) All jokes aside though I highly recommend using this feature.

Spybot also includes some more advanced options as well that will allow you to do a lot of things you would otherwise have to use a multitude of programs to perform. These features include: creating reports of many system activities performed on the machine, securely delete data so it is unrecoverable, seeing a report of Spybot’s pop-up and system settings protection, Tweaks to Internet Explorer, Search and repair registry issues, Change whether certain programs startup with Windows in order to speed it up, uninstall programs, and lastly a list of all installed network drivers.

<2.2. Cute PDF (Create PDF’s for Free)

Cute PDF is a very simple and easy to use PDF creation tool. It is a completely free utility that installs on your machine as a virtual printer so when you want to create a PDF of that word document, spreadsheet, presentation, etc. all you have to do is select the print feature and choose the Cute PDF Writer selection. When you press “print” it will open up a dialog box that will allow you to save the PDF wherever you would like. It’s as simple as that!

3. LogMeIn (Secure, Easy to Use, Remote Access)

LogMeIn is a company based out of Woburn, MA that offers a suite of solutions however the one that I use the most and am most impressed with is their remote access application. They have a free version that you can install on any PC or MAC that allows you to remotely access that PC or MAC from any web browser safely and securely. The free version comes with some limitations such as the inability to perform a file transfer (or drag and drop files from one machine to another) within the application, no remote sound, remote printing, and other functions. The important thing to consider here though is if you want to be able to access your home machine easily and securely in order to view emails, use a specific program that you do not have at work, find a file, or anything else you can do on your home PC and not in the office, this is the way to go!

4. Blackberry Freeware (Free tools and utilities for everyone’s favorite cell phones)

I found this site shortly after I purchased my Blackberry and went on the hunt for ways to make it better. It has a comprehensive listing of applications and utilities organized by categories to make your Blackberry THAT much more addictive.

5.  Xobni (Outlook Plugin for better Email organization)

Xobni is an interesting and helpful plug-in for Microsoft Outlook that helps you stay more organized and effective. It gives you the ability to cycle through previous conversations with each individual contact, track statistics about each contact such as when they tend to reply to emails and how frequently they email you, and automatically pulls information from each email you receive such as phone numbers and alternative contact information.

6.  Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird (Internet Browsing, Email, Calendar)

I’m sure everyone knows of Firefox and thunderbird these days, but it’s still worth mentioning for those select few that are still slaves to Internet Explorer (OK, that may be a bit harsh…) We can all thank Mozilla for the creation of tabbed browsing, which allowed us all to stop filing our desktop with browser windows on top of browser windows. In addition, at least in my experience, Firefox allows for much faster browsing and a huge selection of add-on’s to make your browsing experience better.

Thunderbird does for email clients what Firefox did for browsers, although it is not as large of a difference as you see with the browsers. All of us that use Outlook are very familiar with the snail like speed of the program, especially when you pack it full of information. Thunderbird simplifies the email client by focusing on exactly what you need it to, EMAIL! It is very simple to use and runs much faster and far smoother than its Microsoft counterpart. If you’re still skeptical, give it a shot and see what you think.

Sunbird is a calendar function that can be integrated with Thunderbird to gives you many of the features that Outlook provides. Again this program is free and has everything you need to keep a schedule.

7.  123Rf (Royalty Free Images for a very low cost)

If you are in the need of high quality images for your marketing materials, web sites, or any other media, this is the place to go. There is a large selection of images available and they range in cost depending on the size of the image, but for a web graphic you can expect to spend just under a $1 per image.

In addition to all these great paid images, there is a collection of free images as well if you sign on as a member. The way it works at 123rf.com is a photographer submits their images and a low resolution version (blog/web version) of the images they submit remain free for a certain period of time. If you are vigilant and have the time to look through the free images collection, you can often find some great images for nothing more than the time you spend looking for them.

8. Hulu (Stream Movies and TV Shows to your PC/Laptop for Free)

Did you miss that TV show last night because of another engagement? Have you always wanted to watch a certain show or movie and never had the time to get to it? Hulu is a great web site that has tons of popular TV shows and movies that you can stream to your PC in high quality wherever there is an Internet connection. So next time you’re sitting in the airport waiting on your flight to arrive, an Internet café with time to spare, or just simply want to watch a TV show or movie, check out Hulu!

9. Pandora (Commerical Free, Personalized Internet Radio)

If you are like me, having some music playing while you working (especially on the more mundane tasks) is a great way to help pass the time and stay focused. I recently was made aware of Pandora from a co-worker and I must say, I am very impressed!

Pandora is Internet radio at its best. In fact, it is so good, I am listening to it as I am writing this article! The really cool feature that makes Pandora great is its unique ability to select music for you, based on a single band or genre you input. For example, if you put in a band like Nickelback, Pandora creates a “station” for you based around the kind of music Nickelback is known for. You can then rate each song as it plays and if you have an account with Pandora, it will remember your likes and dislikes and will instinctively select songs based on those likes and dislikes. Best of all, it is commercial free and free to use!

10. Hubspot’s Website Grader (Free SEO Analysis)

Hubspot is an Internet marketing company out of Cambridge, MA. They specialize in helping companies form a better online marketing strategy through the use of SEO, blogging, and website optimization.

Website Grader is a free tool they provide to the general public with no limit to how many sites you can grade that does a real time analysis of your site to let you know the areas that need to be changed or worked on in order to best optimize your site for the various search engines. If you like what that tool does, Hubspot has a paid solution that will assist you in keyword generation for your website, analytics and tracking, and lead generation tools.

Baseball and Backups: Covering the 4 bases of Your Business’ Data

As we just saw the conclusion of the MLB playoffs, crowning the Philadelphia Phillies the new World Series Champions after a great season in which baseball has seen so much parity, I had an interesting thought about the game of baseball that many probably do not notice; no matter where a ball is hit or what the situation is on the baseball field, every base is covered and the place where the ball is most likely to go is always backed up by another player.

How about some proof? Situation #1:

Runners on first and third, 1 out. The batter hits a screamer to right-center field that is just barely cut off by the right fielder on a dead run. The fielder turns and fires to the cut off man who immediately turns and unleashes a strike to home plate, beating the runner who is then tagged by the catcher  for the second out. Meanwhile because of defensive positioning the pitcher is standing behind the home plate area in case the throw gets by the catcher. In addition, the first baseman acts as another potential cut off man in case there is not enough time to get the runner at home. If he feels there will be no play at home it is his job to cut off the throw to home from the second baseman in order to get the batter, who would most likely be trying to take second base on the throw home to put himself in scoring position.

How about a more routine situation?  Situation #2

Next time you see a groundout to any infielder other than the second baseman, keep your eye on the catcher. You will see him trail the base runner up the first base line in case the throw is off line. In the event that the throw is wide or somehow gets past the first baseman, the catcher is now there to back it up and hopefully contain the runner to first base.

Both of these scenarios are accomplished in a matter of seconds while the cameras are following the ball. The players have practiced this over and over in order to be in position to cover all the bases and to backup the most important one. It is second nature to them; an afterthought. Surprises only occur when someone is not in the correct position and the results are usually disastrous. Of course, the important thing to remember here is that disastrous in baseball is losing the game. Losing a game is obviously not a good thing, but it is nothing compared to what would happen if the same situation happened to your business.

It is incredibly important to ensure all of your “bases” are covered when it comes to your business. Your data is one of your most important assets, and it should be treated as such. With that in mind, I have outlined four specific ways to ensure your data is safe and secure.

Single  – Onsite Data Backup

You have to get to first base first in order to have a chance at scoring right? That is why in order to play this game, you need to have a data backup solution in place. As far as first steps go, you could employ a system in which you back up your data to a mass storage device somewhere onsite or offsite. The costs of backing up onsite will be relatively cheap depending on what solution you choose, so choose the solution that is right for you and right for your budget. Many small business owners will purchase a portable hard drive for backing up their data. This is an effective solution so long as you remember to take the drive with you offsite every time you leave the office. The problem with using this type of solution is that the backup of your data is onsite. So the only real protection you have for your data is if you have an equipment malfunction. If there is a flood, fire, or any other kind of unpredictable disaster, you will most likely lose both your original data and your backups, rendering this solution effectively useless.

Double – Offsite Data Backup

A double is a great way to kick of an inning or put your team in the position for a scoring opportunity. In this instance, an offsite data backup solution can do much of the same for your business. An offsite solution is a very effective way to ensure the safety and security of your business’ critical data. Most offsite solutions will install on multiple machines, and are charged by the amount of data you choose to store. The amount of data you need to store offsite is dependent on your business, however it is important to recognize that not all data you have on your equipment is in fact critical data. Be sure to find what information you could absolutely not live without, and back that up offsite. This is a way to save on the cost of offsite backup, although that cost has significantly decreased in the past couple years. Offsite solutions are great because they eliminate the human element that is needed with a onsite solution. You do not need to push the button to start the backup or verify the data has been sent afterwards. Most solutions will automatically backup your specified data every day to the offsite location and provide you with a report at completion, so you know your data is safe and secure.

Triple – A Combination of Onsite and Offsite Data Backup Solutions

 What is better than an effective offsite solution? The answer is a combination of both and offsite and onsite backup solution! What this combination will do is provide you with a means by which you can backup your critical data onsite for quick retrieval, and offsite for safety and security. You can also use the onsite solution to backup less important data as well, providing you with a complete backup solution. Many IT professionals will tell you when it comes to your data, you back it up, and then you back it up again. This scenario will allow that to happen and ensure that your data will be safe from nearly all possible calamities.

Home Run – A Combination of Onsite and Offsite Data Backup, with a Disaster Recovery Solution

In the world of data backup, the equivalent to hitting a data backup home run is to employ a complete data backup solution in addition to having a disaster recovery plan in place that is thoroughly tested. This will give you the best of both worlds and provide you with the peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens, your company and its data are safe. If you feel all that protection is going a little overboard, I challenge you to find a company that has had a graceful rebound from a large scale data breach/loss.

This was an fun and interesting way (for me at least!) to look at the world of data backup. What is important to note about this whole article is just how imporant it is to ensure you have a secure and tested means of backing up your company's data. The level of protection you choose is up to you, but do not run the risk of getting "tagged out on the basepaths"  by not having any protection at all.

It’s Only Protocol

I find it amazing how often something is taken for granted.  Like for instance, right now, do you know how many protocols you have activated just to access this site.  Before I get into that, let’s look at what protocol is.  Protocol, in terms of the computing world, is the standard that allows a user to connect, communicate, or transfer data between two endpoints.  To clarify, there are several standards that are met for you to simply open up your web browser and start surfing.  Everything you do that is affiliated with hardware connectivity adheres to certain protocols.  

How often do you sign on to a web-browser and just type in ‘www.thissite.com’ for example?  More importantly, how often do you neglect to place the http:// before this site?  Before doing a little research myself, I had no idea that http stood for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, which is essentially one of the most used protocols daily, along with Internet Protocol, which is your IP address.  This blog focuses on some of the more common protocols accessed everyday, as well as what their main functionalities are.

Transmission Control Protocol
Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP, is more commonly associated with Internet Protocol (IP), however it works at a much greater level than the standard IP transmission.  In a nutshell, every time you wish to send a message, it is sorted via size and destination, much like typical mail is.  In comparison, if you have a standard size piece of mail (file), you will most likely grab a stamp for it and throw it any outgoing mail slot (IP).  However, if you have a large package that you wish to send, instead of breaking it down and sending out little pieces of it, you can send it out directly with a delivery service (TCP).  

TCPs are designed specifically to handle the larger messages, files, data transfers that IPs would handle at a much slower rate.  TCPs are used daily for services such as the worldwide web, emails, as well as file transferring.  Among these services, it is the TCP’s job to control the size of each message, the rate at which this message is transferred, as well as control the amount of the network’s congestion.  

Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hypertext transfer protocol, or http, is what eventually led to worldwide web as we know it.  The two endpoints for this protocol would be the user and the server.  Because of the amount of data on any given webpage, http works in direct affiliation with the aforementioned TCP.  Simplified, the way http works, is an end user (such as yourself) opens up a web browser and the http, connects to a TCP, and sends out a message.  This message is received by the other end user (the server), and reciprocates a message back to the original user.  If all goes well, your homepage will load up and you will be ready to surf the web.

Some other common protocols that were not defined or looked into might be Internet Protocol (IP), Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), and Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3).  These three can all be found, with a more in-depth analysis at this blog’s website, at blog.neds.com.