Protecting Your Data and Your Network!
– Could You Become an IT Hostage?
By: Dan Boughton, CPR Senior Security Consultant.

Who holds the keys to your kingdom?
Your IT systems, servers and infrastructure are the nervous system of your company. You count on your IT systems for customer information (CRM), accounting, billing, service delivery, manufacturing (ERP), design (CAD), email and many other functions. Without access to these systems, and the information they hold, your organization would not be able to perform. How long could you survive?


What about a disaster? It doesn’t have to be a meteor, flood or tornado. It could be human error or simply something unexpected that fails.
Most large companies spend between 2% and 4% of their IT budget on disaster recovery planning; this is intended to avoid larger losses. Of companies that had a major loss of computerized data, 43% never reopen, 51% close within two years, and only 6% will survive long-term.

A San Francisco Network Administrator made news recently when he essentially locked the city out of its own network infrastructure. The one individual who had designed, configured and implemented the network was the only individual who understood how the physical network was configured, and the only person who knew the various logon credentials to manage the network infrastructure. When he decided that he didn’t want others to tamper with “his” network, he locked everyone else out.

How can you prevent your organization from being held hostage to a rogue administrator, or to a critical situation where the Network Administrator is unavailable? By having a complete Network Assessment and documentation performed, you can ensure that the critical details related to your IT assets are documented so that others can be engaged as necessary to gain access to some of your most critical assets – your data. The Assessment is also one of the first steps in developing a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan.

Click here or contact your CPR Account Manager to discuss how we can help you with your Business and Information Technology needs.

Are you frustrated with spam?
Manage Spam and Email with mailMAX

Do you struggle with spam? How many hours of productivity are you losing? Assuming that each employee spends just 5 minutes per day either deleting or reading unwanted email, the cost to your organization is surprising.

The mailMAX Spam Filtering solution is an affordable managed service which is specifically designed to prevent spam from clogging your network and diluting the productivity of its users. mailMAX uses filtering technologies to identify likely spam content and block unwanted messages from entering your network.

The mailMAX filtration process:
• Consistently blocks 95% of spam directed at a typical domain
• Conserves system resources
• Saves valuable employee time


Now through September 30th, we’ll waive the $300 setup fee for new mailMAX customers. If you are tired of dealing with spam and junk mail, click here or call your Account Manager for more details.

Free Windows Server® 2008 Software As a Microsoft Certified Partner for Learning Solutions, CPR works with Microsoft to offer you top level training on the latest technology, direct from the experts. You'll learn the powerful new management tools and security enhancements of Windows Server 2008 and come away with the skills you need to configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Windows Server 2008, as well as a free copy of the software. That's right. Enroll and attend any one of three specific Windows Sever 2008 training classes between June 27 and December 31, 2008 (while supplies last) and you'll receive the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition— FREE. This offer is available for a limited time and only while supplies last so act now. Click here for more details.

B.O.S.S. - Business Owner Seminar Series
Checking the Pulse of Your Business
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 7:45am – 11:15am
Location: The Cambell Group building
B.O.S.S. events are free to business owners and CEO's

Click here for more information and to register for the event.

ITMA October Meeting - Enabling Enterprise 2.0
CPR hosts The Information Technology Management Association meetings at our facility every month. The topic for October is Enabling Enterprise 2.0, featuring Bruce J. Rogow of IT Odyssey.

This session will discuss:
• What are the key technologies and business changes to watch?
• What are the major changes in the way businesses will be doing business?
• What are the types of collaboration seen in an Enterprise 2.0?
• What approaches have been most successful to enable success with collaboration?

The October monthly meeting is offered only in Grand Rapids. The meeting is at CPR on Thursday, October 16 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.