Have Lots of Gadgets Itembase Helps You Inventory and Get Paid For Them

Most all of us have a drawer full of gadgets. I know I dew - from Hand Spring Visor to several recent smartphones.

Itembase helps you easily catalog your tech gear, see how much they are of value and sell them to someone else, if need be.

There are several ways you can add your products:

Users can add products and information through different ways:

  • Directly from our partner shops after a purchase.
  • Forward email receipts to the itembase account so we’ll extract all the information related to the product
  • Connect their email accounts for a full receipt scan
  • Add products manually when users don’t have receipts
Get rid of the drawer full of gadgets and make some money.
Not only does Itembase help you sell your gadgets but it also gives you a an INVENTORY of what you have.
Keep in mind there are also some programs that help you donate your gadgets to non-profit organizations.


Have Lots of Gadgets Itembase Helps You Inventory and Get Paid For Them

Most all of us have a drawer full of gadgets. I know I dew - from Hand Spring Visor to several recent smartphones.

Itembase helps you easily catalog your tech gear, see how much they are of value and sell them to someone else, if need be.

There are several ways you can add your products:

Users can add products and information through different ways:

  • Directly from our partner shops after a purchase.
  • Forward email receipts to the itembase account so we’ll extract all the information related to the product
  • Connect their email accounts for a full receipt scan
  • Add products manually when users don’t have receipts
Get rid of the drawer full of gadgets and make some money.
Not only does Itembase help you sell your gadgets but it also gives you a an INVENTORY of what you have.
Keep in mind there are also some programs that help you donate your gadgets to non-profit organizations.


B-Sides: Akamai\'s Corman calls for new information security focus

SAN FRANCISCO -- Joshua Corman is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore.

That seemed to be the overarching theme of Corman's closing keynote Monday at Security B-Sides in San Francisco. Titled, Step Up… Or Step Out: Leveling Up, Corman spent much of the presentation detailing his frustrations with the information security community.

Our dependence on IT and software is growing faster than our ability to secure it.

Joshua Corman,
director of security intelligence, Akamai Technologies

"Every year at RSA, I say I want to quit security," said Corman, director of security intelligence at Internet infrastructure vendor Akamai Technologies Inc. "I'm not an expert. I'm sick and tired of calling people experts."

What goose in particular got Corman's gander For one, the constant focus on compliance standards, passing audits and the general skewing of priorities, which he feels pervades security.

"We're talking about PCI … who gives a [expletive] about PCI" Corman said, "The only adversary that we're strong enough to fend off is the auditor."

Though he made it clear he has no personal agenda against the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), he does advocate shifting the focus of the security community to what he feels are more pressing issues than securing credit card data, such as medical devices and critical infrastructure.

He went on to compare software to the steel and concrete that makes up the DNA Lounge, the venue for this year's B-Sides event. If an architect designs an instable building or doesn't take into account earthquakes in California, they no longer get to be an architect. In comparison, Corman feels there is a lack of professionalization in the security community, especially when the same problems that have plagued organizations for years are still problems now.

"Our dependence on IT and software is growing faster than our ability to secure it. … We've known about SQL injection for 13 years," Corman said, and yet he added there are new headlines constantly detailing new SQL injection incidents.

The growing connectivity of everyday devices to the Internet has only increased Corman's questioning of just how long enterprises and society at large can go down a path of constant insecurity.

"I am not comforted by the 'Internet of things'; I am discomforted by the 'Internet of things,'" Corman said. "If you have a toaster with software on it, you have a vulnerable toaster. If the toaster has Internet, you have a vulnerable, exposed toaster."

Corman also took time to lambaste the attendees of RSA Conference, including an anecdotal tale about someone at the show talking on camera about measuring the success of the security industry by the revenue growth of the security vendors. "How is that an accurate measure of security" he asked.

Interestingly enough, his view of the attendees at Security B-Sides, an event series originally created to foster security industry discussions of an alternative nature, didn't seem much higher.

"I like to think people that are motivated to go to B-Sides are actually more motivated to improve things," he said, "but in reality, most just want an excuse for when things go bad."

Despite considerable negativity toward seemingly everyone in the world of security, Corman described his own goal as hoping to inspire attendees, even if it's just a few, to spend less time trying to break things and more time trying to make things better.

"I don't want to focus on the things that don't affect my personal life and my security; I want to focus on the things that do," Corman said. "So be the most badass medical device hacker and researcher, because no one else is doing it."

View all of our RSA 2013 Conference coverage.




Coviello pitches \'transformational\' information security strategy

SAN FRANCISCO - It's time for the information security community to stop pointing fingers at malicious actors and emphasizing the burgeoning threat landscape, and instead begin evolving enterprise infosec strategy and infrastructure to emphasize big data analysis and interconnectivity.

We make the mistake of trying to design durable entities, when we should be designing systems that prove to be antifragile.

Art Coviello, RSA

That was the overarching message from Art Coviello, executive vice president of RSA, the security division of EMC, during his keynote address Tuesday to open the 2013 RSA Conference.

Coviello offered blunt criticism of those who, following a brazen series of recent nation-state-driven attacks highlighted by the breach at Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and the New York Times Co., remain focused on identifying the perpetrators of each attack, when the attackers' identities are fairly obvious.

"Do we really need to see a smoking gun to know there's a dead body lying on the floor" asked Coviello. "I'd rather ask, 'What are our governments going to do about it, and what are we going to do to better defend ourselves'

"There's a whole host of geopolitical issues here that are well above my pay grade," Coviello added. "But it's clear to me as it is to all of you that…all nations need to be governed by rule of law and respect for property, not just in word, but in deed."

Coviello also condemned what he called the "PR gap" in information security, with many in the press believing the cybersecurity threat is overhyped. As an example he referenced the Wired magazine article published last year that criticized former White House cybersecurity official Richard Clarke for calling U.S. critical infrastructure highly vulnerable, largely known to be true within the industry.

Yet some of the blame for that gap between perception and reality, Coviello said, lies with security professionals.

"FUD-oriented marketing, fingers tossed around, terms like 'cyber Pearl Harbor'…may raise awareness, but do nothing to improve the broader understanding of the situation," Coviello said.

Practitioners' ongoing defense efforts are further complicated, Coviello said, by the continued rapid growth of stored digital data and Internet-connected devices.

According to Coviello, stored digital content is doubling every two years, reaching 1 zettabyte last year, the equivalent of 4.9 quadrillion books; unstructured data is already five times larger than the amount of existing structured data, and is growing three times faster.

At the same time, Coviello said, estimates suggest the total number of Internet-connected devices is expected to approach 1 billion this year - including devices like vending machines, smart meters and automobiles - and by 2020 as many as 200 billion devices could be online.

"We are at a critical crossroads," Coviello said. "We are at the next evolution of the information age, with this convergence of big data, mobile, cloud, and as we face an equally evolving threat landscape, it's clear our cause is new and we must act anew."

To that end, Coviello discussed the concept of intelligence-driven security systems that he touted in his 2012 RSA Conference keynote, but drew from the title of the Nicholas Taleb book, Antifragile, to describe how enterprise security architectures must possess the capacity to become stronger or smarter in response to attacks or disorder.

"We make the mistake of trying to design durable entities," Coviello said, "when we should be designing systems that prove to be antifragile."

He said that model should allow for the rapid detection and response to attacks, applying big data analysis to security management and the application and development of individual security controls.

"Because sources of security data are almost limitless, the requirement for security management is going to go well beyond traditional SIEM," Coviello said. "We've reached the limits of that technology."

In outlining his action plan for enterprises, Coviello called for what he described as a "transformational security strategy" that transitions security infrastructures into intelligence-driven systems, incorporating big data capabilities as they become available.

Specific pillars of Coviello's plan include: creating a share data architecture that allows security information to be captured, normalized, analyzed and shared; migrating from point products to a unified security architecture using open, scalable tools; strengthening data sciences skills by adding data analysts or outside partners to manage big data capabilities; and augmenting internal threat analysis with external threat intelligence feeds from as many sources as possible.

"We must operate independent of and in concert with the threat environment and other environmental changes," Coviello said. "I don't mean to imply we're headed to some security utopia, but…this model is future proof, even if the operation of it isn't."

View all of our RSA 2013 Conference coverage.




Social Media Marketing:Tools That Help You Manage and Leverage Your Social Space

Time is limited for small business owners, with many looking for any possible way to squeeze extra minutes from each day. One of those time-consuming tasks is social media marketing. In fact, a recent survey of business owners by VerticalResponse found that more than 43 percent of business owners spend six hours or more per week on social media efforts. One-third of business owners responding in the survey said they wanted to spend less time on those efforts. Many small businesses lack the resources to devote hours each day to social media efforts, but those efforts are crucial to growing a business.

Almost overnight, it seems dozens of social media tools have popped up to help small business owners save time on marketing efforts. These tools can help you schedule posts, view multiple accounts on one dashboard, and add various team members for collaboration. While traditional favorites like HootSuite provide a great solution, a few small business owners have discovered new social media tools that give these popular services competition.

VerticalResponse Social

Businesses all over the world are familiar with VerticalResponse’s e-mail marketing platform. The company’s social media marketing module allows businesses to schedule posts up to 30 days in advance, create and share coupons, and receive reporting. For businesses that have VerticalResponse for e-mail, social media can be added for only $9 per month. New customers can access only the social media features for $18 per month per user.

VerticalResponse cites several customers who have significantly reduced the amount of time they spend managing social media campaigns. Third Coast Training’s Johnny Shelby was able to cut his social media work down from an entire day to only a couple of hours, freeing up time to work on other tasks. Over time, Shelby realized he’d saved the equivalent of $450 or more each week by having more time to devote to working with customers.

“I can now crank out a campaign in minutes,” Shelby says. “It makes me look like one of the big dogs and helps me stay ahead of the curve.”

SproutSocial

SproutSocial pulls out the most important conversations from various social media sites, displaying them front and center in each member’s dashboard. Digital Intent’s Sean Johnson uses it to manage the social networks for his business, stating, “It makes it really easy to monitor and publish various social networks, and have some great reporting tools to track effectiveness.”

Analytics and multiple site monitoring are features offered by other popular social media dashboard services. What sets SproutSocial apart is its easy-to-use interface and advanced marketing tools. The site allows users to target specific audiences and track interaction with customers, making it a better blend of social media and CRM. Prices start at only $39 per user per month.

Buffer

For social media marketers interested primarily in scheduling posts, Buffer provides a simple, straightforward interface. Buffer supports Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, allowing members to set up text, photo, and even video posts. One of the best features of Buffer is that it helps marketers pinpoint peak times on various social media sites throughout the day and schedule posts to deploy at those times. So the busy business owner can set up Tweets, status updates, and LinkedIn posts at six a.m. in the morning, when no one is online, with the confidence those posts will show up during high visibility times.

“Buffer is absolutely the best at time-saving because I am a part-time entrepreneur with a full-time career,” Montina Portis of Organic Life Products says. “It gives me the opportunity to spend 30 minutes every morning scheduling my day on Twitter and Facebook. I then spend five to seven minutes per hour engaging with my audience and have in effect continued my marketing efforts during the day while cutting back on my time online.”

Business owners can’t go wrong with HootSuite, but it’s important to give other services a look to determine whether another product my suit your individual business needs. Using the tools available today, small business owners can free up time to put toward other pursuits without sacrificing the strength of their social media marketing efforts.



Social Media Marketing:Tools That Help You Manage and Leverage Your Social Space

Time is limited for small business owners, with many looking for any possible way to squeeze extra minutes from each day. One of those time-consuming tasks is social media marketing. In fact, a recent survey of business owners by VerticalResponse found that more than 43 percent of business owners spend six hours or more per week on social media efforts. One-third of business owners responding in the survey said they wanted to spend less time on those efforts. Many small businesses lack the resources to devote hours each day to social media efforts, but those efforts are crucial to growing a business.

Almost overnight, it seems dozens of social media tools have popped up to help small business owners save time on marketing efforts. These tools can help you schedule posts, view multiple accounts on one dashboard, and add various team members for collaboration. While traditional favorites like HootSuite provide a great solution, a few small business owners have discovered new social media tools that give these popular services competition.

VerticalResponse Social

Businesses all over the world are familiar with VerticalResponse’s e-mail marketing platform. The company’s social media marketing module allows businesses to schedule posts up to 30 days in advance, create and share coupons, and receive reporting. For businesses that have VerticalResponse for e-mail, social media can be added for only $9 per month. New customers can access only the social media features for $18 per month per user.

VerticalResponse cites several customers who have significantly reduced the amount of time they spend managing social media campaigns. Third Coast Training’s Johnny Shelby was able to cut his social media work down from an entire day to only a couple of hours, freeing up time to work on other tasks. Over time, Shelby realized he’d saved the equivalent of $450 or more each week by having more time to devote to working with customers.

“I can now crank out a campaign in minutes,” Shelby says. “It makes me look like one of the big dogs and helps me stay ahead of the curve.”

SproutSocial

SproutSocial pulls out the most important conversations from various social media sites, displaying them front and center in each member’s dashboard. Digital Intent’s Sean Johnson uses it to manage the social networks for his business, stating, “It makes it really easy to monitor and publish various social networks, and have some great reporting tools to track effectiveness.”

Analytics and multiple site monitoring are features offered by other popular social media dashboard services. What sets SproutSocial apart is its easy-to-use interface and advanced marketing tools. The site allows users to target specific audiences and track interaction with customers, making it a better blend of social media and CRM. Prices start at only $39 per user per month.

Buffer

For social media marketers interested primarily in scheduling posts, Buffer provides a simple, straightforward interface. Buffer supports Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, allowing members to set up text, photo, and even video posts. One of the best features of Buffer is that it helps marketers pinpoint peak times on various social media sites throughout the day and schedule posts to deploy at those times. So the busy business owner can set up Tweets, status updates, and LinkedIn posts at six a.m. in the morning, when no one is online, with the confidence those posts will show up during high visibility times.

“Buffer is absolutely the best at time-saving because I am a part-time entrepreneur with a full-time career,” Montina Portis of Organic Life Products says. “It gives me the opportunity to spend 30 minutes every morning scheduling my day on Twitter and Facebook. I then spend five to seven minutes per hour engaging with my audience and have in effect continued my marketing efforts during the day while cutting back on my time online.”

Business owners can’t go wrong with HootSuite, but it’s important to give other services a look to determine whether another product my suit your individual business needs. Using the tools available today, small business owners can free up time to put toward other pursuits without sacrificing the strength of their social media marketing efforts.



Social Media Marketing:Tools That Help You Manage and Leverage Your Social Space

Time is limited for small business owners, with many looking for any possible way to squeeze extra minutes from each day. One of those time-consuming tasks is social media marketing. In fact, a recent survey of business owners by VerticalResponse found that more than 43 percent of business owners spend six hours or more per week on social media efforts. One-third of business owners responding in the survey said they wanted to spend less time on those efforts. Many small businesses lack the resources to devote hours each day to social media efforts, but those efforts are crucial to growing a business.

Almost overnight, it seems dozens of social media tools have popped up to help small business owners save time on marketing efforts. These tools can help you schedule posts, view multiple accounts on one dashboard, and add various team members for collaboration. While traditional favorites like HootSuite provide a great solution, a few small business owners have discovered new social media tools that give these popular services competition.

VerticalResponse Social

Businesses all over the world are familiar with VerticalResponse’s e-mail marketing platform. The company’s social media marketing module allows businesses to schedule posts up to 30 days in advance, create and share coupons, and receive reporting. For businesses that have VerticalResponse for e-mail, social media can be added for only $9 per month. New customers can access only the social media features for $18 per month per user.

VerticalResponse cites several customers who have significantly reduced the amount of time they spend managing social media campaigns. Third Coast Training’s Johnny Shelby was able to cut his social media work down from an entire day to only a couple of hours, freeing up time to work on other tasks. Over time, Shelby realized he’d saved the equivalent of $450 or more each week by having more time to devote to working with customers.

“I can now crank out a campaign in minutes,” Shelby says. “It makes me look like one of the big dogs and helps me stay ahead of the curve.”

SproutSocial

SproutSocial pulls out the most important conversations from various social media sites, displaying them front and center in each member’s dashboard. Digital Intent’s Sean Johnson uses it to manage the social networks for his business, stating, “It makes it really easy to monitor and publish various social networks, and have some great reporting tools to track effectiveness.”

Analytics and multiple site monitoring are features offered by other popular social media dashboard services. What sets SproutSocial apart is its easy-to-use interface and advanced marketing tools. The site allows users to target specific audiences and track interaction with customers, making it a better blend of social media and CRM. Prices start at only $39 per user per month.

Buffer

For social media marketers interested primarily in scheduling posts, Buffer provides a simple, straightforward interface. Buffer supports Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, allowing members to set up text, photo, and even video posts. One of the best features of Buffer is that it helps marketers pinpoint peak times on various social media sites throughout the day and schedule posts to deploy at those times. So the busy business owner can set up Tweets, status updates, and LinkedIn posts at six a.m. in the morning, when no one is online, with the confidence those posts will show up during high visibility times.

“Buffer is absolutely the best at time-saving because I am a part-time entrepreneur with a full-time career,” Montina Portis of Organic Life Products says. “It gives me the opportunity to spend 30 minutes every morning scheduling my day on Twitter and Facebook. I then spend five to seven minutes per hour engaging with my audience and have in effect continued my marketing efforts during the day while cutting back on my time online.”

Business owners can’t go wrong with HootSuite, but it’s important to give other services a look to determine whether another product my suit your individual business needs. Using the tools available today, small business owners can free up time to put toward other pursuits without sacrificing the strength of their social media marketing efforts.



10 Reasons Twitter Is Bad and Good For Your Business.

Some awesome advice from Infusionsoft’s GroSocial.

Ninety percent of small businesses have created a Facebook presence, but  many hesitate to create (or use) a Twitter profile to market their business. It’s easy to see why: Twitter is different. With users throwing around @’s, #’s, and acronyms, it can seem a little foreign compared to the intuitiveness of Facebook. Even so, Twitter’s 288 million active users is an attractive audience that you should consider connecting with.

When you understand the advantages and disadvantages of Twitter, you can better decide to tweet or not to tweet.

Twitter Pros

  1. Twitter is massive. Even if you are a small business with a very unique niche, Twitter is big enough that you can find an audience.
  2. Every tweet goes to your followers. On Facebook, each post you make only goes out to some of your fans because of Facebook’s Edgerank algorithm.
  3. On Twitter, unless you tweet directly to someone, each and every tweet goes to all of your followers.
  4. Tweets are easy to create. While many brands share links to longer content, a simple Tweet takes less than a minute to write and send, but  can still be very effective. During the Super Bowl power outage, Oreo’s “You can still dunk in the dark” tweet generated over 15,000 retweets.
  5. You can get to the point. Since you are limited to 140 characters, you need to get to the point. On Twitter, you still need to be polite, but you can be more direct than on other platforms.

Twitter Cons 

  1. Twitter is busy. Twitter users generate 340 million tweets per day, and most users follow several hundred profiles. Because there is no Edgerank,  if you only tweet once or twice a day, your tweets are quickly buried in your followers’ feeds.
  2. Twitter is not ideal for visual content. Twitter is mostly text based.
  3. If you want to share a lot of photos, Pinterest or Instagram may be a better fit. (Even so, Tweets that include a link to a photo have twice the engagement of tweets without a photo.)
  4. You are limited to 140 characters. If you have trouble expressing your thoughts in just a few words, Twitter will be a challenge.
  5. Not everyone can advertise. While Twitter does allow for promoted tweets and profiles, you need to be approved by Twitter before you can use its promotion features. You can find out more about promoting your small business on Twitter here .

To get noticed, it is important to tweet often throughout the day. This is much easier when you have a tweet scheduling tool like GroSocial’s content  manager.

Whether you decide to use Twitter or not, we hope you will consider it in your social marketing efforts.



10 Reasons Twitter Is Bad and Good For Your Business.

Some awesome advice from Infusionsoft’s GroSocial.

Ninety percent of small businesses have created a Facebook presence, but  many hesitate to create (or use) a Twitter profile to market their business. It’s easy to see why: Twitter is different. With users throwing around @’s, #’s, and acronyms, it can seem a little foreign compared to the intuitiveness of Facebook. Even so, Twitter’s 288 million active users is an attractive audience that you should consider connecting with.

When you understand the advantages and disadvantages of Twitter, you can better decide to tweet or not to tweet.

Twitter Pros

  1. Twitter is massive. Even if you are a small business with a very unique niche, Twitter is big enough that you can find an audience.
  2. Every tweet goes to your followers. On Facebook, each post you make only goes out to some of your fans because of Facebook’s Edgerank algorithm.
  3. On Twitter, unless you tweet directly to someone, each and every tweet goes to all of your followers.
  4. Tweets are easy to create. While many brands share links to longer content, a simple Tweet takes less than a minute to write and send, but  can still be very effective. During the Super Bowl power outage, Oreo’s “You can still dunk in the dark” tweet generated over 15,000 retweets.
  5. You can get to the point. Since you are limited to 140 characters, you need to get to the point. On Twitter, you still need to be polite, but you can be more direct than on other platforms.

Twitter Cons 

  1. Twitter is busy. Twitter users generate 340 million tweets per day, and most users follow several hundred profiles. Because there is no Edgerank,  if you only tweet once or twice a day, your tweets are quickly buried in your followers’ feeds.
  2. Twitter is not ideal for visual content. Twitter is mostly text based.
  3. If you want to share a lot of photos, Pinterest or Instagram may be a better fit. (Even so, Tweets that include a link to a photo have twice the engagement of tweets without a photo.)
  4. You are limited to 140 characters. If you have trouble expressing your thoughts in just a few words, Twitter will be a challenge.
  5. Not everyone can advertise. While Twitter does allow for promoted tweets and profiles, you need to be approved by Twitter before you can use its promotion features. You can find out more about promoting your small business on Twitter here .

To get noticed, it is important to tweet often throughout the day. This is much easier when you have a tweet scheduling tool like GroSocial’s content  manager.

Whether you decide to use Twitter or not, we hope you will consider it in your social marketing efforts.



Apple to pay out $120m in iTunes credits

Apple has agreed to give more than US$100 million (NZD$121 million) in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that the iPhone and iPad maker improperly charged kids for playing games on their mobile devices.

The two-year-old case centers on allegations that Apple didn't create adequate parental controls to prevent children from buying extra features while playing free games on iPhones and iPads in 2010 and 2011.

Parents who filed the lawsuit in 2011 said they didn't realise their children were racking up the charges until they received bills or other notifications after the purchases were made. The games that had been downloaded were designed for kids as young as 4-years old, according to the lawsuit.

Apple introduced more stringent controls governing in-game purchases as part of a March 2011 update to the software that runs its mobile devices.

Under an agreement filed in federal court last week, Apple has agreed to award an iTunes credit of $5 to each of the estimated 23 million account holders who may have been affected. Parents could receive more if they can show their bills exceeded $5. If the charges exceeded $30, cash refunds will be offered.

The lawyers who sued Apple said it's still too early to determine how many people ultimately will qualify for the iTunes credits and cash refunds. As part of the settlement, the attorneys are seeking $1.3 million in fees, which would be paid by Apple.

Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California, has so far declined to comment.

A hearing on the proposed settlement is scheduled Friday (US) in San Jose, California.

-AP



6 Benefits of Social Media for Small Businesses

The social media revolution has changed the way that successful small businesses interact with customers and reach out to new markets. These six benefits will show you how important it is for your small business to start using social media.

Social Media Increases Website Traffic

web traffic

Web Traffic Photo via Shutterstock

Whether you prefer to tweet or post messages on Facebook, your small business can use social media platforms to increase traffic to its website.

In fact, 72 percent of small businesses find that going social boosts website traffic. Once customers visit your site, they can learn more about your products and services. If you’re really tech-savvy, you can even have an online store that will seal the deal without even asking customers to leave their homes.

Social Media Helps You Create a Personality for Your Business

LegoLego Photo via Shutterstock

Advertisements don’t give you much time or space. At best, you get to tell potential customers about your products.

With social media, you can create a likable personality for your small business. Big companies spend thousands of dollars on branding. All you have to do is be yourself, post frequently and respond to your customers online.

Social Media Can Reward Your Customers With Discounts

mobile discountMobile Discount Photo via Shutterstock

Social media makes it easy for you to reach out to your customers. If you’re having a slow day, you can use your Twitter or Facebook account to get more people in your store.

Just send out a message announcing a special discount for that day only. Ask your Twitter and Facebook followers to use a password to get the discount. That way, you know who pays attention to your posts and you make them feel special.

Social Media Makes it Easier to Generate Buzz

online buzz
Online Buzz Photo via Shutterstock

Small businesses usually can’t afford to pay for big marketing campaigns. Social media gives you the chance to generate buzz without spending much money. It becomes even more important for small businesses who show off their products and services at trade shows to generate foot traffic to their trade show display booth. Social media sites like Twitter have the ability to amplify pre-show buzz with these 7 simple tips to build traffic to their space.

A lot of business owners find that it helps to use online videos. You could make tutorials and post interviews or review products. Spread the video with your social network channels to get more people interested in your business.

Social Media Brings in Customers With Geolocation

crowded cafeCrowded Cafe Photo via Shutterstock

Location-based social media apps can focus on followers in your area. Use these options to tempt them into your store. If someone uses FourSquare to check into a cafe down the street, you might send them a coupon for one of your services or products. Even if the person doesn’t take advantage of the offer, it still reminds her that your business is there and going strong.

Social Media Helps You Connect With Other Businesses

business people mobileMobile Devices Photo via Shutterstock

Social media does more than just help you find customers. It can also help you connect with other businesses and entrepreneurs. Make a profile for yourself on LinkedIn. This will permit you to connect with businesses and professionals there. Making those connections now could benefit you in unexpected ways, so accept requests from reputable professionals on social media.

What are other ways social media has impacted your small business Do you think it has had positive or negative effects




Emails Are Legal Docs. Are You Archiving Them Google Can Help.

Many small businesses are using Google Apps to power their email collaboration. But what happens when an employee leaves. What about the emails someone sent you years ago What if the court mandates that you produce these documents Can you If  you can’t you could be held liable.

Google recently released a new service, an email archiving tool to help, for Google Apps customers.

Here’s more on Google Apps Vault.

When the unexpected happensâ€"think employee turnover, sudden lawsuitsâ€"long-forgotten email messages can suddenly become critically important, providing answers or evidence. But do you have them, and can you find the ones that matter As a Google Apps customer, you can make sure the answer is yes by using the new Google Apps Vault archiving and search solution.

Simply put, Vault saves all your users’ emails and chats and makes them easy to find (even after employees leave, if you choose).
Set up quicklyâ€"then relax. Define the retention rules once, and all emails and chats are automatically archived and accessible to your admin for as long as needed. Keep just the emails you want. Customizable retention rules let admins specify how long emails are kept. Find what you need, fast. Google’s powerful search technologies help you find and export precisely the messages you need, along with audit trails frequently needed for legal proceedings.



Emails Are Legal Docs. Are You Archiving Them Google Can Help.

Many small businesses are using Google Apps to power their email collaboration. But what happens when an employee leaves. What about the emails someone sent you years ago What if the court mandates that you produce these documents Can you If  you can’t you could be held liable.

Google recently released a new service, an email archiving tool to help, for Google Apps customers.

Here’s more on Google Apps Vault.

When the unexpected happensâ€"think employee turnover, sudden lawsuitsâ€"long-forgotten email messages can suddenly become critically important, providing answers or evidence. But do you have them, and can you find the ones that matter As a Google Apps customer, you can make sure the answer is yes by using the new Google Apps Vault archiving and search solution.

Simply put, Vault saves all your users’ emails and chats and makes them easy to find (even after employees leave, if you choose).
Set up quicklyâ€"then relax. Define the retention rules once, and all emails and chats are automatically archived and accessible to your admin for as long as needed. Keep just the emails you want. Customizable retention rules let admins specify how long emails are kept. Find what you need, fast. Google’s powerful search technologies help you find and export precisely the messages you need, along with audit trails frequently needed for legal proceedings.



LogMeIn’s Cubby (File Sharing Tool) Arrives. Secure and Simple.

LogMeIn best know for it’s remote access services, has recently launched a new file sharing service - Cubby.

If you have a file sharing tool that you love, I’m not so sure Cubby provides value that you need to switch - especially if you are a paying user of your file sharing service.

However, if you are NOT using a file sharing service - definitely check Cubby out. Also if you are NOT happy with your current file sharing service - check it out.

Compared to market leader Dropbox (which I use) Cubby offers more storage and better security.

Check it out, it looks simple to use and fun.

Carbonite released a new file sharing service as well - you can watch my discussion with them about it here.



Finally, Share Files on Skype for Windows 8

If you use Skype for Windows 8 to connect online with voice, video, and chat for your business, you may have been frustrated by the inability to share files on the new app thus far.

However, all that changed Friday as Skype finally rolled out file sharing as a supported feature for its Windows 8 application.

In an announcement on its Garage & Updates blog, Skype said the new feature, missing from Skype for Windows 8 since it was introduced five months ago, was added in response to customer demand.

Raul Liive, Beta Program Manager for Skype, wrote:

We’re listening to our users, and file sharing has been one of the biggest features they’ve been asking for in Skype for Windows 8.

The photo below shows how a file transfer appears within a Skype for Windows 8 chat window. To send a file, users select someone to share files with, tap their icon and tap “send files.” Then select a file to share and it will appear in the other user’s chat window.

skype file sharing

Skype’s desktop software already allowed for users to share files with their contacts, but those who use Windows 8 and its applications have had to wait for this feature to become available. Skype for Windows 8 is an app that is specifically optimized for Windows 8 touch screen devices and is always on, so that users can send and receive messages. However, Windows 8 users still have the option to use Skype for Windows desktop if they so choose.

Certain versions of the product are loaded with features like screen sharing and other collaboration functions, but others are still catching up.

Skype for Windows 8 works basically the same as the Skype desktop software does, so users can send documents and other types of files while chatting with or calling contacts.

For the business owners and professionals who use Skype to keep in touch with clients and colleagues, this is a clearly useful feature that can make collaborating on documents and projects or sharing presentation materials much easier.

In addition to the file sharing feature, the new update also includes improved application performance and stability. This means that the start up and loading of content should take less time.

Skype has said that it is working on adding all of the features available on Skype’s desktop versions to Skype for Windows 8, and that users will be notified when the new updates become available.

Microsoft launched Skype for Windows 8 in October, 2012, shortly after the release of Windows 8. The new Skype represents a completely redesigned product in order to work with the Windows 8 system on both computers and tablets, not simply a tweak of previous versions. Skype 1.5 for Windows 8 can be downloaded directly from the Windows Store.




LogMeIn’s Cubby (File Sharing Tool) Arrives. Secure and Simple.

LogMeIn best know for it’s remote access services, has recently launched a new file sharing service - Cubby.

If you have a file sharing tool that you love, I’m not so sure Cubby provides value that you need to switch - especially if you are a paying user of your file sharing service.

However, if you are NOT using a file sharing service - definitely check Cubby out. Also if you are NOT happy with your current file sharing service - check it out.

Compared to market leader Dropbox (which I use) Cubby offers more storage and better security.

Check it out, it looks simple to use and fun.

Carbonite released a new file sharing service as well - you can watch my discussion with them about it here.



Are Google AdWords Offer Extensions Right for Small Businesses

Google has just started rolling out a new AdWords advertising extension that will mean big opportunities for small businesses. AdWords Offer Extensions is a new ad extension that allows advertisers to add a discount offer or coupon to a standard Google search ad.

This is what an Offer Extension looks like:

adwords offer extensions

You can look for Adwords Offer Extensions, along with a bunch of other updates, in your AdWords account today:

  • If your account has been upgraded to support Enhanced
  • Read More

The post Are Google AdWords Offer Extensions Right for Small Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends.



Square Business in a Box: All You Need to Accept Payments, Track Sales

Mobile payment system Square just debuted a new offering called “Square: Business in a Box,” which is a package that includes essentially everything a small brick and mortar store would need to run its point of sale system: two Square card readers, an iPad stand, a cash drawer, and an optional receipt printer.

The business in a box system is made to accompany Square Register, the iPad app that helps merchants run a complete point of sale system Read More

The post Square Business in a Box: All You Need to Accept Payments, Track Sales appeared first on Small Business Trends.



Compose Your Twitter Tweets At Least 2 Characters Shorter

twitter3You will now need to make your Twitter verbiage a bit shorter, if you plan to include a link to a Web page in a tweet.

Twitter is now allowing you only 118 characters for a tweet (outside of the link itself).  That’s two characters fewer than the 120-characters-plus-a-link we’ve all been used to.  And if you’re sharing a link on Twitter from a secure Web page (one with an https URL), then you will have three fewer characters, or Read More

The post Compose Your Twitter Tweets At Least 2 Characters Shorter appeared first on Small Business Trends.



Infographic: Top 10 Time Killers Online

No matter how efficient you are, the fact is that we all waste time, at some time or another. This infographic from OfficeTime.net examines the top 10 ways we kill time every day. Follow the flow chart and see how you can change the way you work.

The post Infographic: Top 10 Time Killers Online appeared first on Small Business Trends.



Original Kings of Technology - Debuts at SXSW Interactive 2013 - #SXSW - March 9

I’m happy to announce the debut of the “Original Kings of Technology” #OKOT at SXSW Interactive on Saturday, March 9th, 3:30pm CDT.

Where: BiT House @ Hilton Garden Inn, Colorado Room - Get full details here. Connect on Facebook here.

This first tour stop of #OKOT is about doing MORE PROFITS, MORE SALES and GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - using eCommerce.

Check out the video below or here to learn more.

Every industry has a handful of trendsetters and innovators who were first on the scene as “early adopters” in a particular field; and eBusiness, Social Commerce and Social Media are no different.

Individually, John Lawson (@colderice), Ramon Ray (@ramonray), Brent Leary (@brentleary) and Troy Nalls (@troynalls) is each a thought leader in their own right; traveling nationally and internationally consulting, speaking, teaching and mingling with CEO’s of multi-national corporations and top celebrities in entertainment and sports.

They have hundreds of thousands of followers, fans and friends across the internet and in the bricks and mortar world. They are on a quest to let the world in on a tightly held secret: Technology allows your VISION to move forward unencumbered

As individuals they are impressive, to say the least. But when these four powerful, influential professionals come together they form a “super group” of knowledge and expertise that is an explosive mixture of excitement, fun, creativity and an in depth knowledge into Social Commerce and all things Internet.



Original Kings of Technology - Debuts at SXSW Interactive 2013 - #SXSW - March 9

I’m happy to announce the debut of the “Original Kings of Technology” #OKOT at SXSW Interactive on Saturday, March 9th, 3:30pm CDT.

Where: BiT House @ Hilton Garden Inn, Colorado Room - Get full details here. Connect on Facebook here.

This first tour stop of #OKOT is about doing MORE PROFITS, MORE SALES and GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - using eCommerce.

Check out the video below or here to learn more.

Every industry has a handful of trendsetters and innovators who were first on the scene as “early adopters” in a particular field; and eBusiness, Social Commerce and Social Media are no different.

Individually, John Lawson (@colderice), Ramon Ray (@ramonray), Brent Leary (@brentleary) and Troy Nalls (@troynalls) is each a thought leader in their own right; traveling nationally and internationally consulting, speaking, teaching and mingling with CEO’s of multi-national corporations and top celebrities in entertainment and sports.

They have hundreds of thousands of followers, fans and friends across the internet and in the bricks and mortar world. They are on a quest to let the world in on a tightly held secret: Technology allows your VISION to move forward unencumbered

As individuals they are impressive, to say the least. But when these four powerful, influential professionals come together they form a “super group” of knowledge and expertise that is an explosive mixture of excitement, fun, creativity and an in depth knowledge into Social Commerce and all things Internet.



Original Kings of Technology - Debuts at SXSW Interactive 2013 - #SXSW - March 9

I’m happy to announce the debut of the “Original Kings of Technology” #OKOT at SXSW Interactive on Saturday, March 9th, 3:30pm CDT.

Where: BiT House @ Hilton Garden Inn, Colorado Room - Get full details here. Connect on Facebook here.

This first tour stop of #OKOT is about doing MORE PROFITS, MORE SALES and GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - using eCommerce.

Check out the video below or here to learn more.

Every industry has a handful of trendsetters and innovators who were first on the scene as “early adopters” in a particular field; and eBusiness, Social Commerce and Social Media are no different.

Individually, John Lawson (@colderice), Ramon Ray (@ramonray), Brent Leary (@brentleary) and Troy Nalls (@troynalls) is each a thought leader in their own right; traveling nationally and internationally consulting, speaking, teaching and mingling with CEO’s of multi-national corporations and top celebrities in entertainment and sports.

They have hundreds of thousands of followers, fans and friends across the internet and in the bricks and mortar world. They are on a quest to let the world in on a tightly held secret: Technology allows your VISION to move forward unencumbered

As individuals they are impressive, to say the least. But when these four powerful, influential professionals come together they form a “super group” of knowledge and expertise that is an explosive mixture of excitement, fun, creativity and an in depth knowledge into Social Commerce and all things Internet.



US Postal Service Changes Are Coming. Get Smart, Embrace Them and Innovate.

You know that postal rates are changing and postal service is changing - no Saturday delivery. If you use the US Postal Service as an integral part of your billing - be it mailing invoices, marketing or something else you need to educate yourself about these changes and get smart.

Justin Amendola, VP of Global SMB Digital Strategy at Pitney Bowes says that there are three things you need to keep in mind:

1) Low cost shipping solutions are being eliminated

2) Retail shipping rates going up an average of 5-10%

3) Intelligent Mail Barcode - contains the DNA of every parcel that anyone mails. It gives the small-business owner and customer more visibility into where a shipment or piece of mail is at any given time.

Why should small businesses like us care

If you business does a lot of shipping, especially packages less than 1lb, they will be looking at cost increases that can negatively impact their bottom lines. With the current economic climate, business are looking to save and have smarter spending habits. You wouldn’t typically think of mailing or shipping but it’s a simple way for owners to cut costs on the back end and put more money into running their business.

Get educated - here’s a resource from Pitney Bowes to start.



US Postal Service Changes Are Coming. Get Smart, Embrace Them and Innovate.

You know that postal rates are changing and postal service is changing - no Saturday delivery. If you use the US Postal Service as an integral part of your billing - be it mailing invoices, marketing or something else you need to educate yourself about these changes and get smart.

Justin Amendola, VP of Global SMB Digital Strategy at Pitney Bowes says that there are three things you need to keep in mind:

1) Low cost shipping solutions are being eliminated

2) Retail shipping rates going up an average of 5-10%

3) Intelligent Mail Barcode - contains the DNA of every parcel that anyone mails. It gives the small-business owner and customer more visibility into where a shipment or piece of mail is at any given time.

Why should small businesses like us care

If you business does a lot of shipping, especially packages less than 1lb, they will be looking at cost increases that can negatively impact their bottom lines. With the current economic climate, business are looking to save and have smarter spending habits. You wouldn’t typically think of mailing or shipping but it’s a simple way for owners to cut costs on the back end and put more money into running their business.

Get educated - here’s a resource from Pitney Bowes to start.



Productivity, Collaboration, Mobility and Security: Four Tech Foundations In Microsoft’s 9 Page eBook

Technology will always be a challenge for most small business owners to use.

Thankfully there will always be great resources for us to check out to get better and better and better in using technology.

Microsoft’s got a new digital booklet they’v printed to help small businesses evaluate their technology to ensure it supports and enables their business goals. It focuses on three main areas: productivity and collaboration, mobility and security.

After conducting a survey, Microsoft found that while 67 percent of small businesses owners consider technology extremely important to their business, 40 percent don’t regularly evaluate their business technology.

You can download Microsoft’s “Asses Your Tech” here.



6 Data Tracking Services For Your Small Business

Big data is a big thing nowadays. Big data here represents the number of posts to social media sites, the use of digital pictures and videos, purchase transaction records, sensors used to gather climate information and cell phone GPS signals to name a few. For the business owner, big data is an opportunity to find insights, to make your business more agile and to answer questions that were previously considered beyond reach.

Why

Well it been found that owners and/or marketers who leverage data make better business decisions,  increase customer engagement and produce higher return on investment (ROI). How high Well:

  • A recent study shows that an incremental 241% ROI can be generated by applying data to business decisions.
  • 91% of chief marketing officers (CMOs) believe that successful brands make data-driven decisions.
  • However, only 11% of marketers use data to make business decisions today.

You might be thinking how unethical this is - sifting through the buying patterns of customers and prospects. This might rub some moral bone in your body the wrong way. But understand that your customers want you to do this. They want you to anticipate their buying signals. They really do.

There was a recent study by Accenture that profiled over 2,000 consumers across the United States and United Kingdom. In this study, it was found that most people are willing to have trusted retailers use some of their personal data in order to present personalized and targeted products, services, recommendations and offers.

In fact, according to the study:

  • Despite the fact that 86 percent of those surveyed say they are concerned about websites tracking their online shopping behavior, 85 percent are aware that such tracking goes on - but they understand that tracking enables companies to present offers and content that matches their interests.
  • Nearly half of all respondents - 49 percent - are receptive to their favorite stores or brands using their tracking data to inform their future purchases and make them aware of product availability.
  • When asked to make a choice, 64 percent of total respondents say it is more important that companies present them with relevant offers against only 36 percent who say companies should stop tracking their website activity.
  • At the same time, however, 88 percent strongly agree that companies should give them the flexibility to control how their personal information is used to tailor their shopping experience.

data tracking services

data tracking services

Your customers want relevant offers. And I think - and this is just me - that you should be giving it to them.

But small businesses have shied away from big data thinking it was too expensive. And unlike a Xerox, which collects “terabytes of data daily” they may feel they don’t have the resources to crunch the numbers. But the field is changing and many small businesses are now able to capitalize.

Below are 6 data tracking services any business owner can use to get the most out of big data:

Kaggle

A platform for predictive modelling where companies post their data and statisticians from all over the world compete to produce the best models. At the end of a competition, the competition host pays prize money in exchange for the intellectual property behind the winning model. It’s a crowdsourcing approach and it turns data science into a sport.

Custora

Helps online retailers know which of their customers are most valuable and suggests actions to keep them. Custora determines where the repeat customers are coming from and also recommends specific incentives the retailer can use to reclaim lost customers. The Custora software analyzes order logs and distinguishes between customers that simply haven’t ordered anything for a while and customers who have left the site.

RJ Metrics

Provides tools for database analysis, enabling its customers to extract data from their business and transform it into a more suitable format for analysis, providing them with the means to turn it into beautiful, actionable charts.

Size Up

The Sizeup tool is provided on the Small Business Administration (SBA) website, and also here at Small Business Trends (see Benchmark Tool). This shows all small businesses across the United States and can help decide where to locate your new business. For instance, you can search for where restaurants are located and see where there may be an opportunity to locate a new one.

Swipely

Sells payments, analytics and marketing tools to local merchants. Unlike Square, it shows things like what percentage of customers are new versus repeating, and how much each group tends to spend. Swipely can even tie in social media deals and weather reports into past sales so retailers can get an entire picture of what might have caused a surge or drop at any given time.

SumAll

A Web based, real-time e-commerce analytics tool that allows store owners to identify patterns in their data and better serve customers.

Data Photo via Shutterstock




Productivity, Collaboration, Mobility and Security: Four Tech Foundations In Microsoft’s 9 Page eBook

Technology will always be a challenge for most small business owners to use.

Thankfully there will always be great resources for us to check out to get better and better and better in using technology.

Microsoft’s got a new digital booklet they’v printed to help small businesses evaluate their technology to ensure it supports and enables their business goals. It focuses on three main areas: productivity and collaboration, mobility and security.

After conducting a survey, Microsoft found that while 67 percent of small businesses owners consider technology extremely important to their business, 40 percent don’t regularly evaluate their business technology.

You can download Microsoft’s “Asses Your Tech” here.



RSA Conference: How valuable and necessary are industry certifications

Employers want to see passion for a job not just an industry certification and educational degree.

In a session titled 'Information security certifications - do they still provide industry value' at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, a crowd of around 250 delegates were asked how many had some sort of industry certification, which the majority did, while a third said that theirs had lapsed. Asked how many had the CISSP certification, around three-quarters raised their hand.

In a debate on which has the greater value: an industry recognised certification or a university degree, Richard Moore, vice president and senior information manager at RBS Citizens, said that there is more value with a degree than a vendor certification, as an undergraduate will be more experienced in working with people and there would be more value for the business line.

Andrew Ellis, chief security officer at Akamai Technologies, said: “We want to understand someone who understands what they are doing. We are looking for people with highly technical degrees and bring them into security.

“We look at certificates, if they have them they say 'with this, this person is qualified to practise with quality', but then if a practitioner has a certificate such as CPA, that is the most common reputational certificate. The challenge is as those who have them grows, so it becomes the bottom bar and it carries the reputation of the lowest person who owns that certification.”

Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)2, said that some certifications can be achieved through high standards and some by spending one to two hours on a webcast. “A CISSP is not a silver bullet and while it is extremely popular, some people do not understand the differences between certifications and are likely to have both a PhD and an industry certification. You may like people to have both but your choice depends on the job and how smart a person you need. You cannot judge or pick by certificate.

Jennifer Jabbusch Minella, CISO at CAD, said that people are certified now for competency and not for a job title.

Tipton said: “There is one thing we all have to deal with - risk. The management controls what happens to a certain degree but you cannot, they don't care what level of certificate you have, and you can configure the network and firewall but if an employee messes up against policy, you shouldn't be accountable.”

Asked by an audience member what is wrong with the current system, moderator Thomas Stamulis, regional director at Verizon, said that this is a question of where money is spent and where you get value, as this is an opportunity to see what provides the most value.

Jabbusch Minella said: “I work with all types of organisations and I end up being an intermediary between technical and management and often, the CISO has no technical background and dealing with these people frequently, it ends up being a problem. There is a need for this, I have seen it in industry and it is something that we have to address, but we also need to fix the problem with incompetent people protecting public information.”

Another audience member said that the value of a certification shows that an individual has dedicated time and money to their profession. Jabbusch Minella said: “I think it is fair to say that whatever certification you have, someone has a flaw with it. I've been vocal on it and work with vendors on process and understand what goes into it, and when the value is not right, what do you do if it is not adding value So I stepped in and said 'lets take feedback'.

“You always pay to play, and engineers say 'can they pass and have perseverance' and if the answer is yes, you don't need the CISSP. If you care and be passionate to do that, it means something to me.”

Tipton said: “Credentials, regardless of the person, have to evolve and meet the communities out there, and I've been associated [with (ISC)2] since 2004 and we look at the questions and change them every quarter and review it every year, and it has stood the test of time, but I wouldn't want to take it again.”

Ellis said: “We look for indicators of passion, if you're passionate we will look for people who care about something, as they will bring that passion to work.”

Jabbusch Minella said: “Until we have more structure as to what certifications mean, we cannot hold those titles responsible.”



CipherCloud collaboration allows protection of Dropbox-style services

CipherCloud has extended its encryption capabilities to cloud-based storage systems.

The company said it has teamed up with cloud content specialist Box to make use of its platform to deliver an additional level of security to extend data privacy, residency, security and regulatory controls.

Extending its offering of encrypting data within applications, CipherCloud CEO and founder Pravin Kothari told SC Magazine that as cloud-based file sharing technologies are "the next big thing", it saw the need to offer security for them for businesses.

He said: “Our technology can support any application, any email application and now file sharing solutions. Now these can be under your full control, as cloud providers are not providing the control that you need, we believe that users want to use services such as Dropbox, so we offer security via a cloud gateway so it is very easy to deploy. We don't decipher what is on it, we just secure it.”

Whitney Bouck, enterprise general manager at Box, said: “As the enterprise choice for content collaboration in the cloud, we have always taken our customers' security and compliance concerns seriously. This integration with CipherCloud extends additional information protection controls to customers while preserving the usability and functionality that sets Box apart from other cloud content providers.”

CipherCloud has also deployed data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities within its open platform to allow users to use their existing DLP solutions in cloud-based applications.

Kothari said: “CipherCloud is delivering a game-changing open platform to provide protection for information before it ever leaves the organisation. This approach enables organisations to effectively solve multiple security issues - including data privacy, residency, security and compliance - through a single gateway, by bringing a previously unavailable level of security to cloud applications.”



CipherCloud collaboration allows protection of Dropbox-style services

CipherCloud has extended its encryption capabilities to cloud-based storage systems.

The company said it has teamed up with cloud content specialist Box to make use of its platform to deliver an additional level of security to extend data privacy, residency, security and regulatory controls.

Extending its offering of encrypting data within applications, CipherCloud CEO and founder Pravin Kothari told SC Magazine that as cloud-based file sharing technologies are "the next big thing", it saw the need to offer security for them for businesses.

He said: “Our technology can support any application, any email application and now file sharing solutions. Now these can be under your full control, as cloud providers are not providing the control that you need, we believe that users want to use services such as Dropbox, so we offer security via a cloud gateway so it is very easy to deploy. We don't decipher what is on it, we just secure it.”

Whitney Bouck, enterprise general manager at Box, said: “As the enterprise choice for content collaboration in the cloud, we have always taken our customers' security and compliance concerns seriously. This integration with CipherCloud extends additional information protection controls to customers while preserving the usability and functionality that sets Box apart from other cloud content providers.”

CipherCloud has also deployed data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities within its open platform to allow users to use their existing DLP solutions in cloud-based applications.

Kothari said: “CipherCloud is delivering a game-changing open platform to provide protection for information before it ever leaves the organisation. This approach enables organisations to effectively solve multiple security issues - including data privacy, residency, security and compliance - through a single gateway, by bringing a previously unavailable level of security to cloud applications.”



RSA Conference: RSA launches additions to Security Analytics and managed service model

RSA has announced the launch of new software and services to defend and mitigate against attacks.

Launching its NextGen Security Operations Services, RSA said they have been designed to help customers transform traditional security operations into battle-ready defences and enable organisations to respond faster and more efficiently to attacks, as well as reduce breach exposure times.

These offer users access to security practitioners who will fulfil security requirements specifically to an organisations' needs to prepare for, discover and respond to threats in an agile way to reduce risk and the business impact of incidents, according to the company.

The practitioners will focus on: aggregation and analysis of threat intelligence data; correlation of content intelligence data throughout the organisation; deployment of solutions that provide advanced analytic intelligence capabilities; and development of security operations processes and procedures and the automation of related workflows

Peter Tran, senior director of the RSA advanced cyber defence practice, said: “In today's evolving threat landscape, it is critical that you unify three key perspectives to give you a battle-ready security operations service that is based on real-world needs, and not academic policies.

“Our new service offering is designed to be delivered by expert practitioners with an average of ten years of experience, who understand how to integrate existing controls with the latest cutting edge solutions, streamline key security processes and incorporate valuable threat research to design a security operations service for tomorrow's attacks, not yesterday's.”

Also released this week are three new software solutions designed to help security operations centres prioritise and manage security incidents. These are: RSA Advanced Incident Management for Security (AIMS) software, RSA Asset Criticality Intelligence (ACI) and RSA Data Discovery for Security Analytics.

Combined with its Security Analytics platform, RSA said that the new solutions are designed to align the efforts of the security and business teams to better protect the critical assets of an organisation.

Built on its Archer architecture and data loss prevention technology, RSA said that: AIMS can help add a broader incident management layer to RSA Security Analytics; ACI provides business context of IT assets to security teams, to prioritise response based on the business value of the asset; and RSA Data Discovery for Security Analytics is designed to provide information risk intelligence and can identify sensitive data in complex IT environments.

Amit Yoran, senior vice president of RSA security management and compliance, said: “These new solutions are designed to provide the much needed business context and advanced workflows for security investigations that help in this prioritisation process.

“We built these new solutions on the RSA Archer GRC platform, which not only makes them very functional out-of-the-box, but also helps organisations already using RSA Archer technology to extract more value out of their GRC investments.”