Sage One Accounting Now Integrates PayPal Payments

Sage North America recently announced that Sage One, its entry-level accounting and project management system, now offers electronic payment options.

A small business using Sage One to issue invoices can now include a payment button on an electronic invoice.  The payor receiving the invoice can click the button to pay the invoice online with a credit or debit card, via either PayPal or Sage Payment Solutions, as shown in the following screenshot:

The goal is to make it easier and faster for small businesses using Sage One to get paid by their customers.

Online Payments a Top Request

Sage One is a web-based application aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses having 0 to 9 employees.  Receiving online payments was one of the top feedback requests Sage got from its users, said Senior Product Manager of Sage One Alistair Ellis.

For small businesses today, the steps involved with getting paid are often time consuming.  Issuing invoices, following up, receiving  payment via check, depositing the check, and then entering the payment information into your accounting system â€" all can be labor intensive. The chances for errors increase when you have to manually re-key data.  Also, there’s delay involved in all those steps.  It might be weeks or months until your small business gets paid.

Ellis emphasized the efficiency and speed benefits of online payments:

“Invoices can be emailed to the customer and the customer has the option to pay the invoice online right away. The payment is updated in Sage One, eliminating the need for the business owner to have to record the payment against the invoices themselves.”

More Than An Accounting System

There are dozens of accounting systems today, but Sage One aspires to be an all-in-one system for startups and small businesses to run their companies on.  It includes the ability to track time, assign and manage projects, collaborate with team members and customers, store project messages and files, generate invoices, track finances in a simple accounting system, and use reports and a dashboard to run a small business.

The concept behind “all in one” is that there would be less need for duplicate data entry. There’d also be less chance for important transactions to slip through the cracks in the business’s daily workflow.

As Lawton Ursrey, Product Marketing Manager for Sage One, noted in a January interview we conducted, it’s about helping entrepreneurs manage their workflow.  At the time, Ursrey said, “We want to eliminate the repetitive, redundant administrative tasks holding the entrepreneur captive. This is at the heart of Sage One. *** We’re focused on helping the entrepreneur reclaim his/her business day.”

Sage One was designed with business-service professionals in mind. Typical users might be consultants, web developers or  graphics designers â€" i.e., small businesses and entrepreneurs who bill out professional work on an hourly or project basis.

Sage is also known for its Sage Payment Solutions, ACT! contact management software, Sage accounting for small businesses, and Peachtree accounting software for SMBs.

Sage Group plc, the parent company, was first formed in 1981 and currently supports more than 6 million customers around the world. The company is headquartered in the UK.  Sage North America is headquartered in Irvine, California.

RSA 2013: Charney optimistic about the future of information security

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's easy for security pros to feel overwhelmed by the constant chatter of advanced persistent threats and evolving attackers, especially at the RSA Conference. For those on the front lines of the cybersecurity battle, some days must feel like the equivalent of removing buckets of water from the Titanic.

I am not delusional about this. It's not that I am claiming the world is safe. Optimism is about a future state.

Scott Charney,
corporate vice president of Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft

During his Tuesday keynote, Scott Charney, corporate vice president of Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft, took time to look back at the accomplishments of those under-fire security pros and delivered a message not often heard at RSA: The future of information security looks good.

To show that his optimism is based on fact, Charney discussed some of the recent breakthroughs in the security industry, starting with the ability to root security into hardware. He pointed to Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) as an example of the kind of development that has made it harder for attackers to install rootkits and other malware.

"We now have, in both the Windows world and the Linux world, the ability to do trusted boot and measured boot," Charney said. "Which means as a practical matter, we can build on this foundation and start thinking about the health of machines in a much more dramatic way."

The security development lifecycle (SDL) is another area where Charney feels the industry has made great strides. Companies such as EMC Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Adobe Systems Inc. have adopted SDL practices and have focused on incorporating SDL in their software. He also singled out Microsoft's ability to apply these concepts across a broad spectrum to its 36,000 engineers.

These efforts are being pushed by the marketplace, as more and more vendors and customers are including secure development in contracts.

"When you see markets starting to demand secure development, you've reached an inflection point and the future will look differently," Charney said.

Charney also discussed the challenges facing the industry, including those presented by cloud services and mobile devices. Even with the complex security issues posed by these technology areas, Charney focused on the potential security positives that can be delivered by them. For example, the application store model, often highlighted by Apple's "walled garden," offers the opportunity to implement security and solve the age-old problem of patching.

"We need users to be on the latest versions of products and keep them patched and updated," said Charney, "and in the cloud service model and in the application store model, it is so much easier to manage the updates and keep people current."

Also highlighted was the need for national and international efforts by governments to tackle some of the looming issues in cybersecurity, including cybercrime and cyberwarfare. President Obama's recent cybersecurity executive order and the EU cybersecurity directive were served as positive developments in this arena, though countries still need to establish more normative processes to tackle these problems going forward.

Charney finished by delivering a vote of confidence that, much like the challenges he discussed at the opening of the keynote, the problems on the horizon can be overcome.

"I am not delusional about this. It's not that I am claiming the world is safe. Optimism is about a future state," he said. "I am optimistic that, with the people in this room … we can fundamentally move into a more secure world."

View all of our RSA 2013 Conference coverage.

Vendors showcase MAM products that ease BYOD challenges at RSA 2013

SAN FRANCISCO -- As employee-owned smartphones and tablets increasingly serve as workplace tools, enterprise security requirements have moved beyond mobile device management to securing applications and data.

F5 Networks Inc. demonstrated a hybrid cloud solution at the RSA Conference for security professionals in San Francisco this week, which marks the company's entry into the mobile application management (MAM) space. The network appliance company was among many vendors at RSA showcasing a new generation of mobile device management (MDM) and MAM products intended to help companies address the security risks inherent in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environments.

Citrix Inc. is highlighting a Mobile App Management Solutions Bundle for Enterprise Mobility Management, which combines XenMobile MDM (formerly Zenprise) and CloudGateway. AirPatrol Corp. is demonstrating its location-based policy control system ZoneDefense LT for Fiberlink's MaaS360 cloud-based MDM after both companies announced their integration plans and partnership earlier this month. AirWatch is highlighting a standalone MAM product, which it introduced in January, for its MDM portfolio. Good Technology and BoxTone combined forces in December to create an enterprise mobility management solution with MDM and MAM, among other components.

F5's introduction in this space is of interest because the F5 Mobile App Manager, in conjunction with the company's Big-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) appliance, offers a hybrid cloud solution that could lower costs for companies looking to deploy BYOD programs. The Software as a Service enables IT to create app wrappers with policy and security measures to protect internal and third-party apps, while maintaining on-premises identity stores, according to F5 Networks. The company is planning to launch an F5 App Store in June 2013.

Google Android and Apple iOS device users can connect to corporate email, a Web browser, encrypted apps and data (or use PIN protection) over a secure application VPN, while maintaining control over their devices and personal applications. Network administrators can push updates, retract apps or data, monitor devices individually or in groups, and detect threats and vulnerabilities using a management console.

Big-IP APM already supports MDM products from AirWatch, MobileIron, SilverbackMDM and Zenprise (now part of Citrix). While MDM products provide software provisioning and authentication, MAM offers another layer of application and data security, according to its proponents. The question is, do companies need both

Device management products can't effectively manage BYOD because they are inherently non-scalable, according to Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst of Westminster, Mass.-based ZK Research. "Users change devices so fast, software and systems change so fast, it's hard for MDM software to keep up."

The F5 Mobile App Manager is designed to secure applications on the network. "It's sort of a lightweight client that gets downloaded upon the user onboarding, but it really does the management of the devices in the BYOD environment from the network, not from the device," Kerravala said.

Early MAM products have faced hurdles, however. Unpacking apps and adding a security and management layer remains challenging for many IT departments. The quality of the containerized apps from organizations and vendors may not match the offerings that Apple iOS and Google Android users are accustomed to in traditional app stores.

Enterprise BYOD challenges

Without an easy fix, securing BYOD environments is likely to be one of the hottest topics at this year's RSA Conference. "It is the area of IT that is going to create the most amount of IT pull-through as far as budget goes," Kerravala said. "When you think of mobile computing and cloud computing, they are network-centric computing, so that means more and more of the security needs to shift to the network as well, and I think you will see a lot of the traditional security vendors try and play in network security."

The biggest shift that many organizations will face in securing BYOD environments is giving up management of the device itself, according to Kerravala. "It really isn't about giving up control, it is about shifting control, and I think that one of the things that IT managers need to think about is: How do they shift control to something that they own in the network"

View all of our RSA 2013 Conference coverage.

Skype Adds File Sharing With Version 1.5 for Windows 8

File Sharing is now the “in thing” with a flurry of recent announcements focused on NEW file sharing services and updates. Skype has now joined the party.

Skype’s blog reads: “With version 1.5, we have added file sharing, so you can send and receive photos or documents while instant messaging or calling your friends and family.”

While I don’t think Skype’s file sharing is on par with Dropbox, for example, for those who use Skype as an integral part of their business - they can now communicate just a bit better with Skype.

It’s Tax Time. 5 Things To Keep In Mind Regarding Tech and the IRS

1. The IRS will never email you… ever
2. Phishing requests via email are everywhere
3. Your postal mail is not the safest way to receive checks from the IRS
4. Protect your financial information from outside threats, and secure files with password-protected directories and accounts
5. Back up your financial data

While you fret over your taxes - don’t fret so much that your security vigilance is lowered.

Skype Adds File Sharing With Version 1.5 for Windows 8

File Sharing is now the “in thing” with a flurry of recent announcements focused on NEW file sharing services and updates. Skype has now joined the party.

Skype’s blog reads: “With version 1.5, we have added file sharing, so you can send and receive photos or documents while instant messaging or calling your friends and family.”

While I don’t think Skype’s file sharing is on par with Dropbox, for example, for those who use Skype as an integral part of their business - they can now communicate just a bit better with Skype.

It’s Tax Time. 5 Things To Keep In Mind Regarding Tech and the IRS

1. The IRS will never email you… ever
2. Phishing requests via email are everywhere
3. Your postal mail is not the safest way to receive checks from the IRS
4. Protect your financial information from outside threats, and secure files with password-protected directories and accounts
5. Back up your financial data

While you fret over your taxes - don’t fret so much that your security vigilance is lowered.

Skype Adds File Sharing With Version 1.5 for Windows 8

File Sharing is now the “in thing” with a flurry of recent announcements focused on NEW file sharing services and updates. Skype has now joined the party.

Skype’s blog reads: “With version 1.5, we have added file sharing, so you can send and receive photos or documents while instant messaging or calling your friends and family.”

While I don’t think Skype’s file sharing is on par with Dropbox, for example, for those who use Skype as an integral part of their business - they can now communicate just a bit better with Skype.

Find Out What’s New With The MicroSoft Office 365 ProPlus Update

Microsoft announced an update today of its Office 365 cloud services for business. Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus offers the latest versions of applications familiar to Microsoft customers and some new features. Among these are the most up-to-date collection of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, InfoPath and Access.

However, the new cloud service is also now delivered on up to five devices. Documents and personalized settings follow you letting you pick up where you left off from anywhere.

Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus also offers enhanced social capabilities that include SharePoint, Yammer, Lync-Skype, instant messaging and voice.

The update is offered as a stand alone for $144 per user for an annual subscription. But there are also updates available for the Office 365 Small Business Premium and Office 365 Midsize Business packages:

• Office 365 Midsize Business is targeted for companies with between 10 to 250 employees. It includes communication and collaboration tools, enhanced IT tools and business hours phone support. The updated version is priced at $180 per user for an annual subscription.
• Office 365 Small Business Premium is aimed at smaller companies between 1 and 10 employees. The premium version features email, shared calendars, website tools and HD video conferencing and requires no IT experience to operate. The updated version costs $150 per person for an annual subscription.

Kurt DelBene, President of the Microsoft Office Division, wrote in a blog post that Microsoft wanted to create “over-the-shoulder envy” with the Office 365 update. In the post, DelBene envisioned others asking Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus customers what kind of software they were using.

DelBene claimed in a prepared statement that the updates surpassed anything available in a browser-only solution . However, small business owners will need to decide how the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus update compares with, say, Google Apps for Business on features and price.

Microsoft is touting its Office 365 services and updates as targeted specifically for small business use. However, new customers announced Wednesday include large firms like cosmetics chain Sephora, property development and management organization Midroc Europe and a government entity, the German-based City of Hamburg, Port Authority.

More information on Office 365 can be found on Microsoft.

It’s Tax Time. 5 Things To Keep In Mind Regarding Tech and the IRS

1. The IRS will never email you… ever
2. Phishing requests via email are everywhere
3. Your postal mail is not the safest way to receive checks from the IRS
4. Protect your financial information from outside threats, and secure files with password-protected directories and accounts
5. Back up your financial data

While you fret over your taxes - don’t fret so much that your security vigilance is lowered.

Small Businesses Currently Feel It’s All Going According to Plan

Are your plans for your small business working out the way you hoped

You’re not alone: U.S. small businesses are feeling cautiously optimistic about the rest of 2013, a new survey from TD Bank reports.

The poll of over 500 small business owners finds that:

• Almost half (49 percent) are somewhat or very confident their businesses will be in better financial shape this year than they were in 2012. As for the rest of them - 25 percent are not confident of their businesses’ financial health and 25 percent are still unsure.
• Nearly half (47 percent) are either somewhat or very confident their sales will surpass 2012 revenues. About 20 percent believe sales will shrink this year and 31 percent are uncertain.
• When it comes to employment, the news is even better, with 91 percent planning to hire or keep staff levels the same. Just 9 percent say they’re going to downsize this year.

One surprising result of the TD Bank survey is the degree to which small business owners review and update their business plans. I’ve always advised business owners to do this on a regular basis. But for decades, most of the business owners I knew admitted they rarely took their plans out of the drawer.

That’s changing: TD Bank says a whopping 87 percent review their business plans annually or more often. To be specific, 36 percent review and update their business plans once a year, 30 percent do it once a quarter and 20 percent do so monthly.

Why are entrepreneurs reviewing their business plans so often

There are likely many factors.

For one, online tools make it much easier to change a business plan than it used to be. It’s not like the old days where you had to haul out the word processor and print out new pages (yes, I’m dating myself). You can call up your plan, including financials, and with a few clicks make changes and see how different numbers play out.

For another, the state of business demands it. With the economy still struggling to fully recover, new business models taking shape all around us, and increasing competition from around the world, small businesses face more competition than ever. Turn your back for a few months (or let your business plan sit idle for that long) and someone could eat your lunch.

Finally, and I think this might be the main reason, our concept of business plans has become looser. Chance are, you’re not going to review a 100 page business plan every month. But you might review the highlights - a “back-of-the-napkin” document that highlights your key areas of focus and strategies.

As long as this streamlined plan is backed up by thorough thinking, metrics and reality - that could be all you need.

Whatever you do, don’t be like the 13 percent of small business owners who only review their plans when they’re applying for new financing. That’s a backwards approach. If you review your plan regularly, you’ll know when new financing will be needed long before it’s urgent. You’ll be able to plan for exactly how you’ll use it and you’ll stand a far better chance of getting it.

How often do you review your business plan

Thumbs Up Photo via Shutterstock

Hiking Tour Company Increases Web Traffic Through SEO-Friendly Website Design Solution

When Urban Hiker San Francisco founder Alexandra Kenin noticed the site’s web traffic was low, she turned to Wix as a solution. Wix offers industry-specific templates that can be customized to fit an individual business’s needs. What helped Kenin most, however, was the site’s SEO tool. Business owners like Kenin simply answer the question, “What are the top search phrases users are likely to use on Google to visit your site” Wix then goes to work providing a full report on what a business needs to do to bring customers to its website.

“I was getting about 2-4 percent of my web traffic from search,” Kenin says of her pre-Wix website. “Now, that number’s gone up to more than 40 percent. Anyone can set up good SEO with Wix.”

Kenin’s site is a haven for San Francisco-area hikers, who can log in and find the best hiking trails in the area. So it was important for the site to show up prominently in results when visitors and residents of San Francisco were planning a hike. Wix allowed them to use the information Kenin knew about San Francisco hikers to help them find her site.

Once visitors find UrbanHikerSF.com, they’re treated to a visually engaging, informative site. Right away, visitors are able to book a hike with a professional guide, choosing from a variety of tours that vary in length and scenery. Kenin has supplemented Wix’s customizable templates with a series of high-resolution, colorful photos that show off San Franciscan scenery.

“Most small business owners know that having an engaging and visually appealing website is essential to amplifying their online presence, and we make that an easy feat for more than 30 million people who use Wix to create them,” said Omer Shai, vice president of marketing, Wix. “We make sure our users can create a website that is free, fully customizable and simple to use, with absolutely no need for coding knowledge. Essentially, users can drag and drop their way to a beautiful, sophisticated website in no time.”

Shannon Leahy of Shannon Leahy Events has also created a stunning website using Wix. Leahy uses the website to showcase her planning services for weddings and other special events. Like Kenin, Leahy compliments Wix’s templates with her own high-quality photos, making the site personal to her small business. The professionalism of her website helps build confidence in clients considering using her services.

“Anyone who wants to hire me, they absolutely go to my website first,” Leahy says. “I found Wix in an article about easy-to-use templates, and I was sold immediately. They used to only offer Flash websites but now they offer HTML, which I love because my clients like to look at my website on their iPhones and iPads, and now they can. I use Wix as a service that I now offer my brides - when they want to have a wedding website for all their guests, I can now create them one on Wix.”

With more than 30 million users to date, Wix is a popular choice for businesses looking for an easy-to-use website design service that can help promote their products or services. The site’s hundreds of templates ensure that business owners can develop a site that expresses their own individual style without having to pay thousands of dollars for a custom-designed site. Recently, Wix has added an app market to provide businesses with new tools to help them build and promote sites.

All of Wix’s templates and hosting are free, with premium plans starting at only $4.08 per month, with free hosting and Google Analytics provided. Each premium plan includes free support to help walk you through any problems you might have.

Looking To Improve Your Conference Calls Two New Speakerphones Can Help: Jabra 510 and Phoenix Quatro 3

I recently tried out two new speaker phone systems - the Jabra 510 Speak and the Phoenix Quatro 3 Check out the video below or here to see if one of these devices might work for YOUR business.

These devices are great for smartphone users who do conference calls with several people on their side of the call, or who use their computer and want a speakerphone for multiple persons on their side of the call as well.

Hiking Tour Company Increases Web Traffic Through SEO-Friendly Website Design Solution

When Urban Hiker San Francisco founder Alexandra Kenin noticed the site’s web traffic was low, she turned to Wix as a solution. Wix offers industry-specific templates that can be customized to fit an individual business’s needs. What helped Kenin most, however, was the site’s SEO tool. Business owners like Kenin simply answer the question, “What are the top search phrases users are likely to use on Google to visit your site” Wix then goes to work providing a full report on what a business needs to do to bring customers to its website.

“I was getting about 2-4 percent of my web traffic from search,” Kenin says of her pre-Wix website. “Now, that number’s gone up to more than 40 percent. Anyone can set up good SEO with Wix.”

Kenin’s site is a haven for San Francisco-area hikers, who can log in and find the best hiking trails in the area. So it was important for the site to show up prominently in results when visitors and residents of San Francisco were planning a hike. Wix allowed them to use the information Kenin knew about San Francisco hikers to help them find her site.

Once visitors find UrbanHikerSF.com, they’re treated to a visually engaging, informative site. Right away, visitors are able to book a hike with a professional guide, choosing from a variety of tours that vary in length and scenery. Kenin has supplemented Wix’s customizable templates with a series of high-resolution, colorful photos that show off San Franciscan scenery.

“Most small business owners know that having an engaging and visually appealing website is essential to amplifying their online presence, and we make that an easy feat for more than 30 million people who use Wix to create them,” said Omer Shai, vice president of marketing, Wix. “We make sure our users can create a website that is free, fully customizable and simple to use, with absolutely no need for coding knowledge. Essentially, users can drag and drop their way to a beautiful, sophisticated website in no time.”

Shannon Leahy of Shannon Leahy Events has also created a stunning website using Wix. Leahy uses the website to showcase her planning services for weddings and other special events. Like Kenin, Leahy compliments Wix’s templates with her own high-quality photos, making the site personal to her small business. The professionalism of her website helps build confidence in clients considering using her services.

“Anyone who wants to hire me, they absolutely go to my website first,” Leahy says. “I found Wix in an article about easy-to-use templates, and I was sold immediately. They used to only offer Flash websites but now they offer HTML, which I love because my clients like to look at my website on their iPhones and iPads, and now they can. I use Wix as a service that I now offer my brides - when they want to have a wedding website for all their guests, I can now create them one on Wix.”

With more than 30 million users to date, Wix is a popular choice for businesses looking for an easy-to-use website design service that can help promote their products or services. The site’s hundreds of templates ensure that business owners can develop a site that expresses their own individual style without having to pay thousands of dollars for a custom-designed site. Recently, Wix has added an app market to provide businesses with new tools to help them build and promote sites.

All of Wix’s templates and hosting are free, with premium plans starting at only $4.08 per month, with free hosting and Google Analytics provided. Each premium plan includes free support to help walk you through any problems you might have.

Big data 2.0: CISOs push need to identify attack campaigns

SAN FRANCISCO -- Are big data-centric security systems already becoming passé According to a panel of security practitioners at the 2013 RSA Conference, organizations that aren't using security big data collection systems to identify attack campaigns may already be falling behind.

Tuesday during a wide-ranging discussion focused on using big data to enable better security visibility, the panelists described the need to analyze a staggering number of network security events.

Left to right: Richard Stiennon, Harvest, Praveen Money, Datashield Consulting, Ramin Safai, Jeffries & Co, Alex Tosheff, X.commerce, Carter Lee, Overstock.com.

Ramin Safai, CISO of New York-based investment banking firm Jefferies & Co., said his company experiences 5,000 network events per second, capturing about 25 TBs of data on them per day; his three-person network analysis team typically highlights about 50 issues, about two of which prove legitimate.

While on the high end of the spectrum, Alex Tosheff, CISO of eBay Inc.'s X.commerce unit, said his organization internally sees 10,000 events per second and records nearly 1 PB of event data each day, and that doesn't include the external "production" environments he supports, namely eBay.com, StubHub.com and others.

So to find the security events that matter, organizations build systems to pull in as much relevant data as possible -- data from networks, endpoints, databases, applications and identity and access management systems -- but that's the easy part. Identifying those select few events that indicate a potential intrusion takes hard work.

"The important thing is your analytics engine needs to work in conjunction with all your best-of-breed technology," said Carter Lee, vice president of technology for Overstock.com. He said open systems generally work better than products from larger vendors that require long-term lock-in and often aren't frequently updated to adapt to new threats.

Tosheff said his organization has been at it for five years, and what's worked for them is a combination of over-the-counter and self-built tools utilizing custom rule sets that, above all else, look for data exfiltration events.

"We've tried to evolve with it," Tosheff said. "It's an arms race, and it's difficult to keep up, but it's something that you can't stop doing."

Big data 2.0: Using data to identify attack campaigns

However, the panelists said simply identifying suspicious events is no longer enough.

Moderator Richard Stiennon of Birmingham, Mich.-based consulting firm IT-Harvest, said he first recognized this last year in his work with large defense contractors. He noticed a trend where they were identifying and correlating key attack indicators and classifying them into campaigns -- coordinated, multi-pronged attacks orchestrated by known threat actors.

Tosheff said his organization's electronic crime detection group is tasked with similar responsibilities, and combines its own internal intelligence with external sources to identify various malicious actors, including fraud rings, hacktivists or data thieves. Important findings are then documented in a common taxonomy and shared quickly across industry groups via mechanisms such as the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC).

"It's extremely important to track campaigns. If you're not doing it, start," said Praveen Money, CISO of Datashield Consulting in Phoenix. "It's this collection of attributes that will help you detect and defend against the next attack."

Money said by correlating incidents and identifying common attributes, an enterprise can reveal who its attackers may be and what they're likely after, shortening the time between detection and response in the future.

"Key indicators by themselves don't mean a lot, but when you put them together you can go beyond what would otherwise be benign instances," Money said. "By putting it all together into a campaign, your response organization will move forward by leaps and bounds."

Splunk favored over SIEM systems

Interestingly enough, nearly all the panelists said they use the venerable packet-capture and analysis tool Splunk as their primary data analysis tool over more expensive commercial security information and event management (SIEM) products.

Safai said even though his organization feeds a variety of logs into a SIEM, that data gets pushed into Splunk because no other tool can handle the volume and complexity of all its data.

While Safai has had discussions with SIEM vendors, none of them provide the same capability to quickly zoom into a dataset and see events based on a particular time or device, pinpoint an event, and then zoom out again and use that event as a starting point to look for trends or similar events.

"It's that functionality plus being fast" that matters, Safai said. "Our SIEM doesn't have it; it's very slow. It takes 24 hours to do that with a SIEM and two minutes with Splunk."

Tosheff said of Splunk: "It maps closely to an engineer's brain in how it works. It's a tool that's flexible."

A SIEM, Tosheff noted, also doesn't cover the whole gamut of potential data input sources. "You have to be committed to owning that [responsibility] and building things for your own context. You can't just buy off the shelf."

Wanted: More data scientists

Still, even with the best combination of commercial tools and custom rule sets, the panelists concurred that trained, talented data analysts are needed to identify anomalies and the attack campaigns that machines can't always see.

However, talented data analysts can be hard to find. As one audience member said to the panel, data scientists are among the most sought-after people in IT today. Safai said he's alleviated the problem to a degree by using university co-op students to analyze data in exchange for real-world experience.

"From my own experience, you can find talented data analysts in engineering communities," Money said. He said companies he's worked with have offered IT pros in various other roles the opportunity to analyze data on the side, rewarding them by paying for their travel expenses to industry conferences.

"If you know any 18-year-old kids," said Lee -- perhaps best summing up the panel's frustration over the industry-wide scarcity of data analyst talent -- "pry the X-Box controllers from their hands and tell them to get into this field."

View all of our RSA 2013 Conference coverage.

Looking To Improve Your Conference Calls Two New Speakerphones Can Help: Jabra 510 and Phoenix Quatro 3

I recently tried out two new speaker phone systems - the Jabra 510 Speak and the Phoenix Quatro 3 Check out the video below or here to see if one of these devices might work for YOUR business.

These devices are great for smartphone users who do conference calls with several people on their side of the call, or who use their computer and want a speakerphone for multiple persons on their side of the call as well.

Your Blog: Hub of the Great Content Marketing Wheel

Disclaimer: I’m a sucker for a good analogy. That being said, let’s roll.

We all hear the benefits of blogging touted throughout the blogosphere. Heck, if you haven’t heard any of the so-called benefits, Jeff Bullas has written up 10 of them, any one of which is enough to convince me.

Today, however, I want to focus on one very specific benefit (not on Bullas’ list): A blog serves as the hub of your content marketing wheel.

As the Read More

The post Your Blog: Hub of the Great Content Marketing Wheel appeared first on Small Business Trends.

The ‘Transporter’ Moves From Kickstarter Project to Providing Private File Sharing for Free

Until recently, small businesses interested in file sharing and online collaboration had only a couple of solutions. They could e-mail documents back and forth, but that method is time-consuming and prone to errors. Or they could put files in the Cloud, trusting service providers to keep data safe while paying top dollar for storage.

Santa Clara, California company Connected Data came up with a third option. The company created the Transporter, a device that acts as a sharable storage device. Files are still online, but they’re shared only with those you specify, keeping you in control.

The Transporter was presented as a Kickstarter project earlier this year, far surpassing its $100,000 goal by earning more than $260,000 in pledges. The device is now for sale, with prices starting at $199. Unlike traditional Cloud-based file-sharing solutions, though, the Transporter has no monthly charges. The cost of the unit is all you’ll ever pay.

Transporter could prove especially valuable to small businesses that have tight security restrictions. Medical professionals and financial institutions subject to government regulations may be reluctant to turn data over to the Cloud, where security is entrusted with third-party providers. Transporter keeps data on the device, protecting customer data by keeping it visible to only those you specify.

To use Transporter, simply plug the device in and connect to a wireless router or switch. The device powers up and a blue light tells you it’s ready to go. You may then set up a free online account that will allow you to access your Transporter from any device that has an internet connection. You can set up shared folders and send invitations to friends and colleagues all over the world. Once they receive the invitation, they can log in via a browser and view those shared files, whether they own a Transporter or not.

Once your folder is set up, any files you add to your Transporter will be immediately visible, allowing for real-time updates. This makes it the perfect solution for teams collaborating on a project, since the latest version of files is always available.

“The Transporter is the world’s first social storage solution,” Geoff Barrall, says. “It allows you to share, collaborate, back up files, transfer files anywhere in the world to whoever you want, right within the storage device itself.”

While sharing devices via the internet is certainly one of Transporter’s most popular features, Barrall emphasizes the Transporter is made to communicate with other devices, which maximizes its security benefits. Furthering the user’s control, the transporter lets you set security on individual folders, choosing customized encryption levels for each new top-level file you create.

Following its successful Kickstarter funding, Connected Data will soon begin shipping Transporters. Customers can order Transporters with 1TB or 2TB drives (or without a hard drive) through Connected Data’s website or through major retailers like Amazon. The company orders a full money-back guarantee, so if you aren’t happy with your Transporter, you can ship it back.

As more businesses discover vulnerabilities in Cloud computing, Transporter’s security will become more attractive. For business owners concerned about keeping data safe behind company firewalls, Transporter is a great alternative to Cloud services. Since it’s fee-free, the price makes it ideal for small businesses.

The ‘Transporter’ Moves From Kickstarter Project to Providing Private File Sharing for Free

Until recently, small businesses interested in file sharing and online collaboration had only a couple of solutions. They could e-mail documents back and forth, but that method is time-consuming and prone to errors. Or they could put files in the Cloud, trusting service providers to keep data safe while paying top dollar for storage.

Santa Clara, California company Connected Data came up with a third option. The company created the Transporter, a device that acts as a sharable storage device. Files are still online, but they’re shared only with those you specify, keeping you in control.

The Transporter was presented as a Kickstarter project earlier this year, far surpassing its $100,000 goal by earning more than $260,000 in pledges. The device is now for sale, with prices starting at $199. Unlike traditional Cloud-based file-sharing solutions, though, the Transporter has no monthly charges. The cost of the unit is all you’ll ever pay.

Transporter could prove especially valuable to small businesses that have tight security restrictions. Medical professionals and financial institutions subject to government regulations may be reluctant to turn data over to the Cloud, where security is entrusted with third-party providers. Transporter keeps data on the device, protecting customer data by keeping it visible to only those you specify.

To use Transporter, simply plug the device in and connect to a wireless router or switch. The device powers up and a blue light tells you it’s ready to go. You may then set up a free online account that will allow you to access your Transporter from any device that has an internet connection. You can set up shared folders and send invitations to friends and colleagues all over the world. Once they receive the invitation, they can log in via a browser and view those shared files, whether they own a Transporter or not.

Once your folder is set up, any files you add to your Transporter will be immediately visible, allowing for real-time updates. This makes it the perfect solution for teams collaborating on a project, since the latest version of files is always available.

“The Transporter is the world’s first social storage solution,” Geoff Barrall, says. “It allows you to share, collaborate, back up files, transfer files anywhere in the world to whoever you want, right within the storage device itself.”

While sharing devices via the internet is certainly one of Transporter’s most popular features, Barrall emphasizes the Transporter is made to communicate with other devices, which maximizes its security benefits. Furthering the user’s control, the transporter lets you set security on individual folders, choosing customized encryption levels for each new top-level file you create.

Following its successful Kickstarter funding, Connected Data will soon begin shipping Transporters. Customers can order Transporters with 1TB or 2TB drives (or without a hard drive) through Connected Data’s website or through major retailers like Amazon. The company orders a full money-back guarantee, so if you aren’t happy with your Transporter, you can ship it back.

As more businesses discover vulnerabilities in Cloud computing, Transporter’s security will become more attractive. For business owners concerned about keeping data safe behind company firewalls, Transporter is a great alternative to Cloud services. Since it’s fee-free, the price makes it ideal for small businesses.

What to Blog About: 11 Ideas For Service Related Businesses

One thing I hear about all the time is that people want to blog, but they have no idea what to blog about. So here are some ideas. I am going to go over the reasons why blogs are useful for service related businesses and then explain some ways businesses can blog about their services.

Why Blogs Are Useful

Service related business blogs are useful for helping visitors/readers understand that the business is good at what they do and that the company can be trusted. People want to hire “experts” and real “professionals.”

Blogs Help to Build Trust 

A business blog can help people begin to trust the company and their skills. If a company is the best at what they do, their blog is a resource to show people how and why they are the best.

Blogs Educate Visitors

Blogs are also great for educating visitors and education should be a priority. When you are educating, you are giving to the reader. Educational articles that offer information that the everyday person can use are often shared.

You want people to share your articles because it helps your presence, branding and reputation. Shared articles can also result in new sales. You get a lot of advertising for very little investment.

Blogs Help With Search Engine Rank

Your blog should also help you with search engine rankings. Every business needs the search engines to see quality, unique content, which is a critical aspect of SEO (search engine optimization) today. You also want them to determine that your site is about a particular subject or service(s). You want them to see that you are offering much better educational information than your competitors. You want your site and blog to be the one offering the best information locally. To be ranked well you need to offer information that deserves to be ranked well.

Google wants sites to educate and/or inform their users. They want articles that will meet the needs and answer the questions of their users. With some research and planning your website and blog can meet this need for Google and the result is better rankings - if you do it right.

Blogs Can Present a Break Down of Each Service You Offer

Businesses that offer services often do not realize that there is a lot to discuss. Often businesses go blank and are not sure what to blog about.

Consider breaking down and presenting each of your services individually.

What to Blog About: 11 Blog Post Ideas

Below are eleven ideas which can be broken off into several other ideas that your business can use to create blog posts. When you are reading this list, keep in mind that you can - and should - do this for every service your business offers:

• What is this service Define it and define all the words people may not know related to the service. Example: Main service -> “What is Internet marketing” Related services -> “What is SEO” And, “What is Reputation Management”
• Who needs this service
• The negatives of not having this service.
• Unknown benefits of paying for this service.
• 10 reasons why the reader needs this service.
• 5-10 types of people that must have this service.
• What to look for in a company that offers this service.
• 5-10 things to avoid when hiring a company that offers this service.
• Common mistakes companies make when offering this service.
• 5-10 things to look for when hiring a company that offers this service.
• When you are discussing “Service A,” create an article about related services and how they serve one another.

A Few More Blogging Tips

The above blogging ideas I listed can be splintered off into other ideas that could benefit your business. I suggest that every time you get an idea for a blog post you write it down somewhere; it is always easy to forget ideas when you have a lot of responsibilities.

Sit down with your marketing team or fellow employees and brainstorm about the ideas you have written down. Let people help the writer add great information to the articles. Writing blog articles is a lot easier and faster when people are giving the writer different ideas to write about.

Lastly, businesses really need to take the time to paste their articles into a program like Word and check for grammar and spelling issues. Bad grammar and spelling can make a business look really bad.

Blog Photo via Shutterstock

RSA Conference: Problems of third party breaches highlighted

Breaches at third parties can be mitigated with due diligence and preparation, but often that is not a consideration at the first point.

In a debate on 'The killer next door - the devastating impact of third party breaches' at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Michael Bruemmer, vice president of Experian, said that while you can plan up front and train employees, the threat grows dependant on how many people are involved with the chain of command and the number of outsourcers.

David Chavez, partner-in-charge of the San Francisco office at AlvaradoSmith, said that if it was just one company involved, then that can be easy, but with a third party it requires preparation and involves regulators, and as soon as that begins, clients and consumers need to know in the event of a breach, "regardless of which side you are on you have to prepare for that".

David Sochol, financial services analyst at Baron Capita, said: “Understand the amount of effort you need to put into preparation so if you have an issue, you know how quick you can be there and what kind of preparation you have put into the account. There is a desire to stop a hacker or try to capture or prosecute, and the big thing to stress is to be prepared and ask questions in advance and spend time evaluating before an instance takes place.

“There are conversations about everything moving offsite, what is scary is the trend of companies moving in that direction. Look at the statistics, 52 per cent are trying to outsource, the issues move out of their control and the third party treat data like any data, as they don't 'treat like it is my own'. So we are seeing a trend of outsourced assets being compromised, and we ask are you doing anything to protect those assets, and 28 per cent are making improvements on third party vendors.

“They are not doing that much and not validating information. Start looking at moving out there and applying good security foundations and outsourcing is not as scary as it seems.”

Christine Arevalo, strategic director of healthcare fraud solutions at ID Experts, said that there is a rise in the healthcare sector, and this is an area where privacy and security are converging and risk has to be realised. “Healthcare is an area where there is a lot of exposure and I've seen it dozens of times and its puts the employee and employer in jeopardy. You really need to prepare for the worst.”

Asked by moderator James Christiansen, chief information risk officer at Evantix, what to do differently to prepare and deal with a third party breach, Chavez said that the most important factor was to understand where the data is and where it is being outsourced to, and where someone has access, and draft the contract appropriately.

“The primary part will deal with data indemnification and if anything happens to me, you pay the costs,” he said.

“Indemnification is always an issue as you want have best processes available, as the companies taking the data know all they have to do is take the data, and the best way to negotiate it is to address it in the contract, and add it to the contract. You can add assurances regarding security and possibly pre-approve vendors, and you to be given notice if they suffer a breach.”

Sochol said that in one instance, a company he worked with ran a penetration test and fixed the flaws, yet a few months later other data was breached, as it only applied the fixes to his data.

In conclusion, Christiansen recommended three key areas: understand risk, identify who the vendor is and what they are involved with, and ask if they are implementing the right security practises.

RSA Conference: Problems of third party breaches highlighted

Breaches at third parties can be mitigated with due diligence and preparation, but often that is not a consideration at the first point.

In a debate on 'The killer next door - the devastating impact of third party breaches' at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Michael Bruemmer, vice president of Experian, said that while you can plan up front and train employees, the threat grows dependant on how many people are involved with the chain of command and the number of outsourcers.

David Chavez, partner-in-charge of the San Francisco office at AlvaradoSmith, said that if it was just one company involved, then that can be easy, but with a third party it requires preparation and involves regulators, and as soon as that begins, clients and consumers need to know in the event of a breach, "regardless of which side you are on you have to prepare for that".

David Sochol, financial services analyst at Baron Capita, said: “Understand the amount of effort you need to put into preparation so if you have an issue, you know how quick you can be there and what kind of preparation you have put into the account. There is a desire to stop a hacker or try to capture or prosecute, and the big thing to stress is to be prepared and ask questions in advance and spend time evaluating before an instance takes place.

“There are conversations about everything moving offsite, what is scary is the trend of companies moving in that direction. Look at the statistics, 52 per cent are trying to outsource, the issues move out of their control and the third party treat data like any data, as they don't 'treat like it is my own'. So we are seeing a trend of outsourced assets being compromised, and we ask are you doing anything to protect those assets, and 28 per cent are making improvements on third party vendors.

“They are not doing that much and not validating information. Start looking at moving out there and applying good security foundations and outsourcing is not as scary as it seems.”

Christine Arevalo, strategic director of healthcare fraud solutions at ID Experts, said that there is a rise in the healthcare sector, and this is an area where privacy and security are converging and risk has to be realised. “Healthcare is an area where there is a lot of exposure and I've seen it dozens of times and its puts the employee and employer in jeopardy. You really need to prepare for the worst.”

Asked by moderator James Christiansen, chief information risk officer at Evantix, what to do differently to prepare and deal with a third party breach, Chavez said that the most important factor was to understand where the data is and where it is being outsourced to, and where someone has access, and draft the contract appropriately.

“The primary part will deal with data indemnification and if anything happens to me, you pay the costs,” he said.

“Indemnification is always an issue as you want have best processes available, as the companies taking the data know all they have to do is take the data, and the best way to negotiate it is to address it in the contract, and add it to the contract. You can add assurances regarding security and possibly pre-approve vendors, and you to be given notice if they suffer a breach.”

Sochol said that in one instance, a company he worked with ran a penetration test and fixed the flaws, yet a few months later other data was breached, as it only applied the fixes to his data.

In conclusion, Christiansen recommended three key areas: understand risk, identify who the vendor is and what they are involved with, and ask if they are implementing the right security practises.

Overloaded With Email Check Out theSwizzle

If your inbox is always flooded and you feel you are LOSING control of it. Then check out a new service, theSwizzle. theSwizzle scan’s your in-box, helps you unsubscribe or move to daily digest the emails that you want and gives you a cleaner and more organized inbox.

Pretty simple. Check it out for yourself, if you’re OVERLOADED with email!

Overloaded With Email Check Out theSwizzle

If your inbox is always flooded and you feel you are LOSING control of it. Then check out a new service, theSwizzle. theSwizzle scan’s your in-box, helps you unsubscribe or move to daily digest the emails that you want and gives you a cleaner and more organized inbox.

Pretty simple. Check it out for yourself, if you’re OVERLOADED with email!

Hunter Boyle: Affiliate Management, Challenges and Email Marketing #AMDays

Meet Hunter Boyle, a multichannel marketer and content strategist, who is now Senior Business Development Manager at Aweber. At Affiliate Management Days SF 2013 (April 16-17), Hunter will be revealing ways in which affiliate managers and advertisers may effectively maximize affiliate relationships with email.

* * * * *

Question: If you were to emphasize one important area that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why

Hunter Boyle: Engagement. That applies to long-time affiliates just as much as the new faces joining your crew. The channels you’re using - email, social media, webcasts, the offers and tools you’re presenting - have to capture the attention of your affiliates and get them excited to promote you.

So if you’re not focusing on, measuring and testing ways to improve engagement, you’re leaving a ton of money on the table.

Question: What do you see as the main areas of opportunity for online marketers in 2013 - 2014

Hunter Boyle: There’s a surge happening these days around content marketing. If that’s not the buzzword of the year, I don’t know what is. But aside from the hype, there’s enormous value in the ability to consistently create and deliver exceptional content. Particularly as a marketing tool for affiliates.

The best affiliate marketers are those who use trust, authenticity and authority to build up their networks. They succeed because their recommendations carry real weight online. Can affiliates cultivate those circles with an endless cycle of overt sales pitches Only in rare instances, such as deals sites, does that work.  And that’s a whole separate topic.

That’s why, all the buzz aside, an effective content marketing strategy is essential for affiliate marketers. Same goes for affiliate managers. Developing the messaging, goals, process, tools, metrics, a testing plan and training affiliates to succeed with them is a major opportunity for affiliate managers.

Question: What do you believe to be the top 3 present day challenges that online oriented small businesses should be aware of And where can solutions be found

Hunter Boyle:  Judging by the small businesses I know and work with, the top three challenges don’t really change that much:

That’s the trifecta that most small businesses struggle with in marketing and beyond. In most cases, they’re very passionate about their work and business. They have clear goals in mind. Where it gets tricky is trying to keep up with the pace of change in marketing.  Often because they’ve got a small team or are doing most of it themselves without the bandwidth to become experts in content, email, social, SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), affiliate marketing and so on.

I wish I could say that’s likely to change. But the “small” part of small businesses is why it rarely does. Small business leaders really need to focus on what’s legitimately going to drive business growth and minimize the distractions, latest fads and initiatives that don’t support the growth goals.

How do you determine where to draw those lines

I think the best place to find solutions is right from your prospects and customers themselves. That means putting some real thought into assessing your marketing analytics (site, email, social) and test results. Supplementing that with qualitative data such as customer polls, email queries and responses, blog comments and good old-fashioned jawboning, like phone calls, site visits, live events or online chats like Google Hangouts.

This approach reflects the customer first mentality behind the lean product development model, usability design, listening with social media, and so on. And rightly so because these days, customers and prospects play a critical role in your business development process. That’s especially true of small and independent businesses.

Question: As an email marketing expert, what do you view as the number one overlooked component of a healthy email marketing campaign

Hunter Boyle:  The welcome series. Hands down. I like to compare it to first impressions when you meet someone in real life. Even though the website and email sign-up form are technically first impressions, let’s be honest, that first email or two that we get when subscribing really sets the tone for the entire lifecycle, right

I dread signing up for yet another email. I work in the industry. We all do these days. We all get too much of it and we decry our overflowing email inboxes. So think of what the emails you actually love to get have in common: They often “wow” you. Whether it’s because the content is funny or personable or makes you think or helps you discover cool sites and ideas or offers great deals. We want to be impressed by that diamond in the rough of dozens of subject lines.

Welcome messages can do that. An unexpected 15% coupon or a high quality ebook or video bonus - these are pretty standard. But a welcome series, spread out over the first few weeks, that’s designed to familiarize readers with actually using your product or service, isn’t as common.

Content that delivers awesome value and an engaging experience, is coordinated with social channels and is timed to get an optimal response rather than annoy readers That’s mighty rare. Testing a series like this should be a priority for all digital marketers this year.

Question: Can you give us one piece of advice regarding how to increase email open rates and two tips on how we can improve click through rates

Hunter Boyle:  You can increase open rates with subject line and timing tests. But those tend to be incremental, one-off gains that are hard to replicate or maintain. That said, we ran a timing experiment, not a test by the purist definition, and doubled our click through rate with a send to our affiliates on Saturday morning.

One tip would be to keep experimenting. Even if it doesn’t fit all of the official testing criteria. I know that makes some of my optimization friends cringe. But we’re not robots. People send emails and people receive emails. I’m not suggesting anyone replace serious testing with experiments like the one above. In fact, doubling the clicks absolutely made us want to set up a formal test to explore further.

That’s the benefit of experimenting: It can lead you to new ideas and surprises and help you formulate more exacting tests.

Another tip for click through is ensuring your emails and links in particular, are mobile-friendly. Video is getting more and more popular. If you’re using the standard screen capture with play button image, with alt text (alternative text), that’s going to render nicely in mobile and could be a click magnet.

Whereas, if you’re using embedded text links and just one or two words are linked or it’s not clear that an image is a live link or you have way too many links - you’re going to see lower response rates from the growing smartphone population.

So make sure you’re testing mobile compatibility and usability before you hit send. And keep checking your analytics.

* * * * *

The upcoming Affiliate Management Days conference takes place April 16-17, 2013. Follow @AMDays or #AMDays on Twitter. When registering, make sure to use the code SBTAM250 to receive an additional $250.00 off your two-day (or combo) pass. Early bird rates are valid through March 1, 2013.

The rest of the interview series from #AMDays may be found here.

Hunter Boyle: Affiliate Management, Challenges and Email Marketing #AMDays

Meet Hunter Boyle, a multichannel marketer and content strategist, who is now Senior Business Development Manager at Aweber. At Affiliate Management Days SF 2013 (April 16-17), Hunter will be revealing ways in which affiliate managers and advertisers may effectively maximize affiliate relationships with email.

* * * * *

Question: If you were to emphasize one important area that every affiliate manager should be paying more attention to, what would it be and why

Hunter Boyle: Engagement. That applies to long-time affiliates just as much as the new faces joining your crew. The channels you’re using - email, social media, webcasts, the offers and tools you’re presenting - have to capture the attention of your affiliates and get them excited to promote you.

So if you’re not focusing on, measuring and testing ways to improve engagement, you’re leaving a ton of money on the table.

Question: What do you see as the main areas of opportunity for online marketers in 2013 - 2014

Hunter Boyle: There’s a surge happening these days around content marketing. If that’s not the buzzword of the year, I don’t know what is. But aside from the hype, there’s enormous value in the ability to consistently create and deliver exceptional content. Particularly as a marketing tool for affiliates.

The best affiliate marketers are those who use trust, authenticity and authority to build up their networks. They succeed because their recommendations carry real weight online. Can affiliates cultivate those circles with an endless cycle of overt sales pitches Only in rare instances, such as deals sites, does that work.  And that’s a whole separate topic.

That’s why, all the buzz aside, an effective content marketing strategy is essential for affiliate marketers. Same goes for affiliate managers. Developing the messaging, goals, process, tools, metrics, a testing plan and training affiliates to succeed with them is a major opportunity for affiliate managers.

Question: What do you believe to be the top 3 present day challenges that online oriented small businesses should be aware of And where can solutions be found

Hunter Boyle:  Judging by the small businesses I know and work with, the top three challenges don’t really change that much:

That’s the trifecta that most small businesses struggle with in marketing and beyond. In most cases, they’re very passionate about their work and business. They have clear goals in mind. Where it gets tricky is trying to keep up with the pace of change in marketing.  Often because they’ve got a small team or are doing most of it themselves without the bandwidth to become experts in content, email, social, SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), affiliate marketing and so on.

I wish I could say that’s likely to change. But the “small” part of small businesses is why it rarely does. Small business leaders really need to focus on what’s legitimately going to drive business growth and minimize the distractions, latest fads and initiatives that don’t support the growth goals.

How do you determine where to draw those lines

I think the best place to find solutions is right from your prospects and customers themselves. That means putting some real thought into assessing your marketing analytics (site, email, social) and test results. Supplementing that with qualitative data such as customer polls, email queries and responses, blog comments and good old-fashioned jawboning, like phone calls, site visits, live events or online chats like Google Hangouts.

This approach reflects the customer first mentality behind the lean product development model, usability design, listening with social media, and so on. And rightly so because these days, customers and prospects play a critical role in your business development process. That’s especially true of small and independent businesses.

Question: As an email marketing expert, what do you view as the number one overlooked component of a healthy email marketing campaign

Hunter Boyle:  The welcome series. Hands down. I like to compare it to first impressions when you meet someone in real life. Even though the website and email sign-up form are technically first impressions, let’s be honest, that first email or two that we get when subscribing really sets the tone for the entire lifecycle, right

I dread signing up for yet another email. I work in the industry. We all do these days. We all get too much of it and we decry our overflowing email inboxes. So think of what the emails you actually love to get have in common: They often “wow” you. Whether it’s because the content is funny or personable or makes you think or helps you discover cool sites and ideas or offers great deals. We want to be impressed by that diamond in the rough of dozens of subject lines.

Welcome messages can do that. An unexpected 15% coupon or a high quality ebook or video bonus - these are pretty standard. But a welcome series, spread out over the first few weeks, that’s designed to familiarize readers with actually using your product or service, isn’t as common.

Content that delivers awesome value and an engaging experience, is coordinated with social channels and is timed to get an optimal response rather than annoy readers That’s mighty rare. Testing a series like this should be a priority for all digital marketers this year.

Question: Can you give us one piece of advice regarding how to increase email open rates and two tips on how we can improve click through rates

Hunter Boyle:  You can increase open rates with subject line and timing tests. But those tend to be incremental, one-off gains that are hard to replicate or maintain. That said, we ran a timing experiment, not a test by the purist definition, and doubled our click through rate with a send to our affiliates on Saturday morning.

One tip would be to keep experimenting. Even if it doesn’t fit all of the official testing criteria. I know that makes some of my optimization friends cringe. But we’re not robots. People send emails and people receive emails. I’m not suggesting anyone replace serious testing with experiments like the one above. In fact, doubling the clicks absolutely made us want to set up a formal test to explore further.

That’s the benefit of experimenting: It can lead you to new ideas and surprises and help you formulate more exacting tests.

Another tip for click through is ensuring your emails and links in particular, are mobile-friendly. Video is getting more and more popular. If you’re using the standard screen capture with play button image, with alt text (alternative text), that’s going to render nicely in mobile and could be a click magnet.

Whereas, if you’re using embedded text links and just one or two words are linked or it’s not clear that an image is a live link or you have way too many links - you’re going to see lower response rates from the growing smartphone population.

So make sure you’re testing mobile compatibility and usability before you hit send. And keep checking your analytics.

* * * * *

The upcoming Affiliate Management Days conference takes place April 16-17, 2013. Follow @AMDays or #AMDays on Twitter. When registering, make sure to use the code SBTAM250 to receive an additional $250.00 off your two-day (or combo) pass. Early bird rates are valid through March 1, 2013.

The rest of the interview series from #AMDays may be found here.

Overloaded With Email Check Out theSwizzle

If your inbox is always flooded and you feel you are LOSING control of it. Then check out a new service, theSwizzle. theSwizzle scan’s your in-box, helps you unsubscribe or move to daily digest the emails that you want and gives you a cleaner and more organized inbox.

Pretty simple. Check it out for yourself, if you’re OVERLOADED with email!

RSA Conference: Remotium named as most innovative company at Innovation Sandbox

A mobile app security start-up has been named as the winner of the 'Most Innovative Company' at the Innovation Sandbox event at RSA Conference in San Francisco.

Beating a number of competitors, Remotium won the conference's fourth-annual competition for its technology that runs mobile applications on public or private clouds, so end-users aren't required to store corporate data on their devices.

As part of the event, attendees had the opportunity to participate in a speed dating event, where they could speak with investment experts and discuss their business ideas, and participate in a ten minute presentation before the judges.

Remotium CEO Sinan Eren told SC Magazine US that it was nerve-racking to present the business plans before a room of peers, but was glad that his company's central message had been delivered.

He said: “Our company's goal is to solve the BYOD problem. "We [strive] to prevent enterprise data loss at any cost, but also while preserving the user experience.”

More than 60 companies were considered before the top ten were selected. Candidates were required to be privately-held organisations with less than $5 million in revenue last year. Participants were required to demonstrate their technology live at the Innovation Sandbox event, and the product must have been launched within the year.

Other finalists were Bromium, Light Point Security, Nok Nok Labs, PrivateCore, Silent Circle, Skyhigh Networks, Spotflux, Victrio and Wickr.

Last year's winner was Appthority who also offers mobile-related technology.

RSA Conference: RSA security chief slams \'cyber Pearl Harbor\'

The use of the term 'cyber Pearl Harbor' has been slammed by Art Coviello, executive vice president of EMC and executive chairman of RSA, who said that he 'hated' the term.

Talking about the benefits of decent Big Data capture, cloud computing, the 'Internet of Things' and bring your own device (BYOD) policies, Coviello used his opening keynote to say that Big Data has the "potential to change our lives and every aspect of our daily lives" and that we are only at the "dawn of Big Data".

He said: “It won't be long before Big Data applications and stores become the crown jewels of organisations, and are readily accessible in the cloud but not just to us - to our adversaries as well.”

Looking at attribution of attacks, Coviello said that much is made of them, but asked: "Do we really need to see a smoking gun to know there is a dead body on the floor" He continued by saying that when defending ourselves, we need to have a thorough understanding of how to go about it and go beyond intrusion.

He said: “If we as an industry over-hype the situation, governments will not take steps to help us defend ourselves. I hate the term cyber Pearl Harbor, but what do I do differently when I do it This was a physically destructive event and from the internet it is not impossible, but as of today it is highly unlikely. Attacks on financial services not only cause significant economic loss, but a loss of public confidence. With an attack on critical infrastructure such as the power grid, we should be prepared and focus on the source and severity and the threat is significant, and it will become a pathway and prelude to attacks, and more and more elements of infrastructure pathway will become clear.

“The term 'cyber Pearl Harbor' may raise awareness, but it does nothing to raise the understanding of the true situation. Until recently, the press didn't see what we see, but nobody wants to be exposed and like an iceberg, the true depth of the problem remains hidden.

“We are at the next stage in evolution of this age and as we face an equally evolving threat landscape, the clear cause is new and [it is] time to disenthrall us from the dogma of the past.”

Coviello concluded by saying that we should be able to deal with our adversaries and in some instances, get ahead of them. “We cannot escape history and we will be remembered in spite of ourselves,” he said.

“We will protect information technology and the world will not forget that we say this, we know what to do to create a trusted digital world. We need the help of governments and Big Data will help this model in transforming security, but it must begin with us.”

McAfee moves into advanced malware detection arena, with new sandboxing technology

McAfee has announced the acquisition of ValidEdge to add sandboxing technology to its anti-malware offering.

According to the company, this will add an automatic blocking function on attacks by convicted malware samples, when combined with McAfee's Security Connected range of network and endpoint anti-malware products. It also said that this will provide signature information so infected endpoints can be remediated automatically by McAfee's ePolicy Orchestrator. The first product that integrates the new sandboxing technology is expected later this year.

The company has also announced more than 30 malware-focused product enhancements, including the network sharing platform for signature-less threat detection, enhanced web and email protection and McAfee Deep Defender, which provides protection against master boot record (MBR) rootkits.

Pat Calhoun, senior vice president and general manager of network security at McAfee, said: “We are now extending our lead in malware protection by continuing to invest in new products and product enhancements.

“Point products can't provide adequate protection against these advanced attacks, which is why McAfee is delivering an integrated, multi-layered, managed solution that provides comprehensive malware protection across endpoints and networks.”

RSA Conference: US government security coordinators highlight key strategies for future

Calls have been made for the US Congress to work on and approve information security policies to enable a more secure environment.

Speaking in a session at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, James Lewis, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), called for a review of Congress ahead of 2014, as he said it is "not working".

Making heavy reference to Obama's executive order and State of the Union address, Lewis said that the executive order will change the landscape and help address different challenges. “It might change in terms of thinking and give a new way to see networks. The task is in its implementation and we need to track this to see if it gets implemented,” he said.

Michael Daniel, special assistant to the US President and White House cyber security coordinator, said that cyber security has moved from 'techno geeks' into the interest of the C-suite and eventually government agencies and the US President.

He said: “Threats are growing as we hook more and more into the internet. It is not just code and worms and viruses, threats are becoming harder to detect, they are more dangerous and are moving up the spectrum. The environment is more dangerous and that is why Obama has moved into this space, the level of the threat demanded it.

“Sharing is about improving volume that we share with the public sector, there are three ways we are looking at this. The first is determining whether specific information can do a better job of pushing out to entities who are targeted or at a classified or unclassified level; the second is expanding enhanced cyber security services and setting up a programme to use classified information in a way to protect critical infrastructure; finally, the Department of Homeland Security secretary can clear people on the other side to deal with it.”

“The executive order is based on collaboration and the issue requires a whole government approach, no one division can do it by itself and we need to do it with state and local government. The executive order is a down payment on a lot of hard work to be done and on legislation, as we are limited as what it can do, we definitely need congress to act and update the statute to make progress on the cyber security front.”

Michael Chertoff, former US secretary of Homeland Security, said that as so much information is highly classified, it is hard to talk in concrete terms about values, but he welcomed a start on this "as things are getting worse and getting worse still".

He said: “This is not a full investment in what we need to do in cyber security, as we face accelerating threats. The executive order can tell government what to do and not the private sector, the programme is expanding to share information as usually it is classified, but to get an early warning on cyber security, we need to know how to get a safe space to share experiences with our colleagues. We are isolated, but the victim is empowered when you share in real-time.”

Asked by Lewis what the role for the Department of Homeland Security is going forward, Daniel said: “We will talk about the framework, we are used to working in an environment and intend to capitalise on our experience in that space, and we want to be open as the process develops. We want to link to the top five questions CEOs should be asking CISOs.

“In the next year we will focus on implementing the executive order and Presidential directive, and also see evolution of this both domestically and internationally, as that will be a critical issue.”

Chertoff said: “We have to enlist independent actors and make decisions on security and think about new architectures, there will be opportunities for creativity to create a focus and to get the attention of the decision makers.”