Most organisations have at least three primary resources - money, people and information. I have always found it strange that people accept the procedures and controls imposed on the first two, but typically resist any attempt to implement similar processes for information management and security. And quoting good practice or horror stories rarely changes their minds.

IT consists of two words - 'information' and 'technology', and I think there is too much emphasis on the latter, at the expense...
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We read a lot in the press about global warming and the increasing amount of energy we use. Did you know that the proportion of the total energy we consume which is used to power IT is increasing too? Yet IT has the capability to reduce energy consumption, and one obvious way is by reducing travel. Most of us have access to cheap broadband and there are many low cost or free ways to do audio and video-conferencing over the internet. Obviously we want to see our family and friends in person bu...
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I'm surprised how many small businesses don't backup their data, let alone have some sort of disaster recovery plan in place. A disaster can range from a PC failure to total destruction of your office and all it's contents. Statistically small businesses have shallow pockets and are the most likely to fail in the event of a disaster.

As we all become more reliant on IT and the internet how long can your business survive without access to electronic data and systems? How could you keep the busi...
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Modern cars are complicated yet reliable so why are computers difficult to use and unreliable? Part of the problem is that IT is a young profession compared with engineering - cars used to break down. Nowadays all cars have the same human interface (steering wheel, pedals etc.) but there is no accepted standard for computers. However I think inadequate skills are a significant issue too. We learn to drive and have to pass a test, if we didn't we would probably crash. Yet most people expect to...
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There is no doubt that the internet has changed the way we do business and conduct our personal lives. However it also introduces new risks and is not necessarily  a solution for all our problems. Backups are sometimes overlooked, but are an extremely important aspect of IT. Backing up your data to the 'cloud' (ie the internet) offers some advantages, but there are some potential issues to consider. For example how reliable is your internet connection and long would it take to restore all you...
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I'm amazed how many small businesses in the UK are unaware that the Data Protection Act requires them to register with the Information Commissioner even if the only personal data they hold is 'public domain', for example name, phone number and email. You are only exempt if you trade solely business to business (B2B), and even then if any contacts are sole traders or partnerships you need to register. For tier 1 organisations it can be done online in 30 minutes and costs only £35.
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