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Mobile services for productivity

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If mobile handset manufacturers had their way, our next computer won’t be a PC, nor would it be a Mac. It could be that the next computer we get to purchase would be a mobile phone.

At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, companies are touting new systems that let data seamlessly be synchronized between computers and mobile devices over the Internet. More than simply syncing data, the devices can also read popular formats from office-applications such as Microsoft Word documents, Mirosoft Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and more. Mobile devices and web applications are seen to replace traditional computers in being the primary means to connect to the Internet.

Mobility has become a major factor in setting up a company. Today’s office is an always-on, anywhere, anytime office, business solutions experts agree. Mobility is seen to enhance productivity among employees and managers. Therefore, it is also important for a company to design or purchase its information systems wisely.

A new dot-com era

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We recently reported on what business analysts consider the second dot-com era, with venture capitalists again warming up to the idea of signing up technology-oriented businessmen and entrepreneurs with good ideas. While it seems that VCs should have grown more risk-averse after the bursting of the tech bubble in the late 1990’s, they’re gambling once more on tech.

However, this new craze for tech investments may have a solid foundation after all. The Internet has been said to have matured in less than a decade after the tech industry’s downfall. A larger percentage of the population is online, and more than half are on broadband access, particularly in the developed world.

The fact that the Internet is more stable and standardized makes delivery of products and services easier than ever. People are no longer wary about going online to transact and seek information. And consumers have grown comfortable in spending their money online.

Technology is beneficial in the growth of small and medium enterprises. Technology cuts costs and improves productivity and efficiency. Company formation and business solutions experts are hence optimistic about this upturn in the I.T. industry.

BlackBerry outage possible?

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Businessmen and executives dependent on their BlackBerry mobile communication devices are in for a tough month as a district court in Virginia, USA decides on the fate of the BlackBerry on the 24th of February.

The protracted legal battle started in 2001 when US-based technology firm NTP sued Canadian-based Research-In-Motion (RIM) for allegedly infringing on several patents NTP owns, particularly with regard to email-push services. A Virginia state court decided in favor of NTP in early 2003, a decision upheld by an appeals court in December of 2004. NTP and RIM were supposed to go for settlement in December of 2004, but the deal did not push through. RIM was hoping for Supreme Court intervention late 2005, but the US Supreme court decided not to touch the case, instead referring it back to the local courts.

RIM claims the likelihood of adverse effects on the economies of the western world, inasmuch as a good number of companies worldwide employ the BlackBerry technology for their communications needs. Company formation and business solutions experts in the UK are hoping for the best, that in the event that a service outage does occur, companies would have sought contingency measures to counter this.

Rise of e-Commerce brings about fears of high tech crimes (part 3)

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What do businesses have to do, with threats of malware and online fraud that can potentially make e-commerce hell for any business? Should we fear bringing our business online? Will these threats drive away our customers?

Business solutions experts believe that enterprises should not fear the threat of e-crimes. But we should not take these lightly either. The best weapon against crimes high tech in nature is knowledge itself. This means fighting cyber crime with effective awareness campaigns.

Businesses should educate computer users in their spheres of influence, whether they be employees, customers or suppliers, on measures that can help prevent threats and attacks.

Phishing attacks. These are usually in the form of email messages disguised as legitimate inquiries from companies, and will ask recipients information such as banking details, or will ask the user to click a link to log in to the page. However, the link turns out to be a bogus page, where the password is actually sent back to the phisher (who then uses this to steal the account).

Be sure to regularly warn your clients against this possibility, and that your company will never send email to ask for information or passwords. It also makes sense not to simply click on links on emails, as these may point to bogus websites. Instead, it’s better to type the website’s URL on the browser window. It also pays for your e-commerce site to sign up for a secure verification certificate, so your users are sure they are safe in transacting with you.

Viruses. Secure your network, both hardware- and software-wise. It’s good to invest in a hardware firewall for your Local Area Network. As for company computers, do install antivirus and anti-spyware software that are easy to centrally configure and manage over the network. You should also warn your employees against opening unexpected email attachments or accessing websites that hawk illegal software (these are usually full of virus-infested programs).

Company formation consultants suggest that security be a primary consideration when setting up an e-commerce service. Since you are not face-to-face when transacting with customers, it pays to establish trust.

Banks urged for tighter measures against online fraud

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The Financial Services Authority has urged all banks to improve on security for their online banking operations, in view of widespread worries over the threat of online fraud. A study conducted as part of the FSA’s Financial Risk 2006 report has found that 50% of Internet users are very concerned about the risk of fraud especially in doing financial transactions online.

The FSA’s call for banks’ being more responsive stems from the finding that most Internet users are still quite clueless about protecting themselves from malicious software and social engineering attacks. The group is concerned that users of online banking portals and e-commerce sites in general may not be educated enough to detect and counter possible social engineering scams that can defraud them of their identities and/or funds. Banks were hence asked to likewise exert more effort to educate clients on sound online security practices.

Company formation and business solutions experts agree that a good business environment entails trust in the financial sector’s enforcing adequate security measures that safeguard against possible fraud.