The Ekaru Gazette Vol 1-2. December 2001
Welcome to this month's issue! Our mission is to provide technology information you can use in your small business. In this issue we'll cover small businesses on line, firewalls, and gingerbread houses!
The Internet and Small Business
Today there are about 7.7 million small businesses in the US. These are businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and span diverse areas such as professional services, manufacturing, technology, retail, and more. Did you know that 95% of all US companies are small businesses, and employ over half of the total work force? Initially, small businesses were slow to embrace the Internet with only 40% of businesses on-line in 1997, but has grown dramatically to roughly 65% in 2000. Ekaru's primary focus is on serving the information technology needs of this fast growing sector.
The primary driver for the rapid growth in Internet access is the desire for communications access, specifically email. Having email and Internet access has become as important as having a phone or fax machine. Increasingly, small business owners are finding they have to get on line. As an example, paperwork between banks and attorneys for real-estate closings are handled electronically. Many people choose to work in small businesses do so to balance work and family, and getting a fast connection from home to access documents, email, and calendars is something that we are frequently asked about.
Top Internet-based usage by small businesses (Source: IDC):
- Product Information
- Specialized industry and professional information
- Financial databases (stocks, company financials)
- Online banking
- Generating sales leads
- Remote sales order entry/inquiry
- Advertising on other web sites
- Credit information (D&B, TRW)
- Online stock trading
- Managing human resources, tracking benefits, 401K, etc
- Telecommuting, mobile employee remote access
- Accounting or bookkeeping on line
Over 2/3 of small business Internet users have purchased products or services on line (Source: IDC):
- Airline tickets
- Office Supplies
- Books
- Hotel/car rental/travel
- Office products (printers, copiers)
- Personal computers
- On-line auction (eg Ebay)
Approximately 40% of small businesses have "home pages", and this is growing rapidly. These web sites serve existing customers and create a place for prospective customers to "check out" a business and its products or services.
As more and more people in the business need to work on line, local area networks are becoming increasingly important. Today, roughly half of all small businesses Internet users access the Internet through a single PC, shared by the organization. Using networks to share Internet access has grown from 4.2% in 1998 to 20% in 2000.
Most small businesses rely on dial-up Internet access. In 1999, only about 12% of businesses used a high-speed connection such as DSL or Cable, but this is rapidly gaining popularity with a projected annual growth rate of 40%. Charter Business Networks provides high speed service to many towns along the 495 beltway, western Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and Connecticut. ATT Broadband has recently started to offer High Speed Cable Internet for Business available in 35 towns in Massachusetts at "main street" locations. DSL service is offered by Verizon in many locations. Depending on where your business is located, your options will vary greatly.
Who does all the work? Fewer than 10% of companies outsource technology management to an outside expert. Most small businesses rely on regular staffers, along with their normal duties. They have either had a bad experience working with an unreliable information technology solution provider, or have been unable to identify and locate someone who can provide professional and cost effective support. However, with the increasing complexity of equipment, software, and telecommunications services, along with the ever increasing rate of new technology introductions, this approach is becoming more and more impractical if the business staffer is expected to maintain focus on their core business responsibilities. Businesses are relying more and more on the Internet, and the importance of up-time for email and Internet access is critical, as are proper back-up of important documents, virus protection, and security.
Our advice to small businesses is to keep it simple! Start by introducing the most important IT functions, and only when there is a recognized benefit. How can I better use the time that my staff spends struggling with IT problems? Can I serve more clients if I start running office automation software? Will my schedule run more smoothly if calendars can be shared among my staff? Can I spend more time with my family if I can access work files from home? Can I get more work done if I could download files more quickly over a fast connection? Can I generate more business or improve customer service if I create or upgrade my web site? Don't try to do everything at once. Create a plan, and then phase in the implementation. Happy computing!
References for statistics used in this article:
- IDC: Small Businesses on the Internet: Vertical Market Profile, 2001
- IDC: US Small Businesses on the Internet: Market Forecast and Analysis, 1999
Revealing the Mystery of Firewalls firewall Of course it is the latter definition, (2), that we are talking about even though the former definition, (1), best depicts the magnitude of protection.
Over the past 25 years, business use of personal computers (PC's) has been revolutionary. As the technology evolved, the PC's were first connected to one another via a local area network (LAN), permitting employees to share common business data, automate business processes, and make timely business decisions. Security was generally focused on employee access over the LAN which was controlled by password access to PC's connected to the companies' LAN.
Today, it is not only common, but essential, that businesses establish and maintain a connection to the public Internet, permitting employees to access its vast resources for information, purchasing, e-mail, business to business transactions, advertising, and data transfer.
Why do I need a firewall?
A firewall is needed to prevent unauthorized access from the outside into your company's internal LAN.
Without some form of protection at the interface between the LAN and Internet, company confidential information and processes are at risk of being compromised by the thousands of hackers who daily seek access to unprotected networks for the purpose of malicious damage, sabotage, and theft.
Firewalls come in many forms, from the simple software and hardware solutions to very sophisticated enterprise solutions with prices to match. Selecting a suitable firewall requires substantial network knowledge, details about your application, the sensitivity of a your company's data and the size of your budget.
Firewalls not only prevent unauthorized access to your internal networks, they also control specific pathways access, assuring authorized access is limited to that which is required by the business. This is accomplished by inspecting each individual "packet" of data as it arrives at either side of the firewall, inbound "to" or outbound "from" the network and your computer, to determine whether it should be allowed to pass or be blocked.
Internet connectivity is achieved by plain old telephone systems (POTS), frame relay, ISDN, DSL, T1, Cable, Fiber Channel etc. These connections all have either a static or dynamic Internet external IP address assigned to them, either of which needs to be protected from unauthorized access.
First level security can be achieved by placing a router between the Internet connection and your business LAN. Routers provide a reasonable level of security through network address translation (NAT) by creating internal LAN IP addresses that cannot be viewed through the router. In layman's terms the router acts as a filter, limiting access, thus protecting the LAN from attack.
Second level security can be achieved by running firewall software on individual clients and servers on your LAN.
More advanced security can be obtained by placing a hardware or software firewall ahead of the router, enabling second and third level security to your network, details of which are beyond the scope of this article.
In summary, if security is of concern, and your LAN is connected to the public Internet, a firewall is essential. When considering firewall design and implementation it is best to seek expert advice.
Gingerbread House Recipe Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Beat in molasses and eggs.
Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough
into eights. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.
With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out one portion of dough directly
onto a greased baking sheet to 1/4" thickness. Cut into a 7" x 5" rectangle
for side piece. Remove scraps; repeat. Roll a second portion into a 8 1/2"
x 5 1/2" rectangle for roof piece; repeat.
Roll out two portions of dough to 1/4" thickness. Position house pattern on
dough. With a sharp knife, cut out one house front. Repeat for house back.
Remove scraps. On house front, score door and window outlines. Bake 350
for 10-14 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool 5 minutes; while warm, place
pattern over dough and re-cut. Cool on wire racks.
Roll out scraps; use Christmas cookie cutters and cut out shapes to display
around house.
To make icing: Prepare three batches, one at a time. In a mixing bowl, beat
two egg whites until frothy. Gradually add 3 cups confectioners' sugar;
beat on medium speed for 4-7 minutes or until icing forms peaks. Cover
icing between uses to keep moist. Prepare a fourth batch of icing; tint a
fourth red, a fourth green and 1/4 cup black.
To Assemble: Pipe icing along base and side of front section and one side
section. Position at right angles to each other and place on display board.
Press firmly into place; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside each
for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back. Pipe icing
along each outside corner. Let dry completely. (over night if possible)
Pipe icing along top edge of house. Position one roof piece; repeat. Pipe
icing along top edge of roof pieces. Let dry completely.
Your ginger bread house is ready to decorate!
Suggestion: Have houses ready for annual decorating party with children of all ages. Remember to have extra candy as children tend to eat lots while enjoying the decorating!
Happy Holidays!
Most of those that have been exposed to the Internet have heard the term "firewall". However, not many really understand what a firewall is and what it does. In fact the noun "firewall" is a rather generic term which is defined in Webster's Dictionary as follows:
Function: noun
Date: 1759
In most of our Newsletters, we like to include a recipe. What does this have to do with computers and networks? Absolutely nothing, but these recipes taste great!
Icing and Assembly:
