The Bensinger Beacon - February 2017

Managed Services -
Substantial Benefits!

• Increased Employee Productivity - We improve the overall health, speed, and performance of your network while virtually eliminating downtime.

• Decreased and Predictable IT Spending - We charge a flat rate for monitoring and proactive maintenance while
preventing costly problems.

• Full-time Support at Part-time Prices - We also provide our clients with prompt IT support for day-to-day needs, but at a fraction of what it would cost to hire an in-house IT person.

• Tailored Packages - Every business is unique. We offer a
variety of cloud services, traditional on-premises services,
and hybrid solutions depending on what is best for your business.

• Peace of Mind - We monitor our clients’ backups, anti-virus, and security so you can focus on
running your business.

Learn more

Provided courtesy of Ed Bensinger,
President, Bensinger Consulting.

“As a business owner, you don’t have time to waste on technical and operational issues. That’s where we shine! Call us and put an end to your IT problems finally and forever!”

Everything from HR to accounting, and from operations to sales and customer relations, can be managed from diverse and mobile environments, giving your team greater power to collaborate effectively.

3. Disaster Recovery.
Typically, data stored in the cloud can be easily retrieved in the event of a disaster. It also augments local backup and recovery systems, adding protective redundancy.

“Keep verifiable
anti-malware software in place throughout your network at all times.”

The Cons While the cloud offers obvious benefits, it also increases your company’s potential “attack surface” for cyber-criminals. By spreading your communications and access to data beyond a safe “firewall,” your network is far more exposed to a whole bevy of security concerns. Many of them can be addressed with these three best practices:

1. Social Engineering Awareness. Whether you go cloud or local, the weakest link in your network is not in your equipment or software; it’s in the people who use them. Cyber-criminals are aware of this fact.

And you can count on them to
come up with an endless variety of ways to exploit it. One day it’s a phone call ostensibly from your IT department requesting sensitive data, the next it’s an e-mail that looks official but contains malicious links. Make sure your employees are aware of and trained to deal with these vulnerabilities.

2. Password Security and Activity Monitoring. Maintaining login
security is absolutely critical any time you’re in a cloud
environment. Train your staff in how to create secure passwords and implement two-factor authentication whenever possible. Take advantage of monitoring tools that can alert you to suspicious logins, unauthorized file transfers and other potentially damaging activity.

3. Anti-Malware/Antivirus Solutions. Malicious software
allows criminals to obtain user
data, security credentials and sensitive information without
the knowledge of the user. Not
only that, some purported anti-malware software on the market is actually malware in disguise. Keep verifiable anti-malware software in place throughout your network at all times, and train your employees in how to work with it.

Free Cloud Readiness
Assessment Reveals Benefits And Pitfalls For Your Company From A Move To The Cloud

During the month of February,
we’re offering a FREE Cloud Readiness Assessment for any company with 10 or more computers and a server. We’ll conduct a complete review of your computer network, data, software and hardware and how you work. We’ll then give you helpful answers and insights about cloud computing for your business - all at no cost or obligation to you.

Bensinger Consulting specializes in IT services for Small and Medium Businesses.

• Managed IT Services
• Cloud Computing
• Network Security
• Data Backup and
Business Continuity
• Workspace as a Service
• Dropbox Type Solutions
• Hosted VoIP Solutions
• PCI and HIPA
Compliance

Call: 602.262.0202

Trust is contagious. If team members are to become more honest and reliable, a leader needs to start by demonstrating those qualities. Building trust within an organization must be intentional. When leaders get it right, it boosts productivity, increases positivity and builds positive relationships throughout the company.

Here are three steps to building trust within an organization: Do What You Say.

This is the foundation. It may seem obvious, but not following words with actions is often the first mistake leaders make. Because there is not always someone holding the person in charge accountable, it can be easy for higher-ups to feel entitled to do something other than what has been promised.

Let’s face it – employees can be too intimidated to call out the boss (out loud to their face, anyway).

A leader should always be honest and reliable in their words and actions – even when it comes to things as simple as showing up to meetings and sticking to agendas. People are watching, and it matters to them. If team members feel they can’t trust someone on the small stuff, there’s no way they’ll trust their

Ask About the Personal Things

It can be difficult to know whether someone deserves a celebration or needs help without making it a point to find out what’s going on with team members. Setting up a recurring time to ask how things are going can encourage people to share.

Some may be reticent to voice personal information at work, but there are ways to open the conversation. Ask questions like “What were your personal highs and lows over the past week?” If a team member has difficulty opening up, lead by example. Sharing a personal story first demonstrates that you have sufficient trust in your team to share their personal lows. Then team members will be more likely to follow.

Learn Together
Nothing works to build trust in a team as much as learning together does. Find opportunities to travel to a seminar, go to  trade shows or even hold recurring lunch-and-learn meetings with a different leader each week. The benefits of traveling and learning together are numerous, but the most important, positive outcome just might be the deep trust that can develop through those share experiences.

Trust is essential in order to have a healthy organization - between executives, team members and among the entire staff, no matter how large or small. By being an active participant, and staying reliable and open, leaders help their teams work more efficiently and with greater passion for their work.