In this issue: 
    3 Essential Strategies for a Successful Remote Workforce

Hello, and welcome to the April 2009 edition of ListenUp!, your source for the latest news and expert advice about the world of business communications. 

In our feature article, we explore how many forward-thinking companies are focusing on cost-effective ways to protect their sensitive, confidential information and increase the productivity and efficiency of their remote workforce.

 
More articles to check out:
ETA Helps Raise a City of Readers
Employee Spotlight: Josh Laster
Get a free lunch while learning about Network Security

 3 Essential Strategies for a Successful Remote Workforce

Companies everywhere are increasing the size and scope of their virtual teams at breakneck speeds.  In fact, according to IDC, mobile workers in the US will represent over 73% of the total workforce by 2011!*  However, this shift is happening so quickly that many businesses are uncertain how to structure and safeguard their IT and communications resources in this new environment.  Fortunately, at ETA it's our mission to help you stay one step ahead of the technology curve.  That's why we'd like to share three proven strategies that are critical to ensuring the security, productivity and seamless connectivity of your remote workforce policy.

1. Ensure the remote users logging into your network are really who they say they are.

A recent study by the Enterprise Strategy Group showed that 68% of IT security professionals believe that remote users pose the biggest security risk to their organization. ** 

That's because even with a comprehensive managed network security program to protect you against relentless attacks from viruses, worms, and hackers, mobile users are much more vulnerable to "low tech" threats like password theft and keystroke logging than employees in your office.  In other words, it's hard to be sure the people who are remotely accessing, saving, and manipulating your customers' sensitive data and confidential company documents are really who they say they are.  Unfortunately, this risk only increases with every new user that accesses your network remotely.

Secure Virtual Private Network connections (SSL VPN), strong password requirements, and remote user monitoring are industry best practices that most businesses use to protect themselves.  But even these security measures can be ineffective if an employee's login credentials are compromised. 

That's why ETA introduced our Hosted Token Authentication program.  With ETA's Hosted Token Authentication, remote users must enter a unique PIN code they choose, a One-Time Password (OTP) they generate using a keychain-sized token device, and their standard Windows credentials to login to your network.  The OTP combined with the users' PIN creates a strong password that cannot be reproduced by anyone else.  This enhanced, layered protection not only protects your business - It's required by regulations such as HIPAA, PCI and SOX. 

Best of all, because ETA hosts and manages the service for you, there's no expensive equipment to buy or maintain, programming required, or staff needed for administration.  For a flat monthly fee based on your number of remote workers, we setup and configure the tokens for you, provide ongoing, round-the-clock Help Desk support for end-user issues, deliver weekly reports detailing all login activity, and deactivate any tokens that are lost, stolen, or still possessed by terminated employees. 

2.  Seamlessly connect your office and mobile workers - Without a total system overhaul
Seamless communication between "office" employees, virtual workers, and customers is crucial to the ongoing success of any remote workforce strategy.  However,  costly upgrades to aging phone systems, "on the go" workers who forget to check their office voicemail, and huge cell phone charges are some of the major reasons companies' strategies never get beyond the planning stage.

Thankfully, recent innovations in business communications have taken the pain and expense out of the mobility equation.  Voice over IP (VoIP) technology provides many businesses a simple, reliable, and affordable way to connect and manage their remote workforce.  ETA offers VoIP phone systems that enable calls to an office extension to be instantly forwarded to an IP phone, cell phone, or even a "soft phone" on a laptop.  This means that people in the office, customers, and vendors can always reach remote workers wherever they are - at a single number. 

However, even companies with aging phone systems that are not VoIP ready can now take advantage of these same benefits. ETA provides a solution that enables companies with any type of phone system and carrier service to automatically route incoming calls to a remote worker's home phone, cell phone, or any other phone.  This solution works on any mobile or land-line phone, and does not require any software to be installed on the phone itself. 

Best of all, with ETA's MyWay, our managed services program for business phone systems, none of these solutions require a capital outlay.  For one monthly fee, MyWay enables companies to take advantage of the specific technology they need, without the substantial upfront costs of ownership.  Since MyWay is an operating expense and not a purchase program, there's no hefty down payment, annual maintenance fees, or need to invest significant money for every upgrade or technology update.  MyWay makes it easy for any size business to afford the remote worker infrastructure that best fits their needs.

3.  Ensure your shared applications and resources are just as fast out of the office as they are in it
The most common complaint of mobile workers is that the programs they need to do their job - CRM systems, line of business software, invoicing/billing systems, etc. - run much more slowly when they're out of the office.  This is typically because companies don't fully understand what kind of network and bandwidth they need to keep their applications running smoothly offsite.  And worse yet, it seems like every company they talk to has different ideas about which solution is best - so how do you know who is right?

ETA can help make sense of it all with a solution that's custom tailored to your business.   We start by performing an in-depth analysis of your total voice and data communications infrastructure, including bandwidth requirements for the critical applications your mobile workforce is counting on.  We then work as your advocate by leveraging our partnerships with close to 20 carrier service providers to design a plan customized specifically for your needs.  This personalized approach typically helps our customers significantly increase bandwidth and application performance for remote users for the same or less than what they currently pay.


ETA Webinar: Managed Network Security - 
Enterprise-class protection, SMB Cost

Have lunch on us... all attendees will receive a $7 Wawa gift certificate!  We'll also raffle off an iPod Nano to one lucky attendee, so don't miss out!

Date:  Tuesday, May 19th 2009
Time: Noon - 1PM Eastern Time
Location: WebEx - Register Here

How do I know my employees are using their time productively, and are not on social networking sites?

How can I make sure I'm defending my company from the latest virus, like Conficker, that CNN just had an article about?

I just read about a company having to pay $84/record because they lost valuable client data.  How can I make sure my network is safe and my company isn't the next one on the news?

How do I prevent my employees from ending up on a malware website that could wipe out our network because of an innocent typo?

Join Expert Technology Associates and Fortinet, the world's leading expert in Unified Threat Management (UTM), for a free Webinar to learn how a managed network security program can help safeguard your small to mid-sized business against these and many other threats with cost-effective, Enterprise-level protection. 





* "Worldwide mobile worker population 2007-2011 forecast, Doc #209813", IDC,
December 2007
**http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/businessstatistics/article82010.html

Ahh, Freedom...

 

How can you ensure your remote workforce is secure, productive, and doesn't break the bank?

ETA Helps Raise a City
of Readers

"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild - to pick up a book and read to a child."
- Dr. Seuss

Five members of ETA's leadership team recently shared their enthusiasm for reading with local children as part of Read Across Philadelphia Week.

Read Across Philadelphia is an annual celebration that honors the birthday and legacy of Theodore Guisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.  During this week long event, local area business, civic and education leaders read to students at Philadelphia-area schools to help spread the word that reading is fun and important.

ETA's team of avid readers recited "Horton Hatches an Egg" to the enthusiastic students of James Dobson School in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia.  They also shared personal experiences about how reading positively impacted their life. 

We all felt privileged to have shared our love of reading with such fun, engaging children.  Much to our delight, Dobson's students took the time to thank each reader with personalized letters.  That definitely put a big smile on the faces of this wacky, and sometimes wild (but never old!) crew.

ETA's Team of Readers (from left to right:)
Troy Sorzano - Director of IT, Debbie Smith - VP, Jason Flanigan - Business Process Manager, Chris Aldred - Marketing Programs Manager, Craig Marowitz - President

To learn more about Read Across Philadelphia, visit http://www.phila.gov/philareads/events.html.

Employee Spotlight: 
Josh Laster 

Not that many people are interested in the bits and bytes of marketing.  That's why when I give my "Marketing 101" intro to new ETA team members, I try to keep it short and sweet - Which generally helps keep yawns to a minimum.

However, I knew right away that Josh Laster wasn't satisfied with my typical Freshman-level overview.  Before I could finish my first sentence, Josh was asking me questions about our social media presence, tracking mechanisms, and a host of other questions I wouldn't normally think of discussing outside of one of my marketing blogging groups.

I soon found out there was a good reason for Josh's curiosity.  Before joining ETA, Josh co-owned a local technology-focused business.  Like most entrepreneurs in his field, he's passionate about learning how the latest technological advances and innovations can help drive success.

Josh uses that same passion to help educate people about how PoweredUp!™, ETA' suite of managed IT services, can help supercharge productivity, fortify security, and ensure their business is always up and running.  Not surprisingly, his enthusiasm, technical know-how and business acumen make him uniquely qualified for this role.  So if you find yourself talking with Josh, just don't be surprised if he asks as many smart questions about your business as he did about my marketing programs on his first day!

 - Chris Aldred, Marketing Programs Manager