2. Today’s Agenda
Module 2: IT Business
Systems
Discuss best practices
regarding strategic
planning for your
technology
infrastructure
Homework: Use the
provided Technology
Strategy Template to
create your
Technology Strategy
Module 1:
Technology Strategy
Questions to ask
before selecting a
System
About Mike
Introduction
Review IT Business
Systems, by
category and
maturity level
What we won’t cover today? (Due to time constraints)
Answer specific questions about
your company (Remember, you can
schedule one-on-one meetings
with me)
Detailed discussions about specific
products, vendors, or organizations
3. Graduated from Johns
Hopkins with a Masters
in Information Systems
JHU
CTO Adventures
• Promoted to CTO
• PMP certification
• PMI-ACP Agile certification
• Finalist for the 2012 NVTC
GovCon CTO Innovator
Award
• Obtained CMMI ML3 for
Halfaker (Business Process
Architecture)
• Agile Scrum transformation
of Internal IT, Quality
Mngmt., and Solutioning
teams
• Created Contracts
Compliance function
UVA
Graduated from UVA
with Bachelors in
Computer Engineering;
Joined Lockheed
Martin (Security
Engineering)
2003
2008
2008
2010
to
2016
About Mike
Halfaker
Joined Halfaker and
Associates at Director
of Operations (Ops, IT,
BD)
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not
necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Capitol Post or
Halfaker and Associates.
5. Module 1: Technology Strategy and Governance
“A satisfied
customer is the
best business
strategy of all.”
- Michael LeBoeuf
6. Components of Technology Strategy and Governance
Goals and Governance
Plans
Templates and Forms
Processes, Policies,
and Guidelines
Enterprise
Architecture
Databases and
Trackers
7. Strategy Section 1: Strategic Goals
• Identify your 1-3 business goals and
1-3 technology objectives
– Think about goals that define what you your
company to be in the future (vision), what your
company is and what it isn’t (mission), or
define your culture (values)
– Ensure that your technology objectives directly
support your business goals
Goals and Governance
8. Strategy Section 2: Enterprise
Architecture
• Draw or list the technology business
systems you have today
Example EA List
• Email (Google Apps)
• Website (GoDaddy)
• Dropbox
• 3 Dell laptops
• 2 Android smartphones
Enterprise
Architecture
9. Aligns with Biz Model?
Aligns with your Systems?
Does this system align with how you
do business or want to do business?
Does this system integrate with your
other systems?
Lock In?
Will you be stuck with this
vendor after this decision?
Can you export your
information?
Investment Return?
Is this system worth your
time and money? How about
the time it will take your
employees or customers to
adapt to it?
Consider True Cost of
Ownership (TCO), not just
initial price
Get Traction?
Will your employees and/or
customers actually use this
system?
No Big Risks?
Secure? Support?
Is your company’s information
secure? Will you be in the
newspaper for getting hacked,
based on this decision? Who will
support you if this breaks?
Will this System ALIGN with my Company?
The systems and processes and you
choose today will impact your
company for years to come –
so choose wisely!
10. Strategy Section 3: Plans
• Write in the upcoming calendar quarter boxes what
your technology priorities will be for each one
• Here’s an example:
4Q2015 1Q2016 2Q2016 3Q2016
• Move email
to Google
Apps
• Select and
buy a CRM
system
• Create and
publish IT
process for
new hires
• Redesign company
website, using a
professional
designer
Plans
11. Strategy Section 4:
Processes
• 1-800-GOT-JUNK scaled
from 1 franchise in 2000
to 270 in 2007
• “In 1996, I read Michael
Gerber's The E-Myth, and
it taught me that people
don't fail; systems do,” -
[Founder Brian]
Scudamore”
• Scudamore wrote down 1-
page processes (or
checklists) for every
important process
• See http://www.inc.com/magazine/201403/leigh-
buchanan/1-800-got-junk-business-model.html
Processes, Policies,
and Guidelines
12. Strategy Section 5: Templates,
Forms, and Checklists
• You may need to create templates and
forms to formalize how things happen
internally, or with customers
• Examples are:
– New Hire Checklist
– Project Kickoff Template
– New Customer Checklist
– Deliverable Checklist
– Purchase Request Form
• ACTION: List any templates, forms, or
checklists you know you need to create
ASAP
Templates and
Forms
13. Strategy Section 6: Databases
and Trackers
• As your company grows, you can’t keep
everything in your head or email
– “Your head is for having ideas, not for
holding them” – David Allen
• You’ll want to track critical information
somehow using spreadsheets, Google
Sheets, databases, SharePoint lists, or
something similar
• Things you may want to track:
– Projects (Who is assigned to which project?)
– IT Equipment (Who has which laptop, and
when does their warranty run out?)
– IT Access (Who has what level of access to
what Business Systems?)
– Software Licenses (How many copies of
Microsoft Office do we own? Who has
Adobe Acrobat Professional?)
Databases and
Trackers
14. Module 1 Exercise
Create your Technology Strategy, drafting your goals,
objectives, EA, and priorities (Sections 1 – 4)
15. Module 2: Business Systems Tour
“The salesman
knows nothing of
what he is selling
save that he is
charging a great
deal too much for
it.”
- Oscar Wilde
ML1 ML2 ML3
16. Business System Map
Organization Maturity
Business System Type ML1 ML2 ML3
Reporting
Business
Dashboard
HR and Recruiting HRIS ATS
Finance and Accounting
Back Office Ops
Accounting
Invoicing
Business Development, Sales,
and Marketing
Company Website
Accept Online
Payments
Appointment Mngmt.
Social Media
CRM and Pipeline
Sales Intelligence
Communication, Content, and
Collaboration
Email
Content and Doc.
Mngmt.
Project / Task
Management
Collaboration
Platform
Security Anti-Virus (AV)
Firewall/Router
Computer Encryption
Employee
Security
Training
Technology Infrastructure
Internet
Computers
Phones
Conferencing
Printers
External IT Support
Mobile Device
Mngmt.
Backups
Network
Monitoring
Identity
Management
ComplexityandStrategicValue
17. Maturity Level 1
“Technology is
anything that
wasn’t around
when you were
born.”
- Alan Kay (Computer
Scientist)
ML1
18. Infrastructure: Internet
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Business Internet
Service
(Recommended)
Verizon Business
Internet (e.g. Fiber, DSL)
Comcast
CenturyLink
MegaPath
$400/mo.
For 3Mbps
$1,200/mo.
For 10 Mbps
$2,300/mo.
for 100 Mbps
Ideal if available
May take months to get internet
in your office, depending on
building management
Shared Network (e.g. Comcast
Cable) is much cheaper than
dedicated, but the quality is not
consistent
Internet Service
Broker
Cogent Communications
(http://www.cogentco.co
m)
Can be helpful in identifying
options, at no explicit cost to
you
Don’t always offer unbiased
advice
4G Cellular Hotspot
Clear by Sprint
Verizon Hotspot
$50/mo.
with data cap
(e.g. 1GB
Mobile and office-based options
are available
Convenient, but can become
very expensive based on usage-
based pricing
Internet connectivity is an essential service, which becomes
increasingly important as your grow as a company
Consider identifying a vendor that can increase speed as you grow
Consider how much you’ll rely on cloud services for other business
systems – more cloud means more internet bandwidth needs
ML1
19. Infrastructure: Computers
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Issue employees
Windows-based
laptops
(Recommended)
Lenovo (e.g. T400
series)
(Recommended)
Dell (e.g. E5470)
(Recommended)
HP
$400 for
used
$900 for
new
Lenovo laptops are tough, but a
little more expensive (made in
China is concerning to some)
Dell offers solid value
Issue employees
Mac laptops
(Recommended)
Apple MacBook
laptops
(Recommended)
$1,500
new
Fewer options regarding Device
Management
More expensive per machine
May offer more convenience,
more durable machines, and
more security
Leverage BYOD and
subsidize employee
laptops
• N/A
• None or
Empl.
Subsidy
May work well if employees are
tech-savvy, but can make IT
support difficult based on
different computer types
Use Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI)
and issue employees
thin clients
Amazon WorkSpaces
MSP-based offerings,
like iCore
AWS WS
is
$35/mo.
Varies
widely
Can be powerful, but requires
very fast bandwidth and
advanced administrators
While tablets are hot, computers continue to be the foundation of
employee technology
Wirecutter.com has great, current, detailed reviews of technology
equipment, including laptops
ML1
20. Infrastructure: Phones
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Bring Your Own
Device (BYOD)
Several, such
as Dialpad or
Grasshopper
Dialpad:
$15/user/m
mo.
Offers convenience and reduced
management at potential cost of
security – see MDM
You can subsidize monthly personal
phone costs with a stipend
For leaders, you may want to issue a
phone so you can own the telephone
number (in case of employee
transition)
Company-issued
Smartphones
Provider:
Verizon, AT&T,
Sprint, T-
Mobile
Phone Type:
iPhone vs.
Android
$50 per
month per
line
Verizon is expensive, with excellent
coverage
Issuing cell phones requires oversight
regarding minutes, data, and repair
support
Android’s device and OS
fragmentation is a weaknesses for
enterprise environments
VoIP Landline
Phones
Vonage
RingCentral
MegaPath
$30 per
month per
line
Commodity service – top-tier brands
offer similar price and features
Telephones are still essential to business, and the trade-off between
BYOD and company-supplied is a significant decision regarding
management complexity, employee convenience, and security ML1
21. Security: Anti-Virus (AV)
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Security Essentials Microsoft Free
Great, free solution for Windows-based
computers
Intune Endpoint
Protection
Microsoft
$6 per
user per
month
Included some Mobile Device Management
(MDM) capabilities, which is discussed
more in ML2
Avast Cloud-based
Antivirus
Avast Free
Other good option (See
http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/avast-
for-business-free-smbs,1-2473.html for
details)
WebRoot or ESET Varies Varies
While Apple computers are less vulnerable
to malware than Windows, you may still
want to invest in it for users, especially
ones that are not tech-savvy and may use
their laptops outside of work (vulnerable to
phishing and other malware)
Malware Protection
Malwareb
ytes
$30 per
user per
year
Useful to protect advanced attacks (think
ML2)
See http://lifehacker.com/10-malware-
removal-apps-tested-malwarebytes-comes-
out-1614046598 for details
Secure computers is essential to protecting your employees,
information, and infrastructure
ML1
22. Communication, Content,
and Collaboration: Email
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Microsoft
$5-20 per user per
month
Strong offering that includes
several collaboration tools,
including Exchange, SharePoint,
Skype (formerly Lync), OneDrive,
and Office Online
Recommended over other
Exchange hosting providers
Google
$5-10 per user per
month
Strong offering that includes
several collaboration tools,
including Gmail, Hangouts,
Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets,
Forms, Slides
Consumer Email
(e.g. Gmail, POP3,
IMAP)
(Not recomm.)
Google (gmail)
Hotmail
Yahoo mail
Comcast
Free or Cheap
Not recommended, due to lack
of professional functionality and
ability to completely map to
company domain name
Business email choices are primarily driven by two offerings for
small businesses – Office 365 for Microsoft-centric organizations and
Google Apps for Google-centric organizations
Choice should be driven by customer experience and employee
population
ML1
23. Infrastructure: Tele/Web Conferencing
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Conferencing as part
of your
Collaboration /
Email Package
Microsoft (Skype for
Business)
Google (Hangouts)
N/A
(Included
in Pkg.)
Web Conferencing
GoToMeeting
WebEx
Speek Pro
UberConference
$40 per
month
per
account
(GoTo /
WebEx)
Often capped at 25 or 40
concurrent users
Teleconferencing
Unlimited
Conferencing
6.5 cents
per
minute
per caller
Can include 800 number access,
more professional greetings,
and more features (e.g. Find
out who is on the call; Record
call)
Free
Teleconferencing
FreeConference.com Free
Free Web
Conferencing
Join.me Free
Up to 10 participants, Up to 5
video feeds
Being able to set up teleconferences (multiple callers on one call)
and web conferencing (to screenshare and collaborate) is critical to
many organizations ML1
24. Infrastructure: Printers
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Enterprise Tabletop
Printer
HP (Recomm.)
Ricoh
Canon
Est. $1,200
(B&W)
Est. $1,500
(Color)
Enables network printing
Recommended for up to 10,000 pages per month
For B&W laser printer, approximately 1.5 cents
per page
For Color laser, approximately 13 cents per page
Managing Print
Services
CentricBiz.com
Varies by
package
You pay per-page-printed, instead of buying
toner; and they provide printer maintenance and
toner
Consumer Inkjet
Printers
Epson
HP
Canon
Approx.
$100
Good choice if you print less than 250 pages per
month
Check TheWireCutter.com for a current
recommendation, based on your needs
Enterprise
Standalone Printer
HP
Ricoh
Canon
Est. $4,000
Enables network printing
Recommended for 10,000+ pages per month
Can track/manage printing by user/project
Buying cheap printers can end up being very expensive over the life
of the printer, considering toner, repairs, and printer longevity
It is often true that expensive printers have cheap toner and cheap
printers have expensive toner/ink
Double-sided printing can save you money in paper
For simple hardware recommendations, check out
www.thewirecutter.com
ML1
25. BD/Sales/Marketing:
Company Website
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Content as a Service
Squarespace
(Recommended)
$8-36 per
month
Convenient, fast, enables do-it-
yourself approach
Can upgrade to sell items (e-
commerce) through your site
Managed CMS
Wordpress.com
Drupal Gardens
$8-80 per
month
Enables more customization
than offerings like Squarespace,
while still leaving security
patching and maintenance
issues to the service provider
“Blank Slate”
Hosting
GoDaddy
Bluehost
(Recommended)
Rochen
$5-25 per
month
Enables custom, high-end,
professional design
You can solicit web design
support from design
outsourcing firms such as
99designs to obtain
professional, custom websites
The design and hosting of your organization’s website is a critical
decision to how your organization will be seen by people outside the
organization
ML1
26. BD/Sales/Marketing:
Accept Online Payments
Solutions Est. Cost Notes
Square 2.75%
Industry leader in modern mobile payment
system
PayPal Starts at 2.7%
Industry-specific Payment
Systems
Varies
Several manufacturers offer industry-specific
payment systems for verticals such as
restaurants
The best approach to accepting online payments varies wide, based
on what you’re selling
For selling products in-person, here are some options:
ML1
27. Accept Online Payments
(Continued)
Solutions Est. Cost Notes
Squarespace
$26 per month + credit card
fees
Convenient, fast, enables do-it-yourself
approach
Can upgrade to sell items (e-commerce)
through your site
Paypal 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction Flexible, industry-leading platform
Shopify
$29 per month + credit card
fees
Industry-leading brand that provides an
annual entrepreneurship competition
Gumroad 5% + 25 cents per transaction
Popular for selling information products, such
as e-books
Amazon.com Varies Huge audience in exchange for higher fees
For selling products online, here are some industry leaders:
For selling services, including recurring subscription fees:
ML1
Solutions Est. Cost Notes
Chargify
$129/mo for up to 500
recurring customers
Proven platform, strong analytics capabilities
Recurly $100/mo + fees
Stripe 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
Built for developers to integrate into other
websites (not self-standing platform)
28. • Another option, instead building your own back
office (e.g. HR, Finance, Recruiting, Contracts)
operational capabilities is to out-source it to one or
more vendors or leverage a partner’s back office
capability
ML1
Option Vendor(s) / Options
Outsource some or all of your
Back Office functions to a
commercial service
GetBackOps.com (Startup-focused Back Office support), uses tools
like QuickBooks, Bill.com, Box, PayChex, and Expensify to
automate back-office
TriNet (HR outsourcing)
iQBackOffice.com
BOOST (boostllc.net, focused on GovCon)
PEO (See upcoming HRIS slide)
Share Back Office capabilities with
a partner
Leverage the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP), where mentor
can support back-office functions without GovCon affiliation (see
https://www.sba.gov/content/mentor-protege-program)
Multiple: Back Office Operations
and Administration
29. Finance and Accounting:
Accounting
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Small Business
Software as a
Service (SaaS)
QuickBooks Online
(Recommended)
FreshBooks
(Recommended)
$8-30 per
month
SaaS model offers updated, web-
based software
QuickBooks is along-time leader in
this category
FreshBooks focused on convenient,
intuitive user interface
Small Business
Computer Software
QuickBooks
Microsoft Office
Accounting Express
$200
QuickBooks is classic choice within
small business accounting
Outsourced
Accounting Service
Your Part-Time
Controller
Boost, LLC
Large
initial and
recurring
costs
Outsources accounting function
Enterprise, Industry-
agnostic
Microsoft Dynamics
GP
Enterprise, Industry-
specific
Deltek GCS Premier
Powerful functionality for
Government Contractors,
especially once they start
managing Cost Plus contracts
Accounting systems are not glamorous, but they are essential to
effective business management
Selecting the right system, and configuring the system with key
decisions like General Ledger structure are important decisions that
may haunt you for years to come if done poorly
ML1
30. Finance and Accounting:
Invoicing
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Freshbooks FreshBooks
$8-30
per
month
FreshBooks focused on convenient,
intuitive user interface
Over five million people use
FreshBooks
Wave Invoicing Wave Free
Tracks recurring payments
Can track when invoices are viewed
The price of free is its most
appealing feature
Harvest Harvest
Free to
$99 per
mo.
Can create and track retainers
Integrates with Trello, PayPal, Stripe,
Zendesk and Salesforce
Creating, sending, and tracking invoices can become unwieldy
quickly
For more details, check out
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246197
ML1
31. HR and Recruiting: HRIS
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
HRIS/Paycheck
Service Firm
(Established)
ADP (Industry Leader)
Paychex
Ceridian
Varies
greatly
depending
on options
and size
Firm helps you manage payroll
and other HR tasks, but does
not assume HR responsibility
like a PEO does
Professional
Employer
Organization (PEO)
AlphaStaff (large,
established PEO)
TriNet
Justworks (Startup-
focused PEO)
Justworks
is $75 per
month per
employee
Firm that you can outsource
employee management tasks
(e.g. benefits, payroll, workers’
comp, recruiting)
Provides compliance reporting
support (e.g. EEO Reports)
700 PEOs in the US, covering
about 3 million workers
Liability is on PEO
HRIS/Paycheck
Service Firm
(Startup)
BambooHR
Wave Payroll
Zenefits (Avoid)
Wave is $4
per
employee
per month
+ $15/mo.
Zenefits has an aggressive
approach to payroll integration
(think Uber) that creates
significant integration risks (see
https://news.ycombinator.com/i
tem?id=9679312)
Your Human Resources Information System (HRIS), including
managing employee information, benefits information, and payroll is
essential to effectively growing your organization ML1
32. Maturity Level 2
“All of the biggest
technological inventions
created by man – the
airplane, the automobile,
the computer – says little
about his intelligence, but
speaks volumes about his
laziness.”
- Mark Kennedy (Author)
ML2
33. ML2
Infrastructure: MSPs
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Full-service MSP
(Recommended)
mindSHIFT
iCore Networks
Network Depot
See next
slide
If you are growing quickly
and/or don’t want to invest in IT
support staff, this can be a cost-
effective option for under 75
employees
Technology Resellers CDW
Most
services
are free
May provide free solution
support, based on company
size, though biased toward in-
house solutions
None (No
Outsourced IT
Support)
(Recommended)
N/A
See next
slide
If you have technical personnel
in house, this can be an
effective way to reduce cost and
maintain control
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) enable you to outsource your
Technology operations, at a cost
The advantage is convenience, the disadvantage is control and cost –
you may be migrated to a suite of solutions that don’t align with
your goals
For more information, please see http://tinyurl.com/czbjbdq (“What
are MSPs?”)
34. ML2
External Support Decision Analysis
Course of Action Est. Annual Cost Notes
1: Hire full-time Junior
Technology Associate to keep
things running, add a new
system here or there
$75K
Assume salary of $50K for college graduate
with IT degree
Assume 1.5 no-fee, indirect wrap rate
2: Hire a full-time engineer
with 5 years of experience and
turn him into your head of
internal IT
$120K
Assume salary of $80K for 5 years of
experience
Assume 1.5 no-fee, indirect wrap rate
3: Contract with a MSP to get
IT support
$59K
Assume $500/month management fee
Assume $75/month desktop support per-
person fee for 20 employees
Assume you pay $100 per hour for a IT Help
Desk Assoc. on-site, one day per week
Assume $2,000/year in strategic
consulting/support (new projects / analysis)
Assume you pay for consulting support to
setup 10 laptops per year at $300 each
Assume 10% G&A load on expenses
Comparing costs for technology talent and support is challenging
This list doesn’t include expenses for buying equipment (e.g. laptops
for employees) or recurring technology expenses (e.g. email service)
You can have an employee do part-time support, or combine some
MSP support with some internal support
35. ML2
Infrastructure: Mobile Device
Management (MDM)
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
AirWatch VMWare
$4-11 per
device per
year
AirWatch supports Windows,
Android, iOS, Mac OS X, and
BlackBerry
Gartner-rated Leader
Good Technology Good Unknown Gartner-rated Leader
Maas360 IBM
$0 – 15
per user
per month
Gartner-rated Leader
Intune Microsoft
$6 per
user per
month
Integrates well with Office 365
Gartner-rated Leader
Smartphones and laptops can be managed using Mobile Device
Management (MDM) software to enforce security policies and
protect sensitive company data
MDM can separate work and personal data on smartphones
Gartner now refers to MDM as Enterprise Mobility Management
(EMM)
For discussions on startups and other options, see
https://www.quora.com/Mobile-Device-Management
36. ML2
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Magic Quadrant
Here’s the 2016
Gartner Magic
Quadrant for
Enterprise Mobility
Management, which is
what Gartner is
currently calling MDM
(Google Image Search
“2016 EMM Magic
Quadrant”)
37. ML2
Infrastructure: Backups
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Cloud Backup
Service
Backblaze (Recommended
for laptops and desktops)
$50 per
computer per
year
See Backblaze’s
comparison of services
https://www.backblaze.c
om/best-online-backup-
service.html
Carbonite
$60 per
computer per
year
Mozy
Depends on data
usage
Crashplan Depends on data
Employer-
managed
Cloud Backup
Software
CloudBerry, using AWS
(Recommended for servers)
Varies based on
storage usage
Microsoft Backup Utility
(connected to a local
Network-Attached Storage
(e.g. Synology) or server)
Free (Synology
hardware varies)
Backing up your information is critical – hard drives fail, laptops and
computers are stolen, and people make mistakes
Investing in backup solutions is like investing in insurance: You hope
you don’t need it often, but you will need it
38. ML2
Security: Firewall/Router
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Cisco Meraki
Firewall Router
Cisco $600+
MX65 supports 50 devices
($600)
MX84 supports 200 devices
($2,000)
Juniper Firewall and
Router
Juniper SSG series is
recommended
(http://www.juniper.n
et/us/en/products-
services/security/ssg-
series/)
$1,000+
It’s important to invest in a
network router and not just a
cheap router/wireless access
point when growing an
organization beyond a few
employees
Cisco Firewall and
Router
Cisco
Varies
widely
WatchGuard Firewall
and Router
WatchGuard (Not
recommended)
$500+
As your organization grows, it’s important to protect your network
for your network infrastructure (office locations)
Your network should have a firewall protecting it, in addition to
using computer-based firewalls (e.g. Microsoft Windows Firewall)
It’s imperative that a firewall is in between your internet connection
and your network router or wireless access point
39. ML2
Security: Computer Encryption
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Operating System
Encryption
Microsoft Windows
BitLocker (Available in
some versions of
Windows 7, 8, and
10)
Apple Mac FileVault –
available as of OS X
10.3 (Rel. Oct 2003)
$99 to
upgrade
to MS
Professio
nal
Free on
Mac
Can encrypt removable hard
drives and thumb drives
Symantec Endpoint
Protection
$25/user/
year
Open Source VeraCrypt Free
A critical measure of security is to ensure that data stored on physical
devices is encrypted (often referred to as “Whole Disk Encryption”
Think about encryption for all your devices, including:
Laptops
Smartphones
Tablets
External (USB) hard drives
USB “thumb drives”
Your computer password is easy to get around, and is not a solid defense
40. ML2
Comm., Content, and Collab.:
Document Management
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Microsoft-centric
Document
Management
SharePoint Online
(Part of Office 365)
(Recommended)
Part of
O365
Google-centric
Document
Management
Google Docs (Part of
Google Apps)
(Recommended)
Part of GA
File Server or
Network Attached
Storage (NAS) device
Microsoft Windows
Small Business Server
Synology NAS
Varies
based on
data
Requires local
management/administration
Requires VPN configuration if you
want to access it outside your
local network
Cloud Service
Box.com (Enterprise-
focused)
Dropbox (Consumer
and small business-
focused)
Bitrix
Varies
based on
data and
users
Various levels of configuration
management and functionality
Dropbox announced integration
with Microsoft Office
Sharing and publishing documents is a key capability as your grow
Convenience and configuration management (version control) are
key characteristics to consider
Structure and governance is very important – maintaining sites,
folders, and permissions get much harder as you grow
41. ML2
Communication, Content,
and Collaboration:
Project / Task Management
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Basecamp
Basecamp (formerly
37signals)
$20 per mo. (Up
to 10 projects)
Great for simple project / task
management
Also check out Asana
Trello Trello
Free (Advanced
available @ $3.75
/ user / mo.)
Spun out of Fog Creek Software
Great, card-based, Agile-inspired
task management system
JIRA Agile Atlassian
$10 per month for
10 users
Based on Agile software
management concepts
Able to scale to larger projects
effectively
Similar to VersionOne, Rally, and
Pivotal Tracker
Slack Slack
$0 – 12 per user
per month
Collaboration platform for team
collaboration
Traditional Project
Management Systems
Microsoft Project
Online
Varies (can be
rented through
O365)
See also MS Team Foundation
Server
Managing tasks across projects and departments, outside of email
and meetings, is a critical part of an organization growing in size and
complexity
42. ML2
BD/Sales/Marketing: Social Media
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Hootsuite Hootsuite Free
Enables posting content to
multiple platforms, shows
search filters, etc.
Can schedule posts for future
times
Buffer Buffer Free
Can schedule posts for future
times
Investing in social medias that are relevant to your customers
Consistent usernames across social media platforms is a best
practice
Books like Groundswell and Platform provides a solid strategic
framework to consider social media marketing
Consider a hub-and-spoke model where you publish content to your
company’s website and market it through email blasts and social
media posts
43. ML2
BD/Sales/Marketing: CRM and Pipeline
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Pipedrive Pipedrive
$12 per
user per
month
Pipedrive includes pipeline
modeling
Insightly Insightly
Free for 2
users
Strong option with free 2 user
level
Highrise Basecamp
$24 / mo.
for up to 6
users
Highrise is lean and simple
Excel-based Pipeline
Tracker
N/A None
Can be tailored to project
pipeline at no recurring cost,
but can quickly become
unwieldy
Enterprise CRM with
Pipeline Tracking
Salesforce
Microsoft Dynamics
CRM
SugarCRM
$25 - $250
/usr. / mo.
Salesforce
Salesforce and Dynamics lead
the enterprise CRM space
Salesforce is free for non-profits
SugarCRM is open source
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tracks your business
contacts, including sales leads and partners, including contact
information and contact history
Enterprise CRM systems also track sales opportunities and sales
pipeline
Great discussion on Quora at https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-
best-CRM-software-for-startups
44. ML2
BD/Sales/Marketing: Sales Intelligence
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost
GovWinIQ (Government
Contracting Industry)
Deltek Expensive
Bloomberg Government
(GovCon)
Bloomberg Expensive
Other GovCon Solutions
EZGovOpps
Govini
AlphaBrook.com
GovTribe.com (startup)
Varies
Sales Intelligence
Communities
Example: G2Xchange.com (Federal Government
Contracting Health IT community)
$250 per user
per year
Buying Email Lists and
Leads
DiscoverOrg.com – provides IT organization
charts and contact data
Radius.com – reach small business leaders
Varies
Free Sales Intelligence
Search alerts from free websites (e.g.
FedBizOpps.gov, Federal Agency Acquisition
Forecasts)
Collect website visitors’ email addresses, in
exchange for downloading a whitepaper or other
document
None
Sales Intelligence tools and subscriptions can be powerful ways to
buy leads, especially for industries that traditionally required a large
sales force
Talk to people in your industry and check out relevant discussions
online -- sales intelligence tools vary widely by industry
45. Maturity Level 3
“Any sufficiently
advanced
technology is
equivalent to
magic.”
- Arthur C. Clarke
ML3
46. ML3
Infrastructure: Network Monitoring
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Firewall-based IDS/IDP
(Recommended)
Cisco Meraki is easy to use;
but isn’t the cheapest and
requires annual subscription
Cisco Sourcefire is industry
leading (not cheap)
Cisco Meraki MX84
is 200 device
firewall/router/IDS
for $2,000
Varies widely
Firewall/Router-based
Intrusion Detection and
Intrusion Prevention
Systems are great ways
to leverage existing
hardware
IDS/IDP Monitoring
Appliance
Soltra Edge
Barracuda
FireEye
Vectra Networks
Varies widely
Open Source IDS/IDP
Monitoring
Snort
Security Onion
“Free”
Requires hardware,
configuration expertise,
and administration
Web Proxy
Zscaler (Cloud Service)
McAfee Web Gateway
(Device)
Blue Coat ProxySG (Device)
$5-15/user/month
for Zscaler
Approx. $6K for
McAfee WG
Analyzes and protects
web traffic, in real-time
Security Information
and Event
Management (SIEM)
Tool
HP ArcSight
Splunk
McAfee NitroSIEM
Expensive
Aggregate and analyze
security information
from servers, firewalls,
routers, etc.
Actively monitoring your network for cyber security anomalies is a
key investment in protecting your company’s information, including
customer and partner information
47. ML3
Infrastructure: Identity Mngmt.
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Active Directory-
centric
Microsoft Active
Directory
(Recommended)
“Free”
with
Windows
Server
Can be federated (sync-ed) with
Office 365
Google Apps-centric
Google Apps
(Recommended)
Ping Identity
Centrify
“Free”
with
Google
Apps
Google Apps is becoming an
identity standard
Distributed Single
Sign On
Okta
(Recommended)
OneLogin
ClearLogin
$2-8 per
user per
month
(Okta)
Several companies offer
distributed, consolidated single
sign-on (SSO) solutions
Enterprise Password
Management
LastPass
Distributed SSO
solutions (see above)
$12-24 per
user per
year
Instead of centralizing identity
itself, you can deploy an
enterprise password
management system
You can also consider local
computer-based KeePass
As your organization obtains more and more business systems, it will
be important to manage identity through a central Identity and
Access Management (IdAM) system or enterprise password
management system
48. ML3
Security: Employee Security Training
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
Computer
Security
Employee
Training
N/A Free
Train all your employees in Computer
Security Fundamentals, at least once a year
– you can Google for best practices (e.g.
Don’t download things or click on links from
places you don’t recognize, Update
software when computer prompts you)
Phishing Training
and Testing
Many, such
as
PhishMe
Expensive
(Think order
of
$10K+/year)
Services like PhishMe provide phishing
training and also send phishing emails to
your employees to test their ability to
recognize them
Phishing IQ Test SonicWALL Free
See
http://www.sonicwall.com/furl/phishing/
to test your own ability to recognize
phishing emails
In addition to providing your employees with secure hardware and
maintaining the software, it’s important that you train your
employees in computer security
A big trend in business cyber vulnerabilities is Phishing, which is
when a malicious email that looks legitimate tricks an employee to
click on a link or open an attachment, which then launches malicious
code on their computer
Spear Phishing – Phishing targeted at individual, specific people
49. ML3
HR and Recruiting:
Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
JobVite.com JobVite
$500 per month
(<100 employees)
Solid choice for small businesses
Lever.co Lever
Depends (e.g.
$800 per month)
Well worth considering
Jazz (formerly
Resumator)
Jazz
$150 - $700 per
month
Slick interface, but lacks
important reporting capabilities
Silkroad ATS Silkroad
Approx.
$5,000/year
Comprehensive ATS, aimed at
mid-size businesses
SmartRecruiter.com
Smart
Recruiter
Starts at $3500
per year
ADP Recruiting ADP
Packaged with
ADP
Not recommended, based on
poor user interface
Oracle Taleo Oracle Expensive
Not recommended, based on
price
An ATS is a valuable investment when you have more than one
recruiter to coordinate, or when you are willing to invest in
automating more of your sourcing and recruiting workflow
50. ML3
Reporting: Business Dashboard
Solutions Vendor(s) Est. Cost Notes
QlikView Qlik
Varies
widely
Data Discovery platform
Tableau Tableau Data Discovery platform
Spotfire Tibco Data Discovery platform
Impromptu IBM Cognos Traditional reporting tools to
automate report generationCrystal Reports Crystal Reports
Creating a consolidated, enterprise dashboard of your enterprise
business data is a valuable, though costly, proposition that can
enable better business decisions
This is not a recommended priority for small companies with other
priorities to focus on
This initiative must be pursued with a clear strategic framework, to
avoid wasted effort
54. Top IT 101 Tips
1. Decide a strategy and make a plan, before you buy
technology – every decision affects your future IT
infrastructure, and you can save many headaches by thinking
through a plan before buying new technology
2. Look for answers and explanations on CIO, technology, social
websites, like Quora, YouTube, Lifehacker, Spiceworks, and
CIO.com
3. Don’t always pick the cheapest option – consider if this
solution will be able to grow with your company
4. Read books and blogs to learn best practices (but don’t let
that get in the way of running your business)
5. If it makes sense, consider paying for outsourced IT support
(Managed Service Provider) so you can focus on your
company
6. Connect with people who have IT experience at bigger
organizations (e.g. Meetups, Professional Organizations,
former colleagues)
55. Resources to Analyze Business Systems
Yourself
• Gartner Magic Quadrants (Google
“[Business System Type]
Magic Quadrant” – you can also
try adding “filetype:pdf” to the
end of the search string (top-right is
“best”)
• Check websites like Quora,
Lifehacker, and CIO.com for advice
• Asking colleagues and peers about
their experience
56. Assessing your EA and
Infrastructure
• If you want at a later time, you can rate your company’s infrastructure and
business systems by assigning red, yellow, or green to each of these aspects of
your organization
• Approach inspired by a mindSHIFT (Managed Service Provider) analysis process
Availability
Redundancy in
servers, network,
and power
infrastructure
Scalability
Consistency
(Limited Shadow
IT)
Identity
Management
Ability to grow
Business
Continuity
Business
Processes
Backups
Disaster Recovery
Internet
Redundancy
Information
Security
Network
Computer
Server
Mobile Devices
Policies,
Procedures, Plans
Cloud
Services
(SaaS)
Identity and
Access processes
and tracking
Secure Vendors
Scalable Costs
Enterprise
Architecture
57. Process is Key to Manageable Growth
IT Business Systems
IT Business Systems
Chaos
GrowthStrategy and Process
Strategy and
Process
With
With-
out
58. Questions?
• If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact me:
– mike@mikehking.com
– Twitter @mikehking
– Blog: www.mikehking.com (Slides will be
posted here)
• Thanks to Capitol Post for hosting!