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Note: This is the 10th in a 12-part data backup video series by Online Tech Senior Product Architect Steve Aiello. View the entire backup video series. Want to make data backup an easier process? In today’s entry, Aiello suggests following the same business practices that you would for almost every other decision: Trust the experts. Talk to people that know data backup and do it every day. “If my toilet doesn’t work, I’m definitely calling a plumber. I’m not going to try to fix these solutions myself,” Aiello said. “And, really, the same thing goes with any IT service. If you’re struggling with backups, contact somebody that knows what they’re doing and does this regularly.” Your time is best spent focusing on your key business objectives. Most problems with IT systems come from human error. Don’t realize a do-it-yourself backup system isn’t working properly after it’s too late to save lost data. This video series will continue throughout February. Check back for new entries every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Up next: “Do I need a testing plan for data backups?” Learn more by downloading our disaster recovery white paper. This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking…
A hat tip to Tatiana Melnik – an attorney concentrating her practice on IT, data privacy and security, and regulatory compliance – for passing on this security alert, which could impact HIPAA and other privacy security compliance obligations for those using iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, and any company with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy in the workplace: ArsTechnica has reported today an extremely critical cryptography flaw discovered in iOS versions 6.1.5, 7.0.4, and 7.0.5, and OS X 10.9.0 and 10.9.1 that has exposed sensitive communications. A critical iOS vulnerability that Apple patched on Friday gives attackers an easy way to surreptitiously circumvent the most widely used technology for preventing eavesdropping on the Internet. That made the security bug about as dire as one can be. Now, there’s strong evidence that the same flaw also exposes sensitive e-mail and Web communications on fully patched versions of OS X, with no indication that there is a patch currently available for the millions of people who use the Mac operating system. The flaw, “according to researchers, causes most iOS and Mac applications to skip a crucial verification check that’s supposed to happen when many transport layer security (TLS) and secure sockets…
Looking for solutions to the inefficiencies of modern-day healthcare, Dr. Kurian Thott created a communication system that manages and monitors all day-to-day aspects of a healthcare team. Most critically, Thott notes, the web-based mobile application instaRounds revolutionizes “the most challenging pieces of medicine today” – the point of patient handoff. Thott says instaRounds is the first app to offer a mobile patient sign-out application, where care of a patient goes from one provider to another provider. instaRounds allows subscribed members of a healthcare team to keep everyone – from care providers to office staff – updated on the status of patients in real time. No more incomplete sign-outs from fellow physicians. And even when physicians aren’t on call, they see what’s going on with their patients and can securely communicate with other members of their call group to consult on patients. “Giving a steady communication stream that’s seamless and connected to the next provider only enhances what that patient’s experience is going to be like,” Thott says. “Less mistakes, better healthcare, saves everyone money. Everyone’s a winner in that system.” instaRounds also offers an “MD to MD” communication platform that allows physicians to text other members of a preferred network…
Note: This is the ninth in a 12-part data backup video series by Online Tech Senior Product Architect Steve Aiello. View the entire backup video series. We’ve covered many possible data backup solutions in this video series. Whatever backup solution you choose — on-site, off-site, third-party vendor or a cloud provider — there are going to be risks to evaluate. “You have, as a business owner, decisions and you need to weigh the different risks that you have,” Aiello says. If you keep backed up data on-site, what if the building burns down? If you send it off-site with an employee, you’re open to theft or loss. Have the security processes of third-party and cloud partners been properly vetted? Also remember, the more that is done in-house, the more technical liability is assumed. “If you decide that you’re going to do your own backup and you’re going to ship it off site, you have to assume the technical burden of operating the backup system, making sure the backup is encrypted and managing that relationship to ship the tapes or hard drives off-site,” Aiello says. “Using a cloud provider takes that technical burden off your plate and you can focus more…
Note: This is the eighth in a 12-part data backup video series by Online Tech Senior Product Architect Steve Aiello. View the entire backup video series. If your data backup plan includes protected health information (PHI) or credit card data, encryption of that backed up data is critical. There are countless reports of backups on a external hard drive or tape turning up missing or stolen. If that data isn’t encrypted, business are needlessly exposing themselves to peril. “Because of the transient nature of backups and getting it off site, especially for small- to medium-size businesses, encryption is just so, so important to stop the theft of that backup data,” Aiello said. This video series will continue throughout February. Check back for new entries every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Up next: “What are the risks of using one backup solution over another?” Learn more by downloading our disaster recovery white paper. This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking a primer, as well as up-to-date information regarding disaster recovery best practices and specific technology recommendations.
Online Tech is profiling several clients that will join us at the HIMSS14 annual conference and exhibition on Feb. 23-27 in Orlando. Read more here. Stop by booth #3904 to learn more. In the Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) model, health providers of all sizes serving Medicare patients, are being tested as new Affordable Care Act regulations come online. “For small to mid-sized physician-led ACOs, we found there was no perfect solution in the market,’’ said Malay Shah, CEO of Rimage Solutions based in Lakeland, Fla. “Everybody is in a transition phase, especially in multi-EHR scenarios.’’ Rimage Solutions develops custom “cloud-based” software specifically tailored to the needs of ACOs, streamlining the complexities related to back-end system integration and protection of data, especially for data coming from different EHRs, CMS, clinics and hospitals. ACOs focus on coordinated care ensuring that patients, particularly the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. Organizing data and related operations can be especially daunting, Shah said, noting HIPAA privacy laws are growing increasingly strict along with the changes being brought online by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI and Safe…
Note: This is the seventh in a 12-part data backup video series by Online Tech Senior Product Architect Steve Aiello. View the entire backup video series. We’ve just launched our latest white paper on Disaster Recovery! This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking a primer as well as up-to-date information regarding disaster recovery best practices and specific technology recommendations, including Disaster Recovery as a Service. Download the Disaster Recovery white paper. Read below for an excerpt about Disaster Recovery: As its name implies, a data snapshot — think Polaroid or Instagram — captures a distinct point at the storage level. It’s an appropriate data backup solution for certain types of data, but inappropriate for others. Because it doesn’t have the intelligence of true backup system, snapshots can have issues with memory intensive applications and can result in a state of “crash inconsistency.” Backup software can communicate with applications. “With a full data backup, you can be sure that your server – if you have to restore it – is in a “crash consistent” state, and you can be sure that your data is available,” Aiello says. This video series will continue throughout February. Check back for…
Note: This is the sixth in a 12-part data backup video series by Online Tech Senior Product Architect Steve Aiello. View the entire backup video series. Did Bob in accounting accidentally delete an important Excel spreadsheet? Was your server hacked or otherwise compromised? Those are two very different reasons for a data backup plan, and they require different solutions. The ability for file-level restoration is very helpful, and the most common requirement of organizations. But the ability to perform a complete system restoration is a great option for compromised data. “These are two very different, but very important, things to look at in a backup software,” Aiello says. “Can we restore individual files with granularity, and can we restore the entire system to a clean, consistent state.” This video series will continue throughout February. Check back for new entries every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Up next: “What is the difference between a snapshot & a full data backup?” Learn more by downloading our disaster recovery white paper. This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking a primer, as well as up-to-date information regarding disaster recovery best practices and specific technology recommendations.
Online Tech is profiling several clients that will join us at the HIMSS14 annual conference and exhibition on Feb. 23-27 in Orlando. Read more here. Stop by booth #3904 to learn more. Gavin Murphy helped to grow a healthcare delivery nonprofit from minimal annual revenue to over $100 million in just three years. Understanding and helping to solve the operational bottlenecks that developed convinced him that he could help other nonprofits to do the same, particularly in healthcare. Murphy and his wife, Mollie Murphy co-founded Cambridge, Mass.-based Annkissam in 2007 to provide innovative, affordable technology solutions for mission-driven organizations, focusing on helping nonprofits and social enterprises navigate their data. Annkissam has grown steadily since then and now provides services to clients in 20+ states with a staff of 24. “We realized the nonprofit sector is often structurally behind by the latest great technology as well as the latest improvements in operations and we set out to short circuit that pattern and get them the best developments right away,” Murphy said. “We’re not just focused on technology but on improving operations — there are few companies that combine those well.” Annkissam services include: operations consulting, technology consulting, software development and hosting….
Note: This is the fifth in a 12-part data backup video series by Online Tech Senior Product Architect Steve Aiello. View the entire backup video series. Just as there are options when considering where to back up data (to disk, to tape, locally, off-site), there are also fluid “when” answers when building a strong data backup plan. In today’s video, Aiello uses a mortgage company and a highly-transactional ecommerce business as examples to show that the answer to the question “how often should you back up data?” can vary. Rules surrounding how frequently to back up depend on: Sensitivity of data Frequency of change Volume of change This video series will continue throughout February. Check back for new entries every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Up next: “What are the different ways to restore data?” Learn more by downloading our disaster recovery white paper. This white paper is ideal for executives and IT decision-makers seeking a primer, as well as up-to-date information regarding disaster recovery best practices and specific technology recommendations.