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Get Yourself Some CoverallsOK, Mr. or Ms. Small Business Person, here's the scenario. Today, you almost have to have a computer for your accounting, financial, or manufacturing software. Even if you're a tiny operation, you're probably going to have a machine that has your copy of Quickbooks, your billing and your correspondence. You need a computer to support the administrative aspects of the meat and potatoes of your business. If you make widgets, you've got to figure out when to make them, who to make them for and how much money you made at it. Now, you're wondering about the Internet. Should you get email? Should you have a web page? What about all that stuff you hear about every day regarding hackers, viruses, and worms? The Internet sounds like a great resource, but you sure are worried about the hassles and costs. There once was a time when nobody had a fax machine. Then everybody had one. It's to the point where, if you don't have a fax, you're not in business. It's getting to be the same thing with voice mail. And it will be the same way with email and the Web in a year or so. If your customers can't drop you an email, or if they can't find your company on the Web, they won't do business with you. Imagine telling your customers, "Well, I'd sure like to send you that invoice, but I don't have a fax machine. Can you wait until I go out to the QuickyPrint at lunch and fax it from there?" But don't think of the Internet as merely something you HAVE to get involved with. Think of it as a way of gaining ground on your competitors. Have that Web site up and running BEFORE they get theirs. And have an email address before they even figure out AOL. But there is a problem. The Internet IS a place where you can get hacked and attacked by nasty little viruses. There are lots of dweebs and geeks out there that are using it as a playground. And it's tough to do business in a playground without getting a little dirty. That's why we suggest coveralls. Coveralls? Buy another computer - your "playground" computer. What we suggest to some of our clients is to insulate the work computers in your business (mentioned above) from your "playground" computer. In every situation, this will be at least one separate computer (with a single user connection to the Internet) that will be a used for Internet mail and surfing. It won't have any serious, business critical data on it, although backing it up regularly wouldn't hurt. But if the machine gets corrupted by a virus, who cares? Erase the drive and rebuild it. Your staff doesn't lose any productivity because the important stuff can keep going while you, your staff or your computer consultant fixes the playground machine. In the current market, computers are so cheap, even free in some cases, that this proposal isn't as unrealistic as it might have been two years ago. This machine can and should also be used for any new software you purchase, particularly if it has limited use, such as a graphics package, direct mail software, mapping program, games, etc. One of the things that causes computers to be "unstable" is that the environment keeps changing. New software is added, some new Java script is downloaded from a web site, new wacky wallpaper programs are installed, etc. That unstable environment can lead you to more and more unproductive hours trying to get things fixed. Support managers will tell you that they just wish their clients would quit loading new programs every time something sounds cool. By wearing your coveralls for the wacky stuff, you can keep your work machines humming along, oblivious to the nonsense on the other computer. Remember, if your playground machine gets whacked because you've loaded just a few too many different packages, or a virus bites you, big whoop. Format, reinstall and start over. No tinkering, no fussing, just a simple rebuild. Now there are some wrinkles. First, your employees will have to move to the playground computer to do their email with the outside world, to do research or use that graphics package. Is this a bad thing? It might be nice to know how much your employees are surfing as opposed to doing whatever it is they're supposed to be doing. If it turns out that you really need constant access to Internet resources or unusual packages for your staff, you'll hear the moans and you'll be able to make the decision based on your real needs, not what you've read about in computer magazines. Second, there are some data interchange issues. If your employee writes a letter that they want to incorporate into an email, they're going to have to get it into the playground computer. This might be a simple matter of moving the data over on a diskette. As long as they are copying and transferring files from their work machines to the playground machine, there are no risks. However, if they're moving email and files from the playground computer to their work machines, you must be more careful. This is where your risk of viruses gets greater. The better approach is simply to print off the received document. Unless there is a need for "cutting and pasting" or using the document on work computers, this would be the best course. Again, feedback from your staff will tell you when it is time to do more integration. That might involve putting the playground computer on your network (with extremely limited access to network resources) and allowing files to be easily copied from one machine to another. The feedback that you get from your employees will help you decide what to do. Obviously, this "coverall" solution won't work for every organization. There are some where Internet email is so important that having every employee have easy access to it from the desktop is critical. But frankly, I haven't seen many. And most workers today DON'T need constant access to the Web, unless it is to check their stock portfolio. What we have described is a very extreme solution to the problem. And there are a lot of ways to address the problem that are not as draconian, but which are also more risky. You must decide where you want your company to be on that continuum extending from a full integration/high risk environment to a low integration/no risk environment. The point is that you DO have options that are safe and give you access to the Internet. Do not be lulled into the mistaken belief that "information at your fingertips" will make your company an industrial titan. Making better widgets, making them cheaper and marketing them better will make you without peer. Having a faster connection to Amazon.com probably isn't that critical. Computers are a wonderful thing. But remember the primary benefit they have to your organization - their real value. Insulate the Internet playground from your real work by donning a pair of coveralls. Your launderer will thank you. And maybe your business's bottom line will also express its appreciation.
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