Understanding March Madness and its Impact on Your Company

It’s March again, and many hoops fans are once again in a frenzy – creating fantasy basketball drafts, watching streamed basketball games, and researching basketball trends, rumors, and other related information. That’s “March Madness” for you.

Most of the activity of March Madness is internet based, with gambling and betting at an all-time high, especially as the tournament draws to a close with the Elite Eight Teams whittling down to the Final Four. Fans spend a lot of time watching streamed videos of games and gathering information on the tournament online, distracting them from their official duties and potentially wasting company bandwidth.

How much does this impact your company? A lot, says the research. A 2008 Newsweek article reports that the March Madness phenomenon cost a total of $1.7B in lost productivity. And that’s not counting the high bandwidth consumed from all the video streams and the research activities.

In more recent research findings reported by national outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the losses due to March Madness are expected to continue.

“Those who insist there will be no impact are kidding themselves,” says John Challenger, CEO of the Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “It might be a slight drop in output, or it could be slow Internet connections as bandwidth is sapped by employees watching streaming feeds of the games,” he adds.

If you’re concerned about your company’s bandwidth during this period and want to look for ways to better manage it, we’d be happy to discuss a possible roadmap.

Sources:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/17/2048029/college-basketball.html

http://www.newsweek.com/id/124404

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Number of Infected Websites Doubles in One Year

warning signAccording to a new study released by security firm Dasent, the number of malware-infested websites has increased to 1.2 million in 2010, from 560,000 in 2009.

Dasient, a company specializing in combating malware on websites, has released a new report claiming that over 1.2 million websites were found to be infected by malware in the third quarter of 2009, more than double the number during same period last year.

These infected websites are especially dangerous since, unlike other forms of malware vectors, they don’t require the user to click on a link or open an attachment. They infect users through “drive-by-downloads” or by just visiting the infected website. Hackers take advantage of the dynamic and interactive features of today’s modern websites and social networking sites to deliver their payload.

Other dangerous forms of infected websites are those hosting fake antivirus scams, which fool users into downloading malware posing as legitimate antivir (more…)

How to increase/decrease the Recycle Bin size

recycle binThe Recycle Bin’s default size is equivalent to 10 percent of the drive size. But if you delete a larger size file accidentally, you might need it to be larger. Here’s how to re-set the maximum storage size of the Recycle Bin.

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Is Spending Extra for Smartphone Protection a Smart Move?

broken smartphoneSmartphones benefit companies because they improve productivity. Providing protective cases to employees with Smartphones reduces liability to replace damaged devices.

Many businesses all over the world issue Smartphones to their employees. While they can seem expensive for many small to medium-sized business owners, with the greater amount of work done at a faster pace, Smartphones are an ideal business solution.

However, since Smartphones are lightweight and portable they are carried around everywhere, making them very prone to accidental drops. Despite the advances in technology, some Smartphones are more prone to damage than others. Touchscreens are generally more susceptible to damage because they usually don’t have an extra layer of plastic on their screens. And when these devices are damaged, not only do you incur the cost of repair or replacement, you also risk losing valuable data that’s stored in them. (more…)

Create Small, Easy-to-read URL’s

URLCreate easy-to-read and type Internet addresses from the long addresses often found on popular sites such as Amazon, eBay, and MapQuest by using online services that shrink the address.
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How Your Business Will Benefit from Using Electronic Signatures

pen on contract paperTurnaround times are accelerated with the use of electronic signatures because you don’t keep your customers waiting while you search for contracts or forms. Additionally, adding an electronic signature to a document is just like signing on paper. There is no need to change your customers’ habits and they are assured that even with remote handling, all their documents are secure.

Signatures have been the most accepted means of authentication since ancient times. During the Roman Empire, a combination of seals and signatures were recognized as the primary source for document and legal contract authentication. In the 1830s, electronic communications became legally recognized “electronic signatures” when the telegraph and Morse Code were invented. In 1976, Martin Hellman and Whitfield Diffie introduced public key cryptography, wherein cryptographic keys were first distributed over an unprotected public network. The first electronically signed document was an agreement between two nations – a Joint Communique signed by Ireland and the United States in 1998.

What is an electronic signature or e-signature?

There are different definitions for this term, but for the purpose of US law, the US Code defines it as “an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”

Why are businesses using electronic signatures?

  1. Electronic signatures help cut costs.
    Studies show that among US companies alone, 30 billion paper documents are copied or printed every year. The associated cost for each document is estimated to be $6.50. Five hundred documents are signed by the average authorized employee each year, which means that the total annual cost of using paper documents per employee is $3,250.
  2. Electronic signatures are good for the environment.
    The reduction of paper usage will not only cut down operational costs, but will also help save our environment. For every person who uses e signatures, the savings is equal to ¾ of a barrel of oil, ½ of a tree, or 150 pounds of carbon emissions per year.
  3. Electronic signatures help reduce fraud.
    When documents are signed electronically, the integrity of the content is guaranteed. E-signatures also enable real-time verification of the handwritten signature as opposed to a pre-defined biometric profile. Any manipulation within a document that involves an e-signature will automatically result in making the signature invalid.
  4. Electronic signatures help increase customer satisfaction.
    Turnaround times are accelerated with the use of electronic signatures because you don’t keep your customers waiting while you search for contracts or forms. Additionally, adding an electronic signature to a document is just like signing on paper. There is no need to change your customers’ habits, and they are assured that even with remote handling all their documents are secure.
  5. Electronic signatures give entrepreneurs more time to increase sales.
    Because workflow is much faster with the use of electronic signatures, processing times are reduced and sales people and consultants have more time to spend on getting new business. This can significantly increase the company’s revenue.

E-Signatures and Mobile Devices

Many business owners have come to realize the importance of using e-signatures in business. In fact, some businesses have even adapted this signing process for the smaller screens of mobile devices. If the transaction involves straightforward, simple sales contracts, a mobile e-signature is ideal. The customer sees and agrees to what exactly what is being purchased on the spot, and this allows salespeople to work more efficiently. For lengthy documents however, especially those that have several form fields that require considerable interaction with the client, a PC format is more suitable.

How Legitimate are E-Signatures?

As for the legitimacy of e-signatures, you need not worry. In 1999, the European Union passed the EU Directive for Electronic Signatures, and on the 30th of June, 2000, US President Bill Clinton signed into law the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), which signified that all signed electronic contracts and documents are as legally binding as a paper-based contract.

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Efficient IT for Less for Your Small Business

organizational meetingBack in the day, only big companies were eligible to use state-of-the-art IT solutions and enjoy 24/7 security. Thanks to Managed Services, superb yet economically priced IT is now readily available to small and medium-sized businesses.

Like a lot of small to medium-sized businesses these days, you perhaps have become greatly reliant on Information Technology (IT). You certainly want your own IT department to offer the functionality and security that huge organizations benefit from. But cost is most likely holding you back—the large amount of money needed to design, install and maintain such a setting is usually too expensive for smaller organizations.

Fortunately, today you can have both the best IT and the most cost-efficient solution—because in Managed Services, they are one and the same.

Managed Services is an IT model that provides IT management and security remotely. Utilizing the latest and most sophisticated technology, we can readily monitor and manage your network, determine possible issues, and solve them before they harm your business.

These are the 2 major advantages:

Superior IT – With Managed Services, you can accomplish the functionality and security that previously was only available to large companies.

Inexpensive Price – Enjoy better IT without costing a fortune. Because of economies of scale, Managed Services enables you to create an infrastructure that delivers essential IT services to staff and clients without having to build or maintain these services internally.

Contact us now to learn how our Managed Services can help improve your IT and save you money.

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Send Web Pages Easily to Friends

linkWhen you come across a web page you’d like to share, these simple steps allow you to easily send a link to a friend.
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Welcome Series7Racing’s Newest Rider – Weston Peick

Marty Kaufman, president of Accent Computer Solutions and creator of Series7Racing, with Weston Peick

Marty Kaufman, president of Accent Computer Solutions and creator of Series7Racing, with Weston Peick

Accent Computer Solutions and Series7Racing are proud to support Rock River privateer rider, Weston Peick.

Look for him riding the number 43 bike out on the track this Supercross season.

His first race of the season will be at Anaheim 1 on January 8th, 2011.

Good luck Weston!

Convert Multiple File Formats for Free Online

file iconIf you use Web sites to share your documents, movies, pictures, and music files, you probably know what it means to have to convert files. Good thing there is a Web site that performs file format conversions online. It’s free, helpful, and extremely simple to use.
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