The 4 P’s for Securing the Road Warrior (Part II)

By Jeff Garell

Whether you're hitting the road for business or personal travel, making sure you keep your company or individual information secure should be the top of your list. In yesterday’s blog post, we discussed Plan and Prepare. Today, let’s tackle the last two topics: Prevent and Purify

Prevent 

Now that you're on the road, you need to be a little more aware of your surroundings – whether making sure you collect everything after passing through the X-ray station or sitting in the airport lounge waiting for your flight. Be sure all of your stuff is accounted for and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER put anything of value in your checked luggage.

Clothes and toiletries can be replaced relatively cheaply compared to your tech gear, fancy cameras, and the like. As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the less gear you bring, the less you have to worry about tracking.

Once you've navigated the Transportation Security Administration and airport gauntlet, you've arrived at your destination. And it’s smooth sailing from here, right? Not really. There are still potential threats all around, and your prevention steps go beyond the physical safety of your gear:

1. Check the room safe: Is it big enough to fit all of your electronics if you want to ever leave them behind? If not, what can or should you do? This is a tough one. You can choose to take the risk and leave it behind, try to hide it somewhere (between mattress & boxspring? Duct Taped to the outside of the building?), or you'll just need to take it with you. Whatever you choose for this trip, you might need to consider paring down your pile before the next one so you can fit your gear in that safe next time.

2. Be aware of housekeeping: I tend to not make much of a mess, even on the longest of trips, so I often leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on my door for the duration of my stay. If I run into the staff in the hall, I'll explain (and often sign something) that I don't want my room cleaned. If I need something such as fresh towels, I’ll call or go to the front desk and make the request. How does this help? If no one is supposed to ever be in my room but me, then the key card access logs will be easy to narrow down. Additionally, I have walked down the halls during housekeeping time and have often seen many doors left open while the staff members work their way along the corridor. In fact, I've approached my room while it was getting cleaned, walked right in, grabbed a couple of things (my notepad), and walked out without being challenged as to whether this was my room. That’s when I decided this was a better tactic. If you want to get your room cleaned, take everything of value with you.

3. Validate the Wi-Fi: This advice applies to your visits to the Starbucks, Panera and anywhere else that doles out free Wi-Fi. Here’s one spot where you'll want to do some practicing before you hit the road so you have the process down. Whenever I sign on to the Wi-Fi, I'll quickly scan the network (using nmap) to see if I can find any other devices on it. A properly configured guest network should block “conversations” between guests on that network. If it doesn't, you should seriously reconsider whether you should use that Internet service. If I can see your device, then I can see your traffic and capture your data.

In addition, at hotel check-in, verify the Wi-Fi network name so you connect to the correct one. I recently stayed at a well-known hotel chain that uses something along the lines of "IBahnxxxx" (with the x’s being a number) as its guest network, but, when looking for it, I saw several variations of “hotelName_Guest” access points. If you connect to the wrong one, you're now connected through a stranger’s “access point,” and someone could decrypt your session in what’s called a Man-in-the-Middle Attack. Had I not checked, I probably would have connected to the more obvious access point names.

4. Turn it off: No, not your glowing personality, but your device. If it’s connected to Wi-Fi and you're not using it, turn it off. Just closing the lid of your laptop isn't really good enough for a motivated enough attacker. If you're connecting to an Ethernet port (wired), then be sure to disconnect the cable. Many IT departments enable something called Wake-on-LAN (WoL) so they can turn your machine on remotely if they need to do maintenance; leave a machine on the wired hotel network, and your laptop could be turned on while you're away. If you've followed the advice about encrypting your drive, then there’s much less to worry about regarding WoL.

All right, your trip is nearly over, and it’s time to check out. You hung on to those room card keys right? I ask because there are hotel systems that will put some of your personal data – and, in a few cases, your credit card info – in plain text on that card. These systems are getting phased out, but I certainly won't trust that the hotel I'm in has the latest and greatest software or systems – even if it’s new. Every key card comes home with me and gets friendly with the shredder.

Purify 

OK, finding a “P” word for remediate or fix was a little challenging. So by "Purify", I mean when you get back home (or to the office), it’s time for a heavy duty scan by your anti-virus/anti-malware tools.

If you have an IT department, ask what you should do given available tools. For the most part, you're looking to make sure that you don’t share something picked up while on the road. Some people take this to an extreme by fully restoring their equipment with backups they made before traveling. Unless you're going to a hacker conference, this is probably not necessary, but some will still do it.

This might seem to be a pretty daunting list of things to think about - and these rules apply whether you're on vacation or on a business trip - but given the potential loss you could experience, it’s well worth the effort. I hope you've picked up a few good ideas that will help keep your gear and data safe while on the road.

Happy and safe travels!

Jeff Garell is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.

The 4 P’s for Securing the Road Warrior

By Jeff Garell

I travel pretty often in my business – not as much as some, but more than others – and I've found some pretty common sense methods to make sure my equipment and data remains safe.

Those simple action steps each start with the letter P: Plan, Prepare, Prevent and Purify.

Plan 

Do I really need to bring all of this?

Every time I go on the road – whether for a simple overnighter or a longer trip – I evaluate the tools I expect to need. On many trips, I’ll really only need a tablet and my cell phone. I follow this routine because the less I bring with me, the less chance there is to lose something – not to mention the lighter my travel load will be if I don’t need my laptop, extra monitor, mobile hotspot, power bricks/chargers, as well as various cables and power strips for all of it. Sadly, occasionally I need to haul all that gear but fortunately not too often.

The key to making this work is ensuring that you will have the tools (software) you need on the devices that you chose to bring. In the past, I’ve tested that I can perform the majority of my work on a tablet by putting away my laptop and just using the tablet in the office for a week. While I recognized a small productivity hit and I surely wouldn't want to do it long term, that test showed that I can work effectively on many trips with a much smaller tech footprint.

Paring down your gear means less chance of leaving something behind or taking your eyes off the pile and having it walk away without your knowledge.

Prepare

Once you've decided what to bring, take time to ensure your data is safe.

The first thing to do is make sure important data is backed up. I know: Backups are boring. But it’s better than the total freak out you’ll experience when you realize it’s gone. I'd highly suggest making copies of anything important you’ll need on the trip. Leave one copy with a colleague at the office and put the other on a USB drive that does not get tucked into your laptop bag. If that bag gets stolen or left behind, then there was no point in the extra backup. This extra backup will allow you to purchase or borrow another machine and still make the most of the trip.

Just as important is making sure you have run updates on your operating system, current anti-virus, and that your laptop firewall will be on (or that you know how to turn it on) when you're traveling.

If you carry any confidential or regulated information (think HIPAA, proprietary/financial data, or the super secret plans for your island lair), make sure you are using whole disk encryption. This encrypts your entire drive and requires a password before the operating system even starts. It’s an extra step on every boot but is critical if you have data that needs an additional layer of security. Should your laptop get stolen, then all you've lost is the laptop (you did back up your data already, right?). Yes, it’s a pain in elbow to have to buy a new device but much less so than having your confidential information out in the wild.

And when you're not using your laptop, shut it down completely. Your laptop’s sleep/hibernation mode does not cause the drive to be in an encrypted state.

Tomorrow: Prevent and Purify

We covered a lot of ground today, so we’ll finish the discussion tomorrow, when we’ll share some additional practical tips to use every time you travel.

Jeff Garell is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.

4 Key Takeaways from HP Discover 2015

By John Monahan

Our CTG team left Discover 2015 just on Friday, and we're already working to bring the latest innovations from HP back to our clients along the East Coast.

While we hope you were following our social media updates about what was happening at this annual customer event, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the key takeaways from our days in Las Vegas:

       1. HP is focused on transformation.

On Day 1 of the conference, CEO Meg Whitman brought this front and center, particularly as the organization drives the evolution of two new companies. Her focus was initially on Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the arm that will continue to drive innovation within the IT industry.

“Technologies may change. Business models may shift. But one thing never changes for us, and that’s the importance of the relationships we build with our customers and our partners,” she said. “Thriving in the idea economy requires a new style of business, and this is where HP leads like no other company. … You have to pick a transformation partner with the vision and breadth to create the best possible future.”

The HPE strategy will focus on:

·         Transform to hybrid infrastructure

·         Protect your digital enterprise

·         Empower the date-driven organization

·         Enable workplace productivity

Check out this highlights video to hear more directly from Whitman about the transformation strategy. In fact, HP has an entire YouTube channel dedicated to presentations and more from Discover 2015, so we encourage you to explore topics of interest to you and your business. Our CTG team can help answer questions about how to bring new solutions to you.

       2. Storage is king.

Amidst many different production announcements and upgrades, one stands out: the HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage family. I don’t have enough room here to fully detail just how revolutionary this is to the industry, so I’ll focus on the key issues. As HP explains, this product brings a new class of massively scalable flash arrays, flash-optimized data services to accelerate IT-as-a-Service consolidation, a 25 percent lower cost for flash capacity and hybrid IT initiatives.

We saw this personally in an exclusive meeting we hosted for our clients with some of HP’s leading storage developers. For a rare hour, we discussed the real challenges that our customers face in their daily business, with HP’s top minds giving insight on effective solutions that work not just for today but can adapt and evolve as those businesses grow and tap into new opportunities.

3. New products are responding to the evolving economy.

To start, HP is getting into the movie business, with a five-year partnership to develop the next digital experience and technology to support a trio of upcoming “Avatar” sequels.

New products include HP LeanFT, which brings a test-and-learn methodology to application development. Products where updates are coming include the HP Helion portfolio, which supports your transition to a hybrid infrastructure, and HP will expand it's Converged Systems offerings, including a new partnership with Arista Networks.

The bottom line is that HP is applying forward thinking in creating and launching IT innovations that build on it's years of leadership, while recognizing that how we do business is changing every day. As those business models evolve, we need technology that is equally nimble and flexible to support ideas we haven't even yet considered.

4. Relationships matter.

To reiterate that last point, every industry is moving forward at lightning speed. And no one business can do it alone. Whom you select as your partners in those journeys is paramount to ensuring you get smartly and efficiently to your destination.

That’s why CTG looks to build a relationship with every client. We don't believe in simply selling you technology. Instead, we are bringing our unparalleled expertise across the IT infrastructure to guide you in making meaningful investments that work today and are scalable to your changing business. Some of the first customers we signed when we launched CTG a decade ago remain our closest clients today, because they see that we bring deeper value to the business.

John Monahan is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group. 

We Built Our Business on Relationships

By Brandon Samuel

When I started at Convergent Technologies Group a little more than five years ago, I learned quickly that to succeed in this industry, you have to develop an effective way to set yourself apart from all the competition you face on a daily basis. Clients constantly are facing new challenges in their environments and rely on their IT partners to provide insight and expertise to address those challenges head on.

Starting out, I had little experience in the IT field. While my family has seen much success in the industry, I was determined to blaze my own path and find what worked best for me. It took a while to find my stride, but one of the things that makes CTG a great place to work is that our people – starting with our leaders - never stifle creativity or dismiss our ideas. Our sales team is made up of a group of individuals committed to a common goal of making CTG a trusted resource to each and every company with which we work. We all have an open door policy in the office and work closely together so that we can all learn and grow as a team.

Meeting after meeting, it became increasingly apparent that there aren’t many companies looking to provide forward-thinking solutions to their clients. The fast-paced IT environment makes it easy to slip into the role of an “order taker” and to forget that each technology that a customer implements is something that they will rely on in the long term. Budgets are getting tighter, and it is more and more important that each solution provides the greatest amount of value and ROI for the client.

I am proud that CTG takes a much more holistic approach to our relationships with new and existing clients. We view ourselves as a relationship-based company and fully understand that each IT solution requires in-depth consultation and consideration – not just for now, but also for three to five years down the road. In a sense, we are taking a great deal of ownership with everything that we provide, because we understand that the customer experience both near term and long term is paramount to having a successful relationship.

I tell everyone that I meet with that CTG is not a “churn-and-burn” type of company. Our sales process is not designed for our sales representatives to be sitting in front of their computers and by their phones, waiting for the client to call with a quote request. Our goal is to work with companies that see the value in a relationship between their IT team and their team at Convergent. We want to have regular meetings with our clients, not only to make sure things are running smoothly at that time, but also to discuss and plan out future projects so that we are ready when their business is ready. Each sales rep is dedicated to their own book of business and is involved in each step of the process: from the initial meeting all the way through the implementation process and beyond. One of the biggest complaints that I get from customers is that when they have worked with other companies, they were left “high and dry” after they made a purchase. Because of the emphasis that we place on relationships, you can be assured that we will continue to be your go-to partner year after year.

Convergent Technologies Group is a strong company that is dedicated to being a partner with our clients. We work with the best manufacturers in the industry and take pride in delivering a solutions-based service to our customers. If your company is looking for a relationship and wants an organization that will get to know and understand their needs, we are the company for you. We look forward to the opportunity to meet with you and earn your business.

Brandon Samuel is CTG’s mid-size commercial/enterprise account executive.

What to Expect from HP Discover 2015

By John Monahan

Next week, much of the CTG leadership team will be on the road with HP, as we participate in our technology manufacturer’s key customer program: HP Discover.

From our experience attending for many years, this annual program connects CTG and our clients with HP’s top experts, who use this venue to introduce new initiatives, share insight on industry trends, and connect with visionary IT leaders from across the country.

As HP rightly bills the event, this is an “active, dynamic conversation.” Topics start with cloud, Big Data, security and mobility – and the conversation only gets deeper as HP engages with us on real issues that customers face with their technology in daily business.

From June 2-4 in Las Vegas, the program will explore more than 700 topics featuring thousands of experts from within HP and across the technology spectrum. It’s not an understatement to say that we have access to more information and insight in three days than we could in months; the program will cover some 2.25 million square feet of conference space. And the program is designed to help participants put conference learnings immediately to work. Whether you are looking for new ideas or best practices, CTG can help you connect with the right HP expert and product to find the answers you need.

As we discussed in an earlier blog post, being an HP Gold Partner gives CTG rare access to the manufacturer’s best people and latest technology. Our leadership participation at HP Discover 2015 is just one benefit of our strategic alliance with HP.

What you can expect from HP Discover 2015:

·         Leadership viewpoint: HP Chairman, President and CEO Meg Whitman will talk about the company’s latest strategy and initiatives.

·         Learning opportunities: The program will feature different training sessions to meet your different needs. Hands-On Labs, which run two hours, will give you firsthand experience with HP’s newest technologies, bringing in real-life scenarios, simulations, guides and training tips. HP ExpertOne Trainings are longer sessions that are scheduled to ensure participants can still attend keynote sessions and networking opportunities.

Too hard to pick out which sessions to attend? Check out HP’s recommendations for the top 5 “can’t miss” sessions for HP Converged Systems.

·         Technology innovations: Track keynotes will feature HP senior leaders speaking on emerging IT trends, HP’s point of view and strategy, and individual business initiatives. Panel discussions will include HP, customer and partner experts addressing the industry’s hottest topics. If that doesn’t deliver what you’re looking for, you can attend breakout sessions on the topics that matter most to you and your business or 30-minute sessions on specific business solutions. The Innovation Theater will feature 20-minute talks by customers and other experts on how innovation and collaboration can change business outcomes.

The HP Discover Insider blog will feature regular updates on game-changing innovations in enterprise software, hardware, services and networking. Keep visiting the blog for regular behind-the-scenes updates and insights.

Whether you are attending sessions in Las Vegas or will be participating via non-stop live streaming, know that our CTG team will be bringing the latest HP technologies and learnings back to Greater Richmond. As we prepare for the conference, let us know if you have any technology challenges or opportunities where we can help. We’ll be sitting at the table with the top nation’s IT talent, and we’re ready to put that knowledge to work for you.

John Monahan is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.

Four Reasons the CTG and HP Partnership Matters

When a business comes to CTG and trusts us to provide an information technology platform to rely on every day, they are choosing our company for two critical components: our people and our partners.

We have built our company by finding young talent that believes in our customer-first approach and who are steady resources that grow with our client. But this is only part of the equation.

Equally important is that our team has developed critical partnerships to implement the best, most reliable and flexible technology in the industry today. That’s why we decided many years ago – after observing and testing products from the majority of the top IT manufacturers – to develop a strategic partnership with HP, whom is currently rebranding this part of it's business as Hewlett Packard Enterprises. Our strategic recommendations are built first on HP platforms and software, and we tap into other partnerships to meet specialty niches.

While you’re right to think that we’re a little biased about the high quality of HP at this point, we aren't the only ones. Just last week, the 2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Modular Servers – always a highly anticipated market analysis – endorsed the Palo Alto, Calif.-based manufacturer as a “Leader.” At CTG, we firmly believe in HP’s self-assessment that it “offers a strong product portfolio and delivers the right compute for the right workload at the right economics.”

By building a relationship with HP beginning nearly a decade ago, we, in turn, can offer key benefits to our customers:

1.      Simplicity. Whether you have an in-house IT team or rely on CTG for daily support, building a platform that connects different elements from storage and servers to desktops and networking from the same manufacturer streamlines your everyday management and workload. HP allows us to develop a strategic architecture and implement a single console for your IT needs, whether you are a mom-and-pop operation or a Fortune 500 company. Not many manufacturers can offer that full portfolio, and our CTG team provides a single point of contact.

2.      Expertise. As an HP Gold Partner, CTG has access to the best computing minds at Hewlett Packard. We receive unique training and education on the HP product suite. If you have a question, we can easily find the right answer. This single-vendor strategy allows us to deepen our knowledge as we consult with our clients to find the products that match their needs. That starts with HP hardware and extends to HP software as well. And when you have a specialty IT need that is outside the HP family, we can bring in the right resource and use our expertise to easily integrate it with your HP platform.

3.      Reliability and Innovation. Each is as important as the other. HP delivers products that are durable and carefully designed to meet evolving business needs. Of course, you want to know that you can trust your IT systems, but you also want to be ready to take the next step forward. We have seen firsthand that once HP releases a new product, it is already is back in the research and development lab, looking for enhancements to make that product even more efficient and effective – and to launch innovative new products. Our CTG team serves as a bridge to keep you running smoothly today and scaling up with new technology as your business grows.

4.      Value. Leveraging our knowledge of the HP product line, we can quickly assess your needs and recommend the best technology that delivers the best bang for your buck. In an ever more digitized economy, our clients are looking for the smartest solutions that allow them to best serve their customers. But IT budgets aren't limitless, and our HP relationship delivers a valuable win-win in the best firepower at the best price.

This is an exciting time to be working with the emergence of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise division. You will see the company putting a more complete focus on the data center. That means even greater R&D investments, better customer support, more product customization and a greater understanding of how technology intersects, drives and supports business strategies.

But don’t just take our word for it in this post. Give us a call – and we’ll show you the best that CTG and HP can offer.

John Monahan is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.

Picking the Right Cloud

Last week, we discussed some common ground around what the Cloud should offer. Now let’s go with an analogy that I may just pile drive in to the ground by the end of this, but that I think is appropriate as we talk about types of clouds. And that is utilities. More specifically, let's talk power/electricity.

1. Public Cloud

Unless you live in the remote Western outback, odds are that you get electricity from your local power company.  You don't need to know how the utility company generated power or even how they delivered it to your home. You just know when it's there and when it's not. As a customer of cloud services, this works in a similar fashion.

You don't need to know, or totally care, about how your cloud provider's servers are configured, what the brand is, where they're physically located, or the name of the system administrators that keep it running. You will generally just care that it's there. Whether it's gmail/Google Apps, Office 365, or even if you are savvy enough to spin up your own servers on Amazon Web Services, you just don't need to know what is making all of that cloudy goodness happen. This is the public cloud.

However, if you’re a large enough company and are making a big move from housing your servers locally and onto the cloud, you'll be asking about all of the stuff most people don't care about when they use a hosted service.  For most businesses, though, it's more about brand recognition (Google, Microsoft, Amazon) than grilling potential providers about their infrastructure.

2. Private Cloud

A private cloud – which is generally used by large organizations with a well-qualified IT staff – is the equivalent (to return to our utilities metaphor) of running your own power generation operation.  

Using the same or similar technologies as the HPs, Googles, Microsofts and Amazons of the world, these businesses build out the network, servers, software and processes to deliver a similar set of services and characteristics internally. This is not for the light-hearted (or light-walleted) and very much like building your own power plant. The advantage is you get all of the benefits of cloudiness with all of the control that many organizations require or desire.

Just to add to the confusion, there is such a thing as a hosted private cloud, which may sound like it should be called a hybrid cloud, but it's not. You basically still run on a large cloud platform, but many more mechanisms keep your services separated from public services. You might need a VPN connection to get into your hosted private cloud.

3. Hybrid Cloud

No. This isn’t a Prius with a WiFi connection. That said, you have probably estimated that this combines public and private  cloud services. (In this case, private cloud is used as you've built your own in-house cloud).  This kind of setup offers the best of both worlds in that you can move services that may not be as critical  (or super secret) out to a Public Cloud provider and back as your own workloads require.  

Another common use of a hybrid cloud is for backup and recovery, as well as archiving.  Many companies today rent rack space in a data center, invest in another pile of hardware and set things up so that if their main office (or primary data center) were to have an issue they can continue to operate from that backup data center.  By deploying a private cloud and enabling it to talk and move services seamlessly to a public cloud provider,  they get a previously unheard of level of resiliency at a relatively low cost.

I almost forgot to whip out the power analogy (you know you would miss that). This is similar to having some solar panels that you use to cut down on your power bill a bit, but you still need the extra boost on a cloudy (pun intended) day and occasionally might even generate enough to sell back.  

4. Cumulonimbus Cloud

Ok, this isn't really a thing unless you're into the weather.   

I'm going to sign off for now, but I hope I've set us up with a common understanding of the cloud. Future posts will discuss different cases for the small, medium and large businesses, as well as myths and myth-busting.

In the next few weeks, our CTG team will be building our own private cloud, using HP Helion OpenStack on our Lab BladeSystems and 3PAR Storage. It's going to be a fun ride! Keep following us on social media to follow our journey.

Jeff Garell is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.