Verizon Acquires Yahoo! — Trouble for Business Subscribers?

Yahoo SignWith Verizon’s acquisition of the Yahoo! core business services underway, subscribers to Aabaco Small Business — the business email solution from Yahoo! — face uncertain times. While there is no indication of what Verizon may do with the Aabaco Small Business services, the focus of the Verizon acquisition is clearly Yahoo! services that Verizon can roll into its upstart digital media business.  As reported by The Wall Street Journal and others, Verizon is acquiring Yahoo! for the content and audience.  Business email and ecommerce services are clearly not top of mind.

Priced from $34.95 to $119.40 per year, Aabaco’s email service is as a basic webmail solution. The service includes spam/virus protection, filtering, and forwarding, although the web interface is simple and the service only supports POP email clients (no IMAP service). The service does not include calendar, IM/Chat, video calling services, file storage, and other services typically found in more robust email and communication suites.

Many Aabaco customers may choose to wait and see how the acquisition plays out and, therefore, how long they can continue to get support and service on an aging platform that lacks competitive features.

For many others, the acquisition is a great time to explore other solutions for cloud-based services. Both Google for Work and Microsoft Office 365 expand upon basic email services with robust communication and collaboration features and tools, and both integrate with a variety of marketing and ecommerce platforms.

For those with Aabaco websites and ecommerce service subscriptions, exploring Shopify, ProStores, and others may offer more robust, modern, and cost-effective solutions. The migration, however, is more complex as it involves multiple services.

We recommend that Aabaco subscribers begin looking at alternatives.  Whether or not you make a change now or in the future, understanding your options along with the relevant merits and costs, empowers you to make better decisions. You can also be ready to make your move if/when the time is right.


Are you an Aabaco customer interested in exploring alternatives?  Offering both Google for Work and Microsoft Cloud solutions, our Cloud Advisors can provide you with an unbiased assessment of your options. Contact us for a free consultation.


 

 

Ransomware is Front Page News (Again)

Over the past several weeks, we have been aggressively communicating with our customers and others about the sharp rise in ransomware hitting small and midsize enterprises.  We have blogged about the need for preparation against attacks and for recovery just in case, as well as the full cost of ransomware attacks. While some organizations are taking action, others still see the threat as a low risk.

This weekend, the Wall Street Journal emphasized the critical nature of the threat with a front page article reinforcing the severity and scope of the problem. The article reiterates the rapid growth of Ransomware, the increasing ransoms, and the ease by which computers become infected.

To help organizations better understand the risks, strategies for prevention, and preparation for recovery “just in case”, we recently published our Business Guide to Ransomware.  Written for the non-techie, it is a must read for any small or midsize enterprise with an Internet connection.


Want help with your Ransomware strategy, contact us for a free consultation.


 

Resource Center Helps Small and Mid-Size Businesses Make Better Cloud Decisions

Westborough, MA – The volume of information about cloud computing can be overwhelming for small and mid-size enterprises as owners, executives, and IT professionals look for the best solutions.  To ease their burden, Cumulus Global launched a new online resource center to help SMEs learn and make better decisions.

“Much of the discussion about cloud computing focuses on the infrastructure and platform services used by larger enterprises,” note Cumulus Global CEO Allen Falcon. “Our Resource Center focuses on information most useful for small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofits, and government entities.”

The resource center (http://www.cumulusglobal.com/resources/) includes access to a library of whitepapers and eBooks, upcoming webcasts and live events, blogs, and recordings of past webcasts and events.  In addition, visitors can subscribe to daily and weekly online newspapers that deliver cloud computing ideas, innovations, and news stories to your inbox.

“Our goal is to provide decision makers with perspective and knowledge,” stated Falcon. “If we can help small and mid-size businesses see past the hype, they will make better decisions and will be happier with the results.”

Pokemon Go is a Security Game?

No Pokemon Go
While the news coverage has trailed off, the Pokemon Go phenomenon continues as kids and adults continue to play, and the game expands to new locations.

Also in the news, but with less coverage, was the security hole that gave the companies behind Pokemon Go completely unfettered access to users’ Google Apps and Gmail accounts.  This access was not just to read your contacts so you can “share”, Pokemon Go had full read/write access to all user data.

In a short but sobering report, our friends at CloudLock assess and quantify the risk posed by Pokemon Go. Click here to access the report; it serves as a great example of the risks posed by 3rd party apps.


Contact us if you want to learn more about protecting Google Apps from 3rd party app risks.