Small Business Compliance Primer
(6/18/24) – For many of us, ensuring we have the right security and compliance program in place remains a challenge. A basic understanding of security and compliance will inform and guide your security priorities, plans, investment, and results.
Building a Foundation for AI Success: A Leader’s Guide
eBook | Source: Microsoft — This Whitepaper shares insights from AI leaders about the five categories that, collectively, form a foundation for AI success and for building sustainable value with AI.
Leadership Thoughts: Noteworthy Blog Posts – Jun ’24
As small business owners and leaders, you carry the responsibility for the direction and success of your business. And while Cumulus Global provide managed cloud services that help you thrive and grow, we understand your responsibilities are broader than just IT. As a way to share some leadership thoughts, here is a curated list of blog posts from trusted experts that we hope will inform and inspire.
Human Factors
- Cultural Shifts to Attract Millennial Talent (PDF)
- Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce and command attention from employers. Employers must foster a company culture that appeals to millennials to entice and retain this talent pool.
- Chrystine Heier, Sullivan Benefits
Legal and Compliance
- Corporate Transparency Act Update: Where are we now?
- The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) drew plenty of controversy before it passed and as it was enacted, so it should be no surprise that the debate continues even now that it’s in effect.
- Nicholas Lipresti, Esq., Lipresti Law
- Preparing for the RTC’s Noncompete Ban (PDF)
- Employers that use noncompete or similar protective clauses should
familiarize themselves with the rule’s requirements and take steps now to
prepare for its effective date. - Chrystine Heier, Sullivan Benefits
- Employers that use noncompete or similar protective clauses should
Management
- Why Your Employees Pose Your Biggest Cybersecurity Risk
- Your employees are the heart of your business. They work hard and keep everything moving forward. The problem is, employees are also your biggest risk when it comes to data security and cyber safety.
- Electra Govoni, The Alternative Board (TAB) Boston North West
Marketing
- Strategizing Your Social Media Content and Engagement
- Being consistent with creating posts and engagement ensures that you remain visible to your audience. BUT, It’s important to set yourself up for success in this area by coming up with a strategy first.
- Nicole Porter, Monomoy Social Media
- Text V.-Vid
- It’s text versus video. Not exactly an age-old question, but one that has been coming up time and time again.
- Nathan Wilson, Edge of Story Films
Productivity
- Unleash ChatGPT Plus
- Have you ever wondered if it’s worth paying for ChatGPT Plus?
- Mike Grossman, Mike Grossman Consulting, LLC
Strategy and Leadership
- The Power of Connection: How Healthy Relationships Make You a Better Business Leader
- As business owners, nearly every aspect of running and growing our organizations is dependent upon building strong relationships. Ideally, we also foster a culture in which others are inclined to connect and collaborate as well.
- Electra Govoni, The Alternative Board (TAB) Boston North West
- Take Control of Your Business: How to Improve Processes at Work
- Actionable steps and valuable insights on how to identify, analyze, and improve processes in your workplace.
- Jeffrey Provost, Key Performance Integrators
Wellness
- 7 Tips for a Successful Workplace Wellness Program
- In today’s fast-paced world of hybrid work, finding a balance between work and wellness is more important than ever. Prioritizing wellness at work is not only essential for individual health and happiness but fosters a positive and productive work environment with less absenteeism and lower healthcare costs.
- Michell Grasso, Synergy Wellness Center
Our IT Ideas That Still Hold True
A few of our past IT leadership thoughts that remain true and relevant today.
- Cyber Security Will Change Companies
- IT change management is a structured process for evaluating proposed IT system or service changes. This procedure is carried out prior to implementing the requested change on an organization’s network, reducing or eliminating network outages.
- Cumulus Global Blog, June 2022
- What is a MCSP?
- The need to monitor and maintain equipment and infrastructure drops off while your need to monitor and manage services, apps, and data increases.
- Cumulus Global Blog, November 2017
Help us keep the ideas flowing. If you have any blog posts that are leadership thoughts you want to share, please let us know.
Cybersecurity in the Whitespace
A recent online post pointed out that the whitespace in the FedEx logo, between the “E” and “x”, creates an arrow.
Once you see the arrow, you cannot miss it. You will see it every time you look at the logo.
The subtle, almost subliminal, arrow symbolizes a sense of forward motion and subconsciously reinforces the FedEx brand message of on-time delivery.
The power of the logo is not just the name, it is in the symbolism. The same is true for your cybersecurity.
The power of your cybersecurity is not just in the overt actions, success is in the whitespace.
Focus
Our cybersecurity efforts often focus on the concrete measures we can take to protect ourselves and prevent attacks. We deploy hardware, install software, and configure settings to both passively and actively protect our systems, data, and people. These actions are tangible and visible.
Cybersecurity Whitespace
Equally important, if not more so, are the less visible cybersecurity efforts– your cybersecurity whitespace. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is cybersecurity awareness a deliberate part of your culture?
- Do you educate your team on their role in cybersecurity?
- Do employees and contractors understand which behaviors help security and which can harm it?
- Does your team understand how to recognize, report, and respond to security risks and attacks?
- Do you have policies and procedures in place that set expectations for maintaining appropriate cybersecurity?
- Do these policies and procedures include guidance and limits on human behaviors and actions that can pose or elevate risks?
- Do you have consequences for negligent or deliberate non-compliance?
- Do you understand the risks should a cyber attacker gain access to your systems?
- Do you understand the protections you need in place to limit attacker access to identities and sensitive information?
- Can you isolate attacks and prevent them from spreading across your environment?
- Do you have plans in place to not only restore damaged or lost data, but to recover your business from a successful cyber attack?
- Do you have cyber insurance?
- Do you have clear action plans for how your business will respond to a successful cyber attack?
- Will you be able to run your business while you recover your systems and data (and/or while computers are held as evidence)?
- Do you have plans and resources in place to:
- Comply with state and regulatory reporting requirements?
- Communicate effectively with customers, vendors, and partners?
- Manage your legal and financial liability?
Model for Success
Successful cybersecurity includes the visible and the whitespace. Our Security CPR® model and managed security services include all three best-practice pillars:
- Communication and education
- Security awareness focused on human behaviors, risk recognition, and responding to suspicious acts.
- Policies and procedures that guide and protect your business in line with compliance requirements.
- Prevention and protection
- Expertise, tools, and services to prevent cyberattacks and protect your business, data, and team.
- Compliance assessment and management services to benchmark and certify to appropriate industry and regulatory standards.
- Recovery and response
- Business continuity services to keep your business running during forensic investigations and data/system recovery and restoration efforts.
- Data restoration and disaster recovery plans and resources to return your business to normal operations as quickly and effectively as possible.
- Cyber insurance brokerage partnerships to ensure your business is properly covered within your budget.
Call to Action
If you have not done so recently, now is a great time to step back and assess your IT services and solutions. Our Cloud Advisors are ready to help and assist with any questions or concerns. Start with a complimentary Rapid Security Assessment, contact us, or schedule time with one of our Cloud Advisors.
About the Author
Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global. Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America. Starting his first business at age 12, Allen is a serial entrepreneur. He has launched strategic IT consulting, software, and service companies. An advocate for small and midsize businesses, Allen served on the board of the former Smaller Business Association of New England, local economic development committees, and industry advisory boards.
Gen AI Prompts and Privacy
(05/21/24) – Gen AI tools can boost your productivity or waste your time. The better your Gen AI prompts, the more effective and efficient Gen AI will be for you. The session provides and demonstrates a model for effective prompt-building.
Gen AI Prompts: A Primer
eBook | Source: Cumulus Global — The value of AI depends on when, why, and how you decide to use it. Better Gen AI prompts get better results. This eBook provides a model, structure, and approach to building effective Gen AI prompts that save time and effort.
Rethinking Google and Microsoft
(04/30/24) – As both suites evolve, and your business changes, is your choice still the best match for your business? Assessing whether Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace is the best fit for your business needs should either trigger a change or improve how you use your current services.
Gemini for Google Workspace: Prompting Guide 101
eBook | Source: Google — This eBook provides you with the foundational skills to write effective, instructional prompts when using Gemini for Google Workspace so that you can be more productive and efficient in your day-to-day tasks.
Pragmatic Security: Balancing Security Measures for Small Businesses
While on vacation recently, I did something that I did not think has been possible since July 1970. I boarded a commercial airline flight without having to go through security. No ID check. No metal detectors. The gate agent scanned the barcode on my ticket and I walked on board. The experience was, at first, confusing as I went from curb to gate with no security checks. I asked the gate agent why there was no security check; the answer was pragmatic security.
Pragmatic Security in Action
Airport security intends to prevent hijackings. I was traveling in New Zealand, which you know is an island country. The nearest country, Australia, is at least a 3½ hour flight by jet. My plane was a dual engine turboprop with about 70 seats with and a range of 930 miles. It is impossible for the plane to leave the country.
Hijacking a regional flight in New Zealand is pointless, as you cannot escape the country. The security risk is miniscule.
In New Zealand, flights on regional planes do not have (or need) security checks. To board a jet, however, you will board at a “jet gate” having passed through all of the common security and ID checks.
Pragmatic Security for Your Small Business
The concept of pragmatic security also applies to IT and cybersecurity. Not every business needs every security measure. We can, and should, scale our IT and cyber security to meet our needs and priorities.
That said, the baseline has changed. In New Zealand, the baseline security for flights is that the customer has a ticket. For smaller businesses, the historical baseline has been “a secure firewall/router, antivirus software, and email filters for spam.”
As we have discussed in other Security Update Series blog posts, we face new security demands from customers, insurance providers, and regulators. As cybersecurity risks increase, so do the solutions we need to implement.
Pragmatically: How Much Security is Enough?
While the answer varies based on your business needs, risks, and priorities, our Security CPR® managed security model and services provide a solid baseline. We are also proponents of understanding risks. As we discussed in this blog post, focusing on the most prevalent risks and the most damaging risks is the best place to start. Designing your security solutions from these two angles provides a solid baseline of protections. Additional measures can be added as needed to meet industry or regulatory requirements.
Call to Action:
If you have not done so already, a baseline security assessment is a good place to start. Our Rapid Security Assessment provides a quick review of core security services. And our Cloud Advisors are ready to assist with any questions or concerns.
Contact us or schedule time with one of our Cloud Advisors.
About the Author
Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global. Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America. Starting his first business at age 12, Allen is a serial entrepreneur. He has launched strategic IT consulting, software, and service companies. An advocate for small and midsize businesses, Allen served on the board of the former Smaller Business Association of New England, local economic development committees, and industry advisory boards.
