HIPAA business associate agreement consultations could be unlawful

Here is a controversial article written recently by Kevin McDonald for TechTarget. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under federal law, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule extends to a class of business entities (i.e., health plans, health care clearinghouses and [...]

HIPAA business associate agreement consultations could be unlawful2020-04-29T22:44:01-07:00

Some Good Questions and Answers on Backup and Disaster Recovery

1. Where should small businesses start with disaster recovery, whether or not they already have a DR plan in place? What is the first question the small business owner needs to ask?

I recommend starting with determining RTO and RPO.  If the small business owner starts here he or she will be off to a good start with the DR plan.  What are RTO and RPO?

         RTO – Recovery Time Objective, the time between the disaster and when the system has been made operational again.  Why is this important?  Different businesses have different costs associated with

Some Good Questions and Answers on Backup and Disaster Recovery2014-04-29T23:01:20-07:00

6 signs that you need a new IT strategy

1. Key IT constituencies are expressing dissatisfaction

2. Shadow IT is growing

3. Your IT strategy has diverged from the company strategy

6 signs that you need a new IT strategy2014-04-10T01:09:22-07:00

Today on Linked I celebrate 32 Years in…

Today I am getting many congratulations on LinkedIn from friends.  It is 32 years ago I got started in what we today call IT.  Here is what I wrote back to them: Thanks everyone. It has been and continues to [...]

Today on Linked I celebrate 32 Years in…2017-09-18T00:43:25-07:00

It’s time for a real accreditation process for cloud storage services

Many cloud storage providers are hiding behind smoke and mirrors to intentionally misrepresent their offerings, which only confuses customers. Why are they doing this? To increase profits, of course. Alvaka Networks is available to for IT consulting and support services [...]

It’s time for a real accreditation process for cloud storage services2020-04-29T22:41:00-07:00

Selling to the LOB manager: Reseller, beware

At many businesses, line-of-business managers and staff are making decisions to move mission-critical and often sensitive data to the cloud, and they're performing local installs without the knowledge of the IT department. Read more: http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/opinion/Selling-to-the-LOB-manager-Reseller-beware Alvaka Networks is available to [...]

Selling to the LOB manager: Reseller, beware2018-05-07T09:15:53-07:00

Who has a Legal Obligation to Upgrade Windows XP, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003?

The best source of information covering this requirement comes from NIST, the National Institute for Standards and Technology.  They have a set of documents that are the standards for many requirements.  There is nothing specific in the NIST guidelines about the end of life for Windows XP, however, the need to provide Flaw Remediation is clear and that is what the X, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003 support requirements fall under.

 For example, NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-531 requires the SI-2, Flaw Remediation security control, which includes installing...

Who has a Legal Obligation to Upgrade Windows XP, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003?2024-04-21T19:43:10-07:00

6 common IT practices that should be eliminated

Here is a good mrc Cup of Joe Blog about time wasting tasks in IT. I was asked to submit a suggestion for the article.  It is a quick read on six things you can do to stop wasting time [...]

6 common IT practices that should be eliminated2023-08-10T23:36:16-07:00