Smartphone Security Risk?

I don’t meet many managers who think much about security when it comes to mobile devices. Here’s an example to illustrate why they should: Jane keeps her passwords on her Blackberry. Jane picks up some malware while surfing the mobile web. Jane’s passwords are now compromised, one of which is for your company network. Now your company network is compromised.

Keeping your Paypal password on your cell phone? Mobile phone security is something to think about personally, as well.

A good article with more info: http://tinyurl.com/22tlamc The company it mentions, SMobile, has solutions for both business and personal use. If you know of other good companies, please email me or post a Comment.

Mark

6 Key Questions re. Telecom Cost Mgt.

There is something about telecom that just causes it to not be managed well. Based on my experience, I estimate that 90% of medium sized companies and 95% of small companies mismanage, or should I say, don’t manage their telecom costs. I’m not exaggerating here. I talk to managers of all kinds all the time and I can’t remember one ever saying their company did a good job at it. People usually concede, “yes, we don’t REALLY know what we have and what we’re paying for”.

The reasons, I presume, are simply that nobody in the business has the knowledge or time to deal with it. Add to this the perception that there’s not a lot of money at stake and you have the formula for complacency. I get it. But what businesses need to understand is there is more money at stake than they realize. My clients are routinely surprised when they learn what they actually spend (yes, many businesses don’t know what they are actually spending).

So if you are concerned at all about the cost, there is a way to know how well it’s being managed without a lot of knowledge or spending much time. Ask the person currently responsible for telecom the following six questions. Common sense will tell you if their answers make sense. If they don’t, there are plenty of consultants out there (such as me) with knowledge and time who are happy to help:

1. What is the process for approving invoices and how do we ensure that everything on our bills is understood and billed at our contracted rates?

2. What is the process to track contract renewal dates and how does it ensure contracts won’t auto-renew unintentionally?

3. Do we maintain an inventory of services and track specifically what and who each individual line is for? Provide a sample of the inventory and a brief explanation of how it’s kept current.

4. Have we verified that all billed services are physically present and working? How did we do this and when?

5. Have we reviewed the number of lines we need relative to our business needs and eliminated any surplus? How did we do this and when?

6. Although current pricing may be contractually locked-in, do we know how competitive our rates are and what our plans are for when contracts end?

A worksheet with these questions can also be found at: www.VDLconsulting.com/Library

Mark