A question that seems to come up a lot lately with clients, in some form or fashion, is “How should I properly budget for IT expenses?” While this is a great question, there are a lot of variables that determine the answer, so I can’t provide a “one-size-fits-all,” simple answer.

In any kind of negotiation, your ability to ask the right questions—and ask them in the right way—determines the vision created that drives the decision your adversary will make. Who asks the questions determines who's in control of the dialogue, how your adversary feels about you, and what kind of critical vision you can create to land the deal-making advantage.

Back in June, 6.3 million passwords were reported stolen when a hacker was able to access LinkedIn’s servers. The news made headlines instantly and everyone in the office (and online) was talking about it. Clearly this is a public-relations nightmare for the company and one that will, for sure, have a ripple effect for months, possibly years, as they deal with the fallout from their clients and potential lawsuits.

Maybe you’ve heard the term “BYOB” (bring your own bottle) when you were invited to a party with some friends. Now a similar trend is happening in business called “BYOD” (bring your own device) where employees are bringing their smartphones, tablets and other devices to work.

Although it sounds like a Nigerian Internet scam, it’s true. With millions of people coming online, the number of IP addresses is exhausted and a new standard for identifying computers and devices has come online: IPv6. So what is an “IP” address anyway and what will this NEW addressing system mean to you? First, let’s start at the beginning:

Every computer or device on a network has a unique identifier known as an IP address.

Dana Roach of Giuliano Miller & Company

Dana won a $20 gift card for Primo Hoagies

Last month’s answer

Which of these U.S. Presidents died on July 4th?

d) All of the above are true

This month’s question is:

What began its association with sports in 1927 through advertising on a wall of a minor league baseball park?

a) Gatorade
b) Wheaties
c) Hot Dogs
d) Beer

E-mail Kathy Tuno ktuno@productivetech.

If your computer network and the data it holds got erased or corrupted because of a virus, hard drive crash, fire, flood or some other random, unforeseen disaster, how confident are you RIGHT NOW that your business could be back up and running again FAST?

If your answer to that is, “I don’t know,” or “I’m not sure,” you are taking a HUGE risk with your company’s most important asset—the data on your network.

Disappointment is inevitable; there are just too many things going on in our lives to not have something or someone disappoint us. There are certainly degrees of disappointments, they come in all sizes, but it’s the big ones I want to address today.

People, associates, companies, teachers, bosses, teammates, classmates, spiritual leaders, politicians, spouses, brothers, sisters, Moms and Dads are all on the list of potential disappointers.

1. Back It Up!
Migrating data to any new location is complex and anything can go wrong. Therefore, make sure you have good, recent backup copies of everything before you make the move.

2. Maintain An On-site Copy
At first, moving to the cloud can be a bit scary.

Cindy Daley of Friendly Planet Travel

Cindy won a $20 gift card for Primo Hoagies

Last month’s answer

Which of the following is true about a mother and her babies?

d) All of the above are true

This month’s question is:

Which of these U.S. Presidents died on July 4th?

a) John Adams
b) Thomas Jefferson
c) James Monroe
d) All of the above are true

E-mail Kathy Tuno ktuno@productivetech.