Trending Now

US Intermodal Gains Momentum Amid Trucking Challenges

New Articles

Is Your Company Secure On The Cloud? 5 Must-Knows To Manage Risks.

cloud
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

Is Your Company Secure On The Cloud? 5 Must-Knows To Manage Risks.

Leave a comment

Cybersecurity breaches have become all too common, putting public health, individuals’ private information, and companies in jeopardy.

With cloud computing prevalent in business as a way to store and share data, workloads and software, a greater amount of sensitive material is potentially at risk. Therefore, company leaders need to prioritize cloud security and know how to manage the risks, says Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com), ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business.

“Cloud adoption is a business model that provides convenience, cost savings, and near-permanent uptimes compared to on-premises infrastructure,” Mercer says. “But cyberattacks continue to plague organizations of every size, and moving your IT infrastructure and services to cloud environments requires a different approach to traditional deployments.

“A private cloud keeps all infrastructure and systems under the company’s control, while a public cloud hands over the responsibility to a third-party company. In hybrid deployments, which most organizations adopt, some services are in the public cloud infrastructure while others remain in the company’s data center. Regardless of which cloud deployment you choose, you should know the cloud security basics or consult with cybersecurity experts before migrating to the new environment.”

Mercer offers five points company leaders need to know about cloud security to help manage their risks:

Shared resources for multi-tenancy cloud customers. “Multi-tenancy refers to the shared resources your cloud service provider will allocate to your information,” Mercer says. “The way the cloud and virtualization works is, instead of physical infrastructure dedicated to a single organization or application, virtual servers sit on the same box and share resources between containers.” A container is a standard unit of software that packages code and helps the application run reliably from one computing environment to another. “You should ensure that your cloud service provider secures your containers and prevents other entities from accessing your information,” Mercer says.

Data encryption during transmission and at rest. Accessing data from a remote location requires that a company’s service provider encrypt all the business’ information – whether at rest in the virtual environment or when being transmitted via the internet. “Even when the service provider’s applications access your information,” Mercer says, “it should not be readable by anyone else except your company’s resources. To protect your information, ask your service provider about what encryption they use to secure your data.”

Centralized visibility of your cloud infrastructure. Mercer says it’s not enough to trust service providers; you’ll also want to verify that your data remains secure in their host environments. “Cloud workload protection tools provide centralized visibility of all your information so you can get adequate oversight of the environment,” Mercer says. “Ask your cloud company if they can provide you with security tools such as network traffic analysis and inspection of cloud environments for malicious content.”

An integrated and secure access control model. Access control models remain a major risk in cloud environments. “Your provider should have cloud-based security that includes a management solution to control user roles and maintain access privileges,” Mercer says.

Vendor sprawl management with threat intelligence. “In complex cloud deployments,” Mercer says, “you may end up using different vendors, each with its own cybersecurity framework. Threat intelligence solutions can provide you with clear insight into all your vendors and the latest global threats that could put your business systems at risk. A threat intelligence tool will gather and curate information from a variety of cybersecurity research firms and alert you to any vulnerabilities in your vendor’s system.”

“For any organization that’s considering a complete cloud migration, understanding the entire threat landscape is essential,” Mercer says. “A team of cybersecurity experts can assist with the planning and oversight of your cloud migration to mitigate risks and establish the necessary controls.”

______________________________________________________________

Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com) is the founder of IBOXG, a company that provides technology services and solutions to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. He also is the ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business. Mercer was inspired to pursue a career in IT as a consultant after he became a telecom operator while in the U.S. Army. After growing up in difficult economic circumstances in the rural South, Mercer achieved success as an entrepreneur, then recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-2008 after starting IBOXG. The company has accrued over $60 million in revenues since its inception in 2008.

Entrepreneurship
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking the Leap to Entrepreneurship

Leave a comment

As COVID-19 causes layoffs and extends uncertainty about employment in 2021, many people are considering new options, reinventing themselves, or trying to decide whether working for themselves is more desirable than finding another 9-to-5 job that might not last.

Entrepreneurship brings a lot of freedom, responsibility, and risks, and before people commit to taking that big step there are several important questions they should ask themselves, says Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com), ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business.

“Entrepreneurship is a career that offers a kind of freedom and personal satisfaction you simply cannot get from traditional 9-to-5 employment,” Mercer says. “You will never know if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur unless you take the leap of faith and experience it yourself.

“It’s a big decision, though, involving many factors and inherent risks. There is a lot to navigate and endure en route to reaching your dream destination of professional and financial freedom, and many don’t make it because they simply weren’t cut out for the challenge to begin with.”

Mercer thinks people who are considering entrepreneurship should first ask themselves these five questions:

Why do you want to do this? “Let’s be honest,” Mercer says. “If the business endeavor is just about us, we will want to give up on ourselves when things get hard. Your why, which is your purpose, has to be much bigger than yourself. You must believe in a vision of why you want to be an entrepreneur and develop a plan for how you will involve others in your vision. Sustainable entrepreneurship requires the efforts of other people.” Mercer thinks it’s imperative to write down your ‘why’ and keep it in front of you as a reminder when tough times come.

Are you being realistic? One can get swept up in the emotion of starting a business, but Mercer says it’s vital for every potential entrepreneur to be realistic in their business projections for the first two years of the startup. “Answering this question before you open can prevent some unpleasant surprises as you try to build your company,” Mercer says.

Do you have daily discipline? “You are the boss, and only you can hold yourself accountable,” Mercer says. “If it’s hard for you to stay on task or stay motivated, and you think being an entrepreneur is a fast ticket to easy street, entrepreneurship definitely is not for you.”

Can your relationships survive the sacrifices? The time commitment, Mercer notes, to starting one’s own business and getting it running efficiently goes well beyond a typical 9-to-5 job. Relationships can suffer. “All entrepreneurs have to understand that they are going to be forced to make sacrifices on a personal level with their family and friends,” Mercer says. “You have to stay focused without letting your dedication to your entrepreneurial pursuit harm your relationships with those you are closest. Communicate with them and mutually come up with adjusted expectations as you build the business.”

Can you withstand the struggles? Rejection and failure, Mercer says, are realities that new entrepreneurs have to get accustomed to and learn to overcome. “You need to understand how many times you’ll fail before you’ll succeed,” he says. “You’ll get turned down by prospective customers constantly and your self-value will be tested on a daily basis. Is your why strong enough to keep you going?”

“Overall, deciding whether you are an entrepreneur or not boils down to how comfortable you are being uncomfortable,” Mercer says. “Only time will tell if you have the people skills and business skills to be a successful entrepreneur, but rest assured that you will have to endure periods of real discomfort.”

________________________________________________________________

Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com) is the founder of IBOXG, a company that provides technology services and solutions to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. He also is the ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business. Mercer was inspired to pursue a career in IT as a consultant after he became a telecom operator while in the U.S. Army. After growing up in difficult economic circumstances in the rural South, Mercer achieved success as an entrepreneur, then recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-2008 after starting IBOXG. The company has accrued over $60 million in revenues since its inception in 2008.

technology
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

How Technology Can Steer You Through the Fast Lane of the Post-COVID World

Leave a comment

Technology’s impact on the work environment was profound well before the pandemic – streamlining processes, increasing productivity, and making remote work seamless.

Now, given the rapid changes in an uncertain economy affected by the virus, knowing how to utilize and navigate technology in the post-COVID world will be even more crucial for entrepreneurs, college graduates, other job seekers, and upwardly mobile professionals, says Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com), ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business.

“Corporate America is undergoing a major transformation,” says Mercer, who also is the founder of IBOX Global (IBOXG), which provides technology services to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations.

“Technology is at the center of this seachange. The virus will have a tremendous long-term impact on the workplace, and the influence of technology will loom larger as a result of the lessons we’ve learned during this unprecedented time.

“Company structures are appearing more tailored to the entrepreneurial mind. The evolving trend is working from home, smaller workplaces, and niche-focused businesses. The work is moving faster, and whether a business owner or freelancer, you must be agile and nimble to compete. All these changes can be good, but only if you are ready.”

Mercer says the key to success in the post-COVID world is understanding these business-related benefits of technology:

The internet is the great equalizer for knowledge and opportunity. “The internet is the driving force behind the access to today’s opportunities,” Mercer says. “With the global economy, and technology connecting so many of us to it simultaneously, success has more to do with your ability to identify the right opportunities and your desire to go after them.” While the internet enables someone to gain knowledge quickly, Mercer says it’s also important to be vigilant in discerning the quality of online sources.

Leveraging technology correctly helps businesses run efficiently. You don’t need to earn a degree in information technology or become a computer whiz to leverage the benefits of technology, Mercer says. “What’s most important is that you know how to use technology to achieve your business goals,” he says. “For example, through the power of tools like QuickBooks, I was able to manage the financial aspect of several of my businesses without having to hire a full-time finance team. Leverage the strength of technology to carry more of your workload while increasing your profitability.”

Tech certifications can be more powerful than four-year degrees. Many college graduates aren’t working in fields related to their majors, and today’s employers are increasingly shifting toward skills-based hiring for technology jobs. “With the demand in tech, that means certification programs are on the uptick, often providing a quicker and more cost-effective way of getting hired than does a four-year college degree,” Mercer says. “A person’s overall earning powers in tech can more than double. Our general educational system often doesn’t meet the demands of today’s business environment. Typical college grads and most students lack the skills required for today’s tech positions.”

Freelancing and independent consulting are on the rise. Gigging – taking on multiple freelance jobs – is growing in popularity, largely due to the growth in digital platforms and social media. “This has given rise to a freelancer and consulting boom that has opened the door to a more flexible and creative workforce of contractors to accommodate the heavy workflow of today’s companies,” Mercer says. “The power of social media and online platforms is making it easier for entrepreneurs to engage a more diverse and global market. You can use your individual skills to bring more value to your business simply by selling those skills and services to others.”

“Technology has a hugely important role in enabling us to meet the many economic and business challenges presented by the pandemic,” Mercer says, “and to be better prepared for whatever comes next.”

_______________________________________________________________

Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com) is the founder of IBOXG, a company that provides technology services and solutions to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. He also is the ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business. Mercer was inspired to pursue a career in IT as a consultant after he became a telecom operator while in the U.S. Army. After growing up in difficult economic circumstances in the rural South, Mercer achieved success as an entrepreneur, then recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-2008 after starting IBOXG. The company has accrued over $60 million in revenues since its inception in 2008.