What is going to happen to the IT world in 2016? While no one knows for sure, it is possible to make a few educated guesses based on current industry IT trends. The following predictions offer both early warnings and potential opportunities for business owners, helping them chart the best course forward. Here are four IT trends business owners should watch in 2016: 1. Ransomware and Other Types of Cyberattacks Will Be on the Rise The number of cyberattacks will continue to increase in 2016, with ransomware being one of the biggest threats, according to McAfee Labs and Trend Micro. Besides increasing in number, ransomware attacks will be harder to detect. New ransomware variants will likely have stealth capabilities, allowing them to encrypt data silently in the background or even encrypt data on the fly, according to McAfee Labs. Plus, Trend Micro predicts that ransomware attacks will become more personalised, exploiting companies' fears of losing their good business reputations. In light of this prediction, you will need to keep abreast of security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits — if you are not already doing so. There are many ways to track them, such as signing up to receive email alerts issued by Stay Smart Online. 2. Governments and Other Organisations Will Take a More Active Role in Fighting Cybercrime Governments will take a more active role in protecting the Internet and its users in 2016, according toTrend Micro. Besides governments enacting legislation, the Internet security firm predicts that there will be more international cooperation between governments, similar to the 2015 agreement between the United States and Europe to share data during criminal and terrorism investigations. Sharing data and resources will also become more commonplace among other organisations, according to Trend Micro. These organisations will likely try to emulate how the Cyber Defense Institute, INTERPOL, Kaspersky Lab, Microsoft, and Trend Micro took down the SIMDA botnet in 2015. Even if these trends hold true, you should not rely solely on government and outside organisations to protect your business against cyberattacks. You will need to implement security measures to protect your business if you have not done so already. 3. The Wearables Market Will Rapidly Expand The number of wearable computer-powered devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses) is expected to grow from 200 million in 2015 to 780 million worldwide by 2018, according to McAfee Labs. Besides growing in number, wearables will likely grow in sophistication, opening the door wider for business use. For example, PwC envisions a retail environment in which clerks use wearables to access information in real time to answer customers' questions and customers receive sale notices on their wearables when they enter stores. Although wearables have the potential to improve employee productivity, increase sales, and provide other benefits for businesses, they have a possible downside as well, according to McAfee Labs. Wearables can expose businesses to security vulnerabilities because they either connect to the Internet directly or connect to smartphones or tablets. So, if you want to take advantage of wearables in your business, you will need to ensure that the connections are secure. You will also need to protect any data you collect from wearables. 4. Companies Will Continue to Migrate to IT Infrastructures in the Cloud despite Fewer Cloud Vendors Offering This Service The migration from onsite physical IT infrastructures to IT infrastructures in the cloud is expected to continue in 2016, according to cloud experts. The potential to save time and money will be fueling this migration. Companies will be able to run their business applications without having to buy or manage the servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and other items needed to host those applications. However, starting in 2016, there will be a rapid consolidation of public cloud vendors that offer IT infrastructure services, according to Technology Business Research. It is predicting that four companies — Amazon Web Services, Google, IBM, and Microsoft — will account for almost half of this market by 2018. So, if you are contemplating running your business applications from an IT infrastructure in the cloud, you may have fewer cloud vendors to choose from. Where to now? Multi IT & Telephony Solutions are trusted advisers in the IT field and will be able to give you insight into what your company is currently doing and where it can improve to compete with your competitors. Contact us now or phone us on 011 435 0450

In this age of global connectivity, protecting your business's assets and data is more important than ever. Almost all businesses are connected to the Internet for a wide variety of services. These include email, search, social media, and cloud storage. While much of this traffic is outbound, the fact is that the same Internet connection also allows inbound traffic. That is where having a strong hardware- or software-based firewall comes into play. You can use it to protect your business network from unauthorised access. Here are the top five reasons why your business needs a strong firewall: 1. A Firewall Is Your First Line of Defence against Hackers and Other Unauthorised External Users A firewall acts as a barrier, or shield, between your internal business network and the rest of the Internet. Without a firewall, it is possible for external users to access your private business assets. While many organisations use Network Address Translation (NAT) to bridge Internet and external IP addresses, NAT will not block incoming traffic. Only a firewall can do that. Without a firewall, your organisation's assets and data are at risk. 2. A Firewall Lets You Block Access to Unapproved Websites In addition to stopping unauthorised external users from accessing your network, a firewall can stop your users from accessing specific external websites. For instance, you could set up a policy that blocks access to social media sites like Facebook from your network. 3. A Firewall Can Protect Your Business from Malicious Code Some strong firewalls will inspect the traffic going into and out of your network. They look for and block viruses, worms, spam, and other unwanted Internet traffic. They will also log intrusion attempts as well as other violations to business policies. This enables you to examine unauthorised access attempts and other suspicious activity. Many of these strong firewalls will also let you maintain a list of known malicious applications and known good applications. They will block the malicious applications, while enabling the good ones. 4. You Can Use a Firewall to Meter Bandwidth A firewall can do more than just provide security. You can also use it to meter and limit the network bandwidth flowing through it. For example, you can limit the network bandwidth allowed for things like non-business videos, music, and images, thereby reserving bandwidth for higher priority business traffic. 5. You Can Use a Firewall to Provide VPN Services Many firewalls provide site-to-site connectivity through Virtual Private Network (VPN) services. Through this VPN functionality, mobile device users and users at remote sites can securely access your internal network resources. This enhances productivity, collaboration, and data sharing. The next step in your security Having an IT partner like Multi IT & Telephony Solutions will give you the ability to make an informed decision on which firewall is best for you. We have the most qualified and experienced Cyberoam technicians in the country enabling us to deliver world class firewall and security solutions. Contact us today to discuss your firewall and security requirements.

Automation of routine tasks with applications is more efficient than using manual tools. Yet most companies rely on manual tools, according to a ServiceNow survey. Eighty percent of the 915 surveyed managers reported that their companies still use manual tools and that those tools cause significant delays. On average, the managers said they spend two days every week using them to perform routine administrative tasks instead of pursuing their companies' strategic goals. This drain on productivity is not limited to managers. It also affects other employees who use manual tools. Automation can solve this problem by streamlining the way you do business. Here are five areas in which automation can save you and your employees some time: 1. Document Management Using forms, policies, contracts, and other types of documents is a mainstay in business. Manually tracking, updating, and storing documents can be time-consuming, though. Plus, if you need to update a document that is in a file cabinet in a different office, getting the document can be a hassle. To save time and hassle, you can use a document management solution to get all your documents into digital format and automate the processes you use to manage them. For example, if your staff often needs to update documents, you can have the document management software track all changes and send the updated documents through an approval process. 2. Appointment Scheduling Setting up meetings might seem like a trivial task, but it eats away at your productivity a few minutes at a time. Appointment scheduling software can help you track and schedule meetings with colleagues and customers. Many of these programs synchronise with programs such as Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. More advanced appointment scheduling solutions offer additional functionality. For example, some provide online forms that customers can use to request or cancel appointments. 3. Fixed Asset Management A common way to manage fixed assets is to use spreadsheets. For instance, business owners sometimes enter computer serial numbers, software license numbers, and other details about IT assets in spreadsheets. Manually tracking and updating assets is a tedious job that is often postponed or overlooked. To make sure it gets done, you can use asset management software. These applications often use barcodes to track assets and automatically update their details. They can also notify you about upcoming events such as a software license that is about to expire or equipment that needs maintenance. 4. Human Resource Management Small business owners can spend as much as 25 percent of their time handling employee-related paperwork, according to a U.S. Small Business Administration study. You can spend less time if you take advantage of human resource automation. Employee self-service applications are an important part of automating human resource management. With a self-service application, your employees can update phone numbers, addresses, and other personal information on their own. Depending on the application, they might also be able to perform other tasks such as submitting vacation requests and changing benefit options. A human resource automation solution can free up your time in other ways as well. For instance, you can use it to streamline your recruitment, hiring, and performance evaluation processes. 5. Inventory Management Every business has inventory it needs to manage. Even service providers have office supplies they need to track. Inventory management programs automatically track when inventory is received, used, transferred, and sold. Most programs also provide other time-saving tools, such as tools that create purchase orders, issue work orders, and manage shipping processes. Besides saving you time, inventory management software can help you reduce costs. You will be better able to determine how much inventory you need to carry and when you need to reorder it. With this information, you can keep only the inventory you need in stock. The Bottom Line on Automation These five areas are only some of the automation possibilities. In many cases, taking advantage of automation tools does not require a large capital investment. There are many free tools. Plus, some automation solutions cover more than one area. For instance, solutions that automate human resource management often include an appointment scheduling tool. Multi IT & Telephony Solutions can help you find the best automated tools for your business. Contact Multi now to discuss your requirements or any area of business you believe could be automated.