TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

AFFECT ING SMEs

TOP

Microsoft Certified Trainer and former sessional instructor of Information Management at University of Manitoba

Tracey Wright, CMASoftware ConsultantProphet Business Group

PRESENTERS

Founding partner of Prophet Business Group, which specializes in Dynamics GP and IT solutions.

Diane Lee Sousa, CMA

Partner

Prophet Business Group

That means the Head of Finance needs to understand trends in IT to

be effective.

IT reports to Financein 60% of SMEs

Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015

Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015

Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015

Canadian Top Technology Initiatives Survey Rankings

TODAY’S AGENDA

1 What Is Cloud Computing?

2 The Rise Of Computing Everywhere

4 Risk-Based Security

3 Analytics & Big Data

{ }1 What Is Cloud Computing?

CloudCharacteristics

Cloud Characteristics

Broad Network Access

Rapid Elasticity & On-Demand Service

Pay As You Go Pricing

Resource Pooling

Access your software or services from anywhere.

Scale up or down depending on the need.

Only pay for the resources, users or time you’re using.

Use hardware resources more efficiently.

Cloud Service Models

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

54% of IT pros in the U.S. have currently implemented SaaS

That trend isn’t slowing down.

The ValueOf Cloud

Computing

Cloud Deployment Models

Is The Cloud Less Expensive?

Consider Your Integrations

Build A Business Case

Consider Your Internet Connection

Assume Prices Will Change

{ }The Rise Of

Computing

Everywhere

2

Meet TheMobile Worker

Three years ago Gartner noted that ERP vendors and tablet manufacturers failed to understand how to effectively bring ERP onto mobile devices.

Mobile ERP Today

One App,Many Screens

How Will This Affect Finance?

Expanding ERP Access

There will be a significant effort

to perfect the user experience

on these mobile devices.

Mobile Personal Finance

The sooner you get information, the more valuable it is.

“ “

ERP User Goals

Transactional data in, quickly and efficiently.

Meaningful information out, where and when we want it.

Good User Experience Is Critical To Both!

Common Workflows

Create purchase requisitions, route to a manager who can approve from any device.

Create and approve vacation requests.

Enter hours into a time recording system and forward to manager for approval.

Submit expense reports.

The ImpactOf ComputingEverywhere

The ImpactOf ComputingEverywhere

The State of Computing Everywhere

{ }3 Analytics & Big

Data

Bulk DataCollection

Focus on why you’re collecting data, not how to collect more.

“ “

The ‘Why’ of Big Data

Generating Competitive Intelligence

Assessing Staffing Levels and Productivity

Identifying New Revenue Sources

Improving Operational Efficiency

The 3 V’s of Big Data

The Evolution of Big Data

Lack ofAnalyticsExperts

Unstructured vs. Structured Data

In a survey conducted by IBM, over 50% are still managing their

big data using Excel.

HistoricalData Isn’tEnough

DataDriven

Decisions

{ }Risk-Based Security4

Risk-BasedSecurity

RiskTolerance

The Reality of Security

Good Security Is Expensive & Time Consuming

You Can Never Be 100% Secure

Security Cannot Become A Roadblock That Stops Progress

Implement As Many Layers As Possible With Your Budget

What is the impact of a security breach?

What are your potential threats?

What are you trying to protect?

- Sensitive information, servers, workstations?

- Hackers, poorly trained employees, unsecured hardware?

- Downtime, lost revenue, legal issues?

PotentialThreats

PotentialThreats

PotentialThreats

PotentialThreats

PotentialThreats

Employees remain your biggest potential vulnerability. But they are also your strongest defense, if properly briefed.“

”

PotentialThreats

Assessing Risk Tolerance

What are you trying to protect?

What is your most valuable data?

What do you stand to lose?

Who has access to your systems?

Assessing Business Impact

Downtime and lost productivity?

Lost revenue and billable hours?

Lost access to data?

Legal liability?

Security is actually becoming less restrictive as companies focus on proven risks. “

”

7 Things You Can Do To Increase Security

7 Things You Can Do To Increase Security

Improve Password Quality1

7 Things You Can Do To Increase Security

Update Software Regularly

Limit Administrative Access

Quarantine Malicious Email Attachments

- Patch your version of Windows, install the security updates.

- Even for the business owners and C-Suite.

- Be reasonable about “whitelisting” or “unblocking”.

2

3

4

7 Things You Can Do To Increase Security

Improve Physical Security

- Secure servers and lock workstations.

5

7 Things You Can Do To Increase Security

Backup Regularly

Consider Data Loss Protection Measures

- Local and cloud backups provide redundant security.

- Can notify IT of high-risk behaviors.

6

7

Managing Technology Trends

We are a Microsoft Gold Partner specialized in Dynamics GP accounting software, Dynamics CRM sales automation software and IT support solutions.

Prophet Business Groupwww.prophet.ca@ProphetBG

About Us

THANK YOU