One in four Canadian companies blocks access to social networking sites, citing security as the primary reason. The idea is that when employees visit these sites their IT systems are exposed to hackers or viruses, thus compromising their IT systems. But contrary to what many would expect, the results of our last TELUS-Rotman survey found that in fact organizations blocking these sites for security purposes had worse performances vis-à-vis IT security, not better.

This result can be explained as part of our general theme: even if an organization installs the most sophisticated of systems to protect their information and IT platforms, this security will be compromised if employees are not well trained and informed on the risks associated with their activities. Many breaches are the result of naivety or negligence on the part of insiders (ie. employees). A similar theme is at work here.

The objective of company policies that block access to social networking sites is to enhance security. However, with social networking an increasingly important part of business and personal lives, management need to be prepared for  this new phenomenon, not suppress it.

The evidence shows that when these sites are blocked, employees circumvent security controls using a multitude of means, thus exposing firms to more risks. Since these activities are done subversively, security managers/ the organization have another challenge in monitoring those activities and hence these activities cannot be properly secured.

It is important for managers to train employees on the risks of accessing any site, or more generally of their online activities. Simply because an organization rules that particular sites cannot be visited during the work day does not mean that employees follow this rule.

There is another important component to this idea and it relates to implicit contracts and employee commitment. When an employee is allowed, within limits, to access social networks at work, they will then be less likely to rush out of work when their shift ends, but rather will trade with the employer: "you cut me some slack to check my social networks during work and I will stay at work for longer to get the job done", or, "I will just work harder to ensure the work gets done."

So an implicit contract emerges between the employer and the employee. Of course, there will be an optimum amount employees should be allowed to access social networks at work and this would be company and industry specific.

I believe that the answer to the question of blocking/not-blocking access is to allow access, but of course this must come with training - employees have a responsibly to the organization to behave within the guidelines, and also to trade access for commitment to the company.  It all comes back to the issue of training employees on the organization's risk profile and how the activities of employees relates to that profile of risks.

Given social networking such an integral part of our lives today organizations must embrace them, otherwise sub-optimal outcomes will emerge.

This summer, TELUS Talks Business bring you Security 360, a one-of-a-kind limited series on information security from Dr. Walid Hejazi, professor of international business at Rotman School of Management and a world-renowned expert on IT security. Dr. Hejazi has primed the TELUS-Rotman Joint Study on Canadian IT Security Practices on behalf of Rotman since its inception and has unique perspective and insight into IT security in Canadian business. Your comments and questions are welcome here.

Attention IT security professionals – your perspectives matter. For the 4^thstraight year, TELUS Security Labs and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, are partnering to conduct a study on Canadian IT security practices. It’s the only original Canadian research of its kind. Add your perspective to the research (input is anonymous) and you could win a BlackBerry Playbook and receive a complimentary copy of the results. Click here to take the survey: http//www.telus.com/securitystudy

LindaOJ here again, and in this blog I want to take you back in time to when I first discovered social media. I was poking around on the Internet and discovered Ecademy, which at that time was a website where I could connect with people mostly in the UK; it has now grown worldwide. I did my best to focus on how to use the website and learn how I could connect and grow my business. The year was 2003 and I had been building my first business, Motivational Steps, since 2001 and had recently founded the Small Business Community Network. I felt overwhelmed and decided to concentrate on my face-to-face networking and finding ways to market my businesses without spending too much money. If only I knew then what I know now I might have been rich and famous!

I want you all to learn from my mistakes; not regrets, but learning experiences. Think of the process of building your network as being similar to the way in which we build friendships. Why do you forge friendships with certain people? Are they a positive or negative influence on you? Here are a few questions you might ask yourself when making new friends on a personal level:

• Do I need any new friends? We normally ask ourselves this question as we get older, our lives are busier and it takes a bit more effort to really get to know the people we like, can trust and want to spend our personal social time with. Most people have at least 2 very old friends they grew up with and know almost as well as themselves.
• Are my new friends a good influence or do they tend to set a bad example? We have all been in that situation; I know I have. We meet someone and they invite us to do something we are not comfortable doing. One example might be drinking too much when we normally like to stop after a couple of drinks. Do we feel like we have to follow their lead or can we speak up and be different?

On a business level it is even more important deciding who we want to connect with or call our “friends”. This is where LinkedIn in particular plays an important part in building your network and can lead you to some wonderful opportunities, if you make the right choices. For those of you who are not familiar with LinkedIn please visit this link: http://press.linkedin.com/about and it explains really well what is offered. In a nutshell I like to think of LinkedIn (and these are my own words) “as my online resume; my window to the world; and a really great way to let people know who I am; what I do; my expertise; and a wonderful way to make connections and help others”.

So, if you remember when I attempted to build connections all those years ago I believe I primarily chose a social media platform that I was not familiar with. I did not take the time to research how to use it, what was on offer and how it could help me, or even how long it might take. I was very careful when DaveOJ, my husband and business partner, introduced me to LinkedIn. I wanted to learn as much as possible about it before I jumped in. September 26, 2006 is when I made my first profile on LinkedIn and that is 4 years after LinkedIn came into being. Over the years I have been slow and sure and did my best to use LinkedIn to my benefit:

• My profile has undergone many changes over the years. I update my photo when needed. There is nothing worse than clinging to an old photo that looks nothing like you and if you do meet people face to face they are surprised you look so different! I am always amazed when people fail to put a photo on any of the social media sites and you can only see what appears to be a shape of a person with no face and no identity. Does this mean the person is shy or is hiding and prefers people do not know what they look like? If you are building a profile on-line and you are not able to use your logo as your business identity, no photo could mean lack of trust and people not wanting to go the step further and get to know you.
• When building your profile on any site, but in this case on LinkedIn, make it a fantastic profile. Have pride in it and you are allowed to show off and say how good you are. Always be honest: don’t try to be someone you are not or pretend to have expertise you don’t. You will be found out at some point if you are not completely honest. You can continue to build your profile over time and people appreciate this.
• Now is the time to start connecting to people! Whether you are working for another organization or own your own business it is beneficial to know whom you want to connect to and why. If your company is global then it might be worthwhile connecting to people in lots of different countries. If not, and your business is based locally with your customers close at hand, it is easier to manage your connections if you choose to concentrate on the local area.

It’s really not a race to see who can get the most connections! I like to think it’s about quality not quantity.  Imagine a wall full of trophies, and every day you have to polish those trophies, and now and then you can show them off, but in the end what use are they? The ‘wall of trophies’ in this case contains our LinkedIn connections, which we are proud of. We don’t want to ignore those connections, or forget to keep in touch with them. In reality connecting on LinkedIn is no different than sitting opposite me in a coffee shop, where we would chat and find out about each other. As the relationship grows we find ways we can help each other. If we line up our connections on LinkedIn on our trophy wall and never speak to them what is the point?

I am a stickler for etiquette on-line and off. Would you really come up to me if you were a complete stranger off the street and ask me to go to the movies with you? I hope not, I would run a mile! Would you approach me in a coffee shop and ask me to recommend you to one of my connections if I had no idea who you were? (Please say no!) So transfer those thoughts to LinkedIn and say to yourself, before I ask someone for anything at all I need to have an idea who they are and why I feel I can approach them. Some reasons you might approach me on LinkedIn could be:

• You want to connect to me;
• You want a recommendation from me;
• You want to sell me something;
• You want to invite me to an event;
• You want me to join your group on LinkedIn

There are ways to go about connecting on LinkedIn and believe me, I did not make those rules but I think they are there for a reason. Here is what LinkedIn themselves have to say:

You can ask someone to join your network by sending them an invitation to connect. If they accept your invitation, they become a 1st-degree connection. We recommend that you only send invitations to people you know well.

In order to connect to someone on LinkedIn, once you select the name of the person and click, you are asked for the nature of your relationship with them:

• Are you a Classmate?
• Have you done business together?
• Are you a friend?
• ‘Other’?
• Don’t you know the person you re connecting too?

If your answer is: “you don’t know the person you want to connect to”, well it’s your choice but at least have a good reason to want to connect with that person. I do get annoyed when people click the ‘friend’ option and I have no idea who they are… we are certainly not friends!

If you are a member of groups on LinkedIn you can connect to every member of those groups if you want to and it is quite easy to do, but why would you want to?

Another way to connect to people is to ask one of your current connections for an introduction. I like this one, it works for me. Again you might be asked by the person you want to connect with why you want to connect to them, so again, have a good reason.

Once you have your connections and you are happy, you are feeling comfortable, look around LinkedIn and find ways to grow your credibility. Answering questions in your area of expertise is always a great way to do this. Offering recommendations to people you connect with is a great way to support your connections, but please don’t do the ‘tit-for-tat’… if I recommend you then you have to recommend me – that is a no brainer. Earn those recommendations and for sure ask for them if you know they are deserved.

Recruiters use LinkedIn to find the perfect match for job vacancies. If you are looking for a job be on your best behaviour and make sure you are showing up as excellent and not mediocre or you will be overlooked.

I think of LinkedIn as a work-in-progress where I am always learning something new and finding new ways to benefit me. It takes work at the beginning (whilst you are building your profile etc.) but you will be able to manage and maintain LinkedIn easily once you get into the swing of things. You can go away and forget about it if you want, but when you come back no one will really care, sad but true.

This is a subject I could go on and on about and recently I have been invited to offer presentations on LinkedIn to small business owners more often than not. In the end though my advice is just do it, after researching like I did what works for you.

If you do have any questions I would be delighted to answer them and also any tips to share, please post your comments here.

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things."

- Peter Drucker

Linda Ockwell-Jenner is the Social Sweetheart. She is President of Motivational Steps and Co-Founder of the Small Business Community Network (SBCN) based in Waterloo Region. Find out more about Linda at www.motivationalsteps.com and www.sbcncanada.org

Over the last ten years I have talked to hundreds of CEOs of small and medium-sized businesses in the Business-to-Business (B2B) sector about what works and what doesn’t in building a repeatable lead stream for their business and a marketing engine that delivers measurable business results. For a long time I kept hearing about:

• Tactics that failed
  
• Marketing managers that failed
  
• Websites that failed
  

So I started to keep track of what CEOs were telling me and devised a list of the attributes of marketing programs that succeed. TelusTalksBusiness has been kind enough to give me a 12 part series to discuss each of the attributes and offer a field guide to help entrepreneurs tackle the marketing within their businesses.

Over the coming weeks we will be discussing via this blog post:

• The importance of a strong value proposition for your business
  
• How to map your customer’s buying process to marketing tactics
  
• How to build an online engine that delivers leads to your company
  
• How to budget for marketing in your business and get the right leadership
  

Why is marketing of vital importance to today’s small business owner?

Look around you. No matter the size of your business, big or small, new or old, competition is fierce and instantaneous. Companies that fail to answer the question, “why should I buy from you? in a clear and compelling way, find their market share getting smaller and smaller and new business harder to come by.

The ground has shifted significantly for companies trying to grow and compete. As marketing tactics have become more complex, the average CEO has gotten more confused and frustrated. The trap is thinking this is because of the complexity of online marketing and new online tools. Don’t fall into this trap! While complexity is due in part to clutter, confusion and an overabundance of choice, which the internet has produced, the real reason marketing fails is because CEOs and marketing professionals don’t take the time to understand the foundation of marketing success.

The first step to creating marketing programs that succeed, is a compelling and clearly stated value proposition. A value proposition is your deal closer. It explains to people why they should buy from you. The clearer you make the statement, the easier it is for someone to make the decision. If you would like to get a jump start on figuring this out for your business, we invite you to download Chapter of One of the eBook Why marketing fails... and what you can do about it. In this chapter we review how to look at your product or service from the perspective of your customer and how to identify value statements for the sales and marketing dialogue that is the foundation for marketing success.

Maybe your story sounds like this?

Back in 1999, I was working for a software company that had raised a lot of money from venture capitalists to build out their business plan and attempt to achieve spectacular revenue results that would please shareholders and create an exit strategy for the founders. As vice president of marketing, I had a budget, a working product and paying customers to work with, but the marketing plan we executed in support of the business plan was a bomb.

What went wrong?

Aside from the perfect storm of bad market conditions, there were some fundamentals missing in the business:

1. Lack of value proposition – we didn’t document why our customers were buying
2. Lack of focus – we were trying to be all things to all people to make a sale
3. Lack of brand – customers didn’t see themselves reflected in the way we presented ourselves in the market
4. Lack of consistency – we’d try something once and then drop it
5. Lack of delivery of repeatable value – every customer project was complex and customized, so it was tough to scale

As a result, our marketing program did not deliver measurable business results. In 2002, I walked away from the experience determined to do something about. I studied the problem, talked to lots of CEO’s and began testing. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we go step by step through developing the marketing foundation for your business that will take you through any economy and help you grow your business.

Marie Wiese of Marketing CoPilot can be found online at www.marketingcopilot.com. You can follow her on Twitter @mariewiese. Marketing CoPilot fills the marketing void for companies committed to building marketing that works. Marie is a 20 year veteran of the B2B marketing world and is currently the Chair of the Board of the York Technology Alliance in the greater Toronto region where she gets to interact with small and medium sized businesses every day.

At a technology conference last summer, Google’s then CEO Erik Schmidt said that we create as much information in two days now as we did from the dawn of man through 2003. Much has been said about the explosive growth of data being generated, consumed and stored. If you’re not convinced, check out this digital universe page from EMC or this cool graphic (which is probably outdated the moment I type this) from Good magazine.

The confluence of internet adoption, digitization of documents and records, pervasiveness of networked devices, data retention regulations and numerous other factors are the backdrop for this phenomenon.

You know this. But chances are if you’re charged with storing your organization’s data (or paying for the infrastructure that will support it) you’re confused about how to evaluate the options at hand and make decisions that support your company’s data storage needs effectively, efficiently and securely.

Over the next five weeks, we'll walk you through how to evaluate the options for cloud storage. While cloud storage isn’t for everyone, the flexibility characteristics of cloud services and the obvious savings in capital expenditures required translated into an increase in adoption of over 300% since 2010 with some industry analysts predicting worldwide spending on cloud storage will reach $1 billion in 2013.

Recognizing different storage needs

Here’s what we know: Not all data is created equal. This massive amount of information being accumulated by users and businesses cannot and should not be stored and delivered using the same level of infrastructure and networks.

Many organizations realize that doing so is both operationally and financially unsustainable, and therefore are adopting a multi-tiered approach to data storage.

A myriad of storage technologies have been introduced over the years to address different levels of data criticality and performance. These solutions, including disk based backup, data duplication, and a number of others that power our three tiered managed storage offering, allow organizations to combine different grades of platforms and choose the one most appropriate for the type of data, its users and the retention period it require.

The next (front)tier of multi-tiered storage

This evolution from single type of storage, to a multi-tier storage approach is now reaching a state in which cost-effective storage services are being considered to complement internal investments in data storage. These capabilities, by virtue of being Internet accessible services, operate beyond the confines of the corporate network, require significantly less ongoing management effort and provide higher levels of flexibility.

As a consumer you can benefit from the flexibility an Internet-accessible storage service such as Dropbox has to offer when you required anywhere/anytime to your files. Home users can subscribe to a backup service such as Mozy and more recently store their music collection on Amazon or Apple. These new kinds of utility type services, together with their benefits and risks are not restricted to consumers as more businesses are now considering cloud storage alternatives for their needs.

Case in point is one of the early cloud infrastructure providers, Amazon Web Services, who has been operating a service called S3 for several years. This multi-tenant storage service has been the foundation for many early stage and cash strapped companies over the years and is one of a few services being considered a cheap and flexible storage alternative for non critical storage in a growing number of organizations.

Internet-accessible and important to mention, multi-tenant, business grade storage services are emerging as viable storage tier for some types of data, projects or applications.

More to come in the next few weeks about evaluating the options for cloud storage, including case studies on cloud storage, the benefits and risks cloud storage and what to consider when choosing a cloud storage provider.

Shawn Myron is the director of products and services for TELUS' hosting and data centres.

Questions about the cloud and whether it's right for your company? Leave a comment here.

Must Watch Video

Hi I'm Evan Carmichael and today I want to do something a little bit different. Usually I do profiles of famous entrepreneurs and the top lessons you can learn from their success or I may answer a question from one of my readers. My last post was: How to Keep Your Staff, Take Risks, and Find Opportunities Like Gerry Schwartz (One of Canada's Richest Entrepreneurs).

Today I want to share a little bit about my story and how I became an entrepreneur and also tell you about a program that really helped give me the confidence to start my business. I'll also share the top three lessons that I learned from that program. I hope you enjoy!

My Story

So here's a little bit about my story.

I've been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember. The first memory that I have being an entrepreneur is when I was five years old, I convinced my three year old little sister to draw some pictures with me using crayons and then we went door to door trying to sell them. We made our first sale to our neighbour for ten cents and I've been an entrepreneur ever since.

Most of the businesses that I had early on didn’t go anywhere. I made a little bit of money but they weren’t real businesses. It wasn’t until high school where I joined a program called Junior Achievement that I really got the confidence to become an entrepreneur.

Junior Achievement's Company Program puts a group of high school kids together and they launch their own company from scratch. You have to come up with a product idea, you have to elect a President and Vice President, you have to create a business plan, you have to raise capital - basically all of the things that you have to do to run a real business but you're in high school and you've got some mentors from different companies that help guide you along the way.

When I got to university, I remember not having any classes related to entrepreneurship until I got to a fourth year course and in that class I had already done most of the tasks that they were teaching in my Junior Achievement program. I was also already running my business now while most of my classmates were just starting to think about entrepreneurship.

So I really give Junior Achievement a lot of the credit for me wanting to start my own business and to the success that I've had as an entrepreneur. To help you grow your business I thought I would share the top three lessons that I have learned from my experience with Junior Achievement.

Lesson # 1: You Have to Sell

The first lesson that I learned was you have to sell. I was in Junior Achievement for three years and some years we had really good products but bad sales people on our team and we didn’t really go anywhere with the company.

In other years we had not so great products but we had a really good sales team and we were a lot more successful.

Selling isn’t really a skill that they teach you in school but it's a really vital life skill that you need to be successful as an entrepreneur so I really give the credit to Junior Achievement for giving me that skill. Think about the sales team inside your company (or maybe it's just you). You need everybody to know how to sell in order for your company to get to that next level of success.

Lesson #2: Get Big Corporate Orders

The second thing I learned from Junior Achievement was to get big corporate orders. When we first started we tried to sell to our friends and our family -  basically everybody that we knew who we could guilt into buying one of our products.

Then we quickly discovered that we were out of friends and family to sell our stuff to and sales dried up.

So we had to find other ways to go out and get orders and my most successful years in Junior Achievement was when we were able to get a big company to make bigger purchases. We had fewer clients but they made a lot more purchases and it was an ongoing type of transaction.

With your own business, think about who you're selling to. Are you struggling trying to sell one off deals to customers who may not come back or it may be a long time before they come back again? Can you better spend your time getting bigger orders that are for more dollars and could be ongoing as well? Especially in the early days of starting a new business you should try to build around a customer who can give you meaningful cash flow to help you become successful.

Lesson #3: Get Everyone Involved

The third thing I learned from Junior Achievement was get everyone involved.

In a Junior Achievement company, you might have forty high school kids in the program. There is only so many management positions and once you elect your President and all your Vice Presidents, everybody else are just going to be the workers in the company. It's really important that you get them involved and make them feel like they are an important part of the company or they are going to leave - it'll just be the management team that's left!

This was an incredibly important lesson for me. You might be by yourself right now or you might have a couple of people around you. If you are the founder of the business you are going to care way more than everybody else but you want to make sure that everybody does feel like they are attached to the  company and they feel that they are important.

They should feel like what they are giving is a meaningful contribution and they are happy about what they are doing with your company. The more you can make them feel this way the more you'll be able to get the best from your team and retain them for the long term.

More About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement helps over two hundred and fifty thousand students here at Canada and many many more around the world. Wherever you are, there is probably a local Junior Achievement chapter close to you and I encourage you to check it out, get involved, and be a mentor to the new up and coming generation of student entrepreneurs.

Thank you!

That's it for today! Thank you for joining me for this video. My next post will continue on with our leadership series profiling famous entrepreneurs. I’d also love to hear thoughts and feedback if you want to leave a comment below!

As I wrote in Flex Work Gone Wild, there are four key themes to implementing a successful flexible work program. I covered the first two in Flex Work Trade Secrets Part 1: Leaders know their audience and Flex Work Trade Secrets Part 2: Design Integrated Systems.

Now, we come to one of the most important factors of all: making sure the right tools are allocated to the right person at the right time.

THEME 3: Informed Choice

Quite simply, one size does not fit all employees. To transition successfully to a Flexible Work model, you have to make sure managers understand which tools every employee needs in order to work where and when they are most effective.

Employees should input into the program and understand why they’re participating in it, the tools they’ll be using, and why their level of participation may be different from their colleagues. Of course, your employees may also need to understand that they can’t always get what they want. For example, their choice of smartphone may not be compatible with your business systems, or their favourite tablet computer may not provide the level of security the business needs. Compromises could be called for.

Who gets what?

Successful Flexible Work programs provide employees and managers with a clear, transparent and equitable way to decide who participates and at what level. This is one of the areas where we see companies stumble more than any other. If you get this right, the world of triple bottom line benefits will open up for your organization. Get it wrong and you will spend the next five to seven years trying to clean up the mess.

Data drives decisions

You must ensure that your employees understand the factors that will determine success or failure in your flexible work arrangement. You also have to ensure that your managers are given clear and objective data so they can make informed choices about what is best for each employee, for their team and for the business overall.

That’s where your flexible work partner comes in. The organization you choose to help you implement your program must do more than just gather the data to help you and your managers make decisions. They must also make it available to you in a format that’s easy to understand so you can share it with every employee who’s affected.

The entire process must deliver openness, transparency, objectivity and equity across employees and business groups. Without that equity, I am afraid your efforts will be short lived and likely to fade out after a few unsuccessful pilots.

There is also another side to choice.

Let’s make a deal

The other side is that people must understand that everyone does not get everything. If an employee’s work profile and preferences point to a mobile work arrangement, they can’t expect to keep the fancy corner office they’ll hardly ever visit. Instead, they’ll likely be asked to give it up to help offset the cost of a new mobile device, the distance collaboration training they’ll need and their third workplace membership – the costs of working from a coffee shop, hotel room or other environment where they might have to pay for Internet access or for the privilege of using that space.

This is where the triple bottom line really starts working for you. That corner office can be allocated to other people who spend more time in the office, or it may not be needed at all, reducing the business’s real estate costs. The employee who gave up the office will see their work-life balance improve because they don’t have to commute to the office just to get to the tools they need to do their work. They have the tools wherever and whenever they’re needed. Finally, the employee spends less time on the road, pumping out fewer emissions and therefore reducing both their own and the business’s carbon footprint.

Coming up in Part 4: Measure the triple bottom line.

About Ian

Ian Gover is a pioneer in the field of flexible work. He has focused his entire career on helping organizations optimize their technology, workplace and human capital management infrastructure to provide a better match for today’s flexible workforce requirements. As President & CEO of Teletrips, Ian works with public sector organizations and Fortune 500 companies to help them improve their triple bottom line performance - improving employee effectiveness, realizing millions in operational savings, and achieving significant improvements in environmental efficiency. Prior to Teletrips, Ian held executive and senior management positions with Sun Microsystems and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds a Master of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic in New York.

About Teletrips

Teletrips (www.teletrips.com) is the leading provider of software as a service tools that help organizations improve their triple bottom line performance through Intelligent Workplace and Workforce Management. The Intelligent Enterprise Software as a Service Platform is helping organizations around the world realize millions in operational savings, improve employee effectiveness and achieve significant improvements in environmental efficiency.

As the expression goes "there's an app for that" -- but the ones we tend to profile in this space are productivity-related.

Well, we all need a little downtime, no?

Rather than look at word processors, time management tools and language converters for frequent flyers, in this week's column we'll focus on a few app for fun and games.

In other words, instead of apps for 9 to 5, consider these better for 5 to 9 – and just in time for summer.

Sound advice

Available for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad), Android and BlackBerry devices, TuneIn Radio Pro ($0.99 cents) lets you listen to more than 40,000 radio stations from around the world, as well as online-only stations and podcasts.

That's right -- you can hear hip-hop straight from L.A., reggae from Kingston, Jamaica, and blues from New Orleans. Or let the app use your device's GPS to see your location, and it'll give you a complete list of your local AM and FM stations, too. Search for music by artist, genre, country, or by typing in a song you like to see if any station is playing it at that particular time.

What makes this Wi-Fi/3G app unique is the fact you can pause or skip forward and back between tracks like a personal video recorder (PVR). Tap the red record button to save it to your device's built-in memory and play it back anytime you like (even when offline). You can also set a timer to record in advance -- say, the BBC, every morning from 7am to 9am, UK time.

Unfortunately, you can’t transfer it to your iTunes library, so you won't be able to weave it into existing playlists.

It’s not just music, either, as you've also got access to news, talk, sports, comedy and old time radio (OTR) shows – and the app can recommend related stations to check out based on your tastes.

Game on!

If you've had your fill of Angry Birds and you already finished Plants vs. Zombies, why not unleash your inner D&D nerd and engage in epic battles against orcs and other creatures?

Available for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, Battleheart is a deep but accessible role-playing game (RPG) from Mika Mobile that challenges you to choose a well-balanced party of characters before leading them into combat against a number of increasingly tough monsters.

Using might and magic, you'll unlock new locations, upgrade your skills and purchase better equipment (and more than 100 items) to prepare you for the real-time battles across 30-odd levels. Don't be fooled by the game's charming graphics as a lot of strategy and tactics must be employed in order to win these skirmishes.

Charming graphics and music, smooth controls and frequent upgrades will also help keep you immersed in this fantasy epic. You can also put your party to the ultimate test in various battle arenas – survive the onslaught and you'll be rewarded with rare goodies you can use in future fights.

Bottom's up

Part coffee table e-book, part recipe collection, Shaken, Not Stirred ($1.99 for iPhone/iPod touch; $2.99 for iPad) lets you flick between more 50 cocktail recipes, each with stunning high-resolution photography and a list of ingredients and instructions.

The app lets you search for drinks in a number of ways. If you know you’ve only got some vodka at home, for example, you can view recipes that require only that particular spirit. Similarly, you can search through all gin, rum, tequila or whiskey cocktail recipes separately.

Having a themed party, such as Saint Patrick’s Day? Select to view recipes by colour. Or you can search by flavour (such as sweet, spicy, sour or fruity) or by theme, including classic (Dirty Martini), trendy (Berry-tini) or refreshing (Mojito).

Overwhelmed by choices? Tap the “Pick a drink for me!” button to get a random drink each time.

There are bartender apps that provide a lot more recipes than this one, but not with the same presentation or simple organization.

Movies to go

Love films, but aren't spending as much time at home these days? You're not alone.

As long as you're a Netflix subscriber ($8/month), you can snag the free Netflix app -- for iOS devices, Android and BlackBerry PlayBook – and access many thousands of movies and TV shows from yesterday and today.

Look for something to watch in the search window or peruse the lists divided into New Arrivals, Genres or Recently Watched (with how many minutes you're at for each movie or TV show). You can read a synopsis of each piece of content before watching as well as Netflix user ratings for each one (and you can vote, too).

Whether you spend a lot of time commuting to work by train or flying around the country, the Netflix app helps you get more out of your subscription – and help make travel a little more bearable.

Unless you have a generous data plan, use Wi-Fi to stream video wherever possible.

Marc Saltzman is one of North America's most recognized and trusted technology experts. Based in Toronto, Marc currently contributes to nearly 50 publications, has authored 14 books and is the host of CTV News Channel's "Tech Talk," CNN's "Tech Time" and Cineplex's "Gear Guide" (seen in movie theatres across Canada).

You can find them in pockets, purses and on key chains. They're on lanyards and in pens, built into some jewelry and even found alongside scissors and nail files in some Swiss Army Knives. Teeny USB thumb drives are so ubiquitous, in fact, Gartner estimates more than 222 million were sold last year alone.

Could such a tiny gadget bring big risks to your organization? Yes. Thanks to their small size, low cost, and capability of instant backup and file transportation between multiple computers, USB drives could be perceived as a significant security threat for businesses.

For example, disgruntled employees can easily make off with sensitive company information on a USB drive. "The threat is not new, but the problem is exacerbated by tiny and cheap USB drives," says Leslie Fiering, research vice president at Gartner in San Jose, Calif. "The moment we had removable storage media -- going back to floppy disk drives -- there have been stories of janitors going onto computers after hours and downloading major amounts of information."

Employees who plan on quitting a company -- or perhaps those expecting a pink slip -- can also easily copy over customer or client databases, emails, calendar appointments and contact lists in a matter of seconds, and then take this digital info with them to a competitor.

Increasingly, USB drives can also carry harmful malware, say security experts. USB keys can be used to install viruses or to serve as boot drives to erase data -- even unintentionally. An employee who uses a USB drive on a personal computer at home could carry malware back to a work computer without his or her knowledge.

So, what can you do?

You should take several precautions to minimize the risk of data theft or malware attacks via USB drives.

Consider the following tips:

Implement strong security software: All company computers should have the right security software to detect and remove potential threats. "Without question, you need serious protection today that not only protects from online threats but also is capable of scanning external devices too, such as USB drives," warns Fiering.

Limit USB access: In extreme cases, organizations have cut off access to USB ports. Others have limited USB access to specific employees. Using encrypted USB drives is another option, as is disabling AutoRun on computers so that programs on a USB drive don’t immediately run when a drive is inserted.

Monitor use: Keeping track of USB access will help you note who is using the drive, on which computer and at what time of day." IT departments need to make sure their machines are secure and sensitive information protected," adds Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner in Stamford, Conn.

Focus on education: "Banning can result in users trying to bypass the ban," cautions Steve Santorelli, director of global outreach for Team Cymru, a not-for-profit Internet security research group. A usage policy augmented by an awareness campaign to educate end users will help mitigate the risks.

Deploy tablets: Most tablets – such as the Apple iPad, BlackBerry PlayBook and most Android devices – don't offer removable memory, which might reduce the odds of someone copying files or inadvertently installing malware. There are always ways around it, such as dragging and dropping files to a computer when tethered, but tablets are somewhat of a closed platform.

With the right security measures in place, companies can ensure the security of their data -- despite today's increased risks.

Marc Saltzman is one of North America's most recognized and trusted technology experts. Based in Toronto, Marc currently contributes to nearly 50 publications, has authored 14 books and is the host of CTV News Channel's "Tech Talk," CNN's "Tech Time" and Cineplex's "Gear Guide" (seen in movie theatres across Canada).

The old proverb "time flies" seems to always be applicable when talking about wireless or computing technology.  Roughly 10 months ago I shared an introduction to Mobile Internet in my post, Mobile Internet 101; I discussed the evolution of wireless internet driven by the continuous development in faster wireless internet products. Much of the focus was Mobile Internet Keys and embedded laptops that are widely limited to supporting a single user; either through a SIM card in a laptop or a USB modem.

The last 18 months, however, saw the introduction of a new sub-category to Mobile Internet: Mobile Hotspots.  This sub-category has already started exploding with devices such as Smart Hubs, Mobile Wi-Fis, plus a feature enhancement for smartphones.  The driver behind all three: Wi-Fi.

As the next step in our Mobile Internet discussion, we’ll define those Mobile Hotspot devices and what this can mean for your business.

Mobile Hotspot devices - the next generation of Mobile Internet

Mobile Hotspots are based on Wi-Fi technology; the broadcast of an Internet connection wirelessly to laptops, smartphones or other Wi-Fi enabled devices within a small geographic zone (hotspot), typically the size of a few rooms or a cafe. Most businesses have had some exposure to using Wi-Fi through devices enabled to receive the wireless Internet connection, such as a laptop.  Wikipedia has more details on Wi-Fi certifications and frequencies.

The devices we will look at broadcast rather than receive a Wi-Fi signal.  What does that mean exactly?  When asked to name a Wi-Fi device, most people think laptop.  It has the ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network for Internet access (i.e. receive).  When asked what’s creating (i.e. broadcasting) that Wi-Fi network most people would think of a router attached to a wireline Internet service (DSL or cable). 

The first type of device that created a Mobile Hotspot off a cell network was Smart Hubs, introduced to the Canadian market in late 2009.  Shortly after came the aptly named Mobile Wi-Fi devices.  These devices create a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 5 users and incorporate the capabilities of a router, allowing users to customize their settings such as changing the wireless network name (SSID) and password, port forwarding; and access SMS messages and cellular connection settings such as roaming.  Some Mobile Wi-Fi devices also include smartphone features such as a display screen so users can easily view information on signal strength, SMS messages waiting, number of users connected and roaming status.

The latest addition to the Mobile Hotspot sub-category is a feature enhancement to existing smartphones.  The first enhancement appeared on Android smartphones with the Froyo OS (Android 2.2 operating system), the next on the iPhone with iOS version 4.3.  Although built to support different smartphones, both features operate in the same way.  From the settings menu a user can turn on their hotspot feature, thus broadcasting a small Wi-Fi network from their smartphone.  The number of devices that can connect varies from 5-8; and there are limited customization features such as changing the SSID and password.  The broadcast range and signal strength of these hotspot Wi-Fi networks is dependent on the smartphone.  Any devices connected to a hotspot of this type would receive Internet access speeds based on the device, while using data from the smartphone’s rate plan.  The hotspot feature isn’t necessarily the fastest Mobile Wi-Fi connection; however it can be the quickest and easiest.

What do Mobile Hotspots mean for your business?

Mobile Hotspots offer a new connection type for Mobile Internet, but it is still a category within Mobile Internet and all the business benefits you would associate with Mobile Internet definitely still apply.  The two most common benefits to businesses are cost savings and productivity gain.  A report published by JiWire in late 2009 indicates that the number of mobile devices accessing Wi-Fi hotspots in North America grew by 79% in the first half of the year and more than half of Wi-Fi users accessed Wi-Fi service from a hotel or resort hotspot (55.3%).  Of those 81% of the public Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide are paid, while 19% are free.  Given that the report was published just as the Mobile Hotspot devices we described began to launch, these stats relate to users accessing hotspots from traditional means.

The usage pattern shown by these stats demonstrate that people are accessing Wi-Fi at a variable cost, predominantly while on the road.  A better option for business travellers would be to take advantage of Mobile Hotspot devices to help manage cost and usage.  For larger companies, these mobile solutions can assist with mobile data compliance for their road warriors.  For example; an insurance adjuster travels 3 weeks a month for business in Northern Alberta.  Equipped with an Android smartphone and Wi-Fi Android tablet, the adjuster can fill out forms, take notes and capture pictures of claims digitally on the tablet, then use the smartphone to create a Mobile Hotspot to send that information back to head office,  all on the data plan of the company.  Being on the road for 3 weeks the adjuster also uses the tablet for personal use in the evening.  The tablet is Wi-Fi only, so the adjuster can pay, at personal expense, to connect to the hotel Wi-Fi to use the device in the evening.  This clear separation of business and personal helps the IT staff manage the compliance of the devices.

Lastly, Mobile Hotspots help streamline IT deployment.  Deployment of Mobile Internet devices such as USB modems are important for businesses in today’s economy, however the testing, setup, configuration and maintenance of these devices can be cumbersome for IT departments.  Businesses who lock down their company laptops (and a lot do) will typically restrict the end user from being able to install new software or make configuration changes.  So IT has to step in and assist when there is a connection or software issue from a USB modem.  With Mobile Wi-Fi devices, the load for IT can be greatly reduced.  There is no software to install so the initial testing/certification process to purchase new devices is sped up. Then when deploying these devices, there is no install on user laptops or other devices, so IT can simply pass the Mobile Wi-Fi device to the user.  The majority of users will be familiar with Wi-Fi from home use and can then manage the device themselves on the road, reducing troubleshooting for IT and freeing them to tackle more critical or strategic business needs.

These are just a few examples of common benefits businesses see with Mobile Hotspots.  With the arrival of summer in Canada many businesses are opening temporary locations, hiring short term staff to work in the field and running single day events where they need connectivity; all beneficial uses of this new Mobile Hotspot technology.

Andrew Scott Reid (or just Scott) is a Product Manager at TELUS Business Solutions. Scott has over six years of IT/telecommunications marketing and sales experience.  Based in Toronto, he primarily works with small and medium sized businesses to explore technology solutions that improve business productivity and efficiency.  Scott has extensive insight into mobile working needs from a customer perspective and is able to offer insight into several of TELUS’ technology offerings for Canadian businesses, including the Smart Hub solution.  When he’s not at work, Scott relaxes by playing/watching football and cooking (apparently he makes a mean brunch!).

Have you started to think about the next evolution of your business’ Mobile Internet strategy?

My name is Evan Carmichael and I believe that the fastest and most effective way to build a business is to model the strategies of people who have already done what you’re trying to do. I call it Modeling the Masters. My last post was: How to Hire the Best, Never Give Up, and Be Hands On Like Howard Hughes

Today we're going to look at how a young man who thought a $10,000 a year salary was a "big deal" learned about business from his father and became a billionaire in the process. This is the story of Canadian entrepreneur Gerry Schwartz and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success.

Must Watch Video

"There is no such thing as high returns without risk."- Gerry Schwartz

Gerry Schwartz (born in 1940) is a Canadian businessman. In 1977 he co-founded CanWest Global Communications Inc, followed by Onex Corporation in 1983. The Report on Business ranks Schwartz as one of the 30 wealthiest Canadians with a net worth that exceeds $1.5 Billion (Canadian) Dollars.

In high school, he said he wanted to be “an executive and to have a big job that would pay at least $10,000 a year. I thought $10,000 was a big deal,” he said. He learned about business from his father. According to Schwartz: “I can’t remember a day growing up without my father talking to me about business. If he bought real estate, he’d explain how and why.”

Today his private equity investment firm, Onex, has over 235,000 employees and Schwartz continues to look for opportunities to buy struggling companies, turn them around, and sell them for a handsome profit. He was named Ernst & Young’s 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year and was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006.

Action Item #1: Keep Your Team Together

If you want to grow your business it's important not only to find good people to work for you but also to keep them on board. High employee turnover hurts productivity and morale and will limit how far your company can go.

People love working for Gerry Schwartz because he gives them opportunities and respects their opinions. Every Monday morning, Schwartz gathers his top executives and decision makers in the Onex boardroom to discuss the merits of transactions and strategies, both new and old. If one of his key team players is unable to be at the meeting in person, Schwartz makes sure they are brought in by telephone. One by one, Schwartz goes around the table and lets each and every one of his staff have their say about the future direction of their company. And, they do not have to go along with whatever Schwartz proposes. If one person raises a doubt about a proposal on the table, the team may still proceed, but with greater caution. If two executives raise their dissenting voices, then the deal is dropped right then and there.

According to Schwartz: “Collectively, we make Onex a dynamic and collegial place to work... One of the hallmarks of Onex is that since I started the company in 1983, every professional who has joined the company at our Toronto head office is still here. We’ve had no turnover.”

Action Item #2: Take Risks

Being an entrepreneur involves taking risks. You're often venturing out into the unknown and you have to be willing to take the leap of faith even when you don't have all the information or resources that you need to be successful.

There is no such thing as high returns without risk and among investment bankers, Schwartz has gained a reputation for being willing to stick his neck out and take that risk. He continues going for the long shots, for companies that others haven't thought about acquiring. And, if a deal does not work out, Schwartz says he takes it personally, but he dusts himself off and comes back again for another try.

According to Schwartz: “I’m still a long distance from smart. But I’m also a long distance from dumb... The hardest lesson I’ve learned has been to not repeat the dumb mistakes I’ve made over the years, which are too numerous to list.”

Action Item #3: Look For New Opportunities

Business growth also comes from seizing new opportunities. As they come up around you you'll have to make tough decisions if you should pursue the opportunities or not. Make sure you take the time to really think about it and if it's going to work out instead of jumping on board every opportunity that comes by.

Over his long career, Schwartz has come to recognize that there will always be another deal. Success, however, only comes from investing in the ones that he's really researched and dug down deep to make sure that it's a good deal. Because of his reputation, Onex is now informed whenever any major company comes up for sale anywhere in North America. Schwartz and his team then inspect the books of each company and their respective markets to see if it's worth buying. Schwartz is also keen on finding his own potential acquisitions, ones that have yet to be advertised and that are hiding within a larger parent company.

According to Schwartz: “Every decision Onex makes is made on the basis of creating long-term value. Our philosophy is to operate like a forever owner of an asset... We take an excruciating length of time to buy an asset. We did nothing in the late 1980s because of all the pressure to do deals. That’s not our game... Investments are like trains, and if you miss one, don’t worry because another one will come down the line."

True Story

In 1969, when Schwartz was pursuing his MBA at Harvard, the school was offering an introductory course on computers. It was a popular course, but Schwartz didn't sign up for it. According to Schwartz: “I thought I’d have assistants do that stuff for me which is why I missed the value of the digital era in so many ways. You can’t understand the power of technology unless you use it.”

Schwartz might have missed out on the computer course at Harvard, but what he calls his “ridiculous attitude toward computers” changed after a trip to Bill Gates’ house. “He gave me a Palm Pilot. I got on a plane from Seattle to Florida, a five-hour flight, and started on the instruction book. I couldn’t figure it out.” By the time Schwartz had landed back home, he was only on section three of 15 in the instruction manual. “I said, ‘That’s it,’” recalls Schwartz. “I decided to learn. From that day forward, I’ve insisted Onex be on the leading edge of information technology.”

More Quotes

"The hardest lesson I’ve learned has been to not repeat the dumb mistakes I’ve made over the years, which are too numerous to list."

"I’m still a long distance from smart. But I’m also a long distance from dumb."

"There is no such thing as high returns without risk."

What Do You Think?

Have you had problem with employee turnover? Have you recently discovered a new opportunity that you're chasing? What part Gerry Schwartz's message impacted you the most? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts if you leave a comment below!

Evan Carmichael

To learn more check out my list of Gerry Schwartz articles or my website, EvanCarmichael.com.

With the proliferation of smartphones, tablets and other devices, mobile computing is fast becoming the norm – the face of work has changed, and we all want access to our critical data at any time, from anywhere.

Mobile computing offers increased flexibility, productivity and more – but we’re learning that this technology doesn’t come without risks. A strong security strategy is necessary to protect both the corporate and private data that multiple teams are accessing through mobile devices.

Yesterday, our company and IT World Canada brought IT professionals from across Canada together to explore mobile security and the ever-increasing importance of employee buy-in and compliance with IT policies.

The one-hour webinar called “Mobile Security Risks: An IT Department Action Plan,” featured speakers Tim Dafoe, senior security policy advisor with the Province of Ontario, and Hernan Barros, director, products and services, for our security solutions team and was moderated by IT World Canada editor-in-chief Shane Schick.

Barros began by sharing stats from the 2010 TELUS-Rotman Joint Study on Canadian IT Security:

• More than 24 millionmobile phones are in use across Canada, with millions of smartphones and mobile computing devices sold each year
  
  
• Of the more than 500 Canadian organizations that participated in the 2010 TELUS-Rotman Joint Study on Canadian IT Security, virtually all respondents across government, private and public sectors ranked the loss of a phone with corporate data as their number one concern
  
  
• About 45 per cent of Canadian businesses plan to invest in technology to secure mobile devices.
  
  

“We believe it is critical that businesses not only protect incoming and outgoing information from potential threats, but also measure the value of their security investments and protect their bottom line,” he said.

With the consumerization of IT and the tendency for employees to want to use their device of choice for work, there is more pressure than ever on IT professionals to be agile, proactive and prepared to protect these mission-critical business tools from things like malware, hackers, and device and data loss.

This is especially important for Dafoe, whose IT strategy for the Province of Ontario must protect everyone from government employees working in an urban office, to those serving in remote areas that depend on satellite transmission for data access.

“The way we’re responding to it at present is to require a business case to be made,” said Dafoe, emphasizing the importance of approving and tracking those who sync their personal devices with work. He noted that business people are using devices “in very interesting ways” and IT strategists must in turn understand the scope of everyone’s work and bring all stakeholders to the table when making a mobile security strategy.

“We don’t just have a business case,” said Dafoe of his public sector team. “We have a duty to protect this information.”

Barros said that can be senior executives on a quest for leading productivity apps who can contravene a security policy. This fact emphasizes the importance of getting the support of your entire team. “Education and user buy-in is an incredibly important part of the overall strategy,” he said. “Ease of use also becomes a very critical mandate, [because] alterations to user experience limits the ability to be successful in delivering the security solution.”

Barros’ key strategic recommendations for IT professionals developing a mobile security strategy included:

• Minimize impact to the end user: Don’t alter the user’s experience, limit ability to use the device, or require them to take any actions to secure data
  
  
• Maximize the protection of corporate data: Ensure that a lost phone does not mean disclosed data or exposed corporate applications
  
  
• Increase control of the device: Enforce security policies that enhance and link to existing computers and applications.
  
  

Ba Barros said that the technology safeguards to address these strategies are things like remote locks, remote wipes, password enforcement and complexity, break detection (privilege escalation and remediation) and device encryption.

Overall, the main thread that connected the webinar’s discussion was the need for each IT team to evaluate its company’s appetite for risk before moving forward. Each business is different, and each will in turn require a different approach to mobile security.

To hear the full hour of the webinar, check back next week when we’ll have the full webinar posted. If you’re developing a mobile security strategy and want imput, click here to download the full TELUS-Rotman report and whitepapers.