We are your local resource for IT Support, IT Solutions, IT Services, Proactive Computer Care, Backup & Business Continuity, and Cloud Computing. Serving Columbia, Elkridge, Ellicott City, Howard County, and the Baltimore Washington metro area. Our experts can also help you specify, purchase, and install all the hardware that you need.
CMIT Solutions of Columbia provides information technology (IT) services to small business in the Columbia, Maryland, Howard County, and the Baltimore Metro area. Whether you are a 5 person single location office or a 100 person firm with multiple locations, our highly skilled technical team works with you to create a solution that makes good business sense.
Our mission is to worry about IT, so you don’t have to. Our philosophy is that technology is a necessary and important tool in running your business, and our job is to ensure that that tool, your technology, performs at peak efficiency every minute of every day. To do that, we provide managed IT services that keep your business running while you run your business.
Our focus at CMIT Solutions of Columbia is on client satisfaction. We are dedicated to establishing long-term partnerships with a high level of commitment to our clients rather than just performing one-time projects. Our managed IT services programs provide the framework needed to build lasting relationships.
About the President
Tom Burtzlaff is convinced that there is a better way to serve small businesses and organizations in the Columbia and Howard County area that are becoming increasingly dependent on technology. A complete understanding of a client’s business and its goals and objectives is necessary to guide them in the most efficient use of the information technology available to them. Tom is committed to being a trusted resource and IT solution provider for local Columbia and Howard County businesses, so they can get the computer and network support they need to help them remain competitive in their fields. The increasing complexity of managing network security, data backup, and data recovery has only added to the reasons for involving a qualified team of IT consulting professionals who understand your business to ensure you are best managing the challenges that technology can bring to your business.
Tom’s multi-faceted career in both large corporate and small company environments has led him to the firm belief in the need for smaller businesses to ensure they are using technology to maximize efficiency, increase productivity, increase revenue and reduce costs. The proper use of outsourced IT services is critical for the success of small businesses in today's marketplace. Tom has worked as a senior executive in consumer products and computer components industries and has an excellent record of accomplishment in IT system implementation, sales, marketing, research & development, customer service, plant management, materials management, quality assurance, facility expansion, production, engineering, environmental, safety, and human resources. He holds degrees in Engineering and Business (MBA). He has used his experience in corporate America coupled with his experience running smaller businesses and has gathered a team of local IT professionals dedicated to being “your technology team” so that clients can focus on their business while CMIT Solutions of Columbia focuses on their technology.
About CMIT Solutions, Inc.
CMIT Solutions is a nationwide provider of information technology (IT) services and solutions for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). With more than 800 consultants and technicians, CMIT has expertise in nearly all technologies and industries Founded in 1996 in Austin, TX, CMIT Solutions, Inc. has grown into the leading IT solution provider for SMBs. With over 10 years of experience and strong industry partnerships, CMIT Solutions is capable of providing enterprise-level services and products that were previously unavailable to the SMB market. We are a local company with the support of a national network behind us. We focus on making your business run better by understanding your business and technology needs.
The Five Most Glaring Holes in Small Business IT Security
As an IT service provider to small businesses, we see a few common problems among new customers. Whether it’s because of oversight, ignorance, neglect, or user error, the following five issues at best keep many small businesses from achieving their full potential and, at worst, jeopardize a company’s very existence.
1. Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) – A company’s electronic data is one of its most valuable—and fragile—assets. A shocking number of small businesses either rely on manual backups or just keep their fingers crossed. For maximum protection, a business needs not only an automated backup system (to minimize human error), but also a thoroughly tested and simple-to-implement disaster recovery plan in order to get the business back up and running.
2. Adherence to Security Protocols – Your car alarm won’t give you much protection if you leave your keys on the hood. As with many security systems, the human factor is often one of the weakest links. Poor login management, shared passwords, and other shortcuts leave your computers and network open to threats. Educating your staff about the importance of adhering to security measures (and making sure they do) is of utmost importance.
3. Outdated Equipment – This especially applies to network infrastructure such as routers, bridges, and firewalls. Just because a device still works doesn’t mean it is working securely. As security protocols have progressed, especially in the wireless space, manufacturers have had to increase performance to keep up with increasingly complicated encryption schemes. Running older hardware makes you an easier target (and therefore more attractive) for hackers.
4. Unsecured Mobile Devices – Yes, employees love the convenience of accessing their email via a smartphone, but smartphones are also easy to lose (as are laptops and USB drives). What if that device held sensitive information? Or provided a direct path into your corporate server? Again, adherence to proper security protocols is paramount. All devices need to be protected with robust, regularly changing passwords, and all employees need to understand and adhere to a written “acceptable use” policy.
5. Lack of Cohesive IT Strategy – Most companies expand their IT infrastructure as their business grows. As such, they often find themselves with a patchwork system. Smart business owners see IT as a strategic business asset, not just a necessary evil. Investing in a coherent, well-designed IT infrastructure not only provides security and increased performance, but also does good things for your bottom line.
Break Out of the Box with These PowerPoint Alternatives
Tired of the same old boring PowerPoint templates? Want to create a presentation that will really engage your audience? Take these PowerPoint alternatives for a free test drive.
Google Docs Presentation – This app bears a striking resemblance to PowerPoint, but it’s web-based, which means it’s easily shareable and conducive to collaboration among your team members. Importing your existing PowerPoint slides is a snap, too. Many users will find embedding web content into a presentation far more intuitive with this app than with PowerPoint. It also appears to be more stable than PowerPoint when handling video content. And it’s completely free-of-charge.
SlideRocket –SlideRocket also incorporates a slide-based approach to organizing presentations, but offers oh-so-much more, including an integrated library of media assets, automated Flickr searches, and the ability to embed real-time information (e.g., a Twitter or RSS feed, which are also searchable). Most intriguingly, SlideRocket offers analytics (unfortunately, only with the paid version) that track how users interact with your presentations, such as how long they spend on each slide and which ones get viewed multiple times. You can also embed forms or polls into the presentation to gather info from your audience. Free for the “Lite” version.
Prezi – Prezi gained almost overnight fame after James Geary used it in his “Mixing Mind and Metaphor” presentation at the 2009 TEDGlobal conference in Oxford. It dispenses with PowerPoint’s slide-based approach, instead utilizing flowing, zooming, spinning, motion-based depictions for a rich, immersive experience. Check out this video for a concrete example. Prezi works great on the iPad too, supporting drag-to-pan and pinch-to-zoom gestures. The basic web-based version is free, and the desktop version comes with a 30-day free trial.
In past QuickTips, we’ve discussed how the human element is one of the weakest links in IT security. That’s why social engineering is such a well-used tool for hackers. Training and diligence are important safeguards against such external threats, but what about security holes...
Phishing attacks aren’t just limited to fraudulent emails. We’ve recently heard reports of scammers calling people on the phone, claiming to be from Microsoft (or some other well-known company), and telling potential victims that their computer contains a virus.
...
As one of the most ubiquitous platforms on the web, Java is of great interest to hackers due to its large user base (it runs on an estimated 850 million computers and mobile devices). Exploits seem to crop up at least every few months and, last week, the latest Java vulnerability came to light. This...
Google has announced changes to the suite of web apps the company offers to businesses. Until recently, companies with fewer than 10 employees could use applications like Google Docs and Spreadsheet free of charge just by creating a Google account.
However, it’s not all bad news. Individual users and companies with fewer than 10 employees can continue to use Google Apps for free (...
USAToday.com recently posted an item concerning a malicious mobile app that has been infecting Android-based mobile phones. Potential victims receive an offer to download free versions of popular games like Grand Theft Auto and Angry Birds Star Wars. If an unsuspecting user installs the software, the mobile phone then sends spam to people in that user’s contact list....
Baltimore