From Greg's Head

MessageLabs, a web security company, now part of Symantec [link] recently released a good whitepaper looking at the Top 5 Security Tips for 2009.  

The whitepaper primarily targets IT professionals, however, it’s worth applying the information to your home or business computer.  One note, to access the paper you have to fill out an online form before you can download it for free.

With known threats like the Conficker C worm that is supposed to cause problems on April first, it is a timely reminder to back up your computer on a regular basis, be mindful of the websites you visit, and to stay alert to potential threats to your systems.

Taking proactive steps to protect your computer and network, should be a central part of your business continuity planning.  Back in 2006, Sheldon Eveloff, a now retired partner from Amper, Politziner & Mattia, wrote a guest spotlight for us discussing this very topic. 

What steps does your company take to ensure network and data security?  How have you been able to combat threats to your system?  What advice do you have pass along to those looking to secure their systems?
 

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Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the PKF Texas - Entrepreneur's Playbook® page of the PKF Texas website.

Now is the time to get your company back to basics.  What is your company’s sustainable competitive advantage? What are your core market segments?  How can you make sure you are capitalizing on marketplace opportunities?

By conducting a thorough analysis of your operations, you can identify any changes needed to continue a growth track for your company.

The analysis process can include but is not limited to the following:

1. Identify your company’s key performance indicators
2. Create a one page plan to address any necessary improvements based on your KPIs
3. Meet regularly with your accountant and other service providers to keep you on top of any potential issues that may arise with new federal and state regulations

This analysis will help you focus on what is important in your business and can help you keep your company nimble in a time when you don’t know what next week will bring.

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Read a great blog entry on InformationWeek.com over the weekend by Ed Hansberry posing the question are you a voice or data person.  He categorizes the two as this:

“Some people are voice centric and it just so happens that they also can get e-mails on their phone. Others are data centric. The primary reason they have a phone is that is just the device by which it's easiest to access data from the Internet. The fact that they can actually talk to someone with the device is just another feature.”

This is an interesting question that would not have even been asked 10 or even five years ago. 

Hansberry is a data person.  The jury is still out for me, though I’m leaning toward being a data person.  For professional communication, my Tilt works great, email, internet, etc.  But for personal communication I still need the phone function to stay in touch with my family.

comScore, Inc., a company that measures ways in which we use the Internet, recently issued a report that said the number of people using their mobile device to access news and information on the Internet more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009.  This statistic is not surprising.  With the glut of smartphones on the market, I’ll be curious to see the figures next year.

Have we reached the ceiling for connectivity?  Probably not.  The engineers at Microsoft, Google and Apple will continue to keep us connected in ways that we didn’t even know we needed.

So are you a voice person or a data person?
 

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Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the PKF Texas - Entrepreneur's Playbook® page of the PKF Texas website.

In nearly every field, technology provides a way to examine and analyze the most granular elements, tasks, and decisions. The result is a wealth of new information and new complexities to deal with in gaining Business Insight.

The following are sources from which you can gain insight into your business, customers, and the world.

• Subscription Data.  From watching global events, to text mining on RSS feeds can provide a wide range of insight obtained through social media sources.
• Business Processes. Automated business processes are a great source insight.  Trends hidden in the databases can unlock hidden where and how processes go wrong.
• Enterprise Systems.  Provide data rich environments; the trick is getting the right KPIs or analytics to discover new products or services.
• Instruments and Devices. Some of our daily tools and instruments are becoming more data and network enabled.  For example, my new HP wireless printer at home has lots of information and makes suggestions for presentations of my data.
• Public Data.  The UN, the World Bank, Chambers and Economic Development Districts give insights into demographics and markets. Local, state and Federal governments have rich repositories of data as well.
   

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Twitter is taking over the world.  Everywhere I go, look, or read, someone is talking about Twitter and their tweets. The below quote was in an article from Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle:

“A survey released last month by the PEW Internet Project found that 11 % of online adults have used Twitter, Facebook, or other services to post messages, highlighting the increasing popularity of what’s officially known as status updates. Pew found that 4 % of respondents had posted the day prior to being asked.”

Interesting…

To my faithful readers:

Why should I jump on the bandwagon?  It’s something “everyone” is doing, but what’s the business application?  I’m not on Twitter yet, and am toying with the idea.  I’d love to hear from you.  Why are you on Twitter?  What makes it work for you? How often do you “tweet”?  Should I make the leap?

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The Houston Technology Center is now supporting the International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering, and Environment) Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP). 

I-SWEEEP is a groundbreaking science competition open to middle and high school students. I-SWEEEP works with local, national and international science fair organizations to bring the top ranking brightest math and science focused student projects to Houston.

As the HTC Advisory Board Chairman, I am thrilled to see the HTC reaching out to young talents as a driving force to emerging technologies.

“The HTC likes to partner with local non-profit organizations related to technology and/or education. With the focus on Energy, Engineering, and Environment we feel I-SWEEEP is a good fit for HTC. Also, as a part of our support we will be offering an award to one of the students,” said Deena Carstens, HTC Director, Marketing & Communications.

The actual competition will be held from April 15-20, 2009 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Last year there were 402 projects from 1,356 participants. The students hailed from 52 countries, including Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines.

This is the second year the competition will be held here in Houston. I think it’s important that our city is hosting these kinds of events. I can foresee some of the students participating in I-SWEEEP at the middle and high school levels will be the ones entering the Rice Business Plan Competition when they reach the university level.

Supporting I-SWEEEP bookends the HTC's mission of enabling the growth of emerging technology companies and encouraging entrepreneurialism in Houston.  The HTC is promoting free enterprise and entrepreneurship to our youth and then honors the success of Houston's mature entrepreneurs at the annual HTC gala.

This year is the HTC's 10th Anniversary and they are celebrating by honoring Robert McNair, founder and CEO of the Houston Texans.  They will also be honoring five members of the Houston technology community with a life time achievement award.  The honorees are:

Aerospace – Gale Burkett
Information Technology – Rod Canion
Life Science – Dr. Nancy Chang
Energy - Dan Duncan
Nanotechnology - Dr. James Tou

The gala will be held on May 14th, at the Intercontinental Hotel.  It's going to be a great event!

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Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the PKF Texas - Entrepreneur's Playbook® page of the PKF Texas website.

The quality and timeliness of business decision making depends on the insights drawn from the oceans of information available.  Today’s technology challenge is no longer opening access to information; rather, it is opening access to insight.

When you and your organization can anticipate change, rather than simply reacting to it, you have mastered Insight from Complexity.

Microsoft recently indicated that gaining insight from increasing amounts of data can be categorized into the following three broad steps:

• Finding the sources of insight.  Identifying the components of the ever rich data environment that will unlock patterns of behavior that reveal new opportunities.
• Moving from insight to action.  Visualizing data to spot trends, listening to customers for insight and feedback.  Collaboration with colleagues and partners to make sure value is achieved.
• Staying productive in an information rich environment.  Managing content, context and contracts; dealing with interruptions; and keeping data up to date.

We will have additional comments on Business Insight in the next few weeks.
 

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Jason Pontin, editor of Technology Review magazine and technologyreview.com will be speaking at the Federal Reserve here in Houston on April 22nd.  The MIT Enterprise Forum has scheduled him as the keynote speaker for their April MIT Flagship event.

Pontin will present “2009TR10” – Revolutionary technologies which will impact the future of Alternative Fuels, Global Healthcare, High Technology and Nanotechnology.

If you don’t know about the MIT Enterprise forum, their mission is to foster successful growth of innovative technology oriented enterprises in the South Texas area by providing access to MIT resources and through services and programs that inform, educate and support these business endeavors. 

I’m looking forward to hearing what Pontin has to say.  The cover of this month’s Technology Review addresses the Top Emerging Technologies of 2009.  There’s some cool stuff they’ve identified, like the $100 Genome and Software-Defined Networking.  It’s worth noting that when browsing through technologyreview.com, there are a number of articles discussing technology companies doing business in Houston.

Glad to see Houston is continuing to be on the radar of tech publications around the country.  With the 9th anniversary of the FastTech 50 and the 10th anniversary of the Houston Technology Center right around the corner, we’ve come a long way in establishing Houston as a technology center in the U.S.

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Calling all Aggies! You’ve read about it, you’ve talked about it with your fellow Aggies, you’ve even thought “Hey, maybe my company could be one of the 100…” Well, now’s your chance to join an elite group of Aggie business owners. Nominations are now open for the 2009 Aggie 100.

Created by Mays Business School's Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, the Aggie 100 identifies, recognizes and celebrates the 100 fastest growing Aggie-owned or Aggie-led businesses in the world. The Aggie 100 not only celebrates their success, it also provides a forum to pass lessons to the next generation of Aggie entrepreneurs.  

To be considered for the Aggie 100 program companies (corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) must meet the following criteria:

• Company Size and Longevity – The Company must meet both of the following criteria:
  • Have been in business for 5 years or more as of June 30, 2009, and
  • Have had verifiable revenues of $100,000 or more for calendar year 2006.
• Aggie Leadership – The Company must meet one or more of the following three criteria:
  • A Texas A&M University former student or group of former students must have owned 50% or more of the company from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008, or
  • A Texas A&M University former student must have served as the Company’s chief executive (for example chairman, CEO, president or managing partner) from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008, or
  • A Texas A&M University former student must have founded the company and been active as a member of the most senior management team from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008.
• Company Character – The Company must operate in a manner consistent with the Aggie Code of Honor and in keeping with the values and image of Texas A&M University.

The nomination form can be found here: http://aggie100.com/nominate/

As the accountants for and the sponsors of the Aggie 100, PKF Texas is proud to play a part in the celebration of Aggie entrepreneurship. If you have any questions contact Lenae Huebner at 979-845-4882 or E-mail: lhuebner@mays.tamu.edu.

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If you are a woman business owner, Houston is a great place to be.  Texas ranks 3rd in the nation for the number of women owned businesses.

The face of corporate America is changing and many of our Houston award programs reflect that shift.  We’ve had several women owned businesses that are FastTech 50 winners, most recently, Janice Anderson’s company, Access Sciences Corporation. 

There are many resources and programs in Houston specifically tailored to women business owners.

The Greater Houston Partnership offers the Executive Women’s Partnership Committee and the Emerging Women Leaders program.  Both provide executive women an opportunity to address business issues and interests, learn from each other and exchange ideas.  The Partnership website, www.houston.org, has more information. 

Another resource in Houston is the Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance.  The WBEA is committed to increasing business opportunities for woman owned businesses and corporate members through education, programs, and professional networking. You can find the group online at www.wbea-texas.org

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Surfing around the Inc website, the other day I ran across an article about the “Coolest College Start-ups.” Thinking about the Rice Business Plan Competition, I clicked through.

Lo and behold there was a company from the University of Houston. Danny Klam, a senior, founded Simply Splendid Donuts & Ice Cream in 2004. He and his business partner currently have three locations in Houston and have plans to expand. Klam took several courses at UH’s Wolff Center for Entreprenuership.

I’m glad to see the national recognition for one of our young local entrepreneurs. This recognition shows one of many benefits of providing an “entrepreneurial” education. The Rice Alliance for Technology & Entrepreneurship, Texas A&M’s Center for New Ventures & Entrepreneurship, and UH’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship are all producing tomorrow’s entrepreneurs today.

The Millennials are finding their seats at the “corporate table” faster than previous generations and they’re doing it their own way. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is one of the most entrepreneurial generations we’ve seen in a long time. With award programs like 40 Under 40 and business plan competitions to recognize and encourage their achievements, they are going to continue to change the face of business for the better.
 

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I was recently made aware of a cool organization called Genesys Works. It is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that enables inner-city high school students to break through barriers and discover through meaningful work experience that they can succeed as professionals in the corporate world.

Students enter the program during the summer prior to their senior year. After 8 intensive weeks of training, students are assigned to work at one of our clients, half time, during their senior year.

Their founder, Rafael Alvarez was featured in the Face to Face With… section of the Houston Business Journal last year.

He describes why he founded the company, what kinds of opportunities they offer the students, and their plans for the future. They expanded to St. Paul, Minnesota last year and are looking into other cities across the nation.

With all of the negative stories in the news during the past few months, it’s refreshing to learn about organizations like Genesys Works. They’re making a positive impact in the community and I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next.

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