A large amount of customer information is collected each day. Even a slight carelessness in managing sensitive customer information can cost the business dearly. General Data Protection Regulation i.e. GDPR is new standard that provides a set of rules which the companies operating or doing business in Europe must comply to. The European Parliament adopted it on April 14, 2016 with an intent to protect personal and private information of customer’s. 

The soaring figures that account the data breaches validate the importance and need of GDPR. It covers a total of 99 articles and would regulate data protection laws and policies. As per the reports by Ovum, a London based analyst and consultancy firm, two- thirds of U.S. companies might have to reconsider their strategy in Europe owing to GDPR. 

What Will Change –

Businesses (Including US businesses operating in Europe) would now have to be extra careful while managing customer databases like an individual’s IP address, social security number, name, cookie data etc. Stringent state rules will now govern a company’s customer data protection policies. It will come into force on May 25, 2018 and companies not adhering to GPDR will be have to pay a hefty fine. 

Which Companies Will GDPR Affect –

A business or company that -

• Operates in Europe  
• Processes personal data of European citizens

How To Prepare Your Company For GDPR –

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has come up with a guide which companies can follow to prepare themselves for GDPR –

• Cognize your staff about GDPR.
• Systematically organize, manage and share the customer information you hold.
• Review your current privacy policies and make necessary changes to harmonize them with GDPR.
• Check your procedures and make sure that they cover all the rights individuals have.
• Update your procedures and decide the ways you will handle requests within new time frame.
• Decide the lawful way to process personal data.
• Check whether your consent seeking mechanism complies with the rules of GDPR.
• As per GDPR you would need parental consent to process a child’s personal data so setup a system through which you can verify an individual’s age.
• Ensure that you follow an appropriate and quick mechanism to detect and report a data breach. 
• Get well acquainted with ICO’S code of practice on Privacy Impact Assessments.
• Hire someone to act as the Data Protection Officer, whose main role would be to keep a check whether data protection policies are being complied or not.
• Determine your lead data protection supervisory authority.

Enforcement of GPDR would mean less data breaches which will ultimately benefit the end user by protecting their private and confidential information. It is a revolutionary step by the European government for the best interest of their citizens and US based companies operating in Europe will have to do the required modifications in their policies and online applications in order to adhere to the norms. 

For more information, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

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Wi-Fi networks allow multiple devices to access internet simultaneously. The moment a relative or friend drops in at your place, they tend to ask your Wi-Fi password. You may boast of high speed, amazing internet connectivity & range but an important factor that we all generally miss is the security.

Your wireless network can become host to various vulnerabilities and threats. So, it is extremely important to take all necessary steps to secure your home wireless network.

Potential Threats To Your Home Wireless Network -

• Loss of Sensitive information, credentials and logins
• Network Intrusion
• Data Interception
• Bandwidth Stealing
• Financial losses owing to loss of confidential information

Here We Have Listed Certain Ways To Secure Home Wireless Network -

Change The Name Of Your Wireless Network – Simple and easy Wi-Fi network names can pose a serious threat. Often, we do not change the network name of router which has model name and other details in it. One must change it as this will prevent hackers from knowing the type of router you have. Otherwise, they would easily be able to discern the manufacturer of the router and also type of vulnerabilities the model is associated with.

Set Up A Unique Password – Setting up passwords as simple as your name or date of birth is an open invitation to hackers. They can easily guess and exploit it for their personal benefits. So make sure that the password you set has at least 20 characters and is formed using a combination of alphabets, numerals and symbols.

Placement Of Router – It is highly beneficial to place the router somewhere close to middle of the house. This will not only ensure that you get the wireless signal in all the rooms but also make sure that the signal range does not reach outside your house. This will prevent any fraudulent use of your network data.  Also if you are not using the wireless network overtime then it is advisable to disable it for that time being.

Update Your Router’s Software – It is important to regularly update your router’s software for security reasons. This will help you avoid unpatched vulnerabilities.

Filter On Mac Addresses – Devices that are connected to the wireless network have a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address. So you must always change the router settings and physically type in MAC addresses of only those devices that you wish to allow on the network.

Some Other Ways –

• Do not broadcast the name of the network
• Enable encryption
• Double up the layer of firewall
• Turn Off Guest Networks
• Set up a strong administrator password
• Reduce the range of Wi-Fi signal

For more information about IT security, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

Companies have been collecting large amount of information each day. Big Data is nothing but huge chunks of data which is collected from the customers/ different sources which is further processed and analyzed to generate useful insights out of it.

As per International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics will grow more than $203 billion by 2020. These facts validate the power of Big Data and demonstrate how it has brought a substantial breakthrough.

Here we have listed some benefits of Big Data to the business organizations -

• Understanding Customer’s Need – Companies are increasingly resorting to big data analysis to leverage the benefit of customer information available on the web.Businesses can use this information to better understand the needs of the customers and then design their marketing strategies accordingly

• Risk Analysis - It allows you to scan the business environment. You can stay ahead of your competition by successfully predicting the market trends. Immediate action can be taken, whenever you sense any potential risk.

• Cost Savings – Businesses don’t need to keep a manual record of databases now. Big Data tools such as Cloud- Based Analytics, Hadoop etc. can store tons of data and help companies use it proficiently.

• Opening Up New Opportunities - It has opened up a plethora of revenue generating opportunities. The information derived from data can be used to venture into new projects and make a parallel business line.

• Personalize Your Portal – It allows you to personalize your portal in real time. You can individualize the experience for each customer depending on the kind of search they make. This can be done by showing them other related options or useful searches made by other users.

• Managing Your Reputation Online –Big data tools let you know what people say about your business on various online portals. You must comprehend on this information as it can help you monitor and control your online reputation.

• Faster Decision Making – Better analysis can help you take better decisions within no time. With faster decision making procedures, businesses can take advantage of any potential opportunity which comes their way, thereby improving their bottom line figures.

• Customer Interactions – You can actually reach out your customers and have a real-time conversation with them using the big data tools.

For more information, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

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The world is all set to witness a technological revolution with Japan planning to launch the first commercial 5G network by 2020. The technology will provide faster internet speed thereby accentuating the overall digital experience for the users. It is believed that the fifth generation of wireless network technology is going to change the entire picture. Here we have listed ways how 5G would impact the world.

• Mobiles Will Takeover – With the advent of 5G technology, mobiles shall dominate. As per a report by The Telegraph, 7 out of 10 people in the world would possess a smartphone by the year 2020. This means businesses will have to shift over to mobile portals/ applications for a seamless customer experience.
• Faster Downloads – High speed internet is sure to break the buffering monotony. It would just take few seconds to download even heavy files.
• More Focus On Videos – Videos would be used like never before. With higher bandwidth there would be absolutely no trouble in streaming the videos. This will give businesses an opportunity to present more content and advertize their products and services in a better way.
• Real Time Connections – People will have access to high speed internet making it easier for businesses to interact with them. Customers would be able to communicate through videos using the live video streaming options.
• Newer Opportunities – 5G technology will pave the way for newer opportunities. We will be able to use certain futuristic technologies for our advantage which are untapped for now. It is sure to accelerate innovation. The world would see a technological breakthrough as we would be able to operate complex mobile apps.
• Higher Revenue To Business – With high speed internet connections at bay, more and more businesses shall be there on the web. This will increase the opportunities for business organizations to market their product. The sales would increase thus resulting in better bottom line figures.
• Troubleshooting The IoT – When once 5G technology becomes a reality it will enable faster troubleshooting and people would be able to fix the errors through data sharing.
• Paradigm Shift - Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality shall become a part of our lives which is sure to change our perspective towards technology. Smart technology would take over the world. There would be driverless cars, smart cities, drones, robots in factories and homes, smart public transport and much more than we can probably think of for now.

As per Statista, an online statistics portal, the number of 5G connections is forecasted to be 1.1 billion by 2025. Although it is yet in development stage, 5G technology has garnered the interest of people worldwide.

For more information, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

Content Marketing is a planned marketing approach in which insightful information is created and shared to attract targeted audience.  Right from blogs, videos, infographics to press releases, webinars and podcasts, almost every marketing strategy relies on high quality content. Let’s discuss how these strategies can help you to promote your brand, business, and foster customer relationship.

• Blog Posts: A blog is an effective tool to reach new customers. It provides extensive information and opinions about a business and its products. Regular blogging also helps to achieve higher search result rankings.

• Social Media Marketing: Sharing informative content along with relevant hashtags on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can increase your reach and also generate traffic to your website. 

• Video Marketing: If a video is rich in content and graphics, more and more people will be compelled to watch and share it. Videos can go viral and can generate traffic and leads for a business. 

• Email Marketing: Emailing is a traditional form of content marketing where business related information such as offers, promotions, discounts, news etc. is shared with existing and prospective customers to promote sales. 

• Infographics: These refer to visual representations of information. It uses content, data, images and graphic to convey information quickly and clearly. Infographics provide clear and concise information to the audience by displaying trends and patterns.

• Webinars: Online lectures, workshops and presentations over video conferencing are effective forms of content marketing as well. 

Importance Of Content Marketing

• Demonstrating Business Competence: High quality and appealing content provides idea about business competence. Unique and informative content presented in the right manner can help a brand to stand differentiated from other competitive products/ brands and clearly helps in favourable purchasing decision. 

• Derive Profitable Business: Almost 57 % of purchase decisions are made on the basis of trust in particular brand. Genuine and perfectly presented content helps to build trust which in turn helps to generate sales for the business. 

• Retaining Customers: The content published at its best can engage discussions and improve trust into the brand. This will also keep customers engaged with the brand and will make them curious about the future products to be launched.

• Reaching Untapped Audience: An enlightening and appealing content acts as a driving source for readers. It provokes discussions and conclusions based on information and ideas shared in the published content. Therefore, more people will be driven to the brand which helps in capturing untapped audience.

• Improves Search Engine Optimization: With proper usage of keywords within content, the search engines are able to index the website for targeted keywords. It helps in higher search engine rankings and increased customer base.

For more information about content marketing, contact Centex Technologies at (972) 375 - 9654.

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Today, companies are increasingly adopting innovative cybersecurity and privacy safeguards. They make every possible attempt to safeguard the sensitive information on the company’s network and as a result every year billions of dollars are spent on upgrading and installing latest security systems across US. Though, efforts are made to circumvent security threats but the fear of Cyber-attack still haunts even the largest firms that use sophisticated security solution. What could the reason probably be???

According to a 2017 Insider Threat Report, 74 percent of companies feel that they are vulnerable to insider threats, with 7 percent reporting extreme vulnerability. This clearly means that human error is one of the leading causes for IT security breach.  Laxity on the part of employees can pose serious threat to company’s databases and digital information. Here are some common information security mistakes that employees often make.

• Common Passwords – The most common mistake the employees make is use of very simple and predictable passwords. Employees often set passwords like ‘password123’, ‘name. birthdate’ that can be guessed without much effort. Malevolent attackers can gain access to sensitive information of the organizations that use a single sign-on system. This makes meticulous password protection indispensable, as a strong, unusual password can deter attacks to some extent. Also, there should be different passwords for different login credentials.

• Using Insecure Devices & Networks – With the proliferating BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) culture, devices are increasingly being connected to networks of the company. Often, employees neglect the company’s security measures and go ahead with downloading stuff and applications. It becomes easier for the third parties to exploit the company’s sensitive information when insecure applications are introduced into the company’s network. Also using unknown network sources and Wi-Fi connections is a serious threat to information.  These risks can be extenuated by adhering to minimum security standards on all devices connected to the company’s network.

• Opening Junk E-mails – Email attachments sent by people you don’t recognize and have an illegitimate domain are more likely to be a spam or malware. To prevent any information loss, immediately send the email to your email administrator for verification. Also do not forward the email to anyone else in the organization as that may increase the chance of a malicious attachment being clicked accidently.

• Unnecessary Users – More the number of users who have access to sensitive information, more are the chances of security breach. User privileges should be given to few trusted members only. 

• Negligence in handling Sensitive Information – Employees are unable to remember passwords and login credentials for various programs, and delinquency in handling them can pose serious threat to company’s informational sources. Having no passcodes or same passcodes that pass on for years is risky. Printing sensitive information, writing down passwords on sheets, whiteboards or Sticky notes can cause a serious Security Havoc.

• Disabling Security Features – Some employees intentionally disable the security features. If these employees have access to administrative privileges, then it can be deleterious to the crucial information on the company’s network. To prevent this, it is important to educate users about security measures, their purpose as well as the terms and conditions.

• Clicking on Advertizements – It is an Ad-Mad world, but in the plethora of online advertizements, not all ads are harmless. Clickbait advertizements often lead to a site with malware, making it easier for the attacker to access sensitive information and database. Educate your employees about how to identify ads which have dubious content.

• Phishing Bait – Phishing is done to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising as a trustworthy site. Employees must be vigilant and should open only those links and attachments that come from a trusted sender. One can also check URL of a webpage before entering any login credentials.

Follow these simple security hacks as a part of cyber security defense mechanism -

• Imparting data security training and awareness to employees.
• Installing data loss prevention software.
• Full encryption of devices.
• Minimizing Access rights and privileges

We, at Centex Technologies, provide IT security solutions to all types of business firms. For more information, call us at (972) 375 – 9654.

Cloud technology has brought a paradigm shift which has helped small business enterprises to change their approach and to operate more like a large firm. Today, this technology is being adopted and incorporated by business houses who are excessively leveraging it for their benefit.

Adopting cloud technology is highly advantageous but there are certain things that need to be considered to ensure that the migration is successfully done. Poorly planned or haste cloud adoptions can pose security risks or may disrupt the whole business process. According to Forbes Technology Council (FTC) member Tyler Shields, “When it comes to cloud adoption, the biggest challenge isn’t technology — it’s the people and processes that must change and adapt.” So, migrating to cloud is a challenge in itself.

To avoid unnecessary hitch and snag, here are some things to consider for the enterprises progressing to cloud –

• Choose The Correct Cloud Option - The best cloud option is the one that suits your needs and budget. It should be secure, scalable and flexible.
• Viability Of The Vendor – Consider the viability of the cloud vendor before adopting the cloud technology. Check out for the financial capacity of the vendor to ensure his ability to grow when your organization needs expand with time. Also check the facilities and options provided by the vendor.
• Plan In Advance – As often quoted, “Failing to plan, is planning to fail.” So plan out the transition well in advance. An informed decision regarding what to migrate and when to migrate is crucial. Companies should carefully examine their IT infrastructure, systems, needs and usage to determine the best cloud services as this helps in saving time and money by reducing the unnecessary burden of offloading. Businesses that plan out their activities can experience a better and smooth cloud adoption.
• Data Back-Up – Once it is decided what and when to migrate, the next important thing is to back up the data before the actual migration starts. This is vital to avoid any loss of important information and easy recovery. 
• Consider The Challenges – The Company must consider the challenges that pose a threat to security. They must determine the security layers that exist and how can the cloud vendor protect the data from viruses, hackers and theft. If the data is not secure then it would ultimately lead to wastage of time along with added costs. 
• Ensure Necessary Infrastructure – Prepare for the necessary IT infrastructure at the workplace to make the cloud adoption and migration process smooth and easy. 
• Performance Check Before Transition – Before the business transits the data, it is important to check how apps will perform in their new environment.
• Co-Existence – It is important to consider the impact of migration as it might result in downtime and disruption. To reduce the risk, Co- Existence must be ensured as a gradual shift is more beneficial, that leads to increase in productivity particularly avoiding any problems and disruptions.

So before the business decides to progress towards cloud adoption, the above mentioned factors must be considered to experience a smooth cloud adoption. For more considerations , contact Centex Technologies, call at (972) 375 – 9654.