Linux, Apache Platforms

Linux/Apache as a platform has been doing web-based networking, backed by large-scale community development, for a long time. The most mature SPAM filters , email handlers, RSS tools, web data-miners, and web automation tools are Linux/Apache based. For those tasks, that’s what we may recommend. These services or components can be integrated easily with Microsoft Exchange and other Microsoft servers and systems.

Are we talking about “Open Systems” or “Open Software”?

No. We’re really trying to discuss the important business move toward open architectures. Enterprise or service architecture is not related to “open systems” or “open software”. For open systems, think “UNIX-like systems which have been standardized”. For open software, think free Linux software, free licensing, and community development.

Is Linux more “open” for business software architectures?

No. What matters are your software applications, not your systems. Linux is important, however, because most of the web runs on Apache web servers running on Linux, and the internet (worldwide) and intranet (corporate) ARE vital to open architectures.

Written by Keith Mitchell, Senior Developer at NSKinc

Open Architecture and Services

Service oriented architecture is a design of business systems where applications which store, manipulate, or use data, provide a mechanism or service to other applications in the system, for getting at that same data.

An open architecture is a business system where applications “expose” what they do, and the data they use, to other applications or network services.

Web Services started a lot of things (moderately well). A web service is a web page that another computer can go to, to get information. It’s that simple. By the time web services were popular in certain functions (weather info, product vending by middleware and B2B, and stock quotes), they had been very standardized and defined. That standard was clumsy to implement and was sometimes too slow for the speed of business. Much work went into creating lightweight wrappers for the data which was given out by web services, so that they would be fast. SOAP is a very lightweight data container for web services data.

What’s good about SOAP and web services? Data wrapped in a SOAP wrapper can move like a text file across networks, through firewalls, from a Windows machine into a Linux machine into a Mac, and then into a library mainframe. Data can be easily taken from one database and added into another, or made into a report. This was revolutionary several years ago. Web services tell other computers what they do (what “service” they provide) and what data to expect. However, the expected explosion of computer-consumed data didn’t happen with web services, except in some e-commerce and distributed corporate environments.

Why not? New and better ways are always being created for software
systems to become more open. This is a very important benefit to corporate software customers because new functionality can be added inexpensively, Have you noticed how quickly RSS newsfeeds became widespread? Compared to SOAP web services, RSS is very fast and easy to work with. Similarly, AJAX, without any SOAP wrappers at all, has been used to replace web services. RSS and AJAX are not just “Web 2.0”. They could be referred to as “Web Services 2.0”, as well.

Written by Keith Mitchell, Senior Developer at NSKinc

Open Services - The Only New Idea

Gone are the days that the DEC computer in the sales department won’t talk to the IBM in finance. Computers can talk to each other. But pulling an RSS feed into a system on a different server can still take time (and cost money).

What if applications talked to each other so easily, that you could expand your software by plugging on new pieces? Modern software design takes the first two foundations of scalability (open communication, robust expansion) and combines them.

The revolution in enterprise software has come from expanding complex systems, by developing task-specific pieces, which communicate easily. To grow, you develop applications to perform a particular service, or you buy them, and then someone plugs them in and they work.

Written by Keith Mitchell, Senior Developer at NSKinc

Enterprise and Architecture: Scalable Software

"Scalable software doesn’t blink when you add 10 users, doesn’t slow when you add 200,000 records, and won’t crash when you request from NSK 20 more features than it is currently doing."

Sometimes, “enterprise” software is simply software that has enough features for a large business. Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise is feature-filled. An average developer, faced with the challenge of writing a complex application, may believe “enterprise” means complex. But to a good developer, “enterprise” simply means “scalable”. Software which scales, expands as it is required to do so.

Enterprise means that when you program good user security on a database in accounting, and then put a similar database in another department, the two will be able to talk to one another, while still using that good security (instead of, in spite of that security).

Enterprise means that “3/14/2008” means “March 14” in New York, yet won’t crash a server in London because there’s no third day of the 14th month. Truly Enterprise software requires very high quality architecture—it needs a careful design, which is documented, and which has been well considered. Software which is architected, or designed, to be scalable, has three very important features.

Scalable software can talk to other software easily. Scalable software can be expanded easily. And scalable software is faster than it needs to be, or as fast as is presently possible with technology. Almost all the big buzzwords in business technology have to do with scalability.

Written by Keith Mitchell, Senior Developer at NSKinc

Corporate Technology Buzzwords

Let’s examine some of today’s corporate technology buzzwords, to discover any
common principles for corporate software development. We’ll provide guidelines for investing in custom development of business tools.

To do this, we’ll take apart Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Portals, Open Source and Open Architecture, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and Web Services. We’ll clarify Web 2.0, XML, SOAP, AJAX, and SQL. We’ll see if Microsoft’s got anything new which may make our decisions easier. We’ll unravel .NET and the “Windows vs. Web” dilemma. We’ll briefly explain Apache, Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby on Rails, and then we’ll talk about what has happened to Java, J2EE, and Oracle, and what is happening to tools such as Delphi and 4D.

Lastly, we’ll describe NSK's internal goals for long term software investment, and we’ll explain why our total cost of maintenance on a software application is low, only when our client’s total cost of ownership is low. We’ll show you how business buzzwords happen.

Written by Keith Mitchell, Senior Developer at NSKinc

Small Business IT

Make IT Work for You

Utilizing information technology at your company shouldn’t be a burden on you. It should help you run your business more efficiently. Although this is the way things should be, some implement information technology and are unsure how to use it to make it work for their business.

Some dwell over and fear IT with the preconceived notion that its complexity will ruin their business, so they fail to adopt any IT system. So often people let their fear blind them of the wonders that IT can work for their businesses.

IT is great for communications and cost effectiveness. It gives you a competitive edge, especially if you’re in an industry that doesn’t use IT as a crucial part of daily operations.

A few examples of how you can use IT even if you own a very small business:

Manage your supply chain, and keep track of when your orders are shipped

• This enables you to make sure the vendors you use are providing you with the best service possible, so you can have new inventory in on time to best serve your customers. This also makes it easy for you to keep track of what you’re personally shipping from your business.

It allows you to keep business going after office and store hours end

• Having a website that enables customers to browse and place orders when your business closes for the day or even when they are unable to make the trip in person can make a significant difference in your profitability.

Measure Your Business’ Performance

• Record sales into databases and use performance metrics to indicate how well your business is doing over difference time periods. This also helps analyze trends during promotional campaigns and business changes to help you understand why business is picking up or slowing down.

Customer Relationship Management

• Use CRM to retain contact information and customer preferences to maintain relationships. This makes searching for addresses and phone numbers much easier, as well as sending out newsletters, e-mails, updates and promotions.

Written by Melissa Cocks

Compliance for 201 CMR 17.00 is going to take a little time... We have written out a Guideline for your Timeline!

201 CMR 17.00: Standards for the Protection of Personal information of Residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

"This regulation implements the provisions of M.G.L. c. 93H relative to the standards to be met by persons who own, license, store or maintain personal information about a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." (Purpose MGL c 93H)


August
Designate an Information Security Officer - You will need to designate at least 1 person at your place of business who will maintain the comprehensive information security program. Finding that person now, will help get the rest of the items in line for when they need to be done. You can get a compliance checklist at: 201 CMR 17.00 Compliance Checklist


September

Start Assessing Your Information:

1. Identify the paper, electronic and other type records, including storage media, laptops and portable devices that contain personal information.**
   


2. Check all anti-virus and security patches on all computer systems and servers -- make sure they are up to date.**
   a. Check that you have reasonably up-to-date versions of system security agent software (including malware protection)**
   


3. Identify what "personal information" moves around your business and out of your office including:**
   
   a. healthcare/insurance information
   
   b. benefits/401K information
   
   c. Accounting/Tax information
   
   d. Employment and Credit Applications
   
   e. Checks and credit card information
   


4. Identify persons who need to see the "personal information" and those who do not.
   


5. Identify where encryption for personal information is needed.**
   


6. Identify what third-party service providers your business may use that have access to personal information.
   


7. Identify reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks to paper and electronic records containing personal information.**
   


8. Identify any systems that are connected to the Internet and make sure the firewall protection for files containing personal information are up-to-date.**

October

Purchase any hardware or software upgrades that are needed**

Get control of user IDS and other identifiers**

Come up with a reasonably secure method of assigning/selecting passwords for users**

Start developing your WISP (Written Information Security Program) making sure that you include:

a. Administrative, technical and physical safeguards for Personal information protection

b. Make sure that your WISP is applicable to all records containing personal information
about a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

c. Any identified and reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks to paper and electronic records

d. Regular and ongoing employee training, and procedures for monitoring employee compliance

e. Disciplinary measures for violators

f. Policies and procedures for when and how records containing personal information should be kept, accessed or transported off your business premises

g. Processes for blocking terminated employees physical and electronic access to personal information, including deactivating their passwords and user names

h. Steps taken to verify third party service providers access

i. The length of time that you are storing records containing personal information.

j. Specifically the manner in which physical access to personal information records is to be restricted

k. Whether you are storing your records and data in locked facilities, storage areas or containers and the security measures taken to keep these areas secure

l. Actions and documenting that is taken in connection with any breach of security

November

1. Install all hardware and software upgrades**


2. Test policies that have been written


3. Start Training Employees on new policies


4. Finalize WISP

December

1. Finish Training Employees
   
2. Send out WISP Policy to all Employees and get signatures from all, verifying they understand and will comply

January 1, 2010 and beyond

1. Continue monitoring your systems and procedures**


2. Continue providing training to new and existing employees


3. Update policies as required


4. Assure all computers and servers remain up-to-date with patches and anti-virus software**
   

**There are many intricate requirements and rules involved with this law that have left many companies in Massachusetts with questions. NSK Inc. has formed a knowledgeable team to better assist with clarifying this law. If you have questions please fill out this form or contact:Danielle Carroll at 617.303.0480