Understanding the role of Information Technology in Regulations, Legislation, and Guidance

Technology has made implementations for small to midsize business more affordable than ever. With the technology implementations constantly evolving, the understanding of regulations and legislation for a particular business has become difficult and in some instances unmanageable for organization users that wear multiple "hats". Legislative bodies have been formed to assist with the requirements needed to maintain your business and minimize liability to you and your clients.

This post serves as an entry point for you to meet the legal technology related requirements for operating your business.

Industry	Standards and Legislation
Federal Government (non-DOD)	FIPS 199, 200, FISMA, NIST 800 Series, OMB A130 Appendix III
Department of Defense and other National Security Systems	DoD 8500.1 & 8500.2, DCID 6/3, DITSCAP,DIACAP
Health care	HIPAA, PCI
Financial institutions	GLBA, PCI
All publicly held organizations	Sarbanes-Oxley
Utilities	NERC,WISE
Education	FERPA, PCI

If you need further assistance with Information Technology compliance needs, please contact us to schedule a free consultation. We look forward to helping you maintain your business independence.

Call us : 1-855-974-7382

Mail us : sales@ripeva.com

5 Questions you should Ask Before Moving Email to the Cloud

Companies need the flexibility to deploy services in a private or public cloud depending on their unique needs or industry compliance requirements. In order to maximize flexibility and minimize the total cost of ownership.

If you are considering moving your email to the cloud, there are several questions to ask when deciding on which solution is right for your and your organization.

1. Can users access email both online and offline and on any device?

2. Is the platform based on an open, extensible standard?

3. What level of management support and security does your company require?

4. Does the vendor build on a modern, distributed and highly salable model?

5. What are your total costs, including software, infrastructure and operating expenses?

Cloud-based email solutions help companies meet growing expectations as well as cost reductions. It’s the next step for companies, and it’s one that will reward both employees and the bottom line.

If you need assistance, more information, or would like to schedule a free consultation, please give us a call at (855) 974-7382.  We look forward to helping you meet your needs.

What is HIPAA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system and requires many things, including the standardization of electronic patient health, administrative and financial data. In response to the original HIPAA law, Health and Human Services (HHS) published an additional regulation referred to as the Privacy Rule that relates directly to organizations involved in health care operations that transmit health information electronically.

Typical organizations covered by HIPAA include:

• health plans
• health care clearing houses (billing companies);
• health care providers (“covered entities”) that transmit health information electronically; and
• their business associates

The HIPAA Privacy Rule:

• Establishes conditions under which PHI can be used within a Covered Entity and disclosed to others  outside that entity;
• Grants individuals certain rights regarding their PHI;
• Requires that Covered Entities maintain the privacy and security of PHI.

HIPAA also establishes security and privacy standards for the use and disclosure of “protected health information” (PHI).

Security Testing Tip: ShieldsUP

The Gibson Research Corporation is a world renown organization and has freeware tools available to help you assess your public facing security. ShieldsUp is a tool that helps you identify areas of concern on your router.

Please visit their website to test your Internet connectivity security: https://www.grc.com/intro.htm.

• NOTE: RIPEVA is not affiliated with the organization in anyway. This post is for information purposes only.

Security Fundamentals: What is access control?

Access control provides the mechanism for ensuring that only authorized personnel can access certain organizational information.

• NOTE: As the value of the information to the organization increases, more strict access control mechanisms are needed.

Top 3 Open Source CRMs

1. SugarCRM Inc. is the 800-pound gorilla in the open-source CRM category. Founded in 2004 by John Roberts, Clint Oram and Jacob Taylor, the Sugar open-source code has been downloaded more than 3 million times. The company has received $26 million in venture financing and employs more than 100 people. More than 12,000 companies use SugarCRM including Honeywell International, Starbucks Corp., First Federal Bank and BDO Seidman LLP. SugarCRM is written in PHP and is compatible with the MySQL database.

2. SplendidCRM Software Inc.'s development team formed in November 2005. The application is built on the Microsoft platform (Windows, ISS, SQL Server, C# and ASP). Designed for system integrators, SplendidCRM allows administrators to add user-customizable features such as .NET 2.0’s Themes, Web Parts and AJAX. SplendidCRM is positioned as a competitor to SugarCRM, as the two applications share many of the same features. For instance, both offer an Outlook plug-in and the ability to add custom fields.

3. CentricCRM has been around for seven years and has achieved a great deal of stability and robustness. In June 2007, CentricCRM (renamed Concursive as of December 2007) received investment funding from Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel Corp. CentricCRM is aimed at the small-business market, although it has scaled up within Fortune 500 companies. Its more complex features can be turned off if they are not needed, and the administrative console allows for a great deal of customization. The free version comes with five user licenses. Centric CRM is written in Java and is compatible with MySQL databases.

What is a CRM?

1. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a system for managing a company's interactions with current and future customers. It often involves using technology to organize, automate and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.