Wasatch Software Names New Director of Technology

Wasatch Software is pleased to announce the hiring of Nathan Taylor as Director of Technology. Beginning April 1, 2009, Nathan will oversee the technical services division of Wasatch Software, which includes onsite IT services for customers along Utah’s Wasatch Front, as well as remote support and services for our national customer base.

Nathan brings a wealth of technical and leadership experience to Wasatch Software, and immediately enhances our ability to deliver quality services to our clients. Over the past 15 years he has managed sites of up to 1,500 users throughout the United States and Europe. Nathan’s systems administration and implementation experience is quite diverse. He is well versed in Windows, Linux, Unix, Solaris and Macintosh environments.

Wasatch Software continues to grow its technical organization to compliment our strong national resale business. Areas of technical expertise include network management, network security, virtualization, and data backup. All of us here at Wasatch Software welcome Nathan to our team, and look forward to what the future holds!

Conficker: Ticking Time Bomb on Your PC?

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If you watched “60 Minutes” last night, or if you pay attention to online security sites, then you are aware of the latest “super virus” known as Conficker. It also goes by the names Downadup or Kido and has infected at least 10 million systems, and maybe up to 350 million, worldwide.

The scary thing about Conficker is that it is currently laying dormant on affected systems. In effect, it is awaiting further instructions from its creator. These further instructions could be to try and steal personal and financial information, or blast out spam causing further infections and network outages.

The virus is set to check with its creator on April 1st for further instructions, so now is a good time to make sure your system(s) aren’t infected. What steps should you take?

1. Make sure you have up-to-date antivirus software installed and running. Symantec, Kaspersky and others are reportedly catching Conficker infections right now.
2. Make sure you have the latest updates for Microsoft Windows downloaded and installed. Do this by visiting http://www.windowsupdate.com/. Microsoft has released a patch that deals with Conficker.
3. Run a virus scan. Better safe than sorry, right?
4. Don't visit unknown sites or suspicious links, even if sent to you by a friend.
5. Check with our friends at 'threatpost.com' for additional information and news.

By following these simple steps you can potentially save yourself a lot of pain and heart ache. Certainly, feel free to contact our experts here at Wasatch Software if you have any questions or need assistance about any IT security issues. Thanks and have a great day!

Bet on Local Business

In these economic times it is more important than ever for businesses to focus on customers they understand, and customers who can understand them. What does this mean? Keep it local! Generally, other enterprises in our own locales not only face a similar business climate, but are also used to doing business the same way. They play by the same rules, if you will. This basic understanding can provide a foundation for a great relationship.

Additionally, one should also apply karma to the mix. For example, it would be hypocritical and even detrimental to seek local relationships without reciprocating. In these trying times a business should also seek to strengthen the local economy, and thus its own customer base, by procuring products and services from local vendors, even if it means spending a dollar or two extra.

Until last year, Wasatch Software had been primarily focused on building its national customer base. In 2008, we began emphasizing the growth of our local customer base. This has been a key factor in surpassing our revenues each month so far this year, as compared to the same month in all previous years. In turn, we have happily focused on procuring product from local vendors whenever possible.

Turning to Utah specifically, why is there a benefit to focus on our local market?
1- Utah tends to have a much more isolated economy than many other states in our union. Much of this is due to social, political, and policy issues.
2- Utah is known for its resiliency. This is highlighted by a few recent articles:
a. “Utah may see relatively fast economic recovery” by Brice Wallace (deseretnews.com)
b. “Utah Ranked #1 for Expected Economic Recovery” News Wire (utahbusiness.com)

That being said, let’s all do our part to strengthen our state by ‘keeping it local’!

Wasatch Software Receives 2009 Kaspersky ‘Rising Star’ Award

It was my pleasure to accept the 2009 Rising Star award at the Kaspersky Lab America’s Partner Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico last month. The ‘Rising Star’ award honors a Kaspersky partner who has displayed exceptional sales and growth over the past year, and was presented by Eugene Kaspersky (CEO, Kaspersky Lab) and Steve Orenberg (President of the Americas, Kaspersky Lab). Wasatch Software was among 4 partners in the United States who received awards.

Kaspersky themselves can also be considered ‘Rising Stars’ in the world of antivirus software and computer security. Over the past few years, they have gained plenty of market share in the United States to coincide with their already strong international customer base. This is largely due to the strength of their product when it comes to virus detection, virus neutralization, ease of administration, and license costs. All of this is certainly drawing attention from players in the I.T. industry, as well as competitors. Following is a breakdown of antivirus market share worldwide as presented at Kaspersky’s recent conference:

Company, Market Share (%)
Symantec, 40%
McAfee, 17%
Trend Micro, 6%
Kaspersky, 4 %
Others, 33%

Of course, Wasatch Software partners with all of the organizations listed above. However, in most cases we find ourselves recommending Kaspersky to our clients based on the best fit for their needs. Certainly let me know if you have any comments, or if we can be of assistance in regards to your perimeter or endpoint security needs.

Utah VAR Making Waves with Microsoft

In having lunch with our Microsoft rep yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Wasatch Software generates more revenue for Microsoft than any other partner in Utah, excluding LARs (Large Account Resellers). He also mentioned that we’re near the top of the list in the Western region, and are making waves nationally as we offer Microsoft volume licensing from coast to coast. I expected they’d send us a plaque or something for this, but it is yet to arrive (tongue in cheek).

We’ve also been gaining great traction with other partners including HP, Symantec, and Kaspersky. If we aren’t already a top revenue generating partner in our state for these vendors as well, we probably will be soon. Here’s hoping that this little fish becomes enough of a thorn in the side over time to those big fish that they want us out of their way!

Save Your Data from Godzilla!

Have you ever had issues with Windows Vista? Freezing, crashing, etc.? I hate to admit it, but I started experiencing such issues for the first time last week. I don’t blame this on Vista, mind you. I’ve been using this for months and months without any trouble and could never bring myself to go back to Windows XP. Thankfully, I was able to fix the issue by running some diagnostics and doing a little tweaking. However, this did underscore how happy I am to have a proper backup plan in place. You know, ‘just in case’!

Here’s a quick overview of scenarios that you could face and how to preserve your data in each situation:

• “Crap , my computer just imploded!”

You suddenly lose all of your data! Maybe your system just goes nuts, you are the victim of a crazy virus, or your hard drive bites the dust. Prevent this by backing up to a server, external hard drive, or some other device on your network.

• “Oh no, the building burned down!”

So, your home or office just got hit by a hurricane, Godzilla, or some other natural disaster. Hmmm… I guess the backup to the external hard drive isn’t much good now, is it?

Hopefully you have prepared for this travesty by using off-site backup. If you have just one or a few computers you can use one of the many online backup solutions out there. For instance, Wasatch Software partners with www.sbbackup.com. For larger networks, implement a backup strategy using Symantec Backup Exec or a similar product. Then, make sure you move that data to tape cartridges and take it off-site using a pick-up and delivery service such as Iron Mountain.

• “Stop! Thief! Someone just stole my laptop!”

Okay, you’re out on the town when a thief snatches your notebook. First, I hope you encrypted all of that data. Second, I hope you’ve been using offsite backup as previously mentioned.

• “Crap! My boss’ system just crashed. If he’s not up and running quickly I’m dead!”

This one is specifically for you I.T. guys out there. Our Symantec rep says it best. The top executives in every organization should always have Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery running on their system. This way, if their system crashes, you can easily restore all of the data and even system settings within about half an hour. What if your boss throws his system off the roof? That’s okay, too. As long as you have a backup system for him you can restore all of his data and settings to the new system, even if the new system has dissimilar hardware! This can also be used on servers that require maximum uptime.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little primer on data backup. Certainly let us know if you have any questions on the subject. Until next time!

Utah Business: "Forty under 40" List (2009)

Wow! What an honor to be named to Utah Business magazine's "Forty under 40" list, which recognizes 40 executives under the age of 40 making waves in our state. This is a list I have followed for a number of years, and have awed at the talent that is annually applauded.

This award is more a tribute to the talent and hard work or our team here at Wasatch Software than to me. Even during this economic downturn, Wasatch Software has been able to grow our revenues substantially, and we hope this will continue throughout 2009.

What are the reasons that we have been so successful in this economy, and have garnered awards of this nature?

• Our sales team has improved drastically in terms of taking good care of our customers. Kudos to Trevor Brandol for his efforts on this.
• Our relationships with key distribution partners have garnered better margins and more opportunities. Jake Boden has been and will continually work to improve this area.
• Our marketing efforts have been a huge success. Our team continues to find new ways to locate new customers and maintain existing ones. From web efforts to outbound telemarketing, we’ve been on target. Also, Danielle VanHorssen has been great in planning and managing our customer events, including our Utah Jazz event last November.
• We continue to raise our profile with key vendors based on our sales volume and growth. Some of these vendors include Microsoft, Symantec, Kaspersky and HP, among others.

Again, thank you to everyone on our team here at Wasatch Software (and also to Brandy Wilkins) for the work that you’ve done in helping me achieve this award. Also, thank you to everyone at Utah Business magazine. Be sure to pick up their January issue, or check out their website today!

Spencer Ferguson
President
Wasatch Software, Inc.