PLUSS Corporation Newsletter December 04 - Archived newsletters are here

PLUSS Corporation Newsletter December 04

1.) PLUSS Corporation News Page. 1

2.) PTM - Quick Tips Page. 1

3.) Running PTM through Internet communications Page. 2

4.) Control & Effective Management of your Business (Part IV of 8) Page. 3

5.) GLBA compliance Seminar - FREE Page. 3

6.) Product Showcase for December Page. 3

1.) PLUSS Corporation News

PLUSS Corporation would like to wish everyone, "Happy Holidays!"

PLUSS Corporation will be closed December 24th.

With today's information security concerns, we have found that there is a lack of available resources for those in the heavy-duty trucking and automotive industries. As pointed out in the December issue of Successful Dealer, the GLBA is becoming a growing concern. PLUSS Corporation is offering a free 1-day GLBA educational seminar February 18th 2005 for those in the heavy-duty trucking and automotive market segments. Due to limited seating, an RSVP must be received by January 21st 2005 and include the amount of people scheduled to attend. This will help become familiar with the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act of 1999 and how to become compliant from a business standpoint. You can find more information about the GLBA on the Federal Trade Commission’s website at www.ftc.gov.

PTM users that attend will receive a free set of security policy and procedure templates to help them become compliant.

Jeremy Martin recently became a member of OISSG and has contributed to the Information System Security Assessment Framework (ISSAF) to help build an international standard for information security auditing and testing practices.

2.) PTM - Quick Tips

REMINDER: Clients with fiscal year-ends to close. These tips will save time and frustration

*** Backup the PTM data before year-end. Use multiple backup methods (CD, ZIP, Network, etc…)

*** Copy the payroll files to the prior year directory

*** Update PTM before running through W2s this year. The federal form has changed and now prints differently

*** Run Verify income and write off bad debt before doing the year-end process

Did you know that PTM has an easy to use Inventory Maintenance Count Sheet and update utility to make your Physical Count on Inventory easier this year?

Click on the following link to access instructions: http://www.pluss.net/htmlsupport/c/ftic.html

3.) Running PTM through Internet communications

There has been a lot of interest in running PTM over the Internet. Like any software, this is a viable option. However, keep in mind that the Internet is a very volatile backbone. It is great for running applications that only use submission-based input like a simple web page. There are many options for connection and some guaranteed a 99.9% uptime, but these can be pricey. Connections with this quality of service include T1, T3, Fiber, Frame Relay, and ATM. More common connections such as xDSL, ISDN, Modem, and Wireless do not offer that sort of service. Once you understand the risk of a "disconnect" from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and what that entails, life will be less stressful if this is the route you choose. There are several options to choose from, but using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is suggested for security reasons. Without using VPN technology, your network traffic will be open to the rest of the world.

1. Telnet Server

a. Telnet connections take very little bandwidth, and are specifically designed for dos applications. This needs a VT400 emulation for PTM. Pragmasys.com is a great Terminal emulating telnet server.

b. You can run a full screen PTM session over broadband like the server is next to you.

c. The downside to this is, each time it connects, the telnet server starts a dos session. If the connection breaks, the session is no longer available. If you are in the middle of a work order, all data not posted to a PTM database will be lost.

d. One click PTM access through icon to a script. This will allow you to automatically connect, log on, and enter PTM with only a double left click on one Icon.

2. Terminal Server/Citrix Server (Most suggested)

a. Terminal connections also take little bandwidth. Most terminal servers will not allow full screen dos (PTM runs in a window.)

b. You can run a PTM session over broadband like the server was directly in front of you

c. You can log back into the same session and not lose data.

d. Most secure option for this type of communications

e. Expense may vary depending on software and hardware used

3. PcAnywhere (Suggested for remote administration or 1-on-1)

a. Takes up a lot of bandwidth.

b. Takes up two computers for every PTM run at a remote location.

c. You can log back into the same session and not lose data.

4. VNC (Suggested for remote administration or 1-on-1)

a. Takes up a lot of bandwidth.

b. Takes up two computers for every PTM run at a remote location.

c. You can log back into the same session and not lose data.

The other connection option is a point-to-point connection. This does not use the Internet as a backbone, and is the most stable WAN (Wide Are Network) around. A point-to-point can use many different bandwidth connections such as T1, T3, Fiber, Frame Relay, and ATM. Telnet is less risky, because there is rarely a connection break. You can also have Internet connection at one site and allow all other locations to utilize that Internet connection throughout the network. Example, A remote store 100 miles away could access the Internet through the main stores wireless connection at the speed of the slowest connection (point-to-point or wireless). If the Wireless came in at 5 Meg download, and the point-to-point connection was only 1.5 Meg, then the remote location would be able to access the Internet at 1.5 Meg. This way of networking is a lot more stable, secure, and reliable. The downside is that equipment is usually more expensive. The connection is usually cheaper than the Internet equivalent. An Internet T1 would cost the price of a point-to-point T1 plus the Internet connection charge.

Jeremy Martin CISSP, ISSMP, ISSAP, CEI, CEH, CCNA, Network+, A+

Director of Communications

MISCELLANEOUS

4.) Control & Effective Management of your Business (Part IV of 8)

Last month I left you four words to ponder and not forget: Potential, Action, Outcome, and Belief. You may need to go back and review the last 3 newsletters to get your mindset in stride with this month’s powerful message. The subject this month is:

SETTING AN OUTCOME

The process of predetermining results is called setting an outcome. Without realizing it, we all set an outcome daily without even realizing it! An example might be that in the morning we will drive the same route that we know will get us to work at the right time. But what happens if we run into construction or the road is closed while on our way? Do we abandon our outcome of getting to work on time and turn around? Of course not, we still need to get to work so we readjust our route. The simple reality is that if we didn’t care about getting to work on time (or at all for that matter) we would simply sit and wait for the construction to be done!

Deciding an outcome will be very difficult if you have low belief in yourself and your company from the start. All too often owners will focus on putting out fires instead of figuring out what caused the fire to begin with. Many business owners are just happy to get through another day without the business falling apart around them. In these cases almost every day ends with a successful outcome. The problem with these types of outcomes is that they only achieve a marginal amount of success and very rarely leads to a successful company.

Setting outcome is extremely important so you can build solid business plans. Working from the "seat of your pants" without a plan will leave you unprepared for obstacles that will certainly pop up. Building a solid business plan must include input from the people in the "trenches", your employees. Understanding that employees need to be ready to accept change and help implement new plans is crucial through the planning stages. Teamwork is a must or you will end up with one or more employees that will resist change and that can cause failure in action. They will have no belief in your plan, their potential will be lowered and they will not have any vision of the outcome. By including employees, you create allies in creating positive change, not enemies that will sabotage your plan.

Building leadership and trust in your staff will certainly make a big difference in how your plans are executed. It is key to consider "balance" for your company through the planning stages too. To consider only employees while setting outcome and taking action will cause the rest of your company to become unbalanced. What does this mean? There are 7 key segments that make up a successful company and attenuation daily of all areas of your company will maintain balanced growth and overall positive results. These seven areas are critical and will be the focus of the January 2005 newsletter.

Until then, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Kenny Nau, Director of Sales

PRODUCTS AND SALES

5.) GLBA compliance Seminar - FREE

As noted in the company news section, PLUSS Corporation is offering a free 1-day seminar covering GLBA compliance. This seminar will be held Friday, February 18th 2005. The attendee should leave with an understanding of their industry responsibilities and tools to help become compliant with the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act of 1999.

6.) Product Showcase for December

PTM Echelon Suite will offer a spell check module. There are two levels of this new option. First module enables the PTM Echelon Suite to spell check entry fields within the program. The next module adds the ability to spell check the ES Timeclock program. Call our sales department for more information at 1-800-835-9609

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PLUSS Corporation

5565 Hwy 2 West

Columbia Falls, MT 59912