Kelly LaForest (Alumni)
Have you read Blogger James Pinkstone’s post “Apple Stole My Music. No, Seriously“? You should. Especially if you are a musician that is recording or producing your own music. (There’s a reason the computer tower used in our household for creating music is not connected to the internet .) Here’s the statement from James’ blog post that resonated with me: “When our data is finally a full-blown utility, however, “just don’t use the product” will cease to be an option. Apple will be in control, bringing their 1984 commercial full circle into a tragic, oppressive irony.” (Seriously , go read his blog then come back here to read the two cents I want to add to the conversation).
Technology requires a governance plan. Governance is a business/tech jargon word that essentially means ‘all of the processes that control and direct an entity’. To govern is to “conduct a policy” which boils down to taking action. If you plan to use a tech tool long term, assemble plan – a checklist of steps you will perform on a repeating cycle to ensure your tool will stay in peak performance. And the same goes for your data.
I see it every day – friends and family purchasing technology tools on mass, then treating them like a disposable items… expecting them to magically work without any effort or thought toward care and maintenance. You don’t buy a car then blame the mechanic or the tool’s creator when it breaks down, knowing you haven’t invested the time or money to have them perform an monthly oil change or annual maintenance checkup. Treat your technology toys like tools. And the same principal applies to your data.
Are you going to just dump your files into a container and let it grow until it’s bloated with clutter or will you curate your collection to ensure you have easy access to what matters most to you today?
Will you snap photos on your camera until your phone runs out of memory then cry when you lose your device or will you setup an auto-sync system to upload copies to a cloud storage location when you’re near WiFi access?
Can you trust a massive company to protect your data or will you make a plan to backup your files once a week onto an encrypted external drive that you lock up in a fireproof safe, just in case shit hits the fan?
Should you blindly click ‘accept’ on a company’s Terms of Use Agreements without reading them and transfer all risk of onto your shoulders to bare without a thought or will you implement a backup plan to ensure you don’t end up like James cursing at the Apple overlords who can’t offer a solution to the bind you find yourself in?
If any of the above statements trigger you to want to take action, but you’re feeling overwhelmed on where to start or what to do, give us a call at itgroove. We have a team of consultants, each with our own area of specialization/passion that spans a variety of applications, systems, platforms, and tools. We work together like a think tank to share and pool our knowledge – because one individual cannot know everything. We can work with you to identify what concerns matter most to you and form an action plan of solutions to keep your business’s business technology systems and your business’s data safe.
And if you’re a home user, everything mentioned above applies to you. Run your household like a small business can have an amazingly positive impact on your organization and personal assets.