The last year brought its share of triumphs and challenges for Providence, and we wanted to take a moment to remember some of the important changes that occurred.

The company added several outstanding employees to our staff of IT professionals. Markief Eddins joined us at the tail end of 2011 as a Level 3 Tech. His breadth of experience and deep knowledge of IT infrastructure and server and network systems filled a much needed role, and enabled greater overall efficiency by allowing other members of the senior staff to shift their focus and concentrate on other critical tasks.

Anthony Latunski joined the team in January as our new Business Development Manager, and has very quickly made himself an indispensable part of the team, as well as become a familiar face to most of our clients. His successful efforts have boosted nearly every facet of our business, and provided a greater level of communication with our clients.

Tim Johnson is at once one of our oldest and newest employees. Tim worked with Providence from 2007 until late in 2011, when he left to pursue another opportunity. We gladly welcomed him back to the team in November, where his skills and experience as a Level 3 Tech are helping to guide the company into next year.

Providence moved our headquarters in April, after a long search for the right location. While we loved being located in downtown Lansing, the move to Lansing’s west side has provided many benefits. We’re still working out the final details for the remodeling of the space that will be our future offices, but we’re happy in the cozy temporary space that we now call home. Best of all, being able to park right outside the front door means no long walks to the office in the rain, snow, or stifling heat, and no more feeding parking meters when our colleagues or clients come to visit. And since we’re located right off the freeway, our techs can be on location in many of our clients’ offices in mere minutes.

2012 will forever live in our memories as the year we lost Scott Zingery. Scott had been with Providence since nearly the beginning, and he shared work and life with Jeff, Tim, and Rick going back even before Providence was founded by Jeff in 2004. We’re still struggling to fill the gap that his absence has left in the company, and in our hearts. Please remember Scott and his family in your thoughts and prayers as you celebrate the holidays with your loved ones.

We can’t forget the most important part of our business – You! Our clients are the reason we are here, and we appreciate each and every one of you and look forward to continuing our relationship with you in years to come. Things are looking bright for 2013, and we expect to have great news to share with you in the coming months.

Thank you once again for the relationship we have with you and for allowing us to be your trusted IT professionals. We hope you enjoy the holidays and wish you a happy and prosperous new year.

Sincerely,

Jeff Dettloff

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.

While Rick Thering has been employed at Providence for only 4 years, he has roots with the company that span nearly two decades. As a long-time friend of Providence President (and Chief Problem Solver) Jeff Dettloff, Rick can claim 18 years of working closely with the Providence founder.

As the company’s Senior Engineer, Rick tackles many of the most difficult tasks we face, and teams with other staff members to help untangle vexing tech problems. During Rick’s tenure, the company has experienced tremendous growth.

“Since I joined the team,” says Rick, “we have increased our client base by a factor of ten.”

Rick’s specialties are Network Design and Troubleshooting, but he is a jack of all trades that can be found working in nearly any facet of the business at any given time.

“I love working with our clients, learning about what they do and helping them to make their jobs easier,” Rick explains. “It is really fulfilling to watch our clients succeed, and I help organizations do just that by showing them how to use the technology that is available to them to expand the business that they do!”

When he’s not busy troubleshooting network problems, Rick is devoted to his family.

“My wife and I spent the last 20 years raising three wonderful children,” he says. “Now that we have two of them off to college, we are starting to travel more. We did a trip this spring to Costa Rica where we toured the coastal region, and spent a couple of nights viewing a live Volcano. We also started a project this year to restore a classic car.”

How Rick Thering and Providence Consulting help Make Tech Easier for you?

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.

Anthony Latunski joined Providence in January of 2012 and soon found that he had very big shoes to fill. Despite the challenge, Anthony dug deep and put in the time and effort required to find success and now, nine months later, his effect on the company has been profound.

“My role at Providence,” says Anthony, “is to help businesses learn how to maximize their technology investments. Done correctly, this means improved efficiencies and lower operating costs.”

“I’m also working to consistently expand Providence Consulting into new fields of technology,” he continues. “For instance, we recently launched a pilot Social Media Management program to help make social media easy for our clients.”

Anthony’s amazingly diverse background makes him a near perfect candidate for this task. In his younger days he traveled extensively, including a summer traveling Europe and studying German.

“I am an adrenaline junkie,” he says. “I like anything that gets my heart racing. Skydiving, rock climbing, hang-gliding, rappelling, white water rafting. I even ran with the bulls in Pamplona.”

Professionally, he brings to the table an extensive background in outside sales, in a variety of industries. But his secret weapon might just be the three years he spent as a professional haberdasher.

Anthony explains, “I helped executives dress well.”

Clearly, the skills gained during this exposure to and experience with high-level businesspeople has transferred over to his work in business development. Anthony knows how executives think, and what makes them tick.

“Most business people are not technology people,” he says. “While they might not like to admit it, many don’t know what a gigabyte, megabyte, or megahertz is, nor do they care. All they know is they have a problem and they want a solution. My experience in sales has taught me how to uncover the real needs of the client and then look for technology to solve that problem.”

At Providence, our mission statement is “Making Tech Easy.” Anthony’s approach to serving our clients may be the ultimate expression of this mission.

“To me, ‘Making Tech Easy’ means I don’t have to know how something works, just that it does,” he says. “For example, I don’t care how Providence gets my voicemails to show up in my emails, and then gets my emails to show up on my phone. All I know is that I can be away from my desk all day and not miss a single email or important phone call.”

Anthony shares this approach with clients, to enable them to focus on doing what they do best – running their business.

“What I like most about working for Providence is how much everyone cares about doing what is right for the client,” he says. “We are always asking ourselves “Is what I am doing going to solve problems? Is this going to make technology easier?”

Anthony is driven by the desire to be the best at whatever he does, and to be a positive role model for his children.

“I am inspired by people who don’t let limitations hold them back from living,” he says. “My friend is in a wheelchair yet he drives, hunts, goes fishing, and even downhill skis! He has never let the fact that he can’t walk prevent him from doing anything that he wanted.”

How can Anthony Latunski and Providence Consulting help Make Tech Easy for you?

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.

Providence President Jeff Dettloff was profiled in the Lansing State Journal on Sunday July 1, for the Take5 segment within the paper’s business section.

As outgoing President of the Capital Area IT Council, Jeff has a bird’s eye view of the challenges facing the IT industry in the capital city. Check out the article to get Jeff’s viewpoints on the state of the industry, how to attract and retain talented workers for the Lansing area, and what the future holds.

Kevin Boley is one of Providence’s newest employees but he has very quickly made a place for himself within the company. Our customers and staff members appreciate his positive attitude and great work ethic.

Kevin worked as an electrician for 13 years. In 2009, his employer was forced to downsize due to the economic slowdown, and Kevin suddenly found himself without a job. Going back to square one and changing careers was an intimidating proposition, but Kevin found the support he needed from his wife Judy and their six children, and from the Michigan Works No Worker Left Behind program.

“I’ve been into computers since I was 14,” says Kevin. “My sister brought home a Compaq Portable Plus computer. It fit into a suitcase. I taught myself the BASIC programming language, and it’s been a part of my life ever since.”

Kevin decided to take the plunge and entered the 3-year Network Security program at Lansing Community College. He met Providence employee Jason Spicer while taking classes.

“I was really impressed with Jason and what I heard about the company he worked for,” continues Kevin. “I bugged him for two years until I heard Providence was hiring.”

Providence hired Kevin on a short term project in the Fall of 2011. When that three week project was complete, he walked into Providence president Jeff Dettloff’s office and said, “I’m done.”

Jeff said, “No, you’re not.”

Kevin was hired as a full time employee in October 2011 and has been a valuable asset ever since.

Kevin says, “There’s a great atmosphere here. People are extremely positive.”

“It means a lot to me to be a part of something bigger. I understand Jeff’s vision and I can watch it happening. With the economy being what it is it is great to see things like this.”

Expect great things from Kevin in the years to come!

Jeff Dettloff, Providence’s President and Chief Problem Solver, also serves as the 2011-2012 President for the Capital Area IT Council (CAITC). Jeff recently moderated a CAITC panel discussion on mobility and the connected workforce at this fall’s Greater Lansing Business Showcase. For the next few weeks we will be sharing the knowledge we gained from attending this panel.

How does the new mobility affect your business? Are you in the fast lane? Please share your insights and experiences.

“No one knows what the future holds.” This pearl of wisdom was one of the opening comments made by Bil Moore, one of our panelists and a technology consultant with Strategic Products and Services.

Bil is dead-on. There is so much happening in the IT market, so quickly, that both consumers and businesses are scrambling to keep on top. New products and services emerge daily, and much like how the emergence of Facebook quickly unseated Myspace, the mobile world is still very much anyone’s game.

Statistics show that there are actually more mobile internet devices – smart phones and tablets – on the internet right now than there are PC’s and laptops. Compare this to ten years ago when relatively few people even used text messaging, and being online while mobile meant lugging along a laptop and seeking out a coffee shop with a WiFi hotspot.

Now anyone can be online right from their phone, and the wireless carriers are becoming increasingly aggressive with smart phone marketing. Studies have suggested that there may be more smartphones in the US than standard phones by the end of 2011!

What does this mean to you? If you think about your customers, the people to whom you want to sell your product or service, chances are they are probably looking at your information on a mobile phone now. Is your website, and overall web presence, prepared for this change?

This is a new challenge for every business, not just those that are involved in the tech world. It’s no longer good enough just to have a website. The more mobile-friendly your website, and the more visible you are in services like Google Places and similar review sites, the more likely you are to have customers showing up at your door.

The only way to stay competitive is to get in the game and see where it leads. If you don’t keep up, if you don’t get in the game, your business is going to be taken by somebody else who does.

As Bil says, “the faster we get there, the more competitive we will be.” It’s time to step on the gas.

Jeff Dettloff is President and Chief Problem Solver at Providence, a Lansing IT Consulting firm.

As we begin the holiday season, we expect an upswing in the number of phishing attacks. Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an email message.

We encourage you to be especially aware of email messages from what seem like legitimate companies, even those with whom you may have done business. Many phishing attacks are camouflaged in this way, but are designed to install malware on your PC.

An example of a such a malicious email is shown below. This particular attack is active right now, and we have seen it affect users within the past couple of days. It appears to be from the US Postal Service, but holds a nasty surprise for anyone that opens the attached file.

We encourage you to be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading files from any emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. Phishing attacks can be unknowingly spread by family members and co-workers, if their email account is compromised.

If you would like more information, we highly recommend you read the How to recognize phishing email messages article available on the Microsoft Safety and Security Center website.

We wish you all a happy and safe holiday season!

“This cyber threat represents one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation.”

Howard Schmidt made this statement in December of 2009, shortly after he was appointed to the newly created position of White House Cybersecurity Coordinator. He was speaking about the advanced persistent threat against our critical information infrastructure, including cyber threats against our electrical grid, global supply chain, and our military. In the time since Schmidt’s appointment the US Government has taken significant action to analyze our weaknesses on a national level, and has made important steps toward appropriate policies to shore up our homeland security.

Examples of strategic policy initiatives dealing with cybersecurity include:

• Cybersecurity is being incorporated into the Obama Administration’s agenda as a key management priority.
• A national public awareness and education campaign is underway to raise awareness and enhance cybersecurity education in our schools.
• A cybersecurity incident response plan is in final draft and will be exercised in September, 2010.
• A draft cybersecurity-based identity management strategy and vision has been released for public comment.
• A privacy and civil liberties official has been designated to ensure that cybersecurity initiatives are undertaken with greater transparency and with careful attention to privacy and civil liberties.

Some tactical initiatives that are currently in progress:

• Federal civilian networks are being secured.
• The cybersecurity operations centers are being connected.
• A cyber counterintelligence plan is being implemented.
• The classified networks are being secured.
• Efforts are underway to better manage global supply chain risks.

In spite of the impressive progress by policy makers and US government agencies, cybersecurity in small and medium businesses (SMB) worldwide still poses a significant and ongoing challenge. In June of last year Symantec Corporation, a global leader in information systems security, released the findings of its 2010 Global SMB Information Protection Survey. The results indicated that 73% of the SMB companies polled were victims of a cyber attack in the past twelve months, and that thirty percent of those attacks were deemed somewhat or extremely successful!

That’s scary!

The report also indicated that respondents rank data loss and cyber attacks as their top business risks, ahead of traditional criminal activity, natural disasters and terrorism. Seventy-four percent of SMBs surveyed are somewhat or extremely concerned about losing electronic information. In fact, 42 percent have lost confidential or proprietary information in the past. As a result, all of the companies who have lost data have seen direct losses such as lost revenue, or have suffered other directly related financial costs.

Based on the May 2010 responses from 2,152 SMB executives and IT decision makers in 28 countries, the survey clearly shows that small and mid-sized organizations are facing increased risks to their private information. It also revealed that lost or stolen mobile devices present yet another significant data security issue for SMBs. Almost two-thirds of businesses polled had lost devices such as laptops, Smartphones or iPads in the past 12 months. And all of those polled have at least some devices that have no password protection and cannot be remotely wiped of their data to protect their confidential business information if the device is lost or stolen.

Security professionals unanimously agree that Information Security Awareness Training is a fundamental component of any cybersecurity protection plan. Providence strongly urges that business owners and managers raise the awareness of cybersecurity threats in the workplace through targeted employee education and ongoing reinforcement, with an emphasis on ongoing. Computer operators need to be smart, aware, and must use extreme caution when handling sensitive information or using devices that store that information.

Looking for some quick tips on what you can do to protect yourself and your company? The Symantec Education YouTube channel is a fantastic resource. There you will find a number of short videos that explain much of what you need to know about risks on the Internet and how to stay safe. These fun, non-technical videos discuss the ins and outs of Internet security in a way that is easy to understand and remember. Topics include Pests on your PC, The Underground Economy, Phishing, Botnets, and several others. The videos are also great resources for teens, young adults, and others who may be less Internet-savvy and who need to be educated about what to look out for and how to stay safe online.

Since we live in a world where virtually anyone with a computer is susceptible to modern cyber threats, we need to accept the shared responsibility of ensuring that our PCs and networks are secure, trustworthy and resilient. If we continue to make it easy for cyber criminals to steal bank account, credit card, and email login credentials, they will continue to profit from it, which funds their ability to develop new and innovative ways to attack. Please learn as much as you can about this important topic, and take action as soon as possible to improve your cybersecurity posture.

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.

When Joe arrived at his office that afternoon things were in chaos! He had noticed during his lunch meeting that he hadn’t received any new E-mail messages on his smart phone in over an hour. He thought this was odd, but the moment he set foot through the door, he knew why. A single emergency light lit his path as he approached the commotion taking place in front of the office supply closet.

Joe realized that he was about to have a bad day. A water leak caused by a plugged condensation drain had found its way into the ceiling above his company’s supply closet, which also served as the file server room. The water must have been pooling on top of the ceiling tiles for days before one tile caved in, causing a gusher of stale water to rain down on fragile technology and communications systems. Circuit breakers had immediately cut power to the lights and some of the office equipment, but it was too late. The damage was done.

As he looked for someplace to sit down and think, the weight of the problem began to sink in. As the senior account manager for a small but prominent financial services firm, Joe NEEDS his E-mail, he NEEDS an Internet connection, and he NEEDS access to customer files and records to do his job! This tiny water leak, having gone unnoticed for days, had instantly crippled his ability to serve his clients.

“Why couldn’t the ceiling have leaked on the shelves storing the pens and highlighters and paper clips?” he thought to himself. “Those items are cheap and easily replaceable. Why did it have to ruin our computer network?” He immediately got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he began to think about how much irreplaceable data might be lost. “This is NOT good!”

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the lights in the office came back on. Joe hadn’t noticed that his IT consultants had arrived, unplugged the water-damaged equipment and restored power. Work was underway to clean up the mess. Joe’s thoughts now went to how soon he could get back to business. His boss had worked with this IT consulting firm for years and had confidence in their ability to solve any problem, big or small. This was a BIG one, yet Joe was hopeful.

Fortunately, his firm had invested the time to develop a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan to deal with disasters such as this one. They recognized the potential consequences of a significant data loss. They had read and understood the study which confirmed that out of every 100 companies experiencing a “major loss” of computer records, 43 companies will never reopen, 51 will be closed within two years of the loss, and a mere 6 businesses will survive over the long-term. Joe’s firm had acted upon that knowledge and was now about to benefit from those efforts.

Joe couldn’t believe his good fortune! He watched with interest as the plan began to unfold. What he learned is that the firm’s IT support guys had put into operation a specialized data backup and virtual server appliance designed to reduce any server down time. The device had been located in another area of the office, away from the primary file server. The appliance had been backing up changes to data on the file server every 15 minutes since the day it was installed.

As a result, the appliance held an exact image of the file server just prior to the water disaster. It had also been moving that critical business data, in encrypted format, to an offsite file storage location every evening, just in case they needed to get access to the data from another location.

But that’s not all. The appliance was configured with modern virtual server technology which allowed it to be quickly reconfigured as a replacement server. The IT guys began that process immediately, and thirty minutes later this amazing appliance was operating as the company’s primary file server, running all of the applications and containing all of the data from earlier that day.

Joe would not have believed this remarkable story if he had not lived through it. Within an hour after walking into chaos, he was at his desk ready to begin reading E-mail and working with client data. There was still a wet mess in the supply closet, and he was a bit shaken by the drama, but Joe was on the phone, calling his best client. “Hey Kelly, what are you doing for data backup and business continuity? You’re not going to believe what just happened over here…”

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.

At Providence, our mission is to Make Technology Easier. We take this mission to heart as a part of our corporate culture, and we strive to ensure that it guides every decision that we make and action that we take.

This starts with the recognition that The Customer is the most important part of our business. As Information Technology (IT) Consultants, it is our job to take an interest in what our customers are doing and what their goals are. We can then find ways to take a burden off their shoulders, help them achieve their goals, and make their job easier.

Now You See It

Ask a Providence customer how we make this happen and you will get a lot of great answers. One is that we make sure that you know the best way to reach us when you need help. Our help desk support staff is available at any time to answer questions and respond to concerns, via phone, email, or our online customer portal.

When something does go wrong, we acknowledge your request for help as soon as possible and provide a realistic timeframe in which you can expect a response. We have found that a little extra effort and friendly communication can go a long way.

This includes follow up, too! Whether your needs are great or small, you can be sure that your Providence representative will keep in touch to make sure that the solution we delivered is performing as promised.

We realize that today’s computer systems are complex and that “geek-speak” isn’t a language that everyone understands. Because of this, we take great care to provide clear recommendations and deliver processes and procedures that are easy to understand and follow.

No IT technician knows how to do everything, and as much as we don’t like to admit it, sometimes we’re not the right person for the job. If one of our team members can’t find the right solution for your needs, we will help you find the person who can.

Now You Don’t

What our customers might not be aware of is the work that we do in the background to keep their business running efficiently. At the center of this is TechCare.

We take great pride in our TechCare system. TechCare is a suite of sophisticated technology and management processes that provides us insight into your computer systems, networks, and data backups so that you don’t have to worry about them. We constantly check that your systems are optimized for their best performance, and proactively take care of little problems before they become big problems. Plus, if there is a problem, we usually know about it before you do, meaning that you don’t even have to take time away from your work to inform us.

Probably the most important thing that happens behind the scenes is software patching and updates. Cyber criminals are constantly attempting to install malicious code into software programs that everyone uses, like Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, Java, and Flash players, in order to steal confidential information or take control of their target’s computer systems.

Microsoft, Symantec, Cisco, and all of our business partners release important updates and software changes nearly every day. Due to these constant, ever-evolving, and complex changes, effectively managing your IT resources means a commitment to ongoing training and learning. We work hard to keep on top of these new developments in order to provide the most up-to-date service, and TechCare takes the hassle out of keeping your systems patched and updated by allowing us to remotely manage your software.

All of this adds up to computer systems and networks that are more secure. For you, it means one less thing on your plate, less worry, and ultimately, peace of mind.

And it allows you to say the words that are music to our ears:

“Thank you for Making Technology Easier!”

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.