Welcome

Welcome to the March 2016 Edition of the Real Times.

Can you believe the start of Spring is less than 2 weeks away? Depending on where you live, you will welcome spring on either the 19th or 20th of March. This is the earliest arrival of spring since 1896! This all has to do with year 2000 being a leap year. For more information on this go to "The Earliest Spring of our Lives".

Along with spring time comes a less favorite ritual, tax filing! This month we have a piece on the do's and don'ts to help keep you secure when filing online. We have also included a timely commentary on Business Continuity. And if your business has multiple branch offices, you may find the article on online meeting software to be worth your time.

One last advisory, if you didn't change the battery in your smoke detectors over this past weekend when you moved your clocks forward consider doing that today. A fresh battery will prevent that annoying chirp at 2:00 AM and more importantly, may save your life in an emergency.

That's it for this edition of the Real Times. See you in May.

John Azzinaro
And the Real Time Team

  March 2016
In this issue. . .
Welcome
7 Dos and Don'ts of Secure Online Tax Filing
8 features you didn't know you needed for online meetings
Seven Ways to Start Your Business Continuity Plan
Business Continuity Tip
Just for Laughs
 

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John Azzinaro, COO -
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Mike Cray,
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Bob Larsen,
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Just for Laughs

Quote of the Month

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.

- Audrey Hepburn
7 Dos and Don'ts of Secure Online Tax Filing
used with permission from Norton by Symantec
by Nadia Kovacs


Online fraud is one of fastest growing crimes of our time. The ability to be anonymous, and the fact that it can be performed anywhere in the world makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for law enforcement to curb it.

As online fraud continues to grow, an unfortunate number of American citizens might face this scenario: It's tax season, and you are getting your paperwork together in order to file your taxes. During the process you receive an email from the IRS stating "Congratulations on filing your tax return." This is a normal email you would expect after you file taxes, however, the email has arrived before you even filed! As for the refund you were supposed to get, it's probably made its way into the hands of thieves and fraudsters.

Read more


8 features you didn't know you needed for online meetings
used with permission from Microsoft Office Blogs

When it comes to business communication, face-to-face meetings are always a popular pick. But with company branches scattered across the country—and often, the world—virtual meetings are becoming a frequent choice. Not only can online collaboration save time, but money as well. In fact, according to Verizon Conferencing, virtual meetings between five or more people are at least seven times less expensive than face-to-face meetings that require travel. That's why every organization, whether small or large, should invest in reliable virtual meeting software.

There are several free options available today, but in order to have the best online collaboration possible, companies should look for providers offering a rich selection of features. Many believe they'll be just fine with decent picture and sound, but having a variety of impressive features can make all the difference between effective virtual meetings and those that are a waste of time.

Here are eight features you should keep in mind when selecting virtual meeting software:

Read more


Seven Ways to Start Your Business Continuity Plan
used with permission from SBA.gov
by James Rivera


So far this winter we've seen deadly tornadoes in Texas, severe flooding in Missouri and 12 other states along the Mississippi River, unusually powerful storms in Southern California that brought 70 mph winds and heavy rains, and a massive two-day blizzard that dumped more than 30 inches of snow from the Mid-Atlantic to southern New England.

Small business shutdowns were a common denominator for many of these disasters. The Washington, D.C. metro area was literally forced to shut down during the Jan. 22-24 blizzard. Nearly a week after the storm, area residents and small businesses were still digging out.

Read more


Business Continuity Tip
Never Too Early to Prepare for Spring

Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow - prompting chatter that an early spring is in the forecast. And while the accuracy of Phil's predictions may be questionable, the fact always remains: it's never too early to plan for what's ahead.

As we've seen over the years, the best time to prepare for severe weather — and any disaster for that matter — is always before they occur.

Use these next few weeks before spring arrives to get a head start by checking out 9 Ways to Prepare for Spring Weather, for things you can do right now to ensure your employees and organization are ready for spring!
 
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