Workers in India struggle with work-life

An article on Silicon today discusses the impact that the outsourcing industry is having on Indian IT workers. The managed services industry through offshore service provisions has boomed in the last year, the article asks at what costs?!

The day-to-day experiences of managed service staff is continually changing, it is one of the most dynamic industries where employees will face new challenges daily. For many who have the training and developed an expertise their specialist knowledge is key to client's success and IT robustness. It's true that new graduates struggle to adapt to the full-time working culture, but that is true to say for any country or industry globally.

Inatech prides itself on its MAC support desk that operates 24/7 providing employees with a shift system that is flexible and ensures the team enjoys a work-life balance. The MAC teams cultural and religious diversity means that each employee takes their annual leave plus additional days to celebrate events.

Tamil Nadu pauses as election fever hits

As a centre for ancient culture and literature, it follows that Tamil Nadu is also a prominent player in national politics. Fittingly, then, thousands are expected to vote in the general elections there tomorrow (13th May).

33 candidates in a number of constituencies are in the running to represent their public, and to mark the occasion, the region will have a bank holiday to ensure that all of the electorate have plenty of opportunity to cast their vote.

Inatech’s Chennai offices, which are within the Tamil Nadu region, will remain closed for the duration of the day. Inatech’s managed services team, however, will be up and running throughout the day; businesses must go on despite the importance of this year’s elections.

Culture of ignorance threatens IT security

New figures released this week reveal that half of UK security managers are worried about end-users’ lack of security awareness.

A poll conducted by Infosex Europe of 700 security professionals reveals that the biggest concerns of security managers are a lack of security training for end-users, and an unsupportive company culture when it comes to security. Further, 46% of respondents have concerns over the poor understanding of employees over security policy, made worse by a lack of accountability over security.

A survey of security professionals stating that businesses do not have secure enough systems is hardly surprising, but these figures are all the more alarming when taken into account with the paper published by independent security expert group Jericho Forum this week. The paper stated that cloud computing has massive implications for security, and that the expansion of the cloud throws up all sorts of possible security breaches.

In amongst those security threats are loss of data confidentiality and integrity, which presents a major concern for businesses. The Jericho Forum advocates a thorough approach to security in cloud computing that starts from the beginning, rather than ad hoc solutions as and when problems arise.

When it comes to cloud computing, a holistic approach is necessary; there is no point implementing the technology without having networks secured first. Additionally, staff worldwide need to understand the security implications and maximise cloud computing. Perhaps most important of all is the need to continually ensure that, with all data stored in the cloud, it is safe. It is nearly impossible to ensure this without round-the-clock monitoring. Technology can only do so much human beings can ensure security is consistently working. The problem with automatic security alerts is they often come once the threat has entered the system too late to prevent data loss.

Security blogs:

http://www.itsecurity.com/blog/

http://www.itsecurityportal.com/

http://theitsecurityguy.blogspot.com/

http://newsteam.scmagazineblogs.com/

Tech keeps ticking while UK at standstill

The UK is at a standstill. The reported snow storms arrived over night to cover the country in over two-inches of white dust. All across Great Britain schools are closed, public transport is suspended and roads are off limits; that means business will be minimal.

With businesses operating remotely and workers at home on consumer broadband connections threats to security are greatly enhanced. Today many organizations will be trying to benefit from the cloud maximizing the benefits of vituralisation while the central office is closed. It is likley the UK will suffer greatly from financial loss during the course of today, however companies who have business continuity plans will greatly benefit.

At Inatech we have powered up our MAC service in Chennai to support all UK businesses. As customers utilise their networks and access to files externally to continue daily business operations, they can be reassured the networks will remain secure and continually operating.

Chennai closes for Pongal

Today Chennai comes to a halt to celebrate the Pongal Festival. Tamilnadu state in India is given two days national holiday, 14 - 15 January, to enjoy their version of 'thanksgiving'.

Thai Pongal (Tamil: தைப்பொங்கல்) is a harvest festival similar to a thanksgiving event celebrated by Tamils the world over. Pongal in Tamil means "boiling over or spill over." The act of boiling over of milk in the clay pot is considered to denote future prosperity for the family.

The event is celebrated during harvest time traditionally to associate the prosperity of the harvest by thanking the rain, sun and farm animals. The festival is at least 1000 years old although some believe it is older than 2000 years.

People wear new clothes, decorate their houses, congregate with family and friends. For More information definitely check out this link. Most of today Chennai city will be quiet as people flock to the beach and theme parks to make the most of this historical festival.

This leaves Inatech's MAC support team in their cock-pit providing the dedicated managed services to customers for 24/7 ongoing support.