How secure are mid-market companies? Where does your company fit?

It's a fact that small companies may report fewer intrusions simply because they often lack the means to detect them, and often are at greater risk because they lack security measures.

SMBs are responding by increasing the level of security spending from last year, but if these IT executives really want to sleep better at night, they should also focus on the tough task of changing the behavior of their employees.

Here are three findings about the state of security in the small-to-midsize business marketplace»

3 things you should always fake

This is an interesting column on three areas (email, phone and search engine) that you might want to fake.

Here's why»

IT Innovation. What top CIOs recommend - and how it can help you.

What's in store for IT, and where are we going? Sometimes the best way to gauge that commitment is to take a look at what other innovative people and companies are doing.

Here's what 5 of the most innovative CIOs are saying about IT innovation and where your focus needs to be»

Web design tip: A guide to color associations and how they help your web site

The colors you choose when designing your Web applications can make a difference between whether someone can read the text easily, whether it's a printable screen, even whether it puts them in a good mood.

Colors affect us in all sorts of ways, and the choices you make can be crucial to the success of your project.

Here is a basic guide to color associations that may help you when selecting a palette for your site.

Don't let large data files stymie your staff.

Large data files don't have to hurt performance or stymie your staff as one company discovered recently.

In trying to bring improved Business Intelligence to its end users they faced many challenges, not the least of which was the fact that their POS system was running outside their JD Edwards system, and the data wouldn't be combined until it hit general ledger. Additionally, they didn't have any developers on staff.

How could they bring Web reporting to their users, and do it effectively, when their datafiles were growing at 600,000 records a day? Here's how they did it»

5 Strategies you can use to have a world-class IT organization

After analyzing benchmark data from more than 2,100 companies including all but one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrials, a research group found that world-class IT organizations-those that achieve peak efficiency and effectiveness-spend 7 % more per end-user on IT operations than typical companies, but on average, earn that amount back fivefold in lower operational costs.

Here are 5 key IT strategies to allow you to gain that maximum impact»

Application Tip: Create powerful Web application from desktop spreadsheet

What company doesn't have users working on desktop spreadsheet programs? They help make users more self-sufficient and productive, which is great, and they take the pressure off of IT. It's a win-win.

But, when it becomes impossible to secure data or to know if the spreadsheet information you are viewing is as accurate and up-to-date as your neighbor's, it loses its luster.

But, now there's a new way end-users be self-sufficient and share information while doing away with security issues. Here's a quick presentation on how to give your people an easy way to turn that spreadsheet data into a powerful Web app.

Best Practices: The right way to secure wireless applications.

In a recent interview on wireless in the enterprise, a number of CIOs said securing the data on these devices was their biggest challenge. "Nothing can get on [wireless devices] unless we put it on," said one executive. "We lock it all down and keep it inside the enterprise and decide what goes out."

Of course, this puts a limit on the whole notion of the freedom wireless provides. And what happens if you lose the device with all that crucial data on it? Or it's stolen?

Emhart Glass's Alan Batchelor has a better solution.

The Top 10 dead (or dying) computer skills...

This Computerworld article has compiled the top 10 dead (or dying) computer skills. Where are you in the mix?

What if the most effective way to harness your current skills means achieving the end result without the painful means?