IT Expert Voice

Centralized identity management makes life easier, and reduces support and licensing costs.

Identity management is usually thought of in terms of security. By properly assigning passwords, permissions, and such, you can help to protect your company’s computers from data loss and other bad stuff. But a well-managed identity management program can also help cut IT costs. READ MORE

Server virtualization saves money and power, but that doesn’t mean you should virtualize everything. Some resources should be left alone.

“Because we can” is a lousy reason to virtualize a server.

Yet in a surprising number of cases that’s what the argument for virtualizing a particular server boils down to. The company has a virtualization initiative under way and that server is just sitting there, so . . .

While the advantages of server virtualization are undeniable, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to virtualize every application and every server in the data center. In fact, in some cases, using virtualization is asking for trouble. A “virtualize everything” policy can cause many problems, including degraded performance, support headaches, increased licensing fees, and sudden lack of support from software vendors.

One of the tricks in a successful server virtualization program is to know what you don’t want to virtualize – and why not. READ MORE

Two-factor authentication, especially in the form of smart cards, is the next logical step in improving computer security. But adopting two-factor authentication on most computers has been stalled by the lack of operating system support. Windows 7 makes using smart cards much simpler. READ MORE

In earlier Windows versions, USB ports were a significant security vulnerability for enterprise computing. Windows 7 has several USB enhancements and has made flash drives fully manageable. Here’s what you need to know.
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