by Holli Keyser

How would you like to work with a hero every day? That’s exactly what company Anchor Network Solutions (www.anchornetworksolutions.com) did when it hired the first CU Denver Boots to Suits student participant Tyler Heath.

Heath spent four years in the Army including a 20-month tour in Iraq as part of the infantry in the 82nd airborne division. In 2008, Heath began pursuing a degree in information systems at the University of Colorado-Denver and will graduate this spring.

In the course of background checks on Heath, Anchor Solutions CEO Vince Tinnirello searched his name online and saw the Boots to Suits 9News story featuring Heath and his mentor Rich Lewis, president and CEO of RTL Networks.

“Anyone with that kind of initiative; I’m going to invest in them and we’re going to do whatever we can to make them successful,” said Tinnirello. “I find military veterans are such easy hires because of their discipline.”

Earlier this year, University of Colorado-Denver veteran student Michael Petschel, along with veteran student services director Cameron Cook and vice chancellor Leanna Clark, approached the Denver Metro Chamber with an idea to help student veterans secure jobs. A few short months later, the concept became a reality and is making an impact in the lives of veteran students.

Boots to Suits is a comprehensive program designed to help veterans shift from their roles as service members to students, and from there, to business professionals and leaders in the community.

Thanks to the post-9/11 GI Bill and the withdrawal of troops overseas, veterans more than ever are seeking post-secondary education, and the U.S. Depart of Veteran Affairs expects the veteran student population to triple by Fall 2014.

That’s where the Boots to Suits program comes into play with four primary components:

• Mentor a Hero – The Chamber has assisted in matching 33 business leaders to mentor senior veteran students and is currently seeking more business professionals to become involved.
• Offer an Internship – Employers can recruit veteran students to work on special projects or assist in daily tasks.
• Hire a Veteran – In addition to the benefit of working alongside a highly trained and well-educated worker, there are new tax credits available to businesses who hire veterans. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit offers businesses that hire unemployed veterans up to $5,600 per veteran, and the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit offers businesses that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.
• Suit Up a Veteran – Many student veterans went directly from high school into the military and lack the professional business attire to wear to job interviews. As a result, the Suit Up a Veteran fund was established to help graduating seniors purchase a suit. For just $500, employers can give a veteran student a business suit as well as give back to someone who has given so much for our country.

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For more information on CU Denver Boots to Suits contact Holli Keyser at 303-620-8022 holli.keyser@denverchamber.org or visit www.ucdenver.edu/bootstosuits.

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Holli Keyser is executive assistant to Chamber President and CEO Kelly Brough.

If there is one single thing that makes Anchor Network Solutions great, it’s the amazing team of employees we have. Everyone on the team is instrumental to the company’s success and we want to take time to recognize them and help you get to know them better. So let’s kick off this month by sharing more about Jacee Dobbs, our Help Desk Manager.

Jacee reports to Vince Tinnirello, Anchor’s Chief Executive Officer and he had this to say about Jacee: Jacee was Anchor’s first employee. She started with us in 2002 fresh out of college, having no real experience in business. It truly has been a pleasure and honor to work with her, and it’s been fun to watch her business acumen grow over the years. Earning her Masters degree has been very helpful to her in understanding the needs of small businesses. Jacee is Anchor’s “Chess Master” as I like to call her. As our Help Desk Manager, her role has evolved from actually handling service requests to managing the entire Service Desk team. She is responsible for seeing what tickets we have out there, what the priorities are, and then moving the pieces around the chess board to ensure our customers needs are met. She does a great job and customers love her. We’re very lucky to have her!

Want to know more about Jacee? Read on!

Q. Is there a specific project or projects that you have worked on recently that you are most proud of?
JD: Not a true technology project but the overall changes we’ve made in the last year with our help desk have been challenging and rewarding. I love the new role I am in with Anchor and the ability to create and maintain a help desk that exceeds the expectations of our customers and peers.

Q. Specific clients that you have enjoyed working with?
JD: Each client has their own feel but there are several that Anchor has been able to forge a close relationship with which makes all the difference when dealing with people and issues. Having a level of trust where the client understands we have their best interests at heart and while we’re not perfect Anchor will always make things right is a wonderful place to be as a company. We have reached this with several clients and they are a joy to work with on a daily basis.

Q. What do you feel is your “power move” within the company?
JD: Overall, my ability to manage several things at once and see the big picture. Scheduling four technicians while balancing customer expectations and demands can be difficult but a huge part of running our help desk!

Q. What are your hobbies?
JD: I love crafts and reading. With summer coming, I am excited to start our garden and planting. Our second child is due in July however so my free time is slowly coming to an abrupt end!

Q. What car do you drive?
JD: Dodge Journey

Q. What is the last movie you saw?
JD: Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
JD: Table Rock Lake in Missouri. My family vacations there almost each summer and the lake is beautiful and peaceful. Great for skiing and boating!

Q. Any animals living at home?
JD: Nope.

Q. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
JD: Julia Roberts

Q. What have you not done that you really want to do?
JD: Travel more! I’ve been able to go to some great places including China while getting my Master’s degree but there is so much more I want to see and do. Raising our family is my focus now but I still dream of having the freedom to take one major trip each year. Egypt is high on that list!

Q. What is the last book you read?
JD: I just finished The Lucky One by Nicolas Sparks and am currently reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni.

Q. Favorite sports team and/or athlete?
JD: I don’t really have one. I went to college on sports and academic scholarships so I love to PLAY sports…just not watch.

Q. Anything else we should know about you?
JD: I grew up on a family farm in western Kansas and am excited to be back living close to my roots. My husband, Logan, is also from the same small town in Kansas and we’ve known each other for years…were high school sweethearts in fact! Logan, Adalynn (our 20 mo. old daughter), and I made the jump back home just over a year ago and are enjoying the change and slower pace of life. Ultimately we want to be back in the country with some land and have our eyes open for the opportunity. Growing up on a farm instills a lot in a child and something Logan and I want for our family as well. Speaking of family, ours will be growing by one this July as we are expecting our second child – a boy! I know going from one child to two is going to be a big change in our household but a journey we are excited to start. Any advice you can give for having a 2 year old and newborn is welcomed!

Thank you Jacee, for all your hard work managing the Help Desk team. We are very happy to have you as part of the Anchor family.

Each month Anchor Network Solutions will spotlight one of their many unique clients that look to us to manage their IT needs.

We will highlight best business practices, the challenges they face and why their relationship with Anchor is crucial in the running of their day-to-day business. We then give each client an opportunity to ask Anchor a question. It may be technical, personal or out in left field.

Read on to find out more!

First Up: Castle Pines and Castle Rock Orthodontics.

Located at 363 Village Square Lane, Suite 155, Castle Pines, CO 80108, and 718 Maleta Lane, Suite 201, Castle Rock, CO 80108, Castle Pines and Castle Rock Orthodontics goal is to create beautiful smiles, while helping our patients realize the benefits of increased self-confidence and an improved quality of life. We understand the concerns of each individual patient and strive to anticipate their needs. From start to finish, patients are taken care of like family.

We thank Andrew J. Dunbar, DDS, MS, PC, for his responses to the following questions:

Q. What brought you to your current role with Castle Pine Orthodontics?

Dr. D: I started my career as a general dentist in the US Navy in 1991. After 9 years of active duty, I decided to pursue my passion for Orthodontics and went back to school to become an Orthodontist. I have practiced Orthodontics in Castle Pines for 10 years and in Castle Rock for the past 4 years.

Q. What are some of the daily business challenges you face?

Dr. D: Orthodontics is a dental specialty that requires a great deal of visual data. We take photos and x-rays on all new patients and then use that information to develop custom orthodontic treatment plans. Our computers are a huge benefit to us for scheduling patients, managing insurance claims and the progression thru orthodontic treatment.

Q. As a leading provider of Orthodontics in CO, what makes Castle Pines and Castle Rock Orthodontics stand out from the rest of the competition?

Dr. D: The excellent care and customer service that we provide to our patients.

Q. What’s an ideal client for Castle Pines Orthodontics?

Dr D. Ideal patients are children, adolescents and adults who want to improve their smile while creating a long-term, stabile result; their bite.

Q. What do you do when you aren’t working?

Dr D: I love to golf whenever I can, and I also enjoy spending time with my family.

Now it’s your turn to ask Anchor a question:

Dr D: I am curious about the PC vs. Mac. Do Macs have virus issues? Which is better for my network?

VT: There was a time when we didn’t see many viruses on Macs, and opinions vary as to why. As we see Macs become more prevalent, we are also seeing more virus and malware attacks on these systems. In our opinion, it’s a numbers game. If you are a hacker, are you going to write viruses and malware programs for the type of systems most businesses use (Windows) or for the minority product (Mac)? So the answer is both Windows and Macs can get viruses, but we see more written to attack Windows computers as that is where the most deployments are. We expect this to change as we see more people using Macs.

While compatibility is getting better, Mac and Windows networks historically don’t play well together. We’ve typically seen Macs be used in graphic design environments where they really shine. Now we’re seeing traditional businesses integrate them here and there and expect that trend to continue. In fact, Anchor has just purchased a Mac so we can get trained up on them and support our clients. The key to determining if Macs are right for your business are 1) learning curve 2) will your business software run on a Mac and 3) budget, as Macs are more expensive. For example, Dolphin Imaging can only run on a Mac that emulates a Windows environment. To get it to work, you might as well just use a Windows pc and save yourself time, headache, and money! So the answer is for Castle Pines and Castle Rock Orthodontics, Windows is the right platform for your business.

Q. Castle Pines Orthodontics has been a client of Anchor Network for approximately 8 years. Why is the relationship with Anchor crucial in the running of your day-to-day business?

Dr D: It is imperative that we have our network operational or we cannot operate!

To learn more about how Dr. Dunbar and Castle Pines Orthodontics can help you, please contact

303.688.3837 or visit, Castlepinesortho.com or Castlerockortho.com

It’s common to see companies showing confidence in their security systems. Their networks are protected from external threats, which can often lead to a false sense of being secure. With this attitude, they may stop thinking about security and fail to establish internal measures within their networks, and this is a grave mistake.

In recent years the majority of security threats and compromises have come from within the company. A common threat to companies is the logic bomb - malware that targets IT systems and deletes data. As a logic bomb is introduced from within the network, the blame often lies with a disgruntled employee with full access to internal systems.

Insider threats Giving employees full access to the network when they don’t need it is a common mistake often made by companies. There’s little need for an employee who does graphic design to have access to weekly sales records. This practice could set your company up for a considerable security problem in the future.

Dawn Cappelli, an insider-threat expert at the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute stressed, "These types of insider attacks happen to businesses of all sizes, from small companies to very large corporations." This is an important issue businesses should be aware of if they want to remain secure.

Take Precautions Security threats can be a particularly harsh nightmare for small businesses, as many don’t have an IT department or staff with the technical expertise needed to maintain a secure network. If you’re one of these organizations, it’s a good idea to hire an outside consultant to help you with your network security. With consultants, it’s important that you maintain close contact with them to ensure any issues that crop up are dealt with expeditiously.

If you don’t work with an external company there are a few things you should do when you have an employee leave the company. First, their accounts should be deleted immediately and their access privileges should also be revoked. Second, if you have accounts with shared passwords, you should change them to ensure an ex-employee can’t gain access to the system.

If you’d like to learn more about internal security, and measures you can take to ensure you are safe, we are ready to help you. Please contact us.

If the past 10 years has taught us anything, it’s that many managers are woefully underprepared for disasters of any kind. We’re resilient though, and will always find a way to survive. One of the keys to a business’s survival during times of hardship is the Business Continuity Plan (BCP). A vast majority of organizations have one and believe it to be effective, but is it?

Here are six key non-IT functions and processes that need to be in place to ensure your company is ready to effectively execute your BCP.

Easy to use plans Many continuity plans have been developed mainly for the IT department, as such, they can be a little complicated to understand and follow if employees don’t have a technical background. You should aim to have a plan that’s easy to follow and can be understood by all employees.

Communicate plans Remember that your plan encompasses all facets of your organization. It’s crucial that every employee knows their role and the relevant actions to take when the plan is executed. To do this, you need to ensure that all employees have access to a copy of the plan and any changes or updates are clearly communicated.

Test plans Beyond communication, it’s important to conduct regular tests, with every quarter being sufficient. The tests should be as real as possible and span all departments within the organization. This will ensure that employees are aware of how they, and the systems, will react under duress. It’ll be beneficial to your business if the first time the employees execute the plan isn’t during an emergency.

Short term and long term plans Your BCP should consist of both long term and short term elements that can be easily adapted to meet changing business environments and the emergence of new threats. You should aim for an even mix of short and long term solutions that cover as wide a variety of situations as possible.

Ensure buy-in from all levels If you’re in the process of instituting a BCP you should ensure that the whole organization is onboard with the plan. If an employee is unsure about the validity of a part of the plan, take the time to find out why and ask for suggestions. An uninformed or uncooperative employee could be the difference between survival and failure in a disaster situation.

Update and Review After every test, staff turnover and technological update, you should review the plans and make changes if necessary. Essentially, if anything in the company changes, review and update the plan. Remember: just because you have an effective plan this month, doesn’t mean it’ll be so in the future.

Continuity plans are only as strong as the weakest link. In an emergency, the last thing you want is an employee following the wrong process or be unsure of what they should be doing. If this happens, you could see an exponential growth in recovery time and costs. We’re ready to tell you more, so please contact us if you would like to talk continuity planning.

There’s a big gap between what physicians thought they could do, and what they were eligible to do, to collect meaningful use incentives last year, according to a new study, which appears in the May issue of Health Affairs.

The study shows that 91 percent of physicians nationwide were eligible for federal electronic medical record (EMR) incentives in 2011. However, only 10 percent intended to apply for the program.

That number was on the low side of what the federal government had anticipated. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services had estimated that 10 percent to 36 percent of Medicare-eligible professionals and 15 percent to 47 percent of Medicaid-eligible professionals would demonstrate meaningful use in 2011.

According to the authors, among physicians intending to apply for meaningful use, about 21 percent were ready with the 10 core capabilities. Even in the state with the highest degree of readiness - Wisconsin - only 32 percent of physicians were ready with the 10 core capabilities.

The authors say the low level of readiness illustrates the challenges in meeting the federal schedule for financial incentives. Healthcare practices have support options, however. Your IT provider can help you if you need assistance preparing your meaningful use.

One of the most common complaints smartphone owners have is that it’s tough to get the phone to seamlessly sync with their computer. If your business uses Microsoft Office 365, there aren’t many tools or apps that allow you to use all the features on your smartphone. If you’re a Windows phone user, you’re in luck as your phone has built in features that allow you to use Office 365.

If you would like to connect Office 365 with your Windows phone, follow these steps:

Please be aware that these instructions are for Windows Phone version 7.5. If you are running an earlier version, it is recommended that you upgrade to version 7.5 first.

1. On your Windows Phone press Settings followed by Email and Accounts.
2. Tap Add an Account and select Outlook. This is a catchall for any email service that uses Microsoft Exchange, Office 365 included.
3. Enter your Office 365 email address and password, and your Windows Phone will automatically configure your account.
4. After the configuration is complete, a window will pop up informing you that your Office 365 email and SharePoint Online Team site have been set up on your phone. You’ll also be able to download Microsoft Lync 2010 from the Marketplace if you need it.

When you return to the home screen, you’ll notice that an Office 365 email tile has been placed at the bottom of the screen. It’s a good idea to go into the Email settings on your phone (follow step 1 above) and adjust the settings to your needs. For example, your email account will automatically be named Outlook. To re-name it tap on Outlook and select Account Name.

From the Settings page you’ll also be able to select which Office 365 services you want your phone to sync with e.g., contacts. By default your contacts will show up in your People hub. If you don’t want your contacts to sync, you can deselect it from this page.

If you use Office 365 and a Windows Phone you’ll find that the integration is near seamless. If you would like to learn more about Windows Phone or any other Windows product, we’re here to help.

Android versions have some pretty delicious sounding names. The newest version of the OS, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich, has some tasty features that many users are now able to enjoy. These sweet new additions and improvements have definitely made the OS easier to use and more appealing to the multitude of discerning users.

Here are some great tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Ice Cream Sandwich:

• Settings. There’s a quick and easy way to access settings. Simply swipe down from the top of your screen and the Notifications menu will open. Press the blue icon (sliders) beside the date to access your settings.
• Uninstall apps. This used to be one of the more complicated actions of Android, but with 4.0, it’s easy. On the home screen press the Apps icon (white circle with 6 squares) and find the app you would like to uninstall. Press and hold the app, drag it up to Uninstall which will be in the top left of the screen and let go.
• Swipe away. A neat feature of 4.0 is that you can swipe away apps and messages in some locations. If you have lots of notifications, open the Notifications menu and swipe the message to the right to dismiss it. You can also do the same with recent programs (double rectangles in the bottom right of your screen) and browser tabs.
• Disable app icons. When you download and install programs from Google Play, a shortcut will be automatically placed on your home screen. You can turn this off by opening Google Play and selecting the icon with three vertical grey squares followed by Settings. Tap Auto-add widgets and app shortcuts won’t be added to your home screen after they’re installed.
• Send text response when you can’t answer. If you’re in a meeting and can’t answer a call, simply drag the call selector button up to be given a number of text responses you can send to the caller.
• Quick browser control. You can streamline the browser controls in the stock Android browser. Open the browser and select the three grey squares in the top right of the screen and tap Settings. Select Labs followed by Quick Controls. You’ll notice that your URL bar and tabs are gone. To see them, press and hold anywhere on the right side of your screen to bring up a selection wheel.

Ice Cream Sandwich is by far the best version of OS and offers users some great features. If you’d like to learn more about Ice Cream Sandwich, or other Android products please let us know. We’re happy to help.

The key to patient-centered care - a concept that continues to evolve - is the relationship between physician and patient. Finding the balance between patient engagement and information technology, however, can be challenging.

IT has benefited healthcare practices in many ways. For example, it allows patients to service themselves when it comes to transactional exchanges, such as scheduling appointments and reviewing bills.

There are fears, however, that IT can also create distance between the practitioner and patient, reducing face-to-face contact. Here are three tips to ensure that doesn’t happen:

1. Accept that patient-centered IT initiatives help the physician. Small practices need to adopt the same features as their competitors, including large practices as well as low-cost primary care providers such as CVS and Walgreens.

2. Determine your needs. Patient-centered IT practices vary. Some practices use patient portals to optimize patient input. Others use email, text, video and mobile apps to create an impact across a broader spectrum of their patients' health. You’ll need to find what works best for your patient. Younger patients, for example, might prefer text messaging; older patients might prefer email.

3. Reconsider your reimbursement model. IT advancements have patients emailing, text messaging and video conferencing their doctors without payment. That puts pressure on the physician to do more for less. This is a problem with your business model, not your IT. You can't offer services that eradicate half of your service visits or you'll bankrupt your practice.

For details, please see “Five Keys to IT and the Physician-Patient Relationship.”

Businesses have been using Microsoft Office for years and many users, if polled, would count themselves as experts. Users in their numbers have already adopted Microsoft’s cloud offering, Office 365, as their main office productivity suite. The same features from previous versions are included, not forgetting the option to include electronic business cards in your emails.

Here’s how to create and share an electronic business card:

Create an Electronic Business Card

1. Open Outlook and select Contacts followed by Home. Click on New Contact.
2. When the Contact window opens, press Business Card and the Edit Business Card window will open.
3. You will be able to enter contact information into the relevant areas under the Fields box.
4. If you want to add an image or change the layout of the business card, press the Layout button located in the right side of the screen.
5. When you have entered the information, press Ok and the business card will be saved as a .vcf file which is readable by most email clients.

Add an Electronic Business Card to an Email If you have saved a contact’s information as a business card, you can easily attach the card to an email.

1. In a message select the Contacts pane and search for the business card you would like to attach. When you find it, click it.
2. Select the Home tab, followed by Forward Contact. A drop-down menu will open, select As a Business Card.
3. You will see the business card as an attachment in the email.

Add a Business Card as a Signature You can add a business card to your signature in any email.

1. When you create an email message click Signature and select Add signature.
2. Select the signature you would like to use, if you have one. If not, press anywhere in the white space below Edit signature.
3. Click Business Card beside the paragraph alignment buttons in the Edit signature field.
4. Select the contact name you use and press Ok. Your contact information will show up at the bottom of the email as a downloadable .vcf file.

If you’re a user of Office 365 and would like to learn more, or would like more information on Office 365 or other products, please give us a call.