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TechSelect "Outstanding Program Member" Award

I had a great time at the TechSelect partner conference in Orlando, FL (Nov. 12-15, 2009). TechSelect is a national community of solution providers with proven leadership in the IT industry. The Community is a unique cooperative among over 400 IT VARs and manufacturers, working together to deliver technology and business solutions. Wasatch Software's participation in the TechSelect community allows us to work with peers to share and enhance technology best practices, network with vendors, and obtain training for our sales and technical staff. Each of these items helps us bring more value to our customers.

I was certainly surprised and honored to accept TechSelect's "Outstanding Program Member" award on behalf of Wasatch Software. This award is given to a partner who brings exceptional value and participation they bring to the Community.

Many kudos and thanks to Tech Data and their event staff for their continued commitment and excellent execution at this event. We certainly appreciate the TechSelect program and look forward to being members for years to come!

Wow! 3 Big Honors in 3 Months for Wasatch!

It’s been awhile, but I guess that means you’ve been keeping us busy at Wasatch Software, and that’s a good thing! Let me update you on a few exciting awards we’ve received here recently. In August we were ranked by Inc. Magazine in their annual “Inc. 5000” list, which recognizes the fastest growing private companies in the United States. What an honor to come in at #568!

In September, Utah Business magazine listed us as the 7th fastest growing company in the State of Utah. I’ve long been a fan of this publication, which made this an even more special treat.

Finally, just this past week I was honored to accept a Utah 100 award on behalf of Wasatch Software. This accolade is sponsored by the Mountain West Capital Network and also honors the fastest growing companies in our industrious state. The awards luncheon was quite a treat. Speakers included Lex Watterson, President of MWCN, and the Governor of Utah, Gary Herbert. It was a pleasure to be acknowledged by the Governor for this award and to have my picture taken with him.

Of course, these awards are a testament to the great people working at Wasatch Software and also to our great customers. Many thanks to each and every one of you!

Wasatch Software Names New Director of Technology

Wasatch Software is pleased to announce the hiring of Nathan Taylor as Director of Technology. Beginning April 1, 2009, Nathan will oversee the technical services division of Wasatch Software, which includes onsite IT services for customers along Utah’s Wasatch Front, as well as remote support and services for our national customer base.

Nathan brings a wealth of technical and leadership experience to Wasatch Software, and immediately enhances our ability to deliver quality services to our clients. Over the past 15 years he has managed sites of up to 1,500 users throughout the United States and Europe. Nathan’s systems administration and implementation experience is quite diverse. He is well versed in Windows, Linux, Unix, Solaris and Macintosh environments.

Wasatch Software continues to grow its technical organization to compliment our strong national resale business. Areas of technical expertise include network management, network security, virtualization, and data backup. All of us here at Wasatch Software welcome Nathan to our team, and look forward to what the future holds!

Conficker: Ticking Time Bomb on Your PC?

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If you watched “60 Minutes” last night, or if you pay attention to online security sites, then you are aware of the latest “super virus” known as Conficker. It also goes by the names Downadup or Kido and has infected at least 10 million systems, and maybe up to 350 million, worldwide.

The scary thing about Conficker is that it is currently laying dormant on affected systems. In effect, it is awaiting further instructions from its creator. These further instructions could be to try and steal personal and financial information, or blast out spam causing further infections and network outages.

The virus is set to check with its creator on April 1st for further instructions, so now is a good time to make sure your system(s) aren’t infected. What steps should you take?

1. Make sure you have up-to-date antivirus software installed and running. Symantec, Kaspersky and others are reportedly catching Conficker infections right now.
2. Make sure you have the latest updates for Microsoft Windows downloaded and installed. Do this by visiting http://www.windowsupdate.com/. Microsoft has released a patch that deals with Conficker.
3. Run a virus scan. Better safe than sorry, right?
4. Don't visit unknown sites or suspicious links, even if sent to you by a friend.
5. Check with our friends at 'threatpost.com' for additional information and news.

By following these simple steps you can potentially save yourself a lot of pain and heart ache. Certainly, feel free to contact our experts here at Wasatch Software if you have any questions or need assistance about any IT security issues. Thanks and have a great day!

Bet on Local Business

In these economic times it is more important than ever for businesses to focus on customers they understand, and customers who can understand them. What does this mean? Keep it local! Generally, other enterprises in our own locales not only face a similar business climate, but are also used to doing business the same way. They play by the same rules, if you will. This basic understanding can provide a foundation for a great relationship.

Additionally, one should also apply karma to the mix. For example, it would be hypocritical and even detrimental to seek local relationships without reciprocating. In these trying times a business should also seek to strengthen the local economy, and thus its own customer base, by procuring products and services from local vendors, even if it means spending a dollar or two extra.

Until last year, Wasatch Software had been primarily focused on building its national customer base. In 2008, we began emphasizing the growth of our local customer base. This has been a key factor in surpassing our revenues each month so far this year, as compared to the same month in all previous years. In turn, we have happily focused on procuring product from local vendors whenever possible.

Turning to Utah specifically, why is there a benefit to focus on our local market?
1- Utah tends to have a much more isolated economy than many other states in our union. Much of this is due to social, political, and policy issues.
2- Utah is known for its resiliency. This is highlighted by a few recent articles:
a. “Utah may see relatively fast economic recovery” by Brice Wallace (deseretnews.com)
b. “Utah Ranked #1 for Expected Economic Recovery” News Wire (utahbusiness.com)

That being said, let’s all do our part to strengthen our state by ‘keeping it local’!

Wasatch Software Receives 2009 Kaspersky ‘Rising Star’ Award

It was my pleasure to accept the 2009 Rising Star award at the Kaspersky Lab America’s Partner Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico last month. The ‘Rising Star’ award honors a Kaspersky partner who has displayed exceptional sales and growth over the past year, and was presented by Eugene Kaspersky (CEO, Kaspersky Lab) and Steve Orenberg (President of the Americas, Kaspersky Lab). Wasatch Software was among 4 partners in the United States who received awards.

Kaspersky themselves can also be considered ‘Rising Stars’ in the world of antivirus software and computer security. Over the past few years, they have gained plenty of market share in the United States to coincide with their already strong international customer base. This is largely due to the strength of their product when it comes to virus detection, virus neutralization, ease of administration, and license costs. All of this is certainly drawing attention from players in the I.T. industry, as well as competitors. Following is a breakdown of antivirus market share worldwide as presented at Kaspersky’s recent conference:

Company, Market Share (%)
Symantec, 40%
McAfee, 17%
Trend Micro, 6%
Kaspersky, 4 %
Others, 33%

Of course, Wasatch Software partners with all of the organizations listed above. However, in most cases we find ourselves recommending Kaspersky to our clients based on the best fit for their needs. Certainly let me know if you have any comments, or if we can be of assistance in regards to your perimeter or endpoint security needs.