Walking has been shown clinically to prevent the onset of our nations leading diseases including Type 2 diabetes and some of the most virulent strains of cancer. Consistent daily walking has been shown as an effective means of warding off disease, maintaining health and significantly decreasing the need for medical treatment, yet most Americans walk much less than the minimum recommended guidelines of 10,000 steps a day set by the Surgeon General due to the sedentary nature of our employment. As a result we have an overweight population with all of the health concerns that accompany issues of obesity.The National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) reports that total spending on health care was $2.3 trillion last year, equivalent to $7600 per person. Health insurance premiums for a family of four sky rocketed to $12,100 during this same period and single coverage premiums averaged more than $4,400 annually.One tactic to save on health care is to buy high deductible “catastrophic” health insurance which is significantly less expensive (as much as 50%-75% less) however this strategy must be combined with a commitment towards exercise and a healthy lifestyle.The good news is that exercise does not have to be overly strenuous. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that walking three times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes reduces the risk of mortality from disease by 57%.Unfortunately 2/3 of the American population is now categorized as overweight according to the CDC and less than 10% of the population is exercising on a regular basis. While Congress must focus on ridding our health care system of excessive administrative costs, fraud and mismanagement there must also be a call for personal action. Prevention through a healthier lifestyle and exercise should play an integral role in our growing health care crisis but few politicians wish to risk the backlash of telling Americans they need to get out of their chairs and start moving.Desperate for answers, some state governments are considering instituting a “carrot and stick approach” to medical insurance programs. Alabama recently enacted a $300.00 annual increase for health care premiums to state employees that do not meet minimum health requirements and are unwilling to join their state wellness plan. Other nations are instituting more stringent guidelines as well. Japan has implemented a national program fining corporations if their employees do not meet specific weight and waistline guidelines.Rising health care costs and insurance premiums are taking the availability of health care out of the hands of millions and placing a tremendous burden on our economy according to the NCHC, accounting for approximately 16% of our current GDP and expected to rise to 20% of GDP in eight years.Now that health care costs are rising at 2-3 times the rate of inflation an emphasis on prevention seems more critical now more than ever before. Treadmill desks offer a solution which empowers employees to take control of their personal health and reduce their costs of medical care at the same time.
Internet and Small Business
Technology has played an imperative role in business operations. The advent of internet has given a new methodology to conduct business faster in a cost effective way in a limited time and space.Internet is wrapped up with thousands of interconnected networks connected worldwide. The deployment of Internet in business has given rise to perform business worldwide to unlimited audience and it is one of the best methods for globalizing business. Internet is a powerful tool for winning a business strategy that assists companies to compete with their competitors and to improve customer satisfaction and hence internet business model has been formulated to assist companies to choose the right model at the right time.Internet business is simply not designing websites to promote the products it has its unique process to automate. Internet business helps manufacturers to understand the customer’s wants and needs by understanding their behavior when they visit company websites or research any relevant information and this in-turn helps manufacturers and marketers to produce customize and personalize product.Internet business has changed the marketing practices of company to the great extent and hence marketers need to be more and more proactive and creative to reach and convince their audience to buy products.Today many companies have also set up extranets with their suppliers to facilitate information exchange, transactions and payments. Internet business has given birth to e-commerce which is more and more specific when compared to internet business or e-business. The term e-commerce encourages companies to sell their products or services through internet. To be more precise about internet business; it is simply performing business using internet for worldwide audience in order to globalize business.Advantages of Internet Business – Internet Business has its unique advantagesThere is no need of physical location and hence you don’t need to have your own or rent place for starting up business as how traditional business requires.Of course you need location that is DOMAIN NAME for website registration and its very cheap you can get for about $5 to $25 with free web hosting service.You need website for selling your product or service. If you know programming and designing you can always do it on your own or you can hire a web developer and/or designer based on your requirement or even you can become an affiliate of some site which needs no website since your merchant will provide you website.You can advertise your products or services for free in most of the websites say free classified advertisement site.Since internet works on the principle of 24×7 you can reach your customer at any time.Internet business is not geographic specific and hence you can reach global audience.Disadvantages of Internet Business -Of course, internet has major advantages but it has some disadvantages too.Through internet it is very difficult for the user to recognize what is genuine and what is not because users will not have the ‘Touch and feel’ of some product before they buy.Internet makes you feel isolate and hence it separates manufacturer and customer, and this ultimately end-up in lack of trust between two parties.It is also difficult for the user to choose the product as there may be many products with different varieties advertise through internet.Business Models:Every Business needs model to run its business and operations. When it comes to internet it is not that companies have design or built their own models Most of the companies sustain with the following business models through internet.ProductsProfessional ServicesInformation BusinessInternet professionE-PublishingE-AdvertisingLet’s understand the above six proven internet business model.Products: This Internet business model includes stuffs like electronic goods, books, computer hardware and software, household, jewelry, etc. Companies may already use direct marketing to market its product.Adopting this model is most inexpensive method to communicate universally, and consumers can look into the product through company’s website or online catalogue as it cost only the fraction of what printed catalogue cost and the duplication is achieved virtually. The vital part is to note that internet is not the business strategy. However, it helps business to formulate strategy more effectively and efficiently. These are none other than the Internet or Online retailer.Professional/Specialized Services: This model includes Professional services such as accountants, consultants, architects etc. The use of technology has encouraged service business to devise innovative strategies to support the very nature of the business.Service industry advertise its services electronically that is through internet and since internet reaches global audience by breaking the geographic barriers and hence today service sectors enjoy massive profit and growth since internet has out-performed the traditional advertising and it directly reaches its prospective audience.Information business: This E-business model is for those who gather, create and sell knowledge. Internet has given a new room for this kind of business. Today people use internet for many reasons and information search through internet ranks top. Many netpreneur today adopted this business methodology and has created a success because there is lot of scope for business in this digital era and information business is one such businesses which grows with a full pace.Internet Careers: Many people have started making careers in internet itself. This business model includes graphic artist, web designers and developers, software programmers, computer and software trainers through online, Internet marketing professionals etc. This is considered as fastest growing business and many people have started business model.Electronic Publishing: Today people can find free news, magazines, and newsletters in the digital format. In this business model any factual written material can be published in digital format and uploaded in the website. Online or Electronic publishing is exploding since its too cost effective when compared to the printed version of newspapers, magazines, newsletters etc. There are many innovative ways that a company can generate revenue from this business model.E-Advertising: Electronic advertising, the business model which grows constantly and is expected to out-perform the traditional advertising methods. From this business model companies can simply sell advertising space on the web which in turn generates a mutual understanding to both the parties (advertisers and publishers).Advertisers get revenue by posting advertisement in their website and publishers gets traffic to his website and/or brand awareness of his (publishers) product through advertisement. This is really a big business and one can monetize his/her website (if available) by just selling the website space.The above mentioned internet business model has been adopted by many companies and have created a history in this digital era. Thus internet has become the right source and a powerful tool for the businesses to create a new and innovative business strategy in order to sustain the market.Different authors have defined Internet business models in a different manner but the actual proposition and meaning is same. To see the different internet business model terms have a look at this article. Read HereAs a Wannabe internet business you have to analyze which internet business model is best for you or where you actually fit in the whole scenario.
The Urgency in Deploying Network Security Appliance For Small Business Networks
Information is a business asset, like other valuable business assets, that must be protected against any threats. In medium to enterprise business networks, the management of the information security is a must. In small business networks, generally the organizations lack of competent security experts that should manage the information security. Therefore the choice of the deployment of small business network security appliance is a must for small organizations.In large enterprise networks, they have many layers of security protections including the endpoint security, the management of information security and policies which must be enforced to all business unit groups. Unlike large scale business or enterprise networks, in small organizations – generally they do not develop the management of information security in place. This is generally due to lack of IT security expertise which does not compare to the assets that must be protected. Any layers of security that should be deployed, depends on how critical your information assets is. Therefore, they mainly focus in securing the endpoint security.The entry point of the private network generally where all the internet threats are coming from, the intruders or the hackers as well as the malware will start to attack the vulnerabilities they found. Therefore, small business network security should concentrate in protecting the entry point by any types of secured firewall appliances. There are many security appliances available in the marketplace you can consider to use for your organization.The following are some of the small biz network security appliances you can consider to use for your small organizations. DSD-150 is designed for home or SOHO networks that use broadband internet connection.DSD-150 Security applianceD-Link DSD-150 internet security adapter is an all-in-one network security which is designed for home and small business networks. With this single device connected in the entry point of your broadband internet connection, you have a complete protection including network protection, firewall protection, virus protection, spyware protection, identity protection, pop-up blocker, SPAM blocker, and parental control – all in a palm-sized box.DSD-150 is suitable for home and SOHO network security which has 4 computers or more. Installation and configuration is easy, DSD-150 has 2 Ethernet ports, WAN port must be connected to the modem (RJ-45 LAN port), and the LAN port must be connected to the wireless router.CheckPoint Safe Office 500CheckPoint Safe Office 500 is a small business network security – a total internet security appliance for small to medium sized business networks. If your organization is lack of security personnel, don’t worry – trust the network security to this CheckPoint Safe Office 500 that can protect a network of up to 100 users from any types of network threats.Safe Office small business network security appliance delivers proven and integrated security, networking and connectivity features right out-of-the-box. Safe Office offers a simple, affordable and reliable solution to keep small business networks protected and connected.The following shows main features of the Safe Office security appliances:Web filtering, integrate best-of-breed Web filtering using an extensive database of categories and associated URLs. You can also create web access policy and also a custom web rules to block or allow access to specific websites and URLs
VPN and remote access, this feature is suitable for your traveler workforce to connect to the business network securely via public internet.
Network access control, ensuring that both LAN and WLAN users securely sign on before gaining physical access to the network.
Integrated a wireless access point to allow wireless network connection securely that supports the Super-G and Extended Range (XR) standard, enhancing the range and network speeds of the wireless access point.
Integrated ADSL modem (optional) to support download of up to 24 Mbps. This will simplify the initial deployment.Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security AppliancesCisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances is a powerful solution for small business network security as well as for medium sized business networks. Cisco ASA 5500 all-in-one solution for your business security which combines the proven technologies from Cisco PIX 500 Security Appliances, Cisco IPS 4200 Series, and Cisco VPN 3000 Series concentrator.Cisco ASA5500 is a built-in security solution which integrates the function of hi-grade firewall, IPSec VPN, and or intrusion prevention (IPS).Deploying small business network security is a must for small organizations for high performance network protection against any types of Internet threats. Endpoint security appliances such as CheckPoint Safe Office 500 or ASA 5500 series are perfect security solutions for small biz.By Ki Grinsing