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Rick Freeman

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CEO, Rick Freeman & Associates, LLC

60 points

A highly motivated IT professional with broad experience serving a diverse client base within the United States and Internationally. Extensive experience as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Management Consultant. Skilled in Project Management, Business Change Management, and developing and ...

A highly motivated IT professional with broad experience serving a diverse client base within the United States and Internationally. Extensive experience as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Management Consultant. Skilled in Project Management, Business Change Management, and developing and maintaining good client and employee relationships. Gifted in building and managing cross functional teams resulting in delivering better products and integrated business solutions.

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Certified in the Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (CGEIT)

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Rick Freeman recommends this answer by Robert Keahey

Oct. 4, 2011

Facebook can track what you do online, even when you're logged out. What is your reaction to this?

Surely this is not surprising to anyone. And while I can't personally attest to or validate the fact, I would assume that this is not an unusual practice.
It's about having as much insight into your likes, wants, needs and behavior as possible. The company that ... more

Information Technology

Rick Freeman and 4 other people answered this question

Aug. 29, 2011

How important is it to your business to control IT assets?

I agree that controlling the critical information contained on corporate assets is indeed VERY important and should be discussed as part of an overall security strategy. But the question specifically asked about controlling the assets. Perhaps an additional discussion should be initiated to address data ... more

General Management

Information Technology

Rick Freeman recommends this answer by Dock David Treece

Aug. 16, 2011

POLL: Are you confident in Ben Bernanke's ability as Fed Chairman to get the economy moving?

No, I'm not confident in his ability. However, unlike Mr. Christensen, I believe this IS a qualification issue. Mr. Bernanke is an academic - he knows nothing of real world economics. Sadly, the world does not run on theories. Very little of what Bernanke knows ... more

Financial Markets

Rick Freeman and 3 other people answered this question

July 29, 2011

What is the primary driver causing businesses to adopt enterprise mobility policies?

The proliferation of internet enabled devices such as Iphones, Ipads, Smart Phones, Tablets and other internet aware devices are in my opinion the primary driving force behind enabling a mobile enterprise. Surveys show that an employee’s personal IT devices are more functional than the equipment ... more

Information Technology

Enterprise Mobility

Rick Freeman and 11 other people answered this question

May 18, 2011

Software demos: canned pitch or a real look at the product?

John McCoy makes very good points in his answer. Having over 15 years of experience in system selections I have seen more demos than I care to remember. Demos should be about the product and how that product will support the business processes that are ... more

Information Technology

Rick Freeman and 6 other people answered this question

May 6, 2011

Is it possible to overcustomize an ERP solution?

The problem with many ERP solutions and implementations is that the underlying business process have not been reviewed for inefficiencies and improvements leading management to customize the application to meet the current flawed business process. Before any ERP solution is implemented, management should conduct full ... more

Information Technology

Rick Freeman and 5 other people answered this question

March 4, 2011

What steps should companies take before upgrading their existing network for VoIP?

Pamela and Derek make very valid points which should be addressed AFTER a decision has been made to move to VoIP. In my experience the first step is to document the business requirements for voice communications and ensure that a move to VoIP is the ... more

Information Technology

Network Architecture

Network Upgrades

Rick Freeman and 11 other people answered this question

March 4, 2011

Outlook? Mail.app? Thunderbird? Postbox? Browser? Lotus Notes? - What Email Client do you like?

I'm using Outlook 2010 for business related emails. Thunderbird is utilized to collect all my other email accounts (gmail, yahoo, att.net). Outlook integrates with all MS products which dominate the business world. Thunderbird allows me to customized the interface and set rules to manage the ... more

Rick Freeman and 10 other people answered this question

Sept. 15, 2010

What do we mean by IT / business alignment and how do we achieve it?

I agree with Michael Schmier and James Smith. Ben, please consider consolidating your posts. Perhaps once a day. Thanks in advance. more

General Management

Information Technology

Rick Freeman and 4 other people answered this question

Sept. 14, 2010

What type of security testing do you have done?

My company focuses on compliance testing. We have been heavily invested with testing General Computer Controls as they relate to the Sarbanes Oxley federal mandate for public companies. These reviews concentrate on three main areas of concern, Security, Change Management, and Operations.
Our methodology is based ... more

Information Technology

Security Testing

Rick Freeman and 8 other people answered this question

Aug. 29, 2010

How often should I be backing up my servers?

If I understand your question correctly your internal computers archive business data to three servers which are hosted in the Cloud by a third party provider. You currently are not utilizing backup services provided at an extra cost by your provider.
In my opinion, your ... more

Managed Hosting

Rick Freeman and 2 other people answered this question

July 21, 2010

Job description for a Network Systems and Data Communications Analyst?

Your CTO knows what responsibilities the new employee will have. The title of the position should not drive the responsibilities. Document the CTO's requirements for the new employee's responsibilities and be sure to include those in the job description. more

Information Technology

Data Communication

Rick Freeman and 12 other people answered this question

June 23, 2010

What are the fundamentals to understand about ERP implementation?

Jeff Dix makes some very good points. To follow Jeff's line of thought, I assume your company has selected the ERP application and is preparing for the implementation. Please perform some specific due diligence on the software provider/implementer. This would entail contacting some reference accounts ... more

Rick Freeman published a brief

June 14, 2010

IT Policy and Procedure Development Basics

Information Technology

Rick Freeman and 6 other people answered this question

June 8, 2010

Back up software for a 5 computer office?

There are some critical questions that need to be answered. What is the nature of the network? Is it pier to pier or is there a central server? Are all business critical files stored in a single location? These questions need to be addressed before ... more

Information Technology

Servers and Storage

Rick Freeman and 3 other people answered this question

June 7, 2010

Examples of a network security policy?

IT policies and procedures are critical to the successful operations of every company. There are three main categories that should be addressed in policy and procedure development. Operations Management, Change Management, and Security Management. Policies state the Scope, Intent, and what the individual policy is. ... more

Information Technology

Network Security

Rick Freeman answered this question

June 1, 2010

Do intrusion prevention solutions include intrusion detection as well?

An intrusion prevention solution would include some form of detection capability. Without the capability to detect unauthorized intrusion the IPS would not be able to react or move into prevention. The difference between prevention and detection is prevention is a proactive approach where as detection ... more

Information Technology

Intrusion Prevention

Rick Freeman and 2 other people answered this question

May 21, 2010

What are the benefits of erp?

The decision to move from a stand alone accounting system to an ERP system should be based on a needs assessment rather than features provided by an ERP solution. If your business is running efficiently and effectively on the stand alone system there may not ... more

Human Resources

Accounting Systems

Rick Freeman answered this question

May 19, 2010

Is an information security management system the same as having a network security policy?

An Information Security Management System (ISMS) is a combination of policies and procedures combined with IT Systems and applications intended to manage risks to information assets. The purpose of an ISMS is to ensure acceptable levels of information security. An effective ISMS should adapt to ... more

General Management

Information Technology

Network Security

Rick Freeman published a brief

May 18, 2010

Best Practices for Data Center Design

Information Technology

Cable Management

Data Center Design

Rick Freeman and 2 other people answered this question

May 18, 2010

Who makes the best anti spyware software?

The following links will go a long way to answering your question. The first link is a review and ranking of the top 22 anti virus packages. Symantec and McAfee are not in the top three. Symantec is ranked 4th and McAfee is down at ... more

Information Technology

Rick Freeman and 1 other person answered this question

May 17, 2010

What are the effects of an erp application on a network?

Having just completed an ERP selection engagement for a small company I can relate to your question. The answer depends somewhat on the ERP solution that is chosen. However some of the basic considerations for network/infrastructure impact would be whether the solution requires a separate ... more

Rick Freeman and 5 other people answered this question

May 17, 2010

What are good erp solutions for small business?

Having just completed an ERP system selection engagement for a small company I would recommend you do a formal requirements definition to narrow the field of candidates. After narrowing the field to two or three finalists, you should have them demonstrate their solutions based on ... more

Rick Freeman answered this question

May 17, 2010

How do you retain critical information when employees leave the company?

Create a team approach where no one person becomes the sole repository of critical information. Train other employees on the "critical" employee's role within the company. Offer the employee the opportunity to host "training" presentations on his/her critical position. Most will jump at the chance ... more

Information Technology

Business Intelligence

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