If you're like most dealers when I say the term 'collaboration tool,' you may have no idea what I'm talking about. However, when I say the term 'Instant Messaging' you know what I'm talking about, but you may not like it. Remember a decade or so ago, when IM apps were all the rage in the workplace? Many dealerships tried, but quickly abandoned them because employees were spending too much time chatting and not enough time working.

If that was your experience, I'm going to ask you to keep an open mind. In the last few years IM has evolved into a workplace collaboration tool guaranteed to improve your customers' experience.

Today's collaboration tools are integrated with both phone and computer systems; examples include Jabber from Cisco or Connect from Shoretel. In the workplace, a collaboration tool enables customers to connect with more employees, reduces phone tag and allows issues to be resolved quickly.

Here are a couple examples of how this overlooked tool can be used in your dealership.

Connect More Calls

According to a recent "2 Million Call Report" issued by CallRevu, 28 percent of incoming calls to dealerships never connect with anyone. Callers either hang up while on hold or after being transferred to voice mail, or they leave a voice mail but nobody calls back, or the phone just rings and rings.

That's nearly one-third of customers and potential customers that aren't getting price quotes, issues resolved or other questions answered.

Collaboration tools have a feature called 'Presence Management,' which allows receptionists and other employees to see the status of their fellow employees; whether 'Available,' 'Away from Desk,' 'Out of Office' or 'On the Phone.' This can help eliminate many of those annoying hold delays.

Let's say Mrs. Smith calls in to find out if her car is ready to be picked up at the service department. Her assigned service advisor may be with another customer, but he sees a message pop up on his mobile tablet: "Is Mrs. Smith's car ready?" He can respond without having to take the call, servicing both customers better.

Or, when a customer calls in to ask if your dealership has a vehicle in stock, the receptionist can instantly see which salespeople are available. If three salespeople are showing as available, they can be sent a group message alerting them to a lead.

Eliminate 'Check With the Manager' Syndrome

While collaboration tools are great for connecting off-site customers with the appropriate agent, they also play an important role in better servicing your on-site customers.

One of the most often cited tactics that annoys car shoppers is the "Let me go check with my manager" syndrome. When a salesperson leaves their office in the middle of a negotiation, do you really want that customer to sit there with plenty of time to talk themself out of buying?

Imagine instead if that salesperson uses a collaboration tool to ask their manager for approval of price or other terms. The back and forth messaging is private, instant and the salesperson never has to leave the office.

A collaboration tool can be used in a similar fashion to prevent the escalation of issues and to quickly resolve issues. From a customer's perspective, nothing is worse than calling to complain about something and then being placed on hold or sent into voice mail. Your instant perception is that nobody cares, which only makes you angrier.

If an employee is not empowered to resolve an issue, they can instantly reach out to a manager with the authority and availability to deal with the customer. Even if the manager is occupied, they may choose to make themselves available when they see a message pop up on their computer screen alerting them to a situation that needs attention.

Today's collaboration tools aren't designed to replace email or phone calls, but rather as an additional channel that can be used for specific types of communication, such as the instant exchange of information.

Can they be abused? Certainly, but it's highly doubtful, especially if you roll it out with guidelines and let employees know that all messages sent on the system are occasionally monitored and/or stored. That should eliminate the use of the system for gossip and personal communications.

From a customer perspective collaboration tools increase the connection rate for inbound calls and empower employees to take better care of customers. Dealers who have tried IM in the past and dismissed it as a productivity waster may want to approach this underutilized tool with an open mind.

What is your experience with IM and collaboration tools? Do you believe they help or hurt workplace productivity?

Baltimore, MD, May 9th, 2017 – EY today announced that Erik Nachbahr, President and founder of Helion Automotive Technologies, is a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2017 Award in the Maryland region. The awards program, which is celebrating its 31st year, recognizes entrepreneurs who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Nachbahr was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on June 28, 2017 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

"Being selected as a finalist for this prestigious award is a real honor," said Erik Nachbahr, President and Founder of Helion Automotive Technologies. "Like many entrepreneurs it took me years of hard work, perseverance and commitment to build a successful business. It's incredibly satisfying to be recognized and supported by peers in the business community and sponsors of this program."

Helion Automotive Technologies is an information technology (IT) managed services provider (MSP) specializing in retail automotive. Like many technology gurus, Erik started working alone and out of his basement. In 1997 his first automotive client was a Toyota dealer who hired him to fix several IT issues in his store. That dealer referred Erik to several other Toyota dealers, who in turn referred him to more dealers. Erik quickly recognized an opportunity in the retail automotive niche and formed Helion Automotive Technologies.

Today Helion services over 650 auto dealerships and 28,000 end users. The company handles an average 300 Help Desk calls every day and resolves more than 6,000 IT issues per month. In 2016 Helion expanded into the heavy-duty trucking industry with the addition of a client with 33 commercial truck dealerships.

Now in its 31st year, the EY program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities and more than 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National competition. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 18, 2017. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth ForumTM, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the US by SAP America, Merrill Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

In the Maryland region, sponsors also include DLA Piper, PNC, Cushman & Wakefield, KELLY Benefit Strategies, Randstad Professionals, and the Baltimore Business Journal.

For more information contact Helion at 443-541-1500 or online at http://www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Helion Automotive Technologies

Helion...Putting Your Dealership in the FAST LANE! Helion Automotive Technologies is a leading IT solutions provider, providing auto dealers with faster, more efficient networks and secure data protection. From managed services to IT assistance and service desk help, Helion offers both short-term IT fixes and long-term planning so dealers can focus on what matters most: selling more cars. Helion has specialized in IT for more than twenty years and works with 650+ auto dealers nationwide. Dealers can request a free assessment of their IT needs at www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Entrepreneur Of The Year®, founded by EY, is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs, chosen from an independent panel of judges including entrepreneurs and prominent leaders from business, finance, and the local community. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in over 145 cities and more than 60 countries. ey.com/eoy

About EY’s Growth Markets Network

EY’s worldwide Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped many of the world’s most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage, venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/sgm or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the global EY organization that provides services to clients in the US.

For more information, please visit ey.com.

While I was at NADA this year, I ran into a dealer who told me that he had recently discovered something very upsetting. An ex-salesperson who went to work for the competition had been logging into the dealer's CRM and stealing leads, which the salesperson then proceeded to enter into the CRM at his current workplace. Apparently this had been going on, undetected, for months.

How can this happen, you wonder? Unfortunately for dealers, it's pretty easy.

I wrote recently about how most dealerships don't have an established process to delete user accounts when employees leave. A simple checklist is all it takes.

But there's another very common practice in dealerships that makes it easy for ex-employees to continue logging in. That practice is shared accounts.

Sometimes, for the convenience of having employees being able to shift back and forth between different computers, or to save money, dealerships establish shared accounts. For instance, a sales department with five salespeople may have three CRM accounts with logins that look something like this:

Username: Sales1

Password: Auto1234

Username: Sales2

Password: Auto1234

Username: Sales3

Password: Auto1234

Okay, so anyone who knows anything about cybersecurity takes one look at those login credentials and breaks out into a cold sweat. Actually, there are quite a few things wrong with those login credentials.

But the biggest security risk is that everyone knows what the logins are, including all your ex-salespeople.

If your dealership's DMS, CRM or other applications are cloud-based, those databases can be accessed from any computer, anywhere, as long as the person is using the right login credentials. Ex salespeople could be stealing your leads. So could ex service managers.

As upsetting as this is, what you may not realize is that if this is happening, stolen leads are the least of your concerns. Your dealership is legally responsible for protecting your customers' personal information. If your database is breached, your dealership could be liable for all the costs involved. At about $30 per customer record, this could add up to millions of dollars.

Another problem with shared accounts is that it muddles the audit trail. When your database is breached one of the first things the FBI does is audit your logins. You should always be able to tell who specifically logged into what, where and when. With shared accounts this is a problem, which means that nice FBI agent will probably become upset. In my experience, it's best not to upset FBI agents more than is necessary.

Shared accounts are a bad idea, all around. Assign every employee a unique username and establish a process to delete all user accounts after your employees leave. This will help keep your leads and your customers' personal information safe from prying eyes.

Timonium, MD – March 13th, 2017-- Helion Automotive Technologies, a leading Information Technology (IT) Managed Services Provider, today issued proactive security recommendations for auto dealerships that may experience customer data breaches. The recommendations come on the heels of an incident that occurred last month and was widely reported in news outlets.

In February, a disgruntled employee with a CRM vendor circulated an email that appeared to be from hackers threatening to release sensitive information from millions of customer records. The data was purportedly taken from several dealerships' DMS databases. The CRM vendor quickly identified the employee, determined that no security breach had occurred, and that the data the employee had in her possession was benign.

"These dealers were lucky because if this hoax had turned out to be true they would be legally liable and could be on the hook for millions of dollars," said Erik Nachbahr, founder and President of Helion Automotive Technologies. "What this incident illustrates is how most dealerships do not understand the serious consequences related to a data breach of this nature and how ill prepared they are to respond."

If a hacker gains access to sensitive data in customer records such as social security numbers and birth dates, the cost to a dealership could be in the millions. That figure is based on an average cost of $30 per customer record breached.

Even if a dealership's CRM or DMS vendor is responsible for the breach of a dealership's customer records, the dealership is legally liable for all resulting costs, which may include:

• Local law enforcement and/or FBI investigations
• Computer forensic investigations
• Business interruptions; in some cases businesses are ordered to close their doors until the source and impact of the data breach is assessed
• Customer notifications and free credit monitoring for customers
• Crisis management and public relations
• Customer and class action lawsuits
• FTC action for non-compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act and software copyright laws

Fortunately for dealers, these consequences can be greatly mitigated by creating a security plan that includes a response to customer data breach occurrences.

The first recommendation that dealers should implement is to assign a point person in the dealership who will coordinate a planned response. The designee is typically a high-level financial executive, which in a dealership may be the CFO, Controller or Chief Compliance Officer.

The designee should have a written response plan that addresses each of the consequences listed in the bullet points above.

The designee should have a list of parties and contact information at the ready in the event of a security breach. Parties that need to be notified immediately include local law enforcement, the dealership's attorney, cyberliability insurance provider and public relations/crisis management representative.

The customer data breach response plan should also include a protocol for notifying customers that their data has been breached, which is a legal requirement. Many states also have a legal requirement that will require your dealership to pay for one or two years of free credit monitoring for the affected customers.

If your dealership does not have cyberliability insurance, get some. Immediately. The typical insurance policies that dealerships carry such as property, liability and casualty insurance do not cover costs related to data breaches.  

If a dealership does not have a crisis management plan in place, create one. Costs related to litigation and compliance violations can be greatly alleviated if the dealership responds publicly, immediately and in an appropriate manner.

"Dealers need to realize this is an imminent threat, and that it's not if, but when this will happen," said Nachbahr. "Having a security plan in place is pretty much expected for every business in every industry these days, but unfortunately we find that many dealerships don't think about it until it's too late."

The likelihood that auto dealerships will experience a customer data breach is high. In the last 12 months 71 percent of Small to Mid-Size Businesses (SMBs) reported a security breach, according to a July 2016 report titled IT Security at Small to Mid-Size Businesses (SMBs): 2016 Benchmark Survey. Companies with fewer than 500 employees proved the most vulnerable with a 75 percent breach rate.

For more information contact Helion at 443-541-1500 or online at http://www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Helion Automotive Technologies

Helion...Putting Your Dealership in the FAST LANE! Helion Automotive Technologies is a leading IT solutions provider, providing auto dealers with faster, more efficient networks and secure data protection. From managed services to IT assistance and service desk help, Helion offers both short-term IT fixes and long-term planning so dealers can focus on what matters most: selling more cars. Helion has specialized in IT for more than ten years and works with 650+ auto dealers nationwide. Dealers can request a free assessment of their IT needs at www.heliontechnologies.com.

A PC is arguably the most important tool you use on a daily basis. It's used to communicate with customers and your colleagues. It's used to store documents and other important files. It's used to run business applications and to access the outside world via the Internet, as well as cloud-based applications.

Yet this ubiquitous workhorse is often taken for granted. We just assume it will always work the way it's supposed to, and when it doesn't? Chaos ensues!

At Helion, we handle hundreds of Help Desk calls from dealership employees every day. Many are PC related. We've noticed that a lot of people make the same mistakes in how they are using their PCs. These mistakes can cause a myriad of problems such as lost files, security breaches or slowing down the performance of the PC.

So we've compiled a list of tips that should help to keep your PC running efficiently and chaos at bay:

1) Don't store documents on your desktop

Do you save important documents on your desktop? Some people find it quicker and easier to find documents this way. But there's a reason why you should store your documents in files on your hard drive. Your hard drive is backed up, but documents stored on your desktop are not. If your computer crashes and has to be restored, all those documents or files stored on your desktop cannot be retrieved and will be lost forever.

2) Don't use your email as a filing cabinet

Like your hard drive, your emails are backed up to the cloud. But because of the sheer volume of data being backed up, most dealerships keep 30 days worth of backups. Unlike the files stored on your hard drive, all emails older than 30 days are deleted. If your computer crashes and the data must be restored via backup, only your emails for the last 30 days will be available.

If an email contains an important document, download it and save it to a file on your hard drive. Also you can take screen shots of important email communications and save those in files as well.

3) Lock your computer when you leave your desk

When you go to a meeting, out to lunch or walk away from your computer for any reason, lock your computer. This is a security issue. It may sound far-fetched, but there have been instances of opportunistic hackers taking advantage of unmanned computers. These could be your colleagues, customers or outside vendors working on site.

It doesn't take long to install a piece of malware, virus or remote login software, which could allow a hacker to take control of your dealership's entire network!

To instantly lock computers using Windows 8 and 10:

a) Open the Start Menu, click on your user icon and choose Lock from the list.

b) Press Ctrl+Alt+Del simultaneously, then select Lock from the options presented.

4) Perform 'software updates'

If your dealership doesn't have a managed services provider doing this for you, it's critical that someone updates the software operating system and applications on every computer on a regular basis. This is an important security issue. Microsoft issues frequent updates for Windows and other business applications that help to prevent new malware or viruses from infecting your computer.

Also, if you don't update software from other vendors, these applications will eventually become incompatible with newer versions of other applications.

The easiest way to check for software updates on your PC is to make a list of all the applications you use on a weekly basis. As you launch each application, check the settings. Update notifications are typically found in there.

5) Don't click on attachments or links in emails from people you don't know

Phishing is the most common way that hackers gain access to your dealership's network. Common examples of phishing emails include:

• An email from UPS or FedEx notifying you that a package is on its way, providing you with the tracking number. It encourages you to click on the link to see when your package will arrive.
• An email from Starbucks containing a coupon for a free coffee. It encourages you to enter personal information to retrieve the coupon.
• An email from PayPal notifying you there is a discrepancy with your account, with a link to the login page.
• A fraud notice from your bank or credit card company with a link to the login page. If you're concerned about fraud, call the institution directly using the phone number on your card.
• An email from your boss or dealership principal asking you to wire money to an account, with specific instructions on how to do so. Always call to verbally verify requests for money transfers.
• An email from Dropbox or Google Docs telling you a file is waiting to be downloaded, with a link to a fake login page.
• Social media invites. If you receive an email alerting you that someone wants to connect with you on Linked In or Facebook, don't click on the link provided. Instead, go directly to the social media site via your browser and accept the invitation there.

6) Re-start your PC daily

Some people leave their PC on all the time, day in and day out. Or they put it into sleep or hibernate mode. This is not healthy for a computer.

Restarting a PC finalizes updates and installations, prevents processors from becoming overloaded, flushes RAM, stops memory leaks and fixes many other coding and bug issues. In short, re-starting your PC daily will keep it running faster and more efficiently.

These are just a few things that every user should know about their PC. Do you have any tips to keep your PC running smoothly?

IT Provider is Hiring Staff to Service Auto & Trucking Dealerships Nationwide

Timonium, MD – January 23rd, 2017-- Helion Automotive Technologies, a leading Information Technology (IT) Managed Services Provider, announced today it is moving its current office in Dallas, TX to a new, larger location. The move comes as the company adds more than 30 technical support and call center positions to service its retail automotive and heavy-duty trucking dealership clientele nationwide.

"Due to unprecedented growth and the recent extension in our Help Desk hours, we are tripling our office space and adding more staff to meet the demand from our customers," said Erik Nachbahr, founder and president of Helion. "The Dallas location in particular helps us to better service our west coast customers."

The newly expanded call center in Dallas is an extension of Helion's call center based in Baltimore, Maryland. Helion offers phone-based technical support to its customers from 6:30 a.m. to midnight daily, Monday through Saturday. Helion also offers technical support on many major holidays.

"It's very unusual for an IT company to offer these kinds of hours, but we are committed to doing business when our customers do business," said Nachbahr. "Auto dealerships in particular can be very busy on holiday weekends and the last thing they need is disruption to their business due to an IT issue."

Helion Automotive Technologies offers a variety of IT services from basic desktop support and software upgrades to infrastructure enhancement, cybersecurity, phone systems, collaboration tools, videoconferencing solutions and more.

Helion currently services more than 650 automotive and heavy-duty trucking dealerships, and 28,000 end users. The company handles an average 300 Help Desk calls every day and resolves more than 6,000 IT issues per month.

To apply for open positions visit: http://www.heliontalent.com

Visit Helion Automotive Technologies at Booth #4303 at the NADA/ATD Convention & Expo in New Orleans, January 26th - 29th. For more information or to schedule an appointment contact Helion at 443-541-1500 or online at http://www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Helion Automotive Technologies

Helion...Putting Your Dealership in the FAST LANE! Helion Automotive Technologies is a leading IT solutions provider, providing auto dealers with faster, more efficient networks and secure data protection. From managed services to IT assistance and service desk help, Helion offers both short-term IT fixes and long-term planning so dealers can focus on what matters most: selling more cars. Helion has specialized in IT for more than ten years and works with 650+ auto dealers nationwide. Dealers can request a free assessment of their IT needs at www.heliontechnologies.com.

If you watched any TV over the holidays, you probably saw the commercials for Amazon Echo, affectionately known as Alexa, and for Google Home. These devices employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) to learn voice commands and perform tasks such as controlling smart home appliances, answering questions, placing orders online, playing music and more.

Right now these AI devices are meant for personal, at-home use. But in 2017, I predict we'll see new and more AI technologies being adopted in the workplace--including in dealerships! Here are three ways AI may impact your dealership in the coming year.

'Traveling' Personal Assistants

Drawbacks to Alexa and Google Home are that they are static, meaning you can only use them at home, and they are somewhat limited in their capabilities. But the technology is advancing at a rapid pace.

Google's assistant technology will soon be embedded into smartphones and cars. This means you can take your personal assistant with you wherever you go. Once this step happens, people will be using their assistants to help them in the workplace as well as personal functions.

AI assistants are very effective at setting appointments and meetings, literally taking over the back and forth email communications until an agreed upon time is reached, checking times against your schedule, then sending out the invites to all parties.

They can also send and receive emails and text messages, perform Internet searches and interact with smartphone apps, all via voice command.

Chat and Text Bots

Several vendors already offer chat and text bot applications that communicate directly with customers. These are sometimes referred to as assistants, but their primary functions are to engage with customers, answer questions and help bring customers down funnel to the point where they are ready to schedule an appointment. At that point, the chat bots can schedule the appointment or hand the prospect over to a salesperson or service advisor.

One of the main advantages of bots is that they communicate with customers instantly and any time of day or night. While your sales people and service advisors are with customers, out to lunch or call in sick for a day, the bots can effectively answer inquiries and FAQs, schedule appointments and notify staff if a customer's inquiry requires a personal call.

These bots are very efficient and capable of answering sophisticated questions such as:

• Do you still have xyz car in stock?
• Do you have this make/model in red?
• What's the price?
• How do I program Bluetooth in the car I just bought?
• Is your service department open? Do I need an appointment?
• How much do you charge for an oil change?
• Is my car ready for pickup?
• When will my car be ready for pickup?

In one dealership, their bot named "Lisa" was so effective that numerous Yelp reviews praised how wonderful and helpful Lisa was.

Some chat bots can be integrated with CRM, ILM and other communication platforms, increasing lead volumes and conversion rates. Facebook Messenger recently launched its own chat bot designed for businesses to use on their Facebook pages. These bots engage with Messenger users, answer questions and eventually deliver them as leads to your dealership.

Vehicles Connected to the Internet

In the next five years the practice of updating a vehicle's software with over-the-air updates will grow at least tenfold, according to IHS Automotive. Over-the-air software updates are used for maps, apps, infotainment, telematics and electronic control units (ECU). In the not-too-distant future, dealers will even be able to diagnose and correct some performance issues without requiring the vehicle owner to make a shop visit.

In the future when connected cars sense a problem or needed repair, they will notify the dealership and schedule their own appointments.

To prepare for a world where AI is pervasive, dealerships will need to review their IT infrastructure to make sure it can support the additional data requirements. This includes upgrading to fiber optics Internet connections, increasing WiFi capacity and replacing old network switches and other hardware such as PCs.

If you have recently upgraded your IT infrastructure, unfortunately you're not off the hook. The Internet of Things, or the number of connected devices, has nearly tripled in the last three years and will triple again in the next three. AI will be one of the contributors to an increased need for speed. I always tell dealers, don't upgrade your bandwidth to what your data needs are today. Triple that. Go there, otherwise in two years you'll need to do it again.

Timonium, MD – January 11th, 2017-- Helion Automotive Technologies announced today it's celebrating the company's 20th anniversary. For 20 years Helion has been a Managed Services Provider for auto dealerships, designing and implementing proactive information technology (IT) strategies to support auto dealers' business success. One year ago Helion expanded into the heavy-duty trucking dealership space when they brought Summit Truck Group on board as a new customer.

Like many well-known tech visionaries, Helion founder and president Erik Nachbahr started in his basement and grew his business through referrals. His first automotive client was a Toyota dealer who referred him to several other Toyota dealers, and on it went. After recognizing a need in the automotive niche, Nachbahr quickly decided to specialize in providing managed IT services to auto dealerships.

"A lot of auto dealers struggle with technology because so many of the IT problems they have are specific to what they do; such as issues with multiple vendors playing the blame game, or DMS and integration issues," said Nachbahr. "Focusing only on automotive gives us an edge because we know if a vendor's latest software update is buggy, or if there's a problem with an OEM application, so our clients know the problem is not on their end."

With an average 15 percent annual growth rate, today Helion services over 650 dealerships and 28,000 end users. The company handles an average 300 Help Desk calls every day and resolves more than 6,000 IT issues per month.

Nachbahr credits Helion's growth to its reputation for service excellence and keeping its primary focus on auto dealers' success via the implementation of proactive IT strategies.

"We show dealers how IT can help achieve growth and other business goals they want, by planning out a detailed IT strategy for 60 months," said Nachbahr. "Without this planning dealerships' responses to IT problems tend to be reactionary, which hinders productivity and affects employee morale."

Helion also advises dealerships on new technologies, security issues, the importance of understanding the systems they have (such as their phone configurations' impact on incoming leads and customer satisfaction), as well as how IT can improve efficiency and productivity in the workplace.

Win a free Amazon Echo Dot! To celebrate its 20th 'birthday', Helion will be giving away one Amazon Echo Dot every day during the NADA/ATD Convention & Expo at Booth #4303. Amazon Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that users frequently refer to as "Alexa" and is commonly used to play music, control smart home devices, set alarms, read news and more.

To join the celebration, visit Helion Automotive Technologies at Booth #4303 at the NADA/ATD Convention & Expo in New Orleans. For more information or to schedule an appointment at NADA/ATD, contact Helion at 443-541-1500.

About Helion Automotive Technologies

Helion...Putting Your Dealership in the FAST LANE! Helion Automotive Technologies is a leading IT solutions provider, providing auto dealers with faster, more efficient networks and secure data protection. From managed services to IT assistance and service desk help, Helion offers both short-term IT fixes and long-term planning so dealers can focus on what matters most: selling more cars. Helion has specialized in IT for more than ten years and works with 650+ auto dealers nationwide. Dealers can request a free assessment of their IT needs at www.heliontechnologies.com.

Cybersecurity is more than just a buzzword that's hanging over from the election. This issue is a real threat to every small business, including dealerships. You may think your network is protected with a firewall and anti-virus software, but that won't stop sophisticated hackers from gaining access to your emails, your data, your customer records and possibly all that cash sitting in your dealership's bank accounts.

One dealership I know of experienced an attack when hackers installed a type of surveillance software in their network called keylogger. This was done by sending an email that contained a link or file to an employee. When the employee clicked on the link or downloaded the file, the malware was installed. In the case of this dealership, the malware was installed on a computer in the accounting department.

Surveillance software tracks every keystroke that employees make on their keyboards. Using this tactic the hackers were able to figure out the login and password used to access the dealership's TransUnion account.

After hours, the hackers logged in and began pulling credit information on the dealership's customers. More than 200 records were compromised before TransUnion stopped the suspicious activity. The FBI got involved and the dealership had to pay over $150,000 for a security audit and other costs associated with notifying customers that their information had been compromised.

Imagine if hackers gained access to all the customer records in your DMS, or CRM, or to your bank accounts. They could steal your customer information and initiate wire transfers. Costs to your dealership could run into the millions.

It's called two-factor authentication. Every dealership should contact their banks, credit bureaus and all their software vendors, especially if your dealership's data is backed up into the cloud. Ask your vendor to require two-factor authentication in order for your accounts to be accessed.

You are probably familiar with two-factor authentication. If you try to log in to your Google account or bank account from an unfamiliar device, they text or email an access code that must be used within a certain timeframe, such as 30 minutes. Many banks now mandate the usage of two-factor authentication.

Two-factor authentication is a very effective method for stopping hackers in their tracks. The first factor is your password, which is usually static so hackers can figure it out. The second factor is the temporary code that's synced to a different system and constantly refreshes, so it's very difficult to breach.

In the workplace, two-factor authentication is sometimes still accomplished using hardware tokens, but those are now going out of vogue. Now everything is moving towards the use of software tokens.

In dealerships, two-factor authentication should be used for access to:

• Bank accounts
• Credit bureaus
• DMS vendors
• CRM vendors
• Any third-party software that contains your customers' personal, confidential information
• VPN remote access

The problem right now is that many CRM and DMS vendors do not offer two-factor authentication. The reason? Dealers aren't demanding it.

Dealers, if you demand this from your vendors they should start providing it. Vendors, if you don't offer this option, your clients' customer data is vulnerable.

Google has an excellent two-factor authentication system that just about any vendor can integrate with. We use it here at Helion and we mandate its usage for all of our applications, so employees are forced to use it. Your employees may complain about this a little at first, but they will quickly get used to it.

Two-factor authentication is an inexpensive and very effective method for ensuring that your data, your customers' data and your bank accounts are not compromised.

However, in the event that your customer records are compromised, you still need cyber liability insurance. Data breaches are expensive and the vast majority of dealerships are not protected.

Cybersecurity should be a top priority for every dealership this year. Hacking can be very profitable to cyber criminals, and small to mid-sized businesses are most vulnerable to attacks. Auto dealerships are an especially attractive target because of the social security numbers, bank account information and other valuable information associated with thousands of customer records.

Timonium, MD – December 12th, 2016-- Helion Automotive Technologies, a leading provider of information technology (IT) solutions for auto dealers, today announced the top technology priorities for auto dealerships in 2017. As dealerships plan to improve operational efficiencies, allocating budgets to these five areas will result in strong, fast and secure IT backbones that will support new business and technology initiatives.

"Dealers often view IT as a cost of doing business, rather than as an investment that can help them become more competitive," said Erik Nachbahr, President of Helion Automotive Technologies. "In this industry time is money and an outdated IT infrastructure can result in downtime, lost revenue, reduced customer retention and loss of employee buy-in."

Helion's top IT priorities for auto dealers in 2017 are:

1) Internet Bandwidth

Until recently a Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) T1 Internet connection may have been sufficient for the average dealership. Not any more. Today's cloud-based, third-party and OEM applications require greater data throughput than a T1 can handle. Dealerships that haven't already upgraded to a fiber optics connection, may want to seriously consider this option.

A T1 connection carries data at a rate of 1.544 Mbps. A fiber optics connection carries data at rates ranging from 100 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps). Fiber optics is the future of Internet connectivity, so why wait? Nothing kills productivity and employee morale like slow Internet.

2) Wireless

This is a huge area of frustration for many dealers, as they discover their dealerships don't have nearly enough wireless for today's mobile tablet and software applications, especially in the service department.

As OEMs and third-party application developers push location-based technologies and programs, the average dealership with six to ten high-speed wireless access nodes will need to increase their wireless capacity by three to five times, to a minimum of 25 wireless access nodes per store.

3) Incoming Call Flow

Up to 30 percent of incoming phone leads never connect with an employee who can help them. This has nothing to do with people and processes, and everything to do with call flow. A phone system's call flow defines rules such as how many times an extension rings, whether the caller goes to voice mail or back to the receptionist.

"Dealers are losing a crazy amount of leads due to something they probably don't think much about," said Nachbahr. His recommendations include creating a new call flow designed to support dealer processes and, once established, not allowing individual managers to make spontaneous changes.

4) Security and Regulatory Compliance

Security breaches have become frighteningly commonplace. In the last year 75 percent of businesses with fewer than 500 employees reported a security breach, according to a July 2016 report titled IT Security at Small to Mid-Size Businesses (SMBs): 2016 Benchmark Survey. If customer records are exposed, associated fines and lawsuits can add up to millions of dollars per incident.

To avoid harsh financial consequences, Nachbahr's top recommendation for dealers is to get cyber liability insurance. Additionally, dealerships should have established security policies in place.

5) Software Licensing

An estimated 45 percent of auto dealerships have been audited by Microsoft in the last two years. Additionally, Microsoft has issued warnings that 100 percent of businesses should expect a software audit at least once every four years.

Dealerships not in compliance with licensing laws are being slapped with huge fines from the Business Software Alliance, Microsoft and other software vendors. Violations most commonly occur with unlicensed copies of Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat and antivirus programs.

"One dealership I know of got caught using unlicensed copies of Microsoft Office on over 300 computers, and had to pay a fine of $1.5 million," said Nachbahr. "This is something that dealers cannot afford to mess around with."

To avoid fines Nachbahr says dealers need to ensure that employees are not using unlicensed copies of software. If the cost of Office 2016 is prohibitive, try Microsoft Office 365 Business, a cloud-based subscription program. Just be sure that Internet and WiFi connections can support the increased data throughput that cloud-based applications require.

For more information contact Helion at 443-541-1500 or visit http://www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Helion Automotive Technologies

Helion...Putting Your Dealership in the FAST LANE! Helion Automotive Technologies is a leading IT solutions provider, providing auto dealers with faster, more efficient networks and secure data protection. From managed services to IT assistance and service desk help, Helion offers both short-term IT fixes and long-term planning so dealers can focus on what matters most: selling more cars. Helion has specialized in IT for more than ten years and works with 650+ auto dealers nationwide. Dealers can request a free assessment of their IT needs at www.heliontechnologies.com.