24
KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL
April / May 2016
The case for MDM: Apple v. FBI By David A. Milazzo
W
hile I’ve written a number of articles positioning Mobile Device Management (MDM) as a necessary tool for both corporate-owned and corporateused smartphones, perhaps the biggest reason to embrace MDM just landed at the feet of the nation. The Apple v. FBI case has thrown the doors wide open on the idea of encryption and what it means to have truly private communications. And while I firmly back Apple’s stance not to build a version of their software that threatens the security of nearly a billion devices, 500 words is not ample space to assert my position and provide a full, technical explanation of this threat potential. But what I can offer here is a small piece of advice that removes the need for this skeleton key inside your organization. MDM is a method of enrolling devices into a software management platform in order to exert control over those devices. The main element we use to manage a device — be it Apple, Android or Windows — is called a “profile." A profile is a small set of files containing a collection of behaviors we want the device to adhere to. Once installed, the profile David A. Milazzo can pre-load Wi-Fi or email configurations or it might force a strong passcode, restrict the ability to use the camera, or even disallow certain applications. Administrators have myriad options to pre-set how the devices behave in different environments. And from the MDM management console, an administrator can perform a slew of tasks across their fleet of phones. In addition to querying the device for its GPS location or list of installed apps, administrators can remotely lock or erase devices to protect sensitive, corporate data. MDM platforms come in all shapes and sizes. I’m a fan of Cisco Meraki as a starting point for many of my clients as they offer a basic MDM platform for free up to 100 devices — free is a price-point I find all of my clients can get behind.
But some organizations have more devices or require a stronger set of features. In these cases, we might move to a paid tier of Cisco Meraki or consider Bushel, AirWatch, MaaS360 or MobileIron. All bring their own strengths depending on the organization. And it’s important to note these tools aren’t just useful for business — I help many families deploy MDM to manage their teenagers’ phones and to protect their own devices if lost or stolen. The takeaway is that once an MDM platform has its hooks into a device, it exerts an enormous amount of authority. In most cases, we’re interested in protecting the corporate data — not cracking the phone open. But there are situations where the reverse is true. Maybe an employee leaves the company unexpectedly while neglecting to inform IT of their iPad passcode. In a circumstance like this, the MDM can very simply remove the passcode. Repeat: Remove the passcode. Had San Bernardino County IT employed an MDM platform, wiping the passcode would have been a five-minute event not the national brouhaha we’ve seen over the last months. So however you come down on privacy vs. FBI backdoors, know you can install your own minibackdoor just for your company’s piece of mind. Case closed. – David A. Milazzo is the founder and principal of Bakersfield-based Macroscopic, an Apple enterprise technology consultancy focused on bringing Mac and iOS technologies to businesses, schools, agencies, and independent professionals. Send your questions to him via email at milazzo@macroscopic.net.
Farmers who export large amounts of crops should consider tax benefits By Chris Hamilton
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armers in the Central Valley have faced enormous challenges due to exceptional drought conditions in the last four years. Still, our resilient agricultural community has continued to produce despite facing higher water and energy costs. Continued global demand for California-grown crops has helped sustain the farming economy and we continue to supply many foreign countries with a variety of products. For farmers who produce crops that are largely exported, there is a significant tax reduction strategy through a federal subsidy for exports, and many eligible farming businesses are not taking advantage of it. Creating an Interest Charge Domestic International Chris Hamilton Sales Corporation, or “IC-DISC,” can provide significant tax benefits for the producers of exported goods. And yet, the IRS es-
timates that only 25 percent of the potential IC-DISC benefits that are available are actually being captured. If you are a producer whose total exports are equal to or greater than $1 million annually and you are not operating under an IC-DISC, you may be “leaving money on the table.” An IC-DISC is relatively easy to form though it does require the assistance of a tax professional who understands the challenges unique to farming operations in California. The IC-DISC is simply a new corporation formed by the farmer that makes an election to be taxed as an IC-DISC. This corporation will serve as the broker to the exporter of the crops. The farmer then enters into a commission agreement with the IC-DISC corporation, according to specific guidelines established by the IRS. It typically requires an attorney and a certified public accountant that are familiar with the requirements to establish such an arrangement given the peculiarities of California law. The net result of this arrangement is to carve out a portion of the income received from exported goods through the commission agreement and effectively causing that in-
come to be taxed in a preferred manner with respect to the farmer and the IC-DISC. The farmer harvesting the crops pays a commission to the IC-DISC and deducts the amount of that commission from his other farming income, thus the amount of the commission is untaxed to the farmer. The commission that is received by the IC-DISC is not subject to federal income tax and is then distributed to the IC-DISC owners, typically as a qualified dividend. The rate that the dividend is taxed at is a maximum of 20 percent; the net effect of this arrangement can reduce the tax liability from your farming operations by up to twenty percent. Therefore, if significant portions of your harvested crops are exported, you should consult with a qualified tax professional to determine if the formation of an IC-DISC is appropriate for your farming operations. It may be an effective means of hedging the effect of these tough drought years. – Chris W. Hamilton is a tax and estate-planning attorney at Young Wooldridge, LLP. For more information, go to www.youngwooldridge.com/ic-disc.