Confessions of an eBiz Junkie

The EMC Information Calendar - v. 2010

2009-12-14T10:23:54-08:00

The New Year is almost upon us. What? Don't have a 2010 calendar already up and running? Well - seems you have two choices... Wait until the holidays have past and you're sure to find absolute crazy deals on 2010 fluffy kitten calendars, or lead the pack into 2010 with your own personal EMC Information Calendar.

The second iteration of the calendar introduces the ability to add notes and comments. So, if you want to ensure a timely birthday present for your favorite eBiz Blogger (hint - think Flag Day), then we have your answer right here.

As usual, it's available for all of your favorite social platforms... So what are you waiting for?

When Disaster Strikes - A MOZY Story

2009-12-01T10:36:26-08:00

I'll make a long story short.

My October was completely consumed by the announcement of the VMware, Cisco and EMC coalition. Ensuring all of the digital pieces came together to help ensure a successful launch was complex. What I didn't need was a midstream disaster.

So - now picture me the morning of Friday, October 23rd. It's 5am local time and just about week in front of the announcement. I'm pounding cappuccinos like it's my last day on earth. The nervous legs are shaking the entire house and even the new puppy doesn't want to be around me in this heightened state of anxiety. It's damned early, but it's time to get to work.

I hit the power switch on my trusty MacBook Pro.

Nothing.

In denial, I try again.

Nothing.

Oh cr@p.

The logic board was shot. After traveling with me for tens of thousands of miles, my trusty companion finally threw in the towel. I couldn't even get the good old Apple start up chime to kick in. It was dead and the timing could not have been worse.

Full blown panic ensues - then I remember I'd signed up for Mozy some time back.

Disclaimer - Mozy is an EMC company and I am an EMC employee. However, I should also note that this experience was completely independent of any professional relationship. I had signed up for Mozy on my own and had used a personal email address. The service I received from these folks was simply exceptional - and a good service is worth calling out.

Instant access to files?

Check. First order of business was to install the Mozy client on my iMac and selectively restore the things I needed so desperately. I had access to these key pieces of information within minutes.

Wait- I am missing a file. Do they have customer support?

Check. This one was user error as I was looking in the wrong spot. However, the support experience was exceptional. Using Live Chat, I had a support rep on within seconds who quickly answered my question. Unfortunately, my Internet connection dropped in the middle of the conversation (when it rains, it pours...) so it ended abruptly. No big deal - I had the answer I needed so went on my way.

Imagine my surprise an hour later when they sent me an email advising that I had 'disappeared' from the conversation and they just wanted to check in and see if all was good. A stunning support experience that's all to rare these days.

But that's a LOT of files!

I had several GB of backup data and it would have taken far too long to bring all of that back over the network.

No problem - they'll ship you all of your data for a nominal charge. So - I order up an archive of all my backed up files and get back to work.

The next day a package arrives - but not on a DVD as I'd expected. Instead, they image your data on an iomega Portable Prestige drive. The techie in me simply loved this.

This was my first encounter with data loss, and it could not have happened at a worst time. It added a lot of stress to this period of time, but all managed to come out OK.

Mozy far exceeded expectations. A simple interface, instant access, stellar customer support, and geek goodness for those that need archived backup sets. And with this experience behind me, I'm looking for ways to get everything I own that has a plug to now backup to the Mozy service.

If you don't have a backup strategy - get one. It's a disaster waiting to happen. If you want to give MOZY a whirl, you can get 2GB of backup space absolutely free (they don't even want your credit card up front!) or can sign up for unlimited data for less than $5 per month.

Seriously - can you afford to NOT be doing this?

Tips for Deploying Community in the Enterprise

2009-11-30T09:47:05-08:00

I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at KMWorld 2009 before the holiday. It was an older blog post around the evolution of our corporate Intranet that first put me in touch with the KMWorld management team.

I spoke a bit about the transformation of the enterprise, highlighting our journey in both traditional and social channels. Putting together the story helped me reflect a bit on our journey and recall some of the key decisions that have helped us progress on our path. Some of these things I now take for granted, but based on discussions with other attendees, I realize many have yet to begin traveling this path. To that end, I wanted to share a few of the key takeaways...

Don't tell everyone that you intend to boil the ocean

In any large organization, it can be difficult to get new projects on the docket. Funds are often scarce and IT resources are usually beyond capacity. I wonder how far we would have gotten if we'd set out to 'transform the enterprise'. Was that the goal? Yes. Was it our lead in line with new stakeholders? No.

Rather, we took a more conservative approach early on, expressing the desire to 'experiment' with these 'emerging technologies' to better understand them. At the same time, we didn't know what we didn't know - so did not walk in with grand illusions about immediate transformation.

As has been stated in the past, the first offering of 'EMC|ONE' was based on open source software and running on a laptop. A far cry from the business critical site it is today. But, it was an approach that helped us get something up and running, make it available to our community, and immediately begin to learn, evolve and adjust on the fly - all without pulling together a small army to help drive this transformation.

So - the takeaway here - start small. Experiment. Be creative. I've found it's often the best way to get things done.

Don't underestimate the reality check

The social web and the move to E2.0 is no fad. Technology is simply catching up to the way that people have socialized and interacted for thousands of years. There are new and better ways to collaborate online and these things are not going away.

One of our biggest allies early on was our CIO. He realized that tools that enabled better collaboration were not a fad, but rather were critical to enabling a highly productive and collaborative workforce. He also understood that, if we didn't provide a platform, there were no shortage of external substitutes.

From this angle, the problem statement is rather simple. Enable your employees to leverage the tools and techniques they need to succeed or watch them flock to the myriad of freely available external tools. Tools where you'll lose complete control over your (potentially sensitive) information.

If you're not enabling this stuff, you're likely asking for trouble.

Inside out works well

At least it has for us... There's no right answer to any of this. What works for one may not for another. Many have started their social journey outside the firewall. We chose to work inside out - and I'd say it's been a very healthy approach.

Among our early on goals - developing employee proficiency with Enterprise 2.0 tools and techniques. We wanted to learn about this stuff amongst ourselves before engaging our external audience through the medium. Sure we had a couple of external discussion forums available, but we really focused on driving awareness and proficiency in 2.0 behaviors to make the foray externally all the more richer.

Two years in, as I step back and reflect on the journey, I'd suggest that much of what's worked well for us is built on the solid foundation of familiarity that our employees now bring to the table.

Don't be overly prescriptive.

As tough as it may be to stomach, there are some people smarter than you. Early in our journey, there were discussions around how an internal community could be leveraged, how it should be organized, who could access it, etc;. The words 'use cases' and 'personas' started popping up (a sure sign that you're getting traction, btw), and it felt like we were at a fork in the road.

The path left led to an open and dynamic offering where the community at large controlled their destiny. The path on the right, old school command and control. I'm thankful we chose the path on the left.

Who has 'owned' the platform for the past two years? The community has. And they're far better at knowing where they want to go than any one person. Don't make the mistake of dictating use cases or direction here - leverage the power of the community and embrace creativity.

Private = BAD

Sorry - I know we've chatted about this one before, but such a list wouldn't be complete without it. It's traditional behavior - I want a space for collaboration but it can only be open to me and 6 of my best friends... There seems to be a fundamental desire to keep conversations closed. Of the hundred or so early community managers, each wanted their space locked to some subset of our employees. We've resisted this at every step, asking what information was SO confidential that putting it out for other employees to see would be damaging.

The conversation goes the same every time, and we always end up launching an open (internal) community. Almost every time, the community manager comes back acknowledging that conversations get exponentially more valuable as eyeballs are added.

Limiting access to conversations is yesterdays thinking... Push for openness and transparency early on - I suspect you'll be glad you did in the future.

I go to such conferences making the assumption that everyone is plodding along just like us. I always worry about sharing 'old news' and not giving much value. But, each time, I am reminded that this is a long journey, and folks are at all sorts of stages on it. While the stuff above may feel like 101 to you (it does to me), it generated a pile of discussion so I wanted to share. If it's been of interest to you, we also pulled together a white paper some time back that covers this in much more detail. It may be of interest to you.

The Transforming Enterprise

2009-11-03T15:10:56-08:00

Things have been a tad busy of late, and I've been neglecting my blogging duties - Sorry for that. If it's any excuse, I've been working all-out with a very talented bunch of folks to help deliver this, this and this. Which reminds, with this now in the past, I really have to start working on my presentation for this.

If you haven't been following, EMC, Cisco and VMware today announced the Virtual Computing Environment coalition. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, and have given me an opportunity to witness firsthand the transformation of the traditional enterprise.

Many definitions of Enterprise 2.0 focus on the software that enables extended collaboration within the corporate world. For me, it's as much about the re-engineering of traditional business processes as it is the enabling tools. The notion of opening traditional walls and enabling greater collaboration with customers, partners and prospects alike is among the most fascinating aspects to me.

I got the chance to witness this firsthand and it was fantastic.

Groups working together across different companies is not a new thing... But this whole effort felt very different. As I began working with new friends from Cisco and VMware, I realized that we weren't simply a bunch of independent teams plugging along to a project plan. Rather, it felt like one big passionate team firing on all cylinders. While we sat in varying facilities all over the world and had different logos on our badges, that's where the differences ended.

It was a really cool experience - watching legions of people put aside traditional thinking and processes in support of a common goal - to do right by the customer while transforming an industry.

It was certainly among the more humbling experiences of my career - and I applaud the brands for thinking different - and thinking big. It's exciting stuff.

I'll share a bit more in the coming days about this whole experience... Including the absolute disaster that happened midstream. But - you'll have to check back for that ;).

Innovation Day at EMC

2009-10-14T11:16:56-07:00

I have the absolute pleasure today of participating in EMC's Innovation Conference. It's hard to imagine a year has passed since our last event. As I type this, I sit in our Santa Clara facility (California) watching a live broadcast from Bangalore, India where EMC CTO Jeff Nick is opening the days ceremonies. Santa Clara is but one of 13 satellite sites across the globe participating in the days activities.

Breakthrough thinking, adding value to our customers, adding value to EMC, improving the industry at large and identifying ways to further encourage innovation are all among the criteria for idea submissions. This is a wonderful program that really helps highlight the incredible talent, thinking and creativity that thrives within our culture.

In 2007, this program generated about 400 ideas. This year, about 1500 submissions from across the globe made for a tough competition. Kudos to the team that invests the time to pull this together, those who submit ideas and to the culture that simply feeds on innovation.

As I sit here listening to Jeff review the 100 finalists, I'm struck by two things... Certainly the creativity and breadth of ideas is simply staggering. But the focus on the customer is the most impressive aspect to me. It's evident to me that improving our lives by advancing the digital world is among the core drivers for idea submitters and employees alike.

Also of note, just how much our social efforts are paying off. EMC|ONE is at the very hub of global collaboration for this program. Like any such offering, it connects people and effectively enables innovation on a global scale that was simply not possible a few short years ago.

I managed to spend a few minutes with Dan Campbell. Dan is Vice President of Sales for our Western Division, and is also the executive sponsor for the California based events taking place around the Innovation Conference. Dan provides his thoughts on the importance of innovation to EMC, and to our customers.