We’ll be at the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, September 29 Business After Hours networking and trade-show with Advanced Systems. Drop by and say hello!

Here’s the official flyer for Business After Hours.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Here is good advice for laptop users from an article posted by the CBC regarding the tragic death of a man in Vancouver when his laptop computer caught fire after overheating when it was left on a couch.

Safety recommendations

The coroner’s office recommended anyone using a laptop take the following precautions.

• Always operate on a hard surface that allows ventilation. Soft materials can block the airflow vents and cause it to overheat.
• If it is not possible to avoid using a soft surface, an optional heat-sink base should be used to maintain cooling.
• Always shut down your laptop, even for short periods of time, especially when placed in a carry bag.
• Inspect and clean the air vents on a weekly basis. Forced-air dusters can be used to keep the vents clean and free from debris.
• Replace any equipment or parts that do not work.
• Using a laptop desk or cooler to allow air circulation between the laptop and the desk
• Visit the Health Canada recall listings website to see if a laptop has been recalled.

Review the manufacturers’ website for additional safety tips and recommended maintenance.

This is good advice. A fifty dollar cooling fan unit goes a long way to keep your computer cool and prevent premature failure.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Apple is building a huge data centre in North Carolina which will cost them one billion dollars over the next ten years. Apple has a culture of secrecy regarding their actions and this activity is no exception. Industry experts and Apple watchers speculate that this Apple data centre will provide the storage capacity required for Apple’s move into cloud computing. Service offerings will range from document storage, movies, music, pictures and Apple’s yet to be announced online application services. They are not alone in building new data centres. Microsoft and Google are also busy expanding their storage capacities to meet the expected needs of the future of cloud computing. It appears that this investment is Apple’s endorsement and show of support for cloud computing.

Flickr photo - Kathika - Creative Commons lisc.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

In answer to this article from Bill Detwiler, “Will Society Always Need Us Geeks?”, my answer is yes! Not just on the consumer side of things but in business computing as well. As a matter of fact I expect that small and medium enterprises need IT pros more now than ever. Either in house staff or contracted support. The CBS – 60 Minutes video that Bill includes in his article is a little older now but most of it is still relevant. In the video segment they identified three types of technology users: do it yourself, can’t do it themselves and those who think they can do it themselves. Since I sell computer technology into both the consumer and small business market I get to see all three of the above on a daily basis. The consumer and the business user have some needs in common:

• low priced computers, which is easily achieved now that computers have become commodities;
• simplicity and ease of use, most times this is something that can be achieved – with a little help;

After that the needs change between the consumer and the business computer owner. Business want their technology to work, they want it to work now, need it to be reliable and if it breaks – they need it fixed in a hurry. Because computers in this group are a business tool, businesses can’t afford to be without it or they lose business opportunities – AKA money! Consumers on the other hand  are willing to wait for technology to work for them even as painful as that wait can be.

Here’s my sad tale of woe to illustrate my point. Two years ago I purchased a laptop computer with a one-year extended service plan from a big box store. When it failed recently (during the extended service period), I took it in for service and waited a total of thirteen weeks for it to be repaired back to working condition. It came back from service twice  during that three month period – and had to be sent back the next day when it was found that the original problems hadn’t been solved and on one trip discovered a new problem had developed. I still have a desktop computer so production wasn’t stopped dead. After a month of waiting for the laptop to be serviced, I bought a new one because we just couldn’t be without a working portable computer. Thirteen weeks is a long time to be without a computer. A consumer can tolerate it – barely, but a business can’t and shouldn’t.

If you’re a small business owner, try to avoid being in the group of technology buyers and users who think they can do it themselves. On the other hand, don’t tolerate poor service from your technology support people. There are geeks who play with technology and then there are professionals who know technology and understand the value of computing that works in support of your business goals.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

There is some leaked info regarding the Microsoft stores which are scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. Many pundits and industry folks think this is hilarious and doomed to failure (MS had a store in San Francisco that bombed years ago). A common opinion is that instead of emulating Apple (or Google, or – the list goes on) MS should stick to what made it rich and famous – software. Let’s not forget that MS is a multi-billion dollar enterprise composed of many separate billion dollar entities. When you are that huge, you can pursue many different opportunities. Some work, some don’t. While we can laugh at them cloning Apple stores, or going after Google with MicroHoo and Bing, the fact is they also have some solid and far reaching products and services which anyone who touches a computer these days is impacted by.

We will not see a MS store in Red Deer and that you can pretty much count on. At present we don’t even have an Apple store and probably never will. Although there were rumors that Mosaic (Apple’s outsourced retail marketing partner) was going to bring us an Apple store within a big-box store (I won’t mention the name but the initials are F&S) it doesn’t look like they completed the deal. BTW: Red Deer does have some great Apple retailers and Apple fans, but a dedicated store just isn’t financially viable.

On the other hand there are some great MS business partners here in town and those types of VAR’s and integrators are what steadily fuels MicroSoft’s billion dollar operation. Products like the Zune and Microsoft Press and their foray into retail store fronts are a pleasant and relatively harmless diversion. Unless you are a MS stock holder, but that’s another story.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Susan Cramm is an IT leader who coaches IT and business managers on how to get along and play well with each other. This quote is from her Harvard Business Review blog and the post: How to get IT and the business working together.

Your business processes are fueled by IT and mastery in managing IT (the asset, not simply the organization) is table stakes to lead in this lean, flat, fast-paced, and risky world.

Note: the bolding of “the asset, not simply the organization” is our addition.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

The current recession has forced the move of IT budget decisions further up the ladder. Now CEO’s are giving the go or no to IT initiatives. Not surprising since a good CEO needs to manage with tighter control during tough times. Talking to the president of a company is not a new sales strategy. In his book The Sales Bible, Jeffrey Gitomer advises going straight to the top and working your way down. It’s a lot easier than starting at the bottom and getting stuck there.

This will be seen by many veteran and senior IT managers as a blow to their power within the organization. The result may be a further separation of the IT department from being a strategic decision maker and move them to strictly tactical roles. The worst that could happen is that the CEO makes decisions based strictly on costs and sales pitches, ultimately setting up the IT department for failure.

The best that could happen is if a CEO looks at the vendor proposals from the strategic advantages their products and services offer and include IT managers in the consultation process. IT managers need to make the most of this new role versus fighting it and ending up with less than they had before. I’ve seen both scenarios and only one of them works well. Guess which one.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Robert Scoble posted about his experiences with bad passwords and a hard drive failure with no back-up.

These along with poor malware protection have to be the most preventable but common problems with computers. In our personal lives and in our businesses. Why is this? Are we too lazy to take precautions? Maybe we just don’t know about the risks and the measures we can take?

I’ve never had a problem with passwords but on more than one occasion I’ve lost valuable data without a backup. Password design was drilled into me early in my IT support career. Back-ups? Just lazy I guess . . . after all I can always back it up tomorrow!

Dean

Following is a list of the top five technologies which will have an impact on how businesses use IT in their operation in the next few years. This is based on a larger list from Gartner Research targeted towards large enterprises but we have picked out the items more relevant to small and medium enterprises. Why do they these matter to your business? They will help you maximise the effective use of IT while driving down costs associated with traditional IT models. Many are easy to setup and low cost to implement. If they work for global enterprises, they’ll work for you.

1. Virtualization

(Definition: Hardware based virtual machines allow the sharing of the physical computer resources between different virtual machines, each running its own operating system. Examples: Running Windows XP on an Apple Mac OS X computer, consolidating many different servers into a single server box.)

Server virtualization is already being used to consolodate multiple boxes into single servers. Storage virtualization offers simplified access by pooling systems and can save big money with storage deduplication. In terms of storage virtualization, deduplication could be a huge money saver because every enterprise has tons of duplicate versions of files clogging up their servers. Desktop virtualization allows users to have a portable personality across multiple systems, delivering a thick client experience with a thin client delivery model. The biggest factor that could drive desktop virtualization will be the advent of low-cost $300-$500 thin clients (nettops & netbooks) based on Intel Atom processors.

2. Cloud Computing

(Definition: Where applications and software services are provided from the internet versus LAN based servers or running locally on desktop/laptop computers. Examples: Google Docs, ZOHO.com, Microsoft Azure)

You need to be very careful about all of the hype, but you need to take it very seriously as well. Deduplication, remote & mobile accessibility, consistency in versions and lower maintenance costs are some of the advantages to cloud computing. It can allow IT to move a significant amount of money from capital expenditures to operating expenditures. Instead of tying up capital in unused infrastructure with cloud computing you only need to pay for what you use, when you use it.

3. Enterprise Mashups

(Definition: Mashups mix content from multiple sources by using feeds from application programming interfaces (APIs). Example: portals.)

Enterprises are now investigating taking mashups from cool Web hobby to enterprise-class systems to augment their models for delivering and managing applications. Portals allow a single sign on point with all required corporate applications accessed from a single point. The advantage comes from efficiency and manageability.

4. Unified Communications

(Definition: The integration of communication services such as voicemail, e-mail, SMS, fax, instant messaging (chat), presence information, IP telephony and video conferencing. Example: BlackBerry accessing applications such as a web browser, texting and email clients which can also be accessed from a desktop computer.)

Enterprises are realizing that they have multiple products and vendors performing the same communications functions, and that this redundancy creates additional expense, makes it more difficult for users to learn, and increases the complexity of integration. Some companies such as Cisco see the desk phone becoming a video and data device. Others see the desk phone going away and mobile phones (with both a business number and a personal number) becoming the sole voice device for most business users.

5. Green IT

(Definition: Green computing is the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently. Example: energy efficient equipment, recycling equipment and printing/document management.)

Many businesses are looking at energy efficiency or ‘green’ products simply for the practical advantages in energy savings. Some companies are emphasizing green activities as part of their social responsibility. Energy will be one of the pre-eminent public concerns of the next decade and energy conservation will be an important part of the discussion. IT departments need to act now to start measuring the energy consumption of IT infrastructure and looking for strategic opportunities to reduce it, before they are forced to act due to government intervention.

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

The digital generation ages 18 – 35 have grown up using technology and expect it to exist in business as they know it in their non-business life. Access to the web, high-performance applications, a variety of applications to perform their job, social networking based applications, multiple platforms – desktop, laptops, Windows, Apples and smart-phones, multiple access points – at the office, at home, while traveling or more to the point – anywhere and at anytime. How does your IT plan and support system meet this challenge? Traditional IT can limit system user access to a narrowly defined set of applications and use. Trying to balance the needs of these new workers with the needs of traditional IT users is a challenge as well. It’s not just about new technology but a differing culture between the two age groups.

Number one is to provide the tools your workers need to be productive. Limiting these younger workers to just email as a communications tool and a mainframe based business application written twenty years ago and only accessible from their work station at work may keep these newer workers from performing to their utmost.

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists