If you're interested in advertising, please fill in the form below and provide details about the ad format, placement, and duration.

Available advertising options include:

• Image Ads: 160×600 and 300×250
• Text Ads: Any size
• Product (Software) Reviews
• Site Reviews

Catastrophes are a fact of life for business owners and it's the Business Continuity Manager's job to prepare for recovery. Natural disasters, terrorism, crime, and computer or human error can all keep a business from functioning. Extended downtime could mean a significant enough loss in revenue that can ruin a business.

Business Continuity Manager Skills

Consulting skills often provide a solid foundation. Such skills will be needed when it comes to assessing a businesses' processes and identifying the necessary steps to keep things running in the face of disaster. The ability to sell an idea will also go a long way with getting buy-in from everyone — it's hard to make a case for business continuity when everything is going well.

How To Find a Business Continuity Manager

Internal resources may be the best choice for this role. They come with an understanding of the business and have already established connections with various managers throughout the organization. Those that were previously in a project management role are a good place to start especially those that have coordinated work across many teams.

A good qualifying question is to ask candidates how they would balance the needs of a comprehensive plan and one that is unmanageable. Obviously that question is open ended, but it is the analysis put into the response that will be revealing.

Salary Range - $75,000 to $125,000

Always take salary ranges with a grain of salt. Aside from often being very wide, there are often mitigating factors that can push an individual's salary below or above the range. A lot will depend on the hiring company as well as with your abilities to negotiate.

References
CIO Magazine, July 15, 2008

The IT Security Manager is responsible for such tasks securing networks, both wireless and hardwired; handling offsite storage; and putting plans in place to deal with stolen laptops. While the role may seem simple in concept, the work itself is quite daunting and increasingly difficult. Because of the IT Security Manager's responsibility of ensuring that employees follow the sometimes restrictive rules, the role is often a thankless one.

IT Security Manager Skills

While a college degree won't hurt, many employers are looking for more relevant skills and certifications. There are few other fields that change as quickly as information technology making knowledge obsolete almost as quickly as it is learned.

Awareness of internal security threats is as critical as external ones. In addition being able to identify areas of risk, having the knowledge to react to security breaches will certainly prove useful someday. Communication skills especially in areas where diplomacy is needed will help ensure that new policies and procedures gain the support they need to be adopted by the enterprise.

How To Find an IT Security Manager

Look for candidates with experience working in large corporate environments. It's those individuals that will have practical experience and not just the theoretical. Be wary of candidates that are moving from small networks into your large network as the planning required can easily overwhelm someone that has been able to keep everything in his head.

Salary Range - $125,000 to $150,000

Always take salary ranges with a grain of salt. Aside from often being very wide, there are often mitigating factors that can push an individual's salary below or above the range. A lot will depend on the hiring company as well as with your abilities to negotiate.

References
CIO Magazine, September 15, 2008

System Architect
Web Developer

Technology

Active Server Pages (ASP)
Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS)
Oracle 7.3
Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 (VB)
Microsoft Visual Interdev

Project Description

I worked on two projects while at Shaw Communications. My role on the first project was as a system architect and lead web developer for an intranet-based tool for the Shaw@Home Help Desk. For the second project I was one of several senior developers for the DMX Customer Care system.

I unfortunately do not have any screenshots from the Shaw@Home Help Desk application that my team developed. However, as part of this project I was responsible for introducing several web development best practices. Included in my list of recommendations was the use of unit testing, integration testing, and source control (Microsoft's Visual SourceSafe). I worked on putting the infrastructure in place for such practices as well as producing several straightforward, step-by-step documents describing the processes. One such document described how to create a Microsoft Visual Interdev project from Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (right).

I also worked on the DMX Customer Care project. DMX is a digital music service provided by Shaw
Communications. As with many services, Shaw needed to track customers, sales people, technicians, and billing details.

The application we built used detail screens to present information. However, to reduce loading times
we used a system whereby the screen is first loaded with sections minimized. To see a section, the user would click an icon beside the section name and that section would trigger a call to the web server and then expand downward to present the information returned by the web server.

If you click on the customer profile thumbnail (right) a new window will open with a prototype of the
Customer Profile page. Click on the folder icon beside the Messages section to see that section open. Clicking on the icon beside the record in the Messages section will open an edit window. The entire application design is based on the collapsible/expandable detail view shown in this HTML prototype.

Note that many of the links in this prototype have been disabled and the main menu that appears at the top of the screen has been deactivated to limit the number of pages accessible by this example.

By allowing a computer program to do the tedious, labor intensive, and sometimes complex jobs for you, you can increase productivity, decrease expenses, and save time.

I provide professional software development services, creating simple, easy-to-use software that make just about any task easier and less time-consuming. Whether you need a new system to track inventory and resources; a comprehensive package for tracking orders and shipments; or a robust contact management system I can help.

I will work with your employees to define your needs, architect a system to meet those needs, and then build the application. I use an iterative process that is flexible and not overly burdened by inefficient processes.

If you're hiring and in NY, contact me and we can go over your project requirements.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

A database's primary purpose is to store data and then facilitate the speedy retrieval of that data. And because a business' processes are constantly changing, a database needs to be designed with expandability in mind. The requirement for both speed and expandability forms the crux of what database design is all about.

I can provide a many different custom database design solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of your organization. I have expertise with traditional client/server type databases often used by companies for reporting and trend analysis, as well as the transaction-based databases commonly used on web sites.

If you're in New York and hiring, contact me.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

One of the keys to ensuring success with your ecommerce site is to make it robust enough to meet the needs of your customers while simple enough so that they don't need a manual to figure out how to buy something. Typically this means having a searchable catalog and a minimal number of clicks to get from the product page to the order page.

As with custom web development and custom software development projects, I prefer to work closely with you to figure out exactly what your business needs are. This process is iterative and provides flexibility to adjust to changing needs, while being structured enough so that there are no surprises in the finished product.

Don't lose another sale! Contact me now and take advantage of my ecommerce development skills to get your products and services on the web.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

Through the use of search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and other techniques that take advantage of trends on the Internet, I can deliver traffic to your site that you wouldn't have otherwise received.

Although I can't provide concrete examples from my employers because of confidentiality issues, here's a comment I received in response to a suggestion I made on the LED Digest (an e-commerce newsletter):

"I just had to chime in and say thanks to Marios for the post. I personally had not used Digg previously, and I figured it couldn't hurt to try. POW! My traffic jumped from 5-10k hits per day to 45k+ per day, with new RFQs to boot." — DL Perry

If you already have a site or are about to launch one, don't make the mistake that so many before you have made. You can't just sit back and hope that people visit your site. You need to be proactive to make your site stand out from all the rest. And that's where I can help.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

Whether you are converting a legacy system or starting from scratch, I'll work with you to outline your needs, architect a system, develop custom components, and configure the hardware and software to take your intranet from concept to reality. My goal is to meet your internal communication and applications needs while staying within an agreed upon budget.

I realize that the success or failure of an intranet can rest with how well it is accepted within the company. It is common for employees to resist change. By involving them right from the start of the intranet project, I can eliminate much of the negativity that would otherwise jeopardize the project.

Looking to hire someone for your team? Contact me and let's discuss what benefits an intranet can bring to your business.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

Barring any pre-existing corporate standards and procedures, I employ a work breakdown structure (WBS) as the over-arching framework for identifying deliverables, scheduling tasks, and managing resources. As part of my standard project management consulting, I will continuously monitor schedules, costs, and resources to ensure that deliverables are consistent with your time, budget, and quality objectives. I have available to me tried-and-true project management methodologies as well as a solid grounding in the project management fundamentals all of which are standardized across the industry and can scale to suit your particular needs.

Regardless of the methodology used, documentation for the projects I work on will include:

• Problem definition
• Project Objective Statement
• Scope and deliverables identification
• Time-sequenced task scheduling and critical path identification
• Quality reviews for milestone/deliverable completion and acceptance

I can give your business the edge to grow and leave your competition behind. If you're in NY and looking for a project manager, contact me.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

The history of SEM is that Google realized it was becoming the starting point for more and more web users. To monetize on this popularity, Google introduced a program where advertisers could bid on ad space in the search results. To add to the effectiveness of the ads, the search engines allowed advertisers to specify what search terms they wanted their ads to show for. Thus, users would be presented only with relevant ads. This program was so successful that it has turned in to a multi-billion dollar industry with the likes of Yahoo and MSN trying to match Google's success.

So if you want to reach the largest audience possible, you need to have your own ad campaigns. As an experienced pay-per-click (PPC) advertiser and soon to be a certified Google Advertising Professional, I can setup, manage, and optimize your search engine advertising efforts to maximize your return on investment. The best part is that you'll be able to review independent, unbiased reports that will leave no doubt about the effectiveness of my efforts.

Contact me to explore the possibilities and benefits of paid advertising. Better yet, combine a strong PPC campaign with SEO and you'll have a winning combination.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

Briefly, SEO is a collection of best practices that change your site in sometimes subtle ways to improve the likelihood that it will appear in the top 10 results returned by a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The top 10 figure is important because research has shown that most search engine users don't go beyond the first page of 10 results when looking for something.

I have worked on large, existing sites (see SEO for Reader's Digest Re-Design), high-profile, new sites (see SEO for Every Day with Rachael Ray), and small, niche sites such as the one you're looking at now. As an example, here's a snapshot of the increase in traffic to this site from month to month.

My goal is provide you with search engine optimization services that allow you to concentrate on running your business. I don't require or expect you to be tied down with creating your meta tags or even knowing what meta tags are! I'll handle it all for you while keeping you in the loop.

As part of this service, I'll produce search engine inclusion and ranking reports for you. These reports will allow you to see the effectiveness of my efforts as well as help fine-tune future optimizations.

And no I don't consider myself the greatest living seo, but I've written over 200 articles about SEO and SEM that I hope you'll find entertaining and informative.

I can give your business the edge to grow and leave your competition behind. Whether you're in my home state of New York or somewhere else in North American, contact me and let's get to work on increasing the traffic to your web site.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

I offer a full range of custom web development services. I can help you create a feature-rich online storefront to sell your products and services; a community-based site where like-minded individuals can discuss topics of interest; or brochure-like site to provide information to potential customers and help legitimize your business.

The key to the success of your web development project is to identify what your goals are. I'll work you to refine those goals and provide a project plan to meet them. I believe in using an iterative process that is flexible enough to adjust to your changing needs, but structured enough so that you'll know what to expect from me.

I'm dedicated to providing innovative and professional services that will exceed your expectations. If you're in New York, contact me to explore the broad range of solutions I can offer to create a web presence for your company.

More Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

I focus on creating software that enables companies to make more money while spending less. I achieve these results through the careful analysis of what a company actually needs while trying to eliminate things that aren't likely to have an acceptable return on investment.

So if you're a business in New York and you're looking to build a web site to do ecommerce; a private intranet for use by your employees; or a robust Windows-based graphical user interface, I can help. My project manager resume provides an overview of past successes.

Not sure exactly what type of solution you're looking for? Then take some time to review the various categories of software development that I've listed along the left side of this page and when you're ready, contact me to discuss your ideas.

Web and Software Development Skills

• Custom Software Development
• Custom Database Design
• eCommerce Development
• Internet Marketing
• Intranet and Corporate Portal Development
• Project Management
• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization Specialist
• Web Site Development

The Challenge: Take Market Share from Competing Sites

While the recipe search tool was being developed, it was my responsibility to ensure that a large amount of organic traffic came from the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The more traffic we attracted from search engines, the less that would be going to our competitors in this space.

Of particular importance was ensuring that the Reader's Digest branded version of this recipe tool was able to compete with other well-known recipe brands.

The Solution: Search Engine Optimizing (SEO)

The real challenge here was to attempt to take away market share from the already well-established recipe search sites. A daunting task, but one that was not insurmountable. The key was to find where these other recipe sites had failed and to identify niche areas that were not already popular. Once identified, these niche areas would allow us to increase our popularity and ultimately expand our reach to more competitive areas.

The Results

Although it took longer than expected, several months after launch, the organic search traffic to the recipe tool finally represents an significant amount compared to the total. In fact, search engine traffic now comes in at just under 50% of all traffic.

Role

Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Boston, MA - August 2, 2001: Over the next twelve months, Delphi Group expects the bar to rise abruptly for business seeking to compete online. For any organization to survive the transition to the digital economy, developing a deep competence in the processes and technologies of handling online content is a core requirement.

"The emphasis in the next generation of digital commerce sites will be on creating content-driven media environments, not simply the links to enterprise applications that we see today," explains Derek Lacks, a Delphi Group senior analyst. "The World Wide Web has changed the dynamics of commerce dramatically; ultimately, the web presence of a firm will be of far greater importance than physical presence to its primary stakeholders."

That changing dynamic puts enormous emphasis on content. Web content is evolving beyond text-based pages, offering highly graphical, and engaging multimedia displays. "Active content technology is coming on stream in business portals," says Derek Lacks. "Active content provides the ability to proactively cater to individual preferences. By engaging the end user, active content will expedite the transformation of the online experience from click and wait to arrive and interact."

For the next generation of e-business interactions, major new initiatives must be put in place to overhaul content-oriented business processes from creation through consumption.

A Technology Perspective on Content Management Strategies

Delphi Group's new Technology Perspective is a four part research series that provides a conceptual overview for executives considering content management programs. The first volume, entitled, 'Staging Digital Content: Foundation for e-Business. Understanding Content Management Technologies' is devoted to the phases and issues of content management. It provides a practical framework for structuring and prioritizing purchasing decisions for these important technologies.

About Delphi Group

Delphi Group (www.delphigroup.com) is a global business advisor and strategic market maker focused on the intersection of business and IT. The Delphi Group is headquartered at Ten Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109.

"We're seeing companies overspending on online content management systems mainly because they don't know how to solve their own content management problems properly," said Matthew Berk, Jupiter Research analyst. "The majority of first-tier content management platforms are only cost-effective at a very high scale. Despite the maturity of broad solutions, businesses must be vigilant about matching their content management requirements to an appropriate solution and its cost."

High Costs and Risks

Despite the prevalence of costly, failed content management systems, most organizations still view content management as the key to operating their Web sites and, increasingly, their enterprise. Content management systems provide value by limiting the efforts of technical personnel required to support the productivity of nontechnical content workers. According to an April 2002 Jupiter Executive Survey, 53 percent of companies will have deployed new document, content or media asset management systems by the end of 2002. Moreover, almost one-fifth of Web site managers (19 percent) said they will be involved in content management consolidation projects as they unify systems to manage multiple Web properties.

Spend at the Right Scale

Although just under one-third (31 percent) of companies surveyed have developed homegrown content
management systems, Jupiter analysts expect the number potentially to double by 2004 as companies recover from - and react to - expensive, failed systems. Jupiter analysts advise companies to consider a homegrown system if a content management initiative applies to a single Web property, the parent company has no desire to manage content across an organization, the number of contributors is fewer than 20 and the workflow is no more complicated than a few steps. In the longer term, Jupiter analysts expect that decisions about the scale and scope of content management systems will extend to include the broader needs of the enterprise, and not simply Web site management.

"Web sites with specific content management needs often focus on a platform that will 'do it all,' rather than match specific problems to specific, often lower-cost, tactical solutions," said David Schatsky, Jupiter research director. "Jupiter's new Content Management Service, created in response to client and vendor feedback, will help businesses make opportunistic decisions about the way in which digital content is created, managed, distributed and monetized."

The High Value of Content Management

With nearly one-quarter of executives surveyed complaining of sparse adoption of content management systems, and Web site managers frequently railing against the high costs of managing complicated content management software, it's clear that existing deployments are often weakest where they should provide the most strength. Prior to vendor evaluation, Jupiter analysts recommend a thorough review of existing processes to determine to what extent, if any, a formal content management solution will enhance overall employee productivity.

Companies interested in purchasing the new Jupiter Research Report - entitled The Content Management Threshold - can call toll-free 1-877-464-6627 or visit www.jmm.com.

Jupiter Content Management Research Methodology

Jupiter utilizes a wide set of data-gathering tools to conduct research, including systematic polling of leading industry executives, extensive consumer surveys, extensive executive surveys, Media Metrix audience measurement data and a rigorous approach to building market forecasting models.

Jupiter analyzes and forecasts are based on a number of methodologies, including close examination of analogous markets (either previous growth of new technologies or relevant off-line market case studies), consumer self-stated intentions culled from proprietary Jupiter surveying, complex market segmentation analysis, and analysis of historical trends. Additionally, all forecast assumptions are rigorously debated in a process designed to capture the collective judgment of analysts with relevant experience and perspectives on each given market. For a fuller explanation of the methodology, please visit www.jmm.com.

Jupiter Executive Survey

- In April 2002, Jupiter conducted a formal survey of IT and marketing executives selected from E-Rewards, Inc executive panel. Respondents were targeted by function (IT manager or above) and company revenue ($50 million or more) and screened for decision-making responsibility on Web site spending for their companies. A total of 270 qualified individuals completed the survey. Respondents received an e-mail invitation to participate in the survey, with an attached URL linked to the Web-based survey form.

In this survey effort, Jupiter worked with its research partner E-Rewards, Inc on the technical tasks of sample building, survey fielding, and data processing. E-Rewards maintains one of the largest executive research panels with more than 200,000 IT and business executives in the US. Panel-based market research with E-Rewards enables Jupiter to field successful, highly targeted surveys to hard-to-reach executives such as purchasing managers and VPs of IT.

About Jupiter Media Metrix

Jupiter Research helps companies develop, extend and integrate business strategies across online and emerging channels. Backed by proprietary data, Jupiter's industry-specific analysis, competitive insight and strategic advice give businesses the tools they need to exploit new technologies and business processes. The company is headquartered in New York City. Visit http://www.jmm.com for more information.

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or future financial results of Jupiter Media Metrix. Investors are cautioned that such statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. In evaluating such statements, investors should specifically consider various factors, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated from such forward-looking statements, including the matters set forth in Jupiter Media Metrix reports and documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to Butler Group's recent In-Depth Report 'Content Management - Getting to Grips with the Information Explosion', content is king, or if not king, an essential part of the business infrastructure. Having moved beyond the simple management of Web sites, content management now encompasses e-commerce, e-mails, catalogs, technical documents, audio and video, databases, reports and a vast array of structured and unstructured data.

Do we need it? Yes! says Butler Group, content is an integral part of every business process, and is fundamental to the operation of those processes. Failure to manage all types of content ignores its importance within the organization.

It is claimed, in the latest Report from Butler Group, '…unstructured content, such as e-mails, images and documents account for over 80 percent of data in a typical business. Without the ability to organize this content, the information contained within it is lost, and a valuable asset is wasted.'

Tim Jennings, Research Production Director, Butler Group added, "Out of date content can be positively harmful to a business - for financial, legal or competitive reasons. Most importantly, properly managed content should be viewed as a competitive weapon - it allows us to create more compelling information services, to connect to suppliers and partners, and to find new market places for our products and services. Content Management is here to stay".

But in times of tight budgets and cost cutting can Content Management really be justified and if so, what level of return on investment (ROI) will it yield?

Butler Group says in times of economic downturn, don't invest in applications, invest in infrastructure. Content is a major asset of a company and as such is part of the infrastructure. It will become increasingly important as Content Networking becomes widely accepted and provides a single end-to-end application that creates, manages and delivers content to the end-user.

So where's the ROI?

Butler Group explains that ROI is not just the initial cost of the application, you must count annual license fees, support, maintenance plus additional hardware and software. The ROI equation evaluates the costs of the process with a Content Management solution taking into account manual processes compared with automated and more cost effective processes.

An example cited by Butler Group points to savings of some 400 percent using a Content Management solution. This is based on the costs incurred in changing an average web site of 5000 HTML pages, compared with the same task using Content Management software.

Much of the ROI depends on the sophistication of the task but in all cases an immediate return is easily achievable and demonstrable to senior management. This combined with faster, more accurate content, much faster time to market with web-based content and more effective management of the process makes Content Management worthy of a very serious look.