The R-Squared Method by Louis Rosas-Guyon

Bucking Industry Orthodoxy - Enough IT B.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me the incredible degrees of complete stupidity that come out of my industry. I'm not talking about the technology or the gadgets! Specifically I mean the technology management philosophies that pervade.For far too long, enterprise IT department have acted like tech dictators who are the final arbiters of what tech tools are available to the wretched masses. But every once in a while, I read osmething that gives me the smallest inkling of hope.

CIO Update released an article calling for business goals to drive technology decisions! Halleluiah! I wanted to cheer when I first read the article. Someone somewhere is finally waking up and smelling the nonsense the tech industry has been shoveling.

For years, big businesses have sought the Holy Grail of business-technology alignment. In this ideal utopian state, technology would empower and support business strategy and growth. Sounds simple, right? And yet, according to studies, 68% of business IT projects fail to achieve their goals! Why? Because the IT department never understood the real business goals and strategy.

Until IT listens to business goals and understands the overall strategy, we will never be able to implement tools that support those goals. Until IT stops being a hindrance and starts acting like a partner, they will continue to see failed projects, declining pay and loss of jobs.

If you are interested in tech-business alignment, call us for a technology evaluation. We will review your systems and practices and recommend improvements to help propel your business into the 21st Century.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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When to Walk Away from a Problem Customer

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Just as in personal relationships, there are toxic business relationships. I should have known this one would be trouble from the beginning.

This soon-to-be former customer had just moved into a new office space. They moved all their existing computers, servers and other equipment into the new space and just needed someone to connect everything and get it working with the new internet connection. This job usually takes half-a-day to complete. I was retained two weeks ago and so far only 1 computer is connected to anything!

Some of the warning signs:

The business owner was never on time for any meetings.
The office manager was the rudest woman I've met in years.
The deposit check bounced.
No one had any ideas about user names or passwords for any device on the network.
Office staff has zero discipline -- people showed up for work when they damn well pleased.
The governing management method can be summarized as "bully, threaten and scream."
Contradicting instructions from everyone I spoke with.
The business owner was more interested in recounting his latest sexual conquest than working.
On the 2nd day of the contract, I was accused of being a thief and a liar by the office manager. For the record, I'm still not sure what I stole or lied about.
The owner's interior decorator spent 2 hours telling me the right way to set up a network.

I could keep writing but I think you get the point. You have to know when to walk away. In this case, I'm not walking -- I'm running like hell.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Gaming the System - Why Metrics Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:30:00 +0000

“What gets measured, gets managed.” – Peter Drucker

Ever since Dr. Drucker's insight, businesses have tried to measure every element of human productivity. Entire industries have been born the help businesses better measure and track results. The theory is that the more you measure, the more you can manage.

But there's a problem with this logic.

Some of the best examples of this failure can be seen in the actions of the U.S. government. The most egregious example which comes to mind was back in 2004 when the Bush Administration reclassified fast food workers. Under the old classification, flipping burgers at McDonald's was considered a service job, but since 2004 it is now considered a manufacturing job. This allowed Bush and his cronies to claim they created 2.6 million new manufacturing jobs in 2004!

Nonsense. They didn't any create jobs -- they simply changed the way they measured those jobs and saw a huge political boost because of it.

The danger of any metric is that people will always try to game the system. They will find new and creative ways to make the metrics look better. Management will smile and look the other way because the inflated numbers make them look good too. This devolves into a downward spiral until those numbers are completely meaningless.

Don't think you're business is immune. We all do it to some degree whether it's understating your weight or padding sales figures. The only protection is to cross verify your metrics and to reward honesty.

First and foremost, don't develop complex metrics. Simple, easily verifiable metrics work best. That means avoiding some of the more expensive metrics software packages that are out there. Instead, focus on home-grown metrics that really make a difference to your business.

If you need help identifying metrics, give me a call. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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A SOPA Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:30:00 +0000

After a furious rush of online activism, the SOPA/PIPA legislation in the United States was shelved. In short, this legislation would have allowed police agencies to remove websites they deemed to violate copyright laws from the domain name system.

At it's heart, this was a poorly thought out law. Just because you eliminate my Dot Com name doesn't mean you eliminate access to my web pages. The internet works on Internet Protocol addresses which the Domain Name System converts from machine addresses into the familiar .com names that are easily remembered by mere mortals. However, SOPA/PIPA did nothing to eliminate your machine readable address -- meaning this was completely useless legislation since it would not stop those websites from sharing pirated content.

Those who follow me on Facebook know my stand on this legislation. Any law that is inherently unenforceable is a waste of time and money. But, my concerns run deeper.

However, what is of much, much larger concern is how this law seeks to subvert over 200 years of the Prosecutor's Burden, most specifically, the presumption of innocence.SOPA allowed law enforcement to remove your website from the domain name system without a trial or any other form of due process. Simply the suspicion that you were involved in copyright violations was enough to remove your domain. This is in complete violation of the principles of American jurisprudence.

Not surprisingly, I have also heard that RIAA and the other industry lobbying organizations that supported SOPA spent $1 billion to get this law passed. I wonder what might have happened if they had invested that money in innovation instead. Trying to stop online piracy is like bailing out the Titanic with a thimble.

Historically, powerful businesses when faced with seismic changes in their industries have sought the protection of Congress. With the out-sized influence of corporations on our politicians, this trend will continue. SOPA will not be the last we hear on this subject.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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3D Printers Are Coming to Ruin Your Business

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Imagine being able to print anything you need when you need it. Right now, 3D printers are a cool and strange new technology with limited application. But like Kevin Kelly taught us, the questions you need to ask is what happens when the technology becomes ubiquitous. What happens when there is a 3D printer in every house, office, factory, shopping mall and daycare? How does everything change?

For some time now I have been saying that 3D printers are going to revolutionize the world (here & here). The impact of personal-scale manufacturing is enormous. Again -- imagine being able to make anything you need when you need it. It is mind-boggling.

The reason it's so hard to imagine that world is because we have always existed in a world of scarcity. We never have enough of what we want and acquiring them requires energy (time, money, work, etc). The concept of a world where we can have almost anything is too alien to conceive.

But unlike the newspapers and music studios who were woefully unprepared for the Internet, you have been forewarned. You are in a position to do something about it.

There is no such thing as a business that will not be impacted by personal manufacturing. Not one. Start planning for it now or risk becoming the next company steamrolled by new technology.

Call me and I will be happy to help. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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The Energy Future

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The core problem at the heart of the rising cost of goods and services, national geopolitics and just about every other thing you can think of, is related to energy.

Energy is defined by science as the capacity to do work. In that sense, sunlight, hydrocarbons and money are all forms of energy. How energy is produced, transferred, stored and priced is a significant limitation. Under the current energy model, all energy is scarce and therefore expensive.

The good news is that science has been working on the problem and many solutions are starting to emerge:

Spintronics will lead to longer lasting, more powerful batteries
Solar equivalent of Moore's Law will keep driving down the cost of solar panels while making them more efficient
Backyard nuclear, will scare every tree hugger but will also generate massive amounts of power in a small footprint
Fuel cells are finally being made available as a source of industrial power production

All these solutions point in the same direction -- the birth of distributed power generation. Instead of one massive facility generating power for the whole town, the whole town generates and shares power with each other. When everyone can produce energy, the power utilities will shift their focus from generation to power transfer and storage.

When energy becomes abundant (instead of scarce) there will be an enormous change -- far more extreme than the changes we've seen in the past 20 years. Cheap and abundant energy will transform every aspect of our society and how we conduct business.

The Energy Age is coming soon, maybe even sooner than we think. How will this seismic shift effect you industry? How will abundant energy change your business?

Call me and we'll figure it out together. 305-423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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The Next Arms Race

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

The history of codes and ciphers is a constant struggle between code creators (who want to encrypt information) and code breakers (who labor to crack those ciphers). Governments and criminals (or did I repeat myself?) are interested in both sides -- strong encryption to protect their sensitive information and code breaking so they can read everyone else's information.

Except quantum computing is around the corner. For most of us, the only real advantage of quantum computing will be their blinding speed. Even the fastest modern Intel processor will look like a clunky broken down ox cart next to a true quantum processor.

At their heart, computers are just brute force number crunching machines. Modern encryption is un-crackable because it would take our computers longer than the age of the universe to crack them with brute force. Quantum computers will be able to crack these codes in seconds.

That means the next arms race will be in encryption. Quantum computers will threaten the entire foundation of modern e-commerce by being able to crack SSL encryption in seconds. When no data is safe to flow across the internet, then no data will flow at all.

As we know from past history, the code makers will then scramble to invent new codes that are harder to crack. Some will meet limited success and others will be spectacular failures. The good news is that eventually, the same quantum technology that created the problem will solve it too. But more on that in another post.

Until that time, you can relax and not worry about it. However, when you see the first quantum computers available for sale, you will be forewarned that this arms race has begun.

Don't want to keep track of quantum computing? Then subscribe to this blog (via RSS or e-mail) and I'll keep you posted.

Or if you want to futureproof your business, give me a call (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Information Isn't Knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:00:00 +0000

The information age creates the illusion of knowledge where none exists. Dots on a map signify towns but how accurate is it? Is the town inhabited? A dot on a page isn't the same as knowledge.

Information is raw. By itself it is useless. Hence the argument that information wants to be free. Alone it has relatively little value.

In many ways, information is like iron in the earth. In the ground it is not very useful. Only after you mine it, smelt it, hammer it and temper it, can iron ore become steel. No one questions the value of steel, but anyone can question the value of unmined iron.

Knowledge is applied information. It's when you take information and arrange it in a useful way or when you combine it with something else to create something useful. Knowledge is what you get after you process information.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking your gigabytes of information are the same as knowledge. Find ways to apply it, combine it, process it and adapt it into knowledge -- then it becomes valuable.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Free Idea: 3D Model App Store

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

With every passing month, 3D printers get cheaper. I predict that prices will soon be low enough that the technology will become ubiquitous. Soon everyone will be able to micro-manufacture at home.

When we hit the tipping point for 3D printers and everyone can manufacture whatever small objects they want at home, how will anyone make money with new creations? Simple. We need an app store for 3D computer models. When a Maker creates something new, she can upload her design to the 3D design store. People can browse new designs and purchase those models for printing at home.

Let's assume we are living in this near future with home micromanufacturing and I want to host a Halloween party. I can run to the store and buy Halloween themed plastic cups which look like everyone else's Halloween plastic cups, or I can download a fantastic, cool design from the 3D store and print out unique plastic cups for my guests. I can do the same thing with forks, knives, spoons, plates and all the other disposal accouterments required for a party. All I need is time and enough "ink" for my 3D printer.

The key to success for this store will be to identify and feature quality 3D artists and to offer them a decent royalty for their designs. That means developing strong ties with artists/designers in the sizable (and growing) Maker movement. These intrepid individuals are modifying, tinkering and inventing some of the most impressive creations you'll see anywhere.

As always, you are free to develop this idea and make millions of dollars. All I ask is that you do the right thing and throw me a small piece of the action.

If you have questions about this free idea, send me an email louis (at) r2computing.com

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Money By Brute Force

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:05:00 +0000

Too many businesses focus all their efforts on more sales, more customers but have ever decreasing profits to show for the effort. Why aren't profits increasing along with sales? Because they make money just through brute force. They need finesse to increase profits.

To add finesse to your business, you must root out inefficiency. You also need procedures that reduce error and encourage innovation.

You don't need an MBA from The Wharton School to know that poor planning of resources is wasteful. Anyone that has ever suffered through a remodeling knows the frustrations of missed deadlines and the messy cascade effect that has on the rest of the project. What started as a simple job has turned into a months long nightmare because someone made a mistake early on. And all that adds up to lost profits -- misallocated resources cannot be used somewhere else to make money.

That's why you need procedures in place that minimize these kinds of inefficiencies. Your people (AKA resources) need to know each step in the process so they can map their own progress. These procedures should have error control built in to reduce the cascade effect down the process chain. (Here are 5 ways to improve efficiency.)

Innovation is the name of the game in our rapidly changing business world. Many business owners are uncomfortable with the word "innovation" because they think it will lead to chaos in the workplace. However, a certain amount of chaos is necessary for innovation. The secret is to control the degree of innovation that your employees launch themselves into, and you control that with procedures.

For example, Google's 20% time policy allows employees to spend one day a week working on projects outside their normal job description. This lets people work on projects they are passionate about which leads to greater innovation. Many of Google's most well known products, including Gmail, started because of the 20% time policy.

While I understand you aren't comfortable with giving your employees one day a week to come up with ways to improve your business, there are plenty of other models that could work better. Toyota's model allows any line worker to suggest an improvement which is tried out immediately. If it works, everyone wins. If it doesn't work, someone else recommends switching back to the old way and they do. Workers are proud to be part of solutions that make the company more efficient and it promotes business agility.

If you are interested in adding some finesse to your business, we can help with process optimization, business simplexity, real time intelligence, strategic planning and infrastructure commoditization.

Or just call (305) 423-9574 and we can help you get started.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Cloud Computing Video Animation

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:30:00 +0000

Here's a video that does a great job explaining cloud computing. Enjoy!

The State of Cloud Computing from JESS3 on Vimeo.

Happy Friday everyone. Have a good weekend.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Want a Job? Improve Your Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:07:00 +0000

Seth Godin wrote a great blog post today where he hits on three great skills any small business can use.

The scary truth about the current level of unemployment is that those old jobs are truly gone. As times and technology have changed, whole industries are dying off and others are changing radically. The network economy has created a whole new set of rules for survival. That means plenty of economic misery for anyone with out-dated skills.

We have entered into a the fast paced digital world. The tools of the industrial economy just won't cut it anymore. Sure, a screwdriver is always useful, but now you should know how to write simple computer code too. We are in a new world and that means new skills.

If you have been languishing on unemployment for too long and you aren't learning new skills -- buddy, you are dooming yourself to poverty. Take the opportunity to teach yourself new skills. There are plenty of places online where you can learn valuable skills:

My point is that the internet is an amazing resource. If you use it wisely.

There has been a continued explosion in the number of new start-ups. Since the crash the number of new businesses is staggering. Chances are some of them will stick and eventually grow. Somewhere right now the next Apple or Google is being born. You could be part of that new company.

If you have the necessary skills.

The network economy is here. The old tools just aren't enough, you need to improve your tool kit. The internet has loads of free classes and resources to help you learn new skills. Don't think your factory/office drone job is coming back. Use this time to develop the skills you need to succeed.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Micro Manufacturing Gets Cheaper

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:30:00 +0000

As readers of this blog know, I believe the future is in micro manufacturing. Inexpensive 3D printers keep coming down in price.

Soon we will no longer buy everyday simple, disposable items. Instead we will purchase and download a 3D template and then feed the instructions into our home 3D printer. Need 50 plastic forks for the party on Saturday? No problem. Start printing tonight and by tomorrow morning they will be done.

The next logical step is finding a way to recycle the micro-manufactured goods into more raw materials for the 3D printer. If we can close the materials loop, this technology will be at the forefront of green technologies for the home.

The question is no longer if this will happen but when.

Can your business benefit from micro manufacturing? Is there a way you can save time and money by adopting micro manufacturing technology into your business? Let me help you find out. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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China's Looming Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:16:00 +0000

In a poorly reported story, this week the Chinese government intervened to stop a serious drop in the share prices of China's largest banks. China's sovereign wealth fund further increased the government's stake in the four largest Chinese banks as an answer to international investors who are selling off their holdings in those banks. Before the investment, Beijing held majority ownership in all of these banks already.

By putting more money into shoring up these banks, the government in Beijing has effectively performed a second bank bailout albeit a mini-bailout in comparison. The first bailout was in 2008 during the height of the global economic crisis to the tune of US$586 billion. The recent bailout only cost China US$32 million, but the sum isn't my real concern.

For several decades, China has survived as a schizophrenic hybrid economic system where capitalism lives alongside rigid state control. This has led to the staggering growth in the Chinese economy over the past two decades -- but to be fair, China started at the bottom and only had one way to go. But for China, growth is now mandatory.

Decades of currency devaluation and cheap labor kept Chinese exports very attractive but that will soon unravel.

China is still a controlled economy, regardless of the trappings of capitalism. The government still calls all the shots and that means corruption is the name of the game. In China you don't get a bank loan because you have the best business plan and a track record of success, you get the loan because your mother's cousin's second husband's college roommate is a high level mandarin in some arcane government bureaucracy and knows who to bribe to guarantee the loan. Because there are no laws on transparency, there is no way to know the economic health of those institutions.

The underlying problem with the Chinese economy is that they are not in a position to handle a real decline in GDP. Whereas the United States has weathered plenty of recessions and always manages to come out of them after plenty of pain and political blame-throwing, the Chinese economy is largely built on fiction. With China's enormous reliance on exports, the global economy is a very large factor in China's continued economic health.

But the global recovery keeps getting stalled by the European debt crisis du jour and the threat of a double-dip recession in the United States. The combined factors have slowed Chinese growth more than expected. And once that growth disappears, the real state of China's economy will rear it's ugly head because the growth won't be there to hide the losses.

Essentially, this is the same scenario that started Japan's Lost Decade except on a much, much larger scale. All Bejing managed to accomplish with this micro-bailout is to move the money around in a circle -- hide the losses in one place by transferring them somewhere else. It's the Byzantine financial equivalent of stealing from Peter to pay Paul except in this scenario they are stealing from Beijing to pay Beijing.

My advice to anyone doing business with China is to start looking into alternative sources. It is only a matter of time before this financial merry-go-round collapses.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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SMB Tech Mistakes - Backup? What backup?

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Equipment failure is inevitable. Prepare for it and you won't suffer the consequences.

There's a funny moment in Spaceballs when the villains realize the Self Destruct Cancellation button is broken and Dark Helmet curses "Even in the future nothing works!"

For all our technology, there is nothing on earth that can stop a malfunction. As we become more reliant on technology, we are far more subject to tech disruptions.

Smart businesses will take all necessary steps to protect themselves from disaster.

A 2007 Carnegie Mellon University study found that disk drives fail 15 times more often than manufacturer's estimates. The research concluded that hard drive failure rates average at 4% and peaked at 13%!

When you consider the importance of the information stored on your computers, these rates become unacceptable. Four percent may seem like an incredibly low rate of failure until you consider what that failure could cost you. If you are lucky it might just cost you a few months of work. If you are unlucky it could doom your business.

I remember one customer who refused to invest in any backups or redundancy. The hard drive that stored most of the files for their marketing department crashed. They spent $10,000 on a data recovery service which wasn't able to recover anything. Plus they lost months of work which led to that year's catalog being delayed by 4 months. I estimate the entire fiasco cost them upwards of $250,000 in lost revenue and labor. The backup solution we specified for them would have cost $9,500.

Now with the cloud you have no more excuses. With cloud data storage running at about $1 per gigabyte there's just no reason to ignore backup. I'm not saying you need to backup every last shred of information, just the critical data that matters to your business survival.

How long can your business survive if critical data was lost or damaged? What kinds of legal troubles can you get into if you lose vital customer information? And how would all of this impact your bottom line? If none of these are a concern for you, then you don't need backup. Otherwise, stop dragging your feet and get a backup running today.

Give me a call if you have questions. I will be happy to recommend a cloud backup solution for you today. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Your Customer's Royal Whims

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 07:30:00 +0000

When I was a kid I remember watching a movie where some actor in Arabian costume always answered the beautiful heroine by saying "Your whim." I couldn't tell you the name of the movie, it was probably some Saturday morning made-for-television movie with a cookie-cutter plot designed to excite young boys with just enough T&A to get the time slot. But the "Your Whim" attitude is what really matters.

In modern business, it's important to know your customer's whims and to fulfill them. This creates customer loyalty.

It's all the little things that make us crazy when we interact. Remembering your password every time. Reciting, yet again, how you like your coffee. Explaining your preferences over-and-over can become very irritating. The companies that take the time to learn our quirks and act on our preferences will thrive.

That means your business needs to implement technology that can learn your customer's preferences and then act intelligently on that information. Your customers will take the time to teach you how they want to be treated if you commit to following through on it. Anything that will make my life less repetitious will earn my business. Ergo, a relationship is created between the consumer and the business -- to mutual benefit.

The business benefits by learning the purchasing patterns and preferences of their repeat customers. You get immediate insight into the recency, frequency and monetary value of every customer which allows you to project future sales with greater accuracy. More importantly, you establish a relationship with customers that they will be less likely to abandon because they won't want to go through all the trouble of teaching someone else how to satisfy their whims.

The consumer benefits because they don't need to repeat themselves. They feel comfortable doing business with you because each transaction becomes easier and easier. By learning their whims, you reduce the resistance between desire and sale, which makes it easier for them to do business with you again.

Incidentally, this is another part of Lou's First Law of Business. Breaking this rule will only lead you to ruin.

Customer loyalty is all about building a mutually beneficial relationship. If you can learn your customer's whims and then satisfy them, you make their lives easier. You also lock in a long term customer because they won't want to go through the trouble of teaching your competitor how to serve them.

Are you serving your customer's every whim? Let us show you how. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Comic Strip Vindication

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:00:00 +0000

I love xkcd. These wacky web cartoons are aimed right at the geek audience which makes them ideal for me. A recent xkcd comic hit near and dear to my heart recently and I wanted to share it with you today.

Back in 2008, I wrote how cloud computing would end the operating system wars. Three years later and my prediction is still accurate -- which makes me enormously happy. I would hate to have to disagree with the geniuses at xkcd!

At the end of it all, the majority of computer users are primarily interested with getting on the internet. We don't care about the pretty animations displayed during those tedious file copies. We want our email, calendar, contacts, Facebook and any other tools we use to make money, have fun and find information.

And the majority of those tools are in the Cloud.

Is your business still running an expensive data center? Do you still rely on internal servers for everything? If so, then it's past time for you to start moving your business technology onto the cloud. You'll save money and headaches -- but only if you have the right partner to guide you on the way.

Give me a call. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Efficiency Breeds Profits

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

The summer is over and the kids are back in school. That means life can get back to normal -- or at least as normal as it can get for me.

The good news is that most everyone is in the same state of mind. Suddenly business will start flowing again as decision makers get back from last minute summer vacations. New projects will begin and the course of regular business will resume after the summer slowdown.

However, this year poses some challenges. Fears of a double dip recession will force many small businesses to hold onto cash like Ebenezer Scrooge. Ironically, this is the exact behavior that causes recessions in the first place. Coincidentally, it's probably the worst strategy to weather an economic downturn.

When the economy slows down, smart businesses take the opportunity to invest in efficiency.

Dollars spent on making your business work smarter, faster and cheaper always reap enormous rewards when the economy picks up again. Like the great industrialist Andrew Carnegie used to say: you can't control the economy but you can control costs. When business is booming, you focus on sales and delivery. Cost control is less of a factor because you're making plenty of money. It's during lean times that it makes sense to pinch every penny until it screams.

The single greatest tool for improving efficiency is the smart application of technology. In many cases, you already have all the tech you need to get dramatic improvements. It's just a matter of applying those tools in smarter ways. We just helped one of our customers reduce the amount of time it took them to close their monthly financials from 4 hours down to 10 minutes by simply reconfiguring one of their existing servers. Small changes can produce enormous results.

Now that the summer is behind us, it's time to get back to work. Since the economic sun isn't shining as brightly as we might hope, now is the time to get your business as efficient as possible. Every penny you trim off your costs goes directly into profits. If you work smarter, you will reap greater rewards.

Need help finding pennies to pinch? Call R-Squared today. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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SMB Tech Mistakes - No IT Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:10:00 +0000

Failure to plan is planning to fail.

A 2009 Microsoft study found that 55% of small-to-medium-sized (SMB) businesses considered technology a critical component for growth. And that was back in 2009.

Many companies implement technology on an "as needed" basis. A new computer or software is purchased and installed because of some external need. The problem is this leads to a fragmentary approach to technology. It means you aren't examining how these new purchases can impact your business as a whole. This leads to all the problems associated with organic business growth.

A well developed IT plan will ensure that you are implementing the right technology to improve customer satisfaction and support emerging business needs. An IT plan can be based on certain business milestones:

when we hit 10 employees, we add a network domain
when the website has 100 customers, we'll add some interactive features
when we generate $5 million in annual sales, we'll upgrade our accounting system

The milestones need to make sense for your business. Ideally you structure your IT strategy so you can afford each step when you need to take it.

Developing a tech strategy for your business is one of the keys to achieving long term success. If you don't define your goals, you will never reach them.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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A Game of Fiscal Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:26:00 +0000

I don't care which party you blame in Washington, D.C. -- they both suck.

The whole debt ceiling crisis has clarified for me the complete lack of regard or interest our elected officials have with our problems. While they argue over trillions of dollars, many millions of Americans are without work. It's like our elected idiots have locked themselves into a fiscal game of chicken -- no matter who wins, they're all still morons and the loser is always the American people.

A college economics professor once taught me there were only three things needed for a vibrant, growing economy:

Cheap food -- if our bellies are full, we are happy and productive.
Cheap housing -- if we have a place to live and store our stuff, we are happy and productive.
Cheap transportation -- when we aren't paying around $4 per gallon, we have money to spend on other people's productivity which makes us happy.

Instead of focusing on fixing these problems (expensive food, collapsed housing market and outrageous gas), they would rather score cheap political points from one another while the rest of America looks on in terror.

Now is the time for leadership not firebrands shouting talking points. Let's fix the problems we have, not invent silly one's to snag headlines.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Life Is Real-Time

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:23:00 +0000

If your business is going to survive, it needs to react in real-time.

It used to be that high transaction costs forced businesses to collect many small transactions into batches and then process them all at once. Batches made the entire process cost effective. But those days are over.

As more of the economy shifts, it will become increasingly important for your business to respond in real time. Like nature, you will need to react in the moment; that means no more waiting overnight to process incoming information -- it needs to get done ASAP.

And to make matter worse, more and more information will be pouring in. Soon ubiquitous computer chips will be in everything we own -- collecting simple information on our usage or habits. The longer we let that information sit, the less relevant and useful it becomes.

There is a rising tide of customer service success stories coming from social media. Companies that leverage the real time power of social media have been able to keep customers happy. Moreover, because this is done in a public, transparent setting, there is a ripple effect on the community as a whole. Suddenly everyone can see how well (or poorly) the company dealt with the customer's grievance. This is the kind of social proof that cannot be purchased with TV commercials.

Obviously, not all real time data is useful and not all information should flow everywhere. But, increasingly, only real time information will be meaningful. You should take the time to examine the speed of knowledge in your systems. You must make it a top priority to bring that speed as close to real time as is reasonably possible.

Is your business responding in real time? If not, call (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Expand Your Information Flow

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:14:00 +0000

Your business information should flow laterally, not just to the center.

Since the tech revolution began, everyone has worked diligently to ensure that all the information flows to the center of the business. Employees input data into workstations which then pass the info along to a central server. We modeled early information flows on traditional top-down business models.

The problem is that we live in a Network Economy now. Your most valuable and productive employees need access to this information in order to make good decisions. If all your information only flows inward, you limit the availability of actionable data.

Instead consider expanding your information flows to accommodate lateral penetration. I am not advocating an informational free-for-all where everyone sees everything from everybody. That only leads to information overload and it's ugly cousin, analysis paralysis.

Instead, focus on providing the minimal amount of information needed for every part of the system to be aware of each other. Accounts payable doesn't need to know the exact location of the widgets in the warehouse, but it should know the current stock count against future orders so it can meet demand. The point is to provide enough actionable information to each level of the business so they can be proactive.

Is your business information flow letting you be proactive?

Or do you spend your days fighting fires? We can help you work smarter. Call now (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Getting Back Into the World

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:21:00 +0000

I experience through these odd introvert/extrovert cycles. I'm not sure why, but it's something I have done my entire life.

Usually I am an extrovert, reveling in the attention of the world. I am fascinated by people and I love to hear their stories of high adventure. On other occasions, I withdraw from the world and spend my time in contemplation. Please don't think I become a suburban hermit or anything like that -- during an introvert stage I purposely don't seek out new people and relationships.

There is nothing wrong with this cycle (I hope!). I am guessing most people go through something similar. The only problem that I have ever encountered with this cycle, however, is making money. For me it is almost impossible to make serious money during my introvert stages.

I seem to make more money when I am out in the world. By making new connections and revisiting with old contacts, I can make things happen. In a sense, I am a human catalyst capable of identifying the critical synergies that can blossom into cash money.

I don't mean to come across as arrogant. Ask anyone that knows me and they will all agree.

Therefore, I am ending my current introvert cycle effective immediately. It's time to get back out into the world and see what havoc I can cause. And, more importantly, see how much new money I can get to stick to my fingers.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Google vs. Malware

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:49:00 +0000

Google is using the cloud to fight malware.

From Google's blog:

Recently, we found some unusual search traffic while performing routine maintenance...we determined that the computers exhibiting this behavior were infected with a particular strain of malicious software, or “malware.” As a result of this discovery, today some people will see a prominent notification at the top of their Google web search results...

~ Damian Menscher, Google Security Engineer (Full Article)

What's interesting about this new initiative from Google is that they are leveraging the power of their private cloud to identify malware infections. Could this be a component of my probiotic computer viruses? By identifying and targeting suspicious Internet traffic, we can take a big step towards better protection from malicious software.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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5 Steps to Successful Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Louis Rosas-Guyon III) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:18:00 +0000

Projects usually fail because they overreach.

Projects are chosen by management and are always aimed at either solving a problem or at creating profit. In both cases, management prefers that the project be good, fast and cheap. The initial problem/opportunity is defined and the goals for success are then determined. Here is usually where the trouble starts.

You see, once we start listing problems/opportunities, the list can get pretty long. People start pushing their favorite ideas and more bells and whistles get added to the project. Slowly the scope of the project begins to grow out of control.

Now, every project manager wants to be a hero. He wants his project to come in early and under budget. This is good because it means he will be a more creative problem-solver (hopefully) and will be much more vigilant over the money (ideally). The problem isn't with the project manager, its with the original scope of the project.

Instead of creating monstrous projects with insane timetables, instead borrow from the Agile software development philosophy which advocates many, short development cycles instead of a single long cycle. Pick one specific problem/opportunity and nail it. Don't try to boil the ocean with your projects, just take your problems/opportunities one at a time. Focus on delivering a minimal viable product which you can roll out quickly.

So, the five steps to successful projects are:

Stop overreaching.
Focus on one problem/opportunity at a time.
Develop your solutions quickly with a minimal set of bells and whistles.
Get it into the hands of the people and let them tell you how to make it better.
Move on to the next problem/opportunity.

If you need help managing your projects, give me a call (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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