Virtual Desktops?

I've observed this phenomenon in the market place.  Its usually a combined VDI/Fat client solution that we end up with.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31114_3-20026660-258.html?tag=mncol

Quad Core Processors in the latest HP laptops

I've been excited to see this new quad core technology in laptops.  It would be fun to get my hands on one of these.  I'll wait for prices to come down.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20026658-64.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

What about 3D TV

I was skeptical at first.  I had been to see Avatar at the best theater in 3D.  I thought it was cool but I was pretty sure this would not catch on.  Our TV was from 1999.  We were holding out.  I figured the TV's would just keep getting cheaper.  When the industry came out with 3D I thought for sure that I would not buy one.

What happened?  Best Buy had an absolutely amazing deal that was only on the 3D TV.  The problem we had was that we did not have high definition anything.  So when we purchased a new TV that meant we had to buy a blue ray player and get Hi Def service from the cable company or Direct TV.  Well you can get a decent BlueRay player for about $100.00  But if your going to do the "new TV" thing you will want to be able to download and stream movies to it as well.  So Best Buy had a deal with Sony where if you purchased the 3D TV from Sony they include a Sony PS3 which is a gaming console/Blue Ray player/Media center.  This is how I ended up with the 3D TV.

I like it.  I think a lot of people will buy this.  Last night I played a 3d Video game and it was significantly cooler than any game I've played.  When viewing a 3D movie its like a window into another world.  Maybe I'm a geek but I was pretty blown away.  You don't get the full effect when your checking it out at Costco or Best Buy.  There are too many distractions.  Once I sat down and looked at it and worked with it I was really impressed.  I think this a technology worth giving serious consideration

~pz

Rethinking the WiFi ready TV

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/technology/27hack.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig

Simple out of complex

Hello.

Sorry I've not blogged for a while.  I really have no excuse except i just had no words for a while. So if you are taking the time to read this.....Thanks.

Lately I've been helping a couple of new customers who have sought me out because our company is known for quality in the area of hosted VOIP solutions.  What is interesting to me is that the companies that are being left behind are not necessarily the cheapest.  I think the reasons people leave service providers seems to be complex but they are actually simple.  Customers 1. want stuff that works 2. if it breaks they want you to fix it 3. if it is going to take a while to fix it tell them what the process will be and keep them in the loop during the process.

What is interesting is that when it comes to hosted VOIP the formula to make stuff work good is pretty simple.  The problem is that a lot of service providers make it more complicated by trying to make it cheap and mass produce it.  I'm specifically talking about call quality.  The ingredients are known.  1. a high quality low latency internet connection.  2. a router that delivers and monitors the voice quality  3.  a company that takes action with the right people when there is a problem.

So thats it.  So why do some of the biggest providers still get it wrong?  I can't really say.  I guess it is just the almighty dollar.  We charge a bit more up front.  We are not the cheapest. Even so customers come to us asking for a solution that works.  It seems that hosted VOIP is not yet a commodity.  I think its pretty simple.  Do it right charge a fair price and you will have happy customers.  Why does everyone make it complex?

~pz

After the sale

I'm happy to say that I was able to move forward with a couple of great new projects this week.  Interestingly I found that while I was writing up the paperwork for one particular project I was feeling a lot of stress.  You'd think I'd be super excited to turn in the paperwork.  I realized that I was stressing because it is such a large important project.  It contains multiple elements of our expertise that will come together to create a new managed, secure resilient LAN (local Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network).  What finally put me at ease was looking around the room and realizing what a great bunch of people I work with.  What is it that makes a great company?  Is it age, experience, maturity, excellent leadership?

After spending time in the ownership/ leadership role and now playing the role of director/employee I've come to appreciate and understand what it takes to create a culture of accountability and teamwork.  I've seen that the best leaders allow their employees to take part in strategic planning and taking on big responsibilities. They hold high expectations for learning, execution and respect.  Communication must be respectful and well thought out.  Most of all I've seen that great leaders have passion for what they do and they are humble about their place in the world.

I look around me now and know that even though each one of us alone would have a hard time with a project of this size, scope and complexity. As a team where we respect and support each other, where we have effective respectful communication, with leadership that is passionate and humble, we can do whatever we set our minds to.  I've learned that its not the individual skill that one person possesses.  It's the sum total of the power we have to work together.

It's a setting like this where a technical sales/account manager can have success.  It's why I settled down finished the paperwork and turned it in.  I'm super excited to kick the project on Tuesday.

Have a great Labor day weekend.

~pz

One customer at a time

I've been thinking a lot lately about what i love about my job.  Essentially I help customers figure out what the right technology is for their business.  I sell it to them and then help them plan out their technology budgets and strategy for the future.  I've been doing this for over 15 years so why not try something new?  Why technology?  Why not stocks and bonds or siding or health care?  I'm naturally curious and I've had many jobs: bag boy, SA cashier, Bus Boy, Bell hop, Construction, Pizza delivery guy, Telemarketing, Account manager, Post closing loan guy.....o yeah, Computer lab guy at UW Eau Claire.  There were others but I think you get the general idea. 

I've figured out there are 2 things that make this really fun and ignite my passion for the work. 1. constanly learning new technologies.  I get to have my mind and life renewed through consistent growth 2. Shareing them with my customers and prospects in a way that helps them improve their businesses and therefore thier lives. 


I recently finished the book "Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316316962/gladwellcom. 
The book talks about what makes a market tip.  It says that these tipping points are influenced by a few key different types of people.  One of the types of people mentioned is a "connector" this person is loosely connected with lots of different people so when they learn about something new that is really great they are able to spread the news about it very quickly and this is one of the elements that causes the market to tip.  I guess in some ways I'm a connector.  A lot of people tell me they were thinking about calling me but I always call them first....and that they were glad I kept in touch. We are not always talking tech either.  I like just keeping up with their lives.  I'm facinated with what each individual faces in their personal and professional lives.  I think we all have something we can learn from eachother.  We can be a blessing to eachother everyday by listening and sharing ideas and encouragement.

I feel like a lot of technology providers are only interested in making their products tip without really knowing or caring about their customers struggle.  These companies want to have their customers make an investment in the latest tech solution without any connection to the customers real business challenges and therefore solutions.  So, thats why I've landed on the phrase "One customer at a time".  I really think what I have to offer is the best.  I know we can help our customers.  But If I don't truly care about my customers perspective and challenges and I only want to make my month then to me...its meaningless. 

I realize I sound a bit idealistic.  Trust me....I know the importance of an agressive sales plan and financial objectives that are met and exceeded.  I'm all for sound planning and execution.  I'm just saying that without the "One customer at a time" approach I don't think technology providers can have long term success. I think the companies that Tip the market are those that know their customers real challenges and address them with cost effective, viable forward looking solutions.

Thanks  ~pz

Value in voice

Now that I've been back in the voice game for a couple of years I've had a chance to reformulate my opinions about this market.  I've been working with all different sizes of customers on voice solutions.  More specifically VOIP (Voice Over IP) phone systems and the connections to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

You'd never guess but..........nothing has really changed.  Sure the way that the phone call is getting from one place to another has changed.  The types of devices we are talking on has changed.  The way we interact with each other has changed.  What has not changed?  The need for value.  The need for excellent service providers. The need for a true consultative approach.  I guess I'm kind of predictable and I'm sorry for that.  I've seen product after product in the technology market become a "commodity".  Then I've watched as countless companies go to consume these products only to find out that nothing works quite like "they" said it would.  You can go online and search for VOIP providers and find all sorts of low cost options.  If your office is small and not growing these may serve you well.  Depending on your business model.  When your business grows to a point of true reliance on the VOIP solution you will expose it's weaknesses.

Don't get me wrong.  I get that startups have limited dollars to work with and will have to make sacrifices.  I support that.  I did that with my first business.  I'm speaking more to the established businesses that have established budgets to work with.

I'm seeing that even though VOIP is effective its not simple.  Long term perspective is required to make the right choices with your technology dollar.  It's important to consider the overall impact on the IT resources and network.  What happens if the internet goes down?  If the firewall crashes?  If someone gets a virus?

What I've seen is that some companies in the market are taking a commodity approach to selling these products "turnem and burnem"  others still know they are building long term relationships.  They are working to become the trusted advisor.  The second approach is the one I support.

Thanks for reading ~pz

WPC 2010 - Worldwide Partner Conference - July 11-15, 2010

Love watching Steve Balmer. He's always inspired. I'm encouraged by what he has to say. Microsoft will continue to give Google a run for their money

WPC 2010 - Worldwide Partner Conference - July 11-15, 2010

Interesting News about Microsoft

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20012806-245.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

SEC and FINRA compliance

Recently I've had the opportunity to work with one of my customers helping them get ready for bringing a dealer broker group into their business.  This means that they will need to be SEC and FINRA compliant in their IT practices.  I have to say its been an interesting journey.  I've come to really appreciate the value of Email archiving.  I've also gained an appreciation for the size of the job these Two regulatory agencies have to do.  After the recent recession a lot of people have been critical about the regulation of our financial markets and rightfully so.  We've said there needs to be more accountability and more historical tracking of information.  We expect the organizations responsible for our dollars to be able to go back in time and find information about transactions, conversations and agreements among other things.

I'm happy to report that the IT industry has stepped up with tools that will make that a possibility.  The question is, how quickly will these businesses adopt the new technologies?  I think that they will do it because they have to.  I think they will because the cost of not doing it is too high.  This started me thinking about what other industries should require this kind of compliance.  I think education and healthcare will be next.

I discovered in my research that the legal cost of email discovery is 50% of the total when dealing with legal problems where email is involved.  With the new email archiving tools that are available that could help companies reduce risk and cost considerably.  I'm always encouraged when IT solution providers find a way to make business more efficient and help them save money.

Thanks for reading ~pz 


 

File Storage

It's funny how things never really change that much.  10 years ago the first thing I was dealing with was customer's electronic file storage and sharing challenges.  Now the challenge is still one of the main things I help my customers figure out.  The basic problem is that we have all this electronic information.  Some of it is important.  Some of it is private.  a lot of it is not worth hanging on to but we don't have the time to figure out which is which.

Today their are a lot of great new ways to address this problem.  Microsoft has taken their products put them in the cloud they are called Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite or BPOS for about  $10.00 per user per month. (http://www.managedsolution.com/CloudSolutions/thirtydaytrial.html) Google is providing Google Apps or more specifically Google Doc's and this comes standard with a free google account or the $4.75 per month per user price will get you their premium solution.  (http://docs.google.com/demo/edit?id=scAAFE2hvYCWG-9BtSKhcMXGD#document)

These tools are unique in that they will allow you to create your entire company file storage and email solution in the cloud.   The entry price is low so it's easy and painless to get on board.  There have been several large organizations that have adopted these solutions and there is definitely an ROI to be achieved.  So why are more small and medium businesses not diving in to this solution?

I've been using Google docs for over a year now as a personal solution and it works great. I'm also equally confident in the Microsoft solution.  I think that there is a great unknown that a lot of business can't get past.  What if things change?  What if these big players decide they want to change the price, or the platform or the whole game?  it could really cause some discomfort for a small or medium business that had just moved on board.  For those companies I wholeheartedly support the traditional client server model where the company installs a server and joins the computers up to the domain and keeps everything local.  (except the backup...but thats another blog for another day).

Bottom line is that there are more solutions than ever to provide secure shared storage of files.

Thanks ~pz

Overcomming challenges in Technology

One of the greatest challenges a small growing company will face in improving their technology will be the getting a healthy perspective on how to invest in technology.  When we started our company we got by on used stuff.  Our firs sever was purchased of ebay.  our second server was an obnoxiously loud home made server.  These served us well right up to the time we had several employees counting on our infrastructure every day.  Then when they went down it was more costly because more people were counting on it to do their jobs.  Not to mention our billing needed to happen weekly if not daily in order to keep the cash flowing.

Is there a middle ground between used stuff and way to expensive stuff?  I'm happy to report there is.  Like most other business problems there are strategic ways of dealing with each element of technology for a business.  The areas I see that most often need a attention while a business grows are the following for infrastructure.  1.File storage. 2. Email  3.firewall.  4. Phone system.

I'm going to break each one of these down in future blogs.  These are elements I see over and over.  it seems that in 10 years nothing has changed.  I mean the solutions have changed but the problems have not.  The great news is that there are better and better solutions and the cost of maintaining them is decreasing as well.

Thanks for reading  ~pz

What is new?

Not much.  I know it's been a while since I've blogged.  I appreciate anyone who continues to read.  I truly enjoy blogging but I don't play by all the rules.  I'm supposed to blog at least once per week if I want anyone to follow my blog, but, I started out doing this for fun.  Guess what.  It still is.  Sometimes  I just get busy and need to go out and have more expeirences to write about.  I need to take time and learn and discern direction for myself.  Well...I think I'm getting back on track. 

Actually I think it is interesting that nothing is new.  I've actually been very busy in my new role.  I find it funny that I'm constantly rediscovering the same things.  I've been doing IT consulting for over 8 years now and I see the same probems over and over.  It got me to thinking.  Why is it? Shouldn't things be getting easier?  Shouldn't technology be advancing and improving things? The fact is that improvements have been made but adoption is slow. I think this is because decision makers count on people they can trust to help guide them and they are fearful of moving away from that persons advice even if that person is not keeping up with the changes in the industry.  Even with all the improvements that have been made in business technology making the right decision can still be very confusing.

What I've found is that companies are still fighting the same problems: 1.not enough money 2.need to make improvements that will have a large impact on productivity and stability 3. not enough time to make the decisions and implement the solutions  4. can't afford to make the wrong decision.  How can they overcome these problems and end up making the right decisions?  I'm not sure. after all, we live in America and most of the sales people who walk through your door have a quota to make.  Most of them are young and inexperieinced.  Most of them won't be there a year from now. 

We can start by setting timelines for decisons and asking lots of questions.  Look for people who have experience and have exposure to lots of different technologies.  Find companies that have a history of taking care of their customers over the long haul.  Many small companies value thier long term relationships with their customers and the owner of the company is often involved on a day to day basis.

The truth is that it is not to hard to come to the right decision once you find the right partner

A lesson in Loyalty

Loyalty is one of my greatest strengths which is also my greatest weakness.  I had lunch with a friend today and we talked about how we had both been taken advantage of because we were too loyal.  I don't think I'll get to the end of my life and regret being loyal.  I think I'll have learned that being loyal to the right people and organizations benefited me greatly.  I'll be glad I learned how to stop and observe behavior and actions before pledging my loyalty.

When I split ways with my previous business partner I had no idea what was in store. I had been loyal.  I had put my house up to fund the company when he had nothing to offer.  I had put all my selling skills to work and brought all of my personal network to bear to build the business from 12k in revenue the first year to 1.2 million the year I sold it to him.  For that he forced me out of the business and told all the employees I did not work there anymore, but thats another story. Was that the result of loyalty?  is that what I deserved?  no.  I did learn a lot from that experience.  I learned that I have to be very careful who I am loyal to.  I realized that I had not really known my partner before we started the business together.  That was my mistake.  I had not compared the opportunity with him to any others that were around at the time.  That was my mistake too.  Now I'm very careful who I am loyal to.  Now I take my time to get to know someone before I make a big commitment to them.

I see a lot of small and medium businesses take this approach to their technology.  They find someone who can fix a few things and they figure that person knows everything about technology.  I see companies pay big prices for that loyalty.  Many times I end up being the one to go in afterwards and clean up the mess from ill advised technology decisions.  I can't say much.  Lord knows I've made my own mistakes by being loyal to the wrong person.  I really enjoy it when we get to go in and work with the existing person and help them make improvements that allow them to learn and the customer to prosper.  That's what I call a win win.

So now I watch everything when evaluating a new vendor relationship or customer relationship.  I pay close attention to the cues along the way.  How do they treat others?  Are they respectful of me and my time?  Do they search for ways to have a win win?

I can honestly say that I don't have any customers right now that I feel don't deserve my loyalty.  I also work with vendors who are excellent as well.  I'm thankful for the lesson I learned about loyalty.

Strengths and weaknesses

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my strengths and weaknesses.  As a business owner I had to try and be good at everything initially....well.....because there was no one else to do it.  As my business grew I realized there were things I was simply no good at.  I tried to have the business make enough money so I could pay someone who was good at those things.  The challenge is that a lot of people think they are good at most things. So even our first few book keepers did not work out so well.  When we asked them to do more elaborate financial calculations they said, "no problem".  We found out later that they were not really very good at those things.  Unfortunately it cost us money and time to fix the problems those people created.  We really had no one to blame but ourselves because we had not taken the time to figure this out up front.  We eventually got a system in place that helped us evaluate our employees for their strengths and put them in the places where they could make the most difference.

I find that knowing my own strengths and weaknesses is a life long endeavor.  I'm constantly rediscovering things that I'm no good at and things that I'm great at.  This week I met with a good friend of mine and he gave me some advice.  He said to look at those who I work with and notice the areas where they are strong an where they are weak.  Don't ask them to do things that are in their areas of weakness.......that makes sense.  I guess it just took me till 41 to figure that out.  This has been very helpful.

I think this applies when it comes to finding technical support as well.  There a lot of people out there who will tell you they can handle just about anything. My experience has been that there are very few who can pull this off effectively.  The best engineers know where they are great and when to ask for help.  They continue to learn and grow to expand their expertise but they also know when to call in a specialist.  I guess thats where I can really help my customers out.  By helping them get the right team in place to address their business technology needs.  By making sure we have the right people working on the right issues.  I hope these thoughts are helpful to you in whatever challenges your facing right now.

Thanks for Reading  ~pz

Ian Hameroff talks about Exchange 2010

This video is cheeky but helpful.  Hang with it because there is good information about how Microsoft's mail server Exchange 2010 will help companies and users.

Microsoft Publisher 2010

Ok, I promise to stop after this but I am having a lot of fun checking out these videos and well most of this stuff is pretty cool to a geek like me. But seriously.  Having been forced to work in publisher since I've become more involved in marketing.  I'm here to say its cool but can be frustrating to work with.  These new features look intuitive and helpful.  I'm sure I'll still get anxious when I have to put together an ad in publisher but maybe my finished product will look a little better.  Please comment.  I'm interested to hear what you think.

Microsoft Office Communicator 2010

I've had a chance to start working with Unified Communications.  The office 2010 integration into Microsoft's Unified Communication strategy will make it a powerful platform.  Since I've been using Heads Up Display from Fonality I really think its increased the efficiency of my communication in the office.  This new office platform from Microsoft looks to be a great move on their part.

Microsoft Outlook 2010

Google would like everyone to think they've got Microsoft on the ropes. This video gives me the impression that they don't. The new features in outlook 2010 will really bring value to the way people live and work today. Check it out! 

What can you tell from a funeral?

Last weekend I attended the funeral of my Stepfather Dr. Robert White.  When I attended his funeral I was blown away by the amount of people that showed up to honor his life. I was saddened greatly by his loss because it was sudden.  He was raking the lawn and fertilizing the day before he went into surgery.  His death was not expected.  I won't go into the details of the illness because I want to respect his privacy but lets just say he was not critically ill before he went into surgery.  We all expected him to make it.  He was 69 and was constantly on the move.  He loved to help out with outside projects whenever he could.  Especially when it came to trimming bushes.  We joked that he is up in Heaven right now trimming the bushes for God.

He was a Chiropractor for some 40 + years. If anyone was not a user of technology, it was my stepfather.  He ran is practice without a computer all of that time.  He and my mother did not even own a mobile phone.  They had no internet at their house.  How and the world did they survive?  Pretty well!  Stepfather was exceptional at showing up.  What I respect about him is that his actions matched his words.  He was not one of those people were all talk and no action.  Quite the opposite in fact.  One year while we were on vacation he chopped up our bushes while we were away.  We had only mentioned it  in passing.  Action!  Thats what most sales people and business people are missing these days.  Thats an ethic that the current generation will have a challenge grabbing hold of with all of their electronic communication.  I have always worked for companies that were focussed on getting out with people "belly to belly".  This is what Bob excelled at.  He had life long relationships with his clients who followed him wherever he went.  I remember him heading to work on Saturday mornings to help patients out of pain.  He did this almost every Saturday.  I prefer sleeping in.

Some 500+ people showed up to his funeral.  I don't even think I know 500 people.  And I work at it every day. These were people who's lives he had touched.  He did not use email, chat, or mobile phones.  I don't think he ever made a cold call.  He just met people where they were at.  Every day.  I hope this blog honors his memory.  I'd better get out in the yard and start trimming the bushes.

~pz

I'm Back!

Hello out there.  Sorry I have not blogged for quite a while.  I was gone on vacation for 2 weeks where is intentionally did not blog.  I also had just started my new role as Director of Managed Services at Advance Integrated Technologies just before I left on vacation.  Well.  When I returned from vacation my Step-Father went in to surgery and unfortunately he passed away about 2 weeks ago.  My brain was full of thoughts and information.  I wanted to blog but could not straighten it all out.  So...I hope you'll keep reading because I'm going to keep blogging.

Thanks for waiting.

~pz

Timing is everything

I work with companies in all different phases of growth and I'm fascinated with how the timing of technology events is different for every type of company. When I was new in tech sales I'd talk with a new prospect and they would share with me their timeline and I might get super excited if they told me the work had to be done right away.  When I ran my IT company I had a different perspective.  it was all about putting projects in the pipeline so we could do excellent work while still meeting the customers timeline expectations and not work our engineers to death.  In growing businesses the timing of implementation is also effected by cash flow of the company.  They may know exactly what they want to do.  They may want to do it now but they may not have the financial resources.

I think it is crucial that timing and budget are part of the initial conversations for any company looking to take on a major technology initiative.  The problem is that many buyers are afraid to show all of their cards early in the process.  That only makes sense.  Many companies and individuals have been mistreated by sales people and consultants who are self serving and inexperienced.  It's because of those bad experiences that many people find their trusted advisors through personal recommendations.  That's usually a good place to start.  It's also important to make sure to further qualify the provider by asking for references and like experiences.   Also, gut feel is important too.  If the consultant is not respectful or if they are arrogant.  They are not getting my vote.

So I think that I've learned to respect the customers time line, no matter what it is.  I've also learned that it can shift quickly and I need to be flexible.  I must consider the life cycle of the company as well.  Younger companies don't usually have as much cash to work with.  This requires a sub set of solutions that won't break the bank.  Fortunately there are lots of options in a large price range.  I'm grateful to be part of the solution for a company as they grow and change.  If I'm smart I'll keep their needs and priorities in front of me when making recommendations for their projects.  I'll never forget that its their company, their money and their sacrifices.  I'll know when to tell them to move on from me when we are no longer the right fit.

When I had my own company I learned that some times you can jump too soon when diving into a new solution.  It is hard to survive if your technology is too expensive and you can't afford to pay the employees.  I also learned that the right solution can be priceless.  It can allow your business to grow and flourish, unhindered by technology. In the final analysis, though, its people who make a business run.  If your not sure about your technology decision.....give it some time.

Thanks for reading
pz  

Android SIP/VoIP Client

This is a fun video that demonstrates a SIP (session Initiation Protocol) connection between mobile phones. Basically 2 mobile phones using their internet connection to make a call to each other. Lots of fun implications for VOIP.

Fonality's HUD for Remote Workers

One more cool video to check out.

Fonality's HUD for Executives

I've spent the last week learning this product. I really like it. It's actually affordable too.

Managing Change

This week I started a new job with AiTech.  I'm very excited to be a part of their team.  I have to admit that the whole experience caught me off guard.   As a consultant to businesses I work with them to manage change all the time.  In fact they usually come to me when they are on their way into a big change.  So this experience has been really good for me.

I had heard grumblings of a possible buy out but those kind of rumors are always around in a small company.  So...I tried not to get too caught up in them.  We'd been down that road before and been all anxious for no good reason.  I had not taken any time to think through the idea of working for another company.  Especially because the owners of Superior had done a great job of keeping everything on the down low.  When I heard there would be an announcement last Friday I had no Idea what was happening.  Much less clue who would acquire us.

At first I was very excited.  More customers to call on,  more resources,  more engineers,  nicer office, smaller commute.  After my first week, I'm glad to report that those feelings still ring true.  I was most shocked by the challenge I had this week giving up certain responsibilities.  For the last 7 years I've spent most of my time in a very autonomous state.  Most decisions fell on me and I was used to making the call.  An experience that I will always value.  So, while I was grateful to have lots of new help this week I was also afraid that somehow I would not measure up.

People always say that the school of hard knocks is good for you.  You learn to fend for yourself and make decisions.  Yep...thats true.  I'm not sure you always make the best decisions.  But you make progress and thats important.  I'm learning to trust the people around me that I just started working with.  I'm learning to give up old challenges and take on new ones.  I'm learning to trust in an additional group of engineers to carry out the projects we are proposing. Change takes most people by surprise so I guess I can give myself a week to adapt.  I must say.  I can't imagine a better fit for working with me than the team at AiTech.  They did everything they could to make me feel comfortable this week.  I even got a couple of nice new pens that gladly I have not lost yet.

I guess the best way to manage change is to give up some control.  To allow everyone to be authentic.  To start by trusting.  Start by giving.  Keep communicating.  Thats what I'm going to focus on as we move forward.  I'm excited to see what happens!

Relationships Rule

As long as I've been in technology there have been companies trying to be a one "one stop shop".  I find it interesting that this seems to be a real challenge to pull off over the long term.  When I was with McLeodUSA I was selling phone systems and the other reps were selling phone lines.  What I found interesting was that the success or failure of our selling together still ended up to be all about relationships.  The other reps that could form solid trustworthy relationships with were very successful.  Today the likes of Loffler in technology and ADP in benefits\payroll are making headway to become your "one stop shop" as a business.

Time will only tell if these strategies will work out for them.  Now that the "recession" is at an end (depending on who you talk to)  I think we will see more of these kinds of mergers happening in the technology business. I've spent the past 10 years building my own personal network of trusted technology resources.  I often ask myself what it would be like if we all worked for the same company.  I may get the chance to find out....who knows?  Whatever happens I still believe it will be the quality of my relationships that rule my success or failure.  I've learned that if I am working with a business partner and it seems too good to be true....it probably is.  If I have red flags about their behavior, lack of action, treatment of my customer or me, I need to address it right away.  If they are not willing to discuss or see my point it may not be a good fit.

I'm currently working on a project that involves multiple partner relationships.  Needless to say we've run into some snags on the project.  We met yesterday with the customer (who has been great to deal with) and made progress towards coming to an understanding of how we would all share the pain of what has gone wrong.  It was not an easy conversation but it was extremely rewarding.  I felt my relationship with my business parter and the customer grow stronger.  This is what good business is all about.

My advice is to work with partners and customers who are interested in a quality long term relationship.

Have a great weekend!

Microsoft Office 2010 Introduction

Here is a look at what is ahead for Microsoft Office. I'm really excited about this release because Microsoft is taking Google head on. Greater competition should lead to better products. I'll keep my readers up to date when I get the guts to install the beta version on my production laptop.

How Citrix XenApp works

Sorry if I'm going a little bit crazy on the videos this past month. I'm finally having some time to catch up and share some of what we've been working with over the past few months. This is a terrific explanation of how application virtualization works.

Google's experimental fiber network

If Google pulls this off it could be really cool. It will be a game changer. Keep an eye out for updates on what will happen with Google fiber to the home. 1GB per second sounds awsome!

Simplicity 3 - Product Focus

How do companies make decisions about which technology platform they should be on?  What are the critical points in the decision making process?  How can they spot a consultant who is not likely to guide them down the right path?  I've worked with a few firms lately who's existing consulting firms have attempted to guide them down a dead end path.  Why would they do this?

My focus for this series of blogs is about simplicity.  On the surface it seems that staying focused on one particular technology for resolving a particular technology issue would be the simplest path.   For instance:  Choosing Microsoft Exchange and Outlook as the only way to provide email and calendar sharing.  Well,  it is for the consultant.  But not for the customer.  It's easier for the consultant to learn and promote one product line very well and promote its benefits to their customers.  Its complicated to create an evolving suite of solutions from a variety of products that give the customer the customer high quality solutions that fit their business process and stage of growth.

I would argue that this will ultimately offer the customer the simplest solutions.  This is because the customer will know when their is a fit in terms of product features and price.  This makes the solution simple.....easy to understand and move forward with.  It's the consultants job to bring a variety of solutions that make the decision easier for the customer and also fit into the long term plan provided  by the consultant.

Sometimes I get brought in late in the game.  By that point the client is very frustrated that they have been brought down a dead end path.  Sometimes it is a tough pill to swallow but it is worth it.  Usually its not as tough as it looks up front.  Lately we've been able to help customers make this jump by moving them to the cloud.  So the capital costs are far less than they used to be.

Thanks for reading.  Many blessings to your path.

Hired! A pilot's job search takes off

Mostly this blog is about my adventures in technology for the SMB (Small and Medium Business) marketplace.  I get pretty excited when I see technology truly making a difference in a persons life.  Check out this article about how a mans life was deeply impacted by getting involved with blogging and social media.




Hired! A pilot's job search takes off

Posted using ShareThis

What about the Buzz.

I'm still learning the best way to post videos to my blog and add comments. So I'm sorry if the formatting is not super clear in my blog.  I've posted the Google Buzz video because I think this an interesting step by Google.  They are making a valid attempt to bring our social networking together with our online business applications.  This is another step in brining people to the place where their main online destination is Google.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Google Buzz

Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009

Faster is better!

I find it interesting how the computer industry is always working to make their equipment run faster.  Sometimes I wonder why they are constantly trying to push the envelope.  Recently I've been working with a client who's network is experience a great deal of slowness.  This is very frustrating for the entire company.  The employees and management are at their wits end.  It seems most people are ok with a bit of slowness in their IT equipment from time to time.  It really becomes a problem with it grinds to an almost stand still.

I think the reason people are so interested in their equipment working fast is that they have the most powerful computer in the world right between their ears.  They want their computer/mobile phone/internet connection to move as fast as their thoughts and Ideas.  I think this is why IM and Iphones are so popular.  They move faster.  Many times it feels faster than making a phone call.  No small talk needed.  Just hard cold facts.... abbreviated.

Now I'll share something with you that is kind of embarrassing.  Sometimes when I'm heading down the road I look up contacts on my phone.  My usual tactic is to plug my headphone in to my phone in the parking lot before I launch (I know, I know...Bluetooth works better).  Next I wait until a stoplight to look up the name in contacts.  Then ideally I hit dial just as I leave the stoplight.  This should work except my 1 and 1/2 year old windows mobile phone can't keep up with my fingers and it actually creates a pretty dangerous situation as I'm still clicking while I'm accelerating down the on ramp.  I need speed!  Even though the GUI (Graphic User Interface) of the phone is somewhat annoying it pales in comparison to how slow the phone works.  The slowness has caused me to hate the phone instead patiently waiting for an upgrade.


I see this same kind of frustration with customers who experience applications or machines that are slow.  I had a client a few years ago who did software development.  Their  developers were so frustrated with the slowness of their machines that they uninstall-ed the antivirus software.  This ended horribly as their entire 80 person company was taken off line for a week with a virus.


My conclusion.  FASTER IS BETTER!  but not at too high of a cost.  I'm excited for the faster and faster processors and web based applications.  I especially like what Google has done with their apps and I love the Chrome browser.  I look forward to using it.  I'm actually kind of embarrassed for Microsoft with their doggy bug ridden Explorer 8.  Unfortunately many people are stuck with it because so many apps are built for it.  Their are many other ways to get FAST.  But I'll hit on that in later blogs.  Good luck getting fast.



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Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

What I love about the consulting business is that it always has something to teach me.  In the past week I've been in the middle of 3 projects.  It's been hair raising at times but it's also been fun.  In the past when I had a difficult situation to deal with I would get nervous and lose sleep.  Sometimes I would allow this anxiety to delay the process of communication.  The end result was that there was more frustration and confusion for my customers, myself and my staff.  In short.....more drama.  This week the 3 C's have been driven home again for me.  I've had a bunch of times when I ran up against road blocks for me and my customers.  I was excited to take them head on.

The tendency these days is to kick off an email and say "I've done my part".  I don't think that counts anymore.  I've had too many times where somebody missed my email or it was read and then forgotten.  My new rule is communicate verbally and written as soon as possible.  The best result of that behavior is better relationships and more trust.  Who does not need more of that?

I hope you find this refreshing

Lately I've been paying a lot of attention to the colors and screens on my computer.  I think it's because I spend a lot of time looking at the darn thing.  Might as well be fun to look at.  It started when I installed Windows 7.  They have a bunch of cool themes that are free with the Professional version.  I found this so refreshing that I began to look for other places to spice up my world.  For the last 2 months I've been running Google Chrome Browser.  Once again, a bunch of cool themes are available.  Besides the fact that the browser rocks and is really fast.  Its fun to look at with lots of cool features.  Finally I've decided to change my blog theme for a more refreshing spring look.

I hope you find it refreshing.

Simplicity 2- Technology creep

What is it that complicates the path to a clean simple solution?  What is it that takes us off the path to a point where we think there may be no solution?  Have you ever felt that way?  Like....wow solving this problem is going to be impossible and/or very expensive.  When it comes to technology I think it is that there are so many options and they are constantly being upgrade, adding features, changing integrations and being discontinued.  


We've been working with a couple of firms lately who made major investments in hardware and software that became unsupported after just 2 years.  This is very frustrating for the owners of these businesses.  They feel as if they've been betrayed by their vendors.  I can't say that I blame them.  To make matters worse when they called the sales person back in, the sales person tried to sell them more stuff.  This is the sort of situation that causes decision makers to get frozen in the decision making process.


How can a company avoid this kind of situation?  How can they move forward with a simple solution? Usually the best way to accomplish this is to get multiple opinions.  A lot of people like to work with their friends or relatives.  I think it's important to look closely at the experience and resources of the person giving you the advice.  Have they evaluated a situation like this before?  Can they relate any examples?  Can you call those customers or better yet visit their site?  Can they provide you with articles and documentation about the solutions they are recommending?  Can they create a demo site for you to see it in action?


These are just some ideas to get you thinking.  These questions and there answers are what I cause people to freeze in their tracks.  This problem of worrying about "Technology Creep" is what stops a lot of forward movement.  It's one of the problems that keeps us from meeting the goal of simple solutions.




  

Simplicity

I've had the good fortune to be spending a lot of time lately with some exceptional business leaders.  What I've been enjoying is the grace and clarity that they are able to provide in their solutions and communication.  I often find myself laughing out loud at customer appointments when my customers tell me about the antics that the salespeople who call on them pull.  I suppose what makes it even funnier is that I tried the same things when I was new in sales.

What I've noticed is that many of the best solutions are often the simplest.  Many of the best presentations Ive made are where I do the following: 1.clearly define the problem and agree.  2. offer a simple solution and agree. 3.Decide on an action plan with a timeline and agree.   I'm not sure why this is so difficult for consultants, business leaders and sales people.  I'm just trying to focus on this Idea for now. Take everything I've learned and all my resources to bear for my customers.  Take my time and work things all the way through.  In the end come up with a simple solution

Evolution of IT

Hello everyone. Hope you are all off to a great 2010.  You may wonder where I've been.  Well, I've been trying to catch up with technology.  I've spent the first part of January just researching and understanding whats going to drive solutions in 2010.  I have to say that I'm convinced hosted solutions like Google Apps and Zoho will be the new way that SMB (small and medium business) will reap more efficiency at less cost.  Lets face it.  If your server, network and computers are stable, it costs less money.  I've been installing and testing all sorts of different solutions on my windows 7 machine and they are stable!  What about cost?  That is where Google has really leveled the playing field.  By offering the right combination of cool technology at the right price.  (in many cases free)  So what will I be recommending to my customers?  well, as usual it will depend on what their business needs are.  The truth is that Google and Zoho are not the fix for everyones problems.  So if your making a purchase this year it will be wise to make sure you're getting good advice from a company that is staying up with the market.  It seems that the changes in what are available are moving faster than ever.

Thanks for reading

Windows 7

I was not one of those people who complained about Vista.  I actually really liked it.  My laptop is about 2 years old and came with Vista Business.  I never had any major problems with it.  It's for that reason that I was not super excited about Windows 7.  The last thing I wanted to do was start testing it and break everything else on my machine.  Unfortunately, I do that sometimes.  I think I drive our techs crazy but I have fun learning about new stuff.  I heard the techs saying how much they loved it and how smooth the upgrade went.  Thats what finally convinced me to give it a try.

I have to be honest here.  My tech skills are lacking since I've been doing business development over the past 3 years.  I'm just as scared as anyone else when I do an upgrade on my own.  I downloaded and ran the tool that tells you if your machine is ready for Windows 7 called Windows 7 upgrade advisor http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx.   The tool revealed that I needed to uninstall my graphics controller and Itunes and then reinstall them after the upgrade.  That made me nervous.  I hate dealing with graphics controller software.  I'm always worried I'll break something and the computer will work but I wont be able to see anything.  Luckily, the removal of the applications went smoothly, as well as their re-installation.  After that I ran the upgrade on my Vista machine and it went extremely smooth.  For me, it only took a few hours.  I've talked to others that said it took up to 4 hours.  When I logged back into my computer after the upgrade everything worked as before.  The changes they made to the OS are significant improvements to Vista.  I'm really impressed!

I know many of the Mac users are out there turning their noses up.  You cant blame them. Mac has made quite a reputation for themselves.  I love Macs.  I actually started my computer career working in the Mac lab at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.  Ok, so what is so great about Windows 7?  Nothing and everything.  It is finally good enough to keep people from switching to Mac.  Its stable.  It's smooth.  It's fun to work with.  IT has cool gagets and graphics.  For me, it just makes it easier to get more work done faster.  Especially the way that it works with windows when you are running multiple applications.  Things just seem to make more sense.  They've made little tweaks all over the place. My opinion is that Vista was pretty cool to begin with.  So it is like Vista was the Toyota and Windows 7 is the Lexus.  (Sorry about the car analogy)  I think that for the first time this OS feels polished and ready right out of the gate.  I guess the key is that it feels that way.  Even if their will be patches and releases down the road, as a user,  I'm not concerned with that now.  and thats how it should be.  I guess thats what people love about Macs....they just make sense.  I'm glad they got a hit here.  Now we can all get excited for Office 2010.  Check out the beta......if you dare http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx.

Does this mean I'm only in favor of Microsoft Product?  Absolutely not.  I'm excited to try out the new Google Chrome operating system.  I'm sure there will be a whirlwind of change in 2010.  What I love about the Tech industry is that the competition makes things better for all of us.  When Microsoft did not have as much competition their products suffered.  Now they are lighting things up.  Way to go!

Thanks for reading.