Peter Zubert's SMB Tech Adventures

Future of Voice Expert-led Workshops - Future of Communications blog - Peak�Telecoms

2012-01-27T10:19:00.000-06:00

This is an interesting take on the future of voice.

Future of Voice Expert-led Workshops - Future of Communications blog - Peak�Telecoms

Amazing. It looks like Amazon has great aspirations

2012-01-26T14:47:00.001-06:00

http://www.crn.com/news/cloud/232500430/amazon-storage-gateway-bridges-cloud-on-premise-data.htm;jsessionid=HZaWx388ODGdrb7t9v+vrw**.ecappj02?cid=nl_stor

Remote blogging

2012-01-20T10:50:00.001-06:00

I'm at a resturant. Waiting for friends. I wanted to sample again this new Droid app for blogging. So cool. I'm learning how to text pretty fast now. I'm meeting some buddies from college who are graphic artists. They've always inspired me to think outside of the box. Try new things and think about the world in a different way. They truly have a passion for what they do. I am inspired by that. That is what life should be about. a lot of times reality sinks in. We have bills to pay. I love technology. That is why I write this blog. It lets me talk about technology while using technology. I get to experience the coolness of blogging from a cool app on my cool old phone. I get to see the cool new upgrades and use them when Google releases changes and updates to their Blogger tools or other tools like Google +. So, here is my official thanks to my friends and coworkers who inspire me.

CrashPlan Cloud Storage Vendor Code 42 Grabs $52.5 Million In VC Funding

2012-01-19T14:22:00.000-06:00

This is unique for a startup. I have not tested the product yet but I plan on giving it a try.

CrashPlan Cloud Storage Vendor Code 42 Grabs $52.5 Million In VC Funding

Comcast is the fastest broadband provider in the U.S. — Broadband News and Analysis

2012-01-18T12:28:00.000-06:00

I find it interesting that we think that our cable providers are fast. Yet in other countries the get much faster speeds at lower prices, as it states at the end of this article

Comcast is the fastest broadband provider in the U.S. — Broadband News and Analysis

A truly funny story (source unknown)

2012-01-16T09:03:00.002-06:00

Have you heard about the lost balloonist?

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realises he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts: "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The man below says: "Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees N. latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees W. longitude."
"You must be an engineer" says the balloonist.
"I am" replies the man. "How did you know?"
"Well" says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but your information is useless, and the fact is I am still lost."
The man below says "You must be in marketing."
"I am" replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well", says the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you are going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now it is all my fault."

I loved this story. I picked it up off an HP group that I'm part of. I've observed this phenomenon over and over. Especially in the past few years. I've been on both sides of the coin. Engineer and Marketer. Now I find that I spend my time in the middle. It's one of those things I love about business. I love that things are so imperfect. We strive as humans to make everything exactly how we want it with our "new technology". We end up with the same human problems which beg for human solutions.

Have a great week.

Interesting stuff

2012-01-11T09:55:00.000-06:00

I've been working with Zenith for a long time. this seems like a good development. I'm hopeful that it will result in a more stable on and offline backup solution that we can all bank on. Read on.

http://www.continuum.net/docs/press%20release/Introducing-Continuum-121211.pdf

Customers Matter | HTG Peer Groups - Promoting Business and Personal Growth for IT and MSP Industry Leaders

2012-01-01T16:32:00.000-06:00

I really like what Arlin has to say. I hope to get the chance to meet him some day.

Customers Matter | HTG Peer Groups - Promoting Business and Personal Growth for IT and MSP Industry Leaders

About the old new phone

2012-01-01T16:26:00.001-06:00

Now that I've got some time in with this Droid I have a lot of positive feed back. With one looming question. Who needs more horsepower than this phone? I'm starting to understand my answer to this question. Here are my favorite Apps so far: Wells Fargo, Realtor.com, Delta airlines, Walgreens, Yelp, Blogger and of course Facebook. I think you can tell by my favorite list of Apps that I'm new to this game. I guess that is kind of how technology works. Once you get in the pool and feel how warm the water can be you then start to see what else you can do. Like maybe the back stroke. I've not been a very avid user of Facebook but now that I have a droid I'm starting to see the magic of it. Take a cool picture, show it to all of your friends with some kind of witty saying. Express yourself. Stay connected. reach people you've lost track of or who have moved away. Do this as a natural part of living life with a few clicks should I say finger presses. In the US we like to have our own space and control over who we communicate with and how. These hand held devices are opening up an entire new way of communicating about ourselves. Different ways of processing our world. I'm sitting there the other day thinking "I don't want to pick up the phone and talk to an auto attendant and try to punch in the right numbers to renew my prescription". Then I have a thought. "I wonder if there is a Walgreens application?" Sure enough there is. So I set myself up and BAM! there are all my prescriptions just click go. It was a wow moment for me. Everyone has to do this. everyone needs to interact with the pharmacy so make it easier. Not just for the patient but for the pharmacy. So cool.

I'm really excited to see what else I can discover. I can't wait to share my thoughts with you.

~pz

My cool new old phone

2011-12-22T18:10:00.001-06:00

Ok I'm a little behind the times. Well I have my dads 2 year old Droid incredible. This is awsome. I'm very happy to say I think this will put me back in the blogging business. I'll have more to say in my next post. Just wanted to try out this cool new app for connecting and adding content to my blog from anywhere. Super fun!!!

About the windows mobile phone operating system

2011-07-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

It seems like people like to pick on Microsoft. I think it's because they are a big target. I also think it's human nature to not want to be confined to one way of doing things. Thus Mac's are very popular in the desktop market and Linux is very popular in the server operating system market along with being a perfect solution for many other solutions like phone systems and mobile devices. Regardless of all the people who say that the Iphone and Android are going to crush Microsoft in the mobile phone market I gladly took the opportunity to work with the new Windows mobile phone.

I like it. I think that we tend to over complicate our technology. We expect our computer/phone/TV/game console to do everything. I love having options. Now I can download Netflix to my TV and my game console. Wait....I don't need to be able to do that. I can only watch one movie at a time. So I'm happy with my windows mobile phone. After all I can: 1. make a call 2.take a call 3. look up a contact 4. check my email 5.Text. 6. Surf the internet. 7.Download apps from the app store. Easily!

Stay safe online: 5 secrets every PC (and Mac) owner should know | ZDNet

2011-07-08T08:47:00.000-05:00

This is great Advice for keeping your pc safe.

Stay safe online: 5 secrets every PC (and Mac) owner should know | ZDNet

Redesigns coming to Google Search, Maps, Gmail | ZDNet

2011-07-01T10:03:00.000-05:00

Cool. I'm excited about this too.

Redesigns coming to Google Search, Maps, Gmail | ZDNet

Five Things to love about Google+ | ZDNet

2011-07-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'm super exited to see whats going to happen with this. Maybe Google will take over the world?

Five Things to love about Google+ | ZDNet

Boeing 747-8F to cross Atlantic on biofuel | Geek Gestalt - CNET News

2011-06-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

This is cool

Boeing 747-8F to cross Atlantic on biofuel | Geek Gestalt - CNET News

Microsoft acquires Prodiance to integrate risk-management into future Office releases | ZDNet

2011-06-08T12:50:00.000-05:00

With Data spread over multiple machines, hard drives and in the cloud it seams that Microsoft is making a smart move here. I think that today people are relatively unaware of the risk they face with how their documents and spreadsheets are stored and tracked. I believe this will become a much bigger issue as our quest to leave paper behind increases.

Microsoft acquires Prodiance to integrate risk-management into future Office releases | ZDNet

Microsoft preps users for the move to Office 365 cloud platform | ZDNet

2011-05-25T13:27:00.000-05:00

Many people have been unaware of the product from Microsoft called BPOS (Buisiness Productivity Online Service). It was there way working on a product to be competitive with Google Apps. Now it looks like they are ready to move forward with a greater effort. Read how they plan to move everyone forward with Office 365.

Microsoft preps users for the move to Office 365 cloud platform | ZDNet

HP unleashes new ProBook, EliteBook business laptops; starts at $799 | ZDNet

2011-05-09T09:10:00.000-05:00

HP unleashes new ProBook, EliteBook business laptops; starts at $799 | ZDNet

Oil giant to buy $1.4B stake in SunPower | Green Tech - CNET News

2011-04-29T09:56:00.000-05:00

Like many kids, I was slow to take my dads advice. In the same way as I've grown older I've also come to the realization that he knows a lot. In fact, he has not been wrong about much. Like, he saved me from the Dot.bomb He also saw our most recent recession ahead of time. I give him credit, he reads a lot. Like stuff that would make most people cry. he is reading the biographies of all the presidents currently.

Recently while vacationing with him he said something that really hit home for me. He said, "there will be plenty of jobs in the future for those who are involved with the green technologies" I agree. Technology is obviously a big part of that. So what part will it play?

Already I'm working with customers to keep their data centers cooler and have them use less power. I'm helping companies put more and more on the same data pipe and optimize their use. What will the future hold? How is the attached article related to this conversation? I think that technology and green are designed for each other. We can monitor our power consumption with technology to : use less gas in our hybrid car, run our laundry at non-peak power times and turn down the heat at night....thats just for starters.

I'm excited to see major power companies embracing the green power sources. I'm exited to see the day when carbon footprint is also a cost that is calculated. Basically I think we face an exiting future of endless possibilities. As long as we face it with courage and innovation.

Oil giant to buy $1.4B stake in SunPower | Green Tech - CNET News

IE9 versus Chrome: which one blocks malware better? | ZDNet

2011-04-26T15:37:00.000-05:00

IE9 versus Chrome: which one blocks malware better? | ZDNet

Private or public cloud?

2011-04-15T12:29:00.000-05:00

What is the difference anyway?

Public :someone else owns it and you rent space that you share with the other renters

Private: you can own it and or rent it but don't share it with the other renters

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is defined by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology as follows:

“Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable

computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and

released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction .”

Essentially, cloud computing is the provision of IT services that are on-demand and network accessible, using flexible pooled resources

that are simple to deploy and expand, with a low up-front, pay-asyou-go cost model. Cloud computing is typically delivered with

a combination of commodity hardware, virtualization, management.

I'm convinced that not all of our IT infrastructure will end up in the cloud. One of the main advantages of the whole "Cloud" idea is to have

applications and servers share resources. The advantage is that we can build more highly redundant hardware underneath the applications that we rely on.

My father who has been very successful investing in the stock market told me that when you see everyone jumping in that is when you should be thinking about jumping out. Thats not exactly how I feel about the cloud but it makes me think. What are the cloud providers not telling us? What have we not discovered or experienced that would make us more cautious? or make us ask better questions? Thats why I feel there is a lot of merit to the products we see coming out like the new HP servers. They are scalable and make the appropriate use of Memory, Processor, Disc, Power and cooling. The other important part. You can own your cloud.

both solutions have merit for the different types of customers out there. Right now I'm just trying to make sure I've got a handle on what all the options really are. I'm pulling back a bit as I see more products coming to the market.

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/DS_00168/DS_00168.pdf

Cisco shutters Flip business, takes consumer mulligan | ZDNet

2011-04-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

Interesting to see Cisco moving away from the consumer business a bit. They still remain a giant in the routing and switching.

Cisco shutters Flip business, takes consumer mulligan | ZDNet

Microsoft takes its ERP technology to the cloud | Microsoft - CNET News

2011-04-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

As I work with many different companies on their Infrastructure. Many have Dynamics embedded into their business but want to take it to the cloud. It looks like Microsoft is paying attention.

Microsoft takes its ERP technology to the cloud | Microsoft - CNET News

Amazing use of technology

2011-04-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

Check out this really cool new use of technology. With our world becoming flatter and solutions coming from a world wide economy I believe this kind of technology will take off.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20051924-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Here's a revealing web security article

2011-03-24T09:23:00.000-05:00

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20046588-281.html?tag=topStories1

Cycles

2011-03-12T11:57:00.000-06:00

One of the hardest lessons to learn as a salesperson is that customers buy on their own schedule not the salespersons. This runs counterintuitive to the to the sales process and management of most companies. I'm happy to be at the point in my career where I work for a company that works to respect the customers buying cycles. Our challenge as technical advisors and consultants is to have our customer make a decision early enough in a cycle to allow enough time for a thorough implementation and training. We also want to help our customers avoid and major down time or data loss due to failure of aging equipment or out dated software.

The only way to be fair in this process is to spend the time and energy to give our customers several choices along with the positives and negatives of each choice. This often takes more time and there is not a guaranteed payoff at the end. As a result consultants and advisors end up becoming product focused and limiting their options. How do we provide our customers and prospects with enough information and options while not starving to death by giving out free consulting? How can a customer or prospect assure they are getting enough options and not wasting time and energy of the consultants who are helping them out?

I surely am always learning new ideas on how to accomplish this from my end but I've got a couple of ideas

Be honest. Talk about the competition up front and acknowledge the sales process for what it is.
Be ok with no. The customer needs to be ok with saying "no" and the consultant needs to accept "no" up front. Not everyone is a fit
Check in at each step. Did we provide what you are looking for? If no, why go to the next step? If yes, lets set clear expectations for the next step

These Three ideas seem to be common sense but are very difficult to accomplish. The reason is that we are all preconditioned by our own "bad" sales experiences. It takes time to trust and make these ideas a priority but it is worth it.

Thanks for reading ~pz

Getting There

2011-02-19T21:02:00.001-06:00

I've been observing a phenomenon lately that has me completely fascinated. No matter how much time that we have as business to prepare for our technology upgrades we seem, more often then not, to be in a rush to complete them once the decision is made to move forward. We get panicky and start questioning our decision if issues start to arise after install has begun. I started wondering why this is? I guess since I've been at this for a while it's allowed me to sit back and observe behavior instead of getting wound up in it and panicking. I've also been able to take a closer look at my own buying behavior.

Recently my wife and I decided to get a 3D TV. This is something we had been thinking about for a long time. We had saved up money and we were very excited. We ended up purchasing from Best Buy. In the process we upgraded our TV service to Direct TV. Once we ordered the TV and services they delivered the TV right away. Then we ran into problems having HD Direct TV delivered. They missed their first delivery date. Then when they finally came a month later the TV, which we had now had for a month, decided to stop working. Finally a month and a 1/2 after making the decision we had our new TV and HD service installed.

What I observed is that right after making the decision I wanted to have the solution in hand and working. It's hard not to. When Direct TV screwed up the install and then the TV broke I really started to question spending $2200.00. Well, now I'm glad I have the solution but getting there was emotional and at times frustrating. I don't think its the fault of Best Buy or Direct TV. I think that is just the way things go. I think it is natural to question when things start going wonky. I think its great to be excited about moving forward and panic a bit when things are not perfect.

What I need to remember is that my buyers experience some of these feelings when we don't perform perfect. I'm also calmed by the fact that I work for a company that is committed to seeing things through to the end. We don't panic when things get wonky. We step back come up with a plan and bring it through to completion. Ultimately I've come to trust in the people around me. I've come to understand that trying to make it all happen myself is more stressful for me and everyone around me.

Thanks for reading and following my blog

~pz

Cool New Technology

2011-02-07T10:52:00.000-06:00

I'm fascinated with how the touch screen continues to evolve. Check out this cool new touch screen from HP.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20030815-17.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

IP V6

2011-02-03T09:56:00.000-06:00

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20030482-264.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Virtual Desktops?

2010-12-28T09:32:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-28T08:47:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-27T09:32:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-27T09:21:00.002-06:00

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

Simple out of complex

2010-12-03T20:39:00.000-06:00

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

2010-09-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

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

2010-09-01T22:10:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-19T17:14:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-05T17:29:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-05T17:19:00.000-05:00

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

SEC and FINRA compliance

2010-08-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-30T07:45:00.000-05:00

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?

2010-06-17T22:24:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-09T21:57:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-02T21:48:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

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

2010-05-02T21:11:00.004-05:00

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?

2010-04-24T16:51:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-04-24T16:24:00.000-05:00

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

2010-03-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

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

2010-03-06T17:43:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-26T21:43:00.001-06:00

One more cool video to check out.

Fonality's HUD for Executives

2010-02-26T21:39:00.001-06:00

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

Managing Change

2010-02-26T21:26:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-19T13:58:00.000-06:00

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

2010-02-16T12:27:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-13T15:36:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-13T15:22:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-13T15:13:00.000-06:00

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

2010-02-11T15:44:00.000-06:00

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.

2010-02-10T10:44:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-10T10:38:00.001-06:00

Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009

2010-02-06T21:59:00.001-06:00

Faster is better!

2010-02-06T15:49:00.001-06:00

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.

.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

2010-02-03T16:28:00.001-06:00

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

2010-02-02T16:46:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-31T09:39:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-29T11:24:00.001-06:00

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

2010-01-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-08T22:02:00.000-06:00

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.

My best friend (computer friend that is)

2009-12-23T10:22:00.000-06:00

I'm consistently amazed at how many emails I send out each day. Today as I spent time trying out new software and browsers from Google and as I sent out my Christmas emails I started thinking about what a good friend this laptop has been to me. What a gift it is to have technology that really serves me and helps me to be better at what I do. To do it more efficiently and with pure enjoyment. I don't think there are too many manufacturers who make bad equipment today (there are a few). Mine happens to be an HP but it could just as well be a Lonovo, Dell or an Acer.

So what makes a great friend? 1. They are there for you when you need them. 2. They like to have fun and try new games 3. They can take care of themselves 4.They are fun to interact with (I know I'm stretching this analogy but bear with me)

Just a few characteristics of my laptop. Sure I have to take care of it from time to time, but thats all part of the relationship. This one was not overly expensive. $1,100.00.

I guess I just wanted to communicate this message. Computers and software have improved. They have improved in stability and interoperability. They are easier to use with wireless and email. We've all but eliminated the problem of SPAM. I listen to my favorite music. I watch the news. I am constantly trying out new software. My computer keeps up. Its fast and its fun. This is what I love about the IT industry Constant Never ending Improvement. I get to experience this. I love to share it with my customers, prospects and friends.

Merry Christmas to all! I hope you get a new laptop.....or just have fun with your old one.

Google Changing our world.....Again

2009-12-09T11:39:00.001-06:00

I think the main thing I love about Google is that they are changing the way we use technology. I think that is an obvious statement. Most people experience it by the fact that they use it every time they do an internet search or use the Picasa application to organize their photos. I think the main reason I started this blog when I did is that it is so easy with Blogger. The next big idea from Google is something called Wave. Check out this video: http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html#video. There is no question that devices like the Iphone from Apple are starting to dominate the way we communicate. I've also observed how much more time I spend texting and emailing people. What if there was a product that could bring these elements together. What if you could seamlessly take people into a conversation? How about easily attaching documents and photos at any time? What about breaking off parts of conversations and adding or deleting people? what about chatting and emailing in the same message?....instantaneously? That's Wave! Check it out

Time to make a decision

2009-12-04T11:35:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest challenges I see IT professionals facing is that of decision making. One of the main reasons its tough for them is that it involves risk. I can say that in my experience owning a business that making decisions and standing behind them is tough. One of my favorite quotes from the book "the Travelers Gift" is this " God did not give us the ability to always make the right decision. He gave us the ability to make a decision and then make it right". Does this apply to IT decision making? Usually. The point is that there is no perfect decision. Even in IT. There is no absolute, black and white. The reason is that the target is moving. The industry and the technology are moving so fast we have a hard time keeping up with the changes and making the right decision. Thats why I like to focus on strategy and implementation as 2 separate pieces. The strategy discapline lets you take advantage of the best of what there is to offer right now with keeping an eye focused toward the future. The implimentation discapline allows you to set timelines and processes in place that you can meet in order to assure what you've designed can actually be used in time so that the company can bennefit from the new technology.

HP to buy 3Com!

2009-11-16T10:56:00.000-06:00

I just learned this weekend that Hewlett Packard intends to buy 3Com. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091111/bs_nm/us3com_hewlettpackard. This is exciting news for the SMB (small and medium business) market place. My experience providing HP solutions to my customers over the past 8 years has been extremely positive. Also, whenever HP has goofed up they have come back and made improvements to fix the problem. This is a sign that this company understands the marketplace. Recently, I've been working with the HP wireless LAN (Local Area Network) solutions and they are a terrific solution. What I love about HP is they find a way to make everything work better together for the customer. You can start your HP wireless network with just one access point and no expensive controller. When needed you can grow that network to enterprise levels and have the highest levels of security and compliance. What does the acquisition of 3Com mean to the SMB market place? For me, the most exiting part has to do with the potential development of an SMB offering of VOIP (Voice Over IP). For the last several years phone systems have been inching their way on to the data network but have still remained a separate purchase decision. Cisco and 3Com have been making inroads but I think HP will do it better and cost effectively. This means that a customer can have a network which is HP end to end. I'm generally cautious when thinking about putting all of my eggs in one basket. So I'll watch this closely, but guy can hope can't he. If they execute on this they way they did with wireless they should have a technology solution that is hard to beat.

The Local Hardware Store Experience

2009-11-07T16:57:00.000-06:00

Today I went to the local hardware store in majestic down town Chanhassen (#2 rated best place to live in the country). I've realized I look forward to going to the hardware store and I dread making a trip to Home Depot. I get satisfaction out of being well served. I also derive pleasure in knowing that I'm supporting a local business and the high school kid who is trying to make money for college. In my desire to understand the buyer seller relationship on a deeper level I've been observing the market place. When I buy and when I sell I'm always trying to figure out what makes some relationships work and what makes them fall apart. What makes a customer experience great? What helps them trust the person or business they are working with? What are the factors that erode trust? I've come to the conclusion that in many ways I want my customers to experience what I experience at the local hardware store. I asked where something was and they knew the isle. I went to that isle and they came and made sure I could find what I wanted (I was purchasing rope). I have a question about the different types of rope and they can tell me about the differences. If they guy I'm talking to does not know.....he has a more senior guy or specialist who can get the right answer. Can you get this at Home Depot? I think not. Not as frequently at least. One out of every 10 times I'll have that experience at Home Depot or Lowes. For all of their flashy advertisements with happy smiling employees, they just don't deliver. When I go to my local hardware store I may be working with a kid from the local high school, but somehow, he helps me find what I'm looking for. How does this apply to purchasing technology solutions? I think that the main message is that price and name brand are not the best determiners of solution quality. If you are a small to medium local company looking for a solution.....think about choosing a small to medium local provider. They may not have flashy advertising with the bargain basement prices. They will be there to get you the answers you are looking for at the time you need them. You will look forward to the experience instead of dreading it. You'll also find the best solutions for your business while helping to grow the local business community.

Thanks for reading.

A Different Approach

2009-10-30T16:07:00.001-05:00

When Managed IT services became popular 5 years ago it seemed like it would be great for everyone. The customer would have a fixed monthly cost for their IT support and services and the IT vendors would be able to level out there revenue streams and become more profitable. That is not exactly what happened. This new model works well for some companies but not for all. First, the IT companies had a hard time controlling the environments they were managing well enough so that they could level out their costs to stay in line with the revenue(fixed monthly charge to customer). Second, not everyone wanted the "all u can eat" model. A lot of companies want an onsite person in house who can help out or be the point of contact. In these times companies want to keep good people on staff to help with many "loose ends" of running a business. Some of the promises of Managed IT services did come true.

There are many basic activities which make very cost effective managed services:

Assuring anti-virus definitions are up to date
Performing regular system scans
Proactive windows patching (patches being tested in advance)
Automated backup
24x7 helpdesk support for 90 percent of desktop support issues
Server monitoring with proactive remediation
Asset management (managing and reporting on all IT assets)

Here are some items that don't necessarily fall under the fixed cost managed support model:

Custom business application troubleshooting
Custom application development
Expansion projects
On-site support of network infrastructure

No matter how much you may want to have it all covered for one monthly price, that may simply not be possible. Of course if price is no object.......... Well in these times companies are looking for ways to be lean. The way to do that is to make sure you break down the costs of your services so you know what is included in your charges. An "all-u-can-eat" model with no detail on whats covered is probably not a good deal.

In the IT world there are multiple levels of engineers. The large businesses pay one rate for the level 1 or 2 (typically helpdesk) and a higher rate for level 3. Some companies have level 3 people doing level 1 work and also the reverse. When this is the case I typically hear level 3 people being overloaded with work that is not appropriate for them and level 1 people who spend too long on a problem. Which ever IT support company you choose make sure they have this figured out. They should be putting the right people on the right work. If they don't they will have a hard time servicing you on a timely basis and providing quality workmanship.

The Managed IT Services providers are growing in number every month offering a wide variety of programs promising smooth sailing for your IT. I hope these ideas help you pick the right one.

Thanks for reading

Practical Application

2009-09-29T12:39:00.010-05:00

In my goal of becoming a resource for small business owners who are searching for technology solutions I'm always trying to discover practical, real life, examples of how technology really changes things. My wife and I recently had such an experience. So please bare with me as I offer you this simple but practical example of how my family is benefiting from cloud computing. Not too long ago my wife and I finally got on the same page in budgeting our family finances. We were fortunate enough to take part in the Dave Ramsey program called Financial Peace University. It was a great experience that I would recommend to almost anyone. In my opinion the single greatest benefit of the program is that it gets you and your spouse working together on planning for the family finances on a regular basis. You do this by having a budget and regular meetings. These meetings need to accommodate the geeky types that want to spend all day poring over numbers and spreadsheets. They also accommodate free spirits like myself who want to run through the numbers in 17 minutes and then move on to something more interesting.

What does this have to do with cloud computing? Well, when we have our weekly meetings we gather together and review our spread sheet. With Google Documents we were able to create a spreadsheet that we could both access separately and make changes to and those changes were saved to the same place. The fundamental problem with most spreadsheets and financial programs like Quickbooks is that they are not easily shared between 2 or more individuals. Historically the only way to share a common document or application in a home computing environment has been to log on to the same computer using the same user name and password. Usually one person is the super geek and strives to understand how these applications work. They hold the log in credentials or the spreadsheet on their local computer. In our family I'd sit down and create this really cool spreadsheet and then my wife would end up being the one to make all of the updates. She would get frustrated because I had the original version and had not made any changes to it. I was great at creating record keeping systems but horrible at the daily discipline needed to keep them up to date. So she'd get frustrated because she did not know how to use the system I'd created and was not invested in it. Especially because I was not keeping it up to date. We were having the same problem when we completed the Financial Peace University. I created a spreadsheet in Excel 2007 and she wanted to make changes to it but could not because it was on my laptop. I'd email it to her hotmail account and then we were both frustrated when we both made changes but they were on separate sheets.

With Google Documents we were able to eliminate all the frustrations and we did it for free. To create a Google Documents account you simply have to have a Gmail account.....Easy. I already had that. I logged into my Gmail account, clicked on google Docs, and uploaded my document. Then, we created a Gmail account for my wife, I went back to my account and shared it to her and that was it! Now we both make updates, mostly her, and the document is always up to date, always saved, always secure. More importantly we work more easily together and can accomplish our collective financial goals more easily with the use of technology. These are the kind of applications of technology that get me really excited. I hope that you try out Google Documents. I think this is a great innovation for the common man.

Thanks for reading

More or less for your money?

2009-09-19T12:59:00.011-05:00

What I love about being in the technology business is that I get to work with all kinds of cool new technology. I get the biggest buzz when I can take that technology and help a business achieve a new level of effectiveness and efficiency. I have to be careful that I don't too fascinated with the technology and lose sight of the goal. When I am working with a new customer we spend a lot of time dancing around the dollars and trying to find the balance between the right dollars and the right technology. It's hard to lay out $10,000 for a new solution when you are a small business owner. It's a big risk when you need to lay out big bucks for payroll every month, not to mention health insurance and all the other costs of running a business.

When I had my first company we were young and we thought we were pretty smart. We figured that if people were coming to us for solutions that we should come down from the mountain top with the right answer. In retrospect I think we were is little insensitive to the customers budget. I think we could have done more to earn our $150.+ per hour consulting fee. When customers pay $150.00 or more per hour for consulting what do they expect? Do they want to have me recommend they buy a Lexus when all they need is a Toyota? Do we try and sell them a hybrid with new relatively untested technology when they need a reliable low cost car that still gets high gas mileage? I think if you are paying a high rate for your consultant they should be recommending solutions that are the right fit. If you came to me tomorrow and asked me to sell you a great car its pretty easy for me to set you up in a Lexus and know you'll like it. But that car will likely break your budget. How about a used Toyota Camry with 30,000 miles on it at 1/3 the price?

So what I am trying to say is that if you are paying a high price for your consultant. They should be able to help you by reducing your overall cost of technology and supporting the technology. The right solutions fit right, they are stable, and they should have lower overall total cost of ownership. I've seen the opposite where companies are paying a super low price for their consulting but when you look at the over all picture there are a lot of band aided and constantly breaking solutions in place. What you also see in that picture is lost productivity and frustrated staff. I see this time and time again and it takes a while to fix it. It takes a lot of experience and time to be ready to take these sorts of projects on. This is the type of situation where that is also the most rewarding when solutions are put in place and systems are stabilized. In the end its why I'm in the business.

Thanks for reading.

Collaboration question?

2009-09-11T15:30:00.003-05:00

Collaboration of voice, video and web has been on my mind a lot lately. Many of my customers have been talking about it but more importantly the business community is changing the way they do business every day towards an ever increasing use of collaboration technology. Companies like Cisco's Webex http://www.webex.com/ and GotomyPC from Citrix https://www.gotomypc.com/en_US/entry.tmpl?Action=rgoto&_sf=2 are changing the way we meet, communicate and present information. How much collaboration is enough? Well, the great part is that you can put your "big Toe" in the pool before taking the plunge. I think that if you like the experience and it improves your interaction with your employees and customers it is worth making a major move. In today's business environment it is becoming harder and harder to get face to face with clients. They simply have too much information coming at them. They don't have time to sit down with everyone. What if you could provide a way to talk with clients that differentiated you from your competitors and still brings you face to face. How about a video conference where you present your solution succinctly and you are face to face? You are also progressive. The trick, of course, is getting everything to work. Whats nice is that there are a few phone systems today that are IP (Internet protocol) based that come out of the box with some pretty great collaboration technology. If you are already using something like Webex or GotomyPC regularly and paying the recurring fees its easy to show whether or not there is cost justification. As you would expect, my recommendation is to find a solution provider you trust to provide you with options. I also recommend that you make sure that the solution provider you pick has a strong grasp of IT networking technology.

See you on the web.

Share the Point

2009-09-06T10:51:00.003-05:00

I think Microsoft Sharepoint server is a tremendous value for small businesses. With small businesses owners being more and more mobile they need IT platforms that can meet them where they do business. Most importantly, the coffee shop. Sharepoint is included in Microsoft's base server product Small Business Server. It simply needs to be turned on and configured. It allows a person to log into a website using their existing username and password, which is connected to their server, they can access all of their files on the server. I've been in some form or another of sales for the last 15 years. My most common challenge is having the right paperwork with me when I working with clients. Imagine this, you are on site with a client and they want to sign an agreement to use your services. You say, "I'll drive back to the office, prepare the paperwork and stop back later today". or you could say, " just a minute I'll log on your computer download it and print it out". Which one is more efficient? The applications for people who travel the world to do business are even more apparent. This product provides for remote access to files and security. Sure you can just keep all your files on your laptop, but what happens when you spill coffee on the laptop? Lets hope you have your files backed up. lets hope you have them with you. The ease of which you can impliment this solution again falls on the back of your solution provider. This is a prodcut which can grow to be immense in size and complexity. I think that is why it scares many consultants and customers away. The good news is that it is easy to turn on the basic services and put your "big toe" in the pool before jumping in.
If you are a small company and you need a great remote access solution, I would suggest considering using sharepoint as a part of Microsoft Small Business Server. If you already own Small Business Server 2003 you are in luck. A solution provider can lay out a plan and get it turned up for you affordably.

Check it out http://www.microsoft.com/sbs/en/us/default.aspx

The undervalued rack

2009-08-21T18:41:00.006-05:00

In working with the SMB market I find customer data centers in all sorts of conditions. In one case the customer called me and told me how there had been water dripping on to the server so they put a plastic bag over it. The amazing thing was that the server kept running. Of course we eventually moved it to a data rack, but when we finally took it out of service a few years later, it was full of rust on the inside. I guess that is a testament to the quality of HP servers. The other scenario that comes to mind is when my engineer had to sit on the toilet to work on the server which was positioned in the bathtub. Crazy? yes. Is it still there? I don't know. I sold that client with my company. I've seen so many servers balancing on tables, underneath desks being kicked over and over, used as a dust bunny collector. The funny part is that a lot of people just expect their servers to take a licking and keep on ticking. Literally. So this blog is a tribute to the under appreciated data rack. Coming in at anywhere from $500.00-$1700 for a single rack, the price usually causes sticker shock. Why use that when we've got this perfectly good table I inherited from my grandma. Well today's racks come with a whole host of features your servers love:

Built in power distribution and remote control

Built in cooling

Cost effective, expandable Power conditioning and backup

and the always popular:

Optimal use of space

Security from physical theft or vandalism

Security from individuals who want to access systems directly

Cable routing (So you don't get lost in a spider web mess of cables)

Improved air flow (hot servers get mad and like to shut down)

Stability (when secured to the ground will not fall over, servers don't like that either)

My recommendation is to get your servers to a rack as soon as it is cost effective. Recently we were able to get a shipment of used racks. They went for about $200.00 and they went fast. That is a great way to go too. Even better, if you are planning on growing start with a rack in mind. Just put it in your budget. Once you've adapted your data center to a rack environment you'll sleep better at night knowing your servers are safe, sound and ......... dry.

Thanks for reading ~pz

The right tech for the right price

2009-08-07T16:56:00.006-05:00

Today I run into a lot of companies that are paying a low price for their technical help. Are they really getting value? That depends. A good engineer should work fast, know what they are doing, and recommend solutions, not band aids. Having owned an IT firm for 5 years I can tell you that its hard to find engineers who understand the value proposition of creating solutions versus putting out fires. I don't' mean any offence to any IT network engineer out there. I know how tough the job is. I worked as an engineer for 2 years and I was not that good at it. Most of the training engineers are exposed to is technical. The personality strengths that make a great engineer are not necessarily the same strength's that make a great business advisor.

I'm convinced that the best IT firms find a way to combine practical business advice along with their solutions. It usually requires more than one person. An engineer can be highly skilled and effective when they have enough time to focus on their craft. Their is something magic about an engineer who executes with precision and speed. These engineers have studied and certified on the products. They have a passion for learning the new capabilities as soon as they come out. They are organized in their approach.

Practical business technology advice comes as a result of an ongoing discussion between the account manager the engineers and the practice leader. There are usually many solutions to a technology problem. There is usually one or two solutions that will yield the best result. This is where having multiple minds working on the problem can provide more consistent higher quality solutions.

When you are paying a higher price for IT consulting the additional dollars are going for training and certification, but more than that, the team that stands behind them. So when looking for an IT support provider consider the team as well as the tech.

Good Luck!

Contract Expiration.....Exasperating

2009-08-04T13:32:00.008-05:00

If I had to name the one thing I see in the telecommunications community that makes my blood boil more than any other, it would be contract expiration's. For me it is the clearest expression of the profit and greed that still exists in the telecom/data network provider business. Recently I've been working with customers who wanted to get a copy of their contract from their current network provider. They have called, sent letters, emailed , sent demand letters. I see some of the network providers in town who sit on the contracts. Why is that? is it because they know there is an auto-renewal and they don't want the customer to cancel before it renews? Is it because they have no contract or have lost it? Why is it that some network providers act this way when others don't? This is irresponsible behavior on the part of the provider. They deserve to lose the business. The sad part is that many times I've seen them grind the customer down and the customer gives up. I can't say I blame them. The customer needs to run their business. I think this is what the network providers are counting on. The good news is that I also see customers who stand up to these manipulative companies. I see them put the pressure back on the network provider and win. My advice is to take a stand if you are getting treated this way. Find a company you trust that is a broker of multiple providers to help you know what to say and do. Some times you've got to stand tall and plant your feet to win. In the end I've seen these providers back down as they realize the damage they are doing to their own reputation. The customers who make this stand ultimately improve their service, solution and price. They also bring improvements for their business with new solutions and that is the way it should be!

Thanks for reading ~pz

Automation of basic IT processes?

2009-07-24T10:11:00.012-05:00

Yes....I think this is the answer to helping SMB (Small and Medium Businesses) begin to cut costs. The challenge is to understand which parts to automate that will ultimately save you money. A lot of managed services companies today want to come in and give a business one fixed monthly fee to managed the entire network and all issues. In some cases this is good. If the price is in line with what the business should be paying for annualized IT support. In some cases it is overkill. For some companies I suggest baby steps. Why not automate antivirus or backup to start. See how it can benefit your company by putting your big toe in the water before making the plunge. A simple example is backup. If this is a managed solution it happens automatically, every day and virtually no interaction is required by your IT consulting firm. If it is a traditional backup to tape or disc solution it can require hours of consulting work to constantly tweak the backup software and reset jobs that have failed. When you look at the total costs this an easy ROI. Even if you cannot make the numbers make sense on a yearly basis just think about the peace of mind knowing you have a disaster recovery solution in place. Most businesses that have a complete data loss never recover. Most business owners know this but they don't know how to make sure they have their bases covered. There are easy, affordable, automated solutions available. If you just start with automating backup, for instance, it can cost as little as $100.00/month. Not a huge investment but a huge weight off your mind. So if you are looking for ways to save money in this tough economy consider taking a baby step and automating a thing or two. You might just find you sleep better at night too.

Thanks for reading.

Communication is the key!

2009-07-20T10:45:00.005-05:00

When I think about the greatest challenges I've had to overcome with clients, I am always impressed by how our relationships have grown more positive through the interaction and communication. When I was running my own company the quality and depth of communication I had with my employees was the best indicator of our commitment to each other and to our success together. This last week I've spent a lot of time improving on internal communication where I work and on external communication with my clients. The funny thing with communication is that, the small issues sometimes make the biggest difference. Just the other day we had a customer who was waiting to hear back from an engineer that had been on site. The engineer had some more work to do in order to complete the ticket. He was actively working to reschedule his time to go on site. The important issue that we caught was that the customer needed to know we were working on it. They wanted to know they had not been forgotten. What a simple thing. How many providers are working hard to take care of their customers but their customers don't know it be cause it was not communicated? How many customers are waiting for a proposal but don't know that the engineering team is taking extra time to make sure they recommend the right product? How many times is a customer looking for a solution that their current provider already offers but the provider has no idea that the customer needs it? This happens all of the time in the IT industry. Communication is a constant challenge for technology solution providers. They have a hard time with it because technology stuff is complicated. Us geeks speak a different language. In the end it is the providers responsibility to regularly, proactively communicate with high quality to our customers. I guess I'd better get on the phone and call some customers.

Have a great week!

The truth about the big boyz

2009-07-15T12:16:00.005-05:00

I see my primary responsibility in being a technology consultant as keeping my customers interests at the forefront. Up until just recently I've never received pressure to do otherwise from my vendors. But, life hands us twists and turns to learn from. Just recently, I've had a major IT equipment manufacturer who decided to throw a temper tantrum when I was not pushing the sale the way they wanted me too. Apparently working in the SMB (small and medium business) realm for all of these years has softened me. I'm amazed and confused by the whole incident. I was asking questions about their process for bringing solutions to my customer. I was getting a sense that they were going to take this around me and go directly to the customer, which the customer told me they did not want. I was asking qualifying questions to this vendor about their presence here in Minneapolis. What their makeup of staff is. They were so offended that I would ask that they berated me for a 1/2 hour. After they acted this way they put the blame on me and told me that I did not know sales. Well, I guess I don't know sales. What I do know is how to protect and take care of my customers. I know that one of the problems with publicly traded IT manufacturers is that they have to please the shareholder, no matter what. I know now, more than ever I have to take care of my customers and watch out for the big boyz. It turns out I was right. Today the vendor went around me and went directly to my customer. How does this make the customer feel? Does it give them confidence in sales people? Does it make them want to buy the products? Does it give them a deeper feeling of trust? My guess is that it makes them want to run the other way. I know that the higher path, the one of honesty and keeping the customer first, will help me sleep at night and lead to the best and longest lasting customer relationships. I wonder if my vendor is sleeping tonight?

How about being nice for a change?

2009-06-21T12:19:00.009-05:00

Recently I've had several conversations with prospects and customers who have had experiences with technology sales people who have been pushy and disrespectful. I don't understand this behavior and it makes customers leery of working with sales people. What makes me even more concerned is when I talk with someone who has been pushed into a decision and it is hurting their companies operation. No wonder the biggest factor in finding new clients for me is earning their trust. So many people have been pushed into the wrong decision or just plain aggravated by sales people that they don't trust any of them. In some cases I've met customers who will only trust the technical staff and refuse to talk with account managers. Who can blame them. The problem with only trusting technical staff is that they are not usually kept up to date with the latest pricing and special offers from manufacturers. The other problem is that technical staff get busy on priority technical problems and have a hard time being timely and responsive as a result. The good news is that there are a lot of great experienced and knowledgeable sales/account managers out there. These individuals are excited to help you out and keep your best interests in mind. A successful sales/account manager is confident in their solutions and they are OK with a "no". They know that helping you achieve your goals, even if they don't make a sale, will benefit you and them in the long run. They know that when they help customers find the right fit, the result will be warm referrals. I keep asking myself "what can I do differently to allow prospects to feel OK trusting me?". I think it comes down to relieving pressure. I always strive to eliminate this right away in my initial conversations with new prospects. I think this starts with telling them that we may or may not be a fit and that it is OK to say NO. Wow, what a revelation. I'm not a perfect fit for everyone. Right, but the great news is that I can help most people out because of the 20 years worth of connections that I have in the Minneapolis business community. Lets face it, I'd rather be out learning about someones business needs at a coffee shop than stuck in the office cold calling. Here is a list of what to consider when finding a technology vendor:

They have to be nice and respectful

Find someone who is solution, not product oriented

Find someone with at least 5 years of experience

Talk to more than one vendor before you decide who to go with

Find someone who asks lots of questions and can repeat back to you what your concerns and objectives are for your company

Find someone who is authentic and gives a good gut check

Thanks for reading my blog!

Product life cycle managment....does it matter?

2009-06-11T09:20:00.021-05:00

I've been meeting with many of my customers on this topic recently. Life cycle planning is one of those best practices that large companies have been doing for years. They reap the benefits of a constantly refreshed infrastructure. Again, the small and medium businesses (SMB) has had a difficult time taking hold of this concept because of the perceived costs associated with it. I understand this challenge.

The general rule for a computer is that you can get 3-4 years of usage and then it will be time to replace it. We all know companies that make their equipment last a lot longer. I wonder if those companies save money? My guess is that some companies are successful operating this way. I think this is the case because they don't put a lot of stress on their networks. I've seen this with some manufacturing companies. They might have an old Unix based software product which runs their entire organization. They may have no real need for a computers other than word processing and email. In some of these cases a small company can hold out for a long time and run old hardware because their software does not need to be up to date. If that is the case for you great!

The rest of us have a challenge on our hands. How do we make a small IT budget stretch and still have enough to keep updated hardware. If you've read any of my earlier blogs you know that I think it all starts with having a plan. I think your IT provider should provide you with a plan. Part of the plan should cover applications will serve your companies needs. The plan should also talk about hardware hardware life cycle management, and provide what I call an IT road map. Lets just say that your software and systems have to serve your business process. The systems and software that serve your business are dynamic and constantly changing. Your IT road map and life cycle plan should take this into account.

Recently, I've been able to help companies free up cash to purchase new equipment to run their business by renegotiating contracts for services that have monthly recurring costs that are too high. These costs are often forgotten about when customers focus on the challenges of running the day to day business. This is where having a well rounded provider can be helpful. Over the long run companies can realize savings by, knowing what their IT assets are and managing them as they age. The savings can be realized by not having to pay $100-$150 per hour to a tech firm to fix an aging broken infrastructure. Employees are happier and get more work done when their computer is working well and when they have great tools to do their work.

There is no need to make things too complicated. There is affordable software (and free versions) which will automatically search out your network and provide a report of everything you have. A good provider should be able to recommend a standard hardware and software configuration that is affordable and functional. It's a good idea to stick with one manufacturer of Hardware for PC's and Servers to keep the support simplified. Make sure you get a 3 year warranty on all your business machines. If you do that your warranty will match the life of the machine. If you want to you can extend the warranty after the 3 years is up with some manufacturers. These are just a couple of basic Ideas to get started. Many businesses I meet with can get a handle on their infrastructure by just making these basic moves. Its really just makes sense if you think about it.

I hope you find something here that is interesting and helpful. I'd love to hear any comments.

Thanks for reading my blog.

How about the combo platter?

2009-05-28T16:15:00.029-05:00

This last week I have assisted several customers by combining their services and helping them save money. On the surface, combining services and saving money sounds great! What is under the surface? What am I missing? I am happy to report that we have all the bases covered. I spend most of my time working with customers on their internal IT and Telephony infrastructure. Lately, I have been working with vendors who have made their focus helping the Small and Medium Business (SMB) market. SMB companies are an interesting group. They have all of the needs of a larger business but are unable to afford to buy the large expensive solutions which mid-sized companies can afford to purchase. Since these companies often are working with a smaller budget, they sometimes end up choosing the cheaper solution. This makes sense when a business is just beginning. When I was starting my business, we used Yahoo calendaring to coordinate the activities of our engineers and staff. Compromising functionality for price made sense until we were more established. At some point, we had to purchase our own server and run Microsoft Exchange which increased our functionality and efficiency. As a business flourishes, there is a line you cross where cheap just does not make sense any more. Even so, small growing business are starved for cash so what is a person to do?

This is where combining solutions on to one platform can really make sense. Cbeyond is a national voice and data services provider. Cebyond came to Minneapolis in April of 2008 and delivers Voice/Data bandwidth, DNS hosting, Web hosting, Managed Antivirus, Hosted Exchange, and many other services. Also, there are products like Microsoft Small Business Server which allows companies to take most of these same services and put them on a server and on site at the office. Both of the solutions I've mentioned have sizing and pricing designed with the SMB budget in mind. These products help businesses simplify the technology platform while improving the performance of the combined products. Now this makes sense! The key to successfully implementing these types of solutions is finding an organization which will guide you to the right products for your business needs. I believe it is difficult to go directly to the service provider or manufacturer and expect them to be unbiased. I am a big fan of working with a channel partner (reseller who also reps other products). This is because I have been working as a channel partner for the past 15 years and I agree with this philosophy. Manufacturers and service providers must sell to the partner who then sells to the customers. Channel partners have the best interest of the customer in mind. They look for vendors who offer high reliability and excellent product support after the sale. They must carefully select the best vendors to suit their customers. If they choose poorly they could have unhappy customers.

So in the final analysis. I am confident there are excellent products and services available today which allow companies to combine functionality on one platform. This can be done while increasing overall value and functionality to the end user. I think the best way to find these solutions is through a value added reseller who has multiple products and services to pick from for the clients they serve. This gives the client the best opportunity to purchase the right solution for their company.

Thanks and have a great week!

Ask for what you want!

2009-05-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

I'm finding an interesting phenomenon. When I want something, and I ask for it, I can usually get it. I've worked with a lot of clients this week on contract negotiations. Sometimes they are negotiating for better terms with my company. Sometimes I'm helping them get better terms with another vendor. I find that it's easy to make assumptions about what is possible and what is not. The result is that when we make an assumption about what can or cannot be done we fail to ask the question. We fail to ask for what we want. A good technology partner should be an advocate for you. They should find a vendor who is flexible in their terms. This week I had a customer who was in a lot of pain and wanted to switch vendors. I was helping them get a new contract and vendor in place. The catch was that they were going to be consolidating some of their locations within the next year. The best pricing was on a 3 year term. I asked the vendor for 3 year pricing and the ability to consolidate some locations together in the next year. This would mean that the customer would be reducing the amount of services they would be paying for once the move occured. Guess what? The vendor agreed to our terms! I believe this is because they know that this will give them a long term customer. They know that they will benefit over the long term. If we would not have asked for this we might have been stuck in a contract that did not serve the best interests of the client. I was truly surprised and encouraged that this large publicly traded company was willing to be so flexible and helpful in the contract negotiation. It just goes to show what can happen when you ask for what you want!

Whats up with VoIP?

2009-05-13T10:19:00.000-05:00

Something has been bugging me lately. I can't understand why technology sales organizations continue to try and sell a product instead of a solution. In the past, it was all about why our "features and benefits" were better than the competition. Today, the market has changed and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is driving the market. This is a whole new breed of phone system vendor. With so many products available for customers, it's safe to say, 8 out of 10 products chosen will provide the appropriate features and benefits.

So what next? How about looking at the whole technology plan and where this piece fits in. Even with the whole industry heading down the path, the data vendors chose from the beginning of open standards and cross compatibility of software and hardware products. The phone system vendors still try and sell by putting out negative information about the competition. I don't think the negative information is helpful to anyone, especially the customer. It is a waste of time and energy. Recently, many of the major phone system vendors have been feasting on the demise of Nortel. They have been creating promotions to go after the suffering giant. I get it! I'm sure lots of systems will be sold and lots of people will get rich on this sort of promotion. I just won't embrace it or sell to my customers by focusing on the weaknesses of my competition. I would rather have someone purchase from me because they trust me and believe I understand their business needs and I have a solution which fits.

The interesting part is the numbers are starting to show the customers agree. The "other" category of phone system vendors, which is largely made up of open standards based systems, is slowly eroding the market share of the big boys like Avaya and NEC. The reason for this, is manufacturers like Fonality and Switchvox are building open standards based systems, which allow you to have a migration path which is flexible. You can choose to have a phone system that is hosted and owned by a third party provider today and tomorrow you can take the same phones and use them on a phone system which runs on an HP or Dell server. This phone system on the server will use the same switching equipment and routers that the hosted solutions use.

Who would ever think it is okay to make a full PC replacement mandatory with a server replacement today? Who would find it acceptable to force customers with an HP server to use only HP laptops and PC's? The answer is, no one. It does not make sense. If you talk with a traditional phone system sales representative today, they are going to try to sell you a phone system with phones which "work best" only on their system. They are going to say their system is "open" but in reality it only works best with their phones.

The great news is, customers' dollars are what rule the ultimate outcome. Customer's prefer having flexible upgrade options and mulitple migration paths when choosing their phone systems. I'm not saying some products are not better than others. I'm not even saying buying a proprietary system is not right for some companies, without a doubt it is. The only way to make sense of it is when you take time to evaluate the risk verses reward of purchasing an open system versus a proprietary system. What direction is the vendor going with their product? What examples and cost comparisons can they provide to show what it costs to open up their system? What are the risks of purchasing a more open system in terms of support and future product releases? Depending on how you end up feeling about the answers to these questions you may or may not be on the right track.

Thanks for reading my blog.

The value of having a plan

2009-05-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

Lately, I have had the good fortune to be working with a number of clients on their Technology Road maps. I guess in my experiences, over the past few years I've run into all sorts of prospects. Some who wanted to pay for a plan. Some who wanted to get a plan from a whole bunch of different vendors for free and then pick the best plan. I think the plan you pay for is generally the best, but to each their own. I am just here to applaud the idea of taking the time to think out the future of your organization and creating a technology plan. In these uncertain financial times a plan is even more crucial. A lot of companies are wanting to stretch their dollars further and run their technology longer. I understand this. I know what it is like to have limited dollars as an SMB(Small and Medium Business) owner and make this decision. Do I buy a new server or pay for my health care this month? No brainer, let's see if we can milk another month out of that server? It's kind of like the tortoise and the hare. If you consistently, slowly work your technology plan you can win in the end by having spent your dollars strategically in the best places determined by you and your technology partner. If the server does crash, you can know who your vendor is, what product you need to buy, how much the hardware, software and installation will cost. When your business is down, you don't want the added pressure of having to shop....likely you won't have time and you will pay too much. So my advice for these uncertain times is to take time to plan. Hope for the best work and work your plan.

Thanks and have a great week!

What's your price?

2009-04-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

How does a company find the best value when shopping for technology solutions? Over the last few years I've been fortunate enough to be involved in some large scale initiatives for some of my customers where we've been able greatly improve redundancy and reduce their risk. I've also been witness to some organizations that have chosen to take more risk than they should and sadly they have had to pay a major price to recover. Whenever I'm working with someone, my biggest challenge is to get an accurate understanding what their risk tolerance is and how we can match it to their budget. My observation is that the solution that works best is the one that fits the customer's business requirements and takes short and long term business requirements into account. It's good to look out a ways and try and figure how long you will have this technology. That seems to be the hardest thing for SMB (Small and Medium Business) decision makers to hone in on. It's hard to look out beyond 3-5 years. Sometimes the cost to eliminate the appropriate amount of risk is simply too high. In that case there are reasonable compromises to make. In all cases it' my job to help my customers understand the impact of making a compromise. It seems when there is good honest communication up front, there is a foundation for a high quality buyer seller relationship. So if you are hunting for a technology solution for your business here are a couple of things to keep in mind :

1. Shop for a provider you can trust to give unbiased evaluation of different technologies.

2. Find someone who will present you with options and flexible pricing.

3. Take the time to look down the road and think honestly where your business will be in the 3-5 years.

4. Evaluate how you will balance the risk you are taking with technology with the other risks you must take in your business.

5. Make a road map for action and regular evaluation.

It's hard to take the time to make sound decisions that you feel good about when you are running a business. There are so many decisions to make that have an element of risk associated with them. Developing an IT road map and carefully choosing a technology partner is just one of many challenges facing SMB decision makers today. I hope the ideas I've offered on how to get that done are helpful.

Thanks for taking time to read my blog.

Adventures in Blogging

2009-04-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

For some time now I've been wanting to start my own blog. My hesitation has been, I have never had a lot of confidence in my own writing skills. But I figure now that I am 40, what have I got to loose. So....it's Sunday morning and I was inspired by a great bike ride last night and the feeling of euphoria you always get afterward plus a great night of sleep. The purpose of this blog will be to share with my readers the adventures of helping my customers, prospects and friends with their technology needs. Also, to share a bit of me at the same time. I've been in the world of Small and Medium Business (SMB)Technology for 15 years and I still love it! I love it for the same reason that I'm writing this blog. I can now create a blog with a few clicks. So this continues my foray into "cloud computing". Cloud Computing is all the buzz right now it feels a bit like Voice Over IP did to me 6 years ago. A lot of talk, a lot of buzz ......only about 15% of the people are actually going to act on it. Why... because everyone else will wait to see how it works out for the first 15%. Personally, I'm inspired. I think it's pretty neat. I know I have customers right now who are getting a lot of value out of cloud computing. It seems they are eating it in just bits and pieces right now. I think this is a good approach. At the end of the day we have to keep our businesses running and stay focused on the main things 1.Serving out customers 2.Making Money. What's great about the technology market today is the plethora of options. With the right help a company can take a bit of what they already have and blend it with whats new and come up with a stable functional environment. Creation of combination of solutions is the adventure part I love. Well, its time to go to church and I think I've rambled on long enough for my first crack at this blogging thing. It is actually pretty fun. I recommend it!