Simplicity 2- Technology creep

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


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


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


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




  

Simplicity

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

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

Evolution of IT

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

Thanks for reading

Windows 7

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading.

My best friend (computer friend that is)

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

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

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.