Current News
IT Spending Going Down According to a Survey
-
May 13th, 2008
09:08 AM
One in four respondents to a new U.S. corporate IT
spending survey by ChangeWave Research
said their company will spend less on software in coming months.
The 25 percent figure is
3 points higher than a study conducted in January and 11 points higher than one
completed in October, indicating a deepening trend.
The study also found that 55 percent of the respondents said
software spending will not change in the next 90 days, and just 12 percent
indicated it will rise.
Cuts to capital budgets appear to be a factor,
according to the survey. Twenty-six percent of people who took it said their
capital budgets had been cut over the past three months, a 4 point rise from
January. In contrast, only 8 percent reported an increase in their capital
budgets. However, 27 percent reported they simply did not need
to buy any new software, down two points from the January
survey.
A number of major software categories, such as ERP
(enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management)
applications, showed weakness moving forward. But spending on two, virtualization and security, will see a
modest jump in the next 90 days, according to the
study.
-
more
information
Is Verizon Trying to By Pass the Open WiFi Rules of the FCC?
-
May 8th, 2008
11:52 PM
(eWeek) Google is
challenging Verizon's vision of what sort of open network it will run on the
spectrum it recently acquired in the Federal Communications Commission auction
for $4.7 billion. Under the auction rules, Verizon is required to build an open
network to which users can connect any legal device and run the software of
their choice.
But in a May 2 filing with the FCC, Google contends
Verizon has no such intentions. Instead, Google claims, Verizon plans to
institute a two-door policy: one door for open access devices and applications
and another door for closed devices that only support Verizon's proprietary
applications.
In the filing, Google urged the FCC to deny Verizon
a license to use the spectrum until it fully commits to an open
network.
Verizon has taken the public position that it may
exclude its handsets from the open access condition, Google states in the
filing. Verizon believes it may force customers who want to access the open
platform using a device not purchased from Verizon to go through Door No. 1,
while allowing customers who obtain their device from Verizon access through
Door No. 2.
It is door No. 2 that troubles Google, which
is heavily invested in promoting its own Android open-source mobile platform. As
the search giant sees it, Verizon plans to deny Verizon customers full open
access to competing devices and applications.
Accourding to Google, the FCCmandates opening the C
Block network for the use of any device, and for the use of
any application on any device, regardless of whether an end user
obtains the device from the licensee, another service provider, a manufacturer
or other third party.
Verizon promptly dismissed the Google
concerns.
The Google filing has no legal basis.
It is really no surprise that despite not winning spectrum, they continue
to try to change the rules and further their own business interests through the
regulatory process, Verizon spokesman said in a statement, adding that Verizon
plans an FCC filing in next several days to counter the Google
claims.
Last summer, Google lobbied the FCC into adopting
open access standards for the prime C Block of spectrum, a notion Verizon
initially opposed in a lawsuit, contending that the spectrum should go the
highest bidder with no restrictions. Verizon eventually dropped the legal
challenge.
Verizon Wireless Â… understood the FCC rules for
using that spectrum in advance of the auction, a Verizon
spokesman said. Of course Verizon will abide by those rules.
As Verizon works to put the spectrum we won to good use, if Google or
anybody else has evidence that we aren't playing by the rules, there are
legitimate and expedited ways to address
that.
-
more
information
iPhone to be Discounted by AT&T
-
May 2nd, 2008
11:34 AM
(Business Week) Published reports that first
appeared on the Web site of Fortune Magazine suggest that AT&T
(T), which has an exclusive five-year deal to sell the iPhone in the U.S., is
prepared to subsidize the device by as much as $200, slicing the purchase price
as low as $199 for customers who sign a two-year service contract. Apple and
AT&T declined to comment on the matter.
Such a discount could cause a surge in demand. At
last count, Apple had sold some 5.4 million units, the vast majority of them for
AT&Ts network, even with price tags of $400 to $600—essentially unheard of
in the U.S. cellular market. Impressively, AT&T says 40% of its iPhone users
are new customers. Yet with rival smartphones like Research In Motion's (RIMM)
BlackBerry and a new Palm (PALM) Treo selling for as little at $99 at some
carriers, competitive pressures are building.
But a price cut might be about more than nabbing
new customers. AT&Ts goal may also be to boost monthly revenues from
existing subscribers who switch to the iPhone, as the big colorful screen and
robust Web browser on the Apple device tends to make iPhone owners heavier users
of AT&Ts wireless data services. AT&T brings in about $90 a month from
each iPhone user, reckons an analyst with UBS Investment Research (UBS).
When Apple cut the price on the iPhone by 33% earlier this year, it stimulated
demand, he says. If this new price turns out to be true, it would do it again.
It's like déjà vu all over again.
For AT&T, eager to generate returns on its
multibillion-dollar investments in a next-generation data network, a $200
subsidy on a device with a proven success record may be a no-brainer. This is
not unexpected at all. The $200 is a small fraction of the revenue that AT&T
makes over a two-year contract.
-
more
information
IT Productivity Center Electronic Newsletter May 2008 Released
-
May 1st, 2008
02:06 PM
The IT Productivity Center has just realeased it
May 2008 electronic newsletter. The newletter can be obtained by going to
http://www.itproductivity.org/IT_Productivity_Newsletter_20080501.htm.
The topics covered in this issue are:
- IT Service Management (ITSM) is impacted by the
recession
- Technology Investments Approaching the Point of
Diminishing Returns
- Productivity Tools
In addition the newletter has links
to:
- Metrics HandiGuide
- ITSM Template
- CIO Productivity Toolkit
- IT Job Descriptions
- 2008 Salary Survey
-
more
information
Career suicide - Things to Avoid Doing
-
April 25th, 2008
11:53 AM
Career
suicide can happen all too easily, in several different ways. Fortunately, by
taking common-sense steps, you can reduce its chances of happening.
Things
that you do not want to do if you want to succeed:
- Sending
e-mail without thinking about the consequences - Most
of us are bright enough to realize that chain letters or off-color jokes have
no place in business communications. Where most office workers get into
trouble is with the over-hasty e-mail reply. Ever read an e-mail too quickly
and fired off an angry reply, only to discover later that you had
misinterpreted the first sender's message? You end up not only wasting
everyone's time, but poisoning your work relationships -- perhaps
permanently.
- Say
negative or uncomplimentary things about
co-workers - Having
done a significant amount of work for a particular client, I decided one day
to try to expand my presence there. I called an executive in another part of
that organization, introduced myself and said that "Carl” was pleased with my
work. That executive responded, "Why should I care what Carl
thinks?"
Not smart -- especially when said to someone outside
the organization. If Carl had heard about this remark (and these things do get
around) it could have created a Grand Canyon-size rift between him and his
indiscreet co-worker. More critically, remarks like this damage the
credibility of the organization.
- Contradicting
your boss or management publicly - Suppose
that your boss, while giving a presentation, makes a factual error. Should you
jump in and correct the error immediately, secure in the knowledge that your
boss will thank you for underlining the mistake in front of an entire room of
people?
Correcting your boss in public will hardly endear you to him.
More likely, he will be upset at being made to look foolish, and may even
wonder why you didn't catch the error yourself prior to the
presentation.
- Committing
social blunders at a company event - Staff
misbehavior at office parties has been a cliché since the 1950s, but that does
not mean people still do not make fools of themselves. Such functions are not
purely social events. Do not do anything you would not do at the office or at
a client's office.
- Burning
bridges when you resign - Many
of us fantasize about telling off the boss when we quit a job. Remember the
1990s Internet bubble? Many IT people left traditional companies with visions
of pulling in millions from Internet start-ups, only to be rudely surprised
when their new companies went under. Those who left on good terms with their
former employers had a better chance of being
rehired.
-
more
information
Steps to protect your critical data
-
April 22nd, 2008
09:22 AM
There are a number
of steps that your company can follow to minimize the exposure to the security
breaches. These
include:
-
Monitor financial databases
directly -
Test access to
databases and fix all weakness found
-
Audit user
access
-
Limit downloading
of more than 5% of the data to a single source and validate the destruction of
that data within a reasonable period of time
-
Validate if the
way users use the data to see that it complies with company
policies
-
Validate
transactions are authentic
-
Conduct an audit
with independent auditors
-
Automate the
system of internal controls with a clear audit trail that is reviewed in real
time
-
Encrypt
data
-
more
information
Downtime versus data saved is the issue
-
April 21st, 2008
09:26 AM
(Blue
Coat) The global enterprise has a voracious appetite for data, and little
patience for downtime. According to a recent Forrester report, 82 percent of
larger IT organizations rated improving recovery time as a “critical” or “very
critical” business priority.
The need for continued focus and investment is clear, especially when you
consider that data-at-rest in enterprises is growing at a compounded rate of 55
percent a year.
Moving all that data is a mounting challenge, and business simply cannot
wait.
To meet these growing demands at a reasonable cost, organizations are
moving to IP-based networks; 70 percent of North American and 79 percent of
European organizations use some combination of the Internet, MPLS or Ethernet to
connect to their primary backup datacenter. Bandwidth prices may be in decline,
but that doesnÂ’t mean it comes cheap. Bandwidth, on average, is 29 percent of
the total cost of replication, backup and recovery solutions, and is often
constrained by the effects of latency.
End-to-end plans for turning disaster recovery into full business
continuity are very complex, but from an IP-network perspective it can be
reduced to three main challenges.
The first is to accomplish backups in a timely yet accurate manner. Given
organic data growth, and that each logical data object has between four and
eight copies somewhere in the network, even differential backups can be tough to
fit into assigned windows. Synchronous or live-to-live data models are even more
bandwidth intensive and latency intolerant.
The second challenge is minimizing downtime. In the event of a failure or
disaster, how quickly can backed-up data be restored? Considering a differential
backup can take 8 hours or more to complete, and only represents 10-20 percent
of the total data set, a full restore can be daunting. According to Ziff Davis
Research, the average organization has 94TB of managed storage, and getting that
data across the network only begins after the systems have been physically
restored.
Finally, because of how long full data recovery can take, most
organizations are moving from disaster recovery to disaster tolerance, where
some level of service can be quickly restored in the name of business
continuity. To do this effectively requires both warm – or even hot – standby
servers and the ability to quickly re-route users, customers and partners to the
secondary location. Beyond the clear routing and networking challenges, there
are additional application performance concerns. Users may have to cross
physically or logically longer networks with higher latency to reach the
redundant datacenter, and do so over links whose bandwidth is typically
provisioned as sparingly as possible.
-
more
information
Backups take too many resources for most enterprises
-
April 19th, 2008
07:54 AM
Data at rest is growing much faster than network throughput. That makes
it difficult to get backups completed on time and on budget – not to mention
trying to recover from an IT emergency.
The
first is to accomplish backups in a timely yet accurate manner. Given organic
data growth, and that each logical data object has between four and eight copies
somewhere in the network, even differential backups can be tough to fit into
assigned windows. Synchronous or live-to-live data models are even more
bandwidth intensive and latency intolerant.
The
second challenge is minimizing downtime. In the event of a failure or disaster,
how quickly can backed-up data be restored? Considering a differential backup
can take 8 hours or more to complete, and only represents 10-20 percent of the
total data set, a full restore can be daunting. According to Ziff Davis
Research, the average organization has 94TB of managed storage, and getting that
data across the network only begins after the systems have been physically
restored.
Rather than add more bandwidth, or invest in expensive, dedicated storage
networks, WAN optimization can improve IP network performance sufficient to turn
recovery into continuity. To help meet the objectives outlined above, a WAN
optimization solution must be able to do three separate tasks for true business
continuity: restrict bandwidth to backup applications during the allowed window
and allocate it to critical applications in the event of a disaster, overcome
latency and bandwidth limitations on the wire, and provide acceleration to
roaming or displaced users redirected to alternative data
sources.
-
more
information
Internet will not be tax free much longer
-
April 15th, 2008
07:22 PM
(CNet) Two years ago, a CNET News.com special
report found that 15 states and the District of
Columbia said that their laws and
regulations meant that digital downloads should be taxed. A few months later,
New Jersey joined that list.
Since then, more states have become tax-inclined.
In 2008 alone, Indiana, Utah, and South Dakota have enacted laws reiterating
their commitments to collect taxes on digital downloads, while Nebraska recently
voted to send its governor a bill (PDF) that would tax downloads of books,
movies, and music starting October 1. Others, including Wisconsin and
Massachusetts, have formed groups to study new iTunes taxes.
I would not be surprised to see other states
attempting to impose taxes on digital goods, said an attorney who represents a
group of Fortune 500 digital goods vendors opposed to new taxes. He could
not name the companies because irked tax administrators might retaliate by
singling out his clients for audits.
One reason that music and movie downloads have
partially escaped the notice of tax collectors is that, until a few years ago,
the market was relatively small and state tax laws sometimes apply only to
tangible goods. But their attitude has changed now that iTunes, Amazon.com,
eMusic, Rhapsody, Wal-Mart Music, Yahoo Music Unlimited, and others have
demonstrated that there is plenty of untapped revenue for tax-hungry
politicians--underscored by reports like one in February stating that iTunes has
sold more than 4 billion songs.
Arguably the most heated showdown is looming in
California, home to an $8 billion deficit and lawmakers who are scrambling to do
something about it. The state legislature is considering a bill proposed earlier
this year by Democratic Assemblyman, who represents a district east of Los
Angeles. The bill calls for new taxes to sweep in digital property, which
includes, but is not limited to, products like music, movies, and
books.
Some opponents fear that broad definition could
sweep up everything from electronic tax-preparation services to video games to
advertising, causing new headaches for online retailers and their customers.
Backers of the new taxes--which, in the California
case, include the AFL-CIO and associations that represent state, county, and
municipal employees, teachers, firefighters, and county governments--contend
they're necessary to offset budget deficits and to create parity with the
physical versions of those products that would otherwise be taxed.
-
more
information
Help Desks are not performing well
-
April 13th, 2008
05:56 PM
According to a study conducted by Forrester Research, only
53 percent of surveyed IT users reported being satisfied with their help desk
support. Areas such as resolving usersÂ’ requests in a timely manner and
successfully resolving an issue on the first call were identified as key
opportunities for improvement.
Do you want to know how your company can
deliver exceptional support and, as a result, significantly impact your IT
department and organization as a whole? Help Desk is the basis for IT Service
Management and meeting the ITIL and ISO 20000 standards. A good help desk
will:
- Quickly resolve technical problems and save
time;
- Rapidly resolve complex, mission-critical incidents;
and
- Handle increasing call volume without
increasing budgets.
-
more
information
Sever versus no server in a wireless network
-
April 3rd, 2008
03:21 AM
What is the difference in wireless networks with
and without servers? Is there a difference in the ease of implementation
and operation?
|
Wireless Network
Options |
|
No Server |
Server |
|
|
|
Best suited for small office/home office
environments. |
Smart choice for small to medium businesses, especially those with
aggressive growth plans. |
|
Relatively easy for a novice to set
up. |
Does not require significant technical knowledge to set up, but
novices may need outside technical support/help
desk. |
|
Requires a wireless gateway or wireless
router. |
Requires one or more wireless gateways that support 802.11X
network. |
|
Does not provide centralized management of user accounts or user
authentication. |
Enables centralized management of user accounts and user
authentication. |
|
Provides limited methods to control or manage workgroup
members. |
Provides robust methods to manage domain member accounts. Controls
can be
fine-tuned. |
-
more
information
Microsoft Flops and Loses Almost 9% of it Browser Market Share in 12 Months
-
April 3rd, 2008
03:16 AM
Janco and
the IT Productivity Center have just released its Browser and Operating System
Market Share White Paper. The major findings are that in the last 12
months Microsoft browser market share has continued to erode; Firefox has
maintained its number 2 browser position and now is used by almost 20% of all
users; Google Desktop is gaining market share; and Netscape is now in a death
spiral as users abandon it. New in this white paper are recommendations on
which browsers to use and not use.
A summary
of the Janco browser market share data can be found on the Janco web site (http://www.e-janco.com/browser.php) and the IT
Productivity Center web site (http://www.itproductivity.org/browser.php).
In addition the full white paper with excel spread sheets can be purchased at
both sites for $249.
-
more
information
Blogs Put Companies at Risk
-
March 26th, 2008
07:52 AM
(c/net) A recent libel lawsuit filed against Cisco
Systems over one of its employees' personal blogs could spur companies, many of
which have encouraged workers to share their writings publicly, to reconsider
how much latitude to give them.
Thousands of
companies have embraced the idea of giving employees an unfiltered voice as a
means to keep in touch with customers, suppliers, and the media. Sun
Microsystems boasts a 4,000-employee-strong blog network, including its chief
executive, and some corporate spokesbloggers"have even rocketed to Internet stardom.
Ciscos legal trouble stems from a Blogspot-hosted
blog called Patent Troll Tracker which directs the company's intellectual
property department, launched last May. The posts focused on patents and
patent litigation--an issue that Cisco has pressed Congress to address by
overhauling what it views as a broken U.S. patent system.
A few weeks ago, Frenkel revealed his identity, and
two patent attorneys in Texas filed suit, accusing him of tarnishing their good
names and disparaging a patent case their client had filed against Cisco--all
the while allegedly concealing his affiliation with the company.
Cisco has responded by rethinking how it does
blogging. Now the Patent Troll Tracker posts appear to be open only to invited readers. Although the company says it's standing by Frenkel and allowing him to continue his personal blog, the
incident also highlighted a number of important "lessons," Cisco said in a
statement--including the potential perils of unchecked anonymous blogging.
Cisco said it still believes "common sense" should
be a guiding force for employees sharing information online, but it also added
the following rule to its three-year-old Internet postings policy: "If you
comment on any aspect of the company's business or any policy issue the company
is involved in where you have responsibility for Cisco's engagement, you must
clearly identify yourself as a Cisco employee in your postings or blog site(s)
and include a disclaimer that the views are your own and not those of Cisco."
-
more
information
Technology investment is approaching the point of diminishing returns according to IBM
-
March 17th, 2008
01:50 PM
(IBM) Over the last ten years enterprises worldwide have
transformed the way they do business by investing trillions of dollars in IT.
They have expanded their marketplace reach while working more closely
with customers and suppliers. The most innovative of these companies have
created a substantial competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Paradoxically, while IT investment has been repaid many times
over in accelerated times to market, improved customer relationships and faster
supply chains, it has precipitated an exponential growth in IT assets that
threatens future gains. The proliferation of assets has increased the complexity
of the IT environment, raising operational and administrative costs and reducing
infrastructure productivity.
These three trends are seriously constraining the
ability of CIOs to deliver new applications, support business expansion and
align IT with overall business strategy. There is increasing concern that IT
investment is approaching the point of diminishing marginal
returns.
-
more
information
Metric of the Ratio of IT Support Staff to Employees Falls Short of Ideal
-
March 3rd, 2008
12:14 PM
(Robert
Half) Employees accustomed to waiting for help troubleshooting a PC, accessing
company network folders or checking e-mail will not be surprised to hear that
the technical support function of many businesses is understaffed. In a
new survey, chief information officers (CIOs) polled said their companies
technical support teams are, on average, 40 percent smaller
than they optimally should be.
The national poll includes interviews with more than
1,400 CIOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more
employees.
CIOs
were asked, What is the ratio of internal end-users to technical support
employees at your company? The mean response was
136:1.
CIOs also were asked, What would be the ideal
ratio of internal end-users to technical support employees at your
company? The mean response was 82:1.
Survey
results also indicated that CIOs from the largest companies (greater than 1,000
employees) were closest to their ideal level of technical support, with a ratio
of end-users to IT staff of 118:1 versus an ideal of
82:1. Farthest from their ideal were CIOs from midsize
firms (250-499 employees), who said that their ratio of end-users to IT support
staff is 131:1, when in a perfect world it would be
64:1.
Many managers, particularly those with organizations
experiencing growth, are realizing their technical support or help desk teams
can no longer keep up with increasing end-user needs. An understaffed
technical support function can lead to a frustrated and less productive
workforce, which ultimately affects the companys bottom line.
Organizations with ongoing, proactive information
technology recruiting strategies are in the best position to provide staff the
resources they need to succeed. It is particularly difficult to find
skilled technical support professionals in the current competitive hiring
environment. Employers are now using multiple recruiting tactics,
including placing want ads in a variety of places, networking and enlisting the
help of a specialized staffing firm to help ensure a consistent pipeline of
talent.
-
more
information
Big Brother and Orwell's Predictions a Step Closer
-
February 28th, 2008
08:26 AM
(Computerworld) Motor vehicle license plates are becoming an
increasingly important source of information for some local governments, which
are deploying car-mounted mobile technologies that can scan thousands of plates
on parked cars per hour.
The initial uses of the scanning systems include
helping authorities find stolen vehicles and identify cars that have exceeded
parking time limits or that belong to tax and parking ticket scofflaws. But the
data collected by the scanners could also be used for other purposes, such as
pinpointing the location of known sex offenders.
Some cities have already put the technology into
production use. For instance, the government in Fredericksburg, Va., is using a
system developed by Tannery Creek Systems Inc. that can check two cars per
second via cameras that capture images of license plates as well as the shapes
of parked vehicles.
A GPS device that Tannery claims is accurate to
within a meter marks the locations of parked cars. The system then "compares the
characteristics" of the cars in individual spaces the next time it drives by
them, in order to determine whether drivers have overstayed their welcome, said
Bill Franklin, president of the Concord, Ontario-based vendor.
The D.C. governments venture into digital recognition
technology began about two years ago, when the city began using a system from
Elsag North America to search for parking ticket scofflaws. That system uses
infrared cameras to scan license plates, which are checked against a database on
a laptop PC. If the system says a vehicle is eligible for the boot, the
enforcement agent first checks to make sure that the tickets haven't been paid
since the last time the information in the database was
updated.
-
more
information
Vista Hits a Bump in the Road
-
February 21st, 2008
02:35 PM
Some
reviewers say this latest version of Vista heralds the end of Windows XP, but
Microsoft has once again stubbed its toe by being forced to pull back one of the
most recent updates to Vista after users encountered multiple
headaches.
Not
everyone is as equally impressed with the latest update, which may account for
why sales of Vista into business environments are improving slowly, which may
also account for why Microsoft felt compelled to quietly release an update to
Windows XP even as it plans its ultimate demise. Elsewhere, Bill Gates gave his
views on the state of software at Stanford.
-
more
information
Four Steps to Success With Wireless
-
February 13th, 2008
02:08 PM
(Palm) - As small businesses explore how best to use smartphones,
four basic steps set the stage for success. They all relate to thinking through
the best way to implement wireless mobile solutions for maximum
benefit:
-
Look
objectively at your technology environment. Take a hard look at your voice and data
communications. How is your
company using them now? How are
messages both voice mail and email handled? How can integrated voice and data help
your mobile workers? Make sure
your networks can handle remote traffic at current and expected volumes. How are your communications resources
organized? How are remote connections to your network supported? Are they secure? What are your current methods for
authentication and authorization of remote workers? Once these questions are answered,
youÂ’ll need to step back and determine where the greatest weaknesses are. What
needs to be improved to help your own
efficiency?
-
Look objectively at your staff. How are your people organized, and how are you
empowering them, especially mobile and remote workers? Where are your employees headed and
where should they be headed in terms of professional development and
success? What are their
capabilities, interests, and needs?
Your workers are looking to do as good a job as possible, but not waste
time hearing about technology that wonÂ’t be immediately useful (especially
your sales staff). Make sure the "active learners" have the help they need to
get up and running quickly. This group will consist of core users who can help
others get up to speed quickly as well.
Of course, youÂ’ll likely find smartphones being used in ways you
havenÂ’t considered. YouÂ’ll want to have formal and informal ways of exchanging
tips and techniques. Informal chats as well as written briefs can ensure can
that people have access to information in a format that will be most
appropriate for each learner.
-
Listen
to your customers, prospects, and suppliers. These stakeholders will be happy to tell you where you
can do better, though you may have to encourage some of them to be candid (and
sometimes wish that others maybe were not so candid). Make sure also to ask how your
competition is doing. Ask about
your areas of weaknesses and how sales and support are doing. You may be able to identify ways that
technology can help improve your position. At an even more basic level, ask about
your availability and the quality of your communications as well as the
timeliness and effectiveness of your responses to questions and problems. How do your customers prefer to
interact with you? While email and voicemail or even online queries might be
fine for some, others might want to hear a live human voice (which could be
essential to closing a sale). Technology may let you expand without having to
add staff, but you will have to make sure you continue to engage your
customers in ways that they prefer.
-
Move effectively to invest in resources for
coordinated support of remote workers.
This really is about smart
investing in resources that will help your business achieve its
goals. The key is to move
quickly once the initial assessment is complete. You will not have all the answers,
but putting in place the technology will provide the foundation of
experience for long-term success.
In addition, as noted earlier, do not be surprised if you see
wireless mobile technology used in ways you did not anticipate. Almost every new technology used
by small businesses has delivered benefits that are quite different
from (and often much greater than) those included in early ROI
calculations.
Essentially, as a small business, you need to look strategically
at mobile technology investment but implement tactically. Start with the immediate need,
the one with the most obvious payback, and build from there. Your adoption plan will likely need
constant revision, but at least it will give you a place to start and
measure progress. Sound planning, combined with flexibility in
technology use, will ensure that investments in smartphones and related
mobile support will pay off for your
organization.
-
more
information
DHS Takes away more civil rights
-
February 12th, 2008
04:15 PM
The suit was filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and
the Asian Law Caucus, two California-based civil rights groups. It asks the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to disclose information on its policies for inspecting
the contents of laptops and other electronic devices at US 
ports of entry.
1. No evidence needed to take your
laptop
Border agents do not need any evidence or suspicion
of illegal activity to examine a laptop or other electronic device.
Every time you cross the border, customs officials
have the right to look at anything in your possession, including the content on
your laptop, handheld device, cell phone, USB memory stick and digital cameras,
Gurley said. They have the right to both view that information and to download
or mirror it if they think it's necessary, she said.
2. Anything can be searched
Everything on an electronic device is open to search.
This includes personal photographs, personal banking, any business documents and
stored or unopened e-mail, Gurley said.
3. Your PC might not be returned right
away
Seized devices may be kept for an indefinite period
of time. Carry only a laptop or electronic device you can afford to lose or hand
over for an unspecified period of time.
Sensitive data should be sent by e-mail before
crossing the border in case the data becomes unavailable if the device is
seized, she said.
4. Don't take anything you don't want to
share
Don't carry anything on these devices that could
potentially embarrass you or that you don't want others to see, Gurley said.
If it's information you don't want to share, don't
carry it. That includes data such as personal banking information, photos,
correspondence, health and password information. If the device is a
company-owned computer, don't carry proprietary business information or
personnel records on it, the ACTE advised.
5. Be cooperative
Cooperate with customs officials. Ask for a receipt
and a badge number if your computer is seized. Try and get whatever information
you can on the reason why it was seized.
-
more
information
Total Units Sold is not a Good Metric for Cell Phones
-
February 6th, 2008
12:47 PM
There seems to be a key fact missing from IDC's assessment of
the growth of the cell phone market. The firm says year-over-year growth slowed
between 2007 and 2006 compared to the previous year-over-year measure. While
2007 growth was 12.4 percent over the previous year, the larger differential
between 2006 and 2005 isn't provided. Despite the reduced growth, the release
paints a picture that is not negative.
For instance, 334 million handsets were shipped in the fourth quarter of
2007, a record that was a 15.3 percent increase over the previous quarter. In
the bigger picture, it may be that unit sales are an antiquated way of looking
at the market. The nature of cell phone distribution is changing significantly.
-
more
information
Client Server Management
HandiGuide®
