I never really gave a thought to how busy April really is. If you stop and think about it, there’s Easter Sunday, spring break, income tax filling, property taxes, and Earth Day.  I think somebody was on to something when April Fool’s Day was created.  April is also when the IT industry trends are released, and it appears that mobility in the form of ‘ Bring Your Own Device ‘ or (BYOD) and cloud technology are going to be favored in the news this year.

This first of this month’s articles will focus on the BYOD revolution throughout corporate America highlighting what employers need to be aware of, tips for adding these devices to your network and the risks associated with this growing technology. TNCC has already been helping our clients secure their business networks while also allowing users to take advantage of the tablet revolution.

Our second article reviews another way cloud technology is being used by peer-to-peer file sharing sites that a lot of use to store our own personal, and in some instances, your corporate data. These sites provide a data repository for files that can be accessed from almost anywhere. Want to work on a report from home? Save it to one of these sites, work on it from home and retrieve it in the morning when you return to work.  Sounds like a great idea right? Read the article to find out more about the benefits and disadvantages.

And lastly, most of us have sat through numerous meetings of ‘PowerPoint Hell’ so our third article this month provides some tips and tricks for making your PowerPoint presentations POP while keeping the audience awake and engaged.

This month we would like to welcome Ed Lee and Kathy McDermott from LRAD Corporation to the TNCC family. LRAD manufactures long range acoustical devices for our military and other government agencies.

Fred Harrah, CEO
760-744-0442 x 208

By Bob Evans (Used with Permission from InformationWeek)

What have we learned in the past 18 months since the onset of the global economic downturn? What have we discovered about our companies’ priorities, competitive standing, and revenue drivers? What insights have we gained into not just what CEOs want and expect from their CIOs and IT organizations, but what they demand?

What’s different about the CIO job than 18 months ago? Or 12 months ago? And what’s it going to look like 12 months out from now? And if you’re tempted to say that nothing big will change in 12 months, I would just ask you to think back to what you were faced with in June 2009—while that might seem like decades ago, it was only one year ago.

Click here to read the full article.

Used with Permission from Microsoft^®

Small business owners often have big dreams. Whether that dream is to keep your business small or to grow it into a big business, you want your business to run as smoothly as possible – every step of the way. You might start your business as a sole proprietor with just a laptop and a few software programs. As your business grows and adds employees, you have to start thinking about security, backup, remote access, and coordination of effort.

One of the reasons small businesses switch to cloud-based software is to reap the benefits of big business infrastructure, without having to implement and manage it directly. Until recently, your software and servers almost always resided in your office, where they would be administered by your IT staff. This type of deployment is referred to as “on premise.” In the last several years, “cloud based” software has become more popular.

Cloud based software (also called cloud computing) enables companies to access software and servers located in a secure data center, maintained by the software provider. These free or subscriber-based services are delivered in real time over the Internet.

Your Microsoft Hotmail or Live account is an example of cloud-based email. Business users might be familiar with Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, which offers a subscription-based suite of Microsoft-hosted, online applications that include: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Live Meeting, and Office Communications Online. Because applications and documents are no longer stored on your personal computer, your data is more accessible to others in your office.

Small businesses are finding the many attributes of cloud computing very attractive. Here are seven reasons why:

1. Cloud computing can improve employee productivity. Using tools like Online Exchange and SharePoint, employees can easily access documents and emails while away from the office. Many small businesses have employees working remotely, and need both mobility and flexibility. Cloud computing is a straightforward and affordable way of addressing those needs, especially when you are using intuitive, familiar software that your employees already know.
2. Cloud computing reduces upfront costs. Choosing a cloud-based solution for such things as email, document sharing, and web conferencing reduces the upfront cost associated with starting a business. There are no servers to buy. The cloud-based subscription model allows small businesses to easily increase or decrease their use of cloud services according to their needs.
3. Cloud computing boosts collaboration. Employees everywhere can access and work with the same files in real time – no more emails back and forth with attachments to open. Better collaboration improves productivity and creativity.
4. Cloud computing provides business resiliency. Numerous studies have shown that more than 50% of small businesses will go out of business within a year of a major data loss. In a cloud environment, if you lose your laptop – or worse, your whole office – you can get back to business in no time. All your business information and files are securely in place.
5. Cloud computing is easy. The transfer of business information into “the cloud” is very straightforward. No need to install new hardware or software; no IT administration. It is often seamless to the user. Saving a document to a Microsoft Sky Drive is the same process as saving it to a hard drive. No training is required.
6. Cloud computing is accessible. Offering easy access and file sharing from any Internet connection, cloud computing allows employee access via smart phone or computer.
7. Cloud computing is secure. In fact, cloud computing can be more secure than a traditional IT infrastructure. Cloud computing providers like Microsoft build multiple levels of security and redundancy into their data centers.

The great thing about cloud computing is that it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. Even if you already have servers and an IT staff, you can pick just one application that you think would be better served in the cloud. You might decide that since your sales force is remote, you’ll invest in Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to manage your sales and marketing processes – but you’ll keep your Exchange Server deployment in house. With few exceptions, a mix and match of in-house and cloud-computing software works just great!

Click here to read the full article.

Dear IT Customer,

I wanted to reach out to you regarding the recent announcements made by HP to discontinue manufacturing of their smart phones, tablets and WebOS. As a committed HP Partner, TNCC is dedicated to helping you understand the meaning and impact of these changes to you, our valued customer.

Included among the announcements was the HP board’s decision to evaluate strategic alternatives for the Personal Systems Group business. Although these may include a range of options, this was not an announcement of a shutdown of the company’s PC business.

Having now heard directly from Todd Bradley and other members of HP’s senior leadership team, I can tell you that HP remains committed – now more than ever – to driving growth of its PC business. A $42 billion business, PSG is the largest PC business in the world with #1 market share and profitability in the PC industry worldwide.

HP is not taking its foot off the pedal now and is will continue to drive leading innovation across its PC portfolio moving forward. You also can expect HP to continue the company’s strong and solid history of taking care of you, its valued customer. You should absolutely feel comfortable and confident in buying HP just as you always have, despite the confusion HP’s competitors might be stirring.

While there is uncertainty with change, I can tell you that I remain committed to HP and their products, and look forward to traveling on this journey with them. I also can tell you that I remain committed to you and will continue to keep an open dialogue with you as we identify the best technology solutions to help you run and manage your business. I encourage you to reach out to me with any questions at fharrah@tncc.com or 760-744-0442 x 208.

Regards,

Fred Harrah, CEO
The Network Co. of California

By Jeff Wuorio, Editor (Used with Permission from Microsoft^®)

Your information-technology partner business should be just that — a partner in every sense of the word.

On the surface, that may sound a little warm and fuzzy, and possibly a bit optimistic.

Some IT consultants may focus on fulfilling your basic needs. They provide you technology advice and supply whatever tangible products and service are necessary to facilitate your needs.

But what you should reasonably expect from an IT “partner” goes well beyond that. They should take a vested interest in your business, providing the benefits and guidance that are central to your company’s growth and success.

Here are seven things to expect from your IT partner:

1. Technical expertise — and strong communication skills. Of course, an IT partner should be well-versed in the ins and outs of technology. But that sort of knowledge can be of little more than academic value if your partner doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of how it applies to your business. “He should be first and foremost a businessperson who utilizes technology in a cost-effective manner to solve business problems,” says Michael Crowe, director of the technology consulting and solutions group at Chicago-based Plante & Moran. “He can bridge the technology and communications gap that often exists between IT and a CEO’s office.”
2. An awareness of your budget — and resources. IT partners are proving increasingly essential to a broad range of small to medium-sized businesses. But that sort of critical function shouldn’t necessarily come at a crippling expense. When looking for an IT partner, ask how fees are structured. A responsive IT partner certainly won’t be free, but should be sympathetic to those sorts of services that can bleed business coffers dry. “For instance, they can provide access to high-level skills when needed, while paying a reduced rate for services such as a help-desk and repair services,” says Dan Blumenthal, executive vice president of Miller Systems, a Boston-based technology concern. “Those are the costs that can consume the majority of an IT budget outside of project work.”
3. An advocate who cuts through product hype. No IT partner stays afloat long if a business doesn’t go along with his or her recommendations, be it a new software package or a plan to implement it. But truly effective partners go to bat for their client companies, identifying genuinely effective technical options. “An effective IT partner can bridge the gap between a vendor’s product hype and what is truly an effective business solution,” Crowe says. “He should also help determine if a company is using its current technology to its fullest capacity and show how to maximize the products it already owns.”

Click here to read the full article.

By Joanna L. Krotz, Editor (Used with Permission from Microsoft^®)

Yes, small businesses can benefit from outsourcing too. More and more of them are turning over parts of their operations to outside experts, allowing owners to focus on critical needs and growth.

Following the trend of larger companies, small-business owners are outsourcing a range of services, from HR to finance and accounting to customer services. But the outsourcing process requires some time and investment to find the right vendor, build a working relationship, and allow your employees to adjust.

Here’s how to evaluate whether outside experts can perform better, faster or more cost-effectively than your in-house staff. You’ll also find advice about charting a path through the come-hither promises often made by outsourcing services.

First, define your core

Generally, the smart strategy is to hold on to operations or areas that define the core mission of your business. Then, consider outsourcing the other operations that are not as strategic.

If, for instance, your point of difference is customer service, make sure you have enough friendly and attentive full-time employees to make good on that. If, however, you promise rock bottom prices, then relying on an outsourcer, such as a Web-based virtual assistant, an automated phone system or an overseas call center, might make more sense.

Also, think through potentially outdated conventions about on-staff specialists, especially given the reach and effectiveness of today’s desktop technology. Traditionally, small businesses have outsourced payroll and human resources services.

But owners can now tap outside facilitators for a much greater range of services.

For instance, entrepreneurs with strong sales often assume they need a full-time bookkeeper to oversee the books. But, in fact, you can be running a $5 million company and still not really require a full-time bookkeeper. Such services have little to do with the volume of sales and more to do with the level of accounting activity, such as invoicing, bill paying, payroll and the like. Companies with a full-time bookkeeper can save about $30,000 a year by using outsourced bookkeeping services, say, a half-day a week.

Click here to read the full article.

By Sally McGhee, Editor (Used with Permission from Microsoft^®)

Productivity—both at home and at work—depends on multiple factors, not the least of which are time management and organization. Compiling to-do lists and wrangling the email in your Inbox are two basic time-management skills that promote productivity and organization.

In this article, productivity professional and expert organizer Sally McGhee examines—and dispels—common mistaken beliefs about obstacles to productivity, lends advice on how to organize your Inbox, and offers time-management tips. Click here to read this article.

By Paula Klein, Editor  (Used with Permission from Microsoft^® )

Like most IT deployments, deciding whether to use cloud computing is not as simple as it first looks.
While it is straightforward to have a third-party vendor host certain business applications — such as sales or HR — for your employees to access over the Internet, “the reality is, the cloud is very specialized; one size does not fit all,” says Judith Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz & Associates consultancy and co-author of the recent book, Cloud Computing for Dummies.

CIOs can’t dismiss the trend toward cloud computing nor obstruct its progress because business-side executives like the idea of “IT as a utility where they can use services as needed,” she says. However, “If you randomly pick applications in a piecemeal fashion,” she says, “you’re not going to get the value you seek. Good planning really is important.”

That’s why many CIOs are trying to figure out what part of the business is ready to adopt cloud services, and what apps should stay in-house. Most begin with a single application, accessed by few users, to host off-site. For instance, Tom Gill, VP and CIO of Plantronics, has used cloud services for about 20 applications over the past few years. Among his customer-facing app providers are RightNow and Salesforce.com; Taleo and Salary.com are used for HR services. Gill also uses a niche portal application solely accessed by corporate board members.

Quick Wins
“Applications with quick deployment can be a big win for us,” Gill says. With limited IT staff and resources, Plantronics relies on these app services for secure, reliable access with minimal intervention from his IT department, he says. This approach also frees IT to do more mission-critical work.
“We won’t add IT headcount this year but demand keeps increasing, so this is a solution” for augmenting resources without capital expenditures, Gill says. As for ROI, Gill has lowered costs, especially when it comes to daily maintenance of applications and new hardware. “We wouldn’t do it without a cost advantage,” he says.

Headquartered in Santa Cruz, Calif., Plantronics reported $765 million in 2009 revenue and has offices in 20 countries, including Mexico, the U.S., U.K. and The Netherlands. Its headset products are sold through a worldwide network of authorized partners as well as retail and consumer electronics stores. Gill says that every IT investment goes through a rigorous portfolio-management process in which the business case is presented and ROI is reviewed. “Cloud is no different,” he says. “We manage the technology investment, but we enable the business to interact with vendors, too.”
Gill’s best practices address some of the basic requirements that Hurwitz advises CIOs to consider. She says CIOs should ask, “What is your core business and is IT infrastructure where the business wants to put major investments?” If IT is critical to the business strategy and its competitive advantage, “you may not want to put those services in a public cloud at all,” she says. If IT is not a core competency, however, you can get started consolidating servers and looking for reliable partners as Plantronics has done. (See sidebar for Hurwitz’s top 10 tips.)

Security Worries
While niche applications are relatively easy to farm out, CIOs are still grappling with the trade-offs required by large-scale cloud computing. Chuck Musciano, CIO of Martin Marietta Materials, and author of the blog, The Effective CIO, says that he is becoming known as “the contrarian” when it comes to cloud computing. “There are gaping holes in some cloud models,” he says. “My overarching concern is about the security of data when it is out of my control.” He has written about his concerns about cloud computing, especially in the arena of security.

Martin Marietta, a supplier of construction materials with 2008 revenue of $1.9 billion, runs its own data center where it can store data and have access to it at all times, Musciano says. Cloud providers “will swear data is encrypted, but security is only as good as the weakest administrator managing it. My job is to secure data, and I don’t trust others to do it as well.” Particularly in highly regulated industries, cloud computing poses too many risks, he says. “For enterprise-level computing, I’m generally distrustful,” of the cloud, Musciano says. “I’m astounded at how many CIOs are ready to push applications over the [fire]wall.”

Nevertheless, Musciano — who has been an IT exec for more than 20 years — understands the need to deploy various computing models, including cloud computing, for some applications. Martin Marietta “uses cloud services effectively” for noncritical processes such as property management and HR performance appraisals, as long as they are cost effective and don’t involve sensitive data.
Gill of Plantronics agrees that core systems like ERP are best kept in-house for security as well as practical reasons. ERP is “not suited for the cloud, and we’re not ready to move that yet,” he says. “There’s no advantage to that.” At some point, Gill thinks that hosting e-mail in the cloud will be the norm, “but we’re not there yet.” In the short term, he will use a hybrid approach to MS Office services.

An Evolving Market
Consultant Hurwitz’s view is that if you have a large, heterogeneous data center running multiple transaction-processing apps and operating systems, you “can’t put all of IT in the cloud.” However, the enterprise can “offload some apps, even large ones, such as e-mail where you can pay by the seat. This market is evolving” and security is improving, she says. Currently, many large enterprises require providers to put their data on a private service so no one else can access it. Other providers offer VPNs as added security.

But Musciano isn’t convinced. Maybe it’s a “generational difference,” he says. Younger CIOs “don’t have the same sensitivity” and haven’t lived through a large security disaster. “Who will they call [if there’s a security breach in the cloud]?” he asks. He also sees users driving more processing power to the edge of the network with personal mobile devices while the cloud is “going in the exact opposite direction. I think the benefits really are very limited.”

Top Ten Tips for Cloud Computing
What steps should business and IT take now to deploy cloud services in the future? Judith Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz & Associates, says if you’re considering cloud services for a major enterprisewide rollout, it’s best to do the following first:

• Reassess your workload, business processes and data center infrastructure before you get started. Analyze patterns and data center requests. What are your goals for cloud computing?
• Virtualization is usually a prerequisite for software as a service (SaaS), and server utilization rates should be analyzed and documented. Take an inventory of assets.
• Answer some basic questions: What is your core business, and does the business want to put major investments into IT infrastructure at this time?
• Test one app before buying a lot of capacity. Once you go live and build maturity, you may decide to bring the app in-house. Hosting a small app is a good way to deliver services quickly or to build up app development platforms.
• Find an older app that’s used by fewer than 25 people or in one geographic region, and farm that one out first. It’s probably not economical to host it in-house.
• Consider the cloud when you need extra CPU cycles for a short burst of activity, such as a product launch or an annual event.
• Cost equations are not black and white. Average cost may look cheap until you scale over time and add more workloads. Keep reassessing.

For more information on how the cloud can help your business, contact TNCC at 760-744-0442! Information Technology…IT’s what we do for a living!