Business Silhouettes

Windows 7 is Here! Upgrade From XP or Vista, Or Not?

Microsoft released the newest version of Windows for desktops and laptops yesterday. As usual with any new Windows version, there are questions about how and when to upgrade.

Many of us drug our feet or stayed away from the Vista mess entirely. As a result, those XP computers are getting long in the tooth and now you’re wondering if this is the time to adopt a new version of Windows.

Windows 7 (W7) is supposed to be everything Vista wasn’t – better security without the intrusive notifications, more efficient use of resources, improved search feature, easier file and printer sharing. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Every introduction of a new Windows version includes major improvements that are must-haves.

But, we can’t hide forever. If we didn’t move from XP to Vista, we’ll be at the end of practical life for our computers and software before the successor to W7 is out. So, do we make the move now? Here are 7 reasons not to:

7. New server Windows means new desktop Windows? Server versions of Windows (2003, 2008) are different than the desktop versions (XP, Vista, W7). However, Microsoft knows that businesses (particularly small businesses) often mix different versions of Windows on their networks and they have taken great pains to ensure that we can still run XP, Vista, and W7 with the current server versions. If you upgrade or replace your server, you don’t necessarily have to move your desktops to a new Windows version.

6. Support for XP and Vista won’t disappear. Regardless of the deadlines that Microsoft sets to discontinue support for their software, support continues as long as there is a significant installed base. The deadline to order XP on a new computer was extended several times because of customer demand and as of now, you can still order a computer with XP installed. Support for XP and Vista will continue for several years from now.

5. Isn’t security improved in W7? Maybe. Every new version of Windows has made this claim, but it’s too soon to tell. Though increased security is Microsoft’s stated goal, there’s only so much you can test during the development cycle. After W7 has been made available publicly for a few months, we’ll get a much more accurate picture of how secure it really is.

4. Minimize the pain. Remember moving from Windows 98 to 2000? From 2000 to XP? From XP to Vista? There’s always a learning curve (and resultant loss of productivity) for a new version of Windows. Let the early adopters figure out the best way to use W7 and shorten the time you need to become familiar with the new Windows. Just about everything you’re reading about W7 now is either marketing copy from Microsoft or testing results from computer pros. In a few months, we’ll have the unadulterated experiences from everyday users, which might fit more closely with how you use your computer.

3. Beware of version 1.0! History repeats itself. Every Windows launch in recent memory has had bugs, flaky programs, devices that aren’t yet fully supported, and security holes. Just imagine trying to create software that runs every possible hardware combination on the planet and being successful out of the chute. Historically, the first service pack issued includes a rollup of so many patches, updated drivers, and new features that you then get a true read on how stable and usable that version of Windows will be.

2. What you have is probably already paid for. Are you confident that the economy is on the mend and it’s the right time to make a significant investment? While W7 can be installed on most Vista-ready computers, it may not be the best experience. If your computer is less than two years old and you bought more than a basic machine, you might be okay. So, you’re looking at buying a new computer with W7 preinstalled to avoid the upgrade hassles. Is this the best time for you to lay out the cash for a new system?

1. If it ain’t broke… Is there really a compelling reason to move to W7 today? Buy into the new products on your timeline, not theirs. If your system is working for you now, take on the move to W7 when it makes sense for you – not when the hype reaches a fevered pitch. If you’re scheduled to refresh your system soon, push it back for a few months. Put it in your budget for next year. Watch for the release (and subsequent reviews) of Service Pack 1. That’s your signal to seriously consider a system replacement. Of course, if you just can’t wait, share your experiences. It will help the rest of us to decide when to make the move.

Should You Outsource? Here Are The Top Seven Things To Consider.

Hire somebody or do it yourself? If you are thinking about outsourcing a support service for your business, we have seven factors that you just might want to consider before you make that call. Remember, you’re about to trust someone else with the responsibility for your corporate image, your critical information, or your hard-earned reputation. Evaluate your prospective vendors with these questions to optimize your selection process.

1. Do They Offer What We Need? – Do we just need the grass cut or are we also looking for cleanup, fertilizing, trimming, and advice? Should we work with six different vendors for website design, hosting, custom software development, security, training, new equipment, and network support or should we be looking for a single source to provide all of these services?

2. Can They Do The Job? – Does our prospective provider have the maturity, experience, equipment, and responsibility to get the job done? Are we making a good decision if we hire the 12-year old from up the street when we want not only the grass cut but also the trees trimmed? Will our technology support provider maintain and improve what we have or insist that we change everything to an environment with which he is comfortable? Will we be paying for support time that is used to educate the technicians or do they have industry certifications and solid experience?

3. Do We Have Common Values? – Selecting a service provider who shares your values will go a long way to preventing misunderstandings about the level and frequency of service provided. Will your prospective vendor treat your equipment, budget, and people as if the company were theirs? Do you share a common definition of the words “urgent”, “fair”, “reasonable”, “communication”, and “professional”? There are technicians and programmers with great expertise; there are technicians and programmers that communicate well. Look for technicians and programmers that can do both.

4. Can We Get A Free Sample? – Can your prospective service provider show you other yards he is mowing? Can you talk to the owners and ask about his reliability and quality of work? Is your prospective technology support provider willing to give you a demonstration of how they would analyze your network security or website marketing goals? Are their other businesses that are your size and in your industry that you could contact? Does your prospective provider have samples of the websites they have created? Is their own website done well? The length of the business relationship the prospective provider has with their referrals is usually a good indicator of the client’s satisfaction level.

5. Is Their Knowledge Current? – Methods and equipment change. The mechanical push mowers and edgers of fifty years ago have been superceded by today’s power equipment. Technology changes hourly. The technology company that stays current with the latest developments demonstrates its commitment to providing you with the right solutions. However, the latest technology may not always be appropriate for your business. Your provider should be able to determine and apply the best of technology for your use, considering your budget, your people, and your business objectives.

6. How Important Are We? – Will our provider be there when we need him? Or, will there be a baseball game that is more important than cutting the grass? Can we count on our developer to quickly make changes to our website? Can we count on our network technician to be available for a quick question by phone or an on-site visit for a server that is having problems? Or, do we report the problem, hope for the best, and start looking for non-computer tasks to last the rest of the day?

7. Are We Looking For A Bargain Or Value? – There are plenty of bargains to be had in all service fields, but does a bargain always represent value for your dollar? If you can get a better hourly or monthly rate but you have to wait until after business hours for your provider to finish his day job, or if your service provider shows up on his schedule rather than yours, you may be getting a bargain but not value. Consider the amount of time your or your employees are changing your plans to accommodate computer downtime.

The Lifeblood of Your Business – Do You Know What It Is? Are You Really Protecting It?

Even before the advent of computers, it was the most important piece of business. Lose it and you’re probably closing the doors within three years. Neglect it and you run the risk of wandering aimlessly through your relationships with your customers, your vendors, and your employees. Without it, you don’t know where you’ve been, where you are, or where you’re going.

Heard of HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, or Graham-Leach-Bliley? All are legislative attempts to force businesses and organizations to protect their lifeblood.

It’s your critical business data. It’s the record of our transactions, proof of our agreements, contact information for those with whom we interact daily to sell our products and services. It’s our business history, our guide for where to go, and a measurement of how we’re doing.

We’ve all experienced the computer crash, the message that says our file is empty, the loss or destruction of that documentation we MUST HAVE to prove our claim. Without it, we’re completely reliant upon our memory or someone else that might have a copy. Computers have become wonderfully reliable and consistent, but not perfect. We have designed and purchased systems that allow us to keep multiple copies of our data in multiple locations, and sometimes even in multiple storage formats.

It has become so easy to save everything, so we’re assured that we have a record of even the most trivial conversation, transaction, or plan. Our Inboxes are full and we regularly replace our computer with one that has more power and storage to handle all of these files. We have replaced the ever-expanding file cabinets and personnel to file our paperwork with small electronic boxes that have an amazing capacity for our information.

Even so, we carelessly keep our information in a single personal computer, while a server with redundant disks and a backup process sits in the next room waiting. We purchase and set up an automated system to backup our data and then never give it another thought – relying completely on the promise that because we have spent considerable sums on a backup process, it will be there when we need it.

And then, it happens. You open the same program that always works and it innocently asks, “What file?” You start your computer and you get a black screen and some nonsensical message about no operating system installed. Everything goes to slow motion as you click on the button verifying that you want to delete that file and then try to cancel the delete.

Now, the mad scramble ensues. You realize that it’s been an eternity since you verified that you had a good backup of your data. You begin to hope and pray that everything has been working perfectly on its own, but you have this sinking feeling that you really don’t know. Of course, you’re under a deadline and this is the worst possible moment to have problems.

Ok. Deep breath.

Look under your backup folder on the server to see if the folder is there.

Put yesterday’s tape in the drive and see if your file was successfully backed up overnight.

Call the IT people and hope they have time to help right now. Visualize the technician triumphantly walking into your office with a current copy of your data.

If all of these fail, try to estimate how much time you’ll need to recreate your information, should your prayers not be answered in the affirmative.

How do we prevent this nightmare – or at least stack the odds in our favor?

Recognize the value of your critical information and take the necessary steps to protect it. Ask your technology experts about the advantages of each type of data backup and make an informed decision. For some, it will be an online solution. Others may require tape, disk to disk, or optical (CD/DVD) solutions. Possibly a storage area network (SAN) or network attached storage (NAS) is the answer. Each has its benefits and is a good fit for a particular system and budget.

None are free. The number one objection we hear when recommending backup solutions is cost. Because data loss is so unpredictable, and everyone knows that it certainly won’t happen to them, it’s not easy to make a case for investing in a backup solution. We find customers very willing to pay for data recovery, but not as willing to pay for data protection. When considering the solution cost, compare it with the cost of time to recreate what you now have. Or, is it even possible to recreate some of your data?

Once you have a backup process in place, use it! If there is storage available on a server that is part of regular backups, keep your files there. Make sure that the backup system is monitored and tested regularly, to ensure that when you need it, your data will be available.

Better yet, make it a cornerstone of your Business Continuity Plan. You know, that action plan you have in place to respond to a potential disaster? The one that spells out how you’ll conduct business when you can’t get to your office or communicate with your customers? The one that was customized for your business and only contains what is relevant for you to get back on your feet? Doesn’t ring a bell?

Are you really protecting your lifeblood or just hoping for the best?

Cloud Computing – What’s Next?

This is the final article in this Cloud Computing series. We’ve discussed what Cloud Computing is and what services it now offers. In this article, we’re taking a look at where Cloud Computing is headed and what that might mean for small business.

As we have discussed, Cloud Computing is still very much an emerging technology, with all of the major technology vendors vying for a position. When the likes of Amazon, Akamai, Salesforce, and Google begin talking about service offerings and large plans, it becomes a pretty safe bet that the concept holds some promise. The question then becomes, “When will Cloud Computing make sense for my business?”.

In our previous articles, we have made the case that in many ways, we’re already using aspects of cloud computing. Our web-based email accounts, our online accounting and backup programs, and the coming unified communications technology are all excellent examples of cloud computing.

There are two significant challenges remaining to be resolved before cloud computing becomes a commodity: data compression and trust. Until the compression algorithms are created, we will still have latency in data transfer between us and our applications, resulting in a lower performance than keeping our applications (and data) local. And, there’s still the issue of our critical data stored somewhere, but we’re not exactly sure where.

Our overall experience with many web-only businesses has been less than stellar. Leave a voicemail or send an email and hope that they respond soon. The thought that we will now trust the information that our business runs on to a nameless, faceless virtual entity can be unsettling, at best. If the credit card industry can’t reliably protect our data, how certain can we be that our critical data will remain available to us, yet protected? What if, like our mortgages, the company we start out with is sold several times over? Worse yet, what if they just simply disappear?

I believe the performance issue will be resolved, and soon. There’s so much opportunity available for someone to develop the data compression technology that will provide a full-featured cloud computing experience. The trust issue resolution won’t be quite as clear-cut.

As always, the Amazons and Googles will offer a ridiculously low-priced or free service and build market share. Local and regional technology vendors have an inherent advantage, as they have already gained the trust of their business customers and, if they choose to add this as a service offering, have a good chance to sign up their existing client base. Then there are the mid-tier web companies, who will offer all types of incentives to sign you up. Maybe they’ll follow the marketing model of Super Bowl commercials, splashy banner ads, or popups that say you need to click here to improve your computing experience.

Cloud computing has the potential to reduce your costs, improve your operations, and simplify your life. Selecting the correct vendor and using the cloud where it makes sense will improve your odds of a successful transition. How will you use cloud computing? Do you agree that it holds the potential to revolutionize business computing, or is it just another cool concept that sounds good, but fails to deliver?

Cloud Computing – Unified Communications

This is a continuing article on Cloud Computing. We’ve discussed what Cloud Computing is and may become. In this article, we’re covering Unified Communications Services or UCS.

UCS is a new technology, and like all emerging technologies, there is initially some confusion over terms, capabilities, and applications. Simply put, UCS is the concept of bringing together multiple streams of business communications to a single container. For example, phone calls, email, voicemail, texts, and video are directed to a single Inbox, which is then accessible by PC, phone, PDA, etc. Use your imagination to envision how that would increase your productivity while reducing the number of devices or locations you access to respond to incoming communications.

Because the technology is relatively new and full of unknowns, every major telecom, security, and software vendor is pushing their proprietary solution. The next few months and years will show us the survivors, as some vendors will continue to invest in the tools and others move on to something else.

Enterprises are now beginning to install internal UCS applications with the help of their phone or software vendors. UCS has not yet migrated to the SMB world, but I think it will start within the next eighteen months. That will present an opportunity for technology vendors and ISPs to support local installations or to host and lease UCS.

UCS presents a bit of a twist on cloud-based computing. Though it isn’t strictly a hosted service in the cloud, many of the communication streams that are a part of UCS are already wireless. Probably the one obstacle to placing all of one’s business communications in the cloud is the quality of the real-time call. The latency associated with cloud-based voice calls is improving, but still sometimes of noticeably less quality than land-based calls.

Voice Over IP (VOIP) is quickly gaining acceptance as a communication technology as bandwidth becomes cheaper and routers evolve to process the network traffic efficiently, providing the required quality of service. If you tried Skype in the early days and found it lacking in quality, try it again. It’s a good example of the performance improvements in VOIP.

Would UCS benefit you? It will be convenient to channel all of our communications through a single device, but it that compelling enough to invest in the technology? It may be that once adoption of UCS becomes noticeable, the process or application will emerge that will truly realize the potential of UCS. That’s when it will become a hot topic and you’ll see consultants and providers appear to ride the adoption wave.

Next in the series: Cloud Computing – What’s Next?

Cloud Computing – Office Suites and Email

This is a continuing article on Cloud Computing. We’ve discussed what Cloud Computing is and some of the available services through Cloud Computing. This article covers some of the earliest conversions to online or web-based services.

Web email (or webmail) was the first widely-adopted online service with the proliferation of AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Google services. You only need an Internet connection to access your email, and because the mail client is not installed on your local PC, the risk of infection from auto loading viruses is eliminated. All major providers offer free spam filtering and virus protection as part of their service and most provide plenty of storage for your messages and attachments.

Google has pioneered the online office suites with Google Docs. The office suite industry leader, Microsoft, has not yet put out a full online office suite product, but with annual sales north of $16 billion for Microsoft Office suites, the incentive to provide an online product to compete with Google Docs probably isn’t that strong. And, there’s a cultural hesitation to create and store your documents and spreadsheets in the great unknown. There’s a misplaced comfort in storing your docs on your local PC, though the risk is far higher for data loss or corruption there.

On the flip side – there’s much to be said for the convenience of always accessible documents and the removal of version angst. How often have you received an email attachment you couldn’t open? Online office suite documents can be exported to most mainstream formats and can be shared online with invited users.

If you’re faced with the cost of moving to the next office suite version, you might want to explore the feasibility of online office suites. If your documents and spreadsheets are relatively simple, then maybe the time is coming to make the conversion and save some serious cash.

Next in the series: Cloud Computing – Unified Communications

Cloud Computing – Collaborate for Fun and Profit!

This is a continuing article on Cloud Computing. We’ve discussed what Cloud Computing is and one service – Online Backups. In this article, we’re covering Online Collaboration.

Maybe the first thing we should do is clarify what we mean by collaboration. Simply put, collaboration is the process of working together with individuals or groups to achieve a mutual goal. Participants can include those both inside and outside of an organization, as long as they share that common goal.

Imagine an office where your co-workers, vendors, and customers could come for information. If you wanted to let customers know about a new product or solicit their feedback on your business practices, they would come to the Collaboration Office. If you wanted to share bid opportunities with your vendors or ask for their help with product design, they would come to the Collaboration Office. Co-workers could come to the Collaboration Office to share their ideas of corporate improvements or post notices about the company picnic.

Now, imagine the Collaboration Office is electronic. Each group, or member within a group, would have appropriate access to reference documents, announcements, surveys, email, and calendaring to enhance and facilitate their relationship with your organization. Existing software products require a server, configuration and customization suited for those with programmer skills, and licenses for each user or group. Costs can run into the thousands of dollars for a simple setup.

But, the Collaboration Office is now on the Web as a service! The primary activity in the Collaboration Office is document sharing. Online, you can setup a shared space, create document folders, and invite individuals or groups to share. The latest versions include automatic notifications when folder contents change, so you instantly know when a collaborator has contributed. Documents are stored in versions, so you can see how a document has changed and return to a previous version, if necessary.

And, you’re not limited to this particular model. If you just want to share documents between your workgroup with members in different physical locations, this is the tool for you! Many of us share files attached to email messages. Today’s spam filters sometimes take a disliking to attached files and reject or quarantine those messages. Online collaboration is a more efficient method of sharing files, particularly for those with whom you share frequently.

Next in the series: Cloud Computing – Office Suites and Email

Cloud Computing – Data Backup Headaches Finally Fixed!

Our last article covered the basics of Cloud Computing, defining the concept and briefly giving some of the benefits and challenges. To further expand on the benefits, we’ll now turn to one of the first cloud-based applications for business.

No doubt you’ve heard the advertising for online backups targeted to consumers. Most offers provide one or two gigabytes of storage and a subscription for additional capacity. The business version of this service is much more robust and has several features that the consumer version does not.

Online backups resolve the two largest problems with the backup process. First, your data is automatically stored offsite, providing you with a retrievable backup no matter what might happen to your local server (or office) and is available to you whenever and wherever, as long as you have an Internet connection. Second, it is truly automatic. No tapes to switch, no tape drive to reset, no system limitations on capacity or time. And, no question that you’ll be able to access and restore from the backup when the need arises. Restoration speeds are governed by the speed of your Internet connection, but we typically see data restored at the same speed as if it were being copied from a local CD.

Our partner offers modules to create and store snapshots of email servers and databases; two traditionally difficult targets because they’re always in use. The service is also compliant with security legislation for those of you who need this for regulation compliance.

“What a no-brainer! Why isn’t everyone signing up for this?” Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, not everyone is as educated on this topic, as you now are. The concept of online storage is relatively new and not everyone is comfortable with the idea that their corporate data is stored on a server they can’t see sitting in the server closet.

Second, the price of online backup subscriptions is coming down, but still a bit pricey. Tape and external drive solutions are expensive initially, but there is no obvious continuing cost. Administration time is a soft cost and is rarely quantified. But, that might be a healthy (and eye-opening) exercise, if you’re considering reducing office costs. Online backups may have a small setup fee, but then have a monthly subscription that is calculated on the size of the backup.

One more consideration – how frustrated are you with your current backup solution? You do have one, don’t you? If you’re like most, it can be mind-numbing to think that you’re getting a good backup every day, only to discover that it was partially successful but never reported. Or, your data has grown and you’re now faced with a requirement to spend several thousand on a new system. If this is you, check out online backup services. It might be worth the extra expense for peace of mind and reliability.

Next in the series: Cloud Computing – Collaborate for Fun and Profit!

Cloud Computing – The Next Big Thing?

The term Cloud Computing is starting to make the news. It’s being forecast to become everything from the latest buzz term to a revolutionary method for business computing. This is the first of several articles discussing what Cloud Computing is, how it can help your business, and what the challenges are for your provider and for you.

In the earliest iterations of network computing, lightweight computers (clients) were connected to a large, central server called a mainframe. All storage and processing was done by the mainframe and the clients provided a way for the system user to enter and retrieve information. Even what we now know as a desktop was stored on the server, so that each time you connected, you were given a consistent interface. Today you’re most likely to see these systems in banks and credit unions, giving tellers access to your account transactions and balances.

As computers became more powerful and users became more knowledgeable, this model shifted to a more balanced model, as mainframes (servers) provided centralized data storage and clients performed the processing power for documents, accounting and graphics applications. In smaller environments, individual computers were grouped in a peer to peer network, with all the processing and storage accomplished on each computer and thus, no need for a server.

Cloud computing is somewhat of a return to the mainframe and client model, but with one important distinction. Rather than the client communicating through cabling to a local mainframe, the server is located in a data center somewhere on the planet. Secure connections are made through the Web, and applications are run remotely. You see this as logging into a website to do your work, rather than starting a program on your local workstation.

“How does that help my bottom line?” If your workstation has fewer processing and storage requirements, you should be able to extend its life and reduce overall replacement costs. If you’re using a browser to connect to your programs, you’re not tied to Windows computers, potentially reducing your software expenses. The time and expense of maintaining a server and managing backups can be eliminated.

“Sounds like a slam-dunk. Why isn’t everyone moving to this yesterday?” There are some challenges remaining. First, your data connection to the Internet becomes a critical piece of the equation. If your Internet connection goes down and you have a local server, you lose connection to the outside but can continue to work in your local programs. If everything is on the Web and you lose your Internet connection, your oars are out of the water. And, you may have to increase the capacity of your Internet connection to adequately handle the increased traffic.

The second challenge is related to specific applications. Accounting, drafting, and graphics programs are resource intensive and don’t work well with the small delays or latency that is part of an Internet connection. You may not realize that there is latency in your connection while you’re browsing the Web, because websites are designed to accommodate these small delays. Try generating a complex spreadsheet or detailed drawing across the Internet and see how it goes. Work is being done on compression methods that will allow for faster data transmission, but this remains a challenge.

The third challenge is support by software manufacturers. Most have never optimized their software to run in any environment but the local server and client. The cloud computing model represents an entirely new way of using their software and they need time to redesign their products to work within a new model.

Next in the series: Cloud Computing – Data Backup Headaches Finally Fixed!

SEO – The Promise, The Hoax, The Truth

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the technique of optimizing a website for search engine discovery and indexing. In theory, the more closely you follow SEO practices, the higher your website will place in search results. There is an entire industry devoted to deciphering the latest search engine algorithms and advising businesses on how to construct their site to be attractive to the major search engines.

SEO promises that if you will follow published (and ever-changing!) guidelines, your site will zoom to the top of the search results and you will automatically see positive results for your business. There are some in the industry that will guarantee you a top five placement, for a nominal, ongoing fee of course.

But how does that work, you say? Search engines return results based on the queries prospective site visitors enter. If a site is optimized for a very narrow set of search terms, your site will indeed rise to the top of the results. If I enter “Advanced Business Solutions” and “Colorado Springs” as search terms, guess who is listed as the top result. One of the two most important factors in search results is forecasting accurately which terms people will use when searching for your products and services.

The second factor in search engine results is relevancy. Search engines strive to provide the most relevant search results, ensuring that those using their service find exactly what they are looking for. Sites consistently updated and those with quality inbound links from other sites indicate a higher probability of relevancy to the search terms. Because of the sheer number of available websites, search engines must make some assumptions about a site’s content. Thus, a site with fresh content that is interconnected with other sites becomes favored and more highly ranked in the results.

Most importantly, you must have clear objectives for your site. Obtaining a top ranking in search results is not the objective. Converting site visitors to customers is where you will realize the payoff for your investment. A successful marketing campaign will yield a high number of qualified potential candidates for your products or services, but it isn’t until you have converted those candidates to clients that you’ll realize the benefit to your business.

Your conversion approach is dictated by your objective for your website. All sites can be categorized into four general objectives: entertainment, education, sales, or web administration. Web administration includes search portals, software downloads, and online utilities. Your site may contain aspects of all of these, but one must be primary. Define an objective for your site, design it to present the objective clearly to the site visitor, and optimize your site for top search placement and you will see what your website can contribute to your business.

If you would like to learn more about SEO and how it contributes to your overall marketing effort, contact us. We’ll be happy to discuss your objectives and how you can reach your goals through website marketing.