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As the Cloud View Matures, Reality Sets In

The latest and greatest thing is never as clean and clear cut as you’d like it to be.  There’s usually a catch, right?  Right.  In the case of cloud computing, it’s so far been big concerns over data security and the lack of any standardization.  News from a recent survey on cloud computing as reported by Art Wittman for Informationweek paints a new picture of concern as reality begins to set in for CIOs everywhere.

Now the realization among many CIOs is that what is an up front major savings realized when moving to the cloud can easily mean unwanted expenditures in the out years as it pertains to the applications being moved to the cloud.  Indeed, what looks like a good deal in years one of two of moving to the cloud won’t look good in years four and five.  Unless the application itself changes, the total cost of moving an application to a service provider will usually increase the overall cost of the application over the long run.

Another consideration for CIOs is that the cloud provider may have poorer security or reliability than your own organization thus turning a cost savings into a potential risk-taking nightmare.  After all, this is your critical apps and data we’re talking about.  Beyond all this, there are integration, configuration, and customization costs to consider.

CIOs have matured in their thinking toward cloud computing.  While cost savings was once sited as the top reason for considering moving to the cloud, that has been replaced at the top by the ability to roll out business technology quickly to the masses.  It is a new, mature and sobering view of cloud computing and it should be viewed as good news as CIOs everywhere are forgoing the pie-in-the-sky view of cloud computing and are thinking forward in reality mode.

Can Twitter Be Your Emergency Notification System?

In this age of instant notification, social networking, and rapid-fire technology, Disaster Recovery Journal brings up an interesting thought.  Can a social media outlet like Twitter serve an organization as their primary emergency notification system?

The answer may be … well, maybe.

Let’s look at the Pros:

• Social media sites are very popular - Twitter attracts up to 25 million unique visitors every day
• Social media expands information delivery
• It’s free
• Tweets are instantaneous and broadcast information in real time

And now the Cons:

• Social media sites are susceptible to attacks and security threats
• Despite the popularity and traffic on Twitter, more than 60% dump the service after the first month of use
• During the Haiti earthquake crisis, an overload of tweets took the site down for 90 minutes
• Posted information is not verified

Considering the possibility of security issues and downtime, the concept of using a popular social media site such as Twitter as your only notification track is likely not a wise move.  It’s true that it’s free, fast, and easy to use.  There is no doubt that Twitter supports an extremely high level of real-time information exchange.

However, relying entirely on social media for emergency notification is likely a dangerous proposition.  Twitter or a similar social media site may provide a nice supplementary notification system, but it would not be wise to utilize it as your only notification system.

In Times of Crisis Can You Retrieve Your Disaster Recovery Docs in a Flash?

Disasters don’t make appointments.  And most organizations fail to ensure that all key personnel have access to the most up-to-date versions of disaster recovery and business continuity documents.

“They’re on my desk at the office” is a common response when a key person is contacted at home during a crisis.  Or worse, no one is quite sure where the latest version of every key document is located.  Everyone has a copy, but few have the same version - or the right version.

A few additional common problems with disaster recovery/business continuity documentation:

• Contact lists contain people who are no longer employees
• Missing or out-of-date vendor lists are included in the documents
• Inaccurate or out-of-date equipment and network documentation is included
• If the system is down and the latest version is electronic and stored on the office system, it is inaccessible

The solution for all of this?  It’s as simple as utilizing a device that has plummeted in price over the past couple of years:  the USB flash drive.  The concept is simple - put the entire set of key documents on flash drives and distribute these to all responsible business continuity personnel so they are accessible when needed.

The benefits may be obvious, but lets review them here:

• Flash drives have become a very low-cost option for high capacity storage.  8Gb drives can be found for less than $20.
• The general population won’t have access to these proprietary documents
• Flash drives are a very stable and reliable storage media

Of course, you’ll have to run the use of a flash drive through your company’s business continuity or disaster recovery testing process.  And confirm that the use of such a device for storing these critical documents meets your company’s policies on disaster recovery.  But with the right processes and practices in place, the use of a USB flash drive might ensure that your business is up and running quickly rather than everyone running around looking for the right documents while thousands upon thousands of dollars and data are lost during critical delays.

Detailed Templates for Managing IT Projects

No one ever said the life of a project manager was glamorous or easy.  The spotlight - not the limelight - is on them 24/7 and at times it seems they have to answer to everyone …. including some very demanding customers.

Method123 seems to be bent on making the project manager’s job a little easier with their own product offering.  The Project Management Kit is Method123’s full-featured suite of project management templates that will help project teams produce the documents, forms and reports necessary to tie up many of the loose ends of projects.  Many of these templates help take care of project documentation that should be created for every project but is often skipped because there just isn’t enough time (or sometimes desire).

More than 50 templates, plans and forms are included, covering the entire Project Life Cycle.  CEO and company co-founder Jason Westland has more than 15 years in the industry and has put all of his - and his staff’s - expert experience into making these templates as useable as they are necessary.

Each template contains:

• Helpful hints and tips
• Detailed instructions
• Charts and tables
• Real-life examples for many template sections to make completion of the documents much easier for even inexperienced project managers

The kit is available for immediately download at www.method123.com/project-management-kit.php.  The regular price is $295, but special offers do come up from time to time which include special PM guide books, etc.  Purchasing the kit all at once gets you every template offered and saves you $136 over the cumulative individual purchase prices.

A sampling of the templates offered include:

• Business Case
• Feasibility Study
• Project Charter
• Project Office Checklist
• Phase Review Form
• Project Plan
• Resource Plan
• Quality Plan
• Risk Plan
• Acceptance Plan
• Communications Plan
• Statement of Work
• Request for Information
• Request for Proposal
• Project Closure Report
• Post Implementation Review
• Expense Form
• Quality Review Form
• Change Request Form
• Project Status Report

For more information visit Method123’s website at www.method123.com.

One Laptop Per Child Gave Us the Netbook - Now This

The 1/18/10 edition of Forbes magazine has a nice article on Nicholas Negroponte, the man and mind behind the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) non-profit organization.  You know the one …. they were going to create the $100 laptop for educational purposes in impoverished third-world countries.  The problem is, the laptop ended up costing $188 and with 1.4 million shipped so far it is only 20% of the way to its 7 million-unit projection and losing steam fast.

But Negroponte is a visionary and one has to look at this situation not as a failure but as a created opportunity for the world.  Mega-giant Intel was once a partner of OLPC, then became a competitor and created the Classmate - which is similar to the OLPC model called the XO.  Two million units of the Classmate have been shipped so far.  As Mary Lou Jepsen, one of the designers of the original XO states, “Go ahead.  Compete with us to save the world.”  I guess competition isn’t such a bad thing.

Let’s consider what else has happened as a result of the push for the small $100 laptop.  The XO didn’t hit it’s original price target of $100, but it did prompt a clump of good-things-in-small-packages PCs built by Intel, Asus, HP, Dell and just about everyone else.  All were trying to jump on the “netbook” wave and we’ve all been benefiting from this new niche laptop market ever since.

Negroponte’s next vision is for a $75 computer.  By 2012 he’s shooting for a touchscreen tablet PC for low-income school children that will use less power than a small light bulb and will be unbreakable, waterproof, and half as thick as an iPhone.  $75.  Says Negroponte, “Essentially, we want it to be a single sheet of plastic.  No holes, no moving parts.  We want it to be so simple that it hardly has a design.”  For skeptics, Negroponte argues that he doesn’t necessarily need to build it.  “We’re at a stage now where we just have to threaten to build it,” says Negroponte.

And the rest of the industry will create their own competition to make it happen….

Should You Go with a Managed Services Contract?

The millions of small businesses worldwide with 20 to 100 employees represent a huge need for providers who offer managed services, but small businesses generally have a low awareness and understanding of managed network services and their business benefits.

So the question begs to be asked…does your small business need managed IT services?  First, let’s define what Managed IT Services are or what a managed service provider does.

What are Managed Services?

A managed service provider (MSP) provides delivery and management of network-based services, applications, and equipment to enterprises, residences, or other service providers. Managed service providers can be hosting companies or access providers that offer services that can include fully outsourced network management arrangements, including advanced features like IP telephony, messaging and call center, virtual private network (VPNs), managed firewalls, and monitoring/reporting of network servers.

Contract or As Needed?

It’s common for small businesses to rely on third party providers for IT support, but often on an as-needed basis.  These economic times are very uncertain, so is it wise to enter into a long-term contract to handle these IT needs or to do so only on an as-needed basis?  It’s likely that you are carefully scrutinizing all strategic decisions right now and it may be hard to convince your board or yourself that taking on a managed services contract is the right thing to do.

The main questions to consider are:

• Can it help me cut costs?
• Will it make my company more competitive?
• Will I be able to utilize my employees more efficiently?
• Will it allow me to serve my customers better and more efficiently?
• Will my profits increase?
• What are the risks?

These are very important questions to consider and must be asked.  When reviewing your business and IT needs and definitely when discussing a managed service contract with a provider, these - at a minimum - should be the questions you present to them.

Educate Yourself First

Listen carefully and don’t let a smoke screen cause you to make a poor decision.  Go into any discussion or negotiation in an educated manner.  Be sure you understand the technology, what your options and needs are and whether the MSP can provide what you need.  Don’t go overboard if it’s not what you need - you’ll end up spending money for no benefit.

In this Economic Time Use Business Continuity as a Selling Point

In our current economic state, the first thought is to cut, cut, cut.  It’s common to see companies cutting departments by 10% across the board in order to meet tight budget demands.  And in non-revenue generating departments such as human resources, accounting, and training it can be even higher.

There is one particular area that - if it exists in an organization - is taking a heavy hit when it could actually be making you money.  What I’m referring to is the area of Business Continuity.

If you deal with outside customers and provide services - especially data services - to these customers, then your own business continuity plans and personnel are not only of great value to you, but they should also be of great value to them.

Rather than cut back or completely eliminate business continuity plans and personnel as some companies are doing, look to your very capable disaster planning and recovery personnel for the following:

• Be a sales tool in winning new business. Have the business continuity director meet with prospective clients and present tests results, findings, and strategy to help bring in new business.  You can also have them meet with existing clients - especially if a contract is up for renewal.

• Save company dollars by helping to reduce insurance costs. Check with your insurance carrier.  It’s possible that better corporate rates can be negotiated if you can show that you have a solid disaster and recovery plan in place.

• Reduce corporate downsizing risks through planning, testing, and evaluation. The across the board cuts can actually be costly to the organization if the wrong cuts are made without proper upfront planning.  Enlist this group to run scenarios on how the business will react to different downsizing scenarios and find the one that fits best for your organization’s needs.

• Minimize company exposure to suppliers with weak business continuity plans by validation. Utilize your own business continuity group to evaluate the disaster planning efforts of the people you contract with to supply your needs.  Use them to require and oversee testing and validation by your suppliers so that you know you’re covered on that end as well in case there is disaster.

Summary

Unless you are in the government contracting sector where proving your business continuity is actually a revenue generator, then this group is almost always overhead.  However, if you’re creative and think about how you can leverage the group to bring in new business or retain current business, this overhead department can actually make your company more profitable.

Controlling Any Desktop from an iPad

I’ve been resisting the urge to get an iPad myself - I don’t know why, but I have.  That may now have to end after I read Rich Jaroslovsky’s article in Bloomberg Businessweek yesterday.

It starts out with the catchy line “Don’t tell Steve Jobs, but I’ve been running Adobe Flash on my iPad.”  After an opening line like that, I had to read on.

Turns out, the article is about an iPad app that you can get from the iTunes App Store for $29.99.  Yes, that’s the price, but what it can do is cool.  The app is called LogMeIn Ignition.  Setup is extremely easy and the app allows you to control any Windows PC or Mac that you’ve installed the individual downloadable software on.

Once on your iPad, you get a list of every machine you’ve linked to - the ones that are offline are grayed, the ones that are currently online and available … of course … are bold.  When you select an available machine, you quickly see the desktop just as you’d see it if you were sitting in front of it.  All open windows, programs, etc. are displayed just as if you were there.

There are some limitations, but the good outweighs the bad.  Some limitations include:

• The target machine must be on and online
• Some company networks will block access
• The app does not support sound
• The app works on an iPhone or iPod touch, but you’ll want to use an iPad for the bigger screen (which means little to no scrolling)

Are You Large Enough for a CIO?

Ten to fifteen years ago the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO) was being touted as the next critical job title right up there with CFO and nearly as important as the CEO.  I personally have seen so many CIOs come and go at smaller organizations and startups that the title seems to have really lost its luster.  And most have not gone voluntarily.  It seems to me that the position has become more like a Chief Implication Officer getting blamed for most things wrong with the technology of the organization…and often rightly so.

So the question begs - do you need one?  Is your company large enough that it needs a central figurehead who has the very visible, high-level responsibility to make the technology decisions and infrastructure maneuvers required of a strategic, technical organization?

Decisions, Decisions

To get a truly experienced CIO, it’s obvious that you’re going to have to spend some dollars.  There’s a big difference in salary and experience between a CIO and an IT Manager, though for many organizations (even some mid-sized ones) an IT Manager may be all you really need.

I found the following statement once in an online forum…

“You can’t be an Admiral without a fleet and if you’re managing a handful of Help Desk guys you aren’t a CIO. It would probably also reflect your location on the pecking order. If you report directly to anyone other than the CEO you’re probably not a CIO. Then there’s the pay scale. A CIO would make much more than a Director or Manager.”

CIO or IT Manager?

That pretty much falls in line with my beliefs as well.  If you need a strong technology leader who will be reporting directly to the CEO (and your organization is big enough so not everyone is reporting directly to the CEO!), then you probably need the CIO position.  If you have a need for long-term infrastructure decisions, technology planning, and good roadmap created to follow along your company growth path, then go for it.

But be careful…as I stated, nearly every small company or startup that I’ve worked with in the last five years has either replaced their CIO or eliminated the position altogether, realizing that their real need in the short-term and near future was truly an IT Manager or IT Director.

The Acer Netbook - Should You Buy It?

I’ve had the Acer Aspire One netbook model AO532h-2326 in my possession for about a month so far and I’ve been testing it out ‘in the field.’  I have two netbooks in my house - both are ASUS Eee models and two of my kids use them for online academics.  But I can’t get my hands on them so a few companies sent me their models to test out and review, starting with the Acer netbook model.

Here are the general specs for the model I’ve been playing with:  Intel Atom N450 processor, 1 GB RAM, 10.1″ display, 250 GB hard drive, and a 6-cell battery.

Let’s start with the battery.  The draw of the netbook is its portability.  Definitely.  So it better have a good battery life - and the Acer model doesn’t disappoint.  Its 6-cell battery delivered about 6 hours of battery life for me - plenty to do what I wanted and enough for a long flight across the country.

The keyboard takes some getting used to.  They call it a 92% keyboard, meaning it’s 92% of the size of a regular laptop keyboard.  If you’re a fast typer like me, be prepared to correct mistakes.  But that was somewhat expected.

Touchpads are a sticking point for me.  My kids’ Acer touchpads leave something to be desired.  I’ve found that netbooks often have annoying touchpads with stiff left/right buttons.  Not sure why…they just seem to.  I’m happy to announce that the Acer was above average in this department.

Performance.  Ok, you’re not going to blaze through graphics work on a netbook, but that’s not why you buy them.  The Acer model performed admirable on Word and all of the Office Suite products.  I was even able to make quick work of MS Project files so I was satisfied.

Overall, I give it a thumbs up.  My overall goal is to test out netbooks to determine if they are good field machines for IT and project management professionals.  So far so good, but that’s another article.  Up coming articles will cover reviews of the HP and Dell models that I’m also toying with right now.