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Mitigating Business Risks

Risk is defined as:

“Exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.”

And Risk Management is defined as:

“…. the systematic process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to risk. It includes maximizing the probability and consequences of positive events and minimizing the probability and consequences of adverse events to your organization’s objectives.”

The processes that the organization must go through in identifying risk and deciding if and how to deal with each individual risk item are:

• Planning - Process of deciding how risks will be identified, prioritized, and managed

• Risk Identification - Process of determining what risks might affect the business and attempt to document their characteristics.  This is an iterative process.  On a specific project, for example, it would never stop - the business must continue to work on identifying new risks and how those would be dealt with should they occur.

• Analysis and Response - Process of assessing the impact and likelihood of the identified risks.  Determine the evaluation process for identifying the probability and consequences of the risks.  This involves developing options and determining actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to your business’ on-going goals and objectives.  Really, what’s involved here is identifying ways to mitigate the identified risks as much as possible should they occur. Risk response planning must be appropriate to the severity of the risk, cost effective in meeting the challenge, timely to be successful, and realistic within the business context.

• Monitoring and Control - Process of keeping track of the identified risks, monitoring residual risks and identifying new risks, ensuring the execution of the risk planning and evaluating its effectiveness in reducing risk. Risk monitoring and control is an ongoing process for the life of whatever the current project or initiative the business is undertaking at the moment.

Summary

This is a basic summary of the general process a business should go through to identify, evaluate and plan for action on risks that can get in the way of the overall goals of the organization.  The true need to implement these processes depends a lot on your organization’s type of business that is conducted, how much downtime or loss you can weather, and how important risk mitigation is to your executive leadership.

Netbooks as Field Tools for IT Professionals - First Look

Forgive me if I don’t come across as your normal IT product reviewer - because I’m definitely not.  But I am an IT professional and therefore the netbook has caught my eye as a potential tool for IT professionals in the field who frequently have to travel and visit client sites to perform work.

Take it from someone who has lost more than one oversized laptop screen to the carelessness of a taxi driver or shuttle bus driver handling the luggage, the size of these units both stress me and intrigue me.  Two of my kids have ASUS Eee series netbooks, but I can never get my hands on them to test them out, so I was very excited when both Dell and Acer agreed to send me models to run through the paces in the field.

I’m definitely more interested in reviewing them over the long haul for their effectiveness as field tools for consultants, project managers, and just about any other IT profession that causes you to leave your desk or home office once in awhile.  I’m also interested in examining how these mini notebooks can serve small business owners who are looking to save on equipment costs.  However, since they both arrived today, I’ll give you my first impression of them now though all I’ve really done so far is load some software.  More detailed looks at how these units perform in the field will be forthcoming.

The netbooks I received have nearly identical specifications.  The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 is running Windows 7 Starter, has a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM, operates on the Intel Atom N450 processor, has a 10.1″ screen, and so far appears to offer an estimated 6 hours of battery life.

The Acer Aspire One AO532h netbook model I received offers identical specs except for one difference - a 250 GB hard drive.  I would gladly trade hard drive space for RAM any day, but most netbook models come standard with 1GB so that’s what I like to check out anyway.

My first impression - without actually comparing the units yet - is this:

• I like the size - they’re easy to carry around without the fear of hitting them on something
• The keyboard is smaller - both are 92% of full sized keyboards, I believe - and that takes some getting used to
• Their touchpads are nice - though one thing I’ve noticed on both of these models as well as the ASUS models my kids have is that the buttons require more force to click than on any normal sized laptop I’ve ever used and I’m not sure why that is the case … maybe they loosen over time
• This is my first real look at Windows 7 and I’m not sure I like it yet (I’ve been using Mac OS about 98% of the time for the past year so that’s not a fair take at this point)

I’ll be loading more software, utilizing these netbooks for meetings, notes, managing project schedules, and taking them on the go.  So keep checking back here for updates on how the process is progressing.  I may even be adding more models to the review process.

Assess PC Performance at Fossiltoys.com

I ran across an interesting site while trying to find a way to compare PC performance for several systems I’m currently reviewing:  Fossiltoys.com.

Fossiltoys.com is a completely free and very interesting JavaScript tool that actually embeds itself in the web browser rather than the web server so it is a true monitor of the actual machine’s performance and total independent of internet speed and traffic.

Here’s the are the features, summarized from the website…

• Simple but effective web-based online PC speed monitor (CPU and RAM)
• No software installation required - completely web-based
• Platform neutral: Mac, Windows, Linux, Unix
• Monitors not just CPU speed, but system slowdown due to insufficient RAM as well
• Unobtrusive - speed is displayed in window title, even when web browser is minimized.
• Stores log of last 1,500 speeds
• Provides export feature for spreadsheet analysis
• Displays minimum and maximum speeds recorded during monitoring period

The number it provides as a speed really means nothing unless you are comparing your system to itself under different conditions to see how it is affected (for example running no applications vs. running a particular mix of applications) or if you’re comparing similar systems running the same software to see which system is performing better.  I found this particularly helpful when benchmarking three different netbooks from three different manufacturers but with nearly identical specs and running identical software.

Some specifics on the best way to use this site for analysis…

• The higher the Fossil Speed shown on the page, the higher the available performance of the PC at that time. As more programs are run, the Fossil Speed will reduce, indicating less available performance to run new programs.
• The absolute value of the speed does not mean anything. It only makes sense when compared against Fossil Speeds from other PCs with like specifications, or the same PC at different times.
• The Fossil Speed is linear - a number twice as big means the PC is able to perform twice as fast. This is only valid when comparing with the same or similar PCs. Any comparison will be less accurate when comparing PCs with very different hardware, especially multi-core CPUs.
• Tests both CPU and memory access speed. For many PCs, the amount of memory is more of a limiting factor than CPU speed. The Fossil Speed will reflect PC speed limitations due to insufficient RAM e.g. when many programs are running at the same time.

IT Smartphone Adoption Stagnate Due to Budget, Security Management Concerns

In the electronic device world a lot can happen in the course of a couple of years.  Better phones, fancier phones, faster networks …. just stop and think about what is available today that wasn’t on table two short years ago.

Two years ago enterprise deployment of smartphones to employees was in full swing.  Just consider the numbers from a survey of companies in 2008:

• 56% had supplied smartphones to up to 25% of their workforce
• 27% had supplied smartphones to 26% - 50% of their workforce
• 11% had supplied smartphones to 51% - 75% of employees
• 6% had provided every employee with a smartphone

In 2008, most of those devices were Blackberrys and were used mainly for email and calendar management.

Now fast-forward to 2010.  You would think with those kinds of numbers over previous years we would continue to see tremendous growth.  But we haven’t.  The smartphone adoption movement has definitely stalled.  Not slowed…stalled.  Completely.

Email is still the main use for smartphones in the corporate world.  In 2008, 30% used smartphones for job-specific applications, now that number has only risen to 31%.  The percentages of employees that have been supplied smartphones by employers are virtually the same as it was in 2008.

Why the stagnation?  Why has smartphone growth stalled in such grand fashion in the corporate world?  It appears that they main concern is security and data management issues - areas that companies are finding it hard to budget for in this current economy.  In 2008 52% of companies said security was the reason to deploy mobile device management.  That number is now up to 73%.  However, 61% of organizations not implementing device management are identifying staffing resources as the issue - up from 46% in 2008.  32% are now indicating that mobile device management is too expensive.  Basically, IT budgets have been too tight over the past couple of years to allow them to take on mobile device security, so they’ve chosen not to grow that deployment.

As the economy improves, this slowed - or dare I say ‘halted’ - smartphone deployment could slow or extinguish key corporate initiatives.  Companies are going to need to take a serious look at where they need to spend their IT dollars if they hope to be ready to grow and be more competitive when the market allows for it.

Craigslist Searching Made Easy

Craigslist has become an invaluable, if not sometimes frustrating, tool for many of us.  It helps us find job or consulting opportunities, necessary technology and equipment for performing our work, and lots of other fun stuff that has nothing to do with work.  But alas, it’s locally based and a pain to search multiple locations (though you can do it through Crazedlist which works best through Firefox).

Now you can search Craigslist nationally…or internationally…legitimately for those jobs you’re willing to move for or those items you just have to have but are located across the country.

Craigslist Reader

CraigsList Reader provides a deep search of Craigslist in a friendly Microsoft Outlook style. The app is intensely thorough: You can search any listing anywhere, set up notifications, change and save parameter options, and more.

CraigsList Reader works best for people who embark on epic searches of Craigslist’s database, as opposed to those who hope to pick out only a few tidbits. The program lets you categorize results, and helps you establish a variety of updates and notifications.

And best of all, it’s ok to use.  Unlike Crazedlist - which when used for full-scale, across the universe type searches it can get you banned from Craigslist - CraigsList Reader is entirely legit.  Search like a pro and search with confidence.  Now you can truly find the lowest-priced Macbook or Gateway laptop available across the country if you can convince the seller that you’re not trying to scam them.  Ok, so there are some things about Craigslist that this reader application won’t overcome, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

This application is available for download at http://find.pcworld.com/63354.  Originally, it was available as an entirely free application, but it is now a trial version of a $37 product.  If you’re an avid Craigslist enthusiast it may still be worth it to you.  I personally have found thousands of dollars worth of consulting opportunities on Craigslist so if you have needs, the product price of $37 is probably not much of a concern.

Personal Texting at Work … Beware

We’re all guilty.  It’s too easy to do and too hard to avoid.  Whether you’re making lunch plans with a friend or texting your vacation itinerary to loved ones.  We’ve all probably used business phones to send text messages that were definitely not business related.

Is it wrong?  Should companies have the right to check into our personal text communications on those company devices?  No matter which side of the fence you stand on in this issue, there is likely soon going to be a legal precedent one way or the other that will change the habit of personal texting on company phones forever.

The case

On Monday, 4/19, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case on this very topic.  At issue is whether or not a city in California violated the rights of a public employee by examining sexually explicit text messages that this employee was sending on a device that was ultimately owned by the city police department.  At this time, a decision has not yet been made.

This particular case involved a police officer.  Yes, we often believe that they should be held to the highest of standards considering the fact that they are enforcing the laws on citizens.  However, many legal experts believe that the ruling in this case will have very broad implications on how both public and private employees can be monitored when using company devices for things like texting.

The problem

A recent study found that 80% of American adults have cell phones and 30% of those have internet access on those phones.  Employees are expected to be available almost 24/7 with these devices in hand.  And with that leash growing tighter, the line between home and work, professional and personal communications is becoming greyer.  Separating the two while remaining productive on both sides is nearly impossible.

In an environment like the one we’ve created where employees are rapidly moving back and forth between work and personal use on devices, it’s easy to forget the boss may have the right to go back and review the texting trail they’ve created.

However this case turns out, employees everywhere must take note that until a legal precedent has been set, their personal communications on company-provided communication devices such as phones and computers may be open to scrutiny and could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Interop 2010 - Las Vegas Edition April 25-29

The “IT industry’s leading event” is once again kicking off its four-stop yearly world tour in Las Vegas.  It all happens next week at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center beginning Sunday, April 25^th and running through Thursday.

More than 10,000 IT industry professionals are expected to attend - including yours truly - and more than 400 leading exhibitors from the IT industry will be putting their wares on display.  Since I was able to obtain a media pass to this wondrous event, nearly everyone of those exhibitors have contacted me in some way or another hoping to line up an interview or give me materials on their latest product releases.  This being my first year attending anything with a media pass I had no idea that would happen.

The excitement for 2010 starts in Las Vegas, but there are three other stops on the Interop tour scheduled throughout the year:  Tokyo, Mumbai, and finally New York.

Interop promises to give attendees information on the latest IT solutions and trends from all the major players in the industry.  Key note addresses on Tuesday and Wednesday and sessions scheduled throughout the week promise to provide some interesting topics including:

• Application Delivery 2.0
• Cloud Computing
• Data Center
• Enterprise 2.0
• Governance, Risk and Compliance
• Green IT
• IT Security and Risk Management
• Mobile Business
• Networking
• Storage
• Video Conferencing
• Virtualization
• VoIP and Unified Communications

The list of exhibitors is definitely a who’s who in the industry with names like EMC, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, VMware and Cisco presenting their products, just to name a few.

To register for or find out more about the Las Vegas Interop conference, visit the conference site at http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/.  And if you can’t make it to Interop Las Vegas, you can always check out Tokyo (June 7-11), Mumbai (September 28-30), or New York (October 18-22).

I’ll be back with more information on the happenings at Interop Las Vegas after next week’s conference is over.

Does After Hours PDA Usage Equal Overtime?

There’s a new concern in the business world and if you’re a business owner, you may want to pay attention.  If you’re in the habit of issuing PDAs like Blackberrys, iPhones or other similar devices to non-exempt personnel, overtime issues may be in your future as a result of after-hours usage of these powerful devices.

Exempt or non-exempt categorization of employees is determined by the nature of the work that is being performed, not the actual job title or how the compensation is paid out.  A non-exempt employee is one whose job functions do not fall in the areas of Professional, Administrative or Executive employee.

Having non-exempt employees available by email and phone nearly 24/7 with smart phones and PDA devices may be great for business, but these individuals are actually eligible for time and one-half of their normal hourly wage when they go over 40 hours with a given work week.  Contacting these employees before and after their normal work hours may be easy, convenient, and productive, but it is presenting employers with a potential overtime dilemma.  These employees are essentially ‘working’ outside their normal schedule work time and probably over and above the 40 hour work week when responding to emails from customers, vendors, bosses and co-workers on these devices.

Using these devices after hours is presenting an overtime issue for employers and it may be impossible to defend based on the tracking that these PDA devices provide on the communication that happens through their utilization (calls, emails, text messages).  They essentially present a dual concern:

• More after hours work due to ease of use
• Ability for employees to ‘prove’ they were working due to the electronic tracking they provide

It’s highly recommended that businesses establish policies on after hours usage of these devices now before overtime issues arise.  Proactively incorporating policies in the present can protect an organization in the future if they find themselves in court defending the company against many costly employee overtime claims.

Move Software Painlessly into the Cloud

New startup CloudSwitch promises to make moving software in and out of cloud environments as easy as dragging and dropping a file from one folder to another.

Cloud computing is huge - we all know that.  What’s driving IT personnel crazy is the act of trying to move their organization’s existing software applications over into cloud computing platforms.  As always, designing from scratch is one thing, moving living, breathing applications is something altogether different.  This usually means rewriting parts of code to make it compatible with the platform plus much testing and the always-dreaded rework.

Coming to the rescue of these overworked IT technical personnel is a new Massachusetts-based startup called CloudSwitch.  And they’ve promised something so big it might just set the cloud computing industry on its ear.

CloudSwitch just released a free beta version of their software last week called CloudSwitch Explorer.  Their software allows what amounts to drag and drop functionality for moving existing applications onto cloud computing platforms offered by providers.  Basically, it acts as an intermediary layer between the company’s existing applications and the cloud provider’s platform.  This layer takes care of the “on-the-fly” configuring that has to happen.  The catch is that your company must already use virtualization software - something that is commonly used to make data centers more efficient by simulating multiple “virtual machines.”

CloudSwitch founder and VP, Ellen Rubin, states that their software grabs information about the virtual machines running each application and then runs it’s own ‘cloud-fitting’ algorithm that compares how the application works in the data center to how it would fit into the particular cloud provider’s infrastructure and then it translates commands between the two.  Think ‘torque converter’ on an automatic transmission … CloudSwitch’s software acts as that converter between the application and the specific platform.

For more information, checkout CloudSwitch’s website at www.CloudSwitch.com.

Stop Disk Fragmentation Before it Happens

For large IT systems, disk fragmentation is a constant problem whose impact scales from systems to networks across the enterprise. When fragmentation occurs, the system wastes I/O resources by writing fragmented files to cluttered spaces on the disk. You can defragment, but it’s a better strategy to prevent the problem from happening in the first place and always work with a clean, fast disk.

Diskeeper 2010 touts itself as the first preventive solution to the problem of fragmentation. It is the only product available today that actually prevents fragmentation before it happens. Utilizing a new revolutionary technology called IntelliWrite, Diskeeper 2010 intelligently writes files to the disk to prevent up to 85 percent of fragmentation from occurring.

Imagine a system that doesn’t fragment data on the hard disk and has no I/Os needed to handle defragmentation. Clean disks enable servers, workstations and laptops to operate at optimum speed with reliability and efficiency over time. What’s more, disks uncluttered by fragmentation can last years longer due to reduced drive wear, easing the strain on tight IT budgets and reducing total cost of ownership for hardware investments.

Diskeeper 2010 was designed to operate transparently in the background, literally allowing IT professionals and home users to ignore the software once it has been installed. As a result, Diskeeper 2010 greatly reduces the system maintenance burden while maximizing performance.

Diskeeper Corporation will be represented at upcoming Interop conferences starting in Las Vegas, NV 4/25-29.  You can also check out more of their offerings at www.diskeeper.com.