For over 30 years (aka the dawn of computers), businesses have struggled with IT for power and control; one thought the other was controlling, one thought the other clueless. The truth is, neither party truly wanted control, they wanted to do their job and be done with it. Newsflash–both entities desire a seat at the planning table, to have an equal say in how business (and its implementation) will move forward. My question to you today, oh fearless business owner, is how can you help overcome this endless cycle?

For starters, both the business owner and the IT consultant should come together willing to adopt a balanced approach that considers long-term enterprise and short-term business interests; in other words, willing to work as a team. As Susan Cramm states in her book “8 Things We Hate About IT”, research indicates that companies that have single-mindedly pursued alignment have lower sales growth and higher IT expenses than do companies having a more balanced approach to IT.

In reality, the alignment adopted by companies over the years has only been superficial. They think they are working together, but they just aren’t. IT must be woven into the fabric of the organization, requiring a shared commitment and a shared responsibility. To realized this, businesses need to treat their IT consultant as a business partner and not as a service provider. Cramm likens compares this superficial alignment to a husband and wife with separate bedrooms. If the true partnership isn’t there, the IT consultant is essentially tiptoeing down the hallway in the middle of the night only to find the bedroom (or boardroom) door closed.

Below are four suggestions to help bridge the gap between business owners and IT consultants and begin truly collaborating at the same table:

1. In order to get the results you want, get to know your IT consultant. I don’t mean over beer and a burger, but if that’s what it takes, then do it. Find out what makes him tick and he will do the same with you. All great relationships involve personal understanding and motivation. A great example is the business manager who needs something done NOW for immediate results (i.e. increased profits or employee bonuses) and the IT consultant who needs to do it RIGHT to support the enterprise long-term (i.e. avoiding expensive and difficult to change/fix systems). Having an understanding of where each other is coming from, how they operate and talking their language all helps create a working solution that is a win-win for the business as a whole.
2. Getting to know technology isn’t the end result, it’s a part of your strategic plan. Your IT consultant supports the execution of your business strategy. More importantly, what he does helps expands strategic options. Use technology as a competitive tool or weapon in your business arsenal to reach broader ground – internally or externally. Within the walls of a company, to create an enterprise architecture that fits a business both today and in the future, plan to tweak it as you move along that timeline. You get more bang for your buck…what business manager doesn’t like the sound of that?!
3. Let the right person make the right approvals. In a nutshell, business owners decide the what and IT consultants decide the how.
4. In order to keep a plan on track, both groups must assess Value Measurements. In other words, in layman-ese, what do you want to get out of the project? Use that as the way to measure your success. Mary Yanocha, in “Consultants Can Make a Difference”, Baseline, lists common ‘value’ measures as:
             • Cost and/or Time Savings
             • Meeting milestones
             • Customer satisfaction
             • Revenue growth
             • Performance improvement
             • Employee satisfaction
             • Return on Investment

All this leads to the conclusion that there are no more independent IT projects, they are IT-involved business initiatives. In “The Next Generation CIOs”, McKinsey on IT, research shows that “around 90% of CEOs expect business managers to (be actively involved in) IT budget decisions as well as the process and organizational challenges that technology implementations require”. Business owners can help their IT consultant by being responsible for actively being involved using the examples above. IT consultants can help by providing the best people for the job and sticking to the agreed upon assessments. With both people assuming the appropriate accountability, constant communication and collaboration, opportunities arise to learn more about how the other half operates and can then better prepare and navigate a project. Getting back to the marriage example, if you know your wife loves fine dining, and you learn to hold the door for her and place the cloth napkin in your lap, chances are you are on a good start to navigating your way through a meal you may not yet understand anything else about, and perhaps even enjoy the evening to boot.

Stop for a moment and think about how well you actively engage and involve your IT consultant in the decision-making processes. Do you micro-manage and effectively hog-tie the process? Do you drop the project in their lap and expect a quick, efficient solution to magically appear? Or do you volley back and forth, allowing the process to evolve naturally?

~ Julie Settle, A&J Computers Inc.

If you are like most folks, the immediate response is NO. It normally doesn’t pay for itself in the long run. But before you do that, regardless of whether you are a single user or a small business office, consider some of these key points:

• Do you know what to do or where to look when there is a problem?
• Can you fix most minor issues on your own?
• Do you proactively maintain and back up your equipment?
• Can you resolve an issue involving multiple third parties (ie–when they are pointing the finger at each other)?
• Do you have the time to research and implement updates and repairs?

Today’s IT warranties are tailored to you and your environment and are simple, expedient and on your terms. Your support solution helps resolve the situation, not get in the way. Many are also designed to provide tech-to-tech support, allowing your IT staff to fix the situation and free up your time to focus on the bigger picture.

Warranties may not be such a bad idea anymore, the choice is yours.

^JS

As 2009 turns to 2010, I’ve started to ask our clients how they are going to change how they use technology in the new year.   I’ve heard answers which include “More remote work” to “more personal service to our customers” to “ensuring our clients know we do more than just X”.  Inevitably during the same conversation, our clients ask me about how they can reduce their technology spending, but offer more services than ever.   As many of you know – this is a seemingly double edged sword – to save money long term you need to replace inefficient equipment, update software and convert in-sourced services to outsourced services.  One of the biggest challenges is a budget to make planning these items out a little easier.  

So I ask all of you, what is your plan for technology for the new year?  What does your budget look like?  How are you going to ensure your technology spending does not become like the game Risk – which can easily go on for ever and seemingly have no end.

Let me know what your thoughts are here.

If you don’t have a UPS (battery power) between the wall outlet and your computer – you should unplug your computer completely from the wall (don’t just turn it off) – this will stop the electrical surges and possible lightning strike from traveling across your power lines right into your computer. 

If the room you are in is susceptible to flood or leaks, lift your computers and power strips off the floor to avoid eletrical shorts and shocks.   Don’t just think about your computer – but anything electrical – TVs, DVD players, etc -  as yourelf “What can get wet or struck by lightning?”

One thing to know – your power company is not liable for any damage caused to your electrical equipment.   You MAY be able to file a claim with your home owner’s insurance but it depends on the size of your claim and what specific riders you have on your insurance.  If you run your business from your home - don’t forget to check with your business insurance provider (general liability, etc) to see if they will cover any damages.

Most power strips you buy at the local stores don’t have any type of insurance or protection from surges or power spikes.  There are a few and rather than recommending a specific brand, we’d rather discuss options with you in person to ensure you are receiving the correct protection for your equipment. 

If you need help in gathering information for an insurance claim, call us and we can help get you current pricing, replacement pricing and any labor estimates for the claim.   Our estimates are accepted by most insurance companies and we can work with your insurance company to determine the actual value of your equipment.

Here’s a exceprt from an article about using someone else’s internet connection:

Perhaps the first and most notable case of an individual being arrested for illegally accessing a wireless network is that of Benjamin Smith III of St. Petersburg, FL.  In the spring of 2005, Richard Dinon noticed someone parked outside his home and obviously staring at a laptop PC.  According to Dinon, when Smith saw that he was being watched, he quickly closed the laptop. Dinon left to run some errands, but upon his return over an hour later, Smith was still outside staring at his PC.  Dinon called the police, who arrested Smith, claiming that he was illegally accessing Dinon’s wireless network. Police said Smith admitted using the network and was charged with unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

A subsequent inspection of Smith’s PC found child pornography, leading to an additional felony count of sexual performance by a child.  In June of this year, Smith pled no contest to stealing a wireless computer signal and no contest to an amended, lesser, charge of felony child abuse relating to child porn police found on his laptop computer.  According to a report in the St. Petersburg Times, “Smith’s attorney, Hubbell Losson, argued in motions that the statute outlawing unauthorized access to computers did not apply to wireless service, but Peters ruled against him.”

The key here is not that the guy was accessing the Internetor that he was parked outside the house, but that this can happen to you without your knowledge.   If you are accessing an open wireless network or someone is accessing yours, how do you know what they are doing – they could be downloading music off a file sharing site (a felony here in the United States), hacking into a restricted site (which will be traced back to your Internet connection, not their specific computer) and do you want to be caught up in whatever they are doing?   I trust my neighbors and the companies that are near me, but if they have an open Internet connection I make sure I steer away from it at all costs.  In addition to the security risk I am taking (the open wireless could be a trick to steal passwords, bank account information or infect you computer with viruses and spyware), you are putting your future in someone else’s hands.  So my recommendation is the not access that wireless network  and to make sure yours is secure as well.   Public wireless access connections (Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, etc) are OK as long as you have a firewall installed on your computer and good anti-virus/anti-spyware software.  Here’s a quick wrap up of my recommendations:

1. Don’t access an open wireless network unless it’s from a commercial service (e.g. Internet hot spots)
2. Make sure your wireless network is secure from access (most devices have an easy to follow set of steps to secure your connection)
3. If you are accessing one of the many public Internet connections available, have your firewall turned on, anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed correctly
4. If you see any suspicious activity, call the police – it’s a felony to gain access to a computer or computer network without authorization.

So stay smart, stay secure and keep your network safe.   If you are having trouble checking your wireless network, just give us a call and we can come out and check it for you.

Joe Vivona
A&J Computers Inc

Well last night, while working on a problem for a customer of course the inevitable happened – my computer froze.  When I rebooted windows, the memory card gave me an error mesage about it being corrupt (can you hear my screams – ARRRRRRRRGGGHHHHH!).     Now for the positive:

Just like I tell you to do, my backups were up to date – the downside was backups run once a day at 1AM – so of course everything I did Tuesday wasn’t in the backup.  So first things first, I got myself a new memory card and started restoring my files to it.  This morning I have the crashed memory card in our lab attempting to recover yesterday’s work.

So what are the lessons learned from my experience?  Here’s the quick list

1. Backup, backup, backup (decide if you need twice a day backups even)
2. Know your hardware
3. Pay attention to little problems before they become big ones (I should have noticed the little things that were happening to the memory card)
4. Have a plan (what would you do if your drive crashed – panic, or know that you are prepared).

If you want to talk about the possibility of your drive crashing (no one really wants to talk about it) or you want us to help you build a recovery plan – just drop us an e-mail or call us and I’d be more than happy to help.    Here’s to a long hard drive life and no crashes!

This reminds me of running a business – at what point in a project do your resources all fall in line because of the strategy you’ve laid out and planned for.   Sometimes it seems like you are veering away from the end-goal, but the reality is you’ve carefully planned out your strategy and the leader’s jersey is yours when you want to take it.   Taking this lesson from cycling is extremely hard – it’s about how do you work smarter not harder, and proper planning is the key.  

One of the things we’ve been doing for a few years, is better and better information about clients, environments, process and procedures.  It seems simple enough, but when you get down to it – it’s a ton of work.   When the activity is not revenue generating, how do you justify spending all that time, resources and money on something that may never be needed?  Every time we go to a client or get a tech support call, we make sure we have their folder in front of us.  Coupled with our helpdesk system, this provides a comprehensive set of systems for us to ensure we have everything ready for the next time a client needs something.

So what do you do for customers to defend the leader’s jersey, or at what point do you have everything aligned to grab that jersey when you want it?