VoIP – What’s Not to Like?

VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology has been around since the mid-90’s, yet for many IT managers, the benefits still don’t outweigh the risks. Since we sell, use (and love) the technology, we respectively beg to differ with those faint-at-heart IT managers. Let us tell you why:

COST SAVINGS

In a down economy, you need to save a buck wherever you can, and implementing VoIP technology can save you plenty of dough. You’ll realize reduced equipment and maintenance costs (why?). Support and administrative costs can be reduced by as much as 50% (source) with easy-to-manage moves, adds and changes. And network carrier costs can be reduced through the cost savings on long distance and international calling.

INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

If you’re like most businesses, customer service is paramount to the success of your company. With VoIP-specific features like Find Me/Follow Me, employees can take calls on the shop floor, warehouse or wherever they may happen to be, meaning customers don’t have to wait for their calls to be returned. And because a company’s voice and data is integrated employees can access customer information and check inventory in real-time. In addition, employees can be as productive out of the office as they are in it because they can route calls made to their office number to their mobile or home phone. And VoIP technology makes sharing resources like directories, daily calendars, email and voice mail on LCD displays a breeze.

IMPROVED CALL QUALITY

OK, we have to admit that ten years ago call quality was a legitimate VoIP issue. But not today. Most businesses are using IP telephony across their own managed private networks because it allows them to better handle security and service quality. Using their own networks, companies have more control in ensuring that voice quality is as good as, if not better than, the services they would have previously experienced with their traditional phone system.

ENHANCED FUNCTIONALITY

For many people, Internet Protocol (IP) is more than just a way to transport data, it’s also a tool that simplifies and streamlines a wide range of business applications. VoIP is the foundation for more advanced unified communications applications – like Web and video conferencing – that can transform the way you do business. This rich-media conferencing application seamlessly integrates voice, video and Web conferencing capabilities to make setting up, attending and managing meetings a breeze, and you’ll never have to leave your office.( Not to mention the cost and environmental savings associated with reducing your carbon footprint!)

DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT

According to the marketing research company Dell’Oro Group, IP lines will grow to almost 60 percent of small business line shipments by the end of 2011, while digital and analog shipments are expected to decline at an average of 10 percent per year. It may be time for you to trade in your legacy TDM-based telephony system for the cost savings and productivity gains associated with a VoIP solution. 

Who Is Your Information Curator?

Data retention is an issue that goes beyond the risk of retaining data subject to legal discovery. There is a cost to retaining data, which is much greater than the cost of storage. We risk our own productivity as we accumulate and retain data that has lost its usefulness. Google, Bing and other search tools are working to improve the relevance of search results. This battle is escalating as data accumulates at a rapid pace. We experience information fatigue, especially when we cannot find relevant information in a sea of data. As information workers, our ability to efficiently and effectively access relevant data can be a competitive advantage. Cleaning, possibly by eliminating outdated or redundant data, is part of the solution. We have opportunities to organize, store and manage information collectively to improve our productivity. Who is your information curator?  How do you managing information effectively? These are burning question many organization are facing.  Technology is only part of the solution.  My colleagues and I are addressing these challenges with clients.  Are you feeling this pain?  Contact us or contact me.

Notes and Notebooks

My method similar to my task list is to maintain one “notebook” or notes location.  My notes become an important preparation tool.  I prepare for meetings by copying the meeting agenda into the note and then adding my notes or questions.  In preparation, I add documents and links into the note.

When notes contribute to a product such as meeting minutes, a plan or task, I’m avoiding the note step and recording the information in the target document.  I’m recording or assigning a task directly or asking a question by composing an email rather than recording a note only to transfer it to a later.  This saves a step or transfer.  Therefore, notes are a temporary record.  My notebook does not become a personal storage cabinet.  The information is stored in a shared location in the form of minutes, assignments, task, emails, etc.  This gives my co-workers access to the information.

My note taking application is Evernote.  Evernote has clients for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and Web. Notes are stored in the cloud and synced to the clients for access offline.  There are other features such as the ability to email notes to your Evernote notebook, tags and shared notebooks.

Task Management

The foundation of my work flow is based on the bestselling book, Getting Things Done by David Allen.  43 folders is a productivity blog that’s name, 43 folders, comes from this book.  I practice the 4 D’s when processing stuff such as email – do it, delegate it, defer it or delete it.

All my to do’s are in my Outlook Task list.  I’ve eliminated multiple to do lists such as a day planner, note pads, post-it notes and email inbox.  There is typically no email in my inbox.  It does not become another to do list.   The Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook is a good guide for task management using Microsoft Outlook.  I reference my tasks on the go with IMExchange, which synchronizes directly with tasks in Microsoft Exchange/Outlook. With mobile access to tasks, I can complete tasks such as making or returning phone calls while out of the office. 

Tasks format and task content is important for effectively completing task while mobile or out of the office. For example, including a phone number in the tasks description allows me to select the link from my mobile phone to place the call. 

I’ve separated my work tasks from my personal tasks.  For managing personal tasks, I prefer using Toodledo, which synchronizes with Outlook and offers web and mobile access. 

Effective work flow management and effective use of tools make a difference managing work and priorities.

Information Consumption: Manage the Flood of Information

One job duty of information workers is information consumption.  Efficient information consumption makes a difference in job performance.

My day begins with exercise, which is an excellent time for learning by listening to books or Podcasts, which I download to my iPhone 4. My source for audio books is audible.com. iTunes is my source for Podcasts. My favorite Podcast are business, computer and technology topics. For example, I’m a Podcast subscriber to Educause, Harvard Business Review IdeaCast and Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Walking between appointments or my commute is another great time to listen to audio books and Podcasts content.

For the car, I have an iPhone car kit from iCarKits and a fitted iPhone holder from ProClips. The iPhone mount makes the iPhone accessible for touch input. The Bluetooth interface in the car allows hands free calling.

When I read versus listen to books I use the Kindle eReader on my iPad and iPhone. The books I buy in written digital form are typically reference books. This allows me to carry a library of reference books and material with me. With the Kindle eReader, I can highlight, add notes and bookmark, which also travels with me. The search feature allows me to search my entire library for information on a particular topic. In the past several years I’ve given away most of my paper books.

My reading list is shared on Facebook using the weRead application and on LinkedIn using the ReadingList by Amazon application. By sharing my reading list I have access to other reading list and discovery good books.

For news, my iPad delivers this content from a variety of sources. Paper is almost non-existent in my work or personal life including newspapers and magazines. I find the iPad to be the best device for information consumption, especially if designed for the device. Sitting in an easy chair with my iPad versus sitting at a desk looking at computer screen is better experience for reading. I’ve modified my workflow to set aside reading for a time when I can sit comfortably with my iPad. Some of my favorite sources include USA Today, Mashable, Wired, and Zinio for digital magazines. Digital magazines are great for travel because they do not add any weight to your travel pack and they are typically less expense than if purchase from the news stand.

Another important tool for news is Google Reader. Google Reader aggregates RSS news feeds from a variety of sources, providing me filtered news. Skimming through headlines on my iPhone is a great use of time when you are walking between appointments or waiting for an appointment. With the Google Reader I can quickly mark items for reading later. On my iPad I use NewsRack to review headlines and read full news articles at optimal times and places. As a rule I stay away from general news sites such as msnbc.com because most news is a distraction and you get sucked into unimportant, although possibly entertaining, time wasting junk.

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google search results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. For example, I use Google Alerts to track “Tushaus”. This pushes time sensitive information to me in near real-time.

Our organization uses Yammer to facilitate communications with our co-workers. It provides a forum for user to post work activities and work news. My posts intend to inform and share important and relevant work communications.

Twitter is useful if managed effectively. By following interesting people, it uses crowd sourcing curates news.
My browser of choice is Google Chrome, although it is sometimes necessary to use Microsoft Internet Explorer due to incompatible applications. The most important feature is the bookmark synchronization. With a Google account my bookmarks synchronize automatically on multiple computers. My browser is set to remember web sites open in tabs when I closed the applications and reopen them again when I start the browser. I’ve found I regularly use 10 web sites that I keep open in a tab at all times. By using a Google account, Google tracks my search and browsing activity. Google uses this information to improve or personal search results based on past activity. Google keeps a history of search my activity which I find useful.

Information management will only become more important.

Make Time for Discovery and Learning

My work habits include constant, deliberate discovery and experimentation, which leads to change, innovation, improvement and refinement.  How I work today is the result of years of effort.  My work week includes time for deliberate discovery and experimentation. It is a component of lifelong learning.  During the week I may bookmark an article, idea or observation.  This time is spent searching and exploring for applications, software and methods.  The time is spent experimenting with new applications or work flow. Wakoopa leverage “friends” for the discovery of software application and web applications.  Wakoopa records application you use and shares them with your friends or co-workers.  Follow greggtushaus on Wakoopa to see the applications I use. Appolicious uses a similar concept applied to iPhone and iPad applications, plus it includes reviews.   Friend greggtushaus on Appolicious for a complete list of iPhone and iPad applications I use. Both services are free.

Cloud Computing - Getting Past the Hype

The hottest buzz words in technology today are cloud computing. Virtually every IT magazine, webinar invitation, and technology advertisement talks about “the cloud”. To be sure, there’s plenty to like about a technology that promises great flexibility at a low cost. But before jumping into the fray with any emerging technology, it makes sense to evaluate the applicability and suitability of the technology for supporting the individual needs of a business. There are pros and cons associated with cloud computing, and we’ll explore both here.

Defining Cloud Computing
Research firm Gartner defines cloud computing as “a style of computing whose massively scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided as a service to external customers using Internet technologies.” In plain English, customers may “rent” data center resources from cloud service providers, bringing together data, software applications and computer processing power from a cloud of online resources. Those infrastructure resources may include virtual machines for running applications, or data storage and databases that operate in the cloud. Typical uses could include Web application development or hosting enterprise applications like email.

We have seen this type of business model before. In the early 1900’s, as companies started to use electricity within their manufacturing facilities, each business built their own power station. Soon, utility companies were formed, with the sole purpose of generating power and then providing it to meet a specific need to a large group of businesses. Some companies needed large amounts of electricity, and others needed much less – but they could all pay just for what they needed for their particular power requirements. Even today, many companies have such critical power needs that they keep some form of power generation (generators) on-site for needs that the utility company cannot meet, but they utilize the common, shared infrastructure for the majority of their electrical requirements.

IT infrastructure is evolving in much the same way by using cloud computing. There may always be some critical needs that are only served by a specific, on-site service. But many day-to-day needs can take advantage of a common, shared infrastructure in order to lower costs and reduce the amount of dedicated resources required to maintain a company’s information technology needs.

There are typically three separate areas where companies take advantage of the cloud:

• Software as a Service (SaaS):  applications delivered to a company’s users completely over the Internet and paid on a subscription or license basis.  Examples include Salesforce.com’s popular CRM package, as well as Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).
• Platform as a Service (PaaS):  servers and other hardware are made available to a company for a pay-as-you-go rate, where specific applications can be hosted and run on the company’s behalf. This typically includes fully monitored and managed hardware (often provided as virtual servers on a shared, common hardware platform), so the user’s concern is limited to the application and business need, and not the hardware and security needed to utilize the application.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):  a highly secure, purpose-built facility in which space can be rented to house dedicated equipment to meet the user’s specific application needs. The user typically pays for the space, power and bandwidth they use, but get the advantage of sharing the cost of the physical facilities with all of the other users.

Adoption
On a corporate level, the large enterprise space is leading the adoption of cloud computing technology for the delivery of some applications to their users. However, individuals have used cloud services in their personal lives for several years; whenever someone uses Google’s search engine or Gmail, or watches a video on You Tube, they are utilizing the cloud.

Because of this personal experience, a transition into corporate-based services may occur very quickly. Gartner estimates that by year 2012, cloud computing will allow 20 percent of businesses to be all cloud based with no physical assets, 80 percent of Fortune 1000 enterprises will pay for some cloud-computing service, while 30 percent of them will pay for cloud-computing infrastructure. 

The adoption of some form of cloud computing will continue to grow exponentially. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide IT spending on cloud services will grow almost threefold in the next three years, reaching $42 billion by 2012.

Manufacturers are reacting in new and different ways to this strong adoption cycle. For example, HP and Microsoft have teamed together to work on the Microsoft Windows Azure platform appliance, designed specifically to enable enterprises to rapidly utilize cloud-based applications as their needs change and grow.

”Microsoft and HP will align engineering, sales and professional services to provide enterprise customers a full-range of cloud services and technologies where they want it and how they want it,” said Bob Muglia, president of Server and Tools Business, Microsoft Corporation.

A Few Advantages of the Cloud
Among early adopters, the most often mentioned advantage is being able to access applications and/or data from any device, at any time, no matter where the user is located. In addition, cloud computing can significantly reduce capital costs by allowing the company to purchase software and hardware as a utility service. Basically, the cloud provider allocates computer resources for the user based upon the needs of the application. Consequently, the resources are scalable and customers “pay-on-demand”, allowing for greater flexibility. There is often a financial benefit to treating these services as an operating expense, rather than the capital expense required to purchase hardware and software needed to provide the application in a traditional manner.

In addition, moving to this "software-plus-services" model decreases the need to manage hardware and software. IT departments can hand over to vendors the often tedious work of maintaining and troubleshooting the servers and applications for common software, which allows companies to focus their resources on those specific areas that add to their business value.

Users also cite the benefit that reduced cloud provisioning times can have on their projects versus traditional network provisioning timelines.

Today’s IT manager faces another issue that can be addressed by the cloud - managing massive data growth on a tight budget. Capacity or systems can easily be added as the company’s needs change. Cloud computing provides a cost-effective alternative beyond traditional hosting services, as storage requirements are based on consumption rather than the amount of physical real estate used, and can be expanded or contracted accordingly.

Considerations Before Moving to the Cloud
However rapid the adoption rate may be among enterprises, some questions and concerns exist. The issues of reliability, performance, and availability of cloud software (SaaS) hosted in vendor premises and accessed via the Internet are chief among the issues voiced by businesses considering the technology. In the cloud environment, control shifts away from IT departments to the vendor hosting the software, and giving up that control creates some concern to some in-house professionals. Microsoft is combating that worry through their Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which utilizes a purpose-built infrastructure that boasts a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee for its enterprise collaboration and communication software. (BPOS includes Exchange Online, Office SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online, and Office Live Meeting, all hosted by Microsoft and available through Microsoft partners.)

Some organizations, especially those in highly-regulated industries like finance and healthcare, have expressed concern for the security of applications hosted in the cloud. Most vendors have invested heavily to ensure cloud and infrastructure security is as high as possible, but these types of institutions may determine it is best to utilize a mixed approach, combining the benefits of the cloud for some enterprise-wide applications, and a complete premise-based solution for others.

Of course there are hiccups inherent with the utilization of any new technology. According to Network World, one of the concerns associated with moving applications to the cloud is that many applications utilized by an enterprise are significantly intertwined to prevent one application from being separated from another. That can make it difficult to run one application in the cloud without affecting every related application. And, since each application has its own classification of privacy or governance, the decision to move an application to the cloud carries with it a measure of sensitivity. Some of these concerns have prompted another version of cloud computing to take hold – a “private cloud”, which takes advantage of shared infrastructure (IaaS), and perhaps shared virtual servers, but does not share the cloud on an application or data level.

The Journey to the Cloud is an Evolution
Many vendors are developing applications that can be fully implemented and supported with no on-site resources and are supported by end-user subscriptions, like Microsoft’s BPOS as noted above. These will continue to grow in both scope and effectiveness, and many organizations will be able to take advantage of the real cost and support savings they represent.

Even for other more company-specific applications, using some aspect of the cloud can lead to significant savings in investment and time.

It may still be several years before the cloud becomes acceptable for every business application in every organization. However, it certainly makes sense to look at all of the applications a company is running and determine how (or if) utilizing any level of cloud services would bring savings or other benefits to the organization. This kind of review should also include application planning, so the company knows at what point in the future utilizing the cloud will bring benefit to the company. Many companies are finding it beneficial to use an outside firm familiar with all of the cloud computing options to assist with this application audit and planning.

Make no mistake - the cloud is here to stay. Just one look at all of the “apps” now available for the iPhone, Android, or other cell phones will confirm that delivering services to any user, anytime, anywhere is now a part of our worldwide culture. Transferring these capabilities to a business environment will bring profound changes in the way IT departments operate; planning today for those potential changes allows a company to receive the largest benefits from a cloud computing structure as quickly as possible. 

By: Tim Mauck, Director of Product Management – Tushaus Computer Services and Kris Palen, Director of Marketing and Communications – Tushaus Computer Services

For more information on cloud computing, and how it affects your business, you can visit: Tushaus.com