What is the “right” Information Technology for my Business?

The biggest information technology (IT) problem any company faces is how to find, evaluate and select the “right” information technology. The problem is compounded by the rapid evolution of information technology and the extensive options bombarding businesses.

I help startups and small businesses tackle this problem in the Sacramento SCORE class “How to Improve your Business through Technology”. The class teaches a framework for the discovery, evaluation and selection of technology that drives the three most important things in business; people, process and product. If people, process and product are an unfamiliar concept, one of the best and most entertaining ways to learn about this concept is to watch Marcus Lemonis on CNBC’s “The Profit”.

Disaster Recovery requires all 3 ingredients - People, Process & Technology

It’s Monday morning. You sit down at your desk, log into your computer and start your most important application. It fails. You reboot, but the application fails again. Now what?

My hope is you have all three key ingredients — technology, process and people — required to recover.

Unfortunately companies of all sizes make costly mistakes in all three areas. The biggest mistakes I routinely see:

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Windows XP is on its last legs

On April 8, Windows XP will reach its end of life after a nearly 13-year run, and Microsoft will discontinue support for the PC operating system. The software giant even has a dedicated page on its website with a countdown ticker and information on effects of the upcoming expiration.

Many might ask: So what? Who would still be running a 12-year-old operating system? More than you probably think. Windows XP has the second largest desktop operating system install base in the world, behind only Windows 7. It is a fairly significant share, too — nearly 30 percent of the desktop market, according to web analytics and market research firm Net Applications.


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A leap to the cloud requires commitment, preparation

If your company still hasn’t put critical applications and data on the cloud, 2014 should be the year. At the very least, your organization should be discussing a migration strategy and timeline.

Cloud computing provides smaller companies a way to level the playing field with larger competitors. Companies no longer need significant investments in data centers with advanced computing infrastructure. Instead, the cloud allows them to acquire information technology as they need it.

But the transition typically isn’t easy. The cloud is still relatively new and even the most mature providers have limitations. So here are a few cautions when developing your migration strategy.

Know your provider

First of all, be sure you know the provider’s capabilities and responsibilities. A client assessment I performed highlights the importance of knowing a provider’s capabilities and responsibilities.

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Improve communication with IT, even if you don’t speak geek

How do you communicate with IT if you don’t speak geek?

Anyone who’s called technical support knows that communicating with computer technicians can be intimidating and frustrating. I got a taste of this on my first day as team lead of an outsourced IT department. After I took the staff to lunch to get acquainted, the conversation quickly steered to “Star Wars.”

Now I enjoy “Star Wars” as much as the next guy, but the conversation wasn’t a simple debate on the superior trilogy (original or prequel). The topic was on light-sabers, and specifically the origin of each light-saber’s color.

Read this article in it's entirety at the Sacramento Business Journal Read More >>.

How do small organizations capitalize on "Big Data"?

Overview

The big box stores like Wal-Mart and online retailers like Amazon have been leveraging "Big Data" for years, but they have millions of customers and hundreds of thousands of transactions a week. How can small organizations hope to tap into Big Data when they don't hit a hundred thousand transactions in a year? The answer is while smaller organizations likely won't achieve the Big Data capabilities of their larger counter parts, it doesn't mean they still shouldn't travel the path.

Big Data, much like "The Cloud", is an industry buzz term comparable to large scale Business Intelligence. Gartner defines Big Data as "high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making.".

Plotting points on a graph helps to conceptualize the high-volume of Big Data. If you have two points on a graph, A and B, a straight line is drawn and an assumption is made the line will continue its trend after point B.

How small business CFOs bridge the IT GAAP

Overview

A joint survey completed in 2011 by Gartner and the Financial Executives Research Foundation found that 42% of IT organizations report directly to the CFO. This number quickly jumps to 60% for smaller businesses with revenues between $50 million and $250 million. Addressing the communication, cultural and professional problems that arise from this reporting structure is difficult even for large corporate enterprises. Several articles offer advice to CFOs and CIOs on tackling this issue at the enterprise C-Level, but for small to middle market companies lacking an IT executive, this reporting structure should be approached differently due to both human and financial resource constraints.