theXS (a.k.a. it4lease.ca)

mobiKEY: a medicine for commute?

fausto — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:08:28 +0000

It looks like a USB key but also includes a smart card for security and encryption during the remote connection OR as one of my Clients said: “this mobiKEY is a medicine for my daily commute.” (*)
The combination of this portable mobiKEY with the truOFFICE software running in your computer (Host) allow you to work remotely in your computer, like if you were sitting there.

As Route1 defines in their web site (read the complete definition here):
“The Route1 MobiKEY Classic device is an identity validation tool … The MobiKEY device allows users to securely access data remotely … the MobiKEY device ensures that the user leaves no trace or evidence of their computing session … All enterprise files stay within the enterprise firewalls, simplifying security policy enforcement … The MobiKEY device minimizes information security risks by eliminating the need for users to carry a laptop or other mobile devices loaded with enterprise data and applications.”

ps. do not forget your password or the mobiKEY would become damaged after the third attempt.
(*) a couple of “not driving to the office for…” a month, would pay for the cost of this solution.

Remote Access + Local Experience = A Cure for Commute.

Ubuntu is coming through our Windows

fausto — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:15:11 +0000

It’s good to have a choice, even better if it’s a better choice. When talking about Software options, looking into Open Source Software (Free) is a must to consider for Business of all sizes.

This April a new version of Ubuntu (12.04 LTS) is about to be available and this new launching (a new release every six months, a LTS – Long Term Support version – every two years, around the clock so far) is raising the same question again:

Is this the right time for my business, to Upgrade from Windows XP to Ubuntu?

There a lot of good reasons (*) around less Money, more features and better performance, however the most compelling in my view is that “in a time of moving our data and processes to a Cloud Computing model, why keep investing in a desktop software like Windows and their applications?”

(*) find more about this migration on this page, below a brief excerpt from this document

“You’ve been putting off the Windows 7 upgrade, and with good reason. It’s eye-wateringly expensive, and that’s without the additional costs of Office 2010 and new high-end hardware. Gartner estimates that…”

time is SMB biggest expense

fausto — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:17:30 +0000

I learned this lesson while talking with Peter (*), one of my clients and owner of a SMB (Small Medium Business) when discussing details about moving his Company to the Cloud, using Google Apps for Business.

Peter said: If this solution save me one (1) hour a week for each of the users, I would be saving five (5) times its cost, without considering the collateral effects on revenue grow and image improvement.

Everyday, we waste time searching and not finding, calling and walking around, registering the same information in different systems. Our business process, even though unique, is broken down into several disconnected procedures and tools.

Considering this scenario, going Cloud is not about just saving, but growing.
It ‘s working better together at anytime, from anywhere, on any device

(*) Peter’s name condenses several of my personal experiences while offering and deploying GAPPS to SMB Owners.

from Leads to Accounting and everything in between

fausto — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:00:09 +0000

We all have dreamed about a business application that covers our whole business process, specially when we have to enter contacts information in several places and run different and usually isolated applications.

We knew that type of application existed, but they were just for the large enterprises (they even called it ERP, for Enterprise Resource Planning)

Not any more, now thanks to Cloud Computing we can have the opportunity to run our business using an Enterprise-class application at the Small Business type of price.

We use, recommend and resell KPI.com, a Web-based Simple-ERP solution || KPI.com delivers a comprehensive, totally integrated, business support infrastructure: Customer Relationship Management, Project Management, HR, Payroll, eCommerce, Accounting and Reporting. kpi.com ensures that all elements of the business are connected.

Check by yourself or call me to arrange a Free Demo >> Register for a 7 Day Free Trial using our Promotional Code pr022

Is Google Apps for my Business, a good fit?

fausto — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:46:59 +0000

See how well Google Apps fits with your business / Consider these 10 things before you set your IT strategy for the next 10 years
(information was taken from this Google page for easier and further reference)

Google Apps is designed for teams and built for the web, so everywhere you look you’ll find capabilities that help your employees work better together by leveraging the efficiency, access and economies of the cloud.

Most of Small Business Owners would agree with these ten (10) statements, check by yourself…

I need a productivity solution that’s easy to deploy and doesn’t require the ongoing maintenance of desktop software.

Google Apps runs in the cloud using nothing but the web, so there’s no hardware upgrades, software patches or maintenance required. Because we manage all of the hardware and software in our datacenters, all your employees need is a web browser to communicate and work together in the cloud. In addition, we have a dedicated team of engineers whose sole goal is to help you get your data in and out of our products for free. This makes it easy to both move onto Apps, and leave if you ever change your mind down the road.

I want a solution that meets my needs today and automatically gets better over time.

Because you access all your information in a browser, users are always running the most up to date version of Google Apps and we can continuously improve our products by adding new capabilities. We launched over 125 improvements to customers in 2010, and we offer great ways to learn about upcoming features and how they can help your business. In addition to the constant improvements, the Google Apps Marketplace offers hundreds of apps built by third-party developers that integrate with Google Apps in just a few clicks.

I need a productivity solution that I can rely on.

Google has been providing web services to hundreds of millions of users around the world for years. We replicate your data and activity across multiple datacenters, which means that if one is unable to respond to your requests we can instantly fall back to another one with no interruption in service. Our systems are also designed so that we can update them without any impact on our users. We offer you a 99.9% uptime guarantee with no downtime for scheduled maintenance. You and your employees can always track the availability of Google Apps using our public status dashboard - Gmail was 99.99% available in the first half of 2011.

I need technology that was built with security in mind.

Google operates one of the most robust networks of distributed data centers in the world, and the protection of the data and intellectual property on our servers is our top priority. The controls, processes and policies that protect data in our systems have successfully completed a SAS 70 Type II audit and Google Apps is the first cloud-based messaging and collaboration suite to achieve FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) certification. Options including forced SSL, single sign-on support, and 2-step verification let you decide how your employees access the system.

My employees need to collaborate seamlessly across organizational, geographical and linguistic barriers.

When you use Google Docs, co-workers around the world can work together on the same online copy of each document, spreadsheet or presentation. Because each file is stored online, users always have access to the latest version of that file. Sharing securely with users inside and outside of the organization is easy, and users can even use Google’s powerful machine translation to view content in their preferred language. Learn more about file sharing in Google Docs.

I want my employees to move faster without being slowed down by inflexible technology.

Because Google Apps was designed for teams, there’s no need to have the documents that colleagues are working on trapped as email attachments or on lock-down because someone else has them open. Google Docs lets team members work together on their documents, spreadsheets and presentations at the same time, from anywhere in the world. You can always see who’s working on each shared document, and can even see the changes they make character-by-character as they type so you can work together without getting in each other’s way.See Google Docs collaboration in action.

My employees need to use a wide range of mobile phones and tablets including Android, Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Mobile.

When your business uses Google Apps, employees can access their email, manage their calendar and work with documents from any web-enabled mobile device. Google Apps also offers device management capabilities that allow you to remotely wipe data, set password requirements and more for devices such as Android™, RIM ® Blackberry, Apple iPhone and Windows Mobile. Whether your company has a fleet of mobile devices or you choose to let employees use their personal devices for work, Google Apps lets you manage the devices more easily and securely.

My employees need to do more from mobile devices than just send emails.

Not only does Google Apps make it easy to send and receive email from your mobile device, but Google Docs supports viewing and multi-user editing when you’re on the go. Whether it’s tweaking a few words in your proposal at the last minute, updating figures in your spreadsheet while you’re in the field, or just sharing a file with a colleague, Google Docs lets you do all of these things right from your mobile device. Learn more about mobile editing in Google Docs.

I want a simple licensing model that is cost-effective and predictable.

Licensing Google Apps for your business is simple. There’s one price that covers all your employees’ communication and collaboration needs, and it’s easy to add more users as your business grows. Because Google builds the infrastructure and maintains the servers, you don’t have to worry about unexpected expenses in the future.

I want to spend half as much on IT as I do today.

Google Apps brings you proven savings by eliminating many traditional IT costs, including server hardware, maintenance, patching and upgrades. A Forrester Consulting study found that businesses that switched from on-premise messaging and collaboration to Google Apps saved between 38% and 56% and enjoyed a return on investment of over 300%. (Source: Forrester Consulting, 2010)

your computer will fail, break and eventually die

fausto — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:25:02 +0000

Not even the greatest IT guru, nor myself could assure you that your computers will not have problems, however You can manage your IT infrastructure in a way that you and your Business will NOT have computer problems.

It’s more than a tricky word game, it’s a simple 3-step approach for improvement:

1- We have computer problems when we loose time or information due to a software, hardware or network failure.
2- Moving your values out of user computers to a Server and eventually up to the Cloud would avoid loosing information.
3- Using web based application (Intranet or Cloud) allow you to easily switch to another computer without loosing your valuable time.

Your computer will fail, break and eventually die, BUT you don’t have to… At least, you won’t fail or break because of computer problems.

Good luck!

gone Google yet?

fausto — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:18:14 +0000

Google Apps for Business is a cost-effective full path to Cloud Computing for SMB (Small Medium Business) looking for a centric, secure and collaborative IT environment.

As Google shows in this page: each day, thousands of companies are going Google by switching to Google Apps – a web-based suite of messaging and collaboration applications. It’s all hosted by Google, and designed with security and reliability in mind, saving your company the frustrations and hassles of managing traditional IT solutions yourself.

We enjoy helping Business Owners and their Employees with the transition to a better IT using Google Apps for Business.

forget IT, we’ll do IT for you – Server or Cloud?

fausto — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:34:00 +0000

It’s more than a word game, what it’s indeed – it’s the wrapping of our proposal: “your IT infrastructure in OneBox: administration, configuration, updates, backup: forget IT, instead of making IT easier for you, we’ll do IT for you”.
Inspired and driven by two main concepts behind this project “Simplifying through Integration” and “Avoiding the Problems”

It’s the whole idea of combining and getting the best out of the two approaches for IT improvement and remediation: Proactive Plus Reactive.

Now, we offer this unique approach in two flavours, focused both on Security, Integration and Collaboration

On premise Sever: All in OneBox solution featuring a Linux Small Business Server.
In the Cloud: working together, anytime, anywhere, any device, using Google Apps for Business.

As a Small Business Owner, it’s time to move your IT values out of the employee desktops

what is Cloud Computing? (1)

fausto — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:46:45 +0000

Without replacing neither translating an official definition (*), here is my view on what is Cloud Computing at least for Small Businesses:

“Working together in a centric, secure and collaborative environment, from anywhere, anytime and any device”

Or even shorter as a Client said after finishing the installation of Google Apps for Business in his Company:

“We are NOW working together, as a TEAM”

(1) We will keep writing about this very same question from different points of view and approaches.

(*) for an official version check NIST definition of Cloud Computing: they spent a few years and 15 drafts to get it, so don’t feel you are the only one having troubles with the Cloud.

Linux adoption is growing

fausto — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:41:48 +0000

Linux has an important market share (*) but current trends on Big Data, Cloud and Security are an extra boost. As posted in an article from eWeek a recent Linux Foundation survey shows that open-source technology is poised for continued growth among new and existing users for a variety of reasons, including lower total cost of ownership, technical features and security.

The major factors driving Linux adoption grow with higher % of respondents are Big Data, Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Total Cost of Ownership, Features and Security.

Also contributing to Linux adoption are available Talent, No Vendor Lock-in, Openness, Long-term Viability and Choice of Software.

Check the complete article from eWeek for more details.

(*) Linux market shares: Desktop, less than 5% | Mobile devices, more than 40% | Servers, about 80% | TOP500 supercomputers, over 90%