How can Microsoft Exchange Online benefit your business?

For the longest time, businesses have been installing email servers on site to have more control over their data. But the drawback of this setup is that it’s more expensive and you need to have a dedicated IT team to manage everything. Microsoft Exchange Online is a cloud-based email service that offers the same features […]

Licensing issues with virtualization

Software developers make a profit by selling us the best product they can create. When selling pieces of their software in bulk, they offer licensing packages to businesses so you don’t have to buy 100 copies of the same CD. Now that an increasing amount of services and tools are moving into the cloud, it’s […]

Unless you like building power plants, get on board with subscriptions

Would you build a power or water filtration plant for your business?  The answer for 99% of us is no, that would make absolutely no sense.  At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution many large factories DID build their own power plants.    There was no distribution network or centralized power plant to connect it to.  […]

Has your technology provider outgrown you?

The technology space is known for innovative, rapidly growing companies.  The downside is finding your technology provider has moved “upmarket” and left you behind.  This is happening more and more with acquisitions funded by private equity groups.  Their goal is to put together more and more recurring revenue, show increasing revenue and profit growth, and […]

Visit your family, not your servers

Many groups provide a weekly, “visit” to make sure that their customer’s technology is working properly.  This is based on an hourly billing model that required someone showing up to get paid.  The problem is it’s 100% reactive and there is no reason to physically show up anymore. Do all of your technology issues happen […]

Maximizing return – Putting it all together (Part 3 of 3)

Making a decision is the first step towards maximizing your return.  Until that happens we are operating in the theoretical world, not reality.  Once you have determined what type of decision you are making (covered here), we apply a simple scoring matrix to determine what type of BUYER will be best suited to make your decision.  […]

Maximizing return – What type of decision are you making? (Part 2 of 3)

How is making a decision about what to purchase for dinner different that buying a new car?  Those differences are pretty obvious.  What about the difference between a rental car you want on vacation and a car to purchase?  What about purchasing options for a new car? All these examples highlight three impacts that you […]

Maximizing return – What type of buyer are you? (Part 1 of 3)

Business is all about making good decisions, and then executing on them.  Deciding what products and services your business buys is a key driver of your firms profitability.  There are different types of buyer personas that we see in the marketplace.  The key takeaway here is to be aware what type of buyer you are […]

A cost first mentality will land you in last place

Is the first item you review when making a decision the cost?  Do you think in terms of what you can (or can’t) afford?  When choosing between alternatives, is cost how you order them?  Approaching business decisions with a cost first mentality can be very limited, especially when looking at technology decisions. Let’s start with […]

Three client level virtualization options

Virtualization has permanently changed the world of IT and computing and bringing with it the overhaul of IT architecture and workflow. One would think that it would reach its saturation point sooner or later but with constant innovation and development, virtualization has permeated and penetrated deep as to reach the client level. Here are three […]