Small Business Computer Consulting

Many in the computer industry are saying that Web 2.0 is a thing of the past, but solution providers are questioning the good aspects of the new Web 3.0.

Last week in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 conference, many companies discussed the power of Web 3.0.  Many claim that the new technology will improve the way we share, organize and find information.  Still, solution providers argue that the technology is still in development and that those providing technology services to businesses need to be careful not to push it too hard in its initial stages.    

Solution providers state that they believe the push for 3.0, particularly by companies that have yet to prove themselves in the marketplace is bold and a bit conceited.  They agree that Web 3.0 is definitely going to be a great technology, but that it still needs further development to be truly ready to shine.

One of the problems, according to many solution providers is that while those within the industry may understand and be able to talk about Web 3.0 technologies, the general public cannot yet understand or even use the technology, thus rendering it useless.  Plus, Web 2.0 technologies are still considered to be in the early majority phase, meaning not even all people have started adopting them yet.  Web 3.0 semantic capabilities thus would qualify as being still in the Innovator stage.   

And solution providers also argue that just because Web 3.0 technologies are “cool” technologies does not mean they are ready to be used by businesses.  They need to be careful not to suggest them for to clients until they are truly ready for use and can be integrated and beneficial to businesses.

For more information on the development of the new 3.0 technology and comments from solution providers, visit the attached link.

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

As IT specialists, you must get through to your target audience with your marketing campaign.  Researching your niche is essential to achieving this goal.  

Study What Your Niche Clients Do

If you are IT specialists working with small medical offices, you need to know about their most impactful business issues (and namely the ones that affect the decision makers).  Subscribe to industry publications, e-mail newsletters and anything else they might read.  (See the attached link for examples of these important publications that IT specialists must read!)

While the resources given are U.S.-based, there are many others you can get as IT specialists looking to do research.  Your goal is to determine what worries small businesses in your niche, what motivates their decisions, which security issues bother them and in general which IT issues are most worrisome RIGHT NOW so you can be great IT specialists for them.  

Which Solutions Should You Give Your Clients?

You need to find out how those within your niche are using technology to change their businesses and make them more efficient.  Whichever industry you are dealing with as IT specialists, you need to research the biggest trends at the moment.  You will be expected to be a real expert.  

Remember – IT Specialists are Virtual CIOs

When you go to meet prospects, you need to stand out as IT specialists and not just the firm that sells PCs, installs LANs or fixes software issues.  Analyze their specialized needs and prove you are the expert!

Added By:  Computer Consulting Blog

A recent study conducted by virtual IT consulting firm Dimension Data Holdings recently reported that over 70 percent of those in the work force believe that e-mail is the best way to communicate.

While e-mail was the winner for best communication tool, 53 percent of those that took the virtual IT consulting firm’s survey believed that telephone was best followed by 52 percent that preferred mobile devices and phones.  Everyone surveyed used e-mail as part of their daily work routine.  

Instant messaging also made the grade (66 percent of workers use it).  However, security risks were agreed to be high with this type of communication, according to the virtual IT firm and PDAs and mobile phones got similar complaints.  Virtual IT consulting firm Dimension agreed that there are some serious security issues with instant messaging and mobile phone and PDA use.  

Despite some surveyed that seemed well aware of the risks with technology going beyond e-mail and telephone, 52% were almost unaware that instant messaging and other communications tools were more high-risk in terms of being able to be compromised.  Only 31% of virtual IT managers and other technology managers felt that all technologies were secure.  

According to the virtual IT consulting firm Dimension, the results of the survey showed that virtual IT managers know about the new security risks of unified communications, whereas users of the technology do not really know about the risks fully even with just e-mail.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

A two-year old independent startup network is publishing a new resource for VARs that are not part of major partner programs.  The Advanced Service Network, created by IT veteran of 18 years Joseph Canzonieri (founder of Crescent Computer Technologies) already consists of over 400 VARs that can see each other through the organization’s website.   

While ASN is still young, it has grown a great deal in the past year.  It began as a side project and has turned into the yellow pages for VARs.  VARs have the option of filling out a form asking to join the network.  The board of advisors approves applications only after they determine companies are completely legitimate.  The ASN network members can contact each other and coordinate projects and payment on their own, giving them greater freedom than those involved in larger partner programs.

Canzionieri says he started this VARs network in response to a belief that the larger networks were too selective and impersonal.

The organization is free and supports itself through advertising sold on its website and in newsletters.  All VARs are welcome to join the network, but the number that can participate in a given region is limited in order to help minimize competition.  Canzionieri wants the network to continue to grow in order to provide real benefit to VARs.

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting Kit

When a micro small business looks for an IT consulting professional, it’s looking for specific solutions.  You will need to know desktop PC hardware, be good on notebook PCs, with PDAs and with different types of printers.  You will also have to know something about modems, dial-up, cable, DSL and power protection.  

IT Consulting:  Get a Strong Software Background

You need to know about software to work with micro small businesses, but it should never be the main focus of your IT consulting practice.

What about Operating Systems?

You need to know about desktop and notebook operating systems – Microsoft Windows especially – to do well in IT consulting.  Depending on your industry and niche, you may need to know something about Mac or Linux operating systems as well.  

Security and Networking

When you are working with micro small businesses and other businesses as part of your IT consulting duties, you need to know about anti-virus software and personal firewalls along with remote control software.  A micro small business will need help also with P2P networks.  

You also need to know about the popular Silho (ph) routers that are able to share DSL and cable connections.  Also know how to set up live access points along with adapters.   

The Main Idea about IT Consulting

If you want to be successful at IT consulting, you have to know about 25 – 50% of the above things in order to support micro small businesses.  Remember that you will be dealing with very non-technical small business owners.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Computer business Ingram Micro stated it would be expanding its services and reopening its East Coast Solution Center.  The center will offer U.S. and Canadian solution providers a variety of resources, including demonstration areas such as home theatre, digital signage, remote office, etc.  This investment by the computer business, specializing in distribution is part of a plan to create demand for sales.

The computer business’ center will be based in Buffalo, New York in a 1,000 square-foot building.  The Ingram Micro facility will be enlarged by 30 percent with over 100 suppliers and four full-time engineers.  The focus of the center will be current technologies and up-coming breakthroughs.  The computer business hopes to bring thousands of solution providers, IT manufacturers and others to its labs.  

Ingram Micro spokespeople state that both its East and West Coast Solution Centers have brought about $2 million in closed sales and $7 million in its sales funnel last year.  This proven success gives participating solution providers a great motivation to participate in the activities provided.

The computer business’ solution centers were the first to offer digital home and digital signage solutions.  Both present the opportunity for partners to see technologies and use them before they are released and before recommending them to clients.

For more information on this computer business story, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Systems integrators business Verio, Inc., provider of online solutions that include hosting, applications and other services recently earned the acknowledgement by VARBusiness magazine that it is a leading technology integrator in North America.  500 companies made the list as leading revenue producers in the systems integrators community.  The list and its ranking is based on gross worldwide revenue of hardware and software sales and earning from managed services

Solution providers and systems integrators run the U.S. economy as well as others worldwide.  Verio spokespeople stated they were honored to have received recognition from the top magazine for VARs.  The midmarket, as shown by this year’s 500 list has grown, and there are more partners offering excellent solutions for clients than ever before.  

In order to determine the top 500 list of systems integrators, VARBusiness asked companies to complete online questionnaires for prequalification.  Research was conducted by VARBusiness in February and April 2007, and independent analysts looked at the data to determine the top systems integrators.  The list of systems integrators was published in the June 11 issue of the monthly magazine.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

At the TechEd 2007 conference for solution providers in Orlando, FL this week, ISV’s showed up to show their new products designed to accompany Microsoft’s latest products:  Exchange 2007; Windows Vista; Office 2007; SharePoint 2007 and SQL Server 2005.

The ISV’s applications for solution providers included e-mail backup and recovery and system management tools and workflow platforms, application virtualization and Web 2.0 products for .Net application development.  

The following vendors appeared at this solution providers conference:

1.    Double-Take Software.  This company showed its latest data protection and recovery platform for Exchange Server and SQL Server.  This platform features a new reporting center for data analysis and collection along with the ability to predict future protection situations.  It also recommends ways to prevent outages and ways to reduce recovery times and increase functionality.  

2.    AppAssure, of Reston, Virginia.  This company displayed its Replay for Exchange.  This new solution providers product features rollback for one message or a whole server.  The product uses block-level data protection to protect Exchange databases.  Quick volume recovery time (in minutes) along with search features for e-mail and legal documents make this product unique.  

3.    Captaris of Bellvue, WA.  This company demonstrated a new product to help manage workflow.  Workflow 6.5 works with Office SharePoint Server 2007, Office InfoPath 2007, Office Forms Server 2007, SQL Server 2005 Express and also gives more support for BizTalk Server 2006’s business rules.  This product also works with .Net Windows Workflow Foundation with a simulation that helps optimize performance.  

4.    Symantec, the Cupertino, CA giant.  This company showed solution providers an updated Altiris Virtualization Solution 2.1 that now supports Vista and has application streaming aided by Appstream.

5.    TNT Software.  This Vancouver, British Columbia company announced it had shipped ELM Enterprise Manager 5.0.  This real-time monitoring, alert, reporting and archiving product is for the Windows platform for small businesses.  The upgrade for solution providers offers audit support features and access to SQL Server along with a Database Archive Management System.  It has advanced monitoring features and a variety of bundled extras.   

6.    Quest Software.  This company announced to solution providers at the conference its Change Director for SQL Server.  The product enables enhanced monitoring of databases to help manage outages.  

7.    Strangeloop Networks of Vancouver.  AppScaler was presented by this company, which is a product that helps improve the performance of Web applications created with Microsoft’s ASP.Net system.  The application for solution providers will be released in September.  

8.    Falafel Software.  This San Jose, CA-based company introduced its Web 2.0 project management product ActiveFocus.  The product is made to help manage products during their life cycles.  

For more information on the latest solution providers conference and Windows-based products, visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

The latest in network consulting news is Microsoft’s new branch, Windows Mobile that will compete for mobile customers from RIM and Symbian.  

The Enterprise Mobile Strategies report coming from the network consulting firm BRC said the capabilities of Microsoft’s mobile technologies will match and in some cases potentially exceed those of Linux, BlackBerry, Symbian and others.  BRC stated that as technologies evolve to combine personal computing with mobile devices, the number of available tools that can get corporate applications onto mobiles is what will help companies stay on top of the competition.  

Packages have already become available through Windows Mobile that allow users to access Lotus, some SAP offerings, Oracle CRM and Microsoft Office.  The availability of these products, according to the network consulting firm will encourage many corporations to go with Windows Mobile over other companies.

Symbian and BlackBerry will have to update systems if they want to compete with the ease Windows Mobile is set to provide with professional users.  The strength of RIM and Symbian has been personal information management and e-mail.  But without middleware solutions, they may lose business to Microsoft.   

RIM made an announcement in April that it would improve support for Windows Mobile-based devices on its website.  The software would allow devices from third-party manufacturers to use BlackBerry software applications, according to the network consulting firm BRC.  

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

As an IT specialist, you will have to provide a wide variety of services, including network design, helping clients with procurement, managing relations, dealing with phone companies, Web hosts and Internet access ISPs, deciding what to buy and examining it when it comes in as well as doing the configuration, testing, integration, customization, training and troubleshooting for your clients.   

You’re doing everything, which means in essence you’re an IT generalist.  But do you have to be a generalist for every type of client?  Focus on being an IT specialist to make marketing and sales a lot easier.

Be Selective with Clients

As a professional involved with virtual IT, you will have to be all things to your clients.  But why not be all things to some of the people by providing a complete solution for a specific type of business?  Be a one-stop shop for virtual IT as an IT specialist for a specific kind of clients and not just every type of small business.  

Choose a field as an IT specialist in which you have experience.  Be able to get testimonials and references to prove you’ve worked in the field with other clients so you can come across as a true IT specialist for that industry.  

Specialty Does Not Mean Extensive Experience

Finding a niche as an IT specialist may be as easy as having one or two long-term clients that work in real estate.  Over an extended period of time, you will learn about their businesses and their industry.  Other real estate professionals will be interested because you will have knowledge of their issues, which will set you apart from other computer consultants vying for their business.  

The Main Idea About Specialization

You don’t have to have huge amounts of experience to be an IT specialist within a specific industry, but the decision to specialize will vastly improve your marketing results.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit