It is time to re-evaluate the backup workflow and tools I use for my websites and some that I support. I do this every couple of years hoping something has changed to make it better. With the release of WordPress 6.0 this week, I needed to backup each site before updating them, so this forced…
It is cool to see data visualizations. I especially enjoy the ones over a span of many years. Couple of good ones: Most Popular Websites 1996 – 2019 based on number of visitors per month Internet Users by Country 1990 – 2019 (Eye opener!) Another cool one, World Population between 1960 to 2019
A great brand new (November 2019) report from Frontline on how Artificial Intelligence is changing our lives – (no longer the future, it is affecting us all now!) Not only explores what will the future looks like, but also what is happening today in China, USA and other places around the world. I have written…
In my work I have a lot of conversations and do a lot presentations om the topic of Workspace Transformation, Modern Provisioning and Modern Device management. There is so much change in this field right now, that it is challenging for most enterprises. I have written a lot of articles on the impact…
There was a very significant announcement that was made public today. Summary of announcement: Longer Windows 10 servicing for enterprises and educational institutions moving from 18 month cycle to a 30 month cycle. (per version) Windows 7 Extended Security Updates: Microsoft will offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023. Not sure…
Workspace transformation is gaining lot of momentum at the moment. At its core, it is about letting users access data and applications securely anywhere anytime. Enabling users to quickly provision their devices is only part of the story. Request applications so they can quickly securely access the data without the large bureaucracy associated with IT…
Just came across this article in Information Week by Cynthia Harvey: 10 IT Jobs That Will Be Done by AI. I have never liked articles set as slideshows where you have to click to get the next page / slide. It is an interesting list with good information, so I thought I would summarize it….
Now it becomes real! When Discussing the continuous update model of Windows as a Service, one of the first questions that comes out is: What would be the impact of not keeping up with Windows-as-a-Services updates? Although it has been stated by Microsoft a number of time, we now have a clear written statement from…
I have extracted a list of the Windows 10 / EMS and related sessions with links to the respective videos online. Once again – THANK YOU Microsoft for publishing these to the folks that could not make t it the Microsoft Ignite 2016 (Atlanta) conference. If you have one that I may have missed, please…
[ Update 20161004: I encourage you to watch Brad Anderson’s keynote session at Microsoft Ignite 2016 – Simply IMPRESSIVE! ] As I have written before, technology management has made an incredible shift over the past few years (maybe the last 3-5 years). Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service are now the common conversations in most…
From time to time I come across technologies and products that impress me… Last week at BriForum 2016 ( the last one – see: The End of an Era by Jo Harder ) I saw a couple of of vendors that I want to check further… One of them, and the one this post is about…
Interesting article on how Microsoft's $15 billion cloud bet ended up at the center of the company http:/ /bit.ly/1Nq7bIZ
In the past, a large portion of IT architecture time was spent evaluating and sizing separate pieces of infrastructure (network, server compute, storage and such) to make sure they’d work to meet a forecasted demand for the service that they were looking to provide. Teams of people (vendors and internal resources) used to spend many…
AS a follow-up to my Windows 7 End of Mainstream Support posting, several questions came in regarding the Windows 10 availability dates… ( This is based on multiple publicly available news stories and sources.. ) Regarding Windows 10 availability: September 2014 — Windows Technical Preview (WTP) for laptops and desktops Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program opened…
Have you noticed everything in called a Service these days? To mentioned a few, there is: Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, Desktop as Service, Security as Service, Hardware as a Service and the one I just heard last week: Game as a Service! “Everything as a Service” is…
Over the last few years, many System Integrators (SIs) and Information Technology (IT) consulting firms have found themselves in trouble as the number of clients decrease and revenue takes a downward trend. In-house IT departments, who’s budgets are cost-centers, are also being affected and in the same category. What has changed so dramatically within the…
Times are changing; cloud-based technologies (public, private or hybrid) are sweeping the world of IT. The pace of change is fast and furious. Every other day we do hear of some new service or technology being rolled-out and, as the famous saying goes, change is inevitable. Changes to IT departments, System Integrators and IT consulting…
My professional live has revolved, in great percentage, around Microsoft and Microsoft technologies. It has been a good life, but over the few years it has felt it like swiming against the current because of the major trends out there.. With so much of the market going cloud-services, device independent application delivery, bring-your-own-device,…
Cloud computing is one of the hottest buzzwords in IT field. This concept is not new — Users are already using cloud technology for last 10 years. The best examples, widely used by individual users and organizations, but not specifically known as cloud solutions, are Gmail, PayPal, Facebook, Dropbox, Salesforce and many others. However, using…
I have been involved in Technology Management for much of my professional life. I have helped people in many type of organizations (small, medium, large and global) manage their technology improvements, migrations and transformations including PCs, Internet, virtualization, and as of late, cloud-based infrastructures… I have seen what it takes organizations adopt, transform and shift…
For several years now, I have been a customer of Amazon Web Services (AWS) using S3 (Storage) and a couple development / test servers. Because of this, I thought I knew what it was all about. A few weeks back I attended a training session on the AWS platform, and I must say: The more I saw, the…
Directly from The Next Web (TNW) the latest market share data based on — July 2013 Net Applications data (which uses data captured from 160 million unique visitors each month by monitoring some 40,000 websites for its clients). A couple of highlights: Microsoft Windows and Microsoft IE are clearly “in control” Windows 8 now up…
Wow! – It has been about a year since I’ve written about this… It was in my article back in April 2012, Google Drive: Have Cloud Drives Lost Their Way? I stated what I thought was needed and the challenges with the existing services (back then) were… Well – a lot of the issues have…
The trend for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has been the cause of a range of issues for companies and employees alike. A recent survey uncovered some startling facts about BYOD and the approaches people are using with regards to managing, or not managing, personal devices in the workplace. Although more than 70% of people…
There can be no doubting the changes which are sweeping many workplaces in terms of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and what these changes mean for IT Departments. Whilst many employees in all kinds of fields have been happily bringing their own devices to work and accessing corporate systems, IT Departments have been playing catch-up…
Consumerization of IT is the latest trend that has taken the IT world by storm. It refers to the growing tendency for devices, gadgets, and systems to emerge in the consumer market and then spread to business and government organizations. Consumerization is a major IT industry shift, since earlier technology-based products had their origin in…
In a July 2012 published report by Osterman Research (available via InfoWorld), where they survey of 760 individuals with regard to the BYOD issues they face in their organizations. The research found widespread use of third party, cloud-based storage and file synchronization, which are not often supported by the IT organizations… Their report includes benefits…
BYOD also known as Bring Your Own Device has been a latest buzzword in the IT landscape. However, prior to implementing it is essential to understand the reason behind supporting it. Most common BYOD business objectives revolve around minimizing mobile expenses or enhance the overall organization productivity or perhaps both. In the recent times, many…
From a development point of view it is interesting to see the difference between the Android and iOS versions needed to be supported… While researching, I ran into an October 2012 article on dazeinfo.coma which mentions that while iOS 6 Adoption Rate is about 60% iPhones Updated To iOS 6 vs. about 2% of Android…
The quintessential smartphone has evolved from a high-end consumer product for the executive level business person, to a common man’s necessity. Taking this development into consideration, businesses are now considering implementing Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) programs with an aim to drive employee productivity using new technology. Managing BYOD Whether you already permit your personnel to bring their…
The influx of new communication devices and solutions in the corporate environment resulted in the workforce becoming increasingly mobile. Take for instance, remote desktop access and SSL VPNs, which has made it possible for the workforce to make the choice with respect to location and time. Similarly, very many technological innovations have made the concept…
For those working in business IT there is one term that is sure to be cropping up on your radar more and more frequently; for those who work outside of IT departments you’ll be familiar with the ideas behind it – in fact you may be responsible for its prominence – even though you may…
STOP!!! If you’ve started the process of going paperless in your home or office you need to stop and ask yourself one question, “since I started going paperless have I backed up any of these new files?” If the answer to that question is anything but yes, you need to start working on a data…
Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the world of IT services. The term, which is still pretty nebulous for many users, refers to a model in which computing resources are hosted and delivered via the Internet than can dynamically grow and shrink depending on its demand and you pay only for…
When planning to convert your office from traditional file storage to a paperless office it is important to consider what file format – digital format – will provide the most benefits before you implement anything. When your office is paperless, it’s important to find a file format that is secure, widely used, publicly available and…
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has been a latest buzzword in the IT landscape. BYOD has been the cause of a range of issues for companies and employees alike. A recent survey uncovered some startling facts about BYOD and the approaches people are using with regards to managing, or not managing, personal devices in the…
Since the creation of the computer and data storage, people have been making every attempt to transition from their cluttered offices full of paper and rooms (or attics) full of file cabinets into a paperless, streamlined and easy to search environment. As technology has evolved, so has our ability to make the transition into paperless.Whether…
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is the latest trend in workplace IT deployment and one that all businesses are going to have to address whether they embrace it or not. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is defined by Wikipedia as: ‘the recent trend of employees bringing personally-owned mobile devices to their place of work, and…
Not to worry! Microsoft has posted all of the PowerPoint and videos at http://www.mms-2012.com/digitalmms regardless if you attended or not, you can register and browse through the sessions… Thank you Microsoft!! For those of you that want to download the content for offline viewing: Videos: Stefan Roth has created a PowerShell script that will…
I am asked often to about this topic, having written a number of individual posts in the past, I thought, why not put it all together? So here it is… Let me know if you find it useful or have any comments! – Cheers. Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the…
It is simply amazing to see how much is Microsot investing into its online division. Based on the the latest Microsoft quarterly result published last week, the operating loss for the online services division was $726M in the 3rd quarter alone, and a loss $1.8B for the current year. If we look back to when the…
Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the world of IT services. The term, which is still pretty nebulous for many users, refers to a model in which computing resources are hosted and delivered via the Internet than can dynamically grow and shrink depending on its demand and you pay only for…
Originally published for Averro.com blog. One of the major technical dilemmas that many small or medium sized companies face, is to have enough storage space for all the data its employees work with every day. Storage space can be pretty expensive; servers, hosting fees and support costs, can eat up a significant portion of the…
Originally published for Averro.com blog. In Cloud Services 101- Video 1 presentation we covered the basics (Definition, types, and deployment models) of what is refered to as cloud services. In this part-2 presentation we cover the key advantages that small and medium businesses can benefit from the use of these technologies. We have a few…
Originally published for Averro.com blog. Cloud computing is quickly altering the way small businesses work. Hardware procurement, setup and software licensing in order to support the applications for all users in the organization is a significant effort and constant concern for the management team in any small business. With the development of cloud based services,…
Originally published for Averro.com blog. As we discussed in our initial article of the series, Cloud Services 101: The Basics, the cloud services can be categorized into three areas, Infrastructure, Platform or Application related. In part 2 of the series (Cloud Services 101: Big Players in the Field) we touched up on some of the…
I have long been talking to clients (especially small businesses) about the fact that they do not need to keep servers on-premise to do their work. In a press release dated 1/13/10 where Gartner lists its key predictions for IT in 2010 and beyond (read here), the first highlight is a prediction that by 2012,…
Originally published for Averro.com blog. Thanks to the convergence of multiple technology trends, including virtualization, data center consolidation, web-services, browser and commercialization of hardware advancements, there is simply no way of ignoring or denying the impact that cloud services are having within the industry. Placing files, email and applications on the cloud has its significant…
Gartner Prediction: No IT assets In a press release dated 1/13/10 where Gartner lists its key predictions for IT in 2010 and beyond (read here), the first highlight is a prediction that by 2012, 20% of businesses will own no IT assets. By 2012, 20 percent of businesses will own no IT assets. Several interrelated…
Originally created for Averro.com blog and posted on their blog. Following our April 17th posting, we have posted webcast — first of a series — explaining how can cloud services can help the Small Business. Each video is small and to the point, and intended for a business audience, and not a technical one. This…
The beta version of Windows Intune, formerly known as System Center Online Desktop Management, it is now officially part of the Microsoft Online Services. is now in full beta. Windows Intune simplifies how businesses manage and secure PCs using Windows cloud services and Windows 7—so your computers and users can operate at peak performance. Windows…
Originally published for Averro.com blog and posted on their blog. Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the world of IT services. The term, which is still pretty nebulous for many users, refers to a model in which computing resources are hosted and delivered via the Internet than can dynamically grow and…
We are often asked what is Windows Azure, and how does it help the business. Explaining what an application hosting platform is, and how it can help it is not as simple as it sounds… Microsoft Azure is an application hosting environment rather than a server-based like Amazon’s AWS environment. Azure is a service that…
There seems to be a lot of market noise about this and it is an interesting topic. What does VDI stand for? VDI = Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Is VDI new? The virtual machine on the desktop is not new. Microsoft’s Remote Desktop, Citrix, VMware Workstation, Parallel, Virtual PC and several others have been around for…
Traditionally, companies have deployed desktop or laptop computers to their end users. The operating system, applications have been individually installed on every desktop or laptop via imaging software or remote installation, and application configuration settings and most user data is stored locally on the computer. While this may have worked when the company started small,…
According to a CNN report today, “More than 100 people, many of them dressed in black, were expected to gather around a coffin Thursday night to say goodbye to an old friend. The deceased? Internet Explorer 6.” March 1st marks the official death of the IE6 browser – http://ie6funeral.com/ Internet Explorer Six, resident of the…
I just got the much anticipated WebOS 1.4 which, amongst many others features, enables video capture and which supports Adobe’s Flash Player. I just did a couple of quick tests. Pretty good video quality and Flash works nicely. Can wait to check the rest of the list. A silly quick test follows: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOEWbfZswJM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
Back in October 2009, I decided to upgrade my Treo and went with the Palm Pre platform. You might have read my post on this topic iPhone vs Palm Pre. There were 4 things I was a bit disappointed with the software/device. What’s up with no Flash capabilities? (same with iPhone) No zoom for the…
No this will not be a full comparasion or anything like that, just a quick rambling in myblog regardind my observations between the two platforms, after using both for about a couple of months now. Although I secretly wanted for the Pre to be the one to write about, I have to say that iPod…
If you remember my post a couple of weeks ago, I talked about what I liked and disliked about my newly purchased Palm Pre. At the time, I mentioned the biggest challenge for me was the lack of available applications, and asked Palm, to open up the store to developers! I ran across the article…
The IT industry is all about change. Change to make thing better, most efficient, response faster, while still reducing cost… At least in theory. In the past couple of years, there has been a significant transformation occurring. The move to Cloud Computing has been slowly transforming everything – and I mean *everything*. from the way we look at hardware…
Desktop management is now a critical function of IT services within any organization. Historically, standalone computers and small networks did not require much centralization and management. However, rapid technological advancements, network size growth and the proliferation of the Internet have driven the need for advanced desktop management solutions. The Vision: “Power and flexibility of a…
A couple of years ago, a couple of colleagues and I created a two-part white paper on Desktop Management which I never published here… Still very relevant so here you go.. A New Vision for Desktop Management White Paper by Jorge Pereira, Sean Kennedy, Rob West December 2006 Desktop Management has remained largely unchanged over…
In recent years the technology world has increasingly gone “virtual” in a number of areas. First we had virtual local area networks and server-based virtualization. This helped consolidate resources by allowing administrators to increase the density of servers per rack, and decrease the complexity of managing hundreds of servers. This is now a proven and…
Infrastructure Optimization opens the door for Green Computing with the ability to reduce overall costs via reducing power consumption through virtualization and by making better use of IT resources by more efficiently distributing workload amongst idle system resources rather than introducing additional systems.
Application Virtualization can benefit the entire enterprise as follows: Assists IT departments by reducing or eliminating the labor-intensive tasks involved with application lifecycle management. Enables the Business to operate more flexibly and efficiently. Reduces software, hardware, and support costs Application Virtualization is an advanced technology that contains or “abstracts” applications from the underlying operating…
In the old days, Softricity was a partner of Citrix. Citrix is a partner of Microsoft. And Softricity was a partner of Microsoft, but is now part of Microsoft. See where this is going? When Softricity was acquired, there was some industry speculation as to what would happen to the great interoperability between SoftGrid and…
I thought some of you might be interested in a free event that our team is putting on, centered around the business value of virtualizing applications. For Infrastructure Optimization wonks like myself, this technology is poised to become the centerpiece of many future IO engagements for me and our team. Registration is free, and the webinar is an hour long.
While I’ve not finished parsing it, Tarry Singh’s article caught my eye. I don’t normally read all of the links that come in through the ITToolbox newsletter, but anything with “virtualization” in the title tends to give me pause. Tarry’s article provides a (rather dense and obviously knowledgeable) collection of predictions for the future of…
By Jorge Pereira and Rob West Originally published as a white paper for Kennedy Consulting on January 2007 Continuation of: A New Vision from Desktop Management Part 1 It’s a fact that Desktop Management has become increasingly complex today as compared to a decade ago. Before the introduction of the Internet and the Local Area…
By Jorge Pereira and Sean Kennedy, Kennedy Consulting Originally published as a white paper for Kennedy Consulting on December 2006 Desktop management has remained largely unchanged over the past few years. Application provisioning and management (delivery, installation, configuration, auditing, and updates) is at the core of the challenges associated with desktop management. In the past,…
Instant Messaging (IM) has quietly crept in behind the corporate firewall as employees responding to different pressures – personal or business – install popular IM clients to chat with colleagues, partners, and customers and even friends and family. Research shows that over 90% of enterprises have IM within the enterprise and employees are responsible for…
