Outsourcing

Cloud-based e-mail is cheap, but Google is cheapest

Google Subnet — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:11:33 -0500

A new Forrester report detailed by ReadWriteWeb contains some interesting data for enterprises considering cloud-based applications. The first finding, that cloud-based e-mail is always cheaper than on-premises solutions for smaller companies with fewer than 15,000 users, may not be that much of a head-turner.

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Parting Thoughts

Martha Young — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:50:24 -0500

I was invited to blog here for a brief period of time to assist in promoting the concepts of virtual business processes. The window has come to a close and this is my last post at this site.

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Top 20 Most Braindumped Certification Vendors of 2008

Robert Williams — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:54:11 -0500

Well, it’s that time of year. In our first blog post about the “Top 20 Most Braindumped Certification Vendors” we promised that we would keep you abreast of the progress each vendor is making. Unfortunately, the numbers being presented here don’t show there is any progress being made, but I assure you that progress is being made. Although the numbers have risen since we published the first blog post, the numbers here are a combination of newer websites opening up and some of the other websites being shut down.

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CertGuard Official Braindump Quiz

Robert Williams — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:49:39 -0500

We at CertGuard are always looking for ways to expand education on the Internet when it comes to preventing braindumps. Today, we are pleased to announce the CertGuard Official Braindump Quiz.

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Top 5 Google Subnet predictions for 2009

Google Subnet — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:47:16 -0500

As 2008 comes to a close, the bloggers of Google Subnet put aside the champagne (for just a minute) to look ahead to 2009 and what it may bring for all things Google. Here are our top five predictions for Google in the coming year.

1. Android: No bang, no whimper

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CCVP: Quality of Service (QoS) Basics – Part 3

kevinwallace — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:10:57 -0500

Now that we've discussed some of the basic concepts and configuration fundamentals for topics found in Cisco's QoS course, let's shift our focus to a few practice exam questions. By the way, these are not "brain dump" questions. These are questions that I've written that reflect the concepts tested on the QoS exam.

Following is a series of five QoS exam-style questions. After answering each of the questions, you can then check your answers and review the detailed explanations. Here we go, and good luck!

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Splunk Eyes The Cloud

Matthew Nickasch — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:17:05 -0500

Cloud computing is one of those topics that will have even more attention in 2009, and with good reason. With a more diverse distribution of industries and organizations considering "the cloud", several obvious questions are raised. For cloud hosting companies and entities, the concerns of overall cloud availability and sustainability are usually at the forefront.

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Wintry Reflections on Telecommuting

Matthew Nickasch — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:18:15 -0500

On a lighter note this Friday... We're often talking about the many benefits of a converged voice, data, and video infrastructure, with one of the obvious benefits being the ability to provide 'telework' solutions for remote employees. I'm personally enjoying the ability to telecommute this morning, waking up to a foot of snow after yet another storm hit Wisconsin overnight. So, having the opportunity to "practice what you preach" affirms my belief in convergence technologies!

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Six pitfalls of consulting

Chip Wenz — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:15:48 -0500

At some point in your IT career you have probably been asked by a family member, close friend or some other acquaintance to help them with a computer problem they are having on their home/work computer (this is the IT equivalent of having a pickup and always being asked to help friends move). Even if the problem is something totally outside your realm of knowledge; because it has to do with a computer, you are the first one that they think about. If you do this enough, you may start thinking about making some money at it by declaring yourself as a consultant.

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Salesforce.com, Google integrate cloud platforms

Google Subnet — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:46:21 -0500

Salesforce.com and Google are set to announce that they are linking up their cloud platforms, Force.com and App Engine, respectively. The idea is that the integration will enable developers to build applications that take the best from both worlds: App Engine's gaming and social networking tools together with Force.com's business- and customer-savviness.

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AT&T Cuts Jobs, a Pending Telecom Collapse?

Matthew Nickasch — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:21:07 -0500

This morning, telecom giant AT&T announced a four percent, or 12,000 employee reduction in its workforce, citing recent changes in business and economic factors.

In response to these business and economic factors, AT&T plans to reduce its 2009 capital expenditures from 2008 levels. Capital plans for 2009 are being finalized now and specific guidance will be provided when the company releases its fourth quarter results in late January.

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The New Economy's Impact on Project Management

Matthew Nickasch — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:14:08 -0500

"Do more with less, and deliver it faster," proclaim the organizational leaders dealing with the effects the 'new economy'. A project manager's nightmare, the times are quickly changing, and the need to make a full glass of orange juice out of a quarter-sized orange is becoming an unfortunate reality. We've discussed the predicted impacts of the economic downturn on enterprise telephony, but have not explored how future projects and deployments are expected to succeed or fail under these new financial times.

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Job Hunting - Send Me In Coach

Mitchell Ashley — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:52:57 -0500

Economy. Recession. Layoffs. Yuck already, let’s get on with reving up this economy again and creating lots of new jobs. Think positive. Lets find you a job. If you’re actively in the job market, I have an important idea for you: find a job search coach. Getting that next job might be hard or it might be easy, but you’re much better off getting the best coach in your corner to help you do the things that help you land that next job. Getting up a 7 am every morning to submit your resume to companies probably isn’t going to get you a job very fast.

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Predictions for the next few months, Riverbed and Nortel get purchased plus more

Larry Chaffin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:38:04 -0500

Predictions for the next few months, Riverbed and Nortel get purchased plus more

Yes, I said it and this is what I am thinking. Juniper is looking at Nortel as a buy, buy, buy (as Kramer would put it) to compete with Cisco in voice and unified communications. Also they would get the optical unit at Nortel which would just get under the skin of the Cisco people. But there could be another company who might buy Nortel, remember that Nortel does allot of carrier class switching. This could be a great time for AT&T to buy a vendor or even Qwest.

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Less Travel, More Teleconferecing for Enterprises

Matthew Nickasch — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:03:05 -0500

A recent study conducted by Plantronics and TNS is showing large changes in the way that organizations are conducting business. Due to the increasing costs of travel, employees of virtually all organizations are traveling less, and conducting business through teleconferences more. This study, released on November 18, 2008, specifies that 36 percent of knowledge workers are traveling less, and that 40 percent are spending more time in teleconferences.

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Leadership - 5 Ways to Reduce Costs

Martha Young — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:12:58 -0500

The market indicator numbers are bleak and getting more bleak with each passing week. We are no longer surprised when firms announce massive layoffs, Sun Microsystems being the most recent company in the technology industry to make such an announcement.

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Leadership - Project Management in Virtual Business

Martha Young — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:12:56 -0500

Leading and managing teams in a geographically distributed work environment presents a unique set of challenges. We are witnessing the start of the twilight years of hierarchical management, massive corporate buildings and employee relocation requirements. These Industrial Era command-and-control functions are increasingly being readdressed by firms as they seek to streamline processes and improve efficiencies, meet tightening budgets, and find and retain top talent.

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The magnitude of the Federal IT mess (DOD only)

CurtMonash — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:39:18 -0500

My post yesterday about the United States federal computing mess caught the attention of Ed Yourdon on Twitter (yes -- THAT Ed Yourdon). He sent it on to Paul Strassman, who put a link to one of his own articles into the comment thread for another post in the series. Paul's article (that link goes up and down a bit) contains such damning observations as (emphasis mine):

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How much direct authority should the new United States CTO/CIO have?

CurtMonash — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:03:48 -0500

President-Elect Obama has promised to appoint a Chief Technology Officer of the United States. I've argued that what Obama really needs and wants is first and an execution-oriented Chief Information Officer. The job surely requires great technological vision, but execution skills are paramount. Discussion on Slashdot ensued. While many of the comments were off-topic and/or inane, at least two good questions were raised:

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Outsourcing

Cloud-based e-mail is cheap, but Google is cheapest

Parting Thoughts

Top 20 Most Braindumped Certification Vendors of 2008

CertGuard Official Braindump Quiz

Top 5 Google Subnet predictions for 2009

CCVP: Quality of Service (QoS) Basics – Part 3

Splunk Eyes The Cloud

Wintry Reflections on Telecommuting

Top Google posts of 2008

Six pitfalls of consulting

Salesforce.com, Google integrate cloud platforms

AT&T Cuts Jobs, a Pending Telecom Collapse?

The New Economy's Impact on Project Management

Job Hunting - Send Me In Coach

Predictions for the next few months, Riverbed and Nortel get purchased plus more

Less Travel, More Teleconferecing for Enterprises

Leadership - 5 Ways to Reduce Costs

Leadership - Project Management in Virtual Business

The magnitude of the Federal IT mess (DOD only)

How much direct authority should the new United States CTO/CIO have?