It had been a rough quarter at Thatcher-Jenkins. Sales were down as two of the company’s largest clients ceased doing business after they found suppliers that would offer the same services for less. In an attempt to stop the figurative bleeding, Parker had initiated a major overhaul to the management system the company would use. Much of the production staff, who is made up of a lot of people that had been working at the company for several years, found the new technology intrusive to production. Then there were problems with deployment which cost the company some time and a fair amount of capital. The IT staff that was in place at the time simply didn’t have the resources to cover a rushed end-to-end software implementation and their typical workload, leading to production interruptions and other inefficiencies.

So, as Parker stood with his hand on the glass of the window in his office, his thoughts weren’t of the impending holiday, his family, or how fortunate he was; they were firmly focused on the latest bought of downtime that took down production for half a day. Who knows how much money it had cost the company?

The phone rang. He walked back over to his desk, tripping over the exposed wire to his new VoIP phone that nobody bothered to hide. He snatched at the phone.

“Hello,” he answered, angered.

On the other end of the phone was his wife. Mrs. Parker was wondering when Parker would be home. After all, it was Christmas Eve.

“I’m just wrapping up here...Love you too.”

He hung up the phone, glanced aimlessly around his office, and slumped down into his desk chair. He sat for a few minutes before he got up, remotely started his car, put his coat on, shut down his computer, turned the lights off, grabbed his bag, and walked out the door.

As he slowly shuffled to his car, the snow was falling lightly, but it might have been just the ice in the air as it was a little too cold for snow. His car was the last car in the parking lot. This made him feel very alone. He got in the car and slowly drove away.

As he drove past all the houses lit up for Christmas, he started to cheer up. He stopped off at the liquor store to get some brandy and as he was walking out of the store he ran into one of his clients.

“Hey there Parker, Merry Christmas,” the stout man in a black pea coat said.

“Oh, hi there Jack, same to you,” Parker answered as he almost dropped the bottle of brandy he had just bought.

“Whatcha got there?” Jack asked inquisitively.

“We do Brandy Alexanders on Christmas Eve. Family Tradition,” Parker answered.

“Well that’s nice. Look, have a Merry Christmas. Give my best to your family. We’ll talk next week,” Jack said before he scurried away inside the liquor store.

Parker walked back to his car, wondering what Jack meant by the “we’ll talk next week” remark. He sat behind the wheel for a minute, before driving away. The uneasy feeling he had in his office was more like panic as he drove down the street toward his house.

Parker started talking to himself in his car, “What did Jack mean? If his company leaves, I’ll have to lay people off,” At this point he had worked himself up. He popped the top of the brandy bottle and started to take intermittent swigs. He drove past his house to the bridge on the outskirts of town. He parked his car on the side of the road and got out of his car and walked up the bridge.

Traffic continued to go by, but there wasn’t much of it to speak of, being Christmas Eve and all. He walked up to the center of the bridge with the bottle of brandy firmly in hand. He stood up and looked at the sliver of moon that poked out behind the passing clouds. He looked at the river. He took a pull of his brandy and put the cap back on. All of a sudden what seemed like a shadow approached him from the far side of the bridge.

“Not the Christmas Eve you planned on having, huh Parker?” the voice said as he came into the light. The man was short and older than Parker. He had a wool cap and jacket on.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” Parker asked.

‘My name is Gary and I know all there is to know about you,” he said, “What are you doing up here?”

Where only moments before had Parker been engulfed in self-pity, now there was only fear. He moved away abruptly, but didn’t say anything.

Gary kept after him.

“Can I have a drink?” he asked.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” Parker demanded as Gary reached for the bottle of brandy. Gary stopped moving toward him.

“Please?” Gary asked.

The three or four drinks that Parker had were now starting to kick in. He extended the bottle and Gary took it, opened it, took a drink, and handed it back in rapid succession.

“So, Parker, what are you doing out here on Christmas eve?” Gary asked rhetorically.

“I’m not sure that’s any of your business,” Parker replied.

“Were you planning on jumping off of the bridge?” Gary asked abruptly.

Suddenly, Parker realized that maybe he had gone up there to do just that.

“I don’t know,” Parker replied, “Sometimes I feel like everyone that depends on me would be better off if I wasn't the one making the decisions.”

“Well...There is a way to find out.” Gary said as he rushed at him. Parker, still clutching the bottle of brandy, sidestepped as Gary dove off the bridge into the river. Shocked, Parker dropped the bottle, took off his coat and ran to the other side of the bridge and jumped in after Gary.

As he hit the nearly frozen water, it sent a shock through his entire system. He grabbed Gary, who was thrashing around in the current and dragged him to the bank of the river.

Both men lay on the frozen bank of the river. Gary begins to laugh. Incredulous at Gary’s levity, Parker started to yell at him.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?!” Parker started, freezing and soaked, “If I didn’t jump in after you, you would have surely died!”

“Don’t be so sure,” Gary said, “I am your guardian angel, you needed to stop feeling sorry for yourself in order to know what it is that I know.”

“Guardian angel? You are touched, man!” Parker yelled as he got up and started making his way back toward the bridge.

‘There are no such thing as guardian angels. You are a crazy old man who just had his life saved by someone who didn’t feel like living ten minutes ago.”

“Parker, many people depend on you, and feeling sorry for yourself will never get you to where you want to go.” Gary said, scrambling after him.

“Look, friend. I’m going home. Tonight is Christmas Eve, and I need to be with my family...Not sopping wet listening to a crazy man.”

Gary stopped following him.

“I may be crazy, but I am here to tell you that you can’t lose hope,” Gary shouted after him, “We will meet again soon.”

Parker made his way back to the bridge, picked up his jacket and his bottle of brandy and started back to his car. He opened the door to his car, but before he got in looked around for Gary. He was nowhere to be found. With mixed emotions Parker got in his car and returned home.

---

When Parker returned home, he found a strange car in the driveway. He walked in the front door, still wet from his time in the river, only to find his IT administrator standing in the foyer of the house waiting for him.

“Where have you been?” the man asked

“What are you doing here?” Parker answered as his wife walked in the room.

“We’ve been hacked,” The IT admin started, ”I’ve got the team at the office now doing everything...wait a minute, why are you wet?”

“Yeah, what happened to you?” Mrs. Parker asked.

“What do you mean we were hacked?! I just left the office an hour ago!” Parker said helplessly.

“Yeah, Harold and Matt are at the office right now and Brett will be there soon. We should go.” The IT admin said.

“Wait a second, mister, you aren’t going anywhere before you tell me why you are sopping wet.” Mrs. Parker said sternly.

“I saved a man from drowning, Jewel, but now I really have to go down there to make sure we aren’t going to lose everything. Pete, let me get changed.”

After getting changed quickly and assuring his wife that everything is going to be okay, he rode to the office with Pete. Pete was the IT administrator for Thatcher-Jenkins. He had been working there for the past seven years and was Parker’s right hand man when it comes to IT. He had hired Pete at 23 to work in his IT department after Pete had been released from jail for hacking.

Pete was the son of one of Parker’s wife’s best friends and agreed to take him on as a favor, but had come to depend on his computer skills.

“What do we know about the hack?” Parker asked as they were driving.

“You know as much as I do right now, but when we couldn’t get a hold of you, I came right to your house. Your wife was worried.” Pete said.

“The craziest thing happened to me tonight. I was on the bridge and some crazy old guy came up to me and jumped in the river. I had to jump in after him so he didn’t drown.” Parker continued, “I had never seen this man before, but…”

“He knew who you were?” Pete said in Gary’s voice. Parker looked over and it was Gary driving the car, not Pete.

“What is going on?!” Parker bellowed with fear.

“Don’t be afraid, Parker. I am your guardian angel and I’m here to show you just how important you are to the people in your life.”

“Stop the car! Stop the car!”

“I’ll do you one better.” Gary said as he swerved off the road and into a building.

---

Parker woke up in his bed, but his wife was nowhere to be found. He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, but the house was different. It wasn’t decorated for Christmas, it was like you would find in on any other day. He opened the front door and it was snowy and the streetlights had the Christmas ornaments hanging from them. As he stood in the doorway of his house, he noticed a well-dressed man walking down the unkempt sidewalk that ran perpendicular to the road. As the man got closer, he recognized him. It was Gary.

“What the hell have you done?! Where is Jewel?! Where are my kids?!” Parker yelled as Gary, now dressed in a top hat and a flawless waistcoat made his way up the front sidewalk in front of Parker’s house.

“Who are you and what have you done with my family?!” He continued as Gary walked past him into the house.

“I told you that I would show you just how important you are. Get dressed, it’s time for a tour.” Gary replied.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Parker adamantly stated.

“The faster we can get through this, the faster you will be allowed to go back to your old life.” said Gary.

“I hate my old life,” Parker yelled.

That’s when Gary said, “It’s up to you to change it.”

----

Parker got changed and got in the driver’s side of the car.

“Good, you can drive. I’m a terrible driver, “ Gary said sarcastically, “Let’s head over to your office.”

“What am I, Ebenezer Scrooge? Are you a ghost sent here to teach me a lesson?” Parker asked before starting the car.

“Nothing like that,” Gary started, “I’ve told you already, I am your guardian angel and I am here to show you just what life would be like for the people you care about if you weren’t a part of theirs.”

“Do you know how crazy this is?” was Parker’s retort.

“It’s no more crazy than your feelings of loneliness and frustration.” Gary said.

“Things just haven’t been going well at work. We’re trying to put in this new system and its messing with production.” Parker started, “There’s really very little I can do about it, either. We’ve lost two of our biggest accounts and trying to modernize is costing us a fortune. The world isn’t the same now as it was when I started working there. We may not have any choice but to lay off some people. It’s a really bad situation.”

“It could be worse,” Gary said as they took a left onto the industrial park.

Parker’s demeanor changed and immediately got more hostile.

‘What the hell do you mean it could be worse?! People depend on me to make good decisions and I’m letting them down! Don’t you get it?!”

“Oh, I get it,” Gary began, “but I know things could be worse. Just look at that.”

At this moment they came upon the Thatcher-Jenkins offices; or, more like where the Thatcher-Jenkins offices should be. The building, which sat just off the river at the north end of the industrial park was vacant. There were pieces of plywood over several of the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the second-floor facade. The parking lot was unplowed, so when Parker opened the car door and got out, he crunched through the layer of cold-tempered snow.

“What the…” Parker trailed off as he crunched through the snow toward the building.

Gary got out and shouted after him, “I told you things could be worse.”

Parker turned around and glanced at him, “What is happening?”

Gary flashed a smile, “This is what happens if you aren’t the one making the decisions. 56 jobs are gone. The place boarded up and left vacant.”

Parker started back to the car.

“Where am I, then?” he asked sternly.

“Well you’re right here, of course. Get in, and I’ll show you more.” Gary said.

Parker got in the car and they made their way out of the Industrial Park and drove toward downtown. As they drove down Main street Parker noticed his wife, Jewel. She didn’t look like herself, however. Instead of the well-manicured woman, she was wearing a heavy wool coat, a wool hat with matching mittens and standing in the doorway of George’s Hardware ringing a bell. She was taking in donations for the Salvation Army.

“She always loves to help people,” Parker said as he started to roll down the window. They drove on by, causing Parker to watch her in the driver's-side mirror until she was no longer in sight.

“She’s wonderful, but her life is nothing like her life is with you,” Gary said, “Without you, she marries, but has a miscarriage and gets divorced. She never has the family that you two have created. She suffers each day with the loss.”

Parker started to tear up. Gary reached in his topcoat and grabbed a handkerchief and offered it to Parker. Parker took it, and blotted his eyes as the town passed them by.

“Where are you taking me now?” Parker asked helplessly.

“We have a couple more things to see before you make your decision,” Gary responded.

“What decision?” Parker asked several times. Gary gestured him to keep course. They came to a stop in a parking lot in front of Ophelia’s Diner, on the east edge of town near the interstate highway.

“Park the car here.” said Gary.

“Why are we stopping here? I’m not hungry.” Parker inquired with desperation in his voice.

“Good,” Gary said, “because we’re not going in.”

Gary led him around the side of the building to a camper that was set up about 50 feet behind the restaurant.

“What the hell is this?” Parker asked.

“Something you’ll need to see.” Gary responded.

They approached the camper. There was the faint smell of cigarettes and muffled noises coming from inside. Gary walks up and knocks on the door. After some rustling and audible muttering, the door swung open. The man standing in the doorway was Pete. He had a two-day stubble and had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

“What do you want?” Pete said, not taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

“Pete?!” Parker asked aloud. Pete looked as if he hadn’t bathed in a couple of days and was wearing a cook’s whites, but no apron. He wasn’t wearing shoes.

“Yeah. Do I know you?” Pete said with a twinge of hostility. The men just stood there and stared at each other for a minute at which time Pete had had enough.

“Well, I’m busy,” Pete slammed the door, leaving the other two men standing in the snow.

“Let’s go,” Gary said as he began to walk back to the car.

“I guess he had a rough time of it.” Parker said trailing after Gary, “Jewel got me to hire him after he got out of jail. I guess without me all his talents would have been put to waste. He’s one hell of an IT guy. He’s been with me for years; I was about to make him CIO.”

The two men reached the car and Gary got in and started it up. Parker looked back at the camper one more time and got in the passenger seat.

“I think I get the point,” Parker said softly when they were driving back toward town.

“Yeah, people depend on you, but I have one more thing to show you,” Gary said.

“Why don’t you just take me back?” Parker demanded.

“That’s not the way it works, Parker,” Gary responded, “Like I told you, you are here. I can’t just take you back. I’m just your guardian angel.”

“I understand why I’m so important now. I have you to thank for it.” Parker admitted.

“You need to see one more thing.” Gary said as he drove.

Parker was silent. As he watched the town drift by, he realized that it was getting late in the afternoon and it was starting to get dark.

“I’ll be able to pick up where I left off, right, Ghost?” Parker asked.

“I’m not a ghost and you are not Ebenezer Scrooge. If any of this helps you, it will be on you to get back to the place where you can make a difference.” Gary said.

“But how do I get back?” Parker asked helplessly.

“You’ll see,” Gary said, “the decision will be yours.”

Just then they arrived at the supermarket. Gary got out of the car and told Parker to follow him. He walked into the store and went to the aisle where you’d find Thatcher-Jenkins best-selling product. Gary pointed at the shelf. There were no products from Thatcher-Jenkins, just twice as many from their biggest competitor Capra Industries. Parker shook his head and smiled.

“Now you are ready,” Gary said with a smile, “Let’s go.”

They returned to the car and drove across town to the bridge in silence. Gary parked the car in the same place where Parker had parked it, what seemingly was a day prior, but that’s not the way this works.

The men walked up to the place on the bridge where they had first met. Gary reached in his coat and offered Parker an unopened bottle of brandy.

“Now go home to your wife.” Gary said.

“Thank you, angel.” Parker said and extended his hand. Gary didn’t shake his hand, he tipped his cap and abruptly walked away.

---

Parker drove home fast, much faster than he normally would have. Once he got home, he jumped out of the car and ran inside. Without taking off his shoes and coat he ran into his family room to find his children sitting on the couch playing on their tablets. His heart was filled with warmth, he made his way to the kitchen where his wife was.

“Oh, Jewel,” is all he said before he wrapped his arms around her.

“Wow, is everything okay?” She asked him.

“Everything is great. I love you so much.” He said to her stepping away and looking her in the eyes. He kissed her.

He placed the bottle of brandy on the counter.

Confused, Jewel asked, “What happened to you?”

“I just had a long day and I’m happy to be home.” he said.

Parker didn’t think about work for the whole next day. It was the longest he had actually relaxed in years. He spent the holiday with the people he loved, happy, and feeling as if anything was possible.

---

When he returned to work on the day after Christmas, he got there extra early. He noticed the Coleman Technologies business card that he left lying on his desk, so he went ahead and called Pete into his office. He was determined to find solutions to his business’ IT overruns.

“You asked for me, Boss?” Pete said as he walked in the open door.

“Yeah, Pete, shut the door.” Parker demanded. Pete walked in nervously and stood behind the chairs that were in front of the Parker’s desk.

“Have a seat,” Parker started, “Pete, over the Christmas holiday I had some harsh truths to face. It’s no secret that we’ve been having some technology problems lately and if they keep up, we’ll likely have to lay some people off.”

“Okay, we’re doing all…” Pete started before Parker interjected.

“I’m not blaming you, Pete. Like I said, I had some harsh truths to face. One of them is that I have to take a step back from the technology end of the business. My demands are some of the main reasons we’re having problems. I called you here to promote you, Pete. You’ve done one hell of a job for us and I was wondering if you would like to join the management team as CIO?”

Pete’s face was filled with surprise and pride, “How would it change the job I have now?”

“Do you want it, Pete?” Parker pressed.

“Yes, sir.” Pete responded.

“Wonderful, you are the right man for the job. The first course of action that you need to focus on is getting the resources in here to get our new system in place and get the people trained up on it. It is essential to the future of our company, and I think you are up to the challenge.”

“Thank you, sir.” Pete said earnestly, “I think the first thing we should look at is getting Coleman Technologies in here to help us cover our regular management while we finish the deployment.”

“Pete, if it’s in the budget, it is your call now. I’ll call a staff meeting later today to announce your promotion.“ Parker answered. “For now, though, I have some things I need to attend to.”

Parker walked around the desk to shake Pete’s hand and walked him out of the office. Once Pete was gone, Parker walked over to the window and put his palm on the glass. He hadn’t felt this proud in some time.

---

I’m glad to announce that Pete’s plan was implemented the very next day. The following week, Coleman Technologies did their first assessment, and soon after took over the management and maintenance of the computing infrastructure and network. For several months, Thatcher-Jenkins’ IT technicians, led by CIO Pete, implemented a system with Coleman Technologies supporting their technology. Now the two companies are full-time collaborators, and Thatcher-Jenkins continues their steady growth.

If you enjoyed this take and think that Coleman Technologies can breathe some new life into your business’ technology strategy, give us a call at (604) 513-9428 and one of our expert consultants can tell you how we can help you. Happy Holidays.

Before we discuss what the last decade brought us, I wanted to remind everyone just how limitless innovations are. Many years ago, many of these inventions or technologies seemed unrealistic for the times.

Let’s go through the past decade’s biggest hits, as well as what we might see in years to come.

2010: When Innovation Thrived

While many technologies were introduced in the 2000s, the 2010s saw these technologies used in bigger, more innovative ways. Let’s take a brief look at the past ten years and what improvements we saw.

4G

While 4G was actually first developed in 2009, but primarily spreading in the early 2010s, 4G wireless changed the capabilities of wireless data transmission. As a result, further innovations were made, encouraging (and sometimes forcing) technologies to improve. The companies that worked in real-time and heavily depended on application deployment were suddenly given the tools they needed to really take root. Furthermore, 4G was responsible for the viability of many of today’s biggest players, including Spotify, Instagram, Uber, and Snapchat - among many others.

Apple iPad

Can you believe that the iPad has only been around for about a decade? It was the first of many mass-produced consumer tablets, and it took other companies a few years to catch up as they followed Apple’s lead. Powered by iOS, and featuring a large screen, the explosive initial sales of the iPad cemented the tablet’s reputation as a useful device, both at home and in the workplace.

IPv6

In June of 2012, the longstanding wireless networking standard was upgraded for the first time in years. This sixth standard allowed a new age of connectivity, permitting a far larger number of devices to be connected to the Internet.

Chromecast

As we suggested in the section on 4G, streaming was growing in popularity, and it is safe to say that the first Chromecast was partially responsible for that. While it may seem practically ubiquitous today, integrated casting was revolutionary upon its release… and in many ways, it changed how businesses could communicate ideas. Conference rooms everywhere are now equipped to work with this (or similar) technologies.

Virtual Assistants

Today, every major technology brand has its own take on the virtual assistant. Apple has the OG - Siri - while Microsoft has Cortana, Google has its Google Assistant, Amazon has Alexa, and Samsung has Bixby. As such, the development of this technology spurred a new competitive spirit among these rivals, to the benefit of the user. With all of these companies working to create advanced, better assistants to sway consumers, machine learning has improved exponentially through these efforts.

USB-C

Despite largely flying under the radar, one of the most impactful advancements of the decade is the development of the USB Type C connector. With the exception of Apple, it has been accepted as the industry’s standard connection for power and data transmission, and can therefore be found on most post-2015 devices.

Windows 10

As they attempted to put together a mobile OS, and their redesigned Windows 8.1 OS failing to replace the aging Windows 7, Windows 10 was developed to standardize the Windows experience and modernize it for longevity. Now, Windows 10 has been established as the standard, running on 64 percent of all PCs in existence, a number that will grow even higher as Windows 7 is finally put out to pasture.

2020: When Things Will Thrive

While there is an argument that, technically speaking, the Internet of Things is more of a 2010s development, the 2020s are poised to be the decade that Internet-connected devices are truly viable tools, with the necessary integrations, functionality, and (most critically) security finally in place. This is predicted much for the same reason that mobile technology took off last decade - the fact that wireless networks improved. 

Frankly, there’s so much more we have yet to accomplish, as the near future is poised to turn what was very recently science fiction into fact. For instance, the next 10 years will likely see the following technologies come more into the mainstream:

5G Connectivity

With certain areas currently rolling out the 5G wireless standard, and more guaranteed to follow, there is hope of a fundamental shift in how people can use their technology. As if today’s networks weren’t already burdened by our data demands, we are only increasing these demands as time passes. However, 5G potentially promises a variety of benefits - including ubiquitous access, powered by broadcast sites that focus on delivering performance to each user rather than to a given neighborhood. Today’s 5G users have experienced speeds measured in gigabits, so just imagine this capability spreading.

Artificial Intelligence

While the phrase “artificial intelligence” has been somewhat inflated by popular culture, the more practical use of artificial intelligence is slated to increase by a significant amount in the 2020s. Today, neural networks are already in use as a means to recognize data patterns, assisting in automation processes. With the amount of data increasing exponentially, these neural networks are bound to see exponential benefits, and we will be able to put AI to use in more complex and dynamic applications.

The IoT

Like we said, the Internet of Things is only going to grow as time passes, and the many technologies and solutions that are included under this umbrella term will finally have the wireless capabilities needed to make a real impact. Cities will be made smart, using AI to increase the efficiency of crucial services and eliminate waste. Driverless cars will make commuting and traveling safer, and crucial systems in finance, healthcare, and infrastructure will be improved.

Mixed Reality

There has been a notable trend toward increasing how immersive our technology is, and that will culminate in something known as mixed reality. As the predicted replacement to today’s mobile platforms, MR would provide interactive overlays in real-time for all kinds of applications, ultimately reducing data strains. As a result, we could see a variety of applications be completely revolutionized, including education, entertainment, and social interaction.

Just as it did throughout the last decade, technology is sure to transform throughout the coming one. What innovations do you hope to see? Let us know in the comments!

Technology #1 - Blockchain

You’ve probably heard of blockchain before. It is widely known as the technology that makes cryptocurrency possible. Software developers have been working to use the encrypted distributed ledger system to create applications that can help a business secure its processes and create situational transparency. 

Thus far blockchain’s applications are mostly security-related, but the applications for the technology are limitless. Right now, a business can start using blockchain to boost the security of their accounts-receivable process, for contract transparency, and aid the efficiency of their supply chain. 

Technology #2 - Business Process Automation 

Automation has been the name of the game for some time. Today, however, there are more devices than ever to build automated systems with. The smart-technology boom called the Internet of Things (IoT), coupled with advancements in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), is giving businesses more options in which to enhance efficiency. 

Business Process Automation (BPA) incorporates these technologies into business management systems to help a business be able to accomplish more. This boost in productivity can often be pretty obvious on the bottom line. 

Technology #3 - Powerful Collaboration Tools

With technology making collaboration much easier, businesses have begun to promote collaborative efforts. Today, there are several options for the modern business. Businesses are using complete productivity suites like Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite for collaborative work. They also have begun instituting new communications tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams that couple useful messaging software with dozens of application integrations.

Moreover, businesses are significantly expanding the technology they use to make their BPA strategy more comprehensive. Bringing in interdepartmental collaboration tools that include customer resource management (CRM) is helping businesses operate smarter and more efficiently. 

2020 could be your business’ year to shine. By integrating some of these emerging tools, you could create the efficient operations boost you are seeking. Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 today to learn more about what Coleman Technologies can do for your company.

Business Servers

When you are looking for servers, there is a pretty good chance that you need to centralize application delivery, file storage, or some other core function of your business. A server is a high-powered computer that runs specialized software that is used to support the multiple users that your business has on staff. Some of the multi-user applications that servers are used for include email, some type of messaging, print servers designed to manage company-wide print jobs, and customer relationship management (CRM). If your business already uses one or multiple servers, you need to establish whether you need to upgrade and migrate; or, if you’ve outgrown your hardware and need to set up a new server, and where to host it.

Cloud vs. Onsite

If you are looking to set up your first server, you have an interesting decision to make. Do you set up your new server at your place of business, or do you host it with an established cloud provider? Traditionally, companies would be better served to host their hardware locally, but with cloud services from some of the most reputable companies in the world now available with built-in support and anywhere-anytime access, it stands to reason that looking at how each is priced out is a prudent move by any decision maker. 

With the purchase of a server, a company takes on the costs of the hardware, which are often substantial, they then deploy software and have to pay to have that hardware managed. If the hardware costs aren’t enough, the maintenance costs can be multiple times that. When you add in utility costs, you are looking at a large capital cost with a smaller operational outlay.  With cloud computing, however, you can get a reasonably secure server that can be accessed from any place users have access to a high-speed Internet connection. This provides accessibility that many other servers don’t have, while paying per month rather than up front. The costs don’t add up quite as fast (the capital outlay is virtually zero), but the operational costs spike, often exceeding what you would pay for a server over time. 

Let’s make a list of some pros and cons:

Onsite Server 

Pros:

• Gives you complete control over organizational data.
• Gives you the ability to alter storage types and amount at any time.
• Performing onsite backup is much easier.
• Restoration from onsite backup is much faster.

Cons:

• Upfront costs of hardware.
• Exorbitant costs of continued maintenance.
• Utility costs.
• Upfront and recurring costs of physical security.
• Your hardware is only marginally utilized.

Hosted Server

Pros: 

• Eliminate capital costs of buying and maintaining hardware. 
• Mitigate server-based utility costs.
• Cloud server is scalable.
• Data and application redundancy built in.

Cons:

• The need for stable and reliable bandwidth rises.
• Costs of bandwidth rise.
• Security can become an issue.
• Lose physical control over the management of the servers.

It all comes down to system control. If you want (or need to have) control over your hardware in order to meet federal, state, or industry regulations, hosting your servers onsite is suggested. If you don’t have these regulations to meet, there’s no reason hosting your servers in a public cloud interface can’t be a viable alternative for your company. 

One option that many businesses are using today is the establishment of a private cloud server. A private cloud server is hosted either onsite or in its own dedicated cloud space, and delivers a business a lot of the pros listed above, albeit at substantial cost. The establishment of the private cloud allows companies that need to have control over the management of their organizations data and applications to have it, while providing the ability for users to access the data and applications outside of the confines of its physical network. 

Regardless of what kind of server you are looking for the experts at Coleman Technologies can help. Find out more about your server options by calling us today at (604) 513-9428.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing can help business owners accomplish a plethora of tasks in the workplace. For one, video conferencing gives you the power to directly communicate with other parties, like vendors, customers, regulators, etc., without being in the same physical location. You also have the option to share screens, documents, presentations, and more through a video conferencing setup.

Chat Platforms

A chat platform will give users the ability to communicate both in and out of the office, whether it’s providing assistance to your clients or acting as a communication infrastructure for your employees. Some organizations have even taken to automating chat platforms to provide a more effective service to their clients. In fact, these services are often more cost-effective, and they come with a high level of customizability to provide an alternative to having a traditional support line.

Voice over Internet Protocol

Voice over IP has been around for quite some time, and it’s so popular that even cable companies are providing it these days. The biggest component of a successful VoIP platform is ensuring that you’re not overpaying for bandwidth. Your business’ phone system will run over your organization’s Internet connection, so it’s crucial that you’re not buying more than needed. A VoIP solution, when implemented correctly, can save you time and resources better spent elsewhere. VoIP systems can integrate well with other services, as well.

Mobile Devices and BYOD

Everyone has a mobile device of some sort, so businesses are beginning to leverage this to their advantage through the use of Bring Your Own Device. Organizations that have employees who often travel for work will find it beneficial for them to bring their own devices into the workplace so as to offset the cost of purchasing work devices for them… as long as there are limits in place, of course.

Of course, securing these devices is also of the utmost importance, which is why solutions such as mobile device management exist. These solutions give administrators the chance to limit a device’s data access based on user privileges, limit the kinds of software installed on them, and more. Mobile device management might be hard to implement for certain businesses with outspoken employees, so address these issues accordingly.

Intranet

Intranet solutions consist of a data system that can be used for file sharing. A company intranet can be used in various ways; they can be hosted on-site, in a private cloud solution, or implemented in a hybrid solution. An intranet hosted on your local area network can give any computer that’s connected to the network the ability to access the intranet. Given the right permissions, an intranet can enable collaboration utilizing this single point of storage.

A cloud-based solution can be hosted on private hardware, but it will depend on the integration and whether or not you’ve set up access control and authorization. Cloud systems are generally hosted outside the confines of your physical network, yet they offer a considerable amount of flexibility with access to data and applications.

Cloud Services

There are countless cloud services out there that your organization can use to establish lines of communication, including email, instant messaging, collaboration software, and more.

Unified Communications

If you can unify your business’ communications, you will see quite a lot of benefits. Centralized software gives you the opportunity to host all of your applications in one location, like VoIP, Instant Messaging, Video Conferencing, etc., and it all reports back to one location where it can be tracked. Unified communications are a great way to monitor transparency and increase the value of your solution.

Coleman Technologies’s IT experts can present you with the best communications solutions for your organization. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Before we do that, let’s start you with some terminology that you should know:

• Virtualization - Virtualization is the process where information that is found on physical hardware (or the physical hardware itself) is transferred into a virtual environment. 
• Hypervisor - The process that takes hardware resources and combines them in a way where they can be delivered into a virtual environment. 
• P2V - Short for “physical-to-virtual”, which is the act of migrating resources from a physical server to a virtual one. 
• Snapshot - An image of the state of a virtual machine at any specific point. In a snapshot you can see all of the data, configurations, and programs that are open at the time, in effect saving all the work that has been done on that system.
• Clone - An exact copy of a virtual machine that can be transferred to another VM. 

Host and Guest

When committing to using virtualized resources, you need to understand that your VM is the guest of a host machine. The host machine is typically a high-powered server that you would have normally used to host your computing resources, while each virtual machine, whether it is a virtualized server or a virtualized desktop (or something else), are guests on the hosted machine. By being able to fit several guest machines on one host machine, you can save a substantial amount of money. 

Uses of Virtual Machines

Typically, a virtual machine is used for less-critical processes, but it can handle about any type of computing that you need it to. Virtual machines are often used in resource testing. Some more popular uses include:

• Try out a new operating system (OS) - Running a new OS on a virtual machine can provide technicians and administrators with the perspective needed to determine if the new OS is right for their business.
• Use Desktop as thin client - By running a virtual machine on your typical computer, the new computing construct notably becomes a guest system. 
• Testing software - One of the most prevalent uses is to test new software before installing it on a larger computing infrastructure. 
• Consolidation - These days, virtual machines are being created to do more than ever before. Today virtual server technology can allow organizations to roll out one server and use it to host several. This presents the opportunity for major cost savings.

Has your organization looked into using virtual machines to cut down on your physical IT infrastructure? Call Coleman Technologies’s experts today to discuss your virtualization options at (604) 513-9428.

Data storage has progressed rapidly in the past few decades, ranging from punch cards to floppy disks (and then less-floppy disks), to rewritable compact discs, all the way to the countless storage devices that are used in the workplace today. Your standard floppy diskette measured in at 3.5 inches wide and could contain about 1.44 MB (megabytes) of information. While this was impressive at the time and enabled these disks to hold large text files, they were unable to hold something like an MP3 file on one disk alone.

A CD can contain around 650 MB of data, while a DVD can hold 4.7 GB. A single DVD can hold just as much data as approximately 3,342 3.5-inch floppy disks, just to give you an idea for how much things have changed. Blu-Ray disks can store even more data, up to 10 times as much as a DVD can. For reference, Google’s data storage exceeds 15 exabytes, which would take 26.2 million Blu-Ray disks to fill.

How Your Use Affects Your Storage Needs

First, you’ll need to consider your storage needs before implementing any storage device. For example, if your computer will be plugged into your office’s network, and most of the data is stored in a central location or cloud solution, the device probably doesn’t need so much onboard storage. It will likely only need enough for the operating system and any programs on it that aren’t associated with the cloud, as well as a little breathing room for file storage and other oddities. If your computer is for personal use, gaming, or a home office, you should invest a little extra in your storage. This also applies for video production, as it requires dedicated storage devices for these specific file types.

Comparing HDD and SSD Storage

When examining your options, the devices used will have at least one of the following acronyms: solid state drive (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD). Some devices have both of these storage options.

Hard Disk Drives (HDD)

Hard disk drives are components in your computer that store data, and they have been used for over three decades. They utilize tiny electric motors, a spinning stack of magnetic platters, and a small arm to read and write data; all housed within a heavy metal construction. They work similarly to record players, though they move far faster. These drives are often called mechanical drives due to their many moving parts.

HDDs can hold large amounts of data, but they are slower and less energy-efficient, for sure. They are also more fragile, and if you’re not careful, you could lose data due to roughing up your device a bit too much. For this express purpose, laptops tend to avoid using HDD storage, both to save battery life and maintain durability. Still, HDDs can be utilized for high-capacity storage options, as they are a cheaper alternative to solid state drives.

Solid State Drives (SSD)

Unlike the hard disk drive, SSDs don’t have any moving parts. All data is recorded electronically. While they are expensive, they are much safer and more reliable to use than an HDD. They also work faster and experience less wear and tear over the years, making them less likely to fail and cause problems with data loss. The biggest issue with SDD stems from limited capacity, and higher storage drives can increase the price considerably. For comparison, a budget HDD with 3 terabytes of storage would set you back less than a single terabyte SSD at the time of this writing.

What Are Your Storage Needs?

For the most part, your computer storage needs will depend on what the computer is being used for. Start by thinking about whether an SSD will be beneficial or not. If you don’t use your PC for much, then perhaps you will only need one that stores 128 or 256 GBs of storage. If your data is stored on the office network, you won’t need much onboard storage.

If your computer is for personal use, you’ll want to invest in between 512 GB and 1 TB. Depending on where you get your computer, it might not influence the cost of the PC at all--at least, nowhere near as much as others like your CPU or RAM might.

A home office desktop without a centralized server or network-attached storage device will likely need additional hard drive storage. Using an SSD to run your operating system will help the operating system run more efficiently, but you could still use an additional HDD for your data.

A gaming PC would benefit from this setup, as there are storage-intensive programs that can quickly fill up even a whole terabyte of storage. The same holds true if you have a lot of media, like photos, videos, or music on your device. Even casual hobbyists might find themselves filling up their device’s storage without meaning to.

In the End…

An SSD is a mostly-superior option for your primary drive, no matter what kind of device you’re using. However, just to be safe, it’s helpful to have an additional hard drive for data storage to ensure that you don’t run out of space for storage. Finally, try to avoid the cheapest option, as there is no good reason to put data at risk--and don’t forget to take data backups!

For help with acquiring your next computer, reach out to Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.

The Internet of Things is essentially a massive network of connected devices. Some of them have not traditionally taken advantage of network connectivity, but now depend on it. The more obscure examples of Internet of Things devices include kitchen appliances and other oddities, whereas the more usable devices include watches, wearables, connected vehicles, smart homes, and more. Some Internet of Things devices can even communicate with others, sending data and using it for a certain functionality. It all coalesces into a security disaster waiting to happen.

To prepare for this, you need to implement what’s called an Internet of Things policy within your workplace. Here are some ways you can keep the Internet of Things from devastating your business.

It’s Impossible to Stop Them All

One of the most valuable lessons of dealing with Internet of Things devices is that it’s impossible to keep tabs on every single device that enters your office. If you assume that each employee has a smartphone, a laptop, and at least one or two other minor devices, it all adds up. Therefore, you need to prepare for the worst by expecting it.

You Need to Do Your Best

The best way to protect against the Internet of Things is to be prepared for them. Implementing security measures is key, and the best ones for this situation include a Unified Threat Management system (UTM) and a Bring Your Own Device policy (BYOD). What this enables is the ability to eliminate threats and keep them from entering your network in the first place, including from your employees’ personal devices. It also helps to have a password-protected network so that passing devices don’t automatically connect to your wireless network.

Working with a managed IT provider like Coleman Technologies can make it easier to manage all of the devices that make their way to your business’ network. To learn more about what we can do for your organization, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

The Word is Proactive

When something bad happens, you might look back to see what you could have done to prevent the issue from happening in the first place. The word to remember here is “proactive.” Being proactive requires risk assessment, which demands that you analyze the greatest possible threat to your continued existence and prepare for it. In the event that your business’ IT is unable to function as intended, your business would stop functioning. All it takes is a single component failing to leave your employees unable to do their jobs. This is why you need to be as proactive as possible--to ensure that you have plans in place for when your systems inevitably fail.

Proactive IT Maintenance

For the past decade, proactive IT maintenance has been making strides in the office environment. When one of the most important parts of running a business--your IT infrastructure--no longer works as intended, you lose out on profits and shell out for repairs more often. Furthermore, downtime can be a major cost that your business suffers from due to technology malfunctions. If you can keep your hardware operating properly, your network safe from threats, and your business productive, you can eliminate potential problems before they have time to escalate into the expensive kind.

Coleman Technologies’s proactive IT services provide your business with monitoring and management software. With our expert technicians behind these tools, you can rest easy knowing that we are monitoring each and every critical component of your technology for any telling inefficiencies. This gives you the opportunity to address them before downtime occurs.

Patch Management

Security troubles such as software vulnerabilities can also lead to problems for your business. If you can’t rely on your software tools to get the job done without issue, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. Furthermore, you will need the latest threat definitions and software patches to keep your solutions secure from threats that could derail productivity. A major part of our proactive maintenance platform is deploying patches as they are released, eliminating the chances of known vulnerabilities affecting operations.

For more information on how your organization can be more proactive with its IT maintenance, give Coleman Technologies a call at (604) 513-9428.

Uses for the Cloud

No matter what your business needs, there is likely a cloud solution for it. Hosted VoIP and email are great communication tools. Infrastructure and Platform as a Service solutions empower organizations to leverage more flexible computing power. Software as a Service and hosted storage are available for all of your organization’s needs.

In the end, you can get just as much done with cloud infrastructure as you can with onsite hardware.

The cloud allows for functionality and redundancy, no matter what the industry is or the kind of workforce it contains. These services can be utilized as needed and deployed quickly.

The Drawbacks

Cloud computing isn’t perfect. Businesses can create a private cloud system that can create large costs for their bottom line while also maintaining the control, management, and accessibility… but again, a lot of thought needs to be invested into this kind of solution. Environments that are hosted outside of a service provider can be difficult to control, since your organization doesn’t have control over the hardware it’s hosted on.

A major drawback of cloud computing can actually be the cost. Since the IT infrastructure used to run the solutions is managed by the service provider, the price is adjusted accordingly. If your business needs a certain number of cloud licenses, you could see the cost of your solution rise. Plus, if you don’t cancel accounts when employees leave, you could be paying more for services that aren’t being utilized.

Furthermore, imagine if your organization has teams assembled that need to use three or four cloud-based applications to complete a project. Think about all of the money that’s spent just providing access to the appropriate software solutions. If it’s not properly managed, your return on investment could be put in jeopardy.

Coleman Technologies can help you keep track of your cloud-based resources, whether you’re just hitting the cloud environment, or you have an established presence in the cloud. To learn more about how we can help you manage cloud applications, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

The Manufacturer’s Puzzle

Making products can be a bit of a puzzle. You have to fit the right parts together to create the product. Each of those parts comes from somewhere. Some you need to create yourself, but most of the time there are companies that manufacturers acquire the resources from. The process is called procurement.

Procurement is the first of many puzzles that a manufacturer has to solve. Essentially, the products they create have a purpose. Many small and medium-sized manufacturers tend to make the products that make up larger products (that other manufacturers build). As a result, their revenue typically comes from supplying other manufacturers with pieces that will make up the products they are manufacturing. To streamline the procurement process, many companies have started relying on automated systems to tell them when they need to re-up.

Once the resources have been acquired, now it’s time to make the products. Of course, the costliest part of any manufacturing company is the actual manufacturing of the products. This is mainly because the capital costs of purchasing the machinery needed to manufacture goods, coupled with the operational costs of payroll and downtime caused by machinery malfunction (and the subsequent maintenance required), adds up to a significant investment. Companies today are searching for new ways around these costs. Enhancements in automation have made it possible for the smaller manufacturer to trim their production costs, while keeping their output static.

The last piece of the puzzle for the manufacturer is the distribution of the products to consumers. In many cases the consumers in this scenario are retail businesses. They need the costs to be low enough to be able to offer them to their customers with a markup.  Problems with distribution, like problems in the procurement stages, can be devastating to the manufacturer’s ability to create a positive revenue stream.

Where IT Fits

The entire process can be aided by information technology, but manufacturers tend to look at things in stages...like their workflow. Typically, organizations that have leveraged automation through the use of software systems, find that they are able to have more transparency and less overall inefficiency than organizations that don’t. Some software platforms that modern manufacturers are using include:

• Customer Relationship Management - This software helps a company streamline their customer service. It’s used to manage leads, opportunities, and customers.
• Supply Chain Management - This software helps a company control their entire supply chain from procurement to distribution.
• Inventory Management - Manages stock and standardizes and automates replenishment.
• Asset Tracking - Using sensors, every product and resource can be tracked to provide efficiency.

These solutions and more can be found in what is called an Enterprise Resource Planning software. While ERP software is comprehensive and offers organizations a lot of benefits, smaller manufacturers may not need the immersive control that many ERP systems provide. Finding the right software to meet your needs is important to ensure that your business can be as effective as it can be.

The IT professionals at Coleman Technologies can help you find the software you need to gain full control over all of your business’ processes. Call us today to learn more at (604) 513-9428.

Artificial Intelligence
AI might be primitive in a lot of ways at the moment, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not growing in popularity. Machines can get smarter the way that humans do when they perform the same function several times, but unlike humans, machines don’t have various emotions to hold them back. Here are a few ways that a business can leverage AI to its advantage:

• Processing large amounts of data
• Personalizing customer experiences
• Operational automation
• Security
• Predicting demand
• And more

Businesses might have expensive operational issues that demand AI-integrated solutions to handle them, thus expanding the market and allowing for rapid adoption. Automation in particular is being adopted at an alarming rate, and this is driving the demand for artificial intelligence.

Blockchain
Blockchain has been making headlines in the news, fueled by the cryptocurrency fads that have utilized the technology. Blockchain creates a public ledger that is distributed rather than centralized, with each block storing all of the data that is relevant to a transaction. Once this data is captured, it can’t be altered without changing all data that has come afterward. This presents considerable data security benefits.

Some businesses hope to use this increased security to their benefit using a more distributed system. The more people who utilize the blockchain, the more we learn about it, meaning more tools are created to help organizations leverage the blockchain. Here are some of the ways that organizations can utilize the blockchain:

• Managing supply chains
• Identity management
• Recordkeeping & archiving
• Data security
• And more

Blockchain is so popular that even Oracle’s head of blockchain development claims that half of businesses will find a use for blockchain in the next three years.

5G
The past 40 years have shown that wireless technology has a lot of opportunity to improve. Wireless broadband will see an increase from the 4G used today to 5G. In fact, it could potentially change the world. Data speeds could reach as high as 1GB/second or higher, giving many businesses access to the following benefits:

• Faster speeds
• Reduced Latency
• Greater Capacity
• Improved Battery Life
• And more

Innovation will drive businesses to adopt faster technologies than ever before, and Qualcomm has found that 5G will become a “general purpose technology” in the near future, used so much that it will be akin to electricity or vehicles.

Virtual Reality
The consensus is that virtual reality is pretty neat, but not practical in the business environment. Unfortunately, this is far from the actual reality of the situation, as hardware and software advances have given organizations the means to use virtual reality in ways previously unheard of. VR is great for immersing users in virtual environments that can be used for practically any purpose, including training simulations, talent management, product design, and shared experience.

What are some other emerging technologies that you think will be helpful for businesses in the near future? Let us know in the comments.

Not anymore.
A concept called managed IT services has taken the business world by storm. Experienced technicians work diligently with some of today’s most powerful monitoring software to proactively manage a business’ network and infrastructure, keeping technology working better longer, and reducing downtime to a point where it isn’t the huge problem it traditionally has been.

Coleman Technologies is a proud managed IT services vendor. With our technicians’ expertise, we are able to offer our clients a massive cache of services that include:

• Remote and onsite support
• Around-the-clock monitoring
• Help desk
• Server, workstation, and mobile device support
• Networking support
• Software patch management
• Stronger cyber and network security
• Data backup and recovery
• Professional technology consulting
• Periodic business reviews
• Vendor management
• And more

It is increasingly rare for many small or medium-sized businesses to hire onsite IT staff. If you don’t have the support your technology needs to function properly, you are looking at variable capital expenses that can, and likely will come to pass at exactly the wrong moment.

Coleman Technologies’s IT services provide your business with access to dedicated and knowledgeable IT technicians that are well positioned with some of the most powerful technology management software on the market; and, does it for a predictable monthly rate.

If you would like to get rid of your IT headaches for good, and kick downtime to the curb, call us today at (604) 513-9428.

What Does Restarting the Computer Do?
You might think of restarting the computer as something that cuts down on productivity, but this is far from the truth. While it stops you from working in the interim, it’s beneficial in the long run to routinely restart your computer for periodic updates and general upkeep. Have you ever tried to run a machine all the time without giving it a break every now and then? When you do this, it’s more likely that the device will be run into the ground. Your devices will run much better if you restart them every now and then to ensure that they aren’t being overworked.

What Use Is There for Your Task Manager?
You can imagine the look on someone’s face when their computer freezes up and it can’t run properly. Well, once upon a time, someone had the brilliant idea to include a task manager in a computer’ operating system to ensure that you can identify the problematic application (if there is one) and end its tasks without having to restart the computer. Overall, it’s a way to see how your computer’s resources are being allocated, as well as how to end troublesome tasks without restarting the computer.

Why Must Passwords Be Changed?
While some might argue that passwords should only be reset when they are discovered, this in-turn highlights why passwords should be reset frequently. Sometimes passwords will be stolen without the user knowing about it until they are being used against them, but other times, they will be stolen and sold on the black market to the highest bidder. It’s up to the user to make sure any passwords potentially stolen are changed before they can be used against your organization. The best way to protect against this from happening is to assume they will be stolen and change them periodically.

How Do Drivers Affect Your Work?
Drivers can be considered pieces of software that make your device compatible with a variety of external devices. You might have noticed that drivers must be installed on your device in order to use that USB mouse or wireless keyboard. These drivers must be kept up to date so that compatibility with devices doesn’t interfere with your work, and that security vulnerabilities are not presented to nefarious folks who want access to your systems and data.

Do you have any tips that you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

Smarter Machines?
The first thing you have to understand about machine learning is that it is just a branch of A.I. As such, it basically describes a method of analyzing huge amounts of data in which prospective models of problem solving are automated. In layman’s terms, the computer solves basic problems without human intervention. This is significant for a few reasons, but the most glaring is that businesses today, and even small businesses, take in a lot of data. Traditionally, humans were paid to go through all this data, or it was archived and disregarded until there was a major question.

This shift is in the manner in which these machine learning systems analyze data, identify patterns, and make decisions from the analysis of those patterns.This seemingly advanced technology is being deployed at a dizzying rate and is beginning to surround us all, in our phones, on search engines, and in the systems that we manage our business data. For the small business, there are opportunities to utilize this technology to help carve out a larger market share.

Small Business Machine Learning
The philosophy behind utilizing machine learning for a business is just an extension of the overarching strategy of deploying automated systems to cut down on personnel and human resources costs. This strategy has worked in several sectors, albeit with automated systems that were more pre-programmed than “smart” like the machine learning systems.

An issue many small businesses will run into when deciding whether or not to try and innovate to the point where machine learning is an option, is where exactly it fits. Other questions persist as well. They include:

• What is the capital and operational investment of deploying this technology?
• How it will have to be utilized to provide a competitive advantage?
• What systems can be improved through the use of machine learning?
• How much time do you have until you would be at a competitive disadvantage if you didn’t invest in the technology?

Once you’ve ascertained how exactly to deploy machine learning, you can go ahead implementing it where you feel it is warranted.

Benefits of Machine Learning
A.I. and machine learning carry with it specific benefits. Some of them include:

• Forecasting business - What might be the most popular use of machine learning, the technology can be used to replace data and service analysis while being used to replace processes that were done manually or not done at all.
• Customer service - Chatbot technology essentially automates the customer service experience by directing customers to certain solutions based on query.
• E-commerce - Rolling out machine learning for your e-commerce site helps customers by adapting to customer behavior. Giving prospects and customers easy access to obtain the the products and services they are most interested in is sure to improve revenue generation.
• Reputation management - Machine learning can be set up to analyze internal and external data sources to monitor brand popularity. When it finds negative sentiment, you can use the information provided to smooth the situation over, fast.

These are only four of the many processes that can really help improve your business. As the technology improves, more A.I. and machine learning applications will be used to manage, maintain, and streamline a lot of your business’ slow-moving manual processes.

Machine Stupidity
These technologies are extremely advanced and are programmed to learn for themselves, so oversight of them may be difficult. If you are one of the many business owners that have a difficult time trusting technology, machine learning may not be for you. These constructs tend to be less predictable than typical analysis, because it is so thorough. Also, you may run into problems getting all of the data that needs to be analyzed into the system, providing results that may not be accurate for your entire business.

One could see how a small business owner can be in ‘wait and see” mode, but the problem with that strategy, however, is that your competitors may be using it now to improve their business. If you are interested in learning more about how this emerging technology can be used to make your business better, contact the professionals at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.

The Pros
There is more than one application and way to use automation. While the uses are more general than specific, they can be applied to several different kinds of goals or processes, whether it’s customer service or data processing. In this sense, automation can be used in a pretty universal way.

Efficiency
It’s obvious that certain processes take a considerable amount of time to complete, but if they are handled by automated systems, they can be completed much more efficiently than before. In other words, since you don’t have to focus on these tasks, you can instead devote the time to something else entirely. This effectively adds more time to the workday by removing routine tasks that can be handled by an automatic process.

Minimizing Repetition
If someone has to do the same task over and over again, they are doomed to lose interest and make mistakes. If these tasks don’t require focus, then the employees will likely let their mind wander, and productivity can suffer. This makes even a quick task more likely to be repeated multiple times, making it less likely to yield a return on the investment. Automation makes it more convenient and less risky to leave monotonous tasks to employees. Trust us when we say employees will thank you for taking these tasks off their plate and freeing up their schedule for others.

Convenience
When someone reaches out to your business, it’s likely they need your help with something, and they need it fast. If you can’t provide it on a convenient time frame, chances are they will take their needs elsewhere. Automation gives them the ability to get help from a chatbot or other similar automated system without the need to staff someone at all times to address immediate needs. This gives you a better chance at being able to respond to their needs when they reach out to your organization.

Potential Cons
Automation might be quite helpful for businesses, but there are some issues that should be addressed in order to ensure it doesn’t become a liability for your business. For example, some processes are simply too complex for a machine to handle in the same way a human brain can. Most automated systems are limited by design, thus ensuring that they will be limited to the task assigned to them. After all, an automated system’s purpose isn’t being fulfilled if you have to provide constant feedback to it. Here are some ways you can make sure the faults of automation sting less:

• Use automation sparingly: Some of the services that could be automated likely don’t need to be. This is particularly true for more complex issues. Consider that many of the people who contact your business have a point of contact within your organization and regular requests, meaning that working with a human might not be such a bad thing if they are available at that time. In this way, automation supplements human contact rather than replaces it.
• Have employees direct the automation: If an automation system can’t perform a task on its own, having employees direct it during more complex tasks can work to mitigate the issue. A complicated request can be made, but still processed and understood with the right direction.
• Ingrate your automation: You don’t want to stop processes midway. As long as your automation is well-designed and thought-out, tasks can be integrated with automation to ensure they are handled in the most complete way possible.

What are some ways your organization can benefit from automation? Let us know in the comments.

The Cloud
The cloud has risen in popularity over the years, and it’s because the benefits are simply too incredible for businesses not to adopt the cloud. Many of these benefits are a result of the cloud improving productivity. For example, cloud computing’s flexibility makes it great for use on mobile devices. Users are no longer limited to being in the office, and as long as they can access resources in a secure way, they can get just as much work done while out of the office over the Internet as they could if they were in-house.

Outsourced IT Management
Technology is only worth the investment if you have the time and resources available to properly manage it, as if you fail to take proper care of your technology, it could fail much sooner than you expect it to. The problem is that not all businesses can afford to hire a full-fledged in-house IT department to properly maintain their IT infrastructures. Thankfully, businesses like Coleman Technologies provide outsourced IT management to businesses with limited budgets who want to turn IT from a capital expense to an operational expense. Even if you have in-house IT resources, you can supplement them with outsourced IT to save time and make opportunities for other employees to get more value out of their employment with your organization.

Collaboration Solutions
There are many solutions out there that are designed to help your organization be more effective at collaboration. Whether it’s Voice over IP, hosted email, or instant messaging applications, your organization can use them to collaborate and share experiences in a way that facilitates cooperation and productivity.

Does your business want to implement technology to focus on improving productivity? Coleman Technologies can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

First, we’ll talk about how managed IT can provide value for your organization’s project management efforts, and then we’ll tackle how project management software specifically can aid in this.

Managed IT for Project Management
You can’t make progress on a project if your technology solutions are constantly experiencing problems. For example, if an employee is trying to work with Microsoft Office, but the license runs out for the solution, you’ll be unable to get work done with that solution. The same thing could happen for just about any software your business relies on to get the job done, as well as just about any other asset that your project management team needs.

Coleman Technologies can help your business manage its IT so that your assets are always available when you need them most (like in the middle of a project implementation). This means that you won’t have to worry about your technology experiencing any inefficiencies while you’re focused on the project’s implementation. In essence, by effectively doing our job, we can help you get your job done as smoothly and efficiently as possible. This means that instead of focusing on keeping your technology solutions working as intended, you’re focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible, meaning you experience less downtime and save more money for other endeavors.

Project Management Software
Project managers have the responsibility of managing all of this information and connecting the implementation team with all the resources they need to get the job done. This is often easier said than done, but thanks to project management software, your organization can take advantage of a central hub-like interface to connect all resources to users in a centralized fashion.

In essence, project management software helps your team communicate and access resources in the most convenient way possible. Project managers can take a look at progress, assign tasks to specific individuals, check the current state of the project’s budget, and so much more, all through a single software solution. This helps to make sure that projects are completed in a timely manner, keeping your business from having to redo the implementation process multiple times (because we all know that doing something twice wastes time and money better spent elsewhere).

Coleman Technologies can help your business get started with managed IT and project management. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Innovation
Before we tell you how innovation may hurt your business, we’ll talk a little bit about how it is absolutely essential. Business is, for most companies, a very human endeavor. Humans that do the same thing day-in and day-out, don’t take all that long to get proficient at it. This proficiency, if not tested can soon turn into complacency, but if it is tested too much, it can turn into productivity-sapping frustration. Innovation is the process of renewal. Taking something that has worked, and making it work even better.

A constant need for renewal fuels the technology industry. Take, for example, a legacy computing system. A business can still utilize it because it knows what to expect. It’s been using the applications and the software for quite a while. Since it creates no new problems, and the management of it is routine, it works for your business, until it begins to cause other problems.

How could it be then, that this kind of unquestionable efficiency is actually hurting your business?

Well, the answer is pretty standard. With solutions available that take less capital to maintain, are available on newer technologies, and enhance your workers’ ability to be collaborative/productive, the expectation would be that embracing new technology systems will actually cost the business less than maintaining and supporting a legacy system. The legacy system will eventually be untenable because it will be so expensive to maintain, or, it will lose effectiveness. Either reason suggests innovation is an inevitability.

Innovation Betrayal
We’ve already established how serious business owners (and other decisions makers) need to be innovative in their procurement and deployment of business-class solutions to get more out of their business investments. What happens when the innovations they choose do the opposite? What if everything they’ve been told by industry leaders, by mentors, and by their vendors turned out to be completely ineffective?

What if by innovating some of their IT, waste and inefficiency spiked? What if the end result of a dedication to accepting new hardware and other solutions is that capital, that could be spent elsewhere (or, to maintain systems that worked properly for some time), is completely wasted? How can you justify taking capital from a functioning system and leaving your staff with a shiny, new system that doesn’t deliver the same effective computing platform (or operational effectiveness) that their old system did?

We all know that supporting a legacy computing platform is not just costly, it is risky. With the thousands of threats out there just looking to feast on unprotected, network-attached systems, upgrading to more secure systems that don’t need as much diligent oversight should likely be a priority of every business.

How do you make these two concepts play nice? One way is to virtualize. In the past, legacy applications were a major problem for IT administrators, but nowadays, there are solutions that make legacy application virtualization not only possible, but efficient. That way, you’ll be able to maintain the use of your legacy applications, but host them on a public or private cloud platform. This presents any organization with several benefits that include:

• Better for continuity
• Cost reduction
• Improved security
• Easier software licensing
• Boosts in accessibility

It may seem ironic that, by using some of today’s most dynamic technologies, you won’t have to move off of your old software systems, but that is the case. To virtualize your data, your applications, and any other part of your business’ computing systems the IT professionals at Coleman Technologies can help. Our technicians can provide you with the information and resources you need to successfully move your locally-hosted applications to the cloud, whether you choose to host that locally or not.

Customer Relationships
Another way that businesses have improved the way they do business through innovation is by overhauling the way that they handle their customer relationships. If your business has found success by pressing the flesh and getting out and having face-to-face relationships with customers and prospects, you shouldn’t change that now. However, today there are solutions that can make those face-to-face relationships more valuable.

By integrating technology solutions designed to help you better manage your customer relationships, you can subsidize those face-to-face relationships with automated correspondence and other services designed to promote enhancement to your organization’s sales and support. One solution is called Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

A CRM integrates all facets of your business together with one piece of software, not only improving customer relations, but also streamlining processes for sales, productivity, and support. By having all the information your team needs in one simple-to-use solution, they can produce more, provide better support, and collaborate better than ever before.

Another technology that is working to improve customer relationships is social media. There are dozens of different social media sites for a business to consider, but depending on the industry your business services, you may be able to get away with minimizing your social media presence and still have it work to enhance your relationships with customers and prospects. The major social networks like Facebook and Twitter can be of great benefit for businesses to promote their brand and interact with customers.

At Coleman Technologies, we help businesses just like yours do more with the use of technology. Our managed IT services work to proactively manage your business’ IT to ensure that you are experiencing the technology in the way it is designed to be experienced; and, that your company gets the most out of it. For more information about how Coleman Technologies can help you improve your business, call us today at (604) 513-9428.