Endsight Named to the Inc. 5000

Endsight was named to the Inc. 5000 list, a collection of the fastest growing companies in America.

Endsight CEO Michael Chaput commented: "We are honored to be recognized by the Inc. 5000 for a second year. We have a great group of people here and they have worked hard to make Endsight successful."

Endsight placed at #2795 with a three-year growth rate of 79%. The 2011 Inc. 5000 reports that the IT Services industry as a whole grew by 56% and was one of the top 5 job generators from 2007 to 2010. To see Endsight’s listing, click here: http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/endsight.

Endsight honored as a thought leader for managed service providers

We tend to stay away from the term managed services when we talk to clients about computer system support because we think it’s a confusing concept. 

Outsourced IT support and Managed Services are not the same thing.  There are still a lot of firms in the bay area that  provided traditional Outsourced IT services on an as needed, or hourly basis.  Managed services are an alternative  delivery and billing  approach that breaks from the pay by the hour model.   The distinction may seem subtle, but in practice it’s a night and day difference.  For more about the differences click here.   I also plan to post future blogs about this topic.

Endsight uses managed services to provide outsourced IT support for our clients.  In 2004, we were one of the first local firms to introduce the model.  Since then we’ve grown to almost 50 employees and nearly 5000 computer systems under daily management and support.   It’s success you can hang your hat on and we’re honored that our peers have noticed by inviting us to share what we know.

In June, Mike Chaput & Josh Carroll, two of Endsight’s founders, were featured in separate industry discussions about best practices for Managed Service Providers (MSP’s) .  Mike participated in a panel discussion at TruMethods’ Schnizzfest and Josh presented a case study with HP & Intel on Everything Channel.

You can read the details for each forum by clicking here:  Josh on Everything Channel and Mike at Schnizzfest.

The fact that our peers / competitors want to now what makes us successful is a real compliment.  We’ve worked hard to create a valuable service for our clients and will continue to innovate new ways to improve our clients experience with information technology!

About Everything Channel

Everything Channel is the premier provider of channel-focused research and consulting, events, media and custom solutions for the technology industry. Everything Channel provides integrated solutions to technology marketers for managing channel strategy to accelerate technology sales.

From building go-to-market strategies to partner recruitment and enablement to creating customer demand, Everything Channel offers the unmatched breadth and depth of global media and event brands, combined with the largest Solutions Provider database enabling an unparalleled audience loyalty and credibility built from over 30 years of experience and engagement.

About TruMethods

TruMethods is a consulting firm that helps IT solution providers achieve their full potential as managed service providers. TruMethods’ FormulaWon program transforms IT businesses by providing a proven, repeatable process that perfects leadership, solution packaging, sales processes, and results tracking through online tools, seminars, and the personal guidance of MSP sales authority Gary Pica, the company’s founder and CEO.

4 Things to Consider Before Your Next Hire

Finding the right employee for your team can be challenging. With thousands to choose from, the task can be overwhelming. Choose wrong, and your new employee won’t be the right fit for your company. Hiring an employee who doesn’t complement your team can result in lost time and productivity, turnover, headaches, and more.

When hiring, employers often fall into the habit of finding employees with similar strengths and backgrounds instead of balancing their team with a variety of different skill sets and experience levels. Keep these things in mind for your next hire.

Team Needs

The first step to finding the right employee is to examine the needs of your team. Don’t just look at the qualifications and job descriptions you have on paper. With the size of the current job applicant pool, it’s a great time to hire employees whose skills and strengths surpass basic qualifications to bolster team achievements.

Consider your team’s strengths and weaknesses in areas like experience and personality. If your team is made up of creative thinkers who get lost in ideas, consider hiring a more decisive, analytical thinker to add balance, give input, and keep everyone on track. Once you’ve established your ideal applicant, evaluate and interview potential candidates who meet the team’s needs with their experience, personality, and strengths.

Experience

If you have a habit of hiring inexperienced employees whose development you can shape, don’t dismiss an experienced applicant. Adding experience to the team can generate efficiency and productivity, provide the necessary insight others lack, and help streamline processes.

If your team is made up of experienced employees, consider an inexperienced candidate who can bring fresh ideas to the table. Workers who need experience can add passion and flexibility to the team. Eager to prove themselves, these individuals will work hard to achieve new goals. Whether you hire an individual who is looking for or offering knowledge, having different levels of experience on your team will help diversify your company.

Personality

Personality can play a big role in the dynamics of a team and the wrong personality can affect how a team operates. Find employees who’ll work well with others, especially when staff members work in close quarters, like a cubicle. If your employees can be somewhat high strung, consider hiring someone who’ll help mellow the team’s dynamics. Not sure what your team wants? Consider opening a portion of your interview up to team members to get their feedback.

Strengths

The success of your team depends upon each person’s strengths and abilities. So, hire employees who add to the current strengths. Combining the right employees can create an unstoppable team and benefit each member’s unique abilities and skills.

Taking the time to hire the right fit will help your team achieve its highest potential.

This article is courtesy of Express Employment Professionals of Marin an SBA Certified and Woman Owned Business - Tracy Dempsey, owner. For your organizational and staffing needs, contact us at 1-415-472-5400.

Another Social Media Blog

My wife and I are avid “Grey’s Anatomy” watchers. Usually, the Thursday night drama merely entertains, as the characters (mostly doctors) seem to go out of their way to wreck their completely unbelievable lives. But in a recent episode, Dr. Miranda Bailey, played by actor Chandra Wilson, broadcasts her surgeries via Twitter.

While operating on her patient, Dr. Bailey would dictate what she was experiencing to one of the residents. The resident would then transcribe her words, on a Blackberry, into 140 character micro-blogs or “Tweets.” Doctors and medical students from around the world monitored the surgery via Twitter, Re-Tweeting questions and comments about the surgery.

Using Twitter as a communications platform, Dr. Bailey had turned her surgery into a teaching experience that extended beyond the operating room. In the past, something like this would have required a massive investment in technology and communications equipment and would only have been available to the affluent. All Dr. Bailey needed was an opportunity to do her work and a Blackberry.

Of course, one does not need to look far to find a real world example of the global impact of social media technologies such as Twitter and Facebook. All you need to do is pick up a paper or turn on the news. Oppressive regimes and dictators across the Middle East and North Africa appear to be dropping like dominoes as “the people” take to the streets and demand change.

Social media employed as a communication and collaboration platform seem to be a real driver behind these world-changing events. In fact, I’ve heard the term “Twitter Revolution” used to describe what’s happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere. I don’t disagree that social media has played an important role in what has and continues to unfold in that part of the world, but I think it’s a gross oversimplification and perhaps, even a little arrogant to say social media caused what’s happening.

Technology is not a silver bullet that magically solves problems. It is more of a force multiplier or an accelerator that can be used to speed up or intensify the impact of a good idea or a sound strategy. Without Dr. Bailey’s vision and creativity, Facebook is just a place to view a litany of un-remarkable vacation photos.

I talk with business owners all the time about social media. Most see it as a real distraction and productivity killer. Most of the time, I’d tend to agree. But I think recent events evidence the fact that we should really challenge ourselves to consider how we might apply this technology in the future in support of our business goals.

A great way to start would be to log in to Facebook or Twitter and see how your peers are using it. I logged in and found this posting from Shon Christy. Shon and I were lab partners in Mr. Glime’s chemistry class at Stow High School in Ohio in 1993. Other than being connected on Facebook, Shon and I don’t communicate. But because of his posting, I know City Cleaners is hiring. Now you know too.

So we know for sure that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can be used to teach fictional doctors, recruit salespeople, and topple governments. What could you use it for? If you’d like to talk about it, let me know. You can email me at jclause@endsight.net

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010: End of the Year Tax Savings to Consider

At Endsight, we pride ourselves on keeping our client’s computer systems running smoothly and reliably. A component of delivering on that promise includes computer hardware and software life-cycle management. Each Endsight client is assigned an account manager who is responsible for documenting every computer, laptop, server, and networked device in the client’s computing environment. Over time, this information is used to help the client make informed technology replacement decisions.

Endsight provides hardware and software resale services as part of our “all-you-can-eat” outsourced IT service. Dale Hoffman, Endsight Senior Analyst, manages all our hardware and software purchasing on behalf of our clients. Dale has been with Endsight from day one and has always used his deep understanding of computing technology to help our clients make the most of their hardware and software purchasing dollars.

Dale recently forwarded me some interesting tax savings information included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that I thought we should pass on.

On September 27^th, President Obama delivered an early Christmas present to both small and large businesses alike, but businesses must act fast in order to take full advantage of the tax savings being offered.

“Section 179” Capital Equipment Expensing
For smaller businesses, the Section 179 expense limit was retroactively increased from $250,000 to $500,000 for 2010 as well as 2011. This means, for tax purposes, that certain profitable businesses may immediately write off 100% of qualified capital equipment (including qualified computer equipment and off-the-shelf software) purchased during these years, achieving immediate tax savings. In the past, this benefit began to phase out when a company had purchased $800,000 of capital equipment in one year, but under the new expanded version applicable to 2010 and 2011, the tax benefit is fully or partially available to businesses which have not purchased more than $2,500,000 in a given year.

Note that if a company is in a taxable loss position during the year the asset is purchased and unable to immediately benefit from this special deduction, the unused expense may be carried forward to offset taxable income in a future year.

50% Bonus Depreciation Allowance
Small and large businesses alike can benefit from the 50% bonus depreciation allowance, which has been retroactively reinstated for the entire 2010 year. Previously expired at the end of 2009, this popular provision allows all businesses to immediately deduct 50% of the cost of qualified equipment without regards to profitability or investment limits. But note: there is a very short window of opportunity: qualifying equipment must be purchased AND placed in service on or before December 31, 2010!

Cash Flow Planning
These tax benefits are available in the year the equipment is purchased or even leased, regardless of whether any payments have been made for such equipment during the year. In other words, businesses may enjoy a tax break now for assets they haven’t even yet paid for! However, not all leases will qualify — be sure to consult with your tax advisor.

You can learn more by consulting with your tax advisor or visiting www.irs.gov.

Make sense of your data with pivot tables

I’ve used Microsoft Excel for years as a way to analyze a sales pipeline or as a way to clean up customer lists. I’ve even used many of the rudimentary functions and calculation tools to help me total the cost of a marketing budget or to calculate percentages. But that has really been the extent of my use of this tool.

I don’t think I’m alone in this. In fact, I’d bet that most of us only use a small percentage of the features and capabilities available in this tool. But as Endsight’s outsourced IT businesses has grown, it has become more and more important for us to analyze our business data and use that analysis to help us make good business decisions based on what we know instead of what we feel.

For example, as a sales and marketing professional it’s important for me to know where our best new business leads are coming from. On the surface that seems like a pretty simple question, but the answer requires a detailed analysis of Endsight’s historical sales and marketing data. My traditional methods for sorting and filtering data were inadequate and so I set out to learn some of the more advanced features available in Microsoft Excel. The feature that really helped me with my specific issue was pivot tables.

Pivot tables allow me to organize long lists of incomprehensible data into a concise dashboard view. It took me a few hours to learn how to create a pivot table, but once I got it down I’m certain it literally saved me days of work.

I found a web video on YouTube that was really helpful in teaching me to create pivot tables. I’ve included the video in his posting. You can also link to it by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVa7PIDfi5A

If you have a difficult question that you need to answer and you suspect some key insight to the question might reside in your historical business data, A pivot table could be useful in helping you smoke the answer out. If you feel like you might benefit from a more intensive training on Microsoft Excel it might make sense to consider signing up for a training class.

Endsight does some simple end-user training but it does not do intensive, classroom-based training for advanced users. We do however work with some great partners that can provide that service. If you’d like an introduction, e-mail me at jclause@endsight.net and I’ll be happy to connect you.

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Is moving an office in your future plans?

When I was in college, I had to move every year.  I lived in a fraternity house and that really simplified the logistic. But even though I never had to move more than a few doors down the hallway, I still didn’t like it.  The idea of a uprooting all of my things, transporting them, and then having to find new places for everything, was a daunting task that stressed me out every time.

As Endsight’s outsourced IT business has grown, we’ve been heavily involved in a staggering number of office moves. Every time, it’s easy to remember the stress I felt as an undergraduate with my mini fridge and futon.  Obviously, the client has much more to consider which makes the stress level even greater.

No two office moves are ever the same.  But having been through enough of these, I thought it would be helpful to list some of the key advisers and partner/vendor rolls to consider as part of your planning process.

Many of our clients begin the process by seeking council from key strategic advisers.

Contemplating a Move:

Commercial Realtor (Help you selected a new location)

Banker (Help decide the best way to finance the move)

Accountant (Help you decide if you can afford the move)

Lawyer (Help you avoid costly legal issues associated with the move)

Once a location has been selected, there are a number of other partner/vendors to involve in the process.

The New Office:

General Contractor (Tenant improvements)

Architect (Make it look fabulous)

Cable Installer (Network cabling)

HVAC (Server room)

Signage (Sign out front, names on the office Doors)

The Move:

Mover (To get from point A to point B)

Phone System Support (Take down and set up phones)

Computer System Support (Take down and set up computer systems)

Internet and Phone System Connectivity (Connect to the outside world)

Office Furniture (Acquire new and /or liquidate old)

Printers, Faxes & Copiers (Often times these are under contract)

Communication:

Marketing (Promote new location, update Website, send a news letter, and create a promotional item)

Printed Materials (Letterhead, business cards, marketing collateral)

Most businesses enjoy existing relationships to leverage as part of the planning process.  If your company needs help filling in the roster, Endsight can help by facilitating introductions to our network of colleagues.  If your small business is planning a move click here.   We would be happy to meet in person with you to discuss your plan.

The Value of Data: What is your data worth to your Organization

In my opinion, the key incite to glean from Pete’s article is that your data is probably worth WAY more than you think. In fact, it is likely the very life blood driving your organization.

Many of Endsight’s clients operate a service business. They count on the intellectual property locked in their email and business applications to meet their customers’ needs. For them, data is the business.

As Pete’s article notes, “The Department of Commerce has determined that 90% of companies which do not have access to data for more than 5 days go out of business within 1 year.”

By itself, that statistic is alarming, but in the Bay Area it’s further exasperated by this one:

On April 15 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that The US Geological Survey believes “A strong and deadly earthquake is virtually certain to strike on one of California’s major seismic faults within the next 30 years”

I’ve reposted Pete’s article below and invite you to consider what kind of impact a “day without computers” might have on your business. If you find the impact as alarming as Pete, contact us and let’s talk about how we can help mitigate that risk.

I’ve embedded a slide deck to a free seminar Endsight has provided about disaster preparedness. If you belong to a professional association or business / community group that might have an interest in the topic, let me know and I’d be happy to present it. If you’d like more information about the presentation, Email me and I’ll send you a topic abstract.

Aug 24th, 2009

Could your CEO be One of the Bay Area’s Most Admired?

by Jason Clause Filed under: Business & Management, General, Marketing, Media

I received this e-mail from the San Francisco Business Times last week.The publisher is taking applications from Bay Area firms for the publications list of the bay areas most admired CEOs.

If you admire your CEO, I suggest that you give this a look.  Accolades are always nice and this is an easy way to bring your business leader and your business to the attention of the San Francisco Business Times’ readership.

After the year that we’ve had I think that completing this application is a great way of reminding ourselves of how hard we have worked and the admirable decisions we’ve made. If you are the CEO and you are too modest to bring this to the attention of one of your teammates, send me a note and perhaps I could nominate you.  The application process is web-based and seems easy enough.  I’ve re-posted the announcement here and have included a link to the original message from the San Francisco Business Times.

 

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 The San Francisco Business Times will honor 12 outstanding leaders of Bay Area enterprises in a special report, and at a gala awards dinner recognizing the Bay Area’s Most Admired CEOs Thursday, November 19 at the Hilton San Francisco.

 

NOMINATE YOUR MOST ADMIRED CEO for this prestigious award today at http://www.sanfranciscobusinesstimes.com/bol_survey/  and click on “CEO Nomination.”

 

We will honor CEOs in 12 categories, including public companies, private companies, emerging growth companies, a non-profit CEO, a small-business CEO, as well as an Innovator and a Lifetime Achiever.   

 

This is a celebration of leadership at its best.  It is an opportunity to recognize the CEOs who give the most to their companies, their people, their industries and their communities.

 

Which CEO deserves the nomination from your organization?

 

NOMINATION DEADLINE:   September 4, 2009 

 

Honorees will be selected by an independent panel of judges.  Judges will evaluate these qualities:  leadership, values, vision, company financial performance, work environment, community contribution, innovation and overcoming adversity.

 

For a complete list of categories and awards criteria, and to nominate your Most Admired CEO, go to our website at http://www.sanfranciscobusinesstimes.com/bol_survey/ and click on “CEO Nomination.”

 

For more information, contact Felicia Brown, 415-288-4936, fbrown@bizjournals.com

Nominees must be present November 19 to receive the award.  Nominees will be selected from the SFBT coverage area, including the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano.

 

The “Bay Area Most Admired CEO Awards” is presented by the San Francisco Business Times and Accenture. 

 

Don’t miss this chance to recognize your most admired CEO!

 

About Jason:

Originally from the great state of Ohio Jason Clause relocated to the Bay Area to work in high-tech.  A veteran of the dot com boom and bust, Jason has more than 10 years experience helping small businesses apply information technology to improve business process and increase revenue.  Jason lives in Dublin, California with his wife Jennifer and enjoys hiking, cooking and quiet time at home.  His hobbies include golf, snowboarding, creative writing and performing amateur stand up comedy. 

 

Connect with Jason:  Blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

 

Tags: Bay Area, CEO Awards, CEO Nomination, leadership, NOMINATE, nomination deadline, san francisco business times, small-business, Technology No Comments »