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.

What can you do with dual monitors

I remember when I got my first dual monitor set up.  I’ve always been a mobile worker and so I was surprised when I found the 2nd monitor sitting in my cube.  Up to this point, the only people I’d seen with multiple monitors were the response center guys.  They’ve always had at least three monitors so that they can run a remote session on one screen and research and document issues on the others. 

I didn’t know what I’d use my 2nd monitor for.  But I got the hang of it.   Now a days,  I would be really limited without it.  I thought I’d detail how I use the extra real estate.

Microsoft Outlook is always available:

The email task and calendar views are key applications for me.  As I’m talking on the phone I’m constantly referring back to my calendar to schedule meetings and then checking my inbox to reference email.  With two screens I can eliminate the toggle between email and calendar.  I do this by right clicking the calendar tab and selecting open in a new window.  Outlook becomes much easier for me when I can spread it’s different views across two screens.

Research / Reference is a breeze:

I often use multiple resources to research a company or topic.  Again, the extra space gives me the ability to read  Webpage content on one screen, open a link to a reference page in a new window on the second screen, read that content and quickly switch my attention back to the previous page and continue reading.  It’s a huge de-hassle and time saver. 

I never need to find my soft / phone

I’ve blogged about my VIOP phone system before.  As I wrote in that posting, One of it’s most useful features is its softphone.   A softphone allows me to take calls on a wireless headset that’s connected to my computer.  I can be anywhere and take calls just like I was in the office.  Dual monitors allow me to have always-on access to the smart phone console. 

Editing documents is easier:

John Grover, Endsight’s VP of Client Strategy,  found a neat  trick that helps him to create Microsoft Word documents.  He inverted his 2nd monitor and configured the view so that he can see more vertical space on the document.  This saves him the time of scrolling down a page.

How to set up dual monitors:

I’ve included a link to an article I came across on how to set up dual monitors.  You can check it out by clicking here.

Dual monitors are just one example of the many ways hardware / software configurations can de-hassle the work day.  At Endsight, we’re constantly looking for things like this.  When we find a useful tip, we try to make sure we share it with our Outsourced IT clients.

Microsoft Office vs Google Apps: Training is the Key

For years, small businesses only had one real choice for business productivity software: Microsoft Office. But that may change as web-based applications, delivered via the cloud, flood the market.

For many, Google Apps represents a viable alternative. However, before a firm chooses to shelve its investment in Microsoft Office there is a lot to consider.

To begin with, software packages evolve over time to accommodate the customer’s requirements. As a relatively young software solution, Google Apps is less complete than the more established Microsoft solution. It is extremely difficult for any company, even Google, to anticipate the real-world requirements for a full-featured solution right out of the gate.

The “completeness” of Google Apps may be less important because of the way its software is delivered. Google Apps is “cloud based”, allowing popular feature requests to be rapidly developed, tested and deployed without the end user having to upgrade his or her software. Once deployed, the new features just appear the next time the user logs in.

Microsoft Office has its benefits too. For example, it has been around for a very long time. A benefit best illustrated by a story I recently read in Network World about Microsoft Windows turning 25 years old. I am including a link to the full article here.

Network World also included a cool slideshow with screenshots of the different versions of Windows through years. To view the slideshow click here.

Just like Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010 inherits all the lessons learned from the previous decades of end-user feedback, research and development. However, a large number of users do not use or need many of the more advanced features offered in Microsoft Office.

Regardless of whether your organization chooses to use Microsoft Office or Google Apps, end user training is a real key to success.

Google Apps is not a “Webified” version of Microsoft Office. It sorts and presents e-mail differently, key function buttons are positioned in different places and working within a web interface takes some getting used to.

Microsoft Office 2010 has made several user interface changes that will take some getting used to and many of the advanced features that can help business users become more productive need to be pointed out and configured. Once that is completed, end users need to be trained on how to utilize the new features.

As the technology changes and as we get more sophisticated as technology users the way we use our core productivity software will evolve. Firms that embrace this change and seek to apply it in creative ways will gain real-time savings. Time that can be refocused on finding new customers, making current customers happier and finding new ways to more efficiently operate the business.

We spend a lot of time analyzing our client’s productivity needs as part of our outsourced IT service. If you feel like it might be helpful to discuss your needs, click here and we can schedule some time to talk in person!

I am including a brief survey about productivity software. If you have the time, I hope you will complete it. We plan to publish the survey’s results in a future blog posting.

Internet Bandwidth Options

Reliable, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity used to be a “nice to have”, but this is quickly changing. Traditionally, office based computer users accessed shared computing resources via a local area network (LAN). Internet outages and slowdowns would disrupt web browsing and e-mail but work could continue because a LAN centric computer network didn’t require an Internet connection to provide users access to resources such as file sharing, print sharing and database access. The only people that were completely shut down by a disruption were remote workers.

Over time, businesses have come to rely more and more on their connection to the Internet. That reliance is accelerating with the advent of cloud computing. Broadly, cloud computing is using the Internet to deliver computing services such as e-mail and CRM. I’ve written about cloud computing before, you can read more about the benefits of cloud computing by clicking here.

Over the next few years it’s expected that businesses will migrate their LAN centric computer networks to a cloud-based computing environment. In a cloud-based computing environment every worker is a remote worker that’s completely dependent upon the organization’s Internet connection for access to corporate computing resources. This dependence really elevates the importance of the quality of the Internet connection. In addition to being reliable and fast, the connection really should have some redundancy built into the design.

At Endsight, we’ve been working with our clients to help them plan for this transition as part of our “all-inclusive” outsourced IT support program. Typically, we employ a design that includes hardware from SonicWALL and two Internet connections from competing Internet service providers (ISP)’s.

The hardware design and integration is fairly straightforward but selecting the right mix of ISPs isn’t as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of options each with its own cost / performance tradeoffs. I thought I’d try to summarize the available options. I’ve also linked to Wikipedia descriptions of each option if you’d like more detail.

Telecom options include DSL, T-1, & MPLS connections. Basically, these options leverage the phone company’s (mostly AT&T) telephone infrastructure. These solutions are tried and true and include service level assurances. You can purchase these options from a variety of providers and resellers. If this option makes sense, it’s important to work with a provider that will offer more support than simply providing a 1-800 number.

WiMax or fixed wireless broadband internet is becoming more and more popular. Instead of providing a connection using wires, this option uses fixed wireless antennas that are installed on the roof of a building. These antennas point to other antennas that terminate a connection into the public internet. This option offers high speeds at an economical cost. Its key limitation is that to work the antenna must have a line of site to the terminating point. This can sometimes be a real challenge.

Fiber-optic communication uses pulses of light transmitted through optical fiber. It is extremely fast and when compared to many other options, its cost / throughput is really economical. The main drawback is that the optical fiber required to transmit a signal is kind of scarce. If your business is in a metro area such as San Francisco or Oakland then your building may be “lit” meaning a fiber connection may already be available in your location. If not, then to take advantage of this technology the Telecom Company or ISP will have to deploy optical fiber and that could be prohibitively expensive. To find out if your building is “lit” send me an email and I’ll be glad to put you in contact with a partner that can help you.

Cable internet access uses the same infrastructure that is used to deliver cable television. It also offers high speed / high throughput internet access for an economical cost. As with fiber-optic communication, cable is dependent upon availability. In addition, cable is less reliable then some of the other options out there. This is less of an issue if there is a redundant connection from a Telecom or one of the other providers.

As I said, this is only a summary of some of the options. There is a lot more to this. If you feel like a deeper dive into your options might be helpful, please feel free to connect with us at Endsight. We included IT Strategy and part of our fixed fee outsourced IT service

Good Process is Tasty and Delicious

Image via Wikipedia

I think I was six years old when I ordered my first Big Mac. I’d eaten one before, but this was the first time that I stepped up to the counter on my own to order and pay for one. Waiting in line patiently I mouthed the words as I thought through what I would say. “May I have a Big Mac please?” I wanted to sound like I knew what I was doing.

When it was my turn, I stepped up to the counter. The cashier, who looked like a giant, looked down at me and smiled. Then she turned her gaze to the woman behind me and said, “Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?”

I was devastated. But just as all hope was lost, the nice lady behind me said, “I believe this gentleman was first.” The cashier looked down at me and said, “Excuse me sir, what can I get for you?” …..Victory!

Since then, I’ve ordered thousands (that’s right, thousands) of Big Macs. Every time I do, I feel confident that the sandwich will taste the same as the one I bought 30 years ago.

McDonald’s has a specific process that they follow to prepare a Big Mac. This process is the same in Charlotte, North Carolina as it is in Seattle, Washington. It has been honed over time into a series of steps that is teachable and repeatable. In fact, many McDonald’s employees go to Hamburger University where they learn how to make Big Macs.

When it comes to selecting an outsourced IT partner, process is very important. Most providers say they have a process that they follow, but the word “process” rarely means that they’ve developed a step-by-step series of activities that’s teachable and repeatable. They may have a general idea or approach to clearing trouble tickets, building a server or monitoring a firewall, but their approach is rarely fully documented or integrated into their information systems. The result is that each employee has his or her own way to do the work.

The impact is an inconsistent level of service. Sometimes the client gets good service and sometimes he or she gets really lousy service. This result is often compounded by Murphy’s Law. For some reason, the lousy service experience always occurs when you’re on a deadline.

One way to avoid service level inconsistency is to make sure that your potential outsourced IT partner can show you its process. It’s not enough to show you a bunch of Word documents with bullet points that read, “Promote Windows Server 2008 to Domain Controller.” A well-documented process includes flowcharts, job aids and clear tie-ins to the firm’s information systems. A true process is teachable, repeatable and, because it’s clearly documented, it can be incrementally improved over time.

The ability to incrementally improve a process, assumes that the outsourced IT provider does not outsource its core functions to someone else. Outsourced IT providers that in-turn outsource functions like Network Operations and Help Desk don’t have a lot of control over service delivery. If they don’t have control of the function in the first place they can’t really impact the process. I wrote a blog about outsourced IT providers that in-turn outsource their IT. You can read more by clicking here.

At Endsight, we include a review of our process as part of our site visit. It also includes a tour of our facility, introductions to our staff and a review of a sample strategy document (I’ll write more about documentation and strategy in another blog). If you’re looking for an Outsourced IT partner, we’d really like to host you for a visit. To schedule one, click here.

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Not all outsourced IT options are the same

I thought the linked article below was interesting because it draws attention to the fact that not all cloud computing environments are the same.

http://infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/the-rise-and-risk-the-composite-clouds-954?source=rss_infoworld_top_stories_

In fact, as the author (David Linthicum)  illustrates it is becoming more and more common for a provider to cobble together several different cloud computing environments to provide the customer a complete solution.

On the surface it’s not a bad idea, many of the business books that I’ve read support the notion that outsourcing non-core functions can free up people time and money that can be refocused on activities that contribute to an organization’s competitive advantage.

But it overlooks a fundamental risk. Outsourcing an application to a cloud operator cedes control. If the operator in-turn outsources part of the required infrastructure, it will also cedes some of its control. The net result is multiple points for performance issues and the potential for lots of finger pointing.

Outsourced IT doesn’t have the hype of Cloud Computing right now, but just like the cloud computing vendors in this article, many of the local outsourced IT providers in the Bay Area have sought out partnerships that allow them to offload functions such as help desk or routine server maintenance to other outsourced firms. Sometimes they even send the work off-shore to India or the Philippines.

And just like the cloud operators in this article, they are also creating multiple points in their delivery model that are ripe for error. It’s not a question of ability or capabilities; it’s a flaw in the delivery model that’s best illustrated by the saying, “Too many cooks in the kitchen.”

A leveraged approach forfeits one of the key benefits of an outsourced IT firm, namely is its ability to aggregate services such as help desk & network operations and then to take on sole responsibility for providing those services . Having complete control of the people, process and delivery technology eliminates the potential for finger pointing between software vendors, integrators and technology partners.

If an outsourced IT firm “partners” to provide reactive support, that means that some other firm has ultimate control over service delivery and it opens the door wide open to confusion and finger pointing. That’s why Endsight chose to keep help desk and network operations in-house. Its core to what we provide and it’s what our clients count on us to do for them.

The disposition of an Outsourced IT firm’s service organization is only one of the criteria that should be considered when evaluating a partner. I’ve included a link to a good article that list 14 questions to ask a potential technology partner.

http://www.managedservicesdirectory.com/information-technology-outsourcing/14-questions-to-ask-a-potential-technology-partner/

If you’re considering your options for computer system support, we’d very much like to hear from you. The best way to evaluate Endsight would be to set up an on-site visit. To set up an appointment click here.

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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Awash in Data

My father worked in corporate America before everyone had a personal computer. Instead, my Dad had a tray on the left side of his desk that acted as his in box and a tray on the right that acted as his out box.

He traveled to Asia on multi week business trips and upon his return, he’d be greeted by a giant stack of memo’s, directives and other inter-office correspondence. His solution was to take the stack of paper from his in box and move it directly to the trash can. “If it’s important, they can call me,” he would say.

Dad’s approach to managing his data (paper) wasn’t glitzy or fancy, but it worked and I think it has some application in the digital world.

I’m pretty sure that if I deleted everything in my email store that was more than 6 months old, I’d probably never miss 99% of it. But I know to my core that 1% of that email data set is vital, and so the whole thing lingers on the mail server. That data is then replicated to Endsight’s off-site back up cloud and so now, this blob of mostly useless data exists in two places.

In his article entitled, “The big data addiction” Matt Prigg shares some of his insight into how this very issue is impacting organizations of all sizes today. In it Prigg says, “In a cruel twist of fate, our dependence on ever-expanding digital data has created a feedback loop that fuels its own growth. Within the past 10 years or so, we’ve grown more productive by using business technology. As a result, we’ve created even more massive mountains of data, and we rely upon those mountains to such a degree that we need to duplicate them – multiplying the problem again.”

In addition to email, Prigg is writing about business system data, file shares and a litany of other administrative and back up data sets. In a large organization, this data grows and duplicates at a much faster rate than in a small organization, but a small business isn’t immune to the problem.

I think that for most small businesses that data can be broken up into two parts, email and shared files. I recently contributed an article to the East Bay Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators that highlights a few technologies that I think can be used to help manage email data without pressing the “delete” key. http://www.ebala.org/Topic.aspx?wiki_id=87#VendorArticle

For file shares, I think one of the prime culprits for expanding data is the fact that no one is really responsible for the files stored on the file share. For example, Endsight had a file on its sales and marketing drive called “2003 archive.” It hadn’t been opened since 2004. Every time I saw the file I thought to myself, “I should just right click & select delete.” But I didn’t create any of the files and so I couldn’t say for sure that someone wouldn’t go looking for a file housed in the archive.

I think the best solution for this problem is to create and publish a document retention policy. For an example of one click here: http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/sampledocretentionpolicy.pdf . This can help to eliminate any guess work and replace it with simple policy enforcement. You can even use technology to set rules and automate the document retention / purge process.

More and more of Endsight’s outsourced IT clients are encountering data store limit issues. We expect these issues to increase as firms move their on-premise computing systems to cloud computing.

To help our clients address this challenge, Endsight provides Planning Services: CIO/Sr. IT Management level consulting & strategy as part of our fixed fee, outsources IT approach.  If you’d like to talk in-person about your data situation click here to schedule an appointment.

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.

Is it time for a Computer Network “Dust Off”?

All of the Great War movies have a scene near the end of the film where the climactic battle is over and the Medivac or “dust off” choppers swoop in to tend to the wounded, including the film’s hero, who typically gets a bandage over his eye or a sling for his arm.

For many of us, the last two years must feel like a war of sorts. We’ve had to make lots of sacrifices in one way or another including being forced to say goodbye to customers and coworkers. Even if you were not distracted with the recent events, you were probably fully focused on receivables and finding new revenue and didn’t have extra time to tend to your computer systems.

Last year I blogged about keeping an eye on your computer infrastructure as the disposition of your small business changed. Employee layoffs and office closures unaccounted for in network directories were creating gaping security holes in lots of small business computing environments. If you’re concerned you might still have that problem and want to learn more, click here to read that post.

Today, as the economy begins to emerge from the recession, it might be time to consider calling in the “dust off” choppers. Most of the small business owners that I know agree that computer networks are temperamental and that they require a lot of care and feeding. When left unattended (as many have the last few years) they become unpredictable and that can be a formula for disaster.

To get started on a good network dust off, I recommend starting with an inventory of your existing network. This inventory should include:

1. A list of computer users
   1. User Accounts
   2. Email, Mailboxes
2. A network diagram that includes
   1. UPS / Backup power supply
   2. ISP / T1 lines
   3. Firewalls / Router
   4. Switches
   5. Servers
   6. Workstations & Laptops
   7. Data Backup
3. Software Inventory
   1. Anti-Virus
   2. Anti-SPAM
   3. Operating Systems (Server & Workstation)
   4. Productivity Software
   5. Business Software
   6. Messaging Software

Once you’ve completed your inventory, consider asking yourself these diagnosis questions.

1. Are there any performance issues?
2. How old is the equipment?
3. What is still under warranty?
4. Is the software licensing current?

Determining the current disposition and status of your small business computing environment and combining that information with an assessment of the network’s limitations will help point you and your IT partner, should you choose to work with one, to the right questions to ask as you redevelop your IT strategy.

Endsight’s outsourced IT support model is layered to encompass what we believe are the four basic components of sound IT management and support. Planning, Plumbing, People and Projects build on one another like a pyramid. Planning, at the top of the pyramid, is typically the first casualty in a recession. Without a good plan however, it becomes very difficult to maintain a small business computer network consistently.

That’s why Endsight includes planning as part of its “all-you-can-eat” outsourced IT support methodology. Working with one of Endsight’s CIO level IT managers, our clients benefit from regularly scheduled IT strategy meetings where we collaboratively review the current status of the computer network and together map out the future strategy.

If you feel like Endsight might be able to help you with your long-term IT strategy click here to schedule an in person meeting. We can then discuss your needs in detail.