Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Business Expo March 7
Foxtrot will have a booth at next week's SHARP Upswing Business Expo up in Brooklyn Park. Stop by and see us!!
Geek Squad Horror Stories
I hear questionable or flat-out terrible things about Best Buy/ Geek Squad service fairly frequently, actually.
I recently had someone point out that Best Buy for Business is stepping up their efforts to make inroads in small business . . . and aren't I concerned about that? Not only does this not concern me, it actually kind of validates Foxtrot's business model.
For one thing, I can name several accounts that I've taken away from poor GS/BB service, and cannot name one instance where they've directly beaten me out. Of course, their marketing machine will get to some customers that I don't have the resources to, but I'm not sweating that much, either.
I like the fact that Best Buy sees a tremendously underserved sector in small business, because I see it as well. So many companies can benefit so greatly from more effective use of the relatively-inexpensive tech products that are out there. It's just a matter of getting to the people and building awareness of what's possible!
Generally, I have a friendly disposition toward competitors. My philosophy with regard to competition is that there's plenty of work to go around for companies that provide good products and services that consumers want, at reasonable prices.
I recently had someone point out that Best Buy for Business is stepping up their efforts to make inroads in small business . . . and aren't I concerned about that? Not only does this not concern me, it actually kind of validates Foxtrot's business model.
For one thing, I can name several accounts that I've taken away from poor GS/BB service, and cannot name one instance where they've directly beaten me out. Of course, their marketing machine will get to some customers that I don't have the resources to, but I'm not sweating that much, either.
I like the fact that Best Buy sees a tremendously underserved sector in small business, because I see it as well. So many companies can benefit so greatly from more effective use of the relatively-inexpensive tech products that are out there. It's just a matter of getting to the people and building awareness of what's possible!
Generally, I have a friendly disposition toward competitors. My philosophy with regard to competition is that there's plenty of work to go around for companies that provide good products and services that consumers want, at reasonable prices.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Google Continues Push for Online Office Apps
Google continues to push their online software-as-a-service business model, in clear competition with MS Office.
So many interesting dynamics here:
1) Microsoft versus Google. I'm not sure if either would admit it, but this is another chapter in a pretty heavy competition. I wonder if Microsoft will respond to this competition the way they have responded to most: by taking their competitor's idea, making it their own, and using their existing foothold and integration with other MS apps to muscle out the competition.
Microsoft already kind of did this to Google once, in the desktop search. Vista has a far-improved integrated desktop (and beyond the desktop) search tool that takes some of the wind out of the sails for Google Desktop.
2) Google's direct-sales philosophy versus Microsoft's partner- and channel-centric philosophy. Foxtrot is a Microsoft partner, so of course there's some belief here in how they do things. However, I haven't drunk quite enough MS Kool-aid to believe there *can't* be a better answer. Google really has no formal partnership or channel opportunities for little ol' Foxtrot, so probably the only thing for me to do for Foxtrot right now is to watch and be aware.
So many interesting dynamics here:
1) Microsoft versus Google. I'm not sure if either would admit it, but this is another chapter in a pretty heavy competition. I wonder if Microsoft will respond to this competition the way they have responded to most: by taking their competitor's idea, making it their own, and using their existing foothold and integration with other MS apps to muscle out the competition.
Microsoft already kind of did this to Google once, in the desktop search. Vista has a far-improved integrated desktop (and beyond the desktop) search tool that takes some of the wind out of the sails for Google Desktop.
2) Google's direct-sales philosophy versus Microsoft's partner- and channel-centric philosophy. Foxtrot is a Microsoft partner, so of course there's some belief here in how they do things. However, I haven't drunk quite enough MS Kool-aid to believe there *can't* be a better answer. Google really has no formal partnership or channel opportunities for little ol' Foxtrot, so probably the only thing for me to do for Foxtrot right now is to watch and be aware.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Verifying IDs to Prevent Cyber-crime
I don't normally look to MSNBC for useful tech news, but this is a great article on inroads being made with TPM technology, against the growing tide of crime on the internet.
To say the least, I never knew all the network-ability features to TPM. We sell some notebooks with TPM onboard, but I usually advertise it as a theft deterrence system. If someone steals your NB (or you leave it on a plane with super top-secret info onboard, like has happened several times recently), the person who gets it cannot do anything with it. All the ones that have TPM also have a fingerprint scanner, so it basically serves as the on button - no fingerprint, no startup. That's my understanding, at least - never have had a chance to play around with it.
This internet verification is huge, I think. Just like telephone calls are more are more being placed to *people* (personal cell phones) rather than the olden-days' *places* (home/office phones), this seems like it would transform "machine-based" computing into "verified person-based" computing. Then again, fingerprint and TPM info is sure to be stored on internet-accessible servers . . . which opens the can o' worms right back up, for hackers and other ne'er-do-wells.
To say the least, I never knew all the network-ability features to TPM. We sell some notebooks with TPM onboard, but I usually advertise it as a theft deterrence system. If someone steals your NB (or you leave it on a plane with super top-secret info onboard, like has happened several times recently), the person who gets it cannot do anything with it. All the ones that have TPM also have a fingerprint scanner, so it basically serves as the on button - no fingerprint, no startup. That's my understanding, at least - never have had a chance to play around with it.
This internet verification is huge, I think. Just like telephone calls are more are more being placed to *people* (personal cell phones) rather than the olden-days' *places* (home/office phones), this seems like it would transform "machine-based" computing into "verified person-based" computing. Then again, fingerprint and TPM info is sure to be stored on internet-accessible servers . . . which opens the can o' worms right back up, for hackers and other ne'er-do-wells.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
SMB tech trends for 2007
ConnectIT, a business technology online mag angled toward resellers and solution providers writes about the upcoming trends for SMBs (Small/ Medium Businesses).
Since I've been crafting and re-orienting Foxtrot as a Managed Service Provider for about 18 months now, I certainly agree with his notions that managed services and outsourcing will continue their upward trend.
The MSP market here in the Twin Cities is interesting. I like to think we've got things dialed in - at least operationally, and marketing is getting there finally - with being an MSP. I'm aware of several other MSPs here in the Twin Cities, and have heard nothing but negative stories about quality of service, the way they deliver, etc. I always try to get more info on how they're going wrong, and it seems the biggest downfall for them is spreading themselves too thin. They grow too fast, don't use software to automate simple tasks, and don't have standard procedures.
My days at SimonDelivers.com certainly taught me about BPM (Business Process Management), and I try to bring that into Foxtrot as much as possible. One of the ex-military techs here likes to call it SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). It kind of dehumanizes the process (for better or worse): just follow the documented process, and if the BPM design was right to start with things should all go smoothly.
If you blow your volume too high too fast, though, BPM can break down because there wind up not being enough hours in the day to get through the processes. This is where automation of tasks comes in. We try to leverage our software investments to automate simple tasks, so the only human interaction winds up being configuring and monitoring a whole slew of tasks.
This is a constant concern of mine still - how big can we grow? One can forecast all day long, talk to peers, use industry benchmarks . . . but when all's said and done it's a fairly case-by-case situation. The systems, the employees and the customers all determine exactly how big we'll be able to get, and how quickly.
Since I've been crafting and re-orienting Foxtrot as a Managed Service Provider for about 18 months now, I certainly agree with his notions that managed services and outsourcing will continue their upward trend.
The MSP market here in the Twin Cities is interesting. I like to think we've got things dialed in - at least operationally, and marketing is getting there finally - with being an MSP. I'm aware of several other MSPs here in the Twin Cities, and have heard nothing but negative stories about quality of service, the way they deliver, etc. I always try to get more info on how they're going wrong, and it seems the biggest downfall for them is spreading themselves too thin. They grow too fast, don't use software to automate simple tasks, and don't have standard procedures.
My days at SimonDelivers.com certainly taught me about BPM (Business Process Management), and I try to bring that into Foxtrot as much as possible. One of the ex-military techs here likes to call it SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). It kind of dehumanizes the process (for better or worse): just follow the documented process, and if the BPM design was right to start with things should all go smoothly.
If you blow your volume too high too fast, though, BPM can break down because there wind up not being enough hours in the day to get through the processes. This is where automation of tasks comes in. We try to leverage our software investments to automate simple tasks, so the only human interaction winds up being configuring and monitoring a whole slew of tasks.
This is a constant concern of mine still - how big can we grow? One can forecast all day long, talk to peers, use industry benchmarks . . . but when all's said and done it's a fairly case-by-case situation. The systems, the employees and the customers all determine exactly how big we'll be able to get, and how quickly.
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