During May I was in the USA twice on business attending two IT conferences. At both conferences, trends were discussed, and over the next few blog posts I wanted to share some of those trends along with our thoughts on them.
The biggest trend, in terms of time spent discussing it, was Mobility. This encompassed some sub-trends of mobile data (how users access and use data away from the office with emphasis on the use of data as this is often forgotten about), distributed workforce (not having everyone tied to an office) and of course mobile security and support (keeping information secure and supporting users).
One of the drivers of this trend is the “consumerisation” of business. Take the iPad and iPhone as an example. These are now common tools of the trade, and people just expect these devices will work within the business (particularly new employees, and especially Kiwis returning home). Devices like the iPad and iPhone require different thinking from business as to how they are supported, owned, secured, and used.
IT Partners is currently rolling out iPads to all the team as part of our project to increase productivity and responsiveness. As part of doing this internally and with clients, we have picked up a number of points to note that you need to think about as part of a rollout. Talk to us about our experience and how to ready your business for mobility.
A goal of IT Partners is to reduce the incidence productivity killing downtime. We track incidence of downtime, and the biggest current cause of preventable downtime is a result of Malware. Malware includes viruses, Trojans, spyware, adware, and rootkits. Essentially software found on the web through infected websites that stops you working, or affects how you use your computer. Having virus protection is only part of the solution, and adding Malwarebytes provides the best protection against the risk of infection and downtime.
The rollout of Malwarebytes is part of an on-going strategy to reduce risk and downtime experienced by users. To get better results for our clients we are investing in new systems, training, research, and development. We expect to announce further improvements over the next few months.
I am new convert! I looked at DropBox some time ago, and for some reason dismissed its use as a valuable business tool. Now that I am using the iPad more and more, it is invaluable. Dropbox allows you to access your files anywhere and keep them in sync. Dropbox is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad, and Android.
For users with a data storage requirement of less than 2GB, it is free. If you need more space, there is a paid for service for 50GB and 100GB accounts. Have a look at the tour to see how you could use it.
I was in the USA on business last week and loved having the iPad with me. It’s great for those flights when you didn’t pay extra to have inflight entertainment, for example when flying Southwest Airlines.
I took notes at the conference, organised them, and created follow-ups for when I was back. It was just too easy. Managing my email and my calendar worked well, and I only started my laptop up once during the entire week I was away.
The biggest and most pleasant surprise was the realisation that next time I travel I think I could do without my laptop entirely! Travelling with a laptop, even the smallest is a pain, especially at airport security. With most apps that I use now being web based or accessible on my iPad directly, the laptop for travelling seems redundant.
Just a quick note if you want to travel in the USA, Southwest is still your best bet for an airline. Your bags always get there, and they have unbelievably low airfares, friendly crew, and a great on time record. You forfeit assigned seating and inflight entertainment but it is a small price to pay!