Where Did I Put That File?

Two weeks ago, a team member wrote a terrific report. You read it and then filed it, but did you put it in the client's folder on the G: drive, or in the solutions folder on the E: drive? Last month a colleague sent you an email about an innovative solution that she a read about in an online article. Since then you've received more than 80 emails a day; what are the chances you can find that one easily? And just this morning your best client called with a problem you know you could solve easily if you could only figure out what folder that report was in and where you filed that email.

Sound frustratingly familiar? The problem has never been filing information - it's always been finding it later when you need it. It used to be that storing information in shared folders required rigorous application of rules as to where everything went. But of course, the more people who added content to the folders, the more likely it became that something would not be filed where it "belonged." In the massive virtual filing cabinets we keep these days, data may be safe and secure but it's not always easy to locate.

Until now. Both Google Search Appliance and Microsoft SharePoint Server for Search offer a way to dip into your deep stores of data and come out with just what you're looking for, no matter where it may be hiding. Companies have been working on developing enterprise search tools for several years, and these two are good examples of the power of positive searching to get just the results you need, when you need them. These wonderful tools allow you to search for files in a whole host of areas, and the "hits" you get back are usually what you are looking. Best of all, it doesn't matter where they are!

One company had more than 300,000 documents in various repositories including wikis, blogs, websites, CRM systems, eRooms, PDFs, and MS Word documents. This company also had to balance access to information with maintaining the security of sensitive company information. By installing an enterprise search solution, and adding some customization, the company opened up a new world of information retrieval. Now, both their employees and offshore workers are able to do their jobs much more effectively.

The capabilities of these search tools to pull together useful, timely information are truly impressive. If you ever find yourself wondering, "Where did I put that…?" you should take a look at the new generation of search tools.

At Chill we take the heat out of IT. No matter what pressure you are under, we will always keep our heads and make sure you get back up and running as soon as possible. So don't sweat - Chill IT. Click here for more information on our consulting services.

The Handheld Revolution

There you are in a hotel two or three time zones from home, feet up and cool beverage in hand. You've finished your meetings for the day and now it's time to open the laptop, check on email, review your next presentation, and get ready for tomorrow. Except the hotel's Internet connection is down so your laptop isn't talking to anyone, at least for the time being. Not a problem. You have your hand-held, perhaps a BlackBerry or maybe a Treo, and you're still in business.

Mobile computing has improved exponentially in the last few years to the point that, today, you can make phone calls, receive and send emails and instant messages, take pictures, update your calendar, browse the Internet, download and review documents, and play music, all from that one small device. There are models that have WiFi capability, 3G technology, and video recording ability. With some, you can even figure out where you are with GPS capabilities.

With older handheld devices, when you were away from home base and your PDA's synching cradle, you had to depend on email or a phone call to let you know about a schedule change. No more. The newer handhelds have push technology that doesn't wait for you to ask "What's new?" Changes to your calendar, tasks, and email in Outlook take only seconds to automatically synch to your BlackBerry, Windows Mobile or mobile phone calendar.

Sometimes what you need is a quick look at a document or spreadsheet. No problem now for the newer handhelds. With small screen readers much better than they used to be, you can receive Acrobat, Excel and Word documents on your phone and read them easily. This capability becomes even more powerful coupled with the latest version of MOSS (Microsoft’s Office SharePoint Server) intranet software. Now, handheld users can see mobile versions of their KPI data, those all-important measures of performance.

Imagine you are at a client's office an hour away from your office. How much would it be worth to know that the prospect you've been trying to get in to see for months can see you today if you can be there in two hours? That's when you can quickly see the value of making a full-featured handheld part of your every day business outfit.

With these new mobile computing options there is no longer any question about whether we can be connected anytime, anywhere . Should we always be connected? Ah, that is a topic for another day.

At Chill we take the heat out of IT. No matter what pressure you are under, we will always keep our heads and make sure you get back up and running as soon as possible. So don't sweat - Chill IT. Click here for more information on our consulting services.

In Sydney or San Francisco, You're Connected

It used to be that people would ask each other, "How are you?" These days, the question is just as likely to be "Where are you?" For both business and pleasure, people today are highly mobile. But they are also highly busy, so being out of touch is not an option whether the trip is all the way to Geneva or just down the road to a grocery store.

Technology has not only kept up, it frequently leaps ahead of our mobile society's wants and needs. The development of laptop computers was a response to the need for portability. Built-in WiFi was a response to the need for those laptops to connect to the Internet. Now, building 3G ("third generation") modems into laptops means that users can access high-speed data services outside the range of their ISP by relying on the 3G wide area cellular telephone networks. With increased bandwidth and transfer rates, 3G allows for high-speed data exchange to handle Web-based applications, audio, and video files.

All that transmitting and receiving of data can add a feature that no one wants – security issues. Technology has an answer for that, too, of course: the Virtual Private Network (VPN). Imagine that you are sitting at your desk in an office, connected to the company's network through a little blue cable plugged in to your laptop. Imagine then that you pick up your laptop and take it home…with the cable still attached, still connecting you to the company's secure network. That's your VPN. Instead of a cable, though, you connect through the Internet to the company's private network just as if you were still at your desk. Except that you are sitting at home or on the beach or in a café.

The benefits to you are obvious – you can work anywhere and collaborate with colleagues just as if you were in the same building. For the company, there are many benefits:

• Global networking opportunities are increased.
• Travel costs are cut or eliminated for remote users
• Travel time and commuting stress are reduced
• Productivity improves along with employee satisfaction
• Overall operating costs are reduced
• VPNs are secure so confidential data can be shared safely

A few years ago, a small hand-held device became the badge of importance that marked executives and in-the-know technophiles. Now, less than 10 years since its debut, hundreds of millions of people seem to have a BlackBerry as a permanent attachment. It's no wonder, either. The BlackBerry includes a major improvement over the PDAs that went before. Instead of having to manually sync a PDA to your computer, the BlackBerry syncs itself continually over the Internet and cell phone network. So besides your phone calls, a BlackBerry brings email, calendar updates, and documents to the hand-held device.

Mobile computing options are expanding every year. Whether you prefer a hand-held BlackBerry type of phone/PDA, or a lightweight laptop with a G3 modem and a VPN, we can help you communicate and do business anywhere you go in today's connected world. So…where are you?

At Chill we take the heat out of IT. No matter what pressure you are under, we will always keep our heads and make sure you get back up and running as soon as possible. So don't sweat - Chill IT. Click here for more information on our consulting services.

Work Side by Side, Continents Apart

Collaboration is one of the hot topics in business today, and Microsoft is getting in on that Groove. Three years ago, Microsoft acquired Groove Networks, a software company based in Massachusetts specializing in productivity software that allows multiple users to work collaboratively on computer files simultaneously. Now Microsoft is bringing the brilliance of Groove into Messenger and other MS offerings.

Imagine MSN Messenger on steroids and you have Office Groove. With this tool, you can chat online with a colleague or several team members about a project you are all working on. In the same workspace you can share files, exchange information, and collaborate dynamically no matter where in the world any of you are.

This is a compelling model for a small business as it is relatively inexpensive to set up. There is no need for elaborate networks as all Groove workspaces, tools, and information are stored right on your computer. This means that you and your team can work productively anywhere you’ve got your laptop. And since collaboration is only useful if everyone is on the same page, automatic synchronisation keeps you and your team members up to date.

Office Groove has five core elements: (from MS Groove FAQs http://tinyurl.com/2rjwpm)

• Workspaces. Containers created by information workers to share information and work together on team projects.
• Tools. Applications added to workspaces by team members for the purposes of sharing and working together on information, both structured (for example, forms) and unstructured (for example, files).
• Presence and Communications. Built-in presence awareness, chat and messaging.
• Alerts. Text and audible notifications that inform workers of key events and work activity.
• Launchbar. A single starting point for users to monitor all Office Groove 2007 elements including workspaces, contacts, presence, and alerts, and to execute basic functions such as creating new workspaces and communicating with or inviting users.

Kick it up a notch by combining Groove with other technologies such as Sharepoint, and you have an environment where:
A team of people (either intra- or extra-corporation) can easily share file and other pertinent subject information.

• Participants can easily see if other team members are available online
• People can work side by side (virtually) on document/spreadsheet/presentation creation.
• You can coordinate teamwork with shared calendars, alerts and notifications.
• Teams create, capture, and share community knowledge
• You can broadcast information with blogs and Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
• And more!

Collaboration without boundaries is here, today. How much can your business improve with Groove?

At Chill we take the heat out of IT. No matter what pressure you are under, we will always keep our heads and make sure you get back up and running as soon as possible. So don't sweat - Chill IT. Click here for more information on our consulting services.