The Buzz Behind VoIP

Transcription

CONNECT
SERVICING THE IT MIND
FA L L 2 0 0 4
THE BUZZ BEHIND VoIP
The
Buzz
Behind
VoIP
THE REAL COST OF IT
Plus FACTORING
THE REAL COST OF IT
BLOGS FOR BUSINESS
HOW TO LEVERAGE
BLOGS FOR BUSINESS
TIPS FOR KEEPING
SPAM AT BAY
K E E P I N G S PA M AT B AY
W W W. P C C O N N E C T I O N . C O M
FA L L 2 0 0 4
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02
Toshiba
10/12/04
10:33 AM
Page 2
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©2004 PC Connection. All rights reserved. PC Connection is a trademark of PC Connection, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective companies.
EM1104
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10/12/04
FROM THE TOP
BOB WILKINS
A Voice for
Technology
ONNECT IS uniquely focused
on servicing the minds of the
fast-paced SMB executive. Its
unique industry voice is a balanced blend
of information and commentary on the
very latest technology, coolest products
and services, and practical advice on how,
when, and where to apply it.
With that in mind, we’ve staged quite a
lineup for this issue. We’ve got an in-depth
report on the rapidly emerging technology
of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
along with features that explore the
significance of the blogging phenomenon
for business, better methods for dealing
with bothersome Spam, and understanding
the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your
IT system.
VoIP is one of those fast-moving
technologies that you need to know
about, including how it can help
“VoIP Internet phones,
in particular, are
poised to revolutionize
not only the way we
communicate, but the
way communications
companies will
operate well into the
future.”
businesses save significantly on
telecommunications charges. VoIP
Internet phones, in particular, are poised
to revolutionize not only the way we
communicate, but the way communications
companies will operate well into the
future. Connect offers a solid primer on this
hot topic, along with timely advice to help
you properly apply IP phones within your
own business.
The recent emergence of blogging and
the continuing escalation of Spam are
two by-products of the Internet that are
having an increasingly greater impact on
businesses. While blogging may offer
some unique productivity advances for the
astute businessperson, Spam is robbing
businesses of its core productivity. In this
issue of Connect, we tell you how to
leverage the former while providing
suggestions and resources to help keep
your burgeoning Spam problem at bay.
Does anyone really know the real
cost of their IT system? We think we do.
You might be surprised to learn that
equipment cost is the least expensive
part of your IT infrastructure. The big
contributors lie in the cost of people
and time, driven up by the hidden
inefficiencies that work-arounds, missing
data, downtime, and loss of connectivity
spawn. The Connect TCO feature story
helps you better understand how smalland medium-sized companies can control
these costs. So grab a copy of Connect,
and read on.
Bob Wilkins
Executive VP
PC Connection, Inc.
© 2004 PC CONNECTION, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PC Connection and Connect are registered
trademarks of PC Connection, Inc. or its
subsidiaries. All other trademarks remain
the property of their respective companies.
• The information provided or depicted in
this publication represents the opinions
of the authors and is believed to be
accurate and true. PC Connection, Inc.,
however, does not warrant the accuracy
or correctness of such information.
FA L L 2 0 0 4
C
Publisher/
Creative Director
Dave Genest
Contributing Writers
Beth Stackpole,
Lauren Gibbons Paul,
Cheri Scotch, Esther
Shein, Tracy Mayor,
Elizabeth Millard,
Richard Hostler
Art Director
Jennifer Ste. Marie
Design
Don Morris Design
Senior Designers
Josh Klenert, Dunja Hein
Designer
Greg Grabowy
Ad Manager
Jamie Hinkle
Production
Peter Grube
Circulation
(603) 683-2278
Publishing Partner
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3
W W W. P C C O N N E C T I O N. C O M
A Warm Welcome Back to Connect!
EM11
04
APC
10/6/04
12:12 PM
Page 4
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EM1104
Page 4
01/00/04
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05
SONY
10/7/04
2:34 PM
Page 5
CX75
TR Series
Sony recommends Microsoft ® Windows® XP
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Call today for great prices on Sony mobility products.
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D S100
© 2004 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Sony, Like No Other, Puppy, VAIO Professional,
and XBRITE are trademarks of Sony. Intel, Intel Centrino, the Intel Centrino Logo, Intel Inside, and the Intel Inside Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel
Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. *Wireless LAN connection requires
802.11b compatible access point, some of which require a fee.
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EM1104
Page 5
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Contents
40
FEATURES
Web Talk Is Cheap 28
Sure, VoIP can help drastically reduce phone costs. But companies
need to plan carefully and set realistic expectations about payback.
PLUS: My Turn PC Connection’s Mike Cyr tells all about the
company’s no-commitment way to test VoIP.
All Together Now
36
It’s hard enough getting employees to work
together, let alone open doors to outside
suppliers and customers. Consider Web
conferencing and instant messaging:
They’re relatively cheap and they get
the job done.
Calculating the
Real Cost of IT 40
Forget about the price of hardware and software—it’s those hidden
gotchas that will jack up the cost of technology. Try evaluating
intangible expenses to get costs in line.
Blogging for Business 44
Web logs are not only a hip way to sound off. Done right, they can
also be a potentially powerful tool to forge closer relationships with
customers and business partners.
Attack of the Killer Spam 48
Spam may not be deadly, but it’s a monster drain on productivity.
Some companies are looking to managed service providers as one
way to thwart unwanted e-mails.
3
Threads 9
48
Online FAQs may be on their way
out. … Tips for avoiding common
WiFi security breaches. … HP gets
tough on computing with a new line
of rugged laptops and a tablet PC.
PLUS: Fun Threads Starbucks
teams up for a 24-hour satellite
radio channel. … How to use AOL
Instant Messenger to play “Who Wants
to be a Millionaire.” … Microsoft launches
online music store.
Digital Living
18
More than Music Think you already love
your iPod? Learn how to fashion this muchbeloved accessory into a multi-purpose device.
Customer Profile
22
Forging New Turf Sorenson does a
rapid-fire launch of call centers as part
of its entry into the VRS market.
Customer Profile
24
One Diploma, One Laptop Thiel College
gets a technology overhaul, complete with
campus-wide laptops and wireless access.
Snapshot
64
Learn how RFID will change everything
from supply chains to tracking crimes.
Cover: Illustration by Mirko Ilic.
TOP LEFT: EDEL RODRIGUEZ; LEFT: BRIAN STAUFFER;
ABOVE LEFT: COURTESY IMVU.COM; ABOVE: DOUG KNUTSON
FA L L 2 0 0 4
DEPARTMENTS
From the Top
7
“Small companies tend to … do purchases
because they feel something is breaking.
When they think about TCO, it’s in terms
of one item—not their whole system.” 40
EM11
08
Belkin
10/7/04
2:55 PM
Page 8
BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE
WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR DESK
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EM1104
Page 8
10/07/04
EN ROUTE TO COMPLIANCE Anyone
Strategic Sourcing
Instead of price shopping, companies are buying
goods based on the goals of the business.
A
STEVEN SALERNO
H, PROCUREMENT. It
used to be just a fancy
way to say “buying
stuff”—hardware, software,
networking gear, whatever. No
more. Now savvy companies
trying to keep an eye on both the
bottom line and long-term
corporate success are adopting
“strategic sourcing” initiatives to
make the connection between an
individual need for goods or
services and the goals and
drivers of the business overall.
Yet a new report from the Meta
Group research house, “Best
Practices in IT Procurement,”
found that more than 60 percent
of companies
surveyed still use lowest price as
their procurement focus—a
practice caused by a lack of
strategic focus, inadequate data,
poor IT skills and tools, and zero
customer orientation.
Strategic sourcing, in contrast,
can deliver a lower total cost of
ownership, more focused supply
base, and tighter relationships
with suppliers by putting
purchasing at the center of
business processes. Key ways to
accomplish that shift include:
■ Establishing cross-functional
sourcing teams;
■ Identifying spend categories;
and,
■ Highlighting the need for IT
skills and tools to capture and
analyze data.
Finally, before making
procurement decisions,
the report advises that
managers need to know
the answers to a few
tough questions:
■ Is this a good time for
the company to be making major investments
in assets?
■ Which is more critical
at this time: cash flow or
the balance sheet?
■ Considering the
markets and its
business cycles, is
this a good time to
be making new
financial commitments?
who reads the paper knows compliance is
a huge issue. A recent study by The Meta
Group of Stamford, CT, confirms just that.
64%
of companies currently have budgets
dedicated to financial regulatory
compliance, with the average budget
projected to be $7.2 million in 2005.
Fifty-four percent plan to allocate budget
resources to compliance initiatives within
the next 12 months.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Beyond the FAQ
FAQs may be on their way out.
At least that’s the word from
proponents and vendors pushing
the next-generation way to answer
customers’ questions online: ASAs.
“FAQs are 1993 technology,” dismisses
Stephen Klein, CEO of Conversagent,
a New York maker of a new breed of
systems, ASAs. “The average customer
finds [FAQs] extremely deficient at
delivering a quality service experience.”
Because FAQs are static, Klein explains,
the burden falls on Web visitors to try
and fit their problem into a predefined
list of answers. In contrast, ASAs like
Conversagent’s allow Web visitors to
use natural language to find answers
to their questions. For companies
concerned about both the quality and
cost of their customer-service presence
online, that’s something to talk about.
9
N E W S . T R E N D S . T E C H N O L O G Y. B U S I N E S S .
PROCUREMENT
FA L L 2 0 0 4
Threads
10
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10/7/04
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EM11
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EM1104
Page 10
10/07/04
ILLUSTRATION: DAVID PUCKETT
TOP FIVE REASONS TO UPGRADE
CURRENT SERVERS:
Improve performance, reliability
Improve security
Improve information access
Improve storage
Improve employee productivity
THREADS
SOURCE: 2004 ITtoolbox Networking/Server Trends Survey
Tough on computing
SECURITY
You want your computer
to be slick and high
functioning, but do
you really need it to
be tough as nails?
Hewlett-Packard Inc.
thinks you do. It’s
launched a new line
of rugged laptops and
a tablet PC designed to
hold up to the elements.
HP’s new Rugged
Notebook nr3600
and HP Rugged
Tablet PC tr3000
are designed
to operate
under the
harshest
conditions—from rain
and humidity to
extreme temperatures
and dust—as well as
under normal
circumstances.
The Rugged Notebook
nr3600 comes with a
1.7GHz P4-M processor,
256MB of RAM, a 40BF
ruggedized, removeable
hard drive with optional
heater, and a 12.1 TFT
XGA touchscreen, among
other features. Pricing
ranges from $4,099 to
$4,949. The HP Rugged
Tablet tr3000, which
sports a 933MHz
Pentium III processor,
shock-mounted 40GB
hard drive, 256MB of
RAM, and an 8.4-inch
TFT outdoor transmissive
touchscreen display,
starts at around $3,449.
Both units run
Windows XP.
TOP FIVE CRITERIA WHEN
SELECTING A SERVER:
Ease of maintenance
Ease of integration with
existing infrastructure
Ability to grow with company
Adequate security features
Low cost
11
TOP FIVE USES
FOR SERVERS:
Database
Mail
Applications
Networking
Web
WiFi Break-ins
SURE, THERE MAY be spies crouching in parking lots outside your
building, sniffing for wireless entry into your corporate network.
But experts say most WiFi security weaknesses are actually
self-inflicted—i.e., the result of inadequate policies.
Here are some common security breaches and
how to avoid them:
Rogue Access
Points
VULNERABILITY Whether
malicious or not, they’re
not secure, they’re not
yours, and they may be
trying to read your traffic.
DEFENSE Patrol the
perimeter. Products from
IDS (intrusion detection
system) vendors such
as AirDefense and
AirMagnet work to
detect rogue WLANs and
intrusions and monitor
the overall health of a
WLAN.
FA L L 2 0 0 4
ARE YOU BEING SERVED? A new survey on server and
networking trends from ITtoolbox shows medium-size
businesses (100–1,000 employees) rely on servers more than ever.
Chatty
Laptops
Unconfigured
Access Points
Ignoring Security
Standards
VULNERABILITY As soon
as it’s powered up, a
WiFi laptop’s default
configuration is to look
for an access point to
talk to. Unfortunately,
nobody ever told these
devices not to talk
to strangers. If your
laptop hooks onto an
unsecured access
point down the hall,
somebody can peek
at your hard drive.
DEFENSE Configuration
policies. All laptops,
PDAs, and other wireless
devices, whether paid
for out of an employee’s
pocket or companypurchased, should be
configured with a
company’s preferred
security technology.
VULNERABILITY Accesspoint equipment, such
as that from Linksys or
Cisco, ships with default
passwords and system
IDs. Cisco’s is “Tsunami,”
for example. If those
defaults remain
unchanged, the device
becomes an easy hacker
target.
DEFENSE Configure it. IT
departments should
configure all such
devices to assign proper
IDs and passwords
before dropping devices
on users’ desks.
VULNERABILITY Most
companies have policies
that dictate how users
are supposed to connect
wirelessly, but many
users choose to ignore
the alphabet soup of
standards and connect
without security. As
such, anybody sniffing
the air can read all
packets sent from such
unsecured devices.
DEFENSE Enforce
policies. The IT staff is
the first line of defense
against policy
noncompliance. Wise
companies regularly drill
IT to ensure that
security policies get
carried out.
SOURCE: AirMagnet, Giga Research
EM11
12
3Com
10/7/04
3:01 PM
Page 12
Featuring
3Com Builds a Better Network,
So You Can Build a Better Business
In today’s competitive environment, successful businesses usually require
high speed Internet connectivity with a robust IT network. 3Com® provides
a complete suite of products for you to build your company’s cost effective,
powerful, professional network.
Your network is a business tool and you should rely upon an industry
leader. Our wired and wireless solutions are easy to deploy, easy to secure,
easy to use and they deliver the first class quality and performance you
expect from 3Com.
HOT
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3Com® Wireless Travel Router
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With over 25 years of networking know-how incorporated into each and
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access to the Web wherever a broadband Internet connection is available.
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Wireless users connect over 802.11g
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firewall and virtual private network
(VPN) support add another layer
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Copyright © 2004 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. 3Com, the 3Com logo, OfficeConnect, and SuperStack are
registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. All other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective companies
* For more information on how to enter and complete terms and conditions see www.3com.com/smallbusiness
Copyright © 2004 3Com Corporation.
the
and SuperStack are
pcc
1. 8 0All
0 .rights
9 9 8 .reserved.
0 0 7 1 3Com,
o n3Com
n e c logo,
t i o nOfficeConnect,
.com/3com
registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. All other product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective companies
EM1104
Page 12
10/07/04
SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project
FUNTHREADS
ABOVE RIGHT: LUKE DANZIG; RIGHT: COURTESY BUENA VISTA TELEVISION
us who can’t make a
move without our PDA,
palmOne is launching a
beefed-up model in its
Tungsten line, which
can double as a highreliability drive for
transporting all kinds of
files between systems.
The new
Tungsten T5 has
a full 256MB of
flash storage
capacity,
letting
users take
documents,
photos, PowerPoint
presentations, even
MP3s on the road
without concern over
memory constraints.
Moreover, since the
handheld uses flash
memory, not RAM,
it will save any
information on the
device even if the
power runs down.
PalmOne, which is
pitching the unit as
part handheld, part
disk drive, has also
built in a new file
transfer application
so users can dragand-drop files from
their desktop to
the handheld.
Built-in wireless
capabilities through
support of Bluetooth
make it easy to sync
up the unit with your
desktop. There’s also a
new extra-large color
display (320 X 480).
The Starbucks Sound
E
VER BUY one of those
jazz or holiday CDs at
Starbucks when you’re
waiting in line for your Grande
Mocha Frappuccino?
Well, if your preference in tunes is
smooth jazz or blues riffs, you’ll like
what’s brewing from a marketing
partnership between the Seattlebased coffee kingpin and XM
Satellite Radio, a Washington,
DC–based upstart leading the charge
in this emerging technology area.
The likely bedfellows (after
all, Starbucks was one of the
forerunners in serving up WiFi
hotspots to coffee sippers, why not
satellite radio?) are partnering to
produce a 24-hour “Starbucks Hear
Music” channel on XM, featuring
music programming from none
other than Hear Music, the sound
of the Starbucks coffeehouse. The
Starbucks Hear Music channel
debuts this fall on XM Radio
reaching more than 2.1 million
subscribers. For its part, Starbucks
will play the channel in more than
4,000 Starbucks locations
nationwide, beginning in 2005.
That’s some beautiful music.
GADGETS
IM the audience
This season, the popular prime-time show “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire,” has added a real-time
interactive element, allowing the tens of millions
of AOL members who tap AOL Instant Messenger
(AIM) to participate in the polling. Anyone who adds
the screen name “MillionaireIM” to their AOL Instant
Messenger Buddy List can participate in the “Ask the Audience” part of the
show. They’ll receive the actual game questions via instant message or
mobile instant message (if they’ve got it). The contestant will see the results
of the in-studio audience polling as well as the AOL audience before giving
their final answer to Meredith Vieira. Visit www.millionairetv.com to learn
more and to download AIM for free.
13
SATELLITE RADIO
Double Duty For all of
FA L L 2 0 0 4
THE MAKING OF E-CITIZENS Do you frequent
government Web sites or send e-mail to sound off to
officials? If so, you’re not alone. Seventy-seven percent
of Internet users (or 97 million adult Americans) took
advantage of e-government in 2003.
EM11
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Corel
10/7/04
3:03 PM
Page 14
1
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FUNTHREADS
15
MUSIC
I want my HDTV
Americans are going to
be spending even more
“quality” time watching
a new and improved
tube.
According to The
Yankee Group, a market
research firm in Boston,
demand for High
Definition TV (HDTV) is
finally set to take off.
While only 7.1 million
homes had HDTV
monitors at the end of
2003, The Yankee Group
expects as many 59.2
million households to
snap up the technology
by the end of 2008.
Of those homes, 57.5
million will also have
an HD receiver, making
them capable of
receiving and viewing
HD transmissions.
And you thought we
were already a nation
of couch potatoes.
Battle of the Brands
W
ATCH OUT iTUNES … Microsoft
Corp. this fall launched its longawaited online music store, firing
off the first of many shots designed to give
customers a wider selection of online music
choices and, ultimately, challenge Apple
Computer Inc.’s hold on this market.
Like iTunes, the new MSN Music service
offers a vast selection of 1 million tracks
from major labels as well as more than 3,000
independent labels. MSN Music, which can
be accessed through a Web browser at
www.music.msn.com or from the new
Windows Media Player 10, can be used to
download tunes that will run on more than
70 Windows Media–compatible devices, but
not the iPod.
MSN Music touts a selection of tools it
claims will help connect people to their
favorite music. There is a simple search
function that feels similar to those on other
online music stores. Unique to MSN Music,
though, is a Web-based radio service the
Redmond, WA–based Microsoft is testing
out. It provides the same music mix as
popular radio stations, but without the
DJ talk, with less repetition, and with
fewer ads.
So let the battle of the online music
titans begin. Any way you slice it, it’s good
news for anyone who wants to watch their
music library grow.
DISCONNECTED
h Kebab
f
Shis av a
r Stuf
B aklOthe
Gre
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’s Pla
sine
N ick
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ine
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TOP: COURTESY IMVU.COM; ILLUSTRATION: STEVEN SALERNO
FA L L 2 0 0 4
THE IM GENERATION It’s not just teens who are
living for their instant message buddy lists. A new
survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project
reports that 4 in 10 Americans who go online instant
message, constituting a grand total of more than 53
million adults. Twenty-four percent of those adults say
they use IM more frequently than e-mail.
By jaQ Andrews and Erik Evensen
EM11
16
IBM server
10/7/04
3:12 PM
Page 16
IT’S
PAYBACK
TIME.
1
Based on an IDC study of seven Red Hat Linux and IBM xSeries customer implementations assessed over a three-year time frame at a discount rate of 10%. “Linux and Intel-Based Servers:
A Powerful Combination to Reduce the Costs of Enterprise Computing,” IDC white paper, sponsored by IBM and Red Hat Corporation, May 2003. Results achieved may not be typical. Actual
customer experience may vary. 2Additional charges apply. Standard support includes next-business-day response in some countries. IBM, the e-business logo, eServer, the eServer logo and
EM1104
Page 16
10/07/04
EM11
17
IBM server
10/7/04
3:13 PM
Page 17
GO with IBM xSeries Express Program
IBM xSeries Server Express models are designed, configured,
and priced with small to medium-size businesses in mind.
Want a server with an impressively high return on investment? Try a Linux-ready IBM eServer xSeries system
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that these companies realized a high average ROI of 504% over three years. And, in most cases, they achieved
payback of their initial investment in less than three months.1 That’s ROI in a jiffy. For an IDC white paper on Linux
and On Demand, visit ibm.com/eserver/advantage
5 reasons more and more businesses are turning to IBM eServer™ xSeries® systems with Intel Xeon processors.
Scale 1–16 way with select
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IBM Director systems
management.
Broadest line of servers that
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Mainframe-inspired
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Not only are IBM eServer xSeries systems
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xSeries are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Intel, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo and Intel
Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks
or service marks of others. © 2004 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
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EM1104
Page 17
10/07/04
Consumers are hungry to make the iPod a multipurpose device.
I
F THERE’S ONE dirty
little secret about
Apple Computer Inc.’s
now iconic iPod, it’s that the
music player invokes a hunger
in people that’s nearly insatiable.
First, there are unabated cravings
for music to build out a multigigabyte library. Then comes
salivating over every new bell and
whistle in the hopes of justifying
an upgrade to the next, more
powerful version. Eventually,
there’s an unwavering desire
to push the iPod beyond music
to perform a variety of tricks.
Just ask Trev Stair, who got his
first iPod last Christmas. What
started out as a couple of hours of
use here and there has ballooned
into full-blown fixation with his
iPod, consuming, on average,
five-plus hours of his day. Stair
and his iPod—the meaty 40GB
version—commute together to
work, share office space during
the day, and are each other’s
choice of entertainment during
lunchtime and for off-hours at
home. While Stair has developed
quite the taste for purchasing
music online—he estimates
DIGITAL LIVING
spending about $5 to $6 weekly—
he’s also branched out to other
uses for his iPod. Stair regularly
enlists his mate as a storage
device to shuttle large artwork
and video files back and forth
between home and his job as an
art director at a New England ad
agency. He’s even taken to carting
it around as a backup device
for housing digital photos, just in
case his camera and additional
memory card get full. “The iPod
needs to be fed,” admits Stair, of
its capacity for swallowing up
music and experimenting with
new applications.
Stair is not alone in his quest
to uncover fresh ways to employ
the iPod. Today’s iPods have text
note capabilities (think post-it
notes), for leaving yourself
reminders to feed the dog or
prepare for your presentation,
for example. They have built-in
games and alarm clock and sleep
timer functions. They can be used
to keep contact and to-do lists
and have the capacity to store up
to 25,000 digital photos (captured
on a 3 megapixel camera). There’s
also a voice-recording function
for creating reminder messages
or taping client meetings when
used with aftermarket
microphone products. The new
iPod Photo model, introduced
this fall, even has an LCD display
for viewing photos in color.
The frenzy around the iPod
has also spawned a burgeoning
aftermarket that’s ripe with add-on
hardware and software products
that extend the music player’s
utility. At VersionTracker
(www.versiontracker.com), a site
for finding and downloading all
kinds of software updates, there
are dozens of free downloads to
enable your iPod’s transformation.
Among the notable: Podtender
1.0, a program for storing mixed
drink recipes on your iPod;
BiblePod 1.0, a utility for reading
the bible on your gadget; and
PodQuest 1.2, which lets you
download driving directions.
There’s a good amount of
activity around services for
downloading books to the iPod.
Apple’s own iTunes service has
more than 5,000 audiobooks for
sale, and the newest iPods have
features for adjusting the speed
BY BETH STACKPOLE
More
than
Music
“The iPod needs to be fed.”
—Trev Stair
iPod user
between systems at home and
work and as a tool to aid in his
side business—making DVD
productions of wedding videos.
“It’s something I have with me all
the time so it’s easy to use to
transport stuff back and forth
between systems,” he explains.
Kociscin is considering an
upgrade to the new 40GB version,
after he hears reports back on the
extended battery life.
Stair, on the other hand, is
trying hard to keep his hankerings
for an upgrade under control.
Says Stair: “I’m trying not to
eyeball the new version since I
just got this one, but that’s the
nature of technology.”
Do you live and breathe for your iPod? These
community Web sites should give you more than
enough information in the hopes of feeding that
insatiable hunger for all things iPod:
iPod Beat www.ipodbeat.com
A central clearinghouse of information related
to iPod and iTunes. Here you‘ll find news items,
reviews, message boards, forums, even downloads.
Visitors are encouraged to post their own news
tidbits and opinions in the true sense of community.
iPod Lounge www.ipodlounge.com
This site lives up to
its slogan, “all things
iPod.” Stop by and
you’ll find a variety
of iPod material,
including articles,
breaking news, a
gear guide to add-on
products, forums, and a help section. There’s even
a gallery area where those interested can explore
photos of iPods in different settings across the globe.
iPod Hacks www.ipodhacks.com
This site bills itself as the latest source of hacks,
mods, tips, and tricks for the iPod. Want to know
about the latest version of some obscure iPod
software? This site is bound to have it, along with
boatloads of other downloads.
FA L L 2 0 0 4
to make it more suitable for
listening, as well as a bookmark
feature so you can pick up with
the book where you left off. For
non-iPod users, there’s always
Audible.com (www.audible.com),
a site that offers more than 18,000
titles for downloads to MP3 players
or PDAs, including newspapers,
magazines, audiobooks, and
radio programs. Buyers can
purchase items à la carte, or choose
from a pair of subscription
services ranging in price from
$14.95 for the basic version or
$21.95 for a premium version.
For Mark Kociscin, who bought
his first iPod two days after the
initial launch, music has always
been the primary driver for his
ongoing fascination with the
gadget. Still, the iPod has come in
handy on a number of occasions
to transfer Excel and Word files
19
FELIX SOCKWELL
A Community Affair
EM11
20
HP itanium
10/13/04
10:52 AM
Page 20
Your Adaptive Enterprise Starts Here
HP Integrity Servers Deliver Industry-Leading Performance, Flexibility, and Value
HP Integrity servers are the essential building blocks for
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servers to harness the full potential of this cutting edge
technology, creating the perfect fusion of server and processor.
Call your Account Manager today for a FREE consultation and
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©2004 PC Connection. All rights reserved. PC Connection is a trademark of PC Connection, Inc.
or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective companies.
Intel, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo, and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
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EM1104
Page 20
10/13/04
EM11
21
Microsoft
10/12/04
10:47 AM
Page 21
Anticipate.
Visualize.
Connect.
Impact.
Introducing the Microsoft Office System.
A better system. So your team can deliver better results.
Want to take your company’s productivity to the next level? Teams produce better results when they’re
connected to current information, business processes, and each other. And the best way to pull it all
together is with the new Microsoft® Office System.
Building on familiar programs, the Microsoft Office System now links desktop programs, servers,
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With centralized resources like Microsoft® Office InfoPath™ 2003 and Microsoft® Office SharePoint™
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marketplace and visualize better solutions. And intuitive communication tools including Microsoft®
Office OneNote™ 2003 and Microsoft® Office Project 2003 connect individuals into effective teams,
while helping them provide greater personal impact.
#462506
© 2003 Portions reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft, InfoPath, the Office logo, OneNote, Outlook,
and SharePoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
1. 8 0 0 . 9 9 8 . 0 0 7 1
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EM1104
Page 21
10/12/04
Forging
New Turf
CUSTOMER PROFILE
BY BETH STACKPOLE
Sorenson forges into the VRS market with a rapid-fire plan to open new call centers.
W
HAT DO YOU do next
when you’re recognized
for being a leader in the
video-compression space, have
successfully licensed low-cost
videoconferencing appliances to
partners, and have an application
that’s earned a respectable share
of the niche market for deaf
customers? If you’re Sorenson
Media, your next move is to
bundle elements of your
technology together and plant a
stake in the video-relay services
(VRS) market, which delivers twoway videoconferencing services
for the deaf and hearing impaired.
Sorenson, which got the
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) stamp of
approval to compete in this space
in April 2003, ventured into
uncharted territory at the
prompting of its founder to stake
out new markets. “We have great
technology that we license to
whatever company we’re working
with—we decided to put it in a
drawer, shake it up, and produce a
service that we can garner
revenue off of,” explains Ed
Armstrong, vice president of
Sorenson, in Salt Lake City, UT.
By company estimates, the VRS
space is currently around a $100
million market—about a third of
the market for TTY (text-based
relay phones) services. Textbased communications tools are
rapidly being replaced by VRS
services, however. Communication
via VRS is a big improvement over
TTY, and VRS also offers the
added bonus of capturing facial
expressions, gestures, and
emotions that are vital to human
interaction. “American Sign
Language is not English—it has
its own grammar structure and
vocabulary, and for someone
signing their entire life to try to
communicate via TTY, it’s like
asking them to speak in a foreign
language,” Armstrong explains.
While the VRS space was
a natural for Sorenson, there
were some definite obstacles.
Sorenson was the only company
NEW FRONTIERS:
Armstrong helped
parlay Sorenson’s
technology to the
VRS market.
outside of telecommunications
firms that met the FCC’s rigorous
technology and reporting
qualifications for the market.
Companies looking to enter the
VRS space have to comply with
FCC requirements for billing
systems because the federal
government reimburses them for
the service. As a result, Sorenson
had to buy or build a call center
application that would sync up to
its videophones in the field.
One of Sorenson’s biggest
challenges was the logistics
FA L L 2 0 0 4
NICK SOKOLOFF
related to building out the call
centers themselves. Sorenson
had to pick the cities (currently
there are seven), locate the space,
recruit qualified interpreters to
staff the centers, and then outfit
the centers with the appropriate
hardware and networking gear.
That’s where Sorenson’s
long-time hardware provider,
PC Connection, Inc., of
Merrimack, NH, came in. The PC
Connection team helped spec out
the systems for each interpreter’s
cube, oversaw a shootout
between the competing vendors,
and got involved in the
networking products selection.
But the biggest assist came by
way of PC Connection’s ability to
warehouse all of the hardware
for each call center right up until
Sorenson gave word it was ready
to open up shop.
With seven call centers under
their belt, the PC Connection/
Sorenson team has got the
logistics and build-out down to a
science. Says Armstrong:“After the
first center or two, it’s been a
cookie-cutter template.”
23
IN THE WEEDS WITH PC CONNECTION
Nicole Boynton
Team lead account manager
On the challenge of the
project: Sorenson didn’t
have an absolute time line
on when they would open
a certain office because
of issues such as securing
leases and finishing up
construction. But, they also
needed to make sure all the equipment was readily available when an
actual center was ready to be rolled
out. There was only a window of a
few short days. The challenge was
around having everything palletized
and waiting for them.
On what made PC Connection the
best working partner: We could
warehouse this stuff for them and
could guarantee that when they flew
out IT people, we could have everything sitting on their doorstep. Also,
in getting all the equipment together
to be warehoused, we were able to
do some value-added services for
them—things like installation and
asset tagging.
On what she likes best about the
relationship: I get to work with
the entire IT staff, from the vice
president down to admins and the
person cutting the POs in purchasing. Everyone is involved, and I have
access to all of them. It’s a pleasure
to work that way—with a lot of
organizations, you have one or two
contacts and they’re guarded about
going to the VP or IT manager. This
organization is open and friendly and
they really appreciate everything we
do for them.
One
Diploma,
One Laptop
CUSTOMER PROFILE
BY BETH STACKPOLE
Thiel College does a technology overhaul, issuing laptops and deploying wireless access.
E
NETWORK READY: CIO Beil
was one of the champions
for the laptop initiative.
Thiel’s CIO. “This is something
we had to do to be competitive,
not remain competitive. Students
expect to arrive on campus and
have the same access they have at
home—if not better.”
The first part of the project
was to wire every room in all the
residence halls (a plan Beil calls
“a port for every pillow”), get
computers in the hands of all the
“We were behind the curve.”
—Bill Beil
Associate VP
for Business, CIO
Thiel College
faculty members, and establish
resource rooms in each of the
seven residence halls. These
rooms have five desktop
computers, Internet access,
and other peripherals. Thiel
also invested in infrastructure
improvements such as a new
phone system with voice mail
along with basic cable services
for students.
While a significant improvement, the effort was still far from
enough, Beil says. Thiel’s goal
was to go further, giving its
faculty members the opportunity
to innovate from an instructional
standpoint. Having a computer at
their desk for producing course
materials was one thing, Beil
explains. But what was really
SCOTT SMATHERS
VERY KID researching
colleges wants to
know a couple of
key things. The details on the
academic programs are certainly
top of mind. Same with what’s
happening on the local social
scene. Yet one of the most
pressing concerns among
students today centers around
what kind of network services
and Internet access they’re
offered if they opt for that
particular campus.
When Thiel College in
Greenville, PA, was faced with
just that reality, the small liberal
arts and professional studies
school decided to respond in a
big way. In the last five years,
Thiel has gone from virtually no
technology to implementing a
high-speed network, complete
with campus-wide wireless
capabilities, and this fall, putting a
laptop computer in the hands of
each of its 1,200 students.
It’s been a massive
undertaking, but one that was
necessary for the students—and
the long-term success of the
college. “We were behind the
curve,” explains Bill Beil, associate
vice president for business and
FA L L 2 0 0 4
needed was a way to let the
faculty use technology to improve
their teaching.
But not every Thiel student
had their own computer—Beil
estimates only around 20 percent
did. Further, those that did had a
wide range of equipment—some
bringing in their parents’ handme-downs that were three and
four years old and not able to run
the kind of software required.
“We needed to get past that,” Beil
explains. “We couldn’t have an
environment that wasn’t robust
enough to handle whatever
someone threw at it.”
The best way to do that, he
explains, is to standardize on a
single platform. So Thiel made a
significant investment (in the
multimillions) to outfit each
student with an IBM ThinkPad
notebook, complete with wireless
capabilities and Microsoft Office.
Each incoming student receives
the notebook, which they use for
three years. In their senior year,
they’re issued a replacement,
which they can then take with
them when they graduate. At the
same time, Thiel introduced the
concept of smart classrooms,
equipping 13 of its 35 classrooms
with a video projector and screen,
sound system, and VCR and DVD
players. And the piéce de
résistance: the campus is now
completely wireless, from
academic areas to social areas
to each of the residence halls.
PC Connection, Inc.’s
GovConnection division played a
key role in Thiel’s transformation.
GovConnection orchestrated a
deal with IBM for the hardware
and was the conduit for much of
the networking equipment. But
beyond selling Thiel the equipment, GovConnection was a
partner in the logistics of getting
the laptops to the students.
GovConnection employees were
there at back-to-school week in
August, helping distribute the
laptops and making sure they
were imaged and working
correctly. That kind of hands-on
help was instrumental given
Thiel’s limited resources.
“For us to make something like
this work, where overnight we’re
going to triple the number of
machines on campus, I have to
have an excellent relationship
with my vendor,” Beil says.
IN THE WEEDS WITH PC CONNECTION
Mike Ronan and
Mary Ellen Montplaisir
On the magnitude of Thiel’s
project: The majority of
schools we deal with don’t
have a mandated laptop
program. For a school of
Thiel’s size to tackle
something this important is
a pretty huge undertaking.
The standard university way is
to have university computing
labs spread throughout
campus, and students go
there to print out papers and
such. Thiel’s approach gives
students the flexibility to have
computing in dorm rooms, 24/7.
On why the move is important: It’s
extremely competitive out there and
with the economy as tight as it is,
Thiel is trying to show as much value
to students as possible to enhance
their experience. Most kids have
been around technology. They will
expect that colleges and universities
would promote the same amount of
technology on campus rather than
leaving students on their own.
On PC Connection’s role: We were a
complete solution for them, as far as
providing consultation before the
implementation, helping choose
which laptop was the best fit, to
doing the imaging. We were a total
solution for the customer’s need, in
their time of need, in the short time
frame that they’ve needed it.
On the added bonus: We were
right there handing out laptops to
students, from Friday to Monday,
the week school started.
25
EM11
26
Sun Microsystems
10/12/04
10:55 AM
Page 26
1. BASED ON TESTS WITH AMD'S OPTERON VS. 3.2GHZ XEON RUNNING LINUX, AMD OPTERON RAN 45% FASTER ON SPECWEB 99SSL — BASED
ON PUBLISHED DATA FROM WWW.SPEC.ORG 1/22/04. FOR SOLARIS, OS MICROBENCHMARKS PERFORMED AN AVERAGE 42% FASTER ON AN
AMD OPTERON PROCESSOR MODEL 246 (2.0GHZ) BASED SYSTEM COMPARED TO A 3.2GHZ XEON SYSTEM. 2. PRICING IS U.S. LIST PRICE. ALL
PRICES QUOTED ARE IN U.S. DOLLARS. * TOLL-FREE NUMBER AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA AND INTERNATIONAL AMERICAS ONLY.
©2004 SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SUN, SUN MICROSYSTEMS, THE SUN LOGO, JAVA, SOLARIS, AND SUN FIRE ARE
TRADEMARKS OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS, AND IFORCE IS A SERVICEMARK, OF SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. IN THE UNITED STATES AND
OTHER COUNTRIES.
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EM1104
Page 26
10/12/04
EM11
27
HP Together
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11:28 AM
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As part of your dynamic, adaptive
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+
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10/12/04
Web
Talkis
Cheap
29
FA L L 2 0 0 4
LAN PETERSON, CTO of
Amerindo Investment Advisors
Inc., was expecting to save money when he
switched from a conventional phone system to
Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in February
last year. He had heard all the chatter about
how VoIP technology could eliminate
thousands of dollars in long-distance toll
charges simply by routing calls over
a standard Internet connection.
Moreover, the lease on the new
VoIP system was a good
$200 per month less than
what the 40-person
investment firm paid
monthly for its old telephone
system. The kicker came when
A
WRITTEN BY LAUREN GIBBONS PAUL | ILLUSTRATION BY MIRKO ILIC
Voice-over-Internet-Protocol
can be a great way to cut
phone costs. But not without
careful planning and realistic
expectations about payback.
Thriving market The market for VoIP technology
FA L L 2 0 0 4
providers will grow from $2.2 billion in 2002
to over $4.9 billion in 2006.
SOURCE: Research and Markets
30
Amerindo got up and running with some of the
VoIP extras, including audio conferencing. Then,
Peterson was tickled to discover that the savings
associated with VoIP were far greater than he had
ever imagined.
By connecting the 20-person New York
headquarters with the 12-person San Francisco
office on an Avaya Communications Inc. IP
Office system, Amerindo now has three-digit
dialing between offices as well as to the eight
telecommuters working in other cities. There is no
separate charge for these calls since they are routed
through the company’s IP network rather than
through AT&T. Adding new phone users or moving
them from one office location to another is now a
snap, since all changes are done through a simple
interface in the software, as opposed to having to
patch and rewire, which was necessary under the
old system. Even better, Amerindo now saves a
whopping $4,000 per month, or nearly $50,000 per
year, on teleconferencing charges since the Avaya
system has a telecon voice bridge built in. “The cost
savings add up really quick,” says Peterson. And by
letting Amerindo service its customers better, the
system helps Amerindo compete with the bigger
players in its industry.
Hearing Amerindo’s experience, it’s tempting
to tell your phone company to shove it in favor of
VoIP. Well, not so fast. The fact is, most companies
won’t see the same kind of dramatic cost-savings
benefits. That’s because the decision to move
to VoIP is more complicated than you might think.
VoIP can be a good fit for your small- to mediumsized business (SMB) depending on a host of
factors, including what industry segment you’re in,
whether your company has multiple sites,
whether you have a dedicated, in-house person
to oversee new technology, and whether your old
phone system is still up to snuff. In addition, the
cost of installing a new VoIP system can run well
into the five figures, depending on the existing
infrastructure, the number of extensions required,
and other variables. These behind-the-scenes costs
can sometimes outweigh any potential savings,
at least in the short term. And since SMB VoIP
solutions are still evolving, quality of service
is still another outstanding issue.
Getting Payback
Calculating ROI for your VoIP project is tough because it depends on an infinite array of variables, and each business’s
circumstances are unique. Start by asking and answering these questions:
eliminating long-distance charges among
offices a priority? Do you need advanced
features like unified messaging, threedigit dialing among offices, Web
conferencing, and multiple callforwarding options? Yes answers to
these questions indicate VoIP might
be justified.
■ Do you have to make a change
now? If your equipment is wearing out
or your lease is up, it might be a good
time to change.
■ Do you have an IT person to sort
through VoIP issues? If not, can you
hire an outside consultant to do the
formal ROI analysis and head up product
selection? Otherwise, plan on
committing a lot of time to doing this
analysis yourself.
How much will the new
technology cost? Consider any
■
upfront investment in equipment
(phones, an upgraded PBX, etc.) as well
as consulting or other charges (if any).
Also account for any hard cost savings
you expect from VoIP (things like
eliminating monthly long-distance
charges or eliminating the use of Web
conferencing systems).
SOURCE: Connect reporting
What size is your business?
What is your current
phone system?
■ Are you happy with the
system’s costs and features? Is
■
■
FA L L 2 0 0 4
VoIP PROPONENT:
Amerindo’s Peterson says
VoIP was a no-brainer.
Nevertheless, companies of all shapes and
sizes are starting to take the plunge, choosing
from a range of VoIP options. At the high end,
some are spending upwards of $50,000 to invest
in their own IP-based private branch exchange
(PBX), as Amerindo did. At the low end, for
businesses only requiring a few extensions, new
VoIP pure play companies, like Vonage or Primus
Telecommunications Inc., are offering services
where—for about $50 per month or less—companies
can leverage their existing broadband connection
to call anywhere in the United States and Canada.
Companies, such as PC Connection, Inc., are offering
products and services that allow customers to
gradually migrate to VoIP and reap some of the
benefits without the risk of giving up their existing
phone lines.
KEN MISSBRENNER
No Risky Business
For Amerindo, the move was a no-brainer. The lease
was up on its plain old telephone system (POTS), so
it needed a new system, one way or the other. And
unlike many companies of its size, Amerindo had
a dedicated IT person, Peterson, who could wade
through the confusing array of choices and work
with providers on identifying and customizing
the best solution. Amerindo had also been
spending gobs of money on interoffice calls
and teleconferencing services, so it stood to
gain a significant savings by making the switch.
Beyond any savings, VoIP’s sophisticated
telephony features would help the tiny Amerindo
masquerade as a much larger company. For
example, with the unified messaging feature of its
VoIP solution, Amerindo employees can elect to
have voice-mail messages sent to e-mail (very
convenient for road warriors) or vice versa.
Employees can also forward their calls to a cell
phone or home phone—or anywhere else, for that
matter. The system’s call center functionality lets
the company operator immediately see who is
available to take a particular call, letting her match
the available experts with waiting customers in an
instant. Better still, farflung employees have all the
features of a full-blown PBX in their remote offices,
such as conferencing, call forwarding, and the ability
to receive voice mails in e-mail.
All of these factors pointed Amerindo in the
direction of VoIP. But rather than making a 100
percent conversion, Peterson elected for a hybrid
system. Layering VoIP over a traditional phone
system is a smart move, given that VoIP is still a
fairly new technology, and quality and reliability can
be significant hurdles. “There’s always a big fear of
the unknown—what if there’s a glitch and your
business has no dial tone,” says Brian Washburn,
senior analyst in network services for Current
Analysis Inc., a consultancy in Sterling, VA.
Washburn was recently part of a team that looked
at installing VoIP at Current Analysis, which has
120 employees. After the review, they decided a
conversion wasn’t worth it. “If something went
wrong, we’re not small enough to fix the problem
ourselves or big enough to make the provider fix
it immediately,” says Washburn. “We would have
some cost savings, but they would only be a couple
hundred a month.”
Lexa Gandolfo, principal at Washington,
DC–based 3210 Consulting, didn’t feel any such risk
related to her decision to trade up traditional phone
service for VoIP. Gandolfo, a Web developer who
collaborates with 10 to 15 contractors at any given
time, became interested in VoIP when she
contemplated opening a Chicago office. “I was going
31
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1. Strategy. Know your primary objective
for moving to VoIP. (Cost savings and
access or advanced telecom features
are examples.)
2. Evaluation. Do a risk-benefit analysis
weighing VoIP benefits vs. the risk of
going to new phone technology.
3. Selection. Identify your different VoIP
alternatives based on your pre-existing
phone system.
4. Implementation. If you need more
than three phone lines, hire a consultant
to help with the switch.
FA L L 2 0 0 4
The Road to VoIP
to be in Chicago a lot of the time, but I wanted to
hold on to the DC number,” says Gandolfo, who
signed up for Vonage’s VoIP service in May. “It’s a
normal phone—no one ever knows I’m on VoIP.”
Other than a cell phone, Gandolfo no longer has
a regular phone. At first, she experienced some
quality problems with the VoIP service—specifically,
some echoing—but said Vonage was responsive in
getting them fixed. And she’s a big proponent of the
versatility of such VoIP features like being able to
listen to voice-mail messages in her e-mail system.
Residential VoIP (which is effectively what
Vonage and Primus offer, since they piggyback
on home or SOHO broadband connections) does
not offer the same quality as good old Ma Bell.
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” says
Current Analysis’s Washburn. Problems like echos
and delays crop up when the Internet is congested.
After all, the voice packet has to contend with data
packets for the same Internet resources.
For this reason, PC Connection is encouraging smallbusiness owners and consumers to dip their toes in the
VoIP waters through its new IP Connection Netphone
while keeping their regular phone connection.
Offered at $29.95 for one Netphone (or $49.95 for two),
the customer plugs the Netphone into their computer’s
USB port or RJ45 jack to leverage an existing Internet
connection—even dial-up. There is an annual charge
of $24.95 for this service, which features call forwarding,
caller ID, Web conferencing, and seven-digit dialing
between Netphones. Calls between two Netphones
are free (hence the special pricing for two). Calls
from a Netphone to a non-Netphone in the U.S.
and Canada are charged 2.9 cents per minute.
“It’s VoIP but without much disruption,” says
Mike Cyr, product manager for PC Connection in
Merrimack, NH.
Quality Control
Businesses larger than 50 employees should
consider higher-end, business VoIP solutions
such as Avaya IP Office and Cisco AVVID. inChord
Communications Inc., a group of marketing
communications firms in Westerville, OH, uses
Cisco Aviid IP telephony products and software to
connect workers in its seven U.S. offices. With 250
people at headquarters, a residential VoIP solution
just wouldn’t cut it. “inChord was already a Cisco
user so its VoIP product line made sense,” says Sean
Burke, director of network operations for inChord.
With VoIP, as with so many other technologies,
it’s a company’s unique situation that determines
whether it’s a good investment. If you have no
complaints about the cost of your current phone
system, there is probably no reason to move—as of
yet. On the other hand, if your old phone system is
wearing out and the long-distance bills are killing
you, it pays to at least investigate VoIP.
As one of the earlier SMB VoIP adopters, Peterson
is a proponent of the technology. “The savings have
far exceeded what I expected and the features help
us look like a much bigger enterprise,” he says.
“Don’t be afraid of this technology—it really works.”
Lauren Gibbons Paul has more than 15 years of
experience as a writer for such publications as eWEEK,
CIO, Managing Automations, and Network World.
VoIP Basics
What it is: Voice-over Internet Protocol, also called
Internet telephony, means making a phone call
over the Internet.
How it works: Rather than sending voice messages
over the Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN, aka Ma Bell), VoIP sends speech over a data
network. Quality is inherently less than traditional
telephone service since voice packets have to
compete with data packets to get to their
destination. Connection quality is better than
cell phone quality, however.
What it promises: Since you are making calls over
your broadband connection, you can make free
calls to your heart’s content.
What you need: You’ll need to either convert your
traditional phone system to VoIP, sign up with a
service provider to run VoIP over your broadband
(cable or DSL) connection, or choose a solution that
lets you keep your existing phone lines.
33
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MIKE CYR
35
NEW REVOLUTION:
Mike Cyr believes VoIP
has come of age.
Mike Cyr dials up the
benefits of IP Connection
Netphones
V
OICE-OVER-InternetProtocol (VoIP) phones
are hot and gaining
widespread acceptance as a lowcost alternative to high monthly
telephone bills. As the product
manager behind PC Connection’s
new IP Connection line of
VoIP netphones and service,
Mike Cyr is a firm believer that
the stage is set for the next
telecommunications revolution.
We quizzed him about what he
sees in the VoIP marketplace.
What are the primary benefits
of VoIP phones?
Most significantly, cost.
VoIP phones leverage the
infrastructure that supports the
Internet to provide low-cost,
worldwide calling at a fraction
of the cost of traditional longdistance carriers. Given the proper
Internet conditions, VoIP phones
deliver sound quality that’s
virtually indistinguishable from
traditional phones.
Who needs an IP Connection
Netphone?
The simple answer is, anyone
who wants to save money on
their phone bills. With an IP
Connection Netphone, you pay
only $24.95 for a full year of
unlimited calls to other
Netphones. Compared to the
$20 to $50 other service providers
are charging for a single month,
the IP Connection advantage
becomes clear.
These phones are ideal for
families who are geographically
spread out. Parents can talk to
their children anywhere in the
world, anytime they want, for as
long as they want without paying
any per-minute phone charges.
These same benefits extend to
businesses with regional offices.
Netphones also enable
business travelers to take their
phone and phone number with
them on the road. IP Connection
Netphones also offer advanced
features such as call forwarding
and logging, voice mail, and
conference calling.
What advantages does IP
Connection offer over other
VoIP providers?
IP Connection enables you to
test the VoIP waters without
spending a lot of money or
signing long-term contracts.
Two primary hurdles facing all
VoIP phones are a lack of support
for the 911 emergency system and
susceptibility to inconsistent
Internet conditions as well as
power and service outages.
IP Connection offers a no-fear,
no-commitment way to test
VoIP for yourself.
“IP Connection
enables you to test
the VoIP waters
without spending
a lot of money or
signing long-term
contracts.”
MY TURN
FA L L 2 0 0 4
A No-Fear,
No-Commitment
Path to VoIP
It’s tough getting
employees to
work in tandem.
Web conferencing
and IM are affordable and can help.
WRITTEN BY LAUREN GIBBONS PAUL
ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN STAUFFER
ALLTOGETHERNOW
37
FOR A 100-PERSON company, StarCite
Inc. is quite geographically dispersed.
Only 45 employees work out of the firm’s
Philadelphia headquarters—the rest are
spread across six more U.S. cities. So how
does the firm, a managed service provider
to the meetings and events industry,
keep its far-flung staffers rowing in the
same direction? StarCite’s recipe for
successful collaboration is now a mix of
useful tools, including Web conferencing,
instant messaging (IM), and wireless e-mail.
That’s a big difference from five years
ago when the company was founded.
Then, StarCite relied on a tedious
regimen of e-mailing presentations,
requiring everyone to follow along on
their PC during lengthy conference calls.
Sales meetings and town hall–style
employee gatherings were staples for
getting people to work together more
effectively, but they required travel,
which was costly. Since IM and other
communications technologies were not
yet mainstream, touching base with
colleagues meant sending an e-mail or
picking up the telephone. Interacting
with customers was done largely through
traditional channels of phone and fax.
The result was a lot of labor-intensive
communications that often misfired.
“Sometimes we literally were not on the
same page,” says Mark Phillips, vice
president of strategy for StarCite.
Meeting Center from WebEx
Communications Inc. revolutionized the
way StarCite operates, both internally
and externally. Since meeting
EM11
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EM1104
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$472 million
In 2010 (projected):
$3 billion
SOURCE: Frost & Sullivan
participants receive documents and presentations
via e-mail well in advance, meetings are much more
efficient. The sales team has significantly cut back
on its travel. And being able to interact more efficiently
as a team allows StarCite to serve its Fortune 500
customers as if it were a much bigger player.
Collaboratively speaking, it’s a good time to be a
small-to-midsize business (SMB). Today, you don’t
need more people, just the latest tools, to go after
the biggest accounts. Web conferencing, IM, and
wireless e-mail greatly streamline both internal
communications among dispersed employees as
well as external interactions with key customers and
suppliers. There’s more good news: These newgeneration collaboration products are priced well
within the reach of the average SMB. And IM, which
has changed the way many SMBs work, is even free.
Minimal up-front investment
For Industrial Developments International Inc. (IDI),
an Atlanta industrial developer, WebEx has made
an enormous difference in the way the company
interacts with its customers. It used to be that every
Monday, the company would conduct a two-hour
conference call with its largest client. It was all the
participants could do to stay awake during the review
of current projects. Now, with WebEx, the participants
can collectively work on documents. “The meetings
are much shorter. They share pictures, and they can
actually draw on the site plans,” says Cindy Bordas,
IDI business systems group manager. “The real estate
business is so visual. It means a lot for people to be
able to see the document.”
Other e-collaboration platforms aimed at SMB
customers take a different approach. For example,
Beverly, MA–based Groove Networks Inc. offers Virtual
Office, “workspace” software that allows teams of
people to work together over a network as if they
were in the same location. This gives colleagues
who work in different locations the luxury of a data
network without the need to install one.
Collaboration technology is even easier to
swallow when it is free. No longer just for the
preteen set, IM has evolved into an indispensable
FA L L 2 0 0 4
In 2003:
Web conferencing market:
39
business tool for people like Evan Schuman.
Principal of The Content Firm, a Whippany,
NJ–based publishing concern, Schuman started
using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) more than four
years ago to interact with his 20-plus clients. “The
single most valuable thing about IM is instant file
transfer,” he says. “Even if the person doesn’t have
IM, I can walk them through downloading it in five
minutes and they can get the file instantly.”
IM is another of the new collaboration
technologies StarCite is harnessing, this one to
allow its IT staff to interact with contract developers
in India. All of the collaboration tools make life
easier, says Phillips. “We love technology,” he
explains. “We are early adopters if it makes good
business sense, and these tools do.”
Lauren Gibbons Paul has more than 15 years of
experience as a writer for such publications as eWEEK,
CIO, Managing Automations, and Network World.
TOPDO’SANDDON’TS
OFBUSINESSIM
1. DO enact an IM user policy. Your employees need
to know whether IM is an appropriate vehicle for
communications.
2. DON’T use IM to communicate confidential
information.
3. DO separate your business associates from family
and friends.
4. DON’T allow excessive personal messaging
at work.
5. DON’T compromise your company’s reputation—
or your own. IMing arguably libelous statements
could damage your reputation or credibility or
your company’s.
6. DO be aware of viruses. When you transfer files in
IM, be aware that they could carry viruses onto
your PC or network.
7. DON’T share personal data. Enough said.
8. DON’T let your user name confuse or embarrass
your contacts. IM user names, like e-mail user
names, should be consistent.
WEBCONFERENCINGTAKESOFF
Calculating
the
Real
Cost
of
40
IT
Don’t let hidden gotchas jack up the
cost of technology. Take the time to plan
and evaluate nontangible expenses.
WRITTEN BY ELIZABETH MILLARD | ILLUSTRATION BY EDEL RODRIGUEZ
NO MATTER HOW many times Doug Casey ran
the numbers, they didn’t seem quite right. As vice
president of Interactive Media for Martino & Binzer,
a small Connecticut advertising firm, Casey was in
charge of making technology recommendations for
the company, and when a new network solution was
needed, he sat down to figure out just how much it
would cost. He factored in the usual suspects, such
as the cost of hardware and software, and allocated
a budget for services. But just as Casey was about
to greenlight a seemingly inexpensive groupware
solution, he changed his mind and reconsidered
the purchase.
“We seemed like we’d be getting a good deal,
but then we’d have to do yearly upgrades and that
meant training and downtime,” he says. “When I
started to examine areas like that, the TCO [total
cost of ownership] changed.”
Casey isn’t alone in finding that technology often
has hidden costs that go beyond the price of hard
drives and off-the-shelf software. However, he may be
rare in one particular way: Many tech-savvy individuals
in small companies don’t have the time to ponder
the intangible costs involved with technology, and
that ends up hurting them in the long run.
Unlike Casey, who sat back and mapped out how
an implementation would affect the company next
year, most small businesses often think mainly about
what they need next month, or even just tomorrow,
in order to keep the company running. “Small
companies tend to be very reactive and tactical, and
approve purchases because they feel something is
EM11
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FA L L 2 0 0 4
“It’s these little–bitty time things that eat you alive.”
breaking,” says Helen Chan, an analyst at The Yankee
Group Inc., a research firm in Boston. “When they
think about TCO, it’s in terms of one particular item—
not their whole system.”
An added difficulty comes in trying to address the
creeping cost problem with outsource providers.
Larger systems integrators tend to focus on major
companies, leaving smaller businesses to deal with a
multitude of local VARs, which actually may exacerbate
the difficulty rather than solve it. Casey has found that
juggling many VARs is adding to his TCO headache.
“If you have streamlined support, that’s great,” he
explains. “But if you’ve got six different vendors, you
spend half your time dealing with them.”
The Real TCO
When examining costs, then, small companies need
to take a step back and do planning, most importantly,
to think through every aspect of how the business is
using technology. Often this involves going past the
obvious price tags of hardware and software and
examining that most intangible but crucial element:
Time.“Small and midsize businesses don’t understand
what goes into TCO for technology, because they
usually fail to factor in components like how often
they’re doing internal support, and how long people are
sitting idle during an upgrade,” notes Mika Krammer,
an analyst with Gartner Group, in Stamford, CT.
Factoring these costs into the total IT equation can
be challenging because it means a company has to
track informal events, like Joe from accounting asking
Mary from marketing if she can help him figure out
why he can’t print. “It’s these little-bitty time things
that eat you alive,” says Tom Bugnitz, a principal at
technology consultancy The Beta Group in Arlington,
MA. His company specializes in assisting businesses
that have between 15 and 200 employees, a segment
that has particular trouble figuring out who’s spending
time doing what.
According to Stamford, CT–based research firm
The Meta Group, the average cost to support a desktop
is $47.50 per month. But if that work is being done
informally by a high-salaried employee, the cost can go
up significantly.
Another TCO time factor is how employees interact
with technology. As Jason Fass, president of fitness
firm FIT discovered, the money he spent for
computer upgrades wasn’t boosting productivity
because many of his 22 staff members
Determining
were spending hours combating
TCO
spam. The strain on employees’
The TCO of a
schedules had been a blind spot for
company’s IT
Fass, in Palo Alto, CA. Employees
assets includes
seemed productive and busy, but in
these direct and
actuality, they were slogging through
indirect costs:
spam, and that meant their schedules
Direct:
weren’t being filled with tasks that
■ Hardware
added to the company’s bottom line.
■ Maintenance
Despite the challenges, there are
contracts
ways to find better TCO. One of the
■ IT staff salaries
most effective strategies is to outsource
■ Network
some technology needs. Casey opted
hardware and
for that route. He’s currently shopping
software
for an end-to-end solution rather
■ Office
than parceling out necessary tasks.
equipment and
He says, “I’m leaning toward having a
space for IT
single point of contact. It might cost
equipment
more, in terms of our initial outlay, but
■ Spare parts like
TCO-wise, I think it makes sense.
wires and cabling
Full-service providers tend to offer
■ Technology
a multitude of task management,
training
such as security patches, diagnostic
Indirect:
services, remote data backup,
■ Unofficial
application help, training, and
support—
technical support. Many providers
employees helping
offer unique services that fit well for a
other employees
company’s specific needs. For example,
■ Downtime from
PC Connection Inc. in Merrimack, NH,
upgrades or
offers remote monitoring, allowing
maintenance
for speedy support services, while Web
■ Technology
hosting firms can usually assist with
support
data storage advice.
These outsourced approaches to
technology implementation and
maintenance will become more
common as small companies hammer out their
technology TCO.
“For some companies, going with a hosted model
is a way to adapt to changes and become scalable,”
says Yankee Group’s Chan. “It’s all about thinking
what’s good for the company in the long run.”
Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer who
specializes in business and technology topics.
Her work has appeared in Business 2.0,
BusinessWeek, and CNN Online.
43
G
N
GG I
BLO
FOR
BUS I N
E
SS
Done right, a Web log can be a potent
way to capture and cater to customers.
WRITTEN BY TRACY MAYOR | PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE McARTHUR
has one. Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst has one. Bill Gates has
one. A second-grade class in Frederick County, MD,
has one. Should your business have one too?
A blog—short for Web log—is a kind of online diary,
a collection of short, time- and date-stamped entries,
including news items, commentary, company updates,
or links to other relevant Web sites and blogs—listed
in reverse chronological order, with the newest entries
on top. Much easier to build, maintain, and update
than a full-blown Web site, blogs are often acerbic,
occasionally insightful, and frequently a navel-gazing
waste of time. Is this an activity a small- or mediumsized business, already strapped for resources, can
afford to explore? Well, yes, say a small vanguard of
companies who are blogging for business. Just as Web
sites were 10 years ago and e-newsletters were five years
ago, blogs today are a little understood but potentially
powerful tool that can help companies forge closer
relationships with customers and business partners alike.
“A blog is a simple way to add ongoing commentary
to your Web site, to put a human voice to an impersonal
company,” says Rick Bruner, an Internet marketing
consultant and researcher with Executive Summary
Consulting in New York and, yes, a blogger himself.
Big or small, businesses that take blogging seriously
are way ahead of the curve at this point. Aside from a
few large, high-tech firms (Microsoft and QuickBooks
are the two most cited), companies aren’t yet blogging
on a scale large enough to attract notice. Chris Charron,
an analyst at market-research powerhouse Forrester
Research Inc., in Cambridge, MA, says his company
doesn’t even track business blogs, because the
sampling is so small.
45
Blogs. Suddenly they’re everywhere. John Kerry
EM11
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EM1104
Page 46
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Don’t bore. A blog that’s
nothing but a veiled
advertisement for your
company is likely to garner
zero loyal readers.
Don’t offend. Personal and
political blogs go out of their
way to be opinionated and
nasty; don’t adopt that tone
in your business blog.
Don’t lie. Readers may be
willing to shrug off rumors
from a political pundit, but
they’ll hold it against your
company’s reputation.
Don’t quit. Starting a blog
and then blowing it off only
tells customers and clients
that your firm doesn’t
follow through.
FA L L 2 0 0 4
BLOG DON’TS
Tell that to Britton Jackson, a San Francisco
Realtor, or to Thomas Jones, who works for an
Oklahoma winery, or to Martin Schwimmer, a New
York patent attorney, bloggers all. Blogs, these
professionals say, help attract and retain customers,
establish a firm’s reputation in its industry, build a
market, personalize customer support, and raise a
company’s profile online. Add to that list the fact that
blogs are easy and inexpensive to set up and
maintain and the question becomes not “Why
blog?” but “Why wouldn’t you?”
“Blogs are so new, but their importance for small
businesses cannot be understated. If you’re the first
out there blogging about your industry, it gives you
‘first-mover advantage,’ to use the business-school
speak,” says Ben McConnell, author of the book,
Creating Customer Evangelists, and founder of
www.churchofthecustomer.com, a marketing blog.
Blogs, proponents say, can help businesses:
Connect to customers. In real estate, competition is
fierce among Realtors and customer retention is
essential for future business, says Britton Jackson,
one-half of JacksonFuller Realtors in San Francisco.
The team has addressed both of those concerns
with its new blog, which contains news about the
Bay Area housing market, tips on everything from
condo conversions to tax laws, and the partners’
open and sometimes wry opinions of houses and
condos on the market.
Connect with peers. Martin Schwimmer, principal
at Schwimmer and Associates, a law firm in
Mt. Pleasant, NY, says that while he’s attracted some
clients directly from his blog, The Trademark Blog,
its greater contribution has been in establishing his
credentials among his peers. Schwimmer’s blog
covers news and views on developments in patent law.
Build a market. Like many other wineries, the
Nuyaka Creek Winery has its own Web site and
newsletter to help with marketing. But because it’s
located not in Napa or Sonoma, but in northeastern
Oklahoma, Nuyaka has to create a whole new
industry—wine tourism in Oklahoma—to ensure a
steady stream of visitors to its door. To that end,
Thomas Jones, son of the owners, uses his Oklahoma
Wine News blog (www.nuyakacreek.com/blog) to
talk not just about events at the winery, but at sites
all around the region.
Streamline customer support. Bloggers and experts
agree companies would be ill advised to use the
blog format for one-on-one resolution of customer
problems. But using a blog to discuss and resolve
common problems can reduce one-on-one support
costs. In addition, blogs are an excellent way to tell
customers about product updates; to pass along
informal information on new products; and to
solicit opinions from customers and business
partners.
However companies choose to use blogs, they
need to remember blogging is part of a visionary,
long-term business strategy. In other words, if
you’re looking for quantifiable, ROI-type metrics,
you’re missing the point of business blogs. “It all
goes back to the company, to what you expect of
your people,” says McConnell.
Tracy Mayor writes frequently about technology,
management, and business.
BLOG BASICS
Compared to the work that’s required to update
a typical HTML Web page, blogging is almost
ridiculously easy, both bloggers and industry
watchers say. To begin, companies simply need a
blog tool—Movable Type is one popular option—
to design the blog, enter text, link to sources, write
titles, and publish.
Small- and medium-sized businesses will likely
want to host their blog from the same place as their
Web site—many times their own server. As an
alternative, blog companies such as Blogger and
TypePad offer tools and hosting in one package
deal, or companies can buy hosting capabilities
from any of the thousands of online blog-hosting
services.
On the bandwidth side of the equation, bloggers
almost universally say they’ve never had traffic
trouble, even on the busiest of news days. So unless
you plan to post the first pictures of Julia Roberts’s
twins on your blog, bandwidth shouldn’t be a
problem.—T.M.
47
r
e
l
l
i
K
e
h
t
f
o
k
c
Atta
a drain on
e
b
n
a
c
m
a
Sp
anaged
M
.
y
it
iv
t
c
u
prod
iders are
service prov ake on
t
one way to
-mails.
e
d
e
t
n
a
w
n
u
SHEIN
ESTHER
WRITTEN BY
UTSON
S BY DOUG KN
PHOTOGRAPH
LIFE INSIDE THE Minnesota Twins organization is the
way it should be—all about baseball, hotdogs, and
Cracker Jack® with no worries about its growing spam
problem. As a small organization with some 175 users,
the four-man IT department needed to keep its eye on
more mission-critical issues, not deal with employee
complaints about the onslaught of offensive and
annoying e-mails.
Still, the team needed to strike out spam.
Productivity was being compromised as users spent
a good hour or two a day sifting through e-mails
promoting free trips, mortgage approvals, and
pornographic content. Putting individual spam filters
on every PC was far too time consuming for the Twins’s
small IT staff. So they went on the offense and
offloaded the problem to MessageLabs, a managed
service provider (MSP), which provides them with
e-mail filtering and virus-protection services. The
arrangement has been a home run. MessageLabs stops
about 99 percent of all spam arriving in an estimated
7,000 to 8,000 e-mails per day. “This saves us lots of
time, and our server is free of malicious e-mails,” says
Erik Vermeulen, PC support specialist and network
administrator at the Minnesota Twins, based in
Minneapolis.
Not all businesses are as lucky as the Twins. Spam
infiltration is a growing problem, costing North
American businesses without the requisite network
protection about $5 billion a year—an average of
$10 per user, per month, according to Ferris Research,
a consultancy specializing in messaging and
FA L L 2 0 0 4
49
STRIKE OUT: Vermeulen of
the Minnesota Twins pitched
their spam problem to an MSP.
and updated, or installing an “appliance,” a separate
computer preloaded with software that does the
filtering and is more low maintenance. “That can be
quite good for small companies, but very expensive,’’
says Jennings.
collaboration. In addition to sapping productivity,
spam raises liability concerns in the event a
company fails to prevent inappropriate material
from entering its network. Yet aside from the
nuisance and liability factors, spam, surprisingly,
is not the main culprit clogging bandwidth in
corporate networks.
“In most cases, the amount of network
bandwidth that spam takes up is not tremendous,
in spite of what the vendors say,” according to Richi
Jennings, practice leader for spam at Ferris, based
in San Francisco. Although it’s estimated that the
amount of spam traveling across the Internet is
anywhere from 50 percent to 70 percent of all
e-mails, “e-mail is only one application and is
not a huge portion of traffic,” Jennings explains.
Therefore, the impact on bandwidth is not nearly
as significant as the amount of time organizations
are taking to try to rid the network of incoming
spam, he adds.
Yet, with e-mail usage surpassing phones and
faxes as the number-one business communications
tool, the spam problem can’t be understated and,
certainly, cannot be ignored. A recent Ferris survey
found nearly half of respondents (46 percent)
believe that spam is “a major concern” or “one of
the biggest issues” they face. That’s why many IT
managers, like Vermeulen at the Minnesota Twins,
have turned to outsourcers to handle the problem
for them. “E-mail is vital, and yet cleaning up this
sewage isn’t actually at the top of anyone’s to-do list
in terms of delivering competitive advantage, and
that makes it ideal to outsource it and make it
someone else’s problem,” says Andrew Lockhart,
director of product marketing at Postini, a managed
service provider in Redwood City, CA, which
specializes in e-mail security solutions, including
blocking spam.
Beyond outsourcing, other tactics for combating
spam include installing filtering software on PCs
and servers, which must be constantly monitored
MSPs to the Rescue
With the managed service model, incoming e-mail
is rerouted to the provider, and bad e-mail is
“scrubbed” out. Lockhart estimates that only 1 in
12 e-mails coming into Postini is legitimate, and
that a mere fraction is all the customer ever sees.
“If you built a castle and you’re going to have a
moat, do you put it inside or outside the castle
walls?” he asks. “Outside—you want to stop the
stuff before it comes inside.” Managed service
providers also provide an edge in the fight against
spam because they are familiar with certain IP
addresses that are notorious for sending spam, and
automatically block them,
Lockhart says. “We know
Junk Mail
who’s naughty and who’s
A breakdown of
nice and we can block them
spam clogging up
without having to look at
your e-mail box
Products/
the e-mail message itself,” he
services
Other
(e.g., cheap
explains. “It’s like if you get
software)
a phone call and you look at
%
%
the caller ID, you know who
Health
you want to talk to and who
%
(e.g., herbal
you don’t.”
“enhancement”
% Financial
pills)
Postini’s pricing structure
(e.g.,
%
mortgages)
as well as the software’s
%
Scam/fraud
ability to let employees
(e.g., phishing
Adult
and “419”
customize what e-mails they
(e.g., pornographic
advance-fee
Web sites)
do and don’t want was what
solicitations)
sold Eric Kahle’s company
on outsourcing some of their
21
10
14
22
17
16
SOURCE: Ferris Research
EM11
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10/12/04
11:09 AM
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EM1104
Page 50
10/12/04
1. Have an acceptable e-mail usage policy
that addresses what employees can and
cannot send and receive.
2. Train e-mail users not to give out
their e-mail addresses unless they trust
the source.
3. Don’t publish e-mail addresses on
company Web sites—that’s an easy
target for spiders (software that crawls
across the Web searching for e-mail
addresses).
4. When e-mail addresses need to be on
a Web site, publish ones that can be
changed every day or two. The theory is
a user will click on that e-mail address if
they need to send an e-mail that day, but
a spider may try to send spam tomorrow
or at a later time.
FA L L 2 0 0 4
Steps for Stamping Out Spam
e-mail security needs. Postini bases its pricing on a
per-user model; for a 200-user account, for example,
the list price can vary between $5 and $25 per
individual annually.
As far as customizing goes, users can rank incoming
e-mail by type from 1 to 5 on Postini’s filter control
scale. Kahle’s company, a beverage manufacturer in
southern California, has also set policies on what
constitutes acceptable e-mail and what needs to be
“locked out” for its 145 users. “We’re pretty strict about
what comes in,” says Kahle, a network technician at
the firm. “We have set parameters, and every user on
our system has those parameters given to them. For
example, we don’t allow porn, we don’t allow special
offers, we don’t allow get-rich-quick-style spam.”
Prior to going with Postini about a year ago, Kahle
estimates that between 60 percent and 70 percent
of incoming messages were spam, and bandwidth
consumption was greatly compromised. Although
it varied by user, some employees had been
spending up to an hour and a half a day deleting
messages, he says, and the outsourced service has
had a huge improvement on productivity.
Another benefit of the Postini service is a regular
stat report on what viruses are coming in, what
users are receiving more spam than others, and
what space is being saved on their server—all of
which are important because the mail server is only
allocated as much room as is needed. The provider
also offers a pooling feature, which means if the
company is doing some maintenance on the
network, and Kahle’s group needs to reboot their
e-mail server, the messages are pooled instead
of being bounced back to the sender until
communication is reestablished.
All of these features have left Kahle and his fourperson staff more time to handle IT issues that give
the company a competitive advantage. Vermeulen
at the Twins’s concurs, saying spam is no longer
throwing them a curve ball.
“As a network guy, it means I have two extra
hours a day that I can spend doing real IT stuff like
looking at our network and server,” he explains.
Esther Shein is a freelance writer and editor
specializing in technology and business.
do
No CAN-SPAM
The Controlling the Assault of NonSolicited Pornography and Marketing Act
of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act) was signed into
law by President Bush on Dec. 16,
2003, and took effect on Jan. 1, 2004.
The law establishes a framework of
administrative, civil, and criminal tools
to help combat unsolicited commercial
e-mail, also known as spam.
Industry observers say, however, the
Act may not have the effect proponents
intended. “We don’t think it’s having
a big impact on spam, but it’s setting
the bar for saying what is and isn’t
acceptable in this society, and what
types of behaviors are acceptable for
direct marketers,” says Richi Jennings,
practice leader for spam at Ferris
Research in San Francisco.
According to The Spamhaus Project,
a Web site that tracks the biggest
spammers worldwide, the Act is “a
serious failure of the United States
government to understand the spam
problem.” The project’s position is the
Act attempts to regulate rather than ban
the practice of spamming. “We believe
this is a serious mistake, and that CANSPAM will succeed only in increasing
spam volumes and the number of
spammers. Additionally, by signaling to
the world that spamming is now legal,
we believe that the United States is
inviting a tsunami of spam from Asia,”
Project Director Steve Linford writes on
the Spamhaus Web site.
As a provision of the Act, the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) in June
submitted a report to Congress on the
creation of a “Do Not E-mail Registry,”
similar to the Do Not Call Registry that
was enacted last year. The report
concluded that without effective ways
to authenticate the origin of e-mail
addresses, such a registry would not
further reduce the volume of spam.
The FTC instead proposed widespread
adoption of e-mail authentication
standards that would help ISPs and law
enforcement to more effectively identify
spammers.
For complete text of the CAN-SPAM
Act, visit http://www.spamlaws.com/
federal/108s877.html —E.S
51
EM11
52 ILM Article
10/13/04
9:45 AM
Page 52
ILM
INFORMATION LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT
Much More
Than the
Latest Buzzword
BY CHERI SCOTCH
New Federal and State Regulations Are
nformation Lifecycle Management isn’t a trend: it’s
fast becoming a necessity in
the face of increasing data,
government-mandated compliance,
and the need to access that data immediately, no matter where it stands in the
data management lifecycle. Data must
now be classified according to type, age
I
and value, and a storage infrastructure
developed to maintain accessibility
based on these classifications.
Information Lifecycle Management is
a system of managing the data flowing
through your IT infrastructure from the
time it’s created until the time when it
becomes obsolete and can be deleted.
At one time, this was a fairly simple
process: older data–most often
defined by a time-stamp method–
was moved to tape cartridges and
stored, usually offsite.
Now, according to new government
regulations, this data must be
immediately accessible. To get an idea
of how daunting a task this is, consider
the volume of e-mail in the typical
EM1104
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10/13/04
10:27 AM
Page 53
FA L L 2 0 0 4
53 ILM Article
53
Changing Data Storage and Retrieval
enterprise: no matter how much you’re
archiving now, your volume of e-mail is
growing at an increase of 50% to 100%
every year. And much of that e-mail
concerns contract negotiation, details in
client working relationships, and other
data that used to be discussed via phone
or letter, much of it now negotiated by
several people through the e-mail chain.
This crucial data may sit on someone’s
desktop, or it may be archived on the
company’s main backups. In either case,
retrieval of a single e-mail message, IM,
or group of messages relating to one
subject is both risky and complex.
That’s just e-mail. Think about
how much data your enterprise
generates throughout a year via
online collaboration alone.
This is where Information Lifecycle
Management becomes crucial in deciding
how all your data is organized for the
most cost-effective storage solutions at
each stage of the data lifecycle, as it
migrates from one tier to another.
From Company Policy to
Government Mandate
Data retention used to be based on
reference activity, which declined as
the data aged. In the 1990s, the usual
practice was to retain aging data for one
or two years, then delete it. And the
practices relating to data management
were set primarily by the individual
company policies.
Now, data retention is a legal issue
decided by new state and federal
government regulations, HIPAA
requirements, and the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. The SEC rule 17a-4(t) mandate not
only how long companies must keep
data, but where it’s stored and in what
format. Whether the data is being used
or not is no longer the deciding issue.
Since the value of aging data has
changed, so must management policies
and systems relating to that data.
Because the data now has to be
immediately accessible, most
companies continue to store aging
data on expensive, high-performance
systems. But as the volume of data
grows, this method is quickly becoming
unworkable. According to one expert,
data is growing at 125% a year, but up to
80% of that data remains inactive in
systems where it cripples performance.
Banking information, customer and
vendor information and transactions,
healthcare patient records and medical
imaging (which have to be kept for the
lifetime of the patient plus seven years),
personnel files, financial records and
transactions, plus all the metadata
relating to your basic data: not only is
this volume growing, but it now has to
be instantly accessible. This can’t be
done by traditional backup alone.
Implementing ILM
The good news is that you probably
already have some form of hierarchal data
management in place. Many companies
have dramatically improved their
data-management systems by upgrading
to Gigabit Ethernet, redeploying
current storage assets and purchasing a
minimum of new hardware and software.
The key is in keeping an eye on storage
infrastructure and devices, which have an
average 6-year lifespan before they
become outdated and inadequate to the
demands of increasing data volume. At
that point, it becomes more expensive to
upgrade than to buy new.
ILM isn’t a technology, but a
combination of processes and
technologies assessing how data flows
through IT systems. The assessment
phase is crucial: Storage Research
Management (SRM) technologies can
help IT administrators identify the data
in current storage on their systems, and
generate reports based on usage patterns.
These reports help the department heads
and groups prioritize data, and how
and when it needs to migrate through
the hierarchy.
Automated Data Migration (ADM)
tools enable data migration through the
storage hierarchy according to various
user-defined criteria. Hierarchical Storage
Management (HSM) automatically moves
information to higher or lower levels of
storage based on access requirements.
The ultimate goal of an ILM system is
to integrate all this and to automate the
data-management process. An integrated
system of software and hardware moves,
stores and reorganizes data according to
the criteria you establish. This reduces
the chances of human error and ensures
your data stays compliant with everchanging regulations.
EM11
Start with a call to
PC Connection
While many storage manufacturers offer
components for ILM, there is no single
one-size-fits-all solution. That’s where
PC Connection comes in. With our access
to more than 100,000 products from top
vendors and comprehensive on-site
assessment, in-house design, and
long-term support services, we can
provide you with the tools and expertise
you need to implement a better,
custom-tailored ILM solution. Call today.
EM1104
Page 53
10/13/04
EM11
54
HP ILM Ad
10/13/04
10:32 AM
Page 54
ALL DATA IS SOMEWHERE
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOURS IS?
INFORMATION LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT BY HP
Every piece of data in your business has a life of its own.
Some bits are accessed frequently and kept close to your
core network-storage resources. Others are scattered
across multiple systems and rarely, if ever, accessed. As
new laws emerge, regulating the availability of health,
financial, and employee records, it suddenly becomes
critical that you know where and what every piece of data
in your business is.
An Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) solution
based on HP's StorageWorks line automatically manages,
moves, and backs up data across your entire business,
ensuring you know the whereabouts of every last bit, and
stay compliant with even the most stringent regulations.
HP offers ILM solutions specifically designed for small and
medium businesses. And, thanks to their Adaptive
Enterprise approach, the HP storage components that
make up your ILM are ready to grow as your business and
data expand.
The Best ILM Solutions Start With the Best Components
Standalone Tape Drives
Tape Automation
StorageWorks DAT 72e
StorageWorks 1/8 Ultrium
460 Tape Autoloader
HP Tape Media
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EM1104
Page 54
pcconnection.com/hp
10/13/04
EM11
55
HP ILM Ad
10/13/04
10:44 AM
Page 55
IN ITS LIFECYCLE
StorageWorks by
Entry-Level NAS
Entry-Level SAN
StorageWorks NAS 1200
StorageWorks MSA 1500
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EM1104
Page 55
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EM11
56 Iomega
10/12/04
11:38 AM
Page 56
*Based on DDS-4 tape comparison. Compressed capacity assuming 2.6:1 data compression with “high” compression on Iomega Automatic Backup Pro software. This capacity may vary since
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EM1104
Page 56
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EM11
57 Iomega
10/12/04
11:43 AM
Page 57
NEW
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and SCSI models.
THE IOMEGA
DRIVE
Say goodbye to tape drives. For a fraction of the
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(PC, 70GB for Mac) disks you can backup your
data, protect your system and
save everything*.
saveeverything.com
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EM1104
Page 57
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EM11
58
IBM notebook
10/12/04
11:46 AM
Page 58
IBM ThinkPad X Series
GO with IBM Think Express Program
IBM ThinkExpress models are designed, configured
and priced with small to medium-size businesses in mind.
CNET Editors Choice Award, March, 2004
IBM ThinkPad X40
*Availability: All offers subject to availability. IBM reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time, without notice. IBM is not responsible for photographic or typographic errors. Pricing:
does not include tax or shipping and is subject to change without notice. Reseller prices may vary. Warranty: For a copy of applicable product warranties, write to: Warranty Information, P.O. Box 12195, RTP, NC
27709, Attn: Dept JDJA/B203. IBM makes no representation or warranty regarding third-party products or services. Footnotes: (1) Processor: With Intel SpeedStep,® processor speed may be reduced to conserve
battery power. (2) Wireless: based on IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g, respectively. An adapter with 11a/b, 11b/g or 11a/b/g can communicate on either or any of these listed formats respectively; the actual
connection will be based on the access point to which it connects. (3) Included software: may differ from its retail version (if available) and may not include user manuals or all program functionality. License
agreements may apply. (4) Hard drive: GB = billion bytes. Accessible capacity is less; up to 4GB is service partition. (5) Memory: For PCs without a separate video card, memory supports both system and video.
Accessible system memory is up to 64MB less than the amount stated, depending on video mode. (6) Limited warranty: Support unrelated to a warranty issue may be subject to additional charges. (7) ServicePac
services: are available for machines normally used for business, professional or trade purposes, rather than personal, family or household purposes. Service period begins with the equipment date of purchase. Service
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EM1104
Page 58
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EM11
59
IBM notebook
10/12/04
11:51 AM
Page 59
IBM recommends Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional for Business.
NEW! IBM ThinkPad R51
Ultimate Value
Distinctive IBM Innovations:
• IBM Active Protection System–
Helps protect your hard drive from falls
System Features:
Protect your data against accidents
when you’re on the road. Accidents definitely do
• Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology
• Intel Pentium® M 715 Processor 1.50GHz1
• Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection 802.11b/g 2
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional3
• 14.1" XGA TFT display (1024x768)
• 256MB DDR SDRAM 5
happen. Especially when you’re working wirelessly. Which is why you should have
• 30GB hard drive4
• Ultrabay™ Enhanced CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo
an IBM ThinkPad® notebook. Select ThinkPad notebooks are the only PCs designed
• IBM UltraConnect™ Antenna for increased
signal strength11
to sense a fall and, within 500 milliseconds, park the hard drive’s read/write head.
• 1-yr system/battery limited warranty6
#5317242
Kind of like an airbag for your data. See why select IBM ThinkPad notebooks with
THINK EXPRESS MODEL PRICED AT:
Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology give wireless users the confidence to tackle almost
ServicePac® Service Upgrade:7
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$1,299*
anything — networking, presentations, even the occasional meeting with the
And go from “oh, #@ ^!” to
“phew” in less than a second.
pavement.
*
IBM ThinkPad X40
Our thinnest and lightest
Distinctive IBM Innovations:
• IBM Active Protection System–
Helps protect your hard drive from falls
• NEW! IBM Rescue and Recovery™ with Rapid
Restore™–One-button recovery and restore solution
System Features:
• Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Klutz-proof wireless. Only on a ThinkPad.
• Intel Pentium M Processor ULV 1GHz
• Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection 802.11b
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• 12.1" XGA TFT display (1024x768)
• 256MB DDR SDRAM
• 20GB hard drive
• Integrated Gigabit Ethernet and modem
• Legendary IBM full-size keyboard8
• Only .94" thin10
• 2.7-lb travel weight10
• 1-yr system/battery limited warranty6
#4842803
THINK EXPRESS MODEL PRICED AT:
$1,499
levels are response-time objectives and are not guarantees. If the machine problem turns out to be a Customer Replaceable Unit (CRU), IBM will express ship the part to you for quick replacement. Onsite 24x7x2-hour
service is not available in all locations. For ThinkPad notebooks requiring LCD or other component replacement, IBM may choose to perform service at the depot repair center. (8) Full-size keyboard: As defined by
ISO/IEC 15412. (9) Shipping: Standard shipping included when you order online. U.S. only. (10) Travel weight: includes battery and optional travel bezel instead of standard optical drive in Ultrabay bay, if applicable;
weight may vary due to vendor components, manufacturing process and options. Thinness: may vary at certain points on the system. (11) Wireless capability: requires compatible wireless-enabled options, sold separately. Trademarks: The following are trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM Corporation: IBM, the IBM logo, Rapid Restore, Rescue and Recovery, ThinkPad, Ultrabay, UltraConnect and UltraNav. Microsoft and
Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel, Intel Inside, Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, Intel Centrino logo, Intel SpeedStep and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel
Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of other companies. © 2004 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
1. 8 0 0 . 9 9 8 . 0 0 7 1
pcconnection.com/ibm
EM1104
Page 59
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60 Hub
10/12/04
11:53 AM
Page 60
The Hub
YOUR TECHNOLOGY MERCANTILE
Being dense is not necessarily a bad thing.
When it comes to Gigabit ports, the denser the better. Nortel's
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BayStack 5510-48T Gigabit Switch
• 48 Gigabit ports • 160Gps switch fabric for wire-speed operation with
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12-Port Layer 3 Managed Fiber Gigabit Switch ............ $1929
EM1104
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Page 60
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61 Hub
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11:54 AM
Page 61
ISSUETKTK 2004
The Hub
61
EM11
Your pictures, your music,
your work, your world.
Store your world in ours.
Today's electronic devices benefit from the highest quality
memor y cards and memor y card devices. From digital
cameras and digital music players to voice recorders, handheld
PC's, camcorders and smart phones, SanDisk has a complete
line of memor y cards and connectivity solutions to help
you get the most out of today's technology. SanDisk is the
worldwide leader in flash data storage.
256MB CRUZER MINI
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EM1104
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Page 61
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10/12/04
11:55 AM
Page 62
The Hub
YOUR TECHNOLOGY MERCANTILE
The Magic
is in the Extra Pixie Dust
Hitachi Travelstar 5K80 Series
Hitachi’s next-generation mobile hard drives
offer areal densities as high as 70Gbits per
square inch by adding an extra layer
of “Pixie Dust.” The resulting five-layer, laminated, Pixie Dust–ruthenium/magnetic–
sandwich increases the thermal stability
of the media, supporting data recording
at ultra-high densities while maintaining
data integrity.
• 5400rpm performance
• S.M.A.R.T drive monitoring
• Enhanced vibration and shock protection
• Easy affordability
Hitachi Travelstar 2.5" Hard Drives
#4786565
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40GB
60GB
80GB
$94.95
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• OPTICAL, HARD AND TAPE DRIVES • UP TO 1TB HARD DRIVE STORAGE • TRIPLE INTERFACE CONNECTIVITY
When You Think Storage,
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and up to 100 users can share files.
Perfect for non-technical groups that
need to communicate.
Starting at $599 160GB #439675
d2 SATA Hard Drive Get SCSI-caliber
performance at at a fraction of the cost.
Enjoy the fastest transfer rates available
from an external drive–up to 150MB/sec.
Starting at $338.95 250GB #5363134
Bigger Disk With the largest capacity
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housed in a compact 5.25" form factor.
$999 #4816269
EM1104
Page 62
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63 Hub
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11:57 AM
Page 63
ISSUETKTK 2004
The Hub
63
GET PROFESSIONAL POWER– PLUS $15,000 IN REBATES*
®
Today’s high-performance computers need a more powerful, more productive
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advantage of your workstations and servers, mobile computing, the Internet, and
multimedia. And with the new Service Pack 2, your PC is protected against viruses,
EM11
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your system was designed to deliver: upgrade to Windows XP Pro now.
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition
• Built-in support for high-performance systems • Support for wireless 802.1x • Policy-based
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Open Value Windows XP Pr Upgrade License w/Software Assistance
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Upgrade with Software Assurance, or Software Assurance-only licenses through Open Business, Open License Value, Select, and Enterprise Agreements during the promotional period. This offer is not available for academic, government or charity licenses. This offer is limited to qualifying organizations with 1000 employees or fewer. Call your Account Manager
for more information or go to www.pcconnection.com/microsoftlicensing.
Furniture for Technology
If you’re looking for flexible, modular computer furniture with a
Lifetime Warranty, Anthro has what you need. Office furniture, computer
desks, electronic workbenches, computer and printer carts –Anthro
designs them all with ergonomics in mind. Mix and match units and
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Laptop Storage Cart
30-UNIT $2199
20-UNIT $1629
EM1104
Page 63
10/12/04
FA L L 2 0 0 4
Radioing
RFID
64
SNAPSHOT
BY BETH STACKPOLE
The Skinny Radio Frequency Identification, or
STRANGE
BEDFELLOWS How’s
this for weird RFID uses?
In Mexico, the attorney
general, some members
of his staff, and more
than a hundred
employees have been
implanted with RFID
chips in their arms to
control and track access
to a new anti-crime center
in Mexico City. The chips,
Mexican officials say,
will help safeguard a
centralized database
housed there to fight
crime. Who knew?
RFID, uses radio waves to identify people or objects.
RFID lets companies do things like track goods in
the supply chain, monitor parts in a production
line, and keep tabs on reusable containers. There
are numerous RFID security applications and
payment systems.
4Million
By 2007…
RFID implementations will affect 4 million workers,
some of which will lose jobs; others will likely move
away from mundane identification and routing tasks
to more value-added positions. SOURCE: Yankee Group
BETTER THAN BAR CODES RFID can be a replacement
We are the Champions
The military and others have
used RFID for years. But the
technology got a huge boost a
couple years back when retail
giant Wal-mart issued a
mandate that its top 100
suppliers be RFID-compliant by
2005 for Wal-mart distribution
centers and for some stores.
The Department of Defense has
issued a similar edict to its
suppliers, which range from
defense system contractors to
consumer packaged suppliers.
for bar code readers and scanners. The primary difference
between the two is that bar codes are line-of-sight
technology, which means the scanner has to be near the
code in order to scan it, oftentimes requiring people for
physical positioning. Not so with RFID, whose tags can
be read as long as they are within distance of the reader.
And while bar codes only identify the manufacturer and
product, RFID can actually tag a unique item.
RFID in Use
56%
55%
WITHIN 12 MONTHS
Real-time
location
systems
Case and
asset
management
67%
61%
55%
WITHIN 24 MONTHS
Smartshelving
pharmaceutical
Smartshelving
retail
Mobile
commerce
SOURCE: RFID Adoption Survey; BearingPoint Inc., The Software & Information Industry Association (SIAA), and CIO magazine
EM11
ibc Fujitsu
10/12/04
11:58 AM
Page 65
HAVE DRIVE. WILL TRAVEL.
LIGHTER, MORE MOBILE, MORE PRODUCTIVE, MORE FUN
Meet the lightest family of convertibles with integrated optical drives. The Fujitsu LifeBook T4000 Tablet PC
makes bulky external drives a thing of the past. Enjoy easy access to CDs, watch DVD movies on the go,
and still get the natural pen-based interface and light weight you look for in a tablet.
LIFEBOOK T4000 SERIES CONVERTIBLE TABLET PC
• New modular bay supports internal optical drives
• Larger viewing angle–full 160º
• Wireless LAN with on/off button
• TPM security support
STARTING AT ONLY $2049
1. 8 0 0 . 9 9 8 . 0 0 7 1
#5385966
pcconnection.com/fujitsu
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10/12/04
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DESIGN
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SMART SOLUTIONS TO YOUR NETWORK PUZZLE
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CISCO POWERS YOUR NETWORK. PC CONNECTION MAKES IT HAPPEN.
• A Cisco Premier Certified Partner
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©2004 PC Connection. All rights reserved. PC Connection is a trademark of PC Connection, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks remain
the property of their respective companies.
EM0704
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The Buzz Behind VoIP

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