Centric

I recently read an interesting article in the March 17 issue of Information Week, “We Strike Data Galore” by Avi Baumstein (yes, I am behind in my reading).

The article pointed out how many P2P network users are unintentionally exposing very sensitive data while using the networks.  Examples include popular P2P networks such as BitTorrent, and Gnuttella.  Clients used to browse P2P networks include LimeWire, Kazaa, Morpheus, and Soulseek.

It’s likely the sharing is not intentional.  Rather, the P2P user installed the browsing client and accepted all the default installation settings.  If the default option is to share your My Documents folder, well you’ve just shared all the documents on your computer with others who have access to the same P2P network.  As pointed out in the article, this is actually worse than loosing a laptop because people can take the files without leaving any trace, or without the owner even knowing that the files have been shared.
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“You’re witnessing the birth of a third major computer platform: Windows, Mac OS X, iPhone.”
Dave Pogue, NY Times

I’m sensing a coming shift in the IT landscape, like Dave Pogue.  Reminds me of the time I saw a practical use of the Internet in 1995 and instantly and instinctively new this would change absolutely everything.  Within 60 days I had quit a good job to work for the company in Columbus that was at the time on the bleeding edge of things-Internet  – CompuServe.
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I’ve recently had the good fortune to be deeply involved in a strategy project where we’ve engaged many of our best consultants and members of Centric’s professional network to think broadly about how a mid market manufacturer should embrace Internet technologies to further their sales and marketing initiatives.

Our deliverable for this work is quite robust.  It includes a review of their existing web properties, and their sales and marketing goals and how they might be furthered via the use of Internet technologies.  Our deliverable lays out a 2-year execution roadmap that results in regular delivery of business value and an every-improving technical infrastructure (i.e. classic Enterprise Architecture approach).
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I grow increasingly excited about the connected world.  Maybe it’s how easy it is to find a free hot spot (did you know Starbucks will be free shortly, if you register a Starbucks frequent buyer card?).  Maybe it’s Gmail (did you know Centric is moving its corporate email to Gmail?).  Maybe it’s the unbelievable iPhone (did you know I don’t have one, but will have one as soon as they’re available on Verizon?).  Or maybe it’s just how amazing everything is on the web, and how convenient it makes life. Read the rest of this entry »

Pet peeve time.

If you were a doctor, would you tell a patient that you’re “not scientific?”  If you were a politician, would you tell voters you’re “not eloquent?”  If you were a teacher would you tell your students “I’m not good with people?”  Of course not, you’d be admitting a real shortcoming in your abilities to do your job.

I’ve always been baffled when someone I’m working with in an IT organization admits that they are “not technical” in an effort to set expectations about their ability to perform a certain task.

Frankly, this is unacceptable, or maybe just un-wise.  If you’re doing technical work, and you have gaps in your knowledge, then you should be working to fill them.

A much better approach “I’m no expert here, but am working to get smarter.”

I welcome your comments,
Mike Brannan

I’ve been using Office 2008 for the Mac for about 4 months.  This post provides a few comments about my experiences to date.

First and foremost, I can unequivocally state that this suite of Office products is significantly better than the previous version (Office 2004 for the Mac).  Note that I am running Leopard on a 2007 MacBook Pro.  It looks better, runs faster, and is more compatible with the Windows versions of Office. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend Columbus Ohio was hit by the largest snowstorm in 98 years, 20.5 inches of snow in just over 24 hours.  As a result, everything is closed, my back is sore from shoveling, and I’ve had time to catch up on a bit of reading.

I ran across an interesting article in Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org) called “Radically Simple IT” by David M. Upton and Bradley R. Staats.

The authors discuss Japanese bank Shinsei and its concept of “Path based Development.”  Essentially, the approach advocated building needed new banking infrastructure by building modular functionality that would function alongside of existing infrastructure but would eventually replace it.
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One of the benefits of being a consultant is constantly getting to stretch your capabilities via new and varying project work.  Over the years, I’ve built up a decent library of reference material (I like to learn via reading).

One book that I find myself referring to again and again is:  “The Executive’s Guide to Information Technology” by John Baschab & Jon Piot.  If you’re an IT professional, you are not going to learn new techie things about IT by buying this book.  The book is written for the “normal” execs who are “forced” to manage those IT functions and people.  It provides the techniques IT managers and executives need to accurately assess their operations and provide step by step advice on how to run IT like a business.

I continually refer to it as a reminder and guide on how to effectively communicate to the clients that hire us as we work to solve their business issues via the use of IT.  Buy this one, you will like it.

I welcome you comments,
Mike Brannan

Whenever I contemplate a significant purchase I think about alternatives.  Example, you could buy a $50K luxury sedan, or you could by a more modest normal-guy sedan for $25K and use the remaining money to take your family on a 3 week vacation to virtually anywhere on the planet.  Or, if you were more altruistic, you could change a struggling family’s trajectory possibly forever by giving them the extra money.

So when I hear about Microsoft’s potential purchase of Yahoo for $44B, my mind naturally goes to alternatives.  What could you do with $44B?
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Sun recently completed its purchase of MySQL for $1B, a 5X premium over its $200M annual revenue. Historically, Sun has been a strong supporter of Open Source as demonstrated by the migration of its Solaris OS to the open source model as well as its founding of the largely open source Java language and toolset. Sun’s specific plans have not been announced other than it plans to integrate MySQL into its software, sales and service organization.

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