My youngest son had some societal difficulties in his teenage years. As a result, our family got introduced to the juvenile justice system, in particular, the juvenile facility at 25th and Keystone in Indianapolis. As the owner of an Indianapolis Information Technology company, I've been accused of carrying more than my fair share of gadgets, but the most basic of portable electronics is my smartphone (currently an iPhone, but I'm always looking). Inside the Indianapolis facility is the juvenile court, probation office, clerk, and the jail. All visitors to the building enter through the same doors. At the door, we're told that we cannot enter with any cell phone that contains a camera. Have you tried to purchase a cell phone without a camera lately?
Inevitably, at some point during the visit, it becomes necessary to schedule a future visit, but anyone who uses modern technology to track his calendar is at a loss because he had to leave his phone outside the building because it included a camera. Now the courts are extending a similar set of Luddite-like rules to jurors. According to a recent article from WTHR, jurors will have to surrender their phones in order to prevent them from communicating with the outside world while deliberating.
While I understand (even though this post doesn't seem like I do) the need to manage how information gets disseminated during sensitive court proceedings, this doesn't seem to be the best approach. Nonetheless, I have been asked by more than one of my Indianapolis small business computer support customers what can be done to rein in staff use of electronics at work. I've even heard from my peers that some of their clients collect cell phones at the front door from their employees and using one during work hours is grounds for termination.
The rapid pace of technology and its impact on our daily lives make it hard for a small business to stay abreast of rules and policies and their impact on the business. A good outsourced IT department should work with these owners and their staff to craft policies that keep the business functioning well without destroying staff morale. For instance, we have a client who is installing a new phone system that will include a "personal emergency hotline" for his staff to give to anyone who might need to reach them at work. Once it's in place and operational, he will require his staff to turn off their cell phones while in the office. It removes the distraction of constant texting, while maintaining the assurance that people can be reached during an emergency.
Inevitably, at some point during the visit, it becomes necessary to schedule a future visit, but anyone who uses modern technology to track his calendar is at a loss because he had to leave his phone outside the building because it included a camera. Now the courts are extending a similar set of Luddite-like rules to jurors. According to a recent article from WTHR, jurors will have to surrender their phones in order to prevent them from communicating with the outside world while deliberating.
While I understand (even though this post doesn't seem like I do) the need to manage how information gets disseminated during sensitive court proceedings, this doesn't seem to be the best approach. Nonetheless, I have been asked by more than one of my Indianapolis small business computer support customers what can be done to rein in staff use of electronics at work. I've even heard from my peers that some of their clients collect cell phones at the front door from their employees and using one during work hours is grounds for termination.
The rapid pace of technology and its impact on our daily lives make it hard for a small business to stay abreast of rules and policies and their impact on the business. A good outsourced IT department should work with these owners and their staff to craft policies that keep the business functioning well without destroying staff morale. For instance, we have a client who is installing a new phone system that will include a "personal emergency hotline" for his staff to give to anyone who might need to reach them at work. Once it's in place and operational, he will require his staff to turn off their cell phones while in the office. It removes the distraction of constant texting, while maintaining the assurance that people can be reached during an emergency.
More importantly, what happens when you leave? The account was setup using your work email address, perhaps even at the request of your employer. But the network built in that account seems to belong to you more than the company. Who gets it? What is my role as the business computer support professional in facilitating that? Do I serve my client or my customer?
I recently attended a conference of bankruptcy lawyers. It's one of those groups where business owners in non-competing geographies get together to share best practices in order to improve their businesses. I attended as the outsourced IT support provider to 
As someone who works in computer consulting, it is part of my responsibility to look to the future for my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers. 2010 is going to be a year full of major change for most people. Microsoft is all but forcing adoption of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. Both of these are vastly different from their predecessors (excluding Vista, which no one used anyway). Google has released phones to compete with the iPhone, Microsoft is releasing a new Windows Mobile OS, and then there’s the iPad, which at least one person in your office wants. Add to that new versions of end-user software like Office 2010 and you’ve got the recipe for a lot of headaches.
So, what can we do as a network consultant to ease the pain? For one, we can access most of the software in beta format and use it for a few months before it's officially released. But, here’s the trick…we need to actually USE the software. I understand installing it on a secondary computer, but your IT consultant needs to use it regularly to be able to really recommend changing (or not changing for that matter). This isn’t practical for all applications, but for things like Office, Browsers, and Operating Systems, it’s essential.
least two people using new software as early as possible. We had 3 people using the release candidate for Windows 7, and all their raving got the rest of us amped up to do the switch as well. We currently have 2 people (including me) using Office 2010, which is in beta release. It’s got some cool features as well, but hasn’t generated near the buzz that Windows 7 did.
Sometimes we do obvious things like informing our computer consulting customers about the status of their IT system. We keep them up to date on the age and status of their equipment and help plan replacements, refreshments, and upgrades as they go about budgeting. At other times, we move a bit out of the normal things considered outsourced computer support to areas like online marketing and social media. Every now and then we really step outside the normal envelope and do research that only touches computer support because it's done online. A recent example was a question posed to me by a customer who received several gift cards from friends and vendors at Christmas. He knew he would never visit many of these stores and wanted to know if there were options other than "re-gifting" these cards.
The answer depends on so many things, not the least of which being personal preference. With each generation of phone, the ability to synchronize to email, calendar, and contacts gets easier (Blackberry is an exception, but it at least doesn't get harder). At that point, my network technicians are content with any choice. Not me. I want to put the closest thing to the perfect device that is available into my computer services customer's hands. I want to know when they'll use it, where they'll use it, how they'll use it, and how they intend to treat it. Will it be a prized possession kept safe from all dangers, or will it be treated no better than a 19 cent Write Brothers pen?
She was right. Col Jones was a brilliant man, but he had a mouth like, well, a drunken sailor. It turns out that foul language is not only a way to express agony, but a way to alleviate it as well. Recent studies confirm that people who swear can withstand pain longer than those who don't. That explains why those of us in the computer outsourcing business tend to swear more often than most of our peers. Imagine if you had to spend the bulk of your day dealing with computer tech support from a guy named "Bob" in India? That's the life of a network technician.
One of the most frequent questions from my Indianapolis small business computer consulting customers is, "What can I do to ensure that my network is safe from hackers?" I always answer the same way: "Disconnect your machines from the Internet."
One of the things that we do to keep our computer outsourcing customers aware of changes in the IT area is to play with new things as they come along. Sometimes that means we find the coolest new things to make life easier. At other times it means we break our stuff and have to figure out how to fix it. The web version of Office 2010 could fall into either category. Time will tell.
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