Simplex-IT BizBlog

Simplex-IT is happy to announce our February 2012 Lunchinar is now online and available for your viewing pleasure.

In this 1-hour presentation, Bob Coppedge begins by answering the question “What IS Unified Communications?” and continues by detailing the many features of Lync – audio and video conferencing, document and desktop sharing, etc. – and how they can benefit today’s small and medium organizations.

Through numerous live demonstrations, Bob shows that Lync is easy to use, very affordable and extremely powerful in its ability to offer numerous ways to communicate and collaborate with others – both within and outside your organization. Anyone interested in improving productivity through more effective communications should take the time to view this presentation.

Oh, and don’t forget to sign up for our March 21 Lunchinar on Storage Area Networks. To learn more about it, see the separate blog entry on this website.

Now, grab some popcorn, click the thumbnail below and enjoy the presentation!

The article “Desktop Videoconferencing Ready For Wide Use” in the January 30, 2012 issue of Information Week magazine  provides us with a glimpse into the very near future, where individuals in diverse locations around the globe can videoconference right from the comfort and convenience of their own desktop PC.  The hero of the story is the H.264 SVC (Scalable Video Coding) codec. It’s this compression technology that is responsible for finally making high-definition videoconferencing over the Internet feasible for business use.

Not only does the technology make this collaboration and communication possible, it does so at an attractively low cost. As the attendees at Simplex-IT’s February Lunchinar on Unified Communications learned, Microsoft Lync. for example, can bring a wealth of conferencing options to small and medium organizations for as little as $2/user/month. If a company is trying to find a way to lower travel expenses, this technology could be just what you’re looking for.

Click here to read the complete report. Then contact Simplex-IT if you want to know more about implementing this great low cost technology at your organization.

If you weren’t able to attend Simplex-IT’s January Lunchinar you can now enjoy it online. I just posted the video on our YouTube Channel, but you can view it right here. Simply click the thumbnail below, put your feet up, kick back and relax. Bob Coppedge is going to tell you what he believes will be the big tech stories in the coming year, including:

• The Cloud
  • Are outages inevitable?
• Microsoft’s Strategy
  • New Products – Windows 8, Office 2012, SQL Server 2012…Kinect!
• Climate Change – Weather’s Impact on Global Production
• Backup’s Focus is Shifting to Business Continuity
• Government Regulations (SOPA)
• Social Media (of course!)

We hope you enjoy!

Today’s workers are ALL mobile, whether they are on the road or not; a recent study found the average employee was at his or her desk only 40% of the time. Yet most companies’ communications infrastructure is designed for a deskbound workforce. Happily there IS a better way!

During Simplex-IT’s next free lunchinar, you will learn about Microsoft Lync, an often under-appreciated component of Office 365. Offering secure instant messaging, Internet-based voice, video conferencing, collaborative whiteboarding, presence and seamless document sharing on almost any device, Lync is transforming business productivity. If you’d like to see how your information workers can get more done in less time, this presentation is for you!

Where: Hattie’s Café, 164 N. Main Street, Hudson
When: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 11:30am-1:00pm

As a bonus, we will be awarding door prizes of Windows 7 and Office 2010 to two lucky attendees. Free food AND free software – how awesome is that!

We remind you, though, seating is limited. To reserve yours, email John@Simplex-IT.com or call 234.380.1277. Come join the fun!

Simplex-IT successfully hosted its first free Lunchinar of 2012 with approximately 20 business owners, executives and IT professionals in attendance.

President and Chief Technical Guru Bob Coppedge entertained the group with his prognostications of IT Trends we can expect to see in the coming year. The Cloud, the differences between backups and business continuity and Microsoft’s planned new product offerings for 2012 (Windows 8, Office 2012, Server 2012, others) were among those topics highlighted. An energetic discussion of his picks occurred throughout the presentation.

Simplex-IT hosts these free lunchinars every 3^rd Wednesday of each month. Watch this blog for announcements of future events. In addition, our monthly eNewsletter provides details of each monthly gathering. To sign up to receive it, just go to our website – www.Simplex-IT.com – and click the link for the newsletter.

On January 30, 2012, Research in Motion announced the general availability of free cloud services for using and managing BlackBerry devices with the Microsoft Office 365 suite.

A similar BlackBerry service for Office 365’s precursor, the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), originally cost users $10. But RIM made the service free for BPOS a year ago and committed to making an Office 365 version free, as well, when it shipped. It now looks like that is Mission Accomplished!

Key features of the new service include:

• Wireless synchronization between a BlackBerry device and Microsoft Exchange
• Self-service security access that allows employees to reset their passwords and remotely lock or wipe their devices in case of loss or theft
• Web-based console for provisioning, managing and securing BlackBerry devices
• BlackBerry Balance, a RIM technology that presents a unified view of work and personal content on a BlackBerry while keeping the content separate and secure

If you have been holding off on moving to the Microsoft Office 365 cloud services until they can fully accommodate BlackBerrys, now is the time to give Simplex-IT a call to get the ball moving. Your last excuse has just been removed!

One of the questions I hear frequently from users of Office is “Why did Microsoft switch from the familiar Menu-based interface in Office 2003 and earlier to the new Ribbon User Interface in Office 2007/2010?” Well, the short answer is the Ribbon is intended to be easier to use – with fewer clicks to accomplish frequent tasks.

For some, whether Microsoft met their goal remains open to debate.

But, for me, I was curious as to how they actually arrived at and ultimately decided upon the Ribbon configuration. I’m happy to report if you have 90 minutes to spare I have located The Story of the Ribbon, documenting the entire history of how this User Interface was created. It’s a truly fascinating story and entertainingly presented.

It’s not often you get to go “behind the scenes” of the development of a product and this is truly an eye-opening experience. You may find it even helps you understand Ribbon better.

If you are still using Office 2003 or earlier, this might just motivate you to consider making the jump to Office 2010. To those I would say “Come on in, the Ribbon’s fine!”

Enjoy!

Like every year before, 2012 promises to bring continued evolution in the world of information technology. Of course, some segments will gain in popularity while others will diminish or even disappear altogether. Who will be the ultimate winners and losers? How will the inevitable changes impact the decisions you will be called upon to make in your professional role?

Join Simplex-IT for our first free Lunchinar of 2012 as Bob Coppedge peers into his crystal ball to suggest what technologies you should be following in the New Year to help your business prosper. Will it be the Cloud, Social Media, Virtualization…or something else? Join us and find out!

Where: Hattie’s Café, 164 N. Main Street, Hudson
When: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 from 11:30am-1:00pm

As a bonus, we will be awarding door prizes of Windows 7 and Office 2010 to two lucky attendees. Free food AND free software – how awesome is that!

We remind you, though, seating is limited. To reserve yours, email John@Simplex-IT.com or call 234.380.1277. Come join the fun!

I know, I know, Christmas is over. But I just couldn’t resist passing along just one more free gift. This one’s from one of my favorite websites, MakeUseOf. They have all kinds of cool, helpful and free stuff, like: Tips & How To Articles, Best of Tools, Must Read Guides, Cool Sites Directory and more.

If you own both a Mac and a PC, you’re not alone. According to a 2009 survey, 85% of Mac owners also own a PC. This means millions of people need to make these two systems work together.

If you’re one of those, check out “Computing Harmony: Seamlessly Blend Windows and OS X,” the latest free MakeUseOf manual. Just click on the link above and you’ll be on your way to making these rivals work better together.

Enjoy. And Merry Christmas from Simplex-IT and MakeUseOf.com!

“At the beginning of the year, there were a lot of predictions on how 2011 would be the year of the cloud, and that it would be a tipping point for cloud adoption everywhere. These predictions have been largely confirmed.”

So reports Thoran Rodrigues on his TechRepublic blog article entitled “2011: The Year the Cloud Went Mainstream.” The article goes on to cite some of the growing pains the cloud encountered in 2011 and what the prospects are for 2012. Suffice it to say the future looks bright indeed.

Also featured is a link to an article in Harvard Business Review titled “What Every CEO Needs to Know About the Cloud.” Cited as “a very simple measure of how widespread cloud computing has become” it makes for very interesting reading, particularly if you’re contemplating how cloud services may benefit your company.

Of course, if you’re looking for specific guidance you are always invited to contact us here at Simplex-IT (John@Simplex-IT.com or phone 234.380.1277). We’re always happy to help!

Happy New Year!