http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2013-05-22T13:10:00ZTo get better results in budget and project negotiations and make career path progress, IT pros must learn to speak less tech and more "boss."http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/careers/6-tips-how-to-speak-c-suite/240155344?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/galleries/social_networking_consumer/linkedin-10-important-changes/240154479"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/990/LinkedIn-original-screen_birthday-hat_01_tn.jpg" alt="LinkedIn: 10 Important Changesr" title="LinkedIn: 10 Important Changes" class="img175" /></a><br /> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">LinkedIn: 10 Important Changes</div> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Tired of tight budgets, project bureaucracy and career stasis? You might need to stop talking tech and learn to speak "boss." <P> Alas, there's no Rosetta Stone course or Google Translate option for learning the language of the C-suite. You'll have to roll up your sleeves; we're here to help. It's worth the effort. During a recent webinar on the topic of "talking boss" over at IT pros' social network <a href="http://www.spiceworks.com/">Spiceworks</a>, 87% of participants said they'd been turned down for a technology funding request during the past two years. Another 64% said they had zero input into their company's planning and budgeting process. <P> If that sounds familiar, it's time for a language lesson. In an interview, Spiceworks CFO Jeff Dean shared these insights for better communicating with nontechnical executives and management. <P> <strong>1. Remember: The Bosses Have Bosses, Too</strong> <P> "The CFO is not a mythical figure who is 100% in control," Dean said. "They seem like these spooky gatekeepers, and a lot IT pros probably have no relationship with their CFO." <P> That can lead to plenty of incorrect <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-4-things-ive-learned/240155234">assumptions</a> about strategy, planning and how decisions get made within the organization. Bear in mind: the CFO and other higher-ups almost always answer to other stakeholders, whether that means the CEO, the board, investors, debt-holders or other constituents. Identifying the boss' bosses lays the groundwork for understanding how the higher-ups are being judged -- a crucial step toward speaking their language. <P> <strong>[ What is a "good" job? Hint: it's not just money. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/what-it-staffs-want-more-than-salary/240154463?itc=edit_in_body_cross">What IT Staffs Want More Than Salary</a>. ]</strong> <P> <strong>2. Start The Conversation</strong> <P> Dean stressed the importance for IT pros to open a dialogue with nontechnical management to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/network/how-to-innovate-in-a-low-tech-industry/240154016">improve IT's standing</a> within the organization. The best way to do so is not in terms of bits and bytes, but "under the guise of wanting to help the CFO and organization meet their goals and objectives for the year," Dean said. "Part of that is understanding what those metrics are that the CFO [or other executive] measures themselves by -- how do they define the year?" Some common examples might include revenues, operating expenses and profit. But the list will vary by organization and industry; education environments, for example, would likely care more about learning outcomes and other measurements than strict financial data. No matter what measurements your company uses, they become the lexicon of the executive suite. <P> Along with that, it's also critical to know your company's budgeting and planning process. While startups and other smaller firms sometimes operate under some form of "managed chaos," many organizations have a "budget season." If you're not aligning your IT requests with that calendar, you're less likely to get what you want during the course of the year. <P> <strong>3. Translation Strategy #1: Communicate In Terms Of Business Goals</strong> <P> A firm grasp of the company's goals -- and how progress is measured -- essentially generates the vocabulary of "speaking boss." Budget requests, project plans and other communications stand a better chance of approval if expressed in terms of corporate metrics and keywords rather than technical jargon. In other words: Show, in plain language, how Project X or New Application Y will help meet corporate goals. Save the technical stuff for IT meetings. <P> "[IT pros] need to figure out what those measurements are so that they can equate back the projects that they feel they need and how they impact those measures," Dean said. "[Don't] express the project in terms of 'hey, this quad core processor is fabulous and I've got this many reads-per-second going to the hard drive now.' That doesn't mean anything to a CFO." <P> <strong>4. Translation Strategy #2: Communicate In Terms Of Risk</strong> <P> Speaking in terms of business goals and metrics is the optimist's strategy; communicating everything that can go wrong, though, can be equally effective. Help the bosses understand IT risks in non-IT terms -- What happens to employee productivity, website transactions or other business currencies if that server or this application fails? Dean offered an example from within Spiceworks: the company's director of IT wanted funds for more effectively backing up the organization's Active Directory deployment. When discussing it with Dean, he laid off the IT lingo in favor of terms the C-suite could easily understand: If Active Directory goes down, here's how many employee hours would be lost. <P> "That's expressing the risk to me in terms I can understand," Dean said.A clearer understanding of the business and of how the executive team is assessed -- along with an open, ongoing dialogue -- will also foster far more options for expressing return on investment (ROI) proofs or otherwise making business cases for IT investments. There's a writing 101 lesson that applies here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don't_tell">"Show, don't tell."</a> With solid grounding in your company's goals and metrics, you paint the ROI picture and let the higher-ups connect the dots themselves. Typically, Dean said, that comes from showing a productivity or efficiency gain tied to corporate objectives -- or risks that threaten achieving those objectives. <P> Another example from inside Spiceworks: The firm's CTO had noticed that the Spiceworks website was averaging about six seconds per page refresh; he thought he could get it down to two seconds with the appropriate resources. While he couldn't explicitly prove ROI for the initiative, the CTO and CFO discussed the project in terms of how it could improve the company's main revenue stream: Advertising. <P> "It was very logical for me to quickly get that if the refresh rate can be cut down by two-thirds, I'm going to generate more page views, keep people within my environment longer, be able to provide them more useful information faster, [and] that's going to help my overall traffic a bunch," Dean said. "That was another way of expressing ROI in a business measurement that I could relate to." <P> Consider the terms most applicable to your business -- labor hours, order processing times, compliance, risk and so forth -- and communicate IT strategy and requests accordingly. <P> <strong>6. Think Like An Owner</strong> <P> Beyond budgets and project approvals, speaking "boss" can help elevate IT's overall stature within an organization -- and also be a boon for IT pros that aspire to one day <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/so-you-want-to-be-a-cio-4-tips/240155134"><em>become</em> the boss</a>. "You've got to think like an owner," Dean said. Again, that means you need to know more than your network or other IT responsibilities -- see the company's big picture. If you feel you're too far down the chain of command to be having lunch with the C-suite, at least start with your higher-ups within IT. Find out if <em>they're</em> talking to nontechnical management. (If they're not, suggest they start.) Dean believes most executives will welcome the input. <P> "[If I was a CTO], I would still want to know from the guy running the network what he sees, because there are plenty of things he sees that the CTO doesn't see," Dean said. While Dean can't imagine writing a budget without IT input, the 64% poll figure above shows it does happen -- frequently, even. Dean half-joked that his next webinar will be for CFOs and other execs on why they shouldn't create budgets without soliciting IT's input. "You don't know what you don't know," Dean said. <P> It comes back to starting that conversation in terms the bosses can understand. Dean acknowledged that this can be intimidating. "It absolutely is," Dean said. It may be easier to start the discussion in the form of a question, or in the form of a helping hand: "How can IT act as a catalyst for achieving our corporate goals?" or "Hey, I want to better understand our objectives and metrics so I can ensure we don't have any unforeseen technology risks that might hinder success." Dean believes most executives will embrace this type of dialogue -- again, provided it's in a language they can understand. <P> "All but the most curmudgeonly managers will really welcome when someone comes to them just wanting to be a part of the aggregate solution," Dean said. "That's generally pretty well-received."2013-05-21T09:06:00ZAfter spending two weeks on a touchscreen laptop, I've revisited my initial assumptions about Windows 8. But Joe and Jane user will need training.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-4-things-ive-learned/240155234?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/8-things-microsoft-should-fix-in-windows/240154570"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/991/Windows-Blue-Blue-1st-screen_tn.jpg" alt="Windows Blue" title="LinkedIn: 10 Important Changes" class="img175" /></a><br /> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">8 Things Microsoft Should Fix In Windows Blue</div> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->You've heard the popular wisdom about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Belson">assumptions</a>, right? I figured it was time to revisit mine to ensure I wasn't living up to the old, if somewhat vulgar, adage. <P> Specifically, I'm talking about Windows 8. I've weighed in a few times on <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-why-i-wont-upgrade/240008430">why I'm not sold</a> on a one-size-fits-all OS that prioritizes tablets and other mobile devices over the traditional PC in the user interface. I've <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">had my doubts</a> about the business value of a touchscreen on laptops and desktops -- enough so that my editor referred to me on Twitter as <a href="https://twitter.com/lmclaughlin/status/320175183811981313">"our touch skeptic."</a> <P> I recently spent a couple of weeks using Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon, a touchscreen ultrabook running Windows 8 Pro. Although it was primarily for review purposes, the session provided a timely opportunity to retest some of my early responses to Windows 8. <P> <strong>[ Two weeks with a high-end Windows 8 ultrabook revealed plenty of pros and cons. Read more at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/lenovo-windows-8-ultrabook-my-first-14-d/240155025?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Lenovo Windows 8 Ultrabook: My First 14 Days</a>. ]</strong> <P> As an ultrabook, the X1 Carbon is a close cousin of the "old-fashioned" laptop -- no "tent mode," detachable keyboard, or other explicitly touch-centric features. I went in with an open, even enthusiastic, mind. The touchscreen PC experience grew on me while immersed in it for an extended time period. Nonetheless, I found many of my prior thoughts were underscored rather than undermined. <P> <b>1. Touch on PC Is a Bonus, Not a Requirement.</b> <P> As I said, I enjoyed the touch experience on the X1 Carbon. It's new, it's novel. The app model currently favors personal over business use by a wide margin, but there's promise in the live tiles concept and in the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">Windows Store</a>. From a design standpoint, certain <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-free-must-have-windows-8-apps/240154590">apps like Twitter and SkyDrive</a> look great in Windows 8, and make logical sense for the streaming data idea behind the UI. <P> Here's the thing: I can do my job without it. There could certainly be other roles and tasks where touch becomes table stakes for PC users, but those users are probably already using tablets. For the deskbound crowd -- and there are a lot of us -- it's more nice-to-have than must-have, at least for now. I only "touched" a Word doc because I could; doing so didn't make it easier or more productive. Ditto Excel. Even Web browsing, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">a potential boon</a> for touch PCs, was underwhelming. On my phone, touch-based browsing is a necessity; not so on the laptop. <P> One reason why that distinction matters: While prices seem likely to come down over time, business-grade touch hardware is expensive. Microsoft's Surface Pro starts at $900, well north of the iPad. (The two aren't an apple-to-apple comparison, yet many tablet buyers will certainly stack the two side by side.) The X1 Carbon starts at $1,349; plenty of the other, newer Windows 8 hardware hitting the market likewise retails well north of $1,000, a high price tag in the traditionally budget-friendly PC market. Why pay the premium if it's not adding productivity? <P> <b>2. I Would Not Install Windows 8 on a Non-Touch Device.</b> <P> I don't doubt there are specific use cases -- likely in IT positions -- where installing Windows 8 on non-touch hardware makes sense. <em>InformationWeek</em> readers have regularly pointed out some of the under-the-hood improvements that have nothing to do with touch, for example. But for most people, I think Windows 8 on a non-touch device is a nonstarter. Can you use the Modern UI with a touchpad or mouse? Sure. Should you? I just didn't enjoy it -- the live tiles experience was designed for touch, not for touchpads, and needs the hardware to match. Otherwise, Windows 7 should meet the needs of most workers just fine for the foreseeable future. <P> <b>3. Windows 8.1 <Em>Must</Em> Include the Option to Boot to Desktop.</b> <P> Sometimes divisive tech topics -- Windows 8 certainly qualifies, to the point that <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2013/05/10/staying-centered.aspx">Microsoft is blogging about the public discourse</a> -- turn out to be a lot of hubbub for no substantive reason. Take the polarized reaction to Microsoft making desktop mode the second-class citizen in Windows 8. Without a third-party app, you've got no choice but to boot to the touch-oriented Start screen. (You know the script: "Gaaaaaaaaah, where's the start button!" "Stop complaining, noob! Get over it!") Either side might seem like an overreaction. <P> Yet this hubbub had a very real cause -- subordinating the Start button and overall desktop UI that millions of people are comfortable with. My X1 Carbon came with <a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/">Start8</a> installed for demo purposes; this is a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">paid app</a> that enables you to bypass the Start screen at startup in favor of the traditional desktop. It made a world of difference, even if some of that was psychological. I lived in desktop mode and switched to the Start screen and my live tiles when I wanted to, not vice versa. It better suited my usage -- lots of documents, some spreadsheets, plenty of content creation and other forms of data entry, email, and so forth. It also better matched my hardware -- not some slow, XP-era desktop, but a modern, high-end laptop built for business. <P> It shouldn't require a non-Microsoft app to make this happen. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-81-no-cost-big-pressure/240154876">Windows 8.1</a> needs to include a system setting that allows <em>users</em> -- not investors, partners or competitors -- to decide which best suits their needs. I'll be floored if this doesn't happen. I'd even take it a step further: the default setting on touchscreen PCs should be desktop mode. The default on tablets or hybrids that feature a keyboard but are more tablet than PC, like Microsoft's Surface Pro, should be the Modern UI. <P> <b>4. Don't Kid Yourself: Joe and Jane User Will Need Training.</b> <P> At the moment, it <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8s-best-chance-depends-on-byod/240155033">doesn't appear</a> that IT has grand plans for widespread Windows 8 deployments. But if Windows 8.1 or other factors change that, you'd better get your training programs ready. It's no media-driven myth; Start mode does take time to get used to. That time has a real dollar value when you're talking about employees on the clock versus consumers tinkering at home. <P> A couple of quick examples: It's not particularly intuitive to swipe -- or pull, really -- the Search, Settings and other options from the right side of the screen, or the All Apps option from bottom -- or top -- of the screen. On the X1 Carbon, at least, even using the keyboard's Windows key to return to desktop mode isn't especially elegant. (There's a back-and-forth hitch when exiting Start mode.) These are the kinds of things that drive some users -- you know the type -- to send a rash of panicked tickets to the help desk, or at least to grumble about it at the water cooler. <P> Can users figure it out? Sure, but it's going to take time and, in some cases, plenty of hand-holding. Prepare accordingly. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-20T09:06:00ZIn two weeks, I learned plenty about the pros and cons of Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch, a high-end Windows 8 ultrabook.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/lenovo-windows-8-ultrabook-my-first-14-d/240155025?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/989/Intro_01_tn.jpg" alt="8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25" title="8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->I'm about to return the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch ultrabook that Intel lent me for review purposes, and I'm not eager to do so. It's a fine piece of hardware. Overall, I've enjoyed using it and wouldn't mind hanging on to it. <P> That said, there are a some downsides that make the parting a little less sorrowful. Read on for a recap of my first two weeks with the X1 Carbon. <P> <b>The Overview</b> <P> The first thing I noticed: This Windows 8 machine booted straight to desktop mode. (<a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-are-pc-people-out-of-touch/240009279">Start Button devotees,</a> rejoice.) That's because my demo came outfitted with <a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/">Start8</a>, a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">paid app</a> that enables you to bypass the touch-oriented Start screen that has caused so much commotion in the early days of Microsoft's so-called Modern UI. (Note: Lenovo is not actually shipping the X1 Carbon with Start8 preinstalled.) Without getting off on a Windows 8 tangent, my Start8 experience confirmed that a system option to boot directly to desktop mode -- and opening the Start screen only if and when you want the live tiles UI -- is a no-brainer addition to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-81-no-cost-big-pressure/240154876">Windows 8.1</a>. Doing this would enable the best of both worlds rather than forcing a single experience regardless of hardware or use case. <P> This 64-bit X1 Carbon ran on Windows 8 Professional. While there's a non-touch version of the X1 Carbon, this is the "multi-touch" device that enables full touchscreen capabilities with Windows 8. It has a 14-inch screen, 4 GB of RAM, and an Intel Core i5 processor (1.80-GHz). It also came with full desktop versions of Office 2013. <P> <strong>[ What's next for Windows 8? Read <a href=" http://www.informationweek.co.uk/windows/operating-systems/windows-81-no-cost-big-pressure/240154876?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Windows 8.1: No Cost, Big Pressure</a>. ]</strong> <P> I did not conduct rigorous performance or durability testing. Rather, I put it through my normal paces -- lots of time at the desk, occasional use around the house, and one quick-turnaround plane trip. (The latter helped test an assumption that this would be a good fit for regular business travelers who want a full-blown PC rather than a tablet.) Here's what I found. <P> <b>The Good</b> <P> For what it's worth, this a good-looking piece of hardware. It's slim without feeling fragile, and I like the graphite black color. I really liked the keyboard, which is sleek and comfortable without making me feel like I've got hot-dog fingers or otherwise shortchanging the productivity of a traditional keyboard, which is a gripe I have with some of the "ultra" ultrabooks on the market. That speaks to one of my higher compliments of this machine: It strikes a nice balance between modernity and productivity. It lays off <a href=" http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">the flair</a> in favor of business sense -- a smart choice given the ThinkPad line's historical market. For someone who spends a lot of time typing and reading on-screen, the X1 Carbon delivered a productive work experience. <P> The X1 Carbon is fast; boot time took just a few seconds, as were shutdowns. Some credit to Windows 8 here: For all of the grumbling about usability, it's speedy. Battery life was strong. I didn't do lab tests but it met expectations based on Lenovo's 8-hour claim. <P> This is an ultrabook for "PC people" who need to get work done. It paid off on some of the commonly touted benefits of the ultrabook category -- slim hardware, lightweight, fast boot and shutdown times -- without sacrificing screen size, keyboard real estate and other factors. I've found smaller ultrabooks sometimes feel too precious in the sense that they're less comfortable to spend long hours working on, especially if that work involves extensive typing and other kinds of content creation or data entry. There's an 11-inch MacBook Air in my household, for example; it's stylish, fast, and certainly mobile. But the times I've tried using it for extensive work, especially writing work, I grew tired of the keyboard and smaller screen. Not so on the larger X1 Carbon.<b>The Bad</b> <P> The touchscreen experience on a relatively traditional laptop grew on me a bit during this test. It never quite moved past "nice-to-have," and I'm <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">still skeptical</a> of its widespread business value on the PC (versus tablets and smartphones). The only times I used touch in Microsoft Word, for instance, was simply for the novelty. Even in touch-friendlier applications like a Web browser, I didn't find tons of additional benefit relative to the keyboard-and-mouse interface. When in Start mode or <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">the Windows Store</a>, however, I actually found touch easier to use than the touch<em>pad</em>. <P> This revealed a significant problem, though: The X1 Carbon's screen wobbles when using touch unless you're being especially gentle -- and even then, there's some give. This was especially true for any tapping functions. Maybe I'm just clumsy, but this ultimately hindered the touchscreen experience -- and it's an issue that simply doesn't come up on most smartphones and tablets. <P> The X1 isn't a convertible like some Windows 8 devices in that it doesn't flip or otherwise transform into "tablet mode." Its monitor will fold flat against a desk or table -- which removes the wobbling -- but I didn't find much practical use for this feature in my own day-to-day use. <P> Another drawback will vary from user to user: This is an expensive machine. It <em>starts</em> at more than $1,349 <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/x-series/x1-carbon-touch/">direct from Lenovo</a>. (For sake of comparison, that tops the $1,199 starting price of the 13-inch MacBook Air.) Budgets vary, of course, and if yours is large or unlimited you might not blink at the price tag. I blinked. Stack this next to a well-built Windows 7 laptop that might run half that cost, and the X1 Carbon would certainly win the "cool" vote. But in the practical categories, budget among them, I'm not sure there's a clear upgrade for most people, especially if the touchscreen is more "nice to have" than "necessary for use." It's a solid machine; I'm just not sure it's a $1,349-plus machine, unless price is no object or your employer will pick up the tab. <P> <b>The Ideal Users</b> <P> This PC is well-suited for road warriors and other highly mobile workers. It traveled well while retaining the "real" laptop experience and performance, both in the office and on the go. It was reasonably comfortable to use on an airplane seatback tray, even on a short-hop puddle jumper. The pound-and-a-half or so weight difference from my regular laptop was actually noticeable in the carrying case -- especially when I had to do my best Usain Bolt impression through the terminal to avoid missing my return flight. <P> As an ultrabook, it's a good fit for people who are, well, unsure about ultrabooks. It's a nice middle ground between the "old" PC and newer form factors. (In a twist, a person next to me on one of my flights began working on an older, heftier ThinkPad. I instantly felt younger and cooler with my X1 Carbon. Alas, the feeling didn't last.) Executives who want a high-end laptop might also make a good fit; the price tag matches that market, too. <P> <b>The Bottom Line</b> <P> This is a very good PC that I'd like to have in my arsenal -- if only someone else would foot the bill.2013-05-15T09:06:00ZJAR Systems disrupts bigger competitors by using SAP and other tools to optimize a complex sales-and-service lifecycle.http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/how-sap-helps-smb-tame-tough-sales-cycle/240154832?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlSales are usually a good thing for a business to have. Yet while they help the bank balance, they can sometimes cause technical pain, especially for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). <P> Such is operational life at JAR Systems, where sales are booming but the sales lifecycle itself is mind-bendingly complex. JAR makes mobile charging and storage carts for tablets and other devices. Public school districts spread around the country comprise its primary customer base, and the firm relies on resellers and other partners for sales and distribution help. <P> "We have a very convoluted and complicated sales process," JAR Systems president Axel Zimmermann said in an interview. The mix of resellers, partners, school districts and other stakeholders means there are plenty of cooks in the sales kitchen. "I've got seven to 10 to 15 people working on the same opportunity that can hit our desks at any point in time." <P> That gets tricky when moving a lead through the pipeline toward becoming a customer, and even trickier when it comes to things like ensuring the right people get paid the right commissions. JAR's 10 employees turned to SAP's Business One platform, plus HANA-enabled industry-specific add-ons from <a href="http://www.boyum-it.com/">Boyum IT</a>, to keep up. JAR's SAP implementation was done with MCS Business Solutions. <P> <strong>[ Want to know how to save money on SAP? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/sap-customers-may-overspend-by-25/240154555?itc=edit_in_body_cross">SAP Customers May Overspend By 25%</a>. ]</strong> <P> SAP unveiled Business One 9.0 on Wednesday at its <a href="http://www.sapandasug.com/">Sapphire Now</a> conference; the latest version includes enhanced development capabilities, new business processes and analytics features, and tighter integration with the SAP-owned Ariba supplier network. <P> Zimmermann's a happy customer to date, enough so that he was almost apologetic for his raves. Chief among reasons for that enthusiasm: The ability to customize the application to JAR's industry and specific business needs, with Boyum's help, is huge. Zimmermann said he's able to essentially mirror each step and variable in that sales cycle. The ability to write an application that does just that -- which Zimmermann knew would be necessary because "there's not going to be anything out there that matched our business" -- set SAP apart in Zimmermann's eyes. <P> "That's why we didn't use Salesforce or Sage or any of these other things," Zimmermann said. "You can't do all that as easy and as simple as you can do in SAP." <P> While Business One 9.0 can be deployed <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/sap-cloud-push-starts-with-hana/240154340">on-demand over the Web</a>, Zimmermann will stick with his on-premises environment for the foreseeable future. That was also a factor in his SAP decision, too. "My data is my data; it's not the cloud's data," he said. JAR maintains its own servers, fully backed up, in part because of data and corporate security concerns. JAR's data <em>is</em> its business in many respects, according to Zimmermann. "I don't want it to be at somebody [else's] mercy. That is data that is so critical to our business. It has got to be mine." <P> IT is also <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/network/how-to-innovate-in-a-low-tech-industry/240154016">a tactical force</a> for Zimmermann and company; his comfort level with technology has enabled him to disrupt larger, older competitors in his industry, such as traditional furniture makers and other manufacturers that haven't been as quick to adopt and adapt to newer tools. He pointed to JAR's use of the inbound marketing platform HubSpot as an example of that strategy. JAR is currently working on a tighter integration of its SAP and HubSpot deployments, the two prime pieces of its technology portfolio. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">Mobility</a> is another priority given JAR's small staff and nationally distributed sales network. <P> "I'm really focused on using IT to revolutionize how my competitors are doing business," Zimmermann said. "All my guys are running around with iPads that plug into SAP Business One [and other data sources]."2013-05-13T11:06:00ZThese free Windows 8 apps will help you and your business bootstrap your way to using Microsoft's new OS productively.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-free-must-have-windows-8-apps/240154590?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlMicrosoft recently bragged about the fast growth of its relatively new Windows Store for Windows 8 and Windows RT apps. The store has served up 250 million downloads since launch, according to the company, and 90% of the current catalog is downloaded at least once every month. "Apps momentum has been steady as the number of apps in the Windows Store has <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/06/windows-8-at-6-months-q-amp-a-with-tami-reller.aspx">increased 6x</a> since launch," said Microsoft chief marketing officer and CFO Tami Reller in a blog post. "Comparatively, that's already passed what iOS had in store, in its first year of app development." <P> It's safe to say the majority of the growth that Microsoft is touting is driven by free apps. There are more than 70,000 apps in the Windows Store, according to AppCounter; nearly 47,000 of them are free. (AppCounter itself is a free Windows 8 app that tracks Windows Store data.) In a recent two-week period, developers published roughly 450 apps per day. <P> "Free" sometimes comes with hidden costs. You could end up with unnecessary privacy or security risks. Overly intrusive adware is another concern with free downloads. You probably shouldn't bank on high levels of support and service from free apps. And if you get a little too app-happy because of the $0.00 price tag, you could end up with a cluttered device full of stuff you never use. <P> Note, too, that there are "free" apps that won't do you much good unless you have a paid account with the underlying platform. Citrix's ShareFile was quick to roll out a Windows 8 app, for instance, but if you're not a ShareFile user you won't get very far with the app. <P> Similarly, there are plenty of compelling "free" Windows 8 apps that are really just free trials for paid software, a distinction that's often glossed over. A website monitoring tool such as Appfail could be a good fit for Windows 8 users, but the "free" app in the store is a 30-day trial. <P> From a budget standpoint, though, genuinely free apps are tough to argue with. If you account for the potential downsides, it's okay to act on the temptation. I bought some Windows 8 apps while reviewing Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook, but I downloaded more free apps, because -- well, they're free. <P> For this review I went in search of free apps that I could either use myself or see as potential fits in corporate contexts, especially for small businesses and individuals procuring their own apps. Although free often feels easy -- it's just a click, after all -- I did run into the occasional headache in addition to the ones already mentioned. <P> A prime example: Apps for services I already used seemed like no-brainers, but in some instances I struggled to find a good reason to use the Windows 8 app instead of the desktop or Web interface. Exhibit A: Dropbox. Like many others, I use it regularly, usually in folder mode on my old Windows 7 laptop or via a native smartphone app. I've got no issues with the Windows 8 app -- I just found myself not needing it all that much, so you won't see it here. (This could be partly a function of my hardware; although the X1 Carbon is equipped with a touchscreen, it bears much more in common with a traditional laptop than a tablet or smartphone.) <P> I did include Microsoft's own SkyDrive service. I'm more likely to use this app in folder mode, too, but I like the Windows 8 app's design. I'm also a fan of SkyDrive's default integration in Office 2013. <P> The general goal here was to keep the list manageable, and eight's a fitting number when discussing Windows 8. Are these the only useful free apps? Of course not. Tell us about your own favorites -- or rejects, for that matter -- in the comments section below.<a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/skydrive/2682e314-15ab-4510-bbb3-d33da78a44d9">SkyDrive</a> has slowly worked its way into my collection of backup apps since I <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/microsoft-skydrive-vs-dropbox-google-han/240005958">first started using the service</a>. In desktop mode I'll probably stick with the SkyDrive folder, but I do like the Windows 8 app when on the Start screen. It's likely a "must" backup and sharing app for SkyDrive users on tablets and other mobile devices where there is no folder mode. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>If you need a crash course on how to use Windows 8, look no further. This <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/windows-8-cheat-keys/24f62990-98c7-4c26-95cb-cb09267680e8">cheat sheet</a> for using the Windows 8 Start screen and Modern UI came in quite handy. It's a fast class in touch gestures and keyboard shortcuts for when you need to see all installed apps, rearrange or remove tiles, or modify app permissions, among other common tasks. Recommended for new Windows 8 users. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>I use Skype regularly for work and personal communications, including voice, IM and videoconferencing. On a full-size laptop, I'll likely stick with the desktop Skype app, but the <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/skype/5e19cc61-8994-4797-bdc7-c21263f6282b">Windows 8 Skype app</a> could be valuable on smaller gadgets, including tablets and some of the smaller hybrid or convertible laptops. One minor gripe: The Windows 8 app forces you to merge your Skype and Microsoft accounts. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/windows-8-company-store/9b22e9ba-50cc-4e0c-8aa6-c84d351c4ddb">Company Store</a> is an open-source tool for creating and managing an internal app store. Administrators can serve up homegrown Windows 8 and Windows RT apps, third-party Windows Store apps, and links to internal and external Web applications. Customizations include the ability to brand the storefront with your company name. (Note: Microsoft doesn't support the storefront, so be prepared to manage it yourself.) <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>The <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/twitter/8289549f-9bae-4d44-9a5c-63d9c3a79f35">free Twitter app</a> begs the "Why do I need this?" question when compared to the desktop social media client or the Twitter website. I found myself drawn in, though, by the clean, elegant design. Social media marketers and Twitter junkies will want to at least check to see how their handles appear, as the design differs from the Twitter Web client. The app probably isn't something you'd want to rely on for managing multiple accounts, but it's a good free Windows 8 app for individuals. The natural brevity of Twitter is a strong fit for the Live Tile concept, too. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>There are all manner of note-taking, productivity, task management and calendar tools these days. <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/tiles-reminder/6f03abc2-7085-4be0-9eda-d4010b858e39">Tiles Reminder</a>, however, takes advantage of the Modern UI concept to enable users to set a simple "note to self" as a Live Tile on the Start screen. The content is up to you, whether a reminder, to-do or even a <a href="http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/daily-affirmation-with-stuart-smalley/n11654/">Stuart Smalley-like</a> daily affirmation. It's easy and makes good sense for the Live Tiles concept. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/pc-monitor/9efc1d1c-6816-48bc-8de7-d4b21a5b3589">PC Monitor</a> is a free remote IT management tool for up to five PCs or applications, which makes it nice fit for small, virtual groups on a tight budget. An accompanying <a href="http://www.mobilepcmonitor.com/">PC agent</a> -- also a free download -- is needed to monitor Windows, Mac and Linux computers. Note: PC Monitor is a freemium app, so if your needs grow, you'll likely need to pony up for a paid upgrade. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>You probably don't really need AppCounter, an app that lets you keep tabs on what's hot and what's not in the Windows Store. But it's a compelling download, especially for anyone with a stake or interest in Microsoft and its entry into the app universe. <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/appcounter/d8deb335-bf0f-49e4-a0f6-724779a83a71">AppCounter</a> tracks key stats and the general progress of the Windows Store. For example, you can see app categories ranked by quantity. (Education is currently in the lead, followed by Entertainment, Books & Reference, Games, and Tools.) Is it the most productive app ever? Nah. But it's an interesting, quick scorecard for charting the Windows Store's growth. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">Windows 8 Users See Red: Is Microsoft Listening? </a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-apps-to-office-365-why-to-switch/240154193">Google Apps To Office 365: Why To Switch</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>2013-05-13T08:45:00ZMicrosoft hasn't said if it will offer Windows Blue as a free service pack-style upgrade to Windows 8 customers. Some analysts say it should.http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-will-microsoft-give-free-up/240154695?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/8-things-microsoft-could-do-to-save-wind/240153124"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/980/Windows-1st-screen_tn.png" alt="8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8" title="8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Microsoft is officially, kind-of-sort-of talking about Windows Blue, the codenamed update to Windows 8 set to roll out some time later this year. <P> Although the company had already <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-confirmed-but-microsoft-mum/240151802">acknowledged Blue</a>, it's now ratcheting up the volume. Microsoft corporate VP Julie Larson-Green told the Wired Business Conference that the company will release a <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/10/building-on-our-vision-of-modern-computing.aspx">public preview of Blue</a> at the Build developers' conference in June. Fellow Windows executive Tami Reller also addressed Blue in a recent <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/06/windows-8-at-6-months-q-amp-a-with-tami-reller.aspx">Q&A blog post</a>, saying the update "will deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance, while creating new opportunities for our ecosystem." <P> Although short on specifics, both Larson-Green and Reller noted Blue represents a chance for Microsoft to address user responses to Windows 8 since it launched last fall. "The Windows Blue update is also an opportunity for us to respond to the customer feedback that we&#8217;ve been closely listening to since the launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT," Reller said. That might -- or might not -- include the return of the popular Start button, for example. (Of that possibility, Larson-Green told <a href="http://www.wired.com/business/2013/05/2013-wired-business-conference/">the Wired conference</a>: "There's been meaningful discussion.") <P> <strong>[ What's wrong with Windows 8? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/8-things-microsoft-should-fix-in-windows/240154570?itc=edit_in_body_cross">8 Things Microsoft Should Fix In Windows Blue</a>. ]</strong> <P> There's one Blue topic that Microsoft is not talking about yet: Pricing and licensing. As Windows 8 user Dave Lorde asked in a comment on Reller's Q&A: "Does this mean current Windows 8 users get a 'Windows Blue' service pack?" <P> Microsoft doesn't have an answer yet, at least not a public one. A company spokesman on Thursday declined to comment on pricing or licensing. <P> It seems borderline unconscionable that Microsoft might charge early Windows 8 customers to upgrade to Blue, particularly as the latter gets framed as a fix for the former's shortcomings. Referring to Windows 8, Reller recently told <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>: <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/05/07/a-humbled-microsoft-outlines-how-its-rebooting-windows-8/">"We didn't get everything we dreamed of done."</a> So why not come right out and say Blue will be delivered to Windows 8 buyers as a free upgrade? Aside from the risk of jilting early adopters, why would anyone pony up for a new Windows 8 device until the Blue picture comes into sharper focus? <P> This doesn't mean Microsoft <em>won't</em> offer Blue as a free service pack-style upgrade to Windows 8 customers. But it has yet to come out and say so, even as the Blue bandwagon's engines start to rev. <P> "I would not be surprised to see them offer an upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows Blue for free," Forrester senior analyst David Johnson said in an interview. An upgrade for "little or nothing" gives Microsoft a chance to make amends with <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-users-see-red-is-ms-listening/240154488">dissatisfied</a> Windows 8 buyers, Johnson noted. <P> Beyond pricing, Johnson is glad to see Blue on the horizon. "I'm happy to see the admission that, hey, maybe we overshot this a little bit," he said. "What they're quickly learning is that tablets and PCs <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">are two separate things</a>, not just from a use-case standpoint but also from a legal, audit and compliance standpoint." <P> Johnson also <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">sees upside</a> for customers in a new, faster development-and-release cycle for Windows. The previous, multi-year cycle made it too easy for companies to skip versions of Windows, in part because of the challenges often associated with major migrations. "That's how you get stuck on XP for 10, 12 years," Johnson said. A yearly cycle of smaller releases, for example, could enable more organizations to stay current. "[Companies could] move level to level rather than having to wait for every three years and get in a mode of inertia." <P> Smaller, quicker releases could reduce pain in areas like application compatibility, which Johnson said has hampered Microsoft and kept plenty of organizations on older versions of Windows. "[Application compatibility] is just a disaster," Johnson said. "That turns it into a change project for any company that wants to [upgrade]." <P> The Windows Store and Windows 8's <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ieinternals/archive/2012/03/23/understanding-ie10-enhanced-protected-mode-network-security-addons-cookies-metro-desktop.aspx">App Container</a> offer a lot of promise for security-minded businesses, according to Johnson. He even envisions the possibility that IT might be able to enable local admin rights for end users to choose and download their own applications from <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">Windows Store</a> without unnecessary security or stability risks. <P> "The locked-down desktop environment is just not a good experience, which is what's driving people to an iPad in the first place," Johnson said. "I think Microsoft has been slow to understand that."&#9; <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">Possible enhancements</a> to the Windows app world might include the ability for enterprises to offer an internal app store within Windows Store; Johnson pointed out workflows such as payment approval for employee-purchased apps that could be opportunities for Windows Store to become more enterprise-friendly over time. <P> Johnson thinks businesses will pay close attention to Windows Blue to see if it suits their needs. And yes, the desktop, highlighted by the traditional Start button, is a big reason why. These aren't organizations full of Luddites and naysayers; rather, Johnson said they'd like to stay current and many of them were probably early adopters of Windows 7. But usability is more than a throwaway concern, and Windows 8's dual design is a problem. <P> "Everybody's interested in it, [Blue], mainly for the reason that they don't feel comfortable moving away from Windows 7 unless they have a Start button," Johnson said. "They're just afraid that they've got a high percentage of workers that they would have to retool and retrain. They've got laptops and desktops that aren't optimized for touch-based interface."2013-05-08T09:06:00ZMicrosoft's app store for Windows 8 shows promise but has room for improvement. Here are four ways it can better serve users.http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/8-things-microsoft-could-do-to-save-wind/240153124"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/980/Windows-1st-screen_tn.png" alt="8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8" title="8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->You don't need me to tell you that the nascent Windows Store is light on apps, especially relative to what's on offer from Apple and Google. It's true, but it's already old news. &#9; It's also a practical matter. The Windows Store, like the Windows 8 platform it accompanied to market, has barely had time to take down the proverbial Grand Opening sign. The developer community needs room -- and perhaps some more <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">optimistic headlines</a> about Windows 8 adoption -- to do its thing. <P> If you're rooting for Windows 8 and its subsequent releases, though, it makes sense to root for the Windows Store, too. There's no end of variables that will determine whether Windows 8 or 8.1 makes its way onto <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">as many devices</a> as Windows 7 or XP did. But a successful Windows Store could help <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">sway doubters</a> that Microsoft's Modern UI is a positive change, for starters. Likewise, it could make a better case for shelling out 900 bucks (or more) for Microsoft's Surface Pro when you can buy an iPad -- <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">keyboard notwithstanding</a> -- for 500 bucks. <P> <strong>[ On a strict software budget? See our slideshow, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All&itc=edit_in_body_cross">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a>. ]</strong> <P> After recently spending a good bit of time <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">shopping the store</a> on a Windows 8 ultrabook, I see a few ways to both improve the Store and do so sooner rather than later -- always a plus in an industry where patience is a precious commodity. Here are four suggestions, with a bias toward business users and how they could help Microsoft differentiate its entry into the app marketplace. <P> <strong>1. Jumpstart The App Economy.</strong> <P> Microsoft has already offered bounties for Windows 8 app developers; why not post bounties for app buyers, too? Buy a Surface Pro, get a $50 credit in the Windows Store. Heck, buy <em>any</em> Windows 8 device above a certain price and get a Windows Store credit. This seems particularly important for the business market, where the hardware is expensive compared to Windows 7 or non-Windows PC options and the value is iffy. It could work on the consumer side of things, too. Get Best Buy to absorb some of the cost and run a Windows 8 retail campaign that taps into our international app fetish. Everyone loves free stuff. <P> Why would Microsoft give away the store, so to speak? It can afford it, for one. It has <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-jacks-up-windows-8-upgrade-pri/240146630">already run</a> plenty of deals aimed at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">getting people to upgrade</a> to Windows 8 and Office 2013. Aside from offering a carrot for customers to take a chance on the revamped OS, it could motivate developers if users are shopping the store with an infusion of house money. Although there are plenty of logical theories on why businesses shouldn't discount products, Microsoft might not have much choice. It was late to the app craze. It needs to draw users into the touchscreen Windows world and get them hooked on the platform, not unlike how Apple and Google have already done. <P> <strong>2. Set Up A "Business Class" Store.</strong> <P> The Windows Store has a ton of catching up to do on the consumer and entertainment front. So be it. Where it could develop a competitive advantage over time is to give some special attention to business users and apps that actually matter to them. Currently, you need to swipe or scroll through 17 categories to get to "Productivity" and 20 to get to "Business" in the Windows Store. <P> Why not offer business users their own storefront that focuses on apps people actually use to get stuff done and make money? This would limit the noise and save time when browsing and buying. It could also better foster a community element. Businesses and professionals could find out what their peers are using, how they use it, what's working well (and what's not), and so forth -- not unlike the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">customer ecosystem</a> on the Salesforce platform. I've got no gripe with games, nor having them on business devices. But you shouldn't have to wade through a flock of Angry Ducks to find an app that helps you schedule your time or keep tabs on your website analytics. <P> The "business class" concept ultimately could empower developers to charge higher prices for their apps, too, by concentrating the business audience in a single place. Professionals willing to pay $899 for a Surface Pro or well north of a thousand bucks for a touchscreen ultrabook might not mind paying a little extra for business apps from a marketplace that caters to their needs, rather than treating them like everyone else. <P> <strong>3. Improve Search.</strong> <P> As the Windows Store infrastructure and inventory grows, search will be increasingly critical, as it is elsewhere online and off. It's decent today -- suggestions as you type, for example -- but it's imperfect. A recent example: I went looking for SkeletonKey's password manager app, but typed in "Skeleton Key" with a space. Three apps return in the results; SkeletonKey isn't one of them. The search tool should be smarter than that, especially for spelling-challenged smartphone and tablet typists. Typos trip up the search function, too; "SkeltonKey" returned zero results, for example. <P> <strong>4. Create A "PC Apps" Category.</strong> <P> The case for touchscreens on tablets and phones is open-and-shut; it's less so on traditional PCs. Convince <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">the skeptics</a> why they need apps -- a term synonymous with mobile devices -- on their laptops and desktops. Create a "PC" category in the store that highlights apps optimized or built specifically for laptop and desktop users on the Windows 8.x platform. This doesn't necessarily mean developers need to write multiple versions of every app they build. But set aside space in the store for apps that take advantage of larger screen sizes or computing power, that are more application than app. Those applications might not quite exist yet, but if we're going to buy into a mobile-centric user interface on a touchscreen PC, it would help if there were apps tailored -- or at least well-suited -- to the hardware.&#9; <P>2013-05-06T11:41:00ZThese eight budget-friendly Windows 8 business apps provide time management, voice-to-text dictation and more, for a grand total of $24.42. http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlThe folks at Intel recently sent me Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch laptop to try out for a couple of weeks (we'll be publishing a review soon). To outfit the laptop, Intel sent me $25 to spend on Windows 8 apps. $25 -- that's all. <P> That sounded like a fun, practical challenge: How far could I stretch 25 bucks when buying apps I might actually use for work? Business users are the X1's sweet spot, as has historically been the case with the ThinkPad line. Fruit Ninja and Big Buck Hunter need not apply. <P> It <i>was</i> fun -- and it was a challenge. The fun part was pretty straightforward: It's always better to shop with someone else's money. <P> The challenges were a little more varied. A big one was, of course, limited funds. That's something most small businesses and individuals can relate to. If I could buy whatever I wanted, this would be a longer list. Alas, that's not the real world. So although I was intrigued by apps like <a href="http://tweetroapp.com/">Tweetro</a>, even its $9.99 price tag was too high. <P> Price was a factor when deciding which of two similar apps to keep for the list as well. For example, if I kicked the tires on two relatively similar apps and one cost $1.49 and the other $2.99, the lower price often won out, even if that meant forgoing a feature or two. <P> Another challenge was supply. It's no secret that the Windows Store doesn't have a big inventory compared with other marketplaces, especially Apple's and Google's. There just aren't as many apps yet, especially if you exclude categories such as games and entertainment. <P> Patience could pay off for Windows devotees, though. The Windows Store shows promise. It looks good and although there are some kinks, it's mostly easy to use. But it's going to need time, perhaps a lot of it, for developers to put some meat on the relatively lean app menu. <P> My self-imposed ground rules: I skipped free apps, which are obviously great for tight budgets. (I'll cover my favorite free Windows 8 apps -- from the obvious Skype to the not-so-much Windows 8 Cheat Keys -- in a separate article.) I also passed on apps that might be great but don't really fit my day-to-day job. Interesting apps such as Rental Manager for property managers and Binterview for HR and recruiters caught my eye, but I'm not a landlord and I'm not hiring. <P> Keep in mind, too, that I'm not necessarily stamping these apps as the gold standards in modern computing. The goal was to come up with a good mix of work tools while staying within a meager budget. Your mileage may vary. (Tips and suggestions are welcome in the comments and via email or <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinrcasey" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.) <P> My grand total: $24.42. Tough to leave that $0.58 on the table, but a budget's a budget -- or so I thought. My zeal to come up with a good mix -- and perhaps some questionable accounting acumen -- caused me to forget about sales tax of $1.63, which put me at $26.05. Rather than drop one of the apps, I decided I could stomach a cost overrun of $1.05. Read on for what my spending got me.The PDF is one of the file types I interact with frequently for work alongside word processing documents, spreadsheets, audio, video and images. This <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/pdf-touch/c9d9c388-68ca-499b-ae0f-d829f19ad613">app</a> lets you mark up PDFs via touch or mouse. Let the page bleed with red ink: you can highlight, chicken-scratch and strike-through to your heart's content. On my touchscreen ultrabook I found the experience a bit awkward. It helps to have a light touch when making marks and the interface and responsiveness could use some work. I imagine the experience improves on the Surface Pro or other Windows 8 tablets. Nonetheless, for the price this app was a no-brainer for me to make my touchscreen more usable. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>This <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/pomodoro-focus/500b0ac5-410a-4a65-99fb-29eb599c88fb">app</a> brings the "Pomodoro Technique" for time and task management to Windows 8. (The Pomodoro Technique breaks down work periods into regular timed intervals, separated by short breaks.) I can't help wondering if such apps are more necessary to save us from all of our <em>other</em> apps that loom as potential distractions. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>Passwords are top of mind these days; just check the current <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security">security headlines</a> to see why. Given the app-centricity of the Modern UI, a password manager and encryption tool like <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-US/app/skeletonkey/f75a5696-3316-42a5-91af-b73ee2c42e14">SkeletonKey</a> seemed even more relevant. There's actually a decent menu of security, password manager and encryption apps in the Windows Store, so it's worth checking to see if the ones you already use are available. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>Nerd alert: I've always kind of dug the traditional Explorer interface in Windows, dating back to my first Windows 95 PC, when it was still File Manager. <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/modern-file-explorer/fa9ad8d1-46d8-4482-85dd-4bada79a2247">This app</a> essentially reproduces at least some of that experience for the touchscreen era and Microsoft's Modern UI concept. SkyDrive integration is a plus. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>This was my big splurge -- at just under 10 bucks, <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/speechtrans-dictation/e9658d8a-1f31-47a3-85be-b010027e4566">the app</a> eats up a large slice of a small budget pie. You could stretch your $25 by sticking to $2 apps, but this one is powered by Nuance, the company that makes Dragon NaturallySpeaking dictation software. That starts at $75 for the Home Edition and runs well into the hundreds for the Professional and Legal versions. Dictation seems like a no-brainer for touch-enabled Windows 8 devices, even when they -- like the ThinkPad I'm using -- include a real keyboard. My early results have been somewhere in the "decent" to "good" territory. (See the image, the result for: "Can you hear me as I test this SpeechTrans Dictation tool?") Social and email integration are pluses for the always-connected crowd. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>Search might still be Google's game to lose, but the reality is there are more information sources than ever. <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/pan-search/71646acf-4122-4af5-bb68-4f7f21adbb9d" target="_blank">Pan-Search</a> aggregates 80-something of them in a single app, from Bing to Google to social sites -- and plenty of others. It's a boon for businesses and individuals looking to keep tabs on their online presence, competitors and so forth. Among other features, you can stack results side-by-side for comparison. (Pictured is the blessing and curse of my relative search anonymity: I share my common name with a UFC fighter.) <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a><a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/invoicing/b918787b-a458-456d-9705-31074bf6158d">This one</a> caught my eye because I've been considering trying a new way to handle invoices. In early testing it looks promising, especially at this price -- clean design, easy to use. Not sure how much touch will factor in here, but it might be the most useful if you're running Windows 8 on the go across more than one device. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>There are some whiteboarding and note-taking apps that appear to have more features than <a href="http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-ca/app/inkpad/5542fc21-1bc7-47a0-b22d-8c0dd3b3fc97>InkPad</a>, but for simple note taking and doodling the price was right. It's simple and clean. It's probably also a better fit for tablets and phones. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051">10 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Surface Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454">SkyKick Tackles Microsoft Office 365 Migration Headaches</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a>2013-05-01T13:28:00ZIT manager at family-owned Bremen Castings discusses how the firm capitalizes on new technology in the old-fashioned foundry business.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/network/how-to-innovate-in-a-low-tech-industry/240154016?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-ways-an-smb-makes-most-of-salesforceco/240148303"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/947/01_Intro_tn.jpg" alt="8 Ways An SMB Makes Most Of Salesforce.com" title="8 Ways An SMB Makes Most Of Salesforce.com" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">8 Ways An SMB Makes Most Of Salesforce.com</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Want to run an innovative IT shop? It helps when the Powers That Be build the company around technology. <P> That's the case at <a href="http://bremencastings.com/">Bremen Castings</a>, a foundry and machine company based in Bremen, Ind. The 300-person firm makes metal and ferrous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting">castings</a>, and performs additional processing -- milling, grinding, manufacturing -- to produce finished product rather than only raw materials. <P> The industry isn't generally known for its early adoption of information technologies. Rather, it's somewhat old-fashioned in that regard, according to Bremen's IT manager, Darrin Sweet. <P> Not so at Bremen, which runs IT as a competitive advantage rather than a service-and-support organization. "We're using technology to the <i>N</i>th degree," Sweet said in an interview. "That's a far different stance than what our competitors are doing throughout the country and throughout the world." <P> <strong>[ Mobile tech is big with SMBs -- but what about measuring results? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896?itc=edit_in_body_cross">SMBs Love Mobile, Struggle On Strategy</a>. ]</strong> <P> Sweet described Bremen's IT portfolio: "Gigabit all the way through to the desktop, fiber-optic local area network, standard high-availability VMware infrastructure with high-availability storage and presence on the network -- pretty straightforward as far as networking goes." <P> Bremen recently began rolling out Citrix virtual desktops to its employees and is now at about 40% thin clients. There's a mix of terminal server, terminal services, and "fat" clients, too. The company has become the flagship user of its industry-specific ERP system; other companies model their own deployments after Bremen's. <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896">Mobility</a> is "huge," according to Sweet -- iPads and iPhones are in regular use throughout the business, and they're always looking at ways to shrink hardware size when possible. Remote access and connectivity across devices and systems is also a must. Bremen relies on state-of-the-art <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/management/twitter-trouble-9-social-media-security/240153648">security</a> systems to protect both its physical plant and its network and other IT assets. <P> And we haven't even gotten into the cool stuff -- <a href="http://foundrymag.com/feature/robotic-grinding-cell-heavy-parts">robotic grinders</a>, anyone? <P> It's all part of an organization where IT is very much woven into the corporate fabric. Sweet is in a sense lucky: Three generations of family ownership have treated tech as a priority rather than an afterthought. "The owners are very technically savvy people," Sweet said. "It's not just networking and computers and whatnot -- we also have video security, passcard access systems, electronic timeclock systems, and that type of thing. [IT] isn't just for production manufacturing. Technology is permeated throughout the entire company, and that's primarily owner-driven." <P> Proving return on technology investments is another relatively pain-free area. "In our environment, it's very easy to do a ROI proof-of-concept," Sweet said. "It just comes down to labor hours -- two people doing the job of five [for example]. It's very easy to quantify the ROI and cost savings with technology -- or disproving it, for that matter." <P> It's not all gravy. There's a constant IT balancing act between improving performance and managing the day-to-day realities of an "office" where people melt down hundreds of pounds of metal, among other job duties. You thought your user community was tough? Try employees working with hot liquid steel. <P> "Some of our challenges are getting the technology out to the floor and making it usable for the end user, the people that are actually pouring the steel, pouring the iron, working on the line, whatever it may be," Sweet said. As a result, you'll see large-screen displays on the floor, thin clients tailored for harsh work environments, and the like.The developers behind Bremen's ERP system worked closely with Bremen to develop specific user interfaces and other features for positions on the production line, for instance. IT also recently began using Citrix's GoToAssist to provide real-time support to users on the plant floor. <P> The same holds true for Bremen's nationally distributed sales force. "This helps us reach out to those clients without 'sneakernetting' it out to the individual users and going out into the environment," Sweet said. "Every minute helps when you're dealing with this environment." <P> It helps, too, when you can generate multiple benefits from the same investments. Large monitors, for example, aren't just a good fit for the foundry floor. They're also productivity and efficiency drivers. Similar screens are posted in all common areas, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/5-data-sources-for-visualization-beginne/240152047">displaying data</a> and workflows from the ERP system to keep everyone informed of production scheduling, upcoming jobs and tracking how well teams are doing on particular jobs. "Everyone sees those numbers, so it also adds to accountability throughout the entire infrastructure," Sweet said. <P> Not everyone gets to work for owners and executives who "get it" when it comes to IT. But that doesn't mean you can't stay ahead of the curve rather than constantly playing catch-up or the patch-and-maintenance game. For Bremen, IT strategy is an ongoing process, not a large, long-term project followed by stasis until it's time for the next major tech refresh. "We're always looking for new and improved ways to complete our business processes and workflow," Sweet said. <P> The Bremen team also completes significant research before deploying new technologies. This minimizes unpleasant surprises and headaches; Sweet said Bremen hasn't had any IT projects roll out in the last couple of years that he would call a failure. "Do your research," Sweet advised. "Talk to other people that have already implemented the technology." <P> Given its ongoing approach to IT projects, the team works closely with end users to minimize disruption, offer training, and solicit feedback. That cuts down on the grumbling on deployment day, among other upsides. <P> "We have regular meetings, lunch-and-learns, send out training videos, links to YouTube videos -- we do whatever it takes to get information out to the end users," Sweet explained. "It's very important that they don't become stagnant as well. You keep them in a mode of constant learning, constant change, and the users tend to be a lot more receptive." <P> In other words, Bremen doesn't do anything simply because it's the way it's always been done. "What works for you today might not work for you tomorrow. You always have to keep an open mind," Sweet said. "That's the biggest hurdle that most companies have to get over: They keep using something out of habit and that's just not going to work in today's world."2013-04-30T10:06:00ZMobile use skyrockets in small and midsized businesses, says SMB Group annual survey. But what about measuring results?http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/smbs-love-mobile-struggle-on-strategy/240153896?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/mobile-world-congress-2013-9-hot-gadgets/240149064"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/950/SlideOne_TheFira_tn.jpg" alt="Mobile World Congress 2013: 9 Hot Gadgets" title="Mobile World Congress 2013: 9 Hot Gadgets" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Mobile World Congress 2013: 9 Hot Gadgets</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> How much do SMBs love mobility? Let us count the ways. <P> Overall usage of mobile technologies is nearing total saturation at 91%, according to the <a href="http://smb-gr.com/">SMB Group's</a> annual mobility study. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) offices have nearly doubled from the previous year. Employee use of internal apps for things like collaboration and CRM is up 20% from <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/mobile/3-mobile-trends-smbs-might-be-missing/232900761">the 2012 study</a>. Mobile device management (MDM) is also on the rise, with adoption up 15%. All of this means mobile is commanding larger slices of SMB technology budgets, too. <P> Indeed, all arrows continue to point skyward. "I've been in the IT industry over 20 years [and] I've never seen any kind of category of technology take off like this," said SMB Group partner Laurie McCabe in an interview. All in a relatively short time, too. Apple's iPhone, a major catalyst here, doesn't celebrate its sixth birthday until June. "[Mobile has] just taken off like a rocket," McCabe said. <P> The question: Is there strategy behind such pervasive mobile usage? SMB execs and employees certainly seem to think so. More than half (58%) of SMBs report improved productivity as a result of internal apps, and 52% say such apps enable better and faster decisions. Nearly half (48%) say that "internal" apps have a significant external impact in the form of improved customer service. <P> <strong>[ Will wider availability of Wi-Fi help SMBs? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/mobile/36-nyc-subway-stations-get-wi-fi/240153631?itc=edit_in_body_cross">36 NYC Subway Stations Get Wi-Fi</a>. ]</strong> <P> "Do [SMBs] view [mobile] strategically? I think a lot of them do," McCabe said. "That doesn't mean they have a great strategy." <P> There's the rub. Calling something strategic and having a sound strategy aren't the same thing. As <em>InformationWeek's</em> Chris Murphy wrote recently: <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/have-you-really-started-a-mobile-strateg/240152742">"Apps aren't a plan."</a> <P> So what makes a smart mobile strategy in the wide, diverse world of SMBs? And how do you effectively measure results? McCabe pointed out an advantage here for smaller companies, especially the "S" in SMB: It might be easier to find reliable qualitative measures for mobile's impact -- as in, "I literally see my employees becoming more productive because of Device X or App Y" -- without needing hard quantitative data to prove results. It's easier for time-crunched small businesspeople, generally speaking, to connect the dots between their mobile usage and their bottom lines -- more so than other boomtown categories like <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/management/twitter-trouble-9-social-media-security/240153648">social media</a>. <P> "It's not like a large enterprise, when you're doing a [complex] return on investment analysis," McCabe. "In their gut, [SMBs] feel that these things are benefits they are getting." Gut metrics might not satisfy Wall Street; they can be perfectly sensible on Main Street. <P> In the case of some customer-facing apps and technologies, SMBs <em>can</em> rely on the kind of numbers that please Wall Street, too: Dollars and cents. McCabe pointed to the rapidly growing mobile payments sector as Exhibit A. For a small retail business, a mobile payments app could be a linchpin of a mobile strategy -- if not <em>the</em> strategy. If you're handling an increasing volume of transactions over iPhones or other mobile devices, showing results could be as straightforward as showing an account statement. Appointment scheduling apps offer another example, McCabe said. Service businesses that experience an uptick in bookings after deploying a mobile offering don't necessarily have to do a lot of heavy-duty analysis to prove ROI. <P> McCabe noted that internal tools often require more qualitative assessments, especially for small firms with resources already stretched thin. But even then, such assessments don't need to rely on the "mobile's hot so it must be making a difference for us" types of "measurement" that doesn't really hit upon any tangible benefits. McCabe pointed to inventory management apps. Once upon a time, inventory tasks required you to be in a physical place at a specific time, but not anymore. "I think you measure that in time savings, which you then translate to cost savings," McCabe said. She doesn't think most SMBs are actually doing that calculation. That's not necessarily a problem -- again, smaller organizational size becomes a boon here. <P> In his Global CIO column, Murphy shared a quote from an exec at a recent tech conference that illuminates a problem for some large businesses: "In a lot of organizations, you have 27 mobile apps with different corporate sponsors with no cohesive strategy." Sure, the same problem could plague midsize firms, especially those approaching 1,000 employees or more. But most SMBs can exploit a competitive advantage here. The buck stops with fewer people and mobile strategy should be no exception. Nor should the qualitative approach be looked down upon simply because of an insatiable thirst for stats. <P> "[SMBs] may not be quantifying the [mobile] benefit -- but they clearly see the benefit," McCabe said. "It's their gut. It's working. But like I said, this stuff <em>can</em> be quantified if they want to."2013-04-26T09:06:00ZTwo-factor authentication is coming to Twitter, but that's not your only social media security worry. Here's how to lock down individual and corporate accounts.http://www.informationweek.com/security/management/twitter-trouble-9-social-media-security/240153648?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlTwo-factor authentication is <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/twitter-preps-two-factor-authentication/240153539">coming soon to Twitter</a>, but it's not likely to happen overnight. And it won't solve the world's online security woes when it does roll out. <P> Phishing attacks -- like <a href="http://jimromenesko.com/2013/04/23/ap-warned-staffers-just-before-ap-was-hacked/">the one</a> that may have been behind the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/ap-twitter-hack-lessons-learned/240153626">recent Twitter AP hoax</a> -- will persist because they work. Social engineering scams will grow more creative in their efforts to con people into coughing up bank account info, network credentials and other sensitive data. And social sites -- all of which are predicated upon words like <em>sharing</em> and <em>connecting</em> -- will be a prime breeding group for such activity, even with tighter perimeter defenses such as two-factor authentication. We're still human, after all, and therefore susceptible to making mistakes. <P> "Social networking sites can roll out great levels of security," said AVG senior security evangelist Tony Anscombe in an interview. "The problem is at the other end of it, you've got users." <P> Should you delete your social accounts, unplug your router, throw your phone in the ocean and move off the grid? Keeping your information secure doesn't necessarily require drastic action -- but it does require action. Consider these steps to better protect your social media accounts. <P> <strong>1. You Guessed It: Use Strong Passwords.</strong> <P> It's been said countless times, yet people continue to use things like birthdates or "1234" as passwords. Even worse, they often use the same password across every account they own. That's not good enough. "That is primarily the number-one thing you must do," Anscombe said. Passwords don't have to be random or impossible to remember, but they do need to be <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/application-security/want-stronger-passwords-try-bad-grammar/240147348">tough to crack</a>. "Make it difficult for somebody to socially engineer what [the password] is," Anscombe said. <P> <strong>[ What advice have we gleaned from the recent phishing attack on the Associated Press? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/ap-twitter-hack-lessons-learned/240153626?itc=edit_in_body_cross">AP Twitter Hack: Lessons Learned</a>. ]</strong> <P> <strong>2. Review Your Apps, Add-Ons and Other Settings.</strong> <P> Anscombe noted that he checked <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyAtAVG">his Twitter account</a> prior to our conversation and was reminded of just how many other applications can gain access to your Twitter account. Yet many people forget to whom else they've granted access, not just on Twitter but on any social site. Take time to review your apps and other add-ons and revoke access from any you don't use or don't remember installing. <P> "We all download things to try to make it simpler for us, and then we don't use it or use something else," Anscombe said. "What we don't do is ever go back and decline those privileges afterwards." <P> Among other potential problems: Even when Twitter and other companies roll out two-factor authentication, it doesn't mean the other sites and apps that have access to your data will, too. To review your installed apps in Twitter, just visit Settings and then Apps. The site makes it simple to revoke access from there. <P> <strong>3. Be More Cautious with Mobile.</strong> <P> "Make sure your mobile phone is secure," Anscombe advised, adding that while most PC users these have some form of anti-malware protection in place, many folks don't take the same precaution on their mobile devices. At minimum, use a free security app. (AVG and many of its competitors offer one for Android and other platforms.) <P> Don't let a security app fool into thinking you've eliminated all risks, though. Anscombe noted, for example, that mobile browsers may make users more susceptible to phishing sites and similar scams. One reason is that mobile screen sizes sometimes make it hard -- or impossible -- to detect irregularities in a browser's URL bar. "The Web browser does that so you get maximum screen vision of the content rather than the address bar, but you don't have the same visual protections," Anscombe said. "They're trying to make it easier for us, but in [doing so] it also loses some of its security as well." <P> <strong>4. Sites Update Privacy Settings -- So Should You.</strong> <P> Regularly review your privacy and other account settings on social sites to ensure they meet your current expectations and needs. Sites regularly revise those settings; users need to as well. Otherwise, you might find your information being used in ways that you're uncomfortable with, Anscombe said. <P> <strong>5. Beware "Password Check" Sites.</strong> <P> Scams often ride on the coattails of other scams. A common one after high-profile breaches: Password-check sites. Paul Ducklin of Sophos noted in a recent <a href="http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/04/24/beware-twitter-password-check-sites-there-are-fakes-and-there-are-fake-fakes/">blog post</a> that while these sites are sometimes legitimate, they're often cons built to capture your credentials in the wake of other hacks. "That sounds like phishing, doesn't it?" Ducklin wrote. "And the reason it sounds like phishing is that it IS phishing!" Treat such sites with extreme skepticism. <P> If you're responsible for your employer's corporate Twitter handles and other social media, you should consider tighter controls over those accounts. Anscombe noted that even companies with very restrictive policies governing data security, external communications, content management and similar areas often don't treat their social accounts with the same degree of gravity, exposing themselves to unnecessary risks as a result. <P> Nate Ulery, who leads the IT infrastructure and operations practice at <a href="http://www.westmonroepartners.com/">West Monroe Partners</a>, concurred. Two-factor authentication on Twitter and other sites definitely helps, but don't expect <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/twitter-battles-syrian-hackers/240153424">hackers and criminals</a> to simply log off and call it quits. <P> "While two-factor authentication will help minimize social media hacking risks, companies will need to continue to be vigilant in enforcing their security policies," Ulery said via email interview. "For example, Facebook's standard two-factor authentication is only required when a login occurs on a new computer or mobile phone. Since recognized devices can still access the account without the additional security requirement, malicious software installed on a PC or mobile phone could still potentially expose the social media account." <P>Ulery offered the following advice for keeping tighter reins on corporate Twitter handles and other social accounts: <P> <strong>6. Partition Work and Personal Social Accounts.</strong> <P> "Insist that social media accounts are completely segregated from personal accounts so social hacking or compromised personal accounts do not put the corporate accounts at risk," Ulery said. Building that wall could help reduce the risk of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/5-tips-avoid-being-a-social-media-turkey/232200038">social missteps</a>, too, such as <a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/03/10/chrysler_twitter_fail/">embarrassing mistakes</a> that can occur when an employee accidentally posts a personal message to a corporate handle. <P> <strong>7. Limit Hardware and Account Access.</strong> <P> "Require that corporate Twitter users access the account only from corporate-managed workstations," Ulery said. The same rule can be applied across any and all corporate social accounts. If you really want to reduce your threat vectors, Ulery recommended taking an extra step -- one that might be tougher for social media mavens to abide: Do not enable mobile phone integration. <P> In terms of access, Anscombe of AVG stressed the importance of companies treating social media account credentials as sensitive data. Grant access only to select employees who actually need it for their job; the more people who know the password, the greater the potential for breaches. "Everyone in a sense is a potential repeater," Anscombe said. <P> <strong>8. Give IT More Control.</strong> <P> Here's one IT pros might especially appreciate: Give end users less control. In particular, Ulery advised making it harder for employees to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/application-security/apple-patches-password-reset-vulnerabili/240151604">reset passwords</a> on corporate social accounts, in part as an extra precaution against external hijacking. "Consider utilizing password reset email addresses that are not accessible by the social media team without IT involvement," Ulery said. <P> <strong>9. Make Social Media Explicit in Security Policies.</strong>&#9; <P> Don't assume everyone recognizes the risks associated with social media. Clearly include social media rules in security-related policies. If you've got a high-priority user group for anti-malware updates and other security protocols, include the corporate social media team. Likewise, apply the same password rules used elsewhere in the company to social accounts. And no matter what security safeguards social sites put in place, remember that they're not foolproof. <P> "Use of two-factor authentication does not relieve corporate security managers from their responsibility to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/how-one-midsize-bank-protects-against-ha/240009149">train users</a> on the potential risks of social media security, especially as it relates to the corporate brand's reputation risk," Ulery said. <P> <i>Protect the most fragile part of your IT infrastructure -- the endpoints and the unpredictable users who control them. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.darkreading.com/drdigital/030413dr?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">How To Sharpen Endpoint Security</a> special issue of Dark Reading: Some say the focus should be on education to deal with the endpoint security conundrum; some say technology. But it's not a binary choice. (Free with registration.) </i>2013-04-23T10:38:00ZWant to get more out of the WordPress Web publishing platform in areas like analytics, SEO and security?http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/13-wordpress-add-ons-that-mean-business/240153363?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlNews flash: <a href="http://wordpress.org">WordPress</a> is popular. <P> OK, so that's not much of a revelation. But it's certainly true -- more than <a href="http://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-wordpress/all/all">60 million websites</a> worldwide run on the open-source publishing platform, which first launched in 2003. Additional anecdotal evidence of the WordPress phenomenon: Within minutes of posting a query over at <a href="http://www.helpareporter.com/">HARO</a> asking businesses and professionals to share their favorite plug-ins, my inbox was flooded with people eager to talk about how they're using the platform. And these weren't your navel-gazing personal blogs or family-photo sites, either. Rather, the responses poured in from designers, marketers, corporate blogs, SEO pros, retailers and other business users. Once thought of as "just" a blog publishing tool, WordPress has grown up in its first decade. <P> "WordPress started as just a blogging system, but has evolved to be used as a full content management system and so much more through the thousands of plug-ins, widgets and themes," <a href="http://wordpress.org/about/">WordPress says</a> on the "About" section of its website. <P> Indeed, part of the platform's popularity derives from the ability to customize it to your particular site needs, often without much in the way of technical know-how. Sure, it doesn't hurt if you've got coding skills -- that's true of many open-source platforms -- but they're by no means necessary to add tools for social media integration, security, site performance and other purposes. <P> In fact, simplicity is often the foundation of the most popular plug-ins. "As many as we have tried in the past, it's typically the uber-simple but useful plug-ins that stick around long-term," said Katie Laird, PR and social media manager at the online retailer <a href="http://www.blinds.com">Blinds.com</a>, which uses WordPress to publish its company blog. "Bells and whistles just don't cut it and stop getting used pretty quickly." <P> It's no small achievement, either, when a couple of free plug-ins help a business quantify the bottom-line impact of various blogging, social media or related activities -- an area where many organizations are still feeling their way around in the dark. That's the case for Scott Benson, senior SEO manager at <a href="http://www.vocus.com/">Vocus</a>, the online marketing firm behind HARO, PRWeb and other services. Benson uses Yoast's plug-ins for SEO and analytics in tandem to help prove the dollars-and-cents value of Vocus' blog activities. <P> "We put a lot of effort into our content marketing and we need to show it is working," he said. The ability to add a Google Analytics custom variable, for instance, enables him to track new and return blog visitors and identify the ones that later -- perhaps even much later -- become leads or convert to sales. Previously, the company was only capturing blog visitors that converted on their first visit, only a partial picture at best. "We're now showing how our blog attracts new visitors and converts them to sales after one or several return visits," Benson said. <P> No doubt, WordPress is used by all kinds of people for all kinds of sites. We focused here on the plug-ins that matter most to businesses, the kinds of apps and add-ons that can show up in the bottom line. Keep in mind, too, that there might be WordPress plug-ins for the other applications you already use, especially if they're well-known. "If you use MailChimp, Constant Contact or Salesforce, there are some awesome plug-ins for all of those," said <a href="http://www.kercommunications.com">Ker Communications</a> founder Nick Ker. Those are just a handful of examples; if you rely heavily on other online apps, it's worth checking to see if they offer WordPress plug-ins or integrations, too. <P> Read on for some of the top plug-in picks from business-minded WordPress users.<a href="http://yoast.com/wordpress/">Yoast's plug-ins</a> for SEO and Google Analytics were hands-down favorites among the businesses and professionals we heard from. "The SEO plug-in knocks out 90% of the SEO consideration for any business blog," said Vocus' Benson, adding that features like Google+ author attribution help his blog content stand out in search results. "The analytics plug-in has helped me put a definitive dollar figure on our content marketing efforts." Both Yoast plug-ins are free, although there are premium upgrades for features such as video SEO or e-commerce analytics. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a>Jameson Brandon, co-founder of custom software firm <http://nettysoft.com">NettySoft</a>, noted the recent news of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">widespread, well-organized attacks</a> against WordPress-powered websites. "This can be scary for a blogger but even more scary for a business owner that runs everything on WordPress," Brandon said. <P> NettySoft takes additional security precautions as a result. "There are many security plug-ins out there, but we focus on a firewall and brute force protection," Brandon said. His picks: <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-login-security-2/">WP Login Security 2</a> (pictured) and <a href=http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-firewall-2/">WordPress Firewall 2</a>. Note: WordPress warns that the latter plug-in hasn't been updated in more than two years, which could cause compatibility issues for some sites. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P><a href="http://www.gravityforms.com/">Gravity Forms</a> is the one plug-in Lindsey Marshall, production director at <a href="http://www.redclayinteractive.com">Red Clay Interactive</a>, can't live without. "[It] is a fantastic plug-in that allows you to easily build and manage forms," she said. "The plug-in comes with a full host of features and also offers add-ons to allow additional advanced options like integration with other software such as payment processors and email marketing providers." <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>Cate Conroy's content marketing firm, <a href="http://www.conroymediagroup.com/">Conroy Media</a>, was among those hit by the recent brute-force attacks on WordPress sites. She slept better knowing her site was backed up with Code Garage twice a day. "That meant that I was able to go back a few hours and find a version that was not impacted by the issues and restore based on that version," Conroy said. "As it turns out, I didn't need to restore my site, but I breathed a pretty big sigh of relief when I realized my work was safe either way." <P> Code Garage was recently acquired by Automattic, and is referring new sign-ups to the parent company's similar <a href="http://vaultpress.com/">VaultPress</a> service. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>It's 2013, people. Web users don't have much patience for slow sites. That's where <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/w3-total-cache/">W3 Total Cache</a> comes in, according to Zane Schwarzlose, community relations director at <a href="http://www.fahrenheitmarketing.com/">Fahrenheit Marketing</a>. "We've found that using a caching plug-in is crucial in reducing our sites' load times and improving our visitors' on-site experience," Schwarzlose said. "We wouldn't launch a site without it." <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>Katie Laird of Blinds.com loves <a href="http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/in-post-ads/">In-Post Ads</a> for integrating content-relevant messages and ads into her blog posts. "[It's] a great way to push seasonal sales or encourage social media interaction elsewhere," she said. "Great for lead generation and keeping our readers' interest." <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>Spam isn't the bane of just email inboxes; it pollutes website comments and discussion forums, too. <a href="http://www.akismet.com">Akismet</a> helps automatically keep the spammers and bots at bay, leaving the good stuff that real people contribute. <P> "This is a must-have for blogs that allow users to comment on posts," said Leslie Handmaker, senior marketing manager at <a href="http://www.nextdayflyers.com">Next Day Flyers</a>. "It weeds out all the spam, and there is a ton of it." She's not exaggerating; Akismet recently blocked more than 97 million spam comments across all user sites -- in a single day. It has blocked more than 77 billion messages since the service launched. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>Leslie Handmaker at Next Day Flyers is also a fan of Buffer's <a href="http://bufferapp.com/diggdigg">Digg Digg</a> plug-in, which adds social sharing buttons for the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest to blog posts and other content. Aside from the word-of-mouth potential, it has an amplifying effect on SEO. "The social signals help boost our organic search efforts," Handmaker said. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>Blogs and other content-driven sites don't do much good when they don't get updated. Advance planning can help ensure your site doesn't join the vast Internet desert of sites that stay stale for months on end. Laurie Morse-Dell, owner of the online pet store <a href="http://blog.pupsplace.com/">Pup's Place</a>, found her answer: the <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/editorial-calendar/screenshots/">WordPress Editorial Calendar</a>. <P> "I can't sing the praises of this plug-in enough," she said. "When you're trying to schedule posts to fit with your marketing calendar and plan for promotions, events, holidays, this plug-in is essential." Among her favorite features: "I love that you can save draft posts in a column to the right of the calendar view so you can brainstorm lists of topics and then drag them to the calendar when you're ready to schedule." <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>Security is top of mind for WordPress users right now, or at least it should be. WordPress' popularity all but guarantees it will be a favorite target of hackers and criminals for the foreseeable future. As a result, more businesspeople are taking extra steps to ensure their sites are secure. <P> "Many small businesses appreciate the power of WordPress, but many of these same businesses fail to recognize that WordPress is a common target for hackers," said Josh Waldron, founder of the Web design firm <a href="http://www.studiojwal.com">Studio JWAL</a>. He's a fan of <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/login-lockdown/">Login Lockdown</a>. The plug-in hasn't been updated in a while, but Waldron said it has worked well for him on WordPress 3.0 and up. "If a person or automated script is looking to gain access to your dashboard, this tool will deny them access sooner rather than later," Waldron said. <P> Laurie Morse-Dell of Pup's Place likes <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/better-wp-security/">Better WP Security</a> (pictured), in part because it you don't need to be a hardcore security pro to use it. "[It's] very easy to set up and use and gives you a nice color-coded system for rating the security risks of different parts of your site," she said. "Any novice can walk through the site suggestions it recommends and there are great explanations for why you might want to make each of the changes or how changes might affect other parts of your site." <P> Skip Shean, CEO of <a href="http://www.16wells.com">16wells</a>, likes <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sucuri-scanner/">Sucuri</a> to prevent his customers' WordPress sites, many of which are in the financial services sector, from becoming malware farms. "[It] heads off a lot of problems for clients around malware and other Internet stupidity," he said. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/wordpress-hackers-exploit-username-admin/240152864">WordPress Hackers Exploit Username 'Admin'</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com Secrets: 8 Apps Help You Do More</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711">Domain Names Like .Food May Leave Bad Taste</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">New Web Domain Names: Should You Pass?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/tumblr-hack-4-security-reminders-for-smb/240143798">Tumblr Hack: 4 Security Reminders For SMBs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980">Dell: SMB, School PCs Not Doomed By Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/why-these-smbs-say-no-to-seo/240003696">Why These SMBs Say No To SEO</a> <P>2013-04-23T10:23:00ZStartup promises to reduce the pain for IT providers that help SMBs move from on-premises Exchange environments to Office 365.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/skykick-tackles-microsoft-office-365-mig/240153454?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/959/01_Intro_175.jpg" alt="Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask" title="Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Thomas Allen wasn't easily sold on SkyKick, a new tool for migrating from on-premises email servers to Microsoft Office 365. <P> "I was a cynic out of the gate," Allen, marketing manager at managed services provider <a href="http://www.cyberstreams.com/">CyberStreams</a>, said in an interview. "The first time we talked to them, it was pitched like a bit of a miracle product." <P> That made two of us. An initial PR pitch described <a href="http://www.skykick.com/">SkyKick</a> as an <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-365-why-a-law-firm-switched/240151241">Office 365</a> migration tool that "automates the entire IT consulting project with a push of a button." That sounded optimistic. Allen thought so, too. When CyberStreams joined SkyKick's beta program, the managed services provider (MSP) began padding its customer estimates to avoid getting burned by pie-in-the-sky promises. <P> In reality, there's no one-click magic -- but Allen is a convert nonetheless. "It did turn out that my caution was highly unnecessary," Allen said. "We had some very pleased customers [because they received] invoices that were for much, much less than the low end of our estimates." <P> <strong>[ Is Office 365 right for you? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/microsoft-office-365-how-one-company-sav/240150383?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Microsoft Office 365: How One Company Saves Big</a>. ]</strong> <P> The reason, according to Allen, is a more holistic approach to cloud migration that takes into account everything from the sales process to post-migration support. In Allen's view -- and SkyKick's -- other migration applications focus mainly on the actual server-side transfer of data to online platforms while ignoring the other moving parts and pieces. As such, SkyKick is actually composed of four different Web-based products. <P> -- Web Planner handles the discovery and planning process, such as assessing existing hosts and mailboxes, and automates much of the statement of work and project plan for partners like CyberStreams. <P> -- Migration Sync moves the actual data: email, domains, calendar, contacts and so forth. <P> -- Outlook Assistant configures Microsoft's email client for end users, including their settings and customizations, and helps handle the actual switchover. <P> -- Portal is an app that enables project management, reporting and similar administrative tasks for the IT consultants in the trenches. <P> SkyKick, whose team includes former execs from Microsoft's Office and Bing divisions, emerged from beta Tuesday. Its customers are <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/services/5-tips-for-working-with-a-managed-servic/231601302">MSPs</a> and other IT providers that comprise the vast universe of "the channel," which depends heavily on small and midsize businesses (SMBs) for its own client base. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-office-server-sales-fuel-stron/240153251">Microsoft</a> itself put CyberStreams in touch with SkyKick as part of its effort to mobilize its vast partner ecosystem in its push for greater Office 365 adoption among SMBs. "They're trying to push partnerships that can help their channel better deliver to customers," Allen said. <P> While there's not necessarily a light-switch approach to moving businesses online from legacy servers, Allen said SkyKick has helped alleviate some key pain points for third-party IT providers like CyberStreams. For one, the end customer no longer needs to know much about its own infrastructure to enable a successful migration project. After some initial data input, SkyKick can answer many of the technical questions itself. "If you're talking to a typical business owner and ask questions like 'where is your DNS hosted?' -- they don't necessarily know what that means," Allen noted. Or, they might <em>think</em> they know what it means and give an incorrect answer.<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/8-things-microsoft-could-do-to-save-wind/240153124"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/980/Windows-1st-screen_tn.png" alt="8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8" title="8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">8 Things Microsoft Could Do To Save Windows 8</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Automation is another key part of the puzzle, from switching domains to generating system emails notifying an end user that he or she hasn't completed a required task. In effect, it reduces the amount of at-the-desk grunt work for the IT pros involved. "When everything's set up and end users have properly followed the instructions and everything's going well, it's going to actually do a DNS change and a data sync and [other] settings and aspects of a migration which, typically, my team would have to do," Allen said. <P> As for the "button push" claim, Allen said there's some truth in it -- provided the Web Planner piece of the project goes smoothly and that the customer isn't problematic. "Assuming that everything has been properly discussed, once we're done with the Web Planner we simply press play," Allen said. "The rest of it is us sitting back and making sure nothing goes wrong -- and it doesn't, at least not so far. We haven't had a situation post-pressing that button where we have to freak out." CyberStreams has completed around 20 migration projects to date using SkyKick. <P> While some Office 365 work may be moving products and services like Outlook, Office applications, Lync, SharePoint and others towards a more integrated model, SkyKick is focused on email and legacy Exchange servers. SkyKick wouldn't handle a cloud migration for an on-premises SharePoint environment, for example. <P> Beyond that scenario, Allen noted that there are certain kinds of migration projects that might not be a good fit for other reasons. He gave SkyKick credit on that front, though, saying that the firm has no problem saying "no" to new business if the project is a bad fit for the platform. <P> In the bigger picture, Allen had this to say about demand for Office 365 among SMBs: "I would describe [demand for Office 365] as blowing up," Allen said, noting that more MSPs and similar IT providers are showing interest. "It's a pretty big deal." <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-04-16T09:59:00ZDell reveals a new Latitude laptop, <em>sans</em> touchscreen, for small businesses and schools. What does the future hold for PCs in these environments? http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/dell-smb-school-pcs-not-doomed-by-tablet/240152980?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/education/leadership/educational-technology-across-the-ages/240149241"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/954/1_tn.jpg" alt="Tablets Rock On: Education Tech Through The Ages" title="Tablets Rock On: Education Tech Through The Ages" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Tablets Rock On: Education Tech Through The Ages</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->If the traditional PC is dying, Dell must have the missed the memo. <P> Sure, Dell's business has expanded and evolved well beyond PCs, thanks in part to acquisitions and other moves. And it certainly has its stake in the so-called <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">post-PC era</a>, with tablets and other touchscreen devices already in the market and more to come. <P> That hasn't meant turning its back on the PCs that helped make Dell a mainstay in corporate offices and other organizations. The company continues to roll out new models, such as the Latitude 3330 laptop it announced on Tuesday, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">gloomy PC sales reports</a> be darned. You'll never believe this, but there might be room for both PCs and tablets -- and other touch-oriented devices -- in business and educational environments. <P> "We still see significant demand for traditional notebooks," said Dell product marketing director Brett McAnally in an interview. "Obviously, we see demand for tablets as well." <P> <strong>[ Tablets are the future, according to one educator. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/education/mobility/why-tablets-will-kill-smart-boards-in-cl/240145886?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Why Tablets Will Kill Smart Boards In Classrooms</a>. ]</strong> <P> The Latitude 3330 is intended primarily for use in schools, with crossover into small businesses. That's in part because of a starting price tag as low as $419 (running Ubuntu) or $519 (running Windows 7), a number that cash-strapped school administrators and business owners can stomach more easily than, say, a $1,200 ultrabook. That's all the more true for schools upgrading a classroom's worth or more of PCs at the same time. <P> There's another factor here, too. Schools, like most businesses, are focused on work rather than play. Among the Latitude 3330's notable features is one that <em>isn't</em> included: a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">touchscreen</a>, although the Latitude 3330 does support Windows 8. <P> McAnally noted a couple of reasons offices and schools aren't likely to stop buying traditional PCs any time soon. "One is just the need for high productivity," he said, adding that some tasks or applications, such as building PowerPoint presentations, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">aren't optimal</a> on a touchscreen today, especially small ones. He offered an education-specific example: Standardized testing. <P> "The smaller screen-type devices tend to be more of a challenge for some of the standardized testing that's out there today," McAnally said. Screens that require too much scrolling or movement to complete might put students at a disadvantage, for instance. "There's a high preference, especially among the younger kids, to have that large screen size." <P> Windows 7 is another factor. "We're seeing continued demand for Windows 7 as a lot of businesses, small businesses, and even education accounts are still just planning or just beginning a Windows 7 migration," McAnally said. <P> McAnally's far from a touch naysayer. On the contrary, he's an optimist and noted that Dell has offered touch on commercial hardware for years, and has recently been building out a more robust consumer lineup. Among other areas where McAnally sees a strong current or future match with touchscreens: health, touch-centric service businesses, and, yes, schools. <P> "Windows 8 is clearly an investment area. We're very bullish," McAnally said. "We think touch definitely has a place and is a natural fit. We continue to evaluate and expand our touch offerings." <P> McAnally declined to comment specifically on recent reports from Gartner and IDC that painted a less-than-positive picture of PC sales. "We still see, through thousands and thousands of customer conversations on a regular basis, strong demand for both tablets as well as PCs," McAnally said. "There are general preferences depending on usage models and how things are being used, but there's clearly demand for both." <P> That's likely to spill over into operating systems, where Windows 7 and Windows 8 will coexist just like previous versions have. Windows XP, after all, retains a significant market share as it approaches its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">end-of-support</a> date. <P> "It's a combined play between those two for the foreseeable future," McAnally said. <P> <i>Mobile technology is changing the way we live, work and play. Attend <a href="http://www.mcommworld.com/sanfrancisco/?sourceCode=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Mobile Commerce World </a>, June 24-26 in San Francisco, to learn how to develop and deploy your company&#8217;s mobile commerce strategy. Spend three days learning from key players at Walmart, Amazon, Zappos, 1-800-FLOWERS, Advance Auto Parts, Alex and Ani, Groupon, REI, Vegas.com and more who are harnessing the power of mobile commerce. Register with code MP_BTMEDIWKAXE and save $200 on an All Access pass.<i>2013-04-12T09:06:00ZSymantec, Go Daddy, Trend Micro and other digital certificate authorities raise security, other concerns with ICANN about new top-level domain names.http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/domain-names-like-food-may-leave-bad-tas/240152711?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlA group of the world's largest digital certificate authorities (CAs) is warning of potentially serious security and networking risks for businesses when Internet domain names ending in the likes of .food or .law soon join .com and other currently available suffixes. <P> The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is readying the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/icann-domain-landgrab-what-smbs-should-k/240002069">release of thousands</a> of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Approved domains could become available <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-22mar13-en.htm">as soon as April 23</a>. Therein lies an underlying cause of potential problems, according to DigiCert associate general counsel Jeremy Rowley. <P> "ICANN is moving a little too fast with these new gTLDs without really giving people time to get ready," Rowley said in an interview. <P> Rowley is a member of the CA Security Council (CASC) alongside executives from Symantec, Comodo, Entrust, GMO GlobalSign, Trend Micro and Go Daddy. While some Internet stakeholders have focused on <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">marketing, brand and legal issues</a> with the new domain names, CASC is raising its red flags about the common use of "internal names" by businesses when setting up and managing their private networks. These are, in effect, private domain names such as .mail or .corp that aren't currently resolvable using the public domain name system (DNS) -- but could soon be. <P> When that happens, digital certificate owners and Web server operators could face security problems and other headaches. CAs currently issue digital certificates for these internal domains. But if those same names become available as public gTLDs, the bad guys could get digital certificates for those domains for the purposes of running man-in-the-middle attacks and other <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/how-south-korea-traced-hacker-to-pyongya/240152702">security threats</a>. <P> "Say .corp gets [released as a gTLD] -- a bad guy could go and get the certificate and then use it for an attack against the new gTLD after it becomes operational," Rowley said. While CAs are preparing for such scenarios, the risks still loom. <P> <strong>[ Search data offers more information that most realize. See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/patient/google-searches-show-seasons-shape-menta/240152611?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Google Searches Show Seasons Shape Mental Health</a>. ]</strong> <P> Beyond the digital certificate issue is a similar set of challenges for Web server operators at large. When their internal names such as .mail or .corp become part of the public Internet, costly networking conflicts and security holes could arise. As once-private domains get public counterparts, email clients, filesharing applications and other services will, to put it plainly, become confused. The only real solution is for administrators to essentially re-architect their networks, a process that could take some organizations several years because of budget, staffing and technical know-how. <P> "You're asking Web server operators to go in and reconfigure the servers, sometimes buy new hardware, hire brand-new staff and things like that in a very short timeframe," Rowley said. <P> While once considered a security and networking best practice, the use of internal names such as .corp is set to be wound down over the next several years. The CA/Browser Forum has <a href="https://www.cabforum.org/Guidance-Deprecated-Internal-Names.pdf">published guidelines</a> for deprecating internal server names by 2016, and trusted CAs will stop issuing certificates for internal names altogether as of November 2015. Current CAB Forum guidelines will also require CAs to stop issuing certificates for internal names within 100 days of being delegated as a new gTLD. That still leaves a considerable gap between the pending release of thousands of new gTLDs and the planned phase-out of internal names. <P> While ICANN itself has <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/groups/ssac/documents">acknowledged the issue</a>, CASC and others say the organization hasn't addressed the full scope of the potential problems. ICANN did not respond to emailed requests for comment. <P> PayPal recently sent ICANN a <a href="http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/pdfNFDozNA9Ka.pdf">public letter</a> expressing similar unease with the release of new gTLDs. Verisign has also published a <a href="http://www.verisigninc.com/assets/gtld-ssr-v2.1-final.pdf">letter and report</a> on its own risk findings. PayPal noted that while the use of internal domain names may have been misguided in hindsight, it has been a widespread practice for two decades, often at the recommendation of hardware and software vendors. Moreover, abandoning the use of internal names can, as DigiCert's Rowley pointed out, be an arduous task. "For example, re-naming a Microsoft <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/dropbox-for-business-adds-active-directo/240152645">Active Directory</a> Forest is often operationally impossible," the letter reads. <P> The PayPal letter continued by outlining the potential networking conflicts and ensuing fallout: "Consider a typical enterprise laptop configured to look for network services ending in .corp. What happens when that system roams to a public network, such as the user's home or a public Wi-Fi hotspot?" PayPal's answer: Dozens of services will start hemorrhaging sensitive corporate and personal data, such as usernames and passwords, network authentication credentials, and other information, if and when .corp and other internal names are released as gTLDs on the Internet. <P> "The potential for malicious abuse is extraordinary, the incidental damage will be large even in the absence of malicious intent, and such services will become immediate targets of attack as they inadvertently collect high-value credentials and private data from potentially millions of systems." PayPal said. <P> According to DigiCert's Rowley, the bulk of the potential problems would be mitigated if ICANN postponed the release of four new gTLDs: .ads, .bank, .corp and .mail. That would wipe out 90% of the potential problems in CASC's analysis; the other 10% are easily remediated, in the group's view. <P> PayPal's list, on the other hand, includes the top 10 current invalid domain queries, such as "local," "localhost" and "home," and focuses on the broader set of networking risks beyond digital certificates. Rowley concurred that those networking challenges will likely be the real burden as new gTLDs start rolling off the assembly line. <P> "CAs can take care of the certificate problem, and I think we have done so and done so quickly in a way that mitigates the problem," Rowley said. "What we can't take care of is getting the people with these networks to change in what amounts to overnight for them." <P> The question then is: Who <em>will</em> take care of it? In its report's conclusions, Verisign warned in no uncertain terms against moving forward on blind faith: "Addressing these issues doesn't simply mean publishing a speci&#64257;cation and expecting the community to have immediately implemented it and be capable of responding to all operational and security corner cases conveyed therein." <P> <i>Easily overlooked vulnerabilities could put your data and business at risk. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.darkreading.com/drdigital/031113s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">10 Web Threats</a> special issue of Dark Reading: How hackers compromised an iOS developers' website to exploit Java plug-in vulnerabilities and attack Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter. (Free with registration.) </i>2013-04-08T13:58:00ZOne year from the end of Windows XP support, Microsoft offers SMBs 15% off if they upgrade to current versions of Windows and Office simultaneously.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/959/01_Intro_175.jpg" alt="Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask" title="Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> T minus 365 days and counting: If you're still on Windows XP, you're officially on the clock. <P> Microsoft will end support for the popular but aged operating system on April 8, 2014 -- one year from today. The company marked the occasion with a reminder for businesses still running the 12-year-old XP: You need bid the OS adieu. <P> "NOW is the time to move to a more modern Windows operating system and modernize your IT infrastructure," wrote Erwin Visser, senior director of Windows Commercial, in <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2013/04/08/a-year-from-now-support-for-windows-xp-ends-now-what.aspx">a blog post</a>. "Businesses still running Windows XP are missing out on the tangible benefits of modernizing their IT investments from dramatically enhanced security, broad device choice to meet the needs of a mobile workforce, higher employee productivity and lower cost of ownership by future-proofing their IT investments." <P> <strong>[ Are you ready to make the move? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Tell Me Again: Why Rush Into Windows 8?</a> ]</strong> <P> It's no revelation that Microsoft's preference would be for companies to upgrade to Windows 8, the latest version, which Visser called "the modern OS for modern businesses." To that end, Microsoft sweetened the pot for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) that are still on XP: SMBs running XP Professional can get 15% off an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro and Office Standard 2013. (Microsoft will end support for Office 2003 on the same day as XP.) <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/business/retiring-xp.aspx">The offer</a> is good through June 30 for up to 100 licenses of each. Companies must upgrade <i>both</i> Windows and Office, not one or the other. <P> While Microsoft had previously run more <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-jacks-up-windows-8-upgrade-pri/240146630">aggressive offers</a> for Windows 8, the new deal should appeal to SMBs that are already considering a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-rollout-one-smbs-story/240146487">simultaneous upgrade</a> of both Windows and Office. <P> XP still powers nearly 39% of PCs, according to the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">latest Net Applications stats</a>. That's second only to Windows 7 (44.48%) in terms of OS market share. Windows 8 has garnered a 3.17% share since its release last year. <P> Microsoft noted that a move from XP straight to Windows 8 might not make sense for some organizations, such as those that already have a Windows 7 migration in progress. "Recognizing that not all situations are alike, businesses may need to take different approaches to their operating system migrations due to the specific needs of their environment," Visser said. Microsoft has <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2012/10/19/identifying-your-unique-windows-8-adoption-path.aspx">also acknowledged</a> that some companies might be best served with a mix of more than one OS, such as Windows 7 on some machines and Windows 8 on others, depending on user needs and other factors. <P> Visser's blog post offered another affirmation of the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">touch-oriented direction</a> of Windows, not just on mobile devices but on PCs as well. Microsoft's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-10-questions-for-microsofts-en/240009997">enterprise chief</a> urged businesses to consider touch devices -- "whether it is tablets, laptops with touch capabilities, all-in-ones, or other innovative devices" -- as part of any hardware refreshes associated with their Windows migrations. <P> "This way, companies conducting hardware refresh cycles can benefit from higher productivity of its users in the immediate term, while ensuring that they are modernizing an increasingly higher proportion of their installed PCs with touch capabilities &#8211; readying their business for the future Windows platform migrations," Visser said. <P> While Microsoft calls the April 8 end-of-support date for XP a "deadline," it's not actually one in the truest sense. XP won't suddenly stop working one year from now. And some <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/3-more-reasons-smbs-stick-with-windows-x/240146118">SMBs have their reasons</a> -- such as legacy apps, tech-laggard customers, or even <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/why-one-smb-sticks-with-windows-xp-truck/240145237">printer toner</a> -- for planning to keep at least some XP machines running for the foreseeable future. <P> Just don't expect any security patches or other updates after April 8, 2014 -- or much sympathy in Redmond if things go wrong. <P> <P> <i>Attend Interop Las Vegas May 6-10 and learn the emerging trends in information risk management and security. Use Priority Code MPIWK by March 22 to save an additional $200 off the early bird discount on All Access and Conference Passes. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 300+ exhibiting companies, and the latest technology. <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register today</a>! </i>2013-04-08T11:01:00ZWindows 8 emphasizes touchscreen capabilities, but there are several scenarios where I see little benefit for information workers.http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlTouchscreens, which have helped to make smartphones the must-have device for most information workers, have generated a more mixed reaction when the technology is deployed on personal computers. <P> <em>InformationWeek.com</em> reader jqbecker <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/article_240151839/permalink/comment/845329661">recently said</a> of Windows 8's touchscreen orientation: "Most [small and midsize businesses] are actually doing WORK, not looking up cat videos on the Internet. By work I mean a lot of typing into Word documents, and entering data into spreadsheets." <P> That sounds like the world I live in, a tad more so than Microsoft's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2KPQNP1Z1s">Surface Pro</a> commercial. (Even the coolest offices I've worked in didn't break out into synchronized dance routines.) It also jives with the day-to-day of many of the SMBs I speak with. Their focus is on productivity and profit, even when "cool" is <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/jordache-redesigns-it-around-cloud-googl/240005266">part of the business model</a>. I'd wager that premise extends well into the largest of businesses, too. <P> <strong>[ There are arguments on the other side. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a>. ]</strong> <P> That's been a big part of my problem with the touchscreen emphasis evident in Windows 8 and the early looks at Windows Blue. PCs might not be in vogue but they're still core tools for lots and lots of workers, me included. As reader justindunn <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/article_240152307/permalink/comment/855513098">noted</a>: "Most of us have decades of experience with a mouse and keyboard, and I for one won't give them up for something because it makes me look cool when I am working or presenting material." <P> I know desktop mode in Windows 8 is a click away. (Google, for one, <a href="http://www.google.com/publicpolicy/issues/competition.html">says the same</a> about the competition.) I know about <a href="http://www.classicshell.net/">Classic Shell</a>. I do see <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-4-upsides-for-smbs/240010007">upside in Windows 8</a>. But I still see fundamental shortcomings in an OS that prioritizes touch -- an interface native to tablets and smartphones -- on a laptop or desktop. <P> A counterpoint to my perspective: I'm shortsighted. This is the future of computing. Change is challenging. Adapt or get left behind. <P> But adaptation should be driven by productive value. Change for the sake of change is as inefficient as a stubborn refusal to try new and better ways of doing things. While I can see applications and uses where a touchscreen PC might someday <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">offer advantages</a>, there are several business-critical areas where I see little benefit. Here are three of them. <P> <strong>1. Long-Form Content Creation</strong> <P> In my case, "long-form content creation" is just a fancy-pants way to say: "writing." It's what I do. As a result, I spend a good chunk of my workday in Word documents and, to a lesser extent, Google Docs. Perhaps a future Office release will reveal innovative new ways to create and edit substantial documents via touch -- rather than simply read and review them, as we do more often on tablets and phones today. We'll see. As someone who earns a living on a keyboard, let's just say those would have to be some pretty phenomenal innovations. Does Windows 8 mean I can't use a keyboard? Of course not, but it does subordinate clicking and clacking to touching and swiping. <P> Content creation includes a much broader set of jobs and applications -- essentially, we're talking about folks whose job requires generating and modifying large amounts of data in various forms. A reader recently emailed me because she's in the market for a new work PC. An architect, she's unsure whether Windows 8 is a fit for her uses and applications, such as SketchUp and computer-aided design (CAD) software. "I have a hard time envisioning a touch-screen interface out-pacing the mouse/keyboard interface for those kinds of applications," she wrote. "Maybe, but I just need someone to show me how." <P> <strong>2. Excel</strong> <P> Excel remains a mainstay in many businesses. I use Excel quite a bit, too, mainly for managing the administrative necessities of self-employment. My spreadsheets are child's play compared to what some CPAs, finance pros and other number-crunchers are doing. And I can't fathom how a touchscreen PC would help them -- much less Excel wimps like me -- be more productive with spreadsheets. Slicing and dicing rows upon rows of cells and formulas by swiping and "pinching" your fingers? That seems like a nightmare. (If you're a finance or accounting pro and see advantages of using Excel or other applications with a touchscreen, I'd love to <a href="mailto:smb.casey@gmail.com?Subject=Touchscreen PC">hear from you</a>.) <P> The same might be said of the broader set of accounting and finance platforms that involve the entry and manipulation of vast amounts of numbers and other data. That was one of reader jqbecker's reasons for doubt: "You ever see a [doctor] try to enter patient charts on a touch screen? Too painful to watch. How about an accountant entering data via touch into QuickBooks? Too slow." <P> <strong>3. Custom & Industry-Specific Apps</strong> <P> If homegrown or "legacy" apps cause pain for companies <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/why-one-smb-sticks-with-windows-xp-truck/240145237">moving from XP</a> to Windows 7, what does that mean for Windows 8 and its UI overhaul? <P> This is a difficult area to quantify because, by nature, it's comprised of a hodgepodge of custom-built or industry-specific applications, some built forever ago. It's safe to say that few of those apps were developed with touchscreens in mind. Yet plenty of businesses rely on such applications, whether developed in-house or by a third party, and Windows 8 compatibility and support issues can be a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-365-why-a-law-firm-switched/240151241">cause for caution</a> with the new OS. <P> No doubt, this also an area of opportunity for touchscreens. I met a home appraiser a while back, for example, who had all but replaced paper and the traditional PC with an iPad running an app developed specifically for his job: assessing the value of a home and the property it sits on. There's a big opportunity for the touch-centric future Windows in those kinds of (very) specific business uses, but there's probably a ways to go before that is reality. <P> I appreciate all of the thoughtful responses and comments on this topic, whether they agree, disagree or are somewhere in between. Keep them coming.2013-04-05T09:06:00ZHere are four scenarios that could turn my Windows 8 desktop doubt into belief.http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-8-big-benefits-for-smbs/240142263"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/907/01_windows8pro_tn.jpg" alt="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" title="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->I'm a touchscreen PC skeptic. <P> As a result, I've been <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">hesitant about Windows 8</a> and its apparent <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-are-pc-people-out-of-touch/240009279">emphasis on touch</a>. That was underscored with the recent reveal of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue</a>. For a story on the Blue leak, Forrester senior analyst David Johnson told me: "Microsoft clearly wants touch to be a rich, primary way for people to interact with the Windows environment in the future." <P> With that in mind, I've been thinking about the reasons behind my touch-PC skepticism. I like the touchscreen on my phone. I like it on the iPad and other tablets. So why wouldn't I want it on a laptop or desktop? <P> One of the answers is actually quite simple: I don't use my laptop and smartphone, my two primary work devices, for the same reasons. Although there's crossover -- I use email on both, for example -- they serve separate purposes. I'm not writing this on my phone, for example. I recognize, though, that my uses are not necessarily <em>your</em> uses. So I got to thinking: What touchscreen PC applications and uses could win me over, if not now then later, when the hardware and software has had time to become more established? <P> <strong>[ I'm a hard sell. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-why-i-wont-upgrade/240008430?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Windows 8: Why I Won't Upgrade</a>. ]</strong> <P> Note: I'm focused here more on user interface issues than under-the-hood performance. In other words, my focus, like that of most users, is more on "does it work?" rather than "<em>how</em> does it work?" The attention is on touchscreen desktops and laptops, not tablets and smartphones; if it doesn't come with a full-blown keyboard, it doesn't count. There's a gray area in the ultrabook and hybrid categories. Suffice it to say that I'm thinking of hardware that I'm as or more likely to use at my desk than on a plane or train or in the back of a cab. <P> Bottom line: I'm interested in how touchscreen desktops and laptops might help businesspeople do their jobs better than the non-touch models they're likely still using today, because those reasons aren't readily apparent to me, especially with the current high prices. Below are four scenarios where I can see a touchscreen PC offering an advantage over a non-touch PC. I'm sure I'm missing some advantages, so I'd like to hear why you think touchscreens might work to the benefit of the traditional PC user in the comments section below or via <a href="mailto:smb.casey@gmail.com?Subject=Touchscreen PC">email</a>. <P> <strong>1. Web Browsing.</strong> <P> Like many folks these days, I seem to spend as much of my life online as off. That's particularly true when I'm working. Rare is the hour when there's not a browser window open on my laptop; in actuality, it's multiple browser windows, or at least multiple tabs. Although the Web browser is one of my most frequently used apps on my phone, too, I sometimes find the experience frustrating. That's partly a function of screen size and partly due to the mobile Web's relative immaturity. Occasionally, spotty network service is the culprit. <P> The browser experience on a touchscreen PC could -- and probably should -- become a big lure given how much time I spend online. This seems especially true as Web development continues to become more sophisticated over time, and as cloud services increasingly become the default setting. Indeed, a CEO I spoke with recently called browsing the Web on her <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-convertible-my-3-month-test-dr/240150093">Windows 8 convertible</a> "incredible," even though other aspects of her experience were less than stellar.<strong>2. PowerPoint (And Its Competition).</strong> <P> Reader glenn817 chimed in on a recent piece with a prediction that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/article_240151839/permalink/comment/848736604">Microsoft will significantly expand the touch capabilities of its Office suite</a> in an upcoming release. "Can you imagine PowerPoint optimized for touch?" he wrote. "I can, and it makes me very happy." <P> I don't use PowerPoint as regularly as I did in some previous jobs, but I can absolutely see the upside in a PowerPoint version "purpose-built" -- to borrow the vendor marketing-speak phrase -- for the touchscreen PC. In fact, it could be the kick in the pants that PowerPoint needs to stay relevant over the long haul. <P> Microsoft probably doesn't want to hear this, but one of PowerPoint's upstart competitors, <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a>, might be an even better fit for touchscreen PCs. There's already an iPad version of the cloud software, so it seems like a no-brainer for Prezi to build a full-blown, touch-optimized Windows 8 app, especially given the less-linear nature of the presentations. <P> <strong>3. The Boardroom.</strong> <P> Anyone who's ever gotten the 5 p.m. "you need to present to the executive team at 9 a.m. tomorrow" email might want to pay close attention to this one. The boardroom (and its less prestigious sibling, the conference room) strikes me as an optimal environment for the larger screens enabled by PCs with touchscreens. Those screens could be ideal for presentations, if not creating content, especially for audiences with short attention spans that require bullet-point information. (It's called an "executive summary" for a reason.) The cool factor of touch can't hurt on that front, either. The Web and PowerPoint examples above are obvious fits in this context. There would also seem to be a conference-room upside in areas such as <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/5-data-sources-for-visualization-beginne/240152047">data visualization</a>, business process modeling, sales and similar scenarios. <P> <strong>4. The Mystery App.</strong> <P> The app most likely to make me a believer? It doesn't exist yet. There's a reason why Microsoft is <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-seeks-windows-8-app-wave/240151314">offering bounties</a> for Windows 8 <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/microsoft-sells-out-mac-developer-deal/240152199">app development</a>: There simply aren't enough apps for Windows 8 yet. There are even fewer when you eliminate apps that have little to no business purpose. That will surely change over time. But will there be an app -- or better yet several of them -- that will turn skeptics like me into the faithful converted? <P> In a follow-up column, I'll share with you the apps that make me struggle -- to put it mildly -- to see the advantages of a touchscreen PC. <P> In the meantime, are you a skeptic like me, or already a believer? <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/U, and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a>! </i>2013-04-03T14:15:00ZGoogle Reader's shutdown reminds us that free technology tools can come with high costs.http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/google-reader-flap-shows-5-problems-with/240152235?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/965/Google_Gags_01_tn.jpg" alt="Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs" title="Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Everyone loves free stuff. Whether your budget is large or small, it's tough to argue with a price tag that reads "$0.00." <P> Yet "free" sometimes costs more than we think. The pending <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/development/mobility/google-backlash-for-real-this-time/240151573">shutdown of Google Reader</a> serves as a reminder of the downsides of free or "freemium" technologies. Chief among them: Someone has to pay the bills; otherwise, the lights eventually get turned off. As <em>InformationWeek's</em> Thomas Claburn noted: "Online services cost money to operate and those using Reader weren't paying to keep the service running." <P> That straightforward fact extends well beyond the Google Reader case. It also underpins many of the problems free technologies cause for business users in terms of reliability, availability, security and other areas, according to Techaisle analyst Anurag Agrawal. <P> "It is better to use tools that require at least some payment for the services rendered," Agrawal said in an email interview. Agrawal believes free technology tools are better-suited for short-term projects and tasks: "For example, Google Docs to share a spreadsheet among school students signing up for a field trip, or Hitman Pro to remove malware from PCs or [a free trial of] Basecamp to manage a small project with 1-2 weeks duration," he said. Among other reasons for that mindset: It involves less exposure to long-term risk if that service disappears or is otherwise disrupted. <P> <strong>[ Free is risky, but so is choosing paid software. See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-365-why-a-law-firm-switched/240151241?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Office 365: Why A Law Firm Switched</a>. ]</strong> <P> But we <em>like</em> free. Why should we pay up? To be sure, there are plenty of reasonable use cases for free technologies. But business users that don't at least ask the question "why is this free?" might be ignoring potential problems down the road. Let's look at five hidden costs of "free." <P> <strong>1. Free Isn't Often Viable</strong> <P> No one, Google included, shuts down services because they're profitable. "Companies go out of business without revenue and profits," Agrawal said. When they do, users are often left in the lurch: "Users may lose their data and also have to find and train on a new solution." <P> So while free tools can solve a "now" problem without busting the budget, there's little promise that they'll continue to do so in the future. "Freemium models are still in vogue," Agrawal said. "However, not all companies succeed in converting free users to a sufficient number of paid users." When that happens, services -- or entire companies -- can disappear almost overnight. Take <a href="https://www.loosecubes.com/">Loosecubes</a>: The website offered freelancers and other professionals free short-term office space by matching them with area businesses that had desks to spare. It was a nice, community-minded idea -- but one with no apparent revenue streams. The company shut down on November 16; it sent an email to users announcing the closure on November 13. <P> Agrawal noted that products and services get mothballed regularly even when the companies behind them continue to operate: " "Companies may stop releasing updates or completely remove the product from the market," he said. "Again, users lose." <P> <strong>2. Free Is Not Always Forever</strong> <P> Just because Microsoft gives away 7 GB of free <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/microsoft-skydrive-vs-dropbox-google-han/240005958">SkyDrive storage</a> today doesn't mean they'll do so tomorrow. "Companies may change their product strategy and start charging for services that were free," Agrawal noted. <P> Google offers another example here: It recently <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-apps-no-longer-free-for-businesse/240144076">discontinued the free version of Google Apps</a>, which had been available since the suite launched in 2006. While apps like Docs and Drive are still available free to individuals, companies must now pony up for a Google Apps For Business account. Tough to fault Google for that choice, but if you picked Google Apps because "free" was cheaper than Microsoft Office, it's no throwaway concern. <P> <strong>3. You Get What You Pay For</strong> <P> The adage does come true, particularly in the freemium model, where Agrawal noted the goal is ultimately to turn users into "tool addicts" so that they can generate revenue from them later. Many free services are in fact stripped-down versions of the real deal. Security software is a good example: You can get dozens of desktop or mobile antimalware apps for free, but you'll get only the basic level of protection. <P> <strong>4. No Neck To Wring</strong> <P> "Free service" usually equates to "no customer service." You can't often give your product away and maintain a white-glove customer support organization, after all. "A free service has zero to limited support," Agrawal said, adding that when support does exist it's often in the form of canned emails that create frustration rather than alleviate it. That frustration spikes when problems occur and there's no neck to wring, so to speak -- it's tough to complain about "free," or rather it's tough to get someone to listen to that complaint. (This <a href="http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/d5a23e57b2500174fde710799bb2aec7">e-card</a> perhaps puts it best: "I'm appalled that the free service that I am in no way obligated to use keeps making changes that mildly inconvenience me.") <P> The do-it-yourself set might be willing to make that cost-versus-support tradeoff; that's an appeal of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-bargain-it-tools-for-smbs/240144347">open source platforms</a> for some users, for example. Just be sure to realistically assess your support needs in advance -- not after things go wrong and there's no one to answer your call. <P> <strong>5. Privacy & Security Concerns</strong> <P> Writing about the Reader shutdown, <em>InformationWeek's</em> Claburn asserted: "Trusting any business to operate a service at no charge is trust misplaced." That misplaced trust includes matters of security, privacy and similar issues, too. One might argue the same is true of any online service, free or paid, but on the free side of the equation such concerns are -- or should be -- more of a given. <P> "Security of the data is always in doubt," Techaisle's Agrawal said. <P> The Internet erupts in a fury when Facebook tweaks its privacy policy and other settings, yet the uproar often fails to adequately recognize a simple fact: Facebook is a <em>business</em>. Its goal is profit, not privacy. Privacy is a worthwhile ideal but it's just that: an ideal. Folks that fret over how their information is used should be wondering why Facebook -- or any other free service -- doesn't send them a monthly bill for their usage. <P> <i>Small and midsize businesses are falling prey to cyberattacks that cost them sensitive data, productivity and corporate accounts cleaned out by sophisticated banking Trojans. SMBs are typically on the hook for these losses and lack effective means to prevent them. In this <a href="http://www.darkreading.com/SMBSecurity/util/6123/download.html?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Small Businesses, Big Losses</a> report, we explain what makes these threats so menacing, and share best practices to defend against them. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-01T14:55:00ZConfused by the buzz around data analytics and visualization? Start with these five information sources.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/5-data-sources-for-visualization-beginne/240152047?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_htmlThe information age is chock full of jargon: Big data, analytics, business intelligence, visualization, graph databases, sentiment analysis and so on down the lingo list. We've even got <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-meet-long-data/240152019">"long data"</a> now. <P> It's all a little overwhelming for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) that are doing little -- or nothing -- to translate "data" into "stuff that actually helps us make money." Justin Langseth, founder and CEO of data visualization startup <a href="http://www.zoomdata.com/">Zoomdata</a>, notes a growing gap between the data haves and data have-nots. According to Langseth, around 1% of business users are doing sophisticated Hadoop-level data analysis. That elite group is in "hog heaven," Langseth said in an interview. Another 4% are using traditional business intelligence tools. <P> And the rest of us? <P> "Then there's the 95% of people who either don't have access to anything or just don't use anything," Langseth said. Firms like Zoomdata, Datahero, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/business-intelligence/tableau-data-visualization-tool-gets-maj/240151417">Tableau</a> and others are hoping to change that with data visualization tools that don't require a lot of heavy lifting by IT. Or, as Langseth puts it, "Making it easier for normal businesspeople to get stuff out of Hadoop and do stuff with it." <P> <strong>[ What is long data? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-meet-long-data/240152019?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Big Data, Meet Long Data</a>. ]</strong> <P> Visualization plays an important part in that democratization of data, sometimes because of the sheer volume of information. "The human mind is very good at looking at large sets of data visually and finding patterns," Langseth said. <P> Indeed, visualization can be a powerful way to translate all those bytes into meaningful business information -- enough so that some companies are even deploying <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/trends/is-there-a-viz-wall-in-your-future/240151751">"viz walls"</a> -- large banks of high-definition monitors that display corporate data in or near real-time. <P> But if you're among that 95% -- and the math says you are -- where do you begin? Sometimes the number of potential data sources alone is enough to halt a would-be project in its tracks. <P> Langseth recommends starting with things like Google Analytics and the built-in capabilities of cloud platforms like <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/salesforcecom-secrets-8-apps-help-you-do/240148303">Salesforce.com</a>. Most of these services offer APIs for extracting your data for visualization and other purposes. Doing this can better allow you to integrate and benchmark your critical information and add increasing layers of sophistication to what you do with it. You've got to start somewhere; consider these five data sources as a reasonable Phase One. <P> <strong>1. Salesforce.com</strong> <P> Few businesses succeed without making the cash register ring, so tracking the sales lifecycle -- whether a bag of groceries or a six-figure contract -- is crucial for strategic decision making. Salesforce.com is the sales data source for many SMBs these days. While the platform includes its own built-in analytics, extracting it from Salesforce can offer more flexibility in visualization and integration. "There's a lot of value in sucking that data out of Salesforce through the various APIs they offer and smashing [and] mashing it together with other data," Langseth said. <P> <strong>2. Your Own Website</strong> <P> Here's your no-brainer data source for that "smashing and mashing" Langseth referred to: Your own <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540">external website(s)</a>. If you use Google Analytics, that's a good place to start. According to Langseth, visualizing website data and weaving it with Salesforce and other sources helps to better illuminate customer behavior beyond your actual transactions: Where people are coming from, where they're going, what they're doing after their online experience with your business, and so on. <P> <strong>3. Customer Care & CRM</strong> <P> There's a vast world of post-sale, customer care-related data to be had: Call center interactions, online chats via LivePerson or similar channels, online surveys, and so on. (The same kinds of interactions can take place with prospective customers, too.) "There's a lot of [available] information about what your customers are saying or trying to tell you about your products or service," Langseth said. "Listening to that and trying to understand that is really interesting." <P> The historical technical challenge here has been that much of that data is in text form, but Langseth said that advances in text and sentiment analysis tools are starting to fulfill on the bottom-line goal: Turning that text into usable data. <P> <strong>4. Social</strong> <P> The same concept applies to the expanding, noisy universe of social media and related sites. Langseth noted that social data should include not just your own prospects and customers but also your competitors and broader industry. "Being able to understand those trends and figuring out quickly how they [apply] to your business [is important]," Langseth said. <P> Properly interpreting the tea leaves can become a critical input into areas like marketing, product development and design, pricing and so forth. "It's becoming even more important now as the pace of business and the pace of change and innovation is much, much faster than it's ever been," Langseth said. "You really have to be able to react quickly to not just what's happening inside of your business but to stuff that's happening outside of your business." <P> <strong>5. Internal Performance</strong> <P> In the era of social, mobile and other exploding data sets, it can be easy to overlook the old reliables: Your organization's own internal operations. Longstanding fundamentals like supply chain and other logistics, for example, can become invaluable data sources for monitoring organizational health and performance. Likewise, consider things such as development bug trackers or call-center support tickets; visualizing the flow of those processes can sometimes unearth hiccups and headaches that are quite easy to resolve once identified. If your firm uses business process modeling (BPM) software or something similar, that's a logical place to look to as a data source. <P> "Looking at the under-the-hood view of those BPM systems can really show you where things are backing up or stuck, or where there are inefficiencies in a business," Langseth said. <P> There's a decided advantage in underpinning all of the above in historical and forward-looking data, according to Langseth. That's especially true in terms of making the visual representations of current information more valuable for those aforementioned "normal businesspeople." <P> When set against benchmarks, just about any kind of data can reveal insights when it deviates from past or predicted norms. "Then you can immediately spot things that are new or divergent from what would be predicted or expected to happen," Langseth said. He added that such visualizations can be especially useful in areas like social, where "listening" and "understanding" are two very different things. (Lots of businesses do the former; fewer can say they do the latter.) <P> He offered an example of a retail customer that had deployed visualization as a means to improve its Black Friday operations. Had the store just been looking for <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/black-friday-5-tips-for-online-traffic-s/240142473">traffic surges</a> or unusual activity, well, they'd have found them. That's just business as usual during the post-Thanksgiving shopping craze, so visualizing the spikes would have been akin to confirming that water is wet. But by overlaying their real-time data over historical trends and predictable variables, they were able to spot issues -- which included a promotional code that stopped working, inciting a rash of angry customers -- almost immediately. The predictive piece of the equation comes into play when factoring in variables like changes in staffing or locations, for example, or major marketing or advertising campaigns. <P> The same principle holds true just about any "like for like" period, especially for companies doing real-time visualization. "If you were trying to visualize what's happening now, you wouldn't want to compare it to [the same time] yesterday because yesterday was Easter Sunday -- but you might want to compare it to the average of the last five Mondays," Langseth said. <P> <P> <i>Attend Interop Las Vegas May 6-10 and learn the emerging trends in information risk management and security. Use Priority Code MPIWK by March 22 to save an additional $200 off the early bird discount on All Access and Conference Passes. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 300+ exhibiting companies, and the latest technology. <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register today</a>! </i> <P>2013-03-28T14:36:00ZMake sure you include the right employees and business processes when developing risk management strategy.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/5-steps-to-strengthen-information-risk-p/240151929?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/network/9-bandwidth-hogs-reality-vs-myth/240147041"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/941/01_Intro_tn.jpg" alt="9 Bandwidth Hogs: Reality Vs. Myth" title="9 Bandwidth Hogs: Reality Vs. Myth" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">9 Bandwidth Hogs: Reality Vs. Myth</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Consider the phrase "information risk profile." It sounds serious, important. It sounds like something most companies should have in the information age. Yet it's risk-management strategy that's easy to put off or ignore altogether. <P> For organizations with an outdated. insufficient or altogether nonexistent information risk profile, it helps to start with a basic question: Just what the heck is one? <P> "I look at it as conversation that discusses the organization's tolerance for loss, disruption or availability issues regarding their data assets," <a href="http://www.iparchitects.com/">IP Architects</a> president John Pironti said in an interview. "When does it hurt when they lose something? <P> Having that conversation, as it were, can help companies define and prioritize smarter approaches to securing and safeguarding their information, no matter what that information might be. This is turn helps minimize the potential pain when things go wrong: Financial loss, PR embarrassment, productivity drains and similar downsides. <P> <strong>[ Are passwords pass&#233;? Read <a href=" http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/commentary/security/client/kill-passwords-hasslefree-substitute-w/240149835?cid=SBX_bigdata_related_video_Attacks%2Fbreaches_big_data&itc=SBX_bigdata_related_video_Attacks%2Fbreaches_big_data2?itc=edit_in_body_cross"> Kill Passwords: Hassle-Free Substitute Wanted</a>. ]</strong> <P> Among the many reasons an information risk profile is an important tool in the digital age: A comprehensive one can help organizations clarify what is actually important versus what is <em>perceived</em> to be important. Failing to make that distinction often leads to wasted resources, ineffective strategies and poor decision making. <P> Pironti, who will chair the Information Security and Risk Management track at <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas">Interop</a>, offered this advice on building effective, efficient information risk profiles. <P> <strong>1. Heed The Difference Between "Risk" And "Threat."</strong> <P> Pironti noted a common misconception about information risk: "I think security professionals, myself included, spend too much time thinking that they know 'risk' when they really know 'threat,'" he said. Although "threat" might apply to areas such as <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/how-south-korean-bank-malware-spread/240151647">malware</a> or phishing scams, "risk" should include a much broader view of data loss, corruption or downtime, no matter the cause. <P> Comprehensive profiles address not just targeted or indiscriminate <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/ddos-spam-feud-backfires-bulletproof-cyb/240151895">security attacks</a>, but risk of all kinds: Employee error, technology failure, vendor mistakes and so on. "At the end of the day, they have the same business impact," Pironti said. <P> <strong>2. Company Should 'Own' The Profile.</strong> <P> "You're looking for the business leadership to really help to understand: What should we care about and why?" Pironti said. This can be easier said than done, Pironti added, because executives and managers are often paid to take risks. But Pironti's view is <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/security/6-steps-to-better-customer-data-protecti/240147162">shared by others</a> in the security and privacy field. <P> Although information security pros should lead the process, the end result should be owned and maintained by the business. "If security guys just go around and give their perspectives and look for a rubber stamp from the business, it probably won't be embraced [or] viewed as something that's credible," he said. "It's probably not going to make it to the senior leadership or to the board level because it's going to be viewed as an operational review rather than a business-level review."<strong>3. You Need The Right People In The Room.</strong> <P> Establishing a risk profile that the business embraces requires involving the right people. Pironti recommended involving business process owners or "data owners." Ultimately, senior leadership will need to buy in as well. If you're unsure of whom the business process owners are in your organization, identify the people with profit-and-loss (P&L) responsibility. In other words: Whose bottom line gets hit if there's an information-related incident? <P> <strong>4. The Goal Is <em>Not</em> To Include Everything.</strong> <P> For businesses with finite resources -- and that's most of them -- trying to account for every shred of data that passes through the organization is not only inadvisable, it's a fast track to failure. Don't forget that the whole point of building an information risk profile is to <em>prioritize</em> based on your company's data and its relative importance for revenue, compliance and other factors. <P> "Look for the key business processes, the ones that are considered essentially important to the operations or health and safety of the organization," Pironti said. "It wouldn't be realistic to say that we should look at every detail and every thing." <P> Pironti applies the concept of "due care" here, which asks: Did you do what could be reasonably expected of you to protect your data? "That's your bare minimum starting point, and then you work upwards," Pironti said. "If there <em>were</em> a situation, we can [then] feel comfortable that we are protecting ourselves from legal concerns, from compliance concerns, from the court of public opinion -- as well as ensuring that our business can operate in a way that makes sense for us, versus what everybody else tells us we should do." <P> <strong>5. Avoid Too Many Cooks.</strong> <P> No one wants to be told their data or business process is a lower priority than that of the person sitting two doors down. Few people in a "get ahead" culture will ever willingly admit that their areas of responsibility aren't as important from a risk management standpoint. As a result, there's bit of diplomacy required of information security pros when developing a risk profile. <P> Pironti offered this tip: If there's already a business continuity or disaster recovery plan in place, start there -- a good one should have, in effect, already "ranked" the company's data priorities, which can help smooth out any ruffled feathers. <P> "A lot of organizations have already gone through that process, versus doing a real risk profile," Pironti said. "It's an easy starting point." <P> <i>InformationWeek is conducting a survey on security and risk management. Take the <a href="http://informationweek.2013strategicsecurity.sgizmo.com/s3/?iwid=pl">InformationWeek 2013 Strategic Security Survey</a> today. Survey ends March 29.</i>2013-03-27T12:25:00ZWindows Blue might signal a bold new future for touch computing, but it doesn't exactly inspire a quick upgrade to Windows 8 for traditional users like me.http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/6-reasons-to-want-windows-8-ultrabooks/240012634"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/893/1_tn.jpg" alt="6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks" title="6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">6 Reasons To Want Windows 8 Ultrabooks</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->It's like the old saying goes: Nothing generates excitement quite like leaked screenshots of a vaguely named future Windows release published to a Polish tech website. <P> What's that? That's not a saying? Oh. Nonetheless, there was a minor Internet riot last weekend over leaked information about Microsoft's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-blue-demise-of-the-desktop/240151656">Windows Blue</a>, the upcoming release of -- well, no one outside of Redmond <em>really</em> knows. It's not really a service pack and it's not really Windows 9, seems to be the general opinion. It's ... it's... I'm not quite sure what it is, so I asked Forrester senior analyst David Johnson for his take. <P> "Microsoft is on a journey here toward a newer OS and interaction model, and this leak shows us a little bit more about how that's going to go," Johnson said in an email. "Microsoft clearly wants touch to be a rich, primary way for people to interact with the Windows environment in the future." <P> No doubt, Microsoft appears to be doubling down on the touch-centric nature of the Windows 8 family, and <a href="https://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-confirmed-but-microsoft-mum/240151802">Windows Blue</a> -- also known as "Build 9364" -- is the next leg of a bigger-picture journey. Microsoft said as much on Wednesday in a blog post acknowledging Blue's <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2013/03/26/looking-back-and-springing-ahead.aspx">existence</a>. "This continuous development cycle is the new normal across Microsoft -- we&#8217;ll tune everyday experiences as well as introduce bold, connected and exciting new scenarios," wrote corporate communications VP Frank X. Shaw. <P> <strong>[ Ride along on one user's test drive of a Windows 8 portable. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-convertible-my-3-month-test-dr/240150093?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Windows 8 Convertible: My 3-Month Test Drive</a>. ]</strong> <P> The nagging question: Why should I join the ride any time soon when Windows 7 already gets me where I need to go? (In the spirit of the travel metaphor, I should probably note that I drive a much-loved 2002 Honda Civic and have no plans to trade it in. That somehow seems relevant here.) <P> There are some exciting possibilities in the apparent future of Windows. There's also the distinct possibility that "PC people" -- those of us who still get our work done on laptops and desktops, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-are-pc-people-out-of-touch/240009279">me included</a>, are definitely on the outs. That was among my key reasons for <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-why-i-wont-upgrade/240008430">not making plans to upgrade</a> to Windows 8. Windows Blue, while perhaps signifying a brave new world for Microsoft, underscores this issue rather than alleviates it. <P> "The most interesting thing for me is that Microsoft appears to be taking more steps to position the traditional Windows desktop as just an app in a new interface framework," Forrester's Johnson said. (It should be noted that Johnson shared his insights prior to Microsoft's blog post acknowledging Blue.) He sees upside for IT departments in that shift, because it could help companies ease some of the security and management headaches they deal with in their Windows desktop environments. Those issues arise in part from the Windows kernel, APIs, app layers and other under-the-hood parts of the traditional desktop environment, according to Johnson. He noted that those headaches aren't Microsoft's fault; "rather, it's a natural state of a maturing platform like Windows," he said. <P> "If Microsoft can create a continuum of new Windows releases and accompanying capabilities ([such as] development environments and productivity apps) that gradually lead everyone off the legacy Windows desktop toward a new model, they may be able to fully compartmentalize the traditional Windows desktop and all of the challenges that go with it over time," Johnson said. "We're a long way from that possibility right now, but I think it's one outcome worth watching for." <P> What's missing from the early looks at Blue, according to Johnson, are clear indications of how it will help organizations relieve the burdens of managing their PC environments. "The operational costs for organizations are way too high, and the complexity is increasing," Johnson said. "The solution needs to be not better management tools, but getting rid of the need for them to begin with. This is what I'm looking for most in Microsoft's future releases." <P> But, hey: Back to me. What do I get out of this deal? I'm sort of kidding with that question -- but sort of not. I suspect countless end users will ask some version of the same question because the future of Windows might not best suit their day-to-day jobs. Call it "old school," "legacy," "short-sighted" -- the adjectives don't really matter. What does matter: If you were treading cautiously with Windows 8 for reasons similar to mine -- in short, it doesn't seem to suit your everyday needs as well as previous versions do -- the Windows Blue leak is probably not going to make you pick up the pace. Yes, there's still a desktop mode, but why should desktop users rush to adopt an OS that prioritizes a touch interface that doesn't best serve their business needs or <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">hardware choices</a>? <P> Windows Blue might be Microsoft's next significant step toward revamping the traditional Windows <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/windows-blue9-no-desktop-no-way/240151632">desktop experience</a>. But there's a lot of a work to be done before touch wins over the PC workforce. <P> "To do that, they know that people need to find value and convenience in the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-rollout-one-smbs-story/240146487">Windows 8</a> interface to make it a more natural home for their working lives," Johnson said. "Everything in the leak showcases how they plan to do that in the short term but it's all interface and usability stuff. They're great steps but it's not yet enough to hit the tipping point and create overwhelming demand." <P> That could be a roadblock for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), in particular. <P> &#8220;Most SMBs will not replace their IT hardware or software unless what they have is no longer fit-for-purpose," said Analysys Mason analyst Patrick Rusby in an email to <em>InformationWeek</em>. "Windows 7 has proven to be a very popular operating system with SMBs and larger enterprises alike, and I suspect it will remain so until it becomes clear what Windows 8 or Windows Blue actually has to offer.&#8221; <P> In the meantime, I'll follow Microsoft's journey from a safe distance. <P> <i>InformationWeek is conducting a survey on IT spending priorities. Take the <a href="http://informationweek.2013ITspending.sgizmo.com/s3/?iwid=pl">InformationWeek 2013 IT Spending Priorities Survey</a> today. Survey ends March 29.</i>2013-03-22T11:42:00ZPlenty of organizations remain in the dark about the flood of new Internet addresses about to become available later this year. Here's what you need to know.http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/new-web-domain-names-should-you-pass/240151540?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/9-free-open-source-technologies-for-lean/240144347"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/927/Intro_tn.jpg" alt="9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs" title="9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">9 Bargain IT Tools For SMBs</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Web addresses ending in extensions such as .accountant or .pizza will soon join the online world where .com has long been the sought-after destination. Yet the majority of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) still have no idea the new real estate is about to hit the market. <P> The Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN) received <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/icann-domain-landgrab-what-smbs-should-k/240002069">nearly 2,000 applications</a> when it opened the doors for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) last year. A gTLD is the string of characters "to the right of the dot" in Internet domain names, such as .com or .org. <P> Mega-brands like Apple and Google were among the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/policy/new-domain-names-tempt-amazon-google-mic/240002017">large enterprises that bid</a> to own and govern extensions like .apple and .google. (Google, for one, applied for more than 100 gTLDs.) Domain marketplaces like <a href="http://donuts.co/">Donuts.co</a>, on the other hand, focused on the "generic" in gTLD. Donuts.co <a href="http://donuts.co/news/files/donuts_tld_application_list.pdf">applied for</a> extensions like .architect and .restaurant with plans to sell the corresponding URLs at retail, as the likes of GoDaddy or 1&1 do with the 22 widely available gTLDs. The new extensions are set to start going on sale later this year. <P> <strong>[ Are you staying on top of tech trends? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/7-smb-technology-predictions-for-2013/240144993?itc=edit_in_body_cross">7 SMB Technology Predictions For 2013</a>. ]</strong> <P> Nearly two-thirds of small businesses, though, have no idea the new extensions are coming, according to a recent survey by domain vendor <a href="http://sedo.com">Sedo</a>. The poll included roughly 600 small business owners and managers, and 94% of them said they currently had no plans to purchase a new gTLD for their company. <P> Those SMBs stand to get squeezed out of the next Internet land grab. While a .com URL might remain the desirable address for the foreseeable future, the massive increase in potential domain names could create a variety of brand and trademark <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/ebusiness/patent-trolls-pursue-midsize-companies/240147772">infringement headaches</a> for businesses. <P> "Because 1,000 new gTLDs will be released annually, trademark owners face new challenges to their brands as the unscrupulous seek to register their brands to the left of the dot of the new gTLDs," said attorney Jeanne Hamburg of <a href="http://www.nmmlaw.com/">Norris McLaughlin & Marcus</a> in an email to <em>InformationWeek</em>. Hamburg chairs the firm's Internet law group. "For example, generalmotors.manufacturing would infringe GM's rights in its brand by including the GM brand to the left of the dot in the new gTLD .manufacturing." <P> Hamburg advised that brand owners submit their registered trademarks to ICANN's <a href="http://trademark-clearinghouse.com/">Trademark Clearinghouse</a>, the organization's program for dealing with infringement issues when new gTLDs are made available for sale. Hamburg noted that, for a fee of up to $150, registrants will be notified any time someone buys a URL that potentially infringes on their trademark "to the left of the dot" during the first 60 days the gTLD is available. The clearinghouse opens on March 26; ICANN calls it "the one-stop shop for protecting your brand in the new gTLD era." <P> Of course, not every company possesses <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/gm-hiring-1000-it-employees-in-phoenix-a/240150197">GM's</a> stature. Hamburg said SMBs will have to decide whether it's worth registering with the ICANN clearinghouse based on their past experiences with brand enforcement on the Web. "I do note that trademark infringements need not be willful," she said. "[We] frequently have small business clients who ask us to assist in pressing claims against others who have unwittingly infringed their rights."<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-8-big-benefits-for-smbs/240142263"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/907/01_windows8pro_tn.jpg" alt="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" title="Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Windows 8: 8 Big Benefits For SMBs</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> The clearinghouse mechanism, though, requires SMBs to be aware of the changes in the first place -- and that's far from a given. Take Hobart Swan, head of the PR agency <a href="http://www.vocalizepr.com">Vocalize PR</a>. "I hadn't a clue" of the new domain names, Swan said in an email to <em>InformationWeek</em>. "This should be interesting as it is hard enough to get people to your site without worrying about whether they've entered a) the correct spelling of your domain name, b) the correct extension and c) the correct spelling of the correct extension." <P> As a result, Swan said he's unlikely to buy, say, vocalizepr.agency -- one of <a href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/application-results/strings-1200utc-13jun12-en">the applied-for strings</a> -- because of the potential for confusion among clients. <P> Some SMBs are aware of the new domain names; they simply aren't going to buy them. "The way we see it, all these new domain names will simply be money sinks," said Ian Aronovich, president and co-founder of <a href="http://www.governmentauctions.org/">GovernmentAuctions.org</a>, in an email to <em>InformationWeek</em>. "Not only will everything be much more confusing for domain owners, but also online visitors who will have to remember whether sites end in .com, .org, .net, .info, .accountant, .movies, .lawyer, .doctor, .diapers or something else." <P> <strong>[ Thinking about buying some new hardware? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-surface-pro-why-2-smbs-say-yes/240149271?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Microsoft Surface Pro: Why 2 SMBs Say Yes</a>. ]</strong> <P> Therein lies a potential silver lining for SMBs who ignore the new domains. Their customers might ignore them, too. <P> "Our research shows a majority of consumers are unaware that these changes are coming," a recent report by registry and DNS provider <a href="http://www.afilias.info/">Afilias</a> noted. "And once users hear about them, they would likely avoid the new extensions due to their unfamiliarity." <P> Just 22% of U.S. adults had heard of the new domains, according to the report, and 58% said they wouldn't visit a website with an extension they didn't recognize. In other words: the large enterprises and domain-name vendors that shelled out $185,000 a pop to apply for new extensions still have a lot of work ahead of them to get people to actually type those URLs into their Web browsers. <P> "Old habits die hard. [Our] research shows consumer are currently reluctant to experiment with new TLDs," the Afilias report reads. (Afilias should know: the company launched with the .info domain registry in 2001.) "Confidence in 'heritage' domains has been built over many years and dot brands have tough shoes to fill."2013-03-20T12:42:00ZA lawyer-slash-IT chief explains how his 14-person law firm is realizing good ROI after its move to Microsoft Office 365.http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-365-why-a-law-firm-switched/240151241?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-2013-10-questions-to-ask/240150037"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/959/01_Intro_175.jpg" alt="Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask" title="Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Office 2013: 10 Questions To Ask</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Technology means different things to different small and midsize businesses (SMBs). At Parsonage Vandenack Williams (PVW), it's quite literally part of the law firm's foundation. <P> "The reason why we left one of the larger firms here in Omaha was because we wanted to focus on technology," founding member Mark A. Williams said in an interview. "What we really mean by that is using technology to create efficiencies and expertise so that you can take a small group of lawyers and serve a very large clientele." <P> That strategy enables <a href="http://www.pvwlaw.com/">the 14-person firm</a> to stay lean and eliminate many lower-level roles common in larger firms. It doesn't employ secretaries, has minimal paralegal resources and it automates as much of the administrative work involved in running a law firm as it can. Williams serves double duty as both an attorney and as the firm's resident IT guy, in part because he grew up in an IT family and was weaned on Texas Instruments and Commodore 64 machines. "If I'd been born 15 years later I'd probably be writing apps for a living," Williams said. <P> Using technology to keep overhead down enables PVW to charge Omaha, Neb., rates to clients in, say, New York or San Francisco -- or anywhere in the world, for that matter. The approach increasingly relies on <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/pharmacy-companys-rx-for-chaos-more-clou/240150735">cloud services</a> such as HotDocs and Worldox for document production and management, for example, or process automation in potential cash drains such as data entry. Recently, the firm also made <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/office-365-for-business-worth-the-upgrad/240149705">the move to Office 365</a>, Microsoft's cloud descendant of its longstanding software suite. <P> <strong>[ Get another take on the Office 365 transition. See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/microsoft-office-365-how-one-company-sav/240150383?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Microsoft Office 365: How One Company Saves Big</a>. ]</strong> <P> Because PVW's technology strategy draws a straight line to the bottom line, matters of total cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI) aren't left to vague assumptions or let's-just-hope-this-works optimism. On the TCO/ROI front, Williams gives Office 365 high marks so far. <P> "For us, [measuring TCO/ROI] was very real," Williams said. The firm had been facing necessary upgrades to its computing resources that included a new server, new desktop licenses for Office 2010 -- the firm had employees still using Office 2003 -- and similar updates. "When we looked at [Office 365], there was a huge up-front, real-dollar savings. Obviously, you're then paying a monthly fee to be able to use the functionality, but that monthly fee is substantially offset by reduced IT costs." <P> PVW's biggest IT budget busters have historically been its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/8-key-changes-in-microsoft-sharepoint-20/240145685">SharePoint</a> and Exchange deployments. Because Williams' billable hours are too valuable to spend all day doing server maintenance, troubleshooting and the like, the firm had an outside IT provider on monthly retainer for help. They've since been able to move that vendor to an hourly, as-needed arrangement and slash the monthly bill. <P> "Over 90% of those types of problems were Exchange or SharePoint, and we've reduced those to nothing by moving over to Office 365," Williams said. "We've actually enjoyed real, true-dollar cost savings." <P> Office 365 wasn't a shoo-in when PVW began looking to expand its cloud investments; Williams said the firm considered four or five other online platforms. One reason Office 365 won out: Its higher-priced packages include desktop licenses for Office applications like Word and Excel, too. (While PVW is a small business by most definitions, it subscribes to Office 365's E3 enterprise tier.) <P> "[Office 365] was really trying to push the cloud computing while not leaving behind the desktop computing," Williams said. "Most of the cloud computing resources we were looking at, we almost had to go all or nothing."Microsoft did gain an early edge simply because of Office's historic hold on business environments, PVW included. While the firm looked at competitors, Williams said some of Office's core applications have a continued allure for the firm's users. <P> "The reality is we were very focused on the continued use of Word and Excel," Williams said. "We're very comfortable with those products, [and] we're very comfortable with the Outlook product. Our ultimate solution, within the way our law firm operates, needed to be able to use those products specifically. When you start getting down to what these other companies were doing, they were creating essentially -- and this is my view -- scaled-down versions of those products." <P> Williams said there have been some minor learning curves for new users of the Web-based Office apps. "Yes, a little bit," he said. "But what we've found is when we're doing our heavy work, we're doing [it] on desktop versions of software. Where the Web-based versions come in handy is when you're remote and you're trying to review documents or making simple changes." <P> PVW's cloud strategy supports an increasing amount of that remote work. Williams himself has found that Office 365 in particular enables him to set up shop at a client site and bring the office to them. Cloud services assist in a related area, too: The firm embraces the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) era. Attorneys and staff use iPads, iPhones and Androids. Williams brings his own Mac to work. Company-purchased PCs run Windows, though even there they're still in the process of syncing everyone on the same version. <P> "We're trying to get everyone <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/3-more-reasons-smbs-stick-with-windows-x/240146118">out of Windows XP</a> at this point; it's kind of a dying-breed software," Williams said. "We're moving everybody into Windows 7 and are still kind of in a hold pattern with respect to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-rollout-one-smbs-story/240146487">Windows 8</a>, at least until all the other software platforms we utilize are fully supporting Windows 8." <P> Cloud platforms better serve the firm's mix of operating systems and devices. They also ease some of its BYOD-related security concerns. "When the actual document is sitting on a server in the cloud or in our office, there's a lot less security vulnerability," Williams said. "If that laptop gets stolen, one there's not much data on it, [and] two you can wipe the data from it. We don't encourage people to take documents and just save them on their laptops."2013-03-18T09:26:00ZA Lockheed Martin IT manager explains why an unusual tablet has all but replaced his traditional laptop in the office.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/how-i-solved-my-windows-tablet-question/240150958?cid=nl_IW_daily_2013-02-26_html<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/hardware/handheld/240002490"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/820/11_Screen_tn.jpg" alt="Microsoft Surface Tablet: 10 Coolest Features" title="Microsoft Surface Tablet: 10 Coolest Features" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Microsoft Surface Tablet: 10 Coolest Features</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->IT pro Doug Lampe has had his tablet epiphany. After a few months of using one as his primary work device, he voluntarily turned in his company-issued laptop. Yet it wasn't Apple's iPad, an Android device, or even Windows 8 that ushered in Lampe's very own post-PC era. Rather, it was a Samsung 700T running a slightly modified version of his corporate Windows 7 image. <P> The Lockheed Martin IT manager is aware that makes him something of a minority in the tablet craze. "I am one of very few people working in a large corporation and using a Windows 7 tablet as a daily driver," Lampe said in an email to <em>InformationWeek</em>. Yet you'd be hard pressed to get him to trade in the Windows 7 device for a newer, trendier model. Lampe said it is outperforming his old laptop, for starters. He also finds certain aspects of the hardware and user experience to be superior to other tablet options, including <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-surface-pro-why-2-smbs-say-yes/240149271">Microsoft's Surface Pro</a>. <P> Lampe likens himself to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHFy6egYcUg">John Hodgman PC character</a> in the Apple ads, just without the glasses. He is in many ways Microsoft's traditional bread-and-butter customer. "I'm even wearing brown pants today," he said. And Lockheed Martin is very much embedded in the Microsoft universe, so much so that iOS and Android were essentially nonstarters on the tablet front. <P> "My team uses laptops running Microsoft OS and software to develop Microsoft .NET apps that get hosted on Microsoft Windows Server servers," Lampe said, describing the Fortune 100 firm's heavy reliance on Microsoft. Even its non-Microsoft tech is often underpinned by Microsoft products. "We use Microsoft software to make all the non-Microsoft stuff talk to each other and to make pretty reports from all of the data." <P> <strong>[ What does Windows' new Surface Pro operating system have to offer? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/tablets/microsoft-surface-pro-a-first-look/240149929?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Microsoft Surface Pro: A First Look</a>. ]</strong> <P> Until recently, Windows-based tablets were virtually nonexistent. So while it would seem as though Lampe would have <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/windows-8-rollout-one-smbs-story/240146487">welcomed Windows 8</a> and the hardware it runs on with open arms, that's not actually the case. Lampe and his organization will likely stick with Windows 7, tablets included, for the foreseeable future. Moreover, Lampe thinks the Surface Pro, in particular, may miss its mark with IT and business users. <P> "I'm not sure the Surface Pro will ultimately be successful in the enterprise environment without some changes. Having to deal with the kickstand, keyboard, et cetera and then adding a third-party dock or network adapter just sounds like too much trouble, especially when I can install <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8</a> on my current device and possibly have a better overall experience even without the keyboard," Lampe said. "Add to that the long lead time for big companies to federate a burn for a new OS and the Surface isn't likely to be coming in our doors any time soon." <P> As to why he prefers his Samsung, Lampe added: "What I love about my tablet is that it is a tablet and not a laptop. When I have performance discussions with my personnel, I can review files on the tablet without the cold informality of sitting behind a laptop. When I'm in meetings, I can be productive during the inevitable down time. I understand that I could also do these things with the Surface in tablet mode, but what I really want when I get back to my desk is a PC and fortunately for me, that is what I already have." <P> Read on for a Q&A with Lampe on his tablet switchover, how he uses the device, how a Windows 7 tablet is received elsewhere in the business, his thoughts on Windows 8 in the enterprise and more. <P> <strong>InformationWeek: How did Lockheed Martin end up with this particular tablet and OS combination?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> A few years ago when the iPad exploded on the scene and user pressure seemed to be leading us to a BYOD tablet solution, our IT organization aggressively began searching for a competing Microsoft solution. Our strategy was simple: find a device that supported the tablet form factor but running Windows, and therefore meeting our stringent federated-image compliance standards. What we found was the Samsung Series 7 tablet running our standard Windows 7 image with a few minor touch enhancements.<strong>IW: How thorough was your testing and evaluation?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> Luckily, I managed to get my hands on one of the few pilot devices. At first I used it as a secondary device to see how it worked, playing with the touch keyboard and handwriting recognition. While I never felt really comfortable being away from my desk, I began loading it up with some of the heavy-duty applications to see what it could handle. I installed two instances of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (Express and Developer) and three versions of Visual Studio (2008, 2010, and 2012) -- in essence a fairly standard image for my team. To my surprise, I couldn't find a scenario that burdened the hardware and since the tablet featured a solid-state drive, performance was often better than on my standard-issue company laptop, where it seemed I was constantly battling the encryption and anti-virus software for disk I/O. <P> Even though I was frustrated with the lack of built-in support for handwritten notes, I installed OneNote and fell in love with its capabilities. Before long, my Franklin Covey day planner -- my trusted companion for over a decade -- was finally obsolete. I could sit in meetings and take notes in my own (horrible) handwriting without having to look at a touch keyboard. I could convert my chicken scratch to text at the click of a button and even though it usually took some editing -- we seem to like acronyms much more than Microsoft's handwriting recognition does -- I was able to have clear, digital, searchable notes that I could cut and paste, organize, forward as e-mail, et cetera. <P> After a few weeks of manually synchronizing critical files, I decided to take a leap of faith. I locked my laptop in a cabinet by my desk and set off on an experiment to determine if I could use this tablet as my primary device. I moved my Dell D-dock out of the way, and installed the Samsung dock in front of my 22-inch monitor. I plugged my ethernet cable and standard company-issue USB keyboard and mouse into the USB port on the dock and connected the monitor to the dock's full-size HDMI port. The tablet fit nicely just below my main monitor and so I use it as an extended desktop where I typically keep e-mail and other low-usage applications that work &#8220;good enough&#8221; on the 11-inch display. <P> <strong>IW: Describe your current set-up and usage now that the 700T has become your primary device.</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> When I'm at my desk, it sits in the dock and it's easy to forget that I am using a tablet and not a docked laptop or desktop workstation. Performance is actually better than the company standard laptop primarily due to the solid state drive and even though battery life is only three to four hours, I'm rarely away from my desk that long and if I am I can bring a charger. When I leave my desk, I put it to sleep, toss it in a neoprene sleeve, and head to my meeting. There I take notes with a stylus using OneNote and with two clicks I can be on the company Wi-Fi to keep up with other appointments, email, et cetera. Most importantly I have the entire contents of my workstation with me and can share presentations, notes [and other information] by simply passing the tablet to other people in the meeting or share via Lync. I've even used RDP [remote desk protocol] to control demos running on the tablet from a desktop PC hard-wired into a conference room -- the tablet just sits on the table, once again just being a PC. What makes me most productive isn't just the tablet form factor, it is the fact that when I am at my desk it is just as good as a desktop PC. Being able to just pick it up and walk away from my desk and drop it into the dock when I get back is a huge benefit. When I'm not at my desk, it's a tablet. When I am at my desk, it's a PC. <P> <strong>IW: Who else in the company is (or will be) using these devices?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> We have piloted the devices on the factory floor, in the field at supplier facilities, and with frequent travelers and executives. Most of the people who have used the devices haven't wanted to give them back. <P> <strong>IW: A Samsung 700T running a federated Windows 7 image seems to rank pretty low on the "cool" scale for tablets. Do you think this will be an issue with your end users who aren't in IT?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> Windows 7 may seem "uncool" in smaller or less-rigid businesses, but most people are still impressed when they see my tablet. The typical exchange usually goes something like this: <P> "Is that an iPad?" <P> "No, it's a Samsung tablet&#8230; company-issued&#8230; Windows 7." <P> "So you have Outlook on there?" <P> "And SAP and Office... Check out OneNote&#8230;" <P> "Can I get one?" <P> Most of the people I am in meetings with are engineers and managers of engineers -- end users, not IT folks -- and their IT world while they are at work exists entirely inside our firewall using our internal systems. Punching a hole in our firewall can sometimes literally take an act of Congress. Doing any 'real'work requires access to everything you need to do your job, so our "coolest" OS is Windows 7 and if we can put that on "cool" hardware people get excited.<strong>IW: What modifications have you made to make Windows 7 a good fit for touch and stylus on a tablet?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> The on-screen keyboard/handwriting input window is really the only significant thing that jumps out. Even that goes away when docked. Windows 7 works surprisingly well with touch. The stylus gives you a mouse pointer when close to the screen and has a button for right-click. Most apps will scroll when dragged and pinch to zoom, and you can swipe to go forward and back in browser history. None of these things are really modifications since they are supported in Windows 7, but the drivers all work seamlessly with the Samsung hardware. <P> <strong>IW: You mentioned that Microsoft's Surface design team might learn a few things by following you around with your Windows 7 device. What would you specifically change about the Surface Pro or RT?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> For me, it really boils down to docking. The dock for the Samsung is awesome. You just drop it in when you get to your desk and pick it up when you are done. No buttons to push, no cables to deal with. Also, the dock has a very small footprint on my desk -- much smaller than the Surface with the keyboard still attached. Of course, I could remove the keyboard but that is another step to add to my docking-undocking process and then what do I do with the keyboard when I'm at my desk? Don't get me wrong, I understand Microsoft was going after the consumer market and potential app revenue stream with the Surface, but the Pro clearly has the potential to be a desktop replacement since it will run native Windows apps. <P> It seems like the other hardware vendors like Samsung have looked at the enterprise market and built hardware to meet [its] needs. Microsoft made something that in my mind would be a secondary device in my facility if we are able to even get it in the door. Running Outlook/Office and internal company software and being inside the firewall on a company are minimum requirements for me, and that means Windows 7. I can't count the times I've answered a question in a meeting that would normally have to wait. Also, I have on many occasions been in impromptu meetings and pulled up a PowerPoint pitch from SharePoint or my hard drive and handed the tablet to someone or just put it on the table so we could both go through it. None of that needs Windows 8. <strong>IW: Is Windows 8 in your plans?</strong> <P> <strong>Lampe:</strong> We are still getting <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/why-one-smb-sticks-with-windows-xp-truck/240145237">the last XP machines</a> off of the floor. Getting a new OS on the floor is a long and complicated process for us. That isn't really my area of expertise because I focus more on our applications, but in that role I coordinate testing and am on the early adopter list. I haven't heard a thing about Windows 8. In my mind, that means at least a year before any Windows 8 hardware starts hitting our end users and that means <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-surface-pro-why-one-smb-says-n/240149317">no Surface Pro</a> unless we can put a Windows 7 image on it. <P> <i>InformationWeek and <a href="http://www.mcommworld.com/sanfrancisco/">Mobile Commerce World</a> are looking for insight into the future of mobile commerce. In addition to analyzing trends and gathering insight, we also hope to provide a benchmark that various mobile commerce players can use to assess where they are compared with competitors and peers to better help them meet the needs of end users. Take our <a href="http://informationweek.mobilecommerce.sgizmo.com/s3">InformationWeek Mobile Commerce Survey</a> by March 22 and be eligible to win a an iPad Mini.</i>