Coleman Technologies Blog

DoD Advanced Research

During the Cold War there was a constant need for coded systems to transmit data quickly. In the mid-1960s, the U.S. Department of Defense created what they called the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which worked on integrating new technologies that would help the United States achieve its foreign policy goals. One of the scientists that was commissioned was Joseph Lickliter, who had the idea of connecting computers at important research centers. It was a way for engineers and intellectuals to collaborate on DoD-funded projects. The network, called ARPANET, was launched in 1969.

At first, growth was slow. Small packets were sent over telephone lines, but along the way there were many innovations that set the tone for the shared computing constructs that we regularly use today. One such innovation was packet-switching. Packet-switching allows a computer to connect to several other computers at once by sending individual packets of information. In this way, computers were able to constantly send and receive information. With this method each computer on ARPANET would have (what amounts to) an address book that is constantly updated. 

As the network grew, however, this packet switching model, which was beneficial, was just too slow to facilitate an accurate account of addresses on the system. So in 1973, the engineers at ARPA decided that Stanford University (a founding member) would keep a master address book that was kept up to date by network administrators. This decongested the network significantly.

By 1977, ARPANET had over 100 computers connected to it; and, with the age of personal computing starting to rear its head, changes started to come fast. It was about this time that other computing networks began to pop up. As they first started to connect with each other there was no interoperability between them, but this problem was remedied early in the 1980s with the standardization of what is called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This was the first time the world Internet was used. 

ARPA engineers realized pretty quickly that the connecting networks that were now using the same protocol set (TCP/IP) were too numerous and were going to be unmanageable. This is when the modern Domain Name System (DNS) was introduced. They separated all addresses by domains. The first level, or top-level, domains would dictate the type of organization that a packet was being sent to. Examples include .com and .edu. Today, there are over 1,000 top-level domains out there. 

A second-level domain provided the host where data packets would be delivered. Examples that you see today are amazon.com or cornell.edu. This system provided specific data packet routing, setting the stage for the modern-day Internet. 

The Internet

By the late 1980s the DoD decided that ARPANET was a success and shut it down. It was handed off to a private company called NSFNET in 1990. In 1992, the modern Internet Service Provider (ISP) was created as the U.S. Congress passed a law allowing commercial traffic on the newly formed Internet. 

Nowadays, the United Nations has proclaimed that Internet service is now a fundamental human right. This marvel of human ingenuity would not have been possible without ARPA and ARPANET. If you would like to see more articles about technology’s history, subscribe to the Coleman Technologies blog today.

When we say digital signage, what we mean is having digital displays in your office. You may have seen them out and about in other locations, such as fast food restaurants using monitors as menu boards. In essence, digital signage solutions give your business the opportunity to broadcast content to screens around your office for a variety of reasons, and they are great opportunities to make your workplace a more dynamic experience as a whole.

Showcase Important Information or Statistics

Sometimes you need your employees to see announcements, but you want to make the information known in a more public location. Otherwise, you can use it to display statistics, like the number of sales or a countdown to a certain date or time. Either way, digital signage can be used to keep your staff informed.

Digital signage is also helpful for navigating the office. You can have signs indicating where important locations, like a conference room or bathroom, are located. 

Display Upcoming Dates and Events

All businesses have deadlines of some sort, and digital signage is a perfect way to broadcast it to your entire office… or at least the locations where digital signage is used. It’s an easy, supplemental way of drawing attention to certain times, dates, or events that are arriving in the future. 

Monitor Goals More Effectively

Digital signage can help your organization keep its employees accountable through the display of goals and key performance indicators. You might even be able to foster some healthy competition between your organization’s employees, as their performance will be displayed in an easy-to-understand format.

Does your business need assistance with setting up or acquiring resources for digital signage? Coleman Technologies can equip you with all the assets you need to make effective use of digital signage. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

What Do You Need Your Computer For?

There are a lot of different computers on the market. Some are created by big-box stores and branded with a fancy name. Some are thrown together inexpensively by your cousin. Regardless of who puts your computer together, knowing what you need the system for is the best way to determine what components you need inside of your system. After all, there are some big differences between the components that make up a workstation designed to run web apps and a CRM as opposed to a system that has been designed as a video editing station. 

For practical purposes, we will focus on cost-effective CPU options, since higher-end computing options used for audio/video production or gaming can get extremely expensive, quickly. Remember, you can typically upgrade a computer’s CPU, but it's not going to be cost-effective to turn a low-end PC into a gaming rig, whether its a desktop or a laptop. 

CPU Specifications

When you are shopping for a new computer, you’ll see a spec sheet accompanying the computer. You will see a myriad of components listed. Today we are going to talk about the CPU.

The CPU determines just how much “computing” your computer can accomplish at once, and how fast it will load that information up. Nowadays, there are two brands you’ll run into; Intel and AMD. Intel, in an attempt to simplify an otherwise complicated component, tiers most if their CPUs: Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9. The larger the number, the more powerful the CPU. AMD recently has followed suit with its Ryzen series of processors. Since both brands make both low-end and high-end CPUs, it's important that you understand what each type of processor would be used for. Let’s take a look.

Intel

Core i3 - This tier is found in budget PCs and works fine for low-end processing. If you need to edit documents, check email, or surf the web, is a good, cheap option. The latest generation of Core i3 processors are strong enough to handle streaming video services like YouTube and Netflix without too much trouble.

Core i5 - The i5 will do what the i3 can do, just a little faster. Users will have no problem streaming video, doing some light photo editing, and maybe playing a game or two if it isn’t too resource-intensive. The Core i5 is a solid choice if you are building a workstation for your office.

Core i7 - Core i7 CPUs are more expensive and geared towards high-end systems for video editing and gaming. If your team has resource-intensive applications, a Core i7 processor will provide plenty of oomph for just about any task. 

Core i9 - The Core i9, introduced in late 2018, is Intel’s fastest and best commercial grade processor. If you are building out a computer for 3D animation, rendering, gaming while streaming, or scientific calculations, then this might be the way to go, but the price tag for this CPU alone can be several thousands of dollars. 

AMD Ryzen 3 - AMD’s low end model is, to simplify things, on par with the Intel Core i3. You’ll be able to edit documents and surf the web, but not a whole lot else without straining the system.

AMD Ryzen 5 - The Ryzen 5 is in about the same tier as the Intel Core i5. You’ll pay a little more than the Ryzen 3, and get some more performance out of your desktop. Expect to handle typical office work, streaming video, and be able to do some light photo editing and gaming.

AMD Ryzen 7 - The Ryzen 7 is AMD’s answer to the Intel Core i7. Just like the i7, the cost of the CPU starts to climb pretty significantly compared to the lower-end models.

AMD Threadripper - The Threadripper is designed for heavy loads like 3D animation, gaming while broadcasting your stream, and other intense computing that a typical workstation isn’t traditionally used for.

When Does the GHz Matter?
At one time, users would have to consider the clock speed of their processors, but now with these manufacturers tiering their products, these numbers can often be ignored. The higher the GHz number, the faster the CPU, and the more it costs. Until you get to the point where you are building a server or high-end gaming PC, you can definitely just worry about the tiers instead of the GHz.

Does the Number of Cores Matter?
Cores are the number of processors built within the main processor. Typically, shoot for at least four cores unless you are on a serious budget. For gaming and video editing and higher-end tasks, more cores can start to matter, but even then, most of the time the number caps off at eight. There are processors out there with dozens of cores, but typically these are designed for servers or specific uses.

You may start to look up older processors, only to find that it isn’t going to save you a lot of money. This is largely because older CPUs, even products like Intel’s Core 2 Duo, have clock speeds in range of today’s comparable processors. Going with newer hardware is always preferable as they typically won’t have as good of a chance to fail. 

In part two of our computer buying guide we will continue to sort through the other components of a new PC. If you would like help with building computers for your business, call the IT professionals at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428. We can help you sort through all the options and improve your chances of being happy with your new hardware.

We will cover options for both high-end and low-end machines so you know what to look for in each.

Random Access Memory, or RAM, is often confused with the amount of data that a computer can store, but the reality is much different. RAM is used to measure the temporarily stored data so that it can be recalled easily without recalling it from the computer’s storage. It’s kind of like short-term memory like that pulled from a human’s brain.

If you’re one to multitask, RAM is what allows it to happen. RAM determines how many tasks can be accomplished at once on your computer. The CPU handles the instructions and processes the data your computer’s RAM holds. More RAM means that the larger amount of data that a CPU can process, and the faster that a CPU is, the faster that data can be processed. It makes your computing experience much less of a pain.

How Much RAM Does Your Computer Need?

Most computers these days have pretty limited options for RAM. There might be several brands to choose from, all with their own clock speeds, but PC manufacturers will handle this process for you so you don’t need to worry as much. It’s only something you should be concerned with if you plan on building your own PC. This guide will oversimplify it a little bit to help you determine your specific needs. The speed and type of RAM will be determined by the manufacturer’s model, so all you need to do is focus on how much RAM is included with the device.

• Skimping the Budget: The smallest amount of RAM that should ever be used on a Windows 10 device is 4 GB. While you can technically get Windows 10 to run on less, you really shouldn’t. 4 GB is pretty bare bones, so you’ll only be able to handle some light document editing and web browsing.
• Low-End: Most reasonable low-end budget PCs come with 8 GB of RAM, which can handle the majority of office tasks, such as editing documents, browsing photos, surfing the Internet, and whatever else you need to accomplish.
• Mid-Range: 16 GB is possible for a lot of organizations, even on a budget. The price difference isn’t too noticeable, and the investment is certainly worth it. 16 GB is nice as an entry point for gaming rigs, but while it’s not necessarily a catch-all, it’s the best way to make the most out of your budget.
• High-End: The ceiling for RAM is incredible, but the cost rises in association with it. For example, the new Mac Pro can reach 1.5 TB of RAM--about 1500 GB--but experts have placed the value of this at approximately $20,000. If you’re building a gaming rig, video editing system, or server, you might need more than 16 GB of RAM, but at that point, you should be speaking with professionals to determine the best path forward.

Wrapping Up

Depending on the device, you might have the ability to upgrade your RAM, but it’s easier to do with desktops than with laptops. We recommend going for nothing less than 8 GB, and consider looking at 16 GB to determine if it’s a viable option for your organization.

For more information on how we can help you get the best computer for your budget, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

The Number of Monitors

Do you have more than one monitor for your home PC? Most people don’t, which is why having a second one is all the more interesting once you get to a work environment where it’s practically necessary. Having more than one monitor can dramatically improve your productivity by spending less time moving applications around and having multiple applications open without needlessly complicating the screen.

Utilizing multiple monitors is so common these days that most desktops will support it right out of the box. You need to check to see if your desktop comes with two or more ports first, though. You’ll see several options for connecting displays to your computer, including the following:

• VGA/DVI: These older connections consist of a plug with little pins that need to be connected and tightened with screws. Older monitors will use these connections, but most desktops will have at least one VGA port to ensure compatibility with these connections.
• HDMI: HDMI is the type of connection used by flat-screen televisions, modern game consoles, and Blu-Ray players. As such, you can assume that it’s pretty standard these days.
• DisplayPort: DisplayPort is similar to HDMI, as it’s another cable that can carry video and audio. DisplayPort will eventually become the standard, but for your purposes, you might as well consider HDMI and DisplayPort the same. The only reason not to is if you look into the finer details of these cables.

Budget desktops will require that users examine how many ports are available on the device. It would stink to get the wrong kind of monitor because you thought you had a port for that particular type. Some types will also require connectors or adapters, so be sure to do your due diligence before purchasing a monitor.

Integrated Video vs Dedicated Graphics

Integrated video simply means that your computer processes video and graphics from hardware that is built in on the motherboard rather than a dedicated graphics device, like a video card. Most office PCs don’t need dedicated graphics, but they are helpful for video editing and gaming. Of course, this is also where the price starts to increase. High-end graphic cards can cost anywhere between $500 to $1,500.

Most graphic card chipsets have multiple models, and with so many companies out there selling their own brands of hardware, purchasing a graphics card might seem a little intimidating. While you don’t have to worry about things like 3D rendering or video editing (unless you’re making a gaming or video editing rig), the graphics card that comes with your desktop’s hardware will likely be adequate.

Are You Purchasing Monitors for Your Desktop?

With so many options to consider, we want to outline some of the important specs you’ll need to focus on when looking for a monitor:

• Resolution: The resolution of a monitor is how many pixels the monitor will display. Most desktop monitors display at a 16:9 display ratio, or “widescreen.” This is the current standard, though there are other ultra-wide monitors that utilize either HD, FULL HD, Ultra HD, or 4K to break the mold.
  • HD: In a bizarre twist of fate, HD is actually the low-end of the spectrum, displaying its best on small screens. This resolution tends to be known as 720p, and it’s the go-to display for budget laptops.
  • FHD: Full HD is known as 1080p, and it’s the most common resolution you’ll see. It’s the one that you should focus on finding whenever possible.
  • UHD: Ultra HD is a pixel resolution of 3,840 x 2,160. This might not be available on low-end desktops without dedicated graphics cards, or at least integrated video that supports higher resolutions--particularly if you’re using multiple monitors.
  • 4K: 4K is technically a higher resolution that UHD, though some people think that it’s roughly the same thing. These displays are much more expensive than the average office needs, and they are only particularly useful for high-end gaming, video production, graphic design, or other visual tasks. Budget hardware often times won’t even support 4K, although this is a trend that is slowly being broken down.
• Refresh Rate: The refresh rate is measured in milliseconds. This is a statistic that measures the speed that your monitor can update its image. High refresh rates give the impression that the time between you moving or clicking the mouse and the time it takes for the computer to register the movement is delayed. This was a much bigger problem in the past but suffice to say that it’s not as big of an issue in today’s environment, unless you are a gamer.

Coleman Technologies can help you determine the best options for your display needs. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Deciding on a Brand

Brand can boil down to something as simple as user preference, but ultimately, all computer manufacturers--namely Dell, Asus, Lenovo, HP, Acer, and friends--have access to the same basic components and parts. It doesn’t start to get complicated until you reach the higher end of the spectrum, like with gaming rigs and video production.

Brand does, however, make a big difference in regard to laptops and all-in-one-devices. For example, HP and Microsoft have high-end graphic design all-in-one desktop computers. Microsoft, HP, and Lenovo have laptop options with the option for pen input from artists. Beyond this, we start talking about specialized hardware and devices meant to be used for certain tasks. In addition to reading a lot of reviews from big box stores, we recommend working with Coleman Technologies to help your business find the best specialized hardware.

Full-Size Desktop vs Compact Desktop

This has to do with the size of the desktop case. Full-size desktops are easier to upgrade and maintain, and they often cost less. Compact desktops are slim desktops, but they might have a limited capacity to upgrade. Smaller designs are easier to deploy for office workstations, whereas gaming PCs and video production machines require more space for hardware and cooling.

Read Reviews and Benchmarks

There are many sites out there that are invaluable for finding information on specific models of desktops and computer hardware. The Internet is full of reviews, but the most valuable might be some on the websites of stores you visit regularly. High-end systems will have more specific information mentioned in their reviews simply due to the fact that there are bigger nerds picking up these devices. You will want to pay attention to make sure you’re not spending more than you need to on desktop or laptop hardware.

Be Aware of Bloatware

Pre-configured desktops from certain brands can come with pre-installed software. It’s not always bad--a free trial of Microsoft Office might be just what you need--but often times, the pre-installed software can slow down your device. You’ll want to remove some of this software so you can continue to use your centralized antivirus and licenses for Office.

Eliminating Your Old PC

When you migrate your data to a new computer, you’ll need to take great care in wiping your old drives thoroughly. You should leave this task to the professionals, unless you plan on physically destroying the drives. Depending on your industry’s standard procedures and compliances, you may need to make sure it gets done professionally.

You also have several options for recycling your PC, but we always encourage users to not just throw their computer in the trash. Computers have many harmful elements in them that simply can’t be disposed of in the traditional sense. We also recommend against donating a PC that your business used previously without having it professionally wiped first. While it’s a nice gesture to donate something you don’t need anymore, it could put your business at risk.

Need Desktops for Your Office?

If you want to purchase desktops, it’s best to do so with the help of trained IT professionals who know how to configure, optimize, and license your devices to help your staff work as best they can. We can also help on the infrastructure and network side of things to make sure your office can accommodate growth. We also offer 24/7 monitoring and maintenance to keep your computers working properly. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Talent Acquisition

Consider the way that IT maintenance and management was before modern technology solutions became prevalent. Businesses had to either hire a team to manage their IT or outsource the responsibility to a third party. The key factor here is that both are limited by geographical location; if you can’t find a local business or enough talent to manage your business’ IT maintenance, it might not get done properly (or at all).

On the other hand, with remote technology maintenance and management being more available than ever before, plenty of businesses are finding that they can better maintain their technology infrastructures. What’s more is that these businesses don’t need to have these providers visit the office, meaning they get the maintenance they need without expensive on-site trips and travel costs.

Streamlining of Operations

Depending on the industry your business is a part of, you may have had run-ins with outdated technology or solutions that simply haven’t aged well. Perhaps you’re still using spreadsheets to keep track of inventory, which creates opportunities for user error and produces displacement. Maybe you’re finding that it’s difficult to find enough space for document storage, as filing cabinets are clunky and take up a ton of room. The list goes on and on… if you think of a former inconvenience, chances are there is a technology solution that has been developed to solve it in recent years.

That being said, modern technology solutions have given offices the ability to move past obsolete and outdated technology to make operations more manageable and dynamic. One great example of this is file management software and digitizing documents. It eliminates the obsolete and bulky filing cabinet in favor of a searchable database for storing your documents.

Consolidation of Resources

Your business might take advantage of several services that you think are beneficial for operations, but there is a serious chance that they are counterintuitive to your business’ bottom line. Your business’ phone service is a prime example. A phone system is critical to being in business, but it can come with considerable expenses, including some that can be avoided thanks to modern technology solutions.

The Internet gives your business the opportunity to consolidate resources in a way that wasn’t possible in its infancy. For example, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) utilizes your Internet connection and eliminates the need to go through a telephone provider for this important service. VoIP uses an existing resource to lower your organization’s expenses. Furthermore, the “as a service” model allows your business to take advantage of solutions previously unavailable, and it’s all thanks to the accessibility provided by the cloud.

You might look back on the good old days with nostalgia for a time when technology wasn’t so necessary, but it’s hard to deny the effect that it has had on the business world. You want someone managing your technology that knows a thing or two about how to get the most out of your resources. To learn more, contact Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.

To begin, let’s figure out exactly what a data warehouse is.

Understanding the Data Warehouse

A Data Warehouse isn’t to be confused with a Data Center, where you might store your server infrastructure. It is a system for analyzing and reporting on large amounts of data. It helps you predict trends and get a full picture of what’s going on with your business.

In order to understand the purpose of a data warehouse, it helps to look to warehouses in the real world. In short, it’s a place to store stuff.

While this may seem simplistic, it is key to the other functions of a data warehouse. By storing all of a business’ data in a central location, that data can all be referenced against each other - regardless of the original source. This means that you can use this data to generate better analytics than you may have gotten otherwise, simply because you are less limited by the data you have access to.

Selecting a Data Warehouse

Of course, not all data warehouses are the same, and the different types offer different utilities. You also have to consider if the data warehouse itself is sufficient. Let’s go over some of the considerations you will have to make during your deliberations.

What kind of data do you need to store?

For our purposes, data can be split into two types: structured and unstructured.

• Structured data is data that can easily be organized into a spreadsheet. If your data fits the bill, a relational database would likely be a good fit for your needs.
• Unstructured data (or semi-structured data) is data that is presented in less-uniform formats, like geographical data, emails, books, and the like. If you have a lot of this kind of data, you may want to consider utilizing a data lake over a data warehouse.

How immediate does your data need to be?

Your intended use of your data warehouse will have the largest impact on this consideration. Are you looking for business insights, or are you more focused on real-time analytics? If you are looking to find out more about your business, having more data available will give you better answers. If you are using the data warehouse to fuel a predictive analytics platform, you will need less data, as tracking trends can be done with a simple Relational Database Management System (RDMS) and won’t necessarily benefit from access to all of the data your organization stores.

How are the costs structured?

Different data warehouse solutions are priced based on different factors, usually combining the storage used, the size of the warehouse, the number of queries that are run, or the time spent leveraging the solution. Your particular use case will likely influence which solution is most cost-effective for you, whether frequent utilization makes a lower compute cost preferable or a high volume of data makes lower storage costs the logical choice.

Does it work with the tools you use?

Finally, you need to be sure that the solution you are considering is compatible with your business’ other solutions - otherwise, you won’t get the full value from your data warehouse (or create more work for yourself).

Coleman Technologies can help your business manage its technology needs. To learn more about how we can optimize your business processes, call (604) 513-9428.

Let’s explore some of the risks that the IoT can present.

The Security Issues of the IoT

The Internet of Things has added utility to many devices, expanding their potential in ways that would otherwise be impossible. This has only been further augmented by the access to personal devices that many employees enjoy through Bring Your Own Device policies.

However, these benefits have come with an assortment of considerable risks alongside them. Devices that are a part of the IoT are notoriously vulnerable to many cyberattacks, which means that they could potentially be used as a point of access to your business’ network. From there, a cybercriminal has plenty of opportunities to create issues - whether that’s by stealing your data, hijacking your devices to be used in a botnet, or whatever their goal may be.

This problem is only exacerbated by the tendency for IoT devices to go without updates, whether through the negligence of the manufacturer or of the consumer. Without these updates, security flaws go unresolved, and the devices are thereby left vulnerable.

Consider how many devices are now manufactured that connect to the Internet. Smart watches and other wearables, smart speakers and televisions - really, almost anything with the word “smart” in its name - we have more or less surrounded ourselves with the Internet of Things. This includes the time we spend in the workplace, despite many of these devices not being visible on the network to IT. As a result, it has become almost impossible to track all the devices that attach to a network, which has developed into a new issue for businesses.

Shadow IoT

Thanks to the public demand for convenience and advanced functionality, more and more IoT devices are being manufactured all the time. If any of these devices makes its way into your office without the knowledge and approval of IT, you have a shadow IoT problem.

If you do, you aren’t alone.

In 2017, 100 percent of organizations surveyed by an IoT security firm were found to have consumer IoT devices on the network that qualified as shadow IoT. Another report, from 2018, stated that one-third of United States, United Kingdom, and German companies have over 1,000 shadow IT devices on their networks every day. Combine this with the security shortcomings discussed above, and you have a recipe for a cybersecurity disaster.

You may remember the Mirai botnet, which struck back in 2016. This botnet was built up of over 600,000 devices at its peak and focused primarily on IoT devices. Once these devices were identified by Mirai, they would be attacked and infected, adding more computing power to the botnet. Mirai is far from the only example, too… cybercriminals have been known to hack into IoT devices to gain network access, spy and listen in on conversations, and otherwise prove themselves to be a nuisance.

How to Minimize Shadow IoT

Clearly, shadow IoT isn’t a good thing for any organization. There are a few things you can do to help protect your business from the security issues that shadow IoT can cause.

• Accept IoT devices in the workplace. If your employees really want to use one of their devices at work, they’re going to. Instead of shooting down requests to bring in these devices, make it easier for your employees to do so through the proper channels - and make sure your employees are aware of these channels. Openness and cooperation can be effective tools as you try to get your team on the same page you’re on.
• Keep IoT devices separate. To better protect your network, you will want to consider utilizing a dedicated Wi-Fi network for IoT devices, configured to allow them to transmit the information they generate while blocking any incoming calls to them. This will help prevent threats from being transmitted to IoT devices.
• Seek out potential threats. Not all shadow IoT necessarily can be found on an organization’s network, as over 80 percent of the IoT is wireless. This means that you need to be monitoring your wireless signals for shadow IoT devices and networks.

Your business’ security is important - too important to be undermined by an insecure consumer device that was brought in without your knowledge. You need to get out ahead of shadow IoT, as well as the other threats that could do your business harm.

Coleman Technologies can help. Our professionals are well-versed in cybersecurity best practices and how to use them to your benefit. To find out more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Team Building Benefits

Many modern businesses have employees who don’t always work in the office, instead electing to operate remotely. However, it is important that these employees are still assimilated as a part of your team as a whole. A conferencing solution can allow you to keep your remote employees on the same page as your on-site employees, building camaraderie between coworkers despite any distance between them. The better your team is able to collaborate, the more effective they will be able to be in accomplishing their tasks, as they will have each other as a resource to lean on as needed.

Keep Your Team On-Task

Let’s face it, it can sometimes be hard to be sure that your employees are focused on the task at hand. This is especially true when you can only hear their voice, or see the responses they send back to you. A conferencing solution fixes this difficulty by giving you and your team a visual of each other, keeping everyone involved accountable and engaged.

Increase Your Collaborative Footprint

It wasn’t all that long ago that collaborating with someone a distance away was only possible over the phone or by physically traveling to meet with them. However, collaborative conferencing solutions have taken this distance and shrank it down to effectively nothing. Like the team building benefits we discussed earlier, your team is no longer restricted to one place, or to dealing with exclusively local coworkers, partners, and other resources.

Promote “Face-to-Face” Communication

A sizable portion of communication is non-verbal, which means that your solution needs to account for this balance. More traditional solutions didn’t take this into consideration - or rather, couldn’t. Modern collaboration solutions, on the other hand, allow you to communicate more completely by allowing you to witness these non-verbal cues. 

Conferencing Can Simplify Your Solution Set

Compared to legacy solutions, modern conferencing tools offer a much more comprehensive selection of features. As a result, you can reduce the number of solutions that your operations rely upon, cutting expenses and streamlining your processes. This makes it much easier to find success in communicating with your team, without sinking all of your capital into your solutions.

Coleman Technologies can assist you in establishing the collaboration solution that fits your needs, as well as any other IT implementation your business requires. Learn more by calling (604) 513-9428.

The Manufacturer’s Puzzle

Making products can be a bit of a puzzle. You have to fit the right parts together to create the product. Each of those parts comes from somewhere. Some you need to create yourself, but most of the time there are companies that manufacturers acquire the resources from. The process is called procurement.

Procurement is the first of many puzzles that a manufacturer has to solve. Essentially, the products they create have a purpose. Many small and medium-sized manufacturers tend to make the products that make up larger products (that other manufacturers build). As a result, their revenue typically comes from supplying other manufacturers with pieces that will make up the products they are manufacturing. To streamline the procurement process, many companies have started relying on automated systems to tell them when they need to re-up.

Once the resources have been acquired, now it’s time to make the products. Of course, the costliest part of any manufacturing company is the actual manufacturing of the products. This is mainly because the capital costs of purchasing the machinery needed to manufacture goods, coupled with the operational costs of payroll and downtime caused by machinery malfunction (and the subsequent maintenance required), adds up to a significant investment. Companies today are searching for new ways around these costs. Enhancements in automation have made it possible for the smaller manufacturer to trim their production costs, while keeping their output static.

The last piece of the puzzle for the manufacturer is the distribution of the products to consumers. In many cases the consumers in this scenario are retail businesses. They need the costs to be low enough to be able to offer them to their customers with a markup.  Problems with distribution, like problems in the procurement stages, can be devastating to the manufacturer’s ability to create a positive revenue stream.

Where IT Fits

The entire process can be aided by information technology, but manufacturers tend to look at things in stages...like their workflow. Typically, organizations that have leveraged automation through the use of software systems, find that they are able to have more transparency and less overall inefficiency than organizations that don’t. Some software platforms that modern manufacturers are using include:

• Customer Relationship Management - This software helps a company streamline their customer service. It’s used to manage leads, opportunities, and customers.
• Supply Chain Management - This software helps a company control their entire supply chain from procurement to distribution.
• Inventory Management - Manages stock and standardizes and automates replenishment.
• Asset Tracking - Using sensors, every product and resource can be tracked to provide efficiency.

These solutions and more can be found in what is called an Enterprise Resource Planning software. While ERP software is comprehensive and offers organizations a lot of benefits, smaller manufacturers may not need the immersive control that many ERP systems provide. Finding the right software to meet your needs is important to ensure that your business can be as effective as it can be.

The IT professionals at Coleman Technologies can help you find the software you need to gain full control over all of your business’ processes. Call us today to learn more at (604) 513-9428.

Artificial Intelligence
AI might be primitive in a lot of ways at the moment, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not growing in popularity. Machines can get smarter the way that humans do when they perform the same function several times, but unlike humans, machines don’t have various emotions to hold them back. Here are a few ways that a business can leverage AI to its advantage:

• Processing large amounts of data
• Personalizing customer experiences
• Operational automation
• Security
• Predicting demand
• And more

Businesses might have expensive operational issues that demand AI-integrated solutions to handle them, thus expanding the market and allowing for rapid adoption. Automation in particular is being adopted at an alarming rate, and this is driving the demand for artificial intelligence.

Blockchain
Blockchain has been making headlines in the news, fueled by the cryptocurrency fads that have utilized the technology. Blockchain creates a public ledger that is distributed rather than centralized, with each block storing all of the data that is relevant to a transaction. Once this data is captured, it can’t be altered without changing all data that has come afterward. This presents considerable data security benefits.

Some businesses hope to use this increased security to their benefit using a more distributed system. The more people who utilize the blockchain, the more we learn about it, meaning more tools are created to help organizations leverage the blockchain. Here are some of the ways that organizations can utilize the blockchain:

• Managing supply chains
• Identity management
• Recordkeeping & archiving
• Data security
• And more

Blockchain is so popular that even Oracle’s head of blockchain development claims that half of businesses will find a use for blockchain in the next three years.

5G
The past 40 years have shown that wireless technology has a lot of opportunity to improve. Wireless broadband will see an increase from the 4G used today to 5G. In fact, it could potentially change the world. Data speeds could reach as high as 1GB/second or higher, giving many businesses access to the following benefits:

• Faster speeds
• Reduced Latency
• Greater Capacity
• Improved Battery Life
• And more

Innovation will drive businesses to adopt faster technologies than ever before, and Qualcomm has found that 5G will become a “general purpose technology” in the near future, used so much that it will be akin to electricity or vehicles.

Virtual Reality
The consensus is that virtual reality is pretty neat, but not practical in the business environment. Unfortunately, this is far from the actual reality of the situation, as hardware and software advances have given organizations the means to use virtual reality in ways previously unheard of. VR is great for immersing users in virtual environments that can be used for practically any purpose, including training simulations, talent management, product design, and shared experience.

What are some other emerging technologies that you think will be helpful for businesses in the near future? Let us know in the comments.

Modern VR Systems

After nearly 30 years of development, VR has been adopted by a miniscule number of companies. It has, for the most part, made the biggest difference in the entertainment industry, where Samsung and Google have a lot of influence. Sony has also established itself as a major player in the VR gaming industry with its Playstation 4. In terms of business, however, these options aren’t necessarily feasible of beneficial.

Two of the most competitive options in the commercial virtual reality space are the HTC Vive (and Vive Pro) and the Oculus Rift. Oculus is owned by Facebook and has led in VR sales, while the HTC Vive and Vive Pro provides a platform for high-end computing systems that are capable of using VR. These two systems work together to provide high-end VR experiences, even if it’s mostly for gaming.

These VR options give users the ability to bring themselves into a virtual world, thus providing developers with great opportunities to build out software to capitalize on it. The applications built in VR give users the opportunity to explore the earth and space in a way that can immerse them in a simulated reality.

The Immediate Future of VR

The future of VR is leaning more in the direction of reality; unlike great journeys or expeditions to places like the moon or the bottom of the sea, VR will be used to create educational resources and training software.

Some manufacturers have already begun to anticipate this shift, using services like Microsoft’s Mixed Reality (MR) devices with hopes of business integration in 2020 a possibility. While not true virtual reality, this platform integrates virtual elements into reality, providing business professionals with great new options to achieve their goals. It’s safe to say that businesses will find some use for these virtual sandboxes to either improve performance or work out daring new ways to accomplish tasks.

What are your thoughts on VR? Let us know in the comments and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

USB Cable Types

The Universal Serial Bus cable connection is perhaps the most common. Its accessories and peripherals utilize the USB port, which is seen on most devices. However, there are many different types of USB technology, each of which are supported by various connections.

Type A connections support USB 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1, with transmit speeds ranging from 1.5 MB/s to 1.25 GB/s. These connections are the most common ones found on at least one end of every USB cable.

Type B connections also support USB 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1. These were once used for connecting a printer or similar device to a computer, but they are being slowly phased out.

Mini and Micro both support USB 2.0, with mini USB connections being used for some older devices. Those that don’t use mini USB connections have been replaced by Micro-USB, and even those are being phased out for Type C connections.

Type C connections, also sometimes referred to as USB-C, support USB 3.1, 3.2, and the upcoming USB 4 standard.

It’s likely that the future of USB technology is USB-C taking over, mainly due to the connection type and its backwards-compatibility, enabling much faster data transfers.

Display Cables

VGA Cables

The Video Graphics Array cable is less popular these days due to its analog video signal being replaced by digital. Even so, there is likely to be a VGA port on your video card or display.

DVI Cables

VGA cables were phased out during the turn of the century and replaced by Digital Visual Interface cables. DVI is known for having many different types, all of which have their own capabilities, but they have been replaced by modern display cable types at this point.

DisplayPort Cables

DisplayPort cables were introduced with the intention of replacing both VGA and DVI cables, as they are capable of transmitting both video and audio signals. There are many different kinds of DisplayPort out there, but the important thing to note is that they are compatible with each other. DisplayPort can also be used in conjunction with HDMI and USB if there is an adapter used. These days, DisplayPort is used to attach a monitor to another device.

HDMI Cables

High-Definition Multimedia Interface cables are used to send modern standard digital signals. Five different types of HDMI exist today, but it’s most likely that you’re familiar with Type A. You may have also seen Type C for digital cameras, or Type D for mobile devices.

Networking Cables

SATA

Serial Advanced Technology Attachment cables create a connection between a computer’s motherboard and a storage device. These offer quick data transfer speeds compared to their predecessors, the Integrated Drive Electronics cable.

eSATA

eSATA cables are basically the same as SATA cables, only for external devices rather than internal components. These connections aren’t as common anymore, as USB technology has grown so quickly that it has eclipsed their speed.

Ethernet

A local area network takes advantage of ethernet cables. These cables are those that connect to your modem, router, and computer. They are easy to distinguish from other cables, as they look quite similar to telephone cables from way back when.

We hope that we have cleared up the difference between some of the everyday cables, but honestly, managing them can be a pain. Coleman Technologies can help your business make heads and tails of the various cables your organization might need to manage. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Need #1: Security

In order to be successful, a business needs to have the security necessary to protect its resources. The first step to accomplishing that, is to identify any weaknesses in its infrastructure through a preliminary IT evaluation known as an IT risk assessment. This assessment can reveal where a business is the most vulnerable. At that point, these flaws can be mitigated using tools like firewalls, antivirus, and multi-factor authentication - tools that either SMBs or enterprises can (and do) use.

With SMBs increasing their use of cloud services, a large portion of this process should be fulfilled by the cloud provider. However, the business leveraging the cloud provider needs to make sure that the provider they have selected is able to uphold what they have promised as part of their service-level agreement. If this is the case, the SMB could find themselves in the position to leverage enterprise-caliber security solutions, for a cost that fits their budget.

Need #2: Data Storage

While their budgets put enterprise businesses in a much more favorable position to create an infrastructure that can contend with their operational needs, this is not to say that SMBs are left without any options. Any good data storage solution will perform well based on a few benchmarks: how well it works, how often it works, how easily it can be accessed, and how easily its contents can be searched.

The enterprise business has quite a few options to leverage, such as data tiering (where data of differing importance is stored on different servers) and higher-performing data storage solutions. If this is starting to sound expensive, it is - but again, thanks to the cloud, SMBs aren’t left without options, either. With scalable Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service being available for a much more affordable rate, SMBs are able to leverage the advanced tools that would otherwise only be available to corporate-level businesses.

Interested in leveraging some of these capabilities in your business, or want to find out more? Reach out to the professionals at Coleman Technologies! We have the experience necessary to bring your information technology to the corporate level. Reach out to us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Hardware

Fortunately, the biggest hurdle to collaboration isn’t usually having the right solutions in the office, it’s primarily making sure that these solutions are being put to use properly.

Consider your Internet setup - is it strong enough to wirelessly provide your entire office with connectivity, or would you be benefitted by implementing additional access points? Do you have the hardware needed to communicate and share data with mobile employees, and most importantly, can you properly secure all of it? Speaking of mobility, you will also want to consider if you want to provide your staff with company-owned mobile devices instead of leveraging a Bring Your Own Device Policy. There are options out there to procure these devices for well below retail rates, as long as these devices are bought in bulk.

Software

Depending on your type of business, you may have more or less to do in order to promote collaboration in your organization. A brick-and-mortar establishment will likely have its resources centralized, which means that employees will need to have access to these resources in order to properly communicate with one another, sharing progress on their work. While a private cloud platform would serve this need quite well, these solutions are typically far too expensive for the average SMB to consider.

These SMBs do have other options. Cloud-hosted software allows a business to leverage just about any computing resources they need, whether its a productivity suite, a business management platform, or a communication tool. Adding to these benefits, these resources can be accessed wherever an Internet connection can be established thanks to an integrated access management system. This same system allows administrators to keep threats out of their network as well.

Policies

Finally, for there to be collaboration, there needs to be the policies in place that “encourage” (enforce) the stress-free sharing of pertinent data with team members. In other words, you need to know that you have a way for your employees to access the data they need to complete their tasks as the need arises.

Having these policies can be to your organization’s advantage. While some of your data needs to be kept on a “need-to-know” basis, giving your employees some guidance to navigate how other data should be shared can help you to keep your business’ data that much more secure. It also doesn’t hurt that digital communications are becoming more of the norm, so it only makes sense to give your employees an outlet to communicate in what is likely their preferred manner.

In short, businesses are communicating in new and exciting ways. Not only should you not want to be left behind, you can’t afford to be. For assistance in expanding your internal collaboration and business communications to fully embrace today’s capabilities, reach out to Coleman Technologies’s IT professionals at (604) 513-9428.

How Can BYOD Manifest Issues?

Unfortunately, for all its benefits, there is no shortage of drawbacks to BYOD - at least, if it is implemented without conscious deliberation and preparation. Here, we’ve listed a few such drawbacks:

Business and Personal Data Often Mix, but Shouldn’t

Do you really expect an employee to have a personal device that isn’t for personal use? If this device is used for work purposes as well, it can become very easy to combine this data and put some of it at risk. What if an employee who brought their own device in then left the company, the device in question full of your company’s sensitive data? Without some kind of policy in place to eliminate this risk, BYOD is simply too risky to allow.

Your Business Will Be Vulnerable to More Risks

Unfortunately, a poorly-strategized BYOD policy opens your business up to a variety of issues that could have severe and lasting ramifications.

This is mainly due to the many risks that mobile devices inherently have in terms of data leakage, malware infection, and other vulnerabilities. If your employees aren’t vigilant in keeping their devices updated and secured, your network will be subject to the same vulnerabilities. Malware infections can also be introduced via an employee not treating their device as carefully as they should be. If malware is installed on their device, it can easily be spread to your network - free to wreak havoc and steal data.

Your Infrastructure Will Likely Need Reworking

This one is admittedly less of an issue as it is an inconvenience. Simply put, adding an influx of devices and ensuring that your IT remains compliant to any policies can be a huge investment of time - and if not done correctly the first time, this investment will only grow.

How to Prevent These Issues Via Policies

As we briefly mentioned above, any BYOD initiative you introduce to your company needs to be controlled through a stringent use policy. This policy needs to clearly describe how an employee is to use their device during work hours, as well as the prerequisites that your employees need to abide by and agree to in order to use their own device. We recommend the following:

Mobile Device Management and Endpoint Protection

This technology helps to keep any company data isolated from any personal data on the device, which means that it allows you to control your data without intruding on an employee’s privacy. As a result, if a device is stolen, you can remotely remove any business data from it to ensure your data is protected.

Another precaution to enact is endpoint protection software. This software essentially performs a preemptive security scan of any device trying to access the network, identifying if a device has been infected. This means that your network isn’t introduced to whatever malware is present on the device, and the owner is then aware of their security issue as well.

Access Controls

The fact of the matter is that not every employee needs access to every byte of data you have. Therefore, it makes sense to implement role-based access controls. These controls can help keep an employee focused on the data they need for their work duties, and can help you identify where a breach occurred, should one happen. Some access controls can even prevent a device that isn’t up to date from connecting to the network at all. You should also investigate two-factor authentication measures that might assist you in limiting access to those who should have it.

Exit Strategies and Safeguards

Finally, you also have to consider what to do if something happens to one of the devices that has been used for BYOD purposes. First of all, you need to have your employees agree to have a lost device wiped remotely, applying the necessary solutions to each device used. Your employees also need to report a lost or stolen device immediately so these precautions can be put to use.

Finally, should an employee leave your business, you also need to make sure you have already secured the authorization to remove your company’s data from their device. You don’t want someone walking around with access to your data, whether their departure was amicable or not. Including this in your BYOD policy will ensure that anyone who leverages their mobile device is aware of your capability to remove your company data from their device, and will allow them to opt out of BYOD if it makes them uncomfortable.

With these policies backing up your Bring Your Own Device planning, you should be able to make use of a great productivity tool without sacrificing your data security. For assistance in putting BYOD into practice, reach out to Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.

It Gets the Job Done
You can’t share information about your goods, services, or business if you can’t get the consumer’s attention. Digital signage has the potential to outperform other traditional media types to catch the viewer’s attention. If you don’t have enough room for all of the displays you want to share, digital signage might be able to help you better capture the message you want the viewer to walk away with.

It Makes Your Audience More Patient
If you find yourself at a loss for words, you can instead let the digital signage do the talking in certain cases. In other words, if you have a lot to get done but not a lot of time, you can use your digital signage to distract your audience long enough to enact what you need to accomplish. This is especially true in customer-facing establishments. After all, everyone appreciates something to look at while they’re waiting.

It’s More Affordable
Digital signage might require a significant up-front investment, but it saves you money in the long term thanks to its ability to change to anything you want your sign to say. There are minimal costs of upkeep related to digital signage, with the only real one being the occasional software update and the image it will display. You’ll save not just money, but spacial costs associated with the signs. Your solution will pay for itself in the long run.

You don’t even need a special display of any kind--just a simple television with the right inputs will work the way you need it to. If you’re looking to get started with digital signage, Coleman Technologies can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

3D Displays
Remember that craze with the 3D movies? Manufacturers have been trying to keep people excited about 3D technology for a long time, but it has met with little long-term success. Content creators simply can’t commit to a 3D capture or post production process. A significant lack of content, combined with consumers needing a silly pair of 3D glasses and the hardware required by the display, people just preferred to stick to what had been working in the past. High-definition displays can make 2D programming look astounding, and with such a small demand for 3D picture, the technology has been abandoned.

There have been talks about resurrecting the technology through what’s called Home3D. MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has found a way to emulate the 3D experience without the embarrassing glasses, but without content made for 3D, you shouldn’t expect to see too much support for this technology anytime soon.

Smart Glasses
Smart glasses, like Google Glass, used to be a hot commodity, but they fell off everyone’s radar relatively quickly. While they initially were quite anticipated, there are very few smart glasses manufacturers left today. In 2012, Google Glass was being tested by several celebrities, but in today’s technology industry, there are maybe a handful of smart glasses manufacturers at the most. These companies still don’t have a clear idea of who would be the consumers for smart glasses, but they have learned that when it comes to this particular product, less is more.

One of the nails in the coffin for Google Glass was the invasion of privacy. While users might be able to come to terms with Google tracking what you say, buy, and do online, adding a camera to your glasses was simply too much for just about everyone. It was thought for a time that smart glasses could be a viable alternative to a smartphone, but the technologies behind the device simply haven’t been perfected to the point of proper implementation.

Virtual Reality
While virtual reality might be “available” today, people have been talking about it for upwards of 40 years. Other technologies being developed and discussed in the 1980s, like VHS and audio cassettes, have come and gone, but the idea of virtual reality lingers on. This is despite the fact that practical applications of VR are few and far between.

The primary use for virtual reality--gaming--has turned out to be a major failure so far. While there is some value in giving people the ability to share experiences online through VR, it hasn’t been a priority for developers, creating a similar situation to 3D technology. VR as a technology might not be completely dead in the water yet, but there isn’t much excitement out there for the technology--at least not to the point where it can be transformative (at this moment).

What are some of your favorite technologies that haven’t been as successful as you’d have liked them to be? Let us know in the comments.

Go in with a Plan
Have you ever had a meeting where you start with a general idea of what you want to discuss, then somehow wind up on a topic completely unrelated? This isn’t that out of the ordinary, and weekly meetings that are held for the sake of having a meeting could potentially result in these kinds of sessions, where substance is lacking, and focus is at an all-time low. If you have a strict agenda, then you’ll be more likely to cover important topics in a way that is conducive to everyone’s us of time.

Use Better Technology
If you find your meetings lacking in presentation, then you can use some technology to make it more interesting than just a couple of people sitting around a table. You can take advantage of media, slideshows, infographics, and so much more to provide context for the conversation you’re having. If meeting in the office doesn’t work out, you can even implement mobile technology and web conferencing software to keep your team connected from any location with an Internet connection.

Give Employees the Opportunity to Talk
People like to feel like they are involved in meetings, and if you give them the chance to express themselves in an environment that values their feedback, they will often thrive. Open up a portion of your meetings to give employees a chance to voice any concerns or thoughts they might have. You might find that the dialogue created from this could be valuable.

If your business could use some help with improving its meetings, Coleman Technologies can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.