January 26, 2010
First I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Now that the holidays are done, most of us are settling into our brand new year. Many of us are already starting tax preparation, start of year business plans, and at the same time trying to stay above water from the 1st quarter sluggishness.
I try and take in the start of the year with some small breaks with the family. We had a terrific 2010 launch at the office and we’ve got some work to do. However I refuse to get too
stressed out, so to avoid getting caught in the hasty mistakes from business micro management, the family and I take a few trips in January. I find it a good time to let everyone settle in at the office and breath without me overhead. Don’t think we just take a back seat though, read From the CEO to find out what’s going on at the office.
So I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful wife “Sunny” who plans our excursions with the kids. I basically show up to a packed truck on a Thursday or Friday afternoon, get in the drivers seat and get my GPS instructions telling me where we’re going. It’s the best thing ever. As we drive Sunny fills me in on our plans and a basic itinerary. I can’t tell you how relaxing the process is as long as the kids stay peaceful.
So January is a big month not only in business for AMRCON but for the Rudko’s personally. The year always starts off with the obvious celebration, but Sunny and I also celebrate our anniversary first week of the month. This year was our 4th anniversary. Another great year growing our wonderful family. We took a short few days in Atlantic City and left the kids home. This was a pretty big step since the baby just turned 1. We had a terrific and relaxing time at Ceasar’s. We won on some of my wife’s favorite slots and enjoyed probably the most incredible aged steak at Morton’s, that I’ve had in years. You have to go if you’re a steak kinda guy.
Our youngest addition known as “Baby Deeko” started to walk this month. I was a bit concerned at first because he seems to walk sideways almost like a crab on the sand. He straightened up after a week and has now mastered walking while drinking from his bottle. I think this is the point in time where everything is going to change. Both Santino and Deeko seem to be playing together more and more. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes not so good. I think the mom’s with multiple boys know what I’m talking about. Otherwise just imagine.
The month is coming to an end but not before a trip to Crystal Springs to help my sister-in-law Ann celebrate her 50th birthday. Happy Birthday Ann! It was nice that we got most of the family crunched into a house on the side of a mountain. The company and amenities made it all worth the while. So much that after the weekend was over we came back home for a day then back for the rest of the week. I’m writing this
blog from up here now, so don’t anyone feel sorry for me working. I feel truly blessed. Anyone looking for a get away with or without the kids, you really have to check out the short trip to Crystal Springs, or Mineral Springs in Vernon NJ. Full service Spa, skiing, outdoor/indoor pools, sauna, steam rooms, gym, restaurants and so much more. You can cruise through town or never leave the grounds. Any questions feel free to ask me. Hope everyone had a great January so far. I want to wish everyone a prosperous and Happy New Year! Talk to you next month.
January 26, 2010
Even with the economic warnings of 2010 being similar to 2009, AMRCON has completed their 2010 kick off after another growth year. We rallied the troops at the start of the month to announce our end of year reviews, 2010 business plan and strategic overview of the year’s goals. We’re going to post some of those highlights here.
After review of last year we made the determination that our social media and networking groups provided the highest value in business development. Learning from that experience we plan to continue the current groups as well as take on 2 more seats in various meetings across Monmouth county NJ. I welcome anyone looking to grow their business to ask me about my findings and or to learn more about getting involved in the best group for you. I’m more than happy to assist you. AMRCON allocates nearly 10%-15% of its weekly man hours devoted to networking and business development groups. This does not include my time which is nearly 50% in business development. I strive to increase that even further, but I still play a major role in administration as well as financial management of the company.
We successfully completed our brochure project which has left the end result of a 12 page brochure that tells the AMRCON story better than ever. Feel free to download the PDF link to the latest version and be sure to distribute as you might see fit. We’re very proud of the outcome and the work that our graphics and publicist professionals have done. Craig Gunter with INCA Graphic, and Tricia Krietzberg with Krietzberg Creative are 2 of the best people in the business. Anyone requiring their services please feel free to reach out to them and reference this blog. The primary purpose and overview for the brochure was to further “Telling the story” without having to schedule an appointment or conference call. We now have the ability to making sure our story is told more than my personal business goal of 10 times per week. Anyone looking to expand their virtual sales force needs to have a solid marketing collateral campaign. We feel very confident that we have done so. Comments are welcomed. The brochure will also be permanently be posted as a link within this blog.
OK, so it’s true AMRCON will be expanding it’s offices again this year to include new administrative offices and eventually the move of our NOC to seat double the employees currently employed. This also provides the ability to start building out AMRCON to be more of a demonstration site for prospects looking to kick the tires on build-out projects, security and more.
The last bit I’ll share that is going to be a big deal to watch is coming from our new products development group. Just to touch on it, we will be launching an innovate new solution for the small business market looking to have a single solution that provides support, infrastructure and hardware required to implement and maintain a small growing business without the cost traditionally involved in doing so. This packaged solution will be something to watch in the marketplace and is scheduled to launch prior to the summer. It will be covered further in our blog site, local media as well as other publications.
Since we have a variety of clients, prospects, and vendors who watch this blog. I welcome anyone to contact me directly to ask about anything that may have sparked your interest about AMRCON, business development or any other bit of information I can share to help you in your business.
January 26, 2010
I get asked this question all the time. So much it inspired this new category called “Top Picks”. Although I may not always be the person to post new blog entries, I wanted to at least get this first one out.
So choosing a laptop can become a time consuming task of various online searches, visits to local resellers and countless conversations with someone you know in IT. Before we get to the question, first I want to ask why a laptop? The reason is that a laptop will generally have a greater initial cost, greater total cost of ownership “TCO”, and a shorter life span. So when making the selection from desktop to laptop, make sure it’s for the right reasons. Because it’s cool should be the case unless the investment isn’t really a big deal and you like toys. An acceptable response would be more along the lines of; “I travel 30% of my week and need the ability to work from various remote locations”. Home is not really a remote location. Work from home can still be done from the comfort of a desktop with a larger screen. The bottom line is make sure you justify your usage.
OK, so laptop it is! Now let’s unlearn what we see on TV and in the stores. The mini is cute but does not have the same power to multitask and perform replacement performance of a desktop. Don’t get me wrong I’m working from a Dell Inspiron mini right now on a Verizon wireless card at the top of a ski mountain. However, the cost was more comparable to a mid range laptop or high performance desktop with all the bells and whistles I needed. Although the mini seems like a great idea on cost, I can assure you if you are planning to use it for business, it will end up being double the cost you thought it would be. It is a great option if you use a laptop less than 10-15% of the time and just don’t want to carry around the extra weight. That’s why I purchased mine. I actually mount it in the car so I can video conference, use Outlook as well as our internal systems to update accounts that I might have just visited. I also went with a solid state hard drive, built in Verizon wireless card ($60 p/mo additional), and a digital TV card for when I want to watch the game from the train. The budget on such a device will be $800- $900, yes for a mini that started at $300.
Lets assume you’re looking for a bit more than what a mini can do and you use a laptop 50-75% of your time. That assumes that you may or may not have an office machine that you will use from time-to-time. This automatically means you want at least a 15″ screen for comfort, extended battery life, a warranty option, and minimally Office Basic. I’m going to make a recommendation for a specific laptop but for those of you that have incentives to use another vendor or a special in a retailer, that’s fine. However, I want you to stay with business class, preferably Dell or HP from my personal experience. Now here is how you should be shopping. For the above solution look at the laptops that range from $800-$1200. Yes that’s right, don’t look at the units that seem loaded with everything for less than $600. I can assure you, eventually you will just not be happy with it. What they need to do to bring that cost down will not be described in the marketing ad. It will be deep inside the hardware where you can’t see it, such as the type of memory, CPU speed, main board manufacturer, and other internal parts that you need a degree to understand. That’s why I give the price point to watch for. This rule of thumb brings the hardware to a standard that will provide better quality parts, that in turn will provide a better experience and a longer life for your investment.
Recommendation: Dell Latitude E4500/E5500/E6500 Range: $800- $1200
Some packages include a mini!
January 21, 2010
Migration Path: Small Business Server 2008
With the limited availability of “Down Time” in this technology dependent world, how do you upgrade old equipment, old software, or even old operating systems, without disrupting the client’s ability to work? In the past, the limitations of migrations for a Windows Small Business Server 2003 were limited to creating new separate Domain Controller Servers, new Exchange Email Servers, new Application Servers, and then having to piece all of the data back together.
Lo and behold: Enter Windows Small Business Server 2008. Microsoft has now created the Migration Mode install, which will allow a complete server to server migration of the Small Business Server. After installing the new server software, the multiple Migration “Wizards” take you through each level of transfer, to ensure that all necessary data is smoothly transitioned.
Did I mention that while this is going on, users can still work? Since it is a staged step-by-step transition, only sections of data are being moved at one time. The system creates virtual “connectors” so both servers become online at the same time.
1. After the new server is installed in “Migration Mode”, the Active Directory Schema is copied to the server (Domain information) including the same Domain Name and structure, users, computer accounts, security groups, etc.
2. Then users folders (redirection) are moved.
3. Network File Shares are moved.
4. Exchange Mailboxes are moved.
Pretty simply; a smooth transfer of information from server to server. There are some backend modifications that need to be done by the Administrator to facilitate this migration, but it is all done in stages on both the old server and the new server.
Microsoft also allows the old server to remain ACTIVE for 21 days, in order to ensure that all settings and data are moved and working successfully. Then, and only then, does the “decommission” begin on the old server. This will include, removing the server as a Domain controller from the network, removing all file shares from being accessible, removing all shared printers, and then finally removing the First Organizational Group (Exchange Server).
The Windows Small Business Server 2008 operating systems have numerous advantages for smaller businesses:
1- Utilizes the capabilities of multiple servers, usually seen in larger businesses, in an “all-in-one solution”.
2- Reduces electrical consumption of multiple servers.
3- Exchange Server 2007 integrated into the server.
24x7 Monitoring and Self Healing
Vendor management and liaison services.
Helpdesk and Onsite Support.
Security, Back up and Disaster recovery.
