What is the other half?  Testing. Testing does two things for your recovery strategy: it identifies weaknesses, and it alerts you to misconceptions about your overall strategy. Weakness in a plan is just that, weakness.  It is common to see people try to gloss over or even hide deficiencies that appear during testing.  Don’t be afraid of the results and don’t avoid them.  Fix them. Finding hidden problems is the point of carrying out exercises and scenarios.  It is so much easier to find solutions to issues in a non-production environment than it is to do it when you are in a real situation.

Misconception is another concept that can be lost in testing.  What I mean by misconception, is you might think that you have an air tight plan.  You know all of your dependencies and have accounted for every possible problem.  Don’t be so sure.  I have carried out testing on a system and had it go smoothly with little issue.  Then the next time I conduct the same test, it fails because one of the dependencies has changed and no one thought to update the plan.

If you have not previously worked in a Disaster Recovery capacity, creating plans and testing scenarios may seem like a difficult task.  It can be.  I will not try and tell you it is not.  Much of the information that is available is not easy to find, and many times what you find is only a portion of an entire concept.  Having no clear starting point and some (but not all) of the information you need, can lead to endless frustration.

One way to make sure that all of your time, effort, and money are not wasted is to employ the help of an outside resource, like a consultant or vendor.  Assistance with planning and testing from an outside company has many advantages: They are 100% focused on your needs and goals.  This means that you will need minimal internal resources to assist. They have gained invaluable experience from working in multiple environments.  Many times an experienced IT services company can provide solutions and offer insights that you would never have thought of yourself. Everything that they offer equals times savings, which can add up to cost savings over time.

Vendors are in the business of supplying solutions. If you purchase a backup or recovery solution from a third party, they will often offer additional services that fall right in line with planning and testing those solutions.  Some vendors will even work with existing recovery plans and integrate their product solution right into it for you.  It is in a solution provider’s best interest to have complementary services like this.

Photo Credit: Network 24

Matthew Shallue, Disaster Recovery Specialist and Systems Administrator, Financial Industry.

You can find more of Matthew’s work on his blog, Disaster Admin.

Hi there.  The name’s Robroy.  You don’t know me, but – can I ask a personal question?  It’s about your medical history.

Have you ever had amnesia?

No?  Me neither.  In fact, I have never even met someone who had it.  And yet, rare as it is in real life, amnesia must be one of the most commonly dramatized illnesses in all of Hollywood.

Goldie Hawn lost her memory in Overboard.  Mickey Rourke lost his memory in Angel Heart.  So did Keanu Reeves in Johnny Mnemonic.  And Jim Carrey in … what was that one called … Spotless in Seattle?

Wouldn’t it be great if we had amnesia?  If more companies caught a little case of it?  Think of the benefits.  We could wipe out all of our old excuses.  Starting with the software and technology that runs and grows our business.  You’d take one look at our server racks and say, “Why are we hosting our stuff on company hardware, instead of in the cloud?”

You’d be absolutely right.  With cloud computing, we could get more computer power, instantly, on demand, at a fraction of the cost.

And nobody could say, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it!”  Because we wouldn’t know that.  We’d have amnesia.

Right?  That Hitchcock classic, Spellbound.  Gregory Peck.  Let’s list some more in the comments below.  Who else had amnesia?

Rob Macdonald, Partner & Senior Consultant, EntreQuest.

Read more Robroy at www.robroysblog.com

The local weather report said “blizzard by week’s end.” As the week progressed, folks were even calling this the “Storm of the Century,” and “Snowmagedeon.” After much consideration, I sent a company-wide e-mail Thursday night, informing them that Friday would be a snow day. You see, a “snow day” for us means that all phones are forwarded, all systems are available via online desktops, and it is business as usual. Our teams can collaborate via Instant Messenger, and we can share files and computer screens using tools like Skype and GoToMeeting, etc. Short of meeting with clients face-to-face, we are still able to conduct face-to-face meetings via webcams and GoToMeeting. I even conducted my first Skype to Skype video interview for a potential Project Manager. I am happy to report she has been hired.

Now, what does it take to create a successful “snow day?” Well, besides 27 inches of snow, you must examine all areas of the operation to determine what job functions simply can’t be done without being present in the office. Additionally, consider what functions can’t be done without utility services to your office. You may ask, “Why start from what can’t be done?” Well, most folks take care of the obvious elements, but forget things like phone forwarding, remote access, client notifications, and alternative methods for simply getting business done.

This snow day has caused us to review our current plan for what we call “work from home,” and determine what worked and what didn’t. I highly recommend, while it is still fresh in everyone’s mind, to have a meeting with key personnel to discuss the impact of the storm on both the business and your employees. Did your employees feel connected? Connected with a purpose? Did they feel out of touch? Or, did they fall right in line?

An idea that resulted from our recent snow day was the ability to train our professional staff online, while working from home. Think about it. Everyone who is in production, accounting, or finance, needs to refine or update their skills every so often. What better time to do this then on a snow day. Another idea was the thought of creating a list of items to do on a snow day. This is a list compiled of things that would be ideal to finish, but are not necessarily high priority. For example, we are currently testing an Online Forms Tool. I spent last Friday working with the service provider in California to set this up. This is something that probably wouldn’t have gotten done without a snow day.

So I ask, how productive was your company’s snow day?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Let’s relate this to Golf.

How many times have you been invited to play a new golf course that you have never been on (I apologize if you are not a golfer, but if you are not that is your problem)? First of all, it is exciting to play a new course, and second, you know nothing about the course except what you have heard from someone else.  You step on the first tee, and you bomb the ball right down the middle –“because that’s what you do.” However, when you get to where your ball should be, you find that it rolled into the pond. How did that happen? Well, if you would have visited the course before, you would have known that it was only 220 yards to the water, and you could have hit your 3 iron 200 yards. Instead, you bombed your Driver 240 yards smack dead into the pond. Why did that happen?  Because you didn’t have a plan of attack to play the course – you just showed up, and decided to try and “figure it out.”  You think to yourself, “Oh well, I’ve got 11 more brand new golf balls fresh out of the pack.” Is that the way you would treat your business? How many times do you miss before you look at what is right and what is wrong? That’s all fine and dandy for a Sunday golfer but what do the Pros do? Let’s take a look.

Before Pros even play the course themselves, they send out their caddy to walk the course and take precise measurements. They do this by walking the course forward and backwards. Now, if the goal of a golfer is to get the ball into the hole, where should they start? The hole of course! Looking up the fairway from the hole paints a completely different picture. You are able to see where the course designer strategically placed all of the “obstacles.” However, you may not have noticed these same “obstacles” from the tee box.

Once the caddy has his measurements, he takes this knowledge and directs the Pro to hit the ball from the tee to a very specific location on the fairway (with intentions to set him up to be in the best possible position to hit his next shot onto the green).  The Pro must trust all the information that his caddy has given him so that the only thing left for him to do is to visualize where the ball is going, and then commit to that beautiful swing that he has spend countless hours perfecting. He hits his next shot onto the green, sinks his putt, and makes a birdie. Now, he has to repeat this process 17 more times.

Is this what your sales cycle feels like? How prepared are you for challenges that you can not foresee? Most importantly, how accurate is the information that you have available to you to make good business decisions?

Mike Gillett, Account Executive, GoBeyond IT

I found a tool called Corelytics created by CoreConnex. Corelytics is an application that will enable me to determine what my goals are for the year by using company data from QuickBooks. Hooray! It also compares my financial data against thousands of other service providers just like me.

Corelytics was up and running in about 30 minutes, and I was able to import my QuickBooks data with a few simple steps. There was a need to interact with a Corelytics representative; however, the process was virtually painless. Amazingly, in rapid fashion, I’m now able to evaluate and dissect my QuickBooks data from a much different perspective. This application has already helped me make some key decisions, and it has only been running for 1 day! I am happy to report that the cost was $349.00 for setup, and $49.00 per month.

The second application is Get Satisfaction. This application enables customers to rate your service. It also provides clients with a support portal that has a lot of user interactions. I am excited about Get Satisfaction because I truly think this will help us to connect with our clients. Community based support and client ratings are rapidly becoming the only way people buy a product or service. We will be trying Get Satisfaction, along with other functions of our business, to increase client satisfaction and loyalty.

I am amazed at how fast one can find and implement ideas using applications delivered from the Cloud. The two applications listed above would have taken thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and a lot of trial and error to execute in years past. Instead, in the time it takes me to finish a good meal, I have two applications that I couldn’t be happier with. I think you’ll agree.

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Essentially, Green Computing is the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment (whew!). In a nutshell, it is the term used to denote the efficient use of resources in computing.

Now, I’m not the tree-hugging – let’s start a revolution – peace, love & happiness – type (not to sound stereotypical or anything – trust me, I’m not judging). But, I do believe that even the smallest changes and commitments in the way we use computers and technology, do make a big difference in both the environment and our business models. Whether it’s turning off your monitor when it’s not in use, refurbishing and reusing old computers, or server virtualization – we must be proactive in our efforts to help pave the way for green computing. After all, every little “click” counts.

Our Green Resolution for 2010
Over the past six months we embarked on a study which proved that 50% of the time systems were logged on, they remained idle. In an effort to enable our clients to do more with less, we recognized the need to provide them with the same quality of technology, in a quantity that makes sense for their job function. As a proud supporter of Green Computing, GoBeyond IT is proud to announce the launch of the Hosted Hourly Desktop: a fully-hosted Microsoft Desktop that give companies the flexibility to pay for what they need, when they need it. The Hosted Hourly Desktop provides current and future clients with an opportunity to right size their technology – conserving energy and their budget.

What’s your green business resolution for 2010?

Lindsey Paolucci, Marketing Manager, GoBeyond IT

Upon further review, you need to dig deeper to see why their process works so well.  Let’s take a look. Jimmy Johns is a Culture and a way of doing business. Jimmy Johns success lies in the preparation to take care of the customer through proper planning and staffing. When you enter the store you are greeted immediately.  The cashier asks to take your order. Next to the cashier is the “breadman” who listens to the customer and begins to prepare the bread by cutting and garnishing the sandwich. He/She passes the sandwich to their teammate who puts the required meat on the sandwich, and then passes it to a third teammate who wraps it up for the customer. Meanwhile, the “breadman” is listening for the next order. This is all performed in sixty seconds or less.

How is it performed consistently? Two breads, seven meats, one cheese, and freshly prepared tuna.  No soups, no salads, no toasting of the bread, no hot foods. If you want cross selling, you can get chips, pickles, cookies, fountain sodas and bottled water.  That’s it! Jimmy Johns will not even offer you a bag or napkins for one sandwich.  They want you to go around to the end to get it yourself (but you would never notice that unless someone pointed it out for you).  Most people walk out the door with the sandwich in hand, no bag or napkins – paper product savings adds up! The process is so seamless that you don’t care about napkins or a bag. Your meal is delivered to you fast and it tastes great.

Why does this model work so well? SIMPLICITY! They are not spending millions of dollars trying to develop the next great bottled fruit spritzer with extra virgin pomegranate juices to try and capture 1/10th of 1% of market share.  They take the approach from Field of Dreams: “If you build it, he will come.”

Now, you might be asking yourself -”how does this relate to my business model?”  Have you spent so much time trying to invent, market and sell the next latest and greatest thing to come along, or are you focusing on your core competencies that establish and still run you business profitability today?  Are you lean and mean so that as the economy turns, you are poised for growth?

Our company is like the Jimmy Johns of the world in that we provide a simplistic approach to your technology. We focus on one thing and one thing only – we make sure your IT works, and works well.  We don’t do websites, we don’t do SEO, we don’t sell software! But, we will take care of your IT so you don’t have to. We deliver it fast, seamless, and I promise your meals will taste better as a result if IT!

Mike Gillett, Account Executive, GoBeyond IT

Now, I wonder how long it will be before cars are connected to the Cloud? In essence, I am already connected to the Cloud (or am I?) with BMW Assist, which could have rebooted my car remotely. But, how long will it be before cars are just another computer on your network? I know it’s a stretch, but in the future when I enter a destination, could my email calendar automatically sync with my car’s navigation system with directions already in play? If I am headed to a meeting and hit unexpected traffic, could my car send an email letting them know I am running late?

Imagine if cars could correlate information from the Cloud to your trip. For example, what if you’re someone that needs to drive long distances for work, but you have a health condition. Imagine if the Cloud could calculate your drive time and provide you with alerts as to when and where to pull over and take a break.

Imagine if gas stations could publish their prices on the Internet (some already do), and while you’re traveling and your car gets low on gas, not only does it find the lowest price, but your navigation gets updated with directions. There is already an application for the iPhone that helps you find nearest gas stations and their prices, why couldn’t your car do the work too?

What are the limits for cars and the Cloud? If my car isn’t truly connected to the Cloud, then I can’t wait until my lease is up!

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Recently, we were in need of a solution that would enable clients to sign contracts and documents in a more timely fashion. I Googled “contract signing” and low and behold a number of digital signature companies popped up. I decided to take a look around. I tried both www.docusign.com and www.echosign.com. Both worked very well, but the use and interface of Echosign seemed to fit our needs best. Again, being a cloud-based solution I was able to test the solution for 30 days and then select a package that was extremely economical. Now, I am not here to push digital signature companies, but by researching a new way and trusting the cloud, we cut our contract signing time from 2 weeks to less than 4 hours. Furthermore, we have had clients thank us for the ease of use in adding services, etc. We are now expanding our use of Echosign to include online forms and process improvement.

My next project is to find a way to connect our mobile workers via tablets, laptops, and iPhones using forms that will enable us to input sales, technical, and client data in real-time. Cloud-based www.formspring.com is in the lead because of its iPhone integration. However, Wufoo, Formatta, and a few others are still close behind. These cloud-based companies could literally cut our processing time by over 5 days per project, increase results, and accuracy.

So why does the cloud matter? I will be posting a host of new cloud-based solutions often that could be of help to your business. Who knows, maybe one of my “explorations” will save you time or make you money.

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT