Some of the simplest and easiest pieces of software are now free and online in the Software as a Service (SaaS) category.
The primary one with a huge base of users is Google Apps. Gmail,Google Docs and social networking tools like Facebook and twitter.
- Image via Wikipedia
Companies are also leaving the old buy a copy once, with software assurance to providing the software as a service in the Cloud. These being paid for and provided with much more security and stricter privacy policies.
The problem with some of these free apps is security and the fact that your valued information can be shared without your knowledge as we have seen from recent Google and Facebook, due to the transmission and recording of web activity that you may not even have remembered authorizing.
You must consider that your web activity and emails allow Google in GMail to present appropriate advertising messages to you, as is the same with Google Search. In using Facebook advertisers may see specific information also to provide the Facebook advertiser with perfect placement.
You should listen to the Podcast 2 Big Telecom Guys on Itunes,Zune,Podcast Alley or on the web. I along with marketing consultant Rob Metras discuss issues such as the tools of Cloud Computing and other timely topics about how you can use SaaS on the Web safely and securely. Stayed tuned for more on SaaS and the cloud on upcoming posts on this blog as well as subscribe to the The 2 Big Telecom Guys Podcast.
For more on SaaS see below:
- iNODE » Summon™ – Spent some time with Dartmouth University’s Summon™ installation the other day. Thanks to Dartmouth for making it available on the open web. And while I’m at it, I should also thank George Mason (seems we overlap on subscriptions so I …
- INTERFACE 2010 — Southern Oregon Seminar « The College of Arts and … – June 18th at the Seven Feathers Resort & Casino in Canyonville. With the guidance of an Advisory Council of local IT Executives, and support of dozens of participating vendors, INTERFACE is Southern Oregon’s Premiere IT Event. …
- Salesforce Enters Custom Application Market With Force.com – Salesforce will enter the custom software market next week with the launch of Force (site will go live Monday morning), a new platform that will allow developers to create database driven applications and deploy them as services. …
- The FASTForward Blog » Most Software Startups Going SaaS Route … – “Most of the start-up application vendors are selecting SaaS [Software as a Service] as their primary model, and increasingly as their sole model for delivering applications.” At least that’s what Dave Mitchell, …
- Saas: PLM & the Extended Enterprise | Sramana Mitra on Strategy – I have written two pieces already, discussing the Extended Enterprise: – SaaS: Webex and the Extended Enterprise. – SaaS: CRM and the Extended Enterprise. In addition, I wrote CAD / PLM Shuffles, discussing the changes in the Product …
- Coté’s People Over Process » SaaS IT Management – Of late, the topic of IT management for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or internet-hosted applications has come up in my conversations frequently. I took the time to jot down some notes in a mind-map: 20070316-Saasmanagement …
The Apple iPhone was a game changer in the world of telecommunications. The real question is, why do you need to have an iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry? They have had the most extensive hype and marketing; but what are the real perks to having a Smartphone?
While there are many valid reasons why a smartphone is a great purchase for an individual or company. One of the prime reasons is it can truly make us more productive, give us a bit of freedom from the wired world and allow us to lower our real estate footprint.
The convenience of a device that is a telephone, internet terminal, portable music player, video player all in one is important. You now have a communication tool and entertainment supplier as well as direct access to the world from your palm via the internet. With a smartphone, everything is packaged in a beautiful, and one-of-a-kind, device. Which is still easy to lose, but easy to wipe clean remotely. You can even give up your office desktop phone with an application or App called Max-Mobile on your smartphone.
Today with VOIP, WiFi and normal 3G or 4G phone service the smartphone can be a mobile office. Apps are being made that put your office line of business application in your hand, along with your banking machine, mobile GPS and map This constant availability to information via broadband is a great feature, and once you have it you will never want to live with out it.
You do not need a paper map with GPS enabled smartphones which can pinpoint where you are and where you wish to go; if you have a GPS enabled smartphone, then accurate directions to any destination are only a few ‘taps’ away. When you have Google Apps, you automatically gain access to the powerful mapping service, Google Maps, and with this application you can find the new restaurant, cafe or even the YMCA for a workout. The devices also contain the menus of the place you are going so can you order your table, wine and food in advance. .
If you typed in “Starbucks ” you would then be shown the closest “Starbucks” to your current location. You can then call them and place your order, or ask them questions about their coffee. Very rarely will you find a device that not only connects you to your desire, but also brings you closer to it. Most of your business activities can be taken care of by your electronic communicator device that connects you globally. The office of today can be anywhere or everywhere with an app such as the MaxMobile App for the iPhone, Android or Blackberry. The future is here now to embrace and enjoy.
i invite you to watch our video on Altigen MaxMobile and what it can do for you at Max-Mobile-AltiGen. I would welcome your comments and questions. You can learn what Codefusion clients think of us and find out what we can do for you at Codefusion Communications
Filed under AltiGen Platinum Development Partner, Integrated Telecommunications by on May 6th, 2010. Comment. 
Discover Max-Mobile
Call us at 647-723-0027 if you want more information on how MaxMobile can work for you.
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The concept of mobile applications and telephony have converged due to the growth of high speed mobile networks and more and more consumers choosing to use their smartphone applications and smartphones as much much more than a telephone.
Altigen has come up with a new solution that improves employee productivity, reduces communications costs, eliminates the need for desktop phones and can even completely replace fixed line PBXsystems. Wow that is a true transformation to mobile.
With a single one click login in MaxMobile your smartphone can be registered on your PBX network as if it was a telephone on the desk in your offices. Inbound calls are dynamically and transparently connected to the calling party. Outbound calls can go through the PBX via WiFi or using the cellular network.
Fully native apps run the Mobile Max Platform on each of the popular platforms- including the Iphone, Blackberry, Google Android and soon on Windows Mobile devices.
It will now be possible to remove all your desktops if you wish and replace them with Smartphones and lower your capital outlay for desktop telephoners while managing all of your mobiles,integrated with advanced smartphone features.
Users will have access to company directories , voicemail from the office system,synchronized call history and recording if required.
MaxCS Mobilty Suite uses the complete set of business flexibility build into the Altigen Max-CS Server v6.5 Update1 deployed as a local gateway or IP-PBX.
Give me a call at 647-723-0027 and ask how you might benefit from this cutting edge solution.
Filed under Integrated Telecommunications, Toronto Computer Support by on Apr 15th, 2010. Comment.
It always irks me when I have clients that may have thought that they have a solution in dealing with computer geeks. Our business is based on solid relationships as well as the fact we would not stay in business very long if we did not take care of our customers, This video below, which is a segment of the popular CBC consumer show Marketplace outlines some of the problems out in the marketplace.
Always find a service that you can trust and rely on and use them for all your network support. You will have trust and reliability as well as the services of trained resources. We are proud to be a Microsoft Small Business Specialist as well as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. You would not see the kind of stuff that you see in the above video.
Call us a 647-723-0027 and ask what we can do for you. Check out our what our customers say about us. at Codefusion
Filed under Toronto Computer Support, Toronto IT Support by on Apr 11th, 2010. Comment.
One of the stalwart products in the Nortel PBX lines was the Business Communications Manager PBX. It was promoted by the major telephone companies for the last few years along with other Nortel Norstar and Meridian proprietary products. Now that Nortel is no more and Avaya has bought that division a Notice of Discontinuance of Support has been sent out to dealers that had previously sold the devices.
- Image via Wikipedia
Has your phone company called you? I am not sure if Bell, Telus or Allstream or other phone companies like AT&T or Verizon are advising their customers of this fact now that Nortel is defunct. If you have bought a system you know that it always requires outside support from the telco or dealer if there is a problem. Once again a proprietary standard issue. One that kept lucrative maintenance inside the telco family and fattened their recurrng revenues
Other older products are being mothballed and losing support also. If you bought these Nortel items through the phone company they may be trying to get you to upgrade to other obsoleted products to clear their own inventory stock or stock that other customers are dumping in favour of newer solutions.
Beware the telephone distributor that tries to push a closed system in this day and age. With the availability of a wide range of open system products available on the market it pays both in the short term and the long term to consider a new system carefully.
Take the time to consider your options and do not necessarily choose the cheapest solution. You should be considering systems that are open-standard based and can integrate with your computer systems network and with your current wireless phone users . You can lower your total cost of ownership as well as your telecom charges if you think now and seek reliable advice that will leverage your current investments for the future and be scaleable.
Give me an hour of your time and and I will give you a new way to evaluate your new telecom supplier. Call me and I will ,without obligation, give you information that you should consider. Call Jeff Brodie at 1-877-335-9390 and set up a time. It will be worth your while.
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Filed under Integrated Telecommunications, Managed IT Support by on Mar 19th, 2010. Comment.
Try to talk to most small business owners about setting up a computer network and their eyes will glaze over. Either they fear the complexity of the topic and the mysterious acronyms, or they simply fear the cost of setting up and maintaining one.
But computer networking isn’t as expensive or as complicated as it used to be. Lower costs and “plug and play” devices have made it extremely easy for even small Mom and Pop shops to take advantage of the increased speed, accuracy, and ease of doing business offered by a computer network.
A computer network is nothing more than a system of computers and computer devices (like a printer or scanner) that are connected together to share files, information, and resources. If you connect your computer with another computer with a cable, you’ve got a small, peer-to-peer network in place.
Which Network Is Best For You?
If you only have two or three computers, you may want to start off only with a simple peer to peer network where all machines are directly connected to one another. However, there are drawbacks to this set up.
Peer to peer networks make it difficult to backup and manage files because everyone has to store everything – software and data files – on their own machine.
This type of network can also become sluggish and unstable causing unexpected downtime, and makes it difficult to adequately protect against viruses.
A better option is the client-server network where a powerful computer called a server stores and “serves up” the information and software applications (databases, word processing, accounting, etc) to all the machines in your network or office.
This type of network configuration is much faster, secure, and stable. Backups are not only easier to perform, but they are also far more reliable and accurate. Security is improved because virus protection and Internet access can be managed from one central location. Sharing software applications and large files between workers and offices becomes easier, and you can allow for remote access (people working from home).
There are other benefits such as lowered software costs, increases in productivity, and the ability to get practically any device (such as a printer or scanner) to talk to just about any other device, including your phone.
Of course, if the server goes down your entire network (and business) stops. Therefore you want to make sure you have a emergency plan in place (like a second back-upserver) and a fast-response service agreement with a local computer support firm like the ones I offer to my small business clients.
<h3>Wireless Networks – The Next Generation Of Small Business And Home Computing</h3>
Thanks to major advances in wireless technology, now even small businesses on a small budget can benefit from the new wireless networks. If you’re confused, just think of it as a computer that works like a cell phone (look Mom, no wires!).
The only difference between a wireless network and the “old fashioned” cable connected networks is that wireless networks communicate with other computers, devices, and the Internet without any messy cable installations.
This is especially popular in businesses that require mobile workers to enter and access data where wired devices would be inconvenient (or impossible) to carry around, such as a warehouse, a large store, or even in a hospital.
If your head is spinning from all this talk about networks and you just want all of this “computer stuff” to just work, then you can always give me,Jeff Brodie, a call at 416-335-9390 and I’ll make it all work for you.
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Filed under Managed IT Support, Toronto IT Support by on Mar 17th, 2010. Comment.
Does your computer ever run slow, act funny, or crash unexpectedly? Do you get a ton of pop-up ads, even when you are not actively surfing the web? Has your browser been “hijacked” and replaced with another unknown browser? If so, your computer is infected with malicious spyware and viruses that can alter your computer, steal your confidential information, and disable the use of your PC, leaving you without a computer for hours or days while you get it fixed.
And what’s worse –most times once your computer has been hit by these threats, it has to be completely wiped in order to fix it. Unless you have a backup image (a snapshot of everything on the PC, exactly as it is), it will never quite be the same again. You may lose software programs that you downloaded, but don’t have the disk for, your icons won’t be where you remember them, and “little” things like your default printer could be all screwed up. It can be a nightmare.
One big misconception many computer users have about spyware and viruses is that these programs somehow invaded their computer through no action or fault of their own – in most cases, this is simply not true.
Malware, spyware, and viruses are usually a result of some action taken by the user (you or an employee that uses your computer). Remember, cyber criminals are incredibly clever and gain access to your computer via some of the most innocent and common activities you are performing; that is why it SEEMS as though it is your computer’s fault when in reality, YOU are unknowingly giving these hackers and auto-loading devastating programs free access to your computer.
- Image by AITP SDSU via Flickr
Deadly programs to avoid are free “enhanced” web browsers, screen savers, and just about any “cute” programs you come across that are free to download. Always read the terms and conditions before downloading ANY program to look for clauses that allow them (the software vendor) to install spyware programs on your computer.
Unfortunately, installing programs is not the only way a hacker or malware program can access your computer. If you do not have the most up-to-date security patches and virus definitions installed on your computer, hackers can access your PC through a banner ad on the web that you accidentally clicked on or through an e-mail attachment that you opened.
Hackers have also figured out ways to install malicious programs on your computer via your IE web browser, EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T CLICK ON ANYTHING OR DOWNLOAD A PROGRAM. Microsoft is constantly providing “patches” to their operating system software, and all it takes is one missed update to leave you completely vulnerable.
That’s why it’s so important to have someone in charge of updating your computers and server DAILY. An innocent web search by an employee can end up bringing on a host of viruses, hacker invasions, or other evil attacks that end up costing you hundreds or thousands in lost wages and repair costs. The best way to make sure you’re protected is to enroll in a 24/7 maintenance and monitoring plan, like our ‘Technology Alignment Program’ (TAP). With a service like that, you get the latest patches and updates automatically plus a knowledgeable IT staff to resolve anything the updates missed.
Protect Your Computer From Viruses, Hackers, and Malicious Spyware FREE REPORT Reveals HOW!!
Our FREE Consumer Awareness Guide titled: “How To Keep Your Computer Safe From Crippling Pop Ups, Viruses, Spyware, & Spam, While Avoiding Expensive Computer Repair Bills” will give you insider tips on how to keep your computers squeaky clean and avoid expensive and frustrating downtime.
Download it FREE now at: www.codefusion.com/freereports
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Learn from the past and discover why a Codefusion Communications Inc. Business Continuity Appliance could save you from disaster. Here is a little video slideshow that shows you a few facts.
Get your Free Backup Audit Now
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by Jeff Brodie
- Image via Wikipedia
Cloud Computing is a form of computing in which all applications, information and resources are managed in a virtual environment. The term cloud computing, specifically the use of the word “cloud”, it meant to represent the nature and structure of cloud computing. Cloud computing involves virtual hosted environments allowing users to connect to the services being hosted over the internet.
Google Apps is a great example of cloud computing as companies to no longer require the need for installed word processing software, in house email servers, multiple IT personnel and many more cost saving advantages. Google Apps allows companies to access all services including email, website hosting, calendar, document editing/creation and much more directly through a web browser. The advantage to using Google Apps is increased productivity, security, lower IT costs and data backup. Microsoft has also entered the cloud computing realm by integrating its current software such as Word and outlook with online storage and easy accessibility.
New Microsoft applications, such as the Office 2010 : OfficeWeb will be accessed on the web and be utilizing cloud computing through the Microsoft Live portal. Should you wish to consider any of these applications of cloud computing please contact us at 416-335-9390 so we can make your operations more productive through the many integration opportunties available in the cloud. As a Microsoft Small Business Specialist and a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner we can assist with authority and a history of working with computer telephony integration with a wide variety of vendors.
