Screening now: The great technology talent show Posted on April 7, 2016 by Tim Burke By some reports, hiring (and keeping) competent information technology talent has never been so difficult. To an extent, technology talent struggles vary in degree according to industry subsector and location. Cybersecurity, for instance, faces particularly intense shortages of much-needed experts. Some expect one million cybersecurity job openings this year, and even demand for entry-level cybersecurity slots, like information security analysts, is projected to climb by 37% over the next six years. Continue reading →
Getting Information Technology to Work for Your Business Posted on November 12, 2015 by Tim Burke More than ever, the key to a company’s success centers on its effective use of information technology, so choosing the right providers is essential for today’s technology decision maker. Yet the complexities of today’s technologies, the unending hype, and the ever-changing mix of vendors make it tough to navigate your way to the right partner. So where to begin? As readers of this blog know, I encourage clients to first examine their needs and goals. This is something you should always do before you ever purchase any technology product or service. It’s also a good time to get solid, reliable advice from independent, vendor-neutral experts. Such experts can take a look at your current technology stance, listen to what you have to say about what your enterprise seeks to accomplish, and offer multiple solution scenarios to achieve those goals. You’ll learn what technology capabilities are available to your business as well as what technology configurations can save you money — and what technologies your business may not even need. It can be tough to get reliable answers to questions like “Will this service deliver the capability I require?” or “Will that solution scale with my business needs?” An experienced technology advisor can help you get those answers and help you use information technology to stay competitive in these fast-changing times.
Desktop Virtualization Services: More Options Than You May Realize Posted on August 20, 2015 by Tim Burke As we watch dreams of mobility coming true around us every day, the appeal of desktop virtualization is obvious. Pile on seemingly perpetual Windows end-of-life concerns, and that appeal only grows. VDI — virtual desktop infrastructure — enables enterprises to optimize costs by continuing use of legacy systems, while also running the latest applications and remotely publishing them to any device. Managing VDI is complex, however – the acquisition, care, and feeding of its infrastructure is costly and demands expertise many do not have. Enter desktop virtualization services, which take VDI either wholly or partly into the cloud. Continue reading →
The evolving benefits of DaaS Posted on August 6, 2015 by Tim Burke The traditional benefits of DaaS — an OpEx advantage trading upfront costs and endless management and maintenance hassles for predictable pay-as-you-go dynamic scalability — are gaining even more clout as DaaS solutions mature. It’s been shown that desktops in the cloud pay off – and this trend promises to continue: Continue reading →
Securing your app dev: a cloud + 6 tips Posted on July 23, 2015 by Tim Burke In my last post, I focused on the extent to which today’s cloud app development centers on mobility, IoT (the Internet of Things), and the backend integration of it all. While you were reading, you may have noticed that I didn’t mention cloud app security. That’s because I believe cloud app security —particularly the security of web, mobility, and IoT apps — deserves its own discussion. Continue reading →
When app dev reaches the clouds: are you ready? Posted on July 9, 2015 by Tim Burke In many ways, application development in 2015 has left the building. I mean that figuratively of course, because these days, much of app dev is focused on cloud-based applications — and much of cloud application development has shifted offsite. Continue reading →
Is your network management ready for the hyperconnectivity juggernaut? Posted on June 25, 2015 by Tim Burke As I noted in my last post, increases in both computing devices and IP traffic volumes put new demands on enterprise networks — and alters what’s required to manage those networks effectively. This juggernaut of hyperconnectivity is already underway: By 2018, the average person will have five network-connected devices and networks will host four times more data traffic than they do now By 2019, global per capita Internet traffic will stand at 37 gigabytes, up from 15.5 GB per capita last year Continue reading →
It’s 2015. How Should You Cloud? Posted on June 9, 2015 by Tim Burke Cloud computing is now pretty much everywhere — including in smaller enterprises, some 37% of which have already adopted cloud computing. This year U.S. small and midsized businesses are expected to boost what they spend on cloud computing by 28%. Still, in 2015 cloud computing remains a work in progress, and at Quest we get lots of questions from customers about how to cloud. Continue reading →
How app dev puts business at risk — and what to do about it Posted on May 21, 2015 by Tim Burke In a recent survey, 43% of IT decision makers rated mobility — which is to say, mobile-friendly apps or sites — as the top business functionality or process that’s critical for applications. These days, the line between the web and mobility has blurred to the point of invisibility. Trouble is, successfully achieving secure mobile application development and web application development is hard for a significant majority of organizations. Continue reading →
[Slideshow] 4 reasons why Windows Server 2003 End of Life matters Posted on May 20, 2015 by Tim Burke Continue reading →
