Where’s The Value In Private Clouds?

April 29, 2013
Jeff Kaplan

One of the most confusing aspects of the rapidly evolving cloud marketplace is the definition and value of private clouds. The term has more than one connotation. As a consequence, measuring the business benefits of this method of deploying the cloud can be challenging. The confusion arises from the fact that private clouds can be deployed either by an enterprise behind their firewall or by...

Risk Taking For Small Businesses

Susan Solovic

When I worked in corporate America, I managed a national sales force.  Because the majority of our clients were big brands, we frequently participated in the major industry trade shows many of which were held in Las Vegas....

Are You In Business To Make Money Or Lose It?

April 26, 2013
Bindu Sundaresan

Are you in business to make money or lose it? For most people, the answer to this question is a no brainer! As a security professional, I truly believe that security can impact your bottom line. It is key to protecting your most vulnerable business asset – your data. If your business has anything worth protecting, whether it’s money, intellectual property, or a trusted...

Fog Ahead: Getting To Clarity With Cloud

Jeff Morgan

In a recent Infoworld article, Matt Prigge brought up a host of valid points about the way we market the cloud. Is it a disservice to the small business owner without an IT staff to overly simplify the concepts behind our wares? Surely it sells an account, but at what cost? I’m forever walking the line between too much detail and not enough, but what if the vendor doesn’t actually provide the service as promised? What if, in spite of...

Security’s Evolutionary Theory

April 25, 2013
Steve Hurst

Security and risk awareness have been part of the lives of humans from the very earliest days. At its core, security focuses on keeping things safe.  In a business environment, complete safety can restrict access and availability, and is therefore impractical.  Focusing solely on security, without balancing associated risk, is unrealistic, as businesses need to take certain risks to grow and be profitable. Let’s look at the history of...

Teachers vs Technology: Who Rules The Classroom?

Ben Kruse

Recently, a colleague sent me an opinion piece by Wendy Kopp that appeared on CNN’s website:  Computers can't replace real teachers. The point of Ms. Kopp’s article is extremely well made: Although powerful and exciting when applied in measured and meaningful ways, technology can never be allowed to overshadow the human element in the education equation – our nation’s teachers....

Cyber Attacks And Security Breaches In Healthcare

April 24, 2013
Barb White

I read almost daily in the news about cyber attacks on U.S. banks, infrastructure, government agencies, and businesses. In fact, government agencies saw a more than 650% increase in cyber security incidents from 2006 to 2010, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO reports that a main reason for the increase is the failure of agencies to fully implement their IT security programs....

3 Best Cloud Apps For Business

Mario Armstrong

Last week I discussed the best cloud apps for managing your contacts and business cards, but what about everything else you do while on the go? Can you use the cloud to be more productive in other areas? Of course you can! There are apps that leverage the cloud to do almost everything you do online...

The Boston Marathon: Connecting Through The Chaos

April 23, 2013
Elizabeth Hitchcock

The Boston Marathon. I was there to cheer on our friend “Kendra,” a many-time marathon runner and a strong performer in her age group.  Our group (serious fans armed with cameras, gifts and fun) had made signs: “Whine now, wine later,” “We Love You Kendra,” and more.  Of course, we also carried mobile devices to stay connected with each other and the event....

Building Your Brand With Google+

Mark Burgess

Now that Google+ has been around for a few years, the benefits have come into sharper focus.  Most notably, this rapidly-growing social network is proving to be a popular, integrated platform for small business.  The brilliance of Google+ lies in...

Like Building a Home: Get the Right Partner for Managed Hosting

April 22, 2013
Steve Caniano

I’m delighted to report that Gartner Inc. has again, for the seventh report in a row, named AT&T as a ‘Leader’ in its latest Magic Quadrant for Managed Hosting, North America. As I considered the best way to explain what this means to our current and potential customers, this analogy came to mind:...

Stop Being A Social Media Sledge Hammer

Alan See

In 1977, I failed my initial swimming test during Plebe Summer at the United States Naval Academy.  During my remedial lessons with other sinkers I still remember my instructor yelling “Mr. See, you look like a sledge hammer going through butter!”  My technique needed some help...

IT Risk And Security Reward Webinar

April 19, 2013
ATT

Every day corporate networks are faced with increasingly complex threats to IT security. But there’s an entirely new approach that can help you minimize risks. It’s called “Orbital Security”—and it just might save your company’s data. Orbital Security allows you to create an IT security strategy based on the relationships your company has with clients,...

Mobile Analytics And Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

Doug Sillars

It is now de-rigueur to gather analytical data on exactly how customers behave in every situation.  Compiling all of this analytical information into big data can help you improve your current product offerings and anticipate future growth for your...

Practical Tablet Use Cases Revealed At Tablet West

April 18, 2013
Maribel Lopez

In the past, I’ve discussed how there are three phases of mobility. In the first phase, a business will simply rework many of its existing solutions so that it operates in the mobile domain, or they will seek out mobile versions of existing applications....

4 Tips From Alexander Graham Bell For The Social CIO

Elizabeth Hitchcock

Six months ago, I walked into AT&T and was immediately propelled into a social business netherworld that I imagined would make AT&T’s iconic founder, Alexander Graham Bell, incredibly proud. Bell would see a firm – peopled by Twitter...

Network Enabled Cloud: The Next Phase Of Cloud Evolution?

April 17, 2013
ATT

Today, when people discuss cloud, it’s mainly centered around the compute and storage aspects of cloud architecture. "The network" is typically mentioned and will play a key part as cloud evolves into the next phase of development. Which means, as businesses expand their cloud infrastructure, enterprise networking will play a larger role. You’ll...

Getting Back To Marketing Basics

Brian Solis

Question: What is your #1 advice for social media strategists and managers? Answer: Stop talking about social media. Type “social media” into a Google search bar and you’ll find roughly about 4.7 billion results in .30 seconds. Next, try “social media conference.” You’ll see something along the lines of 1.2 billion results in .25 seconds. Social media is important but...

Wireless eTicketing Transforms Rail Travel At Amtrak

April 16, 2013
ATT

Serving more than 31 million passengers a year, Amtrak was challenged by a paper-based ticketing process that made changes difficult and lost tickets a service headache. The rapid emergence of personal mobile devices provided a remedy....

Hackathons – What’s In It For Me?

Maureen Backe

How would you like a mobile app that knows you’re on your way to the airport, gives you an ETA, updates you about flight delays, and helps you change your flight if necessary? AirPing does that, and it also gives the airline real-time data on passenger location for reassigning seats. That’s why...

6 Critical Steps To Add Mobility To Your Marketing Mix

April 15, 2013
Barbara Jones

So, you’d like to start incorporating mobility components into your marketing campaign.  With so many new ways to touch your customer with your message, it’s easy to just jump in and see what sticks. But before you go crazy (and possibly waste money or frustrate your customers), there are some basic rules...