February Mailbag

I am behind on my inbox messages and has been awile since I have done the mailbag on this blog.  I have some good email from the readers of this blog, so let's get right to them. 

Q.  What do you think the future of the PBX will be?  Should we buy now or wait?
A.  Good question.  There are some vendor consolidations going on, we have some new drivers around Unified Communications, and some technology evolution.  I think the PBX as we have known it for the past decades is slipping off into the history books.  The IP phone and technology is here and growing.  The challenge is for, say the Cisco IP Call Manager is to get to the level of providing top notch call center dial tone.  The reliability, clarity and feature/function has some growing to do.  The bread and butter of say Avaya is the rock solid technology for call center applications.  The other challenge is the network, a multi media vehicle now has to provide reliable, clear, optimized service for voice, video, data, control.  One more point, SIP trunking is a game changer - you need to start looking at the SIP trunking, utilizes technology such as Lync from Microsoft.  2011 and 2012 will deliver some great new technology in this space, so start thinking outside the traditional PBX box and look at what you can really deliver from the desktop for your organization.

Q.  Server Virtualization - isn't that really Private Cloud?
A.  Not at all.  Those that discount out the Private Cloud as nothing more than server virtualization is missing so much more.  Server virtualization is a component of the private or enterprise cloud, don't get me wrong.  The private cloud is really providing a cloud service to your internal customers.  Provide some provision automation, dashboards, elastic solutions to meet on demand needs, and so forth.  There are some good documents out there from EMC and HP on private cloud technology.  One more point on this, and that is really the turn in the IT foundamental position.  The internal IT department is really now competing with the SaaS and IaaS providers.  To compete, you need to really offer internal benefits, responsive, efficient, cost comparative, and quick.  You will see more changes coming in the future, so time for the traditional IT shops to take a step back and really look at what benefits and value do you bring to the business.

Q.  Should we allow employees to bring the iPad into work?
A.  This is a real discussion point and each organization is facing.  You really need to get your Senior Management, Legal and HR departmetns involved.  You have some key issues to tackle, like data ownership, data leak prevention, and data being on non-company devices.  The second half of that question was my personal opinion on this topic.  If you don't have a solid data leak prevention policy and technology in place, and a virtual desktop solution, I would not allow employee owned devices on the network, or hold company data.  What happens when that employee device brings a virus onto the enterprise network?  There are many opinions out there, and I think there are ways to safely bring an employee owned device into the enterprise and let them use them.  The problem is, most companies don't or can't spend the necessary money to do this right.  Taking a half hearted approach to this topic will reward headaches down the road.  Do it right, or just have a blanket policy of no. 

Q.  What do you think of all this union stuff in Wisconsin?
A.  I laughed when I got this one, as we try to keep this blog technical in nature and IT focused.  I know the person who sent this question for the mailbag is pushing my buttons, but worthy of a response.  The teachers that went to Madison to protest under the pretense of being sick should be disciplined up to and including termination.  In addition, the 14 senators missing in action - should be recalled.  They got voted into office to do their job, so do it.  Vote no if you don't agree, but do your job.  I also believe the protests in Madison, the capital campground is out of control.  You can be in the state building during normal business hours, and out at the end of the day.  This building is for ALL citizens, not just the few or union thugs. 

Q.  What about Flash Memory - viable for the enterprise storage strategy?
A.   Yes - and has come a long way.  Should be in everyone's new storage strategy, and viable to the tier storage approach.  I am going to do a blog on storage shortly, so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks for all the support, emails, questions, and comments.  Keep them coming.

Keep it positive!

Scott Arnett
scott.arnett@charter.net