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16
CA TECHNOLOGIES
8 COVER STORY
This month we cover security in the cloud,
firewalls today, and risk management ROI
36 COMMUNICATIONS
Types of hosted communications offerings
commonly available today
52 NETWORKING
How mobile devices affect the corporate
network
16 BUSINESS
This month's focus is CA Technologies and its
cloud, mainframe, and mobility offerings
40 DATA
A "big data" executive overview and a look
at data lakeswhat they are and why they
matter
56 ELECTRONICS
The latest premium consumer electronics and
a look at trends in artificial intelligence
24 CLOUD
Introduction to managed cloud services
27 MOBILITY
Mobile collaboration, what constitutes a
tablet, storage for new laptops, and mobile
Web app pros and cons
CONTACT US
P.O. Box 82545
Lincoln, NE 68501
or
120 W. Harvest Drive
Lincoln, NE 68521
44 ENERGY
The latest news and research into energyconscious tech
60 TIPS
Smartphone and business travel tips
46 IT
CyrusOne's high-speed fiber network for
colocation, and how better servers improve
business
Copyright 2014 by Sandhills Publishing Company. CyberTrend TM is a trademark of Sandhills Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of material appearing in CyberTrend TM is strictly prohibited without written permission.
Daily
Never
A Few Times
Per Week
20%
43%
10%
Once Per
Week
6%
4%
17%
A Few Times
Per Year
STARTUPS
UK Startup Offers Relocation
Via Cloud
Why hire a third-party service to relocate employees when you could use
a simple cloud-based service instead?
Thats the question UK-based startup
Move Guides hopes a growing number
of human resources departments will ask,
as Move Guides offers that precise alternative. Talent mobility is a huge pain
point for HR departments, says Brynne
Herbert, founder of Move Guides, and
our market-leading Talent Mobility
Cloud is their answer. Move Guides
recently closed an $8.2 million Series A
funding round led by New Enterprise
Associates. With this additional funding,
Move Guides will continue to expand.
It currently has offices in Hong Kong,
London, New York, and San Francisco.
Intuitive Analytics,
No Coding Required
For companies that have limited programming resources but are interested in
analytics tools, there are the services of
Alteryx. The Irvine, Calif.,-based startup
offers a solution that combines information from a variety of sources (internal
data, third-party data, and cloud-based
data) into dashboards for sales, marketing,
and other business departments. The company recently completed a $60 million investment round led by Insight Venture
Partners. According to Alteryx, part of the
funding will go toward increasing go-tomarket capacity and further expanding
channel partners.
Intel recently led a $25.7 million equity financing round for Good- Data,
a San Francisco-based startup devoted
to providing end-to-end cloud-based
analytics capabilities to companies of
all sizes, particularly enterprises. The
business intelligence market has reached
a new point of maturity, as organizations increasingly analyze data at scale in
the cloud, says Roman Stanek, CEO of
GoodData. We have always recognized
a need in the market for a complete,
cloud-based big data platform, he adds,
attributing the new funding as recognition of GoodDatas value in this market.
KEY POINTS
Among SecaaS offerings, organizations have most widely adopted
email and Web protection services,
but offerings run the gamut.
Reducing internal security infrastructure and administration burdens while acquiring cutting-edge
security are top reasons organizations adopt SecaaS.
SecaaS can translate into cost
savings for organizations, but that
isnt guaranteed and shouldnt be
the driving factor for adoption.
A potential drawback to using
SecaaS offerings for some organizations can be a providers inability
to meet various customization
requirements for security that an
organization may have.
Whats Available
To date, email and Web security services that help weed out bad URLs and
Web content, provide secure (typically
encrypted) email, reduce spam, perform
virus scans, and combat phishing attacks,
among other capabilities, have seen
the greatest adoption among organizations, says Lawrence Pingree, Gartner
research director.
SecaaS offerings, however, pretty
much cover the entire security spectrum. Service types available include
IAM (identity and access management),
website protection (anti-fraud, anti-DoS
[denial of service], anti-DDoS [distributed DoS]), application security testing,
vulnerability scanning and assessment,
penetration testing, security intelligence
The Benefits
Among the more notable enticements
for organizations to adopt SecaaS is
the ability to bolster current security
measures, achieve better positioning
in terms of compliance (government
and industry regulations, industry standards and best practices, audits, etc.),
acquiring better reliability, and the
potential for cost-savings. Some companies also look to SecaaS to help avoid
the negative publicity and business
disruptions that can stem from security incidents.
As with other cloud computing services, adopting SecaaS offerings enables organizations to reduce their
on-premises technology infrastructures,
streamline processes, and achieve economies of scale previously not possible.
Specifically, Fielder cites speed of implementation, scale and elasticity of a
service, the depth of expertise available
from a security provider vs. whats typically available internally to most companies, the flexible and global nature of
a service, and reliability and resilience
as primary SecaaS benefits.
For Pingree, the greatest benefit of
adopting SecaaS is its ability to reduce
administrative burdens. Most larger enterprises want their IT security teams
focused on reducing threats and risks, as
well as the incident-response process,
he says. The biggest weakness most organizations have is that they dont properly resource their incident-response
processes. So redirecting resources is
essentiala factor that SecaaS offerings
help deliver.
In short, some organizations couldnt
or wouldnt deploy security architectures
and functionality without the benefit
of SecaaS, Fielder says. Any company,
however, can deploy leading-edge security solutions via the cloud and take
advantage of providers expertise with
SecaaS, he says. Additionally, SecaaS offerings provide the ability to easily integrate multiple sites into the service
regardless of location, as well as the
flexibility to rapidly scale up and down
a service to pay only for those services
the organization actually consumes.
DDoS protection is a good example of
the latter, Tarzey says. Why pay if you
arent under attack? he says.
Yet other SecaaS benefits include obtaining security thats more up-to-date
and part of a large-scale security operation. The latter means organizations
benefit from protection the provider
has developed based on issues other
customers have experienced. Broadly,
Tarzey says, SecaaS gives organizations
the freedom to focus on delivering value
to their business and leave the security
to experts.
From a budgetary standpoint,
SecaaS offerings are available in a wide
array of service contract options, including monthly, annual, and biennial contracts that make budgeting
easier, Pingree says. While theres a
notion among some that using cloudbased services automatically translates
into costs savings, this isnt necessarily true. Pingree says over the long
haul, using SecaaS offerings may cost
more than covering security internally. The tradeoff, however, is that
SecaaS offerings are much easier to
The Drawbacks
Although the list of benefits associated
with using SecaaS is long and attractive,
there are potential risks and drawbacks
to consider before adopting such services, including those related to a providers reliability, policies and control,
quality and quantity of customer support, and ability to protect data moving
between the provider and the organization. Additionally, while many providers
offer geographic hosting, organizations
with requirements about where data is
hosted should ensure this.
For some organizations, the level of
customization required vs. the level of customization the provider can deliver can be
a drawback. Some providers, for example,
focus on serving the needs of many by delivering common capabilities as opposed
to providing highly customized services.
Some services may be more commoditized in order to create economies of
scale and provide a very standardized service, which is likely to be very good but
may not be capable of much tailoring to
meet specific needs or working practices,
Fielder says. Thus, organizations may need
Viable Candidates
In terms using SecaaS and all cloudbased services in general, Tarzey says no
organization in the 21st century should
not be looking at on-demand service as
an alternative to on-premises deployment. Increasingly, he says, old-style IT
and vendors that fail to adapt are dying.
10
DRM Exposed
Sean Pike, program director with IDC,
says the emergence of the term digital
risk management is really a recognition
of business transformation that has taken
place over the last 20-plus years, during
which time corporations have shifted to
large-scale digital architectures with complex IT systems requiring specific and
unique risk management processes.
Still, Pike is wary of the term. While
readily acknowledging corporations have
transformed on expanding technology platforms, he says, the idea that digital risk
management is a new discipline discounts
11
inability to get business processes running again after a disaster. Mobile devices,
using or not using the cloud, hacking,
insider threats, etc. introduce numerous
other risks, although these nearly always
link back to data or performance/systems
DRM aspects, Tarzey says.
Michela Menting, ABI Research practice director, says intrinsic to DRM is the
concept of information security and an
understanding of what information needs
to be protected and managing the risks of
not properly protecting information and
systems. The key is to be able to protect
information at rest and while in transit
anywhere, as it flows through the corporate network and through third-party
service and application providers, she
says. Information security is therefore a
non-negligible aspect of digital risk management, as it involves the formulation
of policies as much as the configuration
of hardware and software, such as patch
management, network scans, logging and
monitoring activity, etc.
Menting says within the DRM context,
enterprises must consider such things
as data loss prevention, encryption and
key management, and identity and access
management because each enables assessing and managing risks appropriately.
Information governance is the sort of
overarching field of application for risk
management, she says. Its as much
about management as it is about assessing
risks and determining the proper level of
security that will not too adversely impact
business productivity.
12
The Payback
Pike says theres plenty to gain from
possessing a strong, effective DRM
strategy. Arguably the biggest benefit is
transformation of the organizations culture. Organizations with a risk-assessing
culture tend to be thoughtful about how
new lines of business or technologies
will affect the rest of the organization, he
says. That level of thoughtfulness and
cooperation can reduce spending, reduce
duplication of effort, and create collegial
environments that encourage innovation, he says.
Similarly, Menting says the advantage
of having a well-planned IT structure is
that its conducive to enhancing business
models and modes of operation. The
current progression and expansion of cybercrime means that most organizations
with a digital presence will eventually
have to deal with an incident, she says.
Legitimate organizations have the most
to lose. Theyll need to deal not only with
cyber threats but also with the consequences of deficient security. Liability
can be eschewed, however, with a wellimplemented information governance
framework.
Firewalls Today
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
A Little Background
face when it comes to securing networks is the simple fact that the PCs,
laptops, and mobile devices that help
make up the network are kind of nave.
When connected, after little more than
a handshake, computers readily share
information and communicate freely
with one another.
This is good, vital even. But most
other devices and networks cannot be
trusted, and computers are not built to
treat any and all incoming transmissions like the wretched hive of scum
and villainy that they potentially are.
Instead of throwing up roadblocks to
the computers ability to exchange information, however, we can use software and purpose-built devices that act
as gatekeepers: this is the firewalls job.
In this article well take a closer
look at the firewalls purpose, the types
available, and how firewall technology
is moving forward to tackle modern
threats.
13
14
16
A Bit Of History
easier for customers to find the products that best matched their needs,
started making its expertise more available to customers, and put strategies
in place to help customers run their IT
operations more efficiently.
CA then introduced the EITM
(Enterprise IT Management) concept,
and released 26 versions of existing
products and developed 85 new products following the EITM framework.
And in 2010, the company changed its
name to CA Technologies.
experience in
multiple areas,
including mainframe, cloud,
and mobile.
CAs dedication to advancing mainframe
systems continues today.
New technology
releases are designed to help
customers take
a d v a n t a g e o f Earlier this year, CA Technologies opened a technology center in Santa Clara, Calif. Among
the center's areas of focus are mobility, big data, digital payment technology, and security.
the unmatched
capabilities of
the mainframe
while enabling them to get the most out
EMM includes CAs Mobile Device
of their hybrid IT environments: mainManagement solution, which is deframe, distributed, cloud, and mobile.
signed to give companies more control
CA also offers implementation services
over company-issued devices as well
to make sure that companies can get the
as make it easy to implement BYOD
most out of their CA product deploy(bring your own device) policies and
ments and make a smooth transition.
allow consumer-owned devices in the
This same idea applies to the compaworkplace. And as with all of the comnys cloud offerings. Not only can CA
panys other products, CA also offers
offer companies cloud-based solutions,
implementation services to make sure
but it will also help its customers take
you get your MDM system up and runadvantage of the cloud in new ways. CA
ning quickly.
Technologies offers a wide variety of
implementation services to help busiA Well-Rounded Approach
nesses get cloud environments up and
CA Technologies isnt content to
running as well as integrate them with
offers solutions for only one market
existing physical and virtual environor one specific use case. Instead of
ments. Even if a company has never
counting on you to buy solutions from
moved data or workloads to the cloud
multiple vendors, which can create
in the past, CA will make this process
fragmentation and cause major inteas painless and seamless as possible,
gration issues down the road, CA ofso any company can start setting up
fers a wide variety of solutions to help
cloud environments.
its customers cover all bases. And perPerhaps the most recent addition
haps the biggest benefit of using CA
to the CA Technologies portfolio is
products is that you know regardless of
the companys line of mobile prodwhether you opt for a physical or viructs. The star of the show here is CAs
tual onsite deployment or go with the
Enterprise Mobility Management
cloud, the solutions can integrate and
Suite, which was recently released with
youll have CAs wealth of experience
day-one support for the new iOS. CA
behind you every step of the way.
17
18
19
20
useful and rely on them for a significant portion of their computing tasks,
CA Technologies (www.ca.com) offers
solutions that help you better understand the equipment youre using and
formulate a plan for how to continue
leveraging those investments for years
to come. And as it does with all of its
solutions, CA will help you through
the implementation process to make
sure your mainframe systems are operating at peak performance well into
the future.
CA Assessment Services
The first step in improving the performance of your mainframe systems is
to acquire a baseline reading as to how
your current infrastructure is running.
At the outset, CA Technologies will
help you evaluate your mainframes,
find areas that could use improvement,
and point out specific changes you can
make, using CA solutions, to get more
out of those systems.
CA Implementation Services
Once you have a solid understanding of the current state of your
mainframe system, you can move on
to the implementation and deployment
21
22
CA Secure Cloud
Another way in which CA Technologies uses the cloud to address core
business needs is with its CA Secure
Cloud product (formerly called CA
CloudMinder). CA Secure Cloud is a
Web-based IAM (identity and access
management) solution that enables organizations to stay on top of identity
management and governance across
THE GOAL OF CA
TECHNOLOGIES
WITH CCAS IS TO
REDUCE THE RISK
OF YOUR INVESTMENTS AND MAKE
SURE YOU GET THE
BEST POSSIBLE
PERFORMANCE AT
THE LOWER COST,
WHETHER ITS IN AN
ONSITE VIRTUALIZED ENVIRONMENT
OR IN THE CLOUD.
CA Clarity PPM
CA Clarity PPM (Project & Portfolio
Manager) helps you better track projects from the idea stage through to
deployment and ongoing support.
Additionally, Clarity PPM enables you
to manage your entire business portfolio in order to align your resources
with your overall business objectives.
CA Clarity PPM offers a centralized
management console for tracking every
resource involved in a project as well as
every aspect of your portfolio. The key
benefit of Clarity PPM is that you get an
in-depth view every step of the way so
you can make more informed decisions.
23
KEY POINTS
A managed cloud service usually
entails an organization contracting
with a third party to provision, configure and operate a cloud service
on behalf of the organization.
Off-loading in-house IT management duties to increase focus on
other business objectives is one
benefit of managed cloud services.
Companies running out of data
center space and lacking staff,
skills, or resources often consider
managed cloud services.
Ensuring the provider offers SLAs
(service-level agreements) that
meet business needs, and service
that meets or exceeds statutory and
regulatory needs, is key.
24
A Working Definition
Simply put, managed cloud providers help consumers move to the
cloud and, once moved, operate cloudrelated services for them. Beyond
providing infrastructure, Price says,
managed cloud vendors offer services
available within the cloud stack and
incorporate automation, orchestration,
and proactive manual monitoring to
manage cloud applications or infrastructure for customers.
John Howie, principal at Howie
Consulting, says that increasingly,
cloud brokers (companies that match
cloud consumers needs with cloud
providers) are recommending managed
cloud providers. Furthermore, Howie
says, its highly likely some major
public cloud providers will begin offering forms of managed services.
For background on the matter,
Howie points to The NIST Definition
of Cloud Computing, which describes
cloud service models, cloud deployment models, and essential characteristics, one of which is on-demand
self-service. This last trait means a
cloud consumer can buy a cloud service from a cloud provider and provision it without requiring human
interaction. A managed cloud service
is one in which the consumer contracts
with a company to provision cloud services on their behalf, Howie says. A
good example of a managed cloud service is a private cloud that a third party
hosts, he says. The third party works
with the consumer to understand its
requirements and then build, tailor,
and configure cloud services on its behalf, and operate it.
Martorelli says managed cloud
models can be considered forms of
managed hosting that use cloud infrastructure. Hosted private clouds and
hosted virtual private clouds are typical
examples; a private cloud is physically
isolated and a virtual private cloud is
virtually isolated. Both are conceptually close to virtual managed hosting,
Martorelli says. Some providers are
also pursuing models in which they
manage public cloud services adjacent
to their own services, whether they be
managed hosting, disaster recovery,
or other cloud model variants, he
says. While providers cant actually
manage the underlying public cloud
infrastructure, they can surround
it with additional managed services,
SLAs [service-level agreements], and
more favorable contractual terms and
conditions, Martorelli says.
Ed Anderson, research vice president with Gartner, says that in the
case of private clouds, various managed cloud scenarios exist. For example, a company could run a private
cloud service in its own data center but
have a third party manage or run it in
an external data center. With private
cloud services specifically, Anderson
sees three dimensions existing: ownership (Who owns the assets?), location
(Where is it running?), and management (Who is managing it?). Any
time you have a third party managing
the system, thats what we would call a
managed cloud service, he says.
The Motivators
A primary benefit of managed cloud
services is the ability to get to the
cloud faster. For example, says Dave
Bartoletti, Forrester Research principal analyst, managed cloud services
can help an organization enable cloud
platform access for developers quicker
than on its own. Another benefit often
cited is the potential to off-load IT
management functions to gain more
time, agility, and flexibility in terms
focusing on innovation. As Howie says,
consumers dont need to train up
their IT staff or acquire new staff with
the requisite experience and skills.
Agility, Anderson says, ranked as
the top reason by a wide margin, according to Gartner data, why organizations consider using a cloud
service. I think that says volumes.
They believe public cloud providers,
including, in the parlance, managed
cloud providers, can deliver services
much faster than they can internally,
he says.
Another scenario under which companies consider managed cloud environments is when theyre facing a need
to replace depreciated hardware and
software but dont possess the required
skills or staff to do so. Additionally,
Howie says, a company that is considering a move to the cloud but believes
the risk of public cloud computing too
great might instead adopt a private
cloud model through a managed cloud
provider.
Martorelli says compared to a pure
public model, companies may gain
more SLA coverage, additional terms
and conditions, and comfort levels regarding regulatory requirements via a
managed cloud provider. Desire for
support at the applications layer would
be another motivation, he says.
25
26
KEY POINTS
Security, privacy, and infrastructure
issues may arise when employees
are allowed to download any app they
want to their mobile devices, so consider policy issues carefully.
Consider involving employees in the
selection, testing, and evaluation of
mobile collaboration tools.
Focus on selecting mobile collaboration solutions that provide
cross-platform support and that will
work on different device form factors
(smartphones, tablets, etc.) to avoid
compatibility issues.
Consider implementing policies and
rules regarding mobile collaboration
tool usage to ward off problems related to security and data leakage.
Messy Business
Its understandable that with so many
mobile collaboration options available
27
type of integration between the workers mobile device and his/her desktop
computer, Sterling says. Files and
documents ideally should be accessible
and editable across smartphone, tablet,
laptop, and desktop. Although workarounds may be available to overcome
such issues, these take time, which
nullifies much of the initial mobile
collaboration advantage, she says.
Employees can become confused and
frustrated, each championing their own
favorite collaboration toolagain, the
antithesis of what collaboration is
all about.
Similarly, Jim Rapoza, Aberdeen
Group senior research analyst, says
having too many tools really defeats the whole purpose of collaboration tools, which is to make it easier
for people to seamlessly work together wherever they are. The biggest
problem Rapoza sees with these tools,
however, is they dont integrate with
how people really work. If, to collaborate, you have to go to some app that
isnt integrated with your regular workspace and tools, you probably arent
going to use that collaboration app
much, he says.
28
Regain Control
What employees and business
owners/executives can do to take control and agree upon a set of compatible
solutions depends on the circumstances.
McNicol says this question is coming to
the forefront more often. Collaborate,
evaluate, and communicate are the
three criteria he points to for finding a
solution that works best for everyone.
First, collaborate with employees. Get
them involved to find out which solutions theyre using and why. Then the
organization can evaluate the solutions and communicate the preferred
choice, he says. Collaborating with employees on the decision-making process
will increase the odds they comply with
company policy, he says. All this does
Making Decisions
When filtering mobile collaboration
tools, Rapoza emphasizes collaboration is a feature, not a standalone application. Thus, focus on how a tool
matches how people actually work.
Also, consult employees to work out
exactly what types of data might be
shared via the tools. Based on this data,
Bamforth advises to set simple rules,
such as never share this or if you
must share this, use only X, and use
only Y for personal information.
Sterling says the tool-selection process will take time and a modicum of
expertise. Smaller businesses particularly may lack sufficient resources to
do everything alone. While peer referrals can be helpful, Sterling says Frost
& Sullivan research indicates wireless
carriers are SMBs favorite partners for
selecting, buying, and deploying mobile apps. Reasons include that with a
monthly invoice, carriers maintain a
high-touch relationship with smaller
businesses. Many carriers have taken
on the responsibility of vetting a stillfragmented set of vendor alternatives
in a number of application categories, she says. Further, carriers focus
on including affordable, easily managed cloud-based solutions in their
mobile application portfolios, she says.
Once companies gather recommended
29
Anatomy Of A Tablet
WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN A TABLET
WHEN IT COMES TO mobile productivity, you cant beat a tablet. The slim
devices can travel nearly anywhere, and
youll enjoy more screen real estate than
whats available on a smartphoneeven
that of todays pocket-filling models.
Another benefit of the bigger size, compared with a smartphone, is that tablet
manufacturers can install more powerful processors for a speedier experience
when using email and other productivity
tools, so you might not need to bring
along that bulky laptop. We know that
the tablet shopping experience is fraught
with technical specs and features, and
were here to examine the key things you
should look for.
For easy comparison, we separated tablets into three categories: small (7 to 8.3
inches), medium (8.4 to 10.1 inches), and
The OS
Before focusing on the specs and features are desirable in a tablet, youll want
to explore your OS (operating system)
options, because the OS fuels how quickly
you can accomplish tasks with the tablet.
Were not here to say one mobile OS is
more functional than another, but it does
help if youre familiar with the interface.
For example, you might have experience
with the mobile OS on your smartphone
or a previous tablet. Or if you have a PC
that runs Windows 8.1, you might want
to look for a Windows 8.1-based tablet.
30
Small Tablets
Tablets in this size range are generally
less powerful and more affordable than
the larger models. Obviously, the bonus
of the smaller screen size is that the tablet
will fit easily inside a travel bag, purse, or
other carry-along. Generally, small tablets are comfortable to hold in one hand,
which makes them a good fit for users
who want tablets that double as e-readers.
When it comes to processing power,
many models in this category feature a
multi-core (typically quad-core) processor that runs at approximately 1.5GHz.
For example, the Asus VivoTab Note 8
(www.asus.com) boasts a 1.86GHz quadcore processor. Budget tablets might
offer dual-core processors or models that
Medium Tablets
Tablets that fall into the medium-sized
category tend to be the most popular.
Compared with models in the small tablet
category, the extra inches make watching
movies and TV shows or playing video
games more enjoyable. Youll be able to
use productivity apps more effectively, as
well. Medium-sized tablets also offer better
portability than laptops or larger tablets,
because they fit into most travel bags.
Improvements to tablet screens have
allowed manufacturers to deliver some incredible quality on medium-sized tablets.
Large Tablets
The tablets that are larger than 10.1
inches are often referred to as laptop replacements, because they typically feature a hybrid design with a detachable
keyboard (or mobile keyboard dock) that
lets the user switch between tablet and
laptop form factors. The newest tablets
in this category are often equipped with
the fastest mobile processorscapable of
handling multimedia creation and productivity tasksas well as Windows 8.1
to support the full versions of applications
you use on a traditional PC.
The Surface Pro 3 from Microsoft
(www.microsoft.com) is a good example
of a tablet thats designed to function as a
laptop replacement. You can select from a
variety of 4th Generation Intel Core processors and the 12-inch tablet comes with
a detachable keyboard. The Surface Pro 3
also offers memory and storage options
similar to what youd find on a laptop,
because you can have a maximum of 8GB
of memory and up to 512GB of storage.
Size Matters
Performance and screen quality
often scale with a tablets size. For basic
tasks, such as Web browsing and ereader capabilities, small tablets will do
the job. Tablets between 8.4-inches and
10.1-inches hit the sweet spot for those
people who want a portable device with
a screen thats large enough for watching
movies and viewing emails and documents, but can also still conveniently fit
into an everyday bag. If you want the
ability to use powerful software and easily
create emails and documents, youll likely
want a large tablet or convertible tablet/
laptop that delivers greater processing
power and screen real estate.
31
NEARLY EVERY mobile device user is familiar with mobile websites and standard
(or native) mobile apps, the former accessible via a Web browser and the latter
downloaded from app stores. Arguably
fewer users are as experienced with mobile Web apps. In terms of reaching customers, clients, and employees via mobile
means, each of these avenues has distinct
pros and cons. The following focuses on
what mobile Web apps entail in relation
to the other two options and why businesses might consider developing them.
32
Reaching Customers
For businesses seeking the best way to
reach customers, clients, employees, and
others via mobile there are various considerations to weigh regarding using mobile Web apps and websites vs. devoting
resources to developing standard mobile
apps. In terms of development issues, for
example, mobile Web apps are based on a
generic translation engine, whereas native
mobile app code can be highly optimized
to take advantage of specific hardware and
OSes, Valani says. Additionally, mobile
Web app frameworks can lag behind native mobile app frameworks, he says.
Valdes says depending on how mobile Web apps are implemented, theyll
have more limited user experience and
functionality vs. native apps. Conversely,
depending on execution, native apps will
have higher development and maintenance
costs, and theyll be more difficult to update. Similarly, the Forrester report states
that mobile apps shine at interactive experiences on targeted devices and can offer
customers deeply engaging experiences.
Mobile Web, meanwhile, delivers a consistent experience on every device.
In a 2013 article, Al Hilwa, IDC program
director of software development research,
describes an enlightened coexistence between Web and native device application
platforms that could prevail. Although
native apps will remain dominant, Hilwa
states the Web platform will make significant inroads, to that point Web technologies may infuse the majority of mobile
apps one day. Initially, various development tools that generate installable native
apps will support Web technologies, he
writes. These hybrid apps may be written
primarily in HTML and JavaScript and take
advantage of browser components available
on a native device platform, he states.
Forrester describes hybrid apps as one
part app and one part Web. Similar to mobile apps, hybrid apps have a presence in
app stores and on touchscreens, load like
apps, and have local storage and security
abilities. Like mobile Web, hybrid apps display content in an embedded browser. In
Questions To Ask
For Valani, deciding if a mobile Web
app, standard mobile app, or mobile
website approach is best is essentially an
apples and oranges scenario. Trying
to correlate reach and end users would
imply that customers prefer one type of
app container over the other, he says.
Numerous other external factors are involved, however, including social ranking,
trustworthiness, update frequency, integrated ecosystem, and personalization.
Bottom line is the business shouldnt
focus on the technology but on the value,
he says.
Specifically, Valani believes the container should be a secondary issue. In general, businesses should focus more broadly
on mobile innovation, including by asking
how it will make workers more productive, provide the business a competitive
edge, provide other unique or enhanced
services, and enable the organization to
leverage existing investments. Questions
business administrators, architects, and
developers should consider include: Is native hardware access needed? Does a large
pool of Web developers who understand
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript already exist?
Do you need to deploy an app on multiple
devices? Is the fact that code may not perform equally across devices acceptable? Is
there a release-management strategy for
mobile apps?
When determining an approach, Valdes
stresses the need for businesses to know
their users, needs regarding the businesss
digital channels, and the high-value and
high-priority use cases for specific channels. Organizations will likely need a fullfeatured, content-rich website accessible
by desktop PCs, tablets, and a variety of
mobile phones, he says. Further, there
might be a subset of functions that can be
packaged into a mobile Web app with an
easy-to-use, touch-centric interface. Lastly,
there might be a small handful of scenarios
for which a dedicated, high-performance
native app makes sense, he says.
33
Key Considerations
Although the technology is the same,
theres a big difference between what
you need to consider when purchasing
storage for laptops vs. desktops. Jonathan
Weech, Solid State Storage Marketing
Manager at Micron (www.micron.com),
says there will be some compromises that
need to be made due to the physical space
34
Speed Rules
Modern laptops generally all support the SATA III (6Gbps) interface,
The Crucial M500 M.2 SSD by Micron (www.micron.com) is small enough to fit in the thinnest laptops and even tablets.
Capacity
35
Hosted Communications
THE APPEAL OF CLOUD-BASED VOIP & UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
36
Enterprise-Level Features
OConnell says most enterprise-level
hosted UC and VoIP solution deployments include a high uptake of VoIP,
mobility, UM, and audio conferencing.
The business case is often replacing the
premium-based PBX [private branch exchange; a private phone network used
within a company], as well as integrating
employee smartphones to enable enterprise mobility, he says.
Basically, Schoeller says, hosted UC/
VoIP solutions include the same set of
capabilities as on-premises UC solutions.
These features are used for enterprise
collaboration, and many look to connect
external users, but in other cases, they use
federation services to do that. Federation
essentially enables UC-type communications with others outside the organization.
In terms of telephony, some organizations require an exhaustive list of features,
including those in operator/attendant
consoles, Banting says. Additionally, with
remote working on the rise, mobility is
becoming key. Here, functionality can
range from simple call-forwarding from
a desk phone to a mobile device on up to
fully featured soft-client apps that enable
making voice and video calls over Wi-Fi,
holding conference calls, and IM.
Bantings own firms use of UCaaS
enables its analysts to operate globally.
U.S.-based clients, for example, use a
U.S. number to contact Banting with the
call routed via public Internet to an office-based IP phone near London. This
is where UCaaS makes a lot of sense
for companies geographically dispersed
with multiple locations and/or home
workers, he says.
Elsewhere, audio, video, and Web conferencing is becoming more common for
some organizations. Conferencing enables team members to meet online in a
scheduled or ad-hoc manner to talk, add
video, and share content. While some solutions may include whiteboarding functionality, Banting says he hasnt seen this
Better Utilization
Currently, many cloud-based VoIP/
UC providers possess limited video
and Web conferencing capabilities,
OConnell says, although some are enhancing their abilities and making them
easier to use. We can expect these integrated solutions to start replacing the
Web conferencing and videoconferencing point solutions, he says.
Forrester, meanwhile, expects good
growth for desktop video, although,
Schoeller says, video conferencing
doesnt seem a fit for some enterprises
culture. Some organizations will eventually grow into video as more consumers
using it personally also want it for business, he says.
Moving forward, Banting says its
worth noting that what was once a complex mix of distinctly different business tools and technologies is slowly
coming together in the cloud. UCaaS
providers recognize that multiple tools
and multiple communication channels
cause unnecessary repetition, delay,
and frustration for organizations, he
says. Likely, he adds, well see a rapid
convergence of real-time communications (voice, video, conferencing, IM,
presence, and desktop sharing) and
asynchronous collaboration (email, intranet sites, voice mail, enterprise file
sync/share, and enterprise social networking).
Currently, the collaboration and
communications market is fragmented
into numerous on-premises and cloudbased offerings, Banting says. As such,
an enterprise will likely compromise some features and functionality
if choosing either an all-cloud or allon-premises solution. Many vendors,
Banting adds, do support hybrid models
that enable integrating both deployment
choices.
37
Cellular Insecurity
HOW DATA ABOUT YOU & YOUR MOBILE DEVICE MAKES THE ROUNDS
SMARTPHONE OWNERS know an incredible amount about how they can use
their phones. What they tend to know
less about are the finer details concerning the voice and data traffic tied
to their phones, including how wireless
carriers and app providers route, access,
store, and use that data.
Traffic Patterns
Cell phones are often described as
essentially being radios, not too unlike
walkie-talkies that transmit and receive
radio signals. Unlike a walkie-talkie,
however, cell phones can operate over
long distances and support multiple frequencies, meaning two people can speak
simultaneously. In short, a cell phone
transmits a signal to a cell phone tower,
which receives, boosts, and transmits
that signal to other towers until the call
reaches one nearby the calls recipient.
When a caller moves outside the grid of
towers his wireless carrier operates, the
signal drops or the phone roams to
38
The Ad Influence
Data-retention practices among application providers can greatly vary,
Iadarola says. Though users typically
must opt-in to an agreement concerning data and location information,
providers data requirements are more
flexible and not as standardized, he
says. Iadarola thus strongly encourages reading any language concerning
an app providers formalized policies,
because some providers keep data a
long time and sell data to marketers
39
40
41
42
Cloud Considerations
One more thing to consider is how the
cloud could affect your big data effort.
Heudecker says that although its true
the cloud is good for intermittent processing jobs that many big data projects
rely on, and it gives you a variety of options for trying out new things with very
little commitment to investment, there
are some potential disadvantages, as well.
The downsides are pervasive security and privacy concerns, he says. The
other is you might not be able to optimize the environment for your type of
processing as much as you might like
or need. Finally, if you need to move a
massive amount of data to or from the
cloud to on-premises environment, it
can be very challenging and is still not a
well-told story. You may often find you
are doing some kind of analytical processing in the cloud, moving that result
or sample to an on-premises environment, and then doing additional work
there.
43
Greenovations
ENERGY-CONSCIOUS TECH
The technologies
that make our
lives easier also
produce some
unwanted side
effects on the
environment.
Fortunately, many
researchers,
manufacturers,
and businesses
are working to
create solutions
that will keep us
productive while
reducing energy
demands to lessen our impact on
the environment.
Here, we examine some of the
newest green
initiatives.
The Quant is an electric concept car powered by flow cell technology developed by NanoFlowcell AG. The company
hopes to eventually bring the car and its technology to market.
44
45
46
Tunnel Vision
A VPN can be set up to use encrypted dedicated point-to-point connections or a site-to-site protocol.
When one of these methods is in place,
the remote user can initiate the secure
connection and access the intranet
right from a browser on a variety of
devices, including PCs, laptops, tablets,
and smartphones.
Larger organizations that also have
branch offices can benefit from setting
up a site-to-site type of VPN, which
is commonly used to establish a link
between the intranet and predefined
locations.
The remote-access VPN variety, on
the other hand, lets a user tap into files
and folders stored on the companys
servers using an Internet-connected
computer (or other device) located
anywherewhether it be at home or
in a hotel room on the other side of
the planetas if he were on a local
machine. This type of setup is ideal for
workers who travel frequently, work
from home, or who occasionally need
to access files from an offsite location.
This type of system starts with a network access server, media gate-way,
or remote-access server (this can also
simply be a computer) located within
the organizations main office. This device can run the software that performs
the user authorization, or it can rely
on a standalone authentication server
running on the network. The end-user
portion of a VPN consists of simple
VPN client software, which lets the
user input his credentials to initiate the
link, maintain the communication, and
ensure transmitted data is encrypted.
Much of the commonly available
VPN software relies on static IP addresses, which lets the client and server
know exactly where on the Web each
is located. For organizations that have
static IP addresses (a common business-class service ISPs offer), this isnt
a problem, but you may need to pay an
additional monthly fee to add this feature to your Internet service if it is not
already supported. You can also turn
to third-party software that is capable
of essentially turning your dynamic IPs
into static ones.
47
KEY POINTS
The data center is the companys
backbone. Upgrade servers regularly to achieve top performance for
employees and customers.
Efficiency gains in just 3-5 years
can be massive. You can save
money and improve performance
using the same power and cooling.
Many servers can now diagnose
their own hardware or software issues and alert the IT administrator
so they can respond quickly.
Combined with cloud-based
solutions, DCIM (data center infrastructure management) tools help
better maintain and track servers.
Having newer servers also makes it
easier to implement these tools.
48
companys data center or have any direct interaction with it, then its easy to
see why you might take it for granted
or at least not fully understand its importance to the company. In fact, the
data center is the technological foundation of the entire business. Its the
reason why employees have access to
the applications that let them do their
jobs and why customers can interact
with the business quickly and easily.
The customer part of the equation has
expanded in recent years with the advent of mobile and social technologies,
which means that if your data center
isnt operating at its peak level, you
could be missing out on potential sales.
If the data center is the foundation
of the business, then servers are the
backbone of the data center. These systems are more than just hunks of metal
that take up space and require large
amounts of power and cooling. They
provide all of the computing resources
you need to run your business efficiently and effectively, as long as you
keep them up-to-date and upgrade on
a regular basis. If you repeatedly ask
why you need to frequently invest in
new servers, the answer is relatively
simple. The resources that you put
into your data center is really to keep
your customers happy, says Jennifer
Koppy, IDC research director.
THESE SYSTEMS ARE MORE THAN JUST HUNKS OF METAL THAT TAKE UP
SPACE AND REQUIRE LARGE AMOUNTS OF POWER AND COOLING. THEY
PROVIDE ALL OF THE COMPUTING RESOURCES YOU NEED TO RUN YOUR
BUSINESS EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY . . .
49
Built-In Functionality
& More Intelligent Servers
In addition to making servers more
powerful, efficient, and relatively
small, manufacturers have made great
strides in integrating more intelligent
features into newer servers. For instance, many current server models
come with onboard diagnostic capabilities. Whereas IT used to have to
manually find out why a server fails,
the intelligent server of today will alert
IT personnel to potential issues on
the horizon and help them pinpoint
why a failure might have occurred
in real-time. In other words, there is
less looking under the hood and more
paying attention to the dashboard.
Servers can even be set up to deliver alerts and notifications so your IT
team can respond to and fix issues remotely if necessary. But the great news
for smaller organizations is that the
functionality that you used to have for
diagnostics, troubleshooting, maintenance management, and alerts and
warnings that used to be only on the
high-end, enterprise-class, big mainframe servers, are now common today
all the way down to SMB [small to
midsize business]-based servers, says
Schulz.
Another major server innovation designed to improve system intelligence
and make the IT administrators job
easier is the inclusion of such things
as virtualization technology. Such features are built right into the server
to help accelerate and offload some of
the common processing tasks, Schulz
says. All of this goes back to the concept of being able to do more with less.
Its often taken for granted, for example, that new servers can run multiple operating systems. They can also
now handle more computing tasks that
were once handled by separate cards
and components that would need to be
installed in the server. In other words,
new servers require much less physical
Internal Cooperation
Truly understanding the importance of server upgrades means that
you have to start looking at servers
differently. In the same way that you
upgrade smartphones every couple of
years, you may need to start upgrading
servers just as frequently, depending
on the needs of your company. Its important for the business and IT sides of
the company to communicate on these
issues and for the business side, executives included, to remember that the
data center is the information factory
for employees and customers alike, and
that upgrading servers to improve performance, efficiency, and productivity
will have long-reaching effects and ensure the future growth and success of
your company.
. . . NEW SERVER MANAGEMENT TOOLS MAY ACTUALLY BE THE GAMECHANGING FEATURES THAT SEPARATE NEW SERVERS FROM OLDER ONES.
50
Changing Demands
In recent years, CyrusOne noticed
that most of its customers started at
one location and then expanded their
deployments to multiple data centers,
either for active-active or active DR
(disaster recovery) solutions. In fact,
according to Gary Wojtaszek, president and CEO of CyrusOne, roughly
60% of the companys revenue is generated by customers with applications
deployed across multiple data centers.
The problem, as CyrusOne quickly
found out, was that each of these customers was also building its own individual network to connect applications
and equipment across multiple locations. Wojtaszek says that if they have
50 customers, for example, it would
be 50 customers re-creating 50 separate networks to tie together our data
centers. The solution to this problem
51
KEY POINTS
To combat the strain that more mobile devices coming into the workplace
are putting on corporate networks,
simply add more access points.
While older devices on a corporate
network can slow down other devices,
the situation isnt especially common
and is addressable by upgrading the
legacy devices.
When upgrading a corporate networks capacity, consider that users
will likely connect more devices to the
network in coming years.
Upgrading to 802.11ac technology
will add extra capacity and other
improvements that should alleviate
some issues an organization may be
currently experiencing.
52
Devices = Problems
Problems At Hand
Among the wireless network-related
problems that organizations can experience: older devices on the network
slowing down others. Lee Badman,
Syracuse University adjunct and network
architect, says that while less powerful
Wi-Fi radios dont equate to slow, especially in a well-designed WLAN environment, where slowness can occur
53
Avoid Mistakes
For organizations considering a
wireless network refresh or upgrade,
performing a thorough site audit up
front that covers device density, analyzing network traffic (applications in
use, where people use devices, etc.),
WLAN security, and other pertinent
issues can help them avoid many problems later.
Matthew Ball, Canalys principal analyst, meanwhile, says some organizations
fail to recognize that theres a difference
between treating a wireless LAN as an
overlay network vs. deploying a converged fixed/wireless infrastructure with
single-pane-of-glass management. He
explains that overlay networks typically
are treated secondary to a primary fixed
network, meaning they lack adequate
capacity and coverage. This approach
also means two points of management,
two security solutions, etc., are required.
The converged approach addresses
these areas, Ball says. Organizations
could also treat both the WLAN and
fixed network as the primary network,
providing both with adequate resources,
he adds.
Today, largely due to BYOD and mobility initiatives, its recommended that
organizations build out wireless networks with a focus on adding capacity
via more APs rather than stressing
54
SPEED OF CHANGE
You use CyberTrend
to keep tabs on the latest
.COM
Get the latest issue right now
online at www.processor.com
or on your iPad via the iTunes Store.
56
Roman Design,
Intelligent Cooling
WWW.DEEPCOOL.COM
The folks at Deepcool have compared the
shape of the U Pal ($19.99) to the Arch of
Constantine in Rome. Style points aside, the
design offers substantial technical benefits.
With two 140mm fansone on each side of
the archthe U Pal is able to cool laptops
precisely where they produce the most heat.
And with the arch in between, there is more
opportunity for the heat expelled by the fans
to disperse. The U Pal offers quiet operation
and a USB 3.0 pass-through. The device also
has rubber feet to keep the laptop steady and
prevent slipping, and it is adjustable so that
your laptop can rest parallel to a flat surface
or tilt at up to a 45-degree angle.
57
58
AI Trends
One of the biggest reasons to be excited about AI is that there are several well-funded programs throughout
the United States that are focusing on
developing AI technology and software. A number of companies . . .
are actively working on neurocomputational hardware technologies, says
Dan Kara, practice director, robotics,
at ABI Research.
Neurocomputing is a field of study
that uses computers to simulate the
human brain and perform specific
tasks, such as improving operational
efficiency or automating repetitive
activities. There is a sizable effort
dedicated to developing commercial
neuromorphic hardware (neuromorphic computing), and the ability [to]
perform massively parallel processing
on low-power, embedded processors,
makes possible a wide range of new,
dramatically more powerful, devices
and applications, says Kara.
AI Use Cases
The advancements in AI have started
to move into the realm of the business
world and commercial systems. As a
whole, the AI community is more focused
on providing working, practical solutions,
and solving problems as opposed [to] emphasizing theory, says Kara. AI techniques are being used successfully every
day for manufacturing, healthcare, [and]
communications, among other things.
Forresters recent Cognitive Engagement: A New Force Of Creative
Destruction report identifies three ways
in which cognitive systems (those that can
Whats Next
Great strides are already being made
in many areas such as perception and
language understanding, says Kara.
For example, machines are now nearly
as good as humans at recognizing images. Imagine when these same machines
will have global, pervasive access to
distributed, indexed repositories of the
worlds images [and] databases, by the
way which will continue to grow exponentially. Extra help may come from
big companies that are researching AI
technology. Battista says that these large
companies have access to a whole lot of
raw digital data about people, and about
the world, that may be necessary for AI
to flourish. He also notes that Perhaps
even more importantly, they have the
resources to try an expensive idea, fail
miserably, [and] then try another.
In terms of effects of the business
market, AI experts are working to help
people make better decisions. Goetz says,
The next wave will be to move expert
systems to interactive problem solving
platforms. He explains, they are
working on how to connect todays corporate silos of analytic competency centers to operational competency centers
and reduce the bottleneck to corporate
knowledge and fast time to scalable business value. Kara echoes those thoughts,
saying, In the near term, the greatest
benefit will be to industries that can benefit from drawing understanding from
massive amounts of data. Healthcare,
retail, and logistics provide examples.
All-in-all, it looks like a bright future for
AI technology.
59
Images, clockwise from top left, courtesy of Apple (1), Samsung (2), Sony (3), Microsoft (4, 5), and BlackBerry (6)
Smartphone Tips
IMPROVE YOUR MOBILE EXPERIENCE
WINDOWS PHONE
Pin, Unpin & Resize
Start Screen Tiles
When you power up a brand new
Windows Phone smartphone or download new apps, youll see that app tiles
simply show up on-screen. You dont
have to resign yourself to the size and
placement of those tiles. To pin an app
to the Start screen, swipe left to access
the Apps menu, tap and hold the tile,
and tap Pin To Start. To unpin a tile,
tap and hold the tile, and tap the Unpin
icon. You can also tap and hold a tile
and then tap the arrow icon to make the
tile smaller or larger. The larger it is, the
more information it will display.
60
ANDROID
Cant Log Back In To A
Hotel Wi-Fi Hotspot?
Whether youre in a hotel room,
restaurant, or anyplace where there
is a secured Wi-Fi hotspot available,
the following scenario might be familiar. At one point you asked for the
SSID (or password for accessing the
hotspot), entered the SSID on your
smartphone, accepted the hotspot providers terms and conditions, and made
use of the wireless Internet access, only
to return at a later time to find youre
unable to access the same hotspot. You
might see a wireless symbol, but it has
a diagonal line through it, indicating
that your Android smartphone recognizes youve logged into that hotspot
before, but for some reason isnt permitting you to access it now.
To solve this, start by swiping
down from the top of the smartphone
screen and tapping the wireless icon.
In the list of wireless hotspots, find
the hotspot youre trying to connect
to, press and hold it, and tap Forget.
Wait for a moment to see if the Wi-Fi
network shows up again in the list.
If it does, tap it and log in as you did
previously. If it doesnt show up righta
way, power your smartphone off and
then back on, and try accessing the
Wi-Fi network again. Taking these
steps should allow you to once again
enter the SSID and accept the hotspot
providers terms and conditions.
61
BLACKBERRY
Merge Contacts & Calendar
Items
If you find yourself with multiple
contact and calendar entries on your
BlackBerry 10 smartphone, it could
be the result of BlackBerry Link synchronizing items between your computer and your device but leaving
behind items that you created on your
smartphone. If thats the case, you can
rectify the situation by deleting the
smartphone-only entries. To do this,
access Settings on your BlackBerry, select Accounts, select the More (three
vertical dots) icon, and then select
Clear Local Contacts and/or Clear
Local Calendar. Keep in mind that this
action permanently deletes the entries
that exist solely on the device.
62
iOS
Stream Music From Computer
To Phone
Your iPhone is a great communication tool for you and your business,
but that doesnt mean its all work and
no play. In your downtime, an iPhone
makes a great iPod, letting you listen to
music and podcasts, and watch videos.
The downside is using the valuable and limited storage space on your
iPhone to hold your media library. But
there is another way, at least for when
youre at home. If youre using iTunes
10.2 or later, and your iPhone is using
iOS 4.3 or later, you can use Home
Sharing to stream all of your iTunes
content to your iPhone (and other
iOS devices) using your homes Wi-Fi
connection. Because youre streaming
the media, youre not using up precious storage space on your iPhone.
This only works, however, as long as
your computer and iOS device are both
using the same wireless network.
To Turn on Home Sharing, launch
iTunes on your Mac or PC. From the
File menu, select Home Sharing and
then Turn On Home Sharing. Enter
your Apple ID when asked, and then
click the Create Home Share button.
On your iOS 8 phone, access
Settings and select Music, and then
log in to Home Sharing using the same
Apple ID you used to enable Home
Sharing in iTunes. Launch the Music
app, tap More, select Shared, and then
choose the shared library you wish
to access. (In earlier iOS versions,
open Settings and select iPod to find
the Home Sharing section. Launch
the iPod app, tap More Options, select Shared, and then choose the appropriate library.) From there, use the
iPod app the way you normally would.
63
Isolate Malware
HOW TO COMBAT ATTACKS
64
when you visit an infected website, install software or an app with malware
hiding inside, click links or open attachments in email, or insert an infected USB thumb drive.
Though warning signs that malware
may be present can differ depending
on the malware type, there are some
primary indicators to look for. Michela
Menting, ABI Research practice director, says the most common include
applications and programs running noticeably more slowly, slower Internet
performance, and data or files that
are unexpectedly deleted or altered.
A notebook running more slowly, for
example, could indicate malware is
stealing computing resources to fuel
whatever activity the malware was designed to execute, such as hijacking
the system to help generate and spread
spam to other systems.
Some specific examples of changes
in notebook performance to watch out
for include programs, files, and folders
Immediate Response
When you suspect malware has infected your notebook, Menting advises
turning off its Internet connection.
Most malware will use the Internet
connection to send information back
or infect other computers on a network, she says. Isolate the laptop
and then run an antivirus scan.
Additionally, ensure that antivirus
software on the notebook is up-to-date
with the latest malware signatures. If
Means Of Prevention
As a means of prevention, Menting
says, at the least, you should ensure
that a firewall is running and working
properly. Generally, she says, most
operating systems have built-in security features that users should activate.
Additionally, numerous programs
65
Bluetooth Finder
$20+
Ever set down the keys to your rental
car or your own vehicle on a restaurant
table only to get up, walk away, and leave
them behind? Many of us have done
this. One way to prevent the aggravation
that typically follows is to attach a small
Bluetooth dongle-like device to the key
ring. These devices communicate with
a smartphone, warning you when the
phone moves out of range of the dongle.
Typically, such devices cost about $20 or
more and have a smartphone app that
sounds an alarm, emits a beep, or even
provides a visual indicator that lets you
see when you get closer or move farther
away from the key ring or other object to
which you attached the device.
66
Bluetooth Keyboard
$60-$100+
Device Charger
$40-$100+
Luggage Tracker
$50-$100
Some people would pay a small fortune to know where their luggage is
at all times. Anyone who has experienced lost luggage understands why.
The good news is you dont have to pay
a fortune to pinpoint the exact location of your baggage. For somewhere
in the neighborhood of $50 to $100,
you can acquire a device (perhaps even
an FCC-certified and FAA-compliant
one) that uses GPS (Global Positioning
System), GSM (Global System For
Mobile Communications), and other
technologies to provide tracking abilities for luggage. These devices are
small enough to easily fit in a bag and
can do such things as email or text
you a verification that your luggage arrived at its destination. If your luggage
is completely lost, the devices let you
pinpoint the bags locations on a Webbased map.
Multi-Tool Knife
$25-$100+
While you still cant carry a pocketknife onto a plane, you can take one
with you when traveling by land, and
having a multi-tooled knife on hand
can get you out of a fair number of
jams, including in a storage sense.
Thats because beyond packing an actual blade (as well as possibly a screwdriver, scissors, wine opener, pliers,
etc.), some multi-tool knives integrate
a USB memory stick for storing and
transferring several gigabytes worth
of document, image, video, audio, and
other files. Thus, even if you lose your
notebook or tablet, youll still have important files handy. Depending on the
storage amount and model, prices of
multi-tool knives can span from about
$25 to $100 or more.
Noise-Canceling Headphones
$50-$100s
Whether in a plane, shuttle bus, taxi,
or room in a not-so-quiet hotel, noise
seemingly always surrounds a traveler. Noise-canceling headphones provide an escape from the din by using
Portable Hotspot
$50+
Staying Internet-connected while
traveling is an absolute necessity for
business travelers, but doing so via
Wi-Fi isnt always easy. Although
public Wi-Fi hotspots are available,
theyre not always free and security
can be an issue. An alternative is to
use a portable hotspot device (costing
about $50 or more) that uses a mobile
broadband connection (a 4G LTE network, for example) to form a wireless
hotspot for multiple devices. Another
option is to use a portable router. Plug
an Ethernet cable into, say, a hotel
rooms wired Internet port, plug the
cables other end into the router, and
youve created a wireless network with
multiple-device support. Elsewhere,
various companies provide private
Wi-Fi services for a monthly/annual
charge that provide a welcomed layer
of security when connecting to a public
Wi-Fi hotspot.
Portable Monitor
$75-$200+
In some office environments today,
you may see two (or more) monitors
on an employees desk. This setup allows users to easily switch among open
programs, keep tabs on continually updating information in a Web browser,
and perform other multitasking chores.
Travelers can get this same secondscreen ability away from the office by
bringing along a USB-based portable
monitor. Such screens (generally $75
to $200 and more) connect and draw
power from a notebook via USB cable.
Storage Device
$10+
One thing you cant have too much
of is storage, including for reasons
tied to accessing and backing up data.
Packing an extra memory card, USB
thumb drive, or external drive on
which you can grab or offload photos,
videos, and other files is smart. (Just
make sure not to lose the storage device on which that data resides.) If
youre expecting rugged conditions
where youre going, some external
drives and USB memory sticks offer
water- and shock-resistant features
to provide protection against the elements and drops. Overall, storage
continues to be an excellent value.
Memory sticks, for example, can
start at around $10 depending on the
storage capacity.
Video Streamer
$35-$100+
Its possible you already have a settop box-like device attached to your
HDTV at home to stream on-demand
TV programs, movies from subscription services, and audio from Internet
radio stations. A nifty aspect of these
devices is that travel-friendly sizes
(some are essentially a glorified USB
stick) means they can easily stow away
in a suitcase. Unpack it once in your
hotel room; connect it to the TVs
HDMI, USB, or AV port; configure
the Wi-Fi settings; and all the content
you have at home is now available for
watching in your hotel room. Should
you forget to pack the remote control
the device bundled, many streamers
have compatible apps that enable a
smartphone or tablet to function as a
remote control. With prices ranging
from about $35 to $100 or more, these
devices are an entertainment steal.
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Hotspot Troubleshooting
Ordinarily, when you carry your
laptop into an airline lounge, it will
automatically connect to the available Wi-Fi hotspot. But what if that
doesnt happen? First, check that your
notebooks Wi-Fi adapter is turned on.
Often, youll see a backlit Wi-Fi icon
near the keyboard. If the icon isnt illuminated, look for a physical switch
that you can flip to enable the adapter.
Sometimes, the state of your network
connection is easily determined by
an icon in the notification area of the
Taskbar. For instance, a red X on the
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this key combination will either automatically activate the touchpad or display a device settings dialog box that
gives you the option to enable your
touchpad. Alternatively, you can check
the notification area in the lower-right
corner of the screen for a touchpad
icon. Click the icon and the touchpad
control panel appears where you can
enable or disable an input device.
An Unresponsive
Keyboard Or Mouse
A Touchy Touchpad
If you use your laptop on a dock
(and use an external mouse and keyboard), you can go weeks or months
with a deactivated touchpad and never
realize it until you hit the road. If you
find yourself in this situation, you
can activate the touchpad by pressing
the Fn (function) key simultaneously
with the F number key associated with
the laptops touchpad (often labeled
with an image of a touchpad). Using
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Excel Formulas
MAKE THEM WORK FOR YOU
70
Calculate Percentages
You can calculate percentages in a
variety of ways using Excel, depending
on the information you already know.
For instance, you can use a simple division formula to find a comparison
between two numbers. For instance, if
you shipped 25 products and only one
of them was returned, you can simply
enter =24/25 (or use cell coordinates)
to get a figure of .96 or 96%. If you
want to calculate change between numbers (200 to 250, for example), you can
use the formula =(250-200)/ABS(200)
to get a growth rate of .25 or 25%.
MATCH Function
Excels MATCH function makes it
easier to find the location of a specific
figure relative to its order in a column.
For instance, if you are searching
for the number 780 in a column of
30 cells, you can type the formula
=MATCH(780,B1:B30,0) to find your
exact match. If the information is located in the 15th cell, for instance,
youll receive the result of 15 from the
formula. You can also use a 1 or -1
modifier in place of the 0 to find the
number that is greater than or less than
your desired figure.
Round Up Or Down
If you work with figures that have
multiple decimal numbers and need to
round up or down to a specific decimal
place, then Excel has two easy functions you can use to get the job done:
ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN.
For example, take a number you want
to round up, such as 12,345.678 and
decide what decimal place you want
to round to. Then, use the function
=ROUNDUP(12,345.678, 2) and Excel
will automatically round it up to
12,345.68.
WORKDAY Function
REPT Function
Typing the same thing over and over
can quickly get repetitive, especially
if you need 32,767 instances of the
same information. If you think that
number is oddly specific, youre right.
Its the maximum number of times
you can use the REPT function, according to Microsoft. To use the REPT
function, simply take a word, number,
or other entry (Repeat, in this instance) and tell Excel how many times
you want it repeated by
typing =REPT(Repeat
,5) into a cell. You
can also use this function to better visualize
data. For instance, you
can use symbols to represent sales figures or
your amount of customers and watch your
growth over time.
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