IT Managers Inbox

5S System Step 2 – The Straighten Step

From the Japanese word Seiton we get the next part in the 5S System, the straighten step. Once you have completed the sort step, the workplace should be free from clutter and unnecessary items. Now it is time to straighten everything up and organize it. The goal is to put everything in its place and organize each workstation for maximum efficiency and productivity. Everything … [Read More...]

Five Ways to Control Interruptions

Your day is starting good. You feel energetic and you are getting work done. Then an email comes in that you must deal with that involves researching months of paperwork. Your phone rings with a low priority call that ties you up for 10 minutes. On the way to a meeting six people stop you to chatter or ask you to do something. So much for your good day! Interruptions are a … [Read More...]

IT Finds Valuable Business Tools In Unified Communications

Gartner listed unified communications (UC) as 2nd in their top ten technology areas of 2008. Driven by voice over IP (VoIP), call centers and phone services are leading the way, but other areas of IT such as storage networks, video from security cameras and sensors will soon follow. Unified communications refers to a group of technologies, many of which are already used in … [Read More...]

Project Management Problem-Solving Skills

Project managers face problems with every project. By building problem-solving into your project and problem collaboration into your project team you will ensure that problems are dealt with promptly. You will also establish a track record of being able to identify and deal with problems. This is a useful notch on your project manager's belt. Your goal is to identify … [Read More...]

HP Offers A Petabytes Data Storage Solution

IT managers are being challenged to develop a strategy to handle the increasing demands for data storage. Applications are becoming more complex and storage needs typically double every 18-24 months. You may want to look at the new HP StorageWorks 9100 Extreme Data Storage System. Extreme is just what it offers. The platform consists of an HP BladeSystem chassis with … [Read More...]

IT Services Virtual Call Center Strategy

As IT systems and services grow so does the need for an expanded IT Help Desk to support them. If you find you are outgrowing your present call support system one solution is a virtual call center software suite such as the one by Five9. It allows you to operate a best-in-class call center without the expense of in-house equipment. USCB a medical and financial receivables … [Read More...]

Involve IT Security in Projects to Avoid Delays

Security managers often end up being the bad guy when they delay a project. The reason is they are not fully consulted or included in the project. To avoid delays security managers should be included in the project life-cycle management process from the beginning. Mathias Thurman a security manager by trade came up with 13 criteria that dictate whether a project needs … [Read More...]

Be More Productive in Outlook With Xobni

Overwhelmed by trying to organize your email? Xobni offers a new way to organize and search your Outlook email. It creates profiles for each person that emails you. These profiles contain relationship statistics, contact information, social connections, threaded conversations, and shared attachments. Xobni (inbox spelled backwards, pronounced zob-nee) is a free Outlook … [Read More...]

Get Connected TV and Radio Show

Get Connected TV takes a less nerdy look at understanding technology for home and business. They offer in-depth reviews, tips and how-to segments on the newest technology products. From their web site you can view the last 5 TV shows and listen to the Podcasts of their radio show. They also offer Podcasts and RSS feeds for both the TV and radio shows. The last TV shows … [Read More...]

Lab Rats TV Offers Free Technology Videos

Lab Rats TV hosted by Sean Carruthers and Andy Walker offer a source of free technology related videos. They cover a wide variety of topics, but seem to be aimed at hardware and software technology. Both instructional and sometimes entertaining, they offer some good how-to related videos. Here are some examples of interest to IT Service Depot managers and … [Read More...]

IT Should Spend More On Disaster Recovery

IT Operations professionals are faced with the constant worry of threats such as IT outages, power failures, and disasters. During challenging financial times IT Operations is finding it more difficult to secure the funding needed for disaster recovery from management. Disaster recovery preparedness can run into millions of dollars depending of the level of continuity you … [Read More...]