Cyber 06

JUNE 2015 VOL. 13 ISS.
06
CYBERTREND.COM
THE MOBILE-CENTRIC
ORGANIZATION
HOW A MOBILE MINDSET
BRINGS GREATER AGILITY
Volume 13 : Issue 6 : June 2015
18
USING MOBILITY FOR GREATER

AGILITY & PRODUCTIVITY
8 COVER STORY
how to create a mobile-centric company,
how to manage devices, and how small and
midsize businesses can go mobile
18 BUSINESS
a survey of SAP's success, a look at
cybermarketing in a mobile world, and why
gamification matters to your company
26 CLOUD
what distinguishes one public cloud provider
from the next, and how to better manage
cloud disruption
CONTACT US
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TRACKING THE
SUCCESS OF SAP
34 MOBILITY
a guide to the features you should look for
when purchasing new laptops
46 NETWORKING
building an all-wireless workspace, and how
thin client computing impacts IT departments
36 DATA
charting the difference between business
intelligence and data analytics, and
understanding how big data works
52 SECURITY
personal security best practices, and
understanding today's multi-featured firewalls
40 ENERGY
the latest news and research into
energy-conscious tech
43 IT
advice for IT departments faced with tracking
and disposing of ever-growing quantities of
mobile devices
56 WEB
the pros and cons of mobile Web apps
58 ELECTRONICS
the latest in premium consumer electronics
60 TIPS
smartphone, data usage, security, and other
tips for mobile professionals
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Gartner: Data Centers

Need A New Approach
Analytics Role In Security Breach Detection
To combat the Internet of Things and

what Gartner calls the Nexus of Forces
(social, mobile, cloud, and information),
data centers need to change or risk business agility and competitive strength.
For over 40 years, data centers have
pretty much been a staple of the IT ecosystem, says Rakesh Kumar, managing
vice president at Gartner. Other than
changes in cooling and power, their basic
function and core requirements have
remained constant, he says. Gartner cites
five reasons for developing a modern
data center strategy: to make the data
center behave more like a factory and a
laboratory, manage the pressure on the
data center to become agile and innovative, manage different types of risk, make
the data center part of a broader hybrid
topology, and embrace new technologies
in a different way.
Gartner analysts recently met to discuss

the current threat landscape, in which security spending and the
number of major security breaches are simultaneously, according to
Gartner, at an all-time
high. The researchers
agreed that security analytics has a major role to
play in preventing data
breaches, but that automatic analysis is more beneficial than leaving it to users to enter their own queries.
Visualization of data, which is becoming a more prominent and popular feature within
analytics solutions in general, organizes information in a visual and immediately graspable way. As security vendors increasingly incorporate visualization features into their
analytics solutions, these solutions will become more effective. Like other disciplines
that have leveraged large data analytics to discover new things or produce new outputs,
says Eric Ahlm, research director at Gartner, visualization of that data will greatly affect
adoption of the technology.
PC Makers Forced To Raise

Prices In Europe & Japan
Risk Management IT Spending

Percentage On The Rise
Global IT Spending To Drop

This Year, But Its Not A Crash
As a result of currency devaluation,

PC manufacturers are finding themselves unable to avoid increasing prices
in various regions, according to research
firm Gartner. This is especially true in
Europe and Japan, where, says Gartner,
prices will increase as much as 10% this
year. Vendors will attempt to mitigate
lower profits, says Ranjit Atwal, Gartner
research director, by taking advantage
of single-digit-percentage decreases in
PC component costs during 2015, and
by selling PCs with fewer features to keep
prices down. Large companies, Atwal
says, will buy more expensive PCs with
the goal of increasing their lifecycles.
According to a new report from IDC

Financial Insights, overall IT spending
will amount to $458.4 billion in 2015
and will increase to $522.3 billion by
2018. IDC notes that there will be an increase in the risk management portion
of worldwide IT spending relative to its
earlier forecasts. IDCs updated forecast
indicates 17.1% of total IT spending
(or $78.6 billion) will go to risk management this year, and this will rise to
18.4% (or $96.3 billion) by 2018. IDC
Financial Insights says this spending
will come from CIOs, CTOs, risk and
compliance officers, and line-of-business IT executives.
Almost half (45%) of domestic SMBs

(small to midsize businesses) see the most
customer engagement via websites, based
on a study conducted by Thrive Analytics.
eMarketers coverage of the study highlights that only social media (39%) and print
yellow pages (26%) channels are within 20
percentage points of the website marketing
channel. Related HubShouts research also
reveals that 64% of SMB marketers say that
Web development services will be most in
demand this year, according to eMarketer.
However, the Thrive Analytics study shows
that small businesses dont have the time to
keep their sites up-to-date, and they are most
likely to do so quarterly.
June 2015 / www.cybertrend.com
More Worldwide Manufacturers

Using Public & Private Cloud
Business Owners Say New Tech Is Top Priority

But Also Greatest Challenge
Both current trends and future plans

for cloud adoption among enterprises
globally points to a shift toward the
cloud becoming primary instead of secondary, according to a survey conducted
by IDC, and manufacturers are seeing
the advantages of cloud computing from
cost-benefit and IT resource flexibility
perspective. Specifically, 66% of manufacturers are using the public cloud for
more than two applications, and 68% are
utilizing the private cloud in the same way.
Manufacturers are in the midst of a digital
transformation, in which Third Platform
technologies are absolutely essential to the
way they do business and in the products
and services they provide to their customers. Consequently, a strategic approach
to adopting cloud is absolutely essential,
says Kimberly Knickle, research director of
IDC Manufacturing Insights.
In a tech investment study by Zogby Analytics for Xero recently highlighted by eMarketer, about one-third of SBOs (small-business owners) in the United States say that new
technology is the top investment priority. The second-highest category of importance to
SBOs is other at 24.9%, however 17.1% of SBOs view larger inventory as a top priority.
Trailing after these are going online (13.3%), hiring (7%), and geographic expansion or
new retail space (4.6%). Ironically, the majority of SBOs also cite a lack of a technology
budget as their greatest challenge related to technology.
Technology More Important

To Execs Than Ever Before
Femtocells Tank With

Consumers, Big For Enterprise
Virtualization Has Yet To Impact

Video Infrastructure Market
In its annual survey of executives and senior business leaders worldwide, Gartner
found that growth is a top priority, as it has
been in years past. However, says Mark
Raskino, vice president and Gartner fellow,
explicit mentions of growth were down
from last year. We attribute this decline not
to less interest in growth, but rather to increasing interest in the mechanism that will
create it. Technology, it seems, is a prime
mechanism for growth. The second-highest
priority in this years survey was technology,
and Gartner notes tech has never ranked that
high. Raskino says that its our firm belief
that CEOs are more focused on this area than
at any time since 1999.
Although femtocells, which are devices that extend and boost cellular
connectivity in small areas such as
homes and offices, have failed to captivate consumers, larger businesses have
been giving a boost to the femtocell
market. The latest figures from ABI
Research have the femtocell market
reaching $800 million by 2020. Despite
the significant growth among businesses, ABI points out that femtocells face competition from the DRS
(Distributed Radio System) market,
which include features that reduce interference and improve quality for devices in motion.
Despite virtualizations promise of

separating hardware and software requirements, broadcasters and operators
that are virtualizing their workflows
are likely purchasing classic IT servers
but also relying on video specialists
for application and software requirements, according to a new study by ABI
Research. In theory, this means that
video vendors are supplying less of the
total solution; however, rising overall
business complexity of areas, including
ad workflows and over-the-top delivery,
are offsetting this downward pressure on revenues, says ABI Research
Practice Director Sam Rosen.
Biggest Technology Challenge

According to SMB Owners, Domestically
11.0%
Dont understand how
to use technology
14.5%
Technologies dont
work well together/
are not integrated
19.9%
Other
30.7%
Lack of budget
for technology
23.9%
New technology
is not a fit for my
old-school business
CyberTrend / June 2015
Business Owners Look

At Online Engagement
According to a recent vCita poll, smallbusiness owners believe that the volume
of new clients generated via online channels could use improvement. Notably,
45.9% of respondents indicate that new
online client generation needs improvement, whereas 30.8% say they are satisfied
with how many clients they connect with
through the Web. On the other end of the
Web engagement spectrum, 16.4% say
they are not satisfied with online results,
and 6.9% indicate that they receive almost
no clients via online channels. In terms
of how frequently clients are engaging
with small businesses through their websites, 33.8% are doing so daily, 21.4% are
engaging weekly, 11.7% bi-weekly, and
15.2% visit small-business sites monthly.
Fully 17.9% of small-business owners say
their clients never engage with them via
their websites.
Going Online Means Using A Smartphone For Most Americans

A full 64% of adults in the United States now own a smartphone and a quarter of this
demographic has limited online access or no broadband service at home other than
a mobile data plan. According to recent findings from a Pew Research report, more
than half of smartphone owners use their devices to do more than calling, texting, and
browsing. In fact, 62% of them access information about health conditions and 57%
conduct online banking. Furthermore, 44% check real estate listings; 43% look up job
information; 40% search for government services; 30% take a class or get educational
content; and 18% submit job applications. The following breaks down the pros and cons
as cited by respondents.
% of smartphone owners who say that the following items from each pair
best describe how they feel about their phones
Not Always Needed 54%
46% Couldnt Live Without
Leash 30
Distracting 28
Annoying 7
Financial Burden 19
70 Freedom
72 Connecting
93 Helpful
80 Worth The Cost
Cellular Gives Tablet Sales Boost

In Declining Market
Expect Deployments In
Next-Gen Voice Services & VoLTE
Vehicle Display Market

Grows Alongside Smartphones
The latest IDC data on global tablet

computer shipments worldwide indicates a 5.9% decline in Q1 2015 relative
to the same quarter a year ago. There
is a bright spot, however, in the form
of cellular devices. Cellular-enabled
tablets are outgrowing the rest of the
market, providing an additional revenue stream for OEMs and mobile operators, says Jean Philippe Bouchard,
research director at IDC. In addition
to driving higher usage than Wi-Fionly tablets, cellular-enabled tablets
also help position the segment as true
mobile solutions rather than stay-athome devices.
A preliminary 2014 report from Infonetics

Research (now part of IHS Inc.) shows that
the VoIP, IP multimedia subsystem equipment market reached $4.2 billion last year,
boasting 12% growth. As operators move
toward simplified and cost-effective network operations, VoLTE, or voice over LTE,
can continue to develop in the next year.
The service provider VoIP and IMS market
posted solid growth in 2014 due to VoLTE
deployments and network transformation
projects. We feel positive about 2015 with
VoLTE activity continuing and VoWiFi
(voice over Wi-Fi) beginning to ramp, says
Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC,
and IMS at Infonetics Research.
The seemingly unstoppable popularity

of smartphones has brought with it a negative impact on markets for other devices,
including digital cameras, dedicated portable media players, and e-book readers,
according to research from research firm
IHS. Instead of buying more devices such
as these, consumers are deeming their
smartphones at least good enough. The
in-vehicle display market, however, is
growing at a rate thats second highest to
smartphone displays. From 2013 to 2014,
the in-vehicle display market grew 148%
compared with 4% for smartphone displays, showing consumers interest in putting phones down while driving.
STARTUPS
Networks Without Networking
Offer Easier Management
Big Data For The Commercial Real Estate Market
The solution CloudGenix capitalizes on some of the hottest trends in

IT, including hybrid cloud computing,
virtualization, and, chiefly, SDN (software-defined networking). The Santa
Clara, Calif.,-based startup provides an
SDN WAN (wide-area network) using a
hybrid WAN approach, eliminating the
need for extensive networking equipment.
With SDN, IT interacts with the network
via software, which simplifies management and reduces the expense involved
in physical maintenance and upgrades.
CloudGenix recently closed a $25 million Series B funding round led by Bain
Capital Ventures. This new investment
will help us fulfill strong market need for
WAN solutions that deliver more than
twice the performance at less than half
the cost . . . , says Kumar Ramachandran,
CloudGenix co-founder and CEO.
CrediFi, a New York-based startup, has aggregated a huge amount of real estate
dataover 10 million square feet of it, nationwidesince it was founded in 2014. Now
the company is set to receive $8 million from a Series A round of funding led by Battery
Ventures. What sets CrediFi apart from other real estate analytics companies is its focus
on commercial real estate
and real-time monitoring
of loans, both new and refinanced. Commercial real
estate is awash on a sea of
debt that is consistently
being refinanced, says
CrediFi CEO Ely Razin.
Its not just knowing what
your asset is doingits
what your competitor,
your neighborhood, your
market is up to, as well.
Scott Tobin, who is a Battery Ventures general partner and now a member of the CrediFi
board, says, Right now, sector participants can access fragmented data about things like
individual property details and lease information, but no one is offering this data in a
single, integrated platform. CrediFi, he says, is doing exactly that. CrediFi plans to use
the new funding to further expand its platform.
Startup Offers Research Platform

For Private Market Investors
Banjo Seeks To Track Everything

In The World In Real-Time
Signpost Focused On Helping

Retailers Expand Local Business
To solve some of the challenges investors face in tracking companies, Palo Alto,
Calif.,-based startup Tracxn offers a research platform that tracks more than
20 million companies around the world
and makes the data available in an easyaccess format. To illustrate its ambition,
the company positions itself as a potential
Gartner for startups information. SAIF
Partners recently invested $3.5 million in
Tracxn, which the company plans to use
to grow its team of analysts. According to
the companys press release, it currently
employs 30 analysts and plans to employ
150 by years end, and it works with more
than 50 venture funds.
Who can keep up with social media?

Banjo says it can, and the San Franciscobased startup recently unveiled an enterprise service geared toward brand marketers
to capitalize on businesses hunger for realtime social data. Banjo also announced the
close of a $100 million round of Series C
funding led by Softbank. The company will
presumably pour the funding directly into
further expansion of its staff and its solution, as it is currently hiring and says its goal
is to become the worlds premiere real-time
data platform. In a statement, Banjo says its
goals also include such things as improving
energy efficiency and enabling faster responses to emergencies.
How do you populate a typical CRM

database without typical customer details? That, of course, can be a problem,
and its something that distinguishes B2C
companies (which often lack customer
data) from B2B companies, according to
Signpost. The New York-based startup
recently snagged $20.5 million in Series
C funding for its automated CRM solution, which gathers phone and email communications, financial transactions, and
social media data and organizes them for
customer-facing businesses such as retail
shops. Toronto-based Georgian Partners
led the funding round. Signpost plans to
use the money to improve its platform.
Enterprise Mobility Management

GO BEYOND MDM TO MANAGE THE APPLICATIONS & CONTENT ON MOBILE DEVICES
KEY POINTS
MDM (mobile device management) is a component of EMM (enterprise mobility management), but
EMM also includes mobile content
and application management.
When evaluating an EMM
vendor, make sure it serves customers in your industry so its more
likely to support your needs.
An EMM solution needs to support whatever platforms and operating systems you use most in your
organization.
Try to strike an appropriate balance between securing your corporate resources and not intruding on
employee privacy or inhibiting their
productivity.
ENTERPRISE MOBILITY management is

a relatively new technology that stems
from the reality that smartphones and
tablets have become portable computers
with extensive productivity features,
with data flowing in and out on a nearly
constant basis. For business users, this
evolution in portable devices has positively impacted the way they work. But
for organizations, the flexibility and
freedom that come with mobile device
usage have introduced new security
challenges. These challenges ultimately
require more capabilities than MDM
(mobile device management) solutions
typically provide.
What Is EMM?
Bear with us for a dip into some
alphabet soup, and youll come away
with a better idea of what EMM is.
While MDM focuses mainly on the
hardware or device aspects of mobility,
EMM is an overarching solution that
typically includes EMM, MAM (mobile
application management), and MCM

(mobile content management) components. The EMM approach provides IT
administrators with an ample toolset.
This allows admins to determine which
features are important for their companies and which ones are unnecessary.
Many companies appreciate MDM
for its ability to lock down companyissued devices so that they are all configured the same, operate the same,
and supported the same, says Michael
Disabato, research vice president at
Gartner. Additionally, because the
company owns the device, it is allowed
to do with it as it pleases, including
implementing any security protocols
it deems necessary. By contrast, when
it comes to BYOD (bring your own
device) situations where there are consumer-owned smartphones and tablets
involved, the waters get murkier. That
is where EMM comes in, providing
more options and opening up the possibility of containerization.
EMM includes everything from

MDM, but it has mobile application
management [as well], so you have a
development environment to write
to, says Disabato. It also has content
management, and thats where youd
have a managed container. A managed
container is not so necessary when you
have company-owned devices, but for
BYOD, it separates your personal data
from the company data. As a company,
you dont wipe the entire device, you
just kill the container. You put your
file sync and share, email, attachments,
and company-written applications in
the container.
Stacy K. Crook, research director at
IDC, agrees that MDM is now a component of EMM and that EMM is actually
a necessary evolution over past mobile
management technologies. She says IT
used to only focus on endpoints and
that it is therefore natural that they
would think to manage the device like
they would a laptop. But mobile management requires a new set of skills and
a new way of thinking that EMM can
help facilitate for IT, she says.
What we saw over time is that mobile devices are unique from laptops,
says Crook. They are unique from a
technology perspective. The operating
systems of mobile devices are different
from a traditional desktop OS, although
Windows 10 is certainly bringing that
together, and I think were going to see
more of that convergence from other
OS providers. But Im talking about the
current state. The fact that these are
now personal devices has created the
need for a different paradigm.
What To Look For In An

EMM Vendor
Once you decide that EMM is the
way you want to go, you need to start
comparing the many vendors out there
to determine which ones are a good fit
for your companys specific needs. As
with any other vendor selection process, you want to look at the stability
of the company, says Crook. And you
also want to get an idea of each vendors client base to make sure they have
A managed container is not so necessary when you

have company-owned devices, but for BYOD, it
separates your personal data from the company data.
MICHAEL DISABATO
Research Vice President : Gartner
experience in your industry and can

meet those requirements. Especially if
youre in a highly regulated or security
conscious industry, you want to make
sure that other folks in your industry
feel comfortable with that vendors security model, she says. Case studies
can help you get an idea of specific instances where a given EMM vendor
helped solve a customer issue.
Crook also stresses that you need to
look long-term at what your needs will
be in the future and whether or not the
EMM vendor in question can support
that growth and change. For example,
you may want to find a vendor that can
not only support mobile device management with smartphones and tablets,
but also offer tools for managing your
PCs using the same product. Some
companies may continue to manage
mobile devices separately from PCs because theyve made a lot of investments
in their existing PC management
system and they may not choose to go
that route, says Crook. But I think
if theres that opportunity to consolidate vendors and perhaps get yourself
a better deal through an enterprise licensing [agreement], its something to
think about.
Particularly with global companies or those with many locations, its
also worthwhile to check into vendors geographic reach to ensure that
you can meet the needs of all of your
customers. For example, if people
work for your organization in a Latin
American or Asian country, youll
want to make sure that the vendor not
only offers 24/7 support, but that
it also has people that can speak the
local languages, Crook says.
Mike Battista, senior manager at
Info-Tech Research Group, says that
in the end, the choice of a vendor depends on simply what the company
wants to get out of its mobile management solution. The reality is that a
lot of organizations, when starting out
with mobility, dont need much more
than MDM, he says. If thats the case,
almost any well-known vendor will
doeven some free ones. For those
that need more advanced EMM, look
for a set of features that matches current needs and is likely to scale to
future needs. This is an area where a
vendors road map and goals matter.
Mobility changes so quickly that a vendors ability to stay current in a way
that matches the organizations needs
is critical.
Important EMM Features

To Consider
Part of choosing the right vendor
for your organizations EMM needs is
making sure the solution has all of the
features you expect and require, and
the best place to start is with platform
support. If your company primarily (or
solely) uses iOS devices, then you need
to make sure the vendor supports that
operating system. However, if you use a
mix of Android, iOS, and possibly other
platforms, its vital to make sure there
is support for all of them. Android in
particular creates some interesting challenges, says Disabato, because there is
not just one Android, but rather multiple versions on multiple devices from
different manufacturers.
Another major facet of EMM to consider is the user experience and the
overall UI (user interface). Disabato
stresses that the solutions UI should
not get in the way of people doing their
jobs, because if it does, people will
find a way around it. Fortunately, he
adds, in the past three years there has

been a great leap forward in the usability management consoles of EMM
solutions, as many have transformed
from multi-screen setups down to
single-screen setups. As a network
manager and security guy, I want everything on one pane of glass, says
Disabato. Otherwise, it becomes four
pains of glass and you can never get
the thing in sync again.
Other features to look for include
reporting, especially for highly regulated industries where companies need
the ability to customize reports for auditors and protect the privacy of employes and customers. It may also be
that employees dont want the company to be able to track them at all
times or see an inventory of the applications that are on a persons device,
Disabato says. And if an EMM solution
can give you unique features for applications inside of a container, then
thats even better.
In general, its important to use an
EMM solution that fits into your companys overall business approach. An
EMM solution should integrate well
with the other software and systems
that are already in place, and it should
be flexible enough to work with new
ones. Some vendors have a massive
web of partnerships for integration,
says Battista. Others work best within
their own ecosystem. An example here
is Microsoft. As soon as native mobile apps for Microsoft Office became
available, Microsofts EMM gained a
huge advantage as the only EMM that
can fully manage Office.
Integration with other software and systems is also

becoming increasingly critical as mobile devices are
expected to be fully integrated into an organizations
idiosyncratic ecosystem. Some vendors have a massive
web of partnerships for integration. Others work best
within their own ecosystem.
MIKE BATTISTA
Senior Manager : Info-Tech Research Group
Find The Right Balance

With EMM, MDM, or any other mobile management solution, your ultimate goal is balance. The last thing
security tools should do is intrude
on the overall mobile experience or
impede productivity. Disabato warns
against EMM solutions that pop up
on user devices and essentially say,
Im taking over control of your entire phone. Its ours, thank you very
much, and have a nice day. This is a
great way to convince users that what
youre doing isnt in their best interest
and ultimately have them opt out of
BYOD policies altogether. The end result there is that you lose the opportunity to save money by not having to
issue devices to every employee in the
organization and incur every cost associated with them.
To help combat this negative experience, Disabato says that many vendors are now finding ways to deploy
managed containers with content, applications, and email without the device
agent. With this approach, you still
THE OPERATING SYSTEMS OF MOBILE

DEVICES ARE DIFFERENT FROM A
TRADITIONAL DESKTOP OS, ALTHOUGH
WINDOWS 10 IS CERTAINLY BRINGING THAT
TOGETHER, AND I THINK WERE GOING TO
SEE MORE OF THAT CONVERGENCE FROM
OTHER OS PROVIDERS.
STACY K. CROOK, IDC
10
get your mobile application and mobile

content management tools, but without
the more intrusive nature of MDM. For
companies that want to take advantage
of BYOD, these types of tools are invaluable. The company knows its assets are saved and the employee doesnt
have to deal with annoying prompts or
privacy concerns. Youre looking for
balance in the experience vs. security,
and balance in privacy vs. security, and
thats really important to remember,
Disabato says.
Although EMM is a worthwhile fit
for BYOD policies and gives users more
freedom, that level of openness might
not be the perfect match for every organization. In the end, you need to look at
the device population throughout your
organization and determine what type
of policy best fits your environment.
Once you establish that, you can determine which parts of EMM apply to your
needs and whether or not you need to
go with a full MDM approach.
If all of your devices are BYO and
youre not in a super-regulated industry, you may just want to provide
some kind of application store for employees to get access to those applications and then have some policy control
over those applications, Crook says.
On the other side of the spectrum, if
your organization is part of a heavily
regulated industry and the majority of
your devices are corporate-owned, then
you may want to do full MDM on those
devices because you own them and you
should be able to do as much on there
as you want.
Create A Mobile-Centric Company

MAKE TABLETS & SMARTPHONES THE FOCUS OF YOUR BUSINESS INITIATIVES
KEY POINTS
Most companies are built on
a desktop-centric mindset; even
though they use mobile devices,
mobility still isnt a main focus.
Going mobile gives employees
the ability to do more work wherever they are, but it can also save
money for the business and help
with disaster recovery planning.
Understanding business goals
will help decision-makers determine what mobile trends to get
behind, such BYOD or developing
custom sales apps.
Make sure you have a strong
mobile security strategy in place
that involves containerization and
enterprise mobility management.
MOBILE DEVICES ARE everywhere in the

business world and have been for quite
some time. Most businesses are welcoming them in via BYOD (bring your
own device) policies or by providing
company-issued devices, but that doesnt
necessarily mean the company is mobilecentric. In order to fully embrace mobile
devices in the workplace and as a way to
better connect with customers, its essential to start putting mobile initiatives
first whenever youre developing new
business strategies or making changes to
your infrastructure.
Overcoming The
Desktop Mindset
The first step in making your enterprise mobile-centric is relatively
straightforward: focus on mobile devices
whenever making infrastructure decisions. If you truly want to make tablets
and smartphones the main computing
platforms within your company, then
you need to fully embrace that idea and
make sure everything else you do as a

business supports that initiative. And
if you look at the technological shifts
that enterprises have gone through in
the past, it makes sense that mobile and
other similarly agile technologies are
truly the next big wave.
For the last four or five years, weve
been talking about this idea of moving
out of the era of second platform computing to third platform computing,
says Stacy K. Crook, research director
at IDC. If you think about these stages,
stage one was mainframes, stage two is
client/server, and stage three is mobile,
cloud, social, and big data. Every 20
years or so, we go through one of these
mega phases and it completely changes
the way that companies have to think
about their IT infrastructure.
Crook says consumerization in the
technology market has driven most enterprises to embrace the idea of a digital
business, and she says that if companies
havent already started implementing
11
mobile strategies, then they are already

behind the curve. Thats why its so important to start focusing on mobile as
the primary platform and then work out
from there. Youve probably already seen
this trend in action when you visit websites. Many sites are obviously designed
to work first on mobile devices, with
easy-to-navigate drop-down menus that
work better on smaller touchscreens. In
fact, Crook says that most companies
make their first impression on a mobile
device, so it behooves organizations to
design with mobile in mind. By contrast,
in the not-too-distant past, most websites didnt work well (if they could load
at all) on mobile browsers.
Internally, the idea of going mobilecentric will impact IT teams and application development teams in interesting
ways. First and foremost, even with business-to-employee applications, workers
will expect a consumer-like experience,
Crook says. It doesnt matter what the application actually does and whether a customer or employee will use it, because the
user experience has to be the same level of
quality across the board.
Mobility also means that IT needs to
be more agile, which is where the cloud
comes into play. Crook says we get updates all the time as companies are
trying to take feedback from users and
give them better features all the time,
which is a good thing for consumers, but
can be challenging for developers. Using
the cloud, people on the infrastructure
side can gain access to scalable resources
as they need them and developers can also
take advantage of that scalability to test
updates and new features on a larger scale
to get them out to users faster.
Michael Disabato, research vice president at Gartner, agrees that mobile devices are speeding up development
cycles. He says that legacy development
models were traditionally around 12 to 18
months whereas todays more agile development cycles are around 12 to 18 weeks
or 12 to 18 days. But this faster turnaround doesnt have to be a bad thing.
Companies can actually take advantage
of this agility and only apply it to applications that make sense.
12
We call it bimodal IT, says Disabato.

You have your systems of record, like accounting, payroll, and all of that stuff, in
that 12 to 18 month development cycle.
You have your mobile development as
sprinters. They sprint, stop, take a rest,
look around, analyze the situation, sprint
a little bit more, stop, take a look around,
analyze the situation, and do it again.
Youre looking at two different kinds of
IT and thats a big cultural shift to get to
mobile-first.
Major Benefits Of Going

Mobile-Centric
There are clearly numerous benefits
that come from moving to a more mobile approach. For example, users can accomplish more tasks while away from the
ITS IMPORTANT TO
IDENTIFY SPECIFIC
USE CASES THAT
WILL POSITIVELY
IMPACT YOUR
BUSINESS AND
THEN USE MOBILE
TECHNOLOGY TO
SUPPORT THAT
INITIATIVE.
office using technologies such as VPN
(virtual private network) connections and
various networking options that give employees safe access to internal company
resources. And because mobile devices
are getting more and more powerful, it
means that employees wont have to take
as many devices with them on the road,
which lowers the risk of loss or theft that
could put the enterprise at risk.
In addition to some of the more
common benefits, there are some other
unexpected ones that companies need
to look for as well. Some find that real
estate costs go down because flexible mobile users require less dedicated space,
says Mike Battista, senior manager at
Info-Tech Research Group. This fits into
the idea of supporting remote workers
so that you dont have to have as many

people onsite. Battista adds that disaster
recovery planning can benefit from
going mobile-centric, because users can
work from any location and any device
when one physical space is incapacitated. This can save companies quite a
bit of money in relocation costs because
instead of making sure employees can
get to an offsite facility, they can just
work from home with the tools they already have with them.
All of these benefits are worthwhile
and certainly help illustrate why a mobilecentric mindset is something to seriously
consider, but how can you actually get
to that point? One way, which focuses
on application development, is to make
sure that you can design mobile experiences in-house and deliver them to your
employees seamlessly. This will require
some employee training, so you must find
workers inside your organization that are
interested in mobile app development and
ensure they receive the proper training.
Outsourcing mobile development is another option, but it also has its costs;
using internal developers means youll
have ongoing support in-house.
Because its going to take time for
them to ramp up and get to where theyre
really good with this, you also create a
set of development standards that you
give to third-party development houses
and certify them as people your business
unit can work with because they write
code the way they want the code written,
says Disabato. That gets IT out of being
the chokepoint because they dont have
anyone who can do this. It gets the business units really happy because now
theyre doing quick turnaround. And
theres a knowledge transfer from the
third-party developer back into the IT
developer as you go through the development, code review, and the change management process.
Knowing What Mobile Trends

To Get Behind
Another important idea to consider
when trying to build a mobile-centric
business is to know which mobile trends
are worth supporting, and it all starts with
understanding the goals of your organization. That always has to be the starting
point, says Crook. Mobility for mobilitys sake is not the way to approach it.
Instead of just adding mobile to your current approach, you have to identify specific use cases that will positively impact
your business and then use mobile technology to support that initiative.
Crook says that companies used to
just buy tablets and other mobile devices because executives wanted them,
and then it was up to IT to figure out
what applications work best based on
employee feedback. And while using
employee feedback isnt necessarily a
bad approach, its important to be more
broadly strategic with technology purchases and come up with a game plan
beforehand. Planning ahead of time also
makes it easier to determine whether or
not you want to support trends such as
BYOD policy implementations.
BYOD, by far, is one of the most popular trends in enterprises today because
it gives employees the ability to do work
on their personal devices and it also
saves the business money on acquiring
devices for employees. But you shouldnt
just start supporting BYOD and then
work backward from there. Crook says
you have to get to the point where BYOD
is meeting a specific business goal. For
example, if letting employees use their
own devices for work gives more people
access to a sales-oriented application and
ultimately leads to generating more revenue, then BYOD is a trend that makes
sense for your business.
Disabato also supports this idea of
using mobile devices for sales purposes,
regardless of whether they are consumerowned or company-issued. One example
he mentions is that of a pharmaceutical
sales representative trying to talk with
It always starts with, What are our goals as a

business? That always has to be the starting point.
Mobility for mobilitys sake is not the way to approach
it. It shouldnt be, Everybody is going mobile, so should
we. It should be, What are our goals as a business?
and How can adopting mobile technology help us
realize those goals?
STACY K. CROOK
Research Director : IDC
doctors. Traditionally, those reps would

have to boot up their operating system
on a laptop in order to show a doctor
information. The problem with this approach is that it takes time, which is
something doctors simply dont have.
However, if you were to give that same
pharmaceutical rep a tablet that boots up
almost instantly, she can see more doctors and increase her chances of making a
sale. The doctors are happier because the
sales call is shorter, so you have a happier
customer, says Disabato. You have a
happier account executive, because maybe
theres a 30% increase in the number of
people they can see in a day. That means
more revenue for the company. Now, you
have a win-win-win.
Importance Of Mobile Security

The only unfortunate aspect of
bringing more mobile devices into the
business is that it can open up new security risks. One way to overcome this
challenge is to limit the number of operating systems and devices you support. This is relatively simple with iOS,
but it gets much more complicated
with Android devices, because phone
and tablet manufacturers can actually
have their own unique versions of the
YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DECIDE WHICH TYPES

OF DEVICES YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH,
SUPPORT EMPLOYEES THAT WANT TO USE
THEIR OWN DEVICES VIA BYOD, AND THEN
ISSUE SUPPORTED DEVICES ONLY TO
EMPLOYEES THAT TRULY NEED THEM.
OS to support their own devices. You

simply have to decide which types of
devices you are comfortable with, support employees that want to use their
own devices via BYOD, and then issue
supported devices only to employees that
truly need them.
With company-issued devices, its
much easier to secure them, because you
have total control. But with BYOD policies, it gets a little trickier and you may
need to consider security solutions with
containerization. Using containerization
enables you to separate personal data
and applications from business data and
applications. It essentially places a container on each device that has all of the
users business-related information in it,
and then IT has complete control over
the container while leaving the rest of the
device to the user.
Even though security is important,
Battista stresses that you shouldnt overburden yourself with it to the point of
negating potential user benefits. Take
the typical example of users putting their
work files on a public cloud storage service so they can better access them, he
says. There may be benefits to the users
productivity and ability to collaborate at
the cost of increased security risks. But
if the files wouldnt do much damage
even if they became public, who cares?
Let the users do their own thing if its
not causing any problems. If it is causing
problems, provide a better alternative.
Tools like enterprise mobility management are making it easier and easier to
secure mobile devices and applications
with fewer compromises.
13
Total Mobility For SMBs

HOW SMALLER COMPANIES CAN PLAN SMARTLY FOR MOBILITY
SMBS AND ENTERPRISES are similar in

that neither can afford to ignore mobility
these days. As Christopher Chute, IDC
research vice president, global SMB cloud
and mobility, says, mobility is a competitive driver today for companies of any
size. Using tablets to engage customers
in real-time, for example, can directly
impact cash flow, inventory management, and new client wins. Any SMB that
doesnt embrace mobility or cloud IT,
Chute says, is putting its entire business at
a competitive disadvantage.
Where SMBs and enterprises differ is in
the resources they have available to create
mobility plans, and its the planning thats
key to mobility success. Planning ahead,
says Jeanine Sterling, Frost & Sullivan
principal analyst, allows a company to
prioritize its needs and stage its deployments accordingly. Lack of planning can
mean disenchanted employees, wasted
time and money, wireless data plan overages, and delayed deployments that translate to a competitive disadvantage.
14
The following delves into how SMBs

can construct smart mobility plans and
avoid mistakes when pushing to make
their businesses more mobile.
Compare & Contrast

Laurie McCabe, SMB Group partner,
says its obvious SMBs are adopting various mobile solutions and devices. Theyre
also practicing basic mobility functions
and increasingly embracing more business-specific apps. An SMB Group survey
of 700-plus U.S. SMBs from November
2014 found a growing majority view
mobile solutions as essential business
enablers, with 60% indicating mobile solutions are critical to their business. Survey
results also found median spending on
mobile technology and solutions as a percentage of total technology spending rose
from 12% in 2013 to 16% in 2014.
That said, many SMBs indicate they
need help to maximize investments in
mobile, says McCabe says, who adds that
SMBs to date have been reactive to mo-
bile. I think the strategy and the management havent really caught up with
adoption, she says. This marks a difference between SMBs and larger enterprises, which have resources to work
through their mobile objectives, including
how to protect data, implement policies,
and enforce governance. Many SMBs lack
formal written policies regarding mobile
rules of the business, McCabe says. And
with BYOD [bring your own device], it
gets even more complicated, she adds.
SMBs and enterprises notably contrast
where mobile applications are concerned.
While SMB Groups survey shows SMBs
are acquiring more mobile apps and that
more SMBs are implementing mobilemanagement solutions, an annual Frost &
Sullivan Mobile Enterprise Applications
survey finds that enterprises typically
deploy significantly more mobile apps
for workers. Sterling says 50% of larger
companies have deployed 10-plus separate apps as opposed to 15% for SMBs.
Although a high percentage of SMBs and
enterprises prefer prepackaged mobility

solutions, enterprises are far more likely
to add customization and/or back-office
integration, Sterling says.
Enterprises also exact more internal
control by maintaining private app
stores, implementing EMM (enterprise
mobility management) platforms, being
less interested in all-cloud environments, and being more likely to issue
company-owned devices, Sterling says.
Simultaneously, enterprises can be high
risk-takers because more seem willing
to stretch beyond smartphones to also
support BYOD, tablets, and wearables,
she says.
As for BYOD and devices, Rob
Bamforth, Quocirca principal analyst, says
its possible that smaller organizations can
outsource ownership and management of
devices, contracts, and some tools easier
than large companies can. Although there
are risks and downstream costs, he says,
if SMBs can agree with members of their
smaller workforce on how to do the important things, then details of who uses
which app on which platform should be
far less important. Enterprises find this
harder due to departmental agendas, possibly stricter security needs, and potentially
different or stricter regulations, he says.
In terms of cloud computing, Chute
says, public cloud delivery is enabling
companies of all sizes to deploy a thirdparty enterprise mobility solution on an
OPEX basis. Most smaller businesses mobility initiatives, he says, center around
the device and specifically on MDM (mobile device management) in the sense that
a CIO is looking to manage a fleet of device pools (BYOD, corporate-owned, or a
mix of both) from one console and secure
user email and basic app usage. Larger
I think the strategy and the management havent really

caught up with adoption. Many SMBs lack formal written
policies regarding mobile rules of the business.
LAURIE MCCABE
Partner : SMB Group
midmarket companies, meanwhile, are

increasingly consuming enterprise mobility solutions similar to those larger organizations use. Midmarket firms view
mobility as more app-centric, which often
involves securing more complex businessspecific apps, he says.
Set Smart Strategy

With so many mobile options available today, Bamforth says, its easy to
go down a cul de sac and lose control
of whats important or fall afoul of unanticipated security issues. A mobility
plan doesnt need to be overly complex
but should address an SMBs overall aim
and expected benefits, he says. Such an
approach can help a company stay focused on the motivation behind its mobility efforts and the goals it hopes to
achieve, rather than drifting off under
the allure of the latest shiny piece of
technology, he says.
Chris Silva, Gartner research director,
says a governance-first approach can
help with selecting the most appropriate
tool for managing devices, apps, and
data but also provide an opportunity to
stress-test policies. In a rapidly evolving
legal environment, being very clear on
what the boundaries are for managing
devices and retaining users data is a critical step that evolves from having legal
and HR teams take part in the governance process, he says.
Using cloud-based office solutions is probably the most

cost-effective way to manage employee mobility, although
when a CIO is looking for a way to more granularly secure
devices, apps, and data, hell need to start to look at a
formal EMM.
CHRISTOPHER CHUTE
Research Vice President, Global SMB Cloud & Mobility : IDC
In terms of planning, Chute says, IDC

correlates revenue growth to SMB-level
CIOs who view mobility as a strategic
priority and not simply a device-deployment policy. Often this means working
with line-of-business leaders to create
use-case scenarios that would directly
benefit business unit objectives and then
creating a holistic mobility strategy that
may or may not include specific company-issued device deployments, industry-specific mobile app development
and management, and integration into
back-office IT functions.
For Sterling, smart mobility strategy
starts with users. Large or small, companies have to include the field worker, the
sales rep, the delivery personwhoever
will be using the mobile solutions from
step one, she says. When its time to define needs and evaluate alternatives, employees have to be at the table. She also
advises paying close attention to cloudbased mobility services, as smaller businesses often lack the internal expertise
or personnel to manage and maintain onpremises solutions. She notes that SaaS is
usually priced on a per-person, per-month
basis, which is affordable and scales easily
as a business expands/contracts.
Sterling believes SMBs can also save
themselves work by partnering with a
mobility expert. Some tier 1 wireless carriers, for example, have vetted mobile application software vendors and identified
best-in-class solutions for SMBs. Carriers
want to avoid churn, she says, thus they
seek solutions that offer customers a
quick, hard-dollar ROI in the form of
more productive employees, more efficient work processes, higher sales, etc.
Carriers may also add monthly charges
for these apps to their own customer invoice, which reduces paperwork for SMBs
and possibly helps meet any volume commitments theyve made with the carrier.
15
In a rapidly evolving legal environment, being very clear on

what the boundaries are for managing devices and retaining users data is a critical step that evolves from having
legal and HR teams take part in the governance process.
Managing Devices
Due to limited budgets, BYOD scenarios exist within many companies by
default. Although most SMBs cant afford full-fledged mobile management
solutions, there are options to continue
with BYOD but exact control over how
workers use applications and devices.
Chute cites cloud-based office solutions
as a possible big win for SMBs. Adopting
a cloud-based email solution, for example,
enables a CIO to control how workers access email on devices. This is probably
the most cost-effective way to manage
employee mobility, although when a CIO
is looking for a way to more granularly
secure devices, apps, and data, hell need
to start to look at a formal EMM, he says.
Similarly, Silva says some organizations have migrated to SaaS (software as
a service)-based office-type tools and are
using built-in abilities for device management at no additional cost. Others are
looking to single-instance apps that can
serve personal devices with workplace
email in a single container. This enables
companies to avoid purchasing an expensive EMM suite by simply focusing
on one secure PIM (personal information
management) tool, albeit one with a relatively narrow scope.
Overall, Bamforth says, controlling
BYOD after the fact is tricky. SMBs can
choose what applications and devices to
allow and essentially apply control via
agreement, he says. The first step is getting employees to commit to whats permitted. Be explicit, and apply tools when
permitted to take more control. If nothing
else, take control of critical data, as this
is the one item that keeps IT managers
in companies of all sizes awake at night
when it comes to dealing with BYOD,
he says.
CHRIS SILVA
Research Director : Gartner
Along the same lines, Sterling says addressing BYOD with limited resources
isnt easy. First, she recommends articulating a formal mobility policy, ensuring
that every employee reads and signs off on
it. This includes discussing and agreeing
upon approved devices/software applications, explaining security mechanisms,
and identifying a go-to person for mobility questions and concerns. Just putting this type of information in writing
exerts a certain level of control, she says.
Sterling advises formally reminding employees of policy at least semi-annually.
Secondly, Sterling says, getting ahead
of the curve and doing some homework can help identify apps SMBs can
deploy before employees get frustrated
and search for solutions on their own.
Considering engaging a mobility partner
or enthusiastic worker to identify mobile solutions that make employees jobs
easier, she says.
Avoid Mistakes
Unfortunately, McCabe says, many
SMBs have already made mistakes with
mobile, such as by adopting mobility in
a piecemeal manner without a big-picture strategy. I think the first thing a lot
of businesses need to do is take a step
back, she says. While few SMBs arent
doing anything mobile-wise, many need
to surmise what theyre doing and whats
working and whats not.
Large or small, companies have to include the field

worker, the sales rep, the delivery personwhoever will
be using the mobile solutions from step one.
JEANINE STERLING
Principal Analyst, Mobile & Wireless Communications
Frost & Sullivan
16
Another mistake Chute notes is that

most SMBs view mobility as a form of
cost control. Usually a small business
MDM journey starts with an event, he
says. For example, a senior manager loses
a personal device containing company/
customer data and the CIO is tasked to
react to the event by formulating a security-centric solution, which results in
an MDM rollout. Only after a while do
smarter SMB CIOs start to realize that
device management is only one value, but
that takes time. Forward-thinking SMB
CIOs are more proactive in their mobility
posture, he says.
Silva says beyond overestimating potential savings for BYOD, many SMBs
take a technology-first approach toward
designing a mobile strategy. Choosing
a management tool and then working to
drive enforcement of policies and safeguards can lead to some gaps in whats
ideal from a policy standpoint and what
the tool thats been adopted can deliver,
he says. Defining policies and procedures the mobile tools must support and
perform instead drives better choices in
solutions and prevents over- or underbuying, he says.
Some SMBs also deploy difficult-touse solutions, only to be surprised when
workers go renegade, Sterling says. They
purchase mobile apps that arent workable across multiple OSes, which in turn
imposes constraints on mobile device
types that can be utilized down the road,
she says. Further, SMBs dont pilot solutions. Considering all the free trials available for mobile worker applications, she
says, theres no excuse for not running
an organized tryout for a month or two,
not only to gauge usability but also to
quantify the impact on KPIs [key performance indicators] and to better understand ROI.
Tracking The Success Of SAP

PLUS: A PAINLESS EXPLANATION OF SAP HANA & IN-MEMORY PROCESSING
SAP AGS STORY is one of innovation,
KEY POINTS
SAP has its roots in financial systems. Since its founding in 1972,
SAP has grown exponentially and
now offers a host of analytics and
other services.
Since the first decade of the
21st century, SAP has embraced a
service-oriented approach.
SAP HANA is an in-memory
processing platform designed to
handle large databases for use in
big data analytics solutions and
other scenarios.
SAP supports the HANA Cloud
Platform and other solutions, but it
also has a strong mobile focus in
terms of both preexisting apps and
application development tools.
18
expansion, and cooperation. The company, which is now recognized as one of

the most prominent providers of IT solutions and services, started off as a team of
five ex-IBM employees with a vision. SAP
wanted to give future customers real-time
data processing software for a wide variety of applications in an effort to change
the way they do business. The company
earned its first customer in 1972 and since
then has amassed over 290,000 more. And
along the way, SAP has worked with these
companies and learned from them, improving its existing solutions and creating new ones with the ultimate goal of
pushing the entire IT industry forward.
Eras Of Growth & Innovation

Established in 1972 in Weinheim,
Germany, SAPs five employees started out
working in their customers data centers.
They innovated on nights and weekends,
and by 1973, the company developed a
financial accounting system called RF. The
company converted its system to DOS in

1974 and by the end of the year, it had
40 customers. Moving forward, the RF
system became one piece of the SAP R/1
system; another piece was the RM system,
which SAP developed in 1975 to provide
customers with tools for purchasing, invoicing, and inventory management.
Continuing its growth from 1976 to
1980, SAP reached 25 employees, developed a business unit specifically for handling sales and support, earned its first
customers outside of Germany, and finally started running operations on its
own servers rather than working almost
solely in the data centers of its customers.
By the end of 1980, SAP moved into its
own data center facility for the first time
and introduced another new solution
called RV, which was designed to help
with sales and distribution.
SAP refers to the period from 1982 to
1991 as the SAP R/2 era, which included
the next generation of SAPs ERP (enterprise resource planning) platform. Also
future and plan out forward-looking stratbusiness, SAP set out to become a serduring this time, the company expanded
egies for growth. At its core, SAP HANA
vice-oriented organization capable of deexponentially from 100 employees, 250
is about giving enterprises the tools they
livering its solutions to customers in a
customers, and DM (Deutsche Mark) 24
need to succeed now and in the future.
variety of ways, whether via in-memory
million in revenue in 1982 to 2,700 emWith SAP HANA, users have access
computing, cloud, or mobile. The ultiployees, 2,200 customers, and DM 707.1
to everything they need in one centralmate goal was to give customers access
million in revenue in 1991. The company
also went global and established
ized platform. Rather than have
14 international subsidiaries to
to open different solutions from
support its customers in 31 difmultiple vendors and hope they
work well together, SAP HANA is
ferent countries. Throughout,
a fully integrated platform where
SAP continued to grow its
each component is guaranteed to
product portfolio, started building
work in harmony with the others.
its SAP R/3 system, and introIt all starts with the fact that
duced the first applications from
SAP HANA serves as a database
that system at the international
to store all of your valuable inCeBIT event in 1991.
If 1982 to 1991 was the R/2 era,
formation. This means that when
then 1992 to 2001 could be conyoure working on a project and
need access to specific resources,
sidered the R/3 era. During this
you only have to go to one locatime, the companys meteoric rise
tion to find everything you need.
continued as the company went
Once that data is centralized and
from 3,157 employees and DM
essentially consolidated, you can
831 million in revenue in 1992 SAP AG was founded in 1972 by former IBM employees Klaus Tschira, Hasso
take advantage of HANAs builtto over 20,000 employees and Plattner, Dietmar Hopp, and Hans-Werner Hector.
in processing capabilities, which
5.1 billion in revenue by 1999.
enable you to you analyze the data
It was also in this era that SAP
using calculation, text, and relational enbegan supporting Windows operating
to SAPs real-time computing solutions
systems and decided to list itself on the
gines. This in-depth approach makes it
regardless of their location and regardless
NYSE, which was made official in 1998.
much easier to mine actionable insights.
of the platform being used.
Global expansion continued as well, as
And from there, you can start to apply
That leads us to what SAP is today: one
the company increased its presence in the
SAP HANAs tools for specific projects
of the biggest, if not the biggest, providers
Japanese, Chinese, and Mexican markets,
and use cases.
of enterprise applications. The company
among many others.
Another important thing to undercontinues to innovate based on what its
Also within this time frame, the comcustomers want and what the market dicstand about SAP HANA is that it can be
delivered as an on-premises solution or
tates. And while SAP still offers financial
pany established its SAP North America
as a cloud deployment. This isnt simply
solutions, it has since moved into other
headquarters in Newtown Square, Pa. It
an either-or offering, however; a solution
areas with more growth potential, such
started off as a relatively small office, but
called the SAP HANA Cloud connector
as big data, analytics, mobility, cloud
quickly grew and became a major pillar for
bridges the gap for companies using both
computing, and more. In other words, if
the company. In fact, by 1994, American
on-premises and cloud systems.
theres a mission-critical system that you
SAP customers represented more than
Companies that are well-versed in hanrely on to run your business, chances are
one-third of SAPs overall revenue, and the
that SAP has a refined, feature-rich verNorth American facility employed about
dling large-scale databases, have a strong
2,500 workers. Now, across all of North
infrastructure backbone, and want to fully
sion of that solution that you can access
America, SAP has 19,000-plus employees
control their SAP HANA implementation
from almost anywhere.
in 60 different locations. And its from this
can opt for an on-premises model. And
market that SAP launched its enterpriseeven though the after-the-fact manageSAP HANA
focused applications.
ment of the system will primarily be in
The computing backbone of nearly evthe hands of the IT team, SAP and its
erything SAP does, and especially with repartners help throughout the process to
gard to its big data and analytics offerings,
Embracing The
make sure customers get the most from
is SAP HANA. This in-memory computing
Web-Centric Future
their deployments.
platform is designed to give users seamless
SAPs advancement between 2002 and
As for the cloud-based alternative, you
access to the applications and data they
2012 is perhaps the most interesting and
can choose to use SAP HANA in a PaaS
need to run the business more efficiently as
pertinent to enterprises today. With the
(platform as a service) capacity or as a
well as to help companies look toward the
Web solidifying itself as the backbone of
19
part of the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud,

which is a hosted managed private cloud
offering. Regardless of which version you
choose, youll have the full support of SAP
behind you every step of the way.
Data Warehousing
& Management
Before you can truly jump into the
world of big data and analytics, you need
to have a firm grasp on your corporate
information and turn it into a valuable
resource rather than a jumbled mess of
disparate data sources. SAPs EDW (enterprise data warehouse) tools, which are
built on the SAP HANA platform, can
help you get started by consolidating your
many data sources into one easier-to-navigate resource. SAPs EDW tools give you
the power to choose what information is
actually stored in the warehouse so that
you dont have to sort through gigabytes
or terabytes of unusable or unrelated data
to get to whats really important.
The primary benefit of such an approach
is that it essentially helps you streamline
different business processes and make them
more efficient. IT teams can complete tasks
much faster and give company decisionmakers the information they need to make
intelligent business choices. It also comes

with built-in analytics, right inside the warehouse, so you can gain real-time insights
without having to initiate a major big data
analytics project. And because the whole
solution is highly scalable, midsize companies and large enterprises alike can benefit
from EDW.
In addition to data warehousing, HANA
and other SAP solutions can help with data
management. Just think about the amount of
information that flows in and out of a business every day. There are not only internal
business processes and communications that
generate data, but also emails, website data,
and a variety of other sources that offer a mix
of inconsequential and crucial information at
the same time. SAPs data management solutions help you sort through that information
in real-time (that is, as soon as the information is in the system) and pinpoint whats
most important so you dont overburden
your infrastructure or your employees with
unnecessary data.
But data management isnt only about
aiding in analytics use cases. You can also
leverage these tools for integrating data
throughout the enterprise, whether its inhouse, in the cloud, or really anywhere
else in the organization. This is especially
SAPs development of solutions that bridge the gap between raw data and real-life practicality is exemplified by the sensors worn by the German Bundesliga football club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Worn on the body of each player, these sensors
use SAP HANA to delivery vital physical information to coaches.
20
important for data backups as well as DR

(disaster recovery) scenarios, because you
know where your data is stored at all times.
Plus, SAP offers most of its solutions via
the cloud, so whether theres a short outage
or a major disaster at one of your primary
locations, you can create a DR site and
know youll have backups of your data and
applications in a separate location so you
can recover relatively quickly.
Big Data & Analytics

Once you have more control over your
data and know how to sort through it,
you can start to use SAP HANA and its
real-time, in-memory processing for big
data analytics projects. The way that SAP
HANA and the companys overall portfolio achieves this is by breaking the process down into four steps: source, store,
compute, and consume. By looking at the
process in this tiered manner, you can understand where your data is coming from
and how it eventually gets to the point
where you have actionable insights to help
inform your business decisions.
The source step is when at which you determine the origination points for your data
streams. These can include your ERP systems
or any number of other sources, such as databases, geolocation data, logs, text-based
documents, social media, IoT (Internet of
Things) sensors, or physical machines.
Once you have identified your data
streams, you can prioritize them and determine where you want different types of
data to be stored. If you need to view the
data in real-time during a set period, you
can simply stream the data. For example,
if you just launched a new campaign and
want to track how its being received on
social media, you can watch those feeds
live and witness the progress as it happens. You can also store some of the information in-memory, which makes it
faster and easier to access during analytics
projects. Or, if there is data that is older
or doesnt have an immediate impact but
you want to save it just in case, you can
store it on disk.
The next step, compute, is where the
analytics process really begins. SAP HANA
employs a combination of stream processing; spatial processing; and analytics,
predictive, and text engines to analyze data

and help mine it for valuable intelligence.
It is during this process that you can typically begin to recognize patterns in the data
and form a narrative. Also, depending on
what youre trying to accomplish, you can
sort the data accordingly. For instance, if
you want to predict how sales may go over
the course of the next year, you can search
for data pertaining to sales and revenue
from the past decade or more.
Once youve gathered this data and
mined it for insights, you can start to consume it and apply it to whatever project
you have in mind. This can be for business intelligence purposes so you can
try to improve processes and drive your
company forward. It can be for reporting
purposes if you need to present data to
investors or prove that your business is in
compliance with regulators. Or you can
use the gathered information to predict
trends and plan where you want to take
your business in the future. The consume
step is by far the most varied, because the
number of use cases for that data is only
limited by your imagination.
Cloud Computing & Mobility

You already know that SAP HANA
is available as a cloud platform, but that
isnt the only solution or service SAP
offers via the cloud. SAP has solutions
for human resources, finance, sourcing
and procurement, sales and marketing,
and much more. SAP also offers cloudbased collaboration tools, so your many
departments and employees can work together regardless of location. One of the
biggest pillars of SAPs cloud approach
is its SAP Business One Cloud, which is
a subscription-based SaaS (software as a
service) offering that gives you access to
your business applications and data in
the cloud. This service makes it possible
to reduce the need for onsite physical
infrastructure and instead move more of
your resources out to the cloud.
In addition to its cloud computing
initiatives, the company is focusing increasingly on enterprise mobility. SAP
understands that more and more employees and customers rely primarily
on their mobile devices, so its working
SAPs initiatives extend beyond analytics and enterprise productivity solutions. For example, SAP Research runs the
Future Energy Center in Karlsruhe, Germany, as a living demonstration of how new sustainable energy and other IT
innovations can be realized.
toward giving businesses access to more

powerful mobile tools. This ranges from
offering mobile business applications to
helping companies manage the apps and
data on corporate mobile devices.
In terms of applications, SAP takes a
two-fold approach that includes both delivering premade applications to mobile
devices and giving companies the tools
they need to develop their own apps.
SAP offers enterprise applications for
companies in banking, health care, consumer products, and even aerospace and
defense, so regardless of industry, you
should be able to find a mobile application that fits your companys specific
needs. And if for some reason you cant
find what you need, you can take advantage of SAPs mobile application development tools so you can build your own
solutions designed for anything from
cloud environments and desktops to mobile devices and wearables.
And to help you keep track of all
of the data and applications on those
many different devices, SAP also offers
an EMM (enterprise mobility management) solution, which comprises MDM
(mobile device management) for handling the hardware itself as well as
mobile app management and security

for making sure applications are safely
used by employees. And you can also
dive into MCM (mobile content management) with SAP Mobile Documents
to allow safe file-sharing for employees
across multiple devices.
All Bases Covered

SAP went from being a five-person,
one-customer company in Germany to
a global organization with tens of thousands of employees and hundreds of
thousands of customers. And despite its
expansion in many different directions,
the company remains dedicated to its
original vision of giving customers upto-the-minute processing solutions to
help them better run their business. Its
solutions now span on-premises implementations as well as cloud-based and
mobile deployments to give customers
anywhere access to their most crucial
data and applications. Regardless of size,
industry, or level of IT expertise, SAP
customers can rest assured that the company will continue to offer easy-to-use,
well-integrated solutions to help them
keep up with whatever technology has to
bring in the coming years.
21
Why Gamication Matters

ACHIEVE COMPANY GOALS WITH THE HELP OF GAME ELEMENTS
GAMIFICATION REFERS to the use of

game elements such as leaderboards,
rewards, points-earning systems, and
more that let organizations drive engagement, increase sales, and achieve
a variety of goals. According to Brian
Burke, research vice president at
Gartner and author of Gamify: How
Gamification Motivates People To Do
Extraordinary Things, gamification
solves the problem of goals that are too
distant and generally lack a defined path
to success. The concept is not new, but
in recent years gamification has undergone somewhat of a renaissance among
businesses looking for new ways to improve their bottom line.
In 2011, Gartner predicted that by
2015 more than 50% of organizations
will use gamification to manage their
innovation processes, or the generation of ideas that are easily translatable
into products or services. Since then,
Gartner hasnt surveyed companies to
validate this prediction, but Burke states
22
that we do have many conversations

with clients on innovation processes, and
in those discussions leveraging gamification is a consistent theme. Empirical evidence suggests this prediction is at least
on track, perhaps exceeding. When implemented properly, with realistic goals
and expectations, gamification can yield
results for a variety of projects at virtually any organization.
A Winning Formula
To Burke, its all about motivation
and transforming overarching companywide goals into smaller personal goals.
Gamification helps to break down
longer term goals into practical steps and
guides people to achieve them.
Gamification techniques can be externally focused, designed to increase
loyalty, sales, or engagement among
customers, or internal, to motivate a
workforce to meet new challenges and
improve overall productivity. Training
and education are two main areas where
gamification has proven to be a useful

tool. Health and wellness is yet another
application in which gamification can
yield numerous benefits.
Burke suggests that gamification can
supplant more traditional means of motivation, such as monetary incentives
and physical rewards. Since the goals
are their own, players are engaged at an
emotional level rather than the transactional level of engagement that loyalty
programs produce.
The iOS and Android app RunKeeper
serves as one example of how gamification can engage customers. Its a smartphone-based fitness tracker that lets
users record their workouts as routes
on a map, measuring total workout
times, average pace per mile, calories
burned, and distance traveled. Beating
previous records yields prizes in the
form of coupons and discounts from
partners. Theres a social media aspect
that lets you share your milestones with
others and compete with your friends.
As another example, the professionalGames have a different value proposition for players
oriented social networking site LinkedIn
they promise fun and entertainment. Gamification is
grades the strength of profiles based
on a number of factors, and users can
more about motivating people to take action, rather than
improve their gradefor instance, from
entertaining them.
an Expert to an All-Star profile
by fleshing out past work experience or
BRIAN BURKE
adding new contacts.
Internal, or enterprise-driven gamiprogram also needs to know where evfication techniques can be similar, but
Your Success Is In Another Castle
eryone else stands, at any given time,
revolve around fostering an atmosphere
Although gamification can do wonders
which is compulsory for true competiof competition and advancement. This
for an organization, its not the perfect
tion to emerge. You may find that emcan be as simple as creating a leadersolution to every problem. According to
ployees competing against one another
board for sales associates and creating
Burke, The most common problem is that
work toward the goal harder and faster
a trophy that sits on the desk of the top
organizations try to use gamification to
than employees who work independently
sales associate for the week. Other inmotivate people to achieve the organizato achieve the same goal.
centives that can be associated with the
tions goals, rather than their individual
Its also important to have a variety of
top spot can include monetary rewards,
goals. That simply doesnt work. Burke
goals, both short-term and long-term in
prizes, a coveted parking spot, and more.
also warns against confusing gamification
nature. Achieving one of the short-term
If the goal requires more of a team efand games. Games have a different value
goals should be recognized in an open
fort, then by all means, group employees
proposition for playersthey promise fun
way, such as with a badge or some other
into teams and let them work toward the
and entertainment. Gamification is more
token visible to others. If working with
goals together.
about motivating people to take action,
a very large group of people who perAlthough instituting your own internal
rather than entertaining them.
program can work, there are
One other way that organumerous third-party gamifinizations miss the point with
cation vendors who specialize
gamification is trying to apply
in creating scalable programs
it to the wrong problem. For
that let your organization reinstance, leaderboards and
alize its goals. Some of them
plastic trophies wont motiinclude Badgeville, Bunchball,
vate workers to do something
BigDoor Media, Captain
they simply dont want to do.
Up, Conteneo, Crowd Twist,
Countering employee apathy
Enterprise Gamification,
toward using enterprise softPugpharm, IActionable,
ware, on the other hand, is an
Leaderboarded, NextBee, and
area where gamification can
PunchTab. Another advantage
generate success.
of these organizations is that
many of them have preconfigTake Your Goals
ured software and systems that The social networking site LinkedIn uses gamification techniques such as rating the
To The Next Level
can be applied to your needs strength of a profile based on various factors.
As long as gamification
quickly and efficiently.
continues to produce favorable results, its bound to stick
form the same task, allow gamification
Business Boosting
around, even if the term itself doesnt last.
to elevate particularly dedicated indiGame Mechanics
According to analysts at TechNavio, the
viduals within the group or break up the
Theres no one right way to impleGlobal Gamification market is expected
group into teams that compete against
ment a successful gamification program.
to show a compound annual growth rate
one another. You may more effectively
Organizations investigating new ways to
of 68.4% through 2018. Couple this with
motivate inexperienced or struggling
motivate its employees have a handful
Gallups recent finding that only 30% of
employees by grouping them with the
of ways they can use gamification to bolU.S. employees are engaged at work and just
high achievers. Its also a good idea to
ster those efforts. Some key elements
13% of employees worldwide are engaged,
mix individual goals (and the associated
of a successful gamification system inand you can see how creative solutions such
incentives) with department- or groupclude regular and immediate feedback
as gamification will find a welcome place in
wide goals (and incentives).
on progress. Everyone involved in the
many organizations.
23
Cybermarketing In A Mobile World

ITS PAST TIME TO DEVELOP YOUR MOBILE MARKETING STRATEGY
MOBILE MARKETING has the potential to transform your organizations

cybermarketing and brand awareness
efforts. One of the biggest opportunities that mobile provides is location and contextual-based targeting,
says Kris Hanson, executive digital
producer at 180LA. By knowing not
only where consumers are, but what
they are doing, brands are able to provide relevant messages to consumers
at a time when they are most likely
to respond. And the more likely
someone is to view your message, the
better the chance youll see a positive return on your marketing investment. Here, well examine ways that
mobile marketing can provide new
cybermarketing opportunities.
Better Engage Consumers

Mobile devices allow you to gain
consumer insights on a whole new
level. When combined with an app,
you can discover a persons current
24
location, allow them to interact with

you via social media, offer them special
deals, and provide ads that relate to
the app in use. Brian Wong, Kiip cofounder and CEO gave us this example:
Say you finish a five-mile run. Your
endorphins are high, you're proud of
yourself. You check your go-to fitness
app and instead of just showing you
results, it takes things a step further by
congratulating you. The app offers you
a free sample of Propel fitness water,
a discount on a Pebble smartwatch or
perhaps a sponsored MP3 to power
your next workout playlist.
Wong calls this system momentbased rewards, which allow brands, developers, and users to deliver and enjoy
relevant content at just the right moment. With mobile marketing, brands
and apps work together to locate the
moments when you're most excited,
says Wong. Instead of showing a
flashing interstitial ad (which in this
case, might interrupt your happiness),
the app and brand work together to

recognize and reward your achievement. Besides increasing your enjoyment of the app, those feelings of
goodwill might also transfer to brand
and developers.
A good example of such engagement occurred during the 2014 March
Madness tournament. NCAA Digital
wanted new ways to reach fans on the
go, so it worked with Turner Sports
to create the NCAA March Madness
Live app, which offered unlimited livestreaming of games to pay TV subscribers. Besides being able to watch
the game from anywhere, fans could
view real-time stats and converse with
other fans in the Coke Zero Social
Arena, which featured Twitter and
Facebook updates. The efforts resulted
in a 43% increase for live video consumption of the tournamentwith
69.7 million live video streams. The
app also managed to integrate CocaCola sponsorship.
Your organization probably isnt as

large as the NCAA, but the example
shows how a different takein this
case, providing a new way to livestream game coveragecan help to increase interest. For instance, you could
choose to offer special deals when users
are nearby a brick-and-motor store or
target ads within apps that relate to
your product or service.
Build A Bridge
Mobile marketing can help to create
a better connection between you and
your customers. Smartphones are the
most personal devices that people own,
says Wong. They track our location,
exercise, entertainment, shopping, social media and morethey know what
we like and how we feel. You can use
the more personal connection to target
marketing efforts in ways that feel natural and when theyd be most receptive
to your brand. For instance, Starbucks
recently introduced a feature on its
Starbucks app to let customers pay before even walking into the store, so you
can walk in and ask the barista for your
order in the pickup area. No need to
wait in line.
A recent mobile marketing campaign from an airline allowed those who
booked a flight via mobile device to
receive free lounge access. The goal was
to help convince customers that the mobile website was easy to use for booking,
as well as to build trust in booking
flights via mobile device. The threeweek campaign generated 34% more
booking and delivered a 38% increase
in mobile revenue. Brands that develop
truly useful mobile programs, and work
hard to provide useful tools and information to their customers (and dont
take advantage of this relationship),
With mobile marketing, brands and apps work

together to locate the moments when you're
most excited.
BRIAN WONG
Co-founder & CEO : Kiip
will only build loyalty among their customers, says Hanson.

Similar to social media marketing
campaigns, youll need to be careful that
you dont overdo your mobile marketing.
Those brands who take advantage of
things and over-message, or do not provide relevant or useful information, will
only alienate customers, says Hanson.
The timing and presence of your mobile marketing efforts is important, too.
Don't interrupt in-app activity, says
Wong. Instead, show ads during natural
breaks so you don't annoy your audience. Some examples of natural placement, according to Wong, include after
you win a level of a game, log a completed workout, add a song to a playlist,
or cross an item off of a to-do list.
Youll also want the mobile marketing efforts to be unique. Don't
copy ad formats designed for other mediums, says Wong. An example would
be banner ads, which were designed for
desktop . . . . Because they are small
ads with even smaller text, he explains,
banner ads on the smaller screen of a
mobile device will deliver less than a
0.1% success rate.
Mobile Matters
If you don't already have a mobile
budget, you need to get one now, says
Wong. Users now spend more time on
mobile than they do watching TV and
just about as much time on mobile as
desktop (if not more). Its likely that
Executives should ask their agencies to deliver a

holistic approach and be leery if mobile strategies
arent included in your marketing plan.
KRIS HANSON
Executive Digital Producer : 180LA
consumption via mobile devices will

grow, too. If you arent embracing the
technology changes, you run the risk of
becoming irrelevant to your consumers.
As mobile continues to grow, companies that do not embrace intelligent
mobile strategies will only hurt themselves in the long run by alienating customers, says Hanson.
Another big benefit of mobile marketing is that its something that both
large and small businesses can use to
equal benefit. The best advice is to ensure that your mobile efforts are userfocused and ultimately provide a useful
value to the user, says Hanson. All
companies should strive to integrate
relevant mobile strategies into their existing native advertising efforts and remain focused on what ultimately adds
value to the end consumer. Mobile is
actually quite valuable for small to midsize businesses because the more targeted audience ensures that ad dollars
arent wasted.
Agency Advice
When selecting an agency to help
your organization, the agencys mobile
marketing strategy is something important to ask about. Mobile should not be
looked at as a separate entity, but part
of the overall strategy, says Hanson,
who also notes, Executives should ask
their agencies to deliver a holistic approach and be leery if mobile strategies
arent included in your marketing plan.
Whatever the plan, it should have a
strong appeal. Reaching your audience
means understanding human emotion,
says Wong. Find a mobile marketing
campaign that can recognize when users
want to see your message and respond
to them accordingly. Clearly, now is
the time to master your mobile marketing strategy.
25
Public Cloud Providers

COMPANIES HAVE MUCH TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A SERVICE
KEY POINTS
If adopting many cloud services,
it can be worthwhile to assign an
internal employee to learn about and
track cloud offerings.
When eying public cloud providers,
youll want to be more strict with areas
such as data residency, security, and
network abilities.
A third-party audit can offer
reassurance about a public cloud
providers abilities, particularly for
organizations with demanding data
governance requirements.
Test-driving a prospective service
from a public cloud provider should
be a key part of judging that providers
ability to meet the organizations
requirements.
26
THERES LITTLE argument organizations are increasingly eying public cloud

services. Statistics and research indicate
as much. An IDC forecast covering 2014
to 2018, for example, predicts public
IT cloud services will make up more
than half of global software, server, and
storage spending growth by 2018 with
spending climbing from $56.6 billion in
2014 to more than $127 billion in 2018.
Thats a five-year CAGR of 22.8%, or
roughly six times the growth rate of the
overall IT market.
There isnt a question as to if companies are eying public cloud service,
rather what are they looking for in providers and whether they are looking to
acquire IaaS (infrastructure as a service), PaaS (platform as a service), or
SaaS (software as a service). Although
vendors offerings can seem extremely
similar on the surface, its important
organizations dig down to uncover how
providers and solutions differ in terms
of real capabilities, strengths, security
prowess, and other attributes. The following advice details how.
Differences That Matter

One way public cloud providers
are increasingly selling their services
is by positioning themselves as experts in given technology platforms.
For example, Colm Keegan, Enterprise
Strategy Group senior analyst, says a
provider may tout its ability to support a virtualized environment from
a particular virtualization vendor and
deliver specific capabilities that vendor
delivers. Likewise, a provider may promote its ability to support an opensource platform.
A provider may also laud its expertise
in helping organizations transition to
a private cloud environment or deploy
hybrid cloud capabilities through the
methodologies, blueprints, or templates
it offers, Keegan says. Increasingly,
many providers are also taking a heavy
services slant, he says, meaning they
are offering value-added services customized to a companys requirements.

In its forecast, IDC stated an innovation stage is emerging for the
cloud services market that will bring
about an explosion of new solutions and value creation on top of the
cloud. Some solutions, according to
IDC, will be industry-focused platforms
featuring their own innovation communities, which will alter how organizations operate IT and compete. In
coming years, IDC anticipates a 10fold increase in new cloud-based solutions, many of which will become
more strategic than traditional IT has
ever been.
To determine which applications
are a decent public cloud fit, Dave
Bartoletti, Forrester Research principal analyst, recommends identifying
those apps that arent core to the business or a fundamental differentiator in
providing a competitive edge. Doing
so can narrow the cloud providers a
company considers. The company may
find an application it wants to migrate
is available from several providers,
which isnt very differentiating, thus
Bartoletti suggests asking the preferred
software vendor which cloud platforms
are certified to run the application.
Furthermore, ask the prospective cloud
provider what type of relationship it has
with the software vendor. That gives
you a short list of providers with experience at running the application you care
about, he says.
Keegan says cloud provider-software
vendor relationships are important in
terms of ensuring the provider has visibility into the vendors road map so it
can make preparations. Further, a solid
relationship can grant the provider
some influence in seeing that any client
needs that the vendors underlying technology might not currently provide for
are addressed. In short, an organization
wants to know if the cloud provider has
enough pull to help influence how the
infrastructure is going to help service the
companys needs, he says.
Increasingly, Keegan says, organizations are trying to control their destinies
Increasingly, organizations are trying to control their

destinies from an infrastructure standpoint. In terms of
application development cycles, they dont want to be
reliant on the vendors development cycle. They want to
be able to do things as the business dictates.
COLM KEEGAN
Senior Analyst : Enterprise Strategy Group
from an infrastructure standpoint. In

terms of application development cycles,
they dont want to be reliant on the vendors development cycle, he says. They
want to be able to do things as the business dictates. This relates to a value the
cloud promises, namely that although
a company may not be competing in a
certain market currently, it may be tomorrow and wants the ability to respond
as quickly as possible, Keegan says.
Elsewhere, security and network
bandwidth are key differentiators to
consider. Generally, public cloud platforms are considered to have greatly
improved in terms of security. If operating in a highly regulated industry
and subjected to regular audits, however, Bartoletti advises the organizations and cloud providers auditing
teams discuss what platforms are certified to run different workload types.
A provider, for example, may have a
dedicated public cloud for government-related workloads or offer different security and compliance levels.
In terms of bandwidth, determine what
network options are available for connecting the companys data center to
the providers. If already working with
an MSP (managed service provider),
Bartoletti recommends looking into
what its relationship with particular
providers are in terms of extending the
companys workloads or networks into
the public cloud.
Comparing providers core in frastructures can be more difficult.
Compute instances, for example, can all
look alike but simultaneously be very
different, Bartoletti says. For example,
they all offer pay-per-hour compute
services but give them different names.
How do you know how to compare

them? Youre going to have to come to
the cloud providers with a menu, he
says. For example, determine an applications server, storage, network, and
other requirements and align them with
cloud platform offerings. Organizations
can do this work themselves, but it will
require someone familiar with various
cloud services and who understands
metric types, thus some companies
may want to consult a trusted partner,
Bartoletti says.
Meeting Requirements
Generally, an organization pinpoints
the requirements it wishes a public cloud
provider to fill before it actually begins
comparing providers, which will naturally weed out some providers and help
form a short list of candidates. When
choosing a provider, companies should
test-drive solutions, Keegan says. Youre
going to need time to actually use some
of their services, test-driving them so
that you get as much visibility as possible
into what the experience is going to be
like using their service, he says.
Keegan recommends running a production workload in the providers
cloud, bursting workloads if possible
from the companys primary data center
to the providers cloud to determine
what performance is like. Note how
simple or complex migrating applications is; what visibility into the providers platform for the application is like;
and if the company, provider, or both
maintain control. The only way youll
know is to test it yourself, he says.
Also check how well the providers
cloud-resiliency attributes work. If
running important workloads in the
27
The cloud providers are making money because they

offer a flat service thats standard for everyone.
Therefore, you should be trying to fit what you want
to whats already available, and not trying to get the
providers to do something special for you.
DAVE BARTOLETTI
Principal Analyst : Forrester Research
cloud, simulating a failure yourself or

having the provider do it is ideal for
checking how performance and availability are impacted, Keegan says. This
will also provide an opportunity to
evaluate the knowledge, availability,
and performance of the providers staff
in working through the simulated issue.
Depending on a companys commitment to the provider, Keegan says, the
provider may assign an engineer to the
company that it can contact directly
with problems.
Related to this, Bartoletti considers
conducting a third-party compliance
audit critical. Keegan says there is
value to this process, particularly in
the realm of data governance. If bound
by certain regulatory requirements for
managing personally identifiable information (bank account data, SSN,
etc.), for example, a third-party can
validate the cloud provider is following
all regulations.
Stern But Flexible

Part of selecting a public cloud provider is determining which requirements to be more flexible about and
which to bend less on. Bartoletti recommends allowing for flexibility with
SLAs (service level agreements) and
specific requirements for uptime and
disaster recovery. The cloud providers are making money because they
offer a flat service thats standard for
everyone, he says. Therefore, you
should be trying to fit what you want to
whats already available, and not trying
to get the providers to do something
special for you, he says.
Conversely, Bartoletti advises being
stricter about issues concerning security;
28
how data will move in and out of the

cloud; and data residency, such as in
what countries data must be stored in.
Being firmer on these issues is important
because ultimately cloud buyers are still
responsible for their data and securing
it, he says.
Generally, deciding where to pick
battles depends on the criticality of
the service in question. Although service going down for, say, 15 minutes
for something not mission-critical isnt
convenient, Keegan says, it wont stop
the company from doing business. A
critical financial application or database thats used to manage inventory,
however, is another matter. Thus, consider being more demanding in terms
of SLAs, application performance service, and visibility provided around

such services. Youre going to want the
broadest range of capabilities to ensure
services like that are going to operate as
flawlessly as they can and the provider
has good processes in place to mitigate
outages and failures, and that they have
a proven track record of remedying issues as they occur, he says.
Also, ensure the cloud provider has
a good roster of clients similar to or
larger than yours that the provider
has worked with for an extended period and that the company can talk
to. Further, make certain the provider
offers full visibility into how its infrastructure is built out and the technologies it uses, noting if its more
commodity-based or similar to whats
in the companys data center, Keegan
says. While ensuring a full-spectrum
view of the providers infrastructure,
management, and control process is
available, ensuring the provider offers
the ability to maintain some control
is especially important toward being
able to get data back if the relationship
breaks down, Keegan says.
ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY
Comparing public cloud
providers and their offerings isnt easy, in part
because there are a lot
of offerings on tap, says
Dave Bartoletti, Forrester
Research principal analyst. While providers try to
help companies calculate
how much storage, disk,
performance, and other
resources they need,
the process is involving,
Bartoletti says. Working
with an MSP (managed
service provider), trusted
partner, or cloud brokerage
solution are options, but
Bartoletti also advises
companies train someone
within the organization to

understand and track cloud
provider offerings. Even if
hosting a majority of the
infrastructure with a colocation or hosting provider,
he says, its important
every company starts
building service-brokerage
skills and service-management skills.
Similarly, Colm Keegan,
Enterprise Strategy Group
senior analyst, says such
individuals can serve as
liaisons with the cloud
providers, managing the
day-to-day relationships
and gaining visibility to
ensure the services are
being provided as negotiated. Obviously it all

depends on your level of
commitment to running
workloads in the cloud,
he says. If youre only running a few SaaS services,
such a person may not
be necessary. You could
probably just make it part
of an administrators tasks
to manage that, but as you
become more committed
to running a larger percentage of your business
services in the cloud, Id
definitely think youd need
that person in-house to be
your sort of eyes and
ears, he says.
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Managing Cloud Disruption

ANTICIPATE THE INTERNAL CONFLICTS THAT ADOPTING A CLOUD MODEL CAN INTRODUCE
KEY POINTS
Cloud computing adoption is becoming increasingly commonplace,
but many organizations arent prepared for the disruption that cloud
adoption can bring.
Some companies may find they
need to adapt their operating model
and company culture to shift to a
cloud model.
Shifting to a cloud model will
potentially impact employees in an
organization but most notably will
likely impact IT staff the most.
Despite the internal changes
that may accompany cloud adoption, experts generally agree that
adopting a cloud a model is still
ultimately worth the effort.
30
ALL COMPANIES ESTABLISH an operating model, either explicitly or by default. The clearer the model, the more
efficiently the organization operates,
says Ed Anderson, Gartner research vice
president. The older the organization, the
more entrenched the operating model is
in company culture, to the point it can
become part of the companys identity.
Now, introduce cloud computing
to such organizations and watch what
wrinkles surface. While cloud adoption is
becoming increasingly common and arguably even mandatory to stay competitive,
many companies arent prepared for the
internal disruption adopting a cloud model
can introduce, including to company culture. When cloud services are introduced,
organizations have to rethink their operating processes if they want to recognize
the full benefits of the cloud, Anderson
says. Whereas cloud services are dynamic,
flexible, available on-demand, etc., many
organizations dont operate assuming their
technology has these attributes, he says.
Thus, companies adopting cloud solutions must ask how they need to operate differently to fully capitalize on cloud,
Anderson says. Those that do can potentially bring about a new era of innovation,
agility, growth, and competitiveness. Those
that stick to old, established operating
models likely wont reach their true cloud
potential. No matter what, introducing
cloud services will challenge the status quo
and almost always create some tension and
disruption in the organization, he says.
The following explores such disruption
and how companies can anticipate and
react to them.
The Coming Storm

In a survey released in November 2014,
Cliff Grossner, Ph.D., research director at
Infonetics Research/IHS Research, found
that enterprises look to cloud adoption
for numerous reasons, including for improved application performance, quicker
access to new technologies, better agility
in responding to business needs, and
faster application deployment. Among the

barriers to adoption, however, were the
necessary changes to internal procedures
and compatibility within in-house infrastructure. Often, Grossner says, enterprises unprepared for cloud adoption find
that cloud-based systems make certain
assumptions about enterprise operations
and employee workflows. Organizations
that arent open-minded and ready to
adapt find the cloud model doesnt allow
for much customization, he says.
Arguably, adopting a cloud model
most greatly disrupts existing IT staff
who are used to configuring and provisioning IT equipment in a traditional way. The cloud changes this, says
Clive Longbottom, Quocirca founder,
leaving some staff with little to do and
ultimately trying to do things they
shouldnt be doing and possibly impacting the running of the cloud,
he says. Similarly, Dave Bartoletti,
Forrester Research principal analyst,
says while members of IT are increasingly sensing how the cloud can benefit
their companies and are acquiring more
cloud-related skills, some may question
their job security when their company
starts managing services, applications,
or possibly infrastructure in the cloud.
Adopting a cloud model can also disrupt a companys technology. For example, Anderson says, organizations
that operate an internal data center may
make various assumptions and take
shortcuts related to the applications and
data the data center provides, including
ones concerning security, funding IT,
and infrastructure capabilities (such as
network bandwidth). A company, for
example, may need to change funding
models to make an on-premises data
center more cloud-like.
Bartoletti says not understanding
how much a company must change
technology budgeting and funding for
the cloud can lead to significant bumps
in the road. Many companies, for example, use fairly standard budget cycles
in which someone estimates at the start
of the year how much more technology
the company will need, and then allocates for spend throughout the year.
Enlisting a business champion can drive a shift to the

cloud. Arguing the case on technical grounds will never
work. Whats needed is someone who can argue the case
at a business level.
CLIVE LONGBOTTOM
Founder : Quocirca
A cloud model, however, entails only

consuming whats needed and paying
only for whats used, he says. In general,
Anderson says, when extending services
that are running on-premises to an external cloud service, the assumptions
companies have fall apart and potentially cause numerous problems.
Those Impacted
Broadly, implementing a cloud
model can potentially disrupt everyone
in an organization, although if done
correctly, disruption can prove beneficial to purchasing, skills enablement,
architecting solutions, IT management,
and enabling IT to help employees
work differently. Longbottom says processes can become far more dynamic,
thus impacting how marketing and sales
approach their markets; workers can
more easily try to drop or continue
new functions and capabilities, thereby
impacting business development; and
developers can move to a continuous
delivery, DevOps model to meet the
needs of a highly dynamic business.
Typically, cloud disruption most
acutely impact IT; application migration and compatibility; data migration,
management, and integration; and security, Anderson says. Beyond adapting
to manage technological aspects of the
cloud, IT will need to manage relationships and details concerning external
services and cloud providers delivering
those services, which may require developing new skills.
Bartoletti says organizations may
need to increase investments in training
for everyone from IT to developers or
provide them the time to train themselves. Constant learning is now part
of the job, and thats absolutely important, he says. Fundamentally, cloud
usage means more technology assets

the company owns and doesnt own,
making management key. Further, the
tools used to manage cloud resources
may be completely different from
what IT uses for in-house resources.
The tools may also be consumed in the
cloud. Currently, Bartoletti says, hiring
cloud-savvy employees is difficult and
pretty expensive, thus investing in
training for current employees to learn
new tools makes sense.
Anticipate & React

Change management is often a key
part of projects that is not handled
properly, Longbottom says. Inherently,
people dont like change, he says. To
effectively anticipate and react to the
transformational stresses that adopting
a cloud model can introduce, he recommends involving IT in pre-planning and
emphasizing IT needs to be more responsive to business needs. Longbottom
explains that ITs thought process must
become: Of the cloud options available to us, which meets the businesss
needs in the best business fashion? The
business, meanwhile, must shift back to
an IT-first model instead of embracing
shadow IT or viewing IT as just another
supplier, which fragments the business
and creates information silos, he says.
Before proceeding with a large-scale
cloud project, Anderson recommends
that organizations complete a list of
core tasks that, if done well, can result
in cloud usage that features optimization vs. planning and troubleshooting.
These tasks include identifying all of the
technical and non-technical stakeholders
cloud adoption will impact; outlining
desired outcomes; establishing an architecture that details every element of the
cloud environment; outlining business
31
Benefits arent always obvious, and other factors like

industry, geography, company culture, etc. all play into
the potential for success. Most companies will eventually
find value in cloud services and deal with the resulting
disruption.
ED ANDERSON
terms of the cloud service and how to

measure and enforce them; and establishing exit criteria for business terms
and technology aspects.
Companies should also build an operations plan that includes management, monitoring, and governance;
build a business-process model that
takes advantage of the cloud solution; and build a financial model thats
aligned with budget cycles and that
projects costs out at least three years to
eliminate surprises. Anderson also recommends conducting a security audit
that ensure the cloud solution meets security needs and expectations and that
the auditing process/auditors sign off
on any regulatory requirements. Finally,
train all individuals whom cloud adoption will impact.
Bartoletti, meanwhile, advises that
companies start by focusing conversations on applications. Specifically, they
should concentrate technology efforts
on delivering terrific application experiences no matter how theyre sourced,
he says. A company should take a fresh
look at each and every app its business
depends on, determining how critical
it is to the business and if its a real
differentiator that provides a competitive advantage. Then, consider whether
you can move the app completely to the
cloud or if an MSP (managed service
provider) can run the app. This kind of
application analysis will lessen the fear
of cloud impact, he says.
For example, say a company relies
on 100 applications. Upon evaluation,
management might determine that 20
of those apps are critical with heavy customization and should be kept in-house.
Of the remaining 80 apps, officials
32
would want to analyze which are decent

cloud options and assign a team to investigate a cloud migration. Bartoletti
says setting a cloud plan by identifying
which parts of the business change or
move quickly and which applications it
depends on does two things: It lets employees know the company has a plan,
and, for employees focused on those
critical applications not moving to the
cloud, it lets them know the company
values those apps.
Changing The Culture

To align company culture with a
cloud model, operating like a cloud company before adopting cloud services is
one option. Use charge back. Delegate
accountability for IT budgets. Think in
terms of self-service. Expect IT to operate in a scalable, elastic, and on-demand manner, says Anderson. Think
about all IT capabilities as services.
He also says its key to remember
that a cloud move will impact everyone
who interacts with technology. They
may be consumers, but if they think in
a cloud-like way, their behaviors will
change, he says. As an example, he
cites millennials who have very different expectations for technology than
their predecessors. Specifically, millennials expect Web-based tools, unlimited
capacity, finding what they want and
using it almost instantaneously, using
devices and applications they prefer,
and more. Thats the new model of
corporate IT, but the culture has to
change. Cloud services can support that
model if the organization is willing to
operate in that manner, he says.
Identifying innovators open to trying
different things, as opposed to those
who milk certain skills theyve developed, is another option Bartoletti cites.
Specifically, he says, reinforce that the
cloud isnt a competitive threat but
a new means for doing jobs better.
Similarly, Longbottom says enlisting a
business champion can drive a shift
to the cloud. Arguing the case on technical grounds will never work. Whats
needed is someone who can argue the
case at a business level, he says. This
might mean the CIO enlisting the COO,
CFO, or other executive to emphasize
how adopting a cloud model will position the business to better deal with the
modern markets, more rapidly change
to meet new needs, and deal with highly
flexible market conditions.
Ultimately, its likely companies will
question whether the effort is worthwhile considering the disruption a
cloud model can bring about. Anderson
believes its a question every company
must ask itself. Benefits arent always
obvious, and other factors like industry,
geography, company culture, etc., all
play into the potential for success, he
says. Most companies will eventually
find value in cloud services and deal
with the resulting disruption, he says.
Longbottom agrees, noting that a
majority of non-cloud IT platforms run
at about 10% server utilization, 30% to
60% storage utilization, and 30% network utilization. The wastage in energy, licenses, space, and resources to
run such underutilized systems is horrendous, he says. Cloud allows utilization rates to be upped to the 80% levels
in most cases. Further, because public
cloud entails sharing resources, prices
should be more predictable and result
in a platform cheaper than one operated
in-house.
Grossner points to survey results
as evidence that enterprises intend
to increase cloud service adoption.
Specifically, he forecasted the North
American off-premises cloud services
market would climb from $40 billion
in 2013 to $200 billion in 2018. I dont
think wed be seeing that rate of adoption unless they believed the challenges
were worth it, he says.
GO DEEP
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TECHNOLOGY FOR
BUSINESS
Laptop Feature Guide

KEEP YOUR BUSINESS & EMPLOYEES IN MIND THROUGHOUT THE BUYING PROCESS
IF YOUR COMPANY IS looking to issue

new laptops to employees, its important that you are aware of the latest
technologies and feature sets designed
specifically for enterprises. Its also essential to keep in mind that the needs
of business users are often different
than those of consumers, so your
choice of laptop ultimately depends on
what will fit your company the best. We
explore some of the key laptop features
youll want to consider before making
a purchase.
Screens
In recent years, many laptop manufacturers have switched from LCD
to LED screens. The LED screens are
brighter and more energy efficient than
LCDs, and picture quality is clearer,
as well. Whether you should purchase
touchscreen models is another question.
For many companies, a touchscreen
isnt necessary, although some operating systems are designed to work with
34
such a setup, and choosing a laptop

with touchscreen capabilities will have
an impact on its price. In fact, you can
often expect to pay as much as $150
more for a touchscreen laptop.
There are alternatives to traditional
laptops with touchscreens, however, in
the form of hybrid devices. Such devices have keyboards that are detachable
and/or fold back and out of the way, allowing you to use it as either a laptop or
a tablet. You may also want to consider
some of the more advanced tablets on
the market that are just as powerful as,
if not more than, their laptop peers.
Some models also include keyboard attachments or cases that effectively turn
the tablet into a laptop-like device.
Keep in mind that screen size is also
an important feature to consider, and
choosing the correct dimensions depends on how your employees plan to
use their laptops. Bigger laptops, while
nice in the office, can be a pain for business travelers, for example. For ultimate
portability consider the aforementioned

hybrids and powerful tablets or take
a look at laptops with 11- or 12-inch
screens. If you want something larger,
maybe a 15-inch model is more your
style. If you are looking to replace your
desktop computer, then an 18-inch or
larger laptop may be the way to go.
Processor
There have been some significant advancements in processors over the past
few years, but the basic rule of thumb
hasnt changed: The more powerful the
laptops processor (and memory, too,
as well discuss next), the greater the
laptops ability to keep up with more
intensive applications. If you decide
to choose one of the more advanced
processors available, then expect to
pay a premium for that laptop. When
considering a laptop purchase for your
company, be sure to look at your employees needs and what software they
will use.
Memory
Many laptops come with 4GB of
RAM, which is considered the bare
minimum today for business computers and is often upgradable to 8GB.
Numerous laptops have 8GB of memory
or more built in. Some models may have
as few as 2GB of RAM, but those are
typically bare-bones models designed
to run Web-based applications that
dont require much onboard computing
power. Many laptops also use something called cache memory to give you a
small amount of superfast memory that
can be used to cycle through tasks and
speed up overall performance.
Storage
Laptop storage has become more interesting as storage prices have fallen.
In fact, when looking at full-featured
laptops, you may find few models with
less than 500GB of built-in storage;
many will offer 750GB or more. You
can also find laptops or laptop/tablet
hybrids that come with as much as
128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of SSD (solidstate drive) capacity. SSD storage is still
more expensive than a HDD (hard disk
drive), though, and isnt necessary for
many enterprise-related functions, so
you may want to go with a more traditional storage option. You may come
across laptops with large HDDs and
smaller SSDs during your search, but
these are often high-end devices that

can be used to replace desktops.
Its important to keep in mind that
while 750GB seems like a lot with regard to storage capacity, businesses are
generating much more information
and handling larger file sizes than in
the past. If your employees use their
laptops for video editing or other resource-intensive projects, you may
want to consider a larger built-in hard
drive or invest in external hard drives
or network-attached storage devices
to complement a laptops onboard capacity. Note that some external storage
devices introduce security risks and
policy concerns, so research the benefits and drawbacks associated with specific types and models when deciding
how much storage your company-issued laptops require.
batteries or even ones that come with

8-cell or 12-cell batteries. Although batteries with more cells have longer life
per charge, they will also cost a bit more.
Expect to get about two to four hours
of power from the average laptop battery when performing processor-intensive tasks, and as much as eight hours or
more when performing simpler tasks or
using a higher-capacity battery.
Power & Battery Life

Power and battery life are critical in
laptops. You dont want a laptop that
consumes too much electricity and
drives up energy costs when plugged
in, nor do you want a laptop with such
a small battery capacity that its drained
of power after an hour. Newer laptops
have quite a few built-in energy-saving
features, and many also have settings
that let you reduce power consumption
and extend battery life. For instance,
lowering your laptops screen brightness or setting it to enter standby mode
when not in use for a certain period of
time are good ways to conserve energy
and battery power.
When considering a laptop and
battery, youll also want to consider
employee workloads. For instance, employees working on documents or
sending emails will likely consume less
battery life than those who must use
more intensive applications. You can
often find laptops with 3-cell and 6-cell
Optical Drives & Ports

Many laptops come with optical
(CD/DVD) drives with read and write
capabilities, but you may want to consider Blu-ray Disc drives for large discbased storage or high-quality videos.
Look for laptops that come with USB
3.0 ports in addition to USB 2.0 ports,
because USB 3.0 supports a range of devices and transfers data at a much faster
rate. You may also want to consider
the presence of memory card slots and
other ports, as well as any number of
audio and video outputs, such as HDMI
(High-Definition Multimedia Interface) or VGA (Video Graphics Array).
A choice of A/V ports is particularly
helpful if you plan to use your laptop to
display videos or presentations via television or projector. As with all of the
other features, its important to understand how employees will use the laptops, and then determine which ports
are necessary.
YOU DONT WANT A LAPTOP THAT CONSUMES TOO MUCH ELECTRICITY

AND DRIVES UP ENERGY COSTS WHEN PLUGGED IN, NOR DO YOU WANT A
LAPTOP WITH SUCH A SMALL BATTERY CAPACITY THAT ITS DRAINED OF
POWER AFTER AN HOUR.
35
Business Intelligence vs. Data Analytics

THOUGH RELATED, EACH APPROACH HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE USE CASES
THE TERMS BI (business intelligence) and

data analytics are thrown around quite a
bit in the enterprise world and, in some
settings, have actually become synonymous with one another. But the truth is
that both of these concepts are different
from one another and have unique use
cases that benefit businesses, research organizations, and many other groups.
No Set Definitions Create

Confusion & Overlap
The No. 1 reason why people tend to
confuse data analytics and business intelligence, according to Nik Rouda, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, is that
there is no clear definition for either term.
He says that the terms are sometimes used
interchangeably even though if you really
look at them, you can spot the differences
between the two and how they can be used
in different situations.
Business intelligence has been around for
some time and, as the name implies, is very
much focused on business activities and
36
business processes, Rouda says. The key

aspect of business intelligence that separates
it from plain data analytics is that it focuses
on the business itself and tends to use internal data sources. I want to look at my
sales numbers, production numbers, and
productivity by employee, says Rouda. Its
really oriented around management metrics
for running a business.
Traditional business intelligence tends
to focus on internal accounting systems,
CRM (customer relationship management) and support systems, and any
other data point that comes from inside
the company and gathers information
from internal activities and transactions.
Rouda says that data is typically logged
into different databases and put off into
a data warehouse for analytics, and then
someone brings BI software into the mix.
And although there is a very clear history
of how BI has been used for years, Rouda
stresses that the space isnt static and has
actually been changing rapidly in the last
few years.
The interesting thing about data analytics as a concept is that it can be a part
of business intelligence or it can be a category that business intelligence falls into,
depending on how you look at it. If BI is
your primary analytics focus, then youre
typically looking for insights about
some aspect of my operations that could
maybe change my planning or response
activities, Rouda says. In that specific
situation, you would see data analytics
as being a part of business intelligence.
Youre using it to develop models and
apply them in different ways to improve
your business, and data analytics is simply
one part of that process.
However, if you dont focus on BI or if
you want to use analytics for other types
of projects, data analytics becomes its own
separate entity. The other way of viewing
it is that data analytics is a much broader
space that isnt just applied to business
operations, but could be done for research
and development, understanding new
products and market opportunities, and
all kinds of things, Rouda explains. All

of the hype around big data and its million
use cases is really based on the ability to do
analytics. The reason it becomes big data
is because its a larger size, more variety,
faster response, and other attributes like
that, he says.
The easiest way to separate the two
terms, according to Rouda, is to look
at data analytics as the algorithm and
technique that can be applied to multiple use cases, and business intelligence
as a way to improve how your run your
business based on the information
available to you. Once you have those
loose definitions established, you can
differentiate the technologies and discover how they can help you achieve
different goals.
Both Technologies Have

Unique Use Cases
Rouda says that one of the most
common and classic use cases for BI solutions is to examine sales. Youre running a large company thats a vendor and
you want to know how youre doing with
selling, so youre going to look quarterly,
weekly, or daily at how your sales number
look, he says. Using BI software, you can
gather data from your sales teams and
determine whether or not youre going
to hit your sales targets and what can be
done to improve the situation.
The big benefit of using BI for sales
is that you can use it to categorize information and find the data that helps
you the most. The magic word in a lot
of the BI questions is by, says Rouda.
What are the revenue numbers by region, by sales rep, or by product line?
Then, once youve grabbed that information and organized it in a way that
makes sense, you can look at strengths
and weaknesses to predict where youre
going to come out that quarter, he
All of the hype around big data and its million use cases
is really based on the ability to do analytics. The reason
it becomes big data is because its a larger size, more
variety, faster response, and other attributes like that.
NIK ROUDA
Senior Analyst : Enterprise Strategy Group
says. This is an invaluable tool for improving internal systems and making
sure you meet operational goals.
With data analytics, however, you
could be looking at absolutely anything,
and it may not be business-related at
all, Rouda says. His example is looking
at taxi cab traffic patterns in New York
City. You can determine if certain people
are being discriminated against or if certain parts of the city are underserved.
Rouda admits that this could be a business analytic for taxi cab companies, but
that for sociologists, its all about the
data itself. In fact, he says, New York
City has made this information available to the public and people have been
using it in all sorts of creative ways.
These use cases also illustrate where
information actually comes from when
using either business intelligence solutions or data analytics. In the sales
forecasting example, the numbers are
coming directly from internal sales
teams and customer records. And in the
New York City taxi cab example, the
analysis is based on publicly available information that anyone can use for a variety of purposes. What does traffic look
like right now? Rouda asks. Wheres a
good place for me to start a new business
because there are lots of people passing
by? Wheres a good place to buy a house
because I know Ill be able to get home
and that it wont be too busy? Data analytics is just much more general and not
necessarily tied to business.
THE KEY ASPECT OF BUSINESS

INTELLIGENCE THAT SEPARATES IT FROM
PLAIN DATA ANALYTICS IS THAT IT FOCUSES
ON THE BUSINESS ITSELF AND TENDS TO USE
INTERNAL DATA SOURCES.
One For All & All For One

As for why a company might choose
one technology over the other, its a matter
of what you plan to use the technology for
and what you hope to achieve with the
software. Rouda says that the nice thing
about the BI software available on the
market is that is has been around for so
long that it tends to be really mature. You
can find well-designed and sophisticated
solutions that help you get to those answers for common questions very quickly
and help you do common business activities without a lot of development, he says.
If your company is primarily focused on
finding answers to those common business questions, then youll be able to find
a strong solution with in-depth businessrelated analytics features.
On the other hand, if you want to go
with data analytics, there are quite a few
different tools to choose from, some of
which have been around for years, and
others that are brand new to the market.
The challenge with data analytics is that
you either have to find a third-party application to perform those analysis tasks
or you have to build your own. For some
companies, the flexibility you get from
data analytics may not be worth the
trouble of developing a unique application. But for other companies, that level
of freedom will open up new possibilities.
Data analytics gives me the ability
to customize it for any question I want
to answer, and not just common things
like sales forecasting or manufacturing
pipeline. But on the other hand its my
responsibility to figure out how this analytics tool works with all of my different
data sources, says Rouda. What applications do I want to build on top of that
so that it actually does something for my
business, my research, or for whatever
question Im trying to answer?
37
Whats The Big Deal With Big Data?

WHY YOU NEED TO ANALYZE TO CAPITALIZE
YOUVE HEARD OF big data by now, and

chances are youve heard it defined using
everything from vague and overly general
terms to highly technical ones, leaving
you just a little bit hazy on what exactly it
means. Our goal here is to illustrate what
big data is all about; define the various
associated technical terms; and give you
some ideas about how to capture, filter,
and make use of this nebulous mass of
information to learn more about your
market, your audience, and the trends that
will keep your business booming.
How Big & What Data?

IBM defines big data as being generated by everything around us at all times.
Every digital process and social media
exchange produces it. Systems, sensors,
and mobile devices transmit it. Big data
is arriving from multiple sources at an
alarming velocity, volume, and variety.
Other definitions are a little more concrete in enumerating what big data entails.
Most organizations agree that big data is a
38
pool of data that consists of information

from traditional sources, such as product
transactions, financial records, call centers,
and point-of-sale and emerging sources,
which are mostly digital in nature. These
include Web behavior, social network interactions (comments, likes, shares, and
posts), software usage statistics, tracking
cookies, location data, multimedia metadata, and more. At this stage in the digital revolution, the data from emerging
sources absolutely dwarfs the former by a
wide margin. Whats more, the digital side
of big data is growing at a significantly
faster pace today than it was just a few
years ago, and that pace is showing no
signs of slowing.
Sources of big data can be internal or
external, and gathering the data can be
passive or active, depending on your commitment to sifting insights from large volumes of information.
The purpose of collecting all this information is, simply, to extract value from it.
When an organization uses the appropriate
tools, it can more effectively make decisions that affect its general performance.
Unlocking the secrets contained within
big data can lead to greater operational
efficiency, cost reductions, more accurate
market trend predictions, and various
other deep insights.
A Needle In A Haystack
Any time you are forced to extract
pertinent facts from large amounts of
mostly unimportant data, problems will
arise. Scientists and researchers are always looking for the nuggets of gold in
large pools (or streams) of data collected
in surveys, tests, experiments, and recorded events. Financial organizations
analyze markets and economic forces to
determine investment opportunities. And
media and advertising companies use
complex algorithms to determine how to
craft messages that resonate with their
intended audiences.
Another reason big data is a slippery
term is due to the fact that technology
has become integral to the collection of a

lions share of the data. As technology advances and evolves, so too do the kinds of
data available and the types of devices that
collect that data.
The burgeoning Internet of Things
phenomenon, which aims to add Internet
intelligence to sensors in appliances, consumer electronics devices, security systems, and home automation systems, is
set to accelerate big datas footprint exponentially in the coming years. Technology
is also driving down the cost of devices
that collect data, such as mobile devices,
aerial sensor technologies for remote
sensing, video cameras, microphones,
RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags
and readers, wireless sensor networks, and
Internet nodes of all manner and function.
The rise of big data also owes much to
the relatively low price of physical storage
devices, such as hard drives and SSDs
(solid-state drives). One of the problems
facing companies that attempt to harness
the power of big data will be how to keep
up with the massive influx of data.
More Terms To Know

Other terms that get roped into the
big data definition include predictive
analytics, data warehousing, and unstructured data. Lets start with predictive analytics, which describes one of the
primary functions of big data: to predict
future events and trends based on data
SOURCES OF BIG DATA CAN BE INTERNAL OR

EXTERNAL, AND GATHERING THE DATA CAN
BE PASSIVE OR ACTIVE, DEPENDING ON YOUR
COMMITMENT TO SIFTING INSIGHTS FROM
LARGE VOLUMES OF INFORMATION.
mining, statistical modeling, and machine
learning. As for data warehousing, think
of it as the method by which you collect
the data from its various sources and keep
it effectively all in one place. Data warehousing software often entails filtering,
searching, indexing, and compression
technologies. Unstructured data refers to
data that is unorganized and generally
resists easy categorization. This type of
data is commonly used by humans directly. Email is one example of unstructured data, although the transmission
times and dates of every message are easily
categorized, the content rarely is, despite
the presence of subject lines. Compare this
to a spreadsheet listing financial figures
and dates. As you can imagine, an algorithm or search engine can more readily
locate useful information in hundreds
of spreadsheets than within a few dozen
of emails.
Many sources attempting to nail down
big datas definition use a handful of V
words, including volume, variety, velocity, veracity, and value. The first three
are fairly self-explanatory; they refer to
large amounts of data, from numerous

sources, arriving very quickly, respectively.
Veracity involves the tricky prospect of
trying to determine how much of the data
collected can be trusted or verified to be
true. Does a like on your Facebook page
mean that the user actually likes your
products? Was the survey respondent
simply trying to tell you what he or she
thought you wanted to hear to get off the
phone more quickly? Is a given Twitter
account run by an actual person or just a
spambot? Value, like the first three, is easy.
If you can interpret the data correctly, you
can reap significant rewards.
One of the best ways to visualize what
big data is all about is to imagine a crowd
of people all carrying various bags, cases,
and boxes. The people are moving in every
direction, some quickly, some slowly, with
more arriving on busses every minute.
Only one of the people among the throng
is carrying a container stuffed with cash,
but some in the crowd are thieves and
liars. Here, the money obviously refers to
the potential value that big data can mean
for your organization, and the people and
their behaviors all account for the volume,
velocity, and variety. The thieves and liars
are meant to hammer home the need to
verify your data before relying on it to help
drive your decision-making processes.
SOURCE: IDC
Keep Your Options Open
IDC's annual Digital Universe study reveals that the amount of data on the planet is expected to grow 10-fold by 2020.
Its true, once you get a grasp on what

big data is and how it can be useful, the applications for your particular niche tend to
become rather obvious. For organizations
looking to get their feet wet with big data
analytics, there are a range of options spanning from multiple standalone products
to service providers that offer complete,
scalable turn-key solutions. Big data is
growing, faster all the time. The only question left is, will you use it to your benefit or
ignore it to your possible detriment?
39
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.
Tesla's new Powerwall is basically a battery for the home that can store energy from solar panels or the grid and
let you use it later. In this photo, the Powerwall is mounted on a garage wall near another one of Tesla's products.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk Announces Battery Storage Products For

Home Use; Product Lines Also Coming For Industry
After weeks of speculation about a teased upcoming product announcement,
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the company has developed a line of energy storage
products for the home called Powerwall. Available in two capacities, 7kW/hr and
10kW/hr, Powerwall is essentially a big lithium-ion battery pack that can store energy from solar photovoltaic panels or the power grid. The unit can then be used to
power the home at night, when the sky is overcast, or during grid disruptions. A new
division of Tesla called Tesla Energy has been created to handle Powerwall. Tesla
Energy also has industrial-sized installations planned for commercial energy-storage
products that would be able to store energy during peak production periods and
release it at other times. These installations could store the energy produced by wind
farms and other renewable energy sources, for example. Musk says the two home
versions of Powerwall will retail for $3,000 and $3,500, which is much less than
competing battery storage products already on the market.
U.S. Department Of Energy Commits $75 Million For Research

Center Trying To Create Fuels Derived From Photosynthesis
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced it was committing $75 million in new funding for the JCAP (Joint Center For Artificial Photosynthesis. The
new funds should be enough to support the center for five more years. JCAP was
originally created in 2010 and has two facilities, one at the California Institute of
Technology and one at the University of California-Berkeley. Research at the two
sites has focused on developing ways to create commercially useful liquid fuels from
the process of photosynthesis.
40
Construction Underway At The

First Offshore Wind Farm In U.S.
Offshore wind farms have produced
power overseas for years, most notably in
the United Kingdom, which has two of the
world's largest clusters of wind turbines
located at sea. Now the United States is
getting ready to join the roster of nations
generating sustainable energy offshore.
Construction has begun on the Block Island
Wind Farm, the first offshore wind farm
in the U.S. Located off the shores of Rhode
Island, the Block Island Wind Farm is a
test project for parent company Deepwater
Wind, which plans to build a much larger
offshore wind farm called Deepwater One
in the future. The company's Block Island
Wind Farm will be a test bed and consist of
only five turbines, but it is expected to produce 30 megawatts of electricity.
Deepwater Wind has started construction of the Block

Island wind farm, the first offshore wind farm in the U.S.
Water Savings & Decreased CO2

Emissions Among Wind Benefits
The AWEA (American Wind Energy
Association) estimates that wind energy
production now saves Americans nearly
68 billion gallons of water annually. The
water savings figure comes from estimates
of what coal power plants would use
while producing an equivalent amount
of energy. Other benefits cited by AWEA
reports include avoiding approximately
125 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions (the equivalent output of 26
million cars) and the 73,000 jobs related
to the wind industry spread among all 50
states. The AWEA says wind energy costs
have dropped more than 50% since 2009,
and three statesIowa, South Dakota,
and Kansasreliably generate more than
20% of their power now from the wind.
According to research done at the University of Illinois, nearly 7% of the power used in data centers is consumed
by serial links in computer architectures. Reducing the power used by the links results in significant savings.
Research Team Creates Innovative Way For Companies To Save

Money On Data Centers Through Serial Links
A research team led by Associate Professor Pavan Kumar Hanumolu at the
University of Illinois Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has uncovered a creative way for companies to save money in their data centers. Corporate
data centers are known to be huge energy hogs, consuming as much energy in the
U.S. annually as that produced by 34 coal-fired power plants, according to the Natural
Resources Defense Counsel. Professor Hanumolu and his team estimate that serial
links in computer processor architectures consume about 7% of the power used in
those data centers. Although the links are only used sporadically, they still consume
power in their idle state. The research team has created a new type of architecture with
an embedded on/off clock that greatly reduces that idle state power consumption. The
reduction is so large, the team estimates their discovery has the potential to save data
centers in the U.S. nearly $870 million annually. Results of their ongoing research,
sponsored by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, were recently announced at
an IEEE conference dealing with solid state circuits.
IHS Forecasts Worldwide Solar PV Capacity To Reach Nearly

500GW By 2019
A report on global solar PV (photovoltaic) capacity and demand by research
firm IHS says that combined PV capacity should reach 498GW (gigawatts) in 2019.
Currently, total PV capacity is estimated at about 280GW. Demand for solar continues to grow, and IHS forecasts worldwide demand will reach 75GW in five years.
The company says nearly half of the demand last year for solar power came from two
countries: China and Japan. Three other countriesthe United Kingdom, Germany,
and the United Statesaccounted for another fourth of demand. The rest of worldwide
demand was splintered among a number of countries, with Asian countries holding
a slight edge in combined demand over countries from Europe. IHS says 11 markets
globally will surpass the 1GW demand level by 2019. Selling prices for solar PV panels
continue to decline and are forecast to drop another 27% by 2019, when IHS says they
should reach the $0.45 per watt level.
41
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More Devices, More Trash

DISPOSE OF CORPORATE-OWNED & BYOD MOBILE DEVICES PROPERLY
IN TERMS OF ITAD (IT asset disposition), mobile devices possess traits

that make them unique compared to
PCs, servers, and other IT equipment.
Like other IT equipment, however,
mobile devices pose significant risks
related to data security and environmental recycling. This includes devices
the company purchases for employees
and those that are part of BYOD (bring
your own device) programs.
If done poorly, ITAD can deal a major
blow to a companys brand, reputation,
and financial situation. If ITAD is done
right, a company can potentially recoup
some residual value from its decommissioned or recycled devices. The following
provides general advice for the disposal of
mobile devices.
The Art Of ITAD

In short, ITAD involves is the repurposing, donation, recycling, or destruction of aged IT hardware equipment.
ITAD service providers are also involved
in helping companies obtain residual

value from equipment if possible. Most
organizations already have ITAD programs for traditional IT equipment, but
many have yet to implement a specific
plan for mobile devices or have partnered with an ITAD provider with specific procedures for mobile devices.
In the past, companies generally expected to recoup a portion of their costs
for PCs, laptops, servers, cooling equipment, etc. upon disposal. Today, however, these items have longer life cycles
and often hold less value at disposal time.
Commonly, experts say, PCs, laptops,
and servers have a lifespan of roughly
five or more years, after which recovery
value dips. Rob Schafer, Gartner research
director, adds that companies replacing
PCs/laptops with mobile devices are also
driving down PC/laptop resale values.
Conversely, mobile devices have shorter
refresh cycles that generally range from
two to three years. Thus, ITAD providers
receive younger equipment upon disposal
that holds more value on global resale

markets. Further, mobile devices smaller
footprints make them far cheaper to ship
to global resale markets than other equipment. For mobile devices, shipping overseas seems to be a viable business because
those devices seem to have a longer life,
says Sandi Conrad, Info-Tech Research
Group director.
Look Before You Leap

Due to the resale value mobile devices
possess, many larger ITAD providers
have integrated mobile devices into their
documentation, dismantling, recycling,
and resale processes. Before turning devices over to ITAD providers, however,
companies must address several data security and recycling issues. Tim LaFleur,
IAITAM (International Association of
IT Asset Managers) director of business development, says proper equipment disposal starts well before the
actual disposal, when companies should
implement a comprehensive mobile asset
43
A typical first step for companies is to implement policies

concerning data wiping and device disposal and tie them
to a HR process. Corporate-owned devices from a disposal aspect become easier, because the organization has
more control over the user profile that powers the device.
TIM LAFLEUR
Director Of Business Development : IAITAM
your team." A big mistake organizations

make is not fully vetting out a disposal
vendor or holding them to the same high
standards as their own internal IT asset
management team, he says. Many organizations believe signing a contract with a
provider means they can wash their hands
of responsibility, LaFleur says, but the relationship should be continually managed.
The BYOD Challenge

management program that accounts
for corporate-owned and BYOD devices,
addressing such issues as data security risks.
Companies should determine, for
example, how a given device is storing
company data: using internal storage, removable memory cards, cloud service, or
another means. If using a memory card,
companies should ensure upon decommissioning that the same card originally
issued is the one returned. For data stored
in a devices internal storage, wiping that
data is paramount. Doing so, however,
can pose challenges due to potentially different device types, OSes, and manufacturers in question, Schafer says. He points
to the recently updated NIST (National
Institute of Standards and Technology)
800-88 standard for guidance on media
sanitation for mobile devices.
In large part, how a company disposes of company-owned devices will
depend on whether it acquired them via
an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) or a carrier. If negotiated as part
of a lease with upgrade terms, LaFleur
says, the carrier owns the device and
will handle disposal. Still, organizations
should ensure company data is properly
destroyed prior to returning devices. If
purchased from an OEM, organizations
should ensure any ITAD provider it uses
can provide certifications in data wiping
and device destruction.
Elsewhere, organizations should
ensure ITAD providers have written
policies that outline how devices are
handled after data wiping, including
covering resale, donations, and recycling. Furthermore, determine whether
the provider will line-item each device
(this is preferable) or if it destroys devices in bulk (which introduces risks).
44
In terms of recycling electronics, two

predominant standards are in place for
North America: e-stewards and SERIs
(Sustainable Electronics Recycling
International) R2 standard. Check that
an ITAD provider is certified by either
or both body, Schafer says, but know
that even certified providers can make
recycling mistakes, although using a
certified provider should minimize risks
to the organization.
Select A Provider
For comfort and familiarity reasons,
using the same ITAD provider that handles their other IT equipment makes
sense for some companies. Other companies, however, are realizing there are so
many unique parts to doing mobile device
disposition well, that they use a mainstream ITAD supplier for most equipment and a different one that specializes
in mobile devices, Schafer says.
LaFleur suggests sending a request for
proposal (the IAITAM has templates available) to different ITAD vendors and use
their responses to base a selection on. He
also advises taking bids from providers that
specialize in mobile devices to see how they
compare with standard ITAD providers in
terms of resale value they can return.
Other considerations in choosing a provider should include the chain of custody
and transportation logistics the provider
offers. For example, find out if the provider
uses a third party for transportation, will
seal devices while in transit, and conducts
a one-to-one serial number match for enhanced security. For recycling purposes,
ensure any provider is familiar with local
and global recycling laws.
Overall, LaFleur says, its key to manage
the disposal vendor as if it were a part of
Arguably, the most important thing for

companies with BYOD programs to remember is that employee-owned devices
most likely have company data on them. If
an employee doesnt dispose of the device
properly in terms of data removal and recycling, it could mean trouble for the company if that data is exposed in some way.
For example, Schafer says, while a company may not own an employee-owned
device that winds up in a landfill, if the device is found and company data is exposed,
it will still face some backlash.
One thing thats noteworthy about
BYOD devices, Schafer says, is that the
company really doesnt hold title to the
asset and really cant insist or enforce
proper disposition. Thats the challenge
so many folks are wrestling with, he says.
Many organizations are seeking ways to
optimize, facilitate, or maximize the
chances that BYOD devices are properly
disposed of, he says. Many companies are
implementing policies that state we encourage you to or well give you credit
if you follow suggested procedures, he
says. If such procedures are easy and worth
employees while, he says, chances are the
right thing will be done, and if not you can
still demonstrate you bent over backwards
to facilitate easy mobile device disposition.
A typical first step for companies,
LaFleur says, is to implement policies
concerning data wiping and device disposal and tie them to an HR process.
Corporate-owned devices from a disposal aspect become easier, because the
organization has more control over the
user profile that powers the device, he
says. The biggest mistake to avoid is being
caught off guard with immature policies regarding mobile devices, especially
BYOD, he says.
Thin Client Computings Impact On IT

WHATS INVOLVED FOR DEPLOYMENT & SUPPORT
RECENTLY, WE'VE TAKEN a look at the

numerous advantages that desktop virtualization can provide your business,
which include higher security, more
power savings, and a decrease to your IT
teams workload. The latter relies on the
idea that the IT staff wont need to install
software and updates on each individual
computer, because the thin clients can
all be centrally managed. Despite the
promise of a lightened workload, your
IT staff will still need to be prepared for
changes when dealing with thin clients.
In this piece, we examine what all is involved in supporting a thin client infrastructure, including ongoing providing
maintenance and working with thirdparty software.
The Move To Thin Clients

In general, thin client computing is
quite versatile when it comes to providing the same type of functionality as
a desktop PC. But thin clients are not a
one-size-fits-all type of solution. A first
46
consideration is whether server-based

computing (such as Microsoft RDS,
Citrix XenApp, Ericom) or hosted virtual desktops (such as Citrix XenDesktop
or VMware View) are the right choice
for the users on our organizations, says
Federica Troni, research director covering mobile and client computing at
Gartner. These technologies are great
in some user scenarios, but are not for
all users. Your IT staff will need to analyze employees computing performance
requirements, as well as such things as
application usage and connectivity, such
as if theyll need USB ports, an optical
drive, or Bluetooth support.
With both server-based computing
and a hosted virtual desktop environment, thin clients are hosted on a central
server. The differences lay in the area
of customization. With server-based
computing, the virtual OS (operating
system) capabilities are delivered to
shared terminals among your network,
and all of the virtual OSes provide the
same set of applications. On a hosted

virtual desktop, the virtual OS image is
generated by the central server, but the
actual processing is done on the thin
client, and employees can install unique
applications and have separate security.
There are some variations on serverbased and hosted desktop themes, but
most thin client configurations follow
these basic principles.
You might find it best to offer a mix of
server-based and hosted virtual desktops,
depending on employee needs. Whatever
the case, you and the IT staff will need to
choose what will provide the best, most
cost-efficient experience for employees.
What To Expect
One thing you'll need to consider
is if your IT staff has the expertise to
manage the virtual desktops. "Moving
to a centralized architecture has repercussions on the skill required to manage
the user workspace, says Troni. For
example, the Gartner expert notes "In
other words, organizations are likely to

require a different set of skills, which
has to include server, server virtualization, storage, networking, as well as
more classic client management skills.
Non-management IT staff, such as support staff, will also likely need to become familiar with these tools.
Although the management of virtual desktops might be different from
a traditional desktop environment, the
overall workload for IT should be reduced, once established. "Centralizing
applications and data typically require
less IT effort for managing the deployment, especially in large, distributed organizations," says Troni. Some
regular management is still required,
of course. "Thin client hardware will
still require some management," Troni
points out, "but without a full OS to be
managed and securedand with less
moving parts, generally the effort required is much lower."
The biggest difficulty might be the
transition to the virtual desktop environment. "When deploying virtual
desktops, however, organizations are
radically transforming their environment, and it will take time for IT staff
to learn how to use new tools for managing virtual images, says Troni. Just a
few of the biggest differences are image
layering technologies and user personalization management tools.
Education for the IT staff may
need to be figured into the initial cost
when moving to a thin client setup.
Training is likely to be required, and
the organization will need to organize and budget for adequate classes,
says Troni. In some cases, organizations may decide to use external services to manage their environment. In
others, they may need additional skills
to manage it internally. The actual
rollout of the thin client can sometimes
be delivered by the thin client service
provider, if your organization doesnt
have the internal skills to manage the
project right away.
We've mentioned energy savings as a
key benefit, and you might see a significant reduction to power costs. "Once
The overall TCO of a centralized architecture is typically

between 3% and 18% lower than that of a well-managed
PC deployment."
FEDERICA TRONI
Research Director : Gartner
the initial infrastructure investment is

done, the deployment is up and running, and after a learning curve, thin
client deployment will be less expensive to manage than PCs, notes Troni.
"The percentage savings will vary depending on user, deployment, and
management. The overall TCO [total
cost of ownership] of a centralized architecture is typically between 3% and
18% lower than that of a well-managed
PC deployment."
Thin Client Management

ITs management approach for thin
client devices will depend heavily on
the type of platform selected, Troni
says. "Many IT organizations deploy thin clients in order to reduce
the overall management overhead
associated with typical PCs, and because this is typically a top priority, it
is important to consider the level of
management required to maintain the
endpoint client device," she says. In
some cases, the thin client might require as much management as a standalone desktop PC.
When it comes to management,
there are a few key considerations
every organization will want to know
before implementation. First off, you
should know whether the thin client
device will require a separate management platform to function. Next, you
should determine the scalability of the
thin client platform and see how many
devices it can manage. Some management platforms might come with a
thin client, while others offer the thin
clients as add-ons (and therefore at
additional cost). Also, discover and
calculate what hidden costs might be
associated with a third-party management platform so you're not taken by
surprise later in the process.
Maintenance
Compared with traditional desktop
maintenance, theres little IT will need
to do when it comes to physical component upgrades in a thin client setup.
Thin client equipment has a life cycle
that ranges between six and eight years,"
says Troni. "During this time, the hardware will need some software upgrades,
but typically, IT will not upgrade components over the life cycle. If IT wants
to optimize or change virtual desktop
performance, everything is done over the
central management platform. Of course,
IT staff can make bulk enhancements to
systems, if needed.
Maintenance will be even less if you
select zero client solution, which is a
thin client device without an operating
system, processor, or drivers. Instead,
these boxes have connectivity for a keyboard, mouse, monitor, audio, and USB
devices, so you can connect all the typical PC peripherals, such as a printer
and speakers. The zero clients network
connection delivers the entire virtual
desktop from the serveryou can think
of a zero client as an advanced KVM
(keyboard, video, mouse).
A More Efficient IT Operation

The centralized architecture of thin
clients provides many benefits to the IT
staff. But this requires having the right
support structure in place, including the
skills required to manage and perform
everyday tasks. Owners and leaders
for the handoff process need to be defined with clear responsibilities, Troni
says. This might include a formal process with daily, weekly, and monthly
activities. Once established, the internal
support teams will need to learn how
to monitor and scale the thin client deployment to meet the changing needs of
your business.
47
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The All-Wireless Workspace

FREEDOM TO ROAM MEANS PRODUCTIVITY DOESNT HAVE TO STOP
THERE'S A TREND occurring in workspaces, one in which many workers are

choosing to use their cell phones to take or
make calls instead of the landline phones
on their desks. Tim Zimmerman, Gartner
research vice president, says his firms data
shows 30% of calls at workers desks are
handled via cell phone.
This is just one of many indicators that
workspaces are becoming increasingly
more wireless. More companies, in fact, are
moving to all-wireless access environments
and realizing numerous benefits. Whether
this approach is suitable for every company, however, is open for debate, as this
article explores.
The Wireless Way

Companies are embracing all-wireless
office environments for freedom, among
other reasons. Theoretically, says Irwin
Lazar, Nemertes Research vice president
and service director, such environments
free employees of physical constraints related to wire connectivity and without a
performance loss. Rather than being tied

to specific locations to gain network access,
workers can instead operate seamlessly
anywhere in the office.
Other drivers include cost savings and
employee expectations. As Zimmerman
notes, sales departments today pretty much
demand wireless abilities due to the mobility involved in their jobs. Furthermore,
millennials who grew up with wireless connectivity and form a growing slice of the
workforce expect wireless connectivity in
the workplace.
Considering millennials' increasing
presence, Todd Landry, JMA Wireless
corporate vice president of product and
marketing strategy, says he finds it funny
that some are even asking if wireless-only
access environments are plausible. Many
millennials question why you even have a
phone on the desk, he says. Despite some
companies spending considerable money
on phone systems, he adds, workers still
take all their calls on a mobile phone and
dont use the desktop phone anyway.
In terms of cost savings, all-wireless access

means no cables running through walls, ceilings, or cubicles; and no complex cable management needed, says Jim Rapoza, Aberdeen
Group senior research analyst. Zimmerman
says a wireless solution is less expensive to
implement overall, and deployment and
management tools are as good, if not better.
Similarly, Peter Christy, research director
at 451 Research, says the biggest challenge
with wireless-access environments is implementing them and understanding why
something isnt working. Here, the cloud
can be instrumental in enabling someone
not highly technical to do so, he says.
Additionally, good vendors should be able to
help make a wireless-access setup work.
The Feasibility
Generally, experts agree all-wireless access workspaces are feasible, though theres
disagreement as to whether theyre plausible
for everyone. Lazar believes all-wireless is fine
for some companies but notes that despite
802.11ac bringing wireless abilities on par
49
Despite some companies spending considerable money

on phone systems, workers still take all their calls on a
mobile phone and dont use the desktop phone anyway.
TODD LANDRY
Corporate Vice President Of Product & Marketing Strategy
JMA Wireless
with most wired networks, wireless will still

never be as reliable as a dedicated wired
connection.
Good candidates for all-wireless access
environments include businesses facing a
network refresh and startups or companies
moving into new office spaces. Companies
with wired networks that already work well,
however, might find little motivation in ripping and replacing that wired infrastructure.
Many experts agree open-office workspaces
or highly distributed environments where
workers frequently move about are ideal.
Such organizations arent looking to run
a cable plant that runs cable to every desk,
Zimmerman says. Gartner actually recommends that small and midsize businesses/
enterprises consider all-wireless setups.
Landry argues that wireless-only access
also makes sense for larger enterprises. Lets
face it, do people in the large enterprise work
differently? Do they not use mobile phones?
Id challenge you to pick 100 people at
random and find anybody that would rather
use a wired phone every day, all the time,
for communication vs. a wireless phone.
Landry notes there are certain scenarios in
which a fixed desktop phone is applicable,
such as in call centers. Those are very fixed,
dedicated people, but thats a small percentage of most organizations, he says.
Need To Know
Rapoza says the initial setup for a wireless-only workspace is very simple. And if,
like many organizations, all your core applications are cloud-based, theres no real
need for a server closet, he says. While allwireless approaches are often associated with
smaller office settings, even larger enterprises
are considering all-wireless approaches
when facing refreshes due to costs savings,
Zimmerman says.
Although Landry says such an environment is absolutely possible, going wireless
50
really pertains to Internet connectivity for

employees. In the data center, of course,
its more logical at that concentration point
to use wired network connectivity for access to databases, servers, etc., he explains.
Similarly, Christy says, installing comprehensive Wi-Fi still requires Wi-Fi access points,
which typically is done via Ethernet cable
connected to a router or switch.
Rapoza explains that although the technologies required for all-wireless setups are
there already, including those for handling
high-traffic applications, he says many businesses will be hesitant to make the move due
to coverage, performance, and security concerns. With a wired network, for example,
no one can get on the network unless they
have physical access to a jack, says Rapoza.
Performance-wise, he notes dead spots
"within an office or campus as a concern.
Similarly, Lazar says something as simple
as a microwave in the break room could have
and so that it ensures its security policy

is being maintained and not jeopardized,
Zimmerman says.
Lazar recommends assessing the current infrastructure, including controllers,
switches, and cabling. Coverage will be another obstacle that most organizations wont
expect, he says. While 802.11ac has a much
higher throughput than previous Wi-Fi standards, the range of a 5GHz signal is shorter
than a 2.4GHz signal. When replacing an
existing access point, just swapping them
out will not suffice, he says. You will need
to remap your layout. If not, expect dead
spots. Quality of service is also key for all
services currently running on the WLAN
(wireless local-area network), including such
high-bandwidth business-critical functions as
VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) or videoconferences, he says. You must have a good
plan in place to prioritize that traffic over
other, less essential traffic, Lazar says.
Typically, Landry says, organizations
view wireless environments either from a
Wi-Fi or a cellular perspective, but he believes there are merits for having both. While
Wi-Fi can enable employees to connect their
devices to internal Wi-Fi upon entering the
office and offload data utilization from a cellular network, what Wi-Fi cant give you is
an extremely streamlined, highly mobile way
DATA SHOWS 30% OF CALLS AT WORKERS

DESKS ARE HANDLED VIA CELL PHONE.
a large impact on a wireless signal. Further,
companies must focus more acutely on security protocols to access the network, he says.
In a wired environment, you would need
physical access to a port to connect. Wi-Fi
blasting its signal openly means everyone
within range is a potential threat, he says.
Cut The Wires

Key to adopting a wireless-only access
environment is understanding your organizations specific usage scenario. For example, beyond laptops, many employees
will want to connect cell phones and
tablets to the network. Thus, an organization must know what to expect of its
wireless solution in terms of the present and
future in order to not spec itself too low,
to stay connected no matter where you go,

particularly if youre on voice calls, he says.
Some people argue you can do voice over
Wi-Fi, which you can if you have the appropriate applications stack on the phone
and if you have the servers in your network
behind it, Landry says. The question is if
thats worth investing in all that stuff In most
environments. Landry says theres a balance
to reach for using both Wi-Fi and cellular to
match different scenarios.
A big hidden piece concerning wirelessonly access environments in coming years
will be the IoT (Internet of Things), or headless, non-human interactive devices that
provide the company information but will
attach to the same company network and
many devices by Wi-Fi, Zimmerman says.
Personal Security Best Practices

WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR & HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
MODERN INTERNET SAFETY requires

more than just a strong password for your
online accounts. Alan Tang, director of
research, security and risk, at Info-Tech
Research Group, advises that its best to
follow what he refers to as the DPPRE
model, which consists of a strategies for
Data protection, Password and ID theft
protection, Phishing protection, Response
to massive data breaches, and End device
protection. Well delve further into best
practices for personal security online.
Data Protection
Common sense and awareness of identity theft news stories mean that you likely
already know the personal data youll
want to keep private at all costs, including
your Social Security number, credit card
numbers, and other unique identification numbers. However, some online
services, such as those used by financial
institutions, may require that you provide some sensitive information to complete online forms. Tang advises asking
52
questions before deciding to share your

information. If someone asks you to share
your SSN or your childs," he says, "ask why
they need it, how it will be used, how they
will protect it, what happens if you dont
share the number, etc. You can inquire
about using another form of identification.
When using the Internet, you should
also avoid over-sharing personal data on
social networking websites. For example,
some services ask you to provide your
birthday, phone number, and place of employment when setting up an account, but
that information is almost always optional.
Consider limiting access to your networking page to a small group of people,
Tang recommends. With only trustworthy
connections, you can be sure that the
people with access to your personal details
wont take advantage of the information
you supply.
Internet safety goes beyond your online presence. If you are getting rid of a
PC, laptop, or mobile device, its important that you safely dispose of any personal
information that resides on the device.

Use a wipe utility program to overwrite
the entire hard drive, says Tang. Before
you dispose of a mobile device, check your
owners manual, the service providers
website, or the device manufacturers website for information on how to delete information permanently, and how to save
or transfer information to a new device.
Its also a good idea to remove the memory
or SIM (subscriber identity module) card
from your mobile device, and delete call,
voicemail, and instant message history.
Protect Your Password & Identity

As difficult as it is to remember a different password for each of your online
accounts, its one of the most reliable
ways to protect yourself, because a malicious person is less likely to gain access
to all of your online accounts if he cracks
just one account. We can use free password management tools . . . to decrease
the complexity and effort of managing the
passwords, says Tang.
If someone asks you to share your SSN or your

childs, ask why they need it, how it will be used, how
they will protect it, what happens if you dont share the
number, etc.
ALAN TANG
Director Of Research, Security & Risk : Info-Tech Research Group
his current position (information which

could be gleaned from LinkedIn or other
social networking websites). Because the
email looks like something youd receive
from a real person, youre more likely to
click a link or open a malware-laden attachment in the email.
End Device Protection

Obviously, youll want your passwords
to be hard to crack, too. Avoid using any
dictionary words or personal information
(such as your significant others name) that
a malicious person could find easily online.
The best password is a random combination of uppercase and lowercase letters and
numbers. Many online services also let you
combine your password with a second form
of authentication, such as a PIN (personal
identification number) delivered to your
smartphone, to make it even harder for
criminals to break into your online accounts.
To protect your ID, Tang advises using
third-party services to protect your most
important personal accounts against identity theft. Sensitive accounts might include
those connected to financial institutions
(your bank or credit card provider may
offer a free service) and your favorite online
shopping destinations. Third-party services
typically offer recovery assistance, if your
identity is ever compromised, to quickly get
back what youve lost. If you arent interested in third-party assistance, you should
at least regularly check your online bank accounts and bank statements for unauthorized transactions.
No Phishing
On the Web, scammers can lurk anonymously and trick people into providing
money or personal data for things such
as fake contests, phony tech support, and
financial schemes. Some red flags include unsolicited emails or phone calls
requesting private personal or financial
information (including online account
passwords), too good to be true offers, and hidden fees buried in terms of
service contracts. You may also receive
phishing emails, many of which promise
to provide a free item if you click a link
within the email message. Some of the
most common giveaways in phishing messages are gift cards for retail stores and
popular electronic items.
Another type of phishing is scareware,
which involves an email instructing you
to take some kind of immediate action
that requires clicking a link. If you click
the link, the message says, youll prevent
a drastic occurrence (such as having your
account deleted) or fix something wrong
(such as deleting viruses that have been
found on your PC). Be suspicious of
any such messages, even if they look like
they are from a reputable source, as even
trusted sources can be hacked.
Businesses must also worry about a
new type of phishing attack called spear
phishing, because it uses personal (sometimes detailed) information that targets
a specific person or organization. Spear
phishing scams are harder to detect than
the average win a free iPad by clicking
this link phishing message. For instance,
most spear phishing emails will address the
recipient by name and include details about
Despite your best efforts, cybercriminals

might still find ways to break into your PC
or mobile devices. Heres where security software comes in, because it will scan online
traffic as well as emails and downloaded files
for malware. Tang advises installing antivirus
software, antispyware software, and a firewall, and suggests that users set their preferences to update these protections often. In
the same vein, youll also want to regularly
install security patches (such as from Adobe
Flash or Windows Update) to make sure
your programs and operating system are updated against potential vulnerabilities.
Tang also warns about the dangers of
public Wi-Fi. Before you send personal information over your laptop or smartphone
on a public wireless network in a coffee
shop, library, airport, hotel, or other public
place, see if your information will be protected. He notes that even if you use an
encrypted website, it will only protect the
information you send to or receive from
that website. With a secure wireless network, all the information you transmit will
be protected.
The Latest Threats
DATA BREACHES
Youll want to keep abreast of the
latest news regarding massive data
breaches, such as the Anthem or
Target breaches. If, unfortunately,
your data was leaked during those
breaches, you need to respond very
quickly, for instance, to check and
monitor your account status, change
your passwords, and take any other
necessary actions recommended by
the organizations who are investigating the breaches, says Alan Tang,
Info-Tech Research Group director of
research, security, and risk.
As online vulnerabilities change, cybercriminals also adapt to take advantage of the

easiest targets. Info-Tech Research Group
has identified five security threats people
should be on the lookout for: points of sales
attacks, encryption vulnerabilities, botnets,
open-source application vulnerabilities, and
social engineering. Encryption keys are one
of the most surprising new threats, because
encryption is often considered foolproof.
As hackers and threat actors continue to
gain more computing power, there is an
increased likelihood of them being able to
break encryption keys, says Tang. Botnets
are becoming more sophisticated, too. In
short, youll want to keep on your toes to
protect your online accounts in 2015.
53
Firewalls Today
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
54
ONE OF THE BIGGEST problems we
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.
The earliest firewalls appeared in

1988 and were referred to as packet
filtering firewalls. According to Eric
Maiwald, managing vice president at
Gartner, these firewalls only took a peek
at the packet headers of common protocols (IP and TCP/UDP) to determine
if the data was legitimate or adhered to
the firewalls rules.
Modern firewalls still work the same
way, and a firewall administrator can
enact custom rules to filter out any
traffic deemed unnecessary. Most firewalls also include a default rule set that
requires little if any intervention to work
properly. There also exist hardware and
software firewalls.
Routers stood in as the first kinds of
firewalls. Maiwald explains that hardware firewalls are typically standalone
devices that include both the firewall
software and the hardware it runs on.
Hardware firewalls are often called appliances and are physically connected
to the network by network cables. He

describes a software firewall as one that
runs inside a virtual machine, which
can be a part of an enterprises internal
virtual environment or running in a
public cloud.
Stateful vs. Stateless

Generally speaking, there are two
types of packet filtering firewalls:
stateful and stateless. The former type
takes into account the session context
when making judgments about whether
or not a certain packet should be allowed or denied entry to the network or
device. These firewalls tend to require
more memory and can add some latency to the network. The context that
a stateful firewall can examine include
UDP or TCP ports, source IP address,
destination IP address, session initiation timestamp, handshake timestamp,
data transfer timestamp, and transfer
completion timestamp. As you can
imagine, a stateful firewall is better
suited to networking environments that

require more careful management.
Stateless firewalls are more simplified, consume less system memory,
and are capable of more quickly allowing and denying incoming packets.
Stateless firewalls also make a lot of
sense when processing traffic running
over a stateless network protocol. The
drawback here is that stateless firewalls
are less customizable.
But, says Maiwald, as firewalls have
matured, policy enforcement was able to
take into consideration packet contents,
as well. This is the key ability of application layer firewalls, and more and more
organizations are turning to them to secure their networks.
Application Layer Firewalls

An application layer firewall is capable
of inspecting whats called the application level of the TCP/IP stack, which
includes browser traffic, Telnet transmissions, FTP activity, and any traffic generated by applications. One of the primary
benefits here is the ability to block malware at the source, but there is a cost in
added latency.
Application firewalls are most commonly used together with a packet
filtering firewall. One of the biggest drawbacks for application layer firewalls is
that the most complex (and most capable) filtering rules only apply to a
handful of applications associations,
leaving a majority of those associations
to pass through the more basic filter.
Application layer firewalls also have no
way of detecting corrupt applications
that have been altered, for instance using
memory-based exploits and attacks.
The Rise Of The

Next-Generation Firewall
To address security vulnerabilities
such as these, a NGFW (next-generation
firewall) was created that uses numerous
techniques to accomplish the firewalls
A [unified threat management] device is a specific

category of firewall targeted at smaller enterprises. It
includes the firewall, IPS, URL filtering, and [antivirus]
functionality.
ERIC MAIWALD
Managing Vice President : Gartner
ultimate goal of blocking bad traffic and

giving the green light to everything else.
As Maiwald describes, An NGFW is
defined as a firewall that includes firewall, IPS (Intrusion Prevention System),
URL filtering, and application control
features. According to Maiwald, the last
of these features, the ability to create specific and complex rules regarding what
is and isnt allowed for website and applications on the network, is most compelling to organizations large and small.
These capabilities make it easy to filter
out malicious software regardless of origin or exploit.
A Firewall For One & All

Theres no such thing as an organization too small to be a victim of cybercrime. As such, a firewall is necessary
no matter how many people are on the
network. But as weve already shown, not
all firewalls are created equally. Maiwald
suggests that there are three general use
cases for firewalls.
One popular option he describes is
to use a firewall to control traffic that
can reach the Internet-facing systems,
usually as a part of the enterprises
DMZ (demilitarized zone or perimeter
network). It might also be used to provide an intrusion prevention function
in cases of low bandwidth utilization.
For higher bandwidth utilization, a separate IPS device is used. Note that the
security controls in this use case may
also include separate load balancing,
SSL decryption, and Web application
firewall functions.
FOR ORGANIZATIONS WITH A SMALL NUMBER

OF USERS . . . MAIWALD SUGGESTS USING A
UNIFIED THREAT MANAGEMENT DEVICE.
Firewalls have also proven effective when used on network-connected

client systems. In this case, Maiwald
says, the firewall is deployed to control traffic that can reach internal systems and also to control how the client
systems use the Internet. An IPS device may be used or the IPS features of
the firewall may be used depending on
bandwidth requirements. The firewall
may provide application control and
URL filtering to enforce policy on how
the users access the Internet.
For organizations with a small number of users, or for small branch offices,
Maiwald suggests using a UTM (unified
threat management device). A UTM is
a specific category of firewall targeted
at smaller enterprises. It includes the
firewall, IPS, URL filtering, and [antivirus] functionality.
Data centers and organizations with
high bandwidth requirements should
investigate deploying a firewall that
controls network traffic as it passes between internal network security zones.
The primary purpose is to provide
separation between the systems in the
zones, says Maiwald. Today, this use
case is often fulfilled with a software
firewall deployed within the virtual environment.
Time To Get Serious

About Security
There are a multitude of security technologies and services currently available
that claim to prevent breaches, infections, and data loss, but not all of them
are compulsory. Firewalls, however, do
not fall in the optional category, and
not are firewalls are the same. Get them,
make them work for you, and enjoy
some peace of mind.
55
Mobile Web App Pros & Cons

HOW THEY CONTRAST & COMPARE TO STANDARD APPS & MOBILE WEBSITES
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.
Likes & Dislikes

Although there are similarities, several
traits distinguish mobile Web apps from
mobile websites and native mobile apps.
Native apps, says Ray Valdes, Gartner
research vice president, can tap into the
abilities of the underlying mobile device
platform theyre installed on to provide
the highest performance levels, richest
user experience, and highest degree
of functionality. Only a native app can
56
access some functions in a device platform, he says. A December 2013 report

from Forrester Research cites such abilities as performing offline tasks, multisensor interactions, push notifications,
and application integration as mobile
app strengths.
Mobile websites, meanwhile, are those
that are viewable and usable on a mobile device. At one time they were built
and operated as separate sites in parallel
with classic desktop-oriented websites,
Valdes says. Today, responsive Web
design enables creating an all-in-one
digital channel, meaning a mobile website is viewable on different devices and
adapts to a devices unique form factor,
Valdes says. A mobile Web app is similar
to a mobile website but adopts an interaction model more like a desktop application, Valdes says. Thus, instead of the
page-by-page hypertext-driven interaction model of content-centric websites,
the Web app may have a single-page
structure for the user experience, he says.
Depending on how a business implements each option, slow performance,

limited user experience, and more
narrow scope of functionality can result,
Valdes says. Generally, though, a native
app approach offers a faster, richer experience than a mobile Web app, which offers
similar advantages over a mobile website.
A mobile website is often cheaper to build
and easier to update than a mobile Web
app, which has similar benefits over a
native app. Overall, these choices dont
have to be mutually exclusive, Valdes
says. Many large, successful companies
implement all three to cover a full range
of requirements.
Altaz Valani, Info-Tech Research Group
research director, says its possible to distinguish the three options by viewing them
as layers, each offering a different perspective. At a capability level, for example, apps
have access to device functionality (GPS,
notification, etc.), while mobile websites
are more limited. From a connectivity
perspective, apps can operate in offline
Today, responsive Web design enables creating an

all-in-one digital channel, meaning a mobile website is
viewable on different devices and adapts to a devices
unique form factor.
RAY VALDES
Researh Vice President : Gartner
Architecturally, a mobile Web app has a layer that sits

between the Web application and native APIs, while a
native app has direct access to native APIs.
ALTAZ VALANI
Research Director : Info-Tech Research Group
mode, while websites are mostly always on.

Architecturally, a mobile Web app has a
layer that sits between the Web application
and native APIs, while a native app has direct access to native APIs, he says.
From a development perspective, Valani
says, things get muddier. Typically, developers use HTML/CSS/JavaScript to create
mobile Web apps and mobile websites but
can use native languages (Objective C, Swift,
and Java) or cross-compile using C++, C#,
or JavaScript as the source to create standard
native mobile apps, he says. Deploymentwise, apps are typically distributed via public
or private app store or side-loaded, while
mobile websites dont require installation.
From a release-management perspective,
apps require thought around versioning and
upgrades while mobile websites typically
have the latest version, Valani says.
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 application development software, 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
short, Forrester states hybrid apps have a

best of both worlds sensibility, although
they do carry burdens associated with mobile apps and the mobile Web.
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.
57
THE LATEST PREMIUM ELECTRONICS
Big On Data, Low On Noise, Perfect For Any Occasion

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Sleek and modular, weighing in at about two-thirds of a pound, the new Cubi ($199) from MSI is a compact bare-bones system that's
geared toward businesses and home users alike. For those inclined toward productivity, the system includes Windows 8.1, memory options ranging from 2GB to 8GB, and the ability to connect two displays simultaneously (provided one uses an HDMI cable and the other
uses Mini DP). The Cubi includes an Intel Celeron processor from the Broadwell-U family, which provides improved integrated graphics
and lower power consumption relative to previous Celeron CPUs. Those looking for entertainment can enjoy streaming media without
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(solid-state drive) for what MSI calls Big Data Mode. Also on deck is Intel vPro technology, which adds remote management capabilities, optional hard drive encryption, and Intel Anti-Theft Technology. The Cubi supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and USB 3.0.
58
Intels Small Wonder

WWW.INTEL.COM
We introduced you to the Intel Compute Stick
after its debut at this years Consumer Electronics
Show. Now Intel has launched the Windows
8.1 version of its tiny computer in the American
market with prices starting at $149. The Ubuntu
Linux version should be available for $110 this
summer. The devices claim to fame is the fact
that it is a fully functioning computer housed in
a 4-inch-long stick, so finding a home for it is
no problem. In fact, it can plug directly into an
HDMI port on a TV or a display, link via Bluetooth
4.0 to a wireless keyboard and mouse (not included), and connect to the Internet via its built-in
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi radio. Useful for entertaining
at home or as a thin client in the office, the Intel
Compute Stick features a quad-core Intel Atom
processor, 2GB memory, 32GB integrated storage
(with a micro SD card slot for adding more), and a
wall-mountable power adapter.
Excellent For Saving

Or Streaming
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There are really just three things you need to
know about a thumb-sized flash drive: (1) Does
it have plenty of capacity? (2) Is it fast? (3)
Does the manufacturer have a solid reputation?
With the Turbo Attache 2 USB 3.0 Flash Drive
from PNY Technologies, the answers to these
questions are Yes, Yes, and Yes. The
Attache 2 uses USB 3.0 connectivity, which
delivers speeds 10 times faster than USB 2.0
and makes it ideal for speedy transfers of
photos and files or even steady streaming of
multimedia files. The device is also backwards
compatible with USB 2.0 ports. The 128GB
model ($59.99) shown here provides read
speeds up to 100MBps and write speeds up to
65MBps. It also comes in 64GB ($34.99) and
32GB ($17.99).
59
Smartphone Tips
ADVICE FOR HANDLING EMAIL, CALENDAR & CONTACTS
WINDOWS PHONE
Delete Email In Bulk
Share Contact Information
To quickly delete a single email, on Start

tap an email account that has the unwanted
email(s), tap the email you want to delete,
and then tap Delete. To trash multiple
emails simultaneously, tap to the left of the
email author to display a row of checkboxes
beside each email. Next, tap the checkboxes
that correspond to each email you want to
delete and then tap the Delete (trash can)
icon to complete the operation.
With Windows Phone 8, you can quickly share contact information

whether its yours or someones in your contact listwith someone else via
text messaging. Open the Messaging app, tap New, type the recipients information until the appropriate name or phone number appear, tap Attach, tap
Contact, locate the contact file youd like to share, tape Share, and tap Send.
This method can serve as a quick, convenient, and business card-free way to
swap your own contact information with someone else.
Get Help
Need more help? Tap the Help+Tips
tile. This app provides access to quick
hints, how-to articles, and frequently
asked questions. The videos can be particularly helpful when a visual walkthrough is in order.
60
Move Contacts To A New Nokia Phone

If you are switching from a non-Windows Phone smartphone to a new
Windows Phone 8 smartphone from Nokia, and both smartphones support
Bluetooth, there is a simple way to transfer all of your contact information
from the old device to the new one. To begin, switch Bluetooth on in both
phones, making sure that the old phone is discoverable. Launch the Transfer
My Data app on the new Nokia phone, tap Continue, and tap to connect to
the old phone. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process of
copying contact information. Finally, remove the information from the old
smartphone as appropriate.
ANDROID
Set Up Encryption
Keep Private Events Private
For added security, you can encrypt

all of the settings, account information,
apps, and other data on your Android
device or on a SD card installed in your
device. With encryption established,
you will be required to enter a PIN or
password every time you wish to access anything on the device or SD card.
Before setting up encryption, make sure
your device is fully charged and is attached to a charger, as the entire process can take an hour or more and must
not be interrupted to complete successfully. To apply encryption, access the
Settings screen, tap More, and then tap
the appropriate option: Encrypt Device
or Encrypt External SD Card. Tap Set
Screen Lock Type and then follow the onscreen prompts to complete the process.
You can also use encryption for email
communications on your Android device.
System administrators have the option
to activate the encryption option when
setting up your device with a Microsoft
Exchange or ActiveSync account, but if
youre setting up such an account on your
own, look for the Manual Setup option
and select the Use Secure Connection
(SSL) option during setup.
If you have added an event to your calendar, the entry can be public or private
depending on the setting used. If there is an event in your calendar you would like to
keep private, launch Calendar, access the event, tap the event name to open it, press
the Menu key, tap Edit, and make sure the event is set to Private rather than Public.
Get All Of Your Messages,

All In One Place
With the Hangouts app, Android
smartphone users can access all of
their messages in one place. Open the
Hangouts app to access text and MMS
(Multimedia Messaging Service) messages sent and received via your smartphone, as well as other Google Voice
and video calls. The idea behind the
Hangouts app is to unify the messaging
screens into one location and make it
easier to keep track of past and ongoing
conversations with specific contacts.
With the app on your smartphone, you
can make free group video calls with as
many as 10 people.
Report Spam
Just because youre using your smartphone for a majority of your emailing these
days doesnt mean you have to put up with spam. To take care of unwanted messages, just tap the offending piece of email to view it, press the Menu button, and
then tap Report Spam. Depending on your phone, you may need to tap the More
icon to see the Report Spam option.
Import Outlook Contacts

Adding your Microsoft Outlook contacts to your Android phone is easy. Launch
the application on your PC, click File, Open & Export, and Import & Export. Select
Export To File, click Next, select Comma Separated Values (Windows), click Next,
select your Contacts folder, click Next, choose a location for the exported document,
click OK, click Next, and then click Finish.
Now, launch a
Web browser and
navigate to your
Gmail account.
Click Gmail (on
the left side of
your Gmail page
below the Google
logo), select
Contacts, click
the More button,
select Import,
and click Choose
You can use the Web version of Gmail and Google Contacts to import Outlook contacts
File. (If you are into your Android smartphone.
using the preview of the new
Google Contacts
version, you will have to select Go To Old Contacts before you will be able to
choose a file.) Navigate to the CSV file you just exported from Outlook and click
Open. Choose whether or not to add the new contacts to a specific group using
the checkbox, and then click Import. If you chose to add your new contacts to a
new group, youll be prompted to name that group. Gmail will provide you with
a report of how many contacts were added and how many of the new contacts
were merged with existing contacts. Click OK to dismiss the report, click the Find
Duplicates button, and then click OK to merge as many repeated contacts as possible. Now, syncing your Android-based phone with Gmail will bring your new
contacts over.
61
BLACKBERRY
Add Contacts To Your
Home Screen
Launch the Contacts app and highlight the contact you wish to have on
your home screen. Press the Menu key
and select Add to Home Screen. A small
box will appear, with an icon for the contact and the contacts name. You can
change either by tapping on it. When
youre satisfied with the name and icon,
tap the Add button.
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.
Control Roaming Costs

Calendar View Hot Keys
If youre a regular user of the Calendar
app on your BlackBerry, you may be tired
of using the menu and trackpad to switch
between the various calendar views. Try
these keyboard shortcuts instead:
Agenda View: A
Day View: D
Week View: W
Month View: M
Pressing the D key may not work, because it may already be assigned to
the Quick Entry function. If you
would rather have the D key bring
up the Day view, follow these steps:
launch the Calendar app, press the
Menu key, and select Options. Select the
Calendar Display and Actions. Locate the
Enable Quick Entry option, and remove
the tick mark from its box.
Spell Check Your Emails

Just because youre using a cell phone
to type your emails doesnt mean people
will forgive your spelling errors. And if
youre using a BlackBerry to type your
emails, you really have no excuse because
a spell check feature is available. To spellcheck a message, calendar entry, task, or
memo, just type the message, press the
Menu key, and select Check Spelling. The
spell checker highlights words not in the
dictionary and lets you scroll to and select
the appropriate spelling.
62
Roaming, the ability of a phone to stay connected even when youre outside of the service area offered by your mobile provider, is a handy option but
it can also be an expensive one. In many cases, roaming can incur additional
costs, especially if you use data services when youre outside of your carriers
coverage area.
You
can
control the services that are
available when
youre roaming,
and either have
your BlackBerry
turn data services off automatically or
ask you what
to do when you
start roaming. Turn data services off, or have your BlackBerry prompt you when youre roaming, to
F r o m y o u r control roaming costs.
BlackBerrys
Home screen,
access Settings, select Network Connections, and Mobile Network. Select the
Data Services While Roaming drop-down menu and tap either Off (to turn
data services off) or Prompt (to have your BlackBerry ask you what you want
to do when you start roaming).
Navigate Threaded Messages Easily

Threaded email messages have been available on the BlackBerry platform
since BlackBerry 6. BlackBerrys support for threaded messages is very similar
to Gmails threaded system, so if youre used to Gmail, BlackBerrys threaded
messaging system should be a breeze. To make navigating email threads even
quicker and easier (especially if youre using an older or newer keyboard
BlackBerry), there are two keyboard shortcuts that let you quickly navigate
messages. Press J to move to the next oldest email message in a thread; press K
to move to the next newest message.
iOS
Manage Your Email, Calendar
& Other Notifications
Are you getting so many unnecessary
notifications that your email and calendar ones are getting lost in the shuffle?
You can control that. Access Settings and
tap Notifications. Tap Sort Manually,
and then tap Edit. Now you can slide
app/notification types around to determine which are (and arent) included
in the notification area and the order in
which they appear.
Quickly Type Numbers

& Special Characters
When typing messages or filling out
text boxes, switching to the special characters keys, by pressing the 123 button in
the bottom left corner of the screen, can
involve two extraneous taps just to input
a single special character or number. To
quickly input numbers or special characters, especially if youre only entering
one at a time, just press and hold your
finger over the 123 button, drag your
finger to the number or special character
you want, then release. The keyboard
will automatically switch back to normal
mode when you lift your finger again.
Link Similar Contact Information

If you have duplicate or similar information for multiple contacts in your
iPhone (say, after importing Facebook
contact data), you can link those contacts together. Open one of the relevant
contacts, tap Edit, scroll down until you
see Linked Contacts, tap Link Contacts,
select the other contact you want to
link, and tap Link. If you should need
to unlink contacts, open one of the contacts, tap Edit, scroll down until you see
Linked Contacts, tap the red circle containing a minus sign next to the contact you wish to unlink, tap the Unlink
button, and tap Done.
Change Mail Settings To Save Battery Life

By default, your iPhones Mail accounts are set to push notifications, so you
get a heads up the instant an email arrives. But to save your battery you might
want to fetch at intervals of your choosing. Access Settings; tap Mail, Contacts,
Calendars, and Fetch New Data; and move the slider adjacent to Push to Off.
Now you can use the interval settings below to deliver mail less frequently.
Bumping your mail fetch setting to Hourly will help a bit, but fetching data
manually can mean even greater battery savings. To fetch new data manually,
tap Manually from the Fetch New Data screen.
If youre not inclined
to fetch less often, then
consider limiting the
email accounts that your
iPhone checks. To turn
off an email account, access Settings; tap Mail,
Contacts, and Calendars;
select an email account;
and then set the account to Off. You can
also delete an account
by accessing Settings;
tapping Mail, Contacts,
and Calendars; selecting
the unnecessary email
account; and tapping
Delete Account.
Save More Email

Messages
By default, the iOS
Mail app only keeps a
limited number of incoming email messages on the device for
Exchange users. In versions prior to iOS 8,
you could increase the Disable Push to lighten your batterys burden.
number of messages retained on the phone; in
iOS 8, you can set a designated length of time for retaining messages. Start
by accessing Settings and tapping Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap the name
of an account and then tap Mail Days To Sync. Choose the length of time you
would like email messages to be available before they are no longer stored on
or accessible from your iPhone. For an Exchange account, for example, you
can select 1 Day, 3 Days, 1 Week, 2 Weeks, 1 Month, or No Limit (watch your
storage space if you choose the last option); this only affects messages on the
phone itself, not in Exchange.
63
Excel Formulas
MAKE THEM WORK FOR YOU
EXCEL SPREADSHEETS are useful for

tracking finances, storing important figures, or even creating databases of information. But the only way to take full advantage
of Excel is to use functions and formulas.
Whether you simply want to find the sum
total of a column of numbers or calculate
compound interest, formulas are the best
way to transform your data. Here are examples of formulas that might save you time.
want to see how much money youll have

in 10 years with a 4% interest rate, you can
plug those numbers into the =PV*(1+R)^N
formula. In our example, your formula
would be 100*(1+.04)^10. Note that you
need to change the 4% figure into a decimal number, otherwise you might expect a
larger than life return on your investment.
Calculate the formula and youll see that
over 10 years your initial $100 investment
will grow to $148.02.
Calculate Compound Interest

Because Excel doesnt have a built-in
function for calculating compound interest,
Microsoft provides a formula that will get
you the results you need using
present value (PV), interest rate
(R), and the number of investment periods (N). So, if you
make an investment of $100 and
Excel doesnt have a built-in
compound interest function, but
you can use this relatively simple
function to get the same result.
64
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 =(250200)/ABS(200) to get a growth rate of .25
or 25%.
Calculate Percentages
You can calculate percentages in a variety of ways using Excel, depending on
Sum Of Totals Across Multiple

Worksheets
Lets say you keep track of sales figures
over the years using the same Excel document. Not only do you want a record of
your current years sales, but you also want
your sales figure from the previous year
at the top of each sheet. This will require
the use of the SUM function as well as
some cross-sheet calculation. Using the
SUM function, =SUM(Sheet1!A1:A6) for
instance, you can take numbers from the
first sheet, add them together, and display

them in a cell on the second sheet.
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
WORKDAY lets you take a start date
and a number of days to determine what
your end date will be with weekends and
holidays taken into account. For example,
you need to enter the DATE formula,
Cross-sheet calculation makes it possible to link

formulas across multiple sheets in the same workbook,
so you dont have to copy and paste information
or calculate figures outside of Excel.
The MATCH function is helpful if you want to find a specific figure in a long column of numbers. It shows you where your
query is located in relation to the array you provide in the formula.
well use =DATE(2015,4,1) into the A1

cell, and a specific number of days in the
A2 cell, well use 18, you can use the formula =WORKDAY(A1,A2) to find your
end date, which in this case is April 27,
2015. You can also add holidays to the
formula by entering the dates into cells
and adding them to the end of the formula
=WORKDAY(A1,A2,A3:A9), which will
change the end date.
Display Current Date & Time

Excels NOW function is a quick and
easy way to display the current date and
time in your spreadsheet. Type =NOW()

into a field and the date and time will appear. This information doesnt update
automatically, but rather every time you
make a calculation within the spreadsheet
as well as every time you open that particular Excel document.
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.
65
Rootkit Attacks
WHAT TO DO TO FIGHT BACK
EVEN SEEING THE WORD rootkit can

send shivers up the spine of someone who
has suffered through the inconvenience
and damage a rootkit can exact. According
to Dan Olds, principal at Gabriel Consulting Group, rootkits are some of the
most insidious and dangerous pieces of
malware out there today. Thats due to
the fact that rootkits are both extremely
difficult to detect and get rid of completely.
Therefore, the more you know about rootkits, the better.
What Is A Rootkit?
A rootkit is software that infects and
gains privileged access to a computer.
This means it can perform administratorlevel type tasks, says Michela Menting,
practice director with ABI Research. The
primary feature is that it can hide itself in
the system and remain undetected.
One way to think of how a rootkit
wreaks havoc, says Jim OGorman, an
instructor of offensive security measures, is to envision that you are driving
66
a car but someone else is intercepting

all your movements and deciding if he
should pass them on to the car or not. In
some cases, he might decide to just insert
some of his own commands, as well,
OGorman says.
Although rootkits are similar to viruses
or Trojans, says Chris Hadnagy, a security
training professional, viruses and Trojans
usually delete data, stop services, or cause
harm while a rootkit provides an attacker
system access to get at data. Not all rootkits are malicious (a company might install one to remotely access and control
employee computers, for example), however, Menting says they are extremely
popular with malicious hackers and cybercriminals, which is why they have such
a negative connotation.
The Damage Done

Essentially, rootkits give an attacker
free reign to perform any task desired,
include installing software; deleting
files; modifying programs; transmitting
data; and using spyware to steal credit
card numbers, passwords, keystrokes,
etc. A rootkits ability to modify existing
programs and processes, says Menting,
enables it to avoid detection by security software that would normally catch
such software.
NOT ALL ROOTKITS ARE MALICIOUS, HOWEVER, ABI RESEARCH'S MICHELA MENTING
SAYS THEY ARE EXTREMELY POPULAR WITH
MALICIOUS HACKERS AND CYBERCRIMINALS,
WHICH IS WHY THEY HAVE SUCH A NEGATIVE
CONNOTATION.
There really arent any limits to how

much damage it can do to a PC, Olds
says. It can delete data files and then
rewrite gibberish on the hard drive to
ensure that the data cant be recovered, or
it can quietly work in the background and
log user keystrokes, eventually capturing
workplace, e-commerce, or banking usernames and passwords. Ultimately, a
rootkit can route that data to a hacker to
plunder accounts or gain access to a corporate network, Olds explains.
Beyond software-based rootkits
there are hardware-based rootkits, says
Hadnagy. These, like software rootkits,
give the attacker full admin access to a
machine, compromising everything on
it and even at times the network its connected to, he says. For users, OGorman
says a rootkit destroys all trust with the
computer. You cant know what is private, what is not. All integrity is gone.
How Youll Know

There are several ways a rootkit can
find its way into a computer. A downloaded program file a user believes to
be legitimate, for example, may have a
rootkit embedded within it. Menting
says rootkits generally enter a system
through existing vulnerabilities and are
loaded by malware, which can infect
computers via downloads, email attachments disguised as genuine communication or documents, websites with
unpatched vulnerabilities, USB thumb
drives, or mobile devices.
To the average user, abnormal computer behavior is the best indicator a
rootkit might be present; warning signs
include files spontaneously disappearing
or appearing, a sluggish Internet connection, and slow-loading programs.
Such behavior can indicate other programs are running in the background.
Menting advises checking the Task
Manager to detect which applications or
processes are running and using significant memory. For the non-tech user, it
may be difficult to understand, she says.
But users should familiarize themselves
with how their Task Manager looks
when its running on a clean system so
that when it actually is infected, the user
Unfortunately, the likelihood of being hacked or unwittingly downloading malware on a computer is extremely
high. Especially in the network-connected environment
of a company, even if you take all precautions necessary
someone else may not have and you get a virus from
them internally.
MICHELA MENTING
Practice Director : ABI Research
can spot some differences when looking

at the tasks.
That said, detecting a rootkit is still
generally difficult. This is due to how
adept the rootkit is at installing itself and
hiding its presence in a way that is virtually undetectable by your system software, Olds explains. In this case, the
only way to find the rootkit, he says, is
to boot the system using a CD/DVD or
thumb drive that has special diagnostic
routines designed to find and remove
rootkits. Hadnagy says if a systems OS
is compromised, it cant be trusted to
find flaws in itself. In this event, it may
be necessary to boot a self-contained OS
running from a CD/DVD or USB drive
and run malware detection and removal
software from a clean environment.
What To Do
For typical users, arguably the worst
news concerning rootkits is that getting
rid of one can be beyond their scope.
Olds says, in fact, most users should
probably seek an experts help if they
suspect a rootkit infection. Though some
security programs can detect and remove
specific rootkits, Menting says, there are
so many variants that it can be impossible
to detect and remove them all. Often,
she says, getting rid of a rootkit requires
a radical solution.
If a user suspects a rootkit, he should
first disconnect the system from the Internet to cut off possible remote access and
prevent data from leaking, Menting says.
Next, remove data from the infected computer and scan it for malware on another
device. (Menting notes that if the data
contains unknown [or zero-day] malware,
this step may not guarantee the malware is eradicated.) Finally, the computer should be purgedwipe the hard
drive and reinstall everything, she says.
OGorman, in fact, says starting over is
the only real solution, because really, you
cant trust cleanup methods, as you are
never really sure if they worked.
How To Protect Yourself

The first defense against rootkits (and
malware in general) is keeping the operating system and all softwareespecially security softwareup-to-date and
fully patched. Completely relying on antivirus software is a mistake, however.
OGorman explains theres always a lag
between the time a new threat pops up
and the point at which antivirus software
can detect it. The best way to avoid issues is to not engage in risky activities,
he says. Run trustworthy, current software thats kept patched. Dont go to
shady sites with out-of-date browsers
and plug-ins. Dont run software that
doesnt come from trustworthy sources.
Unfortunately, the likelihood of being
hacked or unwittingly downloading malware on a computer is extremely high,
Menting says. Especially in the networkconnected environment of a company,
even if you take all precautions necessary,
someone else may not have and you get a
virus from them internally.
Menting suggests using different passwords for all logins, encrypting sensitive
and confidential data, staying constantly
on the lookout for odd system behaviors,
and securing mobile devices, particularly
if they are connected to a company network or business computer.
67
Mobile Data Best Practices

SYNC & BACKUP OPTIONS FOR YOUR TRAVELS
THE THEFT OR LOSS OF a laptop,

tablet, smartphone, or other mobile device ranks among the worst productivity
catastrophes that can befall a traveling
professional. For all intents and purposes, our devices are our offices when
we travel, and losing them disrupts our
ability to work and communicate. There
is an obvious financial hit associated
with the loss of hardware, but there is a
potentially greater hit that occurs in the
loss of corporate data. Its important,
then, to know where your data is at all
times, so in the event that you no longer
have access to your devices, youll know
what is lost and what is accessible elsewhere. And, if you follow a few mobile
best practices, youll never have to worry
about losing much data at allif any.
Know What Gets Backed Up

Automatically
Depending on your smartphones or
tablets OS (operating system), there
is a certain amount of device data that
automatically gets backed up on a regular basis. If you use a USB cable to
directly sync your iPhone or iPad with
your computer, for example, the sync
process backs up all of the OS and app
data stored on that device; there is an
option to encrypt and password-protect
the backed-up data, too. If you use the
iCloud service with your iOS device,
specific sets of data will automatically
be backed up in the background as long
as your device has a Wi-Fi Internet
connection, is plugged in to a power
source, and has a locked screen; backed
up data can include camera roll images, documents, audio, and settings,
depending on the options you choose.
Android users can manage incremental backups for apps and device
settings by signing into the associated
Google Account from their smartphones or tablets. The Android Auto
Sync feature routinely syncs in the
background; how and what it syncs
partly depends on the options you
choose, but by default the feature backs
up OS data, contact information, documents, and select app data (such as
Facebook and Twitter).
If you have a device running one of
the latest versions of Windows Phone,
you can sync documents stored on your
device with Microsofts OneDrive cloud
IF YOURE RELUCTANT TO SYNC KEY DATA TO A CLOUD BACKUP OR

STORAGE SERVICE ON A REGULAR BASIS, CONSIDER USING AN ALTERNATIVE CLOUD SOLUTION . . .
68
storage solution; you can also retrieve

documents from OneDrive that were
uploaded from a different source. To
sync all of the photos, audio files, and
videos stored on your Windows Phone
device, you must install Microsofts
Zune software on your computer and
connect the mobile device to the computer via USB.
Dont Forget
Your App Data
App data encompasses a broad
range of digital information, but in
our context it means third-party apps
and the content you create using those
apps. Consider, for instance, notetaking services that exist as both cloud
services (where all of the information
that is associated with those services
is stored in the cloud) and applications
(where your app-related information
is stored locally). As you take notes
with the app, it stores those notes locally and in the cloud simultaneously
and in real-time. Such an app-service
combination is different from a notetaking app that does not have an associated cloud service; with this type
of app, everything you add is stored
only in the device and is therefore
vulnerable to loss. Make sure you know
how your apps work so you dont get
caught unawares.
Also keep in mind that some apps
are more flexible than others. Apples
Notes app in iOS, for example, can keep

your notes on the device only or on
both the device and in the cloud, depending on how you set it up.
Be Careful
When Traveling
If you travel frequently, you probably have quite a few travel-related
routines. When it comes to keeping
all of your data intact, though, its important to remember that travel disrupts the routines youve established
at the office. For example, if you regularly sync your tablet and smartphone
with your computer but typically leave
the computer behind when traveling,
the backup that otherwise occurs with
every physical sync wont take place
during your travels. If you keep that
sort of thing in mind while traveling,
you will remain aware of what data resides in the danger zone (i.e., stored
on your device, but not backed up anywhere else) in the event your device
gets lost or stolen.
storage provider to use with only

a handful of files that are necessary
for a specific trip. Providers offering
this type of service typically also offer
a mobile app that makes the service
more useful on your mobile device.
And some major storage services also
sync with productivity apps you might
already have installed on your devices.
Another stop-gap alternative is to
use a Web-based email service to email
documents to and from a corporate account. Doing this ensures that a copy
of the document is maintained on the
corporate network even after you delete the associated email from the Web
email account.
Physical Backup
Finally, you cant sync a certain
amount of valuable device data to the
cloud (or to your main computer via
the cloud), so be sure to back up that
data as often as possible to a second
device (such as a laptop) or storage solution (such as a microSD card or portable hard drive).
Use Cloud Services,

At Least Temporarily
If youre reluctant to sync key data
to a cloud backup or storage service on
a regular basis, consider using an alternative cloud solutionat least temporarilyto meet specific requirements
while traveling. For example, you could
set up an account with a major online
To locate the Storage

& Backup menu on
your iOS 7 device, tap
Settings, iCloud, and
Storage & Backup (choose
Backup in iOS 8). From
this screen you can view
available storage and
switch iCloud Backup
off and on.
You can customize which apps are backed up in iCloud by toggling the
ON/OFF button next to each app. Be sure to activate the Find My iPad feature
in case you need to locate a lost iOS device.
69
PowerPoint Tips
ADD CHARTS & GRAPHS TO YOUR PRESENTATION
THE SCENARIO IS FAMILIAR to traveling

professionals: your PowerPoint presentation is all set when new and relevant
information comes to light and must be
added. If youre on the road or in the sky
and find yourself having to add charts or
graphs to a PowerPoint 2013 presentation, this article will help. We include
tips designed for PowerPoint novices and
adept PowerPoint users seeking specific
chart-making advice.
Create A Basic Chart Or Graph

To insert a colorful chart or graph illustration into your PowerPoint presentation, locate the Insert tab and select Chart.
Next, look through the available chart
types, select the design that best represents the information you want to share,
and click OK. A Microsoft Excel chart will
open with placeholder text and figures
you can replace with relevant data. When
you finish entering your data, close the
spreadsheet to see the completed chart in
the slide.
70
Save & Manage

Chart Templates
If you want to adjust the look of an
existing chart, click the chart in the
PowerPoint slide and the Chart Tools
contextual tab appears. Keep in mind
Chart Tools will only appear when you
select a chart. Open the Design tab and
you can manipulate the overall layout
and style of your chart via the options
in the Chart Layouts and Chart Styles
panes. When youve fashioned a chart
youd like to reuse, click File, Save As,
and choose the location in which you
want to save the slide. In the Save As
dialog box, type a name for the template
in the File Name field, select PowerPoint
Template from the Save As Type dropdown menu, and click Save.
Highlight Important
Data In A Chart
Whether youre presenting numerous
charts or need to add emphasis to specific data within a chart, sometimes its
beneficial to call out key points. Locate

the Drawing pane in the Home tab and
expand the Shapes menu. Select a shape
that is appropriate for emphasizing
information in your chart, and then
click anywhere in the chart to place the
shape. To customize the shape, select it
and click the Shape Fill, Shape Outline,
Shape Effects, and Quick Styles options
in the Drawing pane.
Insert A Chart
Linked To Excel
If youre used to working in Excel and
prefer to construct the skeleton of your
chart first, you can use Excel to compile data and create a chart for use in
PowerPoint. Start by entering values in
an Excel workbook. Highlight all necessary data cells, click Insert, and apply a
preferred chart style in the Charts pane.
Next, select the newly created chart and
click Copy in the Home tab. Open a current or new PowerPoint slide and find
the Clipboard pane on the Home tab.
Click the Paste dropdown arrow and choose

Keep Source Formatting
& Link Data (to maintain the appearance of
the Excel file) or Use
Destination Theme &
Link Data (to match the
chart appearance with
the presentation).
Microsoft PowerPoints Design tab

in the Chart Tools contextual tab lets
you modify the layout of your chart
and adjust its style. These settings
help you create one-of-a-kind charts
and graphs that illuminate important
statistics or values.
Edit & Add Labels

A chart that includes
a lot of numbers or a
detailed legend may
require some editing,
especially because you
want it to look polished
for presentation purposes. These finetuning tools are located in the Add
Chart Element drop-drown menu in the
Chart Layouts pane of the Design tab on
the Chart Tools contextual tab. If you
notice that your chart is missing a title,
you can add one by selecting Chart Title
and clicking Centered Overlay Title or
Above Chartthis displays a title at the
top of the chart. You can browse the remaining label options to add axis titles,
insert legend variations, and manipulate data.
clicking the Format tab in the Chart

Tools contextual tab. You can enhance
backgrounds, category shapes, and 3D
chart elements when you use options on
the Shape Styles pane for each feature.
Options on the WordArt Styles pane let
you apply fill colors, outlines, and effects
to chart text. To view every part of your
chart (such as depth, floor, horizontal
axis, side wall, and so on), click the dropdown arrow at the top of the Current
Selection pane.
Adjust Style & Text
Modify Data
In An Existing Chart
To put the finishing touches of

color and contrast on a chart, start by
Regardless of whether you created

your chart in Excel or PowerPoint, you
You can outline a graphical

element, change its color, and
add unique effects to a chart
or graph all within PowerPoint.
In addition, applying WordArt
Styles will change the fill
color, shade, and outline
of selected text.
should be able to modify data without

much hassle. In PowerPoint, click the
chart you intend to change and select
the Design tab in the Chart Tools contextual tab. Next, click Edit Data in the
Data pane. Excel opens the data sheet in
a new window, and from here you can
click and edit individual cells. Simply
closing the Excel file will refresh and
save the new content.
Add Animation
If you want to emphasize a particular
data group, you can add animations to
a graph or chart. Under the Animations
tab, the Animation pane has a variety
of animations you can apply to a chart.
Explore extra effects
by expanding the pane
and clicking More
Entrance Effects,
More Emphasis Effects, or More Exit
Effects at the bottom
of the menu. To stagger the animation of
individual objects,
click Effect Options
in the Animations
pane and select one
of the following
functions: As One
Object, By Series, By
Category, Be Element
In Series, or By Element In Category.
71

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JUNE 2015 VOL. 13 ISS.

Volume 13 : Issue 6 : June 2015

USING MOBILITY FOR GREATER

Advertising: (800) 247-4880

Gartner: Data Centers

Analytics Role In Security Breach Detection

To combat the Internet of Things and

Gartner analysts recently met to discuss

PC Makers Forced To Raise

Risk Management IT Spending

Global IT Spending To Drop

As a result of currency devaluation,

According to a new report from IDC

Almost half (45%) of domestic SMBs

June 2015 / www.cybertrend.com

More Worldwide Manufacturers

Business Owners Say New Tech Is Top Priority

Both current trends and future plans

Technology More Important

Femtocells Tank With

Virtualization Has Yet To Impact

Despite virtualizations promise of

Biggest Technology Challenge

CyberTrend / June 2015

Business Owners Look

Going Online Means Using A Smartphone For Most Americans

Not Always Needed 54%

46% Couldnt Live Without

Cellular Gives Tablet Sales Boost

Vehicle Display Market

The latest IDC data on global tablet

A preliminary 2014 report from Infonetics

The seemingly unstoppable popularity

June 2015 / www.cybertrend.com

Big Data For The Commercial Real Estate Market

The solution CloudGenix capitalizes on some of the hottest trends in

Startup Offers Research Platform

Banjo Seeks To Track Everything

Signpost Focused On Helping

Who can keep up with social media?

How do you populate a typical CRM

CyberTrend / June 2015

Enterprise Mobility Management

June 2015 / www.cybertrend.com

ENTERPRISE MOBILITY management is

application management), and MCM

EMM includes everything from

What To Look For In An

A managed container is not so necessary when you

experience in your industry and can

Important EMM Features

CyberTrend / June 2015

adds, in the past three years there has

Integration with other software and systems is also

Find The Right Balance

THE OPERATING SYSTEMS OF MOBILE

June 2015 / www.cybertrend.com

get your mobile application and mobile

Create A Mobile-Centric Company

MOBILE DEVICES ARE everywhere in the

make sure everything else you do as a

CyberTrend / June 2015

mobile strategies, then they are already

June 2015 / www.cybertrend.com