Nortel gets the nod for London 2012

A real "human network" has to be more than well advertised video conferencing.

It needs to be secure, highly reliable, adaptable, and capable of transporting massive amounts of real-time information. It has to be open-standards since despite what some vendors think, no one company can offer everything needed for a truly comprehensive advanced technology environment.

It needs to bridge the gap between traditionally carrier and Enterprise systems in order to cover the expanses of an entire country while engaging the entire planet.

There is nothing of higher true human interest than the Olympic games.

Read more

Can Cabletron + Rolm really make a dent?

Ok, so maybe I am showing my age... one quarter of what was once Cabletron (Enterasys) and Siemens (Rolm) have apparently shacked up together.

It's probably a good move for both, as Enterasys has almost no voice presence and Siemens is weak on data despite their numerous entries into the VoIP market.

Read more

Is AT&T "working over" its iPhone Business Clients?

It's interesting, really. Steve Jobs at WWDC stated that the iPhone 2.0 was designed with business in mind - "you spoke, we listened".

But is AT&T on the same page? I wonder...

Office Reach, the ability to dial office extensions from a cell phone isn't offered on the iPhone. Note this isn't a device-specific feature, it just has to be allowed to be provisioned.

But here's the big one: There are "consumer" and "business" versions of the voice and data plans. Same minutes, same features, same data services (yes, Exchange push mail works with the consumer plan). The difference you ask? If you say you are using the iPhone for business, you get to pay $40 per month more for the same service.

Read more

WarGames Turns 25: How much progress have we really made?

Wired did a great report on the 25th Anniversary of WarGames.

The trip down memory lane reminded me of the good ol' days. 5.25" floppy disks, 60-pound magnetic drum drives that stored a whole megabyte of data, and acoustic couplers.

I can't say that WarGames got me into computing. My Osborne 1 running CP/M was already functional when it came out. A home version of Space Invaders was a nightly must-do. What that movie did however was make hackers cool. It highlighted the potential of security flaws and back doors, and opened many people to the notion that computers could communicate with one another over a phone line.

Read more

If data is that sensitive, don't put it on your hard drive.

I was reading over the 10 Worst Security Breaches article and a clear pattern formed through the fog of the late-afternoon office lighting. All of these have one thing in common: they occurred out of the office.

Remote access to information is one of the biggest double-edge swords in IT. It enables teleworking, remote access to traveling employees, and helps promote green operations through reduced centralized office space and power consumption. All that said, it also takes your company's sensitive information and places it onto a convenient, easily swipeable package: your laptop.

Read more

Maybe Nortel did it right, and why the iPhone may help to prove it

There's probably no way you missed the news about Nortel's concentrated focus on LTE. All emotional comments from anonymous posters aside, the announcement was strong and painted a line in the sand as to where Nortel saw growth potential, revenue possibilities, and a strong fit with core capabilities.

Read more

Enterprise-only iPhone 3G Review – Four Days and Counting…

I already wrote about my iPhone acquisition experience. That was only a set of first impressions based on the few “daylight” hours the device was active. This is a more comprehensive review after having four days of ownership and four three days of real use under my belt.

In order to really use something new, you have to go cold turkey, so my Blackberry curve went off, and I became a 100% dedicated iPhone 3G user. Now either because of my job or my tendency to obsess, I check my Blackberry 7 days a week. Don’t think that just because it was the weekend I didn’t get much exposure with the Enterprise capabilities of the iPhone. Below is a list of observations:

Read more

One of the first with a US iPhone 3G, one of the last to get to use it... my opinions

Yes, I was in line early in the morning in New York. I was actually number two in line. I could have been first at the 34th and 7th AT&T store, but I wandered to the 40th and 5th AT&T store instead where one person had their chair setup; being second but having someone to talk with worked for me.

So here it is - 3:50am, I was second in line, and a third came running up, chair in hand. I had nothing with me but a Duane Reade bag (to put the iPhone in - I'm always cautious) and the latest James Patterson paperback in case my linemates were bad company.

There were already hundreds in a line just 10 blocks north at the Apple store. Why people would wait for days on a line when less than 10 minutes walk away there was an empty sidewalk is beyond me.

Read more

iPhones and Smart phones and Blackberrys, Oh My!

I've already had the discussion about whether Apple can cut it in the Enterprise arena. Whether the facts are there to support the hype or not, they seem to be leading the mindshare department.

I'm still a Blackberry user (the Curve now) but I have decided to make the switch to another platform. I was pretty hard core on a Windows Mobile device but with the iPhone release imminent, I may just get one of those.

Read more

The world’s largest mobile ad-hoc mesh network: panacea or pandemonium?

I’m sure you have already heard the news about Chrysler’s “in-car hotspot.” Apparently it creates a 50-foot envelope around the car enabling media services and other capabilities over 802.11. I can’t help but wonder though what the broader implications of this might be…

State troopers in the US have been using repeaters for a while – stick a car with a repeater in it on the highway and you can extend the effective reach of the base stations for miles and miles. If these new in-car wireless units can function as a repeater, you could blanket interstate roadways, city streets, and rest areas with Internet access by simply having enough cars in the area.

All this makes me wonder…

Read more

Transforming University IT: From Cost Center to Revenue Generation Engine

I recently spoke at conference targeted at the IT departments of a group of universities. The purpose of my talk was the same as the title of this blog… a discussion on how to change the operating model of the IT department from cost center to revenue generator. The need for this now is simple: everyone has a cell phone. Charging for a telephone in the dorm room, long distance calling, and voicemail is no longer a significant source of income. So how does a school recoup that lost money (and then some)?

Read more

WiFi just flew ahead of 3G for mobile access...

The recent news about American Airlines got me thinking...

I use my Blackberry every day. It has become the single most important tool in my arsenal. I've noticed that others share my addiction - when on airplanes, the other business folk and I anxiously wait for the telltale jolt signifying that the wheels have touched the ground. A race immediately ensues to see who can hit their power button first.

The overlapping clicks of important people getting caught up with their co-workers and clients almost drown out the sound of the engines as the plane would arrive at the gate.

Read more

The "communications integrator" is born

There is a critical decision that networking and communications vendors need to start addressing. By now everyone should comprehend the importance of knowing your customer. Regardless of whether vendors have crossed this hurdle or not, I don't think there is a vendor out there who isn't trying.

Read more

Customer to Vendor: "How can you have a solution if don't understand my problems?"

We are all guilty of it. In this time of manufacturers being so “customer focused” and attempting to align with customer needs, have networking vendors just gone plain “solutions crazy”? I think so.

Webster, Oxford, and other dictionary publishers are kind enough to leave the definition of a solution generic. Anyone can make the argument that they build, sell, or consult about solutions. "Solutions" might be one of the most exploited definitions in the English language.

News flash: just because something fits a loose definition doesn’t mean it is a real solution.

Example:
[customer]: I have 8” of empty rack space in my network closet.
[vendor]: Have I got a solution for you! Buy this new Ethernet switch – it’s 7.5” tall.

Read more

Sounding off: iPhone Coverage and wondering, is Apple out of their league?

You can't go anywhere or do anything without seeing yet another report, opinion, bullet list or article about the iPhone. I can't scoff at Apple's spend, their secrecy and their efforts towards launching new products, but I can't help but wonder if they were ready for what they got themselves into.

Read more

Hyperconnectivity = Lots of cell phones, or is it just a fridge that orders groceries?

As you probably read by now, Hyperconnectivity is Nortel’s foray into global market noise around a cause. Their competitors have done it too though so it was no big surprise when a major campaign was launched to raise awareness of the problems opportunity this new “mega-trend” can create.

Read more