I ran into a strange issue today when attempting to add Excel 2007 macro shortcuts to a Quick Access toolbar saved in a shared template. I could add the buttons and save them to the template, but as soon as I closed and re-opened Excel the buttons disappeared. Standard built-in Excel functions worked just fine when saved to the shared template.
Even if I added a few built-in buttons, and just a single macro link, the buttons would all disappear the next time Excel was closed and re-opened.
Turns out there’s a glitch in the way Excel stores the macro name in one of the stored XML files in the template. To correct this I needed to extract the template file (just rename the Excel macro-enabled template to a zip file then extract as you would any other compressed file), then remove the path information from the CustomUI.xml file. Specific steps can be found in the thread here:
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3834831.php
Hopefully this will be corrected by Microsoft. Of course with the new Ribbon bars that may be easily edited in Office 2010 this may be less of an issue.
As a part of ITP’s ongoing commitment to being on top of the latest in technology and business practices we attend the latest in business conferences. Yesterday was entirely devoted to the cloud (cloud computing) and what it means for your business. The staggering statistic that’s facing IT companies is the Gartner prediction that 20% of companies in the next 5 years will have NO traditional IT.
That was balanced by Microsoft and HP’s presentations about hybrid cloud computing. They state what seems most likely to me, that people will need to protect certain data and that will still be on premise but that some data and some services/solutions can be delivered from the cloud more effectively and more cost efficiently today.
After session after session from the bleeding edge companies providing cloud and grid resources the takeaway most interesting to me at the end of the day came from Microsoft’s Matt Thompson, Platform Evangelist. He said (paraphrasing) that the cloud is still young and we have not yet seen the greatest innovations and that even Microsoft’s Azure (his baby) can use tunning and that service companies like ITP will be the ones that will help bridge the gap for our clients and the computing resources now available on demand from great companies like Microsoft.
Side note: Matt also said he loves his iPad. Between Matt’s comments and reading the announcements by Steve Jobs live as it came through from WWDC that the new iphone will have Bing on it. I started getting warm Apple and Microsoft thoughts, maybe we can all get along.
I’ve been noticing some amongst my clients about the web browser they’re using. Long established as the predominant browser in the market, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) is experiencing more competition than ever these days. As a long time fan of Internet Explorer I recently switched due to some frustrations with performance – specifically with the newest iteration, IE 8. Mostly my problems revolved around the way IE 8 presented text (often so small that it was unreadable) and errors experienced with certain java functions certain sites required. This isn’t to say that other browsers don’t have problems – quite the opposite, actually – but I found I didn’t mind the problems other browsers had as much. Anyhow, the three most popular browsers today (in my opinion) are IE, Google’s Chrome, and, Mozilla’s Firefox. I’ve decided Google Chrome works best for me. So what do you think? What browser to you use and why?
At ITP we focus on delivering our services in a manner that rises above our competition. Which got me thinking…the best IT firms do certain things well. Among the most common are:
- They have skilled, experienced engineers
- They explain things clearly to you
- They are efficient and reliable
- They help you drive efficiency through your technology
- They are an asset to your business
I’ve seen many IT firms to some of these things well, but few do all of them well. What are the most important things your IT firm does for you?
There’s no doubt that virtualization is becoming more and more prevalent for small businesses of all sizes. There are lots of reasons for this including:
- Reduced downtime
- Increased performance
- Strong disaster recovery
- Scalability
- Excellent business flexibility
But I find it curious that many companies I meet with are initially confused by the concept. So…here’s my attempt to simplify virtualization.
At its most basic level, virtualization for small businesses generally involves running multiple server operating systems on one physical server. That’s it. Oh sure, more than one physical server can be deployed to create better redundancy, less downtime, etc. But just knowing that simple concept – multiple server systems running on a single piece of hardware (server) – puts you way ahead of many small businesses.
Thanks to all over 600 of you who joined us on the mobility webinar. If you would like more information a consultation, training or turnkey server solution to support your mobile goals feel free to contact us (1.877.539.7274). We also have the Whitepaper available in advance right here: Mobile Devices Whitepaper. Excerpt below:
The Rise in Mobile Devices
The rise of mobile devices has been exponential over the past 5 years. There are many reasons for this, but the most prevalent is that they allow people to communicate faster and more effectively than ever before. The ability to have access to e-mail, contacts, calendar, and other data has made them an extremely valuable tool for today’s legal professional. Hence the rise of the mobile device as today’s “always-on” business tool. Yet, there are downsides to all technologies and mobile devices are not without their share. Beginning with the multitude of devices available today to the changing landscape services, features, and functions available on each device, finding a the right device can be a challenge. Additionally, matching a device to your personal needs, technical requirements of your network, and your practice management tool can be next to impossible without assistance from an IT professional. Often finding the right device is a matter of breaking down the different features it provides.
Contact Joe Ulm at Information Technology Professionals today to setup a consultation on your next mobile office deployment or about ITP’s mobile device network review and training packages. Paul Hager and other ITP engineers are available to travel to your organization and provide a complete training and setup packages for your mobile workforce. 1.877.539.7274
I’ve been going through lots of the information on the iPad since its release and here’s my very simple take: it’s really cool, possibly even groundbreaking, but it doesn’t have a place in the business world. Yet. Here’s why…
- No keyboard/mouse. Touch screens are amazing multimedia devices. But for typing documents, responding to e-mail, or working within your business application they’re not nearly as productive as a good ol’ keyboard & mouse. And really, what else do you use a computer for in business?
- Integration. Integration is powerful stuff for business these days. Those that have it, love it. Those who don’t are trying to get it. Not enough integration on the iPad as it stands today.
- Marketing. I don’t think the iPad is really being sold as a business device. Oh, I could be wrong (it wouldn’t be the first time), but other than being really cool, what business advantage does it provide? Ease of use? Probably, but what else? Not much, I’m afraid.
Okay, so let’s be clear about something – I’m not knocking the iPad. I think it’s innovative and well designed. And for personal use, I think it’s fantastic. In the business world, however, it doesn’t provide any real advantage over the existing toolset. I will say this though, I once said the same thing about the iPhone and over time the folks at Apple proved me wrong. If I were to be completely honest here, I guess I wouldn’t mind being proved wrong again.
Let’s face it – for most business professionals, their phone is no longer just a phone. In fact the “phone” functionality is, oddly enough, becoming less and less important as a feature. More important to business users now is integration with business applications, ease of use, e-mail compatibility, and wireless synchronization. Take the iPhone for example. Through the multiple iterations of the OS, users have remained stubbornly loyal even though the phone service itself was quite poor (a result of AT&T’s service in my opinion). With the pending release of OS 4.0 for the iPhone, there’s no doubt that Apple will once again make significant improvements on an already excellent product. Now that the Droid has been released and appears to be holding its own within the market, the market has gotten even tighter for all competitors. Add to the mix the new Windows Series 7 phone slated for release near the end of the year and the world of phones has clearly grown far more complicated (and interesting) than it was just a few years ago. So, what does this all mean to us, the business professionals, and moreover, what does this mean for Blackberry (RIM), the once “default” phone for business people? Of course, no one knows for sure, but I’ve got a few predictions…
- Blackberry’s antiquated pricing model and architecture that requires server software be installed on your network will be a thing of the past. With all the other manufacturers providing functionality without the extra piece of software (or cost) this whole “Blackberry Enterprise Server” nonsense has to go away, doesn’t it? I say it does – at least for small and medium businesses.
- The iPhone will continue to gain market share. Apple just has too big of a lead on some of the other competitors and the “brains” at Apple have been exceptionally successful at addressing the business world’s needs. The only thing that will hold Apple back will be AT&T. Anyone hear rumors of a deal with Verizon? Anyone?
- The Windows phone will do well, but feel some of the pain any new system/software does. Be prepared for very cool, yet sometimes irritating, and an overall lukewarm experience.
- The Droid will hang tough, but find it becomes old news very quickly in this ever changing market. Speed is the need in this fickle market.
Ultimately, I think the innovation within the market will continue to grow – possibly far beyond the true needs of users today (in case we aren’t already there). I think the differences between the platforms, however, that will begin to dwindle, with each manufacturer stealing the others quality concepts and good ideas. At the end of the day, I think it will be a benefit to all, providing us with better, more adaptable phones – and we’ll enjoy more choices than ever before.
Tags: apple, Blackberry, Droid, iphone, iPhone OS 4.0, mobile devices, mobile phones, Windows Phone, Windows Series 7 Phone
Cool Stuff, Gadgets and Technology, Gadgets and Technology | Joe Ulm | 
April 9, 2010 2:59 am | 
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I’ve gotten quite a few questions lately on the value/pros/cons of online backup. So here’s just a quick overview of the world of online backup…
Online backup technology, when deployed correctly, is well established, both in terms of reliability and security. It is traditionally sold through VARs (like us) or directly through online backup companies themselves. In our case, we resell an established online providers service, but I know some VARs have developed their own online backup service. Things to look for in an online provider are:
- Encrypted communications
- Multiple, geographically-separated backup locations
- Data backed up to SAS 70 compliant data centers (there are different tiers)
- Agent-less client (meaning you can install it on your server and backup a workstation/laptop without installing the software on that device, as well)
- Type of backup (full, incremental, or differential)
- Ability to backup application data (Exchange, SQL, etc.) and how “granular” the backup is. For example, can you restore just one e-mail or is your only option restoring all your e-mail?
- Good user interface
- Number of “generations” backed up (how far back can you restore from? One day, ten days? More?)
Additionally, pricing tends to be all over the place with online providers mostly because they often price out “storage” differently. The two most common pricing models are:
Protected – this means you will get X amount of data backed up with the ability to restore from X days back. In this pricing model you purchase 10 GB of space at say, $5 per GB per month and can go back 30 generations. It costs you $50 per month, but in essence you’re getting 300 TOTAL GBs of backup space (10 GB X 30 generations).
Unprotected – this is just straight data storage. Often vendors using this pricing model will give you a “block” of backup space to use as you see fit (100 GB, 200 GB, or more). This model will be far less expensive than the protected pricing model, but each generation of backup will count against your total space. So if you’re backing up 10 GB of data and you purchase a 100 GB block of space, you’ll get 10 generations from it.
A couple important additional pricing considerations:
- All pricing should be based on the compressed data size.
- Very rough estimates for pricing would be $2 per GB for unprotected and $5 per GB for protected.
- Backup software should be included at no additional cost
Our recommendations when it comes to backup:
- Do a combination of online and onsite backup. Often you can do one or the other “inexpensively” because you’re fully invested in a quality solution for the other. An example of this would be to back everything up online and then just use inexpensive portable drives or a cheap attached storage unit for onsite backup.
- Archive. I know this is a dirty word for many companies, but archiving keeps the online costs down considerably and there are ways to ensure the data is available quickly should anyone need it.
If you have a quality onsite solution now, consider just backing up your firm’s critical data online (accounting, HR, forms, and possibly e-mail) to save money.
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