By admin on
12/18/2009
Business intelligence (BI), one of the driving forces behind the growing science of data visualizations, is predicated upon the ability of the underlying technology to be able to perform real-time analysis of both complex and voluminous data.
There are studies that suggest that institutions successfully implementing a BI strategy will enjoy competitive advantages over those organizations that employ more “traditional” approaches to reporting. Everything should be driven by calculations that move toward a “single version of the truth.” (Accurate, Compliant, Up ...
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By admin on
11/23/2009
Microsoft’s SQL server and the related suite of products continue to increase in popularity and provide an even richer array of possibilities for significantly improving your reporting and business intelligence environment. However, the suite is complex – anything with comprehensive functionality is.
What are some resources and approaches to get you ramped up as you move into your data warehouse project?
The advantage of using mainstream products is that user communities are often large, active and there are ...
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By admin on
10/23/2009
Microsoft’s campaign for the release of Windows 7 will use the theme that 1 billion users have been part of the design, and Microsoft has listened. “I am a PC and this is how I made it better.” “I spoke and Microsoft listened.” “I wanted less clutter and there will be less clutter.” “I wanted better security and the security is better.” There will be no mention of Vista.
7 is the “lucky” number – how “lucky” will your organization be this new release?
Unfortunately, we often assume a lot about the ability and knowledge of our users. It used to be – in the olden days - that when a new operating system came out &ndas ...
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By admin on
8/26/2009
Not all software providers have a robust user group that directly influences products and directions for future developments.
A strong and influential user group should be considered one of the basic requirements in any major software purchase for a variety of reasons:
• Helps to drive new features to be part of the product rather than multiple customizations for individual customers.
• Enables networking among clients and helps build product ecosystems. User groups often share reports, enhancements and other information.
• User group officers can be rotated over time so all clients can eventually help guide the group and have influential voice.
• User groups can reach agreement on future enhancements before resources are committed by the vendor. This helps the vendor make more effective use of resources.
While ...
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By admin on
5/15/2009
Digital convergence is happening faster than we realize, and just as the PC industry innovated at dramatic rates in the past, the mobile device industry is now the hotbed of innovation because of the intense level of competition.
So what does this mean for our profession? Some ideas and possibilities …
• More of an outcry from staff for more “friendly” devices such as iPhones. We’ll all need to understand where and why the outcry is happening.
• Less patience from our road warriors for accessing and updating information when they are travelling.
• More demand for ease of updating information such as contact reports using mobile devices.
• Our staff will face increasing challenges from having to support multiple device platforms.
• The distinction between 'personal' and 'corporate p ...
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By admin on
3/12/2009
How do we update our plans for Information Systems and Data Management and make strategic decisions on an ongoing basis in relation to how the work changes and changes in the world? Information systems plans need to address mid-to-long term needs but should be very flexible in an environment that changes rapidly.
Successful implementation of a plan will be to work “outside” the current organizational structure and address what’s best for the organization. Staffing and structure may need to change. Budgets may need to be reallocated so as to make the best use of scarce resources.
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By admin on
2/20/2009
Typical tuning and database performance activities are often based on ratios and sometimes they give misleading results. As database functionality continues to become more sophisticated, new methods of tuning will become more useful.
An example of this is the Wait-Time information in Microsoft SQL Server. This allows tracking of every step of a process so you can identify which steps are causing a lag in performance.
Consider the metaphor of the cashier in relation to performance tuning:
The Cashier is the CPU
Customer Being Checked is Running
Customers Waiting in Line are Runnable
Customer 1 Requires a Price Check
Price Check is Runnable
If you use a ratio or a simple statistic such as total time at a cashier, you may end up taking the wrong action to fix the problem.
Wait-time analysis would give you a clearer picture, by isolating the ...
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By admin on
11/21/2008
AASP Keynote Session
The first Association of Advancement Services Professionals conference kicked off in Chicago with the opening keynote session. This session was certainly indicative of the exciting and in-depth sessions that followed throughout of the conference.
Sharon Burns, CIO for the MacArthur Foundation was responsible for delivering the keynote, to help us all think about the future, and what we need to do within our profession to both address the present and prepare for the future. A future that is rapidly changing and which we need to adapt to and understand quickly.
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By admin on
9/26/2008
Ever travel, get to your hotel ready to do some work and spend the next 15 minutes trying to find a plug to charge up and work with all of your electronic devices?
In some cases, every available plug is taken up, and is located behind the bed, television, or some other immovable object that you can barely reach behind. Maybe these organizations are trying to save money on power consumption and making it up by charging for Internet access.
So here's a solutution in one hotel that seemed a bit novel. This is the power bar that rises out of the desk to form the power column that is convenient and is still able to prevent the theft of it from the hotel. What a great idea!
Now, this was a little more of an "upscale" property, a little newer than most, but was still a bargain through one of the online hotel booking web sites. The guest ha ...
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By admin on
4/20/2007
I’d like to speak a little bit on the experience of installing and using Office 2007.
If you haven't already installed, or tried to deploy to your users, you really want to be careful. While the upgrade process itself is fairly transparent, as with most installations of Office, your users will experience a substantial degree of frustration as they attempt to use the new products.
All those old familiar menu commands that you access with the keyboard, all those keystrokes you've memorized for the last 10 years are all slightly changed. Not have to make them impossible to figure out but just enough to make you have to think about the time.
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