Newsletter October 2007
Staying the Course Against the Winds of Change
by John Stephens
Take a quick look at the calendar, and many, if not most, of us are likely to say, “I can’t believe its October already. What happened to 2007?” While we all share that common wonder (and maybe give some thought to how many days until Halloween, Thanksgiving, or shopping days until Christmas), at Convergence we have other issues on our mind. 2007 has been a year with a lot of changes. To say the winds of change are blowing this year is a bit of an understatement. And to many of the bleeding-edge technology fans out there, it might seem like we’re behind the times. But, to us here at Convergence, change is something to watch closely and with exacting patience. It takes a resolute hand on the rudder to stay the course against the winds of change.
Change is inevitable, especially in IT. Keeping ahead of the curve can be a challenge as new technologies, products, and gadgets come out on what seems like a weekly basis. This year we’ve seen Microsoft Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange Server 2007, to name just a few. Software developers are in overdrive, and let’s not even talk about the latest and greatest cell phone or PDA. All in all, you might find yourself wondering why your business is still running Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003, or Office 2003. Although it might seem boring, the simple answer is that these products are tried and true. When Convergence supports business, we aim to ensure stability, reliability, and supportability. While the newest releases may have a certain allure, they are frequently (and usually) subject to growing pains that can cause unexpected behavior, reduced productivity, or outages.
While this strategy is nothing new at Convergence, it’s not a policy that is something we advertise. It’s just a bit of the due diligence we employ to support each and every one of our customers. I’m writing about it today simply because of the number of high profile products and upgrades released this year. We want to get the word out that we’re still working for our customers even when it’s behind the scenes in the bowels of the IT world. Our mission is to provide networks that just work. So as we consider integrating new products, software, and updates into IT, we take our responsibility to keep the network running and available very seriously. It doesn’t do anyone any good if we slap an untried solution into place simply to stay on the leading edge of technology. Instead, using untried hardware or software can have the opposite effect, resulting in lost productivity, downtime, incompatibility, and an ongoing list of undesirable results. Rather than attempting to navigate all of these issues in a production environment that supports business, we play the waiting game, holding fast until products are validated, applications are debugged, and software incompatibilities are resolved. This gives us the time to experiment with new technology in a lab environment, as well as take advantage of the experiences of those who do implement the latest and greatest right away. We scrutinize industry forums, knowledge bases, developer blogs, and other sites dedicated to IT. It’s a lengthy process, but it’s one that’s well worth the patience and diligence. Bugs are patched, incompatibilities are rewritten or worked around, and availability can be maintained. All in all, the solutions become stable—suitable to be the foundation of your operations.
So, while 2007 winds down, hopefully, your business continues to wind up. New products won’t likely hit your network right away. Instead we’ll make sure their performance is up to a high standard before we move them into your production environment. The winds of change will keep on blowing, but, with patience and perseverance, we can tack our sails to capture that wind and still keep us moving in the right direction.
Today’s Helpful Hint & Tips:
Before calling your support team have you done some basic troubleshooting?
- Have you tried rebooting your pc?
- Are all of your cables plugged in securely?
- Is the issue you are having also affecting other people around you?
- Are you a remote user? If so do you have a live internet connection?
The Seven Cycles of Network Health and Evolution
If you would like to receive more information simply contact us.
What People Are Saying
- “A quick phone call to the technician and AutoCad 2000 was installed. I appreciate the quick response!”
- Tracy Bowers, SSI Shredding Systems