September 3, 2009 --  If you consult for multiple organizations, your are likely to have to track multiple requests for help and new work andto communicate status on that work to your clients. Nothing is more embarrassing or hurtful to a client relationship than being reminded by the client of a task that has slipped off your radar.  When I was IT Director at Rockefeller Brothers Fund, I had software that both I and my associate could use to track our work. Since then, it's been a combination of my tasks list in Outlook, post-it note, and typed or handwritten lists.  And, with additional interns to update and track at one client, this has become a little hairy.  It's not very efficient, to say the least.  Well, now I think I have found a great solution.

Augusst 27, 2009 -- When I meet small business owners, the conversation will often turn to their computer system, whether they have one computer or one or more servers and many computers.  Eventually, they will tell me something about what they have and ask questions about what I think – a little like what I imagine doctors get at parties.  I will usually ask them some questions, which they often cannot answer.  So, here are four critical questions you should be able to answer about your computer system.

August 20, 2009 -- I get called into potential clients' offices most frequently because something is wrong or they are not satisfied with the way their computer systems are working.  Once the formalities are complete, I usually ask for their system documentation so I cn see how the system is set up and is supposed to work.  Most often, i find there is no system documentation beyond what was in the heads of the previous consultants or support staff.  Documentation is really boring, but having reliable documentation is the ultimate solution to the "hit by the bus" or "away on vacation" problem. When there is a crisis, documentation is critical to kick-starting a solution and in some cases to getting a solution at all. And, even if there's no crisis, but you need someone new to work on your system, documentation provides a big head start.  So, what should you be asking for in documentation from your IT consultant or staff person?

August 13, 2009 -- Normally I try to stick to my knitting as a small business IT pro in this blog and avoid taking on politicized issues like health care reform.  However, as an IT Professional for many years, and as an economist for many years before that, there are some things I find interesting. The first is on the issue of databases, with which I've had a good deal of experience both as a programmer and systems analyst and as a user in my own research.  First, there is a huge fear of government creating a large database containing medical information about Americans.  And, there are, in fact, very important issues with regard to privacy and patient control of this information.  What seems to be missing is a recognition that there are already huge databases about virtually all Americans.  One private company reportedly has approximately 1500 data items about every man, women, and child in America.  Not only do people not seem to worry about this, they don't even seem to be aware of it.

August 6, 2009 -- My wife was installing a new program on her Mac and it just wouldn't go after several installs.  So, she decided to install it on a different Mac and, voila, it worked.  Because her data are on a small server that we have, she was able to start working with her new program immediately.  So, no I don't think everyone has to have a second computer, although it's not a bad idea. However, this did make me think of some practices that can make working with computers in a small office a little easier and safer, so I thought I might share some of them. 

July 31, 2009 -- A number of years ago an organization I worked for as IT Director was building out a new space for an organization that was moving in with us. I attended every planning meeting and IT needs and options were included in plans from the get-go. This improved the usability of the new space for our new tenant and I learned a lot.  So, I was a bit surprised when a client of mine emailed, asking me to send "IT needs" to the architects who were designing their new facility.  In retrospect, it shouldn't have surprised me.  Small businesses and non-profits are busy with their primary concerns and often do not recognize the benefits of having IT in on plans as they develop rather than after they are put in place.

July 23, 2009 -- I got into a conversation with a client the other day.  They are looking forward to adding new personal computers as part of their system upgrade.  Normally, I would recommend getting a new computer with Windows XP, available as a "downgrade," or Vista, which now actually works well. However, because they first have to install new software, they have no urgency about this upgrade.  So, instead, I recommended holding off for Windows 7, which will be released this fall.  Normally, I am the last to buy a new product and usually I hold off until Service Pack 1. Not this time.

July 16, 2009 -- I have mentioned that we at gwntec, Inc. get a lot of questions about slow computers.  Last week I described a number of things you can do if your computer is slow.  Usually, they will fix the problem. But, suppose they don't?  Well, then it may be time to bring out the big guns. What we want to do here is bring in a second set of eyes for viruses and malware and look beneath the hood of your system to see what we find.