Coleman Technologies Blog

5G

The first technology that anyone who's anyone in the technology industry has their eyes on is 5G. If you were to think of a technology that would transform business, 5G might not be on the top of your list, but, rest assured, it will completely alter society, so businesses will be affected. What is 5G? It’s the long-awaited fifth generation of wireless connectivity that is promising ubiquitous gigabit speeds for everyone. While most of the hubbub surrounding 5G has been about sating people’s need for download speeds and autonomous vehicles, the technology will bring big changes for businesses. 

As far as the business goes, 5G will reduce latency to the point where all of the smart devices that have been introduced over the past half-decade can effectively communicate. This presents more dynamic options to use smart technology for business purposes in and out of the office. Since data transmission will see less latency and higher speeds, data and services should be seamless.

At CES, plenty was made of 5G as a mobile-centric technology, but a lot of the technology that was on display at CES shifted past the smartphone and onto devices that are aimed at improving business. Cutting edge computers, apps, networking equipment, and things (a whole lot of things) aimed at impressing CIOs and decision makers with advanced functionality and speed, were on display throughout the event. From supply chain management to transportation to (of course) mobility, the innovators at CES touched on a large cross-section of improvements 5G is going to make for businesses and at home. 

Cloud Analytics, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence

Businesses have been pretty aggressive over the past couple of years implementing tools that claim to have some type of machine learning or artificial intelligence to improve many aspects of their business. The technology has been used liberally to improve customer service, optimize operations and logistics, even to predict customer behavior. Even in its relative infancy, the applications for these technologies seem to be vast.

At CES, visitors got a look at all types of new ways that businesses are going about using these technologies. One of the most impressive uses of these technologies is in new logistics tools. Between the use of autonomous vehicles that speed up businesses and lead to fewer shipping costs, and computer vision that provides transparency in the acquisition and viability of resources, AI is at the center of business-specific applications that will make it to market in 2020. 

Consumerization of IT

At an event called the Consumer Electronics Show, it stands to reason that it would be a treasure trove of new and useful technologies (or in the case of CES 2020, technology-fueled “things”) on display. The consumerization of IT has been ongoing for the past several years, and businesses have reaped the rewards of this. 

At CES, the whole event is dedicated to pushing the consumerization of IT. New solutions to problems, new products incorporating innovative technology, and strategic technology rollouts aimed to take advantage of other innovations were all over CES 2020. New computers, including the first look at some 5G-capable ones, are some of the more noteworthy of the event; and, are definitely aimed to catch the attention of CIOs and other business decision makers. 

With so many prototypes being unveiled at CES, it’s hard to maintain that this technology will even make it to market, let alone be available any time soon. If you want to learn more about CES 2020, visit the event’s website at https://www.ces.tech/. For more great technology-centric articles aimed to help your business, return to our blog soon.

What is Data Virtualization?

It isn’t uncommon for today’s businesses to have multiple database management systems, and unfortunately, the different types don’t always play nicely with one another. As the amount of data that businesses leverage swells, it has become more important than ever for businesses to be able to consolidate all of this data into an easily accessible tool, without creating a new copy or moving it from its original source - a process similar to data federation, but one that allows access to different data types.

This process makes it far simpler for data to be put to use, allowing the various solutions that are used throughout the course of business to interact with this data.

The Primary Benefits of Data Virtualization

There are quite a few benefits to using data virtualization in your business, but for our purposes here, the fact that all of your data--stored in a variety of different locations--is interconnected and accessible from a single point is the highlight. Just consider how much more could be accomplished if you and your team could access all of the different data types you may need from one place.

As a result, data virtualization is exceptionally useful for processes involving analytics and Big Data, as both incorporate data that comes from a diverse variety of sources.

Of course, we would be amiss if we didn’t mention some of the other benefits that data virtualization has to offer. Productivity can be boosted through the integration of different data units and structures, management becomes simpler, and it is usually a more affordable option than the alternative of copying and converting all of your data into compatible formats.

Interested in Learning More about Data Virtualization?

Reach out to the pros at Coleman Technologies. Even if data virtualization doesn’t apply to your specific needs, we can come up with the right solution for you! Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Let’s start by examining the reasons for communications that businesses use to manage their internal processes.

• Information sharing - There is plenty of news that needs to make its way around any business. There are many different forms of communication that can accomplish this. 
• Collaboration - Today’s business needs to use collaborative strategies more than businesses of the past, and communication is a big part of any collaborative endeavor.

Now, let’s consider a few solutions that can help you to accomplish solid information sharing and collaboration.

Information Sharing

When you think of internal communications at work, the lion’s share of it will fill this need. Employees need to know certain things to maintain continuity of a business. This includes the publication of policies, procedures, plans, or potential changes to each. To accommodate the sharing of all this knowledge, businesses use the following tools: 

• Email - Email is the most tried-and-true solution for internal business communications because it works on every level. It is available, familiar, and with today’s email platforms, features dynamic tools that can help anyone get their point across. 
• Newsletters - Some companies choose to roll out a company newsletter for their staff. In these newsletters there are spotlights on points of emphasis. If you choose the newsletter as the tool you want to broadcast your internal communications, however, it has to be understood. 

Collaboration

Nowadays, collaboration is important for every business’ success. Business moves faster and if you don’t have some semblance of coordination between your employees in separate departments, it can cost more than time. It can be the difference between generating revenue and not. Here are some tools used to boost collaboration:

• Productivity Suites - Today, there are a lot of collaboration-based applications out there. They are designed for specific business needs, but the most effective are the productivity suites like Google’s G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 because they give you the collaborative tools and shared storage that any team needs to be successful.
• Chat Applications and Forums - Instant messaging apps have improved collaborations tenfold. Forums have been useful since the early days of the Internet. Today, developers have created apps that combine the two and offer hundreds of outside software integrations to help promote collaboration.

The IT professionals at Coleman Technologies have the expertise and access to solutions to help you solve any of your business’ operational problems. Call us today at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Even if you aren’t planning on replacing your phone soon, it may make sense to pay attention here, as this process will also make it easier to restore your data to a new phone if needed. Either way, this process is much easier if you make some proactive preparations on your current phone.

Enabling the Native Android Backup Capabilities 

The first step is to make sure that your current phone has the backup service running. It can be found in your Settings, under System. Tap the Backup option, and check to see that the option to Back up to Google Drive is selected. If it isn’t, do so.

Now you have a copy of your current phone’s configuration to restore from, which you can do from the initial configuration of your new device. If you were using the Google Now or Pixel Launcher, even your backgrounds, icons, and folder structure is saved.

During setup, hit the Let’s Go button that appears at the welcome screen. Tap Copy your data, and connect to Wi-Fi.

Now, you’ll be presented with your restoration options. Since we just went over how to save a backup in the cloud, let go with the option to use A backup from the cloud. You’ll be prompted to sign into your Google account, and to agree to Google’s Terms of Service.

From the list of backup options, select the correct one. You can easily hit Restore to recover all of your previous device’s settings and data, and can select which apps to reinstall via Apps.

As your data is pulled over, you will be guided through the rest of the setup process.

Voila! Your new phone is now equipped with your selected tools and settings, ready for you to jump right back in. For more handy tips, make sure you subscribe to our blog!

How the Cloud is Like a Rideshare

Cost Efficiency

Let’s say you are with three people and you need to get someplace and don’t have access to a car. You all could call an Uber or a taxi that would cost you $20 or so. If you are going to the same place, you could all share the cost of a ride for $7 each. You all get to the same place for a fraction of the cost. 

This is a lot like how cloud services work. Since you are paying for access to storage, processing, or application deployment on an outside computer, you are just paying rent for the privilege. This means that you can get the computing resources your business needs at a substantial cost savings. This is because you are often not the only one using these resources. 

Just like you pay less if you split your transportation costs, cloud service companies allow for substantial cost savings by virtualizing computing resources and making them available at attractive rates. 

Reduced Maintenance

The combination of leasing these virtualized computing resources, while taking on a majority of the management of these resources, provides substantial value for businesses and individuals. 

Let’s say that, to continue the rideshare metaphor, you decide to lease a car from a local dealership. One day the car breaks down. You’ve spent a premium amount of money trying to get a reliable ride to work, but if you don’t have access to your car, your investment isn’t cost effective. This is the same experience a business has that purchases hardware and has issues with it. Outsourcing the computing resources (or the management) ensures that you have continuous, reliable access to them. 

Productivity

Finally, just like ordering a shared ride, cloud services allow you maximize productivity. With cloud computing you can even work from anywhere with an Internet connection and utilize your time reliably. Turning to cloud computing resources is a great way to free yourself from the costs of purchasing expensive hardware, while giving you the resources your business needs to get where you want to go.

If you would like more information about cloud services and how they can improve your business, call the It experts at Coleman Technologies today at (604) 513-9428.