Coleman Technologies Blog

Blockchain technology has virtually changed the internet. The action of creating and distributing digital information, but not allowing the information to be copied or altered, has created a backbone to this new type of network.

What Is Blockchain?

When looking at the word blockchain, it’s clear to see that it is derived from two words: block and chain.

Simply put, a block records recent transactions that have not been started in any prior blocks. This avoids duplicates or falsely initiated transactions. This block has the unique characteristic that it cannot be deleted, and it cannot be altered.

A chain is a sequence of items of the same type, forming a line. Blockchain technology has created an indestructible chain of blocks. Without being “chained” together, it would just be unorganized, unreadable, scattered information. Because of the methodical, organized and unalterable record keeping - it’s ideal for numerous applications.

Where Blockchain is Headed

Blockchains are where digital relationships are being not only formed but secured. Here are just some of the implementations where this technology has been, or could be used for in the future:

Payment processing and money transfers - The first thing that it could be used for is what it’s already being used for. Payment processing and money transfers. After all, this is what the technology was developed for, but what other forms can this take?

Retail loyalty reward programs - We’ve all been asked if we have a rewards card. Blockchain could soon revolutionize rewards programs by replacing standard points with tokens. All transactions at a certain store or company would result in earning tokens, which would be stored in a blockchain. The characteristics of blockchain would stop individuals from fraudulently earning reward points, which is common amongst paper and card-based loyalty programs.

Digital Voting - Have you ever heard rumors or accusations that someone fraudulently won a vote? With the implementation of blockchain, this would be an issue of the past. Blockchain cannot be altered or destroyed. This means if there was some sort of fraudulent activity, it could easily be detected. This brings us to our next use of blockchain.

Audit Trailing - Blockchain can be implemented anywhere an audit trail is required.

There are endless possibilities where this technology can be implemented. Medical recordkeeping, tax regulation and compliance, immutable data backup, even real estate or auto title transfers. Blockchain truly is revolutionizing operations across the globe.

At Coleman Technologies, we are eager to see where this technology will take us in the near future. How do you think blockchain technology will be used? Leave a comment below.

There are a lot of tools used to manage projects. Regardless of what platform your company uses, there are some simple, common sense practices your team can use to enhance its project management proficiency. Here are five:

Tip #1: Hash Out Details Before You Start

Sometimes getting a project off the ground is harder than actually completing it. Depending on the number of stakeholders involved, many projects may find it difficult to get off the ground. Ensuring that the project is viable, has the support it needs to come to fruition, and has the resources in place to be most efficiently implemented are important before a minute of work is done on the project.

You will want to identify what workers will be responsible for what work, while also doing your best to come up with a timeline for the project that will not waste resources.

Tip #2: Choose One Project Manager

Today, there are a lot of collaborative interfaces out there that make managing a project much, much easier. As a result, sometimes a project won’t have a single project lead, it will be carried out with a team approach. You may get through a project or two like this before it becomes painfully evident that there needs to be someone to run point on the project.

The role of project leader will cultivate positive team dynamics and act as a mentor to the rest of the team. Also, you just need one throat to choke when things aren’t done on time.

Tip #3: Define Specific Milestones

For any project, there will be benchmarks it will have to be met. As a project begins, defining the metrics that will have to be met will give any project team a good idea what the expectations are at the end of each phase of a project. By frequently checking in on the status of deliverables, the project manager can ensure that all elements of the product are aligned with what customers will invest in.

Tip #4: Manage Risk

Managing risk is important in any business endeavor. There will be times when, in the course of the phases of a project, where one will go horribly wrong and will put the entire project’s success at risk. One of the best ways to identify and manage risk is by keeping the lines of communication open. Most project management software provides options to communicate, whether they be integrated through an existing system, or if they are localized as a part of the software.

Tip #5: Evaluation

Through success (or failure), lessons can be learned from any project. By reviewing and scrutinizing every aspect of the project, you will get some fuel on how to improve your project management moving forward. Identifying what went right, what went wrong, and how they make up the final result. One way to ensure that a project was a complete success is to determine its return on investment (ROI). Often, project managers will provide a planned ROI to stakeholders at the beginning. By comparing the two after the end of the project, you can establish whether it had the value you were planning for.

At Coleman Technologies, our technicians thrive on project management. Whether it is running cable, building, testing, and deploying hardware, or simple proactive maintenance, we have an answer for all of your business’ computer problems. Call us at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

Business Servers

When you are looking for servers, there is a pretty good chance that you need to centralize application delivery, file storage, or some other core function of your business. A server is a high-powered computer that runs specialized software that is used to support the multiple users that your business has on staff. Some of the multi-user applications that servers are used for include email, some type of messaging, print servers designed to manage company-wide print jobs, and customer relationship management (CRM). If your business already uses one or multiple servers, you need to establish whether you need to upgrade and migrate; or, if you’ve outgrown your hardware and need to set up a new server, and where to host it.

Cloud vs. Onsite

If you are looking to set up your first server, you have an interesting decision to make. Do you set up your new server at your place of business, or do you host it with an established cloud provider? Traditionally, companies would be better served to host their hardware locally, but with cloud services from some of the most reputable companies in the world now available with built-in support and anywhere-anytime access, it stands to reason that looking at how each is priced out is a prudent move by any decision maker. 

With the purchase of a server, a company takes on the costs of the hardware, which are often substantial, they then deploy software and have to pay to have that hardware managed. If the hardware costs aren’t enough, the maintenance costs can be multiple times that. When you add in utility costs, you are looking at a large capital cost with a smaller operational outlay.  With cloud computing, however, you can get a reasonably secure server that can be accessed from any place users have access to a high-speed Internet connection. This provides accessibility that many other servers don’t have, while paying per month rather than up front. The costs don’t add up quite as fast (the capital outlay is virtually zero), but the operational costs spike, often exceeding what you would pay for a server over time. 

Let’s make a list of some pros and cons:

Onsite Server 

Pros:

• Gives you complete control over organizational data.
• Gives you the ability to alter storage types and amount at any time.
• Performing onsite backup is much easier.
• Restoration from onsite backup is much faster.

Cons:

• Upfront costs of hardware.
• Exorbitant costs of continued maintenance.
• Utility costs.
• Upfront and recurring costs of physical security.
• Your hardware is only marginally utilized.

Hosted Server

Pros: 

• Eliminate capital costs of buying and maintaining hardware. 
• Mitigate server-based utility costs.
• Cloud server is scalable.
• Data and application redundancy built in.

Cons:

• The need for stable and reliable bandwidth rises.
• Costs of bandwidth rise.
• Security can become an issue.
• Lose physical control over the management of the servers.

It all comes down to system control. If you want (or need to have) control over your hardware in order to meet federal, state, or industry regulations, hosting your servers onsite is suggested. If you don’t have these regulations to meet, there’s no reason hosting your servers in a public cloud interface can’t be a viable alternative for your company. 

One option that many businesses are using today is the establishment of a private cloud server. A private cloud server is hosted either onsite or in its own dedicated cloud space, and delivers a business a lot of the pros listed above, albeit at substantial cost. The establishment of the private cloud allows companies that need to have control over the management of their organizations data and applications to have it, while providing the ability for users to access the data and applications outside of the confines of its physical network. 

Regardless of what kind of server you are looking for the experts at Coleman Technologies can help. Find out more about your server options by calling us today at (604) 513-9428.

With global spending on IoT research and integration reaching $745 billion in 2019, the IoT is primed to be one of the largest single industries in the world in the future. Individuals, businesses, and governments are looking at the IoT for solutions to their problems. After all, the more information people have, the better decisions can be made. From the outset, it was said that this technology will transform the way we interact with machines and the way they will interact with each other, and only a few short years into a worldwide implementation, that mantra has proven to be true. Let’s look at where the IoT is growing most.

Industry

The huge annual jumps in IoT spending is largely driven by manufacturers, transportation, and utilities. Industrial IoT solutions provide companies and municipalities, alike, the link between their cloud-based software systems and their analysts, salesmen, and decision makers. This relationship is tenuous, however, and is closely monitored as a result. If a huge IoT strategy breaks even once, confidence in the platform is destroyed, leaving it an unreliable solution, regardless of the strengths of the technology. 

Manufacturers and process managers that utilize IoT solutions absolutely need their systems to be as reliable as possible. That means security, which is the number one improvement that the next phase of IoT has to make. For years, IoT was only somewhat trustworthy because of the lack of integrated security many IoT devices were manufactured with. Today, with security an absolute must for the major undertakings it is being used for, security has improved, but only slightly. A dedication to creating IoT devices that have hardware and software systems that are secure and reliable will dictate just the ceiling of IoT effectiveness.

The Smart City

One of the most intriguing places the IoT has been utilized thus far is in the integration of automated utility systems inside what has been termed, “the smart city”. The smart city uses what are known as low power IoT connections. These devices deliver low bandwidth and power saving features that are perfectly suited to asset monitoring. They can be implemented for a variety of uses, including: 

• Sensors built into city roadways to sense things like the subsistence of traffic congestion and wear and tear of roadways.
• Sensors built into bridges to sense degradation and the effect of seismic forces caused by geographical and traffic-based events.
• Sensors built into buildings to measure wind force, foundation subsistence, or seismic activity.
• Sensors in the interior of buildings to control foot-traffic, lighting, heating and air, and other systems humans rely on. 
• Sensors on the street or on entryways that will provide facial recognition and reporting.

Unlike IoT-connected consumer goods, every IoT device deployed in a smart city would have a purpose that is beyond convenience. Every device would be placed to achieve a goal, improve the usability, longevity, and management of infrastructure, boosting resident safety and improving their access to services, cutting costs and limiting energy use, improving communications, and more.

One thing is for sure, the next phase of IoT implementation is going to challenge conventional thinking and deliver solutions that only a short time ago, were only imaginary. At Coleman Technologies we find technology fascinating. For more great technology information about innovative new tech, return to our blog regularly. 

Countless Options

The cloud provides a myriad of options for any-sized business. In the cloud, you can host applications, communications, storage, and even full-platform infrastructure. With so many options available, your business can get the computing power and tools it needs, when needed. 

User Tip: When trying to determine which cloud platforms are right for you, you may find the cost/benefit analysis won’t give you the definitive answer you are looking for. Your best bet is to prioritize which information systems would work best hosted onsite and which one brings the most value hosted in the cloud. The best decision for your business’ bottom line may not be the best decision. 

Productivity Improves

One of the most important aspects of cloud computing is the possibility that it provides a modern business. With all of the options the cloud presents, a business can pick and choose how to leverage them to produce increased productivity. Of course, the computing platform itself isn’t going to produce more, but with the data and application accessibility and the collaborative options the cloud provides a business, they are able to get more done, faster.

User Tip: Cloud computing may provide the ability for your team to collaborate better, but it isn’t going to produce anything on its own. One tip to ensure for efficient collaboration and enhanced teamwork using cloud interfaces is to assign one person to manage the files and data inside your cloud solution so that everyone knows who to go to if they need answers. Running a project is a lot like running a basketball team, one person has to run point.

Monetary Benefits

Implementing cloud computing can absolutely help save a business money off the bat. A shift to the cloud works to eliminate huge capital costs. Say you need a server. If you bought, powered, and supported the hardware yourself, you are looking at a bill that’s likely in the five-to-six-figure range. If you choose a cloud, you can fire up a new server for a monthly fee that gives you a lot of the same computing power your business commands, without the waste of computing resources and the upfront expense you would see by running your own hardware.

User Tip: The cloud may help you transfer cost, but if you jump in with both feet it can get pricey quick. That’s why it is important to migrate your processes, data, and infrastructure to the cloud in small, incremental steps. It keeps operational costs down and keeps your IT administrator sane. 

At Coleman Technologies, we understand the value of cloud computing, but we also recognize that the cloud isn’t right for every situation. If you would like to meet with our knowledgeable consultants about a shift to the cloud, call us at (604) 513-9428 today.