August 2007
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In This Issue:
Schedule an IND Performance Analysis Today!
IND Launches Remedy Consulting Services
The "WindowsXP" of Opportunity is Quickly Coming to a Close! Are You Prepared for Vista?
Survey: Future IND Seminar Topics
Optimize Your Email Time

Inspiration: "The greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other."
-Orison Swett Marden

Schedule an IND Performance Analysis Today! Top

The Windows XP Operating System will cease to be shipped with new PC’s, Laptops and Servers on January 31, 2008. Have your applications been certified to operate bug free under the new Vista Operating System? If not, be prepared to find less and less support and applications available. As Vista is now the primary OS supported by Microsoft the prior Windows XP will receive less and less attention over the following months. Security patches will become less prevalent as Vista received the attention and shortly after Windows XP will cease to be supported – meaning no more security patches or bug fixes will be shipped. (Just as Windows 2000 no longer receives any updates or bug fixes but is subject to thousands of post support issues today).

It is critical to prepare before just rolling Vista out into your environment. One of the major issues seems to be with Internet Explorer 7 which was released 6 months ago and is the only browser included in Windows Vista. Many people found that IE7 displays some of their most commonly used websites strangely – this appears to be due to older html or third party plug-ins (including many e-commerce applications) that have not been maintained or upgraded in some time. Since IE7 is the browser included in Vista – if all your web resources do not work properly with IE7 you need to roll out another browser or find another solution.

In addition to your software testing, has your hardware also been tested to confirm it will/can support the new methods of Windows Vista? Our research has revealed several typical compatibility issues:

  • Vista Compliant Software
  • Vista Compliant Hardware Issues (PDA’s, Cell phones, Older peripherals)
  • Internet Explorer & Primary Vendor Website Compatibility
  • Printer or Other Output Device Driver Issues
  • Scanner and USB Devices

Let IND develop and manage a seamless Vista adoption plan including a validation test and vendor report card so you know where you stand and have a clear path to ensuring every component of your business will move without issue to Vista. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner IND has been working with the Vista operating system for nearly 2 years already and testing many components both hardware and software.

Get started on your Vista adoption plan so your implementation is hassle free!

IND Launches Remedy Consulting Services Top

Design, implement, and manage the deployment of Service Process Management solutions with IND Remedy® Consulting Services.

Utilizing Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices, IND develops custom-built applications in the BMC® Remedy Action Request System (ARS), the BMC Remedy Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) suite of applications, and the BMC Atrium® Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

BMC Remedy Action Request System

BMC Remedy Action Request System (ARS) provides a consolidated Service Process Management platform for automating and managing Service Management business processes. With its request-centric, workflow-based architecture, ARS is optimized for Service Management business process delivery, and includes pre-built modules for notifications, escalations, and approvals.

The system also provides business activity monitoring to proactively measure business process performance. Action Request System is compatible with existing IT infrastructures, and includes intuitive integration capabilities, including support for Web Services.

BMC Remedy Information Technology Service Management

The BMC Remedy Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) Suite is an integrated set of software applications designed to automate the ITIL-defined best practices for Service Management business processes. The applications include Service Desk (Incident and Problem Management), Change Management, Asset Management, and Service Level Management.

BMC Atrium Configuration Management Database

The BMC Atrium Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is an intelligent data repository that allows your enterprise to account for all the IT assets and configurations within the organization and its services.

CMDB collects data from disparate IT sources and consolidates it into a central reconciled data set which automatically integrates with the ITSM suite of applications to serve as a single point of truth to provide a sound basis for Incident Management, Problem Management and Change Management processes.

For more information about IND’s Remedy capabilities, please visit our Web site at http://www.indcorp.com/web/remedy.

The" Windows XP" of Opportunity is Quickly Coming to a Close! Are You Prepared for Vista? Top

The Windows XP Operating System will cease to be shipped with new PC’s, Laptops and Servers on January 31, 2008. Have your applications been certified to operate bug free under the new Vista Operating System? If not, be prepared to find less and less support and applications available.

In addition to your software testing, has your hardware also been tested to confirm it will/can support Vista? Our research has revealed several typical compatibility issues including:

  • Printer Driver Issues
  • Hardware Incompatibilities
  • Scanner and USB Devises Vista Compliant Issues
  • Vista Compliant Software/Hardware Issues
  • Issues With Customer Time and Patience Talking to Microsoft Support
  • Users Not Doing Their Homework on the Vista Interface Change Impact

Let IND remove the extra work effort involved with determining whether your IT environment is prepared for Vista.

Our Certified Engineers can assure Vista is approved for your business growth!

Survey: Future IND Seminar Topics

Top

We are currently in the process of planning our next series of seminars and we want your opinion! We appreciate your feedback on seminar topics that are of interest to you. Please take this short survey so that we can plan our next series around you! Click Here to take the survey!

Optimize Your Email Time Top

Email is an essential part of business in todays world, but even this valuable tool can waste time. Some issues that tend to waste both the senders and the recipients time:

#1: Vague Subject Lines
The subject line should be as specific as possible. We all receive more and more email every day, and the subject line is key to helping us organize which emails are important.

#2: Not Changing the Subject Line when Needed
Have you ever been so busy that you just don't have time to create a new email so instead you reply to one from the person you want to send an email to? It definitely occurs in this fast paced world more often then not in most offices. It also tends to cause confusion amongst employees.

Any time the subject matter of an email changes, the subject should also be changed. Often this does not occur out of shear need to just get the email out, however the recipient then thinks that the email they are getting has to do with subject # 1, when in fact it is concerning subject #2, causing them to waste time and switch gears between the two topics. Remember the more accurate the subject line, the quicker you will receive the response.

#3:Including Multiple Subject Lines in One Email
Covering multiple topics in one note involves less sending and hence less e-mail traffic and volume. However, your recipient might overlook one or more of those topics. It’s better to keep to one topic per message.

#4: Sending the Message Before Reviewing it Fully
Make sure you really mean to say what you’ve written. People can interpret your words differently from what you meant. A statement made in jest to someone via e-mail may have a greater chance of being misinterpreted than one made in person. Also, be careful about reacting and replying too quickly to an e-mail that upsets you.

#5: Always Replying to All
Before hitting Reply To All, make sure you really need to do so. Does everyone need to see your response? Does your response benefit everyone else? Or are you sending merely a private response or addressing a personal issue with the sender? In these situations, it’s better just to do a simple Reply. Otherwise, your private disagreement becomes public (and embarrassing) knowledge.

How many of these email habits do you have? Honestly, all of us have done these things at one time or another just out of convenience, however this tends to cause more issues than not. Keep these habits in mind the next time you are emailing someone or receive an email from a co-worker and save yourself and your company time and money.

Disaster Recovery

Insurance against disasters that could destroy important business assets is prudent. Implementation and management of a disaster recovery program in the event of an unanticipated breakdown in the technology system is near the top of the priority list for most companies - is it for yours?

Learn More

Web Text Too Small?

Do you find the text on most Web pages to be either too small or too large? If so, you can usually change your Web browser's settings to display text in a more comfortable size. Using Microsoft Internet Explorer, Click the "View" menu, select "Text Size," and choose your preferred size.

Topgrading (How leading companies win by hiring, coaching, and keeping the best people): Bradford D. Smart, Ph.D.



In this fully revised and updated edition of his best-selling management classic, Bradford D. Smart describes exactly how leading companies have embraced topgrading, and how you can, too. The author spells out his practical approach to the Topgrading Interview, the proven best practice for assessing talent. His intriguing case studies and shrewd advice are based on solid research - more than 6,000 in-depth interviews he has conducted over three decades.
 
   
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