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Vacations Delivered

Tuesday
7 February 2012

New Technology for Business Travelers Part 1

Cited: Business Wire

Business TravelA new educational website has launched that will help virtual meeting adoption and diehard travel professionals through it.  These findings and more were announced today by American Express Business Travel who, in collaboration with the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM), conducted surveys of travel managers and business travelers.  The survey indicated seasoned travelers were eager and interested in the use of virtual connection methods just as their younger counterparts.  All participants admitted that there was a crucial need for face-to-face meetings in business.  The use of technology involving mobile devices and social communities was also explored as to their influences in the corporate environment.

The study reviews how these technologies play two very distinct compelling, yet contrasting, roles in business today:

1. An Alternative to Travel: Communication tools such as video-conferencing and telepresence can mitigate the need for some corporate travel.

2. An Enabler of Travel: Communication tools such as mobile devices can enhance productivity while on the road and in virtual office situations.

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The survey and focus group research is compiled with detailed analysis of implications in a new report entitled “Changing the Game: The Impact of New Technologies on Business Travel.” Both travel managers and travelers surveyed agreed that new technology-based communication methods are now the norm for the majority of internal meetings — particularly those that occur regularly. However, only 22% of travelers say video conferencing allows them to influence, negotiate and maintain relationships required to conduct revenue generating and client facing activity.

“Companies are focused on achieving peak employee productivity by using technology to reduce costs as new options to support a managed travel program, but also to connect people on the road more effectively when they are conducting revenue generating activities,” said Christa Degnan Manning, research director, eXpert Insights, American Express Business Travel. “Advancements in video technologies, mobile devices, and social media solutions are enhancing collaboration and relationship building through more seamless communication, but the survey showed that they are not replacing business travel to the extent that many predicted.”

Manning added: “Interestingly, our findings also debunk the notion that generation Y is leading the charge in new technology usage, finding that technology adoption is not age specific. The study showed that travelers are willing and ready to use whatever tools and methods meet their personal and corporate objectives regardless of their time or level spent in corporate life.”

Current Technology — Alternative or Enabler

More respondents indicated willingness to adopt new ways of communicating in order to reduce some travel, and also to enhance productivity and efficiency while on the road. Further, 90% of respondents believe North America and Western Europe are leading the way with adoption of webcasts, telepresence, and video-conferencing.

The research shows variation when it comes to how, when and why to use it:

  • 34% of travelers and 27% of buyers believe productivity was a key component in the decision-making process to offer technology alternatives to travel over the past three years
  • 48% of travelers say ROI from face-to-face is significantly higher than conducting a meeting via alternative methods
  • 59% of travelers are offered options for internal meetings, as buyers aim to help employees stay within policy and achieve business objectives
  • 63% of buyers cite cost reduction as the number one reason to adopt new technology within business travel over the past three years, and 32% of travelers say continued cost reduction to bottom line will have the biggest impact over the next three years

Continued in “New Technology for Business Travelers Part 2

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My Take: I believe that anything that can bring down the cost of products is a good thing.  One of those things is good network security software for business computer systems.  Businesses need good intrusion detection software to make their business running smoothly.  As long as their business is running smoothly then they can travel more efficiently.

Another thing is to have a good cell phone on hand with good service that doesn’t lose signal every time turns around.  In fact, it would be a lot cheaper if businesses used no contract cell phones.  In fact, you can get used AT&T Smart phones at good prices online.  If your employees use iPhones, you can get iPhone repair over the Internet as well at good prices.

That leaves the iPad for last.  An iPad can help lower costs because your employees can carry it with them with everything they need to do their job outside the office.  You can also get iPod repair services over the Internet as well.  In fact, the Internet has become a miraculous avenue for businesses to save money.

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Flight Delays in Space

Cited: Space Daily

Soyuz DelayedIt seems that public airlines are not the only ones that have flight delays.  On September 24, the Soyuz capsule had an undocking error, which prevented from leaving the International Space Station.  Of course, this forced the 3 crew members to remain an extra day in orbit, according to Russian space officials.

“The commission has taken the decision to push back the date of the spacecraft’s return. The landing will not take place today,” an official at the Soyuz mission control center near Moscow was quoted by Interfax as saying.

“The return of the Soyuz is planned for Saturday, at an estimated landing time of 0900 Moscow time (0500 GMT).”

It is the first time in a decade of Soyuz flights to the space station that the craft has failed to undock, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

US astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko had been due to land in the central Kazakh steppes on Friday morning.

But the manoeuvre was first delayed by a few hours due to “small glitches”, before being cancelled Friday, Russian space officials said earlier.

Russia’s space agency chief Anatoly Perminov said crew members had feared a problem with the air seal onboard the capsule due to a computer bug.

“The onboard computer system is picking up a false signal that there is no airlock on the station after the hatch is closed,” Perminov said.

“We have carried out checks on the air tightness. The airlock is confirmed on the ISS and the Soyuz, which is the most important for today.”

The Roskosmos head stressed that the Soyuz crew had all re-boarded the space station and were in good health.

“We could have done it (the undocking) today but we need extra time to avoid further risks. There is no reason to rush. The most important thing is to guarantee the safety of the crew,” he added.

The International Space Station partner agencies met 3 days prior to this incident on Tuesday, Sept. 21, by videoconference to discuss continuation of space station operations into the next decade and its use as a research laboratory. The Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) meeting included senior representatives from NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The MCB meets periodically to ensure coordination of station operations and activities among the partners.

The MCB was pleased to learn that the government of Japan has approved continuing space station operations beyond 2016. Coupled with the approval of the government of the Russian Federation for continuation to 2020, this progress is indicative of the strength of the station partnership and the successful use of station.

ESA and CSA are working with their respective governments to reach consensus about the continuation of the station. NASA also is continuing to work with the U.S. Congress to complete the necessary procedures to extend station operations consistent with the presidential budget request.

The MCB also noted the benefits to future exploration beyond low-Earth orbit through enhanced station research, technology development and other opportunities.

Each partner agency reaffirmed its commitment to gaining the maximum return from the station with increasing the operational efficiency. On-going research with potential societal impacts includes:

+ NASA and the National Institutes of Health recently announced three new biomedical experiments using the station’s unique microgravity facilities to improve human health on Earth. The experiments will use the station to study how bones and the immune system weaken in space as part of NIH’s new BioMed-ISS program.

+ CSA will focus its life science research program on mitigating health risks associated with spaceflight. More specifically, these health experiments and activities will monitor crew health and deliver health care on space missions, develop exercise, etc.

+ ESA just started a fluid physics experiment in the Microgravity Science Glovebox onboard the station’s Columbus module that is of high interest to material scientists. The experiment uses advanced optical diagnostics to investigate the transformation of particles to aggregates due to density fluctuations in a mixture. The ESA experiment demonstrates a new capability to reverse and fine-tune the aggregation process; such control may yield a significant potential impact on fabrication of micro-structured materials such as photonic crystals.

+ Roscosmos continues experimental programs aimed at human’s adaptation to future long-term expeditions. Effects of the flight conditions on the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system and bones are being carefully investigated in dedicated medical experiments. Other research being conducted includes plantation of wheat and vegetables followed by genetic, microbiological and biochemical tests of plants.

+ Japan’s externally mounted X-Ray camera monitors more than 1,000 X-ray sources in space, including black holes and neutron stars. The instrument scans the entire sky in X-ray wavelengths and downlinks data to be distributed through the Internet to research groups around the world. Since last October, it has issued more than 50 alerts for the X-ray transient phenomena.

Students around the world, 40 million, have participated in human spaceflight through communications downlinks and interactive experiments with space station astronauts.  The partners of the space program recognize that this key role of the space station is inspiring students around the world to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

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My Take: I agree, the space station does inspire young students to learn more because they want to be in space as well.  This is the kind of subject matter that gets kids to learn more about engineering, mathematics and computer sciences.  Although I don’t think the space station is in need of NJ IT services.  Besides, it would be a little bit difficult for the tech to come visit them.  Now she got saved they could use NJ EMR (emergency medical records) to help because they can be sent electronically.

But if they need data disaster recovery, it will just have to wait until they come back to earth or an astronaut returns with proper education to fix it.  If they did need data recovery, they would have to get it from the backup NASA.  It would really be better than the computer repair!  Then again, I think they would prepare for such an event in the computer crash.  Here again, I am sure that a New York computer service tech would not be able to come to their place and do repairs.

With the advances in computer technology and electronics, they have the top-of-the-line systems on space station as well as the shuttlecrafts.  The average person would not be able to afford one of their computers in your home!

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Data Center Colocations

Ever since the first days of the Internet, colocation providers have been around. The Internet is based on interconnection of multiple diverse fiber networks. By its very nature, this kind of networking requires a data center colocation to be in close proximity to each other, ideally to be in the same building. The NY colocation data center provides power, ping and pipe (internet bandwidth).  These colocation services typically include two costs associated with server colocation space fees and bandwidth charges.

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Cloud Computing Caters to the Small Business Owner

data recovery Source: Newark News

Mark Stellini, a local computer industry pioneer, held the grand opening and ribbion-cutting ceremony for his   new venture Virtual Resources, LLC. in Hockessin, offering a wide range of virtual business services known as “cloud computing” to smaller companies and start-ups.

“I am excited to introduce our virtual desktop and phone products to the small business community”, says Stellini, president and CEO. Stellini is the former owner and President of Info Systems, a Mid-Atlantic IT consulting and management company that was sold in 2005.

“I always believed there was a better way to service the technology needs of small businesses and Virtual Resources is the fruition of that idea. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the start of a new era of technology innovation that helps small businesses grow without a capital investment,” Stellini said. Virtual Resources provides computers, server space and telecommunications services for a monthly charge.

The business uses data center servers, often known as “cloud computing” to provide information technology and phone service to smaller businesses. Companies pay a monthly fee for the service, avoiding capital costs for computer and phone systems. The server farm for Virtual Resources is located at hosting.com (formerly Hostmysite) south of Newark. The servers have extensive back up systems and emergency power supplies.

Just What the Small Business Owner Ordered

Small business owners face a number of hurdles in the start-up phase, particularly financial ones.  Travel to any country in the world and the list of things that need to be done to get a business up and running are pretty similar.  There maybe local or regional barriers that differ, but whether you’re operating a shoe factory in the Netherlands, or a small child care center in the Bronx, there are many commonalities.

Nothing sucks your start-up costs up faster than technology.  Just take for example the issue of how to choose a payroll service provider.  Should you hire an outside, integrated payroll service firm or create a position within your company?  Either way there are costs involved to consider which may or may not be ideal and whether to pay for overhead or outsourcing fees is a question all business owners have to address.  And, lets just say your travelling on business.  You can rely on your payroll provider to get your staff paid while you worry about your trip and your meetings and getting to and from the airports.

The other biggie is how to store and secure data.  Network security software providers are fortunately one of the growing sectors of tech servicing companies out there, providing a wide range of vulnerability management solutions for small business owners.   Big service, big relief from worrying about lost files or data, and the technology is at work for you whether you are in India for a week or on a beach in Bali taking a much-deserved break.

Cloud computer has become increasingly widespread among larger businesses as a way to minimize capital costs and major upgrades. Stellini said it took several months to make certain the technology could be scaled to smaller organizations.

Virtual Resources is located in Stone Mill Plaza, building 724, suite 350 in Hockessin, DE. Further information is available at virtualresources.net.

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My Take: Small business owners have a lot of headaches to contend with and one of the most painful has to be technology and how to handle a business remotely if travel is required.  It’s an absolute necessity for any company, whether you’ve got one employee or 50.

You can make the wisest investment in the most up-to-date technological equipment for your company, including computers and communication software programming.  But lets face it, if you aren’t protecting the data you put into that technology what happens to your business if you have a theft, a fire, or a natural disaster?  And, what if you are trekking in the Himalayas when your servers go down onsite?

No doubt, one of the best investments you can make in your company is to establish an account with a reputable data recovery company in your area.  That way, you can let the experts focus on handling your hard drive data recovery headaches, while you focus on running your business.

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