Knowledge Transfer 2.0

Paul Hillman, managing partner at C/D/H, hosted the inaugural KT-2.0 with guests Dr. Michael Shibler and Mr. Peter Young of the Rockford, Michigan, School District.

Throughout this decade Rockford Public Schools has embraced technology as a critical tool for adapting to rapid change, achieving better educational performance and leveraging the district’s financial resources to achieve more. Rockford has been a technology leader in West Michigan K-12 education, and technology has provided concrete benefits and results.

Click HERE to find out how Rockford Public Schools has earned a reputation for being true technology innovators in Michigan, and be sure to look out each quarter as we discuss technologies and technology related issues that matter to IT leaders throughout our region

It’s a crazy world in technology acquisition and implementation. Just when you think your project is dialed in, something comes along to make you rethink it. That’s life when your business and technology worlds change overnight, as they do for so many IT leaders. The key to successfully managing the environment is planning for contingencies up front, when you still have the leverage to get in writing the flexibility you will need.

Click HERE to listen as C/D/H Partner, Paul Hillman, talks with Janet Knaus, a technology attorney at the Grand Rapids law firm of Warner Norcross and Judd. Janet is a partner at Warner Norcross, and for more than 23 years she has represented clients in a broad range of information technology transactions including software licensing, software and systems development, consulting services and outsourcing.

The use of advanced technologies is a linchpin strategy for Peckham Technology and Information Services. With an incredibly diverse work force that creates a broad range of challenges, Peckham counts on the integration of advanced technologies to create a safe working environment for employees and a quality experience for its customers.

Click HERE to listen as C/D/H Partner, Paul Hillman, talks with Mike Behrenbrinker, the CIO of Peckham Technology & Information Services. Peckham is one of the largest community rehabilitation programs in the State of Michigan. Its mission is to maximize the potential of persons with barriers to employment.

Software-plus-Services is the next logical step in the evolution of computing. It represents an industry shift toward solutions that are neither exclusively software-centric nor browser-centric. Across the industry, Software-plus-Services is growing as a model strategy. Even those claiming to deliver Web-only offerings are moving toward hybrid scenarios that involve both services and software. The best aspects of software– combined with the best aspects of web-based services–can deliver compelling solutions for consumers, developers and businesses.

Click HERE to listen as C/D/H Partner, Paul Hillman, talks with Robert Youngjohns, the president of North America Sales and Marketing for Microsoft. Robert Youngjohns plays a key role in Microsoft’s drive to serve customers through the Software Plus Service model.

Paul Hillman talks with Matt Roush, the technology editor at WWJ Newsradio 950 and editor of the Great Lakes IT Report, a daily IT newsletter available via email every business morning. The IT Report covers a wide variety of tech stories including hardware, software, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and tech education.

Click HERE to listen as Paul and Matt cover some of the interesting stops made during the 2008 GLITR Fall Tech Tour, and get out the crystal ball to look at some of the most important developments in IT headed our way in 2009.

Paul Hillman talks with Doug Brady, Chief Information Officer for Plante & Moran, one of the nation’s leading certified public accounting and business consulting firms. The technology area at Plante & Moran is responsible for providing bullet-proof information resources for thousands of client services professionals around the world. In addition, IT and Plante & Moran is also expected to be an agent of change within the firm by bringing a higher level of innovation through the services they provide.

Click HERE to listen as Paul and Doug talk about Plante & Moran’s outstanding client service and its recent Fortune Magazine recognition.

As the communications tree at many companies opens up to include VPN, email, web conferencing, online collaboration and others, users are finding themselves with bits of important information scattered all across this range of channels. The great challenge—and great benefit—of unified communications is to integrate all of these information sources into a manageable equation. Companies are approaching this challenge with creativity and vision, and the results are winning over converts to unified communications every day.

Click HERE to listen as Paul Hillman talks with Mark King, a consultant at C/D/H and an expert in telephony and unified communications. Paul and Mark talk about how clients are saving time and money and improving the products and services they offer through the seamless integration of their voice, email and other communications.

Identity management is a complex and increasingly important issue in information technology. Identity management, or IDM, is a broad term that can refer to anything from assigning user identities and identity security, to network protocols and digital certificates. With such a broad issue comes a broad set of perspectives on how to approach it.

Click HERE to listen as Paul Hillman talks with Ross Chevalier, President of Novell Canada, Ltd. and also the Chief Technology Officer for Novell Americas. Ross Chevalier will share his perspectives on IDM.

C/D/H partners Paul Hillman, Mark Becker and Doug Lindhout recently attended Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans. At the event Microsoft laid out the company's plans for key new products and provided a larger vision for the future of Microsoft computing.

Click HERE to listen as Paul, Mark and Doug share their views on the conference highlights, and what it all means for users of Microsoft products. After listening, be sure to check out our two-page briefing paper and make sure you're Ready for Microsoft in 2010 (PDF, 69 KB).

In the highly romanticized culture that surrounds forensic science, it’s difficult to think about computer forensics or “digital forensics” without images of dimly lit CSI labs filled with computer chips and arbitrary blinking lights.

No doubt there is some drama involved, but there are also some very important realities that business owners and managers need to think about in terms of what really is contained on all of those company hard drives.

Click HERE to listen as Paul Hillman talks with experts Daniel Estrada of D.C. Estrada, LLC and Norbert Kugele with Kurt Dykstra of Warner Norcross & Judd to demystify the subject in a conversation about computer forensics and E-Discovery.

2009 saw several advances in technology. C/D/H's service area leads in collaboration and infrastructure join Paul to discuss which changes are going to stick, and which we’ll have forgotten about by this time next year.

Click HERE and find out more about Windows 7, Cloud Computing, SharePoint 2010 and Google.

In these days of cost-cutting and keeping up with the latest technology, some companies and educational institutions have begun a migration away from internally supported e-mail and application systems to web-based solutions, such as Google Apps. This eliminates the need for patches, system updates and bringing e-mails through internal servers, but it also relinquishes the control and robust user interface features many of us have become accustomed to.

Businesses seem to be making this shift, but what are the actual pros and cons of outsourcing all apps to Cyberspace?

Click HERE as Paul Hillman finds out how things are going with Brian Miller, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Technology Services at Davenport University. Davenport University’s students have been using Google Apps successfully for two years, and Brian and his team are in the middle of planning the migration of all faculty and staff from GroupWise e-mail to Google Apps for e-mail, calendar and collaboration.

Most people understand technology’s role in the business world. People use computers every day for commerce, communication and marketing. But what about biological scientists? These lab-coat clad researchers expect more from their systems, have great data computational needs and need to analyze their research in a way that can lead to medical breakthroughs.

Biology meets information technology at the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Click HERE as Bryon Campbell, Van Andel Institute’s CIO, and Paul Hillman discuss what goes on at VAI, how scientists use technology to analyze their research and what projects are currently underway on Health Hill.

Blackberry and Windows have enterprise servers that allow organizations to secure data on smartphones used for business. According to some cell phone retail store managers, about 50 percent of the smartphones being purchased for business use are “open source” phones, such as the Android. These open source phones offer the user less restrictions on apps, for example, and have some additional functionality that other phones may not have, which tends to make the phones more appealing to users. But once someone purchases these open source phones, such as a Droid, Samsung, Motorola, etc., the task of integrating the phone into the business is left up to IT managers or consultants, such as C/D/H.

Click HERE as Paul Hillman speaks with Jason Cooper, a consultant at C/D/H, about integrating open source smartphones into communication platforms for businesses.

Information Technology sometimes can be seen as gadgets and electronics, but it is much more than that. Information Technology from a broader perspective is the driver of innovation, solving problems and allowing us to create and produce more efficiently, and in ways never before imagined.

Click HERE as Paul Hillman speaks with Phil Go, the first CIO of Barton Malow, about the Value of IT, and how companies can realize the return on the investment they make in staying on the cutting edge.

The iPad is one of today’s hottest devices. Many consumers and companies are already using this handy, non-intrusive tablet to help store and deliver corporate information – and it’s paying off!

So, how do you successfully integrate the iPad into your business environment?

Click HERE and find out how Mike Behrenbrinker and Peckham Industries, a Lansing-based nonprofit organization that provides job training and competitive employment opportunities for people with disabilities, are making iPads work at work!

Technology advances and changes rapidly, but in reality, companies and educational organizations cannot always purchase the latest and greatest. And in today’s economy, organizations are cautious about spending.

So how do you decipher the technology must-haves for organizations that have to watch their wallets?

Click HERE as Paul Hillman discusses how to balance technology wishes and budget realities with Kevin O’Halla, Grand Rapids Community College's Chief Information Officer.

We have the ability to capture data that affects business, whether it's inventory, point-of-sale, sales and marketing numbers, financials, etc. But how do we pull that information together into something meaningful?

Use business intelligence.

Click HERE and find out more about BI - what it is, when you need it, and what it will do for. This month, Paul Hillman discusses business intelligence with Doug Brower, the C/D/H collaboration service area lead and Matt Mace, president of Kalamazoo-based BlueGranite, a firm specializing in business intelligence solutions. Doug and Matt share insights on Business Intelligence, how these systems can help companies, and how an enterprise knows when they are ready to make the leap to BI.

C/D/H, the largest SharePoint consulting firm in Michigan, sent eight consultants to the Microsoft SharePoint Conference in Anaheim, California earlier this month.

Because we believe SharePoint is a critical collaborative technology for our clients, we want to learn as much as we can to help you get the most out of your SharePoint investment.

In this podcast, Paul Hillman sits down with Mark Becker, a partner and the director of client services at C/D/H, fresh off the plane from Anaheim, to discuss the conference, its highlights, next steps, why C/D/H attended and more. You don’t want to miss this show! Click HERE to listen.