The small and mid-sized business segment is very diverse. Business as small as 1 or 2 people up to 100 or more fall into this categorization. You might think that it would be difficult to provide some general IT rules that could apply across such a heterogeneous market place. But I don’t think so. I have five rules for the SMB, no matter how big or small, that can be used to better manage information technology.

1. Rent Don’t Buy  – As a rule the SMB should preserve capital and look to purchase technology services. Today this is more feasible than ever. Software, platforms, servers – all of the critical components of an SMB technology strategy can be purchased as a service rather than investing in hardware, software and integration. Of course small purchases like PCs, printers, etc make sense. But as a rule, the SMB should buy services – not the technology.
    
2. Get Service Providers Not Consultants – The SMB needs a solution not a project. Think in terms of getting turn-key solutions from Service Providers rather than traditional systems projects from consultants. The way to tell the difference is in the approach. A Solution Provider has an answer and can show you how to make that answer work for you. A Consultant asks a question and then works to help you develop an answer that is specific to your needs. The difference is like buying a house from a builder that offers standard models with various options and upgrades as opposed to hiring an architect and building a custom home. Get the package, not the ala carte.
    
3. Leverage Technology for Quality and Agility - Competition in the future will focus on quality and agility. The current advantage of low cost producers to win business on price alone will be threatened by higher transportation costs and the trend for smaller production runs. In order to stay competitive in mature markets like the US, Canada or Europe, the SMB will need to leverage technology for accurate forecasts, reliable production control and repeatable processes. Consistency, high quality and on time delivery will be the competitive model of the future. Technology will be the leverage required to achieve these goals and stay profitable.
    
4. Don’t Under Estimate Maintenance and Security – Most SMB do not have adequate maintenance and security for their IT systems and infrastructure. System maintenance is critical for consistent and reliable performance. Systems that are properly updated, effectively protected from virus or spyware, properly configured with appropriate security policies and monitored for physical error or performance degradation are critical to the success of any  business. Keep your systems maintained and secure.
    
5. Backup and Have a Disaster Recovery Plan  – How will your business recover from accidental or malicious data destruction? What happens in the event of a natural disaster or fire? Can you recover critical business data? Most businesses, of all sizes, do not have adequate disaster recovery and business continuity plans in place. For the SMB these plans do not have to be overly complex. However, without adequate and verifiable backups for system and data recovery and a plan for restoring business operations in the event of a disaster, the likelihood of a business surviving a catastrophic loss of data is very low. Backup your systems and have a recovery plan in case of disaster.

There is nothing in the Healthcare Reform Act that will enable the majority of Americans who already have healthcare insurance to get better care, have more access to care, promote more meaningful doctor/patient relationships, protect doctors and providers from frivilous litigation or encourage innovative therapies to improve our well being. Certainly, there is nothing in this legislation that will reduce your ER vist waiting time.

Anyone who thinks that the healthcare infrustructure will be improved by this legislation is sadly mistaken. If anything this legislation will exacerbate the current problems as government controls on pricing and services (directly and/or indirectly) will deflate ROI.

I think the law is disgraceful, dysfuntional, poorly considered, over reaching and fundementally un-American. Whether it is un-Constitutional will be the subject of debate for legal experts, but the law makes no sense to me.

No one but Federal bureaucrats and undocumented foreign nationals working and living illegally in the US will benefit from this farce perpertrated by the narcisistic Democrats that are leading the legislative and executive branches of the US governement.

Oh yes and Nebraska too.

As the second decade of the 21st century begins, I have been reflecting on the last ten years. Ten years I have come to call the Decade of Debacle. I know there are many reasons to be thankful, but as I look back I can’t help but to see ten years that history will not view kindly.

New Years Eve 1999 was Y2K transition night when we all collectively held our breath waiting for the end of the world, or worse, for the economy to come to a screeching halt because the software we relied upon was not prepared for a double zero year. In fact I was on call that night for some software I had developed to help a client through the Y2K transition (I never got a call). I started thinking about the many hundreds of millions (maybe billions) of dollars spent in the 90′s preparing for the Y2K transition. How businesses were born just to provide programming talent to meet the deadline. I remembered how we were issuing work visas to more than 150k developers per year and still averaged 100k vacancies at any given time. All of that came to an abrupt halt in 1999 as projects got completed and the cash generated from the tech frenzy started to dry up and the dot-com bubble burst.

Ah yes, the dot-com bubble. Remember when all you needed to get a few million dollars of seed capital was to be a student at a respected University with a half-baked idea about how to make money on the Internet scribbled on a bar napkin? Businesses were born and funded and taken public in just a few weeks. There was no product, no market, no plan – just the promise that by adding the letter ‘e’ in front of the word ‘business’ we could somehow re-invent economic fundamentals and everyone would get rich fast. The money fed into these businesses fueled an over-heated consumption-based economy that warped our sense of commercial value. We hit the wall in 1999. We came to the stark realization that a publically traded company that had no product, no customers, no revenue and no market was not really a company at all. 

Then there was the Presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore featuring a great challenge over the accuracy of voting. A challenge that went all the way to the Supreme Court. The irony of the controversy is still poignant. While the country was enamored with everything tech, the credibility of our political institutions and our democracy was based on a hole punch machine and paper ballots. The hanging chads in West Palm Beach stood in great contrast to the tech culture of Silicon Valley. In the end we survived the challenge, but the wounds were deep and still are not healed.

So the year 2000 ushered in the new millennium. We realized that the sky was not falling and that business spelled any other way was still business and that our democracy was strong enough withstand a great challenge. I remember being hopeful. I remember feeling that maybe we had been through the worst of it. That we had made some adjustments for the excess of the 90′s and that we would get ourselves back on track.

Then came September 11, 2001. Like December 7, 1941, it will be remembered as an infamous day that changed the lives of Americans forever. We all know exactly where we were that morning. So many people were touched personally and so deeply affected that the rest of the decade seems like a slow adjustment to a new way of life. A life already known by other people around the world in Israel, Ireland, Turkey, Philippines, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and the list goes on. A life in a world where you no longer felt safe in your own home. A world that was not secure. A world at war. A war with an enemy that does not want our land or our resources or our trade or our allegiance. A war with an enemy that simply wants us dead. We found ourselves in battle in Afghanistan and invading Iraq. Right or wrong, the wartime culture that evolved preoccupied us and became the focus of our attention.

That preoccupation had serious consequences. On the heals of the 9-11 attack came the collapse of Enron and WorldCom. Companies that had used accounting tricks to lie about the financial integrity and performance of their companies. Enron employees had lost their entire retirement which was invested in Enron stock. The realization that greed was so pervasive and so deeply rooted in our corporate culture led to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act making CEOs criminally liable for financial reporting integrity.

Unfortunately, our preoccupation with the war left us blind to the real enemy of our economy. An enemy that would unleash another surprise attack on July 16, 2007. On that day Bear Stearns announced that two of its major hedge funds had lost all of their value due to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. This started the complete unraveling of our financial institutions. Banks and investment firms faced illiquidity and the credit markets seized. The cash needed to keep our economy flowing disappeared and the auto industry hemorrhaged. People stopped buying homes, cars, appliances and more. The housing market crashed and people found themselves in the same position as the banks, their mortgages exceeded their property values and now they had no job; no way to service their debt; no market to sell their homes; and no way to cover the loss in equity. In an effort to prevent another Depression the Federal government provided trillions of dollars of loans and bail out funds to the banks and auto industry, but the average American was left to fend for themselves. Then in December 2008 the enemy was given a name and a face. The ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernie Madoff wiped out the savings of thousands of people. Retired people were left penniless. Investment funds wiped out. Bernie Madoff was the monster within.

In the middle of all of this turmoil and uncertainty we were reminded of how small and fragile we are. In August 2005 Katrina slammed into the Gulf coast and wiped out New Orleans. The devastation was unimaginable. The city was left virtually uninhabitable and we were powerless to prevent it. Even more pathetic was our lack of ability to respond and recover. Suddenly we were faced with the stark reality of our mortality. Residents of the city remain homeless even today.

In the Decade of Debacle we elected George Bush to a second term and then in 2008, we elected Barack Obama. The historical significance of Obama’s election is self-evident. Now comes the real business of rebuilding a country that has lost its moxie. Irrespective of the politics, strategies, policies, programs, etc., we face massive debt, an over extended military and an underperforming economy. We are need of great leadership. And we are right to question whether or not that leadership is in Washington today.

Still , once more I find myself hopeful that the worst is behind us.  That the recovery, no matter how long or how hard, is lasting. I am hopeful that my children will inherit a world that is more peaceful, more stable, more ethical. I am hopeful that my great-grandchildren will read about the Decade of Debacle in their history books, never to forget the lessons learned about the consequences of unbridled greed and religious intolerance. I am hopeful that ten years from today I am writing about the dawn of a 21st century renaissance. A new age of enlightenment. One in which I can watch a football game without having to explain erectile dysfunction to a ten-year old.

The Federal Government has bankrupt Social Security, bankrupt Medicare/Medicaid, bankrupt Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, is helpless in dealing with the unregistered residents that live and work in this country without paying taxes and has yet to effectively respond to the deception and dysfunction of the financial markets. This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue – this is an incompetent government issue.

As noble as the vision may be – the reality is that any implementation will result in disaster. I think our agenda should be:

1. Eliminate the employer/employee bond. Have all healthcare providers deliver services directly to consumers. HSA accounts already exist – some moderate adjustments can provide for tax exempt business contributions and personal contributions that could insure more buying power and give every American independence and security.
2. Establish a standard for medical record information – not a central repository – simply a standard to which every medical provider must adhere.
3. Have all healthcare providers / networks establish pricing based on the demographics of a particular region – I think each region should be a Congressional District. Providers that sell their services to consumers in a particular region, must also provide a percentage of care for the indigent or needy. This effectively builds a healthcare tax into the cost of care – but in the most efficient manner.
4. Encourage and incent more hosptial centric and/or pharmacy centric networks of providers. This will establish a stronger more resiliant infrastructure, lower costs and improve treatment outcomes.
5. Require clear and transparent pricing. No hidden physician fees, lab fees, etc. All costs are clear and known so that patients and families can make fully informed decisions about their healthcare.

I DO NOT WANT A GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTHCARE PLAN – period

What will become of the CIO? Is there a future for this position or will it be absorbed by some other CxO position? The question resonates today across many organizations in various industries. Companies struggle to understand the role of the CIO. What does a CIO do to warrant a seat at the executive table? Although many CIO’s receive reasonable recognition with a leadership role at the operating level, few are truly perceived as part of the executive management team. CEOs simply do not see real business value in regular and meaningful interaction with the CIO. Survey after survey shows the number one issue facing the CIO is the lack of credibility they have as business leaders.

The problem rests with the “I”. It is simply impractical to be the Chief “Information” Officer. How can anyone realistically provide executive oversight of information? Information is not something you manage; information is something you use. Information is the analysis of data collected from the transactional systems used to run the business. There is an inherent conflict when any one person suggests that he or she will have executive ownership of information across the enterprise. The CFO will not relinquish control of financial information and the COO cannot be handcuffed without access to operational data and the head of sales needs competitive information instantly without making a written request to the corporate data team. Every functional head in the organization with direct line of sight responsibility demands control of the transactional systems supporting them and will define the information they need to make informed business decisions. More often than not the information cannot be found in pre-defined reports or management dashboards, it requires analysis or even some custom application development.

Let’s not confuse information with presentation. A report or management dashboard is typically not information. Aggregating transactional data in a concise and intuitive graphical format can be extraordinarily valuable, but it is not information. The memo that gets written explaining the data, analyzing results and forecasting future performance is information. For example, the monthly financial statement showing declining margins is not meaningful until it is explained. The explanation can significantly affect decisions resulting from the reported results. If the margin decrease is the result of a unique event having a short-term impact, then you may be inclined to overlook the results as a “blip”. However, if the change in margin is due to supplier price increases then the impact is more fundamental and other changes may be required to defend your profitability. The point here is that data is transactional and the reports or dashboards that present data add value but are not an end – they are a means. Information is contextual which requires the data found in reports and dashboards to be analyzed by people who use their intelligence, experience and intuition to interpret the data.

So the embattled CIO faces a crossroad. If the CIO cannot clearly define the value of their role relative to other CxO positions then they face the risk of being relegated to a pure support role as the head of technology operations or the “chief” technology project manager. This is a very insecure position. Many of these activities are being commoditized and outsourced. This will increasingly reduce the strategic value of the function and eventually lead to a mid-level line operations role at best.

Alternatively, the CIO can look into the “I” of the storm and see that the real strategic value of their position is not the control of systems, development or data and analysis, but the ability to integrate work flow across functional silos. As Chief “Integration” Officer the CIO changes focus from hardware and software to process and work flow. This change is already occurring in many organizations fueled by innovations in technology that enable many different systems to communicate with each other. The strategic value is not delivering the next system upgrade; the strategic value is creating connectivity between transactional systems to streamline business processes. The CIO becomes the primary integrator across the enterprise and assumes responsibility for identifying and removing bottlenecks in business process workflow. The CIO’s new responsibilities must include accountability for four critical areas:

1. Business Process Management – the CIO integrates business processes across the enterprise and guides the change management efforts required;
2. Security & Compliance Management – the CIO ensures that the business processes and systems include the controls to safeguard company assets and meet any and all appropriate regulatory compliance requirements;
3. Technology Strategy & Operations Management – the CIO delivers the technology tools and resources that the enterprise needs to conduct business; and
4. Enterprise Program & Project Management – the CIO provides executive leadership for enterprise-wide program and project management insuring that every project is a benefit to the organization.

Notably missing is the responsibility to use the tools and resources on behalf of the business. This means that analysts, developers and the like do not need to report to the CIO and in fact should not. In this model the responsibility to use technology to meet specific business objectives rests with the functional heads or line of business leadership that must execute against those business objectives.

The CIO has transformed from top techie to strategic integrator; a role that requires executive level leadership skills and defines a unique value proposition among peer CxOs.

I am a Republican. But the 2008 election really put my political affiliation to the test.  Barack Obama is an eloquent statesman and a powerful persona. I considered voting for Obama because I was so deeply disappointed by the demise of the Republican Party. The party of 2006 and 2007 reminded me of the Nixon years of 1972 and 1973. I remembered the oil embargo, the bitter partisan politics, the demise of political integrity and the crumbling of the Republican Party in the wake of Watergate.

I am a Republican. I supported John McCain for President. I thought Sen. McCain represented a significant change in direction, but his campaign was hijacked by a Republican machine that became increasingly dysfunctional and disingenuous. My allegiance was strained, but not broken. At the end of the day I was influenced by the image of a very stately President Obama flanked by Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Reid. The thought of a powerful one-party government heavily influenced by Senate and House leadership with whom I so fundamentally disagree was simply too much for me. I voted for McCain. The nation selected Obama. I am stuck with Pelosi and Reid.

I am a Republican. Unfortunately my allegiance continues to be strained. I have watched the Republicans tail spin into a pathetic opposition role without any clear vision, clear direction or clear leadership. I feel alienated and unwelcome by the Republican elitists who have insulated themselves from the economic realities of the American middle class. I feel distant from the Republican ideologues who have raised barricades to defend against any new ideas or fresh strategies. I feel disconnected to the stubborn insiders who simply don’t understand modern American politics and are unwilling to accept that the politics of 1980 are simply not relevant.

I am a Republican. I want a smaller, less invasive government and more intelligent, well planned public investment. I want strong civil legislation that provides a rational structure for a rational society. I believe the second amendment is foundational to our liberty, but I do not believe a rational society can tolerate heavily armed irrational people. I do not believe that government can legislate morality, control personal choices or impose a belief system on a liberated society. I believe in a strong military, but I do not believe in nation building. I believe in a free and competitive economy, but I do not subscribe to Darwinian theories that promote ruthless capitalism as a mechanism to insure the strength of our economy. I believe that people are more important than government, but that people cannot live together without an unyielding commitment to the rule of law. I believe that America is, and must continue to be, a nation of immigrants where all the world’s cultures come together to continue the pursuit of a more perfect union and where every person is entitled to a limitless source of opportunity, liberty and justice.

I am a Republican. I am prepared to lead.

I was very surprised by Obama’s strong support of Israel this week. However, juxtaposed with the closing of Gitmo, I am left reeling about this Administrations true attitude regarding the middle east.

It would have been so easy to use the current violence in Gaza as cover to level criticism at Israel and send conciliatory messages to the middle east. But he did not . Instead he stood tall and defended Israel’s right to exist – without the threat of missiles from Palestine.

I believe the single most important issue facing America is the struggle with Islamofacism. Our economic troubles are great – and we will have to make adjustments. But we will overcome economic problems. We will find ways to stabilize and improve our financial position. And when we do – Islamofacism will still be there.

The sociopolitical struggle at the root of the conflict between Islamic fundementalists and the rest of the world goes beyond negotiation. You can’t negotiate with someone who believes God has instructed them to kill you. You can’t reason with someone who is convinced that they are devinly inspired and wholly justified in their violence and hatred.

I hope – with all my heart – that President Obama truly embraces Israel; that Sen Mitchel realizes that negotiations are simply opportuntiess for Hamas to re-arm, and that Sec. Clinton has the wisdom to provide historical perspective to this administration.

President Obama may be closing Gitmo simply because it is a festering wound. Or he may be using it as another tool to demonstrate his “even handedness”.

No matter – I pray that he realizes that the banks will start to lend again, the market will rise again, people will find work again and that the Islamofacists will try to kill us again.

“The sky is falling! The sky is falling” cried Chicken Little.

On a forum to which I subscribe, a contributor suggested that Alan Greenspan and now Ben Bernanke were responsible for running the US economy. It is absurd to suggest that Alan Greenspan or Ben Bernanke (or any political leader for that matter) “run the US economy” and are somehow individually responsible for changing the economic conditions of the US or world financial markets.

Let’s cut the bull here and get to the heart of the issue.

For the past 20 years the US economy has been fueled by unbridled greed primarily perpetuated by poorly experienced, snot-nosed kids at hedge funds and investment banks that drove irresponsible and unsubstantiated investment strategies. Alan Greenspan did not create the dot com bubble – nor did Ben Bernanke. Post bubble burst – those same greedy little b#@trds (or their equally evil clones) ramped up the sub-prime mortgage market – selling a pipe dream to unsophisticated Americans who came too late to the party to cash in on the “how to get rich schemes” of the late 90′s.

This period of hedonistic greed on Wall Street is most clearly illustrated by the $50billion dollar Madoff fiasco. Think about the level of irresponsibility associated with the “money managers” that “invested” with Madoff. Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke did not create the greed that drove so many people to invest so much in so little.

There will be continued turmoil for the next business cycle, nonetheless we don’t want the world economy to be a massive hedge fund. What we have now is a comprehensive adjustment that requires sensible, level headed and steady leadership. If GM is uncompetitive – it is not because of Greenspan or Bernanke – it is because of Wagoner and Gettelfinger. If Microsoft is unprofitable – it is not because of Greenspan or Bernanke – it is because of Gates and Ballmer. If AIG is illiquid – it is not because of Greenspan and Bernanke – it is because of Willumstad and Cox. 

Good financial management requires that we maintain a healthy and reasonable level of debt. Making sound investments in infrastructure and growth is not only advisable – it is absolutely necessary. Furthermore we should come to expect and RESPECT moderate and steady growth instead of the ridiculous expansion and contraction cycles we’ve experience over the past 20 years.

Most importantly, don’t divest your personal responsibility for sound financial management to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve – or any government agency. Every one of us is responsible for making good financial decisions for ourselves – or suffer the consequences.

Sure we can point fingers to Wall Street or the Board rooms, but at the end of the day we all wanted our piece of that cake and we are all collectively to blame for the greed and irresponsibility that got us into this mess. So it is time to regroup. In sports parlance - we need to refocus on the fundamentals and execute a balanced offensive and defensive strategy. But never, never quit!

I like gadgets. I like things that work, especially if they do something incredibly useful. I like my Smart phone, my HDTV and my GPS. Now, imagine for a moment if, after I buy my Smart phone, I have to install and customize the software to run it! That’s crazy! But it is how we run our businesses and it is time we begin to think differently about business technology.

Let’s use my MotorlaQ as an example. My  phone is primarily a communication device. My phone happens to be manufactured by Motorola, however I regularly call and email people who have devices manufactured by Samsung, Nokia, Kyocera, LG, Pantech and others. Amazingly, my phone has a calendar, contact book, web browser and camera and can receive and send text and picture messages to other phones or email addresses. I have a friend with an even more impressive list of features. Her iPhone is a state-of-the art multi-media personal communication device. Despite the differences in features, when I call, her phone rings, she answers and we talk. We never had to install any software, incur integration costs, standardize our communication protocols, purchase enterprise servers or switches or routers. In fact we don’t even use the same service provider. We simply bought our phone and made our calls or sent our messages. The value of our phones was not the embedded technology and standards that enabled them to work, it was our ability to communicate, collaborate and make decisions with more agility and responsiveness. We brought the value – our phones were just tools.

The real transformation will be the innovation of business technology appliances; simple products that work. I believe there is a future of business technology appliances that perform one or more functions much the same way my MortorolaQ makes phone calls, keeps track of my schedule and sends and receives email. These appliances will seamlessly communicate with other appliances and like their cousin the cell phone, they will simply be tools. The value will be the creative ways companies employ these appliances. The focus will be on business innovation and the business technology appliances that will enable that innovation – well they will simply be tools.

Virtual computing is all about leverage. The premise is to abstract a single physical asset into many functional assets. The power of virtual computing though, lies in the ability to truly separate the layer of abstraction from the physical equipment. Meaning, the functional servers are not directly tied to any one physical server. Consequently, if there is a problem with any physical equipment, the virtual servers using that equipment simply move to a new host. This creates incredible power by providing IT with an agile and more business responsive operating model. Although virtual computing is still maturing, the ability for companies to reduce implementation and maintenance costs are extraordinary. Moreover, the ability for IT to stay lock step with the speed of business is crucial.

New “cloud computing” platforms take the model one step farther and make server and storage capacity available on-demand through standard Internet infrastructure. Granted there are a host of issues regarding reliability, security, portability and business continuity to be addressed and resolved. Nonetheless, for small and mid-tier organizations that have a greater tolerance for risk, cloud computing is absolutely the way forward.

Innovative and strategic small and mid-sized business (SMB) leaders will look to the market for solid and dependable cloud computing solutions. I say solutions, not platforms, because for true utility computing the SMB market will need to have value added providers that can bundle software, support and computing platforms into one simple and easy to understand solution. Cloud computing providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Rackspace and others will provide the infrastructure. But I believe the real value proposition for the SMB market is the emergence of true solution providers that are not thinly disguised product resellers.

The combination of radically improved cloud computing platforms and modular, software as a service (SaaS) products will stimulate growth – especially in the SMB market where there is a relatively small and/or aging investment in infrastructure.