Posted by: Craig Vickers in Geek, cell phone on
Feb 13, 2009
i.t.NOW is a Microsoft Shop. We support Macintosh, Linux, VMWare, and various other platforms, but the vast majority of our clients are running Microsoft servers and workstations. Our office, as well, is mostly Microsoft. Even down to the smartphones that we use. However, I stand alone with my Blackberry. And, sorry Microsoft, I am never going back.
I recently bought a new phone, since my Pearl had worn out (or at least that is the excuse I gave my wife). It is only available from T-Mobile right now, the Curve 8900 (or Curve II as some people call it). Switching over to the new phone reminded me why I love my Blackberry. Before I drove to the store to buy my Phone, I logged into our Blackberry Enterprise Server (personally, a must if you are going to use a Blackberry with Exchange) and set my activation password. As I was finishing the purchase, I put in my old SIM card, and activated my phone with our Enterprise Server. By the time I left the store, my new phone had pulled down all of my contacts, my calendar, my email, and my tasks. Not only that, it had set up my speed dial, and even the custom settings I applied to the buttons on the side of my phone. Plain and simple, it just works. That is more than what I can say for any of the dozen Windows Mobile smartphones I have used in the past.
For those who know me, you know that I love technology. I am the one who has a new cell phone every six to nine months. My house has more computers than it does people. I am always reading blogs that tell me about new products that are coming out. I am often asked why I love technology so much (usually by my wife as I tell her about the new cell phone I have to buy) so I often wonder, is it simply because I want the newest gadget out there? I would like to think there is a better reason than that. I think the reason is simply I like solving problems. For me, I don’t want a new cell phone simply because it is new; I want a new cell phone in hopes that it will solve everything I hated about my old cell phone. And when that doesn’t work, I have to try again in six months or so.
This same problem solver mentality is seen as I design networks for clients. Usually we install a network and don’t have to change any equipment for three years. Recently, at one of our clients, we replaced a server that we installed about 18 months ago. It made me realize how far technology has come and how powerful it can be. When we installed their server 18 months ago, it was about a 16 hour job. It involved a technician going on-site after business hours, taking the entire network down, and migrating data to the new server. It also involved a technician being on-site the first two hours of business operations to finish the migration and update client computers. While we did an excellent job and it was seamless in the client’s eyes, it was a labor intensive job requiring a technician on-site for several overtime hours.
When it came time to replace the client’s second, aging server, we were able to dramatically change how the work was done using a technology we have been using heavily for the past year, VMware. VMware allows multiple servers to run virtually on a single piece of hardware. For this client, we replaced the 18 month old server and the much older server with a single new server running VMware. The previous server replacement took 16 hours with a technician on-site for most of that time, and it only involved replacing a single server. This time around, we were able to replace both servers with only two hours on-site, and three hours of remote labor. The best part is in three to five years when the client looks at replacing that piece of hardware, it will be a one hour job. That’s why I love technology.
