Able-One Blog

By Jordan Sojnocki, Marketing Manager

Lately there has been a lot of media attention around the changing landscape of the work environment.

There seems to be an undertone of concern about machinery, computers and automation replacing jobs, and that we have to be connected 24/7. How will people adapt?

This story is not new; we have seen this happen time and time again in the past. I am sure that telegraph employees were stressed by similar issues with the invention of the telephone.

There was an article circulating on the internet recently that stated big companies like Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb are all are now giants in their industry but don’t own any of the traditional assets that their competitors do (inventory, cars or buildings). Despite the concerns, it is dangerous for businesses to not adapt to the changing times while staying with the status quo since, “that is the way it has always been done.” Blacks’ view that traditional film would not be replaced by digital cameras ultimately led to the announced closure of all 59 of their retail stores.

Being in the tech industry for 27 years, Able-One Systems has been a firsthand witness to the rapidly changing landscape of IT. Some of the things we can do today on our cell phone we wouldn’t have even imagined doing with high end computers when Able-One was founded. Companies who do not embrace the strategic value of information technology will likely be surpassed by those that do.

Able-One Systems recently made a move to Kitchener’s downtown innovation district from our industrial location that served us well in the past. Warehouse space filled with used gear and break fix work benches used to be imperative to our organization but in the past years that transitioned to an innovation centre with leading edge technology to test. We couldn’t be more excited build on the great heritage of this area and this particular building, which was originally the W.E  Woelfle Shoe Co. factory,  a place that made comfort shoes for women.

We would love to hear about how your industry is evolving and what you are doing to not only adapt, but embrace and capitalize on these changes. If you would like to discuss please reach out to me on Linkedin or email me at jordan.sojnocki@ableone.com.

Keeping up with the pace of change and growing your small or medium-sized business can be a big challenge in 2015.

There are many things to worry about including finding new customers, hiring the right people, financing your business, and ensuring that your technology and infrastructure can support your business. Increasingly, SMB’s are looking for managed services providers to support their organizations’ IT needs while they focus on their core business. 

The challenge then becomes selecting the right partner to help support and manage your environment. Working with a managed services provider can help your business save money while giving you access to expert specialized capabilities that you may not have been able to leverage with an in-house team.

This post will outline some of the factors to consider when you’re thinking of using a managed services provider.

1. Do they have experience with your environment?

Your partner should have experience with the technology that you are utilizing. Furthermore, they should understand your industry and business, and how the utilization of technology affects its many stakeholders.

2. Who are their key partners? 

If the provider supports certain types of hardware and software, do they have established vendor relationships? For example, if your key technology vendor is IBM, are they an IBM Premier Partner? The more formalized the partnership, the more likely the provider is proactive with training and skilled in supporting the solutions.

3. What processes and tools do they leverage?

An experienced managed services provider will detect problems before they become apparent to your users or customers.  The processes and tools they use to support your environment are essential. Take the time to understand how they will proactively support your organization.

4. Are they large enough to scale?

Your provider should have a large enough team to maintain consistent operations and service levels despite employee vacations and unexpected time off, as well as have the ability to meet resource requirements for large projects. Smaller providers may not be able to meet all of their SLA commitments with their current team.

5. How long have they been in business?

It is fairly easy to set-up a managed services business, but it is difficult to be successful at it for a number of years. Look for experience and references in your provider.

6. Can you talk to the support team?

Talk to the support team, not just the sales people, when you’re evaluating providers. Ensure that you can comfortably communicate and work with the engineers that will be supporting your users and managing your environment. This will help validate their capabilities and experience.  If the provider does not want you to speak with the technical team, that could be a red flag.

7. What are their SLAs? 

Do their service level commitments exceed the requirements to support your business? It is essential that the SLAs align with your business operations and that the effects of unplanned downtime on the business are thoroughly understood.

8. Is their pricing competitive?

You don’t want to choose the least expensive managed services provider if it means that they may not meet the SLAs you require to effectively run your business. It also does not make sense to select a vendor that has included a level of service and SLA’s in their proposal and pricing that far exceed your business needs.

9. What if you need strategic help? 

Many organizations cannot justify hiring a full time CIO. It is one thing to manage an existing environment, but how do you evaluate and implement strategic IT investments that position your business for future growth and cost savings? You may want to ask if your provider has Virtual CIO capabilities to assist in designing and executing the strategy when needed.

 If the right managed services provider is selected, the cost savings and operational benefits can be significant.

Going into our 27^th year of business, Able-One has been providing managed services for nearly a decade. If you would like additional information, please contact me directly at grant.sojnocki@ableone.com or at 800-461-2253 ext. 7330.

By Jordan Sojnocki, Marketing Manager & Eden Watt, VP of Application Innovation

Here are 5 important trends in mobile computing and these will impact your corporate strategy.

How content is consumed over the web is changing. Cellphone/smartphone usage is quickly taking over personal computer usage. In fact, a Norton report from two years ago found that 48% of people sleep within arm’s reach of their phones. 25% check their phone during a dinner with friends, and 49% of people get upset if they leave their mobile phones at home when they go out.

These percentages are even higher amongst Millennials, so the trend doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. It’s not just that people are using their phones instead of computers, but they constantly have access to their mobile devices which changes the nature of their online activity.

As the landscape changes, it is important to consider how to best engage your customers and provide the best tools to your staff.

Trend 1: 44% of Fortune 500 Websites Fail Google’s Mobile Ready Test

Starting  April 21, 2015, Google changed their algorithm to award websites that are mobile-friendly with a higher ranking when people search. This is exciting for anyone with the foresight to have their website ready, and scary for anyone who didn’t. For many of you, having a mobile-friendly website also represents a great opportunity to exceed your competition, especially when you consider that 44% of Fortune 500 companies do not even pass the test.

Trend 2: 93% of people who use a mobile device go on to make a purchase

With people having constant access to their mobile devices, research on your product can also be done constantly.

This means that no longer is it just done before the purchase, but it can happen while a customer is purchasing. The stats around this are alarming. According to a study published by Google in May 2015, 82% of smartphone users are using their devices in stores to help them make a product decision and one in four shoppers have even admitted to changing their mind in line after reading something on their smart phone.

Trend 3: 42% of researchers use a mobile device during the B2B purchasing process

Constantly, when investigating marketing strategies, I hear opinions that certain strategies will work in the B2C market but that they are irrelevant in the B2B market. The data might show that mobile in the B2C is much more prevalent than B2B, but even at the current number of 42% this is clearly not something you want to ignore.

People are looking for information about you and your services on their mobile device and if your competitor is more engaging on that platform, where do you think they are going to go? The B2B buying process has evolved, and your marketing should evolve to stay aligned.

Fact 4: The number of enterprise mobile devices worldwide increased by 72% last year

The adoption for mobile devices in the enterprise world is exploding as many companies are seeing huge value in enabling their teams to be more mobile. A KPMG survey of 539 global business executives showed that the top 3 ways mobile drives value for organizations was through increased employee productivity, higher employee satisfaction and improved field service operations.

These trends must be adapted to, as it is becoming apparent that this could be the difference between remaining competitive or falling behind.

Fact 5: By the end of 2015, only 15% of large organizations will have adequate mobile security governance for process and policy

Although there are huge benefits to this new mobile world, it does present some new risks, even some bizarre ones like public accounts being bound to vendors.  This doesn’t include tablets because they weren’t invented when they had put out their requirements. It is important that you (or a professional) review your corporate policies and what you are doing to protect your organization so that what was once considered a blessing doesn’t become a nightmare.

With this mobile world, it is important that you keep up with the new terminology

Here are some explanations of new terms associated mobile to help you navigate the enterprise mobile world.

1. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

BYOD refers to the growing trend whereby employees will bring their own devices (usually smartphones or tablets) and expect to gain access to enterprise systems.  This increases the challenges for IT as they can no longer dictate the end user device and must handle deployment, management, and security risks

2. MEAP (Mobile Enterprise Application Platform)

MEAP provides “Write Once Run Anywhere” ability to build mobile applications, connect to and run backend systems for mobile.

3. MAM (Mobile Application Management)

MAM provides capabilities for app delivery and updating, app version management, push services, reporting, app disable, and runtime security tests, enterprise app store for distribution.

4. MDM (Mobile Device Management)

MDM technology allows IT to manage mobile devices and applications, secure mobile devices (e.g. wipe device, remote locking), and provide access to enterprise resources.

We would love to hear how mobile is changing your organization, including any big wins or any drawbacks or challenges you have been experiencing. Please comment below or reach out to use at info@ableone.com.

In November 2014, Able-One moved our head office from 100 Campbell Avenue to 127 Victoria Street South in the Innovation District of Kitchener, Ontario. When the team was considering location options for the new office, we couldn’t imagine leaving the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

This Kitchener-Waterloo region is a hub for Canadian technology companies and we wanted to continue to be part of the community. One of the best things about the community in Waterloo region is all the support available to help technology companies grow and succeed.

Here are 6 organizations in the Waterloo region that every startup and growing business should know about.

Communitech

Communitech’s mantra is to help tech companies start, grow and succeed. They were founded in 1997 by a group of dedicated entrepreneurs who wanted to raise the profile of the Waterloo Region tech community. The Communitech Hub is just down the street from our office.

Communitech is a great rallying centre for the tech community on Waterloo Region. They have great events, spaces, programs, and entrepreneurs in residence that can help tech organizations as they grow. Their Tech Leadership conference (http://techleadership.ca/) in May is one of the best local events each year.

Accelerator Centre

The Accelerator Centre provides a combination of in-house mentorship, educational programming, facilities, networking, and access to funding and facility services, with a goal of building successful companies.  They help entrepreneurs start, scale, accelerate their time to market, and attract customers, investment and revenue. They are located in Waterloo, Ontario within the David Johnston Research + Technology Park, and at the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus in Stratford, Ontario. 

Velocity

In 2008 the University of Waterloo created Velocity. The first Velocity program was a residence on campus. Since then, Velocity has grown into a set of six interlinked entrepreneurial initiatives: Velocity Residence, Velocity Garage, Velocity Alpha, Velocity Science, Velocity Foundry and the Velocity Fund Finals (VFF). Velocity’s commitment to education, idea sharing and the creation of support systems has allowed it to become a highly successful startup community, which contributed to the success of companies like Kik, Thalmic Labs, BufferBox, Vidyard and MappedIn.

Laurier Entrepreneur

At the heart of Laurier Entrepreneur is the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship which is inspired by the vital role entrepreneurs play in society and driven by a desire to educate and create opportunities for students in the area of entrepreneurship. It provides support for the entire entrepreneurship community at Laurier and integrates entrepreneurship into the classroom. There are also Launchpad initiatives in KW and in Brantford.

Waterloo Region Manufacturing Innovation Network

The Waterloo Region Manufacturing Innovation Network (MIN) is a free online network for manufacturers in the Waterloo region and their stakeholders.  MIN’s mission is to connect key stakeholder groups in Waterloo region’s manufacturing sector to strengthen the local supply chain and create a more responsive and globally competitive manufacturing community. There are many great hardware organizations that are growing out of Waterloo region, not just software startups.

The Canadian Digital Media Network

The Canadian Digital Media Network is dedicated to establishing Canada as a world leader in digital media (ICT + mobile) by creating and enabling connections and collaboration between entrepreneurs, companies, research institutions, government and intermediary organizations across the country.

Major initiatives include an exclusive online national collaboration platform; an online Research Portal that provides one-stop access to important information about key digital media issues; the CDMN Soft Landing program to drive Canadian success globally; National Tour events enable companies to go global; and CDMN Canada 3.0, Canada’s only national digital media conference focused on the commercialization of innovation. 

If you are a startup in the KW area, we are interested in playing a role to help you grow.  We are always looking for new partners that have solutions for security, modernization, managed services, and other technology innovations.  Please contact us at info@ableone.com if you are interested in talking. We may be able to offer some mentorship or even a path to market for your solution.