The advent of mobile devices is changing the way we do business.  Here at Tech Networks, more and more of our clients and staff do important business on their mobile phones, grabbing time on the go.

“I couldn’t live without my smartphone,” says Nancy Watterson-Diorio, Executive Director of Boston VA Research Institute (BVARI).  Watterson-Diorio chooses not to check her work e-mail on her smartphone, but has established a Google Mail account just for the phone.  She uses her phone for text messaging, e-mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, maps, Google search, and the list goes on.  “I once went to a meeting in Las Vegas and they gave me an app for the meeting,” Watterson-Diorio says, in what has become a conference planning trend.

One only has to think of the many e-mail messages we all receive that end with a “please excuse my brevity” to appreciate how ubiquitous mobile device e-mail has become.  At TNB, we have a mobile workforce of IT consultants, many of whom stay connected using their phones while on the road.

Text messaging, too, has changed the face and pace of business.  Watterson-Diorio explains that her organization now routinely collects a number for text messaging along with other contact information.  “The number of phone calls has plummeted,” she says. “You know you’re not bothering someone” with text messaging because the person does not need to interrupt what they’re doing to have a phone conversation.  Watterson-Diorio finds that texting gets people’s attention faster than e-mail, but is less of an interruption than the phone.

Increasingly, employees are using their personal cell phones for work, in highly productive but unexpected ways.  As technology improves, we expect this trend to accelerate.  That’s why TNB offers Mobile Device Management to help our clients integrate employee’s personal phones into their IT systems.  Contact us today to find out more!

Click here to view the full May 2012 Boston Techie newsletter.

Tech Networks of Boston is partnering with Microsoft to offer Office 365, the new cloud-hosted Office application suite. In Office 365, you can edit your Word, Excel, or other Office documents through your web browser, using the familiar Microsoft Office interface. The files are fully compatible with desktop and server installations of Microsoft Office, and can be uploaded and downloaded at any time.

An important new capability of Office 365 is online collaboration, where two or more users edit the same document at the same time. If two users edit the same document, you will see your co-worker’s cursor as well as your own, and be able to edit together in a meeting or over the Internet.

Tech Networks of Boston recently hosted a webinar on Office 365. Click here to view the recorded webinar — just enter your name and click View Recording.  Ask us questions right here on the Boston Techie by posting a comment below, or call us anytime at (617) 269-0299.

Click here to read the full March 2012 Boston Techie newsletter.

Spam filters and antivirus software are essential, but you can no longer rely on them for safety. Ten years ago, spam was merely annoying, while today it is a major vehicle for criminals to obtain your personal information to commit fraud. Remember these tips to avoid danger:

Today’s spam arrives in clever new disguises. It might look like a bill from your gas company, a bank account alert, or a package delivery receipt. Often these fraud messages slip right by automated filter software. Be careful with any e-mail alert you were not expecting.

No bank, utility, or delivery service will ever e-mail you an attachment to open.

Check links before clicking them to ensure they’re forwarding you where you expect. If you expect a link to fedex.com but it actually links to fedex-package-info.biz, do not click it!

Even the best antivirus package won’t help after you’ve been duped into entering your account number online and a thief has stolen your identity. Call us at Tech Networks of Boston if you have questions about data safety or fraud prevention.

In this age of increased productivity, task management software keeps workforces organized. Inexpensive emerging software puts management science to work, with user-friendly interfaces everyone can use.

Typically, a manager defines a set of tasks and assigns them to individuals. Staff members then update the software with their status and time spent.

Many products are offered on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis. Often web-based, SaaS companies charge a monthly or annual subscription fee to use their products, instead of a one-time purchase price. SaaS pricing models may cost more over several years than one-time purchase, but the monthly outlay can be quite small. We only considered products priced under $200 per month without high per-user license fees.

Tech Networks of Boston recently investigated over 40 task management software products. Here are our highlights.

We liked Smartsheet.com (at right), FengOffice.com, HyperOffice.com, and Wrike.com. A Sharepoint-based alternative is offered on a non-SaaS basis by SyncTaskSoftware.com.

The first four products offer different emphases but similar features. Of these, we liked the format of Smartsheet, which is also the least expensive.

Smartsheet presents itself as a “smart spreadsheet.” On a project sheet, rows represent individual tasks, which can be placed in a project hierarchy if desired. We liked Smartsheet’s traffic-light indicators for task status: Not Yet Started, On Track, and At Risk. That’s at-a-glance reporting any manager will find useful.

SyncTaskSoftware.com goes in an entirely different direction, offering a Sharepoint template for purchase. SyncTask offers full integration with Microsoft Outlook tasks. We found their website lacking in specifics, but this product merits further investigation because it builds on the power of Sharepoint.

If you’d like more information or if you’d like a business technology evaluation for your organization, contact us anytime.

Most organizations know they need training, but rarely implement it. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, only 1 in 4 organizations with fewer than 25 employees has a formal training system.

Here are a few tips from TNB’s resident trainer, Tuan Pham:

Evaluate Your Needs. Why does your organization need training? Are your employees’ skills out of date, or are you thinking of introducing a new technology that will make everyone’s job easier? Do you need training on standard products, or do you use specialized systems on which new employees need to be trained?

Start Small. Your first training session probably won’t go perfectly. Instead of starting in the big room, first perform a demonstration in front of a few co-workers. Adjust your slide deck, your script and your voice based on their feedback. Then, you can deliver the training with confidence.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say “I Don’t Know.” Even the best trainers don’t know the answer to every question. Don’t make wild guesses in front of an audience. Instead, deal with the topic gracefully and follow up later with an e mail.

Gather Feedback. Be sure to give a survey to all attendees after every session. Was the information useful? Was the instructor engaging and able to answer questions intelligently during the training?

Use the feedback that you gather to make future trainings even better.

This article is reprinted courtesy of TechSoup.org. TechSoup connects nonprofits with donated software. Visit TechSoup.org for more information!

Beginning July 27, 2011, organizations now have more flexibility regarding when they can request Microsoft software donations and in the product donations available.

How These Changes Benefit Your Organization:

Request what you need, when you need it: Organizations can now request Microsoft products as needed, not just once per year. Also, there is no longer a five-seat minimum requirement, so an organization can request just one license if that is all it needs.

Get more complete solutions: Now you can request from up to 10 different Microsoft title groups in each 2-year cycle, so you can build more complete solutions that help you meet your mission. And with Microsoft’s Get Genuine Windows offer, you can ensure you’re running genuine versions of Microsoft operating systems (see sidebar).

Easily see Microsoft details at a glance: To help organizations manage their Microsoft donations, TechSoup has created the Microsoft Donation Center (accessible on TechSoup.org from the Donation Request/History page under My Account), where nonprofits can get all the pertinent details in one place.

If you’re already partici-pating in the Microsoft Software Donation Program through TechSoup, your cycle has been reset! Your 2-year donation cycle will start again when you place your first Microsoft request after July 27, 2011, and will reset every two years on the anniversary of that request. Requests placed before July 27 will not count against your new donation allotment.

With these improvements from Microsoft and the new Microsoft Donation Center, now is an excellent time for another visit to TechSoup!