BYO...laptop?

BYOD..."Bring-Your-Own-Device" seems to be the biggest strategy that companies are now trying to master. Employees expect to be able to bring their own mobile phones, laptops and tablets into the office setting without having a "company device" to also manage but having the convenience of using their own device from home. Sure this seems quite convenient, and maybe cuts some costs here and there, but what does this really mean for companies?

We have outlined some new challenges that will come with this policy from The Globe and Mail's article that provides some more insight on how BYOD will change your business:

 Some issues that IT may run into:

- Employees expect the same degree of advanced technology and services integration in the workplace that they already experience in their personal life

- Employees may threaten you "give me the advanced technology that I know I can have, or I will do it myself"

Aberdeen Group found that the top 20% of performers (defined as Best-in-Class organizations):

- provide mobile access to almost all employees

- recover all but 5% of lost or stolen mobile devices
- improved their personal speed of decision-making by 14% over the prior 12 months, 3.5 times the improvement of Industry Average

Is your company in this top 20%?

If your business has not thought about BYOD or even a mobile strategy as a plan for the next coming months, you are sure to face some struggle with the new demands of the "tech savvy" employee.

To find out some more benefits and reasons to Go-Mobile, check out our previous posts on mobility and our event slides from a previous event we held in Waterloo based on building a mobile strategy NOW!

 

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Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2012: Toronto

Last week, the City of Toronto was flooded with more than 16, 000 people representing Microsoft Partners from all over the world! Partners from coast to coast took  part in the biggest ever Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC). 
WPC travels the globe to take place in a new city every year giving Microsoft Partners a chance to discover the latest technology and trends to come in the year ahead. It also provides a valuable forum to gain industry knowledge, and learn new strategies to ensure Microsoft Partners, like Ideaca, can continuously deliver the highest standards of care and information to our customers.


This year, the conference was held in Toronto at the Metro Convention Centre and the Air Canada Centre. The conference was said to bring in the most traffic throughout the GTA that Toronto has ever seen for a conference, and even brought in a whooping $500 million to the City of Toronto! 

Each day Ideacans experienced  dozens of sessions and key note speakers that helped us to learn new strategies and product knowledge. There were even a few ground-breaking announcements, such as a demonstration shown on Kinnect that scanned a person to virtually produce them in 3D, then their 3D image was printed out into a 3D mold!  Truly a thing to see!  We also spotted new laptops that can convert into a tablet; which will be beneficial to all those stubborn people who cannot part without their keyboards. There was also a great deal of hype around the new Windows 8 phone and operating system that is sure to make many smartphone and Windows 7 users change their mind about what they currently have. Windows CMO and CFO Tami Reller announced at the conference that the new Windows 8 operating system will be launch in 231 markets worldwide, starting in October 2012.

The 5-day conference kicked off with a stunning performance by Cirque du Soleil and wrapped up Thursday night with a packed concert by the Grammy Award winning band Train. What a week! Ideaca is proud to have been apart of it and we look forward to sharing our new learning with our customers in the year to come.

Were you at WPC this year? What was your favourite part?
 

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How Will Auto Manufacturers Respond to Environmental Regulations?

Automotive manufacturers feel immense pressure from environmental groups who continue to emphasise on the need to instil emission reduction targets as part of their long term growth strategies. For manufacturers, it appears that the biggest challenge is to gain a picture of the entire scope of their business to see where reductions in emissions can be made and how they can look to re-purpose their existing resources in order to reduce emissions further.

Since automotive manufacturers operate in an industry impacted heavily by environmental regulations, they must look into innovative ways to brighten their environmental record. Some manufacturers may investigate the development of alternative powered vehicles; some may investigate ways to reduce operational costs in the development of an auto-mobile; and others may consider a unique strategy that looks to capture the best aspects of both of the aforementioned strategies.

 

An Aberdeen article entitled ERP in Automotive Suppliers seems to indicate that auto manufacturers should consider the implementation of an ERP platform since it is responsive to their changing business landscape. An ERP solution is designed to offer manufacturers a single view into all of their IT systems, delivering the control and insight that they would need to effectively reduce their carbon footprint. According to Aberdeen, the benefits achieved through the use of ERP include a reduction in operational, administrative, and inventory costs; a reduction in waste; and increased profits and revenue.

Click here now to review the Aberdeen article for further insight!
 

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2012 Canadian BI Maturity Results from IDC

Next week, Ideaca will once again be travelling across the country to bring IT Directors, CIOs and the like, all together for another one of our National Executive Series Events!

Presenters Richard Hines from Ideaca in the West, and Brian Lee from Ideaca in the East, will be bringing you the latest results in Canadian BI Maturity Research. Be the first in line to benchmark your company against the Canadian landscape.

Canadian companies from coast to coast participated in a survey conducted by IDC designed to extract information on where organizations sit currently, and how they should move forward on the BI Maturity model.

When you’re investing in BI, what research are you falling back on to make your decision? We’ve got all the answers you need to help you make the right ones.

Register NOW to attend a complimentary breakfast session in a city near you to hear the results before they are released to the rest of the country.
 
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SharePoint Saturday Toronto - July 7th

The 2012 SharePoint Saturday North American tour is on and will be hitting Toronto on Saturday, July 7th. This year Ideaca will be a sponsor!

SharePoint Saturday Toronto will be an educational, informative & lunch hour filled with sessions from respected SharePoint professionals & MVPs, covering a wide variety of SharePoint-orientated topics. SharePoint Saturday is FREE, open to the public and is your local chance to immerse yourself in SharePoint!

Come out and join Ideaca in this fun-filled day of SharePoint...We look forward to seeing you there!

Click here for more information and to register for free!

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Ideaca is proud to sponsor this year's Calgary International Children's Festival

The Calgary International Children's Festival collaborates with like-minded companies to celebrate creativity, education and family. Ideaca has chosen to sponsor the festival this year in order to help the Festival provide an educational experience that improves student's critical thinking skills. Students gain a unique awareness of their place in the world around them. These experiences inspire innovative thinking, which is the driving force of tomorrow's leaders.

"With the help of companies such as Ideaca, we are able to ensure that economic circumstances are not a barrier to a family’s ability to attend Festival performances and workshops,” said David Anderson, Executive Director at the Calgary International Children’s Festival. “Our sponsors help us achieve our goal, which is to bring children and families to an inclusive community event that sparks imagination, inspires creative thought, encourages cultural understanding, and fosters a lifelong passion for the arts.”

“Ideaca is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of Canadians by investing in our communities,” said Mike Alkier, Managing Partner, Ideaca. “We strive to be strong corporate citizens, and be involved in ways that benefit the regions in which we operate.”

The festival runs from May 22-May 26. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Ideaca named 2011 Top 100 Solution Provider

Last night, at the CDN Top 100 Solution Providers Gala, Ideaca was named #32 for 2011 in the Top 100 in Canada. We have moved up 17 spots from 2010 as last year's ranking of #49!

To be eligible for the CDN Top 100 Solution Providers ranking, companies must meet the following criteria.

• Be registered and conducting business in the country of Canada.
• Source products from a leading distributor in Canada.
• Possess a minimum of one certification or authorization from an IT vendor.
• Ranking is based on total 2011 Canadian revenue - revenue generated in Canada and shipped to a Canadian address. Imputed revenue* is not to be included.
• Revenue will be stated in Canadian currency.
• Complete the online Top 100 Solution Providers application form

To see some of the other companies Ideaca went up against, have a look at the rest of the list here.

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