Team Collaboration

• Cisco Unified Communications 6.0 … Cisco released Version 6.0 of its Unified Communications offering that combines voice, video and data communications. Key capabilities: Mobile Communicator software for devices, a wireless IP phone, web conferencing through MeetingPlace 6.0, and Cisco Unity 5.0 for voice mail. “The system integrates wired, wireless and mobile devices to create a secure solution for the entire organization, regardless of a worker’s location. The solution helps enable businesses of all sizes to experience unprecedented responsiveness and secure communications, anytime and anywhere, regardless of the device used, resulting in increased levels of customer satisfaction.” Available immediately. Cisco



• Xythos Partnerships … Xythos announced two new OEM partnerships for its collaborative document management system: BlackBoard and SAS. BlackBoard will integrate the Xythos WebFile Server software into its BlackBoard Content System, and SAS will integrate the same with SAS Enterprise BI Server, SAS Information Delivery Portal, and SAS Model Manager. The OEM partnerships are multi-year agreements. Xythos
• DOT Says No to Vista, Office 2007 and IE 7 … The US Department of Transportation has told its staff that there will be no upgrades to Vista, Office 2007 or IE 7 for the time being. Reasoning: they’re busy with an office relocation, and they don’t see the value. “Based on our initial analysis, there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade” … such as backwards compatibility (with internally developed systems) and the cost of upgrading. ComputerWorld
• Free Software? … Chandima argues that there is no such thing as free software. “So this means there is a cost associated with supporting the application and maintaining servers etc and this all adds up to TCO. Then there is also the fact that one day the business user who implemented the solution would leave the organisation. With that the organisation is left with an application that no one really knows how to use or worse case need to support and maintain. And what if this application was now crucial to the organisation? You could argue that this never happens. But reality is there are many organisations with this type of scenario who are struggling to rationalise their systems just because of silo applications which no one seems to know what to do.” I have my own version of this article that will get written one day … Chandima.Net
• Offline for SharePoint … Colligo Networks has released an 8-page white paper on choosing an offline solution for SharePoint. It talks about user requirements for such things, and how the Colligo Contributor product aligns with those requirements. Competitive products are not evaluated (but then that would be inappropriate … that’s the kind of white paper an analyst should write, not a vendor). Offline SharePoint

Productivity

• Don’t Forget the “Why?” … Tom reminds us that we will get caught up in the little things if we don’t have a way to re-capture the reasoning and the why behind what we’re doing. “I suggested to my newfound lawyer acquaintance that she invent some like ritual. And I suggest the same to you: “Why did I take this assignment, or choose this profession? Am I doing everything possible in my current project to hold to the principles that got me into all this? Is my time here up?” Or some such. It’s the ritual review rather than its form that’s important.” Tom Peters
• Engagement != Talking More … Audience / people engagement is not about talking through everything you know; it’s a joint activity that requires silence at the right times by each sides. Steve shares some insights on how to build engagement. All Things Workplace
• Competency Required … Steve writes about a recent conversation with Jim, a colleague and client, and Jim’s thinkings about how central competence is to making matrix organizations work. “A matrix depends on highly collegial relationships within the organization. People need to inherently trust the expertise of others to get things done and to hand off tasks. Influence power vs. position power is the byword. In technical disciplines, it’s nearly impossible to influence others without professional respect. And that comes from a recognition of professional competency by one’s colleagues.” All Things Workplace
• Productivity = Small Steps … David’s current definition of productivity: “Productivity is, perhaps most reliably, the commitment to small steps that you know are related to those meaningful things and people in your life.” Small actions, done for meaningful outcomes, leads to big change. David Seah

Other Stuff

• Xero In … Rod’s at it again, this time with an accountancy package delivered as a service. “We’ve been heads down on this for some time. We have a number of beta customers on board and will soon move into a limited release. A challenge for SaaS offerings is building out operational capability. As the software is getting to where we need need it we are now beginning to ramp up that investment so we can deliver a customer experience in line with the quality of the software. For that reason we’re bringing in customers in small batches, learning where they need guidance, rinse and repeat.” Rod was previously CEO of Aftermail, a company he sold to Quest Software. ComputerWorld, Rod’s Blog