11 signs your IT project is doomed

The IT world is no stranger to projects that go down in flames. Anyone who has had the unenviable pleasure of participating in a failed IT effort likely sensed its demise well before the go-live date. That sixth sense is invaluable in a competitive field like IT.
Whether you're looking to avoid being saddled to a dud or to steer a doomed rollout out of the ditch, you must recognize the signs of imminent failure well before a project comes apart at the seams. It can be a career-saver.
We’ve gathered 11 red flags to look for in assessing IT project health. Be proactive whenever you encounter one -- or if you can, simply walk away. Your career depends on it.

 

Red flag No. 1: The project has launched without senior buy-in

Here's how it usually happens: A strong personality in the company has a "terrific" idea and plans meetings and allocates resources without waiting to see if senior management agrees. Many of these projects proceed until the point where real money must be spent; then they collapse completely. Often everyone on the project, except its originator, doesn't know the project hasn't been approved, nor that budget hasn't been allocated.
To avoid being saddled to such a project, always ask who in senior management is a sponsor and what the budget allocation is. Don't accept answers claiming no budget has been allocated because people don't know what it's going to cost until the project is underway.

Red flag No. 2: No detailed project plan exists

 

Project-planning software can be complex and frustrating. The only thing I hate more than architecting a detailed project plan is being involved in a project that doesn't have one. Formal project plans force the project manager to consider all the necessary phases and steps, and the order in which to proceed. To paraphrase an oft-quoted line, "Failure to plan is planning to fail."
Any project with an estimated timeline longer than two weeks should have a detailed project plan. If you’re presented with a project that doesn’t, create your own. Besides forcing everyone to consider all the tasks and tactics, doing so will force them to come up with realistic timetables. A detailed project plan is far better than "best guesses" or gut feelings

Red flag No. 3: Meetings have been scheduled without concern for team member availability

 

When a project or team leader arbitrarily schedules meetings that are in conflict with other important, already standing meetings, you know your project is doomed. Doing so ensures that vital team members will be absent, thereby undercutting the purpose and effectiveness of your meeting.
The solution is simple: Spend time before scheduling meetings to learn the calendars of important attendees. Find the common availabilities and pick a time slot. Don't go too far in allowing participants to vote -- this can lead to bad feelings from those whose proposed time slots get turned down. Instead, be authoritative and pick a time you know everyone can live with. Adjust afterward if necessary. Also, publicize your team's standing meeting times so others don't accidentally schedule over it.

Red flag No. 4: Users have had little (to no) early involvement

 

Everyone taking even a basic IT class in college is taught to involve users early when launching any project. That's why it’s so surprising to see large, complex projects nearly complete before users are brought in to provide advice. I've seen many large, evolving projects derailed because users tell leaders that a particular process hasn't been done that way for a long time and the new process doesn't work either.
Make sure real users, or their advocates, are invited from the get-go. You cannot have them in too early. The more involvement they have, the greater your chance of success. If your project covers multiple departments, make sure to have user representatives from each. Also be sure users feel they can voice their real opinion.

Red flag No. 5: The project targets the minimum specs

 

Nothing kills project success like buying the bare-minimum hardware.
Vendors are notorious for trying to keep the cost of a project down by underselling the hardware necessary for optimum results. Vendors often offer a "bare minimum" spec and the recommended hardware buy. Smart project leaders will go beyond even the recommended hardware specs; if something happens, at least the vendors and your customers won't be pointing their fingers at penny-wise, pound-foolish hardware purchase decisions. Also, make sure all purchased hardware and software is compatible and tested with each other. You don't want either side pointing fingers early if something goes wrong.

Red flag No. 6: Testing is an afterthought

 

Testing is essential to project success. Whether it is unit testing (which tests one facet of the system) or integrated testing (which tests all components, including existing interfacing systems), it should be done by current employees along with a testing script. The testing script should include all inputs, step by step, that testers should make. And you should detail, ahead of time, what all outputs should look like.
Testing data and processes should vet all scenarios, including good and bad data. Sometimes results from known bad data are more interesting than those of a desired outcome. Testing should include load tests to see how the system and network respond under heavy utilization, and testers should understand expected outcomes and be expected to report all deviations.

Red flag No. 7: No recovery plan is in place in the event of failure

 

Plans don't always go as expected. Every project leader needs to know what go-live success looks like -- and when it's time to admit failure and begin another day. Every project should have a go-live backup plan in case failure becomes the only option.
Too many go-live events are driven by the belief that "nothing can go wrong." Leaders of these projects often fail to make sure good backups are taken and verified. They don't develop protocols for defining success, nor outline what a failure looks like ahead of time. They don't prepare the team for what to do in the event of a go-live crash. Many brand-new projects hit a fatal stumbling block only to find out they can't go backward.

Red flag No. 8: Expert recommendations have been rebuffed without testing outcomes

 

There are people who ask for expert advice and listen, then choose a different path -- every time. Then they complain when something doesn't work right.
Don't be that person. Don't let that person make big decisions on your team. It's all right to ask for expert advice, only to do something different. It's often the sign of a good leader. Just don't do it compulsively. And if you go against recommendations and the outcome doesn't work, don't blame the consultant.
Even if the vendor or consultant agrees with your deviance from their recommendation, make sure the change is tested. Many projects have failed because project leaders "made a few small changes" that left vendors and consultants shaking their heads in the background.

Red flag No. 9: The go-live date is a weekend or holiday

 

Many project leaders plan go-live events for the weekend or holidays because of lower chances of service disruption to employees or customers. While laudable, these windows also tend to be the times when tech support is harder to reach. You may have your primary vendor onsite, but third-party tech support may be closed or on call (and not returning calls in a timely manner), and the same may be true of your team. Talking to your best database troubleshooter over the phone while he's on vacation with his family is never optimal.

 

Red flag No. 10: Expectations have not been set

 

When a new system is going in to replace an old system, it's helpful for everyone to understand the new expectations. How is the new system going to act? How are transactions and transaction times different? Who do end users call if they have problems? How long is the go-live troubleshooting team going to be onsite? A new system will always frustrate people, but if you set realistic expectations and give people accelerated support options, problems tend to go away faster and you end up with more satisfied customers sooner.

Red flag No. 11: Skimp on training

 

I can't tell you how many project leaders will pilfer the training budget when faced with a budget overrun. Usually it is a smug, supersmart leader who claims the system is so easy that users don't really need all the training. If you hear, "Heck, we'll train every other person with half the classes and they can train each other," or "Our users are pretty good at figuring out things; they can figure this new system out in a few days," you know you're in for failure. It's not just users who need training, but project leaders, troubleshooters, and help desk staff, too. Be ready to delay the project if appropriate training is not given.

Windows 8.1 RTM leaks to Internet

Windows 8.1's RTM, which Microsoft announced on Tuesday, has leaked to file-sharing sites, according to numerous forum postings and blog reports.
Leaks of unreleased Microsoft products, especially Windows, are commonplace, and as in this case, often occur just hours or days after the Redmond, Wash. company ships code to its partners.
Microsoft may have contributed to the interest in Windows 8.1 RTM -- a term that represents "release to manufacturers" -- because of a change in a long-standing policy that gave developers and IT professionals access to the official code weeks before the general public.
The leaked builds of Windows 8.1 RTM may have originated in China -- home of most of the companies that build the world's personal computers and tablets -- because a Chinese-language edition was the first to appear.

Within a short time, however, English editions of the RTM also popped up on file-sharing websites.
While at one time Microsoft tried to stamp out such leaks, it long ago gave up and switched to warning users that unauthorized builds, including counterfeits circulating long after a product's release, often contained malware.
Microsoft will officially launch Windows 8.1 on Oct. 17 in the U.S., the first date that current Windows 8 users can retrieve the free update from the Windows Store. Hardware that relies on Windows 8.1, as well as retail copies of the operating system, will go on sale Oct. 18.
Microsoft has not revealed the price of the retail copies of Windows 8.1 aimed at customers still running Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.
The company has enraged developers with its decision to not publish the RTM on MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and TechNet, the subscription-only sites aimed at developers and enterprise IT personnel, respectively. Previously, those subscribers could download RTM builds about two weeks after computer makers received the code, and weeks before the software went on sale.
Microsoft said the change was necessary because RTM is not a finished, polished product, but will continue to receive fix bugs between now and October. MSDN and TechNet subscribers must wait like everyone else for the official debut.
"How on earth can a developer deliver a quality app and not be able to test in on production grade code from Microsoft?" asked someone identified as "mirronelli" in a comment appended to a Microsoft blog that advised developers to test their work against the two-month old Windows 8.1 preview.
Some were even angrier.
"This is insanity. What possible justification could you have for not releasing the RTM code to developers ahead of schedule?" wondered "sognibene" today. "You want to know why you don't have apps in the [Windows Store] without paying developers to make them? THIS TYPE OF NONSENSE IS WHY!!!"

How to bring back the Start menu and button to Windows 8

You’ve just booted up Windows 8 for the first time, navigated your way to the Desktop, and now you’re wondering: “Where on earth did Microsoft put the Start button and menu?” For some reason, Microsoft decided that Windows 8 was better without a Start button and menu, instead forcing mouse-and-keyboard users to try and interact with the awful Windows 8 Start screen.
The good news is, despite Microsoft’s best efforts to ensure that the Start button and menu remain banished from its new OS, a bunch of Windows 8 Start menu replacements have already emerged. Really, it just goes to show how devoted the Desktop Windows userbase is: Microsoft completely stripped out the underlying Start menu code to quash potential Luddite revolutionaries, and yet months after the release of Windows 8 there are dozens of Start menu and Start button replacements — some of which are far superior to Microsoft’s own Windows 7 Start menu.
Let’s take a look at the best, cheapest, and most authentic Windows 8 Start menu replacements.

Windows 8 Start button and menu replacements

StartIsBack

If you want a Windows 8 Start menu replacement that looks exactly like Windows 7, StartIsBack is for you. You get the same Start button orb icon, the same Start menu search box, the same jump lists, and — for better or worse — even the same Aero transparency! As you can see in the screenshot above, StartIsBack even detects if your system needs to restart to apply some patches; it really is just like the Windows 7 Start menu.
Where StartIsBack diverges from the Windows 7 Start menu, though, is configurability: StartIsBack is fully customizable, and includes a handful of useful Windows 8-specific features, too. You can configure which hot corners are enabled, make your PC jump straight to the Desktop when it first boots up, and configure a key combo to show the Windows 8 Start screen (Win+Ctrl by default). If Start menu and taskbar transparency aren’t your thing, StartIsBack lets you disable it — and you can change the Start button orb icon, too. If you want a Windows 8 Start menu replacement that feels just like Windows 7, StartIsBack is for you.

Download StartIsBack ($3, free 30-day trial)

Pokki

Where StartIsBack tries to replicate the Windows of yesteryear, Pokki (free) is very much its own beast — and as much as I love the Windows 7 Start menu, I have to admit that Pokki is probably even better. It utilizes a neat “pinning” system that isn’t unlike the home screen of your smartphone or tablet (though I would argue that the Windows taskbar/superbar still does a better job). You can also add widgets to Pokki, such as Gmail or Facebook, which display your latest email or status updates.
By default, Pokki will configure your Windows 8 system to boot straight to the Desktop — and there is an option that will just completely disable the hot corners, if you so desire. (Remember, Win+C pops open the Charms menu, if you need.) If you’re looking for a Windows 8 Start menu/button replacement that isn’t reminiscent of Windows Vista/7, Pokki is for you.
Download Pokki (free)

StartMenu8

If you want the Windows 7 Start menu look-and-feel, but you’re not prepared to fork out a few dollars for StartIsBack or Start8, StartMenu8 is a solid alternative. While the interface won’t win any prizes — it feels a lot like the early Linux apps that ruthlessly ripped off Windows — you get a fair amount of configurability, and a handful of Windows 8-specific toggles that are very useful.
By default, StartMenu8 will skip the Windows 8 Start screen and go straight to the Desktop, and disable Windows 8′s hot corners. There’s also the option to disable the sidebar, if you really don’t ever want to see Windows 8 ever again. The StartMenu8 button icon can be altered, and you can add and remove which links appear up the right side of the Start menu. Overall, StartMenu8 looks and feels a bit clunky — and, incidentally, watch out for some delicious bundleware during the installation process.
Download StartMenu8 (free)

Classic Shell

Classic Shell is free, open-source donationware that gives you the option of a classic (Windows 98ish), Windows XP, or Vista/7 Start menu. At its most basic, it replaces the Windows 8 Start button on your taskbar — but as always with third-party utilities, it has a ton of other features and settings that you can tweak to your heart’s content (in Classic Shell’s case, there’s probably too many tweakable settings). There is apparently an option for Classic Shell to boot straight to Desktop, but I couldn’t find it.
One strong point of Classic Shell is that it successfully rebinds your Start key, so that the Start menu pops up instead of the new Metro Start screen. Hitting the Start key from Metro pops up Classic Shell, too. Other Start menu replacements don’t usually cope quite so well.

Take care while installing Classic Shell, though: It’s not just a Start menu replacement, and if you’re not careful you will end up installing Classic IE and Classic Explorer, too.
Download Classic Shell (free)

Start8

Finally, a commercial offering that will set you back $5: Start8. Start8 is very similar to Classic Shell or StartMenu8, but it’s just a little bit smoother. Start8′s configuration interface is much easier to use (and easier on the eyes), and the actual Start menu replacement feels much more like a contiguous part of Windows.
Start8 has a curious option where you can actually have the new Windows 8 Metro Start screen pop up as a menu, rather than full-screen (pictured at the top of the story). This is kinda neat, though you’re probably better off sticking to the normal Windows 7-style Start menu replacement.

Like Pokki, Start8 can disable your hot corners and boot directly to Desktop. Start8 also has a bunch of configuration options for how the Start key interacts with Desktop and Metro, which can be useful if you’re looking for a very specific functionality.
Download Start8 ($5, free 30-day trial)

Hackers may cash in when XP is retired

Hackers could find themselves in the catbird seat on April 8, 2014 -- the day Microsoft plans to stop patching Windows XP. As security expert Jason Fossen sees it, those who have zero-day exploits for XP will bank them until that day and then sell them to crooks or loose them themselves on unprotected PCs.
It's simply economics at work, said Fossen, a trainer for the SANS Institute since 1998.
"The average price on the black market for a Windows XP exploit is $50,000 to $150,000, a relatively low price that reflects Microsoft's response," said Fossen. When a new vulnerability -- dubbed a "zero-day" -- is detected, Microsoft investigates, pulls together a patch and releases it to XP users.

But the price will go up when Microsoft stops patching its aged operating system.
Fossen acknowledged that there really aren't any precedents to back up his speculation, because the last time Microsoft retired an operating system was in July 2010, when it pulled the plug on Windows 2000, which wasn't nearly as widely used as XP is.
Computerworld has projected that Windows XP will still run 33% to 34% of the world's PCs at the end of April 2014.
HD Moore, creator of the popular Metasploit penetration testing toolkit and chief security officer at security company Rapid7, agreed that XP hacks would become more valuable after the operating system's retirement in April 2014, but he contended that all Windows vulnerabilities would jump in value at that time.

EE gets competition as Vodafone and O2 launch 4G networks

Fourth generation networks can provide data to mobile phones at least five times faster than average 3G connections

 

Mobile phone operators Vodafone and O2 joined the 4G party today after they switched on their own 4G networks in three UK cities.
Vodafone’s 4G network will initially only cover parts of London while O2’s will be available in London, Leeds and Bradford.
The operators will compete with rival EE, which launched 4G in October 2012 and has been the only firm up until now to offer the “super-fast” mobile data service. EE said in July that it had signed 687,000 users up to 4G but this still only accounted for 2.5 per cent of its 27 million customers.
O2's 4G tariffs start at £26 a month for 1GB of data, while Vodafone's cheapest tariff costs £34 and comes with 2GB of data. In order to get 2GB of data a month from EE the cheapest tariff is £41 per month. O2 doesn't offer a 2GB tariff.
Vodafone said 12 more locations would get switched on before the end of the year. They include: Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. Meanwhile, O2 said it is planning to rollout 4G to a further 10 cities by the end of the year, including: Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh.
UK market leader EE announced yesterday that it has expanded its 4G network to 105 towns and cities across the UK, but it still only reaches 60 percent of UK citizens.
Three will become the final major mobile phone operator to turn on 4G when it launches in London, Birmingham and Manchester in December. Unlike the other operators, Three said it would offer 4G to existing customers at no extra cost and offer unlimited data.
Each of the mobile operators are using chunks of spectrum across the 2.6Ghz, 1.8Ghz and 800Mhz bands.
The UK isn’t the only country to offer multiple 4G networks. Many countries boast more comprehensive networks that reach a larger proportion of the population. As of July, there were over 200 4G networks available in 76 countries.
Now that O2 and Vodafone have entered the market, Ronan de Renesse, telecoms analyst at Analysys Mason, said he thinks the number of 4G users in the UK will rocket in the next few years.
“The UK will be the third-largest 4G market in Europe by the end of 2014, with nearly eight million connections, after France and Germany,” he said. “The country’s thirst for high-end mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will be a major driver for 4G connectivity.”
However, the firms will have a challenge if they want to persuade UK customers to sign up to the faster network after a report released earlier this month by industry regulator Ofcom found that nearly a quarter of UK mobile users said they did not see any benefit of moving to the superfast mobile network.
Ofcom has also estimated that 4G services will provide at least £20bn in benefits to UK consumers over the next ten years.

Nokia Sirius RT tablet – it can’t be serious

Rumours abound that Nokia is waiting on the release of Windows 8.1 RT on 18 October to power its long-awaited RT tablet. Its choice of RT leaves analysts flabbergasted - “WTF – RT. It can’t be serious.”

Leaked photos appear to resemble an oversized Lumia 925 with a sleek polycarbonate shell, likely to be a fashion trendsetter. It is reportedly lighter than the iPad and has a full HD 1920x1080, 10.1” screen (that requires Windows 8.1 RT update to display it), 2GB ram, microSD port, and uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor. It will be a very well specified tablet.
It has a 10-hour battery but there has been talk of a dock-able keyboard with a battery extender.
The rumoured release announcement is 26 September, with retail availability well before Xmas.

Opinion
I thought Nokia’s Stephen Elop was a good CEO and worthy of succeeding Ballmer. Perhaps the RT tablet is his last hurrah, or payback to Microsoft, before a 1 April departure.
I know Microsoft has plans for RT but given that it tanked so badly - I am surprised that Nokia has even considered it.
Rumours of the 6” Windows Superphone codenamed Bandit appear to be a reality with release scheduled for late this year when Windows Phone 8.1 is available.
Nokia please make us a Windows 8.1, Intel Silvermont powered, fully featured tablet with the Lumia style that most appreciate – and sell it on a plan via telcos.

10 greatest superheroes of high tech

 The biggest names in technology have a lot in common with comic book superheroes. They may not go around in capes and spandex (at least, in public), but they are larger-than-life figures with vast superpowers and fatal flaws. And like many superheroes, they often walk a fine line between good and evil, with or without the help of spring-loaded razor-edged claws, and for good or ill they can alter the course of human history.
At the risk of committing the ultimate sin -- mixing characters from multiple comics universes -- we present the best way to understand the strategies, motivations, and internal struggles of today's top tech leaders, through their uncanny superhero alter egos.

Steve Ballmer

One is an outsized beast who flies into an uncontrollable rage at the slightest provocation. The other is a comic book character with green skin. But both Ballmer and Dr. Bruce Banner (aka the Incredible Hulk) have more in common besides a desperate need for anger management counseling. Like the Hulk, Ballmer has managed to smash the puny weaklings who looked like they might succeed him in the big chair. And like Banner, he has issues with transformation -- unable to convert Microsoft from a lumbering colossus into a being nimble enough to compete with his rivals. Whatever you do, don't make him mad

Eric Schmidt

Professor Charles Francis Xavier is a legendary telepath and headmaster of Xavier Academy, a Hogwarts for teenage X-Men. Schmidt famously once said, "We can more or less know what you're thinking about." As chairman of the Google X-Men, he's guiding a flock of Googleplex mutants as they construct fleets of driverless cars, design privacy-eviscerating video glasses, fund interplanetary travel, and prepare humanity for the singularity when man and machine merge. Are Schmidt's intentions good or evil? As with most comic book characters, you'll have to wait until the next issue to find out.

Marissa Mayer

If any company needed a superheroine to rescue it from the maelstrom of mediocrity, it was Yahoo. In her first year Mayer has breathed new life into Flickr; tossed the Lasso of Truth around Tumblr, Summly, and 15 other acquisitions; and hurled her razor-sharp tiara at Yahoo's pajama-wearing slackers and BlackBerry-toting weenies. While no one's predicting the imminent demise of Google just yet, employee satisfaction at Yahoo just hit a five-year high, and the company is no longer thought of as the prototypical Web 1.0 dinosaur. All she needs now is some black hair dye, a spandex suit, and a pair of bulletproof bracelets.

Tim Cook

After working side by side with the caped crusader for more than a decade, Tim Cook is fighting crime and Android in Gotham City all on his own. But whether he's made the transition from sidekick to superhero is a puzzle worthy of the Riddler. While Apple's fan base is as fiercely loyal as ever, its stock price has plummeted, longtime employees are beginning to look elsewhere, and the company is snared in a seeming endless legal stalemate with rival Samsung. More troubling: Wayne Enterprises' vaunted R&D lab seems to have run out of life-changing gadgets. Holy unsubstantiated rumor, Batman -- is that an iWatch we see or just the distant memory of One More Thing?

Larry Elliso

Like Tony Stark, Larry Ellison is a man of large appetites -- whether for acquiring smaller companies (86 and counting), wives (four and counting), or the America's Cup (only one so far, but give him time). What Larry wants, Larry eventually gets, even if it requires spending billions of dollars and/or laying waste to major metropolitan areas. Why settle for being the planet's fifth richest man when you could be No. 1? Only a heart-size cold fusion reactor could power an ego this large.

Kim Dotcom

To Hollywood, Dotcom is a monster -- a high-tech experiment gone hideously wrong. But to the music and movie swapping masses he's the ultimate anti-establishment hero, unwilling to back down even in the face of impossible odds. The SWAT-style takedown of Dotcom and his Megaupload digital locker by legal authorities in January 2012 only made him more determined to do battle. The introduction of his Mega encrypted storage service a year later can mean only one thing: It's clobberin' time.

Jeff Bezos

Don't let the lack of blue skin fool you; like the Watchmen's Dr. Jon Osterman (aka Manhattan), Bezos is an individual of unusual power, able to move freely between the past, present, and future of cloud commerce. Presumed dead after the dot-bomb implosion of the late 1990s, Bezos engineered a remarkable resurrection, transforming Amazon from an online bookseller to a powerhouse in the field of retail goods, entertainment, and computing. With the passing of the Dark Knight, Bezos is perhaps the only individual in the tech realm with the power to create markets with the introduction of a single device -- provided he can avoid those tachyon particles. Watch out, journalism. You're next on the telekinetic Dr. Manhattan's to-save list.

Tim Berners Le

If you're looking for someone who can spin a web, who better than the guy who invented it? The creator of the World Wide Web is considered the ultimate tech superhero by many, but like his arachnid-human counterpart, Sir Tim prefers to avoid the limelight. After inventing the Web in 1989, Lee went on to found the World Wide Web Consortium, a standards body still in effect today, and the World Wide Web Foundation, dedicated to extending the Web's reach to the two-thirds of the planet who remain unconnected. You know what they say: With great power comes great responsibility.

Mark Zuckerberg

These hoodie-wearing 20-somethings have more in common than the superpower of extreme social awkwardness. To earn the love of Ramona Flowers, Pilgrim must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends. For his part, Zuckerberg must conquer the SEC, FTC, privacy cranks, and angry shareholders to achieve his plans for world domination. All he wants to do is play his guitar and mine the personal information of 1 billion people for his own personal gain -- is that really so much to ask?

Julian Assange

As one of the powerful and fashionable of the X-Men mutants, Storm can control the weather -- summoning the wind and the rain simply by unfurling her designer leather cape. Assange has been known to cause a few storms of his own, summoning the media to his door with the release of more secret documents. Both have found themselves on the wrong side of the powers that be, and each is most effective when surrounded by other mutants and/or Wikipedians.

10 overhyped tech products that crashed and burned

Indeed some of the most enthusiastically received demonstrations at trade shows were for products that became some of the tech industry's most notorious flops.

Silverlight
At the Mix 07 conference, Microsoft revealed a promising new rich media technology called Silverlight. It stole the show. "It makes Flash/Flex look like an absolute toy," said Michael Arrington, adding "Some of the most interesting new web applications will be built on this platform." Unfortunately, developers and end users resisted, despite Netflix, MLB, and others requiring its use. Microsoft hasn't said much about the platform's future, though Silverlight 5 will be supported until 2021. Some customers aren't waiting. Earlier this year, Netflix announced it was dumping Silverlight in favor of HTML5.

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PowerMac G4 Cube

At MacWorld New York in 2000, Steve Jobs showcased "quite possibly the most beautiful product we've ever designed": an 8" cube with a top-loaded DVD player, slide-out hardware, no cooling fan, and hardware specs matching the much larger PowerMac. The Apple faithful were ecstatic, and the media were charmed -- ITworld reported that the device had "pure sex appeal." A year later, it was on its way out the door. The reasons? Slow sales (despite price cuts), competition from Apple's other Macs, and missing expansion options. Still, its design won it a place in New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Palm Pre and WebOS

At CES in 2009, Palm took on the iPhone by splashily unveiling the Palm Pre and WebOS. The slick UI included Facebook integration and other features competitors lacked. Reviewers gushed: "It has a gorgeous user interface"; "[it] may be quite a bit more revolutionary than the iPhone." But on launch the Pre was pricey and limited to Sprint. Despite marketing and distribution promises, Verizon went all-out with its Droid line in late 2009.

BlackBerry Storm

The Storm 1, the first BlackBerry without a physical keyboard, was RIM's answer to the iPhone. It had advanced features, like a video camera and GPS, that its rival lacked. But its click-based touchscreen irked fast typers, and the browser disappointed. While there was a sequel that addressed some concerns, the rumored Storm 3 never materialized. "Incomplete products ... are hurting our brand tremendously," an anonymous BlackBerry employee wrote.

Video games on demand

The vision -- video games on demand -- was brilliant. The demo was incredible. Showing off the gaming technology at the 2009 GDC and other events, CEO Steve Perlman described how a high-quality console gaming experience could be delivered to people's homes -- without consoles, downloads, or discs. The key: Remote servers to handle processing and graphics rendering, high-bandwidth Internet connections, and a television or PC screen in users' homes. Three years later, it was game over, in spectacular fashion. ITworld's Pete Smith outlines how OnLive misjudged core gamers, who already had local hardware and were skeptical of lag and other potential service problems.

NeXT Cube

"Missing this would be like missing Thomas Edison unveil the phonograph," a photographer told the San Jose Mercury News in October 1988. The event was the unveiling of the NeXT Cube, a typical Steve Jobs media frenzy. The audience ate up the specs, the musical and scientific applications, and believed colleges would pay for it. They didn't blink when Jobs revealed the $10,000+ price, or the fact that the system wasn't even close to being ready. There were only a few early customers for the Cube, and author Randall E. Stross says that one found it to be "the sinkhole from hell." Jobs went on to bigger and better things.

Windows ME

"So Many Possibilities" is one tagline Microsoft used for Windows Millennium Edition when it was launched in 2000. The emphasis was on digital media, networking, and easy restore options. Users had a different experience -- it was crashy and prone to hardware and app errors. "If you upgraded to Me from an older version of Windows, you might feel that the term Millennium refers to the length of time it will take to fix the glitches," grumbled PC World. Fortunately, users did not have to wait that long, as Windows XP -- regarded as one of Microsoft's better software releases -- arrived in late 2001.

BlackBerry Playbook

It feels bad to kick BlackBerry while it's down, but the PlayBook deserves a special mention. The specs were solid, with a focus on secure messaging for enterprise users. But, as you can see in this video, there were concerns at launch about the lack of native email and calendaring programs, and the tethering requirement. In addition, the proprietary QNX operating system limited the number of available apps out of the gate. The tablet struggled for two years before BlackBerry pulled the plug in June

Cisco Cius

Yes, Cisco does have a tablet. Or at least it did. Pronounced "see-us", the Android-based tablet was announced by CEO John Chambers at CiscoLive 2010 and launched the following year. The focus was on collaboration, video conferencing, office connectivity, and security -- attributes that Cisco thought would be big hits among its enterprise customers. The demo looked great, but the price was steep ($750) and executives were already bringing iPads into the office with or without IT's approval. Chambers later said Cisco should've killed off the device sooner than it did: "Once you realize you're not going to reach the volumes you need, you should just stop.

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Apple Lisa

In 1983, Apple had a lot riding on the Lisa: the company needed a solid follow-up to the ubiquitous Apple II. This ad shows Apple's slick positioning of the Lisa as something a hard-working yet tender CEO (recognize the Hollywood star?) would use. The ads didn't save the Lisa, though. It flopped in the marketplace, thanks to high price and a failure to connect with enterprise customers. And Steve Jobs never backed it: his renegade division had been building the Macintosh, which became Apple's next great hope after the Lisa fizzled. The final insult, described in his biography: Jobs calling the Lisa product team "B Players" before laying off many of them.

Five Networking Services To Focus On

With margins on networking hardware declining partners need to focus more on services. However, not all services are profitable. Here are some services that are either in demand or will help a network specialist to grow his business

Surveillance 

 

Surveillance is one of the fastest growing markets today, with both local governance bodies and police departments insisting that businesses set up cameras and store video content. The biggest trend in surveillance is the switch from analog to digital. “Today there’s a shortage of good integrators who understand the Internet Protocol, who know how to lay cables efficiently, and who have knowledge of different aspects of IT such as storage and data archival,” says Sudhindra Holla, Regional Director, Axis Communications. Holla points out that the services component in large surveillance implementation projects is in the high double digits which translates into decent margins for partners. 

 

Network auditing

Network audits are one of the most in-demand services. Many enterprises outsource these audits but the market is presently dominated by the large consulting companies. Audit services can be divided into different categories. The most common is the auditing of existing network infrastructure, identifying issues, and suggesting fixes such as firmware upgrades or replacement of devices. Security audits are the most profitable among the different auditing services. “A number of customers are already considering IPv6 seriously, and are looking for IPv6 readiness reports,” says Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Country Manager, HP Networking, HP India. “Another requirement is Wi-Fi site audits since many enterprises are unsure about both security and performance and need an external consultant to tell them about the state of things.”

 

Structured cabling

While many partners take up structured cabling projects they often end up sub-contracting parts of it. This used to make a lot of sense a few years back because most partners saw more margins in consulting and selling the components and did not want to get themselves involved in the whole project. However, since last year, many IT partners have started recognizing that there exist enough margins in taking up projects and implementing them end-to-end. “We had stopped taking up cabling projects, but for the past one year we have started taking up large projects,” informs Neel Shah, Director, Insight Business Machines, Mumbai. Adds AL Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks, Hyderabad, “We do not outsource any portion of a structured cabling project. We offer customers certification and performance guarantees for the infrastructure set-up, and this usually comes with a 20-year warranty. Customers are willing to pay extra for such efforts.” 

 

Remote Management

Of all remote infrastructure management projects the most critical is the management of networking devices. Customers are willing to pay more, especially in cases where 24x7 monitoring is provided. Typically, network device management fetches five times more money than managing end-points. Says Srinivas R, Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure, The Himalaya Drugs Company, “Maintaining uptime is extremely critical for enterprises, and we look for partners who can deliver services backed by strong SLAs.” Vendors such as Juniper and Cisco have been working with channels to help them set up professional practices around network management. 

 

Managed Security

The functions of a managed security service include round-the-clock monitoring and management of intrusion detection systems and firewalls, overseeing patch management and upgrades, performing security assessments and security audits, and responding to emergencies. According to Satheesh Nair, CEO, Stickman Consulting, Bengaluru, “Network security assessments and penetration testing are also in demand. These include one-time or periodic software scans or hacking attempts in order to find vulnerabilities in a technical and logical perimeter. Segments such as BFSI, R&D, defense, public sector and IT-ITeS have started showing interest in these services.

 

 

How To Build Successful Networking Practice

Building a successful networking practice is not easy. In a market that is fast evolving, it’s imperative to build a strong set of internal practices to help grow the business. Here are a few recommended ways a channel partner can build a successful networking practice.

Estimate the size correctly

A challenge which many network integrators face is their inability to size up an opportunity and create the right specifications for a quote. Says Alamuri Sitaramaiah, Director, Channel Sales, CommScope India, “We have seen many partners get some assumptions wrong and end up either underestimating or overestimating the project cost. Several partners have lost money or lost customers because of this.” While getting the bill of materials of a large passive networking project right is often complex, partners admit that things can also go wrong with a large networking project. “One solution is to work backward on no-regret quotes with vendors, and get a pre-sales technical person involved while bidding for the project. In many cases vendors are known to support you through some back-hand rebates or other discounting in case something goes wrong,” says Anoop Krishnan, VP, Quadsel Systems, Chennai. Another option is to use the configuration tools which are provided by vendors. “Schneider offers a number of tools which are usually bundled along with our products; these help a partner to plan a data center project to the finest detail,” informs Gurudutt M, Director, Transaction Business, Schneider IT Business. 

 

Focus on certification

Certification works in two ways in a partner’s favor. First, it increases the confidence among customers who consider the certifications of both the partner and the implementation team members as key criteria for awarding large projects. Second, vendors give extra rebates to certified solutions partners. Says K Subrahmanya, Director, Central Data Systems, “Our margins are often enhanced because the various certifications we have gained as a company have helped us to earn better.” 

 

Get the basics right

One of the main reasons for the success of several large network integrators has been their focus on some basic technology skills. Explains AL Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks, “Though newer technologies have evolved, the fundamental rules around basic technologies such as Internet Protocol or switching remain the same. When we hire our technical team we give a lot of importance to these basics.” Srinath says that to be a successful networking specialist knowledge of Cisco’s OS is necessary whether or not the partner is a Cisco partner. “Today, two out of three serious candidates aspiring to be networking professionals would have undergone some kind of Cisco certification.” 

 

Understand the customer’s business

CIOs and enterprise vendors are scouting for partners who have a strong understanding of how technology can help a customer’s business to grow. “Today, every CIO is aligning his IT strategy with the company’s business goals, so the right partner should also be able to understand this need,” says VC Gopalrathnam, VP, IT Globalization and CIO, Cisco India. KP Unnikrishnan, Director, Marketing, Brocade Networks, APAC, concurs. “A focus for the channel should be on investing in training its people so that they not only understand boxes but also have the ability to deliver business solutions that will help them service the enterprises of today.” 

 

Develop strong processes

Many CIOs have said that they look at internal practices and processes within an organization before assigning a work order. The reason is that they do not want to depend on specific people. Other parameters include long tenure, case referrals and vendor authorizations. “We prefer to work with partners who are good at knowledge sharing, provide us with longer road-maps, and present their plans on crisis management clearly,” informs Ramkumar Mohan, Head, IT & CISO, Orbiz, Gurgaon.