Quest Blog | Quest Technology Management

CEOs in the Crosshairs

When it comes to security breaches, CEOs stand in the crosshairs. More than their IT staffs, it’s a CEO who’ll take heat for a breach that exposes customer data or endangers relationships with business partners.

So, unlike plenty of other IT issues that don’t require C-level attention, information security ranks right up there alongside financial issues as something with which CEOs need to be familiar. Yes, information security can be daunting, but so are financial statements — and CEOs have to sign off on those.

Where to start? Here are three questions every CEO should be able to answer: Do you know who your security expert is? Do you have a security policy? Do you understand how it’s implemented, managed, enforced, monitored?

Tim Burke

Selling Cloud-based Virtual Desktops: A Reality Check

Ideas are cheap, the ability to execute is priceless. Nowhere else in technology is this more apparent than in the delivery of virtual desktops. Why you ask? Because virtual desktops put DaaS providers, their partners, and clients internal IT, directly in the crosshairs of the end users and their expectations. The margin for error is razor thin. If the end user cannot easily access their virtual desktop and work from their preferred device — the best laid plans, and cost benefits for leveraging virtualization at the desktop level are meaningless.

Implementing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is not an easy endeavor. Many CIO’s and IT staff have been “restructured”, due to costly mistakes. There are big rewards for those who can successfully deliver DaaS and VDI offerings to the market. And as with anything worth doing there are going to be challenges and risks, especially for those looking for a simple transaction.

Adam Burke

Cloud Computing best practice: Use your Cloud SLA to get what you really need

Do not — I say again, do not give your Cloud service-level agreement (SLA) short shrift. Your Cloud SLA is how you make sure you get what you want and pay only for what you get.

It’s not uncommon, however, to find yourself with an assortment of Cloud SLAs — one for each service your business subscribes to. Happily, the right Cloud SLA will enable you to bundle all your Cloud services into a single monthly OpEx payment.

Tim Burke

Do-It-Yourself Consumers of Cloud

We have all been in that conversation, when a customer is describing a need, a capability or a solution requirement that is a perfect fit for a Cloud-based platform. Before they even finish speaking, we have the “answer”! We cannot wait to jump in and prove how “smart we are”, how our company, our ecosystem partners, or our Cloud offerings are cutting-edge.

One problem. What if your client doesn’t buy into the Cloud strategy? What if they want to manage their core infrastructure, keep their data in-house and be able to “touch” their production? Regardless of the fact that Cloud-based solutions can remove complexities, this type of DIY IT buyer is impervious to white papers, TCO models, ROI calculators and any other presales tool used to funnel their IT spend to Cloud computing. Now what?

Adam Burke

Cloud Computing best practice: Backup your data!

If you’ve ever suffered a data loss, you know how critically important data backup and retrieval capabilities are.

I’m here to remind you that this importance does not diminish when your data (or apps) reside in a Cloud. Nor should you simply assume your Cloud provider automatically backs up your data and apps.

Tim Burke

Differentiation Begins with a Customer-Focused Agenda

When the products and services you offer look pretty much like everyone else’s products and services, what can you do to differentiate yourself ?

If your only option is to stand out with price, you risk eventually cannibalizing your own business.

That’s not all. By focusing only on price quotes for the immediate transaction, you’re leaving other unrecognized opportunities on the table. So you need to resist the knee-jerk into a price quote and find ways to describe your value-add in terms other than price

Adam Burke