How was it?

Well, this entry will be my final post on this blog. As per my professor’s instructions, it will be “an appreciation of the experience”.

Overall, I found the experience very interesting. I have to say that I learned a lot during my research, but I can not say that I’m fully satisfied with the articles I posted. Time constraints forced me to limit the content of some of my articles, which I sometimes found to be frustrating. Because of the medium (internet) and the fact that my name is associated with these posts, I found myself continuously re-reading them to ensure they were at least decent. I had a hard time letting go and moving on to the next article. I have the same problem when I work on projects, but I found it more difficult to write 10 tiny posts than to create one 20 page project. Perhaps it is because once I get into a groove, I can write for hours on the same subject. I also found it difficult to limit the information in each post, for fear that my article would not be complete. To add to the challenge, the longer my article, the more time it took to review and to refine it, so finding the balance between time, content and length was not easy.

That said, I am thankful for the experience, and would recommend to anyone to at least try it. It is exciting to know that your posts may be read by anyone on the internet. It reminded me of when I created my first webpage, which was a total disaster by today’s standards.

I hope to begin my own personal blog after this course. It will most likely be a weekly post, and I have not yet decided on the subject matter. It remains to be seen whether or not I’ll manage to maintain a regular blog. Since I spend my days working in a support role, maintaining any information system outside of work sometimes feels like a chore.

Air Guitar Computing

No, I’m not referring to the popular Xbox 360 game: “Guitar Hero II”. I’m of course referring to our increasingly wireless world.

I can remember when my dad bought his first infrared remote back in the early ‘80s. A few years later, he purchased his first cell phone. It was a bulky bag phone, but it was mobile, and wireless. In the ‘90s, PDAs and laptops started having infrared capabilities, allowing for short range communication between computing devices. A few years after Y2K, wireless network cards and a rash of Bluetooth devices began to hit the market.

Today, laptops come standard with wireless capabilities and there are thousands of Bluetooth enabled devices available. It is now possible to buy a wireless headset for a cell phone! A wireless device for a wireless device!? Even game consoles have gone wireless. Both Microsoft and Sony have jumped onto the wireless bandwagon offering wireless controllers and a variety of wireless devices specifically designed for the Xbox360 and the PS3.

As well, an increasing number of organizations have begun adopting wireless infrastructure in lieu of a wired solution. It saves thousands of dollars of installation costs and can be easily implemented. Although security has always a concern with regards to wireless technologies, WiFi device manufacturers continue to improve security features, making them all the more valuable.

If you’ve ever struggled with connecting a home entertainment system, then you understand the value of wireless capabilities. They are generally easy to set up, and provide the kind of freedom and flexibility that just can not be duplicated with wired devices. It’s no wonder they are so popular.

If you’re interested in reading more, check out this MSNBC Article: The real wireless revolution is just beginning

Processing Without Processes

A common misconception is that information systems automatically increase a company’s effectiveness and efficiency. Although it is true that processors can perform repetitive tasks much faster than we can, and perform mathematical calculations at staggering speeds; computers are only as efficient/effective as the systems they are running. In turn, those systems are only as efficient and effective as the processes on which they were built. Meaning if the processes are inefficient and ineffective to begin with, the computer systems on which they run will not likely improve their situation.

Take the example of a mid-sized business that has just put into service Customer Resource Management software. After a few months, the implementation is complete and the system is finally available for use. There is only one problem. How should the system be applied to our current business processes? Do we need to change our processes, or can we customize the software to our needs? Where any of these questions considered before implementation?

Information Systems are simply tools. Very powerful tools, mind you, but without our guidance, they lack direction. From a business perspective, what’s most important is the foundation on which information systems are built. This foundation has to involve thorough planning, as well as solid processes. If business processes can not stand on their own, their crippled nature will certainly hinder your information systems.

In another example, a construction company would never attempt to build an office complex without proper planning and processes. The consequences could be disastrous and could result in the loss of lives. Of course poor business processes are not likely to be the cause of your death, but they could lead to the death of your organization. Don’t expect your information systems to bail you out, because they are only performing the tasks you have asked of them.

SOA What!?

Sun Microsystems defines Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as: “An integrated software infrastructure and design approach that leverages Web computing standards for delivering business functions as shared services.” The goal of an SOA is to render your information systems secure, flexible, agile and cost effective. Simply put, this architecture’s purpose is to bridge the gap between information systems and business processes.

Most information systems are self contained based on specific business needs. This normally results in complex interfacing between systems. Over time, this type of structure becomes cumbersome and costly to maintain. By adding layers, a SOA can assist organizations in becoming more efficient and effective allowing them to react and deploy IT more quickly, thus reducing costs.

The result is reduced deployment cycles that eliminate the need to rip and replace each time new services need to be implemented. SOA structures IT applications so business processes can be separate from specific functions. The outcome is that various systems are free to integrate with one another. As it should be, business drives IT.

Service Oriented Architecture applications are not only limited to internal information systems. They also allow organizations to interface externally with partners and/or clients, even if they employ different technology platforms. This business value has not gone unnoticed, seeing that technology giants such as IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard provide the tools and entire platforms which facilitate the integration between thousands of available software applications.

For more information, please visit the following link: Sun Microsystems SOA

The Voice of the Internet

Is voice over IP (VoIP) on its way to replacing our traditional telephony systems which have reigned supreme for the last 50+ years?

Although VoIP was first developed for ARPANET in 1973, it only has recently become commercially viable. Over the years, the protocol has been plagued with poor sound quality and latency issues. These problems could be compared to the problems experienced by cell phone providers. Similar to poor cell signals, VoIP calls were low quality and would often cut out, leaving users frustrated.

However, internet service providers have since upgraded their infrastructure which has increased the number of high speed internet users. This has made it possible for VoIP providers such as Vonage to offer telephone services over the internet. All that is needed is a high speed internet connection, and Vonage will provide the rest. The equipment bridges the connection between your internet and your existing telephones. For just under $70 / month, an organization can take advantage of unlimited long distance phone calls across Canada and the U.S. In the current telephony pricing structure, your local telco can not offer the same service for the same price.

Still, even with the lower prices offered by VoIP providers, organizations have been reluctant to convert their telephony systems. Perhaps it is because internet service providers can not guarantee their service will always be available; a problem which is out of the control of VoIP providers. Traditional telephone systems have proven themselves to be reliable, and have a track record spanning over 50 years.

Nonetheless, I believe with time VoIP will become the standard telephony protocol. Already, companies such as AT&T, which has existed since 1875, is offering their VoIP service called CallVantage. It is just a matter of time before other large telecommunication companies decide to offer their own implementation of VoIP.

Helpdesk 101

Hello, you have reached the helpdesk, how may I assist you?



At one point or another, we have all contacted a helpdesk for some assistance. Whether it was because our connection to the internet was not working, or we simply required assistance in Microsoft Word, having somewhere to call is crucial. A helpdesk is often the first point of contact whenever a technical issue arises.

In this article, I will describe some of the fundamental components which make a helpdesk effective. Although there are several different configurations possible, I will focus mostly on the basics.

Central Point of Contact. It is important to have a central point of contact where clients can call when assistance is required, such as a 1-800 number. From there, a telephony system will route each call to various agents within the helpdesk. This is typically the first point of contact.

Common Email Account. As with a central telephone line, it is important to also have a common email account. One that is accessible by several people, but in which all help related requests are sent. For example: helpdesk@support.com. This enables all team members to work from a central mailbox, and allows clients to always send messages/requests to the same mailbox.

A website. Always important is a website. It should contain Frequently Asked Questions, Technical documentation, How-To’s, etc. There are an increasing number of computer savvy users which prefer to research their problems before calling the helpdesk. If a client can resolve their problem via a website, it may possibly save the helpdesk an unnecessary call.

Online help. This is normally a web component that allows clients to directly interact with a helpdesk agent through their website. An increasing number of organizations have started using online help. The advantage is that if the client is unable to find the required information, clients can chat directly with a helpdesk agent to assist them while online. It lowers call volumes, and allows clients to receive immediate assistance.

Remote Assistance. This is probably a helpdesk agent’s most important tool. It allows technicians to connect directly to a user’s computer in order to see the problem first hand. Since both the client and the technician are able to interact with the client’s computer, it is much easier to explain and guide clients through questions and/or problems. In some cases, it allows technicians to have full control over the client’s machine, allowing him/her to fix the problem remotely.

Knowledge Base. A knowledge base is a central repository containing information for functional questions and technical problems. They are normally built in-house, or through a service provider such as Right Answers. An in-house knowledge base is typically a large investment in time and resources, especially if you are building one from scratch. However, having an information database will benefit both the helpdesk staff and the clients. It ensures information accuracy and consistency which can be used both internally and for online support scenarios.

Properly trained staff. There have been cases where I contacted a helpdesk, and I knew more than the agent I was speaking with. This is not ideal. It is true that varying levels of knowledge will populate a helpdesk, but for the most part, clients should not be guiding helpdesk agents. Technology is constantly evolving, which means the helpdesk staff must evolve with it. Continuous training is the only way to ensure your helpdesk staff is always up to date.

Bilingual Employees. In this particular example, I am referring to employees who can speak in both computer lingo and _______ (fill in the blank with the language of your choice). Since helpdesk staff members are required to be translators between clients and other tiers of support, they should also be able to communicate proficiently with each group. Speaking on a level too technical may frustrate a client; where as other tiers of support require specific technical information in order to solve problems. Finding employees with this balance of knowledge and communication skills is not as easy as it sounds.

Proper hardware. You do not want to call a helpdesk, and continuously hear them say: “Just a minute, I’m waiting for my system to respond…” You'll need to ensure the entire helpdesk’s infrastructure; from desktop computers and servers to the network infrastructure is up to date. This does not mean an upgrade is required every time Microsoft or Dell release a new product, but at the very least renew your hardware every 2-3 years. Although the lifespan of computers nowadays is longer, the price of supporting them continues to increase. Keeping them too long beyond their warranty may not be cost effective.

Although the points above do not encompass all that is required to start a helpdesk, they do provide a solid starting point. It should be noted that often times, helpdesk agents do not receive the recognition they deserve, but they do play a key role in today’s business continuity. They keep clients up and running, and are normally the first to know when a general informatics problem occurs.

Identification Based Encryption

The popularity of mobile computing devices has grown over the years. Cell phones have become more than just telephones, laptop sales are on the rise and blackberries have never been more popular. In fact, the use of blackberries in the Canadian and U.S. governments has steadily increased in the past few years, prompting a joint program to find a way to protect the information being transferred through our airwaves. Although in the case of blackberries, email may be protected within it's own infrastructure, but once a message reaches the internet, it often loses its protection. Of course, this problem is not limited only to blackberries, as the majority of email messages sent today are sent in plain text without any type of security.

This very problem prompted the Canadian and U.S. governments to begin a joint program to test the validity of Identification Based Encryption (IBE). Although the concept was first made known by Adi Shamir in 1984, Dan Boneh and Matt Franklin are credited with inventing IBE while working on a project for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2001.

As you may have guessed, IBE uses an ‘identity’, such as an email address to generate an encryption key. The advantage of this type of encryption is that it eliminates the need for user-based digital certificates, on which the popular PKI system is based. The result is an infrastructure that can be easily implemented on the back end of current email systems, making it seamless to users. Since IBE can be implemented using a “behind the scenes” approach, it is a cost effective way to secure current email systems without having to impact each user directly.

In the government Blackberry/IBE trial, they measured its success on 5 criteria:

1. Usability impact – How are clients affected by this system?
2. Security requirements – Does IBE meet Canadian and U.S. encryption standards?
3. Policy enforcement – Is it possible to implement policy enforcement while using this technology?
4. Minimal administration overhead – Does IBE reduce infrastructure costs and administration?
5. Interoperability – Is IBE compatible with other devices and secure messaging technologies?

The result of the experiment was that IBE met or exceeded all the criteria above. Obviously, the collaboration was considered a success. This is good news not only for our governments, but also for the private sector. Since information and knowledge are the competitive advantage required to survive in today’s business environment, protecting it is very important. For this reason, it is likely that we will see an increase in IBE implementation.

Communication Breakdown

With the amount of communication lines available today, it’s never been easier to keep in touch with friends, family, business associates, etc. These lines have allowed the information age to transition to the knowledge economy which has now become the “Intangible Economy”. If you’re asking yourself: “Intangible what!?” you are not alone. I only just stumbled upon it while doing my research for this article.





Wikipedia defines the Intangible Economy as including the following criteria:

- Knowledge assets (what people know and put into use)
- Collaboration assets (who people interact with to create value)
- Engagement assets (the level of energy and commitment of people)
- Time quality (how quickly value is created)

According wikipedia, these are the four key resources from which economic activity and competitive advantage are primarily derived and delivered today. It is evident that if it were not for all of our available lines of communications, the intangible economy could not be possible. So what happens when the lines of communications are broken?

When Led Zeppelin released ‘Communication Breakdown’ in 1969, they were referring to the communication lines between two people. Today, the lines of communications span the globe, offering seemingly endless channels. From cell phones to the internet, our thirst for continuous connectivity has steadily grown in the past 20+ years. The result is a deep dependency on electronic networks and devices which leave some of us helpless when they fail. So much so, that many companies incur significant costs and considerable loss in sales and productivity whenever any portion of their electronic infrastructure fails.

In April of 2007, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) experienced a disruption in service which lasted approximately 10 hours and affected every Blackberry user in North America. A large portion of the 8 million worldwide Blackberry subscribers were without email functionality during the outage. The impact was important enough to affect the Canadian government, as well as generate several news headlines. CTV reported:

"We all lost our data when we were in the House of Commons last night. The sound of BlackBerrys being thrown against the desk was deafening for a while,'' Liberal MP Garth Turner told The Canadian Press.

"Because it has become the de facto channel of communications around this place, it actually impacts on the government of Canada and the work of the whole House of Commons.''

In this particular situation, only a single service provider was affected, so other means of communication were still available. However, what would happen if we lost access to all internet, email, and telephony services? I doubt companies and/or governments could effectively exchange information by simply using smoke signals. Besides, communicating in this fashion would likely conflict with the Kyoto Protocol.

Luckily, the world has not yet experienced a total communication breakdown; one where all lines were broken. Given the vast array of networks, and the world’s extensive communication infrastructure, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if ever. Still, any communication breakdown further affirms the importance of these networks, without which the Digital Firm could not effectively exist.

Net Neutrality – An outsider’s opinion

I recently read a post on my professor’s weblog (Philippe Gauthier) which relates to the concept of Net Neutrality. It is an interesting read, and sheds some light a possible direction for the internet. Although I have to admit I had not formally heard of the term before reading this article, I will say that politicians and/or some companies have been trying to dictate how we make use of this extremely powerful network since the time it became popular. I believe the only reason the internet has not been controlled for so long is because its popularity exploded in the early 90’s and governments (specifically the U.S.) were unprepared for the impact it would have on our society and the world at large.

The internet as a relatively self-governed entity has worked well over the last 15 years. It steadily grown and has woven itself into our social fabric. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you’ve heard of the internet. There isn’t a day that goes by that I do not access the internet. I may not get online a few weekends during the summer months, when I’m backpacking, and even then, if I can get cell signal, I could check my email if needed.

Socially, email and other web related technologies have reduced the distances between my friends and I. My friends in Ottawa are only a few clicks away. I recently added myself to Facebook.com and I was amazed at the amount of people I found that I hadn’t heard of in years: old high school friends, co-workers, university colleagues, etc. Not to mention the new people I met around the world, all thanks to the internet.

The day I signed up for online banking services was the day I stopped missing paying my bills. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the money to pay those bills, but rather I would not pay them on time. Today, I set up automatic payments, and never worry about missing payments.

At Christmas, I purchased a few items online. Costco and Futureshop made it easy for me to do my shopping through the internet which allowed me to avoid overcrowded malls and the dramatic increase in local traffic which I continue to find frustrating. Although I will not deny that the increase in population does translate into additional retail sales which does have a positive impact on our local economy.

If we were to lose the neutrality that currently exists on the internet, I believe it would have an impact on society as a whole, as well a stump the growth and evolution of the internet.

When I first read the article, my initial reaction was: Why would politicians agree to this? It certainly would have a harmful impact on the U.S. economy. Obviously, large corporations would likely survive without issue, but how would it affect small businesses, which rely on the internet to compete with their much larger counterparts? Even more important, should governments be involved in regulating public networks? In my opinion, in order for the innovation to continue, we should leave things as they are.