April 19, 2024 - This week’s notables

Infrastructure & Support  

We can fix most problems remotely, and sometimes there are factors like network issues that stop us, and we need someone on-site to help. One way to deal with this is to have an on-site service machine ready for these situations. An on-site service machine is placed in a secure area, ideally plugged into an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and connected directly to the network firewall.

This setup gives us direct access to the network and makes sure the PCs power supply lasts longer to help troubleshoot when things go wrong - whether it's a power problem, ISP outage, or equipment failure. If you want to have a service machine installed for your company, let us know! It's better to be proactive and ready for the problem that might happen in the future - it will save time, resources, and get you up and running faster in case of infrastructure failure.

Devices 

Prevention was a common theme in our team’s discussions this week. This is especially relevant in complex systems – we compared it to the human body and naturally linked it to IT infrastructure. Like many people who suffer from allergies in the spring, we were struggling with ‘SUPER POLLEN,’ and some of us had severe symptoms. Luckily, there are easy solutions for this, and we’re all feeling better. The downside was that we had to go through it at all. The reality is, we didn’t NEED to. With a routine of preventive allergy medication, symptoms can be avoided, and everyone can breathe well and stay focused. The same applies to other complex systems, like IT infrastructure. With preventive actions like careful procurement, security controls, regular maintenance, and proper awareness; cybersecurity risks can be prevented. Like allergy medication, preventive IT actions are an investment. The alternative to investing in prevention is often very expensive - loss of critical infrastructure, productivity, intellectual property, reputation, and even legal consequences.

Just as we can take proactive steps to mitigate the effects of allergies, we can also apply preventative measures to safeguard our IT infrastructure. The key is to anticipate and act before issues arise, ensuring the smooth operation of our systems and the protection of our valuable assets. By embracing a culture of prevention, we can avoid the discomfort and disruption of 'IT allergies' and maintain a healthy, productive environment. Let's make prevention not just a part of our conversation, but a fundamental practice in our approach to complex system management. Together, we can create a resilient and secure future, free from the avoidable 'symptoms' of neglect.

Operations & Growth 

This week, we progressed our Dynamics Optimization project and released the solution on Thursday afternoon! With the solution out, we still have some more work to do, but we are closer to having a more effective asset management tool. We

 saw how valuable this will be when a customer faced issues over the weekend because of an expired SSL certificate. GoDaddy failed to send the expiration email that typically reminds the customer that we need to act, and a critical piece of infrastructure stopped working for several hours as we resolved the issue. If our asset management solution had been (pro)active, we would have detected this beforehand and ensured renewal without disruption.

The lesson for us is not to rely on vendor or partner systems alone and have a backup on our end! More learnings from the field. Onward and upward!

Information Radiation

Our Information Radiation practice was buzzing this week with the news of Zensai – The Human Success Platform, from our partner formerly known as LMS365! If you weren't aware of the news, you can catch up in our Substack post  from earlier this week.

Zensai is an evolution of the Microsoft 365 integrated Learning Management System that LMS365 provided. Now, with the launch of Zensai, features like employee engagement and performance management are accessible to further enhance the value of the platform. Training is often a key part of the employee experience, but it is usually neglected after initial onboarding. With the additional functionality, Zensai has the opportunity to transform organizational culture.

We're very excited about partnering with Zensai to deliver this functionality while also helping our customers find the right product for their size and need.