December 23, 2024 - Last week’s notables

Happy holidays from inWorks!

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar and join us at Longview Farm for the following upcoming events! We're excited to welcome you—just make sure to set your GPS to 143 Cedar Ln. Glenmoore, PA 19343 (avoid Cedar Ridge Ln) for the best route straight to the fun!

📆 Saturday, December 28 – Join us at the Longview Gallery for a conversation about ordinary life under authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. Led by Ilya Lehrman and Patrick Seyler. The event starts at 6:00 pm. Free admission. You can register via Facebook.

📆 Now through December 28 – Join us for the 1st Annual Holiday Exhibit at Longview Gallery. This cozy, market-style exhibition is a partnership between The Longview Gallery and local arts organizations who have selected several artists to showcase their work in this exhibit. Come in, look around, and purchase holiday gifts for loved ones!

📆 Extended Open Gallery Hours – In order to provide additional hours for guests to shop from our Holiday Exhibit, Longview Gallery will be open to the public for visitation every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 3 p.m. now through the end of the year.

📆 Saturday, January 4 - Join us for an Opening Reception for Hannah Zartman’s "Toward a Tender Place." Hannah Zartman is a visual artist based in Philadelphia. Having received a BFA from West Chester University in studio arts and printmaking, Hannah found a deep passion for methodical relief printing processes, specifically multi-color linoleum cut, and silkscreen. The reception will be held at the gallery from 5 to 8 p.m.

Infrastructure & Support  

We're getting ready for another week at atin.works. Our Infrastructure and Support meeting highlighted several important updates and tasks. We started with a check-in, sharing personal updates and addressing the team's technical issues, including a monitor resolution problem due to a Windows update this morning.

Key discussions included helping a Smart Home Solutions client prepare for their new Sleep Number bed, ensuring they have all the necessary network information and that we're ready to assist with any delivery day issues. We also talked about clearing up old support cases before the end of the year. Additionally, we reviewed an upcoming Google Workspace migration for a client, discussing concerns about video storage and the potential use of OneDrive to efficiently manage storage.

There was a conversation about onboarding contractors for a client with NIST 800-171 cybersecurity compliance requirements and ensuring secure access to systems, especially for those using personal devices. We'll be reviewing the current conditional access policies to determine what needs to be done to support the contractor's specific operating system needs. We also addressed issues with a server failing to apply updates and the need to ensure proper backups.

The meeting concluded with a discussion on the new timesheet layout in Business Central, its impact on workflow, and how to personalize the view to suit individual preferences. While the initial reaction to the change was a bit lukewarm, we appreciate some of the improvements, such as totaled task lines and the overall enhanced appearance of the UI.

Devices 

In today's Devices meeting, we talked about replacing a customer's outdated firewall, which has soon-to-expire support contracts. We will prepare a quote for a WatchGuard replacement, likely the T45 model. Additionally, we will consider equipping another location for the same customer with a smaller but efficient device.

Meanwhile, in other device-related news, we remain concerned about the impact of tariffs on technology costs for the next few years. The recent election results have brought renewed attention to the potential impacts of proposed tariffs on the cost of technology, including computers and other office equipment. If implemented, these tariffs could significantly reshape the landscape of consumer electronics in the United States. Economists warn that the proposed tariffs, which include a 10% universal tariff on all imports and an additional 60% tariff on imports from China, could lead to substantial price increases for a wide range of tech products. For instance, laptop prices could rise by up to 45%, with a laptop currently priced at $793 potentially costing consumers an additional $357. Premium models could see even greater increases, adding $450 for every $1,000 of current pricing.

The broader economic implications of these tariffs are also concerning. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) projects that the overall cost of electronics could increase by $90 billion annually, leading to a decline in sales. Additionally, the Tax Foundation estimates that these tariffs could lower GDP by 0.8% and potentially cost 1.4 million full-time jobs over time. The proposed tariffs could also prompt retaliatory measures from other countries, further impacting the US economy. As the new administration considers these tariffs, it is crucial to weigh the potential benefits of encouraging domestic manufacturing against the significant costs to consumers and the broader economy.

Operations & Growth

In this week's Operations & Growth Lab, the team reviewed the upcoming Business Central reset for INW along with several operational updates.

A new Business Central company setup is slated for early 2025, with initial testing in a sandbox environment happening this week. If successful, the transition will commence at the end of the month, making the new company operational from January 1st. This will require some configuration updates and changes in the end-user experience, which we aim to streamline with global customization. Additionally, efforts to resolve outstanding customer invoices are in progress, and discussions on expanding team capacity continue. A meeting with Verizon is planned to discuss potential feedback or program modifications, and we're considering hosting a company holiday party, with an interest poll to be sent out soon.

For 2025, we're also exploring a new rate structure for INW services, which will include a retainer option offering discounts for bulk hourly purchases and a revised fixed-plus model that provides better deals for higher monthly expenditures.

In Longview Farm news, we're seeing promising signs for expedited funding to support the woodland improvement and invasive species removal project. Today, we are meeting with our DCNR representative and a USDA forester for an assessment of the woods.

With the holidays upon us, we are beginning to plan a company celebration. Last year, we hosted our first event known as ‘The Gathering,’ and we hope to schedule a similar event for February - stay tuned for more information!

Information Radiation

Our Information Radiation meeting began with a discussion on the recent changes in local tax rates in Chester County and Delaware County and their implications for residents and businesses. The discussion covered the approval of a 13% tax increase by the Chester County Commissioners, by a split vote, and raised concerns about budget transparency and the impact on residents. Delaware County will also see a 23% increase. To clarify, I'm not commenting on the merit of taxation itself, but noting that the double-digit rise is substantial and, together with other increasing costs, will be burdensome for many in our community. The conversation also addressed Chester County's recently established executive leadership roles, introduced to align the county's leadership with its growth. The long-term effects of these changes will unfold over decades, and the short-term impacts on residents and businesses are yet to be determined. Meanwhile, this serves as a timely reminder of our duty as citizens to remain involved in local affairs.

The team also talked about the announcement that the CMMC Program Rule (32 CFR Part 170) will be effective as of December 16th. This pertains to DoD contract holders and subcontractors. Contractors and subcontractors should evaluate their relevant environments, review assessment objectives, and ensure that all controls are documented and implemented. Although the rule is now in force, the inclusion of CMMC requirements in DoD contracts will start after the finalization of the DFARS rule in 2025.