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October 2007
In this issue:
■ Clean up Your Act
■ Seeing Double
■ WSJ Article
■ 8 E-Mail Mistakes
■ Do You Need Managed
Services?
■ 7 Rules for Using Laptops
■ Key Steps to a Secure
Remote Workplace
■ Opportunities
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Do You Need Managed Services?
Four questions for you to answer
Are managed services a better choice than the way you are doing things now? Like everything else in your office, the answer will depend on how you want to measure it.
Your first step is to answer these four questions.
■ Do your employees need to regularly enter data or retrieve information from a centralized server or database? The more they rely on this, the stronger the case for managed services.
■ Do your employees rely primarily on e-mail communication with important clients, vendors and partners? Again, the higher the impact on your bottom line, the more you should consider managed services.
■ Do you use e-commerce? You don’t want that capability lost for a minute – period.
■ Does your network go south occasionally? And, consequently, are your employees unable to use e-mail or access network data? One of the ways to justify managed services is to calculate the cost of your people sitting on their hands.
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Seven Rules for Using Laptops
in Meetings
By Jeff Wuorio
Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center
Not long ago, Frances Altman agreed to present a talk to some of her colleagues. Everyone arrived on time. Unfortunately, at least from her point of view, so did their laptop computers.
"Several people came in and started working on their laptops right through my talk," recalls Altman, public relations specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University. "It was very discourteous — they could hardly be taking notes or listening to you. Next time, I’ll request both phones and computers off."
Altman’s experience isn’t singular. Laptops (and Tablet PCs) are as much an element of business meetings today as any piece of equipment. But rules and protocols for using them are often lacking.
Here, then, are seven suggested guidelines to ensure that laptops contribute to productive meetings rather than to distract and annoy participants.
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eMazzanti Technologies Feature in
Entrepreneur Magazine
Clean up Your Act | Entrepreneur Magazine
Oct 06, 2007
By Heather Clancy
 Here’s conflicting hype about technology’s impact on the environment, but one thing is certain: There are simple ways tech-savvy entrepreneurs can improve their green credentials. Westwood, New Jersey-based Bergen County Camera, for example, improved energy efficiency 70 percent by swapping floodlights for compact fluorescent light bulbs, replacing three air-conditioning units and investing in low-power terminals that run off of a server. Not only do the terminals use roughly one-tenth the power of a PC, but they also cost just $300 to $600 each, compared with $800 and up for a desktop.
Of course, the server was an unforeseen upfront investment, but Bergen County Camera owner Tom Gramegna, 53, says the payoff was worth it: "Sometimes you have to take a little bit of a longer view than the ‘right now’ view."
 Investing in new PCs or terminals is a quick way to cut energy costs, says Jennifer Mazzanti, 30, co-founder with husband Carl Mazzanti, 31, of eMazzanti Technologies, a Hoboken, New Jersey-based IT services firm that counts Bergen County Camera among its clients.
The Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool provides information about which notebooks, desktops and monitors are best at meeting stringent green guidelines for materials, power consumption and provisions for reuse or recycling. Green Electronics is another clearinghouse for information about green technology.
But you don’t need to buy a ton of new equipment to start helping the environment. The simple practice of printing double-sided documents will cut paper consumption, as will adopting an electronic document retention strategy, Jennifer Mazzanti notes. eMazzanti also advises clients to invest in technology that lets its technicians diagnose and upgrade systems over the internet, conserving gas and cutting back on carbon emissions.
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| Seeing Double – Practical Productivity
 Do you have the luxury of doing only one task at a time? If you’re like me, I would guess the answer is probably “No”. I find myself answering email, working on a spreadsheet, looking at an accounting issue and searching for info on the internet all at the same time. It’s just become part of the way that we all work. Most computer users, however, are forced into single-tasking because of the way they see their work – on a single monitor. Windows XP and VISTA provide desktop users with the ability to “spread” their desktop across multiple monitors. Having two monitors has changed and improved the way I work. I’ve seen several study results that state two monitors can improve productivity from 20-50%. I agree. I can cut and paste from one application to another without having to change applications on screen. I can look at the info that I need on the internet and type that information directly into a spreadsheet at the same time. With two monitors, I can read the email with an accounting question and look at the accounting screen at the same time to understand the problem a user is having. I have become so dependent on two monitors that you could never get me to go back to a single screen.
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Did The Wall Street Journal sabotage businesses by publishing tips on how to circumvent IT?
In the Monday, July 30 edition of The Wall Street Journal, there was a special section on technology that led with the article "Ten Things Your IT Department Won’t Tell You" by Vauhini Vara. If you haven’t read the article, you should take a look because some of your users may have have already seen it, and as a result they may be engaging in activities that put themselves and your IT department at risk. Here is the list of the 10 items in Vara’s article:
- How to send giant files
- How to use software that your company won’t let you download
- How to visit the Web sites your company blocks
- How to clear your tracks on your work laptop
- How to search for your work documents from home
- How to store work files online
- How to keep your privacy when using Web email
- How to access your work email remotely when your company won’t spring for a BlackBerry
- How to access your personal email on your BlackBerry
- How to look like you’re working
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| Key Steps to a Secure Remote Workforce
Abstract
The workplace has undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. No longer is the corporation housed within physical walls; it now transcends those buildings, even extending beyond distant geographic borders. The corporate network too, expands far beyond the corporate perimeter to provide access to partners, clients, suppliers, and traveling workers. But the institution that has brought about the greatest change and controversy in the workplace is that of telecommuting.
 Telecommuting has become a way of life. Its growing acceptance is driven by many factors including initiatives to reduce pollution and congestion, the soaring cost of office space, and the challenges of communicating across international time zones. State and federal government offices have become the most enthusiastic proponents of teleworking, and most federal agencies are now required to have teleworking programs available to qualified employees. Private corporations, while not under legislative mandate to do so, often find that they too must develop remote worker programs in order to retain quality employees.
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Where in the World
is {e}Mazzanti?
Throughout the years,
patrons of eMazzanti have
sent us pictures of their
travels while sporting
eMazzanti gear.
Submit a photo of your
own via email
where@emazzanti.net.
Should be we use your
picture, you will receive a
thank you package and
be entered into our
annual drawing.
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8 E-mail Mistakes That Make You
Look Bad
By Kim Komando
Reprinted with permission from Microsoft Small Business Center
I get an awful lot of e-mail. Sometimes, people are looking for help with their computers. Some of it is fan mail.
Other folks are mad about something I said or wrote. Add to this the barrage of press releases and an occasional blast from the past when a former classmate or ex-boss drops me a note.
After facing this tidal wave of electronic words for several years, as well as owning my own business, I’ve developed some strong opinions about e-mail and correspondents.
Here are eight easily avoidable mistakes you should know about to keep your image and inbox in tip-top shape.
1. Failing to follow e-mail etiquette. I believe in the old adage, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." There’s no point in belaboring the etiquette issue. We all know we should be polite. But here are a few points to consider:
>Don’t write when you’re angry. Wait 24 hours. Calm down. Be reasonable. Have someone else edit your e-mail.
>Don’t use sarcasm. You may think you’re clever, but the recipient will be put off.
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Opportunities at
{e}Mazzanti
eMazzanti seeks bright
minds to join the team.
Refer a
Network Engineer to
www.emazzanti.net/jobs
and be eligible for a
shopping spree at
eMazzanti’s online store,
www.emazzanti.net/store.
Qualifying applicants
must receive full time
employment and have
referenced the referring
friend on the original
application in order for the
referrer to be eligible for
the annual drawing.
Shopping spree is limited
to $1,000 in merchandise.
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