QuikNews January 2002 E-Mail Newsletter




Quality Technology Solutions, Inc. QTS QuikNews – January 2002 – Issue 2002.1 January 5, 2002 ************************************************************************ Welcome to the January edition of QTS QuikNews, our Monthly E-Mail newsletter. In this monthly e-mail, you will receive an update of what's new at QTS - new products we support, new patches and upgrades, solution ideas and promotions to save you money, and information about our company and our clients. As a QTS client, a prospective client we have had discussions with, or a “friend of QTS,” you have been automatically added to our newsletter distribution list. To unsubscribe from this mailing please see the instructions at the bottom of this page, or call your QTS Account Manager. Please do not respond to this e-mail. This is an unmonitored account. ********************************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE ********************************************************************** 1. QTS News 2. Events 3. Patches & Upgrades 4. President’s Corner 5. Partner Spotlight: Stratis Group 6. Special Offers & Featured Solutions ********************************************************************** QTS NEWS ********************************************************************** CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY DRAWING WINNER: Q4 2001 As many of you know, our technicians leave customer satisfaction survey cards with our customers following service visits, and we encourage our customers to provide us with feedback so we can measure our service quality and further improve our operations. As a thank you to our customers and staff, we hold a quarterly drawing from all returned surveys and provide an Omaha Steaks Gift Certificate to the customer winner, and a gift to the staff member with the most returned surveys. Our Q4 2001 drawing winner was Eric Ottoway of the Brooklyn Brewery, and the QTS engineer was Tom Kwapniewski. Congratulations, and please continue to complete the satisfaction surveys. They can also be submitted online at www.QTSnet.com/customers. LEASING ALTERNATIVES We have seen an increased interest on the part of our customers in leasing equipment, and continue to have a relationship with Compaq Financial Services to facilitate this. Since the life span of technology these days tends to run in the 3 year range, many customers view a 3 year lease or financing as a suitable option to spread the cost across the time frame of the investment. Many people do not realize that software and services can be included in the lease, although this generally turns it into more of a financing arrangement than a lease (typically this forces a dollar buy out at the end since there is no “fair market value” for services). However, in the current economic climate many businesses are finding this approach an attractive way to achieve their technology goals while conserving cash. Contact your QTS Account Manager if you would like to explore this option for an upcoming project. +++ FROM THE WEB +++ QTS ANNOUNCES WINTER 2002 SEMINAR SERIES AND EDUCATIONAL EVENTS 1/7/2002: QTS today announced its Winter 2002 Seminar Series, with events focused on Internet Security, Secure Remote Access and "21st Century Manufacturing Solutions," as well as three new Tuesday lunchtime briefing series for our customers. Read more at http://www.qtsnet.com/stayinformed/l3_stay_pr24.htm QTS ANNOUNCES SERVICE MEASURES FOR 2001; CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN SERVICE SCORES 1/7/2002: QTS today announced its performance measures for customer service in 2001, showing continued strong performance. Read more at http://www.qtsnet.com/stayinformed/l3_stay_pr25.htm ********************************************************************** EVENTS ************************************************************************ SEMINARS These events will present key technology topics, with the intended audience being IT Director or business managers (including CEO/CFO), and the topics will be covered at a high to medium level of detail, with a focus on education and on technologies to implement business solutions. * January 30^th and February 13^th: Fundamentals of Internet Security (with Check Point Software, Aladdin, RSA Security and Citrix) – rerun of the Fall 2001 event, but repackaged into just two events and spaced two weeks apart. The first event will focus on firewall security and content management (Aladdin), while the second event will focus on VPN, Strong Authentication (RSA Security) and remote access (Citrix). * February 6^th and April 10^th: Microsoft MS Connect Series – Windows XP – rerun of our well-received December event, with a technical presentation on Windows XP and on Office XP, as well as presentations on Windows implementation best practices and software asset management. * February 27^th (NJ) and March 6^th (NY): Secure Remote Access (with Cisco, Citrix and RSA Security) – rerun of the Fall 2001 event, with one session in NJ at QTS and a second session the following week at Cisco in NY. * April 4^th and 11^th: 21^st Century Manufacturing Solutions – Microsoft, QTS, Stratis Group, DMS Technology Solutions and CALC will present an integrated approach to automating Manufacturing organizations, with a focus on enablement and return on investment. The seminars will be held at CALC’s Edison and Parsippany locations. LUNCHTIME TECHNOLOGY BRIEFINGS (formerly “customer roundtables”) These events will present key technology topics from a technical perspective, with the intended audience being IT Director or senior staff, and the topics will be covered at that level. * January 29^th: Trends in Document Management (presented by Wertheim, Inc.) * February 12^th: Introduction to NetWare 6 * February 26^th: Intrusion Detection (presented by Symantec) * March 12^th: ZENworks and Desktop Management * March 26^th: Wireless Local Area Networking (with Cisco Systems) LUNCHTIME EXECUTIVE BRIEFINGS These events, co-sponsored by Microsoft, will present key technology topics with a focus on the perspective of business decision makers. As such, the intended audience is CEO/CFO/CIO level staff, and the topics will be covered at that level. * February 19^th: Effective eCommerce Strategies (presented by Stratis Group) * March 19^th: Best Practices in Customer Relationship Management (presented by DMS Technology Solutions) * April 16^th: Security Policy Development (presented by Neil Rosenberg, QTS) LUNCHTIME LEGAL BRIEFINGS These events, co-sponsored by Microsoft, will focus on law firm solutions from the perspective of the law firm IT Director or the partner responsible for technology. The events will focus specifically on how law firms can use these technologies, and the issues involved in successful implementation. * February 5^th: Office XP in the Law Firm (presented by Microsoft) * March 5^th: Trends in Document Management (presented by Wertheim, Inc.) * April 2^nd: Secure Messaging & Client Communications (presented by QTS) ************************************************************************ PATCHES & UPGRADES ************************************************************************ Call the Customer Support Center to have us apply QTS-standard patches and keep your systems current. The following patches have been recently released and are recommended by QTS: * Microsoft “Unchecked Buffer” Patch for vulnerability in Windows XP, ME, 98 and 98SE (see Microsoft Security Bulletin MS01-059). * Microsoft Cumulative Security Patch for IE (see Microsoft Security Bulletin MS01-058). * Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 Service Pack 2 * Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2 * Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 1 * Citrix MetaFrame XP for Windows 2000 HotFix XE101WE001 Novell has released the Novell Client for Windows XP, which QTS is presently testing. CA InoculateIT 4.x signature files are currently at version 31.40 (1/3/2002) and McAfee VirusScan/NetShield is at version 4179 (1/2/2002), and Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition is at version 40102c (1/2/2002). Please keep your antivirus signatures current! If you do not have your system set up to automatically distribute updates from your server to your PCs, please call your QTS Account Manager or the Customer Support Center. Some patches can cause problems, especially in combination with other software programs or patch levels. Please talk to us to verify whether we see any possible problems in your environment before patching your systems independently. We make best efforts to test patch combinations but cannot guarantee compatibility between software and hardware manufacturers’ products. ************************************************************************ PRESIDENT’S CORNER ********************************************************************** One of the key areas that drives business success in the current economy is focus. In challenging economic times, many businesses stumble and fail because of lack of a clear message and business focus. As sales drop, many companies tend to try to expand into new, uncharted waters without proper planning and an understanding of the impact of this. Often, this leads to business loss, as the core business suffers further and the new ventures fail from lack of planning and management. One can see many examples in the IT industry, such as in the case of companies that had strong success in channel partnerships trying to get a “quick buck” by going into direct sales, only to find that the efforts did not deliver desired results, and broke other aspects of the business. Over the last two years, during uncertain and in many ways challenging times, we have worked hard to try to establish and drive a core focus for QTS, and make sure our efforts have been in line with our mission and our message. This is challenging and difficult, because our industry is splintered into so many practice areas and our customers’ needs are broad. However, I have found that the days of the “full service computer company” are over – no company, no matter how large, can have the skill set to deliver best of class services across the whole IT spectrum. The key to success in our industry at this time is to focus and be very, very good at what you do. QTS’ focus and core definition revolves around Worry Free Networking. This breaks down into three major areas that are all interdependent. First, we build, integrate and enhance network solutions for our customers – LANs, WANs, VPNs, remote access, wireless, thin client – anything revolving around the core networking services we provide. Second, we support (QuikAssist) and manage (QuikAlert) those networks for our customers – directly or more commonly to back up our customers’ IT staff. Third, we offer comprehensive security services to ensure our customers’ networks are reliable and have high up-time. All three of these areas tie together into a coherent business focus. We are able to differentiate from our competitors in a number of ways. First, our core focus on serving mid-market businesses (50-1000 desktops, though we certainly have many larger and smaller clients) puts us in a range where customers are often under-served by smaller companies that don’t have our quality and depth of staff and skill, or larger companies that don’t have our service focus and level of personalized attention. Second, our approach to knowledge management and best practices is very unique, based on feedback I receive from customers and partners. Third, few companies offer network management in as structured and developed a manner as we do, bringing Enterprise class service to mid-market business. Fourth, there are security companies that don’t really do networking and there are networking companies that don’t really focus on security as a complete system, but few that integrate both – we do. We have thus been able to achieve strong differentiation from our competitors. However, this leaves us with a number of areas where our customers have needs, and where we choose to “not play” since we only want to deliver services at a high level of quality. In this regard, we are continuing our efforts to develop best of class business partnerships with local companies that are to their fields what QTS is to the networking field. Our efforts in 2001 with the Stratis Group are an excellent example of this. During the course of the year, we were able to bring Stratis Group into a number of our customers to help with software development efforts, eCommerce initiatives and other areas where our customers’ needs were matched to their core competencies. Conversely, we were able to help a number of their customers stabilize their networks and provide a solid foundation for growth. We have initiated similar partnerships with best of class providers of Document Management and Imaging solutions (Wertheim, Inc.), applications training (CALC), and Accounting and Customer Relationship Management solutions (DMS Technology Solutions). Some of these are areas where QTS has traditionally “played” (document management and applications training) but is moving out of in order to maintain our core focus, while still bringing best of class solutions to our customers. Others are new areas where we are seeing strong needs (though we have been referring accounting needs to DMS for some time), and have to help our customers find solutions. We are working on other partnerships to round out this “line card” of technologies and solutions in 2002. What I am finding is that this approach is synergistic, and our customers value it. They appreciate our realistic statement of what we do well, but the fact that we can bring a team of strong partners to the table makes it easy for them to manage their IT relationships. Our partners have achieved additive business, as have we. And our technical staff is stronger with a core focus, rather than distracted by moving targets. This is a challenging enough industry when one is focused, let alone when one is trying to be everything to everyone. The latter approach simply doesn’t work with an industry running at “Internet speed.” I am interested in your thoughts and observations about our partnering approach – I have talked to many of you in the previous year about this topic, but would enjoy the opportunity to learn more from you about how our approach has helped our would help your business and your IT plans. And of course, constructive feedback is always the most valuable, in that we can learn from it and improve. And that is our goal – to provide the best service and solutions we can, in order to help our customers use technology to achieve their business goals. As always, feel free to email me your comments or thoughts at nrosenberg@QTSnet.com. Thank you. Neil Rosenberg President & CEO Quality Technology Solutions ********************************************************************** PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: STRATIS GROUP ********************************************************************** This month QTS is spotlighting its eBusiness and software development partner, Stratis Group. Stratis Group, Inc. (Stratis) creates innovative software solutions that drive competitive advantages for companies ranging from startup innovators to Fortune 500 industry leaders. Stratis' software development and consulting services are specifically positioned to help clients achieve their business and technology goals. With extensive solutions development experience in database applications, data analytics, visual studio.net development, web applications, client server applications, e-commerce, knowledge management, and workflow collaboration they deliver solutions that integrate with our clients' existing heterogeneous systems, while fitting directly to our clients needs. Stratis’ eBusiness solutions include B2B, B2C and B2E, customized for each business. Microsoft core product expertise includes SQL Server, Commerce Server, BizTalk Server, Content Management Server, SharePoint Portal Server and most other Microsoft platforms. Stratis' highly experienced professionals, with 12 years average per employee, understand the value of defining a solution that fits "just right." Using a tested and proven methodology, Stratis combines the cost-effectiveness of enterprise software with the business-specific focus of custom development, all seamlessly integrated to ensure that information is leveraged and consistent across the enterprise. The result is an E-Business solution that suits Business Managers, CFOs and technologists alike. QTS and Stratis work together for our customers to build new solutions that create competitive advantage, reduce costs or create opportunity – with QTS providing the infrastructure and Stratis the software solution, in a highly integrated fashion. For more information on Stratis Group please view their web site at www.stratisgroup.com, email them at sales@stratisgroup.com, or call 908-790-9200. Or, contact your QTS Account Manager. ********************************************************************** SPECIAL OFFERS & FEATURED SOLUTIONS ********************************************************************** MICROSOFT OPERATIONS MANAGER 2000 PROMOTION Microsoft Operations Manager is Microsoft’s tool for managing Windows 2000 and .NET servers and services, and can be extended with add-ons from NetIQ to provide a complete SNMP network management solution. Under a promotion running through April 30, 2002, MOM Base Processor Licenses and Application Management Pack Processor Licenses are available for $349 each, compared to a normal price of $849 and $949 respectively. ********************************************************************** To Comment on this newsletter, send an email to QuikNews@QTSnet.com. ********************************************************************** To Remove yourself from this mailing list please send a reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject field. Or call or email your QTS Account Manager. ********************************************************************** To Subscribe to this Newsletter, tell your friends and colleagues to go to http://www.QTSnet.com/QuikNews. ********************************************************************** To View an archive of all QTS QuikNews editions, please visit http://www.QTSnet.com/stayinformed/QuikNews/QuikNews_Index.htm. ************************************************************************ ^{ã2001 Quality Technology Solutions, Inc.} This site last updated 01/08/02 © 1999 Quality Technology Solutions, Inc. 76 South Orange Avenue Suite 302, South Orange, New Jersey 07079 telephone: 973.761.5400 fax: 973.761.1881 email: info@qtsnet.com