QuikNews June 2003 E-Mail Newsletter




Quality Technology Solutions, Inc. QTS QuikNews – June 2003 – Issue 2003.6 June 30, 2003 ************************************************************************ Welcome to the June 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. Solution Spotlight: QuikStart for Microsoft SUS 6. Special Offers & Featured Solutions ********************************************************************** QTS NEWS ********************************************************************** QTS REFERRAL INCENTIVE As a reminder to current QTS customers, we are offering incentives to our customers for referring prospective customers to us. Over the years, a large percentage of our customers have come to us based on referrals from other customers, as well as from partners and industry relationships. As I'm sure you know, this is one of the best ways to develop business. So we’re asking you to think about people you know that QTS can be of service to, and asking you for introductions to those businesses. +++ FROM THE WEB +++ QTS LAUNCHES QUIKSECURE MICROSOFT PLATFORM REVIEW SERVICE 6/16/2003: QTS today launched its new QuikSecure™ Microsoft Platform Review service offering, providing Medium Business and Corporate customers with a comprehensive review of their Microsoft server environment, and knowledge transfer as to best practices around securing these products and keeping them secure. Read more at http://www.QTSnet.com/stayinformed/l3_stay_pr43.htm QTS AND AKA LAUNCH PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER HIGHLY AVAILABLE ACCOUNTING, ERP AND CRM SOLUTIONS 6/16/2003: QTS and AKA today announced a strategic partnership between the organizations to deliver highly available accounting, ERP and CRM solutions to the New Jersey and New York business communities. Read more at http://www.QTSnet.com/stayinformed/l3_stay_pr42.htm ********************************************************************** EVENTS ********************************************************************** No events are presently scheduled. ********************************************************************** 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 generally recommended by QTS: * Microsoft MDAC 2.7 Service Pack 1a (check with app vendors first!) * Cisco PIX OS version 6.3.1 and PDM 3.0.1 We are presently testing Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. Also, please check http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/current.asp for applicability of Microsoft Security Bulletins to the products in use at your environment. Contact your QTS Account Manager if you would like our Customer Support Center to monitor these bulletins for you and advise with recommendations for your environment upon release of new bulletins. Symantec (formerly Norton) Antivirus Corporate Edition signature files are currently at version 50628h (6/28/2003). CA InoculateIT 4.x signature files are currently at version 43.62 (6/27/2003) and 6.x signature files are currently at version 23.61.62 (6/27/2003). McAfee VirusScan/NetShield signature files are currently at version 4273 (6/25/2003). Please keep your antivirus signatures, and your scan engines, 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 ************************************************************************ It seems like everyone I speak with and interact with these days is overwhelmed and overworked. The economic downturn we have all been dealing with has forced most companies to do more work with less personnel, particularly in IT. This has forced many organizations to resort to “fire fighting” mode, dealing with problems reactively and with no time or resources to drive positive change. I try to learn from those around me as much as possible. Over the years, I was introduced to Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by one of my co-workers, and to the Franklin Planner system by another (the 7 Habits have subsequently been integrated into the planner when Franklin and Covey’s businesses merged). This has had a significant impact on my professional life and my productivity. A few years ago, a customer noticed in a meeting that I was using my Franklin Planner, and we talked about Covey’s 7 Habits. She observed that this was a book that she re-reads every year, and was able to apply new skills from each time. I have tried to make this a habit as well. Based on the overwhelming sense I have that most of the organizations we interact with are in “react mode,” I’m writing this month’s column to share some of the ideas that have helped me to better manage my time and focus on priorities that impact my business. Since most of the readership for QuikNews consists of managers, leaders and officers in your businesses, this should be helpful. I can’t begin to summarize the contents of a 300+ page book in a few paragraphs, but I will try to explain and touch on some key themes – the first three habits. Covey outlines these as “Be Proactive,” “Begin with the End in Mind” and “Put First Things First.” Covey frames these three as key steps in moving from dependence to independence. By “be proactive,” Covey is talking about taking responsibility for your actions and decisions. One of my favorite concepts from this is the Circle of Influence – Covey observes that most people focus on a “circle of concern” and are consumed by the things around them that they cannot control. Their circle of influence is small, and they are often overwhelmed by the forces and pressures affecting them (often with a perception of unfairness). However, by focusing on your circle of influence (what you can control) and on expanding it, you are able to take charge of your circumstances and establish a more positive relationship with the people and forces around you. One is also able to avoid being overly stressed out by the things in the circle of concern, by recognizing what is controllable and what is not. In the “begin with the end in mind” chapter, Covey discusses how we all operate from various “centers” (money, friendship, competition, church, etc.) that impact our view of the world, and our actions. Often these centers drive our actions and reactions to events as they occur. However, by becoming self-centered (not self-centric!), based on a fundamental set of goals, values and beliefs we define, we can change that reaction to be in line with the results we desire – and in effect, make more of an effort to control our fate and move toward that desired result. Covey discusses a personal mission statement as the document that defines the driving goals, values and beliefs that govern one’s life (professional and personal). With a personal mission statement, one’s activities are focused toward a clear set of objectives, rather than reacting randomly to events as they occur. Do you know where you are trying to go, or are you just along for the ride? By “put first things first,” Covey refers to prioritization and focusing your time and energies on the things that truly make a difference. To know what goes first, you need to know where you are trying to go – what are your goals and objectives, personally and organizationally? Covey refers to four “quadrants” of activity: * Quadrant I consists of activities that are Urgent and Important * Quadrant II consists of activities that are Important but Not Urgent * Quadrant III consists of activities that are Urgent but Not Important * Quadrant IV consists of activities that are Not Urgent and Not Important Quadrant I and III consume most of our time, and Quadrant IV is a retreat from responsibility and results. Quadrant II is where we don’t spend nearly enough time – focusing on the things that are important, but not urgently pressing. Instead, time is reactively pulled from here into Quadrant I and unfortunately Quadrant III. By focusing on our Mission Statement and on the end result of what we want to accomplish (what is most important), we can free up time from Quadrant III by choice, and possibly Quadrant I by delegation, to move time into Quadrant II and establish focus on things that make a difference. I’m not saying this is easy (quite the contrary, it takes considerable discipline) but it is do-able, particularly if one starts with modest goals and maintains focus. This is less than half the book, but these are foundational elements that are necessary to move to the next level of activities and achieve what Covey refers to as “interdependence” and a higher level of effectiveness. One of our clients for whom I have a great deal of respect is the IT Director for a 450 person law firm, at the time running a mixture of server platforms and mostly Windows 98 clients. Help desk calls were chewing up his staff’s time, and forcing his team to be highly reactive. He was unable to get to projects that he knew would have a significant impact on his business. He is also a believer in Covey’s 7 Habits system, and focused on the source of the problem – reducing the support calls, rather than merely accepting the situation. He and his team rolled out a locked down Windows 2000 desktop image, designed specifically to ensure a low-support, high-reliability experience for his users. As a result, following the project user satisfaction went up, and help desk calls went down to 10% of what they had been in the past. This is an excellent example of, as Covey would say, “putting first things first” and maintaining focus in Quadrant II, where his actions could have a significant impact on the business. If any of you fall into this category, and I think at least some do, then the good news is that you can work your way out of Quadrant I and focus on Quadrant II by starting to commit even a small amount of time each day into doing so. As Covey would say, you can expand your Circle of Influence and try to take steps to make things better. What is the one, single project or activity that if you focused one hour per day of your time into, and some financial and staff resources, could have a significant positive impact on your business? How do you make the time to do this, and convince senior management of its value? I’ll be happy to have conversations with you to help you with this process, and perhaps QTS and I can be of service in helping you to achieve this goal. If so, I can take some satisfaction in sharing, and passing along to others, some of the valuable insights that others have taken the time to share with me over the years. Please let me know if you found this helpful and would like me to write another column later in the year extending on this theme (there are, after all, four more habits). Or better yet, pick up the book and read it once over lightly, then focus on re-reading one chapter a month with a focus on applying the theory to your life. As always, feel free to email me your comments or thoughts at nrosenberg@QTSnet.com. Thank you. Neil Rosenberg President & CEO Quality Technology Solutions ************************************************************************ SOLUTION SPOTLIGHT: QUIKSTART FOR MICROSOFT SUS ********************************************************************** Microsoft Software Update Service is a free tool from Microsoft to allow for automated deployment of critical updates to Windows 2000 and Windows XP PCs from a centralized Windows 2000/2003 Server. Essentially, it leverages Windows Update technology but inserts the SUS Server as a middle layer between the Windows client PC and Microsoft’s Windows Update server, giving the customer’s IT staff the ability to decide which updates are deployed, and when. It also controls how they are deployed – on a push model, rather than a client pull basis, and ensures consistency in deployment rather than leaving the choice with users individually. The key benefit is that SUS allows you to keep your desktop PCs current with security patches and hotfixes to the Windows operating system, and to push down patches if necessary to control a vulnerability. SUS only works with Windows 2000 PCs or higher, and requires a server running Windows 2000 and the IIS web server. It deploys operating system critical updates (patches and hotfixes), including patches for Internet Explorer, but does not do patches for applications such as Microsoft Office or Outlook. It also does not do full service packs, which need to be deployed separately. However, this is still a valuable tool for quickly deploying security fixes consistently out across an organization. If you are in need of a full software distribution solution for service packs and applications, Microsoft SMS provides this functionality, and there is an SUS Feature Pack that integrates SUS and SMS. Our QuikStart for SUS is a fixed cost engagement in which we deploy the SUS server component, deploy the SUS client to some sample PCs, and train your IT staff on the technology so you can deploy it within your organization. This is typically a half to 3/4 day engagement depending on your environment, and is priced at a fixed cost of $1,000. For QTS QuikAssist customers, we can as an alternative set this up for you, and if necessary deploy to your PCs (or show you how to do so) out of your QuikAssist block. Contact your QTS Account Manager for specifics. ********************************************************************** SPECIAL OFFERS & FEATURED SOLUTIONS ********************************************************************** SYMANTEC SECURITY SOFTWARE Symantec is offering a 10% discount on many of its security software programs (Intrusion Detection, Vulnerability Management, etc.) to customers who purchase a Vulnerability Assessment utilizing Symantec’s NetRecon software, from QTS. Contact your QTS Account Manager for more details. SBS SOFTWARE ASSURANCE PROMOTION Customers purchasing Microsoft Small Business Server by 9/30/03 receive a $550 discount on the cost of Software Assurance, effectively lowering the cost to $99 for two years of free upgrades. Contact your QTS Account Manager for more information. ********************************************************************** 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. 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