HP's first Chromebox springs into step, flaunts business and pleasure

Good things truly do come in threes if you're a fan of Google's Chrome OS. Not long after Asus and Dell threw their hats into the Chromebox ring, HP has come out with a compact PC of its own.

Initially launching in spring 2014 in the US, the HP Chromebox promises to be an uncomplicated affair.

Whack the 5-inch box wide on your desk, hook it up to an external monitor or TV via HDMI or DisplayPort and you're good to delve into Google's cloud-based ecosystem.

It's no slouch either: the device comes armed with a Haswell-powered Intel Core i7 CPU inside. Though that may seem like overkill for a PC that essentially functions through a Chrome browser, it's also compatible with Google's Chromebox for meetings videoconferencing service that leans on raw compute power to stream 1080p video.

Box of tricks

As such, HP is pitching it as a device that straddles the middle ground between business and pleasure. Companies can manage and configure the device through a web-based management console, and a built-in TPM (trusted platform module) is included for security.

Other features of note include a built-in VESA mount, four USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth and the choice of three colour options - black, white or "ocean turqoise".

HP hasn't unveiled global availability or pricing for the model yet, but the inclusion of a chip from Intel's more powerful line of processors should ensure that it retails at slightly more than recently-unveiled competing models.

• How is Google making the Chromebox fit for business?

Via Engadget

Find the Best Backup for Your Business

by Luis Gomes

The CEBI Foundation is a non-profit focused on providingservices to our community. We don’t have piles of cash for the latest andgreatest technology, and our technical skillset is constantly under pressure toadapt and keep current. Layer on top the tremendous data growth we’re seeingand a strategic but gradual shift to virtualization and it’s plain to see we’vegot a full plate. Backup is at the top of our worries list. Our data isgrowing, our environment is changing over time and complexity is increasing. Weneeded to find a backup solution that would function better in a more complexenvironment without forcing new skills training or upgrading the talent wealready have. Our current solution was already far too complicated and slow touse even without the additional complexity of the virtualized environment. Threeareas became key for our decision.

Installation
The first test was the installation itself. Did we need tobuy services from the vendor, send folks to school, or bring in an army ofconsultants? It’s important that the implementation be done quickly to minimizedisruption to operations. And we didn’t want to be on the bleeding edge,introducing new risk on top of our existing changes. Since our migration isgradual, we needed a single platform that could handle these infrastructurechanges over time without breaking down under the stress or starting outover-subscribed.

User Interface
That meant usability was critical. Our staff is focused onserving the community and our IT staff is minimal. Backup and recovery tasks hadto be comprehensive but simple. If the interface is intuitive enough that non-technicalusers can use the solution, it will free up professional IT staff to pursueother initiatives and save on overhead.

]]>

View the original article here

What business can learn from analytics in sport

type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/si-and-tech-insights/"> Over the past decade sports have taken analytics to heart, using its tools to bring a more scientific approach to tactics, player management and fan engagement. The use of analytics is quickly becoming a prerequisite for success in the fiercely competitive world of professional sport, with teams as diverse as the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and Chelsea football club working through tens of thousands of data points to help form their strategies.

As sports become more competitive, the difference between winning and losing can be measured in fractions and one area that has a significant impact is the product at the centre of the game. This can either be mechanical e.g. an F1 racing car or human i.e. the sports player themselves. Taking the former, the vehicle that arrives at the start grid is the output of years of development in wind tunnels, computer simulations and the test track itself where terabytes of information have to be analysed to establish the factors that give an edge.

Once on the track on-going real time monitoring of analytics ensure that edge can be maintained. An example on the human side is that NFL players are now wearing biometric clothing where every aspect of their game can be assessed to provide insight as to how they can change the way they play or provide input to optimise their training regimes i.e. improving the product.

Similarly at the heart of the business is the product or commodity it deals in and markets are now getting crowded and competition fierce. Those companies that can learn from the cutting edge analytics in sports to reduce time to market with shorter product cycles, react early to changes in market conditions or respond to telemetric or sensor feedback to improve operational efficiency will, like all successful teams, rise to the top of their game.

So, as rugby fans sit down to watch The Lions Tour, the question for many businesses and IT decision makers should be ‘what can we learn from the use of analytics in sports to help enhance our own performance?’

In order to ensure a productive team, existing talent has to be nurtured and new talent has to be discovered to allow the continual replenishment of skill. Whilst the current players are a known entity and teams have the control over which metrics can be captured and the depth of analysis that can be undertaken, the identification of new players provides more of an analytical challenge.

Two options exist: the purchase of a known entity, which commands a high price and the purchase of a rookie with potential that comes with a lower price point. The role of analytics is to identify that potential, reduce the risk of a poor performer and give the benefit of a lower overhead. Nowhere is this better illustrated than the example of the Oakland A’s or the Moneyball Team.

With a budget a third of the major leagues, it was forced to identify players that were undervalued or undiscovered and by putting analytics at the heart of the selection were able to put a team together that competed at the highest level - an approach that has been replicated by many subsequent teams.

As in sports, identifying the top talent and ensuring it remains engaged is the key to a business’s success. However increasingly it is found that there is a scarcity of suitable candidates - ironically one of the areas being in analytics itself.

Firms therefore need to look at the role of analytics to identify attributes that indicate success and then use techniques seen in sports to search the reams of external data available to identify potential candidates. Once employed, the companies that are leading on analytics are increasingly using analytics to ensure high productivity, engagement and retention.

As shown in a recent survey, businesses are increasingly looking to turn to high end analytics to drive a competitive edge - with nearly a threefold increase in the number looking to use predictive analytics. With the boundaries between sports and business rapidly blurring there is much to be learnt from the increasingly sophisticated use of analytics in sports that can be transferred into business where analytics needs to move from being a retrospective to a future looking tool. Analytics are here to stay in business and sports and are becoming an integral part of success in both areas.

Posted by Will Gatehouse,Accenture Big Data Lead for EALA

]]>

View the original article here

A new service architecture for business innovation

type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/sourcing-and-vendor-management/"> The IT services industry is being challenged on two opposite fronts. At one end, IT organizations need efficient, reliable operations; at the other, business stakeholders increasingly demand new, innovative systems of engagement that enable better customer and partner interactions.

My colleagues Andy Bartels and Craig Le Clair recently published thought provoking reports on an emerging class of software — smart process apps — that enable systems of engagement. In his report, Craig explains that “Smart process apps will package enterprise social platforms, mobility, and dynamic case management (DCM) to serve goals of innovation, collaboration, and workforce productivity.” In other words, smart process apps play a critical role in filling gaping process holes between traditional systems of records and systems of engagement.

While these reports focus on software vendors, I also see service providers like Accenture (with Accenture CAS), IBM (with Emptoris), and Infosys (with Infosys BrandEdge) acquiring and/or developing their own IP-based solutions to help organizations fill the gaps between current and future application requirements. Another interesting player in this space is HP Enterprise Services. I recently wrote about how HP composed a dealer management solution (DMS) leveraging Microsoft Dynamics as a platform on which it developed its own IP. Below I’ve listed a few of the design principles that caught my interest in this particular solution, which I believe will become commonplace among all service providers aiming to deliver business innovation to their clients:

A scalable, reusable, multitenant architecture enables adaptable business processes. The processes that clients go through to buy a car can also apply to other products and services, such as new credit cards or loan applications. These are all interactions that organizations need to manage efficiently and effectively in order to save time for the customer and either increase their satisfaction level or just reduce their frustration. Systems of engagement enable these interactions and relationships. But relationships change and enabling solutions need to be flexible and adaptable to rapidly embrace these changes. The approach that HP has taken is interesting because it leverages a platform and architecture that it can reuse across clients and repurpose across industries.Consulting, BPM, and analytics bring incremental business value to clients. In the DMS offering, HP’s automotive industry specialists work with the client to understand the business challenges and configure a solution aimed at delivering increased business value (higher client satisfaction, for instance). A library of reusable business processes accelerates the deployment of the solution across the different clients and client instances. Finally, analytical tools identify potential improvement areas in terms of business process performance, thus optimizing the solution to deliver the right business outcomes.

What does this mean? Service providers will no doubt play a big role as integrators of smart process apps. More importantly, I expect that this new service architecture, combination of assets (including BPM, mobile, social and analytics), strong domain expertise, and as-a-service delivery models will allow traditional service providers like HP ES, Accenture, IBM, and Infosys to reinvent the way they deliver value to their clients and help them create business innovation. I welcome your thoughts, as always.

Posted by Fred Giron

]]>

View the original article here