HDI 2012 Conference & Expo: Great Event!

May 10, 2012 By

I’m a bit behind in posting this note about HDI’s 2012 event, held two weeks ago in Orlando. But I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity to congratulate HDI on a terrific conference once again, and thank the HDI team for all of their efforts to make the conference a valuable forum for help desk professionals and the vendors serving the industry.

The PC Helps crew at HDI 2012 in Orlando

The PC Helps crew at HDI 2012 in Orlando

The last two years we’ve exhibited there we found it to be time well spent. In our booth at HDI this year, we had many discussions with attendees about challenges they are facing in supporting their business users effectively. A recurring theme was how the help desk’s role is changing in response to consumerization of IT – in particular, the pace of change in devices and the heterogeneous device environment. We look forward to continuing the dialogue.

This year is also the second year we’ve hosted a customer appreciation dinner for PC Helps clients attending the conference. A warm thank you again to those who joined us for dinner at Cala Bella – it was a great evening and wonderful company. Congratulations to one of our clients, EmblemHealth, and their own Tiffany Mills on receiving the HDI Analyst of the Year award for the Greater New York region. Well-deserved Tiffany!

HDI always has outstanding, inspirational keynote speakers, and this year was no different. Former head football coach Lou Holtz, author and leadership consultant Joe Calloway, Discovery Channel’s Dr. Michio Kaku, and others delivered engaging stories and anecdotes along with compelling and salient messages for the audience.

In one of the main breakouts, Gartner’s Jeff Brooks led a session on The Future of the Service Desk, in which a key point of focus was on service desk reporting and metrics oriented to representing the value of the service desk to executive management. Jeff emphasized that the standard metrics and reporting historically used by the service desk (such as first-call resolution, time to answer, etc.) are not metrics of particular interest to executive management. What would be of interest are metrics reflecting how well the service desk is supporting business users and further their contribution to company revenue – driven through improving the productivity of the company’s workforce. This perspective is certainly relevant to us in our business here at PC Helps, and to our clients.

There were many, many other sessions and activities of interest at the conference. I encourage anyone in the help desk arena to attend next year’s HDI 2013 conference in Las Vegas. We’ll look forward to seeing you there!

Filed Under: The Future of the IT Desk Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What We’re Reading: Much Ado About Consumerization

May 4, 2012 By

Maybe it’s because we’re deep-down geeky, but we love InfoWorld’s “deep dive” reports. They take you beyond the buzzword and give you information you can actually use.

InfoWorld's latest "deep dive" looks at consumerization of IT. Click to read full report.

Its latest is “IT’s Consumerization,” and it’s stocked with articles about the trend that’s taking over business. In the 20-page report, InfoWorld writers pick apart every aspect of the phenomenon – from the iPad’s pivotal role to IT leaders’ changing attitudes toward the trend. It even traces CoIT’s roots back to the 1960s, when the old “company man” way of doing business was replaced by individualism in the workplace.

The report covers two broad areas – implementation and management – with a mix of practical advice and historical context. The “Implementation” section of the PDF includes a step-by-step guide on embracing CoIT.

In “IT’s Guide to Consumerization,” writer Bob Violino offers six steps:

  1. Create a culture that likes consumer tech
  2. Focus on policy-based governance
  3. Implement mobile device management
  4. Tap into your employee base for app ideas
  5. Get over security skittishness around BYOD
  6. Build an app store that appeals to users

For the first point, Violino writes, “An organization’s ingrained culture is probably one of the biggest inhibitors to effectively and sensibly leveraging the opportunities presented by technology consumerization.”

Part of the cultural change, he says, is getting IT out of the mindset that only technology people can make technology choices.

Another article of note is [Read more...]

Filed Under: Consumerization of IT, What We're Reading Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Dispatches from the IT Trenches

April 26, 2012 By

First things first: This is not an article making fun of help desk callers. That’s not something we enjoy, especially when you consider that we’re a software support company. Our customers are our bread and butter.

Rather, this is a collection of anecdotes that celebrate the personal relationships our techs form with customers, the things they learn from them, even the satisfaction they get knowing they helped someone out.

Below are some of the more memorable stories we have collected over the years.

More Important Things to Do

Sometimes, it’s not just about fixing someone’s errant Excel pivot chart. Actual lives can be on the line.

 I had someone call in once because they had two monitors and, instead of each one showing something different, they were both showing the same thing. The problem was, he needed it fixed ASAP, because he was in the OR and had a brain surgery scheduled.

Sometimes, it’s not just about fixing someone’s errant Excel pivot chart. Actual lives can be on the line.

If You Can’t Laugh at Yourself…

And sometimes, our customers just need a good laugh to get through a particularly stressful day.

A customer called about a constant beeping noise. I asked him to press ctrl+alt+del. He said, “OK, let me move this book off the keyboard…” and trailed off. We both had a little chuckle.

It’s What Neighbors Do

Then there’s the opportunity our [Read more...]

Filed Under: Customer Service Tagged With: , , , ,

Office on the iPad: Quick Tips

April 19, 2012 By

Mobile devices have altered the way we work. More than half of American workers do some work remotely or from home, and almost a quarter perform job-related tasks at home every day. A big chunk of that work is done on tablets or smartphones. While these devices are welcome advancements, they’re a long way off from delivering work-anywhere bliss. Some of the snags we face when working on a mobile device are compatibility issues and limited editing capabilities.

Until software makers deliver the aforementioned work-anywhere bliss, those of you who work remotely will have to make do. Here are a few iPad tips to help you along.

Working with Pivot Tables on the iPad

Click to view how-to video.

One of the most useful features of Excel is the pivot table. Naturally, there may be times when you will want to work with a pivot table on your iPad. Though the technology is still new, there are some options for doing so.

If all you need to do is view the static data in a pivot table on your iPad, you can use third-party apps or the built-in attachment viewer of the Mail app to view your Excel spreadsheet containing your pivot table. To manipulate the filter drop-downs to change the data displayed in the pivot table, you can view the file online using the Microsoft Excel Web App. You cannot modify the pivot table fields or structure with any currently available iPad apps.

The following instructions describe two methods for viewing Excel files online with the Microsoft Excel Web App:

To view Excel workbooks with pivot tables that were previously uploaded to your Windows Live SkyDrive:

(Note: Steps to set up and move files from your PC to a free Windows Live account are outlined in another eTip.)

  1. On your iPad, tap the icon for the Safari browser app on the home screen.
  2. Tap the address bar at the top of the screen and type office.live.com. Tap the Go button on the keyboard.
  3. If you are not already signed into your Windows Live account, do so now by entering your Windows Live ID and password.
  4. If the site has limited graphics, you may be on the mobile version of it. If so, look for a PC site link at the bottom of the page and tap it.
  5. Tap the name of the file or the folder where you stored your Excel documents on the site.
  6. Tap the name of the file to view it in the Microsoft Excel Web App.
  7. Tap the down arrow next to the drop-down filter on any pivot tables to modify the filter.

To view Excel workbooks with pivot tables that were forwarded as attachments to an email address that is associated with your Windows Live ID: [Read more...]

Filed Under: iPad, Office 2010 Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts