networking-info

As I work with a few enterprise software start-ups I often get asked about how to find early customers to validate and refine early design prototypes. The answer is surprisingly not that complicated. The following is my response to a recent question on Quora, "How do we get a target audience for enterprise applications, when you dont have an enterprise customer yet for rapid prototyping?" Finding a customer and finding end users are quite different. In enterprise software end users are not the buyers and the buyer (customer) may or may not use your software at all. To recruit end users, there are three options: Friends and families: Use your personal connections through email and social media channels and ask for their time (no more than 30 minutes) to conduct contextual inquiries and get validation on your prototypes. Most people won't say no. Do thank them by giving them a small gift or a gift card. Find paid end users: This does seem odd but it works. I know of a few...

You are invited to attend the Cloud Webinar Series: Why State & Local Governments Should be Prepared for Cloud . This educational webinar is brought to you by RISC Networks , and will be hosted on BrightTalk.com at 12:00 pm on March 26, 2014. The webinar will present Moving to the Cloud: Expert Insights by Special Guest, GovCloud Network Founder (@GovCloud) Mr.Kevin Jackson . The best practices of cloud migrations will be explored. A panel discussion of the benefits of Cloud IaaS for State & Local Government will be presented. The panel features the founder and Chief Analyst of RISC Networks, Mr. Jeremy Littlejohn . As CEO & Chief Analyst of RISC Networks, a consulting firm specializing in business technology analytics, Jeremy Littlejohn oversees approximately 300 engagements per year and works closely with CIOs and IT managers to optimize the reliability, scalability and performance of their entire IT infrastructures. Jeremy is a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCI...

A hybrid cloud may become the solution as the debate between public vs private cloud becomes so 2013. The industry’s experts will debate on when the hybrid clouds are and are not the be all and end all and if the infrastructure supporting the hybrid clouds really matters. As stated by IBM, “Dynamic hybrid cloud environments are harmonizing computing demands and capabilities – public and private clouds, on and off-premise clouds, and traditional IT environments.” The IBM Experts Debate starts at 11:00 am EST on March 11, 2014 at IBM’s Virtual Event Center. The virtual doors open at 10:45 am EST.   Participating in the debate is: Kevin Jackson, Steve Strutt and Laura DiDio. It is an event you do not want to miss. Laura DiDio is a highly visible information technology industry analyst, consultant, a professional writer and a former reporter. Laura has 20 years of experience in the high technology industry. She has consulted with all of the major industry vendors including: Apple, Accentu...

Cloud computing transitions information technology (IT) from being "systems of physically integrated hardware and software" to "systems of virtually integrated services". This transition makes interoperability the difference between the success and failure of IT deployments, especially in the Federal government.   Recent government IT failures like the healthcare portal roll out highlight this critical difference. Leading specialists serving on the federal health IT committee have voice their concern about the lack of comprehensive interoperability. "I'm concerned that this program isn't focused on creating an inter-operable system that would allow unaffiliated systems to share medical information,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said in an emailed statement to Fox News . Being a very young industry, universally adopted cloud computing standards do not currently exists. While de facto standards are being pushed by some major cloud providers, other industry g...