The Kennickell Group
We got to know the Kennickell Group as Kennickell Print and Communications. In the years since then, the name has changed and the services have exploded. Kennickell is now a full service marketing company that offers clients a dizzying array of capabilities. From traditional printing, to variable data print, to data mining, Kennickell offers industry leading facilities to enterprises across the globe. As an ISO 9000 company, Kennickell has proven their commitment to consistent quality. Kennickell is a family owned company with deep roots in Savannah and is involved with a variety of organizations and services in the community. In keeping with a tradition of leading the industry in trends to help their clients sell more products and services while reducing internal costs, Kennickell has begun an effort to educate the public on one of the hottest marketing facilities around, the Quick Response (QR) code. For more information on this, and other services of Kennickell, please visit their website at www.kennickell.com. If you'd like to check out QRCodes, either go to the Kennickell site, or just scan in the QRCode below with your phone!

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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

~ Thomas Edison

There are times when it's hard to know what to tell folks about, there's so much going on! Things change so fast in the information technology arena it can be difficult to know what to read about, let alone what to deal with. This is especially true for the small business owner, who is already wearing several hats that would be given out to different individuals in a larger firm. This month, we're going to take a quick look at some of the hottest things you've seen in the press, and maybe give a little insight as to whether or not they matter to you, and why:

 Windows 7: In our opinion, the best release of Windows yet. It has a cleaner interface, and has been extremely compatible with software we've used and tested with it. Is it for everyone? Nope! For more information, check out this months "Ask a Nerd"!

 Virtual Servers: Considering that most of the resources of most servers are grossly underutilized, it only makes sense to try to get more out of them. Virtual server technology, once reserved for the large data centers, is finally reasonable for even a smaller business. In short, Virtual Server technology is a way to run multiple copies of a server operating system on a single piece of hardware. Why would you want that? Well, there are a ton of reasons. Sometimes, server applications don't work well together, and need to run on what they think is their own computer. Other times, you need different versions or types of servers to get a job done. Disaster recovery comes into play as well. Virtual Server software comes from a variety of sources, some free. These include Microsoft, VMWare, and Citrix.

 Cloud Computing: This has been around for ages, just not called this lofty name! Cloud Computing simply means that you're pushing some or all of your computing power out the Internet and into a data center somewhere. This could be as simple as using an online accounting application, or as complicated as having a custom line of business application run out of a series of fault-tolerant data centers across the globe. This is definitely an area of growing interest, but there are pitfalls to consider. Whenever you are completely trusting someone else with your company data, you better know who has the keys to it! You're also putting yourself in a position of vulnerability to Internet outages. Neither of these are reasons not to consider this technology, but both are reasons to do your homework.

This should be enough to keep you Googling for another month! As always, if you need information, advice, or just want to talk about technology needs, we're here to help!

Have a great month,

Chuck

Is "walking the talk" a tired old cliché or a bold new concept? Very few managers today are receiving formal management training. As a result, many are poor communicators and weak in their delegation and leadership skills.

According to a Gallup poll, 25% of U.S. employees would fire their bosses if they could. Why? Because many managers set high service standards for their employees, yet fail to abide by those same standards.

If you are a manager, you are in an excellent position to lead by example. Your employees will only respect your authority if they observe your excellent customer service skills on a daily basis. Customer loyalty must be a top-down initiative.

Here are five ways you can earn greater respect and increase employee loyalty:

Upgrading to the new Windows® 7 operating system can make your PC faster and easier to use. Many users fear that the upgrade process itself will be stressful and difficult -- but fear not! Following these five simple steps will help you have a smooth and stress-free transition.

1. Check to ensure you meet system requirements

Before you upgrade to Windows 7, your PC will need to have:

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
For an easy way to ensure you've got what it takes, move on to Step 2.

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Have you ever wondered about the word "discipline"? What images does it conjure up in your mind? Doing what you have to do? Toeing the mark? Keeping your nose to the grindstone? Putting restrictions on your behavior and actions? Setting limits? If these are some of the negative connotations you would assign to the word "discipline," then you'll really enjoy hearing the story of Stuart Jenkins, and you may find it quite an eye-opener.

"Mrs. Jenkins," the grade school teacher announced to Stuart's mother, "your son will never graduate from high school, let alone attend college. It's because of his dyslexia, you see, he's learning disabled."

Stuart sat in the slow class in the one-room schoolhouse in a little town in Nebraska where everyone knew everyone. The worst part was not that the town labeled him "dumb" and "stupid." The worst part was that Stuart believed the labels. Until, that is, the day that everything changed.

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What's top of mind these days in running your business? If you're like many small business owners and managers, your focus is riveted on your balance sheet. Even as indications mount that we're pulling out of the Great Recession, you're still looking for every opportunity to increase revenues and cut expenses.

Business productivity software can be a great ally in the battle to boost the bottom line. Just ask Christian Marks, who with his wife, Laura, owns and operates MagicBus.com, an Asheville, NC-based shop that provides e-commerce and online marketing solutions for small businesses. After Christian and Laura upgraded to Microsoft Office 2007, they decided to see how Business Contact Manager (BCM) could help them be more productive.

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● Missed Manners
by Amanda C. Kooser
reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

Some tech junkies tend to neglect etiquette in the office. E-mail is still one of the leading culprits, but newer arrivals like BlackBerrys and wireless earpieces are causing their share of social snafus. "Technology should not be an opportunity to multitask conversations," says technology etiquette expert Laurie Puhn, president of Laurie Puhn Communications . "Anytime you're [doing that], it is rude and unacceptable."

The ability to instantly send and receive e-mails and messages on your BlackBerry, PDA or smartphone requires etiquette attention. Put that BlackBerry away during meetings to let others know you're giving your full attention to the proceedings. Cell phone related violations are a major source of complaints, whether it's ringers going off at inappropriate times, loud speaking voices or the inadvertent sharing of personal information with anyone in the vicinity.

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