Event Summary: KVM.net II Certification

Last week, 15 Minicom resellers braved the terrible weather and travelled to the NY/NJ area to become certified to sell KVM.net II, Minicom’s revolutionary remote access management platform. Our local partners were well represented while others came from as far away as Colorado, Texas, and Canada. We also had the pleasure of welcoming Randy Yoder of Iowa City’s Mercy Hospital. Randy gave our resellers a great presentation about Mercy’s specific requirements and how Minicom provided a solution with a mix of the PX and KVM.net II.

The day also included an overview of KVM.net II positioning, key differentiators, features and functionality and several case studies. Our partners were able to configure the KVM.net II during the “hands on” portion of the day prior to any technical training, proving that KVM.net II is the most intuitive remote access management platform on the market. During the group sessions our partners were separated into 4 groups, each with a distinct list of customer requirements. Each group was tasked to develop a solution to meet their customer’s requirements and present the solution to all of the participants.

These partners are now members a select group of certified resellers of KVM.net II. They left the training with a detailed understanding not only of KVM.net II, but Minicom’s entire remote access solution set and value proposition. With the sales activity that began immediately after the event, we are proud to call the event an unmitigated success.

Jennifer Vallarautto, President, TechSolutions, Inc./Office Out Of The Box had this to say:

“When I was invited to attend Minicom’s training on KVM.net II, I was not sure what to expect. After all, I am in sales, and have not installed or used any of these products myself. After the training, which took only a day, I not only knew product benefits and features, I also knew how to use the systems. As a certified partner, I am now better able to consult with my customers and help them select the best products for them.”

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Related:

• Mercy Hospital Webinar (archived version – play now)
• KVM.net II Remote Access Management Platform Live Test Drive
• WHITE PAPER: “Boost Your ROI by investing in KVM IP Management”
• Case Study: Centralized management system for a government agency
• Office Out of the Box Blog Post about KVM.net II

Upcoming Webinar: Smart 2-User KVM Series

Join us for this short product review webinar. Minicom's Smart 2-User Family consists of 4 new different products - The Smart 232 IP, Smart 216 IP, Smart 232 and Smart 216.

Come learn why these products are different that any other 2 user products in the market.

The Smart 216 IP and Smart 232 IP although offered as 2 user switches can really act like a 5 user switches at the same time on the same switch - 2 users over IP; plus one local user; plus 2 serial remote connections to serial devices. Come learn the details.

Speakers Include:
David Zucker,Director, Business Development - KVM Division
Ivo PetrovDirector, Technical Support

Date: March 12, 2009

Time: 2:00 PM EST

Topic: Product Review: Minicom's new Smart 2-User KVM Series
Space is limited so register for this free webinar today.

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Related:

• KVM IP Product Test Drive: Go to Minicom Online KVM IP Demo
• White Paper: "Remote Support using KVM IP Technology "
• Podcast: “Why should your organization use KVM IP?”

Support Report: Managing the Access to Console Servers on the Port Level

In a recent project I was involved with, the customer had an interesting request… His company has multiple consoles servers which allows remotely secured access to their serial devices across their network.

(Photo: Serial Switch)

Their IT manager often allows individual users remote access to selected ports of these serial console servers. Until now, this action required him to log into the configuration settings of each console servers and manage its access individually.

With the KVM.net II remote access service open architecture, he can now configure the access permission to a remote serial device behind the console server for each individual port. In other words, he can set up user "A" with permission to access port 1 & 3 of console server one, and port 5 & 8 of console server two at the same time.

(Photo: KVM.net II screenshot - Access Service open architecture - click to enlarge)

From now on all users will connect to one IP address and according to their log-in information they will see a list of all remote managed serial devices they have permission to connect with. With the KVM.net II, the user just points and clicks to get seamless access…

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Thanks to Nir Dary, Minicom's Technical Support Manager for this Support Report!

Do you have a technical question about a Minicom product or are you looking for solutions for your IT department? Visit Minicom Support for FAQ's, product updates, user guides and contact details for our expert technicians around the world.

IT Managers in Healthcare Cont'd

I recently posted a webinar on demand about IT managers at hospitals, now there is a great interview at Tech Republic of CIO Patrick Moroney who takes time to explain the changes and challenges facing IT in the healthcare industry.

Jeff Cerny of Tech Republic asks CIO Patrick Moroney “10 questions on the changing role of the healthcare IT executive”

"Patrick Moroney is a CIO with a knack for being a professional change agent as well as a world-class networker, which is a winning combination by any measure. He is president of the Barnier Group, performing CIO advisory services at New Mountain Capital and advising Houston-based Intermarine. He’s also the driving force behind the 6,000+ members of the Technology Leadership Association, which he founded in 2002. He has been the CIO at National Medical Health Care Services, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), ServiceMaster, and the Food & Nutrition division at Monsanto. He has held a variety of roles on six continents and is a member of the Society for Information Management. Patrick received the 2004 CIO of the Year award from the Executives’ Club of Chicago. While he was the CIO of HCSC, he took the #21 spot in Computerworld’s top 100 best IT workplaces of 2005. And in 2006, he was was included in Computerworld’s Top 100 CIOs list."

Go to: "10 questions on the changing role of the healthcare IT executive”

Webinar on Demand: The Challenge for Hospital IT Managers

With hundreds of servers spread throughout numerous locations, it can be extremely time consuming and challenging to track down and manage troublesome servers and network devices in hospital environments. To solve these challenges and make the day to day maintenance of servers and devices in hospital network closets more efficient, Minicom has developed the solution outlined in this quick webinar.



Learn "How to use Remote Management of Network Closets in the Hospital Environment"

Total time: 12 minutes

Presented by: David Zucker, Director of KVM Business Development, Minicom

Customer Stories Wanted

This is a call for customer stories which I would like to feature on the blog regularly.

As Minicom system integrators and partners, you are the eyes and ears to the end users. I am looking for customer stories to publish on a regular basis. With your help we can offer solution ideas that can be helpful for others.

Please take a minute to submit the following information from a recent installation or sale:

1. What is the type of customer? IT manager of SMB or vertical market? Bank, school, etc? (we respect the privacy rights of our customers and will not use a company name unless there is permission to do so.)
2. What is the specific problem they need to solve?
3. What Minicom product did you use for the solution? And, were there any other products that worked together with Minicom to help solve the problem?
4. What is the reason the customer chose this specific problem? Financial, easy use, simplify actions?
5. Did this specific solution help you in the future to solve similar problems?
6. If there was any feedback, what was it?
7. How did this solution help the customer?
8. Do you have a pictures of where the installation took place for a visual reference?

If your customer story is chosen to appear on the blog, do you want to help promote your business with a free link to your business/company or direct contact information? If not, please specify and we will keep all information anonymous.

Please send all customer stories to minicom@minicom.com

Thank you for your participation!

Support Report: Remote monitor & control multiple computers over IP from a single computer

Recently we had an interesting application request that I would like to share…

A customer requested a solution to allow him to remotely monitor and control five computers which are located in multiple locations.

His requirement was that there would be five screens attached to a “Master” PC and this Master PC will constantly monitor the remote computers and take the control when needed. There is also a need to maintain a local console next to each remote computer for local operation. Another important requirement is that there should be no software installed on the remote computers.

We recommended adding a Quad VGA adaptor to the “Master computer” that will allow him to connect five screens to the Master PC at once, along with using our IP Control he can remotely view and control each computer without the need of installing any application on them (this feature is also known as remote bios level access). The Smart Extender that is also added to each remote PC will allow the local user to ‘share’ the control with the administrator working from the Master PC without being disconnected.

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Thanks to Nir Dary, Minicom's Technical Support Manager for this Support Report!

Do you have a technical question about a Minicom product or are you looking for solutions for your IT department? Visit Minicom Support for FAQ's, product updates, user guides and contact details for our expert technicians around the world.

Reseller Seminar & KVM.net II Certification Invitation

If you are a Minicom Reseller, please join us for a Partner Product Seminar & become certified to sell Minicom’s revolutionary Centralized Remote Access & Management Solution – KVM.net II

During the seminar you will learn:

• Why centralized access is critical to your customers, large and small.
• The exclusive advantages of the KVM.NET II solution.
• To position a central access solution to your small, medium and large IT end customers
• How to design solutions to real life customer problems
• Hands on training with KVM.net II and other remote access products.
• How to access valuable sales tools
  

Event Location and Details:

• At the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Elizabeth, NJ
• 0.5 miles from the Newark International Airport

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

• 9:30 - 12:30 Product Introduction
• 1:30 - 5:30 Certification Training

Please RSVP by February 15, 2009 to: David Zucker at David.Zucker@minicom.com

Please Note: If you are not from the area, room reservations can be made here. Advanced Room Rate Specials are available from $63.95 onwards.

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Previous attendees said:

Jim Fry, President, Fox Network Systems:

"KVM.net II certification training was probably the best focused product training I've seen in a decade. Although the training had participants at all levels of prior experience and technical knowledge, the Minicom leaders kept the participants and material on track and focused. This made sure the beginners weren't lost and the "old-timers" weren't bored silly. Minicom people kept attendees interested and involved with lecture, tests and interactive groups. My hat's off to the Minicom team for a job well done."

Jim Mollencop, DataSPAN - Territory Manager PNW:

"The certification program for KVM.net II was VERY informative and helpful! Not only does Minicom have a great IT solution that is simple to set up, use and sell at great margins, but also provides a great marketing tool for these tough economic times called "Minicom's real needs approach" said Jim Mollencop, dataSPAN Territory Manager PNW. "Literally a few days after the training I visited a client and discussed the "real needs approach" and was immediately asked for a quote at the meeting."

Support Report: Remote Bios Level Access over 3g Network

From time to time we receive interesting technical support questions and seeing as how it's always fun to share in-house, we are going to also share them here:

Recently a telecommunications company requested to remotely control a PC not dependant on the operating system (also known as remote bios level access). Ideally, the connection would be over cellular network. The main concern was quality of performance when controlling a remote desktop over a 3g network… and primarily how fast will the screen refresh!?

The application he intended on using was to mend an application from anywhere, in other words he has an application that needs to be mended regardless of the physical location of the operator.

Most of the time he needs the remote collection to be over Lan or wireless but there will be times where the remote operator will connect to the cellular network. Their requirement was also not to install any application or driver on the controlled computer.

This is where our KVM over IP technology suits his needs. By using the PX USB (Minicom’s high-performance IP Gateway) or IP Control (remote KVM gateway) products we were able to demonstrate and control a remote computer over a 3g cellular network with excellent performance.

Learn how remote KVM gateways can work for your IT needs, download the FREE white paper “Remote Support using KVM IP Technology” or test one of Minicom's IP products in an interactive live demo - go to Request Demo Form.

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Thanks to Nir Dary, Minicom's Technical Support Manager for the first Support Report!

Do you have a technical question about a Minicom KVM product? Visit Minicom Support for FAQ's, product updates, user guides and contact details for our expert technicians around the world.

SMB Tweets

Twitter has been around a while now, and if you don't know what it is or how small business can get the most out of this free tool, just go see what Bernie Borges of BAMB (Bay Area Business Magazine) wrote in his article: "Is Twitter a Corporate Communication Tool?"

I agree with Bernie when he says "The opportunities for businesses to use Twitter are plentiful. Individuals within your company can create a Twitter profile. They can post comments about things that are happening in your company or your industry. They can search to find and follow people who share common interests by searching in Twitter using relevant keywords."

If you are considering starting a Twitter feed for your small business, there are helpful FAQ's on Twitter for a good overview.

Jason Hiner over at Tech Republic recently posted "Techies: The top 10 people you should follow on Twitter". There are much more than 10 on his list which is definitely worth looking at.

You can now follow Minicom on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Minicom_IT

Free Webinar Invitation

Is the current economic situation delaying your plans to upgrade your server rooms? Join us for a FREE Webinar: Cost Effective Solutions for Remote Data Center Access

Date: Friday, February 6, 2009

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST

Now, more than ever, we need to concentrate on our Real Needs:

Remote access? Yes, that's a real need.

Replacing your perfectly good KVM switches? Not so much.

This short webinar will focus on how to give your Data Center's KVM infrastructure a facelift and transform it into a remotely accessible IP system without replacing any legacy KVM switches.


We will be focusing on:

• Why we suggest not throwing out perfectly good KVM switches and serial devices just because you need to upgrade to an IP environment
  
• How you can save time, money, and training headaches by concentrating on your Real Needs
  
• What our competitors do not want you to know ---how to extend the life of your existing products.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.


System Requirements:

PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, VistaMacintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Minicom KVM Switch Technology Chosen by the Largest Bus and Tram Operator in Gothenburg, Sweden

Minicom’s keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) switch technology was selected by the largest bus and tram operator in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Customer is the largest bus and tram operator in Gothenburg, Sweden. The overcrowding in their seven Network Operations Centers (NOCs) was causing slow downs in operations and service. They wanted to cut down on equipment to streamline operations. Each NOC had a single manager monitoring eight servers. These servers were in turn connected to eight monitors, which they want to keep. They wanted to reduce the numbers of keyboards and mice from eight to one in every one of the NOC´s.

The Bus Company contacted a system integrator that works with Intronics Sweden. They told them what they were looking for and asked for help in building a solution. Intronics turned to Minicom. Minicom suggested installing a single Smart 108 KVM switch plus eight VGA extenders for the monitors at each NOC. This was a new technology for Intronics Sweden, so they first tested some other brands, but Minicom´s solution was finally chosen as the best. Intronics installed a Smart 108 KVM switch for switching the keyboard and mouse between the servers and a VGA extender for connecting each monitor to a server.

It was mainly a question of time and money. The quick delivery was a big part of the solution, because they had a strict time limit in which they had to finish the installation. Minicom was able to deliver its solution within the two week deadline. As a result of the Minicom solution, the Bus Company has decreased the numbers of keyboards and mice in their NOCs. Their managers are now more effective since they no longer have to jump around the office going from PC to PC and can control all their servers from a single console.

SMB IT On Air

I recently started looking around at Blog talk radio after seeing that they have a channel called Small Business IT, which is based in Calgary Canada.

Small Business IT Radio is a show for IT Professionals that service the small business market. In this show we will cover everything from technology to how to market your business. All are welcome

Today’s show is “Leveraging Kaseya in your SMB IT Business” Kaseya is a monitoring tool available to SMB IT Professionals.

All other shows are available on demand, including the 2008 recap:

“2008 – The Year of the Rollercoaster” - 2008 was a roller coaster year to say the least. Starting off with a bang and ending with uncertainty of what the future has to offer the SMB IT consultant. With the economy failing and the threat of online services taking away from our sales, what does 2009 have to offer us?

It’s always nice to hear good advice and up to date information. It’s worth it to take some time to listen to them.

Security Spending To Increase In 2009

“Security is getting a bigger piece of the IT budget pie,” said Jonathan Penn, author and vice president of tech industry strategy and security, about a recent Forrester report.

The next biggest issues were disaster recovery, followed by identity and access management.

This is good to hear, considering Minicom is in the Access Management business. Our Centralized Access & Management System, KVM.net II fits right into this category.

For your Server Room or Datacenter KVM.net II will:

• Automate centralized remote access
• Create customized access services
• Use a single portal to access ANY of your IT assets via a single-click
• Keep your existing KVM infrastructure
• Preserve your investment in training time
• Unify administration of targets and users across geographic locations to distributed branch offices
  
  A free interactive online demo is available, just fill out this short form and set up a time that is convenient for you.

Starting a Small Business Advice

While some people are taking a holiday break, Stefan Töpfer of The Small Business Blog isn’t. His latest post targets those of us who might be making new years resolutions to “Start my own home business or small business”.

His 5-step plan is solid:

Define Your Goals
Get A Business Idea
Test Your Business Idea
Bootstrap All The Way
Stay Focused, Always!

If you are planning to start your own small business in these rough times, take some time to read or listen to the article as a podcast.

Stefan Töpfer is CEO & Chairman of WinWeb (which developed OnlineOffice - The Small Business Infrastructure). His blog, The Small Business Blog is one that I’m adding to my list to watch. Good advice and resources for small businesses!

Free Webinar: Minicom's Smart 2-User Series

Free Webinar Invitation

Date: December 18th, 2008
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST (1 hour)
Topic: Minicom's new Smart 2-User KVM Series

Speakers Include:
David Zucker, Director, Business Development - KVM Division
Ivo Petrov Director, Technical Support

Limited space is available

Minicom's Smart 2-User Family consists of four new different products. Join us for this free product introduction webinar. Learn why these products are different that any other 2-user products in the market.

Smart 216 IP – 16 port CAT5 switch with 2 remote users and 1 local user
Smart 216 – 2-user, 16 port KVM switch



Smart 232 IP – 32 port CAT5 switch with 2 remote users and 1 local user
Smart 232 - 2-user, 32 port KVM switch

These competitively priced switches have great mouse synchronization and are compatible with our remote access management tool - KVM.net® II. Combining innovative CAT5 technology and OSD management, the Smart CAT5 switches are the perfect KVM solution for SMB server and rack environments.

Limited space is available

Can't make it? Schedule a free online IP product demo with a Minicom rep at a time that is convenient for you and in the meantime download a free white paper on “KVM IP Management for Today’s IT Budget”

Announcement: Minicom Partners with Alexander Schneider

Minicom recently established a partnership with Alexander Schneider Ltd, the leading solution provider for datacenters, and representatives at the forefront of the Green IT industry in Israel.

Eli Sasson, President of Minicom says: “we are happy to have Alexander Schneider as a part of our international distribution network. The reason they were chosen was because of their professional capabilities to implement advanced solutions in server rooms in most of the leading companies in Israel. Another reason is their reputation for excellent customer support, which they provide 24/7.”

According to Igal Schneider, CEO “the cooperation with Minicom enriches the offerings of solutions that Schneider provides its customers in the server room. Some customers that we currently service are Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, Visa Kal, Rafael, Elbit, Nice, Comverse, Checkpoint, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Finance & others…..“Minicom has a wide portfolio that fits with the SMB perfectly; furthermore, the closeness to the R&D center will enable customization of unique solutions for the Israeli market. This is a natural cooperation between both companies that believe in advanced technological solutions along with reliable support to the customer”

About Alexander Schneider Ltd.
As a leader in the field of data center management, Alexander Schneider Ltd. provides hi-performance products and Turn Key solutions for OEM systems and data center infrastructure, offering leading-edge products, integration services as well as engineering and design (NPI) capabilities. Alexander Schneider has been in business since 1963, with operations in Netanya, Israel and Rhode Island, USA.

For more information please visit their website.

SMB Nation - Bringing IT Together

In a comment in a post about getting to know SMB IT better, SMB Nation CEO Harry Brelsford was kind enough to recommend their site for inclusion in my research. After taking some time to look it over and join the “tribe”, I am pleased to see how much they offer the SMB IT professionals. There is much to learn from them.

SMB Nation reaches its audience with events and free webinars. Their next webinar: ”Not Just Another 50 cent Online Backup Service!“ is scheduled for tomorrow, December 11, 2008, 8AM PST (GMT-8).

Learn how the real VARs, MSPs and trusted advisors create revenue opportunities with remote online backup protection services. Learn how the latest compliance regulations will create long-term relationships and revenue streams for your business. Find out why those cheap backup services create a false sense of security and are not telling the whole story.

Register now at SMB Nation

They also offer most of their webinars on-demand, which is very helpful for someone who needs information right away.

I took the opportunity to get a closer look, and choose to watch “SMB Mergers and Acquisitions: Time to Sell Your SMB Practice?” It is well worth investing a little over one hour to hear their tips on how to run your business in a way that makes it ready to sell, and why you should run your business this way, even if you aren’t looking to sell.

Check out the other educational webinars available at SMB Nation.

2008 Year of The Milestone, according to Channel Web

Channel Web has published their pick of the best products of 2008.

The Test Center evaluated hundreds of products in 2008, from the palmtop to the data center and everything in between. In selecting each product of the year, Test Center editors needed to make sure that there was a critical offering to the market at large, significant value to the end user and immediate impact on how the lion's share of solution providers in the channel would think about and deliver technology.

Some of the products that made the cut are

• Notebook - WINNER: Lenovo ThinkPad X300
• Operating System - WINNER: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
• Web Application - WINNER: Firefox 3.0
• Smartphone - WINNER: iPhone 3G
• Product Of The Year - WINNER: Intel Modular Server

See the rest of the slideshow... including reasons why they choose these products to represent the best of 2008.

A Closer Look at SMB IT

I'm just getting in to the SMB IT industry from the marketing side of things and while researching, the first site that popped up in search was SMBITPROS.com. I did a quick overview and my initial impression is that this is a great resource for up to date, practical advice for this sector.

smbITpros.com cover topics that deal with SMB IT such as:

• Finances
• Managing
• Marketing
• Operations
• Sales
• Starting Up
• Technology

This is how they describe themselves:

"smbitpros.com is the ramblings of Michael Cooch and Josh Clifford, Founder/CEO and CSO (Chief Service Officer), respectively, of Everon Technology Services, LLC. Everon is a pioneer and leader in the SMB managed services space, serving clients around the United States and a handful of offices in Europe."

Their latest post “How to compensate salespeople when they sign longer term managed services contracts?” hit home with something Minicom manufactures. If you want to hear our perspective on managed service providers, listen to this podcast by David Zucker, Minicom’s Director of Business Development of the IT & KVM Division. David will explain how “managed service providers can now sell a KVM IP device as a monthly service” using Minicom’s PX.

The Minicom Media Club offers a variety of free podcasts and archived webinars for your enjoyment.