Office Document Strategies Blog

Lee Kirkby

Recent Posts

Dropping Manual Paper Processes For Business Improvement

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jun 22, 2016 @ 09:06 AM

Why is it in a world where thousands of transactions are handled every minute using the tap of a credit card on a terminal many businesses still cling to manual paper driven processes?  Express Pay speeds up sales processes for vendors and purchasers.

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Topics: business processes, Paperless office, Less paper office

Microsoft And LinkedIn A New Deal

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jun 15, 2016 @ 07:06 AM

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Topics: Microsoft

Bitcoins And IT Impacts

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jun 8, 2016 @ 07:06 AM

Wouldn't it be nice to have the ability to create money?  Well in essence that is what happened back in 2008 when Bitcoins were invented.  

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the inventor (or inventors perhaps) who created this online virtual currency.  For more of the story behind this event follow the link to the Wikipedia reference which outlines it in some detail.  

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Topics: data security, it, bitcoin

Implementing Good Information Governance

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Jun 1, 2016 @ 08:06 AM

When I started in the Document Management field the common term for the practice of capturing paper records and converting them to digital images was simply document imaging.  While the process involved in doing the conversion seems pretty simple in today's terms back twenty some years ago it was seen as a miraculous change in office environments.  

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Topics: Scanning, document management, docucapture, digital filing

Integrated Retailing Improves Customer Satisfaction

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, May 25, 2016 @ 07:05 AM

As we have all experienced the retail environment is rapidly changing.  At one time the physical retail store was the core of every retailer's business but for many in today's environment it is only one component of a retail system.

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Topics: sales, Customer service, Canadian IT

Microsoft Cloud Officially Opens in Canada

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, May 18, 2016 @ 07:05 AM

Of course Microsoft has been selling cloud services and cloud based software in Canada for several years now.  Office 365 has been one of their hard pushes and is a cloud based app which is targeted at all sizes of business.

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Topics: cloud computing, data security, Canadian IT

Lexmark To Be Sold

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, May 11, 2016 @ 07:05 AM

The landscape for ownership in the printer and MFP business is constantly changing as the field matures further and the impacts of digital vehicles continue.

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Topics: MFP, Document, Less paper office

Ransomware Attacks Come To Hamilton Burlington

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, May 4, 2016 @ 10:05 AM

Sometimes we all get complacent when we hear about cyber attacks on businesses and organizations.  We figure, too bad, it is unfortunate that someone got caught by this nefarious practice but it doesn't happen around here.  Recent events have brought this right to our doors in the Hamilton, Burlington area.

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Topics: data security, network security, IT Scams

Cloud Document Management Fights Crypto Ransomware

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Apr 27, 2016 @ 09:04 AM

One of the most insidious kinds of spam and malware that is currently active around the world is what is known as Cryptoware or Ransomware.  This attack gets users to open a type of malware which starts working on the user's workstation to attack files with extensions from common document type software.  

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Topics: docucapture, IT network, IT Scams, digital filing

Another Microsoft Server OS Reaches End of Life

Posted by Lee Kirkby on Wed, Apr 20, 2016 @ 09:04 AM

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 has reached its end of life date after 10 years of steady work.  Like previously released dates for other server products Microsoft cautions that migration to an updated platform should have already meen undertaken or should occur as soon as possible.  

With the end of support life, there will no longer be security patches, bug fixes or other enhancements released for the product.  While theoretically it is still possible to continue to use the software the risks associated with doing so increase substantially with time.

Even the Canadian Government has commented on the occurrence, "organizations running software after its end of support date may be exposed to outage, compliance and security risks.  Hardware and software compatibility issues may also arise when implementing current technologies which may not have been designed for use with SQL Server 2005."

Data shows that as much as 46 percent of the install base of SQL server products is represented by SQL 2005 indicating that the need for action is a significant issue for organizations.  The current recommended release of SQL Server is version 2014, four generations newer than 2015.  

Of course moving to a new SQL installation is not a simple task and is something which takes planning and study.  Data base admins will need to address these issues quickly and begin the work before the inevitable holes start to creep into their installations.  Figuring our which version of the upgrades available, primarlly SQL Server 2012 or 2104 are most compatible with the other software you are running will be the first step of the plan.  Not every package which requires a SQL back end is going to have been updated to run with the latest MS data base software and this always creates some issue for some organizations.  

Taking the time to test the new install, ensure the functionality required is supported is a necessity with any software server upgrade.  Working with a sandbox installation while testing your data and software is the safest way to be sure you are not going to run into major issues.  This takes resources and time, time which is rapidly going to run out for the current installations.  Beginning now, if you have not already done so is an imperative.

Unfortunately, this kind of upgrade also has budget implications, both for licensing and for labour to deal with the work involved.  It also can often involve hardware upgrades as newer server systems generally require more horsepower.  Of course if you are running ten year old server software the chances are that your hardware is also several years old, even if you have done a refresh during the lifespan of your installation.  Getting new hardware installed is a good first step and it could potentially be used as your sandbox installation for testing and then migrate to your production work.

There are tools available to help you in your planning and it is a good idea to make use of them to guide your efforts.  Microsoft offers a couple which can help.

When a significant tool like a data base server platform is shifted there is always some disruption and challenge involved.  When the platform base is no longer eligible for software support and upgrade this is aggravated.  

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Topics: Software, server software