IT and Business Thinking from Andrew Seaton

iPad – First Thoughts

May 16th, 2010 No Comments

So, its finally here … I am the proud owner of an apple ipad, which will be launched in the UK sometime in June.

I don’t really want to do a full and comprehensive review here, but I do want to give my first thoughts, so here goes:

1. Its sleek, beautiful, and looks amazing – the screen is a real delight to use, and the rotation works really very well.
2. It is very easy to use (the operation is similar to an iphone)
3. Its fast and feels really responsive, and really very quick in operation.
4. The keyboard is surpisingly usable.
5. Web browsing is nice, and most sites work fine.
6. Video looks amazing – apple trailers in HD are fantastic.
7. Email with exchange just works (just like the iphone)

Will it replace my laptop ? – No, I dont think so — you see I am writing this blog on it, and compared to my laptop keyboard, its no comparision. The internet browser doesnt support flash, so lots of websites dont work quite as they should, and there is a real limit on software for it – much of what I use for work won’t run on the ipad.

Perhaps the best way of describing its functionality is as a big ipod, but has a much bigger and better screen.

Whats the point of it then?

It is a gorgeous device — I think if you are traveling loads, and you need something light, powerful but not a full laptop it would be perfect. I would guess that you will see loads of them on trains and tubes.

It does do video, music and most websites really well — it would be great on a trip where you wanted to travel light. It is perfect for video and web on the move. When apple sort out the powerpoint compatibility, it will be great in meetings for presentations (which is what I will hopefully be using it for)

Those are my thoughts — some would disagree, and if you want a full, comprehensive review then look elsewhere, but I hope it gives you some indication of what you can use it for.

P.S. If you are in Sheffield and you fancy coming down to the office to have a look, then drop me a line and we can arrange that!

21st Century Motivation

March 23rd, 2010 No Comments

Just re-watched this fantastic video … if you are involved in managing a team or motivating people then take a look — it’s compelling stuff !

Published in a Book

March 23rd, 2010 No Comments

I quite excited this week, after being published in a book. It’s not my book (its by Robert Ashton), but I do feature as a case study (on page 283). The book is called “How to Start Your Own Business for Entrepreneurs”, and it is a really good book which is well written and takes people through the steps of starting a business, from planning through to marketing and managing.

It also features excellent case studies (!!).

There is something quite special about having your name in print in a “Proper” book …. you never know, I may one day write my own ….

Security in the Real World

March 9th, 2010 No Comments

One of the things that I often advise my clients on is computer and network security – after all, no-one wants unauthorised people to be able to access their data. But the interesting thing about security is that when we are “offline” in the real world, we are often less careful than when we are online.

This was really highlighted by a phone call this week from Talk Talk, who provide my broadband and phones at home. The phone call went something like this:

HER: “Can I speak to Mr Seaton Please”
ME: “Speaking”
HER: “Hi, this is Claire calling from talk talk, I am calling to talk to you about renewing your contract with us, but before I do can I please ask you some Data Protection questions – firstly your address”
ME: “Erm … OK … my address is (I gave her my address)”
HER: “And next can I ask you to confirm your date of birth, and the bank account that is setup to pay this account”
ME: “Hold on, I am not prepared to divulge that information over the phone – Can I ask you how I know that you are from talk talk”.
“HER: {Pause} … well I can assure you that I am”
ME: “Ok … can you confirm back to me some details on my account”
“HER: Yes, once you have passed the Data Protection questions …. so can you please confirm your date of birth, and the bank account that is setup to pay this account”
ME: “But you could be anyone …. ringing up from anywhere asking me to verify my details”
HER: “If you could just please confirm your date of birth, and the bank account that is setup to pay this account so I can verify your details ….”

At this point here I told her that I wanted her full name, and direct telephone number (neither of which she was prepared to give!) … and after a long conversation with her supervisor everything got sorted.

The strange thing was that no-one seemed to see that what they were asking was a strange request – that it was normal for them to ask customers to verify who they were. I then asked them what the system was for customers to verify who they were, no-one seemed to know.

If I was a criminal, then imagine the conversation “Hi, this is Claire calling from Llloyds TSB, I am calling to talk to you about your bank account, but before I do can I please ask you some Data Protection questions – firstly your address” … and so on….

The point?

Firstly, companies need to think of a good system for customers to verify who they are, and secondly, “offline” security is as important as “online” security.

Thompson Airlines

February 20th, 2010 2 Comments

Over Christmas (I know … it seems such a long time ago!) I flew to the Canaries with Thompson Airlines. One thing that really caught my attention was the in-flight satefy video.

These are normally generic, boring and completely ignorable (and in being so, actually defeats the reason they are shown – I bet most people ignore them! The Thompson video but this was a real exeption. I looked up from my book, and gave the video my full attention.

Top marks for Thompson for this, it is clever, and unique. Check out the video below and see what you think.

twinkl Launched!

February 8th, 2010 No Comments

It has been a busy few weeks, as I have been busy with others launching a new website which I hope will do very well.

twinkl (we thought about twinkle, but dropping the “e” is cooler, apparently!) is an online resource centre for teachers designed for primary teachers. It provides foundation resources and KS1 resources for primary teachers. It came as an idea from my brother, and we have both teamed up with a designer and a few teachers to produce the site. We already have 60 fans, and 20 people subscribed to the e-mail updates after being live for 4 days.

The idea is to grow the site to the place to go if you are looking for really top-quality resources. If you know any teachers, then feel free to spread the word.

I Made The Front Page

January 7th, 2010 No Comments

In case you haven’t seen it yet … I made the front page of the Sheffield Chamber Magazine, FFB.

Feel free to read the magazine – I am on pages 13 and 9.

The Big Switch – Cloud Computing

January 6th, 2010 No Comments

I have been reading “The Big Switch” by Nicholas Carr recently, and felt compelled to blog about it. I usually stay away from books about computers (!!), mainly because they often get quite technical and therefore bland, and also because they are so quickly out of date. The books I mainly read are business books, preferring to read blogs and websites about IT that are both free, but also up to date.

However, I was recommended this book by a friend who wasn’t in IT, and who really enjoyed it – high praise indeed for a book about the Internet.

Usually, I do a quick “summary” of the book – but this is such a good book, with so many great points that I feel a summary would do it a great injustice. I suggest that you read it, especially if you are in IT.

What stuck me most about the book is the absolute certainty with which he writes about “Cloud Computing”. It’s not a case of if, but of how the changes will affect us. With help from some of the companies leading the move to the cloud (Salesforce.com, 3Tera, Sun, Microsoft, Rackspace, Cisco, Amazon, Facebook and the mighty Google to name a few) it seems that the age of the cloud is truly upon us.

For those of you who are thinking “What the heck is Cloud Computing?” please permit me to offer a simple (and therefore not fully comprehensive!) explanation.

You are used to turning on your computer, and your information being on your computer. Everything from your documents to your holiday snaps from last year are on there. But with the shift to the internet, then we are now used to more and more of what we use being on the internet, and not on our computers. A good example of this is Hotmail or Gmail. But increasingly there is a move to not just have e-mail on the internet, but a variety of other stuff. For example when you log-in to facebook, the information isn’t on your computer. The photos, feeds, messages, and all that makes up facebook is on the internet … in “the cloud”. And other services are the same – Flickr, Picasa Web, Twitter, Google Maps, Bebo, Google Docs, Wiki, Office Live, Live Mesh, and so on … and more and more applications are going to be “in the cloud”.

So, simply cloud computing is about having data and information not on your computer or company servers, but on someone else’s servers – in “the cloud”.

I have been thinking alot about Cloud Computing recently. In the medium to long term it presents a significant threat to my business. However, I am convinced that there are many opportunities that lie ahead for innovative companies. I thought that one of the barriers to Cloud Computing would be trust – but that doesn’t play out in my life. I trust Google not to divulge my e-mail messages, I trust my bank not to allow confidential information escape from “the cloud”, I trust the company that hosts my websites not to allow other people to get at it. Is this trust misplaced? I don’t think so – for reputations are important in this ever connected world.

I am convinced now, more than ever, that the move to cloud computing is going to happen at a fast rate – the challenge I face is how can I ensure that my company is helping others to make the most of all that the cloud has to offer?

Lenovo Keyboard – Spot the Issue …

December 14th, 2009 4 Comments

So … thought this would make you smile. I have been using my laptop, a Lenovo T61 Thinkpad for about 18 months now, and I was thinking to myself the other day “What a good laptop is has been”. It’s sturdy, fast, has great power (5 hours with the extra battery bay) and has been really reliable. And then I forgot about the slight issue that I had when I first ordered it (the funny thing is that one of the best bits of the laptop is how nice the keyboard is to use) ….

Can you spot the problem? (Free Christmas mints to the first person who comments with the correct answer)

Lenovo_Keyboard_Error

Young Business Person of the Year 2009

December 4th, 2009 4 Comments

Sheffield Business Awards

So … I WON!

I am now “Sheffield Hallam University Young Business Person of the Year 2009″. This was one of the awards at the Sheffield Business Awards – which according to the award is “aimed at showcasing an individual between 16 and 30 years old who has demonstrated entrepreneurial flair and best practice in business and enterprise with a recognised product or service”.

It was a great evening, and I was sat on the table surrounded by my family, friends and colleagues, I realised how lucky I am.

It was great to have won the award, and it is nice to be recognised for all my hard work over the past 5 years, but it was also great to share the moment with everyone else. The whole table erupted when it was announced that I had won — it was great that it meant so much to everyone. A huge thank you to all the guys at Resolve for being amazing – without them there would be no Resolve and no reward … a special thanks to the amazing Freyja, who did such a great job on the application form.

It was a genuinely nerve-wracking experience, as I did really want to win (and given the age category, this would be the last year that I could possibly win !!)

Thanks to all the amazing people who were there and who have supported me over the past few years – special thanks to Andy Hanselman and Jill White, for all the work they do for entrepreneurship and business performance development in the City. For the amazing team from Ruby Slippers, Tracy was our guest and Nicola was there too – it was wonderful to share the evening with them. And for the guys from Benchmark Recruit, Amy and Louisa who are great.

So … a great end to 2009 … and here is to an exciting 2010!

Andrew's Blog