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As a result of the mounting fear over personal data loss some Nervous Nelly’s can have Norton AntiVirus, Ad-Adaware, Spybot Search & destory, Windows Defender, and Windows Firewall. Is this too much or is this a case of being better safe than sorry?

The most important part of your PC is your data. These are the files you have collected of created yourself - your projects, pictures, accounts, e-mails etc. In the event of a serious system crash or malware infection, you can usually restore the operating system and programs that you use however your personal data may be irreplaceable. Although emergency data recovery options are available, these tend to be expensive and without guarantee that everything you want can be restored. A safe approach and good practice is to start a regular routine of backing up your important data.

Malicious software commonly referred to as malware is increasingly being used as a way to make money from illegal activities. Such activities include:

1. Identity theft
2. Extorting money from individuals and or corporations
3. Information & Data warfare against governments

In many cases, the victims are unaware their systems have been compromised and as a result, it is becoming increasingly important to protect ourselves against malware. Over the course of my next two blogs I will be discussing the most common forms of malware along with preventative maintenance and removal of malware.

As IT departments begin rolling out Windows Office 2010 I thought I would provide an end user perspective of what is new, keep reading to discover the seven wonders of Office 2010 as I see them.

A change in theme for this blog edition as I look to self-indulge; someone who is tech savvy is someone who is known to be knowledgeable about technology. With technological advances being so fast paced and with technology coming in all shapes and sizes and impacting on pretty much everything we do, the question of how someone becomes tech savvy is an interesting one.

We are two months into 2011 and already I personally am seeing and increased demand for services in relation to deployment of Windows 7.

It is fair to say that Windows 7 has streamlined image deployment. Improvements include native compatibility mitigation for a greater range of applications, new and improved image-engineering tools improving the deployment experience and improvements that streamline migration of users’ files and settings.

From experience of having been involved in providing deployment services, I have found that organizations can waste time creating and maintaining images for each device they support. A constant source of frustration for many is the time it takes to find and download all the drivers needed for an image, couple this with decreasing budgets along with resource and time constraints; it is immediately apparent how software application deployment tooling can save time and cost.

As touched up on during my last blog where we were discussing Deployment best practices, the total cost of owning and using PCs remains high despite PC prices falling.  This is largely due to cost of deploying them. Research has shown that the average deployment cost of a PC can be around $600 per PC with costs exceeding this figure not uncommon.

An effective and well thought our deployment strategy can cut costs by 50%. This translates to a saving of up to $300 per PC.

Over the course of my next few blogs I will be discussing PC deployment best practices. 

The growing trend towards cloud computing and virtualization will ensure PC deployment practices will continue to be a hot topic as we move closer to 2011.

In this blog I will be discussing just a few reasons why organizations and end users care about PC deployments and how virtualization can play apart in easing deployment related issues.

Even though technology is changing at a rapid rate, the fundamentals of the talent pool remain constant.

Due to the current economic climate, now more than ever, organizations can implement strategies to optimize and harness the IT service talent that is available around the world and develop a pool of candidates that meet IT service business requirements. The following fundamentals will increase an IT service organizations ability to build a high performing global workforce of technicians.

We have been discussing managing a global workforce of technicians including the tools we can utilize to assist with effective management. Taking a step back, tools can only take you so far and perhaps the most important and critical first step is ensuring the technicians being managed are in fact “good” technicians in the first place.  So, what makes a good IT service technician?

Consider this statement; Companies that can work efficiently are well-positioned to provide greater value to their clients.

Not exactly rocket science you say, however when managing a geographically dispersed workforce this is not always a simple objective, especially considering the need to  drive down service implementation and operational costs whilst establishing and maintaining a global presence.  

Following on from the subject of challenges in managing a global workforce of thousands of technicians, I will be discussing the role technology and service management systems can play in ensuring effective management of a global workforce.

Workforce management systems can provide service providers with visibility into productivity and labor costs for service events worldwide.

Previously I have discussed building an expert and trusted workforce. Moving a step forward, the challenges and opportunities that subsequently come into play are how to manage a global workforce of technicians. Increasing global competition, regulation and worker expectations are driving requirements for global workforce management among multinational IT service organizations. Some of the challenges faced include cultural differences, language, currency differences and regulatory variations.

Last time around we discussed ways in which to build a workforce of trustworthy technicians. This time I will be discussing building a workforce of expert technicians. The two combined provide field service organizations with the best chances of executing on a strong field service brand.

Following on from the last “Tech Savvy” blog where we discussed safety in relation to steps to take prior to allowing a technician into your home, a natural follow up is how Technology Service organizations can go about building a workforce of expert and trustworthy technicians.

Would you allow someone into your home without proof of ID even if it was a pre-arranged visit for an In-Home Warranty Service Repair to an electrical product you may have recently purchased?  I certainly wouldn’t, like the majority of you; I imagine you like your home and the contents within it. Having young children I would consider myself to be safety and security conscious. Our homes are our sanctuaries, our safe places and with the emergence of identification theft and fraud we need to be vigilant when welcoming trades people in our homes.

Advice I would offer and follow before allowing the tradesperson entry into my home would be...