Lynne Rooney's blog

The benefits touted with the cloud include ease of use, easy to deploy, scalability, reduced capital expenditures, and the list goes on.  Cloud services include virtualization, storage, backup solutions, software-as-a-service, business continuity and more.  And, whether your business is considering one solution or five, there are multiple factors that management needs to consider before going to the Cloud.    

In part one of this two-part paper; we will discuss the following areas:

Organizational Compliance

Data Center Location

When it comes to exposing personal data of patients and consumers, the government isn’t fooling around.  Recently, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary was fined $1.5 million dollars for losing a single laptop exposing 3,621 patient records.  Additional HIPPA violations also contributed to the large fine. 

Thinking about purchasing new ERP Software?  If so, now may be the perfect time.  For a limited period, Microsoft is discounting the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 starter pack by $2,000.  For just $3,000, businesses will get 3 full user licenses, core financials and distribution functionality. 

Looking for manufacturing functionality?  The extended pack is available for $10,000. 

Check out our new Microsoft Dynamics NAV Toolbox! 

A while back I had the unfortunate experience of dropping my iPhone4 in the lake.  Fortunately, I dropped it close to shore and was able to get it pretty quickly. A friend of mine told me to put it in a bag of rice as soon as I got home.

In the past month we have been getting hit with a barrage of new Tablets, Software and Phones.  Here’s a few of the latest - and what’s to come:

Tablets

iPad Mini – Release Date: October 23rd

What's not new is really the question.  Windows 8, scheduled to be released on October 26th, is dramatically different than its predecessors .  With a flashy new tile based user interface (see below) similar to that of a smart phone or tablet and the addition of apps and Windows Store, there are many changes users will need to get accustomed to.

If you have a Twitter account, now may be a good time to change your password. It was announced, May 8th, that over 55,000 passwords were exposed and posted online.

Your account may not have been compromised, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

To create a strong password, it’s best to use a combination of letters and numbers and to avoid things that anyone might be able to guess, such as birthdays and anniversary dates. Passwords with eight characters or more are safer and it’s best to use different passwords for different accounts and websites.

How do I calculate an average of values that excludes the highest and lowest value?

In the following formula, the values (B2:B6) are being added (sum) then the lowest value (min) is subtracted, the highest value (max) is subtracted.  This figure is then divided by the count [minus 2 for the high and low numbers].

=(SUM(B2:B6)-MIN(B2:B6)-MAX(B2:B6))/(COUNT(B2:B6)-2)

Example: