One of things that happens in a downturn is most companies stop spending on IT. Well they think they stop spending on IT, what they really do is stop buying new hardware. Research has shown that the cost of computer hardware is only a small percentage (often less than 20%) of the real total cost of ownership for IT. Most of the costs actually come from aspects such as IT support, lost user productivity when problems occur, software, data loss, power consumption and misplaced assets. Although it may feel wrong it is often cheaper in the long term to replace aging hardware sooner rather than trying to keep it going as the new hardware is capable of reducing costs in other areas.

Etherlive have a keen focus on helping customers reduce their overall IT costs whilst driving up their productivity. One aspect of this is improving IT manageability and Etherlive work closely with Intel Corporation to deliver maximum benefit from their Intel® vPro™ technology and Intel® Active Management Technology.

These technologies can deliver great benefits, driving down support costs, reducing overall power consumption and improving employee productivity. Recently we worked with Intel to develop an ‘activation’ message to help customers understand what they need to do take advantage of Intel® vPro™ technology and Intel® Active Management Technology. You can find out more on the Intel ‘Make the Case’ website with articles and videos from Etherlive, Cap Gemini and Computacenter covering the different aspects of the technology. You can find out more about the specific services we offer around activation at vproactivation.www.etherlive.co.uk.

The key point is don’t sit back and ignore your IT, go and shake the real costs out. Not only will you save money, you should also end up with a more productive IT environment.

Chris Green Etherlive Intel Active Management Technology

Chris Green from Etherlive explains Intel Active Management Technology features

 

2008. A year where events and festivals alike were plagued by poor weather, poor attendance and in some cases poor organisation. One festival in my opinion shone through above the lucky unaffected few, with its notorious line-ups and probably its historically good luck for a sunny weekend. Reading Festival 2008 not only managed to grow its attendance figures but equalled or maybe even surpassed the previous years experience as a festival goer. Above the calls of sound issues and act cancellations I believe they pulled it off… Again!

But this blog isn’t really about promoting our extracurricular activities, it is in fact to show how etherLive can make a difference, not only at the events that are struggling but also to those that are growing in success.

As much as we would love to be able to lend our hand to filling the odd vacant slot for the often disappointing line-up cancellations, it is in fact the possible sound problems that would, and have been the focus of our attention. The main stage sound (arguably the only stage there that could be effected by the elements) was a popular topic of debate in the Reading Festival and NME forums as much as it cropped up in conversation amongst friends and colleagues. 

So as festival sites expand, sound systems become more powerful and with our downward spiral into a country of 365 days of torrential rain and gale force winds, you can imagine one of the fastest growing concerns for festival organisers is their compliance to noise regulations and how the weather effects it. Noise regulation is that fine balance between ensuring the neighbouring towns and villages don’t get a front room seat to the main event whilst keeping everyone else stood in-front of the bands they came to see, happy… Easy? Those that think so obviously have never tried to communicate with the person just about to launch their precious new kite skyward on a windy day whilst clinging onto the strings not quite ready to go!

 With this all in mind we began to look into the ways and means in which we could help make that complex and often frustrating job a little easier. Not being specialists in sound sampling and analysis we partnered with the experts to allow us to offer real-time remote sound monitoring. Utilising etherLive’s Wi-Fi infrastructure and industry leading sound monitoring equipment, organisers can capture sound levels from multiple unmanned locations across the festival site, possibly further and monitor this data from one single console in real-time!

To read more about Our Services

I like to think these days I’m not easily drawn to the latest gadget craze so, when hunting down a company mobile phone handset, I was somewhat concerned that the team consistently said the iPhone 3G ticked all the requirements boxes. With our requirements including push email, WiFi and a good web browser, competition was relatively thin but the consumer label of the original iPhone did concern us.

After much discussion we opted for the iPhone 3G and after three months of use by the team what’s out verdict? In a word – excellent. Ok it’s not quite perfect but it is pretty darn good. Now before I get spammed by all those folks who love to complain in forums about its shortcomings let me expand on my view in a few key areas:

Call Quality – no issue here, much better than my previous few phones. I haven’t experienced the ‘call drop’ problem that has been reported so much – personally I suspect it was primarily related to a certain carrier’s network in the US.

Buggy OS – Yes the 2.02 firmware was poor, a step back from 2.01 but even so the phone still worked fine and the issues were contained to specific functions. OS 2.1 however has proved to be excellent – as stable as a normal phone, and much better than your average smart phone.

Battery Life – No smart phone has the multiday battery life we expect from a more traditional phone. The iPhone is no exception, so yes it needs charging daily but with the 2.1 firmware it is very reasonable considering what it is delivering.

Email Integration – We use Microsoft Exchange, although I also have a POP3 account running on the phone too. Both accounts work flawlessly with excellent usability. The only letdown is the lack of task and note integration and the missing ability to invite people to calendar items on the phone. Hopefully a software update will resolve that.

Camera – Not what it should be, but hardly a major issue on a business phone.

App Store – A great killer app for Apple, an environment that is controlled enough to give you confidence in the apps that cover everything from games to serious business tools. 

The point is that if you focus on narrow aspects you will find imperfections but when you take the whole package together you get an impressive device that is very user focused, comes at a good price point and yet still fits comfortably into your pocket (a key requirement for me).

What I haven’t mentioned of course is the fact that the iPhone blurs the edges between a consumer item and a business tool. Personally for me that’s a great bonus – one device that meets my business and personal needs, and I suspect most professionals like that idea too. The people that don’t like that idea are in enterprise IT departments.

And that’s the big issue. The iPhone 3G is a great small/medium business tool but I doubt it will succeed in the enterprise environment. Having spent 13 years working in a very big enterprise IT department I know all the questions and issues that will be raised which, in the view of those departments, make the iPhone 3G completely unsuitable for enterprise use.

Sadly many enterprise IT departments are struggling to keep up with where their users are – they are worrying about the latest encryption standards whilst the sales team are happily copying confidential presentations on USB memory sticks. In one company I know over 60% of the company laptops have iTunes installed. Then there are all the people who are happily syncing their non-company phone via a dock, copying contacts, email and confidential information onto a completely uncontrolled device.

Rather than embracing this, most enterprises continue to fight it – a futile exercise – but because the iPhone looks like a consumer device, is seen as a gadget and straddles the consumer/business boundary it will more than likely be officially kept out of most enterprises. Of course the users will be finding any way possible to get them in though the back door.

As for us we have already moved to the next step and are developing applications for the iPhone which forms part of our interactive event strategy – from basic event guides to location aware solutions, video streaming and real-time information screens.

Now I’m not saying immediately ditch your Blackberry, Nokia or whatever, but I am saying ignore the hype and the naysayers, focus on user requirements and keep an open mind. The iPhone isn’t for everyone but it does set the scene for the next generation.

Elements of the media may be determined to drive everyone into recession but this year’s Showman’s Show took no notice, growing in size and having an upbeat feel to it. Etherlive were both exhibiting at the show and providing services to Fonix LED. Over a highly ‘congested’ site in terms of radio spectrum use, including numerous ad-hoc Wi-Fi hotspots and a site mesh network, we ran multiple video streams, three CCTV cameras, a VoIP service and localised web hosting. This all builds on our approach of ‘business class wireless’, using extensive knowledge and experience to deliver high quality, high capacity services.

Etherlive on the LED screen at the entrance to the Showman's Show

The show was a great success for us, with lots of interest in our newer services such as real-time location tracking, video streaming and event portals on handheld devices. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand for a chat and if you couldn’t make the show check out our website for further information on our latest services.

A copy of our press release from the Green Man festival which took place last weekend. Our team provided internet and phone services for the event staff – keeping them connected to the outside world 

Green Man goes Interactive  

Music festival uses cutting edge technology to reduce costs and deploy new interactive services 

Powys, August 15, 2008 – etherLive Event Services are providing the Green Man festival attendees and event organisation team with new technology services during the 10,000 attendee event in August to increase interaction whilst reducing infrastructure cost. The services will be used to publish a live event schedule to ticket holders through their mobile phone whilst also enabling the event organisation team to use office networking including printing and internet services. 

Attendees are able to interact with a live schedule whilst checking their Facebook profile and uploading photos, all for free. Using interactive services keeps attendees engaged and enables them to keep up to date with line up changes and announcements. 

Event staff are continuing to work in a normal connected office environment despite being in the middle of a field thanks to wireless connectivity. Cable runs are being reduced whilst improving productivity. 

About etherLive 

EtherLive event services provides technical solutions UK wide to outdoor and large events. etherLive partners with events utilising new technologies to offer totally new services whilst reduce costs. etherLive provides streaming video services, location based reporting, security cameras and other services from its versatile networking solutions and experience. 

For more information on etherLive, its services and advantages, visit https://etherlive.co.uk or contact Tom McInerney 07789486939