This move allows for a department to share an internal web site that has easy access from home as well with the regular office google account,
it also allows for better collaboration with other branches of the same company located far away – as it saves the need for an office VPN, or the need to connect to a server that is located in a branch in another country,
instead – everybody just connect to Google.

But what do we do if our files are already on the office internal SharePoint?

apparently – the migration processes from SharePoint to Google sites is not as hard ,
here are two working options.

Exporting from SharePoint

Connect to the SharePoint and browse to where you keep the files you wish to move,
choose  ”Actions –>  Open with windows explorer”

you will get and explorer folder listing all the shared files there,
at this point you can select all the folders  and copy them locally to your desktop or to a network share – if the size of the files is too large.

The only folder not to copy over is the “forms” folder – as it is a system folder and you do not need to move it too.

Uploading files to Google Sites

Here we have 2 options:

1. Use native Google Sites files upload option

   This option works well only if you have a very small number of files and folder to upload
   

    

2. Use Google Sites API

    The Google sites API  will allow you to upload multiple files and folders, 
   it support now two languages -

• Java
• Pythonand you can read some more about in the Official Google Enterprise Blog .
  The API allows you to:
• create new sites
• retrieve , create , change and delete pages
• upload and download attachments and files
• change sharing settings
• and manage templates

Technorati Tags: Google sites, Google sites API, SharePoint

Working in the Production IT of SaaS companies for some years now,
I have come to realize that there is a strong connection between managing the IT and Supply Chain Management,
In a former post I’ve added the links to a Video introduction to Supply Chain Management course,
Created by the Arizona State University – which I strongly recommend watching  - it’s a total 1 hour and worth your time.

I went through each module and I will try to explain how IT in a SaaS Company should be managed like a Supply Chain.

Module 2 – Buy it: Managing Supply

Like in making a cake – the ingredients used to create the SaaS infrastructure will determined the quality of the service:

• Hardware – which company will you sign with to supply your needed hardware ?
  you will need some if not all of: 
  • Servers – in different configurations to support different functions like web, DB, Propriety applications
  • Switches
  • Routers
  • Storage
  • networking hardware
  • racks to hold all the servers
• you will probably also consider more than one hardware supplier as each company has other supplies to offer
  for each supplier you will need to consider: 
  • quality of hardware
  • delivery speed – and if you work for a Global organization this means different delivery times to different locations
  • supplier flexibility – in delivery time, site, support
  • and of course – cost issues

• Men power – SaaS companies need production personal to run and manage all the servers in the production Farms,
  these are talented, experienced people with the right know how in each field and the will power to invest the time and effort needed to manage support and support a 24×7 Global servers farm who need to be up and available 100% of the time.
  Some of the needed functions are: 
  • Sys admins – for various Operation systems
  • Networking gurus
  • Security experts
  • DB Admins
  • 24X7 Network Operation Center
  • Support
    etc …

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYbtZ0x9_SA

Questions, comments or suggestions are very welcome – post below and I’ll get back to you.

Technorati Tags: saas, Supply Chain Management

Lately I’m reading a lot of articles from the Harvard Business Review Magazine,
which publishes Articles and blog posts and case studies that were created to improve the practice of management and its impact in a changing world.

Most of the blog posts are free to read and some of the Articles from the magazine too,
but the most are sold for a price.

The site focuses on topics like:

• Change management
• Information technology
• Leadership
• Operations management
• Strategy
• Systems theory

or on Management Skills as:

• Becoming a manager
• Career planning
• Coaching
• Decision making
• Delegation
• Developing employees
• Improving performance
• Interpersonal skills
• Interviewing
• Leading teams
• Managing people
• Managing yourself
• Team building

And many other topic, all fascinating and important to read for any new or seasoned manager alike.

I warmly recommend reading everything you can read from there, since you can find a case study or an article that discusses almost all the managerial dilemma that you might face through your working years.

And for those who cannot afford buying each article,
in a former post I’ve showed how to find most of them as pdf files available to download in Google.

Technorati Tags: google, Harvard Business Review, hbr, leadership, Management, Online Tools

The whole list is about 1 hour to watch.

You can view the Supply Chain Management as 1 playlist in this post.

Module 1: What is Supply Chain Management? [8:05]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1QBxVjZAw

Module 2: Buy It: Managing Supply [3:46]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYbtZ0x9_SA

Module 3: Make It: Manufacturing and Operations [4:23]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncli94xodm8

Module 4: Move It: Transportation and Logistics [3:45]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZpHiMTwOdM

Module 5: Sell it & Service It: Retail Considerations [3:39]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUO2EaJnb-w

Module 6: Supply Chain Integration [4:41]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_yMW2b0kNk

Module 7: Global Supply Chain Management [4:07]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuQ200JAViA

Module 8: Socially Responsible Supply Chain Management [4:33]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdbKvXh6sLU

Module 9: Business Processes [4:13]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUInjQvzIkE

Module 10: Measuring Performance [5:17]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4HPYYR5iLw

Module 11: Quality Management [3:20]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJNVrY_Z2NM

Module 12: Supply Chains and Information Technology [3:53]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDvHgjRNDQ

Technorati Tags: inspiration, Management, Online Tools, Online Training

The whole list is about 1 hour to watch.

You can view the Supply Chain Management each module separately in this post.

The Modules included in this overview are:

1. What is Supply Chain Management? [8:05]
2. Buy It: Managing Supply [3:46]
3. Make It: Manufacturing and Operations [4:23]
4. Move It: Transportation and Logistics [3:45]
5. Sell it & Service It: Retail Considerations [3:39]
6. Supply Chain Integration [4:41]
7. Global Supply Chain Management [4:07]
8. Socially Responsible Supply Chain Management [4:33]
9. Business Processes [4:13]
10. Measuring Performance [5:17]
11. Quality Management [3:20]
12. Supply Chains and Information Technology [3:53]

Technorati Tags: inspiration, Management, Online Tools, Online Training

This Online tool can be found here:

A very Easy to use online stop watch for all your IT needs, including:

• limiting meeting sections (lets not talk about this subject more than 10 minutes)
• counting time to measure a time limited action (how much time it really took the switch to reboot)
• testing to see if an IT action was able to finish within the time limit set (DB switch should be completed in 5 minutes)

etc …

it has 2 useful modes:

• Stop Watch
• counter

both look like this:

but you setup the counter with this preliminary screen:



inspiration can be found in many places,

this short movie has won the second place at a contest called “U @50″

Its worth the watching time:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA&feature=player_embedded

Technorati Tags: inspiration, Management

From Wikipedia:

Visualization is any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message.

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly^[1], such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education.

These are techniques to deliver a large amount of data in a simple and quick way which will be easy to grasp the amounts of data involved.

The Concept seen above is the Microsoft’s Education Competencies representation,
It is showing the full set of skills a successful manger should hold,
The PDF can be found in Microsoft’s Education Competencies Website.
The Wheel lists all the different area a new manager should be trained for.

Periodic Table of Data Visualization

The Periodic Table of Data Visualization,
segments the different areas where data visualization has been efficient so far:

• Data
• Information
• Concept
• Strategy
• Metaphor
• Compound

Data Visualization collections

Some more good resources online about data visualization:

Smashing Magazine Data Visualization collection
A beautiful collection of modern approach to the subject, with many samples.

Gapminder Statistics Visualisation
The Gapminder stats tool can show you how your data changes inside a time frame

Creating your on Visualization Tools

Wheel-Like Data Visualization With MooWheel
MooWheel is a mootools based script which visualizes data and connections between items like a wheel.

TouchGraph google browser
free Java application to explore the connections between related websites

Technorati Tags: dashboards, Management, statistics