Microsoft's Killer Application & GM's Big Ed makes Fast Moves

Microsoft's Killer Application & GM's Big Ed makes Fast Moves

     The first part of this blog is a continuation of our telecom blog series and will describe Microsoft's true killer application, and no it's not Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office though both continue to generate a lot cash. The second part of the blog will describe recent moves made by GM in regards to management and Information Technology and will show why Ed Whiteacre as now the Chairman & CEO of GM is truly on top of his game and is the man to lead GM into the future. Now Let us begin our tale......

Microsoft's Killer Application...

     There was a time when Microsoft's cash cow was something called DOS (Disk Operating System), DOS was what IBM wanted when they signed the big contract with Microsoft to supply the OS (Operating System) for IBM's first PC (Personal Computer) to compete with the Apple computer. Later when Apple came out with the Mac OS and IBM was trying to make a go of OS/2 to replace DOS, Microsoft came out with Windows to compete with the Mac OS and through excellent marketing and a even better contract the Windows/DOS GUI became the cash cow. (For people who do not know all PC, laptop, and net book makers pay Microsoft a fee for every PC loaded with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 they ship.)

     However due to the Microsoft's anti-trust lawsuit (they still operate under the conditions of the consent decree in the U.S and different decree in the European Union) and substitutes for Microsoft Office that are now available Microsoft's true killer application is..... Microsoft Exchange, their e-mail server. Microsoft Exchange is important because it works on different platforms. The first platform is course desktop, laptop, and net book PCs. The second platform is smart phones, as more people use their smart phones to get their e-mail from home and work. Microsoft's Exchange Server, and Lotus Notes Server are the de-facto e-mail server standards for e-mail servers in the U.S. and Canada along with many other countries though Google's Gmail client and Gmail Server are coming on strong. The features that make Microsoft Exchange Server the superior of the 3 e-mail server choices so far are:

1. The Microsoft Outlook e-mail client that is on so many PCs, laptop and Servers.
2. Microsoft's new telecom software called Office Communication Server & SharepointServer.
3. Microsoft's Partnership with Ford Motor Company on the Synch software for smart phones.
   

The third point gets into the new technology of telematics, basically the telecom capabilities of cars. GM was first with it's On Star software in the Cadillac, now standard issue for all new GM cars, but Allan Mullaly of Ford & Steve Ballmer of Microsoft allowed Ford to catch up or at least to gain ground on GM in the area of telematics. Just to show you powerful the Microsoft Exchange e-mail server is, despite their animosity Apple struck a deal with Microsoft on making the IPhone work with Microsoft Exchange Server because for the Iphone to become accepted by corporate America's IT department it has to. For more details go to the December 7th 2009 issue of Network World www.networkworld.com for the feature Iphone Winning Over IT Security Skeptics and to the Apple homepage for the Iphone http://www.apple.com/iphone/business. Speaking of the Iphone, while everyone knows Steves Jobs' role in creating the Iphone the other man who helped create it is now at the helm at GM and you can bet he will not take it lying down while Ford catches up to GM in telematics, which leads us to the next feature....

GM's Big Ed makes Fast Moves

     I must again give credit to Nicole Lundholm nlundholm@tippit.com of VOIP News http://www.voip-news.com for inspiring me to do a series on telecom; and for people who do not know, GM's Ed Whiteacre was the former head of AT&T and cut the deal for the Iphone with Steve Jobs of Apple before he stepped down as the CEO of AT&T. While some people in Detroit are in shock that he fired Fritz Henderson the former CEO of GM, the real shock is the speed with which he is remaking the IT department at GM, and for the better! Already GM is working on an application to let buyers buy the new GM Cruze without setting foot in a GM dealership through an Iphone application. For more information go to www.informationweek.com and look for the story What Goes Mobile? by Mary Hayes Weir mhayes@techweb.com.  GM's IT security guidelines have been revamped by among other letting staff know that for truly confidential information it is best to use a land line for phone calls when possible, which should help cut down on industrial espionage. For full disclosure, I used to work on the GM IT account when I was with EDS; EDS is now a subsidiary of HP.

     GM has long been the leader in telematics; with it's partnership with Verizon, GM drivers have long been able to receive e-mail, get phone calls, stock quotes and even have an engine diagnostic done all while keeping their eyes on the road and both hands on the steering wheel, in a sense with it's millions of drivers On Star is a telecom company unto itself. With a former Telecom CEO at the wheel of GM the telecom potential of On Star will be fully exploited. Get ready for the Icar!

Mr. Shines is a Consultant for Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC, and he has been published in the October 2009 issue of Baseline magazine an online and print magazine for CIOs, for a link to the article click on http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/IT-Management/Ensuring-ITs-Survival-301220.  He has also written the book Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology.

How Avaya & Nortel can Survive & Thrive

Avaya & Nortel join forces in a Blockbuster Merger

I must give credit to where credit is due, Nicole Lundholm of VOIP news http://www.voip-news.com/ called me and inspired this blog/editorial. Nortel which stands for Northern Telecom (the company is based in Canada) was a telecommunications hardware maker which has run into stormy seas but has been rescued by Avaya, formerly a part of the AT&T. This combination of Avaya & Nortel will be able to survive the stormy seas of the telecom market, some of the factors causing waves in the telecom/IT market are:

1. Open Source Software
2. Iphone
3. Globalization of IT & Telecom Providers
4. The growing popularity of VOIP with businesses & Consumers worldwide

Here is a plan for Avaya & Nortel to survive and thrive:

1. Keep your current customers, especially the government. Management of Nortel and Avaya should fan out to their customers in the U.S., Canada, & across the globe & find out what they like, do not like in their current equipment and what they would like to see in the future for products, and services from Avaya & Nortel along with the prices they would be willing to pay for those services.

2. Evaluate current partnerships at Avaya & Nortel for value & make hard decisions. The Microsoft partnership with Nortel is a good start but must be properly leveraged or dropped like a bad habbit. Microsoft's Office Communication Server (OCS) is an excellent product & if OCS is integrated with Avaya's & Nortel's hardware along with Microsoft's smartphone OEMs Avaya & Nortel should be poised for strong growth as the cell phone market continues to expand. Top Avaya & Nortel leadership should make the case to Microsoft's top leadership for concrete commitments and targets for growth with Microsoft, and if Microsoft does not accept this business case, then Avaya should hedge their bets with other smartphone/hardware/software partners like Nokia, RIM (the maker of the Blackberry), and Google's Android alliance for their G-Phone. The top partners to consider for smartphone hardware/software are:

1. Cisco - hardware http://www.cisco.com/
2. IBM - http://www.ibm.com/ hardware (Nortel Product recently removed from IBM website)
3. Microsoft - OCS software http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/communicationsserver
4. RIM - Smartphones, server software http://www.rim.com/
5. Nokia - Smartphones, proprietary software & Symbian software http://www.nokia.com/
6. Open Source Software - For example Asterisk software & Zapata voip hardware project
7. GM http://www.gm.com/
8. Ford http://www.syncmyride.com/#/home/
9. Compuware http://www.compuware.com/

I am sure GM and Ford seem strange choices however one must consider this: GM with it's OnStar service partnership with Verizon, and Ford with it's Synch telecom service partnership with Microsoft are both telecom players. For more info go to http://www.gmnext.com/, it is no accident that Edward (Ed) Whiteacre was chosen as the new Chairman of GM, he is a former CEO of AT&T, and helped cut the deal that created the IPhone. For more information on Synch and how it allows voice dialing in your car when you put your smartphone in the cradle of a Ford car go to http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=25169. I hope you enjoyed this article and if you did or are interested in venture capital events, technology, or banking go to http://mbmtinternationale.com/.

Voice Over Internet Protocol OCS vs. Asterisk

Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC
http://mbmwinstonshines.books.officelive.com
June 2009

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Basics: A communication Revolution

VOIP allows people to make phone calls directly from their computer to other people on the cell phones, land lines, cars and to get both their e-mails & voice mails from their computer or from their phone depending on the software and hardware they are using. We blogged about VOIP in June and November of 2007 but a lot has changed since then. There are two software packages you might want to consider when deciding on upgrading your current phone system to take advantage of VOIP to cut your phone costs.

1. Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) – for Windows PCs & servers
2. Asterisk - for Linux/Unix PCs & Servers

The advantages of using Microsoft Office Communication Server are that more than likely you already have Windows PCs/Laptops/Servers in your business or home. Then it would just be matter of buying or downloading the software and determining what type of calling features you want for your phone system, for example call forwarding, & video streaming. For more information feel free to contact us at 313 244-3040, mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com or go to the Microsoft website www.microsoft.com.

Some businesses & consumers to cut costs or prolong the life of hardware past the time it can be upgraded with Microsoft Windows have decided to move towards Linux or do pilot tests with Linux an open source operating system and applications such as open office. This does not mean you cannot join the VOIP revolution, thanks to Asterisk/Digium. Digium software works basically the same as OCS in that it allows you to make calls from your computer at a lower cost. It does not have all the features of Microsoft’s OCS but if you are a Linux/Open Source software shop and you want to try VOIP Digium is a good software choice. For more information on Asterisk, you can contact us at 313 244-3040, mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com or go to the Digium website at http://www.digium.com.

Venture Capital Events May 2009

Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC

Tech Town on the Move!!! Technology - Venture Capital- Business Events May 2009

Tech Town Seminar on Doing Business in China (http://techtownwsu.org)
Marla Rencher of Tech Town http://techtownwsu.org introduced 3 experts for people who want to do business in China or who are looking for business partners from China to invest in a business in the U.S.. The three panelists were:
1. Dr. Mulugetta Birru of MB & Associates, LLC & a graduate of Syracruse University
2. Mr. Jerome D. Hill Esquire a Lawyer/Consultant with the law firm of Butzel Long
3. Mr. Aaron M. Perrault Vice President of International Finance with Comerica Bank.

Once the 3 panelists introduced themselves Ms. Marla Rencher had the members of the audience introduce themselves and the seminar began with Dr. Birru of MB & Associates. Dr. Birru a native of Ethiopia described his extensive experience in international business (Japan, China, Europe) and went into depth on the services that Wayne County offers on trade trips to China. Those services include for businesses that sign up for the Wayne County trade trips: The plane ticket, transportation by bus, transportation for your prospective Chinese business partners, most meals, one on one meetings in each city with prospective business partners, business cards for your business printed in Chinese, and seminars on the basics of doing business in China. Next up was Mr. Jerome D. Hill of Butzel Long. He has a degree in Chinese philosophy, and a law degree; both from the University of Michigan http://www.umich.edu Mr. Hill is also a fluent Chinese speaker and described how relations between mainland China and Taiwan are improving. He started his practice specializing in doing business in China with Butzel Long 10 years ago. He emphasized the importance of having a partner in doing business in China and investing the time to cultivate business relationships there. Finally Mr. Aaron Perrault of Comerica Bank described how he has worked on trade missions to China with Wayne County for 4 years, and how Comerica had established business ties there before the Wayne County trade missions. For more information on how to sign up or a trade trip to China with Wayne County or more information about the seminar send an e-mail to mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com


Smart Start Application Deadline

Ebony Johnson also did a presentation at Tech Town recently on the Smart Start program and the deadline for companies to apply is June 5th, 2009. For more information e-mail Ebony Johnson at ebony@techtownwsu.org. Ms. Johnson is also the business coach for the Smart Start program. The program is a 2 year business development program for startup companies. The Smart Start program helps companies that need to create/improve their business plans, improve revenue, and practice their elevator pitches for funding from venture capitalists/angel investors like Hennessey Capital that did a presentation at Tech Town on April 3rd. To enroll in the Smart Start program at Tech Town go to www.techtownwsu.org. To inquire about funding from Hennessey Capital go to http://www.hennesseycap.com. The presenters for Hennessey Capital at Tech Town were Toby Dahm and Jeffrey Wright. Upcoming events for startup companies entrepreneurs are listed below.

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo will be hosted at the GM International HQ at the Ren Cen in Detroit Michigan on May 17th-20th 2009. Coming up soon is the Plug in Vehicle Forum on October 19th-21st at the Motor City Casino http://www.motorcitycasino.com or register at www.pev2009.com. Also related to Alternative Energy Cars & products you can go to the Next Energy homepage at http://www.nextenergy.org.

For more information on the events above e-mail mbmwindowsserver@google.com, mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com or call at 313 244-3040.

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology© is a book for high school students/undecided college students who want to know about careers in hi-tech/bio-tech or emerging technologies like nano-technology or green technologies. This book is also for displaced workers looking for a 2nd career and are interested in a hi-tech career.
To order the book by mail order send a check or money order for $30.00 payable to Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC to:
Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC
459 Prentis Suite 204
Detroit, MI 48201 Your order will arrive in 1-2 weeks. Online ordering from createspace.com or www.amazon.com and other online stores as a book or e-book in Adobe Acrobat format soon.
Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC® also offers consulting services on disruptive technologies like Linux, Open Source software like open office, setting up wireless laptops networks and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which allows you to make calls from your laptop, to your cell or land line phone. We can also help you use your new Microsoft Windows 2008/MS Exchange 2007 Servers to add extended telecom services to your current phone system for your office. We also offer consulting on implementing MS Vista, Windows Server 2008, & compatibility issues with MS Office 2007. For more info go to http://mbmwinstonshines.books.officelive.com/ ,or e-mail us at mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com.

Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology© is a book for high school students/undecided college students who want to know about careers in hi-tech/bio-tech or emerging technologies like nano-technology or green technologies. This book is also for displaced workers looking for a 2nd career and are interested in a hi-tech career.
To order the book by mail order send a check or money order for $30.00 payable to Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC to:
Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC
459 Prentis Suite 204
Detroit, MI 48201 Your order will arrive in 1-2 weeks. Online ordering from createspace.com or www.amazon.com and other online stores as a book or e-book in Adobe Acrobat format soon.

Technology - Venture Capital- Business Events

Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC® also offers consulting services on disruptive technologies like Linux, Open Source software like open office, setting up wireless laptops networks and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which allows you to make calls from your laptop, to your cell or land line phone. We can also help you use your new Microsoft Windows 2008/MS Exchange 2007 Servers to add extended telecom services to your current phone system for your office. We also offer consulting on implementing MS Vista, Windows Server 2008, & compatibility issues with MS Office 2007. For more info go to http://mbmconsulting.blogspot.com,or e-mail us at mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com.

Venture Capital events that are coming soon...

Friday Tech Town (http://techtownwsu.org) will have Mr. Ross Sanders of Bizdom U doing a presentation; Mr. Ross is Executive Director and Bizdom U is a startup company boot camp on the Wayne State University Campus and you can RSVP to attend. Also Constance-Payne Logan will be on hand as a speaker as well from the SBA (Small Business Administration) to discuss the e200 initiative in Detroit, Michigan for startup companies. Tuesday March 10th the Indian Business Forum will meet at Tech Town. For more info go to www.techtownwsu.org to get more info and to get on their mailing list.

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo will be hosted at the GM International HQ at the Ren Cen in Detroit Michigan on May 17th-20th 2009. For the would be startup company CEO who wants to look for vc capital abroad check out http://www.earlybird.com/en/ the website for Early Bird. Their HQ is located in Munich, Germany and they have offices in Palo Alto, California. For the basics of protecting your ip (intellectual property) and the basics for attracting investors for a startup company feel free to contact me at mbmwindowsserver@google.com, mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com or call at 313 244-3040.

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology© is a book for high school students/undecided college students who want to know about careers in hi-tech/bio-tech or emerging technologies like nano-technology or green technologies. This book is also for displaced workers looking for a 2nd career and are interested in a hi-tech career.
To order the book by mail order send a check or money order for $30.00 payable to Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC to:
Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC
459 Prentis Suite 204
Detroit, MI 48201 Your order will arrive in 1-2 weeks. Online ordering from this site or www.amazon.com will be available soon.

Technology - Venture Capital- Business Events

Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC® also offers consulting services on disruptive technologies like Linux, Open Source software like open office, setting up wireless laptops networks and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which allows you to make calls from your laptop, to your cell or land line phone. We can also help you use your new Microsoft Windows 2008/MS Exchange 2007 Servers to add extended telecom services to your current phone system for your office. We also offer consulting on implementing MS Vista, Windows Server 2008, & compatibility issues with MS Office 2007. For more info go to http://mbmconsulting.blogspot.com,or e-mail us at mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com.

Venture Capital events that are coming soon...

This past Friday Tech Town (http://techtownwsu.org) had a consultant from Ann Arbor Michigan; Mr. John Stout talking about making it today as a consultant. Also on Tuesday February 10th the Chinese Business Networking Association met, and on Tuesday March 10th the Indian Business Forum met. For more info go to www.techtownwsu.org

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo will be hosted at the GM International HQ at the Ren Cen in Detroit Michigan on May 17th-20th 2009. Do not forget the First Friday for Techtown this coming March 2009. For the would be startup company CEO who wants to look for vc capital abroad check out http://www.earlybird.com/en/ the website for Early Bird. Their HQ is located in Munich, Germany and they have offices in Palo Alto, California.

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology

Training Today's Youth for Tomorrow's Technology is a book for high school students/undecided college students who want to know about careers in hi-tech/bio-tech or emerging technologies like nano-technology or green technologies. This book is also for displaced workers looking for a 2nd career and are interested in a hi-tech career.
To order the book by mail order send a check or money order for $30.00 payable to Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC to:
Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale LLC
459 Prentis Suite 204
Detroit, MI 48201 Your order will arrive in 1-2 weeks. Online ordering from this site or www.amazon.com will be available soon.
Technology - Venture Capital- Business Events

Maximillian Bryan Marcell Technologies Internationale L.L.C. also offers consulting services on disruptive technologies like Linux, Open Source software like open office, setting up wireless laptops networks and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) which allows you to make calls from your laptop, to your cell or land line phone. We can also help you use your new Microsoft Windows 2008/MS Exchange 2007 Servers to add extended telecom services to your current phone system for your office. We also offer consulting on implementing MS Vista, Windows Server 2008, & compatibility issues with MS Office 2007. For more info go to http://mbmconsulting.blogspot.com, e-mail at mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com.

Maximillian Bryan & Marcell Technologies Internationale L.L.C.
Phone 313 244-3040 a live person will answer!
E-Fax 315 875-8296
459 Prentis Suite 204
Detroit, Michigan 48201
mbmwinstonshines@hotmail.com
http://mbmconsulting.blogspot.com

Venture Capital events that are coming soon...

This Friday Tech Town http://techtownwsu.org is having a consultant from Ann Arbor talking about making it today as a consultant. Also on Tuesday February 10th the Chinese Business Networking Association is meeting, and on Tuesday March 10th the Indian Business Forum is meeting. For more info go to www.techtownwsu.org

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo will be hosted at the GM international HQ at the Ren Cen in Detroit Michigan on May 17th-20th 2009. For the would be startup company CEO who wants to relocate abroad check out http://www.earlybird.com/en/ their HQ is located in Munich, Germany and they have offices in Palo Alto, California.