5 Tips for Effectively Managing a Virtual Team

It was once believed that in order to be efficiently cooperative and productive, team members would have to be located and working in the same room together. This is, of course, no longer the case. The advent of technology, software and online tools has allowed managers and project leaders to effectively work and collaborate with a team in the virtual world. No matter how a virtual team communicates, or even what continent they're on, a team should be understanding of project goals, objectives, and should be able to get just as much done as if they were sitting side by side each other.

It's the responsibility of the project manager to ensure everyone is focused and meeting deadlines accordingly. But because creating a virtual team is so new, it can be confusing, and even a hassle when it comes to effectively managing and guiding the team members. And, because of the constant flow and always-changing aspects that go into a continuous business project, it makes management that much more of a burden.

Here are five proven and effective techniques a project manager can implement to better manage a virtual team.

1. Set Objectives

Create and communicate to the team each of their individual roles and responsibilities. Ensure each one knows what the other team member is responsible for, and make sure they know and realize whose job effects whose, and why. Communicate clearly to the team members each of their daily, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly goals.

2. Establish Rules and Expectations

Even before the day the project is initiated, a few common ground rules should be clearly laid out for the team members. This is especially true for virtual teams, since it's easy to veer off track and become unproductive. Establish what is expected of each member and the team as a whole, and what the quality of each task should look like. Conveying the importance of status reports, establishing scheduled work hours, lunch break hours, and conference call times are essential to the short and long-term success of a virtual team.

3. Be Specific

Be thorough in explaining every aspect of what's required. Make sure everyone knows the exact time that content and tasks should be delivered. Sticking to a holistic approach and reminding the team of deadlines the day before they're due is not only risky, but it compromises the task's deliverability and quality.

4. Constant Communication

It's vital for the project manager to communicate with his or her team constantly. Leaving someone in the dark can end up being catastrophic for the project. And although the virtual team manager should have a direct and clear channel of open communication for the team, it's important to stay away from micromanagement. Trust the team to make the right decisions, and allow teams a way to communicate with each other, if and when necessary.

5. Use the Right Tools

It's pointless to create or be in charge of a virtual team when the right technology is not in place. Technology is the anchor to any proactive and communicative virtual team, and it's important to choose the right one. Sure, conference calls, webinar meetings, and instant messaging tools are great for making sure everyone is on track and going in the right direction, but they lack in reliability. How sure is the project leader that his or her team is doing what they're supposed to? When deadlines need to be met, and productivity is a must, there should be nothing left to chance. One of the most cost-effective and reliable pieces of software currently out there is My Team Monitor.

My Team Monitor is bar none, one of the best tools for the overall productivity of a virtual team. When active, the software records a team members working hours, letting the project leader know whose being productive and whose slacking behind. A team member's screenshots can be taken, and even key strokes and mouse clicks can be followed. This makes it easier to reward productivity and discover underlying problems. No matter the location of the virtual team and its members, and no matter the type of project it pertains to, My Team Monitor allows for peace of mind, and the simple transparency that a team leader needs when managing a virtual team.

Neil Bachand has extensive experience with virtual team management. Neil enjoys sharing his expertise and insight on software blogs. Learn more about managing a virtual team at My Team Monitor.

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An Exciting New Frontier: Cloud Engineering

Cloud computing delivers a set of hardware and software computing resources over the Internet or any other network. These configurable resources include networks, servers, applications, services and storage, and are presented to users as a single on-demand service. The systematic application of multiple engineering disciplines to develop, operate and maintain cloud computing systems is called cloud engineering. This originated as a concept in 2007 but it was formally introduced in 2009. The main cloud engineering disciplines are discussed below; each of them takes commercialization, governance and standardization into consideration while designing the cloud system to provide the final business solution.

Software: Software engineering is the most fundamental discipline for cloud services; it gives users remote access to application software and databases while the application platform and complex infrastructure is managed by the cloud provider. The established design, development, integration and deployment processes of software engineering now need be applied to distributed computing.

Information: Data that was stored onsite in traditional business models is now stored on remote cloud servers and potentially distributed across data centers. The cloud system provider has to properly analyze how to take the existing data of an organization and build it into the cloud. This data needs proper integration while interfacing with other systems. The user also needs charting tools and dashboards to monitor and analyze their data.

Performance: Software engineering will take care of functional business requirements, but performance engineering is needed to meet the non-functional requirements. The network, tools and resources of the cloud service must demonstrate an optimized system performance, conform to service level agreements and ensure availability and scalability.

Security: Since cloud-based services, applications and tools are delivered over the Internet, they need to be monitored and tested to meet high security standards with robust password, network and storage policies put in place. The cloud system developed through software engineering principles is thoroughly analyzed and designed for reliability. Security aspects include preventing unauthorized access, and stability and sustainability in case of natural disasters. It also involves the secure process of migration from traditional platforms to the new cloud, in particular, interoperability and portability.

Risk: Many sectors like finance and health have strict regulatory requirements. With externally controlled infrastructure in cloud computing, the user shares accountability with the service provider. The governance, risk and compliance policies need to be updated accordingly. The organization should include the right to regularly audit the cloud provider in the contract and demand a disaster recovery plan from the cloud provider. When developing the cloud solution, they need to analyze the new shared operating business model and identify the new risks that virtualization, widespread storage or data and resource sharing bring, such as service load balancing and data latency. Identity management is necessary to control user access to applications on the cloud. Proper architectural design, thorough testing and automation are some of the risk mitigation strategies.

Web: Cloud computing uses the web or the Internet as its platform. Like any web-based system, Service-oriented architecture (SOA) and other web engineering processes needs to be kept in mind while designing and implementing the cloud-based solution.

Conclusion:

Cloud engineering is bringing about a huge technology shift in the IT world as mode businesses are moving toward cloud computing. It offers the advantages of automatic software updates through central hosting, operational cost savings and transferred infrastructural risks to the cloud provider. Proper application of the various disciplines in cloud engineering ensures a secure, reliable cloud solution to meet any business need.

Jessie Brannen is a tech researcher that focuses on the latest developments in cloud computing. Her articles mainly appear on tech websites. Visit the link to find out more about ProfitBricks'cloud computing software company and the services they offer.

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Three Free CAD Programs for Engineers and Designers

If you’re an engineer or a designer you know that some of the most important trade tools don’t come cheap.  Software programs in engineering are often readily available for free or for cheap online, but those programs using the CAD or Computer Aided Drafting technology are much harder to come by.  The possible reason for this is because creating a quality, industry-accepted, and versatile CAD product is so complicated.

There are, however, three free programs that use CAD and available for download.  These programs aren't cheap “layout design” knockoff versions of CAD – they are legitimate quality products developed by some of the major designers who sell commercial 3D CAD software.  The motivation for offering these great products for free is the hope that the user will decide to purchase the commercial software after trying out the free version.  Fortunately the companies offering these products aren't offering substandard snippets of a program to hook you.  The programs are actually really good quality.

The first free program is called IronCAD Compose.

Pluses:  this program allows the user to import files from other CAD programs for editing, 3D composites, rendering, and even animation. 

Minuses:  while it is a great program, it requires you to already have access to CAD files.

IronCAD Compose is specifically useful for the creation and presentation of 3D models that can be used as a sales piece or used within your own organization for training or partnering.  A drawing, for example, can be produced by one person and passed on to another who can then use the program to explore the assembly or product. 

The catch to the IronCAD Compose “free” deal is that it takes existing drawings and makes them viewable, editable, and printable, but the design aspect of the program is not accessible.  There are other aspects of the program that aren’t accessible using the free version with the hopes that the user will choose to purchase it after seeing all that it has to offer.  As a standalone product, however, IronCAD Compose is still a quality product.

The second free program is called AutoCAD Inventor Fusion. 

Pluses:  this program is offered by Autodesk – one of the leaders in CAD programs.  This program uses cutting edge technology and is being offered free of charge to draw interest from Autodesk’s current client base as well as its competitors’. 

Minuses:  this program is only free for a short period of time and also requires the user to have access to 3D CAD program files.  Inventor Fusion essentially takes 3D CAD files from a wide variety of formats and, in an incredibly user-friendly way, turns them into models to be used in planning and engineering.

The third free program is called Sold Edge

2D Drafting and is offered by Siemens and it is a solid good-quality 2D CAD program that is most useful in situations where a 3D model isn’t required.  Solid Edge has been an industry leader in mechanical drawing since it was developed by the space program in the 60’s.  Currently Siemens interests lie in selling 3D CAD programs.   They offer the 2D program for free hoping to gain the loyalty of users who would be paying competitors for similar programs.  Solid Edge is everything a designer or engineer would expect from a 2D drafting program.  It is compliant with a number of industry drafting standards and is compatible with other 2D and 3D CAD programs.

If you’re interested in trying out these great products follow the links below.  There is no better opportunity to get your hands on some quality CAD programs than now.

For IronCAD Compose visit: www.ironcad.com

For Inventor Fusion visit:  http://labs.autodesk.com/

For Solid Edge visit: www.siemens.com/plm

Guest Post by Dan Greene of http://www.globalcad.co.uk/.

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3 Things to Consider When Choosing a Broadband Provider for Your Home Office

There are a number of things you should consider when you are setting up your small home office, and one of those things is your broadband Internet connection. You need one that is reliable, fast and reasonably priced. Here are the things you should consider when picking a broadband provider.

Reliability

When it comes to a home office broadband service, the most important concern is reliability -- does it work? A small home office is unlikely to have the budget to compensate for the lost sales that occur during online absences. Few small businesses can afford to lose money thanks to an unreliable broadband service, especially if technical assistance is un-comprehensive or absent. Ideally the broadband provider should have technicians available 24 hours a day. If your connection should fail, and if technical assistance is not available, you would start to experience considerable problems. If you need urgent restoration of your broadband connection, a poor provider may make you wait 3-4 days.

Price

There are offers and promotions that the small home office should take into account. These offers are the ones aimed at businesses, which means they cost more, but in general, they offer more assistance on dedicated channels. They attend to your needs more thoroughly and endeavour to solve your problems more quickly.

They will often offer more technical features too. Whether you have selected a provider or if you simply have a list of candidates, you should know if you will need to download more often than you upload -- or the other way around. If you are planning to send out bulk emails, or multiple emails with large files attached, then you are going to upload more than you download. If you have several computers in your home office, and they are being used every day by your staff -- then you are probably going to download more than you will upload. Once you are aware of whether you are going to be a big uploader or a big downloader, you will be able to pick an appropriate broadband provider. It will also enable you to pick a price plan that is going to suit your needs and your business.

Speed

The great thing about broadband speed for a small home office is that the Internet usage is only going to be split between a few computers (usually only one). This means that you will not have to purchase a router to ensure that all the PCs feel the same benefit. It also means that you will not need to invest in a very high bandwidth. The Internet usage of one (or a small few) PC is going to be too intermittent to genuinely feel the benefit of a bulkier bandwidth.

Conclusion

You should check out the offers and promotions that broadband providers offer businesses, because you are more likely to find a service package that suits you. Forget about bandwidth (speed) in your home office and simply go with an average speed. You can always upgrade to a faster speed of broadband at a later date if you find you have trouble. Finally, you should ensure that your broadband provider is reliable and has 24-hour technical support.

Author Bio: 

Edd Dawson has extensive experience as a broadband technician. He likes to demystify broadband topics on various blogs. Visit www.broadband.co.uk to find the best deal for your area.

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“It’s Just Email”: Misconceptions About BYOD Risks

“Off to the gym after work!” A quote from a celebrity or philosopher. A snapshot of the snow falling outside your office window. These are just some of the things you might post to your Facebook page from your mobile device while you’re at work. Or maybe you send a tweet about the latest celebrity scandal or forward an interesting article to your mom using your work email. On the surface, you might think these posts are completely innocuous. And speaking content-wise, you might be right. An Instagram photo of a snowy scene doesn’t present any inherent risks — unless of course, your company is the intended victim of a targeted attack and a cybercriminal is monitoring your activity, looking for a means to gain access to your company’s network.

The consumerization of IT — allowing employees to use their own devices for work functions — brings with it a host of security concerns that must be addressed. Because, as Trend Micro reports, many employers are shifting to a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) environment in an effort to increase productivity and follow current trends — it’s important for IT departments (and employees) to understand what such a shift means in terms of security and avoid common misconceptions that often lead to security issues.

How Criminals Use Mobile Devices to Access Data

With smartphones and tablets enabled to perform almost any task that a computer can, employees are using their mobile devices to do everything from check email to produce quotes for customers. Mobile devices serve both as on-the-go storage devices, full of contacts and proprietary information, and a means of access to a corporate network.

The simplest way that criminals can access corporate networks and steal data is by getting their hands on the device. Every day, hundreds of mobile devices are lost or stolen. In some cases, the theft is deliberate, but in others, criminals just get lucky. Loss and theft is a definite concern among IT security professionals, but the greater security risk comes from the phone itself. Viruses, malware and madware specifically targeted to mobile devices are becoming increasingly common. Employee devices may become inadvertently infected with this harmful software via a malicious app or by the user opening an email or instant message on their phone. The app works in the background, collecting data such as contact lists, calls made and messages sent, or by monitoring logins to the company network.

When a criminal accesses the company network via a cloud-based service or an employee’s password-protected access, he can then cull information and data from the internal servers and transfer it to an external server — often before anyone notices that there is a problem.

Protecting Devices Requires a Plan

Although many companies mistakenly believe that accessing email — or other company networks — via mobile devices without safeguards isn’t really dangerous, just as many organizations mistakenly believe that protecting their network is difficult or impossible.

Securing your data in the BYOD environment requires a two-pronged approach: a comprehensive mobile-device-management (MDM) protocol coupled with data-protection solutions that limit access to the network without proper authentication and regularly audit the network for unauthorized or unusual access.

As part of the MDM plan, employees need to let go of the notion that they maintain full control of the devices they use for work. The best security plans allow for a certain amount of freedom — obviously, employees will be using their devices for personal reasons — with restrictions and safeguards. Acceptable-use policies, for example, may govern which websites or apps an employee can access with a work device, and remote locking or wiping capabilities will be employed when the device is lost or stolen or after a certain number of failed log-in attempts.

Understanding the realities of the BYOD environment and taking necessary precautions will save businesses time, money and public relations’ nightmares. Employees need to understand that the freedom to use their preferred device comes with some responsibilities and limitations — and that their email (and social media and app use) does make a difference and needs to be protected.

About the Author: Betsy Woodman covers social media, technology and the BYOD revolution for several blogs and websites. Betsy relies on Trend Micro products for all her security needs. 

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Tower Defense Games: From Atari to the iPad

Tower defense has been a popular game genre for decades. In this article, we'll present a fascinating rundown on the history of the tower defense game, from Atari's Rampart, to the ever-popular Plants vs Zombies and Angry Birds. We'll also discuss the new games coming out soon for tower defense game enthusiasts.

Rampart - First Tower Defense Game

TD games are one of the earliest strategy-based games dating back to 1983. A familiar classic that pioneered the tower defense genre is Rampart by Atari. Rampart is an arcade game that merges the puzzle and shoot 'em up genres. As it's widely ported, it has versions for most modern systems. In this game, you as the player have to defend a set of castles by alternately shooting and attacking enemies, and repairing damages to the castle within a time limit. To survive and gain victory, you have to protect and maintain your territory throughout the game. Involving strategic actions of attacking and repairing, the game quickly gained popularity worldwide.

As the game became a phenomenal success, it became ported into a number of gaming platforms such as Super NES, Game Boy, Gamecube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and most recently PlayStation Network which offers multiplayer action.

It was originally released in 1990, and it was the first ever popular tower defense game. Atari is considered by many gaming enthusiasts as one of the key ideas behind the creation of Final Fantasy and Fort Condor. The first wave of hit tower defense games include Star Craft, Final Fantasy, War Craft and Age of Empire. By the new millenium, TD games started to appear in user-created maps for games like Starcraft, Warcraft III and Age of Empires II.

Introduction of Adoble Flash to Games

The advent of Adobe Flash has brought forth significant changes to the tower defense gaming experience. Independent game developers used Adobe Flash to enrich graphics and speed. They created stand-alone TD browser games leading to the influential launch of Desktop Tower Defense in 2007. Over the last few years, there have been hundreds of new themes and gameplay variations including medieval and space settings. There have also been child-friendly game versions such as those games where players protect a picnic from ants or pop balloons. In late 2007, Protector was released, and it was ranked as one of the best TD games that offered classes and specialization upgrades.

In 2008, mobile phone versions of various games were also introduced online. Some of the most outstanding games which have taken the gaming world by storm are Plants vs Zombies, Gem Craft, Protector, Immortal Defense and most recently, Angry Birds.

Plants vs Zombies is a thrilling and addictive zombie-themed tower defense game. It was originally developed by PopCap Games for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. The gameplay involves a homeowner placing different kinds of plants and fungi to stop the zombies from eating the resident's brain. It was first released on 2009, and upon massive success, it became available on iOS, Android, Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation. The game received much critical acclaim from players and critics.

Another well-liked TD game is Angry Birds. The original version of the game was released on iOS in 2009. The game has been widely popular because of its unique combination of addictive gameplay, comical design and affordable price. It's now available on gaming consoles as well as PCs. With a staggering total of one billion downloads among all platforms, the game has been considered as the largest mobile app success today.

Different Versions of Tower Defense Games

After 2008, a lot of game consoles started to make their own versions of various tower defense games. Xbox 360 made a version of Defense Grid; PlayStation did versions on two games named Pixel Junk Monster and Savage Moon; Nintendo DS released a hand-held version of games called Lock's Quest and Ninja Town. Today, there are numerous mobile phone tower defense games available in the market.

Upcoming Tower Defense Games to be Released in 2013

The popular zombie-themed TD game Plants vs Zombies has an upcoming sequel, Plants vs Zombies 2, which will be released in late spring of 2013. Other games that you should watch out for next year are Sentinel 4: Dark Star which is currently being developed by Origin8 for Android and iOS devices, Nightmare Guardians which is set to arrive on tablets, and Lovers in Dangerous Spacetime which is going to be introduced in both PC and Mac.

Ryan Thomsen has been extensively involved in game development. He enjoys sharing his tips and insights on various games blogs. Visit www.free-games.net for more games.

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