Author Archives: Molly

Nov 15

Total Access Analyzer Product Review

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Microsoft Access 2010Microsoft Access Database DocumentationMicrosoft Access Database DocumentationMicrosoft Access Documenter

Geoff Hollander of Northwest Database Services and the Portland Access User Group wrote a review of our Total Access Analyzer product. He provides a nice discussion of how it finds ways to improve his Access applications:

“I always thought that I was thorough about going through an application and cleaning up loose ends, but Total Access Analyzer proved: I was wrong and I probably won’t call another application complete until Total Access Analyzer gives it the OK.”

He also suggests how the documentation it generates and its reports are a business opportunity:

“Selling a documentation package generated by Total Access Analyzer for your application is a great way to add a training-free, trouble-free and reasonably priced profit center to the work you are already performing!….Total Access Analyzer is a solid product that any Access developer should have in their toolbox; and one that will pay for itself in short order.”

Visit our Total Access Analyzer Product Review to see Geoff Hollander’s complete review!

Oct 13

The HotMommas Project Case Study Competition Website Update

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HotMommas ProjectOur long time client Kathy Korman Frey, George Washington University School of Business professor and GWU Entrepreneur in Residence, has engaged the FMS Professional Solutions Group again to update her HotMommas Project case study competition website and create another brand new website. Professor Frey has amassed the world’s largest public domain collection of women’s case studies, and created an environment where these women can share their experiences and challenges of creating and running companies along with juggling family and other commitments in life.

This effort is almost complete and we’ll be unveiling the revamped case study competition website as well as the new “sister” site next month. Stay tuned!

Aug 26

Broadcast Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Shows to Remote Viewers for Free using Windows Live ID

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A new feature in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 allows you to broadcast slide shows to remote viewers over the web. All you need is a Windows Live ID. Microsoft provides a free Broadcast service, and creates the URL for you to share with your viewers. Just click File, Save & Send, Broadcast Slide Show, Broadcast Slide Show.

For more details, read our Microsoft PowerPoint tip, Broadcast Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Shows to Remote Viewers for Free using Windows Live ID.

Jun 13

Small Business Disaster Recovery Planning Article

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Here’s an article by FMS President Luke Chung that was recently published on the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Washington DC web site discussing the need for small business owners to Create a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan for Your IT System. Luke has been a member of EO for over a decade and previously served as the Washington DC chapter president.

The article covers our experiences working with people running small to medium sized organizations, and the challenges they face to address business process continuation issues. An overview of the basic steps are covered.

Overview

As someone running a small organization, it’s easy to be consumed by day-to-day needs and neglect the importance of disaster recovery. Not only is it awful to think about, it requires detailed planning and thought to implement properly. Over the years, we’ve seen organizations run into problems because of inadequate planning and testing, so here are some pointers we’ve learned.

Disasters Happen

Unfortunately, bad things happen. You may have business insurance to pay for replacing your hardware, but for most organizations the value is in the data. Customer lists and purchase histories, accounting, inventory, operational reports and processes, management decision making systems, and even simple Word and Excel files can be critical to the success of your organization. Making sure these are accessible in the event of an emergency is worth considering before a disaster strikes.

Disasters can be on many levels. Certainly, there’s the chance of your whole building burning down but the more common situation is hardware failure or human error. All hardware eventually dies and a hard disk containing critical corporate information could just fail. Similarly, someone could make a mistake and accidentally delete data or files that need to be recovered. It may not threaten the whole organization but could be expensive and time consuming to recover.

For Microsoft Access applications in particular, read our related article, Creating a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan for Microsoft Access Database Applications.

May 16

Sentinel Visualizer Helping to Expose Human Rights Violations

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Our link analysis program, Sentinel Visualizer, continues to help organizations better manage and understand their data for some amazing missions.

Read our joint press release with London based Videre Est Credere (Seeing is Believing) on how Sentinel Visualizer is a cornerstone of their methodology for organizing their data and activities. They train and equip citizens in Africa to record human rights atrocities and expose it to the global press. We’re proud to play a role in their efforts to make a more safe and just world, and thank those who are willing to do so at great personal risk.

May 16

Luke Chung and Members of ITPAC Tour Fairfax County Public Safety and Transporation Operations Center

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Luke Chung and the other members of the Fairfax County Information Technology Policy Advisor Committee (ITPAC) toured the county’s Public Safety and Transporation Operations Center. Combining state-of-the-art emergency response technology, this secure facility is ready to respond to human and man-made disasters. The blast resistant building houses the county’s 911 response center with police and fire dispatchers, the traffic monitoring and management team, an emergency command center to coordinate really large responses, and the police forensics laboratories. Thanks for keeping us safe and a great tour of your operations!