Features

SPECIAL SERIES: THE IT AGENDA

When Bad Service Happens to Good People By Dave Molta You don't have to tolerate subpar service. Heed our tips for evaluating service quality and getting the upper hand in a dispute with your provider.

Online Only: It's a Two-Way Street By Kelly Jackson Higgins We asked executives from top IT outsourcers to talk candidly about what it takes to strike a successful outsourcing relationship and offer some dos and don'ts for crafting a contract that will grow with the partnership.

Get Help! Use Our Guide to Outsourcing Service & Support By Jonathan Feldman Why gripe about insufficient staff to handle your IT workload? Off-loading service and support projects to a third party can solve some of your most pressing problems, but you'll need to make wise choices from the get-go.

11 Questions to Help You Select the Best Service & Support Provider By Jonathan Feldman Think you know all the answers when it comes to choosing a service provider? It may be that you haven't been asking yourself the right questions. Don't worry; we have 11 eye-openers.

Let's Make a Deal By Sean Doherty Here's how to negotiate a service contract that paves the way for a successful long-term relationship with your provider -- and offers an escape route if things go wrong.

Send in the Clones? By Steven J. Schuchart Jr. We explode some myths about support for white-box PCs versus Tier 1 machines to help you make the best desktop and server selections.

Online Only: Inside Network Computing Online Editor in Chief Bradley F. Shimmin and Technology Editor Jonathan Feldman take you beyond this issue's cover package on Service and Support Strategies so you'll be better equipped to outsource anything and everything. (Requires RealPlayer)

Workshops

Renegotiating Telco Rates By Oliver Rist If you get your ducks in a row before negotiating with your telco provider, you can save your company big bucks and get better service to boot. We'll walk you through the best way to line things up.

Buyer's Guide: Hot Off the Printer By Steven J. Schuchart Jr. So, you're ready to go out and buy new printers. Great. But before you dash off, let us show you a few things you can do to improve the purchase experience.

Online Only: Glossary: Printing Technologies 101 Specialty printers offer some unique choices. Read about the advantages of each technology.

Online Only: Interactive Buyer's Guide: Network Printers So, you're ready to go out and buy new printers. Let us show you a few things you can do to improve the purchase experience.

Sneak Previews

Xythos WebFile Server Gives Users a Powerful Lesson in Sharing By James E. Drews Users want the ability to access files from anywhere, collaborate on those files and enjoy plenty of storage. With Xythos WFS they can have it all.

Lutris Technologies' EAS 4.1 Puts 'Service' in Web Application Services By Don MacVittie Lutris comes up with an enterprise-ready app server with a powerful unified management interface, support for multiple standards and built-in clustering.

AppShield Inspects and Protects Your Web Apps From HTTP to Z By Jeff Forristal If your company doesn't enforce secure coding practices in Web apps, then AppShield is what you need to protect against hackers. Version 4.0 has a 100-percent performance boost, but it doesn't include basic firewalling or host OS lockdown support.

Adlex Internet Path View 1.2 Goes Deep to Monitor Network Traffic By Bruce Boardman Internet Path View's smart analysis tool gets to the heart of Internet bottlenecks. Although it doesn't give specific diagnostic help, it does provide unparalleled load-balancing feedback.

Departments

Centerfold: FIFA Plays it Safe With the World Cup Network By Kelly Jackson Higgins When the World Cup kicks off late next month in Japan and Korea, there will be plenty of action in the data centers as well.

The Rant: 'Teach Your Children Well' Poses New Challenges With Today's Internet-Savvy Kids By Lori MacVittie Before a child is allowed on the Internet, certain age-appropriate lessons need to be taught.

New & Improved We take a look at NetReality's WiseWan Switch. NetReality has made a series of enhancements to its WiseWan NAPS (Network Application Priority Switch), including the addition of a peer-to-peer engine.

Letters "Wireless technology vendors should put their R&D money into developing a mobile technology that works," says Shannon Gillenwater. Plus, Please Hang Up and Dial Again, Hello Sony and Linux LetDowns.

Columns

From the Mobile Observer Newsletter: Air Time: Wireless 101 By Dave Molta "These days, as many IT organizations begin to get their feet wet with wireless, they are realizing that they need to enhance their analog RF technology skills sets."

Guest Column: Get the Staff You Need By Scott Ogawa You may think in-house is the answer for an IT project, but upper management needs to approve the necessary hires. Scott suggests ways to present your case.

The Business of IT: Emerging from the Support Rat Maze By Jonathan Feldman If vendors are leading you into a labyrinth of unsatisfying support calls, then it's time to demand a faster path to the cheese.

The Inside Story: Go to the Source -- Outsource By James Hutchinson Handing off your service and support chores might be the best way to go.

From the Mobile Observer Newsletter: Air Time: Should You be Afraid of Wireless Viruses? By Dave Molta "Are mobile viruses an area of concern? Absolutely. And it's not really just a wireless virus issue -- it's more of a mobile-device virus concern." (From the Mobile Observer newsletter)

Down to Business: Doomed by Indecision By Rob Preston Yesterday's strategic tech initiatives are now avoided as too risky or too extravagant because their returns are neither clear nor immediate enough. It's a sure path to mediocrity. IT professionals must take a stand, pick the three or four most strategic projects and drive them onto management's agenda.

Top of the Stack: Broadband Fugitives By David Willis Your mug shot may not be up at the Post Office, but if you're a cable-modem user, you're probably a criminal. Your ISP has a long list of justifications for cutting off your connection if it's in the company's best interest to do so.