Archive for May, 2011
Succeeding at Succession
If you’re like most business leaders, the topic of succession stirs up mixed emotions. On the one hand, succession provides great new opportunities. On the other hand, the thoughts that run through your mind about succession processes are anything but positive.
Because making successful succession transitions has an impact on so many North American businesses and so many stakeholders within a business, Robert and I have interviewed several key experts — getting the answers to the most important, most frequently asked and most painful succession questions.
Recently, for BusinessCast #198, we sat down with Sean Graham who shares key legal insights to help you avoid succession train wrecks. We’ve also gathered critical lessons from succession thought-leaders that span all industries and disciplines, including:
- Thomas Deans, best-selling author of “Every Family’s Business” (BusinessCast 117)
- David Simpson, Executive Director of the Business Families Centre (Ivey School of Business) (BusinessCast 191)
- John Geddes, one of Canada’s recognized succession gurus (BusinessCast 110)
Together, these four BusinessCast episodes help you better plan for, go through and successfully emerge from business successions regardless of your role in the process.
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Finding the Silver Lining in Cloud Computing
(Note: The following story was first published on the Financial Post — April 27, 2011)
Every year, businesses are spending more resources on information technology to ensure their companies run smoothly. Industry analysts forecast that hardware and software spending will continue to grow annually at a rate of 10% to 20% over the next several years. While these fixed expenses are critical to establish and maintain a strong infrastructure, they take resources away from what businesses should be doing: developing innovative products and finding compelling ways to get them quickly to market.
The good news is that business leaders can now sustain a robust information technology without having to sacrifice innovations that help them stay competitive. The solution that businesses across North America are turning to is “cloud computing” — which is a way for businesses to take advantage of storage and virtual services, saving money on infrastructure and support. Cloud computing combines three distinct elements: it is delivered via the Internet, it is pay-per-use and it is self-service. The recognition that cloud computing is a valuable solution to business leaders can be seen in a new study. In March of this year, Microsoft found that 40% of Canadian businesses, with up to 250 employees, will invest in cloud computing over the next three years.
The considerable business advantages of being able to shift fixed costs to variable costs, which is a core aspect of cloud computing, is felt even more strongly in larger companies. According to Gus Harsfai, President of Ceryx (www.Ceryx.com), one of Canada’s most recognized leaders in providing cloud control for large enterprises, “Companies can realize the financial and operational benefits of leveraging the cloud very quickly.” He recommends that to do so, “Start with a ‘Cloud Coach’. That is, use a trusted and impartial hardware or software advisor that truly understands your business, how it is going to evolve over the next three to five years and relevant cloud service options.”
Cloud computing provides such strong financial and business benefits that companies are quickly overcoming the confusion that occurs when new technologies enter the market. As a result, cloud computing has emerged as the cornerstone of smart computing.
To help Canadian business leaders harness the power of cloud computing, Brian Shepard, founder and CEO of Tenzing Managed I.T. Services, recently sat down with the hosts of the the BusinessCast. Mr. Shepard shared the story behind the growth of Tenzing which provides cloud hosting services to help businesses achieve their goals.