Country Managers Required! (US AND AP)

To help drive our ever expanding business, G2G3 is looking for 2 Country Managers - one for the US and the other for Asia Pacific (AP). These are high-profile roles, and those appointed will be responsible for driving business development in these key regions. For more information about these exciting new roles, please see the Careers Section of the main G2G3 site, then get in touch with a full CV and covering letter.

In space, no-one can hear you reboot!

By Derek Watson, G2G3

The BBC carries a story today confirmed by NASA that Astronauts on the International Space Station were using laptops infected by the Gammima.AG virus. Furthermore the laptops which were running Windows did not have any anti virus software installed!

More and more we are told to ensure our computers and data are safe and secure from attack so it seems incredible computers carried into space are so vulnerable even if they are not ‘mission critical’.

A small step for man, a giant leap for the hackers!

The full news story can be found here

IT team get the blues...

By Jenny McLeod, G2G3

The Olympics is always a colorful event. Yet, within this spectrum there is one color that the IT team would happily pass the entire games without seeing. That color is blue, the chosen shade of the Windows error screen. If an operational fault develops then this grim reaper is not slow to show face, and softpedia.com points out, “wherever Windows goes... the Blue Screen of Death is bound to follow”.

And follow it did. As veteran Chinese gymnast Li Ning was majestically suspended in the Bird's Nest, Windows XP failed to deliver and the BSOD appeared directly behind him during the opening ceremony. Luckily the error went largely unnoticed, but to witnesses it clearly illustrates the stability issues that have plagued Windows XP, even after the release of Service Pack 2. The photos of this can be seen here.

There are only four days left of the Beijing Olympics now. Let's just hope that the IT infrastructure continues to run smoothly and efficiently, and can shake of these blues once and for all.

Green IT - Are we becoming apathetic?

By Jenny McLeod, G2G3

Last week, Version One interviewed 100 senior IT professionals across a range of public and private sector organizations in the UK. The topic? Green IT and where industry leaders place the environment on their business agenda. Whilst 86% of interviewees expressed concern over their carbon footprint, this positive response has fallen 12% since 2007. Depressingly, it seems that IT environmentalists are losing faith and people are starting to wonder - is the IT industry becoming apathetic?

I can see a number of potential explanations for this decline. Apathy is certainly a plausible candidate, and if that is the case then perhaps these statistics indicate a refreshing bout of honesty rather than 'green fatigue'. I'm sure that within this 86% there are significant number whose environmental initiatives don't make it past the official company line, and according to www.techworld.com “there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that UK businesses talk green but don't act it”. Not good news.

On the other hand, it may be that other concerns have taken precedence this year. The current economic climate is a worry for all business sectors and energy saving initiatives are usually the first thing to go. Greener practices may not have been abandoned, just put on hold for now. Also, the general manager of Version One, Lynne Munns, points out that respondents may have already actively taken steps to reduce their environmental impact, and are less concerned as a result.

Hopefully Lynne is right. The IT industry has an important role to play and the European Commission on the Environment has made it clear that “it is important to realize how much IT can help reduce the carbon footprint of private and public enterprises alike”. Whether this reduction comes from cross-industry initiatives or altering print settings (yes – the energy saving mode will make a difference) the time to start is now. Energy costs are escalating, consumer values are changing and NGOs are now directly targeting the IT industry with environmental campaigns. Birkenstocks and hemp sweaters may never become a staple of the office environment but the 'business as usual' model cannot continue for long – apathy won't do.

Going for gold – will the IT team perform?

By Jenny McLeod, G2G3

Beijing 2008 is finally upon us. This afternoon is the opening ceremony of the 29th Summer Olympics which will boast two hundred countries, eleven thousand athletes and an estimated 3 billion spectators over the next sixteen days. Now, that's pressure. And the big question on everybody's lips is – are they ready? As a company that specialize in creating readiness, this is an issue close to our hearts, and one that affects everybody in Beijing. Of course, there was the controversy surrounding China's readiness; there is always the question of competitor readiness; but there is another crucial preparedness that underpins the entire operation – the IT infrastructure.

Since 2003, a consortium of nine IT service providers has been preparing for this moment of glory. Lead by Atos Origin, the past months and years have consisted of over 200,000 hours of Spartan training and testing, to ensure that the IT systems run smoothly and effectively throughout. With 10,000 computers, 1000 servers and 4000 printers to worry about this is no meager task and the systems have been fully operational for the past two weeks in order to account for every eventuality. All eyes may be on the athletes, but if these systems don't run smoothly there won't be much to see.

However, as they say, practice makes perfect and I have faith in the ability of the IT team. Readiness is the key and with five years of testing everything should be in place for a seamless performance. The odds seem good for this event.

Experiential Learning - lets do and understand

By Jenny McLeod, G2G3

Small talk is never fun. It's been one week now since my adopted Chinese student arrived in Edinburgh and although his English is not too bad, my dinner table has definitely witnessed more fluid conversation. So, in an attempt to get the ball rolling I decided to conduct some research – learn a bit about Chinese culture so he would feel more at home . In the process, I came across a Confucian proverb, which reads: “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand”.

Admittedly, our common appreciation of The Dark Knight inspired a more animated conversation than this nugget of wisdom, but there is a resounding truth in this statement that really struck a chord with me.

Increasingly, people are becoming aware that traditional learning techniques are not the most effective way to make sense of complex situations. Formal training methods consist of manuals, lectures and seminars and are usually presented in a de-contextualized form. Yes, they deliver information, but struggle to turn it into understanding without an experiential and realistic element. Hearing and seeing do not cut it.

This is particularly true in the IT industry where the increasing complexity of IT frameworks poses a challenge for traditional methods. These intricate processes require experiential (informal) learning, where clarity and understanding can be cemented through realistic, practical situations. If anything, the IT industry should lead by example in this field as technology is providing a platform for many of these techniques. Simulations, online networking and virtual worlds offer a new and exciting way to share experiences and knowledge in a way that is simple, effective and memorable. We need to do to understand.

Learning should be about challenging, creating and engaging critically with the process. Traditional learning doesn't allow this and often struggles to bridge the gap between knowledge and reality. Effective learning requires experiential methods presented in a realistic context. It's about hearing, seeing and most importantly, doing.

Can we virtually collaborate?

By Linda King, G2G3

The recent launch of ‘Lively’ - the new virtual collaboration environment from Google seems to be another step towards the adoption of virtual and 3D environments for the educational and corporate mainstream. Traditionally the mainstay of the leisure and gaming world, virtual environments started to stray into the business and educational world with Second Life. Despite the media hype and initial enthusiasm, Second Life has taken a bit of a bashing lately, with industry analysts Gartner stating that 90% of Second Life business initiatives fail - however they and other industry analysts are still convinced that virtual environments will have a significant impact on business and collaboration as we know it.

As an experiential learning provider, it is interesting to consider how our solutions will transfer to such an environment. Yes there are benefits - an enhanced global reach and reduced training costs - but how can a virtual environment recreate the buzz and excitement generated during a face-to-face group ITIL simulation? How can communication be replicated to the point of creating real team benefits? When considering this, one only need look at the quality and depth of 3D gaming itself. In a quality gaming environment, gamers become totally absorbed in the gameplay, with no question about excitement. In fact, there are many gamers out there who would stay up all night playing games if they could! The challenge for learning providers in business - to effectively recreate this level of energy for their virtual collaborations.