Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Entrepreneurial, Corporate and Individual "Apple - Dependents" - Alert and Opportunity

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With market popularity comes the usual wave of "black hat" opportunism, replete with viruses, malware, trojan horses. For those of you who have become very Apple dependent (especially those of you who are Microsoft converts -- you know, those entrepreneurial pioneers who became tired of downloading patches from Microsoft several times per week, and wanted a break from constantly downloading anti-virus software updates), please be aware of a trend which is rapidly achieving momentum-- attacks on Apple, and on Apple users. Your pads, pods, phones and notebooks are all at some peril. Don't compromize your data, or your communications ability.


Entrepreneurs - As Apple Becomes A Market Leader, The Virus/ Malware Issue Follows Close Behind

These attacks and problems may become extraordinarily severe, in that many new Apple users are using Apple iPhones, pads and the like as their principal communications medium. These wonderful communications devices are also at risk of being compromised, infected and commandeered by opportunistic "bad guys."

Several Global Futurist pre-emptive strategies emerge, and I will outline them here. Bear in mind that I am stating opinions based upon my expectations, and that I am not providing technical, legal or any other sort of technical advice. If you are a TNNWC Member (which you should be), you might be receiving this news via the TNNWC Supplemental RSS and Daily Email Feed - this is part of the reason to subscribe to the feed (either by RSS or by once-daily email) -- to catch alerts early, and to convert them into actionable items for your protection and your profitability:

1. Back up all of your records and information on zip drives at regular intervals;

2. Use Mozy or one of the the other remote (off-disk) backup systems to keep a regularly- updated version of your computer's entire set of important files.

The following article is excerpted from a ZDNet Newsletter. It contains some "good news" which really is tantamount to putting a bandaid on a spreading infection. On a positive note, some silver linings (benefits and opportunities) are enumerated after the article extract -- so please read the extract, and return to this page [that's what the "BACK" arrow is for] to see how you may benefit, as an entrepreneur, innovator or systems (IT) professional from this difficulty:
Apple Mac OS X update to put Mac Defender malware issue to bed
Apple will deliver a Mac OS X update "in coming days" that will put its Mac Defender malware headaches to rest.READ FULL STORY
---------------

Possible Entrepreneurial, Innovative, IT and Investment Directives emerging from this temporary cloud over Appledom:

1) Develop, repackage or sell kits or protocols to backup Apple data on all Apple media and applications for corporate and personal users;

2) Develop, repackage or sell kits or protocols to defend against the perils facing Apple-dependent enterprises and individual users -- these would be analogous to port protectors, anti-malware programs and other pre-emptive defenses against intrusions, pirating and shutdowns;

3) Invest or otherwise participate in companies which do either or both of the activities briefly described in items numbered 1) and 2), above.

That is all for now. Oh, and by the way...bear in mind that every crisis (or even the fear of an incipient crisis) brings with it numerous opportunities for those who are able to recognize them, and to take action immediately.

Faithfully,

Douglas E. Castle

[view: http://douglascastlerssfeeds.blogspot.com/]
"Be bold. Face your Fears. The Future is Coming. Learn to Surf the Waves, or be Crushed in the Tsunami... -DC

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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Strategic Business and Personal Planning - Global Companies, Investments and Currencies

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The business and investment trend is accelerating toward globalization in all aspects of vendor diversification, supplier diversification, contractor diversification and consumer markets diversification, as well as in currency and and general asset diversification geographically. If your investments are centered upon companies headquartered in a particluar geographical territory or country, that might be just fine. But analyze the fundamentals of those companies individually, and you ultimately find that you have actually been increasing internationally, and your portfolio companies have been conduits to achieve this. Although I do not offer tax, investment, financial, legal, accounting or other advice, I strongly suggest that you example your portfolio companies and find out where they are investing -- because where they choose to invest, is ultimately where you have invested.

If your portfolio of investee companies is comprised of insular (i.e., non-globally-oriented, highly localized with established manufacturing and/or markets in one particular country) holdings, you are invested in what could become a stagnant pool within a surprisingly brief period of time.

It sounds humorous, but it is true, just the same -- "Invest, if you wish, in companies which are situated or traded locally, but be certain that a good percentage of those companies are working on global strategies for part or all of their processes. Don't be a fiscal xenophobe, and don't be small-minded in terms of the geographical locus of your assets and investments, or in your own entrepreneurial or established company." Supporting the industries of your nation, like giving generously to charity, is an admirable thing to do; however, if you have eventually have no assets of any value left  to offer for either patriotic support or charity, you'll just become embittered and add to the ranks of the impoverished. Your loss will not be anyone else's deliverance.

Think globally, and be certain that your personal business strategy and your personal portfolio investment strategy incorporate the accelerating trend toward multinationalism, and shopping the world markets.
---------------
Growing businesses, as well as established companies in an expansionary mode (or those who believe, foolishly, that they are mature, and may rest on their existing systems and past achievements, must accept the reality of sourcing their vendors, labor and consumers internationally. As this becomes the trend among many "real" companies as well as "virtual companies" the expanded global free market must be understood, and engaged in order to accelerate growth and to remain competitive. Failing this, or failing to seriously incorporate the "global factor" in the strategic planning aspects of your entrepreneurial or mature enterprise, may render you subject to extinction. -DC
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International Business - Entrepreneurial Trends [Volvo In China As A Case In Point]

Plainly speaking to entrepreneurs, internationalists, trend-watchers, and leaders of small to mid-sized businesses in search of new markets, China is being tacitly acknowledged as a place to 1) manufacture relatively inexpensively), and 2) to sell into a burgeoning consumer market that is fueled on earnings and wealth rather than on credit. Other Asian nations are being regarded with a similar covetousness and avarice.

A word of advice to younger companies -- think about the benefits of e-commerce, and investigate the possibilities of going global. These will become two competitive necessities.


The result of this perception, and the trends which support it (see Volvo article, below) is that we are entering into an age where manufacturing companies which once did their administration in their countries of domicile, occasionally outsourced some of the manufacturing or assembly, and did their marketing principally with re-imported finished products wihin their own home economies (with a percentage for export), are fast becoming mere admistrative "shell" entities.

These shell entities are legally domiciled and headquartered in their home countries, but they are both manufacturing and marketing out-of-country and offshore. It is simply a prudent shorter-term economic choice.

By way of simple example, take an American consumer goods manufacturer which has its products produced in plants throughout China, and sells predominantly to Asia and in parts of Eastern Europe and Latin America, with only limited sales in the USA. The ultimate result spells increased profit for the company, but also contributes to the decline in US employment, consumerism, and career opportunities. Most of the real economic value is added out-of-country, and most of the profit is generated (and increasing kept or expended) actually goes out-of-country. What remains behind is merely an American "shell company" which just maintains its roots (and perhaps its books of account) here. This same phenomenon is happening in virtually every currently-regarded "industrialized nation".

Expect this result to accelerate:

1. True employment losses in the US and other currently-regarded industrialized nations;

2. An export of great minds, innovation, initiative and career paths out of the United States and other currently-regarded industrialized nations;

3. Export of employment, disposable personal income, investment and accumulated wealth outside of the US and the other currently-regarded industrialized nations;

In summary:

Expect every company which reaches a certain "critical mass" of revenues per year to become multinationalized. This means that every business in any of the currently regarded industrialized nations (no matter where domiciled, and barring government-imposed trade restrictions) will eventually reach a size (or as Malcolm Gladwell would say, a "Tipping Point") where it will Internationalize. Every entrepreneurial small- to mid-sized business, from start-up to growing company, should start preparing itself preemptively for the world of outsourcing, import, export and internationalism.

Personally, as the Chairman of TNNWC Group, LLC, I am seeing increasing interest and inquiries coming to our International Connections Service (ICS) Division by the month. Additionally, these companies are increasingly young at the times of inquiry. What may start as virtual export or import experiment on the part of an entrepreneurial entrise may ultimately turn into a significant logistical reality.

Whether it is perceived as patriotic or not, companies will become more aligned with those nations where their suppliers, manufacturers, and production facilities are actually located, and where their greatest customer markets are located, than where they are domiciled.

All prospective investors in such enterprises will want to know is "Where can I buy stock or a participatory interest?"... "What exchange are the shares or units traded in?"... and "What currency should I purchase those shares, units or interests with?"

Following is an article extracted from a recent SmartBrief Newsletter published by ELFA (Equipment Leasing and Financing Association):




  • Volvo Construction Equipment sharpens focus on China
    Volvo Construction Equipment President and CEO Pat Olney said the company will continue its ambitious growth strategy for China and elsewhere in Asia. "We will support this approach with products dedicated to this market, using local Chinese knowledge and leveraging an expanded Asian manufacturing and distribution footprint," Olney said during his first news conference as chief. ForConstructionPros.com (5/18)
One thing is certain. Internationalism cannot be ignored any longer by any business strategist, leader or investor at any level. It's a fact of life.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle,
Chairman
TNNWC Group, LLC.
---------------
This article has been published in varied versions in the The National Networker (TNNWC) Weekly Newsletter, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, GICBC and several other blogs by this same author.


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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Cloud Computing: Google Outage Sends Thunder, Lightning and a Warning.

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Cloud Computing, eh? Small businesses, large businesses -- think twice. You'd better have a backup or failsafe secondary system. Avoid sole-source suppliers, monopolists, and "one-size-solution-fits-all" advocates. Be very selective with your dependencies, and hedge your bets. Sometimes you can insure against a peril or damages - but what if your insurance company goes bankrupt?  Have a delightful day! The pilot has illuminated the "Fasten Seatbelts" sign.  --DC






Dear Colleagues, Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Applications Users, Technophiles, TNNWC Members, Global Futurists, Social Media Addicts, Buzz Baristas (and Amateur Buzzicologist-In-Training) --- Google has just added a thunderous applause (a cloudburst, perhaps) to my last post on the topic of monopolies and dangerous dependencies.



ZDNet had this to say about Google's most recent and damaging outage:


Google's Blogger outage makes the case against a cloud-only strategy
The same week that Google made its strongest pitch ever for putting your entire business online, one of its flagship services has failed spectacularly. There's a lesson here.READ FULL STORY

As an avid trend-spotter, strategic planner and author of the Global Futurist Blog, I will not say "I told you so."

I will say this, however. The very notion of cloud computing and its inherent economic and logistic advantages (plus the possibility of giving Bill Gates an enormous migraine) has taken a major step backwards, as wary Blogger users are looking for alternative platforms and media to backup their prospective cloud solutions.

My prediction is that this latest catastrophic shutdown, will open a whole new line of inquiry as to the safety and security issues associated with depndence upon cloud solutions and sole-source providers. And while I believe that we will be hustled into cloud-based systems in the future, it is likely that the adaptation of one-stop cloud solutions is going to go even more slowly than I had anticipated. My projected time horizon for the dominance of cloud solutions is now amended to three to five years.

Right now, I would be watching for emerging companies that produce or who are working on developing backup "cloud support" systems in the event of failures. At the risk of making a bad pun, the more-informed public is beginning to see the thunderheads instead of the pure silver lining.

Also, expect many bloggers to be switching or diversifying blogging platforms because of this mess.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle (http://douglascastle1.wordpress.com/), as well as at http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/.

There is REASON OUT OF RANDOMNESS.


p.s. It is interesting to compare this with the initial effect on offshore drilling sentiment caused by BP's "Louisiana Leaker," or the creation (effective or not) of heightened domestic protection through the chartering, in the US, of The Department of Homeland Security which was precipitated by the 9-11 attacks against the World Trade Center buildings in New York.


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Friday, May 13, 2011

Business Strategy: One-Sided Dependencies Can Be Deadly.

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Business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs, futurists, internationalists, risk analysts -- the moral of this article is this: Avoid Being Monopolized.

Said in different terms, don't ever put all of your eggs into someone else's basket -- it's far smarter to put some of his eggs in your basket as well (we call that "insurance" in New York), and to put lots of your eggs into lots of baskets.

Diversify against dependency.

I've heard a great deal about the supposed "efficiencies" of monopolies, but I believe that these economies of scale are far outweighed by the waste of resources, loss of quality in products, services and customer care, and the victimization of people who have been deprived of choice.

While you still have choice - use it. If you don't feel that you have a choice, start planning a "workaround," as they say in modern-day geekspeak. - DC via TNNWC


Entrepreneurial Applications And Platform Users - Are You At Google's Mercy?

Dear PR Professionals, E-marketers, Entrepreneurial Publishers, Frugal Small Business Owners, Fellow TNNWC Members, Strategic Planners, Global Futurists and Trend-Spotters:

Google is a colossus of a company. As they acquire other applications providers, social media services and various other "business-tool" properties, they grow larger, both horizontally and vertically.

Sooner or later, we will all have some type of business dependency upon Google (whether directly or indirectly) in the critical path of our business processes. Our prospective vulnerability is tremendous.

If Google should change some of its posting or usage guidelines, experience a lengthy failure or begin to charge significant fees directly to end-users, small business which have built themselves upon a Google-owned or Google-controlled platform will become victims.

I would suggest that every responsible strategic planner, systems expert and entrepreneur start to create certain backups, alternatives and other safeguards by developing alliances (and possible redundant systems) with some of the smaller, non-Google-affiliated applications and services providers in the interest of 1) protecting the continuity of your business, and 2) keeping the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship alive by patronizing our brother and sister growth-mode companies instead of just allowing another potential monopolist (i.e., Google) to lead us down the path to disaster as willing victims.

You have seen examples of what can happen when a resource is controlled by a select few parties...Big Pharma...Big Oil...Big Government...Financial Institutions "Too Big To Fail" -- supporting innovation, small business and entrepreneurship and a bit of healthy competition are necessary in order to retain any real freedom.

As Lord Acton said: "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." It is simply a matter of Human Nature. The more that we take, the more we feel that we are entitled to take.

When a small business or a competitive company wants our business, they accommodate us. As these smaller enterprises grow much larger, they begin to simply take our business.

If I may be permitted to wax philosophical (this polite comment is rhetorical, because I am going to write whatever I please anyway), capitalism is a wonderful system, provided that legitimate competition is fostered, financed and given its share of benefits and our patronage, instead of government-imposed barriers to entry and growth...

Here's an ominous reminder, taken right off of Blogger's "Known Issues" Blog...

Blogger Status

Friday, May 13, 2011

We’ve started restoring the posts that were temporarily removed and expect Blogger to be back to normal soon.


Posted by at 06:07 PDT

---------------

I find this a bit disquieting. But then, I am not a proponent of "giving in" to monopolies - I am a proponent of innovation and collaboration amongst the smaller entities which have always been the engine of every industrialized economy, and which help to keep us civilized, sharp, and non-drones.

Did I hear someone say that "Competitive, compassionate capitalism might be a good idea?" I hope so. It is better to be a consumer (with choices) than a victim (one cattle car and one certain destination).

Faithfully,

Douglas E. Castle (http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/)

p.s. How's the above blog address for a study in irony, eh?





C' MON - GOOGLE ME.

Hint: I am not Castle Douglas, which is the regal edifice in Scotland. I am a mere person -- Douglas Castle

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We don’t just coach you or offer you pre-packaged, push-button solutions – we listen to you, analyze your exact needs, and work within your budget to: 1) create your tool kit and 2) work as your partner to implement your plan by supporting you in the most efficient and productive use of every tool.

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Thursday, May 12, 2011

Market Domination - Apple v. Microsoft - A Trend to Watch Closely.

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No entrepreneur, manager, strategic planner or business leader can afford the luxury of either 1) bullying his discontented but seemingly enslaved customer base and being unresponsive (very poor CEM - Customer Experience Management), or 2) hiding in his posh headquarters and falling asleep to the sound of his own lullaby. Hate it, but I'll say it: "You snooze, you lose." Even better (Douglas Castle channeling the late Johnny Cochran): "The best never, ever rest." This has become mantra at TNNWC Group, LLC.

----------------

Apple Computer Captures, and Continues to Dominate the Market for Business Users, Entrepreneurs and the Consumer Marketplace.

Say what you'd like about Steve Jobs and his health issues, and say what you will about former boy wonder Bill Gates, but Apple has stolen the torch from Microsoft, as well as from all of Microsoft's fragmented competitors, and virtually every company in the communications applications space.

The iPod started the resurgence of the brand, and the continued unveiling of increasingly versatile, innovative and sexy devices and applications are securing Apple's dominance, as surely as the Millenials are texting more than they are emailing. Jobs caught a trend early, marketed into it, and then drove the market with the force of his brand and dominance. Expect Apple to outperform and outshine Microsoft at an increasing differential as the computer/commmunications landscape is shaped by Apple as the industry's best known and most reputably innovative brand.

Expect this trend toward ever-smaller and sleeker communication devices, quick texting and applications to far surpass the PC and notebook world of Microsoft. There's also the issue of Microsoft's (and especially Bill Gates') being perceived as bullies and pirates -- they not only have a problem in the futurism and strategic planning department, but they are seen as insensitive to negative feedback and growing resentment on the part of small business and home users. Bill has an image problem, which is being further enhanced by his seeming obliviousness to it. He is not the "trusted savior" as Jobs is perceived as being.

Something else of note: Apple watches trends and rides them, while Microsoft is trying to coast on the laurels of its pricing, established marketshare, and brand. Apple interacts with its potential customers to incorporate their crowdsourced, collective insight into products being developed -- this is not only a wonderful source of information, but it gives the contributors (the prospective customers) an emotional and psychological ownership in Apple's products and success.

An article from AP (Associated Press) punches the point home by citing statistics regarding the two goliaths and their implications:

####

Apple juggernaut sends ripples through tech world

AP

A customer, right, tries on the Apple Inc.'s iPad 2 tablet computer at a shop in Hong Kong Friday, April 29, 2011. The iPad 2 went on sale in Hong Kon AP – A customer, right, tries on the Apple Inc.'s iPad 2 tablet computer at a shop in Hong Kong Friday, April …
Related Stock Price Quotes
SymbolPriceChange
AAPL 350.13+3.38
GOOG 544.10+6.13
MMI 26.06+2.07


By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Fri Apr 29, 3:55 pm ET

NEW YORK – Consumer technology companies reporting financial results this week are looking like rowboats bobbing in the wake of Apple Inc.'s supertanker.

Close to oblivion in 1997, Apple is now the world's second-most valuable company, after Exxon Mobil Corp. On April 20, it reported net income of $5.99 billion for the January-to-March period, nearly double that of a year ago. It shipped a record 18.65 million iPhones during the quarter. Its iPad tablet computers are so popular, the company couldn't make enough.

Apple's ascendancy has produced many losers and a few winners, as underscored over the past two weeks:

Microsoft Corp.: loser.

Apple dethroned Microsoft as the world's most valuable technology company a year ago. In its mid-fall report, it surpassed Microsoft in quarterly revenue. In the January-March period this year, it surpassed Microsoft in net income, too.

On Thursday, Microsoft reported that revenue from the Windows operating system declined for the second straight quarter because people are buying fewer Windows computers.

Some prospective buyers are going to Macs instead — Apple reported that it sold 28 percent more units. Others are going to iPads. Goldman Sachs now believes that more than 30 percent of iPads sold may be replacing PC sales. In the 90s, the trend was the opposite, as Windows PCs were crowding out Macs.

• Nokia Corp.: loser.

Nokia said this week that it will slash 7,000 jobs through layoffs and outsourcing. It still sells more phones than anyone else, but it's losing share to Apple, especially when it comes to smartphones.

Research firm Strategy Analytics also said revenue from Apple's iPhone sales surpassed that of Nokia's phones in the January-to-March period, as iPhones are much more expensive than the average Nokia phone. That makes Apple the world's largest phone maker by revenue.

To better compete with the iPhone, Nokia is ditching its old Symbian software and adopting Microsoft's Windows Phone 7. But the transition will take time; the first Windows-powered Nokia phones aren't expected until late 2011 or early 2012.

• Research In Motion Ltd.: loser.

The maker of the BlackBerry is in a predicament that's similar to Nokia's. RIM warned Thursday that net income, revenue and unit sales for the quarter ending in May will come in below its previous forecast.

The company's high-end phones are looking old compared with the iPhone and ones running Google Inc.'s Android software. They aren't selling as well as the company expected.

RIM promised investors that new phones with revamped software will bring sales roaring back in the latter half of the year, but investors are skeptical, sending RIM's stock down Friday.

• HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.: winners, indirectly.

Although all three companies compete with Apple's iPhone, they are doing well. Unlike Nokia and RIM, the three are betting on Google's Android system, which comes the closest to mimicking the look, feel and functions of the iPhone.

Motorola Mobility is a shadow of the old Motorola, once the world's second-largest maker of phones. But its focus on Android-powered smartphones is showing signs of success. It reported on Thursday a near-doubling of smartphone sales in the first quarter.

HTC of Taiwan has been making smartphones for a decade, and sales are really taking off with the help of Android. On Friday, it reported selling 9.7 million in the first quarter.

For South Korea's Samsung, smartphone sales were a bright spot in the first quarter as overall phone sales declined and other electronics were weak. The company is embroiled in patent litigation with Apple.

• Verizon Wireless: winner.

The No. 1 U.S. cellphone carrier posted a jump in new contract-signing customers — the more profitable kind — after it introduced its version of the iPhone on Feb. 10, which ended AT&T Inc.'s exclusive grip on the device in the U.S.

(Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. of New York and Vodafone Group PLC of Britain.)

• AT&T and Sprint Nextel Corp: mixed.

Verizon's new subscribers came at the expense of AT&T and Sprint Nextel Corp. But neither carrier saw signs of current customers moving to Verizon for the sake of the iPhone. Rather, it seems customers weighing between carriers were more likely to go to Verizon because of the iPhone.

AT&T appeared to be splitting new iPhone customers evenly with Verizon Wireless.

Sprint lost lucrative contract customers in the quarter, but continued its long turnaround by signing up a record number of people on cheaper, contract-free plans.

####

In summary," it's mobile apps, chaps". Observe the trends, then get at the front of the line and lead them. Tactics such as "cheaper," "no contracts," and "signing on bonuses" are a temporary fix -- in fact, they are perceived by many securities and industry analysts as predictive of impending failure due to genuine innovation. Apple products are not inexpensive -- but they offer the most user-responsive value proposition.

Watch the trends. Anticipate where they may lead. Prepare (learn to surf so that you don't get crushed by the wave) with insightful but flexible strategic planning. Implement. Profit.

Part of intelligent leadership is to gain as much possible insight into where your prospective market is going and to leverage this knowledge. Standing firm and resisting will only break you when the winds get too rough. Adapt to the world of Apps.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle,
The Global Futurist

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