Twenty Trends For The 2010s | Digital Rules | Rich Karlgaard 01/27/2010
Posted by thaadsma in business intelligence, government, healthcare, tangents, web.add a comment
GR Press photo of Rich Karlgaard at Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Jan 2009
Rich Karlgaard is the editor of Forbes, a prolific witer, and talks all over the country, and isn’t always right. However, he’s one of the brightest business leaders out there in the publishing world.
Last January he spoke at the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce annual lunch and went out on a limb by saying that already he saw signs of recovery from The Recession– when most everyone else was still in shock, fearful and reeling from the financial meltdown of the preceding months.
Rich has an intriguing list of predictions for the coming decade, and all are worthy of a read.
Me, I’m thinking over number 9:
“9. One Cloud Company Or Another Becomes the Most Valuable Company on Earth
“Moore’s Law continues at the pace of 2x every two years. Bandwidth improves 3x every two years. These trends predict ubiquitous cloud cover for planet earth. Who will own the giant fog machine? Google? Cisco? Microsoft? Amazon? Huawei?”
via Twenty Trends For The 2010s « Forbes.com: Digital Rules By Rich Karlgaard – Forbes.com.
How’s it going? “Well, it’s been a pretty rough … decade.” 12/22/2009
Posted by mritsema in government.Tags: Business, Capitalism, Wealth
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If you or your friends had a pretty tough year (or decade), you’re not alone. Actually the entire US economy had a rough run for the last ten years. The stock market delivered the worst ten year run in … history – according to the Wall Street Journal!
- ABREAST OF THE MARKET
- DECEMBER 20, 2009
Investors Hope the ’10s Beat the ’00s
Since End of 1999, U.S. Stocks’ Performance Has Been the All-Time Clunker; Even 1930s Beat It
But wait, there’s more. By almost any measure, the average American is worse off than the decade of the ’90s.
- Personal Income is up a meager 5%
- Net Worth is down 14%
- Gross Employment is up .5%.
That delivers the worst performing decade in my lifetime and then some - 60 years actually. Again the Wall Street Journal:
DECEMBER 22, 2009
The Dimming of a Beacon
Riding High at the Start of the 2000s, the Nation’s Economic Model Had a Rocky Ride
Good news though: I believe the next decade will be fantastic! We will bounce back!
Michael Ritsema i3 Business Solutions, LLCI Repeat: The Answer to our Healthcare Problems are in Innovation, Entrepreneurs & Technology 10/22/2009
Posted by mritsema in government, healthcare, web.Tags: Business, Capitalism, entrepreneurial, Productivity, Technology
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I am forever consistent & unabashedly a free market capitalist with conservative principles bordering on libertarian ideals. Most know that I posit that technology (my own & company’s specialty) ‘holds the answer to all our problems.’
Bold statement or prediction: the answer to our healthcare problem in America won’t come from the government – but will come from both technology and India, China, Mexico, Costa Rica & cheap overseas delivery.
There’s no doubt that healthcare in America needs repair. The availability of insurance to protect against personal financial ruin must be repaired. Spiraling costs to patients … and physicians must be remedied. Access to treatment must be improved.
Question: is the government option or fix the answer? Again, I submit that technology and innovation are the answer.
The Wall Street Journal October 20th, 2009 edition provides yet another innovative option. High definition video can connect physician specialists around the world to any location with high speed internet – instantly. Diagnostic results skyrocket! Read about the innovation at:
Doctor, Can You See Me Now?
More Hospitals Are Using Video to Connect Patients With Specialists Far Away, Speeding Treatment
And, by the way, I just read an online review about Logitech’s new PC or Laptop webcam that delivers high definition 720p 2-megapixel (8 megapixel photos) for $79.99. That’s a whole lot of image for not a lot of money!
Add to that the opportunity to acquire quality surgery by highly trained specialists for around 10% of the cost of US based healthcare systems and things get really interesting. Granted, regulation, quality of service and legal recourse are not the same in a foreign country. Read about off shore surgery at:
Read about Medical tourism options at:
Low Cost Hip Replacement While on Vacation
American Insurance Plan May Cover Cost of Major Surgery Outside US
So, much like the challenge to the American automotive industry came from overseas and the answer was in technological innovation delivering better quality cars, improvements to the American healthcare industry will come from both technological innovation and worldwide competition.
Capitalism: the movement of capital 07/11/2009
Posted by mritsema in business intelligence, government.Tags: Business, Capitalism, entrepreneurial, Management, Wealth
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Have you ever heard of Ann Landers, Hillary Clinton or Bill O’Reilly? If so, then you’ve heard of Creators Syndicate.
Creators Syndicate is under assault by the the City of Los Angelas, CA to feed its budget deficit. The city is running out of money and arbitrarily changing tax classifications to raise more money. Read more about the drama in the WSJ, July 10, 2009 edition:
Why We’ll Leave L.A.
The business climate is worse than the air quality.
Capitalism by definition is a social – economic system where private investment and profit motive are a foundation for societal progress. In a free society, like the USA, capital can and does move to its most profitable return on investment. This movement can be city to city, state to state or country to country. About 20 years ago the business / ministry called Focus On The Family moved out of California to Colorado Springs, Colorado to lower their tax burden. Creators Syndicate is considering a similar move.
Private enterprise moves to the lowest cost of capital. These costs include, taxes, borrowing, social stability, security and more. The change that the federal government makes has intended and unintended consequences – as do city and state government decisions.
And in a free society, private investment, private industry, private capital will move to its highest return on investment – be it in another city, state or country.
Therein lies the political and philosophical differences between conservatives and liberals: are the consequences of our various political decisions improving or hurting America?
Michael Ritsema i3 Business Solutions, LLCTechnology, Education & The Future 06/20/2009
Posted by mritsema in government.Tags: Business, Capitalism, Education, entrepreneurial, Leadership, Productivity, Technology
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I can see the future and it looks like private sector innovation driving dramatic change in America and the world.
Yup, I’m biased toward technology and its destructive innovation driving change – we can believe in. The Wall Street Journal recently published a review of the book: Liberating Learning by Terry M. Moe and John E. Chubb. You can read the review at:
The Cyber Way To Knowledge
The Program for International Student Assessment ranks the average US 15 year old against 30 industrialized nations at 20th and 25th respectively in Science in Math. Will more government funding thrown at education fix the problem? I’m growing more and more skeptical. Will the NEA fix the problem? I doubt it.
Will technology and private enterprise innovation fix the problem? I think so. Read the article’s byline:
Since labor costs keep rising, school districts will naturally turn to technology as a way to get more for less.
And they’re doing it in Pennsylvania with a Cyber Charter School now serving over 8,000 students. Millions of Americans choose to home school instead of placing their children into mediocre and misguided public educational institutions. As Cyber Schools proliferate and their quality of services outpaces competitors, change will occur. The quality of US education will improve against the world’s standards.
It’s called free markets, competition, entrepreneurial, innovation, capitalism, America!
Change I can believe in – straight from the private sector.
Michael Ritsema i3 Business Solutions, LLCSeveral Dozen of the Stupidest Things Ever Said 06/03/2009
Posted by thaadsma in development, government, healthcare, ibm, tangents.add a comment
A wonderful list of some of the most bone-headed things that people have said over the years about technology, and especially information technology: Stupid Things to Say.
Here’s just a sample:
“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.”
–The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
The rest are even better. Enjoy!
via Stupid Things to Say.
Is Capitalism Broken? Does the American Economy need Fixing? 05/31/2009
Posted by mritsema in government.Tags: Business, Leadership, Wealth
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The Economist magazine originates in England and is published in six countries. It offers a geniune foreign perspective of world economics and political wrangling. I enjoy reading it.
This recent article is an excellent perspective on American capitalism and the economic recession that the United States and the world are experiencing right now. You can find the complete read at the Economist.com:
Piling on
May 28th 2009
From The Economist print edition
In his zeal to fix capitalism, Barack Obama must not stifle America’s dynamism
The economist makes an excellent point, when they state: “Its broader economy remains an astonishing Petri dish of creative destruction. Even in boom times, 15% of American jobs disappear each year.”
Yup, America, land of opportunity, entrepreneurship, venture capital, bankruptcies, education, winners and losers. The horse and buggy whip heyday, album and turntable heyday, CD and DVD heyday days are over. They’re replaced with new technologies and ideas. The 1,000s of jobs that go with those industries are gone, too. Time to reinvent. Time to move on.
Our economy is ever changing. We can deny it and try to change it or we can accept the engine of the world’s prosperity. But I believe that smoothing it out and leveling it off will have profound effects on the world economy and people around the globe. It will slow worldwide economic growth and leave millions in poverty.
I say let’s resist the urge to smooth the drama of America’s creative economic engine. Let the big dawg hunt and continue to haul the world forward into economic and social prosperity.
Michael Ritsema i3 Business Solutions, LLC10 reasons to purchase new hardware during a recession | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com 04/30/2009
Posted by thaadsma in business intelligence, government, healthcare, ibm, infrastructure, managed services, microsoft, security.add a comment
In tough times like these, it’s tempting to put off urgent IT hardware purchases. But you can shoot yourself in the foot by doing so, for a number of reasons–
10 reasons, to be precise.
I really think one of the most important is that your best people may be less productive, and productivity and results are the name for the game right now. Reason #2 from the list at TR:
“When PCs, displays, or network switches fail, it may be tempting to visit an old parts closet to dig out replacements. Old, entry-level Celeron- or Pentium-powered PCs with 256MB of RAM and rattling power supplies won’t help managers (now often responsible for production tasks, too, due to departmental layoffs) efficiently complete expanded task lists. Nor will such machines enable overworked colleagues to run QuickBooks, CRM applications, or proprietary programs smoothly. Nor will a 15″ CRT enable productivity gains when replacing a 22″ widescreen monitor used to display customer information alongside order entry software.
The same is true for network equipment. Outdated hubs and routers were decommissioned for a reason. They were either too slow, failed to operate properly, or didn’t meet the organization’s needs. They certainly won’t improve productivity now, when staff sizes are smaller, remaining employees must absorb the workload of laid-off staff, and stress levels climb ever higher. The subsequent delays and inefficiencies translate to lost opportunities, poor customer experiences, and less revenue.”
We’re working with our i3 Business Soultions customers every day who realize the only way to recovery and success is making good deals now for critical business systems.
Read all 10 business reasons at the TechRepublic blog:
via 10 reasons to purchase new hardware during a recession | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com.
The Other Indiana & The Brainy Indian 02/14/2009
Posted by mritsema in government, tangents.Tags: Business, Management
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Cal Thomas and Thomas Friedman deliver a couple of good reads today.
As the President of i3 Business Solutions, LLC, I’m very interested in the Michigan economy and United States economy. The various states in America and the entire country are competing against the world for cost of doing business.
Apparently the governor of Indiana gets it. Downsize government: lower taxes to grow business and generate jobs. Business & jobs go where the cost of doing business is least expensive– lower taxes, lower regulation, fair wages and balanced benefits. Cal Thomas writes in his column:
“Indiana has the lowest business cost index in the Midwest and sixth lowest in the country. And most important of all in this “government knows best” climate, Indiana ranks first in the Midwest and 14th nationally in the Tax Foundation’s 2009 Business Tax Climate Index. Other states, like New York, New Jersey, California and Michigan, are driving businesses away because of heavy taxation…” Read the rest of his article by clicking here:The Other Indiana.
Now, the flip side is that government does subsidize business in many different ways. Thomas Friedman’s book Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America addresses this variable. Friedman also writes a great column recently about the ability of immigrants to lift the USA out of our recession, by buying empty houses and improving savings rates. America may be the only country in the world that millions would emigrate to– tomorrow– if given the opportunity. These immigrants can help lift this economy if given the chance.
Read Friedman’s recent column by clicking here: The Open-Door Bailout.
Government and business are inexorably connected. We’re living through the great recession right now, and we’re watching government make its moves to help haul us out of this worldwide recession. As a business owner, I hope that they make moves that allow businesses to grow, hire and thrive in a worldwide competitive marketplace.
How Disaster Recovery Works: The Video | MyFox Charlotte 02/03/2009
Posted by thaadsma in government, healthcare, managed services, web.add a comment
i3 offers a full ReliabilITy Disaster Recovery option for our Michigan customers, working with its partner Agility Recovery Solutions.
Here is a great video that shows exactly how this Disaster Recovery solution works– and why it has such value for us all. Take a few minutes to check it out.
“This weekend, power crews continue to work to restore power to more than a million people left in the dark from the massive ice storm. FEMA is sending food, water and generators; but, thousands of people already had power and clean water thanks to a Charlotte company.”
Thanks to Brooks Beeler for the tip:
via MyFox Charlotte | Charlotte Company Helping Restore Power.
The New India: Michigan? | BusinessWeek 01/26/2009
Posted by thaadsma in development, government, healthcare, ibm.add a comment
In what may be an invigorating trend for US information technology providers, IBM recently announced it plans to open an IBM ’Global Delivery Center’ on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. The goal for the center is to modernize legacy applications used by state and local governments, as well as colleges and universities.
In addition, IBM and MSU are planning to expand out to help modernize IT systems at companies based in the U.S. in the healthcare, telecommunication, and other industries.
IBM mainframes and AS/400 systems still have a healthy user base in the government, university and healthcare sectors– and the software applications that run on these platforms are long overdue for an overhaul (not to mention all those greenscreen terminals). Here at i3 Business Solutions, we work with these customers all over Michigan.
Here’s an interesting take on this development from Steve Hamm at BusinessWeek:
“While the Indian outsourcing community is flipping out about the Satyam scandal, IBM, which has a major presence in India, is opening its newest service delivery center in….East Lansing, Michigan. IBM is setting up an unusual sort of delivery center on the campus of Michigan State University. The company plans to hire MSU students and graduates, plus others, to develop software applications and modernize computing systems for government agencies and universities. It plans on hiring 100 people by June and 1,500 eventually. An IBM spokesman said this isn’t a low-cost labor play; it’s about the talent. But I’m betting salaries for software programmers are a lot cheaper in East Lansing than they are in Somers, New York; Boston; or Silicon Valley—where IBM employs a lot of programmers.”
All I can say is: Go Spartans!
via The New India: Michigan? – BusinessWeek (see the reader comment as well)
related articles: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090115_770577.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_technology
