KCnext Announces Spring KC Tech Event: Save The Date!
Friday, April 5th, 2013
Posted By Mark Dryer, President of MDL Technology, LLC
MDL Technology, LLC, a Kansas City technology and managed service company, is excited to share KCnext’s announcement regarding the Spring IT networking event Thursday, May 16, 2013 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at Twenty Eight Event Space (1300 West 28th Street, KCMO).
See you there!
What Every CEO Should Know About IT Security: MDL Technology Reviews Lumension eBook
Thursday, March 21st, 2013
By: T.J. Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
A CEO has many other issues on his or her mind, like leading a successful organization, that rank higher on the priority list than IT security. It’s easy to push security to the backburner, but ignoring it completely can create damage and end up costing more in the long run.
In the eBook What Every CEO Should Know about IT Security, Pat Clawson, CEO of Lumension, goes into detail of the risks involved in ignoring security and the steps a CEO should take to insure security.
“You are vulnerable to attack because everyone is vulnerable to attack,” writes Clawson. “What I offer you now is a CEO-to-CEO explanation about why you need to care about IT security and how to use your leadership role to build a culture of security within your organization.”
What Every CEO Should Know about IT Security
“What could be more important to any business than data? Whether it’s customer information or stores of intellectual property, it’s the lifeblood of any organization. Unfortunately though, most CEOs aren’t aware they need to make it a priority.
In fact, according to our 2011 State of the Endpoint Survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute, nearly half of responding technology decision-makers said they couldn’t solve their security problems because it just didn’t interest their CEO enough.”
Read the ebook here.
March Madness Slows Networks, Causes IT Challenges: MDL Technology, Reviews Concerns
Friday, March 15th, 2013
By T.J. Bloom, Chief Operating Officer of MDL Technology
When March comes around, it means NCAA basketball takes over the television, even the computer. According to a study by an IT company,Modis, more than two in five IT professionals admit that March Madness has slowed their network. Sam Laird, writer forMashable, wrote about the effect that streaming video during March Madness has on IT networks.
“Last year, use of the March Madness On Demand streaming service increased by 47% for the tournament’s first three rounds, delivering 10.3 million hours of video in just over a week,” wrote Laird. “But a lot of that streaming happened at work.”
Will Streaming March Madness Games Kill Your Office Network?
“Smartphones. Tablets. Computers.Streaming video to devices of all sorts is gaining momentum quickly, and college basketball fans are among the converted. Last year, use of the March Madness On Demand streaming service increased by 47% for the tournament’s first three rounds, delivering 10.3 million hours of video in just over a week.
But a lot of that streaming happened at work.March Madness games tip off all the time, a lot of them happen during the day, and the event attracts many casual hoops fans. According to a recent study by the IT staffing companyModis, more than two in five IT professionals say March Madness has affected their network, with 34% reporting the event has entirely shut their network down in the past and more than 35% saying it’s slowed operations.
Brian Jacobs, a senior product manager for the network monitoring serviceIpswitch WhatsUp Gold, told Mashable that heavy video streaming by employees during March Madness can have unforeseen consequences by impacting other business necessities such as phone service quality.
But Jacobs also cautions that it’s impractical at this time of year for office managers to expect sports-minded workers to simply ignore the games.”
Read the Mashable articlehere.
MDL Technology, KC Technology and Managed Service Company, Discusses Marketing and IT In Tech
Friday, February 15th, 2013
Posted by: T.J. Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
How well do executives understand all the capabilities of modern technology? Quentin Hardy of the New York Times tech blog, Bits, reviewed PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of “Digital IQ.”
Their survey found that only about 13% of both I.T. and nontechnical executives had a strong relationship with technology.
“If your company is among these top performers, it is four times more likely to be in the top 25 percent of your industry in profit margins, revenue, and innovation,” wrote Hardy.
As a technology company, MDL Technology looks into the disconnect between executives and technology.
“In Tech, Does I.T. or Marketing Rule?”
“The key technologies in this year’s survey included mobile, social media, big data and cloud computing. The goal, the report said, is not just to employ these emerging technologies to automate or streamline processes, but to use them in innovating faster and better, and to create more valuable products and services.”
Read the full article here.
MDL Technology, KC Technology and Managed Service Company, Celebrates Valentine’s Day with Best Technology Gifts Including Sony X Headphones
Friday, February 8th, 2013
Spread love this Valentine’s Day with 2013’s most popular tech gifts including the Nixon J2 Mirrorless Camera and red camcorders to the MDR-X10 X headphones.
MDL Technology wants to help you get your loved one a more practical gift for Valentine’s Day!
The Examiner.com put together a list of top 10 tech items that are more useful than roses. Check out the article!
Top 10 Tech Gifts For Valentines Day
“Nothing says “I Love You” like a hot pink/red something or other; but what do you select for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day to show your love?
Roses fade, chocolates melt, and dessert is fattening; so what do you do? Give your sweetie some pink or red high tech goodness and she’ll love you forever…or at least until the batteries need recharging.
Mini To-Go Speaker: Serenade your honey with your favorite romantic songs using Sony’s wireless Mini To Go speaker.
MDR-X10 X Headphones: Listen to all your favorite love songs wherever you go with the Sony X Headphones
Nikon 1 J2 Mirrorless Camera: With this 10-30mm zoom lens, you’ll certainly capture those loving looks on her Nikon 1 J2.
Apple 64GB iPod: touch Load this baby with all your together photos and she’ll think of you every time she sees her new iPod Touch.”
Read the rest of the gift list here.
MDL Technology, KC Technology and Managed Service Company, Reviews Super Bowl Tech Necessities
Friday, February 1st, 2013
Posted by: T.J. Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
The biggest day in television is almost upon us. While most people are worrying about what foods to prepare and what drinks to serve, MDL Technology wants to insure that the actual experience of watching the game from home is as if you are in New Orleans. Whether it’s just you and your dog or the whole gang is over, that 20 inch television just isn’t going to cut. Digital Trends gives the best tips to upgrade your home theater to make your Super Bowl, or any other television experience, unforgettable.
DT’s Guide to the Super Bowl: Upgrade your home theater to host the ultimate shindig
The Super Bowl is about so much more than just football. It’s practically a national holiday; a testosterone-fueled event that embraces gluttony with reckless abandon – kind of like Thanksgiving, but with nachos, beer, and people you actually want to hang out with. As such, the Super Bowl also provides the perfect excuse to pimp out your home entertainment system, and un-apologetically snatch up kitschy gadgets you might otherwise never have purchased.
Here, then, is our tech guide to hosting the ultimate Super Bowl shindig. We’ve assembled a list of the best gear that will help make your place the go-to space for Super Bowl Sunday. And the best part is: When it’s all over, your friends go home, but the TV and sound system stay.
Television
It took strength, patience and conviction, but you managed to hold off on that new TV purchase during the holidays in anticipation of this very moment. You may not have realized it, but that was a really smart move. TV’s are cheaper now than they were last month because the market is transitioning out of 2012, but not totally ready with 2013 models yet. As a result, you can get a top-tier TV at a terrific price. Don’t go and blow your dough on just any TV, though. Plasma televisions are superior to LCD/LED sets when it comes to fast-moving scenes, and we all know sports programming is chock full of the stuff. Plus, plasma offers better picture overall quality thanks to deeper blacks, better contrast and more accurate color.
Sound systems
What’s the point in having a huge screen if the all that bone-crunching action sounds like rose petals falling on tin foil? Big pictures deserve big sound, but that doesn’t mean you have to have a rack of equipment the size of a defensive linebacker to get it. Many of today’s sound bars come with wireless subwoofers, providing a sleek solution that can pack a real punch
Projector and screen
Do you prefer to measure screen size in terms of yards, rather than inches? We get that. The good news for those of us who have enough free space and control over ambient light is that projectors offer more inches per dollar than televisions – by a long shot.
MDL Technology, KC Technology and Managed Service Company, Celebrates New Years With Projected 2013 Tech Trends
Friday, December 28th, 2012
Posted By: TJ Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
The New Year brings with it new trends in technology. Social media and tech news site Mashable wrote about 13 trends we will see in the year 2013, including the end of anonymous trolls and the rise of robots. It also features the second-screen revolution. “At least 25% of U.S. smartphone and tablet users use the devices while watching TV multiple times per day,” writes Mashable editor Lance Ulanoff.
As a tech company, MDL Technology predicts these trends will shape 2013.
See what other trends will dominate 2013 according to Mashable in this article.
11 Big Tech Trends You’ll See in 2013
“Writing prediction pieces is a funny thing because there is really no such thing as “next year.” Time is a continuum, and the calendar is a human construct designed to help us keep organized. Things that will happen “next year” are already happening now, we may simply not take note of them until the sun rises and sets dozens and dozens of times.
“So as I look to 2013, I realize that much of which I expect to see in the coming 12-to-14 months has been quietly (or not so quietly) developing for months, even years. From my point of view, it’s unlikely 2013 will contain any revolutionary or ground-breaking advancements in technology, social media or even the nexus of the two.”
MDL Technology, KC Technology and Managed Service Company, Highlights CNN’s Feature on Kansas City and Google Fiber
Friday, December 14th, 2012
Posted By: TJ Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
Kansas City’s growing technology scene has attracted the attention of CNN. The first Google Fiber neighborhood, known as Kansas City Startup Village, was featured on a CNN bit called Building Up America.
“Entrepreneurs trading ideas, exploring concepts and much of it revolves around a handful of houses on a few beaten up blocks where some small Internet startups are drawing national attention,” CNN’s Tom Foreman refers to Startup Village.
Startup Village plans to build an entire community of startups. Two members of the community, Leap2 and Local Ruckus, are featured in the story.
“One big reason these companies are clustering here is because Google chose this neighborhood to launch its much anticipated super high speed Internet connection,” said Foreman of the recent installment of Google Fiber in the neighborhood.
Google Fiber’s Internet connection provides Startup Village with 100 times faster Internet service than common providers.
Silicon Prairie News previewed the story in the article “CNN Shines Spotlight on Kansas City Startup Village.”
MDL Technology, Kansas City IT Company, Reviews Technological Influence in Educational Settings
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
Posted by: T.J. Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
Children of all ages can pick up an iPad and start playing games, drawing pictures and open programs. The iPad has now found its way into educational settings as early as kindergarten. With technology and technological devices becoming such an integrated part of life, it is more important than ever to integrate this type of hands-on technology into classrooms. The generation of tomorrow will soon be leading the world; this focus on integrating technology into educational settings will help move the generation of tomorrow forward.
A blog post by DigitalKindergarten profiles how one teacher has started to use iPads in her classroom.
Read the full article:
This is the first year of 1:1 iPads in my kindergarten classroom. In October 2010 I received one to use with my class of 26, and by the end of May 2011 I had 11 and my class had dropped down to 22 children. I absolutely loved that half the class could be working on the iPads completely independently, at various levels, while I worked with the other half of the kids. The ability level of the children in last years class was more varied than typical. The iPads were a life saver for me and allowed a greater level of differentiation than I could have done on my own- definitely to the benefit of the children.
MDL Technology, LLC Featured on MSP Mentor & Channelnomics for its 98% Customer Retention Rate over 5 years
Monday, June 11th, 2012
Posted by: T.J. Bloom, COO of MDL Technology
Thank you to Channelnomics and MSP Mentor for featuring our 98 percent customer retention rating!
To read the full articles by both MSP Mentor and Channelnomics click here.
MSP Mentor:
Managed Services: What’s A Good Customer Retention Rate?
How do managed services providers (MSPs) measure success? Popular metrics include profit margins, monthly recurring revenues (MRR), revenue per employee, and overall business growth rates. But MDL Technology, an MSP in Kansas City, is bragging about another statistic: Customer retention rates. Maybe you should be bragging, too.
MDL Technology claims its has maintained a 98 percent customer retention rate over the past five years. That’s pretty amazing considering all the economic turbulence since 2007. Even if your customer base includes a bunch of healthy businesses, chances are you’re tempted to fire a few of the more difficult customers from time to time.
Channelnomics:
MDL Technology Posts Stellar Customer Retention Rates
MDL Technology announced a tremendous achievement this week: a 98 percent customer retention rate over the last five years. The MSP has steadily increased its capacity in managed services, now supporting more than 100 locations around Kansas City.
The real secret to its superior customer retention is a focus on customer service.
“Some of the main things that we focus on is having our ownership meet with customers on a continual basis,” said chief operating officer T.J. Bloom. “This really fortifies the relationships between us and our clients. Additionally, we focus on communicating with the customer as a general part of the process. We especially reach out when something doesn’t go as well as you would have liked.”
