When we first started Manawa Networks, customer service was important but it wasn’t the most important thing. We prided ourselves on a variety of criteria. As the company has grown, developing our people to deliver outstanding service and build long-term relationships with our customers has become our core focus. I was reminded of this with a story that happened a few weeks ago.

I received a phone call from an employee, who works for one of our larger customers.  She was on maternity leave and became quite agitated because her backup drive crashed along with all her digital photos of her newborn son. I gave her instructions and walked her through the steps about how to recover her data. I also gave her, the name of one of our partners to call, if her efforts didn't resolve the issue.

I felt that helping an employee recover her files was just part of the job. The email I received from her the next morning was unexpected and reminded me why we started Manawa. It read as follows:

If you didn't already know this, your last name in German, means "hero".  And you certainly lived up to that yesterday!  Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about my hard drive issue -- your advice was so invaluable, since last night at 11 pm, I was able to recover all of my files!!!! So, smile and feel good for doing something really nice for me.  You are my hero!  --Tamara

In his book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Tony Hsieh, talks a lot about building trust through customer engagement. Yet, rather than use social media or integrated marketing to build buzz, he prefers the telephone – that antiquated low-tech device few people associate with technology anymore.

Hsieh says, “The telephone remains one of the best branding devices out there. You have the customer’s undivided attention for five to ten minutes, and if you get the interaction right, what we’ve found is that the customer remembers the experience for a very long time and tells his or her friends about it.”

At Zappos Inc., phone sales account for only 5% of their business (most sales are driven through the Website). On average, a customer contacts Zappos at least once during his or her lifetime. According to Hsieh, “we just need to make sure that we use that opportunity to create a lasting memory. We’re not trying to maximize each and every transaction. Instead, we’re trying to build a lifelong relationship with each customer, one phone call at a time.”

Kerry Bodine, an analyst with Forrester Research, echoes Hsieh’s views. She  writes in her blog:

“Call centers sit on the frontline of customer experience, where they provide sales, support, and customer service functions. They’re often customers’ first — and sometimes their only — human interaction with a company. Even with conservative estimates, it’s easy to make the case that large call centers have customer influence on par with, if not greater than, that of mass advertising campaigns.”

Since 2007, Forrester has been tracking US consumer satisfaction with phone conversations across multiple industries. In 2010 surveys, consumers rated interactions with call center agents not only lower than in-store interactions, but also lower than faceless online interactions in 12 of 13 industries. Customers actually prefer dealing with websites instead of people over the phone. Only one sector, namely investment firms saw customer satisfaction rise in the past 4 years.

Most customers experience a feeling of dread and rarely have high expectations when calling a company for support. Consequently, if the customer is helped and treated with respect during a call, they are much more likely to spread their positive experience to friends and family.

The late Steve Jobs, who built Apple into one of the wealthiest companies in the world is quick to point out that brand equates with trust, which directly impacts customer experience. Jobs elaborates in this 2006 interview:

“Brand equals trust. If we have a good brand, that means people trust us to make great products and to give them a great experience and if something goes wrong, to take care of them. Focus on the basic stuff. We don't spend a lot of time talking about the brand. We spend a lot of time about making the best products in the world. How to make the best buying experience in the world? How we take care of customers? If we do that, customers will trust us. Companies that worry about their brand instead of worrying about their products maybe don't get what customers want."

More often than not, we take for granted the simple and easy ways to make a difference. Answering the phone or calling someone back quickly to listen to their concerns and needs is simple and easy. It really is the perfect opportunity to make someone's day by spending a few extra minutes with them that puts a smile on their face. 

Photos here, here, here and here

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Is your business adequately prepared and protected in case of an unexpected disaster? The news this week about Hurricane Irene barreling through the Caribbean and along the Eastern US seaboard is a strong reminder that being proactive about protecting not only yourself but also your data is crucial to your business continuity and success. Closer to home, a tornado ravaged the city of Goodrich, north of Toronto. Both events prompted American and Canadian governments to pledge emergency disaster relief funds to affected areas after the fact.

Here are 5 reasons why your business must have a disaster preparedness plan in place prior to a catastrophic event.

1. Losing Data is Costly

Whether a natural disaster, a hard drive crash, theft or human error, losing data has become a fact of life that occurs when we least expect it.  70% of small businesses in the U.S. experienced a data loss in the past year due to technical or human disaster alone [AMI U.S. Small Business 2009 Annual Overview].

According to a Forrester survey, 66 percent of small businesses with less than 100 employees admitted they did not have a business continuity or disaster recovery plan if their main office systems and servers went down. 

2. Losing Data Often Results in Business Failure

Losing significant amounts of data often places a company in a state of extended analysis paralysis not to mention heighted anxiety levels and an inability to focus.
 
According to a three-year-old study from Price Waterhouse Coopers, 70 percent of small firms that experience a major data loss go out of business within a year. Additionally, 93% of companies that lost their data center for 10 days or more due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster. 50% of businesses that found themselves without data management for this same time period filed for bankruptcy immediately. (National Archives & Records Administration in Washington).

For small and medium sized businesses that spend a life time building a business and a quality of life, this is no reason for a business owner to throw in the towel.

3. Losing Data Affects Reputation with Customers

Most businesses have a tendency to focus internally on themselves after losing significant data. They often neglect their customers and the domino effect that follows. Additionally, they fail to understand and manage their reputation, image and negative  sentiment with their customers. This often results in lost referrals and sales.
 
Many small and medium sized organizations have no disaster plan in place. The reasons cites are often incorrect according to Cloud Computing, some of which include:

•  “My business isn’t big enough.”

• “It's more important to focus on networking and establishing the business.”

• “All our important data is stored on my laptop, so my data is safely offsite every night.”

• “My server is brand new, so I'm not worried about backing up my data yet.”

• “I don't have the time to perform a daily back-up. Once a month is sufficient.”

• “Daily offsite back-up is too expensive, particularly as this will exceed my data cap and I will have to purchase additional bandwidth.”

4. Disaster Preparedness Increases Employee Productivity

One of the key benefits of having a partner participate in disaster recovery planning is the strategic guidance resulting in short and long term improvements in data management. In the short term, employees benefit from faster and improved data access, centrally stored and backed-up data and automated processes for tasks that save time. In AMI’s 2009 U.S. Small Business Annual Overview Study, 22% of small business responded that “improved data management” was the number one reason for investing in IT in the upcoming year. Being prepared helps employees do their jobs and more importantly do them well.

5. Peace of Mind

When a disaster happens, businesses scramble to solve many problems on a long list. Lost data should not be on that list.  Most people underestimate the real and tangible benefit of peace of mind from not having to worry about data loss.  What is surprising is how often the same people who buy travel and health insurance while on vacation for peace of mind, delay investing in disaster planning with backup systems in place. Isn’t it time you experienced that reassuring feeling saying, “we’re taken care off”, the next time you are asked if your company lost any data following a disaster.

We’re always looking for fantastic people. If you or someone you know has a great positive ATTITUDE and loves working with people and technology, please contact me at careers (at) manawa.net with “Attitude is Everything” in your SUBJECT line. Also, if you want to keep in touch, please follow us on on our Facebook page or  @ManawaNetworks

Images from here

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Today, creating and managing a fantastic customer experience requires a fine balance between science (analytical thinking) and art (design thinking). Anyone questioning this trend in the business world should consider that in Apple's latest fiscal quarter, the company sold more iPads than Macs in a category that did not exist two years ago. 

With the rise of instant communications and social media, customers’ expectations are rising quickly. Customers want to be heard when broadcasting opinions about the products and services they use. These conversations extend to their social networks and to companies directly. What has changed for companies is that users expect products and services to be highly intuitive, friendly and easy to use. Failing this, customers now communicate through their social network and conduct research quickly for alternatives. Not surprisingly, opportunities are abundant for companies that blend critical and design thinking with customer needs.

This post is based on an article published in Harvard Business Review by Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO, entitled Design Thinking. The author argues that thinking like a designer creates a strong sustainable competitive advantage for companies. While we didn’t explicitly think about design thinking when we started the company, we agree with principles of design thinking when creating value through customer experience.

Mr. Brown describes the process of design thinking metaphorically as a system of spaces rather than a predefined series of orderly steps. The spaces include any type of related activities that form a continuum of innovation and results, which at times are chaotic, non-linear and deviate from the type of analytical analytical that has dominated the business world. To break it down further, design projects are broken down into 3 spaces including Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation. The first two are often repeated in order to arrive at the best possible solution for a customer.

In the article, Mr. Brown references Thomas Edison as one of the earliest and most influential and innovative design thinkers in the past 100 years. Rather than invent a single device, he had an ability to envision how others would want to use his invention. His insights came from considering users’ needs and preferences, which led to the most appropriate engineering specs.

Mr. Edison’s genius was his ability to surround himself with other gifted thinkers, improvisers and experimenters, which allowed for endless rounds of trial and error.  It was in this period where he is quoted saying, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” He rebuked the ‘lone genius inventor” label in favour of creating a team-based approach to innovation where his experimenters challenged every hypothesis to learn something new after each iteration. As Mr. Brown writes:

“Innovation is hard work; Edison made it a profession that blended art, craft, science, business savvy, and an astute understanding of customers and markets…. Like Edison’s painstaking innovation process, [design thinking] often entails a great deal of perspiration.”

It may be useful task to ask how well your organization leaves the comfort zone, brings disparate people and strengths together and questions assumptions that lead to new customer insights.

As technology psychologists, we are that human face for customers, looking after them and taking away their day-to-day IT worry. Rather than talk at them, we prefer talking with customers asking questions and creating options that help them be their very best. The goal is to maintain an open dialogue learning new insights by ensuring their technology 'just works' while also growing their organizations. 

The merits of balancing design and analytical thinking are becoming self-evident as some brands stagnate while others soar based on their relationship with customers. In a future post, I plan to highlight the personality profile and characteristics that make for a great technology psychologist which overlaps nicely with design thinkers.

Photo credits here and here

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Here at Manawa Networks, one of our core values is Attitude is Everything. As business owners, we recognize we must go above and beyond the call of duty by doing what’s right and what’s best for our customers. We see ourselves as ‘technology psychologists’, prodding customers for information and asking questions they haven’t heard before. We also believe that “the most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said”, according to management thinker, Peter Drucker. Our role is to carefully listen to customers, take away their IT worry and help them proactively manage their systems aligned with new possibilities for business growth.

For most people, their most valuable learning comes from looking back at their mistakes. Personally, I find most people don’t go back far enough reflecting on past mistakes they made early on in their work life. Many of my biggest life lessons came from working part-time jobs as a child at my father’s grocery store, and as a teenager in the produce department at No Frills, and behind the deli counter of Bruno’s Meat and Deli.

One story I want to share with readers was an experience that I had at Bruno’s that I’m sure will resonate with business owners. One day I showed up to work late because my mother was late in arriving home from work. I couldn’t get the car in time and when I explained that to Luigi Bruno, he said something that I’ll never forget. He said, “Carmine, you’re making your problem my problem” and then he sent me home!  I was upset at the time, but when I reflect on this now, Luigi was absolutely right (his photo below).

The importance of honoring one’s commitment to another and taking ownership of one’s actions is the foundation for any strong and enduring relationship. As a society, we’ve grown accustomed to saying, “It’s not my problem” when someone else’s problem falls outside our area of concern.

 “One would be people. Two would be people. Three would be people.Four would be people. And five would be people. A huge part of our transition can be attributed to our discipline in picking the right people.”

At Manawa Networks, we have a fun, dedicated talent community of self-starters who believe they are part of something special. We love people with a “no problem is too big” attitude like Damian Clarke, who does our books and has this plaque on his desk.

We’re always looking for fantastic people. If you or someone you know has a great positive ATTITUDE and loves working with people and technology, please contact me at careers (at) manawa.net with “Attitude is Everything” in your SUBJECT line. Also, if you want to keep in touch, please follow us on on our Facebook page or  @ManawaNetworks

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Ask two people doing the same type of work on how they got to where they are and you’re likely to get two very different answers. The two answers fall into two broad categories, the first being a straight-line linear career path and the second being a zig zag. Increasingly, most people fall into the zig zag path and when asked about their career, they invariably say, “It’s a long story”. On the other hand, someone with a linear path can usually summarize their entire career in 2 minutes because not has changed since graduation.

I reflected on my own zig zag career path prior to being interviewed by Mark Franklin, host of the Career Buzz radio show and practice leader of CareerCycles.  Mark has an uncanny ability to have guests get introspective on how they really arrived at their current career success. While I still have a long way to go, I’ve had my share of bumps and bruises along the way.  I wanted to share  6 career lessons that helped me navigate my own journey.  The entire radio interview segment is here (32 minutes into the show).  Not surprisingly, they fit nicely into some of Dan Pink’s career mantras from his bestseller, The  Adventures of Johnny Bunko.

1. There is no plan
So many of us, (myself included), stick with Plan A long after we realize it no longer fits our changing interests and goals. Whether influenced by our guidance counselor, our parents, our teachers or our own tunnel vision of becoming something we’re not, it’s ok to throw out the plan earlier rather than later. For me, it wasn’t Plan A or Plan B, but Plan C, which wasn’t even a plan except that we knew we wanted to build a company without knowing how to get there. The only thing we knew was to be able to deliver outstanding customer experiences by surprising and delighting customers in small and unexpected ways.

2. Work to your strengths

I felt like a fish out of water when I was studying engineering and things were not going well at the University of Waterloo. While I love working with technology, I have a passion for connecting and communicating with people and learning how technology enables businesses to succeed and thrive. Where I felt suffocated before, Ryerson’s University’s Business Technology Management program allowed me to soar and thrive because it spoke to my natural strengths and interests around business and computing.

3. It’s not about you
Let’s face it. Many people choose schools and companies because they want accreditation from a prestigious school along with a fancy title and a corner window office with a great view. Even if you get here, it’s so important to keeping asking questions to ensure your current opportunity fulfills and challenges you in a way that speaks to your changing interests and goals. Rather than have an attitude of “It’s all about me”, it’s important to realize that every major innovation today happens from the collaborative efforts of “we” instead of a “me” attitude. I strongly encourage you to find a place where you are able to serve both colleagues and customers. The rewards will come back to you ten fold.

4. Persistence Trumps Talent
Seth Godin talks about persistence in a quote from The Dip.
 
“Extraordinary benefits accrue to the tiny minority of people who are able to push just a tiny bit longer than most. Extraordinary benefits accrue to the tiny majority with the guts to quit early and refocus their efforts on something new.”

A recent video of Sung-Bong Choi on Korea’s Got Talent tells his story of perseverance despite significant hardship and obstacles. One of the judges comments, “Regardless of his hard life, he runs towards what he really wants. Even talented ones rarely have that kind of passion.”

5. Make excellent mistakes
Learning from mistakes is a part of life. I would add that today it is equally important to fail faster, learn faster, so that you ultimately arrive at what you are meant to do faster. Dan Pink points out than the title of the book has symbolic relevance.  A bunko” means “to make a mistake from which the benefits of what you learned exceed the costs of the screw-up.”
 
Michael Eisner in this video talks about how at Disney, creativity and failure were encouraged as an essential ingredient for achieving success. 

Canadian philanthropist and billionaire, Seymour Schulich says, “you don’t make mistakes before you’re 30. Use the early years to gather experience and practice good judgment.”

 6. Leave an imprint

Whatever you do, wherever you go, even if you are unsure of your next move, leave your mark or imprint. If you believe you are doing something that matters, others will too. When Randy Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008), an American  professor of computer science, learned he had pancreatic cancer with only 3 to 6 months to live, he gave his Last Lecture entitled Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. His quote below summarizes the sentiment captured in his talk. 

“If you lead your life the right way,

the karma will take care of itself,

the dreams will come to you.”

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Recently, I asked Victor Nichols, an Associate Consultant at Manawa Networks why he feels so passionate about his volunteer work in Toronto which began in 2008. On May 15, 2011, Victor participated in a rain or shine fundraising event called Amanda's Lemonade Stand and Josh's Cookie Counter. 100% of the proceeds went to support the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Save a Child's Heart Foundation Canada and the SickKids Labatt Family Heart Centre.  

Amanda Belzowski, who is almost 14 years old, is a nationally recognized child philanthropist and entrepreneur. She has raised more than $150,000 to fix kids' hearts for more than a decade.  At this year’s event, Amanda’s brother, Joshua, who is 5 years old, took over Amanda’s Lemonade Stand as Ananda's looks onwards to more ambitious philanthropic projects.

Victor was happy to give me an hour of his time to answer a few questions about his volunteer work.

1. What has surprised you most about volunteering with this cause?

Victor: The energy and dedication of the kids.  It is driven by kids for kids. It has developed in much the same way a child grows and learns. Over the past 13 years, Amanda and Joshua have raised more money every year. While growing up, they have inspired me and thousands of others. I had the privilege of sharing a photo with these two superstars (see photo below).

2. When did you first start volunteering?

Victor: I've been volunteering for more than 20 years for numerous non-government organizations (NGOs) and charitable events donating my time or expertise.  I have a passion for working with young people. Early on, while raising a family, I coached hockey for many years. While we had several 1st place finishes for the season, my goal was to have fun ensuring every kid got ice time. We played as a team from start to finish!

I recieved the Pickering Hockey Associations Presidents Award for Outstanding Volunteerism in 1996. I was also voted as a member of CSAC (Catholic School Advisory Councils) for 3 years followed by the role of  Chairman for 5 years.

3. Why do you volunteer and how do you feel about this cause?

Victor: I have been blessed in my life. It gives me great joy to serve a fellow human being, who may be in need.  At Manawa Networks, I’m excited about going to work because of that strong sense of belonging, camaraderie and doing great work for our customers.

Volunteering gives me an opportunity to make a difference in a community and be part of something bigger than myself. Peter Drucker, the popular management thinker, believed that the social sector was especially important because it gave people another purpose and a way to be socially responsible citizens for local causes important to them.

4. What would you say are some of your strongest beliefs or values?

Victor: In a nutshell, ‘Do onto others, as you would have them do for you’. It is about having an optimistic outlook with a great attitude. The glass is always half full. I look for super positive people with a great outlook on life. That includes people in the workplace and volunteer work including the kids I am privileged to work with.

5. Tell me about some people you had the opportunity to meet while volunteering with this group?

Victor: It's all about meeting kids like Amanda and Joshua that make it real for me. Having said that, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several celebrities like Donald Trump, Darryl Sittler, Walter Gretzky, Wendel Clark and Michael Lutrell "Pinball" Clemons (Pinball with Amanda and Joshua below). While I have not met David Copperfield and Larry King, they have done a great deal for this cause.

6. What advice would you give to someone interested in volunteering?

Victor: Just Do It.  Give and you shall receive. The rewards and satisfaction are so much greater than you can imagine. If anyone is interested in volunteering for this charity, they can contact me at vnichols (at) manawa.net

Photo Credits from here and here  (Courtesy of A+ School & Sports Photography)

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Persistence is an attitude that we strongly embrace here at Manawa Networks. I have often been asked by customers and friends where I get my determined attitude to “do whatever it takes to get the job done right”. 

For me, it goes back to my father teaching me early on about the value of hard work and money. As early as ten years old, I remember him saying, “Matthew, there’s always work to be done”.  I started working with him in his painting business when I was eleven, answering customer service calls, taking messages and going with him on jobs when I was off from school.

I recall one Christmas when my parents bought me a Nintendo with all the bells and whistles. To teach me the value of money and hard work, they said I had to pay half the cost, which meant I needed to earn $150 over the Christmas break. I ended up helping my dad paint a factory during the holiday shutdown.  Since I didn’t know how to paint, I was assigned two jobs: setup and cleanup. 

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, describes an experiment in the following passage, where Alan Schoenfeld, a math professor at Berkley, watches a video showing of how Renee, a nurse in her mid-twenties solves a math problem playing with a software program designed to teach algebra.

Twenty-two minutes pass from the moment Renee begins playing with the computer program to the moment she says, ‘Ahhhh. That means something now.’ According to the Schoenfeld, “If I put the average eighth grader in the same position as Renee, I’m guessing that after the first few attempts, they would have said, ‘I don’t get it. I need you to explain it.’ Schoenfeld once asked a group of high school students how long they would work on a homework question before they concluded that it was too hard for them to solve. Their answers ranged from thirty seconds to five minutes, with the average answer two minutes.

Schoenfeld goes on to explain that we often think of being good at math as an innate ability. You either have it or you don’t. As he correctly points out, being good at something “is not so much ability as it is attitude.” Like many things, you master mathematics if you’re willing to try. That’s what Schoenfeld attempts to teach his students. “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.”

As the photo below demonstrates, persistence is not about talent, education or genius. Great service companies and their people continuously push forward and press onwards to be their very best.

I feel strongly about this topic because too many people who work in professional services focus on being good enough instead of being great.  Over the years, I have had the good fortune of attending courses like Dale Carnegie and have been mentored by people with ordinary professions who have extraordinary results on those around them.  In recent years, I’ve been privileged to have the opportunity to mentor many our own Associates at Manawa Networks. Over the next several posts, I want to share some golden nuggets and concepts that I’ve learned over the years that represent the kind of people and culture in our firm.

This plaque has been on the wall of Mario & Nat Hairstyling, my barbershop, for many years. This is by far the best definition of what a customer means that I’ve ever seen.

Now, Mario & Nat haven’t taken any professional development courses, or read any customer service focused best sellers, and truthfully, from what I’ve witnessed, they don’t have to. They have a natural desire to make people feel excellent inside and much happier than when they entered.  While waiting for a haircut I enjoy observing people enter in foul moods and leave feeling on top of the world.  Besides being masters of their craft, they ask their customers questions and focus on the wash, cut and shave they want and deserve. (Note: Nat is on the left and Mario is on the right)

It’s so important to surprise and delight customers in small and unexpected ways every day.  A few years ago, I had a relatively new customer who mentioned he needed a computer screen for a one-time presentation to a small group of customers. He was ready to buy one for this purpose but I mentioned I had one at home that I could loan him.  I delivered and set it up at no charge.  From his reaction I could tell that he wasn’t expecting it and truly appreciated the gesture.  From that point on, there was a shift in that he viewed me more as an ally to his business. Sadly, shortly thereafter, his son died and I attended the funeral. Being of Jewish decent, I recall his wife paying me a compliment by referring to me as a Mensch.  Guy Kawasaki spoke about being a Mensch at Stanford and wrote about it in his book “The Art of the Start”.  He talks about how to be a Mensch in his blog.

Most of us agree that customers hold the cards today and are the most valuable part of a company. Yet, many consultants spend little time learning how to truly appreciate and serve a customer.  I was fortunate enough to learn from naturals like my father and barber, who never realized they were mentoring me.  I recommend you find mentors, take courses or read some of the popular customer service books like Linchpin, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose and Hug Your Customers.

The most important advice I can offer to achieve what Kawasaki calls 'Menschdom' is to earn it through action. Every day, do something to help people without expecting anything in return. Spread your generosity around.   Being a mensch is about understanding what makes people tick not technology. Mario and Nat remind me every time I get a haircut.

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In my last post, I mentioned I would offer two solutions on how the CRTC can do the right thing by bringing Canadians who use the Internet together rather than tear them apart.

The Internet: Always-On, Always Available

The Internet offers tremendous economic opportunities to countries and their citizens that didn't exist a decade ago. While some may consider it a nice-to-have luxury, the Internet, simply put, is a giant powerful enabler that has become an essential service or utility, serving both individuals and groups in countless ways that few could have imagined even a few years ago. As John Naughton writes in the Guardian News in an article called Why it's time to get off the fence about net neutrality, "the reason the internet has been such a powerful enabler of innovation is that it is, at its core, a meritocratic network which is not owned or controlled by anyone."

Naughton goes on to describe how the Internet complements an entrepreneurial spirit in the following passage.

 “It was [net] neutrality that enabled the explosion of creativity triggered by the network. As Barbara van Schewick explains in a compelling book, Internet Architecture and Innovation, one implication of net neutrality was that the barriers to entry to the online market were incredibly low: all you needed was a good idea, programming skills and enough money to rent space on a server. So it's no accident that some of the most iconic internet businesses – Amazon, eBay, Google, Blogger and Facebook to name just five – were launched without any significant capital investment by anyone other than their founders and their friends and families.”

Two Options vs. More of the Same

Regarding the Usage Based Billing issue, I propose two options: 

1. We continue to use a regulatory body, such as the CRTC, to ensure fair and equal access to the lines into each building. Providers that have put the lines into each building are free to charge what they want for Internet service. Third-party providers can then pay a fee, as they currently do, for access to these lines and provide their own Internet access across them, charging whatever they want.  This way any business that wants to be in the business of providing Internet access can do so even without its own physical infrastructure, and the infrastructure provider is being compensated fairly for the use of these lines.

As a reference point, the dry-loop charge that Bell charges third-party internet service providers starts at $7.25 per month and costs Bell a couple of dollars a month in maintenance costs when amortized over the life of the line. Essentially, a structure like this means that each building may have more than one access medium available to connect to the Internet whether over TV cable, phone lines, power lines or wirelessly. You don't have to be an IT guru to realize that it doesn’t make much sense to have more than one entity provide, manage, and maintain the physical lines into a building so long as they are high speed and allow for multiple services. Much like our electricity and our water, having two providers for each of those utilities in the market owning the transport infrastructure does not make much sense. This idea is one the CRTC is aware of since it mandated Bell to share its phone lines with other carriers, such as Allstream and Primus for phone service, without requiring the latter to run physical lines. Therefore, my first proposal is somewhat similar to the current system, although, it can be taken a step further.

2. The second option or alternative is to create a public entity whose sole mandate is to provide and maintain the physical communication lines into a building. This would lead to a provider, whether a traditional Telco or access company such as Bell or Rogers, or a new upstart such as TekSavvy or Odynet, to pay the new public entity for access to the line. The key point is that this line would provide not only Internet service but also a full range of services supporting telephone, television and other yet to be determined services.

This concept is not new; Ontario has been using this approach for electrical power for a number of years now. The single physical link would have ample bandwidth and capacity. Moreover, if a fiber optic technology were installed, the line would be highly durable, would experience minimal or even zero interference and bandwidth availability would be virtually limitless. This solution creates a level playing field for any provider to effectively compete by introducing value added services, such as capacity, customer service and support, or other differentiators that customers want.

Additionally, the security concerns of foreign ownership of our communications infrastructure would not be an issue, as the public would own the physical links. If a foreign competitor wanted to enter and offer service under our rules they would be allowed. Ultimately, consumers would choose their prefered service provider just as with any other competitive service in Canada.

While some may see this as an extreme alternative, it is a simple and fair solution.  In Canada, telecommunications companies have consistently disappointed consumers. They have been afforded special protection to operate as a virtual monopoly and subsequently use public money to build out their networks. 

Ultimately, we cannot rely on the natural duopoly of telephone and cable to compete effectively for Internet access and other services. The television show Agenda aired a segment called UBB, CRTC, OMG, which offers an excellent depiction of how the duopoly Internet access business in Canada holds consumers hostage.  These companies need to learn to share the networks Canadians helped build. Alternately, we need a public strategy that gives everyone in Canada the access they deserve without allowing big players an unfair advantage and monopoly.

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While working on a customer’s office computer recently,  I commented on the iPad sitting on his desk. The customer, an engineer by trade, told me the iPad was a recent purchase and a “show and tell” ensued.  He was excited and pleased with his purchase. When I returned the following month, the iPad was in the exact same spot and a thin layer of dust appeared to be on the surface.

Let’s call the iPad what it is: a very expensive toy that doesn’t quite fit into your daily digital life.  Leigh Gallagher, assistant managing editor at Fortune, wrote a great post called Why I still don’t love my iPad and why the iPad 2 won’t help. 

Why the IPAD is a waste of money

For starters, it’s too heavy and too large to carry around your person compared with the convenience of a smart phone. The absence of a proper keyboard and mouse is a major compromise in being able to get things done quickly. As Gallagher rightly points out,  Why [is] no one talking about how the iPad [is] slowing them down?  Allyson Kazmucha from TiPb, the #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog writes, “until the iPad can stand on its own without relying on a physical computer, it shouldn’t be considered a replacement even for the modest user”. She goes on to state that between her two essential devices, namely her MacBook and iPhone, she’s fully covered.

The iPad unlike the Kindle eBook reader has a backlight from the bright LCD screen. This means that what you are reading is illuminated from behind. This makes reading for  longer periods unpleasant leading to headaches and eyestrain. The Kindle "e-ink" technology does not have a backlight and makes reading feel like you’re reading a paper book.

In summary, if you have to lug something around, stick with the winning laptop and  iPhone / Blackberry combo for robustness and versatility. David Letterman even takes a jab in his Top 10 reasons to buy an iPad 2 (watch video below). His number 1 reason is, “In this economy who doesn’t have $600 to throw around?” Ask yourself if the iPad’s price tag is really worth the larger Angry Birds screen.

 When I first saw the iPad, I was immediately impressed with the the screen quality.  Pictures appeared vibrant and crisp. My customer’s iPad is still sitting on his desk and he’s found a new use for it. It makes a FANTASTIC picture frame !

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Earlier this month, the CRTC issued a decision to force third party Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to switch to so-called usage-based billing (UBB) or metered pricing. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one visibly upset as nearly half a million Canadian consumers strongly voiced their opinions by signing a petition to STOP the meter, a website started by a group called OpenMedia that is leading the charge.

Our very own Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement, confirmed via Twitter that the government would overturn the ruling if the CRTC didn’t “re-evaluate” their decision. That got me thinking. Isn’t it time we reevaluated (not just UBB) how we treat the Internet in Canada? Rather than limit its use, I propose we make access to the Internet a fundamental right or essential service benefiting all Canadians.

That Was Then, This is Now

Let’s compare today with an example from the 1990s. Back then, dial-up Internet was the new kid on the block. It was cumbersome and not easy getting online. Only the technical elite and the true geeks got it and used it regularly. It didn’t have the mass-market appeal and adoption rate that exists today. Back then it was a reference tool and used to send and receive email. Today, as Thomas Friedman writes in the The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, the browser not only made the Internet alive but it made the Internet accessible to everyone from five-year-olds to ninety-five-year olds. The more alive the Internet became, the more different people wanted to do different things on the Web. So, than meant demanding that computers, software and telecommunications networks be able to digitize and transport words, images, video and data over the Internet to anyone’s screen.  To me, the Internet sounds more like a utility because almost all Canadians are expected to use it. When I say almost all, I mean it.

My Grandma and Grandpa are Online Too

Let me share a story about my 85 year old grandmother and 79 year old grandfather. My grandmother called me one day to ask how to open an attachment she received in an email from a company she deals with. My grandfather uses his bank’s online portal to monitor and conduct investment trades not to mention sharing endless jokes with his friends over email. As it turns out, this is the same grandfather that chastised me for being on the computer 15 years ago and blamed everything on the “computer generation”. Today, he has me on speed dial to troubleshoot when he can’t connect to Internet from his country cottage.  A decade ago, if you told me that my grandparents would use the Internet on a daily basis in this way, I would have raised my eyebrows in disbelief. Clearly things have changed for the better.

Today, the Internet has become a utility that serves all people and acts as a tidal wave for innovation and economic growth.  It is no longer a luxury but best seen as a fundamental right and essential service. Everyone and everything is plugged in.  Isn’t it time we took a closer look at equal access and fair cost for all? 

Day of Action

On February 26th, OpenMedia will be hosting a Stop The Meter - National Day Of Action. The Toronto event takes place at Queen's Park from  1-2:30pm.

Stay tuned for my follow-up post on UBB

In my next post, I will offer two solutions on how to CRTC can do the right thing by bringing us together rather than tearing us apart and talk about the National Day Of Action.

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It’s been many months in the making, but time has finally come to unveil the new look of Manawa Networks. What started out as a simple question, "how can we improve the Manawa brand," quickly turned into an in-depth analysis of our branding and market positioning.

After careful thought, we decided that it was time for a change to better reflect our passion, objectives, and purpose.

As of 3 PM today, the company will part with its previous look and feel and introduce:

You can check out the new website at http://www.manawa.net.

Stay tuned on this blog for information about Manawa as well as articles discussing technology for businesses.

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