Hi everyone!

Last week saw the return of a fall COMMON event. Hosted in San Antonio, TX, this event was shorter and more concentrated than the meeting held in Orlando earlier this year. This marked a change made by the COMMON leadership a couple of years ago when the decision was made to host only one event per year, instead of the previous spring and fall events.

Overall, the two-and-a-half-day event appeared to be a resounding success. With a couple hundred attendees and an expo floor full of exhibitors—including our own family of PowerTech, Help/Systems, Sequel, and Bytware companies—there was plenty for everyone to see and do. Concentrated education tracks meant that speakers such as me enjoyed rooms filled with attendees; a scene that always encourages more active participation. In my conversations with attendees during the event, as well as reading several online blogs upon my return, I have observed a consensus that the event was well received and would likely be repeated next Fall. Of course, we still have the 2011 annual meeting to look forward to in our own Minneapolis, MN.

I was glad to make it back from San Antonio in time to drop in on Help/Systems’ fun “Midrange Mixer” event. This is an evening that we host in Rochester during the LUG (Large User Group) meetings held at IBM. An evening of cocktails and fantastic food at Victoria’s was accompanied by numerous discussions with customers about encryption, automation, and regulatory compliance, as well as various drawings for gift cards from famous retail chains that use IBM i. Thanks to all of the customers for spending a great evening relaxing with us after a long day of meetings!

Lastly, where would I be without a picture to commemorate my visit to the home of the Alamo? For those of you that might not be familiar with the significance of this historical marker, the Alamo is a former mission and the scene of a famous 13-day siege in 1836 when a vastly outnumbered Texan Army defended Texas from an invading Mexican Army. While all but two of the defenders were killed, this brutal battle sparked events that marked the end of the Texas Revolution. While the original perimeter walls of the compound have long been replaced by hotels and tourist attractions, the following image shows the front of original inner chapel that now serves as a sanctuary to those that lost their lives in the name of freedom.

Drop me a line at robin.tatam@powertech.com for more information about PowerTech, or visit www.powertech.com.

Cheers!

- rt

Hi everyone!

As I mentioned in my last blog, Help/Systems recently welcomed a number of customers to our Eden Prairie, Minnesota, headquarters. These customers comprise an advisory board, which involves a roundtable discussion about real world product usage, corporate directions, and to give us feedback about the directions and areas of corporate strategy that are important to them.

While we hope that everything is running smoothly, we don’t assume that blindly. In addition to these roundtable meetings, we also use ongoing customer surveys to gauge whether we are meeting (or hopefully exceeding) our stringent quality goals. As the first ISO 9001 software company in the United States, these metrics are critically important to our business.

The overwhelming message from this year’s board members was that Help/Systems continues to lead the industry in both software quality and post-sale support. One area of discussion included how Help/Systems has expanded its global presence through organic growth, as well as through strategic acquisitions. Sometimes we are busy and forget that customers don’t have visibility into the effort that goes into this continued expansion, and as a privately-held company, the message may not always be conveyed about the investment being made within our four walls. This includes the SEQUEL product line as well as the PowerTech suite of security solutions, and so some customers inquired about the future of our security solutions. I am here to tell you that the acquisition of PowerTech was very strategic for Help/Systems, and that we are currently entrenched in numerous product development initiatives. While acquisitions often result in staff changes, we never stopped being fully operational with a full complement of sales, technical support, and experienced development expertise ready to assist customers with IBM i security and compliance requirements. In fact, by combining resources with Help/Systems’ own strong development and ISO 9001 quality control infrastructure, we are better positioned than ever before!

Next week I will be at COMMON’s Fall meeting. My participation includes conducting four security sessions and some meet-and-greets at the Help/Systems and PowerTech booths. I welcome a chance to meet you, so please stop by if you are going to be there.

It was another enjoyable week from a photography standpoint, and I have a couple of autumn views to share with you. These images were both taken in the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin, a collection of 22 islands in Lake Superior. The first image is of Bayfield, a quaint harbor town and host to an annual Apple Festival in October. It is also a popular year-round destination for kayakers looking to explore the islands. This is certainly a spectacularly beautiful part of the upper Midwest as the trees busy themselves into a myriad of colors. From the lake, the view produced a striking range of greens, oranges, and burning reds.

The next image is of the lighthouse on “Devil’s Island.” Clear waters and beautiful sandstone sea caves mark the northern shore of this uninhabited land. I say uninhabited, but the journey did include the sighting of two bald eagles and a lone black bear roaming the island shore.

Drop me a line at robin.tatam@powertech.com for more information about PowerTech, or visit www.powertech.com.

If you would like to learn more about Help/Systems’ comprehensive line of automation and operation solutions, contact “Mr Robot,” Tom Huntington, at tom.huntington@helpsystems.com, or visit www.helpsystems.com.

Cheers!

- rt