Practolo Blog

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Intranet Portals - Personalisation and Customisation

The key difference between an (old-fashioned) Intranet and a Portal

What typifies a modern intranet portal is that there is a standardised user interface (”UI”) with a built in system for user authentication. In other words, the user signs in to the portal rather than simply accessing it. This brings us to the key difference; an intranet portal knows who you are, whilst with an old-fashioned intranet, the user is anonymous.

If the user authentication is properly linked to your employee data, then the portal will know things like (a) what grade the person is, (b) which department they work in, (c) what location they work at and (d) what job they do.

If the portal authentication is also liked to a metadirectory (along with the authentication for all the other systems the user needs to use in their job) then the portal will additionally know (e) which applications the user needs to do their job and (f) the rights the user has (from their security profile) to access different application functionality.

Finally, if an infocube-based web statistics package has been installed, the portal will know (a) which areas of the portal are accessed by the user and (b) the frequency and depth of that access.

The opportunity to personalise the portal experience

Clearly, given the knowledge above, it is possible to personalise the UI for each individual user. For example, if the user works in the sales function, then the homepage that greets them upon logon could be the Sales team homepage. If they work in Leeds, the facilities link on their homepage could be to maps, traffic, fire orders, etc. about the Leeds office (rather than anywhere else). If their specific job is as a field sales manager, then field sales performance graphs and management dashboard could be displayed on the homepage.

If the user is of a grade that places them on the company insider dealing list, then additional (price sensitive) real-time data might be displayed on the screen (which other users would not see). If statistics tell us that they are not reading important communications, then messages could be served to them that draw their attention to what they are missing. Finally, if they use functionality from three different (legacy) systems to do their job, then these could be brought together and surfaced via a portlet application on the portal page.

The prize is clearly a smoother and more integrated user experience, with key information “pushed” at the user in a way they can’t ignore and always no more than a single click away.

The depressing truth about personalisation today

Many portal vendors have undertaken research with their existing customer base to explore (a) how many customers have made extensive use of personalisation and (b) how many surface key business applications via their portal. The results do not make encouraging reading (with less than 20% achieving much beyond what Plumtree call “the empty portal”).

This prompts an obvious question. If the benefits to the user of personalisation are so obvious, why have companies not taken advantage of them? In fact, based on my experience, there are multiple reasons not to personalise, which I group into “bad” and “good” reasons.

Bad reasons not to personalise

There are a number of typical failings that tend to stem from a lack of courage, poor understanding or personal prejudice:

1) Failure to link through to employee data and/or a metadirectory
This can be due to a number of factors, including (a) the costs of software seen as too expensive, (b) a perception that implementation will be too difficult or prone to failure, (c) a lack of confidence in the quality of employee data and (d) realising too late that this work is important and having failed therefore to include in project scope or business case costs

2) Failure of vision and/or lack of confidence in personalisation benefits
Typical problems include (a) a lack of experience of using portals and thus a lack of awareness of the possibilities, (b) a nostalgia for the old-fashioned style of intranet navigation, (c) an unhealthy focus on the intranet simply as a communication channel, rather than as a business tool and - perhaps most interestingly - (d) a perception that personalisation is synonymous with (or otherwise encourages) individuals failing to observe and comply with single, enterprise-wide processes and policy.

Good reasons not to personalise

There are actually several valid objections to personalisation, which you would ignore at your peril. The two most notable are:

3) The whole is more than the sum of the parts
Many portal projects are built on the concepts of (a) increased knowledge sharing between teams, (b) better awareness of the “big picture” of what is happening in the company and (c) a sense of belonging to a single, enterprise-wide community. By personalising teams and individuals into “ghettos” where they only see information and applications directly relevant to them, the opportunity is lost to have them explore the intranet presence of other colleagues.

4) Log-in as a barrier to user adoption
A (valid) concern that requiring people to log-in each time they access the portal will act as a deterrent to them doing so, thereby reducing the portal benefits through a reduction in intranet usage. This has lead to some customers disabling the log-in feature! Of course, such problems can be overcome through the implementation of a single sign-on application, where rights to access the portal (without a separate log-on procedure) are granted when the user logs onto the network. However, companies often fail to plan or budget for such changes.

So is personalisation the right thing to do? If so, how can I make it happen?

On balance, of course, the benefits of personalisation, for most organisations, far outweigh the risks and costs. After all, why buy a Ferrari, then only use it to do the school run? If you were never going to use the portal for these advanced functions, why did you buy one? It would have been much cheaper to invest in your traditional intranet!

If you are looking to make it happen, however, you must recognise the organisational, financial and technical challenges inherent in the work. Firstly, you should ensure that your business case contains the full costs of integrating the portal with employee data and metadirectory capabilities. Ideally, you should also extend this to a single-sign-on solution if you can afford it. Secondly, you should showcase to sponsors what personalisation looks like, so that they can improve their understanding of the opportunity. Finally, you should not underestimate the technical grunt work involved in cleaning up your employee data and systems rights.

Do not neglect customisation

I define customisation as the ability for users to customise their own portal settings and appearance (as distinct from how I am defining personalisation, where the portal provisions information and applications authomatically, based on the user’s profile). By letting users “do it themselves” you allow for the possibility that they may wish to share knowledge and collaborate with people outside their immediate role. You can also learn (by observing their behaviour in customisation) where you could improve upon your personalisation.

Some final thoughts

Personlisation should be a key element of your early visioning work with sponsors and drive costs and benefits in your business case. If you find at that stage that the return on investment (ROI) is not there, then you should perhaps question whether a portal investment is really for you! A mini is adequate, after all, for the school run!

About the author:

David Viney (david@viney.com) is the author of the Intranet Portal Guide; 31 pages of advice, tools and downloads covering the period before, during and after an Intranet Portal implementation.

Read the guide at http://www.viney.com/DFV/intranet_portal_guide or the Intranet Watch Blog at http://www.viney.com/intranet_watch.

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Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Identifying the Rocks: Organizing Your Priorities

In one of my favorite books, First Things First, written by Stephen Covey with Roger and Rebecca Merrill, is a story of the man in front of his class with a pile of rocks and a jar. He puts the rocks in the jar, and then asks the class “Is it full?” “Yes,” they answer in unison. “Oh?” he replies, and gets out some pebbles, which he adds to the jar. “Is it full?” he asks. Catching on, they reply, “Probably not.” And then he added sand. And, finally, some water. “What does that tell you?” he asked. Answers included comments like “You can always squeeze something else in” or “Just get started.” “Oh, not at all!” he said. “If you don’t put the rocks in first, there won’t be any room for the them.

I used to feel that if I just got organized enough or managed my time well enough, or even prayed enough, I would be able to get everything done that I wanted or needed to. But I’m convinced it’s a myth. A creative mind always has more ideas than the physical body can carry out. Our only hope of inner peace is identifying the rocks in our lives, and making sure we get those things on our calendar. And the rest will fall into place. But if we don’t know what the rocks are, or we don’t put them in our lives first, we will never find the peace we seek.

Recently I was asked by a magazine to write an article. I had the deadline on my calendar. As I was checking messages on my car phone between appointments I heard a message from the magazine editor saying, “I’m going into a meeting this afternoon at 3:00, and I need your outline.” Oops! Somehow I had forgotten to get the outline in my calendar. I glanced at my clock. Thirty minutes before I needed to leave for the next appointment. I raced home, turned on the computer, and cranked out an outline.

I know that if I had blocked out two hours to write the outline, it would have taken two hours — but what I did in thirty minutes was perfectly acceptable to the editor. Much of our life is like that. If we make up our minds as to what is really important, and put it in our calendar, we will get it done. The real challenge is identifying what is really important — what are the rocks? Glenna Salsbury, a professional speaker from Paradise Valley, Arizona, whose company is called “An Enduring Influence,” says that it is important to identify five key values in your life. All of us can come up with four very quickly, but it is the fifth one, which is often our “unique factor.” The immediate values, which came to my mind, were “a peaceful home,” “good health” “meaningful work” and “healthy relationships.” But what about that fifth one?

I’ve given it hours of thought as I wait in airports and creep through traffic jams. I just couldn’t put my feelings in words until I read the letter from my pastor in the Sunday bulletin last week, and he said it beautifully — God’s love through me. What a rock! The father of a friend of mine put it another way: “I always want people to feel glad they saw me.” Certainly I’m not always successful, but it’s a wonderful goal and I will put a reminder on my calendar every week.

What are your rocks?

© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com

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Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

John Strong onto a Winner with the Lifeforms Seven Inch Vibrating Dildo

The company that makes the Lifeforms 7 Inch, John Strong are perhaps the most widely recognised and liked names concerned with the design and manufacture of dildos. They are distributors for a large number of different top quality toys such as the Sensual Bender and the renowned 6 Inch Suction Cup. John Strong are known for being extremely cost competitive, so you can be sure you will never see a a lower cost deal through another company.

The Lifeforms 7 Inch is supplied in many different colors, lengths and widths. The soft construction of the Lifeforms 7 Inch makes it possible to achieve penetration at angles that are not achievable during normal sexual intercourse, making it possible for you to explore fun pleasures and previously un discovered erogenous parts of your body. The dildo is made with gnarly bobbles along its length, to raise your adventures to into another league. The Lifeforms 7 Inch also comes with an add on vibrator package, making this a sex aid of the best quality. As well as being fun, the Lifeforms 7 Inch formed from non-toxic glass, so you can be sure that it is definitely safe to play with.

Over the past five years the Lifeforms 7 Inch has been amongst the top selling sex toys for John Strong. The success of the Lifeforms 7 Inch is based on the products build quality and competitive price. The Lifeforms 7 Inch is ideal for the stimulation of either of the female erogenous zones. This toy is the great compliment to any jelly dildo enthusiasts collection. The perfect companion for quiet nights alone home alone. This marital aid would make a great first time dildo for any individual who does not yet possess a sex aid. It is also surprisingly popular with guys both straight and gay.

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Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Constructing a Garden Path

A well-laid path is essential for the successful management of every garden. The direction that it takes must be very clearly thought through to ensure its efficiency. It must be arranged so that there are no temptations to cut corners across the lawn or flower beds and yet as far as possible it should be unobtrusive.

Like the garden itself, a path should be properly drained, especially if it is to be constructed from gravel or a similar porous material. Surrounding ground must also be drained in such a way that the path does not become a watercourse during periods of heavy rain or after snow-melt in colder districts. The scouring out of neatly raked gravel by fast-flowing ground water can be a great source of irritation.

Before construction, consider the possibility of the path also being the line that takes services. Water and electricity can very conveniently be directed along the line of the path so that there is never any danger of interference from cultivation. It is ill-advised to place such services beneath a solid path, such as concrete, but ready access can be gained through gravel, or beneath a paved path.

A sound foundation is vital, even for a simple gravel path. If a generous layer of stone foundation is not laid down first of all it is almost certain that mud will squeeze through and within a season the path will become an unpleasant mud and gravel mixture which will then play host to weeds. Prevent this by using fabric landscape matting laid over the soil in the path area before spreading the gravel. Such material permits water to seep through, but prevents the mud from squeezing upwards.

There are all kinds of gravel and gravel-like materials that can be used for path construction, but all require a proper edging to retain the material. Many gardeners choose 15mm (1/2in) gravel as this is substantial and looks good. It is not the best utility choice though for it is quite difficult to push a wheelbarrow or pushchair over and it creates havoc with high-heeled shoes.

Fine shingle makes a far better surface providing that it is not scattered too liberally. However the best of all is self-binding gravel. This is of gravel-like appearance but of such a texture that it binds together in a neat hard surface. Once laid it merely needs rolling with a garden roller. Crushed limestone can also serve the purpose, but it tends to become dusty during dry weather and stick to shoes on wet days. It can also increase the alkalinity of nearby soil.

Concrete is a serviceable but harsh option, which if laid properly with expansion joints, will last indefinitely. It is not a comfortable path to walk along or work from in hot weather, as there is considerable reflection and glare. The same applies to some of the modern paving slabs made from reconstituted stone. Select these with great care choosing softer more subtle colors to reduce discomfort. Also carefully select the surface. There are a number of more or less non-slip surfaces available; the most natural looking of which is referred to as riven paving.

Philip Swindells has over 40 years gardening experience. A former botanical garden curator and an international horticultural consultant, he has worked extensively overseas. The Author of more than 50 gardening books, he has been awarded a Quill and Trowel Award by the Garden Writers’ Association of America. He is also a former UK Garden Writer of the Year. He writes a popular daily gardening blog with gardening news, views and updates http://www.gardenmessenger.blogspot.com/.

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Thursday, August 21st, 2008

The Sun Can Knock Money off Your Electricity Bill

As the price of fuel continue to increase, many homeowners are hoping for a solution to present itself. Some homeowners however are considering the installation of the solar cells that will allow them to channel the power of the sun to provide energy for their houses.

When electricity prices were low, it was unnecessary to justify the upfront cost of cash required to install solar panels, solar water heaters and similar equipment. The reason was simple to understand - it would simply take too long to recoup the cost of the equipment in the form of lower energy bills.

But prices are now higher than many of us ever expected. As energy prices continue to go up, the amount of time required to recoup the upfront cost goes down. In addition, a number of state and local tax incentives make it even easier for homeowners to go solar and save money right away.

The dynamics of this economy have now changed though. The costs of installing solar panels is still high, with a typical two kilowatt installation of OVR Solar solar panels costing approximately £10,000 / ($20, 000) in most cases, but special tax incentives and long term energy savings can help homeowners recoup those upfront costs faster than ever before.

Encouragement for our governments is now forthcoming. This tax savings can help eligible homeowners recoup some of the costs of installing solar panels and solar water heating systems up front, in addition to the energy savings they will enjoy down the road.

Some states will offer homeowners who install qualifying solar panel or water heating systems to write off a portion of the cost against tax liability, while others will provide a standard tax credit based on kilowatt usage. Still others provide tax relief in the form of property tax reductions or elimination, and many states provide businesses, government agencies and commercial enterprises with special tax breaks as well.

The amount of time required to recoup the entire cost of a solar panel roof installation will vary according to a number of factors, including the cost of the materials and installation, the availability of tax rebates, tax breaks and other incentives, and of course the price of traditional forms of energy.. However, as the prices for heating oil, gas and other forms of traditional energy continue to soar, so too will the desire for energy freedom.

Take the first step to energy self sufficiency with OVR Solar.

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Thursday, August 21st, 2008

Golf Swing

Putts and short chip shots are mainly played without any body movement from the golfers body, but most or the other golf shots such as drives are played using parts of the full golf swing. A full swing is a extremely complex rotation of the body aimed at accelerating the golf club head to a great speed and keep it acurate. very few golfers play with their left hand, with even players who are strongly left-handed in their daily life preferring the right-handed golf swing. The downswing is roughly a backswing reversed. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left.

At the end of the golf swing, the bodys weight has shifted almost entirely to the left foot, the body is fully turned to the left and the hands are above the golfers left shoulder with the club hanging down over the players’ back. For a right-handed golfer, it consists of a backswing to the right, a downswing to the left, and a follow through. At address, the player stands with the left shoulder pointing in the intensional direction of ball flight, with the ball before the feet. The club is held with both hands, the clubhead resting on the ground behind the ball, hips and knees somewhat flexed, and the arms hanging from the shoulders. The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists. In the past, this may have been due to the difficulty of finding left-handed golf clubs.

Today, more manufacturers provide left handed variations of their club lines, and the clubs are more readily purchased from mail-order and Internet catalogues. Even the best professional golfers sometimes succumb to this pressure, such as getting the “yips” and being unable to make short putts, or having collapses of their full swing.

Golf Swing

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Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Realy terrific micro waves to win at windeprijsvraag online

Before home computers were popular a common method of entry was a mailed one. That will be absolutely fantastic or great to win 5353 euro. Many state lotteries also run a second chance sweepstakes in conjunction with the retail sale of state lottery scratch cards. Marvelous laptops to be won at online sweepstakes. 9 days ago a Europe based dutch online company started a dutch online sweepstakes. Terrific cash prizes to win at contest websites. Sweepstakes promotions are prohibited from requiring a purchase to enter. Super Porches to be won at dutch online contests. 9 hours ago a Belgium dutch company has started with a sweepstakes websites. Really great speedboats to win at sweepstakes websites. Thats fantastic or really great to win 3739 euros. Anyone can win great Ipods every 2 months. Members sign up once and are entered to various sweepstakes each month. There are also other online services, which automatically enter members into sweepstakes. 8 weeks ago a Dutch company took of a dutch online sweepstakes. Really everybody can win realy terrific SUVs every 12 months at super contests by windeprijsvraag. Sweepstakes are generally easier and quicker to enter than contests. Everybody can win super cars every 18 hours. Many more sweepers are choosing to enter online sweepstakes. Really anyone can win marvelous Hummers every 3 days. Sweepstakes are also legally different from contests in the United States. Entering sweepstakes by mail is declining in popularity. Although some sweepstakes ask for a proof of purchase or UPC code, the sponsors must provide an alternate method of entry if they do so. In an effort to increase consumer demand for scratch cards and to help control the litter small problems associated with the disposal of non-winning lottery tickets. Sweepstakes are frequently used by fast-food restaurants to boost business. It will be absolutely fantastic or fantastic to win 9488 dollars. Its terrific or realy terrific to win 1557 dollar. This saves entrants time and effort. Absolutely fantastic kitchens to be won at online sweepstakes. Consumer promotions advertised as contests, however, can require an entry fee or proof of purchase. 2 weeks ago a European online company begun with a contest websites. The reason why contests are treated differently is that the winners are not chosen by chance but by an element of skill. 11 months ago a European webcompany has started with a dutch online contests.

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Saturday, August 16th, 2008

The Sensational Advanced Hair Studio

Hair loss, baldness, hair thinning is something that concerns tons of men old and young. There are lots of options possible to you yourself nowdays, to help you fix the Advanced Hair Studio is now one of these companies. They have helped around three hundred thousand customers all over the UK & currently have seventy studios in twelve different parts of the world. Discover information with advanced studio Hair loss treatments today.

There are many various varieties of hair loss treatment services achievable to customers all of which involve completely different types of techniques. All of these are achievable to all customers after an appointment with a doctor. The procedures are Strand by Strand this is very extremely maintenance & builds the hair up slowly and gradually, so not to make it so obvious, this acts as a hair replacement method as apposed to a hair regrowth method. Advanced Hair Laser Therapy is another option that you could go for; this method is outstanding & very specialised. AHS has productively conducted clinical trials around a combination of the most recent laser beam technology, an FDA approved re growth pharmaceutical, & a proven scalp and follicle treatment programme for hair loss. With this programme, you yourself will see a vast change within 3 months. The last technique that they offer is a home treatment, so this is something that the client can actually do themselves in the comfort of there and the results are super. The home treatment programme combines the naturally occurring herb Sereonoa Repens range of products, with a handheld laser device and antioxidant treatment which helps to thicken, strengthen and repair your hair and scalp as well as promoting hair growth and reducing hair loss. Each

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Saturday, August 16th, 2008

Measure Your Marketing ROI

There’s a well-known truism in business: You get what you measure. So if you aren’t measuring the results of your investment in marketing dollarsin terms of current and predicted future revenue and profit resultsthen essentially you’re investing blindly. Let’s say you follow the established norm for your industry and invest in marketing as a percentage of revenues. By not establishing a direct relationship between marketing investments and revenues, you do your organization a disservice. Your marketing efforts will be more successful if you insist that they are measured based on net contribution to the bottom line.

Marketing budgets should be divided into three primary areas:

• Product Marketing/Management
• Sales tool creation and production
• Driving new business opportunities (leads) into the sales funnel

The ROI from Product Marketing is measured by win/loss ratio, successful product transitions, product margins, and on-time delivery of new products to the market. All of these can be measured in terms of revenues and profits as related to R&D and product marketing investments. Be sure to take stock of your successful projects completed on time and analyze the lifetime revenue per new product on the market.

Sales tools, such as collateral, videos, websites, channel training materials, competitive analyses, industry segment analyses, even POP displays, are geared toward speeding prospects through the sales funnel. With lead generation databases and Sales Force Automation (SFA) tools, you can measure how fast prospects move to the finish line. You can assess the trends over time by prospect source, product interest, and channel. You can calculate the immediate value of shortening the sales cycle, or increasing the win rate. But confirm that your SFA collects the marketing information needed to accurately measure your marketing programs (e.g. average sales length cycle and win-loss ratio) and that your channel teams are rewarded for providing the correct data.

Driving business opportunities into the sales funnel is the fundamental reason why Marketing Communications departments exist. They are not there to simply “build awareness”, “create a buzz”, or get local newspapers interested in a story. Monthly hit reports based on magazine readership or website visitors by themselves are virtually meaningless. Instead, measure your Marketing Communications ROI by driving the sales channel to report where ALL leads come from and relate this to revenue. Collect and track leads from events, seminars, trade shows, and direct mail, and insist on conversion mechanisms for website visitors.

The goal here is manifold: to know how many leads you need to get one new customer; to show how much the average lead costs based on source; and to understand the best source of high-quality leads and your total marketing cost of new customer acquisition. Then you can easily discern what it costs to generate the number of qualified leads you needand to turn those leads into new business for your company. This is the bottom line for measuring marketing ROI. Once you measure it, you are now in a position to better control it for your company’s benefit.

Cube Management provides sales acceleration services to emerging growth and mid-market companies in the technology, manufacturing, healthcare and business service sectors. The experts at Cube Management work across the entire spectrum of marketing, sales and business development to provide customized solutions that drive revenue and profit growth. Cube Management combines Strategy, Process & People to produce winning results.

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Saturday, August 16th, 2008

Bandwidth Exposed

Bandwidth v. Connection Speed
The information age is moving forward and the internet continues to bind the world together in its vast web of technology. As the amount of information that is shared through the internet increases, the need for faster connections also increases. But is a faster connection really the panacea for all internet woes?

An Analogy
A common misconception is that the speed of an internet connection dictates how fast data will be transferred. However, this is not the case. Let me explain. The freeway has a speed limit. That speed limit represents the fastest speed you can go (assuming that the speed limit is a law of nature) under ideal conditions- i.e. little or no traffic. However, the scenario changes drastically when you hit rush hour. All of a sudden, you’re stuck doing 15 mph, a full 60 mph below your capacity! Why? Because there are too many other drivers trying to use the same space.

The Meaning
Now let’s extend this analogy to your internet connection. Your connection has a benchmark speed, something like 10mbps (megabits per second) for DSL and 30 mbps for cable modem. That speed is like the speed limit on the freeway. It is the theoretical top speed that the connection can handle. Unfortunately, just like the freeway, conditions for surfing the net are rarely (if ever) ideal. Your bits are getting stuck behind everyone else’s bits, radically reducing the speed at which your data moves over the connection. This problem is particularly pronounced when you have several users using the same connection. So how do you fix it?

A Solution?
Many people are turning to buying an extra DSL or cable line as a solution to this problem. However, this is akin to building an additional two lane highway alongside an existing two lane highway. You’ll still experience more slowing than if you were to just add two additional lanes to the existing highway. But how does one build additional lanes on their road to the information superhighway?

Get a Bigger Pipe
There are several different options. First, you can try to optimize the connection you already have. Second, you can try to have a larger connection installed. Internet connections are often referred to as “pipes,” alluding to the flow of information that they handle. The bigger the pipe, or the more lanes on the highway, the faster your data will go. However, having a bigger “pipe” like a T1 or T3 installed is often costly and inconvenient.

Building a Better Pipeline
However, there is yet another option. A broadband aggregator takes two separate internet connections, whether it’s a pair of DSL lines, cable modem lines, T1s, etc., or any combination of these connections, and pools the bandwidth to make a pipe equal to the size of the aggregate of the two independent connections. For example, if you take two DSL connections of the same bandwidth, your effective bandwidth will double. A word of caution: your connection speed will still have the same speed constraints (i.e. your top speed will not double) you will just have twice as much room for your data to get through. Think same speed limit, extra lanes.

But Wait, There’s More!
There are additional benefits to getting a broadband aggregator. Most aggregators have a built-in VPN (virtual private network) security portal, making it extremely difficult for the wrong people to access your network through your internet connections. In addition, some aggregators feature load balancing, which allows you to dictate how much information is sent to each connection, preventing any one connection from being overwhelmed. Finally, broadband aggregators have built in redundancy: if one internet signal goes down, the aggregator automatically sends all traffic to the remaining active line. This is perfect for people running a dedicated internet server or who need to be connected to the internet 24-7.

And in the End…
The key to the internet isn’t the speed of the connection, it’s the fatness of the pipe.

Nathan Kartchner works in Product Development for Sewell Direct, an online retailer of quality connectivity solutions, like the Splitronic Broadband Aggregator and the Matrox DualHead2Go multi-monitor adapter.

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