The team from Altispeed Technologies join Noah this episode to tell the story of how Altispeed Technologies was born, where it is today, and where the team is headed!
01:15 Altispeed Today
Help Desk - IssacInstallation and Support - Kenny & PeterBackend R&D - Richard & SimonAdministration - Sarah & Jess02:28 Epoch 1
02:30 Origins of Altispeed02:40 Why Open Source05:50 Professional Development Program07:50 RHEL 5.0 & Red Hat11:15 Dec 2009 Altispeed is Born12:25 Noah does everything13:50 Altispeed Mission Statement14:55 Philippians 2-415:08 Matthew 20-2817:00 Epoch 2
17:20 Altispeed's First Hire18:38 The 3 Hiring QuestionsDo they get what we are trying to do?Do they want to do what we are trying to do?Do they have the capacity to do it?Value People and Relationships above all else19:40 Buck Stops with Me20:00 Employees are a mixed blessing21:42 Epoch 3
Remote Services & SupportPodcast StartsA Complete DisasterSuccess is standing on a pile of failures26:18 Epoch 4
Covid 19 Hits28:50 Going forward decisions30:15 How to serve better30:46 Peter & Kenny Join the Disscusion31:00 Kenny's Take34:30 RpiSurv37:15 FOSS Polish39:02 ANS Outreach & Service41:55 Noah can work "on" not "for" Altispeed43:43 Noah's dedication to ANS & the community44:50 Ask Noah Show Studio48:30 Epoch 5
The Future of Altispeed49:28 People stay when they can directly impact the work they do50:22 How to serve clients going forward52:32 More than a show tag line58:16 Tony from Jitsi AsksHow do you control what you support?VirtualizeDefine things up frontAltispeed rejects "monkey hands jobs"One place to call has valueBeing the "middle man" allows you to introduce FOSS alternatives1:14:36 Today people ask "what can technology do for me" not "what can I do with technology"1:16:40 How Altispeed does cloud better1:19:35 Radio likes to be self sufficient1:20:22 Build Modular Solutions1:22:55 Plans for 20221:24:05 Software is more than a tool1:24:44 Learn from othersDave Ramsey - PodcastFranklin Covey - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People BookRabbi Daniel Lapin - Thou Shalt Prosper Book1:27:48 Reducing friction and setting boundariesAltispeed Tools
1:29:52 Element/MatrixChannelsReply ChainsReactionsFederationSpaces1:40:02 SeaFileBeautiful UIAble to be White Labeled1:42:24 NextcloudDeckGets better over time1:44:30 OSTicketLacking Solid Mobile AppOpen API1:48:08 Simple HelpProprietaryIntuitive UIUnstable on MacsSelf HostedExtra tools that reduce frictionAudience Questions
1:50:52 Kpovoc AsksI’d be curious to know how often your clients have problems that might be easier solved by a custom written software vs finding an applicable existing FOSS solution?Many times combining/modifying open source solutions works best1:54:30 Tony AsksI'd be interested in knowing if you charge customers extra if they want to make changes to an already working solution. Would that be a charge to not have them abuse your time/technician time?Managed Service ContractsHourly ServiceWhat is your most popular service?Access Controls and CamerasNetworking1:57:42 AtypicalKernel AsksHow do you deal with clients who don't communicate their needs clearly?Discovery ProcessR&D PhasePresentationExecuteCircle back to DiscoveryProject Planning recommendationsFollow upHow do you deal with a client who blames the solution rather than acknowledging their own mistakes and/or short comings?Teach the userHelp them understand the limitations of their technology2:09:30 Tony AsksAre you able to share how you price a solution/support contract?Price hourlyContract Services are locked downWhat access control systems do you typically deploy?Axis A1001 Door ControllerPowerful integrationsHID ReadersProxy IIIAdams Rite door strikesCompletely ModularUnderstand your threat vectorHID SEOSWhy Noah like HID products2:19:50 Kpovoc AsksDo clients pay for the discovery process?No, neverDiscovery benefits Altispeed not the client2:21:25 Tony AsksHow do you deal with a customer who comes to you asking you if you can provide a solution for something you've never done? Do you tackle it even if it is a one of?We love learning new technologyNoah loves getting to see behind the scenesAltispeed specializes in thisTony clarifies his previous questionWe try to move to a open source solutionWe still take on proprietary software to reduce friction and server the customer well2:25:14 jutana AsksYou mentioned virtualization desktops , are you then using thin clients to access or low end PCs, also how do you deal with multimonitor support (SPICE?) and or USB peripherals? How are you dealing with standardizations on physical machines, imaging or other?RDP in lightweight Windows 10Moving away from thisThinlinxContinuing to exploreFocus is more on the back end VM2:29:15 Tony AsksDo you guys host email yourselves?Not currentlyMail in a Box2:30:31 toadrocksboat AskedDo you provide critical 24/7 after hours support? How do you balance that with such a lean team?AbsolutelyOpen Source Tooling helps us do thatMentioned in the show
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