Everything Online, Everything In The Cloud.

Mike:  I’m sitting down here with CEO and owner of Adar IT, Vadim Vladimirskiy, to talk to him about his company Adar IT, how it works, and what they do.  So Vadim, can you tell me a little about your company?  How did you get started? Vadim:  I started working with a company called Solus in 1999.  They provided traditional IT network support such as firewalls, virus protection, and other technical issues.  One of the major services Solus offered was data backups.  They would put all your data on a tape backup, helping customers maintain their data in case their computers ever went down.  In 2005 we felt there was a better way to do this. Mike:  So what made you want to make that jump? Vadim:  Well, there was one client we had who was doing backups via tape.  There were two sets of tapes that we gave them; one for cleaning the heads, and one for doing the actual backup.  The procedure was, every night, right before you left, you put the tape into the drive and backup your data.  The next day, if the tape popped out, you knew the backup worked.  If the tape didn’t pop out, you would call Solus and we would come onsite and fix it for you.  Once a week or so, you would take the second tape and clean the heads of the recorder.  Well, we got a call from one client whose IT system went down, and they couldn’t retrieve their backup.  We get there and it turns out the employee was putting the cleaning tape in everyday, instead of the recording tape.  It would pop out every night after it was done cleaning.  She figured since it popped out, the backup went fine.  I realized  there was a better way to provide a reliable backup service, so we started  Adar IT.  A lot of customers signed up as first time users, others did it to complement their existing backup routine. Mike:  But don’t you deal with other things besides just backups.  My understanding was that you provide the computers, too. Vadim:  We found that people had to upgrade their servers every few years.  Once they would go through all the upgrades, they would run into one of two problems.  Either the server didn’t have enough capacity as the company grew, and they would have to replace the server once again.  Or they would buy a server that had too much capacity thinking they might need it in the future, but not utilize all of it.  We decided the best solution was to provide a server with the exact amount of capacity they needed, with the option to scale up or down. Mike:  So you provide a cloud service? Vadim:  Exactly.  Except when we first started Adar IT, there was no term such as ‘the cloud’.  They called it ‘infrastructure-as-a-service.’  We provide the IT platform that runs any software.  In 2009 we started hosting desktops, as more and more people wanted virtual desktops they could access from anywhere, anytime.  What’s great about virtual desktops is that you no longer have to worry about viruses, hardware, or backups.  Adar provides full system backups to every single one of our customers every two hours. We even storethe backedup up saved in 2 different locations.  This is the norm for big enterprises, but for the small to medium sized business, this kind of protection was never available as it was too expensive.  Now we can offer what the big guys get, for the price of the small guys. Mike:  So you are a tech company? Vadim:  No, we are a service company.  Mike:  What’s the point of Adar IT?  I can do all my backups on DVD’s or thumb drives, why do I need a company like yours? Vadim:  The reason people come to us is because they don’t want to deal with the technical aspects of maintaining a server and backing it up.  Our customers just want it to work.  To use the words of Jean Luc Picard, they want someone who they can call and say, “make it so”.  People today don’t care what type of technology they are using; it could be Apple, HP, Dell, Intel, it doesn’t matter - they just want it to work, and that’s what we provide. Mike:  Who is Adar IT for?  Who is your main clientele? Vadim:  Our clients are mostly small to medium size businesses.  People want the flexibility of working from multiple locations; they don’t want to be tied to their office.  We also have quite a few virtual companies, which have no central offices.  Mike:  So is there a difference between Adar IT and being cloud based? Vadim:  Great question, a lot of our clients ask the same thing.  The difference between what we do, and what companies such as iCloud or DropBox do, is that we  provide full service cloud solutions for businesses. Mike:  So you are a server farm? Vadim:  We are more than that.  We aren’t a hosting company, we are a service company. Mike:  You’re the next generation of computer repair. Vadim:  Not really.  We see ourselves more as people who prevent the need for computer repair by providing them with the least amount of equipment possible, resulting in fewer repairs.  Mike:  What do you mean? Vadim:  We put in a ‘smart monitor’.  It has no hard drive, no operating system, it’s just a monitor with a few USB ports and a network connection.  Our customers plug their network cable into the monitor and it connects to our servers. We wanted to make this as simple as possible for our clients.  They don’t want to have to worry about how things work. Mike:  Do you see this as the “next big thing”? Vadim:    The future is going to more of a move to service based companies.  People aren’t going to buy hardware; there is a trend to move towards the cloud.  There’s going to be one big mainframe, with a bunch of dumb terminals.  More and more people are going to have the setup we provide, where all you have is a monitor with a few network connections, no local desktop.  Mike:  Finally, where do you see your company in five years?  Where are you going? Vadim:  It’s hard to say as technology is changing all the time.  But that’s not really our major concern, as we are a service company.  We use technology to empower small and medium size businesses and give them the same tools that large companies have.  Most of our clients are in Illinois, where we are located.  However, as connectivity gets better, we will see a lot of geographical expansion.  We are able to provide a superior level of service because we can easily gain access to our customer’s IT system.  That’s what so great about us.  We are where our clients are, because we do all the actual computing here in our offices. Mike:  Vadim thanks for giving me this interview.  It’s enlightened me a lot into where cloud technology is going.

Would Purim Be A Holiday If It Took Place Today?

We all know the story of Purim; it's your typical Jewish story.  Someone doesn't like the Jews and wants to get rid of them; the Jews decide they aren't going to die (once again), and they fight back, defeating evil.  But what if Purim took place today? Would we still celebrate it?  Would it even be a blip on the radar? I'm not trying to label Purim as a meaningless holiday.  In fact, just the opposite.  It's one of our oldest traditions and one of the funniest times you will have at Synagogue.  But, because of today's technology, and because people have started to communicate differently, I don't think it would have ever gotten as far as Esther fasting for three days in hopes that her husband King Ahasuerus would be kind to the Jews.  Let's see how it might have gone down....  (Click the links to learn more about these Social Media Sites) Instead of walking around town, demanding people bow to him, Haman would have posted a video on YouTube demanding that all, including the Jews, prostrate themselves. Mordechai would have seen  this, and would have refused to bow down.   He would have taken a picture of Haman on his high horse with his Camera Phone and, via Instagram,  turned this shot  into a vintage picture  (vintage is all the rage today) so Mordechai could be the first to say he had  a picture of the most hated Government Official (Hipster Mordechai).  Once Haman got a wiff of this, he would have demanded that the King get rid of not only Mordechai, but all the Jews. Then Mordechai, instead of  tearing his clothes and sitting in sackcloth and ashes,  would have sent his niece, Queen Esther, a  text message about Haman's plot and a photo of the evil decree.  This would have gotten her attention within seconds:  a lot  faster than hanging around the palace gates and waiting for one of her servants to find him.  Once she learned of Haman's plan from Mordechai, she would have immediately gotten on Facebook and posted about it, "Can you believe what Mordechai just told me?  Kill the Jews?  Haman's got some nerve." She would then post the  vintage picture of the evil decree on Reddit and it would gather enough 'Upvotes' to make it to the Front Page.  Once there, everyone would have seen it and started talking about it. A new hashtag would start  trending on Twitter, "Can you believe #Haman? Follow @QueenEsther for updates!"  The word would spread like wild fire! Everyone would know that @QueenEsther was in trouble and needed support. Queen Esther would send King Ahasuerus a BBM asking him to dinner that night. She  would set  the mood by playing some of their favorite songs on Spotify  (which would post what they were listening to on her Facebook page). The King would arrive at  the banquet, letting everyone know where he was, using the Foursquare app on his Smart Phone.  Esther would show King Ahasuerus the YouTube video and the Instagram photo on her Tablet.  She would have all the evidence she would need. The King would be outraged at the thought of Haman trying to kill his beautiful Esther along with her cousin Mordachai and all of the other Jews of Persia, and fire his grand vizier, Haman, who would be forced to turn to LinkedIn in order to try and find another job.  But everyone would see who he was  linked to (hitler, George Lincoln Rockwell, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and decide they would never hire him. If Purim had taken place with today's technology,  this would have all happened within a few hours, and there would really be no need to celebrate because we would have squashed the confilct before it ever got out of hand.  On the other hand, I wouldn't  be munching right now on my mom's delicious Hamantaschen, or be enjoying a little schnapps at the upcoming  Megillah reading. Hag Sameah to all, and have a joyful Purim!

The Ever Changing World of The Cell Phone.

Today we are more connected than we have ever been.  Not just with each other, but with technology.  30 years ago, computers were no more than large adding machines or expensive typewriters (at least that's what most people used them for).  Today you theoretically could keep your entire computer in your pocket (prime example is the Motorola Atrix which can be converted into a laptop); and this is only the beginning.  Soon, we will all have one computer that we carry around and plug into different docks at different locations.  This computer is our phone.

Smart Phones are all the rage; everyone has one.  They help us stay connected to the world around us.  Membership Management Services is the first Synagogue Software Company to utilize your smart phone with their Synagogue Phone App.  This app lets your members, clergy, and staff stay connected like never before.  From posting the Rabbi's Blog to your Member Directory, everything is there right when you want it.

The app itself is extremely easy to use, and is customized to each synagogue.  Some synagogues have chosen to use it  only  for their staff as a way to stay connected on the go; including a master calendar so that everyone is on the same page when it comes to meetings, events, and other important dates.  On the other hand, some have chosen to go the Member route, and utilized such features as Streaming Services, Picture Galleries, and important phone numbers.  

The best thing about this app, is how Membership Management Services has priced this app for everyone!  At only $275 for current customers it's a steal.  You pay the one time set-up fee and your members are able to download it for free from the Android Market and iPhone App Store.

Even if you aren't a MM2000 customer, you can still order the app for $295; Membership Management Services can even pull data out of your current software to get your Member Directory working on the app.

If you would like to take a look at a sample version of the app, head over to either the Android Market or iPhone App store and just search MM2000.

Destroying Cancer, For Good!

Cancer, it is one of the hardest diseases to go through; not just as the patient, but as the family.  Everyone knows someone who's been affected by it.  It comes in many shapes, in many forms.  Cancer doesn't care if you're black, white, Jewish, Christian, Russian, American; all it does is destroy.  But there is hope.  In fact, there is a little more than just help now from an Israeli company Vaxil BioTherapeutics. Vaxil BioTherapeutics has been working on a vaccine for about 90% of all cancers.  That's right!  The vaccine is now in clinical trials at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem.  Currently they are testing the vaccine on a certain type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma, but because of how cancer attacks the body, this vaccine will work for just about all types of cancer. Cancer is a disease that attacks your own cells.  Because of this, the body can't differentiate between sick cells and healthy cells.  The vaccine, Vaxil is creating, puts a little marker on these cells that mark the MUC1 gene. Overexpression of the MUC1 gene is on about 90% of all cancers; the vaccine, tells your T-Cells (cells that attack infections) to attack cells with MUC1.  Thus, not only does it stop the cancer in its tracks, but also stops it from returning, "The tumor [cancer] likes to mutate and develops an ability to hide from the treatment.  Our vaccines are also designed to overcome that problem," said Julian Levy, the company's CFO.   The vaccine is seen as a long-term strategy for treating cancer, meaning you would only have to take a shot every few months, thus eliminating the painful radiation treatment associated with treating cancer today.  By doing this, it forces the patient's immune system to do what is designed to do, and keep the cancerous cells out of the body.   Vaxil BioTheraputics was founded in 2006 by Dr. Lior Carmon, and is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.