Business Application Consultant

Floods in Thailand that hit in mid-October have had a serious effect on the supply of hard drives across the globe.  Western Digital (one of the largest hard drive distributors in the world) announced their December revenues will be at least 60% lower than a year ago, due to their concentration of supply chain factories in flooded areas.  The flooded areas are estimated to be responsible for nearly 70% of the world’s demand for hard drives.  

Even for companies who don’t make their hard drives in...

Summary of Responsibilities:

Under the general direction of the Manager of Client Network Engineering, helps clients achieve optimum use of their computer networks by performing needs analysis, procurement support, installation, training and problem resolution for the local and wide area networks.  Responsible for configuration, operation, and administration of network server hardware, operating systems and communications links. Defines and implements solutions to integrate desktop and shared...

The buzz of cloud computing seems to have hit a fevered pitch in industry magazines, trade publications, and the mainstream media recently.  It seems like every day our Technology Services Group is being asked by clients what the "cloud" is, or to suggest cloud-based solutions for applications or services that were (or are) typically on a server in their offices.  

Is your business thinking about making the switch to cloud computing? If so, we've put together a quick list of things you need to...

A few months ago, we discussed the proposed amendments to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that would shield draft expert reports from discovery.  These amendments were approved and became effective for all cases filed in Federal Court beginning December 1, 2010.  The impact of these changes, however, runs deeper than just protecting draft expert reports from discovery.  A number of other factors to consider in connection with the recent amendments to Rule 26 include:

• Application...

CLEVELAND - ABC’s Emmy-award winning show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EMHE), recently chose Cleveland-based, business advisory firm, Skoda Minotti to provide technology support at the site of its most recently aired home-building project for the Anderson family. In the episode, which aired on Sunday, December 5, 2010, Skoda Minotti’s Technology Services Group, along with EMHE crew members and over 1,500 local volunteers, worked around-the-clock for one week to demolish, design and rebuild a...

This issue of the Real Estate Monitor includes the following articles:

• Survey of Northeast Ohio's Construction & Real Estate Industries
• Communicating the Value of Development Projects Through Economic Impact Analysis
• The Outlook for Construction and Real Estate
• Commercial Real Estate: How Will Refinancing Take Place?
• Proposed New Accounting Rules
• Due Diligence: Purchase With Care
• Leases Checking: Property Tax Invoices 
• Upholding a Letter of Intent
• Cleveland Market Overview

Survey of Northeast Ohio's...

Click here to view Part 1 of our series and learn more about the stock option landscape or Part 2 to learn more about the accounting and tax ramifications of issuing stock options.

What To Do?

As discussed above, there are significant risks that a company brings upon itself if it decides to issue stock options without properly valuing the options and the equity of the company. Rather than issuing stock options, if a company wants to offer an employee the opportunity to obtain an ownership...

Accounting and Tax Ramifications of Issuing Stock Options

 Click here to view Part 1 of our series and learn more about the stock option landscape.

To give you more perspective, first let us review the accounting treatment for the issuance of stock options (rest easy - this will not be too painful). When stock options are issued, an expense must be recorded based on the value of the option. A stock option’s value is derived from a variety of factors, two of which are the value of the stock as of...

When selling your home, it is common to use an agent to list, promote and show the property. In exchange, you pay a portion of the sales price as a commission to the agent. The benefits of using an agent include: 1) the listing of your home in a database so that homebuyers can access information about it; 2) the agent acting as your middleman during the negotiation process; and 3) the incentive it gives the agent to sell your home quickly (so that her or she can earn their commission). 

Some peop...

Welcome to the first edition of the Skoda Minotti IT E-Newsletter. At Skoda Minotti, we strive to be a resource for our clients and contacts. With that in mind, this monthly newsletter is our attempt to keep you up-to-date on what is going on in the the tech-world around us.

Each month, we will highlight a few important articles that we think you should read. Also, we'll give you a case study, or a client success story, from some of the work we've done.

If you have any questions or suggestions,...

When you read something that says you should secure your network, most business people assume their IT people are taking care of this.  How can you be sure? Answer – you trust them.  Great, but what if they aren’t staying current with technology and are using old techniques…

You may trust them, and they may be doing what they know how to do, but you still have vulnerabilities. In a recent article in InformationWeek magazine – Greg Shipley, Tyler Allison, and Tom Wabiszczewicz write about five...

A logo is a vital identifier that customers/prospects use to associate an organization with its products or services. The professionalism and attractiveness of a logo will immediately create a perception for the customers/prospects regarding a company’s level of integrity, product quality, player status and overall brand identity. These perceptions, right or wrong, are the factors that many customers use to measure a product or service before making a choice. A “hokey” logo can cheapen the...