Nearly half the adult population in this country owns a smart phone. While the number of tablet owners will reach 89.5 million by 2014. Cisco predicts that by 2015 Wi-Fi traffic will exceed wired network traffic. Why not let your people use the smart phones and tablets that they already own, know, and love to do their job more quickly and effectively, and for you, at a lower cost? Join us at the 2012 WTA Education Conference where you will learn how to Capitalize and Profit from the commoditization of smart phones and tablets. 

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Capital’s Service Center will help designers, consultants and users design and build better Data Centers and Networks by seeing actual products in use and the options available.

Please join us for a quick tour and lunch from 11am — 1pm.  Check out the new gear, talk to a factory rep and learn how this facility can help you grow or improve your business.

Featured presentations on HDMI in the enterprise by Quiktron and Data Center Cooling and management by Rittal.

Registration the BICSI website https://www.bicsi.org/event_details.aspx?sessionaltcd=MT-NCCLUB-WI-0512

Register at http://www.runmyclub.com/WTA/eventcalendar.asp?id=206798

I hope to see you there.

What brand are they?  No brand (or at least you’ve never heard of them before) just a cheap price, but the package shows a UL mark and it says they meet Cat6 specifications so they must be ok, right?  Not so much.  There’s about an 85% chance that you’re not getting what you’re paying for.

I feel like I’m tuning into the poster boy for the Communications Cable & Connector Association (www.cccassoc.org), I’m not trying to, but they are doing what I wish I could…that is they’re testing the performance and safety claims of generic non-branded cable system components.

What they’ve recently discovered is amazing.  “Test results show an 85% failure rate in patch cords produced offshore by companies who are largely unknown in North America”.  They go on to say that it’s not where the cord is made, it’s about whose reputation is on the line that dictates quality.

One more troubling issue (and they count on this), you won’t know the cord doesn’t meet spec.  The lights will come on, you’ll get a link.  But the Cat6 performance that you just paid “extra” for will be slowed to something less.  The only way to tell is to have them tested.  You can do this with a Fluke tester (DTX1800 w/Cord adaptors).  It’ll only cost $8500 or so. 

So when you buy cabling components for your customer’s site or your own site, whose reputation are you concerned about?  I’m concerned not just about our reputation, but also yours.  I want you to call us because we can make you just a little more successful than you were before.  I believe we can help you buy a good cord at a competitive price that’ll meet the spec and allow your system to fly.

I hope we can help you,

Mike

The latest example of spin that caused me to write this blog was a connectivity manufacturer’s ad that claims to have the smallest Cat6A cable on the market.  Now a claim like this is pretty black & white right?  I mean the outside dimension of your Cat6A cable is either smaller than all others or it’s not.  Well as you read the details behind this claim you see that the cable isn’t really Cat6A rated.  It’s a Cat6 cable that will support 10GbE for 70 meters not the full 100 meters that the Cat6A specification dictates.

Why the spin?  Why not just say we have a cable that supports 10Gb Ethernet for 70 meters and it’s smaller than our Cat6A cable?  I guess that wouldn’t be dazzling enough.

The problem is that spin like this creates distrust and extreme skeptism.  It’s hard enough to get users to listen to important details about their options for cabling.  Spin like this makes everyone leery about what to believe and who to believe.  I guess the “spinner” feels that they’re more attractive to buy from or something.  They’re not!  This stuff puts them on the “don’t buy their BS” list, or at least it should.

Anyway, I just needed to vent.  Rest assured you won’t get spin when you deal with our team.  We’re interested in delivering what helps you.  We’re not interested in apologizing for marketing teams that are over-stretching the truth.  Life’s short, shoot straight!  You’ll sleep better.

Mike

But as I look closer I see they’ve painted everything…even the network cables.

No big deal right?  Well it might be.  The two issues that painting networking creates are that it nullifies the UL rating for fire/smoke and it voids the performance warranty from the cable manufacturer.

First, UL or equivalent agencies dictate that the “print legend” be visible and legible.  Paint blocks the print and it adds compounds to the jacket that are untested.  So this becomes a NEC issue that inspectors may ding you on.

The second issue is more menacing.  Electrical performance of the cable can be diminished due to the absorption of water into the jacket and insulation of the cable.  The jackets/insulations are porous extrusions of various blends of plastic.  These extrusions are specifically designed to provide exact levels of dielectric strength against electrical currents.  Once they absorb the water molecules they can break down and there goes the expected performance.

What to do…talk to your General Contractor.  Let them know that the network cable performance is more important than an easy paint job.  There are many options to hide the cables or make them blend in.  Ask your cabling installer for their thoughts or call us.  We’ve got many ideas and options for you to consider.

Mike

Another step in “Making a Difference”

This week Team Capital made another step towards making a difference in our customer’s business lives.  Long time Capital Sales Representative Dan Cronin, RCDD has earned the Systimax Solutions Design & Engineering certificate.

The focus of the Design & Engineering (D&E) program is on the design of each SYSTIMAX SCS subsystem; Campus Backbone, Building Backbone, Horizontal cabling and Work Areas, etc.  Designs for PowerSUM, GigaSPEED® XL , X10D (UTP&FTP), VisiPatch™360, LazrSPEED®, OptiSPEED®, TeraSPEED™ and InstaPATCH™ are all included.

So you might be thinking…so what?  Well, this certification is one more way we add value to our customers.  As I’ve said in the past, we’re not going to earn business with our good looks, so we need to offer something else.  Our something else is knowledge.

Our ability to share knowledge (both application and technical) provides reassurance that you’re buying the right solution for your problem. Involvement at this level is what makes a difference.  The easy thing to do is be a cheap price.  The hard thing is to make the purchase pay off or provide a return on investment.  Honestly, this is the stuff that gets me excited about this industry. 

So here’s where we’re at… call Capital to get competitive prices, certified knowledge and the most flexible service in the industry. 

At least that’s what I think; let me know what you think.

Mike