Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Using Social Media in Small Business

Social media is increasingly a marketing vehicle that cannot be ignored. But there are lots of challenges to making good use of it. Aside from issues of privacy and security, there are the more basic issues of effectiveness. What works? What is the best way to make good use of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like.

Part of the answer lies in research into how the customers are using those media. This can make it possible to connect with them. But there is a lot more to it than that.

E-Commerce news is running a very useful series on this topic. So far, Part 1 and Part 2 have been published.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Collaboration - New Software Needed

It's a well established fact of the Internet Age that people can now work remotely and collaborate with their peers and co-workers over the Internet. Companies have recognized this fact, and many of them allow and often encourage their people to work remotely. It cuts costs after all, through savings in office costs.

One problem, however, is that there is a dearth of software that actually supports full collaboration in business. While there are various packages that have been around for a while that allow online meetings and video conferencing and of course, there's email and other messaging tools, nevertheless there is very little good software that companies can use that encourages a full social media type of approach while at the same time fully supporting business processes that need to be carried out to move ahead with the business of the company. To put it another way, there is a shortage of software that can be fully integrated with business processes.

This article summarizes one new product that is trying to meet this need. The article is instructive in that it points to the need and shows how software can fill a void that exists in a large number of companies. Check out the article here.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Questions About Cloud Computing for Government

The British government has decided to set up a "G-Cloud" for implementing government services. They see it as a means to improve services and save money. The initiative has attracted the interest of people around the world, and raised the profile of the cloud in government circles.

Accenture has released a timely alert called Six Questions Government Executives Should Ask About Cloud Computing. The questions range from , basically, what is cloud computing to, naturally, what are the risks to data privacy. The document can be downloaded from this site.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Mobile Internet is becoming Primary But Are We Ready?

That change has been taking place in the use of the Internet through mobile units like smartphones and PDAs is an understatement. The iPhone has taken the world by storm, and pre-sales had to be cancelled for the iPhone 4 because of the large volume of orders. Units like the Blackberry continue to pervade business and government and are constantly improving as well.

Now, 4G is entering the scene, which enables better video and likely video calls. Will this be another revolution in this series of revolutions?

There are signs the industry is finding it hard to keep up. For one, the infrastructure they have was designed for voice and not for such high volumes of data transmission. Finding the broadband capacity for the new generation of internet users has been a challenge. 4G is supposed to be more efficient, and may be part of the solution. But it is unlikely the challenge will go away. The revolution will have to take this issue into account.

For an interesting take on the challenges in the Mobile world, check out this article.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Everything Elastic: Accenture Technology Vision 2010


Accenture has published a white paper setting out its technology vision for 2010. The focus is on what they call elasticity.

“Everything elastic” is proving to be a durable concept, whose influence is spreading thanks to the technological developments sketched above. Business executives—and CIOs in particular— should consider reshaping their thinking in line with this concept. The idea of elasticity—scalable, infinitely flexible, adaptive may be integrated into the very fabric of the business. Only then will high performance be achievable in this new market place.

The paper points to the growing importance of Cloud based systems, the increasing power of the internet and the expanding use of mobile and other units for internet interaction. all of these elements point to a significant change in the scope and power of the internet within business systems. For the free download of the Accenture paper, click this link.

Monday, June 14, 2010

iPad having an Impact

Whether the iPad will change the nature of personal computing remains to be seen. However, it does seem to be having its impact. One area is in eBooks. Since its introduction into the US market a couple of months ago, the iPad has captured 22% of the market for eBooks. Also see this summary. Not as much as the Kindle, but clearly a contender.

In another article it is pointed out that iPad users are large consumers of downloaded data, consuming more than half of all the data at one location. iPad users in this test consumed 300 mg of data per week, compared to 31 mgs for the average phone user. That's significant and may be an early indicator of the stress that will be put on the internet with these new computing tools.

The remedy for this usage may be new payment schemes, that ensure that heavy users of data pay for it. That's probably the best way to ration out the data in a fair manner. Otherwise, people could be finding they face shortages of bandwidth for business purposes, which could lead to unforeseen changes in internet usage, including more data charges, higher prices, more (ugh) government regulation, etc.

There's a heads-up on this for everyone.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Better ERP Procurement 

"The procurement process for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can be long and complicated—involving a cross-functional team that represents business owners, technical experts and procurement and legal specialists. Typically, procurements for such back-office systems happen only once every 15 to 20 years—a “once-in-a-career” event for many who go through the process. Yet the complicated nature of these programs and their fundamental importance in keeping the state government running efficiently and effectively demand real expertise on the part of the state team.

"Given the infrequency of procurements of such scale within a typical government organization, however, such expertise can be hard to come by. Accenture has responded to literally thousands of requests for proposals (RFPs)—with hundreds in the public sector and, among those, dozens related to very large-scale, transformational programs. That experience has given us insight into commonalities among RFPs that position an organization for post-procurement success and sustainable high performance.

Accenture has developed this short paper to share these four guiding principles of strong ERP RFPs to help individuals new to the ERP procurement process.


Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Build Your Own VPN

Security and privacy are matters of continuing importance and are not going to go away. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are an important element of retaining security and privacy for many companies, but there are other - mostly small - companies that steer away from VPNs because of the perception they are expensive and difficult to maintain.

Such is not necessarily the case, however, and this linked article explains how even a small company can have its own VPN without expensive support staff and a lot of expense.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Making IT More Business Aware

One hangover from the pre e-revolution days is that in many companies, IT is still regarded as a support function. Sure, there has been a growing recognition of the business value of IT, and a strong trend to aligning IT strategies with corporate strategies, but there is still a residue (often large) of the old thinking.

Some companies, like Southwestern Airlines, Zappos and Vanguard have been doing it differently. The article referenced here is a summary of short case studies of those companies and what they are doing to integrate IT and their core business. One common feature for all three companies is that they have a process of job rotation between IT and line business functions. This has the effect of developing a strong business awareness among IT personnel about the business, the needs of customers and how to meet their needs more effectively. This knowledge translates into more effective IT applications. The companies use this and other means to ensure that all personnel are fully conversant with the business. As a result, there is less of an "us and them" attitude. All employees - IT and traditional line business - become part of the same group, with the same goals. The business is indistinguishable from the IT function.

Other elements also play a role in integrating IT and line business. These include a focus on corporate culture that encompasses innovation and a recognition of IT as an innovation driver.

Companies that can think outside the box should pay attention to what these companies are doing. There is much business advantage to gain from moving beyond the idea of business/IT alignment to one of business/IT integration. For an article on the subject companies, click this link.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Making Good Use of Facebook

Companies have been struggling with how to make good business use of Facebook for some time. It's been a learning game for many and one thing that has been learned is that it is not enough just to open a Facebook account and start accepting friends and publish stuff about the company.

Making good use of Facebook is, in concept, not much different than making good use of any technology. You need to think it through by developing a strategy. The strategy must mesh with the corporate strategy because in this way, the use to which Facebook is put will be more likely to address specific corporate objectives.

A strategy is not enough, but it does point to the next important element - developing good content that will draw people in. That's a tough one, and experimentation is normally called for. One aspect of the content, however, is that people must, on encountering it, feel compelled to some sort of action. In other words, the content should be a call to action for the visitors. Again, easier said than done, but nevertheless important.

Companies have been learning about the effective use of Facebook and other social media., Ultimately, social media will be an integral part of most companies' strategic communications efforts.

For an interesting overview article of this important area, see this link.