Thursday, November 24, 2011

Handling Data Overload

As business information systems evolve into the use of social media both internal and external, and as an awareness of the potential benefits of using unstructured data for various business purposes, such data has become both more prevalent and more critical.

Unstructured data is that which is not placed into a particular context. It could be chat messages, blog postings, emails, or just data that is made available out of a traditional system for the users. Traditional structured data comes most often in the form of relational databases, the traditional method of storing and archiving data.

With unstructured data, the challenge is to channel it into the areas where it will be of most use. However, this takes a lot of time, and users usually don't have the time when they are working on a decision or preparing a report.

The attached article provides a good overview of this issue and suggests several potential solutions. However, one solution that is not mentioned is XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). XBRL is a XML derivative -an open system that attaches tags to data for the purpose of financial and business reporting. Tags are simply cross-references to metadata that give information about the unstructured data and can provide it with the context needed to make decisions.

If a company were to set up a system, which could be automated, to tag unstructured data available to it upon inception, those data would become an invaluable business resource. Afterwards the data could be easily retrieved using the tags of interest and similar data with the same tags could also just as easily be retrieved and analyzed.

Many people think that XBRL is useful mainly for tagging financial statements for filing with regulatory agencies. This is just wrong. XBRL is useful for structuring and archiving unstructured data in a way that accords most closely with the interests of the users of the data.

Given the proliferation of unstructured data, XBRL is an technology solution whose time has definitely come.

Monday, November 21, 2011


Keys to Global Success with E-Business

Going global with your eBusiness poses risks that don;t exist in local markets. As one would expect most of them arise because of legal and cultural differences. Failure to pay proper attention to these issues could be costly. One author has listed the main Keys to success as follows:

Key #1: Understand the Region First
Key #2. Find the Right Logistics and Operations Approach
Key #3. Know That Translations Require Local Support
Key #4: Look at Currency Options
Key #5: Understand Payment Gateways and Processing Challenges
Key #6: Plan Global Strategy and Expansion Very Carefully


Friday, November 18, 2011

The Role of ERP in a Cloudy World

A recent article in E-Commerce News raised the question as to whether SAP has become a liability to many businesses (It's not just SAP but any of the traditional legacy ERP systems) because of their size and rigidity. The point is made that SAP springs from the age of manufacturing, which could live with rigidity, and we are now in an age of services, which call for very different styles of information systems - styles that require flexibility and mobility.

The idea is that the newer cloud based systems meet the needs of modern service based businesses and mark the way of the future.

A lot of truth in all that. However, what that argument ignores is the extent to which SAP and other ERP providers have already ventured into the cloud. True, their core product is still based on system ownership in the traditional sense, but they have been moving strongly into cloud services in recent years. If I were an IT manager, and saw the need for some of the power and flexibility of the cloud, I would sure look at finding ways to extend my system into the cloud before I'd throw my ERP system out the door. Making such a major move is very high risk, the investment to get my ERP into place was major and I need to be sure that the transition to the cloud is seamless as possible. In fact if we learned anything from the rash of ERP installations of the 80s and 90s, it was that transitional failures can be incredibly costly! It works both ways. It seems to me that retaining my core system and implementing cloud capability through such vehicles as SAP's HP Enterprise Services' Cloud Platform collaboration makes a lot of sense. And I'm sure the users would be grateful for the lack of disruption in their jobs that would surely ensue from a wholesale change.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Virtualization and the Cloud in the Health Care Industry

The health care industry has two pressing but fundamentally opposing needs from its information systems. It need to maintain a high degree of privacy because of the sensitivity of the patient data it handles. But it also needs universal speedy access from a variety of platforms to meet the need for data in emergency situations.

This interview shows how the Rhode Island provider, CharterCARE Health Partners has combined the cloud and VDI to meet these needs. VDI (or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) is a technique of hosting websites on a cloud based system while enabling access and maintenance from desktops, tablets, smartphones and the like.

It's a technique that has spread beyond the health care industry, because the needs for strong security and easy multi-platform access - a difficult combination - is widespread..

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Online Television - Coming Up

Google has announced, enigmatically, that it will be launching a pilot of a cable TV network in Kansas City in the new year. The company already announced last month that it would be launching a new and original Channel on YouTube, which has been actively seeking content providers to enhance its system.

The move to Google into television has the potential to radically change the TV industry. Predictions of television being taken over by the internet have been rampant for many years, but so far, nobody has stepped up and claimed a firm stake. Part of the problem is that the entry costs are huge, and the risk is high. But Google itself is huge and has never shied away from risk. So its a prime company for making the move.

Google is not planning an incursion into the traditional cable model. Rather they will be employing the internet as a vehicle for delivery. That will raise bandwidth issues, and since the infrastructure of the internet is owned by a number of large private communications networks, like Bell, it will require some cooperative agreements and collaboration. Not something Google has been good at in the past. Although word is they are getting better.

We are on the cusp of a major shake-up in the TV industry. But it is a complicated, over-regulated world that Google is venturing into, and it will be interesting to see over the next year exactly how they approach it and how they fare. For an article on their latest announcements, check out this source. And this one. And their official announcements.

Friday, November 04, 2011


Future of IT - Cloud computing, Security and Mobility - Survey

Over 500 IT professionals surveyed by tech staffing firm Modis indicated that the areas dominating their jobs were the cloud, security and mobility. No real surprise here, but nevertheless it is backed up by a fairly broad survey. Cloud computing took 29% of the vote, security 21% and mobility 18%.

Of course, these areas are all linked. Use of cloud computing immediately raises issues of security. And computing is increasingly moving to mobile units like smartphones and tablets. which one is driving the train is more difficult to determine. With mobility on the rise, use of the cloud makes it easier to manage applications and data. it also makes more powerful apps available to the units. But the cloud is being heavily used for non-mobile computing as well. And there's a lot to be said for having the same apps available for mobile units as for those in the office. And through it all, security is a concern. As well as privacy.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Youtube Moving in on Television

Youtube recently announced it will be offering 100 new TV channels, starting this fall, with the full slate up and running in 2012.

With a host of options becoming available to customers, online TV type entertainment is becoming a force to be reckoned with - seriously. Offerings by Apple, Google, Netflix and others are certain to be making further inroads into traditional television, which already is hurting and showing every sign of becoming obsolete. Some say it already is and will disappear in the not to distant future.

IT does seem inevitable that TV as we have known and loved (hated?) it is doomed for the dustbin. The flexibility that is possible with internet based entertainment is just too attractive not to be successful.

The big fly in the ointment at this time is the infrastructure, which is not robust enough to absorb an onslaught of new high volume users.Internet bandwidth is indeed a fixed quantity and massive growth, such as that which would occur with widespread video streaming of the magnitude to replace TV, would be too much for it to bear.

The cable companies have an infrastructure that can handle high volume streaming, and they need to make better use of it. They also need to change their business models to recognize this major change in their industry, just as the telephone companies have had to do. It's true that the cable companies offer internet services already, but the model presently separates the internet service from the traditional cable offerings. What they need to do is to merge these, so that people can view the internet seamlessly on their TV sets. They can still offer traditional cable, but should recognize that eventually this business might dry up and be totally replaced by the internet, as the latter matures.

They might be concerned about cannibalizing their traditional cable business, but in fact, this kind of new direction will actually save their bacon in the longer term. For an article on Youtube, click this link.