Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Advertising for Mobile Unit Users

Smartphones and tablets have become major forces in the use of internet based technology. And yet, advertisers are still struggling to adapt their ads to the unique needs and orientation of mobile unit users. Many of those ads are still offshoots of the old PC platforms, but the mobile users expect touch sensitivity. When they touch a mobile ad on their tablet and nothing happens, there is a let-down.

Also, those users are often in a different frame of mind when they are browsing. That's because, so far at least, mobile users are more likely to be off work and on leisure time. That;s the reality, despite the fact that mobile units' usage in the workplace is growing. So the ads are more likely to be watched or read and more likely to lead to a purchase.

These are just a couple of the changes that are needed in advertising because of the advent of mobile units. For more, check out this reference.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Facebook Needs a Better Business Model

After all the hype of recent weeks around the Facebook offering, the actual day was a disappointment for investors. Fixed at a release price of $38 per share, it fell substantially below that on the next day. Estimates were that Mark Zuckerberg lost $2.2 Billion that day. But then, he can afford it.

One cannot guage an investment in the rush of its first couple of days on the market. There is just too much speculation going on and it will take some time for the investors to settle down to a more normal frame of mind. Then they will look more closely at two things - earnings and cash flow, and decide whether they will be able to get a reasonable return on investment, through dividends and growth. That's the investors, not the speculators and gamblers.

To gain earnings and cash flow, a company needs a good business model At this point, Facebook has a business model, but it is almost entirely based on advertising, which has gotten to be a tough market on the internet. It's difficult to get the attention of people, and ads have been expensive. One can expect internet ads to drop in price as the number of players continues to grow. Simple economics.

In order to excel in the earnings game, Facebook probably needs a stronger and more diverse business model. Something unique and maybe completely different than what it has done so far. Amazon and Google faced similar issues, when they started out. Both had to change their original business model in order to survive. Both succeeded quite well. Both got into products and services that were very different and unique compared to their original concept.

There seems little doubt that Facebook will make some changes. All that wealth can draw in a lot of creative resources and talent to design and implement those changes. So analyses like this recent article, which argue that the Facebook model is so bad it will fail and also bring down the rest of the Web are one-sided extrapolations of existing weaknesses, which surely will be addressed in some fashion. And others seeking out comparative metrics to support the value of Facebook also fail to take innovation into account.

For investors with a taste for risk, or for speculators, Facebook offers up a lot of potential. For more conservative, long term investors, it's a good time to wait it out and see what innovation takes place - what kind of business model Facebook builds for the long term.

Friday, May 18, 2012

It's a Mobile, Social, Cloudy, Collaborative World

SAPs Sapphire Now annual conference took place this week in Orlando. While the conference is of course product specific, it nevertheless always offers an up-to-date snapshot of the state of IT in business and society. This year, the emphasis is on mobility, social media, the cloud and collaboration. Of particular interest, since SAP has its roots in large ERP systems, is the emphasis on big data. Big data is the recognition that data are being made available from a variety of sources, including social media, in vast quantities and there is a real need to be able to analyze it for strategic and management purposes. So the big vendors are moving into this space. SAPs entry is a product called Hanna and that is drawing a lot of interest at this conference. Products like Hanna must be able to work in the cloud and on handhelds, maximizing data mobility and data analytics. It's where we are these days. Here's one article on Sapphire Now.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Social Media Use in Online Retailing is Growing

While many Canadian companies have been slow to adopt social media in their marketing activities, some of the majors are coming around to a new and more embracing view. Social media can be an extremely effective way to get the message out and to interact with customers. Both are important in today's world. it may be that social media has become an essential element of any marketing strategy. That includes Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and any other more specialized communities that might be useful for reaching the intended audience. This G&M article sets out the experience of some companies and the media they are using. Very informative.

Monday, May 14, 2012

E-Payments - A Changing Field

The banking industry in Canada is finally acting on the idea of using mobile units like smartphones to make payments. Canada has been lagging in this area for several years now. Details are expected to be announced very soon, possibly even today. This new initiative, having the backing of the banks and telecom companies, is likely to take off quickly. This article summarizes the initiative, which will change the business model of the telecom companies into pseudo banking operations. Rogers has already applied for a banking licence.

Traditional credit cards are still the most common form of payment for e-commerce transactions, although Paypal is running a close second, at least in North America. Worldwide, the payment systems vary, and that needs to be taken into account when venturing into foreign markets. Recently, BMO introduced a new payment system for smartphones and perhaps tablets. Just touch your phone to a cash register add-on device and the payment will be made. It's been slow to develop, but chances are it will be popular. Also, some organizations, including some of the banks, are developing mobile wallets, which will be useful for payments.

This referenced article provides a summary of the forms of payment used in some key foreign markets, It's worth some research if that's where your business is going.

Friday, May 11, 2012

ERP in the Cloud

One of the major issues with ERP systems since they came in has been the fact that many large companies have numerous ERP systems in place. The whole point of ERP systems in the first place was to give the company a common platform for its major business functions and therefore have all its users working on the same page. However., ERP systems are very large and complex applications, and their implementation is famously expensive and rife with downside risk. So companies have been hesitant to implement ERP systems just to replace one ERP system with another, in order to get their companies all on the same system.

Of course, the existence of various ERP systems within a single company poses operational challenges for companies. Many of them are going to ERP systems in the cloud. This enables them to gain the benefits of ERP while snot having to go through the treacherous process of in-house implementation. Then the company can be on a single platform, and users can get used to having similar processes across the company.

"The latest BriefingsDirect podcast, from the 2012 Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA) LIVE Conference in Las Vegas, explores the latest in cloud-based collaborative commerce with Cox Enterprises, a US$15 billion communications, media, and automotive services company." This article summarizes some of the key points made about the Cox implementation and shows clearly the advantages of cloud based ERP implementation. Check it out.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Let's Integrate These Devices

One clear result of the proliferation of portable devices in the past couple of years has been that people end up with more devices to carry around and to store their files on. Many people now have a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop and sometimes a PC at home. All for good reasons. A smartphone is good for quick access on the move. A tablet for easy acccess and partial functionality, a laptop for generally full functionality and a PC for premium functionality and storage, where such is needed.

In many cases, if not most, these are not completely coordinated. Apple owners have a better chance than most, as long as they stick to apple products and only buy a iPhone, and iPad and a big Mac. But the rest of the world is in trouble. There are some techniques for synchronizing. Most of the portable products have synch capabilities, but they often are crude and cumbersome. Then there is the cloud, where files could be stored and accessed by some if not all of the products, but then working in the cloud can be slow and difficult, and in some cases costly, when you don't have a high end data plan.

The bottom line is that there is a real need for more user friendly and effective means of establishing synchronization between these different devices. For one rumination on this general topic, check this article.

Friday, May 04, 2012

Digital Wallets Are Coming -But Slowly

They are something most people seem to want. Surveys support that. Also a majority of people own smartphones, which can handle payments easily, but they just haven't taken off yet. The main reason appears to be the lack of coordination between the various parties who can make it work. That includes mainly the banks, terminal providers and retailers. When using your smartphones to pay for things you buy becomes common, it will likely happen quickly. All the elements are there. They just haven't come together very well. Here's one take on it.