I found the talk that John D. Halamka gave on April 8th to be very interesting and informative. The talk focused around the life of a CIO and Dr. Halamka addressed the duties and demands of the job. He stated that the one constant of the profession is change. There is always change in the technological, organizational, and budgetary fields and turnover is very high as well. Additionally during his talk Dr. Halamka made the point that demand is always going to exceed to supply and in order to be effective in the business you need to learn how to deal with this pressure and stress.
Dr. Halamka then began to talk about his personal experience and explained that when he became the CIO he decided to transform the organization to be very web-centric. However he said despite these changes there are some things that have stayed the same during his time in the profession. He claimed that over the ten years vendors have always been of poor quality, budgets are always tight, and customers are always difficult to please. Additionally he explained that one of the hardest parts about the profession is the environment and the fact that capital is always limited at all levels and for all projects. Therefore this causes project priorities to be based on return on investment and causes them to be benchmark driven. Due to this environment Dr. Halamka claimed that governance is crucial to help CIO’s manage demands and handle priorities.
Dr. Halamka also discussed the fact that since there is limited capital after the governance certain projects and people have to be turned down. Dr. Halamka reviewed with us a good and effective way of having to do this. He claimed that in order to say no you need to select what you need to change and what you do not need to change. Then you have to identify the people who will lose in this decision and acknowledge their loss. Also he said that it is very important to over communicate. If everyone understands what is going on and has all the information people usually react better to negative news. Furthermore it is extremely important to be honest and consistent with all the parties involved. He also claimed that it is important to realize that consensus is not essential, that you must embrace conflict and focus on your detractors. Dr. Halamka also stressed the point that for any professional the last two minutes of the meeting are the most important. It is during this time that you can review everything that was discussed and the decisions that were made and ensure that everyone who is present at the meeting is on the same page. Finally his last piece of advice, and probably one of the most important, was that you cannot please everyone. You need to effectively do your job to the best of your ability and understand that not everyone is going to appreciate your hard work but you need to keep trying regardless. Overall I found the presentation to be extremely interesting. The talk was not exactly what I had been expecting however it presented me with a great deal of new information. The advice that was given was very helpful, the stories that were shared were both informative and interesting and the entire presentation gave a good insight into professional demands within the industry.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Dr. Halamka ... CIO of 2010
Last Week Dr. Halamka gave a talk to a group of students focused on the importance of information technology in the Healthcare sector of the economy. One of Dr. Halamka's major points was how this area is always growing with jobs. The recent healthcare bill and the economic stimulus package are set to double this industry in the next few years. Dr. Halamka seemed to be a very intelligent man, but was able to keep my attention for the entire presentation, which is rare. He holds more college degrees than I can count and has a doctoral degree along with being a medical doctor. He began his career in healthcare as an emergency medical physician. After learning more about technology and computers, he quickly transitioned to the upper management of the hospital. Dr. Halamka had been fascinated with technology as a kid, when he build a computer out of small microprocessors, and wrote basic programs that were the first steps of programs like Turbo Tax. Dr. Halamka is also on the leading edge of all emerging trends. He had a small RFID chip implanted in his arm during a trial on digital medical records. He also is on the cutting edge when it comes to practical business attire; his suit was made of Kevlar which makes it stain, wrinkle, and odor resistant.
Dr. Halamka is a very interesting man, who is well deserving of the CIO of the year award.
Dr. Halamka is a very interesting man, who is well deserving of the CIO of the year award.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Johnny Halamka
Wow, this guy was very interesting. He was obviously very smart from a young age, from figuring out microprocessors to inventing an early form of turbo tax. He was just a smart guy in general. He is someone who wears many hats across the Northeast in the medical field. One thing I commend him for is being able to keep the audience interest.
Obviously a lot of what he talked about concerned the health care industry and how his job works. One thing I took away was that it was a lot more complicated than it looks or seems. It seems like he plays a lot of damage control whenever a key decision is made because, as he reiterated throughout his talk, you can't please everyone. Plus, he talked about many important breakthroughs that are coming in the healthcare IT industry. Which to invest in? It's a tough decision, and capital and man power is always limited. It seemed like he was always in a bind in deciding who to please at which time. From everything from e-prescribing to iPad use in the hospital. The iPad could be used for many things, from pulling up patient medical records to mining hospital databases. Another breakthrough could be in converting all paper medical records to electronic, internet accessible records. If there could be a way to make a universal database of medical records, all lag time with referrals and delivery times could be cut down significantly.
Also, it amazed me that he's still a doctor. He obviously had a lot of schooling, but he was also naturally smart, and had an inclination to learn from an early age. I think that his talk reinforces John McFadden's point of lifetime learning.
He made another point about addressing the most important, urgent issues first. There are always going to be issues to deal with, problems to address. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. A lot of a top ranking person's duties are damage control; how to control the situation, then how to relieve the situation.
Another thing he showed us was the "top 10 ways to say no". The reason for knowing this is to be able to combat others when they don't get their way. This is very important in high ranking positions when decisions need to be made that say "yes" to the majority, and "no" to the minority. Then sometimes there is a backlash from the minority.
A huge point was the constant of change. In his industry, they are always behind the ball because the tech industry is changing so fast. In addition, new ways of using the technology in the healthcare industry come through everyday. John McFadden also noted the upcoming job of bioinfomatician. I'm sure that John Halamka would agree with McFadden's assessment.
All in all it was a very interesting talk and Halamka is definitely a smart guy, deserving the award of CIO of the year.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
CIO of the Year, John Halamka
Dr. John D. Halamka brought up some very unexpected points during his talk for the CIO of the Year presentation. As he stated, he was negative about the job, but also very realistic. I was shocked to learn that the turnover rate for the Chief Information Officer is an average of two years, due to the complexity and stress of the position. The job requires a complex skill set and high tolerance. This tolerance comes in handy because of the two main points of the job that Dr. Halamka addressed.
The first is that demands always exceed supply. This means that there will always be things that you cannot do for people that they hold as high priorities. It is for this reason that he holds the ability to say “no” as a very important skill. He even spent time during the presentation to teach the attendees how to say “no” properly. I thought that these points were very important. Among them were identify those who will lose in the situation, over-communicate the decision to the entire network or organization, acknowledge the loss to everyone, realize that consensus is not essential, be honest and consistent, and realize that you cannot please everyone. This particular part of the job would be the most difficult to me, as I sometimes have a hard time saying no if I can sympathize with the person asking the question.
The second point of the job that Dr. Halamka addressed was the fact that the only constant in the job was change. The company is expecting the CIO to know about all knew technologies and services, and be able to implement them immediately so that they work correctly. He talked a lot about how, even though it is impossible, down time in systems (especially systems used in health care such as those he runs) is unacceptable. This is part of what makes the job so stressful. The position is fast-paced, busy, and challenging.
As a person, Dr. Halamka was very interesting. He explained that he began his interest in technology very young, and is now in charge of many different medical facilities, including Harvard Medical School and the Care Group hospital system. This means that he is in charge of the technology for 40,000 people. He came upon this position after two Boston-area hospitals merged and needed a CIO to peacefully integrate their medical data. In addition, he wears a Kevlar suit, apparently for the fun of it, and has implanted himself with an RFID chip. Dr. Halamka was an engaging speaker who was very honest about his job and an interesting presenter.
The first is that demands always exceed supply. This means that there will always be things that you cannot do for people that they hold as high priorities. It is for this reason that he holds the ability to say “no” as a very important skill. He even spent time during the presentation to teach the attendees how to say “no” properly. I thought that these points were very important. Among them were identify those who will lose in the situation, over-communicate the decision to the entire network or organization, acknowledge the loss to everyone, realize that consensus is not essential, be honest and consistent, and realize that you cannot please everyone. This particular part of the job would be the most difficult to me, as I sometimes have a hard time saying no if I can sympathize with the person asking the question.
The second point of the job that Dr. Halamka addressed was the fact that the only constant in the job was change. The company is expecting the CIO to know about all knew technologies and services, and be able to implement them immediately so that they work correctly. He talked a lot about how, even though it is impossible, down time in systems (especially systems used in health care such as those he runs) is unacceptable. This is part of what makes the job so stressful. The position is fast-paced, busy, and challenging.
As a person, Dr. Halamka was very interesting. He explained that he began his interest in technology very young, and is now in charge of many different medical facilities, including Harvard Medical School and the Care Group hospital system. This means that he is in charge of the technology for 40,000 people. He came upon this position after two Boston-area hospitals merged and needed a CIO to peacefully integrate their medical data. In addition, he wears a Kevlar suit, apparently for the fun of it, and has implanted himself with an RFID chip. Dr. Halamka was an engaging speaker who was very honest about his job and an interesting presenter.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Halamaka, Sophisticated Clients, and E-Prescription
Dr. John Halamaka brought up many interesting topics during his lecture. One thing that I found to be related to our IS class was the fact the he emphasized that “the one constant is change.” Sound familiar? I thought so. Just as John McFadden told us that we need to be lifetime learners, Halamaka explained that the world is constantly changing. He specifically focused on technological, organizational and budgetary changes in the world today. He was able to paint a picture of what it was like to try to be constantly improving as well as maintaining a company’s system in this changing environment. He said that this task is similar to trying to fix the wings of an airplane while the plane is flying. Difficult? I think so. Halamaka also emphasized the change in clients. Clients are becoming more sophisticated and demanding as the years go by. They have become increasingly more difficult to please. However, while the customers are more difficult to please and demand higher quality service and products, Halamaka explained that vendors are decreasing in quality. Hence, it is necessary to meet the expectations of the clients while using what is available. One thing that has contributed to the sophistication and difficulty to please of the customers is the fact that everyone is connected through the Internet. Customers today can buy the same product from numerous locations. Whichever company has the best quality will win out and will receive the business. Specifically, Halamaka talked about how clients now expect to be able to access all their medical needs and information online. As we have discussed, today people are completely technologically centered. Why go to a doctor’s office if you can just click a button and all your medical needs are processed for you? Why trek to a hospital of you can just pre-order a refill of your prescription and pick it up at the local pharmacy store? The Internet has allowed for many to maintain their fast-paced lives. And how are people able to refill their prescriptions with a click of a button? Well, advanced IT has led to the development of e-prescription. E-prescription is the electronic-based way of prescription. E-prescription allows for there to be less human error when prescribing medication to patients. All of the patient’s records and prescriptions are stored in a database, which allows for easy access to a patient’s medical history. Also, e-prescription allows for pharmacies to refill prescriptions without the hassle of having to call the physicians all the time. E-prescription is a great way to satisfy the demand of the client because it is convenient and has become an automated process that effectively and efficiently gets the client his or her prescriptions and other medical needs.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Taking the Driver Out of the Car --- Why robocars, and not high-speed rail, could revolutionize transportation in the next decade
The idea of fully automated, “driverless cars,” is certainly not new. In 1940, the fantasy first became popular and later even influenced the drive behind the creation of the Interstate Highway System under President Eisenhower (1). As evidenced by recent movies like IRobot, popular culture has even brought to the idea to the mainstream. How close is the realization of this dream? A recent article from the Wall Street Journal indicates that the world of computer controlled transportation could be on the horizon.
In 2007 at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Urban Challenge, the technology behind driverless cars reached its high-water mark when six fully automated vehicles successfully navigated an urban environment with other vehicles present obeying all traffic rules and regulations (1) In response to this event, General Motors’ Vice President of research and development, Lawrence Burns, predicted that driverless cars would be a reality within the next ten years, pointing to solely legal and bureaucratic obstacles as the inhibitors to immediate production (1).
The article points to the benefits of driverless travel. Safer highways, less traffic deaths, fewer bottlenecks and faster transportation are simply some of these improvements in transportation resultant from this leap in technology (1). This also will extend the ability to travel to everyone, licensed or not. Some say that this would be as revolutionary in its effects as the Ford Model T (1). If that were the case, the effects on modern business could be monumental.
Highway throughput could be potentially tripled (1). Just as technology has been applied in the business world to increase efficiency and reduce cost, the application of computerized transportation could maximize society’s efficiency on a grand scale. What would this mean for productivity? If traffic moved that much faster on national interstates people could significantly increase their productive time by spending less time commuting. Companies could also draw the best employees from a greater radius around their central location. The manufacturing industry would realize huge cost reductions and increases in efficiency. Without having to pay the salaries of drivers, or worry about the premium of insuring employees, not only would companies reduce their cost structure and increase their bottom-line; customers could receive their goods much faster. With reduced costs, companies could ship their goods to even more remote destinations, broadening their customer base.
With such drastic change, however, consequences do exist. These automated cars are incredibly complex in their operation. One of the test models, shown in this video from MSNBC (3), has a radar device, cameras, motion sensors, and computer equipment that occupy much of the cockpit. Traditional maintenance would no longer be a quick oil change or a rotation of the tires. Instead, the malfunction of one of these many systems could prove costly and difficult to fix. This seems to indicate that even an automotive mechanic would need some sort of technical education and familiarity with complex software and hardware systems in order to conduct their job.
There are other sacrifices too to developments in technology such as this. Many people enjoy the liberating feeling of piloting their own car. For many, driving is not so much as reaching a destination as it is a unique, exciting experience where control is the source of this feeling of freedom. This control and experience would be completely relinquished with a future mandate of automated vehicles. As Mr. Burns has said, GM can build these cars with the technology it has today, but the real question is “what does society want to do with it?”(2) There may not even be a demand for this kind of technology just yet, as people may be hesitant to relinquish such a big part of their lives to technology.
As complex software and hardware systems work their way into every facet of human life, including something as mundane as transportation it begs the question “as a society, are we too complex?” In the business community, it seems at least fundamental knowledge of information systems would be a prerequisite to being able to find a job. With developments of complex technology like computer driven automobiles, would everyone need familiarity with these components? Recently, malfunctions in Toyota computer systems have resulted in multiple highway deaths and a national fear of “unintended acceleration” which only raises other fears and questions. Imagine a car that has a software or hardware malfunction on the highway, yet it has no manual controls for the passenger to take control and to avert disaster. Without knowledge of how the system works, passengers would be helpless to consequences. There are obvious benefits to such huge improvements as the result of technology but as new innovation continues at the speed of light in the Information Age it may be prudent to slow ourselves down and wonder about the implications. I think as a human society we need to ask ourselves “What are the drawbacks to total reliance upon technology?”
(1) Randal O'Toole. (2010, March 20). Taking the Driver Out of the Car --- Why robocars, and not high-speed rail, could revolutionize transportation in the next decade. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. W.3. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from Wall Street Journal. (Document ID: 1987715511).
Link to article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580904575131511589391150.html?KEYWORDS=Driverless+cars
(2) Tom Krisher. (2008, January 6). GM Researching Driverless Cars. The Associated Press. Retrieved March 23rd, 2010, from MSNBC.com.
Link to article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/
(3) Link to Video of Fully Automated Chevy Tahoe:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/#hybrid_video
In 2007 at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Urban Challenge, the technology behind driverless cars reached its high-water mark when six fully automated vehicles successfully navigated an urban environment with other vehicles present obeying all traffic rules and regulations (1) In response to this event, General Motors’ Vice President of research and development, Lawrence Burns, predicted that driverless cars would be a reality within the next ten years, pointing to solely legal and bureaucratic obstacles as the inhibitors to immediate production (1).
The article points to the benefits of driverless travel. Safer highways, less traffic deaths, fewer bottlenecks and faster transportation are simply some of these improvements in transportation resultant from this leap in technology (1). This also will extend the ability to travel to everyone, licensed or not. Some say that this would be as revolutionary in its effects as the Ford Model T (1). If that were the case, the effects on modern business could be monumental.
Highway throughput could be potentially tripled (1). Just as technology has been applied in the business world to increase efficiency and reduce cost, the application of computerized transportation could maximize society’s efficiency on a grand scale. What would this mean for productivity? If traffic moved that much faster on national interstates people could significantly increase their productive time by spending less time commuting. Companies could also draw the best employees from a greater radius around their central location. The manufacturing industry would realize huge cost reductions and increases in efficiency. Without having to pay the salaries of drivers, or worry about the premium of insuring employees, not only would companies reduce their cost structure and increase their bottom-line; customers could receive their goods much faster. With reduced costs, companies could ship their goods to even more remote destinations, broadening their customer base.
With such drastic change, however, consequences do exist. These automated cars are incredibly complex in their operation. One of the test models, shown in this video from MSNBC (3), has a radar device, cameras, motion sensors, and computer equipment that occupy much of the cockpit. Traditional maintenance would no longer be a quick oil change or a rotation of the tires. Instead, the malfunction of one of these many systems could prove costly and difficult to fix. This seems to indicate that even an automotive mechanic would need some sort of technical education and familiarity with complex software and hardware systems in order to conduct their job.
There are other sacrifices too to developments in technology such as this. Many people enjoy the liberating feeling of piloting their own car. For many, driving is not so much as reaching a destination as it is a unique, exciting experience where control is the source of this feeling of freedom. This control and experience would be completely relinquished with a future mandate of automated vehicles. As Mr. Burns has said, GM can build these cars with the technology it has today, but the real question is “what does society want to do with it?”(2) There may not even be a demand for this kind of technology just yet, as people may be hesitant to relinquish such a big part of their lives to technology.
As complex software and hardware systems work their way into every facet of human life, including something as mundane as transportation it begs the question “as a society, are we too complex?” In the business community, it seems at least fundamental knowledge of information systems would be a prerequisite to being able to find a job. With developments of complex technology like computer driven automobiles, would everyone need familiarity with these components? Recently, malfunctions in Toyota computer systems have resulted in multiple highway deaths and a national fear of “unintended acceleration” which only raises other fears and questions. Imagine a car that has a software or hardware malfunction on the highway, yet it has no manual controls for the passenger to take control and to avert disaster. Without knowledge of how the system works, passengers would be helpless to consequences. There are obvious benefits to such huge improvements as the result of technology but as new innovation continues at the speed of light in the Information Age it may be prudent to slow ourselves down and wonder about the implications. I think as a human society we need to ask ourselves “What are the drawbacks to total reliance upon technology?”
(1) Randal O'Toole. (2010, March 20). Taking the Driver Out of the Car --- Why robocars, and not high-speed rail, could revolutionize transportation in the next decade. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. W.3. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from Wall Street Journal. (Document ID: 1987715511).
Link to article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580904575131511589391150.html?KEYWORDS=Driverless+cars
(2) Tom Krisher. (2008, January 6). GM Researching Driverless Cars. The Associated Press. Retrieved March 23rd, 2010, from MSNBC.com.
Link to article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/
(3) Link to Video of Fully Automated Chevy Tahoe:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/#hybrid_video
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Improving Data Storage Efficiency
Data-storage has become an increasingly important issue for companies to consider and invest in, considering the large and continually growing amount of data that is collected evey day, or even every minute. Effective data storage is crucial not only for the protection of data, but its accessibility and use. Most companies, or anyone that uses a computer or collects data of any kind, use some kind of back-up system to ensure data will not be lost or tampered with, and can easily be replaced should something go wrong with data storage or processing. This is the same idea which John McFadden presented to our class, explaining the importance of backing up data, even if a person’s chooses to simply use a flash drive for important documents.
The problem many companies run into, however, is discussed by Moulton is his article "Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up". The issue they face is ineffective data storage, which causes issues with general efficiency and data security. Transactional data, which is always changing and being edited, needs to be updated and backed up frequently to ensure secure, up-to-date data. Reference data, however, does not change and as such does not to be backed up as frequently. While this would seem like a good thing for data storage, it causes problems because all of the data is backed up together, so both the transactional and Reference data is copied each time the data is backed up. The reference data, however, remains unchanged, and as such there is no need to copy it again. For that matter, copying unchanged data may even become a security risk, in that unnecessary copies of data exist but are not in use. Back-up data, in the past, was most often stored on disks; according to the article, Reference data takes up approximately 85% of disk space unnecessarily, wasting a great deal of room for new, potential data or transactional data updates.
The excess of unnecessary data also causes problems with data effectiveness and efficiency. Excess amounts of unnecessary data crowds out storage space, making it difficult to locate and organize data as needed. This drastically reduces productivity in addition to data security and organization, however companies are still resistant to modified data storage. Moulton targets job security as the leading factor, explaining that more efficient data storage systems allow a more easily explained and understandable system, and detracting from job security of those who are in charge of data storage. However, strides have been made with deduplicatiopn and cloud software to increase data storage efficiency, in spite of employee hesitation.
Moulton’s idea for data storage, however, is slightly more advanced than clouds or deduplication. By using what Moulton calls a “smart archive,” data can be stored in a tiered system, copying and backing up only the information which is necessary, using data storage space effectively and securely. This tiered system not only seems incredibly organized, but is not so different from current systems that its uniqueness would deter new users to try the innovative data storage technology. Data storage can be just as important as the data itself, and as such is important to look into when evaluating company data and efficiency. This type of “smart archive” may be the new approach to efficient, effective data storage.
1. Bobby Moulton, "Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up". TechNewsWorld.Mar 13, 2010http://www.technewsworld.com/story/data-management/69540.html. Mar 18, 2010.
The problem many companies run into, however, is discussed by Moulton is his article "Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up". The issue they face is ineffective data storage, which causes issues with general efficiency and data security. Transactional data, which is always changing and being edited, needs to be updated and backed up frequently to ensure secure, up-to-date data. Reference data, however, does not change and as such does not to be backed up as frequently. While this would seem like a good thing for data storage, it causes problems because all of the data is backed up together, so both the transactional and Reference data is copied each time the data is backed up. The reference data, however, remains unchanged, and as such there is no need to copy it again. For that matter, copying unchanged data may even become a security risk, in that unnecessary copies of data exist but are not in use. Back-up data, in the past, was most often stored on disks; according to the article, Reference data takes up approximately 85% of disk space unnecessarily, wasting a great deal of room for new, potential data or transactional data updates.
The excess of unnecessary data also causes problems with data effectiveness and efficiency. Excess amounts of unnecessary data crowds out storage space, making it difficult to locate and organize data as needed. This drastically reduces productivity in addition to data security and organization, however companies are still resistant to modified data storage. Moulton targets job security as the leading factor, explaining that more efficient data storage systems allow a more easily explained and understandable system, and detracting from job security of those who are in charge of data storage. However, strides have been made with deduplicatiopn and cloud software to increase data storage efficiency, in spite of employee hesitation.
Moulton’s idea for data storage, however, is slightly more advanced than clouds or deduplication. By using what Moulton calls a “smart archive,” data can be stored in a tiered system, copying and backing up only the information which is necessary, using data storage space effectively and securely. This tiered system not only seems incredibly organized, but is not so different from current systems that its uniqueness would deter new users to try the innovative data storage technology. Data storage can be just as important as the data itself, and as such is important to look into when evaluating company data and efficiency. This type of “smart archive” may be the new approach to efficient, effective data storage.
1. Bobby Moulton, "Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up". TechNewsWorld.Mar 13, 2010http://www.technewsworld.com/story/data-management/69540.html. Mar 18, 2010.
Google to Implement Ultra High Speed Broadband Network
Just when one thinks that broadband could not become much better than it is already, Google has set out to challenge this theory. Technology is constantly changing and becoming more efficient. Google recently let out their plan to launch an ultra-high-speed broadband network. This network is being implemented for up to 500,000 users. Google is not alone in trying to improve broadband. Case Western Reserve University is planning on testing what it will be like to download data at 1 gigabit per second. This is really putting the pressure on companies such as Verizon and AT&T to improve their network a lot sooner than they would originally have thought to.
The government has even decided to participate by hopefully making the faster 1 gigabit per second available in American schools, hospitals, and government buildings. “The plan outlines measures designed to create more broadband providers through auctions of airwaves needed to provide wireless Internet Services” (Kharif). For Verizon, trying to launch this ultra high speed broadband network is a lot more work to do it for millions of people, therefore making this task quite difficult. The other issue is whether or not consumers really need a faster broadband network. Verizon should probably consider gaining consumer’s perspectives as to whether or not they are unhappy with the speed of their network right now. For me myself, I feel as though it couldn’t get any faster than it already is.
New technology is becoming available for this fast network to work. For example, Cisco designed a new router, which will direct data traffic. One downfall to faster network is that consumers would need to upgrade their infrastructure a lot sooner than they would need to with the networks now. This could be more costly to consumers thus making justification of the broadband network questionable. However, on the other hand it is said that the ultra high speed broadband network users “will be able to conduct high-definition video consultations about managing their weight with doctors at nearby University Hospitals and to watch open-heart surgery being performed” (Kharif).
I find this article to be interesting to read, especially because I was curious in how Google was planning on making broadband network faster than it already is. However, I personally have a neutral opinion. I think that a faster network is always beneficial because it increases efficiency and will also increase consumer satisfaction. If it also helps doctors to learn while watching open-heart surgery in high-definition, then I think the benefits will definitely outweigh losses. The only thing that I would like to know more about is the cost of this new network. It was already stated that consumers will need to more rapidly upgrade their infrastructure, but I’m curious in finding out other costs associated with it.
Kharif, Olga. "Verizon, AT&T, Google Partake of Broadband Speed Race." Business Weekly. 18 March 2010. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2010/tc20100317_550729.htm
The government has even decided to participate by hopefully making the faster 1 gigabit per second available in American schools, hospitals, and government buildings. “The plan outlines measures designed to create more broadband providers through auctions of airwaves needed to provide wireless Internet Services” (Kharif). For Verizon, trying to launch this ultra high speed broadband network is a lot more work to do it for millions of people, therefore making this task quite difficult. The other issue is whether or not consumers really need a faster broadband network. Verizon should probably consider gaining consumer’s perspectives as to whether or not they are unhappy with the speed of their network right now. For me myself, I feel as though it couldn’t get any faster than it already is.
New technology is becoming available for this fast network to work. For example, Cisco designed a new router, which will direct data traffic. One downfall to faster network is that consumers would need to upgrade their infrastructure a lot sooner than they would need to with the networks now. This could be more costly to consumers thus making justification of the broadband network questionable. However, on the other hand it is said that the ultra high speed broadband network users “will be able to conduct high-definition video consultations about managing their weight with doctors at nearby University Hospitals and to watch open-heart surgery being performed” (Kharif).
I find this article to be interesting to read, especially because I was curious in how Google was planning on making broadband network faster than it already is. However, I personally have a neutral opinion. I think that a faster network is always beneficial because it increases efficiency and will also increase consumer satisfaction. If it also helps doctors to learn while watching open-heart surgery in high-definition, then I think the benefits will definitely outweigh losses. The only thing that I would like to know more about is the cost of this new network. It was already stated that consumers will need to more rapidly upgrade their infrastructure, but I’m curious in finding out other costs associated with it.
Kharif, Olga. "Verizon, AT&T, Google Partake of Broadband Speed Race." Business Weekly. 18 March 2010. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2010/tc20100317_550729.htm
Integrien Seeks to Gain a Competitive Advantage
Integrien Corporation, the leader in real-time performance analytics, has recently expanded its Technology Advisory Board, by adding members who have previously run some of the largest IT infrastructures in the world. Integrien Corporation applies real time analytics to monitoring data in order to prevent problems from having a negative impact on businesses (1). They have recently developed Integrien Alive, which alerts IT when an application problem is beginning, giving them advanced notice to prevent the problem from spreading. This type of intelligence allows customers to achieve higher quality business operations, with increased efficiency and 24-7 service availability. Furthermore, Integrien is partnered with leading vendors such as IBM, HP, BMC, and VMware(1).
The newest member of the advisory board is Carol Rizzo, who has more than 25 years of IT experience and has helped increase infrastructures at some of the world’s most prestigious firms(1). Some of the firms she has worked with include, AIG, Kaiser Permanente, Citibank, Fidelity Investments, Viacom and Digital Equipment. Through her assistance, these companies have been able to cut down their bottom-line by reducing costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase revenues leading to a larger top-line. These positive impacts are what any company hope to achieve when they decide to invest in information technology systems. When a company invests in a CRM system, they are hoping to increase market share, retain customers, and ultimately increase their top-line. When a company invests in a SCM system, they are more focused on keeping inventory levels low, and production/shipping costs at a minimum in order to ultimately cut down on their bottom-line.
Many of the new members joining the Technology Advisory Board are previous Chief Technology Officers at companies such as Gateway, QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies, Deloitte Consulting, IBM, and MarketShare Partners. It goes without saying that these individuals have many of years of experience in executive positions, aimed at cutting operations costs for the companies they work for. Carol Rizzo, former Chief Technology Officer at Kaiser Permanente, was able to lead the company in improving system availability, saving over 45 million dollars in reduced physician and nursing time(1). This is just one example of the many major transformations that have been brought about by the new members of Integrien’s Technology Advisory Board.
It is evident that the companies such IBM, Kaiser Permanente, Gateway, Bank of America, Deloitte Consulting, and Wachovia are interested in IT systems as a method of cost reduction and revenue expansion. They have used IT in the past, and have experienced positive outcomes, meaning that they will want to continue to achieve these results and more. This is why Integrien is looking for new members of their advisory board, ones who have exceptional experience and a strong track record. Integrien needs to keep pace with other IT companies, and they are trying to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in its industry by looking for new leadership. New leaders who will bring about change and new ideas. This is exactly what SAP has decided to do recently, in order to increase sales and efficiency, they have let their former CEO go and hired someone else for the job. Sometimes, change in leadership is exactly what needs to be done for companies to realize growth and development.
Reference
(1) "Integrien Continues to Advance Company Strategy with IT Industry Luminaries", Business Wire, March 18, 2010, http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100318005214&newsLang=en, (Accessed March 18, 2010).
Canon May Be First Company Ever to Acquire Its Own Top-Level Domain Name
On Wednesday, March 17th, Canon released its decision to work towards acquiring its own top-level domain name, .canon. This was made possible through ICANN's (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) decision to open up the number of top-level domains. No longer will every company have a web address ending in .com, but specified domain names will soon be available for anyone willing to buy one, making it much easier for companies who share a name to distinguish themselves from each other. For instance, if there are independent Italian restaurants with the name "Guido's" in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, they will soon each be able to have their own website, differentiating each restaurant. There will no longer be any confusion about which restaurant is being promoted by guidos.com, since the domain name .guidos could be purchased and used by each of these restaurants (i.e. guidos.losangeles, guidos.newyork and guidos.chicago).
The decision to expand the number of top-level domains was made by ICANN to encourage competition between companies online and to help small businesses promote themselves with creative website names. ICANN is a "not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers" [1]. Obviously, one of ICANN's primary responsibilities is to ensure the interoperability of the internet, partly by organizing the identification of unique websites and domain names. The shift to unique top-level domain names will completely revolutionize e-commerce, making it much easier for consumers to connect with specific companies without any confusion. This will allow small businesses to enter competition with greater success and more widespread promotion, because they will literally be able to advertise their website by merely promoting the name of the company. Connecting to a company's website will be as simple as typing the company name into the web browser URL bar (i.e. typing "google" for google.com or "loyola" for loyola.edu).
There are thousands of domain name search engines in existence right now (for example, NetworkSolutions.com [2], instantdomainsearch.com [3], and whois.net [4], to name a few), but this top-level domain name revolution being brought about by ICANN will totally change the demand for domain name search engines. Most likely, many of them will go out of business as companies realize how easy it is to invent a unique domain name, using their own top-level domain name. As stated previously, connecting with customers will completely change as well as finding specific companies will be as easy as typing the company name into the URL bar, eliminating the need for customers to memorize url addresses.
This revolution will even touch independent consultants, freelance writers and photographers, musicians and other businessmen or artists who wish to promote themselves. Anyone in these categories will now be able to purchase their own domain name, like johndoe.freelancewriter or joeschmoe.independentauditor. Independent businessmen should be thrilled at the change that this decision by ICANN will bring for them. Because of the great freedom brought about by this decision, however, companies need to prepare to purchase their own domain name now to avoid a fraudulent website under the company's name being created. Overall, this decision to open up freedom with top-level domain names will revolutionize the way e-commerce is done.
See the article:
Sources:
[1]. "ICANN | About." ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
The decision to expand the number of top-level domains was made by ICANN to encourage competition between companies online and to help small businesses promote themselves with creative website names. ICANN is a "not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers" [1]. Obviously, one of ICANN's primary responsibilities is to ensure the interoperability of the internet, partly by organizing the identification of unique websites and domain names. The shift to unique top-level domain names will completely revolutionize e-commerce, making it much easier for consumers to connect with specific companies without any confusion. This will allow small businesses to enter competition with greater success and more widespread promotion, because they will literally be able to advertise their website by merely promoting the name of the company. Connecting to a company's website will be as simple as typing the company name into the web browser URL bar (i.e. typing "google" for google.com or "loyola" for loyola.edu).
There are thousands of domain name search engines in existence right now (for example, NetworkSolutions.com [2], instantdomainsearch.com [3], and whois.net [4], to name a few), but this top-level domain name revolution being brought about by ICANN will totally change the demand for domain name search engines. Most likely, many of them will go out of business as companies realize how easy it is to invent a unique domain name, using their own top-level domain name. As stated previously, connecting with customers will completely change as well as finding specific companies will be as easy as typing the company name into the URL bar, eliminating the need for customers to memorize url addresses.
This revolution will even touch independent consultants, freelance writers and photographers, musicians and other businessmen or artists who wish to promote themselves. Anyone in these categories will now be able to purchase their own domain name, like johndoe.freelancewriter or joeschmoe.independentauditor. Independent businessmen should be thrilled at the change that this decision by ICANN will bring for them. Because of the great freedom brought about by this decision, however, companies need to prepare to purchase their own domain name now to avoid a fraudulent website under the company's name being created. Overall, this decision to open up freedom with top-level domain names will revolutionize the way e-commerce is done.
See the article:
Singel, Ryan. "Canon First in Line for Its Own Top-Level Domain, .canon | Epicenter | Wired.com." Wired News. 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. <http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/03/canon-domain/>.
Sources:
[1]. "ICANN | About." ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
[2]. Domain Names, Web Hosting and Online Marketing Services | Network Solutions. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
[3]. Domain Name Search. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
[4]. Whois.net - Domain Names. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
The Strive to Perfect Perfection Through SCM
In today’s day and age, competition is fierce amongst almost all industries. Whether the product is as simple as a pen or as complex as a college decision, nearly every market is saturated with numerous choices and alternatives. In order to have your company survive in our current economic environment, your company must somehow differentiate its product or service to beat out the competition. Many companies are turning to technology as a way to stay ahead of the competition, especially through systems, such SCM or supply chain management. The auto industry was actually an innovator in implementing the use of supply chain management into their business. Many auto companies use the Tier 1 supply system to increase their probability of perfecting their orders. The best Tier 1 suppliers usually perfect their order nearly 99% of the time, however in such a competitive industry, sometimes 99% is not enough. A score of 90% perfection on orders would seem excellent many other industries, however in the auto industry, 90% is a failing grade. In order to perfect their search for perfection, many companies have chosen to implement large supply chain management systems. The companies that are operating at this high level have already nearly perfected process excellence and have shifted their attention to minimizing costs through supply chain management. The auto industry has broken their processes down into separate supply chain management systems. They have one that strictly deal with the suppliers of design supply chain management and another that deal with customer supply chain management in order to better perfect every bit of the entire process in the auto industry. These companies fully understand the true usage of supply chain management. They understand that companies are about the people first and technology second. Technology should enable the people to work more effectively and efficiently and not the other way around. Technology alone can not build perfection in an industry. It must be a team effort to merge the processes, people and supply chain management in order to achieve true perfection and therefore surpass the competition. I strongly agree with the attitude of this article for I believe investing too much faith and time in technology by itself will inevitably led to our own demise. Technology although helpful, can distance us from our humanity and therefore I believe it is causing us to rescind all the progress we have made as a society of people and only advance in technology. I often fear that businesses will invest too much in advancing in technology and jump into implementing the newest and greatest without fully considering the consequences. With technology improving faster than our minds can comprehend it, how are we able to keep a hold on this technology and make sure it does not get out of control. I believe the auto industry has gotten it right by realizing that technology alone will not improve a business. People are first. It is how the properly trained people use the improved supply chain management systems that can improve a business. In order to fully reach perfection, both elements must be striving to reach perfection not only in each one’s own realm but also together.
Gould, Larry, ed. "Automotive Supply Chain Management: As Good As It Gets?" Automative Design and Production. Gardner Publications Inc., 8 Oct. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Why Google Apps Needs Fixing
Originally titled “Google Apps for Your Domain,” the set of Web applications focused on collaboration within the workforce introduced by Google in 2006 offered Gmail account, shared calendars, Google Talk instant messaging, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, and a Web page creator which have since been revamped as Google Apps Standard Edition. Google Apps, geared towards small and middle-size firms, provides small businesses the ability to share documents and collaborate effectively for no fee (2). Notably, multiple users of the Web applications can read, correct, and update the same documents and spreadsheets simultaneously (4). As Dan Wood writes from experience with the system, “Google Apps are just what we need. Interviews are performed, the notes and transcripts are shared, stories are written, edited and copy-edited” (4). Included in the package is also seven gigabytes of e-mail storage for every user account, a fair amount for small businesses to work with.
Though seemingly resourceful, Google Apps does pose serious drawbacks to the efficiency of any company. The free Standard Edition of Google Apps is limited to just 50 user accounts, leaving any extra employees disconnected from the facility with which all others can communicate and share information (2). Additionally, users complain Google Apps proves incapable of saving work when designated to do so, requiring a time and effort consuming reload to cure the problem. Furthermore, documents require manual association with folders, easily frustrating business owners whose efforts should be focused on the task at hand, not their network of Web applications. Even more irritating for users may be that when using spreadsheets, “when a cell in spreadsheet B is referenced in A, the values don’t automatically get updated” (4). Seemingly, only the users with a spotlight on team collaboration will be willing to bypass the error messages to see the benefits which Google Apps offer. For all other business owners, the defects will prove too bothersome, time consuming, and frustrating to overlook.
Appearing to answer the call for the defects of the Google Apps Standard Edition, Google launched the Premier Edition for a $50 charge for each user account per year. This version of Google Apps incorporates the needs of all business forms, not just small to mid-sized businesses, and grants as much as 25 gigabytes of e-mail storage instead of the mere seven offered by the Standard Edition. Google Apps Premier Edition even rids the page of the ads which sponsor the free version and lend such benefits as e-mail archiving and more configurable spam filtering (3). An important business feature of the Premier Edition is the improved latency and disaster recovery times, as well as the ability to access information from another data center location if their primary data center fails for any reason. The company also recently introduced a Gmail feature for BlackBerry users as a feature enabling access of email through Microsoft Outlook (1). The updates to Google Apps Premier Edition seem to emphasize the attempt by Google to tailor their software package towards businesses in an attempt to simplify everyday operations.
Many IT departments feel the cost of Google Apps Premier, as compared to Google Apps Standard, is not worth the upgraded benefits. Ultimately, managers must decide whether “some phone call support, guaranteed e-mail uptime, more e-mail storage and an API or two,” validate the $50 fee required each year from Google per user (2). However, the way in which Google Apps (both the Standard Edition and the Premier Edition) foster an environment for collaboration and the sharing of information seem to be reason enough to ignore the small hindrances of the programs. An environment which acknowledges the immense benefits of collaboration and cooperation will undoubtedly thrive.
References
(1) Lynch, C.g. "Google Apps Premier Edition Gets Key Improvements." NETWORKWORLD, 7 July 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2010..
(2) Ericson, Richard. "First Look: Google Apps Premier Addition." Business Center. PCWorld, 23 Feb. 2007. Web. 17 Mar. 2010..
(3) Carr, David F. "Google Apps: The Free Version's Best Features." Forbes.com. 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010..
(4) Woods, Dan. "Why Google Apps Need Fixing." Forbes.com. 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010..
Though seemingly resourceful, Google Apps does pose serious drawbacks to the efficiency of any company. The free Standard Edition of Google Apps is limited to just 50 user accounts, leaving any extra employees disconnected from the facility with which all others can communicate and share information (2). Additionally, users complain Google Apps proves incapable of saving work when designated to do so, requiring a time and effort consuming reload to cure the problem. Furthermore, documents require manual association with folders, easily frustrating business owners whose efforts should be focused on the task at hand, not their network of Web applications. Even more irritating for users may be that when using spreadsheets, “when a cell in spreadsheet B is referenced in A, the values don’t automatically get updated” (4). Seemingly, only the users with a spotlight on team collaboration will be willing to bypass the error messages to see the benefits which Google Apps offer. For all other business owners, the defects will prove too bothersome, time consuming, and frustrating to overlook.
Appearing to answer the call for the defects of the Google Apps Standard Edition, Google launched the Premier Edition for a $50 charge for each user account per year. This version of Google Apps incorporates the needs of all business forms, not just small to mid-sized businesses, and grants as much as 25 gigabytes of e-mail storage instead of the mere seven offered by the Standard Edition. Google Apps Premier Edition even rids the page of the ads which sponsor the free version and lend such benefits as e-mail archiving and more configurable spam filtering (3). An important business feature of the Premier Edition is the improved latency and disaster recovery times, as well as the ability to access information from another data center location if their primary data center fails for any reason. The company also recently introduced a Gmail feature for BlackBerry users as a feature enabling access of email through Microsoft Outlook (1). The updates to Google Apps Premier Edition seem to emphasize the attempt by Google to tailor their software package towards businesses in an attempt to simplify everyday operations.
Many IT departments feel the cost of Google Apps Premier, as compared to Google Apps Standard, is not worth the upgraded benefits. Ultimately, managers must decide whether “some phone call support, guaranteed e-mail uptime, more e-mail storage and an API or two,” validate the $50 fee required each year from Google per user (2). However, the way in which Google Apps (both the Standard Edition and the Premier Edition) foster an environment for collaboration and the sharing of information seem to be reason enough to ignore the small hindrances of the programs. An environment which acknowledges the immense benefits of collaboration and cooperation will undoubtedly thrive.
References
(1) Lynch, C.g. "Google Apps Premier Edition Gets Key Improvements." NETWORKWORLD, 7 July 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
(2) Ericson, Richard. "First Look: Google Apps Premier Addition." Business Center. PCWorld, 23 Feb. 2007. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
(3) Carr, David F. "Google Apps: The Free Version's Best Features." Forbes.com. 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
(4) Woods, Dan. "Why Google Apps Need Fixing." Forbes.com. 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
Cloud computing: really useful or a load of hot air?
Companies are arguing over whether or not they think that cloud computing is useful or not. Businesses are focusing more on cost saving strategies rather than improvements. One poll found that half of respondents either did not know if cloud computing was important or said it was of little or no importance when it comes to improving the operation and cost-effectiveness of their IT environment over the next two years. Scott Swanburg, the director of the service provider program at Citrix, says that there are three elements that need to be considered to win over end users: simplicity, seamlessness and security. Ian Cummins, vice president of EMEA sales at Network Instruments, says it uses cloud computing in the form of CRM behemoth Salesforce.com. “It is the life-blood of our company,” he says. “It touches every single part of our company.” Although cloud computing has moved down on the list of importance for companies, in the future the simplicity and cost saving strategies that this method offers will be recognized and implemented.
Cloud computing is defined by WikiInvest as an emerging computing technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. All this seems extremely helpful for businesses and I believe that it would allow them to gain a competitive advantage in the technologically advanced world that we live in today. I think that companies are focusing too much on cost saving strategies and not realizing that the use of the cloud computing would ultimately save them in costs. If companies could see past their cost saving strategies and realize the usefulness of the cloud, they would ultimately be more successful.
"Lionel Lamy, software and services research director at IDC, says only a third of business customers are now bothered about improving their overall IT service levels, down from half in 2008." To me, this seems strange because I believe that IT is the new up and coming phenomenon in the business world, and in order for businesses to get ahead, they really must be prepared to compete with one another at the IT level. With the prices of impelementing the cloud being relatively low, companies should take advantage of this now before competing companies realize the significance of the product and the prices shoot through the roof. In the business world that we live in today, being ahead and on your toes is crucial. Cloud computing is bound to rule the business world whether companies want to accept it or not, and if they want to be able to operate in an ever-changing business world, they should really think about the usefulness of cloud computing.
References
Doidge, Fleur. "Cloud computing: really useful or a load of hot air?" CRN. 17 March 2010. Accessed from channelweb.co.uk.
Cloud computing is defined by WikiInvest as an emerging computing technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. All this seems extremely helpful for businesses and I believe that it would allow them to gain a competitive advantage in the technologically advanced world that we live in today. I think that companies are focusing too much on cost saving strategies and not realizing that the use of the cloud computing would ultimately save them in costs. If companies could see past their cost saving strategies and realize the usefulness of the cloud, they would ultimately be more successful.
"Lionel Lamy, software and services research director at IDC, says only a third of business customers are now bothered about improving their overall IT service levels, down from half in 2008." To me, this seems strange because I believe that IT is the new up and coming phenomenon in the business world, and in order for businesses to get ahead, they really must be prepared to compete with one another at the IT level. With the prices of impelementing the cloud being relatively low, companies should take advantage of this now before competing companies realize the significance of the product and the prices shoot through the roof. In the business world that we live in today, being ahead and on your toes is crucial. Cloud computing is bound to rule the business world whether companies want to accept it or not, and if they want to be able to operate in an ever-changing business world, they should really think about the usefulness of cloud computing.
References
Doidge, Fleur. "Cloud computing: really useful or a load of hot air?" CRN. 17 March 2010. Accessed from channelweb.co.uk.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Why Be Standard When You Can Customize?
When most companies implement a CRM system they are hoping to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. The process of this implementation can be long and costly, but for most the investment will be worth the investment.
To help make a CRM system better and more profitable, they must find a way to make their system work better than the next company. To do this most effectively Christopher Bucholtz says that a company must look to its customers for the answers. When a customer returns to a company, the company should have a full profile on the client already so that they may help the customer in the fastest manner. Customer service is the key to retaining customers and building customer loyalty today. We no longer live in the age where mass emails are sent to every person on a company’s contact list, the emails are customized according to the habits and trends of the specific customer. As we learned in the presentation by Brian McManus, the director of technical infrastructure at Under Armour, the same marketing strategy cannot be used to get mothers to buy Under Armour for their children, as they use to convince college students to try Under Armour. Under Armour has a highly developed CRM system that tracks customers from the first time they enter the site. Under Armour know what the person buys, how much they buy, how frequently purchases are made, and also many demographic facts about the person from surveys and other websites the client visits. This specialized data according to Bucholtz is what will separate the CRM leaders in the future.
To Increase revenues in a tough market, the company must find out what makes new customers come back to the company and help make this experience available to all the companies’ customers. If one person returns to a company because of something the company did for them, the idea is that this service would bring other customers back too. In today’s market it is much more cost effective to retain clients, than to have to market to new customers. If a company can adjust their current CRM system slightly based on customer comments, the company can position themselves to increase both sales and their profit.
Reference
(1) Tricks of Your Trade: Little Things That Can Make CRM Better By Christopher J. Bucholtz http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/69479.html
To help make a CRM system better and more profitable, they must find a way to make their system work better than the next company. To do this most effectively Christopher Bucholtz says that a company must look to its customers for the answers. When a customer returns to a company, the company should have a full profile on the client already so that they may help the customer in the fastest manner. Customer service is the key to retaining customers and building customer loyalty today. We no longer live in the age where mass emails are sent to every person on a company’s contact list, the emails are customized according to the habits and trends of the specific customer. As we learned in the presentation by Brian McManus, the director of technical infrastructure at Under Armour, the same marketing strategy cannot be used to get mothers to buy Under Armour for their children, as they use to convince college students to try Under Armour. Under Armour has a highly developed CRM system that tracks customers from the first time they enter the site. Under Armour know what the person buys, how much they buy, how frequently purchases are made, and also many demographic facts about the person from surveys and other websites the client visits. This specialized data according to Bucholtz is what will separate the CRM leaders in the future.
To Increase revenues in a tough market, the company must find out what makes new customers come back to the company and help make this experience available to all the companies’ customers. If one person returns to a company because of something the company did for them, the idea is that this service would bring other customers back too. In today’s market it is much more cost effective to retain clients, than to have to market to new customers. If a company can adjust their current CRM system slightly based on customer comments, the company can position themselves to increase both sales and their profit.
Reference
(1) Tricks of Your Trade: Little Things That Can Make CRM Better By Christopher J. Bucholtz http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/69479.html
CRM's + social networking = success?
Although it has been awhile since we have talked about CRM systems in class, I continue to find them very interesting, and decided to write my blog about a new concept that has just recently been worked into many companies called the social CRM. CRM encompasses all aspects of customer resource management, from initial purchase to the follow-ups, troubleshooting, and repairs. Companies invest millions of dollars in setting up calling centers to help customers who have issues with their product. However, problems have arisen as customers turn to their peers (rather than trained professionals) for help. This is what the article “Social CRM's Point of First Impact” from the CRM Buyer section of the E-Commerce Times addresses.
As young adults, we are all very in touch with what is 'trendy', and an obvious trend on line recently has been social networking sites like Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook. These are sites where we can interact and communicate with our peers and other people who have similar interests. The idea of a social CRM is very similar, but geared towards a specific product. Social CRM's are interfaces where the different users of a product can get together to share problems and solutions that only other day-to-day users of a product would have encountered, and the solutions that they would have attempted that have not worked, along with those that have. It was suggested in the article that agents of the company should also monitor the site to weed out unhelpful comments and post correct responses of their own.
Although there is no denying that this is an innovative idea based on the technological wants and needs of a new generation of consumers, the jury is out on whether this is actually a good idea or not. Chris Bucholz, author of the article, argues that this is the means by which consumers are now comfortable solving problems: after trial and error on his/her own, the consumer turns to either peer evaluation or research of unidentified fellow users who they do not need to call in to talk to (specifically, posts on the topic brought up through Google). Therefore, this type of CRM would fulfill the need of a correct answer, and also keep the consumer in his or her comfort zone. In addition, it might cut calls into the service center, thereby cutting costs for other forms of CRM. Social CRM's would essentially turn everyone into a do-it-yourself man who actually knows the correct way to do it themselves. Costly after-the-sale service would no longer be a nuisance, and customers could get the answers they are looking for with less additional cost to the company. This is important because, in this economy, it is just as important to cut costs as it is to keep customers.
However, I worry about something that was brought up in the article, but not specifically addressed as problems. One of the reasons that Bucholtz claims it is important to have good Customer Resource Management is because “Customers are increasingly taking their service questions to their peers first...causing the company to now be merely the cause of the problem and not part of the solution.” Therefore, a networking site wouldn't address the issue of customer frustration with the company, only the issue of frustration with the product. Once this issue is solved, social CRM's will be a good addition to any arm of customer service.
New RPM System Will Allow Info in Real Time
We live in a world in which information systems are becoming a crucial part of business’ operating procedures. Technology like CRM and ERP systems are continuously being improved and becoming more complex. The newest system that has entered the market is from Progress Software and is called Progress Responsive Process Management (RPM). This system combines business process management, complex event processing and network monitoring technologies and is the first integration of this type. Besides the fact that this new system combines all three technologies it is also unique because it is responsive in real time. This system is able to do this by detecting changes in conditions and important events in data as it streams (1). According to a statement that Progress released one of the biggest benefits of this RPM system is that “users can ‘see and automate the response to what is about to happen in their business, not just what has happened’” (2). In theory this new system will be providing businesses with the opportunity to not only make decisions about events that have happened but also about events that are going to be happening in the future. This provides businesses with the opportunity to be one step ahead, providing them with a competitive edge.
On Progress Software’s website the advertisement for this new RPM system has the slogan “Continuously improve your business’ operational responsiveness” (3). Additionally, the website claims the benefits of this new system are that companies will gain real time visibility, be able to immediately sense and respond, and continuously improve their business’ process (4). As apparent the defining quality of this new system is the immediate access to information that users are provided with. While this new technology is going to be helpful to numerous businesses the article stated that it is going to be extremely useful in fields such as the airline industry. This is because this is an industry where real time information is very important. If airline companies are able to monitor their flights they will be able to notice delays earlier and consequently alert customers and make changes.
Through use of the RPM system businesses will be able to boost efficiency because they will always be provided with up to the minute data. If used to help with information such as flight delays then this system will also be boosting customer service as well. I believe that the combination of these three systems will be a great benefit for companies because it will help to consolidate various outlets of information. Additionally, I think if effective in its primary locations this RPM system will quickly spread to a variety of different business. This system has the potential to be helpful in all different industries because all companies can benefit from having quicker, more consolidated and efficient information. Having the ability to know about events before they happen will be a huge help in avoiding or managing arising problems. Overall the RPM system will help to relay important information, allow for quicker problem solving, and enhance the overall progress of the companies.
References
(1) Doug Henschen, “Progress Releases Real Time BPM Suite”, Information Week, March 15, 2010, http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223800265&subSection=News (accessed March 15, 2010)
(2) Doug Henschen, “Progress Releases Real Time BPM Suite”, Information Week, March 15, 2010, http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223800265&subSection=News (accessed March 15, 2010)
(3) “Progress Responsive Process Management (RPM)”, Progress Software. 2010. Web. March 15, 2010. http://web.progress.com/en/business-need/responsive-process-management.html
(4) “Progress Responsive Process Management (RPM)”, Progress Software. 2010. Web. March 15, 2010. http://web.progress.com/en/business-need/responsive-process-management.html
On Progress Software’s website the advertisement for this new RPM system has the slogan “Continuously improve your business’ operational responsiveness” (3). Additionally, the website claims the benefits of this new system are that companies will gain real time visibility, be able to immediately sense and respond, and continuously improve their business’ process (4). As apparent the defining quality of this new system is the immediate access to information that users are provided with. While this new technology is going to be helpful to numerous businesses the article stated that it is going to be extremely useful in fields such as the airline industry. This is because this is an industry where real time information is very important. If airline companies are able to monitor their flights they will be able to notice delays earlier and consequently alert customers and make changes.
Through use of the RPM system businesses will be able to boost efficiency because they will always be provided with up to the minute data. If used to help with information such as flight delays then this system will also be boosting customer service as well. I believe that the combination of these three systems will be a great benefit for companies because it will help to consolidate various outlets of information. Additionally, I think if effective in its primary locations this RPM system will quickly spread to a variety of different business. This system has the potential to be helpful in all different industries because all companies can benefit from having quicker, more consolidated and efficient information. Having the ability to know about events before they happen will be a huge help in avoiding or managing arising problems. Overall the RPM system will help to relay important information, allow for quicker problem solving, and enhance the overall progress of the companies.
References
(1) Doug Henschen, “Progress Releases Real Time BPM Suite”, Information Week, March 15, 2010, http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223800265&subSection=News (accessed March 15, 2010)
(2) Doug Henschen, “Progress Releases Real Time BPM Suite”, Information Week, March 15, 2010, http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223800265&subSection=News (accessed March 15, 2010)
(3) “Progress Responsive Process Management (RPM)”, Progress Software. 2010. Web. March 15, 2010. http://web.progress.com/en/business-need/responsive-process-management.html
(4) “Progress Responsive Process Management (RPM)”, Progress Software. 2010. Web. March 15, 2010. http://web.progress.com/en/business-need/responsive-process-management.html
SAP Execs Pledge Speedier Product Innovation
Recently SAP, the largest maker of business software applications and a leader in ERP, has switched management from Leo Apothekor to Chief Executives Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe. Apothekor lost his position in February after holding the title for less than a year--a year in which SAP saw its sales decline. With the new executives the company is planning to take a new course of action and boost the speed of production of their new products. The German company is taking this new approach as a bold new strategy to reverse the dip in sales that led to the firing of their former CEO.
The new CEO McDermott "promised to 'radically speed up' the pace of innovation at SAP."[1] SAP plans on doing this radical increase in output by greatly increasing the amount of acquisitions the company makes. The first affect of the new approach will be the July release of the company's new version of the Business by Design software, which is an online package of application for small and medium size businesses. The new development plan expects sales to rise by 1% in 2010 and hopes to eliminate the former criticisms about slow paced releases and lack of implementation of new programs that can be accessed through the web and mobile devices.
One strategy being used to increase the pace of new engineering of products is an increase in company-wide efficiency. In the new version of Business by Design software SAP was able to use about two-thirds of the amount of engineers used in previous similar products, that equates to hundreds less employees working on the project. Along with the new idea of efficiency and production rather than Apotheker's 'sales focus' management plans on catering to customer's needs.
I think that the strategy that SAP is planning to take will be very beneficial for the company for sales in the long run. The new sense of urgency that management is planning to take will give customers more trust with the company and the customers will be sure that SAP will always be a leader in the ever present ERP system integration. The efficiency and innovative engineering will ensure that SAP is a worldwide leader in business management tools giving the companies that choose SAP the software that they need to manage their databases in the best possible manner. I think that the acquisitions of other companies will also help SAP to boost their innovation with new talent and new products that can add to their sales mix and allow them the outlets for expansion that they will need. Overall I think the risk that they are taking with a different form of management and a new bold quicker-paced business plan will be well worth the switch and will pay off for SAP.
1. "SAP Execs Pledge Speedier Product Innovation - BusinessWeek." BusinessWeek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. Web. 17 Mar. 2010..
The new CEO McDermott "promised to 'radically speed up' the pace of innovation at SAP."[1] SAP plans on doing this radical increase in output by greatly increasing the amount of acquisitions the company makes. The first affect of the new approach will be the July release of the company's new version of the Business by Design software, which is an online package of application for small and medium size businesses. The new development plan expects sales to rise by 1% in 2010 and hopes to eliminate the former criticisms about slow paced releases and lack of implementation of new programs that can be accessed through the web and mobile devices.
One strategy being used to increase the pace of new engineering of products is an increase in company-wide efficiency. In the new version of Business by Design software SAP was able to use about two-thirds of the amount of engineers used in previous similar products, that equates to hundreds less employees working on the project. Along with the new idea of efficiency and production rather than Apotheker's 'sales focus' management plans on catering to customer's needs.
I think that the strategy that SAP is planning to take will be very beneficial for the company for sales in the long run. The new sense of urgency that management is planning to take will give customers more trust with the company and the customers will be sure that SAP will always be a leader in the ever present ERP system integration. The efficiency and innovative engineering will ensure that SAP is a worldwide leader in business management tools giving the companies that choose SAP the software that they need to manage their databases in the best possible manner. I think that the acquisitions of other companies will also help SAP to boost their innovation with new talent and new products that can add to their sales mix and allow them the outlets for expansion that they will need. Overall I think the risk that they are taking with a different form of management and a new bold quicker-paced business plan will be well worth the switch and will pay off for SAP.
1. "SAP Execs Pledge Speedier Product Innovation - BusinessWeek." BusinessWeek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
CRM and BI systems Improve Pharmaceutical Companies
PLIVA, one of the most successful pharmaceutical companies in the market, is headquartered and Croatia and is the leading pharmaceutical company in Central and Eastern Europe. The company has over 1200 products and works with hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical care institutions. The company is very dependent on their sales teams to work with customers; the problem was that the sales teams in different countries were using different software and business tools, which created difficulties within the company. Igor Haralovic, the CEE Region Marketing and Sales Effectiveness Director said, “The flow of information from the sales teams to the head office was slow and marketing and sales people were unable to access the right information they needed to make the right decisions” (1). The slow flow of information reduced the companies effectiveness in the market, negatively affected costs, and made sale goals difficult to reach because of the lag time in information.
Another challenge the company had to overcome dealt with their infrastructure – the sales force only had old hardware and software, along with slow Internet connection, which made it difficult to work online. By reading about the sales force at PLIVA, it is clear that they needed to improve upon their systems in order to better the effectiveness of their sales teams, which they so heavily depend on. For a solution, Haralovic said, “One of the key requirements was cost effectiveness of the solution. We were looking at a number of solutions, including market leaders in CRM solutions for the pharmaceutical industry” (1).
Their solution in the end was add.PHARMA by the company ADD, which was designed specifically for the pharmaceutical industry that includes both Business Intelligence and CRM functions. The CRM supported their marketing and sales personnel and offered many functions, including cross- selling, sales support, and marketing campaign execution. The information gathered was constantly updated between the users and office, which allowed the company to keep better track of their sales team’s performance (1). It is clear that the CRM function really improved upon the effectiveness of their sales teams to gather more accurate data, which ultimately helped PLIVA provide better and more specific products for their customers.
The new Business Intelligence system was used to reduce time to provide sales reports and allowed for data to be refreshed more quickly. The company used it to analyze sales data and get information from a number of different data sources, which allowed them “ a comprehensive overview of the market and gauge their sales on the ground” (1).
There are so many benefits from the add.PHARMA solution that is was the best decision for the company to implement it. The most important benefit being that the CRM application allowed the sales and marketing departments to link information, which enabled the company more control over the sales force (1). In my opinion, this solution was definitely the best because it allowed for the flow of knowledge to circulate throughout all departments, which ultimately enabled the company to better their sales force, which they deemed most important in the company. It also allowed them more and accurate information on their customers so they could better fit their needs. Overall, PLIVA made their company much stronger in the market by adding CRM and BI systems.
References:
(1)"Leading Pharmaceutical Company Uses CRM and BI to Drive Business Results." NGP: Next Generation Pharmaceutical. ADD D.o.o., 5 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.
Idea2: A new CRM system targets small and medium businesses
Even though most of our blogs are touched upon the idea of a CRM system, this article is interesting because of the businesses it intends to target. While most Customer Related Management systems target large businesses with a huge customer database and an even larger budget, there is finally an updated CRM system that focuses specifically on small and medium sized businesses. Idea2 is the resolution, a cloud-based CRM solution that focuses on improving other CRM systems that may not be effective for these businesses (1). According to our textbook, a CRM is defined as a system that uses information about customers to gain insights into their needs, wants, and behaviors in order to serve them better (2). Focusing on the definition alone, the CEO of Idea2 understands the risk of implementing a system that may not work for certain companies, but also emphasizes the need for an effective system. Grace Schroeder even says “with so many CRM implementations falling short, it is important to select a partner can deliver what you need – and not just what they have” (3). That is why the improvements that Idea2 has will be beneficial to companies that implement it, because it not only has what companies want, it goes beyond that.
One improvement that Idea2 has is an “intuitive, role-specific interface” and an information dashboard (4). These features allow companies to export data more effectively and have more information than normal CRM systems. These focuses also improve the way users can actually apply the information in the organization that they’re working in. Another improvement that the Idea2 CRM has is syncing. Unlike traditional CRM systems that sometimes cause isolation of information, lack of visibility and ineffective use of the information produced (which we've all learned), Idea2 is able to sync information with various data sets, rather than just one. This syncing allows a company to better understand their customers, the utmost important factor or a CRM system.
With the improvements in place, it is obvious that the Idea2 CRM system has multiple benefits. Idea2 is said to create a rapid return on investment and also ties together the company’s success to its operation (5). Personally, Idea2 seems that it does a better job of getting the information and relating it to one another. This can be crucial, because the more you know about a customer, the more successful the company will be. Idea2 seems like a step up from a typical CRM system. It involves a lot more customization. The ability to sync different data sets will allow the company to target specific groups of people. Every customer is not the same as the other, so the ability to do this will prove to a company that the implementation of this system is worthwhile.
The last thing that really caught my eye regarding Idea2 was the fact that it could be purchased in three different packages. The first one, Idea2Company, is the simple CRM system “that supports contact, partner, lead, prospect and customer management integreated with issue tracking” (6). Idea 2Custom is a step up from that, focusing more on unique attributes that the company may focus on. In the last package, Idea2Unified goes beyond customization and focuses on productivity and increasing it. This system links all the other system together. The ability to chose what system to purchase allows a company to customize their decision of implementation even more, which I find very promising to a company who is unsure of a CRM system.
Overall, I believe that this system is finally a CRM system that all companies can use, but it is going to be most effective for smaller and medium sized businesses because the system is focused on them. This will relieve companies that are unsure if they should implement a system because this CRM is focused mainly on them.
See Article:
“Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
References:
(1) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
(2) Stephen Haag and Maeve Cummings, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 502.
(3) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
(4) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
(5) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
One improvement that Idea2 has is an “intuitive, role-specific interface” and an information dashboard (4). These features allow companies to export data more effectively and have more information than normal CRM systems. These focuses also improve the way users can actually apply the information in the organization that they’re working in. Another improvement that the Idea2 CRM has is syncing. Unlike traditional CRM systems that sometimes cause isolation of information, lack of visibility and ineffective use of the information produced (which we've all learned), Idea2 is able to sync information with various data sets, rather than just one. This syncing allows a company to better understand their customers, the utmost important factor or a CRM system.
With the improvements in place, it is obvious that the Idea2 CRM system has multiple benefits. Idea2 is said to create a rapid return on investment and also ties together the company’s success to its operation (5). Personally, Idea2 seems that it does a better job of getting the information and relating it to one another. This can be crucial, because the more you know about a customer, the more successful the company will be. Idea2 seems like a step up from a typical CRM system. It involves a lot more customization. The ability to sync different data sets will allow the company to target specific groups of people. Every customer is not the same as the other, so the ability to do this will prove to a company that the implementation of this system is worthwhile.
The last thing that really caught my eye regarding Idea2 was the fact that it could be purchased in three different packages. The first one, Idea2Company, is the simple CRM system “that supports contact, partner, lead, prospect and customer management integreated with issue tracking” (6). Idea 2Custom is a step up from that, focusing more on unique attributes that the company may focus on. In the last package, Idea2Unified goes beyond customization and focuses on productivity and increasing it. This system links all the other system together. The ability to chose what system to purchase allows a company to customize their decision of implementation even more, which I find very promising to a company who is unsure of a CRM system.
Overall, I believe that this system is finally a CRM system that all companies can use, but it is going to be most effective for smaller and medium sized businesses because the system is focused on them. This will relieve companies that are unsure if they should implement a system because this CRM is focused mainly on them.
See Article:
“Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
References:
(1) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
(2) Stephen Haag and Maeve Cummings, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 502.
(3) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
(4) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
(5) “Idea2 Announces Cloud-Based CRM Solutions for Growing SMBs” TMC.net, March 11, 2010, http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/crm-solutions/articles/78300-idea2-announces-cloud-based-crm-solutions-growing-smbs.htm (accessed March 14, 2010).
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Loyola Invests in Ridley!
Loyola University Maryland opened the Ridley Athletic Complex on March 13, 2010. Fifteen years in the making, the stadium has a six thousand seat grandstand with lights, synthetic turf field, video scoreboard, practice field, weight room, locker room with sixty-five inch flat screens for the home team and visitors, offices for the coaching staff, press, presidential and VIP boxes and concession areas. One can’t help but be in awe at the sight of this “modern cathedral” design “miniature replica of Camden Yards”. But, considering Loyola University Maryland as a business did or will this sixty-two million dollar investment be profitable to the university in the long run?
As a university, Loyola aims to retain its current students while attracting perspective students. In my opinion, if this is the university’s focus in building Ridley, then, of course, the stadium will serve its purpose. I mean, what’s a better way to attract students then to give them an exquisitely designed playground that creates an atmosphere for appropriate campus spirit. School spirit is something Loyola students have an abundance of. The entire week prior to the stadium’s opening was spirit week, and green and grey were everywhere on campus. On game day, despite the rainy weather, Loyola students showed up in record numbers to support the men’s lacrosse team as they played Duke.
Despite the attraction and fun Ridley creates for the students, when former president Rev. Harold Ridley proposed the idea almost fifteen years ago, he had a specific vision for the stadium. He was determined to make athletics an important part of the university, and this stadium does just that. Loyola’s coaches and athletes have expressed that there probably isn’t anything like Ridley in the country and they all agree that there isn’t a nice place to play Division I lacrosse. Logistically, Ridley serves its purpose because Loyola athletes and students are rapidly outgrowing campus and Diane Geppi- Aikens field. There was a need for more adequate facilities for the athletic teams, so Ridley is a good win for this sports minded, athletic campus. Rev. Ridley also had in mind the academic side of campus life. E knew that this new stadium would free up the almost four acres of Diane Geppi- Aikens field in the middle of campus for future academic buildings. (Or, in my opinion, perhaps housing or parking, since students are current running out of both.)
Ridley Complex does create another major advantage for Loyola. Ridley puts Loyola on an equal playing field” with other big time athletic schools like Syracuse, whose Carrier Dome is now being compared to Ridley Athletic Complex. The Greyhounds are unabashedly giddy and immensely excited about this new stadium, and those who saw it on March 13, exclaimed that it exceeded their wildest expectations.
Coming to the monetary aspect of this project, Ridley is by far the largest capital project in the history of Loyola. At one point during production, current president, Father Linane question if the school could afford to spend that much money on an athletic complex.
For my group’s project, we are considering Loyola as a business that aims to retain its customers and acquire new customers; in this case, the customers would be the students. The new stadium plays a key role in our discussion because it can be consider as a business tactic for customer attraction and retention. Student athletes are more inclined to remain with Loyola, while perspective students, athletes or fans, are given more incentive to choose Loyola, if not for the attraction to the physical beauty of the stadium, then for the attraction to the prestige and honor the stadium brings to the university. For 62 million dollars, is it worth it? In my opinion, what Loyola would gain from this stadium will be worth much more than its hefty price tag.
As a university, Loyola aims to retain its current students while attracting perspective students. In my opinion, if this is the university’s focus in building Ridley, then, of course, the stadium will serve its purpose. I mean, what’s a better way to attract students then to give them an exquisitely designed playground that creates an atmosphere for appropriate campus spirit. School spirit is something Loyola students have an abundance of. The entire week prior to the stadium’s opening was spirit week, and green and grey were everywhere on campus. On game day, despite the rainy weather, Loyola students showed up in record numbers to support the men’s lacrosse team as they played Duke.
Despite the attraction and fun Ridley creates for the students, when former president Rev. Harold Ridley proposed the idea almost fifteen years ago, he had a specific vision for the stadium. He was determined to make athletics an important part of the university, and this stadium does just that. Loyola’s coaches and athletes have expressed that there probably isn’t anything like Ridley in the country and they all agree that there isn’t a nice place to play Division I lacrosse. Logistically, Ridley serves its purpose because Loyola athletes and students are rapidly outgrowing campus and Diane Geppi- Aikens field. There was a need for more adequate facilities for the athletic teams, so Ridley is a good win for this sports minded, athletic campus. Rev. Ridley also had in mind the academic side of campus life. E knew that this new stadium would free up the almost four acres of Diane Geppi- Aikens field in the middle of campus for future academic buildings. (Or, in my opinion, perhaps housing or parking, since students are current running out of both.)
Ridley Complex does create another major advantage for Loyola. Ridley puts Loyola on an equal playing field” with other big time athletic schools like Syracuse, whose Carrier Dome is now being compared to Ridley Athletic Complex. The Greyhounds are unabashedly giddy and immensely excited about this new stadium, and those who saw it on March 13, exclaimed that it exceeded their wildest expectations.
Coming to the monetary aspect of this project, Ridley is by far the largest capital project in the history of Loyola. At one point during production, current president, Father Linane question if the school could afford to spend that much money on an athletic complex.
For my group’s project, we are considering Loyola as a business that aims to retain its customers and acquire new customers; in this case, the customers would be the students. The new stadium plays a key role in our discussion because it can be consider as a business tactic for customer attraction and retention. Student athletes are more inclined to remain with Loyola, while perspective students, athletes or fans, are given more incentive to choose Loyola, if not for the attraction to the physical beauty of the stadium, then for the attraction to the prestige and honor the stadium brings to the university. For 62 million dollars, is it worth it? In my opinion, what Loyola would gain from this stadium will be worth much more than its hefty price tag.
Primary Source: Loyola to Open New Lacrosse, Soccer Facility Today
The Shift from Software to the Internet
The article, “Is This the End of Enterprise Software,” explains that “today, realtime information is possible, which has changed everything: How people consume information has changed, how people learn things about each other has changed, and how people stay current has changed. Most of all, our expectations around immediacy have changed."[1] Companies today have to change in order to succeed in a world that is becoming more technologically based every minute. With real-time software, such as Facebook, companies need to realize that they have the opportunity to update their information constantly. People have become to expect fast-paced technology and service. Society today lives at high speed, relying on fast-food stores for dinner and drive-through supermarkets for groceries. People are constantly using their phones and Blackberrys to keep in constant connection with friends and family or to just check the stocks. We are living in a world that focuses on realtime. With Facebook and Twitter, a person can keep the world updated on their lives by the second. What good is an ERP system that does not work in realtime? How is an ERP system that does not operate in realtime supposed to keep current in the constantly changing likes and dislikes of the consumer?
In order to have ERP systems that work in realtime, the article suggests for companies to start to move away from the data warehouses and instead retreat to the Internet. Cloud computing is allowing for tons of information to be gathered and shared to a large quantity of people. Beyond cloud computing, platforms are beginning to form. “These new cloud platforms will unleash unprecedented innovation and creativity throughout all areas of business and the web, with thousands of new apps being created that will revolutionize IT.”[2] The platforms allow all those with access to a certain program to build upon others ideas as well as their own. The article brings up the fact that if only Apple made its own apps, there would be 13 instead of 13,000. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines a cloud platform as being a way for the consumer to “deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations.”[3] Companies do not own the cloud platforms but are able to gain knowledge and ideas from external sources working in realtime.
Without the ability to be constantly updating one’s database, resources, and knowledge, a company would not be able to compete in the world today, where all customers are focused on immediate gratification. I think it is a great idea for companies to start to use the Internet more and more frequently. Today’s society is so computer-based and Internet-dependent that many employees will be able to learn how to use an Internet-based system rather than an external database warehouse or ERP system. I think it would be beneficial, both technologically and financially, to start creating more ERP systems on the Internet.
References:
[1] Bill McColl, “Is This the End of Enterprise Software?” SOA World Magazine (2010), http://in.sys-con.com/node/1318882
[2] McColl, “Is This the End of Enterprise Software?”
[3]Peter Mell and Tim Grance, “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing” The National Institute of Standards and Technology, http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:mt0-6VKV2G0J:csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/cloud-def-v15.doc+define+cloud+platform&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Importance of Direct Domain Names
All companies want to increase their web traffic. In an article titled “Herding Web Traffic Through Direct Domain Navigation” by Jeremiah Johnston, there is a discussion about the importance of direct domain names for products. Direct domain navigation is defined as “descriptive domain names that are used by online customers to find products, services or information on the internet in one step” (1). This subject matter is growing in importance and deals with a category called electronic commerce, commonly referred to as e-commerce. E-commerce is “The buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the internet” (2). Johnston’s article cites that “Despite economic troubles, e-commerce continued to gain positive momentum throughout 2009.” More importantly, there is a belief that using a direct domain name strategy will increase a company’s marketing and web traffic. Some companies that have been successful with this strategy include Calvin Klein, H&R Block, as well as Johnson & Johnson. These companies respectively employ the following domain names: www.underwear.com; www.taxcut.com; www.baby.com. It is clear that the domain names relate to the products that these companies sell. Utilizing such common terminology to market a brand increases product exposure.
It is apparent that simple domain names will lead customers to a particular product and company. Personally, I believe a company must be crazy not to implement a direct domain name strategy. The internet is a fast pace environment with numerous amounts of information and consumer traffic. Organizations must learn that this is a great way to channel customers to particular products. For example, Johnston discusses www.vodka.com. The author illustrates a scenario in which a consumer is interested in buying vodka and types in this web address. Now the Russian vodka company that is owns this domain name has captured a consumer in the vodka market.
Even though I believe that direct domain names are beneficial in building a larger customer base, there seems to be a minor problem. Taking a look at Johnston’s vodka example illustrates that there are only so many terms to describe vodka. Also, more than one company cannot use www.vodka.com as its web address. Essentially, there is the issue of multiple companies in the same industry getting a common domain name. But this problem can be mitigated through advertising on television. Johnston discusses examples from the Superbowl. Doritos advertised on television and utilized three creative domain names which interested consumers could visit. Through this example one understands that direct domain names do not need to be common terms such as underwear, taxcut, baby, and vodka. In reality, direct domain names need to be “direct,” meaning they have to get the consumer to the product that is desired.
There is a belief that “businesses have neglected the most effective marketing tool that they have which is the strategic planning of their internet presence” (3). Direct domain names solve this problem. The internet is a potential goldmine. When companies start implementing a direct domain name strategy their profits are sure to rise while their brands grow.
See Article:
Jeremiah Johnston, “Herding Web Traffic Through Direct Domain Navigation,” Ecommerce Times, February 26, 2010, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69430.html (accessed February 28, 2010).
References:
1 Dotcom Agency, Direct Navigation Domain Names, http://www.dotcomagency.com/sitepages/directnav.asp (accessed February 28, 2010).
2 InvestorWords.com, Electronic Commerce, http://www.investorwords.com/1678/electronic_commerce.html (accessed February 28, 2010).
3 Laura Lake, Internet Marketing Strategy: Why Is It Important?, About.com, http://marketing.about.com/cs/internetstrategy/a/aanetmarketinga.htm (accessed February 28, 2010).
It is apparent that simple domain names will lead customers to a particular product and company. Personally, I believe a company must be crazy not to implement a direct domain name strategy. The internet is a fast pace environment with numerous amounts of information and consumer traffic. Organizations must learn that this is a great way to channel customers to particular products. For example, Johnston discusses www.vodka.com. The author illustrates a scenario in which a consumer is interested in buying vodka and types in this web address. Now the Russian vodka company that is owns this domain name has captured a consumer in the vodka market.
Even though I believe that direct domain names are beneficial in building a larger customer base, there seems to be a minor problem. Taking a look at Johnston’s vodka example illustrates that there are only so many terms to describe vodka. Also, more than one company cannot use www.vodka.com as its web address. Essentially, there is the issue of multiple companies in the same industry getting a common domain name. But this problem can be mitigated through advertising on television. Johnston discusses examples from the Superbowl. Doritos advertised on television and utilized three creative domain names which interested consumers could visit. Through this example one understands that direct domain names do not need to be common terms such as underwear, taxcut, baby, and vodka. In reality, direct domain names need to be “direct,” meaning they have to get the consumer to the product that is desired.
There is a belief that “businesses have neglected the most effective marketing tool that they have which is the strategic planning of their internet presence” (3). Direct domain names solve this problem. The internet is a potential goldmine. When companies start implementing a direct domain name strategy their profits are sure to rise while their brands grow.
See Article:
Jeremiah Johnston, “Herding Web Traffic Through Direct Domain Navigation,” Ecommerce Times, February 26, 2010, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69430.html (accessed February 28, 2010).
References:
1 Dotcom Agency, Direct Navigation Domain Names, http://www.dotcomagency.com/sitepages/directnav.asp (accessed February 28, 2010).
2 InvestorWords.com, Electronic Commerce, http://www.investorwords.com/1678/electronic_commerce.html (accessed February 28, 2010).
3 Laura Lake, Internet Marketing Strategy: Why Is It Important?, About.com, http://marketing.about.com/cs/internetstrategy/a/aanetmarketinga.htm (accessed February 28, 2010).
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
How Businesses Can Take Advantage of Cloud Computing
One article that I researched lays out the need for cloud computing beautifully, stating “Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software”(1). Cloud computing is all the rage these days; at least it seems from scouring the Internet. Few people know what it actually is and how it works. It is much like the client-server model, but is done over the Internet. For the most part, it is changing IT infrastructure needs by making IT a service and outsourcing from an internal part of any company to specialized IT companies on the Internet. Eric Knorr and Galen Gruman say that the seven different ways of cloud computing are: SaaS (software as a service), utility computing, web services, platform as a service, managed service providers, service commerce platforms, and internet integration. The question now is: what advantages/disadvantages does cloud computing hold?
The first advantage lies in the outsourcing part of cloud computing. If businesses end up outsourcing their IT infrastructure, it saves money (hopefully they would decide to cloud compute only if it cut costs) and possibly time as well. With all their applications, databases, etc over the Internet, there’s no need to have huge servers consuming energy and space at your office. That’s all provided by the company you’re outsourcing to. Furthermore, you need less IT staff. If you have a problem, you contact the company that runs your systems. However, some businesses might find that the way they have their IT infrastructure set up is less costly than cloud computing. As a result of this knowledge and research, the company should stay in its current format. Maybe they do a little research into different divisions of the company and identify where they can cut costs by using cloud computing. On further note, John Weinman says that another advantage related to outsourcing is “agility: Resources and services that are immediately available for on-demand use clearly enhance agility over months-long engineering, procurement, and installation efforts” (2). Another product of outsourcing is specialization. As companies become specialized in their field such as, cloud computing, CRM services, ERP services, and other Internet based services, they get better at what they do and understand their field better. In this way, companies might not even need to have their own IT department at all. It will be outsourced to other companies that know how to run an IT staff with efficiency and precision. The downside of this is that companies might feel like they don’t have their own hands on their information. The personal touch is lost with their data and they might be scared as to who might have access to their data.
Another advantage of cloud computing is that if a small company wants an ERP or CRM system, it does not need as huge of a change within the business as previously conceived. In class, we discussed how it took years to install ERP and CRM systems and to take advantage of their features. With cloud computing putting this as a service, a company can do it all online. There would be no installation of servers and a database program into the whole network. The website that would run your system would be the caretakers of all the hassle. Lag-time between installation and running any system would be greatly decreased. Furthermore, interoperability may be increased exponentially if companies use the same systems over cloud computing. The only disadvantage from this point of view is actually getting the data online. The amount of data entry could be time consuming. In addition to this, Weinman points out that, “The key reason has to do with the usage-based pricing paradigm of cloud services. The important insight here is that even if cloud services do cost more when they are used, they cost nothing when they aren't used. This is a very different story than the enterprise data center, where owned resources continue to cost money whether they're used or not” (2). Instead of having the fixed cost of the entire infrastructure, it becomes a variable cost depending on how much you use it. Overall, the advantages of a business using cloud computing seem to outweigh the disadvantages. Look for this to greatly affect the information technology field, as well as how business use databases, ERP, CRM and SCM systems.
References:
1. Knorr, Eric, Gruman, Galen. “What cloud computing really means,” InfoWorld, April 7, 2008, http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031, (accessed March 3, 2010).
2. Weinman, John. “Time to do the math on cloud computing,” InformationWeek, March 2, 2010, http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/saas/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223101216 (accessed March 3, 2010).
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
"Taking Airline CRM Efforts to New, Higher Altitudes"
Customer relationship management, or CRM, is becoming increasingly important in service-oriented industries. The airline industry is no exception, showing particular growth in its CRM efforts after September 11, 2001 . There was no longer a steady stream of eager travelers to sell to, causing airlines throughout the industry to change the way they do business. Rather than selling a commodity, airlines began selling a service, and implemented programs such as the frequent flier program (FFP) . The institution of frequent flyer programs allowed for the collection of data on customers like never before, but now the need for improved IT systems is necessary to utilize this data to its full potential.
I think that this article presents an important concept regarding data collection and information technology. Well-organized and researched CRM provides a competitive advantage to a business, allowing differentiation and focus (segmentation), top-line initiative, and growing the organization . The goal of CRM is “treating customers better, understanding their needs and wants, and tailoring offerings in response.” . As such, using collected data applied with an effective IT system is an excellent way to improve CRM, and in turn the success of the company as a whole.
Airlines have been able to collect a great deal of data regarding their customers, however this information is worthless if it is not used properly and accessible to those whom it would be the greatest advantage. In his article, Higgins provides the example of a customer who previously had a bad experience with an airline. Should the personnel checking the customer into their next flight know this, they can compensate the customer and build on that relationship . Without access to that information, however, airline personnel are left without tools which can help them immensely, especially considering that they are the only personal contact with customers.
Additionally, the improved organization and implementation of data on the corporate level allows airlines to make changes on a grander scale to assist their customers. Higgins also mentions the possible further segmentation of customers with the use of collected data on customers, which would allow for a more personalized experience for customers and more effective marketing. Currently, the airline industry focuses of two major segments, vacationers and business travelers . There are many more customer segments to focus on though, such as college students or more specifically families with children, or young couples. With all of the data that has been collected with FFPs, airlines have the ability to be very specific when targeting different segments, which can greatly benefit its customer base.
The fact of the matter is that airlines have a great deal of information at their disposal, but need the proper IT system in order to use it effectively. Using their collected data more effectively will allow airlines within the industry to appeal to customers more directly, build customer relationships, and eventually build on their top line. Growth in the customer base and revenues of the company allow for more general, corporate growth of the company, in this case the airline. CRM allows the company to improve, and IT allows for the improvement of CRM.
John Higgins, “Taking Airline CRM Efforts to New, Higher Altitudes,” ECommerce Times, February 1, 2010, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69239.html?wlc=1266367417
Ibid.
Stephen Haag and Maeve Cummings, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 71.
Stephen Haag and Maeve Cummings, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 72.
John Higgins, “Taking Airline CRM Efforts to New, Higher Altitudes,” ECommerce Times, February 1, 2010, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69239.html?wlc=1266367417
Ibid.
I think that this article presents an important concept regarding data collection and information technology. Well-organized and researched CRM provides a competitive advantage to a business, allowing differentiation and focus (segmentation), top-line initiative, and growing the organization . The goal of CRM is “treating customers better, understanding their needs and wants, and tailoring offerings in response.” . As such, using collected data applied with an effective IT system is an excellent way to improve CRM, and in turn the success of the company as a whole.
Airlines have been able to collect a great deal of data regarding their customers, however this information is worthless if it is not used properly and accessible to those whom it would be the greatest advantage. In his article, Higgins provides the example of a customer who previously had a bad experience with an airline. Should the personnel checking the customer into their next flight know this, they can compensate the customer and build on that relationship . Without access to that information, however, airline personnel are left without tools which can help them immensely, especially considering that they are the only personal contact with customers.
Additionally, the improved organization and implementation of data on the corporate level allows airlines to make changes on a grander scale to assist their customers. Higgins also mentions the possible further segmentation of customers with the use of collected data on customers, which would allow for a more personalized experience for customers and more effective marketing. Currently, the airline industry focuses of two major segments, vacationers and business travelers . There are many more customer segments to focus on though, such as college students or more specifically families with children, or young couples. With all of the data that has been collected with FFPs, airlines have the ability to be very specific when targeting different segments, which can greatly benefit its customer base.
The fact of the matter is that airlines have a great deal of information at their disposal, but need the proper IT system in order to use it effectively. Using their collected data more effectively will allow airlines within the industry to appeal to customers more directly, build customer relationships, and eventually build on their top line. Growth in the customer base and revenues of the company allow for more general, corporate growth of the company, in this case the airline. CRM allows the company to improve, and IT allows for the improvement of CRM.
John Higgins, “Taking Airline CRM Efforts to New, Higher Altitudes,” ECommerce Times, February 1, 2010, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69239.html?wlc=1266367417
Ibid.
Stephen Haag and Maeve Cummings, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 71.
Stephen Haag and Maeve Cummings, Management Information Systems for the Information Age, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 72.
John Higgins, “Taking Airline CRM Efforts to New, Higher Altitudes,” ECommerce Times, February 1, 2010, http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69239.html?wlc=1266367417
Ibid.
Monday, February 15, 2010
CRMS: Helpful Tool or Privacy Invader?
Reference
Olswang. "CRM: Don't Forget about Privacy." Extending the Enterprise. CBS Interactive, 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2010.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)