Technology News You Can Use
November 2006 – Issue XXI
In This Newsletter
One of the key challenges that IT professionals face is effectively communicating with their customers. Regardless of whether these customers are external clients are internal business users, the approach that an IT professional take will influence a successful relationship. The first step in understanding how to improve communications with users is to determine a starting point. This starting point may come in many different forms, but a common denominator is an assessment of the current state of communications.
Does your IT group share a strong rapport with business users or are there always significant finger pointing when things go wrong? Are there concrete metrics that measure successful IT projects or help desk remediation? Do customer satisfaction surveys reflect that customers are pleased with support provided by the IT Group? Does your
CIO
or VP of IT enjoy a healthy working relationship with her peers in the business units?
The following list includes several steps that your IT organization can implement to improve its communications with users. See how you stack up to the following steps that successful IT organizations have used to better interact with their customers.
- Implement a Culture of Service – Culture is by far the strongest means to ensure that your technical staff is supporting customers with enthusiasm. Rackspace Managed Hosting changed it culture to one of “Fanatical Support” and, in doing so, changed the hosting industry. They cite their culture of support as a differentiator relative to competitors and they’ve found a way to measure successful interactions with clients that reflect over-the-top customer support. At Denim Group, we have the “Chuck Norris” award – a tongue-in-cheek award for the consultant who is relentless in solving his or her client’s problems. These types of cultural mechanisms help reinforce positive behaviors, so don’t overlook them.
- Use a Common Language – Don’t confuse users with technical jargon. Guess what? Most users don’t know if the Windows on their desktop is Windows 98, 2000, or XP. Start talking to them about them about a new Microsoft operating system named Vista, and you’re likely facing a user who doesn’t know what an operating system is, and hasn’t heard of
Vista
. Try calling
Vista
“the new version of Windows.” They’ll get that….
- Solicit Feedback - This is the most obvious step an IT organization can take to understand how they are doing in the eyes of their customers. Soliciting feedback, however painful, is an absolute must if want to know whether your doing your job well. Surveys following any help desk incident are absolutely necessary. Your tech support person might think that she solved the problem in her eyes, but the user might still view the problem as unresolved. Tools like “Survey Monkey” make it easier.
- Don’t Assume Users are Dumb - Don’t assume your customer is a “luser” just because they don’t know how to recompile a Linux kernel! Users are real, real smart in things like business operations, marketing, sales, accounting, etc. Without them, you would have no one to support, so give them a break if they aren’t up to the latest and greatest tech happenings. They are creating value and making money – it’s your job to help them be more efficient at what they do best.
I hope these were able to help your organization bridge the divide that sometimes separates us from our non-techie brethrens.
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North Chamber Statistics for your Business Info and Increasing Your Click Rate! John Tomblin, DataTitan
Did you know the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce tracks not only the amount of traffic (hits) to the chamber website...but also the number of hits your company receives from people searching for your products and services. Come along and I'll show you some cool tips and tricks for gathering this information. Once armed with the content, you’ll understand better how much of your web traffic and or calls might be generated from activity from the North Chamber website.
Let’s begin. First, go to www.northsanantoniochamber.com. When you arrive at the website, look for the link entitled "MEMBER ACCESS". Click this link and enter your "User Name" and "Password", then click "LOGIN". If you don't know your "User Name" and "Password", contact the chamber office at (210) 344-4848. The next screen you see is the "Members Only" web page. From here, you can change your contact information, register for current events and view important stats about people looking for you and your company online. Click the "My Referrals" link.
The next page you see has six pieces of information. 1) E-Mail. Here you will see two results, a number and a percentage. The number represents the number of people who have performed a search, either by your company or individual name, arrived at the search results page, and clicked the "e-mail" link to send you email. The second number represents, as a percentage, the total number of people who clicked the email link in order to send you an email. 2) Website. This number is the total count of people who clicked your website link and a) opted to leave the North Chamber website by clicking "continue", and b) linked from the chamber site to yours. 3) Keyword Searches. When you first joined the chamber, you selected keywords that were entered into a database system for search queries. Let’s say your keywords are "database" and "web design". When visitors type in either of these keywords, the chamber site will both note the search and well as provide you statistics of the number of people that performed a keyword search using your keywords. 4) Maps. When a visitor clicks the "Map" link, they will be provided a Google map from the Internet with directions to your office. 5) Clicking on "My List" adds your company to the visitors preferred list of companies. 6) Lastly, clicking the "More Info" will take chamber visitors to a webpage containing a detailed business description, business categories (your keywords) along with a list of the primary contacts and phone numbers of key individuals in your company.
In addition to the statistics provided for your company, the North Chamber also tracks and counts unique visitors to its website as well. During September, there was a total of 272 unique visitors. October was a busy month with 966. That's 30+ average visitors every day.
Some other interesting statistics involve the number of clicks associated with key pages from the northsachamber.com website. The CIO Directory, for example, year to date through October 31st, has been downloaded 2,947 times. And there have been 1,569 page views for the Technology Council. But of the over 300,000 visits from people to the chamber website, by far, the most popular and widely downloaded content of the website is the monthly North Chamber Newsletter with over 19,000 downloads.
Now you possess the instructions needed to view and track statistics associated with your company online. Check this information often, determine patterns and experiment with the types of keywords that will generate the highest “click” returns for your company. Like any online advertising campaign, you will need to experiment, change and modify your keywords to maximize the number of “eyeball” views and clicks to your website.
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How to Buy Software – Cheapest Isn’t Always the Least Expensive
By
Larry Lentz
, Microsoft Dynamics CRM MVP, Lentz Computer
The cheapest (legal) way to buy software is to purchase it with a new computer. This is called OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer. This provides a substantial discount on the software compared to other methods such as buying it off the shelf. The most common software purchased OEM is the computer’s operating system, say Microsoft Windows XP, and applications like Microsoft Office. However, there are some ‘gotchas’ involved with OEM. First, OEM must be purchased with a new computer or appropriate hardware. In the case of Windows XP, there will be a license called the Certificate of Authenticity attached to the side of the box. You can’t legally purchase OEM without hardware though you may find it for sale that way. The next gotcha is that you can’t move it from one machine to another. If your computer fails and needs to be replaced, so does the software! Another gotcha is that support for your OEM software is from your reseller, not the manufactures. So if you buy Microsoft Office OEM from Best Buy, you’d best call Best Buy if you have any questions. Microsoft won’t talk with you, at least not without a credit card number.
Another way to purchase software is off the shelf in a shrink wrapped box. This is called Full Packaged Product, FPP. This is a bit more flexible than OEM as you can move it from one computer to another. Of course it can only be on one computer at a time. Oh, and you know that little slip of paper inside the box, the one that says something like End User License Agreement. Keep it! That is your only proof of legal ownership. The actual software doesn’t count. If you loose that license, you loose your right to use the software. Ask the folks in
New Orleans
after Katrina about that. Microsoft sent in a bunch of folks to help out after Katrina but if businesses only had OEM or lost their FPP licenses in the flooding, they were out of luck. Also, if you are lucky enough to get audited by the software police, the “Business Software Alliance” (BSA), they will demand to see those little slips of paper. Boxes and CDs don’t count.
The best way to purchase software, at least Microsoft software, is though the many Open Licensing programs. These can be confusing though. Microsoft has a battalion of attorneys whose job is to figure out ways to make this complicated. But, there are advantages. First, the license is actually maintained on-line by Microsoft. Should you have some sort of disaster, like a flood or a visit from the BSA, your proof of ownership is safe and sound on Microsoft’s servers. To replace your software you would only need to, perhaps, purchase a new CD set, $27 or so, and look up the license keys on-line. But wait! There’s more. Some products offer home use rights. Say you purchase Microsoft Office under the appropriate licensing program. It will allow you to install it not only on your computer at work, but also on a computer at home! Two for the price of one. You also can call up Microsoft for support and they’ll actually talk to you. And you are likely eligible for training and other bennies. Plus you may get upgrade rights. If you bought Windows XP or Microsoft Office under the appropriate license, you would be eligible to upgrade to the soon to be released Windows Vista or Office 2007. But wait! There’s still more. In some licensing programs you don’t have to pay for it all at once. You can spread your software payments over three years. That can be a real cash flow saver!
There are many ways to buy software. Deciding which is best for you is not a cut and dried situation. Discuss it with your software/hardware vendor or computer consultant to determine which method is best for you. Sometimes the cheapest isn’t the least expensive in the long run.
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In recent years, the technology sector in
San Antonio
has grown by leaps and bounds. Regardless of the size of your company, every company is looking to hire talented professionals to staff their Information Technology departments. Yet the major concern of IT shops throughout
San Antonio
appears to be, “why can’t we attract qualified professionals?”
This is common across the country. A new sector takes off and grows faster than the ability of the industry to provide adequate staffing. There are several reasons for this.
First, many companies choose to search for qualified individuals through their own web sites. They rely heavily on their Human Resources departments to post job openings. As a result, the HR department is faced with some challenges. Do they have experience with recruiting personnel for IT positions? Does the advertised position reflect the actual job description or is it simply a wish list?
Second, every company wants to save money. By allowing HR to do the recruiting, the organization may realize short term savings. However, in the interim, productivity and employee morale may lag due to increased workload and an overburdened staff. In addition, this may result in the company missing the technology boat due to the inability to grow the organization because of headcount issues.
Finally, finding the right person for the job presents its own set of issues. When looking for a suitable candidate, what is HR basing their initial search on? Has the IT department given HR their wish list? Has HR read between the lines on candidates resumes before passing them onto IT? Resume submission software places emphasis on keywords that when picked up, kicks out a potential candidate. However, how many candidates are overlooked because their resumes aren’t formatted to be read by the software?
There are several solutions to recruiting and hiring talented applicants:
- Outsource to the pros. Invest in a good recruiting firm specializing in IT placement. When interviewing the firm, make sure the recruiters are well versed in all aspects of IT. Many recruiting firms specializing in IT have trained IT professionals on staff. Qualified candidates are pre-screened before being passed along to your company.
Hire an HR professional who also possesses IT credentials. This person understands IT, probably has recruited and hired people before and can read between the lines what an IT resume is actually saying. In addition, this person also becomes the liaison between HR and IT when it comes to developing training programs as well as building business processes and applications such as a data warehouse or a web based training program.
Perform a thorough Job and Person Analysis before creating the job description. This will not only establish competency specifications for the job, it will also establish the level of “Knowledge, Skills and Abilities” (KSAs) required to successfully perform the job.
Above all, be specific! Create a job description, prioritize it, delete extraneous requirements and then re-prioritize. Repeat this process until the requirements are crystal clear. Also, if the IT department is working through HR, every now and then walk over to HR, take a batch of resumes and peruse them. As much as we rely on technology, sometimes going back to basics is all that’s needed to find your next star employee.
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One of the most important decisions a business makes is what software and systems to use. Making the wrong choice in a software purchase can have both short and long-term consequences for a business. When looking at solutions available to business there are three main categories of software, “Off the Shelf” or packaged solutions, custom built solutions, and hybrid solutions.
Packaged solutions comprise the vast majority of the software available in the marketplace today and include software sold by most major software companies and thousands of smaller development firms. For medium and large organizations Off the Shelf is a bit of a misnomer, since an application is almost never implemented straight Off the Shelf, some level of integration and customization is usually present. Choosing a packaged solution has both pros and cons.
Packaged
Cons:
Operational/Business Model: Your organization will be modifying it’s operational model to accommodate a software package and business model developed by a third party, your organization may have to change to accommodate the software, which takes time, effort, money, and may hurt your business. For a organization with a fairly standard operating/business model this is not usually of great concern. For others it can be a tremendous issue.
- Proprietary/Closed Structure: This is becoming less of an issue but is still quite common with smaller software companies. A packaged solution may not allow you modify or add to a solution. Future growth/changes may require you to purchase updates, if updates are not available you may have to scrap the software and purchase a new package. Additionally support is only available from one source, should that source go out of business or simply decide to no longer support the solution your company will face a challenge.
- Bloated Feature Sets: In an effort to reach the largest market possible developers often pack as many features as they can into a package. Your organization may not need all of the features provided in a packaged solution and their inclusion unnecessarily raises both the cost and complexity of the solution. This issue can result in a packaged solution being more expensive than a custom built one (often a surprise to the consumer).
Pros:
Cost: In most cases packaged software is cheaper both in initial cost and for technical support because the cost of development and support is distributed among multiple customers.
- Stability: Most Tier 1 companies extensively test their software for bugs and security issues providing a more stable and secure platform. When considering a non Tier 1 provider it is critical that you examine these issues. Smaller software companies often provide products that can be less secure than a customized solution.
Custom solutions are often utilized by medium large organizations that have business models and needs that are unique..
San Antonio
is home to several world class firms that develop custom solutions.
Custom
Cons:
Stability: The stability and security of your solution is only as good as your development partner. A quality development partner will provide you a solution as secure as any on the market (sometimes more secure then applications developed by industry leaders). A lower end development partner may provide you with a buggy and vulnerable system.
- Cost: By definition custom solutions do not have the same economies of scale as packaged solutions raising both the application and support costs.
- Business/Operational Model: Custom solutions are only as good as the model they are built to support and the requirements generated to define the models needs. If you are unsure of your business/operational models (or may be looking to change it) purchasing a system designed specifically to support it may not be the best decision.
Pros:
Focused Functionality: Custom solutions provide features sets and functionality that precisely mirror an organizations needs. A focused feature set often results in a custom solution costing less then a large packed solution.
- Business/Operational Model: A customized solution allows your organization to support a unique business/operational model, not one that was based on market research of thousands of organizations, with vastly different needs.
Hybrids share the pros and cons of both packaged and custom solutions. Before considering purchasing a packaged solution and customizing it to support your needs it is vital that you have a thorough understanding of your business needs and the available solutions.
As an organization evaluating your software choices the most critical factor to achieve success is the development of detailed requirements to support not only your existing model but (if possible) future models also. It is also worthwhile to assess your business model before purchasing a solution to support it. Do you want to keep your model, change it, or scrap it and start with a new one? Try to forecast strategically and tactically what you will need in the future to avoid locking yourself into a solution which cannot accommodate those needs. Ultimately do your homework and keep an open mind.
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