Driving Revenue with Technology

12/15/2010

Where Do We Go From Here?

During these difficult economic conditions, business owners I talk with have made deep cuts in expenses. On the flip side, many I’ve talked with recently are struggling with how to grow revenue; they feel they’ve cut expenses as deeply as possible, and now must sell their way out of the situation.

A quick assessment of your technology can reveal good options for making changes in key areas that will drive sales productivity.

About twenty percent of the time, the assessment reveals opportunities to reallocate existing technology expense. In these cases, the business usually hasn’t made changes to their technology infrastructure in over three years. Because costs for technology goods and services have come down in the same period, reallocation of existing expense dollars is possible.

These “found monies” can then be used to offset costs for improving systems and tools targeted to help sales people. Contact management systems, sales training tools, pipeline management systems, and other technology can drive sales productivity.

In tough times in worst cases, technology can help companies gain an edge. And in best cases, you can leapfrog competition. The challenge is usually financing the effort with available cash flow. A quick, inexpensive assessment by the right firm can be a great first step.

Here’s a Tip – If you do an assessment, make sure your IT consultant’s findings are either going to show you options that reduce or reallocate expenses or drive sales. The bottom line is that if you’re going to spend money on IT in this economy, it must have viable return on investment and/or lower total cost of ownership.



Technology vs Business Owners

Information technology (IT) either disappears into the background, because it’s always working well, or it comes at you in a disruptive fashion. Hearing an employee say “The server’s down”, or “I can’t get to the Internet”, or “I think my PC has a virus”, can cause business owners to cringe.

Hopefully, you’re not worrying about “When did we last do a backup of our critical data?” or “I wonder if we have a working firewall on our network?”

When it comes to technology, business owners intuitively know it’s needed, but they’re typically not comfortable with it, and they believe it’s usually going to cost them money. What’s worse is that many business owners feel jaded by an experience with an IT consultant who recommended or sold them something that caused harm.

So where does a business owner start and end with technology? And what’s the best way to ensure you have the technology that will make you money, and not cost your business in lost time or adding dysfunction to your organization?

Here’s a tip – Before engaging with an IT provider, make sure you have a firm grasp on the processes and metrics that you need to run your company. Are key processes and metrics documented and understood by those that use them?

That may seem counterintuitive – after all, many businesses rely on IT systems to get reports and supply metrics. My point is this – IT shouldn’t be considered a fix. It only enables good business ideas and well thought-out business methodology. If the process is broken, enabling it with IT will only make the situation worse.

Here’s another tip – If your IT provider isn’t asking questions about your business methodology and the metrics that are driving the business, you should be looking elsewhere. Good IT people understand their role is to identify and enable the leverage points to improve business process.



Cloud Computing – Risk/Reward

04/19/2010

During a presentation to small and mid-sized business owners this past week, I had a question that caught me unaware, and ultimately, I’m concerned that the audience didn’t get my best response.  The business owner who asked the question was concerned about risk to their data.  My mistake was focusing on what was happening technically and not answering the question directly.

We were in a discussion at the time, about cloud computing.  The business owner understood that cloud computing made them more mobile, and allowed their company productivity benefits.  They were concerned about the stories they’d heard of hackers getting at critical or sensitive data.

The risk in cloud computing is what could happen by completely letting go of your data and putting it with a service provider.  Obviously, the (typically 3-year) contract you’d be under could alleviate risk.  It’s a good news bad news scenario.  The good news is that cloud computing allows you to operate virtually, assuming you have an Internet connection and machine to get to it.  The better news is that your data is centralized.  The bad news is that you’re data is centralized, and with a service provider.

So how to cope?  I’d recommend figuring out quickly what’s really “proprietary” or “sensitive” data and then ensuring data security, by safeguarding it  with additional means, i.e. offsite storage.  First though, I’d use service level agreements in the cloud service provider’s contract to address risk appropriately.

Make no mistake about it, cloud computing represents both benefit and risk.  A recent study shows cloud adoption by commercial users will double in the next year.  Why?  Smart business owners are figuring out how to utilize the benefits of cloud computing and effectively and appropriately manage the risk.  Not-so-smart business owners are pulling the trigger on using cloud-based applications without considering security and data protection issues.



Cloud Computing For Small Companies

02/18/2010

Have you heard anything like the following?

“The server needs to be upgraded, we can’t easily control document versions for pricing and proposal templates, we think some of our employees are using pirated software, and some of our PC users have slow machines or machines that lock up and need to be restarted. Our IT support person helps us on an hourly basis, but we’re not confident they have a strategic perspective and they seem intent on selling us more hardware and software.”

This unfortunate scenario occurred recently at a small company in the Twin Cities. Sadly, it’s all-too-common in many small businesses.

Because of IT problems, among their 18 employees, this company’s low-ball guess was that they were losing 10-20 hours of productivity each week. They were studying two options to fix the problems, each of which required capital outlay of thousands of dollars to add hardware and software. Rightly so, they were also concerned that more IT infrastructure would lead to higher administration costs going forward.

The NT Group showed them another option, using a cloud computing architecture. The cloud-based model allowed them to:

- upgrade their server and data storage network

- upgrade their MS Office applications

- implement global calendaring and other efficiency tools

- access applications and documents securely from any computer and the Internet

- implement a disaster recovery and business continuity plan

- get access to 24×7x365 local support

- implement the solution with no capital expenditure

It took less than 30 days to implement. Almost immediately the client was avoiding lost productivity, but they also realized a benefit they hadn’t anticipated; because their employees have 24-hour secure access to applications and data, they’re working after hours, from home and other remote locations on a regular basis.

In the final analysis, the client grew sales revenue in a tough economy, improved overall productivity, and improved overall morale by giving their people useful tools and a flexible schedule. The owners can focus on other issues, knowing that their data is backed up and secure, and that their IT expenses are predictable and fixed.

Who do you know that could benefit from understanding if/how cloud computing solutions could work for them?



Cloud Computing Defined

01/07/2010

In July 2009, Information Week published the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) definition of cloud computing as part of an article that confirms “…a growing number of federal agencies are plugging into the cloud.”

The article defines cloud computing as “A model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”; in other words, easy access to applications and IT infrastructure, without a lot of hardware, software, or service provider overhead.

For those with concerns about security within the cloud, the article goes on to say that author Peter Mell, who hails from the NIST, and who recently spoke at the IT On A Budget Forum, called cloud security “a doable thing”.

Because it can eliminate capital expense while providing improvements to business operations (read sales and profitability growth), the use of cloud computing is growing.  A business owner’s challenge will be to find the providers who can correctly implement cloud computing solutions that complement their business strategy.

Before taking steps to explore cloud computing solutions, I caution business owners to first have a defined and viable IT strategy that parallels their overall business strategy.  While cloud computing offers many benefits, such as lower capital costs, faster implementation, easier application management, etc., without a defined IT strategy, cloud computing can wind up like many other failed IT initiatives – a costly project that ends with the business owner scratching their head and wondering “what went wrong?”.

For more information, please contact www.thentgroup.com



Unified Communications – Drive Productivity

The current economic climate has caused growth in unified communications (UC) deployments (ref. Information Week, September 2009 “6 Tips for Optimizing UC Adoption” by Jim Koniecki); reasons being that a correctly-implemented UC project can realize rapid return on investment and essentially fund itself.

So what is UC and how can it help business owners?  Essentially, UC incorporates or “unifies” elements of phone systems, video conferencing, instant messaging, mobile telephones, data communications networks, and IT systems.  But that’s technical jargon.

For a business owner, UC is all about building in productivity to the business operation.  For example, UC allows my clients to utilize employees in disparate locations to seamlessly work together on customer problems.  UC allows a company to fully leverage available employee resources, including the IT resources that manage their infrastructure.  UC centralizes management of what are typically disparate systems and applications.  And it provides an easy-to-use toolset for my clients to get better results with lower cost.

But beware, like any IT “solution” unified communications is all about aligning the available technology with the current infrastructure.  Before beginning a UC rollout, it’s important to understand how the solution will work with existing infrastructure.  To spread out costs, and make UC quickly pay for itself, it’s usually possible to step the migration in phases.  It’s also important to understand how one will centrally manage the final solution, as that is one of the biggest benefits of unified communications.

For more information please contact www.thentgroup.com



Cloud Computing for Small/Mid Business

06/25/2009

What’s the Buzz About?

Using PCs and PC Servers for personal and business productivity is nothing new.  What is changing is how small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are saving money using those machines differently.

Total cost of ownership (TCO) for PCs and PC servers is comprised of:

- Hardware/Software Purchase - On Site Support
- Hardware/Software Deployment - Software Upgrades
- User Training - Software Patch Deployment
- Warranty - Disposal Costs
- Help Desk Support - Lost Productivity From Downtime

A paper titled “Quantifying the Total Cost of Ownership for Entry-Level and Mid-Range Server Clusters” published by TechWise Research Inc. in 2007 reveals that TCO for HP, IBM, or Sun servers is at least $8,000 per month.  The largest component of TCO in their research is lost productivity from server downtime.

My own research in the SMB market reveals similar findings.  TCO for a single PC is between $2,000 and up to $8,000 per year.  Again, the largest component of TCO is lost revenue and productivity associated with down time.  The swing is attributable to the complexity of software applications, whether data is regularly backed up, how often anti-virus gets updated, how often software is updated, the type of support (7×24x365 help desk vs. ad hoc) in place, and the level of training in place for end users and support personnel.

These estimates don’t include the risk associated with lost data.  As mobility of PC users increases, risk of lost/stolen data rises.

Enter cloud computing. The concept is simple – instead of building infrastructure with servers and PCs and software on those machines, you pay for the applications you need as a “service” on a user by user basis.   You connect to the service through a secure broadband Internet connection.

With cloud computing, a service provider owns the servers, data storage equipment, and the software applications, and rents or owns commercial data center space that houses it all.  The PC connecting to the service needs only an operating system, like XP or Vista with an inherent web browser, like Internet Explorer.  The Internet connection is secured with encryption and user name and password authentication.

Service providers charge a flat monthly fee for applications, storage and protection (backup) of data, and help desk support.  The monthly fee per user ranges from $150 – $350, depending on applications that are being accessed, the amount of data storage required, and the level of end user support.  A one-time start up fee per user of about $250/user gets the service running.

Why now?

Cloud computing is the result of a few factors.  One of them is the increasing availability of broadband Internet access.  Another factor is the advent of software, such as VMware that allows connecting servers together to create one big “virtual” machine that can support thousands of users simultaneously.  A third factor is the declining cost of data storage.  And lastly, there is an abundance of managed service providers with commercial data center facilities with redundant power, Internet connections, HVAC, and fire suppression capabilities.

Downside of changing

There is user training associated with the change to cloud computing, but due to the similarity with a user’s current desktop, training is short-lived, i.e. if arrow keys are used to navigate through a document, a screen refreshes each time the arrow key is pressed, which can translate to slow response compared to using the slide cursor or the page up/page down keys.

The file folder architecture is often standardized, so users may have to adjust to using a different file/folder schema.

The end user’s desktop background may not be customizable, i.e. the background with the family photo may be replaced with a blue background.

Frequently asked questions include “What happens if I lose my Internet connection?” This can be addressed with a redundant connection.  If dsl is being used, cable or a second dsl connection for Internet access redundancy is desirable.  “How secure is my data?” is also commonly heard; this is a valid concern and merits rigorous discussion with the service provider to uncover whether their security policies and practices adequately protect data.  However, it’s been my experience that a service provider can typically protect data better than SMB customers themselves.

Benefits of changing

The benefits of cloud computing architecture vs. building internal infrastructure include:

Predictable IT Budget – Cloud computing costs are finite.  There is nothing to purchase above and beyond the initial start up fee, the monthly fixed service fee per user, and the PC used to connect to the service.

Decreased capital expense – Cloud computing users can use a Winterm device to utilize the service.  Winterm devices are essentially stripped-down PCs and are priced at $300-800 each.  No PC servers or applications are needed because the application software is running in the service provider’s datacenter(s).  No PC software other than the operating system is needed.  Note – depending on whether users will need access to applications where Internet service is not available, some applications may be needed on the user’s machine, but data files are automatically backed up when the user again connects to the service.

Decreased ongoing expense – Cloud computing environments are simpler to support because the user’s machine has little running on it.  There are fewer problems with software conflicts, hardware problems, driver issues, etc.

Decreased risk – Data is centrally managed, backed up, and secured, so it’s not susceptible to loss or corruption.

Improved mobility – Because applications are accessed via broadband Internet service, workers can be productive almost anywhere.

Improved productivity – Perhaps the biggest payoff for companies using cloud computing is that down time of PCs is significantly reduced.  And down time associated with servers is virtually eliminated.  Down time associated with lost data is eliminated due to the service provider’s automated disk and tape backup.  Service providers offer 7×24x365 help desk support, further decreasing down time.

For more information, please contact www.thentgroup.com



Technology Challenges

06/23/2009

In the current economy, businesses with a viable web strategy for sales/marketing have posted 26% increases in revenue (year to year periods).  The way they’re doing it is by integrating CRM, email marketing, contact management, and web presence (read web sites).  Businesses going through merger and/or acquisition are faced with integrating two often-different, and sometimes outdated IT infrastructures.  There’s a play available to accomplish both goals.

A web strategy, by virtue of what it takes to develop a viable solution, assuages the disparate integration problem and drives revenue.  The bottom line in any successful web strategy development effort is that the following gets studied:

  • key messaging
  • sales process
  • the customer/prospect buying process

Integrating appropriate technology over the knowledge from that study creates the viable web strategy.

Here’s what happens in a successful web strategy deployment:

  • Niche markets are identified
  • Marketing/Sales campaigns are targeted
  • Key messaging is automated

When a company is making these thing happen, sales growth and revenue result.

There are a few consulting outfits who have the methodology and business relationships to pull this off.  Their problem is that business owners can point to countless failures of any one of the technology components mentioned previously; those are namely CRM, email marketing, web sites, and contact management.

Technology isn’t to blame, it’s the methodology that’s at fault in those implementations.  Start with business process aimed at appropriate markets and you won’t go wrong.

For more information, please contact www.thentgroup.com



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