Social Media – Making Comments and Controlling Comments to Generate Business

You may remember the term “Web 2.0” which meant so many things that it became meaningless jargon. But at it’s core was the idea that the internet was originally developed as a collaboration tool, where people could exchange information, ideas and questions. Social Media is a key part of that vision, especially for businesses to move forward from providing just a static, broadcast website.

Using social media tools to comment on the web, and encourage comments from people is a great way of building a presence and relationships to generate business. However you also need to be wary of what others are writing about your business on these services, and take action accordingly.

COMMENTING

You don’t need to do much to get involved with social media. Registering some basic details with services like Blogger, Facebook and Twitter lets you take part by submitting comments to the system, thus raising your profile in the particular community:

• By commenting on blogs
• By getting involved in on-line forums, especially in helpfully answering other people’s questions
• By bringing yourself and your business to a site manager’s attention, and to other followers of that site. This can be done for example by commenting on someone’s Facebook wall, sending a Twitter tweet to someone, or simply following someone on Twitter.

Everything in moderation, with aggressive selling likely to be counter-productive.

CONTROLLING COMMENTS

Operators of commercial social media sites are keen to gain followers, and to hear from those people to generate relationships and business.

However there are three categories of comments that are not welcome:

• Overt sales messages, especially by competitors. With music acts for example, there is a distinct line between one band complementing another publicly, and another using the platform as a way to also sell their own gigs or download.
• Unpleasant comments, which may be unsavoury photos, soundtracks, videos or links to other web pages
• Derogatory comments, especially if unfounded

In the latter case, this can be on sites over which you have no direct control, such as TripAdvisor and FourSquare. Sadly there are a number of cases coming through of businesses going bust due to scathing, unsubstantiated comments.

So what can you do to leverage the benefits of social media tools, without suffering the downsides? To take a few examples to set the principles:

Blogs

This article has been written in Google’s blogging tool “Blogger”. It provides three key facilities:

• Option whether to allow comments or not
• If allowed, whether you want to “moderate” comments before they appear on your blog
• Opportunity to remove offending comments that already appear on your blog

Other popular blogging tools such as Wordpress will have their own set of facilitites.

Facebook

Firstly you need to decide whether to have a standard wall or use the “Pages” facility designed to be used by businesses. Pages look very similar to personal profiles, but amongst other things allows posts to the wall to be clearly separated between those made by the business and by visitors. To compare the two approaches, with a mixture of text, photos, videos and soundtracks, here are two bands:

• Theory of Six Degrees (as personal profile)
• Turisas (using  business pages)

For Pages, you have the choice:

• Allow/stop postings to the wall
• Allow/stop photos to be added
• Allow/stop videos to be added

For personal profiles (within “Customise Settings” within “Privacy Setings”), you can:

• Allow/stop friends from posting to your wall
• Allow/stop friends from commenting on your own posts
• Block specific people from making posts

You cannot moderate other people’s posts on your wall before they happen, but you can remove anything you don’t want.

Twitter

Twitter is a public system, without the concepts in blogs or Facebook. You have little if any control on what people post about you or your business. However you can:

• Block people from using your Twitter @username in tweets, firstly so they cannot address a tweet to you, and secondly so others can’t see any further tweets with your @username in it. However this doesn’t stop the username without the @ being used
• Monitor tweets featuring your username, and where necessary counter.

Remember that libel laws are applicable to Twitter and other social media systems, which you can leverage should there be any untruths tweeted about you or your business.

Foursquare and other public systems that allow comments

I was sitting in a hotel bar and decided to see what others had recommended about the place on FourSquare. All I could find was a derogatory comment about the bedrooms. The staff on duty had no idea about this, nor did the comment appear at all reasonable to them. As comments now appear in services like Bing maps, the so-called “tips” can spread far and wide without readers needing to be on the premises.

Valid complaints can be dealt with on the relevant service. The way you do this can actually have a positive affect not only on the person involved, but also those people who can see what you let be seen.

But what if you want to remove a derogatory comment or incorrect tip? It depends on the specific service. In the case of Foursquare, the first step is simply to send an email to Foursquare

IN CONCLUSION

There are a variety of ways that you can take part in social media to further your business, whether on other people’s sites or by setting up your own.

But be aware that not everyone plays ball fairly. You need to keep an eye on what people are saying about your business on each platform, and take appropriate action where necessary.

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Avoiding Excel Hell – Developing Better Spreadsheet Models

There are various ways you can suffer in spreadsheet hell, as these real-life examples illustrate.

With Excel now the dominant spreadsheet system, we’ve already looked at how to escape Excel Hell in the articles on these subjects where understanding the limitations of Excel means there are better alternatives:

• For business processes
• For reporting
• For planning and forecasting

But what about for financial modelling? For this, Excel has a real and valid role. But how can models be developed that give real and valid answers?

Best practice has been developed, and there are three leading initiatives. These overlap, but between them offer a sensible practical approach:

(1) European Spreadsheet Risks Interest Group (EuSpRIG)

The advice from IBM and ICAEW is still relevant and useful, although dating back to 1999. This approaches spreadsheets as for any software development, recommending that :

• Should be easy to use, through good design
• Focused on the important issues
• Easy to understand
• Reliable, through being tested

Testing is key, especially as a spreadsheet model evolves and develops. Getting someone independent to test it with a fresh eye is far better than just trying to do it yourself

Here are some tips on how to minimise the risk of errors in a spreadsheet model. and other tips for best practice

(2) The FAST Methodology:

The idea here is to make a spreadsheet model “Flexible, Accurate, Structured and Transparent".

Appendix C of the FAST modeling standard summarises all the “rules” they suggest: for

• Workbook Design, being a collection of worksheets
• Worksheet Design
• Line Items, including use of formulae
• Functions and Formatting

(3) Spreadsheet Standards Review Board

The SSRB's Standards cover each of 16 aspects:

1. General Concepts
2. Workbook Structure
3. Sheet Structure
4. Formats & Styles
5. Assumption Entry Interfaces
6. Sensitivity Analysis
7. Outputs & Presentations
8. Calculation Formulae
9. Naming Principles
10. Time Series Analysis
11. Error Checks
12. Printing & Viewing
13. Multiple Workbooks
14. Security & Protection
15. Visual Basic Programming
16. Miscellaneous

So if you are keen to avoid Excel Hell with your financial models, these standards and tips will certainly help!

If you require any further advice or assistance, then do contact us.

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Performance Management - Mind The Gap!

In the last few days it would be understandable to ask the question “How much do Irish customers owe us?”. Back comes the answer £10 million.

Then someone does an analysis by country and discovers that there is £10m for “Ireland” but another £5m for “Eire”.  It turns out the validation has been changed, and new customers are now Eire, old customers are still Ireland.

Or perhaps the field isn’t validated, and there’s another £2m for variations like “Ierland”. In addition there’s a whole host of records where the country field is blank, of which £1m relates to Ireland. So actually it’s £18m in total, nearly double the first figure.

They say “Garbage in, Garbage Out”. If data will be relied upon for decisions, it must be sufficiently accurate. If data is pulled into a data warehouse or spreadsheet, or just sitting in the master system, then if only 5 countries are involved, it’s worth checking. An exception report that lists anything other than those 5 values can be run off the system, or as part of the data load process, or both. Incorrect data can then be repaired.

Simple variations such as Northern_Ireland and Northern-Ireland may not be apparent to the naked eye, but will be handled completely differently by a computer system.

As an analyst, if you are asked a question like this, shouldn’t you do a complete analysis to check? Or as the FD or manager asking the question, should you be asking for the answer to be accompanied by a complete analysis, so you can be confident nothing major has been overlooked?

Key Performance Indicators

Similar issues arise with Key Performance Indicators. Each KPI may have been set up as a formula in a spreadsheet or BI system, which in some way is dependent on the accuracy of the underlying transactions.

There is also an additional issue. With some of the popular databases, it is possible to “nest” or “layer” selections, so that you can select from a subset of a subset of a subset of the total database.

I reviewed the monthly KPIs from one system that was using layered queries. It was effectively impossible to understand whether each KPI figure was based on a complete set of relevant data, and therefore what each KPI actually meant. The figures weren’t being tracked in any form of trend, other than by comparison to previous month, so it was difficult to judge if each month’s figures were realistic. The monthly explanations of movements were clearly nothing but guesswork. 

It’s therefore worth ensuring that the calculation of KPIs are clearly defined in the system. Where they represent an exception, or other subset of data, then it’s worth periodically checking the nature of the remaining data so no relevant data is accidentally excluded.

Commercial Advantage

Monitoring the analysis of data can also produce a direct cash advantage.

One system I managed was for the collection of overdue debts, including where a direct debit had been unpaid. Overdue transactions were pulled into this separate system, which was used to drive telephone calls and other communication with debtors. During the handover I asked about how direct debits were handled, and was left unconvinced by the answers.

The system ignored any records that stated that they were collected by direct debit – a simple Y in one of the fields. Within a few days of a direct debit being unpaid, this Y would be removed so the debt could be collected. So I ran a simple exception report of Y records that were more than 5 days overdue. 80,000 euros of debt was identified, where the removal process hadn’t been done properly at various times. This money could now be chased.  The exception report was thereafter run daily, so action could be taken promptly.

Exception reports in other places tightened up the process, and made sure other transactions were identified for collection, and didn’t fall through the “gap”.

Next Steps

So there a variety of simple techniques that can be used to improve the accuracy of management reporting, and produce direct cash advantages.

Much you can do yourself. But if you’d like a review of any of your systems, then do give me a call.

Launch of “Code of Practice” by Cloud Industry Forum

10 years ago I started using what is now termed a cloud system. This was to sell, amongst other things, tickets for 30 events in the Internet Business Forum series that I organised and chaired.

At these events, we looked at how the internet could be used for business purposes. A wide variety of applications (apps) and facilities were appearing, leveraging the rapid improvements that had just been made in datacomms speeds with the availability of "broadband".

Given the cost, remote access and other benefits of cloud computing, it might have been predicted that cloud services would have become the norm by now. But they haven’t. Why?

Internet Access Speeds

Back then, internet access by larger organisations was already well established, using dedicated datacomms lines. The advent of “broadband” had made internet access by consumers, homeworkers, satellite premises and smaller businesses practical and affordable. Access speeds have since improved, which has tended to overcome “world wide wait” that is due in part to the shared (“contented”) nature of both consumer and the better business broadband offerings.

“Mobile broadband” appeared with 3G services running only slightly slower than fixed line broadband. Speeds too have improved dramatically with the introduction of newer 3G technologies, comparable with many people's fixed line broadband, but still slower than the best fixed line options. Nonetheless these are fast enough to run a whole range of apps now becoming available on the latest smartphones.

In many places, the availability of broadband based on BT’s infrastructure, Virgin’s cable network and 3G services means it is now possible to have at least two alternative means of fast internet access at each location. As this is essential for business reliance, business use has recently become more practical.

The problem remains that some rural areas either have slower offerings or are without some or all of these services. Even so, the vast majority of businesses do have at least two forms of adequately fast internet at all key locations. 

So businesses are now poised to take much more advantage of cloud computing in 2011. But will they?

Trust and Other Concerns

Smaller businesses and apps like CRM (customer relationship management) have become very popular. This is because the benefits vastly outweigh any concerns, especially when the users are not aware of the pitfalls and risks.

Larger businesses take a more balanced view, and have often remained unconvinced for anything that can be regarded as business critical. Concerns about security of operation, reliability of operations, capability and processes, transparency of vendor identity and financial strength, and service level reporting need to be addressed by cloud service providers. The delegates at the recent ICAEW seminar placed “loss of control” as the number one concern after all the talks and discussions.

It all actually comes down to one thing - can the provider be trusted? Whilst many in-house systems do not have adequate backup and disaster recovery arrangements, over which cloud computing should be a distinct improvement, many systems in larger businesses do. Is the provider providing adequate facilities for access control, backup and resilience? How well are they going to sustain them? And there’s a whole host of other questions.

The cloud is effectively “outsourcing for all”. Traditional outsourcing involves the customer and provider in detailed talks, up-front audits and negotiated service agreements that are closely monitored. Conversely many cloud services are bought off the page on a “take it or leave it” basis, or otherwise via a reseller of some kind. What does a buyer need to know before committing to a provider?

Overcoming These Concerns - the Launch of the "Code of Practice"

In the absence of any existing standards for cloud computing, the Cloud Industry Forum has been formed to champion the use of cloud services. This is initially by defining the type of information that providers ought to disclose to potential buyers in a Code of Practice. Advice for providers on best practice within each category will also develop, as will best practice of what end-users need to do in addition.

The Code was officially launched yesterday, Monday 22 November. Providers can now download the Assessment Pack and register to certify they are complying with the Code. This is either on a self-certified basis, subject to audit, or certified by an independent body. Two different styles of logo can then be displayed by the provider on their website and other materials.

The Code of Practice is in three main parts:

A)   TRANSPARENCY

• A1: Information for Public Disclosure on website, such as identity, company details and any existing certifications such as ISO9001
• A2: Information for Disclosure in connection with Proposals/Contracts, possibly under non-disclosure agreement, such as security and continuity provisions, and what happens on renewal and termination

B)   CAPABILITY
Availability of auditable documented management systems, similar to ISO9001, for aspects such as Information Security Management and Service Continuity Management

C)   ACCOUNTABILITY

• C1: Agreement to CIF withdrawing Certification if appropriate, subject to a defined process
• C2: Procedures for complaint resolution, internally and via arbitration

A reasonable number of providers have already committed to becoming certified. Over the next few weeks we should see these names appearing in a certified list.

This should certainly make it easier for buyers to assess providers. It should also drive up standards across the industry, especially for the use of business-critical apps.

In support of these aims, I have agreed to join the 12-person Governance Board for the Cloud Industry Forum. I look forward to helping to develop the Code and accompanying best practice.

The combination of improved datacomms with improved provider offerings should then unlock the benefits of cloud computing for organisations large and small, across a wider range of apps.

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News Update - Monday 22/11/10

Here's the pick of the last week's news stories that are likely to impact your business:

Cloud Industry Forum launches Code of Practice today: This is an important step to help end-users see how cloud providers can deliver a robust and secure high quality service. I have joined the Governance Board to support this initiative, and to continue to develop the Code and associated best practice.

Social Media Archiving: There are now services to archive what an organisation is posting to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, for archive and compliance purposes.

4G Mobile Services: In the UK, Ofcom have announced a timetable that will mean 4G services will be available from around 2014. This means that mobile coverage will be based on 3G for another few years.

Facebook Marches On: There have been two major announcements this last week, for a new communication mechanism, and a "mashup" with MySpace

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Social Media - Facebook Marches On

There have been two significant announcements involving Facebook this week:

(1)  MySpace’s “Mashup with Facebook” (If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em)

MySpace allows musicians and other performing artists to publish music, videos, gig lists and other information.

MySpace also provides a social networking capability. Anyone can set up an account, and then interact with artists and other people. However use for that purpose has been eclipsed by Facebook.

MySpace is owned by News Corporation, who have recently announced that the losses there are unsustainable, and action needs to be taken. Yesterday MySpace announced “Mashup with Facebook”. This provides links of Facebook information onto a person’s MySpace page.

Having dropped the strapline “a place for friends”, this announcement puts MySpace firmly into a role of publishing and entertainment. This leaves Facebook to be the king of social networking, at least at the personal rather than professional level.

(2) Facebook’s New Messaging System

Earlier this week Facebook announced what they say is their biggest development project to date. They are “soft launching” a new messaging service, based on the principles of simple Internet Messaging (IM) which is used for chatting. It will pool in email (by letting people use username@facebook.com addresses), and SMS text messages (at least outgoing ones). It will thereby potentially provide a nearly complete record of electronic communication with friends. Rollout won’t be immediate, but slowly over the coming weeks. Exactly how it works will then become apparent.

Incoming emails from friends will be more obvious than others, which will end up in a type of spam folder. Whilst Facebook management don’t see this killing off gmail, hotmail and the like overnight, there will be obvious attractions of changing to a @facebook.com address, at least for communication with friends.

Twitter tweets are actually shortened SMS text messages (140C instead of 160C), as Twitter was initially designed for use with SMS. Facebook’s messaging system could potentially replace Twitter for chat with friends, which is actually quite common on Twitter. Other uses for Twitter, such as following celebrities, are not directly affected. But as many such people also have a Facebook presence, the attraction of Twitter may diminish for them and their followers.

Consequences for Businesses

These two things are of more interest personally rather than for business, unless your business thrives in the consumer markets these systems best serve.

But these developments do highlight the sheer pace of change and competitive manoeuvrings with online tools. Worth keeping an eye firmly on the ball, for opportunities and threats that will affect your business

For businesses this means getting involved with all these leading tools. With each tool regularly introducing new functions and approaches, it isn’t necessarily clear which will dominate in the months and years to come.

Interestingly MySpace was a spin out from the social networking system Friendster, which was launched long before Facebook. Friendster is still very popular in Asia, but elsewhere it too has been eclipsed by Facebook. Again it highlights just how fast things can change. It also begs the apparently hypothetical question, what will eclipse Facebook and when?

Escaping Excel Hell – Unlocking Business Processes

You start a new business or activity. This may be within an existing business. The easiest thing to do is to log what happens in a spreadsheet, typically Excel.

The next thing you know is that there are a team of people tripping over each other trying to use the same spreadsheet. Copies are taken and you quickly lose track of what’s the latest. Changes are made to two different copies, so some changes get lost.

So you set up a set of spreadsheets which all link together. A right royal spaghetti.

Generating things like sales invoices will be difficult. If you want workflow, you won’t get it. If you want an audit trail of changes, you can’t have one. If you want a range of management reports, that will be tricky.

Sound familiar?

Time to move to a database, in one of three ways:

• Get a packaged application
• Develop and maintain a system in-house
• Get someone to develop a system for you

Each option can be done in-house or using a facility in the cloud.

Camwells has helped businesses make this transition, in areas such as order processing and business forecasting. In one case the new system unlocked purchase savings that doubled profits. We’d be delighted to help you.

Using Multi-Dimensional Software Tools

Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at various aspects of multi-dimensional software tools, often referred to as Business Intelligence (BI):

Choice in Multi-Dimensional Planning and Reporting

Business Performance Management - How Important Are Multiple Dimensions?

Escaping Excel Hell - Improving Month-End Reporting

Performance Management – Multi-dimensional BI tools  including a link to a recently written summary of the history of these tools

Camwells remains independent of specific software products. So over to you. What tools are you using and selling? What are their pros and cons?

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Cloud Computing – Clarification of Key Terms

As an end-user, the range of terms in cloud computing can be confusing. Here is a brief introduction to explain all the key terms in one place.

Cloud Computing covers a multitude of differing offerings. The Cloud Industry Forum defines it as covering any remotely hosted IT service of any  type, including multi-tenanted systems accessed via the internet. This is typically using a web browser on the user's computer or mobile device.

Cloud services are provided by a "provider", or a set of providers working together. Typically a software author will work with one or more hosting companies that "host" and run the system for them.

Cloud services are similar to traditional outsourcing, both legally and in practice. Use of cloud services, including  the relationship with the provider(s), needs to be approached in a similar manner.

You’ll also see cloud computing referred to as “On-Demand”, to distinguish it from the traditional way of running computing “On-Premise”. On-Demand is a marketing term that implies more flexibility than is really available, but refers to the relative speed of adding additional capacity, and the speed of selecting (if not implementing) cloud services compared to on-premise.

There are two ways of sub-dividing the market, which combine into potentially 12 forms of cloud computing. The “Public SaaS” combination is of most relevance to most businesses, and tends to be the focus of the cloud computing articles in this blog:

(1) By Type of Service

“SaaS (Software as Service)”: Packaged software for a specific application ("app"), such as Customer Relationship Management, payroll or accounting. This was formerly known as "Application Service Provision" (ASP)

“PaaS (Platform as a Service)”: Programming environment where apps can be developed and deployed

“IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)”: Raw computing such as processing and storage, and possibly network. The user typically controls the software systems and apps loaded and used (subject to licensing), much as they would otherwise do with on-premise equipment.

(2) By Type of Deployment

Each of the three categories above can be deployed in any of four ways:

“Public Cloud”: Multi-tenanted systems where various end-user organisations share the same hardware set and usually the same database. Usually adequate for commercial purposes, if the right functionality and security tools are available.

“Private Cloud”: A system dedicated to one end-user organisation, and customer/suppliers etc they wish to share with. This can be externally with a third party, or internally as a web-enabled on-premise solution. With SaaS, this is typically using the same app as is available in the public cloud. The private service, if available, is typically more expensive than the public one, as private ones require additional administration by the provider. The benefits of a private system are:

• To mitigate risks of disclosing confidential data (if segregation, encryption and other security techniques are not deemed adequate in the shared public system)
• Better control of administration, such as timing of upgrades and any recovery of the database (as control in these areas is rarely offered in a public system)

“Hybrid Cloud”: A set of applications run across a mixture of private and public cloud services

“Community Cloud”: Apps shared between various organisations or individuals in a community.

As mentioned above, most of the articles on cloud computing in this blog focus on Public SaaS, as this is of most relevance to most businesses. The significant benefits, and how to manage the risks, are covered in those other articles.

News Update - Monday 15/11/10

Here's the pick of the last week's news stories that are likely to impact your business:

The Law and Social Media: Two legal actions in the UK highlight the need to use Twitter and other social media tools well within the law. As there are also libel risks, there are training and other personnel implications.

Cloud Computing:

(a) How do Cloud Apps Compare to On-Premise? A survey of cloud users suggests cloud applications can be better, but also shows they can be worse in every category, even cost. As this was published by a cloud advocate, it confirms selection of cloud systems has to be done carefully.

(b) Cloud Popularity: Even a hardware vendor such as Dell is entering the cloud services market, with email

(c) BT’s broadband outage in the north carries on for many users. Highlights need for contingency arrangements for data telecoms

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Social Media - Round-up of Tools for Business

Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at how a range of social media tools can be used profitably. Now’s a suitable time to summarise the key ones relevant to business:

Twitter can be used to promote any business, especially B2C (business to consumer) if you can make it fun. You can just send messages, or include pictures, videos and links to web pages. Can be used for other purposes such as technical support. Try to converse with people, rather than just broadcast. See the “Twitter Away” blog for tips

Blogging tools such as Blogger (Google) and WordPress provide a place to self-publish  articles on any topic relevant to your business. Comments from readers can produce a debate and engagement.

Facebook is where people play. Any business can take advantage, but again mainly B2C if you can make it fun. It is great to be interactive with followers/fans. The “Pages” function should be used for businesses, for example to distinguish your own posts from others.

FourSquare is one of several location-based systems, such as Gowalla, Facebook’s Places and MerchantCircle. Pubs, shops and other venues can provide linked incentives. Your business will usually be on there without you asking. You can welcome and encourage positive comments, but watch out for derogatory ones.

eCademy is more of a club for UK-based small businesses and solopreneurs. Useful if that is your market or you are looking for collaboration. Biznik is a US-based alternative

But LinkedIn has become the dominant place for professionals in industry and commerce. Other systems such as Plaxo and Fast Pitch trail behind.

MySpace provides specific functionality for musicians and other performance artists, such as gig lists, downloadable music and videos. Reverbnation is an alternative, or use both.

YouTube is great if video can play a part in your business. These can be embedded into websites and blogs, and linked from tweets on Twitter. Go for it!

There are many more, but that's enough to be getting on with!

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Escaping Excel Hell – Improving Month-End Reporting

It’s month end. Reports need to be produced. The finance team are ordering in pizza to get them through the evening. Why? The only way they can produce the information that Group and local management require is to download transaction data to a spreadsheet and reanalyse it. Sound familiar?

It’s not just at month-end. The same thing happens at other times of the month, whenever any other reports need to be produced. So-called “analysts” are spending too much of their time as “Excel jockeys” rather than using their business expertise to use the information they produce to drive business improvements. They are also more likely to move on quickly if they can, inevitably causing disruption that is best avoided.

Last week we asked whether databases were the ultimate Excel add-in. Whilst Excel’s pivot table capability can be very powerful, recently enhanced with PowerPivots in Excel 2010, Excel struggles with larger data volumes.

It’s times like this that a database comes into its own. It can be MS Access or MS SQL, which has multi-dimensional functionality in “Analysis Services”, or a multi-dimensional OLAP system. These can form the basis for far quicker and better analysis. In many cases (but not all) Excel can still be used as a front-end to take results and format them for presentation.

They key is that analysts need to be able to control their own system, and not have to wait for someone else to make any changes. This is why Excel is so popular. But most analysts are perfectly capable of building and maintaining the databases needed for reporting. Depending on the system used, this can also be used to improve budgeting and forecasting.

So why do so many businesses still only use Excel?

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Strategic Business Planning - Turning Ideas into Reality

So you’ve come up with an idea for a business, within a corporate or independently. This may be into an established market, you may be planning to be disruptive by doing things differently in some way, or you want to market some new technology into a totally new market.

Commercialising technology is always interesting, whether it is what you are selling or what you are using to approach a market differently.

You’ve researched competitors, both direct and indirect, established there is a “pain” that produces a market worth pursuing, and identified the way you are going to approach it. You’ve clearly identified your customers or clients, and carried out segmentation of them to focus your efforts. Maybe you will focus on one town or region, or be looking to expand internationally.

If you’re in B2B (business to business), you’ve identified the roles of people, not just the businesses, and decided on which vertical markets (industries), horizontal (offering) and size you will target. Maybe you’re going for a niche which is the intersection of all three, if that market’s big enough. If not big enough, you’re spreading out on one of the three axes.

Maybe you’re looking at two seasonal businesses that between them cover most or all the year. Or some other combination, such as started Kent’s bus company, using the trucks to take farm produce to London markets overnight, and changing the body to take people to places in the day. Imagination counts.

You’ve got a first-cut marketing plan, your promotional mix, and reckon you can generate enough business from reasonable marketing spend to make it all worthwhile. You’ve looked at how you can leverage social media and other low cost techniques in addition to any major spend.

And now it’s time for the financials!

FINANCIALS

What is going to be your pricing? Would you be better off selling fewer at a higher price, or be more competitive and live off slimmer margins? The slimmer the margins, the tighter the systems need to be. Or is it a service where most of the costs are fixed, with the volume of subscriptions critical to success? Indeed what are the fixed and variable costs, and where is your breakeven point?

Will you be selling via retailers, resellers or other intermediaries? Can you get direct to end-customers via the internet or printed media, with a customer services team, or do you need a sales team on the ground? How much are you going to have to give away in sales commissions to agents or your own team, or how much margin will the wholesale/retail channel need? Will it be WIN-WIN for everyone? If not the business probably won’t succeed.

What staff and premises will you need? Can you work “virtually” with little or no business premises? How about associates and/or outsourcing rather than staff? If it’s a product, will you make it yourself or buy it in? Where does that leave you on patents and other intellectual property?

These questions are part of a set of 20 key aspects I recommend people to consider before launching a new business, as it either confirms what you are doing, or suggests you reconsider key aspects.

RAISING INVESTMENT

Inevitably a business will need some investment to get it off the ground. You’ll need to raise money internally, either from your own pocket or your company’s, or externally from banks and/or sources of equity capital. What about grants and other forms of government funding?

Putting the forecasts together is an art. You can use the back of an envelope or the seat of your pants if it’s your own money, and you can afford to lose it! But anything else needs a more formal approach. By setting up a model, you can vary aspects and see the effect on revenues, breakeven and cash needs.

A triad of P&L account, balance sheet and cash flow is best. Banks will often want to see a balance sheet, to identify assets that can be funded or used as security, and otherwise to identify the overall lending limit. Equity funders will be looking for substantial growth and how the cash needs change with different assumptions..

WHICH PLANNING TOOL?

A spreadsheet such as Excel can suffice for simple situations, otherwise a more sophisticated tool is best used to handle multiple contributors and/or multiple dimensions. There is now a choice of on-premise and cloud-based systems at a cost suitable for all sizes of business, as we discussed last week.

If you are planning the expansion of an existing business, then you’ll have historical information which is best forecast in a multi-dimensional tool. The alternative is a set of spreadsheets which will probably not add up correctly, however hard you try. The set will probably be “held together by sticking plaster” in the words of one of my clients who was trying to forecast a quoted group’s business through spreadsheets, and needed to do it differently!

NEXT STEPS

So before you go too far with your ideas, it’s worth assessing the business potential and to model the financials.

If you’d appreciate the help which Camwells can provide, do get in contact today.

SaaS Cloud Computing – Selection Tips

SaaS cloud offerings vary greatly in standards. Depending on the specific application (app) and how business critical it is, it's worth carefully considering the following aspects of SaaS before you select a system:

Functionality – As with on-premise systems, establish overall context of a system and your key needs from it. Even if you can do free trials, assess breadth of functionality and other aspects of offerings carefully alongside trialing. Take nothing for granted. A formal specification is worthwhile, even if very brief, to provide the vision for selection and subsequent implementation

Time to Implement – Selection and acquisition can be quicker, but implementation itself is likely to be comparable to on-premise systems due to similarities in data conversion, change management etc. See selection and implementation processes.

Pilot Testing – SaaS is typically cheaper and easier, and less embarrassing to stop and try another system

Remote Access – It’s you as the customer that has responsibility to ensure adequate contingency arrangements for internet access at each location, including home workers. Is what you can arrange adequate for this application?

Backup, Recovery and Disaster Recovery – Typically far better with SaaS, but: (a) What backup exactly does provider do? (b) What is their policy for recovery? Can they just recover your/another's data if only yours/another's gets screwed, or does it have to affect everyone?

Location of Servers and Backup Servers - Establish current server locations, physical security, and provider's rights to change locations. Assess Data Protection Act and other legal/regulatory issues in each territory

System Availability - Any contractual SLAs (service level agreement commitments)?

Access Security - In addition to username + password, is there some extra method(s) such as PIN, memorable question, etc? If important to you, is access logged and auditable?

Encryption - Is data being sent to/from the server encrypted? Also consider whether data can be encrypted on the server, if you need it

Integration with Other Systems - Take nothing for granted - check need for integration, availability of capability in and out, and reliability

Configuration (using end-user functions) - Establish what you can change and what requires help from the provider e.g. VAT rate change

Customisation (additional custom-programming) – Not usually available within the app, but extras may be bolted on. If you require customisation now or possibly later, understand the options.

Upgrades - Is there any control over timing of upgrade? e.g. do you have a separate database, and/or are you given say 2 months to upgrade after new release becomes availabl

Upgrade Testing & Update of User Procedures - Does provider allow you to view/test a new release before it goes live? If so, can you use a copy of your data, to test transactions that are part-processed? How good are the release notes in detailing every change, not just new headline features?

Training Environment - Does provider allow additional space into which your live setup (and possibly data) can be copied for training purposes?
 
Purchase Cost – Typically monthly OpEx rather than up-front CapEx. But there may be a lump-sum payment up front, especially for the more sophisticated systems that require pre-sales consultancy

Adding Users – Usually easy but understand any minimum timescale commitment

Administration Time/Cost – Typically lower, but not zero. Still have admin of set-up such as leavers and joiners, plus fault resolution and management of provider


End Of Use (termination of contract) - Ensure you legally "own" data and there are tools to extract a copy in usable form whenever you require.


Supplier Financial Stability – Lower payments put additional financial strain on providers. Establish all parties in provider supply chain, back to hosting provider. Demise of any one of them could mean service withdrawn sooner rather than later. Check financial status of each party in supply chain.

If Provider Goes Out Of Business What safeguards does the provider offer, given the various members of the supply chain? Is it worth using two different systems in two parts of the business, with a tested transfer routine, so you can quickly switch systems if provider goes out of business? Or should you have a second system on stand-by on minimum subscription?

Control of Systems – It can be a relief to put your systems in the hands of an “expert” provider. But unless you are an important customer you will have little if any influence on commercial terms or day-to-day running. Understand sophistication or provider, and consider control issues.

IN CONCLUSION

As you assess each of these aspects, by comparison to equivalent aspects of any new or existing on-premise options, you can better assess whether each SaaS offering will be acceptable. Even an imperfect SaaS offering may be a lot better than the on-premise alternatives!

If in any doubt, do contact us.

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News Update - Monday 8/11/10

Here's the pick of the last week's news stories that are likely to impact your business:

Bump or Grind – Options for digital business cards, or digitising others’ cards

The Growth of Mobile – commerce opportunities highlighted by Facebook

LibreOffice or OpenOffice – the consequences of Oracle’s acquisition of Sun

Poor broadband coverage – when you need better prime or contingency coverage:

• Boosting 3G
• BT vs Virgin
• Rural broadband

Social Media - Profit from Twitter

Last week we looked at “How to Use and Abuse Twitter”. In the meantime an experienced CEO who is launching a new telecoms service emailed me ““I need to really understand the best use of Twitter, et al in business …. I believe it’s now a must do”.

The Twitter article, plus the broader one the week before on "How to Use and Abuse Social Media", both received very complementary reviews from people like comedian Ben Miller, who kindly tweeted about it..

But as I realised that neither article quite answered the CEO’s question, I used it as the inspiration for the next article I had been asked to write for "IT Counts", the online forum of the IT Faculty of the ICAEW (Chartered Accountants).

It’s fair to say that Twitter can be great fun at the personal level, with the chance to interact with famous people, as well as many other interesting people.

As the only cost at present is your time, it can also be profitable for a business when used in the right way. You can view the business-focused article on the Institute’s website here.

If you'd like to comment, and you are not a member of the IT faculty, please do so here.

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Escaping Excel Hell – The Ultimate Add-In?

It’s easy to outgrow Excel’s capabilities for a specific application. The only option is often to replace Excel with a system designed properly for the specific job.

There are other occasions where by using an add-in, such as gauges, you can achieve something valuable which you can’t do with Excel alone.

But often it makes sense for familiarity to use Excel linked to a database, for analysis and reporting of data, and sometimes for data entry, . This allows a system to be multi-user, or overcome some other restriction of Excel. A database of some kind is probably the ultimate add-in, as it can unlock a whole raft of possibilities.

At the simpler end of the spectrum you can link Excel to a Microsoft Access database, requiring skills that a typical systems accountant can master with a bit of training. At the other end are sophisticated OLAP systems where proper programming is required.

There are also a range of applications backed by a database, such as business planning, where you only need to configure them to achieve the results. Administration can be done by anyone capable of using Excel formulae and pivot tables.

So if you are finding that one or more of your Excel applications is stretched beyond reasonable limits, do take a look at the options available. Give us a call if you would like some help.

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KPIs – What’s Driving Your Business?

Sit down for your weekly business review and there is likely to be a page or screen full of numbers like revenue, order book and profit.

These are measures of results. But are you measuring what is driving your business? These are the true Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or better called Key Performance Drivers (KPDs).

Depending on your business, these might be sales calls made, quote conversion ratio, credit notes, footfall, or staff turnover for example. Within business operations, there may be a whole set of performance measures like pickups per mile, absenteeism and success/error rates.

As CEO, it’s useful to consider the six top aspects driving your business that if measured, monitored and controlled will mean the right results will inevitably arise.

The same principle can then be applied to each director, and each manager across each aspect of the business. This hierarchy can be extended down as little or as much of the organisation as is relevant.

But it’s important to get the right measures to ensure they truly drive improved business performance. Ratios can be a real issue. For example revenue per employee will tend to arbitrarily drive down employee numbers rather than drive up revenue. The measure will encourage paying to automate or outsource activities that may actually be cheaper to do manually or in-house. There has to be a balanced set.

So what KPDs do you need to help drive your business in the right direction?

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SaaS Cloud Computing – What Is It Really?

Whether you know what SaaS is, or are new to it, it’s worth taking a closer look. It's worth understanding the implications.

SaaS stands for “Software as a Service”. This is a type of “Cloud Computing” where the computing environment you use is run by a third-party “provider”.

A SaaS application (app) is accessed via an internet connection using a web browser such as Firefox, from any suitable internet-enabled device.

For applications (apps) where access is needed by customers or mobile staff, smaller businesses can get access to systems which they couldn’t possibly afford to run themselves. It can also be much cheaper for larger businesses, being OpEx rather than CapEx, and quicker to get started.

Examples of popular SaaS apps are internet trading (eCommerce), CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and any other apps used by staff on the move or from multiple locations. SaaS apps that could be run and used “on-premise” at a single location can also be used, where there are other cost or practical advantages.

“Software as a Service” means that rather than buy a licence to use software, which you install on your own systems, the hosting company runs it for you on their own servers. You typically pay a monthly fee, or a lump sum for a year or two. One downside implication is that if you stop paying, your access to the software will stop sooner rather than later.

Backup, Disaster Recovery, Location and Data Ownership

The hosting company will organise backup and disaster recovery. As the in-house procedures of many end-user businesses are poor or non-existent in these areas, SaaS can be a major upside advantage.

You should understand the location of the prime and backup servers, in terms of Data Protection or other regulations. After all, you remain responsible for your data.

Indeed, check that you “own” the data on the SaaS system, and have the means to extract it if you need, or preferably regularly as your own backup. Even Facebook has realised this and is now trumpeting  their capability in this respect, as a SaaS provider of a social networking app.

Very often software authors will sub-contract the hosting aspect to a specialist hosting company. If you have bought the service via an intermediary, there can be quite a long “supply chain”. You need to understand all the parties involved, and carry out an appropriate level of due diligence especially financial, depending on the importance of the app involved. There are starting to be stories of hosting companies switching off end-users where the host hasn’t been paid by their own customer.

SaaS as a Software Package - Upgrades

SaaS apps are also “software packages”. They will typically provide configuration options similar to an on-premise package of equivalent complexity. If a supplier is saying it is simpler than on-premise package X, that probably means it is isn’t as powerful or flexible, much like a simpler on-prem package. Best to compare offerings in exactly the same way.

Software packages have to be upgraded. With SaaS, the package sits on one server so the author doesn’t have to worry about different server versions.  With close access, they can also provide upgrades more frequently. Being smaller, the upgrades are easier to test, at least in theory. This translates into lower costs, and the savings can be reflected in pricing to end-users.

As a user, you don’t have to handle the upgrades. This situation is sold by SaaS providers as a major advantage. However there are some major drawbacks that are rarely written about, so worth a few extra words.

It is common for some or all user businesses to be sharing the same database and server(s). This means upgrades take place at one time, as suits the provider. That may not suit you, either because of events or financial calendars. You may also need to update working practices due to new or amended functionality.

New functionality can be a big problem if the first you can see of the new release is when it goes live. Does the SaaS provider let you view and possibly test each new release before it goes live? Can you set up a test/training environment? With set-up parameters and/or data copied from the live system?

Sadly bugs do slip through in any software change. Functions have also been known to disappear in a new release – from on-premise or SaaS software - the question is how important? Better to know in advance and have time to feedback to the provider, or at least plan around it in advance.

Indeed is there any choice of when your bit of the system is upgraded? Can the SaaS provider have two versions of the app running for a few days or weeks, and you choose when your data is transferred? That also means others can prove it before you use it.

A few SaaS providers, but not all, will offer to host the app on its own dedicated database, and possibly on a separate server which either they or you host. This can provide the flexibility you need on upgrades, and address any other concerns you have about sharing a database with other businesses. Obviously your preference all depends on the nature of the app and data, and its importance. Such options will always be more expensive, but possibly worth the investment.

Internet Access

Obviously an internet system will only work if you have access to the internet. Using only one method is a big risk. Contingency planning is something firmly in your court rather than the providers, and here are some tips.

Selection and Implementation

Many SaaS systems are sold as being simple and quick to implement. The simple ones are, but there are many similarities to traditional packaged software when it comes to aspects such as assessing suitability, and handling change management.

Here are comparisons of SaaS against on-premise for the two main phases:

• Selection
• Implementation

In Conclusion

As indicated above, there is far more to SaaS than first meets the eye, plus a lot more I haven’t had chance to include here.

Whilst businesses will no doubt be tempted to do a DiY job, this can be very expensive if something important is overlooked or the wrong corner cut due to inexperience. The emergence of consultancies marketing themselves principally to re-implement well-known SaaS solutions is testament to that, much like on-premise apps.

Better and cheaper to get it right first time. If you’d like to discuss further, do give me a call on UK 01628 632914, or by email.

News Update - Monday 1/11/10

Here's the pick of the last week's news stories that are likely to impact your business:
Mobile Advertising Industry to Reach $24 Billion by 2015 Could your business benefit?


Rumours point to 2012 release date for Windows 8 With Windows 7 relatively new, it looks it will be at least a couple of years into 2012 before Windows 8 appears. But how about using Linux for the desktop?

BT broadband outage is fixed As some 20,000 homes and businesses were without BT broadband, a reminder about contingency options


Virgin cable offers 100MBit/s broadband BT cable only offering 40MBit/s. Remember to add BT line rental to monthly cost to compare

How You Can Use And Abuse Twitter

Last week we looked at various aspects of social media. One of the “cons” was the need for CONversation. This is none more true than on Twitter, where you can tweet to the whole world, or send a tweet to one individual person.

It was @davegorman the comedian, if I remember rightly, who retweeted a few weeks ago that you should only ever tweet like you would talk to someone across the table in the pub or at a meal. That means being mindful how well you know that person.

When tweeting to an individual, especially someone who doesn’t know you, there’s no excuse for being rude. There’s also no excuse for overdoing the number of tweets you send to them. How would you react to receiving them? Overdoing it is just like the pub bore.

Public tweets are not like being on a stage, but rather like standing atop a table in the pub with a megaphone. What would you say? How would you say it?

How often is also important. Some followers will dip into the river of Twitter only occasionally, some are logged in permanently. You need to send the message at regular intervals to catch the occasionals, preferably in different words to avoid boring the faithful. It’s also best to mix up a number of different messages. There are a variety of tools that can let you pre-schedule tweets to be issued automatically, so some of your tweets can be pre-planned.

Every celebrity wants to tell people about their latest book, music track, TV or other public appearance. Every business wants to tell people about their products, services and latest offers. But people will only put up with this so long, unless you offer something else. Followers you've carefully attracted can so easily “unfollow” and then not see what you are saying.

For celebrities and businesses, what makes Twitter powerful is the ability to interact with your followers. Conversely anyone can interact with the people you follow. Those celebrities and businesses who take the time to reply to the tweets they receive, in suitable voice, will better thrive.

Genuine complaints are always an opportunity to build a closer relationship from the way the issue is fixed. (Maybe not like this: Robert Fripp of King Crimson received a complaint some years ago when he played from the wings at a gig that he had only been seen for a third of the time. So apparently he returned two thirds of the ticket price and told the person never to attend again! If you want notereity ....)

Conversely, receiving rude tweets can be a shock, and getting too many from one person can be a real pain. The more followers you have, the more nutters. You have to decide whether to block them. It’s a great sense of power when you do!

There’s also various ways of issuing tweets. For example Heikki Kovalainen the Formula 1 racing driver (@H_Kovalainen) has been keeping us posted about what’s happening over the Grand Prix weekend. This week he has sent out a competition posted on Facebook. He will select some of the people who enter and ring them personally. If they tell him the right passphrase, then he'll send them a signed poster. That’s engaging with fans in a way unthinkable just a few months ago.

The prize could also be a free book (if that’s what you are promoting), a free ticket, a free meal with you the celebrity (if you can stomach the idea!), or a whole host of other possibilities.

Businesses can educate or enlighten with the use of free tips sheets and articles, or any manner of other offerings. Surveys are another idea. Even if the response rate is low, the offer to converse shows a more positive attitude than just shout-tweeting at people.

Actually none of these underlying ideas are especially new. The usual rules of marketing are little changed. What has changed is the possibilities social media has to have much closer, much quicker, real-time interaction with fans and followers.

The great thing about Twitter and social media generally is there are no rules for what you can do, only a few for what you shouldn’t. Imagination can run riot. Enjoy!

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Escaping Excel Hell - Planning, Forecasting or Budgeting?

In marketing, there are a number of words that illicit a positive response. "Profit" "Free" and "New" are just three examples

So what reaction do you give to these three words:

• Planning?
• Forecasting?
• Budgeting?

Planning can be fun. Forecasting can be a bit tiresome. Budgeting is a real turnoff. That means setting constraints on spend, and setting demanding targets to achieve in revenues. Budgeting is also typically hard work, taking far too much time and energy away from actually doing the business.

But planning, forecasting and budgeting are all important. You may indeed use the same Excel model for all three. If you are you're likely to find:

• Issues with multiple users
• Difficulty in ensuring the models don't break
• Uncertainty whether the model calculates or adds up correctly, within a sheet or when sheets are added together
• Impossible to handle more than a few products or dimensions such as geographical areas
• Multiple versions that are soon out of control
• Needing to link P&L to balance sheet and cash flow, especially if funds need to be raised
• Far too much time spent overcoming these issues

There comes a time when Excel just has to be replaced. But with what? What's affordable, accessible and practical? Do give us a call.

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Business Performance Management - Commentary in less than 140 Characters?

Management reporting can be figures, graphics and gauges. But to bring these figures into perspective, commentary helps. Why? Where? How? to go with the When? and What? of the figures.

It helps to keep the commentary short and succinct for busy readers. One great technique is to write "tweets" no longer than 140 characters.


The paragraph above is exactly 140 characters. Not on Twitter itself obviously, but 140C is a good length for a cell in Excel, a line on a dashboard, or a line in some other form of report. This doesn't have to be an absolute limit as with Twitter, but it's a useful target.

Expressing an idea in 140C or less is a skill to cultivate. Practice makes perfect!

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SaaS Cloud Computing - Why oh Why?

SaaS Cloud computing (Software as a Service) offers many benefits. But like many things in life, it isn't perfect.


The key benefits of SaaS compared to on-premise packages include:

1. Faster implementation, due to differences in selection process and physical procurement. (Note: Implementation itself is little different for a system of equivalent complexity)
2. Improved backup and disaster recovery (typically, by comparison to many organisations large and small)
3. Remote access from anywhere in the world that offers internet access
4. Reduced costs up-front, as OpEx rather than CapEx
5. Potentially power admin costs and hassle through no need to have the staff to administer the system and database (although you'll still need basic app administration such as adding and removing users)

However  the key drawbacks of SaaS are:

1. Loss of management control, as with any outsourcing arrangement, unless you are a major customer of the app supplier and can exert superior influence
2. Reliance on an internet connection, for which at least two types of connection at each location is recommended so one acts as a contingency
3. Access security, especially for any apps that rely just on username and password (Why don't more SaaS systems offer at least an optional third level, such as an easily-memorable security question or numeric grid?)

Many SaaS systems are on a "multi-tenant" basis, where  various user organisations share one database with other organisations. Some providers offer an option to have your own database, either at their data centre or on your own premises (when it effectively becomes an on-premise web-enabled software package). In either case, you can have better control over if and when a software upgrade takes place, and avoids risks of sharing a database (however small they suggest those risks are).

Further details are in previous articles.

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News Update - Monday 25/10/10

Here's the pick of the last week's news stories that are likely to impact your business: 

Comprehensive Spending Review The dominant news story in the UK has been the coalition’s CSR. Apat from anything else, more opportunities for IT in government, to drive down costs?

Consumer technology trends - a 4-year view 4G, videos and privacy

Apple puts iOS functions from iPhone onto Mac Will this encourage iPhone and iPad users to move from PC to Macs?

Online spend still on increase Brighter outlook for e-tailers?

New IBM cloud consultancy Issues for corporates and SMEs alike. See the Cloud articles

How You Can Use And Abuse Social Media

Every now and then I hear a presentation that is spot on and extremely valuable.

This week I saw Mark Lee do a talk titled “How Accountants Can Use And Abuse Social Media”. But the talk could easily have been for anyone in business.

He looked at three leading US-based worldwide systems (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) plus Ecademy based in the UK. He made a number of excellent observations from a business standpoint:

1.  Understand where existing and potential customers, clients and partners “hang out”

• Forums
• LinkedIn etc

2. Social Media is about building relationships, over time

• Firstly know,
• Then like (preferably),
• Then trust,
• Only then do business

3. So social media is unlikely to provide a quick business return, but can do sooner or later if used well. It’s easy to expect too much and give up too soon.

4. Social media is a “con”

• CONversation
• CONtent
• CONsistency
• CONnecting
• CONsideration
• CONgratulating

5. To that end:

• Enlighten,
• Educate
• Entertain

and

• Ask questions
• Answer questions on forums
• Reply to what you are sent

6. Bear in mind that people:

• “Use” LinkedIn for professional purposes
• “Play on” Facebook principally for friendship and fun, so more suitable for marketing B2C than B2B
• “Tweet on” Twitter for personal or business through separate accounts (though some  people are successful doing  both on one account)
• “Belong to” eCademy, typically if they are small businesses or solopreneurs

There are a lot more in the talk, and he is giving another talk focusing on LinkedIn this next Thursday 28th near Regent’s Park, London. I'm sure it will be well worth attending.

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Escaping Excel Hell - Unlocking Business Growth

Excel's a great way of making simple lists. So if you are trying to track sales orders or purchase orders, it's tempting to do it in Excel if you only have an accounting system.

Then the business grows a little. Two people are now trying to share a spreadsheet. That proves impractical so it is split into two halves. Then they are pulled together to report. Then a third person is needed ....

Before you know it there is a spider's web of spreadsheets, with links that sometimes work, and a whole raft of manual processes to control the business. Sound familiar?

That's what I found just before Christmas one year when I walked into a small quoted company's admin room to be greeted as if I were Father Christmas. The team leader had threatened to resign, and the Financial Controller had done their best without making any real progress (lack of time as much as a lack of experience).The Group Finance Director had spoken to a client of mine and had been given my name.

I had previously managed the implementation of an order processing system that had allowed the business to grow 10 fold with minimal increase in staff. This linked sales orders back to back with purchase orders. So when one supplier offered a discount for equipment supplied to certain cusetomers, it was simple to make the claim. £600,000 a year, doubling profits. Now that's a return on investment!

We worked with this second company to define their needs, including resolving disagreements between the senior management that an outsider could do far more effectively. The system implemented not only transformed the admin team, but meant that when the company was taken over, unusually it was this team and this system that was used by the enlarged group. The other team  were made redundant. It could so easily have been the other way around!


There's nothing like happy clients!

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VAT Rate Increase in January 2011 – Why's it Different?

With the “Comprehensive Spending Review” ringing in our ears, it’s easy to forget that there will be an increase of standard-rate VAT to 20% on 4 January next year.

This is no doubt painful for you if you live in the UK. But for businesses trading in the UK, it’s easy to think this is just a repeat of the last increase this last January. It’s not. There will be several different consequences for systems and commercial arrangements, such as: [...read more...]

Choice in Multi-Dimensional Planning and Reporting

There are a great number of multi-dimensional OLAP (OnLine Analytical Programming) software tools. These are changing all the time. At Softworld on Tuesday I was talking to various vendors to keep up to date with the leaders.

Cognos bought Applix and their TM1 OLAP tool just before Cognos was bought by IBM. Cognos already had a suite of planning and reporting tools they had brought together, including what was Adaytum Planning. Now they are taking the best of each to produce a new set of tools.

Microsoft's SQL Server database is commonly used in business packages, and is a popular tool for custom development. SQL has a facility called "Analysis Services" (AS) which provides multi-dimensional reporting. As each version of SQL appears, so AS improves.

Microsoft also had planning functionality in PerformancePoint. But that was lost virtually overnight when the product was rolled into SharePoint early last year, leaving users high and dry.

Other tools such as PowerOLAP (developed by a former TM1 reseller) also provides multi-dimensional reporting, but is better for planning than AS.

Whilst these tools can be used in SMEs and corporates, there are Business Intelligence tools priced for larger organisations that also provide multi-dimensional functions.

The right tool depends on use, the number of items in each dimension (such as the number of products) and the number of rows of data (such as sales transactions). Horses for courses!

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SaaS Cloud Computing - The Security Question

Earlier today I attended a session at Softworld about Cloud Computing. This had a panel of users and vendors (providers). What was clear when they contradicted each other was that even these "experts" don't know all they need to know about cloud computing - and I mean "need to know", if they (and you) are to gain the benefits without excessive pain at some stage.

That's not a criticism of these people, as the cloud is a relatively new fangled thing. However for those of us who have been using SaaS (Software as a Service) applications in front line business for over ten years, we have had our parts bitten, and know first hand what matters.

One of the comments that remained unchallenged was on the matter of security, in terms of access. This was along the lines of that old chestnut "We've been using internet banking for years, so SaaS is safe." We've also been using SaaS ervices such as Hotmail, and every now and again it and similar systems get hacked.

The difference? Like GoogleMail and many others, Hotmail relies only on a userid and password, where the userid is public knowledge - typically the email address. Many business SaaS systems similarly only use a userid and password. At the other end of the spectrum, the banks have at least one extra level of security, such as random digits from a PIN or second password, and/or the need for a physical device. Chalk and cheese.

So what does a confidential application like payroll use? Dennis Keeling gave the opening keynote address at Softworld this morning. Turns out he is an HR and payroll specialist, as part of a broad knowledge of the packaged software market. He tells me that for larger organisations, remote access to payroll services is typically by userid and password, but always in combination with a "private cloud" secure internet pipe. Without that, he would expect some additional level of security, such as random digits from a pin number (like some of the banks do).

For smaller businesses, here are a number of internet payroll services. These talk about various security methods, such as 128-bit SSL (secure socket layer) encryption, as is used by the banks. Nonetheless.here are some incidents of web payroll systems being hacked, to try and make immediate fraudulent electronic payments.

In an ordinary accounting system, there is often an equivalent mechanism for supplier and staff expenses payments. Good access security in these systems is therefore vital.

IN CONCLUSION

A simple user id and password is not as secure as the internet banking systems, nor as secure as the better payroll systems.

There will be many applications in a business where a userid and password combination is adequate, given the low potential consequences of unauthorised access. But there will also be applications, such as Accounts Payable, where some additional level of access security is a must.

For more "myth busting", see last week's article "SaaS Cloud Computing - The Hype, The Truth and The Wardrobe"

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