Browse > Home /

Facebook for Business

March 10, 2010

This morning I found the article “The Facebook Imperative Cannot Be Stopped” through @TechCrunch on Twitter.  In the article salesforce.com Cheif Marc Benioff discussed how the next evolution of software is to make every application like Facebook.  His observation is that tools like IBM’s Lotus Notes and Microsoft’s SharePoint miss the mark when it comes to true collaboration.  Tools like Notes and SharePoint allow you to collaborate on content by posting new versions or co-managing lists but have not allowed for true user collaboration and discussion.  Sure they have discussion threads that can be topic focused but they aren’t seemless or as easy-to-use as Facebook.

Think about the conversations on Facebook.  Your friend from out of town posts the question, “I need ideas for a 9 year old birthday party in the Cincy area”.  Within minutes, the suggestion start rolling in:

Everyone that is your “friend” can comment on the question.  Responses are real time.  If the friend had sent an email, it would bounce through the servers and firewalls.  Some would lose the mail message into their junk items, some would not respond, some would think to do it later (and then not do it).  With Facebook, the question shows up in my “Most Recent” list.  It’s there if I want to respond now or later.  Responding is easy.  All can see one another’s responses (unlike email where I may not be on a reply list).  You are engaged in the conversation because it is easy and allows for debate.

If Facebook were smart they would take some of the same concepts in their free version and create a Business Edition.  This edition would be installed within my firewall and rely on Active Directory for the users.  New employees would be set up as they would be in email.  The “friend” concept would be abolished as we are all colleagues that need to communicate with one another and all employees would be in my list.  I no longer need a separate IM client, as that feature is already built in.  Email is also built in…do I need corporate email?  (FB mail does not allow for attachments, only links…).  Additionally, my HR or event planners could post events and recieve RSVPs.  The calendaring isn’t great in FB – perhaps that’s an enhancement???  To me, having a conversation with my colleagues just became considerably easier.  Imagine the IT department:

Wow…wouldn’t that be great!!  What features would you add to the business edition of Facebook?

- Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Featured, Technology | 3 Comments 

Theme Week

March 5, 2010

I hope you have enjoyed “John Bostick Week” here on TheFutureValueofBusiness.com. It was fun going through the archives and posting this still-relevant content.

There are so many great sources out there today and so many great writers. Would you be interested in having another theme week? What will bring you back to our LUCRUM Site? Our LUCRUMites have first hand experience with Utilities, Smart Grid, Healthcare, Business Intelligence, Data Analytics, Data Mining, Data Lifecycle analysis, Metadata, Prototyping, ETL, OLAP, Reporting, TARGIT, Microsoft (Excel, SQL Server, Analysis Services, Integration Services, Reporting Services), Oracle, Apple and general Cincinnati knowledge.

So what do you think? Theme week??

– Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Featured, LUCRUM News | 1 Comment 

The Power of Dashboarding

March 1, 2010

Each day, the first place I visit on the web is this blog.  I’m the admin…the person behind scenes.  I’m the one that removes the spam (like taking out the trash really), edits tags, makes sure that the posts are tweeted and ensures that the post tagging is consistent.  The other thing that I do is look at how people get to our site.  I look at the keywords that they used and the sites they left to get here.  One thing I noticed this morning is that “John Bostick” was a hot topic.  :-D   As a matter of fact, one of the searches led me to an article on another site that I did not realize John had written.  It got me to wondering, “What else has John written that we haven’t posted here?”  I decided at that very moment to go searching for John’s other material and provide links back here.  I’ll be doing it all week.  I hope you take a look.

SEGUE

Speaking of Dashboarding…what is your corporate dashboard doing for you?  Are you learning new things about your services and products?  Does it help you to manage things differently?  You read above how thefuturevalueofbusiness.com dashboard helped me to manage my posts differently.  I’d love to hear your stories of how your corporate dashboard caused you to change how you managed your business.  Share them below!

In the meantime…I hope you enjoy John’s posts this week.

– Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business & Leadership, Business Intelligence, Featured | 2 Comments 

The iPad and IT

February 26, 2010

On the day the iPad announcement was made, I wrote a post sharing my enthusiasm for the device.  Since that time, I’ve watched the Twitter community go out with its trash and praise for the device and Apple in general, I’ve talked about it with my friends, and I’ve listened around our own office.  The feeling is mixed on what this device will do to computing.  Here at thefuturevalueofbusiness.com, we also conducted a poll.  Here are our results:

As you can see, the results are a bit mixed, with the clear interpretation being that the iPad is just a giant iPhone (which was my vote by the way).  I’ve found it really funny that people think of this as a BAD thing!  I think extending the capabilities of the iPhone makes a lot of sense.  Giving me the ability to compose documents, prepare (and deliver) presentations, manage email and read web pages on a full size screen are major parts of my day.  As a matter of fact, I’m not alone in this.  John C. Welch (be careful if you Google him – he’s…a…how do you say it…”colorful”) an IT Director and long time writer/advocate of Macs wrote that nearly 90% of his employees are just heavy web and mail users.  He mused that this device would be great for road warriors and sales people alike.  He, like I, believes that this will not likely be the only device used by his people, but rather another complimentary device.  Now, John works for an advertising agency so his experience may not be like yours.  I do, however, believe that this device may become the primary device for the following groups of people:

  1. Busy Execs (which ones aren’t busy??) - especially those that are primarily reviewing company metrics, business plans, emailing, and traveling
  2. Salespeople – these guys and gals spend the majority of their time updating their CRM system, emailing customers, and delivering presentations written by someone else
  3. Road Warriors – I’ve spent enough time in airports to know that getting through security with that bad is a huge back killer…this would be a great alternative, especially for those consulting types where the work PC/laptop needs to remain at the client site.  No need to keep a second laptop with you during the week if you have an iPad
  4. Students / Teachers - University students and even high schoolers (and below??) will find this a great alternative to the laptop.  Less likely to get broken and more powerful then pen and paper.  Imagine if you are a grad student working during the day and going to school at night.  The iPad can stay with you all day and fits neatly into your existing  laptop bag  (I have this BIG idea for the paperless classroom too…if only!)
  5. Plant Managers / Ops Managers – Now that most ERP systems are on the web, I can see all of my daily production data on my iPad.  This would allow me to spend more time on the floor and still be able to answer any production/operational issues on the spot.

Notice, I did not mention IT, Accounting, Finance or Engineering.  These are traditionally very heavy users of a PC.  They are creating large spreadsheets, writing complex equations or programming all of those great apps that we use today.  They may WANT an iPad, but it’s not likely going to become a primary device for them.

So I fall somewhere into categories 1-3 above.  I’m still excited for the iPad release and plan to stand in line the day the 3G model comes out.  I’ll take pictures and let you know if it lives up to the hype.

- Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Featured, Technology | 4 Comments 

Business Intelligence in Utilities

February 25, 2010

A few weeks ago I posted some thougths on the future of Smart Grid and what it meant to the consumer.  In essence, my observation was that it may be BI for BI’s sake.  My musings were based upon a post from Bart Thielbar of Sierra Energy which were posted in Intelligent Utility.  He and I started trading some email, which led to a discussion on how Business Intelligence initiatives were being led at utility companies.  I’ve had some experience at FirstEnergy, Duke Energy (formerly Cinergy), AEP, and Southern Company.  Bart had just finished a survey of utility execs on BI.  Here’s what he found:

We compared notes and were both pleasantly surprised to find similar results.   Click here to read more about his findings.  Click here to see his post that started all of this.

(Note:  if you aren’t engaging in dialogue around the Net, you should.  You’ll meet some fabulous people along the way and gain more insight!)

Follow me on Twitter:  @LUCRUMinc

-  Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business & Leadership, Business Intelligence, Featured | 3 Comments 

Mmmmm…cheesecake

February 24, 2010

I was sending a text message to my BFF Rose the other day.  She was suggesting the Cheesecake Factory for a celebratory lunch.  I wanted to respond in a way that let her know that my eyes were spinning as if I were in a cheesecake-induced, coma-like state and being led to my cheesecake master.  My response was intended to be “Mmmmmm….cheesecake”.  Thanks to my trusty iPhone auto-correct, the response came through as “Hmmmmm…cheesecake”.  Clearly a HUGE difference!  This response sent the message that I was thinking through the cheesecake option, though I had not yet settled on an opinion.  The only response that would’ve been worse was had it auto-corrected to “Ummmm…cheesecake”, which would imply, “Really?  You are thinking cheesecake?”

The whole cheesecake, text message snafu led me to think – HOW DEEP IS YOUR METADATA??  Consider the following:

  • Mmmmm = Yummy
  • Hmmmm = Thinking
  • Ummmm = Thinking

In your organization, how many variants do you have to the word Revenue?  It’s really the same thing:

  • Invoiced Revenue = Stuff we sent a bill for
  • Sales Revenue = Value of an order
  • Recognized Revenue = $$ added to the financial statements

As you start to build your data warehouse, you may run into the same issue.  How do you keep it all straight?  Certainly in a word document or in your requirements document you’ve created the definition.  But how accessible are those documents at the conclusion of the project?  How are they distributed to the end-users?  Are they in a user manual somewhere?  How often is that manual consulted?  When new reports are being created or new project teams are being established, are these documents reviewed at the beginning of the new effort?  If there is a conflict in the definition, whom should be called to resolve the dispute?  Sounding familiar??

LUCRUM partners with a great local company, Balanced Insight.  Balanced Insight makes a product called Consensusthat allows you to track your metadata, organize it, and build data structures to support it.  Imagine if you could produce a picture to show your customer how data is related.  This picture allows them to confirm that “you’ve got it!”.

Consensus also allows you to see how the terms are defined and interconnected.  Using a tool like Consensus allows you to set priorities and target the items that may “break” if a system is converted or taken off-line.  I can’t imagine gathering requirements without using this tool!!

I don’t know if it will save my next iPhone auto-correct issue, but it sure would be helpful.

-  Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business Intelligence | 2 Comments 

New Partner: TARGIT!

February 22, 2010

Have you heard of TARGIT?  TARGIT is a suite of BI Tools geared toward getting you to BI “in the fewest clicks”.  LUCRUM has always been a big believer in doing BI..Faster!  This suite of tools is a great tool in our toolbox.  We encourage you to learn more:  http://www.targit.com/Products/TARGIT_Suite.aspx

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business & Leadership, Featured, LUCRUM News | 2 Comments 

Smart Grid Reporting

February 10, 2010

I’ve been working in and around the Utility industry for the last 9 years or so.  In order to have meaningful conversations with my customers and in order to create solutions that are meaningful to them I subscribe to some industry publications.  One such publication is IntelligentUtility.  This morning an article caught my eye.  In it, Bart Thielbar discusses his mother’s reaction to receiving Smart Grid technology in her home.

For those that haven’t heard, the Smart Grid is the biggest technology investment being made by Utility IT managers.  The concept is that your local energy provider will be bringing Business Intelligence into your home.  You’ll have a device in say your kitchen that tells you how much electricity you are using when you run your dishwasher.  It may even suggest alternate times to run your dishwasher.  Ultimately it is believed that you will make better decisions on where to set your thermostat, when to run your washer and dryer and also illuminate you to how much energy is truly being consumed by that hallway chandelier.  Additionally, the utility company can also start to do meter reads from their headquarters, thus eliminating meter readers…and also can increase the speed by which new service can be turned on and service can be disconnected for late payments, which will eliminate some service personnel.  The idea is that it provides for tremendous cost savings for the utility and potential cost savings to the consumer if behavior is changed.  (There are other benefits and pitfalls as well…too numerous to mention.)

Bart’s mother’s response when her son explained all of this to her was very simple, “Can’t we just look around the house and turn off lights that aren’t being used, adjust the thermostat or replace appliances that are less efficient?”  Ah yes…having BI for the sake of BI.  How many times have you seen an implementation of a dashboard or a new report that was projected to save $$ that just became a rather large paperweight or unused app?  If you aren’t planning on using the information to change any behavior then why measure it in the first place?

I’ve seen countless business intelligence efforts fail simply because the users weren’t engaged to create a solution that “fit” the problem.  The best BI initiatives are simple, focused, and highly customer centric.  Sure the Smart Grid has a lot of benefit and cost savings for the utility, but how many customers are truly going to take those data points and make different decisions in their home?  My guess…not as many as you think.  As with any technology, it will be a novelty at first and used a lot the month after a high bill.  Companies are recognizing this and starting to make adjustments to their new products.  So rather than have a consumer look at some guages and dials and decide what to do next, your next dishwasher may be able to tap into the Smart Grid and know when to run the next load of dishes.  Perhaps we’ll have a setting that says “Energy Efficient” that will read the rate structure and turn itself on at 3AM rather than run right now.

Is your BI initiative just a bunch of guages and dials?  Or is it truly changing the behavior of your users and customers?

– Jodie

If you are interested in other Smart Grid discussions, this blog summarizes some new ideas out there and links to several other sites.  http://knowledgeproblem.com/2009/06/30/smart-grid-device-update/

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business Intelligence, Featured | 5 Comments 

IT’s Worst Enemies

February 8, 2010

I saw an article on CIO Online this morning.  Gave me a good chuckle.  Thought you might appreciate it too.  I know that I have met each of the “6 people” on their list and I’m sure you have too.  Well worth a read if you have a few minutes today.  If you don’t, here’s their top 6:

1.  The Ostrich (think Exec)

2.  The Penny Pincher (think CFO)

3.  The Power User (think…power user)

4.  The Politico (think CIO)

5.  The Freeloader (think Uncle Stew)

6.  You/Me/Us (duh!)

There’s even an opportunity to discover your own IT personality (there’s 8 of those…not to be confused with the 6 enemies above).  My results? 

“Holy split personality! The Empty Suit, The Human Roadblock, The Promiser — make up your mind already!”

http://ow.ly/12Iog

Happy reading!
- Jodie

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business Intelligence | 1 Comment 

CEO Tweets Resignation

February 4, 2010

@OpenJonathan Today’s my last day at Sun. I’ll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more

That’s the last Tweet from Jonathan Schwartz, Sun’s former CEO.  It was preceeded by his final blog just 1 week earlier.  http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/where_life_takes_me_next

In the time of Social Media, how we get the news is not nearly as riveting as how FAST we get news.  Via Facebook you get birth announcements, wedding invitations, divorce annoucements…via LinkedIn yo usee job changes and now via Twitter – resignations.  All real time.  Faster than you can spill the announcement to your immediate family, you can notify hundreds/thousands (or in Jonathan Schwartz’s 9107 people).

If you are a company, how do you manage this flow of communication?  More importantly how do you exploit this communication and how do you track the effectiveness?  I think that the next generation of BI will track social media impact to financial results and/or to customer satisfaction.  Imagine if you could track the ROI of your marketing efforts!  If a Marketer’s MBO could include # of tweets per day and % increase of profit and truly be tied together!!  Ah…dreamy

CEO Dashboard of the future

Good luck Jonathan!

- Jodie

 - Writers note:  when I started writing this at 4:51PM, @openJonathan had 9107 followers.  22 minutes later (5:13PM, he now has 9,151).  A quirky, unexpected message gets a following…quickly!

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business & Leadership, Featured | 2 Comments 

Next Page »