Category: Software Development
Those pesky competitors! They offer great deals, and advertise and market to your prospects. Sometimes, they even steal away customers. But don’t be downhearted! You CAN beat the competition using eCommerce and an experienced internet marketing specialist! eCommerce improves business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales and supports all kinds of customer-facing and partner activities. Just don’t forget that Internet marketing specialist I mentioned! He or she can help you get the most out of eCommerce using domain knowledge and the right tools to integrate advertising and marketing campaigns with social media sites, enterprise website, and blogs. With SEO, SMM and PPC your eCommerce initiatives will target the right customers, enhance brand awareness and reach the right audience and geographies.
I make good use of IT consultants, IT staff augmentation and technical partners. Experts are the most cost-effective and skilled people to do the work. My customers hire me because I am the best at MY job and I hire IT outsourcing partners because THEY are the BEST at their jobs. My colleagues ask me what they should look for when they are selecting an outsourcing partner. Want to know the secret? It’s EPSFTCQPSBMPJVCFPLA (if that’s not an acronym you know…read on).
(E) Experience – Great skills and knowledge, with numerous frameworks, languages, domains and tools.
(PSF) Product/Service Focus – Well-tested business processes, systems and models. A track record of achieving schedules and budgets.
If you’re an old-timer like me, you probably yawn when someone talks about quality. We all know about the tsunami of Japanese quality processes and the resurgence of quality in the U.S. and around the world. We are bored with terms like TQM quality-centric. But, we shouldn’t be!
Our customers, employees, partners, suppliers and stakeholders may not understand the detail, learning and dedication required for IT quality assurance and processes, but they certainly understand and they will stay with us if we remain devoted to quality and excellence.
If you work in the technology field and/or buy or staff technology services, ISO Quality Management (QMS) is a familiar term. Companies that certified for ISO approach every development, testing, maintenance, support and IT consulting task with proven methodologies to ensure positive outcomes for the clients and optimal resource utilization for the IT consultant or partner.
Ah, the naivety of the 90s! Businesses clung to the hope that they could find ONE software solution that would satisfy every business needs and do so affordably and quickly. Today, the world of business incorporates legacy systems, best-of-breed solutions, reporting software, industry-specific apps, mobile applications for smart phones and tablets and every manner of sales, contact, inventory, warehousing, financial, production, distribution, legal and enterprise software.
If we have abandoned the dream of ONE solution, we haven’t abandoned the idea that we must integrate the data in all systems to avoid drowning in a sea of useless information. How can we integrate systems designed in different code, different data base configuration, and different platforms and frameworks and tools?
You remember the advice columnist Abigail Van Buren? She said, “If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we’d all be millionaires.”
Imagine buying the experience of businesses that made mistakes in selecting software, outsourcing partners or IT consultants. What would you pay to avoid choosing an IT firm that is unable to deliver world-class, global services that satisfy your needs?
It doesn’t matter whether you need software development, programming services, project management, application development and maintenance, content management systems (CMS), infrastructure management, staff augmentation, smart phone or tablet software development, system integration, networking or other IT services. What matters is whether the firm has global experience and can provide offshore outsourcing services, product development, and global support with proven processes, methodologies and affordable services and delivery models.
I met Emily at a recent IT conference. She was part of a panel discussing application and product development. Emily cautioned the audience about the perils of developing a software application for sale. Any packaged application vendor will tell you that developing a software product is not risk free. It is costly and can be disastrous. You need the right skills, processes, methodologies and oversight. Emily talked about her company’s experience and how they abandoned the project after years of work and a gargantuan budget overrun.
You know how it is. You have more IT work than resources so you pull a team member from one project to staff another. This can result in project delays and budget overrun and the work product can suffer if the team doesn’t have the skills you need to complete a task.
I understand. I’ve faced these issues too. Fortunately, I found a solution. My technology projects and support issues were a constant source of frustration. When I needed to finish a critical project, something would get in the way – network issues, technology deployment, or integration or migration issue – the list was endless.