The Savvy CIO

What gets us excited at Highland Solutions is seeing the success of our clients - great clients - amazing people - that have grown their businesses significantly over the last 3 years of this economic malaise and uncertainty.

I think it’s safe to say it’s not necessarily the start-up or creation of businesses that drives our economy, but the expansion of them. Growth-oriented firms have the greatest, most positive impact on the economy through the jobs they create, driven by their revenue increases and/or capital infusions. Some call these “second-stage companies”, these firms are those that have grown past the start-up stage and are well on the way to full maturity as a business (the credit goes to others mentioned below for these thoughts).

Here at Highland, we’ve been able to come along-side two forms of “second-stage companies”, the first are our clients that started their businesses based on a singular service or product that needed to “scale” based on efficient delivery to their customers via the web. The second category are our clients that have a longer business history and needed to modernize their operations and communications via automating key business and sales processes.

More on this later - but in the mean time if you’re interested in the topic, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion at DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurial Center in Chicago tomorrow morning October 15:

“In this panel discussion, you will see the compelling data that tells the story of second-stage impact on our economy. You will hear about the needs these companies have and why they’re under the radar. And you will meet some of the founders and CEOs behind these firms.”

You can go here for more information and to register (it’s free).

I’ll be joining Raman Chadha, Executive Director of the Coleman Center, and Penny Lewandowski of the Edward Lowe Foundation along with other Founders and CEOs.

Hope to see you there!
Brian

Highland Solutions will be exhibiting at the Chicago TechExpo on October 6 along with Evanston, IL-based Winsby, Inc., our business development and marketing partner. We are also pleased to welcome to the Expo California-based SugarCRM for which we are a premier reseller and integrator. This is the second year for the Chicago TechExpo which is expected to surpass last year’s attendance of over 1,200 business owners and entrepreneurs. As for exhibitors, last year we were among 100 exhibit booths supported by 88 local, national and international technology companies. The Expo reports 130 exhibitors for this year, so it seems the Expo’s reach is expanding. You may want to seriously consider attending.

Why should you come and why is Highland Solutions exhibiting?

For you, the Expo is:

• An easy way to get a pulse on what’s happening with technology in business.
• Designed to be about how a business decision maker can use, optimize and extend technology to make a real difference in your business.

Put another way, the Expo is not about technology companies trying to sell their products and services to other technology companies. The Expo keeps the focus on what decision makers need to be successful in business.

Highland Solutions is exhibiting because:

• Although our business is quickly expanding to a nationwide client base, Chicago is our home, and we love to talk with business decision makers in our local community.
• We’re there as a SugarCRM premier partner. If you want to find out more about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and fundamental changes CRM systems are making in business come and see how Highland and SugarCRM are working together.

Another good reason to come is to meet our partner, Winsby, Inc. They have compelling success stories about bringing sales support and marketing services through a structured program that focuses on systematically expanding active accounts, building contact lists, consistently monitoring business metrics and increasing business opportunities.

Expo Details

The Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 6 is located in the UIC Forum and for the $35 registration fee, parking and lunch are included. Check out the details for yourself. If you can attend, take a look at the exhibit map when you arrive; you should find us either under Highland Solutions or SugarCRM. Stop by and say hello!

Hope you can attend!

This is the second in a multi-post series on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems in manufacturing – based on our recent work and analysis of our various clients in the industry.

What are some unique problems in the manufacturing industry and some examples of solutions?

Here are three interesting problems that we solved using the availability of information from our construction and off-road equipment manufacturers to help dealers/resellers leverage their standard CRM account information:

1. Equipment Sales History
   Manufacturers have records of all new equipment sales, including owner information, options provided and location at the time of purchase. These records were easily synced with dealer CRM systems in the customer’s sales territory and are updated on a regular basis with the account records so information is current.

2. Equipment Rental Inventory
   In this application the accounts in a dealer’s CRM are updated from back-end ERP data to show monthly counts by type of equipment rented, equipment turned in, and current rentals outstanding. Those accounts without new rentals for a defined period are automatically escalated to sales call activity, and those who have turned in all rentals and have no new rental activity for a defined period are set to Win Back status with appropriate email and sales call activities automatically launched.

3. Equipment Operating History
   Manufacturers who provide GPS-enabled system monitoring transceivers typically have a centralized service for viewing and downloading usage data by dealers. Rather than relying on infrequent manual data mining sessions, we have automated the integration of this data with the CRM accounts for dealers in the equipment’s current geographic location. This data provides valuable equipment usage information, including location, operating hours (load and idle), alerts and warning indications, etc. All of this is useful to trigger contact for field service and preventative maintenance opportunities.

Critical to the success of these sales automation features is the ability to quickly and effectively integrate manufacturer data sources to the dealer CRM instances to provide regular and current access to this useful information.

Know of other unique realities and innovate solutions in the manufacturing industry and CRM systems? Share your thoughts below.

If you’d like to know more about a CRM, visit our CRM page or give us a call at (312) 863-7500.

This is the first in a multi-post series on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems in manufacturing – based on our recent work and analysis of our various clients in the industry.

What is unique about a manufacturing industry CRM deployment compared to other industries?

CRM deployments for manufacturers are unique in that selling their products requires a network of dealers and representatives that usually are not directly employed by the manufacturer. The challenge for the manufacturer is to know whether a consistent effort is being made to move their products into the marketplace, either through their own sales force or through their distribution network? Metrics can easily be developed by implementing a CRM process at each level of sales and distribution.

Recent deployments of CRM we’ve performed - along with valued Highland Solutions partner Winsby, Inc., a business development firm - for manufacturers and their sales networks indicate that information and details that are retained in ERP systems are invariably not in a usable format for the sales and customer service groups. Details like descriptions, dimensions, fitment, weight, images and selling points are inconsistent, unavailable or not flowing properly into dealership inventory systems, web sites and ERP systems. CRM systems usually have not been adopted or are not integrated with other systems.

Our partner Winsby, Inc. routinely conducts market research to verify customer preferences, habits and expectations. The results of this research for manufacturers have indicated that there is a rapid acceleration in moving toward websites to conduct any type of business, both research for products and services and purchases. Any manufacturer that is not in a position to offer comprehensive services on the web is in jeopardy of surviving. A CRM system offers a way to monitor activity in order to expand active accounts systematically and build the contact list while keeping an eye on metrics and increasing opportunities for sales. CRM modules are added to manage and track activities, contacts and touch points cost effectively and seamlessly both for the manufacturer and its sales organizations.

Know of other unique realities of the manufacturing industry and CRM systems? Share your thoughts below.

If you’d like to know more about a CRM, visit our CRM page or give us a call at (312) 863-7500.

CRM isn’t just a piece of technology. Orienting your business around knowing, serving and connecting with your customers is a process and a culture. Process and culture are truly the heart of CRM. And it isn’t easy.

But there’s no reason the technology that enables a customer-centric culture has to be hard to use. But frankly, CRM technology has often been a bear to work with.

Most CRMs take a complex piece of technology (encompassing marketing, sales, support, contracts, quoting, etc.) and combine it with a clumsy, click-happy user interface. That’s a recipe for disaster.

With today’s launch of Sugar 6.0, Sugar has taken a “good enough” user interface and made it exceptional.

Sugar’s new tagline with the launch is “CRM Made Simple”, and they’ve clearly targeted the user experience. I’ve been using the new Sugar interface for several months. In short, it’s incredible.

read more »

There are two major methods of developing software: waterfall and agile. If you’re considering a development project, you should consider how your software should be made.

Waterfall development goes through distinct stages, with requirements gathering in the first stage. In the waterfall method, a group of decision makers think, imagine, script and whiteboard how the system might be used. These working sessions create a set of requirements for the application. After the requirements are set, the waterfall method flows down to future stages of development, testing and deployment.

In contrast, agile development breaks a project down into small stages. Each stage tackles a small area of the application, gathering requirements, building, testing and then putting the growing application into the hands of users. This process allows requirements to emerge over time, as users and developers learn together exactly what the application needs to accomplish.

Waterfall development assumes the requirements of a system can be fully predicted and codified before any development begins. Agile development assumes requirements only fully emerge during the process.

Waterfall development aims at a stationary target. Agile development aims at a moving one.

So which method is best?

read more »

People use laptops, smartphones, iPads and other mobile gadgets all the time everywhere they go. Maybe you’re one of them. Many companies are moving to notebooks instead of desktop computers and equipping employees with smartphones to enable increased mobility. Maybe you belong to such a company.

Do you know how secure your business information is when you connect to wireless Internet in your hotel or at the airport or hook up to free WiFi at a cafe? It can be very risky, but there are a few simple ways to protect yourself, your company and your clients. In a recent article about information security, Chris Drake from E-Commerce Times stresses educating yourself and your workforce about the best methods to keep yourself safe from hackers. He offers these suggestions:

For Wireless Internet Connections

• Stay off the free wireless Internet. If you do use it, go through a secure VPN connection with the latest encryption methods.
• Subscribe to a mobile broadband service and use the mobile Internet access card.
• If you are not using your wireless connection, turn it off. This will help regulate when you are actually connected.

Use the Right Hardware and Software

• If possible, use a “travel only” laptop that contains only the basics and not all your work history information.
• Access your email through the Web instead of through physical software.
• When you are done on the Internet, clear your browser history.
• Store everything on an approved network instead of on your local harddrive.
• Type in passwords instead of having your computer remember them.
• Equip your mobile device with “lojack-like” software. In the event of loss or theft, you will be able to wipe out the contents on your device.
• Install antivirus software on your laptop.
• Require two-factor authentication to access your system

Drake also cautions to always keep your belongings with you at all times. It only takes a minute of turning your back or leaving the table, and your laptop could be hacked or stolen. Thieves and cybercriminals look for any opportunity.

Don’t assume that your boss or the IT department have everything covered. Know what methods you have in place to protect yourself. How valuable is your company’s information to you and your job? Can you afford to take chances?

Running a business well takes specialized knowledge. Not only in the core service and marketplace of your business but increasingly in law, human resources, technology and more.

Most businesses don’t have the need to maintain a full-time lawyer, HR administrator or CIO. Typically these roles have either been outsourced or simply neglected.

In the last few years, this approach has changed, moving from “outsourcing” law or technology advice to retaining “virtual” advisors.

The change in wording is more than mere semantics; it reflects a change in focus. Outsourcing work focuses on the vendor. Your legal questions, HR needs or technology plans go into the queue of a company that performs the exact same actions for a hundred other businesses just like yours. Virtual assistance focuses on you and provides unique, on-demand assistance. A virtual advisor gets to know you and your business, providing expertise as an informed, long-term trusted advisor.

At Highland, we believe in the virtual model. While most small to medium size companies invest in IT-either full time staff or an outsourced firm-very few have the need or resources for high level technology planning in a full time CIO. As specialists in business technology, we provide the benefits of strategic technical thinking in a virtual role.

The benefits of long-term planning, disaster preparedness, and aligning technology with your business goals are immense. A virtual CIO gives business leaders confidence that IT is driven by business thinking and frees them to focus on other core tasks.

I don’t praise the value of a virtual CIO because it’s one of our services. Virtual arrangements are the smartest way I know for businesses to fill out their expertise. Highland retains a virtual HR department and a virtual lawyer. We practice what we preach.

Are there other specialized roles you’ve seen work well as virtual advisors? Have you experienced key benefits or drawbacks from this model? Share your comments below.

One of our techs installed a really nice graphics card in a computer in our office last week.

A few years ago, everyone would have been wondering if someone was sneaking in a bit of World of Warcraft over lunch. Normal office work just didn’t require that sort of  processing power.

Not anymore. Widescreen monitors with high resolutions are graphically intense, and fancy new website technologies like AJAX (that allow you to interact with only part of a webpage without refreshing the whole page—think Facebook, Gmail, Zimbra) can tax a PC graphically as well.

So our sluggish PC got a major graphics upgrade, in the form of a GeForce 9400 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI-E 2.0 Graphics Card.

I admit that’s a product name with gamer written all over it.

And be warned that getting the sleek, foreboding black and green box into your office might gain you a couple of curious stares. A backpack or a paper bag could be called for.

But even though the graphics card market still clearly targets the PC gamer, office PCs supporting large monitors or working in web applications can see a big productivity boost by using graphics cards with significant memory and processing power. Plus, the prices have dropped substantially in the last few years, and are easily under $75 for a good card.

So put some gamer gear to work in your office. You may be surprised at the difference.

Every now and then I like to browse the websites of other technology companies. Recently, as we’ve been putting the finishing touches on a brand new website launch (coming in June!), I’ve been doing it a lot more.

While I’ve come across sites both great and terrible, I have noticed a discouragingly common trend. Many technology companies are overly specialized in a particular type of technology.

The most common example is Microsoft, of course. Legion are the IT companies who display their “Microsoft Gold Partner” badge and the long list of Microsoft certifications their staff holds. Such specialization is a good thing if you need assistance with a piece of Microsoft technology. However, if you were to approach such a company with a business problem to be solved or goal to be achieved, you would undoubtedly receive a Microsoft-shaped solution.

But what if Microsoft’s offering is actually inferior or overly costly for your business issue? read more »