• Unaware of BPM
• Lack of drive for change
• Lack of funds and or time
• Scale of the organisations

There is a great post here from Andrew Smith on this subject, looking at the factors above in a little more detail. http://andrewonedegree.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/why-do-so-many-200-300man-sized-organisations-not-have-bpm/

However, in a recent discussion on Twitter and LinkedIN, it seems the root factor is an organisations size. The scale of their processes have a relevant impact on the factors mentioned already, so smaller organisations have a lack of drive for change (regarding BPM) because they really don’t feel they need to improve efficiency. Because of this they may well be unaware of BPM or what BPM type solutions can deliver. So the main factor for process improvement not being addressed in small organisations (SMEs) appears to be one of scale.

If we regard BPM as a discipline, used to improve business processes, then the issue of scale will for sure highlight inefficiencies in business processes. Scale in this case though isn’t just about the size of a process, or the number of collaborators that make up that process, but also the number of items that move through the process.

Let’s make do

With smaller businesses the option to “make do” is a compelling one. When you need to correct processes, or deal with issues, small businesses just make do and get on with it. It’s far easier to deal with a small number of issues than thousands, because of this, small businesses are quite happy to operate with inefficient processes in place. To put it bluntly, they get the job done eventually…

But, making do also applies to IT investment, not just processes. For a small business, do they really need to invest heavily in technology, or can they make do with MS Office in the cloud? Can they make do with small off the shelf IT solutions? Can they even make do with not employing a dedicated IT member of staff? The answer is, yes, they can make do.

If SMEs can make do in so many areas of their IT and Business, then they will make do without typical BPM disciplines and software. We have to remember that for small businesses, investment is not only in terms of hard cash, but also in terms of employee’s time. With smaller companies, an individual’s time becomes a high valued commodity, one which often cannot be spent on areas outside the core business, such as helping design more efficient processes or administering software solutions. This in effect has a big impact on the “drive for change”, effectively suffocating drive for change that may arise.

Planning ahead

While making do works to some extent, there are many limitations. The main side effect of making do, is trying to grow a business. If your business starts to grow but your infrastructure (IT and processes) cannot cope or highly inefficient (which may only start to show itself once you have more items in a process, more work to complete or more collaborators), then your back office is really going to start to struggle. All of a sudden process inefficiencies become a real issue and can threaten the whole success of the business.

Making do also won’t help you get ahead of your competition. We have to remember that process efficiencies feed into better services, including customer facing services, which ultimately lead to happier customers, better customer retention and a greater turnover.

The question is then, how can SMEs take advantage of the same BPM type software that larger organisations are able to do? How can they find the investment in time and money terms to enable them to drive change within the organisation for the better?

One answer is to take the plunge, invest heavily and hope that you grow your business to warrant that investment. This is a little risky, but many a business plan has worked in this way. But is there another way?

Could SaaS be the answer?

Software as a Service (SaaS) potentially provides SMEs with a way of accessing the same technologies as larger organisations do (in this post we are thinking of process improvement solutions). There are many benefits of cloud computing and SaaS, however, small businesses have to be aware of their industry governance and just how a cloud based solution can work for them. That aside, SaaS could potentially unlock the door to many IT based solutions that typically would not be available to SMEs.

With this in mind though, we must ask ourselves, even with BPM in the cloud, will SMEs need or want traditional BPM?

Do SMEs need BPM software

If we mean traditional BPM software (BPMS) then the answer will be no.

The issue with BPM implementations is not only one of accessibility, monetary investment, but also investment in terms of time and how you want to operate your business. Traditional BPM implementations are highly structured and quite bureaucratic in their nature; they require a lot of time and effort from management, key stake holders and end users.

So traditional BPM is still a no go for SMEs, but process improvement is still a requirement. So what other options are there for SMEs regarding process efficiency?

Well the best option appears to be one that is less structured than BPM, a solution that allows processes to be detected, then analysed, reviewed and refined to drive process efficiency. This means SMEs are far more suited to Case Management type solutions and APG (Adaptive Process Guidance) based implementations. (Many will argue that these are BPM solutions, but they do operate differently to the typical BPM software or BPM the discipline, which you can find defined here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_management)

Such solutions are far more flexible and will allow many more processes to be incorporated, without a massive investment in terms of process design and other areas associated with typical BPM.

Case Management gives SMEs a step into process management and requires far less investment in terms of process design time than typical BPMS implementations. However, Case Management can fall short on structured processes. This is where APG can step in. APG is supposed to deal with unstructured and structured processes, providing organisations with the capabilities to manage highly structured, high volume processes (typical BPM territory) and highly unstructured, flexible working processes (typical Case management territory). APG is quite an exciting term and could well be the best route for SMEs to manage their processes if and when it starts to take hold in the BPM marketplace.

Conclusion

SMEs can benefit greatly from process management; however, traditional BPM will not be what SMEs are looking for (majority of), because of two main reasons:

1)      There is a big overhead in terms of investment in time, effort and money

2)      Traditional BPM is too rigid for many processes within the organisation

The second point is illustrated far more within smaller organisations. If SMEs are to invest in processes and software, then the software they choose needs to be able to adapt and be flexible to all their process needs, not just those that are highly structured with highly repeatable tasks.

These two points identify that Case Management and APG (Adaptive Process Guidance) are far better options for SMEs when trying to take control of their processes, plan ahead for the future and get a jump on their competition.

With the option of “cloud computing” and more importantly SaaS (Software as a Service), the “second barrier to entry”, if you like, is almost removed. All of a sudden, SMEs have the option to invest in APG or Case Management and take hold of business processes, something that only the larger organisations have been able to do in the past.

So will we see more SMEs turning to process management solutions in the future? The answer has to be a Yes.

What this illustrates, is that the web and how we use it is adapting. Most of that internet access will not be done via HTML 5, which may be a shock to many, rather we will see users opting for mobile apps to access web content.

HTML 5 may be the multi platform of choice, but it is reliant on a web browser to actually do anything, which means it faces the same problems that all websites have, that of working as expected in all the different browser flavours. It also places limitations on what the website can actually do / deliver. Just think, do people access Facebook on their mobile devices via HTML currently? (web browser) Or do they use their Facebook app on their device….That’s right, the Facebook app.

What does this mean for business?

This means that websites have to act differently depending on the device type they are being viewed on, that is a given, but it also means that those businesses that provide mobile apps will get ahead. Mobile apps deliver a far richer and satisfying end user experience, so if your business provides a mobile app, then you’re ahead of the game.

It doesn’t matter if you are selling directly to the customer, or using mobile apps as a form of communication (delivering customer services), the mobile app provides a better experience and service immediately to customers.

All of this means we are seeing a fragmentation in how to deliver web content, based on how the user is accessing the web. If on their PC then HTML 5 in a browser is a great option, if on a mobile device, then a mobile app specifically for that type of device (iPhone, iPad, Android, Win Mob 7) etc will be the best option, and one of choice for the end user.

Will we see this go further in the future

Perhaps. Just as we have seen a move away from Mainframe environments (everything carried out on the one machine), to distributed processing (server, and pcs) and then back towards a mainframe type environment in the form of cloud computing and HTML web apps. We probably will see a move away from web apps running in a browser to desktop apps distributed over the web, almost a carbon copy of using mobile apps instead of the browser and HTML on mobile devices….

It seems the web isn’t changing at all, rather it is us as consumers and individuals that are in flux regarding how we want to interact with web content. That’s something that may well go on for some time to come….

ECM, CRM and BPM

These three silos are often used together. CRM utilises both ECM (for storing unstructured content found in emails or letters) and BPM for managing particular processes. However, it is argued that because these are three silos, that often the user looses track of certain information, that the systems are rather cobbled together and as such, do not deliver the effectiveness they could if they were one.

One advocate of this is Andrew Smith, the managing director at One Degree Consulting and workFile ltd.

In an interview with eBizq.net, Andrew talks about the importance and benefits of taking a more holistic approach to how businesses work, and the processes they use. You can listen to the podcast here:

http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/2011/01/taking_a_holistic_approach_to.php

At workFile, they are driving towards a singular platform that delivers these three business functions in a particular fashion. They have termed this their @WE concept (Adaptive Working Environment).

A single platform

An @WE is to deliver a single platform for CRM, ECM and BPM while being completely adaptive to the needs of the business and end users. workFile believe this so much so, that they have broken away from their BPM module and re-invested in delivering something they term APG (Adaptive Process Guidance).

If you are looking for a better definition, then you can find one at http://www.workfilesuite.com/what-is-@WE.aspx

APG, Adaptive Process Guidance

This is a new term and essentially is a new way of tackling the same problem that BPM addresses, how to manage processes. APG though is quite different, people are at the centre of APG and as such, most processing rules are not enforced on the user, rather they are suggested (or the user is guided in their work). In addition, processes need not have an end result of a particular goal being reached, rather an objective can be set.

An objective is a process that contains no work as such, rather it uses information required in order to provide information as an when needed to the end user. This is seen as a true guide, or wizard guide, for processes that do not physically require work to be carried out on an object (such as a customer record, content files etc).

You can see workFile’s definition on APG here:

http://www.workfilesuite.com/downloads/The%20APG%20Definition.pdf

Conclusion

Holistic approaches are hot talking points. They make great sense as they are designed to see the bigger picture and therefore help business deliver better service experiences. If thats the case, then a more holistic approach will help organisations retain customer bases and give them a leading edge on their competition…

More reading…

For more reading on the APG debate, visit http://andrewonedegree.wordpress.com/

Well first off, ECM, CRM and BPM (we will stick with BPM at the moment), are very much interlinked. Here at One Degree Consulting, we believe that these should be no longer seen as a single silo, but rather part of one solution. Changes are being made to bring this functionality closer and close in the workFile Vision product. The new release is more about empowerment. By bringing together a single, complete customer file, by empowering staff with all the information they need at hand, by empowering them to actually engage with the customer (via conversation on the web, through social media activities, via physical mail or over the phone) and to empower employees to  make good decisions that satisfy the customer needs. If you have a single silo that delivers all this then you have the capabilities to influence your customers and therefore, your market position.

Customer experience

The customer experience is everything, Apple has shown the way in this, by giving customers a good experience, via their products (if they are lacking functionality), but most importantly via their service. An Apple store makes the customer feel special; the brand makes a customer feel wanted, apple engages with its developers and customers alike very well, and because of this Apple has turned around its fortunes. So customer experience is ultimately the only way to influence your customers and your market.

To help deliver this, businesses have traditionally looked to CRM, and or ECM and tried to cobble together solutions. But is the future not therefore a single silo, a single platform for both? And if this is the case, shouldn’t that system also be able to manage the businesses processes too? Bringing together ECM, BPM and CRM is the first step, and workFile Vision, may not be the first platform to do this, but will be one of those looking to the future and delivering a single silo approach…

Movement away from BPM

For some time now, individuals have pointed out that flowcharts and traditional BPM “mapping” tools etc. are too rigid. That if anything they restrict a business’s capability to empower staff and adapt to new ways of working, new tasks and new market forces. Here at One Degree Consulting, we have long complained of the capabilities and restrictions typical BPM maps place on BPM. If you follow, Andrew Smiths blog (our MD), then you will notice he has raised this a number of times (http://andrewonedegree.wordpress.com) . However, many have identified that Complex processes cannot be mapped, and so this has led to the birth, or break away from traditional BPM. Some great reading can be found at Max J Pucher blog. http://isismjpucher.wordpress.com/

Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) are solutions that help businesses to manage processes, while empowering users to update the process, to build new ways of working and to make key decisions. Because of this, such systems free the user from all the red tape, and enable them to do a good job. Don’t be fooled though that this means less efficient processes or a drop off in quality or there is less control, rather it is quite the opposite. CAS enforces quality while empowering users, there is no specific point within the process where you can jump out to “anomaly processing”, and everything is still audited for control. CAS is about detecting and the managing those new processes, processes that are detected ultimately by the user. CAS empowers the user to not only do their work, but to have their work “modelled” ready for other users to follow.

Will workFile Vision drop BPM

There has been talk that our own workFile Vision product will drop the term BPM. Though CAS is still about managing business processes, BPM has become a term (or technology) that people immediately link to a strict flowchart type map. This is not the correct view for workFile, and as such, the term may be dropped. If so the BPM module will become a thing of the past, probably to be replaced by CAS or some other term. The current BPM module still relies on aspects of intelligent business maps, but these are now being phased out, with developers working on a more CAS type solution. The replacement will be a simple status and rules based engine, with flexibility for integration being brought into a process based on the status of the piece of work, or the content that makes it up…There is also now talk of ECM being seen as too restrictive for workFile, as workFile delivers CRM and BPM with its ECM capabilities.

So what is the future for workFile Vision? Well the product has always been about introducing new ways of working, and it is only right that version 2.0 continues to deliver new ways of working to its customers and potential new customers out there. Andrew Smith stated:

“We want workFile to be at the forefront of thinking, I think a single silo that is highly adaptive and agile is the way of the future. We also want to be flexible in how workFile is delivered, so delivery to multiple platforms such as mobile will be included, in addition elements of cloud computing and synchronisation will also be looked at.”

Compliance

A business has to know a few things to be compliant in today’s digital way of doing business. Here are some basic reminders:

1. You need to know where your data is actually stored
2. You need to know who has access to it at all times (the physical units that store the data)
3. You need to know that data is secure and made as secure as possible (hackers)
4.  You need to be able to prove data has not been tampered with
5. You need access to it and or backups within 21 days of a request

Other things a business will need to think of include:

1. How can we integrate systems with data / other systems in the cloud
2. What are the costs of using the cloud, and is the saving enough to move certain solutions from our own servers to the cloud, especially if we have to maintain our own servers in any case
3. Is our web connection fast enough and reliable enough
4. Will we be tied into a few big cloud players? Where is competition really coming from in this marketplace
5. Where do we turn too for support, and will that support actually work for us? We cant be waiting all day for emails to be our way of communicating with support

These lists aren’t finite, but are simply some pointers and reminders as to what a business has to take into consideration. So with cloud computing, can a business be sure it meets these points? The answer is no to many of them, which means for a business, the use of the cloud is already somewhat limiting. This doesn’t mean the cloud is a no go for them, rather a business has to be more selective as to what it stores and uses in the cloud…

Individuals

So with this in mind, us individuals could be the real winners of cloud computing. We are not restricted to what we store up in the cloud (though we probably won’t’ decide to store important documents up there, credit card details etc) so its use is basically un-restricted for us. Take a look at the latest Windows Mobile 7 phones, you will see that they have the big idea that we won’t decide to keep all our pictures, videos and music on a device, rather have it up on the cloud and access it as and when we want. This makes real sense, and is something we looked at many years ago here at One Degree Consulting. As an individual we can gain access from multiple devices, we can share content in an easy fashion and we don’t have to worry about backups. However, lets not get carried away, we still need the options to have that content local on our device, think of times when we don’t have a web connection, or connection speed is slow or expensive (it is really expensive if you are at sea on a ship for example), or more importantly, you just want it to be private.

So with the cloud and its capabilities, are marketing companies missing a trick? Are they too focused on selling the benefits to organisations when really they should be selling the concept to us the general public…Makes you think…

At first there was the mainframe, basically a central machine, and users accessed applications and data via “dumb” remote terminals. This has a number of draw backs, which meant implementations moved to having applications, and a lot of data at times, sitting on our PCs. This too had draw backs, and we moved to the client server model, where client PCs accessed data from the central server…..There are number of “flavours” of this too, utilising virtual servers, citrix type implementations etc etc. However, with the invention of the internet, many businesses started to have applications delivered to users via the web. This could be seen as the birth of internet applications….

Early web based applications were, well clunky. However things have moved on a lot, utilising technologies such as .NET, AJAX and Web Services. Organisations have started to use more web based applications (though delivered through intranets), simply because a lot of administration is removed from the IT department. However, this is a step back towards the “mainframe” model in many ways, with applications not actually being installed on the PC and most of the processing (if not all) being done by the server…..

Cloud computing and SaaS (Software as a Service)

On top of this client server, intranet and web application type environment, we now have cloud computing. Cloud computing is basically utilising an outsourced company’s hardware and underlying software components as your server. SaaS (Software as a Service) allows applications and software to be paid for and used, based on the amount of usage it gets. This is possible, as the application is basically a website or, a RIA….Think Hotmail for example…..

RIAs

RIAs are basically website applications that are rich in their functionality and in some cases, usability. Many will give examples that use video, however, at heart it’s simply websites that do / carry out actual functions…

RIAs have a number of benefits, if implemented internally via an intranet or in a cloud computing based environment. They deliver many of the benefits of the mainframe model, however, they are therefore exposed to the same problems as the mainframe model was. That is ofcourse, if you think of RIA as applications that run in the web browser…But this is where things can get a little complicated…

HTML and the web architecture

The web architecture is basically that content is stored on the server, it is then delivered to the end user for display via a web browser. All the processing and content delivery is down to the server. This means it has many of the problems associated with the mainframe (though Google and Apple will claim it doesn’t….)….

The future for RIAs?

Just like IT moved away from the mainframe model, RIAs will move away from the traditional architecture of the web and HTML, even once HTML 5 is available. The reason being is simple, we need to be able to utilise data, applications and processing power of the actual PC, removing the load from the server. In addition, we need to be able to provide users with an end user experience that is just as good as what a user has come to expect from desktop based applications (websites just don’t compete).

So in today’s web architecture, how is this possible…Well by utilising a “plug-in” such as Flash or Silverlight, the application is effectively running as a desktop type application on the client PC. It has almost all the same benefits associated with a “thick client” application (especially if you are utilising Silverlight and its out of browser web capabilities) and all the benefits of the web architecture (reduced administration at the client PC level, ease of application updates etc).

HTML 5 alas will utilise some processing power of the client PC, however it will be very limited and the processing will be carried out by the actual browser itself. This means there could be any number of issues with cross platform and cross browser behaviour, especially since different browsers still interpret HTML 4 differently (providing different results to end users)….

What does this mean for Business?

It means business has another model in which to move to. With RIAs being developed in Silverlight, organisations can have applications and IT that combines all the benefits of the internet architecture, with all the benefits of the traditional client server architecture…Effectively the best of both worlds…

It seems that businesses are already engaging with RIAs and turning to Silverlight and Flash to deliver these next generation RIAs. The number of businesses implementing RIAs rose to 34% in 2009, up from 26% in 2008. This way of implementing IT will only grow, be it internally via intranet based solutions, or via cloud computing and SaaS….

So if you are looking at new applications and software for your organisation, then think RIAs, does the vendor provide RIAs? If not, then perhaps you should be looking elsewhere….

Sometimes I find these things hard to swallow, a checklist for success is, well never just that. However, a checklist does help improve your chances of success – and anything that helps the chance of success is always a good thing…So a checklist we have here. In this post, I am going to look at these 7 points and put our own, well, more real world and friendlier spin on the points.

Limit your scope

For some time now we have said, start small – but keep the big picture in mind. By starting small you really do ensure the project is manageable, and therefore easier to deliver. If you jump straight into the deep end, and go for a complete enterprise wide adoption – you are almost always going to find that things have been missed – the system is too complex etc etc. So, limit your scope and start small.

When starting out, pick something that is challenging and rewarding (once delivered), but something that doesn’t have too many complexities and for sure, something that doesn’t rely on too many external sources (be that other departments, LOBs).

Gartner suggest a timeframe of 60-90 days, but this is where we are too rigid. It is more important to pick the right process to start off with than look at the potential timeline. You may find a complex process with the right software could be implemented in 30-60 days, so why be limited by 60-90. In addition, you may well find the best process to start off with may take in excess of 90 days – so again don’t feel limited to that date range. I guess the point here is, don’t get swamped at the start (go for the quick wins).

High value

Whatever you choose as your first BPM implementation – make sure it is highly visible when looking at the benefits of BPM. So go for a process that isn’t too complex, but allows BPM to really add great value and process efficiency gains. This is key to getting the system adopted across the organisation.

Align your goals

Ok the Gartner report makes this a little hard to read. Basically, ensure that BPM is actually in line with a particular business goal. So for example, it is a goal of the business to reduce SLAs for a particular process. BPM can be implemented to fulfil this business goal. Make sure though, that everyone has the same goals in mind (different people have different agendas, and for your first adventure into BPM, try to ensure everyone has the same goals in sight)

Measuring BPM success

It is important that when you review the success of your BPM solution that you look at it from the right perspective, and measure this success in a credible way. There is no point in making wild claims that your BPM solution is increased efficiency by 50% when you have no real data to back it up. BPM is very good at providing you with information about throughput, handled items etc. But make sure you have data to compare this too (from the previous way you would work). If you have tangible measurements that can be played off against each other, then its quick and easy to illustrate the gains your BPM system has provided. It is critical that your measurements (well measuring stick) is agreed upon within the business amongst everyone involved – if not, then you are open to potential issues later down the line.

Agreement

All the stakeholders must agree on what is a success, and what is the common performance goal for all the different stakeholders. Far too often, one stakeholder will see a process improvement as a success, and others only as a partial success as their goals were far higher. So before you start anything, ensure everyone can agree an end goal that you are driving towards. Again without this, you will run into problems further down the line or with BPM adoption in a bigger scale.

Get a champion

Gartner says “business sponsor” however this sounds like someone who is just putting their name to an idea. What you really need is a “champion” of the system. By this I mean someone who is highly enthusiastic and highly motivated to see the system succeed. Such a person becomes the driving force for success and they help ensure all the people working on the solution pull together and get things done….Without a champion you are almost always fighting a tough battle (more so with end users).

User engagement

Get the users who actually use the system involved early on. Make them feel it is their system, theirs to own, their idea and it is they who will then ensure success of a project. Far too often users are last to see the system -  by which time they may be highly apprehensive of change, losing their jobs or just not confident with new technology. So, get users involved early on, so that when you get to a user testing environment and implementation – your users are behind the system and actively looking to use it rather than dreading the day…

If you want more information on the Gartner report you are going to have to purchase it direct from Gartner. You can purchase the full report here http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=clientFriendlyUrl&id=1254813 for US$95.00 (or re-read this post a couple of times and get in touch with us? J)

So what can social media really do for a SME and is it worth getting into. If so, what should you be looking at for your business in terms of social media – and will it work for you…

Ok there were a lot of questions in that last paragraph, but these are the questions small business owners want to know the answers too – and to be honest, without receiving some hyped up marketing or over exaggerated view of social media…

What is the point of social media – what can it do?

First off, if you are not familiar with Social Media, you need to ensure you think of it correctly – more so as an SME. So, first off, don’t think social media is about sales, and don’t think it is about pure marketing either. These are two big holes many SMEs (and large corporations) fall into. Rather think of it as conversational engagement. Now that sounds weird, but what I am trying to say is, think of it as simply chatting to someone who may (or may not) be interested in your company, product and or services. “Chatting” is the key word in that sentence. In a conversation you wouldn’t just spout out lots of facts, figures and start pointing them off to your marketing information, website or documentation would you, rather you may discuss your products, take on board views, opinions etc…

So, what is the point of social media for a SME and what can it do? Well, with conversations you can raise people’s awareness of your company. I love examples, so here is quite a useful one… If you walked into a busy party, and chose not to talk to anyone, then no one would know you are there. However, if you walked into the busy party and joined in with people’s conversations, moved around the room and joined other conversations, maybe invite people to join yours, then soon a lot of people in that room would know who you are. Now, think of the internet as that busy party and social media as a way to start and get involved in conversations. The more conversations you engage in with more people, the more people get to be aware of you and your business, products and services.  Now here is where the potential big pay off comes. Just like our party, people who talk, talk to others, and your message could potentially be told by many others, to many others within that party – and in social media terms across the internet. This effectively means that many others are effectively providing you with free publicity and marketing…

But, wait, there is more…Social media provides you with a tool to engage with your current customers, allowing them to give you feedback, ideas, dare I say it, complaints etc. All of which you can talk on board and use to improve your business. This is more about public relations, but social media is a great way of maintaining relationships with customers ensuring they become “repeat” customers.

Is it really worth us getting into?

Well, if you have understood the past couple of paragraphs the answer is clearly yes. However, there is a big beware here. If you are going into it half hearted, or use social media badly, not only can it prove to be a waste of time and resource, but also could promote a negative image of your organisation. So, you need to embrace social media properly, really engage fully (join as many conversations as possible) to make it succeed for you – also don’t embrace the end goal of social media, trying to push products / sales etc onto people without engaging first. If you do this, people just ignore you…

Social media sites and tools

There are lots and lots of social media sites out there to get involved with, and lots of tools too. However, time is always of key concern to SMEs so stick to the big players in terms of sites. These include:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Linked in
• YouTube (if your going to use video)

Twitter: This is a micro-blogging site. It means you can make short statements on what you are up too, what’s new etc. You can join at www.twitter.com

Facebook: This is a social network website, where you can put up a profile of yourself, share your news, pictures, videos etc with friends and fans. MySpace is very similar, however, here in the UK this is slowly dying and not really worth engaging with if time is too precious.

YouTube: Another social networking site, but this one is dedicated to sharing videos. YouTube videos are often highly viral (meaning that ones with great impact get passed around a lot).

Linked In: This is really a social network for professionals (the work place). Not really for organisations as such, but people will show their working history, qualifications, areas of expertise etc on Linked In profiles.

So the above three sites provide you with key networks of people, but also with the tools to communicate. However, we haven’t mentioned blogging. Blogging is basically telling stories on a daily, or weekly or monthly basis. People “blog” on any subject you can think of, ranging from IT technology and how to use it, to reviews of people’s favourite TV shows. Blogging is therefore a great way of telling people about your company, products and services…

Know what to use and when

Now you know the key sites, it is key to use them correctly and knowing what works for you well. So first off, let’s look at Twitter. Well twitter works for any form of business. The key is to use twitter as a real person – and engage in conversations on twitter. Many organisations use twitter poorly, simply posting links to web pages or their blog posts etc. This isn’t engaging, just remember millions are on twitter, and many people follow a lot of people – so links to blogs just won’t get much response – unless you engage with people and chat. If you chat with them, when you do post a link they are more likely to think “hey that could be interesting, I’ll have a read…”.

Facebook can be a tricky one. Many people on Facebook are there just to keep in touch with friends and family – though many are on there to really socialise with people. Remember that Facebook is really for the general public, so if your organisation doesn’t sell or deal with the public, then there is no point in you being on Facebook (as a company). If however you do, then Facebook “fan” pages are a great way to build up a following of people who are interested in your company, products and services. Some radio stations use fan pages to actually communicate with listeners, as opposed to just your typical phone in….

You Tube: Now if you have any form of video content, and it is aimed at the general public (not selling business to business) then YouTube is a must. For B2B organisations it is a good store of videos, however, don’t expect them to get millions of views. If however, you post something well thought out, interesting or just out there, that sells your company, product, or services in a good light, ensure you get it up there…YouTube videos are often highly viral and the potential to reach large amounts of people with your video is a big reality…

Linked In: All professionals should get their profile up on Linked In, and organisations that sell B2B should have a presence there. LinkedIn is the professionals world of Facebook, so if Facebook isn’t for your company, choose Linked In.

Conclusion…

Well this is nothing more than an introductory blog post for SMEs interested in Social Media. It is always good to get help in with social media as it has the potential to really grow your business. On the other hand, done poorly, it has the potential to hinder your sales…So embrace social media – just don’t abuse it…

But, can ECM software really be utilised by SMEs, or at a departmental level without all the added baggage of internal administration? Only a few years ago, vendors would be saying yes, but in practice this would be hard to prove. However, enter the cloud, and enter SaaS (Software as a Service).

Cloud Services and SaaS

With the business concept of cloud computing comes the concept of SaaS (Software as a Service). This basically means that your software, its administration, backups etc etc all happens in the cloud and you need only pay for what you essentially use. In terms of ECM, that can mean you pay a license based on the amount of storage space you require for content, and also for the amount of use the system gets.

So what are the benefits to small organisations, or for organisations that don’t have the IT staff, or maybe just simply don’t have the time to embark on an ECM solution implementation in-house. Well, these are pretty clear cut.

1. No big initial cost (additional hardware servers, installation, on-site configuration)
2. No internal maintenance cost (IT administration and backup strategies)
3. No need for administration training
4. Quick turnaround from agreeing a solution to implementation
5. Departmental approach is very easy
6. No need to try and align with in house technologies and platforms

These are just the main reasons why ECM SaaS can work. However, don’t take this article as one that says we should all use ECM as SaaS. That would not be a great idea – as there are other things to consider, such as the type of cloud solution being used, location of files for compliance, application and system integration with other LOBs etc.

Who should ECM SaaS be for?

Well SaaS ECM solutions are perfect for departments or SMEs. They provide organisations or a department that normally wouldn’t be able to leverage ECM with a complete ECM environment over the web. Implementation costs are at a minimum and there are no overheads / hidden costs in terms of maintenance, backups etc. Also if you opt for a more traditional “Cloud Approach”, one where the vendor can tell you exactly where you’re content is being stored, then a number of compliance issues are negated immediately. It is also worth thinking about a potential “exit strategy” when utilising any cloud based solutions. Why? Well there maybe a time when it becomes logically better to have the system in-house. This could be in terms of new integration requirements, or the fact the organisation in general has now invested heavily in ECM. Who knows. In addition, there does come a time when Cloud Services can prove to be more costly than having the system in-house, so in both cases, it is worth having an exit strategy and knowing that you can export your content from the SaaS provider…

Quick Conclusion…

ECM SaaS is a great option for departments and organisations that typically couldn’t access ECM and the many benefits ECM provides. However, there are some “bewares”….

Always ensure you know your actual requirements in as much detail as possible. SaaS is a great option and has a number of benefits, however it does have its limitations and don’t choose SaaS at the expense of functionality and the actual requirement. In addition, always remember there maybe a time when you need to move away from your SaaS provider, so have an exit strategy and choose a platform that makes this as easy as possible….

Well it is a good question, with some IT professionals arguing that HTML 5 may well cause the death of Adobe’s Flash, as HTML 5 supports a richer environment, including video streaming. But is this true, and also what timescales are we looking at? HTML 5 as a standard has been under development since 2004 and only now is becoming noticeable enough to start showing up in web browsers and websites. At present, the big four web browsers (Microsoft IE, Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple Safari) all support elements of HTML 5, but not all the rich features promised. This does beg the question, when will they support all the elements of HTML 5? The answer, we simply don’t know. When they do support more and more features, you can bet that all three browsers won’t start supporting the majority of features at the same time. In addition to this, will the browsers stick strictly to the HTML 5 standards so that a website written with pure HTML 5, looks and performs exactly the same on all browsers? Will developers still have to make “browser fixes” for all the different browsers out there?

 Unfortunately, the answer to these questions are the same answers you get today with HTML, which is developers will make “browser fixes” for websites because the HTML renders differently in each browser… At present Adobe’s Flash is used to fill a void in the web space, which is to provide rich animation and video streaming through websites. This really was the target aim of Adobe and it has been a great success, for both the web and Adobe as a company. If you don’t have Flash installed on your machine, you will soon realise that your web experience is greatly diminished. So will HTML 5 remove this need for Flash? Probably not, though we may see less websites using a Flash player to stream video, we will more than likely still see Flash being used to graphic work and animation.

But what of Microsoft’s Silverlight technology, which many see as a competitor to Flash. It does seem curious that a company such as Microsoft would spend vast amounts of time and money developing a technology which would be replaced by HTML 5, especially since they are involved with the HTML 5 standard. It is also worth remembering that HTML 5 is far older than Silverlight at this point, with Silverlight only appearing on the scene in late 2007/early 2008. It is also worth remembering here that Silverlight as a technology, works very differently to Flash and is available to the complete Microsoft .NET community of developers to work with. So Silverlight offers a lot more to developers and businesses alike than Flash. It also provides that ability to move “Out of the Browser” which removes any limitations working in a browser presents. This makes the technology very interesting and noticeably different to HTML 5 and Flash… So back to our original question, should your business adopt HTML 5 now? Well, the answer is “A little”…If you adopt some of the HTML 5 features you will be putting yourself on the front foot for when HTML 5 becomes the norm. However, we would strongly suggest that for your animation, streaming and RIAs that you look to Flash or Silverlight (and Silverlight probably gives more freedom here, and again puts you at the front of the curve). If you want to move out of the browser and provide rich business applications delivered over the web, then you for sure should be looking at Silverlight and more precisely Silverlight 4 (which is currently at a Beta release – when this article was written)…