The Passion of Microsoft

This was the moment Microsoft learned to change.

Technology is a weird thing.  It creates heated passions and religious devotion.  I am not immune to these passions.  This week I wanted to talk about Microsoft and what I see from the outside is it is becoming a more agile company.

When I first became a technology professional, in 1998.  Microsoft was divisively referred to as the “Evil Empire.”  Internet explorer has won the browser wars, Visual Basic 6 was about to debut, and my company was scooping up copies of Windows 98 like no tomorrow.  It was before the dot com crash and it was a great time to get into developing software.  It was also the start of Linux movement and a general sense of discontent in the developer community.

This discontent came from projects in the enterprise sector getting more bloated and companies like Microsoft not being responsive to developers who wanted to improve their skills.  I think the final straw came with the release of the Apple iPod device.  This music player took the technology world by storm and it made Apple and substantial amount of money.  When Microsoft decided to release its Zune music player an entire two years later, it was too little too late.  I loved my device but it never had the wide appeal of the iPod.

By 2012, the Zune was discontinued and Microsoft was going through numerous changes.  They were now losing the browser wars to Google Chrome.  The Android operating system threatened to shut Microsoft out of the mobile phone market.  Finally, as PC sales slumped people were openly asking if Microsoft would survive.  Notes of the company’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

In a little over three years, with a new CEO and its focus on agile practices the company looks like it is turning around.  The focus from sales and marketing to engineering is refreshing to me.  I am looking forward to the release of Windows 10 and hope that the company continues its efforts to build more loyalty to the people who help build their brand.  As someone who has been building with Microsoft for over fifteen years, I have no illusions about the company’s shortcomings but it is nice to see an organization fix itself.

I am starting to feel more passion for Microsoft and I am not afraid to say so.

Until next time.

Smart Watches Not Ready for Prime Time

They look cool but they are not ready for prime time.

I take a few weeks off and the entire world looks like it is falling apart.  Israelis and Palestinians are killing each other again.  The saber rattling in the Ukraine has claimed the lives of innocent airline passengers and my Chicago White Sox’s continue to grapple with mediocrity.  It makes me grateful that I can concentrate on my work and my business.  This week on the blog I would like to discuss something which is all the rage; mobile computing.

It has been no secret that I have been spending the last three years talking about how two major trends are changing computing and how you run your business.  This first was the growth of cloud computing which makes it possible to manage your IT infrastructure for pennies on the dollar.  The other is the rise of mobile computing where smart phones and tablets are taking over the computing world.  As part of this trend it the rise of Google Glass and other wearable computers. 

If you are not familiar, Google Glass was a skunk works project which makes it possible to wear a computer on your face like a pair of eyeglasses.  The user can record video and surf the net just by using your glasses.  It is expensive and the users of the product have created a tremendous amount of resentment among those who aren't decked out with the devices.  As a business owner you can see the potential for the product.  Having people in your warehouse scan bar codes using glasses only.  Truck drivers could get directions beamed to their glasses.  Using facial recognition technology police could use them pull up information about criminals.  Sadly, this technology is still in its infant stages so these dreams will have to wait until the Google Glass gets cheaper and they have more useful applications.

This brings me to the next big thing in technology.  Smart watches are now being debuted for consumer public and it is clear that while they are a good next step they are not ready for prime time.  First, the products require an Android device to connect to so they cannot work on their own but rather behave like Bluetooth devices.  Next the devices are big, heavy and clunky.  You can wear the watch but it looks more like a phone strapped to your wrist than a watch.  Finally, the devices are power hungry so they need to be charged with the same frequency as your phone. 

These devices are going to be great but right now I recommend that you wait until the technology is perfected.  They remind me of an old Saturday Night live parody commercial from the 1970's for the “Chromega” digital watch; in order to tell time you needed three sets of hands to operate it. 

I am a big fan of technology and the next big thing but I am going to wait a while before I get a smart watch.

Until next time. 

The Bring Your Own Device revolution

The revolution is here. 

Revolution is messy.  Protesters march in the street and buildings are burned to the ground.  In the end, the old order could become stronger than before or the rebels triumph and have to figure out how to take charge.  Today on the blog, I want to discuss a revolution taking place in the business world;  the bring your own device revolution or BYOD.

Bring your own device began in earnest with the release of the first iPhone. Prior to this date, when you joined a large company and needed a cell phone the company issue it to you.  This was great for the company because the company could control the number of minutes, configure the devices e-mail, and place primitive application on it for critical business functions.  Control and economies of scale was the name of the game.  The release of the iPhone turned that model on its head.  Hot shot executives and sale people snapped up these new devices from Apple and brought them into work.  These individuals demanded they work with the current IT infrastructure.  The BYOD movement was born.

Since the iPhone did not support Flash, CEO’s demanded web sites which worked on their new-fangled phones.  This was the primary reason why the use of flash declined on the web.  The advent of tablet computers and personal laptops make this trend accelerate.  Now companies had to maintain its own computers and support numerous tablets and smart phones which were used by employees.

At E₃ systems we have known about the BYOD revolution for some time.  We constructed both our Sully inventory system and our Tony fleet management system with mobile devices and tablets in mind.  Our software is hosted on the cloud so it does not need to be installed on your devices.  If you have a web browser on your phone, tablet or PC then you can use our product.  This is why we say that our software is easy, economical and everywhere because if you can connect with the web then you can use our systems.

People may not be protesting in the streets and building may not be on fire but we are in the middle of a revolution.  E₃ systems know how to navigate these troubling times and look forward to helping you today.  Contact us now.

Until next time.

Making Sense of Software as a service.

Software as a service makes sense.

Last week I spoke about how the mobile web is a growing concern for your small business.  This week, I wanted to share with you another important trend in business.  Software to the public is being offered as a service.

The software as a service or SaaS, as people say in the technology field, has been around for over fifteen years.  What has changed is the technology has caught up with the theory.  Large cloud servers and access to broadband networks make it possible to perform some powerful computing from anywhere in the world at a low cost.  What this means for you the small business person is that instead of purchasing software like a book now you will subscribe to it like a magazine.

Already, Adobe, the makers of Photoshop have adopted this model.  E₃ systems is using this model for our customers.  We do this for three reasons.  First, the customer is no longer responsible for upgrades they come free of charge with the subscription.  Next the software becomes device agnostic.  It will work on a mobile phone, tablet or PC.  Finally, the user can access the software anytime or anywhere rather than the device they install it on.

When I visit small offices, I notice plenty of old versions of software lying about.  Computers with Microsoft office have versions scattered over the last decade randomly placed on computers in the office.  One computer is deliberately on an outdated operating system because they do not know if the software installed will upgrade.  With software as a service this problem goes away.  When there is a new upgrade it is part of the machines subscribed to the service automatically reflecting the changes.  You as the user do not have to do anything.  The updates just show up on the system.

When a software vendor says something is device agnostic what that are saying is that the software will work the same way on a phone, tablet, or a PC.  It should also work on a PC or a Macintosh.  As a small or medium sized business you should not be bothered with different packages and tools depending on what device you use.  Software as a service comes to the rescue again.  E₃ systems Sully 2.0 service makes it possible to use our software on a mobile phone, tablet or PC with no additional software to buy or install.

Finally, the business world is changing and becoming a 24/7 enterprise; for a small business on the web that means that customers will call for help anytime.  In order to do business in this environment, you cannot spend your entire life in the office so you need to bring the office with you.  This is where software as a service really shines because you can access your information anywhere you have a connection to the web.  This way a customer call on a Sunday does not spoil your entire weekend because you can address your customer’s needs and get back to your family and friends.

Those are the reason we do software as a service.  We understood this trend before it became a headline and we know it will work for you.  Contact us today and find out more.

Until next time.

About Darn Time!

HTML5, it makes me want to get my
hands dirty with web development.

I am working on a site redesign and I am pretty excited about the process. One of the best trends in web development is the interlocking technologies of JQuery, CSS 3, and HTML which form the group of technologies collectively known as HTML5.  In this issue, I want to speak briefly about why HTML5 is such a big deal and why you mister small business person should pay attention.

I have been working in the web business for over 15 years.  In that time, I have seen technologies come and go.  One thing that never changed was that web browsers from different manufacturers behaved differently.  Internet Explorer treated the way pages were displayed differently than Firefox.  It was and still is a mess.   But thanks to the HTML5 technologies and a strong push for standards across all web browsers things are looking better.  They will never be perfect but they are getting better.  For instance, rounded corners no longer require graphic arts wizardry and countless HTML and CSS hack to place a simple design element on a page with round corners.  

What does this mean to your business? First, the HTML5 technologies finally make it possible to build one web site and have it display differently for any type of screen resolution.  So your company web site will now look good on a smart phone, tablet, and desktop web browser.  It also means that changes to your web site can be made in a swifter manner to meet market needs.   Next, JQuery and JQuery Mobile make your web site behave more like client server applications of old.  Now, you do not have to wait for round trips to the server or database refreshes when you only want to hide an element on the page.  Finally, HTML5 is being treated as a development environment for Windows 8 applications and in other mobile environments.  I consider this progress because Apple requires iOS and visual C to do development work, while Android requires Java, and Windows 8 requires Visual Studio and C# or Visual Basic.

HTML5 is an important development and an ideal choice for a small or medium sized business and its technology choices.  Drop us a line and we will tell you more.  

I am glad that after fifteen years we are at this point of web development.  It should not have taken this long.

Until next time.

Worry about Where and Not What

It does not matter what you use it is where you use it.

If you have not been paying attention to the news, the Personal computer is dying.  In the same breath other experts are saying the Personal computer is alive and well.  This kind of schizophrenic punditry is common in the technology business.  For a person like me who has spent over fifteen years in the business, I take these contradictory signals in stride.  The breakthroughs are never as big as advertised and the setbacks are never as dramatic as they seem.  Let me try to impart a little sane and sober guidance for you.  Where you compute is more important that what you compute with.

Frequent readers of this blog know that I have been discussing two major trends in computing where we are engulfed.  The first is cloud computing.  The second is the rise of mobile computing.  These two trends together are changing the nature of technology.  So it really does not matter what you compute with but where you are doing the computing.

If you are working in an office or need significant computing power then you will be using a PC.  If you are on the go but still need a significant amount of power then a laptop may be what you need. For the casual consume of web content and information, a tablet is all you need.  Finally everyone is getting a smart phone whether they want one or not.

The reason I am giving you this simple rule of thumb is because thanks to widely available access to the web via wireless networks and the access to cloud based system what you use is irrelevant compared to where you use them.  All you need is a connection to the cloud.

So, am I endorsing one kind of operating system or technology? No, I am not.  I am one of those weird people who believes that technology people should set asides our differences and work together.  As you can see in this video by Nokia that is wishful thinking.

What we specialize at E₃ systems are cloud based systems which work on any device.  So if you are an Apple iOS person or a Microsoft person you should have a reasonable expectation that your systems should work.  These systems should work any time at any place.  Finally, these systems should be easy to use and understand so that you can run your business more efficiently.  Anything else is just a wast of your time and money.

So remember where your compute is more important than what you compute with.  Drop us a line and we will explain it to you.

Until Next time.

The Gift of Time

Stressed and need more time,
we understand.

Most business people I speak to have one wish.  They want more time.  They want to spend more time with their families. They want more time to manufacture better products.  They want more time to better service their customers and they want more time to learn new skills.  There is never enough time in the day because there is always one more call to take, one more e-mail to respond to and one more customer who you need to make a sale.  I understand that wish because I say it at least every day.  It would be great if someone could give us the gift of more time.

One of the reasons, I started E₃ Systems was to help small businesses win back a little more time.  We spend hours a day doing paperwork and chasing down calls.  We struggle with obsolete and expensive software because it is “good enough”.  Many of the tasks we do in our business lives are nothing more than a colossal time suck.  I understood that and knew that I could help write software that would help.  Today, we have online systems which help you manage your inventory without having to install expensive hardware or software.  These systems also work on mobile phones, tablet computers, and laptops.  As long as you have a connection to the web they will just work.

Now, instead of calling into the office to see if you have product in stock you can just make a few taps to your smart phone and find out instantly in real time; this should save you hours of labor.  We also understand that gathering documentation together to meet regulatory requirements is a time consuming hassle.  We understand and make it easy to generate documents and reports at a moment’s notice.  Finally, with the help of Microsoft’s Tag technology we have a way for every piece of paper to communicate with the web and your smart phone so that important documents are just a click away.

These kinds of services make it possible to save time because you are no longer riffling through paperwork and obsolete computer systems.  It also saves you payroll because you need fewer administrative professionals to manage that paperwork. That gives you a chance to free them up to meet with clients and sell to new ones.  That is what is in it for you.  More time to manage your business and less payroll for administrative staff.

I am sure it is a luxury any business person would want.  So contact us today and ask about how we can give you the gift of time.

Until Next time.

Funny Squares that Replace Business Cards

What better way to show off.

The life of a technologist is spent relearning there job every eighteen months.  It is just the nature of the profession.  This week I spent my week receiving training as a Certified Scrum Master.  While I was at training, I broke out of my shell of meetings, code, and sales calls to talk with other technologists who share the same passion for Agile business practices that I do. In spite of all technological skill in the room we still swapped business cards like we were part of the cast of Mad Men.

I firmly believe that the business card will help archaeologists understand the operation of the contemporary corporation five hundred years from now.  They contain personal information about a person, how to get in touch with them and their relative position within the organization.  They will also chronicle how businesses have tinkered with the English language as Sales People have transformed into Account Executives.  It is a universally accepted custom in business that when you meet another business person there is an expectation that you will receive their business card.  It is such an accepted custom that it was brutally parodied in the book and film American Psycho.

It is always nice to hand out business cards and to network however in this age of smart phones and Google Glass why does it have to be so cumbersome.  When I receive a business card, I want to place that information into my smart phone right away.  The sad reality is that I can't.  I either have to go on my e-mail program and enter the information in my contacts or I have to go to an online service which will sync the information with my phone.  It just seems wasteful.

It would be nice if a technology exists which makes it possible to instantly scan a business card and place it in our phone's contacts.  The good news is we already possess this technology.  It is courtesy of Microsoft and it is called MS Tag.  Thanks to MS Tag you now have an easy means to allow people to enter your business card into their smart phones.  The application is free from Microsoft and once installed easy to use.  Just point the camera from the smart phone at the square code and it creates a contact for your phone.  That is it.  No muss and no fuss.

E₃ systems will provide this service free to you or your business.  We offer lots of other services to our customers but this is our way of introducing ourselves to people who may not be familiar with business automation or using technology to streamline their business.  Contact us today and we will show you how.

Until next time.

You need a digital handshake

A digital handshake can help your business.

Lots of news happened this week.  We have a new pope and he looks like someone who shows a great deal of promise.  The wheels of government continue to grind along in spite of a charm offensive.  We also had some baseball games which counted in March and team USA once again disappointed.  What you may have missed is the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone.  This is just another sign that the business world is changing and if you do not catch this wave you are going to drown.

As Will Oremus reported the Galaxy S4 unveil was a silly and weird affair but it does remind me of the hype surround automobiles in the 1970's and the excitement generated by the promotions for new Saturday morning cartoons on network television.  As a technologist I am being asked to write applications which work on as many different environments as possible.  It is no longer good enough to have a web site.  Now you must have a web site, tablet application, and something that looks good on your mobile phone. 

I have been saying this for a while but I am going to say it again.  The dual technologies of cloud computing and mobile computing are going to change business and if you are not ready for it you are going to get left behind.  This is why you need help from a company like E₃ systems.  We are surfing this wave of technology.  We understand how to use the cloud and mobile computing to make life easier for small businesses.  We can help you with your web development, QR code creation, and numerous other services which will make it easier to do business with others. 

Consumers already can scan bar codes in stores to compare prices with their mobile phones.  Best Buy has been having problems with people using their stores to browse products and then purchase them at lower price on-line.  If this problem affects a big player like Best Buy, known as Showrooming, what do you think this is going to do to your business?   This is why I think you should look into how E₃ can help you.  We have a full line of software products which will help you manage inventory, track sales leads, and now we are offering an inexpensive "Digital Handshake" which makes it possible for you to have Microsoft Tag or QR codes which you can promote your business.  Now you save money on business cards by having people scan your "Digital Handshake" and it will automatically place you as a contact on your customer's phone. 

We have made an effort to make this process simple and easy.  We will even offer a discount to members of the Joliet Chamber of Commerice who are interested in trying this new innovation.  In this new economy of mobile phones and cloud computing you need every advantage you can get. 

Contact us today to learn more. 

Until Next time.

A Rave of Innovation

Lots of innovation happening...and it is sexy

There are many ways to get excited about technology.  Technology people being smarter than the average bear also like to argue about technology.  It is just the nature of working in the business and some feuds have gone on for decades.  One of the more interesting discussions going on right now is from the January 12th, issue of The Economist.  The magazine does not seem very bullish on the future of innovation in the 21st century.  I rarely disagree with the good people at the Economist but as someone working in the innovation trenches I think they are wrong.

The magazine makes a very convincing argument stating that the first forty years of the 20th century saw a huge increase in Gross Domestic Product and standards of living in the developed world.  Ice boxes gave way to refrigeration and refrigeration begat TV dinners.  They also illustrate that the growth of technology has not lead to the increase of median wages over the last fifty years.  Finally, they point to IPO and the Dot.Com bust of the last 20 years as proof that innovation and technology are two very different things.

Those things said and argued convincingly, I think they miss the point.  First comparing the early 20th century to the current time is a little foolish.  Women were not allowed to vote, Jim Crow laws were alive and well in the south, and quantum mechanics wasn't even conceived.  We were just beginning to reap the rewards of electricity and most of the nation did not have paved roads.  Change when it came was going to be dramatic and life changing.  Today woman can vote, Jim Crow exists but outside the realm of law and every technological device we use depends on quantum mechanics.  The world of the 21st century is as alien to the early 20th century as elderly people are at a rave. 

I do see some disturbing trends; first, organizational opposition to agile development methods.  Next, I find making every household appliance web enabled to be unnecessary. I also think that social media as epitomized by Facebook being treated like a get rich scheme is foolish.  However, when we look back on this period of history, I think you are going to see plenty of innovation percolating under the surface looking for the right moment to explode.  Just wait you have not seen anything yet. 

I say this because the expansion of cloud computing is going to make business intelligence faster and cheaper.  I also believe that mobile computing as epitomized by Android devices and Windows 8 is going to change the way we do business.  Paperwork is going to be digitized in a flash.  Managers can now manipulate their supply chains like a teen-ager playing a video game.  Finally, business standards can be spread around world at the speed of the web. 

I am glad that I am leading this effort.  I founded my firm to help businesses take advantage of these trends.  I want to help small businesses have the skills and agility to beat the big guys.  If I can make one more business hyper-competitive and able to grow then I have achieved my dream. 

This is an exciting time because business is learning how to use technology to do business better.  What that means is better profits, more employment, and growth.  I can't think of a better thing to be involved with.

Until next time.