The Hero's journey is no substitute for a product

A hero's journey is not a substitute for a product.

Each entrepreneur goes through a sort of hero’s journey.  If they are lucky, once that journey is finished they will emerge out of the other side stronger, wiser, and accomplishing something amazing.  It is no secret the technology world uses the language of science fiction and fantasy.  That is why a company which becomes extremely profitable it is called a unicorn.  As an agilest and entrepreneur, I convince myself that I am lucky and smart enough to aspire to this status.  It is the story I tell myself.  In the dark moments, it is what keeps me going.  This week, I want to talk about when story telling crosses the shadowy line from inspiration to deception.

Carl Jung, one of the founders of psychoanalysis, articulated the idea the human species has a “collective unconsciousness.”  This collective unconsciousness is the common characters or myths humans use to describe themselves.  The collective unconsciousness also describes what the human species aspires to become.

Joseph Campbell then built on Jung’s work in 1948 with his book, “The Hero with A Thousand Faces,” which talks about the similarities between the mythologies of western and tribal cultures.  Roman Gods were compared with the traditions of Native Americans and Australian Aborigines.  The similarities were too hard to ignore.  We had academic proof that the human species has a common story telling tradition.

Now that this knowledge was out in the open it did not take long for others to exploit it.  One of them was a University of Southern California graduate, who just has a hit film entitled “American Graffiti.”  The other was a technology entrepreneur who cultivated the image of a mystic shaman while he sold music players and later phones.

To be successful, a company needed a story and a heroic figure to pitch that story to the media and client.  It was a way of cutting through the clutter and getting the message out.  That lesson was not lost on Elizabeth Holms who dropped out of Stanford to found her company Theranos.   She created an image which was a frittata of Hitchcock’s icy blond, Steve Jobs techno shaman, and the elegant intelligence of Meryl Streep.  Her story was simple, she was going to change the world making blood testing affordable and less invasive.  She was smart enough and stubborn enough to found a company and make it happen.

The technology press swallowed the story hook, line and sinker.  Soon she was featured in press write ups, on television promoting her company, and receiving millions of dollars in venture capital.  I will not go into the details of Theranos and the fraud they committed.  Vanity Fair Magazine has already done an outstanding job on that front.  Suffice to say, Elizabeth Holms had a good story to sell but didn’t have a product.  Her blood testing tool was nothing but fantasy.

The lesson here is that every story should have a grounding in reality.  You cannot change the world with your products if your products do not work.  The rumpled engineers have to build something before the myth makers in sales and marketing come along.  Telegenic good looks and a story are not a substitute for business acumen and a product.

Anyone who grew up during the stupid and giddy time of the dot.com bubble should have known how this story was going to end.  They chose to ignore it and suspend disbelief because the story was good.  Instead of a hero’s journey, what the public got was a true crime story of fraud and greed.
It is a sobering lesson for an entrepreneur and consumer.  I hope that we are smart enough to recognize it before it happens again.

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.

Embrace the Cloud

Embrace the Cloud, you can thank us later.

Technology can be confusing and scary.  I spend much of my time explaining new technology to people and trying to ease their concerns.  Nothing causes more confusion than “cloud computing.”  This week, I want to explain what cloud computing is and how E₃ systems can help you use it to improve your business. 

Slate.com economics writer, Matt Yglesias unveiled a survey from Wakefield Research last week about public perceptions about cloud computing.  Some of the more interesting tidbits of information were, a majority of Millennials believe that stormyweather can interfere with cloud computing and 22% surveyed  confessed to admitting they have pretended toknow what the cloud is or how it works even if they didn’t.  After a good chuckle, I wondered if people had similar feelings regarding microwave ovens or color television. 

Here is the dirty little secret about cloud computing.  Most of us are using it and we don’t even realize it.  If you are using Facebook you are using cloud computing.  If you are using an iPod you are probably using cloud computing.  In fact, any time you are saving documents or files someplace other than your computer at home or work you are using the cloud.

The cloud is nothing more than a metaphor dreamed up by networking professionals and marketing folks.  It represents computing with storage outside your local computer or network.  The data resides in the “internet cloud” on a remote server or database.  This is a positive development because this is a direct result of the explosion of personal computing and the web during the 1990’s.

Today on Gmail, a typical user can have up to Ten Gigabytes of data, which is a large amount of data.  So big that if a single e-mail was two kilobytes in size that would mean that you could hold over 5-million e-mails in your mailbox without having to worry about it filling up.    What makes this figure more fantastic is that the amount of space Google is providing each user is increasing by about 128 Megabytes a year.  In addition to those 5-Million e-mails a user can archive an additional 64,000 e-mails a year. 

Thanks to cloud computing we are dealing with big piles of data and they are stored on remote servers throughout the internet.  The raw power is staggering. 

So what does this mean to you the small business person?  It means that you can have the power and capacity of a large business with an IT budget of millions of dollars for a fraction of the price.  You do not need to spend thousands of dollars for servers and software.  All you need is a connection to the web and the power of the cloud is in the palm of your hand. 

At E₃ systems we take a lot of pride in how we have used cloud computing and the internet to make it easy for a small business to manage their inventory.  With our Sully 2.0 system, you can keep track of Bills of Lading, Invoices, Packing Slips, Shipping Labels, and Purchase orders.  Contact us today and we will show you how easy it is to use. 

The “cloud” is nothing more than a fancy way of saying the “internet.”  Many of us are using it each day and do not realize it.  What makes it so fantastic is that as prices fall, storage increases and raw computing power improves it is going to make our lives easier and more connected.  As a business person you should not be afraid of the cloud but embrace it. 

Until next time.

Saying Good-Bye

Remembering Steve Job's in China

There are three types of businesses in the current economy.  The first are businesses which make their money providing services.  The second are businesses which make their money pushing paper.  Finally, there are businesses that make their money building things.  Apple Computers was one of those companies which made things and in the process changed technology forever. 

I suppose that is why there is such an emotional outpouring for Steve Jobs.  Steve made things and they were stylish, innovative and helpful.  He had a few duds along the way but no one will deny that his influence in the computer science field will be felt for decades to come.  I doubt that the CEO of Goldman Sachs will be remembered as fondly if at all.

This is why I wanted to start a technology company and go into business for myself.  Life is too short to be working for others and I hope to make things which people can use.  If I make a little money and provide employment for a few people along the way so much the better. 

Good-Bye Steve, you will be missed.