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.

Light Out of Darkness

We chase the dream to find light in the darkness.

The life of an entrepreneur is lonely and filled with rejection.  I spend my time alone working on products and placing the finishing touches on code.  I find myself using my free time to solicit customers and finally I am making hard business decisions which I thought I would never make.  It is a life of sacrifice which often ends in failure and only a rare few make it.  I would not trade it for anything in the world.  This week our blog post is about why E₃ systems continues to chase entrepreneurial dream.

If you have been following the blog the last few weeks, you might have noticed that we have had to overcome several obstacles.  First, we decided to push back the release date of our Tony product and then the news that Microsoft was going to stop supporting their Microsoft Tag system.  Setbacks like that could kill a smaller business but I am proud to say that we are not dead yet.  We are currently looking for a new vendor for QR coding services and we will be releasing our Tony product this month.

It took personal sacrifice and hard work but I think that we are going to be in a very good position for 2014 providing three services for our customers to subscribe to.  Sully 2.0, Tony 1.0, and our continuing services make it possible for us to help the small to medium sized business achieve its goals.  We also have plans in the near future to continue development on our ever expanding line of products.

We also had a very good conversation with a local enterprise customer and hope that this will expand our exposure with business people in more rural communities.

We started this firm to chase a dream.  That dream was to help small and medium sized businesses grow and reap the benefit of cloud based computing.  If you would like to know more about us contact us here.  We think that we are close to meeting that goal.  When things are darkest is when people discover the light which will guide their way.  We have endured the darkness and we are ready to light the way.

Until next time.

MS Tag is Going Away and We Have Something to Say About It.

Hopefully will will not have remorse like
 the woman who received this tattoo.

Lots of big news from Redmond this week, I will save my thoughts about Steve Ballmer for a more private forum.  When news arrived in my mail box on Monday last week that Microsoft was going to discontinue Microsoft Tag Support, I received a flurry of instant messages from friends and colleagues. They wanted to know about how it would affect E₃ systems and my personal feelings on the subject.  In this blog post, I want everyone to know where we stand as a business and what this news means for the QR industry.

My first reaction to this was anger.  Why would Microsoft pull this service when it could be a great way for enterprise operations to have paper documents communicate with mobile devices?  It then occurred to me that I had written a blog on the subject a almost a year ago discussing how advertising and marketing firms were not using QR codes correctly.  Then I read the following article in the aftermath of the announcement and anger quickly mellowed into a vinegary vintage of disappointment.

Because QR code support and MSTag are not built into phones people do not scan tags.  Because people don’t scan tags marketing firms do not create suitable mobile marketing content for discourages scans and further undermines the technology.  I was hoping to use MSTag and QR codes for a manufacturing and regulatory compliance purpose.  Now Microsoft was pulling the plug and we would have to find some other technology or means to fill the breach.

Our reprieve was that Microsoft would not kill the service right away.  They provided a two year window and offered the services of a third party ScanLife to provide hosting for QR codes and MSTag.  They even sent an e-mail and phone number to contact someone as I migrate the service.  The plot thickened when I received an e-mail from ScanLife saying they were very excited about how we used the MSTag service and that they would like to speak with me personally.  That appointment is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

I am disappointed that Microsoft is making this decision.  Looking at the trends and how the technology was misused I understand why that made this choice.  This profoundly effects how E₃ systems Sully 2.0 and Tony Platform operate. I am also concerned that this change may effect the profitability of the organization.  If necessary, we will have to do something different at this time. We are just not sure what the future holds.  We will keep you posted.

Until next time.

The Quality Goes in Before the Software Ships Out.

I think we need to explain.

This has been an amazing week of transition for E₃ systems.  We have formally been in business for three years.  We are also on the cusp of a new software release. Today I want to talk about our new product Tony and why you will have to wait a little longer before it goes live.

Early in 2013, a potential client called us out of the blue and wanted to know if we could put together a simple contact management system for them.  We rushed a prototype out and demonstrated it to the client.  They seemed enthusiastic until we gave them a contract and said that they would have to pay for us to finish the project since it was done on spec.  We never heard from that client again.  I suppose this was a good development because if they were not going to return our calls or honor a contract I am sure that getting paid would have also been a serious problem.

The months of March and April were gloomy as we continued to sell our main product Sully 2.0 and assess the failure of our prototype project.  Some good did come out of the work because; we developed experience in MVC 4 and Entity Framework code first for rapid project turn around.  By May, we had come up with a new project and idea which we nick-named Tony after a famous Fiat mechanic.

Tony would be an easy to use system to track maintenance for vehicles in any sized fleet. Trucking companies, rental firms, and even car dealerships could use the system to keep track of when and where work was done.  It would become a living record and best of all it would obey the philosophy of all products at E₃ systems.  It would work on a smart phone, tablet, and personal computer.  We also leveraged the power of Microsoft Tag so someone in the field would scan a code on their phone and get instant information.

We had scheduled that Tony would launch in July of 2013.  It was a hectic schedule made even more dramatic by the server migration we did to upgrade our software and databases.  Something had to give and it was clear that the migration took precedence and that we would have to push back the release of Tony.  We also felt that we needed to do more work on the product before it was ready for release and sale.  I am deeply disappointed about this but as the president of the company I would rather ship quality software that release something and then expect my customers to find bugs and act as our quality assurance team.

So we are planning to release our Tony software in mid-September.  I felt that you our customers deserved and explanation.  We had been dropping hints about Tony for the last two months and felt you needed an honest explanation of why it is not here.  As a young start-up we are not in the business of vaporware so please forgive us for the delay.  If you have any questions or concerns please drop us a line and we will have an account executive contact you directly.

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.

Software is Never Free

Just like the Merchant of Venice
we all need our pound of flesh.

Being a software entrepreneur is a difficult business to be involved with.  I spend much of my time writing software and then the remainder selling it to others.  It is difficult and I could not think of anything else I would rather be doing.  Still I do have one big challenge and it is the same challenge all types of creative people are facing.  It appears that in this internet world of abundance they do not have to pay for books, music, or software.  This week I would like to explain why software is not free.  Someone has to pay. 

I believe that this notion that software should be free was spawned from the Linux movement during the Dot.Com boom days.  Countless pixels have been spent expressing the view that software should be free and that copy writes for things like books, movies, and software were quaint notions from the pre-internet days.  I think it was professionally and culturally poisonous for the software industry.  Please let me explain.  

Software, music and books are the one of the few things we have not figured out how to automate.  The creative process necessary to build them are labor intensive and imprecise.  These processes are also prone to spectacular failure.  This is why when you check the CHAOS report it is clear why many of the software projects are challenged or failing.  It is hard to match the expectations of the people paying for the software to the abilities of the people writing that software. 

Along came the Linux movement with the religious fanaticism of the Opus Dei.  Linux was a version of the Unix software program which was developed by AT&T during its monopoly period of the 1950's and 1960's.  What made it unique is that it was freely distributed over the internet via download.   This meant that instead of paying a license for an operating system for a computer it was free.  Companies sprang up to support this ecosystem of Unix and provide a means to cash in on all the companies who didn't want to pay for software but didn't know how to use it.  So the tradeoff for a company was no cost for software but huge fees for labor to maintain and customize the software.   This spawned a system of software which is used today in the corporate world; Oracle Databases, Java Development, and PHP for web development.

I suspect that the Linux movement had to happen because companies like IBM and Microsoft made a very good living off charging people to use their product.  To software developers who tend to be an iconoclastic lot having free and open software was a nirvana of sorts.  Upgrades were based on the needs of the community and weren't subject to a corporate project manager.  Finally, the open source Linux movement emphasized the technical ability of the developer to make changes to core systems and improve the product.  Thus, free software seemed to be the best of all worlds; developers judged on merit, free products which respond to real needs, and something that was technologically elegant. 

Of course, something was missing.  Since these free products we constructed by engineers for engineers, for non-technical people they were impossible to use.  MS-DOS from Microsoft abandoned command line prompts for the windows interface for a reason.   They wanted more people to use their systems.  The Linux movement still used the command line.  In addition, major manufacturers did not create Linux personal computers so they had to be created by hobbyists and Linux fans who have been affectionately labeled a "priesthood" because of the difficult process of developing technical competence and the religious devotion they have to the Linux world view.  Finally, no one had time to write Linux software.  This is because many of the people who worked with Linux were busy updating the system and working in the corporate sector keeping systems working; in other words, with no killer application that would force people to use Linux people in the consumer realm did not use it. 

Flash forward to today, now an entire generation has grown up with free software.  Piracy is rampant in music and on-line books and when I hand a contract to a client they look at me like I am crazy.  "You expect me to pay that much," they say and I grit my teeth and say yes.  Just like my customers, I have bills to pay and mouths to feed.  They charge for their services so why should they be shocked and surprised when I charge for mine.  I think this has been my biggest frustration as an entrepreneur.   I am charging for my services and many people think I should be giving it away for free. 

I think I have a pretty good service to offer.  I have an inventory management system which works over the cloud and can be accessed via a browser, tablet, or mobile phone.  I am in the process of completing a contact management system for the insurance industry which will make it easier for people to trace sales and leads on-line.  It also works with the cloud via a browser, tablet, or mobile phone.  I am even leveraging QR codes for advertising and contact management for small businesses. 

It is an exciting way to make a living but it requires people to realize that software is not free.   It requires blood, sweat and tears to create.  I have invested most of my life into software.  You should invest a little money into to product I sell you.

Until next time.

Predictions for 2013

We are looking forward to the new year are you?

In spite of being a technical professional and owning and operating my own software company, I still can't do my own car repairs.  This gives me an opportunity to spend some time at the local car repair shop talking with other people who can't fix their cars.  The conversations inevitably turn to our careers and when others find out that I run a technology company they ask what they can expect from the world of tech.  I tell them that my opinions are not gospel but that I have a pretty good idea about what is coming up in the immediate future.  This week in the spirit of looking forward to the New Year, I want to make some predictions.  Hopefully, I will not look too foolish when some of my predictions don't come true.

In 2012 there were two major trends which could not be ignored; first, the rise of mobile computing and finally the ascent of the cloud as a computing platform.  When I first discussed the subject in earnest back in December 2011, I was looking at a trend that was just starting to grow.  Now you cannot go anywhere without hearing the term cloud.  People have even started developing myths about cloud based computing.  For 2013, I continue to see this trend grow and it is a perfect opportunity for a firm like mine to help small and medium sized businesses learn to compete with the big boys. 

Next the line between mobile computing and desktop computing is blurring.  This has driven all sorts of changes in 2012.  More and more of us get our information over phones and table devices so web developers, technologists, and even CIO's and learning if they are going to survive they will have to adapt to this mobile world.  Again, this major trend in the industry finds this firm perfectly positioned to deal with the situation.  Our applications have to work on computers, smart phones, and tablets otherwise we are doing a disservice to our customer.  I also feel that young people are even more comfortable with mobile technology than current business leaders so if we are going to tap this customer market we are going to have to build software they are going to use.  Microsoft with Windows 8 is a huge gamble on this front and while the news wasn't good early going I think they are perfectly positioned for a renaissance in the coming year.

Here are some other predictions that I think might take place in the New Year. 

• Cash is not going away:  We have all seen the articles about how debit cards, NCF, and Google Wallet are going to make cash obsolete.  Don't count on it.  We are going to need cash for night clubbing, casinos, children's lemonade stands, and groceries.  Cash will become less important but it will not become obsolete. 
• Agile will continue to grow in the startup community and face obstacles in established businesses:  I am running into this problem now in my day job.  It is clear that business leaders for large firms are frightened by the cultural changes and organizational changes necessary to make Agile work so it will take startups and big dogs like Facebook, Google and IBM to show them how it is done.  Until a company fully embraces Agile and starts squashing the competition there will be a deep reluctance on the part of other large firms.  Then it will be up to us to deal with the copy cats.
• QR Codes and MS Tag will find a home- in logistics and manufacturing:  QR codes and Microsoft tag came from manufacturing and they will return to their roots because marketing firms have been horrible at using these technologies.  I am pretty proud that we are leading this trend.
• E3 systems will be expanding our focus:  We will continue to support and market our Sully 2.0 software but we are branching out with other software offerings.  We are also going to start providing Business Solutions Architecture for small and medium sized businesses.   I am going to talk more about Business Solutions Architecture in our next blog. 
• Finally, E3 systems will continue to be a partner in the Agile Community on Google+ and a member of the Microsoft Application Lifecycle Management community:  We learn so much from these groups and in exchange it is nice to share my wisdom with them so we will have a continuing partnership with them.  

This last year has not turned out like we expected.  However, I am deeply grateful for the experiences and support we have received from the community.  I hope that 2013 is a breakthrough year for us and that you will be along to share it with us. 

Until next time.

Use Technology to Help Your Business

You might need some technology
Elves this season.

We are in the middle of the holiday season and this is the time many businesses rush to meet their sales goals or take stock of the year.  At E₃ systems it is a chance to take stock.  We are prospecting for customers, doing market research, and keeping people up to date via social media.  I am confident that when the New Year arrives we will be in a good place to grow our business.

This week I noticed an interesting article from Farhad Manjoo about how retailers deal with the crush of customers which come out during the weekend after thanksgiving.  The interesting part about the article is that more traditional retailers appear to struggle compared with more technology oriented retailers like Amazon.com.  After reading the article, it is clear to me that the reason for the success of technology firms is that they focus on the management of their business from the most fundamental levels while more traditional ones struggle to adapt more modern ways of customer satisfaction.

So as you attempt to better serve your customers, wouldn't it be nice if you had tools to answer simple customer questions.  This is why cloud based Business Intelligence platforms like our Sully 2.0 system should be something you should investigate.  Being able to see inventory via a tablet computer, laptop, PC or smart phone would be a huge advantage over competitors.  Having Microsoft Tag technology for your products makes it possible for you to avoid spending thousands dollars for bar coding equipment.  Processing purchase orders, invoices, and packing slips over the cloud frees up time for focus on your business instead of paperwork. 

This was why I founded E₃ systems because I want to help make other small business more successful by giving them technology which helps them to better serve their customers.  If you are a small business you cannot take your customers for granted.  I feel that we give you plenty of tools to better serve those customers.  Drop us a line and we will show you how. 

Until next time.

Giving Thanks this Time of Year

Give thanks and then pig out!

During this time of year, there are lots of reasons to be grateful.  The holiday demands that people take stock of their lives and families and what they have to be thankful for.  This year, I want to make a few mentions. 

I am deeply grateful for statin drugs.  With some luck, statins may break the cycle of heart attacks which runs in my family.  I am glad for clean drinking water.  Too many people do not have clean water to drink and I am grateful that I live somewhere where that is not a problem.  Finally, I am glad that the election is over and we can stop fighting about politics and get back to growing our economy. 

On a more personal note, I want to thank Mike Panone and the Joliet Chamber of Commerce providing me help and guidance.  I also have to thank my board of directors; Jen Green, John Zalanka, and my father for keeping me focused during some difficult times this year.  Finally, I want to thank each of you for following this blog and supporting us over the coming year. 

Contact us if you want to learn more about our Sully 2.0 software.  I look forward to more adventures in the coming year. 

Until next time.

Getting Back to Business

Business is very democratic.

We are reaching the end of another political season.  Frankly, I am tired of the political adds, charges and counter-charges, and social media pitches which are patently false.  It is easy for people to get jaded by the process.  I know that I do.

Interestingly, when the ballots are counted and the dust settles, we American's do a pretty good job getting back to business and living our lives.  That is what I think makes this nation great is that once the election is over we can learn to live with each other instead of stockpiling weapons and heading to the hills.

One of the strengths of this kind of Town Hall Democracy is the local Chamber of Commerce.   This last week I had the pleasure to be at the Joliet Chamber of Commerce open house.  Here along with many of the other local business people we conducted the mundane routines of a democracy; drumming up business, making contacts, and networking among like-minded people.  We were not Democrats or Republicans; we were just business people. 

This kind of activity goes on year after year in relative obscurity but it makes a difference as the knowledge of how to conduct business is passed on from member to member and generation to generation.  Even though I am a high tech software start-up, I am glad to be part of this legacy.  I have even received some inquiries from engineering firms about how our software can help them manage their products.  If you want to know more please drop us a line.  

Just remember that there are only a few days left and then the election will be over.

Until next time. 

Being a Business Survivor

You have to be a survivor in business
just like Requle Welch

Being a business person makes you manic-depressive.  Some days you are riding high on success and then during others you are filled with darkness because of a failure.  Entrepreneurs I have spoken to say that this is natural until you get an established client base.  This week we released a new web site to the public to make it friendlier toward sales.  We also made improvements to Sully 2.0 to make it possible to search address information.

We do things like this because one of the founding principles of our organization is Agility.  Market conditions are moving so fast that it is hard to catch up.  This is why your systems and services need to change with the dynamic environment.  Twenty years ago Fuji and Kodak were locked in a fierce battle for consumer attention.  Today both of them are struggling thanks to digital cameras.  Today, General Motors is concentrating on its manufacturing businesses because its GMAC Financial Services was killed during the start of the great recession in 2008.  If you want to survive then you must adapt to changing market conditions. 

This has been a difficult lesson for me as I have been drumming up sales and working on means to drive business to our firms.  I have had to drop old notions of how we do business and create new ones.  I have also had to embrace the messiness of being an entrepreneur.  Some days I am taking calls from Mississippi and others I am speaking with a woman from Columbia who wants to use our system.  It is very liberating but it is also like washing windows without a net. 

All of us at E3 systems would like to show you how we can help you do business over the web.  You should give us a call and we will be more than happy to help you out. 

Until then I will continue my manic-depressive quest to help your business and build mine.

Until Next time.

Now We Support Labels

No Mystery we support Avery Labels

The key to any successful organization is to do the most amount of work in the least amount of time with the maximum level of profit.  It is one of the first principles they teach you in business school and it says with you throughout your entire career.  This week at Dirty fingers we want to discuss one of our newest features for Sully 2.0 which makes this possible; label printing.

I have discovered that many businesses which do shipping and receiving spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to print shipping labels for their products.  This usually requires a mail merge using Microsoft office and trial and error with Avery forms.  We were speaking with a business group and one of the topics which came up was how difficult it was to print Avery shipping labels. 

It took us over a year to come up with a good approach but we finally figured out a way to do it and now we support the printing of Avery 8160, 8164 and 22805 forms directly from the web.  You do not need Microsoft Office or know how to do a mail merge.  Now you just print your labels directly off the web and on to your forms. 

This is a huge time savings because now you just point and click.  This way you can place Microsoft Tags on products and shipping labels on packages with no effort. 

We are pretty proud of this innovation so give us a call and we will be happy to show you. 

Until next time.

This is What We Do

We make business intelligence look pretty.

I have spent over a year promoting and blogging about my company E₃ logistics systems.  What amazes me is as people get to know about my company they always ask me the same questions about what we do.  This week, I want to explain what E₃ systems does.

We help you stay on top of paperwork.  If you have any inventory we help you track the number of items coming and going from your stock with no need to keep track of paperwork.  Our Sully 2.0 system helps you keep track of all your items in our web based system.  You will never have to go searching around the office for a piece of paperwork again because you can pull up the Sully 2.0 system type in a search and find all the information you are looking for.  Not only does this apply to inventory, but to bills of lading, packing slips, invoices and purchase orders.  So in one place you have all the information you need to run your business.

Next, we make it easy to gather business intelligence about the progress of your business.  Fortune 500 companies have entire teams of people who sift through pies of data to gather information about what products are hot and which ones are not.  They can track shipping costs to the penny and find out if they are making a profit with each sale.  At E₃ systems we give you that ability to make you competitive with big boys.  We have a full set of reporting tools so you can track inventory, sales, and other pieces of regulatory compliance documentation.  We included this because many software packages make easy to gather data but difficult to make decisions based on that data.  Now, at a glance you know what you have in stock and if you are making money selling it.

Additionally, we make it possible to track your information via any type of computing device connected to the web.  This means if you have a tablet computer, smart phone or laptop as long as you have a connection to the web you can use our systems in a secure fashion.  No more dialing into company virtual private networks or portals.  No more messing with synching your data with company systems.  All you need is an account and mobile device and you can see your inventory, purchase orders, and invoices 24 hours a day seven days a week.  This gives you more time to interact with your customers and less time tracking down paperwork. 

Next, we bridge the gap between the world of paper and web with Microsoft Tag technology.  Thanks to Microsoft Tag technology, you can scan documents and products.  This gives you the ability to instantly communicate with the Sully 2.0 system.  Now expensive bar code scanning equipment is obsolete.  If you have a smart phone you have what is necessary to track your inventory and systems just like a major corporation.  We offer this service free of charge and make it possible to print up these Microsoft Tags with Avery 22805 labels.  No more mystery about what is on the shelf now you print out a tag stick it on a product and you have an electronic record. 

Finally, we offer this system at about the cost of digital cable television.  If you can afford $120 a month subscription fee we can make it possible to manage your inventory, purchase orders, paperwork, business intelligence and make it available 24 hours a day seven days a week on any device with a web connection.  There is no software to install.  All you need is a web browser or smart phone to access our systems.  The data is secure in our server farm located in the Pacific Northwest and you can reach us via e-mail or phone 24 hours a day. 

If you are interested in how we can help you manage your business and give you a competitive advantage over your rivals then contact us today.  You will not be disappointed.

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.

Full Frontal Business Intelligence

Smart and Good looking systems are what we
are all about.

This week was a milestone of sorts at E₃ systems.  We had our second board meeting and it was a serious sober affair where over a few bottles of water and some store bought cookies we plotted out our path for the next year.  I do not know where I would be without the guidance and support of my board and it was nice to talk about our accomplishments and challenges over the last year.

As always we talked about marketing and sales.  Any small business person will tell you that this could always be better.  After some back and forth among the board members it dawned on us that our Sully 2.0 is more than a logistics platform it is a business Intelligence Platform.  This makes it possible for a small business to manage themselves just like a Fortune 500 company for a minimal cost. 

One of the biggest headaches of a business is keeping track of how much you have on hand.  Our Sully 2.0 system does this by saving all your information on the cloud and then pulling it down for reporting purposes.  This means no matter where you are; at the office, meeting with a client, or on vacation if you have a connection to the web then you can see your inventory at the drop of a hat.  Not only do you know how much you have on hand but how much you paid for it and what type of department of transportation regulations cover that material. 

We make it possible to print up packing slips, bills of lading and invoices based on this information.  We are also proud to announce that it is now possible to print shipping labels with Avery® label technology.  No more typing up peal and stick labels for your products Sully 2.0 can print out 5160 and 5164 Avery® labels right off the web without having to use Microsoft Word or a third party program.  This speeds up the business and makes it easier to manage shipping and receiving.

Furthermore you get more full frontal business intelligence when you leverage our Microsoft Tag technology which makes it possible to do bar coding without expensive equipment.  Now every piece of paper you have can communicate with your mobile phone.  This is a free of charge service and we include it so that you can view information about your products anywhere in the world on any smart phone. 

Finally, we make it possible to put together purchase orders and incorporate them into your business with our purchase order piece.  You order an item and you can e-mail it or fax it out to your vendor and when you receive it they can add it inventory with a click.  No more lost faxes.  No more playing phone tag with vendors and no more double counting when you get it into the office. 

In spite of our board meeting being a very sober affair most of us were pretty excited when it was over.  We have a great product.  We have a marketing plan.  We also have an easy to use and economical business intelligence package which can be used everywhere.  We have full frontal business intelligence and we are not afraid to show it off.  Contact us to learn more. 

Until next time.

Fighting Code Bloat

Software Bloat is not pretty so why do we have it?

I have been working as a software developer for over fourteen years.  What surprises me the most is how complicated we make software for the public.  I blame two major constituencies for this trend.  First, software developers need to stop being too clever for their own good.  We need to concentrate on doing the same features better and faster rather than cramming more features into a software program.  This desire to have software do more is affectionately known as feature bloat.  More features are crammed into the same piece of software until it gets more confusing to use. 

The other guilty party is the business people who commission these bloated software projects.  Talk to any developer and you will hear stories of reports written for only one user of a system.  You will also hear stories of features added to systems to deal with one client or situation.  Additionally, features will be added to satisfy the political needs of an organization while not making software any easier to use.  Needless to say, these situations tend to drive software developers and customers batty because these additional features represent nothing but wasted time and money from the developer.  It also represents frustration for the customer as they attempt to use the software which has grown more complicated.

This is why when we founded E₃ systems we have made a point of trying to make the software as easy to use as possible.  Life is too short to spend time in training manuals and struggling to figure out how something works.  Many businesses do not have time to train their people so it is important that software is intuitive and easy to operate.  Most people just want to write out a packing slip or print an invoice.  You shouldn’t need a degree in computer science to make that happen. 

Our Sully 2.0 system makes it easy to do Bills of Lading, Packing Slips, Invoices and purchase orders.  Drop us a line and we will be happy to show you.

Until then I suppose you are going to have to suffer with bloated software.

Until next time.

A Logistics Party Like its 1992.

Most fashions from 1992 didn't not age
well.  So why are you doing business like
1992?

I have spent most of my adult life around the world of logistics.  From my early days fresh out of college to my current role as president and chief of development at E₃ systems, I have been involved in the world of moving goods and services from place to place at the best price.

What has struck me is that while other businesses have become more automated and 21st century much of the logistics business seems stuck in the 1980's.  While the 1980's were a great time for music and fashion, it was not so good of a time for moving goods from place to place.  Deregulation cut a wide swath of creative destruction through the industry.  Additionally, rising fuel prices and increasing competition shrank the profits of many of the companies which remained.

Something had to give and that was investment in new and better systems to manage their business.  Computers were slow to be adopted in the industry and companies which did use computers used clunky AS/400 systems.  This became a perfect recipe for inertia and an office in the trucking business today looks very similar to an office twenty years ago.  Scattered PC's are in most offices but they reside next to green screen CRT terminals connected to obsolete mainframe and as/400 systems.  Stacks of paperwork fill countless file cabinets and many of the clerical people spend their time fat finger keying data from those forms into computer systems. 

This was one of the reasons I launched E₃ systems.  I wanted to put together an easy and cheap system which business people can use with existing equipment.  No hardware to install.  All you need is an internet connection.  Feel free to contact us and find out more.

There is a better way to do business in the 21st century.  It means knowing your inventory 24 hours a day seven days a week.  It means being able to generate electronic or paper documents at a moment's notice.  It also should be easy to understand, economical and available everywhere. 

I much prefer the 21st century so why do we continue to do business like it is 1992?

Until next time.

Dealing with Darkness

How to you stare into the darkness?

Being an entrepreneur can give you huge moments of light and tremendous moments of darkness and despair.  Currently, I am in one of those moments of despair as I fill out grant paperwork, solicit customers, and try to grow the business.  Everything came to a crashing halt this week after a trade show; I was burned out and decided to take a few days off and unplug.

I left my mobile phone at home, took off in the car and didn’t answer email or twitter for almost three days.  It was very refreshing and gave me a chance to take stock in my life and try to put things in perspective.  I have dreams of being my own boss.  Those dreams are still real.  They just seem further away because I have not had the chance to concentrate on it full time.   I am going to try and focus this dream and try to make it a success.

We will be doing a website redesign, hire an additional sales person, and try to drum up our first client. Many people go into business for different reasons.  My main goal was to escape the insanity of corporate life.  I also want to be a different kind of business person someone with a product that works and who respects the community he works in.  It sounds like a fantasy but it is one I hold dearly.  Business can be a force for good in the community and I think I am just the kind of business person to do it. 

In that vein of thought, E₃ systems is participating in J.P.Morgan Chase’s Mission Small business program and we hope that you promote ushere accordingly.  We will also be reaching out for grants, aid and customers where we can get them.

I hope you will take some time to support us and grant us a little bit of light during our dark times. 

Until next time.

Purchase Orders You Can Trust

Tracking Purchase Orders on Your Mobile
Phone is now a snap.

A purchase order should not betray you.  It is a simple piece of paper you fill out and within a few days you should receive the product requested.  The reality is that faxes get lost.  Vendors can be unreliable and you are stuck explaining to your boss why the purchase order has not been filled.

This is a common frustration for business people.  Somehow, there needs to be a better way to track purchase orders.  This is what guided E₃ systems when we created Sully.  Instead of thumbing through catalogs, filling out paperwork, and praying the vendor gets your message; you fill out a simple form and then automatically email the purchase order to the vendor.  If the vendor does not have email you can print up the purchase order and fax it. The beauty of the system is that when you e-mail a purchase order you will receive a message in the Microsoft Outlook telling you when they opened it.  Now, there is no doubt about a vendor receiving a purchase order. 

Better yet, when you receive a purchase order you can instantly place these items into inventory with a mouse click so you have a fully updated record of all the products in inventory.  You can also track a purchase order via a mobile phone or a tablet computer with the help of MSTag.

A purchase order should not betray you and at E₃ systems we understand that.

Contact us today and find out.

Until next time