Caress the Cloud

Cloud computing is not something from Star Trek.  It is
real and useful. 

It is always nice to be leading a trend. Last week, I discussed cloud computing and how E₃ systems are part of this technology trend. This week Forbes magazine is featuring Joe Weinman's book Cloudonomics and they discuss the good uses and possible misuses of cloud technology. What struck me was Weinman's uses of the cloud and how E₃ makes that happen.

First, Weinman talks about coordination, currency, consistency and control. E₃ offers its software as a service. This means that software upgrades only need to be applied once and they are to the cloud. You the customer do not have to worry about upgrading your system because we do that for you using the power of the web. We also do this at no additional cost. This gives you a consistent and coordinated platform to run your business.
 
Next, Weinman talks about cross-device access and synchronization. This means that no matter how you use a service it will show the same information independent of how you view the information. This is a central feature of E₃ Systems Sully 2.0. You can use our system on a PC, laptop, tablet, or smart phone with no worries about compatibility. Our company wanted to make sure that you could get your information anytime and anywhere.

Finally, Weinman talks about checkpoints. This means that the cloud, "…can effectively filter out everything from viruses and spam to distributed deninal of service attacks." In other words, since the service is on the web, it is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. This makes it harder for a hacker or thief to steal or corrupt your data. Furthermore we encrypt our applications with 128 SSL certificates and password protection.

Taken together E₃ systems and its Sully 2.0 Business Intelligence Solution provides the many benefits of cloud computing particularly coordination of service, cross device access, and checkpoints for security. If you want to find out more about cloud computing and how E3 can help you use the cloud to improve your business contact us today.  We think you will like what we have to say.

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.

Making QR Codes Useful.

Dare you to Scan this Code.

Sometimes you stumble on to the strangest stuff when you are reading a business magazine.  This week it was the good folks at Bloomberg who claimed the use of QR codes by marketing firms are not generating expected results.  I mentally rolled my eyes and finished the article.  Those of us in the technology business had been noticing this trend for a while and it is clear to me that the good folks at Bloomberg are just starting to catch up.

I have been following QR codes and Microsoft Tag for the last two years and I can say that they are just not the correct tools for advertising.  This is because advertisers just think that QR codes are an easy way to generate mobile engagement.  What I am discovering is that there is no easy way to generate mobile engagement.   Just because you slap a QR code on a flyer or poster does not instantly give you an inroad to someone's mobile phone. 

It does not help that the content behind these QR code is poor to begin with.  Most web sites are not optimized for mobile browsers so when you scan a QR code they do not look good on the phone.  Also the content is not unique so they can access this from their desk top.  It would be farcical if it wasn't so sad.  I was speaking with a fellow company at a trade show and they complained about this and I told them if they linked their QR codes to YouTube videos or special coupons they would get more scans.  Simple advice but people are paying thousands of dollars to advertising agencies and are getting poor return on their money. 

I see QR codes and MS Tag differently.  These technologies make it easier to track paper documents and share them with the digital world which means they are perfect for the world of logistics.  Naturally, they are part of E3 systems application Sully®.  Scanning a QR code or MS Tag should make the traditional bar coding application obsolete and that is what I intend to do.  So I dare you to scan that MS Tag above and check out our video and learn a little more about Sully®.  I also hope that advertising agencies get a little smarter on how they use QR codes.

Until next time.