DaveBirchall.com on Business Technology

Archive for June, 2008

Chances are (if you use the web) you have see the letters RSS splattered across the internet, but there is a supringly small amount of users actually using RSS. The last stat I heard said that fewer than 15% of internet users subscribed to feeds.

So if you don’t know what RSS is then your not alone and this may be your chance to do something different in your field that can make a big difference. RSS is based on XML and makes the transfer of information from one internet site to another easier.

For example, if a web page was regularly updated and you throught the information was useful, you could subscribe to the feed by clicking the RSS button. You simply need a feed reader or a piece of software with RSS built in to it… Here are some examples.

Outlook 2007

I am a new convert to Outlookand I see RSS is included as standard. This could be particularly useful if you like infomation to appear in the same environment as incoming mail and tasks.

Internet Explorer

The latest release has a RSS reader built in too. Click the star icon and find it between you favourite and your history listings

Google Reader

This is my preferred choice because I am usually signed into my account using my google apps and I can access the same feeds from any machine with out having to think too hard. As your would expect from google its free

click http://reader.google.com for more info.

So now you have a reader you just need to subscribe to the feed. There’s one at the top right corner of the page to practice on. As a worse case scenario, you may need to copy and paste the URL into your chosen reader.

Get it? Good!

So what can RSS do for your business?

Well think of it like this. If people can subscribe to your site you have the power to broadcast the content of your site immeasurably. Your content can form part of other peoples blogs, social networks and mash ups across the webiverse!

Remember the case of Corey the party goer who’s party got out of control? RSS feeds broadcast his invitation many times over without him knowing. If he were an online marketer he would be heralded a genius! So if you can master RSS your can reach a new audience in ways you never thought possible.

Not only that but as RSS becomes more popular you can appeal to an ‘opt in’ audience where email has become tired and less effective.

Enjoy!

Imagine you wanted to pull different information from several different systems to create a singular and convenient view. This could be a real time snapshot of your business, your customer, your goods your employee…. what ever. These systems may not naturally communicate with each other so a further application is needed. This application for lack of a better way of explaining it ‘directs traffic,’ whilst hosting and applying business logic predetermined by the developer. That application is Microsoft Biztalk.

Since its release in 2000 Biztalk has sparked a wave of IT integration in modern business and challenged the notion that System integration or Business Process automation need be prohibitively expensive. It is now in its sixth release and it going from strength to strength.

Quick Facts

• Over 7,000 customers worldwide
• 90% of the Fortune Global 100 use BizTalk Server
• Leader in the 2007 Gartner Application Infrastructure and Back-End Application Integration Magic Quadrants
• Leader in the 2007 Application Server Platforms: Conventional Web, Conventional SOA and Independent SOA Forrester Waves
• 12 of the 15 largest retailers in the world run BizTalk Server

Biztalk works across platforms and Frameworks via adapters that ‘plug in’ to Biztalk and interface with the applications. An experienced developer or system intergrator can also build the adapters.

The advantage of Biztalk in your business can be enormous. It includes greater data integrity, faster communication, real time reporting, Business Activity Monitoring, greater collaboration and more. The need for System integration has become common place in many sizable businesses.

To find out how Biztalk can benefit your business, why not take advantage of a free consultation (top of the page)

Further Information

http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/en/us/default.aspx

http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/3/c/e3c6b6d8-7fec-459e-9479-1cd320019244/Introducing%20Microsoft%20BizTalk%20Server%202006%20R2.pdf

I don’t normally comment on hardware but an interesting bit of kit came in to the office a few weeks ago that I have been meaning to discuss.

One of our engineers is of travelling for a few months and he bought a eePC from Asus to take with him. You may have seen or heard of them before , so what’s is the hype about?

Well for a start, it’s part of a new class of portable devices known as UMPC or Ultra Mobile PC’s. In a nutshell they are small and lighter than a laptop and more accessible and functional than a PDA. Personally, thats the holy grail of functionality I have been craving for.

There are a number in its class. Fujitsu, Apple, Sony, Asus and Lenovo to name but a few have models that compete in this area. But for me the eePC is appealing for one very good reason… Price! It starts at just AUD 400

Yes other PCs have more processing power, more storage, better build quality and a whole lot more, but let face it, a portable device takes a beating and its not in my interest to carry an expensive machine around.

On compatibility, all the work I do happens in a web browser these days so I don’t see this as being an issue.

It comes with either Windows or Linux and it comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB hard disk options. Also, its a solid state drive so you can use it between meeting in the bus, train, car, cab etc. You can run skype, windows messenger and use the built in webcam. Internet access is through wireless 802.11 b/g radio. You can’t use dial up, but when would that be a problem?

It comes with a few USB ports for additional peripherals. I have heard of people using GPS receivers and using it for Satellite Navigation and there is also talk of a touch screen interface coming soon.

Summary

It can’t replace your laptop or desktop PC but it can provide awesome, rugged accessibility at a great price.

http://www.asus.com.au/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=2281&l1=24&l2=163&l3=0&l4=0

Microsoft SilverLight is a new means to display rich media over the web. Perhaps you have been asked to install flash player when you have gone to you tube or something similar?

MS Silverlight is simply Microsoft’s offering but fits in neatly with all of the benefits of the .NET / asp framework. It claims to be work across Mac and PC and all mainstream web browsers. One of the coolest things from a business perspective is how easy it is to add video to your corporate website with DVD like controls chapter points. The web is continuing to move away from its humble beginning of static content and technolgies such as these may well be a catalyst.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEUrQEj6Sd4

This is the you tube that inspired me to include a glossary of technical terms in my blog. Everything I have learned in IT I have had to pick along the way. The TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) and terminology along the way can be unnecessary and get in the way. I decided to include a glossary of technical terms to cut through the hype.

There’s some great moments in here that sum up some of the people you meet in IT along the way.

Greg the architect

I am actively involved with Technology Startups in Australia, not only through various groups  but by partnering with commercialisation managers, IP attournies and Business consultants, My company is able to prototype and build business systems and net generation websites for the the next generation of Australian Entrepreneurs.

Apologies for using the dreaded ‘R’ word but since the mainstream media seems hell bent on using it, I figure a niche blog isn’t going to make that much difference.

So, I attended a seminar during the week on recession proof marketing. The key lessons from this event was that that regardless of whether you thing the “R” is coming, the fundamental principles of marketing remain more important now than ever.

1) First of all the Unique Selling Proposition is key. Personally I have always like the idea of  an unfair advantage over a USP but thats splitting hairs.

2) Most importantly, it’s important to focus on the acquisition and retention of customers. I know this sounds obvious but when we really stop and think about this in more detail, we can all do this a hell of alot better

Firstly, When is the last time you spoke to your entire past customer database with a  new proposition? How often do you talk to them? How much did it cost the business to bring them on board … and how often do they hear from you.

At my place of work we have taken this idea several steps further again. In unison with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we have developed AMS (Automated Marketing System) Not only does this fulfill all of our email marketing needs from a legal and technical persective, but it can also decide what messages to send to the customer depending on where they are in the buying cycle.

The system has built in logic to assess where they are in their relationship with us and will move the ‘lead’ to the appropriate next status ie from a ’suspect’ to a ‘prospect’.

This has been a great way to reach new customers and is much more effective than cold calling for new business.  With our steady trickle of leads, we can turn our sales team into more of a production line. Some or our staff raise contracts and write proposals, some people are customer facing. Some people are more focused on solutions and technical requirements and so on.

Since each task is matched to the right skill set and pay scale, we benefit from cost savings here too.  So why am I telling you this? Well because if we can do this for us, we can do this for you too… that is if you are open to the possibilities.

Where were you?

The first ‘meet up’ was a bit of an experiment so it was great that a small but targeted group turned up to see what I have been banging on about The group ranged from ‘hardcore technologists’ to people with much more of a business related interest.

If you want to join us next time around, then join us at

http://ia.meetup.com/65/calendar/8164216/

Business Rules Engines

Its how we make sense of the world and crucial to the way we run our business. Without our systems, policies and procedures can we really say that we have a business?

So if we can understand our business rules, you can not only take control of your business but can take steps to automate it. This is approach is by no means new. The term business process automation has been around for some time. The problem has been that in todays ever changing business environment, the technology can’t always keep pace with the change.

Imagine if a technology existed where rules could be changed on the fly and set free to evolve as the business grows. Image the possibilities and the effect it could have on you business if you could automate major parts of it.

Business rule engines are one of the most exciting technologies of the modern age. I hope to meet people as excited this concept as I am.

SydneyNetworkers.net is starting to gather some momentum.

What started as a hair brained idea is starting to bring in a fresh influx of new people, keen to network and share ideas.
A site like Sydneynetworkers can only work well if we reach a critical mass of people.

So I thought we could have some fun with this. I have two free tickets to the forthcoming<b> Think and Grow Rich</b> seminar up fro grabs for the 100th member to sign up. Think and Grow rich is a a book that is said to have changed many peoples life. Whilst it was written decades ago, the principles are true today. TGR started a wave of professional development courses and books and some of the themes can be seen in todays business leaders.

What price would you put on learning the secrets to success?

I am giving this away FREE to the 100th subscriber

So do your friends and colleagues a favor and invite them to SydneyNetworkers.net by logging in and clicking ‘Invite.’