July 20, 2010

How To Reduce IT Costs and Stress

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy, Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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How can your small- to mid-sized business drastically reduce Information Technology (IT) costs and minimize the stresses of dealing with IT?  The answer is in the clouds.

Almost a year ago we completely eliminated our Exchange and Sharepoint servers.  Those two applications managed our e-mails and documents.

What replaced them?  Google Apps.  We quickly and easily moved all of our e-mail, documents, spreadsheets, images and presentations up to Google’s servers in the cloud.

My favorite part of Google Apps is a component called Google Sites.  Google Sites gives us the ability to setup a site for every project and share that site with our customers and business partners.  Sites make collaborating with the project team more effective by providing a real-time project management tool.

Let’s say that your design team and distribution center is in the Unites States and your manufacturing plant is in Mexico.  A Site could be created each time your company creates a new design.  Everyone on your project team would have the appropriate access to project scope documents, design images and the issues list.  Since these documents are maintained in real-time on the Site, management would have constant access regarding whether or not the project is staying on track.

So, how exactly does Google Apps reduce costs and stress?

Using Google Apps eliminates license fees for software such as Exchange and Sharepoint and it eliminates the need to pay IT costs to support and upgrade these applications.

There are two versions of Google Apps:  Standard and Premier.  The Standard version is free.  We elected to go with the Premier version at $50/user/year.  The Premier version provides us with additional storage space (25GB as opposed to 7.4GB) and includes spam filtering and virus scanning.

Because you are able to leverage Google’s virtual servers, you no longer have to worry about technical issues with servers at your site.  We were able to get rid of all but one server (and our goal is to get rid of it as well).  Not having to deal with servers was a huge reduction in stress for our company.

Are there downsides?  Of course.  We have experienced occasional periods of sluggish performance.  And without internet access it is a little tough to connect to the cloud.

If you are a real Excel power-user you may be disappointed in the functionality of the Google Apps spreadsheet.

However, here is the beauty of these types of Apps:  they are constantly being upgraded (sometimes daily).  The upgrades happen without any effort on your part and they are included in the annual price.

Will they eventually catch up to the functionality level of Microsoft Office?  Yes they will.  And I think they will surpass that functionality in the not too distant future.

Is your company using Google Apps?  If so, what has been your experience?

If not, why not?

 

May 7, 2010

Sage Insights Session – GEN24 – ROWE for Small Businesses: Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy | Tags: , , , , , |
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Sage is holding their annual partner conference, Insights, in Denver, CO in May. Becky Krause, Director of Human Resources for Sage, and I are presenting a session at the conference entitled ROWE for Small Businesses: Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It (GEN24) on Wednesday, May 19th at 8:00am.

Although this conference is only available to Sage partners, I will be posting a recording of our recent Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) webinar to this blog. Everyone is invited to view that recording.

Becky has invited the Sage partners who have registered for this session to comment on this article to encourage the sharing of ideas, opinions and questions about ROWE. Our goal is to make the session a collaborative one and to make sure we cover the topics of the most interest to the group. Here is the abstract from the Insights website:

Learn why works sucks for you and your employees and how to fix it. Just ROWE! Creating a Results-Only Work Environment frees your workforce from traditional corporate shackles to focus on and deliver strong business results. Attend this session to learn how to transform your culture from one that measures contribution by the number of hours worked to one that measures performance by the business results achieved. Do you know ROWE? Attend this session to understand why the ROI for your business cannot be ignored.

Since this session is an interactive one, we are encouraging dialog about why and how ROWE is the future for all knowledge workers. We will also talk about the concept that knowledge workers are volunteers. Meaning that all of us “employ” volunteers.

In order to prepare for this session, we recommend that you read Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. If you would like to learn more about the concept of the knowledge worker, we recommend that you read The Firm of The Future by Ron Baker. And attend Ed Kless’ Insights sessions on Wednesday, May 19th from 1:30pm to 5:30pm (GEN52)

Please let us know what your thoughts, ideas and opinions about ROWE. And if there are some other topics you would like to talk about, please feel free to let us know in the comments section.

 

March 26, 2010

New Webinar Added – Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It

Posted by amontgomery999 under Business Strategy, Why Hire Aries? | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Join us on April 29th when we will talk about creating a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) and how working in a ROWE can improve your whole outlook on life.

Based on the book by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, creators of ROWE, the webinar will offer insights into how your job could be:

  1. No Required Meetings!
  2. No Rigid Work Schedules!
  3. No Structured Vacation/Sick/Personal Policies!

Ed Kless, Senior Director of Partner Development & Strategy at Sage, will interview John Shaver, President of Aries Technology Group, on the definition of ROWE, how it is being used successfully, how it is benefiting Aries and how it can benefit your company.

Red Register

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/180710952

 

March 12, 2010

New Webinar – PlanetTogether’s Scheduling Optimizes your Resources

Posted by amontgomery999 under Business Strategy, Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Join us for a Webinar on August 11

PlanetTogether’s Scheduling Optimizes your Resources

  • Advanced Planning & Scheduling systems save time and money
  • Allocate work to your resources based on your rules and requirements
  • Consider resource and material availability to enable better decisions
  • Coordinate sales, production, purchasing, and management with an interactive manufacturing plan
  • Connect your existing ERP and business systems
Title: PlanetTogether’s Scheduling Optimizes your Resources
Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/699755968

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March 11, 2010

New Webinar – 17 Things You Should Be Doing Right Now To Reduce Outstanding Accounts Receivable

Posted by amontgomery999 under Business Strategy, Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Join us for a Webinar on April 7

17 Things You Should Be Doing Right Now To Reduce Outstanding Accounts Receivable

1.  Create A Plan
2.  Provide Timely & Accurate Information
3.  Develop KPIs
4.  Define Roles
5.  Standardize Messaging
6.  Document Activities
7.  Define Dispute Resolution Procedures
8.  Centralize Data & Communications
9.  Manage Your Resources
10.  Score Customers Using Cost of Credit
11.  Be Proactive
12.  Focus on Key Accounts
13.  Automate Business Processes
14.  Secure Financial Information
15.  Involve Your Sales Team
16.  Escalate Trouble Accounts
17.  Work as a Team

Title: 17 Things You Should Be Doing Right Now To Reduce Outstanding Accounts Receivable
Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/839814768

image1

 

February 3, 2010

Announcing the Aries Webinar Series

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy, Technology, What's ahead for Sage and Sage Products?, Why Hire Aries? | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Join us for the inaugural Aries Webinar on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 11am EST.  The topic for this month’s webinar is focused on sales tax audit challenges and solutions to protect your company.

The Aries Webinar Series is a monthly educational webinar series which will focus on technology and general business subjects relevant to small and medium-sized businesses.  You can view the schedule for upcoming webinars along with a description of the topic by visiting the webinar section of our website.

These webinars will be presented by Aries team members and by featured guests.  Some of the future topics are:

  • Sales tax audit challenges and solutions to protect your company
  • 17 things you should be doing right now to reduce outstanding accounts receivable balances
  • Do you want to increase cash, profitability, sales and company value?  Learn from Johnny Gates, a partner with www.b2bcfo.com, how he has helped small and medium-sized businesses achieve those goals.
  • How can my company benefit from an internet marketing strategy?  Chad Barr, president of CB Software, will demystify internet strategies and explain how internet marketing, if used properly, can be a valuable and cost-effective tool for your business.
  • Are the costs and stresses of managing your network, workstations and servers keeping you awake at night?  Hosting and managed networks may be the answer.  Brian Strong from Claris Networks will talk about how to reduce those costs under control and get rid of the stress of dealing with IT issues.

Here are the details for the first webinar:

 

August 19, 2009

New Software = Open Heart Surgery

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy, Why Hire Aries? | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Recently our friends at Microsoft Business Solutions (Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Axapta) have been attacking Sage and their partners from a truly odd angle.  Apparently the folks at MBS think that businesses purchase accounting, inventory, manufacturing, human resources and customer-relationship management software based on whichever software vendor is currently running a sale on their respective products.

For a business, implementing a new software system is just as invasive, complicated and risky as it is for a human to go through triple bypass open heart surgery.  In both cases, the patient could very well die!  Many businesses have been put out of business by software implementations gone sour.

I posed this question to several of our MAS 90, MAS 200, MAS 500 and Abra customers:  If a Microsoft (or any other software) representative called or came by your office today and offered you their software for free, would you be interested?  The answers are a unanimous NO.  Just like the kids in the Lio cartoon below, they are not interested in open heart surgery for their business even if the doctor gives it away for free.

Would you go to a doctor who discounts or offers a buy one/get one free surgical procedure?  I don’t think many of us would be interested.  So, why would any business purchase a software implementation based on price?  Especially when that software becomes such an integral and vital part of that business that it cannot live for long without the software functioning properly.

I seek out the doctors who have new patient waiting lists of several months.  They’re the best ones and they are almost always the most expensive and the most successful.  The same goes for technology consultants.  Do you really want to work with software from a consultant who isn’t busy and can only compete based on price?  Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

And notice how many customers Dr. Lio brought in with his free offer.Lio

 

August 17, 2009

Honor System for Time Sheets? Only At Church!

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy, Travels and Adventures, Why Hire Aries? | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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 While visiting Charleston, SC this past weekend, my family and I stopped by the Cathedral of St John the Baptist.  It’s a beautiful Gothic cathedral which began construction in 1890 and is still a work in process.  Currently, its Connecticut brownstone exterior is being renovated and a spire is being added.

What also caught my attention are the markings on each and every one of the brownstone bricks.  Since there obviously were no electronic time keeping systems in the 19th century, the stone masons kept track of their time on an honor system.  For each day of work they completed, they would imprint one star into a brick.  The church elders were confident that none of the workers would cheat on their time because they were working on a church.  Who would dare to pull a scam on God, right?

Unfortuntely technology projects are not churches.  Time sheets and billing by the hour are fertile territory for cheating.  Rarely are time sheets accurate which means that you rarely receive an accurate bill from a consultant who bills by the hour.  In almost every situation, a consultant is compensated based on the number of billable hours she or he generates.  Where does that put you if you are their customer?  In a very unholy position!

How do you avoid being in this predicament?  Insist on an up-front, fixed price for every project before you move forward.  The consultant should be focused on your desired results and should not care how long it takes to accomplish those goals.

 

August 10, 2009

What Is Your Company’s “Experience”?

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Last week I went to get my hair cut at Belleza Salon in Knoxville.  I’ve been going to Belleza every 4 weeks since 2002 and highly recommend their services.  My most recent trip was a little different than any other previous trip, however.

I showed up a few minutes early for my appointment (I know it’s hard to believe that John was actually early for something!) and was greeted by stylist extrordinaire Rob Davis.  Rob told me that the customer ahead of me had shown up late so he was running behind.  He apologized and offered a free salon treatment while I was waiting.  Being a guy, I was a little apprehensive.  Was I really interested in a hand treatment?  After a little deliberation, I decided to take the offer.

 I sat down for my treatment and met Holli Brockwell who explained the process.  She offered a card that is good for $20 off of a facial treatment.  Again, being a guy, my response was that I ‘m not interested in that but my wife definitely would be.  Holli said that was not a problem and that my wife could use the card anytime.  And she offered a great suggestion:  Go ahead and book the appointment for my wife, prepay for it and surprise her.  Holli didn’t approach this like a sales person.  Rather, she made sure the Belleza experience was exactly what you would expect from a high-end salon. 

While I was getting my treatment, I noticed that several other customers were getting the same treatment.  The thought crossed my mind that Rob wasn’t really running late at all and that this was a smart marketing move on Belleza’s part.  What a great way to show even a long-time customer that they are capable of much more than just hair cuts.  And of course, what guy isn’t going to take the suggestion of setting up a day at the spa for his wife or girlfriend?

What type of experience do you provide to your customers?  Even if your business’s products are not easily differentiated from your competitors, you can always differentiate by creating an experience that your customers enjoy and look forward to.  Many of your customers may not be aware of all of your company’s capabilities.  There are many creative and innovative ways, like the approach taken by Belleza, to make sure they know about everything you can provide to them.  The art is to create an experience that customers will want to return to.

 

June 5, 2009

Social Marketing and Small Business

Posted by John Shaver under Business Strategy | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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A recent New York Times article by Mickey Meece entitled Small Businesses Are Taking Tentative Steps Toward Online Networking highlights the incredible opportunities that can be created for small and medium-sized businesses by using social networking.

While I am a firm believer that now is the time to focus more effort on becoming effective marketers, I also understand that budgets are tighter.  Technology in the form of social networking offers many fast, effective and free methods of attracting new business to your company.

We began using social networking services (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook) to promote Aries in mid-2008.  Our experience has been that being active with these services results in dramatically increased search engine optimization (SEO), greater exposure to the community and heightened credibility with our customers and prospective customers.

Yes, these services are free from a hard cost perspective.  However, they are only valuable to your customers and prospective customers if you actively maintain them and if you provide valuable content in them.  One of my favorite ways to make sure that we remain active with social networking services is to contribute to this blog on a regular and frequent basis.  All of these sites have tools to allow you to update them from your blog.  The idea here is to make the majority of your changes in one place and have those changes automatically updated to many different services.

Social networking, when done properly, is a great way to move from the traditional and rapidly-becoming-outdated outbound marketing model to an inbound marketing model.  In other words, by providing valuable content through these services, customers will be attracted to you.  This is a much more effective marketing model than sending out direct mailings and placing print/radio/tv ad’s and it’s certainly much less expensive.

Sage also realizes the importance and power of social networking.  They recently launched www.sagespark.com to offer free social networking services for small businesses.  Rob King, VP of strategic marketing at Sage North America, puts it into perspective:  social networking is here to stay and those businesses who take advantage of it will be successful.

Any of our customers who would like more details about how they might be able to apply social networking to their business, feel free to give us a call.  It’s one more advantage to our unlimited support agreements.

And if you would like to keep up with what we are doing with social networks, you can connect with us on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/johnfshaver), follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/john_shaver) or check out my Facebook profile (www.facebook.com/johnfshaver).  Regarding Twitter, I always follow anyone who follows me.

 

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