Vin writes a monthly column for the IndUS Business Journal. Those articles can be found on our Virtual Business page. Articles appearing in other publications are shown below.
Tracking revenue per employee provides an interesting view into how well a company is run. The best run companies have high revenue per employee figures. What about yours? Pay your employees to think and enhance value. Let computers perform the brainless activities. Here's what you need to do. (Sales and Service Excellence)
Buying a new business software package or upgrading an existing one is an expensive proposition under any circumstance, and the final tally is likely to be much more than you think. Selecting the wrong business software presents can result in lost business. Follow the steps outlined below and you'll make the right choice. (Consulting to Management)
As life sciences firms and their laboratories grow increasingly automated, equipment failures and system problems become commonplace. In larger work environments, daily struggles with technology are routine. Simple, standalone devices are a dying breed being replaced by intelligent, networked systems. (Mass High Tech)
As offices and laboratories grow increasingly automated, problems become commonplace. Standalone instruments are a dying breed being replaced by networked devices. The lack of interoperability among this smorgasbord of devices is often a source of frustration. Here is how to get help. (IT Horizons (BI&T))
Much is written about managing IT projects but little is written about managing a collection of IT projects. Large corporations have many active information technology (IT) projects at any given time. 40% or more will fail. What is going on? Let us look at this from an entirely new and different direction. (Handbook of Business Strategy)
About 60% of businesses that experience a major disaster close within two years. By being trained and prepared, the impact of any disastrous event can be contained and near normal operations restored in a matter of hours. Here's what you need to do. (Boston Business Journal)
There are significant objections to overcome before open-source software can be broadly adopted across enterprises. These issues aren't insurmountable, but they need to be adequately addressed before open-source can go head to head with the major proprietary software vendors. (ComputerWorld)
Software users don't know what they want, so how can IT professionals? Like it or not, you must pull ideas out of users' heads and move everyone toward a common goal. (ComputerWorld)
Often, lowering cost and improving service are diametrically opposed. But within the IT Help Desk, implementation of best practices and prudent use of information technology can achieve the impossible. (IndUS Business Journal)
Most businesses don't set up an IT Help Desk function until it becomes painfully apparent that it's needed. But waiting for the pain to develop could cost you plenty. (IndUS Business Journal)
If a critical part of your business was knocked out of commission for a few days, would your business survive? How much business would you lose? How quickly could you recover? (Handbook of Business Strategy)
Applying simple analysis techniques to the information you already have about customers and suppliers can make your business much more effective. (IndUS Business Journal)
This article defines a simple process for tuning your business strategy to take greater advantage of the World Wide Web. It's not just about strategy, however. You need to execute! (American Management Association)
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it! Be selective about the information you decide to capture and monitor. Then put a plan in place to do it on an ongoing basis. (Handbook of Business Strategy)
Creating application and network architectures to support e-commerce transactions is very complex. Following the best practices outlined in this presentation makes it easier. (NE eCommerce Users Group)
A commonly used measure of management efficiency is revenue per employee. This metric varies widely from industry to industry and company to company but provides an interesting view into how well a company is run.
You probably hear much about "open source" software. This article provides some definitions and background around software development and distribution. Open source could save you money!
Joint Requirements Planning, sometimes called Joint Application Design, really works...if done properly. With the right people and the right technique, this can reduce your project failure risk.
Time, cost and scope. The three variables for any project. Many people believe that if you tightly control all three, your project will succeed. WRONG!
BPM (Business Process Management) is a "Big, Pricey, Monster." BPM has been around a long time. The space has attracted a lot of vendors, none of whom have been particularly successful. Why?
Even very small companies have multiple function areas or departments, some of which may be outsourced. These departments use different software packages that need to inter-operate, or else!
A simple "one size fits all" process that anyone can use doesn't exist. But, there are steps you can take and guidelines you can follow to define a process that will make your organization more successful.
But Wait There's More!
We have assembled a collection of links called DAMICON's List of Open Software. Over 50 commercial software categories are shown with their open-source software equivalents. Check it out. You'll be amazed!
The world wide web is a big place. If you believe you know of a site comparable to one on our list, we'd like to hear from you. Just drop us an email.
We make a good faith effort to verify this list periodically. We add or delete sites as the situation warrants. Hopefully, you'll find something of interest to you on the list.
Please take some time to review the material we've written or referred you to. The world of software technology and its application to business situations is very complex.
These articles and links can help you gain improved insight into that complexity. If you have questions or comments about any of these resources, please let us know.
Also, if you have any suggestions for topics you'd like to see us explore here, please contact us.
If the topic has broad-based appeal to our clients, we'll write about it or at least provide you with a link to relevant information.
This web page is intended to be a useful resource for clients and visitors alike. Take advantage of it!
