Do you have a business problem?

Running a business is an ongoing challenge. There is constant change in technology, in the structure of communities, in customer requirements. New problems crop up all the time.

I see stress in people as these new problems come up. You can no longer solve the problems in the same way you did last year. You come up over the hill of solving one problem and think that you can relax, but you can't. Another problem is there waiting for you.

You can approach it in two ways:

• Continue to think of it as a problem, and continue to get stressed by the problems.
• Look at it as an opportunity. Every problem is an opportunity in disguise. Every problem creates the opportunity to learn, to solve a problem in a better way, so thata it doesn't come up again.

Opportunities create excitement and interest. Wouldn't you rather go around being excited about opportunities, excited about learning new things, meeting new people, identifying even more opportunities?

The difference between problems and opportunities is attitude. What affects your attitude is your ability to focus. If you don't have a goal and focus on achieving that goal, every problem is an independent issue and doesn't really mean anything to you, other than being a problem.

If you have a goal and you know what the problem is stopping you from achieving, then it is no longer a problem. Overcoming it is an opportunity to reach your goal.

Do everything computer support

I've recently read a number of ads and articles from ccomputer support companies that claim that they can provide all of your computer support from hardware and software purchases to strategic planning to website development.

In this day and age, technology is changing and growing rapidly. In order to stay up to date, you must specialize. When you try to sell your services to a customer, what is he impressed with?

• The fact that you can do anything, but not particularly well?
• The fact that you are a specialist and you can solve his or her problem the fastest?

No single person or company can be the best at everything. With the frustrations that most of us face with computers, it is tempting to "abdicate" our responsibilities as business owners to the kid down the street who is comfortable with computers.

Don't do it! He will be managing your business for you!

Even companies that get into this and try to do everything can't be good at it. Even if they have enough staff to keep up-to-date on everything, every company needs a focus. They need to be known to be REALLY GOOD at one thing. They may be able to do other things for you, but they work best for you if they help you to find other specialists.

On top of that, there are three different types of consultant or support that can be valuable for you. They are:

• Computer and technology support
• Business planning support for effective use of technology.
• Websites

These three types are very different, and someone who is really good at one, is unlikely to be really good at another, because they are very different skillsets.

• Websites are not about technology, they are about marketing. Any technician can build a website, but if it doesn't produce a return on investment, it is not worth the price that you paid for it.
• Business planning for technology is not about technology, it is about business results. If you buy software and it doesn't produce a return on investment, it is a waste.
• Computer and technology support is not about fixing computers, it is about keeping your systems up and running, so that the other investments that you make can produce the return on investment that you expect.

The next time somebody tells you that they can do it all, run for the nearest exit! Find somebody that has your interests at heart and get help you to meet your goals, not try to be everything at the lowest price. You can afford the cost.

• some support companies tell you they do everything.

Too much specialization, can't do anything well.

Eliminate the frustration - Part 2

Many business people are frustrated by the problems that we have with computers. They don't do what we want, they have problems, they are complex to learn and understand. They take time away from running our business.

My whole career has been spent in IT, and I feel that way as well. I know how to go about solving these problems and I still get frustrated, because they get in my way.

The other day, I described how a good computer support company can improve the quality of service that you get. Today I want to take a look at another side of the problem and describe what you can do as a small business owner to solve these problems. I will not describe any technical solution, because I know that this would simply frustrate you more and take you away from what you really want to do. Go find that supplier! This relates to what you can do in your business.

In order to address this, I have to start with the attitude of most small business owners. When we go out to buy software, we want to OWN it. OWNING IT puts us in control. Or so we think. If we own it, then we can do whatever we want with it. When we rent it, we pay and pay and pay. So we want to own it.

Microsoft and other PC software suppliers love us for this. Because we buy and install our own software, they can upgrade it and even though we think we can put off the upgrade, they know that in order for people to work together, they often must have the same version. And look what they do to us. We can't buy the old version, so they make major changes to it, causing us a huge amount of effort to change. Look at the Vista fiasco. Not only were there many problems, but we had to relearn everything. Huge cost for NO VALUE. Problem #1.

Windows is a messy system and every time you install something, you update the registry. The more installs and deletes of software, the messier it gets. Not only that, but every software supplier is responsible for cretaing the "package" to install their own software. Some do it well, some make a mess. I worked with a large business to improve the installation process to prevent errors. We had to repackage everything to make it work properly.

Who is responsible for solving this problem? You are! All of these software developers are creating this problem and they want you, the computer user to solve it.

The more change you make on your PC, the more space is taken up, the more problems are potentially created, the more support problems you will have. Unless you feel that you are in a position to solve the problems created by software suppliers, you should be looking for another way.

Wouldn't you know it? There is one. And that future is being discussed by many technicians today, and many suppliers. They call it Software as a Service (SoaS. As a business owner, you don't care about SoaS and this is the last time I'll talk about it. But the benefits to the small business are significant, and that is what you should be interested in.

The solution and its benefits will be described in my next post.

Eliminate the frustration of managing computers - Part 1

As a small business owner, it is difficult to get the expertise necessary to manage computers well. The cost of an experienced technician is too high and even if you could afford to hire him or her, you couldn't keep them happy or satisfied.

Hiring a computer support company is a better and cheaper solution. They have the expertise and can solve problems much faster than a less experienced person. The good news is that this improves your productivity, because your computers are down less time.

As small business owners, we are often concerned that we can afford the downtime while we wait for a technician to get on site. The problems can be solved by the time that the technician arrives. If you are having this problem, then you have the wrong supplier. A good support company manages your computers for you and prevents these problems from occuring. This means that you have fewer incidents and therefore you don't need immediate response.

Most suppliers today also have remote management tools. They can diagnose and resolve problems without coming on site. With the preventative maintenance and remote support, you get more reliable service and faster response at a cheaper rate.

Why would anyone not want to have this? There is only one issue here. And that is the relationship with your supplier. Unfortunately many suppliers see themselves as technicians and not as partners in your business. You get the most value if they treat your business issues as their issues and help you to solve them, without costing you a fortune. This is an area where an employee may have a different attitude, or at least you might help them to learn to have a different attitude.

Having a supplier that you can trust and cares about your business is a great solution. But there is another question. Why do you need so much support and preventative maintenance? Why can't those computers just run.

To quote Jef Raskin, a human/computer interface expert:
"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining."

There are a lot of reasons why we have these problems. But this is another topic and I'll describe them in a future entry.


the problems of PC based applications.

What do you expect from your IT supplier?

A recent incident with a client, brings me to this discussion and what a business should expect from their IT supplier.

This IT supplier advertises themselves as a small business' IT department.

First, some background. This client is very non-technical as are many small businesses. I had helped to define the original requirements, since the organization didn't have the understanding of what they required. The supplier installed the complete suite of hardware and software, and had recommended the anti-virus, backup hardware and software, etc. So they knew and understood the situation completely and knew the skill levels of the staff.

When the organization needed to expand, they purchased an additional 3 PCs. They knew that they wanted Microsoft Office and specified the additional licenses. What they didn't understand was how the Anti-Virus licenses worked. When they ordered the PCs, the supplier did not say anything, just ordered exactly what was asked and installed the additional PCs with no Anti-Virus. Of course they encountered a problem, after which the supplier said "well, you didn't order the Anti-Virus".

For an organization that advertises itself as "your IT department", this is unacceptable. As far as I'm concerned, it is unacceptable for any supplier.

As the specialists, we need to help our clients do what is best for them. They don't know or understand the complexities of IT and they shouldn't have to. If we are to do the job, we need to understand the client's needs and specify exactly what is needed to address the problem, clearly (non-technical) the issues, the benefits and risks of the recommendations. If the client is willing to take the risk because of the costs involved, we need to understand and offer them options which mitigate those risks.

I doubt if any client would risk losing their business because of a $35 expenditure.

This is just another case of poor customer service.



Talk about the issue of buying a computer and not being told that they need anti-virus

Justifying IT projects

In many cases, IT projects get initiated with a wish list. There is a legitimate business need behind the project. The business defines that business need, but can't necessarily articulate it to the technical staff and/or suppliers. The business generally know what they are trying to achieve, but because there is no detailed definition, it is simply a wish.

These wishes need to be turned into plans. If you want to get more sales, many software suppliers will tell you to install Customer Relationship Management software (CRM). While CRM can help to improve sales, it is not a magic bullet. Just because you want it, doesn't make it happen. So far it's just a wish.

How do you change that wish into a reality? Sticking with CRM, the way it helps to increase sales, is that it helps you to improve your relationship with your customers. It provides the capability to track every interaction with your customer, no matter who talks to them, using whatever vehicle: phone, email, letter, even web. The software doesn't do it by itself, it provides the tools to do it.

Implementing CRM may totally change the roles and responsibility of your sales and support staff, as well as change the way your software works. If you justify the project based on the software aspects, you will get many of the costs, but few of the benefits.

In order to create a plan, you have to start with understanding how you will increase sales. If your intent is not to increase sales with existing customers, then CRM will be of no value.

If you do intend to increase sales to existing customers, then CRM software may be a solution. What benefits can be gained? Do you see a 10%, 20% gain? What else will have to change in terms of roles and responsibilities, other software, etc., for you to make that gain.

Most technology staff and suppliers will help you to install the software, but few will address the issues of how the business will have to change and what you will have to do to measure whether it is working. You may also end up implementing a lot more than you have to, to achieve your goals. Most software products have far more features than most companies need.

Even if you successfully implement the software and successfully gain the benefits that you expect, you may end up installing far more than you need and paying a much higher cost.

The biggest issue is justification of the expenditure. Start with the business goal. Then lay out a plan that shows how you will achieve it. This will define the benefit you will receive AND what components or activities are necessary to achieve it and what will provide the biggest benefit Then figure out the cost, and see how the costs map to the benefits. Drop anything that doesn't have a high benefit to cost.

This will get you out of the issue of dealing with all of the extraneous technical issues, the options that provide no value.

Does Software make you feel like a victim?

When business owners look at software, they are looking for solutions to their business problems. The software supplier describes the benefits in specific detail and often will describe how others are getting great business value from the software. You're sold. You buy the software.

If the solution was as good as you were told, then why are so many people frustrated by the experience?

There are the techies of course/ They enjoy the challenge of digging into a software product and seeing how it works. The more difficult it is to find, the more they enjoy it. But the people who enjoy it are a very small part of the population. The rest of us live with the consequences.

I have a long background in software. I've done software development. I've done software support. I've managed technical staff in mainframe hardware and software, as well as PCs and servers. I've managed staff in voice and data communications.

In all of these jobs, I've often found challenges in getting the results that I was looking for. I enjoyed the challenge of developing the solution, but often been frustrated by the experience. The software is seldom written for the average person. It is written by techies for techies. That why the average person is frustrated and feels like a victim.

I've developed a solution that has worked for me, in overcoming the frustration, the technobabble and working effectively with technical staff.

The are 5 simple steps to achieving business outcomes from business software. But first, you have to make a decision. Do you want to remain a victim?