Information Systems & IT: The Big Business Asset....Today

e-Transformation: Can someone tell me what is?

2006-04-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

Lately, I haven't been able to write down ideas related my work field and of interests, but there were some lapsus in my professional life that is surely going to focus on services.

Some time ago, while I was doing tha master at IE I just remember that some professors recalled the "Convergence" movement in the IT industry as an industrial phenomenum which was an output of the industry to give customer a new value-added service.

Well, the new challenge job today represents that objective in an well-known local company for the IT industry. Theses weeks have shown a well-view of the status in this field. The company for which I worked has been recognized as an expensive software and hardware provider. Though, the business role has changed. The IT services demands goes further the product they have given to customers.

One of the symptoms which I considered very important, is that though the CEO and the Services Areas surely have a clear idea of the new product-set to develop, the commercial area which is a root to make customers understand the value-added does not have. For instance, for some executives the value-added comes from giving more software, or hardware and sometimes demands from me an standard solution for a customized one. That is where the sales executive fails, until it will be stood their customer's real business and where the produ-service fit.

Hope theses weeks that comes the new challenges and the hard experience understand where the company is going to. Services in the Information Systems area is experiencing a new way to see IT in companies for sure. and moreover for well-know IT companies the challenge is harder to pursue.

CIO's and IT Services: New Way

2006-04-06T18:52:00.000-06:00

Every company and organization around the globe has evolved not only in the business roles but also in the structure. As cultures, and evolution in human kind, you will find new challenges, find new needs and find new products to take over these needs.

Chief Information Officer started as responsible for the operational and solutions regarding technology. Some companies as Banking have found that is not only a support area but also a strategic areas in diverse product-services they hand in. Other business found them as expense the company should get into to improve effectiveness and competitiveness, and the worse of all just as "air du temp" solution.

Even though the vision, many CIOs have become powerful in the area they have had. I do not know, some time ago I considered it was someone who can provide competitive advantages by giving strategic solutions with technology. Probably, the vision remains the same, but as light it could become a service can be provided by outsourcing.

Once, I wrote about Outsourcing and competitive advantages in companies, I just believe service are becoming an important partner giving them IT Services (light-services), with a better price/solution. The CIO's in some cases are probably going to evolve to a more competitive part of the operational area, as a support giving ideas about how information can be more effective to understand customers, services. Technology, some time ago is a commodity that if not well focused to produce better information is not going to give any value-added to any company. CIO's and sometimes other staff area should understand that now is not about managing IT asset (knowing about Databases, Networking), is about getting better knowledge of through connecting information inside the company. CIO's this new era you must evolve to think about getting creative ideas to transform business through technnology, not managing it.

IT Outsourcing and Sales Proposals

2006-04-04T18:57:00.000-06:00

As many of my readers know today, that I am currently working in an area for an IT well-known company in the market. It is very interesting the field, the company is in the run to launch new IT services for diverse types of companies.
However, a challenge right here for the sales area is that even though, the experience is merely based on a transactional sales of software, or a total solutions as heard, it is very clear the idea that the company should transfer to the sales area if they want to raise revenues.

An important fact for this area in way to develop the business, is that sales should understand more business competences and areas rather than just offer a solution itself. Services, and moreover outsourcing is now based on strategical solutions. Solutions that lead a company to cut-off costs, improve revenue (from services in CRM, SCM, or strategical IT integrated solutions to get closer to customer).

By now, it is a duty and a challenge to make an e-transformation for companies, but inside the company the most important thing is to make them understand the broad band they are selling.

Yesterday, somebody came to me, and told me many things this person faces every day with the market and the customers. Many companies, outside looks out as sales somebody who bothers. It is true, confidence and trust is very important as the person told me, but in this type of business role in services, the word is not based in trust it is in reliability ,the capacity to give you a real-business improvement by supporting your role and solution.

Here again, the convergence model between hardware and software providers and the enterprise consultancy is designing a new way to play cards in the market for the next years.

Windows Vista: A Linux Evolution!

2006-04-01T10:35:00.000-06:00

Windows Vista, the new Microsoft Windows Operating System version has been put off to a new date in March 2007. But hear this, some people is going to faint, Windows is going to incorporate its kernel to the new Vista version (The Tech Journal). As you hear, at a press conference Bill Gates had this to say "We are very excited at the new direction of Windows Vista".With help from Novell and IBM we have leveraged the Linux kernel and have built our GUI as a Window Manager on top of X.org."

But the new is not only going to stay there, today Linus Torvalds the Linux Kernel creator is going to become the New Strategic Platform President. Incredible, it looks like the path in convergence is not only happening at the Telco and Media areas, but also with operating platforms. At the end, both failures in products are going to be complemented. Linux will afford to Microsoft Operating System better architectural and efficence features, probably to support the decreasement in efficency. And Microsoft will provide its user-friendly desktop features to manipulate operating systems to Linux.

Having a marketing opinion, Microsoft wins another battle with the designment of new product that will deliver new business opportunities probably in other markets that were not believers in Microsoft products. From a consumer point-of-view, it is remarkably important to understand that even though Linux has become as another alternative, the Open Source movement has not been able to promote an enterprise that really corresponds to the consumer needs. As one IE strategic professor said once, "I am aware that Microsoft has always had good enterprise market strategies, but as a world citizen is something that awares that there area no more options".

If you want to look further, Open Office the open source office for desktop applications will be another melting instance in Microsoft Products. During this type of news, it just comes to my mind what about the price and the strategy that Microsoft will formulate from now on to have in revenue its products, since they will hold a Microsoft Shared License. Eventually, I do expect something outstanding in Microsoft's new model to get us locked-in as Customers.

Attitude Change: Fed Ex Example Management

2006-03-23T15:58:00.000-06:00

One of the things I have seen in many but many companies, it is the seasonable attitude of Managers, who believe that they have deserved their positions due to what they are and not for what they do. Look these thing, and tell me if you haven't seen this attitude before.

Cheers.

Blogs, Enterprise Knowledge & Customer Experience

2006-03-20T12:54:00.000-06:00

Regardless I have not yet written anything related with Blogs and the Blogsphere, I think today is a good chance to summarize the importance since some recent news and new situations that they have risen up. First of all, blogs has always been a spot to speak with total freedom about related topics such as I do with the ideas and commentaries about Enterprises and the Technology within.

Some of them have been very atracttive to a network of people who follow-up a topic such as Enrique Dans in Spain, and hence they have a power in opinions. Well, blogs at the end are becoming part not only of individual subject matters but also image, informational power and opinions to someone. Blogs now put Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management at the border of real product opinions, such as the cases of Dell, where a blog in USA (Dell's Blog Hell) has risen different commentaries related with its desktop products and service delivery.

Another example but related with employment has been with Trabajo Basura where they have risen a blog opinions about the real corporate enviroment, job contracts and management styles in many of the spanish companies. Moreover, this has lead that if somebody searches in Google the name of the last top Trash Company rating in this blog, you will find the many complaints cases of job contracts and other managment missguided instances.

I strongly still believe that image corporation is not only delivered by a Social Responsability Programme, or a well-organized support call center, or time-delivery product delivery. It goes further, today managers from companies have to follow-up Internet and Blogs as a point to take in Customer Feedback, and realized that if you miss out opinions in every area moreover Internet, Companies will not be able to react and determine what real customer experience they have to deliver to the real customers.

For the companies enviroment, do you think that they will have a better staff if you find out that most of the staff is complaining about how they work. I will think about buying a product twice if I find that the customer staff is not well motivated and that any support for a product will be determined with a drawback service due to a lack of interest and motivation within.

So, companies and managers I feel that today the challenge goes beyond numbers, financial metrics and marketing data researchs and feelings, it goes with the capability to move beyond and looking around internet.

Knowledge Outsourcing? Further than Proccess?

2006-03-16T10:16:00.000-06:00

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is taking over in many industries such as Information Technology industries, accounting and sometimes manufacturing. Outsourcing has become an important part of a company to cut-off costs, and improve profitability within.

Now comes the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). Some of the examples presented area the ones related with the Customer Intelligence which a third-business partners takes out historical information and data from a company, outsources the analyzing and datamining techniques and hands in a detailed strategical report. Moreover, a white paper relates this growing in areas such as Pharma, Engineering, Biotech or Management Services. Subsequently, this type of market will emerge in 2010 with a US$ 17 Billion in revenue.

Having in consideration that Knowledge or/and Processes constitute an asset which designs and delivers a differentiated product at any company, will it be considerable to pull out part of that knowledge to a business-partner.

For long time, many companies considered IT Departments as non-valued added to outsource.

Regardless, some companies like rent-a-car did not realize that an underlying process such as software development was an strategical proccess which helps to speed service competitiveness in the customer rental services. So, what happens with knowledge if it by itself does not compell to have a boundarie unlikely a proccess which is more tangible to identify in any strategical decision.

I believe that considering this type of services now, there is got to be an evolutionary process to get into it, and I am not totally aware if the options outsourcing companies, world-class legislation and finally the capacity of the Knowledge Management staff in-company are aware of the risks to tranfer knowledge.

Evolution in many world-class companies is just by now stating: how to manage knowledge?

Remember, knowledge is an strategical way of delivering a product, a service and a business in any world company. KPO, sounds interesting but if I want to keep on making a difference, knowledge is an area that one should think more than twice to transfer.

Project Management & Transferable Skills: Beyond Knowledge

2006-03-10T14:53:00.000-06:00

During these days I have been very identified with the Donald Trump Tv programe The Apprentice. I have found something all over my Project Management career: beyond my technical knowledges the challenges of organizing, leading, designing, and delivering work (projects) have much in common; regardless of the domain area. Truth but wise. And I would like them to share with you according with the things I have found out and learned during this frame time:

1. Courage. Moreover the missfortune I have faced directly during these months, the self-confidence on what you look for as target is the only thing that matters because it pulls out your courage to keep up. For example, even though the time of experience or the knowledge that someone learned, I have found people that sticks around the ideas they believe (because of experience, because it is that way) without quetioning it. The lack of courage to move from where they are now is unhelpful today. So, do you think someone with that type of character wil inspire others? I don't think so. It just states the comfortability of the person, the idea that "I am going to be The Apprentice because I am just different from others" and miss out that to get where you want to get the only thing to inspire others, get work done and to state target is to pull back your sleeves with others to clear that there is a target to work for. And for that thing what is needed is COURAGE to face it.

2. Become Trustful to others. True but hard. Working with ideas and organizing projects and activities depends only on the trust you have gained from you and others. How to make people believe that something is going to happen?. A lesson from The Apprentice in the final project of the Third season was when the final contesters were assigned a team of the people who was previously fired. The challenge here for the contesters was to become trustful in order to deploy the project. The very first mistake that Tana (the one at last fired) was to address them that she "deserved" that they work for her. Instead, Kendra (the winner one) inspired them that even though they will not be the final contesters they were contributing as the ones to help her to become The Apprentice. A good lesson but sometimes forgotten by our ego.

3. Targetness. The balance and the wisdom to discern the quest for perfection versus a quick solution is sufficient, and is based on having in mind that in business what matters at last is to have in mind targetness. But not only the targetness to hand in a product or solution in any way. It is the targetness to hand it at the time, and to have the capability to identify how the customer wants (perfection or quick-and-dirty solution).

I think that for universities, companies and moreover people the best things you could learn from experience and as personal improvement is to grow in these skills. First because I am strongly believe that things always change but targetness, courages and trust never changes. What chages at last is the enviroment and the time but not the project as itself.

Brasil: Productivity Paradox versus Quality Service Level in Call Centers

2005-11-15T15:45:00.000-06:00

This is my third post about Call Centers, and probably is because by now in Latin America is becoming another choice for enterprises to attract investment regionally. However, as I have previously pointed out Call Centers in Latin America are just taking advantage in a macroeconomical opportunity focusing in productivity, and with a standard service level for every enterprise customer.

Call centers enterprises are just giving a close-service approach with their enterprises' client customers. In fact, a product-service that should be totally focused to help companies to make a different close to customers.

I found a Brazilian call center case in which totally proposed an organizational new model for the call center enterprise in which the operational, the human resource and the technological management focused to give off a quality service level for each customer client without taking out the productivity. In fact, their case shows that productivity does not implied in itself having a "rotational rate with customers AUR (Automatic Unity Response)", in fact it turns out to be a differential to the product that a telemarketing compelling to the CRM strategy means another way to measure and moreover to make a difference with their customers. Of course, this means that the call center should focus in a better human resource training program so that it leads the employers to identify the value-proposal of their customers. Techonologically, it turned out in a better investments in other software choices to treat information supporting the customer-need and the CRM strategy for the company. And operationally, it meant to change the approach to forecast the customer-call capacity in demand of the calls for each customer, then dimensioning this forecast according to the strategy in quality, that showed the human resource training, software and hardware requirements and moreover the way productivity should be measure.

Finally, as it was showed the company totally customized their service for each company, compelling in a better profitability supporting the approach to the enterprises' customers.

India: A Business Model Example

2005-10-27T23:04:00.000-06:00

India is still taking over the offshoring market in all over its flavors. Not only in Call Centers, software and technology developing areas (44% compared with the 5% in China and Eastern Europe) but also in Add-Up services called "BPO" or "Business Process Outsourcing". In fact, it is attracted due to its posibility to identify better prices with a worth-value proposal for their western customers. And that is why they are evolving to become the major Engineering Product Development all over the world, in diverse areas that include: product designing (Hitachi, General Motors even Mercedez Benz), IT outsourcing in the Banking area, and in system development. Latin American has been trying to copy the same model experience with Call Centers and other strategies (IT software development) to attract investment of countries such as USA, Canada and Europe. Many companies as I had pointed out before are taking advantages in the macroeconomical aspects only, but the proposals do not go further than any value-added. In fact, I consider that the only way, as India has been doing is to cultivate and develop talents "in-home", to customized services in each customer, to lock-in them and more over to attract western companies. Why Latin American do not think in other proposals for their customers? India has already done it and is "Sophisticated & Technical Product Development".

CONVERGENCE: Knowledge Management & CRM

2005-10-25T12:14:00.000-06:00

Recently, I was thinking over a lot in the many things assorted in CRM & Business Intelligence so that I reached a simple conclusion applied: Convergence in diverse enterprise areas, such as Knowledge Management & CRM. And it comes out because I found an interesting idea to bring up a marketing approach to the Customer Intelligence: Strategical Learning Agenda.

The article is interesting giving many applied instances in retailing, and finance services. But the main focus is how a Customer Intelligence strategy should be taken not only with CRM tools, and operational implementations but with a TACIT plan inferred that should constantly score the marketing innovation in a checking-out cycle.

I can think about cutting the edge between the analytical CRM (Analytical Marketing) and the implementations (Creative and Operational in Sales) with a Knowledge Management Plan but customized for the Marketing area. The learning agenda is a mapping out tool (closer to Balanced Score Card but modified) for marketing: giving a steady changing-behaviour information about their customers all over its life cycle, products and services and their behavioural according to the channels and marketing efforts inferred. Subsequently, it grades the CORRESPONDING ACTION to sales so that they (Relational CRM) shadow prices, eliminate not-wanted customers, identify profitability in clients…..and finally marks the needed skills for every marketing product launch.

It seems easy to handle this effort, however in many CRM implementations the efforts turns out in an information sea. My point is that as Convergence in areas such as, Knowledge Management and CRM should be totally complemented and tacit in a Marketing Innovation. Probably, the effect is quite difficult because the marketing project leader should develop skills with the information in a job for every employee, a well grounded tool to develop matched skills in analytical and marketing areas to identify opportunities in a shorter period of time whenever. Actually a sensing area and not a reacting area is a marketing effort that only results from a dynamic loop between a knowledge and CRM effort.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Challenges for Companies

2005-09-28T12:42:00.000-06:00

During this time, many companies which I have seen look at ERP as an important breakthrough attainment in their IT company asset.

It is highly important to them, to implement process and the software with IT Professionals and in some cases with business consultants at the very beginning to fit data in.

But I noticed though they have implemented ERP (Peoplesoft, SAP, BPCS, and other flavours as said), they use the tool as an another software tool and not seen as a company process and effective practice to achieve effectiveness in information, operational resources and moreover, to reconsider their position in market. I think there are three commandments any company should look in:

1. An ERP a Business and not a technological project. Thus, the people should not ask is the IT the only responsible for the implementation and keep the knowledge in-company.

2. CEO’s and other areas should consider this practice as a requirement for the human resource to fit in the company, an strategy to improve the practice and keep the company knowledge in.

3. Information comes out as a result from the practice and not with the data fit that most of the companies do.

LATIN AMERICA AND CALL CENTERS

2005-09-28T12:08:00.000-06:00

It is well-known globally that outsourced call centres in third-world countries have become an opportunity, besides by now it is a chance derived from a macro economical condition.
Recently, I have seen in my country that many call centers have opened to deliver service for some world-class and local companies. Nevertheless, this opportunity is virtually temporary if it is seen only by a stand-in condition applying the same formula to keep attendance, and operational service. According to that, entrepreneurs should look for some other choices in their companies to add up worth to their service, that is the only way to lock-in their customers and keep in a long-term this economically opportunity.

Some added value services in which these new enterprises might earn, are for instance the customized software as a main asset to deliver a tailored company solution. An instance, is to deliver highly-effective relational CRM and supporting their customers with this strategy to improve loyalty with their customers. In fact, the capability to deliver well-suited outsourced solutions for their business customers. That is highly reached if local call centres look innovative human resource and look IT as an allied, not a back-office support area.

Otherwise, if local entrepreneurs do not make a mind-change in more professional human resource and in IT as a strategic allied, it is going to happen such as the Tequila Effect in Mexico, this time not with financial services but with some future profitable companies that if we can see their benefits we can keep them here.

CRM IN LATIN AMERICA ENTERPRISES

2005-04-05T13:13:00.000-06:00

Once a CRM guru said "CRM is the chance to bring the little corner store that knows you into a big enterprise". During the last month I have found that many enterprises at first find CRM as a "the magic tool" to solve Customer Information (data), improve Loyalty Programs or worse to improve the Call Center. In Latin America, enterprises do not fit this as an strategical proposal, they merely look this as an IT or Marketing project because many things as the Call Center, or the Software are part important of the components.

At first, most of the "in" initiatives comes from a Marketing need to improve Loyalty Programs, to get better customer information in order to improve the "operational" strategy in the Call Center. Moreover, enterprises just think as Loyalty Program as the tool that does CRM. A loyalty program as any other marketing strategy is at first another "product" that commonly covers other products, to get a cross-selling or up-selling ouput. So the first question that comes out is: Does my enterprise need another product as a Loyalty Program so to be placed in market, that surely needs a big operational effort and a big cost to get better future profit?. Moreover, many enterprises in the USA market have a Loyalty Program by now as "comodity" product that a customer do not find the benefit at all.

Second, a CRM "tool" implementation. Another fact,that arises in many enterprises is the notable need to get the right application. This goes all over the noticeable brands "Oracle e-Business Suite", "SAP CRM", "Siebel". At fist, I do not find a CRM in a limited IT framework project. I find CRM a total "Business Project". In fact, many enterprises hire just a IT techy "geak" that well knows the modules, the programming language, telco and data base structure to implement it and probably someone that had a consultancy in marketing or other areas. This means that at the end, the project probably will have a better technology, another data field customer attributes but inside it does not turn into other new business oportunities that require a totally business process that handles personalized in time and place products, and constantly change the business vision.

What is going to happen with Outsourcing after JP Morgan's and IBM's case?

2004-09-29T14:52:00.000-06:00

JP Morgan's decision to take over again the IT Departament is another fact that should be consider for outsourcing solutions. Not only decreasing the cost-infrastructure and increasing the service-level are just the issues that an enterprise might have in mind to make up an outsourcing choice. Though IBM's main business role is purely associated with IT, JP Morgan's outdid in getting back the IT department control because it surely encountered that a Information Technology area is a competitive activity that provides an advantage with customers who require in essence stock market and financial information related with their stock options, assets, accounts, etc.., Unfailing information systems is part of the core-business JP Morgan's final product so for IBM's outsourcing in IT cannot be associated with JP Morgan's main business activity because is the only one that totally understands its business existence. According with Jérôme Barthélemy from ESSEC Business School in France, many of the failed outsourcing solutions are just based upon a supposition with a cutting-cost decision, or because the outsourcing supplier does better the activity. Subsequently, outsourcing constitutes a powerful tool for an enterprise when there is a scare performance in an activity where there is not enough expert knowledge in it, and moreover that the activity does not form part of the enterprise competitive business.

Why Open Source is going to become a market breaktrough.

2004-08-13T08:17:00.000-06:00

During the last days, I have read a lot of things related with Open Source and how is that Enterprises are eventually taking over the advantages in order to include it in their information technology infrastructure. It is important to remember that though it is free, the main business explotion is in their IT effort that virtually reduces the costs in effort and coordination. As once, at the book The Cathedral and Bazaar by Erick S. Raymond said the global community is affording the developing to the software so that at the end, the software could lead to customized solutions faster.

IT Offshoring is it a new opportunity

2004-07-20T13:32:00.000-06:00

Offshoring and computing is a hot issue that probably desings a new service infrastructure and opportunities to the emerging countries. Enterprises have being pushed to cut costs and keep the service level wich provide. However, many IT professionals are afraid of the migration that will come as a result of this outsourcing service. Meanwhile, this opportunity is at the developing level due to the importance to look at the qualified IT service provider. According to this, I do think that by now the IT professionals have the chance to enfoque their efforts in looking the final business-oriented skills mixed with an IT knowledge that is a difficult capability to find out in any market even though  at the developed countries. I would like to remember the  3-Core Model for the Management Information System, that divides the MIS professional  activities in the future in three: The business-oriented and strategic level, the middle level and the IT experts. It seems that this model model is turning into reality, and most important is that every professional in the IT field at the enterprise should look the differential competences that IT might have. At this moment, I think that every one should consider this as an opportunity for everyone, for instance the medicine professionals have evolved. Finally, this will provide an specialization that any society and enterprise require as so to be competitive.

Is becoming the software-base a commodity with Opensource technology?

2004-06-26T05:56:00.000-06:00

Technology industry has adopted different ways to adopt Open Source software in their customer solutions. IBM in Brazil has recently announced that will include open source desktop and user application for the government area. During the last time, IBM has been encouraging Linux as a new operating system alternative in
their hardware systems and has sponsored the Open Source community. Eventually, IBM's strategy aims to deliver cheaper solution alternatives that will deploy as any other licence software. Sun Microsystems had also decreased its operating system price Solaris to compete with a Red Hat Linux optional solution in the server area that delivers the same server performance as the expensive Solaris. In this context, it looks like the software industry in the software-base is becoming a commodity, with a lower Total Cost of Ownership that will finally end competing with better performance and value-added solutions. Competition in the software-base business would increase the services in a short-term, and enterprises such as Sun and IBM are deeply making changes in their business solutions adopting new ways to roll out their I+D models with the OpenSource community and bringing out better hardware to sustain their competence.

The Software Industry: The Alliance Benefits.

2004-06-08T16:49:00.000-06:00

An expected alliance-rumor between the two industry-giant software vendors, SAP and Microsoft is eventually leading to a real merge (Wall Street Journal Europe June 8th. 2004). Such combination would have potentially impulse benefits in market share for both companies because the products and implicit services are complementary, Microsoft leads the operating
systems and desktop applications and SAP the sophisticated business solutions.

SAP has economically been impacted by some of the changes brought by

EAI technologies and the future XML industry-standard which have driven SAP price solutions down because there is no additional cost with other suppliers to integrate their software with SAP applications. Moreover, SAP faces another challenge in the software market, the
Open Source.
Lately, SAP tried out to get in the SME's market but failed because the alternatives solutions that the Open Source offers.

A 3G-Unit Sale Jump should be considered as triumph of the Market-Share for the UMTS in Europe?

2004-06-02T01:12:00.000-06:00

Until now, there has been a clear effort of Nokia and other hand-set suppliers to support the european cellphone service providers. At the beginning of this year, Nokia and Vodafone signed a collaboration agreement to impulse the 3G cellphone services. This week, a growing in the the 3G-Unit sale comes from the new and lighter models from Nokia and LG Electronics. Vodafone, Deustche Telekom AG and other European operators such as Telefónica SA in Spain hope that this output leads to impulse the revenue of the UMTS services such as voice calls,downloadble videoclips and online gaming. Is it Europe ready to get in the new UMTS market with personal services? The effects are not completely unoccupied, during the last two-year period the operator’s result-accounts did not reflect any relevance coming from data services such as multimedia, and MMS services. And the predictions are targeted only to corporate services where there could be a UMTS big-bang. Eventually comes to my mind if operators really know the UMTS real market-share? With my user-experience view-point, this new jump looks successful because in this share probably are the “techys” or the new tech-adventurers. But probably this issue is not at all related with the services that a user can demand but not only because of price but also with content. A clear strategy should include a single user share in order to lock-in new users and collaboration agreements with content partners in other fields such as soccer, entertainment and corporate information services.

A CRM Strategic Implementation

2004-05-26T19:12:00.000-06:00

During a Customer Relationship Management class at Instituto de Empresa, we read some articles related with a CRM successful implementation. In the article, an strategic CRM implementation implies an effort in investement that leads to point out a real value proposal for the enterprise client. There are three points that an enterprise should know during its life cycle. These are the enterprise's responsabilities, trust and added value for the client. However it is important to mark that these efforts could lead to a radical change in the enterprise organization, culture and systems. This change comes out with a big short financial cost for the enterprise that of course not all organizations are ready to fall into. In a long-term, this cost could turn into better approaches to the client, and in better worth of the client with an rational technology investement. Efforts are just translated into CRM software implementations without having in weight these three important factors by which all processes should have been changed at first.

My Interests in Information Systems

2004-05-26T19:08:00.000-06:00

Personally I never thought that a discipline like this one could lead me to enjoy it more than I do now. First, I think that Information Systems by now are taking over a good place not only in organizations or big enterprises but also in our lifestyle, and the way that we do things by now.

This is my first text related to IS in my personal blog which by now it is in itself part of the way technology and information work together to get in touch with others.
There's gonna be a lot of topics I like to talk so I expect your comments. It's weird
the way I started studying this discipline, first of all I wanted to study economics, then I just made up my mind that pure Computer Science was the thing I wanted to do but I never liked to be so techy. So I finally chose Information Systems at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala City. The mix was the key point here, and then I found out that during the next years my role play was to get together the knowledge in which organizations in all the disciplines Marketing, Finance, Management, Operations are totally impact by Information Technology and how this disciplines are being virtually transformed into new tools and disciplines. Through my academic career (1.997 - 2.001) I lived many of the changes such as the Internet Boom and it's decline and other changes that are about to come. That's why in the middle of a Master in e-Business course at Instituto de Empresa in Spain I am meditating about this. Many of the experiences are going to be pointed right here at my blog and mostly personal opinions and research to keep it is hard to do it but hope you will help.