The Buffalo Blog

Out of sync, out of pocket

Good post from Mobile Technology Today on the launch of Google Sync for the iPhone and Window’s

Mobile allowing interoperability with Google contacts and calendar. This is great news for phone users who are enamoured with Google’s numerous services and ease of use.

I wrote a short post a while back on interoperability but can’t overemphasise the importance of making new technology work together. The age of proprietary programmes, OS and devices is ending and companies that don’t get out of this rut will inevitably face trouble. But a lot of companies are still stuck in the ‘rut’ so to speak, still trying to make ‘Intel Inside’ work for them. Fortunately for us, if not for them, things have moved on and will only get better in this respect.

I have to praise Google and their army of open source evangelists, as they’re the most visible players working towards this goal. Android is taking-off rapidly and its clear that the more easily useable, cross-functional and intuitive companies make their software, the more successful they will be.

Mobile Tech Today
Google Brings Sync To the iPhone and Windows Mobile
http://www.mobile-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=64578

Telegraph turns the tide with Google Apps

The Telegraph’s decision to use Google Apps over standard Microsoft Office products is a sign of the times for the business computing industry. Though The Telegraph cited this move as a cost saving exercise it could encourage other large companies to rethink their DTP and business application provision.

Also, at a recent National Outsourcing Association, whom we work for, conference someone posed that open-source and web-delivered SaaS type applications are the biggest competitive force currently facing Microsoft. With the first high-profile endorsement of this type of application model by The Telegraph, this is highly likely to be true.

However, although it is obviously a worrying time for the computing giant, it could be a real opportunity if the company manages to change its mindset quickly enough. At this ‘turn of the tides’ for the industry, the old adage "If you can’t beat them, join them" is very important.

Microsoft has dominated business and indeed personal computing for such a long time its move towards open source and web delivery has not hugely apparent. The trouble is that 21st century isn’t about IP any more as its security simply can no longer be guaranteed. It’s also not about discrete, packaged software products that can be sold on DVD to captive audiences.

No, the new world is in open source technology, about being better than the rest and putting it out there for all the world to see, use and alter to their needs. The value of company-created software is in its quality, innovation and skill – something that Microsoft has in buckets.

My advice, for what it’s worth, is to take full advantage of open source and invest more time and money in this area, rather than try to compete with it. To do this Microsoft should first unleash those great minds it has stashed away in Silicon Valley and dive whole heartedly into open source. The rewards of doing this could be great, while the consequences of not doing so really don’t bear thinking about.

Gartner’s social CRM – befriend your customers, you know you want to...

Research released by Gartner today shows that the CRM market has grown by 23 percent in 2007.

Not surprising you’re probably thinking; companies will obviously be using every last breath in these torrid times to hold onto paying customers. Indeed, customer retention has to be one of the most important business aims in the current climate.

However, the interesting point about the report was the part that social networking tools had to play in the growth of CRM. It seems that in the increasing drive to know as much as humanly possible about customers, social networking tools provide various additional benefits to both customers and businesses.

Consider giving your clients their own social media portal as part of doing business with you. The content and benefit for them is akin to an old-fashioned ‘client area’ but with added social opportunities, cross client collaboration, sharing of information, messages, reviews and so on. It’s easy to see the pull of a new way of interacting with customers especially in mid-high price consumer products i.e. TVs, white goods, Cars etc.

On the business side this kind of setup could interface perfectly with a traditional CRM suite allowing even more critical insight into customer needs and behaviours, ultimately allowing businesses to serve customers even more effectively.

It’s not clear how many consumer-facing businesses are diving into the social CRM pool yet but it could herald a new level in customer interaction and communication.