Autonomy and Customer Relationship Management
March 21, 2010
I learned when I read “Autonomy Delivers the First Meaning-Based Multichannel Customer Interaction Analytics Application” that:
- Autonomy was at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit. (Gartner is, like Ovum, an azure chip consultant with aspirations to define the information technology world. I believe everything both firms output too. Well, almost, I suppose.)
- Autonomy is a player in customer relationship management.
According to the write up:
Autonomy Explore gives businesses a much more insightful and valuable view of their customers. For instance, the same customer that submitted a complaint to the contact center, searched for products on the company’s Web properties, and then commented about the company on Twitter, may have expressed different levels of satisfaction and used different terms through each channel. Autonomy Explore detects the evolving sentiment of that customer by analyzing the concepts and patterns communicated across each touch point, in order to more effectively engage with that customer as well as other customers from the same segment.
The Autonomy system includes a range of functions, including concept understanding and automated reporting and workflow. For more information, navigate to www.autonomy.com.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
An unpaid write up. I will report this to the agency with the best customer support in the Federal government, the Office of Citizen Services.
Napalm in the Morning, Math Club Warfare
March 21, 2010
I enjoyed “Hope You Enjoy the Smell of Napalm in the Morning”. The write up does a good job of sucking the marrow from the bones of a New York Times article. In addition, the story knits together several threads; for example, Apple’s violation of the unspoken “we don’t steal one another’s employees” rule. Anyone ever hear about a Math Club honoring an agreement not to throw a test so the golf and tennis players could score an easy A?
My view of the matter is:
- Google is in me-too mode. I am reminded of the Google’s flattery of Yahoo and Overture. I refer to the Google AdWords system, which remains Google’s main source of cash. This bit of flattery had a price tag, and no one seemed to think much of the emulation in the crazy period before the Google IPO. Well, the DNA of imitation is in the protein of the Google.
- Apple has an advantage and Google is under intense pressure within its quick recall team to find a solution. Apple has pulled off a walled garden hardware and software ecosystem. Android is making progress in hardware, but Apple has the lucrative music market and may be poised to snatch video from Googzilla’s jaws. Apple is shipping and Google is Googling. Time may be running out.
- Google seems to have rising blood pressure. Apple, on the other hand, seems to be pretty cool. The company is not resting by the pool and sipping weird drinks. But compared to the pre Jobs days, Apple is on a roll. Even the vaporish iPad seems to be grabbing headlines and content owner love. Google, in contrast, is vilified by China, Viacom, and folks who are concerned about Google’s approach to privacy, AdSense revenue shares, and the company’s “we know better” attitude.
In short, napalm in the math club. Who will get torched?
Stephen E Arnold, March 21, 2010
A freebie. Since I mention fire, I will report non payment to the National Park Service. Smokey may come out of retirement to help me chop wood to pay my bills. Ooops. Not too many forests left.
Google China: Pundits and Mavens Rev Their Engines
March 20, 2010
Google has to decide what to do about China. I think I heard this on one of the TV news shows that the goslings run when NCAA games are not on the boob tube nailed to a tree on the shore of the goose pond. I think the person making this statement displayed a snapshot of Mrs. Clinton, but maybe it was another luminary.
I read “Opinion: Why Google should stay in China”, which explained what Google should do this way:
Google’s actions will only hurt Google, its shareholders, and those that depend on the Web 2.0 ecosystems Google has been nurturing. By closing the development offices, Google will lose a lifeline into a vibrant economy and culture, one that that it desperately needs to understand and leverage in order to continue its historic growth in the years ahead. This lack of understanding was plain in the way Google made its decision – unilaterally and without even consulting its experts inside China. You need those people, Google, and so do we. So please swallow your own pride and reconsider before abandoning them.
Sounds good. The only hitch in the git along is that the author is not calling the shots for the Google.
I scanned an azure chip consultant’s analysis of the China market. I think the numbers in “Gartner says China will be World’s Fastest Growing Enterprise Software Market Through 2013” are probably fuzzy, but whatever those numbers are, China is a big market.
If the Google bails, my hunch is that some Type A MBA money managers will want to know:
- Why is the Google NOT maximizing shareholder value. China is not Albania.
- What is going to be done to pump up Google’s share price without a really big, juicy market to penetrate?
- Who will be the candidates for the new Google management team if shareholders revolt?
I don’t have any answers, and I don’t think Google’s chess game with China is unfolding with the inevitability Google anticipated.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
Free blog and an free article. What could be better? I will report my working without pay to the Department of Labor, where hard work is the norm and that work is not performed by workers for free.
Microsoft Fast Customer Support
March 20, 2010
Short honk: Got your Microsoft Fast installation up and running but have a wee question? You will want to keep this information handy:
- FAST standalone technical support assistance, navigate to http://support.microsoft.com/oas
- FAST telephone support: +1 866-922-5260 (8:00 AM – 8:00 PM Eastern Time)
Enjoy!
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
A freebie pure and simple.
Interdependency: Why IT Costs Are Tough to Control
March 20, 2010
Network World ran a very interesting article which, in my opinion, helps explain why search and content processing applications are characterized by sky rocketing costs. The story is “Is IT Keeping Up with a Changing Infrastructure? “ When I read the write up, I realized that most IT departments are like buggy whip manufacturers who did not want to manufacture automobile seat covers. Bad move but understandable. Buggy whips were comfortable just like silos of on premises applications and users who did not know that data could be mashed up and displayed in an actionable format.
For me, the most interesting segment of the article was:
A new study from Forrester Research Inc. shows that application developers and their project managers are not keeping up with the times…. [a] senior analyst…, said IT pros aren’t necessarily adjusting to what is the new reality of a tough economy and the popularity of certain technology trends.
I think I would have inserted the word “some” so that the statement would have stated: “some IT pros aren’t necessarily adjusting.”
In San Francisco earlier this week, I talked with a New York consulting firm. One of the interesting throw away remarks was that this outfit has found a number of new customers among the consulting firms in New York. I probed but was unable to get the names of this company’s consulting firm clients, but I recall the comments made during out chat.
One message that came through was that consulting firms are struggling to manage their information technology operations. The challenges range from cost control to finding information that someone in the consulting firms knows is on a server.
The Network World has hit the nail on the head. I wonder if the clients of the firms who purport to point out IT problems have the expertise, money, and time to fix their own IT problems.
My hunch? No. But talking about the flaws in companies is much easier and more fun than fixing one’s own problems.
Just my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, March 20, 2010
A freebie. No one paid me to write this. I will report information technology cost issues to the General Accountability Office, an outfit with responsibility for tackling such issues. I don’t think the GAO works for free as I do, but perhaps the entity will sympathize.
WAND and Layer2 Team for SharePoint Taxonomy Functions
March 19, 2010
A happy quack to the reader who sent me a link to “Jump-Start Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Knowledge Management Using Pre-Defined Taxonomy Metadata”. The Microsoft Fast road show is wending its way among the Redmond faithful. In its wake, a number of companies see opportunity in the Microsoft demos. But with Microsoft making some tasty offers to incentive those looking for search systems, Microsoft may be doing third-party add-on vendors and Fast ESP consultants a big favor.
The Earth Times’ article said:
In cooperation with WAND, Inc – one of the leading providers of enterprise taxonomies – Layer2 now offers pre-defined Taxonomy Metadata for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, a robust and expanding library of taxonomies covering a wide variety of domains to help jumpstart classification projects. Taxonomy Metadata for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is currently available in 13 languages, e.g. English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
WAND has developed structured multi-lingual vocabularies with related tools and services to power precision search and classification applications. The company asserts that WAND makes search work better. WAND Taxonomies are used in online yellow pages and local search, ad-matching engines, business to business directories, product search, and within enterprise search engines. The firm’s library contains more than 40 domain specific taxonomies. WAND’s taxonomies are available in 13 languages.
Layer 2 GmbH is a specialist for creating custom components and solutions for Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies. Based in Germany, Layer2 offers products and solutions that add additional features to portals based on Microsoft SharePoint technology.
My view is that Microsoft may be creating opportunities at the same time it leaves some SharePoint customers wondering why their systems do not work as expected. If taxonomy management was a priority, Microsoft should have included a system to perform this type of work within the SharePoint package. Third party vendors now have an opportunity to sell a “solution,” but customers may have to go through a learning process and then spend additional money to get the functionality required to make SharePoint more useful.
Perhaps another mixed result from SharePoint? Just my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
Freebie. No one paid me to point out that talking about “taxonomies” is much easier than implementing a high value taxonomy and then enforcing consistent tagging across the processed corpus. I know that the IRS is good at indexing by social security number, so I will report non payment to that agency.
Google Viacom Battle Goes Public
March 19, 2010
I had heard that the “real cause” of the dust up between Google and Viacom dated from a meeting at which some Googlers disrespected some Viacom executives. Apparently the Math Club approach to hospitality (arriving late, not wearing a suit, and fiddling with a computing devices whilst “meeting”) was a courtesy and respect problem. After this Emily Post moment, Viacom became less flexible with things Google. One result was a $1.0 billion lawsuit, which the addled goose is happy to say is moving forward without any involvement.
When I read “Google Slams Viacom for Secret YouTube Uploads”, I realized that this spat is escalating. After all, what’s a billion here or there to outfits the size of Google and Viacom. Tossing around undergarments in public is more effective, and, if you are a member of the Math Club, a lot more fun.
For example, the write up said:
While it is still early in the legal battle it was clear that Google was determined to cast Viacom’s legal strategy as hypocritical by claiming several of the company’s own managers and agencies had continued to upload videos to YouTube. “Viacom routinely left up clips from shows that had been uploaded to YouTube by ordinary users,” said YouTube Chief Counsel Zahavah Levine, in a blog post.
The article then pointed out:
Viacom also accused Google and YouTube executives of hypocrisy, saying that they were aware of the extent of illegally uploaded videos to the site and did little to stop it as they sought to build their user base. “Google and YouTube were not just innocent and unwitting accomplices to infringement perpetrated by YouTube users,” Viacom said in the court documents. “Defendants operated YouTube with the unlawful objective of using infringing material to explosively build their user base and become the dominant video website on the Internet.”
Who will prevail? Google’s data carefully marshaled by the Math Club or the Viacom legal eagles’ knowledge of technology and online behaviors? Exciting but not as exciting as the NCAA Tournament for some of those involved in the legal shindig.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
No pay writing. I will report this miserable state of affairs to the manager of the White House gym who, alas, does not eat at Cosi’s adjacent the OEB as frequently as President Bush’s gym manager did.
Are You Ready for Enterprise Search? Nope
March 19, 2010
A reader sent me a link to a white paper from Silicon.com. I clicked the link and was presented with a download request form. I apparently filled a similar form out years ago because I was asked to update my information. I did so. I was then given another page from which to click a link to download a white paper from MobilVox, Inc.
The title? “Are We Ready for Enterprise Search.” The subtitle? “Text analytics and intelligent agents cannot be overlooked.” No problem with the title but the text of the white paper was two pages. This is more of a flier or a fact sheet. A white paper is in my opinion somewhat more substantive. The last one I wrote was about 12 pages long, had diagrams, and included some hard metrics about the performance of a search system.
The white paper pointed me to www.irissearch.net, which through me.
The point of the white paper by MobilVox is to boil down what took me 300 pages to explain in three editions of my Enterprise Search Report to a publisher who, like a chameleon, changed its appearance, and Martin White and I filled 125 pages for Successful Enterprise Search Management, published by Galatea in 2009.
I don’t disagree with the information in the two page write up, but it is a bit short on detail. Here’s phase II of a search implementation:
Strategically select information repositories most critically important to the organization. Deploy the enterprise search solution with these core repositories. Scale up initial roll-out by adding more repositories and connectors to other legacy systems.
Martin and I explained the steps and some of the constituent nuances in 16 pages, and we chopped quite a bit of detail to meet the stipulations of our publisher in the UK.
If you want a white paper that gives you enterprise search on two sheets of paper, have at it. After you end up in a bit of a technical, managerial, and budget bind, drop me an email. seaky2000 at yahoo dot com. I won’t be able to help, but I like to keep track of potentially interesting case examples.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
No one paid me to write about search challenges. I will report this sad state of affairs to the Department of Energy, an outfit with deep experience is search systems that are often interesting challenges to senior managers.
InQuira Embraces the Cloud
March 19, 2010
I read “InQuira Puts It Knowledge Solutions in the Cloud” and learned that the approach “is in no way a light weight version.” On premises search systems can be tough to install, tune, and maintain. Blossom has been, in my opinion, one of the trail blazers for hosted search, and it offers a robust, powerful, and customizable solution. InQuira is moving in that direction as well.
According to the write up which quotes an InQuira officer:
InQuira has existing partnerships with Oracle CRM On Demand, Oracle’s Siebel offering, and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories. The newest on-demand offering will extend the company’s reach…[InQuira] has a really established reputation as the best-of-breed intelligent search vendor that quickly and easily integrates with everyone,” says John Ragsdale, vice president of technology research for the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA).
One feature of the approach is that storage is provided in an “on demand” model.
You can get more information from www.inquira.com.
Stephen E Arnold, March 19, 2010
Freebie. No one paid me to write this. I will report non payment to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an outfit who tracks work for no compensation each day, every day.
Does Online Privacy Exist?
March 19, 2010
This week’s SSN Minute tackles the question, “Does online privacy exist?” David Thimme, contributor to the Strategic Social Network blog, takes a look at this issue. You can view the video from the SSN home page at http://ssnblog.com (just click on the SSN Minute logo) or click here to go directly to YouTube.com. The commentary references an SSN Blog post to help put the social media news in a business context.
Stephen E Arnold, March 18, 2010
This was a sponsored post.
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