A Fairy Tale: AOL Was Facebook a Long Time Ago
February 8, 2012
The Wall Street Journal amuses me. A Murdoch property, the newspaper does its best to minimize the best of “real” News Corp. journalism. I appreciate objective editorials which present oracular explanations of meaningful events in the world of “real” business.
A good read is “How AOL—Aka Facebook 1.0—Blew Its Lead” by Jesse Kornbluth. What is interesting is that this is a report from a person with Guccis on the ground. According to my hard copy edition, February 8, 2012, page A15:
Mr. Kornbluth was editorial director of America Online from 1997 to 2003. He now edits Headbutler.com.
I did a quick search on Facebook 3.0—aka Google—and learned from no less an authority than the Huffington Post the Mr. Kornbluth edits a blog which is a “cultural concierge service.” He is a “real” journalist and has been a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and new York, and a contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times, etc.”
The addled goose is still in recovery mode, sort of like a very old restore from the now disappeared Fastback program. Thinking of old software and AOL, I think in 1999America Online was in hog heaven in terms of stock price. I recall shares coming in the $40 to $100 range. The accounting issues of 1993 were behind the company. The merger with Time Warner was a done deal by mid January 2000. The $350 billion was a nice round number. The New York Times marked the 10th anniversary in its “analysis” on January 11, 2010, with the story “How the AOL-Time Warner Merger Went So Wrong.”
Now I learn that AOL was Facebook 1.0. I had forgotten about AOL’s chat rooms. When I think of chat rooms, I recall CompuServe, but I was never into AOL despite the outstanding marketing campaign with the jazzy CD ROMs that seemed to be everywhere. Here’s Mr. Kornbluth’s Facebook parallel:
Protected: Before They Come to Your SharePoint Site Know This
February 8, 2012
A Developer Takes on SharePoint
February 8, 2012
Wendy Neal recently shared some highlights of the SharePoint experience in her piece, “The Top Ten Reasons Why I Love SharePoint.” Neal, a SharePoint 2010 Developer/Architect for GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation, created the list so to articulate exactly why she loves to work with the ubiquitous collaboration software.
Neal cites the time and money saved due to Microsoft handling most development processes as just one of the reasons she found SharePoint to be the right system. Organizations can spend more time on configuring the technology, rather than developing and testing it. The SharePoint community, complex technology potential, and Microsoft Office integration are also discussed.
In terms of the SharePoint potential, Neal also explains the ability to easily build up your system with third party products integration.
One of the really great things about SharePoint is that if something can’t be done out-of-the-box, and if you don’t want to build it yourself, chances are that someone else has. Whether it be vendors who specialize in SharePoint add-ons, or something you find on CodePlex or other code sharing sites, there are a ton of great solutions or tools that can integrate with SharePoint. In addition, many other CMS or storage systems have created web parts that will interface with SharePoint, so that you can keep your content where it is yet still access it through the SharePoint interface.
A quality third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, can really get you the most out of your enterprise search investments and extend the capabilities of your SharePoint system. For a deep solution that connects your business information with the Cloud and gives your users the search and navigation experience they need, check out Mindbreeze.
Philip West, February 8, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
PLM Leader Introduces Online Training for Engineers
February 8, 2012
As technology continues to evolve large companies struggle with the demands of training of their employees, especially engineers. Tata Technologies has developed i GET IT, an online training program aimed at engineers. The article, Tata Technologies Plans to Market Online Self-Paced Training Solution for Engineers, on Telecom Tiger, explains how the self-paced training program is expected to be received with open arms in India’s growing engineering industry.
As the article explains of the new program,
“Some of the key factors that have led to growth in the demand for online training solutions can be attributed to the professionals being either too busy, inability to leave the office for several days and attend regular courses for advanced trainings. The increasing demand for local talent has lead to engineering colleges and institutions leaving no stone unturned to sharpen the skills of their students with the very latest course material, whether through text books or online training courses.”
Tate Technologies is best known for their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Search solutions making them the perfect company to develop a training program for busy employees in the engineering industry. As data continues to grow and change and more types of data enter into a company’s database new data management solutions must be adopted. Enterprise search must also be updated to include this new data. Engineering companies unable to integrate such measures will get left beyond in a struggling, yet competitive, world economy. We not only predict that more online training programs like Tate’s i GET IT will enter the engineering industry market, we believe smart companies will gladly accept them and take the first steps toward cloud services and new PLM solutions.
Catherine Lamsfuss, February 7, 2012
Data Management for Search Wizards
February 8, 2012
Over the last couple of years data management has become a hot button issue for many corporate enterprises.Tech News World recently reported on data management best practices in the article “The 5 Pillars of Master Data Management.”
According to the article, there are five principles that should be adhered to in order to achieve master data management success. These principles will help one understand how to quantify success, track ROI and communicate the business impact.
In order to succeed the article advises that companies: define their business problem, plan beyond phase one, have a strong governance program in place, recognize that the most important word in MDM is management, and partner with a vendor who has significant MDM and information governance experience.
The article states:
A single trusted view of information provides the clear insight and transparency that organizations need to have effective business processes and interactions with customers and partners. Particularly at a time when social media and new information platforms are becoming pervasive, organizations now have access to new resources offering rich customer insights. However, businesses and governments must recognize that governance has to be part of this information gold rush.
While this write-up has some helpful tips on why it is important to prioritize master data management, we found it to have some painful generalizations. Just the ticket for the search wizards to keep projects running into sandbars and sometimes sinking.
Jasmine Ashton, February 8, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
BPM and Big Data
February 8, 2012
Search and business process management: a shotgun marriage. The two can’t help but come together, as IT Business Edge reports in “Two Examples of BPM’s Role in Data Integration.” Writer Loraine Lawson writes that Talend intends to integrate BonitaSoft’s business process management solution with its Unified Platform.
Lawson is pretty sure Talend is the first data integration specialist vendor to venture into this area. She asked Talend’s VP of marketing, Yves de Montcheuil, how the use of BPM contributes to integration. The write up states:
Data governance. To use a master data hub as a system of record, you’ll need to load it from multiple sources, which will have conflicting data. The MDM and data quality tool will resolve many of these conflicts automatically through matching, but for more complicated conflicts, you’ll need a workflow. BPM can drive this workflow, sending the data to business users who can resolve the conflict by validating the correct data.
That does sound more efficient. Another way Talend expects BPM to help is to manage and automate data integration and data quality services.
Talend provides both open source and SaaS big data solutions to organizations around the world. BonitaSoft also offers both open source and paid solutions, but its realm is business process management. Best wishes to the happy couple!
Cynthia Murrell, February 8, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Infegy: The Social Radar Company
February 8, 2012
In 2006, founders Justin Graves, who was working for an interactive advertising agency at the time, and Web developer Adam Coomes used $50,000 of their own money to launch Infegy. Its key technology is “Social Radar”, a social media monitoring and Web analytics platform that measures online sentiment to gauge trends, predict consumer needs, and drive corporate strategy. The data is delivered through the cloud in a subscription-based format. A March 2011 upgrade generates faster results and features new spam filtering and a customizable drag-and-drop dashboard.
Social Radar sorts through some 8 billion Internet posts (including Tweets, blog posts, and customer comments), ranking not just the rise and fall of volume on a topic, but also the tone of discussion and the words that resonate. Companies can run in-depth analytics on Web and social media content to see how products and campaigns are received in the marketplace, what customers are saying online, and how and why trends have changed over time. Social Radar’s database allows views within targeted demographics.
In 2009, the company had over $350,000 in revenue and became profitable. In 2010, Graves and Coomes were Bloomberg/Businessweek’s America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs finalists. In 2011, International Data Corporation selected Infegy as an Innovative Business Analytics Company Under $100M to Watch. Following the March 2011 upgrade release, Coomes left the company.
Infegy’s primary clients are mostly advertising agencies and market research firms, such as ORC International, VML, and Mason Zimbler, interested in what consumers are saying about their brands and campaigns in the social media sphere. Think candid focus group minus the two-way mirror. Political campaigns have also shown interest. Brands using Social Radar include Viacom, 3M, Pizza Hut, MTV, and Sony. Competitors include Radian6, Collective Intellect, Crimson Hexagon, and Temetric Research.
Rita Safranek, February 8, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: Without Data There is No Point in Share
February 7, 2012
Varian’s PLM Changes Indicative of Global Shift in Data Management
February 7, 2012
Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) plays an important role in many industries with the medical industry being a prominent one. A recent article, Varian Slashes Redesign Time for RoHS, REACH Compliance, on Environmental Leader, announced a breakthrough by Varian Medical Systems in regards to their PLM effectively reducing their engineering changes from eighteen days to five days.
Of the changes the article explains,
“Using the SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management application with product compliance functionality and the SAP Product Life Cycle Management application, Varian says it’s been able to understand the chemical composition of its products, more easily redesign components and products…The SAP software embeds compliance checks into the design process, which Varian says helps it avoid late-cycle changes. The software also makes it faster and easier to adjust administrative functions to any corresponding engineering change, Varian says.”
The need to improve PLM is an issue facing all industries, not just the medical. With companies across the globe facing increasing manufacturing prices and lower sales changes must be made across all divisions to cut costs. Improved PLM with integrated cloud services is, currently, the best option for companies. A truly redesigned PLM approach will include a new data management solution and enterprise search to reduce duplicity in design and man hours lost to inadequate searches.
For companies in all industries data has changed and is continuing to change. The difference between thriving despite tough economic times and closing the doors for good could be as simple as how the new, massive influx of data is searched and managed. Adopting new PLM solutions such as Varian is not only prudent but absolutely necessary to compete globally.
Catherine Lamsfuss, February 7, 2012
FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint: Features Breakdown
February 7, 2012
In “Fast Search in SharePoint 2010 – What’s that you don’t get in SharePoint 2010 Search,” the author discusses Microsoft’s acquisition of the enterprise search company, FAST Search & Transfer, and the subsequent Microsoft product development, FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint. The author notes the very visual change to the user experience and a handful of other capabilities that came with the new search. Two of the more noticeable changes include:
Thumbnails and previews for documents — Word and PowerPoint files in the search result will be displayed with a thumbnail of the cover page. Moreover, PowerPoint files can be previewed in the results list without opening the file, either with a PowerPoint client or with Office Web Applications. These capabilities can help end users visually find the expected content.
View in browser — By using Office Web Applications, Office files can be opened in the browser, without installing the thick client on the computer.
The fully integrated search server engine also lets you build user context from user profiles and define Visual Best Bets. New features and capabilities are exciting. But the learning curve and man hours for developing and customizing the features may not be.
FAST search is an improvement over the SharePoint out-of-the-box functionality; however, Fabasoft Mindbreeze is an even greater improvement. Here you can read about enterprise search with Mindbreeze’s quick, service-oriented, and cost-efficient technology:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise finds every scrap of information within a very short time, whether document, contract, note, e-mail or calendar entry, in intranet or internet, person- or text-related.
Mindbreeze solutions add value to your business information, no matter the data you’re looking for or the system you are working with.
Philip West, February 7, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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